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When it’s guuuud

18 Sep

We have been to Guu twice this summer and both times we were delighted to find an exceptional variety of cheap and creative Japanese small plates to share. I happen to love dim sum but it is really not acceptable as a dinner option, so Guu is a great substitute when I want the bustling, shared, Asian food experience. Plus, just like dim sum, you can get your dining pals to be a bit more adventurous than usual given that many items are just $4-$6.

They also make their own Guud Ale, which has a mild caramel flavour and a smooth finish – plenty of personality but unlikely to conflict with the diversity of your order.

Some of the items we tried included: octopus balls with bonito flakes, duck salad with mushrooms, beef tendon soup, fried octopus with ancho mayo, and chilli sweetbreads.

Octopus balls with mustard and bonito flakes

Duck salad with roasted mushrooms

This beef tendon soup looks unappetizing, I know! But I promise you that it is melt in your mouth tender, and the broth has the purest beef flavour we have ever tasted. That big gob of yellow stuff is Japanese mustard, which you can add for a spicy kick as you see fit. It’s kind of like having miso soup as a starter – it’s only $2, give it a try!

Beef tendon soup

Octopus with ancho mayo

These sweetbreads are tasty, and they definitely convinced me to keep trying intestines, but I cannot tell a lie; after a few bites, I knew I was eating something that has a prior life involving poop.

In Spain and Portugal, plates of small whole fried fish are quite popular, and we ate a lot of them on our honeymoon so we wanted to try these fried silver fish. I would describe them as fish and chips in a single bite. Mr. ST said they reminded him of pork rinds. You know when you learn things about your partner’s life before you that just don’t fit with the person you know? Pork rinds are among the skeletons in Mr. ST’s closet.

Fried silver fish

We also tried a tofu and kimchi hot pot and the most incredible egg dish that was like a vegetarian scotch egg. Where the hard boiled egg would normally be surrounded by sausage meat, this one had mashed pumpkin, coated in panko bread crumbs. I was getting deliriously full by this point in the night, so unfortunately I have no photographic evidence.

Bring a date, or bring a crowd, and be ready to have fun with your food. Guu is noisy, casual and doesn’t take itself too seriously, something we could all stand to try once in a while!

A Mighty Bird

17 May

The Clay Pigeon

1002 Blanshard Street

Victoria (250) 590-6657

A lot of my work involves facilitating discussion, observing, listening, and writing – and on a Friday night after a particularly stimulating week, I was not feeling my after-work run so much as a little date night with Mr. ST to debrief and reconnect. We love food that is simple but thoughtfully composed, and restaurants that are casual yet special, and in the Clay Pigeon we found all those whims deeply satisfied.

I first heard about the Clay Pigeon from Ken at Street Level Espresso who helped design the cocktail menu and can always be relied on to know where all the fine arts, fun and good food are in Victoria.
Street Level Espresso on Urbanspoon
He also serves one of the best Americanos as well as baked goods from Devour. Painfully unproductive conference call? Maddeningly hedge-filled meeting? Unrealistic deadline plopped on you after days of waiting for direction? A coconut, chocolate, oatmeal cookie from Devour has solved all of these problems and more.

The name Clay Pigeon – and the promise of offal and charcuterie – reminded me of the English pubs we went to on our honeymoon.

I had a mild obsession with tracking down are the silly names!

Leave it to British people to sound dirty but in a perplexing sort of way.

But back to the bird! The Clay Pigeon occupies a space that has rotated through a few unsuccessful  diners concepts, most memorably Valentino’s, as the corner of Blanshard and Broughton. Bookended by Devour on one side and the Pink Bicycle on the other, my office area is becoming quite the little hip foodie hub! But don’t hold that against it.

For a small joint, they had a nice variety of less-than-standard wine options, including ones from Mt. Boucherie – a West Kelowna winery we don’t often see on lists in Victoria, especially not a Gamay Noir. It has lots of berry flavour without being jammy and has a lingering flavour without major tannins. It balanced the firey zing of my garlic-lover’s Kale Caesar Salad.

Speaking of ceasars, Mr. ST had himself an excellent virgin caesar.

He shared the bean with me because I have a serious addiction to spiced pickled beans. There are worse things to be addicted to, I supposed – like these strips of fried pig ear, served with a sticky sweet chilli sauce on the side.

If someone took pork belly and turned it into french fries, this is what you’d get!

We also munched on these root chips with homemade aioli.

They were an excellent primer for the biggest hit of the night: the bison tongue reuben on carraway bread.

Oh baby.

Take me away, Calgon! I don’t even care that they are crap-tastic Iphone photos. Ooozy cheese like this defies all resolutions.

If you still haven’t tried my three steps to charcuterie love, I think I just found the new first step for those who need a little more coaxing. After all, it’s hard not to acquire a taste for something if you start by smothering it in melted gruyere.

As we were paying, I noticed a wall full of lunch hour take-away sandwich options, all under $8. My usual go-to sandwich shop is the Italian Food Imports, but it’s nice to know there’s another Euro-twist sandwich option right around the corner now.

For more on the Clay Pigeon, check out EAT Magazine’s First Look.
The Clay Pigeon Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Power Lunch

18 Apr

Hi friends! Wow, it feels like a long time since I’ve posted. A few busy weeks at work and the sudden decision to sell our home and move out made blogging kiiiiind of a low priority. Real life and fatigue just got in the way of my blogging mojo for a while, but things are settling down for us, boxes are unpacked, and dinner is expanding beyond soft boiled eggs, turkey smokies, and cereal (not all together!). It’s only fitting that I bounce back with a post about how I power through the day – with the help of a good lunch!

Mr. ST and I have a lot of food habits in common but lunch is not one of them. He can go almost the entire day without eating – a small nosh midday maybe – and then eat after work just to keep hunger at bay until I come home later and make dinner. I, however, will crash and burn come 3 p.m. if I haven’t had a nutritious and satisfying lunch.

Having watched my co-workers lament the expense of takeout lunch and the challenge of preparing, packing and remembering to bring a brown bag, I thought it time to give you a peek into my lunch box. Plus, whether it’s for health or financial belt-tightening, brown bagging always seems to be an “in” resolution. And if you already gave up on those resolutions, maybe I can help you get back on.

Strawberry Swiss Chard Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Before I continue this attempt at inspirational writing, I would just like to give voice to my inner cynic and say I abhor the standard discourse of the Rachel Ray fast and easy meal prep devotees. They always focus on family dining and DINNER as the most important and hardest meal of the day to plan. But the rest of the world—single, coupled, pet-owning, workaholic, fitness freaks, lazybones—we all have busy days, or at least ones when we DO NOT feel like cooking, let alone contemplate what we should eat tomorrow! Whatever your lifestyle, we can all benefit from healthy, convenience fridge-hacking skills. ‘Scuse me while I get off my soapbox now.

Below I’ve compiled a list of my favourite power lunches. Well-rounded meals, easy to pack and go, that keep me full but also give me energy to get through the rest of my day (which usually includes an hour or an hour and a half of working out).

As if bloggers need any more disclaimers, I have one. I love spending an entire afternoon in food prep zen. Something about the grey light of sun-filtered rain clouds coming through the skylight makes all the veggie chopping, granola bar baking, and soup simmering feel positively meditative. Other times, the only thing better after a long run, a hot shower and some stretching in front the fire is a big sandwich, my slipper socks and a marathon of Sons of Anarchy (this is the honest truth and not deliberate precocious alliteration—I swear.) To that end, my five-minute power lunches are sometimes put together on the fly, sometimes prepped in advance, and usually combined with a portable quick snack to make a complete meal.

Power lunches, ST-style:

Granola parfait: Greek yogurt, homemade granola, leftover pantry dried fruit, diced seasonal fruit and sliced banana with sprinkled nuts and/or coconut).

Chickpeak goji berry salad with feta: I usually add more veggies to this, reduce the almonds a bit and use dried cranberries instead of goji berries.

Crisper-cleaner Bean salad: As a variation on the above salad, take whatever beans you’ve got left in your pantry, chop up some of the raw veggies left in your pantry (I usually have knobs of cucumber, parts of bell peppers and a half a red onion hanging out in there). Make it different by switching up your dressings!

Ants on a log: Celery sticks plus peanut butter, dotted with golden raisins or dried cranberries. Some of the snacks from childhood are more genius than I knew at the time!

Turkey Quinoa Burgers

Bulgur Veggie Burgers

Turkey Quinoa Burgers with Ginger and Edamame

Grown Up Granola Bars

Grown Up Granola Bars

Rye crackers with roasted cherry tomatoes, sliced avocados and hummus: Try The Healthy Everythingtarian’s Spicy Buffalo Hummus or Eat Live Run’s Jalapeno Cheddar Hummus.

The Healthy Everythingtarian's Spicy Buffalo Hummus

Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup (currently I am in love with Kashi Pita Crisp crackers alongside my soups. They have the texture of a pita chip and the flavour of a Wheat Thin!).

Ancient Grain and Mushroom Soup

Ancient Grain and Mushroom Soup

Just to state the obvious, I also rely on dinner leftovers some days too! The following recipes always net a few lunch portions and they re-heat well. I usually pack them with a piece of fruit or two and a grown up granola bar.

Almost Cheeseless Pasta Casserole

Stacked Roasted Veggie Enchiladas

Sweet Potato Aloo Gobi

Sweet Potato Aloo Gobi

Nigella Lawson’s Croque Monsieur Bake

For more lunch inspiration, check out the very awesome and hilarious Holly the Everythingtarian who did a clever little post of her favourite 5-minute meal and then hauled in a bunch of awesome reader suggestions in her comments. If nothing there turns your crank, try Ann’s post on packing lunch in five minutes flat.

Happy munching!

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Playing Dress Up

11 Mar

I love the versatility and inspiring simplicity of making my own dressings. When I was a teenager, I spent a few months living with a Dutch family in France and every night’s supper was accompanied by a bowl of chopped endives, coated in the simplest of dressings: a tablespoon of dijon and equal parts olive oil and whatever vinegar was chosen that day. No sign of the overprocessed, overpriced bottled stuff that is always designed to last past the nuclear holocaust. And it doesn’t get much easier than that, but it can get a bit more creative—and I’m more inclined to eat salad when there’s a zing of originality to it.

In the summer, I love basil and balsamic blended with some fresh berries. In the winter I play with the abundance of citrus. Like now, you might have noticed Meyer lemons turning up everywhere – they are falling off local grocery shelves and spilling out of my Google Reader from across the food blogosphere. Here are my three current favourite dressings – including one that will help you use up the last of those lemons……

Meyer Lemon Mint Dressing

Dressing: 2 T chopped mint, juice of 1 and half  meyer lemon, black pepper (I used a 1/4 tsp of white pepper for the work spinach salad, 2 T cider vinegar, 2 T olive oil

Cherry Wine Vinaigrette

Courtesy of Lake Country Harvest – their cherry wine vinegar really makes the difference. I now believe the hype about flavoured vinegars – after all, it’s a lot safer and more fun than buying pre-made dressings with scary expiry dates, ain’t it?

1/4 cup cherry wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Several cracks of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of honey (add 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard if you like more tang)

Simple Honey Mustard Dressing

  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp honey

Equal parts Dijon mustard, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar (I usually do 1 T of each). You should add about 2 tsps of honey for every T.

Toss any of these dressing with some beans or a cooked grain (bulgur being my current fav), leftover produce, some toasted nuts and a little cheese if you’ve got it and you have a nutritious, energizing lunch with great texture. Or, drizzle over some steamed veggies with your dinner. Or, do the big bowl of leafy greens if that’s your thang :-P

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Leftover Revelations

3 Jan

I abhor food waste and am on a constant pledge to be more resourceful with what’s on hand. But over the holidays there were only so many rows of red velvet brownies I could comfortably part with (I sent both sides of the family home with some!).  There were only so many prosciutto wrapped pears I could reasonably justify on an hourly basis. I finally decided to get creative with the leftover appetizers from our Christmas Day graze and turned them into some great main dishes all their own. I humbly suggest you might even make these dishes the original intention for your ingredients! I strongly believe eating leftovers does NOT have to mean eating the same thing as the day before.

Roasted fennel and squash salad with walnuts, goat’s milk feta, and balsamic drizzle

Butternut squash and goat’s milk feta (from my kick-ass brunch frittata)

Roasted sliced fennel bulbs (from the afternoon antipasti platter)

Walnuts (from a million hours of baking)

Balsamic reduction (My biggest Christmas shortcut—I just bought a bottle for finishing dishes and will probably do so forever more.)

Arugula (from a Christmas Day prosciutto-wrapped pear salad)

I also had a last minute instinct to add pomegranate seeds to this salad, post-photo. They added a punch of bright tang so I suggest you do the same.

 Instead of making a tortiere for Christmas Day—knowing we were eating munchies all day—I opted to turn my tortiere recipe into a meatball. Actually, I turned it into 56 meatballs for a holiday when we were having a maximum of 10-11 people over two days. At least I had flash frozen the raw meatballs days earlier so I only needed to deal with about 25 senselessly cooked meatballs.

Tortiere Slider Meatball Subs

And yes, that IS a meatball garnish on Mr. ST’s plate.

Ingredients:

Parker House, Parisian, whatever dinner rolls are kicking around after dinner

Tortiere Meatballs (recipe below)

Mushroom Thyme Gravy (I used this one and would recommend adding a good dash of Worcestershire sauce and reducing the heavy cream.)

Comte cheese (a medium-firm French cheese like a combination of cheddar and gruyere. Leftover from our awesome Ottavio cheese board).

Arugula

Butter mixed with a few cloves of minced garlic (according to your taste)

To make:

Spread some garlic butter on your rolls and toast until golden.

Sprinkle with some Arugula and finely grated cheese

Top with meatballs and drizzle with mushroom gravy.

Sprinkle some more finely grated cheese on top.

Tourtiere Meatballs

Makes about 50 1.5” meatballs

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 lb lean ground pork
1 and a half  cups sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg

½ cup breadcrumbs

To make:
In saucepan of boiling salted water, cover and cook potato until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and mash; set aside.

Meanwhile, in deep skillet, sautee mushrooms, celery, onions, and garlic. Add salt, pepper, thyme, cloves, and cinnamon.Mix with the mashed potato. It should taste a little bit over-seasoned, since you’ve still got to add the pork. Let cool.*

Mix raw pork with cooled, cooked filling and add one egg. Adding half a cup of breadcrumbs if needed. Flash freeze individual meat balls on baking sheets so they can be bagged once froze.

When ready to serve, bake in the oven in a grease roasting pan at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes, depending on the size of your balls. Stir them into some warm gravy and serve.

You could also pan fry them but I would eliminate the mashed potato in that case—these balls are delicate (sorry, couldn’t help it).

*Note: it was my original intention to be absolutely precious and put a small ball of mashed potato in the centre of each meatball but time in the kitchen had already far exceeded time spent doing other cheer-inducing activities so I cut myself some slack and watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation with some shortbread instead.

Do you have any favourite “leftover” recipes from the holidays?

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