Grocery Shopping's Done... Now The Cooking Begins

So I did the grocery shopping with E-ve’s help. It was a resounding success.


The No Frills had everything that we were looking for and now the freezer, fridge and cupboards are full of new foods. It’s exciting.

Let’s take a look at some of the things that came home with us.

-Soy crumble (Blue menu)
-Breaded fish fillets
-Chicken quarters
-Bacon
-Large brown eggs
-Red onions
-Sweet bell peppers
-Sausages
-Pork chops
-Canned fruit salad
-Canned crushed pineapple
-Margarine
-Canned green beans
-Canned beans
-Canned creamed corn
-Canned soup
-BBQ sauce
-Mini-Wheats
-Hot dogs
-Brownie mix
-Instant mashed potatoes
-Whole wheat bread
-English muffins

We also found out that my freezer is awesome and didn’t ruin a bunch of the stuff that was already in there. So I also have chicken fingers, hamburgers, taquitos, a pizza and ice cream in the freezer.

So far I’ve cracked a few eggs and had sandwiches on English muffins. The red onions and red pepper and some left over bacon made a great combo with the fluffy muffins.

E-ve also made a great pancake dinner for us Thursday night which didn’t actually use anything that we brought home from the grocery store. And strangely that made me feel really good. I think it was because I hadn’t spent that much money all at once on food in a long time. And not using it up right away calmed me a little bit.

Side note: E-ve’s homemade peach jam was great on my pancakes and it even mixed well with a little table syrup. Tasty win.

Moving forward there are plans for roasted chicken with veggies. Maybe a sausage and pasta dish. Pork chops with potatoes and creamed corn. Perhaps some soup and sandwiches. Beans and weiners and toast. Chicken fingers and taquitos munchie night. Fish and veggies. And who knows what else.

I’ve also been keeping track of some of the recipes that have worked out well so far. I was thinking that maybe I would share them. I’m a pretty alright cook, but most of the things I do are terribly simple. Things that anyone can put together with the right ingredients. I’m also hoping that you all might add respond with some easy ones for me to try as well.

I even have a request from @technicolor_cat on my Twitter feed for the results of the Soy experiment.

So, wish me luck my friends. With E-ve’s help and support I’m gonna give this whole eating at home thing a real shot.

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Grocery Lists And Home Cooking My Way To Happiness

So I was talking the other day about how E-ve is excited that I’m thinking about picking up some soy when I do my grocery shopping this week. It’s that whole healthy alternative thing that has her smiling and praising me before I even get to the store.

Truth is that she and I are both excited that I have the gumption and planning to go grocery shopping and start cooking in the first place. For quite a while now I’ve been in a rut of laziness where food is concerned. Fast food and pre-made dinner has been the order of the day almost 7 days a week for too long.

The ideas behind grocery shopping and cooking are multiple. Health is one of them. The one that has E-ve excited and where the soy comes in to play. Also, cooking chicken and beef and pork and such at home with veggies or pasta or both is going to be a lot healthier than grabbing chicken nuggets or hamburgers.

Side note: I will miss shawarma and it may be my cheap treat from time to time.

One of the others is cost. I try to eat the cheap stuff from the fast food joints near my apartment, it’s not like I’m 5 star dining every night, but it adds up. I’m burning through a lot of cash doing the grab something on the way home routine. If I can save some money by cooking for myself it’s a bonus for sure. There never seems to be enough cash in the account to do fun stuff when the ideas strike. And with Jake’s play coming up in March I’ll need some scratch for a bus ticket.

The third is waste. Fast food makes a lot of garbage. And I’m a bad house keeper. If I am cooking for myself there won’t be bags and napkins and plastic forks all over the place. I’ll have to wash dishes so that I can cook and so that I can eat. That cycle should keep itself going. I try to be a green dude, but I will fully admit that I’m not doing a very good job of it right now.

Side note: I just thought of this now, but wine and other drinks are going to go so much better with home cooked food. Bonus.

The last idea behind this whole thing is me being happy. I like cooking and I like eating, those are pretty self explanatory. But on top of that there’s this whole funk that I’ve been in. Come home around 8pm or so and grab something (greasy) on the way to the apartment. Change clothes, eat, watch some TV, sleep. That’s been the routine for the last while now. It’s draining and it makes it feel like home is nothing more than the cable bill and place to sleep. What I’m aiming for is that feeling of home that comes with cooking and the smells and the satisfaction of being a little bit more of a grown-up. Let’s not get carried away here, I said a little bit more grown-up.

Let’s take a look at what could end up on the grocery list by the time Thursday comes.

-Mini-Wheats cereal
-canned corn
-canned peas
-canned mushrooms
-bacon
-chicken thighs/ whole chicken (on sale at more than one grocery store this week)
-whole wheat bread
-margarine
-pork chops
-cheese
-milk
-soy crumble
-sausages
-side kicks
-eggs
-sweet peppers
-onion
-small potatoes
-instant mashed potatoes

So, wish me luck. There’s a whole lot riding on this movement.

And if it works I might even try to become a better house keeper.

But that’s a big maybe.

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This Isn't Love, It's Fantasy Hockey!

Hey there my puck loving friends,


This week is the second week of the second half of this season’s hockey pool. The last season and a half haven’t been especially great. I have done alright in the last few weeks but I need to be able to put a streak together.

The key to the pool that I play in is paying for short term production. The weeks go from Saturday to Friday and then it’s time to pick 12 new dudes. I get 6 forwards, 4 defensemen and 2 goaltenders and I get 30 points to spend to get them. Each dude is valued 1 point to 4 points each with goalies going from 2 points to 4 points each. The value is directly related to the player’s talent, as you may have assumed.

The other key to fantasy hockey and all fantasy sports, is not to fall in love with the dudes on your favourite team. Trust me, it’s not always a good thing. Now, if your favourite team is the Penguins or Sharks or Caps than you are in better shape than most. But in general, one of the worst things you can do is pick with your heart instead of your head. This isn’t love my friends, it’s a competition. You have to be mean and calculated and take risks that you wouldn’t think you’d take. Okay, so that last part sounds like love, but that’s it.

This year’s fantasy studs have been Henrik Sedin from the Vancouver Canucks, Joe Thorton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle from the San Jose Sharks, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green from the Washington Capitals, Thomas Plekanec of my Montreal Canadiens and even Thomas Kaberle of E-ve’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now, because this is a cap system there comes a point decisions have to be made. Do I spend on defensemen and hope for power play points? What cheap forward am I going to take a chance on this week? So far it’s been Alex Ponikarovsky , Andrei Kostitsyn and Stephen Weiss among others.

While last week wasn’t a great one, I’m hoping for a big push this week. But more importantly I don’t want to get myself into a big hole. There’s a car on the line for the winner. Also, I try every week to get the better of one of my co-workers. Last week I did. Most weeks I do.

This week I’ve got a bunch of really good hockey players on my roster. If you see names like Kovalchuk, Heatley, Thorton, Gaborik, Richards, Byfuglien, Robidas and Nabakov you’ll know that I’m doing alright.

You know what else is awesome? E-ve supports my habits. I smile big when she watches the ticker with me and counts points. I’m a lucky dude that way. I know that I have what can be an overwhelming affinity for sports, and not just hockey. But having her entertain my fancies is a huge bonus. I’m a big fan of her as well as the sports.

So, wish me luck. This thing is a big fun part of my fall, winter and spring.

And if I win the car I’ll DD.

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The 1st Long Form Musing...

A year ago I started writing the New Morning Musings and it’s been fun. I love writing about last night’s games or today’s news or how awesome E-ve and my friends are. I also wrote some pieces for www.hotpinkgeek.com that were great to put together.



I dedicated more words and time to one subject. I got to explain and express in a longer format. I’m thinking that there could be some more of that. Maybe there could be some notes on Facebook as well as this space for longer pieces.

Another part of the plan is to take advantage of Twitter more. Share links to stories that tickle my fancy. Whether they are sports, news, arts or entertainment, I’ll look to share it.


I’m also happy and lucky to be able to link to blogs that I like. Romeo’s will be coming soon as he went live to the world today at http://www.semi-dailyplanet.blogspot.com/ and some of my other favourites from celebrities and regular folks are already there.


I know that blogs aren’t unique or new at this point. But I still feel lucky to be able to have somewhere to ramble and post.


Ask E-ve, there are few things in this world that make me as happy as writing does.


I’m a lucky guy getting set to focus on a new direction. I don’t want to lose the fun and off the cuff feeling that the New Morning Musings has now, I love that part. But being able to add to it would be an amazing opportunity.


Thank you to everyone that stops in to read, who follows on Twitter or who stops in here and becomes a friend.


I write because I love it, but having a platform to publish is a great feeling.


And thank you to E-ve.


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