Omnivorassious

Ugh. This list keeps popping up and around the food blog world and it's sad that I'm using it as a post as it feels like those stupid chain emails everyone keeps forwarding me. Nothing bad will happen to you if you don't answer this for yourself and forward it to your grandma's neighbor's little cousin's cuddle buddy. It's a collection of foods you're "supposed to eat before you die". Let's pretend it was created by someone great and not with a lack of tastes buds, because some of these items are questionable! What, Kopi Luwak didn't make the list?

Here's what I've had so far, in bold.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue (never! Can you imagine? I’ve had chocolate or broth fondues, but never of the cheese variety.)
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (dry curried veggies, typically cauli & potatoes)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (NOT pleasant!! The oil stayed on my fingers for a couple days.. try putting contacts in without using your fingers.. yeah. Ow in more ways that on the tongue.)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O shot
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Single malt whisky
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (Yes, I’ve eaten paper! But seriously? I could think of better food items to put on this list that Kaolin.)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (where can you get these here, and who can I offend with the smell? Durian candy count?)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
100. Snake

Pure goodness shall prevail!

What better way to be back from the blogging grave than revived by my own wings, feathery light, stretching far and lifting me up with one swift gust of cakey breath.

So what if you can't cook, wow yourself by buying some pre-made angel food cake (it's milk-free!) and ice cream.

Slice the cake horizontally with a bread knife in as many delicate layers as you can.
Cream the ice cream (Soy Delicious Mint Chocolate swirl in my case) until it feels like soft serve. (not punny!)
Spread a thin layer of soft serve between each spongy cake layers. If you think this recipe's too simple, baste each layer with coffee before you spread the ice cream on the cake.
Refreeze, about 20 minutes if you can manage to wait that long you ogre! Then tell me if you ate it with a fork or sandwich style.


...
I can hear the pearly white gates open.. someone's knocking on MY door for some food porn. No, this is not my sign off, it's a sign-on! Food Monstar's back with her Food Pourin', witches!

La meilleur recette de choufleur au monde - Lemon Honey Basil Pesto Roasted Cauliflower

Une grosse tête de choufleur nettoyé, enlève toute la verdure

Drizzle 1 cuil. à table d'huile d'olive sur le choufleur

Couvre le choufleur avec 1/2 cuil. à thé de sel

Met le rack dans le milieu et préchaufe le four à 450°F, graisse le fond d'un plat peu profond en vitre, corningware ou en metal avec du spray PAM.
Cuit le choufleur pendant 1h à 1h15mins, jusqu'a ce que le tout soit TRES doré (brun et pétillant) et cuit au complete si tu y entre un couteau jusqu'au centre.

Entre temps, prépare la sauce suivante pour ajouter sur le dessus du choufleur une fois cuit:

1/4 tasse huile d'olive

1 grosse cuil. à soupe de pesto au basil

2 cuil. à thé de miel

une pincé d'épices à steak

une grosse pincé d'épices au citron sans sel (No Salt Lemon Shake dans la sections des épices, assez pour que le goût de citron ressorte juste un peu) ou environ une cuil. à table de jus de citron frais et 1 cuil. à thé de zest de citron.

Mélange le tout avec une fourchette. Ajoute un peu d'huile si c'est trop épais. Goute. Drizzle presque le tout délicatement sur le choufleur et le restant dans l'assiete sur le choufleur coupé en fleurets.

MANGE, donc.

Ain’tchyougladas Plagiarized

"Modifying two ingredients in a recipe someone told you where to find does not make it your own."

"I dunno though, I think it does! The recipe uses cheese and olives, whereas I do not, plus I’m the one making it.. therefore it’s mine! No?"

..

I thought this was church boy's secret recipe, but his secret became my not-so-secret, he found the recipe online with his mad skills. Props.

Epicurious.
Search: Chicken Enchiladas

Sort by fork rating.

Click the first link.

Make the recipe accordingly without the olives and cheese. (Olives aren’t Mexican and I can’t eat cheese.)

Sauce.
This is not shredded boiled chicken as it asks in the recipe. I cooked the chicken as the recipe asked on Thursday but I didn't get to make the enchiladas until Monday after a totally unrelated incident in which I got violently ill from bad lunch soup from Moulin de Provence in the market. I didn't want to take a chance with my pre-cooked chicken that seemed a little pink so I got a cooked rotisserie chicken which no doubt made this recipe extra terrible. And by terrible I mean delicious. Look at how it glistens.
Mix le all INCLUDING the onions... otherwise the onions magically turn blue, something which the next pic may or may not indicate well, but I have a witness!!
Mexican is my favorite of all the ethnic food groups and this tastes pretty authentic to me. So good I ate them everyday and only 2 in a sitting in order to prolong them, which is incredibly hard for someone who eats as much as me! Looks like I didn't have to share my leftovers with friends after all. I hear they prefer pitas anyhow.

Forbidden Rice Krispies

You've gotta love grocery shopping in the States if you're into sugary snacks.

I was always into the plain old-style cereal like wheatabix and plain Shredded Wheat, but luckily my sister's fondness for Fruit Loops and Cap'n Crunch changed my views. Mmm.. sweet syrupy leftover milk.. best after a bowl of Alphabits or Honeycombs (Honeycomb's BIG, ya ya ya, it's not small, ...). Before that, the only sugary cereal I remember was at my grandparents house. My dad's mom kept a heavy stash of Strawberry Shortcake cereal that turned your milk strawberry flavored neon pink (my favorite discontinued cereal to this day), and my mom's mom made sure my cereal was bad underneath the surface. She'd always use 3.5% milk and put at least two spoonfuls of sugar with those Rice Krispies.. maybe that's why I was a quiet kid the rest of the time, not much sugar!!

The best cereal I could find after my childhood was in France. My host family didn't think I liked any of their weird yummy food so they kept whipping out these chocolate items, and out cam the chocolate Rice Krispies that transform your milk into chocolate milk. They combined the loud cereal every kid likes with the magic bunny power of Quik! That moment was seared into my memory and I I found them one day in the States.. along with a berry flavoured version. Mmmm..
I treasured them for so long they're now expired. argh.

Fennel IS Anise Salad

I have a soft spot for good service, which is why I'll gladly walk all the way to Produce Depot to get my groceries if weather permits. Were else would a stocker offer tips on how to eat that exotic fruit you're holding, wondering how to even tell if it's ripe?

Once a week they send me an e-mail explaining the health benefits of a certain produce item, how to prepare it, and a simple recipe showcasing the item in question.

Here's their modified Fennel Salad recipe:
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and julienned
the same amount of mixed baby greens, torn into bite size pieces. Bite size, people!
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 green onion, can you guess, thinly sliced
Doesn't-stay-good-for-long delicious mayo dressing:
3 tbsp freshly squeezed (or not) lemon juice
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp fat free mayo
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tbsp chopped parsley
sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
mix all. Slowly whisk in a steady stream of 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, then 1/4 cup water.
Toss. Eat. Thank the Depot.

A New York kind of weekend

I want to travel. I miss the prep work, the endless researching to find tried and trusted local eateries. Eventually I always stumble on one that shocks me enough to add it to my itinerary. That's right, food itinerary! What better way to take in a city than by eating your way around it? I want to eat mind boggling stuff worth writing home about like fried unicorn horn, which I imagine tastes like candy or at least maple bbq candied hot dogs. I miss sitting down, taking the scenery or lack of it in, the menu's surprises, and eavesdropping on the regulars orders to see if they know a secret ordering lingo I might be able to pick up.

NYC was the best foodtinerary I've had so far, excluding America: The Trip (too long to replicate), and my stomach's been growling to relive the experience since then. I've been hearing about Japan these days again which made me miss real ramen, the biggest build up of anticipation other than Turducken. Never been to Japan myself, but I had to hear tales of deliciousness for months, reading all about memories the best ramen houses, the ramen Nazi, ramen on tv and especially about how thoughts and prayers of eating real ramen in Ottawa would never be answered.. then one day I ate Sapporo Special Ramen in NYC and understood how one bowl could make me a believer, an explorer, a chaser of the best tummy fillers for life!

When I asked CC Fried Unicorn Horn Pockets about his recent trip to NYC he mentioned the best thing about eating at BLT Prime (other than the forbidden steak?) were the popovers. A quick link up to the online recipe was provided, and I wanted them then. I could imagine tearing one apart, spackling it with Mama's peach marmalade and eating it Dr. Evil getting the handcuffs's keys from Frau-style. How would it taste, how could they pop right out of their pan hole with that cheesy crusted rug top, and how could I convince my stomach to agree with all the forbidden ingredients?

I thought about the popovers I couldn't have until the day the doctor told me those Lactose aide pills really do work. As he confirmed, I'm lactose intolerant and sensitive to bad foods that are hard to digest. ("just avoid them") That's it? Ok then! I'm making popovers!

I prepped for days, reading about the perfect method not to ruin a popover recipe, apparently there's a real precise science to it.I'd never eaten popovers myself and didn't know what to expect, but if a food link is sent from a reliable source, it must be tried. I was determined to conquer those lil alien cheesy bread puffs. I even dreamed about successfully battling it out with the Gruyere pops before having a go at them. "You really do only think about food don't you?" Evidently. Later at the Asian grocers I bumped into sesame balls, which I hadn't personally seen since Dim Sum Go Go in NYC, yet another reason to miss my favorite destination city.

And more surprisingly, a hollow middle?
Not so! Look at the cross section show!
And for the main event... BLT's popovers... take 1..

4 cups warmed milk *not skim
8 large eggs
4 cups flour *unbleached all purpose
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese *pre-divided into 2 1/2 tbsp clumps if you really like to be prepared..

Put popover pan on a baking sheet at 350F.

Carefully warm milk over low heat.

Whisk eggs until frothy and arm hurty, then slooowly whisk in milk.

Though I've heard you shouldn't toss the flour around much according to popover science, sift the flour with the salt.

Slowly combine wet and dry until mostly combined.

Remove pan and quickly butter the pan. Batter should still be warmish at this point, fill popover cup to 3/4 and top with 2 1/2 tbsp Gruyere.

Bake at 350F for 50 minutes.

Here's where it gets tricky, according to the tips and tricks of the trade, don't open the oven for 30 mins, then do, pass out from the overpowering smell of baking gruyere, recover and rotate the pan half a turn. Another tip said to bake at 450F for the first 10 minutes, then lower to 350F to ensure maximum popping.

The popovers are ready when the sides of them are cooked enough to hold their weight, or else they'll implode as soon as you take them out of the oven. A still tasty, but disappointing ending to meticulously prepared fare. If you've gotten this far, here's what you can expect.



Maybe I'm not giving enough pointers here as to when you'll know they will be ready, two recipe takes later and I haven't mastered it either. It sure is fun to retry, but oh, my thighs! I can't get tired of these.

They're simply irresistible.
The second time I made a half batch for a friend, gave one to the roommate and kept two for myself, one of which I crushed (inhaled) immediately, the other which rested on top of the oven ready to be reheated and eaten for breakfast the next morning.. Needless to say, I woke up to no breakfast popover on the oven. Probably best for my arteries in the end, but I would never turn down a popover, even if it was collapsed and reheated! (pop in oven until it reaches 350F)

I thought it was flattering that someone in the house couldn't pass by it without caving in to the smelly fluffy crusty temptation, that is until that night when I tried to decipher which one did it. I said to a full house:
"Hey, uhm.. how was that last popover?"
the one who had already had one: "did you leave it for me?"
"no."
"Good! It was Really good! After eating everything I could get my hands on in the fridge and cupboards, I couldn't resist but regretted taking it when I realized I was too full to eat it all so I gave half to the dog." (It's a Chihuahua.)

Comedic shizzle like this just writes itself 'round here.

** This friend batch here caved in, I think I mixed the batter too well, the pan wasn't hot enough, or something. Was the taste ok despite that?

Not a review, a reason to eat at Agave

Agave remains my favorite Ottawa eatery.* Those who have been will keep going back, I've never had a less than stellar experience with both food and service. This southwest restaurant is not afraid to tweak their menu when necessary, plus they have the best margaritas (I've had) north of real Tex-Mex country. (Peco's Mex-Mex restaurant in Houston.)

A revamped enchilada platter, the Mexican Flag dish benefits from the recent menu changes. Three of any combination of chicken, beef or cheese enchiladas, now in a corn tortillas instead of it's flour version, no longer topped with jack cheese, and the chipotle sauce replaced by three classic sauces making up the the Mexican flag: salsa Verde, cilantro cream sauce and pico de gallo salsa I think. Served with a side of corn salad, Mexican rice, and baked cheese covered beans, accompanied by two different heat levels of fresh homemade hot sauces, all of which goes superbly with salty lime margs.

At least I imagine it would.. I wanted to try the updated veggie enchiladas (spinach and cheese replaced roasted vegetables?), but I can't have the outstanding cilantro cream sauce or the cheese, so I opted for a milkless Mexican flag with specially requested substitute sides of roasted vegetables and roasted potatoes. Simple and filling, the fresh ingredients are always prepared right. I'd break off into a spiel about other restaurants' unsuccessful attempts at this simple task, but only important bit of info is that Agave does it right time and time again.


I noticed another change, you went from small brightly coloured oblong plates who always seemed overstuffed to big round Texas sized plates where items can be pushed around and free from touching the others (for you freaks out there who obsess about such things) . I'm not complaining, white plates always make you pay close attention to the fun colours of the food.

Thank you Agave for the liquid licorice kiss goodnight, if one day I can have milk again, I'll run to try your deep fried ice cream, which I also imagine goes well with a margarita.


*trailing behind as my next restaurant pick is The Works, partially for squeezing you in the tightest quarters, forcing you to get lost in your own conversation enough to ignore the tables at each side who are no more than a foot away, partially for the ability to cram more stuff on their tiny tables than imaginable, and partially for their off the wall burger toppings, some of which surely haven't been tried. (I kid, I kid, they're all good but they secretly make me wonder!)

Stuffed mushrooms with secret crack sauce

stuffable white mushrooms, stems removed, collars popped
chopped cooking onions
a few golden raisins
minced dried apricots
chopped smoked almonds

You know what, I'm gonna go Chef At Home on you and let you figure out the quantities. Just make sure there's about the same amount of chopped trees as there is of everything else combined. Mix with 1 serving of secret devilish crack sauce, the one that came up with the rice paper rolls. I omitted the peanuts, I needed to roast some almonds and get it out of my system.

Stuff caps, lightly spray with olive oil, cook at 425F for 15-20ish minutes. They're cooked right before they start to burn.

Ta da! Eat as is or with a drizzle of reserved sauce.

Spring Rolling Accident

What do you bring to a potluck hosted by a good cook? Something easy to serve, uncomplicated and tasty. We rolled the dice and opted for a never tried rice paper roll recipe with a straight off the i-net well reviewed peanut dipping sauce. Niki was right, the sauce failed miserably. It lacked peanut taste and had too much satay which covered up the flavors instead of enhancing them. I got so distracted by the botched dip, I made a Rachel-bakes-a-trifle error with two different elements of the recipe, resulting in the best accidental recipe of the century.

Here's how to make your own tasty mistake:

Cook brown rice vermicelli as per package instructions, usually for a minute in boiling water. Rinse, drain well, let cool completely, toss in a bit of rice wine vinegar and refrigerate for now.

Arrange ingredients in a small neat row on rice paper in an assembly line fashion: cut brown rice vermicelli (easier to assemble), julienned carrots, julienned peeled cucumbers, crisp rinsed bean sprouts, basil leaves.
Roll up as tightly as possible without compromising the rice wrap.
Add two large shrimps, continue rolling, folding in the edges.
Completed tucked in package.

Devilish* sauce mishap:

1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped unsalted peanuts

mix.
* devilish as in, playful in an appealingly bold way (insert high pitch Michael Jackson grabbing sound here.)
cut rice rolls in half. double dip. push away large crowd gathering for their share.

I was glad they held up their own around the rest of the delicious international fare! A complete success.


Worth pointing out: sinful spanakopita and mini baked samosas.

Lemon Crêpes three different ways

You're not watching reruns, we made crêpes again.


















3/4 cup egg whites
3/4 cup almond milk
2/3 cup Perrier water
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp sifted cocoa
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon zest

Add all, beat until velvety. No need to let stand for one hour with the help of soda water. Heat. Cook. Flip. Stuff.

The first, half a banana & cinnamon puree, half a nectarines, green grapes, natural peach jam.
The second (immediately after the first), contained the other half of banana & cinnamon puree, cut green grapes, half a nectarine, natural raspberry jam, maple syrup. Yes, cutting the grapes makes a difference.


The next morning Masterpiece. Raspberry jam all over, half inch rectangular slice of watermelon to cover length of crêpe, cut green grapes, diced pluot (a sweet 3part plum, 1 part apricot fruit). So sweet it didn't need syrup.


Watch as it unravels.

Sometimes I get cravings.

Sometimes random ingredients thrown together don't turn out like you expected, and sometimes they do! This was exactly what I imagined but the taste was.. well.. the sauce needs some tweaking to put it delicately. It was nothing special. Here's what I had a hankering for on the 14th.


he texture was right and stayed put when I cut into it, perhaps it needed extra moisture in the form of a tomato slice. or something.

Julienned green peppers, zucchini and asparagus with green noodles in secret boring sauce sitting pretty on top of horseradish sauced zoglos burgers.

What was I thinking. It almost as bad as my craving for a rice dish featuring canned hering.

Why I only like Gigantor Oranges

I never used to like oranges very much, they were small, regular, had big seeds, it was way too much work and not enough of a tasty reward. When orange peelers came out, I forced myself to like the fruit as an excuse to use the peeler. I hated getting my nails dirty with the taste of peel, I needed that tool. We lost all the peelers shortly thereafter, but my sister showed me how to peel it with a knife, and I was back at the task of eating oranges. Maybe if I ate enough I'd like them, shouldn't everyone should like oranges?

However, I was not satisfied. Why was I not eating a better juicier watermelon sized orange with pulp the size of fingers? Someone thought of the same thing and slowly big oranges started gaining popularity (in my family). That's when I decided to love oranges.

Florida oranges are a close second to what I imagine finger sized self contained detachable juice bags would be like. There's nothing like an orange that barely fits in your hand and has some good weight to it, so juicy you're forced to gulp after eating but half a seedless segment. I look for ones with another orange growing inside of it. Look for the orange's stretched belly button. (Today's was the size of an apricot.) That parasitic twin of an orange inside is surprisingly delectable.

The orange was soo good today I ate it in under 5 minute, I didn't even pause to take a picture, the one above is of a grapefruit. Maybe not so funny unless you know my average orange eating time is 30 minutes.

My favorite Monstar Salad!

I created the Monstar Salad the same day I organized my spice rack, as a celebratory meal for a successful reorganization. This was no easy feat, I keep everything on my spice shelf: mixed spices, spices, specialty spices, nuts, grains, seeds, dried fruits, oils, vinegars, maple syrup and honey. I had so many random spices in plastic bags that the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar teamed up with pure maple syrup to build a protection wall for my roommates' stuff on the other side of the shelf. When every spice was finally in it's perfect place, BallSam and Olive Oil were joined with honey again, and they all had a big (tidy) party... yay!!!! (close book.)

Here's what I came up with and am guilty of having way too often.




salad dressing:
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp dijon
2 tsp honey
big pinch pepper
big pinch smoked paprika
pinches of dried chives
whisk..
.. or something along those lines. I will try it again tomorrow after I get more balsamic, I never really measured it before! :P so good luck until I tweak it. I love a good zip to a dressing, especially for this one, so make sure it's plenty zippy.

big bowl o' mixed spring greens, bite sized!
1 cup clean bean sprouts
1 chopped green onion
1/2 cup grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
2-3 big mushrooms, julienned
2 tbsp dried golden raisins
2 tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped smoked almonds
3 finely diced dried apricots
1 finely diced banana

Arrange pyramid style in mega super sized not fit for one bowl. admire. mix well. eat entire thing and consider it dessert too. mmm.... Mon.. star!!

Peanut Butter Choco Chip Crunch

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
melt on low heat, constantly stirring

add
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
keep stirring until melted

add
2 cups special K
stir

pack into greased 8x8 pan. cut into 25 pieces. refrigerate or freeze.

Hide.

Super stuffed turkey eggplant turnovers

Super stuffed turkey eggplant turnovers:

1 box PC Rice&Beans 3 Rice Bayou Blend, prepared

1 large peeled eggplant, sliced lengthwise, 1/4 " thick. Pam sprayed, salt and pepper seasoned, bake on cookie sheet in a single layer at 450F for 22mins.

Meanwhile.. the stuffing..

chop:
6 large mushrooms
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1/4 cup chives
2 green onions
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup broccoli
1/2 small zucchini
1/2 cup carrot sticks
4 apricots
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fresh basil

add:
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dried parsley

Mix all. Add about 6 tbsp of your favorite prepared sauce. We split our recipe in two and did half Patagonia and half Szechwan. Spoon mixture on half of layered eggplant and 2 slices of oven roasted turkey breast, fold over turnover style. Pepper zucchini surface again.

Bake 20 minutes at 375F. Enjoy.

Healthy fruit filled chocolate crêpe if there is such a thing

Here's our healthier version of Company's Coming Chocolate Crêpe..



3/4 cup egg whites
3/4 cup almond milk
2/3 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp sifted cocoa
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Splenda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/16 tsp salt

Beat eggs 'til fluffy, add other ingredients, beat until velvety smooth and painfully let stand for one hour.

Heat lightly Pam sprayed non-stick pan on medium, pour enough batter in, swirl around quickly to cover the pan thinly. Heat until the edge crisp and air bubbles start to form in center, flip crêpe with spatula or skill, heat for a few seconds and stack on parchment paper.

The best filling:

1 ripe banana, mushed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup, two if you're daring

Spoon on the crêpe's equator, top with blueberries and sliced strawberries, fold crêpe into open ended fruity burrito, mange et fall in love donc!


*I didn't mush the bananas on the first try, but later found the cinnamon flavour more a part of the dish when it was mixed in with 'nana mush.

Werd: light delicious chocolate flavour is not overpowered by fruits, and is moist enough to not require a sauce accompaniment.

A fridge full of condiments

Trying to tetris organize the fridge on grocery day is no joke, not after buying a dozen grocery bags of fresh produce and realizing you still have a fridge full of condiments. Believe it or not, this is a shot of the fridge post-tetris. What's in there exactly?

light soy sauce
regular soy sauce
spicy miso paste
green olive paste
sweet corn relish
hamburger tomato relish
horseradish sauce
dry garlic spare rib sauce
becel
ketchup x 3
relish x 2
spicy curry paste
fat free miracle whip
plum sauce x 2
habanero sauce
mint sauce
teriyaki sauce
szechwan sauce
blue menu szechwan sauce
spicy thai chili sauce
patagonia x 2
bbq
honey garlic bbq sauce
orange dijon vinaigrette
salsa
tempura sauce
hot sauce
french salad dressing
Aunt Jemima
fat free caesar salad dressing
lemon juice
balsamic vinaigrette

Fridge cleanup casualties:
Big Yellow Mustard Barrel Monster
Calvé Kerrie Ananas partysaus (mild en fruitig)
Jamaican Jerk BBQ Sauce
Cackalacky

I've been stewing

This is why I wonder who else would like what I eat, my taste buds were not on the same wavelength as the masses.

My top 3:
Oregano's Chicken Fricassé
Fat Tuesday's Creole Cajun Stew
Shepherds of Good Hope

Judges Picks:
Tucker's Beef Stew
Black Thorn's East Coast Fish Chowder
Oregano's Chicken Fricassé

Fan Favorites:
Aulde Dubliner's Irish Whiskey Bull Stew
Sweetgrass's Elk & Mushroom Stew
Aubrey's Meats Angus Beef and beer stew

...

Hands completely frozen, I rushed to the office, crawled up the stairs, shoveled off the mounds of snow on my jacket, plopped down on my chair and turned my personal desk heater to the Hot Flash setting. Mon ventre vas éclatter man!

Tucker's Market Place

Tucker's Beef Stew:

Variety of colorful big veggies in spicy almost curry chili super sturdy broth with long tender strips of beef. I'm glad I didn't pass up this last stew.

Mystery Meat for Mystery Restaurant

Aubrey's Meats Traditional Stew w local Angus beef and Steamwhisle:

Big slices of angus beef. Fifty fifty meat to veggies ratio in this lighter bottom of the pan broth. Strong and inviting taste of steamwhisle, lots of floating bits of unidentified origins.

so full!

Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro's stew

Elk & Mushroom stew:

More like yelk & weird rubber mushrooms stew. The elk itself was nice and tender, the stew tasted of an odd combination of spices, the wrong combination for me, and it the mushrooms made me wonder if I had finally discovered a vegetable I disliked.

Sweet Grass is still on my list of restaurants to try in Ottawa, but this stew was especially not to my liking. I can't get over the texture of the mushrooms . I looked for a garbage, but I didn't think it'd be classy to trow away food at a charity event. It was a tough gulp-down.

Oh Regan O's

Oregano's Pasta Market Chicken Fricassé:

My right hand was frozen, I was getting full (a rarity), snow was accumulating on me, I turned around towards the band counting how many stews I had to go before I dove into this one half heartedly. It shocked me so much I bite into a full spoonful, stopped dead in my tracks, 180'ed and asked the guy if the stew was on the menu. I've never wanted to eat at Oregg's, but I'd pay for this stew. So much chicken, shredded and chunky, minimal veggies other than celery, so thick my spoon could have been standing straight up without falling and it tasted like the bursting insides of your best chicken pot pie. I could have stopped sampling then, I had found the ultimate feel good stew.

Chili Con

Mexicali Rosa's Chili Con Carne:

Chili is good because it's chili. When a restaurant enters a stew cook off with something other than stew, it better be impressive and that it was not. The taste was there, but the consistency and ingredients were sub par. Both my chili recipes beat this, I've also had better chili in Greece. No lies.

Foundation Nation

Foundation Stew:

Could eat this everyday. Bold broth with minimal veggies, specks of barley and maximum shredded beef cubes, uncomplicated in taste. What's not to like?

Ottawa Mission

Ottawa Mission Super Stew:

Super chunks of beef and all the home style veggies, potatoes, peas, celery, carrots. Tasty enough.

Mad about Mambo

Mambo's Mambo Stew:

I was mad about Mambo, mad I didn't know where in the market it was, mad it was so plain tomato y and mad that I couldn't remember exactly what it tasted like by the time I took a bite out of the next stand's stew.

I still don't know where it is.

Kinki Vegetarian Stew

Something different! I never before imagined the taste of a good hearty Japanese stew. Perfectly spicy thick and rich Japanese broth with good chunks of veggies, soft as pierogi perfect dumpling and topped with spicy and tangy sesame seeds. Zing! I'm stealing their idea for those sesame seeds, it was the best way to add adequate to the soup.