Food Mamma

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#whatsyourbento

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Did you know Edo has bento boxes? What a great way to enjoy their delicious Teriyaki meals with one of your favourite sides! Have one of Edo’s suggested Bento Boxes or create your own!

Here’s my Bento – I named it “Under the Sea”! Sizzling Shrimp with Tempura Shrimp and Dynamite Rolls as the sides. Can you tell I love
shrimp?

Want to win a $50 gift card to Edo and create your own bento box? Leave a
comment below, on Instagram or on Facebook and let me know what you
would put in your bento. Contest closes on Sunday, May 22nd, 2016 at
11:59pm MT.

international hummus day…and a sabra giveaway!

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Did you know today is International Hummus Day? We love hummus. I love that’s it’s packed with protein and that it’s easy to make. The kids love dipping their veggies in it, making me happy they are eating their veggies!

Hummus is great when entertaining, especially this Jalapeno Hummus. When you don’t feel like making it though, there’s Sabra!

Sabra’s dips are made from fresh ingredients and are inspired by flavours from around the globe. From Classic Hummus to Roasted Red Pepper, Carmelized Onion and the ever popular, Roasted Garlic. To celebrate Hummus Day, Sabra is offering up a prize pack valued at $50!

Want to win? Leave a comment, send a tweet or leave a message on Facebook and let me know, what do you like to dip in your hummus?  Contest closes on Sunday, May 22nd at 11:59PM, MT.

panzanella salad

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When I went grocery shopping last week, tomatoes were not on the list since I had so many at home. But when I saw the container of coloured ones, I just couldn’t resist. Red, orange, green, purple – they were just so pretty!

I immediately thought of a Panzanella salad – tomatoes and bread, the perfect combination. I bought a loaf of French bread which got polished off way before I had time to make a salad. Did I mention we love bread around here? I went and bought another loaf on the weekend, determined that it would make it into the salad this time.

Saturday was a hot day so we pulled a few marinated items from the freezer (so handy!) and enjoyed them with this salad. It was bright and refreshing and we polished off the bowl.

Panzanella Salad

1/2 loaf French bread, cubed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, cubed
1/2 red onion, sliced
10 basil leaves, chopped

Dressing:
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TB white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
vinegar

Place the cubed bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees until toasted.

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing. In a bowl, combine the vegetables, add the toasted bread and drizzle with the dressing. Let sit for a little while for the bread to soak up the dressing.

knafi

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Hope all the moms out there had a great Mother’s Day. I got spoiled by my boys with cards and bath bombs and even made it to the movies!

We had our moms over for lunch on Sunday, celebrating how awesome they are. We had spinach salad, dhokra, barbecued chicken and oven-fried cassava. There was also plenty for dessert – fruit, a bundt and knafi.

I tried Knafi at my aunt’s house a couple years ago and loved it! Shredded phyllo enveloping a sweet ricotta mixture – it was so good, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I finally got the recipe for this Lebanese treat last week and thought it was perfect to try out for Mother’s Day. I was surprised at how easy this dessert was. In fact, Q did all the work. The crunchy phyllo, the warm cheese – it was heaven!

Knafi 

2 lbs. ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar
1 lb shredded phyllo
3/4 cup melted butter

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 TB lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine the ricotta with the sugar. Place the shredded phyllo in a large bowl and pour the melted butter on top. Mix until the pastry is coated with the butter.

Spread half the pastry on the bottom of a 9 x 13″ pan. Spread the ricotta mixture on top of the phyllo. Cover the cheese layer with the remaining phyllo.

Bake for 1 hour until golden brown. In the meantime, make the syrup (see below). Remove from the oven and pour cold syrup over top. Serve warm.

Syrup: Combine the sugar and water and stir until dissolved. Boil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and boil for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

2-ingredient chocolate magic shell

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One of my favourite things from when I was little is enjoying the chocolate magic shell on top of ice cream. You know the one: chocolate syrup that once it hits the cold ice cream becomes a hard shell.  I was happy when I rediscovered this a few months ago, adding nuts or sprinkles before the chocolate hardened.

A while back, I saw them make a homemade version of this on tv and was surprised at how easy it was. We had this tonight and it was so good! Be sure you use a chocolate that you like and you will love it!

Chocolate Magic Shell

1/2 cup chocolate, milk or dark
1 TB coconut oil

In a bowl, add your favourite chocolate and the coconut oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Let it cool a bit before pouring it on your favourite ice cream.

guacamole

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! What better way to celebrate than with some guacamole and chips. Guacamole is one of the easiest things to make and is a staple around here. It’s perfect for Taco Tuesday but also a great appetizer when people come over.

There are so many ways to make guacamole but this is how we like it. I avoid the mayo and sour cream and I prefer a chunkier guacamole. I use a fork to mash up the avocados; no processor required!

Guacamole
3 avocados
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
cilantro
1 lime
salt
hot sauce, optional

Mash the avocados with a fork. Add in the onions, tomato and cilantro until mixed. Depending on how juicy your lime is, you may just need 1/2. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.

trunch at pampa

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Looking for something a little different than the traditional Mother’s Day lunch? How about Trunch? Available at Pampa Brazilian Restaurant, Trunch is the perfect blend of brunch, lunch and tea.

I was invited to Pampa to check out what they were cooking up. This is no ordinary brunch!

Pampa has an amazing salad bar featuring fruit and charcuterie platters, fresh house breads with jams and cheeses along with 40 salads, dressings and sauces. I loved the beef carpaccio and the fresh mint dressing was amazing. I may have used that with my meat.

They also have some hot selections like french toast, brazilian crepes and eggs. Meat is carved tableside, and you can enjoy a limitless amount. For Trunch, you can enjoy Pampa sausage, leg of lamb, chicken, marinated pork loin, barbecued pork belly and my favourite, Picanha or the rumpstake. Your delicious meal will be followed by freshly brewed House Apple tea.

This is a unique experience to celebrate with the people you love. My 7 year old loved everything about Pampa, enjoying every juicy bite of meat and even eating some vegetables.

Trunch is offered every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning with a special Mother’s Day Trunch on May 7th and 8th, which will include a surprise gift for each mom. Pampa is also offering a Victoria Day Trunch on Sunday, May 22nd and on Monday, May 23rd, which will feature a unique cheese bread-making demonstration at noon. Don’t worry dads, a special Father’s Day Trunch will be served on Sunday, June 19th.  Adults can enjoy Trunch for $29.50 per guest while children aged 12 and under can dine for only $15.95 per child. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling (587) 354-3441.

Cheers to all the fabulous mothers! 

ninja coffee bar (product review)

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I love the idea of being a minimalist but that’s just not me. I do love a good appliance and all those kitchen gadgets, so I was excited when the folks at Ninja sent over a Ninja Coffee Bar for me to review.

This machine has some great features! It allows you to do a Classic Brew, for when you just want a plain old cup of coffee. It also lets you do a Rich Brew and a Specialty Brew for a more concentrated brew to make those specialty coffees. My favourite feature is the Over Ice button. I usually prefer a cold drink over a hot one and this button allows you to have an intense iced coffee. It increases the concentration to compensate for the melting ice! See below for a delicious recipe for Thai-Style Iced Coffee!

The Ninja Coffee Bar allows you to choose how much or how little coffee you want it to make. You can make a cup, travel size, a half carafe or a full carafe! This ability to choose how much you want sure does save a lot of wasted coffee but also allows you to serve a crowd.

Other things worth mentioning are the drip stop, so you can enjoy a cup of coffee mid-brew; the programmable delay brew, so you can have your cup of joe waiting for you in the morning; and the clean cycle indicator, so you always know when it’s time to clean the machine.

The machine also comes with the Ninja Easy Frother so that you can froth your milk to make those specialty drinks at home. Add your milk, microwave and pump! This was a fave for hubby.

If you are a coffee-lover, this is definitely a machine that you will love! Don’t forget, coffee is great for desserts too. Just pour some over your favourite ice cream, and you’ve got yourself some affogato. Delish!

This Thai-Style Iced Coffee is so good. Love that it’s icy cold and the addition of condensed milk is a total bonus.

 

Thai-Style Iced Coffee
From ninjakitchen.com

3 Ninja® Single-Serve Scoops (or 3 tablespoons) ground coffee
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup 2% milk
2 cups ice

Instructions
Size: Cup setting
Brew: Over Ice

Following the measurement above, place the ground coffee into the brew basket.
Combine
the sweetened condensed milk and 2% milk in a large plastic cup; stir
to combine. Add the ice to the cup; set cup in place to brew.
Select the Cup size; press the Over Ice Brew button.
When brew is complete, stir to combine.

Disclaimer – Ninja provided the Ninja Coffee Bar for review. All opinions are my own.

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clean out the fridge beef stir-fry

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Sometimes I’m overly optimistic and I buy way too many vegetables. I plan meals that don’t come into fruition and sometimes these healthy morsels seem to get forgotten in the fridge. Stir-fries are the perfect dish to clean out your fridge and make use of all those veggies before they end up in the compost bin.

Yesterday, I went to the grocery store yesterday just to buy the beef. I was determined to use up everything that was in my fridge. Sadly, the red peppers didn’t make it, but I did manage to save the broccoli and the carrots. I even used up the half bag of salad that was in the fridge – the cabbage and the carrots, even the pumpkin seeds, were perfect for a stir-fry.

I dredged the beef in a flour mixture because I wanted the pieces to be a little crisp but you can totally skip that step. For the sauce, I sometimes just make a mixture of the sauces that are in the fridge, using up the last drops. This time, I made a slight variation to the sauce from the Mongolian Beef recipe, which was so delicious.

Mamma used up the veggies, the kids at the veggies, it was a good day!

Beef Stir-Fry

1 pound beef, cut into strips
1/2 cup flour
2 TB cornstarch
salt
pepper

vegetables

2 tsp oil
2 tsp ginger
2 TB minced garlic
1/2 cup soya sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TB corn starch
2 TB water

In a small saucepan, combine the first six sauce ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil. Combine the corn starch with the water and add to the sauce ingredients. Let simmer until thick.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in the flour mixture and pan fry. This can be done in batches. Keep aside. Drain the oil from the pan and add in any vegetables. Once they are almost cooked, add back the meat and add the sauce. Perfect with rice!