Thursday 28 August 2014
One of the nicest things about summer in Edmonton is the abundance of produce that shows up every year. These gorgeous jalapeño peppers (along with more beans) literally showed up on my doorstep last week. These are Andrea's, and were kindly dropped off at my door, late at night, by another friend, Addie. Yes, we live exciting lives around here.
I've been meaning to make jalapeño pickles forever, and I love small batch preserving. But for whatever reason, I just never found enough time, or the fresh peppers. When Andrea asked if I wanted some of her fresh ones, I leapt at the chance. Thanks to fresh carrots from my own garden, I finally got the opportunity to make these escabeche style pickles I've been craving for so long.
Monday 25 August 2014
What do you do when your best friend shows up with a giant bag of fresh, crisp green beans from her garden? Well, first off, you give her a giant hug, cause everyone loves those beans. You then hand over the bag of beans to your mom and bat your eyelashes at her and ask her to make you the most delicious, super simple, vegetable comfort food of your childhood. I am lucky to have my mom visiting, and am aiming to make the best of having here here with me, even if it's for a short time.
Us Mangaloreans are not known for our love of vegetables. Every meal, however, does include a vegetable or two, usually as the sidekick to a main of meat or fish. More often than not, vegetables are an afterthought, designed strictly as filler food. Even though half of India is vegetarian, simple steamed veggies - like you find here at almost every meal - are a rarity. Veggies are jazzed up with spices and sauces, and cooked to within an inch of their lives. The results are usually tasty, but, hey, where is the distinctive flavour of the greens?
Thursday 21 August 2014
Last month, Odysseo by Cavalia arrived in Edmonton. Along with fellow blogger Andrea, I was invited to create a very special backstage video, focusing on food, diet and all the logistics that go into putting together this masterpiece of a performance. The original video is featured below and I hope you enjoy it, as it features some unique aspects of the show that are not normally accessible to everyone.
A few more behind the scenes photographs are below.
By popular demand in Edmonton, Odysseo has been extended until the 31st of August, so you still have time to go and watch this beautiful extravaganza. You can buy your tickets here.
Wednesday 20 August 2014
The recipe comes first here, of course. The Rocío (meaning 'dew') was the cocktail that welcomed us to the media launch at Rostizado. Me being me, of course, had to be a snoopy McSnoop, and I convinced the lovely bartender to hand over his recipe for this delicious aperol-tequila-camomile-vanilla-prosecco cocktail. A quick please-please-please-pretty-please to Dani, one of the owners of Rostizado, and I had permission to publish the recipe. As Dani reckons, all their restaurants are about sharing, anyway. So thanks to the team at Rostizado, for this lovely recipe and an excellent evening. Keep reading for some mouthwatering photographs.
Thursday 14 August 2014
I always look forward to our camping trips in the summer, and this year was no exception. My mum has been visiting from India, and we were definitely looking forward to heading back into Jasper, and I wanted to make sure that mum's first ever camping trip was going to be a success.
There is always friendly competition between Jasper and Banff National Parks - I must admit, I am firmly in the Jasper camp (no pun, honest.) I love the weird shapes of the Jasper mountains, and we are almost always guaranteed to see some beautiful wildlife. This year we were lucky enough to see elk, marmots, bighorn sheep and the best of all, a beautiful mama bear with two cubs. Adz, mom and I were thrilled to bits.
Wednesday 13 August 2014
Turkey thighs lend themselves to an array of dishes, and they are one of my favourite cuts of the bird to use in my everyday cooking. Everyone loves fried chicken, so I decided to make this delicious variation using turkey instead.
I added a unique Indian twist by spicing up and frying my nuggets using rice and cornflour instead of regular breading. If you skip the plain flour in the recipe, it works well as a gluten free recipe too. This recipe worked so well, that even my notoriously finicky foodie friend Addie loved them. He was surprised at how moist the turkey nuggets were, especially as I hadn't brined them at all. The spiciness of the marinade can be adjusted to your preference, especially if you are making these for kids. You can also subsititute sliced turkey breasts, if you don't want to bone out thighs (though thighs do have better flavour and stay moister)
I serve these nuggets simply with lime wedges to squeeze over, but you can also make a yogurt dip, with plain yogurt seasoned with a little salt, cumin and garlic. This is a perfect dish to take on picnics and as a appetizer with drinks too.
Monday 4 August 2014
I teamed up with Food Bloggers of Canada this week, for a glimpse into my meal planning habits. I am not a planner by nature, and I call myself a European style shopper - I buy groceries as and when I need them, as opposed to a weekly or monthly shop - and with three diets to cater for, life can get hectic. Which is why I welcomed the opportunity to kick back and really think about how I plan my weekly menu, and also give you an insight into my daily life and food habits. Obviously, Indian food takes centre stage, but I realised we eat a lot of fusion food too.
You can check out the plan here. How do you plan and shop for your week?
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