a good meal {giveaway}

“The pleasures of the table belong to all times and ages, to every country and every day; they go hand in hand with all our other pleasures, outlast them, and remain to console us for their loss.”

- Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin, The Physiology of Taste

Over the past week, I've really enjoyed those moments of being at the table with people I care about, enjoying a meal and reflecting on life. In a world of such hustle and bustle, it can seem almost a chore to sit everyone down at your dinner table - and, I'll admit, a good 3 out of 5 dinners with my parents involve us looking through separate newspapers or reading books instead of actually conversing.

This quote stood out to me because it doesn't necessarily say the pleasure of food, but rather the pleasures of the table. Dinner can be used as a cause for a birthday celebration, a job promotion, an engagement party (congrats Mel!), a catch-up afternoon after a long time of not seeing someone, or an intimate getaway for two. It's those memories that linger, and while a bad meal can tarnish that memory, it's the people I'm with that certainly make it worthwhile. 

The two days off thanks to 'Family Day' in Ontario and an extra day off from my teachers college for the president of the university (so random) inspired me to explore my kitchen. I honestly would love to cook and bake any moment I can, if only my kitchen was bigger and I had more spare time.

During those days off I made apple cinnamon streudel muffins, which was my first attempt at ever making muffins and I gotta say, they turned out pretty good! On Pancake Tuesday I made pancakes for the first time in forever (making me wish I was more like Bree), and then made some dinner for me and my tata while my mom was at work. It felt nice, even though the worse part of making food is definitely the cleaning up (no matter how hard I scrub, I swear there's pieces of food that just magically appear on a bowl once I clean it). 

Recipe adapted from here with slight changes: 

chopping two apples and grating one, and putting a half-cup white sugar and half-cup brown sugar into the batter. 

Last weekend provided yummy bubble tea and moments to catch up with my closest friends that I unfortunately don't get to see that often. Our go-to place has become that bubble tea restaurant with its $1.00 dine-in special where we always get french fries and fish balls (which tastes way better than it sounds).  And while we usually take advantage of all the board games there, from Jenga to cards to checkers, the last few times have been spent just talking and laughing, and I enjoy it just the same. 

Valentine's Day combined great company with delicious food. We had bruschetta with goat cheese and two separate pastas along with amazing Caesar salad (and of course, chewy gummy candy for dessert). The Boy and I hit up an Italian eatery and talked about life, love, and a little white box that popped up on the dinner table midway through the meal (a necklace from him that I adore!). 

I'm definitely thankful for the moments where I can sit down with the people I love and care about and enjoy the pleasure of being in their company (and the pleasure of food, too). To celebrate that - and to celebrate three years of blogging - I'm going to have little giveaways each Sunday for the next few weeks so that you can indulge in a good meal, too. First up:

A Starbucks gift card ($15) along with a few of my favourite teabags.

There's nothing like good conversation over a warm drink and a cake pop.

To Enter:

(1) Be a follower of this blog!

(2) Write in the comments "Enter me!"

Open to local and international bloggers alike!
Next Sunday's giveaway (teaser alert) is about a good meal at home.

And since this whole post has been about food (a first!), I have to ask:

What's your go-to meal? 

What's a dinner you'd have every week if you could?

Hope you've had an amazing weekend!

3 years

 [image found via pinterest]

Take a seat, pour yourself a cup of coffee (or tea), and grab a piece of cake - Better than Coffee turns 3 today! I wish I could share a piece of cake with all of you around the world. Through this blog I've made some amazing connections, met awesome bloggers-turned-friends (and am planning on meeting at least 3 this year!), and I've been able to chronicle my life with all of its ups, downs, simple smiles and random moments.

Some of my fave blog posts on here from the last 3 years include . . . writing a letter to my body and learning to appreciate it; professing my love for Serendipity and questioning fate/destiny; ranting and raving about public transportation and telling the story of how The Boy and I met; wishing on Wednesdays about different places I'd love to go (Antigua is still a goal!); things that help me when I'm psycho crazy, probably the weirdest-titled list I've made; raving about the best concert ever, seeing MUSE in March 2010; looking back at random ways to spend a weekend, complete with mosquito sunglasses; admitting that you are all better than coffee; looking at a diary entry from when I was 7 years old (I should do this again haha); sharing my recipe on tiramisu; starting my postcard project (it's coming back!); going to Vancouver for the first time to visit my sister and meet Kym for the first time(!); talking about my groundhog week around my birthday; looking back on the year 2010; the beauty and wonderment of being a tourist in your own city; getting into teachers college(!!!): my second trip to Vancouver for my sister's wedding(!!); an amazing weekend in Markham and days to remember; finally fulfilling my dream of a month in Europe and reminiscing about it (I need to share more photos!); bringing back childhood memories by dressing up as Misty for Halloween; and talking about just a few of my favourite things.

I'll admit that I've neglected this blog from time to time but I could never let it go in the sense that I love having a place where I can talk about that great journey of life (cheesy!), have a place where I can rant and ramble and smile, and talk with online people that I wish I could have over for a movie/games night in with a ton of good food. Basically, I just want to give a huge:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thank you for following, thank you for commenting, thank you for creeping, thank you for all the friendships made and random conversations that make my day!

You all deserve your own personal cake :)

Hopefully this blog will go on for at least another three years, and I would love it if you were all along for the ride! But 'til then: what's your favourite kind of dessert? Because I'm itching to bake!

a recipe for relaxation

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 litre of heartfelt conversation
• 2 heaping tablespoons of thyme
• 1 tablespoon of French roast coffee (may substitute for hot chocolate or tea)
• A dash of cinnamon 
• A desired amount of laughter
• A package of chocolate, melted or chocolate frosting
• A handful of your favourite fruit
• A tight and squeezing bearhug (may add more) 
• Optional: A bottle of wine (your preference) and an Enya album 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
2. Mix flour and thyme together. Add in the dash of cinnamon for a hint of spice and spontaneity and tablespoon of coffee (or substitute) for coziness and warmth. 
3. In another bowl, combine heartfelt conversation and laughter; let it marinate for intense flavour.
4. Fold in a tight and squeezing bearhug and add the bowl to the flour mixture. Cover with plastic and let it sit overnight for best results.
5. Pour mixture into a prepared pan and let it bake for 35-40 minutes; it will be fully prepared when the scent tickles your nose and makes you smile. 
6. Garnish with chocolate or frost with chocolate frosting; top with slices of your favourite fruit for added health benefit.

Enjoy:

• To be enjoyed not in one sitting, but as servings spread out over a period of 2-3 weeks when you really need it; effects are strong and tend to be long-lasting.
• Preferred to be enjoyed in the company of loved ones with a bottle of wine, but can also be enjoyed in solitude while Enya is playing in the background, to be followed by a session of yoga or a session of looking at things on Pinterest that make you laugh.

Earlier this week, I had my first panic attack in about three years. It was one of those situations of helplessness and feeling so overwhelmed, and it's not something I'd want to repeat for at least another three years. This "recipe" for relaxation has really come in handy. The past couple of weekends I've been able to spend indulging in delicious food at Winterlicious, seeing friends I haven't seen in so long, getting free bubble tea for being the year of the Dragon (whoop whoop!), drinking probably a little too much wine, and getting surprise calls from The Boy who calmed me down when I was feeling lost.

While ignoring the hard moments or running away from your problems isn't the best solution all the time, it does help to have distractions or people around you who are willing to listen, eager to make you laugh, and time (or thyme) to just relax. Here's what I've been up to lately that keeps me smiling on a regular basis (picure of Enya album not included since I don't actually own one haha):  

Balloons make everything better :)

Getting all spiffy for our friends' engagement party!

Our annual meet-up - this time with wine and "The Artist" (excellent film)

And complete with the best spinach salad of life (pecans, goat cheese, apples, nom!)

Here's what my iPod (I still have to name it!) sees on a regular basis:

Sally Hansen nails, Starbucks cups, delicious Belgian waffle after a night of skating in the freezing cold, and fantastic green apple bubble tea and condensed milk/chocolate toast.

And the gorgeous snowfall ... before it sadly all melted away yesterday.

My apologies for being MIA - those moments of relaxation were much-needed. If I could add one more ingredient to that recipe it'd be "watching K-dramas or a TV show of your choice" - I just started watching "Pretty Boy Ramen Shop" (very bizarre name) and it provides a perfect mini-escape. 

What ingredients would you add
to your recipe of relaxation? 

Oh, and if $ weren't an option, "an all-inclusive vacation to Antigua" would be a great ingredient to add. Hope you get to spend some time relaxing this week :)