pasta primavera with parmesan and white wine sauce

Guess what made me crave pasta primavera. It would put most people off pasta primavera for a little while... but not me, I guess. I was watching that episode of Seinfeld where Russel Dalrymple, an NBC executive with whom Jerry is trying to start a pilot, orders pasta primavera at a restaurant. Elaine sneezes on it and he ends up getting violently ill.

So of course, I thought to myself.... that's what I want for dinner! Isn't it totally absurd how my stomach and my brain works?

lime cheesecake

 

Oh man. It's lime cheesecake day. What's the special occasion? Well... look up. Look waaaaaaay up. That's right - we have our own little corner of the interwebs! You can now find us at http://www.unhipsquirrel.com. Truly, this had nothing to do with me making such an extravagant dessert today. I guess you could say that I just really, really wanted to make a lime cheesecake. Sometimes having a little food blog is an excuse in itself to make something sweet. I mean really... it was getting a little savoury around here.

There is no real story behind this cheesecake except for the fact that I made it for Adam's birthday a couple of years ago. Of course, we were only two people (Adam is not a party kind of guy) and I ended up eating half a cheesecake for the rest of the week. Believe me, it was my pleasure. Except the last day. I could have done without that.

jalapeno popper inspired grilled cheese

You know what's fun? Going to Jean-Talon Market. There are all kinds of exciting things there - I bought tiny zucchini, rhubarb (hurray!), heirloom carrots and tomatoes... I even bought a purple pepper. Yes. It looks like a green pepper, except it's purple. Really. I can't even begin to tell you about my level of excitement in places like this. If I could somehow make a career of going to public markets and ogling everything, I would be happy as a clam.

I always bring home jalapeno peppers because I know that even if I have nothing planned, I will find a use for them. When I saw a post on Closet Cooking with a recipe for this sandwich, I knew that nothing would stop me from recreating it. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Kevin invented the jalapeno popper grilled cheese.

orzo salad with chickpeas, feta and fresh dill

Have you ever had orzo? It's pasta with an identity crisis. It looks like rice. Funnily enough, the first time I had orzo, it was in rice. It was really good.

The inspiration for the orzo salad comes from someone I worked with in Vancouver. She brought it to the Christmas office potluck and it was love at first bite. Of course, I begged for the recipe. I got it, but then I lost it... so I've been guessing at it ever since. It seems to have worked out well. This salad is quite light and refreshing, but at the same time it could be a meal in itself. It's a great side dish for summer barbecues (so perhaps you can try that next year! Har!).

pulled pork with bourbon orange coriander barbecue sauce

One thing that is awesome about Quebec is the weather. I know a lot of people will disagree with me. They don't like feels like 40 summers and -30 winters. They don't like Breakfast at Tiffany's rainstorms. I can't say I would always enjoy this weather. For example, I don't like the heat unless I literally don't have to do anything aside from sipping a glass of cold lemonade on the balcony with a good book. I don't care for -30 temperatures when I'm standing at a bus stop. I could do without Breakfast at Tiffany's rainstorms when I'm on my way home from work and wearing flats. That being said, the weather here is interesting. There is nothing 'blah' about it. Someone once said to me that the weather here forces you to change up your routines. It definitely does, and that's such a good thing!

Today we had a Breakfast at Tiffany's rainstorm. This was the perfect time for (leftover) comfort food. Over the weekend I turned to Joy the Baker's bourbon orange coriander barbecue sauce. I was intrigued from the moment I first clapped eyes on her tantalizing photos. I was also hankering for pulled pork, so I decided to throw the two together because, why not?

spicy peanut sesame noodles

 

Welcome to my first post from my brand spanking new computer. Woohooo! There were some scary times in the squirrel household this week. Nobody likes the sound of a four year old laptop's hard drive clicking. Luckily I was able to salvage my data - tv series, music and some memorable pictures - and they're all safe and secure on my new MacBook Pro. Badaba ba ba! I'm loving it.

Buying a computer is not fun. It means (if you're on my side of the fence) that you have to go and brave the Apple Store and feel all the usual levels of Apple Store Rage. In order to give them their requisite $1400, you have to track down a genius and give him or her your name for the waiting list. You then get to wait, totally helpless, while employees wander aimlessly poking at their iPads or help people who came in the store after you did. It's exasperating. Apple's corporate arrogance is like... off the charts. Can they seriously have forgotten where they were 15 years ago?!

Unexpected expenses (especially so soon after a trip to New York City) mean that this squirrel is eating on the cheap for the foreseeable future. The first meal heralding my new age of poverty was spicy peanut sesame noodles. Cheap and filling and good!

plum tart

Guys, I'm going to help you out here. I'm going to tell you how not to pick up a woman. First of all, the metro on a weekday morning is probably a poor choice. When a woman is getting off the train, don't cut diagonally in front of her when you approach. That makes it difficult and awkward for her to escape, especially if she's walking along a wall. When she tells you that she doesn't speak French and runs away, she is, in all likelihood, giving you the message that she's not interested.  The next course of action is absolutely not to follow her down the stairs to the other metro line, follow her all the way down the platform, and to surprise her by getting on the same car as her again. This is bad. Really. It's bad. Don't do it.

Of course, you might think it's okay to stand very close to her on the train and continue to talk to her in an environment where she literally cannot escape you. This goes for elevators too. In actuality, it is not okay. These are terrible places to approach women. In any case, when she is avoiding your questions and not asking you anything in return, she is not interested.  Please, please do not ask where she is going. She won't tell you. Also... when she gets off the train at her destination, please stay on it.

A much nicer way to woo a lady is with dessert. Of course, this does not work with total strangers, but I don't like strangers, so that's A-okay with me. I was lucky enough to be wooed with homemade creme brulée. Perhaps you could try using this lovely plum tart to impress your lady friend?