Today is Charlie's (my friend and designer extraordinaire for A Food Year) birthday and I meant to make homemade crackers and cheese in honor of it (call it an inside joke, I suppose), but since I do not have the internet I cannot find good cracker recipes. I don't even know a bad cracker recipe, since I've never made crackers before. Happy birthday anyway, Charlie.

Shannon and I found the laundromat today. It's right next to a place that only serves baked potatoes. I love this town. While a load was washing, she was telling me about this dish that her roommate used to make for them during college. I was skeptical at first, because kiwi and ground beef did not sound appealing at all, but she talked me into it because I couldn't come up with something better than we hadn't eaten already this year. She called long distance for the recipe and we went to pick up supplies.

I'm typically very against commercially prepared salad dressing, but Shannon insisted that this was a crucial ingredient and since my previous attempt at making "Italian dressing" was horrible, I figured I'd just go with it. From looking at the ingredients list, Catalina dressing is basically tomato paste, vinegar, oil, onion and sugar. A vinaigrette crossed with ketchup, basically, which is what it tasted like to me.

I put avocado on top of my Catalina Salad, which I thought was good. The whole thing was surprisingly good. However, the salad was actually supposed to be more of a dip and eaten with tortilla chips. When Shannon told me it was supposed to be eaten with tortillas, I thought she meant soft tortillas and I wanted to layer them into the dish. I guess this just goes to show that I never went to college because I can't even get my junk food ingredients right. Wait a second, I did go to college, and I offered to help tutor girls if they'd try my lamb and goat cheese sandwiches. Anyhow, my failure in this department leads us to make nachos for the next few days of September.

I just keep craving these spicy, full-bodied flavors lately, like Mexican dishes. So, I made Chicken Fajitas with homemade Picante sauce. And, of course, more black beans – mashed this time. What I was really trying to go for is chicken flavored like I remember the Chicken Chimichangas tasting like, but since the internet is not up and running I couldn't check the exact recipe and had to improvise. There is a place down the street advertising two for three dollar burritos and Shannon and I were suckered into trying it. Worst, smallest burritos I've ever had. I think they forgot to put the filling in them or something. To my advantage, this made my fajitas taste much better in comparison. I didn't quite achieve the flavor I Was trying for, but it was close. Part of that might be the fact that these were fajitas and not chimichangas, of course.

The Mashed Black Beans were a little dry because I didn't add any fat to them. I knew this would happen, but I didn't care. I just love beans! They weren't as saliva-sucking dry as the Black Bean Patties, but they were close. Of course, if this doesn't sound appetizing, you could just go the Refried Bean route and add in fat until smooth, creamy and even more delicious.

We are much closer to the Caribbean side of Mexico here and a trip is becoming tempting. Just as soon as we actually land jobs and have money and can afford to refurnish our basic necessities we might have to take another stab at the Mayan Riviera. Yucatan cuisine, here I come!

Fennel is my second project of things to come around to. Ever since I discovered that fennel seeds and pork are a match made in heaven (see the Fennel Pork recipe), I've been curious as to other ways to use fennel that are actually edible. One of the markets we went to yesterday had a bunch of whole fresh fish on ice, so I thought I'd pick up some to make fennel stuffed fish. Unfortunately, we got there right as the fish market was closing and had to buy packaged fillets. Instead, I made Fennel Sole, steamed in a foil packet. I'm thinking that a whole fish steamed with fennel in the cavity would have been a lot better, but the fennel tops did add a nice touch to the fish.

Since I wasn't sure what to do with the rest of the fennel, I just sliced it up and made Braised Fennel. This was more or less like licorice flavored cooked celery and really didn't do much for me at all. It sure looks pretty though. I made a Risotto with fish stock to accompany it, which Shannon despised me for, but I thought it was nice with the fish at least.

When I made the Lentil Soup for Shannon, I asked her if it was something that she could eat variations of on a daily basis. Since dried beans are so cheap, filling and nutritious, I figured we could live off of them in one form or another for the first month here without much problem. Since she agreed, this was my second attempt at a bean soup to test that. The Mexican Black Bean Soup was less than a dollar to make and filled us up for dinner with leftovers for lunch.

I made a Cumin Pork Meatball that was similar to the Albondigas I had made before, without realizing that albondigas were actually supposed to be a component of soup. Well, they are most certainly delicious in soup. The leftovers from this soup don't look so pleasant, but with a splash of lime juice to top off the flavor, it definitely tastes better than it looks. It's sort of like a spicy chili. Shannon loved it and I could eat it for weeks, so that's really all I could hope for. The only drawback from tonight's dinner is that my camera seems to be focusing on the top of pictures now, leaving the foreground blurry. I don't know if that is my doing or what, but it's really annoying.

One thing we were amazed by when we first visited here, and again now that we're actually living here, is the price of produce. Things that would cost a fortune back in Grande Prairie, or were completely inaccessible, are affordable here. For example, I picked up some saffron today. I got a gram for .50, whereas a few threads would be about back home. Of course, I haven't a clue what to do with it, but I decided to make Saffron Rice. It wasn't until after the rice was cooked that I realized that the saffron actually had to come in contact with the heat in order to release its yellowness and flavor. So, those few patches of yellow pictured is what the rice should look like. The rice was good, but I remember saffron having a distinctive taste and I didn't really get any of that. Thankfully I still have a lot of it left and can try it out again in the future.

I've really come to rely on the internet for inspiration and am unsure of what to do without it. It's much harder to come up with unique recipes that might actually be edible without some sort of reference. It's also more difficult to make things without being able to verify whether I've made them or not. I can't wait until the computer gets here and the internet is up and running. I made Green Chicken, which is sort of like the Thai Basil Chicken with Noodles I made earlier in the year, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time. It's fully apparent that I've come full circle on cilantro, since I'll add it to pretty much anything now. This was good, but nothing special really. Since I was starving, chicken and rice really hit the spot and was a nice, cheap meal while we're still trying to stock the fridge and cupboards.

I woke up long before our early wake up call and headed down to the restaurant expecting a great breakfast. I was disappointed with the same service I'd came to expect from that place, so I guess it's good I didn't go around recommending it to anyone. We pack up our things and head off to the airport. Our luggage is within a few pounds of going over the weight restrictions and, because of all the weird items inside, is subjected to a few tests at security. Shannon's chapstick is confiscated because of the liquid/gel ban, but while waiting for the plane she found more in her purse.

In Calgary, we ate lunch at Chili's with only 30 minutes between planes. This was the worst idea ever since we ordered nachos and could not possibly eat them before having to board. My already upset stomach feels even more nauseous as we fly off to Montreal. The movie is Mission Impossible III, which is a great way of killing almost the entire flight. We arrive in beautiful Montreal and have to wait for a van to accommodate all of our luggage. We arrive at our new home and are pleasantly surprised at the location. The place is covered in pet hair, which we'll deal with later, but other than that we're happy with it.

The fridge is bare except for a jar of half eaten preserves and some coffee and linguini in the cupboards, so we check out the neighborhood for restaurants. There's a huge sidewalk sale on St. Laurent and I buy a sort of sausage bun, which does little to curb my appetite. There are 5 Greek restaurants within a block of here, so we decide to dine at one of them. The loaf of complimentary bread they serve us is enough to fill me up; very hearty and delicious. I ordered a side order of dolmathes which I've been craving for months now and really hit the spot. Shannon ordered the moussaka and we split her side dishes of potatoes, rice and salad. We buy a celebratory bottle of cheap wine, only to realize that it was non-alcoholic. I buy a second bottle as the liquor stores are closing and discover that we no longer have a corkscrew. I try to pry it out with a plant hanger hook before we introduce ourselves to the new landlords and borrow theirs.

We're happy to be here, but we desperately need to go shopping.

The inspection for our apartment went well. We had suspected that they were going to renovate our apartment and drastically increase the rent, so we weren't sure how much cleaning to actually do. We ended up cleaning quite extensively, but after all that they didn't even go in to the bedrooms. The owner just opened up the fridge, said it was cleaner than his, and said everything looked fine and he'd mail me my cheque within a week. That's great, but it's still kind of frustrating. A bunch of our stuff, including the computer, is loaded on the bus and we won't see it again for a week. Here's hoping it gets there safely.

Since we had to turn over the keys after the inspection, we're staying the night in a hotel. Our original reservation was cancelled on us because apparently they have a policy where they don't rent rooms to locals, only they decided to tell us about it on the day of our reservation! Needless to say we weren't too happy about this. The room we ended up staying in was expensive and small, but it had a free shuttle to the airport.

We'd gone to the restaurant in the hotel with my grandma for brunch on one occasion and were horribly disappointed. The food was not good, the staff was condescending and it was more expensive than anywhere else in town. We were definitely not impressed. Having really no other option, I checked it out by myself for dinner and was pleasantly surprised. I was the only person in there and the two Thai ladies that presumably own it helped me. I read the newspaper while they prepared my Thai shrimp bruschetta. I don't know what the deal is with bruschetta lately, I'm not even particularly fond of it, I was just curious what this would entail. This alone would have been enough to fill me up, but I still had an entree on the way. I had a bad case of eyes bigger than stomach syndrome, I guess. The guacamole was great and the toast was crispy. The shrimp was probably precooked, but at least the bread was crisp.

I asked for the spicy tomato penne extra spicy. As far as I could tell they just tossed in some more red pepper flakes. The tomato cream sauce had a mild curried flavor and the chicken was very tender. Despite my stomach's pleas I continued to eat and eat until I could no longer bear it. Then I finished my beer, paid my bill and went up to my room to pass out after the carb load.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I thought it would be a great idea to cook for 10 people in an empty apartment without any furniture while simultaneously running a 3 day cleaning binge. I had planned the menu to take advantage of every remaining cooking apparatus, which mainly meant borrowing a couple of bowls for salads and trying not to burn things with the cheap pots I did not bother storing away.

I did not want to do anything too extravagant because there were a lot of people to disappoint and I didn't really have time to learn anything new. Dinner turned out incredibly well, enough so that some "Best dinner ever! I concur!" messages were left on our dry erase board. Dishes were a breeze, since I simply threw away absolutely everything after it'd cooled off. Over the last 3 days we have thrown away, given away or donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff, using almost 40 garbage bags for trash, clothes and linens and who knows what else. I don't even know what we've kept and what we've got rid of anymore, but our kitchen floor is not a temporary storage unit for our packed luggage and a place to serve food. I sent Shannon around with the camera to take pictures of the dishes as I went about finding places to put them. We left the kitchen to clean for tomorrow, thinking it would get messed up, but it actually stayed as messy as it was before serving food.

I made a Braised Lamb Leg that I'd been saving for a special occasion. I rubbed it with lemons, rosemary and oregano and let it sit for a couple of days beforehand. I started carving the meat and it just started falling off the bone, so I knew I'd done a good thing. I didn't really have any big lamb eaters in my presence, but everyone had some and seemed to enjoy it. Except for the vegetarian, who I made cod seasoned with oregano for. There were no leftovers whatsoever from a 4 pound leg.

Shannon's favorite was the Tzatziki Salad, which I'd made something similar to before (with the same name, Tzatziki Salad) but this time it turned out much better. Again I strained the yogurt through old underwear and again the joke was funny. Except it's not a joke, it's really my way of avoiding ever having to buy cheesecloth. The dressing was thicker and more flavorful than before and it just looked better and tasted better in general.

As well as some leftover White and Black Bean Salad from a couple nights ago, I also made a Yellow Bean and Grape Tomato Salad with an oregano vinaigrette and marinated mozzarella. I was originally going to use leftover goat cheese that has been sitting in the refrigerator, but it had spoiled. Marinating cheese is the best idea in the world and totally made this salad. Shannon does not commonly enjoy string beans or tomatoes whatsoever, but thought that this dish was really good. I was pleasantly surprised with it as well and would definitely like to make it again.

Since everyone enjoys good mashed potatoes, I stuck with my buttermilk and olive oil recipe and made Dill Mashed Potatoes, which are really no different from the Greek Mashed Potatoes with the exception of using dill instead of oregano. 5 pounds of potatoes yielded no leftovers.

The Dilled Spinach Rice was the only thing to really have any leftovers remaining, but it was all taken home with a new set of plates and a computer printer and whatever else I had to get rid of while slimming down my possessions to fit into my luggage. This was better than my last attempt at something like this and curbing my cravings for dolmathes, probably because of the spinach.

Oh yes, of course as an appetizer I made Greek Hummus, using actual tahini and lemon instead of cumin and sesame oil like I typically make to give it a more Middle Eastern flavor. I don't think people were really into it, but since I was starving them while they waited for dinner we still went through a package of pita bread before everything was ready. I'm definitely going to miss everyone after the move, especially having people to cook for.

Since my Last Visit to Jake’s was unexpectedly edible and the where to go for dinner conversation came up among friends, I decided to suggest going back there. This time I was there for proper dinner time and got to view the actual dinner menu. It has changed a lot since the last time I was able to order off of it and even though I was incredibly tempted to get the jambalaya, A Food Year rules prevented me from doing so.

As an appetizer, we shared some bruschetta and Crab Cakes. The bruschetta itself was good, but the bread was soggy. In a not so delightful contrast, the crab cakes were dry, but came with a delicious sweet chili sauce that sort of made up for it. There were 3 of us eating and we received portions for 3, which made me wonder if we would've received more for the same price had there been 4 of us dining.

Since I could not order the Jambalaya, I ordered the lemongrass curry halibut instead. I was not supposed to get a choice of side dishes apparently, but the waitress offered me the option by mistake, so I took full advantage of it. I ordered the seasonal vegetables and lobster brie mashed potatoes, because lobster brie mashed potatoes sounded very good. There were no visible pieces of lobster or brie, presumably because the brie had been melted into the potatoes and maybe because they used lobster broth instead of lobster meat, but the flavor was definitely there. I was stuffed by the time I finished the vegetables, but ate the halibut anyway. The sauce was good, but serving it with fish seemed a little odd to me. It's not the first time I've had fish with curry and thought this, but it appears to be quite commonplace, so maybe it's just a personal preference.

I've really come to appreciate having a fully stocked pantry, even though I prefer to eat things fresh. If it weren't for the fact that I have an abundance of half opened bags of pasta and rice and numerous canned goods, I'd likely be starving right now. It's still so bizarre that we're moving so soon and the cupboards are so bare. I came across some of the orzo I bought when making Portobello Orzo and thought I'd give it another try. This prompted me to make Tomato Thyme Chicken with Orzo. It's starting to feel as though I'm running out of unique ideas with the same ingredients. Perhaps I just happen to enjoy tomato sauces too much. This was also a good excuse to use up a bit more sherry. I am unable to finish the bottle before leaving without drinking it, but considering that it was just a cheap cooking sherry, I think I'll just let it go to waste. I really prefer it to red wine in sauces and such though, so I'm glad I decided to try it out.

Not surprisingly, since it incorporates things I am already familiar with and enjoy, this was delicious, especially for a last minute tossed together dinner. What was not so good is that I anticipated being able to eat this for lunch tomorrow and forgot that I no longer have a microwave. So now I have a huge pot of leftovers that I do not particularly want to reheat on the stove top. At least it served one meal.

On the side I made a simple White and Black Bean Salad with a pesto dressing and chunks of tuna. This is the kind of salad that I simply cannot get enough of and will continue to eat until the flatulence drives away all my friends. This is similar to the Balsamic 6 Bean Salad, but with a bit more complexity. Shannon disliked the 6 bean salad but happened to enjoy this one, so I'll have to figure out what component changed that up. Definitely a simple, easy to make dish that can be stretched over several meals.