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la boulangerie

September 23, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

When I think back to my trips to Europe, especially France, my most favourite part are the bakeries with their fresh breads and croissants and crepes.  I’m so happy to have discovered a little piece of Europe right here in Calgary at La Boulangerie.  I had passed by a few times but I finally made it there last weekend…and again this weekend.  I think it’s my new favourite place!

Both times that we went to the bakery, it was busy! It didn’t take long though to have our orders and bellies filled.  Our order was being filled and delivered by the owner himself, Navot, who was trained at the Cordon Bleu in France.  La Boulangerie aka La Creperie has another location at the Kingsland Farmer’s Market.

La Boulangerie is a small place and is filled with the most amazing baked goods and crepes.  The smells are amazing!  Last weekend, we tried the smoked salmon crepe which was light and filling.  We also had to have the nutella and banana crepe which can fulfill anyone’s need for chocolate. I’m sure they used half a bottle of nutella in there – yum!  Q had the chocolate croissant which he devoured.

This weekend, we met hubby’s boss and family for breakfast back at the bakery.  We had the smoked salmon crepe again because it was just too delicious not to.  This time, we also tried the brie with roasted peppers which was really amazing too.  The cheese made the crepe really filling and the red peppers added a nice sweetness.

We also tried a couple of croissants between all of us, the almond and the pistachio. I think these may have even been better than the chocolate!  These were very rich but very tasty.

I am looking forward to taking my dad who loves bakeries as much as I do.  Any excuse to go back!

*Collages made with the Diptic app.

 La Boulangerie on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: eating out

calgary home and design show

September 18, 2012 By Fareen 6 Comments

We are gearing up for a busy weekend with lots of activities planned.  We are kicking it off by going to the Home and Design show which is taking place from Thursday, September 20th to Sunday, September 23rd.

We will be heading down with Q to enjoy Family Day on Friday with a special guest, his favourite, Bob the Builder! There are child friendly features at the Cooking Stage and the Main Stage and loads of activities to keep the young ones happy.

I’m definitely looking forward to all the cooking aspects from demos to competitions to food trucks.  It is going to be an amazing event!

I have a set of tickets to give away to readers in Calgary and surrounding areas. Just leave a comment saying that you want to go.  Get additional entries through facebook likes and follows on twitter.   Contest closes on Wednesday at 6pm. Hope to see you there!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: foodmamma

watermelon rose smoothie

September 10, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

A couple of months ago, the National Watermelon Promotion Board sent me this lovely basket for Q and I. With matching watermelon aprons, we set out to make a kid friendly snack.  We came up with this smoothie and have been making it all summer but forgot all about posting it!

This is a refreshing drink and allows your child to not only get some fruit but also some dairy.  The addition of rose syrup makes it extra special.

In a blender, add some watermelon, a few ice cubes, a small squeeze of agave syrup, some milk and a splash of rose syrup and blend it all up.  Q was a great help in dumping things in and pressing the buttons.  The result is a fun little drink for kids of all ages.

Another fave of mine is the watermelon, feta and mint salad.  You can check out the recipe here.

Filed Under: foodmamma

calypso taverna

September 9, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

We had a great evening tonight celebrating a few birthdays at Calypso Taverna.  Our friend had celebrated an anniversary there before and loved it, so we were excited to try something new.

From the outside, the restaurant is nothing special. It’s probably a place that I would not notice and would just drive by.  The inside though is warm and cozy and a great place for a celebration. The place was also packed so we knew it was going to be good.  There was a belly dancer for a short time providing entertainment, especially when she got some of our table dancing with her. 

Our friends had ordered the trio of dips with pita for the table.  The dips included the Tzatziki, Hummus and the Tirokafteri.  I think I loved the third one the best.  It was a mixture of salty feta cheese and hot peppers.  It was great served with the warm pita.

Hubby and I weren’t too hungry so we decided to share an appetizer and an entree.   For the appetizer, we decided on the stuffed calamari. This was a whole calamari stuffed with lean ground chicken and pine nuts.  It was served in a buttery cayenne champage sauce.  Although not the prettiest dish, it was delicious.  The combination of the squid with the seasoned chicken was really tasty.

For our main, we shared the Paidakia – lamb chops!

Our medium grilled lamb was cooked perfectly and the seasoned chops were the perfect greek dish. It didn’t have that strong lamb smell that sometimes turns hubby off, always a good thing. This was served with rice, potatoes and a greek salad.

Everyone’s dishes looked great, from the chicken souvlaki, the moussaka and the special of the day, the halibut.

We all shared 3 different desserts which were all delicious.  The baklava was nutty and sweet, and the bougatsa was great with a warm apple filling inside some phyllo.  My favourite though was a custard with a meringue topping. So good!

You can pay a little bit more and get the full plate throwing experience.  It was so fun (and a great stress reliever) just tossing a plate – OPA! It was a great night and I look forward to going there again.

Calypso's Taverna on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: eating out

chocolate zucchini bread

September 4, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

We were lucky to get some home grown zucchini from hubby’s co-worker this year. The possibilities of things to make with them were endless – bread, fritters, pasta…What I really wanted though was chocolate zucchini bread.  I searched for a recipe but most called for canola oil, which we had totally run out of.  I was happy when I found a recipe from Tara from seven spoons.  I loved that the recipe called for so much zucchini – what a great vehicle for eating your veggies!  Q has become a little nut monster lately so he got to pick what we used.  His nut of choice for the bread – pecans.  This bread was so good, it didn’t last long at all.  It was amazing with a tall glass of milk. Q loved it and I was happy for him to have seconds because of all the greens that were baked in. The last batch of the zucchini went into two more loaves today.  So good!  Thanks T for the zucchini and thanks Tara for the great recipe.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
adapted from seven spoons

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat an oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease two loaf pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the nuts and chocolate. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil and buttermilk. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Stir in the zucchini.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stir until combined, taking care not over mix. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake, rotating once, until a cake tester inserted into the loaf comes out almost clean, which should be around 50 minutes. Cool loaves in their pans on a rack for 20 minutes.

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: baked goods, bread, breakfast, vegetables

village ice cream

August 31, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Back in July, Julie mentioned the amazing salted caramel ice cream she had had at Village Ice Cream.  Located in Victoria Park, Village Ice Cream offers hand-crafted all natural ice cream. Of course we had to go to and check it out for ourselves and she was right.  The salted caramel ice cream was amazing!

This evening, we went back for more, and took our friends!  We enjoyed some ice cream and took over their outside seating area.

I decided to try something different this time, the toasted coconut, and it was amazing.  The shreds of coconut provided a great texture in the creamy ice cream. This time, I made sure to try the homemade waffle cones, which I regretted not trying the first time, and I’m so glad I did!  The cones were crisp and fresh and so delicious!  Hubby tried the cardamom ice cream which he throughly enjoyed, especially since it reminded him of chai.

Q decided to try the Guide’s Mint and he loved it. Of course I had to have a taste. The minty ice cream with chunks of chocolate cookies was amazing, no wonder he loved it. His taste is totally like his mamma’s!

It was a great evening with friends and some yummy ice cream. Looking forward to going back before summer ends.


Village Ice Cream on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma Tagged With: eating out

meatless monday: bruschetta pasta

August 27, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

We are trying our best to go meatless at least a couple of nights a week. This is a great dish where you don’t really feel like something is missing since it is packed with flavour.  The bonus is that it is super fast to prepare.  Just take the ingredients that you would put in a bruschetta and toss with pasta. 

Measurements can vary for this, just add as much or as little as you want.  I cooked together a couple of tomatoes, an onion, some cloves of garlic and sauteed it in a pan with some olive oil.  I added a splash of balsamic vinegar, some basil and some salt and pepper.  I added some cooked egg noodles and sprinkled it with parmesan.  This took less than 15 minutes to prepare and was so flavourful and satisfying.  Perfect for Meatless Monday.

Filed Under: foodmamma

hector’s casa (kelowna)

August 25, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

Well, it’s back to reality after spending some time in gorgeous Kelowna.  The sun, the sand and even time to finish a book (!), it was a much needed break.

It was nice to have both sets of parents with us and Q was in heaven, being spoiled left, right and centre.  Both our parents have anniversaries in August so we celebrated with a meal at Hector’s Casa.  We make it a point to stop in at Hector’s every time we are in Kelowna.  The food is always amazing!

I love that every meal starts with complimentary tortilla chips and salsa.  The salsa was fresh and tasty.

Nachos are Q’s favourite and he had the kids nachos with beef and a side of guacamole.  The nachos were great and very cheesy.  The guacamole was nice and creamy.  Q gobbled up his food.

Our meals were great.  Although I’m not a big fan of beans and rice, everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I loved my meal, the Enchiladas Verde.  Sauteed shrimp with salsa fresca rolled in tortillas topped with tomatillo sauce.

The other dishes included Enchiladas Rojas, Tacos Fresca and Taquitos.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without having dessert.  We chose two to share since we were all stuffed.  The plantain sauteed in butter was a hit.  It was topped with cinnamon, sugar and chocolate sauce and served with ice cream.

The best dessert though were the churros.  These were rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream.  So yummy!

Looking forward to the next time!

Hector's Casa on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: foodmamma

cbc’s food host search

August 22, 2012 By Fareen 2 Comments

In order to get things you’ve never had,
you have to be willing to do things that you have never done.

I stepped out of my comfort zone this month.CBC was looking for a new food show host and I just had to apply. I knew there would be a lot of great people applying (which there are) but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t send in a video.  I had a lot of support from my hubby, friends and family, which was very encouraging.  A special thanks to J who edited the video for me.  Here it is!

Filed Under: foodmamma

Eid Mubarak!

August 19, 2012 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Happy Eid!
May your plate of life always be full. 
Wishing you and your families love, peace and happiness always.
~sfq

Filed Under: foodmamma

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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.

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