wow! what an insane last 6 months it's been... i know it's been a million years since i've been around these parts, so i'll give you guys a quick update!
after breaking up with my partner in the summer, i sold him our house. i stayed in calgary for a few months to work, but in the end made the decision to quit my job and come back to ontario without a new job. i made some money from the house, so i'm not too concerned with that at the moment.
the most difficult thing of all was losing my best friend and number one fan, my dog farley. he was hit by a car a week before i left calgary. he was only 3 1/2, and just the absolute sweetest pup i've ever known. his death was really, really difficult for me. i'm so glad that i was already planning to come back to ontario, i'd given my notice at work, etc. i don't know what i would have done if i couldn't come back here to my support network and family.
i've been back in ontario for about a month and a half, and have spent the entirety of that time with friends and family, and i've done sooo much healing and growing. despite all of the insane challenges 2013 handed me, i have to say i can't remember a happier time in my life.
there's one final update i want to share with you. i'm still living the hobo life, and going with the flow, and isn't it amazing where that flow takes you sometimes?
years ago when my ex and i had first gotten together, we spent a long time planning a trip in a minibus from canada to south america and back. then he decided to become a pilot, and other things happened, and life got in the way. i was always really sad that we never did that trip.
well friends, i'm doing it now!! :D
i'm going to be traveling with a good friend, and we're aiming to leave within a week. i've started a travel blog for the journey, and i hope you'll follow me there. http://mikeandharmonytraveltheworld.blogspot.ca/
james bond will return!
hi team.
i just wanted to let you know i might be posting a little more sporadically in the next little while. big changes are afoot.
in the middle of june, i ended my nine-year relationship with my partner. as a result of this, a lot of big changes are happening in my life. i have a lot of figuring out to do, in regards to work (finding a new job within the same company), housing (moving clear across canada and selling the old house and finding a place to live in ontario), and life in general.
as always, food and crafting and sewing will be important parts of these journeys for me, but i wanted to give you the heads up that i may not be posting as much for the next little while. i promise you i will recommit to the blog once i am settled in my new life, but that may take a bit of time and i ask for your patience.
as a consolation prize for you, i have a lunch idea...
there are times in a woman's life when chocolate is non-negotiable. i
recently tried love crunch dark chocolate and red berries granola, and
ooooooooh man it's so good. it's a little on the sweet side for
breakfast, but it's a nice treat.
it is what inspired me to make a dark chocolate version of my overnight oats, when i remembered i had this awesome dark chocolate almond milk in
the fridge (for chocolate related emergencies. i also keep dark mint
chocolate in the freezer. who are you to judge me?).
so, i made my regular overnight oats recipe with dark chocolate almond
milk in place of regular almond milk and sweetener (the chocolate stuff
is pre-sweetened). it was so amazing. i even ate it with (frozen,
thawed) raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and cherries.
honestly, i'm torn on what to even call this. i guess "tasty" might be the best bet, but that doesn't give a very good description of what it actually IS. i was pretty set to go with "bread pie", but then pizza pie came to mind, and i think it has a better ring to it... even if it's not entirely pizza-like.
this is one of those things i just dreamed up as i was sitting at my desk, threw things into as i went along, and turned out perfectly. don't you love those meals? i wanted something super filling (it must have been a cool day) and cheesy and full of "meat". these types of cravings don't hit me all that often this time of year, so i went with it. i'm so glad i did. i'm not going to tell you this is the healthiest meal... it's about 50% bread, and no matter what the "food guide" tells you, that is NOT a balanced meal. however, it's not that BAD either, and considering that this is what passes for junk food in my house, i don't think we're doing too badly.
we ended up eating it dipped in marinara sauce, which was awesome. i know i could have just put the sauce IN in, but i feel somehow like dipping was better. like, would you rather have garlic breadsticks smeared in red sauce, or dipped in it? you know i'm right.
anyway, you could totally put red sauce in it. hell, do whatever you want. whatever makes you happy!!
this made about 2 dinners for each of us.
this is a recipe i've been making for quite a while now. i'm not sure why i haven't shared it yet... maybe because it's pretty in depth and labour-intensive and takes a long time... and i guess i just don't know all that many people who make their own bread at all, let alone when it's difficult.
no matter - even if only one person makes it, i'll have made the world a better, baguettier place. as far as such things go, this recipe really isn't that HARD, it's just time-consuming. it's not like making a souffle or something (which i have never done but i hear is similar to rocket science).
i bought a baguette pan a while back, but if you don't have one, don't worry. you can also use a cookie sheet - your baguette will just be a little flatter on the bottom, but i promise it will still taste sinfully good.
this recipe makes 2 large baguettes.
