This is what happens when you are a foodie and you have a few hours in Montreal to kill before hopping on a plane. You end up at Jean-Talon Market. Trust me, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time.

Naturally I bought so many goodies that I had to buy a bag!

In case you are wondering “What did I buy? ” a better question might be “what didn’t I buy”.

Here’s a list of what was in the above bag:

1. Bourgot: I know they are ugly but they are my favourite item to buy at Jean-Talon Market. I discovered that they are also called Whelks and are very abundant in the St. Lawrence River and Estuary.

These Whelks are ready-to-eat as they are sold in brine, which gives them a long shelf life as well as a tender and flavourful taste. Sadly I had to throw the brine away at the airport but they still made it through security.

2. Cult Yogurt – I bought two but one was confiscated at security. Go figure. I discovered this yogurt back in May and hope to see it on the shelves in Toronto one day soon. It’s creamy creamy creamy.

3. Olives stuffed with Orange Peel. Love this combo.

4. Nuts: One bag is Lemon/Pepper and the other back is smoked to perfection.

5. Cretons with Dates and Herbs: Not something you see in Toronto which is code for: “I had to buy it”.

6. Candied Orange: I have no idea what I’m going to do with this but I’m sure it will be a lovely garnish for something!

7. Salt with Herbs: I have a feeling I will be sprinkling this product on my eggs, in dressings, on fish etc. For $3.99 I figured it was a good buy!

As always, I adore this market for so many reasons. Hope you get a chance to visit Montreal in the near future and visit this market too!

For more information:

Website: Jean-Talon Market

Address:  7070 Avenue Henri Julien, Montréal, QC H2S 3S3

Happy Shopping!

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Believe it or not, I occasionally use a few recipes from selected cookbooks that I still own. One such recipe is called “Spiced Bulghur Pilaf with Nuts and Raisins” from a cookbook called Gourmet Vegetarian Feasts by Martha Rose Shulman that was published in 1987!!

This side dish is full of flavour, simple to make and a nice alternative to rice or potatoes. The only issue you might have with this dish – is that you don’t have all the ingredients. I solved this problem with a quick trip to my local bulk store. I ONLY bought 2 tablespoons of what I needed and the one cup of bulghur that was required. Smart move, eh?

Please note: this dish will be that much better if you use fresh ginger and not powdered ginger!

Spiced Bulghur Pilaf with Nuts and Raisins.

INGREDIENTS.

1 cups of bulghar

1 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

2 tablespoons of cashews

2 tablespoons of pine nuts

5 tablespoons of raisins

1/2 tsp of cumin

1/2 teaspoon cardammon

1 small onion, minced thin

1 clove garlic, minced

1 inch piece of FRESH ginger, grated

3 cups of water

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a saucepan or a frying pan and saute the onions.

2. Heat another frying pan and saute the cashews, pine nuts and almonds till fragrant and slightly brown. 

3. Add the sauteed onions to the nuts and then add the raisins, cumin,cardamon, and ginger,

4. Add the bulghur and stir together. Then add the water. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste and COVER WITH A LID. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and the bulghur is tender.

5. FINAL PRODUCT

Happy Cooking!

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My introduction to the world of nuts was at my grandparents house. I remember a bowl of fresh nuts in the family room that required a “nut cracker” to open up them up. Does anyone else remember those nut crackers?

The tradition of having nuts in the house has continued. Except you can find the nuts in my house…In the freezer. No nut cracker required. You can always find a stash of sunflower seeds, pine nuts, cashews, almonds, sesame seeds and California Walnuts hanging around my freezer in little zip loc bags!!

Usually I sprinkle nuts on salads, or add them on top of stir fry’s but this week I tried a Cajun Spiced Walnut recipe to make as a gift for my dad who also loves nuts.  Here’s the recipe.

CAJUN SPICED WALNUTS (source: www.walnutinfo.org)

INGREDIENTS 
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tbsp (15 mL) garlic salt
2 tsp (10 mL) each cayenne pepper and paprika
2 tsp (10 mL) each dried basil, oregano and thyme
4 cup (1 L) shelled California walnut pieces

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix egg whites with herbs and spices; stir in walnuts and coat thoroughly.

Spread walnuts on large, shallow baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 15 to 18 minutes or until dry and crisp. Cool thoroughly before serving.

FINAL PRODUCT:

My dad gave this recipe a thumbs up!!  (which is why I’m sharing it with you as well).

Happy Snacking!!

 

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Everytime I have guests, I receive a lot of compliments about my salads. I use to think that the secret to a great salad is to make homemade dressing but lately I’ve been thinking that there is a lot more to it.

So I decided to ask my twitter friends (tweeps) “what’s your secret to making a great salad” and here’s what they wrote:

@MuskokaRx Broccoli @yyzsportsmedia fresh ingredients @mominc toasted nuts. Or goat cheese. Any cheese really, now that I think of it  @IraKates building flavours @Upaya_Naturals Our #raw sprouted croutons @SharonDV Bacon @ChickyMara crisp cold lettuce. Great dressing. Everything is better with croutons @TheBumpercrop local greens, grainy mustard @Winemakersboots vinegar and something cool like Montrefort cheese and Bizjak pears @Table17 Bacon @foodNURD I’m a big fan of adding candied walnuts/pecans to salads. Great texture/flavour contrast @elisecooks Dry Greens! Something crunchy. Something fruity. The right ratio of salad to dressing @Forkin_Healthy very clean, organic mixed greens. Fruit and cheese too. Maybe nuts or seeds. But clean spun is #1….and it rhymes!

I then took some of the above advice and  made a plate of goodies that I was going to add to a bowl of plain mixed greens. I prepared: chopped apple, pomegranate seeds, dried blueberries, pecans, herbed goat cheese, fresh thyme, blood oranges and roasted dried garlic (that I recently discovered).

Here’s the result:

I will be serving this for dinner Friday Nite and I have no doubt that it will be inhaled. In the event you are wondering what type of dressing I am going to use – please visit again – as I will be blogging about dressings in the near future. Please also take a minute to visit Life Made Delicious for more great salad recipes.

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector Program and I receive special perks as part of the affiliation with this group. The opinion on this blog are my own.

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