I'm pretty sure the last time we chatted, I had lost my passport, then later found my passport, and am still trying to make it up to Brent for being the one to find it in the printer after a 5 hour scavenger hunt. Despite the whole passport drama, our trip to Big White was a success (except for when I left the interior car light on for 7 days, killing the battery, and then Brent locking the keys in the car). The weather was warm, the people were friendly, and the hill wasn't too busy. The conditions weren't the best that I have ever seen, but the sunny skies and the company made up for it. We rented a condo with a hot tub and an amazing view. We took my niece and nephew tubing, skiing, and snowmobiling and they thought it was the most amazing thing ever. So amazing that they wanted to do it all day and every day. Our trip coincided with Australia Day, which is a BIG deal at Big White considering 90% of the employees are Australian. For three days straight there was a lot of drinking and screaming and hoopla in the village. A large proportion of the skiers were wearing bathing suit attire, which just seems like a really bad idea. Considering my travel companions liked to rise at 6 am and go to bed at 8 pm, I didn't really get to experience any of the festivities but to be honest, I didn't really mind. There is nothing cuter than seeing tiny adorable faces in the morning, and I am sure that a night of drinking would've just ruined that.

On the drive back, we stopped by a friends house for a visit. That night we cooked dinner over the bbq, and she served this amazing sauce as an accompaniment to our meal. It's was an olive oil based dip of sorts, with all sorts of good stuff like parsley, garlic, vinegar, and salt. It's called chimichurri, you may be familiar with it? I am now obsessed and have been using it as a side with most of my meals. People typically serve it with beef, but I like to serve mine with roasted potatoes, pasta, roasted vegetables, and as a dipping sauce for thick crusty Italian bread. It also pairs pretty nicely with Salmon, if you're into that.

I got this idea last week, for an olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon, Parmesan cheese pasta. A meal that can be easily pulled together in less than 20 minutes. We've been really into that quick and easy style of cooking lately, and pasta always falls into that category, unless you're making it from scratch. I really like the idea of trying to come up with recipes that include a few really fresh and flavorful ingredients, with flavor pairing being an important part of the process.

The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit is a really great resource if you're looking to dabble in that area. I am now trying to come up with all sorts of ways to incorporate chimichurri into my meals. I'd love suggestions!

recipe 

A SIMPLE OLIVE OIL AND PARSLEY PASTA

serves 2

2 servings spaghetti pasta

1 cup diced onions

1 clove garlic, diced

4 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lemon

1/2 cup curly parsley, chopped

chili flakes

Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large frying pan, fry the onions and garlic in olive oil on low heat until caramelized.

Drain the pasta, then add it to the frying pan along with salt, juice from half a lemon, and the chopped parsley. Toss to coat evenly.

Season with chili flakes and Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.