Another quick snack: Bocconcini and Tomatoes Salad

This one’s another easy snack: a simple tomatoes salad with Bocconcini cheese. Got a small container of Bocconcini cheese from Linda’s Market for around $3, which was good for a 4 portions salad.

Ingredients: 200 gr. Bocconcini cheese, 4 tomatoes, 2 green onions, fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Optional, 2-4 Kalamata olives, 1 boiled egg, 4-5 lettuce leaves.

Instructions:

1. In a small container, mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil with 2 tsp balsamic vinegar. Finely cut 2-3 leaves of fresh basil, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
2. In a salad box, mix sliced tomatoes with the green onion (finely chopped). If using lettuce, toss that in as well.
3. Add oil and vinegar mixture and mix well.
4. Add Bocconcini cheese (cut in halves), Kalamat olives and the sliced egg.

Quick Snacks: Bell Peppers with Ricotta Cheese and Dill

For a quick bite, cut a bell pepper into four slices and fill it with Ricotta cheese.

Ingredients: 1 bell pepper, 4-5 tbsp Ricotta cheese, 1 tbsp sour cream, fresh dill finely chopped, salt, pepper. Optional: green onion on side.

Instructions:

1. Mix Ricotta cheese with sour cream, fresh dill, salt and pepper.
2. Fill each quarter of the Bell pepper with the mixture. Serve with green onion on side.

Worst Frozen Pizza

I regret not taking a picture of it. Then you’d have seen with your own eyes: No Name Hawaiian frozen pizza from SuperStore must be the worst frozen pizza ever. I could count only 6 small pieces of pineapple, and probably not even 10 gr. of ham. So, unless you’re into pizza dough with tomato sauce and cheese, try something else…

Meat Shops in Calgary

Organic, free range, naturally raised… New categories for consumers concerned with genetically modified foods, growth hormones and antibiotics in their meat. I confess to getting a bit lost here. So, here’s a list of meat stores in Calgary and the labels they claim for their meat. It’s a list in progress, so feel free to suggest stores I’ve missed and to check it again and again over time…

• Second to None Meats – three stores available on 4th St SW (#3-2100 4th St SW), Macleod Trail South (7400 Macleod Trail South) and Bowness (4612 Bowness Road NW). Sells Alberta beef from the Canadian Celtic Cattle Company which is labeled ‘naturally grown’ – according to producers, this means no hormones, no steroids, no antibiotics used in the finishing period (what does that mean???). The pork is available from Broek Pork Acres and is labeled no antibiotics, no growth hormones, no animal by-products. The chicken is brought from Maple Hill farms in BC and is labeled free range, no animal by-products, no medication. The eggs are certified organic free-range. You can also find a range of home-cooked meals (I was told the meat pies and the cabbage rolls are absolutely delicious).
• Spragg’s Meat Shop at Calgary Farmers’ Market – Sells pork labeled free range – according to producers, this means raised outside, no hormones and no antibiotics in the feed (does it mean they can be injected though?). Delicious sausages and wide variety of pork meats.
• Grazin Acres at Calgary Farmers’ Market – Sells pork, chicken, turkey, duck, lamb and eggs. All labeled organic, no hormones, no growth hormones. In my opinion, cheapest organic eggs (4.99 the extra large 12 eggs pack). A small leaflet from the producers clarifies the following terms: certified organic (no growth hormones, medication, free run, fed certified organic grains), natural (no hormones and medication), free range/ run (animals raised able to walk around).
• Sun Works Farm at Calgary Farmers’ Market – Sells chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and bison. The meats are certified organic, and the eggs are organic and free range. I love the ground bison – a small pack is around $5 and it’s enough to prepare 4 servings of the meatballs I was talking about here. They also sell bones for stock, which I find useful.
• Hoven Farms at Calgary Farmers’ Market – Sells Alberta beef, certified organic – according to producers, this means no antibiotics, no artificial hormones (see comment below from producer), fed with chemicals-free grass. You can also get the beef bones for stock.
• Regina’s Fine Meats at Crossroads Market – Sells Alberta pork, chicken and a good selection of smoked meats and sausages. A poster at the shop indicates that the meat was not medicated, but doesn’t clarify what this means. The website says that the sausages have no msg, no nitrates, no binders or fillers.

Mushroom Pasta with Sour Cream Sauce

If you get those white mushrooms (not the colorful ones from the photo!) and don’t know what to do with them, you can try this recipe for a sour cream sauce. You can also add pasta to the recipe.

Ingredients: 400-500 gr. mushrooms, 1/2 cup cooking wine, 2 tbsp butter (or oil), 1 cup sour cream, 2 tsp white flour, salt and pepper. Optional, pasta, 2 tbsp grated cheese.

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice mushrooms, then put them in a bowl and sprinkle the cooking wine and a pinch of salt.
2. In a cooking pan, heat the butter (or the oil). Add mushrooms and put a lid on to get the water out of the mushrooms. Remember to stir every now and then (if the water evaporates too quickly, add a bit).
3. When the mushrooms are cooked (tender) and the water is almost evaporated, add the sour cream and the flour. Optional: add cheese. Leave until it boils once, then remove and serve hot.
4. If you want to add pasta, boil it while you prepare the mushrooms as described above. Drain the water, then dump the mushrooms on top of the pasta. Add the sour cream, white flour and cheese as described above.

Photo credits: love janine

Best Eclair in Calgary: Pastry, croissants, tarts and other sweet stuff

If you want to try some new desserts, beyond the usual cheese-cakes, you may try Eclair de Lune. The little store situated by Northmount Drive and 40th Ave NW (1049 40th Ave NW) has opened in 2008 and offers pastries, croissants, tarts and eclairs made by the owner.

The tarts are good, but what I really loved was the eclair: firm yet soft crust and a delicious chocolate cream inside.  I have tried the eclair in various other places in Calgary (Maria’s Market and Pita Wrap Desert Deli), but the one bought from Eclair de Lune was by far the best ($3.50). However, ask if it’s baked today – sometimes they have some left from the previous days, and they are not that fresh. Be warned that it’s not cheap though: a box with five desserts (three tarts, one eclair and one pastry) is $15.