fancy food

A few months ago I was consulted for vegetarian menu ideas by my friend who cooked this lovely meal two summers ago. He is now working as a chef in Taiwan and cooks up fancy meals for embassadors and consular people at the Canadian embassy. He is "The Guest Canadian Chef Representative" for the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. He is used by the Head of Mission to cater events at the Official Residence, showcasing Canadian cuisine and talent. He also promotes Canadian cuisine, performing cooking demos at cooking expos and culinary schools. Swank! 

I was so honoured and surprised when he asked me to share some ideas with him. The theme was French Canadian food with a vegetarian twist, which is why he decided to call in the "big guns!" i.e. little old me. French Canadian cuisine is not inherently meatless, but I came up with a million ideas, from lentil shepherd's pie, to pea soup, to sugar pie. I was even more honoured and surprised when he actually took some of my ideas and ran with them, adding his amazing culinary touches.

Vegetarian Split Pea Puree, Garniture of Leek Confit and Yellow Split Pea, Extra Virgin Olive Oil Scented with White Truffle

Wow. Just...wow. I wish I could taste this right now. People, I had suggested a simple split pea soup. This dish has been pimped to its maximum potential, and even involved truffle oil! This is why I have a lowly food blog and not a 5-star restaurant. I need to learn to extrapolate my cooking ideas. Otherwise, I see a lot of nondescript lentil mush meals in my future.

Terrines of Spring Watermelon, tones of Tomato and Basil, Pickled Red Onion and Watermelon Rind, Kalamata Olive, Feta and Organic Water Cress

This dish seems dead sexy to me. So fresh and colourful. It must taste like how splashing around in a lake on a hot summer's day feels: an invigorating journey to pleasure land.

Quebec Tarte au Sucre, Vanilla Black Pepper Ice Cream, Fresh Local Seasonal Fruit

VANILLA BLACK PEPPER ice cream. I scream "yes"! Give me it, now.

Let me know if you need some ideas or inspiration to help you cook up something delicious. Thinking about food is one of my favourite things, ever.

Cayman Food Times

I recently visited a friend living on Grand Cayman Island. What an amazing trip. Fun, sun, surf and sand...all the clichés of a holiday getaway. I excitedly looked forward to all the fresh food, especially fruit, that I would be able to consume in this tropical paradise. I should have done my research, because when I arrived I soon realized that a lot food is brought onto the island on shipping containers from the United States and even from England. Here is a little look at the yummy things I ate and drank while on Cayman.

I pretty much had the best brunch of my life at the Westin Hotel on Cayman. An all you can eat and drink Champagne brunch! The bubbles and conversation were a-flowing, and you could tell which tables had nearly drunk their fill by their noise level.

Oh god, look at that delectable clutter of food. I went heavy on the seafood with seared tuna, seafood salad, seaweed salad, sushi, dumplings and for desert: bacon, breakfast food of champions. I win at life!

This is plate number one, with champers glass numer two. Foodgasm.

Hello rum punch, where have you been all my life? Later in the evening, I accidentally smashed that blue water glass. People who know me will not be surprised.

Oysters! Served with cocktail sauce, how pedestrian. This restaurant, Guy Harvey's was actually OK. However, when my steak was brought to me cold, I had to complain. Fueled by rum and visions of Gordon Ramsay screaming "start again!" I returned my plate to the waiter. For some reason the head chef, who really should be in the kitchen, was faffing about in the restaurant talking to customers. He had the nerve to tell me "you know eet eez very deefeecoult to cook ze steak hot, because you ask for medium rare". To which I rolled my eyes and replied that my dinner companion had ordered his steak rare and his was served hot. The chef kind of looked at me with a "you caught me talking out of my ass" look. Touché!

Freshly grilled Mahi on the beach. With a jerk seasoning, no less. This is what I had been waiting for.

                  

Aside from eating, I did a lot of standing around in infinity pools with swim up bars mere meters from the beach. No big deal.

Also, lots of margarita drinking.

And this.

Blueberry Muffins

Before I went on holiday I baked some delicious blueberry muffins since they were on sale 3 punnets for 5 bucks. There was nothing particularly healthy about these muffins, save for the berries; lots of butter, sugar, eggs, oh my! They came in handy on my maritime road trip and were very tasty warmed by the fire with coffee and baileys.

You can find the recipe on Martha Stewart's website. Very good and buttery.











I have certainly been enjoying my new apartment and the kitchen facilities: brand new appliances, pantry (with spice racks)! It's been super fun to warm up the house with visitors and new recipes. More to come for sure.

Why does my pantry have a window? I open this door and get inspired...

Food Memories: Europa

The past 8 years for me were spent living, working and traveling around Europe. I still don't know how to condense those years into any coherent narrative...suffice to say there were good times and bad times...but more importantly there were food times. And that is what it's all about.

But first let's talk about the drink times. My good friend Jen and were frequent weekend travelers for about 2 years. We'd look up some cheap flights and get going. In Antwerp, Belgium we got to experience out first absinthe bar. If I recall correctly we visited this bar two nights in a row, not only because it was so fabulous, but also because we knew this was our last chance for a while to imbibe the lovely liquorice herbed nectar which is so potent Beaudelaire liked to write poems while on absinthe about absinthe. We first tried it the traditional way with the sugar cube flambe method: Stick a slotted spoon-like instrument over your little absinthe glass and put a sugar cube on top. Pour the absinthe over the sugar into the glass then set the alcohol-doused sugar cube on fire. The flame will melt the sugar into the glass. Then you drink. Repeat if necessary. Enjoy the head buzz!



FOOD PORN. GAH. Delicious Belgian waffle in Brussels. Heaven on earth. Life's joy and fulfilment. I love you so much I wish I could marry you dear waffle. You would never let me down.



Same place, different waffle. Subsequent visit. Still just as life affirming.



Let's take the edge off that sweetness with a coffee, shall we? Here we are in Istanbul and this is my first ever Turkish coffee. T'was delicious and strong. Make sure if you ever order Turkish coffee to make sure you ask for sugar as they mix it in while making it. Thick. Don't drink the bottom.



Not very flattering but you get the impression I am enjoying it, no?



Home food. This is in my first flat in London, Mildmay Grove, 2005. I was all about the buffalo mozzarella back then. With fresh basil and tomato.



More food, same flat. First meal I cooked for my parents when they visited. I see some guacamole there, some roasted veg, a salad in the corner and some pickles and meats and bread. Oh so continental!




Home BBQ, London, New North Road, 2008. I was blessed with a flat with a beautiful terrace and a pub next door. Bliss. In that foil container is a pile of king prawns marinated in coconut, coriander, chili and lime. They were good. There are some skewers there with some marinated monkfish and some halloumi. Wow, I wish I could have that all over again. Please note the non-Canadian hibachi style BBQ. You get her going with briquettes and some firestarters and then you wait and wait till her coals are white otherwise things just BURN. It's a bee-atch to get going but once it's fired up it burns hot and long. Oh yeah, just the way I like it.



Fancy food, Ottolenghi Restaurant, London. Oh man. What can I say about this food. Gotam Ottolenghi's got a weekly food column in the Guardian. It's mostly vegetarian food and it's all delicious. The man can do things with broccoli beyond your wildest dreams. Here we've got some parsnip and other deliciousness. It was 2007, can't remember anymore. But please go to Ottolenghi on Upper Street, Islington if you are ever in London. You will not regret it.



Here is the broccoli I speak of. Out of this world. Oven roasted and marinated. As well we have some beets and a rice salad. I'd like to eat something like this every day.



Happy menu times, Islay, Scotland. A wonderful meal after a long walk on a frigid windy beach strewn with bloated sheep carcasses. Really it was more beautiful than it sounds. This restaurant had a peat fireplace and plaid carpet. Yes, we were truly in Scotland. The mussels were fantastic.



D.I.Y Sardines, San Ramon, Espana. Here's my good friend Aidan's paella pan and paella fireplace being used to panfry some beautiful fresh sardines. The cats were in love with us that day.



Menu del dia at El Kiosko, Valencia, Espana. Cheap and cheerful. A 3 course meal sets you back about 15 bucks including wine. Muy bueno.

Stay tuned for some Canadian Food Memories...I've been exploring some awesome restaurants in Montreal. More to come. x

Food Memories: China

I was completely taken by surprise by Chinese food and China in general. I was getting lots of mixed reviews from fellow travelers so I really went to China with no expectations about what the food would be like. I learned some very important things on this trip:

- even if something smells like rotten garbage it can still taste delicious, in the case of stinky tofu
-partially formed chicken embryos are a delightful snack for some Chinese people
-Chinese beer is disappointingly low in alcoholic content
-but imported beer costs 45 cents a can
-if you want to eat the best Chinese food in China, go to a vegetarian restaurant

We went to "Lifestyles" vegetarian restaurant 3 times during my week in Ningbo and Shanghai. This is a vegan restaurant with a brilliant reputation as one night some famous monk was eating here while we were dining and the other patrons were going crazy with bowing and it felt like the monastic equivalent of Madonna was in the same restaurant.This food was so good it now makes me sad to recall the delicious sweet and sour flavours of the crispy "pork" or the stir-fried mushrooms. Why sad? Because I may very well never taste this kind of Chinese food again. I have no idea when I will be back but my love still burns strong for you, wonderful mushrooms!

I think the reason Chinese food is so surprisingly delicious is because it's so gosh darned fresh. Like, dew still on the leeks at the market fresh.

No one said life would be easy, but sometimes you just wish for an easy ride. Restaurant.

Food Memories: Vietnam

Vietnam was a mixed bag in terms of travel and overall vibe but the food was something other worldly. Never mind that the dishes are being washed on the sidewalk in a bucket in front of the restaurant, or that you have to use the toilet in said restaurant while being eyed by a giant cockroach. I had some of the best meals of my life here.

Fried Crab stuffed in its own shell, prawn cocktail, australian shiraz aboard a junk ship, Halong Bay. I'm undressing those darling crabs with my eyes and just can't wait to get my hands on them. This was a very impressive meal made all the more delicious because of the view. We spent 24 glorious hours sailing around and meanwhile the crew was preparing our meals in a tiny galley kitchen.
Fish croquettes, Halong Bay. Look at the beautiful edible garnishes!

Baked Snapper, Halong Bay. The croquettes and the fish were part of a 5 course dinner.


Traditional Egg Pancake, Hue. This ultra light and crispy egg pancake contained goodies like shrimp, bean sprout and veggies with some greens on the side.

The legendary Pho 2000 restaurant in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. Can you feel the anticipation and excitement!?

Mixed seafood Pho at Pho 2000. This is seriously the BEST pho I have ever tasted. When the soup was served, it was accompanied with dinner plates full of greens: Mustard, dandelion, basil, mint and lots of others I didn't recognise. You grab a handful and throw it on the soup. Soup and salad in one bowl? I was in heaven!


Beef Pho, Hanoi. This was my last breakfast of the Vietnam part of my trip. The restaurant was in the district where they make and sell funeral flower arrangements. Hanoi is interesting as a city because certain streets will all sell the same stuff: Plumbing goods street, Textiles street, Bicycle street, Funeral flowers street, and so on. So beef soup for breakfast it was. This was definitely an "authentic" experience. There were no Westerners about, this restaurant serves only this dish, and it's so popular you get touts on the street who offer to go and get the soup for you at a premium. The soup was fragrant and flavorful, but the meat as you can see was pretty rare and very stringy. It was weird to be eating soup at 8 am with an iced Vietnamese coffee.

In the background you can see the funeral flower arrangements and you can see some on the motorbike ready for delivery.

Food Memories: Cambodia

What to say about Cambodia. I was looking through my pictures and realized I don't have very many pics to post. Cambodian food resembles the Thai tradition but a little less spicy. They have curries, rice dishes, noodles...I tried the Cambodian BBQ which was pretty impressive.
Cambodian BBQ is basically a clay pot with embers in it and that metal thing on top cooks your meat or seafood (including snake and ostrich!) and boils your noodles at the same time in the "moat" around the edge of the grilling implement. Note the beautiful trays of different sauces to go with the BBQ.

There was an unlimited supply of noodles, rice and veggies to go with the BBQ. The waitress must have replenished that tray like 4-5 times.


Cambodia, was a land of extreme food. I saw crickets, cockroaches, scorpions, spiders, fetal eggs and all kinds of insects on offer in the local markets. During the Khmer Rouge regime millions of people were purposely starved. As a result, they now seem to have an acquired taste for whatever you can find in the jungles and rice paddies.

Roasted Eel and Paddy rat, village near Slong Tum Lake, Cambodia. The eel I didn't enjoy-- too fishy. But the rat was ok. Total vegetarian rat, trapped in a nearby rice paddy. Not your urban sewer rat type. No siree, this one tasted mighty fine. Gamy. I imagine squirrels to taste similar. The little dish at the top contained a typical Cambodian dip/sauce. A quarter of a lime and equal pinches salt and white pepper. So good!

I drank a LOT of coconut water to stay hydrated. You can't tell from the picture but it is 42 degrees in the shade there. Cambodia was the hottest climate I have ever experienced. I became zen about it after awhile because here I was in the temples of Siem Reap, one of the Man Made wonders of the World, and I was obsessing about the heat, how much more I would be enjoying myself if I wasn't so hot, etc. I forced myself to think of the heat as only a sensation, neither good nor bad and suddenly I calmed down and felt cooler. Used this Jedi mind trick when carrying my heavy backpack for hours too...it works! Back to the coconut juice...did you know it has all your vitamins, minerals and electrolytes to stay hydrated? It's also a self cooling unit...no need for refrigeration or ice. Lots of liquid in that fruit and so much cheaper than water! A coconut cost about 30 cents.


Maybe I didn't have time to take many pictures of food because I was too busy doing other things...like getting elephant rides...