The Broke Girl Blog
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Gabby

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In Lifestyle

What is with the cost of living in Alberta?

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Hey fam, It’s getting more and more expensive out there to keep our food costs down, and with the extreme increases in the cost of utilities in Alberta, as well as gas price uncertainties… we’re all looking for ways to make sure we can take good care of ourselves and our families with whatever we have left over. I have a bunch of affordable food posts coming up, more gardening posts so we can all be more food secure and share with our neighbors, as well as more information on how to help make sure you’re being as energy conscientious as possible. And yes, I’ll be sharing how to make that gorgeous spelt loaf. For today, I’m resharing some favorite affordable posts and the one that started it all- How I went a month without buying any groceries. https://thebrokegirlblog.com/2016/07/04/35-day-no-buy-recap/ https://thebrokegirlblog.com/2021/03/04/my-go-to-cheap-and-easy-meal/ https://thebrokegirlblog.com/2020/04/10/garden-series-choosing-your-garden-type/ There’s a lot to the changes in cost of…

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In Lifestyle

How To: Use my COVID-19 Distancing Strategies and Stay Happy!

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Hey guys! I know this past year has felt awful for so many of us. For anyone who is suffering the loss of a loved one, I am so sorry for your loss. For anyone who is struggling with the loss of your normal life, I am with you and I feel your struggle. A few things have helped me this past year that I would recommend to anyone struggling with our new reality. Yes, I said new reality. Unfortunately, this isn’t going away anytime soon and our social construct may be permanently changed. It’s definitely worth our time to learn how to thrive in a world with more masks and less personal interaction, it’s like preparing for the worst and celebrating if the best comes upon us. Isolate as much as possible and have a cohort that does the same, so that you can visit with less risk when…

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In Personal Updates

2021 Goals – Personal, School and Gardens

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This year is a bit different for me. I’m in the 3rd year of my science degree, which I only recently admitted is my pre-med study plan. I’m so incredibly lucky that my family is understanding and accepting of this, because I’m working full- time and studying full-time while preparing for the MCAT. My mum has made me more meals than I like to admit, my sister has responded to more weirdo texts than is ok, and my dad has given more hugs than should be necessary for a 30- something. But yes, I am preparing to apply to medical school this year. I can’t even believe I’m saying that, and I know COVID could continue to push things back, but it’s still exciting and worth a mention. You’d expect some really intense goals then, right? Studying several hours a day, writing practice MCAT’s, GPA goals, research goals… but honestly,…

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In cheap eats

My Go-To Easy Meal

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A lot of the time, I get sad looks from people when they ask what I’m eating for lunch or dinner and I reply “veggies and lentils”. That combo, with a carb thrown in, is one of my favorites! What’s more comforting than a spiced lentil dish on a cold fall night? In the summer, I want something that I can cook outside though! Enter this dish. Thyme Roasted Carrots with Herbed Lentils 1 can green or du puy lentils 10 carrots, peeled goat feta, crumbled 1 tablespoon hummus 1 tablespoon tatziki (I make mine using Happy Days goat yogurt) milk or olive oil (to thin tatziki if you want) thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, lemon juice, dill optional: soft pita This dish is super easy. I will either roast my carrots in the oven or in the bbq, if it’s the oven I roast at 415 degrees so they caramelize.…

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In Food

Sunday Dinner: Pot Roast

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Hi friends! This post is all about what to do with that rump roast, or sirloin tip roast, you saw on sale and don’t quite know what to do with because let’s face it… roast night was usually something our mum’s did. Now, we have to stay away from our parents (thanks, COVID) but that comfort food from my childhood is totally all I want. How to make a pot roast: Bring your meat out of the fridge to start coming up to room temperature. Chop an onion, a few celery ribs, 4 carrots and 4 potatoes. They can be decently large chunks because pot roast cooks low and slow. Start off with a metal pot. It’s best if you don’t use a non-stick in this situation because we want to sear the meat and then deglaze the pan. Enamel on cast iron is okay too (like Staubbs or le…

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In Lifestyle

Life Lately #9- Life at a Distance

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Hi guys! I’m writing this cosied into my couch watching my new fireplace burn, but I’ve been trying to write it for months. Life has changed so much since the last time I shared a personal update. The world has changed, too. Last I checked in, we had recently welcomed Georgia and said goodbye to Whiskey. At first, the three dogs did great together- confused about the missing friend, but they kept on trucking. Early in 2020, our old girl Jazz started giving us signs that she was in pain, and on March 4th we said goodbye to her as well, nine months after Whiskey. I miss them both immensely. By mid-March, the COVID-19 pandemic reached our neck of the woods and I began working from home (with my entire department doing the same) and self-isolating. I’m in a high-risk group, so I mostly only see my family, and a…

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In DIY

Garden Series: Harvesting your Bounty!

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Harvesting your garden is the most fun part! Here in Edmonton, harvest season is nearing its end, but in other places, it continues. I wanted to chat with you guys today about how you can make the most of your harvest, keep your veggies good as long as possible, and what you can still have in the garden this time of year. Tomatoes are at the end of their growing cycle at this point in the year, unless you’re in a place where it is consistently over 15 degrees Celsius at night still. Otherwise, it is time to cut all of your fruit off, even if it appears immature, and put it in a warm, sunny window. They’ll ripen, I promise. I have a couple of posts coming up about how to use your eight million tomatoes when they all ripen at once. (They always do for me… so we…

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In Gardening

Garden Series: July Update and Caring for your Garden

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Hello! A return to the garden series! We have now fully weeded the garden twice, and enjoyed our first full harvest of a planted vegetable. Our french-type radishes grew and were picked- in the VeggiePods, it made room for another planting of basil. In the garden, they were in the carrot row to promote spacing of the carrot seeds. They grew beautifully and were super sweet. I roasted some on the bbq. Because of the rain and poor weather thus far this year, everything is pretty behind. We experienced one crop failure- romaine lettuce. We’ve planted again and are now watching quite a few heads grow. The beans, peas, squashes are all quite delayed and while flowering, have not produced much yet. Even our little herbs are slow to grow. The real crop winner thus far is kale and lettuce! The veggie pods are happy and lush, and hard to…

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In Food

Rose Review: Casillero del Diablo

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Hi friends! I know, two rose reviews in a row! But, since it’s summertime and gorgeous out (when it’s not raining), I don’t imagine anyone will mind, right? Sometimes we need a glass of rose to forget the rain. This rose was such a nice surprise for me. Crisp and bold, I’d call this a red drinkers rose! I normally don’t love super fruity wines because they seem to be quite sweet as a rule, but this one wasn’t. It had really nice acidity which kept the fruity flavors fresh and light. All in all, the Casillero Del Diablo Rose is assertive but with a light finish that keeps it supremely easy to drink on it’s own on a patio, or alongside my favorite beet and arugula salad.

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In Food

Rose Review: Triani Cantini

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Rose review #2 for the 2020 season! This one is about an Italian rose from Triani wines, from the Montepulciano region. When my sister and I placed our last order with Everything Wine and More in Sherwood Park, we tried to select wines from different places around the world. There was no rhyme or reason to our selections previously. Honesty time: I did not like this rose as much as I thought I would, and neither did my sister. We both found it more fruity and sweet, whereas we like crisp and light roses. This is a preference thing, but will it be on our repurchase list? Nah. That said- I do think that if you like sweeter rose’s, you’ll love this one. It has very medium bodied flavors, a lot of ripe, red fruit in the flavor profile and is totally the kind of thing you could bring out…

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