Miss Fresh Recipes Subscription: Tarragon Citrus Crusted Salmon

I’ve always wanted to try a Recipe Delivery service. There are so many in Toronto. I picked Miss Fresh because there was a relatively affordable Groupon Deal for 4 meals for 2 people. The slightly awkward thing is you have to order a week (or more depending on when you’re placing it) in advance. Orders made before Monday will be delivered the next week on Tuesday. If you miss that timeframe you won’t get it until the week after.

I usually can’t plan that far ahead because of the nature of the industry I work/live in. Also because I’m not home everyday these 4 meals will probably need to stretch a bit longer than a week.

It all arrived at my doorstep in one box, with individually labelled bags per recipe. There are even bottles of portioned out sauces! All the ingredients looked super fresh.

I had instructed the delivery person to leave them in front of my apartment door. Everything remained cold in their custom box with a reusable ice pack.

For my first meal, I made a Tarragon Citrus Crusted Salmon. The recipe had fennel 2 ways: as a salad and baked.

The meat and the ingredients came in separate little baggies.

The instructions were super simple. The only time it was slightly confusing was when it called for lemon & orange zest. It didn’t really say how much zest to use so I used the whole fruit.

The result was perfect. I loved the smell of the tarragon and fennel in the oven. Everything took under 30 minutes.

Can’t wait to try the next recipe tomorrow.

You can find the recipe here if you want to try it yourself.

Tony Moly Nose Pack

I was at Tony Moly recently, so I picked up some nose strips! I always have tons of blackheads on my nose.

There were 5 individually wrapped strips in each pack. These ones were made out of egg essence.

The nose strips were pretty small, and fit around the nose and the skin near it.

I have a pretty flat and odd shaped nose. I found that it didn’t always adhere to all the contours, so it missed some spots in terms of coverage.

I left it on for 30 minutes and it definitely made my nose smoother, but I felt that it didn’t clean as many blackheads as I wanted. Maybe I just have so many I have to do this multiple times!

Addicted to Face Masks

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Lately, I’ve been super into buying and using face masks, specifically Japanese/Korean ones that are super affordable. I have ones from Tony Moly, Face Shop, InnisFree & more!

I’ve been using them 2-3 times a week and I haven’t experienced any negative side-effects. In fact, there’s a bunch of articles of people who used face masks everyday for a week and had mostly good things to say.I’ve noticed my skin has a natural dewy glow compared to when I don’t use masks. 

I have a wide range of masks from moisturizing to firming and smoothing. I think this makes it easier to use multiple a week.

Do you use any face masks? I want to know your favourites!

Muskoka Roastery: Howling Wolf

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In my latest coffee adventure I decided to try the Muskoka Roastery’s “Howling Wolf”. This one was actually available at Longo’s.

The roast was a medium dark roast. It was full of flavour but smooth enough that people usually into medium roasts can still enjoy it.

What are your favourite non-commercial coffee beans? I want to try them all!

Groceries

When you move out, it’s fun to do groceries because you can buy whatever you want! 

I love thinking up new recipe ideas and picking up snacks. This week I will be doing things a bit differently and trying a grocery/meal delivery thing. Stay tuned! 

Do I look 29?

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On one hand, I’m glad I can still look young (and not 29), but on the other hand, I know I’m growing up. People were super surprised I was engaged. I guess they never figured I was that old, or that I would grow up. I’ve started to think more in terms of wedding planning and finances.

However, I think I can continue having fun, no matter what age I am or where I am in life!

The Skyline Restaurant

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It was Valentine’s Day weekend and my friends and I made the mistake of trying to go out to eat and drink without previously making a reservation. We walked along Queen for a little bit and ended up in Skyline.

I think it re-opened in the classic spot last year or so by Maggie Ruhl (Dakota Tavern, The Ace) and Jud Ruhl (Wallflower, Three Speed). It’s a place that doesn’t look as trendy as the crazy places near it (Parts & Labour, Shameful Tiki), but I found the menu (which changes often) and cocktail selection impressive.

I had one of the specials of the night which was duck breast, rapini, squash and sausage. The vegetables melted in my mouth and the duck was cooked to perfection.

I also had my share of delicious cocktails from their take on an Old Fashion to an Apple Bl’awesome. I can’t remember them off the top of my head because I was a bit tipsy to take notes. The are definitely worth the cost in alcohol!

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Seriously though, Skyline might be one of my favourite new discoveries that we went in by chance!

Dollarama Review: Hot Designs Nail Polish

dscf0286 I thought it was a steal to find these for $3 at Dollarama. I usually see them at the Walmart compulsive buy aisle for like $9.
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They are like nail polish markers. Each was two sided.

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It also came with cleaning pins that look like they could double as the thing that helps remove a sim card from your iPhone.

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The sad part is when I opened it, a lot of the pen end was jabbed inside, rendering it semi useless. It’s supposed to be like a fine point pen sized thing, but since it got sucked inwards it can no longer handle details like it’s supposed to.

Boo, what a dud. I’m glad I didn’t pay $9 for this and could potentially still use it as regular polish.

Brunch @ Takht-e Tavoos

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I recently went for a Persian brunch at Tavoos, owned by the same people as The Pomegranate. Persian Chai was served to us in a beautiful pot.

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To start, we had Zeitoon Parvardeh: green olives marinated in a sauce of walnuts, pomegranate molasses, garlic and mint. This was served with a light Persian flat bread. This is a must for olive fans and was super addictive.

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My friend Karol had the Serious Lunch (pictured). It was a Dizi Sangi: a stew with lamb shank, lamb rib, chickpeas, white beans, potato, onion and tomato cooked for four hours. The soup part is served separately and there is a stick to pound the meat and beans into a purée.

For some reason, I forgot to take a picture of my food but I had the weekend special called Bandari which was spicy halal sausages sautéed in a tomato garlic purée, mixed with potatoes. Atop sat two sunnyside up eggs with creamy feta cheese and marinated olives on the side. It was definitely classic brunch with a twist!

We loved every part of our meal as it was flavourful and the portions were generous. I think Persian food is becoming some of my favourite cuisines!

Tavoos Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

NYX Suede Cream Lip Vault

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My sister bought me the Liquid Suede Vault from NYX for my birthday. It features 24 liquid lipsticks in tons of fun colours. There’s one that is a bit more tame, but I was looking for fun colours I didn’t already have.

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Here’s the swatch test! They appear super bright and vivid just like the bottle. It also took a bit of washing to get these off my arm, so they are definitely long wearing.

I wore a vibrant red to a wedding over the weekend and it lasted through coffee and a meal before needing to replay a little bit. I love the purples and I can’t wait to find an excuse to wear it!