tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24691600331741451032024-03-17T23:03:39.526-04:00The Yum Yum Factorin pursuit of yumCarole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.comBlogger697125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-1840026197852821072021-08-05T20:36:00.000-04:002021-08-05T20:36:27.464-04:00Travel Diary : Toronto to Nova Scotia 2021- First Stop, Montreal<p> Hello my lovlelies! The family is on our first vacation in almost two years and it's a covid friendly affair. Not ready for international travel, airports and sharing air for 8 hours, we threw our Segway Ninebot Max scooters on the roof of the car and headed east. We stopped in Montreal for the first night, thinking we would just get up early and continue on our way.<br />HAH</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm__IY5BUNYG-WfRwf_f238w-aSr4aX_10ARLwJOyEqqs_uQtrzLMyYASCdxYuTegDeUtJYQZmXNr_pJ9l3BpCL2IZFwOed5uOzbc0-JR9CfBo0jGs4PVdH1ThBgEgAPzyXmURmzAnx7K4/s2048/IMG_1157.HEIC" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm__IY5BUNYG-WfRwf_f238w-aSr4aX_10ARLwJOyEqqs_uQtrzLMyYASCdxYuTegDeUtJYQZmXNr_pJ9l3BpCL2IZFwOed5uOzbc0-JR9CfBo0jGs4PVdH1ThBgEgAPzyXmURmzAnx7K4/w400-h300/IMG_1157.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">who is going to bitch about burrata and rose outdoors?</td></tr></tbody></table>Like that was going to happen. I booked us into the brand, spanking new <a href="https://hotelst-thomas.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Hotel St Thomas</b></a> on Sherbrooke, we dropped all of our crap into the ginormous room and hit the road on the scooters. It was a Monday night, which means just about any restaurant I would want to visit is closed so we did the only thing you can do in on a Monday.... we went to Old Montreal and grabbed an outdoor table at Bevo Bar and had a lovely bottle of Rose, some pizza and apps, perfect after a long day of driving.<p></p><p>Once we woke up, we all knew we wanted to stay another night so I took care of that and then we hit the road avec scooters again. A nice jaunt along the canal took us to the Atwater Market to peruse all of the perfectly stunning food, flowers and wine. A zig zag back to our hotel meant a stop on St Denis for a glass of rose and some more pizza and garlic snails, as you do. </p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtLY5ydBJ1ZCl6jiE4W6P2ChPWSLj8smjQK-VG0LjdlRtg3r9InyR8VtI6LZfQfiP9-w7t_MSP539JRBcrU5L-vZ6rrOBhUnuOpd89RQcT4Fpb-5ovX34xdU4O0sEcnp5T0X0fAxT_lsO/s2048/IMG_1178.HEIC" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtLY5ydBJ1ZCl6jiE4W6P2ChPWSLj8smjQK-VG0LjdlRtg3r9InyR8VtI6LZfQfiP9-w7t_MSP539JRBcrU5L-vZ6rrOBhUnuOpd89RQcT4Fpb-5ovX34xdU4O0sEcnp5T0X0fAxT_lsO/s320/IMG_1178.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Napoli Pizzeria on St Denis makes a mean snail</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Upon returning to the hotel, they moved us to another room (this one with a nice balcony) and there I sat, Negroni in hand, trying to make a dinner reservation on a Tuesday which proved to be just as impossible as the previous night. I finally ended up booking a spot on the patio at a Spanish restaurant, close to the hotel. Every, single place I wanted to try was closed until at least Thursday, which is fine because I am just happy to make the show and Montreal was only ever a stop on the way to the East Coast and we can return to Montreal anytime we want unless the world closes down again.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2vAl4sq-8YRyduNSvDorH_Cvmifs7bFEcJEfI2ENx2njdzzuenJrc6oXIsoQUaRQo00DqNkLTXthwypLrG67PWtYt3ka1W8UiBI-Cuu8witzYosE2_PlBaKKdr7z5gzP3MNbQ964DRsB/s2048/hotel+st+thomas.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1641" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2vAl4sq-8YRyduNSvDorH_Cvmifs7bFEcJEfI2ENx2njdzzuenJrc6oXIsoQUaRQo00DqNkLTXthwypLrG67PWtYt3ka1W8UiBI-Cuu8witzYosE2_PlBaKKdr7z5gzP3MNbQ964DRsB/s16000/hotel+st+thomas.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the rooms (we got a double queen) have plenty of room for three grown ass adults and their large e scooters, if that matters to you</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The hotel has to iron out some bumps but they have only been opened about a month and it opened during a pandemic, so, God bless. They have handled the odd issue with grace and care and I can't wait to come back next year when, hopefully, the pandemic will be in the rear view mirror and we can experience all of the perks that this gorgeous hotel will be able to offer. Shout out to Xavier for going above and beyond. The rooms are huge - easily double the average room with two queens and the bathroom house a small family.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jJwiRCfulPYWs2e9nUieuGeoq6iRaGQhla9dr7MzHhQgyH9pK3V7kxHBfNJKWq90oqNFMejhkWe8g-ti_kme0VBUOStnuoBQieqY9lj6bzJbN8jWaf1Ry0nP2mQIMus-fdxK42HRUSth/s2048/IMG_1203.heic" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jJwiRCfulPYWs2e9nUieuGeoq6iRaGQhla9dr7MzHhQgyH9pK3V7kxHBfNJKWq90oqNFMejhkWe8g-ti_kme0VBUOStnuoBQieqY9lj6bzJbN8jWaf1Ry0nP2mQIMus-fdxK42HRUSth/s320/IMG_1203.heic" width="240" /></a></div>We ended up having dinner at <a href="https://www.ibericos.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Ibericos Tavern</b></a> for lovely tapas and cava before scooting up Mount Royal - Shack made it about 3/4 the way up before his scooter said "NO MAS EL GORDO"<p></p>Today, we hit the road again, this time stopping overnight in Quebec City - so far only for one night but who knows? Let's see what Quebec City has up it's sleeve to entice us to stay an extra day.<br /><p><br /></p>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-62601824060807363122021-07-09T13:33:00.002-04:002021-07-09T13:38:55.176-04:00Turkish Flavours Give Red Lentil Soup a Whole New Jam<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl0EMxCMIdbUzZjpCEy9-8oq6IFwGc3mY1x9XuUm1GK0MFtIgAk8GU498CMR33pWIvJVcGxqFxk916rE11PfO2b8-Zbm9pj4mpHNp06DRPLtqW-vxUmt3CjkucPQ8ykuNvy6UseQWTAA7/s1024/Spicy+Chili+Red+Lentil+Soup-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdl0EMxCMIdbUzZjpCEy9-8oq6IFwGc3mY1x9XuUm1GK0MFtIgAk8GU498CMR33pWIvJVcGxqFxk916rE11PfO2b8-Zbm9pj4mpHNp06DRPLtqW-vxUmt3CjkucPQ8ykuNvy6UseQWTAA7/w640-h480/Spicy+Chili+Red+Lentil+Soup-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div>I am not trying to reinvent the wheel here, or anything, but a friend made Middle Eastern Lentil Soup and so I decided to get some going as well. This is a soup I cook all the time and it's one of my favourite comfort foods but today, it's humid and dark and rainy and I need something with a bit more kick to it.<br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdedsDvIWqAy3l28THbiaxRYhAlMWFQlsa6XVPlXgMe-W-lLcsZ9ToqtHIsXyfHH7m41LlCb6MqeGB-FQEmxOnVGOqqaIqi1XtcKEeMPZe_2muBNHFze0oe0t4yjcQfEYrVxoragM0Bj2j/s1365/crispy+fried+onion-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdedsDvIWqAy3l28THbiaxRYhAlMWFQlsa6XVPlXgMe-W-lLcsZ9ToqtHIsXyfHH7m41LlCb6MqeGB-FQEmxOnVGOqqaIqi1XtcKEeMPZe_2muBNHFze0oe0t4yjcQfEYrVxoragM0Bj2j/s320/crispy+fried+onion-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />I made my regular recipe, more or less but swapped out the spices for my favourite Turkish chili flakes, added a drizzle of my Crispy Garlic Chili Oil because that always makes everything better and a mound of my crispy fried shallots or onions that I always have in the pantry. They are tasty and easy and cheap and you can get them in any type of Asian grocery store. Wow, that's a lot of crispy things going on.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://silkroadspices.ca/products/urfa-biber?variant=7262294114370" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Urfa Biber</a><br /></div><div><a href="https://silkroadspices.ca/products/marash-chiles?_pos=1&_sid=9c12686b7&_ss=r&variant=7262291230786" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maras</a><br /></div>Both are available online if you aren't lucky enough to have a Turkish grocery shop nearbye. I put them in everything and go through an alarming amount of them. Thankfully, I buy big jars of them at the Turkish store so I never run out. These two spices with olive oil, garlic, a bit of salt on boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the airfryer??? Get out of town. Make the oil while the soup cooks.<br /><div><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><h1 style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b>Spicy Red Lentil Soup with Crispy Garlic Oil</b></h1><div>serves 4-6</div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></div><b>Ingredients</b>: <div>2 tbls olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced <div>1 carrot, finely diced </div><div>1 parsnip, finely diced </div><div>5 red baby potatoes, finely diced </div><div>1 cup red lentils, rinsed </div><div>1 clove garlic, chopped or smashed </div><div>1 tsp of Turkish Maras chili flake (or Aleppo will work)</div><div>1.5 tsp of Turkish Urfa Biber chili flake (black chili) </div><div>1 tsp of cumin </div><div>7 cups of water </div><div>2 tsp sodium reduced BTB (Better Than Bouillon is my fave) chicken broth base</div><div>1 tsp kosher salt</div><div> juice of 1 lemon </div><div>to serve</div><div><i>*Crispy Garlic Chili Oil</i> and crispy fried shallots, chopped parsley and more lemon if desired</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>*Crispy Garlic Chili Oil</b></i></div><div>1/4 cup olive oil</div><div>3 or 4 cloves of garlic sliced very thinly</div><div>1 tbls Maras or Aleppo pepper</div><div>1 tbls Urfa Biber Chili flake</div><div>1/4 tsp kosher salt</div><div><br /></div><div>Heat the oil over medium heat in a small pan and cook the garlic slices until they are just turning golden. Pour the garlic and oil into a heatproof bowl to cool for a minute or two before stirring in the chili and salt. Set aside. Can be stored in the fridge for weeks.</div><div> </div><div><b>Instructions:</b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium high heat and sauté the onion, carrot, parsnip and potatoes for about 5 or 6 minutes, until the onions have softened, stirring occasionally. Add in both chili flake and cumin and cook another couple of minutes until fragrant.</div><div>Throw in the rinsed lentils and garlic, stirring them until mixed in and then add the water, the BTB, salt and lemon juice.<br />Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer lightly for about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree at least half of the soup - a bit of texture is nice.</div><div><br /></div><div>To serve, ladle into bowls, top with a good drizzle of the crispy chili oil (make sure everyone gets a few slices of crispy garlic, a small mound of crispy shallots and a scattering of parsely.</div>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-72942198726579352292021-06-30T12:36:00.005-04:002021-06-30T12:36:58.054-04:00Aguadito de Pollo Minus The Pollo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4dLIS9btoMgSPtnyLRPHeOJkj1CSpHgtKafAN5K7s8zNOuvsJa7_VEVUbOWJcScoU0W40Cq9ou7wAZGf5xYvElXj2_j5bOEP4ut7Y9x5EEWmlVGnjKA2Po7EWAEaonimOPhpZXOxnWG4/s1024/spicy+rice+and+beans-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="1024" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4dLIS9btoMgSPtnyLRPHeOJkj1CSpHgtKafAN5K7s8zNOuvsJa7_VEVUbOWJcScoU0W40Cq9ou7wAZGf5xYvElXj2_j5bOEP4ut7Y9x5EEWmlVGnjKA2Po7EWAEaonimOPhpZXOxnWG4/w640-h514/spicy+rice+and+beans-1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p>I enjoy the challenge of offering a vegetarian version of dishes I serve that are an equally delicious version of the meal that the carnivores are going to eat instead of completely different plate. I wanted to put <a href="http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.com/2017/11/aguadito-de-pollo-with-crispy-chicken.html" target="_blank"><b>Aguadito do Pollo</b></a> on an upcoming menu and I knew I wanted to feed the vegetarians something that will have the same flavour profile and so I tried a few things. Aguadito de Pollo is a traditional Peruvian meal that is often served for breakfast after a big party aka for a hangover, making it a staple for New Year's Day or after a big wedding or party. Adding tofu was okay but not great and I also didn't feel like the Jackfruit worked - I wanted something that would really add some heartiness and also have the soft texture of the pulled chicken and neither of those options did that for me.</p><p><br />Using a small white bean -either cannellini or navy beans- hit all the right notes. Other than no crispy chicken skin, I didn't feel like I was losing anything by replacing the chicken with white beans. <br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9c7c0HTFKt7K42Sbx_UKDGdAhLjg-WxJRcwY1DryWmlz_XsCw9khVOrbmXwnR6B9orp58ewRrAWj4x5KF9CD2YDDcVlSgAh7ZaAq_U8eOJ9YJCbSuYLZ5ioJSjH9xtyFN7lOIUC7liyE/s1600/309E7B46-483C-4A57-867F-B091FC665AEB.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9c7c0HTFKt7K42Sbx_UKDGdAhLjg-WxJRcwY1DryWmlz_XsCw9khVOrbmXwnR6B9orp58ewRrAWj4x5KF9CD2YDDcVlSgAh7ZaAq_U8eOJ9YJCbSuYLZ5ioJSjH9xtyFN7lOIUC7liyE/w640-h424/309E7B46-483C-4A57-867F-B091FC665AEB.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My recipe for Aguadito de Pollo needed a vegetarian cousin</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br />I make this in my electric pressure cooker but you could do it on the stove too. If you cook it on the stove, I might reduce the liquid by a cup and just keep an eye and add more broth if you need it. It should be too thick to be a soup but too thin to be a stew. I would also probably used canned beans if I cook on the stove as the cooking times for the beans and rice are so different. If you do use dry, beans on the stove, cook the beans until they are just about done and then add the rice and cook just long enough for the rice to soft.</p><p>You can make the black rice if you want it look a bit fancy - it's a very, very green dish and I like the contrast but you can leave it out. Oh, and if you have leftovers, the rice will absorb the liquid so you will have to add more broth to when reheating.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>White Beans and Rice - Vegetarian Aguadito de Pollo</b></h2><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSATJ20sZ1JUdjjPrgACPfMzAaY4eHbhHcSl2LBJimVxsIJG8u96MHi0hc8_-DMVqgXZyXTRV6VsPcXZWJi40uFv1y_pMNDcI3njefGiMzNbIaMH5k7jQNRhF3pc1vShSQtvfHg7UCCUnS/s1295/spicy+rice+and+beans-1-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1295" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSATJ20sZ1JUdjjPrgACPfMzAaY4eHbhHcSl2LBJimVxsIJG8u96MHi0hc8_-DMVqgXZyXTRV6VsPcXZWJi40uFv1y_pMNDcI3njefGiMzNbIaMH5k7jQNRhF3pc1vShSQtvfHg7UCCUnS/w506-h640/spicy+rice+and+beans-1-3.jpg" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><i>Makes approx 2.5 litres/quarts or about 6 servings</i></div><div><br style="text-align: left;" /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div>2 poblano chilis, seeded and roughly chopped</div></div>3 scallions, roughly chopped<br />2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed<br />1 to 2 tbls <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B003G52K5E" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="fa7a3ce7b916c01cd54457e577e9c3d1" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Aji Amarillo" href="http://www.amazon.com/Incas-Food-Aji-Amarillo-Paste/dp/B003G52K5E/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thyuyufa0b-20&linkId=fa7a3ce7b916c01cd54457e577e9c3d1&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_364006" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aji Amarillo</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_364006" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thyuyufa0b-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=fa7a3ce7b916c01cd54457e577e9c3d1&_cb=1511633869968" style="border: none; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0" /> paste (a Peruvian pepper found in many South American stores or online)<br />2 heaping cups of washed and roughly chopped cilantro<br />approx 1/4 cup water<br /><br />*1 cup presoaked white beans<br />2 tbls canola oil<br />4 cups vegetable stock<br />3 cups water<br />2 tsp cumin<br />3/4 cup cup of basmati rice<br />pinch kosher salt and freshly ground pepper<br />I cup of frozen peas<div>1 cup snap peas<br /><br />To serve:<br />soup<br />chopped cilantro<br />lime wedges<br /><br />**cooked black rice - optional<br /><br /><br />Throw the poblanos, scallions, garlic, cilantro and a bit of water in the blender and puree. Add just enough water to get it going - 1/4 cup should be about the maximum needed but don't worry if it's a bit more.<br /><br />You can either pre-soak your beans over night OR do a quick pre-soak in the Instant pot but you want to presoak 1 cup of dried beans and have them ready.</div><div><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*To Quick Soak the beans min the pressure cooker give them a quick rinse in a strainer, swooshing them around to </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">clean.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put them in the pot with 4 cups of water and 1 tsp salt.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bring to a boil with the lid off using the </span>sauté<span style="font-family: inherit;"> function and then quickly lock in the lid and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">pressure cook for 2 minutes at high pressure.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the time is up, do a gradual pressure release, letting off little spurts of steam. If foam</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">starts coming out the valve, wait 30 seconds and start releasing the steam again until the pin</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">drops and the pressure is released. Beans tend to foam so you need to be patient when</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">releasing steam.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drain the beans under cold water and proceed to the recipe.</span></p></div><div><br /></div><div>Preheat the <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B00FLYWNYQ" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="e823669e0272c34546a5b40623d187c7" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Instant Pot " href="http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-Multi-Use-Programmable-Pressure/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=thyuyufa0b-20&linkId=e823669e0272c34546a5b40623d187c7&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5288088" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instant Pot </a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5288088" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=thyuyufa0b-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=e823669e0272c34546a5b40623d187c7&_cb=1511633726299" style="border: none; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0" />(or the saute function on your brand of electric pressure cooker) and when it's hot, add the canola oil and scrape the green cilantro puree into the hot oil and cook that , stirring frequently, for about 4 or 5 minutes, until it turns a really deep green. Pour in the four cups of vegetable stock and then pour the 3 cups of water into the blender and give it a good shake so that you don't waste any of that green puree and add that into the pot, mix in the cumin. Put the soaked beans in the pot along with the basmati rice, lock the lid in (make sure the vent is closed) and program it for 10 minutes at High Pressure.<br /><br />When the time is up, do a quick release, open the lid, add the frozen peas and snap peas, put the lid back on so the peas can heat up in the hot soup for at least five minutes.</div><div><br />To serve, if using the black rice, add a scoop to each bowl, cover with soup, sprinkle a bit more cilantro over the top and some sliced scallions and top each bowl with a couple of lime wedges on the side.</div><div><br /></div><div>**Cook 1 cup of black rice separately and set it aside. I do this in my rice cooker while the soup is cooking but you can do it before hand ,up to a day in advance. Cook it the same way you would cook basmati rice.<br /><br /></div>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-51559427235590505862021-02-09T12:27:00.001-05:002021-02-09T18:31:48.658-05:00Braised Lentils with Poached Egg, Roasted Tomato/Feta and Crispy Garlic/Chili Oil<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTtsZT5icsraLZ8SB09cvSedLoJmCibFm4FucktY-IX07jZEDAhvfrNEKEOrbOQrhGDq3Hx9sCyU0Dqybump8wX4tJkbC5HpF6VGXnPED5VpM7-jL-jWf8KBpu5iNsftEvi1glhE3u4Tc/s1024/braised+lentils-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTtsZT5icsraLZ8SB09cvSedLoJmCibFm4FucktY-IX07jZEDAhvfrNEKEOrbOQrhGDq3Hx9sCyU0Dqybump8wX4tJkbC5HpF6VGXnPED5VpM7-jL-jWf8KBpu5iNsftEvi1glhE3u4Tc/w640-h480/braised+lentils-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>More adventures in adopting a more heart healthy diet mean more vegetarian meals with less sodium, healthier fats and a soupçon of cheese to punch it up. We have been having a lot of braised beans like the braised romano beans on polenta that I did for Ontario Beans.<div><div><br /><div><a href="https://ontariobeans.on.ca/recipe/braised-romano-beans-with-polenta/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1stfShG4imxWbetSD9ecxor8o6HaGRBrt2OGvnlAOWaJvMZwZG1htpei9x66CmbJxyc-3whExZdATp19FEvEsIBu85ifCTNbVeVgJLA8Y9WVhn9t3iaP6t0BTVqBl1n4zs3ijQ8CXOYC4/s1501/Bean+Growers+Braised+Romano+Beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="braised romano beans with poached eggs" border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1501" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1stfShG4imxWbetSD9ecxor8o6HaGRBrt2OGvnlAOWaJvMZwZG1htpei9x66CmbJxyc-3whExZdATp19FEvEsIBu85ifCTNbVeVgJLA8Y9WVhn9t3iaP6t0BTVqBl1n4zs3ijQ8CXOYC4/w640-h397/Bean+Growers+Braised+Romano+Beans.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these beans have become a weekly thing in our house</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></a>I know that all kinds of beans are now approved so it was time to move onto lentils. My favourite lentils are either Beluga or Du Puy but I haven't been able to find those on any of my online ordering platforms and I have been using plain old green lentils and, rest assured, they work just fine. Just don't use the red lentils because they disintegrate into mush, which is delightful in other recipes, but not in this one.<div><br /></div><div>If you use low sodium broth, use less kosher salt. If you use a salt free broth, you will have to up your salt a bit but the roasted tomato/feta and chili oil add so much flavour and saltiness that you don't need as much as you might normally use in the actual lentil stew.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you don't like poached eggs, leave them out but don't skip on the tomato/feta and the crispy garlic chili oil. This makes more oil than you will use but it's delicious and you will want to put it on everything so I suggest even doubling the recipe- you will thank me later. Bottom line, my former big meat eater loved it and </div><div><br /></div><h1 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Braided Lentils with Poached Egg, Roasted Tomato/Feta and Crispy Garlic/Chili Oil</h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjng3efCIfm_-gDqmUH7x_o67zYtEsXmOnC4AIn8oOAnaGT1t0Re89SltjRxbWP_lIVeYRa2PTD9BeycBSxLNfgmq9gpgV-yEbm_Xw5QkUDXWhO4V-8mtjbXhidpLUDVJXM9dRLWhheRAB6/s1024/braised+lentils-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjng3efCIfm_-gDqmUH7x_o67zYtEsXmOnC4AIn8oOAnaGT1t0Re89SltjRxbWP_lIVeYRa2PTD9BeycBSxLNfgmq9gpgV-yEbm_Xw5QkUDXWhO4V-8mtjbXhidpLUDVJXM9dRLWhheRAB6/w640-h640/braised+lentils-1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serves 4 </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Roasted tomatoes</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 pint grape tomatoes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 tbls olive oil</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2 tbls crumbled feta</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Put the tomatoes in a small roasting pan - the air fryer is perfect for this small amount. Drizzle with the oil and roast in a 400F oven until the tomatoes just start to wilt and blister. Scatter the feta over the tomatoes, return to the oven or air fryer and cook until the tomatoes start to get tiny brown spots and the cheese looks soft. Remove from the oven and set aside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Crispy Garlic Chili Oil</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3 garlic cloves, sliced very thinly</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 tbls Maras or Aleppo Pepper</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1 tbls Urfa Biber (black turkish chili)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1/4 tsp kosher salt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Heat the oil over medium in a small pan and brown the garlic slices until they just start to turn golden. Pour the garlic and oil into a small, heatproof bowl and let cool for a minute before you stir in the two chili flakes and salt. Set aside</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Braised Lentils</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">2 tbls olive oil</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1 small onion, chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1 carrot, chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1 parsnip, chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1/2 head of fennel, chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1 tbls of tomato paste</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">approx 1 tbls ras el hanout (depends on brand, how spicy it is - taste to adjust)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1 1/4 cup french or beluga lentils - green lentils if you can't find either of those</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">4-6 cups vegetable or chicken broth, low sodium</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">1 tsp kosher salt (if you use sodium free broth, you can use 1 tsp kosher salt)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">4 cubes frozen spinach</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">4 eggs</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pulse the onion, carrot, parsnip and fennel in a food processor until it's finely chopped. Heat the oil in a wide, deep sauté pan or a pot over medium meat. Throw in the chopped vegetables and cook , stirring from time to time, for about ten minutes until soft. Add in the tomato paste and keep cooking for another ten minutes, until it starts to brown and almost melt into a puree. If it looks like it could burn, add in a splash of water from time to time. Add in the ras el hanout and cook for another minute or two, until fragrant before you add in the lentils and about 4 cups of broth. Let it come to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. At that point, add in the frozen spinach cubes and cook for another ten minutes or so - keep checking and when your lentils are soft, it's finished - if you use the more common, green lentil, it might take a bit longer for them to get soft so checking on them after 20 minutes is important. If it starts to get too thick during the last bit, keep adding a bit more broth or water as you want it to be a bit soupy but think more thick stew than brothy soup.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can make it ahead of time and reheat it if you like. When it's time to eat, make sure the lentil braise is simmering and crack four eggs into the lentils, cover the pan and lower the heat and bit and let the eggs poach for about 6 minutes or so. You want the egg yolk to remain creamy so keep an eye on it so the eggs don't overcook.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>To Serve:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">carefully - using a large serving spoon and avoiding the eggs, spoon some lentils into each of four shallow bowls. Then, using the spoon, scoop up an egg and lay on top of the lentils in each bowl. Spoon 1/4 of the tomatoes and feta on the top and then drizzle a bit of the crispy garlic chili oil (stir well before spooning it out), making sure that you get some slices of the crispy garlic. If you thought to keep the fronds from the fennel, add some of those for colour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p></div></div></div>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-3752902565657091432020-11-18T14:48:00.005-05:002020-11-23T17:13:46.811-05:00Healthified Bolognese And a Bonus MSG Rant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DMEpWOTlxGrsB_L06AL0Cd2hwMHf0BcmVlHgY0EKekIxZ9QGBomPNFsZQyBq5rPpN0u-3rlAFJIRTEEZg9GT0Q4dyhjcF8WyWBHtuwqFpnLcrhEUxfuVKaic4Lg85IMXaWtaNBp3e-fT/s1024/healthier+bolognese-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DMEpWOTlxGrsB_L06AL0Cd2hwMHf0BcmVlHgY0EKekIxZ9QGBomPNFsZQyBq5rPpN0u-3rlAFJIRTEEZg9GT0Q4dyhjcF8WyWBHtuwqFpnLcrhEUxfuVKaic4Lg85IMXaWtaNBp3e-fT/w640-h480/healthier+bolognese-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>One of my husband's favourite things to eat is pasta with bolognese. Normally, I make it with Italian sausage, ground beef, tons of kosher salt and olive oil. Clearly, my much loved version would not, in any universe, by considered "heart healthy" even with a bag of magic beans but a life without bolognese is not a life worth living. </p><p>We have not had any beef or real pasta in a month so I decided it was time to healthify our sauce and because every whole wheat pasta I have bought has been soundly PooPooed, I cut the difference with fibre enriched white pasta and we will just eat smaller portions, less often. </p><p>This was my first try and I don't think I am going to change anything, to be honest. I added in a bit of carrot and fennel to make up for the lack of fennel seed etc in the sausage and give it a bit more flavour and pretty much replaced half the ground beef with ground mushrooms a la my usual Blend and Extend mushroom magic . You can cut the fat in this recipe even more if you can find extra lean beef but this was the leanest meat I could get my hands on. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4B-yvbkfgwy8pfUiKliIxDevkphKgiua2x0cJb1XtlCxOyLeZZ0i2jtz1J-7qlaElgmiyuD9SWmcChWbFyJ8Jxu7_EwgQ6VMi6SRc2gZgMZLQzYDlX9ihRQ7jnmRQsKrKswT8rfo7qzg/s640/rigatoni+bolognese.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4B-yvbkfgwy8pfUiKliIxDevkphKgiua2x0cJb1XtlCxOyLeZZ0i2jtz1J-7qlaElgmiyuD9SWmcChWbFyJ8Jxu7_EwgQ6VMi6SRc2gZgMZLQzYDlX9ihRQ7jnmRQsKrKswT8rfo7qzg/w640-h640/rigatoni+bolognese.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.com/2014/09/canning-tomatoes-with-nonna-and-shacks.html" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Here</a><span style="text-align: left;"> is my basic sauce that uses only Italian Sausage and although I only ever say "salt to taste", trust me, I salt to taste. </span>You can just FEEL the fat from the sausages in this picture</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p>The finished healthified sauce feels just as meaty - thank you ground mushrooms- and, because I decided not to skimp on the olive oil, it was still rich and thick. A bit of red wine and no sodium chicken broth also helped bump up the jam and if you want to leave out the MSG, leave it out but you will probably have to add quite a bit more salt to achieve the same results.</p><p>Okay, regarding the MSG. There is no documented proof that MSG is any more harmful than salt is. Here is a <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/msg-good-or-bad#fact-vs-fiction" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">quick explanation</a> of what MSG is about, good and bad and the bottom line, is that it is condidered safe in moderate amounts, like salt. When used in tomato based dishes (tomatoes are a natural source of glutamate, as are mushrooms and parmesan - see a common thread in this dish?), it allows you to use less salt without sacrificing flavour. If you skip it, you will probably have to use more salt.</p><p><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i>"<span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold;">MSG</span><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid found in your body and most foods."</span></i></span></p><p>I could go on for an hour about the racist undertones of the anti MSG rhetoric but you can google and read for yourself. Better yet, watch David Chang's Ugly Delicious, season 1, episode 7 where he explores racism and Asian food and makes a room full of white people face their MSG predjudices. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Healthier Bolognese</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnG0XAaXDI5SfvgnFWw66k27gLAifuLou_hflTJ13dISQ5KOWS0qT4UahD-hQJESi2uu27q6ns42AV-KPyTqjrVInpmUxw-WAYUobNYMeA8VtoxaynQu1_E51PQcO8Fp0J3H9ti54qBk2k/s1024/healthier+bolognese-1-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnG0XAaXDI5SfvgnFWw66k27gLAifuLou_hflTJ13dISQ5KOWS0qT4UahD-hQJESi2uu27q6ns42AV-KPyTqjrVInpmUxw-WAYUobNYMeA8VtoxaynQu1_E51PQcO8Fp0J3H9ti54qBk2k/w640-h640/healthier+bolognese-1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Makes about 10 cups of sauce</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p>1/4 cup olive oil</p><p>1 onion, small dice</p><p>1/4 cup fine dice fennel</p><p>1/2 large carrot, fine dice</p><p>3 cloves garlic, finely chopped</p><p>227 g mushrooms, pulsed in food processor</p><p>250 g lean ground beef</p><p>1 tbls tomato paste</p><p>3/4 tsp kosher salt (I always use kosher salt, but a good salt is good too. Keep in mind that the finer the actual salt, the less volume you will use - if you are using table salt, just stop that right now)</p><p>1/2 cup red wine</p><p>1/2 cup no sodium chicken broth</p><p>5 cups no salt added passata</p><p>1 can whole san marzano tomatoes</p><p>1/2 tsp msg</p><p><i>*entire recipe has approx 1840mg of sodium, the beef had about 42g fat and 54 g fat in the olive oil</i></p><p><i>the recipe makes enough for at least 10 generous servings - what a serving size looks like is up to you</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Heat a large pot over med-high heat (medium if you are using enamaled cast iron like Le Crueset) and when it's hot, add the olive oil and sauted the onion, fennel and carrot until softened, about 4 or 5 minutes. Throw in the ground mushrooms and salt and continue to cook a few more minutes until the mushrooms start releasing water. When the water is pretty much evaporated, add in the beef and keep cooking until the meat is no longer pink. Push all the solids to the side and add in the tomato paste and fry it for a couple of minutes until it starts to deepen in colour and when that happens, stir it into the mushroom/meat mixture.<br /><br /></p><p>Pour in the red wine, let is cook off for a minute before you add in the tomatoes and the chicken broth.<br />You can either squish the whole tomatoes through your fingers or, if you want a smooth sauce, use an immersion blender or the food processor to puree the canned tomatoes roughly.</p><p>Let the whole thing simmer gently for at least 45 minutes but an hour is even better. Serve over your favourite pasta.</p><p>Keep in mind that if you add freshly grated parmesan, you are adding more sodium - approx 77mg sodium per tbls of grated cheese, so keep that in mind.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-19064980106898193562020-11-13T10:54:00.005-05:002020-11-13T11:01:06.748-05:00Low Sodium Spicy Miso Noodle Bowl <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg932wurkcLHtULvaneZS94xDRxDWEWfs8v-JqOC9fp7VGxsWFVDxaRpV3n47iUJERMpdGNP4DIx3phnsIsxH7kloasRmur8Q8EBDBnohCwoDzPP3h_VHB-pmM3f49226XgpuBV6F_FVoO-/s1024/spicy+miso+low+sodium+soup-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg932wurkcLHtULvaneZS94xDRxDWEWfs8v-JqOC9fp7VGxsWFVDxaRpV3n47iUJERMpdGNP4DIx3phnsIsxH7kloasRmur8Q8EBDBnohCwoDzPP3h_VHB-pmM3f49226XgpuBV6F_FVoO-/w640-h640/spicy+miso+low+sodium+soup-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I have been taxed with the task of making our food more heart healthy and although I have always assumed that we already eat very well, thank you very much, I have been shocked by how much sodium we consume. SHOCKED, I say.</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br />One of our favourite things to eat is ramen and when I did some digging, I realized that each bowl of delicious spicy miso ramen had over 3000mg of sodium and that isn't even accounting for some of the add ins.</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This will not do. I have spent weeks working on my favourite recipe and I have managed to get it down to under 700mg of sodium per bowl, which is still a bit high but nothing close to what we were used to. There is also some disagreement about how we process the sodium in miso and although it is significant, a traditional Japanese diet which is high is miso and soy sauce does not result in any sort of widespread heart disease and, in fact, may actually be considered part of a heart healthy diet. I am trying to cut the difference and not worry too much about the extra sodium while I actively try to use less, overall.</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My usual recipe comes from <a href="https://ladyandpups.com/2014/01/04/spicy-miso-ramen-express-eng/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lady and Pups</a>, probably my very favourite food blogger and even though it is so delicious it will make your toes curl, it is also a fat/sodium bomb and can't happen in our house anymore. After weeks of tinkering, the only thing I didn't have to change was the addition of plain, unsweetened soy milk to the soup broth to give it a creamy, porky feeling and makes up for the lack of greasy, delicious ground pork. <br /><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I use a Sichuan hot pepper paste but if you can't find it, you can subsitute Gochujang (lower in sodium at about 150mg/tbls). It will change the flavour profile but it will still be delicious and if you haven't tried with the Sichuan hot pepper paste, you will never know the difference, right?</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Also, a word about the noodles - we have been using NuPasta that has 35 calories, almost no fat, no sodium - the fettucine style noodles mimic rice noodles but are like eating air. </p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Finally, this recipe is for a basic noodle bowl and the additions are up to you. Cooked spinach, leftover roasted veggies, leftover sliced chicken or steak or pork is great - once you have the broth, you can add whatever you like. This makes enough miso paste to make at least 12 servings of soup, depending on the serving sizes but it stays good in the fridge for months. Once you have the miso paste made, which is really the only labour intensive part of this, you can whip up a hearty bowl of soup using whatever protien/veggies you have on hand.</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Low Sodium Spicy Miso Noodle Bowl</b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIgy6vj0Ic1CVqyb0Uo2kFWt7_EzsqWtItecwMASJL2eqUohQI14xJaoSOOQtW2_Guf46EsHcJ16cgLA-7eTBNQvgx8HtHIqBTMeE98gFpE0yUNYsyeMmpv4OaucVtJEiYJoIUvd6JZFC/s1024/spicy+miso+low+sodium+soup-1-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="1024" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIgy6vj0Ic1CVqyb0Uo2kFWt7_EzsqWtItecwMASJL2eqUohQI14xJaoSOOQtW2_Guf46EsHcJ16cgLA-7eTBNQvgx8HtHIqBTMeE98gFpE0yUNYsyeMmpv4OaucVtJEiYJoIUvd6JZFC/w640-h446/spicy+miso+low+sodium+soup-1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">serves 4<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SPICY MISO PASTE</b></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 tbls Sichuan paste (Broad Bean Paste) - 1080 mg sodium/tbls or 3240 in total batch</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 cup miso.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>- 890mg sodium/tbls or 7120 in total batch</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 small onion, chopped</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1.5 tbls mirin</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbls minced garlic</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbls minced ginger</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbls veg oil</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbls sesame oil</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp dashi powder <i>478 sodium</i></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tsp tahini 1 tbls <i>approx 5mg sodium</i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>*Final Spicy Miso Paste has approx 677 mg sodium per tbls</b></i></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SOUP</b></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tbls sesame oil</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 tsp black pepper</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 or 4 dried shiitake mushrooms</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3 cups no sodium chicken broth</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup unsweetened unflavoured soy milk</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4 tbls spicy miso paste</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4 servings noodles - Nupasta if you really want no sodium at all or next healthiest choice are buckwheat soba</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4 tbls sliced scallions</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">sesame seeds</p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*1 cooked chicken breast, a handful of poached shrimp, sliced on the diagonal, tofu, sliced pork, jammy eggs (eggs simmered for 6 1/2 minutes, cooled, peeled and halved) or any other protein of your choice</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">** you can also throw in whatever vegetable you like - matchstick carrot, leftover cooked veg, a handful of sliced spinach or other green</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Garlic Togarashi Oil</b></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2 small shallots, minced</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 tsp sesame seed</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/4 cup vegetable oil</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1.5 tbls Togarashi (Farm Boy brand has 10mg sodium/tbls)</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Combine the shallots, garlic, sesame seeds, and veg oil in a small pot over low heat. Cook and stir until the garlic is crispy and light brown, about 5 or 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the togarashi and let sit for at least an hour before using it.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><b>To make Spicy Miso Paste</b></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Put all the Spicy Miso Paste in gradients in a blender or mini food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape into a pot and set over medium heat. Bring to a low simmer and cook and stir for 5 minutes. Let it cool completely and store in airtight container in the fridge.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>To make the broth and final soup</b></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rinse the shiitakes, cover with boiling water and let steep while you get the other things together, then remove them and slice them, setting aside.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Heat 1 tbls of sesame oil in soup pot and add 4 tbls of spicy miso paste and cook for a minute until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, broth and soy milk and bring to a simmer.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKa6cTRDi8DHSajDWj4k50QXsF7YGZDDPWvIjyggh8Z5GsI52dAJToz4Hh5rnrnASW0zm5vr1iT4dXpRwCoUt9RM9UTZU_jJaagARZ8r5NxFh3FPjy7txiNQxzdTVWDjisnBoZlGDC0Cqd/s1024/spicy+miso+low+sodium+soup-1-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKa6cTRDi8DHSajDWj4k50QXsF7YGZDDPWvIjyggh8Z5GsI52dAJToz4Hh5rnrnASW0zm5vr1iT4dXpRwCoUt9RM9UTZU_jJaagARZ8r5NxFh3FPjy7txiNQxzdTVWDjisnBoZlGDC0Cqd/w400-h400/spicy+miso+low+sodium+soup-1-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">compose your ingredients on top of the noodles before you pourin the hot soup</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Prepare your chosen noodles according to directions. If using Nupasta noodles, drain, give a really good rinse in a strainer under hot running water, shake well to get rid of excess water and add to the soup bowls. Lay your additions on top of the noodles, so add any protien you are using, the vegetables you are using to the bowl. Ladle 1/4 of the soup into each bowl, over the noodles. For each serving add 2 tbls of scallion and a tsp or two of spicy togarashi oil and sesame seeds.</span></span><div><br /></div><div><i>*amazon links are affiliate links, just so's you know<br /></i><p></p>
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</iframe></div>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-71770802762370999512020-09-18T11:56:00.002-04:002020-09-18T11:56:50.998-04:00Ninja Air Fryer - A Love Affair<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpadTdxopV0tOFfDoqcuA3sAgxjuxfhu5WEIOdOFSDZ1LpQKxCYgkau7vrHZnHNG-x5vccHv5mawlVs1gvkMBfmkla_ciEX8KLpJdK7gom88m6ik1CFZyiRHJjZeL5FGAzTVJFWRUhitJ/s2048/IMG_20200809_190522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpadTdxopV0tOFfDoqcuA3sAgxjuxfhu5WEIOdOFSDZ1LpQKxCYgkau7vrHZnHNG-x5vccHv5mawlVs1gvkMBfmkla_ciEX8KLpJdK7gom88m6ik1CFZyiRHJjZeL5FGAzTVJFWRUhitJ/w480-h640/IMG_20200809_190522.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamb chops, bit of olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper 145F for medium rare<br />preheat for a couple minutes at 390F cook for about 8-10 minutes</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><br /></p><p>I had an air fryer once before. It was the size of a small spaceship so, even though it worked just fine, I had where to put it, it didn’t fit in any of my cupboards and I had to keep it in the garage. That means I never used it and to be honest, at that time, I thought they were only good for fries and chicken wings. </p><p>Gadget maven that I am, I also have a CrispLid for my Instant Pot and I love it too, although when I need to make, say, enough chicken wings for the three of us, I have to cook them in a couple of batches but for doing veggies, browning something I just pressure cooked (like a bread pudding or a whole chicken) and when it’s just one or two of us, the CrispLid is perfect. I didn’t even know I would want a larger capacity air fryer until I was offered a <a href="https://www.ninjakitchen.com/exclusive-offer/AF101B2/ninja-air-fryer-with-air-fryer-basket/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ninja Air Fryer</a>. I love my Ninja blender with a fierce, burning love and because of that, I said yes to their air fryer, thinking I might use it a few times, the novelty would wear off, it would be huge and it would end up in the garage, next to my other one. Much like how the Instant Pot is really just an electric pressure cooker with a couple handy extra features, air fryers are basically a portable convection oven with good marketing. It doesn't mean they aren't both great kitchen appliances but they aren't magical either so I wasn't sure how this would pan out.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmFjX5e6u1DZcPo5v0hXWFuZwv9_N1XcUv8vnAyZJAGmN1bU8mjoxI0yfbk0rArjeJsP9Mjc1_xVcFGEA7tUZFIM81upHSipvDi3WjwELGa5idTpDZV3dUT0MWK_pVQv-eBQIRo3yFfTg/s960/IMG_1064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmFjX5e6u1DZcPo5v0hXWFuZwv9_N1XcUv8vnAyZJAGmN1bU8mjoxI0yfbk0rArjeJsP9Mjc1_xVcFGEA7tUZFIM81upHSipvDi3WjwELGa5idTpDZV3dUT0MWK_pVQv-eBQIRo3yFfTg/w512-h640/IMG_1064.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">salmon on a bed of roasted chickpeas, tomato, greens, shallots, lemon and capers<br />cook the salmon for 12 minutes at 400F and after drying canned chickpeas, tossed <br />them with a bit of olive oil and garlic salt and cooked about 13 minutes at 390F</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><br /></p><p>I have been waiting to make absolutely sure that this was not going to wear off and that I would continue to love my air fryer before I recommended it and it has not worn off, i continue to use it all the time and I do love it.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Tx8nazIKMmCkqSJpkjQ1FpzmbWe_Km389FrJ_wTLrJVl-JMqWq0w1d5FIctO_17b3T3EzTEl3UgZQ3D1eWxoU_WjUAdCC8CgxsdKfaqrW1WtwqEn7XUFSc6_3KzUCf-cLKVfoVaEyeCq/s1024/shakshuka-1-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Tx8nazIKMmCkqSJpkjQ1FpzmbWe_Km389FrJ_wTLrJVl-JMqWq0w1d5FIctO_17b3T3EzTEl3UgZQ3D1eWxoU_WjUAdCC8CgxsdKfaqrW1WtwqEn7XUFSc6_3KzUCf-cLKVfoVaEyeCq/s320/shakshuka-1-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The Ninja is taller and has less girth than other air fryers, the basket is bigger than my CrispLid in circumference and it’s deep enough that I can cook food in two layers, using one of my pressure cooker trivets. The Ninja also allows you to use the roast setting if you want to cook in a manner that is closer to your oven, it dehydrates (I haven’t tried that yet) and it has a reheat function, which I do use all the time. I found a nice spot for it on my counter, tucked under a cupboard, beside my toaster and I am happy to report that I have only had to turn my actual oven on once since it got here. Since Toronto seemed to have experienced a perpetual heat wave this summer, that has been a very, very good thing. Its also very easy to clean - dishwasher safe but why bother when you can just give the basket and rack a quick, sudsy rinse in hot water under the tap.<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUrsTqFiRDUgAL3ti1fDNmT-_d8GIPhJxr5PkJspvvELT1357vLxhGK03zH-bH11z464G56LotVES9m7P81a_EU7cDUC5_Ub-LcSHaroj0XOQTOVlqMos6MGOxfbFJ7HIuQKL2iio8IFS/s1500/ninja+air+fryer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUrsTqFiRDUgAL3ti1fDNmT-_d8GIPhJxr5PkJspvvELT1357vLxhGK03zH-bH11z464G56LotVES9m7P81a_EU7cDUC5_Ub-LcSHaroj0XOQTOVlqMos6MGOxfbFJ7HIuQKL2iio8IFS/s320/ninja+air+fryer.jpg" /></a></div><p>Just in the last week I have used it to: heat up buttered, garlic pita, made smashed baby potatoes, made home fried potatoes for breakfast while I make scrambled eggs and got coffee ready, roast a handful of cauliflower that I would have otherwise thrown out and heated up leftovers.</p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>From cooking burgers for 10 minutes at 360F to making meatloaf in an 8" steel pie plate that that I use in my Instant Pot or using a low trivet to layer chicken wings or baby potatoes on top of chicken thighs at the same time, I use the hell out of my Ninja Air Fryer. The only con is that, despite being compact in comparison to other brands, it is still a bit of a beast and if you have a tiny city kitchen like me, you may find it difficult to store. It certainly takes up a chunk of my counter space but I moved other things to the basement to make room for it.</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?ref=qf_sp_asin_til&t=thyuyufa-20&m=amazon&o=15&p=8&l=as1&IS1=1&asins=B07JGF236Q&linkId=82fcc7344c7dba41a84fff701027b9a2&bc1=ffffff&lt1=_top&fc1=333333&lc1=0066c0&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><div><br /></div><div>There are a million amazing bloggers out there who share fabulous air fryer recipes and ideas and so I am not going to go that route and add my own. I am just going to tell you that if you are like me, you are often cooking for just one or two people, maybe three, this thing will be a godsend. </div><div><br /></div><div>Instead, I am going to share some of my favourite air frying links with you and spread the love amongst my peers:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGBQw_UIQg&t=845s" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This guy has multiple air fryer videos and i love them all</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.airfryercalculator.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Handy Air Fryer Calculator for converting from oven temp </a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://twosleevers.com/cookingstyle/air-fryer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I recommend her book but I also love Two Sleevers blog - it's full of really delicious, unexpected air fryer recipes</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?ref=qf_sp_asin_til&t=thyuyufa-20&m=amazon&o=15&p=8&l=as1&IS1=1&asins=1945256753&linkId=fdf933af80f55f659e56f76ebba28142&bc1=ffffff&lt1=_top&fc1=333333&lc1=0066c0&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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</iframe><div><br /></div><div><i>* I was gifted the Ninja Air Fryer to try out and review if I chose to and, as always, my opinions are unapologetically my own. The Amazon links are affiliate links so I do earn a small commission from any sales </i></div>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-54014109171484351512020-09-18T10:10:00.001-04:002020-09-18T10:10:34.602-04:00Turkishish Shakshuka At Last<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjt95sQiEV8hFvklVKn5qnv_pt1S2C40B-9Q7-IUh-aUG6MzNyqdZtk7QsqPxI2PYZ5baarKaFJl6Atic709zvN6Die19OrUIVhyyGKYRx7J9m8ELX-VLOu0yrJhGJMHS2YGDhHuSKzZl/s1024/shakshuka-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjt95sQiEV8hFvklVKn5qnv_pt1S2C40B-9Q7-IUh-aUG6MzNyqdZtk7QsqPxI2PYZ5baarKaFJl6Atic709zvN6Die19OrUIVhyyGKYRx7J9m8ELX-VLOu0yrJhGJMHS2YGDhHuSKzZl/w640-h480/shakshuka-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I tried to make shakshuka for five days. </p><p>Day 1: ordered all the ingredients I needed online for delivery. Shit, can't get it til tomorrow. No problem, we will eat something else tonight but super excited for tomorrow's dinner</p><p>Day 2: groceries come! Time to start.....oh, wait, what? You feel like ordering Thai? But I was...okay, Thai does sound like it would hit the spot. Shakshuka tomorrow, FOR SURE</p><p>Day 3: make the shakshuka tomato/red pepper sauce in anticipation of tonight's shakshuka. Sit outside with my neighbours for a glass of wine and the next thing I know, we grab The Kid and venture on down to sit on the patio at The Pub. It's the only place that will let us take a table for 8 so we can sit at opposite ends of the table and their salt and pepper wings are really delicious.....</p><p>Day 4: TODAY IS THE DAY. WE are making this damned shakshuka if it kills me, but first, a visit to drop off something to friends we haven't seen since January. Go to drop it off on the porch and she texts that they are out in the backyard and to come back and say hi. We have a lovely visit - WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WHEN WE CAN NO LONGER SIT OUTSIDE FOR SOCIALLY DISTANCED VISITS DUE TO THE SNOW AND THE COLD?<br />We decide to walk home along Queen St in the Beach instead of back the way we came and we pass by the new PBJ - the new Punjabi restaurant that I have heard raves about. The patio is completely empty and secluded on the side street and basically meets all the criteria for us to feel okay patio dining. OKAY, but just a quick taste as we are going home to eat shakshuka. One chicken biryani, one goat curry, one butter chicken mac & cheese, a giant basket of garlic naan, a mango lassi and then galub jamau later, we pack up the leftovers and waddle off towards home, never to be hungry again.</p><p>Day 5: SHAKSHUKA</p><p><i>*a note: this is something between shakshuka and the Turkish dish, Menemen, a staple of Anatolian cuisine. Menemen typically uses fresh green peppers and is more like a thick ratatouille and often contains some ground lamb or sausage.</i></p><p><br /></p><h1 style="text-align: left;">Turkishish Shakshuka</h1><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqQm7e9X9IIFDF5UMlNjd3fcF9QiydnM14tEj_pAVtz1ZhVgsh4X4opGsoU_yXnSmg2jNZl7uy-GfDyXrVlV0dxs-lRQlmo5st3BoROZrDh2j6AwxypUN3cUZaQ8gIkJDatZiBQOYYN0R/s1024/shakshuka-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqQm7e9X9IIFDF5UMlNjd3fcF9QiydnM14tEj_pAVtz1ZhVgsh4X4opGsoU_yXnSmg2jNZl7uy-GfDyXrVlV0dxs-lRQlmo5st3BoROZrDh2j6AwxypUN3cUZaQ8gIkJDatZiBQOYYN0R/w640-h640/shakshuka-4.jpg" title="Shakshuka" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">serves 3-4</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><p>2 tbls olive oil</p><p>1 small onion, thinly sliced</p><p>2 gloves garlic, minced</p><p>2 tsp cumin</p><p>1 tsp paprika</p><p>1 large roasted red pepper, sliced into 2" strips</p><p>2 tbls Turkish red pepper paste (biber salcasi) in either hot or mild</p><p>2 cups of passata or tomato puree</p><p>6-8 eggs</p><p>*1 tsp Turkish black Urfa chili flakes (cocoa like smokey flavour, mildly spicy)</p><div>*1 tsp Maras or Marash chili (fruity undertones, medium heat)</div><p>1/2 cup crumbled feta</p><p>big handful of washed, dried and chopped cilantro</p><p>serve with warm, buttered pita or other good bread</p><p><i>* if you can't find these spices, just leave them out. I have never found a good substitute and it will still be delicious without them, just different.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan and sauté the onion until soft, just a few minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute before you add the, cumin, paprika, stir til fragrant, around 30 seconds before you throw in the red pepper and biber salcasi, cook for another minute and then, finally, add the tomato puree. Let simmer lightly for about 10 minutes.<br /><br />Crack each egg, one by one, into a small bowl. Create a shallow well in the sauce and gently tip the egg into the well, repeating with the remaining eggs and scatter the Urfa and the Maras chili over the top (if you are using those). Simmer gently until your eggs are set to your liking (8-10 minutes for me) OR throw in a preheated 325F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes OR lovingly and gently baste the egg whites with the sauce so that they cook faster and you can achieve a cooked white with a still soft, runny yolk. It depends on your level of commitment. I simmer gently until the eggs are set and the yolks are soft and creamy.</p><p>Garnish with crumbled feta and cilantro</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79Dp0jZUpSyjNShK6pVCxS2pdJLXoUdz0sayfeVbdGKCL7urxPZHzpQYqa78GkUmp3y1JHyfdDWR9Taw_AroX4pRGpxoPzT72xalEqpEzvnUih7XBgCTCx-HKxXXidzbKUxwnGEVh5KIc/s1165/shakshuka-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79Dp0jZUpSyjNShK6pVCxS2pdJLXoUdz0sayfeVbdGKCL7urxPZHzpQYqa78GkUmp3y1JHyfdDWR9Taw_AroX4pRGpxoPzT72xalEqpEzvnUih7XBgCTCx-HKxXXidzbKUxwnGEVh5KIc/w562-h640/shakshuka-1.jpg" width="562" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">serve with warm, buttered pita or any other hearty bread</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-55039712709215233022020-05-17T18:42:00.000-04:002020-05-17T18:42:25.673-04:00Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Tomatillo Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, fellow home sheltering peeps. It's been a looooong couple months, hasn't it? Where are we now, anyway? Is sourdough over? Have we started canning and panic buying all the Bell jars and pectin yet? I know that finding vegetable plants for me wee, city garden is probably going to be a hellscape, but hey, what can you do when you live in a shoe? </div>
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Aaaanyway, I have a few processed foods that I unabashedly love. I LOVE good instant ramen. I love to soup it up with poached egg, chili sauce, vegetables, leftover meat or seafood. Love it.<br />
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I also love Campbells Everyday Gourmet Sweet Potato Tomatillo Soup. A big bowl of that with a grilled cheese to dip into it...ahhh. For some reason, and this precedes the pandemic so I know it's not soup panic hoarding, I haven't been able to find it for months. I had thrown some canned tomatillos in the freezer a few weeks ago and decided to try to recreate it at home. It's very weird for me to want to create a Campbells soup but it's really, really good. Anyway, I tried a few variations, with lime - too acidic, with more potato - too thick but this one is juuuuust right.<br />
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It needs a bit of heat so use whatever you have and use it to suit your tastes - chili flakes will do if you have no hot chilis of any kind because I don't want you busting out a mask and braving the grocery store just for a chili pepper. If you do buy some chili peppers, make sure to half them, seed them and then you can freeze them for later. I always have jalapenos and scotch bonnet's in the freezer.<br />
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I made this in my Instant Pot but if you want to do it on the stove in a soup pot over med heat, follow the instructions right up to the point where you would pressure cook it, reducing the broth by about 1.5 cups. Let the soup barely simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and sweet potatoes are nice and soft. Puree with the cream or evaporated milk. It isn't faster to pressure cooker, I just like to be able to walk away and watch tv and not think about what's going on in the kitchen.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Sweet Potato Tomatillo Soup</span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">makes about 2 litres and serves 6-8 </td></tr>
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1 tbls grapeseed oil or other flavourless oil<br />
1 onion, roughly chopped<br />
2 cloves garlic<br />
some sort of hot chili - a thai chili, a seeded japlapeno, 1/2 a scotch bonnet, chili flake - use what you have<br />
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks<br />
1 large Yukon Gold or other yellow fleshed potato, peeled and cut into big chunks<br />
about 6 tomatillos ( I used canned so drain them if you use canned)<br />
the stems from half a bunch of cilantro, cleaned, rough chop<br />
6 cups of chicken broth<br />
2 tsp cumin<br />
kosher salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper<br />
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1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream<br />
<br />
yogurt or sour cream and fresh cilantro for garnish<br />
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Set the Sauté button on the pressure cooker and when it says "HOT" pour in the oil and cook the onion for a few minutes until softened before you throw in the garlic cloves and the chili, sauté for about 30 more seconds. Hit cancel and add the sweet potato, potato, tomatillos, cilantro stems, broth, cumin and salt and pepper. Program the pressure cooker for manual or pressure cook (depending on your model) for 7 minutes at high pressure.<br />
When the time is up, you can either let it NPR for ten minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure or just walk away. Go watch something on Netflix and by the time it's over, all of the pressure will be gone and you can puree your soup.<br />
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You can use an immersion blender or remove the inner pot and let the soup cool down a bit before pureeing it in a blender. You want it quite smooth. Either way, pour in your evaporated milk or cream and blend away.<br />
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To serve, chop a big handful of cilantro leaves and swirl some yogurt or sour cream into each bowl and finish with a good hit of cilantro.<br />
<br />Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-56612859189331394882020-05-05T09:23:00.000-04:002020-05-05T09:27:08.444-04:00A Bit of Mexico City meets Canada To Brighten Up Your Spring Menu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipL4bOPZQMEqG5dv03p9qHrYa65TcwT_JDFaOctoaAzp0TvBynj0AJN0PXe8w5_cjVeHcAjitTC8tce40dPowVn0WcUEvI1_bSoAJqXMC6zCanZOPwWQIVcHBXXXeNaNT-XA2kQWfU73UP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-05+at+8.57.39+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipL4bOPZQMEqG5dv03p9qHrYa65TcwT_JDFaOctoaAzp0TvBynj0AJN0PXe8w5_cjVeHcAjitTC8tce40dPowVn0WcUEvI1_bSoAJqXMC6zCanZOPwWQIVcHBXXXeNaNT-XA2kQWfU73UP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-05+at+8.57.39+AM.png" /></a></div>
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I know that this week is going to be cold thanks to some polar vortex that we can add to our global pandemic and the hot, new Murder Hornet situation, but go and check out the latest issue of <a href="https://www.vitalizemagazine.com/read-the-latest-issue-online/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Vitalize </b>Magazine</a> where you can find my recipe for this Canadianized homage to one of my favourite restaurants, Mexico City staple, Contramar (recipe starts on page 74). This herby, Salmon A La Talla with an easy salsa and yummy salad will put a spring in your step whether we are stuck in our apartment or lucky enough to have an outside space to enjoy a summery meal. Make yourself a big, icy gin and tonic with a slice or two of cucumber and put on some Grupo Firme (download anything you can find on Itunes or Spotify and thank me later).<br />
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Little did I know that my last Contramar meal this past Christmas would be my last for what will most likely be a long time. It looks like I am going to have to start replicating lots of my favourite dishes here at home so keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks. And months. Years? ACCCKK<br />
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<br />Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-13152953804357022092020-04-29T12:26:00.002-04:002020-04-29T12:26:24.667-04:00Adventures In Grilling Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yup, we are in the midst of a global pandemic. We are all spending way more time in our homes than usual and for some of us who are not working, that means ALL of our time in our homes. While I have watched all these people teach themselves how to knit, learn Mandarin, choreograph family dance routines and bake sourdough bread four times a day, I have been allowing myself to do nothing. Doing nothing is an option, by the way. Doing nothing has been my way of coping, of keeping myself calm and hold the zombie apocalypse fears at bay. We can't all be A type git' er done people and we all do what we need to do to stay sane.<br />
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We are eating well but my guys really miss pizza and I am not super comfortable ordering it out. I am not at the full on paranoid, pressure washing my mail stage, but I do feel more comfortable ordering food that I can pour into my own pots and reheat, like Thai or Indian food. We have also had a couple of great meal kits from some of our favourite local restaurants - you pick up your precooked or partially cooked food items, take it home and cook or reheat it later, following the instructions that come with it. We have picked up a pizza a couple of times but it stresses me out.<br />
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But, yeah, pizza. It's not like we don't make it at home but I will be honest and admit that I never make my own dough. I live in Toronto so I do what everyone does.... I buy fabulous, freshly made dough from one of the 5 billion Italian bakeries. I am sure that many of these bakeries are still open but we are keeping the whole going out to shop thing to a bare minimum (I have been inside a small store down the street a total of three times since the first week of March).<br />
<br />
Time to make my own dough.<br />
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Because I am no idiot, I turned to Serious Eats to see what Kenji Lopez had to say. He, of course, has a recipe for the three basic doughs everyone should know: Neapolitan, NY style and a thicker, focaccia like Sicilian style. My favourite is the Neapolitan but the NY dough looked easier and I wanted to be able to only make one pie at a time, so I started with that. It's kind of a hybrid between NY style pizza crust and my favourite Neapolitan style Margherita toppings.<br />
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It's super easy to make and utilizes a food processor although if your processor is not huge, you will have to do it in two batches. I used a scaled to divide my ingredients but I think it work out if you used cups/tsp measures as well. I whipped up the dough, divided into three portions, as advised, and stored it in three ziplocks in the fridge for two days.<br />
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I dug out my cracked baking stone ( I knew there was a reason I couldn't bring myself to throw it out) and we cooked them on the stone in our Webber charcoal grill. I haven't mastered the art of pulling the dough into a nice, thin circle but, no matter, it was pretty damned delicious. I also used way too much fresh mozzarella but , again, who complains about too much cheese. Stay tuned for Neapolitan style pizza - I am dying to make a white pizza with garlicky greens and chilis and, let's be honest, I have nothing but time to make it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">NY Style Pizza on the Grill </span> </h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD182LV4tYhrJB_9pQKiuaHZW6xS9jF-ROWFMi9EUHza4PMGcMrqlV7CIuaLosvl2HMpN9rfsl1DhGd9UruWbJcEsf06EmtT25ErtA6w0yOzoK1k11xg5wbrsDunNcD3fbhkJJOhucJfcn/s1600/NY+style+pizza-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD182LV4tYhrJB_9pQKiuaHZW6xS9jF-ROWFMi9EUHza4PMGcMrqlV7CIuaLosvl2HMpN9rfsl1DhGd9UruWbJcEsf06EmtT25ErtA6w0yOzoK1k11xg5wbrsDunNcD3fbhkJJOhucJfcn/s640/NY+style+pizza-1.jpg" width="602" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>makes three 12" pizzas</b></span><br />
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1 recipe NY style dough from <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/07/basic-new-york-style-pizza-dough.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Serious Eats</a><br />
<i>ingredients:</i><br />
630g/ (22.5 ounces or about 4 1/2 cups of bread flour (I used all purpose and it was fine)<br />
15g /.5 ounces or 1 1/2 tbls sugar<br />
10g / .35 ounces or about 1 tbls kosher salt<br />
10 g/ .35 or about 2 tsp ounces instant yeast<br />
31 g/ 1.125 ounces for about 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil<br />
426g/15 ounces or about 1 3/4 cup lukewarm water<br />
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<i>Tomato sauce:</i><br />
1 can san marzano tomatoes, strained, discarding juice and pureed OR strained passata<br />
about 2 tbls olive oil<br />
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated on a rasp<br />
good pinch kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper<br />
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1 250g ball of fresh mozzarella or as much as you like, it's your pizza<br />
about 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan<br />
A few leaves of fresh basil, torn<br />
extra virgin olive oil<br />
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You will need flour for forming the pizza and a couple handfuls of cornmeal and a wooden cutting board if you don't have a pizza peel<br />
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Remove your dough from the fridge at least 2 hours before you are going to make your pizza. Shape the balls by gathering the dough towards the bottom and pinch it shut, flour it and place it in a bowl - if you are doing all three pizzas, do it with each one and put them in three separate bowls. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until it doubles in volume.<br />
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While your dough is resting, make the sauce. Mix your strained tomatoes with olive oil, kosher salt and garlic and let it sit at room temperature.<br />
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Cut your ball of fresh mozzarella into thin slices.<br />
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Put a pizza stone on your bbq grill and preheat your grill to get it as hot as possible. If you are using gas, crank it all the way up and if you are using coals, get your coals going first and then put the stone on the grill, put the cover on with the vents open and let it sit for at least half an hour.<br />
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To make your pizza, flour the counter and throw down one of the three portions of dough and gently press it out until you have a circle that's about 8" in diameter. This is where it gets sticky. Either keep pressing the dough outward, until its about 12" in diameter, sort of flop it around from hand to hand or you can try draping it over your knuckles to do so - I recommend watching this video because it's fun and informative - we are using the Serious Eats recipe so just watch for the actual methods of pinching the dough to form it into balls to proof and dealing with it to make the actual pizza.<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yan892RXh5Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yan892RXh5A" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">These guys in the Epicurious kitchen are always a good watch</a><br />
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So, now you sprinkle cornmeal on to your pizza peel or your cutting board and gently transfer your pizza crust to that. The cornmeal helps it slide off the peel/cutting board and onto the stone and it doesn't burn like flour does.<br />
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Add sauce to the crust (leaving that nice raised 1/2" border you have left around the outside) and spread it around so it's evenly but thinly coated. Scatter 1/3 of the fresh mozzarella on the pizza, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, add a handful of freshly grated parmesan and a bit of the fresh basil.<br />
*If you want, before you add the parmesan, you can also add black olive, some sautéed mushrooms, chili flakes or hot peppers, some sauteed greens or crumbled, cooked Italian sausage etc<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpHArziWTKpCEYPoEyoJcuBBAk4qotaybaqEQKMMjAbOqEQEw5OEjl_ccb_FBbANB4YhdGVkMg8mCizhlzMhe0XIfWCN04qrykxbYtwWEbNUDcP54fCsJvdsN6ZKYkb8Rhy6PBTgr_CXv/s1600/NY+style+pizza-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNpHArziWTKpCEYPoEyoJcuBBAk4qotaybaqEQKMMjAbOqEQEw5OEjl_ccb_FBbANB4YhdGVkMg8mCizhlzMhe0XIfWCN04qrykxbYtwWEbNUDcP54fCsJvdsN6ZKYkb8Rhy6PBTgr_CXv/s640/NY+style+pizza-2.jpg" width="576" /></a></div>
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Take your peel or cutting board outside, remove the lid and carefully slide the pizza onto the hot baking stone, using a spatula or tongs. Put the lid back on (vents open) and cook it for about 10 to 13 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is but start checking the bottom with a spatula after 10 minutes.<br />
When it's done, carefully slide the pizza back onto the cutting board/peel using long tongs. Sprinkle more fresh basil on the top and let the pizza sit for about 5 minutes before you cut it to let the cheese set up a bit.<br />
<br />Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-71570141560972152672020-03-17T12:02:00.002-04:002020-03-17T12:02:57.951-04:00Because I Want Everyone To #STAYTHEFHOME <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6QO8P64txEh59vHfuXV4-425ymdr1hYPiyGbgYu2WBq5p36Y-sOMLEtrhoWcfsPE8LRZG4-fUTdoVZEe8tA5uiBH647PDsPaMnPOqhFHPdTfkCKjlzd5lu0ShCvnfKumKfo7Tq-KRoTa/s1600/bruce-mars-FWVMhUa_wbY-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6QO8P64txEh59vHfuXV4-425ymdr1hYPiyGbgYu2WBq5p36Y-sOMLEtrhoWcfsPE8LRZG4-fUTdoVZEe8tA5uiBH647PDsPaMnPOqhFHPdTfkCKjlzd5lu0ShCvnfKumKfo7Tq-KRoTa/s640/bruce-mars-FWVMhUa_wbY-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Use all of our great tech, facetime, video chats, take up an old hobby <br />photo Bruce Mars</td></tr>
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So, I have not been blogging all that much as of late because I have been busy cooking, teaching other people to cook, travelling and writing about cooking and travelling. In fact, I was all packed and ready to go on a 2 week adventure to Northern Italy on Feb 24 when everything changed.<br /><br />
By 8pm, the night before our flight to Paris (we were going to spend two days in Paris before catching a train to Turin where we would pick up a car so we could road trip), all of our hotels, the car rental and train tickets were cancelled an refunded - we did incur a small cancellation fee for the flights and the only hotel to refuse to refund, ironically, was our hotel in Venice, which was in the epicentre of the outbreak in Northern Italy. Our biggest fear, at that point, was getting stuck overseas in a quarantine or not being allowed back into Canada and we were leaving our 20 yr old son at home.<br />
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Instead, we thought it was safe to throw our packed bags into the car and we drove to Charleston SC, meandering, hitting DC, Asheville and Charlotte NC before landing in Charleston, where we thought we would stay for 4 or 5 days, maybe hitting the Outer Banks before starting for home. By the time we got to Charleston, we were getting worried. I had a cold and the news was alarming. We washed our hands and used so much hand sanitizer that the backs of my hands were red and raw. After two nights in Charleston, we bailed, packed the car back up and started for home. Instead of staying overnight in West Virginia, we drove as long as we could, spent a night in Pittsburgh, got up and came home the next morning. Thankfully, we drove instead of flying and we were over the top with our hygiene, our disinfecting of all surfaces, of our car etc, but that is not a fun way to travel, to say the least and I am so thankful that we didn't contract nor did we spread the virus while we were away.<br /><br />I self isolated while my dr monitored me by phone and after about 11 days, I went in so she could listen to my lungs and she was 100% sure it was a cold and my usual post viral cough but told me to stay indoors and have my family do the same as much as humanly possible. Pretty much all film and tv production has been suspended so he has no work to go to, I have no work to go to so we are staying inside and we hope that Shack will not go full on "Shining" on us by April. My son and I are introverts who have been training for house arrest our entire lives by my husband is a social butterfly who has a constant need to be on the move. Sorry dude, this is going to rough.<br />
<br />
I have been having groceries delivered and stocking up on dried beans, rice, frozen produce, chicken broth and root vegetables that I am keeping the garage, where its dark and cool. It's time to start cooking and eating as a family again, ordering out as a rare treat but make sure the food is left outside the door and tip when you pay online.<br />
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I have been trying to warn friends and family since I got home and too many people have not listened, have laughed at me, told me I need to have a glass of wine and chill out, while they continue to go out for dinner, attend large gatherings, think social distancing doesn't include playdates, trips to the playground with a few friends to climb around on climbing equipment or work out at the gym.<br />
<br />
So, now here we are. My province has just declared a state of emergency, we have almost closed the borders, all restaurants, libraries, public places, etc must close. Canadians have been told to come back to Canada "while they can still do so". That is not an idle threat, made casually on a regular basis by our Prime Minister.<br />
<br />
So, dear readers, I am not here to get you to read my recipes or contribute to my SEO or whatever else one usually does with their blog.<br />
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I just want you to take this seriously, don't watch CNN but do watch CBC and pay attention. If you can work from home, do so. If you don't have to go out, stay home. It's not easy but don't have playdates, keep your kids at home, let them play as many video games as they want. Take them out for a walk and run around in the park as long as it's not full of people. If you are lucky enough to have a yard, keep them in the yard. Check in with elderly neighbours. Order your groceries online if you can. Order groceries for your parents, elderly relatives and people living alone.<br />
<br />
If you feel unwell, stay home. If you feel well and you don't HAVE to go out of the house, stay home. If your kids are whining and want to go visit their friends, stay home. If your Aunt Mary is inviting the family over for dinner on Sunday, stay home.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2020/03/13/the-urban-prepper-riding-out-covid-19-in-the-city-with-these-diy-hacks/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For more tips on surviving this Covid 19 pandemic, you can read my article on Auburn Lane</a><br />
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Stay home, stay healthy and safe and keep your community safe and healthy by practicing social distancing and help flatten the curve so that our amazing health care system is not dangerously overloaded and everyone who needs care can get it. If I have to remind you not to travel, I don't even know what to say to you. I am still hearing stories of people who have flown to another country for March Break, to visit elderly relatives and potentially bring the virus to vulnerable countries just because they are blessed with nice beaches. STOP THAT.Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-8667189808197982592020-01-22T10:08:00.002-05:002020-01-22T10:08:56.018-05:00The Week in Yum - Christmas and New Years in Mexico City<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEbhIfMlfTPpK7OaegHePi5Zq1rZw8xstKxSZESP_H354Xgrdca1Bb07fIzMBhxQfDTSdblKkfbebSAeIOkTymvtlxff3xVdOuaWtBxrvaXxw_oR89Q_qW6lM8SEB1exVpjsp7xU2VKeD/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-91.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEbhIfMlfTPpK7OaegHePi5Zq1rZw8xstKxSZESP_H354Xgrdca1Bb07fIzMBhxQfDTSdblKkfbebSAeIOkTymvtlxff3xVdOuaWtBxrvaXxw_oR89Q_qW6lM8SEB1exVpjsp7xU2VKeD/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-91.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the open air restaurant, <a href="http://azul.rest/azul-historico/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Azul Historico</a> is one of the prettiest places to spend an evening</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
New Year, new Week in Yum:<br />
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Our first getaway of 2019 was a four day trip to Mexico City. Although I had been a few times a decade or three ago, it was Shack's first time. It took a couple of years to get him there but after that first, short trip, he loved it so much that when an opportunity to take another four day adventure came up a few weeks later, guess who chose Mexico City?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnmt7ZpDv2KPq7Abkh2VptWpHxNaaylTrZLWKu6n5z5WjgA8j9arIFRmuGzH_mYZlWT3VkNngdzst0dpVKp4V5IcVTBXwZnTp9eZYJj1FxYPvZkTM_BYuHjhpZoi2Y8D8Ud7M6V0k-09c/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnmt7ZpDv2KPq7Abkh2VptWpHxNaaylTrZLWKu6n5z5WjgA8j9arIFRmuGzH_mYZlWT3VkNngdzst0dpVKp4V5IcVTBXwZnTp9eZYJj1FxYPvZkTM_BYuHjhpZoi2Y8D8Ud7M6V0k-09c/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-15.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view of this sprawling mega city from the Hilton Reforma</td></tr>
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read my recommendations on what to do and see <a href="http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.com/2019/02/dont-leave-mexico-city-without-seeing.html" target="_blank">here</a> <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/01/29/lets-be-real-mexico-city/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/04/08/one-great-thing-mexico-city-contramar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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So, it seemed fitting that we started off 2019 in Mexico City so we might as well end it there too. We flew out of Toronto on Christmas morning, coming home on New Year's Day. Flying on Christmas Day is generally a pretty low key time as most people prefer to travel before or after Dec 25.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqP1BpEIFTZpHJxwUi0z_y6XsIl12oA_T70di5U9kaHylSNaXAUgF7jiO4FnAhSUtlezcMjqqhY1vfYT_nGDIg2KCy7pes1HXUwyzhDINCe7cJk8sIpoCNUEFykwAFEa0JlvMrwK29Hf5b/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqP1BpEIFTZpHJxwUi0z_y6XsIl12oA_T70di5U9kaHylSNaXAUgF7jiO4FnAhSUtlezcMjqqhY1vfYT_nGDIg2KCy7pes1HXUwyzhDINCe7cJk8sIpoCNUEFykwAFEa0JlvMrwK29Hf5b/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After reading a ton of travel blogs, I came to the conclusion that Christmas Day would find the city pretty much shut down and not to expect much so I made a reservation at El Balcon de Zocalo, somewhere that we have enjoyed cocktails at sunset because it has an amazing view and because it's a hotel restaurant, it was opened and taking reservations.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQrHW3cddp6MtHiVe20G1Y5uLdIuZ8qrxmAedLsTKrsLccMifPFV8R3HHZSz07NemUZBdHzmWw0HvYs2fvr456Ee_eZ10xSPllgDw6AVXSnv087IEd0i_IEHO75w_bau5Sun2UAaIJOs_/s1600/alameda+park+mexico+city.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQrHW3cddp6MtHiVe20G1Y5uLdIuZ8qrxmAedLsTKrsLccMifPFV8R3HHZSz07NemUZBdHzmWw0HvYs2fvr456Ee_eZ10xSPllgDw6AVXSnv087IEd0i_IEHO75w_bau5Sun2UAaIJOs_/s640/alameda+park+mexico+city.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Imagine our shock and delight to see that the outdoor market that sits right across from our hotel on Reforma and on the edge of Alameda Park, was open and packed with families eating and shopping. Okay then. We hopped over there and sat down at the first taco stand we came upon and enjoyed some tasty carnitas. We took The Kid (this was his first time in the city) for a stroll and it felt like at least half of the shops and restaurants around the hotel were opened - the opposite of closed down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiTV5GbwPIxrxtq6pcfH9xqt5BD9ARl3q4g7sjLD4lb_bl9Sw32G7gWqOSbB0EZSDjhZp9f-EVxsBEvkxn_ESON714g_4O42ipZR0_z5tNVUwjIOj32gL4cHr9DF_pDMGDHyz148nfViE/s1600/zocolo+mexico+city+xmas+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiTV5GbwPIxrxtq6pcfH9xqt5BD9ARl3q4g7sjLD4lb_bl9Sw32G7gWqOSbB0EZSDjhZp9f-EVxsBEvkxn_ESON714g_4O42ipZR0_z5tNVUwjIOj32gL4cHr9DF_pDMGDHyz148nfViE/s640/zocolo+mexico+city+xmas+night.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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When we back to the historic district for dinner, the zocalo was lit up and packed with Chilangos ice skating, eating, wearing light up flower crowns and throwing around giant balloons shaped like pencils. If we do this again, we will NOT eat at an overpriced hotel restaurant but join in the fun, eat street tacos and spend the evening in the square.<br />
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We spent two nights at the Hilton Reforma before moving to an airbnb in the Condessa neighbourhood for the next five nights so that The Kid could get a taste of both a more touristy area as well as a beautiful, residential neighbourhood. We splurged on a <a href="https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/40568121?source_impression_id=p3_1579537744_lCy6j7BoGgG1R6AI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">brand new apartment with two bedrooms</a>, two bathrooms, a gorgeous communal, rooftop patio right across the street from the doggiest dog park I have ever seen.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXIquNVgnN8uELn08Zf6wz4OGvElQO1tcyA3WpT3xRsWOgPCWaxDcabxH3jpseXpd7o6tZr3YdIHA0ybSXfYQvqF8pD5hxs6t_oWRJgsJ3HFRTSptzw08uWUPw9L9oVrlJ5v0i4O6QWhd/s1600/airbnb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXIquNVgnN8uELn08Zf6wz4OGvElQO1tcyA3WpT3xRsWOgPCWaxDcabxH3jpseXpd7o6tZr3YdIHA0ybSXfYQvqF8pD5hxs6t_oWRJgsJ3HFRTSptzw08uWUPw9L9oVrlJ5v0i4O6QWhd/s640/airbnb.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">This is the nicest airbnb I have ever stayed in and although it is on the expensive side for a family of three, if you are two couples splitting the cost, it's cheaper than a nice hotel but it's so much nicer to have an apartment.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We had a ton of great restaurants, coffee shops and a fabulous little place for mind blowing roast pork sandwiches on our block and an outpost of the churro mecca, El Moro just a half a block away. Sadly, the El Moro had long lineups from opening to closing so we only went there twice which, in reality, is probably a good thing because if it were easy to get churros, we would have had them three times a day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_LxMbZGfw7lQhookSiEYxLO9PTqe8-gJk9A38uHqZDs0Ye8Qu0EDfZXUGkj1_iWVMqS_4940p37_nff0vKnc9b_CIZxWsgo4dkgNEhVQKtaeXnE5DZJRdeM7UhcDcIx70NC7RoKJHlTI/s1600/condessa+parque+mexico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_LxMbZGfw7lQhookSiEYxLO9PTqe8-gJk9A38uHqZDs0Ye8Qu0EDfZXUGkj1_iWVMqS_4940p37_nff0vKnc9b_CIZxWsgo4dkgNEhVQKtaeXnE5DZJRdeM7UhcDcIx70NC7RoKJHlTI/s640/condessa+parque+mexico.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Directly in front of Parque Mexico, dog capital of the world lol</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We spent the rest of the week doing what we do - we walked and walked, we shopped, we ate, we day drank and, for a change of pace, we booked two airbnb experiences - one to see the <a href="https://www.airbnb.ca/experiences/167988" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lucha Libre</a> and the other was a gift for Shack. He spent a couple of hours with a <a href="https://www.airbnb.ca/experiences/99356" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">street artist and got to paint a wall with him </a>. They were my first airbnb experiences and both were fabulous and we would do them both again in a heartbeat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaReZz-DsYFjmBiOENKCyiOw3vM0yqwWouQewBpjkru7_Shq1qR0MUn5cZ3n83xIYIwyFLMXP0TaUS2kdLPDzLlPH58BrCAcUBwsF584LORwvCaIe-EGYR2Mk4vRFzWhLZ2LSE2I6d-LS9/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaReZz-DsYFjmBiOENKCyiOw3vM0yqwWouQewBpjkru7_Shq1qR0MUn5cZ3n83xIYIwyFLMXP0TaUS2kdLPDzLlPH58BrCAcUBwsF584LORwvCaIe-EGYR2Mk4vRFzWhLZ2LSE2I6d-LS9/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-53.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Unlike Xmas, I thought NYE might be a bit more lively so we did not make plans. We all napped and then, around 8:30 we ventured out to explore and found that our neighbourhood was deserted. No people on the street, no celebrating, no music, no fireworks. It felt like we were going out at 4am, especially in such a buzzing neighbourhood.<br />
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As we walked towards the action, we swung by Roma Norte, expecting more people out and about.<br />
NOPE<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZbWp74LMksS6xbgVKMhzAaBSVNuZfBQaT86Zl79mL_G7_8q0raqEhaVeI2BOX1asrnY79WEuNePaX4MWiz7oSpUsAFOxlZvirDcn6g2X3LfphHP8eOJIkJ53vChfGz1rw08EBU3gBhyphenhyphenT/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZbWp74LMksS6xbgVKMhzAaBSVNuZfBQaT86Zl79mL_G7_8q0raqEhaVeI2BOX1asrnY79WEuNePaX4MWiz7oSpUsAFOxlZvirDcn6g2X3LfphHP8eOJIkJ53vChfGz1rw08EBU3gBhyphenhyphenT/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-117.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thank god for this guy, the long guy who was slinging delicious tacos on NYE</td></tr>
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The streets were dead, although we could see lively looking parties going on inside the apartments on the way, and by now, everyone was getting hungry. We stopped at the only taco stand that was opened and The Kid decided it was a good choice because there were two cops eating there. He ordered five amazing, greasy, delicious carnitas for 25 pesos and we continued on our way.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9BERXmfKan55UCFHwthGoJ3rzwOj9K3wIrYfWf5tckHavxnFjk1GjYV2PDYxUFNf9_T6-qRwlZKKQJfTRru3Iqq9u6r7b2eP_stQ6C7yBCbSF3HIE3iI_7QvhZZKpD8DvPcr6mTlo_gv/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9BERXmfKan55UCFHwthGoJ3rzwOj9K3wIrYfWf5tckHavxnFjk1GjYV2PDYxUFNf9_T6-qRwlZKKQJfTRru3Iqq9u6r7b2eP_stQ6C7yBCbSF3HIE3iI_7QvhZZKpD8DvPcr6mTlo_gv/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-107.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every Tuesday the mercado comes to Condessa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As soon as we got to the car free area around the Angel, it went from zero to 1000000. On one side of the street, blackness. On the other, flashing lights, shoulder to shoulder crowds, people popping corn with blow torches, selling light up NYE head gear, delicious corn smeared with cheese, families with babies, dogs and grandma's packed in like sardines. Once you get to the centre, there are thousands of people dancing to the live music coming from the giant stage erected for the night. We hung out for a while until we all decided it was just a bit too much so we fought our way out and retraced our steps, hoping to get an Uber and make it home before midnight so we could take our bottle of cava up to the roof for midnight.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJIr2342CQYFugBVeNnuSGMyDfPO78N2erarDfs1lqBUc0xkaH91seW8HqvMdJZX8qJZqDaMHfHuO-Mnb0mv7shzOQOo2fngd4KkFKaKwE4_1GVIdr6f-ofQnDfsa0ROrTgh0bjbagCl3/s1600/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJIr2342CQYFugBVeNnuSGMyDfPO78N2erarDfs1lqBUc0xkaH91seW8HqvMdJZX8qJZqDaMHfHuO-Mnb0mv7shzOQOo2fngd4KkFKaKwE4_1GVIdr6f-ofQnDfsa0ROrTgh0bjbagCl3/s640/Mexico+City+Xmas+19-20-101.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Now I know - Xmas is a big deal and you can hang out in the historic district and celebrate with everyone, no need for tons of planning BUT NYE is very much either a case of getting yourself invited to a house party, buying tickets for a club party OR throwing on a depends and braving the crowds around the Angel of Independence.<br />
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Over the next little while, I will be sharing some of the highlights of our trip, new discoveries and recommendations and lots and lots of photos.Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-55400924661421624372019-09-20T13:18:00.000-04:002020-03-18T16:46:56.031-04:00Brown Butter Soda Bread<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W2uxFGz4Tzh2LtkCEtRcBM-bwk4cZd04foSp7LFkVW7x4AluIPr0ZRIY5w22Amjn1KgOS6su6s_miswKnUYxEwwvJjssCtJSZh71YAYTkspXf3S30aIX2m58BJbUXUaq_wgIMFUkQv0W/s1600/brown+butter+soda+bread-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-W2uxFGz4Tzh2LtkCEtRcBM-bwk4cZd04foSp7LFkVW7x4AluIPr0ZRIY5w22Amjn1KgOS6su6s_miswKnUYxEwwvJjssCtJSZh71YAYTkspXf3S30aIX2m58BJbUXUaq_wgIMFUkQv0W/s1600/brown+butter+soda+bread-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Makes 2 loaves</td></tr>
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As I mourn the impending end of my beloved summer weather, my thoughts start to turn to homemade bread, stews and other cold weather dishes. I do love fall though so I am not quite ready for stew but I couldn't resist turning on my oven to make some soda bread.<br />
Browning the butter gives the bread a nice, nutty flavour and it really is the easiest thing to whip up. No yeast, no resting, no rising, just dense, chewy, delicious bread that is best on the day you bake it but it makes great toast for the next day or two, not that you will have anything left to test that out.<br />
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<h2>
Brown Butter Soda Bread</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRymBh7hh7CD3NZaKxo_ge_b6rke0tw0rAcdkLD6Txghg27sC13Of738lUAojPDJAQgE6MDgWW-QFT6SMXni2UhC-j7C04NmerhoYlZ-0QG2v10Xlpmeqza7wGxRncM3OgYxv6vmJUCkze/s1600/whipped+honey+butter-2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1039" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRymBh7hh7CD3NZaKxo_ge_b6rke0tw0rAcdkLD6Txghg27sC13Of738lUAojPDJAQgE6MDgWW-QFT6SMXni2UhC-j7C04NmerhoYlZ-0QG2v10Xlpmeqza7wGxRncM3OgYxv6vmJUCkze/s1600/whipped+honey+butter-2-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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1/4 cup of unsalted butter<br />
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour<br />
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats<br />
1 tbls sugar<br />
1 tbls chopped fresh rosemary and more whole rosemary leaves for topping<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
1 tsp baking soda<br />
1 tsp kosher salt<br />
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus a few more grinds for topping<br />
*1 3/4 cup buttermilk<br />
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1 egg white, beaten with a splash of water<br />
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*if you don't have buttermilk, add 2 tbls of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 3/4 cup milk, let it sit for ten minutes and it will start to curdle and BAM. Buttermilk.<br />
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Put your rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 375F<br />
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and swirl around until it turns golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.<br />
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Put the flour, oats, sugar, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. Pour in the buttermilk and melted brown butter and stir together until the flour is moistened, using a silicone spatula or a fork. Don't over mix, just until it's all combined.<br />
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Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently - give it between 7 and 10 turns before dividing the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball , place on a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten slightly, making sure there is at least 4 or 5 inches between them. Brush the tops with the beaten egg white, sprinkle with a few grinds of black pepper, a pinch of coarse salt like kosher or other coarse sea salt and some rosemary leaves. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep X into the tops of each loaf.<br />
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Bake until deep, golden brown and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes.<br />
Serve warm or at room temperature.Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-76212282210930079622019-08-09T17:55:00.001-04:002019-08-09T17:55:16.196-04:00The Month in Yum - July And The First Week of August in One SwoopJuly has come and gone, life has been hectic, some terrible, no good things happened and now, it's on to August and, I hope, an okay end to a difficult summer so far.<br />
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So, I will just highlight some of the fun stuff I didn't get to share for July and then tell you about some of the shenanigans I have been up to this week in Westport Ontario.<br />
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<a href="https://www.sandandpearloysterbar.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar</a></h2>
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One a rare day off, Shack took me for lunch at Sand and Pearl in Prince Edward County. If you don't think a drive out to a spot just a skip hop and a jump from the Sandbanks isn't a worthy endeavour, we can't be friends. It's about 200km from Toronto so you are looking at a 2.5 hour drive but once you get off of the 401, it's a pretty drive and that is what lazy summer days are for anyway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmRU7kRPkQGaA9iE8RfYpVtSDu2ZPJFCj_f0GFNzjcDBeF2iGIIAhw0FF1_5UwH5JXlbwdWV72qVpOrzUZowZup4n0CHxtPQIb1spUa3ZbDnsI5r9cTx-1pLJ5kyQ9g3UWNLuOglDBQM1/s1600/PEC2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmRU7kRPkQGaA9iE8RfYpVtSDu2ZPJFCj_f0GFNzjcDBeF2iGIIAhw0FF1_5UwH5JXlbwdWV72qVpOrzUZowZup4n0CHxtPQIb1spUa3ZbDnsI5r9cTx-1pLJ5kyQ9g3UWNLuOglDBQM1/s640/PEC2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the screened in porch will remind you of the cottages of your childhood but with waaaay better food</td></tr>
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This is, in my humble opinion, one the hidden gems located in this super trendy region where you can enjoy a romantic date over oysters while a family of five sits at a picnic table out back, feasting on fish and chips while their kids run around in the grass.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpQc-OhymYvKyDieWwhfNubGeDiiy5U-J0d1t9fhBVWZFs0EkFQKRBzUnqRvENsjbboeJmKjGZRqDQLLH8rx4elhuT0V_D6Ga6WMTlPoLi-7KyjrAsOOaxe82N7q53RK7NO9UCMp2DXGf/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_130cf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpQc-OhymYvKyDieWwhfNubGeDiiy5U-J0d1t9fhBVWZFs0EkFQKRBzUnqRvENsjbboeJmKjGZRqDQLLH8rx4elhuT0V_D6Ga6WMTlPoLi-7KyjrAsOOaxe82N7q53RK7NO9UCMp2DXGf/s320/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_130cf.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Retaining the look of an old school, screened in cottage porch on the outside while still keeping things cool and modern, this place serves up fresh, delicious seafood (don't worry, they do a burger for all of you crazy non fish eaters), a nice little wine/beer selection with a great oyster bar inside.<br />
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We went for the seafood tower. For $130 we got a dozen oysters, some Fogo Island crab, 4 perfectly springy tiger shrimp, something called caldosa (scallop and shrimp ceviche served in a bag of Doritos which was AMAZING) and the tastiest smoked trout salad that I have had in ages. I had a crisp rose and Shack had a local cider and we both agreed that this will happen again before summer ends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Stratford Ontario</td></tr>
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It had been a couple years since I had been to Stratford so I jumped at a chance to return for a three day media trip. I was introduced to a bunch of new restaurants, a brewery and a distillery that share a fabulous old lumberyard, a couple new shops and go to visit with an old favourite or two.<br />
<a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/08/03/escape-to-stratford-ontario/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I wrote about it here, for Auburn Lane </a> and <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/07/31/where-to-eat-in-stratford-this-summer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">included a more in depth look at my favourite places to eat</a><br />
There will be more to come, both here and on Auburn Lane.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">finally had a great lunch at Avling, the newest brew pub in Leslieville </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really fun Plating Dinner at Victor Restaurant</td></tr>
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As someone who writes about food, I am invited to a ton of events, openings, evenings that introduce new, seasonal menus etc so I am always really appreciative of innovative and fun ways to entertain us. This summer, I was thrilled to join the wine makers at Joiy on a sunset cruise around Toronto Island and then, in July, I was invited to take part in a fun spin on those Paint while you drink wine nights at the lovely Victor Restaurant<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FNepMf02L_hsyoO7uPilAGUQfom-__tSEkSsrFY7yAZV5O3kSvnLXyEmmnu9Btv8ByTjhOeYn2ru9c_2J8HPpgioMQeOOf5A47jB8XjnF6TMjFwTY96u2z0tVAlYT4nj1v7rsV7KZEVZ/s1600/IMG_5600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1341" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FNepMf02L_hsyoO7uPilAGUQfom-__tSEkSsrFY7yAZV5O3kSvnLXyEmmnu9Btv8ByTjhOeYn2ru9c_2J8HPpgioMQeOOf5A47jB8XjnF6TMjFwTY96u2z0tVAlYT4nj1v7rsV7KZEVZ/s640/IMG_5600.jpg" width="536" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my plate, right before I destroyed it lol</td></tr>
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After <span style="background-color: white; font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Executive Chef Lanny MacLeod gave us a quick demo on plating tips and tricks, we all chose a plate and sat down to platters of salmon and rosti, jars of pickled things, bottles of sauces and gels and we designed our own brunch plate. Of course, we all proceeded to then eat our beautiful creations, followed by a few dishes off of their dinner menu to sample as well. Kudos to BPR PR for such a fun, creative way to get our attention and keep us engaged - trying to get a room full of bloggers and writers to focus can be like herding cats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Last week I came to Westport to visit family for a week so it's been mostly floating in the lake, a bit of kayaking, drinking wine with my sister and playing with babies but I have managed to find a couple really great places to eat and drink.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">We made reservations to eat the <a href="https://www.scheuermannwinery.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Scheuermann Winery</a> and I will be honest, I didn't know what to expect. We went when they first opened and it was just a small tasting area, not much in the way of wine at that point and so I envisioned something small and quaint.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Imagine my shock and delight when we walked up the path from the parking lot to find this!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">They have a really great wood fired oven that pumps out designer pizzas for lunch all week and on the weekend, they feature a handful of specials with some lovely desserts as well. The night we were there you could get steak, lobster, steak and lobster or a lamb chops all served with little roasted potates, some red pepper and a slab of grilled pineapple.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">We had a couple bottles of their 2016 Vidal, shared a pizza to start and then proceeded to the mains. After a hiccup or two involving a medium well done steak situation, our GIANT medium rare steaks with lobster tails arrived (mine with blue cheese of course) and the Kid finished his meal with a slice of lime custard pie. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">I cannot stress how AMAZING our servers were - twin sisters who work at McDonald's in Kingston and who could work in any great restaurant, anyway and how beautiful this spot is. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Westporttea/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dancing Moon Gallery and Tea Room</a></span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTiB6VVXD8MIPuI1NKFcMubdOFGFpVaNmG7bxRLAoxw23_4cOEMgPmTI_YtwF4eb4SM5MOIVChVpdCKQmb9-HPg5nCG9_GZwFnBMUNE99ZtlwpEgM9bU5cHY30oflaXefED_knMxpy7ND/s1600/high+tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTiB6VVXD8MIPuI1NKFcMubdOFGFpVaNmG7bxRLAoxw23_4cOEMgPmTI_YtwF4eb4SM5MOIVChVpdCKQmb9-HPg5nCG9_GZwFnBMUNE99ZtlwpEgM9bU5cHY30oflaXefED_knMxpy7ND/s640/high+tea.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">So, my sister, who lives about a 7 minute walk away, took me to check out a tea house that she thought had just opened up. We went inside the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Westporttea/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dancing Moon Gallery and Tea House</a> , fell in love with this tiny, three table tea house and made a reservation for the next day. After a bit of poking around, it seems that they have been there for at least a year and my sister just didn't know it. How you miss a tea room in a tiny town like Westport is beyond me, but I am glad we know it's there now.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdvXb0_LGj5fzA7BJtefe3CzhcghZ4iLWeo7dru8ugOBPGToE_3OmOCHUphS1_lmE-zxP1NWDUJaQnI6CWsUCW7bCqL-XDBmOuscGcfnaRfYiEnr20FfGIqDHeyQ-OXxYHWJKam4YAug4/s1600/high+tea+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdvXb0_LGj5fzA7BJtefe3CzhcghZ4iLWeo7dru8ugOBPGToE_3OmOCHUphS1_lmE-zxP1NWDUJaQnI6CWsUCW7bCqL-XDBmOuscGcfnaRfYiEnr20FfGIqDHeyQ-OXxYHWJKam4YAug4/s640/high+tea+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">An old friend was coming for a long, overdue visit so I took her and my sister for tea and it was delightful. A three tiered affair with four kinds of tea sandwiches, some fruit and little desserts and a pot of tea ran us just under $50 for the three of us and it was perfect. We ate almost everthing and agreed that we couldn't squeeze in another bite by the time we left. Service is impeccable, place is charming, food is delicious - a perfect spot for lunch when you are in Westport.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">It's also the first full summer for the <a href="https://www.westportbrewingcompany.ca/?fbclid=IwAR2o48CYUpTGeXk35xue-tSHK4v6j6-Qy89Up79zSDx6EVww_YlFRz85U4U" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Westport Brewing Company</a> , a cute, little brew pub with some tasty food and a really nice deck at the back, looking out onto the water. It's mainly charcuterie and cheese boards, warm pretzles and small bites with a couple local wines if you are not a beer person.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-57644489293336584962019-06-28T10:07:00.001-04:002019-06-28T10:07:22.235-04:00The Week in Yum - Columbus Ohio's Ambrose and Eve, Waffle House and Some Tasty WIngs<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a rite of passage has occurred - a lightly hungover KID had his first Waffle House Experince</td></tr>
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Busy, busy work week but it all started out with a road trip to Columbus Ohio to attend the nuptials of a dear friend.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkYVQuY9p0b1zS2dRt72ZcntmJpQWr0EZlGgLxlYP7poR7C4kpHCl9ftLwtVWC-caaIStfRW8u7SD5n0ReFQ9lH7jPPxE07Yauu8l3e9xpUfG6EsBC6YSjrlNco4BBe679k_urcvTn9pq/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIkYVQuY9p0b1zS2dRt72ZcntmJpQWr0EZlGgLxlYP7poR7C4kpHCl9ftLwtVWC-caaIStfRW8u7SD5n0ReFQ9lH7jPPxE07Yauu8l3e9xpUfG6EsBC6YSjrlNco4BBe679k_urcvTn9pq/s640/week+in+yum+june+21-28-1-2.jpg" width="610" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely wedding, lovely brides, lots of pink</td></tr>
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We arrived in Columbus around 8:45pm, changed and got ready to go to a restaurant that I had picked out weeks ago. Imagine my disappointment that said restaurant closes at 10pm. On a Friday night. Why does this always happen to us?<br />
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On our way TO Columbus, every place I had mapped out along the way as a potential lunch spot closed at 3pm. EVERY SINGLE PLACE. The only place that was opened was called <a href="https://www.wingcitygrille.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wing City Grill in Fredonia</a> NY. When we paid at the toll booth we asked the woman taking our money if that is where we should go. She said "sure" I said "Is there anywhere better?"<br />
She shrugged and said "not really"<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Wing City Grill it is!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNh66NZbMRpIusjtxt5V6A-ttdwUlfLR3ihAqa1Wxl-gwEU3TVK-9mfDY2ZRgqmaoP1ZJ05T5Iohl_jVg5PWRnu1b3dQbTpxFPhKAVHt7uKbHRS8uJo_JV8wzjZC-Bhhplz8zUKLhsZin/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNh66NZbMRpIusjtxt5V6A-ttdwUlfLR3ihAqa1Wxl-gwEU3TVK-9mfDY2ZRgqmaoP1ZJ05T5Iohl_jVg5PWRnu1b3dQbTpxFPhKAVHt7uKbHRS8uJo_JV8wzjZC-Bhhplz8zUKLhsZin/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-12.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wing City Grill over delivers - look at those waffle sweet potato fries and a bun the size of his head!</td></tr>
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Thankfully, she totally undersold the old Wing City Grill. It was empty, which was worrisome when heaped on top of the lackluster recommendation we had recieved, but I am happy to report that burgers were medium rare and home made, HUGE in true American fashion and our smoked wings were actually delicious. They were done dry, which is usually not my first choice but I will put Wing City it my back pocket for my next road trip to Columbus and beyond<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQn-R6LTU87gTQZV8_xMy0mQXZhGlJ-LMmHYoCiLKqHQwB9_q3SFcENvyB8VkqZMnzgkaeTgeNn7JR13A8Ab7jlLqqJetfsjPm5b0Wdpm53GwuIH6yAeouIkqSwRvkbPNQvMfg70fo2yNa/s1600/IMG_4546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQn-R6LTU87gTQZV8_xMy0mQXZhGlJ-LMmHYoCiLKqHQwB9_q3SFcENvyB8VkqZMnzgkaeTgeNn7JR13A8Ab7jlLqqJetfsjPm5b0Wdpm53GwuIH6yAeouIkqSwRvkbPNQvMfg70fo2yNa/s1600/IMG_4546.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wings deserved more than a half hearted shrug, thank you very much</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ambrose and Eve</span></h2>
This brings us back to Columbus and our sadness at realizing that the restaurant I planned on dining at was going to close minutes after we could get there. A quick peruse of the list I had compiled in relation to our location as it seems that Columbus is the Ottawa of Ohio and few establishment serve food beyond your grandmother's bedtime, showed that <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%88%9Ahttp://ambroseandevecolumbus.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ambrose and Eve</a> kept their kitchen open until 11pm and it was just a short Uber away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBF9Y5VymhTvL53gUOyVpT9JoxUP_d_no1Ie_ZVipKo14bKod_McXW98vSQUN3QLxa0lgMboQGmMCNSIcPfqPx2Q9W8NZI3StCD1NhA_4KV5pdlqo9PIk0LJy9qN5puyDOqcp3RXSYh9FS/s1600/ambrose+and+eve+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBF9Y5VymhTvL53gUOyVpT9JoxUP_d_no1Ie_ZVipKo14bKod_McXW98vSQUN3QLxa0lgMboQGmMCNSIcPfqPx2Q9W8NZI3StCD1NhA_4KV5pdlqo9PIk0LJy9qN5puyDOqcp3RXSYh9FS/s1600/ambrose+and+eve+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ambrose and Eve</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_k4MtA_Xd2d-3sIXGV5TzCgU1jiRpcY8YVlQ9M06RWBW-i3Jo6Z36jtChpu5CRPLMo2DFUuv11LQLXQngRaBUhX_ApgdIs3_Tf3o7Ei65CpXcqCAYcqAJswe87QrfylukyMXEPxP1LaC/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="1024" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_k4MtA_Xd2d-3sIXGV5TzCgU1jiRpcY8YVlQ9M06RWBW-i3Jo6Z36jtChpu5CRPLMo2DFUuv11LQLXQngRaBUhX_ApgdIs3_Tf3o7Ei65CpXcqCAYcqAJswe87QrfylukyMXEPxP1LaC/s400/week+in+yum+june+21-28-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clams on toast</td></tr>
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Well, I don't know what we missed by not going to my #1 choice and I don't care because Ambrose and Eve was lovely. Lovely spot, warm, inviting decor, amazing service (thank you Brittany for being a fabulous server), the food was playful but not ridiculous, comforting and most importantly, everything was delicious.<br />
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I could have polished off the entire plate of mushroom anticuchos myself - buttery oyster mushrooms on smashed up grilled potatoes with chimichurri? Come on now.<br />
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<br /><br /><br />The Chicken and Dumplings was a bowl licker although the dumplings were actually ricotta gnocchi and the soupy, vegetable ragout was something I would order on it's own. If you are in Columbus and you don't eat here, there is no hope for you.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4ANtKqtlGQ4c26_pO-T1TCGWS8pilFW7_nGapmji6F7FCdTql9xLzP5VVT8k9ZuscvC9ZbS1r5HmbRUC_YjR9bF7DXycDgzLGBB1QTbI9KKjJ_ozCzhbvpzO_MjGRcJccKjnbzmhy_Nn/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4ANtKqtlGQ4c26_pO-T1TCGWS8pilFW7_nGapmji6F7FCdTql9xLzP5VVT8k9ZuscvC9ZbS1r5HmbRUC_YjR9bF7DXycDgzLGBB1QTbI9KKjJ_ozCzhbvpzO_MjGRcJccKjnbzmhy_Nn/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chuckeye steak with mapo tofu, scallions and soy nuts</td></tr>
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<a href="http://ambroseandevecolumbus.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ambrose and Eve</a><br />
716 S High Street<br />
Columbus, Ohio<br />
Brunch 11-3 Saturday and Sunday<br />
Dinner starts at 5pm Tuesday to Saturday<br />
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The rest of the week was <a href="https://www.sublimecatering.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sublime Catering </a><br />
WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK<br />
But look at these pretty apps we did for the Danish Consulate<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLATrtjxFqmUxtIbonwwXpJKRfS0NkkuXnqPVEI5JbAxgaQL6Uv0K6YFDrsuNo_C5n0-16t-muY1vQ1g0cnjRSr59Yp9Fmf7pNzMUj-IziHJwQN0k0yN54N_LoPNyArcUmWt-0_6l1dZE2/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLATrtjxFqmUxtIbonwwXpJKRfS0NkkuXnqPVEI5JbAxgaQL6Uv0K6YFDrsuNo_C5n0-16t-muY1vQ1g0cnjRSr59Yp9Fmf7pNzMUj-IziHJwQN0k0yN54N_LoPNyArcUmWt-0_6l1dZE2/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">shrimps with horseradish cream, dill and avocado</td></tr>
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I have taken the next week off of catering to work on recipes that are overdue for clients, stuff for Auburn Lane and letting my poor back have a wee break.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUH7R_yjgSI6m3cTJ5i4_Z6IZKYOaRSzBC4exCfgGGBTv7kdyn7dPGe6sjIwgkVyiYFaZaJGf8Pydrm2SSBWRlYeh8kRpLMbUrr0La-S-kVLQbK83jm2fFRK3dNPRu5_WRhjSGPNcnax_U/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUH7R_yjgSI6m3cTJ5i4_Z6IZKYOaRSzBC4exCfgGGBTv7kdyn7dPGe6sjIwgkVyiYFaZaJGf8Pydrm2SSBWRlYeh8kRpLMbUrr0La-S-kVLQbK83jm2fFRK3dNPRu5_WRhjSGPNcnax_U/s1600/week+in+yum+june+21-28-13.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I leave you with this</td></tr>
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Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-54590713564419843502019-06-21T08:22:00.000-04:002019-06-21T08:22:28.754-04:00The Week in Yum - More Bench Adventures, Hamilton Come Through and Estia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After my day exploring the bench, I was a bit more excited than normal to drive Shack back to Hamilton to work and spend the weekend there with him because it meant I was going to be able to spend another day, driving around the Beamsville area on my own. Sure, I couldn't do any wine tasting BUT it also meant that I got to have lunch at Westcott Vineyard. Toronto duo, Ricky + Olivia, have taken up residence on the patio at Westcott for the summer and they were closed last week so I took my sister and my friend, Kate, back to Bench Brewing instead. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyXGGJrpctFWG0BCcdK0NEBY8nAvnI4CM_GWPjws-hXRXCa-bGaxee03GJ1RBnVQPiBCz294CMq-28hXEcy4aW4rIxyvr4-NqetoNDumJGFbcv9NxxsMkmE41dDkf6GtA5EPkY1nNygvdy/s1600/wineries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyXGGJrpctFWG0BCcdK0NEBY8nAvnI4CM_GWPjws-hXRXCa-bGaxee03GJ1RBnVQPiBCz294CMq-28hXEcy4aW4rIxyvr4-NqetoNDumJGFbcv9NxxsMkmE41dDkf6GtA5EPkY1nNygvdy/s1600/wineries.jpg" /></a></div>
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This time, I dropped Shack off on set, I dropped our bags off at the hotel and set off for the short drive to Beamsville. I returned to a couple of wineries to take more pictures, discovered some new spots like Calamus and their drool worthy rooftop patio and dropped in to visit some old favourites like Flat Rock. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ricky + Olivia at Westcott Vineyard</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2rIenafb96qQybhyphenhyphend6rMObp8MzKeNBbI527aBDxaJ4Meimu7QIGHuiY-tsEuteQeimaHpMiJfaIx1-ryTuV0pzE5QwM2Cu7fmhxhCqM2nOJrkhySCJCj0s4PsD7NP50Avk6wmLxuQIyi/s1600/ricky+and+olivia-1-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2rIenafb96qQybhyphenhyphend6rMObp8MzKeNBbI527aBDxaJ4Meimu7QIGHuiY-tsEuteQeimaHpMiJfaIx1-ryTuV0pzE5QwM2Cu7fmhxhCqM2nOJrkhySCJCj0s4PsD7NP50Avk6wmLxuQIyi/s1600/ricky+and+olivia-1-3.jpg" /></a></div>
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Right up until I pulled into the driveway at Westcott, I was afraid I had taken a wrong turn. It's hidden away on a gorgeous country road, a bit off the beaten track - although Flat Rock is right next door so I have clearly driven by it a hundred times- with an undisturbed view of gentle rolling hills and nothing but green as far as the eye can see. If I was going to be lost, this was the place to do it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZCuKLq-AfIKTg7-9DBcaMvVh-EDNQGwSFuZFV2T0_Dif7pB8zD9ZGyO6MmL0cVqtyp6suZxi_G8qepBcI4ZtSIyJ_T3wdSnw36ZHdK3DZm793oYWkNTCkjE-kXSlwx_c0F-s-PL3fEkT/s1600/ricky+and+olivia-1-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZCuKLq-AfIKTg7-9DBcaMvVh-EDNQGwSFuZFV2T0_Dif7pB8zD9ZGyO6MmL0cVqtyp6suZxi_G8qepBcI4ZtSIyJ_T3wdSnw36ZHdK3DZm793oYWkNTCkjE-kXSlwx_c0F-s-PL3fEkT/s1600/ricky+and+olivia-1-4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">overview of lunch and roasted potatoes with dijon aioli and adobo devilled eggs</td></tr>
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I opened my car door and was immediately hit in the face with the smell of a wood fire so I followed my nose, around the back and made my way to the patio where Ricky + Olivia are doing their thing.</div>
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I got there a bit before lunch service, hoping I could snap some photos of them working and maybe ask a couple of questions. Instead, they graciously chatted with me for 15 minutes and then, with my enthusiastic approval, they brought out a selection of menu items for me to photograph and eat - I took the leftovers back to the hotel to have for breakfast the next day.</div>
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Read all about my lunch <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/06/16/ricky-olivia-take-over-westcott-vineyard-patio/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here, on Auburn Lane</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat Rock, BBQ at Smoke and Moonshine and smoking legs at Pearl Morrisette</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Y9chcwKyub6Df6wrD3kF88wseVzL3_j8KXg69lvgL_qdypmNeiSmXImxMReklCFdmhrClxzii9GNZPg1QjP8ZbWFavsdjuZRlm4W8BaKTLvuQQbIQqyA7Gzk18yv4asF-45pn5S7zYLX/s1600/Hamiltonm-1-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Y9chcwKyub6Df6wrD3kF88wseVzL3_j8KXg69lvgL_qdypmNeiSmXImxMReklCFdmhrClxzii9GNZPg1QjP8ZbWFavsdjuZRlm4W8BaKTLvuQQbIQqyA7Gzk18yv4asF-45pn5S7zYLX/s1600/Hamiltonm-1-3.jpg" /></a></div>
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After my day driving around on my own, Shack snuck away from work a bit early so that we could go out for dinner and maybe some drinks. I have had my eye on a couple of restaurants and since Berkely North was a short walk from the hotel, we went there, hoping we could snag a table. I always laugh when we are told, aplogetically, that there is only room at the bar. WE LOVE THE BAR.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bright, open dining room, tuna crudo and Ribeye with frites</td></tr>
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The restaurant had thrown open the floor to ceiling windows in the front, the patio was packed and a nice breeze wafted through the room. It was a perfect night.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mushroom dumplings to share</td></tr>
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Our bartender kept us entertained with her mixologist skills while we shared some pretty delicious food. Starting with some mushroom dumplings in a gingery sauce, followed up by a tun crudo with crispy taro root chips. When I say we shared the 30 day dry aged Cumbrae Farms Ribeye and frites, I mean, he let me have a couple of bites but, oh what tasty bites. At this point, we thought he was in Hamilton for another week and I was staying until Monday, so we stopped there, thinking we would return to try more things. </div>
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31 King William St</div>
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Hamilton, Ont</div>
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Sun to Thursday lunch 12-3pm and dinner 5pm-9pm</div>
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Friday and Sat lunch 12-3pm and dinner 5pm-12am</div>
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1 905-522-5858</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamilton Art Crawl - I spent $4 to get that dog to smoke that dart (oh stop it, it is a fake cigarette)</td></tr>
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Instead, we decided to check out the main drag and were shocked to see that it was packed with people! It turns out we were there for <a href="https://tourismhamilton.com/guide-to-hamiltons-art-crawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hamilton Art Crawl</a> . On the second Friday of every month, St James North comes alive with street vendors, performers, shops and restaurants stay open late and the sidewalks are absolutely throbbing with people. We saw a cigarette smoking dog, a geriatric blues band called Bill and the Art Crawlers, a craft market outside the Christ Church Cathedral, people selling books and snacks.... we impulse bought a leather and plywood armchair and drank natural wine at <a href="https://synonymshop.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Synomym</a>, a fabulous little spot that we thought was a cocktail bar but it turns out that they are a breakfast lunch place that only stays open for Art Crawl. Let's hope that changes because it is one of those places I would go to regularly for a glass of Rosewood Estates Unfiltered Pinot Noir, chilled - okay, so after drinking this wine there, we made a bee line (no pun intended as their logo is a honey bee) to buy a case of it. I had no idea that Hamilton was so much fun and I was actually sad when Shack was called back to Toronto the next day which meant I wasn't going to spend the whole weekend there.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the dining room at Pearl Morissette</td></tr>
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We took a spin BACK TO THE BENCH _ YES I HAVE A PROBLEM to <a href="https://pearlmorissette.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pearl Morissette</a> to buy some bottles of<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 187, 0.15); color: #333333;">Irrévérence</span></span>, one of the unfiltered wines we tried the night before and Rosewood for the Pinot Noir. I knew that the restaurant at Pearl Morrisette is considered one of the best in the country but I did not know that they don't have a tasting room or retail shop. We wandered into the restaurant as they were setting up for lunch service to be given this information but, since we knew exactly what we wanted, the manager went and got us 6 bottles to purchase to take home. If we wanted more than 6 bottles, they would have to ship them but you can order it online <a href="https://pearlmorissette.com/shop#/store" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it's worth popping in just to look around a bit - every inch of this place is beautiful</td></tr>
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We also found out that dinner reservations are usually booked solid at least three months in advance but we are going to make reservations for lunch before the end of the summer. </div>
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We swung by Rosewood Estates on our way home for what we thought was a quick in and out to grab that <a href="https://www.rosewoodwine.com/product/unfiltered-pinot-noir/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unfiltered Pinot Noir</a> and ended up tasting a whack of other wines and then moved on to their Mead. We came home with our box of Pinot Noir as well as a few bottles of Mead, a jar of smoked honey and this funky unfiltered , experimental wine called <a href="https://www.rosewoodwine.com/product/2017-nebulous/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nebulous</a>. It's clear until you open it (which I have been warned can be messy so do it outdoors lol) and then it gets cloudy, slightly effervescent and full of sediment. It's not Kombucha funky, just a bit of junk in the trunk funky.</div>
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Back at home, we just hung out and relaxed, caught up on household crap and I went back to work on Tuesday. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.estiatoronto.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Estia</a></span></h2>
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On Wednesday evening, I went to check out the patio launch at Estia, a Mediterranean restaurant on Avenue Road. I thought I was getting there early but it was already slammed when I arrived, so I had a couple glasses of lovely rose, managed to get my hands on a two of the plates hot off the grill and one teeny dessert morsel. I certainly liked what I saw, the little I ate and the patio is a beautiful oasis from the hustle and bustle of Yorkville. I look forward to going back for dinner this summer because the Turkish/Greek menu looks great and I already know I like the space. Definitely going on the summer patio list and I'll report back when I have had a chance to go for dinner.</div>
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90 Avenue Rd</div>
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Toronto, Ont</div>
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Sun-Wed 5-10pm</div>
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<br />Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-87137449029633268062019-06-16T11:15:00.000-04:002019-06-21T08:23:05.736-04:00The Week In Yum - Bodega Henriette, Jamon, El Bosco and The Bench - Whew, What a Week<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANB1qtB7xxz-7QaN5bTq32GpP-5oKkk3AittLsbN-Fk_4wNATRRPTGE5Wg9U3aifyKGO12OMB8c4nH3xcy5xWpp1K-wE4r6VUZAKTmrTOTKD__DoeFLlcRWtYftzrSV8p_tlzznTF4G3p/s1600/el+bosco-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANB1qtB7xxz-7QaN5bTq32GpP-5oKkk3AittLsbN-Fk_4wNATRRPTGE5Wg9U3aifyKGO12OMB8c4nH3xcy5xWpp1K-wE4r6VUZAKTmrTOTKD__DoeFLlcRWtYftzrSV8p_tlzznTF4G3p/s1600/el+bosco-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh, modern Mexican food from El Bosco</td></tr>
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Wow, this past week was the polar opposite of the previous one where I struggled to share ANYTHING food related. I feel like I ate, drank or experienced something awesome every day and since I spent last Friday driving to Hamilton to drop Shack off to work and then continuing on for my second day exploring The Bench before returning to The Hammer for a wonderful evening of dinner, drinks and enjoying <a href="https://tourismhamilton.com/guide-to-hamiltons-art-crawl" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hamilton's Art Crawl</a>, I barely had time to think, much less write all of this down. Because the week was so jammed packed already, I am going to cheat and add my Friday night dinner and adventures in Hamilton to next week's post, so stay tuned.<br />
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My sister came to visit me on Sunday and so every day after that, we were on the move - I will share the highlights.<br />
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<a href="https://www.bodegahenriette.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bodega Henriette</span></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhTp_S4O_WupKgF1jIISgEoVwQlmgKLLZrB8-R8M8rCsq-EFSqO2EZXD8QQu3wBY6TCn_skawStDMRDlRgcvVeEm7rnGb7KI674C_WrlveL2B6k-si_DmSfUdoAsl-5Zy-4biLPXgSnJz/s1600/bodeag+henreiiet-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhTp_S4O_WupKgF1jIISgEoVwQlmgKLLZrB8-R8M8rCsq-EFSqO2EZXD8QQu3wBY6TCn_skawStDMRDlRgcvVeEm7rnGb7KI674C_WrlveL2B6k-si_DmSfUdoAsl-5Zy-4biLPXgSnJz/s640/bodeag+henreiiet-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Trout, crispy, dehydrated carrot, sprouts</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY2m9oRe3pwb3KeRvqnZK6IuSwvDzNrnKQQmm7vz37CLVeL15chvPgsxK8yLsQpYJUT8x8dOpxXVtBUgtXxBZJXaak7zrkaGlk3XS4jQepFx8GGGtGN3V0VE_gefHktWVP3-ers82XCUc/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_12cee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggY2m9oRe3pwb3KeRvqnZK6IuSwvDzNrnKQQmm7vz37CLVeL15chvPgsxK8yLsQpYJUT8x8dOpxXVtBUgtXxBZJXaak7zrkaGlk3XS4jQepFx8GGGtGN3V0VE_gefHktWVP3-ers82XCUc/s400/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_12cee.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
I went to this lovely little corner bistro after they first opened and had a great meal and ever since, I have tried to go back but life gets in the way. Whenever we drive by it, which is almost a daily occurrence, I point it out and say "We have to go here, it's such a great little spot" and The Kid replies "I know. You say that every time we go by" This is not a strip of Gerrard that anyone expects to go to in search of really delicious food that one would normally have to venture further west for.<br />
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Whatever, kid. Last week, my sister was visiting for the week and I finally got my chance to return for dinner, hoping that it was going to be as fabulous as I remembered. It was a warm, sunny day so we took the 15 minute walk down, hoping to find a seat on the little patio, which we did.<br />
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I am thrilled to report that it was just as I remembered it. The service was warm and friendly, the Pisco Sour was tart and delicious, the wine list was impressive for such a tiny, neighbourhood restaurant but well priced and lots of good choices.<br />
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From the second we sat down and ordered our $5 cocktail of the day (Tuesday's special) until the minute we licked the dessert cup clean, we were both throughly charmed by the entire meal. My trout was delicious, our salads were fresh and tasty and full of lovely little surprises, my sister's pork dish was also delicious and the leftovers made for a nice lunch the next day. Kudos to chef Adam Weisberg for not only coming up with such a great, little menu but something that they manage to execute in a kitchen the size of my closet. You could not ask for more from this place and my only wish is that it was just a teeny bit closer so that I could talk Shack into going on nights where he is too tired to think about anything more than a walk to the corner.<br />
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I should mention that it is opened for breakfast and lunch, a popular weekend brunch and doubles as a coffee shop with house made pastries, take out sandwiches and has a small spot reserved for the essentials like milk, eggs, bread, pasta, imported canned tomatoes etc. , hence the Bodega in the name. They have opened a second location on King St East so if that is more your thing, try it out and let me know how it is.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78ek9RXL6s-LWXm0qubf0P6-pyaNVU6oG7QRnOwjBJOPkkgfINt211tZCp1RPnJAkbeN4qKhdZy8NucZByitawudsDu1e62mKtLHQD-ViNihzl5Z6tGT5IOeCPUoc-xfmF2hKdMV6QzeQ/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_12d15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78ek9RXL6s-LWXm0qubf0P6-pyaNVU6oG7QRnOwjBJOPkkgfINt211tZCp1RPnJAkbeN4qKhdZy8NucZByitawudsDu1e62mKtLHQD-ViNihzl5Z6tGT5IOeCPUoc-xfmF2hKdMV6QzeQ/s1600/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_12d15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we shared the grilled oyster mushroom salad as well as the arugula/frisee with spiced pecans and pear</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.bodegahenriette.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Henriette Bodega</a><br />
1801 Gerrard St East<br />
Mon-Thurs 7:30am to 11pm<br />
Sat 9am to 12am<br />
Sunday 9am to 6pm<br />
416-546-6261<br />
regarding reservations: The place is very small so I would make reservations for dinner if you really want to get a table but they do keep the bar and the patio free for walk ins.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspv3dEhBFIKNLsgt8Rm1UIS84e3KfL2WwEjqATFkhdH18KahLjzDCqaRAVhMnOwhug4Fdnx8W3Sn2kI_8F5gQK2u01nk-LmVv4DAEFJ5kwtZAdkcar-AYkcaSRlgrSP7AkzFZ9jib5I7k/s1600/eELggbrrRVq7R%2525RxXtcrug_thumb_12cd7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgspv3dEhBFIKNLsgt8Rm1UIS84e3KfL2WwEjqATFkhdH18KahLjzDCqaRAVhMnOwhug4Fdnx8W3Sn2kI_8F5gQK2u01nk-LmVv4DAEFJ5kwtZAdkcar-AYkcaSRlgrSP7AkzFZ9jib5I7k/s400/eELggbrrRVq7R%2525RxXtcrug_thumb_12cd7.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">nutty, velvety fat, we probably ate about $200 in ham, ourselves </td></tr>
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I also dragged my sister along with me to an event at the <a href="http://www.vintageconservatory.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Vintage Conservatory </a> on Lombard St. Basically, it's a private club for people who collect wine. They will store your wine in your own private climate controlled locker and you can bring friends or clients there to enjoy your wine and hang out in one of their lounges or private dining rooms. No, I am not a member and I don't think my collection of unfiltered Pinto Noir from Rosewood requires a private locker, nor does it hang around long enough to worry about storage.<br />
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We were there for a private event hosted by <a href="https://www.joselito.com/en/home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Joselito Jamon</a> , considered one of the very best producers of Iberico Ham in the world. This company has been producing world class Iberico pork products for six generations, raising their acorn fed black pigs and making their ham and other pork products on the same farm. I would NEVER turn down a chance to enjoy their delicious product and certainly would not say no to a glass or two of delicious cava and since I am trying to talk my sister into visiting southern Spain on our next travel adventure, I thought I would seduce her with pork.<br />
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It worked.<br />
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<a href="https://elboscocatering.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">El Bosco</span></a><br />
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On Thursday, we attended the launch of El Bosco, a brand new food truck with a side of catering by Ismael Castro and his partner, Marcel Geer. Hailing from Tabasco, Mexico, Ismael has spent the last 20 years working in the service industry here in Toronto and felt like this was the right time to jump into the chef side of things with his health conscious, delicious Mexican fare.<br />
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We sampled a nice cross section of his food - from elevating a fresh, simple pico de gallo with pomegranate seeds to mini empanadas that utilize a crispy corn based shell instead of a heavier, flour based pastry, we both enjoyed every bite and I look forward to finding his food truck out there this summer. You can also hire the food truck to show up at your event or hire them to cater, of course. I will be writing something a bit more in depth soon on Auburn Lane, so keep your eyes peeled.<br />
Follow El Bosco to get the lastest on the location of their food truck and get in touch:<br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/elboscocatering/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> , <a href="https://twitter.com/elboscocatering" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/elboscocatering/about/?ref=page_internal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Bench</span><br />
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A Tour of the Bench rounded out the week with my sister and we brought along my friend, Kate, who is a wonderful driver, great company AND, most importantly, doesn't drink! This allowed us to sample wine all day - a winery touring day is always a ton of fun but you MUST bring a designated driver. We stopped at most of my favourite wineries, had lunch at Bench Brewery - which I wrote about <a href="http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-week-in-yum-day-trip-to-bench-bench.html" target="_blank">here</a> and just enjoyed a warm, sunny day enjoying one of my very favourite day trip destinations.<br />
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<a href="https://www.westcottvineyards.com/pages/seasonalpatio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wescott Vineyard with Ricky & Olivia</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD-gMmXRvRlP8h5z01pSxzlLYKmFUjWzhLT-QRfg2WL2b_KhI_VolSasZN8BRCl1kSEwkG1Tx69nH3eck8hAGTLtDRfbnJiFZKZxk7ApSHfP-ohr-pwKfhQY4DD_jZW43b8Xy9VW2pd9P/s1600/wescott+vineyard+lunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpD-gMmXRvRlP8h5z01pSxzlLYKmFUjWzhLT-QRfg2WL2b_KhI_VolSasZN8BRCl1kSEwkG1Tx69nH3eck8hAGTLtDRfbnJiFZKZxk7ApSHfP-ohr-pwKfhQY4DD_jZW43b8Xy9VW2pd9P/s1600/wescott+vineyard+lunch.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ricky and Oliva, the dynamic duo helping to carve out a modern, new dining scene on The Bench - just a teaser for now</td></tr>
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In fact, I spent Friday there as well on my own which meant NO WINE FOR ME, but that was okay because, instead, I got to have an amazing lunch at Westcott Vineyard, prepared by a pair of Toronto chefs who have relocated for the time being and have taken the reigns of the outdoor kitchen there.<br />
I spoke to <a href="https://www.rickyandolivia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ricky and Olivia</a> about their decision to slow things down a bit and create a menu that would reflect their vision while also honouring the wines that they are pairing with the food in this dreamy, country setting. Sadly, I couldn't sample the wines from Wescott on this visit but I plan to return a time or four this summer to eat more of this amazing food with wine pairings.<br />
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Okay, I know I have a problem, but on Friday night, we saw a little place that had a tiny wine list featuring only natural wines and the two that knocked our socks off happened to be Niagara wines. On Saturday morning we drove BACK TO THE BENCH>>>>> I KNOW< I KNOW OKAY>>>> and went to Pearl Morissette, which I soon learned does NOT have a tasting room or retail store as it is an award winning restaurant as well and you can only order their wines online or buy a couple of bottles of the wine you drink with your meal. That said, because we knew we wanted <a href="https://pearlmorissette.com/shop#/wines/7IR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this wine</a>, they sold us 6 bottles (any more than 6 and they must ship it) to take home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4584wBwbXMfLZpLa5uR3Gsq4x63pTtaBD7GkrD1qwgDgmZiXunb0bm1dInKoa5C9RQ0jTfjSztLz5Qdf3XlN3BvREXt2uSOoNNHQlTwf_13fSIye7oxevWPog0rk_Y3MiN0tgtbSW0Rz/s1600/IMG_4375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4584wBwbXMfLZpLa5uR3Gsq4x63pTtaBD7GkrD1qwgDgmZiXunb0bm1dInKoa5C9RQ0jTfjSztLz5Qdf3XlN3BvREXt2uSOoNNHQlTwf_13fSIye7oxevWPog0rk_Y3MiN0tgtbSW0Rz/s1600/IMG_4375.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosewood Estates is my new favourite winery</td></tr>
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We then stopped into <a href="https://www.rosewoodwine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rosewood Estates</a> to buy their <a href="https://www.rosewoodwine.com/product/unfiltered-pinot-noir/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">unfiltered Pinot Noir</a> and ended up coming home with a case of that as well as a box of Mead. I won't say which winery is getting bumped on my list of favourites in the area, but Rosewood has now risen up to the top spot. We had a glass of this wine, very chilled, the previous night and it was all we could talk about for the rest of the night. Oh, and don't even get me started on the <a href="https://www.rosewoodwine.com/product/2017-nebulous/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nebulous</a> , another experimental wine that turns cloudy when you expose the wine to air and is slightly effervescent, kind of funky and full of sediment and tears of joy.<br />
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This is all research for a story about day tripping The Beamsville Bench and Twenty Valley as well as a feature on these two and their newest adventure at Wescott, all coming soon on Auburn Lane. </div>
Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-69865394570440077512019-06-07T16:33:00.000-04:002019-06-07T16:33:22.230-04:00The Week in Yum- A Cookbook and My Favourite TV Streaming Tips<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3N1eE89P0LegoNw_xGfnKbRPdCFmROMZQo1mial9XwZRG-Lzxq6uoYJHwXuPFDs608Q9WU2A2gtGeGYQrkb6-hPIoZiyhBgrYja0a75L5IiSAWxw1T08vw3LtDrRpq4CMPVQyIHlm0VF/s1600/contramar+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3N1eE89P0LegoNw_xGfnKbRPdCFmROMZQo1mial9XwZRG-Lzxq6uoYJHwXuPFDs608Q9WU2A2gtGeGYQrkb6-hPIoZiyhBgrYja0a75L5IiSAWxw1T08vw3LtDrRpq4CMPVQyIHlm0VF/s1600/contramar+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ridiculously excited about my newest cookbook, written by the chef from Contramar, my favourite Mexico City Restaurant</td></tr>
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I am sad to say that there was not much going on this week.<br />
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NOTHING GOING ON APART FROM THE RAPTORS OF COURSE!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XngAa7R-nRI7ZxQvstK05ncvUQt_bqkEQOFlUxkgmldLy3ToSnQMpMi8tRo2m5VQMpNgN8huIkc3SJ3-Z1I4CvftfG6caJNsWRaCUC7MgKxfLmfnpzjdbS-AUJXQGbrc-cLVEK9UqvX9/s1600/garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XngAa7R-nRI7ZxQvstK05ncvUQt_bqkEQOFlUxkgmldLy3ToSnQMpMi8tRo2m5VQMpNgN8huIkc3SJ3-Z1I4CvftfG6caJNsWRaCUC7MgKxfLmfnpzjdbS-AUJXQGbrc-cLVEK9UqvX9/s640/garden.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My garden is my happy place and it's starting to really come to life!</td></tr>
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It was a week full of getting up , going to work, dragging my ass home and going to bed after a big glass of wine. I do have a wedding on Saturday and then my sister is coming on Sunday for a visit so that is going to mean lots of great eating and exploring. I plan to take her to Niagara to check out some wineries, maybe a trip to Buffalo to hit up Trader Joe, I have an exciting restaurant opening on Thursday and in between, there will lots of eating so next week will be much fuller.<br />
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In the meantime, I will share a couple of cool finds one food related, one not food related:<br />
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<b><u>YES I HAVE A TV STREAMING PROBLEM:</u></b><br />
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So, I never watched much tv, once I left my teens. I never understood the appeal of Friends or Dallas or whatever other show my friends were addicted to and much preferred movies to television.<br />
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That all changed with HBO. Suddenly, tv was being filmed and written with the same level of care and skill as the best films and was attracting talent that would have never been caught dead doing television.<br />
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The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire - I had so much to catch up on and that led to the discover that I am a binger. That's right, I have a binging problem. If I had a day off, I would watch an entire season of something. Night after night, Shack and I would lie in bed, using toothpicks to hold our eyelids open and whisper "just one more?"<br />
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The next thing you knew, it was 4am and the realization that the alarm was going to go off in three hours would set in BUT WE GOT TO FIND OUT WHETHER OR NOT WALTER WHITE WAS FINALLY GOING TO GET CAUGHT THIS TIME.<br />
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Aaaanyway, this has evolved into an obsession with Scandi Noir and instead of cable, I now pay to subscribe to MHz, Sundance, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Britbox. Since every man and his dog has Netflix, you don't need my recommendations but here is the skinny on some others.<br />
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<a href="https://www.sundancenow.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_campaign=branded&utm_content=35669194014&utm_term=sundance%20now&gclid=CjwKCAjw8-LnBRAyEiwA6eUMGs2j32jXMz8uLtcSgOUccKBkJWSykRutfwHDN_YlvhOgpg218rYRLBoCNpAQAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sundance Now</a></div>
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So, I just finished the second season of an awesome Swedish drama called The Restaurant on Sundance Now and have moved on to the Belgian Cop drama "Public Enemy". The Swedish series Black Lake was scary enough to keep me watching, The Little Drummer Girl is great as is Next of Kin - still tons of stuff that I have on my list. Not to mention lots of great art house films that you might not see anywhere else. More thumbs up.<br />
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<a href="https://watch.mhzchoice.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8-LnBRAyEiwA6eUMGmNJ8Xu215vryX5wv3EOQwHdv_4ZD-rpwXZ7ZjcSeM-N4_8sHH3kzRoCRu0QAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MHz</a></div>
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On MHz, you HAVE to watch all 7 seasons of "A French Village". It's an intense look at the reality of the German occupation of France during WW2 and how it effected a typical French village, starting on the day the German tanks rolled into town. I also really enjoyed a cheesy French cop show called Spiral mostly because their legal system is so different and I found it all really fascinating. The German series The Weissensee Saga was also super interesting and it's chock full of great Scandinavian shows. MHz is a keeper<br />
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<a href="https://www.primevideo.com/?ref_=dvm_pds_gen_CA_kc_s_g|c_332918166660_m_URZys7Ma-dc_s__" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon Prime Canada</a></div>
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We are halfway through season two of American Gods on Amazon Prime - it's a very weird little show and not for everyone, I get that, but we love it. Once we finish that, we will move on to Good Omens. If you have not watched Fleabag, seasons 1 and 2, what is wrong with you?? Change that. The Man in the High Castle, Homecoming, Transparent, One Mississippi, Tokyo Girl..... there are so many that I havent' had a chance to get to yet, but Amazon Prime is right up there with Netflix as far as producing their own, excellent content and gets all my thumbs up.<br />
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<a href="https://www.britbox.com/ca/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8-LnBRAyEiwA6eUMGgnyZNjvlEOjb6iy_PcNMhJuvLuwrkknNby7ta9CuV-BGGhiAx-WOhoChykQAvD_BwE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Britbox</a></div>
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I signed up for Britbox to watch a series called Unforgotten but I have yet to find enough to justify keeping this subscription so I would suggest, get the free trial and watch Unforgotten and then if you don't find anything else to your liking, ditch it.<br />
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<b><u>My Mexico City Kitchen</u></b><br />
I was in Mexico City twice this past winter and ate at Contramar about 5 times. Shack and I both agree that it was, hands down, our favourite restaurant in a city of amazing restaurants so when I saw that Chef Gabriela Camara had a cookbook, I jumped on it like a hungry chick on a tuna tostada. If you love Mexican food and culture and especially if you have ever eaten at Contramar, this book is a must. I buy 90% of my books on Kindle and keep them on my ipad except for those very special books that I want to hold in my hot little hands, and this is one of them. I haven't had time to make anything from it yet as I am still in the new love, just reading it from cover to cover stage of the relationship but I hope to be able to share some of my favourite recipes soon.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?ref=qf_sp_asin_til&t=thyuyufa-20&m=amazon&o=15&p=8&l=as1&IS1=1&asins=0399580573&linkId=f47bb26bd1435eb713d21def67c7e363&bc1=ffffff&lt1=_top&fc1=333333&lc1=0066c0&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-34555854307354936452019-06-03T08:55:00.000-04:002019-06-03T08:55:16.594-04:00Adventures on the Asparabus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDueFHtNoyDryhlLqWOUEXFKhXr5YW_gHaK3I3-ACKWcGkQkQp1xdwr0b9oUD_z_MkTbuRyCrzdpcRHSOZ6Y_PwYb9Ph7eQDJqJ80nfB5212k8cgeqMm2izQ8GrMlHfqT4xUzwnhTqWLTH/s1600/asparabus+food-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDueFHtNoyDryhlLqWOUEXFKhXr5YW_gHaK3I3-ACKWcGkQkQp1xdwr0b9oUD_z_MkTbuRyCrzdpcRHSOZ6Y_PwYb9Ph7eQDJqJ80nfB5212k8cgeqMm2izQ8GrMlHfqT4xUzwnhTqWLTH/s1600/asparabus+food-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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It's June guys, so that means we have about 4 more weeks to enjoy Ontario asparagus. These delicious spears are always the first vegetable of the season so when I see these fat bundles of joy in the market, I know that spring has sprung.<br />
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There is a thing called the Asparabus - the <a href="http://asparagus.on.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aparagus Farmers of Ontario</a> pair up with <a href="https://foodiesonfoot.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Foodies Group</a> to take a bunch of food bloggers, writers and influencers on a tour of an asparagus farm and then treat us to a delicious lunch, showcasing the vegetable in as many forms as possible so that we can, in turn, get the word out that everyone should be eating local asparagus.<br />
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This year is the first year I have been able to join the fun and as expected, I had a great day, got see some old friends, meet some farmers, discover a new spot to visit again when I have more time and enjoy a delicious lunch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpzW5W357r4lPYedQWT9vBv0QAjwm4XPjH9WQqmwyv3EsZrjivrfibOKneqntcYuOSZk7q7XE832PP91ET1zYsLsdru48KWuXLxQ_GWFvvOeVBFOmq9ruIW9XX6fwCIJTGaTJnD3dcwAA/s1600/welshbros2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpzW5W357r4lPYedQWT9vBv0QAjwm4XPjH9WQqmwyv3EsZrjivrfibOKneqntcYuOSZk7q7XE832PP91ET1zYsLsdru48KWuXLxQ_GWFvvOeVBFOmq9ruIW9XX6fwCIJTGaTJnD3dcwAA/s1600/welshbros2.jpg" /></a></div>
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We started our day at <a href="http://welshbros.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Welsh Bros Farms</a> where were were brought out to the field to see how asparagus grows. I am not going to lie- I had envisioned lush fields of green, not the dry, grey gulch with spears poking up out of the ground lol. After munching on amazingly tender spears, plucked straight from the dirt, we went inside to watch the workers sort, clean and package up the asparagus bundles for market.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of hard work involved in getting the asparagus out of the ground to the point where it's ready to ship out</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Norfolk County gem is worth a drive - make sure to try their hard cider </td></tr>
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The next stop was <a href="http://www.bonnieheathestate.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bonnieheath Estate Lavender and Winery,</a> where we had time to explore the beautiful grounds before being served a ridiculous lunch spread, courtesy of Chef Tracy Winkworth and <a href="https://www.liaisonsouthcoast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Liason College Southcoast Chef School</a>. We had asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and grilled, roasted and covered in dates and goats cheese, blended into a pesto, a chimichurri, pureed into a soup and breaded and deep fried. There was also a lovely mushroom risotto, made with asparagus stock that was made from the asparagus scraps - waste not, want not.<br />
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After lunch, we all descended on the tasting room like a plague of locusts, tasting their hard ciders and wines, perusing their lavender products and then buying treats to take home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjhC87RjDwAT8IAG7bMwuzK-9PsKeeQw75BLv8iVxkucKxw3rn_EdOEnV6-3i25Jg3QKwLPbkmxeqTvPyjEy3tUYlofp-2oCAKN5oVXytdDRdSqBA2FrO4mLQ3cuTB2onM4DVil6Y27kk/s1600/aparabus+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjhC87RjDwAT8IAG7bMwuzK-9PsKeeQw75BLv8iVxkucKxw3rn_EdOEnV6-3i25Jg3QKwLPbkmxeqTvPyjEy3tUYlofp-2oCAKN5oVXytdDRdSqBA2FrO4mLQ3cuTB2onM4DVil6Y27kk/s1600/aparabus+1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chef Tracy Winkworth and her asparagus magic</td></tr>
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At the end of the afternoon we hopped back on the Asparabus headed for home, loaded down with cider, asparagus and a cooler full of tasty asparagus condiments with full bellies and lots of inspiration to carry us over for the last month of asparagus season.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhKe142lZM7xH_k_0jfyxPpmiQNXROGM-0nrFhhkJy3F2u-MMDGu5ZWXb_fvieUNq3pfO2MPOP-Chyphenhyphen39XXCq9hcCTmSzR6VFONg6mX7lesGnoHx053Eifm0FepgJcXEOlw4aNd64YWQ2O/s1600/asparagus+rice+noodles-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1023" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhKe142lZM7xH_k_0jfyxPpmiQNXROGM-0nrFhhkJy3F2u-MMDGu5ZWXb_fvieUNq3pfO2MPOP-Chyphenhyphen39XXCq9hcCTmSzR6VFONg6mX7lesGnoHx053Eifm0FepgJcXEOlw4aNd64YWQ2O/s1600/asparagus+rice+noodles-1-2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recipe for this Vietnamese Asparagus Rice Noodle Salad can be found on <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/06/02/ontario-asparagus-get-it-before-its-gone/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Auburn Lane</a></td></tr>
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Hop on over to <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/06/02/ontario-asparagus-get-it-before-its-gone/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Auburn Lane</a> to check out one of my favourite ways to prepare this wonderful vegetable and make sure to get out there and buy local, Ontario asparagus while it's still here.<br />
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<br />Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-90698480467987212152019-05-31T07:19:00.000-04:002019-05-31T07:19:49.513-04:00The Week in Yum - Low Key Week in the Yumsphere<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLQWwB7SAkK_NOuJ3_tjaabg9dS_XAWs3puroAn-hSG8p5DJDkJN12qQEVzt1B2MNc1qobu7Y6HLRYyq1B-_MdKlFyomkLDT6PC_Ndzksoqvccc09SA9HwEET3Xx0cwcOsKazRrAcVW7C/s1600/the+standard-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLQWwB7SAkK_NOuJ3_tjaabg9dS_XAWs3puroAn-hSG8p5DJDkJN12qQEVzt1B2MNc1qobu7Y6HLRYyq1B-_MdKlFyomkLDT6PC_Ndzksoqvccc09SA9HwEET3Xx0cwcOsKazRrAcVW7C/s1600/the+standard-1-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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Check out my little feature on Parkdale's <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2019/05/30/shhh-theres-a-new-secret-speakeasy-in-town/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Standard Bar</a> over on Auburn Lane. It's a great little speakeasy, hiding away behind the Parkdale Pizza, accessed through what looks like a door to the alley or something, as speakeasy's are often accessed. Very smart move on the part of the owners of Parkdale Pizza, by the way - this way their space is utilized almost around the clock. Neighbourhood pizza joint by day, rollicking bar with tasty eats by night.<br />
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<u><b>Sublime Catering Insanity</b></u></h2>
Michael Tong, <a href="https://www.sublimecatering.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sublime Catering</a> owner and visionary food master designed this insane foodscape for the opening of <a href="https://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/torque/lot-x/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lot X performed by Adelheid</a> and I was thrilled to help with the execution. This dance performance, choreopgraphed by Heidi Strauss takes the dancers and the audience through several locations throughout Harbourfront Centre only runs until June 2 so if there are any tickets left, get on that. I would love to thoroughly explain the significance behind this food/art installation but that is a bit above my pay grade lol.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCa3dJIBNAPUi4l6lJMfGtNfQABQJyXBM5wKSLH5Y_dY1cdQphwljb_6lDAV031x7MwIju7lFnEZddzsRpsokj7YLZRoe0tKtfzOY7gVtP8lWcZNWmivch6P2lHUJDMonQTzfoN3bheVdW/s1600/tong+rice+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCa3dJIBNAPUi4l6lJMfGtNfQABQJyXBM5wKSLH5Y_dY1cdQphwljb_6lDAV031x7MwIju7lFnEZddzsRpsokj7YLZRoe0tKtfzOY7gVtP8lWcZNWmivch6P2lHUJDMonQTzfoN3bheVdW/s1600/tong+rice+garden.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One table, using coloured rice as a base, became a beautiful, edible landscape</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the second table was stocked with junk food, concrete and plastic. I totally ate a timbit while setting it up</td></tr>
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Shack's birthday spent eating his favourite things - Dr Pepperoni from <a href="http://www.makerpizza.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maker's Pizza</a> and Rigatoni Bolognese from <a href="https://riccispizza.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ricci's</a> up in God's country (otherwise known as Woodbridge)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Vans make a girl healthy, wealthy and wise</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to find The Kid at Anime North - it was easy, he was wearing jeans and a shirt<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">A migraine sidetracked me on Thursday and I had to throw on my makeup artist hat on Friday so that was the week that was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Oh, yeah</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>GO RAPTORS</b></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLljJcszJwE0gnEL9FvXKwtj-PojSBO-G-Ov0du3kZ1FYaXYcroVMRbASHpZlGxyQ__KHm7JDgH6PUaDD0VPkkKOkX2iTkWplhAb8frIZv6spxBV4IwjuLucURJnmJgFsBZWgY10ClT6v/s1600/raptors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12.8px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLljJcszJwE0gnEL9FvXKwtj-PojSBO-G-Ov0du3kZ1FYaXYcroVMRbASHpZlGxyQ__KHm7JDgH6PUaDD0VPkkKOkX2iTkWplhAb8frIZv6spxBV4IwjuLucURJnmJgFsBZWgY10ClT6v/s1600/raptors.jpg" /></a></div>
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Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-90089744999138757352019-05-25T10:35:00.001-04:002019-06-21T08:23:34.390-04:00The Week In Yum - Day Trip to The Bench - Bench Brewing, Dillons and Malivoire<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mj5qsxE3sG9j9r8ibY0ZNu6HYqi4mG13MHMEm6OkhOjafOIG1sJLmOxG9V-r_nsMwzOKUsNKZQuV0nTGY27yQFRrdtgXKCvyuGalMM8vz5ylLzayquG2FohvhCuza2m-EegU5k4r6YtP/s1600/gretzgydistillery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mj5qsxE3sG9j9r8ibY0ZNu6HYqi4mG13MHMEm6OkhOjafOIG1sJLmOxG9V-r_nsMwzOKUsNKZQuV0nTGY27yQFRrdtgXKCvyuGalMM8vz5ylLzayquG2FohvhCuza2m-EegU5k4r6YtP/s1600/gretzgydistillery.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice Cask Whiskey from Gretzky was on the menu</td></tr>
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What a week in yum people.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJi3_qONjhjXyYShG-sxtg17Ei_hC2G3Gulc9oeTksrZGYmMa_SZrzP7PbZzqskNhKXjbBl3MX3f0yta9HsvFCpIejEpYAFoL1T0BnJKfUtDmNqzNyr9amFA51Iy5GOdnV4Atu3ByoGOA/s1600/dillonsdistillery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJi3_qONjhjXyYShG-sxtg17Ei_hC2G3Gulc9oeTksrZGYmMa_SZrzP7PbZzqskNhKXjbBl3MX3f0yta9HsvFCpIejEpYAFoL1T0BnJKfUtDmNqzNyr9amFA51Iy5GOdnV4Atu3ByoGOA/s1600/dillonsdistillery.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We grabbed Absinthe for The Kid and a few bottles of their Negroni for me from Dillon's</td></tr>
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It all started with a day trip to Niagara that got sidetracked in Beamsville after a stop at Dillon's Distillery to grab some Absinthe for The Kid. I asked the lovely young man who was helping us with our tasting where we should go eat. He sent us to Bench Brewing, which meant that we were going to be driving right by Malivoire so that sounded like a plan, even though I don't really associate The Bench with beer, but I like good food.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmx16HNbq5MLyf5uRA5tXlxtzcxEn5BKAIamOZGcdayRGAw31IhOFn76IVOEETDTDs5DghRC-MzMDzsPRJa43YuWV5Duwk9FpnHElVxY1SOUW8XfjdmZ4lLlP3ZUh_tBtmMcF5goLZ4EUX/s1600/kew-vineyard-1-1024px-759x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmx16HNbq5MLyf5uRA5tXlxtzcxEn5BKAIamOZGcdayRGAw31IhOFn76IVOEETDTDs5DghRC-MzMDzsPRJa43YuWV5Duwk9FpnHElVxY1SOUW8XfjdmZ4lLlP3ZUh_tBtmMcF5goLZ4EUX/s1600/kew-vineyard-1-1024px-759x500.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kew specializes in sparkling wines and is the winery equivalent of a chick flick and I mean that in the best way</td></tr>
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We drove past Kew, which is one of the prettiest little vineyards that I wrote about <a href="https://www.auburnlane.com/2018/07/31/kew-vineyard/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">for Auburn Lane</a> , past Malivoire (we decided we would double back after a quick lunch) and found <a href="https://benchbrewing.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bench Brewing </a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Bench Brewing</u></span></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oqd3UGvFk2mGdpzUMAeHiDcBp48XLnQNeN7PZk259MsCfOkNBDHBlKn_G7w7r9NegPftHQJXXsdBXyRtJo7Ki7dEikJKyM_QURqAsYov_CN0pWzvYYFRUoUtBWiXwXxNVbyXmtFrznN4/s1600/benchbrewery3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oqd3UGvFk2mGdpzUMAeHiDcBp48XLnQNeN7PZk259MsCfOkNBDHBlKn_G7w7r9NegPftHQJXXsdBXyRtJo7Ki7dEikJKyM_QURqAsYov_CN0pWzvYYFRUoUtBWiXwXxNVbyXmtFrznN4/s1600/benchbrewery3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bench Brewing</td></tr>
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Wow, the parking lot was slammed, which is always a good sign. Shack dropped us off to grab a table while he found somewhere to park and since it was such a lovely day, we snagged a table out on the big patio. It wasn't until I sat down that I looked up and saw that there was another, smaller patio area up there as well as what looked like an indoor space. I was pleasantly surprised to see how modern and new and shiny this place looked. Again, I kind of thought that beer in the region is just a side thing. I was wrong, okay?? I am not too big to admit that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzjGSOmciU6Bummtig_HOuYsP8iaRoTy-2U5DtdAxeZNZghTSrzKvQ5lIAOggrKbtSYMqW123CEMz21XpzWn46-9JPKJiCoGyUo-9ftGsB0USPs4UAl5mCbBc58SQCI8655_67sS_5aRu/s1600/benchbrewery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzjGSOmciU6Bummtig_HOuYsP8iaRoTy-2U5DtdAxeZNZghTSrzKvQ5lIAOggrKbtSYMqW123CEMz21XpzWn46-9JPKJiCoGyUo-9ftGsB0USPs4UAl5mCbBc58SQCI8655_67sS_5aRu/s1600/benchbrewery.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grab some beer to go in their shop upstairs</td></tr>
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Instead of a quick lunch, we enjoyed a leisurely nosh of really delicious nachos with brisket, crema, cotija cheese and pickled onion - there was much fork stabbing when those boys tried to grab the last bits on the plate. They both had a tuna poke bowl and did NOT let me taste but judging by the alarming speed that they emptied their bowls, I am going to assume it was pretty good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4GRHPMdtqh3rh-Q6fFnoRcWia3WrQGfxlVzyRWyDQnigel2zf8gwltHJ_gpE0VbtWsJMGrhWSNS05lkiRxkJlogN11LvGHbK1hiuxHNXwe1-dXOauhgzja1uzC57g3zzldH8XRN3Jo_X/s1600/benchflight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4GRHPMdtqh3rh-Q6fFnoRcWia3WrQGfxlVzyRWyDQnigel2zf8gwltHJ_gpE0VbtWsJMGrhWSNS05lkiRxkJlogN11LvGHbK1hiuxHNXwe1-dXOauhgzja1uzC57g3zzldH8XRN3Jo_X/s1600/benchflight.jpg" /></a><br />
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Shack and I shared a flight of beers, choosing Balls Falls, a hoppy IPA for me, a Saison because my beer sommelier friend, Heather, would be proud of me and Strawberry Grove, a fermented, sour ale because I wanted Heather to be doubly proud. I loved the IPA and Shack, to my surprise, bought six Strawberry Grove to take home. All in all, a great lunch at a great brewery and a reminder that there is much more to the Niagara Region than wine.<br />
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<a href="https://benchbrewing.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Bench Brewing</b></a><br />
3991 King St<br />
Beamsville, Ontario<br />
open daily 11am to 9pm<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqSHcvWYCJL2sb0CVZ-Vx3iFGQoGqXW0ISpKygJTf9aFZxozN4q1aDNtCPF62bOF4kzr548TSEU0LEnMVZ7thOmbDcYJHYcV0RWmhQ2fUe_KXC-_2LotIHPwSVYDE2i5XO8L-O8k33K9n/s1600/malivoire1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFqSHcvWYCJL2sb0CVZ-Vx3iFGQoGqXW0ISpKygJTf9aFZxozN4q1aDNtCPF62bOF4kzr548TSEU0LEnMVZ7thOmbDcYJHYcV0RWmhQ2fUe_KXC-_2LotIHPwSVYDE2i5XO8L-O8k33K9n/s1600/malivoire1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malivoire</td></tr>
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That said, we did back track to grab some wine and cheese at Malivoire before making another quick stop at <a href="http://www.gretzkyestateswines.com/ice-cask-whisky-750ml.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Gretzky Estates</a> for Ice Cask Whiskey. We ended up skipping Niagara on the Lake altogether and will absolutely be back to explore the Bench further in the coming weeks.<br />
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Sunday was all about the Raptors and the finale of Game of Thrones so I don't remember if I even ate anything. I have theories about GOT. So many theories.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJ06VqVLx1-_0qB-GkaW6vlvnZCXaG_4UR8K32goyxdhHhH6Cn9e7xBKkhNP0Ov-738EMuL8RA4eANXvkxnPyXyBpyV5_dh8Ue06uKmv6w3VP3jCnpKPxgNEUAIpnUNUROgIdA7XoY0nA/s1600/depdinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJ06VqVLx1-_0qB-GkaW6vlvnZCXaG_4UR8K32goyxdhHhH6Cn9e7xBKkhNP0Ov-738EMuL8RA4eANXvkxnPyXyBpyV5_dh8Ue06uKmv6w3VP3jCnpKPxgNEUAIpnUNUROgIdA7XoY0nA/s1600/depdinner.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Middle Eastern Feast for a birthday party</td></tr>
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On Wednesday, I cooked for a lovely group celebrating a birthday at The Depanneur, which is always fun for me. If you live in Toronto, don't forget that I am available for private dinners, cannabis infused catering and dinners and private cooking classes in everything from cannabis cuisine to Instant Pot - I cover all the pots lol.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1uC64yi733OIArJLrNLulAAGetbfodOjGWxYXfiiSWAR2laZb-MMA9qH-ntDp7ZyfuVHJloNjZFSG62CJSsZH4BGVyKB5oEc93HvJJSdXQmLR86R8tIXaVyUzXazuH67HY5o0GMen0TA/s1600/the+standard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1uC64yi733OIArJLrNLulAAGetbfodOjGWxYXfiiSWAR2laZb-MMA9qH-ntDp7ZyfuVHJloNjZFSG62CJSsZH4BGVyKB5oEc93HvJJSdXQmLR86R8tIXaVyUzXazuH67HY5o0GMen0TA/s1600/the+standard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I also snuck in a visit to the newest speakeasy in Parkdale, the Standard - look out for an upcoming piece on Auburn Lane</td></tr>
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Thursday and Friday was spent working at Sublime, wearing my catering hat so I missed my Friday Week in Yum as I was busy grilling about 20 lbs of moroccan chicken and then pan searing another 500000 lbs of a different flavour of chicken for another client.<br />
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No rest for the wicked.Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-15544430475760581982019-05-17T09:42:00.003-04:002019-05-17T09:48:02.927-04:00The Week in Yum - Lesliveville Farmer's Market, Udon Kitanoya and Mimi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSV3s_0UO5BBm0UDXCB0ny82-e_KouxF8jJp894Ky446lNKW41hQ28NeaFw3nDB4mnAoU1a5EBDWS7jl8xX3l6lO7vHwK0Gv-ZNJhlgkTwyO5oSKeQH-LKk9VeaUel5-QL70lG7wX9Jdn/s1600/untitled-1-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSV3s_0UO5BBm0UDXCB0ny82-e_KouxF8jJp894Ky446lNKW41hQ28NeaFw3nDB4mnAoU1a5EBDWS7jl8xX3l6lO7vHwK0Gv-ZNJhlgkTwyO5oSKeQH-LKk9VeaUel5-QL70lG7wX9Jdn/s1600/untitled-1-11.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.leslievillemarket.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Leslieville Farmer's Market</span></a></h2>
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Last Sunday was not only Mother's Day, which I can take or leave to be quite honest, but it was the opening day of my favourite farmer's market, the Leslieville Market. It was a cold, blustery day, marred with rain and wind but I was determined to visit and pick up a few things for dinner.<br />
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There were quite a few diehard shoppers, happily chatting with vendors who looked cold but enthusiastic and I managed to grab some new plants for my garden to go with the tasty Cider, bread and greens that I threw in my bag before the weather got the best of me. I was too cold to have my customary fish taco from Hooked and those oysters will be mine another time but this Sunday but I wimped out. Alas, I have become a fair weather shopper.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">even terrible weather couldn't put a total damper on the first day of the Leslieville Farmer's Market<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mimi/200993346608966" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mimi's</span></a></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mimi is one of my favourite places for Vietnamese in the city</td></tr>
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Because it was also Mother's Day I took advantage of that and we all went to Mimi's for pho and the best spring rolls in the city. Shack is slowly coming around to Vietnamese, but it's been a long, hard battle to get him to love this cuisine as much as The Kid and I do so when I can use something like Mother's Day as an excuse to make him eat there, I do. He really loved the spicy beef soup that he ordered and admitted that their BBQ pork is basically heaven on a plate so I think that I see more Mimi's in our future. I eat here all the time, by the way, just not with Shack.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weather is kind of warming up and that means more of <a href="http://thewrendanforth.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Wren</a> in my life, thank's God.</td></tr>
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If The Wren was just a smidge closer, we would probably eat here at least once a week but it's a $7ish Uber ride both ways and most nights we are all just too tired to do anything more than drag our asses down to the pub around the corner. Now that Spring is threatening to arrive, we will soon be able to either bike there or Uber there and then walk home. Oh Happy Day.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><a href="https://udonkitanoya.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Udon Kitayona</a></u></span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">sukiyaki beef on cold udon in dashi with a soft poached egg (onsen tomago) was our favourite</span></td></tr>
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I love ramen as much as the next Torontonian but I have to admit that I might be having a touch of ramen fatigue. Imagine my excitement when I was invited to come try out a new noodle house that is slinging Kansai style Japanese Udon. MMMM, thick, chewy, noodles, sometimes served cold, sometimes served hot, usually with a delicate dashi broth although there is a promise of Japanese Curry, Butter Garlic Clam, Crab Chili Tomato. Unfortunately, none of those were on offer on the day I popped in with The Kid but we were not disappointed with the two dishes we did try.<br />
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I was not expecting the noodles to be served cold with my #1 Kitanoya Gyu Suki Udon even though it clearly states that the noodles are served chilled but it was delightful. Warm, slightly sweet beef, crispy tempura bits, scallions and my beloved onsen tomago (sous vide poached egg with a rich, creamy yolk ) sit on a bed of those chilled noodles with just a nap of dashi soy broth.<br />
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The Kariage Ebi Tempura Udon (#5) was also delicious - more of a soup with udon and lots of crisp tempura and more broth than the #1 which had a higher noodle to broth ratio. They are offering any of the noodle dishes with tea for $12. I look forward to going back to try some different dishes, especially the Japanese Curry and the Garlic Clam and I do predict that the #1 will become Shack's new obsession.<br />
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The Grand opening in this Saturday, May 18 and to celebrate, they are giving out 200 bowls of free udon between noon and 2pm.<br />
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<b>Udon Kitanoya</b><br />
513 Bloor West<br />
Monday to Sunday 12pm to 10pm<br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/udonkitanoya/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">instagram</a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/UdonKitanoya" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
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Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-10364739182599865802019-05-11T11:55:00.000-04:002019-05-11T11:55:15.512-04:00The Week in Yum - Xola, Master Chef 14 TPS and Finger Savers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamb Barbacoa from Xola</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.xolarestaurant.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Xola</b></span></a><br />
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The Kid and I wanted to go out for dinner and we really wanted to eat somewhere kind of new. Xola, in the Beaches, is not new but we haven't eaten there in well over a year, it was a nice night and so we set out for a nice walk down to Queen St East for some tasty Mexican.<br />
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This is not cheap, down and dirty tacos so don't go expecting that but the food in this tiny little, family run spot is great. I had Lamb Barbacoa - Ontario lamb braised in a rich, dark sauce of beer, lots of spices, and a trio of Mexican chiles. It comes with refried beans and a basket of warm corn tortillas.<br />
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The Kid had Duck Confit Tacos which were good but left him still hungry and for the price (both entrees are approx $21), we agreed that the lamb is tastier and a better value.<br />
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Haddock ceviche with a tomatillo/ash marinade was a fresh, delicious bowl of summer.<br />
Because we also ordered a mescal, our bill was higher than expected so it puts it in the "a bit too expensive for my regular, weekly haunt but delicious enough to try to go more often" category. Flanked by the original Ed's Real Scoop and Kyoka Ramen, this is the best eating block in the Beaches, by far.<br />
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<u>Master Chef 14 TPS</u></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">watching these young ladies wipe the plate while plating for judging warmed the cockles of my cold, dark heart</td></tr>
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There is an awesome local project called Cops and Kids Cooking, run by officers from 14 Division, here in Toronto. Hosted by the Gucci Loblaws on Carlton and funded by <a href="https://www.copsandkids.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cops and Kids</a> , a group that believes in trying to establish stronger relationships between the Police and at risk kids by funding programs like this that bring the two groups together. They are hoping that building an environment of mutual respect and trust, they are building stronger communities and brighter futures.<br /><br />Last week I was invited to participate as a judge for a Chopped style cook off where four groups of kids from four different schools had to come up with a pasta creation, without using a recipe, using ingredients provided by the store. Each group is paired with a police officer who acts as a mentor and guide but the actual dishes are left to the kids. I was impressed and inspired, all four dishes were tasty, packed full of vegetables and herbs with lots of personal flourishes and NONE of the actual pasta was over or undercooked, which we all know is hard enough for the most adults in the kitchen. I hope I am invited back to work with this group again in the future.<br />
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You can follow the fun via Twitter: <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-76zvg2 css-16my406 r-13gxpu9 r-1loqt21 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" data-focusable="true" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/TPS14Div" role="link" style="border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1da1f2; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.8px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.3125; list-style: none; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: inherit;">@TPS14Div</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="css-76zvg2 css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" dir="auto" style="background-color: white; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14171a; display: inline; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.3125; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u> Honourable Mentions</u></span></span></span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spicy beef soup from Kimchi Korea House</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Honourable mentions go to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/yourpinkertonsnackbar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pinkertons Snack Bar</a>, on Gerrard St East and to <a href="http://www.kimchikoreahouse.ca/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kimchi Korea House</a> on Dundas Street, just west of the Eaton Centre. It has taken me a couple years to make it to Pinkertons but it was worth the wait. The crazy, loud music is the only thing I didn't love because the food was great, the cocktails were lovely, they have a great beer list and our waiter was ADORKABLE. They serve small plates so it's not the place to go when you are looking for a big meal but it's perfect for late night Asian inspired snacks. Our two favourite dishes were the Tuna Tostadas and Korean Meatballs that came with butter lettuce and condiments for making wraps. It was way too dark to get any decent photos so you have to just take my word for it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Kimchi Korea House has a fabulous Hot Stone Bi Bim Bap and a nice Soju list and we actually eat here quite often. I always order the spicy beef soup and if I am really hungry, soft shelled crab. We went for a late night dinner before our 9:30 pm viewing of Endgame. It didn't really occur to me, at the time, that Endgame is 3 hours long so we were eating dinner at 8:30pm and getting out of the movie at 12:30 AM on a weeknight but it was all worth it. Okay, maybe not when the alarm went off the next morning and I had gotten to bed at 1:30am with a belly full of spicy beef soup, plum soji and absolutely, unneeded buttered movie popcorn, but now, days later, it was all worth it.</span></div>
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<u>NoCry Cut Resistant Gloves</u></h2>
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Let's make one thing clear: I am a bit cut prone. I have gotten better in the last couple of years, working as a professional cook, but I am still a bit clumsy. Then I saw these.<br />
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I ordered these gloves on my trusty Amazon this week and I have been slicing on the mandoline non stop ever since. These are designed for wearing when using sharp blades etc when preparing food or even in a workshop - they give four times the protection of leather, they are lightweight and easy to wear. I bought a small and I am thinking of getting either an xsmall or even a kids size as they should fit quite snugly and it seems that my fingers a bit too short and stumpy for the small.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am now a mandoline maniac, slicing without fear!<br /><br /><br /><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;">
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</iframe>Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469160033174145103.post-57744032562749825722019-05-06T13:34:00.002-04:002019-05-06T13:34:58.091-04:00Instant Pot Mujadara with Crispy Shallots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mujadara, mujaddara, mejadra - I have seen many variations on the spelling and slight variations of the recipe, depending on which part of the Arab world it is coming from. Christian Arabs eat this during lent, it's popular with Jewish communities from Israel to Syria and Egypt and it should be popular with you too. Packed full of flavour and protein, it makes a great vegetarian meal alongside some steamed or roasted vegetables. I served it with harissa yogurt and shrimp fried in the shallot oil for these photos. You can drizzle some <a href="http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.com/2015/09/mini-kofta-with-beets-hummus-and-zhug.html?q=zhug" target="_blank">Zhug</a> or other hot sauce, serve with yogurt or smother it in fresh herbs like mint, cilantro and parsley - that's all up to you.<br />
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What I give you is a solid, basic recipe for mujadara made in the Instant Pot. Doing it in the pressure cooker means you don't have to cook the lentils and rice separately and no babysitting the rice on the stove is required. I do cook the crispy shallots in a small frying pan because I don't find that sauté feature on the pressure cooker works well enough to make them, but, otherwise, it's a one pot dish. Oh, and I use this method for doing the shallots because most other methods use flour and I like to keep it gluten free since this is a dish I make when I am cooking for clients so I avoid flour if it's not really needed. Make as many crispy shallots as you like, store them in an airtight container and use on top of everything until they are gone.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Instant Pot Mujadara with Crispy Shallot</u></span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a side dish</i></span></h2>
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1 cup green lentils - plain green or puy work well<br />
4 shallots or 1 small onion, finely sliced<br />
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced or chopped<br />
2 tbls oil (use the shallot oil from frying the crispy shallots)<br />
1/2 tsp tumeric<br />
1 tsp coriander<br />
1 tsp allspice<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
1 tsp cumin<br />
1 tsp kosher salt<br />
1 cup basmati rice<br />
2 1/4 cups water, chicken stock or veggie stock<br />
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garnish: *crispy shallots<br />
optional: harissa yogurt, fresh mint, pomegranate seeds<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>*Crispy Shallots</u></b></span><br />
at least 5 shallots, peeled<br />
canola or grapeseed oil<br />
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Slice the shallots very thinly - a mandoline works best but if slicing by hand, just go slowly and slice very thinly<br />
spread the shallots out on paper towel and let dry out a bit while you get the rest of your ingredients prepared.<br />
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Put the shallots in a shallow frying pan and pour in enough oil to cover bottom of the pan - the shallots don't need to be fully submerged. Turn the heat on high and watch like a hawk. When the shallots start to bubble like mad, turn the heat down to med, stir them and spread them out in an even layer and then let the cook until they are golden brown. Remove the shallots with a slotted spoon as soon as they are browned to a paper towel lined plate or cutting board and take the pan off the heat. They will crisp up as they cool down and can be stored for a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container. I am not sure how long they stay crispy for because they have never lasted longer than a day or two in my house.<br />
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Reserve the shallot oil to use in this recipe and keep for other dishes too - it's very tasty.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Mujadara</u></b></span><br />
Soak the lentils in hottest tap water in a bowl for about an hour.<br />
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Turn your Instant Pot (or other brand of electric pressure cooker) to saute and when it says "HOT" add in the 2 tbls of the reserved shallot oil. Brown the sliced shallots until they start to brown. Add in the garlic and sauté for another minute before adding in the spices. Cook for about 30 seconds, until really fragrant and then strain the lentils, getting rid of the soaking water and dump them into the pot.<br />
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Add in the water or stock and bring to a boil, cooking the lentils like that for 3 minutes. Now add in the basmati rice, give it a good stir.<br />
Lock the lid on and program the machine for 6 minutes at high pressure. When the time is up, let it release naturally for 10 minutes. Release any remaining pressure at that time, open the lid, fluff up the rice and lentils and serve, heaped with the crispy shallots. You can add fresh mint, some yogurt mixed harissa, add fresh, chopped tomato if you like or pomegranate seeds for colour and some freshness.Carole Nelson Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14320316695358896672noreply@blogger.com0