Making pudding with chia seeds

Lately, I have been doing recipe development with chia seeds. I bought a bag of chia seeds, thinking that I'd put them in my protein shake. I then had a parfait in the Twin Cities that had a layer of chia seeds in a pudding form. I got inspired to try and make my own pudding.

It has been fun testing out recipes. Chia seeds are interesting. They absorb so much liquid. I've been having chia seeds in pudding form for the last few days. I like them.

Here's my attempt at a layer of dark chocolate coconut chia seed with a top layer of orange cream oat beverage yogurt. The bottom has mashed berries. I added protein powder to both layers.

 

I'm still working out my recipes as I go. It has been enjoyable so far.

Happy new year - almost!

It's just under an hour away from New Year's Day!

I'd like to wish you all a great 2023 ahead. Here's to a year full of joy, love, good health, and yummy food and drinks.

Carnival and tacos

On Saturday, I visited a large park that had a carnival. It took me back to being a kid again. Every year, there was a carnival several blocks away. I have fond memories playing games and eating fair food.

At this carnival, I had tacos. I sampled birria (beef), al pastor (pork), and tinga (chicken). They were delicious!

I had a great time. I hope to return soon.

Rare Monday night outing

On Monday night, I went out to get a free meal at a cool Mexican-Latin-America eatery. The food was amazing. I'll definitely need to return for more.

The place is owned by a husband-and-wife team. They were so warm and welcoming.

It was raining all night. It felt soothing driving through the rain heading over there and then home.

I did stop to get some bubble tea after eating dinner. It was the perfect way to end my outing.

Visiting a mall and a restaurant after a decade

On Saturday, I visited a shopping mall that I haven't frequented in nearly a decade. It has changed quite a bit.

I used to go to a Vietnamese restaurant located in this mall with co-workers when we all used to work nearby. We all don't work at this company anymore.

I was pleased to learn that this restaurant is still alive and kicking. I went back to get some takeout. I felt the need to support it and find out whether the quality is still there. It is!

The food was delicious. I was relieved and happy.

I will try not to wait another decade to drop by this eatery and mall.

Drinks, beer, and ID

Last Thursday, I dropped by RendezBrews. It's a large outdoor patio in downtown Toronto where you can get different beers from all over Ontario and yummy eats.

I ended up getting two alcoholic drinks. One was a blueberry blonde beer. The other was a raspberry lemon vodka soda. The latter didn't have any sugar in it. Both were refreshing and enjoyable.

I also bought some tom yum wings. They were so delicious.

Ontario has a new rule to show proof of vaccination at restaurants and bars. This one never asked me for it. Instead, it was more concerned about whether I was of legal drinking age. Interesting.

Street market eats

I went to another street market location on Friday. I had a great time getting tandoori garlic parmesan wings. They were so good. I washed them down with watermelon lemonade. It was a small bottle, which I appreciated.

This week, I have dropped by two different street markets. Both times, the weather has been gloomy and the rain held off.

I just learned that there's a third street market that opens today. I may hold off on going because I don't want to visit all three in four days and overdo it!

Food perk pics

On Saturday, I got my food perk.

The first photo has my pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw, cornbread, and pickle slices:

Everything was delicious. The woman who helped me with my perk was so nice and awesome!

Here's a close-up shot of my pulled pork sandwich:

I had a wonderful experience!

Being on vacation is the weekend every day

The weekend is here! Being on vacation feels like every day is the weekend. I will miss my vacation. It has been relaxing and nice so far.

I had the best apple and pineapple fritters on Thursday. I finished them off on Friday. Should I get more? I want to, but will wait it out. I don't want to overdose of them. They are that yummy.

Spiralized butternut squash is yummy!

I cooked up a storm on Sunday. I don't normally enjoy eating squash. However, I bought some spiralized butternut squash and made a stir fry with it. It turned out great and I liked it!

I'm not big on eating zucchini. I find the spiralized version tolerable, but it's not my favourite. I'd rather have spiralized cucumbers or carrots. I can now add butternut squash to the list. I am wondering whether I'd feel the same away about butternut squash soup.

Weekends are far too short. It's back to the grind.

My intern's farewell lunch

My intern's original work term was for eight months. Luckily, it got extended and we had him for an additional four months.

My role changed just after his extension had been set. He ended up with another team lead. However, our work still crossed paths and we still managed to communicate with each other regularly.

Back in April, when we thought that it was the end of his work term, I said that we'd have a proper farewell lunch for him when it was safe to do it. We were 1.5 months into the pandemic.

Well, his final day was Friday. I wanted a farewell lunch for him. So did our manager. I talked with our boss. He was good having just the three of us have lunch together. It would be safer with a small number of people there.

I had suggested a restaurant and my intern was game. He was delighted to get a free lunch, paid by our manager, to honour his efforts and accomplishments during his stay with us.

On Friday, I picked up my intern at his home and drove us over to the restaurant. It felt like old times, except that he was in the backseat of my car as I drove. Our manager met us there, as he had to pick up the gift that the company had for my intern.

At his home, I gave my intern a box of gourmet cookies. We love them. The store happens to be in my neighbourhood. He was thrilled.

We sat out in the patio for nearly 2.5 hours. The food was yummy and amazing. We had a lot of laughs while we chatted about a ton of topics.

Afterwards, we walked over to Baskin Robbins to get some ice cream. I was too full from my lunch to have some, but the other two got some.

When we were all done, my intern and I decided to get bubble tea. I treated him to whatever drink he wanted. We sat for a bit to chat before I took him home.

It was a lovely day. I know that I'll see him again, as we have plenty of eateries to discover. I let him know that whenever he was free, to let me know. He confirmed that he would take me up on my offer. He has one last year of undergraduate studies, which start in just over a week.

Somebody, Feed Phil makes me happy

I haven't been using Netflix as often as I should be during this pandemic. It has taken a show that I truly love for me to get back into using my Netflix account.

I love Somebody, Feed Phil. Phil Rosenthal loves food. I enjoy how delighted he is eating new foods and travelling around the world. He's a nice person who genuinely appreciates eating yummy food.

It's nice to enjoy such a cheerful series in light of what's happening in the world.

Breaking out of the house twice a week and safely fetching ramen while out

With the COVID-19 pandemic, I only go out twice a week to for groceries and essentials. I go out on Wednesdays after working from home and on Saturdays.

I feel for eateries these days, especially the local, smaller ones. I tend to order online and pick my food up while I'm out getting groceries and dropping by the drugstore.

On Saturday, I found a ramen place roughly ten minutes away. It is offering all ramen at 50% off its regular price. Wow! I love ramen. Not only did I get some ramen, but decided to get two appetizers that would equal the discount.

When I went to pick it up, I was between two sets of doors. A man working there greeted me behind the second glass door. It was cool. He let me know that my food was on the table. I looked and was so happy. I thanked him. He wished me a good day. I reciprocated.

The food was amazing and delicious. I will be back for more.

Reflective and relaxed

I'm stateside. All is well.

Being on vacation has made me extremely reflective. Being on a plane makes me think about my current and past friendships and relationships. Songs lyrics make me nostalgic, happy, sad, and more. It has been therapeutic.

On a good note, I am eating well and experiencing new places to eat yummy food. It has been great so far.

Friday lunch with good people at work

On Friday, a colleague, who is also my friend, wanted to cook for my intern and me. I was so thrilled that she wanted to feed us lunch.

She made chicken curry, which was delicious. My intern brought in rice, which was fluffy and perfect. I brought in gourmet cookies to complete our meal.

I like that all three of us came together to make our lunch work. My intern brought plates and cutlery. Good thinking!

Lunch was wonderful with good company.

Gourmet cookies make people happy

Friday was my student's last day at work. On Thursday, I got her a box of gourmet cookies as a thank-you gift.

She told me the most endearing story on Friday. She brought the cookies home on Thursday and asked her dad to have one after dinner. They both indulged in a cookie each. He has a sweet tooth and loved it.

They both went out after dinner, separately, to different commitments. Her mom arrived home later.

When my student came home, she let her mom know that I had bought cookies for her. Her mom said that she ate four cookies -- one of each flavour. Her mom doesn't have a sweet tooth, but found the cookies scrumptious. It speaks volumes.

I would probably get along with her mom. She loved the lemon delight ones the best. It's my favourite flavour.

I buy these cookies for special occasions and people. I'm glad that I made her day and her family's.

Pillows of cinnamon sugar are heavenly

On Monday, I went out for dinner after work. I had a Groupon that was going to expire in a couple of days.

I have been to this restaurant a number of times. I wanted the open-faced roast beef dinner. However, I was told that they were running out of roast beef. I got a mix of turkey and roast beef. It was different! It was still yummy.

This place has these pillows of fried dough, filled with cinnamon sugar. They are delicious. I'm glad that I had them for dessert.

I will be dreaming of them all night.

Packing and chicken wings

I have started packing for my upcoming road trip. I am excited, even though I am tired from working on a major software release.

I went to work on Tuesday. Normally, I work from home. I was there to have a team lunch. It involved chicken wings, for which I have a huge weakness. Yum!

The unfortunate part was that I had leftovers and I left them at the restaurant. It may have been a blessing in disguise, though. I ordered peppery wings, which irritate my throat. I'm not fully recovered from my cold.

It's okay. I got the wings for half-price. I am not all that bummed out about it. I can always go back in future.

Thankful for free food

Saturday was a good day. I drove to an eatery to get free food.

To make a long story short, I won a couple of coupons for two orders of roti. They were from a new restaurant. I had to drive downtown to get my goodies.

I had one butter chicken roti in the restaurant. I brought the other one back home.

The verdict? Yummy. I will need to spice thing up more the next time I am there. I went with mild. I probably need medium. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the free food and look forward to having more yummy food down the road.

Dreamsicle dipped cone

I am a latecomer visiting Dairy Queen. I have visited this place twice in two days, which happens to be more times than the decade before this year.

I recently found out that DQ has a dreamsicle dipped cone. It is essentially vanilla soft serve that is dipped in orange goodness and handed to you on a cone. I love orange creamsicles, so this treat is the next best thing.

My local DQ is open till 23:00 every night. The hours of operation are deadly! I got home from a late dinner, felt like getting a small cone, and dropped by twenty minutes before closing. I am such a nutcase, but I loved my dreamsicle dipped cone.