My 5 Kitchen Essentials

The other day I was trying to clean up the apartment for when my sister comes to stay (and take care of the cat and water the plants, etc) and I started going through the fridge to throw away and reorganize the contents. As I was doing so I started to wonder what things in my fridge I absolutely have to have and which of the contents I could do without.

What would my top 5 kitchen essentials be?

This is what I came up with for the time being:

*This top 5 is subject to change as I remember things I may have forgotten slash don't currently have in my fridge so have neglected to remember I like*

1. Frank's RedHot hot sauce

You know how their slogan is 'I put that sh*t on everything? I do.

2. Salsa.

Probably my all-time favourite condiment. You can use it with anything and everything. Hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos (obviously), I mix a good helping of it into my scrambled eggs...This might be gross and John makes fun of me for it but I've been known to put salsa in a bowl, add a tbsp or two of sour cream and eat in with a spoon. Whatever. Mild, medium, spicy, chunky...I love salsa.

3. Black Pepper

Again, goes with anything and everything. Potatoes, eggs, beef (peppersteak, mmmm), chicken, potato chips (black pepper & lime - so good), pasta, I even add it to salads.

4. French Vanilla Coffee Cream

Though it should be mentioned I am also partial to the mocha flavour and the caramel vanilla flavour. We buy the family size bottle of this cause we go through it pretty fast. It's one luxury I will never give up. It gives coffee such a wonderful flavour. And you can't go with the low-fat version here, you have to go full fat. It's just not the same.

5. Mustard

A top competitor with salsa for my all-time favourite condiment. Mustard is the most versatile of the condiments. Honey mustard, hot mustard, dijion mustard, that grainy looking mustard, I've purchased balsamic mustard (really good)....one time (true story) my friend from University bought me a selection of mustards for my birthday. And I loved it.

Anyway those are my top 5.

If I can think of any substitutions I will update the list but as it stands, those are the 5 things I think I will always need to have in my fridge.

And although I am a huuuuuuuge lover of pickles, I think those kind of fall into a food catgeory and that starts a slippery slope into my favourite foods, which is not the point of the essentials.

What are your top 5?

This activity is a good way to clean out your fridge/cupboards :)

Packing Woes

I've been in the process of packing for about a week now and I'm sad to say that I am no closer to being done now than I was this time last week.

Having conquered the all important first step, I can admit that I have a problem.

Hi, my name is Jamie and I am a compulsive over-packer.

This is my suitcase as of 5 minutes ago.

I know...

Yes, I realize I'm only going for 10 days - but who's to say I WON'T wear 6 pairs of shorts, 6 dresses, 3 skirts and a jumper in that time?

That didn't even convince me....I need to go through and be tough with my clothing. I've tried going through it realistically but was only able to take out one dress and one shirt.

Yikes.

I still need to make room for my toiletries, jewelry, sunglasses (another problem I have...perhaps upon my return I will count how many pairs I wore), running shoes (cause I'm determined not to come back as a plump deep fried person).....what else?

Ok, indulge me here for a second. I'm going to try and talk to myself rationally in the third person.

Does Jamie really need more than 6 bikinis? For 10 days? 2 of which will be entirely consumed with wedding prep? No.

Does Jamie know the truth about those shirts that she packed while saying to herself "I'm going to pack it cause I might wanna wear it"? She's not going to wear them. Take them out.

I could always get a bigger suitcase.....

NO!

Be strong.

You can do this.

You can pack like a reasonable person.

But so help you if I get down there and want to wear one of the things I unpacked....

there will be blood.

Sorry if you're a big fan of the movie....but this clip is waaaayy better

Anywhoooo

I promised to make John a seafood pasta for dinner so I better get on that....and then go man to man against my suitcase once and for all.

OH!

I don't know if I posted a pic before but here is a (small - sorry) picture of what my bridesmaid dress looks like! Only imagine it in a light pink :)

Everything Tastes Better with Bacon

Ever heard the saying 'everything tastes better with bacon'?
No? Well neither have I but it's a well known fact that everything does, in fact, taste exponentially better when bacon is factored into the mix.
Example 1:
Bacon wrapped asparagus.

So good. I made it for dinner last night along with a variation on jerk chicken and basmati rice.

The bacon fat that is rendered into the pan really gives the asparagus a nice flavour.

Last summer we made bacon wrapped corn on the BBQ.

Literally everything tastes better wrapped in bacon.

Also last night we dined al fesco on the balcony.

Our cozy dinner nook:

And dining outside reminded me of a long-standing item on my to-do list:

Sneak into this pool across the street from me.

It's been one year today since MJ and (sadly overshadowed by MJ's death) Farrah Fawcett passed away.
It does NOT feel like a year has gone by!
Insane.
Guess it's a reminder to stop and smell the roses and not to wish away the day, something I find I do all too often.

Back tomorrow with a concert pic and more Jamaican recipes!

Waiting for the Big Reveal.....

2 posts in one day.....you guys are sooo lucky.

I've been very anxiously hovering around my computer pretty much all day....waiting patiently and not so patiently to hear the big reveal.

And I bet the vast majority of readers of this blog are also waiting on pins and needles for the same reason.

Which will it be???

BIG Congrats to Jennie and Adam today :)

Now hurry up and let us all know!

Jamaica Countdown:

7 DAYS!

Today's Jamaican cuisine recipe:

Festival

(from http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/festival.htm)

1. Sieve 1 1/2 cups flour in to a bowl and stir in 3 tbsp cornmeal, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp baking powder.

2. Add 1 tsp vanilla to 1 cup of water.

3. Add a small amount of the vanilla water in to the flour mixture and work it in to the mixture with your fingertips. Keep adding small amounts of water to the mixture. When half of the cup has been added the mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.

4. Keep adding water until the mixture becomes a firm dough which is only slightly sticky (you should not need to add the whole cup) If the mixture gets too sticky to work with, add more flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes.

5. Divide the mixture in to eight portions Knead each portion and roll it in to a small sausage shape. Cover each festival with a mixture of flour and cornmeal.

6. Deep fry the dough in a sauce pan of oil until golden brown. This should take about half an hour.

7. Dab excess oil off of the festival and then enjoy!

I'm working all day today so I will post pictures and a review of the concert tomorrow!

Jamaican Me Hungry For Jerk Chicken

One of my favourite things about our kitchen (apart from the various appliances) is the stick-on blackboard I got from Indigo.

The best.

I've always had a weird love-affair with chalk boards and this one, stuck up on the cupboard, allows us to write down grocery needs, what we're making for dinner, and more recently Beatles song quotes.

It started with 'Love is all you need' (potentially my next tattoo) and has continued from there.

Here's yesterday's quote

* Mom: please don't hate on the grammatical error in 'Todays' special. There WAS an apostrophe but it has since eroded and I only realized it once I posted the picture.

In other news,

the Jamaica countdown in single digits has begun!

We depart next Thursday, putting the countdown at:

8 DAYS

(including today)

I love me some jerk chicken and I have been amping up my workouts and eating much healthier in anticipation of the 5-10 lbs I'm coming home with.

For the next week I'll be posting some recipes of the fooods I am excited to try while on vacation!

First up, because I'm most excited to try the authentic recipe:

Jerk Chicken

(from http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/jerk_chicken.htm)

1. Chop up 3 medium onions, 8 cloves of garlic, and 6 scotch bonnet peppers (or use jalapeno peppers).

2. Place in a blender with 2 tbsp thyme, 2 tbsp allspice, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp salt, 2 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp ginger, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup soy sauce, the juice of 1 lime, 1 cup orange juice, and 1 cup white vinegar. Blend all of the ingredients together to make the jerk sauce.

3. Rub the sauce onto 4 peices of chicken (breast, leg, thigh, it's your choice) and let the meat marinate overnight in the fridge.

4. In the oven, bake the chicken for 30 minutes, then flip and bake for another 30 minutes. If using a grill, turn regularly and baste with some of the remaining marinade sauce until cooked.

I may try this recipe before I go away. I have a pre-mixed jerk rub but I want to try and make my own jerk sauce.

In hairstyle news, the Lauren Conrad hairstyle (number 6) is pulling ahead of the competitors!

Tonight: Robin, John and I are off to see John's brother in concert! If you recall, he's drumming for a Canadian artist named Jesse LaBelle and they're opening for Emily Osment (Hannah Montanna's BFF and little sister to Hailey Joel "I see dead people" Osment).

I'll definitely be posting some pics from the concert!

Hairstyles...Help! Round 2

Round 2.

I kind of told a fib as I definitely have more than 6 hairstyles to showcase today.

But I've already veto-ed some of the styles I posted.

First up:

2 partial updos for your consideration

Partial updo 1:

Partial updo 2 (I like the glamorous low pony):

...and now back to the updos.

Number 7:

Number 8 (like it but don't love it):

Number 9 (I used the golden power of Veto on this one but will still present it to you):

Number 10 (really like the back of this one):

Number 11 (like the back and front of this one):

So.....thoughts? I think my favourites may still be from Saturday's post.

I'll look for a few more partial updos and then i'll make a final decision.

:)

I'll get back to recipes tomorrow, promise.