Food Mamma

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watermelon rose smoothie

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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.

calypso taverna

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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

chocolate zucchini bread

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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.

village ice cream

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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

meatless monday: bruschetta pasta

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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.

hector’s casa (kelowna)

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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

cbc’s food host search

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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!

mascarpone stuffed zucchini blossoms

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I had been wanting to make stuffed zucchini blossoms for a while but it has been so hard to find the delicate flowers.  The kind folks at Michelle’s Market were happy to help and picked some for me.  Check them out, they are awesome!

Most recipes for the stuffed flowers called for ricotta but when I saw Trestelle‘s Mascarpone* on the shelf, I had to grab it.  I had looked for mascarpone months back and couldn’t find it so I was not going to miss this opportunity. 

The cheese mixture for this was so creamy and so flavourful, it’s a wonder that any made it into the flowers.   The mascarpone was rich and light all at the same time, and is fast becoming one of my favourite cheeses. (In fact, I can’t wait to try this vanilla mascarpone cream from Julie!)

The flowers were really delicate.  They needed to be carefully opened so the pistils could be taken out. After being washed and dried, I piped in the cheese mixture with a ziploc bag. As the flowers came out of oil, I sprinkled them with some fleur de sel.

I served these with some warm pasta sauce.  Hubby was surprised by how much flavour was in the petals.  The cheese completely complemented the flowers.  These are a definite must-try if you can find some of these beautiful blossoms.

Mascarpone Filled Zucchini Blossoms
Inspired by recipes from Anna Olson and Chuck Hughes, Food Network

8 zucchini blossoms

Cheese mixture:
1/2 cup mascarpone
2 TB grated parmesan
zest half lemon
1/2 TB garlic, minced
1 TB fresh basil
1/4 cup cream

Batter:
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup club soda

Mix together everything for the cheese mixture.  Place in a ziploc bag for piping.
While the oil is heating for frying, mix together the ingredients for the batter.  Dip the filled flowers in the batter and fry until golden brown.  Salt the fried blossoms and serve with pasta sauce.

*I did receive vouchers from Trestelle to try out their cheese.  Opinions are my own.