Matsuyama

This past weekend I had a long overdue catch up with a friend.  She lives in Richmond, so when she suggested the sushi place around the corner from her house, I was expecting decent sushi but was pleasantly surprised by how delicious Matsuyama was!  After the fact, I did a little research and discovered that it's touted as one of the best sushi restaurants in Richmond and I can understand why.  So, if you're in the neighbourhood and craving sushi, you can't go wrong with Matsuyama.

 

Goma-ae.

Gyoza.  ($4.95)

 

Rock N Roll roll ($6.95), Titanic roll ($4.50) and I can't remember the name of the last one but it had prawn tempura on the inside and was wrapped with spicy tuna on the outside...delicious!

Our very own pot of tea!  How awesome is that?

The X that marks the spot.

A taste of Italy at home...

Have you ever had one of those recipes that you absolutely love, but have altered so much from the first time you tried it that you're not even sure if it even resembles the original recipe anymore?  That's Spaghetti alla Puttanesca from the January 2008 edition of Bon Appétit for me.  So, this past weekend when I started getting things together to make it, I decided to try it verbatim again, to see if my taste buds had changed at all.  This is one of my all time favourite sauces to make...you'd be crazy not to try some version of it!

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 796mL can of peeled tomatoes in puree with basil (I couldn't find a can with basil, so I chopped up a fresh bunch of basil and added that instead)
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved and pitted (I bought the pre-sliced type...slacker, I know)
• 3 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp drained capers
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
• 3/4 pound spaghetti
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute (I found this was less than 30 seconds.  I find if you leave it for a full minute your garlic is on the verge of burning).  Add remaining ingredients, excluding pasta, parsley and cheese.  Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon for about 8 minutes (I left this close to 20 minutes as I was getting the rest of dinner ready).  Season with salt and pepper (I didn't add any...didn't think it needed it).

 

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until it's tender but still firm to bite.  Drain the pasta and return it to the sauce pan.  Add the parsley and toss the pasta until it's coated with the puttanesca sauce.  Let meld for a couple of minutes and then serve with cheese.  Serves 4.

 

My conclusion?  This is an absolutely lovely recipe that is good no matter how you make it.  However, I do plan on reverting to my version of the recipe in the future...changes included below:

1. Instead of using a can of tomatoes, I like to use fresh tomatoes when they're ripe and in season.  I'd normally use 5-6 roma tomatoes, diced small.  It increases the simmering time, but tastes oh so fresh.
2. I generally don't add the anchovy fillets.  It helps cut down the cost of the sauce, plus I prefer the saltyness of the olives and capers on their own moreso than with the anchovy fillets.
3. I normally only add a pinch of crushed red pepper rather than a half a teaspoon.  The half a teaspoon isn't too much heat, but I find it overpowers the flavours of the rest of the ingredients.  So, I prefer to add just a bit so there's a kick but you enjoy the other flavours more.
4. I tend to add less pasta because I like there to be a little extra sauce to spoon on top of the pasta when you put it on your plate.
5. I generally don't add cheese to this pasta dish.  I have a hard time believing this myself, because I normally like to slather my pasta in parmesan cheese, but I definitely like this sauce naked!

Enjoy! 



 

Now that's one heck of a puttanesca sauce, if I do say so myself!

Dinner...Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, halibut grilled and seasoned with sea salt, and grilled peppers and asparagus.  After this photo, I tried adding some of the puttanesca sauce to the halibut...delicious!  Would have worked very nice with sole or tilapia as well.

Super frog!

This past Friday night, instead of going out for dinner or drinks, I went to a fundraiser called Train the Trainer at Groundwork Athletics.  It was a blast!  It's an annual fundraiser where the trainers at the gym auction themselves off to the highest bidder for 10 minutes of training payback in support of a charity that encourages kids involvement in sports (this year it was Athletics for Kids).  Kegs of beer, tonnes of wine, yummy snacks, trainers dressed up in funny costumes, fabulous people, and a lot of laughs all led to approximately $5,000 being raised for Athletics for Kids (http://www.a4k.ca/).  Amazing!!

Okay, so what does this have to do with food?  In addition to the trainer auction, they also have a raffle and I won food!!!!  What are the odds of the food blogger winning food?  I was so excited!  I was a little disappointed that I didn't win the Pie Hole pumpkin pie (http://www.vancouverpiehole.com/), but I'm very excited to have some new workout snacks and to try some raw chocolate.

The other relation to food?  Without the trainers at this gym, there's no way I could justify all the yummy goodness that I eat for my blog.  Have no fear, I would still do it, but it would be a lot harder to justify!  The owners and trainers at Groundwork Athletics are good people with kind hearts who know their stuff inside out and will go more than out of their way to help you accomplish whatever goal you have in mind.  So, if you're looking for a change in your workout routine, I highly recommend checking them out...just don't steal my seat in spin! 

http://groundworkathletics.ca/

My winnings!!!  Protein crunch, Vega endurance gel, Chialicious drink mix, Giddy Yo Yo 89% raw dark chocolate and a $20 giftcard to The Buzz Café.  Look out Buzz Café, I feel a chai and scrabble challenge coming your way!!

Super frog doing some burpees and push ups on Granville!

The GWA crew!



Handy dandy veggies...

Why in the world would I ever want fake veggies hanging around?  Because they make the best storage system ever!!!  When Santa first introduced me to these contraptions, I thought they were cute but wasn't sure if they would be very useful.  Boy was I wrong.  They keep your veggies just as fresh as tupperware, they take up less space than tupperware, and they're in the shape of the veggie that you store, so you always know what you have in the fridge!  Brilliant!

I absolutely love these contraptions and use them non-stop.  So, if you're ever out and about and considering grabbing one of these hand-dandy contraptions, don't even think about it...just do it.  Especially since I hear Santa's workshop only produces a limited amount throughout the year.

Easter in Kelowna - an early Harvest

I spent this past weekend in Kelowna visiting family and friends, eating to my heart's content and basking in the sun...which led to a high of 24C!  Seriously, how often do you get to sit out on the deck pre-Easter dinner?  Needless to say, I was a happy camper.

On Easter Sunday, we decided to go to The Harvest for brunch.  It was great!  Didn't come close to comparing to my Mom's cooking over the weekend, but it hit the spot nonetheless.  For those of you who haven't been to The Harvest, it's lovely.  18 hole golf course, beautiful views of the city, very nice restaurant and a great patio in the summer.  You really can't go wrong!  I'll let the food do the rest of the talking.

Grandpa's Lobster Grilled Cheese: Atlantic lobster, onion marmalade, double cream brie, tomatillo chili jam, French loaf.  ($14.50)  There wasn't a crumb left on his plate when he was done, so I'm pretty sure he thoroughly enjoyed it, but he did say that the lobster got a little lost in amongst the rest of the flavours.

Grandma's half order Traditional Eggs Benny with tomato and avocado, served with home fried potatoes.  ($9)  I definitely didn't hear any complaints coming from that side of the table!

Dad's Harvest Par Breakfast: two eggs over medium, sausage butterflied, served with home fried potatoes, toast and preserves.  ($9.75)  Thoroughly enjoyed!

Mom's Tomato and Basil Scramble: two eggs scrambled, local field and heirloom tomatoes, fresh torn basil from the garden, mozzarella, served with home fried potatoes, toast and preserves.  ($11)  This looked amazing and Mom definitely enjoyed it.

My sister and her Three Egg Omelet: ham, mixed mushrooms, red and green peppers, field tomato and aged cheddar cheese, served with home fried potatoes, and a fruit cup instead of toast and preserves.  ($12)  Definitely no complaints here.  And, for all of you wondering, yes, it's hereditary. 

My Prime Rib Hash: smoked corn, red and green peppers, onion and home fried potatoes topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, served with toast and preserves.  ($15).  Very nice.

One of the highlights of the meal?  They brought easter egg chocolates for us with our bill!  For all hand model recruiters, please take note of my sister's unbelievable skill in this department.

 

(http://harvestgolf.com/ )

 

On our way home from brunch, we stopped off at Father Pandosy Mission.  I hadn't been here in years and it was neat to meander again.  So, if you're ever in Kelowna and are looking for something historic to check out, I highly recommend it.  It's pretty much at Benvoulin and Casorso. 

 

(http://www.okanaganhistoricalsociety.org/pandosy_mission.html)

Yet another gorgeous sunset in the Okanagan.  Location: a secret...mwah ha ha ha!

Big Orange

I don't know if it's because of all the fabulous sun we've been getting, but I've been craving bubble tea something fierce the last couple of weeks!  Big Orange is hands down my favourite place to go for bubble tea.  They make the best fresh fruit slush ever!  They also have a wide variety of other teas for you classic bubble tea drinkers: regular bubble teas, fresh fruit bubble teas, fresh fruit smoothies, fresh fruit slushes, ice cream bubble teas, freshly squeezed juices, waffles...it goes on and on!  My favourite is a Strawberry Grapefruit fresh fruit slush with pearls, no syrup. 

Things to note: (1) Cost is approximately $4.47.  (2) For you downtown Vancouverites, they are located in the basement of Bentall III, just around the corner from the food court and across the way from Coles.  (3) They have a variety of other locations in the lower Mainland, Victoria and Seattle.  (4) They have a frequent visitor card that looks like a credit card.  It gets swiped each time you purchase a bubble tea, and every 10 swipes, you get one free!

This day I opted for Strawberry Pineapple.  Yummy in my tummy!

http://www.bigorange.ca/

One of my favourite summertime salads...

This is one of my all-time favourite side dishes in the summertime.  In a bowl, whisk 1.5-2 parts olive oil with 1 part balsamic vinegar to make the dressing.  Cut cherry tomatoes in half so you see the seeds, add to the dressing and mix to coat.  Sprinkle feta on top and eat.  Absolutely delicious!