another week bites the dust

this week i didn't cook nearly as much as usual. i've been getting busier & busier every week at the market, but i've also been cooking like crazy so i was able to rely on my inventory this week & focus on things outside of the kitchen.

i did restock a couple flavours of soup... just in time for soup weather to finally be over... womp, womp, womp. despite the recent heat, i've been eating a ton of soup, trying to add more vegetables to my diet. this week i made a new batch of the curried butternut squash & the roasted red pepper, tomato, sweet potato & chipotle. these are probably my two favourites, they both have some nice spice, lime & cilantro - a few of my favourite things.

so what have i been up to all week then if not cooking up a storm?

eating out, learning how to use a lawnmower, stacking wood & getting sunburnt.

a couple of new restaurants just opened up. i've been tracking their progress on twitter for months and it was great to try them out. i went to edna on sunday after the market & it was really great. i think that this will be my new go-to spot. unfortunately i didn't take any pics but i'll be back soon to properly document everything. then i went to two doors on monday for lunch.

another great place. more on the casual side, moderately priced and a place that you can frequent & not just reserve for a special occasion.

then it was yard work time. this week i used a lawnmower for the first time in my life. sort of hilarious & embarrassing but something that i'm proud of. my yard is basically a big hill down to the ocean, so this was a workout to say the least. perhaps mowing the lawn will help cut down on my gym fees over the summer...

then the upper body workout continued with stacking wood. i've had 2 chord of wood sitting in the yard for quite some time & am finally making a dent in it.

it's a bit of a pain but will be pretty useful over the winter.

there was also tons of weeding to be done... there's still tons of weeding to be done.

but, i have help!

this is krista. she is a jane-of-all-trades and has been helping me in the garden, doing dishes & some prep work, and organizing all of my paperwork!!! yahoo, it really is amazing what four hands can accomplish instead of just two. she's a lifesaver & is helping me find more hours in every day.

i'm still running around like a crazy person though. i've gotta boogie to the city - on a friday afternoon?!?! not cool. but i have all of the baking done already. there are all of the usual suspects & lots of extras cupcakes for a few special orders this weekend. i skipped banana-peanut butter this week because all of the special orders are for nut-free kids' birthday parties, so better safe than sorry.

also, bad news, planet organic has been backordered on goat butter for two weeks now :( the goat's milk fudge this week is made with cow butter. hopefully they'll restock soon & if anyone knows another supplier of goat butter, please let me know.

acckkk gotta run. all the salads will be the same as last week. hope to see you all over the weekend!