Montreal Restaurant: Joe Beef

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

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

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!

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

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. 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.
3. 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

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

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

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.