Friday, September 9, 2011

making noodles & motivational issues



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?






Wednesday, August 24, 2011

how to eat when camping

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.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

kafka's coffee

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
Kafka's Coffee and Tea on Urbanspoon




Tuesday, July 19, 2011

another breakfast at the red wagon

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.

The Red Wagon on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

salad with crispy bacon + poached egg

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.

Monday, June 27, 2011

my food affair with eggs

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.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

sangrias, workshops & photo blogs

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!

Friday, June 10, 2011

how to brew french press - thanks jj bean!

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!