food is a weird word when you look at it a long time. food. foooood.

yesterday was a lovely day.  i woke up late and languished in my bed a while.  there's something very lovely about lazy time in bed with morning light streaking across my bed.  mornings are so nice when i have time to appreciate them--bask in them.  

i decided wednesday would be my creative cooking day.  my visiting teacher, tracy, was coming over and i asked her if she would like to have dinner.  she agreed and said that she likes everything, so i was not limited.  i began to search my magazines and books and food blogs for something i wanted to make.  eventually i came up with a plan.  roasted chicken, thanks to jamie oliver who suggested roasting the chicken on top of veggies, squash toasts, thanks to smitten kitchen, and fall salad (my creation for work) with oka cheese instead of cheddar, thanks to heather for introducing it to me and ricardo for saying it went well with apple....aaaaaaanyways i got ready and went for an all navy look, with my dark blue skinny (hahahaha) jeans and my navy t-shirt, but with a nice green striped tank top peeking out of the bottom.  i opted for no coat and just wrapped the beige, cream and gold woven scarf bethany gave me one christmas (was it the last one on neyland?) around my neck and stepped out the door.  the minute i stepped outside i felt so good.  it was a lovely watery sunshine day, the bite in the air was gone.  it was mild and fresh and the park had just been mowed so it smelled like, well like spring and felt like spring and spring makes one jubilant.

i checked out the new upper-scale grocery store--these places like to be called a 'market'.  sure enough it's loblaw's city market  and it is a beautiful thing.  i walked in the doors and somewhat akin to the grinch, my eyes grew three sizes that day.  i walked around mouth agape, eyes like saucers and just enjoyed everything.  even the produce section, had so many cool things and it was all arranged like art.  i would be happy to photograph their lettuce cubbies and root veggies, delicate curly ends spilling out--i can't describe it, but i liked it.  i liked it a lot.  so basically i went around shopping with a song in my heart and a dance in my step.  i got a little bunch of organic yellow beets, a little bunch of  little multi-coloured carrots, and this lovely bunch of hot pink long skinny radishes, a bag of shitake mushrooms, some belgian endive, goat cheese (so much to choose from!)...a friendly lady introduced me to the wall of cheese where i chose a nice oka cheese, and then i found the amazing bakery and asked for the potato chive foccaccia....sigh.  so basically when i had all my stuff i had to stop myself from looking too clearly at everything else because the temptation would be too great.  who has such raptures in a grocery store??  i was close to going all anne shirley and naming aisles and sections the equivalent of white way of delight and lake of shining waters!  ah well, i'm on vacation ok?  i'm high on vacation endorphins--a real thing.  before leaving i purchased a chicken fig and brie panini for the road.

back at the ranch i cleaned.  i need to invite people over more often because it really is the best incentive to clean.  then i cooked...and cooked...and cooked.  the veggies roasted under the chicken (all the ones i mentioned minus the endives and plus onion and garlic cloves), with little parm added were delish, sweet from the apple cider i poured in the bottom of the pan.

                                      

 the squash toasts...the squash toasts, were, let's just say it--divine.  make them.  you won't be disappointed.  here's an ugly phone pic of them. not convinced?  there's goat cheese, there's maple syrup-apple cider vinegar onion compote, there's joy.  am i not joyus?  try them.  i'm going to have some for breakfast!

and the chicken was yummy too, although it took a long time to be done, so i ended up carving the breast for us to eat and cooking it for longer.  oh!  and the fall salad (apple, toasted walnuts and oka), i dressed the leaves with a lot of lemon because endive is alarmingly bitter, and then i made a dressing with blood orange, olive oil and honey.  equals pretty good but next time i'd mix the endive with another green.

so tracy and i had a good time, good eats and good talks, and i've been brewing the bones in a soup all night.

i fell asleep watching gilmore girls on netflix--my foodie day was a good one.