summer is truly here, and I’m taking a break

Summer is really here and I have finally been fully at ease since leaving my job.

I am getting ready to go to France and really want to enjoy my last moments here.

The other night we had our farewell to the house party and I cooked up a storm, enjoyed wonderful food all day long, sipped a little bit of wine, and caught up with a lot of familiar faces.

While it has been fun chronicling my daily eats, I find that being so precise in noting every bite not only boring but a little obsessive.

This weekend I let go, ate exactly as I pleased, took a few pictures and had a wonderful time.

I realized that when you spend so much time thinking about how you are going to post something publicly you sometimes forget how to enjoy it privately.

Food is one of my greatest pleasures and I don’t want to lose it.  For this reason  I will continue the occasional food post on my blog Confessions of a Young Woman and leave this one to rest for now.

If you have any questions or requests for my website feel free to email me at gilliankyoung@gmail.com

how sweet it is to be loved by you

I woke up this morning dreaming sweet dreams of my delicious tart and made oatmeal with the leftover syrup (red currant and grand marnier, very dacadent) and then added some more syrup to a bottomless bowl of blueberries.

Breakfast: Strawberry tart oatmeal and decadent blueberries

After a nice walk by the water I made a luscious green smoothie to re-hydrate before picking up party supplies at Costco with my mom.

After picking up a bounty of fruits and veggies, sampling cereal and chugging my mom’s mega sized Diet coke (I cut it out of my diet years ago, but on this rare occasion was craving it terribly), I went home with a nice stash of grapes and Larabars.  This made for a perfect pre-work snack.

I packed up some snacks for my last work shift, and took off with my strawberry tart.

Work snacks: Veggies, almonds and a hard boiled egg

After serving a fabulous party of some of my favourite customers-we hugged goodbye- I picked up some bulk chocolate chips from the gourmet grocery store to celebrate my last shift.  I love it when places are open until midnight!

And now I am no longer a waitress!  I have a couple of weeks before France to write, walk and pack.  Tomorrow we celebrate the selling of the house with a party at our home, so I will be in the kitchen all day!  Can’t wait!

my life is delicious

Breakfast: Coconut oat bran with brown sugar 

And the last little piece of the chocolate cake!  Goodbye my love.

Lunch: Fennel, broccoli, celery and grape salad with hummus

After lunch I made my boyfriend a kickass smoothie with almond milk, coconut, banana, blueberries and strawberries.  Of course I had to have some.

Dinner: Thai curry cashews (so good I ate the whole bag before I could snap a pic and a spread of hummus, crostini and vegetables

I also have been munching on dough and syrup and a sample size of a strawberry tart I am making!  

I must be the only person baking in this insane heat, but I’ve never followed the crowd.

The big tart is coming to work with me tomorrow since it is my last day working at the restaurant!

Martha Stewart has nothing on me.  

last night’s beautiful picnic

My dad snapped a few photos at last night’s delicious picnic. This is the only one where I wasn’t reaching for food so I thought I’d share!

The cold roasted chicken, salad and asparagus were PERFECT for the hot summer day!

hot on hump day

Today was absolutely roasting!  Vancouver has turned into a tropical paradise and I’m loving it other than the sleepless nights!

While some people lose their appetites in the sun…I rarely lose mine.  I started the day off right once more with breakfast in the form of dessert.  Still loving this leftover cake and pie!

Breakfast: Apple pie and flourless chocolate cake

Lunch: Whole foods salad with kale, vegetables, raw macadamia nut butter and a dehydrated vegetable cracker

cherries and a giant peach (eaten at my internship)

Dinner: Beach picnic dinner of cold roast chicken, cold asparagus salad and berries

Dessert: Late night snack of blueberries and dark chocolate

early indulgence

Today started with some early indulgences and stayed delicious with some fresh eats throughout the day.  It is HOT out and I’m loving every minute of it.

Breakfast: Chocolate coconut oat bran with brown sugar

Mid-morning snack Dessert: Slice of flourless chocolate cake and apple pie

Lunch: Big salad with mushrooms, celery, grape tomatoes, broccoli, hummus and balsamic vinegar

Dinner: White bean and hard boiled egg salad (at work)

Dessert: A couple of huge summer fruit salads (back at home)

sweet summer bites

Breakfast: Giant bowl of fresh berries and Irish breakfast tea

Lunch: Big bean and veggie salad with homemade vinaigrette.  

Then I got real and whipped out the ketchup to eat with some more navy beans and carrots.  My favourite funny snack.

Dinner: A spread of hummus, vegetables and rice crackers followed by spicy deviled eggs and corn on the cob

Dessert: Few bites of homemade chocolate almond cake and apple pie leftover from my boyfriend’s birthday.  We have tons that we brought home left in our fridge and I am  very thankful to his mother for these!  

we’re here for a good time, not a long time

This weekend was absolutely delicious and I don’t know where to begin with all the wonderful things I’ve eaten.

Let’s just say it included lots of wonderful baguette bread, white wine, margaritas, Mexican food, French pastries and strong coffee in Seattle, and finished off beautifully tonight with a feast of lamb, steak, salad, flourless chocolate cake and apple pie for my boyfriend’s birthday.  My taste buds feel like they’ve been given a new life and my passion for food is fully re-ignited.

Here’s a glimpse…

 

somewhere over the rainbow

I am still humming “Somewhere over the rainbow…” from the Wizard of Oz themed fireworks last night!

Breakfast: Big bowl of coconut oats with agave nectar and local apple chips

I went out for lunch with my lovely mother and had a seafood salad.  I think my taste buds were spoiled last night because the scallops in this salad could hardly compare.

Lunch: warm seafood salad

 

Lunch was good but it was not sitting in my stomach very well after eating it.  I was craving something sweet and made the poor decision of getting a big bag of carob chips.

 

I ended up getting sick- think it was the seafood- and taking the night off work.  Serving the tables after hugging the toilet bowl is never fun, so I think it’s better that I’m at home.  My stomach is easing up and I’m spending the evening with some cashews and soy nuts, some food food network, and some packing to do!  

 

 

 

We are leaving for Seattle tomorrow so I want to be in fine form.  I hope to post some of our wonderful meals whenever I get a chance!  Can’t wait for our road trip (I have already packed a road trip trail mix and my boyfriend is making CDs), and some of the great restaurants in Seattle!

 

enjoying the good life

I think I must be preparing myself for France, as wine, coffee, chocolate and other delicacies have been on the menu lately.

I worked until 12:30 last night and ended up sharing some wine with a couple of co-workers while sharing some great conversation.  I got home around 2 p.m. and had a late night snack/early breakfast before catching some sleep.

Early bird/late night breakfast: coconut, cranberry and pineapple oats

huge bowl of blueberries and peach with agave nectar

Throughout the day I fueled up on some healthy chocolate snacks during my internship….

Chocolate WholeFoods bar

Chocolate protein drink

Carob chips

For dinner my boyfriend and I went to Market by Jean-Georges, a new restaurant that opened up nearby that I have been dying to try.

I enjoyed a lemon drop martini on the patio before me moved inside to have our meal.

With my dinner I had a gimlet martini, and we shared the seared scallops with caramelized cauliflower and caper-raisin emulsion.  It was melt in your mouth delicious and the emulsion was decadent and packed with flavour.

 

For our main we shared the soy-glazed short ribs with jalapeno puree and rosemary crumbs.  I wanted to try this just to try the jalapeno puree but was blown away by the whole dish.  The ribs were so tender the meat fell apart in your fork, the rosemary crumbs were crisp, buttery and herb infused, and the jalapeno puree was delicate and the perfect finish to the combination.  The sliced apple on top of the dish was clean and crisp and a beautiful touch to the whole meal.

After dinner we walked down to the beach and watched the fireworks.  I couldn’t think of a nicer evening, and I feel my taste buds and love of life have been invigorated by it all.