Last of the Long-Weekend

After this weekend, I don't want to wake up to this ever again:

Snow out back door

Sunday was spent shoveling in the freezing cold, cleaning the house from top to bottom, and making a pot of chili to warm my soul.

In the evening I curled up on the couch and watched the first episode of both Mad Men and Weeds, to decide which series to start next.  I am thinking Mad Men.  Have you watched either?  What do you think of them?

I was craving some gourmet food for lunch today so ....

Hehe ;-)

My nephew wanted to check out Chuck E Cheese's, so that's what we did.  We played some games, are some crappy food and he got smothered with kisses.  

For dessert I bought him a sundae from DQ.

Later, I enjoyed dinner and a visit with a friend at Korea House.  Mmmmm!

I loved having Monday off.  Every weekend should be a long-weekend!

Was it a long-weekend for you?  How did you spend it?  

Have you ever seen Mad Men or Weeds?  Which do you prefer/recommend?

Winter Stir Fry

I had a bunch of veggies in the fridge, and was craving something flavourful and healthy, yet hearty.  I decided to make a winter stir-fry.

 

This stir fry contained: rutabaga, beets, red onion, carrots, red cabbage, zucchini and kale.  

 

 

I chopped the veggies into bite-size pieces and heated 1 T of coconut oil in a wok.  I cooked the rutabaga, beets, red onion, and carrots until almost tender, salting a bit throughout.  I then tossed in 1 small (160 ml) can of coconut milk, 3 tsp of curry powder and 1 tsp ginger.  Next I added the cabbage and zucchini and cooked those until tender before adding the kale just until wilted.

I sprinkled sesame seeds on top before digging in.

This made a perfect lunch, and I have plenty left over to enjoy as a side dish with another couple of meals.  I had never put rutabaga, beet or kale in a stir fry before, but they were great!

What are your favourite winter veggies?  

What veggies do you typically use in stir fry?

Night on the Town

So yeah ... remember all that shoveling I did yesterday?  I woke up this morning and it was like it had never happened.  All the shoveled spots were covered in snow about three times higher than I had initially shoveled.  Since the snow was still falling heavily today I decided to leave it and tackle it tomorrow. 

This evening I met up with a bunch of friends at Bushwakker for dinner and drinks.  I caught a cab, since there was no way I was going to take my car out in the crazy snow.

 

I had a taco salad for dinner, and oatmeal stout to drink.

It doesn't look that appetizing, but it was pretty good.

The later part of the evening was spent at an Irish pub for some live music and more bevvies.  I had a great time, and I can't get over how much I love my friends.  They are family to me.

What did you do on your Saturday evening?  Is it a long weekend for you?  Any fun plans?

Fortuna

A new Italian restaurant opened up in town recently.  I had heard mixed reviews, but I wanted to try it for myself.  Today 11 coworkers and I braved the blowing snow to go for lunch to Fortuna.  

When you walk in the front doors there is a large, empty foyer area before you get up to the entrance to the restaurant.  I thought this was kind of weird looking.  We were greeted by numerous hostesses/waitresses and were able to watch the chefs in action while we waited for our table.

 

We had seen a lunch menu on Twitter and were hoping to order from that.  Unfortunately the lunch menu was only a temporary thing (must have been very temporary because it hasn't been open very long), and we had to order from the regular menu.  I was disappointed in this because I wasn't too keen on spending 20+ dollars at lunch, which is the price of most entrees.  All "fine-dining" restaurants that are open for lunch should have a lunch menu, in my opinion.  There were two lunch options given to us verbally.  One was a steak panini and the other was fish.

They brought out some delicious bread with oil and balsamic vinegar.  

 

The menu was extensive, yet on the pricier side.  I ended up choosing one of the cheaper options which was spaghetti con polpette (spaghetti with meatballs) for $17. 

The food came out very quickly, which was nice at lunch.

 

This spaghetti was alright, but not great.  The noodles were overcooked.  The meatballs were flavourful, but quite "mushy".  The sauce was somewhat bland ... I thought it was better with a bit of balsamic in it (which I used from my bread plate).  A dash of red wine could have made a difference.  I prefer my own homemade spaghetti and meatballs.

A few others had the same dish and had similar thoughts. 

Some of my pals got the gnocci.  

I had a taste, and it was by far the fluffiest gnocci I have ever tasted.  

The sauce was rich, but the gnocci was light.  We all decided that it would be great with a glass of vino to cut through the richness of the sauce.  Those who dined on this commented that a bit of greens or something on the side would have been nice, especially for the high price.

A friend found something foreign in her meatball, which she was chewing on and removed from her mouth to see that it was a bit of metal from a dish scrubby.  She politely told the waiter, and was offered a dessert.  We were all on our way out, so she declined the dessert, and instead was given $3 off of her bill.  When a restaurant is just starting out and trying to build a reputation, I don't think this was the best approach.  I think that her meal should have been comped.

I expected more from this restaurant, but was disappointed overall, as were the other 11 diners.  The food was definitely overpriced, and not spectacular by any means.

I have heard that the appetizers are really good, and I always give a restaurant at least two chances.  Chris and I will have to go for dinner one night and give it another shot.

Have you tried any new restaurants lately?  Have you been to this restaurant?  If so, what did you order, and what did you think of it?

(Note: Some local friends have mentioned that they don't know how to leave a comment.  You don't need an account or anything.  Just click on comments below and then you can leave a comment anonymously - but leave your name if you want me to know who you are!)

Five on Friday

1)  Last night we used the leftover duck to make Korean inspired duck tacos.  

They included: duck (chopped finely and fried up a bit in sesame oil), orange sauce (made with chicken broth, OJ, sugar, orange zest and cornstarch to thicken it), and a Korean slaw (kimchi, red cabbage, red onion, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, green onion, and ginger).  Chris worked his magic on the slaw, while I threw together the sauce and fried up the meat.  Perfection in a taco.

I cannot wait to make these again!

2)  Dessert was this loaf that I made the other day (pumpkin gingerbread with spiced butter cream).

3)  My bloggy friend Sophia wrote this article about eating disorders (which is an area I'd love to do some academic research in one day).  I was lucky enough to meet Sophia in San Fransisco and hang out with her for a weekend a couple years ago.  We ate some pretty amazing food!

4)  This morning there was no snow.  By 4:00 this afternoon the ground was covered in a very, very thick blanket of the white stuff.  I came home from work and opened my front door to this:

Then I got out there and got to work.

Before:

After:

I got the back yard, and alley done too - it is good exercise!

5)  After all that hard work, I figure I deserve the 3.5 hours I have booked at the spa for tomorrow morning.  I'm getting a massage, salt scrub and facial.  Bliss.

How was your Friday?  What do you have planned for the weekend? 

Seafood Pajeon (Korean Savoury Pancake)

I first tried pajeon at Korea House and thought it was fabulous.  Chris said that we could easily make one at home; so on the weekend, that's what we did.

Pajeon is a savoury Korean pancake that traditionally has green onions in it.  We made a seafood version, flavoured with kimchi and kimchi juice, because, duhhh, kimchi is love.

Seafood Pajeon

(Makes 1 large pancake, or about 6 small ones)

1 cup sifted flour
1 egg
4 T or so kimchi juice (just spoon out of the tub or squeeze the kimchi)
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup water
1 cup mixed precooked seafood (or seafood of choice) - thawed or fresh
1/4 chopped kimchi
1/2 tsp salt
Canola or sesame oil for frying

Mix everything except oil until it looks like pancake batter.  Heat the oil in the pan until a drop of batter or water sizzles in it.  Pour the batter in.  Cook until browning slightly, and then flip and cook the other side.  Slide off the pan and serve with soy sauce or another dipping sauce.  We mixed soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and fresh garlic.

Mixed Seafood (frozen from Costco)

Batter

Fry it up!

Looking good!

That's a pretty pajeon!

Dig in!

Have you ever had pajeon?  Have you cooked anything new lately?

10 on Tuesday

1)  Obama!!!!!  Enough said.

2)  Can't wait to make this.  Soup is my ultimate comfort food.  What's yours?

3)  On Sunday evening I made meatloaf and mac and cheese for dinner - more comfort food at it's finest.  I don't have a meatloaf recipe; I kind of just wing it each time I make it.  This time I tossed together ground pork, ground beef, a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, an egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  I cooked it at 350 for about an hour.  The mac and cheese was this recipe.


 

4)  Have you ever wondered what Twitter would have been like in the 80s?  I find this video amusing especially because of the nostalgic feelings it brings, but also because I spent some intimate time quite recently (in the 21st century) with DOS, while doing my honours thesis.  It was quite the experience.  ... brought me back to about grade 3.

5) We tried a new (to us) restaurant this evening - Mai Phuong.  I had 1 egg roll to start, followed by half this bowl of wonton broth and veggies (there weren't any wontons in it).  My entree was ginger tofu with rice and veggies.  I really liked the tofu, but everything else was pretty average.



 

6)  I want these leggings more than I probably should.  Don't judge.  I doubt I'll by them ($45 is crazy for leggings), but I will probably dream about them.  Every night.

7)  We have decided we are either going to make Korean inspired duck tacos on Thursday OR a duck breakfast hash with potatoes fried in the rendered duck fat.  Which should we make?

8)  I am really getting into The Walking Dead.  Who knew a show about zombies could be so good!?

9)  I'm participating in a fun blogger gift exchange again this year.  Last year it was a secret Santa exchange, but this year my partner is Jen.  We've never met, and never read each others blogs before being paired up in this exchange.  I'm happy to meet a new bloggy friend!

10)  It's only Tuesday, and I am exhausted.  Good thing there is a long-weekend in the near future!  My plans include a LOT of relaxing and of course being awesome (that's a given).

How's your week going so far?  Do you have anything fun planned for the long weekend?