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state and main

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When a restaurant is able to provide me with many choices for appetizers that I can fill myself with a meal of them, I am a happy girl.  That is exactly what happened last week when I checked out the new State and Main with some media friends. State and Main is the new kid on the block, opening its doors in Calgary at Chinook Centre. From the same people that brought us Original Joe’s, State and Main offers classic comfort food with character.

All the appetizers we enjoyed were delicious! These included the Chicken Gyoza, Spicy Tuna Tartare, Dragon Boat Lettuce Wraps, Mama’s Meatballs, Calamari and Butter Chicken Poutine. My favourite were the Bang Bang Shrimp. I could probably have eaten these all by myself.

The mains were also tasty and the ones we tried included the Long Beach Fish Tacos, Red Thai Shrimp Curry and the Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak. The fish tacos were a fave amongst our whole group.

 

Definintely looking forward to going back to try out the dessert menu and for some more Bang Bang Shrimp!

State & Main on Urbanspoon

oeb breakfast co.

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I’ve been wanting to check out OEB Breakfast Co. for a while now and I finally got an opportunity a couple of weeks ago. I had attempted once before but the over one hour wait was not going to work for my little guy. This time, I met a friend early on a weekday and we were seated within a few minutes. Definitely the best time to go.

Opened almost four years ago, this cute little place is located conveniently on Edmonton Trail. The menu is extensive and it was so hard to decide what to have. I had heard many things about their Box’d breakfasts and thought I’d give one of those a try.  I went with A-Lott A-Lox -poached eggs, herb potatoes, Quebec curds, cured salmon, fresh dill, Spanish capers, brown butter hollandaise – all served in a little takeout box.

The food was so good! The eggs were cooked perfectly and the soft yolk oozed over the herb potatoes and cheese curds. The salmon was fresh and the hollandaise was perfect.

My friend had the vegetarian option and the eggs sprinkled with paprika and sitting on top of avocado and tomatoes looked so delicious.

There are still so many menu items to try, I can’t wait for my next visit. Breakfast anyone?

OEB Breakfast Co. on Urbanspoon

apple pie triangles

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You know that commercial where a guy is just handed food day to day by his mother not really seeing how it’s made and then eventually, when he goes off to university, he looks at a pan and just chucks it, not knowing what to do with it? That scares me.

Any chance we get, my four year old is in the kitchen with me. It’s important for me that he sees how food is being prepared and that he’s involved in the process. I definitely don’t want him to end up like the guy in the commercial.

Q can be a picky eater. He’s moody with food and there’s always negotiations. I know that this is just payback for all the times I gave my parents a hard time. I have noticed a huge difference when my little guy helps in the kitchen though. He feels a sense of ownership over the food and he is so proud of what he has made that he truly wants to eat it and he enjoys it so much more. He helped make curry a few weeks ago, measuring everything out on his own and stirring the pot. There was a huge sense of accomplishment and he ate way more than usual that day. I loved it.

Last week, when I had some time to spend in the kitchen, he decided he wanted to make apple pie. Since I was busy making other stuff, this became his project.

I peeled the apple and he went about cutting it with his little knife into bite sized pieces.

He measured out the cinnamon and brown sugar, folded the pastry into a triangle and happily brushed the tops with a beaten egg.

He was so proud of himself and thought the apple pie that he made all by himself was the best thing ever.  He couldn’t wait to eat it, asking every few minutes, “is it done yet”? This excitement of something that he has created for his family to enjoy is truly amazing. This is a simple recipe that is perfect for getting the kids involved. Super yummy too!

Apple Pie Triangles

1 sheet puff pastry
1 apple, peeled and chopped
2 TB brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 TB flour
1 egg, beaten

In a bowl, combine the apple with sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and flour. Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into twelve squares. Place filling in the middle of each square and fold over, making a triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the top of each pastry with the egg and cut a couple of slits to allow steam to escape. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

pineapple salsa

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We had a great time this weekend at Sun and Salsa. It’s one of my favourite festivals of the year, and it’s fun going from vendor to vendor and sampling salsa. Apparently, I didn’t get my fill and when I saw the pineapple sitting on the counter, I knew I wanted to turn it into salsa.

I used a pineapple corer that I had borrowed from my dad and it worked perfectly! I was surprised at how easily it cut the pineapple into perfect rings.

I added some red onion, garlic, a squeeze of lime and a squirt of hot sauce topped off with some salt and cilantro. The sweet pineapple with the savoury onions and some heat was tasty and went perfect with the leftover salmon that we made tacos with.  The remainder was scooped up with some salty taco chips. So much for leftovers!

Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple
Red Onion
Garlic
Lime Juice
Salt
Cilantro
Hot sauce or a jalapeno

Just toss the ingredients together and adjust the lime and salt to your liking.

chocolate mint ice cream….and a vanilla giveaway!

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Did you know that July is Ice Cream Month in the United States? Not that I need an excuse to make or eat ice cream, but this is a good one!  I managed to convince hubby to make a little garden for me this year as well as an herb planter box. As much as I love having fresh veggies and herbs, I am no green thumb, so having hubby do this was quite the treat.  This year, we found a chocolate mint plant that we placed in our planter. The plant had a strong mint scent and flavour with a subtle hint of chocolate. It just seemed logical that this belonged in ice cream.  I let the leaves steep in the cream for a good while to get the perfect minty flavour.

Nielsen-Massey had sent me a bottle of their pure vanilla extract to try and this ice cream was the perfect vehicle for it. The vanilla, which was from Madagascar, was lovely! When smelling the vanilla and tasting it, there was no question that this was unlike any other.  The flavour was intense and provided the perfect addition to the ice cream.  Nielsen-Massey uses a cold extraction process which “gently extracts vanilla’s essential oils, preserving the
more than 300 distinctive flavor compounds present in the beans. By
protecting our vanilla from heat, we ensure that even its subtlest
flavors survive extraction.”

The folks at Nielsen-Massey are generously giving one of Food Mamma’s readers a chance to win a bottle of vanilla. Leave a comment below telling me what you like to use vanilla in. Facebook likes and Twitter follows will give you extra entries. Contest closes on July 25th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

4 cups heavy cream
1 large bunch of chocolate mint leaves
1 can condensed milk
1 TB vanilla

Place the heavy cream and the mint leaves in a pot and let it come to a boil. Turn down the heat and let the leaves steep in the cream for 30 – 45 minutes, until you get the flavour as strong as you would like. Place the mixture in the fridge until cooled. Once cooled, strain the leaves out and stir in the condensed milk and vanilla. Let the mixture cool again before placing in an ice cream machine.  Follow the directions of your machine. For a firmer ice cream, place in the freezer until set. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings if you prefer and serve.

stampede 101

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Despite the devastation of the recent flood, the Calgary Stampede went ahead as planned.  Thanks to the many volunteers, you could never guess that just a few weeks ago, the Stampede grounds were flooded.

We managed to make it to the grounds twice this year. Here’s a little glimpse of what we ate.

Milk and cookies. The cheapest deal on the grounds for only $1.
The Naaco TNT from the Naaco Truck. The ultimate indian snack. Made with cornflakes, chickpeas, puffed rice and other goodness topped with tamarind chutney. Yum!
Deep fried butter! Flaky pastry encompassing melted butter. A must try but definitely a shareable.
A jalapeno corn dog. We found a place on the grounds that made them with chicken/beef weiners.
Pineapple whip ice cream.
Good ole slurpee.

salted caramel ice cream & liquid nitrogen

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When we went to Teatro earlier this year for their tasting menu, we had one of the best desserts I have ever tasted – caramel ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. The ice cream was so creamy because it didn’t have time to form ice crystals the way it does with a traditional method.  It was amazing!

R and P were with us that night and they asked if we could attempt the ice cream for one of their wedding events last week. Getting to make and eat ice cream and getting to play with liquid nitrogen, how could we say no!

I searched for a recipe and found a great one from Charmian from The Messy Baker.  I made a couple changes, omitting the milk and using only cream.

Making the ice cream on the spot with the liquid nitrogen provided some entertainment while people waited for dessert.  Everyone seemed intrigued with the cloud of smoke coming from the standmixer as the cream and sugar liquid turned into a frozen delight.  The resulting ice cream was delicious and creamy. Definitely a fun and entertaining way to make ice cream.


Congratulations R and P!! Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 1/2 cup whipping cream, divided
1/2 tsp fleur de sel, or any sea salt

In a large pot, heat 1 cup of sugar over medium heat. Stir gently until the sugar starts to melt. When it does, stop stirring but continue to cook the sugar, swirling the skillet occasionally to ensure the sugar melts evenly. The caramel is done when it turns dark amber.

Immediately remove the pan from heat and carefully stir in 1 1/4 cups cream. Continue cooking until all the caramel has dissolved. Pour the caramel into a bowl. Add sea salt and vanilla. Allow the caramel to cool to room temperature. This caramel is delicious, try to save some for the ice cream.

Meanwhile, bring the remaining cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil. Allow to simmer 15 minutes then set aside to cool.

When both the cream mixture and caramel have cooled to room temperature, remove the skin from the cream mixture and stir it into the caramel. Refrigerate until ready for ice cream.

With your mixer running, add the liquid nitrogen in batches until you get it to ice cream consistency. Be extremely careful when using the liquid nitrogen.

stampede breakfast and leftover popcorn

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Wow, it’s been a crazy day! We started off our day at the Ismaili Stampede Breakfast. Hard to believe that this annual tradition is already in its 17th year! The crowd was addressed by Premier Redford, everyone’s favourite Mayor and Commander Hadfield. I think everyone was excited to see a real life astronaut!

We were served up some good Stampede grub, pancakes, but also some eggs and bharazi, an East African dish.

Although our week was just as crazy, we managed to squeeze in a movie. Q was so excited to see Despicable Me 2 and so we went with his cousins to the movies. How cute are those minions!

I love the movies! I always get some popcorn, because really, movies and popcorn go hand in hand. I always have so much leftover though and find myself snacking on it for days. While snacking on my salt and vinegar/white cheddar popcorn today, I was reminded of Julie’s recipe for Sriracha Caramel Popcorn. Of course, I had to make some and I’m so glad I did. The hint of heat hit you after you got the bit of sweet. It was just the snack I was looking for. Check out the recipe here.

raspberry cream cheese frosting

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Today’s my sister-in-law’s birthday – Happy Birthday R!! As much as she didn’t want to celebrate, we did convince her that cake was in order. Her cake of choice was one of my faves, red velvet. I decided to change up the frosting a little and use some of the great raspberries that we have been enjoying.

With the weather being nice and hot, and not really conducive to frosting, I kept the consistency perfect for spreading. For a stiffer icing that you can pipe, just add a little more icing sugar.

The icing was yummy and complemented the red velvet cupcakes perfectly. With lots leftover, it will be hard to not go dunking everything in it!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup raspberries, mashed with a fork
1 1/2 to 2 cups icing sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until nice and smooth. Add the raspberries and mix again. With your mixer on, slowly incorporate the icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency.