« Older Entries Subscribe to Latest Posts

28 Jul 2010

Review of Kettleman’s Bagels

Posted by Darleya. 1 Comment

Kettleman’s Bagels is an Ottawa restaurant that specializes in Montreal-style bagels. There are a three locations in Ottawa, if I’m not mistaken.

Walking into a Kettleman’s you’ll see people working away at the large stone oven and rolling bagels like it’s nobody’s business. They are like machines and usually have headphones on, listening to their music while working away with their hands. It’s pretty cool to watch them go. You can purchase bagels by the dozen, bagels to go, or eat in and be served.

The service is always friendly and quick. One of my main reasons for going to kettlemans besides the delicious bagels, or rather, THE main reason I go there; is for their hot pepper cream cheese spread. I am obsessed with this spread. It is simply fantastic! I always get them to put heaps of it on my bagel because I can’t get enough of it. You can also buy their cream cheese spreads in tubs to bring home, which I’ve obviously done.

The unfortunate thing for me is that bagels are difficult on my digestive system, but I certainly indulge anyway on occasion.

The local Kettleman’s are found at 2177 Carline Avenue, 912 Bank Street, and 1222 Place D’Orléans Blvd. In addition to bagels and cream cheese, they also make a wide variety of bagel sandwiches, and have some additional pastry treats, like knish’s. Mmmm.

~Darleya~

26 Jul 2010

Review of Piña Colada mixes, A Brand War

Posted by Darleya. 1 Comment

Sometimes it is nice to be able to just whip up a good piña colada in the summertime without having to hit the stores again for some pineapple and coconut juice. Don’t get me wrong, a real piña colada is delicious, but, it isn’t always convenient and cost effective.

I’ve recently tried three different types of pre-made piña colada mixes with which you just need to add your white rum. I usually stick to Bacardi’s.  The first is the Rio Lobos Piña Colada cocktail mix that comes in a bucket, the second is Coco Colada’s canned piña colada mix, and the third is Mott’s Pina Colada mix.


The Rio Lobos Piña Colada Mix comes in a bucket which we bought at

Walmart. They were on special, so we bought many so that they’d last the full summer. Hey, we like to entertain!

Upon opening the bucket, you’ll find two clear plastic bags filled with the colada mix. There is 1.89 litres of liquid which is able to make you 16 142 ml drinks. What’s nice is that you have two options for preparing your drinks. The first preparation method is to empty both bags of mix into the bucket, add your rum or vodka, then close up the bucket and freeze it. If you don’t want to wait for freezing, or if you’re just making single serve portions, you can follow the mixing instructions, and do it all in your blender, with ice.

The flavour of the Rio Lobox Pina Colada is very smooth and mild. It isn’t an over-powering taste, but is light and refreshing. While it is quite good, it is missing a little ‘something something’ in comparison to a fresh piña colada. The bucket cost us $5.00.

Coco Colada’s Piña Colada Mix
Coco Colada’s Piña Colada Mix comes in a can and requires that you simply add your rum and ice, and mix it in a blender. The can is 350 ml, and can make around 4 drinks, or two if you like them large, like we do. Coco Colada’s mix is made with real coconut cream. The can cost us $3.79.

If you really enjoy the taste of coconut, then you’ll enjoy this one. I found that it tasted too much like coconut, and didn’t have enough of a pineapple flavour. You could also taste the rum, which isn’t necessarily bad, but, I like secret alcohol.

The can doesn’t specify that you should add pineapple juice, but, if I were to use this version again, I’d buy the juice, too. Fro the size of this can, it is the most expensive option of the three.



Mott’s piña colada mix is definitely the more popular of the three I’m reviewing here. It is found in pretty much every grocery store here in Canada. The regular bottle is 1 litre, and can make around 10 drinks.

The instructions are to combine 4 1/2 oz mix and 1 1/2 oz of rum into your blender with 2 cups of ice and blend until slushy. The Mott’s piña colada is typically around $4.00, but we got ours on sale.

The flavour of the Mott’s Piña Colada is quite delicious. I’d say that it tastes the closest to the fresh version, which is likely why it is so widespread. You can’t really taste your rum in it at all.

The winner of this brand war is the Mott’s Piña Colada mix, for it has the most flavour, is most similar to a real piña colada, and has the benefit(or danger) of masking your rum taste.

So if you’re lazy like us, I highly recommend Mott’s Piña Colada mix for a fresh summery taste of Mexico; the piña colada.

~Darleya~

Tags: , , ,

18 Jul 2010

Review of Swift Brown ‘N Serve Beef Sausages.

Posted by Darleya. 1 Comment

I’m not sure whether the slogans ‘Heat & Eat’ and ‘Brown ‘N Serve’ were what attracted my husband to these sausages. It could have been the fact that they only take 5 minutes in the microwave.


Whatever the case, he bought these Swift Brown ‘N Serve beef sausages for breakfast this weekend. Swift is a line by Maple Leaf Foods.

These beef sausages did indeed take only 5 minutes in the microwave. They were definitely an easy addition to our extravagant Sunday  brunch. The problem I have with them, is that they were REALLY gross!

EEW. They didn’t even taste like beef, I have no words to describe that wannabe meat. They were atrocious, and not myself, my husband, nor my brother-in-law took any enjoyment in them; although my brother-in-law was the only one to finish them. Hopefully he wasn’t doing that just to be polite because I wouldn’t wish these upon anyone.

I just don’t think sausages are meant to be pre-cooked then zapped in the microwave.  Sausages are hard on my stomach anyway, so even though Swift also makes a pork variety of these sausages, I won’t be trying them.

~Darleya~

15 Jul 2010

Review of Stila’s baked eyeshadow trios

Posted by Darleya. No Comments

Stila is a cosmetics company that was started in 1994 by a celebrity makeup artist named Lynn Tilton which produces cosmetics that are delivered in eco-friendly packaging.

This review is for their baked eyeshadows.

Stila’s baked eyeshadow trios are simply stunning. The colors are bright, and go together wonderfully. I purchased the trio called ‘champagne glow’ (pictured)which features soft pink, cool taupe and rich brown shades. It is my absolute favourite shadow. It has a very nice sheen to it, too.

The trio’s represent a base, the crease, and liner, so that you don’t have to think of what colors are needed to create very pretty eye effects. I purchased one for my mother as well, and she just loves it.

Because the eyeshadow is baked, it is much less likely to crumble and break. The baking of the shadows also makes the application much creamier and smoother. I have managed to drop my palette already, and to my luck it has remained intact.

The aluminum compacts are very stylish too. You can purchase these shadows at Sephora among other places, and they cost between $20 and $28 depending on the sheen factor. This is pricey when you compare it to drug store brands, but the difference in quality is very obvious. The shadow can also be applied wet with an eyeshadow liquifier.

The one thing I will note with these shadows is that the pallette tends to spin around in the container, so you have to be careful when you use your brush on it. I use MAC brushes to apply the shadow. You don’t need a lot on your brush as a little goes a long way.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

14 Jul 2010

Review of Ketchup, a brand war

Posted by Darleya. 6 Comments

I have not written a brand war in quite some time, simply because I haven’t thought of anything that was worthy of comparisons. Then there’s ketchup. I love ketchup. Ketchup goes on my burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheeses, and any meat that is not cooked to my liking.

Since I have been eating ketchup all my life, this brand war is a bit difficult, because the taste of Ketchup is the taste of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.  I’m trying very hard not to discriminate and will solely be describing the flavours.

President’s Choice Tomato Ketchup

This PC ketchup is always around 50 cents cheaper than Heinz when no specials are on. President’s Choice is a Loblaws company brand that typically manages to execute copied recipes very very well. The President’s choice ketchup does not quite hit the mark on taste. Although the ketchup lists the very same ingredients as Heinz, the flavour is a tad more bitter with less sweetness. I am guessing this means less vinegar and more sugar, but there’s some sort of odd after taste that reminds me of cloves for some reason. The exact listed ingredients are: Tomato paste, (made from fresh ripe tomatoes) liquid sugar, white vinegar, salt, seasonings. While the PC ketchup is not horrible, I won’t be buying it again, at 50 cents cheaper than Heinz.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

The Heinz tomato ketchup seems to have the perfect balance of vinegar and sugar, which makes it quite irresistible to me. Its exact ingredients are: Tomato Concentrate From Red Ripe Tomatoes, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Spice, Natural Flavoring. Perhaps it is the added quality of their ingredients, and the fact that Heinz grows its own tomatoes to make its ketchup, but the taste of Heinz is rather imprinted in my taste buds as how ketchup is supposed to taste. Buying the other brands for this brand war has been difficult, because we’ve had to finish the ketchups from the other brands. Also, the Heinz ketchup website has a widget where you can squeeze a ketchup email to a friend. Try it here.

.

Great Value tomato Ketchup

Walmart has its very own brand of Ketchup as well. The Great Value Ketchup is the cheapest of the three in this brand war. The Great Value ketchup differs the most in its ingredients: Tomato Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Salt, Onion Powder, Spice, Natural Flavoring. It is much less healthy than the other two brands, however, I will say that the Great Value ketchup had a better taste than the President’s choice. I was the most skeptical about this brand, but after tasting it, I am more reluctant to try other ‘great value’ products. The difference for this one, is that it tastes a bit sweeter than the Heinz, which is likely attributable to the high fructose corn syrup. If you’re on a budget, then I’d recommend the great value ketchup since it is so far the closest taste to the real deal.

This brand war is slightly skewed, because I’m comparing the two different brands to the Heinz taste. I will say that the Walmart Great Value ketchup was much better than the president’s choice ketchup, which shocked me. It is much cheaper. Unless I’m on a tight budget I will keep buying Heinz, but it’s nice to know that I have options if the case were otherwise.

What do you put ketchup on?

~Darleya~

11 Jul 2010

Review of Star Gate Universe – again

Posted by Darleya. 1 Comment

I’m writing a second review of SGU, because I don’t want it to go away!

The writing, the acting, and the imagination are epic in this series so far. I am already very ‘in’ to many of the characters, and that is hard to attain in any first season.

I’ll admit that it was starting to get a little soap opera-esque by mid-season, but they rightfully brought it back to its sci-fi goodness after the break.

What I really like about this show is that it can be considered a cross between Battlestar Gallactica, Star Trek Voyager, and Stargate. It has a more serious side like Battlestar, the discovery and being lost aspect of Voyager, with the traditional Star Gate travel and military leadership.

For those that do not watch the show, the basic premise is as follows; a group of military, scientific, and civilian personal are forced to go through the 9th-gated Star Gate leading them to the unknown in order to save themselves from a deadly explosion.

They then find themselves at the other end of the universe on an ancient starship stuck on autopilot whose mission is to map out the Universe by dropping Star Gates on various habitable planets.

I love what this show has done so far, and as mentioned above, I really really don’t want it to cease, so keep watching people!

~Darleya~

Tags: , , , ,

7 Jul 2010

Review of Willie & Juan’s Restaurant in Orleans

Posted by Darleya. 5 Comments

Willie and Juan’s is a fairly new restaurant that took the location of Mexicali Rosas at 2401 St-Joseph Blvd here in Orleans.

I was really excited when I first saw it, because hey, the name Juan is an authentic Latin name, this place MUST be good.

Unfortunately, I was highly mislead. Not only is this place  not authentic, but it is way overpriced with horrible service to boot.

The first time we went there, we went for lunch. While the service wasn’t horrible that day and just slow, the food was not good, and again, overpriced. We ordered the Chorizo entrée, and it was very very dry, with little to no flavour. I’ve cooked some mean chorizo sausages before, and this was crap. Handmade my ass!

The second time we went was for a friend’s birthday dinner. We were a large group of people. Some people arrived at varying times, but everyone was ordering drinks and appetizers until everyone got there.

I don’t understand how you can get snotty attitudes from servers and management when you’re spending a lot of money. The two just don’t go together in my eyes. They gave us evil looks like ‘how dare us cause them to work a little harder’. Some of us had to go to the bar to get a drink because they were not coming back. We weren’t even being rowdy. I mean, we were a bunch of 30-year olds, and two very young children that were being well-behaved.

When we finally ordered, they messed up many people’s dishes, and charged extra for things like hot sauce, when in most Mexican places, those things are unanimously free. I do not think that this was a one-time bad experience. I wasn’t one member of the staff, it was all of them.

I will not be going back there ever. Not only do I not recommend this place, but I pray that you do not go there, so we can finally get a decent Mexican place in Orleans. Until then, I will stick to my wonderful Pancho Villa downtown.

(side note- I saw the new Mexican Café on St-Joseph, but I have yet to try it so I’ll keep you posted)

~Darleya~

7 Jul 2010

Review of Smuckers Ice Cream Toppers

Posted by Darleya. 2 Comments

I have been eyeing the various Smuckers ice cream toppers for quite some time now. I mean, they just scream unhealthy and all, but, who doesn’t want some smooth syrup on their vanilla ice cream?

I went a little nuts and tried three different kinds because they were on sale.

Smucker’s Butterscotch

The Smuckers Butterscotch topping is my favourite out of the three. The sauce is thicker than the syrups. It’s very sweet, and goes very nicely with french vanilla ice cream.

One thing you should not do with this butterscotch topping, it top it on your ice cream cone. It seemed like a good idea at first, but, one little dabble goes a long way…down the side of your cone.

A sticky mess indeed.

I found a recipe that uses this butterscotch off the Smucker’s website that sounds very delicious that I’d love to try. Pumpkin Roll with Butterscotch Cream. Check it out and tell me that doesn’t sound devine.

 

 

Smucker’s Strawberry Sundae Syrup

The strawberry syrup was the one I was the most skeptical about, but, I bought it for my husband. I was actually pleasantly surprised by its flavour because I typically don’t like any artificially flavoured strawberry things.

This syrup tastes much closer to your average strawberry jam, which tastes like real strawberries. It was very flavourful, and again, very sweet.

I decided to find a recipe for this as well, and the smuckers website offers a few. They called this one, the Canada Day Strawberry Trifle, but, I think it would be delicious all summer long. It also looks very easy to make! Yummy.

 

Smucker’s Chocolate Sundae Syrup

The Smuckers chocolate sundae syrup was actually my least favourite of the three. I found that sort of tasted like Neslté’s Quick and perhaps a little too strong and not chocolaty enough.

It’s still better than having nothing on your vanilla ice cream.

The recipes aren’t as enticing either. I think I’ll try their microwaveable hot fudge topper next time.

These three smuckers ice cream toppers are not something that you give to your kids all the time, but, once in a while it’s a great treat to make them happy, or keep them quiet.

 

 

 

Enjoy!

~Darleya~


30 Jun 2010

Review of Grooveshark

Posted by Darleya. 4 Comments

Grooveshark is an internationally available Internet-based free music provider. You can listen to full albums of streaming music for free simply by performing a search for your favourite artist or song.

The website is very user-friendly, and you don’t need to download anything in order to use their service. You can create and save as many playlists as you like if you create a free user account.
You can even steal your friend’s playlists if you know their usernames.

I like it especially for the office, because I get tired of the music I bring in, so like this, I can continue to be entertained while working by listening to brand new music.

I highly recommend this website, especially if you can listen to music at work, and have access to the Internet. It’s wonderful, and it’s free! There are no lags, you’d think you were listening to the CDs themselves.

For more information about Grooveshark, check out their wiki page here.

You can look up my playlists under username ‘stuffedashes’.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~


28 Jun 2010

Review of two-bite cupcakes

Posted by Darleya. 3 Comments

Give and Go Prepared Food Corp. makes the Original two-bite cupcakes that are found at pretty much all of the grocery stores here in Canada.

They’re identified easily because they change their icing to go with the season or holidays.

These cupcakes are simply irresistable. I like the premise behind them, because they are so tiny, they make you feel much less guilty than eating a regular sized cupcake.

My favourite ones are vanilla flavoured, and the icing they put on each little cupcake is about a half-inch thick. Normally I dislike all store-bought cakes and icing, but these are really freaking good.

I call them mini-devils because I can’t possibly eat just one, they are way too delicious. I just bought the Canada-Day ones yesterday, and there are only 3 left. They come by the dozen.

I had three for breakfast as I’d intended on giving one away, but it was refused, so all three went in my belly. I also just ate two after coming home from work. Good thing I’m a skinny bitch!

~Darleya~

Tags: , ,

28 Jun 2010

Review of Joe Fresh, by Loblaws

Posted by Darleya. 3 Comments

Joe Fresh is a brand of clothing by Loblaws. Yes, the grocery store.

Why would you buy clothing at a grocery store? Why wouldn’t you buy clothing at a grocery store when they have fashionable clothes for dirt cheap?

Joe Fresh offers clothing for your whole family. I was definitely skeptical at first, mainly because I refuse to buy cheap-looking clothes, but, the styles offered by Joe Fresh are actually really nice and totally affordable.

I’ve bought anything from work clothes, to work-out clothes, to t-shirts and underwear. Honestly, every time I hit up the Superstore, I have to check out their new stuff. And they always have new stuff.

The last time I was there I bought a floorlength racerback tank dress in black. It’s incredibly comfortable, and perfect for those summer days when you just didn’t have time to shave. Yup, I think I paid $14.

They have children’s clothing galore, and even sell shoes and accessories. If you’ve been skeptical about their selection, I dare you to go and browse without buying something. I guarantee that you’ll be amazed by their prices and that they have styles that are very current.

I never like to pay too much for very trendy items, because, I like to STAY trendy, so, with fashion constantly changing, I’d be in the poor house with my spending habits if it weren’t for brands like Joe Fresh or Costa Blanca.
Their clothing is available at all of the large Loblaws and the Real Canadian Superstores.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

P.S for my regular readers, I apologize if I’ve been slacking on the posts. I blame summer, and a lack of ideas.

21 Jun 2010

Review of Eden by PixelJunk

Posted by Darleya. 3 Comments

When I first tried Eden by PixelJunk on the PS3 I was both baffled and awed. This game is incredibly beautiful, yet at first glance you don’t really know what you have to do.

Basically, you are a little critter (that looks like a Pikmin from Nintendo) called a “Grimp” and you jump around an abstract plant garden.

The makers of this game have incredible imaginations, the scenery is vivid and stunning, while the techno trance music has you mesmerized and lost in the beautiful plant world.

I have to admit that at first, we had no clue we were in the intro ‘starting level’ zone, and we had no idea we were in a garden and that the floating objects were indeed pollen that we had to capture. Once we figured it out, we’ve been playing every chance we get(currently this means cold or rainy days because we HAVE to make use of our pool!)

The game can be played up to four players cooperatively, and your basic goal is to swing from abstract plant shapes to move about the garden to reach unknown goals. To do this, you must attack the six-sided pollen carriers in order to gather the small pollen particles that can turn dormant seeds into activated seeds. The new seeds can be used to create new plants and your ‘Grimps’ can mover further into the mystical garden.

The tricky part is that you can either land on a plant, go right through it, or swing around it like a tarzan rope. If you only click ‘x’ once, you’ll land on a plant, but if you click it more than once you’ll fall right through it and through any other plants below (danger). The game progresses upwards, for the most part with beautiful viney plants that grow right in front of you after you gather enough seeds. You never know what the plant will look like, and it’ll typically lead you in the direction you need to go next.

Eden is a directly downloadable game on the PS3. If you have one, you’ve got to try it. We have a lot of fun and are amazed at each new level, because there are more and more colors, and very cool backgrounds/themes/music.
Enjoy!

~Darleya~

15 Jun 2010

Review of La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion micro-exfoliant

Posted by Darleya. 3 Comments

Laroche-posay is a dermatology-recommended skincare brand originating from France. The

Effaclar astringent  micro-exfoliating lotion is supposed to help instantly unblock and reduce pore size.


When I apply this astringent I really feel my skin ridding itself of inpurities. It’s very fresh, and soothing. I’ve been using this astringent for around 2 years now, because I haven’t been able to find anything bad about it. Large pores run in my family, so with this astringent and my Dr.Brandt Pores no More, I think I’ll be okay.

After I wash my face, I use a cotton pad to apply this astringent everywhere on my face, avoiding eye contact. I’m usually amazed that it still removes more dirt and make-up from my face even after I’ve washed it.

The price of the Effaclar astringent ranges from around $15 to $20, which is very reasonable since it lasts a long time.

If you’re looking for a good toner/astringent, then try out Effaclar by La Roche-Posay. It was recommended in my InStyle ‘best of’ section, and I’ve not been disappointed.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

13 Jun 2010

Review of Samsung PL150 12.4 Mega-Pixel Digital Camera

Posted by Darleya. 2 Comments

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
Unfortunately, after using this camera on only 4 separate occasions, the shutter started sticking.  It also happened at random, so, sometimes it would get stuck halfway, stuck a pinch, or not stuck at all. I kept having to open the shutter fully with my fingernail. Let me tell you that I got really tired of doing this, and really really sad and disappointed. I wanted this camera to be perfect, because I love the front LDC display so much.
On a brand new camera, this is not something that I should have to be dealing with. Therefore, I have returned my camera and exchanged it for the Nikon S8000 10X zoom 14.2 Megapixel camera. It was on sale, so it was only 50 dollars more. I will tell you about it after I use it more. So far, so good.
Sorry Samsung, but I couldn’t trust that it was just a dud, and went for something more reliable.
Purchase at your own risk.
.
I finally purchased a new camera after my beloved Casio Exilim 6 MegaPixel kicked the bucket a few months ago.

The Samsung PL 150 has a dual LCD display. You can take pictures of yourself  and a friend without guessing if you’re aiming right. This was my reason for purchasing this camera. When it is off, you’d never know there’s a screen on the front, it’s very sleek and hidden until you turn it on.

As amazing as the front LCD screen is, this camera has much much more to offer. Its seven degree tilt-back allows you to set it on the table and aim it perfectly at you. It also has a very cool automatic smile detector. You can take all sorts of styles of pictures, including portrait, night portrait, backlight portrait, macro portrait, night, backlight, landscape, white, natural green, blue sky,sunset, macro, macro text, macro color, tripod, action, fireworks, black&white, beach&Snow, close up text, and cloudy among others.

The camera also features HD videos which is excellent to capture the moment. So far, I’ve captured my friend’s two himalayan cats fiercely licking a strawberry. I’d never seen a cat that loves strawberries. Now to capture Ashes so that I can take fun pictures for new monthly banners!

I’m not a  great photographer myself, so, I like that this camera has a smart auto function, which judges your scene and takes a pictures accordingly. The smile feature is very fun to play with. I tested that feature out quite a bit on different people, and it totally works. I haven’t tried every single option on the camera just yet, but I’m extremely pleased.

The camera is not complicated, just point and shoot if you don’t want to play with special options. The back LCD screen has a very clear picture, and when you’re selecting various options, they are explained in writing on the screen. There are so many modes that you can use so that you can appear to be an excellent photographer.

In addition, the front LCD screen also has a children’s mode, which plays a little video of a little clown with a bouncy ball noise. Perfect for distracting babies so that they look at the camera. I paid $228 for this camera, which is very reasonable. Check out all of its specs and info here at Samsung’s website.

~Darleya~


10 Jun 2010

Review of Ravenswood Vintners Blend California Zinfandel

Posted by Darleya. 4 Comments

I’m not a wine connoisseur. I can’t even PRETEND to be one. A hint of wood cherry lemon grass shacablahblahblah means NOTHING to me. I could never discern those flavours. I’ve tried. Nada.

Ravens Wood Vintners Blend Zinfandel from California?

A damn good red wine. I would classify this bottle in the mid-price-range  at around $17 per bottle, but; it’s worth every penny.

I just love its flavour, it leaves you with a great aftertaste, is not bitter in the slightest, and goes down smoothly.

I’ve only been drinking red wine for around two years because I thought I liked white better. NOPE! What was I thinking? Red wines are much more diverting to consume. Yes. Diverting.

The next time you’re at the LCBO, SAQ, or whatever your country, state or province calls your liquor board(or the corner store if you’re lucky enough), go and grab a bottle of this delightful red.

I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~
« Older Entries