Yet another absolutely wonderful weekend...still just enjoying a lazy Sunday morning in my jammies. Letting our delicious pancake breakie settle before we venture out on a long walk. We slept in a bit this morning and I was craving pancakes...so I pulled out my gluten/wheat free bob's Redmill pancake mix and went to work. This is a really great option for those who have this type of sensitivity, but I have often found the batter to be a little thin and too whispy...so I doctored it up a bit today. I used vanilla rice milk because I also am lactose intolerant, and the vanilla adds a really nice flavour.
I also added cinnamon, a hint of grated lemon zest and a splash more pure vanilla extract to the batter before wizzing it up. I then mashed up a whole banana and folded it into the batter...and the results were awesome. Ivan and I loved them...and they tasted no different than the fluffy buttermilk/floury ones you would get in a diner. The mashed banana made them thicker and fluffy, moist and full of flavour. You must try this little trick out!
Yesterday was also a perfectly wonderful day. We got up fairly early...had a quick breakfast and then went for a walk down by the kits seawall. Came back home, showered up and had a list of errands to accomplish which included clothing alterations, dry cleaners and the cobblers to fix up our shoes. We then popped in to visit a friend who has just moved into Vancouver to say hello and then off to do a little car shopping!!!!!
Don't get your hopes up DAD....we are just doing a little prelim research. We had a game plan to be open to all options, as last time we went we ended up arguing in the lot and then leaving. So this time we went with no expectations and open minds. We first looked in Vancouver and I test drove a Chevy mid-size SUV. I have never driven anything so big before, so the idea was to see if I could. It wasn't my favorite looking auto...but it drove very easily and I didn't feel like it was too big....the sales gal was a master...she had us on the lot for hours, testing cars and making appointments for next week.....we could only finally escape because I was getting so hungry I thought I would eat both her and Ivan for lunch.
So we said a quick thanks and then headed out towards the Richmond Auto Mall. I had lunch all planned out...I copied down three of the top rated Dim Sum restos in Richmond and so we stopped at one along the way called Continental Seafood Restaurant which is tucked away in a non-descript strip mall, but was deceptively huge inside and they were still pushing around the little carts brimming with bamboo steamers!!!! I could barely contain my excitement. Unfortunately we just caught the end of the service so there wasn't much selection left (its on from 12-2:45) but we still managed to fill up on some delicious dumplings! My least favorite were the pork and peanut, because they left the peanuts whole and it was just too crunchy. But the steamed shrimp and chive were so awesome we got two orders. We also tried their pork ribs, which were a little on the fatty size, but really tasty. Their bbq pork steamed buns were delicate, soft and filled with flavour, and the Siu Mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) were a bit hit!
I will definitely go back again for dim sum lunch...but I will make sure I am there early (you may need to make a reso). The atmosphere is typical....pretty gawdy banquet style room with no attention to decor...its all about the food and the fun experience of enjoying dim sum. Always better to grab a few friends so you can try more variety...but two works just fine as well!
We then got our drive on at the Richmont Auto Mall where we spent hours looking at cars, sitting in cars and testing cars. My favorite part was seeing all of the cute little black bunnies hopping around the grounds...there must have been a pre-easter convention on! My fave car was the Escalade...but I felt like I should be black in order to be worthy of driving it..or at least have breast implants and bleach blond hair or listen to RAP or something cool. So instead we test drove the new Jeep Cherokee which was much less cool and easy to drive.
The day was super fun...I really don't like car shopping...but throw in a dum sum lunch and I am happy as a pig in shit.
Now...off for a walk with my baby...happy Sunday and enjoy!
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