Cheap and easy to make snack November 28, 2009

Nothing fancy or very original here. But it’s cheap, tasty and healthy! All you need are some tortillas for the wrap and some veggies for the filling. You’ll need 1 pack of tortillas (try the small ones, 110 calories each from Superstore), 2-3 lettuce leaves, 1/4 red pepper, 1/2 avocado, 1-2 green onions, feta cheese and, if you’re a meat lover, any deli cold cuts.

Instructions:
1. Cut avocado in half, place half (with seed inside)in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Scoop the other half and mix with a bit of feta cheese.
2. Cut green onion. Add to avocado mix. Set aside.
3. Prepare lettuce and red pepper by cutting them into very small pieces.
4. Put one tortilla on a plate and spread some avocado mix. Add some lettuce, pepper and meat. Then wrap and use two toothpicks to hold it in place.

These quantities should be enough for three wraps. Yummy…

Creamy Mushroom Bruschetta/ Crackers November 18, 2009

Turns out ‘mushroom’ is the most sought-after keyword that brings people to this blog. So, if you are one of the mushroom-people give this quick appetizer a try – you will love it! I enjoyed it more with crackers (the President Choice multi-grain crackers from Superstore), but the initial recipe was for bruschetta. You’ll need: mushrooms – some 400gr of mushrooms – mix white mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, enokitake mushrooms, oysters mushrooms (really, anything you find! dried mushrooms work as well), 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 onion, oil, cooking wine, roasted pine nuts, basil, salt, and pepper.

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice all mushrooms.
2. Cut onion and saute for 2-3 minutes in a large pan with a bit of oil.
3. Add mushrooms.
4. Add a bit of cooking wine, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, mixing constantly.
5. When mushrooms are almost done, add the basil.
6. Put them in a bowl, add the sour cream and mix.
7. Add roasted pine nuts and mix.
8. Serve on crackers or toasted baguette.

Appetizers on my plate November 13, 2009

Here’s a plate of appetizers we had about a week ago. Nothing fancy, just:

• Tomatoes (pesticide free, Farmers’ market)
• Cucumbers (pesticide free, Farmers’ market, $3/ bag)
• Feta cheese (best feta cheese in town, called the Macedonian feta, in a huge yellow bucket from Kalamata, $30/3kg)
• Kalamata olives (Superstore, bulk foods)
• Hummus (Superstore, deli section – not impressed, if you have a chance get the canned one from the ethnic food section and mix with smashed garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley).
• Roasted peppers dip (Kalamata, $6)
• Red peppers (Superstore)
• Mortadella with Caciocavallo and Grapes (Lina’s Market)
• Hot Pastrami with Small Bocconcini and Tomatoes (Lina’s Market)

Disappointing bruch – Nellie’s on 4th November 9, 2009

Had brunch in Nellie’s on 4th St the other day and I should say right from the start that I won’t be going there again. I am not a big fan of Nellie’s in the first place – the menu is a bit too heavy for my taste, but that’s more of a taste-buds  thing (I could never understand the idea of potatoes for breakfast…). But that’s not the reason I disliked the place: it’s crowded in the sense that there’s no room to move around the tables and you’re practically spitting on the person at the next table… And it’s filthy. I mean, really filthy. Everything is dusty; our cutlery, mugs and dishes were dirty and stained. So, no second trip for us there…

For a party of two, we paid $31 (tip included) for two omellettes, tea and coffee. I got the Californian omellette, with avocado and cheese; it turned out that the ingredients were not mixed, so half of my omellette had avocado inside, and half had cheese. My party got an omellette with spicy sausages. As usual, the meals come with hasbrowns and greasy toast (they put some margarine on the toast before they bring it to you).

Another apple dessert: Apple omelette November 3, 2009

Apple by Abhijit Tembhekar

Apple omelette is so easy to make! It’s good warm or cold, simple or with icecream or jam. You’ll need 4 apples, 4 tbsp white flour, 4 eggs, cinnamon, some butter and around 1 cup of milk. Optional: rum, raisins, vanilla essence.

Instructions:

1. Peel and cut apples into cubes. Butter an oven proof deep dish and put the apples in.
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Add rum and raisins, if using.
3. In a separate bowl, mix eggs with flour. Gradually incorporate milk.
4. Pour over apple cubes and bake at 375F for around 45 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.

Photo credits: Abhijit Tembhekar

Pears in wine October 31, 2009

An interesting dessert for the wine lovers. Got the recipe from ecurry (beautiful pictures too!). You’ll need: 2 firm pears (very firm!), 1.5 cup red wine, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar, orange grind and spices like whole cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon.

Instructions:

1. Peel pears, set aside.
2. In a pot, bring to boil wine and sugar. Then add all spices and keep on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Add pears. They need to be completely sunk in. Boil on low heat until pears are tender (30-40 min).
4. Remove and put aside. If serving immediately, continue boiling the sauce until it gets syrupy.
5. Serve with sauce and icecream.

Cauliflower and Potato Curry October 27, 2009

I got the recipe for this side dish from a recipe book (Cooking for Today. One Pot. Parragon Publishing) and adapted it to my taste. The original was meant to be very spicy, as it included 4 dried chillies. The dish itself is very flavory and works well with any type of meat (maybe except fish). You’ll need: 4 red potatoes, 1/2 cauliflower (flowerets), 1 onion, garlic, and a range of spices like turmeric, cumin, gingerroot (I used ginger powder, which the recipe explicitly warned against, but it worked well in the end), paprika, salt and pepper.

Instructions:

1. Soak cauliflower flowerets in cold water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Slice the onion and set aside.
2. In a wide pan, heat some oil and add some cumin (the recipe said white cumin seeds, i used powdered cumin). Mix thoroughly and after 1 minute, add the onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes (or until onion becomes translucent). Remember to mix constantly.
3. Add ginger, garlic, paprika, salt and turmeric and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add potatoes and cauliflower, mix well and add 2/3 cup water. Cover and simmer until the veggies are tender, adding more water if needed.

Lunch in Banff – The Old Spaghetti Factory October 26, 2009

I should probably confess right from the start that I won’t be going there again. Although the service was good, the food was way below expectations. We also didn’t get spaghetti – so take this with a grain of salt if you are in love with the carb-rich pasta. The place itself is your usual chain restaurant – nothing special. The menu features a wide variety of pasta, with a few salads and a few other options (like veal, chicken and steak). We both had the veal parmigiano with fries and spaghetti respectively. All entrees come with a choice of salad or soup, and icecream – so if you’re looking for a whole meal, this is a good spot to get it. The veal was extremely disappointing – my hunch is that it was cooked beforehand, then re-heated with some tomato sauce and a huge slice of cheese (cheese is great for taste – you cannot taste anything else but the cheese!). My party got the spaghetti as a side-dish and again, not impressive: they simply boiled the spaghetti in water, than dumped a huge tablespoon of tomato sauce on them. The dish was $14.25 and, with a glass of house wine and a fountain pop, the cost of our lunch went up to $38.68.

Baked apples October 24, 2009

Bake some apples for a yummy, healthy sweet treat! First, soak some raisins into rum for 15 minutes. Peel and core apples (I confess that taking the core out was quite a challenge).

In a plate, mix 2-3 tbsp brown sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg and cloves (powder). Roll apples through the mixture, then fill them with raisins. Bake in oven at 359F for 1 hour or until tender. Serve warm with plain yogurt and social biscuits.

Lunch in Banff at Melissa’s October 18, 2009

Lunch for two in Banff, under $50: Melissa’s Restaurant is located one one of the streets parallel to the main one (218 Lynx St, Banff). It’s a very nice place, with a wooden-chalet feel inside and quite popular for both lunch and dinner. I for one prefer their dinner menu, which features some European-style plates like pork schnitzel and cordon bleu. But if you are looking for a place to have lunch, Melissa’s is a good option too. The lunch menu is quite varied – omellettes, sandwiches, and burgers. For lunch, we had an 8oz steak with french fries and tea/ coffee, and the bill came up to $30 (before tip). A bit pricey, I would say.