Ah Izakaya how do I miss thee...

Why oh why do I have to like food that I cannot get where I am a lot of the time? I love certain foods here in England. French Fancies are great. So is the incredibly huge selection of creams in the dairy aisles at the supermarket. Who can deny the glorious joy of going to the "Chinese Chippy" for take out? And of course, you can ask for curry sauce at McDonalds.

But... I can never ever be satisfied. When I moved to Canada, I craved Mexican food. I craved corn tortillas, Rufles Verdes, Rancheritos and candy above all. Lolly pops in the shape of corn on the cob covered with chile are the most amazing thing you can possibly imagine, and quite possibly one of the strangest!

Here in England, I can crawl back to my original "No Mexican Food Available" space, and I feel comfortable. There's enough Indian food to fill the void as I pretend that chicken Vindaloo is Adobo and poppadoms=tostadas. I know I can survive, I have before so I know how this time.

Nobody could have prepared me for this incredible desire for Japanese Izakaya.

I had gone through sushi withdrawals when I lived in France. I know that you can buy salmon and get over your raw fish cravings quite quickly. Cucumber, cream cheese and fake crab were not too hard to find, even back then. Now you can find ingredients and tools to make your own sushi in most major supermarkets. Also, fast food restaurants like Wasabi are everywhere, expensive but it's there if you feel like you can't cope anymore.

But Izakaya is a different beast. Specially Vancouver Izakaya. I miss it. I feel like death without it. I feel like I cannot go on living like this anymore! Okay, yes, I can exaggerate sometimes. I am however incredibly surprised at these feelings. I can understand the kiddish craving for spicy candy and the natural corn tortilla cravings (Dear Old El Paso, corn/regular flour tortillas ARE NOT corn tortillas, thank you.) I can even understand the sushi craving as arguably all these foods were part of my growing up experience. Izakaya however, came at a much later date, when assumably my taste cravings were well formed and not very editable. I am not Japanese, my parents are not Japanese, why oh why do I have to miss thee so much?

Yes I can find Izakaya in London. No problem. But even after spending a whole week's salary on getting there and eating a tiny amount of food for a disgraceful price, I still do not feel the satisfaction I get from Vancouver Izakaya.

I give up. It cannot be replaced. There is no such thing as poppadoms=tostadas for Izakaya. I once tried cooking my very own rice bibimbap but because I have no background on this type of food and I did not grow up with the ingredients in my fridge and the smell of it from the kitchen after school, I cannot get it to taste the way it should. It ended up being a strange Chinese Mexican Fried Rice with a weird half raw egg. It would have made the chef at Guu cry.

I am sorry Guu. I will never every try again. I miss you and nothing can replace you. I can only now taste you in my dreams as I enjoy your food and a good laugh with Ewan McGregor, Gary Barlow and Richard Branson (he flew us all to your Gastown location, and even he, had to wait for over an hour).

The beauty of Clearance Foods

Yes it is possible...

Eat Well, Spend Less!

More often than not you can go to your local grocery store in the UK and find there designated clearance areas with amazing finds!

The first time I saw this, I couldn't believe my eyes! A bag of lettuce reduced from £1 to a mere 1op?! This is insanity! Brilliant insanity! Yes, sometimes you have to fight your way through. There is always that one lady that knows exactly what time things are coming out and exactly what she wants and nothing, not even I or my Turkey at over 6ft tall will stop her from getting it. The feeling is intense at times.

A large part of me feels completely embarrassed of the fact that I'm fighting for my food. Only a little over a year ago, I was buying organic produce in Whole Foods, West Vancouver. And now, look at me, I push, I shove and I am quick, all to get the coveted 10p lettuce which is still very much fresh and perfect for dinner. The other lesser part, the one that doesn't care what anyone thinks, at some point in the process of fighting for that amazing piece of 30p Salmon (reduced from well over £6!) completely takes over the whole of me. Then I become this pre-historic creature fighting for food and survival. "I will not let my final food bill reach £15" is all that fits into my head. And I don't.

My Turkey and I have a fabulous partnership, we divide and conquer. He goes to the bread section. I go to the fridge section. He is a vegetarian, so there is no point for him to go through the fridge bits. He will look at a deliciously fresh and meaty piece of chicken breast and will actually not see it. He once got me some pork pies. Now.. the thing about pork pies... that will probably go on a whole new other posting! No comment for now I suppose. So, he goes for the bready stuff. Bagels, loafs, buns, potato pancakes, croissants, pita... you name it, we have purchased it on clearance.

To be honest, half of the time I would've never bought these things, but the price is amazing and then... the best thing happens. When you reach a certain age, you are in a groove that you like. You feel comfortable in it. You understand it. You control it. This very much extends to food. You start buying things that you know how to cook, how to use, what they taste like, what to expect. Outside of home, at a restaurant it's easy getting out of that groove, after all, you are not the one cooking it, dealing with the smells and cleaning it! But at home, it's a whole other story most of the time. Sometimes we may try a little harder, but the vast majority of us see themselves repeating recipes that we know work, are good, easy and very quick to clean (specially after a long and stressful day at work). Clearance items then provide a forceful escape of your every day home food comfort zone.

Lessons to be learned? Don't be afraid to get something that is very unusual to your normal buy. Push yourself, and don't hold back. It's only food! It's bound to be just fine anyway. Also, it is a bit embarrassing fighting your way to reach for that glorious pack of superbly cheap white seedless grapes, it's easier said than done, but swallow your pride and reach in. Then... with the money saved, walk into a marvellously beautiful shoe shop and go nuts! At least that's the plan for me when the business starts settling.

Best buy yet? Sun Cream! 50spf, spray, great brand. £13 down to just £3.

Rant, Rant, Rant

Our wedding... the event of the year! Okay, it wasn't really the best party ever, or the ultimate best thing anyone has ever seen in their lives. But, to me it was perfect. Everything about it was magical and beautiful, and at the end of the day, well, it's only my opinion that matters that sticks around as memories! (My Turkey's opinion too, by the way.... but that's it)

Which then makes me wonder. Why did I get so upset when I started finding out pretty much nobody was going to come?

In retrospect, I had huge expectations. I assumed that because I made the effort to go to peoples weddings they definitely would make the effort too. And by making the effort I mean time and money I did not have was spent on them and I ended up with lots of work and credit card bills.

But... that didn't happen. Only 7 bothered. The rest, I may be wrong as one can never be sure of anything except of oneself, but I don't think they even tried.

At the end of it all, to me, it wasn't about who was there, but who actually really wanted to and did everything they could to do so. It would be so stupid to think that everybody would drop everything and flock half way around the World just for me, for us. But those that did really and honestly without any b.s. tried, to me, it's as if they had been there.

But the other ones... the ones that used the excuse of "I don't have money" well.. that's just not true is it?

Day in and day out money is spent on crap. I see it all the time, and just like everybody I'm guilty as charged. The only difference I guess is that I know that's the case!

Man up! Say "I could come to your wedding but I would much rather spend the money on me. I'm sorry, I love you and all but I love myself more."

Fair enough!

It's a harsh truth... but you live and learn.

And all I can say is thank you. Thank you very much for making me see that I should never try hard enough to make you happy, that I should only try hard enough to make me happy.

It's so selfish, and it sounds so horrible to spell it out just like that... but that's exactly what it is. I'm just writing it.

So there... this could go on and on and on. But that's my rant.

It's off my chest and I can happily say that I have moved on.

I can say that having the wedding in SA was the best thing ever. The Turkey and I were so incredibly happy with our 7 guests! And as more and more days go by... I realize that the best thing about that day was marrying my Turk. But that's it. So I'm glad we made the choice of going with our gut.:)

Note to self: always go with your gut. So far it hasn't let you down :)

Back from food filled honeymoon!

And... that's it. Back to reality. No more four course meals. No more freshly baked Italian style, actually maybe more New York Italian style pizzas. No more first dessert, second dessert and yes sometimes even third and fourth...

It was a brilliant idea. Although I like a bit more adventure, going on a cruise means three very very important things will happen:

1) You will have very little internet or phone access, yes... FREEDOM!

2) You will be treated like a silly tourist, a bit of an annoyance at times, but this means you can put on a sticker, follow your group and forget about being responsible for absolutely anything!

3) You will eat more than you ever should... and depending on the cruise line, the food quality is surprisingly very high, which means, you will have no reason to say no!

So... before further ado, thank you to all of those that really and truly helped! Even the little gifts counted, South America is surprisingly expensive and ice lollies were absolutely essential throughout the trip!

If you were a bit too cheap... well, lets just say I know. Actually that's not true, let's just say I didn't know but I do now. I comes first in the alphabet. Not U. I finally get it! It took me nearly 30 years, but I get it. I I I I I I I. Duly noted.

I'll do a little rant on this on the following post... I don't want to distract from the fact that I am really and truly grateful for all the love and help towards our honeymoon! I had a wonderful time and I finally feel.... relaxed!

Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!

Day one of the odyssey of figuring out how best to feed ourselves with zero money and my mom and sister made me cheat! Well... I suppose that if they paid for it it doesn't count does it?

We'll take it as is and enjoy the extremely delicious breakfast that they provided for the Turk and I after their two day trip to Paris. (Yes I still look like an over boiled chicken full of jealousy!)

This is indubitably the best way to kick off the weekend!

They also provided me with a half eaten chicken and cheese panini. I would normally feel a bit of a bum, but I love French paninis so much that I would never complain! I wouldn't go as far as digging them out of the garbage or anything like that! Eww that would never work. I still remain the same girl that used to stay at the Waldorf Astoria in N.Y.! Don't ever forget that!

On with the proper challenge... bring your own snacks to the movies Friday evening is about to kick off.

xx

kicking things off

Before I forget to mention, another challenge that we face is that my new husband is vegetarian. At first it was hard to cater to him... but now I'm quite used to it and I enjoy cooking two meals at the same time, and more often than not I end up eating his more than mine!

Back to this posting...

Before we left for our wedding, I had a fridge with plenty leftovers. My mom had bought a thick cream. We had purchased 10 pence carrots, 5 pence chilli peppers, our neighbour had given us tomatoes, a 17 pence large bag of potatoes, onions and a basil plant for Christmas and we still had some things left.

I boiled the carrots and some potatoes (we still have some in the cupboard), sautéed the onions with some garlic. I roasted the peppers and tomatoes. Then I boiled some vegetable stock (Knorr) and added all the veggies. It boiled for 20 minutes before I added the cream. I then blended it together and froze. I made sure that the consistency was really thick, I wanted to add a bit more vegetable stock (fresh) when I thawed it to add a nicer flavour.

When we came back from 30• Africa into 3• England, a soup was just what we needed! I made fresh vegetable stock and added the thawed soup. Mixed with a whisk and served with pre-frozen 4pence bread.

Tabasco sauce was added to mine, but not to his.

I realise I will have to start taking photos! And I will.. when I get a bit more the hang of this.

UP! DOWN! CENTRE! ENTER!

Thank you dad... what a great way to say cheers with a nice cold beer! So classy...

Always very down to earth my dad liked homey restaurants with bright lighting and healthy portions on his plate. His favourite place was the Old Country Buffet in the USA. It wasn't because he could eat as much as he liked, it was simply because he felt that he was paying exactly the right amount for the food he ate, not a penny more, not a penny less.

With this, I can already see the type of image you have in mind for my dad. I would have it as well. Cheap, obnoxious and very embarrassing to be around! But he wasn't. He knew more World History that I could ever hope to learn in my lifetime. He was business savvy, intelligent, creative educated and a force to be reckoned with.

When I was young, I liked the buffet because it meant I could eat as much ice cream as I liked. I would have a salad and immediately after I would start sneaking to the dessert corner to snap up the deliciously fresh knickerbocker cookies. My mom encouraged me to eat more proper food, but the thought of over cooked vegetables, dry meats and dodgy looking fish was just not my ideal meal. Dessert on the other hand, was no luxury macaroon, or delectable île flottant... but it was perfect.

My dad was a smart man. He knew that food did not have to be expensive to be satisfying. He worked hard his whole life to give us everything we wanted.

This is my new inspiration for this year.

I have neglected this blog, and I probably will continue to do so (I have two other blogs for work that take up all my time). But every day I will explore the boundaries of eating well, varied and exciting dishes with the least amount of money possible.

I just got married. I leave on a honeymoon in a week. I started my business last year.

When we were reading our vows the minister said "for richer or for poorer" both, my fiancé and I giggled when he said for poorer. We hope this is the bottom we muttered!

So.. with no money and a year full of dreams, I am setting out to spend only pennies on feeding my husband and I.

How creative can I get?

YIKES!