Produce Drawer Spaghetti!

Folks, the last year has been a journey.

I get "Photo Capsule" emails of my Flickr photostream via Photojojo. In the last email there were photos from an event at Regional Tasting Lounge that I went to with M last year. In an instant, our visit to r.tl last year seems like a long time ago, and at the same time it seems like it was only days / weeks ago. And a lot has changed.

Two weddings ago (Rs, and the Ms). One engagement ago (my cousins). A 10-10-10-10-10 baby (born at 10:10pm, on October 10th, 2010) ago. Three funerals ago. A job ago...

A mixture of emotions (good, bad, and ugly) have come and gone; a couple seasons have past...I've made a lot of new friends and there have been a hobby or two that I've picked up along the way. :)

I'm going to try to ease into this blogging thing again - tonight, it was produce drawer spaghetti. I believe that my new career (as in, career, something that I love versus a job where I just show up to work...) has changed some of my eating habits. As you may have remembered, I embarked on a self-imposed meat ban late last spring . . . it seems that that simple fact transitioned me into the company where I am now.

I am not vegan, nor even vegetarian at this point - but I am definitely living a more conscious, awakened lifestyle (or so I like to believe). I have even gone jogging a couple times this month already. Lets see where this everchanging journey takes me.

Tonight, it was produce drawer spaghetti. This is not vegan - I used butter and topped it with finely grated piave mezzano, a cows milk cheese that is aged within a range of 60-180 days. The taste is slightly sweet, with slight bitter "barnyard" flavours that are associated with a baby parmiggiano, but without the same intensity.

There are no real rules to this "recipe". Slice up some onion. Melt some butter over medium heat with a couple swigs of olive oil. Saute. Add sliced veggies (I used mushrooms, green beans, and leftover cauliflower - yes, I still love my cauliflower). Sprinkle with some salt, chili flakes, oregano, and fresh ground black pepper. Add some more oil or butter if you have to. Splash with something alcoholic (sake used here). Splash with leftover stock or leftover tomato puree from the fridge. Add cooked pasta, mix in sliced olives. Twirl around your tongs to transport to a shallow pasta dish; grate with piave and love yourself for going easy on a Monday evening.

<3 Jessica

Natural (Anaheim, CA)

Just a quickie before I turn in for the night!

I had the most *wonderful* opportunity to visit Anaheim this past weekend for work and gratefully traded in my umbrella for flip flops and sunglasses.

 On the morning that we left for the airport to go home, I talked M into visiting Natural, a clean little "fruiteria"-like eatery less than 5 minutes from Disneyland / Anaheim Convention Center. While I must say that that most of the eats during the trip were far more healthy than what we usually eat during trips, we *did* have a couple of guilty indulgences as well.

In fact, the reason why we visited Natural was mostly because of a heavy meal the night before!

Natural is unlike anything we have at home, or on trips - it is fresh, fruity, and can be light. Can be? Well, aside from Mexican-style fruit cups and salads, there is a delicious looking shrimp cocktail, an interesting corn cup, and fresca con crema (strawberries with cream|) that intices other indulgences.

On this particular occasion, we ordered a bionicos, a mixture of watermelon, cantaloupe, succulent papaya, apple slices, banana chunks, sweet strawberries, coconut, and pineapple. The fruit salad was topped with honey-sweetened yogurt, raisins, and a sprinkle of granola. This totally hit the spot as we had a huge meal the night before (more on that later?) and were in a hurry to get to the airport.

As Natural offers fruit, salads, smoothies and other fresh dishes, the menu can be customized to become vegan friendly (minus any honey & dairy products), or be served vegetarian as is.

Since I've been told that this particular business trip would become an annual homage, I'm looking forward to visiting Natural again and trying their other offerings!

Modified Gomaae (Cold Spinach Salad)

A couple weeks ago (has it been that long?! I was supposed to post this up the following week!) I posted about my lunchtime inari. Inari is a fried sweet bean curd that is cooked in noodles, salads, and also split open partway and stuffed. On that one occasion, I stuffed the inari with seasoned brown rice, then a variety of toppings, including a kimpura endive and gomaae which I had modified by utilizing what I had on hand, cashew butter in place of tahini / sesame paste.

I don't usually order gomaae in restaurants since it is so overpriced, and almost always, it is some sort of fail - too small a portion, too little sauce, too much sauce, sauce is bland, sauce is watery, or spinach is too leggy.

Being that is so simple to prepare and customize, I've been known to go through Costco sized bags of baby spinach in a week, just eating gomaae. Its been so true that I've had to manage my Costco shopping trips so that I don't OD on vitamin A, vitamin K, or iron. (You laugh, but it is true. Vitamins A and K are fat soluble, meaning they, along with iron can acccumulate in your fat stores and, in high enough concentrations, cause toxicity issues. Spinach also contains oxalates, which bind calcium. This can contribute to kidney stones. Thus the Asian belief that spinach shouldn't be eaten with tofu; however this is only partly true - tofu does not contain considerable amount of calcium unless calcium sulfate is used in its production; GDL or other coagulating agents are used in different methods.

Try to use baby spinach; otherwise, trim the stems off of older spinach leaves, as it will affect the texture of the final product.

Ingredients
1 bunch spinach, washed thoroughly and trimmed, or 6 handfuls of prepackaged baby spinach
2 t cashew butter
1 t water
1/2 - 1 t sugar
salt to taste
1-2 drops sesame oil
1 t sesame seeds

Method
Bring to a boil a large pot of generously salted water. Blanch prepared spinach 1 minute; quickly drain and rinse with cold water.

Prepare dressing - blitz cashew butter, water, sugar, salt and sesame oil in a small food processor or magic bullet until combined. Adjust with cashew butter or water to desired consistency (depends on your brand of cashew butter).

Squeeze water out of cooked spinach. If you used a bunch of spinach (instead of baby spinach), you may want to roughly chop the squeezed spinach. Arrange in dish or on a plate and pour a teaspoon or so of dressing over top. Garnish with sesame seeds. Makes about two servings, although I have been known to down two recipes in one night...

Simple, isn't it?! You can adjust the seasonings, using tahini instead, adding soy sauce or tamari instead of the salt, or adding other flavourings, but I like it in its simple form the best. The dressing is also nice on other steamed or raw vegetables like cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, and bell peppers.

Itsa Pizza Party! (Roasted Vegetable & Goat Cheese Pizza)

A couple weeks ago, I took part in a noodle party featuring Korean yam noodles / dang myun. Participants were to blog about their favourite noodle recipe, try something new, or...anything, just as long as the recipe included the yam noodles. A couple days later, Jeroxie suggested a pizza party, and the ball got rolling.

Participants this time (to be changed periodically once this post is live - list is from Jeroxie) are:

• Penny - Jeroxie - Addictive & Consuming - Serpent Pie with Pizza Sauce (Happy Birthday and Thank you for Hosting!)
• Divina – Sense & Serendipity - Breakfast Pizza
• Christine – Christine’s Recipes - BBQ Chicken Pizza
• Mardi – Eat, Live, Travel, Write - Pizza w Lemon Asparagus Pesto
• Trix – Tasty Trix - Langos, Three Ways
• Conor – Hold the Beef - Poached Pear Pizza
• Shirley – Enriching your kid - Healthy Spiced Dough Vegetable Pizza
• Natasha – Five Star Foodie - Plum Pizza Pie
• Ozoz – Kitchen Butterfly
• Agnes – Off the spork - Pizza Pie (Literally! And cute pizza toppers on lemon cupcakes.)
• Joanne – Second Helping - Mushroom & Taleggio, Signore Lupo
• Celeste – Berry Travels - Lasagna Pizza Pie
• Mark – Cafe Campana
• Steph - Momofuku for 2 - Pizza 4 Ways
• Shao - Fried Wontons for You
• Ahn – A food Lover’s Journey - Chicken and Kimchi Pizza
• Cherry – Sweet Cherry Pie
• Tangled Noodle - Irish Pan Pizza

For my contribution, I kept in my "meatless" theme and went with an old favourite: roasted vegetable and goat cheese pizza. The crust is crisp, light and thin, and the vegetables are complimented by the tang of goat cheese. I forgot to add olives here, but they really add to the dish - calamatas please! :)


Ingredients - Crust (makes 2)
2 t yeast
1 1/4 c warm water
1 t sugar, syrup, or honey
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 t sea salt
1/2 t thyme leaves
1/2 t rubbed oregano

In a large bowl, mix together yeast, warm water, and sugar (or syrup or honey). Set aside for 10 minutes.

Add olive oil to bowl. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 1/2 c of the all purpose flour, all of the whole wheat flour, salt, thyme, and oregano. Gradually mix flour mixture into yeast mixture. Dough will be slightly sticky and moist. Add in remaining all purpose flour by hand.

Generously flour a working surface and hands. Knead for 10 minutes, adding flour if necessary to avoid stickiness. Place in well-oiled bowl; flip to coat surface. I covered the bowl and left it to proof for a good long while (I was away at work. :)

Punch down dough. Allow to rise for 1 hour.

Divide dough into two parts. With floured hands, on a floured surface, form the dough into two rectangular or circular bases.

Usually, I dust the pizza pan or baking sheet with cornmeal. In addition to adding lots of texture to the finished product, it prevents the crust from sticking to the pizza stone, baking sheet, or pan. But M is anti-cornmeal. So I dusted a piece of parchment paper with flour and used that instead.

Ingredients - Toppings (Yields about one pizza-ful; double to make enough to use up the dough)
1 small each red, green, orange bell peppers, or about 2 colours of your choice, cut into wedges
4-5 sliced mushrooms (I used shitaake, although this would be nice just with a mixture of mushrooms and asparagus!)
4-5 spears fresh spring asparagus cut into 3-4 inch sections
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t red chili flakes
1/2 t basil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 t balsamic vinegar
3 T olive oil
Tomato sauce
~150 g goat cheese / chevre

Preheat oven, with pizza stone, to 440ºF.

In a medium bowl, toss together vegetables, garlic powder, chili flakes, basil, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Smear tomato sauce onto reserved and shaped crust; top with seasoned vegetables. Drizzle any remaining olive oil mixture over top of pizza. Crumble goat cheese over pizza.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust bottom is lightly browned and toppings are cooked.

Enjoy!

I've enjoyed this with eggplant, portobellos, wilted spinach, and fresh summer tomatoes - it is just so good. Do give it a try and let me know how you like it!

BTW - this is not only limited to veggie toppings. M seemed to have assaulted his half of the pizza today with some cooked ham. C'est la vie!

Bento of the Day: Vegetarian Bento w Inari

I'm trying to eat a little healthier at home to counter balance my dining out. Since I've moved in with M I've taken on a lot of his bad eating habits, including eating meat at (nearly) every meal, serious snacking in front of the television, and generally eating richer foods. Before, I used to go through packages of whole wheat pasta fast, and ate more vegetables, being that my breakfasts and lunches were generally meat-free.

Here is my lunch for today - vegetarian, and my first time playing around with inari. I've never had them at home, only in combinations and takeout from the nearest sushi bar. A friend got me hooked on them. Initially, the sweet flavour really didn't resonate with me, but as time went on I actually craved it! The bonus? Paying $4-6 for 12-16 of them at T&T, versus paying per piece in restaurants for $1.50 to $2.50 or more.

Four pieces of inari, stuffed with brown rice mixed with seasoned rice vinegar. Left to right, one is topped with kinpura Belgium Endive, gomaae, watered down gochujang, and one simply sprinkled with togarashi. I completed the meal with a simple green salad and campari tomato (I had some sesame dressing at work).

As I only had white sushi rice at home, I used regular brown rice instead. Gross, I know. But it worked for me. I was surprised how the toppings worked - I think I'll be making more kinpura vegetables from now on. It is a simple method of frying the shredded vegetable, then seasoning with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and sake. As Belgian Endive is generally bitter, the sugar and sake, paired with the natural sweetness of the inari pocket was a good combo (for me anyways). The brown rice added some nuttiness, although the texture (as it was regular rice) was not favourable.

The gomaae also worked - as I was eating I remembered that I had neglected to add sugar to the cashew and sesame dressing, but again, the sweetness of the inari worked well. If I had added sugar to the dressing, it would have been too sweet. Two for two! How was the gochujang? It provided a much needed "savoury" flavour to the meal. Although the sauce was still slightly sweet, there were touches of spiciness from the Korean chili pepper. As for the final one, it was the only one which needed any soy sauce.

So, do you stuff your own inari at home? (Gosh that sounds dirty.) What do you use? I want some ideas!

Previous bentos:
Hainanese Chicken
Quichie-Quichie Bentos
Holy Meatballs!
Healthy Bento
His and Hers Bentos
Plushie Bentos (My favourite!)

Recipe: Butternut Squash & Romano Bean Soup

If you've been following my twitter, you may have noticed that I declared a temporary meat ban last week. While I haven't been 100% successful (from fistfuls of ham when M was making pea soup last week to dinner with the family this weekend to AYCE Thai lunch with Karl, Sherman, and Kim), the rewards have been generous. I *swear* I can see a change in my complexion, and I feel healthier. I'm also looking to get back into jogging (goal is a half marathon later this year, but please don't hold me to that).

Thankfully, I'd like to say that I truely enjoy my share of vegetables. I was probably one of the only ten year olds that counted broccoli and cauliflower amongst my favourite foods. Today they still are, along with a variety of squashes, beets, mushrooms, eggplant and kale. Here's a hearty but healthy butternut squash and romano bean soup that I whipped up last week to comfort against the cold weather. I pureed a portion of the soup after it was done to thicken it up. The bean and squash texturize the soup very well - you don't miss meat or cream here!

Ingredients
1/2 small onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
~2 t vegetable oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 t ground cumin
3/4 t ground coriander
Salt & pepper to taste
1 butternut squash peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes
1 - 16 oz romano beans
Water to cover

Method
In a large saucepan, over medium to medium-low heat, saute the onion, celery, and carrot until the onion is translucent and fragrant (about eight minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Do not brown.

Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add the squash; stir and cook 1-2 minutes more. Season again.

Add romano beans and add water to just cover vegetables. Simmer on medium low for 20-30 minutes, or until squash is tender. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Remove half (or more, your preference) of the soup into a blender or food processor. Pulse until texture is uniform. Return to pot and simmer on medium low until desired consistency is obtained.

I garnished my soup with a sprinkle of dukkah and some rice milk drizzled over top. With the sweetness of the squash and bean, and the savoury spices, I really enjoyed it. It was a *little* reminicent of the infamous squash at East is East, but in a good way. :) It made for a nice vegan / vegetarian lunch the next day too.

I haven't pinned it down to what exactly I'm trying to accomplish with the meat detox. If anything, just to be healthier and lessen the amount of antibiotics / drugs / crap in my body. So far, it hasn't been hard. But dining out is pretty tricky. Stay tuned for more.

Vegan Recipes for the Bake Sale for Chile!

Just a reminder that the (Vegan) Bake Sale for Chile takes place tonight! 6:30pm to 10pm, at the Radha Yoga & Eatery on 728 Main Street. Here are my two contenders for the event. It is not my first time baking vegan (previous work experience allowed me the expense of learning to substitute certain ingredients for healthier or more ethical options!).

What is vegan? Vegan is a lifestyle that, for health, religious, or ethical reasons, does not utilize or consume any animal-based, or animal-derived products. That is, no meat or use of products like eggs, dairy milk, honey, nor gelatin. The vegan lifestyle also shuns products like leather, silk, or wool, or even other textiles and products that may be be animal derived.

When I was younger, I used to order home-delivered produce through an organization called Urban Organics. It was a company based in Vancouver who would "surprise" you with a weekly delivery of fresh local produce - sadly, I cannot find them on the web. I believe they were bought out by SPUD?

Along with the weekly delivery came a newsletter with recipes and other tidbits of information, and (once) a book by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer titled, "How It All Vegan!". It is a *really* great vegan resource, and as I worked on different projects and looked for healthy recipes, I turned to it time and time again! My favourite recipe is one that includes rice, beans, and zucchini (SO perfect for a winter night!) It is a wonderful stepping stone if you are looking to transition to veganism, as there tips for vegan substitutions for milk and eggs, and a whole section on other consumables such as beauty and pet products.

While I am not vegan, and not even vegetarian, I can appreciate vegans who make the lifestyle choices to avoid consuming any animal products. And vegans who join together to contribute to a charitable cause like relieving Chilean earthquake victims? Even better!

Here are my two contributions to the night: mini babingka cakes, and brownies.

If you've been following my twitter, you'd have seen that I'm erring on the side of using rice milk exclusively, with only skim milk for a "backup". The beauty of having rice / almond / soy / potato milk in the pantry is that it (aside from tasting yummy!) has a long shelf life. The only dairy milk substitute that I *cannot* stomache is hemp milk. Yes, I know we live in BC and I know it is probably one of the healthiest, "whole" food alternatives, but had too much of it at one time and can not drink it anymore. *shudder*

I used a combination of rice milk, coconut milk, and tofu in this babingka recipe to substitute out the butter, egg, and milk that is sometimes used in this Filipino dessert. I also utilized rice flour to make this product gluten-free; while this affects the texture of the finished product (short texture feeling), it pairs nicely with the coconut. I am pretty pleased with the results as the cakes were moist and had a nice coconut flavour.

Ingredients (makes about 24 mini cakes
1 c white rice flour
1/2 c organic cane juice solids
2 t baking powder
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c tofu (I've used original dessert tofu, although a coconut dessert tofu and a mango-peach flavoured dessert tofu were wonderful substitutions as well!)
1/4 c rice milk

Method
Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, sift together the white rice flour, cane juice solids, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, mash tofu, or blend until no large chunks remain. Mix or blend in the coconut and rice milks.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix in the wet ingredients until just mixed. Pour into paper-lined mini muffin tin and bake 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean.

You may cool and serve as is, or you may sprinkle with additional cane juice solids and broil or brulee with a blow torch until the cane sugar caramelizes.

---

The brownies came out a little drier than I had hoped. Next time I'd bake it in a smaller pan for shorter amount of time, and also add some extra chocolate chips for flavour.

Ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 ripe banana
2/3 c organic cane sugar
1 c rice milk
2/3 c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla

Method
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, mash banana together with the cane sugar. Beat in vanilla, rice milk, and vegetable oil.

Spread into a greased (I greased with vegetable oil) 9x3" pan (I would use an 8x8" or 9x9" pan next time!). Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool and cut with a serrated knife.

This was a well-organized event with many volunteers in a great venue. Radha Yoga and Eatery serves vegan (many raw options) fare four nights a week. All baked goods were vegan and were paid for in donations. About $1500 was raised, and will be matched by a corporate sponsor!

Food Bloggers Dinner: East is East (Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC)

What do you get when ~20-odd Vancouver Food Bloggers converge on a Kitsilano eatery? A whole lot of (light)flashes, a load of DSLRs, a handful of P&S cameras, and a busy dishwasher!


The first large food bloggers dinner of 2010, organized graciously by Sherman of Sherman's Food Adventures took place about a week ago at East is East on Broadway. There is another location on Main Street, but during the planning stages of the dinner, the Main Street location was deemed to be too cozy for the large group.

East is East features lives entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays and serves Middle-Eastern inspired cuisine that traces the silk road.

We arrived a couple minutes early and introduced ourselves to Victoria of Victoria's Food Secrets. I recognized her from her picture on her site, so it was very nice to meet her in person! We also bumped into Kevin (604foodtography), Wilson (La Petite Vancouver), Jenny (My Secret Eden) and Ricky. We had met Wilson, Kevin and Jenny previously at Brave Bull's, Alvin Garden, or the Long Table Series at the Irish Heather. While we were waiting to be seated, we were served some complimentary chai.

A couple minutes later, we were ushered out the door and to the adjoining dining area where Sherman was already waiting. Yes, in addition to the upstairs seating area where the weekend buffet is served, there is another dining area next door. Now that I look at the website, East is East seems to have divided their Kitsilano location into three separate entities: Silk n' Spice, Chai Gallery, and East is East. This would explain the three dining areas!

About the Chai... You know how you can only make one first impression? East is East does it right by serving you piping-hot, spicy chai full of ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon notes that makes a lasting impression. Being that it is complimentary is a bonus, and the potent brew is served in a justly-sized espresso cup. The shots of flavour and spice introduce you to the euphoria that is East is East.

We sat down at a wooden table and were joined shortly by Jonathan and his brother, blogger (and guest blogger!) of foodandtell.com. Let's just say that the seating at East is East is low and intimate. On one hand, that may be preferable for a romantic dinner date. On the other hand, it makes it a little awkward if you are sitting and dining at a coffee table in a larger party.

While we chatted about the Olympics (can you believe it is less than two weeks away??!) and Jonathan looked half scared, half amused when I mentioned that sleeping cots were on sale, Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food!) and Anita (Petite Foodie) arrived. Since space was at a premium, Kim snagged a spot at an adjoining table, While Anita (and her brand new Canon T1i!) joined our table.

An order was placed and food appeared at a quick pace - as we wanted to sample a little bit of everything, our entire table (save for Anita) ordered the Eastern Plate, which came with your choice of two items, as well as salad, Dhal / pea soup, roti (one stuffed with sauteed onions, one plain), Afghan and coconut rice, and a onion pickle.

The great part (for M, anyways), was that the portions of the two choice "mains" were unlimited - thus we sampled portions of the lamb kebab, chicken masala, beef kebab, afghan eggplant, alu gobi, and the mango butter squash.

Overall result? We loved it! M was particularly fond of the chicken masala and the lamb kebab. The chicken was tender and flavourful, and the lamb was flavoured with mediterranean / Moroccan herbs. As for me, I was impressed with everything, but *really* loved the Afghan eggplant, alu gobi (cauliflower & potato dish) and the beef kebab.

I was predominantly taken with the vegetable dishes that East is East prepared. The alu gobi blew me away. I think my tablemates can attest to this - I got quite quiet as I slowly savoured my portion of alu gobi! I love cauliflower and potatoes in all shapes and forms, but this stewed cauliflower potato dish not only had a smooth, buttery flavour, but also texture. In a cuisine that offers overcooked, soggy vegetables, you could tell the vegetables from each other at East is East!

The eggplant, braised with a bit of chili for heat and sundried tomatoes was enjoyed by three of us at our table, and the mushrooms stewed with the beef kebabs took center stage for that dish. As an aside, the dhal / lentil soup which accompanies each Eastern plate is delicious and rich as well. It's been a long time since I've had a tasty fiber-rich food.

The miss of the evening would have to be the mango butter squash. I'd been forewarned about the texture of this dish to be similar to baby food, but I wasn't prepared for the puree that appeared from the kitchen, nor was I prepared for the sweet / tangy / savoury flavour of it either. I don't know, maybe I just didn't get it? I thought there would be *some butternut squash chunks in there, or that the flavour would be more "rich butternut squash" instead of tangy mango. The good thing is that if you go to East is East with your grandpa or your friends with a baby, there'd be something for them on the menu. ;)

The price of this feast? A mere $20. M and I agreed that we were relieved that East is East wasn't closer - we would be quite round thanks to their $20 Eastern plate. We would return to East is East, and have already recommended the restaurant to Ms' brother has his son is a pint-sized veggie monster. Yes, you put some vegetables or fruit in front of him, it will disappear...

I'd also recommend East is East to vegans or vegetarians, or someone looking to get out of the typical Chinese / Japanese / Indian that Vancouver has to offer. East is East is decidedly Kitsilano, if anything, and their menu has lots of options for carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores alike!

After dinner some folks left, but mostly everyone stuck around for a while to chat and mingle. It was nice to see some old faces, but a lot of new faces as well! I was really excited to see Angie (Sea Salt with Food) there - her site is *full* of gorgeous photography and recipes. Surprised, as well to see B, Joyces' boyfriend there. It goes to show how small Vancouver really is, as he used to live behind my parents, and graduated with my cousin dearest. Of course, recognizing him was one of those classic Jessica "foot in mouth" moments!

It was a great meal as we'd been meaning to try East is East for a long time. Thank you to Sherman for organizing the dinner and notifying us about it. Another aside, it was sure interesting to see how small Vancouver is, even through the food blog scene. I'm sure there's a lot more connections that we'll only begin to unravel as time goes on!



East is East
3243 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6K
P: 604-734-5881




Bloggers in attendance:
Sherman : Sherman's Food Adventures : Post is up!
Joyce & Frank : Van Foodies
Tiffanie : [eating club] Vancouver
Victoria : Victoria's Food Secrets : Post is up!
Darina : Gratinee
Kim : I'm Only Here for the Food! : Post is up!
Kevin : 604Foodtography
Anita : Petite Foodie
Jenny & Ricky : My Secret Eden
Jonathan : Food & Tell
Angie : Sea Salt with Food : Post is up! (With a fantastic pineapple tart recipe and video!)
Wilson : La Petite Vancouver
Mijune : Follow Me Foodie: Post is up!
Melody : Gourmet Fury

Recipe: Tomato & Mozzarella with Sel de Guerande

Remember how I visited Whole Foods on Cambie this weekend?

Well of *course* I couldn't leave empty handed!

I actually circle the store a couple times, oohing and aahing at their beautiful frosted mini cupcakes, their assortment of dried mushrooms, variety of salts, and selection of cheeses. I wanted a lot of products but didn't want to spend that much money, knowing that there was a huge mark up and I already had a fair amount of leftovers and food to work through at home.



I wound up buying some Fleur de Sel (de Guerande) and some dried lobster mushrooms.

For dinner one night, we had a simple salad. What follows is not a traditional recipe, but a sort of arrangement and garnishing of alternating mozzarella and ripe hot house tomatoes with drops of fig-scented balsamic vinegar, a couple pickled capers, a twist or two of black peppercorn, a pinch of chopped parsley, and of course, some fleur de sel.



The fleur de sel is about twenty to thirty times more expensive than regular table salt. This is owed to the fact that it is hand-harvested in a town in France (Guerande). There are different grades of salt coming from Guerande, but Fleur de Sel remains the top quality salt. Fleur de sel has a less harsh taste than table or sea salts and dissolves quickly on the tongue.

I actually debated about getting grey salt de Guerande at Whole Foods, and reasoned that it was half the price of the small tub of salt that I eventually walked out with, for about five times more...but the fancypants in me went with Fleur de Sel. :) Aaaah. Gotta love eating.

Recipe: Simply Sunny Fruit Salad

It is a week of sunshine like this, with the cherry blossoms blooming and clear blue skies that make Vancouver such a likeable city.

The sun also made me indulge in a bunch of fresh fruit and melon - perfect for snacking on, or an accompaniment to a healthy lunch!



Feel free to incorporate any of your favourite fruits!

Ingredients
1 baby watermelon, diced
4 small organic kiwis, peeled & diced
2 Alphonso (Philipine) mangoes, peeled & diced
1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced

Method
Mix all ingredients together gently. Enjoy within 2-3 days!

I've been eating this all week - the tart kiwis with the fragrant mangoes and the sweet pineapple *all* go so well together!

Recipe: Zucchini and Carrot Pappardelle with Parsley Sauce

Sunny days call for sunny recipes! . . .too bad this is being posted a day late. Vancouver had a sunny weekend that extended two days into the work week. Unfortunately, this morning it gradually clouded over.

Although, while it was sunny, I had the chance to whip out the pasta machine again and made a batch of pappardelle, a thin, wide ribbon pasta accompanied by equally wide ribbons of tender zucchini and carrots that were sliced thin on my handy mandoline.



I brought the veggies and fresh pasta together with a fresh (and raw!)parsley sauce blended together in my handy magic bullet (this entry should be a kitchen gadget entry!).

Ingredients

2 small zucchinis, trimmed and sliced with a mandoline to 1/8" (~0.3cm) thick
2 small carrots, peeled, trimmed and sliced with a mandoline to 1/8" (~0.3cm) thick
1 pasta dough recipe

1 bunch parsley
1/4 cup piave vecchio, parmesan, romano, or other hard cheese
Juice of half a lemon
5 cloves of roasted garlic
3 T olive oil
2-3 T hazelnuts or pepitas
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup water

Method

Divide the pasta dough recipe into three portions. Roll each portion out with the pasta machine. Start with the lowest setting, run the dough through once, fold the dough into thirds, run through the machine again, and repeat.

Increase the thickness setting and run the dough through the machine; dust lightly with flour if necessary, and run through twice more. Repeat this step with all the thickness settings until you get to setting 6. Dust the pasta strip with more flour, fold or roll loosely into a bundle, and cut into approximately 3/4" (~2cm) strips. Dust with more flour, and hang on suspended wooden spoon handles to dry slightly while you roll out the rest of the dough.

For the sauce, blend together the last 7 ingredients together in a blender, food processor, or magic bullet. Taste for seasoning; add more cheese, salt or pepper to taste. Set sauce aside.

Slice the vegetables with a mandoline to about 1/8" (~0.3cm) thick. Slice the strips lengthwise in half if necessary.

Bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Quickly blanch the vegetable strips for 30-60 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon to an ice bath. Drain and reserve in a large bowl for later.

In the same large stock pot, bring the water back to a rolling boil. Drop in the dried pappardelle and stir to loosen and separate the strands. Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until desired doneness. Remove with tongs or a pasta fork to bowl of blanched vegetable strips.

Add parsley sauce to pasta and veggies, toss lightly, and serve!

Be sure to enjoy in the sun. :) It makes all the difference in the world!

Recipe: Pumpkin Ravioli with Pecans and Butter

I promised in my last jaunt with ravioli making that I'd post a couple more photos and possibly a recipe. Here she is!

I opted for a pumpkin ravioli this time as I found the crumbly meat mixture to be difficult to work with last time. The pumpkin, on the other hand, held together nicely and didn't provide too much air in the way of vacant space inside the raviolis themselves.

This time, I used the same pasta dough recipe, and made the raviolis by running them through the pasta machine a number of times. I ran a quarter of the pasta dough recipe through the pasta machine at a time. For the first few passes, I folded it into thirds and ran it through again. I ran it through each thickness setting at least three times before increasing the thickeness setting dial.



I prepared a filling by mixing together:
1 c cooked pumpkin (I suppose cooked butternut squash would work wonderfully as well!)
1/4 c grated piave vecchio cheese
Pinch nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste



The rolled pasta dough was placed onto the ravioli form; I then placed the corresponding piece over the dough and pressed slightly to create an indent in the sheet of pasta dough.





About two teaspoons of the pumpkin filling was spooned into each indentation, and, after water was brushed around the edges of each ravioli, another sheet of pasta dough was placed and pressed into place.





A rolling pin was used to cut the dough against the ravioli form, and the individual ravioli were gently popped out and dredged heavily in flour. The raviolis were allowed to dry at room temperature for a good half hour before being dredged in more flour and stored between sheets of parchment paper in the fridge.





When I was ready to eat some ravioli, I removed them from the fridge and boiled a large pot of salted water. Once the water came to a rolling boil, several (about six per serving?) raviolis were dropped into the water, and immediately stirred to separate from one another.

Concurrently, I melted about a tablespoon of butter over medium heat, and toasted some pecan halves for about 2-3 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. I seasoned the mixture with salt and pepper, and also a pinch of ground thyme. Once the ravioli had cooked for about five minutes and floated to the top of the pan, I removed them with a slotted spoon and dropped into the hot butter. I continued to stir the raviolis and walnuts for a couple of minutes, then plated and served, garnished with some chives and freshly shaved piave vecchio.

It was rich, but so good. And vegetarian to boot!

I've also had the ravioli in chicken broth, and with some of the meat mixture from my lettuce wrap recipe since. It makes for a hearty, yet healthy meal. :)

Recipe: Braised Tofu with Mushrooms and Carrots

I had a conversation with M this weekend about being given the choice to give up vegetables or to give up meat. For me, I could cut out meat. For him, it was the opposite.



Before I moved in with him, I would have primarily meat (usually chicken) once a week for lunch; for dinner, I'd have lots of vegetables with small amounts of meat. Now, I eat meat everyday. Sometimes I have it for breakfast as well! Now, I like meat, but I love vegetables as well. Sometimes I actually crave certain vegetables.

It must have crept into my subconcious, as we went grocery shopping yesterday and I decided to make braised tofu with roast pork - however, when we were done dinner, I put some leftovers away and said, "what's that in the corner? Oh! I totally forgot to add the roast pork!" And I (I can only speak for myself) didn't even miss it.

Thus, we have a recipe for Braised Tofu with Mushrooms and Carrots. :)

This recipe was inspired by Kylie Kwong's Food TV show, "My China". Her dish was Braised Tofu with Tomatoes - I actually didn't feel like having tomatoes, so mushrooms and carrots would suffice.

Ingredients
1/4 c canola oil
1 package (350g) firm tofu, cut into 3/4" slices (I used Sunrise brand)
~1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1" of ginger, sliced
1/2 carrot, sliced

3 T Chinese cooking wine
1 T sugar
1/2 t dried red chilis (or to taste)
1-2 T soy sauce
2 T white vinegar
Green onion, sliced, for garnish

Method
In a large pan, heat canola oil at medium heat.

Drop in slices of tofu away from you, and allow the slices to brown slightly. Flip over with tongs and allow to brown. Remove tofu from pan.



Saute ginger until fragrant. Add mushrooms and carrot and saute until mushrooms are soft. Add cooking wine to pan and stir. Allow to evaporate for about a minute before adding sugar, chilis, soy sauce and vinegar. Make some space for the tofu; add the tofu into the pan and baste with the pan juices. Allow to braise and heat through until sauce has reduced by half.

Plate, garnish with green onions, and enjoy with steamed rice!



I found the tofu nice and "pickle-y". The leftovers were nice for lunch as you could taste the spiciness of the chilis, and the sweet / sour / saltiness of everything else. Num!

If I would change anything, it would be to change to a medium tofu. Although the firm tofu was nice, it was a little too chewy for this dish. Still, a healthy recipe keeper.