Archive for August, 2007

Recipe: Easy Guacamole

Aug
21
2007

Guacamole

One of my good friends gave me this recipe for guacamole and I altered it a bit. Now I think I’m going to be making it a lot more often because it ended up tasting so delicious!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados (peeled, pitted and diced)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 small roma tomato OR 1/2 regular tomato (chopped)
1/4 (about 3 tablespoons) of a sweet onion (finely chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
a few drops hot sauce (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Place the diced avocados into a medium mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice and garlic and mash the mixture with a fork or potato masher.
  2. Add the chopped onion and tomato. If you want a smoother guacamole, you can choose to blend the tomato before adding it to the avocado mixture.
  3. Continue mashing the mixture, adding some salt, pepper and hot sauce until the desired taste and consistency is reached.
  4. If desired, cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 45 minutes before eating.

Serve with tortilla chips or toasted pita bread.

I Just Came Out of a Food Coma

Aug
19
2007

Hosting a BBQ has it’s ups and downs… the up part being hanging out with friends and family, the down part eating too much food and junk conking out. I just woke up from a 2 hour nap after a day of marinating, grilling, eating and chatting. Good times! I’m heading out to go see Rush Hour 3 now, but I’ll be posting some of the recipes I used in my BBQ today and posting them tomorrow (as well as the guacamole dip I was talking about before).

Review: Superbad

Aug
19
2007

Scene from Superbad courtesy of Columbia PicturesSuperbad was supergood. The film follows a pair of not-so-popular best friends, foul-mouthed Seth and sweet-natured Evan, who goal is to de-virginize themselves before they graduate high school and go on their separate ways before college. The interaction between Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) is fun to watch as they tackle their way through the challenge of scoring alcohol for a graduation party that’s hosted by Seth’s dream girl.

Enter McLovin, aka geek icon Fogell (played by newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse). With his fake ID, McLovin is the third wheel to this enjoyable duo, and adds lots of laughs to the film. When two wacky cops (played by the Seth Rogen and Bill Hader) take McLovin under their wing a long, wild night ensues.

Real life friends Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg actually wrote the script when they were back in high school (hence the names of the title characters). Judd Apatow co-produces the film alongside Shauna Robertson (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and the aforementioned duo. Greg Mottola directs.

A witty script, Superbad certainly has it share of R-rated dialogue (including a rather graphic recollection of one of the character’s former penis-drawing addiction). The jokes are constant and each member of the cast plays off each other well and with ease.  At the times in the film where it looks like the jokes have gone too far or have been overplayed, it’s made up by the heart of the story and the likable characters.  You’ll definitely have fun watching this movie.  I superdid.

Trying Out The New Skates

Aug
18
2007

So today was the first day I actually used my new (and I say ‘new’ because I haven’t used them since I purchased them 2 months ago) inline skates on the lovely paths of Wilmot Creek Park in uptown Toronto. The weather was great, the paths weren’t that occupied–so they’d be less of a chance of strangers laughing at me if I fell–and I had my all-important wrist guards for safety.

Now I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t fasten my skates up correctly or if I’m just a big cry baby, but my calves and arch of my feet were aching after going up and down a couple of paths. I haven’t ‘skated’ since I was in grade school… and even then, I was used to ice skating. I didn’t do too bad. I need to work on my stopping technique though. 10 minutes into the blading I couldn’t slow down after a mini hill and I tried to use those flimsy orange construction fences to brace my fall. I stayed upright though! I’m proud to say that I only fell once, and it was about 4 metres from the car on my way back home. :D It was a graceful fall, if I do say so myself: I did a sort of 1/2 split in mid-turn in my descent and landed on my bum.

I guess I should’ve listened to my friend and not try to use my brake like I did on some of the gravel that was in the parking lot. Ah, well… practice makes perfect! :D  I think I got a much needed workout today after eating all those Tiny Tom donuts at The Ex last night.  I made some yummy guacamole as a post-workout snack when I got home (recipe coming up next).

The Canadian National Exhibition (The Ex)

Aug
17
2007

The Midway at The ExI’m never in so much anticipation for a mini donut than I am come mid-August. That’s right, The Ex is in town once again, and yours truly had the joy of heading down for the opening festivities today.

Now in it’s 129th year, the Canadian National Exhibition once again brings loads of fun, food and entertainment to the entire family. Ferris wheels, midway games and roller coasters have kicked off at the Exhibition grounds in Toronto and will be there until September 3rd (Labour Day).

With over a million visitors each year, The Ex is sure to provide a wide selection of events for everyone. My visit today consisted of a trip to the Food Building (first and foremost of course). This large establishment is definitely not for the calorie-conscious… so make sure you eat a large, healthy breakfast before you leave your house, so you won’t be tempted to gorge out on fair food the entire day. I had myself a nice mixed veggie roti from one of the Caribbean booths in the multicultural Food Building and a mango bubble tea to wash it down. My cousin, who’s up visiting from Jamaica, got some tasty Chinese food. The Food Building is certainly one of a kind with over 90 vendors.

Tiny Tom DonutsTiny Tom Donuts

Of course I had to stop at the infamous Tiny Tom Donuts on the way out of the building. $4 for a dozen of the most delectable morsels of dough… you can’t go wrong! Then it was off to the Warehouse Outlet in the Direct Energy Centre to tackle some shopping. Boy was I glad that I went… I picked up the Scene It DVD game that I was looking for–70% less than the regular price! I also scored some nice deals on summer clothes from BlueNotes and Sirens (Bikini bottoms, 3 for $5!).

Nearby was The Farm which houses every farm animal imaginable, including some adorable piglets and chicks. Watching street performers the Aquarêves walk down Princes’ Boulevard was cool (I wish I knew how to skip and bounce with giant pogo sticks attached to my feet). The Canadian Forces Display was very interesting. I got a chance to put my head through an army tank and sit in the cockpit of a fighter plane! We passed through the midway, being very good not to spend our hard-earned dollars trying to win a 5″ tall stuffed animal. I was tempted to A stilt walker from the Aquarêvespurchase a deep-fried chocolate bar, but then I remembered how many calories and saturated fat I’d be consuming so I passed (and the fact that it cost $6). Also walked by the corndog stand, as much as I wanted one.

I wish I had more time (and energy) to visit the rest of the grounds, but there’s so much to see and do. Perhaps, next time I visit I’ll tackle climbing the rock wall they have up, or try my luck at the Casino. I’d also like to see the International Air Show. I’ll be back for sure before Summer comes to an end. After all I have to meet the stars from The Young and the Restless. ;)

Make sure you visit on one of the 17 remaining days left this year. You won’t be disappointed. Tickets can be purchased online at the official site of The Ex, or on site for $14 (adult) $10 (children/senior). The gates are open from 10am to 10pm daily, with the exception of labour day (10am-7pm).