Breakfast for dinner: egg tortilla

Peel and dice 600 g potatoes about 1 cm thick. Add potatoes to a saucepan of boiling water. Bring water back to a boil, lower the heat slighly, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain.

While potatoes are cooking, dice 1 red onion, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow, orange or red pepper, 4 or 5 mushrooms, and 2 strips of bacon. Heat some extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan and cook onion, zucchini, pepper, mushrooms and bacon for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and lightly golden. Add a small handful of grated mozzarella and stir until it melts.

Preheat the broiler. In a bowl, beat 6 eggs with 1 T cold water. Add 2 T chopped parsley and pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the egg has set on the bottom, lifting the edges to allow the uncooked egg mixture to run onto the pan.

When there's just a little uncooked egg on the top, broil for 2 minutes.

**I didn't have any parsley, zucchini or bacon, so I omitted these. In retrospect I think the bacon would have added a key flavour. A sharper cheese or a side of salsa might also heighten the flavour of this dish because it seemed to be missing a little something. **

Recipe adapted from Reader's Digest cookbook

Cook Smart for a Healthy Heart

Glazed baked pork with mashed potatoes and stuffed zucchini

I basted the pork with Diana's Original BBQ before and after cooking. Oven bake according to the directions for the type of cut you get.

I boiled the potatoes in salted water with a bay leaf, then mashed them, skins on for extra nutrients, with melted margarine and warmed milk. If you really want to impress dinner guests, mash your potatoes with a bit of roasted garlic, full cream and butter so that the proportions are about 1/2 potatoes and 1/2 butter-and-cream. Push the potatoes through a fine-mesh sieve for an extra-smooth texture. Season to taste and garnish with parsley. Have a 911 operator on standby.

To make the stuffed zucchini, I spooned out the pulp and sauteed it for a couple of minutes in a small amount of olive oil over med-high heat with diced tomatoes, onion, and garlic. After removing the pan from the heat, I stired in some grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper then spooned the mixture back into the zucchini skins. I topped with Panko breadcrumbs and broiled for 1-2 minutes in the oven.

Menswear-inspired

The blazer, brogues and cropped pants have a menswear-inspired feel, so I added a feminine blouse, some jewellery and red lipstick. I love how brogues can be dressed up or down - see another look here.

Pants– Jacob

Shirt - Jacob

Blazer – V.O.K. (Australia)

Brogues – Libby Edelman (The Bay)

Watch - Gifted

Necklace and pendant– Gifted

Earrings – Gifted from Magpie

Asian-inspired salad with chicken and cashews

**This blog got deleted in the great bug of May '11 so I'm reposting**

To make this salad, combine baby greens, cherry tomatoes, orange, red or yellow peppers, carrots, chow mein noodles and toasted cashews. Add boneless, skinless chicken breasts sauteed in a small amount of sesame oil.

The vinaigrette is a base of olive oil and lime juice. Add a splash of sesame oil, soya sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, as well as chopped cilantro and garlic, lime rind, grated ginger, finely diced red chili to taste (I substituted jalapeno) and chili powder. Season to taste.

Garden Green

My Dad snapped these shots in my parents' backyard, just before sundown. I think they turned out really well!

Jacket – Danier Leather

T-shirt– Guess

Jeans - Guess

Scarf – Cambodia markets

Shoes – Lela Rose (Payless)

Bag – Leo Monk (Sydney)

Earrings – Claire’s

Bracelet – Aakriti Designs

Vintage denim

These are the first shots with my new camera, the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS. 

This outfit was inspired by my fellow blogger N's (A Fine Balance) denim shirt-and-leggings combo, seen here. In the next couple of weeks I'll be putting together an outfit for her from her closet, and she'll do the same for me. We'll post the results, so keep an eye out for that!



Shirt – Thrifted (Gap)

 Leggings –Van Heusen

Hat – ? (Thrifted in Sydney)

Belt - ? (Sydney)

Aviators – Boathouse

Bag – Gifted from Dooney & Bourke

Flip flops – Laguna (Walmart)

Necklace – Gifted from Central America

Ring – Gifted from Winners

Spring florals

I can't usually pinpoint what inspires a given outfit, but I picked up the idea for my belt from a post by Kendra of Fern and Dandy. My bracelets are a recent purchase from Aakriti Designs. According to their website, 'We are your one stop shop for unique affordable one of a kind quality costume jewellery and accessory needs. We are very well priced and offer a variety for all ages and budgets. The jewellery is part handcrafted and manufactured.'

Shirt– Thrifted (Zara)

Vest - Calvin Klein

Jeans - Seven

Shoes – Thailand markets

Ribbon belt - From Jacob pants

Brooch– Claire's

Bracelets - Aakriti

Earrings - Gifted

Wallet – Gifted from Danier Leather

Happy Mother's Day

Mom, you're a trail-blazer who lives by her own rules. You are one of the most intelligent, practical and resourceful women I know. I respect your sense of curiosity about the world and the people around you. I appreciate that you always follow through on what you promise. But most of all, you are caring, sincere, generous, and a great listener.  I'm lucky to be your daughter.

I love you xx



Classic navy sheath

I decided to start a new approach in this post and got rid of the collages. The pictures were just too small and frankly, this way saves me a lot of time and is easier to edit if needed. I hope you like it!

So, you know when you go to a fitting room with an armful of clothes and you've tried on just about everything in the pile and NOTHING is fitting right or looking flattering or priced right or otherwise working out...and then that last piece, which also happens to be 50% + off, suddenly makes you say YES!!! without hesitation. Well, that was my experience with this dress. I loved the royal blue colour, which reminded me of something Kate Middleton might wear, with better hair - and bling. I also thought the shoulder and waist detailing was adorable . And here's the kicker, it's stretchy and comfortable. Like SUPREMELY, I-could-wear-this-to-bed comfy. I think they used the same material as sweatpants while managing to make this dress look tailored and classic. Joseph Ribkoff for Laura, I (heart) you for designing something that will see me through long meetings and big lunches.

Clearly, we were having lighting issues.

B's a doll for taking my not-at-work pictures and I didn't want to

make him do this all night.

An ECU (extreme close-up) of a gold and silver

hammered-metal ring with crystals that I wear all the time.



Dress – Joseph Ribkoff (Laura)

Blazer – Limité (Topshop)

Necklace - Gifted

Ring – Gifted from Winners

Earrings – Gifted

Shoes – Jessica Simpson

Grilled vegetables and tofu with mozzarella and basil pesto on rosemary-garlic baguette; melon cubes wrapped with Italian prosciutto

If you live in Ottawa-Gatineau and haven't tried Art-is-In bread yet, march right over to one of their distributors and get yourself some. You won't regret it. The bakery's unique fermentation process yields a slightly dense, moist and chewy texture with a hint of saltiness that makes each bite memorable. Their 12-grain and fennel seed flavour is terrific. Restaurants that serve Art-is-In, like The Wellington Gastropub, always get brownie points in my book.

I grilled tofu, zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, mushrooms, garlic and onions, and added pesto and mozzarella to create this hearty sandwich dinner. (Disclosure: This isn't my portion! I usually photograph B's)

We finished off the meal with melon and Italian prosciutto, which I prefer to the Canadian stuff. I swear I'm loyal to Canadian bacon!

xx