think about food

Laurier's chicken shack

2012-02-15T19:21:00.002-05:00

I have this friend with whom I like to lunch. We have sort of become the ladies who lunch. Not that we have the time or the money to do so, but hey, you only live once, so why not shirk responsibilities and throw down the credit card once and a while? Not that this meal was expensive; I am rapidly learning that lunches are way cheaper than dinners. The same held true during our excursion to Gordon Ramsay's re-hauled Chicken Shack on Laurier, in Montreal. It's not so much a chicken shack as a classy rotisserie. The decor was pretty much the antithesis of the "before" looks on Kitchen Nightmares. Whitewashed wood on walls, dove grey banquette seats and lovely brown exposed beams. The place was spotless. I also really enjoyed the oversized pickle jars on each table to eat to your palate's content. I am a huge fan of pickles.

My companion and I both decided to get the prix fixe lunch menu. A very good deal for 14.95$, plus you don't really need to eat for the rest of the day! Choice of soups or salad, many chicken and non-chicken mains, and amazing homemade deserts.

We both decided to go for the salad. How many times have I watched Gordon verbally bitch-slap bad restauranteurs for the quality of their produce? Too many. But he obviously takes his own advice.

The salad was perfect. Nice touch with the shaved fennel.

Nice thigh! The chickens are local, grain-fed and presumably have a life before becoming sustenance for my body.

Everything tasted awesome. The service was courteous and prompt, except they forgot to bring our drinks before the food came. Give 'em hell, Gordon!

There was a great selection of homemade deserts. This here is the chocolate cream pie. It was crazy good!

I would go back just to have another taste of the bread and butter pudding.

Check out those caramelized pecans!

curry in a hurry

2012-01-31T23:19:00.002-05:00

Greetings fellow eaters. I made a veggie curry, wanna see?

The veg in question. Later I added mushrooms and frozen peas, because my dad loves frozen peas and he was partaking in this particular curry. That, and my mom asked me if I would put peas in for my dad 130,004,287 times during the making of this curry.

Chop the veg up. Put some effort into it!

Stir fry the veg (I like to use coconut oil) starting with garlic and ginger. Then add the firmest veggies in first, such as potatoes and carrots. After frying and softening the veggies a little, I added the curry paste.

I like to doctor the jarred sauce with a variety of India spices. It makes me feel like I actually cooked rather than mixed things around. Anything to boost the self-esteem, people!

Time to add in the softer veggies like peppers and mushrooms.

I love mushrooms in curries.

Yes, I finally added the peas, minutes before serving this on some quinoa. Quite the satisfying meal, and even tastier the following day!

pho fantasy

2012-01-15T21:03:00.000-05:00

If there is one soup I can't ever live without, that brings so much hot, slurpy, soupy pleasure to my life, and has even brought a tear of joy to my eye, is the mighty, unequivocal, irresistible pho. I love this soup. No, you don't understand. I LOVE this soup. Ever since I tasted what I consider to be the original pho back in 2009, I have dreamed of trying to recreate it; that full, deeply flavourful broth, the green, lively herbs brightening up the taste of the soft and yielding rice noodles, the paper thin beef slices cooking instantly from the ladles of hot broth showered on them... I could write an ode to this soup. But instead, as is customary on this blog of mine, I will show you how I made some pho 'fo my fine self!

Using and adapting a recipe found on epicurious.com, here's what happened.

Charring onions and ginger. I imagine that back in the day, pho would have been made over an open fire, thus making it quite easy to blacken the onions and ginger. The modern version saw me broiling these guys until they got smokey and black. Then I peeled them and they went into the stock pot.

Toasting the spices to go into the broth. Do not underestimate the power of a medium heat applied to fragrant cloves, anise seeds and cinnamon. By throwing this trifecta of deliciousness into a hot pan, you release all of its oils and somehow, the secrets of the universe come wafting into your nostrils. You smell this, and you just KNOW it's going to taste good. These spices go into cheesecloth and basically brew in the beef stock, elevating a beef bone tea into delicious pho juice.

Starting the broth. Beware, this blog is becoming very very non vegetarian. After a visit to the local butchers, where we bought some beef bones, some flank roast, and some sirloin, we came home and started the broth.

The broth takes hours, people. Hours wherein you skim the scum and fat from the liquid, transforming bones and bringing them one step closer to some Vietnamese fantasy.

Repeat after me: Pho juice! Pho juice! Pho juice! The broth's been strained, the cheesecloth with spice trifecta has been removed, and it's piping hot, ready to be made into pho.

This isn't just about the beef broth and the noodles. Oh, no. Pho is all about the garnishes. When I ponder the mysteries of the beautiful pho, I realize that it's the perfect combination of soup AND salad in one bowl.

When I was in Vietnam I was amazed at the variety of greens that you could throw into your bowl: mustard greens, dandelion leaves, mint, holy basil, coriander, beansprouts...and those greens just kept on coming, appearing in huge wet piles on white plastic dinner plates.

You mustn't forget about balancing the flavours with some lime, chillies, hoisin and hot sauces too!

Steamed some properly cut (lengthwise!) baby bok choi to add even more greenery to the pho.

Pho assembly line action. Getting all the ingredients in the bowl before pouring the broth.

That flank roast bubbled away in the stock pot for over four hours. It tasted like heavenly cows. Please note the raw, paper-thin sirloin. Just a bit in the bowl, save some for the others!

My bowl, post-garnishing. I was so excited to finally taste it!

Ah...perfectly nourishing, just the right amount of heavy and light, of crisp and soft, of spice and sweetness. If this soup was a gesture, it would be a hug.

Holiday Food Recap 2011

2012-01-10T22:56:00.001-05:00

Welcome to 2012! Last year certainly was delicious, wasn't it? This year I resolve to grab my camera and take the time to photograph more meal-making. Either that or find a way to acquire a fancy smart phone so I can upload photos more easily to the blog.

Here's a look at all the yummy food I made and ate over the holidays.

New year's eve appetizer. Malpeque oysters with a white onion mignonette and some bubbly.

New year's eve dinner. Drake Qwacker the Third got roasted up with some baby potatoes and organic carrots. I am such a non-vegetarian now.

Sushi with my oldest friends. That is some mighty futomaki!

My hometown sushi joint is expanding into the realm of Korean food. Some spicy soup with kimchi. It was pretty awesome.

My lovely cousin made these gingerbread cookies.

My grandma's petes de soeurs (nun's farts) and some "Davy Crockets" AKA peanut butter balls.

Made some veggie curry for my family on a whim. No biggie. Thanks Patak's paste, you make me an adequate Indian cook.

Here is the first attempt at making pho, from scratch, including boiling bones for beef broth. Not bad, not bad. One step closer to recruiting a broth whisperer to make me bases for my soups.

Highlights of the holidays included:
-making pho for the first time
-having a dinner party with my parents
-my dad's emotional cosmo drinking
-adding the adjective "christmas" to every action or thought, such as "christmas annoyance", and "christmas tension"
-looking at ducks
-eating ducks
-roasting a duck for the first time
-cuddling

I hope that the holidays left you with some warm and fuzzy memories. Now it's get back to work time, and I will be posting the epic pho times very soon!

Bonne Année! xo

green goddess stirfry

2011-11-13T22:22:00.001-05:00

So fall is upon us, as is the time for heartwarmingly delectable stirfries. This here recipe is taken from the People's Potato cookbook and comes highly recommended by my taste buds. What's especially tasty about this stirfry its heavy reliance on peanuts and peanut butter. Sign me up, son!
I used a variety of green vegetables: broccoli, snow peas, cabbage, and leek. Use whatever you've got, though! You'll also need a couple cloves of garlic, minced, and a dice sized piece of minced ginger. Use some protein, like this nice chunk of organic tofu.

Put on some music and get choppin'.

This bowl of condiments is what makes the stirfry extraordinary: awesome sauce
- 3 big plops of peanut butter
- 1 plop of hoisin sauce
- 2 glugs of rice vinegar
- hot sauce to taste

Start seasoning your tofu cubes with salt and pepper. Fry until golden in coconut or olive oil. Set aside. You could totally add the tofu at any time during the stirfry process, but I like mine nice and crispy so I do it first.

Then,stirfry your veggies in coconut or olive oil starting with the most dense ones. I added the cabbage and leeks at the end because I like to keep things crispy around here.

When everything is nearly tender; between 10 and 15 minutes of stirfrying over medium heat, add the garlic and ginger, and the awesome goddess sauce. Add in a few glugs of water and stir well. Garnish with peanuts and enjoy!

Happy autumn, everyone!

Brunch at Fabergé

2011-10-17T13:49:00.001-04:00

Last month we took our fine selves out to brunch at Fabergé. I found this place by accident when I sat down on a bench outside the resto to eat a sorbet in the Mile End. A lovely waitress came outside and suggested I check out their herb garden in the back. I wasn't even going to eat there, but she said it was alright so off I went down the alley and found an oasis of herbs and flowers in a sunlit corner.

There I met chef André who was more than happy to show me around the garden. He was extremely knowledgeable about his herbs, and shared with me all the wondrous ideas he has for these lovely ingredients.

They even have a pond with a resident turtle.

They're growing stevia by the bushel to use in their shakes. I broke off a leaf and tried fresh stevia for the first time! So herbal and uber sweet.

All kinds of peppers to make all kinds of spicy deliciousness.

Ah, one of my favourite herbs. The mighty lemonbalm. Picks you up and mellows you out, all at the same time. That goes into their epic fruit shakes, along with the stevia.

After spending a lovely time in the garden, I vowed to make it back to check out their brunch.

It was nearly harvest time in the community garden.

We brunched on a quiet Monday afternoon. Fabergé is all about breakfast, hence the name (get it? Fabergé eggs?) There were a couple of flat screen TVs playing old school cartoons. Perfect for the pre-breakfast hunger bitchiness, you can actively ignore the people around you and wait for your food. Or something.

There are comfy booths with pillows, and a perfect open window view to the outside world.

First up. I had to get that smoothie in me. It did not disappoint. Fruity, herbal and sweet, I felt amazing after drinking this and I was tempted to order a second one.

Trying not to chug it back...it was so good!

Next up, we ordered food. Since we were both on a cleanse, there was no bread joy to be had. Fabergé has all kinds of amazing bread, from cheese to raisin, to banana. To be honest, there were quite a few things on my "avoid" list, so I stuck to the basics: omelette!

Here we have a roasted red pepper and tomato omelette, with a side of salsa. Some potatoes and fruit finish off the meal.

The omelette was fresh and fluffy, with a slight sweetness from the roasted peppers. Seeing as I was on a cleanse, I found the potatoes a little greasy. I'd like to see them do a roasted potato rather than throwing them in the deep-fryer. No complaints of the fruit salad though, there was a nice mix of more exotic fruit like pineapple and strawberries.

Overall, I am super pleased I found this place. The service is friendly, prompt and laid-back, the menu is not so huge as to be overwhelming (think typical breakfast fare with a twist) and they offer vegan options. Do check it out!

Cleanse Smart

2011-09-26T20:38:00.000-04:00

I've undertaken one of the nicest things you can do for your three cubic feet of blood and bone and meat. If you think about it, that's what we are, and why shouldn't we give our insides a good scrubbing? I am presently doing a cleanse from Renew Life and I feel amazing. What has happened to me so far:

-more energy, thus more yoga and running
-no dips in energy throughout the day, nice and steady!
-cleanse clarity: clear thoughts, less mental rambling
-my pores look smaller
-skinnier!
-lots of poop
-more motivated and concentrated
-awesome mood all the time
-no food cravings
-feel energized from eating, no more afternoon fatigue

What's more, here's what you can EAT when on a cleanse. I pretty much cut out all dairy, wheat and sugar. Everything is yummeriffic nonetheless.

Typical cleanse dinner: roasted veg mixed with red rice, some brussel sprouts (I LOVE BRUSSEL SPROUTS) and half a plate of salad. Awww yeah.

Following the greens/grain/protein train, here we have a tabouleh salad with tomato, some barley with a swirl of sriracha and a tofu burger. Did you know you can stick a tofu burger in the toaster? So quick and easy.

A delicious spicy vegan chilli with pinto and kidney beans. Made it epic with some fresh avocado and nutritional yeast sprikled on top.

Brunch for winners: omelette with leeks and peppers. Didn't even miss the toast!

Green goddess stirfry with peanut sauce. Snow peas, broccoli, cabbage and leeks turn into a feast of healthy goodness. Gonna blog this dish, it's definitely a keeper.

I'll continue to document my eating on the cleanse as I get cleaner and cleaner. I like thinking about food to begin with, and the cleanse is just another awesome challenge to encourage me to keep thinking up creative and healthy dishes!

Holy Tabouleh

2011-09-26T20:23:00.000-04:00

You know you want an easy and extremely healthy salad that keeps well in the fridge. Trust me.

Gather the ingredients. A clove of garlic, a medium tomato, two cucumbers, parlsey, couscous, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Get cutting! Chop the veggies into uniform small bites. Mince the garlic and throw it in all together in a bowl. You can do this while listening to music, or watching something on your computer!

In the meantime, get your couscous cooked. It requires boiling water and 5 minutes of waiting time. The package or google will provide you with more information. As a wheat free alternative, you could substitute the grain with quinoa.

Rince the parsley well, trim off the stems and chop away as if your life depended on it. Do your salad proud.

Combine the ingredients and squeeze the juice of a lemon all over. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Done!

French Onion Soup

2011-09-16T22:57:00.000-04:00

Can you feel the chill in the air? Why, just last weekend it was balmy and warm...September you fickle fool. I know what's coming though, and it's only going to get worse! The one saving grace about autumn is nature's bountiful harvest, and inexpensive, fresh and local produce. Although I enjoy visiting the Jean Talon market at any time of the year, it seems as though we are now in the apex of freshness and possibility.

I made a simple onion soup to keep the chill away on the first of fleeting fall days. Why is fall so short and winter so long?

The culprits in question: 5 onions, veg stock, thyme, butter, olive oil. Put these humble ingredients together and it makes a party for your mouth!

Methods I have seen used firsthand to prevent onion tears:

1) Wearing ski goggles whilst chopping.

2) Shoving a piece of bread inside your mouth between the teeth and upper lip.

3) Holding an unlit match between your teeth.

4) Keeping the onions cold in the fridge.

What I do: Nothing. I just cry through it. Enjoy the cathartic release, people!

After wiping away the tears, I massaged the onions in a soup pot with:

3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs olive oil
a few pinches of salt
a splash of water

Then it was time to sweat the onions. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. When the water has evaporated, remove the lid and it's time for the best part: caramelizing the onions! They go from firmly pungent white strings to sweet, softly yielding golden filaments. All in one hour, while making your kitchen smell absolutely fantastic.

When an hour has passed, it's time to make these caramelized onions into soup!

Add 6 cups of stock. I used veggie bouillon cubes but I am sure this soup would work amazingly with a homemade stock. Then, add about a teaspoon of thyme and simmer for 15 minutes. I tasted mine and it was way too sweet so I added a tablespoon of port vinegar to impart some tang to the soup.

Ce n'est pas une vrai soupe aux onions sans le fromage et le pain! Yes, so we need some bread and cheese to finish this baby off. Some multi grain baguette and some emmenthal grated and over top and then broiled should do the trick!

Get that bread in the soup bowl and laddle your creation over top. There's something slightly subversive about wetting toasted bread. It expects to stay crispy but I had other ideas for it!

vegetable lasagna

2011-07-02T10:42:00.000-04:00

What up people? I made a veggie lasagna and it was awesome. My friend Nicole showed me how to do this back in the day. She is an awesome cook. Here we go!

I was feeling lazy so I doctored some pre-made sauce with portobello mushrooms, zucchini and peppers. I had some withering tomatoes so that went into the sauce too. Always start by frying an onion and some garlic in olive oil, then throw in the veg and let it simmer.

Spinach and tofu for the lasagna filling. I also added fresh garlic and pesto, some soy sauce and some ketchup. Basically you want to think about what you could do to make the tofu as tasty as possible, since it's pretty bland when thrown into lasagna.

Looks like I put in some chopped red onion too. I don't remember.

Delicious riccotta wannabe!

Ready to assemble.

Prevent sticking by starting with a thin layer of sauce.

Then layer the uncooked pasta sheets over top, followed by some spinach mix and some sauce. Repeat til you finish with a last layer of sauce on top.

Finish off with some grated cheese. I don't use too much as I want to keep the grease factor down and I have even made this sans fromage with good results. Bake covered with foil at 350 for about 45 minutes, remove foil and cook until the cheese is nice and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

food revival

2011-06-24T16:57:00.001-04:00

Must. Keep. Blog. Alive. I recently read somewhere that blogs are written to be abandoned eventually, but I am not ready for the death of this blog quite yet. So get ready for a magic carpet ride to Au Pied De Cochon!

My friend Mel and I decided to treat ourselves to a delicious celebratory meal. This dinner did not disappoint.

We sat at the bar. Having arrived at 5pm with no reservation, we were allowed to dine until 7:30. The place was packed by 5:45. With good reason of course!

This was by no means a vegetarian meal APDC prides itself on preparing all meats to the highest standard. Here we have duck carpaccio. I had no idea a raw animal could taste to vegetal, green and fresh. Must have been the minced chives and the extremely tasty olive oil.

You make your own mayonnaise to go with the duck by mashing that raw egg with the oil and dots of dijon.

This, people, is CALAMARI POUTINE. Omfg you guys. I fawned over the crisp squid, and declared it "lemonized". They somehow infused the citrus taste inside the batter or in the squid itself. Amazing. Those fries are cooked in duck fat and crisply perfect. That there gravy is the squid's ink turned into a tangy gravy, which complemented the calamari and fries perfectly. But wait, we forgot about the cheese curds until they were discovered at the bottom of the dish. Cheese plus squid equals deliciousness times ten. Holy mother.

The ink gravy was hardcore. Can you tell we liked this dish?

This was the most "meh" dish of the lot. Basically I learned that I don't like eating veal's heart. Nice try though!

The veal gnocchi was a hit. The potato pasta was pillowy and soft like dumplings. The veal was melt-in-your-mouth tender with a deep tomato base, and reminded me off all good things my grandma makes at a Sunday dinner.

When dinner was done a sun shower awaited us outside. Perfectly warm sunny summer rain. Ahhhh.

Fully formed DOUBLE RAINBOW. I yelled "double rainbow !!!" about a hundred times while walking in the rain.

First Day of Spring

2011-04-11T14:44:00.000-04:00

This weekend was delicious. Saturday greeted us with the possibility of strolling outdoors sans jacket, and strolled we did, up to Jean Talon market to get some goodies.

Can't wait for summer salads!

I'll take the kitty and the french bulldog.

I baked some amazing fresh sea bass marinated in miso. The recipe is meant for black cod, but any flaky white fish will do. Here's the recipe.
Doctored the recipe with some ginger and garlic. Pourquoi pas?

I made some more no-knead bread. This time with sunflower seeds!

Procrastinating meant I made some mini cheesecakes. What a revelation. Take your favorite cheesecake recipe, make the batter, pour into muffin papers and bake for 20 minutes. Who knew?
Start checking them after 15 minutes...mine were a little overdone. You want them to still be wobbly when you take them out of the oven.

Guess where I am going with this mess of berries?
What did you make this weekend?

famous family cheese ball

2011-04-05T20:50:00.000-04:00

It's cheese ball time, people! Get ready for one of the tastiest appetizers ever known. I have so many memories of the mighty cheese ball. Every celebrated holiday and family get-together warranted a cheese ball when I was growing up. There are even contested versions in my family and heated discussions about which version tastes the best. Here's my version. Why don't you try making one for your next potluck party?

What you will need:

-250g cream cheese
-250g grated cheese (This recipe is great for getting rid of those random stumps of leftover cheese. I used old cheddar and an aged gouda, ja!)
-the juice of 1/2 an orange
-2 to 4 cloves of garlic, depending on how much of a vampire you are
-2 to 4 shakes of worcester sauce, or bragg amino liquid
-optional: 1 tsp dill and 6 chopped olives
-ground walnuts, pecans or almonds (I used pecans)

Grate your cheese into a bowl.

Chop that garlic up real good.

Sprinkle your dill over the cheese. You could use any herb you fancy.

BAM! All the ingredients pre-ball. Note the squeeze of Siracha sauce, my special spicy touch.

Wash those hands, you filthy human and then mush everything up into a ball. I tried with a spoon but this cheese needs manual stimulation.

Roll that beautiful cheese ball in some chopped nuts.

Wrap in parchment paper and stick in the fridge. This ball needs time to marinate. Make it the day before you want to serve it for optimal taste sensations. To serve, cut the cheese ball in half and serve with crackers and veggies. Spread that cheese on thick! Mmmmm.

no-knead bread

2011-04-04T13:16:00.000-04:00

After seeing this attempted by a friend on facebook and looking at the beautiful result, I thought I'd give this a try. I was in the middle of writing papers, which is what my life is all about at the moment, I needed a bit of procrastination in carbohydrate form. The dough took less than 3 minutes to prepare. All you need is time for it to rise and for the yeast to do its thing, and a 2 hour window of opportunity to let it proof and bake. This bread is so easy and the results taste like you spent hours slaving away. This one's a keeper, and I plan on making more of this in the near future.

You'll need:

3 cups of flour (i used 2 c. organic all purpose wheat, and 1 c. organic spelt)
1 1/2 cups of warm water (you'll need 1/4 c more if you use spelt or other alternative grain flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon instant yeast

Combine the ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. The dough should look "shaggy" and "piecey".

Here's what my dough looked like after mixing. Now all you need to do is cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-18 hours.

My specimen after a nice long sleep. Way to go yeast, you did your thing!

The next step: you might need to wet your hands to turn over the dough a couple of times to form a nice smooth ball. Nestle it into a tallish bowl for it to rise for another 2 hours. 30 minutes before you want to bake it, heat the oven to 450 degrees and pop in a heat resistant pot with a lid, such as a cast iron casserole. When the oven and pan are nice and hot, place your dough into the pan and give it a few shakes to distribute the dough nicely. Cover the pan with your lid. This creates steam while the bread bakes and results in a wonderfully crispy crunchy crust.

After 30 minutes of baking, remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. You can tell your bread is ready when it sounds hollow when you tap it.

Straight out of the oven. Note the parchment paper at the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking.

I love baking. I am always amazed by how beautiful it can be. Is this the end of store-bought bread for me?

The spelt flour added a sweet nutiness to the bread. All that resting for 12-18 hours imparts a complex flavor to the bread with a dense and chewy crumb and a crusty outer shell. Amazing.
I scarfed down two slices with butter while it was still hot. The next day it got slathered with cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers.

strawberry cheesecake

2011-03-20T15:09:00.000-04:00

I was never a huge fan of cheesecake until I started making them myself. I was always dissatisfied with the crust, or the sweetness, or the texture. Store bought cheesecakes haven't got anything on homemade cheesecakes. It's practically a whole different desert. They're not too difficult to make. This is only my third cheesecake ever. Here's the recipe I used.

I had some strawberries in the fridge and was toying with the idea of incorporating fruit into my cheesecake as I had only ever made the plain vanilla cheesecake.

I used about 2 cups of fruit, mashed them with a potato masher and then used the blender to puree.

I prefer chocolate wafers to graham crust. Who doesn't want more chocolate in their lives? Plus the chocolate crust reminds me of my favorite part of dairy queen ice cream cakes. To make the crust, crush the cookies by hand or with a hand blender and add 4 tablespoons of melted butter.

Now comes the fun part. I don't own a springform pan or anything fancy so the cake went into that lovely round casserole dish. How to ensure it can be properly removed from said casserole dish? Your friend parchment paper saves the day.

Get a square of parchment paper bigger than your dish. Fold in half and the continue folding in on itself so you can make a circle with the right diameter for your pan, like so. Use the middle of the circle as your guide.

Then trim the paper with scissors along the top edge of your pan and voila!

Butter the pan before arranging the paper around it.

Parchment pan with strawberry puree lurking in background.

Back to the crust. Press the cookie/butter combo into the bottom and up the sides of the pan with your fingers. Careful not to leave any holes or your batter will spill out of the crust and we don't want that. Bake at 325 for 8 minutes.

This is 3/4 cup of strawberry puree and a package of cream cheese.

This is the finished batter. Tricks: use room-temp ingredients and don't put air into the batter, it's not about vigorous mixing, more of a folding action. Of course, if you have a mixer it will do the trick, but my arm is my mixer.

Pour the batter into your crusted pan and then it's time to get fancy! I dropped the other 3/4 cup of puree over the batter to make amazing patterns by running a knife around the blobs, all while imagining myself on ace of cakes.

Psychedelicious, man!

The prize, fresh out of the oven 1 hour 25 minutes later.

The morning after a good night's sleep in the fridge. This is when the casserole lid came in handy.

It barely cracked, booyeah!

This is by no means a healthy or low calorie desert, but I tend to give my cheesecakes as gifts so as not to overeat them! This cake tasted exactly like the cheesecake version of strawberry ice cream. While it cooked Rocky said " this is what heaven must smell like!"

courgette cauliflower leek potato soup

2011-03-20T14:53:00.000-04:00

Hello comrades. Long time no see me eat. I made a soup a while back with great results, easy peasy, have a look!

The zukes were dying, time for soup! Chop that shizz up. Cauliflower, zuke, leek, garlic, onion and the humble potato coalescing for your pleasure.

In case you were wondering, this is about 2 glugs of olive oil. Glug = about a tablespoon.

Your hero hard at work. Blog time.

Veggies get softened in the olive oil until they are steamy and fragrant. Then I threw in half a can of coconut milk and about 4 mugs of veggie broth. Cook for 20 minutes or so. Next step (not pictured) involves ladling the soup into the blender and pureeing.

You will also make this face if you try my soup recipe. I guaran-frikkin-tee.

Random breakfast shot! Ask me about those potatoes. They practically reveal the secrets of the universe they're so good.

epic one-pot extravaganza

2011-01-12T21:10:00.000-05:00

So the vegan eating is going pretty well, but I was craving mussels and salmon while basking in the hot pools at the spa this weekend. There was much discussion about what I couldn't wait to do once we got home to make a food fantasy into reality. This strikes a chord as to why I think I like cooking so much. There is something amazing about imagining something then making it happen. Dreams come true kind of stuff. Yummy yummy dreams.

My sous-chef cleaned these off very well. The mussels need a good rinse so you can discard any with broken shells and the already opened ones. They're dead. Wow this is so not vegan.

Can't go wrong with some plum tomatoes and sliced garlic.

Threw some chopped celery, onions, fresh basil and oregano and that there is garlic butter. Topped the whole thing with a big glug of white wine and some tomato juice. Covered it and shoved it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Here's what we ate while it cooked:

It was my dinner companion's maiden voyage on the good ship artichoke. He described them as "interesting" a bunch of times. I think he liked them. We steamed them until tender then served them with two dressings: a vinaigrette with port wine vinegar, and melted butter mixed with a teaspoon of lime juice. I love artichokes. What other food gives you more on the plate when you're finished eating than when you began?

Next, we moved on to the salad course. Not just any old salad though. Grilled halloumi salad.

Apparently the trick is to start with a cold pan.

Finally the mussels were done. They had a nice smooth texture from being baked.

Under all those mussels was a glorious mess of fish and veg. Glorious, I tell you!

A meta-blog moment. Brought to you by wine.

vegan shepherd's pie

2011-01-05T13:54:00.000-05:00

I've decided to make a vegan diet my priority for 2011. I figure it'll force me to be more creative in the kitchen, and creativity is always a good thing. Here's hoping that creativity will spill over into other areas of my life.

I wanted the "meat" part of the dish to taste as meaty as possible so I used tourtiere, or meat pie spices in the lentils such as cloves, garlic, cinnamon, and pepper. Overall, I was pretty impressed.

Here's what I used:

-3 handfuls of brown lentils
-1 handful TVP (textured vegetable protein)
-a cube of miso stock
-a squirt of tomato paste
-a squirt of Bragg amino liquid or soy sauce
-bay leaves

To make the lentils, simply throw them in a pot with the stock cube and bay leaves. Cover with a good 2 inches of water and boil away, making sure that they don't dry out. Once they are tender, add the TVP and tomato paste and mix well. Set aside.

Now you want to add veg and bulk to the lentils. I used celery, carrot, garlic, onion, peas and corn, but use whatever you have on hand and chop everything to a similar small size so that everything cooks evenly. I sauteed these ingredients until just tender in some coconut oil, and seasoned with herbes de provence and tourtiere spices.

Cut nice and uniformly.

If you ask me for cooking advice, more often than not, I will tell you to start by frying an onion. I then added the carrot and celery, then combined the veg with the lentil mix.

Meanwhile, you want to get your tater tots going for the top of the pie. I jazzed things up with a sweet potato. Tastes awesome and looks great instead of the plain anemic looking white potato.

These were ready to sprout, thus ready to be cooked.

Boil them suckers up real good. I threw in a few cloves of garlic into the water to add a nice garlicky touch. Once the potatoes are tender, rinse and mash. Don't forget the holy trinity of unsweetened soy milk, coconut oil, and salt.

Layer the bottom half of your casserole dish with the lentils, then spread the potatoes on top. I suppose you could add some parmesan cheese or spices before cooking, but I kept it simple.
Throw that into the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Done!

Mmm extreme closeup.

Tastes great with a wee side of ketchup.

So does anybody read this blog thingy? Do you have ideas you would like me to try in my kitchen? Need advice on a specific recipe or vegetable? Let me know.

Happy eating!

chili's dead easy

2011-01-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

I'm still thinking about food! Don't worry, I haven't starved, it's just that life got in the way there for a bit but 2011 has arrived with my new resolve to continue documenting my food adventures.

Here is an extremely quick, healthy, inexpensive chili that can be made and frozen in batches. In fact, I made this chili a few weeks ago and have been enjoying round two from the freezer today.

The ingredients in question: basically whatever veggies you have on hand will work well. I like to make sure I have corn and peppers in the chili, something about those veggies really scream chili to me. Also key are two onions, not one but two. Trust. Get yourself some chili powder and some cumin powder and you're sure to have a chili-rific time.

Oh look! Opened cans.

Rinse those canned beans well. Otherwise...well, you know the rhyme. Beans beans the musical fruit!

Choppity chop.

Please note that frozen blob is veggie ground beef. No need to add it in unless you've got some already. Mine was languishing in the freezer so in it went.

Unfortunately I probably got distracted at this point in the cooking process to accurately document it, but chili is basically soup. Soften your onions in a good glug of olive oil, then add in the veg and beans, cook until almost tender. Add the canned tomatoes and super secret ingredient: a bottle of beer! Throw in some spoonfuls of chili powder but make sure you know how spicy your chili powder is. Taste it first to check. You'll need a good teaspoon of cumin powder as well. Keep tasting and season with salt.

Always happy days in the kitchen!

And in homage to 2010, here are my top ten food memories of the past year.

10. Making my own quiche.
9. Baking a kick ass b-day cheesecake in a round casserole dish with epic chocolate graham crust. Thanks for your advice, Yoshi!!
8. Nervously preparing mango salad to impress.
7. Discovering, to the detriment of my waistline and vegetarianism, BBQ pork buns.
6. Popcorn with nutritional yeast and cayenne.
5. Summer rolls in the sweltering heat with peanut sauce. Made them like 3 days in a row.
4. Smoothies! Hello blender, you are wonderful.
3. Oysters and mussels as a snack just because. Even purchased an oyster knife.
2. Restaurant Mahli for some serious Indian with LJ.
1. Cuisine Dependance b-day meal: sea bass with chorizo risotto and some sort of amazing truffle mousse sauce, followed by an orange sponge cake with orange syrup and chocolate ganache. Minervois to drink. Bliss!

Happy New Year food lovers! Hope this year is even tastier than the last. Life certainly is sweet.

the ease of quiche

2010-10-27T19:54:00.000-04:00

I never realized how easy and delicious quiche is. You can even make it with limited cognitive functioning after a big night out whereby one may or may not have taken over an (imagined) dance floor while the jukebox in a shed-like local tavern pumped out one's musical selections ranging from Salt-N-Peppa to Steve Miller. So yeah, it's easy.

First, get out of bed.

Get yourself the items you would like to quiche-ify.

In this case, we've got leek and cauliflower. Wait, what else can make this even more delicious?

You gotta cheese it up, baby. Added some tomatoes for good measure.

Six eggs and almost a whole small sized thingy of 15% cream goes into the quiche liquid. Also, our friends salt and pepper (not the band) and some cayenne to taste.

Lay out your chopped ingredients into some store-bought crusts. Don't be shy, fill 'em up. Then, pour the egg and cream mixture over the veg and cheese. Now comes the hardest part: carrying them and carefully placing them without spilling, into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and let the quiches continue to cook for another 30 minutes or until they look and feel firm enough to eat.

Meta-blog!

This is how the magic happens.

The blogger and the blogged.

Oh yes.

Blogaversary Video

2010-10-27T15:19:00.000-04:00

So, this Thanksgiving marked a year since the inception of Think About Food.

My brother documented this year's thanksgiving at my parents' house. Good times were had by all.

Stay tuned, I have news of the beets, made some delicious baked lentils, quiche and chili.

I hope it's going to be tasty around here for a long time.

Thanksgiving with the family, 2010 from Rob Roy on Vimeo.

leek and potato soup

2010-10-07T21:31:00.001-04:00

As the weather cools off comes the time to make soup. This leek and potato soup was ridiculously easy to make and eat. Seeing as I am in full swing of the school/work/life shuffle, fast and easy food is all I am capable of. Plus, I'm making a nice dent in the 10 lbs of potatoes I purchased last month.

Oh, hi there.

8 magic ingredients for this soup: leek, potato, onion, garlic, veggie stock, herbes de provence. Not pictured: salt to taste and olive oil for frying.

Chopping action first.

Peel and chop yer tater tots like so.

Marvelous leek rings. Don't forget to rinse these guys, dirt likes to hide in the crevasses.

You will need about this much oil. For me, this is 2 glugs.

Fry the onions and leeks over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and potatoes. Stir, then add about 4 cups of stock, salt and herbs. Boil for 20 minutes.

Now it's blending time. This steam is dreamy, isn't it? A couple ladles at a time go into the blender. Whiz it up until smooth. Transfer into another container. Continue until all the soup is blended. Careful, don't burn yourself. Put the blended soup back on the stove to re-heat and provide precious mingling time so all the veg can get reacquainted.

Done!

canning and etc.

2010-09-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

It was me and Rosemary's first foray into the wonderful world of canning. The beets were an impulse buy at the ridiculously low price of 1.77$ for 10 lbs, who could resist? Not me. I had plans for these succulent red beasts, oh yes, I did.

Canning jars were purchase at the local hardware store. They went into a pot of boiling water and were sterilized for 10 minutes.

Peeling and slicing 10 lbs of beets was a snap. You just need music, some peelers or paring knives, and a friend to natter away with about everything and nothing.

Gah! It burns, it burns! Nah, not at all, just looks cool.

We opted to steam the beets rather than boil them in order to preserve some nutrients. I discovered my silicone colander doubles as a steamer. Bonus!

Two basic pickling recipes were decided upon. A classic style, and an Asian inspiration. You can't get more classic than an olde tyme recipe from Charlevoix, taken from this here recipe book.

Two parts organic apple cider vinegar, one part water, 2 tablespoons salt and herbal magic: cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme. The Asian pickle juice was made from 2 parts rice vinegar, 1 part umeboshi vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt and a whole whack of minced ginger and garlic.

Then we played around with spices, as you can see. Fennel, nutmeg, cinnamon.

Ready to be doused.

Once the jars are filled, you seal them in boiling water for 20 minutes.

You hear the most satisfying "ping!" sound when the jars' seals are created. Music to my ears.

10 lbs of beets turned out to make 12 and a half jars. We had some sterile jars that couldn't go to waste so shoved some cabbage and onions in there.

Baby plantlets and orchids. So cute it hurts.

This is an experiment worth waiting for. I'm all about all kinds of experiments these days and the results have been surprising, unexpected and quite enjoyable. In a month I'll know how the beets turned out. I'll keep you posted.

i love dinner parties

2010-09-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

Dinner parties where people come to your house and cook for you don't happen regularly, so I felt really lucky to have my friend's chef bf cook for us! Yes, I am blogging a meal I didn't make because it was just THAT GOOD.

Fillet of cod were marinated in mirin, lemon zest, ginger, garlic, and apple juice.
I cracked open a bottle of Nova Scotian port that is made with real maple syrup to impart a sweetness that is second to none.

Expertly diced fixings for the quinoa salad. Remarkably similar to one I make. Go me!

I will never ever question a chef when he directs me to put in a whole bulb's worth of garlic in roasted potatoes. No wonder I wasn't a huge fan of potatoes. They were missing garlic!

Quinoa salad. Next time I will toast the grain before boiling. Plum forgot this time.

The roasted veg also had a whole bulb of garlic in there. And fennel seeds, ooooh!

Viv wanted him to plate it all fancy and chef-life but we were too hungry to wait.

This was a super memorable meal. Thanks again V and Q!

ass kicking tofu, peanut sauce and coleslaw!

2010-09-07T13:57:00.000-04:00

Wow, has it been tasty around here. This tofu is a tried and true favorite for carnivores and vegetarians alike. I usually end up eating half of these little batonets before their intended use in stirfries, salads or my favorite--summer rolls. Try 'em even if you don't like tofu. Trust me.

How to resist golden crispness such as this?

The process begins. Start with a pound of firm organic tofu. For extra chewiness, freeze then thaw the tofu. Cover with some paper towel or a clean dish towel.

Gently press the excess water out of the block of tofu by weighing it down with something heavy.

Our star marinade ingredients: rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, hot pepper sesame oil. I've used just the soy sauce with good results so don't stress if you only use that.

Getting all coated up in here! Tofu doesn't need much time to absorb delicious liquid marinades...5-10 minutes will do the trick.

Then you need to get yourself some good tasting yeast, also called nutritional yeast. Note my mom's handwritten label, awww. Nice cheesy flavor. It's great sprinkled on salads and popcorn! It's a main ingredient in aux vivres dragon sauce if you are a fan of that.

Put about this much in a shallow bowl.

Get a tablespoon or 2 sized plops of coconut oil in a large frying pan and heat to medium.

Your tofu will be wet and ready to receive the sprinklings of yeast. Roll it around to get it all coated. Do not read too much into the previous two sentences.

Transfer the yeast covered tofu sticks to the hot, oiled pan like so. Let them brown on each side and when they seem crispy, stiff and golden they're ready.

What are you gonna eat this with? Well, a stick shaped food just begs to be dipped right? Right. Here comes the peanut sauce. I didn't realize how easy and addictive this is, beware.

You will need: 2 plops of peanut butter, 1 plop of hoisin sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic, a wee squirt of hot sauce and water. If you want to get fancy you can infuse the water with kaffir lime leaves, or chilis, or whatever turns you on. Use warm water (or microwave) to melt ingredients together. Add enough water to make a dip-like consistency: not too thick, but thick enough to still stick to whatever you're dipping.

You could serve the tofu with a nice Asian flavored slaw. Have I mentioned how much I love purple cabbage? So beautiful, so healthy, so inexpensive!

This is all you need for a wonderful tasty slaw.

So pretty.

Hello dressing ingredients! Some are missing though. You'll also need sugar and salt. But they don't photograph well, so I forgot about them.

The measurements are a bit iffy (if you don't know me by now...well just google a similar recipe or something). I'd say about 1/2 cup of oil of which the sesame oil makes up 2 tablespoons, a little over a 1/4 cup of rice vinegar (you can use lemon or lime juice too, or a combination thereof), a scant 1/4 cup of sugar and about 2 teaspoons of salt. Play around with the flavors until it is sweet yet tangy.

Bon appétit!

Blueberry Muffins

2010-08-30T12:29:00.000-04:00

Before I went on holiday I baked some delicious blueberry muffins since they were on sale 3 punnets for 5 bucks. There was nothing particularly healthy about these muffins, save for the berries; lots of butter, sugar, eggs, oh my! They came in handy on my maritime road trip and were very tasty warmed by the fire with coffee and baileys.

You can find the recipe on Martha Stewart's website. Very good and buttery.

I have certainly been enjoying my new apartment and the kitchen facilities: brand new appliances, pantry (with spice racks)! It's been super fun to warm up the house with visitors and new recipes. More to come for sure.

Why does my pantry have a window? I open this door and get inspired...

the last supper

2010-07-09T09:11:00.000-04:00

We are packing in 40 degree humidity and emptying the contents of the fridge. I had an astounding amount of different crackers in the pantry...the perfect vehicle for spreads. Black bean dip, nut butter, honey and some anchovy stuffed olives. Randomly delicious.

Powering up for round one of the move with tunes and snacks.

I shoved a can of black beans in the blender with some salsa, the juice of half a lemon, a garlic clove and some water. Pretty good!

I like to play.

Where the magic happened. I can't wait to show you my new kitchen pantry with SPICE RACKS! It's gonna rule.

Au revoir St-Hubert! Au revoir Agnes! No more stairs, no more leaky ceilings, no more C.I.F. dicks!

last A.G.E. girls' night...sigh

2010-06-30T09:32:00.000-04:00

The former ESMC student council met last night at my place to have our final farewell dinner. Not since 1997 had we lived in the same city at the same time. It's been a slice, ladies. You have no idea how much your friendship enhances my life, humbles me and gets me out of my various funks and into the kitchen! I got to watch MAC's daughter grow from a tiny bump into a happy nearly 1 year old. Best of luck in Ottawa and I promise I will visit often!

On the menu for my special ladies:

-Quinoa Cranberry Salad
-Fried Halloumi with Mint
-Green Salad
-Guacamole
-A selection of decadent deserts from 1ere moisson

First, for the quinoa. 2 parts water to 1 part grain. I use a coffee mug to measure. Bring the water to a boil, add a bouillon cube if you like and then add the grain. Bring to a boil, cover. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the grain is tender. Let this cool.

Then, transfer your grain to a nice bowl and add a big handful of raw sunflower seeds.

Next, add a big handful or two of dried cranberries.

Trust me, you want a finely died half of an apple in this here salad. Yes, you do.

These are the remaining ingredients. Some fresh mint, 2 celery stalks, half a red pepper, half a small red onion. Finely dice or chop and throw it in the salad. Yee-haw!

You're on your way to deliciousness if it looks something like this.

What about a dressing for this salad?

Juice a lime into a bowl. Add a glug (approx 1 tablespoon) of olive oil, and a splash of mirin (rice vinegar). Add honey to sweeten and salt and pepper to season. Then, add a good glug of orange juice and a twoonie sized plop of dried parsley. Whisk with a fork. Taste and adjust. Too sour? Add more honey and/or oil. To bland? Add more salt. Too thick? Add a couple drops of water. Go with it, you can't really go wrong if you keep tasting until it seems ok.

Now onto guacamole times. Get yourself 2 ripe avocados, 2 limes, a pinch of cumin powder, salt and pepper, and a spoonful of store bought salsa. Mash all that with a fork and enjoy with corn chips. Que bueno!

Halloum, I would like to introduce you to my friends. They like salty, squeaky, chewy cheese like you that can be grilled without melting.

Slice it up like so.

Fry with a little olive oil over medium heat until browned and crispy. Top with chopped mint. Serve with salad while still warm. You will practically die of happiness. This cheese hits many craving targets: salty, chewy, crispy, cheesy.

Mon assiette.

Let's eat dessert!!! I want royalties from Premiere Moisson for this quasi-advert. Holy mother of god raspberry chocolate mousse cake.

The next culprit. Mocha cake! Skulking in the background is the best dessert of them all. A pear vanilla mousse cake inside a chocolate bowl gilded with gold leaf.

Yes, yes, yes!

dhal-ish doll

2010-06-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

It was lentils with Lia night tonight...Food got cooked, almost burned the lentils but they survived. Here's what you do to make this super easy tasty dish. Is it considered dhal? I don't know but it does have some Indian inspired flavors.

To cook the lentils, I fried 2 big handfuls with olive oil and 3 bay leaves, just long enough to get them coated and hot. Add enough water to cover the lentils by a couple of inches and boil over a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Keep checking and adding water so they don't dry out. A veggie bouillon cube can really make lentils sexy and exciting.

Chop up some tomatoes like so.

Get yourself some yellow and red peppers and cut those up too.

Meanwhile, get some quinoa cooking. No stress, just 2 parts water and 1 part grain, simmer that like rice about 15 minutes.

The veggies go in the pot after sweating 3 cloves of minced garlic and a minced onion in a tablespoon of coconut oil. To make everything taste fantastic, you need spices. I added roughly equal parts (about a 25 cent sized plop) of ground turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala and a pinch of chili flakes. To season, add salt and sugar. Now you need some liquid. I used white wine, veggie stock and tomato paste.

The burning can be avoided by not getting carried away with a pre-dinner serenade. Check on this mixture to not let it dry out.

Asparagus are in season. Tasty stalks got quickly fried in olive oil and butter.

Bon appétit!

reasons to cook, reasons to eat

2010-06-19T01:52:00.000-04:00

Hunger combined with inspiration can result in some delicious meals. There are many reasons to cook, but none so fun as picnic creations you end up eating under fairy lights in the park. In great company of course.

dried wakame
and shitake mushrooms become alive again when boiling water gets poured all over

these become reconstituted and slippery to the touch. you'll like it.

ginger and seaweed best friends forever.

buckwheat soba noodles. i forgot you were in my pantry!

the base for tasty asian dressing: toasted sesame oil, soya sauce, rice vinegar, honey. keep tasting, you'll know when it's perfect. i added tahini and sweet chili sauce to this for the soba noodles.

can you tell i love chopping? veggies got added to both the seaweed and the noodles to make separate salads.

lettuce rejoice

2010-06-13T03:03:00.000-04:00

Here is a delicious way to stir-fry lettuce. When else are you going to consume a whole head of romaine in one go?

Get yourself a half pound of tofu, 2-3 cloves of garlic and a similar quantity of ginger, salt and pepper, and oyster sauce. Coconut oil for frying.

Cube the tofu and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Slice up the garlic and ginger. Cut the lettuce into one inch pieces.

Stir-fry the tofu first. When it looks golden, add the garlic and ginger and then when you're good and ready add the lettuce and fry for about 2 minutes. You want the heart of the romaine to remain crispy, oh yes you do.
\
Almost done! Throw down some oyster sauce up in there.

Top with black sesame seeds and large flakes of toasted coconut for the extra crunch factor.

My stir-fry is ready for its closeup.

Enjoy, then go lie down in a park and look at the clouds.

my version of memere's baked rice

2010-04-24T14:04:00.000-04:00

this baked rice is always a hit. i am a huge fan of meals that can be made in one dish, and this one's a winner (as my memere would say...but a winner for her is a loser)...i wonder where i got my sarcasm from?

you will need:

-one cup of rice (i enjoy organic short grain brown)
-2 cups of water
-a packet or cube of onion soup broth
-a plop each of minced garlic and ginger
-a chopped onion
-any vegetables
-tofu, cubed (optional)
-a good glug of olive oil and dark soy sauce
-chili flakes (optional)

preheat the oven to 350 deg. throw all ingredients in oven proof casserole with lid. stir. stick in oven for an hour and a bit for brown rice, about 30-45 minutes for white rice. check it a couple times and give it a stir while it cooks.

tastes great sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

hope you are all enjoying the longer nights and typically awe inducing sunsets. xx

asian noodle salad

2010-04-06T11:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a delicious easy go-to salad if you are having a potluck or are just in the mood for some delicious noodle salad with a twist. You will need:
noodles: soba or udon
vegetables
tofu
wakame (seaweed)
seeds

dressing: citrus juice or rice wine vinegar, sweetener, soy sauce, ginger, garlic

leeks are delicious in this salad

boil up your noodles, cube your tofu and season generously with salt and pepper, saute in coconut oil until golden.

i softened the leeks just slightly in the pan once the tofu was done. there is also some chopped roasted sweet potato in there.

rehydrate the seaweed in some water for 3-4 minutes, then drain and chop that up.

drain the noodles and combine all the ingredients and dressing.

inhale with chopsticks and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Sweet Potato Magic

2010-04-03T11:33:00.001-04:00

Somehow in the brilliance of my organization I managed to lose my camera's charger, which is why I've been MIA. I have had some sweet sweet meals but unfortunately no photographic evidence. Here's what's been going on around here lately:

Leak number 4 in as many months. Second letter written to the Regie. Roofers came on Thursday so hopefully this means the leaks are done. Sent my notice of non-renewal for the lease so I'm free to look for somewhere else to live. Fresh start--yes!! P.S. Montrealers, do not rent from C.I.F. they are dicks.

Yesterday was Good Friday, and there was a parade for jesus on my street. Man, he gets everything, his birthday's even on Christmas!

They were walking to Notre-Dame Cathedral. Nice day for it.

Later I went to a matinee of Alice in Wonderland 3D with a friend. That Alice has got balls. So refreshing from the conventional Disney crap. She refuses to marry, and the plot doesn't center around getting a man in the end. Then we had bad coffee and good chats: burkas, France, consumerism etc etc.

Soon it was dinner time and I had a craving for sweet potatoes and nothing but. A recent attempt roasting them was an epic burning charred fail. After perusing the reviews of various recipes debating between parchment and foil vs. Pam and olive oil, I decided to throw caution to the wind and just do what i normally do: grease the pan with olive oil for roasting. That I did for one batch. Then I hatched a foolproof plan...fry the shit out of them in coconut oil for the other batch. How can that go wrong?

Ingredients for the baked: flour seasoned with salt and pepper, eggs beaten with a bit of water, a mix of shredded parmesan and romano cheese.

Cut your sweeties into wedges. Dredge them in the flour, then the egg, then the cheese and place on a greased rimmed baking sheet.

That is the most perfect one. My favorite.

As you can see there was minimal sticking. Win!

The ones going into the medium hot frying pan with a good plop of coconut oil were first dusted with chili powder and garam masala.

They didn't take too long to crisp up and brown nicely...about 4 minutes on each side.

Then I got crazy/fancy and wanted to recreate the Laughing Buddha's banana ketchup they serve with their sweet potato fries. My attempt was edible, but only semi-successful. I used way too much banana. Next time I'd use only 2 slices. Key ingredient: curry powder.

Dinner is served.

Midnight snack. Please note the variety of various dips, from top left. Rice vinegar/soy/sesame, salsa, sweet chili and underneath that salad is some plain yogurt with a tad of mayo. These taste buds need variety after midnight.

post apocalyptic potluck

2010-03-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hello food loving people! Holy crap, last time I was writing there was snow on the ground and everything looked and felt different. Now things are different from that last different and everything will never be the same. But there is food! Food is good. Rocky came home from a prolonged absence and we were due for a spring time potluck. On the menu was homemade salsa, my grandma's baked rice, but jazzed up with tofu, scalloped potatoes with fennel and gouda courtesy of the most wonderful roommate in the world, tomato quiche, fancy cheese plate, homemade jalapeno poppers, mom-style coleslaw and banana bread with bananas foster and chewy molasses ginger cookies. I love my friends, and I love that they love to eat!

This is all you need for salsa. Add some salt and some olive oil and you're ready to inhale with corn chips.

In the process, Rocky is suitably impressed with my mad cutting skillz.

As Rocky pondered what to make for potluck, I mentioned she had loads of potatoes in the pantry and suggested she make scalloped potatoes. I was thinking your basic cream, butter and cheese business but oh no, she took it to the next level. Fennel, fennel seeds and gouda cheese made this dish smell divine as it was baking and really, how can one not enjoy potatoes cooked in whipping cream?

These potatoes changed my life.

A peaceful pre-potluck interlude with rearranged furniture...

Summer in my bones.

Jalapenos getting ready to become poppers!

Melanie popperizes the peppers with cream cheese, chevre and other delicious things.

Just heavenly...if heaven tastes like a mexican fiesta of flavors with the devilish surprise of the odd fiery pepper...most of the are mild, but sometimes you get that one that sets you on fire.

Yummy fun!

Tom Kha Gai

2010-02-16T13:27:00.000-05:00

I am becoming a huge fan of coconut soup and all things coconut in general. On my visit to the Asian supermarket I bought all the fresh leaves, herbs and roots to make quite an authentic version of Thai coconut soup--Tom Kha Gai. If you can get a hold of fresh Kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and lemongrass then you're good to go. Everything else can be found in a regular grocery store.

To make the most delicious soup on earth you will need:

For the broth:
- a can of coconut milk
-a can of water
- a one inch piece of galangal
-a long stalk of lemongrass, chopped into 1 inch pieces
-ten Kaffir lime leaves, torn in half

Put these ingredients in a soup pot and simmer for 25-40 minutes, depending on how fragrant a broth you want, and how much time you have. Strain the herbs out of the broth. You're almost there.

To put in the soup:
-a protein...shrimp, chicken, tofu...
-veggies: mushrooms, celery, carrot, tomato...whatever's in your fridge.
Put these things in the broth and let them cook until slightly tender.

Throw these in at the end before serving and simmer for about a minute"
-a couple spoons of sweetener, such as Agave syrup
-the juice of a lime
-a squeeze of Bragg amino liquid, or fish sauce

That's it, enjoy! Be warned that you might want to eat this every day...

Here's some more of those awesome snow pea greens stirfried with garlic, ginger and spring onion.

Asian Inspiration

2010-02-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of Asian style cooking going on in my kitchen these days...This inspiration came after a visit to the Asian supermarket on the south shore...it was all very exciting because I had a knowledgeable companion with me and as a result I bought a lot of stuff I've never tried before.
I made mung bean noodle salad twice in one week...so good I had to have it again!

The noodle package in question.

Noodles: soak them in cold water for 10 minutes, then simmer them in miso broth...

Probably talking about food...

While drinking some beer...

These oyster mushrooms changed my life.

Stirfried pea greens and choi sum with mushrooms in oyster sauce.

To top it all off...we even went out for Chinese in CDN. Check it out, it's called Lao Beijing. 7$ for a lunch special!
Chinese eggplant stirfry with sweet and spicy sauce.

Ma Po tofu...ate around the meat chunks...

Decided to soak some beans around 3am after a big night...woke up to find the beans soaking unexpectedly...and discovered I even captured this in a photo at the time...in sepia no less. A late night moment of lucidity.

Lookout view.
Oratoire St-Joseph through the trees at Lac aux Castors.

Skating at my local park.

inspired by banana loaf

2010-02-02T21:14:00.000-05:00

I rarely follow recipes. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love browsing recipes on the internet but I'll take them as inspiration and then jazz them up. In baking, I will never put the right kind/amount of sugar a recipe calls for, as I usually find them too sweet. Also, I often eat my baking for breakfast the next day, so a lesser quantity of sugar somehow makes me feel virtuous and healthy.

Inspiration for this recipe came from the Coconut Lover's Cookbook. Originally called Orange Coconut Banana Bread, I didn't add any oranges (didn't have any) and so I substituted with chopped dried black cherries and a couple of squares of 70% dark chocolate, also chopped. Decadent!

1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c grated coconut
1/2 chopped nuts (I used almonds--recipe says walnuts)
1/4 t baking powder
3/4 c sweetener (I used 1/4 c of agave syrup and 1/4 c raw cane sugar)
pinch of salt
1/4 c coconut milk ( I used almond milk)
2 large eggs (I used 1 egg and 1 egg replacement)
1 1/2 c mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
1 1/2 T grated orange rind
1/4 c orange juice concentrate (I added butter instead!!!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients. Add all the wet ingredients and fruit. Mix until just moist. Pour batter into 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased loaf pan. Bake for 55 -60 minutes or until knife inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

Chopped almonds. Nutty goodness.

This is the part where a fine line is drawn between virtue and decadence.

Banana turd and dry ingredients.

About to get baked. Oh yeah.

Closeup at breakfast the morning after.

Orange got thrown into the equation finally. I adore blood oranges.

Beautiful Borscht

2010-01-25T14:36:00.000-05:00

I was inspired to try making borscht when I was served some at the People's Potato the other week. If you live in Montreal and you haven't been for a cheap (or free) meal at Concordia's vegan soup kitchen, then I suggest you go there immediately. Hall building, 7th floor. Bring your own tupperware and you'll get served even faster.

So the borscht was so lovely, flavourful and delicious that I attempted my own version.

These guys got thinly chopped.

Ginger is not a typical ingredient in borscht but what the hell, it can't hurt.

Beet blood knife residue turned my garlic all pink.

I threw some cabbage in for fun.

Here it is, frying in olive oil.

I added half a can of leftover crushed tomatoes...again not typically included in borscht but they are red and yummy so they might blend in? Don't forget copious amounts of chopped fresh dill. That makes it real borscht-like. I used vegetarian beef broth, and a dash of red wine vinegar for tang.

Voila! Borscht time! It got redder and deeper in colour as the days went by.

Potluck!

2010-01-19T22:03:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we had our first potluck of 2010. It was varied, delicious and warming for the body and soul as all potlucks should be. It was so warm in fact, that we had to open the window in the kitchen what with all the body heat and oven used in re-warming all the hot dishes everyone brought.

I decided to break out the enameled cast- iron roaster santa (mom) brought me for xmas. There's something extremely comforting in knowing I will own and use this roasting pan for years to come and it's so durable I will probably be able to hand it down to my progeny, if I so choose to reproduce and am lucky enough to create a mini cooking aide.

I contributed baked beans to the potluck. They are super super easy to make, but the reason I guess most people buy canned baked beans is because they don't have time to stick around while they cook for 3 hours. I have to admit felt a bit imprisoned by the beans...but it forced me to stay home and study.

What you do is the night before, soak a pound (450g) of navy beans in water. When you wake up the next day, rinse them while making coffee and cover with fresh water. Boil those suckers for 5 minutes and rinse again. Stick them in a casserole, pan, or anything oven proof--you don't even need a lid. Add a 1/2 cup of sweet stuff (honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, agave, whatever you like), 1/4 cup of ketchup, a small can of tomatoes, 3 gloves of chopped garlic, a chopped onion, some bay leaves, a splash of tamari, a couple big plops of mustard and salt and pepper. Cover with an inch of water over the beans and stick in a 350 degree oven for 3 hours. That's it, just don't let them dry out...just add more water. These babies went mighty quickly, they were a hit!

Here's what they looked like after a few hours of just marinating in their own beany goodness.

Rocky contributed an amazing dish of baked trout in coconut milk, ginger, garlic, and veggies...amazing! I overheard lots of people asking who made this, everyone really enjoyed it.

Jen brought bread and cheese and olives and tomatoes...mmmmm. What's great about potluck is you also get lots of leftovers the next day. I love that people bring things I wouldn't necessarily buy...like delicious melting camembert.

Prashant brought a beautiful leek and tomato quiche. Store bought but tasted home made.

Dominic brought home made pizza! I ate like 3 pieces. Pure joy I tell you.

This salad was an impressive hit, by Rosemary. I specifically requested this salad because she made it the first time I met her. Spelt udon noodles, aduki beans, chopped veggies and toasted black sesame and pumpkin seeds with a lime and sesame dressing. Winner.

Here she is, working on dish #2, apple crisp. Did you know you can toast the flour and oats in the frying pan to help with digestion and to bring out the flavours? So good.

Rosemary also brought us a 3rd dish, some mini spanikopita we re-toasted in the oven. Mmmmm.

Happy leftover transformations are great to add to the mix. I blended leftover spicy chili with a can of refried black beans and some chopped tomatoes and voila! Spicy bean dip.

Here's the spread! It was really nice to have everyone over, and the best part was that random people I had only met once way back when I first moved here came over. Thanks for coming and I hope you'll be here for the next potluck fiesta!

Minervois

2010-01-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

I had stumbled upon Minervois wine when I was given a bottle for hosting some potluck or other back in London. One typical weeknight I was drowning my sorrows with the Minervois and was pleasantly surprised. The character of this wine was unlike any I had tasted before. I also had the good fortune of having received a very memorable bottle...it had a picture of a gorilla on it because proceeds from the sale went to some rainforest charity. Anyway, I remembered the type of wine and went looking for more...pretty rare stuff! The terroir is only 4200 hectares (don't ask me if that is big or not for wine--no clue). But the dudes at the wine shop were impressed that such a young chick knew this wine. So thanks to whoever brought the gorilla bottle! I persuaded mom and dad to crack open a very nice bottle of wine I purchased for them 3 xmases ago.
The big gun comes out: Decanter time!

Letting her breathe.

A cursory web search revealed that 2006, 2004 and 2001 are great vintages for Minervois. I chose well! This one was made with a blend of Grenache and Syrah. What really turns me on about this wine is its "mouth feel" (holy pretentious much). Nice and silky. Mmmmm. Monsieur Villerambert Julien tu es un genie!

Please note the annotated bottle, "Noel '06". I hope I have enough wine someday to feel the need to remember when it was received. These days I just feel the need to DRINK IT.

eating the arse-end of 2009

2010-01-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

So I hope your resolutions are going well and that 2010 is treating you swell so far. We're only 5 days in but 2010 has been eventful what with my first class of the winter term, starbucks gingerbread lattes, spicy chili, a flu-like illness causing lethargy and dizzy spells, scrabble, shovelling the inside of my apartment (thanks door for not closing properly!), big love marathons and much more.
Let us now reminisce on 2009. The motto for 2009 in my family was "everything's fine in 2009". If you know me you'll be sure to understand that this is a false statement. Floods, illness, dramz, it didn't end. But, 2009 had its highlights...dudes, I went to CHINA. C'mon, that's pretty awesome right? I also ate rat in Cambodia, killed a cockroach in Thailand (take that, phobia!), and got drunk on rice wine with Vietnam vets on a 14 hr train ride to Hanoi. Cool shit.

2000-2009 recap:

At the dawn of the new millenium I was still in Uni in my hometown, with my high school bf, living at home and dreaming of how I would one day leave everything behind and travel to exotic locales. I was performing at the Townehouse once a month with Julie and rocking out. La troupe did Paroles de Paiement and I performed with them. I worked at the health food store and became a vegetarian.

2001: graduated, broke up with high school bf, moved to Dublin with Alexie and lived it up. Met some great friends who formed the United Nations drinking crew. Learned to love Guinness. Travelled around Ireland.

2002: Re-read The Sun Also Rises for the 4th time and visited Hemingway's Spain. Went to Paris and Bruges with my mom. Kissed a lot of boys. Kissed a German boy and fell in love. Moved back to Canada. Worked at the health food store. Vowed I would make it back to Spain.

2003: Moved to Germany to be with my lover. Studied in Valencia, Spain and ended up living there. Taught English, learned what fresh food tastes like. Learned to speak Spanish. Swam topless in a deserted sea in October. Became afraid of cockroaches...they lived in my flat with me. Worked 17 hrs a week and still had enough for food, shopping and wine. Life was hard and easy at the same time.

2004: Still in Spain. Every day was sunny except for a week in April. Had an impromptu 9 hour-straight jam at a bar with a funny Glaswegian and some South Americans. Ate a lot of shellfish, tapas. Was awake during the night more than the day. Danced the salsa in tiny bars. Listened to flamenco. Tanned on my balcony. Learned to stretch out tasks, do cryptic crosswords, gut squid, tell someone off in Spanish.

2005: Came home to Canada for a bit. Moved to Glasgow to study teaching. Still in love. Drank lots more Guinness. Jammed for free beers in bars. Made magical curries. Met awesome friends. Lived in a dorm for the first time. Banged on about how great Spain was. Went back to Spain with O for an amazing holiday: Madrid, Salamanca, Toro, Valladolid. Learned about Scottish education. Worked in 3 different schools. Graduated. Moved to London and learned about living with a man for the first time. Looked for work. Taught music and drama in many many schools. Joined a gym. Hated the big city.

2006: Got used to the big city. Got a permanent teaching job. Spent less and less time with man I co-habitated with. Lots of trips all over Europe. Moved flats, had a balcony and a small garden. Watched my flowers grow. Spent too much time alone.

2007: Jen moved to London and was my flatmate for 3 weeks. Me and O drifted apart...some unhappiness. Lots of trips: Amsterdam, Belgium, France, Germany. Worked hard, fell in love with children.

2008: Changed grades and classroom. Taught children to sing and play the recorder. My good friend and I worked in adjacent classrooms. Lots of fun. Got better at my job, got worse at my relationship. Went to Spain, Turkey, Northern Canada. Ended my relationship. Lived with good friend from school. Exercised a lot. Moved back to Canada.

2009: Worked with all my friends for a TV show. Lived in a building with a turret. Learned how to let go the hard way. Traveled in SE Asia. Moved to Montreal and started grad school. Got a flatmate who is not a man for the second time in my life. Learned about the strength gained from women around me. Started this blog.

Feels great to be in a new decade! If I can top the last one I will be one happy camper.

curry craving

2010-01-03T12:39:00.001-05:00

Hello friends! Welcome to 2010, hope you all had a fantastic time ringing in the new year. My NYE 2009 post is yet to come. First I want to tell you about the green curry I made after a day of shopping at the sales. God I love sales. Got a pair of jeans, 2 cardigans and a long sleeved top for 80 bucks. Pretty amazing! As I was shopping my little heart out, I was very very hungry, and mentally going through my fridge to see what I could make. I started craving thai green curry. Creamy, spicy, sweet and warming curry. Yes. I ended up having to buy coconut milk, beer and coriander to complete my feast.

Mmmm beer.

The ingredients in question: garlic, ginger, onion, zukes, red pepper, carrot, celery, broccoli. And their little friends coconut milk and curry paste. P.S. this paste kinda sucked, buy the Thai Kitchen one instead. Mental note for next time.

Oh and cherry tomatoes decided to jump in at the last minute.

I pre-fried some tofu marinated with soya and pepper in some coconut oil. Next time I will cut the pieces up smaller.

For those of you unsure how to cook curry...it's just like soup. Start by frying your aromatics (garlic, ginger, onion). They make the house smell good and you can brag that you are an amazing chef though all you've done is heated the ingredients to release their aromas. It's all good. Then add the harder veg first as they take longer to cook. (Carrot, celery, broccoli.) Then the softer veg go in with coconut milk and the curry paste. Stir and simmer. Add more water if you see it's drying up. I like a lot of sauce. In the meantime have some grain cooking, like rice or quinoa or rice noodles. Combine and sprinkle with coriander. Enjoy!

It ended up tasting OK, but not spicy enough. Some spicy thai hot sauce cleared up that problem.

I couldn't very well eat this feast alone now, could I? Cristal came over and brought us some treats. Lovely little cakes from the bakery around the corner. I was blown away by this macha green tea cake. So green. So tea-y. Delish.

There was also a chocolate fondant cake and this here is some cranberry cake.

Hope everyone is recovering well from the festivities and has had a lot of fun. NYE post is up next with risotto, fireworks and general shenanigans. xo

last post of 2009!

2009-12-31T15:36:00.000-05:00

It was an amazing holiday season in the nickel capital. Lots of time spent with friends and family made it extra special. Here's one night before xmas:

Made delicious savory asian crab pancakes and summer rolls!

To make these babies, all you need is a couple cans of crab, 1 cup flour, 1 cup water, chopped green onions, chopped challots, an egg, and salt/pepper.

The batter closeup.
Frying them up in olive oil...be patient unless you like mushy pancakes!

Chopping veggies for the summer rolls...

Soak the rice paper in some water for a minute or two...then start rolling up the veggies like you would a fajita...dip away in some peanut sauce...almost like being back in 'Nam.

We ate, drank, jammed and were merry. Then it was on to the bar to see the Beatles White Album performed in its entirety.

Would you get a load of those adoring fans?

Suddenly, it was like "party at pelletier's!" Cool by me. What a good host...there's always food around. Tonight was grilled cheese fest. I learned a new grilled cheese technique which involves throwing blobs of butter into a hot pan then adding the bread and cheese. I am of the pre-buttering the bread school...so this was different. Oh and a new secret ingredient...home made garlic salt sprinkled all over the shop. Heavenly.
There's no messin' around when you see that much butter. Serious stuff.

Serve with grainy mustard instead of ketchup. So posh.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2010 is filled with food, friends, and fun. xo

double-brunch sunday

2009-12-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten about the wonders of brunch. Good for recovering from too much xmas cheer, good for gathering the family around a table, good for the taste buds, good for incorporating the best of lunch and breakfast. We headed down to Simon's Gallery and Grill for the first of two brunches the Sunday before xmas. Behold! Cake is a staple of Simon's brunch.

This was a cheese and cranberry brioche cake, come straight out of the oven. The cooks watched me quizzically as I snapped away. I promised I would only write good things. Truly no complaints about this yummy cake.

Brunch plate close up!

Brunch number 2 was attended shortly thereafter at the Gospel Brunch Sunday at Laughing Buddha. A fantastic way to pass an afternoon.

Beginnings of Holiday Food and Festivities

2009-12-20T10:38:00.000-05:00

Back in my Ontarian homeland for the holidays, I have less time to cook but it seems like I am always eating. So much festive food happening all around. I can't wait until Christmas and my matante's famous carrot casserole...it comes but once a year.

In the meantime, I satisfied my guilty urges for the seafood lover in me. I've heard that the food at the red crustacean comes pre-cooked and heated on massive conveyor belts but I don't care, I still crave it and eat it at least once a year.

North Pacific King Crab, mighty delicious sea creature, come to me!

Gratuitous macro money shot. Keep your moaning to a minimum, there are children around.

Still hooked on the seafood vibe, my bro and I went to Umai Sushi a couple days later.

Sunomono salad.

Then holiday parties started happening...

Merry merry!

With parties come munchies. This pizza was inhaled in under 5 minutes, thank god there was another one.

Post-party all day breakfast and satisfied smiles all around!

beans and greens and more leftovers

2009-12-14T15:25:00.000-05:00

This is comfort food to me. You can use any bean you like and any green veggie with it. I have particularly enjoyed this dish with kale or broccoli. This is one of those dishes that tastes like more than the sum of its parts.

You will need: beans, greens, a lemon, a clove of garlic, a pinch of cayenne and a handful of grated parmesan, and some cooked grains like rice or quinoa.

Chop up your greens into bite size pieces. Don't forget to rinse them well! I once was surprised by a bright green little (live!) worm on my fork as I was about to bite into a piece of organic marinated broccoli. I ran around the room crying and gagging as my family laughed and laughed. Scarred for life now.

Here's the flavour section of the dish...grated parm, chopped garlic, lemon zest, cayenne and the juice of that lemon I zested. Booyeah!

Start by quickly stir frying the broccoli in a little olive oil. When it turns bright green, add the garlic and cook until slightly tender, or however you like your veg. Add the beans, lemon zest and juice, cayenne and stir fry that shizz up. When it looks ready add the cooked grain and parm and mix well.

That's it! Enjoy.

What do you do when the fridge needs emptying! That's right, have a leftover party challenge! What I had left in the fridge: out dated organic goat cheese, stale bread, 3 zucchinis, boiled carrots, mashed potatoes and beets.

What I made: stuffed zucchini with goat cheese and buttered thyme crumble, potato carrot soup and balsamic roasted beets.

Good times! The soup was pretty impressive because it did not taste like mashed potatoes and boiled carrots one bit. I embellished these humble ingredients by frying an onion and some grated ginger and garlic in some coconut oil. Then I added some veg stock, salt, pepper and curry powder and threw in the leftover veg. Simmer that and when it smells great blend it. Done!

The zukes were prepared by hollowing out the seedy middles and stuffing them with goat cheese and bread crumbs that I had lightly toasted with butter and fresh thyme. Sprinkle that magic on top, cover with foil and bake until soft.

fun with leftovers

2009-12-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wish I had the time to cook but I don't. Sometimes I can't be bothered to cook at all. And then I remember that I am hungry so I check the freezer. Hooray! Frozen leftover time! By making extra batches of pasta sauce you can have a very good meal in no time at all. I like to freeze tofu dishes, as the tofu gets super spongy once frozen and thawed. The texture is great in curries and sauces.

So here is some tofu veggie pasta sauce jazzed up with some frozen veg and quickly fried in a wee bit of olive oil. So good and so quick!

To make freezer food more exciting, it's best to pair it with something fresh. We found this delicious fresh flatbread crust and I embellished it with a mix of butter, minced garlic, olive oil and pesto and slices of dying zucchini on top.

Gourmet garlic bread I tells ya.

It never hurts to include salad and wine with almost every meal.

omelets

2009-12-06T17:18:00.000-05:00

I learned to make omelets by watching the fine folks making them at This Ain't The Only Cafe in Sudbury, which is now the Laughing Buddha. Secrets I learned: 1) Adding water instead of milk to the egg mixture helps the egg stay together. 2) Fry your veggies in olive oil and douse liberally with good balsamic vinegar and spices.

Here's what's going into my 4 egg omelet: zucchini, shrooms, tomatoes and havarti cheese.

Frying everything up, I added fresh thyme and balsamic.

Eggs go into a medium hot, oiled pan.

Once the eggs have somewhat solidified, add the cooked veg and top with cheese. Let it cook for a minute or two.

Now comes the fun/hard part. Flipping! Be brave and go for it. Hesitation is not your friend when flipping an omelet. But if it rips a bit, as you can see mine did, comfort yourself with the fact that it will still taste delicious with these slight imperfections. Makes life interesting, no?

Here's my half! I like to eat all omelets with sweet chili sauce.

Orange Yellow Blue

2009-12-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

Life kind of reminds me of this these days. Except with food. Ok maybe it doesn't make sense but this post is about colors. Look at the orange acorn squash I transformed into soup! First just split it in half and think about how its shape and outline would make a fabulous bed linen print.

Best friends! Brush 'em with oil and stick face down in a pan and roast for about 45 minutes. Throw in an onion too, for fun.

Bright orange happy mushy yummy. Scoop that business into a bowl.

Marvel at the inner workings of an onion.

Grate some ginger and garlic into your soup pot. Fry in coconut oil until soft, add half a chopped apple and your baked squash and onion, cover it with veggie stock. Simmer away and add a big pinch of curry powder and some cinnamon, salt and pepper. When you can't take it anymore throw it into a blender and puree until smooth. I like my soup thick, but it can be thinned out with some more stock.

Last weekend I had a visit from an old friend who I hadn't seen in 6 years to the week. Last time it was Valencia. This time, it was Montreal, jazz, brunch, tons of reminiscing and piecing together entire nights spent together in Dirty old Dublin...and EGG TARTS.

These were so ridiculously yellow, which begged the question: food dye? turmeric? or just a whole lot of yolk? The answer: who cares, it's yummy.

Blue turned to red upon the arrival of some of the Sudbury crew for impromptu dinner and drinks on a Tuesday. Thanks friends!

It was a Tuesday that felt like a Friday.

This was a Friday that felt like a Tuesday.

B-day Food Times

2009-11-23T20:30:00.000-05:00

It was my birthday over the weekend and of course lots of food was consumed for the occasion. My sister surprised me by traveling from Halifax to visit me and celebrate. Good times were had by all. Lots of candy and chocolate always help.

This is what 31 looks like. Yeah, not too happy. This was pre-sister surprise...I was a lot happier a few hours later.

I still had (and have) lots of school work to do, so it was decided that my sister and friends would do the cooking for me. Sweet. I went to the Mile End library and worked on my paper, then when it closed I went to Cagibi for coffee/work.

I requested my beet cake recipe and my wish was granted. The beet cake was quite the ordeal and as a result of hilariousness and distraction I now have enough leftover batter for 2 more cakes. My sister, who was "in charge" of the cake misread the instructions and tripled the amount of liquid in the recipe. We also spent ages boiling the beets and mincing them, then sticking them in the blender to puree. By the end of all this, I had joined in the cooking game and we were all sick of dealing with the beets. So all the beets, oh roughly a whole blender full, also went into the batter, although the recipe called for 3/4 cup. Needless to say there was a lot of re-jigging of the recipe. I used my critical thinking skills and did some stuff. I emptied about 1/3 of the batter into tupperware for future use/re-jigging. Then we added more of everything except liquid, and kept tasting it until we were satisfied. Finally we threw it into the oven and hoped for the best. I knew if all else failed, if I made buttercream icing it would make even the worst cooking fiasco taste acceptable. We eagerly awaited the results.

The beet cake batter BEFORE we realized our mistakes.

Clearly not impressed with the execution of this recipe.

In the meantime, my dinner was being made.
Sauteing portobello shrooms, leeks and onion for the risotto.

Goofing around...

Tada! My delicious birthday meal. Cornmeal and sweet chili crusted cod, black sesame crusted tuna, amazing herb and mushroom risotto and my salad. So good. This meal involved a lot of butter, which is perfect for those special occasions.

As for the cake, it turned out great!

Here it is in the process of getting iced. As I mentioned, buttercream icing saved the day. It was sweet and rich, just like I like my men icing. Butter, icing sugar, cocoa, shredded coconut, vanilla, almond milk. Delicious! Could have used a bit more cocoa though.

Mmmm...double layers....drooooool.

Icing the cake was almost as good as eating it.

I ate some for breakfast the next day.

Crunch Time

2009-11-18T22:56:00.000-05:00

It's been uber busy around here lately. No, no, nothing exciting mind you. Just spending lots of time with these guys.
Yep, I've read all of them.

What do winners eat?

Brain food of champions. Ground flax and hemp and maple syrup oh my! I need a foolproof recipe for the old pancacos, any suggestions? These were a bit tasteless and rubbery.

Don't forget to make a giant pancake with the leftover batter.

Have a go at flipping the pancake. Julia Child would no doubt be impressed with that angle on the pan. Well done Rocky!

"I did it!"

Once said pancake is flipped and cooked, realize that the pancake has a FACE. Draw it in with a Sharpie pen.

Surprise your room mate by throwing the still warm pancake at her, frisbee style. Enjoy some recreational sports in the kitchen for 5 to 10 minutes.

Go back to doing this.

Eat some more brain food.

I've got 10 lbs of beautiful beets in my fridge, running out of things to do with them! I am going to attempt a chocolate-beet cake at the weekend, stay tuned! It's back to work for me now...

Gastronomie montrealaise avec les parents

2009-11-10T01:35:00.000-05:00

My parents were visiting recently, and because they love me and I am their little girl no matter what, they treated me to some nice times in some nice restaurants. I wish I could afford to repay their generosity and do this kind of eating more often. However, my waistline and wallet are happier with deprivation and infrequency of this sort of dining.

We started off with drinks at Balwin's Barmacie and had some fancy cocktails. Highly recommended is the Lionel, which is booze 4X: Gin, Vodka, Citrus Liqueur topped with Champagne. Ahhhh refreshing!

Once suitably loosened by these libations, we strolled to Bouchonne for eating of food and tasting of wine. The deal here is that you can order duos of wine in 2 oz. servings and get a good idea of the range of character a certain grape presents. Ok I just re-read that last phrase and I sound like a pretentious wine snob but I am not. I will drink homemade, just made, Hungarian wine, blueberry wine, you name it.

I don't want to get all "restaurant review" up in here, but if you will allow, I shall comment on the overall service of this joint. The maitre'd was a French man of few words to express himself regarding the wine. I want to be regaled with tales of the wine...I want you to use adjectives, adverbs and fancy wording of which I might just get the basic gist. Use your words my friend, use your words. Sadly French guy did not. But maybe it's because the wine spoke for itself?

Mom really enjoyed her Riesling duo (one French, one German) and I was suitably impressed with my Italian/French Bordeaux combo. Dad's Pinot Noir duo was a little bit scary...am I missing something regarding this grape? Why does it taste so nasty...sorry, challenging?

We got another waiter to come over and explain the menu. We were slightly intimidated by the two liver dishes on the menu, along with some sort of veal gland and the fact that the menu used French cooking terminology. But no need to fear, buddy explained it to us and everything started to sound delicious.

Carrot salad with goat cheese and Fairmount Bagel croutons. I spoke to the chef about this salad and apparently one of the secrets to its success is lots of red wine vinegar--got it.

Their version of surf and turf. Baby back ribs and grilled salmon. My parents remarked that this may be the best ribs they had ever tasted. Bonus. Sometimes lightly cooked fish skeeves me out but this salmon was so very fresh.

Tuna steak with stewed red peppers and tomatoes with pickled turnips. Holy mother of god. This was so amazing! Fish done to perfection, so fresh and the veg had been slow cooked after roasting so all the flavors melded together into one delicious fiesta of sweet and pulpy goodness.

Please disregard the fact that I ate that bacon like meat atop the fish. P.S. It was delicious. Sorry for eating you pig but I enjoyed you!

Lunching on a Sunday afternoon at Newtown felt absolutely decadent. No way I could ever afford a 14 dollar sandwich every week. But this one was perfect.

Fresh crab salad in a brioche type roll with salad. My only complaint was that the salad tasted a tad old.

Come to mama.

Bu was definitely a great choice of wine bar. They offer trios of wines for better value than Bouchonne with Italian inspired bruscetta, pasta and mains. The waitress described the wines well, with lots of explanations and talk about the winery etc. I love the sense of anticipation that it creates. I had the Spanish trio and I expected nothing less than deliciousness since Spain is my favorite country for wine. It was pretty fantastic.

Tofu and Sweet Potato Stirfry

2009-11-08T16:29:00.000-05:00

This is a delicious nourishing and satisfying stir fry. Every time I make this dish I feel like I should be a monk eating this in a monastery after a day of meditation and field tilling. This stir fry is so simple and perfectly illustrates that it is possible to create complex flavors with minimal ingredients. I owe credit for this recipe to Jen, who taught it to me.

What you will need: a sweet potato, peeled and cubed. a pound of tofu, cubed, coconut oil or olive oil for frying, chopped green onion, toasted sesame oil.

So once everything is cubed and ready to go, heat your oil and get frying. You want to get the tofu nice and crisped and brown on the outside. Here I am using a tofu pre-marinated in Indian spices.

And so begins the stir fry process. It takes a while for the sweet potato to get cooked through though, so you might want to try pre-cooking it for a while. But hey, I am patient so I just hover over the stove and stir.

Et voila! Once everything is cooked add the chopped green onion and drizzle with toasted sesame oil, season with salt and pepper and black sesame seeds if you so desire. Serve with brown rice and it will surely transport you to monastic heaven.

Food Memories: Europa

2009-11-01T00:16:00.000-04:00

The past 8 years for me were spent living, working and traveling around Europe. I still don't know how to condense those years into any coherent narrative...suffice to say there were good times and bad times...but more importantly there were food times. And that is what it's all about.

But first let's talk about the drink times. My good friend Jen and were frequent weekend travelers for about 2 years. We'd look up some cheap flights and get going. In Antwerp, Belgium we got to experience out first absinthe bar. If I recall correctly we visited this bar two nights in a row, not only because it was so fabulous, but also because we knew this was our last chance for a while to imbibe the lovely liquorice herbed nectar which is so potent Beaudelaire liked to write poems while on absinthe about absinthe. We first tried it the traditional way with the sugar cube flambe method: Stick a slotted spoon-like instrument over your little absinthe glass and put a sugar cube on top. Pour the absinthe over the sugar into the glass then set the alcohol-doused sugar cube on fire. The flame will melt the sugar into the glass. Then you drink. Repeat if necessary. Enjoy the head buzz!

FOOD PORN. GAH. Delicious Belgian waffle in Brussels. Heaven on earth. Life's joy and fulfilment. I love you so much I wish I could marry you dear waffle. You would never let me down.

Same place, different waffle. Subsequent visit. Still just as life affirming.

Let's take the edge off that sweetness with a coffee, shall we? Here we are in Istanbul and this is my first ever Turkish coffee. T'was delicious and strong. Make sure if you ever order Turkish coffee to make sure you ask for sugar as they mix it in while making it. Thick. Don't drink the bottom.

Not very flattering but you get the impression I am enjoying it, no?

Home food. This is in my first flat in London, Mildmay Grove, 2005. I was all about the buffalo mozzarella back then. With fresh basil and tomato.

More food, same flat. First meal I cooked for my parents when they visited. I see some guacamole there, some roasted veg, a salad in the corner and some pickles and meats and bread. Oh so continental!

Home BBQ, London, New North Road, 2008. I was blessed with a flat with a beautiful terrace and a pub next door. Bliss. In that foil container is a pile of king prawns marinated in coconut, coriander, chili and lime. They were good. There are some skewers there with some marinated monkfish and some halloumi. Wow, I wish I could have that all over again. Please note the non-Canadian hibachi style BBQ. You get her going with briquettes and some firestarters and then you wait and wait till her coals are white otherwise things just BURN. It's a bee-atch to get going but once it's fired up it burns hot and long. Oh yeah, just the way I like it.

Fancy food, Ottolenghi Restaurant, London. Oh man. What can I say about this food. Gotam Ottolenghi's got a weekly food column in the Guardian. It's mostly vegetarian food and it's all delicious. The man can do things with broccoli beyond your wildest dreams. Here we've got some parsnip and other deliciousness. It was 2007, can't remember anymore. But please go to Ottolenghi on Upper Street, Islington if you are ever in London. You will not regret it.

Here is the broccoli I speak of. Out of this world. Oven roasted and marinated. As well we have some beets and a rice salad. I'd like to eat something like this every day.

Happy menu times, Islay, Scotland. A wonderful meal after a long walk on a frigid windy beach strewn with bloated sheep carcasses. Really it was more beautiful than it sounds. This restaurant had a peat fireplace and plaid carpet. Yes, we were truly in Scotland. The mussels were fantastic.

D.I.Y Sardines, San Ramon, Espana. Here's my good friend Aidan's paella pan and paella fireplace being used to panfry some beautiful fresh sardines. The cats were in love with us that day.

Menu del dia at El Kiosko, Valencia, Espana. Cheap and cheerful. A 3 course meal sets you back about 15 bucks including wine. Muy bueno.

Stay tuned for some Canadian Food Memories...I've been exploring some awesome restaurants in Montreal. More to come. x

soup and loaf

2009-10-27T18:56:00.000-04:00

I taught my flatmate Rocky how to make a little soup. Saute some broccoli and some leeks together with olive oil. When it looks done add some veg stock and some almond milk.

Blend!

Serve! Add a dollop of yogurt if you're feeling fancy.

Onto loaf times. I have been having some success with making my own vegetarian protein source dishes of late. There were the experimental bean burgers and now we are on to a loaf. I was really in the mood for some more stuffing but I decided to incorporate stuffing into the loaf. Here's what I did.
Mince any dying veg left overs from your fridge. I used carrots, celery, red pepper, leeks and mushrooms. Oh and 4 cloves of garlic.
Fry it all up in a wok and add couple large handfuls of cooked grain. I used quinoa. I then ripped up about 4 bread ends and threw those in the mix. I also needed more protein, so I used a pound of tofu, mushed up and about 1/2 cup of ground almonds, just grind 'em in a blender. Now we needed flavour! Sage, Herbes de Provence, Veggie Stock, Soy Sauce, Ketchup. Party!

Make sure your loaf is not too mushy or wet...i think this one could have used a bit less liquid. But butter will fix everything so just threw some slices on top before baking in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the whole unit is a world of crispiness.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

A few days later, I discovered I could use the loaf crumbled up as you would veggie ground beef in a pasta bake. Delish!

Apple Cake

2009-10-26T12:04:00.000-04:00

I am going to interrupt our little trip down memory lane to fill you in on all the real time baking that's been going on around here. In late September, I went apple picking in St-Joseph du Lac, on the north shore near Montreal. we drove off the highway into an idyllic misty rolling hill setting with the quaintest milk paint pastel colored houses with cornices and actual "horn of plenty" displays in the front yard. I almost had a heart attack from the overdose of quaint. Just lovely. So we drove through dozens of orchards and didn't really know where to stop...but I had a feeling we would just "know" which orchard was the one. Turns out we really like food related puns, so we settled on Le verger Pommalfun. Pis c'etait pas mal le fun.

But what to do with 20lbs of apples? Bake those pink ladies in a cake!
Peel, core and slice about 4 medium apples.

This is a mixture of 1/3 cup raw cane sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. (But here's my true view on cinnamon. You want to add loads, all the time. Ignore the recipe.) This sugar/cinni mix is gonna get half sprinkled on the apples and the other half on top of the batter.

Hello batter, nice to meet you. I made it from 3/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup coconut oil, an egg, 1/3 cup maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and a splash of almond milk. Whisk whisk whisk.

Now you see the batter with sugar mix sprinkled on top. I wonder what those apples feel like under their wee blanket of goodness? They're sugared up and ready to go into the oven. Yes! 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

These are the leftovers a few days later.

Good til the last bite.