Bon Appetit!

My inspiration for beginning this blog came after watching the movie Julie and Julia. Not only did it make me laugh, it also inspired me to try more recipes including a French dinner. My dear friend FoodyBelle and I have been trying to make this happen for some time now and other things seem to keep taking priority. Well not any more! What a great way to spend the day than to caramelize onions for over 4 hours...... So lets start with the menu:

Soup a l'oignon

Chevre Chaud

Legumes glaces

Poulet valle d'auge

Madeline's & Macaroons

I was to be responsible for the soup and veggies, not a small feat! My morning began with fresh veggie shopping at the market and then on to the onions. In order to get the full sweet flavour of the onions you need to slowly...... cook the onions for for hours stirring every 15 minutes. Is it worth it? I think so, this was easily the best French Onion soup I have had and it's not because I spent the day creating my masterpiece.

My glazed veggies consisted of purple yam, carrots, turnip, rutabaga, and more. However they turned out more steamed than glazed but if flavour is the true decider then we had a winner! I even made the extra effort and showed up on time!

We began the evening with a bang. After all could there be a better way to begin the evening than with a Kir Royale?? I think not! For any of you who don't know what that is, it's a delightful blend of champagne and black currant (cassis) liqueur.

A fabulous night not only the food but the company made it unforgettable. I won't give away all the secrets, I'll let FoodyBelle tell you some tasty details and her story of her first whole chicken adventure! My words of advice, don't be discouraged by a recipe that says 4 hours, it can turn out to be an absolute treasure!

Gourmet Dinner for 1

Choosing what to eat is hard enough when thinking of the family or friends you have to feed. I however find it harder to try and make a dinner for 1 without resorting to popcorn or take out. Today was a great exception! While my husband went out for chicken wings I stayed home and waited for the bbq to warm up. First things first, spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and goat cheese drizzled with a fat free ranch dressing (trying to keep it light). To the bbq went my little seasoned lamb chops with fresh rosemary and I could hardly wait. 4 minutes a side and dinner is served. After enjoing a delightful fresh and lean dinner what could top that? A nice bowl of sweet local blueberries topped with creme fraice and a smidgen of agave syrup, a bowl of pure bliss. Boy will I miss these little bobbles of freshness when summer is over...

Don't judge a cake by it's frosting...

I saw this beautiful, heavenly looking cake online and thought it would make a great birthday cake for my husband's 33rd birthday. It was a simple vanilla cake with an italian meringue icing and I just couldn't resist the shiny, glossy, eat me look about it. Not usually one for the 'plain jane' flavours I added some homemade strawberry preserves a friend gave me to the middle icing layer for some extra oomph. The next morning I sent it to work for e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e in the office to eat...
I texted him later in the day to see how it went and this was his reply... "the icing was really good, the cake was really dry." You know I don't really mind having a baking disaster at home, but a public baking disaster is something else. I guess it is impossible to have a perfect product every time and I have come to accept that. However, this new found acceptance did not stop me from hunting down the most moist cake recipe I could find, baking it in a 35C kitchen and sending it to work with him this morning as an apology for the dry and sawdusty, albeit pretty, cake with the really tasty icing. A big THANKS to the Rebar in Victoria for their Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese-White Chocolate Icing recipe. Today's text reads like this, "cake is very yummy, compliments all around." I know, I am a kitchen perfectionist! Call me crazy, I need the whole cake to taste good, not just the icing.

Too Hot To Cook

I'm sure you have all been there before, you just got home for work, it's way too hot and you're way to tired to put together a meal. So, what do you do? Well if you're me you pack up the stroller and go for a walk to the inconveniently close Panago and order the take out special: a personal pizza and a drink for $6. With the recent healthy lunches at work I was determined to add a little healthy to this improvised meal plan. Next stop the very close Save On Foods, a little arugula, some grape tomatoes, and fresh goat cheese and voila it's a salad to compliment the grilled veggie pizza that was almost ready. For dessert I strolled through the freezer isle and by-passed the ice cream and chose the real fruit Popsicles. The best choices maybe not, but some good choices mixed in there.

Waldorf Salad - Redone!

As a healthy alternative to the often last minute lunch choices at work 3 coworkers and myself take turns making lunch 1 day a week each. Since Thursday's are my days I'm always looking for something yummy to share with the group. Mid-morning usually consists of yogurt parfaits, with fresh fruit and granola. With it being berry season this is always a delightful treat. My choice for tomorrow was a Waldorf salad and in my true fashion I changed it up a bit. I started with fat free Ranch dressing (in place of mayo) and added fresh lemon juice and fresh cracked pepper. In the bowl goes chopped celery, red grapes sliced in half, 1/4 cup walnut pieces, chopped turkey, diced red onion and voila! Low-fat tasty lunch you can serve on a bed of lettuce or baby spinach. Let's hope the ladies like it!

The Spice of Life!

When my husband suggested going out for dinner for our 5th anniversary I said sure (no cooking for me). When he suggested Jambo Grill I said "absolutely" with extreme enthusiasm. This fabulous Indian/African restaurant could be missed if you didn't know it was there and you would never have the chance at the taste sensation it holds. Not much to look at, nothing fancy but what it lacks in glamour it more than makes up for in the food they serve. The taste of pili pili wings is spicy but with such a depth of flavours it makes regular chicken wings taste like sloppy seconds in comparison. I deviated from my regular beef skewers and opted for a goat curry that would knock your socks off! This seemingly small bowl felt like it was bottomless and the smell was only topped by the complex flavours and perfectly cooked meat. The naan bread is fresh, hot and light as air, the way real naan should be. If you can't decide between the regular, garlic or spicy naan, my pick is the regular as the food has more than enough flavours you don't want to miss any of them. My guilty pleasure is the never ending cup of Indian chai to which I add sugar (normally I don't add sugar to my tea). It's subtle spice is instantly relaxing and something I look forward to on all my visits. Now if the delicious food wasn't enough to keep you going the friendly and cheerful owner would be. In a time when people are too busy to even take care of their own businesses it is a refreshing sight to see an owner so involved in his restaurant and taking the time to greet his customers and offer that personal touch that seems to be lacking more and more. Can't wait to try the Butter Paneer next time!

If you want to check out their website: http://www.jambogrill.ca/

Wedding shower madness!

In preparation for a dear friend's wedding shower I began my research. This included taking great pleasure perusing my recipe books for inspiration and inspiration I found! Truth be told my perusing stopped at my new Martha Stewart cupcake recipe book and I got the much anticipated chance to try more recipes! My gigantic cupcake pan got it's use again and took centre stage with a beautiful coconut cupcake with a 7 minute icing and gently decorated with ribboned coconut. Quite a delight even after the calamity of trying to cut it. This was not the only show stopper but surrounding this monster of a cupcake were little delightful oreo cheesecakes. Diabetics beware as my table was in danger of inducing a sugar coma... Though the cupcakes were the main attraction they were not to be out done by the goat cheese crisps and mini croissant sandwiches beside the fantastic sandwich torte! Thank goodness for the many recliners in my living room where we took refuge from the food.... All in all a good time was had by all!

Cupcakes continued...

Thank you Foodybelle for the Martha Stewart cupcake recipe book! To go with it another friend gave me a giant cupcake pan. The two together are a dangerous combination, where to start? The first attempt came at the request of my husband; devil's food cake with creamy peanut butter icing. Can you top this? Only with truffle crunch sprinkles! This was the perfect accompaniment to an evening with friends while watching True Blood. More to come....