Just discovered Pinterest... and I love it

"Party tarty" fruit tarts I made last year for a potluck.

Once upon a time, I created this blog to avoid studying. Flash forward a couple of months, in the midst of exams, I created an account on Pinterest. The concept is fascinating and while I haven't "pinned" any pictures, I'm getting quite a few cool inspirations for my future baking adventures and ideas for my dream home. I spent a good portion of the past couple of hours browsing through other people's boards and pictures (doesn't sound fun, but I feel I got further with this than my studies tonight).

I found a couple of cool ideas I'm hoping to try to perfect my fruit tart recipe (more so visually, not really the taste).

Money management for students 101

I've been fortunate enough to have parents who taught me the value of money at a young age - earning money through hard work, saving money by restraining impulsive purchases, accumulating money through RRSP's and TFSA's, and wise spending. Let's face it, being a student is tough - even if you have an occasional income through part time jobs or co-op placements, it's still hard to find the right balance with various expenses to consider. How much should I save? How much can I spend?

This post is inspired by a couple of friends who I've been chatting with lately - after almost five years in school, I've been able to explore various ways to manage money... it's all a balancing act! I hope to share some of my tips and tricks and my experiences as a "soon-to-be" graduate who is continually learning the ins and outs of managing this thing we call money. Feel free to share your thoughts too!

Tip #1 - Seek part time paid job opportunities while studying
To keep me sane from my academics, I sought part time jobs on campus - positions that assisted with my professional development but also ones that reflected my personal interests. I've been a Workshop Facilitator for the Student Leadership Program at Waterloo, a Teaching Assistant/Marker, a Coordinator for the now defunct Warrior Weekends special events program etc. These positions didn't even feel like "work" - they were a lot of fun, a breath of fresh air from my studies with responsibilities I actually enjoyed!


Tip #2 - Can't find a part time job? Make one yourself.
I know a few University students who are tutors - for Math, Sciences, Languages among other subjects. Who doesn't love a position that is flexible, based around your own schedule, at your preferred rate and location? As long as you have a passion for the subject and a vested interest in helping other students, being a tutor is a great way to share your knowledge, your tips and tricks to help other students learn.

When I started tutoring in Grade 12 - I plastered (literally plastered) my neighbourhood with posters. Through word of mouth and these AMAZING posters (I may be biased) I had a few students needing my help in Math and French (my advice: always feel comfortable with the subjects you're tutoring - focus on your competencies as it's important the student has a positive tutoring experience). After moving away for co-op placements, I'd still look for tutoring opportunities by searching the Wanted ads on Kijiji (be careful... I suggest always meeting up in a public library - it's much safer than in-home tutoring, especially if you're new to the region). Tutoring is never a chore for me, it's always satisfying knowing that you're teaching other students and providing them with the knowledge and skills to succeed academically!

Coming $oon...balancing $pending habit$!

Another cooking adventure - Seafood rangoon

Before: with the simple twist wrap

I became obsessed with these fried appetizers called seafood rangoon after having them in various Asian restaurants in the States (credit to Yamato Japanese Restaurant for filling me up with all these delectable appetizers!). They all had variations on these deep-friend dumplings which I don't think are common in Asia since they're filled with cream cheese, but it had a unique taste and it's one of the few fried foods I actually enjoy. I haven't seen them in Canada yet so to solve this issue, my mom and I made them ourselves.

After: oozing cream cheese and crab meat

They're quick, easy and fun to make (unless you're going for the flower dumpling effect, which trust me is hard and tends to unfold when you deep fry it), definitely high in calories, but tasty hors d'oeuvres great for any get together!


Ingredients: crab meat, cream cheese, green scallions, onion, dumpling wrappers

Cafe review: Ausanda Chocolate

White chocolate and hazelnut hot chocolate
Photo credit: Jennifer Nguyen

My friends and I headed out to Ausanda Chocolate in Waterloo tonight to (over)fill our taste buds with... you guessed it - chocolate! It's not a well known student hangout in the area as it's new but I think once students catch on that there's a chocolate cafe in town with over 23 flavours of hot chocolate and desserts, they'll be flocking to this place. It's a small cafe, but it has a variety of different seating arrangements, minimalist style set up and they have a slew of chocolate cheesecakes, tiramisu, chocolate pyramids, flan, truffles, muffins! 

Chocolate fun-due!
Photo credit: Joyce Karel

I had the white chocolate and hazelnut Italian hot chocolate. It was semi-thick, not the usual watery Tim Horton's or Second Cup hot chocolate I get, but it had a rich heavenly taste (especially in this weather!) topped with hazelnut bits.

 My friends had the dark chocolate fondue with lady finger bites, strawberries, bananas and marshmallows. How did it taste? As divine and heavenly as chocolate should taste (meaning you have to go there and try it yourself)! Be careful if you try to roast the marshmallows above the candle... it's dangerous ;)

Apparently chocolate is healthy, makes you stronger AND it makes you feel younger - so my recommendation? Go! (And bring your laptop to study too since they have Wi-fi)

Random discoveries...

Finally back! This was an exciting week full of random discoveries and devoting my life to a slew of midterms and assignments (YAY! We're halfway through the term!)

What I discovered this week...
- Settlers of Catan - To say that I'm obsessed with this game after playing it twice is an understatement. My first exposure was on a previous episode of the Big Bang Theory, then at a friend's birthday. In the past week, I joined the Facebook group, monitored discussion boards and forums, and yes, I'm now recruiting others to play with me. How could trading sheep, building roads and robbing friends of their resources be so FUN? I'm a nerd and proud of it. Does anyone have any tips they like to share?

- Jeremy Lin - He is on FIRE. If you don't know who he is, he's literally taking the NBA and New York by storm in the 4 games he's played since last Saturday (over 23 points in 3 games and 38 in tonight's game... absolutely crazy). I don't even enjoy watching basketball that much, but I'm tuning in to Knicks games and actually considering going to the Raptors/Knicks games next week to take part in "Linsanity".

- Fair trade hazelnut flavoured coffee... dee-licious! And available in every corner of campus, which makes it my new daily treat.

What I thought about this week...
- The 2010 Vancouver Olympics all started two years ago. That's right... just TWO years ago. How time has flown by - I remember Sidney Crosby's goal/Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue's mesmerizing free dance as if they occurred yesterday! I was GLUED to both the TV screen and my laptop screen and didn't want to miss a single moment. This was around the time I discovered Twitter at this time too and I remember seeing how neat it was to read tweets from Canadians and folks around the world... it re-energized my Canadian pride and got me even more excited about the Olympics.

February's baking adventure: cheesecake brownies

Et... voila!

Normally I don't need a reason to bake, but today's a special day... Happy early birthday Jennifer! Today I made cheesecake butterscotch brownie bites (the butterscotch flavour isn't as noticeable as I originally thought but it still tastes like a brownie which is all that matters!). For the cheesecake topping, I used Bakerella's cheesecake topping recipe... I've used it a few times and always forget to use a "significantly less amount" of confectioner's sugar to minimize the sweet taste - nothing changed this time around so it's super sweet as usual!

Meeting Bakerella on her cake pop book tour with a friend in NYC! 

 

Merci, Maurice Richard

Just a warning... you'll be hearing a lot about what I learn (or don't learn) in school over the next few months!

One of my favourite classes this term is Aspects of French Canada - a course that takes a deep dive into understanding and appreciating Canada's francophone community and culture. We've looked at identity, language and so much more that really makes me wonder how the French language will be maintained in future decades in Quebec and in other areas in Canada.

I had to watch the movie "Maurice Richard" today for one of my assignments. I watched this movie a few years ago as a hockey fan, but this time I watched it from the perspective of a French student, examining the role of French hockey players in the NHL, a league and sport dominated by the Anglophone community. What did I get out of this movie? So much more than you would ever think and nothing related to hockey itself. I have more respect for one of Quebec's - and Canada's - greatest hockey players, Maurice Richard... I regret not knowing his impact on the sport and in the French community prior to this movie. Did you know that French hockey players faced discrimination in the league in its early days? Me neither. They were viewed as second class to the English players, coaches, general managers and NHL management just several decades ago. I felt like diving through the screen to defend Richard and all French players whenever a comment about their French identity was hurled on the ice. Case in point? Sean Avery's character, Ranger player Bob Dill smirked "Come here, damn Frenchman" to Richard to trigger an on-ice fight (...let's just say many hockey fans would enjoy watching this scene - around the 6:40 mark if you're not a fan).

So how does this affect us now? About a month ago, the city of Montreal were in a major uproar when the Habs replaced their head coach with a coach who speaks only English. This movie reminded me of why Habs fans reacted that way and I empathize with them... what a slap in the face to have an English coach after years of "progress", having French coaches behind the bench who can communicate with players, the media, and the fans and respected the French language and culture. While one could argue that Montreal is a bilingual city and the language of hockey is English, it's more so the history behind the make-up of the Montreal Canadiens management team and respect for the French community that one of the mandatory requirements of this coveted coaching position SHOULD be a solid grasp of both English and French.

My first hockey-related post isn't about the Maple Leafs... eek!! I promise this will change... go Leafs go :)