You might not know this, but I have a dairy kitchen and haven’t prepared meat for over 20 years. This is one of the reasons why I post so many salad recipes!! I truly do love eating salads and when I have guests over that don’t eat dairy or wheat….then it’s a great opportunity for me to try out new recipes!!  The menu included: tuna burgers (see previous post), kale salad, napa cabbage salad with lemon pistachio vinaigrette, sesame tofu, and dessert. A perfect combo of protein and vegetables.

I have made napa cabbage salads before but  always with an asian vinaigrette. This recipe appealed to me as it WAS TOTALLY different. My only complaint was I had to shell the pistachios as I didn’t have time to find them unshelled. Not the end of the world.

When I was growing up, my mom made salmon burgers. But I’m not crazy about the smell of canned salmon so I started to make tuna burgers. They are easy to make, nutritious (I think) and freeze beautifully. Here’s the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

4 tins of tuna

4 eggs

2 cups of breadcrumbs (preferably real breadcrumbs. I always seem to have some in my freezer. I’m normal. I swear)

parsley

salt and pepper

a chunk of red onion

DIRECTIONS:

1. Take all the ingredients and whiz them up in a food processor.

2. Shape into patties

3. Drop into a frying pan with a bit of oil.

 

FINAL PRODUCT

I’m going to serve these yummy tuna burgers with an assortment of condiments: mango chutney, Maille mustard, jalepeno jelly, and more. I collect condiments. Did you know?

I will also be serving them along side some roasted organic veggies that were graciously delivered by Fresh City Farms. I was blown away with the flavor of these vegetables. What a difference it makes. Can’t wait to share these veggies with my guests:

Other items I will be serving include a kale salad with curry sesame seeds and a lemon pistachio napa cabbage salad. Promise to post those two recipes on Wednesday so make sure you come back to www.momwhoruns.com!!

Happy Cooking!!

Dear TIFF,

It’s been fun reading the MILLION tweets (ok not quite a million) from my twitter followers regarding what movie they were seeing, WHAT PARTY they were going to (you know who you are), what they were wearing to those parties, and what actor they bumped into.

Seriously, I don’t mind. It’s kind of fun knowing that Toronto hosts this amazing film festival.

Last year, I was invited to the Diet Cola Gala and one movie.

This year, I didn’t go to one movie.  SNIFF.

But it wasn’t a total loss. I did manage to go to the Tastemakers Lounge!! I had a sneak preview regarding where the “talent” went in between parties, interviews, movie screenings etc.

Inside the Tastemakers Lounge, I came across the following “tasty” participants:

Le Dolci: Who wouldn’t want to snack on one of their delicious cupcakes. If you haven’t been to their new location – you should. Not to mention to check out their website to find more about the variety of classes they offer.

Pop Chips: After snacking on a delicious cupcake, these healthy snacks were very welcome! I also love their re-sealable clips. Brilliant marketing.

Kimberly’s Own: Had a lovely chat with Kimberly about her granola that is so pure, so organic and to boot it’s really really good for you.

Bobble Bottle: Not sure if you have ever seen these bottles, but it’s our household favorite bottle.

Tea Emporium: No question, that a cup of tea is the PERFECT way to relax and I’m sure the celebs truly appreciated their presence.

Now that I have been to a party, a movie, and a lounge…wonder what I might be introduced to at TIFF 2013? Stay tuned.

 

For some reason I’ve never made a pavlova before.  But my friend assured me, that it’s super easy to make so I tried it. I searched online (for a change) to find a recipe  (thanks AllRecipes.com) and before you know it my Kitchen Aid was on full blast whipping up egg whites. What I didn’t know, is that it takes A LOT OF  TIME TO BAKE. This is not at all like making cookies!! However it’s worth it.

Here’s the recipe: (taken from AllRecipes.com)

It’s been a year since I moved into my apartment so I thought it would be an ideal time to celebrate that occasion. Here’s a list of key ingredients to hosting a great party.

1) The Invite List: I included some twitter friends and some “real friends”. A perfect mix. Just look how everyone is chatting away in this photo. There were 12 women in total and it was just the right amount given the size of my apartment!!

2) CREWMEN & Co: I had a (gorgeous) bartender for the evening, courtesy of Crewmen & Co and let’s just say that my guests “loved” the eye candy and the fabulous cocktails that he created. I would hire this company again in a heart beat. Our bartender was engaging, professional and knew his way around the bar.  He was certainly a highlight of the evening!!

3) The Drinks: I had a great line up of Skyy Vodka, Great Lakes Beer (the Pumpkin Ale was just released, by the way) bottlegreen Sparkling Presses , 3 types of juices, wine, club soda, and tonic water, limes and lemons. Everyone was happy. I was thrilled to find out that Skyy Vodka has the fewest impurities among leading vodkas AND ZERO CARBS. This vodka was perfect for my #nocarb diet!!

4) The Food: I served some amazing nosh that I had been “saving” (no I am not a hoarder) from my trips to Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal and even Detroit. The black garlic was a hit…that’s for sure. Oh yeah – the Chocolate Chex got a lot of love too.

 

5) Good Music: I finally subscribed to Rdio but there was so much chatter that I’m not sure anyone heard the music.

6) Creating an atmosphere: This is my favorite part. I finally had an excuse to visit my favorite flower shops on Avenue Road and Davenport. Not to mention, I brought out  some pewter serving dishes that hadn’t been used in a while. Here’s what the table looked like:

Seriously….. throwing a party isn’t hard work and I can’t wait to throw another one. Nothing like surrounding yourself with new and old friends on a Saturday nite.

Try it!!

Once again, I discovered something fun on Twitter. It’s called Gastropost and it’s a brilliant concept for foodies like me. Every week they post a mission and every week I am addicted to accomplishing this mission (I know I know – I have too much spare time on my hands). One week, the mission was “basil vs mint”  and another week the mission was called “we love tomatoes” and guess who tries to complete most missions? moi.

In August,  I completed a mission that was called “food on a stick”. I was thrilled when I opened up the the National Post on a Saturday to discover that I was featured in the Gastropost column. (see bel0w….I’m the Gastroposter eating deep fried goodies at the CNE!!)

I love when companies embrace social media, and use it to create  a community. Gastropost is a classic example of this. I’m thrilled to be part of this and you can too. It’s just a click away …..so feel free to subscribe here.

Congratulations to the National Post for initiating this brilliant feature in your Saturday edition.

PS Not only do I think that Gastropost is fun but IT’S EASY TO USE. No downloading widgets, no uploading recipes, no linking …it’s so easy it’s not funny. Now go subscribe and complete a mission!!

I’ve decided to write two blog posts about Montreal. The first blog post was “What I ate in Montreal” and now this blog post will be dedicated to “What I Bought in Montreal”. It wasn’t hard for me to whip out my Visa every few minutes while walking thru Jean Talon Market saying “I want this – I want that”.

Here’s a list of what I brought back to Toronto:

a) BLACK GARLIC: I’ve seen dried black garlic sold in packages in grocery stores but have never seen fresh black garlic. Have you? I will be roasting it this week and shmearing it on a toasted baguette. Will get back to what it tastes like. At $120/lb it better be freakin’ awesome. I think this ONE bulb cost a few dollars. P.S. I found the black garlic at Chez Louis, which is a well known fruit/veggie vendor at JTM. (Jean Talon Market)

b) BEER: There’s quite a few beers that are brewed in Quebec that aren’t available at the LCBO. Sad but true. Seeing as I’m all about “flavor”, I selected a few unusual beers: El Lapino, which is a Jalapeno Beer (you can actually see the jalepeno floating around in the bottle), La Carotte Du Lievre which is a Carrot Beer, and Spruce Beer (which isn’t alcholic).

Not a bad line up:

c) ETHIOPIAN BEBERE: Bought this spice at a popular store in JTM that called Olives & Epices. Not sure why I selected this spice but looks like I will be bringing out my mortar and pestle soon. All I know is that this 150 g pot is going to last me for years!! Infact there is an expiry date on it: 2016/08/07. HA.

d) BEURRE DE PATRIMONIE: Discovered this butter a few years ago, and now I can’t seem to visit Montreal without buying a tub or two. Ingredients: cream and sea salt (with no preserving agents). This is as pure as it get. I hear all their products are awesome but sadly haven’t had a chance to try their yogurts or their milk. One day..One day.

As you can tell, my trip to Jean Talon Market was a success!!

Jean Talon Market, 7070 Avenue Henri Julien, Montreal, Quebec 514 247 1588 (opened 7 days a week)

 

 

My last visit to  Montreal was THREE  years which meant that I was long over due for a trip. Sadly I was only there for 24 hours but I certainly did use that time wisely!!

Naturally I connected with a Montreal Food Blogger (via twitter of course) called Will Travel For Food, who graciously sent me her list of favorites.

Here’s a few places that made my tummy happy:

1. St. Viateur Bagels; Nothing beats breaking a no carb diet with a hot, fresh Montreal bagel. No need to explain, right? I inhaled one before I even had the chance to put my seatbelt on.

2. Patati Patata: Breaking a no carb diet with poutine was a great idea too!! I’m smart eh?

3. Depanneur Le Pick Up: This was my favorite discovery! What a gem of a place. It was perfect – the food, the vibe and the service.

But they are really famous for this sandwich:

5. Patisserie Kouign Amann: The highlight of the weekend was my visit to this bakery. I actually met Will Eat For Food at this bakery and after chatting away over a coffee and a croissant, she suggested that I buy their Kougin Aman. I did (like a good food blogger). It was heaven. I asked her “what is it”…She replied “Pastry. Butter. Sugar. Repeat”. Wish I could find this in Toronto!! Please google “best croissant in Montreal” and guess what will pop up? Plus if you google Kouign Amann you will get a better definition of this pastry.

Next blog post will be: What I Bought in Montreal. Stay tuned.

Kougin Aman: 322 Aveue Du Mont-Royal Est (514) 845 8813

Depanneur Le Pick Up: 7032 Waverly 514 271 8011 (I walked there from Jean Talon Market)

Patati Patata: 4177 Blvd Saint-Laurent 514 844 0216

St. Viateur Bagels: 263 Rue Saint Viateur 514 276 8044

In the past, I’ve made crisps, crumbles and cobblers. Now I can add  “BUCKLE” to that list as I just made my very first Huckleberry Buckle. That’s right,…I used the huckleberries that I picked up at the Ottawa Farmers’ Market.

After a lot of research on the internet, I selected a recipe from AllRecipes.com.

I am not going to tell you that this recipe was a winner, infact the final result was HORRIFIC.!! I  actually spit out the huckleberry and so did others. Trust me…I like almost everything. It’s hard for me to remember the last time I spit out food. But this FRUIT is not very likeable. It’s not sour, i’ts not sweet., it’s just FOUL. The buckle was a hit though. I would certainly use this recipe again but would use raspberries or blueberries instead.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups Hucklberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place the huckleberries in a bowl and add the boiling water and sugar. (I then drained it after 10 minutes due to a readers comment on allrecipes).

Grab another bowl, and mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

Grab yet one more bowl and cream the butter and sugar.

Take the flour mixture and add it to the butter/sugar mixture. Then stir in the milk. The mixture will be thick and lumpy.

Spread the batter into a greased pan. (I used a pie plate) Pour the huckleberrie mixture ontop of the batter. Dot with remaining butter. (I dotted it with a bit of batter too for “visual appeal”)

Bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. I read another comment that suggested to place a pan underneath your pie plate in the event that it bubbles over. Great advice. Oh how I love comments that are posted on the internet.

FINAL RESULT

PS I had another 2.5 cups of huckleberries left and I threw them out. Won’t be buying this fruit anytime in the near future but will certainly be baking another buckle again with another type of berry!! Stay tuned