In America

This past weekend I went away for 24 hours (exactly) to the States with a couple of friends to do some shopping and take advantage of some restaurants that haven't reached this side of the border.

We tried out Paradiso for dinner which is a Mexican restaurant that offers an excellent vegetarian menu which includes soy beef, chicken and steak! I first started off with some guacamole and chips and then had a steak taco with Mexican rice and refried beans. The meal was really delicious. Even the waitress was interested in my feedback about the 'steak' because it was recently added to the menu. What was odd (at least according to this Winnipegger) is if you eat after 9pm (which we did) you received 25% off your bill! That's awesome! Even without the discount, I would happily return and try their other options. I apologize for the red hue but I couldn't avoid it when taking pictures.

I enjoyed this meal while drinking some cherry coke!

For dessert we stopped at Tutti Frutti:

I had a mix of very berry, pumpkin, chocolate and raspberry frozen yogurt topped with cookie dough and peanut M&M's all nicely by the offered divider. Why don't Winnipeg's locations have the convenient divider?

The next morning, our hotel offered a variety of breakfast foods:

Hard boiled egg for some protein, strawberry and banana yogurt for some calcium and mini donuts just because. They also had some french vanilla to give some flavour to my coffee. Tasted like candy! They also had fresh baked bread and a make your own waffle bar. If it weren't for the line up, I would have had that. 

For lunch after trying to go to Panera at noon (big mistake) for some soup and a sandwich we were told there was a 35 mins wait and since we were pressed for time we went to Quiznos. The veggie sub really hit the spot.

I also enjoyed some cheddar and sour cream ruffled chips. I have never seen that flavour before.

What about the shopping you may ask?

Well, I certainly brought back my share of vanilla coke zero, cherry coke zero and cherry coke but I also went a little crazy in Target with all of the Ghiradelli chocolates and Starbucks coffee. 

We also went to Macy's and I found some fun kitchen stuff from the Martha Stewart Collection. Do they even sell her stuff here? The chocolate is kinda taking things over in this picture but I picked up some silicone mitts for the oven (in my kitchen colour- turqouise), a non-stick pastry mat, and a vinaigrette bottle/shaker hiding on the left side of the picture. Since we are buying some fancy vinegars and oils lately, I thought it would be fun to get this container so we can make our own. The bottle is also encrypted with classic dressing recipes.

Check out this pastry mat though:

I can't wait to make a pie! It was a little pricey at $21.99 USD but I can't wait to try it.

That was a really fun, quick, exhausting, successful 24 hours of shopping and eating. 

Oliv continued...

For months I have been wanting to go to Oliv, and I finally got to go on my birthday. It was worth the wait.

Located on Academy Road in the city, Oliv is a specialty olive oil and vinegar store that offers tastings of a variety of flavoured olive oils and balsamic vinegars.  Using a good quality olive oil or balsamic vinegar in your cooking does make a world of difference in really bringing out flavours that seem to dance on your palate.

We first browsed the balsamic vinegars and sampled an 18-year-old balsamic vinegar and smoked balsamic vinegar. We also tried some white balsamic vinegars flavoured with raspberry and chocolate, blood orange, and mango. They had many more interesting and unusual flavours that I didn't think could be infused with balsamic vinegar. We'll try those next time. Anyway, the traditional balsamic vinegars had more bold flavours and were tangy while the white balsamic vinegars were much sweeter and would be perfect over top of some yogurt or even a spinach salad with some fresh berries and pecans? Yum!

On to the oils! Most of the olive oils were infused with herbs and vegetables such as basil, garlic and italian herb blends. We tried the italian herb blend first which had a very dominant flavour. We also tried the basil, jalapeno and chipotle-flavoured oils.

After our tasting, M. and I finally settled on three bottles. For this first visit, we chose some basics. We picked up the 18-year balsamic vinegar, smoked balsamic vinegar, and the chipotle olive oil.  We were told that if we bought 5 bottles we could get the 6th free, and while this was tempting, we weren't overly keen on dropping $100 on oil and vinegar. We wanted to buy a white balsamic vinegar flavour but it was $3 more a bottle and after our total bill of $63 we felt that we did enough damage to our budget. 

Here are some pictures of what other treats this lovely store has to offer:

Maybe at Christmas we can go back and pick up some white balsamic vinegar. I bet the Fig-flavoured white balsamic vinegar would be amazing on cheesecake! Can't wait to return. So far, we have tried the smoked flavoured vinegar over top of baked cauliflower ,and it was really enjoyable. We could taste some of the smokiness. Next time, we are going to drizzle it over some sweet potato fries!

Pop Quiz

What type of kitchen/ baking tool is this?

Sorry for the dimly lit photo, but these are the things you deal with when you get home after dark and there is no natural light.

Birthday Extravaganza

Yesterday was my birthday and that meant no spared experiences when it came to food. Unfortunately, that meant that I was a little too distracted from all the excursions and celebrating that my camera did not make too many appearances to capture all those fun moments. C'est la vie.

To kick off the multi-day celebrations, friends from work took me out for lunch at Dessert Sinsations on St. Mary behind the Winnipeg Art Gallery last week Wednesday. I chose the poutine with mushroom gravy and it was fantastic... once I picked the mushrooms off! Too bad I don't like mushrooms because they did look very 'meaty' and delicious. I have also never had poutine with sweet potatoes. I've been missing out! 

Since Dessert Sinsations are famous for their sinful desserts (haha!), I chose their almond and pumpkin pie cheesecake. It was phenomenal. I don't even want to guess how many calories there are in one slice... Too bad that this particular dessert is only offered this time of year. I really like to go to this particular restaurant because they update their menu and desserts frequently so it's a way of forcing you out of your comfort zone and try some new each time you go. It is a little more on the pricey side but the food is excellent and the desserts are superb. 

Then, this past Friday night I invited a few friends over and they brought over tons of decadent goodies!

A long time friend A. (who is one of the best bakers i've ever met) made my favourite banana and chocolate chip banana bread but in a bunt cake form instead of a loaf. It tasted delicious, and I loved the extra chocolate chips.

Another friend offered to make me this melted brie concoction she had once at a party and kept saying how amazing it was with the gooey-ness of the Brie cheese, sweetness from the apricot jam, heat from the jalapenos and crunchiness of the pecans. It sounded like a great combo so I offered to buy all the ingredients, and all she had to do was assemble it. 

She layered the jam, jalapenos and pecans between the brie that she cut in half. This is the picture before we put it in the oven to melt. It was a crowd pleaser! I will be posting the recipe shortly.

We finished off the evening by M. and I inviting all of our friends to attempt to climb through the hole that is between our kitchen and hallway. We still don't know the actual purpose of the hole but it sure is entertaining to watch people climb through it. Here is a friend making his way gracefully through... 

For birthdays, M. and I have a tradition that the birthday girl (or boy) gets to decide on whatever meal they would like for the other person to make for them on their special day. I love breakfast and I asked for him to make me the following:

• Steph- Egg's Benedict?
• M.- Ummmm....
• S- How about Egg's Florentine?
• M.- Well....
• S.- Can you pick up some croissants from The French Bakery?
• M. -Done!

There ya have it!  Birthday breakfast!

Raspberries, multigrain croissant with homemade saskatoon and cranberry jam and birthday cake. 

For dinner, we went to my parents house and while everyone else dined on steaks, I made my black bean and corn burgers and served it with vegetables roasted on the BBQ. I don't have pictures from the night of but here is a shot of the leftovers we had tonight for dinner. The burgers were a hit with all the vegetarians! Click here for the recipe.

For dessert, I picked up some treats from Lilac Bakery - chocolate chip cheesecake, brownies, dream bar, millionaire shortcake, imperial cookies and red velvet cupcakes. Unfortunately, when I went to grab my camera, everyone had already started grabbing the sweets!

I was also spoiled with some gifts...

 My favourite flower in this colour.

A really awesome print made by a local artist to put up in the kitchen.

M. took me to Oliv which is a specialty vinegar and oil store to pick up a few bottles. (Post will follow shortly about my experience) I also received some red wine vinegar, an olive board and a reusable shopping bag that is perfect for when I go shopping at Farmer's Markets.

I felt very special, stuffed and spoiled this past weekend. 

Oliv

Can't wait to share more with you about this....

Where's the 'Turkey'?

How was your Thanksgiving weekend?

M. and I were invited to my cousin's wedding out in good ol' Saskatoon, and we decided to make a bit of a road trip out of it. We both took Friday off and to leisurely make our way to Saskatoon by first stopping in Regina over night. Why you may ask we would want to stop in Regina when beautiful Saskatoon is only another 2 hours away? Well, we heard of a brew pub that is known to be one of the top 10 in Canada, and we wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Oh, and the ridiculously cheaper hotel bill compared to Saskatoon didn't hurt either. Thank you, Hotwire! 

We first made our way to Original Joe's to watch the (awful) Jets game. We inquired with that particular location earlier to see if they would show the game, and they assured us they would order the appropriate channel and have everything ready to go by the time we got there. It wasn't. BUT the manager, regional manager, bartender and waitress all made sure that we go to see the game and called the cable provider to order it. Pretty good service!

M. and I dined on some jalapeno mac 'n' cheese with soy chicken and veggie burger with Parmesan and truffled potato chips.

After dinner we made our way to the 'must visit' brew pub called Bushwakkers. We were both exhausted by the end of the night so making our way there was a bit of a challenge since we kept contemplating if we should bother going. But, after a couple 'why the heck did we stop in Regina thens' M. and I were following the GPS' instructions to downtown Regina to find the illustrious pub. 

M. chose an amber beer, and I tried their newly brewed beer called Pumpkin Spice Ale. It tasted very similar to a Pumpkin Spice Late from Starbucks but, you know, in beer form. Coincidentally, both items are roughly the same price (at $6). The beer was fantastic. Too bad they didn't have any for me to bring back home. 

The next day, we made our way to Saskatoon for my cousin's wedding. Nothing to report on food because, unfortunately, all of my pictures were deleted! Ahhh! I was hoping to share with you on the chickpea stir fry we had at the wedding and the amazing breakfast of yogurt 'n' berries paired with, honey and cream cheese-filled french toast! 

Ah well. We made it home safe and sound on Sunday and for Thanksgiving dinner, I made M. and I our favourite cauliflower and tofu casserole as well as chocolate chip cookies for dessert while catching up on this season opener of Homeland. Perfect weekend... minus the 16 hours of driving....

Did you have a nice weekend?

Vacation

Sometimes you just need a break!

I have a couple recipes I am working on and also some nutrition topics I want to touch on but I am going to take a breather and enjoy my vacation on this long weekend. :)

Check out one of the many stops I plan on making during my road trip:

http://www.bushwakker.com/

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Veggie Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe

I follow Sweet Earth Natural Foods on Facebook, and the company posted a sweet and sour seitan-centric recipe that I couldn't wait to try. They suggested using seitan as the meat product but I wanted to use up some of my Yves Ground Round Beef that was getting attacked by freezer burn!

Here was the final product:

I steamed some broccoli that I then fried it up in olive oil and, once done, placed it over a bed of quinoa. I then placed a few meat balls and then generously poured the sweet and sour sauce over top.

Here is the recipe:

Meatballs:

1 pkg of Yves Ground Round
1/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup of peanut oil

Sweet and Sour Sauce (courtesy of Sweet Earth Natural Foods)

3 1/2 Tbs Seasoned Rice Vinegar (you can eyeball the 1/2 Tbs)
1/4 Cup Water2 Tbs + 2 tsp Sugar1 Tbs Tamari1 Tbs Ketchup1 tsp Molasses1/4 tsp Ginger Powder1/2 tsp Salt1 1/2 Tbs Cornstarch + 2 Tbs water
Broccoli:

• 1 large crown of broccoli cut up in bite size pieces

• 2 tbsp of olive oil

• Use a large crown of broccoli and cut it into bite size pieces. 

• Steam the broccoli until it turns bright green. You don't want it fully cooked because you will be frying it up shortly and it's nice to have that crunch texture with the soft quinoa and meatballs. 

• While the broccoli is being steamed, prepare your non-stick pan on medium heat with the olive oil. 

• Once the broccoli has steamed bright green, transfer it to your prepared pan and fry it up for 2-3 minutes.

• Once they get a bit crispy, put the broccoli aside. 

• This is also a chance to make your quinoa! You need about 1 cup on cooked quinoa. Follow the directions on the quinoa packaging: it's normally 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa. 

• While the broccoli and quinoa are being prepared, begin making the meatballs.  

• Heat 1/4 cup of peanut oil on medium-high in a large skillet, preferably non-stick.

• Take the veggie round and flour and mix. It will be sticky.

• Try and make small-to-medium sized meatballs. In the end, you want to try and have them all the same size.

• Once you have all the meatballs prepared, transfer as many as you can to your prepared pan without crowding the meatballs. You want enough room that you can roll them around so that they can cook evenly.

• The cooking process takes about 10 minutes. I like mine to be very crispy so I like them cooked on each side a little longer.

• While the meatballs are cooking, begin making the sauce. 

• Add all the sauce ingredients except for the cornstarch and water into a small saucepan and heat on low until sugar dissolves. 

• Mix cornstarch with 2 Tbs water and add to sauce. 

• Turn up heat to medium-high and whisk until sauce thickens. 

• Sauce should be moderately thick, but not so thick it’s gel like. 

• Add more cornstarch to make it thicker if needed, or add water to thin it out if it gets too thick.

• Take off heat and set aside.

Actually, the plan tonight is to make this sauce for a vegetable stir fry! Can't wait!


Directions:

I love the sweet and sour sauce! Reminds me of the sauce my Oma made me when I was younger. Very tangy with a bit of sweetness. M. and I thought this recipe was a winner, and we will definitely use it again. If you want a quick and delicious supper after a long work day, this entire recipe can be made in 45 minutes without too much prep work. Perfect! 

Zucchini Lasagna

Remember these little guys?

Well, the almost 6 pound zucchini met its fate this past weekend. After a lot of effort M. and I managed to turn this zucchini into 'noodles' for our lasagna. I found a recipe in my More Peas, Thank You cookbook:

The author of this cookbook is also a food blogger that unfortunately has retired. She published two successful cookbooks and I have found many mouth watering and appetizing recipes including the meatless meat loaf I made this past May that you can read about here.

On to the lasagna recipe! The main difference in this lasagna (besides the lack of meat) is using the zucchini as noodles instead of pasta. In the end less carbs (thumbs up) and less calories (double thumbs up!).

The recipe first called for some marinara sauce and tomato sauce... what is the difference? I made my own marinara sauce and for the tomato sauce I just used tomato paste.

For the marinara sauce, use some olive oil, garlic and italian spices in a hot pan.

Once fragrant, add the diced tomatoes that were smoothed out in a blender. 

Let it simmer for approximately 20 minutes. 

On to the zucchini. We own a mandolin and attempted to use it on this monster squash! Here are a couple shots of M using it. 

He did a good job! Here are our 'noodles'. 

To get rid of some of the bitterness I put some salt on each 'noodle' and layered some paper towels between them. The paper towels absorbed the water from the zucchini. We needed 12 'noodles' for this recipe.

In between each 'noodle' layer, I needed to make a quinoa/ tomato layer.  To make this layer, I made a fresh pot of quinoa and I added a can of tomato paste, fresh chopped basil and two tablespoons of cream cheese. No other spices.

To make the first layer of this lasagna, I first put about 1/2 a cup of marinara sauce in my casserole dish and then a layer of zucchini noodles. On top of the 'noodles', I put a thin layer of the quinoa mixture and then 1/3 cup of marinara sauce. Add another layer of zucchini and then repeat!

After the final layer of zucchini, quinoa mixture and the remainder of the marinara sauce, I put a thick layer of vegan cheese. In the oven it goes at 400 degrees for 30 minutes!

I have a confession: I am not a fan of any type of squash. If it's in a pie, I will eat pumpkin and if it's in a soup, i'll eat butternut but when it comes to zucchini, I have tried it roasted, cut up in small chunks in a way to hide it in a vegetable medley or even fried and I am not a fan. The only reason I wanted to attempt this lasagna is because I hate wasting food and I would have hated throwing out that giant zucchini. Well folks, this lasagna was superb. I was more than happy to eat the zucchini in this recipe. The texture was creamy, cheesy and it had a bit of crunch from the zucchini. This recipe is a winner and I cannot wait to make it for my family and friends at our next dinner party. If you are like me and you really are not a fan of squash, this recipe will certainly change your mind. What I love most about it is how healthy it is and I was surprised at how I didn't miss the layers of ricotta cheese that you would usually find in between the layers of noodles in a lasagna.

Final product:

The only thing I would strongly recommend is to cut off the skin. The skin on our zucchini was tough and we had to cut around it when eating our lasagna. Despite that, I give this recipe 5 out of 5!

***Cannot share recipe due to copyright laws.