As always I have just returned from another trip to Ottawa. As you know, I visit regularly (every 6 weeks) and on each trip I discover something new that delights my taste buds (and sadly my waistline too).

Here’s a few highlights:

1. Harvey and Vern’s Ginger Beer. Hands down the best ginger beer I’ve ever had. Sadly I only bought one bottle. WHAT WAS I THINKING (please don’t answer!!). Next time I’m picking up a half dozen bottles. Seriously.

 

2. Callaloo Jamaican Patty from The Piggy Market: (400 Winston Ave, Ottawa) I love something interesting and this was indeed something interesting!! The pastry was perfect and the filling was flavorful too. So glad I dropped by this amazing store.

 

3. Hummingbird Chocolate has joined forces with Michaels Dolce Candied Ginger ….to make the perfect chocolate bar. It was introduced to the public at the Ottawa Farmers Market on Sunday Aug 4th and I’m confident that others will also give it a THUMBS UP!!

 

4. Albacore Tuna Crudo with Lemon Truffle Oil, Puffed Rice and Young Cilantro from Supply and Demand (1335 Wellingston St. W. Ottawa) Many thanks to @simplyfresh for tweeting me about this dish. Can you say “heaven?”.

5. Ministry of Coffee. Again, many thanks to @AMWATERS for tweeting me about this brand new cafe that opened up on Elgin St.  I enjoyed a wonderful “Cortado” which is a shot of espresso with both cream and milk. Will definitely be returning for more!!

6. Bombs from It’s a Matter of Cake (Ottawa Farmer’s Market) These are not cake pops. Not even close. They are simply dense and delicious. My mom bought a bag of 6: Chocolate Peanut Butter, The Split, Oatmeal Nutella, Maple Carrots, Smokey Bacon, and the Dark Horse. When we got home…the knife came out and we started to split each one in half. Then we started  saying words like: “ohhhhh” and “ahhhh” and “freaking h” and “unfreakin believable”. Clearly we loved each and every bomb!!

Can you tell I had another amazing trip to Ottawa? I’m already looking forward to my next trip in September!!

As you know, I have been trying to avoid carbs…. which means I try to avoid sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and more. (I’m not listing them so I don’t get depressed).

However there’s a list of vegetables I am allowed to enjoy and that list includes: bok choy and asparagus. Here are two recipes that I made this week.

I am a bit frustrated with the first recipe as I can’t find it. Don’t ask..it’s in a cookbook but I don’t know which one. I have given up looking. Sorry.

But I’m going to share it with you anyway with my own made up recipe.

Again, this dish is a perfect side dish for salmon and can be served warm or cold.

Gingered Asparagus

Ingredients

asparagus

Sauce:

1/2 tablespoon tamari

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 minced garlic clove

1 minced chunk of ginger (please oh please buy organic.It’s so much more flavorful)

a bit of honey (sorry I didn’t measure)

DIRECTIONS:

1. steam asparagus

2. combine the ingredients to make the sauce.

3. drizzle the sauce of the middle of the asparagus dish.

Nutty Bok Choy Salad (from Gatherings: A Collection of Recipes from Netivot Hatorah Parents Association)

Dressing

3 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons peanut butter

Topping

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

1 pk ramen noodles, crushed

Salad

5 cups bok choy, sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, honey and peanut butter until well combined. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, saute peanuts and noodles until golden. Remove from heat

Put the salad ingredients in a shallow bowl. Right before serving, sprinkle the noodles and nuts over the salad.

Drizzle with dressing. Serve.

Happy Healthy Cooking

I have been in love with organic ginger for the last year. It all started when I was visiting Kensington Market and stopped by the Urban Herbivore. It was one of those cold winter days and I wanted some thing healthy and HOT, so I ordered some organic ginger tea. I watched them grind up the fresh ginger and then add some hot water. I loved this drink so much that I went out and bought some fresh organic ginger and then made the drink at home!

Often I just didn’t have organic ginger available and bought the normal ginger from the grocery store. Let me tell you – ITS NOT THE SAME. I will now ONLY buy organic ginger. I love how intense the flavor is – it’s not even on the same planet as the non organic ginger.

Lets discuss: organic vs non organic:

organic: stronger flavor, less water, you need less, costs more, not available at your local grocery store

non organic: flavor is not as strong, you need more, costs less,

The brand I usually pick up has a lovely recipe on the back and I FINALLY decided to try it. (took me long enough).

Here’s what you need for Ginger Maple Vinaigrette:

2 inch piece of organic ginger chopped

1 med organic garlic clove, minced

1 med shallot, minced

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup olive oil

METHOD:

In a blender combine all the ingredients except olive oil and blend until smooth.

On the lowest setting, pour olive oil until emulsified. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Use as a dressing or marinade and store for up to 2 weeks in a refrigerator.

I encourage everyone to:  a) pick up some organic ginger b) try the above dressing c) or try making fresh ginger tea.

Funny, as I type this blog post I’m thinking of ginger ice cream, ginger cookies, gingerbread latte, dipped ginger in chocolate. Who else has any ideas what to make with ginger?

I blogged about coffee this week, so I thought it would only be fair to talk about tea as well. Naturally I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out!!

This year, I received a dinner gift that I totally fell in love with. It’s a tea tumbler called “Liquid Solutions Tea-Zer”. I started to grate fresh ginger, placed it in the removable strainer, I added boiling water and bingo: beautiful fragrant ginger tea.

My uncle told me try chopped  lemongrass and I tried it but returned back to the fresh ginger.

I even experimented between normal ginger and organic ginger. The organic ginger won by a long shot.

Once in a while, I will stop at DAVIDsTea. I think they have done a great job with their store concept, their packaging, merchandising etc.

(can you tell I once owned a store?).

I am a sucker for tea thats called “read my lips”!!

The store is so fresh looking and the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. There is nothing not to like.

Their winter line up of teas include: baked apple, organic electric lemon, organic cloud nine and choloclate chili chai.

YUM.

Raise you hand if you are a tea drinker or even an occasional tea drinker like me!!