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

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!

Poutine @ Anny's Dairy Bar (New Westminster BC)

I've written about Anny's Dairy Bar before - M and I stopped by in the summer for burgers, frieds, and their creamy soft serve (with caramel ripple!).

Since I wrote that post though, there has been a number of posts about poutine - from Phyllis' poutine marathon (12 poutines in 12 days) to Mijunes posts (and vlog) on David Street. Since I had noticed that Anny's Dairy Bar served poutine (and also sold the cheese curds) in the Royal City, I'd mentioned it in a comment on Phyllis' entry.

I have a confession. I am a poutine newbie! Growing up, cheese simply disgusted me. I would watch a highschool friend of mine (all 90lbs of her) order a large poutine from NY fries and she'd down it all herself. She had just moved from Montreal and she said it reminded her of home. I'd pretty much gag a little as I watched her consumer her meal/snack.

Years later, it wasn't until M started forcing me to try cheese that I started to give in. Shortly thereafter, M realized that he'd created a monster - I was buying a new cheese every week, and while I was living in Victoria for a short time, me and one of my roomates would make cheese, fruit and crackers (and the occasional pate) our dinner. (I miss those days!) Surprisingly, I was probably the thinnest in my life during that period.

Fast forward to today. I love cheese, but have still not conquered poutine. I don't know - something about cheese curds and gravy. I'd much rather have the fries on their own, or topped with chili or accompanying stew.

So as I read more and more of Phyllis and Mijunes' posts on poutine, I figured I'd have to make a foray into the world of poutine. And so I did...keep in mind that every journey begins with a single step! :p

Last weekend, I found myself back at Anny's Dairy Bar, craving something warm, comforting, and filling. Poutine would do the trick!

There was a single attendant in the establishment but the steady patrons kept her busy while I was there. Some were finishing up their soft serve cones; others were picking at their burgers or poutines. How was it? Did it pop my poutine cherry? (Theoretically, it did, as I've never had a poutine to myself nor have I ever finished more than a couple bites.)

I'll just say that it was a comfortable foray into the poutine world. The fries were slightly crisp and seasoned well, however there was too much gravy in my portion and some fries actually got left behind of this. The curds were not "squeaky" like Phyllis has mentioned, and had been added cold onto the hot fries. Despite being some curds being lukewarm and no squeaky texture, the cures were yummy! Some curds melted; others remained intact. The gravy was not too salty (thank goodness) and had a nice texture.

The meal was what I wanted it to be; satisfying and comforting, however I'd like to try other poutines (like Brado Pizza's!) to see how they stack up.

Anny's Dairy Bar
722 Sixth Street
New Westminster BC
P: 604-515-1410

Balkan House (Edmonds, Burnaby, BC)

HVA is in town!

I've know HVA for almost as long as I learnt to speak English - her brother and my brother were friends, and so when we started Kindergarten together (way back when!), we also started ESL together. Being visible minorities in a different world (we were two of the five, I think - there was a Latin boy, an Indian girl, and a Chinese boy to round out the ESL crew. w00t.), we stuck together. Being that our brothers were also friends helped. Then there was the fact that we were also at the beginning of the Kindergarten roster - it ensured that we sat together on the huge square carpet as well as for classroom activities!

We went through junior high and graduated high school together, then for one reason or another (her mother doesn't have many "favourite" memories of me - I wonder why? lol), we drifted apart.

About two years ago, thanks to the magic of facebook, we got in touch again. At that point, she had just had her first born. Now, that little one is over two years old and HVA is expecting again! Congratulations!

When I was researching something in the Burnaby / New West area that would be suitable for us, Balkan House came up. I remember someone mentioning it at the June Bloggers Dinner - Kim, perhaps? Whoever it was said that it was good value...and being that I just spent a load of (unnecessary) money in Osoyoos on food, booze and wine, I could use value!

Balkan House it was!



The restaurant is set on Edmonds street with a shared parking lot in the back. Aside from the parking lot, there are a couple of side street parking spaces, but it is better to show up later as there are a number of bus stops, businesses, as well as other restaurants around the area, and parking could possibly become hard to find.

I'd read reviews about Balkan House catering to meat-lovers and mostly Serbian customers, but when we went last night, there were at least three tables of "non-Serbians", while the remaining patrons were greeting each other and the waitstaff in (what I perceived to be) Serbian.

The waitress was friendly, but she spoke with an accent, so getting her to explain some of the traditional dishes was a lesson in listening carefully. :) She did answer all our questions, although part of me thinks that if I were to ask her to teach me Serbian, I'd get smacked on the knuckles a lot for getting things wrong. haha!



The waitress started us off with some light bread - the crisp rolls were served with pats of butter and were warm. I guess they wanted to keep the bread light since the meals were so meaty and hearty! HVA and her friend Kris ordered mozza sticks and calamari.

Everyone agreed that the mozza sticks could have had more flavour - they were crispy and chewy, but lacked some spice. The calamari was light and crispy. The sauce accompanying it added a tangy refreshing note.

Each of the entrees were accompanied by salad, rice, and potato. The Greek salad was tasty as always, but I think it could have been fresher. M liked his though!

Next was the star of the show - meat!



As expected, M ordered the Balkan Platter for one - six different meats served with rice and potato! The platter included meat patties (we were guessing veal, pork, and something else?), pork shishkabobs, home made sausage in casing, smoked pork neck, grilled bacon, and cevapcici, a home made sausage. I tried a bit of everything on Ms plate, and I liked the sausage (in casing!) and one of the more flavourful (veal?) meat patties best. I'd order M's dish again.

Kris ordered the Cordon Bleu Veal Schnitzel stuffed with ham and cheese. It looked great, but I didn't get a chance to taste any. You could hear them tenderizing and flattening the veal after we'd ordered - that's what I call fresh!

As for me, I ordered the lamb chops. I haven't had lamb in the *longest* time, so it was about time for me to chow down. (M and I had a bad lamb experience over a year ago). Although it wasn't the best cut of lamb, four lamb chops for just under $16 was not a bad call.

We were glad to find Balkan House - it's close to home and excellent on value - all of us had leftovers to take home. I had my leftovers for lunch! We're sure to visit Balkan House some time soon when the carnivore in us is hungry!

Sidenote: it sure felt WIERD having Kris stare at me when I took my first photos. Then HVA explained that I kept a food blog - then joked that I didn't have a good photo of Kris' plate when he attempted to take a bite. I didn't have a great photo, but was more intent on the company rather than a blog post. :) Till next time...

Balkan House

7530 Edmonds Street [map]

Burnaby BC

Phone: 604-524-0404

Foodie Blogger Meme

It's May!!! Time for a foodie Meme.

What is your favorite meal to prepare?

Depends on the mood, really. I made a really great anchovy-garlic-balsamic dressing at M's house a couple days ago. Last night I attempted to make pisalladerie last night, but all I had were sweet and red onions (and not enough, at that). I'll probably make it sometime this weekend in an attempt to carb up for the Marathon. I guess right now I like fresh, simple things?

Is there a food that you indulge in when you know you shouldn't?

Cheese. I buy cheese when I know I shouldn't - be it too rich, be it that I have some at home already (but not this particular type!), be it that I am training for an event and need to cut down on the fat. I always end up eating it in limited amounts, until it molds. Then I cut off the mold and snack a little. Then it molds again and I process continues until I splurge on another hunk of delicious, exotic cheese.

What food always reminds you home?

I suppose I should answer this in a couple months. But my mother actually doesn't cook as much. She buys a lot of "butchers goodies", which includes roast pork, bbq pork, roast duck, and vegetarian / gluten food. I suppose that steamed eggs with duck or salted yolks in it, or vermicelli with gingered baby choys (bok choy or gai choy) reminds me of something so simple, so real as home.

What's the perfect snack?

Fresh veg or lightly blanched vegetables - where you can *taste* the essence of the food, without the adulteration of sauces, dips, or other masking agents. Mmmm. I have cherry tomatoes in the fridge for my morning break today.

What was your most memorable meal?

There are so many. I had a really romantic meal with M earlier this year, at Chambar. I can still remember what the perfectly seared sablefish tasted like when M fed me over the table, and the playful flavours of the passionfruit sundae, especially when I mixed it with the (REAL!) chocolate from M's apple dessert. *insert Homer Simpson drool here* Another memorable meal, was Christmas dinner from three years ago. Everyone put aside their differences, and the food was plentiful and delicious. All the cousins were together, we all joked around, and people enjoyed themselves. Mains were prime rib and ham. Someone brought a whole suckling pig. And of course, I made lots of appetizers, sides and hor d'oevres. Loved it.

When you are out at a restaurant or bar, what's your drink of choice?

At a restaurant, a nice glass of wine to go with my meal. At a bar, I just have to start off on jager-bombs. When I feel buzzed enough from that, then its on to long island iced teas.

What's your favorite restaurant and what do you order there?

I have to pick one??! The world is so boring when you only have one.

What three things are always in your refrigerator?

Milk, butter, eggs.

Do you have a comfort food?

Pasta. Pasta with ham in soup, pasta with pesto. Pasta with tomato rose sauce, pasta with meatballs in tomato sauce.

What are you having for dinner tonight?

We're going to the Gastown Mavi launch party tonight. Later we'll be going down the street to Guu Otokomae for some ebi mayo, salmon and seven friends, black cod steak, kimchi rice bowl, and other delicious, mouth watering appys. Can`t wait!!!