Gastronomy Blog

I can't believe I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks! There were a couple things driving that. First of all, my camera done busted. Actually, Microsoft Vista, in all it's exceedingly user-unfriendly glory, stopped recognizing my camera. Second, life in Toronto is a rollercoaster of events, appointments, things, places, people, etc, and I haven't had much time for cooking. Thirdly, I no longer have O.B. here to consume all of my experiments and so the fridge is slow to deplete. And fourthly, living in the suburbs, I can't walk to the grocery store so my creative recipes (previously envisioned at work, planned on the way home, and prepared with a quick trip to the nearby grocery store) have sort of dried up.

Yet, I do still have SOME creations.. here we go :-)

Minestrone soup from here, garnished with pre-slivered carrots.

The first of many salads... I've sort of become a nutter over salads these days. Must be all the fresh produce.

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Left, another salad creation using Byward Market vegetables (this was a couple weeks ago when I was in Ottawa) and Soy & Ginger salad dressing. The mixed greens are from a stand that sells bagged mixed salad with sprigs of dill (YUM!!!) for $2.50 a bag. On the right, oh god oh god oh god, I can't even look at this soup without gagging. It's Cream of Leek soup from the Bulk Barn which I bought because there was no cream in the ingredients... which is a little fucked up, don't you think? Anyway it tasted ATROCIOUS, I had to brush my teeth for an hour afterwards. *Gag*

Speaking of the Byward Market, it was so great to see all the stalls open and all the produce out. I can't wait to check out the St Lawrence Mkt in Toronto. Here are some Byward Market pics:

But anyway, back to the food:

I LOVE this green bean recipe. This recipe comes from my mother, who is kind enough to share the recipe:

Oriental Green Beans
1 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced (I use 1 teaspoon chopped garlic from jar

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook green beans until just tender, 4-5 minutes.

2. While beans are cooking, in a small bowel combine soy sauce, oil and sugar; stir and set aside.

3. Drain beans, set aside.

4. Spray wok or skilled with nonstick cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until softened, 20-30 seconds. Add green beans; cook, stirring and turning constantly, until well coated, about 2 minutes.

5. Add soy sauce mixture; continue to stir and turn until most of the liquid is absorbed, 1-2 minutes.

Again, with the salad creations:

I've become totally obsessed with mango/strawberry/dill-containing salads.

I like communal fridges for the variety of random salad ingredients found within. Here again, is another mixed green salad with mango, kiwi, strawberries, dill, sunflower seeds, papaya, and bean sprouts.

Rice paper rolls! AKA "Summer rolls". I loooove these things, esp dipped in plum sauce. Here's what they look like being made:

I ususally throw in avocado, slivered carrots and cucumber, cilantro, green onion, sprouts, pepper, etc.

A big stir-fry for some packed lunches, with my favourite noodle, UDON!! I also added grilled herbed tofu, frozen vegetables, VH Teriyaki sauces, and sweet thai chilli sauce.

Sorry for the blurry pic, but this is a slice of spinach-red pepper pizza from a downtown eatery (wish I could remember the name!)

That's all for now! I'll catch up on all your blogs later today.
               -Maureen