True Moroccan Cuisine at Walima Café

Walima Café
1450 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON  M4J 1N4
Tel: 647-268-3327

This week, a group of friends and I dined at Walima Café, located on the Danforth.

The restaurant came highly recommended to me by a few Moroccans several months ago, who said I would not be disappointed. And I was not. What a treasure this place is! I only wish I had gone sooner.

It’s been a few days since I dined at Walima, and already I’m thinking of my next meal there.

Walima allows you to travel to Morocco without spending money on an airline ticket. For the few hours that I was there, I felt transported to North Africa: with the sounds of people speaking French, the perfume of cinnamon and cumin in the air, and the beautiful décor of our seating area.

Upon entering the restaurant and walking past the red textiles draping the entryway, we were seated by the window.  With colourful carpets, silks draping the ceilings, multi-coloured sofas and chairs, beautiful Berber pillows, and lovely wrought iron lanterns adding light to the saffron and aubergine painted walls, this is the perfect oasis to enjoy an authentic Moroccan meal.

Opened in 2009, the restaurant is located on a stretch of Danforth Avenue where there are many other African restaurants and businesses. Walima comes from the Arabic translation of a marriage banquet, a feast where people are invited and gather together. And what a banquet we had.

Upon our arrival, our waiter, also the owner, Mohamed, provided our table with tasty black olives that were mildly spiced and the mandatory Moroccan mint tea. Wearing a burgundy fez, he elaborately poured the tea from a height of about 12 inches into pretty Moroccan tea glasses. I was mesmerized as I watched the scalding tea gracefully hit the glasses. It was delicious, with just the right amount of sugar.

Mohamed was very friendly and efficient. Considering he was the only waiter in the restaurant, he did a good job of looking after us.  The appetizers came quickly. 

The beet salad ($4.75) had thinly sliced red onions, with a lovely dressing made of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, ground cumin and honey. An irresistible combination.

The warm zaalook ($5.25) was very flavourful, with cilantro and toasted cumin giving the  mashed char-grilled eggplant a lovely texture and taste.  

I thoroughly enjoyed the bakoula ($5.75), cooked, mashed spinach and olives with preserved lemon.   Again, another marvelous dish with great flavours and textures.  The lemon wasn’t too overpowering, as it can be when added to some dishes. 

The grilled merguez sausages ($6.25), served with hot harissa sauce, were also a hit.  Not too heavy or fatty, and very flavourful.

When Mohamed arrived with the tagines for our table, I immediately dug into mine.

At first, I was overwhelmed by the lamb shank ($13.95), with the huge bone taking up a large portion of the plate; but once I got past that, the meat was delicious, tender and tasty. There was a thick ribbon of fat running through meat, which I didn’t particularly like; but overall, the slow cooked meat with  caramelized onions, stewed figs, apricots and lovely almonds was quite delicious. I was not disappointed. 

The couscous was perfect, with a wonderful sandy texture that absorbed all of the  juices of my dish.

The Chicken Marrakesh ($13.25) came with saffron potatoes, preserved lemons and olives. My friend was very happy with her choice.

For those who are not big into meat, there are vegetarian options to be had as well. One of my friends is vegan, and she was able to find items on the menu to suit her diet.  She thoroughly enjoyed the couscous and vegetables.

Walima is a great restaurant if you want to sit, relax and eat at your own pace.  It’s a great venue to catch up with friends, as we did.  The atmosphere is cozy, casual and very conducive to relaxing, eating and enjoying life.

I’m returning very soon.

Review:
Food:               8 out of 10
Service:           8 out of 10
Décor:             10 out of 10
Value:              10 out of 10

If you’ve eaten at Walima Café, please post a comment.

An Eggplant for All Seasons

Next to the tomato, the eggplant is my favourite vegetable.

My mum prepared many eggplant dishes when I was growing up: barbecue roasted eggplants marinated in olive oil and vinegar and then canned and preserved; baked eggplants stuffed with ground meat, cheese and tomato sauce; fried eggplant patties, held together with egg, parmesan and bread crumbs; eggplant parmigiana, with lots of gooey mozzarella; and eggplant lasagna, replacing the ground meat to make it a vegetarian version.

Eggplants are so versatile; available all year-round, they can be used to make amazing meals any time.

Originally from India, where it is known as brinjal, the eggplant is used in several international cuisines.  In France, ratatouille is made by stewing eggplants with other vegetables; in Turkey, it is stuffed and called imam bayildi; the Chinese and Thai use it in stir fry with tofu as well as in curries; Greeks use eggplants for their vegetable moussaka; and Middle Eastern and African countries have many recipes using eggplant as well, including Iran and Morocco.

This beautiful vegetable has a unique taste and texture.  It becomes very tender when cooked properly and has a rich flavour. In many recipes, the eggplant complements the other ingredients, such as tomato sauce and cheese.

In order to tenderize the eggplant and remove the bitterness, I always “degorge” them, which involves salting, rinsing and draining. After cutting the eggplant into very thin slices, sprinkle with salt and allow to rest for about one hour, then rinse the eggplant to remove the excess salt. This  is a must when preparing eggplants.  It really does makes a difference to your dish.

Choose eggplants that are firm and heavy.  Make sure the skin is smooth and shiny, with a vivid purple colour. There should be no scars or bruises.  To test for the ripeness of an eggplant, gently press the skin with your finger. If it springs back, the eggplant is perfect.

My all-time favourite eggplant dish is eggplant parmigiana.  I usually make it in the colder months as it’s very hearty and rich. My mum’s original recipe involves frying the eggplant slices to a lovely thin crisp. And while this version is ever so tasty and yummy, my mum now bakes her eggplants.

When my mum initially told me she now bakes her eggplant parmigiana, I was aghast and really thought the flavour would be nowhere near as good. Well, I was wrong. When I follow my mum’s instructions, the dish comes out beautifully every single time.

I like to use the small eggplants, also called Italian eggplants, because I find this particular eggplant to be more tender than the larger ones. I’ve also taken a few liberties with her recipe. While my mum serves this dish as an accompaniment to meat, I like to make mine as a standalone dish, so I add sliced hard boiled egg between the layers for protein.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Ingredients:

5 or 6 small eggplants, sliced, degorged and rinsed
1 jar of strained tomatoes, about 175 ml
Salt, to taste
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Sprigs of fresh basil, however much you want
1 hot chili pepper
5 hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced
Parmesan, grated, however much you want
Mozzarella, grated, about 2 cups

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place thinly sliced eggplants on baking sheets and place in oven to bake for about 30 minutes – 15 minutes on each side.

Add the strained tomatoes to a pot, adding salt, basil, minced garlic and the whole chili pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the pepper and basil leaves from the pot.

While the eggplant slices are baking and the tomato sauce is simmering, boil the eggs.

Line the bottom of a casserole dish with tomato sauce, add the baked eggplant slices, parmesan, more tomato sauce, and the egg slices. Layer again with the eggplant slices and repeat the process until all the ingredients are used.

Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting.

Another eggplant dish I really like is eggplant caponata. I tried it for the first time a few years ago, when I attended an event at the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto which was hosting a Sicilian food and literary event. I initially went for the cannoli and the arancini, but once I tried the caponata, I fell in love with it. This makes a great side dish.

Sicilian Eggplant Caponata

Ingredients:

4 small eggplants
Salt, to taste
1 red onion, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 jar of strained tomatoes, about 175 ml
Sprigs of fresh basil, however much you want
Capers, however much you want
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of green olives, pitted
6 slices of anchovy filets

Wash the eggplants, dice, place in a strainer, sprinkle with salt, and let sit for one hour to draw out the bitterness. Once the eggplant has sat, rinse away the salt and pat the pieces dry.

Slice the onion and sauté in olive oil; once translucent, add the celery. When the celery is partly cooked, add the tomatoes and simmer.

While the tomatoes are cooking, heat a second pot of oil and fry the diced eggplant in several batches. When the last batch is done, add the eggplants to the simmering pot of tomatoes and cook for a few moments, until everything is blended nicely.

Add pine nuts to a baking sheet and bake until slightly browned.

Remove eggplants from the oven, and let cool completely. Garnish with pine nuts, green olives, capers, basil leaves and anchovy filets.

Serve the caponata cold. This recipe tastes better with age as the different flavours blend together and improve over time.

Seeking help for an addiction

I have a confession to make.

I know I haven’t blogged regularly in some time, for about a month or so, and it’s not because I’ve been busy or time is moving very quickly. Yes, both are true, but those aren’t the reasons why I’ve been silent for so long.

The reason is because I have developed a horrible addiction that I haven’t been able to control.  It’s taken over my life.  No longer do I read 3 or 4 novels per week; now it’s 1 if I’m lucky.  No longer do I spend time in the kitchen making delicious meals for myself; I simply rush home from work and eat lettuce so I can spend more time feeding my addiction. I even go to bed at ungodly hours every night, waking up groggy and tired the next day.  I used to value my sleep, now it’s no longer a priority.

I am hoping that by confessing I have a problem and admitting that I am willing and open to change, I will be one step closer to gaining control of my life once more.

My problem is obviously food-related, and it’s worse than chocolate, or cake, or macarons, or coffee or even pastries. It’s…..pinterest.

I know. You’re probably wondering, “Why??” or even “What??”

I don’t know the answer, really.  I keep asking myself the question, “Pinterest, why can’t I quit you??” I can easily spend 4 hours in front of the computer, pinning food and pretty things onto my boards.

For those of you who don’t know, pinterest is a virtual pinboard. It allows you to organize whatever you like on boards and then share all the beautiful things you find – and there are so many beautiful things – with other people also on pinterest. Normal people use it to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, find Do It Yourself Tips and organize their favorite recipes.

Me, I use it mostly to create boards on all my favourite foods. I’ve got a cheese board, a chocolate board, a tomato board, a coffee board. The list goes on and on.  And, because I’m strange, I try to pick original and clever names for my boards: my chocolate board is called, “Chocolat”, my dessert board is “Sweet Tooth” and I’ve compiled favourite food photos and called that “Edible Still Life”. Seriously, I am close to losing it.

I simply cannot resist pinning such incredibly beautiful pins from some exceptionally gifted photographers. There are literally millions of pins to choose from:

Just when I thought I was slowly on my way to recovery – I managed to stay off pinterest for 19 hours and only used it briefly last night, I ended up falling off the wagon today, when I spent the day trying to figure out a perfectly good reason why I should log onto pinterest, and I found one. I needed to get background information to write this blog.

When my friend Becky told me about pinterest several weeks ago, I wasn’t very interested. I mean, adding pins on a board? Seriously?  But when my friend Jo-Anne e-mailed me about how great it was and that she would send me an invite – pinterest is exclusive, you need to get an invite to join – I thought, well, okay, I’ll try it.

My life has never been the same since. At first, I thought my pinning was innocent enough.  I mean, pinning beautiful food doesn’t take as many calories as eating beautiful food; in fact, I’m probably burning calories by pinning.

My friend Christel asked me a few weeks ago if I needed a “pintervention” but I didn’t take it seriously. Now, any advice is appreciated. I thought I could just let the obsession take its course and hope that soon enough, I would grow bored with pinning. That hasn’t happened yet.

I’m working very hard to overcome this. I am.  My fridge is full of great ingredients to make beautiful meals tomorrow, and I will spend all my time cooking and photographing and eating and writing.

I’ll only log on briefly tomorrow night. For one hour. Or maybe three.

Tom Yum = very yummy

Every time Sunday night rolls around, I am always amazed at how quickly the weekend has gone by.  As I write this, I’m shocked that we’re already close to mid-March! Seriously, where does the time go.

Like some people, I spend my Sunday evenings prepping for the work week: cleaning up, making a few good meals, and reading a good book. Tonight, I’m making one of my favourite soups of late, Tom Yum.

I ate this soup for the first time while I was in Thailand in January and with several attempts under my belt, I’ve finally been able to replicate it quite well at home.

Tom Yum is a spicy, clear soup that tastes both hot and sour. It is very common in Thailand and its neighbouring countries, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

There are various versions of Tom Yum soup, with varying ingredients and spice levels, but the basic broth consists of fresh lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, fish sauce, crushed chili peppers and chili paste. You can get all of these ingredients at your local Asian grocery store.

I first learned how to make Tom Yum soup while attending a cooking class in Chiang Mai, but I have since changed the recipe to reflect my taste preferences.

Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups of water
1 stalk of lemongrass (crushed and sliced)
2 – 3 kaffir lime leaves
3 to 4 chilies, crushed

2 to 3 pieces of sliced galangal
12 shitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
10 headless prawns
2 to 3 tsp of Thai chili paste
2 tbs of fish sauce
2 tbs of lime juice
finely chopped coriander – for garnish

Boil water. Add lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, crushed chilies, galangal, mushrooms, tomato and spring onion. Bring back to a boil.

Add prawns, chili paste, fish sauce and lime juice. Simmer until cooked through.

Just before removing from heat, garnish with fresh coriander.

Serves just me.

Learning to Cook Authentic Thai Food in Chiang Mai

Baan Hongnual Cookery School
116 Moo 3, Tambon Chaisathan, Amphur Saraphee
Chiang Mai

While visiting Thailand last month, I took a cooking class at the Baan Hongnual Cookery School just outside Chiang Mai, where I learned so much about Thai cuisine and ingredients. The experience of spending time in an authentic Thai kitchen definitely stands out as was one of the highlights of my trip.

Located in the countryside, this cooking school specializes in Lanna cuisine, the food of Northern Thailand. With only 6 people in our group, this was the perfect size for us to cook in a traditional Thai setting: within an open-air teak building with all the modern conveniences of a gourmet kitchen.

And there was more than just cooking and eating involved.  The half-day cooking class started at 9am, when representatives from the school came to pick us up at our hotel. We then picked 4 dishes from a list of possible recipes and headed over to the local food market to buy the necessary ingredients.  In between cooking and eating these dishes, we also took a tour of the school’s herb and vegetable garden, where we learned about the importance of using fresh Thai ingredients. Before being driven back to our hotel, shortly after 1pm, we also received a professional cookbook to take home – which not only includes the recipes we made, but many others as well – the perfect souvenir to take home.

The price for this experience was 1000 Baht, about $32 CDN.

While visiting the food market with Amporn Hongnual, the owner and one of the instructors at the school, we walked through aisles upon aisles of various food products. What a colourful sight, with so many fresh products to choose from.

We learned about many popular Thai ingredients such as Prik-Thai. These green peppercorns also come in black and white, and are used as flavouring in many dishes.

At first glance this looks like ginger, and while it comes from the same family of rhizomes, it’s actually called galangal.

Compared to ginger, galangal has a tighter skin, is more pink than brown on the outside, and the inside is white, unlike the yellow tint in ginger. The taste is like peppery cinnamon. Galangal has many medicinal properties, including alleviating joint and muscle pain, as well as treating nausea and rheumatism.

Kaffir lime leaves, as shown below, have distinctively shaped “double leaves.”

The kaffir lime has rough, bumpy green skin and is very small, about 4 centimetres wide.   The rind is used to make curry pastes, adding a lovely aromatic flavor. The leaves can be used either fresh or dried in various dishes.

The banana flower is a large, dark purple blossom that grows from the end of a bunch of bananas. Once the tougher, darker leaves are pulled away, the paler and more tender inner leaves are used in various dishes, prepared in many ways, including as a salad, simmered in soup, or fried with  noodles.

Lemon grass has a beautiful citrus flavour, and can be used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also works well with chicken, fish, and seafood.

Upon arriving at the school, we were each given a chef’s hat, apron and cutting utensils. After a brief introduction on how to use our utensils properly, we are taken through step-by-step instructions on how to make each dish.

We prepared ingredients for our dish and then watched as Amporn cooked hers.  Once she was done, each of us went to our own wok and prepared the dish identically.  We repeated this process for each dish, prepping, cooking, and eating. Amporn was very patient and helpful, guiding us every step of the way.

Of course, the best part was sitting down as a group and trying each of our creations. Everything was delicious.

The dishes we prepared were Tom Yum Soup:

This hot and sour soup is a mix of beautiful flavours. The broth is made with fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, fish sauce and crushed chili peppers.

Stir-fried chicken with Cashews:

Notice the beautiful colours in this dish.  Using different coloured vegetables for this dish not only enhances its beauty, but each vegetable has different health components that are essential to our overall health.

Pad Thai:

One of Thailand’s national dishes, this pad thai is made with stir-fried rice noodles, eggs, chicken, fish sauce, dried shrimp, red chilli pepper, bean sprouts, shrimp and tofu, and garnished with crushed peanuts, spring onions and lime.

We also made cooked bananas in coconut cream, but that wasn’t a big hit with me.

In between the cooking and eating, we took a tour of the school’s vegetable and herb garden, where we saw many fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables. The school even gets fresh eggs daily, laid by their chickens.

The recipes we made were so easy to put together. I’ve always thought preparing Thai food was complicated, what with all the ingredients required, but Amporn’s recipes were quick and easy. We made each dish in less than 20 minutes.

I now have enough confidence to make my own authentic Thai dishes.  So far, I’ve only had time to make Tom Yum soup, and it was absolutely delicious. I promise to share recipes for you in future posts.

My New Toy

I’ve been away from my laptop for some time now, busy nursing the dreaded winter cold with lots of homemade soups and vitamin C. And now that I’m back in the land of the living, I want to tell you all about my new toy – the Le Creuset Round 4.3 litre French Oven, in my favourite colour, cherry red. Indeed, this little beauty helped me create some great recipes to make me healthy again.

I’ve pined for this thing of infinite beauty for a long time now, about 10 years. When I moved into my new home, I secretly wanted this piece, but I couldn’t afford it, as I had already put the majority of my hard-earned money as a down payment for my mortgage. And I surely did not want anyone spending that kind of money on me.

The first time I saw this cookware was on TV when I saw an episode of Julia Child’s cooking show on PBS. Later, I noticed another great chef, Jacques Pepin, had one as well.  In all my hours of research, I have yet to find one negative review on my French Oven.

It wasn’t until this Christmas, when I received so many gift certificates, that I finally had the opportunity to buy it. And I haven’t looked back since.

Now my boring, drab, white melamine, out-of-date kitchen looks spectacular, as I always keep my French Oven on display right on the stovetop.

Le Creuset’s most well known range of products is its cast iron cookware, made at its foundry in Northern France since 1925. Each product is cast in its own mold, which is broken after casting, thus making each piece unique. After the casting, the French Oven is polished, double enamel-coated, fired, and finished by skilled French artisans, many of whom come from families that have been with the company for decades.

My French Oven works really well with my electric stove, either on high heat or low.  It warms up and retains heat very quickly and works great on the stovetop and in the oven.  Once I put the lid on, the heat spreads evenly, cooking everything perfectly. I also notice that once the French Oven gets hot, only low to medium heat is required over a few hours to make perfect meals. I also like to slow cook some meats for up to 5 hours, making everything succulent and juicy.

It took just a few hours to cook an 8-pound chicken and make this soup. The meat fell right off the bone.

Cleaning is also super-easy. After soaking the French Oven for 15 to 20 minutes in warm water, food residue comes off quickly.

The maximum temperature for the French Oven is 480 degrees Fahrenheit, but I’ve never cooked anything higher than 400 for more than 15 minutes.  I usually cook at 350, preferring to slow roast and braise my meat. This beef stew turned out beautifully:

The French Oven goes easily frοm thе stovetop іntο thе oven аnd thеn tο thе table. I’ve even stored it with food in the fridge. Like all Le Creuset cookware, the French Oven has a lifetime warranty, with an estimated lifetime of 101 years.

Some other great dishes I made include Spicy Tom Yum Soup:

I also made Chili Con Carne, a great recipe from Jamie Oliver.

There’s nothing better than chili that’s been stewing in the oven for over 3 hours. Yummy. This is such a beautiful recipe, I plan on making it several times this winter.

I use my new toy every week and feel so lucky to have it in my kitchen.

St. John’s Bakery, Toronto

St. John’s Bakery
153 Broadview Avenue
Toronto, Canada
Tel: 416-850-7413

St. John’s Bakery makes bread with a conscience. The handmade, organic bread you purchase from this bakery helps change lives.

Established over 25 years ago, the bakery is owned and operated by St. John the Compassionate Mission, and 100% of its revenue is invested in the community.  The Mission next door offers meal programs to those in need, a thrift store, tutoring for children, and so many other programs.

While the bakery specializes in organic sourdough breads made in the traditional French method, other types of bread, such as rye, baguettes and spelt are also made.  All sweets – scones, tarts, croissants, cookies, and cakes – are also handmade from scratch.

St. John’s Bakery provides much more than delicious, organic, handmade bread to its customers.  It also provides employment and training opportunities, including a six-month baker apprentice program, to people struggling with poverty, mental illness, addictions and other issues.

My favourite bread is the olive boule. This round sourdough loaf is crusty on the outside and soft in the inside, and packed with loads of black olive pieces, with just a hint of cilantro.  I’m also a big fan of the rosemary breadsticks, but if I don’t get there by Saturday morning around 9am, they’re all gone.

Breads range from $2.50 to $6.50. This may seem a bit expensive for some, but for 100% organic, hand shaped bread and the bakery’s commitment to helping marginalized members of the community, these prices are definitely reasonable.

St. John’s Bakery is a business that Torontonians should support.  It’s a win-win situation for everyone: the patrons get delicious bread made with healthy ingredients, and the revenue goes to helping those in need.

Products from the bakery can be found across Toronto at some of the better grocery stores, organic food suppliers, farmers markets, cafes and restaurants.

Photos taken by Christel Hervet.

Weekend Brunch with Friends

This weekend, I invited some friends over for my favourite meal of the day: brunch. I love spending five or six hours lounging around, eating and talking with friends.  It’s a great way to unwind, relax, and enjoy each other’s company.

One of my favourite brunch items is crêpes.  They are so easy and quick to make.  Change a few key ingredients, and you have either a sweet or savoury version.  As a child, I remember waking up to the scent of lemon: one  of the key ingredients in my mum’s crêpes.  I remember gorging on those almost translucent treasures that would curl up ever so gently at the ends.  I loved how the sweetness of the berries mixed in my mouth so beautifully with the soft yet crunchy crêpe.

Mum’s Crêpes
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tbs melted butter
1 tsp pure lemon extract

Mix all ingredients together until a thin liquid batter is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and store overnight in the refrigerator.  This step is crucial, as it allows the molecules in the batter to spread, and makes for a thinner crêpe.

Use a small ladle to pour the batter onto a nonstick pan (no need for butter). Spread the batter evenly by tilting the pan. Within minutes, the batter will cook and curl up.  Use a spatula to flip.  When the crêpe is a very light brown on both sides, it is ready to be removed. This recipe makes about 12 to 14 crêpes.

My favourite filling for these wonderful treats: French raspberry jam with Green & Black’s chocolate spread and maple syrup. I also like to add fresh berries on top.

These crêpes can easily be changed into a great savoury meal by replacing the lemon extract with black pepper. My favourite savoury fillings: spinach, mozarella, and mushrooms.

Another brunch must for me is French toast.  I love the name used in French, “pain perdu,” or “lost bread,” meaning the bread is old or stale and is found and “reclaimed” by softening it in egg and recooking it.  As I was looking through my all-time favourite cookbook, The Joy of Cooking, I came across a different variation: Overnight Baked French Toast.  This recipe attracted me because it was something I could prepare the night before, and then just cook the next morning.  I changed the baking method at the end, so that instead of frying each slice on the stove, I baked the entire concoction in the oven.

Overnight Baked French Toast
1 cup milk
5 large eggs
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, sliced

Cut each slice diagonally, forming triangles, and dip in the egg mixture.  Line up each slice in a small non-stick baking pan, forming two rows.  Pour the remaining mixture over the slices, coating evenly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes, until the bread is puffy and cooked. Serve warm, with loads of maple syrup and fresh yogurt drizzled on top.

I’m a girl who loves carbs, but what I really need in the morning to get me through the day is protein, so I always start my day with a vegetable frittata, and that keeps me happy and sated until noon.  For brunch, I wanted to make something different from the usual frittata.  Instead, I used a muffin tin and filled each one with the egg mixture.  What a treat!  Surprisingly, these mini frittatas were eaten in a flash.

Mini Frittatas
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded smoked Cheddar
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup thinly diced red pepper
2 shredded shallots

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper until blended.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Fill each muffin tin 3/4 full, and bake for 25 minutes.  Serve these babies warm.

Sorry, no photo.  I’m still new at this, and I didn’t like the way my shot turned out.

Another savoury dish I served was spinach pie, which can be eaten any time of day.  It was also a hit at brunch, although by the time I served it, everyone was full up.

The first time I had a variation of this spinach pie was in a Middle Eastern restaurant in Montreal.  It was one of the tastiest pies I had ever eaten. I loved the marriage of different tastes: the freshness of the spinach with the saltiness of the feta, and the cinnamon and cumin.   I copied the recipe by trying to remember all the ingredients in the pie.  I think I replicated it pretty well.

Giulia’s Spinach Pie
2 bunches of fresh spinach, washed and chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 ounces of feta, crumbled
1/2 cup pine nuts
5 eggs, beaten
3 tsp. paprika
3 tsp. cumin
3 tsp. cinnamon
salt & pepper, to taste
1/3 cup butter, melted
16 sheets of filo pastry

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large pan, fry the shallots in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add feta, pine nuts, and spinach and quickly stir together. Remove from heat and add the eggs and spices. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Grease a pie pan, or even a baking dish, with butter. Take the sheets of filo dough and place each one at the bottom of the pan, brushing one side of each with butter. Place the filo dough in a criss-cross position and let the sides overlap.

Pour the pie mixture into the pan, folding the filo dough over the filling. Brush the top with butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Let the pie cool for about 15 minutes before cutting.

Like I said, I am not a great photographer, and my spinach pie photos did not turn out well, either. I couldn’t resist uploading them, however, just to give you a glimpse of what this great dish looks like:

I love this dish.  The filo dough is so light and tasty, too. The great thing about this dish, too, is that it tastes better the next day and the day after.

Have a great week!

Happy Brunching!

Afternoon Tea at the King Edward Hotel

Le Royal Méridien King Edward Hotel
37 King Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1E9
(416) 863-9700

One of my favourite places in Toronto to go for afternoon tea is Le Royal Méridien King Edward Hotel. My sister and I have visited four other hotels in the city for afternoon tea, and none compares to the King Eddie. It is such a wonderful culinary experience in an elegant and relaxed atmosphere.  The service is professional and attentive, without being intrusive.  As always, we are treated royally and encouraged to stay for as long as we like.

Afternoon tea has been served here since the hotel’s opening in 1903. We had our tea in the elegant lobby lounge. The staff saw to us as soon as we entered.  We were seated at a small table laid out with silverware and Wedgewood china.

After reviewing the menu, we decided we would each get the King’s Tea, which included a beautiful selection of sandwiches and sweets. The only decision we had to make was choosing our tea, and there were 12 different varieties. I chose the Darjeeling Oolong, a blend of Indian champagne Darjeeling, and a floral China Oolong.  It was lovely and had a nice orchid aroma.  My sister had the Golden Assam, which is a second flush, large-leaf golden-tipped Assam tea with a malty flavour.  She enjoyed hers as well.

The food was served on a 3-tiered sterling silver platter. The bottom tier contained finger sandwiches, two of each: egg salad with mustard and arugula, smoked salmon, smoked Turkey Waldorf with dried fruits (YUMMY!), and cucumber and radish with cream cheese.  My sister is a vegetarian, so I got to eat her turkey sandwiches as well – YAY!

The middle tier contained the much-awaited scones: melt-in-your-mouth butter and raisin scones. They were still warm and my only issue with them was that I wished they were bigger.  I slathered them with Devonshire cream, every last bit of it.

The top tier, or the pinnacle of the platter, contained an assortment of delicate pastries:  the french chocolate cake with the pistachio filling and marzipan was divine; I dipped the buttery lavender honey scented madeleines in my tea, à la Marcel Proust; the lemon blueberry tart was yummy; the meringues were melt-in-your mouth good; the cheesecake was delish, and the linzer cookies were okay.  My linzer cookies taste so much better.  Both voracious and quick eaters, my sister and I tried very carefully to savour each and every one of these desserts to the last drop.  Not a crumb was left behind.

A few tables away from ours, a young girl of about 8 or 9 was enjoying a birthday tea party with about half a dozen girls.  I asked our server about this and she said the hotel offers the Jester’s Tea Party for children 12 and under.  The food includes double decker grilled cheese sandwiches, mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sugar dusted cookies, and frosted cupcakes, as well as milk, Mountain Berry Tea, or hot chocolate.

Afternoon tea is a fantastic alternative to brunch or birthday/anniversary dinners.  I will be attending my first one at the Windsor Arms Hotel at the end of the month, and I will report back with a review.

The King’s Tea costs $30 per person and the Jester’s Tea Party is $16 per person.

Afternoon tea is offered from Wednesday to Sunday, 2:30 pm to 5 pm.  Reservations are highly recommended.

Other tea options include the Ploughman’s High Tea ($26) and an Asian Inspired Tea Box ($28)

Review:
Food:               10 out of 10
Service:           10 out of 10
Décor:              10 out of 10
Value:              10 out of 10

If you’ve had afternoon tea or brunch at the King Edward, please post a comment.

Brunch at Frank Restaurant

FRANK Restaurant, Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON M5T 1G4
Tel: (416) 979-6688

One of my favourite brunch spots in Toronto is FRANK, the restaurant at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  I’ll have to admit, the food is not the best I’ve ever tasted, but it’s very good, and the presentation is exquisite.  I like eating here knowing that the freshest Ontario ingredients have always been used.  I love the casual, chic decor, with the sleek Danish furniture, the contemporary paintings, and that extra special attention I always get from the server, who happens to be the same one every time I go : Elaine. This place is classy, yet unpretentious. The overall dining experience is quite impressive.

Most recently, I went with a group of girlfriends to celebrate my dear friend Carol’s birthday.

The space is large, it can seat up to 130 guests, but whenever I’ve been with six or seven girlfriends, we always feel we have the entire place to ourselves: we’re either seated in a private room (without asking for one), or a little alcove, or in a private corner.

I ordered the grilled cheese sandwich because I had a hankering for some comfort food. And while it may sound boring, I was certainly not disappointed: grilled three year old cheddar melted on a lovely fig walnut bread, not too toasted, and a side of red cabbage salad. Yummy.

The pancakes were a site to behold, and, I was told, tasted as good as they looked: five layers of buckwheat pancakes with maple braised lardons, maple poached prunes, and a plum coulis. The salty lardons were a nice contrast to the sweet maple syrup.

The dishes were all beautifully presented, and all a work of art:

Roasted buttercup squash and cheddar soufflé with carmelized courtland apples, apple cider reduction and micro seedlings.

Brown butter scrambled eggs with sautéed chanterelle mushrooms, sage & onions. Served with toasted baguette. Chanterelles are one of my favourite mushrooms, and I remember being impressed with the quantity of mushrooms in this dish.  No scrimping here.

Dining at FRANK is a always a great experience, made all the more enjoyable when shared with special friends.

Happy birthday, Carol!  May health, success, and wealth be yours this year and always, xo.

Cost for brunch: about $30/person (includes tea, main meal, and sharing an appetizer)

Brunch at Frank is available on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 AM to 3 PM.

Review:
Food:               9 out of 10
Service:           10 out of 10
Décor:              10 out of 10
Value:              9 out of 10

If you’ve had brunch at FRANK, please post a comment.

Afternoon Tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel

Windsor Arms Hotel
18 St Thomas Street
Toronto, ON M5S3E7
Tel: (416) 971-9666

I recently experienced high tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel, located just steps away from the fashionable Yorkville.

This neo-gothic style building was built in 1927 and listed as a historic property by the City of Toronto in 1983 and designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1992.

The Toronto International Film Festival was founded in the hotel in 1976, and the hotel is still involved with the Festival. 

Not only is the hotel a temporary home for several A-listers, it  is also a luxury condominium with 25 residences. Square footage per condominium ranges from 2,800 to 4,800 square feet and cost between $2.5 and $8 million.

The tea room is stunning, retaining its original 1927 fireplace and seats up to 42.  The room is painted black with a stark white fireplace and a gorgeous crystal chandelier with purple accessories.

The space was far too crowded for my liking, however, and far too loud.  I felt almost claustrophic as the room was filled to capacity.   Unfortunately, I was not able to enjoy a quiet, leisurely tea. It felt more like a busy restaurant than a relaxing tea room.

We had a selection of mini sandwiches: turkey, smoked salmon, and cucumber, all nicely presented, but not remarkable.  The scones were alright and the desserts were ordinary.  I was disappointed at the small amount of desserts available: only six for two people.  Keep in mind folks, these are bite sized desserts here.  As well, they were all different, and since my sister and I wanted to try each dessert, we ended up cutting the tiny treat in two, which left not much to enjoy.

The tea was okay, but like everything else, just ordinary.

The servers were wonderful fellows, but overly attentive.  We couldn’t have a conversation without being interrupted every few minutes by a server, asking if we required anything.  Bless them, they meant well, but were too intrusive.

Cost for tea: $35/person.

Afternoon Tea  is served daily: 
Monday – Wednesday    1:00 pm  / 3:30 pm 
Thursday – Sunday         12:45 pm / 3:30 pm / 6:00 pm

Review:
Food:              6 out of 10
Service:         7 out of 10
Décor:            9 out of 10
Value:            7 out of 10

If you’ve had tea at the Windsor Arms, please post a comment.

Brunch at The Rectory Cafe on Ward’s Island

A Summer’s Day at Ward’s Island, Toronto

The Rectory Café
102 Lakeshore Ave, Ward’s Island
Toronto, ON M5J 1X9
Tel: (416) 203-2152  

The Toronto Islands are a great day trip away from the city, especially in the summertime.  My brunch group recently ate at The Rectory Café on Ward’s Island.

The ferry ride is no more than 10 minutes; but as the ferry pulled out of the docks and we sat facing the island, I felt like all the stress and pressures from the week were slowly seeping from my body. The gentle rocking motion of the waves, the sounds of the birds, and the view of the island in the distance brought me peace.

The Ward’s Island community began in the 1880s as a settlement of tents. Campers migrated when the City banned overnight camping at Hanlan’s Point. In 1904, there were 10 campers who pitched their tents for the entire summer, and by 1912 there were 685 campers, at which point the City organized the community into streets, lights were strung, and water pipes and side walks were installed. In 1931, Toronto City Council agreed to allow permanent homes to be built to replace the tents.  By 1937 there were 130 cottages on Ward’s Island. At its peak in the 1950s, the residential community was made up of 630 cottages and homes, in addition to a movie theatre, a bowling alley, stores, hotels, and dance halls. In 1953, City Council undertook to remove the community and replace it with parkland.

The Rectory is one of two buildings that survived the demolition. Built in 1948, this two-story residence housed the priest in charge of the Church of St. Andrew-by-the-Lake. The Rectory Café has been a restaurant since 2003. Located a few metres from where the ferry docks, it is a charming cottage with a stunning patio.

The food at the café is great, it’s homey and fresh and my food tasted like it was made especially for me. The Curried Vegetarian Pot Pie was delicious: fresh julienned vegetables in a light curry sauce were the filling for this buttery, flaky crust.  Most dishes came with a side of house salad.  Everyone enjoyed their meals:  Crab Cakes with garlic aioli, Charred Red Pepper Pesto Wrap with black beans, goat cheese and caramelized red onions, and Smoked Turkey with blue cheese and roasted bell peppers on toasted multigrain were some of the favourites.

The highlight of my meal, however, was dessert: flourless chocolate torte made with Callebaut dark chocolate.  This alone was worth the ferry over: dark, semi-sweet chocolate that melts in your mouth and leaves no overly sweet aftertaste.  It was smooth like chocolate ice cream, but with the density of a chocolate bar.  Topped with a few sweet blackberries and a dollop of fresh cream, this dessert still makes my mouth water when I think about it.

We walked off our meal by strolling through the residential area of Ward’s Island for most of the afternoon. There are 262 homes on the Toronto Islands, mostly on Ward’s Island.  There are strict rules under provincial law governing the buying and selling of these homes. The Toronto Island Residential Community Trust manages the buying and selling of homes. Islanders are allowed to hand down both houses and leases to their heirs, but no profit is allowed on the sale of these houses or on the transfer of leases.

Homes on the Island range from eclectic to Victorian. There are homes that look like shacks and others that have well-manicured lawns.

Review:
Food:              9 out of 10
Service:         8 out of 10
Décor:            10 out of 10
Value:            9 out of 10

If you’ve had brunch at The Rectory Café, please post a comment.

Show the homeless you care, one sandwich at a time…

All people have at least one thing in common: the need for food.  Not only does it provide nutrients, but something else as well.  I’ve said it before: food is love.

Toronto has far too many people living on its streets.  As the years go by, I see more and more new faces.  Regardless of why they are there, every single one of them deserves to not only eat, but to be treated with dignity. 

Through the work of an organization called Project417, a group of volunteers and I have been making and delivering bagged lunches to our homeless friends in Toronto for over five years.  Sandwich runs take place several times a week in the summer.  It’s not just a meal we’re offering, it’s a way of opening the lines of communication through conversations. Too often, these people are ignored; some are even physically abused.  A simple gesture of offering a bagged lunch, or even a bottle of water, a smile, and some conversation can go a long way. 

What do you talk about with a person living on the street?  One of the first things I usually ask is, “Where are you from?”  Most of the time, the answer is small town Canada or the US. If the individual has a pet, I usually talk about our common love of animals.

There’s H, who lives in subsidized housing, and once he pays the rent, he doesn’t have any money left over to buy food.

There’s R, who lost his legs to gangrene from frostbite while living on the streets during a cold Toronto winter.

There’s P, who was an investment banker and fell on hard times and is now relying on food banks for his meals. He prefers sleeping outside over the shelters because they are usually overcrowded, badly ventilated, and are a high risk for bedbugs, scabies, and lice infestations.

I met a former biochemist who emigrated from the UK.  After losing his job, his family, and his home, he now sleeps on the streets.  

There are so many people living on the streets of Toronto, all with a story, all who deserve respect, like any other human being. Many teenagers leave home because of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. They would rather live on the streets than return to their home.  More and more young people are living on the streets.

Some of my homeless friends have told me they became sick after eating a sandwich from a well-meaning person.  The reason: mayonnaise and other condiments do not hold well after a few hours, especially during the hot summer months. 

The bagged lunches that volunteers at Project417 make include the following items:

A sandwich of either peanut butter and jam or bologna and processed cheese – these items have a lot of protein and they hold really well in any type of weather.

One fruit drink box, or better yet, a bottle of water – for hydration.  While some of the homeless die on the streets in the extreme cold winters, more die in the summer due to dehydration.

One soft fleshed apple, such as a McIntosh – easier on the teeth, and apples last longer than other fruits like bananas and oranges.

A few cookies or a granola bar – everyone deserves a snack.

If you’re interested in volunteering for a sandwich run with Project417, check out my meetup group and sign up for an evening that suits you.

Blind Date: Dining in the Dark

O.NOIR RESTAURANT
620 Church Street
Toronto, ON  M4Y 2G2
Tel: (416) 922-6647

This weekend, I finally had the opportunity to dine with friends at O.NOIR, Toronto’s version of dining in the dark. I’ve wanted to try it ever since I heard about it, and I’m glad I did.

It was, literally, an eye-opening experience, and very Kafkaesque in nature and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for the last few days. 

As a sighted person and a food lover, the appearance of food for me is just as important as the taste and smell of it.  My mouth waters when I see beautifully presented food on a plate. The sight of a box of Leonidas chocolates, or freshly baked French pastries, or my mum’s homemade ravioli make my heart go pitter patter.  I am very much a visual person: I love colour and pretty things.  I was intrigued to learn what would happen when my sight was taken away.  Would my other senses be heightened?  Would I still enjoy the food?  Would I be okay with not knowing what my food looked like?  What about the cleanliness of the place?  Could I eat with my cutlery in the dark?

The waiters are visually impaired
The restaurant itself is not dark. Upon entering, there is a lit bar area where hostesses hand out the prix fixe menu. Once the four of us placed our orders, we met our waiter for the evening, Nasir, who, like all the waiters in the dining area, are visually impaired (and recruited by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind).  Before leading us to the dining room, Nasir told us to turn off our cellphones (Nothing luminous was allowed in the dining room). We lined up in a conga row, with him at the head and our hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us. Once we got past two doors, there was absolute darkness. I thought I had experienced really dark places before, but I was mistaken – there was absolutely no light.

One by one, we were led to our chairs and seated. Nasir explained where everything was located on the table: the fork was on the right of the plate, and the napkin and a small container of butter were on the plate. As we were handed our wine glasses, we placed them at the top left side of the plate, and the iced water glasses were placed next to those.

I immediately realized that I was more aware of sounds and smells than usual. There was a fellow in the room who was wearing very sexy cologne.  It wasn’t really strong, but I was aware of the musky scent as soon as he walked by and it stayed with me for the whole evening. The sounds of silverware and glasses clinking, people’s voices – all of it seemed a lot more prominent.

Licking my fingers clean
We could smell the freshly baked bread even before Nasir arrived with it.  He invited each of us to take a warm bun from the basket.  It was hot to the touch and when I ripped it open with my fingers, I could feel the heat of the bread rising to my face.  The smell of the yeast was powerful and the aroma of freshly baked bread lingered in the air.  I tried to carefully put the butter on my bread, but it kept getting on my fingers, which didn’t bother me in the least.  I merely licked it off and happily munched away. Yummy, yum, yum.

The starters arrived almost immediately and Nasir asked us to take our plates and place them in front of us.  The grilled octopus was divine: it was warm and succulent and cut up in bite sized pieces.  The extra virgin olive oil and lime juice were a flavourful combination.  I loved the taste of the sea salt slowly melting on my tongue.  By this point, I had decided to completely forego the cutlery.  The experience of eating my warm bread with buttery fingers was so sensual, so exciting, so different, that I decided to eat my octopus salad the same way, and I enjoyed licking the olive oil off my plate with my fingers. Some of my friends were having trouble using their forks, I could hear the clinking of the cutlery, and I suggested they eat with their hands, but I think the idea may have horrified them because they still kept trying to eat with their forks.

Animal-like behaviour
I noticed right away that I was eating far too quickly.  I normally eat quite fast, I am usually the first to finish, but this night, my anxiety levels were so much higher than normal because of the darkness.  I felt almost animal-like, eating my food with my hands, rubbing the oil off the plate with my fingers, sucking the oil off my fingers, licking the plate with my tongue, feeling the entire plate to make sure I had not left a single morsel behind. I was horrified with myself – I’ve never had such outrageous table manners – but really, no one could see me, so why worry? Still, I was really embarrassed with the way I was acting and couldn’t understand why I had become so primal. What on earth was wrong with me??? It felt like I had an evil twin and she was coming out of the dark. I didn’t know how to deal with my overwhelming feelings of helplessness.

The main meals arrived very quickly, almost as soon as we finished our starters.  I had the Five Spice Filet Mignon, served with potatoes and vegetables.  The meat was already cut up and it was cooked just the why I like it: medium.  Again, I ate with my hands.  The meat was warm and soft to the touch, very juicy and wet and sliced into thin strips.  I could feel the juice and blood on my plate as I ate. The potatoes had just the right amount of sea salt and the zucchini and beans were cooked al dente, just the way I like them.  My glass of red wine was also exquisite.  It was a strong and robust, perfect with the juicy meat. Again, I was the first one to finish. Sadly, I wished I could calm down and really enjoy the meal, eating slowly, living in the moment, enjoying everyone’s company, but it was very difficult.

A scene from a play by Kafka or Sartre
As we were eating and the dining room filled up, the sounds became louder and louder.  A group of maybe seven or eight teenage girls were extremely rowdy and louder than normal, and everyone else in the room had to raise their voices to hear over the Babel-like cacophony.

How do I explain the mania, the craziness I started feeling?  Remember in grade school when the obnoxious kid would drag his fingernails down the chalkboard to harass the rest of the class? The screeching noise would leave me squirming in my seat.  I feel the same way when the subway makes that horrible screeching noise as it’s making a turn on the tracks.  Imagine being that sensitive to every single sound around you. The noise is extremely invasive, and while your hearing is more acute, you cannot filter out one sound from the rest.  It was a garble of noise and very stressful.  I imagine that’s what sensory overload feels like: my head was spinning, I started feeling nauseous and dizzy, and I was extremely overwhelmed.  I felt like I was stuck in a coffin with loudspeakers  in my ears.

Each of my friends reacted differently: Darlene started singing Janis Joplin and Carole King songs, perhaps to drown out the other noise. She kept trying to get all of us to sing along to a song by Dionne Warwick, although she didn’t know all the words, “Keep smiling, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me, for sure, that’s what friends are for, for good times and bad times, I’ll be on your side forever more, that’s what friends are for, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…” I just sat there and clutched my head the entire time.

Shona was initially very quiet; I kept checking on her and asking if she was alright.  She eventually started talking about her dear friend who has night blindness.  She gets treated very badly when people don’t realize she is visually impaired, but the minute they see her with a walking cane at night, they immediately change their behaviour.  It’s interesting: Shona mentioned how her friend must trust other people in order to get things done.  And it’s true, I put my complete trust in Nasir: trust that he would bring me the food I ordered, trust that he would help me get out of my seat when necessary, and trust that he would be there if I had a question for him.  I felt so vulnerable.

Becky was very nervous about putting her fork on the table, and she spent most of the night clutching it, for fear the table was dirty.  She also kept track of what she was eating.  I could hear her during the course of the evening, “I’ve eaten 40% of my potatoes; I’m eating my vegetables now; Oops, I missed my mouth….”

Something I realized during the course of the evening is how much we rely on non-verbal communication when socializing.  I felt like I kept interrupting my friends when they were talking because I didn’t have any cues as to when they had finished speaking.  I really had to listen carefully to see when there was a lull in the conversation so I could talk and not interrupt.

The passing of time was also very confusing: we were served the first two courses very quickly and then kept waiting for what seemed like forever for the dessert to arrive. It felt like we were in the dark for so long, but I later discovered that the total dining experience was two hours, so there was probably only a 15 minute wait for dessert.

My evil twin comes out
During this time, the noise became unbearable again – the teenaged girls were getting drunk and louder, and my emotions got the better of me: I started screaming and yelling at the top of my lungs, “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, JUST PLEASE SHUT UP.  I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE.  THERE’S TOO MUCH NOISE. SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  There was silence for a few moments and then it slowly started back up again.  I spent the rest of the evening trying to keep my eyes closed while waiting for dessert.

When it finally arrived, I had the dark chocolate mousse with raspberry , it was very delicious, but I inhaled it so quickly that I didn’t have time to enjoy it.  I would have loved a cup of strong coffee to end the meal, but in hindsight, I think it was better for everyone that I didn’t get any.

After inhaling my desert, I immediately stood up and waited for Nasir to come and get me.  I wanted out immediately.  It felt like I was waiting forever, and the noise was still unbearable. I honestly don’t know how my friends were able to cope with everything. While waiting for Nasir to save me, I searched the table for cutlery.  I found my fork.  I threw it across the room.  Then  I picked up Shona’s fork and threw it across the room. I searched the table for anything else, found Becky’s fork and threw that, too.  I knew what I was doing was wrong and inappropriate, and even dangerous, but I seriously and honestly could not control myself.  I felt like a helpless, overwhelmed animal.  When I think about it now, I wonder why I just didn’t call Nasir sooner and ask to be escorted out of the room.  Maybe I was too embarrassed, maybe I didn’t want to ruin the evening for my friends, maybe I felt weak , maybe all of the above. Obviously, I was not thinking clearly. Luckily my forks did not hit anyone. No one knew I was throwing them.

At last it was time to go. We again formed a conga line behind Nasir, and made our way out. Once we reached the dimly lit bar area, I had to clutch the wall and slowly get used to the light again.

I talked to one of the waiters about my experiences: I was ashamed and devastated with what I had done, and he consoled me telling me that some people have panic attacks in the dark and need to be escorted out, while others become extremely violent and a few fights have been broken up as well. This waiter told me we had 45 people in our dining room. That’s a lot of noise. Nevertheless, I am still thinking about my experience and am horrified at the way I reacted.  I searched the internet, trying to find similar  experiences that people had while dining in the dark and I couldn’t find any.  Maybe I need dining in the dark therapy?

Would I do it again, knowing what I know now?  Yes, but I would ask to be seated in the dining rooms with the couples, as opposed to the groups, as I imagine the couples wouldn’t be as loud and obnoxious as the gaggle of teenage girls I had the misfortune of dining in the same room with.

The $39 three-course menu also offers “surprise” options. I wasn’t brave enough for any of those.

Open 7 days per week, with two seatings: 5:45 pm and 9:00 pm.  Reservations are recommended.

If you have eaten at O.NOIR, please post a comment.

Prague: Sausages in Wenceslas Square

It’s been a long time since my last food blog, and I apologize for seemingly dropping off the face of the earth.

I’m back and have lots to write about.  My friend Diana and I just returned from a week long adventure in Prague, and I’m really excited to talk about our food experiences in this gorgeous city. 

Returning to Prague after a 10-year absence, I was really impressed with the variety of foods that are now available.  No longer the strictly meat and potatoes cafeteria style restaurants, there are now several coffeehouses that can easily compete with those of Vienna and Paris; the street food is eclectic and varied, ranging from sausages to gyros to fried cheese sandwiches and mulled wine; the Czech-style pubs we visited were also very impressive. 

Only hours after landing in Prague, we took a short walk to the famous Wenceslas Square to taste our very first food item: the famous sausages sold by one of the many vendors in the area.

 

The Square was laid out over 600 years ago and was originally used as a horse market where butchers sold their sausages. They were perfectly grilled with names ranging from the Euro, Bavarian, Wurst, Italian, Polish, and a dozen other variations, including dark meat, white meat, red meat, etc. We visited various stalls to see which one had the most attractive looking meat, and there were so many varieties to choose from.  We ended up going to the stall that Diana said had the most beautiful caramelized onions. I tried the Spicy Bavarian and was very pleased: it had: just the right amount of pepper, onions, dark mustard, and not too much rye bread. The sausage did not taste like “street meat” or “fast food.” I didn’t suffer from an upset stomach like I do when I have a sausage from the streets of Toronto.  I didn’t feel bloated or heavy after eating it, and this was a two-foot long sausage!! The stall we chose had a table nearby, and we stood there eating our sausages in complete and utter happiness, savouring every single moment. 

Every day, we walked through Wenceslas Square to get to and from our hotel.  Every day, I was reminded of that sausage I ate my first night in Prague.  Every day, we would smell the scent of the meat from the various vendors, the mulled wine, the caramelized onions, making me relive that special moment over and over again.  

Wenceslas Square is not just a mecca for sausages; it’s known for its nightlife and entertainment, with a large array of international retail shops, currency exchange centres, offices, hotels, and lots “Thai massage” parlours (smirk). This is the place everyone goes to be seen.  It’s the “Times Square’ of Prague. 

Wenceslas Square also has a lot of historical meaning: the Nazis used the street for mass demonstrations in 1945, destroying a few buildings that were later replaced with department stores. 

At one of the ends of the Square, there is a memorial cross on the pavement that marks the spot where Jan Palach, a Czech student, burnt himself to death in 1969 to protest the Soviet occupation of his country. Another student, Jan Zajic, did the same thing a month later on the same spot.

 

Thousands of tourists and locals walk through Wenceslas Square every day.  The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. It is part of the historic centre of Prague, and a World Heritage Site.

Prague: Café Louvre

Café Louvre
Narodni Trida 20
New Town, Prague

Prague is full of wonderful cafés, with many that rival those in Paris and Vienna.

Every day, Diana and I tried a new café, and sometimes we returned to a favourite one – all of them were excellent.

After a day of sightseeing and mad whirl shopping, we chose Café Louvre as our venue to recoup and refresh.

This place serves top quality coffee, including Viennese coffee, Algerian coffee, Mafioso (cappuccino with Amaretto), and various types of hot chocolate, with coffee, with ice cream, with rum and whipped cream, with egg liqueur and whipped cream, you get the idea.

I ordered a double espresso and a warm apple strudel with vanilla and chocolate sauce and whipped cream – the last time I had apple strudel this great was in Cortina, Italy about 20 years ago.

The pastry was light, flaky and not too buttery; the minced apples had just the right blend of cinnamon, sugar, and nuts, and the whipped cream, oh, the whipped cream!  Light and airy, it melted in my mouth as soon as it reached my tongue.  This dessert wasn’t sweet or heavy, and the mix of vanilla and chocolate sauce was perfect.  I also liked the little bits of walnut on top of the cream.  And unlike the strudel in Cortina, I took loads of photos of this exquisite dessert.

Diana, who, unlike me, does not eat dessert every time she orders coffee, had the pea cream soup with mint, potato, and bacon. She said it was absolutely delicious. There’s a dab of mashed potato in the middle, and lovely croutons throughout.

This is a great place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner (vegetarian meals are included, a rarity in Prague). There is a large non-smoking room upstairs, which was a nice respite for us, as cafés and pubs in Prague tend to get very smoky and uncomfortable.

Café Louvre is open from 8am every day; and offers morning newspapers.

Established in 1902, at a time when coffee houses were rampant in Prague, Café Louvre was able to differentiate itself from the rest: it was the biggest café in the entire Austro-Hungarian empire, covering several floors; it was also the first café with electric light bulbs, no longer lit with candles; the Louvre also had the first public salon where ladies could meet: until this point, ladies met in salons at home, as it was not common for them to be seen in society in cafes or restaurants, and certainly not alone.

The café soon became a meeting place for intellectuals such as Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein. It was also a venue for students who could enjoy long drinks of coffee and discuss topics of interest. I was reminded of this as I was enjoying my meal at the café with Diana: in the non-smoking area where we were seated, there were about 2 dozen students who were working on a school assignment.

Café Louvre was closed in 1948 by the communists because of its “bourgeois” character; its interior fixtures were flung out the windows and onto the street outside, and the space was used as offices. It wasn’t until it reopened in 1992 that its devastated premises underwent a major reconstruction. While trying to keep the flavour of the past, the present café is a much smaller version from the original which even had a celler wine bar. Today, it offers 3 separate rooms (including the non-smoking room), an outdoor summer terrace, and a billiards room with 5 large tables.

Free wi-fi is also available.

Prague: Cukrarna Mysak

Cukrarna Mysak
Vodickova Street 31
New Town, Prague

One of my favourite bakeshops in Prague is Cukrarna Mysak , located steps from Wenceslas Square. This place has some of the most beautiful and tastiest desserts that I’ve tried in Prague.

Like other cafes and sweet shops in the city, Prague has been renovating and reopening these wonderful treasures that were either closed during the communist era, or shut down due to lack of upkeep.

Cukrarna Mysak, established in 1904, quickly became a legendary sweet shop and continued into the communist era; but the building collapsed in 2006, and it took almost three years to renovate and restore the space to its original design. The ground floor was easy to replicate, as there were design drawings available, but the upper floor had to be reconstructed entirely from old photographs.

The entryway, the doors, and the mosaic tiling on the main floor were all restored, and as we walked up the narrow marble staircase, we noticed an ornate glass chandelier, ceiling paintings and enormous mirrors lining the walls. All of the modern décor replicates what the shop originally looked like in the 1920’s. Even the stucco reliefs were removed and renovated before being replaced.

But upon closer inspection, what should have looked like an architectural marvel of reconstructed Art Deco, looked more like a scene out of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with a mishmash of whimsical décor: gaudy patterns on black and white wallpaper, white cardboard chandeliers, “pleather” white seats, and accessories that look like they came from the Dollar Store. 

The coffee and desserts, however, were bang on.  Although the extensive menu was not available in English, Diana and I were fortunate enough to sit within perfect viewing distance of where the the pastry chef created her magic.

On our first visit, I ordered a latte and an exquisite masterpiece that several people were ordering, the Wenceslas Crown.

The crown is made of dark chocolate and filled with a trio of gelato: bittersweet chocolate with a lovely smooth texture and so dark it looks like tar, cappuccino so rich it can stand on its own, and vanilla bean, all topped with whipped cream made right before my eyes, a few berries, and a light drizzle of caramel sauce. 

On our second visit, I ordered the  Berry Marzipan Cake, which was very tasty, but nowhere near as good as the Wenceslas Crown. 

Our barista, an award-winning latte art master in Europe, made me the most original latte I have ever seen.

Diana ordered the Chocolate Aztec Torte, a flourless torte with a delicious marzipan frosting and a dollop of marzipan in the middle. 

On our last day together in Prague, Diana and I once again lingered for a few hours, enjoying our desserts and coffees, reminiscing over our holiday.  Pure bliss.

Prague: Bakeshop Praha

Bakeshop Praha
Kozi 918/1
Old Town, Prague

Of all the coffee establishments in Prague, the double espresso at Bakeshop Praha is my favourite. It came with just the right amount of foam and a tiny pitcher of warm milk: a work of art.

Located minutes from Old Town Square, we found this gem after a morning of wandering the Jewish Quarter. Tired and needing a quick energy fix, the coffee here was a perfect pick-me-up.

Everything in the shop is baked daily, including their famous sourdough bread, with varieties such as walnut, potato dill, rosemary olive oil, and black olive.

Their display cases showcase loaf cakes, savory pies, canapés, quiches, sandwiches and even wedding cakes.

Although the place was crowded, we were able to find seating fairly quickly, and the atmosphere was lovely; we chatted with a few patrons, basked in the warm glow of the sun as it shone through the big windows, and people watched as locals and tourists went about their daily business.

I ate a few rugelach, and Diana bought a few cookies, neither of which were memorable, but it wasn’t the food that kept us coming back:  this non-smoking venue has consistently great coffee and old world charm.

Prague: Choco Café

Choco Café
Liliova 250/4
Old Town, Prague

Chocolate is my most absolute favourite treat, and the hot chocolate at Choco Café is definitely some of the best I’ve had. A day has not gone by that I do not think of this deliciously warm and spicy concoction.

Choco Café is a nice quiet place to get away from the hordes of tourists in the Old Town.  This cosy café has tables and couches set in a relaxed atmosphere. As we approached the café, walking down the very narrow side street, I felt l was being transported back in time. And perhaps I was: the building that houses the cafe is known as “U Cervene Zidle” or “At the Red Chair,” and dates as far back as 1403.

The house “At the Red Chair” went through several owners, was rebuilt many times and has witnessed several events in the history of the city, including the practice of alchemy in the 1600s: a few doors down, the famous Dr. Kelly, a self-declared spirit medium, and his partner John Dee, performed “magical investigations” and alchemy.

And the hot chocolate at Choco Café is pure alchemy: 100 grams of decadent, delicious chocolate so thick you can eat it with a spoon.  The long list of hot chocolate varieties are spiced with ginger, sea salt, chilli, rum or fresh fruits.

I had the hot chocolate with chili.

Diana had hers with sea salt.

The closest I’ve tried to this hot chocolate is SOMA’s Mayan Hot Chocolate in the Distillery District, but Choco-Café’s version is more “chocolatey” and thicker.

I was really disappointed when it was all over.  I tried to lick as much chocolate out of the cup as possible.  How bittersweet.

If ever I return to Prague, this is one of the first places I will visit.

Prague: Café Slavia

Café Slavia
Smetanovo nabrezi 2
Old Town, Prague

Café Slavia is one of Prague’s most popular cafés, with a gorgeous Art Deco interior.

Diana and I enjoyed our time here one afternoon, watching the world go by.  We had some of the best seats in the house: a comfy lounge facing the windows, where we soaked in the views of Prague Castle, the Vltava River, and the changing fall colours.

Café Slavia opened in 1881 and quickly became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals, including former president Václav Havel who frequented the café during his dissident years. The café was closed in 1991 due to ownership issues, and reopened six years later, after being restored to its 1930s Art Deco style.

What attracted us to the café was not the coffee or the desserts, but the absinthe, the green spirit that has been frequently and incorrectly described as a hallucinogenic. Diana’s guidebook mentioned that Café Slavia is THE place to drink absinthe while staring at the famous painting of the “Absinthe Drinker”, painted by Viktor Oliva, a regular at the café, in 1901.

Absinthe is a strong herbal spirit made with three main ingredients: wormwood, anise, and fennel. Bottled at a very high proof, it traditionally has a natural green color but can also be colorless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as the Green Fairy.

Diana and I both ordered a shot. The light green liquid came in a large glass. The presentation wasn’t very attractive. I thought the drink would arrive in a pretty shooter glass, and Diana was hoping that we could have experienced the absinthe ritual with the sugar cube, the spoon, and the flame. What a disappointment.

The predominate flavour of absinthe is supposed to be anise or licorice. My drink tasted like flavourless, raw alcohol. I had to dilute it with some water, as it was extremely strong and rough tasting.

I later learned that the light green-coloured absinthe we had contains little or none of the anise, fennel, and other herbs that are found in traditional absinthe, and it only has two similarities with its authentic, traditional counterpart: it contains wormwood and has a high alcohol content.

Absinthe has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug. The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. Modern commercially produced absinthe, however, contains safe levels of thujone. The US and the European Union regulate thujone levels of commercially produced absinthe.

Absinthe drinkers are said to experience a “double action” intoxication. The intoxicated feeling is combined with a “clear-headed feeling”. Rather than dulling the senses, absinthe is supposed to clear your mind and enhance your perception. Granted, I only had a 4 ounce shot of the green substance, but I didn’t get any of those feelings. After drinking it, I definitely had a buzz, and Diana and I both caught a major fit of the giggles, but that was it. I don’t think I would have had any major revelations if I drank a few more shots.  The only feeling I was left with was nausea.

Not wanting to leave our comfy seats, we ordered coffees and I had a slice of banana torte.

The double espresso was excellent and the banana torte was fine. I was grateful to have my palate cleared of the astringent absinthe.  

Walking back to our hotel, we couldn’t help but feel like we had missed out on that special “absinthe moment”, so the following day, we went to “The Absintherie” to try our luck again.  Stay tuned for more details……

Prague: Absinth

Being a lover of all things food, there are certain things I must eat or drink when in a specific country: gelato in Italy, croissants in France, apple strudel in Austria, Guinness in Ireland, and Absinth in Prague.

This green spirit is available everywhere: in bars, cafés, corner grocers, and even some street vendors. Not only is it available in green, but red and blue as well; and there is even one brand that has an enormous beetle in the bottle.

 

There are two shops in Prague that are exclusively devoted to the sale of absinth, Absinth Shop in Lesser Town and Absintherie in Old Town.

 

Both shops sell various absinth specialties: ice cream, cakes, coffee and chocolate, among other items. We opted for a shot of absinth from Absintherie, where we were told it would be prepared in the “Czech” method for us.

This involves pouring the absinth into a glass, placing a sugar cube on a spoon, lighting the spoon on fire, allowing the sugar to caramelize, and then dipping it into the drink and stirring.

While it did taste much better than the absinth I had at Café Slavia (see previous post), I still did not taste any anise flavour.  I was disappointed to discover that absinth is totally over-rated.

Prague: Meat, Meat, and More Meat

Czech food can be best described as comfort food. The main staple is meat, with pork being the most common, as well as beef, goose, duck, and rabbit. One of the mainstays of every Czech meal is dumplings, made from wheat or potatoes; they are large and filling, perfect for fulfilling that carb craving.

The Czechs really love their pork.  They even roast it on the street and sell it in sandwiches.

Roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut is considered the most popular Czech dish and Diana and I had several different variations of this dish.

Pork Sampler

My friend Diana ordered this tasty dish at U Rudolfina in the Jewish Quarter.  The smoked sausage, ham and roasted pork was delicious. The sauerkraut was sweet and the potato pancakes were also very good.

U Rudolfina is known mostly for its beer, it is a pub after all, and can get pretty rowdy on the main floor, but my coworker, who is Czech, advised us to go downstairs in the restaurant area, and have an authentic Czech meal.  We were not disappointed.

Beef Goulash with Dumplings

This is a much thicker variation of the original Hungarian goulash dish, which is served in a bowl and is more like a soup. I ordered the goulash with beef at Havelska Koruna in Old Town, and it came with onions, sauerkraut and dumplings, which I used to soak up the thick gravy. The potato dumplings were fluffy and extra absorbent, a perfect accompaniment to the meat.  

I originally visited Havelska Koruna 12 years ago during my first visit to Prague, and was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it was still open and still popular – there was a long line-up inside to get to the front of the cafeteria-style restaurant.

Upon entry, guests are provided with a piece of paper where the cook writes down what you order.  Before leaving the restaurant, the paper is presented and the meal is paid for at the cashier station. This low cost cafeteria is found in the most unlikely of locations, behind one of the most expensive streets in the city, Havelska.  It offers salads, soups, and desserts, as well as soft drinks, beer and wine.  But don’t let the word “cafeteria” fool you – the quality is excellent and the portions are generous. Diana and I each spent less than $10 CDN for our meal.

Old Czech Plate, comes with 900 grams of meat

This was, by far, my favourite meal in Prague.  Diana and I each ordered this dish at Kolkovna, which is a chain of restaurants located throughout the city.  It came with ¼ leg of roast duck, Moravian Sparrow (roasted small pieces of fat and lean pork), smoked meat, beer sausage, white and red cabbage, and three kinds of dumplings. I managed to eat most of it, and only left the fatty bits behind.  It was heavenly!!

I washed down this hearty dish with a glass of Pilsner Urquell, which, like all beers in Prague, were heavily diluted with water and not very tasty.

Before visiting Prague, I was not a big meat eater, and preferred vegetarian meals; I was actually worried about eating meat.  But since returning from my holiday, I am now a professed meat lover – I even crave it!

Call it What You Want, This Fruit Tastes Great

I know summer is just around the corner when my mum has freshly washed “nespole” on the table, ready to be eaten.

I love the sweet taste of these small fruits; and the sweeter and riper they are, the uglier they look; but don’t let the brown spots and gashes fool you, though.

All my life, I’ve referred to them as nespole, not bothering to find out what they are called in English. It didn’t matter, because the only people I shared my love of nespole with were my family and friends of Italian heritage.  After all, the only place I can ever find these treats are in Italian grocery stores or ethnic food markets.

It wasn’t until earlier this week that one of my coworkers asked me what I was eating, and I could only utter, nespole. I have since learned that the common name for this fruit is loquat or Japanese medlar. I still like to call them nespole, though.

Indigenous to southeastern China, the fruit was introduced to Japan and has been cultivated there for over 1,000 years. It is now grown in several countries with a subtropical to mild-temperature climate.

Nespole are unusual among fruit trees because the flowers appear in the autumn or early winter, and the fruits ripen in late winter or early spring. When they are available in the Italian groceries in Toronto, I am reminded that summer truly is around the corner. For the first few weeks before summer, nespole are aplenty. When we buy them, they are orange and lovely, just like they would be on a tree.  But within a few days, the lovely brown spots and gashes come out, and they are ready to be eaten.

Nespole always bring a smile to my face because I associate them with so many happy memories: those last few weeks in June, just before school is out; the excitement of starting the summer holidays, and the sparkle in my mother’s eyes as she proudly presented them to us and told us stories of her childhood in Italy.

Nespole are about the size of an apricot and have a smooth, orange, sometimes red-blushed skin.  The watery flesh is white, yellow or orange.  Some prefer to peel the fruit, but I like the skin.  Each fruit contains three to five large brown seeds that are not edible, as they contain a small amount of cyanide.  The flavour is a mix of apple and peach. They can be quite acidic when unripe.

Nespole are low in saturated fat and sodium, and is high in vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, and manganese.

Try some before they’re all gone!

For the love of coffee….

Coffee is, by far, my favourite drink.

Growing up in an Italian household, coffee is an utter necessity. You can take away pizza, even pasta, but without coffee, life is dismal and boring.  Seriously.

My whole family is crazy over coffee.  We treat it like a rare and precious commodity. When it’s ready to be poured, we measure the cups to make sure everyone has the same amount of coffee.  If there is any left over in the pot, we always offer it up, but each of us secretly hopes no one takes it so we can drink it for ourselves.

In my family, as with most Italians, the word espresso is not used in the same way North Americans use it. When an Italian says coffee, he usually means espresso. The North American drip brewed version of coffee is sometimes referred to as “aqua sporca” or “dirty water”.

Coffee culture in my family is very strong.  We have coffee at least twice per day. The mandatory morning coffee is always taken with breakfast.  I prefer mine black, as I want to get the full taste of the coffee, but my parents insist that the flavour is heightened with just a dash of sugar. My mum even pours coffee in her cereal. Our second dose of coffee takes place mid-afternoon, to help us “digest” our big Sunday lunch, as my mum says; but we always end up having it with some pastries, biscuits or chocolate.

For us, the ritual of drinking coffee is very important.  Like sharing a meal, we all sit down, have conversations, and spend time with each other while drinking.  Although we quickly drink our coffee in a few quick gulps (espresso is meant to be drunk this way) we always linger at the table afterwards, chatting and talking.  Drinking coffee together gives us a chance to slow down, connect with each other, and relax.

Coffee is always the first item that gets offered when visiting or hosting family.  It’s a way of saying, “welcome, let’s spend some quality time together.”

My mum buys coffee like she buys toilet paper when it’s on sale: 8 or 9 packs at a time. Our current favourite? Aiello, a small Italian coffee roaster that packages its coffee in the southern Italian city where my mum was born, in Cosenza. Other great Italian brands include Lavazza and Illy.

Italian coffee mostly uses Arabica beans for its full-bodied flavor and its low caffeine content. For those who prefer a much stronger taste, Arabica is blended with Robusta, which also has a higher caffeine content. An Italian roast makes a coffee that is a rich shade of brown with little or no oil on the beans. It’s also worth noting that, per serving, espresso contains less caffeine than regular coffee.

Although most coffee in Italy comes from South America, Italy is considered the home of coffee and is where many of the beans are roasted, where the best espresso machines and paraphernalia are made, and where making the perfect espresso and cappuccino is an art form.

Italians do not usually drink coffee in restaurants, they go to the coffee bar to enjoy their favourite brew. And while most prefer drinking their coffee standing, drinking it in a few quick gulps, they always linger to talk to the barista or friends.

If you want to make the perfect cup of Italian coffee, there is no need for the fancy, multi-functional coffee makers you see in those expensive shops. All you need is a simple stove-top Italian coffee maker, known as the “Moka”, “caffetiere” or “macchinetta”.

The Moka was designed to use on an open flame stove. The pot has a bottom chamber that holds the water, a filter in the middle where the coffee is placed, and an upper chamber that receives the brewed coffee.  The water boils up from the bottom and through the ground coffee. Pressure drives the coffee up through an inverted funnel and the coffee winds up in the upper chamber of the pot. The Moka was first patented in 1933 by Bialetti, still one of the major producers of Mokas.

The coffee brewed from a Moka is a much stronger brew than that from drip brewing.  This is because of the higher than atmospheric pressure involved, which causes the water and steam to reach temperatures well above 100 °C, causing more flavours to come from the grounds.

Mokas are relatively inexpensive, can be found easily, and come in different sizes, ranging from 1 cup to 12 cups.

When I’m not at home drinking coffee, I love visiting the neighbourhood cafés around town and I’m always thrilled when I find yet another great place to have coffee.

Some of my favourites are:

Café Novo, 1986 Bloor Street West (near High Park subway)
Crema Coffee, multiple locations
Dark Horse, multiple locations
L’espresso bar mercurio, 321 Bloor Street West (near St. George)
Mercatto, multiple locations
Merchants of Green Coffee, 2 Matilda Street (in Leslieville)
Si Espresso Bar, 748 Broadview Avenue (south of the Danforth)
The Only Café, 966 Danforth Avenue (near Donlands)

I’d love to hear from you – where is your favourite place to go for coffee?

Brunch at Origin Restaurant

Origin Restaurant
107 – 109 King Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1G9
Tel: (416) 603-8009

Origin is my new favourite spot for brunch.

I visited the restaurant with some friends this weekend, and we all left with big happy smiles: the food is spectacular and the service is perfect.

Located in the historic downtown neighbourhood of St. Lawrence, this brick building from the early 19th century has been converted into a hip-looking restaurant.

The funky interior consists of a bar/lounge area and a dining room that seats up to 140 people. The Warhol Room seats 14; and the pièce de résistance, the gorgeous patio, seats about 60 people.

The patio has a great view of St. James Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in the city. It’s covered in greenery and is the perfect oasis for a meal for two, or, in our case, brunch for 8.

The food presentation is original; the menu is eclectic, and the ingredients are so very fresh.

I ordered the asparagus salad with arugula, manchego, marcona almonds, lemon and poppyseed dressing: very light and refreshing. My two poached eggs on the side were just the way I like them: soft and runny.

My friend Susan had the baked mac and cheese with chorizo sausage.  A great new twist on a beloved classic.

Liezel had a glorious dish: Burrata with pesto, eggplant and roasted red peppers. I will definitely order this next time.

Shona ordered the French toast with duck confit, blueberries, hoisin, sesame seed brittle and sour cream. Very nice.

Becky had French toast with buffala mozzarella, poached pear and warm walnut brittle. Humma humma.

The restaurant offers a tapas-style menu for lunch and dinner, with about 40 different dishes.

Brunch for 8 (11 plates), including coffee and tea, plus tax (tip automatically included in parties of 8 or more): $245.17. Worth every penny.

Brunch at Origin is available on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 AM – 3 PM

 LUNCH: Mon – Fri 12pm – 3pm
DINNER:Mon – Sun 5pm – close

Review:
Food:               9 out of 10
Service:           10 out of 10
Décor:              10 out of 10
Value:              10 out of 10

If you’ve had brunch or even dinner at Origin, please post a comment.

Eating, Ethiopian Style

Lalibela Restaurant
1405 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON  M4J 1M9
Tel: (416) 645-0486

Toronto has a variety of great Ethiopian restaurants to choose from. This weekend, my friends and I visited Lalibela Restaurant, and not for lunch or dinner, but brunch.

This simple restaurant is family-run, and the food is served with traditional Ethiopian hospitality. At the end of the meal, we participated in a traditional coffee ceremony, where the beans are roasted in front of us, with the heady scent of coffee wafting in the air. What a different experience from the usual brunch spots offering French toast and eggs.

Ethiopian cuisine usually consists of vegetables and meat served on injera, a yeast-risen sourdough flatbread made of fermented teff flour. It has a unique, spongy texture, and is very porous, soaking up the juices and flavours of the food very nicely, making it perfect for scooping up those bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables.  The food can be made spicy or mild, depending on your taste preference.

The portions are generous: the injera measures roughly 50 centimetres in diameter; and the server continuously brought out more and more plates of the rolled bread.  The really nice thing about injera is that it is gluten free, so you don’t get the feeling of being stuffed or bloated, even after eating a few rolls.

Breakfast items consist of Foul: mashed beans, sautéed with onions, green peppers, butter and yogurt; Firfir: shredded injera simmered with butter, pepper and spices, and topped with yogurt; Kenche: cracked wheat blended with herbed oil and spices.

I ordered the vegetarian platter, a combination of split peas, lentils, chick peas, cabbage, beets, and collard greens.

I love how all the flavours melded together, especially the spicy lentils with the sweet beets. This is a very healthy meal.

My friend Greg ordered the meat and vegetable platter, which included lovely strips of beef, all simmered in mixed vegetables.

Equally important to the food is the coffee ceremony at the end of the meal.  We ordered the coffee at the start, as the ceremony takes a bit of time to prepare.  The Ethiopian coffee tradition is like no other I’ve ever experienced.  As an ardent coffee lover, I look forward to the ceremony every time I eat Ethiopian.

Our server begins by roasting green coffee beans in a coffee roasting pan with a very long handle. Once the beans are roasted, she walks around our table so that each of us can all inhale the rich scent of coffee. The beans are ground in a mortar and pestle, and placed in a clay coffee pot, the jebena, with water and boiled. The coffee is served in small cups with popcorn.

Coffee is said to have originated in Ethiopia.  One of the variations of the coffee history legend is that in the 9th century, an Ethiopian goat herd named Kaldi found his goats jumping around a dark green shrub with bright red berries.  After trying the berries himself, Kaldi learned that they were the cause of his goats’ over-excitment.  Eventually, the news spread and coffee was born.

Brunch for 5, including coffee, plus tax: $74.47.

Lalibela is open 7 days per week, from 10 AM to 2 AM

Review:
Food:               10 out of 10
Service:           10 out of 10
Décor:              6 out of 10
Value:              10 out of 10

If you have eaten at Lalibela or any other Ethiopian restaurant, please post a comment.

Ti amo, pomodoro…..

One of the things I most look forward to in the summertime is eating fresh tomatoes.

I’m not talking about the pink, hard, flavourless ones you buy in the grocery stores, I’m talking about tomatoes that taste like tomatoes: the ones that are available at your local farmers market, or even better, your own garden. They do not look perfect, some of them are actually quite ugly, but they are the tastiest tomatoes you will ever eat.

 

I love the pure flavour that come from a real tomato. It’s the perfect combination of just the right sweetness with low acidity levels. A real tomato can be eaten on its own. It is most delicious with a dash of sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. A real tomato does not make you pucker when you bite into it.

Although it’s still a bit early for the local tomato, I’m starting to see imports at my Italian grocer and they are delicious. I love the small, bright red cherry tomatoes that are sold still on the stem.  When I bite into one of these babies, the sweet juice explodes in my mouth, and my mind flashes back to those hot summer days in Italy where I ate lots of homegrown food from my nonna’s farm. One of the first memories I have of biting into a real tomato: I remember plucking one from my mum’s garden, giving it a little rub, and plopping it in my mouth.  The taste and flavour was incredible: I felt like Eve biting into the apple. This was a tomato so delicious, it felt sinful.

In fact, “pomodoro” means “Golden Apple” when translated into English.  Tomatoes are truly the apple of my eye.  And  what makes them even more special is that they are only available for a few months in the summertime.

Italy was one of the first cultivators of the tomato, and some would say responsible for its widespread cultivation and use all over Europe.  Not surprising, since Italians are so dedicated to agriculture and their food. The tomato is also very popular in Spain and France.

 

My favourite salad in the summertime is fresh tomatoes with soft, crusty, fresh bread.  My mum’s version of “panzanella” includes cubed tomatoes, small pieces of crusty bread, lots of olive oil, oregano, freshly chopped basil and sea salt.

“Burrata” is very popular this year, and it tastes great with fresh tomatoes.  It is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.  The outer shell is made of solid mozarella, and the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it a heavenly rich texture.  Add a dash of extra virgin olive oil and some basil and there you have the perfect salad. I love how the flavours of the tomato meld nicely with the soft, creamy texture of the burrata.

This year, I’ve added a new recipe to my repertoire:

Raw Carrot & Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced tomatoes
a handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
a dash of oregano
a handful of chopped, fresh basil
4 cups of water
a dash of sea salt
a handful of almonds

Blend everything until you reach the desired the consistency.  I prefer my soup with chunks of vegetables and almonds, but you can water it down a bit more, if you prefer. The flavours in this soup are varied and incredible. 

This recipe makes four medium bowls.  And I’m not embarrassed to say that I almost always eat this soup in one sitting, partly because I love it so much and I have no self-control, and partly because I think the flavours are so much better when eaten right away.  Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. This is a truly wonderful soup, with so many flavours and textures. I try to make it at least once per week.

 

Tomatoes are the heart of Italian cooking. Every September, Italian households purchase bushels and bushels of tomatoes to make tomato sauce.  I do not know any Italians who purchase their sauce – this is considered extremely sacrilegious.

The tradition of “making sauce” involves a lot of work. I remember as a child heading to the local farm with my parents, picking enough tomatoes to fill 12 or 14 bushels.  One bushel would make about 12 to 14 jars of tomato sauce.  My mum’s goal was to make tomato sauce that would last one year or two.  Even if your math is as bad as mine, we both know that’s a lot of tomatoes.

The picking started bright and early, around 8am, and our goal was to finish by noon. After taking the bushels home – this would involve several car trips back and forth – my mum would gently lay each tomato on linen towels in the basement, inspecting them regularly to make sure they were ripening evenly and not rotting. When the tomatoes were ready for sauce making, she would crush them using a manual tomato strainer, then boil and can them.  The tomato sauce is stored in a cool, dark place: the “cantina” or cellar, which my dad made specifically for storing all of my mum’s canning.

Today, the only thing that has changed is that my mum buys her tomatoes from a local farmer – we don’t pick them anymore, thank God.

There are around 7,500 tomato varieties.  Seriously.

Some of my favourites include:

Heirloom tomatoes, which can be found in a wide variety of colors, shapes, flavors and sizes. Some of them have a much lower acidity level than regular tomatoes and this makes them especially attractive in a salad.

San Marzano, a plum tomato, which is grown specifically to be cooked. Because it has less seeds and water than other tomatoes, it is perfect for making tomato sauce. San Marzano originated mainly in the towns and villages in and around Naples, but its seeds are available worldwide. 

Cherry tomatoes are also perfect for salads: small, round, and very sweet, my favourites are the bright red ones, still with the stems attached, that are imported from Italy.

The Mother of All Detoxes: Week 1

This week, I started the candida cleanse, a hardcore detox that lasts a minimum of 30 days.

This is the hardest detox I have ever attempted, and while ideally it’s best done once per year, I really don’t have the willpower to do it that often. It’s been three years since my last candida detox – I’ve only attempted it twice – but I decided to do it now because I haven’t liked the way I have been feeling for quite some time; and, I’m hoping this cleanse will completely detoxify my body and kick-start me into healthier eating habits.

Candida is a yeast that lives in our digestive tract, which is kept under control by the friendly bacteria in our stomach.  The candida only starts to cause trouble when there is an overgrowth of it, thereby weakening the intestinal wall, penetrating into the bloodstream and spreading throughout the body. A yeast overgrowth can be caused by several factors. One of the main ones is antibiotics: a course of antibiotics not only kills the bad bacteria, but it also destroys the good in your stomach, making candida overpopulate quickly. Another factor is a long diet rich in carbohydrates and sugar. Candida needs sugar to grow; this includes foods containing sugar, anything that converts to sugar, and alcohol, which is a type of sugar. Processed food made with white flour and other refined grains, as well as moldy and yeast-containing foods, must also be avoided for the same reasons.

Several family doctors don’t believe in candida.  Mine thought the symptoms were all in my head.  It was my naturopath who first made me aware of candida. The symptoms I was experiencing could not be explained by my doctor: headaches, fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, depression, bloating, inflammation, cravings for alcohol, bread and sweets, and an overall sluggish feeling. While there are different variations of the detox, the candida cleanse she put me on is tailored for my body. 

I am encouraged to eat as many cooked vegetables as possible, as well as gluten-free grains such as millet, quinoa, amaranth, brown or wild rice, and buckwheat.  My milk replacement is almond milk, which I prefer over rice or soy milk, due to the taste. Some candida fighting foods are coconut oil, garlic, onions, seaweed, almonds, ginger, olive oil, lemon and lime juice, pumpkin seeds, and cayenne pepper.

After completing the candida detox the first time, I felt reborn. All my symptoms had disappeared, I had more energy, and even lost some weight. The second time I did the detox, about 18 months later, I experienced the same results.

The first 10 days are the hardest: no raw vegetables, no sugar of any kind, including fruit, no caffeine or herbal teas, no alcohol, no potatoes, no mushrooms, no gluten, no dairy, no additives or preservatives, no nuts (except almonds), no condiments, no vinegar, and no oils except olive oil and coconut oil.  It’s not until after Day 10 that you can introduce fruit in small amounts, as well as raw vegetables.  The rest of the detox stays the same.

This week, I’ve been feeling very weak, with very little energy, and I’ve had a powerful craving for fruit, which tells me the detox is working.  It’s normal to feel these symptoms while detoxing, because my body is killing off the sugar and it’s working extra hard to remove the candida.

I won’t lie: this cleanse is extremely difficult.  What makes it difficult is that if at any time you end up eating or drinking something that is not on the list, you must start again at Day 1.  A 30-day detox could end up taking 45 day or more. Very harsh.

Yesterday, when I reached Day 6, I realized the coffee replacement I was using contains grains that have been malted – the process of converting grains to sugar – and this is a NO NO on the candida diet.

I started obsessing about what to do: should I just pretend I didn’t read the ingredients, or should I be honest with myself and go back to Day 1? What do do?

I’ve decided I’m doing the candida detox my way. I’m making this a detox, and not a diet.

I will continue to move forward and not restart the detox.  I will, however, wait 20 days until I allow myself fruit and raw vegetables.  I do not want this to be a diet.  Whenever I go on diet, I become obsessive, depressed, and I let it take over my life.  I do not want to be obsessing about what I put in my mouth every day.  I do not want to punish myself for making a mistake by starting over.  What I do want is the detox to help me develop better eating habits, to be conscious of everything that goes in my body, and more importantly, to enjoy myself while I am doing it. 

My first candida detox took well over 50 days, and the second one took about 42.  This time, I’m doing it for 30 days – that’s it, that’s all.  And hopefully at the end of it all, I will come away feeling happy and better about myself, and not deprived, starving and depressed. Even better, I hope to develop great habits that will last a lifetime.

I’ve been able to come up with some quick and easy recipes for my diet.

Quinoa with Black Beans, Roasted Peppers and Shallots:

 

Kale and Roasted Vegetables:

 

Caramelized Zucchini with Shallots:

 

My favourite snack item is rice cakes with almond butter:

 

To help the body detox itself, I also take some natural supplements.  I plan on incorporating these into my diet well after I’ve finished the detox:

Probiotics help reintroduce colonies of helpful bacteria back into your stomach, eventually crowding the candida yeast. I take a probiotic three times per day, with each meal.

Black Walnut contains natural tannins that kill parasites, yeast and fungus. It may also help with lowering blood pressure, thyroid problems, sore throats and asthma. I take Black Walnut tincture with water 3 times per day.

Grapefruit seed extract contains Vitamins C & E, as well as bioflavonoids that can help repair cells in the body. It also has antifungal properties that fight candida. I take this three times per day, with food.

Liquid Chlorophyll is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant containing high levels of Vitamin A, C, and E and helps prevent the growth of bacteria.

Bentonite clay and psyllium are mixed with water.  I use 2 tablespoons of each in a very large glass of water, and drink twice per day on an empty stomach. Bentonite clay is an inert volcanic ash, meaning it cannot be absorbed by the body.  It naturally absorbs toxins, without getting absorbed in the body. Psyllium works as a dietary fibre.

I’m actually glad I messed up with the coffee replacement.  Now that I’ve determined this detox is a lifestyle change and not a strict diet, I feel more relaxed about it.  I’m not obsessing about being on a diet.  And I look forward to continuing the detox and making myself healthier.

Stay tuned for Week 2.

Detox: Week 2

This week is proving to be a lot more difficult than last week.

Although I am eating a wide variety of cooked vegetables, meat, and gluten-free carbs, I still feel incredibly deprived and have very strong cravings for fresh vegetables, fruits, cheese,  and coffee - essentially everything I cannot have.

As I mentioned last week, I had my coffee replacement one morning, not realizing that malt was one of the ingredients – a big NO NO on the candida detox.  Rather than start over, I decided to go an extra 10 days without any fruits or fresh vegetables. This is taking its toll, and I may have to succumb to a fresh tomato or cucumber soon.

I haven’t lost any weight, absolutely none, which is very frustrating.  It’s probably due to the heaping tablespoons of almond butter I put on my rice cakes two or three times a day, or maybe it’s the large amounts of beans and meat I’m eating. Because I cannot eat certain items, I overcompensate by eating too much of what I can have, but really don’t want.

I am craving sugar, whether it’s fruit, caffeine or chocolate, anything to get my energy levels up. The other night, I dreamed I was drinking a bottle of Coke and enjoying it – and I do not drink pop. Ever.

Visiting the local market and seeing ripe bananas, Ontario strawberries, Italian figs, wild blueberries, and fire red cherry tomatoes on the vine makes me feel sad.  I miss cheese on my pasta and fresh tomato salads with crusty olive bread and espressos and real pasta: not the gluten free stuff, but real, Italian pasta: ravioli, cannelloni, lasagna, baked ziti, even risotto.

Why the hell am I doing this detox again?

Before I started the detox, my joints were inflamed, I was bloated and had low energy levels, trouble digesting certain vegetables (corn, peas, and peppers). I was eating too much sugar and carbs, and had difficulty losing weight. My body was also full of antibiotics from various illnesses and infections over the years, as well as anti-malaria medication I took when I visited India a few years ago.  After trying a large variety of different vitamins, natural supplements, and eliminating certain foods, nothing worked.  My naturopath gently recommended the candida detox several times, but I was just not ready to do it.  I knew the difficulty involved and wasn’t sure I could pull it off.  Until almost two weeks ago, when I built up the bravado to try it again.

On the plus side, I am no longer bloated, my waist size has shrunk a bit, I no longer have a sensitivity to corn, peas, and peppers, I feel a lot healthier, I sleep better, my anxiety levels have dropped considerably, and I no longer have harsh spikes in energy levels. All this after only two weeks. And I’m sure lots of great things that I cannot see are happening to my body as well.

On the negative side, I am emotionally drained and exhausted.  When I deprive myself of food, I get depressed thinking about what I cannot eat and constantly obsess about it, wondering what I’ll eat at my next meal, how much I should eat, what kind of snacks I’ll have, etc. I’ve been planning menus every day for the next several weeks, searching for recipes every night, both online and in cookbooks. On weekends, I take over my parents’ kitchen, cooking meals for the entire family.

Since I started the detox, I have isolated myself from friends because it’s just too complicated to order anything I feel I can eat off the menu.  I worry about hidden ingredients and eating something I’m not supposed to.

So, is doing the detox worth all of this aggravation?

Well,

I think…..

Yes.

I had been thinking of doing this detox for almost a year now, but I was never strong enough to take it on.  I am glad I found the nerve to try it again.  I already see a few marked differences and I like the fact that I am eating good, whole foods.  Everything I am putting into my body is good for me.  Yes, this detox is playing with my mind, but I’m trying to control my mind.

I’ve heard that it takes 28 days to form a habit.  Hopefully, after doing this detox, I will continue to fill my body with good food and develop good eating habits that will last a lifetime.

I am going to try and be very patient – I skill I have yet to master – and get through this.  I will perservere. In fact, I’ve decided to attend my corporate summer party: there must be something on the menu I can eat; and if not, I will ask for a special order.  No more isolating myself.

This detox is supposed to be a positive lifestyle change, and I will ensure it is by continuing to make healthy meals with a wide variety of ingredients.

I made some nice meals this week: roasted eggplants with tomato sauce and basil, roasted vegetables with millet, zucchini frittata, and a chickpea salad.

Below are a few of my favourite recipes from this week:

Fried zucchini flowers in batter

Zucchini blossoms are very popular in Italy and France, and I’ve seen them in Toronto, sold at Italian grocers and some local farmers’ markets.  Lucky for me, I get mine from my mum’s garden.

The blossoms are very delicate and perishable and should be used the day they’re purchased or picked. Make sure they look firm and fresh, and are slightly open.

Gluten-free variation of zucchini blossom fritters

Ingredients:
14 zucchini flowers
1 heaping tbs. of flour (I used buckwheat)
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tbs. of finely chopped herbs: Italian parsley and basil
olive oil, for frying

Trim the stems, remove the pistils, wash them gently and chop finely. Mix flour, salt, water, egg, herbs, and chopped flowers in a large bowl. Add a small scoop of the batter into the pan, frying until golden.  Remove, and drain them on paper towels and serve hot.

Original recipe:
Stuff the full blossom with a small tablespoon of ricotta and parmesan.  Twist the petals so that the stuffing is held safely inside the flower. Dip each flower into the batter used above (minus the chopped flowers), place on pan, frying until golden. The crunchiness of the batter beautifully complements the delicate flavour of the flower, and the melted cheese gives it an added bonus of flavour.

Socca

Socca is a specialty of southern French cuisine, especially Nice. It’s a very popular street food, and made with chickpea flour and olive oil, poured in a cast iron pan and baked in an open oven. Some of the pans measure 70 cm in diameter. The socca is seasoned with sea salt, cut into pieces and eaten while hot.

Italians also have their version, calling it farinata or cecina, seasoning it with rosemary and sea salt.

My version involves making it on a stove top, since I don’t have an open oven or an iron skillet.

Socca is a great as a snack, for breakfast, or as an appetizer. 

Socca – my way

Ingredients:
1 cup of chick pea flour
1 cup of water
pinch of sea salt
3 tbs. of olive oil, more for drizzling

Whisk together the chickpea flour, water, and olive oil. Cover and let rest for 2-3 hours at room temperature. 

Brush the pan with olive oil and pour the batter in the pan.  Wait a few minutes for the socca to cook, and flip over. Continue doing this until you run out of batter.  Cut the socca into rough pieces, sprinkle with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. Serve hot.

Almond flour muffins

My naturopath gave me this recipe, and I am so grateful to her.  Whenever I feel like something decadent, I grab one or two or three of these little muffins and savour their moist, sweet flavour.  Heavenly. My family likes them, too.

Jane’s Gluten-free almond flour muffins:

Ingredients:
2 cups of almond flour
2 cups of finely grated carrots or zucchini
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. each of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom
pinch of sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup of grapeseed or olive oil
1/4 cup of xylitol

Mix almond flour, grated carrot or zucchini, baking soda, spices and sea salt.  In a separate bowl, mix egg, oil, and xylitol. Combine the wet ingredients into the almond mixture. Spoon into a greased muffin tin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes for mini muffins or 30 minutes for larger muffins.

This muffins are moist, sweet, and very light.  Mine were all gone  within a few hours.

Stay tuned for Week 3.

Detox: Week 3

Three weeks into my detox, and I’m as happy as can be.

Ever since I introduced fresh garden vegetables and small amounts of fruit to my diet, I no longer feel deprived, depressed or moody. I’ve been stuffing my face with copious amounts of lettuce, fresh tomatoes, and cucumbers, all on a daily basis.  It seems I can’t get enough of them, perfect with sea salt and a dash of extra virgin olive oil.

This week, I’ve experienced several positive changes:

• no more bloating or inflammation of the joints
• higher energy levels
• no anxiety
• no cravings for sweets
• clearer thinking and concentration
• better memory
• a heightened sense of smell

I’ve also lost 3 pounds, which is a huge deal, since I hadn’t been able to lose any weight since January, no matter how hard I tried. I hope to continue to lose some more weight.

Eating has once again become a pleasure.  There is no longer any emotion tied to it.  I eat because I am hungry, not because I am bored or sad or overwhelmed.  I eat for sustenance and energy.

My mum’s garden is full of zucchini and kale, and I’ve been eating those, steamed and with a dash of lemon juice and sea salt.

For protein, I’ve been eating lots of great meat from Rowe Farms, whose products are locally grown, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free.  These butchers really know their meat and they have given me great tips on how to cook each product I buy.  Over the last few weeks, I’ve had top sirloin roast beef, air-chilled chicken, beef burgers, and duck breasts. My dad, who is the pickiest meat-eater I know, has voraciously dug in and eaten with me.

It’s interesting how I have undergone a complete physical and emotional change since last week, when I was at my wit’s end, trying to get through each day.  I’m really very glad I stuck it out.

I think the reason for the big change is mostly due to the lack of gluten and sugar in my diet. I’ve found a lot of great gluten free recipes out there that are very delicious and easy to make.  There are even great brands of gluten-free pasta, from Italy, no less. I hope to continue eating this way even after the detox is done with. Yes, I will still definitely eat my mum’s pasta, no doubt about it, but in very limited quantities.

I have a very sweet tooth, and I know I will eventually introduce sugar back into my diet as well: I love chocolate, ice cream, cakes and tarts, and I will never be able to live without these foods. And why should I? But I will try to eat them in moderation. Now that I’ve worked so hard to get the sugar out of my system, I am going to be more careful with how much I eat of it. I also plan on replacing sugar in all my recipes with xylitol, an all-natural sugar substitute, which my naturopath has recommended.

This was another great week for good meals.  

Lettuce, including radicchio:

Black beans with roasted corn and tomatoes:

Gluten-free pizza (made with bean flour) and roasted vegetables:

I also made delicious carrot muffins. My naturopath gave me this recipe, and I absolutely love the way they taste. They are soft, moist, and sweet.

Jane’s Gluten-free Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut flour
1 tsp. sea salt
4 tsp. cinnamon
5 eggs
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup of xylitol
4 tbs. vanilla extract
4 cups carrots

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, blend together eggs, oil, xylitol and vanilla extract.

Blend dry ingredients into wet, then fold in carrots.

Grease a large muffin tin with grapeseed oil and dust with coconut flour. Spoon approximately 2 heaping tbs. of batter into each greased muffin cup.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

This weekend is my sister’s birthday, and I plan on creating an entire birthday meal using gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free ingredients, including the birthday cake! Stay tuned…

Detox: The End is Near

Thank G-d this detox is almost over.

The last few days have proven rather difficult, even though I have a few days remaining.

I’ve been tempted on more than one occasion to succumb to my desires and have an espresso, or some stinky blue cheese, or a pizza, all with the excuse that I only have a few days left. Luckily, my willpower is still going strong.

I’m really proud of myself for lasting as long as I have. On several occasions, I didn’t think I could do it. There were days when I had to remind myself why I was doing the detox. And every time negative thoughts would creep up on me, I had to quickly come up with reasons why I should continue with my strict regimen.

Now that I have less than 24 hours left, I can realistically assess the last 29 days to see if I achieved what I set out to do.

Weight Loss

Last week, I lost three pounds, only to put it on this week.  I am very disappointed because despite my dietary restrictions and feeling deprived most of the time, I did not lose a single pound.  I was hoping the detox would help me lose about 8 to 10 pounds.  I’ve usually lost weight on the detox, and a part of me feels like a failure for not achieving this goal.

Energy Levels

Despite my weight staying the same, I’ve been feeling really great and my energy levels are high. I feel more alert and  less anxious, mostly due to the lack of caffeine.  While I would drink coffee to stay awake and keep my energy levels high, it would merely provide temporary relief while making me hyper and on edge. I would eventually crash and feel exhausted, with the vicious cycle starting all over again. A few months ago, I would have said coffee helps me stay awake and alert.  The truth is, I don’t need caffeine to do this.  With enough sleep, proper food and exercise, my body does not need stimulants to perform at its best.

With higher energy levels also comes clearer thinking as well as better concentration and memory.  I have doubled my work load three-fold recently, multitasking like I never have before, and yet I still feel I can take on more projects.

Change in Eating Habits

I’ve noticed that I now only eat when I’m hungry.  I have a long history of emotional eating or eating when bored.  Now that I have cut sugar and unhealthy carbs from my diet, I really don’t crave them anymore.  I don’t miss the cakes, tarts, pastries, and chocolate.  I find this incredibly empowering. If I can limit the cravings going forward, this detox would totally have been worth it.

Before I put anything in my mouth, I always think about how it will affect my body, whether I need protein for energy, calcium for bones, or fresh fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals. Thinking before automatically putting something in my mouth really helps me eat better.

Joint Pain & Inflammation

Before starting the detox, I was experiencing early signs of arthritis. My joints were swollen and painful, and I was limited in the amount of exercises I could do.  Within the first week of the detox, all of these symptoms disappeared. I can now walk up to 3 hours per day, without any joint pain or stiffness.

Overall, the detox has been a great starting point to help me get back on track with a healthy lifestyle. Although I haven’t been able to lose weight, I have gained control over food, I am motivated to experiment with various recipes, and most importantly, I feel better about myself, both emotionally and physically.

Happiness is eating whatever you want, whenever you want, within moderation of course.  I don’t think anything should be off limits when it comes to eating. With all these great habits I picked up, I look forward to starting my new food adventure.

I did quite a bit of cooking this week, some of them brand new recipes.

Seared tuna with roasted vegetables:

Roasted peppers with sea salt and olive oil:

Carob mousse, which is a great replacement for chocolate:

This is just as delicious as any chocolate mousse I’ve tried, without the sugar. Carob chips look identical to chocolate chips, but the taste is slightly different, with a nutty undertone. Because of its creaminess and naturally sweet taste, it definitely satisfies me every time.

Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free Carob Mousse

Ingredients:
1 cup of unsweetened carob chips
1/2 cup of almond milk

(Note: amount of each depends on desired consistency. For a thinner mousse, I would use more almond milk)

Mix both ingredients in a saucepan over very low heat.  Stir until  you reach the desired consistency, adding more milk if necessary.  Depending on how thick you want it, you may want to add more or less carob chips. I like my mousse with a bit of “crunch” to it, so I don’t melt all of the chips.

The carob tree, also known as locust bean and St. John’s Bread, produces pods, about 4 to 8 inches long, leathery on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Carob powder is produced by grinding the pod after removal of the hard, brown seeds inside.

Some benefits of carob over chocolate is that it contains no caffeine, is high in fiber, and contains vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D.

Gluten-free, Sugar-free, Dairy Free Carob Cake

I won’t share the recipe with you, as it took me three attempts to come up with this creation. It looked ugly when I took it out of the oven, but I managed to save it by hiding all the imperfections with the carob mousse and fresh raspberries. Next time, I’ll get the cake from a specialty bakery.

 

For the love of figs

My love affair with figs started at a very early age.

I love mine overly ripe: when they are a bit heavy for their size, fairly soft but not mushy, and the smooth, thin skin has slightly split. I especially love the ones that contain a small droplet of sap oozing from the hole in the bottom.  There is nothing like biting into a fig and tasting the sweet, syrupy flavour and the wonderful explosion of pulpy flesh and tiny little seeds.

 

I associate this beautiful little fruit with so many wonderful memories. I recall spending some of my childhood summers in Italy, on my grandparent’s farm, climbing fig trees and eating the fruit until I was so stuffed I had trouble getting off the trees.  I remember seeing my parents’ faces light up when we went to buy groceries and figs were available.  I could feel the happiness emanating from them and once we got home, I would hear stories of their childhood and hear about the pranks they played with their friends in the fig orchards. I remember eating simple, yet delicious food: figs with prosciutto, with cheese, and even chocolate.

 

 

I cannot think of any other food that represents such a strong nostalgia for all good things past, both for me and my parents.

In fact, most Italians, especially Southern Italians, love their figs, probably as much as their tomato sauce.

Southern Italians have been eating figs for a very long time.  Due to the hot climate, fig and olive trees grew in abundance.  And while there usually wasn’t enough money to buy food, there was always an ample supply of figs, homemade cheese, bread, farm-raised pork, and olives, making them major staples in their diet.

Figs were so plentiful when my parents were growing up that my mum recalls feeding the pigs over-ripe figs with their slop as there was an overabundance of them.

Although figs grow best in a very warm climate, many Italians have successfully planted and cultivated figs in colder climates in North America. I know several Italians in Toronto that successfully grow fig trees that bear fruit, and my late uncle was one of them. He took immense pride in his fig tree, pruning it, watering it, and checking up on it on a daily basis.  Once his tree was done producing for the year, he would go through great lengths to protect it from the cold Canadian winter by burying it in the dirt.

When I heard that many Italians did this to protect the tree from the frost, I was skeptical; but after watching the process and seeing the tree bear fruit the following year, I was seriously amazed.

My uncle would dig a trench in the ground next to the tree, then wrap the tree in a burlap sack to help protect it from the cold and the dirt. After the trench was dug, the tree would be bent down into the trench and covered with the dirt. The tree would stay buried until the following summer, at which point it was dug up and pruned, ready to bear more fruit.

Some Italians would even risk their good name for figs. I know of several people – all of whom will remain nameless – who carried dozens of fresh figs in woven baskets on the plane from Italy.  I’ve even heard of several people bringing fig seedlings on the plane.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways….

There are so many different ways to eat figs.  My mum likes to serve them at the end of the meal. I like them wrapped with thinly sliced prosciutto as an antipasto – the combination of sweet and salty is so tasty.

One of my favourite fig recipes is the namesake for this blog, figs and gorgonzola. I make this decadent and rich dish served with arugula, and pass it off as a salad so I won’t feel guilty eating it. Having said that, I only make it once or twice a year.

Grilled Figs with Gorgonzola and Honey

 

Ingredients:
4 ripe figs
2 ounces of gorgonzola
4 large walnuts
olive oil, as needed
fresh greens
2 Tbs. honey

Trim off the fig stems and cut an X into the top of the fig, opening the corners slightly.  Add one walnut and a small piece of gorgonzola into each fig.  Brush the figs lightly with olive oil and place in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese begins to melt.

Prepare salad greens on a plate. I prefer arugula as the slight bitter taste goes well with the sweetness of the figs and the rich saltiness of the gorgonzola. I also prefer the gorgonzola dolcelatte, which is very creamy and has a milder flavour than the piccante version.

 

When fresh figs are no longer available in the winter months, I always keep dried figs on hand as a snack because they are rich in potassium and fibre. And when I’m craving something a bit more decadent, which is more often than I’d like, I go for chocolate covered figs:

 

This thing of infinite goodness is the closest I’ve come to heaven. A dried fig is injected with fine dark chocolate, then dipped in the same chocolate.  They are refrigerated until ready to be eaten.

Leave them at room temperature for just a few moments, and when you bite into one of these babies, the dark chocolate explodes in your mouth creating a party for your tastebuds: the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sweetness of the fig make such a beautiful combination.  This is food porn at its best.

I always get these treats at Harbord Bakery in Toronto, www.harbordbakery.ca.  It’s the only bakery in the city that I know of that sells them.  I cannot walk by the bakery without going in and buying 2 or 3 of these glorious figs.

Comfort me with carbohydrates

This weekend was filled with lots and lots of carbs.

When I feel exhausted, overworked, overwhelmed, and down on myself, I eat more than I should.

Usually, it’s cake, tarts, pastries, cupcakes, ice cream, foods that indulge my sweet cravings. But this weekend was entirely different. Instead of gorging on sweets, which I do about once a month, I decided to take care of myself by making huge trays of my favourite childhood meals, enough to last the week, only to end up eating most of it.

Homemade pizza:

 

Roasted peppers with stuffing:

Meat and Cheese Lasagna:

Challah (okay, I didn’t make it, I bought it):

I understand that for me, factors such as inadequate sleep, too many long working hours,  and certain situations that may cause stress in my life, increase my cravings for carbs and sugar. When I don’t have time to get enough sleep or exercise, I tend to fall back on comfort eating.

High-carb foods help increase levels of serotonin in the brain, which helps me feel happy and relaxed, especially when I’m stressed. Pasta and breads are perfect for self-medication.

Normally, there would be a lot of guilt associated with my comfort eating all weekend, but not anymore. I eat well most of the time, exercising daily, and falling off the wagon once or twice a month is nothing to feel guilty about.  I’m learning to curb my comfort eating and alleviating stress in other ways: yoga, walking, housecleaning, and writing.

It’s okay to have extra plates of lasagna on the weekend, or a few glasses of wine and cheese one night after work, or even that glorious poutine while catching a soccer match at the stadium – it’s all part of enjoying life to the fullest. I will admit, I did eat far too much this weekend – the entire challah is gone – but there is no use dwelling on it. I’m moving on.

I am usually not a big carb eater, having perhaps 6 or 7 servings of carbs per week.  I can’t help but wonder if my body was angry at me for not giving it enough of what it needed; and hence, the reason for the carb binge over the weekend.

I’m learning from most of my friends, none of whom are on diets, yet all of whom maintain a healthy body weight, that we are much happier when we choose to relax and enjoy our food.  Obsessing about food will only lead to guilt and despair, which leads to more binge eating and more guilt and despair. I am so over that.

I recall visiting Prague with my friend Diana last fall.  I ate and drank whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, including having desserts up to twice per day.  When I returned, I weighed myself and noticed I lost 2 pounds.  Not much when you look at the number, but very surprising considering all the pork, beer, and cake I ate.  What did I do that I normally don’t do when on holidays?  Walked every where all day and allowed myself the pleasure of eating whatever I wanted.

I think eating healthy the majority of the time and indulging in treats occasionally is the perfect balance for a happy life, at least in my case. Instead of labelling certain foods as “sinful” or “bad”, and feeling guilty for eating them, more enjoyment should be put into eating all foods may just be the key to a happier lifestyle.

Revisiting the CNE….then and now

The Canadian National Exhibition, affectionately known as “The Ex,” holds a special place in my heart.

It is the only time of year and the only place where I allow myself to eat junk food free of guilt. And there is plenty to be had this year: Krispy Kreme burgers, Corn Dogs, Curly Fries, Tiny Tom donuts, and a series of over 30 deep-fried artery clogging treats.

This year, after a six year absence, I revisited the place that has so many memories and discovered that while some things have changed, many things have stayed the same: the midway rides are a big hit, people spend too much money trying to win giant toys, the animals and petting zoo are still there, and the food is probably the biggest attraction.

As a child, my parents would take me to the The Ex every year, sometimes three or four times each summer.  Twenty-five years ago, a family of four could get into The Ex for less than $15 and the kids’ rides were anywhere from 25 to 75 cents. The rides were not the main attraction – my mum didn’t think they were safe so I only went on a select few. Instead, we spent most of our time in the Food Building, the International Pavilion, and the Farm Building.

After a few rides on the merry-go-round and the spinning bumble bee, the family would head over to the Food Building, where we could sample foods from all over the world. Samples were free back then. We’d taste cheese from Holland, chocolates from Switzerland, and different types of meat dishes. I had my first shish-kebab at the CNE, which was considered very daring back then. Like today, the Food Building sold 99¢ spaghetti, but my mum thought it was too “English” for us (meaning she could make better), so we bought pizza instead. I was never a big fan of carnival foods, so instead of the candy apples, cotton candy, and pogo sticks, I always opted for the ice cream.

After eating, we would head over to the Better Living Centre, where the international booths were located, and for several hours, it felt like we were travelling and shopping the world. I remember being enchanted with Russia and the matryoshka dolls, Australia and the coral jewellery, Peru and the colourful sweaters, and Poland with the multi-coloured crystal.

The Farm Building was my favourite place to visit because of all the animals.  I loved watching the sheep getting sheared, the cows milked, the eggs picked, and the adorable piglets sleeping on top of each other.

I revisited all of these spots and more this year with my friends Darlene and Diana. Our first stop was the Food Building, of course.

Darlene tried the Krispy Kreme Donut Burger from Epic Burgers.

Made with two Krispy Kreme donuts, a very generous 6 ounce beef patty, cheese, lettuce and tomato, it also came with the option of including a a fried egg and bacon on top. Darlene chose the lighter version.

She said the burger tasted like it was saturated in sugar, and in some ways, it was.  I was surprised how two small donuts could hold so much stuffing, but it seemed to work.  The meat tasted surprisingly good, considering it probably came from a box of frozen burgers.

Epic Burgers also sells the Behemoth.

This one is made with two Texas grilled cheese sandwiches, a 6 ounce beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and optional ketchup, mustard, and maple syrup.

I was excited to try the deep-fried Mac and Cheese.

The first few bites were great: I liked the mix of noodles with the hot, gooey cheese, all rolled up in a nice, crunchy batter.  But once they started cooling off, they just tasted greasy and flavourless.

The item I was really excited to try was the deep-fried Jos. Louis, one of my favourite childhood treats.  It came on a stick, covered in a thick batter, and then decorated with caramel sauce.

Once I got past the hot batter, inside was a sticky mess of extremely sweet chocolate and cream.

After a few bites, my taste buds couldn’t handle the sugar anymore – I was in shock at how sweet it was – but, like a dog that can’t stop eating, I kept on until every bite was gone.

I spent the rest of the day drinking fluids to get rid of the greasy feeling in my throat and the sugar from my veins.

When Darlene and Diana ordered the colossal onion dish at the end of the day, I merely watched them eat it.

All in all, it was a fabulous day.  We explored the midway and played some games.

We visited International Pavillion and did some browsing and shopping.

We went to The Farm at the Better Living Centre.

We saw the winning creations of the International Sand Sculpture Competition.

This one is my favourite.  It is called “The Blind Leading the Blind.” Notice how the blindfold looks like it’s made of silk.

The winner was Leonardo Ugolini from Italy, called “Atlas’ Universal Change.”

We visited The Bra Project at the Arts Crafts and Hobbies Building. It was launched to raise funds for a new digital mammography machine in Parry Sound. The bras were designed by various women, each with a personal story.

This is the DQ Duo bra, with an ice cream theme to remind people to savour life.

The Brahama Mama was designed by someone born in the Bahamas whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.

At the end of the day, we walked through the midway one last time, chatting and admiring the lights.

What a great day to spend one of the last days of summer. I had such fun, I plan on making this an annual tradition.

Where to find nut-free bakeries in Toronto

The Best Nut-Free Bakeries in the City

Finding delicious breads, cakes and cupcakes when you have a peanut or nut allergy is no longer a challenge.

There is a very high demand for nut-free bakeries in the city, since the number of Canadians developing food allergies continues to increase, especially among children. Health Canada says the most common food allergies are peanuts and tree nuts.

Nut-free bakeries are doing really good business, since all school boards in the city have banned peanuts and nuts from their premises and items can only be purchased from nut-free bakeries. In some cases, school boards require a letter from the bakery, confirming everything is baked in a nut-free facility.

Some bakeries that are not nut-free claim they can make safe nut-free cakes, but why take the risk of cross contamination when there are a number of great nut-free facilities to choose from.

Nut-free wholesale bakeries such as The Dutchess of Dough,  Tickle Your Tummy, and Sweets from the Earth, among many others, have great products. But if you would rather walk into a bakery to smell freshly baked bread, or drool over the endless rows of cupcakes and pastries, below are some of the best nut-free bakeries in the city:

1. Bakes and Goods, 3325 Bathurst Street (north of Lawrence Avenue West), tel: 647-847-8111

Walking into this shop for the first time, I felt like a kid again: my eyes were captivated as I admired the beautiful selection of baked creations: cupcakes with pretty decorations, brownies, tarts, cookie bouquets for baby showers and birthdays, tearaway cakes, and even custom-made fancy iced cookies in various designs: cakes, dresses, flowers, and butterflies.

Aileen Alvarez, who opened the bakery four months ago, says all of her items are made from scratch and in small batches to guarantee freshness. She uses the finest ingredients, with no shortening, preservatives or artificial flavourings.

I sampled one of her treats, a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing. It seriously was one of the best I’ve ever had. My first reaction was complete surprise at how moist and light it was. I could taste the homemade goodness in very bite. The icing was an added bonus, just the right amount and not too sweet. This was cupcake heaven.

The shortbread I sampled was also tasty; made with brown sugar, giving it the perfect bite, not crumbly or overly greasy, and more like a biscuit.

Cookie and cupcake decorating classes are also offered for both adults and children.

2. It’s the Icing on the Cake, 1238 Queen Street East (at Leslie), tel: 416-469-4973

This pretty bakery in Leslieville specializes in cakes, but it sells other yummy treats as well: brownies, date squares, tarts, cookies, cheese cakes, and cupcakes.

I originally visited the bakery early Saturday afternoon, and most items, except for a few cakes and tarts, were sold out. When I returned later in the week, walking through the door, the aroma of freshly baked goodies awakened my sense of smell, and my eyes were drawn to the two bakers busy icing cookies and decorating cakes, making beautiful creations. The front cabinets were full of delectable treats. I really can’t think of anything better than freshly baked goods, so I bought a few items: a chocolate rocky road cupcake with chunks of caramel and mini marshmallows, a dark chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and flakes of dark chocolate, the always popular red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and a lemon tart. The cupcakes were all divine, not a crumb was left behind.  The lemon tart had a light flaky crust which held a lovely lemon custard that had the perfect amount of creamy tartness.

3. Organic Oven Bakery & Cafe, 3189 Yonge Street (north of Lawrence Avenue East), tel: 416-489-7777

Specializing in allergen-free baking, Organic Oven’s baked goods are not just nut-free, but gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, yeast-free, diabetic-friendly, vegan, and vegetarian. With no preservatives or additives, most items are produced at the main bakery in Brampton, which is open to the public during the week. The café makes small items like cookies and muffins and offers gluten-free sandwiches, certified fair-trade coffee and organic smoothies.

Products are also available at most major health stores in the city, including Whole Foods Market, the Big Carrot and Noah’s Natural Foods.

I saw a wide variety of baked goods: over 12 types of muffins, at least 15 types of breads, and three different types of chocolate cake.  The saleslady told me if I needed something they didn’t have, they would be very happy to custom order it for me.

4. Short and Sweet Cupcakes, 1945 Avenue Road (south of Wilson Avenue), tel: 416-519-6633

This cupcake shop, which moved to its new location just over two weeks ago, boasts a list of over 30 different flavours, with new ones added regularly: Short & Sweet (vanilla cake with pink buttercream), Bugs Bunny (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting), Diamond and Pearls (vanilla cake with white chocolate chunks and vanilla buttercream), One Hundred and One (Oreo cupcake with Oreo buttercream), and Rich in Recession (chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream).

The shop has recently come out with a line of nut-free sprinkles.

I walked in just before 4pm on a Friday, and only seven cupcakes were left, all red velvet, their best seller. The rest of the trays were empty, and there were still a few hours to go before the shop closed. I hesitated in buying one; it was late in the day, and I firmly believe in buying baked goods not too late after a bakery opens. My curiosity got the best of me, though, and I bought one. It was delicious. It tasted freshly made and moist and the buttercream had the perfect amount of cream cheese and sweetness.

Although they are not sold in the shop, mini cupcakes can be pre-ordered 48 hours ahead in any of the flavours available and decorated to your preference.

5. Kensington Natural Bakery, 460 Bloor Street West (east of Bathurst Street), tel: 416-534-1294

Although this bakery is only peanut-free and not nut free, it has been in the forefront in offering allergen-free baking for the past 30 years. Items range from various baked goods that are vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, yeast free, sugar free, low in sodium and diabetic-friendly. No preservatives, chemicals, additives, and artificial flavours or colours are used in any of the foods.

Originally based in Kensington Market, this humble Annex fixture offers freshly squeezed juices and healthy home cooked vegetarian meals. When I visited, meal offerings included multi-bean chili, lentil brown rice, tofu and salads.

The owner, Quang Dieu prides himself on creating custom orders for his clients, providing them with breads and other baked goods that are safe to eat. I recall ordering a gluten-free cake from him almost 20 years ago, when the term was not understood, never mind recognized.  It was a delicious cake and I’ve been going back ever since. One of my favourite items is their spelt crust pies: blueberry, apple, mixed fruit, or pumpkin, all have natural ingredients, no sugar and they taste great.  I never know which pie(s) I’ll buy when I get there, as I always ask for the one that has come out of the oven most recently.  At $12.95, I am never disappointed.

Dieu also wholesales his goods to natural bakeries in the city, such as Noah’s and the Big Carrot.

Cash only.

6. Katie’s Cakes, 1531 O’Connor Drive (near Bermondsey Road), tel: 416-757-6896

Katie’s Cakes has been in business for 35 years, but it wasn’t until five years ago that the bakery became strictly nut free.

The demand for nut-free cakes is out of this world, says Lyne Coderre, a cake decorator for the past 30 years. Katie’s caters to several schools and day cares in the area.

This family-run business specializes in custom cakes for any occasion: from birthdays to weddings and corporate events, to religious cakes and even erotic cakes. Yes, adult-themed cakes. I saw several. Let’s just say they’re X-rated. Apparently, these are very popular for stag and stagette parties.

Whatever the cake, Katie’s always adds a personal and professional touch, working hard to make the client happy. Lyne remembers one of her clients who came to pick up a custom cake he had ordered. A big, burly man, he had to bend down to fit through the door. When she showed him the cake, he started crying, thanking her and explaining how much it would mean to his wife.

The bakery also makes cookies, cupcakes and other treats. There is even an 83-year-old woman on the payroll, who makes sugar flowers of varying sizes, colours and designs, all used for decorations.

Katie’s also runs Wilton decorating classes, offered at three different levels.

7. Richman’s Bakery, 4119 Bathurst Street (at York Downs Drive), tel: 416-636-9710

Toronto’s first peanut and nut free full service kosher bakery may be small in size, but it has a huge selection of cookies, breads, rolls, over 15 types of muffins, and custom cakes for any occasion.  There are also a few shelves with grocery items, including imported jams and “wowbutter”, a peanut butter replacement.

I wanted to try their “world-famous” double chocolate danish, but when I arrived on a Sunday at 9:30 am, they were all sold out. I opted for the chocolate rugelach instead.  The dough was as fine and buttery as any French croissant and the fine bits of dark chocolate melted on my tongue.  Divine.

Their glass window display had beautiful baked creations.

Free parking is available.

8. Two Moms Baked Goods, 970 Eglinton Avenue West (near Bathurst Street), tel: 416-783-7200

This bakery also doubles as a kids’ cooking school and birthday party place.

The main level offers freshly baked and delicious home-style treats such as cookies, mini-tarts, cheesecakes, marble brownies (oh so yummy!), lemon bars, cupcakes, and cakes.

Owners Karen Miller and Caroline Davis have also created a line of cookies called “Safe Snacks”, which are nut-free, low in sugar and fat, and high in fiber. The cookies come in three varieties: oatmeal chocolate chip, double chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, all made specifically for schools, daycares and camps across the city.

Birthday parties and a full range of classes are held in the lower level, which can hold up to 30 children, ages 3 and older. They take part in an interactive baking class, followed by cake or cupcake decorating, a pizza lunch, and then take home the goodies made during the 2 hour event.

The bakery also fills custom orders for treat baskets, platters, and birthday cakes. Products can  be shipped anywhere across the country.

11. Cupcake Shoppe, 2417 Yonge Street (north of Eglinton Avenue), tel: 416-322-6648

Toronto’s first cupcake bakery is not only nut-free, it makes customized specialty cakes, too.

Cake flavours include vanilla, chocolate, or marble, and come in different sizes, with four layers of cake and three of buttercream. All are hand frosted and hand illustrated to meet your specifications.

The bakery bakes a total 17 cupcake flavours with nine of those available in the store every day. Some funky names include Yonge and Eligible (vanilla or chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream), Eh? (vanilla cake with maple buttercream), and my favourite, Sticky n’ Sweet (vanilla cake dipped in caramel).

Cupcakes can also be custom-made and designed for any occasion.

Mini cupcakes are also available, and must be ordered in advance.

12. Hermes Bakery, 2885 Bathurst Street (north of Glencairn Avenue), tel: 416-787-1234

Although this bakery also houses a grocery store with aisles and aisles of packaged foods, canned goods, and households items, everyone flocks to the bakery section.  Two women behind the counter quickly service five or six customers at a time. There were so many items, I couldn’t decide what to choose. This place is carb heaven.

In the end, I opted for cinnamon rugelach, challah, sourdough, and kokosh, a yeast cake formed by rolling dough and folding in dark chocolate. It was absolutely amazing, the dough light and airy and the filling not too sweet. Must go back for more.

[Note: While most of the photos were taken by myself, there are a few that I have used from the respective bakeries' websites.]

A Kid’s Food Tour of Bloor West Village, Toronto

Bloor West Village is a great neighbourhood for families.  It’s within walking distance of High Park, a 399-acre parkland with a zoo, eateries, playgrounds, picnic areas, and a wading pool. The shopping district encompasses businesses along Bloor Street, stretching between Jane Street and Ellis Park Road. With a smorgasboard of bakeries, delis, specialty food shops, cafés and restaurants, there is something for everyone, including several kid-friendly spots.

My friend Nicole, her six-year-old son, Zoen, and I visited the Village over the weekend, where we conducted a 3-hour food tour of the area.

Zoen is an adorable, precocious and well-spoken child.

Like all kids, he loves to play and laugh, but he took his role as restaurant reviewer very seriously, coming prepared with a pen and notebook in hand.

He even had his own review system, with four different scores:

1. Poor = x
2. Okay = x + √
3. Great = √
100. Fantastic!! = √√

Our first stop:

Dr. Generosity
2197 Bloor Street West
Tel: 416-604-0704

This casual restaurant is a great brunch spot for families.  Not only do kids get their own menu with healthy food choices, but there are crayons and colouring paper as well. The décor is simple, with comfy booths and plain wood tables. Portions are large, our server was friendly and accommodating, and the price is very reasonable.

I ordered the Olde Time Diner Breakfast, with two poached eggs, Virginia ham, fruit salad, and toast, which I smothered with peanut butter.

The ham was the highlight of my plate: delicious and lean, with a lovely smoky flavor. The two generous slices were just the right amount for me.  I love poached eggs and try to order them every chance I get, but I don’t appreciate the vinegar flavour that sometimes comes with them.  Although these eggs had the perfect consistency, I was disappointed with the strong vinegar taste.

Nicole ordered Eggs Dostoyefsky: two poached eggs and smoked salmon, served on a toasted English muffin and topped with zesty hollandaise. The order came with a side of salad.

Nicole’s plate looked like a painter’s palette, with a beautiful array of colour and vegetables. She really enjoyed her meal. Unlike my poached eggs, she thought hers were perfect, with absolutely no vinegar aftertaste.  Nicole also appreciated that the salad dressing was served on the side, even though she had not requested this.

Zoen ordered the Belgian waffle with whipped cream, and two sausages on the side, as well as a glass of fresh pineapple juice.

The first thing Zoen ate were the two sausages.  He polished them off in no time and then went for the whipped cream, which was very light and airy. The server confirmed it was homemade. What a treat!

The enormous waffle was also delicious: light and fluffy and very easy to cut with a fork. Although Zoen enjoyed it, I think he may have preferred his mum’s meal, since he took quite a few bites of the English muffin with smoked salmon and egg.

Zoen didn’t like the pineapple juice very much. Although it tasted fresh and fruity, it didn’t meet his standards.

Zoen’s ratings were off the charts:

Taste: √√√√√
Presentation: √√√√√
Pineapple Juice: x

Before heading over to our next food venue, we went to High Park, where Zoen spent some time at the playground and the wading pool, while Nicole and I chatted and watched him play.

Our second stop:

Red Bean Espresso + Market
2118 Bloor Street West
Tel: 647-352-2326

Despite the café’s colourful name, this place is nondescript, with white walls and minimal decor. But it wasn’t the coffee that brought us here. The sign on the window that read, “Gelato now available” was what drew us in.

I ordered coffee and pistachio. The gelato was amazing. I loved the intensity of the flavours. The coffee had a full-bodied and creamy taste, and it went well with the pistachio, which was creamy and nutty.

Nicole ordered raspberry and mango gelato and was disappointed. What should have been a lovely fruity sorbet turned out to be overly sweet and a big letdown.

Zoen ordered lemon and mango and was very happy with his choice. He adored the lemon, calling it “delightful” and “very lemony.” I think he may have liked his mum’s gelato as well, because he ate some of hers, too.

There was a 2 for 1 sale happening: buy one specialty coffee and get the second one free, so I ordered two shots of espresso.  Absolutely. Magnificent. No sugar required, just straight, thick, caffeine magic.

The three of us did have an issue with our gelato: there certainly was not enough on the cone. The portions were abnormally small. We’ve been to several gelateria in the city, and never have we encountered such small portions. Quite a disappointment.

Zoen’s rating for his gelato was also off the charts:

Taste: √√√√√

Our third and last stop:

Sweet Flour Bake Shop
2352 Bloor Street West
Tel: 416-763-2253

This bakery is every cookie lover’s dream:  walk in, pick a cookie combination and within minutes, you have a delicious, freshly baked cookie just for you.

The experience starts with the customers choosing from three cookie dough options: original, peanut butter and oatmeal.  The dough is combined with two choices of over 20 “mix-ins” to choose from, such as chocolate chunks, dried fruit, crunchy nuts, M&M’s, and sprinkles.

Each cookie is handmade and baked in just a few minutes. The result is a warm, delicious cookie.

Nicole ordered peanut butter dough with macadamia nuts and white chocolate chunks.

 She loved her cookie.  The cookie dough had just the right consistency, with a lovely peanut butter flavour.  Her toppings were the perfect combination.

Zoen ordered original cookie dough with M&M’s and sprinkles.
He enjoyed his cookie, but couldn’t finish it all, so mum wrapped it up and took it home.  I can’t blame Zoen: our cookies were enormous, even for my standards, about the size of two cookies in one.

I ordered original cookie dough with dark chocolate chips and pistachios.

I loved my cookie: moisty and chewy and just the right sweetness.

The bakery also offers customized muffin tops, cookie sandwiches and homemade granola with mix-ins and fresh fruit.

The cookie dough is also available to go: tubs of either chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip are on hand.

Again, Zoen’s ratings were off the charts:

Taste: √√√√√
Presentation: √√√√√

All in all, a pretty good food day, I’d say.

Off to India……

I will not be blogging for the next several weeks, as I am off to India for a long overdue vacation.

 

My first visit to India was two years ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.  I had an incredible time with so many unforgettable experiences, great, terrible, and in between.

One of the highlights of my trip was climbing Ratnagiri Hill in Pushkar.  Waking up at 5am, we trekked for about one hour until we reached the base of the hill.  We then proceded up the stone steps to reach the temple dedicated to Savitri at the top.  What took just over 30 minutes felt more like hours:  it was a strenuous climb, the weather was hot and muggy, and I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. Under normal circumstances, the climb would have been easy.  Once I reached halfway to the top, I had to stop every 5 minutes or so. Most of the others had already reached the top, and I was far behind.  There were so many times when I thought about giving up, but I pushed forward.  Once I reached the top of the hill, I was welcomed with hugs and clapping.  It felt like I had climbed my own personal Everest.

 

I remember basking in the glory of my climb, sipping chai masala and watching the sun come up. It was phenomenal.

 

There were also low points on my trip.  I never did get used to the poverty and the grime, seeing dogs and people looking for any scrap of food in a junk pile, it was heartbreaking.

 

Many public toilets were filthy, but there was no other choice.

 

I remember the forts, temples, and palaces, with architecture like I’ve never seen before.

 

 

 

 

 

I was mesmerized by the people, usually dressed in bright-coloured clothing.  I enjoyed watching the locals going about their daily activities. Each photograph has a story to tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the last two years, I’ve been thinking about how to return to India.  I’ve decided to live on the wild side this year: instead of making extra mortgage payments, saving for RRSPs and an emergency fund, I have put my money together and decided to go to India instead.  I even opened up a line of credit to help me get there. And I have no regrets.  My second journey to India is going to be awesome.

There are so many things I’m looking forward to, including eating some street food.

 

I also want to get my arms hennaed again.

 

I plan on buying some local products.

 

Whatever I end up doing, I promise to write all when I get back.

Namaste.

From Southern India….with love….

I recently returned from a visit to Southern India, and what an adventure I had! The people, the culture, the architecture, the food, it was all spectacular.

I visited various cities and states in Southern India, all with absolutely delicious cuisine, and each area known for a particular specialty. Some of the spiciest dishes come from this area, with ingredients such as dried red chilies, fresh green chilies, and curries.

Rice is the staple grain and the centerpiece of every meal. It is made in many forms, and not just boiled or steamed. Idlis are very popular.

They are steamed cakes, usually two to three inches in diameter, and made by steaming a batter of fermented rice and black lentils.  Idlis are usually eaten at breakfast or as a snack and served with chutney and sambar, a thick stew of lentils and seasoned exotic spices.

In Mysore, I indulged in one of my favourite treats: Masala Dosas made by street vendors:

The Masala Dosa is a very thin fermented crepe or pancake, made from rice batter and usually stuffed with potatoes, fried onions, and spices. It can be eaten any time of the day, but is very popular as street food in the evenings.  Vendors set up hot grills on the sidewalks, where a thin layer of batter is ladled. It is then spread out evenly to form a pancake and flipped to heat both sides. When the crust becomes dry, it is removed from the grill and filled with the lovely potato and onion filling. Served hot, dosas are either folded in half or rolled like a wrap and served with coconut chutney.

Mysore is also very well known for its desserts, including the Mysore Pak, a sweet dish made of ghee (clarified butter), sugar and gram flower. Indians love their desserts, and the sweeter, the better.

South India has hot, humid climate where rainfall is abundant and so is the supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. Each city or town I visited had at least two or three vegetable markets, with a glorious array of goods.

Each of these tiny eggplants is the size of my finger:
 The lemons are the size of my hands: 

I ate three types of bananas: regular sized, mini, and red bananas, all delicious, but my favourite were the mini, as they were the sweetest. 

The pomegranates were some of the juiciest I’ve had, and some of the most vibrant I’ve seen:

Kerala’s main export is coconuts, and there is no surprise that almost all dishes have coconuts in them, either sliced or grated, as cream, milk or oil extracted from the nut and used for thickening and flavouring.

I drank and ate many a coconut, sold on the streets and near the beach.  The coconut water was fresh and hydrating, and the flesh was soft and sweet. At 20 Rupees a coconut, about 50 cents CDN, this was the tastiest, most nutritious and cheapest way to get hydrated.

South India’s coastline, rivers and backwaters produce a strong fishing industry, and I made sure to eat some almost every day. In Cochin, so close to the Arabian sea, one can head to the beach, pick a freshly caught fish from a local fisherman, walk it over to the fish fry, and have it  cooked to your specifications.

Kerala is also famous for its spices. In fact, it was part of the spice route and attracted many foreign invaders like the Dutch, the French and the English. Some of the notable ones are cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cumin, and nutmeg, which are all found in abundance.

Below, a package of cardamom sells for 90 Rupees, about $2 CDN:

Star anise sells for 40 Rupees, about $1 CDN:

Southern Indians and I have many things in common; one of them is dessert. One of my favourite places for a rich, Italian cup of coffee and a slice of cake is in Puducherry, formerly Pondicherry. This former French colony is known as the French Riviera of the East.  The entire city is divided into two sections: the French Quarter, or White Town, and the Indian Quarter, or Black Town.  Many streets still keep their French names.

I visited Hot Breads, the first French bakery in the city, and enjoyed a double espresso that rivals many I’ve had in Europe.

I seriously felt transported to a French city. The pastries, the breads, the ambiance, it was all so authentically French. 

I found yet another great bakery in Madurai, called Puppy’s Bakery.  Specializing in cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and breads, this bakery offers something for everyone.

The apple cakes are moist, decadent, mini chocolate cakes with raisins, all covered in bright pink icing and sprinkles.

The dark chocolate cake is made with 70% chocolate and layered with a chocolate ganache. 

The bakery is enormous. With white walls and bright decorations, it is a welcome respite from the loud and busy streets of the city.  The bakery is an oasis from the sights, sounds, and smells of India. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Southern India. I ate some of the best street food, visited tea plantations, spice gardens, and even stayed with locals for a few nights, where they fed me delicious home-cooked meals.  I can’t wait to try some recipes at home. Stay tuned for more on India.

Fort Cochin, India: 1788 Restaurant

1788 Restaurant
Old Harbour Hotel
1/328, Tower Road
Fort Cochin, Kerala, India

Although I prefer simple homemade Indian food, I visited a few elegant restaurants in Southern India, and my favourite is 1788 Restaurant, located in the Old Harbour Hotel in Fort Cochin, Kerala.

1788 is located on a terrace with a tropical garden.  The menu offers a vast array of  Indian dishes made with local ingredients and all organically grown fruits and vegetables.

I went for lunch and sat near the lotus pond, not too far from the old mango tree in the centre of the garden. The trees provided enough breeze, and the setting was so perfect I immediately felt relaxed and refreshed as soon as I sat down for a few moments.

The Arabian sea is literally a few metres away, so fish is a must at this restaurant.  I ordered prawn curry and within 20 minutes, I had a beautifully presented dish placed in front of me.

There were six enormous prawns in my dish, all succulent and meaty.  The vegetables were cooked in a lovely coconut sauce with curry leaves and wonderfully aromatic spices.  I did not want this meal to end. This was truly one of the best meals I had in India.

I also had an incredibly refreshing drink: soda water, fresh lime and cane juice.  I asked for this drink wherever I went afterwards, but nowhere could I find the exact replication. What a pity.

My meal cost 900 Rupees, roughly $22 CDN. This is definitely expensive for Indian standards, but for absolutely fresh and delicious food, service that was professional, friendly and not overly intrusive, and dining al fresco, this was worth every penny. 

The Old Harbour Hotel, a 300-year-old Dutch colonial building, located in the heart of Fort Cochin, has changed hands many times.  Originally a Portuguese hospice, then a hotel, later a  home to workers of English tea-broking firms, and finally a boutique hotel that has been restored with the original facade and architectural elements. 

Review:
Food:               10 out of 10
Service:           10 out of 10
Décor:             10 out of 10
Value:              10 out of 10

If you’ve eaten at 1788, please post a comment.

Nilgiri Tea Plantations: Southern India

Most Indians love a good cup of tea or “chai” and India is one of the largest tea growers in the world. The production of tea became popular when the British ruled, and large tracts of land were used for mass tea production.

The more well-known tea plantations are in Assam and Darjeeling, but another tea district is in the Niligiri Hills, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.  I visited the High Field Tea Factory and its tea plantations, located in Coonoor.

The tea plantations are a site to behold. The lush greenery is breathtaking.

For miles, you can see little white dots in the distance: tea leaf pickers who carefully pluck leaves in the rolling hills.

Black tea has various levels of grading. Whole leaf teas are highest in quality and the most valuable, especially if they contain leaf tips. Broken leaves are usually sold as medium grade loose teas. Fannings, small particles of tea left over from the production of larger tea varieties, as well as Dusts, the finest particles of tea left after sifting, are both used for tea bags.   

 

Nilgiri tea is a black tea known for its dark and intensely aromatic brew. When poured, it has a dark, amber color.  Nilgiri teas are relatively mild and grow all year round, unlike the seasonal Assam and Darjeeling teas.  Tea has been grown in the Nilgiri Hills for over 100 years, and is the most important industry in the region.

The Nilgiri or Blue Mountains is the perfect place to grow tea with good flavour, due to the elevation of 1,000 to 2,500 metres above sea level, and the rainfall which varies between 100 and 600 centimeters a year.

It is not known why they are called the Blue Mountains. Several sources cite the reason as the blue smoky haze given off by the eucalyptus trees in the area, or because of the kurunji flower, which blooms every twelve years giving the slopes a bluish tinge.

Coonoor is one of the largest hill stations in the Nilgiri hills, and it relies heavily on the tea trade, with its massive tea plantations that surround the hills.

Coonoor is connected to the world famous Nilgiri Mountain Railway, one of the oldest mountain railways in India and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2005. Built by the British in 1908, the railway still relies on steam locomotives for part of its journey.

The altitude of the Nilgiri Hills results in a much cooler and wetter climate than the surrounding plains, so the area is popular as a retreat from the summer heat. Temperatures range anywhere from 0°C in the winter to 25°C in the summer. Many locals visit the area to escape the summer heat that permeates the rest of the country.

Mary Macleod’s Shortbread

Mary Macleod’s Shortbread
639 Queen Street East
Toronto, Tel: (416) 461-4576

Whenever I step into Mary Macleod’s Shortbread shop, I am hit with the heavenly fresh baked aroma of sugar and butter. The warmth coming from the ovens envelops me in blissful heaven.

This charming little shop located at 639 Queen Street East in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood has beautifully decorated walls with Mary’s antique collector plates and shelves bursting with perfectly packaged shortbread cookies. The staff always gives me a warm welcome and an offer to sample a treat, making me so very happy. How could I refuse a cookie?

And these certainly are fabulous shortbread cookies, all handmade with love by Mary Macleod herself.  Mary, who is in her 80’s, still helps with the baking. She makes everything in small batches to ensure the highest quality possible, using only the freshest and purest ingredients, with no additives or preservatives.

Mary has her own logo: two bunnies gathered around a thistle, the latter representing Scotland, the land of her birth, and the bunnies being Mary’s favourite animal.

I’ve bumped into Mary a few times while visiting the shop. She always has boundless energy and a ready smile on her face.  In fact, everyone who works here seems very happy, chatting with patrons and always very happy to answer any questions.

Celebrating 30 years in business this year, Mary Macleod has always been at the forefront of new innovations.  Hers was the first business in Canada devoted exclusively to making and selling handmade shortbread.  Mary is still innovating and creating new recipes that she adapts from her Scottish grandmother’s traditional shortbread recipe, adding to and remixing her recipes with unique flavours.

Genevieve, the saleslady at the front, explains to me that it took Mary 18 months to perfect her Chocolate Crunch cookie. She wanted to know how to bake the shortbread without melting the pure milk chocolate chunks inside the cookie. After testing and trying many, many batches, she did figure it out, and now this cookie is her best-seller.

Mary creates some great flavor combinations, and my favourite is the Coffee Crunch: white chocolate chips and coffee are mixed with the Chocolate Crunch dough, and topped with a medallion of chocolate.  I love the combination of coffee and chocolate, both complementing each other so well, and neither flavor overpowering the other. The shortbread has a lovely consistency that is not too buttery yet melts in your mouth, and you are left with a light aftertaste of coffee on the palate. As a coffee and chocolate lover, this is pure bliss.

Other shortbread varieties that come a close second for me are:

Hazelnut Chocolate Crunch Shortbread: The Chocolate Crunch dough is complimented with ground hazelnut, and topped with a whole hazelnut and chocolate chunk.

Dutch Chocolate Crunch Shortbread: This shortbread has a combination of dark and milk chocolate, and is topped with a chunk of chocolate.

Rolled Coconut Shortbread: This is traditional shortbread that has been rolled in shredded coconut.  You can taste a hint of vanilla and the shredded coconut mixed inside the cookie.

On a recent visit, I was taken to the back of the small shop to visit the kitchen and the warehouse.  Four bakers, including Mary, were busy creating wonderful cookies.  The warehouse had boxes stacked high and ready for shipment to the US and UK. Yes, the UK! The land of shortbread! Mary’s shortbread is so good it gets shipped to the UK!

The shortbread is also sold at Holt Renfrew and through Baskits, the online gift store.

I love Mary’s success story: emigrating to Canada from Scotland, starting up a business on her very own, surviving many economic recessions and other tribulations, and still being in business after 30 years. This after so many shops in Leslieville have come and gone over the years. She manages to stay true to her values and makes homemade shortbread, attracting customers all over the world.  A beautiful story.

Mary’s shortbread is beautifully packaged in tins as well as transluscent containers, available in various price points and many sizes. These cookies are perfect for gift giving or keeping at home for a well-deserved treat.

Photos taken by Christel Hervet.

Christmas Baking: Brandy Balls

As soon as December 1st rolls around, I get into the Christmas spirit: preparing my tree for decorating, buying a chocolate Advent calendar, writing cards for friends and family, and, my most favourite Christmas past time: baking cookies.

I usually bake about five different types of cookies, adding a new recipe each year, and removing one that wasn’t so popular the year before. I love baking for friends, family and charity. It’s so much fun buying tins, each design specifically for someone in mind.  This year, I found a tin with penguins, which is perfect for a friend who loves the little critters.

This year I’m baking a record number of cookies: just over 500. I started last weekend, and should be finished by this weekend. It’s not as daunting as it may sound: I can easily bake 100 cookies in one night.

Not one for skimping, I like to buy the finest ingredients I can afford: Stirling butter, free run eggs, chocolate imported from France, and spices I recently purchased in India.

Who makes it on my cookie list? My dear friends and family, and the rest I sell for charity: 8 cookies per tin for $10. I sell them through work, as we raise funds for the less fortunate in our neighbourhood every year.  Last year, I sold 18 tins in 45 minutes. This year, I hope to sell 50.  I’ve already got orders for 28 tins.

When I bake, it’s really important that I am happy and optimistic.  I really believe that my energy goes into the baking. So if I’m feeling anxious or overwhelmed, I am convinced my cookies will turn out badly.  I know this may sound over the top to some, but I really believe we pass on our energy to others.  Why then does food made by your mum taste so good? It’s because it was made for us with love and devotion.

I’ve had numerous requests for recipes, so while I’m baking over the next several days, I will share my recipes with you all.

One of my favourites – I’ve been making it for years – is my rum balls.  This year, I didn’t have any rum on hand; and rather than run out and buy some, I decided to use some French brandy that I had in my pantry.  Wow – so much better than last year’s version! I also replaced graham crackers with Savoiardi, or Italian lady fingers, available in most grocery stores.

Here is my new and updated recipe for Brandy Balls, the original of which I obtained from The Joy of Cooking:

Brandy Balls
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa (I use Camino)
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup of light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups of finely chopped Savoiardi (Italian lady fingers)
1 cup of coarsely chopped pecans

Toppings:
icing sugar
finely chopped pecans
cocoa powder

Sift together in a medium bowl the powdered sugar with the cocoa.

In another bowl, whisk until well blended, the brandy and corn syrup. Stir into the cocoa mixture. Feel free to add more brandy.

Mix the finely chopped Savoiardi with the coarsely chopped pecans in a bowl and then add this mixture to the cocoa mixture until well combined.

Chill the batter for about 30 minutes and then roll into 1 inch balls. My balls are never even, but that doesn’t matter: it’s whats inside that counts.

Roll the balls in icing sugar, cocoa powder, or finely chopped pecans.

These balls can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks, if they last that long. They also taste better with age.  I made 144 bite-sized brandy balls.

 

Christmas Baking: Linzer Cookies

Linzer cookies are one of my all-time favourite Christmas treats.

Two very thin shortbread cookies are sandwiched together with a layer of jam. The top cookie has a cutout to showcase the jam and is lightly dusted with icing sugar. When the cookies have round cutouts, they are known as “Linzer Augen” (Linzer Eyes) in Austria and “Drie Augen” (Three Eyes) in Germany. Traditionally filled with black or red currant jam, I prefer using French raspberry jam in mine. I also use a flower cutout instead of the holes.

I love these beauties so much that I also make them for Valentine’s Day, where I use a heart cutout to honour the occasion.

These shortbread cookies are light and delicate and the dollop of raspberry jam really elevates them to a whole new level.  The cookies look classy and elegant and can easily be served at an after dinner party with coffee or tea.

Not one to toot my own horn, I really must admit that my Linzer cookies are some of the finest I have ever tasted. I have yet to find a Linzer cookie that tastes equal to or better than mine.

Some of my tips: make sure the cookies are rolled as thin as possible without falling apart.  Most of the ones I see in the bakeries are too thick and the cookies are too large. Getting a thin cookie does take lots of practice, but the results are worth it.

One of the key ingredients is the raspberry jam.  I use only Bonne Maman raspberry jam, which is made in France. There are absolutely no substitutions.  This is the best jam for these cookies. I’ve tried using my mum’s homemade strawberry jam, which is a treat in itself, but it does not work with this cookie.  I think the texture and taste of this jam works really well with the shortbread, which has an almond based flour. I use a generous amount, so that when you bite into the cookie, the taste is all fruity goodness with just a hint of shortbread.

The Linzer cookie recipe I use is from my favourite cookbook, The Joy of Cooking. It’s not a quick and easy recipe: there is a lot of time involved, including blanching almonds and finely ground them to a flour-like consistency, refrigerating the dough to make it malleable for the cookie cutter, ensuring the dough is rolled evenly, and paying careful attention to the oven, as these cookies burn quickly. But the final result is so worth it. What you come up with is a perfect Christmas cookie.

Linzer Cookies
2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup of granulated white sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds, finely ground
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of icing sugar
1 jar of Bonne Maman raspberry jam

Mix the butter and sugar until very fluffy and well blended.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, finely ground almonds, and cinnamon.

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Divide the dough into thirds. Place each third between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Keeping the paper in place, roll the dough into a circle, checking the underside, smoothing any creases, and ensuring the dough is rolled evenly.  Keeping the paper in place, put the rolled dough on baking sheets and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

To bake, position a rack in the centre of the oven. Preheat to 350 F.

Working with one portion of the dough at a time (leave the remainder refrigerated), gently peel away the top sheet of the parchment paper. Use a 1 1/2 inch linzer cookie cutter to cut out the rounds and the holes in the centres.

Reroll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, a third at a time, and cut out the rest of the cookies.

With a spatula, transfer the cookies to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart and baking for about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven.  Bake the top and bottom cookies separately, as the cookies with holes bake faster.  

Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely. Turn over the solid cookies so that the bottom side is up. Spoon one heaping teaspoon of jam onto each cookie, then top with a cutout cookie. Press lightly so the jam slightly oozes from the hole. Sift icing sugar over the cookies.

Note: You can store the unassembled cookies in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day because these cookies taste better with age. 

Makes about 40 cookies.

Christmas Baking: Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

I was never really a big fan of shortbread until about 10 years ago.  The idea of eating a cookie with so much butter turned my stomach. My mother never baked with butter. Whether it was amaretti, biscotti, mostaccioli (a spice cookie made with honey), taralli (a pretzel shaped like a circle) or tiramisu, butter was never used.

It wasn’t until I participated in my first-ever cookie exchange that a friend presented me with a generous tray of her shortbread.  They looked pretty, with icing sprinkled on top, and decorations pressed into the dough, but the idea of eating a cookie with so much butter repulsed me, so I put them out for my coworkers to eat.  By the time I received the fifth or sixth compliment on this shortbread, I decided to try one myself to see what all the excitement was about. Oh. My. G-d.  Pure. Heaven.  I immediately grabbed the tray and brought it back to my desk, put the cookies in a tupperware, and took them home for me to eat all by myself.

These shortbread were unexpectedly delicious: crumbly and delicate, with a rich, creamy, sweet taste, and not too buttery at all.  It wasn’t until this moment that I truly understood the power and magic of butter and how it can transform a recipe. I no longer shy away from recipes that use ample butter.

Since then, I’m always on the lookout for the perfect shortbread recipe.  Alas, my friend could not give me hers because it was an old family recipe.  I thought I came pretty close to hers when I made shortbread from my favourite cookbook, “The Joy of Cooking.” But last year, the online version of “The Joy of Baking” came out with a Cranberry Pistachio shortbread that is absolutely divine.  This recipe has been an enormous hit for the last two years and  I’ve shared it with more people than I have any other cookie recipe.  I’ve tweaked it a bit – I don’t chop the pistachios or cranberries – I include them whole as the large pieces of green and red look prettier in the dough and I also like getting full chunks of pistachio and cranberry goodies in every bite.

This recipe is perfect for Christmas: shortbread is especially popular this time of year, and the red and green give it an added festive touch. The tartness and chewiness of the dried cranberries and the crunchiness of the pistachios really enhance these buttery treats.

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread, adapted from “The Joy of Baking”
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted, raw pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.

In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the pistachios and dried cranberries.

Divide the dough in half. Place each half of dough on the center of parchment paper. Smooth and shape the dough into an evenly shaped rectangle that is about 10 inches  long and 2 inches wide. Wrap the shaped logs in parchment paper, twist the ends to seal , and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) with the rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice the logs into 1/2 inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 26 shortbread cookies. 

Christmas Truffles

My Christmas baking is officially over, and with over 800 cookies made, I’m quite happy with the results. Over 50 tins have been sold for charity and handed out to friends and family.

I have one last recipe I’d like to share with you before I sign off for the holidays, Christmas truffles. These no bake treats are great any time of year, but I find them so decadent, I only make them at Christmas.

I obtained this recipe from Daniel Stubbe, of Stubbe Chocolates in Toronto, when I took a truffle making class at his chocolate boutique a few years ago. It requires just a few ingredients, so use the best quality you can afford. And no matter how lopsided they look, they are so sensually satisfying to eat.

I also made a chocolate box the first time I made the recipe, but this is completely unnecessary: I prefer saving my chocolate for the truffles.

Chocolate Truffles
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of honey
cocoa powder, icing sugar, chocolate shavings for decorating

Bring the cream, honey and the butter to a boil and pour over the chocolate chips, stirring gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and fully blended.

Pour the chocolate mix onto a deep cookie tray.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Use a melon baller or spoon to shape the chocolate into balls.  Roll each truffle in chocolate shavings, icing sugar, cocoa powder or your favourite icing.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and remove about 30 or 45 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you would like to add an alcoholic flavour, use 1/2 cup of your chosen spirit and 1/2 cup less cream.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Holidays, Happy Whatever it is You Celebrate, and all the Best for 2012.

Happy New Year

At the end of each year, I always look forward to January. It’s a time of renewal and new beginnings.  It’s a time to forget about all the bad moments, to cherish the happy ones and to celebrate milestones from the past year.

A big lover of lists, I always take the time to pen my resolutions for the New Year.  I find when I write my goals down, I tend to make more of an effort to make them a priority. And at the end of the year, I love to go back and check off the ones I accomplished. Sometimes, the same resolutions pop up year after year; and not because I haven’t accomplished them, but because they are so important that I need to continue doing what I’m doing.

1.  Be Thankful
Not only do I have good health, a family that loves me, friends, a home, food when I’m hungry, and a job, I have so many extras to be thankful for: being able to travel to exotic destinations on a yearly basis, dining out with friends, shopping for nice clothing, all while being able to save money. Last year, I visited both India and Thailand (returned just a few days ago).  I definitely have a lot to be thankful for.

2. Volunteer
I’ve been volunteering my time for the last 26 years, it’s a part of who I am. I’ve worked in hospitals, for literacy foundations, sat on the board of a Toronto chamber orchestra, and helped out in soup kitchens. My latest passion has been helping the homeless and volunteering with Project417 in Toronto.  I host sandwich runs every weekend during the winter months: preparing and delivering sandwiches directly to the homeless.  If you’re interested in coming out to help deliver sandwiches, check out my volunteer group.

3. Host More Brunches
A few years ago, I created and hosted a Saturday morning brunch group through meetup.com. With about 500 members, we ate at over 50 different locations in Toronto with anywhere between 4 to 14 people. It was a wonderful group with a great purpose: to meet new friends over Saturday brunch. Although I no longer host these brunches, I am still in touch with many of the beautiful people I met, many of whom have become good friends.  I miss the conversations we had over brunch with the girls, and have decided to host brunches once a month with my close friends. I can’t think of a better way to end the work week and start the weekend off right.  The power of conversation and friendship is a beautiful thing.

4. Cook More
While I love food, cooking and eating, I can’t remember the last time I made myself a home cooked meal. For the last several months, I’ve been eating prepared chicken and salads from Whole Foods, usually eaten right out of the container. I need to start cooking for myself again and making this a priority. It’s going to be a major challenge because I work long hours and the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook a meal for myself, but I hope to find the time to cook at least two great meals a week – food that I would serve my friends and family. I love the idea of taking out my fine china, crystal and linens and sitting down at the dining room table to slowly eat a meal, especially after a long day. I will start this next week.

5. Be Kinder
While in Thailand, I was immediately struck with how kind and gentle the Thai are. Everyone I met had a ready smile and no one lost their temper, not even in the crazy Bangkok traffic. I can learn so much from these people. Kindness begets kindness. Why waste time and energy being miserable and rude when you can be kind and happy.  The second part of this resolution may prove harder: being kinder to myself. I’ll start by accepting myself as who I am, flaws and all. I also want to get more Thai massages this year………

What are your goals or resolutions for 2012?

Thai Street Food

Street food is a major part of life in Thailand, as food stalls can be found on most city streets across the country. It is here that you will find many tourists, side by side with the locals, eating some of the most authentic Thai cuisine.

On my recent visit to Thailand, I had some of the best street food in my life.  I ate in both posh, air-conditioned restaurants and at roadside stalls, and the latter was best every time.

The street food is clean and very safe to eat, as long as you look out for the eateries that have several Thai customers either eating or awaiting takeout. This not only ensures freshness and authentic food, but a very inexpensive meal as well. For  just a few dollars, you can buy a very tasty meal.

Thais normally eat many small meals during the day, unlike most Westerners who prefer three main meals at set times. This eating preference makes street food ideal, as it is the perfect place for quick, inexpensive food for the masses, whether they work long hours or have limited mealtime breaks.  Food stalls are always on hand for everyone, everywhere: shopping areas, marketplaces, bus stations, business offices, and busy neighbourhoods.

Not only do convenience and cost play a role in street food’s popularity, but the tradition of eating with friends and families outside of the home is also a major factor.

Street food is a major experience in Thailand, especially in Bangkok.  The colors, smells, sounds, textures and tastes of the various foods and treats available along the sidewalks give the city its original vibe.

I love watching the vendors whip up a meal before my eyes, examing the elaborate displays of food their wares, the aroma of barbequing chicken and pork satays, the gorgeous, yellow peeled jackfruit, and the neatly shaped packets of banana leaves filled with delicate sweet treats.

Street food sellers in Thailand take many forms. There is the very basic establishment that’s not quite a restaurant: It looks like a garage with many tables and chairs crammed into it and on the sidewalk in front of it.

There are street eateries, where mobile cooking stalls are set up with long rows of tables and chairs on the sidewalk; so many rows that you can’t tell where one eatery ends and the other begins.  These streets are transformed into alleys of lively food bazaars.

There is the takeout mobile stall, also lined up side by side with other vendors, selling different dishes that each specializes in. These moving restaurants comprise a pushcart or tricycle cart, pushing a large wheeled box containing everything needed to make their specialty.

Food is even sold on the canals and waterways, with vendors paddling their mini shops from one spot to the next. These boats offer noodles, curries, and an assortment of fruits and vegetables.

Regardless of how these businesses are run, they are all mostly family-run with even kids helping out in some cases, and working long hours to make a simple living.

Thai dishes are never boring or bland. You can really taste the blend of specialty herbs and spices used, like lemongrass, chilli peppers, fish stock, and other wonderful ingredients, all of which create textures & tastes that make Thai food such an exciting experience.

Below are some of my all-time favourite street foods….

Pad Thai…..this was whipped up in less than 10 minutes. Absolutely flavourful and delicious.  The condiments added at the end really lifted it to a whole new level: sugar, fish stock, salt, and peanuts.

Tom Yum Soup….this is my favourite soup. Ever. Lemongrass and galangal complemented this soup, with large shrimp and lovely noodles. The extra chillies gave it just the right kick.

Passion fruit juice…..I had never drank or eaten passion fruit before. This fruit provides nectar from the gods…

I am looking forward to cooking some new Thai recipes soon.