Week 39: Arts & Crafts Time - I Made Soap!

I really love the store "Michaels".  They have one in Dixie Outlet Mall in Mississauga.  Michaels is a store for anyone who's interested in being creative.  They have arts and crafts supplies and ideas for just about anyone.  I've actually purchased several things there for my students in the past.  One of my many things to do on this year off was to attempt a new craft, something I would never really have time to do in the school year.  Now, I'm about as confident in craft-making as I am in cooking.  So my goal was to pick out something designed for a child.  That way I would be setting myself up for success, right?  I found a soap making kit called Soap Making 101 by ArtMinds.  It says it's designed for 15 years and up.  I tried to find something for younger people but to no avail.  I figured it would be a cool thing to try, and if successful, something actually useful too.  I was off to a bad start when I had to ask someone for help since I didn't fully understand the instructions.  Of no fault of my own, it turns out they left out a key step in the leaflet.  Another issue is that it calls for the use of microwave oven to melt the soap.  I don't have a microwave.  I know, I know; I'm probably the only person in the country who doesn't own a microwave.  Anyway, I asked around a little and people seemed to think that my regular oven would work.  The photos below show the box the kit came in and included materials.

The kit offers several different soap-making designs but I started with the basics.  I figured I'd make one single coloured bar of soap initially to make sure I knew what I was doing before attempting some high tech art gallery creation.  However, I accidentally ended up with a two layered, two coloured, one side scented bar of soap.  It turns out that the kit actually comes with two kinds of glycerin soap, white and clear.  All you have to do is cut the amount you'd like, melt it, add the colouring and scented oil, stir, and pour into the mold of choice.  I ended up with two layers of different soap because I misjudged the amount of soap to melt.  This is what my first layer looked like.

They recommend using rubbing alcohol to spray the soap once in the mold to help eliminate any wrinkles or air bubbles.  It really does work.  The soap will begin to cool when you see a kind of film on the surface.  You need to wait awhile before adding another layer of soap.  You also need to spray some rubbing alcohol on the bottom layer right before adding the second layer to help seal them together.  This is the second layer.

Once completely cooled you have to force the soap out of the mold by applying constant pressure at the back of the mold.  They made it sound difficult but I actually found that part quite easy.  This is the final product.  Voila!

I wrapped it up in clear wrap to ensure freshness and finally got to try it out on the weekend.  It turns out to be more aesthetically pleasing than practical since it makes little to no suds.  I was also a bit disappointed that what I thought to be a pungent amount of scented oil had somehow completely dissipated.  Next time I'm going to try a different design and add some scented oil of my own from The Body Shop.  I'll pour half the bottle in if I have to.  I can always give it away as a gift if it turns out badly ;)

Week 38: Attempting a Couple of Weight Watchers Recipes

Up until this year my desire to cook for myself, or anyone else for that matter, was pretty much nil.  However, all my experimentation has really payed off.  I no longer fear the idea of cooking a meal or attempting a new recipe.  In fact, I made dinner for two last night and not only looked forward to it, but enjoyed it to boot!   I definitely think that this year's cooking adventures will be a healthy benefit to my life when I return to work.  There will be less frozen entrees & sandwiches and more variety without the added preservatives and other unfavourable additives.  Remember, I said "less".  It's simply too expensive and impractical for one person to freshly prepare EVERY meal EVERY day.  Come on now; we're not pioneers.

Last week I bought the Weight Watchers 360 kit which included a recipe book.  I found two simple and interesting meals to try.

snappy tex-mex shrimp soup - 7 PointsPlus value

The photo below is taken directly from the book.  I followed it as closely as possible, although it took me about 45 min. to complete when it's advertised to take 15.  I can't really blame the book though.  I'm a novice.

This photo is what mine looked like.  It's similar, I guess.  Regardless, it tasted pretty good.  The only problem is that it stunk up my entire apartment for two days.

eggs & lox scramble - 6 PointsPlus value

To be perfectly honest, I had no clue what lox was before this one.  I guess it's some fancy Yiddish way of saying smoked salmon.  Anyway, I've been told that I'm not consuming enough protein so this meal looked like a perfect breakfast antidote.  Minus the sour cream, I followed the recipe and made it my own.

Comparatively, mine looks quite sad.  Doesn't it?  It was a bit too rich for my liking.  I'm not a big fan of salmon and I sometimes find eggs to be kind of sickening as well.  Now that I think of it, I have no idea why I thought the two together would be good.

To sum it all up, I've not only increased my confidence and abilities in cooking but also learned a new shrimp soup recipe.  Oh and let's not forget I've added a new word to my vocabulary - lox.  Impressive?  I'm going with--yes!

Week 37: Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park

Last week on the news they were showcasing a new Toronto attraction called Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park.  I thought it sounded like a great idea and looked it up on line.  I couldn't find any info. on the Toronto location but I did find one in Mississauga.  They're open Tuesday to Sunday and jump times start on the half hour.  That means that you can choose your time in 30 minute intervals and pay accordingly.  I chose to go for an hour which is $12.50 plus tax.  You need to arrive about 30 min. early in order to check in or pay, sign the waiver, and get shoes they supply you with.  There are actually several different areas or rooms in the park for various activities and groups.  I went to the adult area and never left it until my hour was up.  Although, I did see and hear people nearby doing different activities like dodgeball and the foam pit for flips.  It's an entire room filled with trampolines, even on the walls.  You can bounce in one area, from square to square, or even off the walls.  What was it like? It was incredibly fun, invigorating, and like no workout I've ever had.  In less than 10 minutes I didn't know whether I'd make it or not.  But, the key for me was to keep changing it up.  I started in one square with simple bounces.  I slowly added different movements as I became more and more comfortable, like knee bounces, sitting to standing bounces, turns, wall bounces, and bouncing from one square to another.  I had one little mishap when a little kid escaped from the kiddie zone and headed for my square.  I ended up in a face plant but thankfully no one was hurt.  The real pain came afterwards and today even.  I have sore body parts all over!  It was so totally worth it though.  I will definitely go back to Sky Zone.  What a great idea!  Below are some pics and a video link from the internet.  I did not take any pictures or videos while I was there.  Enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL2B37F34EA98DAE69&feature=player_embedded&v=pZRRasEf7Fc

Week 36: Pink Pancakes & Chicken

Last month I got the idea of cooking something new with a seasonal theme.  You could say that I had a need for cuisine.  I was shopping at Winners when I came across the cutest Valentine's Day pancake mix and thought it would be perfect for me.  I've never made pancakes before.  This was festive and easy--just add water.  Unfortunately, because I was out of town during Valentine's Day and busy thereafter, I couldn't make my pink love pancakes until last week.  Instead of having the traditional breakfast pancakes I decided to make them for dinner.  You can't have JUST pancakes for dinner so we planned to have chicken with them.  Why chicken with pancakes?  Well, on many episodes of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" they've showcased waffles with fried chicken; so I figured why not pancakes and rotisserie chicken?  It's the same idea, really.  This is a picture of the Winners pancake mix package.

I followed the directions as stated and it was as easy as predicted.  However, I should mention that the pancake batter had a cat food odour.  Does it ever look as pretty as the picture on the box?

The chicken came from Loblaws, by the way.  Of course I did not make it.

It may look and sound like an odd combination, but I have to tell you that it was good!  The pancakes had chocolate chips and the chicken tasted heavenly with a hint of syrup.  Altogether, I rate this as a successful culinary escapade.  One step closer to Top Chef Canada ;)