• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Food Mamma

Food | Travel | Family | Life

  • home
  • about me
  • recipe index
  • eating out
  • events
  • travel

blog

cinnamon buns – happy mother’s day!

May 14, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

After discovering last month Q’s love of cinnamon rolls at the mall, I knew it was something I wanted to try at home.  Q loves being in the kitchen and helping mamma so it was the perfect project for Mother’s Day.  I searched for a recipe similar to Cinnabon and discovered this recipe from Joshua Kennon.

There was some resting time required but it was a really simple recipe.  Q helped out with measuring ingredients, rolling out the dough and slathering on the butter.

This recipe made quite a few rolls – 12 large ones and then 12 mini ones from the scrap.  It was so fun watching the rolls rise into each other. 

The best part was the intoxicating smell as these rolls baked.  The smells competed with the gorgeous lilies I received for Mother’s Day.  Mmmmm….

While the buns were baking, I whipped up some of the cream cheese frosting I’ve used on muffins and it went great with the buns!  You just can’t beat fresh out of the oven cinnamon buns.

It was an awesome day!  Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms out there.  Hope your day was as great as mine!

Cinnamon Buns
Adapted from Joshua Kennon

1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well. Allow the dough to come together with the dough hook of the mixer.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size. 

Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a 16 x 21″ rectangle.  Spread the softened butter on the dough and then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut into 12 cinnamon rolls (or more smaller rolls, if you prefer). To even out the rectangle, I cut off all the edges and the scraps made an additional 12 mini rolls.

Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased rectangular pan. Let the rolls rise another 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.

Eat warm as is or with some delicious cream cheese frosting.

Filed Under: foodmamma

smashburger

May 8, 2012 By Fareen 5 Comments

Calgary’s newest burger joint is Smashburger.  The restaurant officially opened on May 2nd and I was excited to try out the burgers at a blogger preview the day before.  Tom Ryan, the founder, spent time with us explaining the chain while we enjoyed the menu.

Smashburger gets its name from how the burgers are prepared – smashed on the grill.  Fresh Angus beef meatballs are pressed with a smasher between a buttered grill and wax paper.  According to Tom, this allows the burger to cook up rather than out and locks in the juices.

The menu is quite extensive, featuring both beef burgers, chicken burgers, sides, salads, shakes and hot dogs.

I especially loved the tea bar.  This is perfect for people like hubby or my sister who just don’t like carbonated drinks.

The three of us at our table ordered 3 different burgers and sides and decided to share so we could get the full variety.

In regards to the sides, we tried the Smashfries and the Sweet Potato Smashfries, both of which were tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic.  I loved the sweet potato fries the best and found myself munching on these until the very end, even after I was stuffed.

Another great side were the fried pickes.  I have seen these on numerous menus and finally decided to give these a try.  The salty discs of pickles that were breaded and fried were really tasty.  Being a pickle fan, I know Q will really enjoy these!

We also had the veggie frites, sticks of carrots and beans that were flash fried. A great alternative for those avoiding carbs.

The first burger I tried was the Mushroom Swiss.  I think this was one of my favourites.  The patty itself was really moist! The burger was topped with garlic sauteed mushrooms, swiss cheese and mayo and was served on an egg bun.

We also ordered a spinach and goat cheese burger which was originally meant for chicken but we ordered it with beef.  This was a messy one but really good!  It had goat cheese, cucumbers, spinach, tomato, onion and a balsamic vinaigrette and was sandwiched between a multi-grain bun.  The tangy goat cheese was quite prominent, so if you’re not a fan, this is not the burger to order.

The chicken burger we tried was the avocado club, minus the bacon.  Creamy avocado in any sandwich is always a hit.  I was surprised by how moist the chicken was!

If you’re not a burger fan, Smashburger also has salads.  Tom made sure that we had one at our table and we were able to see how huge they were.

Don’t forget to try a milkshake when you’re there.  Milkshakes are made with local MacKay’s ice cream.  We sampled both the Vanilla and Saskatoon Berry but Vanilla was easily my favourite.  It went great with all those burgers.

Want to try out Smashburger for yourself?  If you’re in the Calgary area, leave a comment with your email address or send me a tweet (@fareenjj) by Thursday at midnight and I will make a draw for some gift certificates on Friday.

Smashburger on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma

wordless wednesday: the best part about helping mamma

May 2, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Filed Under: foodmamma

funky monkey snack giveaway

April 29, 2012 By Fareen 4 Comments

Funky Monkey Snacks has graciously donated a 7 flavour sampler pack of their fruit snacks.

Funky Monkey Snacks are real fruit snacks,
made using a freeze-drying process that creates Fruit That
Crunches while retaining nearly all of the fruit’s natural goodness.

On May 1st at 9 am MST Funky Monkey Snacks
will be hosting a twitter chat. Questions can be asked
to @funkymonkeysnck and the hashtag for the twitter chat
will be #funkychat.

Contest closes at midnight on May 2nd.


/*{literal}{/literal}*/

a Rafflecopter giveaway
<a href=”http://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.

Filed Under: foodmamma

easy eggs benedict

April 22, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

To celebrate our anniversary, hubby and I thought it would be fun to spend some time in the kitchen and attempt to make eggs benedict.  I had made it years before but the hollandaise just didn’t seem right and the poached egg did not look like what I would order at a restaurant.  I am so thrilled that I found Kitchen Magpie‘s instructions on making EASY eggs benedict.  When I poached eggs years earlier, I had used a huge pot.  Turns out all you need is a pan – less depth seemed to hold the eggs together.  1 TB of vinegar in boiling water, 3 minutes later, you have the perfect poached egg.

The blender hollandaise was super easy and came together perfectly.  3 egg yolks, 2 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt whirred together.  1/2 cup of hot melted butter drizzled into the mix and you have the simplest and tastiest hollandaise.

The perfectly cooked poached egg was laid upon a slice of turkey bacon on an english muffin.  Topped with the buttery sauce and some pepper, it was a tasty way to start the day.

Filed Under: foodmamma

happy six year anniversary!

April 15, 2012 By Fareen 2 Comments

Today hubby and I are celebrating our six year anniversary!  It seems like just yesterday that we were planning and organizing our big event.  The years have just flown by.  For our honeymoon, we took a Caribbean cruise.  While docked in St. Thomas, hubby and I did an underwater scooter adventure – the BOB (Breathing Observation Bubble).  Basically you ride a scooter under the water and only your head is covered in a bubble.  Being somewhat of a chicken, it was something I never ever imagined myself doing.  We had such a great time and we purchased an underwater camera just to capture these moments riding with the fish.  We returned from our trip and completely forgot about the camera with the precious pictures.  This past week, I found the camera!  I rushed to get it developed hoping that the film didn’t get damaged after six years.  Even though they were a little fuzzy, I was thrilled to see the pictures were still there!

Happy Anniversary love!  Looking forward to many more adventures with you.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: celebrations

tango bistro

April 13, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Hubby and I were able to take some time a couple of weekends ago for date night.  We had a voucher for Tango Bistro and, after hearing so much about their “small plates”, was excited to try something new.  Tango Bistro is part of the Smuggler’s group and in the same complex as Smuggler’s Inn, Bolero and Open Sesame. 

We had a super friendly waiter who was happy to make recommendations and help us choose what to eat.  We started out with the Wonton Crusted Prawns.  These were served on top of some Togarashi Mayo and were delicious!

The next item that was brought out was the trio of dips. The dips included an olive tapenade, a sesame lime hummus and a goat cheese with sundried tomatoes in olive oil.  The goat cheese was my favourite!  The dips were served with a nice soft flatbread that was perfect for scooping.

I am so happy that our server recommended the Seared Sea Bass.  This was my favourite meal of the night and was served with a roasted garlic risotto and mushrooms.  The fish was cooked to perfection and the sauce that was on top was light and flavourful.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Our last dish was the Mixed Grill.  This dish contained a few pork items but the restaurant was happy to make some substitutions and accomodate us.  Venison smokies and an Alberta tenderloin served with some potatoes on the side.  Just looking at this dish, you can tell that this was hubby’s favourite.

We were incredibly stuffed from our meal and had no room for dessert.  With all the tasty offerings though, we are sure to be eating there again.

Tango Bistro on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: eating out

chevdo

April 10, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

It’s exactly two months until my sister gets married!  We are super excited for her big day so she can marry the love of her life.

A huge part of an Indian wedding is the food.  With lots of people traveling for the wedding, it’s nice to have snacks around, like chevdo.  Chevdo is an indian snack mix, mostly filled with fried lentils and peanuts.  With my sister’s allergies, this is something she has had to stay away from.

I was intrigued when I saw Aarti Sequeira’s recipe for chevdo that had no chickpeas.  The peanuts were easily replaced and it made for a dish that my sister can actually enjoy.  I knew I had to give this recipe a try.  I made an addition of coriander seeds, which added a lemony taste to the mix.  I still had some Christmas Rice Krisipies left which added some fun colour with flecks of red and green.

Looking forward to my sister’s return so that she can finally try some chevdo.

Chevdo
Adapted from Aarti Sequeira of Aarti Party.

2 cups Corn Flakes
2 cups Rice Krispies
1/4 cup almonds, halved
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 TB oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
5 dried curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup plantain chips
salt

In a large pan over medium heat, toast the cereals, pumpkin seeds and almonds for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the pan.

Warm the oil in the same pan over medium heat.  Add the mustard seeds, coriander seeds, curry leaves and turmeric.  Cook for 30 seconds and remove from the heat. 

Add the cereal mixture and plantain chips.  Season with salt and toss until combined.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: indian food, snack

live with kelly and barpa bill’s

April 4, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

This past Monday, I dragged my mom with me to Banff to try and get in to a taping of Live with Kelly.  We weren’t fortunate enough to get tickets but after hearing that people in the stand by line were getting in the day before, I knew I had to go. 

When we reached the Banff Centre, they just let us right in, no waiting in line!  It was a great show and it was nice to see it live.  Kelly was even more tiny in real life and, with her co-host Peter Facinelli, they made a beautiful hosting team. 

We even got to see the infamous Gelman who spent some time with the audience teaching us all how to clap.  Did you know clapping at double time makes it sound louder?  Guests of the show included Johnny Galecki from the Big Bang Theory and Juno award winning Melanie Fiona.  The episode that was taped on Monday was shown today, April 4th.

After the show, I wanted to take my mom to my favourite place in Banff, Barpa Bill’s Souvlaki.  Hubby and I had discovered it a few years ago and we always make a stop there when in the area.  Located on Bear Street, it’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.  A tiny little place located beside the Home Hardware, this place is always busy.

I ordered my favorite, Lamb Souvlaki.  The lamb was flavourful and moist and stuffed into a pita wrap.  Filled with veggies and a garlicky tzatziki, it was so tasty and filling.  We also ordered a side of fries.  Crispy and seasoned perfectly, they were a great accompaniment to the souvlaki.

Next time you’re in Banff, definitely check out this family-run gem.  Keep in mind that they are cash only.

Barpa Bill's Souvlaki on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: eating out

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 93
  • Page 94
  • Page 95
  • Page 96
  • Page 97
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 110
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Hello!

My name is Fareen and I'm so happy you stopped by! This blog is about my favourite things - family, food and travel. Here you will find adventures with hubby, my two boys and my great big family. There is food (lots of food!), as much travel as we can squeeze in and just life in general.

Sign up for our mailing list!

* indicates required

Featured Post

Poke Rice Waffle

Poke Rice Waffle

Copyright © 2009–2025 · Food Mamma / Fareen Jadavji-Jessa· All Rights Reserved / Privacy Policy