I recently read an article in the New York Times about the ackee fruit, and learned something very important that I felt everyone else should know about too.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Ack! Ackee Fruit
Labels: fruit, jamaicaTuesday, November 25, 2008
Eggplant Stew and Spinach Noodle Soup
Labels: fruit, persian
Anytime I get an invitation for dinner at my in-laws, I get excited. You are so well fed there that you are guaranteed to leave satisfied.
Lately, I have not been going over there for dinner empty handed. I almost always bring my camera along with me, and the funny thing is is that my in-laws expect it now.
To start, we had the spinach noodle soup. This is a hearty soup that is pretty much a meal in itself. Although it is very labor intensive, I do try to make this as much as possible in the winter time. I will be sure to post the recipe for this soon.
After that came the saffron rice that was served alongside the eggplant stew.
Persian rice always comes with tah-deeg. If I didn't stress it enough in my previous post, I'm going to stress it now. Tah-deeg is amazing. It is encrusted rice at the bottom of the pot. The picture below is potato tah-deeg: rice encrusted with potatoes. It tastes just like potato chips with a hint of saffron. It is a real treat!
This is the eggplant stew. Despite it looking very dark and heavy, this stew is actually extremely light and fresh in taste. I made this once for a dinner party, and everyone was surprised at how it tasted. They said it didn't look it, but it had a very refreshing tomato taste. This dish is usually garnished with fresh grape tomatoes and tiny, little pickled sour grapes.

The fruit salad consisted of mangoes, blueberries, and pomegranate.
These Persian raisin cookies are very light, and low in fat. It is on my "must learn how to make" list.
With food being such a big part of their culture, my in-laws kept trying to feed me more food after all of this. They also had apple spice muffins and almond chocolate crisps, but I just didn't have the room.Friday, November 21, 2008
Chicago Style Hot Dog
Labels: chicago, fast food, USA
While passing through Chicago O'Hare airport on my way home to Ottawa, I wanted to have a taste of Chicago...literally! There was only one way that it could have been done, and that was at the Chicago Style Hot Dog stand at gate C8. The fun part of travelling is that you get to indulge in fast food without feeling guilty.
Here is my must-have list of ingredients for a Chicago style hot dog:

Thursday, November 20, 2008
Whole Foods Market, San Diego
Labels: market, organic, san diego, sandwich, tea, USA
Travelling is not all glamourous for me. I do eat out quite a bit, but whenever possible, I try to eat healthy to keep me from being worn down from the fast pace of my travels.
My veggie sandwich consisted of multi-grain bread with an olive spread, swiss cheese, shredded carrots, fresh avocado, red onions, lettuce, tomato, and grilled zucchini. 
I also discovered G.T.'s Organic Raw Kombucha tea while shopping here. I had never tried it before, and bought it to get an introductory taste.
Kombucha is a hand made chinese tea that is delicately cultured for 30 days. It is said to be good for digestion, liver function, and healthy skin and hair.
This particular kombucha tea was mixed with lemon juice and tasted almost like a carbonated salty lemon drink. The kombucha had a very strong smell to it, and also had a very distinct taste.
G.T.'s began bottling kombucha tea in 1995 after his mother's success from drinking it during her battle with breast cancer.
What you see at the top of the bottle are strands of the culture. They are normal and only occur in raw kombucha. I wasn't sure if you could drink it or not, so I decided to play it safe, and drank only the liquid.

Old Town Mexican Cafe, San Diego
I got a call telling me that two friends were landing in San Diego tonight, and that they were all meeting up for dinner near their hotel at Old Town Mexican Cafe. Being from Canada, real Mexican food is hard to find, so naturally, I accepted the offer.

My main meal was the trio enchilada: shrimp, chicken, and beef served with a side of beans. The shrimp enchilada was my favourite.
S also ordered the trio enchilada, but I honestly don't know how his ended up looking so different from mine. He said that he asked for his Sonora style but from what I've read, the only difference is that one is baked and the other is pan fried. I sent him a few emails afterwards asking about how he got his enchiladas to look the way it did, but his answers were vague, and he jokingly called me a silly gringo for all my questions. Gringo is a Spanish term used in some Latin American countries for 'foreigner'.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Roy's, San Diego
Labels: hawaiian, san diego, USA
Roy's Hawaiian fusion restaurant recently opened its 8th California restaurant in San Diego. Although I was told it was a good restaurant, I was reluctant to dine here because it is technically a "restaurant chain", which I am not fond of. However, Chef Roy Yamaguchi, who owns the chain, has been operating successfully for 20 years, and ensures that he trains and mentors each of his local restaurant chef partners. Chef Roy Yamaguchi is best known for his unique combination of European techniques with ingredients from Asia Pacific.
We sat at a patio table that was right beside a fire pit to keep us warm from the night time breeze. Hawaiian music was playing all night which made you feel like you were on the islands, far away.
For mains, two of us ordered Roy's classic trio. This dish was marked as an original favourite on the menu which meant that it has been a favourite menu item since the opening of the first Roy’s in Honolulu in 1988. The classic trio is a sampling of three traditionally prepared fish: hibachi grilled salmon, blackened island ahi, and Hawaiian style misoyaki butterfish. This was served with white rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The misoyaki was divine, and I could have eaten a whole plate of it.
For dessert, I ordered an upside-down pineapple cake served with pineapple ice cream. It takes at least 20 minutes to make, so if you plan on ordering this, they reccomend that you let the waiter know in advance so you don't have to wait for it.
Roy's prides themselves in their committment to sourcing the finest and freshest quality seafood available. They focus on delicacies from the oceans surrounding Hawaii, and mentioned that most of their fish comes from the island. We all had a great meal...so much that no one offered to share anything with anyone.
Monday, November 17, 2008
A Snack at Harbor House Restaurant, San Diego
Labels: san diego, USA
While strolling through Seaport Village in San Diego, a friend and I popped into Harbor House Restaurant for a mid afternoon snack. Seaport Village is a nice little area filled with shops and restaurants. It is an arm's length from San Diego bay, and aside from the shops and food, Seaport Village also offers entertainment for both the young and old.
With the hot and sunny weather, we wanted our second choice to be chilled. The shrimp cocktail was refreshing, and it was served with a housemade remoulade and cocktail sauce.
Although it wasn't much of a meal, it was great just to be nibbling on some food while enjoying the beautiful view, and good conversation.Sunday, November 16, 2008
Mariscos German, San Diego
Labels: mexican, san diego, USA
San Diego was a great change in weather and scenery, and I left at the perfect time. Just when it was about to start to snow in Ottawa, I was on a plane to warm and sunny San Diego. It was about 85 °F on most days, and I couldn't have asked for better weather.
Prior to visiting San Diego, I attempted to do research on where to go to find good fish tacos. I was seeking for a place that would not only provide good food but a unique experience as well.
When the time came to order, I didn't know what to get because the entire menu was in Spanish. Luckily, a restaurant I had been to in Cabo, Mexico last year had some similar items, so there were some words I recognized such as "pescado". I was in the mood for fish tacos that night, so I put two and two together and ordered the pescado taco. The waitress recommended the mariscada taco, so I ordered that as well. To help quench my thirst, I ordered a tamarind drink.Before my dinner, I was served a camarón y pescado caldo, a shrimp and fish soup, in a styrofoam cup. The broth was a flavorful blend of seafood. I squirted some lime in it, and downed it quickly. I really enjoyed it!
When my tacos came out, I was excited. This baja street snack looked just like I imagined. On the left is the mariscada taco, and on the right is the pescado taco. Both tacos were served on fresh griddle cooked corn tortillas.Right before I was about to dig into my tacos, the waitress brought over two bottles of hot sauces (separate from the ones displayed on the table) and warned me that they were really really hot. I poured the hot sauce over my tacos, and understood clearly what she meant.
The pescado taco were strips of deep fried battered fish with cabbage and tomatoes with white sauce drizzled over top. It was made really well, and did not feel heavy and greasy at all.The mariscada taco was a combination of sautéed fish, shrimp, scallops, octopus, and veggies. The portions didn't look big, but the fish taco filled me up really quickly, and I was barely able to finish the mariscada taco.
I definitely recommend this place for their tacos. It's a nice casual place to sit back and enjoy your food the messy way.
I noticed that most of the locals ordered the caldos. The little bit that I tasted definitely seemed like it was worth buying.
Friday, November 14, 2008
A Nice Little Surprise in My Mailbox
Labels: australia, books, chicago, china, product, sydney, USA
My mailbox is a community mailbox where I have to walk a block down the road to retrieve my mail. Unless it is time to pay the bills, I am very slow to retrieve my mail.
I got a call from CK this morning telling me to go get my mail. I said I would, but completely forgot about it because I got side tracked (googling food related topics). I got another call from him hours later to remind me to get my mail, so I finally got up, and ran like the wind to my mailbox. I was excited because I knew would be getting a gift package of some sort. CK would not have been so eager otherwise.
And here are a some photos of dishes from My China (taken from the Kylie Kwong website):
In this book, the Australian born chef accounts her tour of modern-day China and Tibet. She provides many stories about her encounters with the people that made an impression on her, and she also provides snippets of chinese culture and traditions.
The most authentic regional foods are showcased, and this book containes over 80 carefully picked recipes. Most are very easy to make, and she has adapted many of the dishes so that they can be easily prepared in your kitchen.
Back in 2000, Kylie opened Billy Kwong restaurant in Sydney's trendy Surry Hills with Australia's beloved chef, Bill Granger. Kylie once headed the kitchen of Sydney's famous Bills and Bills2, which is where the two probably met. As you may have guessed, Bill Granger is the owner of Bills and Bills2.
This is completely off topic, but Bills serves the most delicious scrambled eggs you will ever taste. Upon ordering, you'll wonder to yourself why you would ever pay $12.80 for scrambled eggs alone, but you must taste it to understand. The recipe is on their website, but I'd rather be in denial as to what actually goes into those eggs. They are definitely not for the faint heart.

D ordered the chicken and beef fajitas that also came with warm corn tortillas.
Overall, the food was pretty good. It definitely was better than the Mexican food you would find in Canada.



