hi

I am not making any grand promises. But I am giving you a recipe for braised lentils (vegan). You can thank Martina for that. And Geoff for the recipe basics. And I should thank Robyn for the wicked garlic she gave me. Should I be embarrassed to admit I had never braised anything before? 

Because I'm not.  

 BRAISED LENTILS 

I didn't measure anything, sorry about that. 

1 large white onion, diced
2 carrots, diced 
4 cloves garlic, peeled & minced 
6-8 mushrooms, sliced 
Dried green lentils 
Olive oil 
Chili powder
Paprika
Bay leaves 
Lemon
Salt & pepper

Rinse your lentils. 

Pour some olive oil (maybe 2-3 Tbsp) into a casserole dish or dutch oven. Put on medium heat and add the onion and carrot. Let that sweat for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms (and a bit more oil if needed). Stir in chili, paprika, salt, and pepper (1-2 tsp of each) and give it 2-3 minutes. 

Pour a layer of lentils over your veggies so you have a roughly equal lentil to veggie ratio. Cover everything in water or vegetable stock, allowing for an inch or two of liquid above the lentil & veggie mix. Add 3 bay leaves. Stir gently to mix. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let the lentils simmer for 20-25 minutes. Stir once or twice to ensure you have sufficient liquid and nothing is sticking to the bottom of your dish. When done, you should still have maybe an inch of liquid at the bottom of the dish and the lentils will crush easily when bitten. Season to taste (for me, that means more salt). Portion out and add a small squeeze of lemon. 

Enjoy. 

 
My photo (view on Instagram @aisforaubrie). 

untitled

It was one of THOSE weekends. Although I did have a beautiful brunch at Catch 122 this morning. So there was that. 

Some of my people have a pretty stressful week coming up so GOOD LUCK little ones. 

xx a. 

Photos from wolves and bucks, a beautiful mess, born to be wild, maffashion, gypsy in the city, and bows and studs. 

jungle beats

The Interwebs have been buzzing with a video of a young bgirl named Terra. Not to say that I'm not impressed with her serious style, but why is no one talking about the music? 

I really can't tell you much about London-based band Jungle. My mad academic research skills are failing me in the search for meaningful biographical information. Yes, the vocals remind you of TV on the Radio (in the best way) but that sound is uniquely urban animal sexy. You can listen to their 2013 debut sounds here. 

Video of "Platoon" by Jungle, hosted by YouTube. Image from The Heat video off junglejunglejungle.com.

under wraps

I could have sworn I had already posted this recipe but I was looking for it to share with a friend the other day and I couldn't find it. So if you are reading this information for the second time, I apologize. If it is the first time, you're welcome. 

 
LENTIL WRAPS WITH BLACKENED ONIONS, JALAPENO, AVOCADO, AND TOMATO

2 whole wheat wraps 
1 can (15 oz) Eden Organics lentils with onion and bay leaf 
2-3 onions, thinly sliced 
1 jalapeno, de-seeded and thinly sliced   
1 avocado, pitted, sliced on a diagonal and scooped out of the peel
As many cherry or grape tomatoes as you want 
salt
pepper
lemon juice
olive oil 

Put 2 Tbsp olive oil in a cast iron on medium-low heat and toss in your onion slices. Keep an eye on your onions over a period of about 25 minutes. If they start to dry out before they start to brown/blacken, add more olive oil. When the onions are nice and shriveled and dark brown, push them to the sides of the pan and quickly sautee your jalapeno in the centre of the pan (1-2 minutes). 

Drain off the liquid from the lentils, heat. Assemble: base layer of lentils on a wrap, nudge 1/2 an avocado up beside that, top with onions, jalapeno, tomato, splash of lemon juice, sprinkle of salt and pepper. Wrap.

So. Easy.

My recipe, my photo.

home, homies.

Tory texted me yesterday, fishing for a blog post on my trip so THIS is that post. 

In case you were wondering, New York is the best. And that is not just attributable to the fact that I was on vacation, exploring a new city. 

I was so fortunate to have an amazing amie, Carli, and her lovely boyfriend, Davey, living in the city that were generous enough to host me for a week. From their gorgeous rooftop deck, I briefly lorded over Williamsburg. Let's be honest, if I lived in NY, I would obviously live in Brooklyn. 

With the help of my friends and an extremely useful app (Embark), I expertly navigated the subway system and was asked for directions not once, but four or five times. Of course, I was unable to assist anyone because I only knew where I was going. And just barely. 

I touristed it up at the Museum of Natural History, the Met, the 9/11 Memorial, and (ever so briefly) Times Square. I lounged in Central Park and walked the Highline with expert tour guide, Davey. I went on an expedition for five panel hats that took me intimately through the Lower East Side (it was a massive success). 

And then CV and I ate. And drank. A lot. 

Highlights included a top notch dinner at St Anselm, a killer brunch at Cafe Mogador, and a feast at the basement vegetarian mecca Punjabi (I hope you weren't expecting a website for that one, you'll have to ask around). I also had a life-changing bagel experience at The Bagelsmith - they have cream "cheese" that is tofu stuffed with beautiful things like sundried tomatoes and fresh basil and it is the best imitation I have ever found. I was afraid they had made a mistake and I was eating dairy but NO. Just fantastic.

After a particularly harrowing whiskey-related alcohol poisoning experience, I have never been able to nurture a relationship with the stuff but Char No 4 has the potential to turn me around. Slowly. The cheapest top shelf was at Blue & Gold Tavern and the sassiest of the bar service was found at Extra Fancy and I had no complaints.

So that's what's up. 

Oh, and on the longer of the two flights that it took to get me home, I lucked out and the two other seats in my row were empty. I had all of the seats! I put up the arm rests, tucked my jacket behind me, and stretched the fuck out.

All photos are from my iPhone. 

"pasta"

Sometimes I feel like the only person in Vancouver who does not particularly like butternut squash. Sorry guys but my heart has room for only one squash and that is of the spaghetti variety. 

Spaghetti squash is delicious when steamed and tossed with oil, Parmesan (for the dairy-eaters), and salt and pepper (and the leftovers are more delicious when pan fried). It is also a treat in the place of traditional pasta if you want a more veggie-focused meal or you are living gluten free. I love spaghetti squash with a chunky tomato sauce or paired simply with some of my favourite vegetables. 

SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH SAUTEED ZUCCHINI, LEEK, SPINACH, AND GARLIC 

1 medium or large spaghetti squash 
1 small zucchini
2 large leeks 
2 big cloves Russian Red garlic (or 4 small cloves of another kind of garlic)
2 handfuls of fresh spinach 
Extra virgin olive oil 
Earth Balance 
Salt (I used a lemon sea salt from Maison Cote) 
Pepper (I used Maison Cote's "Verona pepper blend", a coarse black pepper blended with basil, oregano, rosemary, garlic, tomato, chili flakes, toasted onion and celery seed) 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and guts. Take a cookie sheet with a bit of depth to it and cover it with a centimetre of water. Place the squash halves on the cookie sheet with the insides of the facing down. This way the squash steams as it bakes. Cook for approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your squash. 

Meanwhile, wash your leeks and discard the very bottom of the leek as well as the dark green top bit. Slice the leeks into rounds. Wash and finely slice your zucchini. Peel and mince your garlic. Wash and dry your spinach.

Put a pan on medium heat with some olive oil. Add the leeks and zucchini and let the veggies cook down for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir a few times. Add the spinach and garlic and allow the spinach to wilt (another 2 minutes). 

Take the squash out of the oven and carefully turn over. Scrape the squash "noodles" into a large bowl. The insides the squash should easily scrape out. If it is still hard, it needs to cook for more time. Mix with some Earth Balance, salt, pepper, and your zucchini, leek, spinach, and garlic mixture. Top with cheese if you are into that. 

My recipe. My photo.

linens and things

Somewhere in my wild forays into the depths of internet window shopping, I came across Rikumo. I wish I could say it was a well-researched move on my part but it really was more of a stumble, starting with one good site and reaching further and further until... this. 

Rikumo is a webstore of really lovely Japanese-made household goods. The store was founded in 2010 by Yuka and Kaz Morihata. I keep coming back to the striking simplicity of the beautiful products. I have the black on black charcoal toothbrush (my toothbrush is more stylish than yours) and I am obsessed with the Flax Line Organics towels but have yet to place my order because, let's be serious, I am still a poor student for a bit longer and I can't simply be redecorating my life at this time. 

So I window shop. And imagine how comfortable and chic my petite apartment could be. 

 

Binchotan Charcoal Toothbrushes 

 

Hinoki Cypress Bath Tea

Flax Line Organics Towel, Blue Ivory

Two Tone Chambray Towel, Black 1

Linen Border Towel, Navy

Karmi Tea Canister, Hishi

Hasami Porcelain Mug

CDT Leather Pen Case 

CDT Box of HB Pencils

All photos from rikumo.com.

late holiday

On Saturday, I am taking off for a week. Yes, it is the first week of classes but sometimes these things can't be helped. (Well, they could but it would be substantially more boring). 

I am going to stay with my gorgeous and brilliant amie, Carli, in her new apartment in Brooklyn. This will be my first time in New York and I am really excited and also super thankful to have a guide that has been living in Manhattan for the last year. 

I will try to remember to take a lot of photos. 

Have a beautiful week, babes. 

Photos from maffashion, miss moss, trop rouge, bows and studs x 2, and miss moss.