Mural of Meals, part 3 "Faster Food"

Sometimes we don't have time for "Slow" Food, but who says we have to plunk the take-out onto the table and dig in? Couldn't we just as well make it a bit pretty and then savour it while listening to our loved ones communicate their feelings? Oh ideals - how luxurious!
Here are some meals that were prepared with some take out and some love.

These are brussel sprouts from Whole Foods deli:

Although I am not a huge meat eater, we do occasionally go to our corner "Churrasqueira" and bring home some bbq. We like to dress it up with homemade sides:



We had a lot of fun with frise lettuce, dressed with lemon and our favorite chaat masala:


Here, I made a tofu fried rice from leftovers and added the churra bbq for the meat eaters:



In this case, we made the curry entree and got the samosas and chapattis from a Indian grocer:



This is kinda hard to see, but is one our favorite "junk food dressed up" (Mr. Noodle, with vibe; an oxymoron, no?):



And this is a spread of plain ol' deli meats, with fresh veggies:



(This just happened to be during Great Lent, so for dinner I was doing beautiful salads dressed with Braggs and lemon)


Next post: Sandwiches! (another "faster" food)

Mural of Meals, part 2 "Indian sides"

In keeping with my promise to start writing again without intimidating myself, here is my 50-words-or-less post.

Indian food is a perfect "slow food" meal. There is nothing like adding the requisite spices together, chopping countless onions and garlic, and creating the beautiful and palate-pleasing side salads.
Typically, with a spicy curry, we will arrange some fresh raw vegetables on the side to nibble on in between hot mouthfuls of curry.
The basics are sliced tomato, white onion, cilantro and lime or lemon. If you can find Chaat Masala in a local Indian grocery, that is simply divine atop sour plain yogurt.

Below is a picture with the entree. In this case, steamed rice and a curry.



This is the chicken curry with potatoes:



Another variation is to use cherry tomatoes, sliced white onion, yogurt and pile high with pickled green chilis:



Basmati rice is critical as a base for curry (although in a pinch, one can get away with lavash or naan instead). Here we have used our (not-so-slow) rice cooker and added just a hint of saffron threads and green peas:



Another absolutely beautiful array of fresh veggies. Tomatoes, white onion, radish, cilantro, green chilis, and sprinkled with lime and chaat masala:



Finally, the most delightful side is always the yogurt. Be sure to choose a plain, whole fat yogurt. If you can select a balkan or greek style, they are thicker and suited for this type of food. Throw some chopped cilantro and a heap of chaat masala on top and you have the perfect cooling dish to pair with tear-jerking curry.

Mural of Meals

So here's the most commonly said thing in blog-dom: I'm sorry; I've been too busy to write.
Ok, there. I joined the bandwagon. But to make up for it, I am posting a lovely photo mural of meals that have taken place over the last few weeks. These were all taken with the iPhone, and I think came out really nicely. Enjoy!

Omelet and Blueberry breakfast







First Kee Mao experiment (Thai "drunken noodle")








More to follow!

Finally settling in!

I apologize for the late notice, but I am just wrapping up the first week in my new place and things have been completely hectic, as I am sure you all understand. Someone once said the most stressful things in life are marriage (yes!), divorce (definitely!), and moving (indubitably!!). We managed to do the entire move in 1 weekend - packing and all. This week, we didn't even take a day off of work. So now we are realizing that all the pots and pans are still in boxes and we have exhausted nearly all the pizza places in town (scant pickings, by the way). So last night we mustered up the strength to get groceries and made a really fantastic salad.



Spinach Berry Fun Salad
(almost all organic ingredients)
Baby spinach
Red onion, sliced
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Red Pear, diced
Blueberries
Walnuts, Pecans, Cashew mix
Goat Cheese (for the non-vegan)

I try at all cost to avoid store bought salad dressing for many reasons. The main reason being that I love making my own salad dressing inventions and the second reason that they almost always have some weird poly/trans fats. But again, since all of our kitchen equipment is inaccessible for the time, I gave in to a bottle of dressing. Wow! I was really surprised. It was actually tasty and not full of crap ingredients. Nice.
I don't want to propagate the brand, because I am actually a bit ashamed that it was so good.



In the end, it was such a hit! And thank goodness too, because that's what we're having again tonight :)

Sunday Smoothie Recipe

Welcome to Sunday in June.
Gloriously overcast, slight chill in the air. But this is Toronto, so at least there's not 5 feet of snow. Today is a good smoothie day for me, so I thought I'd share the ingredients for what I just whipped up. I had 3 peaches and a young coconut as the base. I threw in a banana to thicken it up, and accidentally poured about 3 tbsp of raw cacao in (ooops!). Next time I may omit the cacao.



Peach Coconut Blast
3 ripe peaches
Juice from 1 young coconut plus a few scoops of the coco meat
small handful of goji berries
1 small banana
1 tsp raw agave nectar
4 dates (i soaked these in hot water to make softer for blending)
handful of raw cashews
optional: raw cacao powder

All together in a blender - pulse and blend on high until nice and smooth. Enjoy with a spoon!




What are your favorite smoothie recipes? I am interested in trying some different combos next time. Maybe trying some totally different ingredients as well such as avocado, lemon, and papaya.

Adventures in Meals pt. 1

The weekend. What could be a more perfect phenomenon? We spend all week building up to it, and then, if the Fates be with us, are able to undo our ribbons and completely unwind.
But this doesn't always happen does it?
There are dates and meetings to keep; chores to do; catching up on sleep (if lucky); keeping up with hobbies. Understandably, this scenario lends itself to grab-and-go meals and eating quickly while on the run.

In my house, we generally assume Friday night to be the "eat out" dinner of the week. It's just too much to do grocery shopping and plan a meal sometimes. Yesterday was no exception. But, instead of eating dinner out we started out the day by going for coffee at a cafe, followed by lunch at a French bistro, and returning home well after 9p for a "make what's in the fridge" dinner. Normally, I would eat raw during the day, but when work demands that I have breakfast and lunch meetings, I tend to be more lenient.

I thought I'd include some neat pictures we took of our adventures yesterday. First, we went to Dark Horse (Spadina & Queen location). This is my new favorite place in general, and I was thrilled when they opened up a second location right across from my office building. They only take cash for now, and have been packed the last 3 times I have visited. I like seeing a thriving coffee shop, it tells me that Dark Horse is able to do something right, and people are recognizing that.

There are some differences to the East end location: for one, the West DH has a second level that is mostly 2-3 chairs around little coffee tables, ideal if you are there to read or meet someone. The West DH also has 2 (!) communal tables and well high ceilings to give a very industrial-meets-french villa feel. I love the big, wooden community tables more than anything. Even if I am there alone, I know I can chat someone up and feel like perhaps Toronto doesn't exclusively embody stand-offish behaviour.

If you are going to Dark Horse for the first time, I highly recommend you get a latte. They really know how to create a perfect microfoam and pull a smooth espresso. Not to mention that every latte is topped by art - a technique of pouring the foam into the espresso such that it creates a pattern, sometimes a leaf or a heart.
They don't brew drip coffee, so if you want a "regular" cup of coffee, it's going to be an Americano (espresso diluted with hot water), which I would put to you is the best "regular" cup of coffee you will ever have.



We also brought a cappucino back for a co-worker (who is a Lettieri/Starbux exclusive) and he said it was the best capp he'd ever had. "It tastes somehow earthier." I don't know if he was being facetious based on the eco-cup (compostable, bio-degradable), or the fact that it is Fair Trade coffee beans. Either way, I have converted most of my co-workers to DH fans.

Another nice thing to try, especially if you're going to sit for awhile, is the French Press. It's a personal Bodum that produces about 2 cups of coffee. They also offer tea presses, which look really lovely.
As far as snacks go, Dark Horse offers homemade granola and sheep's milk yogurt. They also get treats from "Industrial Muffin." I recommend the carrot or the zucchini - fresh, just the right sweetness, but with plenty of texture like a muffin should have (muffins should not have the texture of cake).
We tried a Raspberry-Coconut Oat bar that was dense and not too sweet, but had a kind of flapjack texture. Actually, if I were in England, I think that's exactly what this would be.



Let me know what your thoughts are; in other reviews, I know people have expressed dislike for the communal table-vibe, the highest ratio of Macbooks to people, the price. But I can say that I am happy to pay more for a smiling barista; a open, social environment; and a really good espresso.


(More to follow ... lunch at a French Bistro!)

Experiments in Whole-Grains

Recently I've been trying to switch to primarily whole-grains in my breads.

Here is a 75% whole-grain wheat and 25% rye vegan marinara pizza I made:

I also recently checked out Peter Reinhart's excellent book "Whole Grain Breads" from the library. Using his recipes I made these whole-grain wheat bagels:

They were amazing. I think I'm going to have to buy the book.