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cousins night out: brava bistro

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I’m so lucky that I have a wonderful bunch of cousins that I can actually call my friends. Since life can get busy, we have started a monthly dinner for those of us in town – cousins night out. It’s a great chance to spend time with the ones we love while having a dinner out.

Since my cousin’s wedding was last month, everyone was in town! With nine cousins and seven spouses, our group of sixteen took over a long table at Brava Bistro for an amazing dinner.

Brava was very accommodating, fulfilling our desire to eat family style. It was perfect – by sharing, we were able to try many dishes and weren’t limited to just one – the best way to avoid food envy.

The appetizers and salads we sampled were delicious! The Prawn and Avocado salad was light and tasty while the Burrata and Tomato Salad was a great showcase for the creamy cheese.

Lobster was the star in both the Lobster Gnocchi and the Lobster Poutine. The poutine was my favourite of the night and I will definitely be going back for more.

Our mains were just as delicious and I was happy to be able to sample a little of everything. I really enjoyed the pasta dish, the Orecchiette Alfredo, which was creamy and garlicky.

Everyone loved the Beef Short Rib which was soft and tender. This was served with Mac and Cheese and Broccoflower.

The Atlantic Salmon was perfectly cooked and Crispy Cracklin Chicken was surprisingly juicy.

The night ended with sweet treats of Creme Brulee, Warm Gingerbread Cake and a Brownie Sundae. Delish!

It was a wonderful night with family. Can’t wait to go back!

Brava Bistro on Urbanspoon

family, food and a fairy tale wedding

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Wow, I think this has been the longest I have been away from my
dear blog. I have good reason though. We have been celebrating, for
almost two weeks, my little cousin’s wedding.
 
 
It’s been an
amazing week! The wedding was beautiful and it was so wonderful to see A
and S so happy. My cousin got her fairy tale wedding, both of them
incorporating themselves into the details. His fave, Converse, were worn
by the ten kids that walked down the aisle. Her fave, everything
Disney, was seen throughout, like on the cake table and the candy table.
 

The
best part was all the family time. My sister and her husband flew in
from Afghanistan, cousins came from Ontario and BC and we got to spend
some quality cousin time together.
 
Even better was that the second
generation of cousins got to spend time together and form the same close
ties that my cousins and I share. I am so blessed and lucky to have
these guys in my life.
 
 
Of course there was food! Lots of it! From
savoury to sweet, cultural to local, we filled our bellies at many
events over ten days. We even managed a dinner at Brava Bistro, more on
that to come. 
 
 
Congratulations A and S! Wishing you a happy ever after!

a month of sundays

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I’m so excited for my friend Cheryl’s new book, A Month of Sundays. It just came out last week and I was excited to receive my copy.

Cheryl’s first book, Sunday Morning Quilts, came out last year. A few months later, Cheryl was already photographing her next book and Q and I were very excited to be involved.  We went over one afternoon while the talented Kate Inglis worked her magic behind the camera. You can find my little guy’s picture in the book, sitting in a tree.

Even non-quilters like me can enjoy the book which has beautiful projects that Cheryl has completed as well as some fun things that her and her family enjoy on the weekend. The projects are a work of art and Cheryl is quite the artist with her gorgeous quilts.The book also has a chapter on Sunday dinner with mouth-watering recipes for roast chicken and lemon curd. There’s also a recipe for a very tasty appetizer of slow cooked tomatoes. I couldn’t get enough of these!

I’d love to support Cheryl’s book and what better way than to give away a copy to a reader. If you live in the Calgary area, feel free to enter. Cheryl has agreed to sign the book making it the perfect keepsake! Enter below. You can purchase Cheryl’s book on Amazon or Chapters and visit Cheryl’s website for more info.

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eid mubarak

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Happy Eid!
May your life always be filled with sweet and wonderful things.
Wishing you and your families love, peace and happiness always.
~sfq

Happy Eid!
May your plate of life always be full.
Wishing you and your families love, peace and happiness always.
~sfq – See more at: http://www.foodmamma.com/2012/08/eid-mubarak.html#sthash.Sj368sWq.dpuf

Happy Eid!
May your plate of life always be full.
Wishing you and your families love, peace and happiness always.
~sfq – See more at: http://www.foodmamma.com/2012/08/eid-mubarak.html#sthash.Sj368sWq.dpuf

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.

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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.