Chewies Steam and Oyster Bar

Ladies and gents, I always had an inkling that Chewies was a fun placed based on what I've seen walking by, but I had no idea it was the Rodney's of Kits...totally made my day!!!  Kick butt caesars, great drinks, amazing oysters, laid back service, and an interesting Southern-inspired menu.  Add to that that they have a nice patio and what looks like a rocking bar...I definitely plan on frequenting this establishment more in the future!  Especially if I can go with as great of company as I did this time.

My oh-so-scrumptious big girl Caesar!  Vodka, fresh horseradish, dill juice, hot sauce, Lee & Perin, pepper, lemon.  Who doesn't love a Caesar that comes with a shrimp?  ($9.50)

My dining companion's Bourbon Sour.  This looked like one heck of a drink!  ($9.50)

A dozen freshly shucked oysters on the half shell.  I'm not going to lie, I can't remember what type we ordered for the life of me...but they were amazing!  (MP) 

BBQ Shrimp and Grits: New Orleans style beer & rosemary BBQ sauce, parmesan cheese grits.  I have always wanted to try shrimp and grits but have never had the chance, so I was super excited to try it out!  The shrimp were delicious, the sauce mouth-watering and the grits smooth and creamy goodness.  ($15)

http://chewiesoysterbar.com/

@chewiesoysters

Salmon with Mediterranean Salsa

Now this is my kind of way to cook salmon!  Grilled salmon, tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichokes, capers, fresh basil and olive oil...scrumdidliumptious!  The original Grilled Salmon recipe came from my handy-dandy Earthbound Farm's Food to Live By cookbook, but I've included my version of it below.

Ingredients

• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 big handful of fresh basil, chopped
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 plum/Italian tomatoes, chopped
• 1 handful sliced Kalamata olives
• 2 tbsp. capers
• 6-8 artichoke heart quarters (from the can...I like the marinated type)
• Couple grinds of pepper
• 1 glug of olive oil
• Salmon (enough to serve 3-4)

Place all of the ingredients, except for the salmon, in a bowl and mix gently to blend.  Grill the salmon to your liking.  At the same time, heat the Mediterranean salsa in a saucepan on the stove.  This is just to warm it, so it doesn't cool down the salmon.  You don't want to cook it until the point that it becomes a sauce.  Plate the salmon, scoop the Mediterranean salsa on top and enjoy! 

Note: I love this salsa, so I normally use this amount for 2 servings of salmon and then on top of 2 servings of green beans.  If you prefer less salsa, you could probably stretch this to work for 8 servings of salmon.

The Mediterranean salsa in its warming glory.

Dinner!  Grilled Salmon with Mediterranean Salsa, home-made pesto pasta and grilled veggies.

http://www.ebfarm.com/recipes/cookbook

@earthboundfarm

Grilled Salmon with Tomato Salsa

I'm not going to lie, cooking fish is one of those things I've always been a little bit afraid of.  I don't know why.  Normally I'm in my happy place when I'm cooking away, but when I pull that fish out of the fridge...unless it's salmon and I'm barbecuing it, I get a little nervous.  So, I made a concerted effort to learn how to cook fish this year.  Why?  I love it!  And I figure if I get to the point where I look forward to cooking it, I'll eat more of it.

So, when I saw this recipe for Grilled Sockeye Salmon in Glowbal's e-newsletter, I couldn't resist giving it a try!  The result?  It was nice.  I generally prefer my fish with a bit of citrus, but I enjoyed this and can see myself making it in the winter time.  I've included the link to the original recipe, and have also included my version of the recipe below.

Ingredients

• Salmon (approximately 100-150g per person)
• Tomatoes (approximately 1 plum tomato per person)
• Garlic (approximately 1 small clove minced per person)
• Basil (4 leaves torn per person)
• Black pepper (2 grinds per person)
• Olive oil (1 tbsp. per person)

Mix the tomatoes, garlic, basil, black pepper and olive oil in a small oven-friendly dish (I used the cheese dish that I use for brie) and pop into your toaster oven at 400F for about 10-15 minutes...until the goodies start to caramelize.  At the same time, BBQ your salmon until cooked to desired doneness.  Plate the salmon and spoon the salsa overtop.  Enjoy!

Glowbal Group's Grilled Salmon

Dinner!

http://www.glowbalgroup.com/glowbals-summer-bbq-series-grilled-sockeye-salmon/

Twitter: @Glowbal_Group

Fresh, Local, Wild...

I recently made my first trip of the year to Fresh, Local, Wild with my long-legged food truck adventuring friend.  Before we even got to the truck, I had a good idea of what I was going to order: the BC Fish Shawarma.  My friend's husband (who will remain nameless, but for those of you who know him, he has one heck of a stare!) had told me fabulous things about the shawarma so, even though I wasn't fully convinced that seafood would work in a shawarma, I had to try it.

Low and behold, it was delicious!  My long-legged friend ordered one as well and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the plethora of veggies and was impressed with the amount of fish.  All in all, a very yummy lunch.  Word of wisdom, though, grab some napkins.  And then once you've grabbed as many as you think you'll need, grab that amount again.  And, whatever you do, don't make a rookie mistake like I did and eat directly over your lap.  All that yummy goodness doesn't come without a little messiness!

My BC Fish Shawarma: ling cod, halibut, steelhead, tabouleh, red onion, pita, hummus, and hot sauce.  ($10 + tax)

 

The menu.

The X that marks the spot.

 

http://www.freshlocalwild.com/

Twitter: @freshlocalwild

The Daily Catch

When I'm trying to decide which food truck to check out for lunch, I generally check the Vancouver Street Food App to see what's open that day.  It's super handy since the trucks move around quite a bit.  The only thing is that it can be torturous at times...showing that those food trucks you've been dying to try are open...they're just not anywhere near you!

So, when I was meeting up with a friend last week and checked to see what our options were, I was ecstatic to find The Daily Catch was downtown!  It quite often resides out in the Commercial area.  As a result, it didn't take much for both of us to be convinced to check this food truck out...and it definitely kept up to its promise of delivering a daily catch.  Cue the photos...

Where the magic happens.

My friend's Tacos: crispy panko-crusted cod, shredded cabbage, tomato salsa, and chipotle aioli, served in a soft corn tortilla.  ($8 + tax)  These looked delicious, and my friend said they were delicious.  However, they'd be better for a light lunch than an "I'm famished" lunch.  My friend said it was enough for her for lunch, but I was famished that day and I probably would have needed at least three, if not four, to fill up.

My 1 piece Cod and Chips: Westcoast ale battered cod, served with truckmade fries, coleslaw, tartar and a quarter of a pickle.  ($7.50 + tax)  If it's fish and chips that you're after, this is definitely a great place to grab it from.  The fish itself was piping hot and perfectly fried, the fries actually tasted like homemade fries (they were awesome), the coleslaw was nice and refreshing with just the right amount of dressing and the pickle was a fabulous touch.  Not to mention it was a good bang for your buck.  I don't think I've ever been able to order fish and chips under $10.  To top it all off, they have five different types of vinegar to choose from...from the classic malt vinegar to jalapeno vinegar.  Definitely added some extra entertainment to my fry consumption.

 

Your options.

My view at lunch.  Not too shabby!

 

http://dailycatch.org/

Twitter: @The_Daily_Catch

 

http://streetfoodapp.com/vancouver

My night with Jamie...

Jamie Oliver that is!!!  Okay, so maybe he wasn't there in person but he was definitely there in spirit.  My starter, main and dessert all came from his cookbooks.  They resulted in an absolutely scrumptious treat of a home-cooked meal, if I do say so myself! 

Starter - Jamie's Crispy Asparagus Soldiers
My parents make a scrumptious variation of this (asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and grilled on the barbeque), so I couldn't resist trying Jamie's version.  Essentially you wrap asparagus in pancetta (singles, or doubles if you have skill), pop them on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and bake them at 425F until the pancetta is crispy.  Jamie suggested 10 minutes for baking, mine took about 20 minutes.  I'm guessing it was because I was only able to get thickly sliced pancetta. 

Things to note: (1) The pancetta didn't wrap very well, so I ended up tucking the ends underneath to get the pancetta to stay put.  It worked pretty well.  I think the pancetta would have wrapped better if it had been more thinly sliced.  (2) Jamie suggests softboiling an egg and then dipping your Crispy Asparagus Soldiers into the softboiled egg.  I opted to keep this starter very simple and didn't try that, so am not sure how it would taste.  (3) You can find this recipe on page 20 of Cook Your Way to the Good Life (http://www.amazon.ca/Jamie-Home-Cook-Your-Good/dp/0718152433)

I thoroughly enjoyed this appy.  The flavours were awesome together and I especially liked the saltiness of the pancetta.  I will definitely make this again.

 
Main
Up next was Paella!  I love Paella and have always wanted to try making it, so when Jamie's Favourite Paella recipe popped up on his twitter feed the other day, I couldn't resist trying it out.  It was a full on adventure from shopping for the ingredients, to cooking the Paella, to eating it.  The final product turned out flavourful and yummy, and I will definitely make this recipe again but, I'm not going to lie, there was a hiccough along the way...more details below.
 
Things to Note:

1. You can find the recipe for this yummy goodness at:  http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/seafood-recipes/my-favourite-paella  
2. I halved the online recipe's ingredients and it was good for three very hungry people, or four less hungry people.  
3. I noticed that in a lot of Jamie's (yes, we're on a first name basis now) paella recipes, he uses pancetta in the same manner that he used the pork belly in this recipe.  So, since I already had pancetta, I substituted it for the pork belly and it tasted pretty darn good.  
4. I swear it must be easier to buy illegal drugs than saffron.  For you Vancouverite folks, here's a tip: it's held under lock and key at the Customer Service Counter at Whole Foods.  
5. I had no idea what 200g of tinned tomatoes would be, so I used one small can, which was probably a bit too much.  I'd use 1/2 to 3/4 of a small tin in the future.  
6. I looked high and low for paella rice and didn't have any luck.  However, as I was phoning around to a gazillion and one stores, I hit the jackpot with a lovely Spanish lady who works at Greens (http://www.greensmarket.ca/home.php).  She told me that when she makes her paella she uses Basmati rice and she prefers it to traditional paella rice because it gives it a nice nutty taste.  So, save yourself some time and use basmati rice!  
7. Interesting fact: Greens has a bulk section that includes lovely items such as quinoa, buckwheat, goji berries, etc.  

Okay, so what was the hiccough?  For some reason, my rice just wouldn't soften.  I started out by adding the broth suggested in Jamie's recipe and stirring as described, but 20 minutes later I still had rock hard rice.  So, more broth was added and the lid was put on hoping that would help.  20 minutes went by and the rice was still rock hard.  It took about an hour and a half, double the broth recommended and a lot of hoping and wishing, and the rice finally softened enough that it was edible.  It wasn't perfect, but there were no complaints and my dinner guest went back for seconds, so it must not have been horrible.  I'm convinced I must have got some bad rice, but in case it was due to the fact that I used basmati instead of paella rice, ensure you give yourself a little extra cooking time.

I'm cooking Paella, I'm cooking Paella!

Look at that yummy goodness!

On to the plate you go!  One of my favourite parts was the squid.  I'd never cooked squid before and it was absolutely delightful.

Dessert
For dessert I opted for one of my all-time favourite Jamie recipes: Clementine Chocolate Salad  from Jamie's Kitchen (http://www.amazon.ca/Jamies-Kitchen-Jamie-Oliver/dp/1401300227).  This dessert is heavenly.  It's refreshing, light, sweet, flavourful and just ever so lovely!  For those of you that don't have Jamie's Kitchen, I've included my version of the recipe below.  However, I must warn you, many an elephant died in the making of this dessert. 

Ingredients

• Clementine oranges - this is going to make up the bulk of the dessert, so select the number you need based on the size of the oranges, the number of people and the portion size you want to serve. 
• Fresh mint, approximately 3 leaves per person, chopped fine
• Slivered almonds
• Shaved bittersweet or dark chocolate
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp water
• 1 vanilla bean (you can use pure vanilla extract instead, but the vanilla bean is truly heavenly)

Peel the clementines and then slice them so you end up with clementine circles.  Mix the clementines with the mint.  This can be done ahead of time and put in the fridge for later.  Place the clementine and mint mixture onto the individual serving plates and sprinkle with slivered almonds.  Next, slice the vanilla bean in half and, with the back of the knife, scrape the vanilla goodness out of the bean. Place the sugar and water into a small pan or pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add the vanilla bean goodness, mix oh so slightly and then simmer until the mixture becomes syrupy and golden brown.  Drizzle the golden brown syrup over the clementine salad, sprinkle with shaved chocolate and serve.  I could eat this all night, every night!

Interesting fact: if you place the left over vanilla pod into a container of sugar, it will turn the sugar into lovely vanilla sugar. 

Just looking at this makes me want more!

 

Warning: the following photo is graphic.  Mature audiences only.

The elephant graveyard.

Tilapia with Fresh Salsa and Tomato Spinach Orzo

If you're racking your brain trying to figure out what to make for dinner this week, I highly recommend this recipe.  I tried it over the weekend and loved it!  The orzo was out of control...jam-packed full of flavour and freshness, and the salsa gave the tilapia that extra something which was really nice.

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/tilapia_with_olive_salsa_and_spinach_orzo.php

Things to note: (1) I find tilapia lacks a bit of flavour on its own, so I like to have a bit of salsa with every bite.  If you're in the same boat, you'll want to double the portions for the salsa.  (2) I used olive oil to cook the tilapia instead of butter.  This allowed me to use the same pan as I used to wilt the spinach.  Same yummy taste + less dishes = a much happier cook.  (3) I think the orzo recipe would taste really nice cold as well.  I'm planning on adding some cooked tofu to the leftovers and taking it for lunch this week.  (4) I got so excited about the new recipes that I forgot to plan a veggie, so I just had some raw red pepper, but I think some kale slightly wilted in lemon juice and garlic would go very nicely with the tilapia and orzo.  (5) The recipe calls for 2 tilapia fillets, halved.  However, my fillets were quite small and I ended up making one per person (approximately 110g each).  So, I'd recommend getting them weighed to double check proportions.

Enjoy!

Dinner!  Tilapa with fresh tomato and olive salsa, tomato spinach orzo, and raw red peppers. 

Dessert: fresh strawberries with 2% milk.  My favourite summer dessert!

The best dinner I've had in months...

As you all know, I love going out, trying new foods and enjoying the atmospheres of different restaurants.  However, this past weekend I feel very lucky to have been invited over to a friend's for dinner.  It re-reminded me just how gourmet and relaxing a meal at home can be.  It was a real treat and I definitely plan on re-creating all of the recipes again myself.  Thanks a bundle for the scrumptious meal!

When I arrived I was asked if I wanted a drink.  I thought the offer was for a beer or glass of wine...not a homemade margarita!!!  And let me tell you, these margaritas were dangerously good.  You couldn't even taste the alcohol...just yummy frozen lime juice.  I can picture many of these in my future this summer.  For those of you who would like to try and create this at home: 1.5 oz tequila, 1.5 oz lime juice, 1/4 oz cointreau, 1 cup ice, 1-1.5 oz simple syrup.  Blend and enjoy!

As we were enjoying our margaritas, we started making our starters: Amalfi Baked Lemons from Jamie Oliver's Italy cookbook.  They were absolutely delightful!  Every flavour that I love, all in one dish.  To replicate these, go to page 20 of Jamie's Italy if you have it, otherwise, you'll need 2 large lemons, buffalo mozzarella, 2 cherry tomatoes (halved), 4 basil leaves, freshly ground salt and pepper, 1/2 dried chili and 2 sardines.  Cut the ends off of the lemons and then cut them in half and scoop out all of the lemon pulp to create bowls.  Put a layer of buffalo mozzarella at the bottom of the lemon bowl, then place one half of a cherry tomato, one half of a sardine, a sprinkle of freshly ground salt and pepper, a few flakes of dried chili pepper and a basil leaf on top.  Cover with another layer of buffalo mozzarella and bake in the oven at 400F until golden (about 10 minutes).  Serve on toasted bread which has been rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil (subsequent to toasting).  Heaven on earth!  Supposed to serve 4, unless you have an appetite like mine.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Jamies-Italy-Jamie-Oliver/9781401301958-item.html?ikwid=jamie%27s+italy&ikwsec=Home

Our main consisted of David Lee's Baked Halibut with Tomato Salsa and Jamie Oliver's Risotto Bianco.  This was nothing short of mind-blowingly spectacular.  The halibut was perfectly cooked, the homemade tomato salsa was bursting with flavour and the risotto was divine.  As you can tell, I was a little excited to eat it and almost forgot to take a picture!  The true sign of a delicious meal.

 

The recipe for David Lee's baked halibut can be found at the link below...I highly recommend trying this recipe...and by highly, I mean you're crazy if you don't!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/recipes/david-lees-baked-halibut-with-tomato/article1056772/

The Risotto Bianco recipe can be found on page 130 of Jamie's Italy, or a very similar recipe can be found at the link below.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/rice-recipes/a-basic-risotto-recipe

As for dessert, The Udder Guy's Vanilla ice cream and raspberries.  The perfect end to a delicious meal!  Apologies for the lack of a photo.  By that time, I was too engulfed in food heaven to remember to take out my camera.

Feastro

Today was a treat.  Not only did I get to meet up with some very good friends for lunch, but I finally got to try Feastro!  The food was definitely yummy in my tummy good.

I had been tempted by the plethera of tacos, but wasn't convinced that they would fill me up, so I opted for their Bonsai Prawn platter.  It was heavenly!  It tasted like they'd cooked tomatoes in olive oil and garlic and then mixed in rice and prawns.  My favourite part was the skewer of grilled pineapple on top of the rice and prawns.  Definitely filling and scrumptious.

My friends opted to try a variety of the tacos.  They loved all of them, they looked very yummy to me, they were bigger than I thought, and I officially conclude that two tacos would have filled me up for lunch.

The bonus to this food cart?  They take VISA.  The downside?  It's a bit pricey, they don't include HST in their prices and it was a bit of a wait to get your food.  My meal cost $13 plus HST, and two tacos would have been $16 plus HST.  So, if you ordered two tacos and a bottle of water for lunch, your meal was over $20.

The cart is in a great location near the Olympic cauldron.  There were lots of shaded and unshaded seat options for your bum's pleasure.

 

http://www.feastro.ca/

Fresh Local Wild

Since the weather was so gorgeous today, three colleagues and myself decided to try out a street cart.  Our consensus was Fresh Local Wild and that was definitely a good decision.

We all ended up opting for the halibut Fish and Chips.  I ordered one piece and the gentlemen ordered two pieces.  It was delicious!  Some of the best fish and chips that I've ever had.  The halibut literally flaked apart and the chips were delicious.  Obviously not the healthiest meal, but for fish and chips, it actually wasn't that greasy.  I was also impressed with the way the food was presented: a box similar to what you'd get Chinese take-out in.  Very cool.

While we were waiting for our food, I was checking out what other people had ordered and the Fish Shawarma and Seafood Chowder Poutine looked very yummy.  I had been tempted by the Shawarma but wasn't sure if it would be enough for lunch.  After seeing it, I think it would be.  As for the poutine, we'd all been too scared to order it.  After seeing it, it's more yummy than scary.  It's fries with a cup of seafood chowder dumped over it.  So, instead of having potatoes in the chowder, you cover deep-fried potatoes with chowder.  Talk about a great idea!

Things to note: (1) There was about a ten minute wait for our food.  However, we went at noon (didn't beat the rush) and the process was well-organized, so it wasn't painful at all.  (2) It's not the cheapest food truck around.  One piece of Halibut and Chips came to almost $16.  (3) HST is not included.  (4) There isn't really anywhere to sit and eat immediately around this food cart.  However, if you walk one block North to the convention center, there's a plethera of benches.

Enjoy!

http://www.freshlocalwild.com/