Running and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

I managed to drag Theo out for a run today. We went around the neighbourhood adjacent to us and on the Century Trail. Trail running is nice; completely different from the street or sidewalk. On Monday we're going to head to Stanley Park and Grenville Island. We plan on another trail run through the park, but we'll see how Theo's legs are treating him.

Another idea from John: Grilled Ham, Cheese, and...Apple Sandwiches! These were sooo tasty. We used two layers of mozzarella cheese, one slice of black forest ham, thinly sliced gala apple, all on whole grain bread. Delicious!

Tomorrow we're going to the Abbotsford Flea Market. Hopefully we get some good finds!

--Cassandra

Fasta Pasta

Marg and John gave us an easy pasta recipe when we were visiting at the coast. I made it for us tonight and it was delicious! I recommend everyone try it. The recipe is for 2 people, but could easily be adapted for more.

Fasta Pasta

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
enough penne or rotini for 2 people

In the morning: Combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cover and leave to marinate on the counter.

Dinnertime: Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. Add marinated veggies (don't drain) and cheese. Toss, cover. Set aside for 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Place in your favourite pasta bowl and serve immediately. Good with baguette sticks.

Instead of fresh basil, I used dried because that's what we had. Also, I only used about 1 tbsp which was plenty for the dried basil.

--Cassandra

Halfmoon Bay, Sunshine Coast, BC

On Saturday afternoon, Theo and I headed out to the Sunshine Coast to visit his Aunt Marg and Uncle John. I was very excited to get out of Abbotsford for the weekend. 

Theo's cousin Ben, his wife Tammy, and their baby Anna were also out for a visit this past weekend. It was nice to spend time with them and also nice to meet Anna. She is very cute.

On Sunday, John's septet was playing in the Gibson's Jazz Festival. It was nice to hear him play. Gibson is a very quaint town. Theo says he wants to move there, but I think the 2.5 hour commute to Abbotsford would kill him. Even if he did get a job in Vancouver it would still be a good 1.5 hour commute.

On Monday we took our bikes out for a ride up and down Redroofs Road. The hills in BC are killer...nothing like biking in Winnipeg. You definitely feel your quads burning on the hill climbs. Afterwards, we headed down to the beach to enjoy the wind, collect some sea glass and some rocks. We saw a garter snake on the beach (second one this summer) and geese swimming in the ocean. It's strange seeing geese in the ocean, it seems so out of context. 

Monday evening we caught the last ferry to leave the coast at 8:20 pm. Theo had to work Tuesday afternoon and it was less stressful to leave the evening before, rather than in the morning. The traffic on the highways can be very unpredictable.

Our future plans include white water rafting on June 27th and camping for a few days in July.

You can check out more pictures on Theo's flicker account. Search for The Tedster's photostream.

--Cassandra

Fort Langley

Today Theo took me to Fort Langley. It is a very cute little town on the Fraser River where he claims to be a member of the rowing club. I have yet to see him go rowing there. Our plan was to check out all the shops. Instead we went on an impromptu 12 km walk along the river. I definatley did not where the best shoes, and now I have a few blisters. Damn you converse!! We saw some awesome trees on the walk, they were huge! I also saw a garter snake. Do garter snakes live here? Well, I saw some kinda snake anyways. We didn't see much wild life, but we did see some cute puppies and a very pretty golden retriever that we followed the whole way. Theo works the next two days and then on Sunday we are going to visit his aunt marg and uncle john at Halfmoon Bay. I am very excited!


--Cassandra

Aldergrove Lake Regional Park

Cass and I went down to Aldergrove today for a bike ride. It's only about 15 min away. We couldn't find their paved paths that we had read about so we went for a hike instead. The only place I could draw some similarities too for the scenery would be rushing river in Ontario. It was a fun walk though. We we're right on the border and the park is set -up a lot like birds hill. There is even a little man made lake/pond to swim in.

Shtuff

I put together Cassandra's Bike and we're looking for camp sites. Apparently you can't be spontaneous with your reservations, they don't let you book for the next day. Still we may drive and drop in some where for a couple nights. There are too many options here and cougars, grizzlys, and rattle snake warnings.
I did however get in touch with my aunt who we can go up to visit in halfmoon bay by sechelt. We'll go next week and see my uncle play in the Jazz festival. My cousin will be there with his kid as well just for the day. We are both looking forward to that trip.

BBQ

Yesterday Cass and I went to Canadian Tire based on something I heard at work.

We bought a small 30 dollar gas BBQ that runs on the small camping propane tanks. I assembled it and we had BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner.  It was so nice to be able to cook outside of the apartment and it made some yummy food too.