FAT CINDY

Winterlicious: The Chef's House

2012-02-07T23:57:00.002-05:00

Last night I went to The Chef's House for a Winterlicious dinner. Winterlicious is a semi-annual Toronto food festival where many restaurants offer special prix fixe three course meals. The Chef's House is a "real-life learning lab" for George Brown Chef School students where they can gain experience in both cooking and service. I haven't been before and was especially looking forward to trying it since I've just enrolled in the their Spring Culinary Arts I course (yay!)

Apple Chip Amuse Bouche

We started the meal with a complimentary amuse bouche (I love it when restaurants do this!) It was an apple chip with an Italian cream cheese, an orange segment, dill and a drizzle of olive oil. This was sweet and savoury, with a crunch from the apple chip and creaminess from the Brie like cheese. A lovely way to begin a meal.

Tuna Carpaccio

For my first course I chose the tuna carpaccio with the salad nicoise - one of my favourite salads. I was pleasantly surprised by their interpretation of the salad with a a dainty quail egg with a perfectly runny yolk and little cubes of fried potato. There was also a peeled cherry tomato with fish eggs and a tiny piece of candied olive (in the top of the photo). The olive was really delicious, the ultimate sweet and salty combination. I could have easily eaten more of these as a snack! The tuna had a tiny seared outer edge and tasted fresh and tender, it went well with the salad. The only thing I didn't like as much about this dish was that the anchovy was a bit over powering sometimes if you assemble the wrong bite and the green beans looked slightly sad.

Braised Beef Short Rib

I chose the braised beef short ribs with pommes puree and cippolini onions as my main course. This dish was my favourite dish of the night. The meat was melt in your mouth delicious and the beef jus was SUPER rich. Pieces of baby turnip and sweet cipolinni onions helped cut the richness, but the portion of meat was really quite big (not that I'm complaining!) After eating 80% of the dish I was really regretting my pre-Winterlicious "snack" of saag paneer and basmati rice that I had been craving all week. I only had a few bites and the rest for lunch the next day but I really should have known better. My dining companion tried to tell me it was a bad idea to eat before a three course meal but I didn't heed his advice. The glutton in me is out of control! This dish was almost too much but somehow I soldiered on and ate the remainder of my dish.

Carrot Cake with Popcorn Ice Cream

I was pretty concerned I wouldn't have enough room for dessert but when it came my appetite magically made another appearance. I ordered the spiced carrot cake with popcorn ice cream. This dish wasn't quite what I imagined as I pictured a more traditionally dense carrot cake instead of the lighter version I was served. It was lightly spiced as well. The ice cream was served on top and in between the cake so it was almost like an ice cream cake sandwich. I thought the ice cream would taste more like buttery popcorn but it tasted like caramel corn instead and had a nice nutty flavour. The little topping of crunchy caramel corn was a nice touchy and provided a nice textural contrast to the ice cream. I'm not too sure what the sauce on the plate was, tasted sort of like a whiskey caramel but I'm no good at picking out alcohol flavours. If you know, let me know!

The service albeit a bit slow during their full house was really friendly and the wait staff happily brought us more bread and constant refills of water. I was really impressed by the quality of the food considering The Chef's House menu is on the lower price range ($25) of the Winterlicious menus. Their regular menus are actually also prix fixe but for a slightly higher price that I still think is great value. I enjoyed my meal so much that I would happily return! I recommend browsing their website since it seems like they have a lot of interesting food events happening all the time, wish I knew sooner!

Winterlicious ends this Thursday, February 9th so try checking it out if you're able to. It's often a hit or miss scenario but it's a fun way to try new restaurants.

Thanks for dropping by!

Breakfast: Cucumber Avocado Salad

2012-02-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

Here's yet another breakfast post! It's funny because I actually don't even eat breakfast that often during the week but if you looked at my blog it'd seem like I have breakfast religiously. I love breakfast but I have to shamefully admit that I always sleep in too much/too late for work to have time for it. So on weekends when I have the time, I like to make myself big breakfasts to compensate.

Avocados are one of my top favourite foods and I especially love having avocados in the morning. Much like my opinion about butter, I think avocados makes everything things better. Normally I'm just happy with some plain sliced up avocado to eat with my eggs and toast but since I had some cucumber to use up, I whipped up a quick salsa-esque salad instead.

Here's a recipe for you, if you can even call it that since it's so simple!

Cucumber Avocado Salad/Salsa

Equal amounts of cucumber and ripe avocado
Cilantro
Salsa

1. Chop the avocado and the cucumber into small cubes that are roughly the same size.
2. Chop the cilantro finely, as much as you like (or none at all if you're a cilantro hater!)
3. Add the chopped ingredients into a bowl and gradually spoon enough salsa to coat everything.
4. Eat as a side dish or as a snack with tortilla chips!

I ate my salad with scrambled eggs and brown butter toast. I actually had a little bit left over and ate it with tortilla chips - which was so tasty that it's been added to my usual roster of snacks!

Enjoy! :)

Non-food Post: The Sketchbook Project

2012-02-02T23:42:00.002-05:00

Today I have a non-food related post! Last Fall I joined The Sketchbook Project, which is described as, "a constantly evolving library of artists' sketchbooks from across the globe." The idea is that you pick a theme, fill your sketchbook and send it back to go on tour around the world (mostly North America) before it resides in the Brooklyn Art Library. I thought this would be a fun way to add more creativity to my life since I find it easy to just fall into the lull of work and being lazy once I get home. I had a lot of fun with my sketchbook and wish I had worked on it more consistently than pushing most of it until the last minute (it was due Jan. 31st). Lesson learned for next time! Anyhoo, here are a few pages from my finished book. The theme I chose was "Fears & Tears" (which ended up sounding way more emo than I realized - oops!)

Hope you enjoyed peeking at my sketchbook! I highly reccommend checking out the Art House Co-op for other projects and their digital library to see past sketchbooks. Also if you're in Toronto (like me) here's when the Sketchbook project will be making a stop in town:

July 18th-22nd
The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen St. W
Toronto, ON

Other tour info can be found here when you scroll down.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a happy weekend!

#FSeatupTO

2012-01-07T14:22:00.000-05:00

Thispast week I went to a Foodspotting event at Kim Bo, a Vietnamese restaurant fortheir "Bo 7 Mon", a seven course tasting of beef. As a creature of cravings I’veunfortunately only tried just a handful of Vietnamese dishes so I was really excited to see and taste avariety of new dishes.

One of my favourite parts of the meal were the rice paper rolls (sometimes referred to as "fresh rolls"). while I've had these many times before, I've never made it in a restaurant. A little pot of stock on a portable gas burner was brought out along with thinly sliced raw beef and raw shrimp ready to be boiled. Stacks of rice paper were waiting to be made maleable in bowls of warm water and then filled with a variety of fresh herbs, thin rice noodles, fresh veggies and of course - pickled carrots and daikon, a Vietnamese staple.

The process was to basically prep your rice paper and then fill it with whatever you desire and roll it up before eating. I had a few rolls but the one pictured above is a beef and veggie one with a squiggle of Hoisin sauce prior to being rolled and eaten. Making the rolls were fun and interactive since it was served family style. It's easy to make new friends when you're passing food around! One was even kind enough to cook my meat since I sat out of reach of the soup pot!

The rice paper rolls weren't the only thing we ate though! Prior to the beef we shared a few appetizers. We had spring rolls with nuoc mam for dipping, spicy baby clams with sesame rice crackers and shrimp on sugar cane. I only snapped a photo of the the last dish but you can see a photo of the clams on their website. The shrimp was puréed and wrapped around the sugar cane absorbing some of its sweetness.

Now on to the other courses of beef! A trio of beef came out but somehow with the excitement of the making the rice paper rolls I only tried the grilled satay beef wrapped around pieces of onion (the middle one). The one of the left are the plain grilled beef rolls and the one of the right has the addition of being wrapped in a "tropical leaf" but I'm not sure what that was since I didn't taste it (foodie fail!).

Something I did try was their jumbo steamed beef meatball with prawn crackers. I enjoyed the incorporation of vermicelli in the sweet and savoury marinated meat. This dish and a few others were served with a sprinkling of crushed toasted peanuts - yum!

Kim Bo's vibrant sautéed beef cubes were really tender and the veggies tasted fresh and crisp. I found this dish addictive to keep picking at even when I was super stuffed when it came. This would have also been perfect with a bowl of steamed rice.

I did however get some rice in the end in the form of a small bowl of beef congee. I wasn't expecting it to be made with ground beef but it tasted very "homey" and I enjoyed it because its flavours reminded me of something my mom would make.

This was the first time I've eaten with so many foodies and I had such a great time! It was funny sitting at such a long table (there were 26 of us!) with so many people snapping photos of the food! If you look at the very end of the photo there's a table of regular customers, they were probably wondering, "what's going on in here?" Ha! Hopefully there will be another Foodspotting event soon!

Happy eating! Thanks for dropping by!

P.S. If you're not a Twitter user you might find the title of this post odd but it was the hashtag for the event. :) If you are on Twitter, you can find me at @CindyLuChan!

Winter Grapefruit

2011-12-12T21:37:00.002-05:00

I used to hate grapefruit growing up but one day when I was 19 I decided I'd give it a go again and loved it ever since. An instance like that is the reason why I normally try foods I don't really like because I'm certain that one day I will. Kraft Dinner has yet to see that day but at least I like grapefruits now.

I particularly like eating grapefruits as part of my breakfast. Normally I just halve the grapefruit and scoop out the segments with my trusty grapefruit spoon. Recently I tried to change things up a bit and broiled my grapefruits with brown sugar and cinnamon. The sweetness and the hint of spice was the perfect twist for Winter.

Broiled Grapefruit

1 grapefruit, halved
2 tbsp of brown sugar (or more if you have large grapefruits)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1. On a baking tray, pat down 1 tbsp of brown sugar per grapefruit halve.
2. Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on each
3. Set your oven rack to the highest level and adjust to broil setting if applicable if not, most broilers cook between 400 to 500 degrees.
4. Place grapefruits in the oven and broil for 3-5 minutes or until the sugar is melted.
5. Serve right away but be careful of the hot sugary top when you chow down!

I enjoyed the sweet crust on top of the grapefruit and think it's really nice when it's warm with the cinnamon. The photo shown above was actually a half that I didn't add cinnamon and the result was still quite delicious. I highly recommend a go at this since it literally only takes about 5 minutes!

Happy eating!

Kimchi For Breakfast

2011-12-06T22:21:00.001-05:00

Last week, I was in Koreatown (Christie & Bloor) and went to PAT Mart, a Korean grocery store. I haven't been there in months and completely forgot how awesome it was. I didn't buy very much since I was going out afterwards but I did pick up a tub of kimchi. Kimchi is a Korean staple that primarily consists of spicy fermented napa cabbage. I kept seeing Kimchi popping up in fusion recipes over the web so I thought to myself, 'why not have some for breakfast?'

Since I love eggs, I obviously had to have a few of those! I poked around my fridge and ended up making some sort of sausage, kimchi and red pepper scramble. It was quite delicious and super easy. Here's a ":recipe" for those of you who might want to give it a go.

Sausage, Kimchi & Red Pepper Egg Scramble

sausage(s), chopped - Use whatever kind you like! I'd go with one big one or three little ones if you're using the breakfast kind
1/4 of a red bell pepper, sliced thin
2 tbsp or 2 large fork-fulls of kimchi
3 medium eggs (more or less based on how much you need to encompass all the fillings)
2 tbsp of milk
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp vegetable oil or a large pat of butter

1. On medium-high heat, start by frying up the sausage in the pan so it releases some of its tasty oils and add the red peppers once it has browned slightly.
2. Add in your kimchi once the sausage is cooked and the peppers have wilted slightly. Add the oil or butter and shake the pan and make sure the ingredients are spaced out fairly evenly.
3. In a bowl, beat your eggs with the milk until incorporated and pour it evenly over the mixture in the hot pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Turn heat down to medium and let eggs cook without stirring it around. Before it's completely set, use you spatula to lift and stir the eggs around and serve immediately.

I ate mine with some cold kimchi and buttery toast. Kimchi is quite different when its cooked. The cabbage becomes sweeter and the spice level comes down because the taste is softened. I really liked it and will definitely be trying more omelette combinations. Guess I'll be making many trips back to Koreatown soon!

Thanks for popping by!

Dessert: Sidecar

2011-12-03T16:27:00.000-05:00

One of my favourite deals in the city is the prix fixe menu at Sidecar from Sundays to Wednesdays. It's $25 for three courses, an appetizer, a main and a daily dessert. I usually go here whenever I'm craving steak so I almost always order their Steak Frites for the main and their Romaine Hearts (caesar salad) to start.

Dessert is a surprise and on one occasion they had a berry and vanilla cupcake with creme anglais which I really enjoyed (even though I hardly had enough space left after polishing off my steak!) Sidecar has consistent good quality food and service, I recommend checking them out for their prix fixe or even their regular menu. Their duck gnocchi a la carte is really good too!

Happy eating!

Brunch: Fire on the East Side

2011-11-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

On the weekend, when I'm not making huge eggy breakfasts for myself I like going for brunch with my friends. I almost always order some sort of eggs benedict dish just because I love hollandaise so much. Here's a photo of my order from Fire on the East Side - the smoked salmon and arugula bennie. While the photo looks quite appetizing, this was unfortunately an instance where I would have preferred eating a breakfast made by myself.

On the menu the hollandaise was described as an orange-chipotle hollandaise but it tasted like a plain hollandaise to me. I didn't really mind since I love regular hollandaise but it was still a bit disappointing. While my eggs were perfectly poached, my friend who ordered the same dish had overcooked eggs. Their fries were also a bit on the sad side but at least the salmon and arugula were plentiful.

I'd also like to note that the service, while quite friendly was super slow. The place was packed so I anticipated waiting but it really was quite the wait for our food to come, we were both starving! Overall the food was fairly lack luster and I probably wouldn't return unless I was conveniently located in the area.

Toronto Underground Market: November Edition

2011-11-27T18:56:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I went to the November edition of the Toronto Underground Market (TUM) at the Evergreen Brickworks. I was really excited since I had such a good time at their first one in September (missed October since I was in Spain). I arrived at 5:45pm to find a huge crowd all lined up waiting to get in for 6pm. It was nice to see how popular the event has gotten (the tickets sold out on their first day!) My friend and I had a game plan to hit up some the places that seemed more popular/well known first to avoid huge lines. Our first stop was La Carnita and by the time we found it, (in the span of less than 5 minutes after entering) there was already a huge line! It was actually pretty crazy and we ended up waiting for about 30 minutes but luckily the food was worth the wait - phew!

We ordered one of each of their tacos and split them (we wanted to pace ourselves). First up was their Mexican chorizo taco topped with cubes of mango, pickled onions and chicharron. Just like my photo above, the taco was vibrant and juicy. I expected the chicharron to be chunkier but it wasn't necessary.

The second La Carnita creation was their Voltron fish taco. topped with red cabbage & cilantro This was a real stand out for me. The fish was crispy and moist and the sauce in the taco was unlike anything I've tasted before. I think there maybe have been a hint of cinnamon? It was absolutely delicious. I wish I knew what was in it! Hook me up, if you have any ideas!

One last note on La Carnita, they also gave out a limited number of prints by Ashley Barron which featured paper cut outs forming their logo. I really like her style and the bright colours she chooses. You can see the print I received on her blog.

Back to the food, we actually sampled three other vendors while waiting in line for La Carnita. One of us would hold the spot while the other would return with food. It was kind of fun because it was like waiting for a surprise when you were in line. The first place we tried was Fidel Gastro, the "rebel without a kitchen" who serves up interesting Cuban sandwiches.

I chose their Havana Club, which according to their website consists of "cayenne, cilantro and beer pulled-pork with Virginia ham, caramelized onions and Havarti cheese." This photo really doesn't do the sandwich justice. The whole sandwich was pressed on a griddle with cubes of butter and exuded the essence of porky goodness. Hopefully I'll get to try more of Fidel Gastro's sandwiches at pop-up events, they have a mac & cheese one that I bet is amazing. Also the team at Fidel Gastro's wins the highest energy award for the night with their jolly bursts of "Ole!"

Keeping with the porky sandwiches theme, we also tried the porchetta sandwich from The Slow Room. True to their name, the porchetta had been cooked for six hours. This sandwich came on a fresh bun and had chunks of moist pork. It was well seasoned with herbs, most prominently rosemary which I love.

Moving away from pork, we tried the mushroom arancini from Thistletown Collegiate Institute which was served with a tomato and a cream sauce and sprinkled with cheese and fresh parsley. The texture of these were really nice, creamy, served hot and crisp and not dense at all. I didn't even know we had high schools cooking at this level, so cool!

Next we stopped by Elle Cuisine because I simply couldn't resist eating a duck confit hash with a poached egg. Duck is my favourite meat, duck confit is my favourite preparation and eggs and potatoes are high on my favourite foods scale too! The duck was moist and there were pieces of super crispy duck skin which were incredible! The egg could have been a little runnier but the potatoes were fried nice and golden brown and went perfectly with their homemade ketchup. If I could eat this for breakfast everyday I'd be super happy and probably really fat but it'd be worth it.

Moving from one food high to another was the amazing crème brûlée at The Lunch Room. This was no ordinary crème brûlée, it was flavoured with blue lavender and rose petal black tea and served with lemon shortbread cookies on the side. The floral flavours were delicate and the custard was light and smooth. The candied crust that was torched to order was the perfect thickness and had mild bitter caramel tones that cooked sugar gets. This was the best crème brûlée I've ever eaten! The shortbread cookies were thin and crisp and went well with the custard but to be honest with you I inhaled the creme brulee so quick that I didn't have time to eat it with the cookies. Even though only one week has past since I ate this, I've reminisced about it too many times to count.

After the crème brûlée we moved outside to Chimney Court where they had an special addition of outdoor vendors and a bonfire. It was a bit rainy but that didn't deter us from getting a freshly made pizza from the wood burning oven by Craig Ovenstone & his team. We went with the caramelized onion and porchetta. The toppings were nice but the real winner was the crust. I know I already said I ate the best crème brûlée but this might be the best pizza crust I've ever eaten. It was thin, airy and had the perfect chewy texture.

After this pizza I was about the burst but I still managed to try the pumpkin maple syrup hot chocolate from Big Smoke Coffee and squeeze in a roasted cedar marshmallow from Hard Food (sorry, no photos). The hot chocolate was really delicious with a faint hit of spices and it wasn't too sweet. I would have gladly drank my full cup if I had the space. The marshmallow was toasted perfectly and had a crunchy shell to a pillowy bouncy interior although personally I wasn't a big fan of the cedar taste. I'd love to try what other flavours they might have. Finishing the marshmallow almost did me in as I was ready to go into full food coma mode - a sign of a perfect foodie night!

"Spanish" Chicken

2011-11-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

After returning from Spain I wanted to recreate some of the Spanish flavours in my own kitchen. After looking at a few recipes around the web for inspiration I made this "Spanish" Chicken. I don't know how Spanish it really is but I do know it's really delicious so I'm happy.

The main flavours of the dish come from the chorizo sausages, olives and lemons. I don't have an exact recipe since I just kind of threw it together but I tried to recall it as best as I could so you could attempt to make this dish yourself.

"Spanish" Chicken

9 small chicken thighs with skin on

1 chorizo sausage, chopped in big pieces
1 lemon (juiced but with a few slices saved for garnish.)
1 small onion, halved and sliced roughly
1/2 cup of green olives (I'm sure black would be just as good.)
1/2 tbsp sweet (Spanish) paprika
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
2-3 cloves of garlic minced finely
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Toss the chicken thighs with two thirds of the minced garlic, paprika, oregano, thyme and plenty of salt and freshly cracked pepper. Sear chicken on medium-high in a non stick pan, skin side down first. Remove chicken from pan when the skin is browned and the meat is sealed but not cooked through.
2. Add your chorizo, onions and the rest of the garlic to the pan. There should be enough fat from the chicken that you don't need to add any oil. Brown the sausage and wilt the onions. Add a dash of salt and pepper.
3. Add the chicken back to pan, along with the olives and lemon juice. Give it a quick toss to incorporate the flavours. Transfer everything to a baking dish, carefully place all the chicken thighs on top with the skin side up to crisp in the oven. Garnish with lemon slices on top (this also adds a bit more moisture to the whole dish.
4. Depending on the doneness of your chicken and the heat of your oven, put the chicken in uncovered for 20-30minutes on 375 degrees. Remove when chicken is firm and the skin is crisp and golden.

To have a complete meal you can try cooking it with veggies on the bottom. I actually made mine with a layer of chick peas and potatoes underneath by tossing them precooked in some olive oil, lemon juice, diced tomatoes, garlic and salt and pepper. The chick peas and potatoes caught all the juices of the chicken and chorizo on top making it extra yummy. I never cooked with Chorizo before but it gives such a nice smoky spiced flavour to it. I wasn't in the mood for spicy, but you could definitely add some chili flakes to this to add a bit of a kick. This was an easy tasty dish that I'll be making again and again. If you have any Spanish recipes, be sure to share them with me!

Temporary Coffee Person

2011-11-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

I`m not much of a coffee drinker. For some reason coffee replaces the caffeine kick in my body with bloatiness - no thank you. When I was in Spain some of my friends would order a coffee and exclaim, "this is SO GOOD!" So I tried it and they were right, it really was delicious. A whole other beverage breed. It was so rich, almost chocolatey when sugar was added. I couldn't help but become a temporary coffee person.

Cheers to coffee!

After returning to Toronto I've reverted back to my tea drinking ways. Sorry coffee, it was nice while it lasted.

Churros, Por Favor

2011-11-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

Before going to Spain one of the few places I looked up was where to get churros, a sweet Spanish treat. Churros are basically fried donut ropes eaten with a chocolate dipping sauce. One of the main places that came up was Chocolateria San Gines in Madrid. I wrote down the address and on my last day we made plans to get some but I left the address at the hotel and only new the general area that San Gines was in (there was no wi-fi). This didn't sound too promising since I have the worst directions. We were leisurely walking around and I decided to poke my head down an alley to check the street name just to know where we were and coincidentally San Gines was right there! Talk about lucky!

We waited in a short line that kept growing and ordered one serving of churros with chocolate sauce. Yes, the photo above is only ONE order. It was the perfect portion considering we just ate a three course lunch. Although I'm sure even if we didn't the plate we got was more than enough. The people working at San Gines got their service down pat, the churros were quickly dished out by one guy and another quickly filled a mug with hot chocolate sauce.

It's self serve but a kind staff member helped us find a table in the crowded space. Finally we started to tuck in and it was deeeelicious! The faintly sweetened churros had a crunchy shell and a soft moist interior. We sprinkled a bit of icing sugar on the churros and dipped it in the chocolate sauce. The sauce wasn't the sugar overkill that I had expected. It was a thick piping hot semi-sweet chocolate that made the churros decadent to eat. Not to mention how it was just fun to break off pieces and dip it! Oh also, I was too full but they give you a spoon to eat the chocolate sauce with ;)

La Boqueria

2011-11-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

One of my favourite places in Barcelona was the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, an outdoor market with a lot of amazing food. It was always bustling with people and it was really interesting to see things I would never see in the markets of Toronto. Here's just a small glimpse of I saw at La Boqueria!

The main entrance packed with people.

Fresh game meats.

Huge bags of clams and sea snails - yum!

Ostrich and emu eggs!

So much fresh local fruits. I ate the most delectable giant Spanish peach.

Rows of fresh bread.

Adorable chocolates.

Mountains of fresh seafood.

No wonder the seafood we ate was so amazing.

Mushrooms galore! This booth made me drool.

Vibrant spices.

Oh how I wish we had a market as awesome as St. Josep in Toronto. Whenever I`m returning to Barcelona this will be my second stop (with a seafood lunch coming in first!)

Thanks for dropping by!

Cindy

Food Porn: Seafood in Barcelona

2011-11-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month I took a week of vacation in Spain going to Madrid and Barcelona. I'd never been there before and had the best time. I can't wait to travel some more! Whenever I travel anywhere the food is such a big part of the trip for me. For the first time I didn't really look up specific places to and with an uncharacteristic laissez-faire attitude I just assumed where ever we ended up eating will probably be great anyway. For the most part that worked out pretty well - thank goodness! My favourite meal of the trip was a lunch in Barcelona. We walked through the Sant Josep market and at El Cochinillo Loco, we saw all these outdoor tables with people chowing down on huge plates of seafood. It looked incredible!

We waited eagerly for a table and finally ordered one large platter to share amongst the four of us. The plate was brimming with a variety of seafood, many I didn't even know! From what I could pick out there was jumbo shrimps, lobster, clams, razor clams, mussels, crispy fried baby squid, swordfish steak and langoustines. There were a few other pieces of fish as well but I think I actually mananged to list most of it just now

Everything was cooked perfectly and so juicy! I don't know what they put in the sauce it was cooked in but it was amazing. It was a garlicy oil base but with something else making it addictively delicious especially with a squeeze of fresh lemon. The jumbo shrimps were unanimously the favourite and we ordered a separate plate after we finished our platter!

This meal was so amazing that we all literally passed out for a two hour nap afterward! Although I'm sure the two pitchers of sangria we ordred might have had something to do with that too ;)

If you're visiting Barcelona make sure you a stop there! Seriously, you need to go!

Eggs in Tomato Sauce

2011-11-12T17:33:00.001-05:00

On weekends I love eating large eggy brunches and ketchup is always my condiment of choice. Basically anything remotely tomato based with eggs is a winner to me. I had a recipe I had on my Pinterest (do you Pin? link me to your board!) for poaching eggs in salsa that inspired me to make an Italian spin with my tomato sauce.

This dish is super yummy and it was incredibly easy! I already had a batch of tomato sauce on hand (I always make big batches and freeze some for later) so it was super quick. Using a jarred sauce would make it really easy too. Here's a brief recipe if you want to try making it yourself!

Tomato Sauce Poached Eggs
Eggs (I used large)
Tomato Sauce (approx. 1 1/2 cup per egg)
Fresh chopped basil (optional)

1. Bring your favourite tomato sauce to a simmer in a large pan on medium heat.Make sure the sauce is not bubbling.
2. Make small wells in your sauce using a wooden spoon, one for each egg. Keepenough space between the wells so your eggs stay separate.
3. Crack one egg at a time into a bowl to easily slip into the saucy wells.
4. Cook eggs until the whites are solid but the yolk is still runny (approx. 5 minutes depending on heat level).
5. Sprinkle fresh basil on eggs and serve immediately!

I like to eat mine with garlic toasts and fresh mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and fresh cracked pepper. I could eat these tomatoey eggs any time of the day, seriously - so good! What do you like with your eggs? I can never have too many egg recipes ;)

Thanks for dropping by!

Cindy

Best donut ever.

2011-09-26T15:01:00.005-04:00

This past Sunday I was walking by the newly opened Cafe Fiorentina on the Danforth and went in to grab a drink but what I left with was the most delicious donut I've ever had!

Peach filled beignet

While I was waiting for my sparkling lemonade I noticed a plate of sugary beignets with a curious orange filling. The owner Tina Leckie was working today and she told me it was a vanilla peach filling and I was sold. I didn't try the beignet until I left or else I would have showered her with compliments. The donut was spongey and moist and I loved how it was coated in granulated sugar. While this alone would have been really yummy, the peach filling was amazing. It tasted of fresh peaches and it certainly wasn't skimpy! I wish I bought two instead of one, lesson learned!

My sparkling lemonade was nice too. It was very lemony and had a faint minty taste with a dry fizz. I think most people would have found this too tart but they did have honey and sugar I could have helped myself to. Nonetheless it was refreshing and exactly what I was hoping to find when I entered the store.

Lemonade

I'll definitely be returning. The service was friendly and quick and there were a lot of other delectable treats that caught my eye like their thick banana bread and lemon loaf slices. I'd like to come try some savoury food one day, they had a "lobster benny" that caught my eye. They also make a lot of their own preserves available for sale like jams and pickles which looked nice too. Also the cafe is just really cute, so who wouldn't want to hang out there!

Cafe Fiorentina on the Danforth

Toronto Underground Market

2011-09-25T16:48:00.014-04:00

Yesterday I went to the first installation of Toronto Underground Market (TUM)which took place at the Evergreen Brick Works. TUM featured 25 vendors that are home cooks and budding food entrepreneurs. I was really excited for this event and it was actually even better than I imagined it would be. There were so many new foods to try at very reasonable prices of $5 and under. The venue was perfect for the event, it was spacious and the crowds weren't overwhelming. Although the line ups did build up quite a bit as it got later into the evening, especially for the popular grilled cheese but more on that later! I apologize in advance for not knowing the names of some of the vendors. I feel as though I just inhaled all the food that I first tried since I was so excited. I actually couldn't even remember eating some of it until I saw the photos afterward! Anyhoo - here's what I ate!

Bacon & Egg Dumplings (2 for $5)

I started off with the Bacon & Egg dumplings which I think were be pan fried. I thought these were really creative. There was a thin chewy dumpling wrapper encasing an egg yolk and bits of bacon. I'm glad I bit with caution since the yolk squirted out! I liked these but would have liked it more if there was more bacon flavour. Always more bacon ;)

The Frikadeller Sandwich ($5)

Next in line was the Frikadeller, a sandwich with Danish pork meatballs, duck fat braised cabbage, remoulade and crispy onions. I really liked this sandwich, probably in my top three things I tried. The meatballs were tightly formed but soft to the bite. The cabbage was tender and worked as a moist slaw when mixed with the remoulade mayo but unfortunately the onions got a bit lost in it all. The flavours of this sandwich reminded me slightly of a banh mi. I moved from one pork sandwich to another with the pork belly from Big Smoke Coffee Co.

Pork belly slab being sliced.

Loads of interesting sandwich toppings.

Sandwich assembled! ($3)

The pork belly sandwich was probably my favourite thing of the evening. The slices were fat and juicy and the toppings really added a lot of flavour to it. While it was a suggested that fewer toppings worked better, the glutton in me ended up using five out of the six condiments available! My sandwich had avocado butter, queso cheese, pickled onions/jicama, Salvadorean hot sauce and a mango relish. I loved the Latin American flavours that this sandwich had. Yum yum!

The Picnic Society lemonade stand ($4 a cup)

I washed my sandwiches down with a watermelon basil lemonade from The Picnic Society. This table was definitely wins the cutest vendor award in my books! The drink was delicious, very refreshing with a distinct watermelon flavour and just enough tartness from the lemons. I thought the basil flavour could have been stronger but to be fair the last time I made basil lemonade I went crazy and put a TON of basil in it so I can't really expect people to cater to my preferences here. Other flavours they had on offer were Amaretto lemonade and brown sugar vanilla lemonade. Mmm!

Beef Po'Boy ($4)

After the beverage break I continued my sandwich binge with the Beef Po'Boy from Westside Beef Co. You can't tell by the photo but this was actually quite petite, probably about the size of a large macaron. The meat had a savoury, slightly sweet flavour and was melt in your mouth soft. The bun was warm and squishy. This was a really good albeit a bit small. Strangely the flavour reminded me of a McDonald's hamburger (in a good way).

Deep fried quail eggs ($2!!).

At the Bistro Filipino table I got an order of "kwek-kwek" otherwise known as deep fried quail eggs. I was really excited about these as they were one of the few items that really stood out to me on the TUM Facebook page that I really wanted to try. These tiny eggs were dipped in an annatto batter, fried to order and served with a toasted rice dipping sauce. These were so fun to eat as you can eat egg one in one bite. the batter was light and crispy and the innards were soft but not gooey. The dipping sauce was tangy and worked well with the eggs. These would have been dangerously addictive if I wasn't already almost completely stuffed, but not too stuffed for one more item before I left.

Jalapeno cornbread grilled cheese ($5)

Somehow I managed to find room for the grilled cheese from Comida del Pueblo (food of the people). This table had a massive line which I patiently waited at least 20 minutes in. Thank goodness the food was worth the wait! As you can see from my not very good photo, this is no ordinary grilled cheese. Between slices of jalapeno cornbread there was cheddar cheese and oniony refried beans. It was topped with fresh cut herbs, sour cream and a deliciously creamy guacamole. This was such a flavourful grilled cheese and the cool toppings on top really made the whole thing come together. This sandwich is a close second to being my favourite, my only "complaint" is that I wish the bread could have been less crumbly since it was quite messy to eat but I guess that's all part of the experience!

Oh my! I just realized I literally ate sandwiches all night! In case you think the event is super sandwich-based, there are actually a lot of other options like desserts, homemade potato chips, curry and many more. There were a lot of other things I could have happily tried but unfortunately I was ready for a food coma by the time I left. By the way, I shared all my food items with one other friend so my appetite isn't as big as it looks (but a girl can dream!)

I really recommend checking TUM out if you're in Toronto. The next one is in October but the tickets go on sale tomorrow, September 26. The tickets sold out for the one I attended so I'd get one quick if you're interested in going. You can get them for $5 on their site.

Thank for dropping by! :)

Verst

2011-07-13T21:57:00.008-04:00

I checked out WVRST, the new "sausage hall" that opened on King St. W. just two months ago. WVRST only serves sausages and fries but their wide selection of sausages gives the customer plenty to choose from. On their menu sausages are separated into four categories: Traditional, Poultry, Vegetarian and Game. There were a lot of interesting options I've never heard of like Boerewors from South Africa, the Kranjska from Slovenia as well as game meats I've never tried like Guinea Fowl and Kangaroo! They didn't have any Kangaroo when I went so I chose the Duck with foie gras and maple.

Duck Sausage on a bun.

Duck is my favourite meat of all so I really couldn't resist. I was able to pick two toppings for my sausage and I went with caramelize onions and sweet peppers (sauerkraut and sauteed jalapenos were the other options). Everything tasted really well together and the onions and peppers were cooked through enough. I found the sausage quite light in flavour but it was well seasoned and was still juicy inside. The whole wheat roll that held everything together was noticeably good too.

Fries & Dip.

Aside from the sausage I also ordered a small fries. I opted out of their regular fries and went with their Duck Fat Fries with their spicy mayo WVRST sauce. I was really excited for these and while they were tastier than most fries I've had, I still found them quite average. They have a lot of sauce options to choose for the fries though. The WVRST sauce had a nice kick and I really liked it. Their Maple Rosemary sauce is another one I liked, possibly more than the WVRST.

The ordering service at WVRST was a bit slow, probably since they're still quite new but all their staff was super friendly. Also once the food was ordered, it actually came fairly quickly. I liked my experience and I'd definitely return to try more of their sausages. I also liked their variety of Canadian beers on tap. For anyone who's interested, I ordered the Churchkey smoked ale and it tasted like a delicious bonfire.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dinner: Lemon Thyme Chicken & Roast Veggies

2011-07-03T20:12:00.005-04:00

Today I decided on chicken on veggies for dinner and went grocery shopping. I don’t know what I was thinking while I was there because I kept worrying that what I had wasn’t enough veggies to fill the pan. When I got home and started prepping all my veggies I literally had a mountain on top of the pan and ended up having to do two batches!

I chopped up sweet potatoes, Yukon potatoes, button mushrooms, red peppers and onions. I tossed it in olive oil, finely chopped garlic, lemon juice, a bit of cilantro, green onions and fresh thyme. I happened to have all these fresh herbs on hand so I thought, why not use them! I also had fresh cracked pepper and salt. My peppermill broke and I had to use a mortar and pestle to grind it. While it was fun, I’ve never appreciated my pepper mill more. Before I put it in the oven I also threw little chunks of butter on top, buttery vegetables are the best! I think I roasted it for about 40 mins on 425 degrees with a bit of a slotted foil covering on top.

Batch one of veggies.

While I was making up the veg, the chicken was sitting in a lot of thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper in the fridge. I ended up putting some sliced grape tomatoes and sautéed onions on the pan before placing the chicken on top. This gave it so much more flavour, especially the onions! I left this in the oven for 30 mins at 400 degrees also with foil on top. I removed the foil for the last 5 mins to attempt to give the chicken some colour (didn’t happen). I also threw a bit of butter and a sprinkling of salt on before I put it in the oven.

Lemon thyme chicken breasts.

I’ve been pretty lazy lately in the kitchen so this is probably one of the better meals I’ve had for a while. The chicken was really juicy and I loved the cooked tomatoes and onions underneath. The roasted veggies were really nice too, especially the sweet potatoes. I had this with some pita and tzatziki (store bought) and sliced cucumbers for something fresh. Yum yum!! I’ll attempt to cook more since this was so satisfying, however I will be working through left overs for a while, especially that second pan of roasted veggies!

Dinner.

Thanks for dropping by! :)

Dinner: Brisket

2011-06-28T18:39:00.002-04:00

BBQ Beef Brisket from Caplansky's Delicatessen on College St. served with garlic mash and veggies. The brisket was a bit too fatty at parts but it was super moist and tender and I thought it was all delicious!

Strawberry Picking...

2011-06-26T23:24:00.004-04:00

in my garden! My first handful of fresh picked strawberries from my backyard.

Oishi Ramen

2011-06-25T12:14:00.004-04:00

I finally went to Kenzo Ramen for the first time last week. I guess one of the reasons for not going earlier was I never really had a craving for ramen while I was out (how is that even possible, right?) I went to the newer Bloor & Spadina location and there were actually a quite a few people there considering it was a fairly hot Summer day. The waitress was friendly and brought us menus and water. I liked how the menu features basically only ramen and didn't try to do a bunch of other things on the side. I ending up choosing the Tonkotsu Ramen and my friend chose the Nagasaki Champon.

Tonkotsu Ramen

The Tonkotsu Ramen is with a pork bone soup broth that was been cooking away for 24 hours according to their website. It came with three slices of roasted pork, half a hardboiled egg with a slightly soft yolk, bak choi and a piece of fish cake (the pink and white swirly). There was also a little pile of fresh spring onions on top and some grated garlic on the side of the bowl. I stirred in the garlic and onions and slurped away. Fun fact: it's polite to slurp noodles in Japanese culture as a sign of appreciation for the food. The noodles were a nice al dente texture and the broth was really delicious. There were tiny slivers of ginger that was always a welcomed surprise to find. The pork was salty and fatty in the best way. At first I thought I'd be left with a lot of noodles since there didn't seem to be that many toppings but as I ate everything, it was all proportioned really well. I really enjoyed it!

Nagasaki Champon Ramen

My friend enjoyed her Nagasaki Champon Ramen as well. This was their seafood ramen which came with shrimps, mussels, little scallops, pieces of seaweed and bak choi. Hers was noticeably larger than mine but rightfully so since hers was the pricier dish. Her ramen had a very generous amount of seafood and she was very pleased with her decision. I didn't taste it so I can't really judge here but I preferred my simpler option. I'm sure I'll be returning soon to try their other kinds of ramen!

P.S. "Oishi" means delicious in Japanese. :)

Desserts Galore!

2011-06-09T13:19:00.000-04:00

A nice place I like to take my friends for dessert is DT Bistro-Patisserie (formerly knowns as Dessert Trends Cafe). They always have small pretty desserts in their display case and some of the best and most unique gelato I’ve ever tasted.

So many choices!

One of my sweet tooth friends loves desserts so I took her there for her birthday. Upon entering the restaurant I could tell this was a good choice as her face lit up when she was welcomed by all the beautiful desserts.

We took a seat by one of their large open windows and was brought lightly toasted bread with marinated olives. We decided to share a few appetizers instead of having an entree to save room for dessert. This turned out to be a very wise decision.

We ordered the calamari which came grilled overtop a small handful of lightly dressed salad. The calamari was cooked perfectly and had a nice char taste from their grill. The salad was light and fresh.

The other appetizer we ordered was a pound of mussels. They have two varieties, a white wine with tomatoes sauce or a curry. We chose the former and I thought the sauce was drinkably delicious. I asked for more bread to mop up the sauce and our server happily brought us some freshly toasted slices. The mussels were good, but they could have been cooked better since several of the shells weren’t fully popped open. I still really liked this dish though – I need that sauce recipe!

Then came time for dessert and back to the dessert case we went. After much deliberation we decided to share their mango crème brulee, a white chocolate mousse cake and two scoops of their homemade gelato.

The mango crème brulee had a shiny crackly top and super smooth custard. The mango flavour was lighter than I expected but this made it taste more real and less artificial. There were also tiny flecks of vanilla bean throughout.

The white chocolate mousse cake was the cutest desert with three tiny sugar flowers right on top. This cake appealed to me because the server had mentioned there was a lavender element to it which I think was for the fondant like covering since there’s a grain of lavender in the photo. I don’t know for sure because the lavender taste was unfortunately really faint. However the cake itself had nice textures since it was smooth inside with a layers of mousse, berry sauce and a crunchy macadamia nut and rice krispies base.

While I really enjoyed everything we ate, the highlight of the desserts and perhaps the whole meal was their gelato. We went to look in their gelato case and they had really interesting flavours to choose from, like Champagne & Grapefruit, Pomegranate White Tea, Banana Sundae and Durian (my least favourite fruit! Blek!). The man behind the counter, who I believe was the mastermind behind all the flavour pairings was super friendly and gave us endless samples. He was so keen on showing us his new flavours and for us to have a taste of everything.

All the sampling was such fun since I always feel a bit bad to ask for more than two tastes, sometimes even when it’s just more than one! I loved all the flavours we tried and we ended up getting a scoop of our two favourites – Lemon Meringue and Almond Butter. Their Lemon Meringue was a tangy creamy lemony gelato with mini marshmallows, chunks of crust and pieces of rose water flavoured meringue. You can see in the photo above the pieces of goodies incorporated in the gelato. Mmm! So good!

The gelato arrived at our table with the Almond Butter on top. I’m not even a huge fan of almonds but this gelato was really something else! Its flavour was really rich, a bit toasty and didn’t have any of that unappealing fake almond taste. It had almost a deep caramel taste that just made you want to keep eating more. I don’t normally eat melted ice cream but I cleaned the cup on these ones. Both were so good I really could not pick a favourite between the two. I know I just said recently I had the best gelato somewhere else, but Dessert Trends takes the new top ranking.

While I’ve been there many times I only had one flavour of gelato years ago and every other time I’ve been I’ve ordered desserts from their case. Can’t believe I’ve been missing out all this time! I actually went back the following day in the afternoon (addict!) and got a scoop of their Banana Sundae. The gelato had a creamy banana taste and had pieces of chocolate cake (or brownies?) amongst other tasty things. It was good but not as good as their other two flavours I had. This scoop was to go so I got it in one of their handmade chocolate waffle cones. Their cones are crisp, not brittle and a little bit lighter than other cones I’ve had. Aside from chocolate there is their regular vanilla as well as lemon.

If you’re Toronto you should definitely check this place out! Their decor is bright and airy, their prices are moderate and their service is excellent! My water was always filled, everything came at a nice pace and everyone was really friendly. I almost forgot to mention that on our way out I stopped to take a photo of their gelatos and the same man as before kindly asked us how we enjoyed our scoops then offered us a taste of their Champagne and Grapefruit as a palette cleanser. Of course I piggishly accepted. It had a sharp grapefruit flavour and was really refreshing. It took all my will power to not buy a scoop for the road! If only I had some right now!

Dinner: Fish & Chips

2011-06-07T14:34:00.001-04:00

I went to Allen's on the Danforth last week for dinner and sat on their lovely patio. It's one of my favourites since it's tucked away in the back and has large cascading trees. While Allen's is known for their wings and their burgers, I had a hankering for fish and chips.

Halibut fish & chips with a dill tartar sauce.

The fish was moist and flaky, their fries chunky and crispy and the tartar sauce went well with everything. Needless to say, craving satisfied.

New Restaurant at Corus Quay

2011-06-06T21:08:00.012-04:00

A new restaurant opened last Wednesday at Corus Quay called Against the Grain, self dubbed as an "Urban Tavern". A few of my coworkers and I went there for lunch on opening day and got a table on their amazing patio (new best in Toronto?) A friendly server gave us menus and took our drink orders after we had some time to look through it.

THE Patio

The menu has a good assortment of options, sandwiches, pizzas, pub entrees like fish and chips and pot pie. It appeared to be the standard pub fair but jazzed up with small twists. Since it was lunch time, none of us ordered any alcohol, but they did have a good selection of draught beer, at least 10 from what I can remember as well as many wines. One interesting beverage option they have is their “Q Water” which is water that has been filtered twice for $2 (endless refills, can be shared). As a happy tap water drinker I find this a bit needless even though the "upgrade" doesn't cost very much. The ones that ordered it seemed to enjoy it, so to each its own.

Clubhouse Sandwich

I ordered the Big Smokey Clubhouse and it came with smoked chicken and a lemon aioli. It came with fries and coleslaw but I had the choice to change it to sweet potato fries or a salad for $2. I thought the sandwich was nice with generous fillings and smokey like its name. I really enjoyed the aioli, although I wish there was a bit more of it. I think the sandwich was a tad dry although still satisfying. Their fries are really good and they’re not salt laden which is nice. Every table has mini pepper mill and a salt shaker which I thought was a nice touch. I’m a big fan of freshly cracked pepper. I even have a pepper mill at my desk at work!

I can’t say much for what everyone else ordered as I didn’t really taste any of it but their dishes looked good.

Portobello grilled cheese

The grilled cheese came with brie and cheddar and was generous with its fillings. I actually did take a bite of the sandwich and thought it was delicious. Mushrooms and melted cheese can’t really be a bad thing though, can it? My friend upgraded her fries to a Caesar salad. I thought the crustini/crouton disc looked a bit out of place.

Berkshire pulled pork.

A few people ordered the pulled pork sandwich and enjoyed it but it wasn't the best they've had. The sandwich came with coleslaw inside which I thought was a nice touch.

Penne Asiago

The last dish that was ordered was the Penne Asiago. According to the the owner of the dish, they thought it was good but found it a bit oily (which you can actually see in the photo).

The overall experience of Against the Grain was a good one. Their menu has a good selection, they have a large variety of drinks and they probably have the best new patio in Toronto. Their staff was really nice and was pretty efficient considering it was their first service. I think I'd like to go back and try dinner sometime. Their dinner menu offers a lot of their lunch items but has a lot more entrees like Duck Confit (my favourite dish of all!), Steak Frites and a few seafood dishes, some of which are labeled as sustainable seafood. According to their philosophy that I read on their menus, they value local and seasonal food and will be having a changing menu so I'm interested to see where it'll go.

Lunch: Chili Cheese Pasta

2011-05-31T11:00:00.000-04:00

Inspired by a Tweet I read on Twitter for a cheesy chili macaroni I had a sudden urge to make something similar myself. I like to make certain things like sauces and stews in big batches and freeze them so I'll have it on hand when I don't feel like cooking. I had some chili waiting to be eaten so I thought I'd add it to some pasta for lunch.

There won't be a real recipe, I just added ingredients to taste. I cooked up a small pot of rotini (as I thought it'd mop up the sauce well) and added it to a pot of heated chili. Then I added a generous amount of grated old Cheddar and a sprinkling of Parmesan. I let the cheese get all incorporated and just like that, lunch was ready! I grated a bit more cheese on top and added a bit of fresh cilantro since I my chili with cilantro! I thought the whole meal was quick, easy and satisfying. I'm so glad I Follow a bunch of foodies on Twitter. Find me @CindyLuChan!

Tiny Lilies

2011-05-30T12:56:00.001-04:00

I love Lily of Valley, they are so adorable!

These are in my garden right now, they make me smile.

They're like little fairy bonnets.

Brunch at The Bellevue

2011-05-29T19:13:00.010-04:00

Today I went to Kensington Market's Pedestrian Sundays and got a late brunch at The Bellevue around 2:30pm. None of us had been before but we heard good things so we thought we'd try it out. It was a really cute place with a small patio and wooden tables with lilacs in mason jars. Inside there were a few tables, an open window bar space and their specials were written on a chalkboard. My friends and I sat outside and a waitress came fairly quickly with water and menus. I ordered the Daily Omelette ($12), my friends ordered the Bacon and Eggs ($8) and the Pack O' Stancakes ($13).

Daily Omelette

The daily omelette was oyster mushrooms, cheddar and red peppers. I had the option of farmer's sausages or maple bacon to accompany it and I chose the former. It also came with sliced avocado, tomatoes, a homemade chili oil and toasted bread from Woodlot. The omelette was fine but I thought it was a little lackluster on its own. The veggies and cheese were a little sparse and just sort of lacked flavour. However, when eaten with everything else on the plate it a lot more interesting. The chili oil was delicious and I ate it with everything. Woodlot has really great bread and this was no exception. Two slices of multigrain came drizzled with olive oil and was so good I almost wanted to eat it all on its own. The sausages were well seasoned and was a nice change from the usual shorter breakfast sausages places usually have. I asked for some ketchup for my sausages and was pleasantly surprised that it was homemade.

Bacon & Eggs

My friend ordered the Bacon and Eggs which came with a salad or beans. She actually ordered the beans but as you can see in the photo above there was a slight mix up. Our server apologized and quickly brought her a separate side of beans and tortilla chips when we let her know, no harm done! It was more of a baked black bean dip with chopped avocado and tomatoes on top and was quite tasty (sorry no photo). The (maple) bacon and eggs itself came as a sandwich with tomatoes on more of that tasty Woodlot bread. The salad was a lightly dressed arugula.

Pack O'Stancakes

My other friend ordered the Pack O' Stancakes which were gluten free ricotta pancakes with fresh fruit and caramelized apples. This was probably the prettiest dish at the table. The cakes were thick and quite dense but were really delicious especially with some syrup poured over top. The caramelized apples were buttery and sweet, they were amazing. This whole plate was pretty dessert like to me since I prefer savoury foods. I couldn't see myself eat it for breakfast or lunch but it would probably be a sweet tooth person's dream. My friend ate it happily.

While their brunch menu is quite small (one page) there were other things that sounded worth trying like their Steak and Eggs and The Unusual, an egg dish with kimchi and pickled beets (I love beets!) The service was nice, well paced and my water glass was almost always filled. Overall I really enjoyed The Bellevue and will definitely be returning.

Mint Lemonade Cocktail

2011-05-27T15:05:00.005-04:00

I was taking a look at my garden today and noticed a lot of spearmint has sprouted with all the Spring showers we've been getting. I was eager to use it and I had lemonade in the fridge so I thought I'd add some mint in there to make things a little more interesting. I was muddling the mint and it reminded me of mojitos which reminded me of a bottle of gin I hadn't opened yet. I already enjoy gin and lemonade together and thought I really couldn't go wrong with a touch of mint too so my glass of lemonade became a minty gin cocktail. Deeeelicious!

Shaken, not stirred. (I couldn't help myself.)

I didn't really measure anything, just added the mint, lemonade and gin to taste with a handful of ice. I shook it all up in a jar because it seemed convenient at the time and it really mixed all the flavours together really well. I'll be doing this again in the future. Also, I think it's fun drinking from jars!

If you're a mint lover, I also have a recipe for real mint chocolate cookies. Thanks for dropping by!

New Orleans: Mystery Meat

2011-05-23T17:18:00.005-04:00

My first meal in New Orleans was fairly late since we had just arrived to the city on a later flight and it was about 9:30pm by the time we freshened up and left the hotel. I didn't really care where we ate for once, I was happy to be in a new city and just thought, "I'm sure anywhere is good". We found a random restaurant on Bourbon Street called La Bayou and ordered a couple of po'boys. Being adventurous I ordered the alligator po'boy. It seemed like the right choice at the time since I was in New Orleans and this restaurant was decked out in alligators along their walls.

Popcorn Gator

I was pretty excited but really I should have known better than to order alligator from a restaurant that looked so targeted at tourists. The sandwich came and looked pretty good but upon my first touch I could tell the bun was stale and unappetizing. I tried the gator itself and not to sound cliche, but it tasted like chicken. It really did. Specifically, KFC's popcorn chicken but not as good. Alligator has flaky meat like fish but it's dense and firm like chicken. I can't really say much more than that because although that was my first bite of gator, I'm certain it was not cooked well as it was dry as a saltine cracker. Needless to say I was disappointed but at least I tried it. I didn't order anything else off the menu but diners around me seemed to be enjoying their food. My friend ordered their "Big Easy Po'Boy" with shrimp and fried green tomatoes and enjoyed it, but personally I found the shrimp to be over seasoned. I have to say the service was fine though and they did have a big menu so for all I know there could have been a few gems on there. However I feel like I definitely learned a lesson that night: plan ahead if you want good food.

Gelato

2011-05-22T13:09:00.002-04:00

On a whim, last week a friend I decided to check out the Yonge & Davisville area (in Toronto). We had a nice dinner on a patio and went to Gelato simply Italian for dessert. I chose kiwi and pompelmo rosa (pink grapefruit)and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

The gelato tasted like the essence of the fruit with tiny bits of kiwi and grapefruit in it. Both were really refreshing. Gelato simply Italian had a nice variety of flavours as well as a few other treats like cannolis. Unfortunately I didn't notice those until I was on my way out, darn! Their prices are more than reasonable at $3.80 for a small cup with two flavours and $5 for a medium with 3 flavours. I'll definitely be returning the next time I'm in the area, I might even make a special trip!

New Orleans: Beignets & Coffee

2011-05-20T13:37:00.001-04:00

When I told people I was going to New Orleans, one of the first things they'd say would be, "you have to go to Cafe Du Monde!" People raved about their beignets and coffee repeatedly. I'd never heard of this place, or so I thought until I looked it up. I had actually had the coffee before at a friend's place (his favourite) and have seen it in grocery stores. By just having this slight familiarity with it made me a lot more excited to see the place for myself. I could only imagine how excited I'd be if I were going to visit the Guinness brewery (my favourite beer)! Before I went I pictured a small cosy French style cafe where old men read newspapers and sip their coffee while ladies meet up with with their friends for an afternoon chat. Somehow I didn't see how flawed this imagery was considering their coffee is shipped out to Canada in mass quantities. When I got there, I was so surprised by the big patio space and even more surprised by the insane line up! Somehow I also failed to see that the place would be streaming with tons of people. We eventually returned when there was no queue (10am). We found seats right away and the waiter came by and took our orders post haste.

Cafe au lait :)

My friend and I ordered two Cafe Au Laits and an order of beignets (3 per order). What sets their coffee apart is the addition of roasted chicory root which "softens the bitter edge of the coffee". Their Cafe Au Lait is half coffee and half hot milk. When it arrived it had an inviting foamy top and tasted light but flavourful at the same time. I enjoyed mine with a bit of sugar and it was just what I needed to start my day.

Beignets doused in icing sugar.

The coffee was only half of it, there were still the beignets. Three plump dough rectangles were placed in front of us covered in a mountain of icing sugar. Cafe Du Monde is right by the Mississippi River so it's quite windy on their patio. Sugar was blowing everywhere and I couldn't help but smile at that. I could see streaks of sugar left on the people sitting around me. The beignet itself was not very sweet at all but sweetened by the sugar. They were slightly light in texture but still had a bit of a chew to them. There was a something really satisfying and comforting about their simplicity.

While I really liked the beignets at Cafe Du Monde, I actually enjoyed other beignets that I had a few days earlier more. They were the "dessert" portion of a brunch at Coquette (sorry, no photo). I guess it's not quite fair to compare them since Coquette's were small spheres from a fine-dining type restaurant but they were light as air and I preferred the taste. However, the whole Cafe Du Monde experience can not be beat. Sitting outside with sunshine and a cool breeze enjoying fresh donuts and delicious coffee is a simple joy that that can't be had in a white table-clothed bistro.

New Orleans: Cooking School

2011-05-18T18:12:00.001-04:00

While trying to find things to do in New Orleans other than eat I went on to Trip Advisor to see what they were saying. Right away, #1 on the list jumped out at me and not because it was on the top of the list. It was the New Orleans School of Cooking! I've always wanted to take some culinary classes at some point in my life so this sounded awesome before I even read what it was. The School of Cooking isn't actually an institution but more like a shop in the French Quarter with dining tables and a cooking demonstration stage in the back. They have rotating 2 or 3 course menus (plus pralines!) that they demonstrate to the audience how to make. You simply register and pay on the day of your class. With rave reviews and more than reasonable pricing ($24-$29) I quickly registered for a class with gumbo, jambalaya, bread pudding and pralines. I had no idea what to expect before I went but I was sure I'd have a good time since I was technically doing something but eating at the same time! Two birds!

The crowd and essentially the whole room since I'm in the front.

The room had several round tables for about 10 people each. People are seated in the order of their registration and since I was so eager (booked a month ahead) I got to sit front and centre. Although I'm sure the stage area was easy to see from almost anywhere since the room wasn't that big and there were mirrors above the counter so you could see all the food. Our instructor, Anne began by sharing some history about the city while we sipped on an endless supply of iced tea.

Anne at the podium with bread pudding ingredients ready to go.

Anne began with the bread pudding as that took the longest to make. She made a pina colada variation with the addition of coconut and pina colado drink mix. As this baked the room smelt wonderful. Thankfully, they brought out hot biscuits with cane syrup for us to nibble on while she showed us how to make the dishes. Cane syrup tastes like a lighter molasses to me, it was nice. After the bread pudding Anne went on to the gumbo and jambalaya.

Stirring the big pot of jambalaya.

Anne had such a great sense of humour and many anecdotes to share. Her fun personality added a lot to the whole experience. I didn't have any previous knowledge on the savoury dishes and was surprised to see they both seemed quite easy. Once you sit down, there are recipes for each person to follow along and she'll tell you tips here and there as well. Before we knew it, it was time to eat and the staff brought out beers and lemonade!

Gumbo!

First came the gumbo, this was probably my favourite dish of the day and one of my favourite gumbos on the trip! It was jam packed with flavour and there were lots of andouille sausage and chicken pieces in it. I will definitely try to make this myself one day.

Jambaaalaaayaa!

The jambalaya came next and was also really yummy. They don't skimp on portions here! Everyone got a nice sized plate. The only downside of the jambalaya was it could have used more liquid because the rice was pretty al dente when jambalaya's typically softer. Those are more andouille sausages in the photo - yummy!

Pina colada bread pudding with a vanilla bourbon sauce.

After the jambalaya I was definitely getting a bit full, but there really is always room for dessert with me! Hehe! The bread pudding came out of the oven with such a rich golden brown crust and tasted even better. The dark bit in the photo isn't burnt, it's just some delicious crust! The puddig was moist and the sauce was sweet and sticky. Several of the ladies at my table went up to get more sauce, addictive stuff!

Prah-leens.

The bread pudding wasn't the end, there was still the pralines or "prah-leens" as Anne specifically said they should be called. These looked amazing when they were all spread out on the parchment paper. When they set they were soft and sugary. These also seemed fairly easy to make as well, but I actually don't enjoy eating candy-type snacks that often so probably won't make these any time soon.

This cooking demonstration was such a fun way to spend a morning. I feel like I learned a lot and that's on top of getting fed a complete meal! It was also fun to browse the "general store" that the demonstration area connects to. It sells a lot of the spices they use and boxes of pralines they make on site. I highly recommend trying this place out if you're ever down there!

New Orleans: The Muffaletta Sandwich

2011-05-14T20:08:00.005-04:00

I went to New Orleans a few weeks ago because there were cheap flights ($246 return!) and I really wanted to go back to the South after being in Texas back in March. Whenever I plan for a trip the first thing I always do is look up local foods I want to try. While searching around the internet I kept coming across muffulettas. A muffaletta is a sandwich made on a loaf of round sesame bread with the same name. The filling always includes marinated olive salad, Italian deli meats and Provolone cheese.

Sign by the door at Central Grocery.

Central Grocery popped up a few times and seemed to be the go-to place to try the muffuletta. While I was very keen, I was a bit skeptical, how good could this sandwich be? Isn't it just a regular deli sandwich with olives thrown on top? On my second day in New Orleans my friend and I were walking around the French Quarter and next thing you know we were standing in front of Central Grocery. We were both hungry so we thought that was a good as a time as any to try their sandwich. We joined the short queue of people and debated whether or not to get a whole or a half sandwich. We settled on the half because I wanted to save room for other foods. When the man behind the counter handed us the long paper bag I was relieved we went with half. I had no idea a whole sandwich could serve four people! We found a bench and unwrapped the parchment paper.

(Unintentional) upside down shot.

We eagerly dug in as we were quite hungry after waiting in line. After just one bite I could tell this sandwich was worth the hype. Central Grocery's has salami, ham, Provolone and their special olive salad all on top of their own homemade muffuletta bread! Everything in the sandwich worked so well together, the savoury meats sandwiching the distint slices of cheese, the briny olives and the chewy bread soaking up all the oil from the marinade. This sandwich was perfect!

Innards.

I think one of the reasons this sandwich is so awesome is because of their filling to bread ratio. For me it was just right. I thought their olive salad would just taste of pure olive and salt, but you could actually taste the other vegetables quite well, like the sweetness from the crunchy carrots. I didn't know they baked their own bread but it seems obvious now. I tried to make the sandwich when I returned to Toronto but couldn't find bread like it and the substitution loaf really did not cut it. I guess that's why it's a muffuletta.

This muffuletta was one of my favourite things that I ate on the entire trip. I only wish I didn't bring a carry on and brought back a jar of their olive salad with me. Maybe next time.

Savoury Muffins > Sweet Muffins

2011-05-14T18:38:00.008-04:00

A friend of mine is having a little cupcake themed get together tomorrow afternoon where everyone brings cupcakes to share. Having attended a few parties this past week my cake tolerance is nearing its peak so I thought it might be nice to bring something savoury to balance out all the sweets we'll be having. I thought savoury muffins would be a good idea since they still look a bit cupcake-y. I found a recipe online and soon enough I had a fresh batch of Cheddar and zucchini muffins.

Cheddar & Zucchini Muffins
(adapted from AllRecipes.com)
Makes 3 dozen medium muffins.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup Spring onions, chopped finely
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Squeeze out most of the liquid from the zucchini.
4. In another bowl, stir together the butter, egg, milk, zucchini,Spring onion and garlic until well blended. Mix the flour mixture into the milk mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring between additions, until the flour mixture is incorporated. Fold in the Cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese and pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow muffins to cool slightly before removing from muffin cups; serve warm. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

I didn't use bacon in mine because I felt like keeping it a veggie muffin (very out of character of me!) I read a lot of the comments from the original recipe and decided to add Spring onions and pepper for more flavour. I squeezed the liquid from the zucchini a bit because I was worried it'd be too wet and I'm glad I did because I liked the texture I ended up with. I also increased the amount of Cheddar because I think the cheesier the better! I'm pretty happy with how these turned out for my first try. I think I'll make these again in the future but experiment with the ingredients. I bet a smoked Cheddar or Gouda would be delicious!

Let me know if you have any particularly yummy savoury muffin recipes! And just because I love them, I'll leave you with this photo of my cute measuring cups I received as gift.

Thanks for dropping by!

Happiness in a glass

2011-04-19T13:00:00.002-04:00

I made a delicious cocktail recently, inspired by the Bramblish.

Terrible photo, fantastic drink.

The Bramblish calls for rose water but I chose to replace it and the ingredients are as follows:

Gin
Cucumber
Lime
Orange Blossom Water
Simple syrup
Tonic

I simply replaced the rose water with orange blossom water as I thought I'd enjoy a lighter floral flavour to let the cucumbers come through some more. I added the tonic to make it less strong and to help increase the servings. As you can see the linked site, there is no exact recipe and unfortunately I still don't have one. I simply added different proportions and tasted as I went along. I squeezed out a lot of lime juice and muddled some of the cucumbers to really bring out the flavours.

The drink turned out really well! It was refreshing, light and the orange blossom water made it taste quite special. Personally I LOVE floral flavours! I think it tastes like happiness. Not to mention, it smells divine! A big picture of this in the summer would be perfect!

Orange blossom or rose water can be purchased in most fine food stores, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern grocery stores. If you're in Toronto, I got a 375ml bottle for $2.50 at Sun Valley on the Danforth and they carry it at the IGA there too. I'm sure if you call around you'll find some in no time. You won't need much, I've got over half my bottle left - the flavour goes a long way!

Thanks for dropping by!

Panda Face Cake

2011-04-18T21:41:00.003-04:00

It was my birthday yesterday and a few of my lovely friends made me a cake with my favourite animal - the panda! I wish I took an innards shot, it was four layers, alternating between vanilla + chocolate. The dots around the edges is where the candles were. :)

I'm eating leftover panda face cake as we speak!

Austin, Texas Part 6: More Truck Food

2011-04-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

If you'd been following my Austin posts you'd probably think I spent all my time eating from food trucks and just to comfirm that even more here is yet another post. This one is sort of where the rest of the food goes. Everything was so yummy I didn't want to leave anything out.

First off we have a delicious bbq brisket slider from The Peached Tortilla. The beef was so tender and had just the right amount of sauciness. I remember it having a sweetness to it that I really liked - must have been their "smoky roasted peach bbq sauce". Mmm! Oh and the best part? It was FREE (SXSW related)! Although I would have gladly paid the $2.50 for it. What a steal! Why doesn't Toronto have these (amongst many other Austin eats)?! =(

Super delicious sweet bbq-y slider!

Next up we have something for everyone's inner fatty at Lucky J's Chicken & Waffles. Waffle tacos! Yes, waffle tacos! Ridiculous right? Instead of a tortilla they use a thin waffle and fill it fried chicken and breakfast foods and of course they have a sweet option as well with banana and Nutella.

The waffle taco options.

I went with the "Ms M Taco", which consists of a large piece of fried chicken strip, bacon and Swiss cheese wrapped in a waffle. If this wasn't already appetizing enough, I poured on some syrup and hot sauce. Needless to say, this was delicious! My only regret was that I should have got more syrup!

Not for dieters.

The waffle's the last of the food pictures although I do want to end off with this adorable menu from mmmpanadas. They had some very interesting empanada fillings like Asparagus Procuitto or Soy Chorizo with Brie. I actually bought their Argentinian which is like a classic beef but I didn't end up getting a photo of it. It was yummy but I actually prefered the empanadas at Jumbo Empanada in Kensington Market in Toronto!

They're so cute I just want to eat them up!

That's it for my Austin posts! Hope you enjoyed them! There'll be more Southern food posts in about a months time as I'll be going to New Orleans at the end of April! If you know any 'must try' places, let me know!!!

Toronto Again

2011-04-01T18:38:00.008-04:00

I still have one more Texas post to come but in the mean time I wanted to have a little break with a fun event that's happening in Toronto. I went to the One of Kind Show on Wednesday and had a lovely time. For those who have never been it`s basically a place filled with unique vendors selling edibles, accessories, clothing, art and decor. While many things are quite affordable I would say it's more of an upscale market. I only went for the first time this past Winter and was sad I didn't start going earlier. I found that their Winter show seemed to have more vendors and products I liked but I could just be imagining it. This time I didn't buy much but one vendor that wasn't there previously was a booth Freshly Made Pies.

Made in Ontario.

I tried a few samples of their pie and opted for their apple and mix berry one. Their crust was buttery and the filling was sweet and tart. I also tried a mix that had peach which was nice but found it a little too sweet. I also like how the crust was very rustic but actually covered the pie quite well.

Rustic crust.

When I cut into the pie I was pleasantly surprised to find rhubarb in the filling along with blueberries, blackberries and apple. The blackberry bits were my favourite. I was also happy that the bottom crust held up well and wasn't too thin or soggy.

Pie innards

They had small pies ($7) that look like they serve two and larger more averaged size pies - sorry I forgot the diameters and some of he costs! Other than pies there are also a lot of other yummy things to try in their food aisles. My favourite are Voisin`s Maple Products and The Garlic Box. Maybe I'll make another post on those the next time I use them! Go check it out!

One of Kind Show Spring 2011
Direct Energy Centre
Exhibtion Place, Toronto
March 30 - April 3
Tickets are $12 at the door or $7 in advance at DeSerres.

P.S. One non-food vendor I love is Hides in Hand. I bought the softest leather bag from there! I love it so, so much.

Austin, Texas Part 5: Cupcake

2011-03-24T18:26:00.001-04:00

One of the more memorable food trucks in Austin was Hey Cupcake! It's hard to miss a giant pink frosted cupcake on top of a shiny silver trailer! This is actually the same cupcake place I wanted to try in SoCo in my first Austin post. Luckily I got a chance to try it out when Foodspotting had a special SXSW street food event set up by the convention centre. It was a different truck but the goodies were still the same.

The less shiny white truck.

Whenever I order cupcakes from places I've never tried before I tend to have a subconscious habit of always picking the same flavour again and again. Vanilla with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. I prefer vanilla cake to chocolate but I always want something chocolatey too so ordering my usual cupcake let's me have the best of both worlds. Also I feel like since it's a basic flavour it's a good test to see how good a cupcake is. Although if there are some very unique flavours I'll have to try those out too. Notice how I said "too" and not "instead", you can never have too many cupcakes.

Evenly swirled and evenly sprinkled :)

I honestly wasn't expecting that much from Hey Cupcake! since I feel like most cupcakes I try underwhelm me and those weren't even from trucks. As soon as I held the cupcake my expectations instantly rose. The cake was noticeably soft even through the wrapper and napkins. This was a good sign as dryness is what I find usually does a cupcake in. When I bit into the cupcake it delivered big time. The chocolate buttercream frosting was thick and fluffy and the vanilla cake was incredibly moist - almost a hair away from being too moist! The vanilla flavour was really nice too, like a nice homemade vanilla cake.

They also had a few cupcakes that had a cream cheese frosting. They have a chocolate cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting that they've cleverly named, "Michael Jackson". I wish I could have tried that, I bet it was delicious. Overall I'd have to say it was probably one of, it not the best cupcakes I've ever eaten! What a nice surprise that was!

Lesson learned: Don't underestimate food trailers.

Austin, Texas Part 4: BBQ

2011-03-23T17:57:00.002-04:00

I couldn't leave Texas without trying their BBQ! Salt Licks BBQ is probably their most famous BBQ but unfortunately I wasn't able to go there since it's quite a drive away and I simply didn't have enough time. A trip to Salt Licks is a perfect reason to go back! I did manage to go to Stubbs BBQ while I was there since it was right downtown. Stubbs was super packed and we had to wait quite a while but the food was delicious. I ordered their ribs and beef brisket with mac n' cheese and potato salad.

My BBQ plate with two sides (& Texas toast that I didn't care for)!

I was really excited when my food arrived because A) it was my first taste of Texas BBQ and B)I was absolutely starving. Let's start with the brisket. The meat had a really delicious smokey flavour and from the photo below you can see there's a nice blackened charred crust on it. I preferred this to the ribs.

Brisket up close!

The ribs were nice and smokey too but I was actually a little underwhelmed by them. I was expecting them to literally fall right off the bone but they needed a bit of work. By no means were they tough, the meat came off the bone quite easily but it wasn't the kind that just separates clean when you barely touch it. Maybe that's the way they were suppose to be? I could just be a little spoiled from the juicy fall off the bone ribs my friend used to make. Overall, still very tasty.

Ribs up close!

The potato salad was really yummy, but I'm actually such a huge fan of potatoes one of my friends nicknamed me "starch" in the first year of university. The mac and cheese was very good too, however I was expecting there to be a crunch element like a cheesy crust or bread crumbs. The slice of Texas toast was a bit of a write off for me, I'm pretty petite so I wasn't going to fill myself with thick cut Wonder bread when I could be eating more meat! There was a bottle of Stubbs BBQ sauce on the table we could help ourselves to. It was a very nice savoury sauce but I think I like BBQ sauces to have a bit more sweetness to them. Speaking of sweet BBQ sauces, I saw some great sauces at the grocery store there.

Taking sweet BBQ sauce to another level.

I'm not much of a pop drinker but A&W is my favourite!!! Ever have an A&W root beer float? If not, please go make one, you won't regret it! I used to have a five hour break between classes and I'd go to my friend's house and we'd consume a litre of root beer float each. I think chocolate ice cream is actually better than vanilla, give it a go! I wish I hadn't just brought a carry-on with me or I would have brought both of these sauces back to Toronto - sigh.

Anyhoo, thanks for dropping by and if you've seen these sauces in Toronto, please let me know!

Austin, Texas Part 3: Turf N' Surf

2011-03-22T12:30:00.000-04:00

When I visit places I've never been before I try to make an effort to not eat in the same place twice because I want to try the maximum amount of new foods that I can. While in Austin, I did visit a place called Turf N' Surf Po'Boys twice. It's located on 2nd and Congress along with a few other vendors. While the other vendors are smaller mobile trailers, Turf N'Surf is a settled cart restaurant with a few rustic tables surrounding and hanging from it. I went to Turf N' Surf for dinner one night then returned a second time for lunch. I could have chosen one of the other options there but you'll see why I made a return visit.

Turf N' Surf Po'Boys - The smaller cardboard menu was temporary for SXSW only.

As the name suggests, this place is known for their Po'Boys, essentially a submarine sandwich. During SXSW they only had po'boys or tacos with either 'surf' or 'turf' fillings. During my first visit I tried their Jumbo Fried Shrimp Po'Boy and their Blackened Tilapia Tacos (shared again).

Their Shrimp Po'boy was delicious! The shrimp was breaded and fried, cooked perfectly lying on a lightly toasted sesame bun. It was topped with some lightly dressed coleslaw, salad greens, red onions, tomatoes and pickles. The breading on the shrimp had herbs in it and was seasoned nicely.

My first official po'boy! More Sweet Leaf tea in the background ;)

While the po'boy was great, I think I actually preferred the Tilapia Tacos. The fresh fish was cooked perfectly and had a nice grilled tasted. There was also a really delicious creamy sauce on it. I think it's their homemade version of tartar sauce with cilantro, not sure but it really made their tacos shine. It was so juicy, I quickly ran through several napkins. They were topped the same way as the po'boys minus the pickles. These were probably my favourite tacos eaten during my stay in Austin.

Tilapia tacos, although it looks more like salad tacos in this pic.

Innards shot - look at all the flaky fish! Mmm!

So that was it for dinner, but there's still lunch from my second visit! At first I was going to try another vendor but when the people I was with said they were going to Turf N' Surf I knew I'd just be left with food envy if I didn't go as well. For lunch I ordered their Fried Pork Chop Po'Boy. It was dressed the same as Shrimp ones, but had noticeably fewer and (maybe) different pickles. The breading was the same as well. I didn't expect the pork to come so big but it was really juicy and tender. I still liked the tacos better though.

Pork Chop Po'Boy. I took a bite already, oops!

What was also great about Turf N' Surf was that they had a large selection of bottled hot sauces for you to choose from. They were kept on the cart, near their menu. I didn't know about it during my dinner visit, but helped myself during lunch. Their staff was really friendly too as were all Austin people actually! Austin people might be some of the nicest people I've ever encountered. Guess that's why the term "Southern Hospitality" exists and not "Northern".

Thanks for popping by! There's still a couple more Austin posts to come!

Austin, Texas Part 2: Mexican + Korean Fusion

2011-03-20T13:17:00.007-04:00

One of the things I was most excited to try in Austin was the Mexican-Korean fusion food from the Chi'Lantro trailer. According to their website, "the name “Chi’Lantro” is derived from two, distinct, cultural staples: Kimchi + Cilantro." I can't remember where, but I had seen it somewhere on the Food Network and when I came across it while looking for places to try in Austin I was eager to find the truck while I was there. Lucky for me, the truck was located right by the convention centre where the SXSW sessions took place. Not so lucky though, was having to wait in the huge line up to get served. At least I can say it was well worth the wait.

The super packed truck, wish I took a pic of when I first joined the line.

Waiting in line was kind of brutal since I was starving and all the delicious smells kept wafting my way. Although it also gave me plenty of time to decide what I wanted to order which is great since I'm a very indecisive person. I wanted to try as much as I could and so did my friend so we decided to get chicken kimchi fries, tofu tacos and a bulgolgi burrito and share. Sharing is always the best way to get a taste of everything.

Their straight forward menu.

The first thing I tried were their 'famous' kimchi fries. I was expecting them to be good, but they were amazing! Topping the fries off was marinated chicken, caramelized kimchi, cheddar/monterey cheese, sriracha, sesame seeds, cilantro, onions and their "Magic Orange Sauce". The sauce was creamy and tasted to me like it had a mayo base, maybe a Japanese mayo since it tasted slightly sweet. There's so much going on and you're not sure how the flavours will all work together but they really do. Also what's great about them is they have a sense of familiarity to them like eating all dressed cheese fries or something similar. This was definitely my favourite menu item and quite possibly my favourite thing that I ate in Austin.

Amazing kimchi fries, more please!

Next I tried the tofu tacos. I've grown up eating a lot of tofu and it's actually one of my favourite foods so I was pretty excited to try a tofu taco for the first time. Corn tortillas held small dense cubes of fried tofu, cilantro, their korean salsa, salad greens and sesame seeds. The tofu was marinated and tasted slightly sweet and had a nice texture to them - not like the airy tofu puffs you sometimes get at Asian places. After saying that, I'm not sure how many people reading actually know what I'm talking about let alone myself. These tacos were smaller than I initially expected but were very flavourful and everything tasted very fresh.

Tofu tacos, for the tofu lover in me.

The last menu item I tried was their bulgolgi burrito that they kindly cut in half for us. Bulgolgi for those that are unfamiliar is a Korean sweet/savoury marinated beef that is usually grilled. Alongside the bulgolgi is everything that is on the tacos with the addition of a fried egg and lime butter rice, all wrapped up in a flour tortilla. This was delicious too, but I think it didn't have as much flavour compared to the two other menu items I orderd. I think there was slightly too much tortilla going on. Also my fullness level at this point was near exploding so that could have contributed to an overall lowered level of burrito enjoyment.

Bulgolgi burrito - so full but managed to finish it anyway.

I can't help be slightly saddened by the fact that I probably won't be eating from Chi'Lantro again for a very long time since Austin's not exactly close by. Until then, the kimchi fries will forever hold a place in my food memory.

Austin, Texas Part 1: SoCo

2011-03-19T18:02:00.012-04:00

Last week I was in Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive. It was my first time in Texas and I was expecting delicious Texas BBQ and Tex-Mex but was also pleasantly surprised by the food trailer scene there. The variety of truck vendors in Toronto are very limited with mostly fries, hotdogs and ice cream. As much as I love getting a poutine from the blue truck parked outside Nathan Philip's Square, the trailers in Texas have left me reminiscing over what I ate and what I wish I ate.

Food Trailer Park on SoCo

I had my first Austin vendor experience on South Congress ("SoCo") where they have a small strip of food trailers. Initially we wanted cupcakes from the cupcake trailer in the picture above but they were all sold out! My friend and I walked around to see what the other trailers had to offer. We ended up ordering a basket of fried pickles from a trailer that I unfortunately can't remember the name of. I've never had fried pickles before so I didn't know what to expect but they were delicious. Crunchy coating, piping hot dill pickley centre.

Fried pickles with (not so) spicy mayo

What I drank everyday in Austin, please come to Toronto Sweet Leaf!

The pickles were actually all that we ate from SoCo as we were still stuffed from lunch. I washed them down with some Sweet Leaf Sweet Tea pictured above. I don't even know how many bottles/cans of this stuff I drank what I was there. Their original and mint & honey ones were my favourite. I almost wanted some ice cream after the pickles but that trailer was already closed for the day. Probably for the best as this prevented me from having a food coma. Instead of an cream photo I have one of these really cool tables for holding cones in front of the trailer!

Tables made for ice cream cones.

Also cool, but not food related is the Red Swing Project. "THE RED SWING PROJECT ANONYMOUSLY HANGS RED SWINGS IN PUBLIC PLACES WORLDWIDE INFUSING PLAYFULNESS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT." I saw two swings in SoCo. I took a swing in one of them, but I'll save those photos for another time...

The first red swing.

The second swing up close - check it out!

SoCo was probably my favourite area that we visited. I could def use a basket of fried pickles right now. More Austin posts to come!

Gingerbread (Prohibition) House

2010-12-12T19:33:00.006-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had a gingerbread house competition at my work. Everyone was given one basic kit and all additional edibles and decoration we supply ourselves. My team of five other people decided to make a Boardwalk Empire themed house.I thought we did a really good job considering we only really worked on it for a couple hours over two days.I really liked our chocolate dipped marshmallow "barrels" and the coke bottle gummies were perfect. Notice all the bloody brains strewn about - yum!With a scene like that, the popo can't be too far behind. Let's just hope they don't look search the waters.

Cup-cake

2010-11-27T18:42:00.004-05:00

How to take home a leftover cupcake: Recently I ordered cupcakes from Life is Sweet at my work and I took one of the extras home. This is the butterscotch cupcake, my favourite cupcake in Toronto! Cupcakes from Life is Sweet are always moist and their buttercream icing is flavourful and has just the right amount of sweetness. I believe the butterscotch one is baked with butterscotch chips that turn into a sort of syrupy goodness in the bottom of the cake. So delicious!!!They have a lot of other delicious flavours too. My second favourite is their Orange Earl Grey. It has an orange buttercream with an earl grey cake that has orange zest. Yum! They also have a few non-cupcake items too, like brownies and cookies. Their cheddar and chive scone is incredible! It's also the best scone I've had. It's location is a really East and a bit awkward to get to, but SO worth it!

Rainy Day Soup

2010-11-14T16:32:00.007-05:00

Red curry thai soup on a rainy day. No recipe this time, just threw a bunch of random ingredients together and hoped for the best. Ahaha. Turned out pretty well though. In my coconut milk and chicken stock based soup I used a bunch of veggies, lime juice, ginger, chicken and rice with a store bought red curry paste. I think I overdid it with the lime but still yummy. =)

Cinnamon "Alfajores"

2010-11-07T14:17:00.003-05:00

This week I made a batch of cinnamon "alfajores". I put the quotation marks there because I can't really say mine were all that authentic. Alfajores are sugar cookie/shortbread-y sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche caramel.I wanted to make a cinnamon cookie for my friend's birthday this past week so I thought alfajores would be delicious with a cinnamon twist. For the dulce de leche, I used my usual condensed milk recipe but cooked it for four hours instead of two to achieve a thicker consistency. I based the cookie recipe off of the alfajores recipe in Martha Stewart's Cookies book.

Cinnamon Alfajores
Makes about 3 dozen

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold)
4 cups all purpose flour (+ more for rolling)
1/2 cup icing sugar (+ more for decorating)
1/3 cup cinnamon (+ more for decorating)
1 cup water

1. Cut the butter into cubes. Mix all of the dry ingredients together. In a food processor, pulse the butter together with the dry ingredients until a cornmeal consistency. (I don't have a food processor so I incorporated it by cutting the butter into the flour mixture with two forks.)

2. Pour the water into the butter and flour mixture and blend until it forms a dough. (I also did this by hand and it seemed to work fine.) Roll the dough in a round disk and leave it in the fridge for at least one hour.

3. Once the dough is chilled, it is ready for rolling. Sprinkle some flour on to a clean rolling surface. Roll the dough to about 1cm thickness. (Martha's recipe says 1/4 inch but I personally find that quite thick while a cm is just slightly thinner.)

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a 1 3/4 round cookie cutter, cut as many rounds in the dough as possible. Transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 15 mins. Roll up the remaining dough and repeat the cutting process. If your dough gets too warm to work with, it's helpful to pop it back in the fridge for a few minutes.

5. Once you remove the cookies, let them cool completely before assembling. The dulce de leche is best to work with cold. Spread the dulce de leche on the bottom of one cookie and stick another cookie bottom to it so the tops are facing out on both sides. Do this for all the cookies. Use a sieve to sprinkle on cinnamon and icing sugar for decoration. (I actually sprinkled mine separately but you can mix it together too.)

These turned out quite delicious and were fun to assemble. The only problem I came across was rolling out the dough to a consistent thickness I wanted. As you can see in the photo one cookie is taller than the other. Ha! Still very delicious though. It might have had to do with the fact that I couldn't find a rolling pin and had to use a bottle. Haha! I should really go buy one. Also I think for next time I think it'd be fun to have some interesting shaped cookie cutters to play with.

Enjoy! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T10:00:00.001-04:00

Of course I went as food. ;)

I always make my costumes for Halloween. I think that's the best part! I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I'm a vanilla cone with sprinkles & a cherry in case you couldn't tell.

Hope everyone has a spooktacular Halloween! =)

Cold Asian Glass Noodles

2010-10-29T17:45:00.005-04:00

One of my friends developed a gluten allergy so I tried to think of a dish she could have when I attended a potluck. I looked in my cupboards and came out with glass noodles which are made with mung beans. I just cooked it on a whim but it came out surprisingly tasty and everyone seemed to like it at the potluck as well. Here's a brief recipe I composed. It's really based on personal taste so there aren't really any exact measurements. Just add and taste as you go until you like your end result!

Cold Asian Glass Noodles
Glass noodles
Vegetable oil
Soy Sauce
Oyster Sauce (or mushroom based vegetarian oyster sauce)
Water
Sesame oil
White pepper
Green onion, chopped finely
Cilantro, chopped finely

Bring water to a boil and cook glass noodles according to the package. Drain and rinse with cold water in a colander. The cold water makes it less sticky. Transfer noodles to a large bowl. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil and mix in thoroughly to keep the noodles separated and loose.

Add soy sauce in small amounts, tasting as you go. Mix about a tablespoon of oyster sauce with 1/2 tbsp of water and add to the noodles. Add a few drops of sesame oil. This is usually pretty strong so add sparingly. Sprinkle in some white pepper to taste.

Toss in the green onion and cilantro. More or less or omit completely depending on your tastes. I feel like cilantro's usually a love or hate type of thing. The noodles alone will still be tasty even without the herbs but it gives it a nice fresh texture.

Enjoy right away or keep it in the fridge until you're ready to consume!

This is a simple and refreshing dish. I think it works better as a side but would work well as a meal if you added some protein and veggies to make it a more balanced meal. I think a touch of sriracha would have been quite nice too but since I was going to a potluck I wanted to keep it safe. I think bean sprouts would add a nice crunch and thai basil would be another herb that'd go well in the dish. I think it's a nice basic dish that can be easily personalized.

Thanks for stopping by!

Loving Lavender

2010-10-27T18:23:00.000-04:00

Another first this summer was my flowering lavender! The summer prior I bought the wrong lavender species which only sprouted leaves and no flowers. This summer I got the right one and was so excited to see the cute little flowers. I LOVE lavender. The scent is so relaxing and it tastes lovely, especially in tea.

Peachy Keen

2010-10-26T20:35:00.005-04:00

This summer we got peaches from our peach tree for the first time! The tree actually sprouted spontaneously from a pit we tossed. Random eh? It was pretty exciting though! Also since it's a new tree, it was SO easy to pick the fruit since it's pretty low to the ground.

So much fruit!

Fuzzy peach!

Breakfast

2010-10-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

There is nothing I love more for breakfast than eggs. I think mushrooms are probably my favourite omelet fillings.

Mushroom and cheddar omelet

A handful of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a handful of grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
A pat of butter or two
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring a frying pan to medium heat and add in a pat of butter to lightly coat the pan.

Add mushrooms and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Cook until it's lightly wilted.

Beat the two eggs with the milk, add another tablespoon of milk if desired. Add a second pat of butter to the pan and stir it around. (The mushrooms have probably soaked up the first pat by now.)

Add the egg mixture and turn the heat down to medium low. Once the egg starts setting add the cheese.

Once the cheese is almost all melted, check that the omelet is not stuck to the pan by lifting it gently with a spatula. Use the spatula to prop up half the omelet and flip it carefully on top of the other half.

Slide the omelet onto a plate and enjoy (with ketchup if you're me!)!

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

2010-10-22T17:41:00.001-04:00

I tried a recipe from my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book recently and it was easy and delicious so I thought I'd share. Her Chocolate Chunk Cupckaes recipe is in a section for cupcakes inspired by classic cookies. I personally found it just like a regular vanilla cupcake with chocolate chips but it was really nice either way.

Chocolate Chunk/Chip Cupcakes
Makes about 24

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder|
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk
8 ounces semisweet chocolate cup into 1/2 inch chunks or chocolate chips (I used chips)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep muffin tin with cupcake liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, remembering to scrape the sides of the bowl down when needed. Beat in vanilla extract.

Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk and beating until combined. Stir in the chocolate gently.

Fill cupcake liners at 1/4 full (the recipe says 1/4 but I prefer 3/4, I don't think it would have rose enough at 1/4). Bake for 20 minutes or until it's golden brown. It is suggested to rotate the tray halfway through. When you poke a toothpick in the cake, it should come out clean when cooked.

I liked this recipe because it consisted mainly of ingredients one would have in their pantry. The cake didn't take very long to make and it tasted nice and moist and not too sweet. Let me know if you try it out!

Montreal: Brunch

2010-10-20T14:10:00.001-04:00

I also had quite a delicious brunch at The Sparrow while I was in Montreal. It was a chilly overcast day that morning and their English Breakfast with a cup of tea was the perfect way to start the day off. Their English Breakfast consisted of bacon, sausage, sunny side up egg, big pieces of sourdough toast and a lightly fried tomato. It also included their "bubble and squeak" which is a hash of potatos and cabbage which I really liked.

My English Breakfast and tea.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention it came with blood pudding, which is a sausage that's usually made with congealed cattle or pig's blood. This was my first time trying it and I quite liked it. I have to admit I was a bit nervous at first! It tasted almost like a savoury spiced spread that was perfect with toast. I didn't expect the consistency of the blood pudding to be so soft. For some reason I always pictured it quite firm like pepperoni but now I see that really doesn't make much sense for it to be so tough.

We sat at the bar since it was quite busy but I actually really enjoyed sitting there as the servers were really nice and attentive. I'm sure they where no matter where you chose to sit though. Before my meal arrived I was having some diner's envy as the stranger beside had a chanterelle mushroom omelet that looked and smelt incredible. I think I enjoyed my choice more in the end though because I'm more of a meat kind of girl. The Sparrow is a nice cozy restaurant that I could see myself returning to often if it was in Toronto.

Montreal: Marché Jean Talon

2010-10-17T18:50:00.001-04:00

Last month I also went away for a weekend to Montreal with a friend. One of my favourite parts of the trip was visiting the Marché Jean Talon, a large outdoor market. There were so many fresh fruits and veggies. I wanted to buy so much more than I did but refrained since I didn't know how well certain things would keep with the long drive back to Toronto. Here are some colourful market photos I thought I'd share with you.

So many berries!

Fruit I bought - raspberries, blueberries and champagne grapes.

Braids of garlic!

Even more garlic!!!

Amazing variety of peppers! I really like this photo =)

I've never seen peppers shaped like this before - like little lanterns!

Baskets of pommes!

Lovely lavender, my favourite!

Beautiful bouquets!

I had such a fun time at the market. Eating fresh corn on the cob, sampling fruits, looking at all the colourful veggies! I would have bought some cheese as well but was also worried about how it'd keep on the way back to Toronto. We were considering packing a picnic with market finds but the weather was much too chilly for picnics. Such a shame, we even brought a basket! Oh well, still really enjoyed it either way. This next picture wasn't from the market but since this is a Montreal post I think it's necessary.

Poutine! One of my favourite things. =)

Slow n' Steady

2010-10-15T18:30:00.001-04:00

I bought a slow cooker a while ago but only used it for the first time last week. It was my first time using a slow cooker! It is now my new best friend. I can't believe how easy it was to make a delicious meal. I made pulled pork and the prep time was literally 10 minutes! I used a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. I've posted the recipe below with my little extras but it might be interesting to check out the comments from other people who've tried the recipe on the site.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Serves 8-10

2 lbs pork tenderloin
1 can of rootbeer
1/2 a yellow onion*
3-4 cloves of garlic*
Salt & Pepper to taste*

*I added these in extra to give more flavour, yellow onions just happens to be what I prefer but any will do.

1. Stab the pork all over so it's easier for the moisture and flavours to get in.

2. Put the pork in the slow cooker with coarsely chopped onions and garlic as well as the salt and pepper.

3. Set the slow cooker on a low setting and leave for 6-8 hours or until pork is tender enough to break apart easily.

4. Drain the pork, pull away at the pork using two forks to really separate the meat and mix in about 400-500ml of your BBQ sauce of choice.

This is such an easy recipe, the only thing is the time you have to wait for it to cook. I just left it to cook and carried on with my day and by the end of it I had amazing pork to enjoy. So far I've only used it for pulled pork sandwiches and burritos. The sandwich was simple, just pork the pork on a nice fresh bun like a kaiser and it was ready to eat. I also tried melting some mozzarella cheese on top but the pork flavours overwhelmed the cheese so I'd recommend a stronger cheese like an old cheddar maybe.

There's no guac in this one as I ran out of avocados =(

The burritos were the real winners here though. It was amazing! I just assembled the pork on a soft tortilla with rice, beans, cheddar cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. The textures and flavours were so delicious. I think I ate about 5 burritos last week, no joke!

Any other suggestions for how to use pulled pork? I'd love to hear them! I was thinking of trying out breakfast with it actually - some toast, a fried egg and other fixings. We'll see!

NYC 2010: Last Day

2010-10-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

On my last day in New York we went for dim sum for breakfast and went to check out the Brooklyn Flea Market. I was worried it wouldn't be very good since it was my idea to go and Helen agreed. Luckily it was fairly big and we both had some nice finds. One of my favourite purchases was this adorable salt & pepper shaker set.

So cute! I love things with toadstools. After the Flea Market we went to get lunch at Di Fara Pizza. Di Fara has gotten a lot of press on their delicous pizza. When you walk in it's all over the walls. Many of the clippings feature the owner, Dom DeMarco in a plaid shirt using the pizza oven. Much like the photo below. I didn't even notice until I sat down that I just took another photo of him in his "signature pose". If you look closely on the right side of the pizza oven you can see a picture of Dom in the same pose.

Once again we beat the crowd and there was only about two people before me when we got there (maybe around 3-4pm on a Sunday). It was still quite a wait but considering they make your slice to order it's warranted. When it came hot out of the oven Dom squirted some oil on top and clipped some fresh basil.

Margherita slice

It was so worth the wait. It was so delicious!! The only thing I would have changed was ordering a whole pie instead of a slice. Unfortunately a whole pizza wouldn't have been practical at the time considering we weren't even that hungry, we were still going to walk around New York some more and would have to take a night bus home that night. Maybe next time! Sigh.

We did some more shopping and then went for dinner at Lupa, a restaurant I wanted to return to after trying the most delicious pasta ever during my previous visit. When we got there were super hungry and we actually only took a total of 20mins from entering to finishing our food!! So once again, no photos. When we checked the time after eating it was almost surreal.

There was still room for dessert so we went to Kyotofu. A part of me wanted to go there after reading a review, but a bigger me wanted to go there because of their cute website! Also I adore tofu! I really can't get enough of that stuff. I ordered their black sesame sweet tofu and Helen ordered the matcha green tea crème brûlée.

Black sesame sweet tofu with hoji-cha syrup, white sesame tuile

My sweet tofu was quick nice, but I think the sesame tuile might have been a bit overcooked as it literally shattered into pieces when I tapped it with my spoon. The flavour of the tofu was identical to Chinese black sesame pudding. I liked it but wish I got something more interesting. Something more like Helen's.

White peach sorbet and candied violets

Oh how I wish I got hers! While her crème brûlée was delicious, the accompanying sorbet and candied violets incredible! The flavours were so refreshing and unique. I must have missed the "candied violets" part when I read the menu because I LOVE floral flavours. I just think there's something really wonderful and happy about eating floral foods. Flowers taste like happiness to me. Another taste that makes me happy is apparently sweet sake which I tried there for the first time. It was half price sake night. I tried the, "Ichinokura Himezen" from Miyagi. It was SO delicious. I was so worried it'd taste like drinking a vodka shot for some reason. Loved it! Does anyone know where I can get this in Toronto? We finished our desserts and sipped at our drinks and realized we still had plenty of time before our bus so we did the next best thing - ordered another dessert to share.

Soymilk soft ice cream sundae with mixed berry compote, matcha mochi and pocky sticks

We ordered the sundae and the flavours of the day were matcha and miso. I didn't really care for the miso that much, too salt for me but I can see how people would like it. Ordering this was definitely a case of our eyes being bigger than our stomachs. I thought I was going to explode after. I could hardly fit the tiny little flower cookie they gave us when they brought our receipts. I would love to go back here and try other desserts and perhaps have dinner or lunch. While Del Posto was my favourite place during the trip, Kyotofu was Helen's.

That is pretty much it for for my New York trip! I had such a great time and I can't wait to go back and try more foods! If you have any suggestions on places to go please let me know! I'll keep them safely bookmarked until my next trip =) Thanks for dropping in!

NYC 2010: Day two

2010-10-11T13:36:00.004-04:00

On the second day we wanted to just have a quick breakfast so we just grabbed a bun from Chinatown so we'd have more time to walk around the city. After a lot of walking we worked up an appetite for lunch. I really wanted to try the fresh homemade tofu at EN Japanese Brasserie so that's where we went. Their lunch menu has several lunch sets at affordable prices. I chose the black cod and Helen chose the fried chicken, both of which came with their special tofu.

Saikyo miso black cod

I LOVE grilled Japanese black cod. I'm a such sucker for ordering favourites sometimes but this did not disappoint. Their cod was buttery and rich and had a nice sweetness to it. I also thought EN's was presented quite elegantly. Then of course, there was their tofu.

Freshly made tofu with wari joyu

EN's tofu is made hourly! Isn't that crazy? I love tofu and this one was great. It was smooth and fresh with a flavourful broth. As you can see in the photo, some of it's alreay eaten - I couldn't help my self! The service at EN was very friendly and the decor was nice and open. Overall it was a lovely lunch and I would definitely return.

After lunch we walked to Magnolia Bakery for dessert. This was actually my first time trying their cupcakes. While being touristy and confused, a helpful man named Doug, of Doug The Neighbor pointed out where the bakery was and how to get to Carrie Bradshaw's apartment. What better person could we have asked for to direct us? Luckily we didn't have to wait to long for our cupcakes as the line was pretty small.

I heart rainbow sprinkles!

I got a vanilla with chocolate frosting. Not only until I went home did I realize I got a pretty identical cupcake last year from the Butter Cup Bake Shop. I found the frosting very creamy and delicious but unfortunately my cake was a bit dry. I think I prefered the Butter Cup one. After the cupcakes we went to walk around Central Park which is one of my favourite places in New York.

Next NYC trip: go on a rowboat.

Since we were close to the Shake Shack on the Upper West Side I simply had to stop in for burger. Their Shack Stack has a special place in my heart - as it has probably clogged it. It's their regular cheese burger with their 'Shroom burger on top. Which consists of a breaded and fried portabello mushroom stuffed with muenster and cheddar cheese. What I'd give to have one right now!

The Shack Stack (The beef patty is under the cheddar cheese.)

Another memorable place I went that day was to Ward III for drinks. I came across it on some website and it sounded pretty cool so I thought I'd drop in since my hotel was somewhat close by. At Ward III they mixed you drinks based on what flavour profiles you like. I got an interesting cocktail with basil and gin (and other unknown ingredients).

My mystery basil cocktail =)

The mixologist/bartenders were very nice and welcoming. I think my cocktail was about $12, not bad considering it's custom. We met a nice New Yorker who brought us to another bar called Macao Trading Co. where I had an even more delicious cocktail with flavours of green tea, hibiscus and melon. No idea what the name is but I loved it! After that we called it a night since we were pretty pooped from being out all day.

NYC 2010: First Meal

2010-10-09T13:35:00.003-04:00

In the last weekend of August I went to New York with my friend Helen for three days and two nights. While shopping was definitely on the to do list, my "to eat" list was even longer. There were places I wanted to return to from my previous visit as well as new places I really wanted to try. At the top of my list was Del Posto.

I made lunch reservations to try their three course prix fixe menu for $30. I was pretty excited as I had read reviews about it and it looked fantastic. I was almost so excited that I was starting to worry that my expectations could never be met. Luckily my experience definitely measured up!

My dining companion and I were greeted by a lovely hostess and were seated right away. The decor was fancier than I had anticipated and since I'm rather young I worried that they would be age-ist towards me (as places have before) but there was certainly no snobbishness whatsoever. Just all round friendly, attentive and efficient service! Great service makes such a difference, don't you think? Our waiter was so very helpful and elaborated on the dishes and his personal favourites. I always love hearing what the staff's favourites are.

Helen and I mulled over the choices and placed our order. While we waited for our starters, they brought over a lovely bread basket with olive bread, sourdough and bread sticks with lardo and butter for spreading. It was so hard refraining from eating them all because I wanted to save room for my meal. They also brought us three amuse bouches. One was a salmon and cream cheese between two crispy chips of sorts, a tomato based gazpacho and my favourite of the three, a breaded and fried proscuitto ball stuff with mushrooms. Unfortunately there is no photo to share as we were starving at this point and practically inhaled it with as much class as one could inhale food. (We were on a 10+ hr bus ride from Toronto just prior!)

Our starters arrived shortly after our amuse b's. I chose the cotechino with lentils and fruit. The cotechino, a summer sausage was sliced table side from their sausage trolley which also held the rest of the fixings. I really enjoyed the texture of the lentils with the sausage and the sweetness of the fruit. Helen chose their salad and enjoyed that as well. It had such pretty summery colours (sorry no photo).

Warm COTECHINO with Umbrian Lentil Vinaigrette & Dried Fruit Mostarda

For both our mains we chose the seared duck breast. I love eating duck! I always try to order it if it's a the menu. The duck was served two ways. A part of the breast was cooked to a medium and was very tender. The other was a thinner piece that appeared to have been fried/seared longer, leaving the skin deliciously crispy and the meat more done. Another part that was memorable about this dish were the sprinkling of toasted apricot seeds which tasted identical to almonds. Who knew?!

Seared DUCK Breast, Apician Spices, Warm Apricots & Salt Baked Endive

Dessert was really delicious too. My friend ordered the sweet pea cake with strawberries and I ordered the butterscotch semifreddo. Both were nicely presented. I thought the colours an the cake dish were simply beautifully and the flavours were light and refreshing. Mine was a richer dessert where the, "milk jam" was more of a thick dulce de leche that I loved. There were also these pieces of fruit that tasted incredible! According to their menu it was melon but it didn't taste like that at all, I thought they might have been plums or some sort of pitted fruit. The tartness cut through the richness of the semifreddo and cleansed my palate. I haven't a clue what they did to those melons but I loved it!

Lidia’s Sweet Pea CAKE Local Strawberries & Strawberry Gelato

Butterscotch SEMIFREDDO Melon Agrumata, Crumbled Sbrisolona & Milk Jam

After desserts came one of my favourite parts! They brought over a cheese grater box which held mini dessert type bon bons on top and pulled out a drawer to reveal even more underneath. So delightful! There were chocolate dipped vanilla gelato pops,lemon curd bombolonis, strawberry tarts with a polenta crust and candied grapefruit (the grapefruit photo turned out horribly to post).

The adorable mini gelato pops and bombolonis.

The even more adorable Strawberry Tarts.

Look how mini! My hand looks like it belongs to a giantess here.

I loved it all! The cold gelato! The warm bombolonis! The soft filling and crunchy shell of the tart! Biting though the candy shell of the fresh grapefruit! I know that's a lot of exclamation marks but I really was this excited during my dining experience! I was sad the lunch had to end but what a wonderful kick-off it was for the trip. Oh and when we were leaving the restaurant the hostess gave us a tiny box filled with two chocolate truffles, because we obviously didn't have enough sweets yet ;)

Hello Again!

2010-10-08T22:32:00.007-04:00

Once again after several months of no posts I've returned. I guess I just got really busy with the on-goings of life and blogging unfortunately got put on the back burner. Once the habit starts it's hard to kick. Even though in the back of my head I'd think, "oh I should make a blog post soon", the laziness in me just thought I could do it later and "the later" turned into much later than I expected. Sorry folks!

There are a bunch of experiences and recipes I need to share! I went to New York last month and ate so many delicious things! Also my new favourite appliance - the slow cooker! Posts on those will be coming soon. Meanwhile I'll leave you with this adorable cake I came across on EpiCute. I only found out about this site two weeks ago. How it took so long is beyond me. I love food and I love cuteness so this is really quite perfect. I also love owls although snowy owls used to give me the creeps until Hedwig came along.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Earl Grey G & T

2010-04-25T14:01:00.002-04:00

If you've been reading my recent posts you'll see that I've been attempting to make an Earl Grey infused Gin (here & here). I tested the Gin by making gin and tonics. They were delicious!

Earl Grey Gin & Tonic

1 oz Earl Grey infused Gin (1 shot)
1 cup chilled tonic water
Lemon for garnish and flavour (optional)

Mix gin and tonic together. Squeeze a wedge of lemon and garnish with a thin slice floating on top.

You can taste the Earl Grey flavour right when you sip it! It's so subtle and fragrant. Gin and tonics are my cocktails of choice. They are so refreshing and never taste too alcohol-y.

Easy Pork & Mushroom Dumplings

2010-04-21T16:08:00.001-04:00

With my Chinese background I grew up absorbing a lot of Chinese cooking. One thing that I've always loved making and eating are dumplings! They are much easier than they seem and you can fill them with whatever you want! Pork and shitake mushrooms is one of my favourite fillings and is what I'll be sharing with you today!

Pork and Shitake Mushroom Dumplings
Makes approximately 4 dozen

1lb ground pork
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, diced finely (I used dried shiitake, because it is more flavourful but fresh is fine!)
1 stalk of Spring onion, sliced finely
3 tbsps of Oyster Sauce (I used vegetarian, which is made with mushrooms, tastes almost idenitical!)
2 tbsps of soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper

1 package of wrappers (the one I got was 1lb) Obviously you can make your own too!
1/2 cup water to moisten the wrappers to seal

*Before mixing the ingredients together please keep in mind that different brands of sauces and oils often have different intensities so add with your own discretion. I often test the taste by either filling and cooking one dumpling or fry a bit of the filling in a pan.

1. Incorporate all the ingredients together thoroughly.

2. Moisten the edges of the dumpling wrapper on one side. Scoop about a small tablespoon of the filling into the middle of the wrapper and fold over the seal by pressing the edges firmly together. Now you have your basic dumpling!

3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add dumplings. They are ready when they float to the top. You can then eat as they are or fry them in a lightly oiled pan.

Pretty easy, eh? There are a variety of ways to fold the dumplings which increase the difficulty but this is how it all starts really. To fold them like the way I did follow these steps:

1. Wet half the wrapper's edge on both the outside and the inside.
2. Fold the wet edge on top of each other 2-3 times making it fan like. Press down firmly so it stays stuck together. By now it should be slightly bowl shaped.
3. Fill the wrapper with a small tablespoon of filling, more towards the side of the fanned dough.
4. Wet the rest of the edge and bring that to the folded edge and press down to seal.

Then you're done!

I hope you give this a go, it's really quite fun! If you lay them out on a plate and wrap it in cling film, they will keep really well in the freezer. You can then just cook them the same was as if they were fresh. It's important to position them so they aren't smushed together or when you cook them they won't separate without the wrappers ripping resulting in spilt filling. Lightly touching is okay though.

Please let me know if you try it out and feel free to share your ideas on your favourite fillings!

Round cupcakes are overrated

2010-04-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

Anyone ever misplace their muffin/cupcake pan when they needed it most? Well that's what happened the other day when I made cupcakes. Luckily I thought of a solution post haste!

I triple lined my cupcake liners and put them tightly together on a regular baking tray. Sure they aren't as round as they could be but who's judging anyway? I think double lining would work fine as well but I did triple just in case. Keep in mind the quality of liners are different so just do what you think will work best. Then when they are done just reused them for the next batch!

Cindy Two-Two

2010-04-18T16:45:00.003-04:00

For those of you that read The Babysitters Little Sister Karen books, the title of this post probably brought back nostalgic memories. You'll be relieved to know that I'm not about to go into details about having two sets of families, two pairs of glasses and two best friends. Nor do I have the tendency to repeat my words twice every time I speak. I've simply turned 22 yesterday and coincidentally, this blog turned two! Although, looking back at the amount of posts I've made, it hardly accumulates two years worth. Oh well, only gives more room for improvement! To celebrate, I thought I'd share this cupcake recipe with all of you!

Eggless Chocolate Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Dulce de Leche Buttercream
Makes Approximately 40 medium cupcakes

Chocolate Spice Cake

41/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1 tbsp all spice
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp ginger
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups milk
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together ensuring no lumps from the brown sugar. I used brown because I ran out of white, but I think it worked well since it has a deeper flavour and goes well with spices.
2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix until all incorporated and is a thick batter.
3. Scoop into cupcake liners or greased muffins pan that have been floured.
4. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Check if it's ready by poking a toothpick in the dough. If it comes out clean it's done.

Cinnamon Dulce de Leche Buttercream

2 cups butter
1 cup dulce de leche
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Add 1/2 cup of the dulce de leche to the other ingredients and whip until fluffy.
2. Top the cupcakes once they've cooled and use the remainder of the dulce de leche to drizzle on top.
3. Serve room temperature.

Even though this cake is eggless it is very moist and chocolately. The cake recipe can be altered vegan by replacing the butter with vegetable oil and the milk with water or soy milk. This cake is quite a bit denser than the usual fluffy sponge cakes but still isn't very heavy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ginfusion

2010-04-13T23:23:00.005-04:00

Okay, here goes!

1tsp loose leaf Earl Grey + 375ml Gin

Tea & Me

2010-04-11T22:56:00.000-04:00

Today I went to Pippins Tea Company to buy some loose leaf tea. Normally when I walk into places like that I become terribly indecisive, wanting to smell every tea and debating over if I should get a cup or some to steep at home. My trip today was different though, I knew what I wanted and was in and out of the store in mere minutes. All I wanted was some Earl Grey.

I am determined to use it to make Earl Grey infused Gin inspired by a delicious cocktail I had in New York last summer. Hopefully if it turns out well then I'll get to have some fun experimenting concoctions with it!

Now some of you might be wondering, "so if you went to get Earl Grey, what's with the picture of another tea?" Well I must confess that while I wasn't as indecisive as usual I did peruse a few teas during the process of my tea being measured and bagged. I smelt three more teas and got the Buckingham Palace Garden which is actually a variation of Earl Grey. It smells divine, the familiar Earl Grey with a fragrant floral jasmine. The tea leaves are so pretty too, flecked with blue petals. I love it!

Anyhoo, check back to see what happens with my gin experiment! If anyone has done this before, I would love some tips!

Go Crabs Go!

2010-04-08T23:58:00.004-04:00

Two posts ago I mentioned what I did for my final practicum. At the end of every year our program holds an event called the TARAs which are the Television and Radio Achievement Awards. We submitted our practicum in a few categories and walk away with a win for Best Multimedia in a Practicum. Yay!
My group (minus two members) & I with the award in last night's drizzle.

Lunch!

2010-04-07T19:22:00.000-04:00

Roasted turkey on a multigrain kaiser with applewood smoked cheddar, caramelized onions and guacamole. Nom nom nom!

Twiced baked potatoes!

2010-04-05T19:35:00.000-04:00

Whenever I go to potlucks, I have one go to dish: Twice Baked Potatoes. Potatoes are one of my favourite vegetables but there are plenty of reasons I always make this recipe. It's easy, you can prep it the night before, you can make it vegetarian or not, experiment with new ingredients and it is just delicious! Here's my standard recipe, but I have warn you beforehand that I never measure anything so it's mostly a guess. Don't worry though, it's really easy to eyeball and you can just change it to taste!

Twice baked potatoes
Makes 10-12 servings.
Time: Approximately 40 minutes total

6 medium potatoes (I just use whatever variety, but yukon gold is my favourite)
1/2-1 cup sour cream
4-5 strips of bacon, fried crispy, chopped into bits
1 cup of cheddar, grated
1/3 cup spring onions, sliced finely
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cook potatoes by boiling or baking*. While the potatoes are still warm, cut in half and scoop out the flesh carefully not to wreck the skin. Keep all the potato flesh in a large bowl. If the shell breaks it's usually salvageable if the filling can hold the shape, but if it's beyond repair you might just have a bit of filling leftover. I always just eat it since it's like a delicious mash.
*I actually use the microwave to make things move along even quicker. Simply wash the potatoes, pierce the skin a few times with a fork. Don't use a knife because you want the skin to stay intact for the filling. Put the potatoes in a shallow bowl with some water in it. Microwave for approximately 6-8 minutes. Poke with a fork for doneness

2. While the potatoes are still warm, add the spring onions, bacon, and sour cream. Add the sour cream in gradually until you are satisfied with the consistency (should be mashed potatoes). Mix around thoroughly and add in the cheese* but save some for topping the potato. *You want to add the cheese after the other ingredients because the sour cream cools down the potato and the cheese won't melt before baking. Mix with salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Lightly grease a baking pan. Scoop the potato mixture into the skin shells and top with the grated cheese. Sometimes I dip the potato into the cheese and it just sticks to it quite easily. Fill and top each one. Place the potatoes into the pan, cheese side up and bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve hot!

I usually make them, store them in the fridge and then bake them on location. They keep quite well in the fridge. You can freeze them as well, but spring onions aren't as tasty once they've been frozen so you might want to replace them with diced onions that have been sauteed in a pan as an alternative. I often sprinkle in some Parmesan or Romano cheese to the potato mixture for extra cheesiness. Sometimes I even add a bit of the bacon grease because it's just so tasty! If you use smaller potatoes it's great for finger food. I always make a bit extra so I can save it as a side for my following meals.

Some other versions I think would be tasty as well are:

- Feta, spinach, spanish onion and dill
- Breakfast sausage, hard boiled eggs, cheddar, green onions
- Garlic roasted red pepper and eggplant with ricotta (instead of sour cream), parmesan and topped with mozzarella

I haven't tested these combinations yet so if any of you do, please let me know how it goes! I would love to hear what varieties you come up with too!

Final Project

2010-04-03T19:28:00.000-04:00

It's been such a long time since my last post! The reason for the absence is my final project for school and October was pretty much when things got really busy. As I mentioned once before, I'm a student in Radio & Television Arts (RTA) and now it's my last year! It's strange to think in a month's time my time in RTA will come to and end when I can still remember my first year there as if it was just last week. Before this year began I felt like I couldn't wait to graduate and just have the year over and done with. Now that it's almost here it feels strange and surreal. I've learned a lot and met some amazing people. I can honestly say I've thoroughly enjoyed my time there and I will miss it once it's over. Although, that being said, I'm excited for where life will take me next and all the new experiences I'll encounter.

In a way, school already ended for me back in January since I don't have any classes right now. I'm currently interning full time as part of the program requirements. Before that, I was in a group with six other students slaving away on our final project (on top of four other classes btw!). My group was to make the opening title sequences, end credits, VFX, DVD menu & packaging for three other groups additional to our own branding. We called ourselves Dungeoness Crabs.

I wasn't sure what to expect when the project first began. I didn't know any of the others particularly well and with a few exceptions I think that was the way for everyone in the group. Luckily, everyone got along really well, unbelievably well actually. A part of me was expecting for an argument to erupt eventually since there were always horror stories about group conflicts but that never happened with us. The only unpleasantness was when our hard drives died. We had three and they were all dead by the time we completed our project five months later. One only lasted two weeks! We tried smashing two of the three (returned the last) to vent out frustration.

Click to watch our smashing video!

Another concern I had was the fact that I was probably the least skilled of the bunch. My actual role began as the production manager but I helped wherever I could with the creative work. I definitely learned a lot technically and I also learned things about myself. I never realized how patient I am (rotoscoping will test that) and how I have a great attitude about learning new things and how much the attitude affects ones capabilities. I learned that I enjoy doing digital work and working independently but at the same time work really well with others. I feel now, that if I wanted to, I could pursue a career in digital design with further education. Although, I am definitely in no rush to attend more school at the moment, ahaha.

This year has been quite different from the others but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I love my group and our final product!

I worked on 6 Billion Degrees the most, with keying out the green screened footage and animating stills like the sea creatures. I worked on Shadow of the Podium on the green screened footage as well. I also make a cameo if you pay attention!

Click to watch the opening title sequence!

You can check out all the Crabs' work here & our blog for some behind the scenes footage!

Old Bananas, New Bread

2009-10-13T23:57:00.014-04:00

The last time I made banana bread it was an epic fail! The essential banana-ness of the bread was practically non-existent. At first I didn't know what I did wrong, sure I altered the recipe to make a smaller portion but why did it turn out so bad? I didn't even bother to try and figure it out because sweet breads/quick breads are not my forte (over mixed muffins, cracker-like biscuits, etc.). Months later I re-read the recipe and realized what it was I did wrong. The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas (I reduced the recipe) and I only put in 1 and a 1/2 of a banana! For those of you that haven't made banana bread before, it takes approximately 5 bananas for 2 1/2 cups. So it's not hard to see why my banana bread was such a flop!Today I had a second go at the banana bread and it turned out a-maaazing! I just followed the recipe and didn't go crazy mixing it all up. It's so hard to leave it lumpy like it asks because I'm so used to batters that are supposed to mixed until it can be mixed no more. I added a nice crumb topping on top to make things more interesting. I almost had a bit of mix up there because I put too much butter in initially, but luckily I realized in time and just spooned it out!

Banana Bread!
From http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

Serves 12

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (Approx. 4-5 bananas)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. (Or a batch of lovely muffins!)

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Make sure you measure out the bananas because looks can be deceiving!

Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. It should be lumpy. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Scroll down if you'd prefer a toppingless loaf, although I don't see why anyone would want that!

Sugar & Spice Crumb Topping
(Optional but highly recommended!)

3 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon all spice
1/8 teaspoon ginger spice
2 tsp butter

Combine all the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until it's a coarse sand/cornmeal texture.

Sprinkle on top of the batter in the pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've made a quick bread by myself that hasn't failed. Yay! Maybe next time I'll try making scones or something savoury. If anyone has any amazing quick bread recipes, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for dropping by!

Summer fades away

2009-09-02T22:20:00.001-04:00

A honeysuckle bush grows along the stairs of my front porch. Every time I pass I'm surrounded briefly by the scent. It's so light and sweet, it feels like summer. As autumn arrives, the flowers die and the scent of summer fades away.

The Perfect Way to Spend an Afternoon

2009-08-30T23:43:00.000-04:00

One afternoon my friend Victoria and I decided to go for tea at the Fairmount Royal York Hotel on a whim. We went once before and had a lovely time then. However, I found this time even more enjoyable! I think the selection of sandwiches and sweets were more interesting this time around. I can't seem to remember the name of my tea, but I believe it was a flowery green tea or something of the sort. After the tea arrived came a mixed berry cocktail and a honey buttered crumpet (not pictured).Other berries hiding underneath!

Then we were brought the delectable mini sandwiches. According to the website they were: Nova Scotia Lobster with garden herbs & greens, smoked salmon with dill creme fraiche (and egg apparently), chicken salad with apples and dried cranberries and cucumber with stilton cheese. My favourite was the lobster because it was so light and flavourful. The cucumber was my least favourite because I find stilton a tad too strong.Sandwich plate with strawberry garnish.

Soon after they brought out a three tiered caddy with the sweets! Yay!

The top tier had cream swans and white chocolate madelines. How cute!The middle tier had mini desserts, blueberry cupcakes, strawberry shortcakes and chocolate almond financiers.Cupcake close up! You can see the blueberries through the wrapper if you look closely.

The third tier held cranberry scones with fresh cream but I didn't get a photo of that. Included with tea was a tour of their rooftop garden! How exciting. This was my first time, because we didn't go on the tour the last time. Perhaps the weather wasn't nice or something of the sort. Luckily we had nice periods of sun that day. The rooftop garden had much more going on than I would have thought. For one thing, I didn't know they made their own honey. Their hives had cute little names on them too! Apparently they had votes for what they'd name them all. I think there were either six or nine of them total.Aw, "Comb Suite Comb".

They also had a surprisingly amount of edible plants growing. Many herbs, salad greens, strawberries and even a grapevine! Although the grapes were more for garnish they said. They also had lavender!!! I love lavender!!!Quite a bountiful rooftop garden, with a nice view of the CN Tower in the back.

After the tour we were able to return to our tea time. This was perfect because it gave us a wee break from all the food! They just refilled our pots when we came back. The service was quite nice about us leaving things and even offering to take a photo of the two of us. It was really nice and relaxing lounging around drinking tea all afternoon.Thanks for a lovely lovely time, Victoria!

Sunflowers

2009-08-26T00:41:00.008-04:00

One day this summer, I spent over an hour trying to plant a sunflower plant. I bought a starter plant and thought, it'll be easy enough to just dig a hole and plant it in. I envisioned the perfect spot for it - by the stairs on my front lawn. What I forgot about was the existing plant that resided there. It's a giant herb-like green plant that grows back every year and has spread its roots deeper than I ever imagined. I have no idea what it's called but I was never fond of it. So I began to dig with a trowel and soon realized that this was not the kind of job for a trowel. So I went into my shed and brought out a pitchfork. We own a pitchfork because we plant a lot of veggies in the backyard and we use it to churn up the earth every year. Anyway, I pitchforked and pulled the roots up of the old plant in the blazing sun. Eventually the area was cleared and I planted a wee little sunflower plant that I wasn't even sure would bloom. That was back in May. Now it's almost September and I am shocked at how much the sunflower has grown!Ta da! I was also surprised that the petals were orange and yellow because I thought it was a classic yellow sunflower. Either way, I'm pretty proud it grew up so nicely.What a lovely summer flower.

I <3 New York (Days 4 & 5)

2009-08-18T00:18:00.011-04:00

On Sunday we wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and along the way we were going to the Financial District and Ground Zero. Lots of walking planned! Unfortunately it was pouring when we left her apartment and my shoes were soaked through just from the walk to the subway! We trudged on. We decided to check out Ground Zero and take the metro to Brooklyn and walk back across the bridge. This turned out to be a good idea because the weather cleared up significantly after we got off the train. We walked around the Ground Zero area but forgot to check out the Financial District due to how eager we were to get to Brooklyn for some pizza! We took the train across as planned and after an hour delay on the metro we were finally where we wanted to be. The wait to satisfy our hunger was not over though because we wanted to go to Grimaldi's for pizza and there's always a line. Luckily the line wasn't too long and the sun was out by then. Eventually we were seated and we ordered a few Brooklyn beers and a small pepperoni pizza. We were really excited when the pizza arrived at our table and it didn't disappoint! The crust was thin and chewy and the cheese was nicely dispersed. I really liked the texture of the pepperoni too. Ready for my second slice! Right behind me is where the pizzas were assembled and baked.

After the pizza we walked around the harbour area where we had a nice view of the bridge. Since we got the small pizza, this left room for ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Yay! I got some sort of toffee-esque flavour that was nice. It was really nice being there eating ice cream by the water with an amazing view of New York in the distance.With my half eaten cone and the bridge in the background.

After a round of photos we finally started our walk across the bridge. It was really amazing being on there. The sky grew dimmer as we walked across and by the time we reached the other side it was night time. It was really nice to see the bridge light up as well as the sky scrapers we were heading towards. There was also a nice view of the Manhattan Bridge from where we were too. Bronwyn and I met up with Tara and Reh on the Bridge. Not in the middle though. For many people the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge probably makes them think of Miranda and Steve from Sex and the City. We certainly thought that when we reached it!Getting closer to New York as the sky darkens.

Anyhoo, it was time for dinner by the time we were strolling around in the heart of New York again. We went to an amazing restaurant called Lupa in Greenwich Village. It is slightly pricey, but my goodness, it is so delicious there! I ordered a chicken dish, but I think the pastas are the real stars here. Definitely try them if you get the chance. Bronwyn and I agreed that we enjoyed the food there better than Otto. The service there was really great as well with knowledgeable wait staff and constantly refilled water glasses. No photos were taken here unfortunately. After dinner we were all exhausted from our Brooklyn trek and headed hit the hay quite early.

The next day was my last day in NY. Bronwyn had work so I ventured out on my own to meet Tara and Reh for lunch at Shake Shack. We went to the Upper West Side location. I read the line ups for Shake Shack are usually insane but it seemed to move along rather quickly. I ordered the "Double Stack" which is their regular cheeseburger with their "'Shroom" burger on top. The 'Shroom burger is a portabello mushroom that's stuffed with cheddar and munster cheese and deep fried with a bready coating. YUM! It was so good. Not the kind of thing one could eat every day but super delicious. The best part was the melty cheese gushing out of the 'Shroom burger. Surprisingly my burger didn't deteriorate under the mass of fillings. I really enjoyed it. I also wanted to try their frozen custard but I was simply not in the mood. How this happen, I haven't a clue. No burger photos were taken either, sorry. I couldn't see myself getting a photo without getting burger hands all over my camera.

Afterwards I just strolled around on my own because Tara and Reh left to catch their flight. I wandered in the Meat Packing District. I bought some cute shoes, stopped for a fresh brewed ice tea in a cafe and soon enough Bronwyn was off work. We met and walked our way from the MPD to Chinatown which is where I wanted to eat dinner. I was so surprised to see how big the Chinatown is there. It was exciting to be witness the crowded stores and streets with venders (many selling knock offs). Neither of us had any idea where to dine so we asked a nice man for suggestions and he said Joe Shanghai's was his favourite. So that's where we went. Inside the restaurant we noticed that everyone was ordering soup dumplings. We weren't planning on getting this initially but since it was their specialty we had to try it! We ordered their pork soup dumplings (one of two choices, other is crab).Happy I got the dumplings!

The waiter there asked if I knew how to eat them. I had an idea but wanted him to show me anyway so I said no. He placed the dumpling on to my spoon poked a hole with my chopsticks which released the soup in to the spoon. Then he added a dash of the vinegar on top. It was really delicious. The dumpling skin was so thin and delicate. We also ordered fried rice and General Tsao Chicken which came with a welcomed serving of broccoli on the side.Dumpling close up! It was soupier in person.

Then we went back to Bronwyn's where I gathered my things together to catch the night bus home. We left plenty of time but unfortunately I was an idiot and read my bus time wrong! I thought it was for 10:30pm instead of 10pm. So when we arrived at Penn Station just after 10 I finally realized my mistake. I ran to the bus boarding area but just missed it. I was so shocked at how stupid I was! Mostly I just thought it was funny and wasn't too upset because it didn't cost that much in the first place. That night we went to a comedy show near by and I caught a bus home the next morning at 7am. No harm done! I even managed to sleep for most of the ride back even though it wasn't night time.

I had such a fun time in New York! There's so much to do there and so many places to eat! I wanted to go to some galleries and museums while I was there, but I just wanted to explore the city more. There were also many food places I wanted to try but simply didn't have the capacity for. I think the only solution to this is to return!

I <3 New York (Day 3)

2009-08-17T22:08:00.013-04:00

On Saturday Bron & I met up with Tara and Reh at the Chelsea Market for brunch. It's so cute there! We browsed through fairly quickly and went for food right away but it was still really nice. I could see myself going there a lot if I lived in NY. They had such cute baskets that would be perfect for picnics. A few days ago I was thinking I should have picked on up maybe, but that didn't really cross my mind when I was there. Anyhoo, we ate at a restaurant with a nice patio that I can't remember the name of. I had a mushroom frittata with toast and we all shared a refreshing pitcher of white wine sangria. They also gave us complimentary banana bread which I thought was nice. I thought my frittata would have been more frittata-y instead of just omelette-y, if that makes sense.

Then we headed off to check out High Line. There was a nice view up there and the weather was amazing that day. I guess it got all rained out the day before, not to say that was the last we saw of the showers that weekend.Tara and I posing for a scenic photo.

From there we just walked around Soho, Greenwich Village and other neighborhoods. It was nice just walking around even though we didn't have specific destinations to go to. We stopped at a South American (Brazilian I think) restaurant later for dinner. So far during the trip I've been eating SO much until I'm way too full for any dessert or treats. During the walk through the neighborhoods we passed many places with frozen treats, but I sadly had no space. That night I split my dinner with Bronwyn which was such a good idea because later we way more dancing than I predicted at the best event ever! Awesome 80's Prom!All the Prom king/Queen nominees.

It's an interactive show set at a highschool prom in 1989. It's like being in a TV show prom because there are all the cliche character - the nerd, hot cheerleaders, the exchange students, etc. The story revolves around who's going to win prom king/queen. It was so much fun, we basically danced the whole time. When you dance with the characters they interact with you in character like the rebelous jerk might brush you off or the nerd will get really awkward. It's like being in a John Hughes' movie. Definitely the best time I've had all summer! We got free tickets from Bronwyn's coworker because she's in the show. She played the head of the prom committee girl (in the big blue dress in the pic above) but normally she plays the nerd. I wish there was something like this in Toronto, I'd want to go again for sure! Apparently it's also really popular for bachelorettes, there were probably about 20 brides there (at one point they brought them all up on stage)! Definitely recommend!Dancing with the Asian exchange student.

Afterwards we hung out with the cast for a little while and then parted ways. Bronwyn wanted to go to this hidden bar that a friend told her about called Angel's Share. We followed the address and ended up at a Japanese restaurant. We walked up the stairs into the restaurant where people were slurping away at noodles. We asked a waiter about the bar, he seemed confused. Luckily Bronwyn noticed a door with a small sign on the side that said "Angel's Share". Open entry you forget you were just in a well lit woody bamboo restaurant. It's a narrow bar, so small that big groups are not allowed - no more than groups of four. Added to the rules list were "no standing, no shouting and no flash photography." It's more of an intimate cocktail lounge I guess. We wait a minute for table and we're handed thick menus filled with drinks. Specialty cocktails in the first pages. They're quite pricey, about 15$ each but it's fun to splurge a little!The most delicious drink ever!

I ordered their "Evidence" which had an Earl Grey infused vodka. I honestly think it was the best cocktail I've ever tasted! The Earl Grey flavour was strong and it was super refreshing. I could sip away at it for days on end. Bronwyn ordered their "Summer Breeze" which had frozen lychees."Summer Breeze", the more aestically pleasing drink of the two.

After our drink we met up with Brynne and this is when we went back to Crocodile Lounge for some more free pizza. It was the perfect little snack. Afterwards we walked around looking for an ice cream place, we must have headed down the less hoppin' streets because everything was closed. I think it was around 1am, but still! We ended up getting a tub of Ben & Jerry's and eating it on the steps of a Church across the street. I think all the ice cream made us tired. What a relief it was to get in to bed that night. The day was so fun and it seemed like it just kept going until the wee hours of the morning.

I <3 New York (Days 1 & 2)

2009-08-16T22:23:00.019-04:00

At the end of July I went to New York City for five days to visit my friend Bronwyn. She's working there for both July and August at a children's acting camp. What an amazing job eh? I've only been to NY once before back in highschool for a weekend trip so it'd be really different this time going by myself. I arrived on a Thursday and Bronwyn met me at the bus terminal. I took the bus down because it was SO cheap through MegaBus ($98 CAN round trip) there are sometimes even $1 tickets. It was over 10 hours but it was a night bus so I basically slept the entire time and it went by really quickly. Bronwyn met me at the bus stop and we had breakfast at a diner nearby. It was a Thursday and she had work so I just went exploring by myself for a little bit. I mostly walked around Central park. It was as beautiful as I remembered it!Here's a view from within the park. The weather was amazing that day even though thunder showers were predicted. What luck!

After Bronwyn got off work we bought some cupcakes from Buttercup Bake Shop which is only a few doors down from her camp. It smelt so sugary and buttery inside the cheery yellow shop. The cupcakes were so delicious, especially the frosting. Bronwyn, who normally doesn't like cupcakes made an except this time. I noticed so many other cupcake places during the rest of my stay there but I felt like theA vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. Classic.

That night we went to a Cuban restaurant called Cafe Habana where we had the most delicious mojitos ever. The food was good too, but not amazing. Although their grilled corn is super delicious.Me enjoying my corn with chili powder, lime & cotija cheese.

That night we also went to The Life Cafe from RENT. We are big RENT fans! It was fun to go just check out, we just had a drink since neither of us were particularly hungry. I expected it to remind me of RENT right away but it just seemed like a regular place to me. The inside did have more RENT and Johnathan Larson things though. Here we also met a Canadian. I think it's exciting for Canadians to meet each other in NY, or for us anyway. He was done his shift soon so we all ended up going to Crocodile Lounge. A bar nearby where they give you a (small) pizza with every drink. It was so strange. They'd give you a ticket, like a generic raffle ticket and you take it to the pizza area in the back and get a pizza. The chef must always be making them non-stop.Our new Canadian friend, Brynne on the left and Bronwyn on the right chewing away at the free pizza.

^ This photo was actually taken a few days later when we felt like a snack and decided to pop in to the Crocodile Lounge to use a few of our leftover pizza tickets! We didn't even buy drinks that night. That was our last stop for my first night in NY!

On my second day we decided to shop around for a bit and also check out Dylan's Candy Bar. The store is huge and filled with all things candy. The walls, stairs, furniture and lighting are all candy themed. I actually don't care for candy all that much but it was fun in that store. Bron and I got a little silly and took so many photos in there with the all the cute candy backgrounds. We were there for a LONG time.Bronwyn amidst the candy decor on the left, me at a candy table on the right.

The photoshoot made us hungry so Bronwyn took me to the Burger Joint for burgers. She only told me they had delicious burgers but nothing else, a surprise was in the works! I was definitely surprised to find out the burger place was actually in a fancy hotel behind curtains with a lit up burger and arrow directing us to the entrance.It was a secret (but not SO secret) fake divey burger place! I was so excited!We both ordered medium cheeseburgers with the works and split an order of fries. The burger was really moist and delicious. Mmm!

Then we went around to F.A.O. Schwarz, the giant toy store (as well as the glass Apple Store since it was right outside). It was fun being in there, the same way it was being in Dylan's. It makes you feel all silly like a child and act like one too.Not gonna lie, I was preeetty excited to be on the Big Piano.

Then later we went to Grand Central Station, which was actually very grand indeed. I love looking at archectiture. The architecture in NY in general is amazing I think. Random buildings everywhere would have such detail and beautiful gates. I really appreciated that in comparison to Toronto. The bounty of fire escapes were really nice too, although I don't how I'd feel having one in my city because raccoons are bound to climb up them.How grand!

We walked around a bit in the station. It is humongous! We had a coffee and checked out some cute shops. Then we headed to Otto a Mario Batali restaurant where we had dinner reservations with another friend. We ordered a lot of things - lardo bruschetta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lardo), a few pastas, their pizza funghi (mushrooms) and a cauliflower veggie side. That was the first time I tried lardo and I enjoyed it, but I can't see myself ordering it again. It wasn't as amazing as I thought it'd be. I was slightly underwhelmed the dishes for the most part but I thought the pizza was SO delicious. Such a hearty mushroom taste! Unfortunately I didn't have space for their gelato which is suppose to be amazing. We also were so starved we didn't take any photos. At the end though I was SO insanely full. We went to Cafe Reggio, (one of the oldest cafes in NY) but I hardly had space for even water! I was ready for a food coma, luckily we went home shortly after that.

Lunch

2009-03-11T23:26:00.006-04:00

My school workload has increased significantly in the past week and only gets worst in the next. Eek! However, today I did take some time to make myself a hearty sandwich while I should have been finishing an essay. A girl has got to eat! Fillings include: harvarti cheese, oven roasted turkey breast deli slices, tomatoes, avocado, spring mix greens, honey mustard and a bit of S/P. Avocados are definitely my favourite sandwich toppers.

Lately I've been eating really delicious sandwiches now that I think about it. There's this place called The Fat Olive (on Dundas near Bond) that I went to twice this week. One time I got a grilled veggie sandwich and the other time I got a roasted chicken breat + veggies sandwich and a side of potatoes. The make it on ciabatta bread and have really delicious toppings. Perhaps I'll do a post on them in the future. What's even better than their food, is the service, it's such a cute mom & pop atmosphere.

Hope everyone's having a good March so far! I can't believe how quickly this month is going.

Winter Tea

2009-02-25T14:32:00.011-05:00

Like I mentioned in my last post, it was my Spring break last week. One of the finer moments was a tea party my friend S's house. I LOVE tea parties! S and her sister P looked lovely and provided such a nice spread for everyone. I wanted to make something excitingly delectable but I only made rice crispy squares due to time constraints, maybe next time! Enjoy the photos!

The Full Spread Fresh Fruits Pastries, including S's homemade blueberry scones =) My friend T baked some mini apple pies, delicious! There was also an assortment of mini crustless sandwiches including egg salad, chicken salad and cucumber and cream cheese (a tea party staple!). I liked the cucumber ones best. It all went down nicely with lemonade and of course, a few cups of tea. I think green tea is my favourite.

Winterlicious at Archeo

2009-02-19T22:08:00.012-05:00

Right now I'm on my reading week so I have the time to go out for nice three course lunches with my friends! Actually, lunch aside, it seems that my week is hardly a holiday since I've actually been going to school the last couple of days and probably doing more work than I would if I had classes! Anyhoo, back to the lunch, I went to Archeo in the Distillery District for a three course prix fixe ($15 + Taxes & Gratuity) lunch that was part of Toronto's Winterlicious. Sometimes I'm a bit hesitant to go to Winterlicious because it seems that some restaurants aren't really worthwhile if the food might not be as on par as usual or the service might really be lacking. However, I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed my time at Archeo even with a few minor disappointments. I was able to sample most of the options between mine and my friends' orders.

First Course I almost couldn't decide between the French Onion Soup or the Seafood Risotto. Luckily I opted for the rissoto. The consistency of the risotto was spot on and was laced with generous pieces of salmon.
My friends' tried the French onion soup but didn't quite like it as much as they thought they would. I tried a spoon of theirs and thought it tasted slighty vinegary but perhaps that was just me. I am no soup expert. One friend ordered the salad which was delicious. The portion for the salad seemed quite big to me.

Main Course I was even more indecisive with the mains than the starters. Chicken or fish? I went with the Lemoncello & thyme roasted chicken surpreme. I thought this was super delicious. The chicken was relly moist (I am always afraid of dry chicken) and the skin was nice and crispy. The skin seemed a pinch too salty at times, but that was only when I ate it on its own. With the meat it was perfect. It was served with a dark au jus type sauce that was very flavourful. The buttermilk potatoes that it sat on was the best! I could easily eat that on its on for a week. I'm a really big fan of potatoes. It was buttery and lush.
My friend's salmon tasted a tad dry to me and the beans it came with were nice although a bit lack luster after eating my amazing mashed potatoes. The orechiette pasta with root vegetables was quite nice too. The broth was light and the pasta perfect al dente.

Dessert Initially I planned on ordering the apple crumble but changed my mind after I saw the chocolate cake wisked to another table. I wish I didn't see it because I found the cake to be a bit disappointing. It wasn't bad by any means, but just didnt meet my standards. It was a warm dark chocolate cake so it wasn't very sweet and it was served with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. I found the cake to be too dry, sort of like an overbaked brownie. Thank goodness for the ice cream or else it would have been much sadder than it was. The chocolate flavour was really nice and deep though.
I tried a bite of my friend's apple crumble and it was really delicious. It looked more like a mini apple crumble tart than a tradition apple crumble bake. The crust was nice and buttery and eating the apple after my dark cake was refreshingly delicious. I wish I had ordered that instead. No one at my table tried the tiramisu so can't comment on that one.

Overall Experience
The ambience of the restaurant was very nice, which is to be expected since it is in a historic building in the Distillery. There are brick walls and artistic panes of glass. We sat against a wall and found it to be quite drafty. After the ice cream I was pretty cold actually. The service was nice, however they kept serving our meals staggered which I found to be a bit annoying since we'd have to wait for some time before everyone's arrived. It wasn't like they were packed either. The wait between each meal seemed quite long, but since we were having a nice leisurely lunch we didn't mind. We were asked when we arrived if we were going to a show later or anything so they'd know if we were in a bit of a hurry. That was nice. However, our server was a little too friendly in my opinion, what he thought was charming was a bit over the top. He called us "baby", "doll" and "girlfriend" during our time there. I am personally not into that. He was still nice though and my water was refilled frequently. So I enjoyed it there and would definitely return. I'd like to go for dinner sometime, perhaps before a show at the theatre there.

P.S. In my photo for the main, I cut a piece of the chicken to try it before I took a photo. Oops! Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone notices and thinks it was served like that.

Cakes of prosperity

2009-02-04T22:20:00.009-05:00

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Chinese New Year was last week and my mom was making all the traditional foods. One in particular that she was rather proud of this year was her "fa gao" which is cake that represents prosperity for the new year. I like to think of it as the Asian cupcake.The cake is made with rice flour and is steamed instead of baked. I think with most rice flour desserts it gives it a chewier texture. The cake is light and moist and not too sweet. The more the top splits and rises the better luck it's suppose to be. Some years my mom has made some sad muffin top looking ones but this year they turned out great! She makes it by eye so I couldn't really get a recipe down since I only saw the finished product. However, I did find this recipe for those of you who'd like to give it a 'gao'. ;)

"Fa Gao" Prosperity Cake
http://www.knowingfood.com/dessert/chinese_fortune_cake_fa_gao.html

2 cups rice flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

Bring the water in the steamer to a boil.
Sieve the flour and baking powder together.

Add the sugar into the water and boil it till the sugar is all dissolved, stir constantly. Put the syrup aside to cool down.

Mix the syrup with the rice flour, stir and mix well. Add in the flour and baking powder mixture, stir and mix well.

Pour the mixture into moulds. Place moulds into the steamer with boiling water and steam on high heat for 25 minutes.

Do not open the steamer during the cooking period because it'll affect the shape of your cakes.

*Some of the recipes used coconut milk instead of water which I thought was a nice variation. Also, my family likes the sprinkle sesame seeds on top too.

Hope everyone's Lunar New Year/beginning of February is fantastic so far!

Same recipe, different cookies

2009-01-20T20:29:00.004-05:00

Remember my favourite oatmeal cookies? Well I used the same recipe but tweaked it for oatmeal raisin instead. So hearty! I just replaced the chocolate chips for raisins and added about two teaspoons of cinnamon and one teaspoon of all spice. The spice in these smell so warm and inviting, perfect for Winter (or any time!)! I think that the raisins make this cookie taste a lot more floury if that makes sense. I think next time I'll try experimenting with less flours so it'll be more oaty instead. Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

Lunch

2009-01-17T15:27:00.005-05:00

One of my favourite sandwiches - egg salad! I've been buying fresh eggs from my friend G's farm. You can actually see and taste the difference from store bought eggs. When you crack the egg the yolk is such a bright beautiful yellow. The egg is very firm and tastes so much richer when cooked. I love eggs!

Egg Salad
(one to two servings)

2 eggs
1 tablespoon of mayonaise
green onions, chopped (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

Boil two eggs in the shell on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

Rinse with cold water to cool them down before peeling and chopping to small pieces.

Mix the eggs, green onions and mayo in a bowl until creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread on to your favourite bread and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Crepes!

2009-01-06T16:27:00.014-05:00

I needed to put my delicious dulce de leche on something so I thought I'd make up some crepes. So simple and so delectable!

Crepes
(serves 3-4)

1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1/4 water
2 tablespoons of melted butter
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly until there are no lumps. You can also pour this through a sieve to make it really smooth.

Heat a good non-stick pan on medium heat, add a bit of butter to grease it, if you think it is nessary.

Pour a small amount of the mixture in o the pan and swirl the pan around to spread it out thinly.

Cook the crepe on one side until it holds its structure before flipping on to the other. Cook until it is lightly golden on both sides.

Serve with your favourite toppings like fresh fruits, cinnamon sugar, sugar and lemon juice, jams, apple sauce, chocolate or of course, dulce de leche!

I like to spread half he crepe with the dulce de leche and then fold it half and then in to quarters so there's a few layers when I bite in to it. This is such an easy recipe and is practically no fail. If you're like me, your first crepe might not look as beautifully round as you'd like, but after that it's smooth sailing!

Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by!

La Dulce Vita

2009-01-06T15:09:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year! I have quite a few resolutions for this year:
-Sleep and wake up earlier
-Have breakfast
-Eat out less
-Be less indecisive
-Be more assertive
-Do the things I say I want to do
What are yours?

A new year means new experiences, especially food ones! For a while now I've been wanting to attempt making dulce de leche. When my friend J mentioned he wanted something with caramel sauce for his birthday I thought givng him a jar of dulce de leche would be even better. I planned on making it by using sweetened condensed milk. I did a bit of research around the web to see which methods people used before I started. I was a bit nervous when it was cooking but the final product turned out to be quite a success! Here's what I ended up doing.

Dulce de Leche Sauce

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Water

Peel of label and open a quarter of the can or pierce two holes on the top.

Place in a deep pot standing upwards and fill with water until it reaches the rim of the can.

Let simmer on medium heat for approximately two hours. Maintain the water level in the pot at the rim of the can by added more water as it evaporates.

Remove can from the pot with a pair of tongs, it's super hot! Let it cool down before attempting to open it.

Open can, skim off he top layer of uncaramelized milk or stir it in to the rest if the can if the consistency looks too thick.

Now you'll have a thick luscious caramel sauce to enjoy with all your favourite treats! It was really quite simple, although a bit time consuming since you need to keep the water level high. You can't really see how well it's coming along while you make it since it's in the can, so you just have to trust/hope it turns out fine. I wanted to opened it up so many times when I was making it! Next time I think I'll boil it for four hours which turns it into a harder candy-like caramel rather than the runnier version.

Hope everyone's start to their new years is sweet as mine!

The Best Oatmeal Cookies!

2008-12-11T01:17:00.010-05:00

My friend K had holiday party on the weekend and I made a batch of oatmeal molasses chocolate chip cookies. They turned out SO well! I hardly ever bake the same thing within the same week or so, but I finished all the cookies and just had to bake more. The molasses flavour here isn't too strong for those that aren't a fan.
I used this recipe as my guideline: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/WWII-Oatmeal-Molasses-Cookies/Detail.aspx
Here's my version:

Oatmeal Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes approximately 48 cookies)

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup salted butter*
2 eggs
5 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

*I didn't have unsalted butter so I just used salted and omitted the tablespoon of salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees celsius.

In a large bowl, cream the sugar, butter and eggs. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Add the flour, oatmeal, baking soda and baking powder to the wet ingredients. Mix well before stirring in the chocolate chips.

Use a spoon to scoop the cookies for consistency. Flatten them slighty because they won't spread out very much.

Bake for just under 10 minutues or when the batter looks slightly golden brown.

So easy and so delicious! I think using milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet make a really big difference here. Normally I always use semi-sweet, but the milk makes it lighter and creamier I think. Toasting them before eating makes them even more delicious because they get crisper on the outside. These also seem to be keeping really well too and aren't fragile or messy for transporting to places.

Anyhoo, I hope you like them as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by!

Something Else I Made

2008-12-05T18:22:00.013-05:00

I don't think I've shared too much about what I do. I'm in my third year of study for Radio & Television Arts. I haven't quite narrowed down the specifics in terms of a career path, but this year I focused on digital media. Here something I made that's not food related at all. It's an animated title sequence for my friend's short film. It features claymation characters traveling through a pop-up book world. This was all stop motion and took insanely long to make! Just click on the link below to watch!

http://vimeo.com/2438999x

Autumn Acorns

2008-11-21T14:29:00.006-05:00

I guess it'd be more appropriate to post something more inter-esque now that it snowed, but this cake pan from Williams-Sonoma is just adorable!

I can't wait until the holidays, finally I'll have time to bake some goodies. Just a couple weeks to go!

(photo from Williams-Sonoma.com)

Last Chard

2008-09-04T22:43:00.000-04:00

Summer's almost over and soon everything will be gone in the garden.

Fresh & Simple

2008-09-01T19:58:00.011-04:00

My coworker gave me a bulb of garlic fresh from her farm. It was so pretty with its pink skin and perfect pale cloves. I wanted to try it right away and in the freshest way I could think of. On that same day I had picked some tomatoes from my garden so I thought it'd be a good idea to make some bruschetta. It was SO good! Coincidentally I was going on a picnic with my friend V (Hi V!) that day and it was just the perfect thing to bring.

Bruschetta
(for two)

1 medium to large sized tomato
1 clove of garlic
A small bunch of fresh basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Baguette, sliced in to rounds.

Dice the tomato in to small cubes and chop the garlic in to fine pieces (I just used a garlic crusher).

Place basil leaves flat on top of each other, roll up and chop finely. Add to tomato/garlic mixture.

Add a dash of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together.

The baguette can be toasted with olive oil or eaten as is. Either is really delicious.

Yum!

Minty

2008-09-01T16:58:00.008-04:00

Today I had a craving for something chocolaty so I decided to bake some cookies. I thought baking plain chocolate cookies would be too boring so I experimented and made a batch of mint chocolate cookies. I have a lot of spearmint growing in my garden that I never use so this was perfect! They turned out really well. I think they taste a bit rustic. They'd probably be really yummy chilled. Here's the recipe:

Chewy Mint Chocolate Cookies
(makes approximately 24 cookies)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped finely
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, mix the cocoa powder, mint, sugar, butter and eggs together until it everything is incorporated in to each other.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir in to the cocoa/mint mixture. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the fridge so it can firm up.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet with butter. Roll dough in to one inch balls and place in the cookie sheet about an inch apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies sit on the sheet for a minute before moving.

Thanks for dropping by!

Lil' Cakes

2008-08-28T01:35:00.006-04:00

My friend V (Hi V!) had a dinner party and I decided to bring dessert - mini cupcakes! I made chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. They turned out really delicious.
Here's the recipe:

Dark Chocolate Cake
Slightly altered from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dark-Chocolate-Cake-I/Detail.aspx

2 cups boiling water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Add the chocolate chips. Scoop batter slightly more than 3/4 full into lined or buttered/floured muffin pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. I always test it with a toothpick to see if it's done. Allow them to cool.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1/4 cup of icing sugar

Whip the butter and the jam together and add icing sugar until desired consistency. So easy!

The jam also gives the frosting a nice pink colour without adding additional food colouring which is nice. In my photo, I added some blue food colouring to make the purpley colour and some yellow for the orange. It tastes really strawberry-esque too!

I was excited to use my new piping bag/tips set, although I don't think I did a good of a job as I could have. Need more practice! Clean up took quite a long time it seemed, I wish someone had warned me about that!

Anyhoo, enjoy!