Cuba

I spent a week in Varadero to soak in some sun and attend a friend's wedding. It was such a blast, filled with laughter and tears.



I also visited Havana for a day - so lovely, so vibrant. I must return to delve deeper into the city.

Fort Lauderdale

Work and life and work-life balance is kind of a hectic mess right now, but I did manage to sneak away to Florida to enjoy this:

Roasted Delicata Squash and Kale Quinoa

I've been seeing recipes with delicata squash for years but have never came across one. That is, until this month.


I always thought it was a west coast thing but never investigated further. Why bother when we have butternut and acorn and kabocha?

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Peach Butter

Let's not beat around the bush: I've had this recipe bookmarked for three years, ever since it was first posted. I love apple butter (it was one of the items I requested in the care package my parents sent me when I was living in Japan), I love peaches, so what could be better than the delicate, fragrant flavour of peaches concentrated into peach butter? Nothing.


When peach season hits, I find myself eyeing this recipe, wondering if I have the time to commit to the whole process. Unfortunately, my summers tend to be hectic and I end up telling myself, "Maybe next summer."

Not this year.

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Everything but the Kitchen Sink Cookies

Can I be honest with you? The best part about dragon boat (aside from the exercise, being on the water and the gorgeous view) is the potluck my team puts together at our races. We each take turns bringing a food item, all delicious.


There was a member on our team who made the best cookies. Without a doubt, Jimmy brought cookies to every race because Jimmy cookies were high in demand. Unfortunately for us, he decided to quit dragon boat. The horror, the tears – no more Jimmy cookies!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

It’s officially summer here when the pick-your-own strawberry farms open up, and I went to pick my fill.


I debated about what to make with the fruits of my labour. I really enjoyed the strawberry rhubarb pie from last year but didn't want to go through the hassle of making pie crust. Laziness triumphs over ambition.



This is where the crisp comes in.

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Kale & Asparagus Pasta Alfredo

For me, the appearance of asparagus at the market means the end of winter. Finally.


Suddenly life becomes brighter, more enjoyable. Warmth and sunshine will do that to you.


I bought a bunch of asparagus before realizing my garden was thriving – the kale ready for picking, the lettuce ready for salad-making.

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Rome & Naples

I suffer from a condition called wanderlust. It's only been a month since my last trip and I'm already dreaming about where to visit next.



After I graduated from university, my friends and I did a jam-packed backpacking tour of Europe - nine cities in five weeks. It was a trip where I got to sample a bit of everything, vowing to return to experience certain countries in full. Italy was high on that list.



One of my biggest regrets was not going into the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, so I made sure to do that this time around. Other than that, I didn't have anything specific in mind that I wanted to do in Rome. Instead, my favourite way to explore a city is to wander aimlessly and soak in the sights and sounds.

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Sneak Peek: Italy

I landed on Canadian soil two days ago, am still jet lagged and haven't had the chance to sift through my photos yet. But I have many, many photos! This is a preview of things to come, so stay tuned.

Pasta with Tuna and Tomato Sauce

Sometimes, a meal made of canned goods is the way to go.


You know those days: when you're feeling lazy; the vegetables look sad and wilted at the grocery store because we're on our eleventy month of winter; you don't think you can do another dish of root vegetables.

(I will admit to eating mashed sweet potatoes and nothing else as a meal and do not regret it.)


This is one of my favourite pasta dishes because it contains:

• Anchovies, which gets a bad reputation but adds so much depth to a dish.
• Tuna, because who doesn't love tuna? (A list of sustainably sourced tuna is listed here.)
• Pasta. I love pasta, so much that I think it would be the last thing I would eat before dying (though I have the right to change my mind at any time). Note to self: stop buying gluten-free pasta because it lacks the al dente goodness and hence, is terrible and not worth eating. Life is too short to go gluten-free (unless necessary).

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Winter Blahs

Winter has broken me.

It may be my least favourite season, but this year seems worse than usual.

I'm tired of snow. I'm tired of the cold. I'm just tired and uninspired and it's only February.


Longing for this weather.

Ottawa Wedding

You might have heard of this thing called a polar vortex.


It has been making my winter more miserable than usual. If you have never experience -36 degrees C windchill, I can tell you that it is very painful. And cold. But mostly painful, in the ohdeargoodness, someone-just-put-me-out-of-my-misery kind of way.

Fortunately, the one weekend I went up to Ottawa, the weather warmed up.


The unfortunate part was that freezing rain coated the streets and sidewalks and turned the whole city into an ice rink.


Of course that didn't stop me from all the eating. I brunched until I could brunch no more, and followed it up with some donuts.



The real reason why I went to Ottawa was to attend my dear friend El's wedding. While geography has distanced us since our university days, she will always have a special place in my heart as the person who helped me pass swimming class (oh, to be a kin major), the person who dyed my hair when I wanted that change, and the cramming and dancing and toga parties that came with being a student.

I wouldn't have missed it for the world.