Search Results for: ice cream

holiday gift guide

November 30, 2015 By Fareen 42 Comments

It was fun putting together a holiday gift guide this year. These are some of our favourites and sure to be a hit with the foodies in your life.

Robert Rose Cookbooks

Can anyone really have too many cookbooks? Robert Rose has so many great titles out there for the variety of people on your list. From the Best of Bridge to Spiralizer Recipes, there is definitely something for everyone. These books are also filled with so much inspiration for holiday entertaining. Check out their titles: http://www.robertrose.ca/books

Urban Bonfire

Around here, outdoor grilling is a year round activity. We don’t let the snow stop us from firing up the bbq to enjoy a juicy steak and some beef short ribs. Urban Bonfire has you covered for all your grilling needs. From grill accessories to spices, they have your grillmaster covered.

We loved their spices! We tried their Tico, which was amazing on salmon and and we tried the Montreal Steak Spice which was so delicious. Check them out online at http://www.urbanbonfire.com/.

Yonanas

Let’s face it, the holidays are a time of over indulgence. Yonanas helps you enjoy a sweet snack without the guilt. The machine makes ice cream out of frozen bananas! No sugar, no cream, just plain bananas and you have yourself a sweet treat. The resulting ice cream is creamy and sweet and the kids loved it! Hubby loved that the soft serve was lactose free. Find out more here: http://yonanas.com/

Cococo Chocolatiers

The holidays require chocolate and only the best will do. Cococo Chocolatiers, owners of Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut® is a real treat for anyone on your gift list. With a wide variety of award-winning chocolate available, anyone would be happy to receive a box. My favourite are the salted caramels. So delicious! The company is opening a new storefront in the international terminal of the Calgary airport allowing people from everywhere to taste their deliciousness. You can order online at http://www.bernardcallebaut.com/.

Edo Japan

Life is busy and sometimes between all the kids’ activities, we need to grab a quick meal. Edo is a favourite for all of us. It’s tasty, healthy and quick and the kids love it! I think anyone would be thrilled to get a gift card from Edo Japan: http://www.edojapan.com

Want to win a gift card for yourself? Enter below. Let us know what’s on your wish list this year! Contest closes on Sunday, December 13th, 2015 at 11:59pm. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FBC 2015

November 3, 2015 By Fareen Leave a Comment

There’s something about being in a room of bloggers who get what you do.
Who all stop to take pictures of food before devouring it and who
appreciate good food. A meeting of like minded people and a
learning-filled few days. That’s what I got to do a couple weekends ago. I
headed to Montreal for the third Food Bloggers of Canada Conference. I
had such a great time at my first one last year in Vancouver and
couldn’t wait to go again.

I was happy to discover that a few fellow Calgary bloggers also made the
trek – Heather, Merry and Bernice. I also finally met Ginni, who I
somehow never connected with when she lived in Calgary.

I reached Montreal on Friday
and met Nicole at the airport. Luckily she reached out
so we shared a cab to Le Westin, in old Montreal. We
quickly checked in and registered and got an amazing swag bag. Thank
you to all the great sponsors, you totally spoiled us!

We had a couple of hours before the party got started and so headed out
with a group of bloggers for an informal tour of Old Montreal, led by
Aimee. We stopped at Olive and Gourmando for a quick pastry. The place
was crowded and for people who wanted to dine in, there was a 45 minute
wait. Nicole and I shared the chocolate ginger bar. It looked like a
great place.

We then headed to Maison Christian Faure, a French pastry
shop. It was a beautiful store with macarons, cakes, ice cream and
pastries. I had the almond croissant which was buttery and delicious.

We
then headed to the maple shop, Canadian Maple Delights. We were able to
sample some of their syrups and were given a little tutorial on the
difference between the dark syrup and the light. My favourite thing in
the shop was the maple taffy. They poured the maple syrup on ice and you
were able to roll it into a wooden stick. It was so good! It was a nice
introduction to Montreal with the cobblestone streets and the old
architecture and a fun way to meet my fellow bloggers before the
conference got underway.

Before dinner, there was a cocktail reception where we ate delicious
appetizers and met with some of the sponsors. It was a fun event, meeting with people who I only knew of online.

Dinner that night was sponsored by the Turkey Farmers of Canada. Our
appetizer was Turkey confit rillette with a blueberry basil vinaigrette,
crostini and a sundried blueberry and arugula salad. It was very tasty.

Our entree was Turkey paupiette with goat cheese and butternut squash
purée and turkey sausage wontons with sage buerre blanc. It had looked
like I had licked my plate, so that should give you an indication of how
delicious it was.

Dessert was a little bit different as it also included some Turkey. The
brioche bread pudding was served with dolce de leche, carmelized apples
and a smoked turkey skin brittle. I was surprised to find that
underneath the apples, there were chunks of Turkey! Dinner was followed
by a preview of Devour the Food Film Fest.

Saturday
morning’s breakfast was fantastic! Sponsored by Burnbrae Farms and
Gourmet Garden, we were treated to a poached egg breakfast bar. Chefs
made us a bowl with roasted potatoes, a choice of vegetables and Garden
Gourmet herbs. This was then topped with a poached egg and cheese. A
great start to the day for sure.

We were inspired (and fed) by keynote Ricardo, entertained by emcee
Mairlyn, motivated by Meghan Telpner, educated in copyright and contest law by Lesley Ellen Harris and Sarah Huggins and SEO by Casey Markee.

Lunch was sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Canada and we were spoiled
with some great grilled cheese sandwiches. I had the duck with
carmelized onions alongside some roasted tomato soup. Comfort food at
its best.

My sister came to visit me from Ottawa for the day so we spent the
afternoon walking and exploring. We made a stop at Juliette et Chocolat.
There was a wait for a table so we opted for take out. It was fun
watching all the creations come out of the busy kitchen. We shared a
very rich hot chocolate and a brownie cookie. It was a nice time to be
in Montreal, all the leaves looking beautiful in red, orange and yellow.

Dinner that night was sponsored by Canadian Lentils. The food was great
but my pictures were not, there was no light to take the pictures.
You’re just going to have to trust me that it was all beautiful.

We
started with smoked and fresh trout tartar with brown lentil blinis and
an apple lentil sprout and fennel salad. Our entree was a lentil strudel
curry on braised beef cheek in a lemongrass coconut sauce. Dessert was
lentil chocolate cake. During the courses, we were entertain and amazed
by Cirque Eloize – the strength and contortion abilities of the
performers left us in awe.

Sunday’s
breakfast was sponsored by Half Your Plate and was another winner. We
had bagels from St. Viateur with lox and cream cheese and a huge
assortment of fruit.

We had another great day of sessions learning about photography from
Andrew Scrivani, enjoying a panel discussion from Farm and Food Care Canada, and being inspired by Davida and
Ayngelina who turned their blogs into a business.

To get the true Montreal experience, they brought Schwartz’s Deli to us
and we enjoyed smoked meat sandwiches complete with pickles, coleslaw,
chips and black cherry cola for lunch. We had the opportunity to meet
with brands and make connections, a new thing they tried out this year.

All in all, it was a great conference. I met some friendly, inspiring
bloggers, ate some really good food and learned a lot! The weekend was
about taking a leap and from what I learned, I was able to set some
goals in order to do that.

A huge thank you to Melissa and Ethan, who planned another successful
conference. All your hard work definitely paid off. Looking forward to
the next one in Toronto in 2016!

stuffed puff pastry waffles

October 6, 2015 By Fareen Leave a Comment

You know it’s a great mail day when you get two jars of the new Reese Peanut Butter and Chocolate Spread delivered to your door. I’ve been a fan of the cups for a long time, always trying to resist splurging at the supermarket but most times not succeeding. Well, to have peanut butter and chocolate as a spread – I’m in trouble!

I will admit, some days, dessert has been spoonfuls of this stuff straight from the jar. Chocolatey and nutty, it fulfilled all our cravings. It’s also easy to convince a child to eat their apples when spread with peanut butter and chocolate!

The possibilities of using the spread in recipes was endless. I debated on crepes, cakes and ice cream. I finally settled on waffles. Stuffed waffles. Made with puff pastry. Are you drooling yet?

This recipe is only 2 ingredients! Those are some of my favourite recipes. Just stuff some Reese Peanut Butter Spread into two layers of puff pastry, put them in a waffle maker and voila. Super simple, and definitely a crowd pleaser.

Stuffed Puff Pastry Waffles

Puff Pastry
Reese Peanut Butter and Chocolate Spread

Roll out the thawed dough and cut out circles using a cookie cutter. Using an offset spatula, cover the circle in the Reese spread. Top with another circle and seal the ends. Place each round in a waffle maker until each waffle is done. Dust with icing sugar or top with whipped cream. Enjoy!

This post has been sponsored by Hershey’s Canada and I have been compensated monetarily and with product. All opinions are my own.

strawberry kulfi

June 19, 2015 By Fareen 1 Comment

One of the best things about summer is all the great fruit. From cherries and lychees to watermelon and strawberries, there is something for everyone.

The other best thing – ice cream! You don’t really need much of an excuse in the summer, right?

I decided to add some strawberries to one of our favourite ice creams, kulfi. The marriage of the berries with the kulfi mixture was a delicious one.

Kulfi is one of the easiest things to make. You don’t even need an ice cream machine. Just mix everything together and pour into the molds. Easy peasy!

Strawberry Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk

1/3 cup strawberries, pureed
3 splashes of kewra
essence

Mix everything together and pour into popsicle molds. Once frozen, enjoy!

** Kewra is an Indian essence used in desserts. It can be found in most East Indian grocery stores.

Kulfi

1 cup whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk
3 splashes of kewra essence
roasted almonds

Mix the milks and essence together and pour into a shallow dish and top
with almonds. The mixture can alternately be put into popsicle molds.
If using an ice cream machine, add the almonds in the last five minutes.
– See more at:
http://www.foodmamma.com/2011/07/kulfi-two-ways.html#sthash.ujjuXylV.dpuf

banana nutella spring rolls

March 13, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

While we were in Houston in December, we stopped to have dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, P. F. Changs. We may have gone there a couple times, but more on that later.

We had ordered the banana spring rolls for the three of us to share. Hubby and I were lucky to get a bite before Q inhaled the dessert. He loved it! How could you not? Bananas enveloped in the crisp spring roll wrapper and topped with ice cream and caramel. Yum!

This was a super easy dessert to make at home. In fact, it was made even better with Nutella! A spread of chocolate down the middle of a spring roll wrapper, a spear of banana, rolled and fried to perfection. It’s fruit so it’s not bad for you, right?

cruising on the disney wonder – castaway cay

http://www.foodmamma.com/2014/01/cruising-on-disney-wonder.html

We lucked out on our day at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. It was a sunny day, 28 degrees celsius and the water was a lovely blue, so clear that you could see the fish swim right by our legs.

There are 4000 chairs, so no need to rush off the boat to claim one. Right when you get off the ship, there is a post office, where you can buy stamps and mail some postcards. There are two post cards in each room but you can always ask for more from your state room attendant.

Just past that, we were greeted by Donald, and down a little ways, Minnie. It was a great chance to get some pictures with the characters without standing in long lines. We got off the boat an hour after we docked, so perhaps we beat the rush.

There is a tram that takes you to various points on the island. We got off at the first stop which was close by one of the souvenir shops as well as to Cookies, where lunch was going to be served. If you continue on the tram, it ends up at Serenity Bay, the adults only part of the island.

Lunch was a big barbecue with burgers, hot dogs, ribs, cajun mahi mahi and rotisserie chicken. It included all the fix-ins like coleslaw, potato salad and corn on the cob. For dessert, there was cobbler and great big chocolate chips cookies. There were also stations set up with whole and sliced fruit, ice cream and drinks.

Hubby went snorkelling and saw a submarine with an abandoned ship under the water. It was a fantastic stop and made for a really fun beach day.

chinese new year

January 30, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

This year’s Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 31st ushering in the Year of the Horse.

Food is an important part of the Chinese culture and a lot of significance is assigned to different foods for the New Year. Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness and good fortune.

Here are the top 10 lucky foods to usher in the New Year:

Dumplings: Symbolizes wealth as the shape resembles Chinese ancient money.
Rice Dumplings: The round shape of the rice dumplings represents reunion and their stickiness symbolizes cohesiveness.
Mandarins or tangerines: The roundness of these fruit suggests abundant happiness and wholeness. Their Chinese names are also homonyms for “gold” and “luck.”
Lettuce: As a homonym for “making money” in Chinese, lettuce symbolizes the fulfillment of wealth in the coming year.
Whole fish: The Chinese word for “fish” is a homonym for “abundance.” In Chinese culture, eating fish represents having a surplus throughout the year.
Whole chicken: A whole cooked chicken symbolizes prosperity and togetherness of family.
Melon seeds: These snacks symbolize fertility along with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Fried sesame balls: The round shape and golden colour of these snacks are considered lucky. According to the Chinese, since they increase in size as they are fried they are a metaphor for a small venture growing and bringing back a large return.
Deep fried pastry with sesame: This snack’s name in Chinese translates to “smiling mouth,” which symbolizes the happiness it will bring to the family.
Rice cakes: The Chinese name of rice cakes ‘nian gao,’ literally means a “higher year” or year of improvement or advancement.

Adding to the already impressive assortment of international foods
available at Real Canadian Superstore® locations, select new T&T®
brand products are now in-store making it easier than ever to celebrate
Chinese New Year on January 31st . A box of some of the goodies that they offer was sent to me. A few items included:

T&T® Philippine
Dried Mangoes: These dried mangoes originated from the Philippines’
famous mango city, Cebu. The warm, sultry climate and fertile soil of
Cebu make it ideal for producing the most delicious mango variety. Lush,
creamy and aromatic, these mangoes are a unique blend of sweetness and
tartness. Use them for a garnish in salads or as a substitute for other
dried fruits.

T&T® Dried Shiitake Mushrooms: The
quality and rich flavour of T&T® Dried Shiitake Mushrooms is
signified by their large cap, fissures and thickness. With a long shelf
life, these mushrooms rehydrate quickly in warm water and are great to
enjoy on their own or in your favourite mushroom recipes.

T&T® Senbei Rice Cracker: Senbei rice crackers are made with the
best rice from Thailand and are a type of Japanese rice crackers that
come in various shapes, sizes and flavours. Senbei are often eaten as a
snack with green tea and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy
refreshment or can be used to make your favourite canapés or hors
d’oeuvres.

T&T® Biscuit Egg Roll: This traditional
street food of Hong Kong and Asia is made with flaky egg dough from
simple but fresh ingredients. Try these biscuits as a delicious
complement to ice cream.

Real Canadian Superstore®
locations will also be carrying a wide assortment of fresh quality Asian
produce for Chinese New Year including Pomelos, Chinese Mini Mandarins,
Guava, Star Fruit, Long Beans and more. I especially loved their shrimp dumplings which were available in the freezer section.

Using the Shiitake Mushrooms as well as the Korean Kalbi Marinade Sauce, I made up this delicious dish. The mushrooms were meaty and absorbed all the tasty marinade. Even Q, who doesn’t like mushrooms, loved it. Not that I told him that they were mushrooms….

Disclosure:
I received a variety of products from President’s Choice along with a
gift certificate to try out some of their frozen items. I was under no
obligation to write about them. Opinions are my own. – See more at:
http://www.foodmamma.com/2013/12/presidents-choice-for-holidays.html#sthash.DMZwkj7b.dpuf

Disclosure: I received a variety of products from T&T/Real Canadian Superstore along with a gift certificate to try out some of their frozen items. I was under no obligation to write about them. Opinions are my own.

Shiitake Mushrooms in Kalbi Sauce
Recipe from T &T

1 can of T&T® Chicken Broth
15 pieces T&T® Shiitake Mushrooms
60 g T&T® Korean Kalbi Marinade Sauce
Chopped parsley

Soak T&T® Shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 1 hour. Remove the stems.

In large saucepan over medium heat, add mushrooms, chicken broth and kalbi sauce. Stir well, then cover the saucepan and allow the mushrooms to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Simmer covered for 1 hour.

Spring the parsley over the stew and serve immediately. Makes 2-4 servings

thanksgiving and apple pie

October 14, 2013 By Fareen 1 Comment

It’s Thanksgiving here in Canada. Happy Turkey Weekend! Hope you all got stuffed with turkey and were able to spend some time with your favourite people.

This year, we had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. She did a fabulous job filling our bellies with juicy turkey and delicious sides like cheesy mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.

My job was the apple pie. I have to admit, that when it comes to pie, I usually cheat with the crust and use puff pastry. I searched for a recipe that was easy and came up with one from Martha Stewart.

Q had fun pulsing the flour and butter together in the food processor (and sneaking some bites of butter when he thought I wasn’t looking). After the dough rested in the fridge for a couple of hours, it was really easy to roll out. I will definitely be using this recipe again.

Served with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream, it was the perfect end to a delicious and filling meal.

Apple Pie

Crust:
Martha Stewart’s Perfect Pie Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Combine the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until well combined and the mixture looks crumbly. Slow add water while pulsing until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 days.

Filling:

5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Finish:

1 egg
2 TB water

Combine the apples with the lemon juice, sugar, flour and spices.

On a floured board, roll out pastry, using your pie plate as a guide. Place the first circle in the pie plate and fill with filling. Top with the second crust. Fold bottom pastry over the top and crimp the edges. Using a pastry brush, brush the crust with the egg and water mixture and add some vents.

Bake at 375 F for about an hour, until the crust is nice and golden.

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stampede 101

July 14, 2013 By Fareen 1 Comment

Despite the devastation of the recent flood, the Calgary Stampede went ahead as planned. Thanks to the many volunteers, you could never guess that just a few weeks ago, the Stampede grounds were flooded.

We managed to make it to the grounds twice this year. Here’s a little glimpse of what we ate.

Milk and cookies. The cheapest deal on the grounds for only $1.

The Naaco TNT from the Naaco Truck. The ultimate indian snack. Made with cornflakes, chickpeas, puffed rice and other goodness topped with tamarind chutney. Yum!

Deep fried butter! Flaky pastry encompassing melted butter. A must try but definitely a shareable.

A jalapeno corn dog. We found a place on the grounds that made them with chicken/beef weiners.

Pineapple whip ice cream.

Good ole slurpee.

tasting menu at teatro

March 19, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Today is my birthday! As long as I don’t think about the fact that I’m a year older, I love birthdays. That may be due to the fact that in our house, we celebrate all week long! Our celebration began on Friday and since then, we’ve been to the hockey game, had dinner with my fabulous cousins and had a celebration with my awesome family. My birthday present this year from hubby was an evening at Teatro for the chef’s tasting menu. We had been wanting to do this for a while, ever since we observed another table enjoying the food when we were last there and I was happy to finally experience it on Sunday.

Good food is always better when enjoyed with friends so we were happy that some of our food-loving friends were able to join us. The food came out at a great pace. We savoured the meal and enjoyed the company and I was surprised that three and a half hours had passed by. Every time I thought I had tasted my favourite, they would bring out something even more delicious. It was an incredible experience and definitely worth the time and money. Teatro is great at making people feel special and their extra touches, like the stools for your purse, are well received. I also love the open kitchen so you can watch the chefs in action as they prepare the delicious food.

Here’s a recap of our fabulous meal:

Venison tartare