my food obsessions

palki | indian cuisine on commercial drive

2011-12-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

last week, the boyfriend & i ate at palki, an indian restaurant on commercial drive. i quite enjoyed this food experience. (which in this case involved me stuffing myself then proceeding to take the leftovers home & stuff myself again. i don't eat leftovers. unless its ethiopian or otherwise amazing)

palki is located where the restaurants rime and lime used to be. it doesn't stand out from the sidewalk, & i know i have walked past it a few times not knowing it was there. but inside, it is spacious, simple, & classy. it isn't overly elegant, but the decor also isn't tacky. the tables are all a dark wood, which i love, and the color scheme is simple with greys, blacks & bits of purple.

we sat at a window table & enjoyed the sun streaming in while we people watched. (people-watching on the drive is always quite fun.)

the boyfriend is great: waiting patiently for me to take photos, before he can eat. he also doubles as a hand model in his spare time.

full liquor bar at the back of the restaurant. water is served in beautiful jars made of panchaloha (mixture of 5 metals that keeps water cooler than room temperature, with no need for ice)

appetizer platter: veggie pakora, chicken pakora, veggie samosas. 3 dips: green chutney, tamarind sauce, & raita (yogurt & herbs). my favorite appetizer combination: veggie pakora dipped in the tamarind & the raita.

channa masala. it was good, but not the best i've ever had. i love that they serve the entrees on dishes with candles underneath to keep them warm. your food will not get too cold here.

butter chicken. so creamy. so tasty.

mixed grill platter from the tandoor oven. lamb shishkabobs, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka (murgmalai tikka), and prawn tikka. marinated in their housemade yogurt raita, the chicken & prawn tikka were tender & delicious. i didn't fancy the lamb shishkabobs much, but the chicken tikka is a definite must order, in my humble opinion.

this is the raita made from their own yogurt. yeah. pretty and delicious.

your indian food experience just isn't the same without naan. we had both the plain naan & the garlic naan. the garlic naan could be inhaled on its own it is so flavorful. but the plain naan is good for dipping in the curries or eating with the meat. or just dipping into the raita. (i really love the raita. can you tell?)

next time you are looking for excellent indian food for an average budget, definitely check out palki. if you are new to indian cuisine, this is a great place to start your journey. you won't look back.

palki restaurant
1130 commercial drive
604.215.1130
lunch buffet m-f 11:30-2:30
s & s lunch 11:30 - 2:30
dinner everyday 2:30 - 10:00

gingerbread men

2011-12-09T23:58:00.000-08:00

first of my christmas baking this year.
not that i'm going to be baking tons...
but its fun to bake with my mom.
haven't had christmas with my whole family in 5 years so it'll be pretty fun!

p.s. if you are in vancouver and need some local, unique gifts, head over to the One Of A Kind show at the convention centre! its still on tomorrow from 10am til 9pm and sunday from 10am til 5pm. my sister has some paintings there, and i'll be there for quite a while tomorrow (saturday)!

elysian coffee - perfect cup of clover

2011-11-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

elysian coffee.
broadway & ash.
(also a location at 5th & burrard.)
they frequently change their coffee selection
(always using freshly roasted beans)
but i believe (don't quote me on this) they use mostly (or a lot of) intelligentsia coffee.

while i normally drink americanos, at elysian i drink their coffee by the cup.
they use a clover & make it to perfection.
if you normally take sugar, you probably won't with this coffee, i promise you.
they also serve tasty goodies made fresh on site.
i'm always drawn to their chocolate cookie with the dusting of icing sugar on top.
i used to make those cookies in high school, so they taste nostalgic to me.
(can things taste nostalgic?)
there's a tap on the bar for water. sparkling or still. your choice.
sparkling water isn't my cup of tea, a bit too fancy for me.
but it might just be your cup of tea. (or water.)

elysian coffee

broadway location:
7-7 everday

5th ave location:
mon- thu 7-7:30
fri 7-10
sat 9-10
sun 11-5

why you should do the culture crawl this year

2011-11-17T22:35:00.000-08:00

those of you readers who live in vancouver, i have for you 3 reasons to go to the vancouver east side culture crawl this year:
(specifically my sister andrea armstrong's studio)

1. this is what one of her walls looked like last year.
isn't it pretty?
this year's is even better - i've seen it in progress.

2. guess what is across the street from her studio?
yeah. jj bean.
(keep in mind it closes at 6pm friday, and 5pm saturday & sunday)

3. i made cookies last year for andrea's studio.
and guess what?! i made more this year too.
(and no, my dad didn't make them.)

(i kinda made a lot last year. but this year looks pretty similar.)

(this is what her studio looks like. from the outside.)

crawling hours:
friday november 18: 5pm-10pm
saturday november 19: 11am-6pm
sunday november 20: 11am-6pm

bump n grind: chocolate peanut butter cups + americanos

2011-11-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

bump n grind
corner of commercial + venables, vancouver

i've always kind of hated the name of this place, so i never ever went in. but this past summer i tried it out... and honestly i've been missing out. their americanos are pretty great, but the best thing they have is their chocolate peanut butter cups. and what better then to pair chocolate with coffee? not much, i tell you.

so go. go now and eat a chocolate peanut butter cup. with an americano. thank your barista. then come back here and thank me (and my sister who introduced me to them).

bump n grind cafe
916 commercial drive
mon - fri 7-7
sat + sun 8-7
@bumpngrindcafe

ghost pancakes for next year

2011-11-08T01:24:00.000-08:00

i always get great ideas way too late.
here's one to store for next year's halloween.
ghost pancakes!
so cute.

image via petra at zoom yummy

simply breakfast

2011-11-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

(photo by jennifer causey at simply breakfast)

if you love breakfast as much as i do and haven't discovered simply breakfast yet, you must remedy this dire situation. jennifer causey is a new york based photographer who has a blog solely dedicated to breakfast photography. she also takes beautiful non-food photography.

one day i want to have a huge window in my kitchen, and a beautiful wooden table (but no varnishes & no oak please!). oh, and 5 extra cupboards just for extra dishes & napkins for props. i don't think this day is coming anytime soon, but i can only hope.

so enjoy your breakfast, and while your at it, visit simply breakfast for some inspiration.

a recipe for delicious baked eggs

2011-10-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

i mentioned in my last post that i was giving more energy to my photo blog.
however, when i want to post recipes i will post over here.
somehow, someday, i want to combine the 2 blogs in some way - i like the format over there much better, but i still want to write about food, but i don't want to be double posting all the time when i take pretty photos of the food i write about. that sounded complicated. it is. thereby my wanting simplicity in joining the 2 somehow...

but i digress.

i have for you a recipe of sorts for baked eggs.
a delicious way to eat eggs when you have some extra time on the weekend.

what you need:
(1 serving)
- 2 eggs, preferably room temperature (take them out night before)
- 2 tablespoons cream
- handful of fresh herbs - thyme, sage & rosemary (thyme is the most important)
- butter
- salt & pepper
- toast
- prosciutto (optional)
- ramekin
- baking tray deeper than your ramekin

what to do:
- turn kettle on to boil
- turn oven on to 375*
- chop herbs into tiny pieces
- grease ramekin with butter
- place 1 tablespoon cream into ramekin
- sprinkle with a few herbs, salt & pepper
- crack 2 eggs in
- sprinkle with more herbs, salt & pepper
- spoon 1 tablspoon cream on top
- (optional) add more butter to the top
- place ramekin into deeper baking tray, and fill halfway with boiling water
- place tray in oven
- bake for 10-15 minutes (i don't have the timing perfectly. its a bit tricky to keep the yolks runny while not having runny whites so i often overbake it) until cooked to your liking
- enjoy with a slice of toast and coffee

another variant on this dish is to line your ramekin with prosciutto first, and then proceed with the next steps.

other recipes you can look at:
- seasaltwithfood blog
- simple baked eggs recipe

happy thursday morning

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

good morning.

have yourself a lovely breakfast.
if not today, definitely this weekend.

if you want to venture out from fried or scrambled eggs, might i suggest breakfast pizza? eggs benedict? quiche? or pancakes?

apologies for being slightly absent lately from this blog.
i'm starting to give more energy to my photo blog these days, come visit me there!
more photos, less words, so it'll be less demanding of you to read.

food + drink | my website

2011-10-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

this is a glimpse of my website:

it's new.
i'm fairly excited about it.
:)

you should go check it out. i have an entire gallery dedicated to food.

joeyarmstrong.ca

my chicken fajitas

2011-09-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

i'm (still) really horrible at intentional meal planning. this week, though, i decided i wanted to make chicken fajitas at some point. one accomplishment at a time here, lets not get TOO crazy.

so. i bought some chicken (free run, non-medicated, at wheelhouse seafoods), peppers, sour cream, and sprouted grain tortillas.

here they are.

i cut the 2 chicken breasts into strips and marinated them for about 1/2 an hour while i chopped everything else up. for the marinade i used: half a dried chili, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, and some kind of mexican chipotle chili mix i got from a friend. you can probably use chili flakes or whatever spice you like. (i like to avoid the fajita seasoning packets in the stores, because i'm not a fan of colors, corn syrup solids, modified corn starch and 'natural flavor')

here's a recipe for making your own seasoning: http://busycooks.about.com/od/homemademixes/r/fajitaseasonmix.htm

wish i'd thought of looking up a recipe earlier. oops.

i sauted peppers & onion in olive oil, salt & pepper. until they were soft & caramelized.

then its easy! i grated some cheese, heated up my tortillas in the oven, chopped up some cilantro, & put out my sour cream & salsa. wrap it all up & enjoy.

two related photos HERE on my photo blog!

making noodles & motivational issues

2011-09-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

for some reason i find it easier to work on new projects then to work on projects that have been piling up all summer. summer has been busy. also i've been having motivation/inspiration issues lately. so it is not only exciting that i actually wanted to pick up my camera before (& during) eating today, but it is also exciting that i am actually writing this blog with these images right now. you probably aren't as excited as i am. you may have even disappeared because of my horribly inconsistent blogging. but i do hope you enjoy my photos of this half-eaten pasta, and be patient with me as i attempt to catch up on posts. like making salmon on a campfire, my favorite brunch spot in vancouver, and a recently opened coffee brew bar.

at any rate, i made a really tasty pasta tonight. got home from work late, and decided to try my hand at homemade noodles, even though i knew it would take a while, and i knew i was hungry. i think maybe i was excited to use our food processor. slowly loving this machine more and more. (hummus takes almost 5 seconds to make now. this makes me so happy!!)

i was supposed to use 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs, & a teaspoon of salt for these noodles. somehow, though, i used 1 cup of flour, 2 eggs & 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. and a little bit of olive oil. they turned out though. kind of clumpy, but nevertheless tasty. i pulsed it in the processor until it came together (drizzling a little bit of oil in), turned it out onto a floured surface, kneaded it a bit, and covered it in the fridge for 30 minutes. i then used my sister's noodle maker machine of awesomeness, but you can also roll out the dough (with flour), and cut it with a knife or something. less consistent this way, but more rustic - giving your noodles the 'i am most definitely homemade' kind of look.

for the sauce i sauted a chorizo sausage in some olive oil & bacon fat (yes, i keep my bacon fat for further use. it is amazing. you should do this too. if you eat bacon.), added onions & garlic, rosemary & thyme, zuchinni & roma tomatoes, salt & pepper. after the veggies were cooked to my liking, and the noodles were finished cooking (3-5 minutes in boiling salted water with a touch of olive oil), i just tossed the noodles straight into my veggie/sauce, added a 1/4 cup of the pasta water, stirred it all up, and served it with freshly grated parmesan. seriously delicious.

oh yeah and i had to take a photo of this zuchinni because it is hilarious. a friend of my sister's gave it to her from their garden. i love the random shape. and the tomatoes were from our awesome landlords (i also borrowed on onion from them), and the herbs were from our garden, so our meal was relatively cheap. isn't that the best? cheap AND delicious? what's not to like about that?

how to eat when camping

2011-08-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

this, my friends, is how to eat whilst camping:

salmon cooked over the fire, grilled veggies, warm bread & butter.

am i right?

i have much more food photos from a couple camping trips i've taken this summer. i'm not going to promise that i will post them soon, but i hope to.

kafka's coffee

2011-08-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

went to kafka's today with my sister. we had el salvadore syphon coffee and a gluten free hazelnut chocolate cookie. both were tasty.

the syphon coffee is a bit pricey, but it is worth the indulgence once in a while. make sure you watch the barista make it, its a beautiful process. the pour-over coffees are cheaper, but smooth & delicious as well. don't drink this coffee with sugar. please. if you drink it with a sweet treat on the side, however, that's a different story. you should definitely do that.

beautiful space. delicious coffee. friendly staff.

you should go.

kafka's coffee and tea
2525 main st, vancouver
604.569.2967
week day: 7am - 7:30pm
week end: 8:30am - 8:30pm

another breakfast at the red wagon

2011-07-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

i spent a day with a friend from out of town a couple weeks ago. i took some lovely photos of her, you can see them here.

to start our day, we ate at the red wagon. i've eaten there several times since i first went when they opened last november. i really love it.

steph got a breakfast sandwich:

andrea got an omelet of some sort. i think it was an asparagus & goat cheese special:

and i got something i've been eyeing on their menu for a long, long time:

pulled pork pancakes with jack daniels syrup.

i finally did it. i finally ordered it. and i can say.... it was quite worth it. maybe not an every day kind of meal, but most definitely a meal you need to order once in your life (if you eat pork, that is. if you don't, well, maybe you should avoid this one).

i know there are others who like to combine sweet & savory together. i know i am not the only one. otherwise there would be no pulled pork pancakes on a menu, right? i am glad menu items like these exist. they make me happy.

salad with crispy bacon + poached egg

2011-06-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

i was inspired to make this salad from one i ate at the red wagon recently. the lardon frisee salad. typically its made with curly endives, crispy bacon, and a poached egg on top.

i don't know what i used, but it was some kind of curly lettuce i got at the farmer's market.

what i did:

i tossed my lettuce with some chopped tomatoes + a homemade mustard vinaigrette, and sprinkled some fresh thyme leaves (from my garden!) on top.
i chopped up some bacon from moccia's, and fried it crispy. sprinkled on top of salad.
poached an egg (though 2 eggs would have been even better)
set egg(s) on top of salad, sprinkle with sea salt + freshly ground pepper, and enjoy.

seriously. amazing salad. light + flavorful + filling all at the same time.

for my vinaigrette i whisked together olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, honey (or maple syrup), chopped fresh thyme leaves, salt,+ pepper. i don't measure, i just make it to taste. for some better information about making vinaigrettes, go here.

and here's a recipe from epicurious for a traditional frisee salad with lardons and poached eggs.

my food affair with eggs

2011-06-27T00:03:00.000-07:00

love eggs.
so.
much.
i made this delicious omelet couple weeks ago.
however... i don't exactly remember what i put in it.
looks like maybe spinach, mushrooms, zuchinni?
i think i used gouda. yum.

i'm pretty particular about omelets.
i used to flip the omelet before i put filling in.
now i put the filling in and then close it up.
yummier.
and doesn't get that 'rubbery' texture.
hate that.
they sometimes fall apart.
but that's okay.
quality of taste, not aesthetic, is what matters, in the end.

the only affair my boyfriend has to worry about me having is with food.
particularly this bread, of course from a bread affair.
(i'm really bad at jokes. but its true - i love this bread excessively much.)
this particular bread: french country miche.

sangrias, workshops & photo blogs

2011-06-14T01:03:00.001-07:00

summer is a great time for sangrias and for fish. now, its not technically 'summer' yet, nor has it felt like summer lately here in vancouver. but that doesn't mean its not a good time for eating fish & for drinking sangrias.

especially white wine sangrias, one of which i had last week (along with some tasty fish - sole almondine) at beatniks bistro in langley. i was there with a group of ladies from a workshop we were all attending. read about this workshop here, at my new photography blog:
joeyarmstrong.ca/blog!

i'll still be blogging here, of course! but maybe not as consistently as i'd ideally like to. life isn't ideal like that all the time. oh well! :)

but speaking of sangrias, anyone have a good sangria recipe? or another favorite summertime drink?

cheers to summer starting soon!

how to brew french press - thanks jj bean!

2011-06-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

thanks jj bean*!
my favorite way to drink coffee, explained in a beautiful tutorial video:

*jj bean is a local coffee roaster in vancouver, plus they have some of the best coffee shops too. there's one 2 blocks from my work & 6 blocks from me.

ooh & they have some public coffee tastings coming up:

thursday, june 16: 1:00 pm
jj bean on powell street
1904 powell street, vancouver

friday, june 17: 1:00 pm
jj bean in the granville island public market
1689 johnston street, vancouver

thursday, june 23: 1:00 pm
jj bean on main street
3010 main street, vancouver

friday, june 24: 1:00 pm
jj bean at park & tilford
333 brooksbank avenue, north vancouver

thursday, june 30: 1:00 pm
jj bean on commercial drive
2206 commercial drive, vancouver

friday, july 1: 1:00 pm
jj bean in yaletown
402 davie street, vancouver

read more about the tastings here. i'm going to try to hit up the tasting at powell street if i can remember to!

sun + markets + bikes + coffee = happy me

2011-06-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

it's summer guys. this weekend, anyways. I LOVE THE SUN.

today i went to the summer farmer's market at trout lake for the first time this year. i didn't go to the winter market at all this past winter - it moved locations and was just too far for my lazy little self. today however, i met a friend for breakfast at bandidas, then we headed over to the market. took back some of my growing stacks of egg cartons, bought some eggs, bought some herbs, bought some shitaki mushrooms. and enjoyed the sun.

the beginnings of summer: it is glorious.

tomatoes are pretty...

after so much fun at the market (AND i didn't even spend all the limited cash i had on me. go me!), we were thirsty. so we went to jj bean for iced lattes. yum.

OH! what's that you say? yeah that's my new bike.

sometimes craigslist is so awesome. like this week when i bought this sweet ass bike from some random stranger. apparently its a czech communist bike.

took it out for a short ride this evening to see if it works. (yes, i know i should have checked it when purchasing it, but it was POURING rain + dark + i just wanted to hurry it all up and get out of there) it works! hurrah! my legs + lungs, however... don't work quite so well as the bike. on the 8 block, slightly uphill ride home i was suffering. thankfully no one saw me suffer, as everyone else in vancouver was downtown (still is probably) celebrating the vancouver canucks' win of game 2 in the playoffs. speaking of which, i actually watched most of the game, which is a rarity. i'm not a hockey fan, nor am i really a watching-sports-on-tv type of person. but the game was pretty intense, even from my non-partial perspective. oh, and they scored (+ won) 11 seconds into sudden death overtime. crazy. still, i'm glad i'm not downtown. not a fan of hoards of people. especially hoards of people with hockey fever...

(3 gears! 1 step up from being a hipster bike!)

it was a fantastic day today. so much sun. so much exercise.
who else had a beautiful saturday?

coffee drinking + mennonite thrift stores

2011-06-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

i don't have enough posts up about coffee. i love the stuff so much, but i guess it sometimes seems so normal & boring & repetitive that i don't bother to take photos.

last month, though, i bought some cheap, new, beautiful mugs, while i was out in manitoba. and new mugs make for more interesting coffee experiences, until the novelty of it wears out anyways.

mennonite thrift stores are THE BEST. where else can you get mugs for ten cents? not at for-profit used stores like Value Village, that's for sure.

if you haven't heard of MCC (mennonite central committee), you should go check them out. if even for their thrift shops, which usually have fantastic finds for low prices. but they also do great work in responding to basic human needs, and working for peace and justice through disaster relief and sustainable community development, etc. and i have a lot of respect for that.

sometimes when we really need 'new' things for our house, my sister and i will borrow a car and drive all the way to abbotsford (50 minute drive in good traffic) just to visit the MCC there. because its that awesome. two of our beautiful couches are from there. $10 each! yeah.

and isn't this a pretty mug? i kinda really like it.

what makes your coffee drinking experience unique from day to day?

egg + mushroom breakfast sandwich

2011-05-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

i cannot deny my love of breakfast. and if something horrible happened, like i suddenly became allergic to eggs, i would probably still eat them anyways, to the demise of my body.
i like them THAT much.

sometimes, though, i get a little bored with eggs + toast.
i even get bored with my omelets.
and so, sometimes...
i take a little too much time getting creative whilst making myself breakfast.

here's one of my happy little awesome sandwich discoveries.

egg + mushroom open-faced breakfast sandwich

what you will need:

mushrooms (i used organic crimini mushrooms)
handful of fresh sage (other fresh herbs like basil, thyme or parsley will do. dried herbs, though, will not do)
couple cloves garlic, minced
onion, chopped
1 large slice bread, or 2 small slices bread
2 eggs (only one is pictured, but trust me, you want 2)
olive oil
butter
mayonaisse
salt + pepper

directions:

mince garlic, chop onions, chop herbs
clean your mushrooms with a mushroom brush, or if you don't have one (i don't. i need to get one), use a slightly damp cloth to clean mushrooms. DO NOT soak mushrooms in water.
chop mushrooms. i removed the stems, but i'm just weird that way. i don't care if you use the stems or not.
heat skillet on medium-low heat. throw in some oil + butter. saute your onions + garlic for a few minutes.
turn up the heat + throw in them mushrooms. saute for a while (10-20 minutes depending how soft & caramelisy you like your mushrooms), adding 1/2 your fresh herbs halfway through.
when mushrooms look like they are about 5 minutes from done, heat up another frying pan for your eggs. start toasting your bread.
fry eggs to your liking. while they are frying, butter your toast + spread with mayo if so desired. top with mushrooms, eggs, + a sprinkling of fresh herbs.
get out your steak knife + a fork, and start devouring, along with a nice cup of fresh coffee.

yesterday - pancakes & butter tarts

2011-05-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

yesterday was mother's day. i don't really like the commercialization of something we should be doing everyday (telling your mother you love her), but i did call my mom & i told her i loved her. she doesn't live in the same country as me, so i made a lovely pancake breakfast for my sister and i and we ate good food in honor of her. from as long as i can remember, my mother has constantly been teaching me how to cook & bake. i love that she instilled in me a respect for food, and a really close, tangible relationship with it. thanks mommy - i love you! (yeah, i still call her mommy. & i'm okay with that)

it was a decent spring day yesterday, so my sister & i took a walk down to commercial drive to check out the got craft? show. afterwards we stopped at jj bean for americanos and butter tarts. have you had the butter tarts at jj bean vancouverites? if you haven't, and you can eat butter & wheat, you need to head to a jj bean immediately. and order a butter tart. you will not regret this. well, hmm.. maybe you will, because you'll be wanting to eat them every single day. if you have an addictive personality, DO NOT try the butter tarts at jj bean. the crust is flaky, crunchy & buttery. the inside is sugary, buttery & melty in your mouth.

speaking of spring, we've had some bizzare weather here in vancouver lately. one day it is warm & sunny, the next day it is a tropical monsoon and the streets turn into streams of rushing water. our small garden plot was completely covered in water. luckily my sister's been starting some plants inside. she really loves these plants. she likes to stare at them in the mornings watching them grow. they grow pretty fast too! i can't wait til they produce tomatoes and cucumbers. mmm...

little nest in east van

2011-04-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

little nest is a lovely cafe just off commercial drive on charles street. in the lovely east vancouver neighbourhood. its beautiful, full of light from a huge wall of pure window facing north. full of mismatched furniture and an abundance of childrens' toys and highchairs. its very child friendly, which is awesome for moms and dads who want to go out for coffee or brunch with their friends but worry about whether there will be room or entertainment for their little ones. there is at little nest. lots of it. not to mention excellent coffee and delicious meals.

great place to meet friends for brunch. i did just that a couple weekends ago. i wanted to try the egg & soldiers (soft-boiled egg with toasted baguette) but felt a bit more hungry than that.

so i got french toast. it was served with fresh pineapple, whipped lime curd, crushed pistachios, and maple syrup. it was heavenly. it sounded so unusual i had to try it. it felt a little pricey at $12 when i initially ordered it, but it was worth it. oh yes.

my friend had some kind of fritatta and mushroom special. it looked awesome.

rice pudding. i didn't have it, but tried my friend's. tasty.

my one complaint about little nest (from my 2 experiences) was that the sandwich i had was a little bit dry. the beets were tasty, and made for a gorgeous mess on the plate. i took my leftover half home and re-toasted it with some mayo and more cheese and it was a lot better.

they serve ethical bean coffee. i've had the coffee at little nest twice now and i can't complain.

(i love it when coffee is served in a glass glass. for some really bizarre reason it actually makes me really happy. i'm crazy. i know.)

little nest
1716 charles st
9am to 4pm
every day
(kitchen closes at 3pm)
604.251.9994

THIS IS EAST VAN at make it! vancouver

2011-04-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

this past weekend i had the pleasure of attending the spring 'make it! vancouver' show down at the croatian cultural centre on commercial & 16th. it's a great way for consumers to buy directly from artists, crafters and designers.

i have to admit, i felt a tad bit guilty walking into the show, knowing i probably wasn't going to buy much. i really love to support local artists, and i do it when i can, but the truth is, i can't always. sometimes food in my mouth & paying rent take top priority. weird, right?

but i didn't just go to the make it! show to feel guilty or to feel jealousy of other artists' great work. i had a purpose. i was there to buy a book with one of my photographs in it, and to meet the great people behind that book.

the book? THIS IS EAST VAN. a community photography project about life in east vancouver. i live in east vancouver, so i felt it appropriate to submit a couple photos last summer to this project. to my great joy, one of them got in! i was super excited.

the people? erin & jason. they've put so much time, blood, sweat and tears into the making of this book. the book is gorgeous, i hope they are proud.

another cool thing about the book? part of the proceeds will be going to a local east van arts organization, voted on by the contributors. our pick? reel youth.

my obvious bias aside, TIEV's booth had the best looking set up. it was nice to finally meet the people behind this project, they were so friendly and down to earth.

a few gimpses into THIS IS EAST VAN:

my page! my page! (page 157.) coffee is such a big part of east van, and my life in east van, so that's why i chose to submit this photo. this particular cup is from the Roundel cafe in my neighbourhood. after every meal you get a fortune. that day's fortune: "you are prompted to set new goals and discover new desires"

if you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can find them online at cargoh. if you are local, they will be in a few local retailers soon. head to the TIEV website for updates.

(oh, and i did end up buying some beautiful prints from calgary-based photographer amy victoria wakefield)

thursday thrift: a temporary absence

2011-04-14T00:14:00.001-07:00

i am taking a temporary absence from my thursday thrift weekly posts. i'm catching up with life right now, and find myself struggling to put something together wednesday night and that's not worth it for any of us. i also find that having to post something specific weekly makes me not post other things that i'd like to post about, because i feel i 'need' to do the thursday thrift post before i do anything else.

so today i'm going to give you some snapshots of a few random things i've been up to lately (lately being the last month or two). you'll notice a trend of food and/or friends.

this is a pie. a beautiful, lemon meringue pie that i helped my friend and fellow photographer sharon make one day. doesn't it look lovely? it tasted so.

sometimes i make sandwiches. and then i eat them. occasionally i take some time in between to photograph them. (usually i'm too hungry)

got together with some friends to celebrate jobs & school. homemade spinach spanakopitas and chocolate chip cookies.

met some old friends for brunch. it was wonderful, but too short. they're having a baby soon, which is super exciting.

speaking of babies... this is a cute baby some of my other friends made. i got to take some photos of him. his name is reid.

this is reid's big brother, jude. i took photos of him a month earlier.

along with his family.

and reid too! (he's just hiding in his momma's tummy)

trying to enjoy spring when i can. when the weather lets me, and when i'm not too lazy.

last weekend i got to shoot engagement photos for a lovely friend of mine. we had a lot of fun! i did, anyway. :)

(i think i use the word 'lovely' far too often. really need to work on expanding my vocabulary)

enjoy your thursday!

thursday thrift: chocolate hazelnut spread (soo much better than nutella)

2011-04-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

i have to admit, homemade chocolate hazelnut spread may not be the best topic for a thursday thrift. it may end up being a tiny bit more expensive than buying nutella, but i swear it will be worth it.

i also have to apologize for my absence from the interwebs, or specifically this blog, for the last couple weeks. i got really sick a week and a half ago, and became mentally drained as well as physically incapable of much. the flu really knocks you out. i'm still not feeling 100%. i also just started a new job today, so much has been happening, and i'm exhausted, so i'll keep this short. i'm making myself post this blog, even though i want to sleep so very badly.

right, so back to this nutella knock-off. the recipes i've found call for whole hazelnuts, but i cheated a bit and bought a jar of hazelnut butter (which is just from hazelnuts). incidentally, i bought this jar a loooong time ago for the intent and purpose of making chocolate-hazelnut-spreadable-goodness, but i got lazy and forgot. one day, however, i remembered i had it and got to work. and it was super easy. super. easy. you can also do the whole hazelnut thing - probably cheaper than the hazelnut butter, but a bit of extra work too. extra work doesn't hurt you though. that's what they say....

here's what i did:

1 250 gram jar of hazelnut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
up to 1/4 cup nut oil (i used walnut, i'm sure hazelnut oil would be divine, but canola may work if you're in a pinch)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

and i just mixed it all together with a hand-mixer until it was smooth enough for me, and i poured it into pretty jars and refrigerated.

if you want to use whole hazelnuts, you will need a food processor, or a good blender (or be okay with chunkiness). use this recipe here. it looks really well thought out.

do try this at home. its not as sweet as nutella, but it tastes richer, and realer. it is realer, really.

earth hour - march 26 @ 8:30pm

2011-03-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

switch off your lights & electronic devices for one hour tomorrow, to show support & bring awareness about how we use & produce energy.

earth hour: march 26, 2011 8:30pm - 9:30pm

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour. (source)

what will you do for earth hour (or beyond one hour)?

here are some of my ideas:

have some friends over for some snacks, sandwiches or beverages. make your snacks ahead of time if they need cooking (chocolate chip cookies? truffles? maple bacon party mix?), and serve beverages that don't need to be too cold or too hot, like red wine, or juice. i don't know if shutting off the lights includes not using electricity, but i think not using the oven, electric kettle, or microwave during the hour would be a good idea.
play some cards by candlelight. with friends. or by yourself (solitaire!)
sit in the dark in silence and let yourself be alone with your thoughts. scary, i know, but a good time for reflection.
go to sleep early. you probably need it (i know i do)
discuss (with friends) ways to live more environmentally responsible. simple things, like remembering to turn out the lights in rooms you aren't using (i'm horrible at this :P), bringing your own mug to the coffee shop, re-using your old clothes as rags instead of throwing them out, etc. then share your ideas (with me!).
read a book by candlelight. alone or with friends. classics like c.s. lewis' narnia series, or children's storybooks, or your favorite book of poems.

those are my ideas. tell me yours! and tell me what you end up doing for earth hour...

thursday thrift: laundry soap

2011-03-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

i'm sorry to disappoint anyone stopping by who was looking to view some delicious food photos. the following post contains photos of laundry soap. not delicious in the least. and while i tried my best to make the laundry soap appear elegant, it is for cleaning your clothes, not filling your stomach. however, i have gotten complaints from people saying my blog makes them hungry, so i guess this post is for you people. you cannot possibly walk away from these photos and be hungry as a result. (right?)

thursday thrift is not just about eating well for cheaper. it's also about the home, and living well for cheaper. my sister and i recently decided that laundry soap (the stuff that's not harmful for the environment & full of chemicals) is a bit expensive. so she found a recipe for homemade laundry detergent. it's very, very simple, and you can pick up the ingredients at your grocery store. (i think)

what you need:

1 bar of soap (we used unscented baby-mild hemp pure-castile soap by dr. bronner's. feel free to use scented soap, but stick to a simple soap with no parabens or unnatural colorings or scents)
1 cup of washing soda (sodium carbonate - DIFFERENT from sodium bi-carbonate, which is baking soda)
1 cup of borax

grate your soap as small as you can. this part takes the longest, and the smaller you grate, the longer it will take as well. mix everything together, and put in a container you don't mind smelling soapy, & store in your laundry room.

the finished product - aptly put in a re-used container (ugly as it is). when using, since it is a powder, remember to put your detergent in first (1 or 2 tablespoons per load) & swish the water around before adding your clothes.

sunny & beautiful

2011-03-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

sunny & beautiful outside today. hurray for spring!

my sister & i worked on our garden - fertilizing & planting. we planted mint & thyme plants, and seeded some carrots, lettuce, peas. i'm not the most diligent of gardeners, and don't have great luck (examples: my rosemary plants have grown less than a centimeter since i planted them 2 years ago. i frequently forget to water. my mint turns ugly & brown because i forget to water. i don't like it when dirt stays under my nails & in the creases of my hands after gardening, so i use that as an excuse sometimes.)
however, i hope to have a bit more luck in the garden section of my life this year. i love having fresh herbs available anytime i need. and produce straight from the garden not only tastes fresh & delicious, but its also cost-effective.

one thing i really want to plant this year is lemon verbena. haven't found any yet. last year i bought lots of lemon verbena from the farmer's market and dried them to make tea. incredibly delicious & fragrant. if i could grow my own, i could have lemon verbena tea any time. do any of you gardening this year have something specific you'd love to grow?

this is the part where i should be ending with some gardening tips for you. unfortunately, you will be disappointed. i'll try to let you know how things go, though, and tell you what works for us and what doesn't!

thursday thrift: bread

2011-03-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

bread.

i love it. who doesn't? it's so versatile, you can eat it with any meal. i'd venture to guess bread, or some form of it, is one of the top 3 comfort foods for 98% of north america's population.

i am not a fan of all store-bought breads (like wonderbread - bread is not naturally that white - or the kind with 30 ingredients, half of which are chemical preservatives and colors), and the kind of bread i do like to eat (like a bread affair bread for those of you in the vancouver area. i mention them all the time. because they are amazing, that's why.), while amazing, is often expensive too.

i grew up with a mom who made our own bread all the time. when she baked, our kitchen turned into a factory and we had enough bread and rolls and cinnamon buns to last us weeks or months. although she did give a lot of it away. i love my mom. some of my best memories of childhood stem around bread. kneading my little ball of dough, making mini 'barbie-sized' bread loaves and buns, and eating fresh, warm bread, with fresh, homemade peanut butter. my mouth is watering now.

but over the last few years, almost every time i've tried to bake bread, its been a failure in one way or another. or if not a failure, i got a boring, tasteless loaf of bread. wait, yeah, that's a failure. needless to say, i was justifiably afraid to try baking bread for a while. and to bake in large batches like my mom does? i can't even fathom it. i'm a bit of a slow baker. i like to think that i just enjoy it so much that i savor each moment, but really i'm just slow.

my sister and i have recently discovered the wonders of no-knead bread. how is it wonderful? you don't have to knead it, and its not so picky. if you go over the specified amount of waiting/rising time, you won't be left with dense, flat, horrible bread.

i also tried the kneading bread again. three times. and it worked pretty decently!

so i'll give you both recipes below. the photos are from the kneaded bread. the no-knead bread isn't as pretty, cuz we bake it in a casserole dish.

basic white bread (kneaded):
adapted from reader's digest ultimate bread by eric treuille and ursula ferrigno

ingredients

2 teaspoons dry yeast (i've been using active dry yeast)
1 1/3 cups water (325ml)
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

instructions

sprinkle yeast into 1/2 a cup of the water (lukewarm) in a bowl. leave for about 5 minutes, stir to dissolve.
mix flour & salt in a larger bowl. make a well in the centre & pour in dissolved yeast.
use a wooden spoon (not sure why its specifically wooden...) to bring in just enough of the flour into the dissolved yeast to form a paste. cover bowl with a dish towel, and wait 20 minutes. you want the paste to get spongy, frothy, and expand a bit.
pour half of the remaining water into the centre, & mix in flour from the sides. stir in water as needed for a firm, moist dough.
turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. knead until smooth & elastic, about 10 minutes. (i usually gave up around 7. oops)
put the dough in a clean, lightly oiled, bowl & cover with a dish towel. let it rise until its' doubled in size, around 1 1/2 to 2 hours. punch it down (get the air bubbles out), and then let it rest for 10 minutes.
shape the dough into a loaf. i basically took the punched down dough, flattened it a bit into a rectangle shape, and rolled/folded it into itself on a lightly floured surface. pinch the ends together, and that end becomes the bottom of your loaf. make sure the top is smooth. it helps to cup your hands over the loaf, and kind of roll it - the top of the loaf will just barely touch your hands. make sure the ugly side with the pinched ends stay on the bottom.
place loaf on a floured baking sheet* and cover with a dish towel. let it rise again (proof) until its doubled in size, around 45 minutes.
cut slashes in the loaf diagonally, & bake in a preheated oven (425 F) for about 45 minutes. a good test is to pick it up with potholders, and tap it underneath. it should sound hollow.
cool on a wire rack.
slice up a few slices, spread on the butter, and devour.

*you can also use a loaf pan if you prefer.

no-knead bread:

i'm actually not going to type this one out, because the new york times' article its from is pretty in-depth already. here it is. sometimes we mix rye or whole wheat with our organic unbleached, all purpose flour. one cup of rye flour gives it a nice flavor, and gives the bread the appearance of wholesomeness.

no photo for the no-knead bread. as i mentioned before, we bake it in a casserole dish, so it takes on a weird shape. it's ugliness doesn't affect the flavor, but it just doesn't like the camera all that much.

if you have any good bread recipes or bread-making tips, do share, or send me a link if you've blogged about it.

happy bread making!

food blog love: gourmande in the kitchen

2011-03-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

holiday spices*

gourmande in the kitchen. a food blog with gorgeous photos, focusing on the details: crisp mint leaves, soft, chocolately crumbs of cake, vividly fresh green beans. and i swear i can smell the sweet, spicy cinnamon in her photo of cinnamon sticks. but sylvie's passion for food doesn't just stop with the gorgeous photos. her words flow so beautifully, and have so much heart. she is full of wisdom, and i am like a sponge when i visit her site - i just can't soak enough of it in.

"Food makes my world go ’round: thinking about it, making it, eating it, photographing it, and talking about it. The name of my blog “Gourmande in the Kitchen” reflects my love of food. Gourmande is a French word that describes a person who has a great interest in food, someone who eats eagerly and with great passion. The blog is about celebrating the pleasure that food brings to our lives on a daily basis. My motto is: cook simply. I don’t think you always need a lot of time or a long list of ingredients to make satisfying and delicious food. The food I make is the food I crave: uncomplicated, comforting to eat, with a focus on quality ingredients and minimal preparation that let the natural flavors of the food shine. For me good food isn’t fussy or pretentious; it’s simple, it’s real and it’s made with love for those we love." - sylvie

sylvie was nice enough to answer a few tough questions from me. here's how our conversation went:

me:
if you had to choose: chocolate cake or french fries?

Sylvie:
Chocolate cake for sure. I have a huge sweet tooth, and whenever given a choice I always go for dessert.

chocolate cake*

what's the one place i should eat at/drink at when i'm in LA?

I don’t think there is just one “must go to” place in LA. The city has so many amazing places to eat. It’s one of the reasons that I love living here. I’m always discovering new places.

the ideal breakfast would be?

Oh that depends on the time of year for me. During the winter I love a warm bowl of oatmeal topped with toasted nuts and a bit of cinnamon. During the summer I like to have Greek yogurt with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.

coffee or tea?

Neither. I gave up caffeine a few years back so no coffee or regular tea for me. I do love to make herbal infusions with mint and different spices, I always have a cup right before bedtime.

top 3 places you would travel to purely for culinary reasons?

You know, I think everywhere I travel to is for culinary reasons! If I have to choose my top 3 right now, I would say Italy, Greece and Morocco. I’ve always loved Mediterranean and North African cuisine; simple, rustic cooking with bold flavors really appeals to me. I’d love to do a Mediterranean cruise. Imagine all the places you could visit and all the food you could try in a short amount of time!

favorite dessert?

Boy do you ask some tough questions! I couldn’t possibly choose just one, but I guess I could narrow it down to one type of dessert: pretty much anything that involves chocolate.

go-to internet source for food inspiration?

Other blogs. I spend a good deal of time reading other food blogs, and I am constantly inspired and amazed by how creative and talented the food blogging community is.

recipe book you use the most?

You know, I don’t really recipe books all that much. Most of the time when I’m cooking it’s based on what I have on hand or what I’m in the mood for. I will look through recipes to get inspired but I rarely follow a recipe exactly as it was written. I like to checkout lots of recipe books from the library, however, and I make notes of what flavor combinations I find interesting so I can try them out at some point. It’s a good jumping off point.

what has inspired you in the kitchen lately?

I’ve been going through a phase with nut milks. I’ve experimented making all kinds of different ones and I’ve been making nut butters as well. I go through phases like that. For a while it was all about ice cream and I made a new batch almost every day.

kitchen inspiration*

the one food item you refuse to eat no matter what the circumstance?

Bananas, don’t ask why, I really don’t know. I’ve never liked them, can’t stand the smell or taste and if it’s in something I’m not touching it!

carrots ready for french vegetable soup*

spicy rosemary roasted nuts*

thanks sylvie!

check out gourmande in the kitchen, and definitely add it to your rss feed. you won't regret it. i think i'd like to take on her motto, too. cook simply. and make simple, real food with love for those i love.

*all photos in this post are © Gourmande in the Kitchen 2010. if you wish to use any of her photographs, please contact sylvie for permission.

thursday thrift: paint

2011-03-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

apologies for the late (& short) thursday thrift post.

today's thrift: paint. i've been working some odd jobs lately. in order to make money so that i can be more thrifty. making money is thrifty, right? ;) no really, i did some painting today, and it reminded me of the thriftiness of painting your own walls & furniture. for example, 2 of the dressers in our house. they were not only hand-painted (mostly by my sister), but they were also found in the alley (also by my sister). double-thrifty!

i've had a busy week, am just getting over a cold/sore throat/something rather, and am tired. i have a post half-written for next thursday thrift. i promise it will be a good one.

oh oh! i have a special post coming next week as well. i had so much fun writing about food.weekly. last month that i decided to write about a food blog every month or so. i'm excited to get to know my fellow food bloggers better, and i hope you are too. if you aren't excited, you'll just have to put up with my excitement... let it rub off on you a bit.

so come back next week when i'll stop whining about being tired or sick or busy, and i'll be better at blogging about things that will actually interest you.

have a lovely friday!

saigon noodle restaurant - pasadena, ca

2011-03-07T23:58:00.000-08:00

i tried pho for the first time in my life this past january, when i was in california. my boyfriend and i were visiting my best friend & her boyfriend for a couple short days. our first evening, we set out to eat korean barbeque in pasadena. when we got there, we discovered it had disappeared. goes to show the internet is not always updated. so we went to saigon noodle restaurant instead.

pasadena has really interesting crosswalks. there's a crosswalk light for people to walk diagonally across the street, instead of crossing one way and then the other. it was bizarre walking in the middle of the intersection. but very cool. great idea for a place that has lots of walking traffic.

but i digress.

one thumbs up for these chopsticks.

what i loved about this place was the abundance of fresh mint. the chicken spring rolls we ordered came stuffed with fresh mint, among other veggies, and a peanut dipping sauce along side. i wasn't crazy about the sauce, but i think i was comparing it to indonesian peanut sauce, which is simply divine when made right.

my friend got the grilled beef salad. it looked tasty, and i know there was mint in it too.

i was a bit afraid to order the rare steak pho, so i ordered the well done flank pho instead. worst decision i ever made. it was mostly fat, and i did my best to avoid eating them. the broth was tasty though, and we got a plate full of extra goodies, to garnish our bowls to our taste-buds. lime, bean sprouts, green onion.... i don't know if i was expected to finish that huge bowl all by myself. maybe it was the flank, or maybe it was the bowl that was twice the size of my head, but i couldn't finish the thing.

everything we got off the menu was about $7 each. that feels very reasonable to me, but i've never had pho before, so i don't know how much it usually goes for. if i lived in the la-area, i'd probably go back. and now i will have to try some pho here in vancouver. anyone know of a good spot?

saigon noodle restaurant
28 n raymond ave
pasadena, ca, 91103
626.796.9378
hours: mon-sun: 11 am - 9 pm

thursday thrift: christmas what?

2011-03-03T01:30:00.000-08:00

thursday thrift, the time of week when i share & discuss ways to be creative with small amounts of money in order to still enjoy good quality in the home & kitchen.

today's thrift is about christmas. (yes, thank you, i do realise its been 2 months since this last christmas, and almost 10 months til next christmas.)

last year my sister and i wanted to decorate for the christmas season, but we didn't have a lot of money to spend (not that we're the type to buy typical decorations anyhow, but that's not the point), so we made our own. out of felt. guess what we themed the christmas tree ornaments around??

that's right... food. because we love it.

we lived vicariously through our tree as it got to be lavished with chocolate cake, cupcakes, and all sorts of delicious foods.

can everybody tell what's hanging beside the swiss cheese? you get brownie points if you can. one of my sister's favorite foods.

and to grace the top of our tree, instead of putting the star of david (who was a king), we placed the king of fruits there. more brownie points for people who know what that fruit is. (and respect if you've actually eaten it.)

to make your own felt ornament, you need:
various colors of felt (generally purchased at $0.50 a sheet)
embroidery thread
needle with a big enough eye for embroidery thread
cotton balls, or other stuffing
paper & pencil for patterns
scissors
creativity :)

basically you are sewing 2 identical shapes of felt together, with some stuffing inside.
draw your pattern on paper, and cut out. with felt, cut out 2 of the shapes of your pattern. if your ornament has a little something extra on it, like the yolk on the fried egg, or the cake layers on the cake, sew it onto one piece before sewing both pieces together. thread your needle with a knot on the longer side. space your stitches well enough apart, for quicker sewing and prettier stitching. sew until you have an inch or so left & stuff with cotton balls. try to avoid lumps by pulling the cotton ball apart a bit before stuffing. finish sewing & stitch a knot at the end, as subtly as you can. re-thread your needle & pull it through the top of your ornament halfway. pull one end of the thread out, & remove the needle. you should have a piece of thread going through the ornament. tie the 2 ends together, & hang your ornament on the tree! or put it in a box & save it for christmas.

this next christmas season, months and months away, why don't you make your own ornaments? (and they don't have to be food themed) it not only saves money, but it adds a personality to your tree that only homemade ornaments can do.

lucy's eastside diner: open every hour of every day

2011-02-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

lucy's eastside diner.

a newish 24-hour diner on main street and 11th. mix of moderately-priced diner & trendy, youthful main street culture. on the walls hang vegan versions of deer antlers - bike handles.

i've eaten here twice. both times because i was hungry & in the area after normal places close. it was bright & cheerful inside, i like the orange tables & the light turquoise walls. the booths at the back are nice & cozy for 2 people, but really tight to fit more than that. other than those 3 miniature booths at the back and a good amount of bar seating, there are a couple larger booths at the front. i haven't been during peak times yet, but i can imagine seating would be tight. i don't think i'd go to lucy's with a large group.

the food was decently priced. it won't stretch your wallet too much, but its also no bon's. everything on the menu seemed to range from $6-$10, and you can get a burger, fries & shake combo for $10.

the coffee is your average drip-diner coffee. coffee mugs are random shapes & sizes, and the corel mug made me feel like i was at my parent's home. nostalgia is lovely.

like a good vancouver restaurant, they have veggie options - burgers, sandwiches, salads..

when we were walking in, the lady coming out told us the mac and cheese was to die for. my friend had to get it. it was alright, she said, but not the best ever.

but i'm not a mac and cheese kind of person. i am in love with eggs & breakfast. when i eat out, and there is breakfast on the menu, its highly unlikely that i will choose a non-breakfast item. so at a 24hour diner serving all day and night breakfast, what do you think i ate?

the first time i got the down south breaky - baked beans, seasoned rice, poached eggs, monterey jack, & sour cream. it was pretty good! my only complaint was that i asked for cooked whites & runny yolks & got overpoached eggs instead. i know poached eggs are tricky, but its hard to let a badly poached egg go when its not that busy in a place.

my second visit, i wasn't terribly hungry when i came in, and yet i somehow managed to share a bacon eggs benedict with my boyfriend, and eat a large pancake by myself. the benny was decent, but it didn't stand out, and was a little dry. not sure if the hollandaise was homemade or not, but i assume a diner with a cheap priced benny would probably use pre-made stuff. i could be wrong. next time i'll ask. the pancake was delicious. i can't remember how good it was, like i can remember how good the pancakes are at crave just up the street, but the one side pancake i ate was just enough to quench my pancake craving.

all-in-all, i liked lucy's but i didn't love it. i don't think that's a bad thing, though. you wouldn't go to lucy's expecting a fine-dining experience, but you also won't be paying the same price. i know i'll be back. they're open 24 hour, they serve breakfast, and i love breakfast any time of day. and one of these days i'll stuff my breakfast cravings & try their burger, fries & shake combo.

where to find lucy's:

2708 main street, just off 11th

604.568.1550
lucyseastsidediner.com

hours: all

thursday thrift: episode 2

2011-02-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

welcome to thursday thrift, a weekly installment that lets me discuss ways to be thrifty in the home & kitchen. last week i blabbed on about chickpeas and how its cheaper to use dried ones & cook them yourself instead of using canned beans. i ended with a promise of epic proportions - a tale of mystery & colonization...

i may have over-exaggerated a bit. (to allure you back) this is not an epic tale. this is, however, all about mystery and colonization. the colonization of bacteria, and how it mysteriously transforms milk into a thick, semi-solid state full of yumminess and healthiness.

last week i made my very own yogurt. well, i took pictures anyways. it is super easy - you can do it too!

here's how:

what you need:
milk (preferably organic whole milk)
a saucepan
a wisk
a container
a tablespoon or 2 of yogurt (unflavored, make sure it contains active bacteria)
a warm place in your house/ a container to keep your yogurt container warm

measure your milk by pouring it into the container you will be using later on. the amount of milk you use = the amount of yogurt you will get.

pour milk into saucepan.

put saucepan on high heat.

whisk your milk continuously as you heat it.

as SOON as it starts frothing (you will know because it will triple in size and want to spill over your saucepan), take it off the heat. OR, if you use a thermometer, you want it to reach 180 C, just before it boils.

pour scalding milk into your container. you want to cool it down now to a temperature of 110 or 115 C. to quicken that process, set your container in a bigger container full of cold water and stir your milk constantly. the temperature drops quickly, so be careful. we didn't have a thermometer, so we checked by dipping a finger in. if your finger can stay in for 10 seconds comfortably (without burning), then you're good to go. remove the container from the water.

add your yogurt and stir.

(best to use fresher yogurt. the bacteria in yogurt close to its expiry date may have less active cultures.)

close your container. now you want to keep it warm for 6+ hours. we wrapped ours up, and put a hot water bottle underneath to help with the warmth insulation. some sites suggest using a crockpot or a picnic cooler with towels or jars of hot water to keep it warm. the longer you keep it warm, the thicker and more sour it will be. check it at 6 hours, if it looks like yogurt & is thick enough, place it in fridge to cool.

and there you have it. homemade yogurt!

here are some other helpful yogurt links:
granvilleonline.ca
homemade baby food recipes

lasagne with bolognese sauce from scratch

2011-02-22T22:02:00.000-08:00

i've avoided making lasagne for a while, thinking it was troublesome to make. but people kept telling me how easy it was! so when i saw a recipe for lasagne in my jamie oliver cookbook, i thought i'd give it a go. i thought 'perfect, i'll make a lasagne and have leftovers all week.'

the lasagne was great, i loved it. (though it needed more cheese)

however! i had very few leftovers, since my brother, sister and i had 2 huge servings each. i don't think i'll be making lasagne very often, for the very reason i've avoided it in the first place. its a bit of work when you are making your bolognese sauce from scratch.

here's what i did:

sauce:
2 slices bacon, finely sliced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
olive oil
2 heaped teaspoons dried oregano
1 lb ground bison (beef)
2 x 14 oz can dixed tomatoes
sea salt & black pepper
bunch of fresh basil, chopped
parmesan cheese

in a large pan on medium heat, add olive oil (roughly 2 tablespoons, or 'lugs' as jamie oliver calls them), bacon & oregano. cook & stir til bacon is cooked. add the veggies & stir until softened & lighter in color. 8 minutes or so. stir in the ground meat & tomatoes. fill one of the cans with water and add ot pan. stir in salt & pepper. bring to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer with lid for 45 minutes. stir once in a while.

remove sauce from heat & finely grate 2 ounces of parmesan cheese into sauce. stir in basil leaves. taste & season if it needs it.

lasagne:
preheat: 375 F.

8 oz dried lasagne sheets
2 cups sour cream
4 ounces parmesan
mozzarella cheese (optional, i added this)
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
basil leaves

grate 4 ounces of parmesan (and however much mozzarella you want). boil water in a pan, add lasagne sheets with a touch of olive oil and blanch for 4 minutes. drain the sheets and carefully pat dry. spoon a third of your sauce into a 9x12 pan. layer with lasagne sheets. add a third of your sour cream & smooth over to cover sheets. add a third of your cheese. repeat layers, finishing with the sour cream & cheese. top with your sliced tomatoes, a sprinkle of sea salt & pepper, basil leaves & drizzle some olive oil on. cover with foil, slide in oven, bake for 20 minutes. remove foil, cook for 35 more minutes until lasagne is golden. if you are uncertain, poke with a fork to make sure noodles are tender.

i served my lasagne with a simple salad of spinach leaves, marinated artichoke hearts, kiwi fruit, topped with almond slivers roasted with butter & brown sugar. drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

so this is just a base recipe. i think next time i would like to use ricotta or cottage cheese instead of sour cream, and definitely add more mozzarella. my mom used to make lasagne with layers of blanched spinach, and that was amazing as well. be creative. you might as well if you're going through so much work to make lasagne anyways!

thursday thrift: chickpeas

2011-02-17T00:45:00.000-08:00

my new weekly installment: thursday thrift.

with thursday thrift i will share & discuss ways to be thrifty in the home and in the kitchen. the purpose of thursday thrift is not just about saving money while still eating good food (though that is a large part of it, i assure you). i want to explore the idea of being more involved in the food i consume, and take pleasure in the act of creating beautiful, practical things with my own hands. i hope you will join me in my exploration of thriftiness in domesticity.

today's thrift:
i love hummus. i often make my own. i'm surprised i haven't written about making hummus yet, but essentially its chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper. you can use this recipe as a base if you like. but let's go a step further. instead of buying canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) for your lovely, cheap, homemade hummus, buy them dried in bulk and cook them yourself. it takes a bit of pre-planning, but its cheaper, fresher, and tastes better too.

how to prepare and cook your dried chickpeas:

1: soak the beans overnight (8-10 hours) in a big container of water, in a cool place.*
2: next day, put the beans in a large pot & cover with water, leaving a couple inches at the top.
3: bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer. skim off the froth that develops.
4: simmer until cooked. 30-40 minutes. you could want them crunchy for salads, or mushy for hummus, so its up to your tastes.
5: drain the beans. i like to salt them at this point, before i use them or put them in the fridge for future use.**

*one cup of dried chickpeas makes just over two cups of cooked chickpeas.
** adding salt before the beans are fully cooked will toughen the beans

see that froth? skim it off with a spoon. you don't want it.

helpful, related links:
how to cook lovely, lovely legumes - limes & lycopene
preparing dried chickpeas for cooking - ehow.com

hummus may be tasty and exciting, but i realise chickpeas are a dull, boring topic. so come back next thursday thrift, for an epic tale of mystery and colonization...

food blog love: food. weekly. (an interview)

2011-02-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

food. weekly. is a food blog written by a college friend of mine. we met in a 'writing for the media' class, where we discovered a shared love of dry humor and cynicism. we share other interests too, of course. like coffee. food. friends.

her name is emily.
emily is a writer.

emily has written for and interned with geez magazine, where she is currently a sections editor for letters. at the moment, she works in the arts industry, while exploring - and loving - the awesomeness of domesticity in southern manitoba with her husband, taylor. at the moment they are experimenting with weekday vegetarianism. you can read about her thoughts on that here.

samosas*

emily has graced my blog with her presence by answering a few questions i asked her over email:

me:
what's your day job? do you love it?

emily:
By day, I work for an Arts Council in rural Manitoba. I'm officially the administrative assistant, but the bulk of my days are spent running their concert series as well as their volunteer program. I work with some really awesome people, and I love being able to bring concerts and live theatre to people who might not otherwise experience it. My office runs in a system of organized chaos, and sometimes the chaos wears me out. That's one of the reasons I started the blog, to have a reason to do things that relax me - writing and baking!

why did you decide to start blogging about food? what was your inspiration?

I could spend days reading food blogs and searching recipes online. I have years-old food magazines that I pull out and look through. I love creating something that others can enjoy. Cooking and baking are somethings that I find really relaxing, so after a particularly stressful day at work, I made biscotti and started the blog. It's an outlet for my food obsessions and my stress levels.

cranberry white chocolate biscotti*

what's the weirdest food you've experimented with?

I honestly can't think of a weird food that I have tangled with. I do have a tendency to make substitutions in recipes that seem logical to me...but really don't work. I made peanut butter rice crispie bars once with corn flakes. It seemed to work perfectly....until they cooled. I had a pan of corn bricks that I spent 20 minutes chipping from the pan.

favorite dessert?

A really ooey-gooey, smothered-in-icing cinnamon bun would be my top pick for dessert any day.

if you had to choose: chocolate cake or french fries?

My husband would love to eat chocolate cake day after day, so he would probably be upset to hear me say french fries. There is this great little diner about 20 minutes away that serves the best homemade fries. So good.

top 3 places you want to travel to purely for culinary reasons:

My top three culinary travel destinations would be:

1. Seattle. If for no other reason than to visit Pikes Place Market and sip on some fresh coffee.

2. Vancouver, BC. There seems to be a lot of really cool, trendy food shops and eateries there that I would love to explore. (And Joey could show me some of them!)

3. Any farmers market. Going to a good farmers market is like my personal disney world. I love to look at the all the stalls, buy fresh, local produce, and if I'm really lucky a lovely, fresh bouquet of flowers. It's the perfect day.

homemade chicken soup*

favorite food blog: (of course mine, wink wink, but you aren't allowed to use it)

(No fair! I was going to pick your blog!)
TasteSpotting is my (2nd) favourite foodie site to visit. It's not a food blog per say, but a catalogue that is updated daily with awesome finds from a variety of food blogs. I've found so many awesome new recipes to try, and discovered some great new blogs in the process.

what's the one food item you refuse to eat no matter what the circumstance?

I really can't handle any sort of weird cut of meat. If someone put beef tongue or sheep brain in front of me I would probably lose it. I'm grossed out even thinking about it.

homemade whoopie pies*

thanks emily for the interview! you will have to come visit me in vancouver, and we can try all my favorite joints as well as start on my list of places-yet-to-eat-at. also, you would love the farmers' markets here. and i mean LOVE them.

so check out food.weekly. and comment on emily's blog if you have any comments or questions for her!

*all photos in this post courtesy of emily's husband, taylor, who happens to be a photographer inspiration to me. check out his website or follow his blog. his 'squares' portrait series are particularly awesome.

i heart brownies - valentine's day redeemed

2011-02-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

valentine's day has redeemed itself just a bit. our lovely little neighbours brought us not only cute valentines, but knocked at our door with a plate of adorable brownie hearts. i think four year olds can teach us a lot about love.

honest thoughts about valentine's day

2011-02-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

i have to be honest here. i've never been a huge fan of valentine's day. okay okay, in elementary school i MAY have had a love of the stack of tacky store-bought cards i gave and received in class. i may have loved it very much. but as an adult, not so much. and it has nothing to do with the state of my love-life. when i am in a relationship, i am weary of the holiday just as much as when i'm single and lonely.

i do appreciate the celebration of love. i just think its stupid to cram it into this one day, produce so much wasteful - and tacky - things and decorations and etc, with the notion that it is THE day to tell your loved ones how much you love them. who needs creative ways to show your love when you can do it on valentines day with pre-packaged love manufactured by someone else?

last year at this time, i was in asia visiting my parents. i had a few friends over to do some baking, and since it was nearing valentine's day, we got a bit festive with our pies. (random note: making pie in a tropical climate, even with heavy air-conditioning, is a bit of a mess. cold butter doesn't stay cold very long so you have to work quickly!) i really need to do fun & creative things with and for the people i care about more often. if valentine's day gives you that push to do fun & creative things with and for the people you care about, that really is great. just try to do it a couple other times during the year too!

if you are one who hearts this day, do please have a happy valentines day!

if you are one who is cynical, have a happy monday, and show your loved ones you love them all week! i will start off my week by baking bread for my sister, inviting my brother over for coffee, and picking up my boyfriend from the airport.

its the weekend again

2011-02-11T23:34:00.000-08:00

happy weekend everyone! take some time to enjoy the people in your life, as well as some good food & coffee.

next week i'm introducing some fun things to my blog, including a weekly feature that will start next thursday. you can guess all you want at what it is, but i won't reveal it 'til thursday. i am also starting to play volleyball on thursdays. both of these things make me excited. (but they aren't related, i can tell you that)

sandwich above consists of homemade bread, mayo, steamed spinach, fried eggs. simple & yummy.

east village bakery - east vancouver artisan bakery

2011-02-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

the bakery from my brioche post a few days ago:
east village bakery.
i'll let the photos do the talking on this one.
enjoy.

east village bakery.
2166 east hastings street
hours: 9:30am - 7:00pm
closed mondays (but open this coming valentines day monday)

say YES to chocolate

2011-02-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

a few weeks ago i posted about a hot chocolate festival happening in vancouver right now until february 14. i tried to go to the choclaterie on main & 21st last week, but got there just as they closed. sadness. however! this past sunday, my sister and i made the trek over to cocoa nymph in kitsilano, where we met our cousin for some hot chocolate. best sunday afternoon i've had this year (it was right after a lovely breakfast of bacon, eggs & hashbrowns, too).

my cousin had a white drinking chocolate with raspberry marshmallows. it looked delicious, but i'm not a fan of white chocolate myself.

the featured drinking chocolate of the day was a black pepper dark drinking chocolate, with salted caramel marshmallows on top. sinful & heavenly all at the same time - perfect combination. they make all their marshmallows in store, and they have a variety of flavors - vanilla, chocolate, raspberry to name a few.

don't be fooled by the angry-pouty face i'm making. i'm not upset at the hot chocolate at all, it was quite the opposite, in fact. i could have married that cup of cocoa right there and then.

say YES to chocolate.

at cocoa nymph chocolates & confections
3739 w 10 ave (at alma)
mon-sat: 11-7
sun: 1-5

a weekend of lovely breakfast

2011-02-08T00:18:00.000-08:00

breakfast on the weekend is the absolute, most fantastic breakfast of all. if you work for the man at a 9-5 job, its the breakfast you have time to be creative with, the one you can sit down & really savor. if you work for yourself, its the breakfast you don't have to feel guilty about being creative with, and really enjoy the time spent devouring your delicious morning meal.

i had two quite lovely breakfasts this past weekend.

on saturday, i had a tasty open-faced sandwich. home-made bread - lightly toasted, mayo, fried zuchinni, fried egg, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

on sunday, i took a little more time in prepping. i even cooked potatoes the night before and shredded them (in retrospect i should not have pre-cooked them and just shredded them raw). we don't eat a lot of meat around here (contrary to what you may think. i post about meat a lot, because its usually a special occasion), and i needed some bacon for a meal i'm making this week (trying to get into meal-planning), so i bought a whole pack of natural wood-smoked bacon from moccia urbani foods. so i fried up some bacon, then used the bacon grease to fry my hashbrowns,
and fry my eggs. it was a rich, fattening, wholesome meal. just what we needed.

on a note of thriftiness, i used the leftover bacon grease in a biscuit recipe. it was enough for half the shortening i needed. instead of throwing away your bacon grease, use it in baking, or for frying grease.

brioche

2011-02-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

bri·oche - noun[bree-ohsh, -osh; Fr. bree-awsh]a light, sweet bun or roll made with eggs, yeast and butter.

this particular brioche is a callebaut chocolate brioche, from east village bakery. this artisan bakery opened up last year, on hastings just west of templeton. they bake everything daily. in small batches. from scratch. i went in one day in fall last year, and the very lovely owner allowed to me snap a few photos. more will be coming in another post.

the thriftiness of roasted chicken

2011-02-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

maybe not (definitely not) the best photo ever, but it represents good eating, good friends, and thriftiness. the best part about roasting your own chicken? the countless meals it will make. after we ate ourselves full, i salvaged what meat i could and tucked it away in a container in the fridge. i then tossed the chicken bones into a large pot with some onion, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, bay leaves, whatever herbs i chose to put in, some water, and i boiled it for an hour or so. i froze a couple of cups for future use, and used the rest as soup for meals this week (about 5 servings). the chicken meat was used in a few sandwiches all week as well (about 5 servings). moral of the story: if you aren't vegetarian, and you want to save money but still be getting some meat protein, roast your own chicken.

anyone else have any thrifty, wholesome meal ideas for when your appetite is larger than your wallet? (and please no one say instant noodles. please. or campbells soup. i'm using the word 'wholesome' for a reason.)

ep cover art & a canoeing music tour

2011-02-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

i apologise for this post not containing any food-related items. while i'm working on my new website & adjoining photo blog, i still want to post about things going on with my non-food photography. i hope you can forgive me. :)

i am super pumped to share with you a photo of mine that has made it to an album cover for the winnipeg-based folk band twin, composed of members david fort, david enns, ally leenhouts, and lesley brown. the ep is entitled 'sharing secrets with strangers.' if you live in the winnipeg area, the eps are available at:

into the music

the folk festival music store

music trader

geez magazine recently featured twin in a small article, because twin is currently in the la-area getting ready to tour down the los angeles river. in a canoe. playing music. gathering people together. how awesome is that? here's some more info about the los angeles river music armada:

Los Angeles River Music Armada

The Los Angeles River Music Armada will be the first canoe music tour in United States history starting on February 17, 2011. The L.A River has recently been designated as navigable water, once again bringing together the people of this watershed. The long term goal is to create a tour network across North America and beyond, bringing people back to the water to celebrate. The Armada is inviting others to come for all, or part, on this 52 mile journey.

The Armada is a call to gather at the various stops along the river, sharing music, stories, food, seeds and ideas. It is an open venue for heritage/heirloom seed sharing and information so that people may become more self-sufficient with their food production and retain knowledge from land based people. The tour is promoting ideas independent gardening and localized seed saving including the Urban Seed Bank initiative. (twin)

2nd breakfast

2011-02-01T10:32:00.001-08:00

sunshiney and cold

2011-02-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

woke up really early this morning (to bring someone to the airport, not at all to do with my normal morning routine). other than the stinging eyes from not enough sleep, it felt really great to be up before the sun, with the fresh, brisk (very, very brisk) cold air waking me up as soon as i stepped outside. even stopping by jj bean to get coffee at 6am felt great. (my americano just happened to taste great as well.) on my way back home, the sun was rising, and it was BEAUTIFUL. so i stopped at new brighton park and attempted to make the most of me being up early enough to see the sun rise.

regardless of the cold, it has been nice to see the sun. now if only i lived in a place with bigger windows so i could feel the sunshine from the warmth of my house. oh well. if i stand really close to my kitchen window, i can see some sun, where i can happily take photos of my banana-blueberry-yogurt smoothie.

i leave you with the task of checking out the following 3 things:
1. my sister's put up some portraits for sale on her etsy. they are super cute and would look awesome on your living-room wall.
2. a friend's new blog, bateau bateau
3. i posted some maternity photos from a shoot last month.

time for a second breakfast, i think. eggs & toast sound really lovely right now.

vancouver hot chocolate festival - now until valentines day

2011-01-19T18:07:00.000-08:00

apparently there is a hot chocolate festival going on in vancouver. from now until the 13th of february.

the contributing cafes are:
bella gelateria (1001 w cordova)
campagnolo cafe (1020 main)
cocoa nymph (3739 w 10th @ alma)
mink chocolates (863 w hastings @ hornby)
chocolaterie de la nouvelle france (198 e 21st @ main)
schokolade (2263 e hastings @ garden)
thomas haas (n van: 998 harbourside dr, unit 128; kits: 2539 w broadway)

i've been to mink, chocolaterie de la nouvelle france, and schokolade and i have to say i love them all. schokolade is right in my neighbourhood, too. you should definitely check out at least one of these hot chocolate lovelies in the following month! and if you do, let me know how you like it.

brunching at calvin's cafe in west vancouver

2011-01-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

this post is WAY overdue.

early last month, i was doing a bit of photo-scouting for locations for an up-coming shoot. i brought my bf with me, and took him out for brunch as a thank-you for coming with me in the miserable rain and driving me around. we happened to be driving through the west-van area on our route, so i looked up a couple brunching spots to check out. i found 2 that looked promising. cindy's and calvin's cafe. they both looked great and were relatively close to each other, but after a few reviews and realising that cindy's breakfasts started at $16, i decided on calvin's. it was a good choice, despite it's wary-looking website.

calvin's is a typical diner, located in the dundarave area of west van. tacky decor, average priced breakfast & lunch foods on the menu, and over-flowing coffee service. our server was friendly and warm. we were the only patrons at calvin's cafe the entire time we were there. which i honestly didn't mind at all. i felt bad that they weren't getting business, but i like having a place to myself. :) is that selfish?

i got the swiss style rosti potatoes with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. i saw a photo of it online and knew i was going to get that. it was amazing.

the boyfriend got the eggs benedict. it looked good, but not as good as my rosti.

here's a quick review:

decor
very dinerish. felt like i was in a tacky chain diner in the prairies.
service
super friendly & warm.
food
amazing. the rosti was amazing, anyways. go there for the rosti. seriously.
location
2452 marine dr
west vancouver
604.922.4222

side note: i found calvin's cafe from the blog breakfast in vancouver's review. great way to find a good breakfast spot in the vancouver area!

mid-way through my rosti. mmm....

eggs for dinner

2011-01-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

eggs for dinner. i heart eggs.

mid-january minestrone

2011-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

my my. i've been really bad at keeping up with my blog, among other things, this past month. it's already mid-january! where has the time gone?

what have i been up to?

i'll spare you a long, boring story about my life.
here's the point form:
- glamour shotz
- all things christmassy
- short holiday & new years eve with my boyfriend in sunny-but-not-so-warm california
- photoshoots
- photo-editing dates with lightroom

i have many food-things to blog about. we had some tasty food in california - mexican, lebanese, vietnamese... but i'll save those for another night.

i've been trying to grocery shop better (instead of buying whatever i feel like with absolutely no plans in mind), so i've been flipping through my cook-books and trying to pick (easy) meals to cook, then shopping for that. tonight i made minestrone soup from my donna hay cookbook: seasons - the best of donna hay magazine.

here's the recipe with a few of my own modifications:

2-4 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped
2 carrots, (peeled) & chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bulb baby fennel, chopped (or half a bulb regular fennel)
2 x 397 ml cans chopped tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
100g or a couple handfuls of green beans, trimmed & chopped
1 x 397 ml can white cannellini beans, drained
sea salt & cracked black pepper

directions:

- heat a large saucepan/pot over medium to high heat. add oil, onion, garlic, celery, fennel & cook for 5 minutes or until tender.
- add the tomatoes, chicken stock & water. reduce heat, cover & simmer for 25 minutes.
- stir in the green beans and season with salt & pepper. simmer for another 10 minutes.
- stir in white beans & cook for another 5 minutes until beans are tender.
- taste & serve

i served the soup with bread & butter. whole wheat and honey bread from a bread affair (which my grocery store is finally selling! yay!). i warmed it up by wrapping a chunk of it in aluminum foil and tossing it in a 400F oven for about 8 minutes.

new website coming: joeyarmstrong.ca

2010-12-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

i am so excited to announce that i have my own official photography website. kind of. it is still currently being developed (slowly. so slowly), but you can check it out here:

joeyarmstrong.ca

i will be sure to inform you when it is fully functional and not just a page that tells you that i'm not quite there yet.

also, if you haven't noticed, i just put up a new header for this blog. i had another idea to stencil out 'my food obsessions' and use flour to form the letters. but when i was mostly done with that idea, and photographing it on the kitchen table, my sister walks in and informs me that it doesn't look like flour, it looks like i'm cutting another substance on my kitchen table. a white, powdery substance. i love how naive i am sometimes. :)

p.s. i've been eating lots of sandwiches lately. i bought a sourdough loaf from a bread affair, (can get it at whole foods or meinhardt in vancouver) and it makes AMAZING sandwich bread. or just amazing bread for eating plain with butter. the sandwich above is made up of: fried zucchini, sauteed mushrooms, mayo, wholegrain mustard, lettuce.

another great sandwich is with meatballs, pickles and mushrooms with wholegrain mustard. yummy. anyone have any great or unusual sandwich fillings they like to use?

jamie's food revolution: broccoli and pesto pasta

2010-12-15T12:30:00.000-08:00

i used my first recipe out of the jamie oliver book i got for my birthday: jamie's food revolution

the recipe: broccoli and pesto tagliatelle. except i used fresh fettucine from a local italian deli, not tagliatelle. i recommend fresh pasta: tastes better, cooks quicker.

the recipe calls for pesto. we had some in our freezer that we made up in the summer, but if you don't have any pesto on hand, you can follow jamie's pest recipe here.

what you need:
- 1 large potato or a few small ones
- 1 head of broccoli
- fresh basil
- 1 lb pasta (jamie calls for dried tagliatelle)
- 1/4 cup + pesto (i used a bit more than 1/3 cup)
- 3 ounces roughly of parmesan cheese - freshly grated

what to do:
- wash & peel potato(s); shave thinly using either a peeler or the back of your grater that has that one blade you never know what to use for (until now. potatoes)
- cut the broccoli florets off; peel the stalk, then slice up thinly
- pick off your basil leaves, rinse, chop up roughly
- bring to boil a large pot of salted water, add your pasta & broccoli stalks
- 2 minutes before pasta is cooked (see your pasta instructions), add potato slices and rest of the broccoli
- once pasta is cooked, drain everything, and keep some of the cooking water aside. return pasta etc to pot
- add to pot half of the basil leaves, pesto, and half the parmesan
- stir it up, adding some of the cooking water to thin it up if the sauce is thick
- taste it and add more seasoning (pesto or salt & pepper) to taste
- serve with fresh basil and parmesan on top

enjoy!

40 homemade gift ideas

2010-12-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

it's that time of year again: christmas time. don't know about you, but my budget is tight this year, which means... homemade gifts! it also means that i am a couple months behind on planning, but there's still 2.5 weeks left to figure something out. :) those of you expecting gifts from me, keep your expectations low so i can exceed them.

want that homemade gift to say 'i made this with SO MUCH LOVE and lots of thought' and not also say 'it took me 2 minutes to put this together'? make something from the kitchen, and package it in style:

like this peppermint hot fudge sauce, a gift idea from the kitchn's 40 homemade gifts guide (photo also from the kitchn)

birthday dinner (part 2 of my birthday)

2010-12-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

part 2 of my birthday:

birthday dinner cooking

birthday wine, birthday bread, birthday flowers

birthday dinner (fish, yummy roasted veggies, bread)

birthday cupcakes

birthday fun?

birthday jamie oliver :) (my first ever jamie oliver book. SO excited)

birthday camera bag (from here )

birthday aftermath

part 2 of my birthday day was just as lovely as part 1. i am very blessed. now i have a whole year to give back all the love i've received this year. maybe jamie oliver can help me. :)

little surprises

2010-12-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

so far, my birthday has been full of little surprises:

i walked into my room last night and there was a beautiful painting on my bed. one that i'd been wanting to buy for a while from andrea armstrong. i stood there for a couple minutes in a state of pleasant shock. i went to thank her (she was half asleep already),

then back in my room i realised there was also a box of truffles sitting on my desk. my 2nd favorite kind. (for some reasons whole foods isn't carrying my first favorite kind anymore. the caramel truffles of that brand)

i woke up this morning to a beautiful loaf of bread on the kitchen counter. it happened to be from my favorite bakery - a bread affair.

we made french toast with it. mmm....

a few hours later and i find my favorite kind of chips just lying on my bed with a food magazine.

i walk into the kitchen this afternoon and find a small chocolate mousse cake, dying to be eaten.

and to top it all off, my boyfriend came by with a bouquet of flowers and a poem.

it's been a lovely birthday so far.

raw canvas

2010-11-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

"eat. drink. make art."

that is exactly what raw canvas is.

raw canvas is a tapas lounge, wine bar, and art studio in the beautiful yaletown in vancouver. though i haven't yet enjoyed the tapas or the art studio, i've enjoyed the wine there while watching my friends steel audrey perform. its a cozy venue for a music performance.

raw canvas has a pretty narrow space, but it is beautiful, with gorgeous (probably antique) furniture, patterned wallpaper, wooden tables, and art everywhere. its got a wine bar at the side, a couple long wooden tables, and a few smaller tables in the middle, and a large, open room at the back filled with canvases. if you want to paint while enjoying a glass of wine & making new friends (or coming with old ones), you just buy a canvas, and it comes with the paint, brushes, and smocks you need. you don't even have to clean-up. all their paints are made locally on granville island, where they refill paint with a zero waste system. what a great idea.

you can see more of my raw canvas photos here.
i also took some photos last month for steel audrey's upcoming movember show: vive la moustache! check out the photos we came up with!

details:
raw canvas
1046 hamilton street
604.687.1729
mon-fri: 4pm til late
sat-sun: 1pm til late

hot harira soup for my cold body & soul

2010-11-23T21:24:00.000-08:00

i realise that there are colder places on this earth at the moment (i'm truly sorry for you, calgarians), but i am not liking the ghastly cold vancouver weather right now. AT ALL. i leave my house bundled up with all the warmest clothes i have, i look ridiculous, and i STILL freeze my butt off. well, my toes, mostly.

sooo... i've been staying inside a lot. and i made a huge pot of hot, comforting soup yesterday to warm my cold, bitter soul. moroccan harira soup. it seems that this soup is traditionally made with lamb, but i used chicken instead. i mostly followed this recipe, at epicurian.com but originally from gourmet magazine issue march 1994.

i tweaked a few things to make it even better:

ingredients:

chicken (i used 1 thigh, because i am poor. you can use however much chicken you can afford)
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water (i probably added a couple more cups onto that)
4 blanched tomatoes, de-peeled & chopped up (or a can or 2 of diced or pureed tomatoes)
1/4 or 1/2 cinnamon stick
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp coriander (optional)
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped fine
14-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup raw long-grain rice
1 & 1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional. i didn't have any)
salt & pepper to taste

directions:

in a large pot, bring chicken, broth, water, 1/2 a cinnamon stick & 2 cloves of garlic to a boil. simmer for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. remove chicken & let cool. remove cinnamon stick & discard.
while pot is simmering, saute chopped onions, garlic & spices (mustard & coriander) in a separate pan on low to moderate heat. about 5-10 minutes.
add to large pot onion mixture, tomatoes, rice, lentils, & chickpeas
close lid & simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
remove bones & skin from chicken & shred/chop up chicken.
stir chicken into soup; add salt & pepper to taste. simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
add half of the chopped parsley (& cilantro if using).
serve soup hot and garnish with the rest of the parsley.
enjoy with toasted bread or fresh, warm biscuits (recipe to follow)

i made my mom's biscuit recipe. super quick & easy!

ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 Tbls baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter/shortening
3/4 cup milk/milk substitute

directions:

heat oven to 450F (225C)
whisk flour, salt & baking powder in a bowl.
blend in butter with hands or pastry cutter until mixture looks like fine crumbs
stir in milk, only until flour is all moistened. do not beat!
transfer dough to floured surface & knead about 10 times.
roll or pat dough until about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick.
cut out shapes & put on baking sheet.
bake 10-12 minutes.
serve with honey-butter. (1 part honey to 1 part soft butter)

now that i'm done typing out the recipe, i remember that i've already posted the recipe here, back in 2008. oops!

eastside culture crawl

2010-11-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

attention vancouver folk:

east vancouver's annual east side culture crawl is happening upon us this weekend: november 26 - 5 to 10pm, november 27 & 28 - 11am to 6pm. this year, my very own sister is opening up her studio for all to peruse & discover amazingness. the crawl is a free 3-day tour of sorts, where artists (painters, sculptors, photographers, woodworkers, screenprinters, etc etc) open up their studios to the public and the public has a chance to not only see hundreds (390 this year i believe) of artists' works, but behind the scenes as well. if you've never been, you really should go this year! the perimeters are main street to victoria drive and from first avenue north to the waterfront. andrea's studio is on victoria & powell, and its right across from a jjbean, so its the perfect spot to go & grab a hot americano or latte while you tour.

(illustration by andrea armstrong)

"neiner neiner weiner"

2010-11-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

hungry?

best road-trip discovery EVER. found this gem somewhere in the lovely state of washington on my way to shoot a wedding last year.

a new diner in my hood: the red wagon

2010-11-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

there's a new diner in my neighbourhood that my sister & i have wanted to check out ever since we saw it on the corner of hastings and garden a few weeks ago. the red wagon restaurant.

we finally got to try it out last week. being the breakfast-loving person that i am, we decided to check out their breakfast. it was a rainy weekday, and its a new restaurant, so i wasn't surprised that the cafe was pretty quiet when we got in. it's a really great space, with lots of seating, and 2 walls of windows streaming in natural light.

the breakfast menu looked great - i was eyeing the 'trucker's breakfast,' something like 2 eggs, 2 buttermilk pancakes, 2 bacon, toast... but i wasn't sure if i was hungry enough to finish it. i ended up ordering a spinach & mushroom benny, and my sister got the goat cheese & basil frittata. both of our plates came with home-fries (fried potato chunks). the potatoes had really good flavor, but they could have been a little crispier, and there were just so many that i was sick of potatoes after eating. the hollandaise sauce on my eggs benedict was pretty tasty - it was light and not too rich. our server informed me that the chef makes the sauce himself. the poached eggs were a little under-cooked, however. i like my yolks runny, but when the egg white is runny, i get a little grossed out and the runny texture of the egg white distracts from the other flavors on my plate.

after i'd eaten, though i felt full from the potatoes, i felt slightly dissatisfied. maybe my hopes had been set too high in the first place (a new breakfast joint so close to my house!), but i felt like i wasn't getting my money's worth from the meal. the breakfast menu prices are a little higher than typical diner style, the average plate was around $10 before tax. though the prices seemed pretty similar to the prices of another breakfast diner in the neighbourhood that i like, the quality of the food i ate didn't really make up for the price. it was good, but it wasn't great.

however, i'll still give it another shot. the service was great, i really like the idea of this place, and i do want to support local business. i've also only tried one meal, and that's not really enough to warrant a balanced review of the place. other reviews i've read seem to focus on red wagon's lunch menu, so i'll go back for lunch sometime.

but don't just take my word on it. read other reviews, here & here and/or go check it out yourself!

sick day

2010-11-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

i had an omelet today. oh.. but no, not this one. this one's a couple weeks old.

i was sick today (& yesterday & the day before), so the task of actually cooking food was more than enough to wear me out, i didn't need an added burden of lugging the weight of my heavy new camera around. i spent the day watching pride & prejudice (a&e with colin firth) and getting up from my couch to make hot water for my hot water bottle, make tea (4+ pots), and use the bathroom (i drank 4+ pots of tea plus many glasses of water). hopefully tomorrow i will feel up for the task of being productive.

oh yeah. my sister commented that i post a lot about eggs. (like here & here) yeah... i like eggs.

the sandwich & its glory

2010-11-11T10:33:00.000-08:00

sandwiches are glorious inventions. so many, many options. and so easy (not too easy - a good sandwich requires a little bit of time & effort).

this particular sandwich consisted of organic turkey deli meat, alfalfa sprouts, fresh basil leaves, chorizo, pickles, mayo, & wholegrain mustard. my favorite accessory to add to a sandwich is a slice of mango. especially when smushed together with turkey, spinach, and ranch dressing. you should try it next time you want an amazing sandwich.

my new napkin friend:
found at rags & dishes - discounted kitchen linens etc on main street
i heart napkins.

alfalfa sprouts - what did i do before i knew who you were?

well, hello

2010-11-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

have you met my newest family member?

:)

another horrible culinary experience

2010-11-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

i haven't been blessed in the culinary area this week so far. disaster cupcakes, and now this. ratatouille. it looked so easy. and it was easy. but it wasn't great. i found it flavorless, a bit bitter, and had to get a dish just to put the eggplant & tomato peels in because they were tough and icky. moral of this story: when you are wondering what to do with the vegetables that have been sitting in your fridge for a while.... don't use them in a dish that calls for 'fresh' vegetables. you will be horribly disappointed. and maybe just stop trying new recipes. or stop cooking full stop. wait... maybe that's a bit harsh. lets just say i haven't been inclined to cook or bake in the last couple days. hopefully that will change soon. :)

at least i got pretty photos out of my culinary horribleness.

a baking re-incarnation

2010-11-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

a couple days ago i had a craving for chocolate. i made some sort of mini chocolate cake, essentially cupcakes. i didn't like them. at all. i still stuffed my face, but i thought they tasted horrible, and not chocolatey at all.

do i eat them? do i throw them away? no! i make them into another kind of dessert! a trifle! i chopped the cupcakes up, and layered them in a container with whipped cream, chopped chocolate, and raspberries. problem solved. next time i might add some chocolate sauce in there though, moisten it up a bit. wait... next time i won't make those cupcakes, that's what!

anyone else have a disaster-averted story? or a re-incarnation of something that didn't initially turn out?

best pasta concoction ever

2010-11-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

i was walking on main street on wednesday, near king edward, and randomly walked into a deli store. maybe i was hungry (likely. i often am), maybe something caught my eye that made me think "i want some deli meat!" or maybe it was something else. anyway, i'm glad i did. i was greeted in a friendly manner, and immediately was offered to try some chorizo. i'm not a huge chorizo fan, and i don't buy/eat lots of meat. it was tasty, however. i bought some. i also bought some organic turkey deli meat, and a cute jar of maple mustard. to be honest, the guy was so friendly, and knew his product, and was passionate about it. if i stayed any longer than i did, i probably would have bought some of their handmade pastas, too, or some other condiment in a cute jar. luckily for my wallet, i left at some point before it was too late.

on my way home, i excitedly thought about my dinner plans. i wanted to incorporate chorizo somehow, meanwhile wanting to use up some kale in my produce drawer. i also had a weird craving for mushrooms. i stopped for a few quick groceries at donald's (i love donald's), and went home with a rough plan for my meal. it was to be a pasta dish.

"joey's best pasta concoction so far"
serves 2 big meals, or 4 small ones
measurements are roughly estimated - i don't measure things when i cook
cooking directions are also roughly estimated - i don't follow rules & half the time don't know if what i'm doing is actually the right way to do what i'm doing...

ingredients:

mushrooms (i used organic crimini mushrooms because i hadn't used them before and they looked tasty) - about 2 cups chopped mushrooms
garlic - 2 or 3 cloves, minced
onion - 1 medium sized onion, any kind you like baby
sage - 2 teaspoons chopped, fresh sage or 2 teaspoons dried (use fresh, its so much better)
butter - lots
kale - de-stemmed, roughly 2 or 3 loose cups
cream, or coconut milk
parmesan cheese - lots. freshly grated
chorizo - 1 link, chopped into bite-sized pieces
pasta noodles - 1 to 2 cups? i need to start measuring! i just poured out of my pasta jar until i was happy. i used emmer pasta, an ancient variety of wheat - tasty!
salt & pepper - "to taste," soo.... lots. :)

to do:

boil water with some salt for your pasta noodles. when water is boiled, add a tiny bit of olive oil to deter pasta sticking to the pot bottom. add pasta & cook according to package directions. don't drain them when they are cooked. if your pasta is ready WAY ahead of everything else, set a bit of the pasta water aside and then drain the noodles so they don't get soggy & icky.

in a large saucepan, or a wok (i used a wok), on low heat, melt a gob of butter, add your onions & saute until translucent. add half the garlic. turn heat up to medium & add them mushrooms & sage. until the mushrooms are browned and/or cooked to your liking. add the kale & cook for a few minutes. set aside mushroom concoction, in a bowl or something, and keep the wok/saucepan on the heat. you may want to turn your heat down a bit at this point, and add a larger gob of butter & the rest of the garlic. you don't want to burn the garlic. add a couple cups of cream (i used coconut milk, it seemed to work fine!), and cook until bubbly. add your grated parmesan, stir it around and cook for a bit. now add the noodles, a bit of the pasta water, and your chorizo. and everything else - including salt & pepper. cook for a bit longer, and make sure everything is coated in sauce. if not, add a bit more cream & cheese. serve, & garnish with more grated parmesan cheese & maybe a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley if you have it.

essentially, i made an alfredo sauce, but i'm not a cook who follows rules well, so i cook things the way i cook things, not necessarily how they are supposed to be done. so if you want, find a good alfredo sauce recipe & try that! (this recipe looks decent)

i preemptively did a photoshoot with my bowl of pasta before tasting it, assuming it would be decent enough to validate being hungry for a few more minutes. while eating my delicious pasta dinner, i decided it was the best pasta concoction i had thrown together yet. thus, it deserved a blog post dedicated to it.

and here it is. enjoy. :)

giveaway winner & a tale of 2 pumpkins

2010-11-05T00:23:00.000-07:00

last night, november 3rd, at 11:11pm, i wrote 9 names on pieces of paper. i tossed them in a hat, got my sister to mix them up, and i stuck my hand in and grabbed one piece of paper. on that paper, was the name 'ty.' congrats tyler on winning my contest!

... if you are wondering, i did in fact pick the winner randomly (out of a hat, the good old-fashioned way). i did NOT pick ty just because he called me cool. :) for those of you who haven't heard of this music blog, mp3po - another music blog, check it out! tyler is a contributor to the blog and has great music taste.

tyler, please email me your shipping info & pick any* photo (or 5) from my flickr, of which you'd like cards made out of.

*if you pick something i don't like, i have the right to overrule your decision :)

i am excited to have finally reached 100 posts. i can't wait to do another giveaway. i also am excited to attempt to make fudge. thanks for the suggestion, tyler!

and now i'd like to tell you a short story. a story of 2 pumpkins.

here they are, happy. well, the one is. the other one is bored, or constipated.. but happy enough. they were enjoying fall, and the halloween weekend. they went out halloween night...

... and came back the next morning with makeovers.

what happened?!

summer is over, but today was quite nice

2010-11-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

these yummy tomatoes were purchased from the last summer farmer's market i went to this year. summer is officially over. summer has been over for a while, but i am still dealing with it. today was a bizarrely unusual fall day, and it hit 17 C. i only had a light sweater on, walking on main street today, and was in my own little private bliss.

i do know that when fall begins to hit harder, i will cope by staying inside, baking lots of things and keeping my oven on a lot (not just for heat, but it's a bonus for sure). i don't have proper wear for rainy wintery vancouver, my boots and my jacket are both with broken zippers, so staying inside just seems like the right thing to do. how do you cope with fall/winter (if you have it)?

oh yes, this is my 99th post. my contest is officially closed & i will draw up the name & post the results next post. woo! please stay tuned... you may be the winner.

sufjan stevens on my mind

2010-10-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

went to see sufjan stevens at the orpheum last night.

incredible.

i was really looking forward to it to begin with, but he overwhelmed my expectations. in a few words, i would describe the experience as beautiful, disturbing, complex, intense.

he mostly played from his recently released album, 'the age of adz' (pronounced odz), which Punelson magazine describes as '...frustrating... impossible to play in the background... but fascinating, intriguing and – once you get over your first, bewildering listen – actually very enjoyable.' i agree. i didn't love the album the first time i listened to it, but after a couple times through it, i couldn't stop the melodies from lingering in my head all day.

but as much as i love age of adz now, listening to it on my laptop is dull compared to the live performance. when sufjan talked about his new album, he talked about exploring emotions, and the psychological. the album suddenly made more sense to me, and i connected with it.

it was not a relax-and-fall-asleep-in-your-seat kind of concert. he kept me on the edge of my seat. he was on stage with an ensemble of 11 people. himself & his many instruments were joined by 2 guitarists, 2 drummers, 2 trombones, 2 backup singers/dancers, 2 pianists. the orchestration was amazing. the songs were intense, well-timed, and thought-provoking. songs about love, songs about volcanoes erupting, songs about schizophrenics, songs about the apocalypse. there's a theme of 'whining and consternation,' sufjan noted.

(not sure how to credit this photo. i found it on last.fm)

as a performer, sufjan stevens is charming. a little shy & quirky, he nevertheless portrayed a confidence in himself and his music. it doesn't hurt that he's an attractive one, either. oh, and he can dance.

he told us that we had the most spirit he's seen, or something like that. i didn't believe him. he must be at the start of his tour if he thinks that. or he was just saying that to make us love him more. maybe he was talking to the front row of people, because those of us in the balconies i would not describe as 'spirited.' when he was at the end of the 20 minute long song 'impossible soul,' he was dancing on stage with the backup singers, and was singing 'do you wanna dance?' i mean, comon, if that's not an invitation for the audience to get our butts out of our seats and jump around a bit... i don't know what is. but no one moved. and i'm way too canadian to jump up and dance all by myself. oh well.

you can find another review of the concert here, if you're interested.

here's a clip from last night, when he played his (probably most famous) song, chicago:

to sum it up: sufjan and his concert have been on my mind all day. i can't wait to go to another concert of his. no, he didn't play one of my favorite songs, but i can forgive him. if i have to. i guess.

(obligatory food-related photo, since this is a food blog, not an i'm-obsessed-with-sufjan-stevens blog. also this is post #98. one more post before my contest closes!)

97: eggs eggs eggs

2010-10-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

you can never get enough fresh backyard eggs. our awesome landlords shared some with us recently.

they. were. tasty.

oh yes, and my sister and i won the balloon doodling contest! technically she won, and i'm not technically credited at all, but that's okay, because i know she'll share the prize with me. check out how we will look in the future.

p.s. this is post #97. two more posts before my contest closes!

post # 96: alliumphobia

2010-10-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

alliumphobia - the (irrational) fear of garlic

i don't know who could fear garlic. garlic is awesome. garlic that is super old and dry in the grocery store? not the best. garlic freshly picked and sold at the farmer's market? the best. if you haven't tried using fresh garlic before, hasten to your local farmer's market and mend thy ways.

garlic, or allium satvia in latin, is a relative of the onion. that's reason enough to include this photo:

p.s. this is post #96. three more posts before my contest closes!

an airy self-portrait

2010-10-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

this post has nothing to do with food, but that's not the point. the point is, i want to share something with you.

my roommate - andrea armstrong - and i took a self-portrait on the weekend:

we collaborated for a doodling-on-a-balloon contest at doodlers anonymous. andrea did the doodling, we both did set-design, and i set up the lighting and took the photo. check out everyone's submissions here and fave your favorite designs! (hint: ours is super awesome) you do have to join to vote, though.

p.s. this is post #95. four more posts before my contest closes!

i am a liar (but you can enter a contest and win stuff yay!) - contest closed!

2010-10-18T00:20:00.000-07:00

sooo.... i thought i had posted 100 posts, and even bragged about it a few posts back.

apparently, i am a liar.

this post i am writing right now, is #94. sure its close to 100, but its no merit badge like 100 is. my blogger homepage tells me i'm at 102 posts, but it's a bit sneaky and counts all my unposted drafts as 'posts' as well. i am so ashamed that i lied to you all, and let you think i was somehow accomplished in the blogging world.

but i would like to make it up to you. i'd bake cupcakes and invite you all over, but that wouldn't be fair to some of you who are far away, and it would honestly be a bit creepy for me if i invited the whole internet world over to my place. also, it would be expensive and my place is way too tiny.

instead, i will start small with a contest and see how it goes. yay contests! free stuff!

the prize: a pack of 5 specially-made-for-you photo cards. by me, of course. (i know: extravagant, right?)
how to enter: comment below, (with your name, please!) and answer me:
1. what is your favorite dessert?
2. what should i attempt to bake before christmas?
(they don't have to be different, but let's be a bit creative here)

the contest will close when i post my 99th actual post. the winner will be chosen randomly, and will be announced when i write my actual 100th post! that means you have 5 more posts of mine to read before the contest closes. AND you don't have to be from a certain country or continent to enter this contest, because cards are flat so postage won't be too horrific.

let your friends know about this contest. or don't, and then you'll have a better chance of winning. (but really, do.)

flourless chocolate cake

2010-10-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

this loveliness is a flourless chocolate cake. (although i did use flour to dust the pan before i poured the batter in) it gets its texture from the whipped egg whites. subtle and not too sweet, the chocolate in this cake is just right to be a dessert following a rich, heavy meal. which i did last weekend when i took this cake to a thanksgiving dinner. cut up into 16 tiny slices, the serving size was just enough to satisfy but not overload.

i got the recipe from bread & honey. i won't bore you with the recipe, i'll just let you follow it from the link.

for those of you who don't care to follow the recipe, here's some more pretty pictures! (i'm really happy with how these photos turned out)

une omelette (100th post!)

2010-10-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

for some reason i feel like celebrating, because i just realised i've written 100 posts on this blog. but, over a span of 3+ years. really joey? you want to celebrate mediocrity? yes, yes i do. :)

sub-thought:
i am realising that i will never get to the point where i feel like i am amazing at what i do, unless i decide right now that i am okay with NOT being amazing. if i don't take risks because i'm afraid of failing, i won't ever get better at what i do because i'm not trying. if i take risks, i may fail, and if i fail, then succeeding the next risk will feel even better.

okay, back to my post about omelets.

i love eggs. any style of egg, i love (not actually true: i don't like raw, and i don't like it when the whites are still runny). but, there's something about the omelet that takes an egg from being good to being deliciously decadent. ever wake up feeling meh? make yourself an omelet (if you have time and are not running off to work) and you will feel like a king. or queen.

i still haven't perfected the omelet. it often falls apart on me... but whatever, it still tastes amazing, so who cares? the great thing about omelets is that you can put anything inside. fried onions, veggies, meat, herbs, cheese... be creative. any kind of cheese, many kinds of cheese, or no cheese at all if you are lactose intolerant. but the best part of the omelet is the cheese, really.

i like to whisk my eggs (2 or 3)with salt, pepper and a bit of milk, though some people just whisk the eggs. i find the milk makes it a bit fluffier. better yet, yogurt, for a richer omelet (can an omelet with eggs and cheese, fried in butter get any richer? yes... it can, and its amazing). put your pan on a medium-low heat. when its heated, grease your pan and pour your egg mixture in. make sure its even on the pan, and wait a bit, making sure nothing is burning. when it looks partially cooked (still gooey, but you can lift the edges with your turner), sprinkle cheese of choice throughout the entirety of the omelet. on one half only (if your pan cooks unevenly like mine, choose the side that is less cooked) add your filling. carefully edge your turner under the other half of the omelet, make sure its not sticking anywhere, and flip over the filling. if some of it falls apart, just patch it up. cook a minute or 2 longer, remove from heat, and serve.

i used to make omelets by flipping the whole thing BEFORE adding the filling, but i always found them over-cooked and rubbery. not flipping your omelet makes for a perfectly-cooked omelet that is fluffy, gooey, and melts in your mouth. but try it out and experiment! every pan and stove-top is different, and everyone's preferences are different, too. find what you like best and enjoy the heck out of it.

anyone have a favorite omelet filling? or great ideas for one?

disturbed by processed, fast-food chicken. i can't believe i used to eat it..

2010-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

warning: disturbing images below. please continue to read!

i am not a vegan, nor am i a vegetarian. i do highly respect all vegetarians and vegans, however. so this is not about me not eating meat. its about me not eating fast-food meat, like chicken nuggets, chicken burger patties, etc. see photo below:

photo from this blog. read more here.

they mechanically separate the chicken, grind it all up, remove the bacteria (apparently by soaking it in ammonia), add food coloring and flavor... its disgusting. why go through that much bother to make something that doesn't really look like chicken, doesn't really taste like chicken, and is so unnatural? and yet we consumers totally buy it. its fast, its easy, and we put it in our stomachs anyways.

jamie oliver does these experiments where he shows kids the process of making the chicken nuggets, and then has the kids decide between the nuggets and the real chicken afterward. worked well in the UK (see video below)...

... but then he tried it in america. (see video below).

...failed. which is really sad what it says about america. i think he'd do a lot better in canada, but i still think there's a good number of people here who would react just like those kids in the video. sadly, i think i know of a few people too who just might not care where their food is coming from.

would you still eat the chicken nuggets? i want your thoughts and opinions!
i won't condemn you if you would still eat them. i'll just shake my head and invite you over for some real, homemade food. or you can answer anonymously and i'll never know.

update: october 11, 2010

some more posts to read:

huffington post
peas and thank you - hilarious, have to read it
potted meat product - i can't believe anyone would buy or eat a product (it doesn't deserve the title 'food') called 'potted meat product'!?

yam fries

2010-10-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

yam fries: delicious, not that hard to make, and just plain awesome.

to do:

wash yam(s)
peel or don't peel (i didn't peel)
pat dry (if wet, they will be soggy fries)
chop up to whatever size you like (just make sure they are roughly similar sized)
toss with olive oil, salt, pepper & whatever other spice you'd like (i added a pinch of coriander; you could add minced rosemary or cayene pepper for example)
spread evenly on a baking sheet (normally i put parchment paper down, this time i didn't do anything & they didn't stick), make sure you don't crowd them too much
*bake anywhere between 375 F and 415 F; take them out every 8 minutes or so to check them & to turn them; bake until they are soft on the inside and crispyish or nicely toasted on the outside.
once cooked to your liking, remove from oven, and sprinkle with some fleur de sel if you have it. i just bought my first jar of it, so i am now allowed to be snooty and talk about fleur de sel all i want to. :) serve with some kind of dip. i wish i had an awesome dip recipe to share with you. i used some old (probably too old to use, honestly) curry powder dip mix and mixed it with yogurt and mayonnaise. its a great dip, i just can't tell you what's in it or how to make it yourself. :(

*if you bake fries normally, do what you normally do and pay no attention to my baking instructions. i really didn't know what i was doing and just winged it. if you are someone who needs to know exactly what temperature and exactly how long it takes... then stop reading my blog :) just kidding, maybe try and look up another recipe & see what it says! (that's right, i AM too lazy to google it myself at the moment...)

beerish bread

2010-09-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

this is beer bread. want to make it yourself? it's easy, and quite delightful to eat.

ingredients:

3 1/4 cups flour (i use 2 cups plain flour, 1 1/4 cup whole wheat)
3 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs sugar (Tbs = tablespoon. not sure if that's the correct abbrevation, but i'm usin it)
1 3/4 ounce (just under 1/4 cup. or 50 grams) butter, chopped
1 1/2 cups beer

directions:

preheat oven: 415 F
mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt. cut in the butter until crumbly. (alternatively: process all those things in a food processor. i don't have one)
add the beer slowly, and mix it in. i just use a wooden spoon and i mix until it comes together to form a soft dough.
knead dough on floured surface until smooth.
divide dough, into 4 or 6 portions, and form ovals or spheres. place on a greased pan, slash the tops with a knife, brush with a bit of water (or milk or whisked egg).
bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 10 minutes. bread is usually ready when you can tap the bottom and it sounds hollow (please use an oven mitt when holding the bread. otherwise you will scald your hand and it will probably be quite painful).

love this recipe. (which i got from the book baking: a common sense guide) it's quick, easy, hard to mess up. no fussy yeast, no waiting for the yeast to do its magic, no worries. instead of yeast as a rising agent, this recipe uses beer, and beer has its own yeast already in it. the only downside to this bread recipe is the slight taste of beer, but i noticed that using a honey lager instead of a pale ale helped lessen the beeryness of it. makes fantastic sandwich bread, and goes great with mustard and pickles and all things savory. however, does not go as well with jam or peanut butter or other sweeter bread toppings. try it at home and let me know how it works out for you!

apple cinnamon muffins

2010-09-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

do something for me. take a quick peek at what katie ate and tell me you do not want to devour everything katie makes and photographs. i know i do.

in case you are too lazy to click on links, here are a few of her photos:

gorgeous!

i wanted to bake something with apples today. my sister and i ordered a large box of gala apples from the okanogan valley last week and we've already made 2 batches of apple sauce, one pan of apple crisp. we still have copious apples left. so, i wanted to bake something with apples today. and i did. i looked to katie for inspiration, and was debating between this apple tea cake and these apple cinnamon muffins. the tea cake looks amazing, but my relationship with my springform pan is a bit dubious and i would like to avoid using it until i find a better replacement. so i made the muffins. loved that the recipe didn't call for any butter or oil (don't get me wrong, i love butter. LOVE it. it's just that it costs so much money and i'm trying to be a bit more frugal than normal these days), but called for applesauce. hey, i just made some last week! anyway, they are pretty quick and easy. the result? not bad. a bit chewy, (maybe i over-stirred), but pleasantly moist and good-tasting. you can look at katie's lovely photos here, and compare them with mine. i like hers better, but i'm pretty happy with mine too.

here's the recipe:

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce
1 cup peeled, cored, chopped apple

topping: sugar & cinnamon (just guess at the amounts, however sweet you want it, baby!)

preheat the oven to 390F

i always like to mix all the dry stuff before i mix in any wet stuff, no matter what the recipe tells me. so i mixed the sugar, cinnamon & ginger together, then sifted in flour, baking powder and salt in a big bowl. add the milk & applesauce and mix with a spoon until it comes together. don't overmix! add the apple pieces. spoon into muffin cups or a greased muffin tin. sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar on top and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes. makes about 12 smallish muffins.

enjoy!

the start of a day

2010-09-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

today i started my day with a nice, simple breakfast. scrambled eggs (with yogurt instead of milk), toast, coffee, gala apple slices, and homemade salsa. what a nice start to a sunny, autumn day.

finch's

2010-09-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

finch's is what i want my home to be like: lots of natural light, beautiful vintage furnishings, simple, and full of good food and people.

located in downtown vancouver on the corner of homer and pender, finch's serves an assortment of sandwiches, salads, teas, coffees. the sandwiches are created with a variety of tasty combinations on sliced baguettes. i've had 2 so far, the baked brie & olive, and the avocado, edam, dijon and roasted walnut (picture below). delicious.

all their sandwiches come with fresh, crisp, red leafy lettuce and are served on brown butcher paper, creating a very aesthetically pleasing eating experience.

their coffee is fair-trade and organic (i think it's saltspring but i'm not too sure), and they have many varieties of loose teas. my sister loves the chocolate chip cookies made in-house (from free-range organic eggs, says one of their black-board signs scripted beautifully and framed in ornate golden frames).

if you live in vancouver and haven't been to finch's yet, you really need to remedy that. keep in mind that they hold short hours. monday to friday 9am-5pm, and saturday 11am to 4pm.

summer lovin

2010-09-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

summer. my favorite time of year. it may not be the prettiest here in vancouver (dead grass just doesn't appeal the eye as much as rich green grass or spring blossoms or fall colors), but as far as weather goes, i love heat and i love summer.

i have lots of photos waiting to be sorted through.. photos of copious meals outdoors, camping & hiking trips, blueberry picking, lots of delicious food. but since they are still waiting for me, patiently, i'll leave you with a few photos of some food-related things i've enjoyed this summer:

flowers:
(some edible, some non-edible. guess which is which)

a fresh egg from our landlords' backyard chickens:
(yum)

summer peaches

2010-08-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

in love with fatty yogurt

2010-08-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

once you go greek, you can't go back. i turn up my snobby upper lip to 'normal' 3% yogurt now. nope. now its 10%, organic, probiotic, thick, creamy, fatty, delicious, plain greek yogurt with no colors, sugars, or preservatives. i've shamelessly been going through a couple tubs a week. not that i'm pigging out on it, i limit myself to 2 servings a day max. but i enjoy it with honey, or maple syrup. and sometimes with peaches - sweet, juicy, BC peaches. i know there's people who go for the skim yogurt, or the diet yogurt, but i say that if you can limit yourself to small servings, go for the full-fat. it tastes so much better.

i've started eating more yogurt since i've started reading mireille guiliano's french women don't get fat. great book, i highly recommend it! i'm not trying to lose weight here, but i am wanting to eat healthy, and i happen to like food, and french women like food, so i thought it would be a good read. it is a good read, but i'm not done yet, so i can't do a proper review quite yet. but i can already prompt you to go borrow it from your library, and tell me what you think.

she makes stuff

2010-07-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

pancakes should always be eaten like this. i dream of the day i can afford to have multiple sets of beautiful vintage dishes, vases, napkins, and a beautiful butter dish. i'm slowly getting there, but my cupboard's pretty small and i'm going to have to start storing kitchenware in my bedroom closet.

this post isn't really about pancakes though, rather it's about other beautiful stuff. beautiful stuff that ashley meaders makes. she makes stuff for weddings, events, etc, and its all handmade, original, gorgeous creations. she also seems to be friends with/works with an amazing photography company. (photo credits of all these photos go to our labor of love, via ashley meaders' site)

she inspires me to no end. my sister always sends me links to beautiful things, and i love the burst of inspiration/joy i get when she sends me links to sites like these. so i thought i would share the love. do you feel it? :)

turquoise blue

2010-07-27T00:49:00.001-07:00

i happened upon these turquoise beauties a couple weekends ago at a vancouver yard sale. vancouver yard sales are awkward & interesting, because they are often so sparse & so unorganized. like its a last minute excuse to enjoy the rare sun, and make a couple extra bucks while you're at it.

regardless, i love yard sales, and i love it even more when i find something amazing like my turquoise teacups. i had to get rid of a couple other mugs to fit in the cupboard, and the handles are kinda awkward & tiny for holding, but nevertheless... i love them. they make me happy like no other 50 cent teacup should. :)