I saw this recipe back in February (from Pinterest? Twitter?) and finally got around to making it. Naturally I didn’t follow the recipe exactly so I encourage you to look at this blog post first….click here). 

I adore recipes that take an original recipe and just by baking it in a muffin tin – presto – you have a total new appreciation of lasagna!

LASAGNA CUPCAKES (adapted from www.howtosurvivelifeinthesuburbs.com)

1 package of Olivieri®  lasagna sheets

1 cup of ricotta

2 eggs

1 cup of shredded mozarella

1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce

1 package of frozen spinach, thawed (optional)

1 tablespoon of dried basil

Just a few ingredients needed!!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray your Muffin Pan with Pam® (this will allow your lasagna cupcakes to come out with ease and help with clean up afterwards).

2. Cut the lasagna sheet into squares that will fit your muffin pan.(I used scissors for this step).  Place the lasagna “squares” into the muffin tray.

3. Whisk the ricotta cheese and eggs together till it’s nice and smooth.

4. Add a generous dollop of pasta sauce into the muffin pan (spread generously). Then add the ricotta cheese mixture. Then sprinkle  the mozzarella cheese on top. Then add another lasagna square. Repeat – dollop of pasta sauce, then ricotta cheese, then mozzarella. Add another lasagna square. Add tomato sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and dried basil.

5. Bake 25 minutes in a pre heated 375 degree oven.

FINAL PRODUCT:

I served these lasagna cupcakes to guests on a Sunday night along with Asparagus Soup and a Curly Cucumber Salad. Everyone was pretty happy. Naturally the leftovers went into the freezer and will come in handy one day when I’m low on groceries or have no time to make dinner!! (it happens to all of us, right?).

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I love entertaining…the menu planning, the cooking and even setting the table. But I won’t include the “cleaning up” part! (we can save that for another blog post.)

Most of the menu I had made before but there were 2 new recipes (*) that I was checking out and guess what? They were a hit.

-A Deconstructed Salad.

–Spinach Pesto Tilapia

-Roasted Brussel Sprouts (recipe: Barefoot Contesssa)*

-Tomato/Bocacini/Roasted Garlic/Basil Skewers

-Quinoa salad with Apples and a Curry Dressing* (recipe: Martha Stewart)

Dessert: Meringue Nests with Fresh Raspberries

These photos might help you visualize the menu!

-Dessert: Meringue Nests with Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries.

The nests came out more like discs. #ohwellstilltasty

As for the table: I thought it would be a great time to buy white tulips, white roses and babies breath. (source: any of the flower stores at Avenue/Davenport)

Hope this blog post inspires you to host a dinner party one day soon as well!

Note: Stay tuned for another blog post as I had more company over last night and made lasagna cups for my first time!

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I noticed on twitter that Yakitori Kintori was having a soft opening and decided last minute to go there for dinner to check out this new restaurant. I have to admit that it was hard for me NOT to go into Kinton Ramen (as I’m a huge fan) and Yakitori Kintori is located just above it.

Naturally I was greeted with a warm welcome from ALL the staff and then parked myself at the bar  – directly in front of the kitchen so I could watch all the action. The staff were extremely attentive and helped me figure out what to order from the menu as I was very  extremely overwhelmed.

I ended up ordering: (top left) Beef and Pork Patty with Sunny Side up Quail Egg (Today’s Special Skewers) (top right) Jalapeno Tsukune.(meatballs)

(bottom left)  3 Tori  Pate Moriawase (assorted kinds of chicken pate) (bottom right) Jalapeno Nikuzume – stuffed Jalapeno with ground chicken.

I also treated myself to grilled hearts (Hatsu) which I haven’t had in about 30 years!!

Every dish I ordered was a winner. Honestly. The meat was cooked to perfection and I wasn’t craving 6 glasses of water after my meal! I would certainly order each dish again but most likely I will go back and order new dishes cause I’m wired that way!!

The meal ended up with this treat: A sample of Beer Sorbet and Sake Ice cream (ps I requested just a sample which is why this photo only has a small quantity in the spoon). I told the Chef that I want an entire mug of Beer Sorbet next time so I can pretend its’a Slurpee!! The beer sorbet rocked my palate.

Congratulations Yakitori Kintori – I have no doubt that customers are going to love the food, atmosphere and service as much as I did.

For more information:

Yakitori Kintori, 2nd Floor, 668 Bloor St. W. Toronto, 416 551 7588

Twitter: @YakitoriKintori

Instagram: YakitoriKintori

Facebook: www.facebook.com/yakitorikintori

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I have no clue why I’ve never heard of Habits Gastropub before but I’m delighted that this has now changed!! I love not only discovering new products (see last blog post) but new restaurants that I have never been to before as well!!

You can find Habits Gastropub at 928 College St.  Bonus: I was delighted to find out that street parking is free after 6 pm. The exterior of the restaurant looks like this.

As for the food…I tasted Buffalo Sweetbreads (top left) that was served with a wicked blue cheese dip, A Salmon Duo (top right), the Habits Slider (bottom left)  and Bone Marrow on toast (bottom right). There’s no shortage of appetizers here and someone knows what they are doing in the kitchen!! I noticed on their website that the menu changes frequently and may not be current online. They try their best to keep up to date online but encourage you to just come on in if you see something on the website that interests you.

For dessert –  my taste buds were treated to a trio of flavours: a chocolate brownie, lemon crema, and BEET ICE CREAM WITH ROSEMARY HONEY MASCARPONE. I have spelled that last item in CAPS as it was EPIC. Absolutely EPIC. I want  demand, a whole bowl of that ice cream the next time I visit.

Please take a peek at their website as Habits Gastropub has a variety of events coming up – Jazz Night, A Folk Band,  A Charcoal Sketch Cabaret and More!! Not to mention, Industry Night on the last Monday night of every month with 50% off ALL beverages!! (yes..all of them).

Hope you get a chance to check out Habits Gastropub one day soon. You won’t be disappointed with the food, the Ontario craft beer selection, VQA Wines and the atmosphere.

Many thanks to View the Vibe for inviting me to this special dinner for media and bloggers.

For more information:

Habits Gastropub: 928 College Street, Toronto (416) 533 7272

Twitter: @habitsgastropub

Facebook; www.facebook.com/habitsgastropub

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As always, I had a great time searching for new product at the the CRFA (Canadian Restaurant and Food Association) trade show last week. As always….I will share these discoveries with you.

a) GREEN GARBAZONO BEANS – I love this idea, as a green garbazono bean is just so much prettier than a beige one. Call me shallow but that’s the truth. Check out www.naturesclassic.com for more information about this amazing garbazono bean! Bonus: #GlutenFree and #NonGMO and #Vegan. ps on twitter you can find them @greengarbanzo…what a perfect username!!

 SMOKED TOFU – Love the fact that I can simply cut up this product and throw it into a salad for additional protein. Congratulations to Soyganic!!

3. PHO…the next food service trend! This idea is from the folks at www.Shalitfoods.com

I swear I walked around the show for 3 hours – sampling this and sampling that. However I still came home with a bag of samples! #notcomplaining.

 Sometimes, I miss being a food sales rep!!

ps CRFA is now Restaurants Canada and I think this a brilliant move!! Congratulations.

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Macaron Day 2014 is almost here and I’m so excited cause I’m a huge fan of Macarons. There’s something about these round delicate discs that I can’t resist. Here’s what you need to know about Macaron Day 2014.

On March 20, 2014, seventeen Toronto patisseries will be celebrating the most famous French pastry – the macaron. Customers visiting participating patisseries will be offered a FREE macaron in exchange for a voluntary donation to the Red Door Shelter  www.reddoorshelter.ca/  (while quantities last) All participating shops will be donateing 25% of the day’s macaron sales to the charity.

This is the third annual Macaron Day celebration in Toronto. Similar celebrations will be held on the same day in Paris, New York, Melbourne, Vancouver, Montreal and other cities.

You can find me on March 20that La Bamboche (1712 Avenue Road). You will notice me – I’ll be the woman with the white MacBook and a plate of macarons beside her. Come say hi!!

PS feel free to join the conversation on Twitter too: @MacaronTO

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I was on twitter two weeks ago, (for a change) and saw a tweet from @unmarketing that caught my eye!!

It took me a nano second to look up Hank Daddy’s BBQ so I could find out where I could find this beautiful sounding item!! Frank (not Hank..LOL) answered my call and told me that he was an exhibitor at the GTA Home Show food court, at the International Centre.

Two hours later, I was at the show chatting to Frank and eating this amazing Pulled Pork Parfait®.

Please meet Frank!!

What a genius concept, don’t you think?  All it takes is a few ingredients – and poof -my world has changed!!

Mashed Potatoes, Barbecue Sauce and Pulled Pork = Pulled Pork Parfait ™

I hope you get a chance to have your own Pulled Pork Parfait® one day soon!!

PS for those who don’t believe that Twitter “works”….here’s proof that it does!!

For more information:

www.hankdaddysbbq.com 

Phone: 416 822 8227

Twitter: @hankandaddysbbq

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hank-daddys-barbecue

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I’ve been anticipating the Grilled Cheese Fest since it was first announced back in December. Finally the day arrived and I made sure to be at Roy Thompson Hall at precisely 5 pm as they were letting in media before the event started. I try to take advantage of this opportunity so I can snap up some decent photos and talk to vendors about what they are serving etc.

Before I go any further – I want to say that I was there from 5 pm to 7 pm. During that time…..I sampled some cheesy goodness, enjoyed some soup and drank a craft beer or two!!  I also made sure to take lactose pills on a regular basis!!

I’m not quite sure how many lactose pills I took but I wasn’t going to a little lactose intolerance get in my way!!

The evening promised a variety of unique grilled cheese sandwiches, complemented with homemade soup and craft beer – and they delivered! My favourite grilled sandwich was the General Kim from Cut the Cheese.  (2901A Dundas St. W). The sandwich was described as: Kimchi, sweet soy pork, lotus chips, cilantro, fontina cheese on a light rye bread.

My favourite soup was from Cheesewerks. (56 Bathurst St)

I really did enjoy the event (again, I was there between 5 and 7 pm). However I then discovered thru a blogger friend that many guests did not get a chance to enjoy the event, as they had oversold the event by 700 tickets.  I really felt bad when I read this. This isn’t exactly how an event should be run but I’m sure Joylister learned a thing or two. Just like they learned a thing or two after they ran the Poutine Festival.

For more information:

www.joylister.com

Twitter: @Joylister

Instagram: Joylister

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoylisterFUN

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I’ve just walked in from a FoodShare event that’s called Recipe for Change. It took place at the St. Lawrence Market (North Building) and is an event that features Toronto’s Top Culinary Talent while supporting good food education.

The venue was the perfect size and well spaced out. Guests had the opportunity to even sit down at a table and not just stand up and eat their food! Whoever did the floor plan did a great job.

As for the food: There was a variety of everything and no shortage of food OR drink. To be exact: 30 Chefs, 20 VQA wines and 6 local beers.  What was noticeable, was the amount of vegetarian and vegan options. To sum it up – I’m STUFFED.

Yum.

I ate…I ate….I ate….I ate…

I ate some more….(in particular those oysters from Hooked. I was embarrassed how many I ate!!)

There was also an impressive Silent Auction that took place. I was super interested in the Women’s Deluxe Cruiser and should have placed a bid. Arghh – now I’m kicking myself. (Lesson.Learned).

Please keep this event on your radar for next year!! You will be supporting a great cause at the same time as enjoying a super well organized event.

Congratulations to the entire team at FoodShare!!

For more information: Please check out this website – www.foodshare.net

Twitter: @foodshare

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I’m not quite sure what took me so long to get introduced to Chia Seeds. I mean, it has 14 grams of FIBRE for each 1/4 cup serving. In other words – 56% of your Daily Value. That’s insane!! Chia seeds are also a good source of Omega 3 Poly-Unsaturates and a good source of protein!!

So this is what I’ve been doing (at night) for the last week.

It’s soooo easy – I feel bad to even call this a recipe!!

Here’s what you need:

forgot the vanilla extract!

Here’s the official recipe: (which I learned in a Vegan cooking class from Love Thy Carrot)

• 1/3 cup of Chia seeds. (I purchased mine at Costco)
• 1 1/2 cups Silk Almond Milk (but you could use any type of milk)
• A touch of vanilla extract

*you could also add a touch of sweetener (honey, agave, etc)

1. Add all ingredients into a mason jar.

2. SHAKE. SHAKE. SHAKE.

3. Put it int the fridge. Then about 30 minutes later – SHAKE. SHAKE. SHAKE. Return the jar back to the refrigerator.

Voila – breakfast will look like this in the morning. Alternatively, you can make it during the day and just let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

I’ve been chugging it back – before my work out and even after my workout. Sometimes, I take the whole mason jar with me in the car and sip it in between errands.

But if you want to get fancy – you could actually put it in a bowl and top it with fresh fruit or dried fruit (like the dried mango from Natural Sins)

I really (really) hope you get a chance to check out this superfood!!

P.S. Huge thanks to Voula Halliday who encouraged me to share this recipe! Oh how I love my facebook/twitter friends.

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