Lost my checkbook

And I refuse to pay $31 for new checks.

I was just at my credit union website and clicked on the link to order new checks. Well the cheapest ones were $21 for 100 (plus tax of course) and other fancier models were $24+ for 50 checks.... And shipping was over $6......... and I know for a fact it costs less than $2 to mail since there is no tracking number on the boxes, just regular postage.

I found a full box of checks I got for free when I opened my PC Financial account. While I'm not using it as my main checking account, I think I'll send $100 there for when I want to write checks... about 1 usually...

Hopefully I'll find the lost checkbook, I know there are still about 10 left in there, and I will have saved $31 by using what I have at home.......

Saturday sweets

I was a bit nostalgic on Saturday so made the dessert I made a year ago in my cooking class in Paris:

The list of ingredients is simple...

6 oz dark chocolate
6 oz butter
6 oz brown sugar
6 eggs
3 oz flour
(extra butter and flour for the molds)

1 avocado
1 banana
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp orange juice
sugar to taste
1/4 cup water

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat.


Mix flour and brown sugar together in separate bowl.


Add in 6 eggs.


Mix well (I use a whisk)


Add the flour/sugar mixture



Mix well...


Butter and flour the cups


Pour into 4 cups, then put in fridge for at least 1 hour


Ingredients for the sauce


After it's been blended



Right out of the oven, centers still a bit gooey


This is what it looks like, unmolded


Yummy dessert with a twist!

These are very expensive to buy in restaurants, some places as much as $10/serving! I figure it cost less than $2/serving when you make it at home, depending on the chocolate you use...

Week one results

So far so good for November, I'm still tracking everything. Here's a recap:


Sunday

$20 food and snacks (miscellaneous fund)

Monday

no spend 1/18

Tuesday

$2.17 groceries

Wednesday

no spend 2/18

Thursday

no spend 3/18

Friday

$41.01 gas
$54.41 groceries
$10 miscellaneous money ($5 bake sale items, $5 fundraiser ticket for cancer patient)

Saturday
no spend 4/18

I'm pretty satisfied with my results... November's a long month though, 3 more full weeks to go, a lot can happen.

I also finished one book, so I'm 1/7 for that goal.

Back-to-back no spends

I didn't spend Wednesday or Thursday so I now have 3/18 no spend days in November. Not bad, but I know I'll be spending tomorrow. I need gas (it went down by a couple cents/L this morning) and a few things at the grocery store. I have something work-related to do tomorrow after my regular shift ends at 4, so I'll run my errands once I'm all done.

Thanks for all the feedback about the Kitchenaid mixers :-) I've been wanting one for years and years but could never justify paying so much for it when I needed other things more. I dream of making meringues and whipped concoctions in there most! I will start a side bar to track my amazon.ca gift certificate balance!

[I tried to email a commenter who left a message saying she has one for sale... the address bounced back so I'm letting her know that while I appreciate her letting me know she has one for sale at a good price, I want to see if I can manage to get one for free on my own... I love challenges!]

Just 2 days to go, one and a half actually (Friday and Saturday morning shift) but I do need to work lots on my part time job as my boss needs to crunch numbers with the accountant. I work best when given a deadline, so by Monday I want to get everything finished. Next week will be a weird week with a holiday right in the middle!!

New fun goal

I just noticed on the Amazon.ca website that we can now buy home and garden things. We use to only be able to get books, cds and dvds from there. A lightbulb clicked immediately in my head as I remembered Saving Diva's quest for an iPod!! I don't want an iPod, I want a KitchenAid Stand Mixer!!! I love to cook and bake and do have a lot of gadgets, but this is one I never splurged on.

There are extremely neat colors, such as tangerine, pear and pink, but I'd probably go with metallic chrome:

I plan on hanging on to my redeemed Swagbucks and all survey rewards (I wouldn't mind another $75 survey like I did in the spring, on garden catalogs!) and seeing how long it takes to get this... with taxes it'll be close to $400!! (that's why I don't have one yet............) Hopefully in one year I can get it, so my goal is by December 2010, a Christmas gift from me to me :-)

Staying on track (Sun-Mon-Tues)

Honestly, Sunday I spent some money I shouldn't have... bought dinner (was only $6.78) and I gave the rest to my mom who picked up some sodas for me, 4 six-packs of 750ml bottles of 7-up. I figure these might come in handy if we get sick and some nights I like a soda without caffeine to keep me up. Total spending: $20.

Monday was a no spend (1/18 this month)

Tuesday: I picked up bananas. It is my #1 breakfast choice, along with a coffee. I go to work on an empty stomach (bad, I know!) and eat my banana and have my coffee about an hour after I get there. If I only go in to work later on, I never eat bananas!! Weird, I know! The bunch I got was $2.17.

Work's keeping me busy and I'm also trying to finish some bookkeeping stuff for my pt job.

Yesterday I talked to a guy who works for Air Canada reservations and he told me they are starting a direct flight from Toronto to Brussels in June 2010. I'm pretty sure that is going to be my next destination (sadly just in September or October 2010 though..... sooooooooooooo long to wait!!) The flight news is exciting though, as I already have to connect in Toronto, so hate making 2 stops instead of just 1.

Sunday treats

Here are a few pictures of my 2nd attempt at crème brûlée. I got the recipe from the instructor of my cooking class in Paris. We didn't make this in class (we made the molten lava cakes with avocado sauce) but he shared the recipe with us anyway.

The ingredients are super simple:

6 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar (white)
1 tsp vanilla or 1/2 vanilla bean

Heat cream and vanilla until it boils. Beat eggs and sugar together in a separate bowl. Pour hot cream mixture over the eggs, slowly. Stir until nice and smooth. (I use a large measuring cup with a spout to pour into my ramekins, no mess!)

Bake 45 minutes at 220 degrees F. Let cool on the counter for 1 hour and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

This is the pan before it goes back into the oven to make the brulee part. I prepared them around noon, cooked in a water bath, then let them set on the counter for an hour, and then settle in the fridge for 3 hours.











I sprinkled brown sugar on top:












Set them in the oven on Hi broil:












This is the finished product, uneven (darker on left side)












The verdict: Good, but not as good as last week's (that one had maple syrup in it!). This was runnier and tasted like "pudding", according to my sister. I has happy with the caramelization part though... last week my dad was over here with the blow torch and it didn't work as well because I had put too much brown sugar and it didn't melt and get hard like I wanted.

And here's what I treated myself to for dinner... a yummy donair from Pizza Delight! I'd been craving one for a month!