[Food] Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerock Chops

So I've decided to try and do my take on some recipes from World of Warcraft.  The first was suggested to me by a friend. Dirge's Kickin' Chimaerock Chops (that's a whole lot to type!).

I am sick today, so I was feeling pretty lazy...but, this is what I came up with. 'Recipe' will be posted below.

Unfortunately, I had a difficult time finding any Chimaerock...So, I had to settle for pork chops. I seasoned them with deeprock salt ( seasoning salt ) and some spicy Mrs. Dash. I threw them in the oven for 40 minutes at 375°.

While the porkchops were cooking I threw on some basmati rice, and got working on my sauce.

In  a little saucepan I added some chopped onion and garlic with a little butter, and sauteed them until they were nice and soft, then I threw in the rest of the saucy incredients. Bear in mind, unless I'm following a recipe, I just don't measure things. I eyeball it, taste, that sort of thing. If I like something, I add more of it. Into the pot went tomato paste, Goblin Rocket Fuel ( white rum ), more spicy Mrs. Dash, Death Sauce. I let it simmer for a while before deciding it needed more...Then I added some milk to cut the acidity a little, cumin, chili powder, and red chili pepper flakes.

After that was all done, I threw the chop of a bed of rice, and added some more sauce.

Well..it tastes better than it looks. ^^; 

The verdict? It was pretty tasty, but I would have added maybe a little more milk...and diced mushrooms, if I had any. If I liked peppers, I probably would have added some of those, too.

[Tech & Gaming] Reviews Galore!

This is  bit of an odd post, which is my fault, really. Everything I want to blog about today, happened on a different day. If I'd done them all when I should have, there wouldn't be a problem! I digress.

Part the first!

This phone: Utter garbage. 

As I hate my phone, it was high time I got a new one. I selected a newer, smaller company, Wind. They transferred my number of from Fido for me, and made the whole process very comfortable and easy! Let's look at this for a second.With Fido, I was paying $50 per month and some change after fees and taxes for unlimited talk and text. While Wind does not have as good coverage, I'm so seldom out of their area, it's not a big issue. Wind is giving me unlimited talk, texting, AND data. $40 a month. It seems like a pretty simple solution, yes?

Now I've got the Samsung Galaxy SIII. It's my very first smart phone, so I'm still learning my way around it. It seems pretty user friendly though. The resolution is godly, and the interface is pretty straight forward. Obviously, it supports all things Google, which makes my life easier. Yes, I'm a Google-girl, and quite happy with it.

My first Smartphone experience is great! Now I can tweet at my local transit system whenever my bus no-shows or is ridiculously late (which is every day), check my social networks to and from work, listen to music. I can finally Instagram, too! here, have a picture of my kitty sleeping:

The only drawback that I'm finding with this phone (or maybe smart phones in general?) is the onscreen keyboard. I don't think I have fat fingers, but I still have trouble getting the right letters half the time. Also, Autocorrect and "predictive" text are a bit of a nightmare. Thanks phone, for trying to fix my mistakes, and help me type a little faster. I know I'm slow. I would like to not think I'm typing the wrong words, though. Makes me feel a little less crazy. 

Part deux! 

Myself, some friends, and a couple co-workers found ourselves at a new restaurant and bar last Friday. EXP. It's a video game themed restaurant, how cool is that? Originally, the plan was to provide customers the chance to play some console games at their table while they ate, but unfortunately, there are laws preventing them from doing that, and serving liquor in the same place. They chose the booze (yay!). I would love to see both one day though...There are currently petitions going to try and change the laws, and hopefully create an even more epic experience. 

I've only got one negative to this place, so let's get that out of the way. The location. It's right near the bus, which is great, but it's also next to a part that attracts a lot of druggies and unsavory characters. I'm not terribly comfortable in such areas, but that doesn't seem to deter most people.

The atmosphere is great, of course. Everyone was in great spirits, and our waitress was fantastic! Super nice, friendly, and helpful. If I could afford it, I'd have loved to given her a $100 tip. Towards the end the service did slow, and we had to wait a little while for our bills, but it was so busy. I really don't fault anyone for that. 

The restaurant itself is decorated with of course, various gaming art, and plenty of flat screen TVs, showing everything from tournaments to cut scenes. The night we went, on the big massive screen, they were playing all of the Final Fantasy 8 cinematics. I almost cried. Great gaming music, my favorite console video game, and the overall buzz of excitement that filled the place. It was heaven. 

Food! Oh my gosh, I cannot rave enough about the food. This is too much...let's break everything down here. This is what I ordered:

• Ultra Deep Fried Pickle - Really delicious. It sounds weird, but they're really tasty! Fried, tempura battered pickle wedges. It comes with some fries, which are really nice too.  You get a choice of dip..I had ordered the Chipotle Aioli, but I honestly don't think that's what I got. Whatever it was, I'm leaning towards the Roasted Garlic Aioli, was scrumptious. I don't mind that mistake at all. 
• Triforce Burger with Onion Power Rings - The burger was honestly the best burger I've ever had. Beef, chicken, and bacon. Really juicy and flavorful and tender. It was heavenly. The rings also blew me away. I'm a sucker for onion rings, and usually opt for those when I can, over fries. Years ago in California, I had some pub rings that were the best I'd ever had. I didn't think I'd ever find a rival, but I found them at EXP. They won the battle of tastiness! Perfection. I regret not taking a picture of everything...
• Choco Island Magic Mushrooms  - YUM! The little chocolate cakes were super rich and really hit my chocolate craving in the sweet spot. The mushrooms looked so realistic, I really have to tip my helm the chef. Really great, and they were pretty darned tasty, once I stopped oggling them!
• Health and Mana -  This drink was actually a two-parter! Mana came in a tall glass, health in a shot. I don't remember what was in them, except raspberry sourpuss. I ended up mixing them together. I really liked this, but I will warn you, it's pretty sweet. 
• Tundaga (or maybe Thundara..they had both, I forget which I ordered) - Really nice drink, and the cup was rimmed with pop rocks! Haha That was a lot of fun to drink. I really enjoyed that.

Briefly, my fiance ordered Mankrik's Wife to drink (very delicious), and the Greedy Pigma Sandwich. The sandwich again was really tender, and full of flavor. I had a bite, it was very good. He upgraded his fries to poutine (seriously excellent gravy), but I think for the cost of the upgrade, he maybe should have received a little more. 

The bill was a bit little painful for a gal on a budget, but really, we ordered drinks, an appetizer, two meals, and dessert. Hey, it was our first time there, gotta try as much as we can! That run us up to $81, I think. Frankly, that's pretty fair, if you ask me. Considering the experience and food quality, actually, I'd say that's incredibly fair. 

I may not have the money to go often, but if I ever find a little extra on the paycheck, I know I'll be back. I'm pretty sure this will be my big birthday dinner, instead of the Keg this year, too. Prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes? Most certainly drool worthy...but I'm craving another Triforce burger!

Choco Island Magic Mushrooms - Made of meringue, not actual mushroom!

Their official website here: http://www.expbar.ca/

Part uh...t'ree?

Mists of Pandaria launched today! I don't have it yet, as it was ordered online..but hopefully in the next couple days. I should have plenty of time to play on... *sigh* Monday. 

I'm a little intrigued to see more non-Pandaren monks running around than Pandaren, though. I fully expected to see a Pandamonion, not a Monk-ey house. I guess some people really are butthurt about the whole "Kung-Fu Panda" business. Oh well. I look forward to playing it...when I get to 85. It looks really beautiful! I can tell that a lot of work went into this expansion, even if I do feel that the general feeling around it is a bit disjointed. Something that was just sort of thrown in, really. But, they worked hard, and it seems pretty darn stunning.

In the mean time, I've been working on my lower levels, happy to avoid anything new, like the plague for now.

[Wedding] Holy Matrimony, Batman!

A cute little jar of honey was given to each guest as a gift.
I love the little bee, he's so cute!

Yesterday, two pretty awesome people got married, and I was there for the whole thing. My fiance's brother, married a lovely young lady. I love these guys both, and am very happy to have them both in my (almost) family.

I regret not taking any pictures, because it was quite pretty.

Let's break this review down a little bit, here. I try to keep things simple around here.

The Venue
   Hosted at the Ramada in Abbotsford, BC. The "Grand Ballroom" I believe the room was called, was huge. I never once felt too crowded, which was perfect. I hate crowds. The decorations were simple, but lovely. The hotel itself was very nice, too. I feel the need to add that I'd made an error in my reservation, booking it for the previous month. The front desk lady was extremely kind, helpful, and most importantly, calm. Everything was sorted out with no problems.

The Food
   I'm not going to write everything that was provided, but for the most part, it was fantastic. My only complaint would have been the salmon, which was very fishy, a quality that often indicates a lack of freshness. To counter that though,  their seafood is Ocean Wise , which is fantastic.
   The desserts were pretty nice (The trifle, of my goodness, I wish I took more.). I'm also going to give credit to the bride's mom. She baked a small red velvet cake, and a few dozen cupcakes. Decorated them all, to boot. Oh, did I mention that she apparently even took a (few?) cake decorating class before going on a baking rampage? It paid off, everything was beautiful! I can't speak for the red velvet, but the white cupcakes were very nummy.

Drink Service
   Two drink tickets were provided per person, and my wine glass was filled twice in the evening. That's a lot of booze, that I didn't pay for. I'm certainly not complaining, it was great! I also ended up with two extra tickets from people who weren't drinking. I think I found my new drink, as well. Malibu rum and coke. Randomly decided to try it, yummers!

The DJ
   This guy was amazing! Best DJ I've ever seen, really (not that I've seen a ton). I thought he personally knew the bride and/or groom. He was very personable, energetic, and a whole lot of fun. He played plenty of great music that I was able to get up and dance with my fiance to. During the song "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC, he ran out on the dance floor with a (rock band) guitar and an outfit not unlike something Angus Young might wear. So unexpected! He also hosted a fun sort of musical chairs/scavenger hunt type game (which I need to remember for my own wedding), and made the garter/bouquet toss incredibly entertaining. If anyone needs a DJ in the Lower Mainland, I'll have to suggest Barry Chisholm, of Garry Robertson DJ Entertainment. 

The Attire
First off, the men looked so very sharp in their tuxedos provided by Moore's. The bride, I believe purchased her dress from David's Bridal. The bridal party was very well put together, and looked fantastic. Really, that's about all I have to say.

This is the dress style the bride wore, plus a gold sash.
The details are beautiful! 

My fiance modelling  the groommen tuxedos. Yeowza!

I think that about wraps it up. It was a fantastic event, and I had such an incredibly good time! Danced all night, and met a ton of new family members.

This morning, we got up a little early and took a dip in the hotel's swimming pool. It was wonderful, it was just the two of us. So much fun! Well, except the aftermath in my hair...I really hate chlorine.

Introducing...Me

So this post is a little more about me, and things I'll be blogging about here...exciting, right?

Finances - I don't know how much I'll touch on that, but currently, my fiance and I are trying to find that balance between paying off a large credit card bill, a loan, paying our bills, and also saving for our wedding/honeymoon, as well as a down payment on a home (or condo, or townhouse). The saving's going slow at the moment, with me only putting $20 from each paycheck towards wedding and home. Of course though, bills must always come first.  We're still working on that bit where we need to spend more carefully...I think our food bills end up to be way more than they should be.

Wedding - I was proposed to (much to my surprise) on December 17th, 2011. There's no specific date quite yet, but it will be sometime in October, 2013. So, I plan to go over my whole wedding planning experience here. It should be interesting!

Food - Uh, yeah. So, I love food. I'm not a fancy fois gras kinda gal though...I like to be able to pronounce what I'm eating. Simple things...I may give a whirl at restaurant reviews, who knows? I'll also share recipes I find/make up here, and other things of that sort.

Parenting - I'm not a mom yet, and probably won't be for a few more years. Regardless, every bone in my body aches to be a mom, it has for as long as I can remember. I'll be posting mom-related thoughts and ideas here in the mean time. In my previous occupation, I feel I've learned a lot about proper parenting (through the fails I've seen on a daily basis), and would like to share that wisdom.

That's pretty much it, which is actually quite a broad spectrum for a blog, I think! I'll try to keep this organized and tidy, though.

~Jenicsaco~