The Right to Spend

I started my day yesterday with a "challenging" question:

To buy or not to buy a Costco membership card.

The answer was yes, to buy a Costco membership. I'm feeling very privileged to be able to buy a year's supply of paper towels and shampoo in one transaction. I'm having some trouble with my decision now though. I really don't like shopping. No wait... let me rephrase that. I really don't like to spend money (but I love window-shopping). Yes, gentlemen. You read correctly. There are some women out there who do not like to shop and spend money. We are a rare breed. 

I don't mind spending money on good food (especially when people come over) but I have trouble spending money on everything else. When I was younger and was in my I-must-stock-up-and-store-everything-under-my-bed phase, (If you read my blog, you know what I'm talking about; if you don't read my blog, you should go read Under The Bed posted in October. You should also read everything else and follow my blog regularly and sign up to receive e-mail updates.) SO when I was in that phase, I would hardly buy clothes for myself. I would spend my money on kitchen utensils. I remember a few years ago, I was getting ready for a job interview and my sisters weren't home to give me their Yay or Nay on my outfits so the lucky fashion guru of the day was my father. As I wore somewhat outdated outfit after outfit, my father just said "Tania. If you spent more money on clothes instead of spatulas and casseroles to put under your bed, you wouldn't have this problem now!" I would like to note that my wardrobe has improved since then.

Sometimes, when I spend money (or when I am about to spend money), I can't help but think of the number of hours I have to work to earn x or y amount or wonder how many wedding favors or flowers I could afford with that amount of cash. You may be thinking "Oh. How financially responsible and logical". NO! I am telling you, sometimes this "logic" is the curse of me.

When I see something I like, I am anything but logical. It can take me a very long time to decide if I want to buy it or not. Sometimes I'll go home, think about it, look at a picture online, then "thinking" turns to "obsessing", etc. Other times, I buy whatever it is I want and bring it home only to be convinced that I do not need it so I return it back to the store. I also sometimes call one of my sisters or Mr. A and ask "A or B" when I have secretly assigned A to Yes and B to No (or vice versa). Finally, other times I go through waves of being able to shop like a normal person though.

I am not exactly proud of myself for being this indecisive on little purchases but then again, Mr. A and I are a young couple getting ready to pay for a wedding. I think my non-spending habits are  a definite advantage for us (although it drives me crazy sometimes).

So now, here I am, a day after buying the membership and telling myself how ironic it is that I just spent money to have the right to spend more money.

It's ok though... I'll get my money's worth. If anything, I'll just eat all the free samples at Costco to break even!  And I'll make room at home to store industrial sized packages of everything.

Do I make myself look really bad with this blog? You all must think I'm crazy! I'm not crazy. I just have a sense of humor and am not scared to laugh at myself. I embrace all my weirdness, all my flaws and all my strange habits (and you should embrace all of yours as well). Plus, I'm really not as indecisive or obsessive as you all may think/as I may be portraying myself to be.

I remember going to Costco often as a kid. It felt like an excursion (the type of excursion that you hoped would get cancelled). Walking around a giant warehouse and waiting in line for what felt like hours is not always fun for a child. It would all be worth it though in the end because we would be treated to a hot dog or pizza at the food court.

 

Here is THE best and the only pizza dough recipe you'll ever need.

Wolfgang Puck's Pizza Dough

Ingredients

- 1 package dry active yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 cup warm water (separated 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- toppings of your choice

Directions

1. Stir yeast, honey and 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir and let it dissolve for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt, olive oil, 3/4 warm water and 1 cup of flour. Stir it up. It will become a batter. Stir in another cup and a half (so 2 1/2 cups total) of flour and stir.

3. Once it becomes difficult to stir, turn out the dough onto a board adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour to knead.

4. Put a little bit of olive oil in a bowl, coat the dough ball and cover it with a damp towel. Let it rest in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, until doubled in size. I like to turn my oven on for a few minutes then turn it off and let the dough rest there.

5. Turn out the dough onto a cutting board, flatten it a little bit with your fingertips and divide into 2-4 equal balls. (depending on how many pizzas you want. 4 balls = 4 individual pizzas)

 

6. Place these dough balls on a floured surface, cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

 

7. Finally, flatten dough with your fingers until you it is about 1/2 inch thick. Apparently you're not suppose to roll out pizza dough. Transfer dough on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with a little bit of flour or corn meal.

 

8. Preheat oven to 450F.

 

9. Add whatever topping you want and bake at 450F for 5 minutes at the bottom shelf and 10 minutes on the top shelf.

 

 

Crispy & Delicious Pizza Dough

Another World

This past weekend, I, a regular middle-class girl next door, went to another world.

I went to one of the most high end stores in Montreal... and I have never felt so out of place. I am very happy for everyone who appreciates and likes the "high end" scene but it's not for me.

The out-of-place feeling started when I was parking. My (very fabulous) sister works at the store and suggested I leave my car at the valet. I drove in and saw a few cars that may cost more than my house. I rolled up the window of my Toyota (yes, you read correctly. I have to manually roll my window up and down. I'm practically a cave person), stepped out of the car, gave my keys to the guy joking about the contrast between my car and the others he sees and ran inside. I ended up in a beautiful section where they had a stunning and festive display of chocolates, cookies, teas, coffee and giant books about fashion. They were all surrounded by glistening Christmas ornaments and some were meticulously tied with colorful ribbon. Perfect gift ideas.

My inner foodie and inner Martha Stewart were so excited at the site of all the different treats and decoration. However, I could not get in touch with my inner fashionista. I approached everything with such joy but my excitement quickly turned to confusion (and a bit of frustration) at the sight of the price tags.

I knew that the store was expensive but I can't wrap my head around an $11,000 coat, a $1000 hat or even a $100 (small) box of cookies. Are these cookies made out of unicorn magic and rainbows? It does not make ANY sense to me and even if I had all the money in the world, I would feel so guilty spending that much money on STUFF.

The cherry on top of my experience there was when a sales' girl approached me, politely showed a few items, saw me look at a price tag and abruptly walked away by saying "I have to go" and approached a woman who looked like she did not mind spending $3000 on a vest.

Of course, it's none of my business how people spend their money and I congratulate whoever can afford to shop at that store on all their cash (and I really wish I had that flexibility as well). That store sometimes just reminds me of all the beautiful things I can't afford. But, as beautiful as everything there is, I will stick to being grateful for what I have. 

Although my wallet wasn't satisfied, my taste buds were very satisfied with the rich and dense chocolate tart they had at their café. 

Here's my version of one.

Rich Chocolate-Honey Tart
(adapted by Giada's)

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature, plus extra for coating the pan
- 10 graham crackers
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 cups (12oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

3. Place the graham crackers in a food processor and process until the mixture forms fine crumbs. Add the butter and pulse until incorporated. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes then cool to room temperature.

4. In a small saucepan, whisk the cream and honey together over low heat until the honey has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to just below a boil. Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour the chocolate filling over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or preferably overnight.

5. Loosen the tart from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the edge. Unmold the tart and transfer to a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.