December 23, 2011

Bacon and carbs


Spaghetti in a sun dried tomato, onion and bacon Alfredo sauce

The sauce was to die for, but the pasta seriously killed the entire dish. Why? Because I decided to use whole grain pasta!! The bacon/cheese/fat gods must have been angry at me. :(  Like, what was I thinking?! Trying to sneak in something kind of healthy into a superbly creamy and cheesy and flavourful and bacon-y sauce. I have learned my lesson and am still crying about it.
I'M SORRY!


We set up the Christmas tree a few weeks ago, I just never posted about it! I'll take better pictures of it in a day or two. I love it!

December 13, 2011

Roasted gold goodness


Roasted curried butternut squash soup with garlic and herb croutons topped with roasted seeds

My dad bought a butternut squash and suggested I make a soup out of it. Fair enough, I'll make something good, if you buy the ingredients! This was super easy to make and it's dairy free too, because mum has convinced herself that milk = gross. She's not lactose-intolerant! Anyways, what you need to gather is...

Butternut squash (the bigger it is, the more soup you'll get)
Onions (sliced)
Garlic (chopped)
Vegetable stock or chicken stock, sodium free
Spices (I used a touch of curry, cumin and cinnamon)
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Optional: carrots, half and half cream, ground ginger...etc)

There are two ways to deal with the squash. (Just remember to save the seeds if you want to use them as garnish!)
a: you can peel it with a vegetable peeler, cut it in half, de-seed it and dice them
or
b: cut it in half, de-seed them and scoop out the flesh after it's been roasted.

Preheat oven to 425°F, rack in the middle.
Which ever way you choose to prep the squash, slather it in a bit of oilve oil, then salt and pepper lightly.
Throw it all in a baking pan liner with parchment paper, into the oven until it's done (add carrots if using. You'll know when you can stock a fork in it.
It's probably a good idea to turn the pieces of squash around the 20 minute mark to ensure even cooking.
While it's roasting away, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large pot on medium.
When the oil it hot, add the spices you'll be using into it. This will release all the fragrant oils. Don't burn it!
Add the onions/garlic into the pan after 30 seconds or so. Cook until they're soft and dark in colour.
Pour your stock into the pot and keep hot.
Roast your seeds and/or croutons at this point.
Once the butternut squash is done, add the flesh into the pot. Blend with an immersion blender or
in the regular blender, add half stock half quash and blend. Do this in batches.
Taste, garnish and serve!

I like pouring my soup through a sieve to ensure that it's silky smooth and lump free

Smart Shopping, just pay tax.

On sale for $4.99 a bottle, had $5 off coupons. Tried the Listerine Extreme Whitening yesterday and I'm super impressed at how clean my mouth feels during the night to the time I wake up and during the entire day! As for the whitening, it's still too early to judge. But for free, I can't complain! Free tampons (on sale $2.99, used $3 off coupon) are awesome too...'cause you can never have too many of those.

December 06, 2011

November 30, 2011

Ohmygod, Fassbender...


I got passes to attend a screening of SHAME last night at The Beaches theater.
Fassbender, full frontal scenes and his character Brendan being addicted to sex...
...makes quite a movie!
Watch it. Maybe not with Mom & Pops. It's raw.
McQueen really pushes character limits in this movie and Fassbender basically, has no limits.
Somebody hand them a couple of awards, because this director and actor is a 5 out of 5!

The perfect vegan brownies


Dense, chewy, super chocolate-y and most importantly...has a crackly top.


Bittersweet chocolate, chopped.


Cocoa, chocolate, coffee and a pinch of salt.


Hot water to melt it all together, into a paste


3 tablespoons of un-butter


Combined with brown sugar and flaxseed "egg".


Stir in flour / baking powder


Spread the batter in a pan, add sprinkles!


Cut into squares when it has competely cooled/


LOOK AT THAT!!!!


Baked two batches in literally a week. I was so excited to feed people. :)

November 17, 2011

What's for Tuesday dinner? Oven ribs & sides


Hands down, one of the most tasty and simple dinners to make! Get your pork ribs, rub it down with a mixture of brown sugar, cumin, salt and pepper, chipotle powder, garlic powder, onion powder and whatever else you fancy. Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle. Place the ribs on heavy duty foil and make a packet out of it, leaving one end open to pour in a solution of liquid smoke and water, 1:5, no more than 1/2c in total. (Leave out the smoke if you don't have it. It's optional...but it gives the meat a great boost of flavour!) Seal it tight, do the same thing for your second slab of ribs and place it on a baking tray then into the oven. After an hour and a half to two hours, they should be done! (I'm usually chasing Tank around, watching TV or on the Internet while I wait.) Have your barbeque sauce on hand and get ready to slather. Remove everything from the oven ans unwrap. Position rack as high as you can- we're going to broil them. Slather and broil. Repeat as many times as you want, flipping each time. Voila.

I boiled some corn, bought a side of potato salad, mashed some avocado and called it dinner!


Tank was watching from air space.


Cutest little trouble maker!


I loooove youuu!

November 16, 2011

November 15, 2011

Marley!


What a cutie pie!!


Play'n around. The little one looks like an Ewok!






Sniffing around


Prettiest pup, ever.


Justin and I finally got to hang out Sunday, after not seeing each other for over a year! We went to the dog park at 9:30 in the morning, which is far earlier than I usually wake up. We headed to the dog park where Marley, his one year old Husky /Lab mix got to frolic around with other canines. It was windy and chilly, but worth it. This dog is the cutest, happiest, friendliest! Might I mention, photogenic as well?

November 08, 2011

Vegan cook'n


Meat free (boneless, ha ha) buffalo wings! Under $5, for 10 pieces. Found in the freezers at Loblaws/Longos.


Served with whole grain spaggetti. The picture's missing greenery..but I was in a rush to watch Terra Nova!
Verdict on the wings? 4 out of 5 - the sauce was good, could have been zippier (like Frank's hot sauce) and
the wings could have been breaded and baked to make them crispy. Richard <3's them!


Of course, there was dessert. I had made a blueberry loaf with yummy streusle on top. Test recipe!


Verdict? Really good! Flight and fluffy.  I'll have to to tweak the liquid measurements a but...
...that just means I get to bake another one of these babies ;)

November 07, 2011

Smart Shopping : what can $15.81 buy?


Micheal's: 78¢


Petsmart: $4.44
(yep, that's 100lbs of litter. Tank is going to be stink'n happy!)


Loblaws: $2.24
(It's a huge serving platter! I love Autumn.)


Loblaws: $1.70 for all
(25¢ each, one was free thanks to the Scanning Code of Practice. They were tagged 25¢, scanned at $1.30)



Walmart: $5.65
($1 each)


Walmart: $1.00
(50¢ each, for my Papa!)

November 03, 2011

Playing catch up: October deliciousness


Pork kebab wraps with seasoned rice, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and a tangy yogurt sauce


Roasted chicken quarter with a side of potato wedges, mixed vegetables and seasoned couscous


Butter chicken & rice, cheated a bit here and used bottled sauce! (Presidant's Choice, blue menu)


Seared steak, caramelized onions, baked fries with gravy and mixed vegetables


Rich's Thanksgiving dinner- Tofurky with gravy, roasted baby potatoes, green beans and fake chicken drumsticks


Cornbread muffins (made by the Van Kruistums)


Sweet potato mash with maple syrup (made by the Van Kruistums)


Steamed green beans with almond slivers (made by the Van Kruistums)


Bacon stuffing (made by the Van Kruistums)


Roasted turkey! (made by the Van Kruistums)


My Thanksgiving plate, a little bit of everything


Vanilla cake with whipped cream, spiced apples and caramel


Vegan vanilla cake with buttercream, spiced apples with caramel for Rich


My cake and a country baked pecan pie


Thanksgiving dinner cooked by yours truly. Turkey armor to prevent drying and over cooking


Baked pork ribs, super smokey and tender.


My favourite way to eat grapefruit, with a bit of brown or raw sugar!


A late night snack of grilled cheese. Old cheddar and pesto on good old Wonderbread with ketchup. Never gets old.


Pizza night: Vegan, from scratch dough with loads of veg and faux pepperoni


Ppizza wih spinach, bacon, tomatoes, onions, garlic and zucchini topped with mozza-cheddar, Parmesan and fresh basil

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About

Hi, I'm Janetta from Toronto. I cook, bake and often veganize recipes. I photograph nearly everything and those photos will most likely end up being posted here. I've got a little black cat named Tank, who's really cute and a little bit nosy. You'll see a lot of photos of her too!

Contact me at: jubesandtank@gmail.com

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