Stuff I Like...

Flourless Almond Butter Cookies

2011-04-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

These are cookies made with almond butter, not butter cookies with almonds in them, although that would be delicious, too!

I wasn't sure how a cookie with no flour, no butter, and not too much sugar would even hold its shape. Well, it is a VERY soft cookie, but it does have a nice chewiness to it. The recipe says to bake for 8-10, but I think it's better to bake them closer to 10 minutes, than 8. Resist the urge to grab one fresh out of the oven, because it will fall apart at the slightest touch. They have to cool before you can pick them up.

Flourless Almond Butter Cookies

adapted from Gluten Free Easily

1 c almond butter

1 c grated piloncillo (I used evaporated cane juice)

1 egg

1 t baking soda

1/2 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract (omitted)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together well. Grease or moisten hands slightly and form dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls on parchment-lined cookie sheet. (Don’t press these down) Bake 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown and cookies look “set”. (they won’t look done.) Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove carefully and allow to finish cooling on a rack.

Makes 2 – 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Las Vegas Restaurants: Sushisamba; Il Mulino; Aureole; American Fish

2011-02-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have always thought Las Vegas was like an amusement park for adults. You've got the scenery which is incredible. Where else can you see so many "cities" and "world landmarks" on one strip? Then there's the shopping and dining. Dining is definitely an experience in Vegas. Many celebrity chef-restaurants there. While the celebrity chefs aren't necessarily in the kitchen cooking up your meal, the quality and flavours of the food are absolutely amazing. We allowed ourselves two extravagant meals here (well, it was only supposed to be one) and two more frugal meals.

Sushisamba at the Palazzo: We came here for their $6 Happy Hour mojitos and food from the lounge menu. Remember that you have to be sitting at the bar for these prices. We ordered yellowtail seviche, spicy tuna roll, vegetable tempura, salmon taquitos, and salt and pepper squid. They were all delicious! It's hard to pick a favourite so I will just explain what I liked best about each dish.

The yellowtail seviche was served with shredded ribbon of celery, and flavours of ginger and soy. It was quite sour from the citrus, which I love, but the husband doesn't. He likes yellowtail so he did eat it, though.

The spicy tuna roll was quite standard. How can you really get too original with that? What I did notice was that the spicy sauce was dolloped on tip of each roll, rather than being mixed in with the tuna. My dad told me (and I don't know how true this is) that sushi restaurants will use old tuna for these rolls because the spiciness will kill off bacteria and mask any "old" smells and flavours. Who knows? I thought it was good, though!

The vegetable tempura was exactly what you would it to be. They did serve it the traditional dipping sauce (tasted a bit weak to me) and their original sauce which is yellow and brown and delicious!

Mmmm... the salmon taquitos were just divine! Minced, spiced raw salmon in a mini shell. I don't know how else to describe it! Again, it's raw fish with spice (dad's words floating around in my head) but it was go-od!

The salt and pepper squid was pretty spicy and had a great texture. The squid pieces were scored and very lightly coated (not beer or buttermilk-battered). Awesome stuff!

The mojitos were hand made to order. I was glad it wasn't some pre-mixed concoction that some places serve up for Happy Hour.

I definitely recommend Sushisamba. Their regular menu looks good too!

Il Mulino at Forum Shops Caesars was one of our "splurge" meals. The husband was looking at their menu online and was drooling as he read. If you know us, you know that we avoid dairy and wheat but for this trip, we had to say "screw it" and deal with the consequences later.

I apologize for not having any photos of my experience here, but the lighting was so dim. I also didn't want my flash going off every time a plate was brought out.

We were seated promptly (it was early) and nicely. A quarter wheel of aged Parmesan was brought to our table and a chunk was broken off for each of us. Nice! Then plates of salami, fried zucchini, spicy garlic bread and a basket of other bread (fried bread sticks, foccacia, and what looked like baguette), a mussel and bruschetta was brought to our table as "compliments from the chef". It was all delicious!

The husband went on to order gnocci in a basil pesto sauce, but I passed on a first course because I was already a bit full from all the chef's compliments. The gnocci was soft and chewy, like it had just come out of a pot of boiling water. The husband loved it, and I loved the several bites I had! For main courses, he had a pounded veal chop topped with an arugula salad, and I had lagostine split and sauteed with a white wine and garlic sauce, with a mound of spinach (that night's special). The husband was a bit disappointed with his veal, as it was a bit tough. I thought my lagostine was cooked nicely (not overdone) but very salty. The spinach was quite salty as well, and I just couldn't finish it. For the prices we paid, I wish we had both loved our meals. Perhaps we didn't order the "right" dishes. The meal was finished off with small glasses of grappa that had been infused with white raisins. It Mulino must have several delicious dishes but unfortunately we picked the wrong ones.

Aureole at Mandalay Bay was another "splurge" meal. I had a much better experience here than I did at Il Mulino. First of all, I didn't fill up on bread and the chef's compliments before hand (schoolboy error), and they had 2 tasting menus, plus the a la carte menu to choose from.

I've linked here to the Parallel Menu, which what we ordered. Two of everything. The main course was lamb, something I'm not very fond of. The husband can't believe that I don't like lamb, and thinks I just haven't given it a chance. Maybe, but I wasn't going to risk not liking the main dish of the Parallel Menu, so they subbed it with beef. Again, if you me and the husband, you know that we avoid beef as well but if I really didn't want chicken, so beef it was. Great choice!

For the first course, the husband and I both liked the lobster and papaya salad over the fluke carpaccio. The sourness of the green papaya, the sweetness of the the grilled pineapple, and the richness of the lobster were perfectly matched.

For the second course, the husband was very impressed with the coriander crusted tuna, and especially with the carrot sponge cake. I thought the concept was amazing, but I like the richness of the scallop over the braised short rib.

We liked both of our main courses about the same.

The dessert was interesting. I'm used to desserts from these kinds of menus to be dense, rich chocolate ganache-type things, or creme brulee, or something like that, not grape sorbet! I loved the baklava. The refreshing grape sorbet, with the flake baklava and cream was absolutely incredible. Then they bring a creme brulee (ah, of course!) and some chocolate macarons as the "chef's compliments". Too much dessert!

Oh, I almost forgot about the wine tower! There is a glass elevator for guests to enter the restaurant, that is just stacked with wine. Each time a bottle is ordered, one of the servers is strapped into a harness and up she goes to fetch the bottle of wine. It was fun to watch!

American Fish by Michael Mina at Aria was another Happy Hour meal... or at least it was supposed to be, but we couldn't make it there in time. Still, the lounge menu is pretty good. We ordered the oysters, crab poppers, lobster corn dogs, yellowtail sashimi, fish and chips, and then the husband had the tuna melt and smoked salmon blt. We liked them all! These dishes are all very small but since we were eating quite late at night, it was perfect for us. The tuna melt and salmon blt are literally a bite or 2 each, in case anyone was expecting a full sandwich.

Their cocktail menu is interesting as well! They have a focus on old school cocktails and add a bit on each one's history, origin, etc. If we go back, I would love to go here again during HH for better deals!

Las Vegas: Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino

2011-02-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you have a bunch of airline points (from 3 different airlines) that are about to expire? Most would book a trip to wherever and however far those points would take them. Well, what if they weren't quite enough for 2 round-trip tickets? Two words: travel rewards.

I, personally, have never accumulated enough points to score a ticket anywhere, because until my mid-20's or so, my parents always made me book my tickets on their rewards credit card, and then I would pay them back. Even now, I do fly about once or twice a year, but don't accumulate enough points for anything. My husband, on the other hand, somehow accumulated points, so we quickly got to work on how we could get the most out of them.

We used to airlines reward website to see where we could stay for the most number of nights. San Francisco and Portland would only give us about 1 night, We could barely get one night at Napa, but Las Vegas gave us 4 nights at Planet Hollywood! Woohoo!

I had been to Vegas once before in the summer. I was there for a very joyous and memorable occasion but August is a dreadful time to be there. Lines for restaurants were out the door, dehydrated drunk people everywhere, and the dry desert heat just zapped me of any energy.

February, on the other hand, is cool, breezy, not as many crazy drunk people, and manageable lines for restaurants (or no line at all!).

I didn't take may pictures of the hotel room because as many reviewers have noted, it is very dark in there. You have to turn on about 4 lamps for it to be bright enough for a picture.

Anyway, here are my likes and dislikes of the hotel:

Likes:
Location - In the middle of the strip, easily walkable to other hotels and casinos. Walgreens and a CVS nearby for water, snacks, etc.
Large bathroom - Big soaker tub with separate shower. A great way to soak your tired feet after walking up and down the strip all day.
Complimentary luggage storage - This was great because our flight home wasn't until about 6PM.

Dislikes:
No coffeemaker - Seriously?! I believe they are considered a 4-star hotel but it really doesn't look like it. Not just because of the coffee maker but just the whole look of the place.
No fridge - The husband and I were planning on taking some cereal and almond milk for breakfast, not only to save money, but also to avoid eating bacon, fried eggs and those kinds of things every morning.
No shuttle - Again, you'd think a so-called 4-star hotel would provide this, at least one way.
Pool - While we didn't use it, we did walk around the pool area. They have an adults-only pool which would be nice in the summer.

While it was great to have 4 free nights, I don't think I would opt to stay at PH again, especially if I were paying. I guess there was a reason why we were able to get 4 nights on points, unlike the other strip hotels where we got 1 night, maybe 2.

Pork Japchae and Menu for the Week

2011-02-13T21:43:00.000-08:00

I looove Korean food! I wrote a post a while back about how Korean food saved my vacation a few years back. Since then I've always looked for Korean restaurants to relive those wonderful days of stuffing my face with the local fare.

I remember Japchae as a shiny glistening dish with smoky strips of beef, veggies, those wonderful potato starch noodles, topped with toasted sesame seeds. At first sight, it looks like it could be a bit bland but the noodles, meat, and vegetables absorb the wonderful flavours of soy, sesame oil, with a slight sweetness of sugar.

I tried to recreate it at home with bell peppers, carrots and some broccoli (stuff we had in the fridge). After looking through a few forums, all signs pointed to Maangchi's website for authentic recipes and helpful videos. I couldn't follow her recipe ingredient for ingredient, or measurement for measurement because of what I had/didn't have at home, but Japchae sounds like a dish you can play around with the seasonings until you like what you are tasting.

Pork Japchae

Source: Maangchi

Ingredients:

Potato starch noodles (dangmyun) 12 oz.
1/2 lb of beef (I used sliced shabu shabu style pork)
1 bunch of spinach (omitted, I used 1 small bunch broccoli, cut into small florets and stalk sliced into matchsticks)
1 medium size carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1 medium size onion (omitted)
mushrooms - 5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms (omitted - I used 1/2 red and yellow bell pepper each)
3 cloves of garlic
7-8 green onion (omitted)
Soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and toasted sesame seeds

Boil noodles in boiling water according to directions on package. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
In a heated pan, put a few drops of vegetable oil and carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
Place a few drops of vegetable oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
Place a few drops of vegetable oil in the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
Place a few drops of vegetable oil in the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
Place a few drops of vegetable oil in the pan and add meat strips and sliced shiitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

For step 10, I added all the ingredients back into the pan, cutting the noodles as necessary (they sure do like to stick!) and adding the seasonings.

Menu for 2/13/2011 - 2/19/2011

Tuesday is my last day of my training session so I'll be having lunch at a regular time again.

Sunday: B-Peanut butter and banana; L-leftover friend chicken and thai food; D-Pork Japchae
Monday: B-Oatmeal; S-Banana loaf; LL- Leftover Japchae; D: Sausages, mashed potatoes,
Tuesday: B-Oatmeal; S-Banana loaf; LL-Leftover Japchae; D: Sausage meatloaf with cauliflower and carrots
Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover sausage and mashed potatoes; D-Leftover meatloaf and veggies
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Polenta "Pizza" Crust with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Chicken, and Peppers; Menu Plan for 2/6/11 - 2/12/11

2011-02-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

I think it's safe to say that all of us who don't eat wheat or dairy miss pizza terribly. Whether it's a thick, chewy crust you adore, or a thin, crispy one, it's hard to find a wheat-free equivalent that: isn't crumbly, doesn't stink like beans, or isn't like eating cardboard.

While this polenta crust is no pizza dough equivalent, it is a tasty base for toppings and your choice of non-dairy cheese. Unfortunately, without gluten, I don't think I will ever enjoy pizza the same way. Instead of pining for food I can't have and being completely unsatisfied or grossed out by substitutions (sometimes very fake and processed), why not try something that is just delicious to begin with? Polenta? Yes, it's delicious! Sun-dried tomatoes? Yup, love those, too! Bell peppers? My favourite topping! Goat Cheese? Yes, please!

I used a Silpat to line to baking sheet but parchment paper cut to fit the pan, covering the bottom and sides will work well, too. Do NOT place polenta directly on a non-stick pan. In my experience, the polenta has pulled the non-stick coating (the gray-ish stuff) off the pan. Not only is your pan ruined, but so is your dinner.

For the "sauce" I adapted a sun-dried tomato jam recipe I made in the past. It's a pretty rich-tasting jam so I decided to add shredded chicken and some bell peppers. The husband was advised to avoid onions by the Naturopath, so we omitted those (see here for the original recipe) even though they really do make the jam.

For the chicken, we found a great deal on bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts at our local supermarket. As much as love a crispy skin chicken dish, we are trying to watch our fat intake. I used this method to cook the chicken and saved the fatty chicken water (sounds appetizing, I know) to use in a veggie soup later on. It's still chicken fat, but at least it'll be spread out over several bowls of soup, rather than consumed by us in one meal.

The verdict: Tasty! The tartness of the sun-dried tomatoes complemented the creaminess of the polenta well, and the water from the sun-dried tomato "jam" kept the chicken pieces from being too dry. The only downside was that this is not a "pizza" that you can pick up and eat with your hands. The center of the pizza gets soggy pretty easily, so make sure the crust is baked well, and is firm before you put toppings on. I think I will make several smaller pizzas next time to avoid this.

Polenta Pizza Crust
adapted from Cooks.com

1 cup corn meal
3 cups water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings
Sun-dried tomato jam adapted from Everyday Italian

8 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, finely chopped (reserve 1 tbsp of the oil)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Cooked, shredded chicken (I used the meat from 2 large chicken breasts)
Chopped bell peppers (I used each of yellow and orange)

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Put a Silpat on a cookie sheet (or parchment paper to cover the bottom and sides of pan).
Stir the cornmeal, water, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens enough to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in the olive oil.

Let cool for about 2 minutes, then spread evenly over the Silpat with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until set.

For the toppings:

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, and garlic. Stir and cook until mixture starts to bubble slightly. Add the sugar, vinegar, water, and thyme, stirring well until mixture starts to bubble again. Add shredded chicken and toss to ensure that all the chicken bits are covered in the tomato mixture.

Spread mixture evenly over polenta crust and top with chopped peppers and cheese. Bake in oven at 375 F, or until cheese is melted.

This week's menu:

You will notice that I have a snack and a late lunch from Wednesday onwards, as I'll be at a training session that finishes at about 1:30 PM. I plan on having a snack (S) at the training and a small late lunch (LL) when I get home.

Monday: B-Oatmeal and apple; L- ; D-Polenta Pizza with steamed broccoli

Tuesday: B-Oatmeal; L-leftover Polenta Pizza and broccoli; D-Vegetable lentil quinoa soup

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; S-hummus, peppers, crackers; LL-leftover soup; D-Leftover pizza

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; S-Banana ; LL- Leftover soup D- out for friend's birthday

Friday: B- Oatmeal; S-banana and spelt cookie; LL- Bell pepper and quinoa soup ; D- Out for sushi!

Saturday: B-Mango smoothie; L- Out for Thai food; D-Husband's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli

Asian Rice and Vegetable Bowl with Eggs and Chili Sauce, and Menu for 1/30/11-2/5/11

2011-02-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law gave me a year's subscription to Real Simple magazine as a Christmas gift. I'm really enjoying this magazine because it has a bit of everything, from fashion, recipes, health information, and storage tips. I found a few recipes in here that look wonderful (like Chicken Adobo from last week). This Asian Rice Bowl dish sounded a bit like Korean Bibimbap to me (which I LOVE), with the egg on top. The husband loves eggs on anything so I knew I would be making the recipe very soon.

I didn't have any sweet Thai chili sauce so I added a bit of soy sauce and honey instead. I know soy sauce and honey are very different from actual sweet chili sauce but I wanted to keep the sauce more savory/spicy with a hint of sweetness, rather than sweet with a hint of spicy/savoriness. Call me a fool, but that's what I like.

The verdict: A simple, flavorful, colorful dish that could easily be adapted for different vegetables, added meat, fried tofu, etc. The vegetables could even be grilled in the summertime! I also got to use the new bowls I got for my birthday, too! The sauce was quite spicy because I omitted the sweet chili sauce, but that was fine for us.

Asian Rice and Vegetables Bowl with Eggs and Chili Sauce
Source: Real Simple Magazine, February 2011 issue

2/3 cup short grain brown rice
1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce, such as A Taste of Thai (omitted)
3 to 4 teaspoons Sriracha or Asian chili-garlic sauce (I used 2 tbsp of Sriracha)
3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
2 red or yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced (I used 1 red and 1 green)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin sticks
2 tbsp and 1 tsp of canola oil
4 large eggs
(I added 1 tbsp each of wheat-free soy sauce and honey to the sauce in place of the sweet chili sauce)

Cook the rice according to the package directions. In a small bowl, combine the sweet chili sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, and vinegar; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 F. After the rice has been cooking for 25 minutes, place the broccoli, bell peppers, and carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet; toss with 2 tbsp of canola oil. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Heat remaining canola oil in a large no-stick skillet over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and cook, covered, 2 to 3 minutes for slightly runny yolks. Serve the vegetables and eggs over the rice and drizzle with the sauce.

Oh, and this week's menu:

Sunday: B-Oatmeal; L-out for Dimsum; D-Veggie stirfry, potato salad and miso soup

Monday: B-Spelt toast with PB, and a kiwi; L-leftover dimsum; D-leftover dimsum

Tuesday: B-Spelt toast with PB, and a kiwi; L-Mochi with seaweed, tortilla chips, veggie sticks; D-Asian Rice Bowl with Veggies and Egg (see above for recipe).

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover Asian Rice with Veggies and Egg; D-Roasted asparagus and carrots, chicken sausages, and brown rice.

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover asparagus and carrots, chicken sausage, and rice; D-Out for Indian food.

Friday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover Indian food; D-Baked tofu slices with Sriracha-soy-sesame oil sauce, miso-based soup with napa, carrots and shiratake noodles.

Saturday: B/L-Pork breakfast links, sunny-side-up eggs; Late lunch/snack- Guacamole, salsa, and tortilla chips; D-Leftover miso soup

Almond Butter Maple Cookies

2011-01-30T09:42:00.000-08:00

I loooove the combination of any kind of nut butter and maple syrup. I sometimes drizzle some maple syrup on my PB toast for breakfast! These cookies sounded like they'd be delicious, healthy, and not too sweet.

I added 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum to this recipe, since it is gluten-free. I have read that 1 tsp of xanthan gum should be used per 1 cup gluten free flour, but I have experienced gummy-textured cookies in the past with those measurements, so I decided to try half that amount this time.

I used buckwheat flour in place of wheat, but I think it "competes" too much for flavor with the almond butter. It makes it hard to know what kind of cookie it really is. Something to note for next time...

Almond Butter Maple Cookies

Source: Alive Magazine, February 2011 issue

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup maple syrup, No.2 or No. 3

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used buckwheat flour)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl combine almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and oil.

Add Dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in almonds.

Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.

Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, place onto cookie sheet lines with parchment paper, and flatten to about 1/3 inch (0.8 cm). Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.

Yields 12 large cookies.

Maple Banana Coconut Tea Loaf

2011-01-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

For some reason, this photo has come out vertical, even though I shot it in landscape, and it's saved in landscape format on my computer. Hm.

My original inspiration for this loaf was a Maple Pumpkin one that I saw in a magazine while visiting my parents. I would definitely like to try this loaf with pumpkin, but I had so many bananas around, so I got inspired to try this loaf with banana instead, and some unsweetened shredded coconut that's been sitting in the pantry for a while.

It's a good, dense load with some crunchiness to it, thanks to the ground cornmeal I used, and the almonds. I think the banana might be a bit too overpowering for the coconut and maple because I couldn't taste much of either.

For the tea, I used a good quality Vanilla Earl Grey, and it smells awesome! I can't wait to have this during my break at training tomorrow...

Maple Banana Coconut Tea Loaf

Source: Alive Magazine, February 2011 issue, Maple Pumpkin Tea Loaf.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (sub stoneground cornmeal)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg (omitted)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (omitted)

1/2 tsp allspice (omitted)

1/4 salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup pumpkin puree (sub 2 ripe bananas, mashed)

1 tbsp loose leaf black tea, finely ground

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (sub almonds)

1/2 cup dried cherries (omitted)

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, spices (if using), xanthan gum (if using) and salt.

In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and mix in maple syrup, oil, pumpkin (or mashed bananas), and black tea.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until all the flour is moist. Fold in walnuts and cherries (if using).

Pout into greased 9x5x3 (2L) loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a tester inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean. Let cool before unmoulding.

Slow Cooker Variation on Chicken Adobo and Weekly Menu

2011-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

I know it's boring to just read weekly menus with no recipes or recipe reviews so I will start (or try) to post recipes of our meals (if we don't succumb to temptation and go out somewhere).

Sunday is the start of a new menu week, and tonight's meal is a variation on Chicken Adobo. I think I've only had this dish once (at a food court), and with all the variations I've seen online, I had no idea what "authentic" Chicken Adobo should taste like or if the recipe I'm using (Real Simple, February 2011 issue) is anything like the real thing. I subbed in carrots and celery for the onions (this could have drastically affected the flavour), and some napa and spinach in place of the bok choy.

I'm trying to make our meals more vegetable-centered, rather than meat, which is why I reduced the amount of chicken to less than half of what the recipe calls for. Japanese cooking (which what I grew up with) mostly uses meat to add flavour dishes, rather than having it be the main thing.

Chicken Adobo with Bok Choy
from Real Simple, February 2011 issue

2 medium onions, sliced (I used 4 stalks of celery, chopped)
4 garlic gloves, smashed
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (I used wheat-free tamari)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 bay leaf
black pepper
8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs, about 1 3/4 pounds (I used 2 boneless thighs and one breast)
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 cup long grain white rice (I used brown rice)
1 large head bok choy, cut into 1 inch strips (I used 2 large handfuls of spinach and 1/4 head of napa cabbage)
2 scallions, thinly sliced (omitted)
(I added 1 large chopped carrot)

In a 5-to-6 quart slow cooker, combine the onions (or celery and carrots), garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle with the paprika.

Cook until the chicken and onions (if using) are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Cook rice according to instructions.

Ten minutes before serving, if the slow cooker is on the low setting, turn it to high. Gently fold the bok choy (or spinach and napa) into the chicken and cook, covered until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.

The verdict: Pulled chicken-like consistency in a tangy (soupy) sauce. I put the carrots and celery in at the beginning, which tasted fine, but as you can imagine, ended up pretty mushy. You see, here's the thing. I love the taste and flavour onions add to dishes, but not the long, stringy, slimy things that end up in my food when I cook them. If I do use them, I usually chop them up very finely so they blend in well with whatever it is I'm making. Since Adobo sauce is quite thin in consistency, I knew I would end up with that stringy, slimy stuff. I knew the chicken needed something to "sit" on in the crockpot. Enter the carrot and celery.

Next time I make this, I will add maybe half an onion, finely diced, place the chicken on top, and then definitely add the carrot 30 minutes before time's up, the celery 15 minutes before, and then the bok choy or napa or whatever it is, 5 minutes before (as per original recipe). Also, the spinach, while tasting lovely, did not make this dish look very pretty. If you've got eaters who are nit-pickers on presentation, you may want to reconsider...

As for this week's menu, here it is:

Sunday: B-a kiwi and a banana (I had an early morning thing), 2nd B (after the thing)-1 over-easy egg, hash browns, and 2 pieces of bacon (at a restaurant); L-full from 2nd B so had a banana, mango, and cashew milk smoothie; D-Chicken Adobo on brown rice.

Monday: B-a kiwi and a banana (another early morning thing); L-leftover lentil chili (yes, eating up that last little bit!); D-Leftover Chicken Adobo on brown rice.

Tuesday: B-Oatmeal (no early morning thing, hurray!); L-Leftover Chicken Adobo; D-Out for Pho

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Chicken adobo; D-Out for sushi!

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; L- Rice, pickled plum and seasoned seaweed; D-Veggie stir-fry

Friday: B-Oatmeal; L-Chicken salad on crackers; D-Out for dinner at a restaurant but we're having Peking Duck for sure!

Saturday: B-Oatmeal; L-spelt toast, hummus, veggies, goat yogurt; D-Sushi

Weekly Menu Planning 1/16/2011 - 1/22/2011

2011-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

It's been hard to keep up with this menu planning thing! You can't plan a craving, or predict that you'll be feeling too lazy one night, or in the mood for anything but lentil when all you've got for protein in the pantry are lentils. We cheated quite a bit last week. By cheat, we did the things were were trying NOT to do: eat out; eat processed food; eat wheat, dairy, too much sodium, processed sugar, alcohol, etc. I'll *try* and be better this week... Can't make any promises, though!

Well, we have a LOT of leftover lentil chili... I already put one large container in the freezer, but can't decide if we should just suck it up and eat the other half this week, or freeze that as well.

This week was off to a not-so-great start... Not a bad one, but not so great, either.

Menu for the week of 1/16/11 - 1/22/11

Sunday: B- Gluten-free french toast; L- ; D- Leftover dips with bread and veggies

Monday: B/L- Dimsum! D- Leftover lentil chili

Tuesday: B- Oatmeal; L- Leftover dimsum and fresh veggies; D- Out for Vietnamese food (Chicken Bun)

Wednesday: B- Oatmeal; L- Husband's leftover turkey burger and fries; D-Leftover lentil chili

Thursday: B- Oatmeal; L- Lentil chili; D- Pork sausages, steamed veggies, and brown rice

Friday: B- Oatmeal; L- Leftover pork sausages, veggies, and rice; D- Dinner out with friends. Beer and fried appies... (hangs head in shame)

Saturday: B- Eggs on rice, fruit L- small lunch of tortilla chips and spinach dip (ate breakfast late); D- The last of the leftover lentil chili!

I found at least 2 new recipes I'd like to try from Real Simple magazine, the February issue. I just hope I can remember to take pictures of Chicken Adobo and Egg and Veggies on Rice.

Weekly Menu Planning 1/9/2011 - 1/15/2011

2011-01-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

We finished off last week on a failed note with two very bad meals, and booze! It does make it hard when we are out with friends, and ordering a boring over-priced salad just seems wrong. We also started off this week on a failed note as well!

Sunday: B- Egg and spelt toast; L-FAIL! Too tired to cook, craving junk so went to a pub for a sandwich and beer; D-too stuffed from our late lunch but the husband had some tortilla chips as a snack.

Monday: B- Oatmeal; L- Leftover pub sandwich; D - Ground chicken and sausage meatloaf, roasted sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts.

Tuesday: B- Kiwi, and spelt toast with PB; L - Leftover meatloaf and veggies; D - Chicken and vegetable barley soup

Wednesday: B - Oatmeal; L - Leftover chicken soup; D - Miso soup as a meal (with veggies, tofu and yam noodles)

Thursday: B - Oatmeal; L - Leftover miso soup; D - Went out for Mexican food (hangs head in shame)

Friday: B - Oatmeal; L - Leftover Mexican food; D - Ground pork and lentil chili.

Saturday: B - Oatmeal; L - Leftover chili; D - Spinach and artichoke dip, roasted red pepper dip with gluten-free bread, cut up bell peppers and celery for dipping.

Oooh, I just remembered that I have a batch of pureed cabbage and celery soup in the freezer! I might save it for some other week, when supplies in the pantry are waning (more than they already are, that is...)

I need to start blogging the meals I make as well...

Weekly Menu Planning 1/2/2011-1/9/2011

2011-01-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

WMP... It's one of those things that sounds easy. I think about it while drifting off to sleep, riding on the bus, or walking to the gym. Each idea is followed with thoughts of, "yeah, I could totally make that" and "that could totally be frozen for future lunches" Yet, when it comes to putting pen to paper and actually writing it all out I blank out.

Well, now that it's a new year, I would like to actually make this happen. We've tried in the past, and some weeks are more successful that others, and sometimes plans change when we've been invited out at the last minute, or we realize we're going to be out of town for the weekend so we have to use up those veggies sitting in the fridge.

One of my goals for menu planning is be more cost effective. I'll plan meals around what's on sale at the supermarket. The other goal is for health. We're booked to go to Vegas in February, and I'm determined to spend some time at the hotel pool. My body has not touched water (except for showers) for way too long. Even if it's chlorinated water, I think some sun and pool-time will cure the winter blahs of February. By having the ingredients on hand and a clear idea of what I'm making, I hope there will not be the impulse to say "screw it!" and head off to our local pub or some other place.

I'm going to try to eat as cleanly as possible, and to follow the advice of Naturopath Dr. J. Matsen. I learned so much about digestion by reading his book and visiting his office. I also learned my sensitivities, and by avoiding them, I saw so many improvements in my weight and complexion.

Snacks between meals will be hummus with tortilla chips or wheat-free crackers, fruit, and nuts. The husband's line of work doesn't really allow for "snack time" during the day, but having these available around the kitchen will hopefully curb the urges to grab and inhale a whole bag of chips.

So here is what I have so far, for the week of 1/2/2011 - 1/9/2011

Sunday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover breakfast links (1 for me, 2 for the husband), 1 boiled egg each, and 1 slice of yeast-free spelt bread; D-Pureed cabbage soup with pork sausage.

Monday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover cabbage soup, 1 slice spelt bread; D-Baked salmon (salt, lemon and wheat-free soy), broccoli, carrots and peas.

Tuesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover salmon, veggies and brown rice; D-Japanese hotpot.

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover hotpot; D:More leftover hotpot.

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover hotpot; D-Beer can chicken with roasted root vegetables

Friday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover chicken; D-Chicken salad with spelt bread

Saturday: B-Oatmeal; L-Detox FAIL (met up with friends in the city, had calamari and beer!), ; D-FAIL again (had dinner in the city as well. Veggie burger with fries and another beer!)

OK, so you can see that we started out well but failed miserable at the end. It's like once we allow ourselves to eat processed wheat, dairy, meat and alcohol, our body just craves more. *Sigh*

On the leftover front, I'm lucky that the husband has no problems with eating leftovers. I like to change up leftovers by adding something to it, and Japanese hotpot is probably one of the easiest things for that. We add rice, noodles, more tofu, or more meat to make it as light or as hearty as we need. It does get tiring, though and I think the monotony is what made us crave bad food.

As for the whole chicken we made on Thursday, it leaves a plethora of options for leftovers. Here are some of my usual recipes:

WC leftover option 1: Chicken salad
leftover chicken
good mayonnaise (made with real eggs, good oil, and low sugar). I like Spectrum brand.
chopped veggies like carrots, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc.
optional: chopped marinated artichokes, chopped olives, a sharp cheese, a chopped boiled egg
salt and pepper

WC leftover option 2: Chicken soup
This is a pretty obvious one. I like to use these soups to add veggies I don't always know what to do with. Such veggies include kale, chard, and beet tops. I know they are high in nutritional value but don't really like them fried. When they are in soups, they get soft and break down nicely, making them easy to eat.

WC leftover option 3: Fresh salad rolls
Roll up with shredded chicken, matchstick carrots, cucumber, lettuce, thin rice noodles, and a few sprigs of cilantro. I usually make a "lazy" dip with hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and a bit of water to thin it out. If I happen to have thai basil on hand (which I usually don't), that adds a nice flavor to it.

Wish us better luck for next week...

Buckwheat Molasses Cookies

2010-11-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

As the weather gets colder, I tend to spend more quality time with the oven - hey, it keeps the kitchen warm! And what better cookie for this colder weather than something spicy, like gingerbread or gingersnaps? Unfortunately, with my wheat sensitivity, ginger snaps are not an option but I've found some wheat-free ginger cookies recipes that I'm more than happy to try.

I found this recipe while searching for a buckwheat gingerbread cookie online. Why buckwheat? Well, as the blogger of Always in the Kitchen says, it does have a very strong taste. I love it in soba but not so much in baked goods. I bought a rather large bag of dark buckwheat a while ago, and it's been sitting in our pantry, waiting to be used. I can still detect buckwheat in the cookies, despite the spices, but I don't mind that at all.

I wouldn't suggest running out and buying buckwheat just for this particular recipe. I don't even know if I'd ever buy buckwheat flour again. I think I'll just stick with spelt and oat, as usual. I made gingerbread with spelt once, and they turned out nicely. Not as crunchy as wheat gingerbread, but still tasty.

The buckwheat cookies will be very soft and fragile when they first come out of the oven. They will be quite fudgey and almost raw-looking in the middle but they firm up once they are completely cooled.

I made a few changes from the original recipe, which will appear is italics in parenthesis.

Buckwheat Molasses Cookies (Makes about 2 dozen cookies)
adapted from Always in the Kitchen

1 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour (I used corn starch)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 evaporated cane juice)
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves

In a large bowl, whisk the oil, molasses, and sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl, sift buckwheat flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet, and using a large rubber spatula, fold.

Roll 1 tbsp of dough in hands, and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 C for 10 minutes. Cookies will be very soft at first but will firm up after they cool.

Jerk Chicken Chili-Soup in the Crockpot

2010-11-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

This chili-soup, (I added the -soup part because I didn't add any cornstarch to thicken it. I don't mind it being soupy at all) is surprisingly warming on these chilly November days, considering Jerk is a Caribbean flavoring. The husband and I started taking off our sweatshirts as we tucked into this soup, as the chili-like flavors heated up our cores. The rich smell of cinnamon will fill your kitchen throughout the day, as this soup simmers away in the crockpot.

The soup looks watery at first, but once the chicken is shredded, it definitely thickens up. Because the chicken cooked in the crockpot, it comes apart very easily with a squish of the ladle. You could also take the chicken out and shred with 2 forks but I found that the chicken was falling apart so much as I tried to pick the pieces out, that I just stopped trying. I used water instead of chicken broth and I found the soup to be well-flavored. I've had a few over-salting incidents recently, so I decided with this one, to leave the salt out completely, and just add as much or as little salt as we like at the table.

I made some changes to this recipe to fit what I had in the kitchen. One major change is that I put a raw chicken breast and thigh in the crockpot. I know some people are hesitant to do this, as the chicken will stay at a low temperature for a long period of time. I'm not one to worry too much about that, so this truly is your judgment call. The original recipe suggests using a rotisserie chicken, shredded of its meat but I kind of thought it was a waste to go out and buy a rotisserie chicken, just to rip meat off of it and put it in a soup. I would have rather used the seasoned chicken to make sandwiches or Vietnamese-style salad rolls.

I also used 3 fresh tomatoes instead of a can of diced ones. I had three ripe ones sitting on the counter so that was a no-brainer. For the beans, I just used what I had in the pantry. I've added my changes in parenthesis.

We found this soup to be quite mild. It could definitely be kicked up with cayenne or more jalapenos! It's the perfect winter dish, which will definitely be made again!!

Jerk Chicken Chili (Soup in the Crockpot)
4-6 servings
source: Pam Anderson, Perfect One-Dish Dinners

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (I used green)
3 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 large rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded (about 6 cups) (I used 1 breast and 1 thigh)
4 cups chicken broth (I used water)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (I used 3 fresh medium-sized tomatoes)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) small white beans, drained (I used kidney beans)
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos (I used 1/4 of a fresh one, some seeds included with a tbsp of vinegar)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 oz semisweet chocolate (I used dairy-free)
2 tbsp cornmeal or 3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water (optional for thickening) (I omitted)

Here are Pam Anderson's directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, thyme, cinnamon, and allspice. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add chicken and stir to coat with spices. Add broth, tomatoes, beans, and jalapenos, bring to a boil, cover partially, reduce heat, and simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.
5. Stir in garlic, cilantro, chocolate, and either cornmeal or cornstarch/water slurry if desired. If you add the cornstarch slurry, bring the heat up to medium-high and allow the chili to thicken. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Here are my directions: 1. Add all ingredients except the chocolate and cilantro to the crockpot. Stir well and set to low and cook for 7 hours. 2. After 7 hours, add chocolate and stir to make sure it has all melted. 3. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Quebec City Restaurant: le Saint-Amour

2010-09-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Restaurant le Saint-Amour is a pretty fancy restaurant by night (Sir Paul McCartney dined there!), but for lunch simpletons like me and the husband can dine for about $20 each. The focus is on creative, innovative cuisine using fresh, local ingredients. Lucky for them (an those who dine there) Quebec is full of wonderful vegetable farms, animal farms, dairy farms and other local terroir. I would love to try the inspiration menu or the discovery menu sometime!

The lunch menu is a 3-course meal, with coffee or tea. I can't remember what the husband started with, but it was red quinoa, with some chopped vegetables. I remember it was a clean tasting dish, perfect to whet the appetite for the richness of the main course!

I started with the aspargus and cheese melt, with candied tomato, and parma ham. This starter was quite rich because of the cheese, but if you love cheese then this would be perfect for you! Even though it was cheesy richness, it felt good to be getting some veggies!

The husband's main meal was veal with a port wine sauce. I can't remember if it came with rice or potatoes... one or the other... The husband made sure to save some bread to mop up some of that beautiful port wine sauce!

For my main, I chose the omelette. It, like the aspargus, came with a layer of melted cheese on it (but it was a different cheese). The eggs were fluffy and light (not dense and overcooked like the ones I make), and had a creaminess to them. It balanced very nicely with the melted cheese.

Now for dessert! I ordered a chocolate cake (with raspberry and mango sauce), and the husband ordered a blueberry creme brulee. I don't think I need to tell you how these tasted. Just look at them!

Quebec City Restaurant: Le Lapin Saute

2010-09-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

This review comes over a month late, but I remember this meal as if it were yesterday! We read about this place in our guidebook, and it sounded delicious. I had never really had a piece of rabbit meat before, so I didn't really know what to expect. For those of you who can't bring yourselves to eat cute fluffy animals, there are other items on the menu like burgers and such.

The restaurant itself is very charming. The lovely summer weather allowed us to sit outside where little birds flitted around from tree to tree, and curious squirrels would scurry up and down tree trunks. Even though it's in the middle of a major pedestrian street, with people staring at you while you eat, it does have a "country" feel.
The husband (savoury pie lover that he is) ordered the rabbit pie. It came with a fruit ketchup that he devoured! He doesn't usually like fruit with his meals (like chutneys, etc) but something about that fruit ketchup made the rabbit pie even better!

I ordered the cassoulet. It came with rabbit leg (confit), bacon, and rabbit sausage. The rabbit leg was tender and the meat came away from the bone with a gentle tug of the fork. It kind of tastes like chicken, but is much more flavourful (like dark meat). I could taste more of a gamey-ness in the sausage, but the seasonings made it so hard for me to stop eating it!

We had a pretty boring breakfast that day of fake croissants and costco muffins, so this rich, satisfying lunch was just what we needed! If we are ever lucky enough to return to Quebec City, this restaurant will definitely be our first stop.

Masala Salmon

2010-09-23T21:31:00.001-07:00

I'm a sucker for a good deal. Especially when it comes to food. I will buy 10 avocados when I only need 2, if it saves me a few measly cents. When I saw a whole, wild caught salmon at Uwajimaya for $4.99/pound, I knew I had to get it the whole thing. $25 for a five-pound fish! I knew it would make at least four meals for us. Fortunately, the fish monger cut it up into four large fillets. One fillet is enough for the husband and I, plus a bit leftover for his lunch.

I'm also a sucker for freezing food. As soon as I got home, those fillets were tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the freezer. I've used three out of four fillets so far. The first one was poached in a green curry and coconut milk sauce, the second one was baked after being marinated in a soy, garlic, ginger mixture. Although both of those were quite good, the third time was the charm. I got the idea from Route 79. I only ended up using half of the spice mixture, and I added some garlic ginger paste I made and keep in the freezer.

When it comes to salmon, I'm usually hesitant to use anything more than salt, pepper and lemon because salmon already packs enough flavour on its own. I'm usually afraid that using too many spices will cover up the awesome richness of the fish. Fortunately, these spices didn't overpower the salmon at all. The outside had a nice fragrant flavour, but the inside was still salmon-y, even though I let it sit in the marinade for about 2 hours.

Paired with brown rice and roasted green beans and broccoli, this made a great dinner for us. Route 79 pan-fried the salmon, but I baked mine in the oven at 475 F for 12 minutes.

Masala Salmon
from Route 79 (serves 2)

Ingredients

1 salmon fillet (about 1/4 of the salmon), cut into 4 pieces
oil to coat fillet and baking sheet
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garam masala
salt for seasoning the fish

Pat fillet dry with a paper towel. Season with salt. Place in a shallow dish (like a pyrex) and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle spices evenly over the fish (I only ended up using about half of the spice mix), and using your hands, flip the fish over and move around the dish so that the spices and oil create a paste and coat the fish evenly.

Place the pieces skin-side up in the marinade, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 475 F. Place the fish pieces skin-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove fish from pan, and place on paper towels to absorb the oil.

Thai-inspired Eggplant Stirfry

2010-09-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

There is a seasonal eggplant dish I absolutely love at Mae Nam in Vancouver. On their menu, it says that the eggplant is fried with fermented bean paste (I'm assuming with something like miso). Doing a quick internet search didn't turn up anything, so I decided to give it a try using one of many recipes without the bean paste.

I had globe eggplants on hand. Some websites said globe eggplants would be fine in this dish, other said the skin would be too thick, or that the texture wouldn't be very good. I found that using globe eggplants didn't affect the texture much, but the skin was noticeable. The skin wasn't too hard or tough, but it was just... there. I definitely think I'll use the skinny eggplants next time.

The original recipe didn't call for ginger, but I added it in, and I think it gave the dish an extra something. I also added dried red chili flakes because I forgot to grab fresh chilies at the market earlier today.

I also added some fresh red bell pepper (it was starting to get a bit wrinkly) and some blanched green beans, too. The result was a fragrant dish that was slightly salty, zingy from the ginger, a little fiery from the chilies, and just overall tasty!

So here it is!

Eggplant Stirfry (Pud Makua Yow)
Adapted from http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Basil_Eggplant.htm

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch thai basil
1 tbsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 asian eggplants
2 chili peppers

I added:
3/4 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
1 handful blanched green beans

Slice the eggplants into irregular shapes for easy turning in the pan. When it's sliced into a small disk, it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and makes it difficult to flip or turn.

Chop garlic (and ginger, if using) and slice chili peppers. Pick the leaves from the stem of the Thai basil.

Heat a pan or wok over high or medium high. Add oil, chili peppers and garlic. Stir until the garlic turns golden brown. Add eggplant and stir to coat. Add 3/4 cup of water and cover the pan or wok with a lid. Keep the lid close until the eggplant is cooked. It should take about 5-7 minutes before the eggplant is done. The eggplant turns from white to translucent when it is done. Almost all of the water should have been evaporated at this point. If the eggplant is still not cooked, add a little bit more water and keep lid closed until the eggplant is ready. Add fish sauce and sugar and stir. Add Thai basil and quickly stir to heat the basil, so that it retains it color. Turn off heat immediately.

Serve hot with rice.

Italian sausage, leek, and potato soup

2010-09-02T13:22:00.001-07:00

This is one of those I-bought-more-veggies than-I-know-what-to-do-with meals. The one veggie I didn't know what to do with? Leeks. I'm not even sure which is the usable part. A lot of recipes say to chop off the dark green part, and then go on to tell you that they can be used for something else. Well, I ended up removing most of the green part. I chose to puree the soup with a hand blender, but if you chop the veggies smaller, it can be left unblended.

I think the sausage I used must've been pretty salty because I didn't need to season it much. Even though there is no milk or cream in this soup, it comes out very rich-tasting and creamy-feeling. I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients:
Makes 4 large bowls of thick soup.

2 tbsp of olive oil
Leeks, 3, thoroughly rinsed and chopped
3 italian sausage links, removed from casing
1 large yukon gold potato, peeled, rinsed and chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
4 cups chicken stock

Heat the a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Heat up the olive oil, and add the sausages, crumbling with a wooden spoon as they cook. Once the sausages have cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the potatoes, leeks and cabbage and cook until all vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

If you are using a hand blender, turn off the heat, and puree the soup until it reaches the desired consistency. I left mine just a little chunky. Add the cooked sausage bits from before and stir. If you would like a thinner soup, add more chicken stock or water, and reheat before serving.

Montreal Restaurant: Joe Beef

2010-08-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

This famous restaurant was a suggestion from my sister-in-law. She and her new husband (woohoo! Congrats, guys!!) were meeting up with us for a few days in Montreal so we decided to meet for dinner on 2 of the nights. Joe Beef was on night numero un.

As the name states, steaks are the specialty here, but there were several other surf or turf items like lamb, duck, pork, scallops, trout, and lobster just to name a few. Their entire menu is actually written on one of the walls, so if the place is packed, you might feel a bit awkward standing at the board (where several tables are lined up) reading off of the wall. Alternatively, if you are seated at the wall, you might have a bunch of open-mouthed diners staring over your head. Oh, and the menu is in French, but our server didn't seem to mind translating each item to us.

Our table had crispy pig's ear salad, beer cheese dip, and stuffed squid to start. Mains were, trout topped with crab cake mixture, seared scallops topped with pulled pork, gnocci, ribs, and a raw choux pastry, baked with lobster meat. I had the baked choux pastry. It was really, really salty. Tasty, but I could barely finish half of it because of the saltiness.

My favourite part of the meal was this drink! It's a just Caesar but look at all the goodies it comes with! It's pretty much an appetizer in itself!

I don't think I'd go to Joe Beef again. I loved the Caesar and some of the appetizers were delicious, but the mains all seemed too salty. The ribs were apparently delicious but since we don't eat beef, that's doesn't help us much. If you are a steak lover though, I think this could be the place for you!

Also, I don't want to ruin the experience so I won't post a picture of "it" but promise me if you go here, that you'll visit the bathroom?

Affordable Accomodation in Montreal

2010-08-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

It sure didn't surprise me to see a 2-star hotel on Hotwire to be priced at over $100 a night, in high season as Montreal is one of the most exciting places to visit in Canada. Whether you're a fashionista, history buff, foodie, or whatever else piques your interest, this is a city that has something for everyone. The only thing that might turn you away, might be the extreme cold in wintertime.

What did surprise me, was seeing these apartments for rent! We stayed here twice during our trip (we went to Quebec City in between). We stayed here and here. We stayed on the 16th floor the first time, and on the 3rd floor the second time. The studio on the 16th floor obviously had a better view, but also had a kettle, and a lot of random cooking supplies and stuff like spices, S&P, etc. On the 3rd floor, our window looked onto the back of another apartment, so if you had to close the blinds or the curtains any time you wanted to change. Both units were equipped with (noisy) AC and a fan.

We also chose to rent an apartment rather than stay at a hotel, so that we could cook some of our own meals. We decided to try and have at least 1 or 2 meals a day at the apartment both to save money and to be healthy. Breakfast was usually the meal we chose to have at the apartment. We usually had oatmeal and fruit to start the day. We were planning to have some very rich meals during our stay, so we planned out a few "clean" meals of fresh veggies. Marché Jean-Talon was a great place to buy all kinds of produce and cheeses. It's worth it to do a bit of research beforehand to see which shops carry things like locally made cheeses, meats, etc.

The location of the Ste. Famille Street apartments were great, as they were just minutes from Boulevard Saint Laurent, Saint Catherine and Saint Denis. It's a bit of hike to the Old Port and the Old Town of Montreal, but unless it's the dead of winter or during a thunderstorm, it makes for a pleasant walk through Chinatown. Some areas seem a bit rough on they way, but with all the tourists you see walking with you to the Old Port, it's not scary at all.

I wouldn't hesitate to stay here, or at one of the other apartments for any future trips to Montreal. I wouldn't recommend it if you are looking for a romantic trip, like, say a honeymoon.

They also do a B&B. We did not see the B&B but the breakfast smelled pretty good!

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread with Goat Cheese

2010-05-09T19:25:00.001-07:00

I crumbled more goat cheese on top. Thank goodness to for big bulk logs of this stuff!

I had no idea what spoon bread was until I made this dish. The cookbook is got the recipe from, didn't have pictures so I really had to guess. It was the ingredients that made me want to try this one out.

Apparently, red-fleshed sweet-potatoes are mistakenly referred to, and labeled as yams. I went to the store and bought what was labeled as "sweet potatoes" but really what I should've bought were yams. No biggie, because it still turned out delicious!

Heidi Swanson's recipe calls for goat cheese (which I love!) and that is what appealed to at first glance. I loooooove how the cheese gets all creamy when baked. The tanginess of the cheese and the sweetness of the potatoes are a perfect balance. The recipe calls for shallots, which I don't use very often. I don't know if it's just the nature of shallots or if the particular shallots I bought were really strong tasting, but I found they added almost a pungent bitter, acidic taste. I would definitely replace this with onions, or just reduce the number of shallots in the future.

Melty goat cheese = good! Not-quite-set middle section = not good...
Next time, I shall use a larger casserole dish so the spoon bread will be thinner.

I baked mine for about 35 minutes but found the middle to be not quite set. The sides of the dish were perfect, and the goat cheese had browned beautifully, though.

Yellow sweet potatoes tasted fine for this spoon bread but I can see why this recipe would call for red ones. Next time, I will ignore the supermarket labels and buy the right potato!

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

Ingredients:

3 medium - large red-fleshed sweet potatoes, baked (labeled as "yams")
1/3 cup unsalted butter (I used olive oil)
4 large shallots, sliced into thin rings
6 ounces fresh goat cheese
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used 1/4 cup cornmeal, and 1/2 cup spelt flour)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
I cup boiling water
3 large eggs, beaten
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (omitted)

Preheat oven to 350F, position a rack in the middle of the oven, and grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Prick each sweet potato with a fork a few times, then wrap them in foil. Prick foiled potatoes, this time to let steam escape. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Cool until they can be handled, then use a big, wide spoon to scoop the flesh in to large bowl. Increase oven temp to 425F.

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then stir in the shallots. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are golden and the butter has browned, about 9 minutes.

Whisk or blend the goat cheese with a fork until fluffy and light; you may need to add 1 or 2 tbsp of water if the cheese is on the dry side. In a large bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Add a splash of the boiling water and stir to make a paste. Continue adding water a bit at a time until it is all incorporated, and don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy. Add the sweet potatoes and mash. Stir in the sauteed shallots and all of the butter in the pan, then stir in the eggs in sections.

Put two-thirds of the potato mixture in the prepared casserole dish, and top with dollops of the whipped goat cheese. Finish with dollops of the remaining sweet potato mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until goat cheese begins to colour and the potatoes have set.

Simple Spelt Bread - no wheat, no yeast!

2010-05-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9x5 pan, and it made a pretty flat loaf.

The availability of non-wheat flours has really improved over the years. I remember having a friend in high school who had a wheat allergy, and how she had to go to specialty stores just to get bread. Although I can easily buy wheat-free bread, the price is pretty steep. I don't know if making it yourself is that much cheaper but hey, at least it's fresh.

I like this recipe because there is no yeast, and you can use a more natural sweetener like molasses or honey, and best of all, it only calls for about a tablespoon for 2 loaves.

I do still long for wheat breads like baguette, foccacia, rolls, pizza dough and just plain ol' sandwich bread. Unfortunately, this spelt bread is nothing like any of them, but as long as I can't eat wheat, I don't really have a choice. I do however, think this bread tastes better than some of the stuff they sell in stores. I'm really glad I found this recipe by Jean Roberts.

Instead sesame seeds, I used millet, which you can see peeking out from the crack.

This loaf has a thick, hard crust, and the bread itself is quite dense. It was really hard for me to cut through but that seems to be the case with most wheat-free breads. I won't be able to use this bread to make sandwiches but I think I'll top it with stuff (pesto and chicken) and have it open-faced. Maybe sprinkle a little goat cheese on top and put it in the toaster? I'm curious to see how it would taste if I made french toast with it. Maybe the milk/egg mixture would soften the crust up a bit?

Super-thick, hard crust.

From Jean Roberts on All Recipes. (makes 2 loaves). I halved the recipe to make 1 loaf.

Ingredients

8 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup sesame seeds (I used 1/4 millet)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/4 cups milk (I used 2 1/8 cups soy milk)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, sesame seeds, salt, molasses, baking soda and milk until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Placing a tin of the same size over the top of the loaf while baking gives it a lovely crust.

Curried Carrot Soup

2010-03-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

I looooove carrot soup! I've tinkered around with several different recipes, which sometimes had not-so-great results (too spicy, too bland, etc), but this recipe from Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast was very well balanced. I have to admit though, I did tinker with this recipe, too!

Instead of 2 pounds of carrots like the recipe calls for, I used about 1.5, and added 4 oven roasted roma tomatoes. I love the tangy flavour they add.

I didn't taste much curry in this soup. I didn't mind that, but I might add garam masala instead if I want more of a curry flavour. Who knows, maybe the tanginess of the tomatoes took away from it.

Ingredients:
Source: Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast
Serves

2 tablespoons butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (I used 1.5 pounds)
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (omitted)
(I added 4 roasted roma tomatoes)

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep vegetables while oven preheats. Cut tomatoes in half, and scoop out seeds using a spoon. Arrange tomatoes on an olive-oil greased oven-proof dish. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large (4- to 5-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, curry powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoons pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, and set the roasting pan aside.

Add the broth, carrots, and 3 cups water. Add some of the water to the pan used to roast the tomatoes, and scrape all those wonderful cooked-on bits, and pour in the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth (I used a hand blender). Stir in lemon juice, and garnish with cilantro (if using).

Simple Grain-ola

2010-03-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

For the past 2 years, I've replaced toast, bagels, and cereal with oatmeal. Oatmeal has been my breakfast almost everyday. There are days I love its simple taste, and others where it's the last thing I want to eat. The latter puts me at risk of stopping by a cafe on the way to work to grab a fatty muffin or worse.

I've often substituted cereal on those days but I really noticed the sugar content, and the price of so-called "healthy cereals" to be pretty high. Even if it uses cane sugar or some other natural sweetener, it's still sugar, and I'm not too crazy about having the first thing to enter my tummy be too sugary.

Enter Heidi Swanson's Grain-ola. It's simple, and with a slight tweak, I reduced the 3/4 cup of honey to 1 tablespoon, added a bit of maple syrup, and one grated apple. It just came out of the oven and it smells amazing. I couldn't resist and poured some cold soy milk over a bowl while it was still warm. Yum! The fragrant orange zest helps to make it seem sweeter than it actually is.

Oh, and I have a confession here... I don't like dried fruit. I'll eat it if it's already in something but it's not something I reach for. I don't know if it's the chewiness or the shrivelly factor but it just doesn't really appeal to me. Want to hear something worse? It's the unsulfured kind that just looks awful to me. Brown and wrinkly stuff? No thanks!

Back when I made my Homemade Oat Treats, I had to cut the dried fruit really small. I've left all the dried fruit out of this one (except for the coconut) so I can add fresh fruit if I want.

Makes about 10 cups!!

Grain-ola
adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup walnuts or macadamia nuts, chopped into halves or quarters (I used almonds and pecans)
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups assorted unsulfured dired fruits (omitted)
Grated zest of 2 oranges
3/4 raw mild-flavoured honey (I used 1 tbsp of honey, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 small, finely-grated Spartan apple
1/4 cup coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 300F and set aside 2 rimmed baking sheets.

Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, nuts, coconut, dried fruit (if using) and zest in a bowl. (Toss and use a sturdy spatula to make sure the zest is evenly distributed throughout the mix).

Heat the honey (maple syrup and grated apple if using) over low heat (until it bubbles slightly). Whisk to thoroughly combine, then pour over the oat mixture and stir until everything is well coated.

Divide the mixture between the baking sheets and spread into a thin layer. Bake stirring every 10 minutes for about *40 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*In my oven, the grain-ola started to brown after 30 so be sure to keep an eye on it.

Basic chicken stock

2010-03-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

This recipe has become a major staple in my weekend cooking. Whenever my local supermarket has a special on skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, I stock up. I wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze then so I can just take one out the night before I'm planning on using it.

My reason for wanting to make my own is probably the same as everyone else's. I want to control the salt (and the type of salt), and the type of chicken that goes into the stock. Yes, I'm aware that I can just buy stock in a carton (and I sometimes do!) but when you make your own stock, you get the stock, and the chicken meat. Sometimes I use the chicken meat in whatever soup I'm making, and sometimes, I'll wrap and freeze it. Shredded chicken freezes pretty well!

This is what I use for a light chicken stock, as in, you probably wouldn't want to add any water to this when using it for another recipe.

Ingredients:

Olive oil (enough to generously coat the bottom of the pan)
1 large skin-on, bone-in chicken breast, rinsed and seasoned with salt and pepper.
1/2 an onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, scrubbed and cut into quarters
2 stalks of celery (or about 4-6 celery tops)

Heat a large saucepan or dutch oven over med-high heat. Make sure the pan is well-heated before adding the oil, otherwise your chicken will stick.

Place the chicken skin-side down, and cook for about 4 minutes (the skin will get brown and crispy, and the fat and flavour will render out). Using tongs, flip the chicken so it is skin-side up, and cook for another 4 minutes. You can also use the tongs to "press" the chicken on its side so skin/flesh on the side gets cooked (hey, more fat, more flavour!).

Add the onion, carrots and celery, and cook for about 4 minutes, until onions slightly brown.
Pour 8 cups of water over the chicken, reduce heat to medium, cover, and bring to a simmer (about 30 minutes).

Remove chicken and cut through to see that it's cooked thoroughly. If it is, let it cool on a cutting board or plate. It not, return to pot and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Then remove again to see that it's cooked throroughly. Cool, and remove meat from bones, discarding the skin.

I like to let the stock simmer for another 30 minutes after the chicken has been removed.

Use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables, and discard. Let the stock cool and skim off fat.

Spinach, mushroom, and sundried tomato frittata with feta

2010-01-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you've got random bits of stuff sitting in your fridge, or else something just looks so pretty at the supermarket that you have to buy it.

Here's what I had:

Mushrooms
A small chunk of feta
A huge jar (a la Costco) of sun dried tomatoes in oil
Extra firm tofu
Too many eggs

Here's the really pretty thing I just had to get at the supermarket:

A bunch of fresh spinach.

This bunch of spinach looked so clean, green an unbruised - all things that make me want to buy the bagged variety. It was also organic!

Ingredients:
Serves 3-4 people.
Adapted from: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/cooking/ht/howtofrittata.htm

5 eggs
1/2 bunch of spinach - washed, dried, stems trimmed
4 large white mushrooms
1/4 block of tofu, patted dry with a paper towel and crumbled
2 tbsp of sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
3 tbsp of soy milk (or regular, of course)
Crumbled feta cheese (or any other cheese you have)

Adjust top oven rack - with a skillet (ovenproof!) on it, you want the top of the skillet to be 4-6 inches from the broiler. Turn on broiler.
Heat oven-proof skillet ( 10") on medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom and sides generously.
Add any the tofu, mushrooms, spinach, and saute until spinach is wilted, and mushrooms are soft. Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes and continue to saute for 1 minute.
Whisk eggs with 3 tbsp of soy milk. Add egg mixture to skillet.
On medium heat, cook eggs for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom with a heat-resistant spatula. When eggs are mostly cooked but still very wet, stop stirring. You want to see cooked egg scattered throughout, but loose egg in between.
Continue cooking on stove for another minute so underside sets.
Sprinkle the cheese on top. Put skillet under broiler for 5 minutes. This may vary oven by oven so watch carefully while top browns.
Remove skillet from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes to finish cooking in center.
Cut in wedges and serve.

The salt from the sun dried tomatoes and the feta give the frittata a lot of flavour so go easy on any seasonings. I read somewhere that frittatas reheat well so I'll probable make this again to take for lunch with a side of steamed broccoli, and maybe some soup.

I made this with stuff I had kicking around in the fridge, but I'd love to make it again with other ingredients like pancetta or sausage, bell peppers, goat cheese, pesto, etc.

Spinach and Artichoke Spread with Goat Feta

2009-12-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

I wanted another dip or spread to have with the sun-dried tomato jam for a light lunch. I had a big jar of marinated artichoke hearts in the fridge so decided to base it off of that. I used to make spinach and artichoke dip but that was laden with mayo, sour cream and of course, cow's milk mozzarella. I wanted something my dairy-free, egg-free sister could have so that was out of the question.

I really like the combination of spinach and artichoke so I thought of substitutes for the mayo and dairy add-ins. I came up blank. Sometimes, it's better to just leave it as simple as possible, and that's what happened here.

Spinach and Artichoke Spread with Feta

Ingredients:

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
About 10 marinated artichoke hearts
About 2 tbsp of the artichoke marinade
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil for drizzling
Some feta cheese

In a saucepan, bring salted water to a rapid boil. Add chopped frozen spinach and cook according to package instructions.
In a food processor (or by hand) coarsely chop the artichoke hearts.
Drain spinach, and squeeze out as much of the water as you can.
In a bowl, combine the spinach, artichoke hearts, marinade, salt and pepper.

Heat the spread (either in the microwave or oven) and drizzle with olive oil.
Serve on bread or crackers, and with feta.

I know "some feta" is really not helpful but it really depends on how much you like feta. If you like it a lot, use a lot. If not, then whatever. You could even crumble the feta into the spread before heating it up, but I wanted to give people the option of adding the feta to their bread/cracker or not.

I think this spread could also be tossed with hot pasta (with some additional olive oil) as well. My sister was able to enjoy this spread and the rest of us cut various-sized chunks of feta cheese to have with ours.

Sun-dried Tomato Jam

2009-12-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe on a blog I linked to from a cooking forum I like to frequent. It's perfect for a light lunch or to take as an appetizer to a party. I made it for my mother-in-law over American Thanksgiving, and she really loved it. I tend to love sour, tart flavours (like sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, etc.) but my husband doesn't. The great thing about this jam is you can mellow out the tartness of it by pairing it with cheese. We used goat cheese because that's what the recipe recommended but I'm sure it'd taste great with mozzarella or other cheeses as well.

Just a note: I'm not sure about adding a whole cup of water to this jam. It took a really long time to cook down (not 5-10 like the recipe says), maybe about an hour! Even though I cooked it for much longer than instructed, I still ended up scooping out a lot of liquid and oil. I guess the tomatoes (packed in oil) release a lot of the oil as they cook.

When I made this for my in-laws, the enjoyed it with lovely baguette slices. I had it with tortilla chips and it went really well with them. I've also had them with gluten-free crackers and they went well with those, too.

I think this recipe will become a part appetizer staple... if I can figure out that too-much-liquid/oil issue.

Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
Source: Everyday Italian

8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, 1 tbsp of oil reserved
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Crostini:
1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Instructions:

For the Sun-dried Tomato Jam: Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the Crostini: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the baguette slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. Place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.
To assemble: Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese mixture. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

Yields: ~ 24 servings

Dairy-free,spelt gingerbread cookies

2009-12-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

I loooove gingerbread! A few years back, I started making Martha Stewart's recipe which calls for some ground black pepper. Wow, that pepper really made those cookies pop!

Fast forward a few years and the naturopath's advice to avoid dairy and wheat... Boohoo! Well, I knew a girl with a wheat allergy in high school, and she ate a lot of spelt products so that was one of the first grains I turned to for baked goods.

Through an internet search, I came across this blog, which had a great-sounding recipe. I accidentally added the sugar to the dry mix rather than the melted butter/molasses, which resulted in some sugar crystals in the cookies but hey, that's not the end of the world.

Compared to regular GBC (gingerbread cookies) made with wheat flour, these ones came out lighter and a bit puffier. I guess with baked goods, spelt will never yield the same results as flour. I'm not sure if you could poke a hole in the top of these and hang them on your tree, but they are excellent to nibble on while decorating your tree!

Puffy man and snowman

I modified the amount of spices, and ended up adding about 3 tbsp of spelt flour to the dough because it was quite soft.

Spelt Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted from Rackle's Ramblings
Yield: About 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached organic whole grain spelt flour, sifted (plus more for rolling)
1/4 - 1/2 cup finely chopped (minced) crystallized ginger (optional) I omitted this
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1-2 tbsp ground ginger (I used 2 tsp)
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon (I used 1 tsp)
1 tsp ground cardamon (omitted)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground coriander (omitted)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup unsalted organic butter (I used Earth Balance)
1/3 cup Sucanat (organic fair-trade evaporated cane juice) (I used yellow cane sugar)
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large organic/free range egg, beaten

Method:

In a sauce pan over very low heat, melt butter (or butter substitute) and add molasses, then sugar, stirring until dissolved. Turn off heat and let cool a few minutes, then add beaten egg.

In mixing bowl combine flour, spices, salt and baking soda. Gradually add liquid ingredients to flour mixture, stirring each time until flour is completely absorbed. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, it should be ready to be kneaded by hand. If dough sticks to hands, add small amounts (1 tbsp at a time) of flour until dough no longer sticks and is firm but pliable and shiny. Shape into a round, wrap in plastic or cover in a bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill at least 4 hours.

Place oven racks in the middle and pre-heat oven to 350.

On a floured surface, roll out dough using floured rolling pin. I just put the same piece of cling wrap the dough was wrapped in over the dough and rolled over it with an unfloured rolling pin.
to 1/8" thickness.

Once you cut as many cookies as possible using your cookie cutters, pull away the excess dough and place dough shapes on baking trays lined with parchment (not wax) paper. Place trays on rack positioned in middle of oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

Cool on wire racks. These cookies get crunchier the more they cool so be patient!

Orange Coconut Chocolate Bites

2009-11-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

This one's for my sister. No dairy, no wheat, no nuts for her so this is what came to mind: zesty orange, balanced with rich coconut, coated in dark, dairy-free chocolate.

I forgot to toast the coconut. My sister she preferred it to be chewy but I think she was just trying to be nice.

I pressed these into a mini-cupcake tin lined with paper cupcake liners so my sister could easily eat them on the go. I think they would make great mounds or even rounds if you don't have mini-cupcake tins or liners.

Ingredients:

Zest of 1 orange
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
100g good quality dark chocolate

Mix together the orange zest and coconut. In a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt dark chocolate.

When the chocolate is about 2/3 melted, remove from heat. Stir in the coconut and orange zest.

Spoon the mixture into mini-cupcake liners, or on top of parchment paper in mounds.

Dry for about 1 hour.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

2009-11-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

I read about these fantastic-looking treats on a chat forum and followed a link that took me to this blog. Giver's Log has a lot of beautiful, wonderful gift ideas. I'm really excited to give these hot chocolate sticks to people for the winter holidays. My mom and sister were really impressed with how they turned out.

I used old-fashioned hard plastic ice cube trays and had a hard time getting the chocolate out of them. If you twist the tray too soon, the chocolate will crack, and let's just say 2 of my chocolate cubes had to be sacrificed to the "greater good". I'll bet those new-fangled silicone ones would be much easier, plus they come in very fun shapes. Giver's Log featured ones made in a long stick mold which would be perfect!

I packaged mine in cellophane bags and filled the bag with abotu 10 mini marshmallows.

Be sure to use decent quality chocolate. I used Swiss dark chocolate, Belgian milk chocolate, and a very good white chocolate (Green & Black's).

I crushed some candy-canes to a peppermint hot chocolate, chopped up some candied ginger for a slightly spicy hot chocolate, and of course left some plain for the purists.

Here's what you'll need!
(I ended up with 12 cubes)

Heat proof glass bowl (like pyrex)
Medium sized saucepan that the bowl can sit on
Wooden stir sticks or spoons if you can find them.

Ingredients:

300g of good quality chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
50g of good quality chocolate for dipping the cubes in (optional)
toppings, like crushed candy cane, chopped candied ginger, spices, etc. (optional)

Method

Chop chocolate into meltable pieces. Simmer a couple of inches of water in a pan and place glass bowl over the top to make a double boiler. Be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water beneath it. Be sure to check the waterto make sure it stays at a simmer. Dump chocolate into the clean, dry bowl and stir as the chocolate melts.
Once the chocolate is 2/3 melted, with just some pieces of the chocolate unmelted, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring until chocolate is fully melted.
Add cocoa, sugar, and salt and continue to stir until combined.
Lift the bowl off the pan and use a towel to dry off any drips of water. Using 2 spoons, spoon the chocolate into the ice cube tray (about 2 spoonfuls per cube)
Tap the ice cube tray on the counter to make sure all the chocolate settles into the mold. Add a stir stick and you’re done. The stir stick should stay upright without any trouble.

Let the chocolate cool at room temperature for 3 or more hours. Resist the urge to poke or twist the ice tray!

To remove, wiggle the stir stick slightly and give a gentle tug. If it really seems stuck, jab a sharp paring knife between the chocolate and the mold wall.

I had air bubbles in some of mine so I melted white chocolate to dip the cubes in for a snow-topped look. You can place these in a tall mug, stick down (of course) for the the topping to dry.

To enjoy, stir 1 stick of chocolate in a cup of very hot milk.

Giver's Log attached lovely tags to the stir sticks. Great idea!

Leftover pantry/fridge/freezer stuff soup

2009-11-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

On a rainy, windy Sunday, the last thing you want to do is go outside to buy groceries, holding your loaded shopping bag in one hand, an umbrella in the other, trying not to get rain in your face (yes, it was that kind of rain). Some stuff I had lying around: frozen ground turkey, dried black beans, dried chick peas, red curry paste, and fresh corn on the cob.

OK, I admit, this soup would require a bit of planning (maybe the morning of) but it's mostly stuff that you'd leave to soak and thaw. If you happened to have canned beans, this would be a lot easier since a lot of time goes into soaking and cooking the beans. I would not really expect anyone to go out and buy these ingredients just to make this soup. But, I hope you can see what I had in my kitchen to make a very filling soup for yourself.

So here it is:

Spicy Turkey Bean Soup

1/2 cup dried black beans (mine soaked for 4 hours)
1/2 cup dried chick peas (mine soaked for 4 hours)
1 pound ground turkey breast
1/2 large onion diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp ginger root, peeled and minced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cobs of corn, kernels cut off with a sharp knife
2 tbsp red curry paste
4 cups stock
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

In a large pot, cover black beans and chick peas with water and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce to med-low and simmer, covered until the beans are soft. This took about 1-2 hours for me. I used this time to check my e-mail. Once the beans are soft, drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat oil, and saute onion, garlic, and ginger until softenend, about 5 minutes.
Add the curry paste and 1 cup of the stock, mixing well. Add carrots, celery, corn, and beans, and cover, cooking until carrots are somewhat tender.

Add remaining stock and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, and season with salt and pepper as desired (1/2 tsp each?)

You could also add 3 tbsp of fish sauce for more flavour.

Spicy Carrot and Lentil Curry Soup

2009-11-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

A definite winter soup! Thick, hearty, warm-your-body goodness with vitamin A and protein! I chose to blend my soup with an immersion blender for a smoother soup. The problem with blending carrots and lentils is that they end up looking like barf. I took this soup to work a few times last week and got some curious stares. If you get queasy easily, maybe just chop everything up very fine and leave it unblended!

This would be delicious with some hot naan bread, or rice.

From Alive Magazine (November 2009 Issue)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups diced onions
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 tbsp red curry paste
4 cups stock (veg or meat, your choice)
2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup dried split red lentils
1 cup frozen shelled edamame beans, thawed
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper

Heat oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger; saute for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Stir occasionally.

Stir in curry paste and 1 cup of the stock to blend. Add carrots and crushed red pepper. reduce heat to med-low . Cover and cook until carrots are crisply tender, about 5 minutes. Stir.

Add remaining stock, lentils, and edamame beans and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes until lentils are tender. Stir in cilantro, salt, and pepper.

Spoon into individual serving bowls and garnish with additional cilantro and/or sour cream or plain yogurt.

How to incorporate a skin-on, bone-in chicken breast...

2009-11-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

... into your soup! Skin-on, bone-in chicken is always cheaper at the supermarket. Maybe it's because they're sold by weight and so they work out how much the extra bone and skin would weigh? Or it's because they don't have to pay someone to skin and bone the chicken breast? Who knows... I've never tried to de-bone a raw chicken before but just imagine it's just much easier to do when it's cooked.

The idea behind this meal was to cook the chicken, get broth from the skin and bone, and then get the meat off the bone. It worked pretty well so I'll definitely do this again for other soups. Tonight's soup was:

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Que Pasa tortilla chip bag
Yield: 4-6 generous servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (you can keep or discard the seeds depending on how hot you'd like it)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium tomato, chopped
6 cups water
1 can black refried beans
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
juice of 1 lime
1 skin-on, bone-in chicken breast

Directions

Heat a heavy bottomed, large soup pot on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, and place the chicken breast, skin side down. Sear for about 2 minutes, then flip and sear for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the onions, garlic, peppers, cumin, and coriander for 5 minutes. Stir to make sure the onions absorb the chicken-y goodness!

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes and water and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken breast and place on a plate to cool.

Add refried beans (optional: for a smoother soup, use an immersion blender)

Once the chicken has cool, remove the skin and bone. Chop or shred chicken to desired thickness/size. Add the chicken back into the soup.

Add the cilantro and lime juice, and stir well. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
Serve with guacamole, tortilla chips and garnish with cheese and/or sour cream (if you eat dairy).

It was a pretty good soup with a decent amount of flavour. I think it could have been a little better if it had more chicken flavour. Maybe I'll use 3 cups water, and 3 cups chicken stock next time...

Crumbly Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

2009-11-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm probably missing some not-so-secret ingredient, but every time I make wheat-free cookies, they end up very crumbly. Like, every time I even touch them, they turn to 50% crumbs and 50% actual cookie. Well, if it's eating crumbly wheat-free cookies or no cookie at all, I can handle some crumbling. If you're lucky enough to be able to eat ice cream, the caramelized sugar, toasty oats and coconut crumbs would taste heavenly sprinkled on top of vanilla ice cream. Oh, how I miss dairy sometimes!

Crunchy, chewy, toasty bits...

My mother-in-law, J, sent me the recipe for these very fragrant, chewy but crispy cookies. I don't know where she got the recipe from, but I think it's from an Australian cookbook. J had mentioned that the first time she baked them, she didn't bake them for long enough and so she put them back in the oven the next day, and they were fine.

My problem was getting them off the cookie sheet. I greased the sheet, but did not flour it. Lesson learned. I'd be interested in making these into squares of some sort in the future... Maybe adding some more nuts and/or dried fruit?

The edges get nice and caramelized

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: approx 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened, unsulfered coconut)
125g (4oz) butter (I used 1/4 cup vegan shortening and 1/4 cup coconut oil)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I chopped some blanched, sliced almonds)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add beaten eggs and vanilla, beat well.
Stir in oats, nuts and toasted coconut.
Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture on to lightly greased and floured oven trays;
allow room for spreading. Bake in moderate oven 10 minutes; cool on trays.

I baked them at 350 C for 10 minutes, then lowered the temp to 325 C, rotated the pans and
baked for another 5 mins.  That was probably not the best idea; I should have baked them
at 300 C for about 15-20 mins.  Lesson for next time...

Nautilus - Fine Dining is Port Douglas, Qld, Australia

2009-10-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

The husband and I are not wealthy by any means, but we do like splurge on good food and wine, being the gluttons we are. Anniversary dinners are no exception.

Look at all 'em forks!

As luck would have it, we happened to be (or we meticulously planned to be) in charming Port Douglas for our 2 year anniversary. Before we embarked on our journey, we did a bit of research online for a "nice" restaurant. Harrison's and Nautilus seemed to be the rated "fine dining". In the end, we chose Nautilus, although I can't really remember what the deciding factor was.

The restaurant itself was quite nice. The entrance is up a little dirt path (I wonder how ladies in super high heels do this?) through trees and bushes. The outdoor dining area is under a canopy of tall palm trees. When there's a bit of a breeze, you can hear the leaves rustle, which is a lovely sound!

The setting was beautiful and the servers were nice... I wanted to love this place. I really did, but it just didn't do it for me. The food was beautifully presented and maybe it's just that I can't fully appreciate food and wine pairings yet but this experience wasn't what we were expecting. Maybe the problem is that last 2 restaurants we had a tasting menu with wine pairings DID blow us away... Anyway, it still was a nice place to be with the husband on our 2 year.

Something that took away from the experience was that the servers didn't seem very... knowledgeable. Our waiter (although very nice) told us the wrong course (he'd have a prawn salad in his hand but would tell us it was something different, then apologize profusely). We had some other servers come to present us with the pairing wine but they'd just bring us the glass and say something like, "I have no idea what this is." Um... not cool.

Our server said of one wine, "It's the most exported wine in New Zealand". Like, why would we want to spend marked up restaurant prices for a wine we could buy at our local supermarket? Not impressed by that, either.

Now... for the food! We opted for the 6 course Chefs Tasting Menu:

Duck & Green Ginger Consommé
paired with
Cloudy Bay Pelorus Sparkling (Marlborough)
Verdict: Consomme was very salty, but the mushroom thing on the bread
(sorry, foggy memory) was quite good.

Smoked trout on potato crisps
(sorry, can't remember what it was paired with...)
Verdict: Nice smokey flavour of trout, went well with the salty crispiness of the chips!

Chilled Tiger Prawn Salad
paired with
St Hallett Riesling (Eden Valley)
Verdict: The meatiness of the prawns and the shaved long white things (fennel?) went well together.
I think the dressing was a bit bland, though. Maybe a bit more lime juice?

Pan-seared Scallops with Pork Belly
paired with
Mitolo Jester Sangiovese Rose (McLaren Vale)
Verdict: Rich, creamy and very yummy.

Other than this being an eye fillet and there being a pancetta wafer, I can't remember
what this was. Sorry! It was quite tasty though, so great for beef lovers!

Vanilla Crème Brulee, White chocolate ice-cream & crisp cocoa wafer
paired with
Plantaganet ‘Off the Rack’ Chenin Blanc (Great Southern)
Verdict: Um, how can you go wrong with this?!

I can't say I regret our decision to go here, because the ambiance was very romantic. You can get better food elsewhere, though. We did end up getting better food at a great street-front restaurant called 2 Fish. It didn't have the "anniversary" ambiance, though. Guess you can't have it all...

Wheat-free, Dairy-free Maple Syrup Banana Bread

2009-10-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

*I jotted this recipe down but didn't write down the source. I've made some modifications to this recipe as well. Sorry if this is your recipe!

I went through a phase where I didn't eat bananas.

1) They aren't native to BC so (according to some sources) they make your body think you're in Hawaii or someplace warm and wonderful, and therefore, your body doesn't produce Vitamin D, and therefore, you don't absorb calcium (whoa, that was long).

2) There's a lot of discussion going on about how unfairly-traded they are. This is just what I read in a student newspaper though, so I clearly need to do more research!

I missed bananas, though. They are a tasty portable snack, that's easy to eat anywhere. So in the past few months, I've been eating them... And then of course if a few days pass since you last ate a banana, and they start looking freckly and sad... I believe that's why banana bread was created. It both sweetens and moistens! How perfect!

I decided to use maple syrup instead of sugar for this particular loaf because I happened to have a jug of it (thanks, Costco!) but it is pretty pricey stuff so I think honey, rice syrup or even regular sugar would be just fine. I'm trying to avoid sugar in granular form (well, basically white and brown sugar) at the moment so that's also why I turned to maple syrup.

The result was a moist, surprisingly sweet loaf that was a bit oily on the bottom. Maybe too much margarine?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup mashed bananas (I used 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine (I used Earth Balance)
1/4 cup rice milk (soy should be fine, too)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1 1/2 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees celcius. Grease a loaf pan.

Beat together margarine and mashed bananas. Add maple syrup, vanilla, rice milk, and eggs. Beat for about 1 minute on medium speed.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and stir well so that the baking soda is well incorporated. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold using a spatula.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for *45 minutes.

*I've noticed my convection oven takes less time to bake than a recipe calls for so you may want to check whether the bread is done by inserting a wooden skewer. According to the recipe, this bread could take up to 55-60 minutes to bake.

Healthier than your average Crispy Rice Square

2009-10-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

How can something that doesn't taste that sweet have so much sugar in it? Well, OK I don't know if Rice Krispies have soooo much sugar in them, but it's still very high on the list, along with glucose-fructose syrup... then add those marshmallows!! Yikes!

The high sugar content in marshmallows wasn't the only reason I chose an alternate recipe. I wanted to make a recipe without eggs or dairy. My sister can't have eggs, and neither of us can have dairy. I don't have any vegan friends, but I'll be prepared if I ever do :-).

This recipe still uses sugar, but you can definitely control what kind of sugar you use. I found evaporated coconut sap at a health food store (lower GI than regular sugar) and brown rice syrup. I also used unsweetened peanut butter rather than margarine, but if you're feeling schmancy, you could definitely use almond or some other glamorous nut butter.
The syrup, sap, and PB become like gooey caramel in this treat.

For cereal, I used organic brown puffed rice cereal. I also subbed 2 cups oats in place of 2 cups cereal for extra fiber and some chew.

Vegan Peanut Butter Puffed Rice and Oat Squares
(let's see you come up with a better name!)

5 cups puffed brown rice cereal
2 cups slow cooking oats
1 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup evaporated coconut sap (you could use brown sugar or cane sugar instead)
1 cup smooth peanut butter

Preheat oven to 300 C and toast oats until lightly toasted (I had mine in there for about 7 minutes but this might depend on your oven).
Pour rice syrup and coconut sap in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, and stir in the peanut butter. Mix well to ensure that PB is really mixed in with the syrup.
Place toasted oats in a large bowl and combine with puffed rice cereal.
Pour PB syrup mixture over the oats and cereal and use a large rubber spatula to combine. The syrup gets very sticky as it cools but the oil from the PB does help to keep it from getting too sticky.
Spread mixture out in a greased 9 in x 13 in (think lasagna pan) and cool.
Cut into squares and enjoy!

Vegan cornbread with spelt flour

2009-10-04T12:40:00.001-07:00

I'm testing out possible Christmas stuffing recipes. I've never made cornbread stuffing so this should be fun! For now, I'm just concentrating on getting the cornbread part right and I'll cross the what-to-put-in-the-stuffing bridge when I come to it.

Also, I'm not vegan, but my sister can't have eggs, and neither of us can have dairy. Oh, and we can't have wheat either, hence the addition of spelt.

I used a jar labelled "cornmeal" (something my sister repackaged and labelled). It was pretty coarse stuff and the bread itself came out quite gritty. I think in the future, I might do a mix, like half coarse cornmeal, and half medium or fine ground cornmeal.

It was quite tasty though, especially with butter (soy or goat's milk for me) but it's a little crumbly when warm. This recipe''s definitely a keeper!

Here's the recipe from Isa of Post Punk Kitchen. I've put my substitutions in parenthesis and italics.

Ingredients
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (1 cup spelt flour)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 cups soymilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350, line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper or spray the bottom lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, wisk together the soymilk and the vinegar and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt).
Add the oil and maple syrup to the soymilk mixture. Wisk with a wire wisk or a fork until it is foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix together using a large wooden spoon or a firm spatula. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice into squares and serve warm or store in an airtight container.

Minshuku "Chime" in Kushimoto, Japan

2009-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

The husband likes to stay at places with character and attitude. A minshuku is kind of like a B&B but in some cases even dinner is included, too!

We found Chime on the Japanese Rakuten Travel website and it really stood our because it wasn't some major hotel. It looked cute and the reviews (there were only 2) were good, too.

I took pictures, but my camera reformatted itself or something, so those are gone, gone with the wind.

Kushimoto is the southernmost place on Honshu (the main island of Japan) and is a great place for seafood. I believe there are tuna farms or something, but we didn't go as it's pretty difficult to get around without a car.

The owner of Chime came to pick us up at the train station, cooked us dinner (sashimi, soup with a huge chunk of Ise ebi (spiny lobster) in it, rice, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't really remember), then after dinner, she drove us to a local hot spring, and came to pick us up!! Talk about serivce...

She was very lovely and accomodating but to be honest, I don't think I was in the mood for a place like this. We had a very long day, our morning didn't go the way we planned, we had to rush through a lot of our sightseeing, and so the last thing I wanted was to make small talk. I just wanted to crash on a bed. When you stay at a place where the owner is making your food and basically watching you eat it, you feel so guilty leaving stuff uneaten but I had to. There was so much food and I just couldn't fit it all in. The husband tried to help but our stomachs can only hold so much!

Chime might be a fun place to stay if you're travelling at a relaxing pace and feeling like mingling with a local. I really did appreicate everything the owner did for us. I'm just afraid I came off as an aloof, indifferent person... Sorry!

Maybe if we decide to pass through Kushimoto we'll rent a car (this is a must), stop by and say hello again. She was a bit surprised to have foreign guests but in a good way.

Hotel Camelot in Yokohama

2009-09-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

We stayed here on the last night of our trip, and it was the best decision ever! We had been staying with my aunt for the past few days and it was getting to us (or to me, I guess). She's a sweet lady who just wants to be helpful and feed you every minute of the day and we appreciated that SO much!! As sweet as she is, we wanted a bit of a break from eating, and to give her a break from cooking and buying us food all the time!

Back when we were trying to decide on a hotel, here were the things that were important to us:

Cost (we wanted to keep it under 10,000 yen)
Easy to get to the airport (basically, we wanted a direct line where we didn't want to have to change trains with our big bags)
Location (a central station for us to get where we needed to go, and a station that had a lot to offer)

and of course,

Comfort (we were going to be flying to Australia the next day and attend a wedding upon arrival, so we wanted to be sure we would be well-rested)

Here's what the Camelot Hotel offered us:

9,700 yen, no breakfast, double bed, bar fridge, clean bathroom, a/c and free luggage storage for the day (well, they keep it on a trolley and cover it with a net so not the most secure...)
Right next to Yokohama Station where we could board the Narita Express (direct express to the airport)
A ton of shops and restaurants within walking distance. I bought a dress, gifts for people in Australia, the husband bought a jacket, and then we walked to a restaurant for dinner.
It was clean, cool (we were there in the humid summer), and we were able to sleep comfortably (oh did I mention the a/c was busted at my aunt's place and we slept on futons?)

We were quite happy with the Camelot but of course if you're going to be staying a few nights, you might want to find a hotel that includes breakfast. There were 2 restaurants and what looked like a cafe in the hotel but I'm personally not a fan of paying for breakfast at the hotel I'm staying at. Call me cheap.

IMO, Japan isn't really a "breakfast" country. It's not like North America, where you can basically turn up anywhere and get a hearty breakfast, unless you go to McD's or Denny's. Personally, I like lunch or dinner to be the big meal of the day when I'm travelling.

The exception to this, is if you stay at a traditional-style inn. Those places will fill you up for breakfast and it's usually included in the price!

Website: Rakuten Travel

2009-09-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

When I used to live in Japan, I remember hearing about this website a lot from my students and Japanese friends who got great deals on flights and accommodations both domestic and abroad. They have a Japanese website (obviously) which is filled to the rafters with accommodation choices all over Japan. I haven't really looked at the overseas choices, though. I referred to this website a lot when we were looking for affordable hotels in Japan. They have a very limited English website as well, which is where we found this Osaka hotel.

One VERY affordable hotel was near Shin-Osaka Station and I believe we paid a mere 6,500 yen for it. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures but it was called something like Hotel Vienne Osaka or something like that. If you know what Japanese budget/business hotels can be like, well, it's exacly what you'd expect. If you don't, it's going to be a lot smaller than your average hotel room with a smaller bed and cramped bathroom.

Anyway, this hotel was very basic but had a clean bathroom, decent bed (a double, I don't think you can find a queen or a king unless you stay somewhere really flash), TV, tea making stuff and a bar fridge. There was a convenience store nearby (I think it was a Lawson's) for stuff like water, beer, snacks, etc.

Breakfast was even included!! It was a very decent breakfast and we saw the guy who checked us in the night before, clad in an apron bringing out rolls and making sure there was enough coffee. The most popular breakfast choice was onigiri, which are rice balls with fillings like salted fish, pickled plum, kelp relish or something. These are hand made (I think) on-site thus are limited in quantity and go quick. There were also baskets of rolls and what looked like croissants with jam, butter, etc. A soup dispenser held about 4 kinds of soup but they all looked like instant soup so I didn't try any of those. A big put of miso soup sat simmering away and that looked like they had made it on-site so I had a bowl of that. It was fine. Oh yeah, there was also a salad of shredded cabbage and carrots.

We chose to stay near Shin-Osaka station because we had to catch an early train the next day. If I'm ever in the same situation, I think I'd stay here again just for conveniece and value's sake. If you're just looking for a hotel in any part of Osaka, I'm sure there are good-value hotels all over town, so consult your guidebook for a neat area like Umeda, and cross-reference it with Rakuten Travel.

Parrotfish Lodge Hostel, Port Dougls

2009-09-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

In my 20's I was a budget traveller. Through Europe and Asia, I stayed at some places that would make your hair stand on end. But hey, if that meant I had more money leftover for site admission, food, and shopping, all the better!

It turns out, I'm not in my 20's anymore. We booked the Parrotfish lodge, thinking we could handle it, we were still in our 20's at heart, and as long as we booked a private room, it'd be OK. Turns out I was wrong...

Staff: As with most hostels, the bulk of the staff at Parrotfish consists of other travellers looking to make some $ so that they can keep travelling. Although this makes for great conversation on where they've been, it doesn't make the staff very customer-service oriented or knowledgeable. There was one staff member (a lady) who was quite knowledgeable, but that was about it. You really can't tell who works there and who doesn't.

Breakfast: It's included and you get a choice of Wheetabix or toast with jam and margarine. They claim there is free coffee and tea all day but I don't think I could get any hot water out of the pot thing once. It was always empty or unplugged, and there was no one around to ask whether hot water would be available or not. Ehg.

Kitchen: There is one for guests to use but it's very busy during lunch and dinner (obviously), and not many people wash up after themselves. If you really want to save $$ by cooking your on meals, for out the extra $$ for an apartment. Then you're only dealing with your own mess.

Noise: I have to say, the Lodge was not as loud and boisterous as I was expecting it to be. They have a no-noise-after-11PM policy and I guess it's enforced because the noise really did die down later in the night. Our room overlooked the pool area where a lot of people hang out so we were expecting the worst, but were pleasantly surprised.

Rooms: Not bad. The floor was bit grimy, the A/C noisy, but the bathroom was functional, and the linens were clean. We saw 2 roach friends but hey, it's Australia so what can you do?

Location: It's on a street that isn't very well lit at night. I was always with the husband so I wasn't too worried but anyone travelling alone might be, and also, it's hard to see where you're stepping. Other than that, It's very easy to get to Four-mile beach

Great Barrier Reef with Poseidon Cruises

2009-09-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Being divers, the GBR was a must-see during our trip to Australia. We did a lot of research online for different operators that did diving tours and decided on Poseidon Cruises.

I can't even remember what the decided factor was for this. I know we were contemplating Silversonic as well. We really wanted to go for Silversonic's dive-only vessel, Pure Dive, but the price was just a bit too high.

Our experience with Poseidon was fine. They picked us up on time, got us settled in, had anti-nausea meds on board, fed us snacks (coffee, tea, cookies, muffins), and fed us lunch (bread, cold cuts, prawns, veggies and fruit). If you want to save $3, bring your own meds, very absorbant towels as the indoor area gets very wet, and anything else that might make you feel less nauseous on the boat trip out. It's a long boat ride and can get VERY bumpy. I wish I had brought my Tiger Balm because the strong smell of mint makes me feel a little better. It can also get very cold and windy (esp while the boat is cruising) so a fleece would be a good idea.

Oh, if the sigh of other people getting sick makes you sick, um, you might want to stock up on their biodegradable barf bags.

We had 13 divers on board, and maybe 30 snorkellers. I think the numbers can quadruple in high season. They divided the divers up in to 2 groups so I was happy about that. Our dive master was a nice guy and was quite thorough in his explanations. He kept an eye on all of us divers and went at what I felt to be a pretty good pace, although maybe a bit too fast at times? The husband likes to really take his time to look at everything around him (and he almost always spots something neat!) so I felt like I was trying to keep up with the DM but had to keep looking back over my shoulder for the husband.

I don't know if I'd book Poseidon again, though, but this is because they cater more to snorkellers. Not that I have anything against snorkellers or snorkelling (which I love) but they obviously have to pick dive sites based on how snorkellable it is. Pure dive, the dive-only vessel costs a small fortune, but might be worth it if we can take our time and go dive sites that are good for diving, not snorkelling.

Remi Pan

2009-09-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

As a belated wedding gift from my cousin, we got this interesting looking pan. He told me it was called a Remi-pan, named after the person who created it; Remi Hirano.

I know quite a few Japanese TV personalities but I'm not very familiar with her. She's got a cooking show and I believe has put out a few books as well. This pan is supposed to be a one-stop shopping kind of pan that can fry, deep fry, saute, steam and boil. It's also supposed to be the perfect pan for making gyoza. The lid keeps the oil from splattering, you can pour water through the top part to steam the gyoza, and the non-stick coating ensures your little g's are crispy on the bottom without sticking to the pan.

The husband loves gyoza but I'm trying to avoid wheat so we'll have to come to a compromise here. I haven't made any gyoza yet, and have only been using this Remi Pan as a regular pan... Sorry, Cousin K! I promise to experiment more with this pan... In the meantime, it's just cute!

Green Tea Shortbread

2009-09-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

It was my sister's bridal shower the other day, and as favours for all the guests, we decided to bake cookies. G baked some lovely chewy ginger cookies, and I yoinked a Martha Stewart Matcha Shortbread recipe. You'll notice these cookies are in a strange shape and it wouldn't surprise me if you've never seen such a shape. G said they looked like dog treats! Actually, they are supposed to be shaped like a section of a Japanese pine tree. I will have you know, G, the Japanese pine lives a really long time (don't ask me for a specific age, but I do know some of these trees have been around for centuries) and when you try to pluck a needle off of a pine tree, you'll always end up with 2 needles stuck together. So there.

I changed up Martha's recipe a bit by using 1 tbsp Japanese matcha powder, and 1 tbsp Japanese green tea leaves. These cookies are buttery and delicious. I used salted butter as well so omitted the extra salt that her recipe calls for. The saltiness of the butter and the slight bitterness of the green tea goes together very well. In a weird way, the bitterness almost brings out the sweetness of the cookie, too. Maybe that's the key to marriage. You've got to get through the bitterness to taste the sweetness, and then you become an old salt.

Martha Stewart's matcha Shoretbread Cookies:

Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons Chinese green-tea powder (I used 1 tbsp Japanese Matcha powder and 1 tbsp Japanese green tea leaves)
1/2 teaspoon table salt (I omitted this)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (I used salted butter)
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, or granulated sugar

Directions:

Sift flour, tea powder, and salt into a small bowl; set aside. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add sugar; continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add flour mixture; combine on low, scraping sides of bowl with a spatula if necessary, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
Place a piece of parchment on a clean surface; dust with flour. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness; chill in refrigerator or freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Cut chilled dough with 2-inch leaf cutters. Using a wide spatula, transfer to baking sheets. Chill until firm. Gather scraps together, re-roll, chill, and cut shapes. Bake until firm and barely starting to color, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely on wire rack; store in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 weeks.

Tonkatsu

2009-08-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

For our second to last lunch in Japan, I decided to indulge the husband (he had, afterall, patiently waited while I spent hours whining that I didn't have a dress for his sister's engagement part, then waited even more patiently while I tried on several dresses and whines that they were the wrong colour, cut, etc. Bless him!) with his favourite food, tonkatsu.

Tonkatsu, is a filet of pork (the cut can vary from fatty to lean), breaded in panko, then deep fried. I usually don't see the big whoop in this dish but if the husand loves it, the husband will get for being such a supportive shopping partner.

(Above: See? Look at all the layers!)

We knew we could find tonkatsu pretty easily as we were at a major station (Yokohama) that had more restaurants that you could shake a stick at. The problem was finding a good tonkatsu restaurant.
(There's even a cheesy one! We both just got plain, though...)

We headed into a department store where a friend had taken us for a meal before. This particular department store had 2-3 floors of restaurants and I remember walkign past a few of them thinking they looked quite good. We consulted the directory and lo and behold, there was a tonkatsu restaurant.

There was something special about this particular tonkatsu restaurant, because they made a special tonkatsu. The used domestic pork, sliced it to a thinness of 0.5mm, stacked 25 layers of pork, breaded it and deep fried it like that! This process apparently keeps the juiceness of the pork. I just took their word for it.

Well, I'm glad I did take their work for it because it really was tender and juicy, with a very crispy "crust" on the outside. It went perfectly with their house sauce, and the crisp bottomless shredded cabbage was very refreshing!

I think the husband was a little divided on this type of pork-preparation. He may have wanted a full piece of pork, not this slices of it. Well, if you do go to Yokohama Station, head over to a department store called "More's" and judge ot for yourself. The restaurant is called "Genkatsu".

Koya-san

2009-08-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

We stayed in a shukubo (temple lodging) here, which is pretty easy to do. We booked it through the rakutentravel website.

The temple was called "Komyo-in". It was clean and very pleasant to stay in. The staff spoke a little English, too. Baths are communal, as I think most of these temple lodgings are, (separated by gender, of course) so if you're not comfortable being naked with strangers, a hotel might be a better choice for you. The toilet area looked very new and was spotless. Toilets were western-style (hurray, no squatting!) Here's the outer garden. There were carp in the pond, too!

The rooms were clean, with windows facing an inner garden. The bedding is put away during the day but during the evening meal someone will come and set it all up for you, then put it away during the morning meal. There are thin cotton robes for you to wear to and from the bath, and a hot water pot with tea leaves and a tea pot.

Shukubos are famous for vegetarian cooking, called shojin ryori. I'm not sure about shukubo in other regions but Koya-san is know for sesame tofu, so almost every meal included this.

We were put in our own little dining room but this could be because it was low season. Depending on the place, you might even be put in a room with a bunch of other people. One thing to keep in mind, is that these meals are usually served on low tables, so you'll be sitting on the floor. If you've got leg issues or find sitting seiza (on your feet) uncomfortable, find out if they have a table and chair options. Because these rooms are tatami (thatched), it might not be possible, but it never hurts to ask, I guess. The food was just amazing. The flavours were so simple but each dish had it's own unique taste and texture. Nothing was too rich or too salty. We had been eating pretty rich, greasy restaurant foods before this, so it was just what our tummies needed.

Our dinner, from top, left to right: sesame tofu; vegetables and fu (soy bits?) boiled in broth; oragnes; vegetable tempura; pickles; stewed soy beans, mushrooms, and gourd; fu, mushrooms and taro potato ball in starchy sauce (lid closed); tempura dipping sauce; rice and miso soup.

Sesame tofu is very soft and almost mousse-like but has the rich taste of sesame. It kind of melts in your mouth like mousse, too! Too bad I've never seen it in Vancouver...

Above, is the fu (the pink and green thing), mushooms and taro potato ball in the starchy sauce.

Komyo-in was a great experience for us, and I would definitely love to stay at a shukubo again. If you don't have major dietary restrictions (like a soy allergy) it is a lovely way to see a bit of temple life and experience some simple, healthy food that your body is probably in dire need of after travelling for a few days. Next time we go to Japan, we'll definitely seek out a shukubo in a different region.

Lemon Coconut Macaroons

2009-06-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

These came out soooo light and chewy with the richness of coconut and refreshing zest of lemon. I actually got the recipe for these from www.mimi54.wordpress.com, but subbed 3/4 cup of the almond flour for shredded unsweetened coconut. I also accidentally added 1 cup of sugar rather than 3/4 cup, with 1/4 of the cup for rolling the cookies in. I personally don't think these cookies need to be rolled in suagr and next time I make them, I'll only use 3/4 cup of sugar. Also, it was mentioned in www.mimi54.wordpress.com that the dough can be refrigerated to firm it up a bit before rolling it into little balls. This might be a good idea as I did end up with a lot of sugar/almond/coconut on my hands.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350.

In a med bowl combine almond flour, lemon zest, and coconut. The lemon zest tends to stick together so use a spatula to break them up.

In a large bowl, combine egg and sugar. Add almond flour mix to bowl and stir well to ensure it is evenly blended. If you've got time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate so the dough will be easier to roll.

Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into a ball. Place on greased or parchment paper-lined pans, 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. These macaroons are not supposed to "brown" in the oven. They should stay a light pale color, so check on them after 8 mins.

Cool on pans, then veeeeery gently peel off.
Makes about 2 dozen.

Homemade Oat Treats

2009-06-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

I found a nifty little booklet while in the waiting room of my doctor's office. It was printed by Quaker Oats and had some oat recipes that some chefs came up with. Since I don't eat wheat (among other things) I knew I could find some useful stuff in there so I took one.

Lo, and behold, there was a recipe for oat bars! I'd been meaning to make my own granola bars for a long time but just couldn't find the right recipe. I subbed a few of the ingredients in these Homemade Oat Treats based on what I could find, what I like, and what was priced best (read: cheapest). I've got ingredients that I subbed in, or omitted parenthesis in italics.

Homemade Oat Treats
(Adapted from recipe by chef Kevin Prendergast)

3 cups old fashioned, large flake oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds (omitted)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup unsalted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/3 cup light brown sugar (I used evaporated coconut sap)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup wild honey (I used brown rice syrup)
1/2 cup wheat germ (I used ground up flax seeds)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I used unsulphured, unsweetened coconut)
1 cup golden raisisn (I used dried unsulphure, unsweetened papaya)
1 cup sun-dried cranberries (I used 1/2 cup dried unsulphured, unsweetened mango)
1/3 cup sun dried cherries (I used dried pineapple)
(I added a bar of high quality, dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces.)

Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Toast the oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and sliced almonds (I'm always afraid of burning almonds so I did this for 5 minutes). In a saute pan, gently heat the butter (or coconut oil), brown sugar (or coconut sugar), cinnamon, and honey (or brown rice syrup), stirring to incorporate the flavours.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the oat mixture, dried fruits (and flax and chocolate if using) together. Drizzle the honey mixture over top, ensuring the oats and fruit get a good "covering". Line baking tray with parchment paper and spread mixture evenly. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. (The recipe says to cut while still warm but for me, it was way too crumbly. I waited until it completely cooled to cut into squares.)

Makes 30 small bars.

Verdict: chopping the fruits can be a bit of a pain but as long as you've got a good knife, it should be OK. The chocolate gives it a bit of a "burnt" taste, but it's still good and helps me curb my sweet tooth (and avoid eating wheat) at work when there are muffins and doughnuts everywhere.

Roasted Eggplant and Dill and Potato, aka Baigan Ka Bartha and Aloo Soa Ki Subzi

2009-05-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

It was Saturday night and the husband and I planned to make some dinner using recipes from our new(ish) cookbook "Everything Indian Cookbook by Monica Bhide, 2004.

I LOVE Indian food but am always hesitant to make it home because some the ingredients are hard to get, or because I don't want to buy a whole jar a of tamarind paste or whatever and have to eventually throw it out. Also, it never tastes like what I have at the restaurants. But with the 2 recipes in this title, I felt it was doable because we happened to have all the ingredients on hand, or knew we could get them at the local Safeway (BTW, Thriftway, we miss you!)

Roasted Eggplant (Baigan Ka Bharta) from "Everythin Indian Cookbook"

3 pounds eggplant (we used 2 large ones)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped roughly
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste (recipe below)
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Fresh chopped coriander, for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 475. (I used the broiler and but the oven rack to the second highest position).

2. Rub 2 tablespoons of the oil on the eggplants on a baking sheets and place in the oven. Cook until the eggplant is soft and the skin is charred. Turn occasionally so all sides get charred. Remove from oven to cool.

3. Once eggplants are cooled, peel and discard skin. Mash the eggplant with a fork into a smooth pulp. Set aside.

4. In a large skillet, heat the reamining 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add th eonions and saute until they are transparent. Add the Ginger-Garlic Paste, red chili powder, and coriander powder, saute for 30 seconds.

5. Add the tomatoes and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Use the back of your spoon or spatula to mash the tomatoes. When the mixture is ready, oil will start to separate from the mixture (mine never did this so I went ahead to the next step).

6. Add the eggplant and mix well. Add salt to taste and fry for about 7 - 10 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice.

I order this every.single.time. at our local Naan 'n Curry and love it so much. This version was OK. Don't get me wrong, the balance of spice with the eggplant and tomato was really nice, but I was looking for something with more oomph, more kick, more flavour. I think next time, I'll add more ginger-garlic paste or maybe add curry powder or garam masala or something. Maybe even a chili.

Ginger-Garlic Paste From "Everything Indian Cookbook"

2 serrano chilies (optional)
1/2 cup gingerroot, peeled
1/2 cup garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp cold water

1. Remove the stems from the green chilies (if using)

2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree to form a smooth paste. Add mo more than 1 tbsp of water to help form a smooth consistency.

3. Store the paste in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. The paste will keep for up to 2 weeks.

We put ours in a glass Pyrex container with lid. We put plastic wrap to keep any air out and have kept it in the freezer for about a month now. You could probably halve or quarter this recipe since you really only seem to use about a tsp or so for each recipe!

Dill and Potato (Aloo Soa Ki Subzi) From "Everything Indian Cookbook"

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (we only had ground cumin so we used about 1/8 tsp of that)
2 green chilies, seeded and minced (we used serrano chilies)
2 large russet potatoes (or 3 medium) peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen peas (we omitted these)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp turmuric powder
salt, to taste
water, as needed

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium. Add the cumin seeds (or ground cumin). When they begin to crackle (or when ground cumin becomes fragrant), add the freen chilies; saute for 10 seconds.

2. Add the potatoes and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the peas, dill, turmeric, and salt; saute for another 2 minutes.

3. Add a few tablespoons of water (the husband added 4), cover and cook on low heat until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 - 12 minutes.

How can you go wrong with potatoes and dill? This dish was fine, but next time, I might add some curry powder or garam masala for more flavour. We kind of added salt as we ate since the recipe doesn't tell you exactly how much to add.

Wine Night

2009-05-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

The hubs and I have been keeping a particular bottle of wine for a special weekend. By special, I don't mean an anniversary or birthday but a weekend where we have no plans, can start drinking early in the evening so we can enjoy the sunset, and can have enough time to make some food to go well with the wine.

Matthews Estate 2005 Claret:

This wine was described to us as a "big, chewy red" (see my earlier post titled, "The Wines of King County" for details) and I really don't know enough fancy shmancy wine lingo to describe it. It definitely had a full flavour with enough acidity to make your mouth water a little while you held it in your mouth.

I can truly say that I researched high and low for what would go well with this special wine. I know what you're thinking, "easy, some cheese and crusty french bread!" Well yeah, but what if we don't eat wheat or cow products? "Ohhhhh... well that makes a big difference!"

The one with the black wax (?) is manchego, and the one that is diced finely is the pecorino romano.

Have no fear, we found 2 sheep's milk cheeses: pecorino romano, and manchego. Here was our menu for our much anticipated night with Matthews Estate 2005 Claret:

Tomatoes with olive oil and fresh basil atop slices of manchego cheese
Grilled portabello mushrooms and red bell peppers
Rice pasta in olive oil with garlic, olive tapenade, and pecorino romano.

The tomatoes should be self explanatory! We used 2 medium sized vine-ripened ones.

For the grilled mushrooms and bell peppers, I brushed them with olive oil, seasoned them with salt, and sprinkled a bit of balsamic vinegar on them. We used them on the George Foreman because our BBQ wasn't working (boo!) so if you can BBQ them, do it until all the liquid evaporates from the mushrooms.

For the pasta, it didn't quite work as planned. We used rice spaghetti and the water we cooked it in got really sludgy, and so the spaghetti was pretty sludgy. I rinsed it with cold water to wash the sludge off but now the pasta was cold! The idea was for the hot pasta to warm the olive tapenade and melt the pecorino romano a little. Not ours. It just sat there looking cold so I threw it in a frying pan to heat it up a bit. After it heated up, it was delicious!

If you're using wheat pasta, you won't have this problem so cook as much pasta as you need, drain and while still hot, toss it with olive oil, a few tablespoons of olive tapenade, and as much or as little pecorino romano (or similar cheese like parmesan) and let stand for a few minutes while the cheese softens and melts.

Of all out dishes, I though the tomato/fresh basil/manchego went best with the Claret, but the Hubs thought the pasta paired best.

Sorry for the unspecific quantities for the dishes, but just keep tasting adn testing until you get the level of saltiness you like!

Chickpea spinach salad with feta

2009-05-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer: I've been copying and pasting recipes from all kinds of blogs for years now and had been keeping them for my own use. I never thought I'd start a food blog so I never cited the source. If this recipe is from your blog, please leave me a comment so I can properly credit you.

Chickpea spinach salad with feta:

I love chickpeas and I love feta. I decided to indulge the other day at the supermarket and but a block of high quality (or at least the price made me think so) goat feta. Not as salty as the stuff in the brine, which is kind of a bummer because I was hoping the feta would add some saltiness to this salad. Not the end of the world that it didn't though, because it still added a creaminess to it.

I'm not the precise measuring type so all ingredient quantities are approximate.

1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked until soft (you could use 1 can instead)
2 bunches of spinach, blanched, squeezed dry and chopped roughly
1 tbsp good olive oil
juice of 1/4 - 1/2 a lemon (depends on how lemony you like it)
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta (depends on how feta-y you like it)
Salt and pepper

Place the blanched, squeezed and chopped spinach in a bowl, making sure it's evenly spread out, and leaves are not squeezed together. Pour the chickpeas over top. Drizzle with olive oil, making sure it is evenly distributed. Add lemon juice, tossing to coat all of the spinach and chickpeas. Sprinkle the feta cheese over top and again, toss to distribute evenly. Have a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

You could keep the spinach raw if you like, but the spinach I had on hand was pretty beat up so I decided to blanch. Your call...

The Wines of King County

2009-04-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Who knew? Wineries (or satellite wine shops, I believe they're called) just a few minutes drive outside of Seattle!

The husband and I were hosting from out-of-town friends who somehow brought sun-filled, warm days with them from Minnesota (love them!) and we somehow ended up going wine tasting. It wasn't necessarily planned but somehow, someone threw out the idea, the husband googled, and on a Monday morning, we were bound for Woodinville to visit some well-known wineries, and some less-known (well, at least to us.)

For our first stop, we chose Chateau Ste Michelle. We've had quite a few of their wines before and liked their Indian Wells labels quite a bit. The grounds are well-manicured and the gift-shop was really nice, too. I don't want to give away too much about the tour other than to say it's free and you get a free tasting at the end. You can pay a bit more to taste their Indian Wells label but considering you can buy these labels at Safeway (and sometimes they're on sale), this didn't seem worth it. To taste their vintage reserve wines, you have to make an appointment. Overall, I liked the CSM tour and the Chateau provides a really nice "vineyard" atmosphere. There are picnic tables on the grounds, too! We bought some BBQ at a restaurant nearby and had our own little picnic there.

Next, we went across the street to Columbia Valley Winery. It was under construction so the ambiance was lacking. The woman at the counter was really helpful and friendly. Actually, everyone was very cheerful and welcoming. It created a comfortable, un-intimidating atmosphere for asking questions. They didn't have a "tour" per se but you could pay something like $5 for a few different wines. I don't think the hubs was very impressed with any of them but just a matter of taste.

We got in the car (after drinking lots of water, eating , and releasing fluids :) and drove around the corner to Januik Winery / Novelty Hill Winery. The building is very lofty with high ceilings and big windows, that kind of thing. Again, the woman at the counter gave us some great recommendations for the wines, and some of the other wineries in the area.

"Big, chewy reds" is how the woman at Januik/Novelty described Matthews Estate. The "Estate" looked like a temporary construction office. Inside, there are some handsome bottles of reds nestled in cool wooden boxes. The reds were definitely big and chewy. Hubs was very impressed and bought a bottle of claret. No pic of Matthews Estate wine shop because the shop itself was really not very impressive.

Next off, another recommendation by the "big, chewy reds" woman was Brian Carter Cellars. Again, the woman there was super-friendly. At this point, I think I was just plain"happy" and not really paying attention to the wine.

Final stop, as per the recommendation of the Brian Carter, was Bookwalter Winery. It looked like a car garage (in a cool way) and was decorated nicely. I was still quite "happy" from all the tastings to pay attention to the wine. We did buy one bottle wine but I think the cork was contaminated.

Outside the wineshop (used to be an annex to an old schoolhouse?) Note the car-garage like doors as we conferred about the wines...

All in all, it was a summer-like day in early April. With our good friends, we spent the day laughing, chatting and relaxing. I had to say goodbye to our friends the next day. It was the perfect way to end a fun week with them.

Black Bean Soup

2009-04-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

After a long weekend (gotta love Easter) full of rich foods and wine, my body was craving something simple, nutritious, and filling. Black bean soup! This is something I threw together with things I had lying around the house. SO not in the mood to shop on Easter Monday. I added miso paste for depth and saltiness.

Being of Japanese descent, this is something I always have in the fridge. You could definitely use chicken stock or some other kind of stock but would have to play around with the seasonings a bit. Oh, I also used an immersion hand-blender (gotta love those things!)

Lazy day black bean soup

1 1/2 cups dried black beans (soaked over night, simmered for 2 hours until soft, drained)
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons miso paste (I think red or white would be fine)
soy sauce, to taste.
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

In a large pot, heat up some oil over med-high and saute the garlic, onions and ginger until the onions are translucent.
Add the black beans, stirring in incorporate onion/garlic/ginger flavours for about 2 minutes.
Add 2 cups water and miso.
Bring to a boil stirring occasionally to help miso dissolve.
After miso has dissolved, simmer for about 5 minutes. Add as much or as little soy sauce depending on how salty you 'd like it to be. You can add more water for for a thinner soup.
Being very careful that the blender is fully submerged in the liquid, pulse until desired consistency is reached. I like it pretty well blended. It's better to stop the blender before moving it around the pot. And never life the blender up while you're still blending, otherwise you'll end up wearing the soup!
Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy!

You could even add some heat to this by adding a few green chiles. I decided to keep mine heat-free to help my body cleanse a little but will definitely be trying this recipe again with some chiles.

Thai-style Coconut Soup

2009-03-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Emphasis on the "-style" as I don't think this is very authentic. I love Thai coconut soups. The combination of creamy, sweet, salty, hot and sour is just heaven for me. In this version, I left out the "hot" part because I was making it for my mom and she doesn't do hot. At all. Ever...

I used stuff I had around the house: carrots, celery, onions, lemon grass (actually I saw that at the store and decided to pick it up) and of all things, green lentils. I don't think I've ever had a Thai dish with lentils in it. But anyway, as I said, this soup is not Thai, just has some "borrowed" elements from it.

I'll probably try to recreate the soup and add noodles or seafood another time. I'll also add some spice to it, too!

Thai-style Coconut Soup

1 large yellow onion
1 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, sliced into strips
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
1 stalk (?) lemon grass, chopped into three pieces and smashed with the dull side of a knife
1 can coconut milk
juice and grated rind of 1 lime
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
salt and/or pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat (I used coconut hoping to capture its fragrance) and fry the onions, carrots, celery, and ginger until softened. Add lentils.

Add 2 cups water, the lemon grass pieces and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until lentils are soft. Add chicken pieces and simmer until they are white and cooked through.

Add coconut milk and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and zest. Stir to combine flavours. Add salt and/or pepper to season to your liking.

Serve with cilantro sprigs and enjoy!

*I'm not really sure how to use the lemon grass. I should look that up!

Japanese Hot Pot aka Nabe

2009-03-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

That's pronounced "nub-eh" not "nayb". Nabe can be a dish or a dish. What I mean is, it can be a meal and it can also refer to the ceramic pot you cook it in.

I grew up on this comfort food and anytime I was away from home for long periods of time, it was one of the foods I'd really miss. There are as many variations on this dish as there are for "meatloaf" or "tuna casserole" so other people will do something completely different than what I do. And that's OK! There's no right or wrong way. As long as it tastes good and gets the family or friends around the table, the recipe doesn't even matter. It does consist of a few parts though: protein, vegetables, and starch/carbs.

For protein, my mom would usually use chicken thighs or wings to make a stock(with the skin and bone on for more flavour). Then she'd usually get a few variations of Chinese greens like bok choy, choy sum, napa and cabbage. Most leafy or stalky greens will work. I always slice some carrots on an angle for colour and flavour. I also like to add enoki mushrooms (the long skinny white thingys in the pic below), tofu, and konnyaku thread bunches (and sometime udon, if we have guests). You can also add leeks and other greens you'd normally put in a soup.

To start off, I put about 2 -3 sheets of kombu (dried sea kelp) in a large stockpot of water. I let this sit on a low-med heat while I chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. The kombu is very concentrated with flavour and you'll see the water turn a golden tinge after it's been sitting in there for a while.

Something I did recently is make pork meatballs using about 1/2 - 1 pound of lean ground pork, 1-2 chopped garlic clove (depending on how garlicky you like it), 1 tbsp of finely chopped ginger and salt and pepper. You can leave the bowl of raw ground meat at the table and cook as you go (using 2 large spoons to form balls, dropping them into the pot as you go), but if the sight of raw meat makes you sick, you can boil these meatballs in the kombu broth ahead of time so that they're all ready to go and the broth is nicely flavoured. Your choice. If you can find sukiyaki style beef or pork (sliced thin), that cooks very quickly and is easy, too.

I like to use the nabe (the pot) for aesthetic purposes but if you don't have one, you can use a stock/soup pot. Just be sure you can easily reach into it to grab stuff out. It would be best to use one that's not too deep.

We've got it on a single burner (behind the sauces) and bring it to a boil. Then put in your meat (unless you are using pieces with skin and bones attached. Those will take longer so you'll need to cook them in the stock before you start serving), vegetables, tofu, noodles, etc and wait until the meat is cooked thoroughly. Add whatever condiments to your bowl (we usually go for kimchee base [centre] and roasted sesame paste[left]) and when the meat and veggies are ready, dig into the big pot and grab what you like (you can designate a pair of "pot only" chopsticks for germophobes) and ladle in some of the soup, too. Make sure the sauces are well mixed in and enjoy! Usually someone is on refill duty (in our home, that's me) and will stock up the pot so the next batch can cook while everyone's eating.

I grew up finishing the meal off with noodles (like cooked vermicelli and udon) but some like to use cooked, cooled rice (like leftover rice). By the end of the meal, the soup is very nicely flavoured with meat and veggie essences and all this seeps into the starch and makes for a delicious filler-of-the-cracks in your tummy. If you're using rice, some people like to crack an egg into the pot and let that cook in the broth. The leftover soup-egg-veggie bits makes for a really good breakfast the next morning!

There are variation on the nabe stock, too. People also use soymilk in the stock for a creamier broth, and I've even heard that curry nabe is somewhat of a rage in Japan. There isn't really a right or wrong way. The most important thing is that it tastes good to you!

Red House Beer & Wine Shoppe

2009-03-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

When in Renton... or even if you're not in Renton why not stop off at the Red House Beer & Wine Shoppe? www.redhousebeerandwine.com

The husband took me here for a belated birthday dinner and it was fantastic. Actually, fantastic is an understatement! He went in a day or two before and spoke to the manager about setting up a special dinner for moi. The husband likes to make special occasions even more special but this surprised me; he pre-selected our dinner!

Just for background: We love food, think about it it way too much, eat way too much of it, and basically love pouring over menus and restaurant websites. We could have easily spent an hour looking the menu over trying to combine the shared dishes and entrees, with several glasses of red and white. When he went to the restaurant, he picked out dishes I would like (and he was bang-on) and the manager selected wines that would compliment each dish!

Husband was a bit worried that I would have wanted to eat something else, or be kind of offended like, "what, you don't think I can pick my own food?" but it was perfect.

Red House was pretty empty (it was a Monday night) and we pretty much had the top floor to ourselves.

Here's what we ordered (the manager (who had Monday off) kindly threw in a few extras! :)

House Salad
Pear & Gorgonzola Salad
Roasted beets
Devil Shrimp (spicy!)
Beer glazed mushrooms (delicious!)
Steamed clams (huge portion!)
Grilled pacific salmon
Cioppino

The servings were pretty generous and with the "extras" the manager threw in for us, we were stuffed before the entrees came out. We were able to squeeze in a few bites of salmon and maybe 2 sips of the Cioppino broth before was admitted defeat. We got it all packed to go, along with a dessert sampler, too!

I can say with confidence that everything we ordered except for the salmon and Cioppino were excellent. Because we got the latter 2 items to go, we ended up heating them up the next day for lunch. Needless to say, all the lovely seafood in the Cioppino was slightly overcooked by then. Same goes for the salmon. The both seemed to be seasoned very well (espeically the Cioppino broth which was delicious!). I really hope we can go back again so I can actually have the entrees as they were meant to be.

Oh, we did go back a few days later but just for a snack and a glass of white :) We had the crabcakes (SOOOO good) and pomme frites with truffle oil (also yum).

The wines that stand out are:

New Age (Argentina frizzante Sauvignion blanc - matched really well with the salads)
Jakob Demmer (Germany Reisling - amazing with the crab cakes)

I can't wait to try more stuff here... like the polenta fries... and the paella... Oh, did I mention how reasonable the prices are? The same meal in Seattle would have cost double, easily. Because they are a wine store, you can order a bottle from the store and pay a $5 corkage fee. Same goes with beer except the fee is $1.50.

As if this place weren't awesome enough, they do a wine and food pairing thing on Wednesday nights at 6pm for something like $20. I believe that gets you maybe 3 glasses fo wine and some food. I haven't been yet (I'm only ever in Renton on weekends) but hope I can miss a few days of work to take time off to go there.

Thanks for a wonderful birthday dinner, Red House!

Best insulated hot beverage mug... evahhhhh!!!!

2009-03-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

I am a BYO-kind of gal. So when sports bottles, Nalgenes, plastic mugs and stuff became really popular, it was a fun time for me. I love getting the whole 5 or 10 cents off your drink at Starbucks or wherever. One less cup in the trash... Although maybe the amount of water and soap I use to clean out my reusable mug isn't so earth-friendly...

Anyway, I'm here to write about Thermos-brand Urban Elements Insulated Beverage Container. I believe I got if for Christmas one year from my sis and her bf and believe me when I tell you just how excited I was. It's a sleek, cool, chocolate brown container that you can sip straight from, rather than using the lid as a cup.

Ta-da~~~~~~!!!

It has a snap button and wire-thingy so the lid won't pop open in your bag.

This light blue rubber squishy part seals off all the holes so no leaks!

It claims to be able to keep beverages hot for 12 hours and I believe it! There have been days where I've filled it up with hot coffee at about 8 am, left it on my desk and by noon, the coffee is still burn-your-tongue scalding hot. I've also put boiling water in it at night and drank it first thing the next morning (maybe 7 hours later?) and it wasn't scalding hot but it was impressively hot.

I thought I had left it on a bus once and almost cried. Phew! It was just in the bottom of my bag. This truly is something I use everyday and wonder how I ever survivied without one.

Oh, my mom wanted one too, so I got her one for her birthday :) They're not cheap, but if you like to drink hot beverages throughout the day and would like a handy container you can just fill up and toss in your bag (and I do mean "toss". I've had this thing upside down in my bag under books while on the bus!) I will say I think you'll find the $30 + price to be a worthy investment.

Wine Party Recap

2009-03-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

The wine tasting went really well in my mind. I only hope everyone else had a good time, too.
It was a blind tasting so we had 5 bottles wearing paperbag "shirts" thanks to the talented Dylan. It was bit tiring because I had to rinse out everyone's glass and then pour the next wine, and doing that 11 times is not fun.

An alternative: Maybe next time I'll pour all the wines into a carafe or decanter and number the container, and mark the glasses with a dry-erase marker. That might make for easier and less messy pouring.

Another alternative: Pre-cut cheeses so people can quickly grab the cheese that best compliments the wine.

The next alternative after that: Have three pitchers full of water and three empty pitchers and place them around the room (1 full and 1 empty at each place) so people can easily rinse out their glasses and move onto the next wine. I think there was a lot of waiting around and that might have been boring for some people.

The faves: Rioja Crianza 2005 Tempranillo Campo Viejo got some good responses. I believe most found it to be an easy-going wine that wasn't too intense.

Wolf Blass 2006 Shiraz had a good length of flavour.

Smoking Loon 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel was another good one.

I don't think any of them scored very badly. Most people found something they liked and at the end of the evening, all bottles were empty which is always a good sign :)

The best part of the evening was seeing everyone drinking and eating together. Corny as it may sound, having good food with good wine and good friends is one of the finest pleasures in life. (Cue the throwing of the cheese...)

Some cheese with your wine?

2009-02-26T20:10:00.000-08:00

Over the last few days I've been all over town (well, my side of town) gathering together stuff for the wine party which is in 2 days. 6 kinds of cheese for 5-6 kinds of wine for 8-10 people. Hope it's enough!

Clockwise from top: Brie, Havarti, Black Goat's cheese (?), Cambozola, Balderson's aged cheddar, Jarlsberg

I'm really excited for the black goat's milk cheese:

Yup, aged 2 years! Old stuff...

This party is going to be a blind tasting. The bottles will be covered up with paper bags and guests will use their senses to come to an opinion about the wine. I wrote down a few of the characteristics of each wine so we'll know what to smell/taste for. Here's a score sheet I made:

It's fairly straight forward, just jot down what you smell, taste, etc., then rate it out of 5 wine glasses. It might seem kind of school-ish but in a fun way! (Or maybe it's just fun for me?)

French and Parisian Macaroons

2009-02-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

I have just been informed that macaroons do not call for wheat flour or dairy in their recipes! I was also informed that our fave gal Martha has 2 recipes on her website. I might need some time to get all the materials together (like almond flour) but here are the recipes in case you're interested. It helps me to have these at my fingertips.
So a big thank you to Lisa for opening my eyes to the possibility of eating macaroons! (My mother-in-law also thanks you, as she has a dairy allegy)

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/french-macaroons

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/parisian-macaroons?autonomy_kw=macaroons&rsc=header_1

I'm having a wine party

2009-02-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

Yes I am. It's going to be blind tasting so I better make sure I have enough paper bags to cover up those bottles!

Thank goodness for Safeway and their "buy 6 bottles, save 10%" deal. I feel like that would NEVER fly in Canada. Well, not in Vancouver, I don't think. Needless to say, we bought 6 bottles, 1 of which was consumed over dinner (oops) so I'll be buying one more soon. It'll be a local (BC wine) around $10.

From L- R: Rioja Campo Viejo Crianza 2005 (Spain), Wolf Blass Shiraz 2006 (S. Australian), Chateaux Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Columbia Valley), Penfolds Rawson Retreat Merlot 2007 (Australia), Smoking Loon Zinfandel 2006 (California)

Now, for the cheese! After some brief research here's what apparently goes with these wines. (Source: gourmetsleuth.com)

Rioja - Grafton Village Cheddar, Havarti, Manchego
Shiraz - Roncal (if i can find it)
Cab Sauv - ??? No specific listing for this wine (maybe cheddar?) so I'll have to sleuth some more...
Merlot - Maybe Jarlsberg? Blue? Again, nothing really specific for this one either...
Zinfandel - Muenster

But if these are too hard to find or just too pricey, I might just get the basic brie, blue, goat, and maybe 2 others.

Valentine's Day projects

2009-02-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

So the big V-Day is coming up and husband and I have a whole week of vacation to spend together! Needless to say, I've made a few plans about what we're going to do during the week. But I'll save that for a later post after V-Day so I'll have pics to go with them.

First, the gifts to my husband... I got him a book called, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by the same author as 'The Kite Runner' which we both loved. Hope he likes it!

For something sweet, I made handmade treats: Chocolate almond hearts, and something I've been calling "The Gummy Bear Project". They're pretty much just chocolate covered gummy bears... Is that weird to you? It would have sounded weird to me had I not ever tried one. But then again so would a chocolate covered pretzel.

Anyway, a few years ago our neighbour brought us a bag of chocolate covered gummy bears as a gift and I, (like some of you I'm sure) was like, "what? who would eat such thing?" But my sweet tooth got the better of me and something weird-sweet was better than nothing so I tried it... and it's good! You can suck off the chocolate and then eat the bear, or chew the whole thing at once.

So yeah, I made those and chocolate covered almonds made to look like hearts. Basically for the almonds, this is what I did:

Melt some choco chips in a bowl.
Stir in whole almonds and mix to coat.
Spoon out almonds and place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
Position 2 almonds with the pointier ends together, so that they kind of form a heart.
You can spoon a little bit of chocolate where the 2 almonds meet to get a better "hold".

For the gummies, I used the leftover chocolate and stirred in the bears, coating each one with chocolate. Then I just spooned them out onto the baking sheet.

Wait until dry, and then eat!

My husband kind of mentioned the other day, "I don't really like gummy bears b/c they're oily". Hmmm... well I know he likes almonds so 1 out of 2 ain't bad, right?

Chocolate almond hearts on the left, and chocolate covered gummy bears to the right. I know they don't look very appetizing but whatever. It tastes all the same in your mouth!

Close up of almond hearts. Very lopsided and goopy... kind of like mine? :P

Hakone: Get the room with a view!

2009-02-01T16:13:00.001-08:00

Hakone is an easy day trip from Tokyo, but to really enjoy all it has to offer, it's best to stay at least one night. Hakone is famous for its hotsprings, some of which are pretty simple, some quite lavish (cypress wood tubs, marble floors, that kinda thing) and others just... fun?

There is one hotspring... centre (?) where it's like a bunch of pools with different types of hot springs. Depending on the season, they might have a green tea tub with a novelty teapot pouring green water into the tub, they have also been known to have a red wine tub, and also a tub with these little fish that come and eat the dead skin off your feet. Sounds fun but I just imagine it full of little kids and screaming babies and a lot of pee-ed in tubs :P

My husband (then-boyfriend) found a nice-looking Ryokan (Japanese style inn) that was right by the lake (Ashino-ko). It was a bit pricier than we wanted to but the lady at Odakyu Travel had stayed there herself and highly recomended it. She also suggested we pay a bit more (maybe it was like $10 more) for a room with a view of the lake. Great idea!

The typical circuit in Hakone is to arrive by Odakyu Romance Car (umm... it's just a train but it's kind of pink on the outside? I think the front window is really wide so you can see exactly where the train is headed. The view is usually blocked by parents holding their kids up to see the view.

I can't remember the typical order but there is a cable car that takes you over sulphur mines. It smells just like it looks

With that lovely waft in the air, we walked along the Owakudani Nature Trail (careful not to linger too long as the gases are poisonous...) and bought black eggs (only the shells are black b/c of the sulfurous waters). Black eggs taste like regular eggs.

At some point, we boarded this beauty and sailed accross the lake (Ahino-ko). I don't know what the connection is but some people still had fun:

The thing with ryokans is, usually a wonderful dinner is included. In our case, it was a huge spread of locally caught fish and other yummy stuff like tempura, hotpots etc. This meal alone, was worth the price of the entire trip!

The thing I love about the Yokohama area is that you can go on these mini-vacations that are just a 1 hour (+ or - a few minutes) away! I know the option is there to do this in Vancouver as well but for some reason I never get around it...

The morning after nettle leaf tea

2009-02-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

I drank the nettle leaf tea after dinner and lo-and-behold, I slept through the night without getting up to pee! This stuff will be a godsend on weeknights :) Love it!

Saipan with a new man

2009-01-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

So, you're in a new relationship and for whatever reason, the need for a trip comes up. It might be to visit friends/family, or just a vacation. In my case, this was a vacation we ended up taking after our original plans were just too complicated.

My then boyfriend (and now husband) and I really like this Japanese liquour called "shochu" that has been called Japanese vodka by some. It can be made from wheat, rice, potatoes, and some other random things like buckwheat, sesame, and shiso leaf. We had been talking about going to a place in the south of Japan (Kagoshima) where a lot of this stuff is produced, and the really good stuff can only be bought locally, not say, at some store in Tokyo.

We planned and planned and planned but the train would take too long, we'd have to race to catch this boat, and that boat, if we missed even one connection, our plans would have been shot.

So, I went to a local travel agency and looked at a few flyers for trips we could take and came across Saipan. Sunny, warm, tropical and lots of American stuff we totally missed! I think the price was decent, too!

So suddenly our on-the-go trip had turned into a romantic tropical mini-vacation. Our first trip as a couple...

View from our room...

We did an excursion out to the area called "the forbidden island" or somethign like that. There was this cave-like thing with water in it that we got to swim in :)

We sample fresh-off the tree coconut juice and sashimi, and then we went snorkelling and had this whole area to ourselves:

We even took a booze cruise with some "local entertainment" who spoke about 5 different languages :) Nothing says good times like a round of Y-M-C-A!!

We ate too much at Tony Romas, watched old episodes of "Monk" and basically had a blast. This trip definitely brought us closer together and made us realise how much we love travelling with each other (cue sap!)

Korean food saved my vacation!

2009-01-31T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Korea for a week? Isn't that kind of long?" The answer is no.

My very good friend "R" and I had planned to meet up for Japanese winter break somewhere
fun and decided Korea was the answer. We'd booked our flights, our accommodations and then it hit. A big, ugly cold and fever to boot. I had to go into work the day before I left and basically everyone told me I looked like sh*t without using those actual words. My Head Teacher went out and bought me juice, fruits and light foods so that I would actually eat something. My dear coworker D draped his coat over me to keep me warm. My assistant manager J brought me hot tea. The only person who refused to acknowledge I was sick was my manager, M.

After getting a lot of flack from the rest of the staff, M decided to let me go home. I was due at the airport (about a 2 hour train ride away) very early the next day so my wonderful Head Teacher Y offered to at least drive me to the bus station where I could sit on a warm but for the whole ride rather than a drafty train where I'd have to get off a few times to change trains.

I stayed the night at Y's while she made me drink all kinds of hot fluids to help ease the discomfort of the cold as much as she could. She also gave me some kind of Japanese energy drink saying, "don't get into the habit of drinking these, they're really strong. But I really think you need it this time!"

I managed to get myself on the plane and from the airport, onto a bus to the hostel where I was meeting R.

Prior to this trip, the only Korean food I'd had was BBQ. I was blown away but how flavourful everything is! Loved every bite! Full of ginger, chili and awesome broths, my cold and flu were gone after a few meals! Kimchi fried rice, rice cake in soup, bottomless banchan, sesame oil anything, yum!

These are some meals we had in the Insadong area:

R and I took in some mandatory sights like the palaces...

We took a day-trip out to a traditional-looking village near Seoul where kids had fun "playing" with traditional forms of punishment:

I don't know if sliding on ice, pushing yourself around with 2 pointy things is a traditional Korean activity but it sure was fun! (Even if the ice was broken in a few places...)

This is a train station at the DMZ (De-militarized zone) where they hope one day, there will be a train that will link the two Koreas. There was a timetable of the trains and everything!

New Year's Eve: A bottle of soju and riot police...

Oh, we knew something was going down on New Year's but had no idea where. We asked a waitress at the restaurant we had dinner (again, in Insadong) and she point to these 2 girls and says, "follow them". So we followed the 2 nice girls and got to the city center (or was it city hall?) for roman candles. People kept handing me lit roman candles and I tried my best to keep it as upright as possible. The streets were packed like crazy and I was so worried I'd lose R in the crowds. I think I was screaming her name a lot because people in the crowds very kindly made way for us as we clung to each other to get home. Despite all the soju and sprite I drank, I felt fine the morning after. R had very nicely fastened a plastic bag to the side of my bed in case I got sick. Now that's a true friend :) Oh, the jacket and scarf I wore on NYE suffered a lot of burn marks and holes. Soju and roman candles do not mix. Actually, I don't think roman candles should mix with anything...

To Thailand Twice

2009-01-31T17:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've been to Thailand twice. The first time was to see Thailand itself (Bangkok, Koh Tao) in 2004, the second time was as a jumping point for Cambodia in 2005 (but went to Ayuthaya). Getting off the airplane and walking out of the airport was pretty straight forward, I'd been warned about the taxis and people dressed really well who try to sell you a ride into town for 800 baht. I'd been told that there is a surcharge at night so don't fly off the handle if it costs more than what your buddy paid who arrived in the morning.

Bangkok is a fun city and the local people are quite friendly and helpful. I guess I was in mostly tourist areas so they were used to pointing dazed and confused travelers in the right direction... Tuktuk drivers are a whole other story... I don't know if this very tall buddha statue is famous or not but it was "included" on one of our sight-seeing/shopping tours we got talked into. In the end, you do end up paying like 15 baht to get to your destination but you've spent about an hour pretending to be interested in fake gems.

Anyway, 2004 as you may remember was the year Southern Thailand (as well as many other regions) suffered from the Indian Ocean Sumatra Earthquake. And yes, I was there while it was happening. I believe at the exact time the tsunami hit Koh Phiphi (I'm using KP as an example b/c that's the island that I saw on the news the most) we were sitting in a broken down bus on a highway somewhere between Bangkok and the port. It was a "rockstar" style bus that had a front room with a big table and seats that went all around. We were one of the last people on the bus but we somehow got seated in there (unless no one wanted to sit in there?). It was a looong night listening to these German girls flirt with these Israeli guys and just when we thought the brunette was going to seal the deal, it was the redhead who swooped in at the last minute. Drama.

The next morning, we arrived at the port to board our boat only, wait a minute, the boat was for Koh Panang (of the [in]famous full-moon parties) and everyone on the bus was headed there except for me and my friend "M". Our boat to Koh Tao would not come until night-time and it would be an over-night boat! Argh!

The travel agent at the port area (I don't know how they work the system there. You pay one agent, get a slip of paper, and everyone on the other end knows exactly who you are and where you're going!) suggested we go shopping. Ummm... this port area was no Bangkok. A lot of open-air shops selling used shoes, furniture, clothing - not your typical tourist stuff. I believe what happened next was M demanded that the travel agent guy drive us somewhere. Our next move is something we should not have done, nor should ever do again but we got into said travel agent's car with his friend who was Snoop Dogg's Thai twin and his rooster (I'm not kidding). We got dropped off in "town", caught a "bus" (a big tuktuk with benches) and asked the driver to take us to a hotel with a pool. 2 baht later, were were there and were pleased to find they also had a massage place! My first Thai massage... M and I were led to a dark room with foam mattresses and a TV. We watched the news coverage of the tsunami in Thai, therefore had no idea where this tsunami even happened!

After our massage and hotel pool swim, we walked around the port area for a LONG time. We had dinner at Thai's version of pizza hut (Tom Yum Pizza for me!) and after arguing with our travel agent that we shouldn't have to pay for the overnight boat and winning, we boarded this beauty: (The bathroom was surprisingly clean! It even smelled fresh when I used it in the morning! Hmmm!)

I woke up in the morning covered in mosquito bites and realized that we had been sharing the boat with our lunch and dinner for the next few days... There were pigs in cages on the boats! We had to step on the cages to get off the boats but the pigs were drugged or asleep.

As with so many other popular destinations, we were swarmed by tuktuk/taxi/motorcycle drivers but once they saw where we were going, they shooed us away. Huh? What our travel agent failed to tell us (and we didn't research) was that our beach hut required a 4-wheel drive to get to! I couldn't believe my eyes at the road. I don't think people could even walk that! It was like there were chunks of road missing and then random boulders here and there. Fortunately it was the dry season otherwise we would have been in a mudslide!

What seemed like hours later, we got to our destination, settled in, and headed off to the beach. It was deserted! The next few days were spent snorkelling and relaxing. On our last day, I decided to check my e-mail and that was when I realized just how big of an earthquake and tsunami had hit. My inbox was crammed with emails from friends, family and my manager wondering if I was OK and to e-mail them ASAP. My sister had even reported us missing to the Canadian Embassy in Thailand b/c she hadn't heard anything from us. Wow!

Well, after that, it was back to Bangkok for New Year's which was toned down because of the tragedy. My first trip to Southeast Asia was pretty memorable.
Stuff I liked about Thailand:

Brightly lit streets to celebrate. Picture perfect beaches

Night Market!!! Daily life along the Chao Praya (That's a
guy selling noodles off his boat.)

Bling! Ruins

Stuff like this...

Teas I Like...

2009-01-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

This is the first weekend where I haven't had anything planned (not going across the border) so I checked the weather forecast religiously over the last week to see whether it'd be sunny or not. It's sunny!!! (Happy sunny dance)

There's a health food store called "Nutraways" in Kerrisdale I've been meaning to get to and with the weather being so nice, I decided to walk the 45 some-odd minutes there. I found some great loose teas there. I got a bag of dried chamomile and a big bag of nettle leaf.

Chamomile, as I'm sure everyone knows, is really helpful for proper digestion. Proper digestion, as my naturopath taught me, is the key to being healthy. My current health issue is eczema. I had it as a child, it went away for my teens and early 20's, then decided to come back and kick my butt a few years back. Through VEGA (sp?) testing, blood pictures, and a LOT of visits to Dr. M, I learned how to help my body digest better. One of the things I can do is drink chamomile tea.

Nettle leaf is good for the bladder. Since the whole health kick, I've been taking supplements (some of them I have to take at night) and drinking my weight in water. This makes me wake up in the middle of the night to pee all the time! Drinking nettle leaf will help "irrigate" the bladder and hopefully let me get some sleep!