Newsflash: I finally tried a food delivery service. I’ve been offered many times to try a food delivery service and I always declined. But HelloFresh caught my attention at a great time seeing as I was trying to control my portions and I thought that this would help me out. #smartmove

Heres’ a few reasons why I loved HelloFresh! 

-I didn’t have to think about “what to make for dinner”.

-I didn’t have to buy the groceries involved

-I didn’t have to chop, peel or slice

-Indeed it helped me with portion control

-I didn’t forget an ingredient!

The outside of the box that was delivered to me, sums it up beautifully!

HelloFresh is now delivering their healthy and convenient meal kits from coast to coast, to help all Canadians answer that age-old question: “What’s for dinner?”.  I don’t know about you but I battle this question on a regular basis!!

Inside the above box contained everything I needed in 3 convenient boxes – all labelled beautifully as well as a well designed recipe booklet. I also loved these boxes fit conveniently into my fridge!

Inside the boxes I found EVERYTHING I needed for the recipe. I was also impressed with the meat/fish selection that was sourced locally.

Then came the fun part to actually cook dinner,  knowing that I didn’t have to go grocery shopping or that I forgot an item at the grocery store (story of my life).

Here’s one nights dinner – Autumnal Italian Sausage

Here’s a photo of another nights dinner – Parmesan Crusted Cod with Roasted veggies.

There’s only two aspects of the service that I didn’t like:

-the lemongrass that was involved with one recipe was pretty powerful.

-the amount of packaging involved however I’m not sure there is anyway around this.

HelloFresh is just perfect for anyone who is stretched for time or just wants to have a break from buying groceries all time and thinking about whats for dinner.

Hope you give it a try one day. I’m sure many of you are tired after cooking and entertaining over the holidays. I also think this would be a great gift for a new parents or for senior citizens who no longer drive. Yes – gift certificates are available.

For more information:

Website: Www.HelloFresh.Ca

Instagram/Twitter: HelloFreshCA

Disclosure: HelloFresh provided me with a complimentary meal delivery service however all opinions are my own

Lately, my favourite activity on a Saturday has been to visit Wychwood Farmers’ Market  (601 Christie St – Bathurst and St. Clair) and then head home to start cooking a storm.

Seriously, you are never going to find produce like this at your local grocery store.

In between chopping, I will be honest – I spend some time on Pinterest. Click here to see my Food Board which has over 350 ideas!

I’m now going to share with you what I served for Saturday night. As much as I like going out to restaurants – I really do enjoy the simple pleasure of cooking and eating in!

Here’s what was served:

Roasted Carrots with Curried Chickpeas and Creamy Citrus Dressing (original recipe found here). 

Side note: I’ve made roasted chickpeas before and they didn’t come out. I’m convinced this time the recipe turned out as I followed an important step to take them out out of their shells. Trust me, it wasn’t fun and it was time consuming but it was worth it.

Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce (original recipe can be found here) ps bought the chicken at Sanagans and we think it was worth it.

Squash Stuffed with Candied Walnuts (sorry, no recipe..just made it up).

A Simple Salad made with veggies I bought at the Farmer’s Market.

As you can see, dinner was delicious.

Happy Cooking!!

I had a packet of ground beef hanging around in the freezer from TruLocal and wanted to do something with it besides making a hamburger. So I decided that meatballs might be a good idea. Believe it or not, this was my first time making meatballs!

I then headed over to Pinterest and selected the recipe where I didn’t have to buy anything for the recipe. Am I the only one who does this? LOL. I love cooking but hate having to go get the ONE item I might be missing for a recipe.

Here’s what I made:

Incredible Baked Meatballs (Original Recipe Found Here)

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
2 eggs, beaten
1⁄2 cup milk
1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup panko breadcrumbs or 1 cup breadcrumbs
1 small onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper
1⁄4 cup minced fresh basil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients with hands.
2. Form into golfball sized meatballs.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Before I knew it I was making those golf sized meatballs.

And 30 minutes later I was eating these delicious baked meatballs.

Happy Cooking!

I read a blog post this week from Glimmer Life and had a good chuckle when I read the following line:  “I basically designed my whole house around inspirational pics on Pinterest”. I left a comment on her facebook page that my entire menu is curated from Pinterest. Seriously.

Here’s a few recipes I tried last week that I found on Pinterest!

Pesto Salmon and Italian Vegetables in Foil Packets (click here for the original recipe by www.cookingclassy.com

1 lb of trimmed and washed Green Beans

4 pieces of Salmon

Pesto (I made my own – click here for an easy recipe)

Directions:

1. Cut tin foil into 4 large squares.

2. Take a handful of green beans and place it in the middle of the square.

3. Take the salmon and place it on top of the green beans.

3. Spread the pesto over the salmon.

4. Wrap the packet up and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes

FINAL

Zucchini Boats ..the original recipe by www.domesticsuperhero.com can be found here). please note: I improvised a lot!

1. Take 4 zucchinis and scoop out the inside to make a “boat”

2. Spread some pizza sauce in the “boat”

3. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and oregano.

Bingo – you have a side dish for the salmon.

FINAL RESULT

As for dessert….Apple Pie Bites:

It really was a simple recipe (um ….3 ingredients)  but I messed up the directions and it looked NOTHING like it was suppose to. However my guests did not notice as they didn’t see the original recipe.

The original recipe from www.cakescottage.com can be found here . (please click on the link so you can see what it was SUPPOSE to look like)

 Happy Cooking!

 

We all grew up with regular pasta, right? Then whole wheat pasta came along and now I’d like to introduce you to yet another type of pasta. It’s from Catelli and it’s called SuperGreens.

It’s rich in flavour and packed with veggie goodness. Think spinach, zucchini, broccoli and kale.

I’m not kidding. I’m a fan.

For dinner one night, I cut up some yellow and green zucchini and fried it up with some garlic and onions.

I added it to the Catteli SuperGreens Pasta and before you know it – I had myself a pretty yummy dinner.

This is the perfect dinner to make when you have almost nothing in the fridge. All you need is pasta (which I’m sure is in your pantry), a zucchini, onion and garlic. It couldn’t get easier.

While we are on the subject of pasta: I’m curious to know how many varieties of pasta are in your pantry? Please leave a comment and let me know. I’m really curious seeing as I’ve blogged about “How Many Cereals are in Your Pantry” and “How Many Mustards are in Your Fridge”. For the record: I’ve got 5 different boxes of pasta in my pantry. (spaghetti, penne, farfaile, macaroni, fusilli )

Disclosure: I was provided with product for this blog post, however all opinions are my own

 

The Breville Fast Slow Pro™ is simply a BRILLIANT appliance. It’s basically a pressure cooker but it knows the time, temperature and pressure that different foods need. See what I mean? Its BRILLIANT.

As you know I own quite a few appliances. You name it. I have it. But I’ve never ever owned a pressure cooker nor can I remember the last time I went to someones house who owned one.

However a food blogger friend of mine has been regularly posting about her pressure cooker recipes and I was intrigued, to say the least.

So when the Breville Fast Slow Pro™ arrived, I immediately invited Carole over to teach me a thing or two about using a pressure cooker. While she talked about the ins and outs of pressure cooking, I chopped a few ingredients for the soup.

Recipe for Split Pea Soup

1 carrot – diced

1 parsnip – diced

1 onion – chopped

2 celery stalks – chopped

2 cups of  rinsed dried split peas

6 cups of vegetable stocks (4 cups of stock and 2 cups of water – to be honest)

salt and pepper.

Directions: Put all these ingredients into the Breville Fast Slow Pro™, close the lid, press a few buttons and wait 25 minutes. Could cooking get any easier? I don’t think so.

In 25 minutes – Carole opened the lid and just like magic, dinner was served. Yes – Carole got to open the lid as I must admit I kept thinking the pot was going to explode. But Carole assured me that these days, pressure cookers are safe, safe, safe.

I had so much fun that I made a second batch of soup. Seriously.

Here’s a few things that I learned from Carole:

Some Definitions:
QR – quick release
NPR – natural pressure release
PSI – pounds per square inch

Things I Can Look Forward to Making:

I can take a frozen chicken breast and have dinner ready in 45 minutes
I can make half an acorn squash in 15 minutes
I can make beets in 24 minutes.
I can make small potatoes in 5 minutes.
I can make a whole sweet potato in 15 minutes with natural release

Great Websites about Pressure Cooking:

www.pressurecookingtimecharts.com
www.pressurecookingtoday.com

Plus she says that it’s important to follow recipes and the instructions that go along with it. (note to self)

Happy Cooking!

Disclosure: Breville Canada provided me with this appliance, however all opinions are my own.

 

After reading a review of Bar Buca by Amy Pataki in the Toronto Star, I knew that I wanted to visit this restaurant STAT. She gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, so I put Bar Buca on my radar and off I went for lunch. I was a bit nervous that it  was going to be busy so I was cautious and arrived at 11:30 am. It was a good move.

The space has a few shared tables and a bar as well.(capacity 38).  I like watching the ‘action” so I plunked myself onto one of those high backed chairs!

The menu is divided into small bites, cold plates, hot plates, fried, stuffed focaccia and skewers. Love it. It’s perfect for sharing ….and priced between $3 and $14.

So what did I order? Let’s put it to you this way – TASTY STUFF.

Specifically: POLIPO – baby octopus, soppressata, crema de palate. What you really need to know is that it was perfectly prepared.

We also ordered: CARCIOFI CRUDI – raw artichokes, buffalo yogurt, bottarga, senape. In other words: More Perfection

Based on a few reviews, I knew I would be ordering the PORCHETTA SANDWICH (roast tuscan pork, mascarapone, apple mostarda, agliata). What you really need to know about this sandwich is that it is MASSIVE. So glad we split it!

Last but not least – we ordered the BRUSCHETTA which is described as: duck yolk, beech mushroom and truffle. Again – DELICIOUS.

Conclusion: This restaurant offers some well executed dishes in a cool atmosphere with some decent service. Not to mention that the menu appeals to me as it’s certainly not an ordinary menu. Not even close.  I know I will be returning one morning with my macbook… to try their coffee and pastries. I have no doubt that I’m going to be impressed. Most likely I will be making it for dinner one day too. Clearly I’ve become a quick fan of Rob Gentiles’ style. (who is the Executive Chef).

For more information:

Bar Buca 75 Portland St. Toronto 416 599 2822

Hours: Monday to Friday 7 am to 1 am, Saturday and Sunday 8 am to 2 am.

Twitter; @barbucatoronto

Newsflash: There’s a new appliance in my kitchen. It’s the Philips Airfyer. Take a peek… Isn’t she beautiful?

Besides being gorgeous, here’s a few other first impressions:

-It’s simple to use: i.e. one dial is the temperature control and the other dial is the timer. This could not get easier.

-The cord is in the back and slides beautifully into the appliance. No more dangling cords that need to be wrapped around an appliance!!

-You don’t need to use any OIL. (or if you do..it’s less than a tablespoon). The technology in this airfyer is genius.

-My kitchen didn’t heat up and I’m anticipating using the Philips Airfyer ALL SUMMER LONG.

So what did I make?

-baked potatoes (in 12 minutes)

-a piece of salmon (in 10 minutes exactly)

Voila…dinner!!

For more information:

 http://www.philips.ca/c/home-cooking/viva-collection-airfryer-with-rapid-air-technology-hd9220_26/prd/en/ 

Disclosure: The Philips Airfryer was provided to me however all opinions are my own.

 

Do you do the same things ALL the time? i.e go to movies, go for dinner, go to the theatre. Well, I have a suggestion!

Head out to see Les Coquettes.  I promise you that this will not be a boring evening and it’s definitely something different. Not off -the -charts different but certainly different.

Here’s a bit more info about Les Coquettes. They are a talented group of cabaret performers with a modern twist. It was the perfect evening that combined great entertainment with great food.

We started off the nite with cocktails while listening to live music being played by the talented Tyler Yarema . Then dinner arrived and then the show started. Please note that you can either go for dinner and see the show, or just go to the show. I love that there’s two options.

If you go for dinner, I can assure you that you will have an amazing dinner. Chef Woods from CWCatering, certainly knows what he is doing in the kitchen as my salad, main course and dessert were fantastic.  In fact, everyone at my table was thrilled with their meal.

As for the show: Totally entertaining in a very tasteful way. The MC was brilliant – she was funny and cheeky and really got the audience warmed up. The different acts that were performed by Les Coquettes were fun, entertaining and very professional. There were lots of smiling audience members – that’s for sure.

A few hours zipped by and we all walked out reviewing the fantastic evening – perfect food and a perfect show! Not to mention, that it was SOMETHING DIFFERENT and not just your typical nite out for dinner and a movie.

I highly recommend going to see Les Coquettes. Upcoming shows will be taking place April 4th, April 15th and April 22nd.

For Further info: Click on their website : Les Coquettes or call 1 877 821 7803.