Search Results for: valentine

kashi and heart health month

February 21, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

With Valentine’s Day being in February, it seems appropriate that it is Heart Health Month.

Kashi has a new addition to its family of natural foods – Blueberry Oat Clusters and Flakes, just in time for Heart Health Month. Each cup of this cereal contains 6 grams of protein and offers 45
percent of the daily amount of fibre shown to help lower cholesterol.

Q loved the blueberry taste and I liked having both the flakes and the clusters – you don’t have to choose!

Kashi wants you to try a box for yourself. Enter below for your chance to win!

homemade almond joy

February 18, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

It’s become a tradition that hubby gets homemade chocolates for Valentine’s Day. I was looking for something different this time, having already made truffles a number of times, and homemade Ferrero’s last year.

I considered homemade turtles but then realized the caramel and pecans would be more for me than my love. When I found this recipe for homemade almond joy from Joy the Baker, I thought it was the perfect idea.

It didn’t take long and the chocolates tasted so close to the real thing. Of course, my little man had to get a box too! I made his a little smaller and he was so excited to get some homemade chocolates from his mamma.

Homemade Almond Joy
From Joy the Baker

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
30 roasted almonds
about 20 ounces of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in the unsweetened coconut. The mixture will be thick. Place mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the coconut mixture from the freezer. With clean hands shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick. Press the logs together very well so they don’t crack when dipped. Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.

Place a medium pot with two inches of water over a medium flame. Bring the water to a simmer. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place the bowl over the simmering water. Stir the chocolate as it melts. Turn off the flame once the chocolate has melted but keep the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water.

Remove the formed coconut from the fridge. Place one coconut almond log on a fork. Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond. This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping. Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place on the lined baking sheet.

Let dipped candy harden in the fridge for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. If you need to layer the candy in a container, use waxed paper to separate the layers

homemade ferrero chocolates

February 14, 2012 By Fareen 1 Comment

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate the day of love, I made hubby one of his favorite chocolates – Ferrero Rocher.

It was ridiculously easy to make and so good! The recipe for this is all over the web. You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make the chocolates. Just hazelnut wafers, crushed hazelnuts, nutella and chocolate.

Hubby loved these and thought they tasted even better than the real thing! A little dangerous to be able to make these so easily at home.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share a line from one of my favourite poems, Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way.

Homemade Ferrero Chocolates
10 hazelnut wafer sticks
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
2/3 cup Nutella
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tb whipping cream

Crush the wafers and mix it together with the hazelnuts. Once combined, fold in the Nutella. Chill the mixture until firm, about 1 hour. Form small balls and chill again for another hour.

Melt the chocolate and whipping cream in a double boiler. Dip the hazelnut balls into the chocolate until covered. Garnish with more hazelnuts if you wish. Enjoy!

ruth’s chris steakhouse

March 11, 2011 By Fareen 1 Comment

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, hubby and I chose to have dinner at Ruth’s Chris. We had been to one Ruth’s Chris in Vegas a couple of years ago but we hadn’t tried the Calgary location. We had heard such a range of reviews, we just had to check it out for ourselves.

For Valentine’s Day, Ruth’s Chris was offering up their date night menu – an appetizer to share, an entree each, a dessert to share and wine for $99. It was a good thing we had reservations because the place was busy! The restaurant, located in the Tower Centre, was on the 2nd floor and had a good view of downtown. Ruth’s Chris provided parking in the Tower Centre.

To start, we settled on the mushrooms stuffed with crabmeat. There were four mushrooms and the crab stuffing was pretty good. We were also served garlic bread and cheese bread, both of which were delicious and we had inhaled them long before our steaks arrived.

For our mains, I ordered the 8 oz petit filet and hubby ordered the 12 oz new york strip. The steaks came sizzling to the table in butter, how could that not be good! The petit filet was perfect if you were looking for meat that was soft and melted in your mouth. For flavour, the new york strip was the way to go. By ordering one of each, we had the best of both worlds.

We were able to order two sides to go along with our meals. We ordered the sauteed mushrooms and the mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, the sides were bland and disappointing. The mushrooms tasted like they were straight from a can.

To finish off our meal, we chose the creme brulee. Creme brulee is one of those desserts that we order every chance we get. This was one of the best brulees we have had! The sugar topping was light and delicate and the custard was creamy.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal. Except for the sides, the food was good. The service, which is a huge factor for me, was really good. Our waiter was very attentive and even the manager came to every table to ensure that everything was going well. We will definitely go back for the steak!