Plant Babies

On Sunday, I finally got my butt in gear and planted the seeds that I need to start prior to Alberta's growing season. It's a pretty standard practice when it's usually not frost-free until after the May long weekend (usually the third week of May). This is what my plant babies looked like a couple of days ago (which unfortunately isn't much):

The lid on the planter helps keep moisture and warmth in, since seeds need a certain atmosphere to start. Unfortunately, the seed markers I found were a bit too tall to fit under the lid, so for now, I scribbled directly on it to identify which is which.

I only started four kinds of seeds this time around, since a lot of the other stuff I want to plant (peas, beans, cilantro, potatoes, etc.) work fine seeded directly into the garden once the frost season has passed. I did two "cells" each of the following (from top to bottom): tomatillos, serrano peppers (or chiles de serrano), zucchini and tumbler tomatoes (which will be grown in my upside-down tumbler tomato planter - apparently they do really well this way!)

This year is my first year gardening. I've watched my mom garden since I was just a wee little thing, so I know a bit about it, but my mom is still my go-to expert for all things plant-related. After reading my seed packets, I saw that the serranos and tomatillos need 14 to 16 hours of sunlight a day to thrive once they've sprouted, so this weekend I'll be heading to Home Depot for a fluorescent light housing and some bulbs for it. Mom suggested that I get one "cool white" and one "warm white" bulb to cover the full spectrum, instead of spending significantly more money on the actual grow bulbs.

I'll be sure to post more once my plant babies sprout!

Savory Creations Round Up: Part 1

I've been keeping track of a lot of my more complex or "impressive" meals by posting photos of them on Facebook. Since I'm in the middle of packing up to move and all that jazz, and probably won't have much time to post anything extravagant here for the next while, I figured I'd give you a round up of sorts of some of the things I've cooked so far.

Fried Chicken

I was prompted to make fried chicken by my boyfriend, R, after purchasing a deep fryer from Costco (it's the T-Fal Ultimate EZ Clean Deep Fryer). He actually gives me all sorts of ideas for stuff to make, and they usually work out quite well.

Fried chicken, test run number one.

The feedback I got on attempt number one at making fried chicken was that the consistency of the batter was perfect, but that it was a bit bland. The drumsticks worked out well, though.

Fried chicken number two, with waffles!

For round two, I went way heavier on the paprika and garlic salt added to the batter, and it came out better, though I could probably stand to go even heavier going forward. This time, I used bone-in chicken breasts for frying.

Chicken Neptune

My parents came to visit mid-January for my mom's birthday this year, as well as to go to the (postponed) P!nk concert and hit up the Edmonton Motorcycle Show. My mom knows I cook a fair amount when I'm motivated to do so, and she's been bugging me for a while now that I've never cooked anything for her. So I decided to go all fancy and make her a dinner comprised of Chicken Neptune (grilled chicken topped with home made Hollandaise sauce), oven-roasted asparagus topped with a bit of Parmesano-Reggiano, and garlic cheddar mashed potatoes.

Chicken Neptune and its accoutrements.

Salsa Verde and Salsa Roja

One thing that I make on a fairly regular basis is salsa. When I lived in Mexico, I picked up a few recipes, and this was one of them. This particular time around, I made salsa verde, or green salsa. When I can find tomatillos ("green tomatoes", which are oddly more closely related to gooseberries than tomatoes), I whip up some salsa verde, and when I can't I use tomatoes instead and make salsa roja (red salsa). Part of the process involves charring the tomatoes and chile peppers first.

Tomatillos and hot peppers being charred.

Then you throw everything in a blender (maybe one day I'll share the recipe, but not today!) and blend it until you have your desired consistency.

Salsa verde that looks more like salsa roja, haha!

It's so easy to make, and so fresh and delicious, even just as a dip for chips (though I do use it for many more things). Unfortunately, this batch came out looking more like salsa roja instead of salsa verde because of the color of peppers I used. I usually use serrano peppers, but the store didn't have any this time around so I improvised.

I think I'm going to stick with three food items for now, since I have quite a few more don't want to bombard you all at once! Stay tuned for the next round up, which will include lasagna, stromboli, and schnitzel with German potato salad...

El Principio

I'm no stranger to blogging, but it's always interesting writing the first post in a new blog. I never quite know where to start or what to say. One thing I do know, however, is that I do miss having a space on the internet to call my own, that isn't Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. So here I am once again, ready to start anew, with no intentions to put pressure on myself to post on any regular basis (which is what turned me off blogging the last few times). This is, pure and simple, for me!

It's me! At Capilano Suspension Bridge Park last summer.

I suppose I should start by telling you a bit about myself...my name is Shayla and as of this post, I'm in my late twenties. I have many interests and hobbies, but some of the more prevalent ones lately include:

• motorcycling
• Warhammer (if you don't know what this is, check out this website)
• baking
• cooking (especially Mexican)
• makeup artistry (beauty makeup and special effects)
• television
• target shooting
• traveling
• exercise/health

My motorcycle, Excalibur. It's a 2006 Yamaha FZ6.

Shooting my boyfriend's 10/22 at the range last summer.

I've had a lot of great life experiences that have made me who I am. I'm university educated, have lived abroad (I spent a year in Mexico in high school between grades 11 and 12) and am fiercely independent. I enjoy challenging myself and learning new things, especially languages - in addition to English, I speak French and Spanish, and a wee bit of Italian. 

I currently live in one of the larger cities in Alberta, and will be moving to a smaller suburb at the end of April. Most people think it's kind of an odd move, but I'm moving in with my boyfriend, so it's a good thing in that respect, and makes sense for me/us at this point. Besides the obvious, I'm hoping that once I'm settled and not bouncing back and forth between his place and mine, I'll be able to focus more on my hobbies (notably the exercise/health part of things). Which is where the blogging thing comes into play...

So that's the long and short of it. Hopefully, it tickles your fancy, and you'll stick around to hear about some of my adventures!