So I've been deathly ill this week and my business lunch is cancelled. Instead of eating delicious food I'm wrapped in leopard print blankets drinking gallons of tea! Ever since last spring when I discovered Davidstea I've been kind of obsessed with it. Everytime I walk in to that place I spend an hour smelling all the different flavours and just chitchatting with the helpful staff. And i always leave with three new packets of tea Im trying to cut down on the frequency of my visits, It's getting a little crazy.
Claire, Renata and I went to visit the new Westmount location recently and tried a few different flavours. I tried a very strong black tea that smelled and tasted excatly like a campfire. I don't know how i feel about drinking campfire. My next purchase is definitely Claire's pick which was the oolong long life tea that has apricot, almond slices and peach in it. it's heavenly as a latte! I also really want to try their new buttered rum black tea that came out for fall.
My favorites are Spring break (green coconut), regal turc (black tea with pistachio and spices, of course), jumpy monkey (a mate tea with no caffeine that gives you a steady boost of energy, without the crash! i find it only works when steeped in hot milk!),and the vata ayurvedic (which is a herbal tea with chamomille, rosebuds, ginger and spearmint). I don't really like the taste of red rooibos but they have a good selection of green rooibos which is amazing! I love the green and fruity and i"m looking forward to tasting the swampwater.
There's so many to pick from and tea has so many health benefits that you just feel like you're doing something good for yourself! They also have fun recipes for tasty alcoholic beverages using specific teas and I'm sure this winter they'll have some warm drink recipes!
Now I think I might have to venture outside of my bed and go try their cold remedy tea...
Last Saturday I turned 24 and I hosted a dinner for 12 of my precious girlfriends. It was the long Labor Day weekend which ended the summer (the school calendar that is), and with a new job and free time running out I couldn't’t possibly do this without offering my gals the comfort foods I’m most comfortable and happy to create. Being me I characteristically left everything (and I mean EVERYTHING from cleaning + grocery shopping + birthday dress picking + cooking) to literally minutes before this dinner, and I could not have EVER done this without my wonderful mom who jumps at any opportunity to cook a few of her indistinguishable meals! Here are a few of our Czech dishes that, to me and my loved ones, taste like home and are fast and easy and perfect for the arrival of fall and winter:
At the party, this one was my mom’s fabrication…for this you could use your favorite white fish as long as it is flaky enough…Boil water with salt, chop pieces of fish (cod, halibut, or tilapia but she used cod), “leave them to boil” Meanwhile, in a separate frying pan, over some butter fry some finely chopped onions (white) and add (finely) chopped carrots, celery root and parsley root. Now you’re probably all wondering about the measurements and quantities…and I guess getting it to taste perfect every time is mastered over years of feeling these things out. Whether it’s an omelet or spaghetti, mothers especially are amazing at recognizing with their eyes and hands the absolute perfect proportions and priorities of the ingredients. Trust yourself and have fun! (sabrina's favorite way)
Claire: How long does this mixture in the pan heat for? Mommy: “until it’s foamy”, simply. (lots of stirring required) Next, add this mixture to the boiling water. Claire: “and how long should it boil for?” Mommy: “a while” Clearly there’s something to be said about practice and intuition and everyone’s got it so add that as an ingredient! Ok, anything left? YES! THE KEY ingredient! Ground Nutmeg….add as much as you think is important. Pepper is welcome and dried Marjoram too but Nutmeg is essential Right before serving, remove soup from heat so that it is no longer boiling, grab a bowl and mix together one egg (full) and 35% cream. WHISK into soup. Claire: “How much cream?” Mommy: “Hard to say” Claire: “so it can’t be boiling when you add the egg mix? What would happen?” Mommy: “the egg will turn into chunks, the appearance has to be smooth and creamy. You can decorate it with fresh chopped parsley and serve. I forgot to do that” It was perfect mummy, thank you
Now for the infamous potato salad that has appeared at every single Ponka dinner (ever), including every Christmas my whole entire life, and, as Kristina’s tastebuds joyfully recalled, at every one of my birthdays as I turned 5-6-7-8 […] years old! Not only does it have a very rich flavor, the exact taste is also magically always reproduced. This type of salad is found wherever there are potatoes, but check out the Czech way:
photo by Laura-Alexandra Vrabie
Boil “some” potatoes in their peels until they are cooked, and peel them. Leave them to cool. In a pan on the side, fry an entire very finely chopped white onion (to my mom this would be for about 10 potatoes and to me for about 5 or 6...I LOOOVE ONIONS!) in some olive oil until it is “cooked” (the vagueness comes with practice). Add a good three tablespoons of white vinegar (and lemon if you like) so that the onions are transparent; this becomes the “dressing” that has to be cooled down. Back to the COOLED potatoes: cut them into tiny cubes (1x1 cm) and put them in a bowl. The rest is your imagination! From my experience I have seen and made potato salads with anything from chopped ham, apples, and green peas!
Saturday’s additions were:
-5 chopped hard boiled eggs -One peeled and grated apple -Boiled carrots, celery root, parsley root (remember to always finely cut!) -chopped pickles -salt and pepper
When you’ve added and combined all these ingredients to your liking, stir-in the cooled onion dressing (which by the way also works nicely if you replace the vinegar with pickle juice) and then finish with however much mayonnaise you can handle! Of course, at this point everything is supposed to be cold and that also goes for the cutting of boiled ingredients as they would crumble if still warm!
Chicken Kiev
This is a very simple dish and if, throughout all its stages of preparation and cooking could be kept neat, it could actually be very cute and esthetically pleasing at a dinner party (as it is comes in a wrap-like form to reveal its ingredients in a swirly shape).
Take a chicken breast and wash it. Yes, I have always washed my chicken and from what I’ve noticed it seems that only Eastern Europeans do this. Or maybe it’s just me and Renata. Then manipulate it to try to get it as spread out and thin as you can, using a chicken beater hammer thingy (mine has vicious spikes) and a knife. The thinness is key as it will become a thick roll, so you have to let as much heat from the pan through to the center as possible! Add salt to both sides of the flattened chicken and a bit of pepper if you like. Spread Dijon on the surface and top first with swiss cheese and then ham keeping these ingredients flat. ((Sweet) pickle wedges are an idea too!)
Then you’ll need three bowls: 1) flour 2) egg 3) bread crumbs (keeping this order in mind) Then just grab one end of the chicken and tightly roll it onto itself. You’re going to need some fastening instruments, I either use toothpicks (which is what I used Saturday) but honestly I prefer string because it does a better job and nothing protrudes. Fasten roll tightly. Dunk the entire roll first into the flour, then the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs (prefer using hardened baguette that is grated into a bowl), coating it completely with each. Last weekend I tried Kikkoman’s Panko crumbs and didn’t like it as much, it’s a little too flaky. AND THEN it’s ready to be fried!! The surface should be golden and most of all it should be cooked to its center. Cut into little swirly circles and serve this wholesome hearty and super easy chicken recipe!
I think the trick to mastering any dish is practicing it often and, like with any craft, using mistakes to your advantage so that next time you can squash (no pun intended) and laugh at them before they may come up! Indulging in your imagination is fundamental but so is being responsible with it (considering taste combos and proportions); that’s where any dish is known to be your own. When it comes to cooking I personally think it’s important to focus on the preparation part (cutting and manipulating carefully, separating ingredients, considering needed textures, and the order and timing of effectuation)…is really just another way to be throwing in a little taste of love (sorry for the cheese) :) Thanks to my mom and wonderful friends for making my birthday the perfect night and inauguration of Fall! Love you!!
Large grocery store chains often tempt me with the convenience they offer: the possibility of finding everything from veggies to cheese to beer, all in one place, at any hour of the night. Also, unlike most farmer's markets, they take credit. However these little conveniences don't come for free. There's always a trade off. Always. And in this case of course, it's the quality and variety of produce and goods you get. However if there's one supermarket that surprises, it's definitely Akhavan on Sherbrooke in NDG.
Kristina and I often obsess over the wonderful treats this grocery store has to offer. From the thick delicious firm yogourt that is the closest thing to the one I tasted in Greece this summer to the quite large selection of olives. Kristina's favorite are the green olives with garlic and sesame seeds. I'm partial to the ones mixed in with sundried tomatoes, they add the perfect amount of sweetness to the whole mix.
This is an Iranien, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean supermarket so they have a lot of hard-to-find cheeses and specialties like their homemade tabouleh, moussaka, aubergine salad, falafels... In terms of feta cheese alone they have about 4 different types like Lebanese, Greek, cows milk, sheep's milk... Another favorite of ours is the Halloumi cheese that is so delicious grilled on the barbecue or fried(recipe coming soon!).
The nut counter is also a huge attraction for us especially since I tend to bake a lot with pistachios which are often impossible to find raw, unsalted and fresh!! Here, they have 2 types, Iranien and Californien for under 20$/kg!!! This is kind of amazing since they usually go for about 30$/kg at least.
Oh and the desserts. They offer an assortment of traditional pastries that are almost as good as what my greek grandmother makes. (Kristina raves about the baklava every time we set foot in here. I enjoy the pistachio mahmoul).
Basically Akhavan is my one and only favorite grocery store and I just thought you should know.
http://www.akhavanfood.com/main.shtml
(Ps. i dont even live in NDG, i just spend half my life at Kristina's so I get confused sometimes)
July 30th we threw our first raw meat party! I hosted a dinner based on the theme that we would dress up as animals and eat what they eat... raw meat. So i went down to atwater market that day and bought minced veal and steak from the Les Tours butcher. I was inspired by the recipes in this book on tartares by Laurence du Tilly that Claire had sent me from Paris for my birthday. The party was a success except for a few animal activists who now hate our guts. Also, it was luckily a cold summer night so the fur wasn't completely inappropriate...
recipes:
steak tartare (for 4 people, main course) -800g minced meat (must be really fresh and high quality so as not to get sick and die!!) -green onions -chives -diced dill pickles -capers -2 tbsp olive oil -2 tbsp walnut oil -dijon mustard to taste -salt and pepper
vin: rouge, Saint-Emilion
veal tartare (for 4 people, main course) -600g minced veal (once again needs to be super fresh!!!) -50g green olives -50g kalamata olives -2 tbsp olive oil -dash of truffle oil -place on a bed of arugula -salt and pepper
vegetable tartare with fresh cheese -dice in tiny cubes any vegetables you have on hand and enjoy such as carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomato, corn, radish, etc. -mix all veggies together with olive oil -place a portion of the fresh cheese (we used amazing italian ricotta) on a plate and cover with the veggie mix -salt and pepper
