Vancouver Food Weekend

Hi Everyone!
Ah! I have so much to say and blog about.... Its going to take me a few days to bring you up to speed on all things food... I have a review of Karma: An Indian Bistro for you, Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe and a new Pancake recipe too!
What do you all think of my new layout? Its constantly a work in progress but I'm loving the orange. My wonderful boyfriend Ryan made the Chomp logo!! He's the best!
Anyway, I want to tell you all about my weekend in Vancouver. It was my grandparent's 60th anniversary (i know, what a feat!) so my sister and I flew down and surprised them! Besides the party, we ate-- and we ate well! We hit up a few restaurants and Grandville Island too.

On Friday for lunch we went to a place called Burgoo... and I got the grilled cheese!! I can't remember the last time I had grilled cheese so this was such a treat!

Four different kinds of cheese: Mozza, Gruyere, Emmenthal and White Cheddar on French Bread!

On the side a corn, chicken and cilantro soup!

A close up to make you drool!

This restaurant was reasonably priced at around $14 for the soup/sandwich combo.

On Saturday we decided to go to Granville Island for a few fantastic reasons. Partly because its a great place to walk around, visit and eat. Recently my friends Angie and Kevin both moved out to Vancouver and it was a great place to meet up with them too! Granville is practically foodie heaven with a great farmers market. Generally its pretty pricey, but you can find some good deals and lots of unique stuff if you hunt for it! Here's some pictures!

Fresh Pasta!

Vegetables Galore!

Grapes!

And Cakes...

And REALLY EXPENSIVE RASPBERRIES!

Think about how much you would pay for one container of those... maybe 5 bucks MAX?

These guys were 9.99 a pound... some where as high as 12.99 a pound. No thanks....

I love the way all the fruit looks piled high like that.

Yum! 

I am sad summer is coming to an end....

The upside is that it is apple season! 

Pretty flowers :)

These flowers are bright and happy, but so is Kevin!

Kevin eating some kind of salad wrap. I've never had one, but he seemed to enjoy it as it was gone in record time!

Cathy and Cheryl getting ambushed by my camera

Bread...

I decided to get myself a yummy blueberry tart as dessert. 

Kevin and I posing with our desserts.

He got a Napoleon cake. 

I was torn between the tart and getting gelato. I love ice cream and gelato, but figure how often can I justify getting a tart?

One of my favorite couples Angie and Andrew met up with us too!!

Happy Lady Bug Cake :)

This isn't even close to all the food we ate over the weekend, but its some of the best. I'm going to post a pancake recipe my cousin made for us yesterday morning sometime this week!

Also, you'll see on the right hand side a "Vote for Me" Project Food Blog Link. Starting Next week I will be participating in a food blog challenge and I will need as many votes as possible to continue on in the challenge. Please keep this in mind and start voting for me next week! I'll keep you posted on when it starts and how often you can vote!

Happy Labour Day Everyone!!

Chicken Soup for my sick sister!

My sister has a cold. It was cold outside. All signs pointed to soup!

I started with:
3 carrots
About 2 cups shredded zucchini
Into the slow cooker they went!

Then: Added 2 large chicken breasts

Chicken Broth (you can use whatever kind you like, boxed, canned or homemade!)

Salt, Pepper, Thyme

With about 1/2 an hour left I poured in some whole wheat macaroni... I think I poured in a little too much because it soaked up a lot of the liquid! haha But it was still delish!

I added some more pepper to my bowl and on the side had a yummy whole grain flax bun!
Hit the spot and warmed me up!!

Pork Tenderloin

Dinner Tonight was Pork Tenderloin from the Nature's Green Acres that I got at the farmer's market two weeks ago! I slit it down the middle, stuffed with with chopped garlic (3 cloves). Brushed olive oil on top, sprinkled with salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. 1 hour on the grill, flipping it every 15-20 mins!

On the side: grilled farmer's market carrots, yellow zucchini and red potatoes. 

Such a simple but delicious dinner and the best part of it was all local!! yay!!

Enjoy your Tuesday night people!

New Favorite things

So I don't have any food to share with you today, but I do have lots of other fantastic things to share!

First, I am now included on a list on Healthy Living Blogs. Its a great new website that has daily "What Health Means to Me" posts by healthy and active bloggers. Its alsohosts a fantastic list of health blogs-- everything from weight loss to foodies! I also think its great that they list blogs by area, which means I can find more Alberta like-minded bloggers! Check it out!

Now onto something more close to home: The Tomato is an Edmonton based publication that I actually picked up for the first time a few weeks ago at a coffee shop, but just kept forgetting to post about! Besides the "Whats happening" section which lets you know about great food events going on in the Edmonton area, it also has fantastic, local recipes and reviews! The summer one should still be in local coffee shops and restaurants and I believe the fall issue comes out sometime in September!

My latest tv addiction.... When my sister moved in with me, she insisted we get more than just basic television. I resisted just because of the price, but what are you going to do? I did miss A&E, History and The Food Network... wow did I miss the Food Network! I am in love with tons of new shows (well new to me! haha) This includes:
The Supersizers Go: two hilarious British people explore the food habits of people over the last few hundred years... it mixes HISTORY WITH FOOD-- its like this show was meant for me!!! ieeee...!!

Eat, Shrink and Be Merry: Two fantastic ladies challenge fatty caloric foods with their healthier versions in a taste test. I'm inspired to make their version of butter chicken sometime soon.

Anna and Kristina's Grocery Bag:  (This is on the W network or Viva) but wow! I always loved the Shopping Bags hints and tips, but this really is the best of all their shows. They make recipes from a cook book and make those recipes for a chef or cook that is known within that particular style of food. Their experiences let you know whether or not you would like that book! Its entertaining and informative!

Its PIE TIME!

Hello dear friends and readers... readers and friends....

So yesterday my friend Angie and I went for pie. It was a celebratory pie of sorts... she and I have both been in the same Masters program, basically the only two people attempting our thesis to be completed this month. Angie officially handed in her paper today but we had pie last night at one of my favorite places in the city, Vi's for Pies. And I got my much loved peanut butter pie...

BIGGEST PIECE OF PIE! 

I ate like half of it. I have leftovers for dessert tonight :)

Creamy... peanut buttery... chocolate rice crispy crust... What's not to love?

Angela opted for (German) chocolate cake. She also only ate half. I'm glad she got to go before she leaves me for the west coast!

In other pie news... I purchased a coupon from groupon.com that got me a Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria  coupon- buy it for $15 and get a $30 coupon! woo hoo! and its good until February, so I have lots of time to use it, though I doubt I will wait! I think this is a really cool website and hopefully they'll keep up with the great deals in Edmonton!

Cheesy Tomato and Meat Stuffed Zucchini

Om nom nom nom nom.... here is last nights dinner!!! So happy I found this recipe and decided to make it.
Here is the original link: http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/recipe-for-meat-tomato-and-mozzarella.html
I made a few variations ( i only used ground turkey, instead of beef and turkey, I also think my zucchini wasn't  quite the same as the recipes ideal zucchini, but I worked with it.)
Even Ryan mostly liked this, which says something!

Here is the ground turkey cooked up with the onions, green pepper and garlic.

With the tomato sauce and mozza added in!

In the oven!!! ohhhh la la!!!

Here is the copy and pasted recipe just in case you are in no mood to click on the link:

Meat, Tomato, and Mozzarella Stuffed Zucchini Cups 
(Makes 6-8 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

2 large zucchini or yellow squash, about 12 inches long
2 tsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil (may need more, depending on your pan)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 T finely minced fresh garlic
1 lb. ground beef (10% fat or less)
12 oz. ground turkey (10% fat or less)
(use any combination of ground meat you'd like, but use low-fat ground meat for the South Beach Diet.)
1-2 tsp. Spike seasoning (optional but recommended)
2 C flavorful tomato-basil pasta sauce
2 cups low-fat mozzarella or other mild white cheese (I used low-fat blend of six cheeses called Italian blend.)

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Chop onion and green pepper. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a non-stick pan, then saute onion and pepper for 3-4 minutes, until just starting to soften. Add minced garlic and saute about 1 minute more, being careful not to brown the garlic. Remove the onion, pepper, and garlic mixture to a bowl.

Add 2 tsp. more olive oil to the pan. Crumble in the ground beef and ground turkey, season with Spike seasoning, and cook over medium heat until the meat is well browned. Tilt pan to see if there is any extra fat, and remove with a spoon if there is, then stir cooked vegetables and garlic back into the meat. Add tomato sauce and simmer until the mixture has thickened and liquid has cooked off, about 10 minutes, then turn off heat.

While meat cools, cut zucchini into 2 inch thick slices, discarding ends. Use a sharp spoon or melon baller to hollow out a cup in each zucchini slice, leaving just over 1/4 inch of zucchini flesh. Be careful not to get too close to the skin or the cups will leak liquid when they cook.

Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray and stand up zucchini cups, open end up. Stir 1 1/2 cups grated cheese into the cooled meat mixture (it doesn't need to be completely cool), then spoon the meat-cheese mixture into zucchini cups, pressing down with the spoon and mounding it up a little over the top of the zucchini.

Bake zucchini cups for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and use remaining cheese to top each one with a generous pinch of cheese. Put back in oven and bake 10-15 minutes more, until zucchini is slightly soft when pierced with a fork and cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Enjoy everyone!!

Beets!

Hi friends! Just coming out from under my thesis rock to tell you about my yummy dinner last night!

Roasted beets!!! Gotta love farmers market season and beets. From August-October I always buy beets at the farmers market. so versatile. I think my leftovers are going in a salad today!

Got these potatoes at the market on Saturday as well.

They were great! And I must say, very clean right out of the bag. Some of the vendors produce is very dirty but the Hutterite stand is where its at when it comes to clean produce, especially potatoes, which i hate scrubbing!

Grille Zucchini!

All the veggies had olive oil and salt and pepper! thats it!

Had a veggie burger and topped it with avocado and feta. 

YUM!

Anyone else like beets as much as I do?