HopStop

I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about HopStop! I've been using it for nearly ten years, and I think I assume that everyone knows about it (do they?) since it's pretty incredible. 

HopStop offers users bus, train, subway, walking, car, and bicycle directions and routing and it also supports transit information for over 300 major cities. The main reason I use it is for when I need subway directions to a place I haven't been before. The site also updates their route options to keep in mind any subway service work going on that particular day. 

If you're ever travelling to New York City, it's especially amazing and handy to have on your phone. I can't tell you how much I use it.

Peanut Butter, Strawberry & Banana Quesadillas

I can't tell you how CRAZY GOOD THESE ARE.

I'm still not sure if this is an acceptable dish to be served at breakfast, but that's what I've been doing so you should, too. (Also, if you want to turn this into a dessert, then I suggest replacing the peanut butter with Nutella. Your mind will implode.)

Photo Credit: Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

Cooking spray

Natural creamy peanut butter

2 wholewheat tortillas

1 large ripe banana, sliced

3-4 strawberries, sliced

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and spray the pan with cooking spray.
2. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on one side of each tortilla.
3. Arrange both the banana and strawberry slices over one tortilla, sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon, and top with the remaining tortilla, peanut butter side down. Press gently to help them stick together.
4. When the skillet is hot, add the quesadilla, flipping once or twice, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Cut each quesadilla into quarters with a pizza slicer. Serves 1-2.

I adapted the recipe slightly, but you can find the original one here.  

Larry David's Play "Fish in the Dark"

Larry David wrote a play! And he's acting in it, too. It's a comedy about "a death in a family, it has about 15 characters, and was inspired by the death of a friend’s father." That's all that's been released about it so far.

Thoughts? If he's anything like this in it, then I'll be happy. He'd be a fun person to see live, I think.

It's coming out on March 5, 2015.

“When I’m trying to cut down on popcorn at the movies, I take a full Ziplock bag of grapes with me. I know it’s not the same taste at all, but the act of popping them into my mouth one by one emulates the act of eating popcorn and is way better than just sitting there, not eating anything, wishing for popcorn.”

— #lizadvice

Royal Burger in Toronto

All right, I know I can sound dramatic sometimes. I need you to forget all those times, though, 'cause I need to tell you about THE BEST POUTINE I'VE EVER HAD IN THE HISTORY OF TIME.

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UH HUH.

I can't put into words what this did to my mouth. Every element was perfect if you're into the following:

• Not skinny fries, but not bigass fries either - PERFECT FRIES
• The darkest of dark gravy
• SALTY gravy
• QUEBECOIS CURDS, MOTHERFUCKER

I'm sorry. That was abrasive. But I'm serious here. This poutine shattered all past memories of every semi-good poutine I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  

Where can you get this goddess? All right, when you're driving from Mississauga to Toronto on the Gardner, get off on Lakeshore and it's at Royal Burger on the right hand side near the lake. If you see the Pizza Pizza, you've gone too far, sorry. There's a small-ish white and red sign that says "Poutine", but you see the sign after you pass the entrance so the sign should really say, "You Have Already Passed Amazing Poutine. That Sucks."

Place is called Royal Burger. Here's their menu.

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Menu

Yeah, it encourages extra gravy and cheese. Do you understand how nice that is? Is $5.99 steep for the best poutine of your life? No. But also, you definitely should share this with someone. It's a lot to eat by yourself, and that's coming from someone who has a real case of BIG-EYE. (Is that a commonly known term: "bigeye"? We use it in my family all the time. It means someone who's eyes are bigger than his/her stomach. I got mad bigeye. Which doesn't make any sense on account of my deadeyes.)

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Look how happy she is!

Everyone should experience this poutine. I know the place is called Royal Burger, so maybe it should be about their burgers? I don't fucking know. I took a bite of one and couldn't really remember it so I guess that says something.

Okay, one last photo for the road. GO.

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Fuck.

Dorothy Custer

I'm not a fan of Jay Leno at all (when I was younger I LOVED his headlines bit, shoot me) and this video is probably too long for you to want to watch (8 minutes), but this lady seems fun as hell. Honestly I'm a fan of anyone over the age 65 and still smiling. Why do I see so many angry seniors?! Makes me so mad. A smile ain't gonna kill you.

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups

Remember that time I made really shitty ("good for you") peanut butter cups? Well, those were shit and these ones are CRAZY BETTER. Though, one thought? Make them in a mini-cupcake tin and not a regular cupcake tin. I know I declared that I'm anti-mini-servings, but these are so rich that even the mini version is ridiculous sweet (/amazing).

Photo Credit: Leeves & Berries

Ingredients

• Bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
• Creamy natural peanut butter
• Sea salt
• Mini parchment cupcake liners

Instructions

1. Working with a double boiler, melt your chocolate until smooth. 
2. Line your mini cupcake tin with the cupcake liners and using a spoon put a layer of chocolate in the bottom of each cup.
3. Then take a spoon and drop in a small spoonful of peanut butter in the middle of each cup (try to cover the chocolate so you don't see it).
4. Finally, spoon a layer of chocolate on top of the peanut butter doing your best to cover all the peanut butter with a layer of chocolate. 
5. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. 
6. Allow the peanut butter cups to set in the freezer for 15-30 minutes before serving. Keep chilled. 

Warning: these get melty as hell if you don't eat them right out of the freezer. And man, they're good. Decadent, but good.

The recipe above is slightly adapted from the original one I found on Leeves & Berries.

“We seem to believe it is possible to ward off death by following rules of good grooming.”

— Don DeLillo, White Noise

Removing Baby Oil Stains

Look, I'm half Trinidadian. I have always had baby oil around every house I've lived in and I intend to keep having it around until I perish. Why? I don't know, you find uses for it. It softens up your hair and is less damaging than hot oil treatments, it's great for back rubs, it's amazing for at-home pedicure baths and it's beautiful when integrated in intimate moments, IT DOES IT ALL. Okay? 

And sometimes, it fucks up your fabrics. And apparently no dry cleaner can be bothered with getting an oil stain out. How is that possible when IT'S THEIR JOB? You got me. It's a mystery.

Anyhow, I just bought something new and after one day of wearing it, I got baby oil on it. I looked to the ends of the internet-earth, tried out a few different methods of removing the stain and now I'm here to tell you EXACTLY how to get that stain out if you ever need to.

1. To remove oil stains from cotton fabric, rub cornstarch over the stain.
2. Let it sit for 20 minutes and then get an old toothbrush to brush around on the stain until the cornstarch is really ensconced in the fabric.
3. Go to a sink and wet the area a bit with hot water, then add some dishwashing liquid and rub it onto it with your fingers.
4. Let that sit for 10-15 minutes and then use hot water and wash off the dishwashing liquid and cornstarch in the sink. I swear to God, when you're washing it off you can FEEL the baby oil coming out of the fabric. It's weird.
5. Let it dry or you can blow dry it if you're impatient. 
6. If a stain still appears, repeat the whole process. 

I know that seems like a lot to do, but it works so well. I did this whole thing three times and the stain was completely gone.