Ha! The Fates Approve!

Look what came in the mail today...

How awesome is this shirt? I ordered it last week while in Italy! :)

The fates agree!

Hello World, It's Me Again!

I've tried out keeping a few other blogs, but this blog is me. (And sometimes it's also G!)

I just got back from a sixteen day stay in Italy. I toured around, did some hiking, saw some churches, and yeah, I ate some food. And by "some food" I really mean "a lot of food".

But the thing was, in all the restaurants I ate in, there were Italians eating the same meals. White bread and pasta, meats, cheese, and drinking wine. And almost without fail they were thin.

It's been a difficult 9 months. My Mother died 9 months ago today. We were really close and part of a really small family. I can't believe that she's gone. About two months ago, a friend of mine died. She was battling cancer and seemed to pull through it, but then something happened and she very suddenly died.

And I just had to say to hell with this crap about my weight and what I eat and everything. I just can't let it keep being the focus of who I am. It's stupid and I am tired of spending any mental energy on it.

But then I went to Italy. And I saw people indulging and eating and MOVING. And I thought, these people are eating real foods in sensible portions. They walk a lot. They maybe go to the gym. But they mostly just seem to be living their lives. And it reconfirmed to me that I can live like that. And for two weeks I did. I ate and really enjoyed food again. I couldn't wait until the next meal because I was so excited to try so many wonderful things and to taste regional specialties while still just living my life. I didn't need to feel bad about it. I just needed to try it and then go on to the next thing.

With that revelation, I vowed to myself then and there that I am going to rediscover my love of food. Of cooking. Of tasting. And in that, I am done beating myself up about what I eat and worrying about too many carbs or too few proteins. And I am done with frankenfoods. The diet industry does us a disservice by touting these crap foods made of chemicals that are low-calorie! Low Point! Low fat! High in Protein! Gluten free!

Whatever. I am putting my hands up in surrender and turning my back on the lunacy. Part of this reclamation of my body and my palate is kick starting my blog again. I am still in the heady post-vacation glow where I feel like I have time to live my life and keeping up the blog seems doable. But I need to recreate a healthy relationship with food because food keeps me healthy. And sane. And in joy.

So yeah. Food. Food Glorious Food. As part of my overall healthy lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle is my new buzz phrase and I am carrying it with me. Because my Mom can't. She worried about her weight her whole life and I really believe it sometimes held her back. And my friend can't. The last time I saw her, we went to have lunch and despite having fought cancer (and seemingly survived) for a year,  she was concerned about how fat she had gotten during treatment and was off to buy spanx. She was beautiful and talented and smart. And the fact that either of these two amazing women spent time feeling bad about who they were because of weight just makes me so sad. And when I think of all the time I have wasted feeling bad about it, it makes me super sad. But I have the choice to reclaim the time. To stop focusing on what's wrong with me and to focus on what's right. To living as well as I can each day in every way, and not just in relation to food.

I did it in Italy and it was EXTRAORDINARY. I was EXTRAORDINARY. And so dynagrrl 3.0 starts here.

The elusive haroset recipe

I'm sure like many others, the haroset your mother made was always the best -- and never duplicated. It was very true in my mother's case and until this year, I think I'd only made it once. But this Pesach, my mother asked me to make it, so I had to step up to the plate. And, if I may be so bold as to say, I scored!

I had the old recipe book from the shul in Harare but in my usual style took to the internet to see what others do and pick and choose my way to the perfect combo of ingredients. Well, all the Sephardi recipes I found had all kinds of jazz in them that just wasn't right for me. Next was a call to mom to ask how she did it. Explanation provided, I mentally prepared myself for it. I don't think she was feeling too confident in me as I got a call the next day just to reiterate exactly what was what!

In the end, it was a combo of my mom's word and the wisdom of the shul cookbook combined that led to my haroset success.

The most awesome (and simple) Sephardi haroset on earth

• 4 apples, tart-ish
• 500 g dates (do yourself a giant favour and make sure they are pitted)
• 1 cup almond flour (or a mix of ground almonds and walnuts)
• 1/2 cup kosher wine (Manishewitz is my pick)
• splash of cider vinegar

Chop up the dates and put them in a bit of hot water for a few minutes until they are really soft and you can mush them up to a paste with a wooden spoon. Leave to cool a bit.

Peel the apples and then coarsely grate them. You don't want them to be too wet so if the apples are really moist, then just squeeze the juice out of them into another bowl (this will give you a little apple juice drink later!)

Put the grated apples, mashed dates, wine, and almond flour into a bowl and mix them until it's all nicely mixed together. Taste to see how sweet it is and if it's super sweet (which it's hard not for it to be), then add a splash of cider vinegar to cut the sweetness and give it some brightness.  
Refigerate. Done!

It happened to me and I am telling you so it doesn't happen to you...

Oh the wacky world of diet and exercise.

A few years ago... I watched my diet, religiously following Weight Watchers. Lost some weight. Fulfilled my truly lifelong dream of starting a running regime. Ran some 5Ks, some 10Ks, even completed a half marathon in sub 2:30. I was riding high.

But then, I stopped running so much. But I didn't stop eating the way I did when I was running. I 'knew' Weight Watchers, so I stopped counting points. Then WW changed and I just lost the plot on the new program, not liking the new points values and the moral-feeling judgment it made regarding my food choices.

I gained a bit of weight back. Not a ton, but about 10 pounds on any given day. It held steady. I ran off and on but never again with regularity, distance, or the verve I had in the beginning. I played around with WW, gluten-free, dairy-free, and felt better then worse then better then worse then fine then better then worse then fine and so on and so on.

And it just never got better. As the weight bounced, so did all the other things that running and weight loss had helped. Anxiety, tiredness, all of it... it's been no good. And as that kept going, I became more and more unable to get my head around what was going on with me.

I can't say that I have it figured out, but I can see the path of this destruction pretty clearly right now.

I kept acting like I was the thinner and more active me. And that's got to change.

So, what is the plan? I am going to be on a much cleaner diet, I am going to track my food on my fitbit (or maybe noom - it's an app - anyone using that?), and I am going to be more active. I am going to run three days a week and do something else at least two days a week. I am going to meditate for 5 minutes every morning. I am going to make this work for me. I know how to do it, I've done it before...

Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

I've had a headache for several days and with it, a wicked craving for a chicken parmesan sandwich.

And there it is! Yum!!!

This is what I did so you can do it, too.

I used an Aidan's bun. They are gluten-free. I bought it at the Carrot and while I don't love them, they have a portugese bun-y consistency that works with this type of sandwich. The package is now frozen in my freezer, so I grabbed one, wrapped it in foil, and out it in the oven (425 degrees) for 15 minutes. Took it out, sliced into it, and kept it warm.

Chicken. Pounded out chicken breast. In two bowls, I put in egg mixed with water and another bowl of glutino bread crumbs mixed with salt and pepper, parsley, and garlic powder. I sprayed a pan with cooking spray, laid the chicken out, sprayed with cooking spray, and then put in the 425 oven. I cooked it for about 45 minutes.

I heated up some Archer Farms Arrabiatta sauce. Spread some in the bun. Sprinkled on some shredded cheese. Put the crispy chicken breast on the bun, topped with more sauce and added more shredded mozzarella.

And yeah, it was good. I still have a headache and am so tired that I can barely lift my head, but I have satisfied the chicken parmesan sandwich craving so today is a win!

Eating gluten-free is soooo much easier when you are eating dairy... for example, one of my comfort food staples, mac-n-cheese can be enjoyed and loved.

Let me give you the recipe...

Mac-n-Cheese with Chorizo

2/3 package of Catelli gluten-free penne (that's the amount I had left!)
2 cups of milk (1%)
2.5 tbsp corn starch
cheddar cheese to taste
parmesan to taste plus more for sprinkle on top
gluten-free panko to sprinkle on top
chorizo (gluten-free)

1. Cut up the chorizo and fry it until it's crispy
2. Boil the pasta until it's almost done, then drain
3. While the pasta is cooking, put the milk in a small saucepan with corn starch
4. Stir the milk until it starts to bubble and thicken up
5. Stir in cheese and let it melt
6. Mix the cheese, pasta, and chorizo and mix in a bit of mustard
7. Oh yeah, and salt and pepper it up!
8. Pour the pasta mix in the pan, sprinkle with parmesan and bread crumbs
9. Spray some cooking spray on the bread crumbs
10. Bake in a 425 oven for 15 minutes then broil for 5 minutes
11. Let set for 5 or 10 minutes

I really enjoyed this. I didn't want to get into figuring out how to make a roux or anything fancy, so corn starch in milk worked a treat. I loved the mac n cheese and will definitely be making it again!

Hope you like it too!

I quit you, Weight Watchers!

It lost me with PointsPlus.

I lost weight on Weight Watchers. For the most part, it was easy going, a simple formula of calories, fat, fibre, that made sense and was easy to guesstimate when you were out.

Points were what I knew, and it was a good thing.

And then came the PointsPlus. Stupid stupid PointsPlus. Demoralizing PointsPlus.

And then I went gluten-free and the PointsPlus became even more frustrating!  Gluten-free breads and pasta are ridiculously high in points! RIDICULOUSLY HIGH! Even when not so high in calorie.

It came to the point (ha!) that I had to face facts, burn more calories than you eat.

Don't just burn more calories of the types of food that take longer to digest in your system so they are lower in PointsPlus and therefore 'good' to eat.

Don't just eat fruit bc it's zero PointsPlus even though that smoothie had 400 calories in it.

Just don't do Weight Watchers anymore.

So I quit. Today, I cancelled my online membership and deleted the app from my phone.  I am counting calories using the fitbit food log and seeing the calories I burn against the calories I eat. And it makes sense.

During the PointsPlus rollout Weight Watchers often said something along the lines of 'We developed PointsPlus because we thought it was ridiculous that a bag of 100 calorie cookies had the same points as an apple'.  While you still need to burn the same number of calories, we are going to value the food that you eat and 'reward' you for 'good' choices and 'penalize' you for 'bad' choices. But wait, we're a diet where you can eat anything, as long as you don't mind docking a million points for your 'you're so naughty' 100 calorie bag of diet cookies. No calories are calories.  Don't make a moral judgment on my food choice.

Not to mention the frustration I have long felt with Weight Watcher's reliance on low-fat foods and other franken things to help keep points low. Ridiculous. Reading through the message boards, etc., there are a plethora of weird recipes crafted out of scientifically engineered low-fat foods so you can eat chemical laced sweets for low points.  What?  That's not healthy living.

So yeah, again, today, I quit you Weight Watchers. I believe that I need to burn more calories than I eat and I need a program and lifestyle that supports me. You don't anymore. So goodbye and thanks for the memories.

Not Getting Sick in India and How to Pack for the Ladies.

We recently returned from a two week stay in India.  It was amazing and wonderful and overwhelming and incredible and fantastic.  We rode elephants, saw the Taj, ate amazing food, saw tea plantations ... we really did so much that the two weeks felt like a month!

Before going, I had two main questions that I googled endlessly: one was what to pack, and the other was how not to get sick.

I scoured the internet for packing lists and dietary tips. I read tons of blogs and found that some were good and some really missed the mark.  As a result, I decided to write my own round-up to supplement what's out there.

How Not to Get Sick

We didn't get sick. At All.  And I am not going to lie, we were pretty cocky about avoiding delhi belly or any other gastric distress issues while away.  I have a super sensitive stomach and G has digestive issues that we get sick ALL THE TIME when we travel,s o getting through this unscathed was nothing short of miraculous. EXCEPT for the fact that we were incredibly prepared.

First thing that I truly believe made a difference was taking probiotics before going and while away.  I began taking them about 3 weeks in advance of going.  I took Align, but there are all kinds of different ones that are available.  This one was recommended by a pharmacist, so I grabbed a box and started in. I took it every day before bed and didn't miss a day. Increasing the healthy bacteria can't hurt, so give your stomach the best defense straight out of the box. 

The second part of not getting sick was being hyper careful about the water. We all had some fear of the water, and we were always pretty cautious.  Almost all bottled water was sterilized but we often still used our steri-pen for added protection.  And we brushed our teeth with bottled water (sterilized with the Steri-pen).  In restaurants, etc., we drank beer or cokes and never used any ice, even when told it was safe.

(Let me say that the Steri-pen is AMAZING. It sterilizes a litter of water in 90 seconds, in the bottle, with ultraviolet light. It doesn't make a mess, doesn't change the taste, and fits in your bag for sterilizing on the go. It felt like a bit of overkill to take this, but in the end, I was so glad we did. You can't be too careful, really.)  

Next, we didn't eat uncooked veg at all.  I mean, we seemed a bit insane, but I would scrape garnish off my plate.  It just wasn't gonna happen, no uncooked veg.  This meant that ME who hates salad was craving salad something fierce by the time I got home, but again, uncooked sliced veg could have been cleaned or dipped in unsafe water.  Maybe a bit overzealous, but again, I didn't get sick and that wins out.  

Fourth on the list would be to really watch not eating when not hungry. I say this because there was so much great food that I would always want to try, but with all the other variables, not overeating was the one cause of stomach distress I could wholly control.

On our tour, breakfast was the one meal that was always included, but most mornings I really would just eat a little rice and maybe a bit of a curry or omelet or potato.  But just a bit.  I found that I was so full from our delicious dinners, and lunch was always just around the corner.  Not eating when I wasn't hungry sounds like a no-brainer, but when the food is all so delicious, you want to keep eating!

Last and final would be to start eating spicy/rich/Indian style food periodically before leaving home.  I think we really benefited from the fact that we eat spicy food all the time.  We eat lots of Indian and lots of Mexican food, and I think that our systems familiarity with this level of spice really helped out.  

Next up: What do you take when you are a lady. I read lots of lists before we went and I really wanted to add my own.

Things to Pack for Sure - Not a Complete Packing List, but my view on the essentials when on a tour:

- Thin capri pants -- It is true that people/women do not wear shorts.  Don't be that person who wears shorts unless you really want to stand out. Wear thin capris. 

- Sleeveless shirts are okay provided they aren't spaghetti strap or skin tight.  -- Lots of blogs will say people don't wear them, but we saw it often. I took lots of really thin long-sleeved shirts so that I could stay covered from the sun. 

- A thin scarf is of paramount importance! You don't know when you are going to need to cover your head or shoulders, and having something in your bag makes it super easy.
- Comfortable shoes that are closed toe and preferably closed on the sides. When you are walking around the cities it can be a bit dirty, so protect your feet and wear shoes that cover you.
- A thin jacket in case it cools or is very bright and sunny.
- Deodorant bc when it's hot, you will sweat.
- Soap if you have allergies, which I do. Having my own soap made a big difference.
- Toilet paper and carry it with you. G and I each took a roll of paper and kept it in our backpack. Even when a 'western' bathroom was on offer, there was often no toilet paper.
- Hand sanitizer or wipes. You will want them and you will use them.
- Water purifying system for moments when you don't trust the bottle of water being offered or don't have one to hand. We took a Steripen, which was amazing.
- We didn't need to buy feminine hygiene products, but I took just in case. Why not?
- Paracetamol and ammonium are available everywhere BUT when you are on a tour, it's not always possible to stop. I brought my own and was glad to have it (and so were the others on my tour who had trusted that it would be easy to come by so they didn't bring their own).

Anyway, lots of people have said to me that India is not on their list of places to go. I totally get that, but I have to say, change your list. It's absolutely an amazing country with wonderful people, gorgeous things to see, delicious food, and interesting history (which I realized I know absolutely nothing about). It was a great trip and I really was happy to have gone. It's definitely somewhere you should go, whoever you are!

Gluten-free Chicken Pot Pie of Awesomeness.

After spending much of last year on the gluten-free bandwagon, I fell off the wagon towards the end of the year and after spending much of the end of the year feeling like poo, I am back on the wagon for this 2014.

And speaking of which, happy new year folks! May 2014 bring you peace and happiness, in whatever form you choose.

But back to me. It's been a week back on the gluten-free and I can't say that my life has changed, but I can say that I am feeling clearer headed, my stomach is less bloated and sore, and I am sleeping better. So there's that.

Tonight, I didn't want to venture out into the world, or into the cold, so I decided to cobble together a chicken pot pie to combat the stupid cold and the coming snow. And so I did. And so we ate. And so it went. (ha ha)

I read a number of recipes online for both biscuits and chicken pot pie. I wanted to figure out a way to make the kind of chicken pot pie I like, with biscuits and a slightly creamy sauce. I settled on some version of this:

I made the biscuits first, to let the dough settle, especially because of how sticky it can be.
(I made an altered version of this recipe from here: http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/gluten-free-chicken-or-turkey-biscuit-pot-pie/)

You need:

1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill, which I don't entirely love)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup butter - cubed
1 beaten egg (part in the sauce, part as a wash)
just over 1/2 cup milk 
chopped fresh parsley 
pepper to taste

Mix the dry ingredients. Add in the butter and mix. I never quite understand this step. I don't know how it's supposed to look, but I just whizzed it around in the mixer for want of better instructions. From there, I added half the beaten. I then slowly added in milk, just until it all started to come together. The amount you use will probably vary depending on the flour blend, etc. I then added in chopped parsley, pepper, and realized that at this step you could add in all sorts of tasty things. Use your imagination.

I then set the bowl of the raw biscuits over to the side and went on about the rest of the meal.

For the rest of the meal, I used the following:

1 lb or so of boneless chicken breast
some butter
1 cube of chicken bouillon 
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 smallish potatoes, chopped (I don't peel potatoes but of course you can if your life is interminably long)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2.5 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of milk
frozen peas
french cut green beans (I used frozen)
thyme
3 tablespoons of corn starch

While I was mixing the biscuit dough, I was also poaching some chicken breast in water with bouillon and pepper. I cooked it for 15 minutes, took it off the heat, and kept the liquid it had poached in.

I put some butter in a large pan and once melted, I added the chopped potato, carrot, and celery. To this, I added the liquid from the poached chicken slowly while the vegetables softened. I added thyme, salt, and pepper and kept it cooking slowly. I would say it cooked for maybe 20 minutes or so? I chopped the chicken into little cubes and added it to the pan, along with the stock, the milk, frozen peas to taste, and green beans to taste. I let that come back to the boil.

In a separate little bowl, I mixed the corn starch with the leftover broth from the poached chicken (a couple of tablespoons). You can use water if you don't have any broth leftover. 

After the mixture had reached the boil, I slowly stirred in the cornstarch mixture and brought back to the boil and cooked for a few minutes, until it started to heat up. 

I poured the mixture into a pan large enough to fit (it made way more than I expected, as I was just sort of throwing stuff in the pan). I took the biscuit mixture and put little dollops of it all across the top, watching in horror as some of them sunk into the mix! It didn't cover it completely, but I wasn't trying to. I didn't want it to be too bready in case the biscuits were rubbish. 

(Anyway, while all this is going on, you should be pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees.) 

Over the tops of the little biscuity dumplings, I brushed on the rest of the beaten egg and then threw the whole lot in the oven. 

Because my biscuits were so small, I needed only cook the entire lot for about 25 minutes. 

No word of a lie, it was delicious!  I was super happy with it, and am looking forward to the upcoming leftovers. Here's the inside:

Honestly, you could add anything you like.  I didn't add onions or garlic, though lots of recipes called for them. To be honest, I just didn't want my hands to smell. That being said, the end result was creamy without being overly heavy, but filling and warming all the same. 

As we embark on this new year, I am working on some new things including a new blog, new plans, and improving my diet and overall health. We lose sight so quickly of taking care ourselves and then once we start feeling crappy again, we just feel like it's the way it's always been. So enough of that crap. Enough of complacency. And maybe one baby step in that direction is the introduction of a delicious gluten-free pot pie. 

Just ducky

Have had a duck in the freezer for months so I've been waiting for an opportunity to give it its due. Over the holidays I got it in my mind that a roast duck dinner was inevitable and even necessary but as I was flying solo for much of it, I never got around to it. One person can only consume so much duck. So with amorphous New Year's Eve plans in place, I figured this would be a great time to prepare a roast dinner for J and myself.

It has been years since I actually roasted a duck and the last time I had a lot of trouble finding a recipe that didn't have Asian flavours -- in the end, I had to use one from a hunting magazine that began with "firstly, remove any buckshot." My foray onto the internet proved much more fulfilling this time around and I settled upon this Christmas (I know that was so last week!) roast duck recipe from Jamie Oliver. I had everything required on hand in the house so didn't even have to go shopping.

It takes time but is not all that complicated and it turned out even better than could be expected. Roast duck with potatoes roasted in duck fat is not a light meal that you'd want to eat very often but for a special occasion, it really hit the mark. The gravy (which I made gluten free for J) made with port wine was luscious and brought the whole meal together.  Simply added a few steamed and dressed green beans (and a glass of bubbly) to the operation and we had an absolutely divine NYE dinner.

Best meals (out) of 2013

As we head into 2014 with great enthusiasm, let's look back at some of the best meals we had in 2013. It was a year filled with trials and tribulations, no doubt, but also some really great food.

 Locanda Verde, New York City

We went during Legal Tech in February with some work friends. Jennifer came down from T.O. to spend a couple of days.We tried practically everything on the menu.  Meatballs so good you couldn't even believe it. Pasta fantastic. Atmosphere was super hip (a bit overwhelming for me, but I managed). Not very poetic, this is why I'm not a restaurant reviewer.

Topolopambo, Chicago

Rick Bayliss has been the inspiration for my Mexican cooking fetish. From him I have learned so much about flavours and textures as well as styles of cooking. Have wanted to eat at one of his restaurants for years and this year on my birthday, we did it.  The service was absolutely spectacular and as I'd been sick all day, the gentle touch went a long way with me. We had the tasting menu (which changes every few months) but the flavours, combinations, and textures of the beautifully presented food absolutely lived up to expectation. We will be going back (and here's the post about that adventure).

East Indies, Eighth Bastion Hotel, Cochin, India

The food during our trip to India got better every day. Eating in the state of Kerala in the south provided new tastes and adventures. The seafood, especially the giant blue prawns, was prepared simply and deliciously. It proved to me, that yes, I could eat Indian food every day. On our last day in India we went to East Indies in Cochin. The food was Dutch-Indian fusion providing a modern and artistic twist on the local cuisine. Just absolutely fantastic and a great way to end our adventure.

 

Taqueria El Farolito, San Francisco

I am all about the high-end restaurants but give me a dive with cheap food and off-the-charts delicious food, and nothing makes me happier. I was in San Francisco for a conference and wanted to have a Mission Burrito. There is much debate over the best burrito in SF but I landed on El Farolito. Outstanding. I had a tongue/steak burrito (no beans, sadly) with a horchata. Sat with a really interesting young chef who was off to see a concert with some friends. Enjoyed the whole experience of being human that night.

Now don't think that we didn't also have some great food at home in Toronto. We sure did!

Hopgoods Foodliner 

This was Jennifer's choice for her birthday. A bit of Atlantic Canada in west end Toronto. Go there, it's fun. Try the crab dip with triscuits. Also the Halifax Donairs (with sweet sauce), Digby scallops, and the Cape Breton snow crab (served cold on a tower with ice). All dishes made for sharing, so go with lots of people as you'll want to try many things and having pals with you means you won't leave so full you don't know what to do with yourself!  Again, another place with great service, which made the evening despite the cranky pants fella at the table next to us. 

Union

I have a great fondness for the charcuterie and it's quite the rage all over the place these days. So I have had quite a few, some good some not so great. Union's was probably the best I had this year. All made in-house (including the smoked meats). Definitely enough for a meal - hearty and delicious. Lots of comfort food and great drinks in this very small restaurant.

The Chase

I have a lot of business lunches and the food is often expensive and generally pretty decent. I'm not one to hop on the bus of trendy and "it" places (which this apparently is) but I am going to say that I had one of the best lunches I've ever had here. As a starter I had the avocado stuffed with a shrimp salad - who knew you could slice avocado so beautifully thin?! My main was scallops with quinoa, a pea puree and a soft poached egg. I can't describe the sweet, velvety deliciousness of this emerald green dish. I can taste it now just writing about it. I am actually afraid to go back because I don't believe it'll ever be that good again and who needs the disappointment.

 

Richmond Station

This downtown spot hidden away beside the ramp to the Bay Adelaide parking garage. Perhaps J's favourite of the year. Top choices: the suprisingly delicious quinoa salad and the best halibut in town. We were repeat offenders here (although not as frequent as our pal Sarah!).  

Of course, lot of great food made at home but that's another story altogether. We didn't actually eat out as much, or at least eat out at "fancy" places, as in past years. But usually we ended up at totally worthwhile places. There are always lots of great places to discover in Toronto, and we will continue our urban adventuring in 2014. Happy New Year.

The red soup

At one point in time, I used to eat a lot of borsht but it was always the stuff in the bottles and it was farily purple. I loved it. I dreamed up this easy recipe tonight to use up some of the beets in the fridge. Traditionally it's made with cabbage but my body doesn't agree with it very well so I left it out.  It should be served with a dollop of sour cream but I didn't have any. No matter, it was super delicious.

• 1 large beet, 2 medium, or 4 small - peeled and grated
• 1 large carrot - peeled and grated
• 1 medium potato = peeled and grated
• 1 piece of celery - finely sliced
• half an onion - finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic - crushed
• 4-6 cups of beef broth
• juice of about a half of a lemon
• 1 tablespoon dried dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Basically you throw everything into a pot of boiling broth and let it cook for half an hour. Serve and eat. Nutritious and delicious. And it's a great colour. The picture does not do it justice.

India!

Dear blog readers (or Mom and Gail), we have been on holiday in India.  And it was amazing.

The food was amazing. Every meal was amazing. Every morsel was something delicious and different. (And we did not suffer from Delhi Belly, so high fives all around.)

On our last day in India, we went to a restaurant called East Indies at the 8th Bastion Hotel in Kochi. Kochi is in Kerala and is tropical and fantastic. The food was amazing.  See for yourself:

We had to start with a trio of dosa.  So apparently the dosa we know and love from here in Toronto is most often served at breakfast in the great south of India.  But this little starter was fantastic!  There was shrimp, beef (water buffalo), and potato all on top of a dosa round.  

G ordered a mutton something.  Or lamb something.  I really don't remember, but it was really good (and not on it's side).  It was really rich and dark like a mole. It came with puttu, which is a steamed rice patty sort of thing.  It was very dense, and a bit heavy, but it actually held up well to the really rich and delicious sauce.

I ordered this little bit of heaven....

It was stuffed mushrooms and green chile with a saffron sauce, lemon rice and some salad-y thing that I didn't eat because it was too sharp.  I have to confess that the Indians eat a lot of their meat on the bone, which I just can't get behind.  However, I learned that if I was ever going to be vegetarian, I would be so in India. There are just so many wonderful veg dishes you can have, and prompted me to order this deliciousness.

It was really unusual, and I confess that I ate all of the sauce.

The Indians, they know their sauces.  All good all the time.

Anyway, I didn't take tons of food pics, I just was so busy taking pics of the Taj and such (ha ha)... but trust me when I say you can eat your way happily through India without getting sick.

Albondigas with a twist

For the many Sephardim that read this blog (and there are so many of you I can hardly count you all on my fingers), you'll be familiar with the traditional version of albondigas that we've been eating (and loving!) since we were all tiny. They're red, it's all about the tomato. Well tonight I went off the beaten path, well onto the somewhat beaten path of Mexican flavours that I've embraced and turned the blessed albondiga of my youth on its ear! Tonight's were green, that's verde, yes!

I had some tomatillos sitting in the fridge that I had picked up at a farmers' market a while ago. I needed to use them. I was not willing to let those beauties go to waste but I needed something one step up from salsa verde, because that does not a dinner make. So a little searching and a little cobbling together and here's what I came up with.

Albondigas verde

• 1-2 pounds of ground beef
• 10 or so tomatillos
• 2 poblano peppers or a couple of jalapenos
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 big white onion (1/2 cut into chunks, 1/4 chopped super finely)
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp of uncooked rice
• few tablespoons of oil
• salt 
• 1 or 2 eggs

Clean and remove the husks from the tomatillos and put them in a pot of water to boil for about 15 min until they turn a little yellowish. If using jalepenos, boil with the tomatillos and remove seeds etc once cooked.. Once ready, drain the water from the pot.

Roast the poblano peppers (either under the broiler or over the flame of a gas stove) until they are fairly charred. Put in a plastic bag and let sweat for about 10 minutes so the skin will be easy to get off. Clean the skin off, remove the seeds and rinse the pepper to get all the black bits and seeds off.  

Chuck the cooked tomatillos, poblano peppers/jalapenos, chunks of onions, cilantro, garlic, and about a cup of water into a blender and blend until it is a very nice green colour.

To make the meatballs, mix the eggs, ground beef, finely chopped onion, rice and a couple of pinches of salt into a bowl and then form into walnut sized balls. Not too tiny but not big either.

In a pot large enough to fit the balls essentially in one layer, add the oil and let it get hot. Pour the tomatillo mixture in (and enjoy the sizzle). Mix and let it come to the boil. You should add a bit of water to thin it out now (I used the blender and got all the rest of the tomatillo mixture out with the water). 

Once the sauce comes back to the boil, add the balls, turn down the heat, and let it simmer partially covered for 30 minutes. Add salt etc as required to taste.

I served this over pink rice and a little Mexican style salad with chopped onion, a few of the last stragglers from my tomato crop, chopped lettuce, and some chunks of avocado dressed simply wiht some lime juice, olive oil and a bit of salt.  They don't look all that fantastic in pictures but we're about flavour here, not looks!

Oh tomato, how I love you

Pretty much the end of the summer vines. I will miss my daily tomato meal. Nothing is more satisfying and simpler than the thinly sliced tomato layered with salt, pepper, and olive oil on a piece of super crunchy toast.

Goodbye summer ....

We are smokin'

I have a great desire for a smoker. But the reality is that it involves quite a bit of time and there is limited real estate in the backyard. So at this juncture, no smoker. That doesn't mean that I am not keen to  try smoking at home and we have bought a few things and I have read a lot about smoking in the oven etc. but not yet tried. 

Well in the spring I found these smoking bags at Lowe's. Emeril Lagasse promises from the packaging that I can make fabulous smoked foods with no hassle. As we have barely eaten at home in the last month, there's not been much time for experimentation. This weekend we spent mostly at home and with groceries in the fridge so I figured let's give the smoking bag a go. 

I grabbed a chicken breast from the freezer but sadly there was no dark meat, which I prefer. No worries- there was a cornish hen. Let's just ratchet up this experiment. I cut the little bird in half, seasoned it all with some thyme, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and then just opened the foil envelope, popped the poultry in, and sealed it up. 

Apparently the bag has wood chips and stuff embedded into it. I heated up the bbq and stuck it in there on high for about 15 min and then medium for another 30. As the bag is sealed there's no way to know if there's magic or chaos going on inside. The backyard smelled like a smokehouse so I took that as a good sign. Took the bag off the heat and let it rest for 10 min or so then cut her open. Inside...some pretty freaking perfectly cooked and well smoked bird!!!

J made an awesome potato salad (and kindly used some parsley from the garden) and I made some green beans. All in all an very delicious experiment and a thrill to have a meal at home.

Rick Bayless and the Chicago Heatwave

After 10+ years together, it can be challenging to come up with good ideas for birthday presents, so this year, I surprised G with a trip to Chicago so that we could eat at Rick Bayless' restaurant Topolobampo.

This past weekend was the date.  After a very early morning flight to Chicago, we hoofed it on the subway to our hotel where we dropped our bags and headed out into the city.

We stopped at Panera Bread for a quick bite (nothing special but fast and close by) and then wandered to see about getting tix for one of the Architecture Cruises.

(In a blaze of America is weird, we also got to have new Twinkies on the street.  They were being given as a promotion along with a button that said "I saved the Twinkie"  -- the guy laughed when I said we were Canadian and had never not had the Twinkie.... but I digress.

Chicago was H-O-T.  And we were out in it, soaking up the sun and dehydrating ourselves into seeming oblivion.  We went to Millenium Park and spent some time marvelling at the amazing public art.  It's really magnificent.

I had such a great time!  Then we went on the boat tour.  The tour was interesting, but really hot and we didn't have the most dynamic guide.  But the sun did G in and she got pretty sick and spent a few hours in our cool dark hotel room trying to rest up for Topolobampo.

And we did make it!

Rick Bayless did not seem to be in the restaurant, but after our leisurely walk, we were ready to sit down and tuck in.

We knew that we would likely order from the Tasting Menu because why not get the maximum amount to try since we don't live in Chicago and may never get there again... and they were willing to do substitutes for me since I did not want the ceviche course.  (Note: The menu we had was the last day this particular tasting menu was offered.  It was amazing.... see below for photographic proof!)

We were given an amuse bouche of some sort of pea soupy thing... Delicious, indeed!

It was really green tasting, and the pea flavour was certainly there.  It had a kick at the end from the chill that made it very tasty indeed!  (I had this with a Limonata type drink that was ridiculously refreshing.  I would say here, too, that the restaurant was beyond nice about the fact that we didn't order alcohol.  No guilt trips, no repeat questions, no attitude.  G explained that she had had a rough day and wasn't feeling her best, and they went out of their way to accommodate us!)

We both chose the Topolo Classics menu.  I did not want the ceviche, which I was able to substitute with the Farmers Market Mole Verde.  Described as a 'Chilled, herby green mole (thickened with hazelnuts, infused with hoja santa), local baby beets, green soy beans, green garlic', I was intrigued.

Bad picture, I know.  It looks like something the baby left behind, but the mole had such a nice fresh flavour to it that went beautifully with the beets.  The soy beans were fine, but the mole was just exceptional and unlike anything I've ever had.  

G had the ceviche or Ipswich Razor Clam and Baja Bay Scallop with an amazing Tamazula hot sauce jelly.  

 She really enjoyed it.  The fish was delicate and the flavour was incredibly bright.  The green sauce was fresh and tasty.  It was a good start!

We moved from this course to the Three Bites of Oaxaca course, mini tacos with aged beef tenderloin tasajo, classic chorizo was quails egg, and red chile pork loin cecina.  Oh my.

My egg had taken a tumble off the taco and looks like a globby bunch of scallop, but when reassembled, this dish was delightful.  The meat on all three of these was just ridiculously tasty and something I may try to recreate at home!

Our next course was Halibut and Lobster with Squash Blossoms.  One of my greatest realizations of the last few years is the love I have developed for halibut.  Never having been a huge fish eater, Jamie Oliver turned me on to the pleasures of Halibut and I have never looked back (nor forgiven him for making me love a fish that is so dang expensive in Canada!).  I was excited to see this on the menu, and I was not disappointed.

The meal came with delightful homemade tortillas, and the squash blossom was like a soup made with pumpkin seeds, poblano chile, white wine, and saffron.  It was delicious.  The halibut had a perfect crust, the lobster was cool, fresh, and bright tasting.  The squash sauce was just an absolute revelation of deliciousness.  Ridiculously good, and probably my favourite course of the night.

The meat course was up next and featured Rick's famous mole sauce.  (I believe this is the sauce that won him the Tp Chef Master's title.)  I have to say straight up, I have never been a fan of mole.  As a supertaster, I just find that many flavours in one place to be too much for me to handle, and it's often incredibly bitter.  But this, gosh, this was a substance I have never tasted anything like.  Smooth, rich, deep, complex, silky, and delicious.  (As an aside, I learned in my Coursera class that supertasters often do not like fatty foods (which I don't) and many green vegetables!  Playing to type again!)

This was wood-grilled 28 day aged prime roc with seared foie gras.  I asked for no foie.  It was served with classic Oaxacan black mole, corn husk steamed chipil tamal, black beans, and green beans.  It was really wonderful.  Served again with housemade tortillas, I ate up as much of the sauce as I could fit.  The steak looks really rare in this photo, but it was G's and much rarer than mine, but wonderfully meaty and delicious.

Feeling full, but never ones to turn down the final dessert course, we happily tucked into Warm chocolate mesquite cakes served with Mexican vanilla bean ice cream and sweet masa pudding.

Yep.  Those turnipy looking things were the masa pudding slivers, which were amazing.  The chocolate cake was deep and rich, hitting a super lovely spicy/sweet/bitter Mexican chocolate undertone.  The ice cream was so vanilla-y that this vanilla ice cream fan was in heaven.

The meal was wonderful.  The restaurant is nice but still casual, and there are literally platoons of servers there to help with every single things you could ever want.  To get to the bathroom, you have to walk through the kitchen, which is awesome because you get a birds eye view of what's going on!

At $105, the tasting menu was worth every single penny we paid.  The food was unique, flavourful, colourful, and highly evocative.  I loved being in Mexico City and tasting the clean lines of the more authentic Mexican food and Rick Bayless has captured that brilliantly.  I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough.  It was definitely worth a 1.5 hour plane ride.

Next up on our Chicago adventure.... Fabio Vivani's resturant Siena Tavern.

Well that's just crazy.

It's a bit shameful, really, that we've let the blog sit.  Not because our thousands of readers are disappointed, but because it's really fun to do and I miss it!  Further, I have to say that I've stopped reading a lot of the blogs I used to read because they became all about book deals and fancy restaurants, which is great for them (and shows that I had good taste in food blogs).  But I really missed the fun home food mixed with trips to restaurants to try new things.  So I stopped reading and I stopped writing.  But like I said, I missed it.  

So without further ado.... a new post!

I worked from home today, which reminded me of one of the many things I like about myself... I am not afraid to cook just for me!  And in fact, when it's just me, I can make the miss-mash of things I most love. 

As I sat at the table, feeling the first pangs of hunger after a breakfast of leftover cold gluten free pizza (more on that in a minute), I started to have thoughts.  Ideas.  Concoctions.  And before I knew it, I was  whipping up a storm of good food!  And it looked like this...

Sadly for you, my photog skills have not changed in the slightest!  I have realized that I like food served in a bowl that you can eat with a fork.  The above, mac n cheese, spaghetti bolognese, etc.  It's probably my favourite thing.  

But back to that bowl of beauty!  Chorizo Hash with Scrambled Eggs and Sriracha Mayo!  I know!  Brilliantly delicious and super easy. 

I pierced one potato and cooked it in the microwave for a few minutes.  After it was done, I cut it into large-ish chunks and fried it for a bit in a skillet.  I then added some chopped chorizo (PC brand) and fried it up.  Once the potatoes were cooked through, I took the potato and chorizo mix and put it in a bowl.  I then scrambled two eggs and laid on top.  For the piece de resistance, I mixed some low-fat mayo with sriracha and drizzled dolloped it over the top.  It was really amazing.  And by really amazing, I do mean, really super-good-would-pay-to-eat-it-in-a-restaurant good. I started to say that it was meat free, but that's silly. 

I had some leftover sriracha mayo so my mind strayed to things that would be a natural pairing.  The answer was obvious.  HAMBURGERS!  I had one Udi gluten-free hamburger bun left in the freezer, so out it came along with x-lean ground beef.  

Lovely dinner with some bbq'ed corn on the cob.  Super good and well worth the time it took G to cook it on the bbq (hee hee).  

Seriously, there was no way I could stand the thought of turning our oven on during this heat.  The humidex was something like 113 F or something ridiculous.  I am sitting outside now, but there's a lovely breeze and it's not so blazingly awful.  

I like working from home.  We had to have some service repair on our house, so I needed to be here, but it also gave me time to charge my new solar charger and play with my cats.  Not so bad, really!

Oh, and the gluten-free pizza I mentioned above?  Wonderful, let me tell ya!  Udi's gluten-free pizza crust is amazing and I would eat it even if I were eating gluten (which I sometimes do).  For dinner recently, I used the crust, topped with pizza sauce, goat mozzarella (my absolute fave cow dairy sub), some chopped rotisserie chicken, and thinly sliced onion.  Plopped on the pizza stone in the oven and cooked to perfection.  Due to the aforementioned heat, I didn't want to turn on the oven to reheat the pizza (and I hate microwaved pizza), so despite my apprehension about cold gluten-free crust, it was DELICIOUS!

I really loved it and ate every bite.  Highly recommended.  So a pretty good food day.  I can't work from home full-time or I would weigh a thousand pounds.  

Anyway, it's good to be back!  

Pickled jalepenos

My friend Jennifer gave me a whack of jalepeno peppers and since there was no chance of eating them all anytime soon, I decided to give the pickling a go.

I used a very basic pickling recipe and from a pound got two small and three medium-sized jars. More than enough to get anyone throught the winter.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 pound jalepenos
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups filtered water
• 2 tbsp pickling salt.

Slice the jalepenos into rounds and pack them into hot, cleaned jars.  Put the other ingredients together in a pot on the stove and simmer for about five minutes. Pour the hot brine over the peppers, clean the rims, and seal the jars.

Process in a canner or huge pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.

You're done.

I am smokin' hot

I planted my first real vegetable garden this year. Started slow with just a few things but one of the most vibrant producers has been the cayenne pepper plants. And what is there to do with dozens of bright red peppers other than brew up some hot sauce? So I did.

The recipe is quite simple:

1 dozen cayenne peppers
2 heads of garlic
3/4 cup of vinegar
salt (which I just realized I forgot)

I had a lot of cayenne peppers and some little loco peppers that I also grew, so threw a few of those in the mix, and made 4x the recipe.

First cut off the stem, slit, and remove the seeds of each pepper. Please do this with gloves. And don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth while you're doing the deed. The burn is fierce.

The traditional Tobasco Sauce has "aged" peppers but who's got time for that. So I figured I'd deepen the flavour by roasting the peppers a bit. I used my favourite Mexican style of dry roasting on the comal, but you can do it by broiling them in the oven until the skin turns a bit black. Some people suggest taking the skins off after the roasting but seriously, that's a bunch of fiddling around that takes up time I'll never get back. So I just tossed them, the garlic (which I also roasted but there's no need to), and the vinegar into the blender and wazzed it all up.

Once it's all lovely and liquidized, simmer the mix on the stove for about 20 minutes. At this point, the whole kitchen, if not house, will start smelling like hot sauce. There may be some burning eyes. It's all for a good cause.

Once the simmering of the flavours is done, run the whole thing through a sieve to clear out the pulp, seeds, and skin.

This, I would say is the time to add the salt, if you're not too busy forgetting to do it like I was.

You need to prepare some jars to put this lovely concotion in. I didn't have any traditional style bottles so I used small jam jars (125 ml each). They need to be washed out with boiling water and new lids prepared in boiling water. Once that's all ready, pour the sauce in, seal and you're ready to go with some smokin' hot sauce!