BBQ for a Day

Nothing says summer like a barbecue dinner, but alas, such a dinner is a rarity for me since I've moved into an apartment with no balcony on which to place a barbecue. Imagine my excitement when a colleague of mine decided to open his house for a BBQ potluck dinner last Saturday! At long last I was able to work a grill again, and I decided to make the best of this opportunity. Partly because I hadn't barbecued for a while, and partly because I knew others were bringing dips, salads and other starter items, I decided to make grilled vegetables as my potluck contribution. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself for a moment.

Non-Fried Fried Noodles

Last Friday I decided to make myself a vegetarian fried noodle dish for dinner, partly since I was going to a BBQ potluck dinner the following evening (which meant there was likely going to be a fair amount of meat), and partly to clear out a bit of my fridge. Until recently I'd only known to make a fried noodle dish by, well, frying the noodles. However, when my mother visited me recently, she taught me a substitute method to make fried noodles with considerably less oil.

Mother's Day a Week Early

My parents were in town for the weekend in the midst of their cross-country road trip, so I thought I should treat my dear mother to a decent dinner of my own making. Yes, there are some decent restaurants here in Brandon (yesterday we enjoyed a nice lunch at Lady of the Lake), but I believe nothing says "I love you, Mom" better than making her a nice dinner instead of taking her out for one.

Italian in the Exchange

With the Easter long weekend meant another opportunity for me to do a Winnipeg daytrip, and that also meant an opportunity to try a restaurant I had yet to try. This time it was Tre Visi, a contemporary Italian restaurant in the Exchange District. Small, adorned with paintings inspired by Roman mosaics and having friendly staff, Tre Visi had a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Brunch Leftovers for Lunch

Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral baked meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.
William Shakespeare, "Hamlet"

Sunday Brunch

It's been a while since I had a Sunday brunch, and it's also been a while since I made myself such a big early meal. There are several reasons why I haven't made big breakfasts or brunches that often since moving to live and work on my own:

Where in the Land of Food Have I Been?

Short answer: absent.

A Fiesta in a Corner of Downtown Winnipeg

Thank goodness I know a couple of foodie friends in Winnipeg! Not only can we sample more dishes from one place, but we can also bounce off each other our opinions on all aspects of the dining experience. T. & J., that was a good night; I can see a few more noshes in our sights down the road.

It's About Time!

A few of my friends already know that there are some aspects of the big city life that I've missed since moving to Brandon, one of which is fine dining. In a sense, this isn't a bad thing since I've encouraged myself to improve on my cooking, but even with dining at home my abilities to experiment are limited by what can be purchased in town or, in rarer instances, in nearby Winnipeg. Fortunately, since the opening of this one particular store in town in August, I can now enjoy some drinks from the comfort of my own home.

Making My First Christmas Dinner

I'll remember Christmas 2009 as a unique if not watershed moment; it was the first Christmas which I did not spend with family. Considering that I'd been able to take time off work for three consecutive Christmases including the flights there and back, it was about time I'd let my colleagues take the time off while I would hold the fort. Of course, with a few days off (perchance a long weekend), that gave me the opportunity to cook experimentally for myself. My Christmas may have been solitary, but that didn't mean that I couldn't make the best of the situation.