Sunday, September 30, 2012

Pumped in Pink!

This morning was the annual CIBC Run For The Cure. After taking part in it last year and having a blast, we were excited to do it again. We woke up, put on our pink and headed to the beautiful Parc Maisonneuve, right outside the Montreal Olympic Stadium, for the highly anticipated 5K.

We took full advantage of the pre-race festivities, including the face paint, photo booth, and free massages; and we made sure to stock up on freebies- Neutrogena products, Halls, Tide, running watches, egg cookers (so random), and a plethora of snacks and drinks. I was definitely tempted to hang around the massage tent and skip the race, but with all the excitement, we were ready to run. It was so encouraging to see so many people out supporting such a great cause. If anyone wants to join us next year, we will be continuing the tradition and we might even throw another pink themed brunch!





Saturday, September 29, 2012

Pizza Party

5-kilometer "race" in the morning? I'll take any excuse to carb-load.

Johnny Appleseed

In contrast to the last recipe I posted, this one will be short and sweet (literally). I'm not going to bother with measurements but I am confident you'll figure it out.

Core and chop apples. Lots of them. Macs or Granny Smiths are good.


Top with a rolled oats--flour--brown sugar--butter--cinnamon--ground cloves--nutmeg mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.


Feed to studying roommates with a side of vanilla bean Haagen-Dazs.


Smell the sweet scent of autumn.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe, by Chef Katie

Hi everyone. This is Chef Katie speaking.

I'm really into two things these days: (1) soups, and (2) cooking really healthy and tasty things from scratch. What follows is a heavily annotated recipe, so if you don't care for my witty banter, scroll to the bottom for the boring recipe.

First you'll choose a soundtrack. (Now that I think of it, I'm actually really into a third thing these days too... Classical piano. Mm, mm, I can't get enough of the stuff. So peaceful; so ideal for studying. And cooking.)


Next, you'll grab a butternut squash. You're going to have to stab it, and it'll probably cry. This is analogous to me getting a vaccinnation at the doctor's office. Poor thing.

Unlike me at the doctor's, pop the squash into the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, you'll prep your other ingredients, and it will be awesome. The tears will be worth it, Squashie.


(By the way... squash is a good source of Vitamin E, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, and Magnesium, and a VERY good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, and Manganese. So eat up, friends.)

Okay, next, chop all your vegetables. The sweet potatoes will nicely round out the sweetness of the squash, and the onions and carrots and celery ("aromatic vegetables," if you'd like to know) will go a long way to adding flavor. I threw in some spices too, but I didn't measure (a trait I have inherited from my mother): fleur de sel, chili powder, cayenne powder, curry powder (don't worry, your soup will not taste like butter chicken), fresh ground black pepper, nutmeg, and garlic salt.


Now you'll toss the onion into a butter-EVOO combo (butter for flavor, olive oil to raise the smoke point and add some healthy fat to the mix), wait a little while, add in the carrots and celery and garlic (for the rest of our sakes, go easy, why don't you). Then if you feel like it, wait some more, and finally throw in the sweet potato cubes. It's a party! Brown everything. That caramelization on the bottom of the pan is a one-way ticket to Flavor Town (okay, I'm quoting Guy Fieri)!!!


"Ding ding," dings the timer; the squash is done! (Actually mine wasn't but it was well after 8:00 pm and I was getting impatient for dinner.) All that matters, really, is that the squash is soft enough that the skin peels off. Roughly chop the squash and add it, plus the chicken stock, to the pot! (I suppose I lied when I said this soup was "from scratch," seeing as I purchased my chicken broth. But it's decent stuff, and I have a life outside of boiling whole chickens to brew broth.) Now is probably a good time to add the spices you (didn't) measure out. You'll simmer the whole mix to your heart's content.



Bring in the power tools. We have a hand blender, and it's stellar. I suppose you could transfer the boiling chunky liquid into a blender, but be careful. You'll buzz the mix until it's smooth. Give it a taste, add more spices to taste, and serve it up.


Et voilà! (I had a can of coconut milk already open in the fridge so I poured some of that in and garnished with parsley. Sour cream would have done nicely too.) Bon appétit!


THE BORING VERSION:

This recipe will make five-ish servings. The end result is thick, smooth, and sweet, perfect for fall!

A couple tablespoons of olive oil +/or butter
A butternut squashed, baked, seeded, and peeled
An onion, chopped
A couple stalks of celery, diced
A carrot or two, diced
Maybe garlic (but go easy), minced
Two sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
A carton of chicken stock
Spices: curry, cayenne, chili powder, nutmeg, and garlic powder, plus salt and pepper to taste
Coconut milk or sour cream for garnish

1) Puncture then bake squash for about an hour at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Heat butter and squash in a large pot, then cook onion, carrot, celery, and sweet potatoes.
3) Seed and peel squash, and dump into pot. Add chicken stock and spices too.
4) Bring soup to a boil, reduce its heat to low, cover, and simmer for a half hour. Vegetables should be tender.
5) Blend.
6) Garnish and serve!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

We Love Life!

You know it's going to be a good day when it starts off with Multigrain Life! (At least Katie and I think so!)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Baking Banana Bread

This evening I had a little extra time on my hands since the pool was closed so I didn't have to go into work. I decided to bake banana bread! Here's how:

1. Get out your recipe!


2. Then your ingredients. You'll need:
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
chocolate chips 


3. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (or in my case multiple mini ones - thanks to Netty Dyck! :) ) 


4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


5. Start mashing!


6. Add in sugar, applesauce, oil and molasses. Mix! 


7. Sift in flour, baking soda, spices, salt and chocolate chips. Mixed until combined.


8. Fill up the pan(s) with the batter. Bake for 45 min if using one pan. 
These took about 30 min, I believe. 


9. Let cool and enjoy! 


Typical Morning on Tupper


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

50/50

Perfectly respectable outfit...


...'Til you see the bottom half.

Bring on the study attire.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Noise Complaints

We were complaining alright.

Take a look to see what had us up in arms.



Noisy night in the neighborhood, indeed.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Happy Birthday, i22

Today is our church's first birthday! To celebrate, we all gathered together for a yummy BBQ lunch at Brewster Park. The church has been growing so rapidly that we've already had to move to a larger location. We've met the past three weeks at the Scotiabank movie theatre on St. Catharines street and so far it has been great! All the extra space is much more conducive to meeting new people and making more friends-we love it. This is our new friend Morgan Thrall (married to our friend Sam who is in med school at McGill). We are so excited about geting to know her better! 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

RAVI

One more post before I seriously sit down to study. This week Emily and I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Ravi Zacharias, of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, speak at McGill as part of the series 'Does Spirituality Matter?' For those of you who have heard Ravi before, you are likely to agree that he is a phenomenal speaker. We caught the second night, when he spoke on 'Given the Options...Why Jesus?' It was a profound message and it was so encouraging to see a packed out auditorium and overflow full of people seeking to learn more about a God who not only created life but gives it incredible meaning. If you're interested in hearing more along these lines, download some of the free podcasts on itunes– I did this morning and it was a great asset to my run...Nothing like getting fit and smart at the same time! 


Good Morning!

Kinsey here, good morning! Since being back on Tupper, Emily's and my schedules surprisingly match up, allowing us to go for runs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Because we had to miss our run yesterday, we made up for it this morning along the Lachine Canal. When we got home, we decided to make quinoa for breakfast (we're recently hooked on the stuff), and into it we mixed some fresh peaches, maple syrup, and brown sugar. It was divine! Now to a day of studying... Katie's already hard a work taking a practice LSAT! Ah the life of a student :) 


Sunday, September 16, 2012

Change of Plans

Here's how our Saturday went: 

1. Study from 8am-630pm

2. Get ready for the Jars of Clay concert. 

3. Realize that the concert actually happened the night before.



4. Eat frozen yogurt (and candy and fruit) at YEH! to console ourselves.



5. Play my new favourite game: Monopoly Deal! 



6. And rearrange my room! 





7. Go to bed!

Not exactly how we thought we'd spend our Saturday evening, but a nice break from studying nonetheless! I am so thankful that I have roommates who I can have fun with whether we're singing our hearts out at a concert or cleaning my room. Love you ladies! 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Apartment Tour + A Special Video

Welcome to Tupper! Things have changed a bit since last year, so we'd like to give you an updated tour of the flat.

The living areas...

Katie's room...

Kinsey's pretty pink room...

Emily's photo-full room...

You may say, 'oh, how nice and tidy their apartment is.' Allow me to insist it took a lot of work to get it there... Enter: videographic proof. There's a lot going on in this two-minute masterpiece. What can we say; a summer apart drove us mad.


Cheers to a great year ahead!

Day at the Market

It's our annual fall tradition to spend an afternoon at Atwater Market meandering the aisles and scoping out the fresh farm produce. So today braved the hot muggy wind and trekked down the hill. Our friend Ryan Chan (hi Ryan!) came with!


The sweetest corn you ever did taste...

Roommates!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Return

Dear faithful readers,

As you've noticed, the blog has remained relatively dormant this summer. But school starts tomorrow and the ladies of 1900 Tupper are back... with a vengeance. :)

Emily returned Sunday.

I (Katie) returned Monday.

And Kinsey returned Tuesday.

The apartment has been a flurry of activity: unpacking, shopping, planning, cleaning (vacuuming!--more on this later--dusting!), purging, screaming at centipedes, organizing, and so on...


Apparently we're not the only ones who have been doing a Fall Tidy-- get a load (pun intended) of the recycling dump outside our front door:


I'm not looking forward to garbage day.

Check back in the days to come; I'm sure there will be no shortage of tales to tell.

Yours truly,

Katie

Monday, September 3, 2012

Congratulations!

Jared and I attended and sang at the wedding of Jesse Klassen and Jestine Janzen. We were so blessed to have been part of such a special day. We couldn't be happier for the two of them! 
Take a look at that gorgeous married couple! 
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Klassen!