Food Mamma

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yyc pizza week and donair pizza

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Today marks the start of YYC Pizza Week! The team behind YYC Burger Week have partnered up with some great restaurants in the city to raise money for Calgary Meals on Wheels.  From September 26 to October 5th, 40 restaurants will compete in a pizza battle, with a portion of all sales going to Calgary Meals on Wheels. What a delicious idea!

There is also a Blogger Challenge which I am participating in along with 8 other local bloggers. We were given a list of three secret ingredients which we needed to incorporate in our pizza. You had an option to choose one or all three: chestnut puree, anchovies or fire roasted tomatoes.

I would love your votes for my Donair Pizza! The base of the pizza is a creamy white sauce loaded with garlic and sweetened with chestnut puree. This was topped with homemade donair meat, crisp onions, fire roasted tomatoes and loaded with cheese. My pizza is up against some tasty creations so your vote would be most appreciated. Thank you!!

vinay virmani from dr cabbie talks food

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Opening in theatres today is a movie which I can’t wait to see – Dr. Cabbie. It’s a plot that may ring true for so many immigrant professionals who end up unable to practice what they were trained to do in their homelands. Vinay Virmani plays Deepak, an Indian doctor who emigrates to Canada with big dreams. Unfortunately his training is not recognized, he is forced into life as a taxi driver.

The movie has some great actors such as Kunnal Nayar from Big Bang Theory, Adrianne Palicki and Rizwan Manji.

Vinay was kind enough to talk about everyone’s favourite subject – food!

Coffee or Tea?
I love my coffee, especially in the morning. I need my Nespresso to get
me started. There’s a Roma flavor that is very woody and roasted. 

What is your signature dish?
I’m not much of a cook, but I enjoy making simple dishes like grilled
chicken marinated in lemon and spices, with a green salad. 

What kind of food do you go out for the most?
I’m a big sushi guy. I could eat it everyday. Love spicy tuna rolls! 

What would your last meal include?

It would have to be my mother’s home-cooked Indian food. Butter chicken, Indian-spiced potatoes and fresh crispy roti. 
 
Check out Vinay and the awesome cast of Dr. Cabbie, in theatres today!
 
 

  

2014 home + design show

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The 2014 Home + Design Show is happening this weekend in Calgary.  This fun event runs from September 18 to 21 at the BMO Centre and features some great food-related and
family-friendly features this year including kid-centric interactive
cooking presentations and a dog show benefiting the Alberta Animal
Rescue Crew Society (AARCS).

We always have fun at the event but will be taking an even closer look this year since we’re building a new house. With big names like Colin McAllister & Justin Ryan, stars of Cottage Life TV’s Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure, Bryan Baeumler, host of HGTV’s Leave it to Bryan, and celebrity Chef
Corbin Tomaszeski, plus more than 350 exhibitors and a slew of sensational
new features, the possibilities are endless!

Want to win tickets to the event? Leave a comment here, on Facebook or send me a tweet. Contest closes on Wednesday at 8:30am. 

pc spice of the prairies burger

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It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over. We had a great few months, and the heat that we enjoyed was so welcomed. The summer has definitely been one where we got out of the kitchen and used the grill as much as we could.

Earlier this year, PC challenged chefs throughout Canada to create the Ultimate Burger for their region using PC products. Food writer Dan Clapson created the Spice of the Prairies Burger made with PC Free Bison Burgers.

The folks at President’s Choice sent me some ingredients to try out Dan’s creation for myself. Dan’s creative take using the bison burger and a spicy blueberry aioli was made even better with the crunch of PC Regular Potato Chips. The heat from the aioli is mellowed out by the coolness of the lettuce with PC Sweet Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing.  Add some provolone and put it all in a pretzel bun and you’ve got yourself a winner. Click here for the recipe – it’s definitely a must try!

edo japan sushi rolling competition

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Last month, I had the opportunity to participate in Edo Japan’s first Sushi Rolling Competition. I was up against some fierce competitors:

Pierre Lamielle
Vincci Tsui
Katrina Brady
Elizabeth Booth
Bonnie Huang
Ryan Massel

The competition was simple. We had twenty minutes to create a sushi roll and we were judged on presentation, creative content and taste.

My entry was “Land and Sea – The Ultimate Surf and Turf”. Lobster along with shrimp tempura and a spicy sauce were rolled and topped with Sukiyaki beef, Edo’s signature teriyaki sauce and crunchy fried onions. This came a close second to Bonnie’s beautiful creation which was topped with blow-torched salmon! Check out pictures from the event here.

Congrats to Bonnie for winning the coveted prize of Edo for a year!

summer time!

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August is already half way through and I’ve just realized I haven’t updated the blog in a while. Things have been a little crazy around here. Besides the fact that we are packing up and putting up our house for sale and getting ready for a trip (Z’s first!), we have been busy enjoying the summer.

There was a fun sushi rolling contest at Edo with fellow food bloggers (more on that soon), a couple of concerts, a delicious Tomahawk, or two (more on that soon too!). Besides running Q to all his summer activities, we managed to fit in some festivals, a day trip to Sylvan Lake, a cousins getaway to Canmore and even a big picnic with the whole clan at Lake Minnewanka.

Although I haven’t posted anything recently, I have tons of posts written to share soon. Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

keeping it local with red hat

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It’s been a couple weeks since the Stampede took over our city. With
pancake breakfasts and the guilty pleasures at the grounds, it was a
wonder that one of the best meals I had that week was fresh and clean
and a great feel-good lunch.

I was invited to the Red Hat Co-operative Stampede lunch at Bite
Groceteria. Red Hat is a group of local Alberta growers, whose offerings
were showcased at this delicious lunch. With over 50 members, this
group is committed to getting you the best quality of local produce.

The guilt-free lunch had us feasting on salads made with the tastiest
tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, flatbread with eggplant and fried
jalapeños. There was even a juice bar using the local veggies.

We were lucky enough to take some veggies home and I immediately made a
caprese salad to keep enjoying those flavourful tomatoes.

Keep an eye out for Red Hat at your local grocery store. You can collect
grower cards in their products which could lead to a beach getaway. Good
luck!

sour cream cake with cherries

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One of my favourite parts of summer are the delicious cherries that we get to enjoy. I could eat bowls of them, just by myself. Not only delicious fresh from the market, they are even great when used for baking. Cherry pie, yum!

I had been thinking about this for a while and I finally had a chance over the weekend to try it out.  One of my go-to cake recipes studded with cherries. The cake came out of the oven with the cherries blackened and the flavour intensified from the roasting.

It was a really great combination, served with a sprinkle of icing sugar right on top.

Sour Cream Cake with Cherries

1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup cherries, pitted and halved

Combine the butter and sugar and beat for a couple of minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs until incorporated.  Add the sour cream.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter and egg mixture.  Put batter in a greased 9″ x 12″ baking pan and top with the halved cherries. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Once cooled, cut into squares and sprinkle with icing sugar.

1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Combine the butter and sugar and beat for a couple of minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs until incorporated.  Add the sour cream.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter
and margarine mixture.  Put batter in a greased pan and bake at 350
degrees for 1 hour. – See more at: https://foodmamma.com/2013/03/sour-cream-cake.html#sthash.cuDnwAay.dpuf

1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Combine the butter and sugar and beat for a couple of minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs until incorporated.  Add the sour cream.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter
and margarine mixture.  Put batter in a greased pan and bake at 350
degrees for 1 hour. – See more at: https://foodmamma.com/2013/03/sour-cream-cake.html#sthash.cuDnwAay.dpuf