The Adventures of Bob & Shan

an unfolding story of food & adventure.

Winter Spiced Syrup

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We love classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned, Negronis, Manhattans, and Martinis, which rely on a perfect balance of spirits, but when you introduce syrups into your cocktail repertoire, the options become endless. This syrup was intended for an Egg Nog Cocktail, but is by no means limited to one use. Thinking about a bourbon sour? Switch out the simple syrup with this version and you’ve got a “winter sour”. Sounds pretty delicious right? Of course you’re not only limited to cocktails. Try it in your tea, lattes, or just with some soda water for a non-alcoholic drink. …

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Cinnamon Scones

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Our first time hosting my family for Christmas. The setting was just right. Real Christmas tree, beautiful lights, and a stunning brunch spread. The only catch – we really couldn’t decide what to make for brunch on Christmas morning. Our problem wasn’t lack of ideas, it was more that we wanted to make everything good ever. We debated breakfast pizzas, scones, hash browns, fruit, the list goes on. We decided to nix the breakfast pizza entirely (save it for another day), and make Bob’s strata that we fell in love with. So satisfying. Then we of course had to balance our meal with fruit salad, and scones. I love scones. Carbs, with a touch of sweetness? Um, yes….

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Roast Beef Stuffed Popover Bread

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I had great expectations while watching the “Popover Bread” rise in the oven. Imagining the beautiful sandwich I would create it with it. A simple, delicious, leftover roast beef sandwich. My expectations were met, and then exceeded when I realized I could pry the bread open like a pita and stuff it. Leftovers will never be the same.

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Black Pepper & Chive Popover Bread

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This recipe came to me in a stroke of genius. After making Black Pepper & Chive Popovers, I had a fair bit of leftover batter, so I tossed it in the fridge and figured I would just make more popovers the next day. Then it hit me. What if I baked it in a loaf pan!? Unsure whether it would actually turn out, but way too excited not to try it, I heated up the oven and threw it in. Pretty much sitting in front of the oven, I impatiently waited for the “loaf” to start bubbling up. Sure enough, the popover batter and heat began to work their magic. I sat there awestruck by its beauty, excitedly texting Shan pictures of my creation….

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Mushroom, Kale, and Ham Breakfast Strata

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Sometimes, Sunday is for doing absolutely nothing, and sometimes it’s for doing a bunch of things…I like to think this past Sunday was both. Shan and I ate way too much brunch, and then watched a ridiculous amount of Scandal, on Netflix. In reality we did absolutely nothing, but we sure did a bunch of it! I have this theory, that sometimes, the only way to get rid of distractions is to completely remove them. In this case, Scandal has become our major distraction. How do we stop the distraction? By watching every episode as soon as we can. I call it the “Chip Bag Theory” – sometimes when there is a bag of open chips in front of you, you just have to smash the whole bag. Chips gone – distraction gone. Netflix is my open bag of chips. Could I practice more self control? Probably. But I do that pretty well in the rest of my life, so I find these brief lapses in control justified….

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Bourbon Hazelnut Coconut Milk

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I’ve been dying to make this. In fact, I did make it. Two weeks ago I almost completed this recipe. I had steeped the hazelnuts, and was ready for step two – blending them, when the blender decided to fall apart. Sticky milk, precious toasted hazelnuts, everywhere. All over the counter, cupboards, stove, and floor. I had been having a terrible day, this was my fix, and there I was, nearly crying over spilled milk….

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Sirloin Tip Roast

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Have you ever found yourself sitting in front of the TV, watching Netflix, and eating a freshly cooked roast with a side of popovers at midnight? Probably not, but that’s where Shan and I found ourselves this week. Eating a roast and watching The Hunger Games. It just made sense.

Traditional evening dinners are not really a thing for us. We find ourselves eating supper between 3-4pm before Shan heads to work or night classes, or between 10-11pm once she is home. It’s a strange thing. Fortunately, working from home with a flexible schedule, we make it work! Last week, Shan and I made a serious effort to get more protein in our diets. In a flurry of excitement, we bought chicken breast, pork loin, sausages, and more. Looking into our fridge a day later, we realized what we had done… Rather than freeze everything, we powered our way through the protein, and culminated our week of meat with this beautiful Sirloin Tip Roast with a side of Black Pepper & Chive Popovers….

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Black Pepper & Chive Popovers

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Popovers are magical. No yeast, baking powder, or baking soda, yet they rise into magnificent little porous creations, all thanks to the magic of steam! After whipping up the batter, I was curious how the thin, runny batter would morph into a puffy, muffin-like shape. Thanks to a high oven heat and the ratio of liquid to flour, the popovers release steam while cooking, puffing up to create a porous dough, bound together by the egg. So simple, yet so complex, and most importantly, so delicious!

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Thai Curried Pumpkin Soup

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Shhh…don’t tell Shan i’m posting another soup… Another pumpkin + curry combo, at that! While the previous Curry Pumpkin Soup took on flavours of an Indian curry, this ventures into the flavours of Thai cuisine. During our endless journey with pumpkin a few weeks ago, I tirelessly searched Pinterest for the best recipes, and this one immediately caught my eye. It looked amazing, and had my inner food stylist very jealous of that perfect cream swirl action….

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