Gluttony: Poor Man's Food

I am terrible with my money. Saving and investing are two words I have yet to learn the meaning of. However, because I find myself penniless on countless occasions, I have come accustomed to making really inexpensive meals (I can also make an expensive one too, which is sometimes how I end up in this mess!). Today I experimented with PESTO! I recently bought some herbs and planted them in pots, left them on the window sill and after a few weeks of daily watering and great weather, I have some awesome growth! Two of the herbs I bought were Basil and Purple Basil, they smell delicious - so when I found myself out of numerous items I would normally consume, I turned to my plants for help.

Turns out I had two servings of spaghetti noodles that could be cooked (they were over a year old - but still good!!) and some Parmesan cheese (best before date was about March 2010, so naturally I have been continuing to eat it for several months), AND some garlic (I cut off the green part that was growing out of it). I looked up a PESTO recipe and I had all of the ingredients except for the pine nuts. They are expensive, and I buy them for salads when I'm RICH, but gobble them up quickly so they never last long, I used some walnuts and cashews instead (also had them laying around).

This is the recipe I used: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/ and this is what happened:

 HERBS!

 Wash the leaves and then dry them. Blended them in a food processor with the nuts and then with the garlic and then with the olive oil.

 Then with the CHEESE! I love cheese. Also, cook the noodles while you're at it so everything finishes at the same time.

  

Mix some of the pesto with your freshly cooked noodles. And then die and go to heaven because it's so fresh and creamy and delicious:

 And then I ate some watermelon with Feta cheese. I love cheese:

 

Also, I must point out that Sneaky Dee's on College at Bathurst has the best nachos. Feast your eyes on their KINGS CROWN plate. Everything, it has everything, including orgasms:

Gluttony: Homemade Ice Cream Cake

 This weekend I made an ice cream cake for my sister, Kat. It was her 21st birthday, and she has recently developed an interest in tattoos. Last year's gift was $100 for her to get the tattoo on her side coloured in, and an orchid plant (white flowers, the theme was "what's missing? = colour!")... this year was a magazine for women of tattoos and the cake. Kat had mentioned to me that she wanted her next tattoo to be a Native whale on her leg, so I topped the cake with a fondant whale. It turned out to be a bit warped - the fondant was very soft from working it in my hands.

The rest of the cake was outstanding! I used a Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix and instead of water I used 1% milk. I layered it with vanilla ice cream and RAINBOW ice cream. In case you are unaware, Loblaws has a new collection of ice cream and is marketing the freezer section as an ice cream parlour. Included are flavours like Tiger Tail, Party Cake, Rainbow and other crazy types. Rainbow consists of BUBBLEGUM, GRAPE and BLUE RASPBERRY. You may be thinking, "Um, that sounds like overload," but I assure you, it is just the right amount of sweetness.

After multiple rounds of popping this bad boy in the freezer throughout construction, I was finally able to cover the entire outside with Duncan Hines Whipped Vanilla Icing - holy crap, was it so good. The entire cake ended up being light, fluffy, sweet and creamy: the perfect summer treat to follow a BBQ.

Gluttony: Saturday's Shopping Excursion for Tea and Fine Foods

These two beauties came from About Cheese on Church street (just south of Wellesley) - one of the best cheese shops in the city. The one on the left is Mapledale 7 year aged cheddar; it crumbles just right and melts amazingly in your mouth. The one on the right is a basic Gouda (soo smooth, and 50% off this month!) that has been smoked by About Cheese's neighbours, the equally-amazing Cumbrae's meat shop (if you are looking for meat in the area, only shop here). Let the Gouda rest after removing it from the fridge so that it gets a little warm and soft.

A stop in Kensington resulted in some stellar soup from one of the independent Organic grocers on Augusta. Cashew carrot ginger soup - heat and serve and love it til the last drop (and only like $3).

 Silver Star Tea from Golden Mint on Yonge at College

This tea was wonderful. It's adorable, to start. Secondly, it's delicious. It's a very light tea (a white tea, to be exact) and once it's brewed, tastes like a smooth, warm hug in your mouth (sounds lame, I know, but if you try it you will agree with me).

These are a couple concoctions from the past week or so that have made my tummy and my tongue very pleased:

 

Sweet Potato Fries (sweet potatoes baked with rosemary, olive oil, smoked paprika and some smoked salt) with my homemade Mayo (mayonnaise with dijon mustard, smoked paprika, smoked salt)

Mini Bagels from Loblaws are incredible! They're basically half as thin as a bagel and have a texture more similar to a flatbread... better for making sandwiches that won't fill me up only a third of the way through; I can actually finish this one.

  On this badboy I've got some prosciutto (ughh, love love love), alfalfa sprouts, spring mix of lettuce, tomato, aged cheddar and pear slices, and a little dijon to spice it up a wee bit. Grilled on both sides to warm it up a bit and it's a pretty amazing sandwich (ALL THE FOOD GROUPS ARE THERE TOO, MOM).

Gluttony: Open-Your-Face Sandwich

I love avocado... can you tell? This tasty delight is an open-faced sandwich made with a baguette. I always buy a baguette and it gets so hard by the time I get around to eating the whole thing. SOLUTION: microwave pieces with a bowl of hot water. The steam from the water will add moisture to the bread and it's back to its old self.

Open-Your-Face Sandwich:

• Baguette
• Dijon Mustard (with seeds)
• Cucumber, thinly sliced
• Tomato, sliced
• Avocado, sliced
• Old Cheddar (I used some that was aged one year, but I like it a bit bolder usually), sliced

BROIL THAT SHIT FOR 5 MINUTES. And try not to burn yourself like I did. Remember to chew.

Gluttony: FRESH - Buddha Bowl

The Buddha Rice Noodle Bowl from Fresh is just incredible every time I visit the restaurant. Fresh is a Toronto-based vegetarian eatery with a few locations now open. They serve fresh (duh), delicious, healthy meals and the owner has published a couple of recipe books that showcase their regular and their juice menus. I've recently picked up ReFresh, the second edition of the original menu - DIVINE. It lists all of their dishes with instructions, sauces, veggie burgers, juices, marinades... you name it, they have it, and you'll be drooling the moment you get past the first couple of pages. Tonight, Irene and I made the Buddha Rice Bowl, but I substituted the rice for Soba noodles. It's their most basic Bowl dish in terms of flavours and spices, using a peanut sauce for the main kick.

Start layering the bowl with noodles and then the marinated tofu in the middle and pour over top some of the peanut sauce (OHH SO GOOD). Add bean sprouts and cilantro, then some tomato and cucumber. DONE. How easy was that? Just waiting for the tofu to marinate was the hardest part because I was so hungry...

Gluttony: Happy Chanukah with Challah!

So I just made my first two loaves of bread!! I was researching Chanukah this time around (I celebrated it last year, but we didn't really know all of the traditions behind it so we played with a dreidel and ate some sweets), and found some recipes for tonight's dinner. So far on the menu we have potato latkes, roasted chicken and cherry cheese blintzes. Among these was a recipe for Challah, of which I had never heard of before. Turns out I've eaten this bread many times (now that I've tasted my own!) and I was determined to make it even though I've never baked bread before on my own. Here are a couple of photos from my adventure:

This is the recipe I used: Miriam's Not-So-Secret Challah from allrecipes.com
Awesome... Happy Chanukah!

Pride: Tea/Coffee Party Preview

As I'm sure some of you are aware, it's that time of the year again: 'tis the season for my semi-annual Tea and Coffee Party! This winter it will be held on Sunday, December 19th from 1pm - 5pm (drop by anytime). If you're really serious about attending I will give you my new address. This marks the 6th annual Winter Tea/Coffee Party, and the 12th semi-annual Tea/Coffee Party... I'm getting pretty serious about bouquets, TGFOPs and boldness now. This winter's "theme" is INDIA; below is a preview.

From Nectar: Fine Teas on Wellington Street in Ottawa comes a White tea from India: Assam Silver Needle. White and Green teas from India are pretty rare, the majority of tea estates in this region produce Black teas. The leaves are slightly rolled into tubes and the flavour is very subtle, but clear and refreshing (almost like a green tea). It was interesting to watch steep because the leaves were tightly rolled when the water was first poured over top and they floated up on the surface, but as the leaves softened, the air was released and they slowly sank to the bottom of the cup one by one like a little tea ballet.

Gluttony: Ohhh, SANDWICH!

AND JUICE! Food, you make me so happy. This big guy had 12-grain bread, Dijon mustard (with seeds), sliced tomato, old cheddar, avocado (probably my favourite food ever) and prosciutto. Grilled to perfection and served with some superb juice: mango juice (mango puree and pear juice), orange juice, half of a banana and some fresh raspberries. Given a little love from my Magic Bullet and off we gooo. Also, let us not forget about the Grilled Cheese tribute I made a while ago: I am in love.

I should do groceries more often....... Next up, SUSHI MAKING TIME TOMORROW YAAAAAAAAA

Gluttony: FOOD

I'm a Foodie, and I've been cooking and baking a lot recently; mainly to freeze and have meals that can be prepared quickly by reheating. I find it's also easier to get more for your money if you cook the food you buy right away (no chance of it rotting) and I can budget better when I know exactly what I need for specific meals.

Observe:

Irene and I made an apple pie! Note: peel the apples.

Tonight for dinner we had a Graduation Feast, and paired all the following goodness with a nice white wine from Pelee Island.

Baguette with thinly sliced pear, old cheddar cheese and prosciutto; oven-broiled to perfection (slightly toasted, soft pear, melting cheese and warm prosciutto!)

Grilled chicken (Rosemary with Peach Chardonnay Zest that also has garlic and acts as an olive oil mixture), steamed asparagus and spinach with thinly sliced apple, pear and old cheddar cheese and very little balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Vanilla gelato with thinly sliced pear, Italian Anise cookie and pear coulis (pear pureed with honey and a little bit of water).

DELICIOUS!

Gluttony: Grilled Cheese Academy

The poor man's food: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. When you have a little cash, I suggest browsing this website, with your speakers ON and then proceed to pick a favourite and indulge! Browsing through the "Institution dedicated to deliciousness" will drive you wild after you've hit up the first couple of concoctions. Sorry, lactose-intolerants (unless you have delicious soy substitutes!) - maybe change the cheese into some grilled vegetables or a portobello mushrooms.

My favourites so far (I have yet to try them... waiting for the dough):


#2 THE PILGRIM
Features Wisconsin Gouda and smoked turkey breast smothered in cranberry mustard and sage-butter.


#4 THE NANTUCKET
A scrumptious little ditty made with Wisconsin Aged Cheddar, Cream Cheese, and lox on country French bread.


#8 THE PERRY
A heavenly creation of Wisconsin Blue cheese, Port wine-braised pears, and candied almond slices.


#26 THE BIRCHWOOD
There’s so much to savor with Wisconsin Aged Brick and Cheddar, a sunny-side-up egg, and sautéed mushrooms.

Would have to try once:

#19 THE LISA MARIE
A splendid creation featuring Wisconsin Butterkäse accompanied by peanut butter and bananas.


#30 THE BIANCA
Wisconsin Mascarpone, dulce de leche, and raspberry preserves on cinnamon raisin bread.
"Mommy has a new friennnd"