Thursday Night Dinner

Last night I made kimchi jjigae for the second time.  

It is usually served over rice, but Chris made ginger noodles which we had on the side instead.  

This soup/stew is very easy and full of flavour.  I followed this recipe, but used bacon instead of the pork belly and didn't have anchovies on hand, so used a tofu soup seasoning from the Korean grocery store in the stock instead.  The soup takes on the the most flavour from the kimchi and kimchi juice, however.  It is perfectly spicy.

This made a perfect Thursday night dinner.  

 

Have you tried kimchi yet?  Do you like ginger?

Under the Weather

Thanks for the well wishes - still not feeling 100%, but definitely getting better.  When I am feeling under the weather I usually crave soup, specifically Won Ton soup.   

I also like to eat spicy foods to help clear the sinuses.  Yesterday it was dak galbi with some rice and kimchi.

I wasn't really feeling up to cooking today so I stopped at my favourite restaurant, 13th Avenue Food & Coffee House, for some food to-go.  This restaurant was awarded the cities best veggie burger for the past few years in a row, and they have a few choices.  I got the Cathedral burger that has carrots, beets, sprouts and pickle on it - mmmm!

Hopefully I'll be back to my usual self for the weekend.  I have some fun plans, including seeing some bands play, a movie and a Christmas party.

How is your week going so far?  Anything fun planned for the weekend?

Sick Weekend

Friday evening I was exhausted after what felt like a really long week.  Both Chris and I were feeling a little under the weather, but we ventured out to my work Christmas party for a while.  The food was catered so that no one had to make anything. 

 

 

 

Saturday was spent lounging around until dinner time when we went to Korea House, and then out for some karaoke.  Again, it was an early night.

Breakfast this morning included eggs, bacon, and delicious potatoes.  

 

Didn't eat much else today, as I still don't feel great.  Sipping tea now, and hoping to feel better tomorrow.

How was your weekend?

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers/friends!  

I have a lot to be thankful for today.  We got hit with a snow storm last night, which was preceded by pouring rain.  The roads were sheets of ice today, covered in a thick layer of snow.

I looked out the front window this morning and dreaded all the shoveling I would have to do just to clear the walk and get out of the driveway.  I started in the backyard because I had to take the garbage out to the alley, which was an adventure in itself.  When I went around to do the front, I saw that my neighbor had shoveled it completely for me while I had been out back!  I was so happy - it made my day.

It took me 90 minutes to get to work instead of 7, but when I got stuck on the ice (tires spinning), a nice stranger gave me a push.  I was already going to be late for work, so I didn't have time to grab a coffee this morning.  A student noticed this and after lunch, she came bearing a giant coffee for me - what a sweetie!

In other news ... my dinner last night:

 

The weather was awful, and I didn't feel like cooking much so canned salmon and salad it was.  

I forgot how good canned salmon is - I love the bones!

Tomorrow evening is my work Christmas party and then Saturday we have plans for dinner and karaoke with some friends.  Should be a pretty nice little weekend :-)

What are you thankful for today?  What do you have going on this weekend?  If you are an American friend, how are you celebrating Thanksgiving?

Moose Calzone

I got some ground moose meat the other day, and we were trying to decide what to do with it.  After some deliberation we decided on a moose calzone.

I bought a frozen pizza dough, left it in the fridge overnight and then rolled it out and covered it with pizza sauce.

 

We browned the moose with some garlic, oregano and basil.  Then we added onion, bell pepper, tomato, mushrooms and spinach to soften the veggies a bit.  We had to add oil so it wouldn't stick, because moose meat is very lean.

We carefully transferred the rolled out dough to a cookie sheet (this took 4 hands), and covered it with the meat/veggie mixture and cheese (Mozza, Cheddar and Swiss).

 

Next we folded all the sides in and sprinkled some oregano on top.

We baked it for 20 minutes @ 400, then broiled it just for a few minutes to brown the top.

Beauty!

 

It was absolutely delicious!  

The moose was not gamey at all, and I was very pleased with how perfect this turned out.  You could substitute the ground moose for ground beef and it would taste very similar; or put whatever fillings you want in.  I am looking forward to making a calzone again.  It was fun!

Have you ever tried moose meat?  

Have you ever made a calzone or stromboli?  

(I looked up the difference between the two and there isn't much, except the stromboli is apparently rolled).

I still have another package and a half of moose meat, so there will be more moose in our future.  Tomorrow it's Shepard's pie!

Ten on Tuesday

1)  I need to make this goat cheese souffle soon!  I've made both a savoury souffle before, and a sweet one, and they were great!

2)  I whipped up some of my favourite cupcakes today - pumpkin cupcakes with salted caramel butter cream.  I like these because they are not too sweet.  They have a bit of spice, salt and sweet all mixed together.

You start with a gorgeous batter.

After baking it for a while you get perfect little cupcakes.

Then you make deep amber coloured caramel, mix it with butter and icing sugar, and then make 'em pretty!

 

And there you have it.  Find the recipe here.

3)  I also made some double chocolate cookies stuffed with Oreos. 

4)   Since some of you asked after my last post, Metric was great, and Gwar - even better!  I love live music!

5)  I saw this little critter crawling around outside this afternoon.  How it survived the -30 temps. we have already had, I have no idea!

6)  I really want to see "Seven Psychopaths" in the theater.  Chris and I also want to go see "Lincoln" and "Skyfall".  I love going to movies!  Have you seen any of these?  Thoughts?

7)  Last night I made potato soup and biscuits for dinner.  This soup recipe was passed down from my great grandma.  Find the recipes here.

 

8)  After linking to the potato soup and biscuit recipes above, I realized that I made this meal exactly one year ago on the same day (November 19th two years in a row). 

9)  We made a ridiculously delicious dinner this evening with moose in it!  Haha, stay tuned.

10)  I mentioned in this post of random facts about me, that I am obsessed with world maps and globes.  It's true.  I love them.  Some day I totally want to have this framed on my wall. 

11)  I know I titled this post "10 on Tuesday", but I just saw that the advertising banner on the top of my site is advertising World of Warcraft!?  Huh?!  Are my readers WOW players?  C'mon, reveal yourself!

What are your Tuesday things?  How's your week going so far?

Concert Weekend

I was craving Canadian style, greasy Chinese food last week, and finally enjoyed some with some work pals on Friday at lunch.  

I was beyond stuffed for the rest of the day, so I didn't eat much dinner.  We cooked up some potatoes in duck fat as part of dinner on Friday.  They were crisp and delicious.  We'll definitely be saving the duck fat next time we make duck.

 

I ate a bit before we headed out for the night to see Metric in concert!

Saturday morning we were up early.  After heading to Mr. Breakfast for a bite to eat, we were off to Winnipeg for yet another concert.  We arrived in Winnipeg around 3:00, but spent two hours in traffic trying to get to the hotel.  All the streets leading to the hotel were closed for an evening Santa Claus parade.  Who has parades in the evening!?  Needless to say we were frustrated and annoyed, and thirsty ;-)

We didn't have time to eat before heading to see Gwar.  

When the show ended we were covered in Gwar "blood" (one of us more than the other), and hungggggry!

 

Before heading home today we stopped at one of my favourite chain restaurants, Swiss Chalet.  

I don't care that it's mostly senior citizens that frequent this restaurant.

I love it!

Do you like Swiss Chalet?  What did you do this weekend?  What was the last concert you went to?

Reuben Sandwich

Last night we made a variation of the classic Reuben sandwich.  

We used rye bread, Swiss cheese, pastrami, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing.  I love sauerkraut, which is funny, because as a kid I thought it was vile.

All of this was grilled up and then we enjoyed it with clam chowder.

We have another, more unique variation in mind for another time ...

Friday already!  I'm excited to go and see Metric in concert tonight!  Then tomorrow we are going on a little road trip to see Gwar in Winnipeg.

What are you up to this weekend?  Have you ever had a Reuben sandwich?  What foods did you despise as a kid, but love now?

Perogy Night Fundraiser

This evening I met up with some friends at a the university bar for a perogy night fundraiser put on by a non-profit organization that one of my best buddies, Alaina, works for.  

Fundraisers like this are quite common in my city.  They are usually steak nights, but I have been to rib nights, pizza nights, and now a perogy night.  Tickets are always around $20-25 for these things, and you usually get a tasty beverage to accompany your meal.   

Are these types of fundraisers common in your city?

Mmmmm!  We love our Ukrainian food in Saskatchewan.  

I grew up on perogies, as my mom's side is Ukrainian.  I never got around to learning how to make them from my mom or grandma, but fortunately Christopher is going to teach me this December.  I'm excited!  

What is your nationality?  Have you learned any traditional recipes from a parent or grandparent?