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I’ve got a thing for empty containers. I don’t know what it is. But I see an empty peanut butter jar and I think to myself “I don’t know what I would do with it… but I’m sure I’ll think of something.” Then I wash it and put it away.

After the great empty jar avalanche of ’09, I have restricted myself to one empty jar per size. Just one. And yes, I struggle with that sometimes. The urge to reuse is strong in this one.

It was like this times one million… and it happened a couple of times. What? I’m not a fast learner.

But it’s not just reusing old jars … I love all empty jars. Oh their possibilities!

So when I realized that I do not own a proper cookie jar, I saw this as a sign to buy my greatest jar ever. EVER.

That’s when the reality of growing up hit me. I very much want to buy a hideous and tacky cookie jar that expresses my inner nerd to the nth degree. But I am torn in that I should probably buy something nice, that wont embarrass the kid and hubby for years to come as I proudly display it for all to see.

 If the jar is this cool… think of how great the cookie must be?!?!

Growing up sucks.

The basement is where I put all the nerdy things that I can’t do without… like my Optimus Prime Mr. Potato Head and vintage Ninja Turtle Van. But a basement is no place for a cookie jar! Or is it… easy access to cookies?? Hmmm… I could be on to something.

What do you put your cookies in?

It may be adult… but it is a very fine jar…

Seriously Galen Westen? Seriously?

Thanks to my friend Kelly at the Gouda Life I read this article on thestar.com where Loblaw’s head honcho Galen Westen says that Farmer’s Markets are great and all, but one day they are going to kill someone.

Excuse me?

People were quick to point out that “supermarkets sell most of the food that’s recalled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).” And “that it was Maple Leaf Foods and a Toronto meat plant — not a farmers’ market — that was at the centre of a 2008 Listeria outbreak that left 23 people dead and led to a major recall.”

I always knew this guy was a weasel. Just look at those beady eyes.

I may or may not know some of these from personal experience. But I know for sure I’m probably the only one who will find this funny.

I will take 7 of those right now please

1. At first I thought these ‘pizza tarts’ were going to be gross. And they were… until we put the seafood sauce on them. Now? AMAZING!

2. OH MY GOD! If they don’t tell me what the secret ingredient is RIGHT NOW I’m going to FREAK OUT! Or something… (Apparently while watching Iron Chef).

3. I’m not hungry at all… but I would totally eat a whole pizza right now.

4. Person 1 – We could make cinnamon buns!!!
Person 2 – You can do that?!?
Person 1 – Yeah… but I’m really going to have to pull it together

5. The chairman is so creepy… (again with the iron chef – there always seems to be a marathon of it on Food Network at any given time).

6. Wow… this is so good. It tastes like so much more effort than I’m ready to put in right now.

7. Person 1 - I HAVE to stop watching Food Network. No good can come from this.
Person 2 – I know… but I can’t watch anything else right now. It’s riveting.

8. Was Beavis and Butthead always this funny?

** Just a note that this is again a sponsored post… but one in which you could win a $50 prepaid VISA card. Worth a read I should think.

Here is a link to post 1 for anyone who needs to catch up. Go ahead… I’ll wait here.

Back? Good.

Well somehow I survived 5 days where I had to spend $50 a day on my VISA card. Kidding of course. It’s amazing how those little purchases add up. One night it was dinner, another day it was lunch out. One day I picked up some odds and ends on errands and before I knew it I was hitting my $50 limit each day.

So now for the math… my average everyday purchases came to $45 (then with tax got me to the $50). For every dollar you spend before tax on your VISA rewards card you earn 1 point. That means, everyday I was raking up… um… geeze… carry the one… 45 points! That means that in just 5 days I had a total of 225 points!

As you recall my foodie goal was a trip to Halifax. Ballpark points needed for a flight from Ottawa to Halifax are 1475 so I’m well on my way! At the rate I was going I would have a flight in 33 days. Yeah.. 33! Amazing right.

Now it’s time for you to get your VISA reward.

Just comment on this post and tell me what you would save your VISA rewards for. I’ll randomly pick a winner on Friday at noon. The only catch – you have to live in Canada.

Tim Hortons announced yesterday that they are renaming their sizes to accommodate an even LARGER extra large. That’s right… they didn’t want to make you feel bad by calling the new 24oz extra large cup the ‘extra EXTRA large’ size, so they just shifted everything down. Don’t worry kids, you can still get your medium… it’s just called a small now, and small has been bumped to the extra small.

In a world where childhood obesity is on the rise, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is tipping the scales at 330lbs, Southern Cooking Queen Paula Deen has diabetes, while women who are size 6 to 12 are considered plus sized models  and people are starving themselves through crazy fad diets to be thin – doesn’t it make you want to throw up your hands and call this whole world crazy?

There has been a lot of talk about how the quality of our food contributes to the obesity rate of our society – but I would like to point out another side to the coin: serving size. Yes, eating nothing but highly processed food swimming in salt, fat and sugar will help your arse to grow faster than the wolfman’s hair after a Rogaine bath. But I question the need for the amount of food that we are shoveling into our faces.

Trust me… that’s fast.

The other night while on the search for Ottawa’s best taco I visited Lonestar and ordered their 3 taco meal (my only option for tacos). It was served to me on a platter. And I know this isn’t uncommon! Seriously? A platter? Do people remember when platters were used for serving family style meals? As in, intended for multiple people to pass around the table, take SOME and pass it along. Not for one person to eat by themselves.

We have literally trained our stomachs to hold more food than we need at each and every meal. Consuming more calories on a daily basis than ever before. Before we ate off platters, we ate off plates. And before plates were piled right to the rim as they often are now, the plate had a decorative rim and the actual space of a plate that was used for food was half of what it is now! Before mugs were the bottomless, monstrous things … they held 8 oz. A serving.

When it comes to counting calories, serving sizes haven’t changed. Eating more is just that, eating more. So now when you have your 24 oz extra large coffee at Timmies, you are actually having 3 servings of coffee – but dollars to doughnuts you are counting it as one.

** This is a sponsored post – but it doesn’t make it any less of a post. Just think of it as someone else paying for my adventures this week. Same great adventures… new less wallet draining flavour.

This week I’ve been asked by VISA to set a foodie goal – something bigger than I normally do. Next, make the purchases I make every day (to a max of $50) on my VISA card instead of using cash or debit. No problem. Finally, calculate how many points I would have earned with a VISA rewards credit card and see how long it would take me to reach my goal.

I’m sorry – did you just encourage me to go on a foodie spree for the next 5 days? DONE.

My overall goal would be a flight to Halifax. I’ve always wanted to explore our country’s East coast and … well… eat my weight in seafood.

I started my VISA everyday shopping (you can follow the progress on Twitter @SimplyFresh) yesterday. It’s amazing how quick your regular purchases add up. Between a parking, a quick trip to the pharmacy, LCBO and picking up one little thing at RONA - I had already hit my daily max. I don’t think this is going to be much of a challenge. But I’m excited to see how soon I could be reaching my goal. At the end of the 5 days I’ll post again letting you know how it went and hopefully have an arsenal of food adventures to blog about!

I can’t be the only one who has ever wondered which Food Network Chef I am like… oh… I am? Ok then. Well. I’m going to go ahead with this post anyway. Here is a quick test you can take to let you know the answer to that pressing question you have never asked yourself.

1. What is your preferred cooking style?
A – Cooking meals in little time
B – Anything grilled
C – Cooking with and for friends
D – Letting someone else do the cooking

2. What ingredient can’t you live without?
A – Extra Virgin Olive Oil… I use so much I have to call it EVOO to save time!
B – Chili Peppers – something spicy to stand up to the heat of the grill
C – Butter. Of course.
D – Is a fork an ingredient?

3. You are making a pasta dish. The sauce needs a little ‘something-something’ to make it pop. What do you add?
A – Fresh herbs – a quick and easy way to add flavour. Did I say quick?
B – Grilled tomatoes and red peppers. Flame kissed is best!
C – Butter, naturally. Makes it rich and creamy.
D – Whatever the person actually cooking wants.

4. What is your favorite piece of kitchen equipment?
A – Bowls to put my food waste in – saves time in trips to the compost bucket
B – My BBQ
C – Deep fryer… or maybe my butter fridge. It’s like a regular fridge but stocked with my butter supply
D – Spork. Spoon + Fork = the ultimate eating device!

5.  Of the following what is your favorite animal?
A – Squirrel
B – Fox
C – Cat
D – Honey Badger

Tally it up!

Mostly A’s – you are Rachel Ray in 30 Minute Meals.

Mostly B’s, you are Bobby Flay in Grill it… or Boy Meets Grill. Or any of his grilling shows.

Mostly C’s, you are Paula Deen in everything she has ever hosted.

Mostly D’s, you are the host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: Guy Fieti.

I came across a video recently of Jacques Pépin talking about the top 5 artists he listens to while cooking. One art influencing another so to speak. That got me to thinking – what do I listen to while cooking. My list differs greatly than Chef Pépin. Let’s compare shall we.

Listens to real music in the kitchen. I on the other hand prefer an eclectic pile of noises.

The Top 5 Things Jodi Listens to While Cooking

5. Dog and cat play fighting. Like brothers with a definitive love/hate relationship… these two play fight like nobody’s business. The only thing better than listening to their hisses, growls and tumbles is when they get too close to my leg and try to involve me in the fun. Kitty nails and puppy teeth are not soft.

4. Hubs and the kid doing homework. In French. I like to tell myself that when they are going over the 4th grade questions and math problems that the reason I don’t follow along is because I do not speak French. That keeps my ego in tact better than if I were to admit that I would be lost in the 4th grade math, grammar and spelling even if it were in English. *choked back sob*

3. Bleeps, chirps, chimes and rings from my smart phone and netbook. This is the future and while cooking has always been a social outlet, now there is no need to limit your socializing to those physically in your kitchen. Skyping, tweeting and talking on the phone are all over used in my kitchen.

2.  Radio or Television. I prefer to listen to the TV. Usually it is on Food Network, HGTV or some mind numbing MTV trash like ‘Teen Mom’ or some crap. I don’t know why but I have always like that for back ground noise. Plus it keeps me up to date on who Bobby Flay is challenging to a throw down, which of the 3 houses were picked on House Hunters and what Janelle and her mom are fighting about this week.

Hubs on the other hand prefers music so when he is on the same level of the house as me, it is usually something with melody. And I got to say – I burn things less with music on because I am not rushing into the living room to see the end of Love it or List it.

1. Silence. I don’t mind when it is quiet and often times I am too lazy to turn anything on.

Chef Pèpin is a bit different. For one. He listens to music in place of an animal battle royale. To each their own. Here is Chef’s list of the top 5 artists he listens to while cooking.