nom nom nom

Lunch. March 22nd, 2011.

Homemade caesar dressing and veggie patties. Recipe courtesy of everybodylikessandwiches.com found on Poppytalk.

Verdict = yum.

eat :: toad in the hole

found on A Cup of Jo via Grapevine Twine via Oh Joy

Toad in the hole is the process of breaking an egg into a slice of bread with a hole in it and frying up the result. Although, it's not the traditional definition of toad in the hole (dish made with sausage and baked in Yorkshire pudding), it's often mixed by those unfamiliar with British foods.

All I can say is eggs + toast + avocado? Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my face .... YUM.

Funny thing is that when I was little, my uncle from Peru gave me my first taste of avocado and I hated it. I actually went downstairs to the basement, spat it out and hid it behind the shelf. (Sorry to the person that found it!).

london :: cost of living

photo credit: field_tripz (images have been polarized)

Whenever we mention that we are moving to London, usually the first response, is "wow, it's so expensive there". Yes, London isn't cheap, but neither is living in Vancouver.

We went grocery shopping the other day and after that Sainsbury has online grocery shopping, Rob decided to hold a little experiment of his own. So how much would our groceries cost us in London? Here's the results!

(this is what the grocery shelves sometimes look like if you go shopping after the lunch hour - seriously)

Below are some price differences:

Avocado- $1.89 vs £1.19 ($1.92 conversion)
Broccoli Crowns- $1.70 vs £0.61 ($0.98 conversion)
Block of Jarlsberg Cheese- $5.49 vs £1.45 ($2.35 conversion)
Organic Eggs- $5.99 vs £4.00 ($6.47 conversion)
Gala Apples - $2.86 vs £1.00 ($1.62 conversion)
Chicken Thighs- $6.67 vs £3.00 ($4.85 conversion)

At the end, our Save On Foods bill was $128.83 vs £75.00 ($121.32 conversion) from Sainsbury. Pretty interesting, eh?

eating :: recipe :: caesar dressing

Apparently, the need for cooking from scratch comes with the handmade lifestyle. At least, this is what Robert has told me when I mentioned that I wanted to start making my own salad dressings. Caesar is one of our favourites and is enjoyed many times throughout the week. Throw in some homemade croutons made from this bread recipe and this caesar dressing recipe posted by post grad hair cut and you have some green leafy heaven!

1/4 cup fat-free or low fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (you can buy this at the grocery store, its pretty cheap)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used regular)
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard

Whisk together. Add garlic to taste.

Instead of adding lemon juice to the dressing, I just squirted over the entire salad. This recipe makes about 6 salads depending on how much dressing you use. I found the results quite watery at first, but it tastes fantastic and makes it easy to spread.