Math Clock

Useless News:
There is a new clock going up in the break room.  Some kind of math clock.

Math Clock.

I can't do any of these!  I only know 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock.  Cool clock though.  Perfect for the break room.

BOGO 1/2 Superman and Batman Statues

Dinner today -> Zucchini and Ground Pork.
Sliced up a couple zucchinis and stir fried it with some leftover ground pork.  Seasoned with salt, black pepper, and onion powder.

Simple Dinner.

Useless Toy News:
Went to Toys R Us Kanata tonight.  Found no new Transformers, but I did find a Kotobukiya Superman and Batman statue on clearance.  TRU also has a BOGO (Buy One Get One) 1/2 off for all Clearance Items.  So I got Superman for just $18 :)  I wonder if the TRU on Merivale has other statues on clearance?

Superman and Batman Statues.

Useless Gaming News:
Saw a sign at Kobold's Korner advertising a Gaming Garage Sale this Saturday at the Nepean Sportsplex.  Might go check it out.

Geek and Gaming Garage Sale.

Weekend Report -> Spicy Chicken Ramen.

Food this weekend ->
Chocolate Cake Day was Friday.  I got 6 cakes for work and they got destroyed fast.
Downstairs: Tuxedo, Creme Brule, and Hazelnut cakes.

Downstairs Cakes.

Upstairs: Tuxedo, Creme Brule, and Tiramisu cakes.

Upstairs Cakes.

Hung out at Julie's place on Saturday for a lazy do nothing day.  We finished watching iZombie season 1 and half of Ash vs Evil Dead season 1.  I like iZombie alot.  It has a similar style as Psych and inserted with lots of bits of comedy.  Dinner was home-made pork congee with a Chinese New Year platter from T&T.  I got one with lots of jellyfish and squid.

Chinese New Year Platter.

I got this package of spicy chicken ramen from Norman at work.

Spicy Chicken Ramen.

I cooked it as per instructions and added some leftover roast pork.  The noodles were pretty red...
I ate about half of the bowl before I had to stop and run to get some milk.  The first few mouthfuls had good flavour and nice heat, but then the heat really kicked in and wow it was spicy.  I finished the bowl, but I can't eat this.  It's too spicy.

Too Spicy!

Useless Gaming News:
3-Player gaming at Brian's on Friday.  We started with Sluff Off!  It's a trick taking game that was OK.  It punishes you for taking more tricks than intended.  Not really that great.
Next was Harald.  This is a good game.  Lots of strategy.  Each player sends a card to the "King's Counsel" and 1 card to his Village each turn.  Each card has an ability that is triggered when it is sent to the Village.  The King's Counsel cards represent how much the card is worth at the end of the game, with the worth equal the total number of that card facing up.  I think I will want to get this game.
Herbaceous was next.  It's a simple herb garden collecting game based on luck and strategy.  You need to collect herbs at the right time to score as many points before another player decides to collect to take those points.  I might get this game too.

Sluff Off!, Harald, and Herbaceous.

We also tried out Foragers.  We backed this game awhile ago and only got around to playing it now.  Each player goes around the board collecting food, tools, and victory points through 4 actions a turn.  We only played it once but I don't think it is that great of a game.  Not that fun.

Foragers.

Friday is Chocolate Cake Day!

Nothing going on today, but Friday is Chocolate Cake Day!!!  Social committee is getting some cakes from Costco for everyone at work :)

Dinner today -> Leftover Pork Stew with Rice.
Re-heated the last of the pork stew and dumped the remaining leftover rice into it.  I got to say it was still very good.  The bone gelatin made everything stick together and there was bits of meat everywhere.

Leftover Pork Stew with Rice.

Cola-Beef has no Beef

Snack today -> Cola-Beef.
Susanna, Ben, and I found this package at T&T in the jerky snack section on Sunday.  From the name of the package "Cola-Beef", I thought it was jerky bits that were marinated in cola syrup.  It sounded good, so I bought a pack.  When I opened it and tried it out today, I found it wasn't meat, but fried tofu.  It also didn't taste like cola.  It was a sweet and spicy flavour.  I think it is a northern China spicy flavour that slight numbs the tongue and mouth.  I found it pretty good, as did Ed and Peter.  James didn't like it, while Steve and Marc didn't try it.  More for me :)

Cola-Beef should be Sweet & Spicy Fried Tofu.

Dinner today -> Milestones' Wednesday Date Night Special.
After gaming tonight at work, I went to Milestones with Julie to get the Wednesday Date Night special.  We didn't order the same items as last time.  For starters we got the Mediterranean Goat Cheese Platter.  I forgot to take a picture before ate it all.  I never had goat cheese before, and I found it good and creamy.  I also liked the fig jam, but Julie told me there are better.
For entrees, Julie got the Spicy Thai Basil Noodles.  Looked like a good amount of noodles topped with shrimp and chicken, with a tasty coconut sauce.

Spicy Thai Basil Noodles.

I got the Thai Red Curry Beef Bowl.  It was OK.  Alot of beef and good red curry and ginger flavour.  I had 1 really long sliver of something in my bowl.  It looked like a carrot sliver so I chomped on it.  I was wrong.  It was ginger!  The bowl was filling, but the steak I got last time was much better than this dish.

Thai Red Curry Bowl.

For dessert we shared a White Chocolate Cheesecake.  It was very good.  A satisfying dessert for the end of the meal.

White Chocolate Cheesecake.

Useless Gaming News:
We played 3 player Vast tonight.  Evan played as the Knight, James as the Dragon, and I was the Goblins.  It was a learning game and it took us 2.5hrs to finish.  I made a few mis-plays during my turns and I think it may have cost me the game.  I should have held back 1 Goblin tribe in Hiding so I was able to Ambush the Knight and get in a couple extra attacks (Goblin's objective is to kill the Knight).

DQ January 2017 Deal

Dinner today -> Pork Stew
Monday night, I boiled the pork shank bone I got from leftovers on Sunday.  I added some pork breast bone chunks I bought from Sobeys.  The pork breast bone chunks had a few hard bones in them, but most of the bones were the solid white kind.  Today I skimmed off the fat and reboiled everything.  The broth was thick and sticky because all the bone gelatin was boiled out.  I then added some potatoes, onions, and carrots.

Pork Stew.

Poured the stew over some fresh white rice.  It was really good.  Also, all the white bones from the breast bone pieces became really soft, almost like tendon in texture.  The stew would have been even better if I had some daikon to put in it.

Pork Stew on Rice.

Useless Food News:
The Dairy Queen at the Signature Centre in Kanata has a January Special taped to the door.  It's buy 1 box of Dilly Bars, Buster Bars, or DQ Sandwiches, and get another box free.  I might get some, but my freezer is full.

January DQ Deal.

S'mores Chips Ahoy!

Snack today -> S'mores Chips Ahoy.
Got these Chips Ahoy! cookies alittle while ago.  It's a new S'mores flavour.  They were pretty good.  The cookie part has a good and not overpowering graham cracker taste.  The chocoloate filling and the marshmallow flavoured chips were good too.  It's a soft cookie.  I usually like soft cookies, but for this S'mores flavour, a hard crunchy cookie would have been a better choice.

S'mores Chips Ahoy!

Lunch today -> Misc Cold Cut Wraps.
I got some miscellaneous cold cuts and pitas from FarmBoy on the weekend.  I made some meaty wraps for lunch.  I forgot to bring the horseradish flavoured cheese.  They would have been better with the cheese.

Lunch.

Weekend Report -> Sea King Dinner.

Food this weekend ->
Made stew on Friday night.  It was awesome.  I boiled and cooled rib bones for 4 days, with all the meat falling off and self-shredding.  I added more rib meat (50% off at Loblaws), potatoes, onions, and organic carrots.  Probably didn't need the extra rib meat, as there was lots of shredded meat in the broth.

Meaty Stew.

Went shopping at Bayshore with Julie and Gen on Saturday.  They had stuff to get and I bought a shirt, a couple sweaters, and some DVDs.  Didn't find any more discount Lego or any new Transformers.  Julie made pasta and veggies for dinner.  It was cheese stuffed pasta covered in a meat sauce from Costco.  It was good.

Dinner at Julie's.

Sunday night, the family went out to Sea King for dinner.  We got 6 dishes: beef with Chinese greens, steamed chicken, salt & pepper squid,

Good Chicken.

pork shank (I kept the shank bone to make soup at home), shrimp with cashews,

Huge Pork Shank for $15

and salt & pepper baby white fish (kind of like capelin but without the roe and softer bones).

Fishies.

Too Spicy Seafood Hot Pot

Dinner today -> Spicy Seafood Hot Pot.
Susanna and I went to T&T tonight.  We saw these new pot cakes.  Seems to be a cake cooked inside a kids cup.  I might get one to try sometime.

Pot Cakes.

I picked up a spicy seafood hot pot for dinner.  It was reduced because it expires tomorrow.

Spicy Seafood Hot Pot.

I heated it up and there are lots of seafood, noodles, lotus root, corn, and mushroom in it.  There are also lots of chinese pepper corns and the broth was extremely spicy.  My lips and tongue were numb and my mouth was aching after a few bites.  I even had to drink and soak my mouth with milk! 

Too Spicy, but Lots of Seafood.

There was no way I could eat this, so I re-boiled everything in water to wash out the spiciness.  It was then edible.

Useless Lego News:
Walmart started a clearance on alot of Lego sets.  Lots of big sets are 50% off.  Both Kanata Walmarts have been wiped out.  Kanata mainly had Nexo Knight sets on clearance.  Other stores had DC and Star Wars sets on clearance.  I cleaned out the last few sets at Centrum. This is my shopping cart full of big sets.

Clearance Lego at Walmart.

Christmas Keurig Machine

Dinner today -> Mussels and Broccoli.
Steamed some broccoli with a little salt.  Then I flash cooked some pre-cooked frozen mussels in butter and black pepper and poured it over the broccoli.  I think I cooked too many mussels :)

Mussels over Broccoli.

Useless Food News:
I finally got around to opening and setting up my Keurig that I got for Christmas.  I made a cup of "mudslide" coffee to break it in.  It was pretty good.  I then tried out the hot water option to make a cup of green tea.

New Keurig Machine.

Discount Mussels

Dinner today -> Mussels and Green Bean Ramen.
I bought some discount mussels at Walmart today.  $3.50 for a pack of mussels.  The expiry date is Wednesday which is why they are on sale.  I got a pack for myself and Ed.
After washing the mussels, I threw out about 15 that were open and dead.  I decided to pressure cook the mussels in black bean and garlic sauce.  I topped the mussels with some green beans too.

Mussels and Green Beans.

The mussels shrank alot!  I deshelled the mussels and quickly cooked some ramen in the hot broth.

With Ramen.

Six Shot

Dinner today -> Leftover Roast Beef.
Ate leftover roast beef for dinner.  Microwaved some sugar snaps and sprinkled them with abit of salt to go as a side.

Leftover Roast Beef and Sugar Snaps.

I also started the 1st day of boiling the beef bones to make a broth.  I'm going to heat and cool it for a few days to break down the remaining meat and to draw out all the flavours from the bones.

Useless Transformers News:
Found Six Shot at Bayshore on the weekend.  Still no signs of the other new Transformers that are out.

Six Shot.

Weekend Report -> Rooster Buns

Food this weekend ->
Susanna and I went shopping Friday night at Bayshore.  Around 8:40pm Shanghai 360 was in a frenzy as all their food went on sale for $4.99 a box (reg $8.99+).  There were a ton of people just waiting for this end of day sale.  We got 3 boxes of Chinese food, each with different toppings (fried fish, beef and green peppers, general Tao chicken, stir fry veggies, sweet & sour pork, fried green beens) and different bases (fried rice, vermicelli, udon noodles).  We also got 2 boxes of sushi at 2 for $12.

Bayshore Discount Food.

I made roast beef on Sunday.  I defrosted a rib roast I had in the freezer for 2 days.  I had gotten it from Loblaws for 50% off.  I rubbed it with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  I rubbed it twice with a 5 minute rest in-between.  I wanted to make a thin crust with the dry rub.

Roast Beef.

I wanted to cook it to medium rare, but when I let it rest for 20mins and then cut it, it became medium.

Medium.

I made instant mash potatoes for a side to the roast beef.

Roast Beef with Mash Potatoes.

Susanna made Rooster Buns.  They look cute, but there is something wonky with the beady eyes.  She filled them with pork and cabbage.

Rooster Buns.

Useless Gaming News:
4-Player gaming at Brian's house on Saturday night.  We played Splendor and TIME Stories.  We finished up the base TIME Stories misison, and started on the 2nd mission.  The 2nd mission involves finding a girl and saving her from the "infected".   The flow of the 2nd mission flows better than the 1st.

TIME Stores: 2nd Mission.

Hockey Pool Lunch at Rideau.

Lunch today -> Rideau Restaurant.
Hockey pool lunch at Rideau Restaurant today.  We ordered 10 dishes for 9 of us: 2 Schezwan beef, beef chow mein, general tau chicken, beef & snow peas, salt and pepper seafood, lemon chicken, fried green beans with pork and black bean, fried fish filet with corn sauce, and sizzling steak.  The food came out fast and we were stuffed at the end.  Everything was very good, but the chicken in the lemon chicken was too crispy.  Also, we should have ordered salt & pepper squid instead of the mix seafood.  Most of it was little shrimps and wasn't worth it.

Lots of Good Food.

We also found out the waitress was retiring this week from the restaurant.  She's been there ever since I've been going to Rideau.  We congratulated her and gave a big tip.

Horse Pastry

Lunch today -> A&W
Natalie is visiting from CMC MTL this week.  We went out for lunch at A&W today.  We went to the newest one by Metro.  I got a Teen Burger with sweet potato fries and a root beer in a frosted mug.  My burger was so-so.  It kept falling apart because the slippery lettuce was on top of the burger and a slice of slippery tomato was under the burger!  The sweet potato fries were excellent and the frosted mug was a nice touch.

A&W Lunch.

Snack today -> Horse Pastry.
Picked up some Maah Pastry (sounds like horse in chinese) from Walmart in their little Chinese New Year food section.  I was expecting something super sweet and sticky, as this pastry is normally is, but it wasn't sweet enough and wasn't sticky at all.  It's almost "Japanese style" in taste.  I can't recommend it because it suppose to be sickening sweet and it's not.

Not Sweet Pastry.

Useless Gaming News:
After work gaming tonight.  Natalie apparently is a board gamer too.  She joined James, Evan, and myself to play 7 Wonders.  Evan won the 1st game and I won the 2nd game.  I think I should pick up this game eventually.  I enjoy it everytime we play it.  It's 2-7 players too.

New Year's Chocolate Fondue

Had a small little gathering at my house for New Year's Eve.  Julie and her brother Roger came over.  Gen and her boyfriend were supposed to come too, but Gen was sick with a stomach flu.  We had planned to do chocolate fondue for dinner.  We melted a giant sized Toblerone chocolate bar for the fondue.  We then dipped all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and snacks into the chocolate.  It was good, but we had prepared too much food.  I still have a pot half-full of chocolate leftover.  I was also eating a ton of fruits for a week straight.

New Year's Chocolate Fondue.

I got some puzzles from Julie for Chirstmas including another "What If?" puzzle in the series.

What If Puzzle #7.

She also got me a new "Official Meeting Mug" for work.

Official Meeting Mug.

It's perfect for my abundant project meetings :)

Mug Message.

Good Quiche

Potluck and gaming at Jeff's between Christmas and New Year's.

Jeff & Linda's Christmas Tree.

There was lots of food. 

Lots of Food.

I made chicken wings boiled in coke, orange juice, and candied chestnuts.  It didn't really come out like I thought it would.  I added soy sauce to counter the sweetness, but it didn't really work. 

Pasta.

I really liked Linda's quiche.  It was excellent.  I'll probably need to get the recipe.

First Plate.

Katie made cupcakes for dessert.

Katie's Handywork.