"Like cookbooks, kitchen equipment is a talisman; people believe that buying the right kind will make them good cooks. Yet some of the best cooks I’ve known worked with a battered batterie de cuisine: dented pots and pans scarred beyond recognition, an old steak knife turned into an all-purpose tool, a pot lid held just so to strain pasta when the colander was missing, a food processor with a busted switch. They didn’t complain and they didn’t apologize; they just cooked."

Times food columnist Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist, outfits a kitchen with the basics for less than $300. While I'm totally guilty for spending more than $100 on my Henckels Santoku knife, the rest of our kitchen is fairly minimal, which is bound to happen with a tiny space like ours.

Masako's vegetable tempura with carrots from our garden.For the last few weeks I've been working on and off a vegetarian diet and constantly amazed how many meals you can put together without meat and it has yet to be a problem finding vegetarian grub for lunch downtown. A few favourites would include Souped Up which server at least one vegetarian and sometimes vegan offering daly, and I'm totally hooked on the simple yet delicious black bean burritos from IMHO one of the best eateries in Victoria, Hernande'z Taqueria. Both of which are located in St. Andrew's square between View and Yates street.

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I'll have to get up a bit earlier to make the tortillas from scratch but I'm determined to make the Sin City Breakfast Taco this weekend.

I picked up this bento box from Muji last winter while in Japan. It looks small but I never seem to go hungry when bringing this and a piece of fruit on the side, and on the days when I need a bit extra I pack my stacked thermal kit (not the same one but close) that holds rice, miso soup, meat and veg in their own separate container. It packs more than enough food then again weighs as much as a large infant so I'm reluctant to lug it to work everyday.

Red and white scarf resembling marbled fat. On the scarfs reverse side, the colours are inverted making it a leaner cut of bacon. $35 from Shopsin's General Store.I love bacon. Salty, smoked, striped with marvelous fat. Doesn't get much better than that. Bacon's just one of those things that makes everything taste better, like melted cheese, and according to Masako, soy sauce, but I tend to disagree with that one.

Pizza Margherita is becoming a regular favourite at our house. The basic sauce consists of fresh tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Topped with mozzarella, parmesan, field mushrooms and fresh basil from our garden. I find not adding any grease producing meat as topping makes the cheese brown earlier than it should so to fix that drizzle a little olive oil on top of the pie before putting it in the oven.