O Canada...

USA vs Canada men's hockey game was one of the best ever... unreal... I could barely watch it without yelling at the tv :)... I am so happy and proud... and a bit sad that Olympics are over...

Totally Vegan Waffles...

I love waffles, and we have an awesome waffle machine. I found this recipe online, and it totally paid off. Waffles were excellent, with a touch of sweetness. I served them with fresh strawberries poached in maple syrup (not pictured).... divine... oh and they freeze nicely as well...
The Recipe:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups soy milk (I used natura brand, vanilla flavor)
1 cup applesauce (I used an unsweetened type)
2 tbsp vegetable oil

• Optional: mix in some berries, chocolate chips, whatever you like!
• Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with any "mix-ins" (berries, or chocolate chips). Mix the wet ingredients in a different bowl. Combine and mix until just mixed up.
• Preheat waffle iron and spray with some nonstick oil.
• Cook according to the waffle makers instructions, which usually means putting about 1/4 cup batter on the iron, closing, and waiting for a light to go out.

Dinner: Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010

Last Saturday we headed to Paramour restaurant with Magda and Patrick to celebrate their recent successes. The restaurant is relatively new, but we've read some awesome reviews about it, and Jason actually knows the Chef who's running the kitchen. It is a small place, but cozy, and welcoming. Trying something new can be fun....

Our evening started off with a little amuse of Roasted Corn and Jalapeno Hush Puppies with Chipotle Mayo... since I am a full on vegan now... I didn't taste these wonderful looking creations... but I was told they were superb.... I do believe it
a couple of bread plates...
and moving on to starters...
I chose Shaved Fennel and Citrus Salad with Honey Flax Vinaigrette... I know honey... I wasn't about to make a big fuss over it... that's what the 5% is for... plus it was delicious...
the rest of the gang couldn't say no to the Daily Crudo... which on that evening revolved around scallops... I was told they were "... melt in my mouth..." I took only one picture of Magda's plate because the other two looked exactly the same... now that's professionalism...
what I loved about this place right away even before we went is that they have a daily vegetarian plate and when Jay called to make a reservation he informed them that there will be one vegan (since vegetarian = cheese please)... they happily accommodated my dietary restriction, and my vegetarian plate was made vegan by simply not including goat cheese (which I never liked)...
so The Daily Vegetarian Plate was composed of a Napoleon of Roasted Vegetables on top of Couscous and Pesto... this was so unbelievably good...
Jay chose New York Strip Loin au Jus: Ermite Bread Pudding, Balsamic Roasted Cremini Mushrooms, Rapini... mmmm looks delectable... but I stayed on the wagon
Magda also chose the Daily Vegetarian Plate... however hers was full on vegetarian no restrictions... see the cheese :)
and Patrick enjoyed a Tarragon Chicken Pot Pie: Free-range Chicken, Braised Red Cabbage, White Wine Sauce... look at that perfect pastry... used to be one of my favorite things...
we had a bottle of very delicious chardonnay...
and only Magda and Jason had dessert... they had 3 options each with a female name... and they both decided to have Danielle: Caramel Pumpkin Flan, Hazelnut Wafer, Cinnamon Whip Cream... looked perfect to me...
but I did have a type of dessert... I sipped on some Grand Marnier...
and Patrick sipped on... something that tasted a bit like licorice and menthol... :)
Overall: I loved this place I loved the ambiance, the food, the service and of course the company... I want to go back...

Superbowl Feast...

It seems the moment I'm caught up I fall behind... but I'm trying...
we sort of watched the Superbowl this year... we were channel surfing a lot... however I did enjoy the halftime show...
we snacked on some veggie egg-rolls and coconut shrimp from our local supermarket freezer section, with an assortment of dipping sauces from our fridge...
Jay's own chicken drummets...
and some of the most delicious roasted vegetables ever...

Thank you Patrick...

so somebody is moving on to bigger and better things... Congratulations Patrick!

As he's leaving the office, on his way towards the door he says his goodbyes to the few he hasn't yet already (I'm guessing)... quick pause at my desk to let me know where he'll be celebrating tonight if I'm interested... I am really happy for him but today is one of my 18 hour days and I'll be pooped... and anywho it's not like we won't be seeing each other again... but this is not the funny part... this is...

Patrick: (at my desk)... something something... where... something something... laugh... see ya
Me: laugh... Bye

and out the door he is...

The girl who sits two desks down from me, whose name I don't know, with whom I had a 2 minute conversation 3 weeks ago... jumps up from her chair, runs over to my desk... and....

Girl: (all excited) Oh my god... he just like totally asked you out!
Me: (dazed and confused unable to process what the hell she's talking about... but eventually form a thought 'Who?') I think she took my bewildered look as some kind of a response.
Girl: Yay! two thumbs up runs back to her desk

You may ask: Why this is funny? Well....
1. We've been friends for years.
2. He's happily married.... I've been to his wedding.
3. and so am I (practically married that is)

Winterlicious 2010 #3 (not vegan yet)

For our third and final Winterlicious fare we went to Trevor Kitchen and Bar with Magda, Patrick, Sara, and Adrian. Winterlicious dinner menu $35.00 per person, not including drinks.The Girls started out with Canadian Beauty martini... I couldn't resist two of my fave things in one glass: vodka and ice wine
Boys of course had beers...
bread basket... getting boring all across the city...
Appetizers:
Me: arugula salad with toasted walnuts & maple cider vinaigrette
yum... love my greens
Adrian and Jay: duck confit shepherd’s pie
wow this was divine... duck so tender and flavorful
Patrick: macaroni & asiago cheese
one of the best...
Magda and Sara: local ricotta gnocchi with porcini butter & chèvre noir
it was a funky plate... and bravo to the kitchen, superb
Sara ordered a bottle of red for our party to go with our mains...
well actually she ordered me a glass of white since I was having fish...
Mains:
Me: northern ontario whitefish with savoy cabbage, tarragon crème fresh & confit potatoes
loved it... especially the little potato cubes:)
Adrian: port braised beef cheek with sunchoke risotto & horseradish crème
it looked very nice... but I wasn't brave enough to taste it...
Magda: roast chicken with cheddar pierogi, sweet potato & buttermilk gravy
yum... one of the best chicken dishes ever
Sara and Jay: slow roasted suckling pig with split pea purée & cider reduction
look how beautiful... and also how delicious...
Patrick: surf & turf, jumbo tiger shrimp, alberta sirloin & goat cheese poutine
well I didn't taste this one either... one because I know what steak tastes like and two because I am not a fan of goat cheese...
Dessert:
Me: passionfruit tiramisu
alright... passionfruit was very settle I wanted it to have a bit more of a presence...
Adrian: crème brulée
no fault with it... but nothing outstanding either
Patrick: sorbet
yes... I agree Gelato Fresco does make a very nice sorbet...
Jason, Magda, Sara: dark chocolate & caramel torte with peanut butter chantilly
Sweet Heaven!... that's what it was
Overall: yup another gem... worth experiencing again...

Winterlicious 2010 #2 (still pre vegan)

For our second Winterlicious meal, Jay and I headed to The Chefs' House restaurant. A place open to the public at which George Brown College hospitality students practice their trade. I was very excited about this for two reasons:
1. they are all learning... meaning they'll be attentive and informative, and the kitchen will make everything from scratch including bread
2. most of them are not yet disillusioned by the incredibly hard work, long hours, bad pay, shortcuts, and bad bosses, out there in the real restaurant life...

this was going to be good... We went for lunch, $15.00 per person, drinks not included...

I felt like carbonated water and I'm glad I did. This is not from a bottle but from tap... I've never tasted water this clean and delicious... our waitress explained their filtration system, but I hardly paid attention... I was too busy watching the flat screen tvs of the action in the very open concept kitchen...
simple bread basket... but so delicious... there is nothing quite like just baked bread...
we also had a couple of drinks because we didn't have to worry about work that day... Jay had a beer... and I had a martini simply because it was called Olympic Gold... it was also very tasty... created by a mixology student
Appetizers:
Me: Double Chicken Broth with Ricotta and Spinach Dumplings
Oh my this would cure any cold... broth so flavorful, and dumplings so soft... I could have eaten a pot of this...
Jay: Chili Fried Calamari, Citrus Fennel Slaw, Caper Raisin Emulsion
tender, light, perfect
Mains:
Me: Mustard-Crusted Whitefish Fillet, Lentil Salad and Lemon Dressing
the mustard was so delicate, it did not overpower the fish, I loved how green my plate looked
Jay: Madras Chicken Curry, Steamed Basmati Rice, Mango Chutney
simply lovely
Dessert:
Jay: Apple Frangipane Tart, Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream
the ice cream surprisingly good...
Me: Sticky Toffee Pudding, Salted Caramel Sauce
wow... it was so good... I love sticky toffee pudding... I plan to find or to create a vegan version...
and a cappuccino for Jay...
Overall: definitely worth going back to... the food was outstanding... service incredibly friendly and attentive (maybe even a bit too much)... because this is a government sponsored establishment no gst... but because it is also a school project it is open only on Mon-Fri and last seating is either 8 or 9pm (I forgot which)... however they do have Guest Chef Dinners which could be a lot of fun for the foodies out there who like culinary adventures...

Winterlicious 2010 #1 (pre vegan days)

For our first Winterlicious outing this year we headed to the Distillery District... Boiler House restaurant to be exact with Tammy and Nick... Winterlicious menu was only available during dinner and it was priced at $35.00 per person, not including drinks... Jay and I showed up 15min early... the place was packed... live music was playing... and the overall atmosphere was pretty nice... we had a drink while waiting for T&N... Jay had a beer and I decided to try their version of a simple vodka martini with olives... ehh I truly disliked the glass... I just love the long stemmed martini glasses... this just sat all wrong in my hand... the drink itself was passable...
once T&N arrived we were showed to our table pretty promptly... below is our bread basket... simple...
we placed our drink orders Nick just had a Coke (designated driver), Jason had a glass of red, Tammy rum and Coke, and I a glass of white... (I don't remember exactly what type of wines we ordered anymore), needless to say Jay and I ordered a glass each. Our waitress removed Tammy's and Nick's wine glasses and left ours at the table... then came back with two bottles of wine and poured it tableside... well actually she was standing behind me. This just irked me a tad... I mean seriously honey, couldn't you just have done that at the bar and brought it over... you totally eyeballed it. Moreover she never came back to ask any of us if we would like another... I guess there was a one drink minimum... Actually once we placed our dinner orders we didn't see our waitress until it was time to pay the bill... from now on only food runners arrived at our table...
here is a little amuse.... a tiny falafel on a square of flat bread with some kind of a sauce and pickled onion... forgettable...
next our appetizers
Tammy: Parsnip bisque, crispy sheep’s feta polenta
I didn't try the polenta because I don't like sheep's cheese but the soup was very good.
Me: Pan fried grouper cakes, pickled red cabbage and endive slaw, celery root and cider emulsion
The cakes were yummy (there were two of them)... nice and chunky... but I didn't care for the salad... it just hit my taste buds all wrong
Jay and Nick: Warm flan of duck and shallot confit, blond frisee, currant and Quebec blue cheese salad
and wow what happened here... looks like the flans were in separate ovens at different temperatures... that is not impressive...
but lets move on the our mains
Jay: Grilled beef sirloin pot pie, fava bean and roasted eggplant stew, crisp potato cakes
I don't know why they called it pot pie... it wasn't... it's was a steak on top of a stew, topped with a potato cake not cakes. Other than the deceiving menu description, it was an alright dish.
Me: Pan roasted arctic char, white onion and fennel puree, charred lemon and squid vinaigrette
I loved my dish... couldn't find fault with it... simple and tasty...
Nick and Tammy: Roasted cornish game hen, sour cream and chive new potato smash, shallot and rosemary jus
ah...once again lack of plating consistency... it looks like one of the hens is upside down, and there was a lot more jus on one of the plates as well... it seems the kitchen wasn't trying...
but let's move on to dessert... by the way just a reminder that at no time were we asked if we'd like another drink... and so we were also not offered tea or coffee come dessert time...
Me: Butternut squash and mascarpone beignets crème fraiche, clementine syrup, & filbert brittle
yuck... they were cold and greasy... the whipped cream was over whipped... the flavor bland...
Nick: Chocolate angel food cake, warm cranberry compote, candied orange zest
I didn't try it... but this seemed more of a Christmas dessert...
Tammy and Jay: Apple and aged gouda bread pudding, thyme & maple caramel, candied pumpkin
Seriously... was this food even coming out of the same kitchen... I mean they ordered the exact same thing... who was in charge of quality over there... they should be embarrassed by their laziness
Once our plates were cleared... our waitress reappeared... we couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. Tammy and I both dropped our visas, so she could easily split the bill in half... she couldn't and didn't... it took her about 20min to fix her mistake...

Overall... not worth bothering with... I wish I never went there, for an upscale restaurant, both their service and their food fall short...