Rice Bowl with Peanut Sauce

It's official...I have discovered a new bowl which I am just a little bit obsessed with and is definitely going to become a staple meal.  First of all, who doesn't like eating dinner out of a bowl?  It's just that little bit naughty...like eating breakfast for dinner...and there's only one dish to clean.  Second of all, this has to be one of the yummiest peanut sauces I have ever had.  Whenever I see peanut sauce on a menu, I always get suckered in because peanuts are just so tasty...but by the fifth or sixth bite, I become peanuted out and the sauce starts to become overwhelming.  The addition of the curry to this sauce is brilliant and resulted in the peanut flavour that I love still being dominant but instead of becoming overwhelming, it had me coming back for more! 

This bowl is a vegan recipe but would work just as well with meat-friendly options, so feel free to mix it up.  And no, I haven't made the switch to vegan...my love of cheese will never allow for that!  This recipe was introduced to me by a vegan friend as a part of our vegan cooking lessons.  More than a few years ago, when my friend made the switch to a vegan lifestyle I instantly became petrified of ever cooking for her again.  What if I forget and put butter in, or use honey, or gasp...I make a cream sauce?!  In order to help alleviate my stress and allow us to continue having fun food adventures, we've started vegan cooking lessons and I'm sure glad we have!

Ingredients

• 1 package extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
• Rice noodles, cooked
• Minimum of 3 veggies (I used a red pepper, orange pepper, yellow pepper, bunch of kale and bunch of shitake mushrooms, all chopped)
• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp. ginger, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 cup of water
• 0.5 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 tsp curry powder (I used medium)
• 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp. soya sauce
• 2 tbsp. agave nectar (honey for a non-vegan option)
• 1 tsp hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)
• Half bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Place a glug of olive oil into a large sauce pan and heat to medium heat.  Add the tofu and cook until browned.  Remove the tofu and add the vegetables.  Cook until done.  While the vegetables are cooking, place the ginger, garlic, water, peanut butter, curry powder, rice vinegar, soya sauce, agave nectar and hot sauce into a blender.  Blend until smooth and combined.  Place the sauce into a sauce pan and warm through.  In a bowl, assemble the noodles, veggies, tofu and then scoop on the peanut sauce and sprinkle on the fresh cilantro.  Serves 4 and is delicious!! 

Julie's Fantabulous Pomegranate Salad

This salad is one of my all-time favourite salads! It packs a wallop of flavour, the crispness is out of control and it has cheese in it!...what more could a girl ask for?  It's great as a side salad with dinner, it works well as a main for lunch, but my favourite way to eat it is as my afternoon snack at work...keeps my mouth watering all day long!   Jules, I owe you big time for introducing me to this recipe.

Ingredients

• The seeds from 1 pomegranate (word to the wise, wear a red shirt when de-seeding)
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1 head of romaine or green leaf lettuce
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and tear the lettuce up into bite-sized pieces.  Sprinkle the pine nuts, feta and pomegranate seeds on the salad.  Mix the remaining ingredients to form the dressing.  Drizzle over and either toss or eat as is.  Either way your taste buds will thank you!  Serves 4 solid salad servings.

Why hello Mr. Salad...my taste buds are looking forward to meeting you!

A Falafully Goulish Night

Last Friday I had one of the funnest (yes I still believe that if I use that word enough, it will actually get added to the dictionary) nights ever!  It all started with fabulous company and a trip to Oak and 16th.  It had been so long since I'd been to this neck of the woods (five years to be exact) that I almost forgot how much I enjoyed it.  Calm and quiet enough to feel like you're in a suburb, but busy enough to let you know you're still downtown.  Add to that that we discovered Falafully Good...the night was definitely off to a good start!

The thing that I liked most about Falafully good was obviously their food (yummy in my tummy) but also the fact that they have a liquor license.  I don't think I've ever been able to grab a plate of Shawarma and a beer at the same place...genius!  Plus, the prices were right.  Two plates of shawarma, a gingerale and a beer for $25.75, tax in.  Look out McDonald's two can dine for $9.99, Falafully Good is gunning for you!

Top the night off with an eerie drive through the foggy streets of Vancouver to the Dunbar Haunted House...you couldn't ask for a better night out in October!  And for those of you who haven't been to the Dunbar Haunted House, get your butts down there.  It's very well done, will scare you silly, this is its last year, and all proceeds go to charity.  Word to the wise, though, the peak line time seems to be from 8pm to 9:30pm.

Hope you all have a Falafully Goulish Halloween! 

My Chicken Shawarma Plate: chicken shawarma, rice, salad, tabbouleh, hummus and pita.  (Approximately $10 before tax)

The X that marks the spot!

 

http://www.dunbarhauntedhouse.com/

@theDunbarHaunt

 

https://www.facebook.com/falafullygood.restaurant

@FalafullyGood

Helen's Grill

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, I love brunch.  There's something so warm and comforting about breakfast food.  Add to that the treat of going out and enjoying it...it's just the funnest weekend outing! 

A couple weeks ago, my brunching partner in crime and I decided to get out of our regular brunching routine and check out Helen's Grill on Main Street.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!  A diner that hasn't updated a thing since the day it opened, employees who are real, thoughtful and friendly, down to earth local patrons, and a reasonably priced menu with classic breakfast meals...I felt like I'd time travelled into a small town where I could relax and enjoy my meal.  It was great.  That being said, I'm not going to lie, if you're looking for a fancy breakfast in a trendy restaurant, this is probably not the place for you.  But if you're looking for a solid breakfast at a decent price, check Helen's Grill out.

My brunching partner in crime's two eggs, over easy, bacon, hashbrowns and toast.  ($7.95)

My two eggs, scrambled, sausage, toast and hashbrowns.  Yummy in my tummy!  Also, word to the wise, you can substitute your hashbrowns for fried tomatoes or fresh tomatoes at no additional charge.  I'm definitely going to take this offer up next time!  ($7.95)

The view from our table.

The X that marks the spot.

 

http://helensgrill.ca/

@helensgrill

September's Snackbox

Yes, folks it's true, I was treated to yet another month of Snackbox's yummy goodness!  And let me tell you, it was just as fun and exciting to get it this month as it was last month.  I couldn't resist sharing some photos and details on the products that my taste buds got to enjoy this month, so here you go...
 
Things to note: (1) Snackbox's $15 savings for first-time customers is still in effect until October 31, 2013.  Simply enter the coupon code "LOVEOFFOOD" when checking out.  (2) For further details on Snackbox, please see my post on August's Snackbox (http://myloveoffood-shayne.blogspot.ca/2013/09/snackbox.html).

 

https://getsnackbox.com/

@GetSnackbox

The official opening of September's Snackbox!

Discovering my plunder...

 

Snack 1 - Kind Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew & Antioxidants bar.  Very yummy folks!  Definitely a hunger-curbing and sweet-tooth satisfying snack.

http://www.kindsnacks.com/products/kind-store/buy-kind-bars/kind-plus/darkchocolate-cherry-cashew-antioxidants.html

@KINDSnacks

 

 

Snack 2 -  Gimme Organic Seaweed Snack.  I'm not going to lie.  I thoroughly enjoy seaweed on my sushi and in my miso soup, but I was having a hard time wrapping my head around eating it as a snack on its own.  When I finally worked up the courage to open the package, I was pleasantly surprised.  The seaweed was dry roasted and lightly flavoured with sea salt.  It was enjoyable and light.  I wouldn't say it would curb your hunger on its own, but it would be a nice accompaniment with a snack.  Plus, according to my boss, kids love it!

http://www.gimmehealth.com/collections/all

@gimMeSeaweed

 

 

Snack 3 - Mary's Gone Crackers Chocolate Chip Cookie.  These were nice.  Personally I'm a fan of soft, gooey cookies straight out of the oven, but for store bought cookies these were enjoyable.  Plus, I would have had no idea that they were gluten-free. 

http://www.marysgonecrackers.com/your-products/cookies

@GoneCrackers

 

 

Snack 4 - Home Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I found these to be very similar to Snack 3's cookies: good store-bought cookies, that I would have had no idea were gluten-free.  I liked the fact that these cookies were bite-size. 

http://www.homefreetreats.com/c-14-chocolate-chocolate-chip-cookies.aspx?c=o

@HomeFreeTreats

 

Snack 5 - Brothers All Natural Pear Fruit Crisps.  After last month's apple fruit crisps, I knew what texture to expect for the pear fruit crisps, and enjoyed them that much more as a result.  Nice pear flavour, and a good light snack.

http://www.brothersallnatural.com/fruit-crisps/

@BAN_News

 

Snack 6 - Nature's Path Q'ia Superfood Cereal (Cranberry Vanilla).  I quite enjoyed this cereal.  It was very similar to Feed Your Life's homemade holy crap cereal (http://myloveoffood-shayne.blogspot.ca/2013/02/homemade-holy-crap-cereal-feed-life.html) but it became a bit more porridgy and had a really nice cranberry vanilla flavour to it.  I'd definitely recommend mixing this cereal with milk or almond milk and not citrus water. 

http://us.naturespath.com/our-products?field_product_type_tid=5&field_special_diet_tid=All&field_superfood_ingredient_tid=All&field_new_value=All 

@NaturesPath 

 

 

Snack 7  - Brookside Dark Chocolate Fruit.  These acai and blueblerry flavoured nuggets of goodness completely rocked my world this month!  Hands down the highlight of the month.  I will most definitely be picking up some of these at the grocery store in the very near future.  

http://www.brooksidechocolate.com/usa/products/dark-chocolate-acai-blueberry

@Brookside_Choc  

 

 

 

Snack 8 -  Rocketfood Apple Berry Oatmeal.  I loved this snack as much this month as I did last month!  Easy to transport, easy to make and fills my belly...definitely no complaints here.  I did prefer last month's classic flavours to this month's but, that being said, I enjoyed both.  This will definitely will be making it onto my grocery list sometime soon!

http://rocket-foods.com/

@RocketFoodsInc

 

Snack 9 - Mediterranean Snacks Tapaz 2 Go.  Lentil crackers, classic hummus, all in an easy to carry box that turns into a serving tray?  Sold!  Definitely a great snack to carry along for a hike or trip to the beach.  Only word to the wise?  You may want to bring a few more crackers to ensure you're able to use up all of that yummy hummus!

http://www.mediterraneansnackfoods.com/products/tapaz2go-classic-hummus/

@medsnax

  

 Snack 10 - Dan-D Pak Maca'damia nuts!!!  I can't even tell you how excited I was to discover an entire container of macadamia nuts in September's Snackbox.  Talk about a score!  >ne of my favourite nuts of all time.  Plus, who knew that they came in handy dandy individual containers like these?  You go Dan-D Pak!

http://www.dan-d-pak.com/products/macadamia-nuts-natural-jar/

@DanDFoods  

Snack 11 - Angie's Boom Chicka Pop.  Literally the night before I received my Snackbox, I was over at a friend's for dinner and she was raving about this popcorn she'd just bought.  Turns out it is all the rage right now.  I thoroughly enjoyed it so, needless to say, I was a wee bit excited to discover an individual package in my Snackbox the next day!  Definitely worth a try if you're in the market for some pre-made popcorn.  And word on the street is that you can buy big bags at Costco for a fraction of the price!

http://angiespopcorn.com/project/sea-salt-popcorn/

@AngiesKettle  

Marinated Salmon

I was treated to a delicious dinner and an even better visit at a friend's house recently.  Not to bad of a return on a "hey, want to grab a tea tonight?"  I need to try that approach more often!

What was on the menu?  Maple Salmon, 7 super food salad and rice.  The salmon was marinated in an oh so scrumptious marinade which you can find here (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-salmon/).  As for the salad, I'd been told about this yummy goodness by a couple of friends and was really impressed with it.  It's the Sweet Kale 7 Superfood salad kit by Eat Smart.  The kit comes with a blend of 7 superfoods (chicory, green cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts) shredded with a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and poppyseed dressing for garnish.  Super quick and seriously amazing!  I'm definitely going to pick some up at Costco the next time I'm there.

 

http://www.eat-smart.net/products/product_salads.aspx?id=43

 

Cattle Baron

Ladies and gents, if you find yourself in Calgary and want to treat yourself to one of the finest steaks that will ever cross your lips, do yourself a favour and make your way to the Cattle Baron.  Unbelievable!  Probably didn't help that the company was superb and many a laugh was had, but even if I'd eaten alone, this meal would have topped the richter scale.

 

With a menu that looks like that, is there any question that a good steak is coming your way?

Seafood Platter: salt-n-pepper prawns, calamari, mussels and salmon skewers.  Yummy!  ($29)

In the front: Salt-n-pepper Jumbo Wings. ($13)  In the back: Short Dry Ribs.  ($13)  Yummy but the steak anticipation was killing me!

My Steak Neptune: Filet Mignon dressed with asparagus, crab meat and hollandaise sauce, served with a stuffed baked potato.  My mouth started watering just thinking about this again!!!  Unbelievable.  My only regret was getting the steak neptuned.  The Neptune itself was very yummy, but the steak was so good that I wish I'd just gone for a plan filet mignon so I could fully appreciate how amazing the steak was.  Regardless, it was one heck of a steak!  ($34)

 

http://www.cattlebaroncalgary.com/D4.cfm

@CattleBaronYYC