Vancouver Food, Part 1

Busy times! Last week, I returned from a trip to Vancouver to visit friends & family. I have a ton of photos, so it's hard to sort out where to start.

How about Ikea?

What is a trip to the coast without a stop at Ikea? My dad loves Ikea, particularly their food section. He loves their coffee and he stocked up big time. He also likes their bread mixes, and so do I, so he bought a few of those, too. Dad really likes the Ikea cafeteria, for reasons I just don't get. Yeah, it's inexpensive, but I was at the coast - I wanted to have lunch somewhere more "coasty". We compromised by having a snack at the cafeteria (which is oddly very similar to the BC Ferries cafeterias) and going somewhere else for lunch.

So, here is what we had.

My SIL had this chocolate torte thingy that you can buy whole in the frozen section of the food part of the store. She said it was pretty good. She downed it with a lingonberry juice.

My dad had this bran muffin that had an odd shape. He downed it with some of his favourite Ikea coffee. I have been advised that when I go to Van in June (which is in the works) that should I pass by Ikea, I am go to in and buy Dad a huge stockpile of coffee and bread mixes.

I had an Ikea cinnamon bun. It was OK. I've had way better, which you will hear about in the future!

Pancake Tuesday 2011

Tonight was one of my favourite nights on the calendar: Pancake Tuesday. AKA Shrove Tuesday, AKA Mardi Gras, AKA Fat Tuesday. As usual, I had a dinner, but this year it was only my dad and me. Because he likes things made with whole grains, I made whole wheat and oatmeal pancake recipe, and because I don't have a griddle or a frying pan of decent size, I turned these into waffles. My dad, as usual, supplied some locally-made sausages & bacon. In this case, they were buffalo English sausages, and the bacon was something a friend of his was experimenting with, but it was way too salty for my taste and it cooked up very strange, causing quick burning & a lot of smoke. There must have been something in the curing solution that made this happen. And of course there was tons of maple syrup!

The recipe for the pancakes/waffles is here, from the February 2008 issue of Gourmet Magazine. and also constitutes my third magazine recipe of the week! I am three for three! I'll be submitting this to Magazine Monday for sure! The recipe turned out great and I'd definitely make them again.

Happy Pancake Tuesday everyone! :)

Magazine Monday #77: Flaky Biscuits

Wow, two recipes in two days - go me!

I just whipped some borscht out of the freezer for dinner tonight and needed something to go with it, so I flipped through my clipped recipes and found a biscuit recipe I hadn't tried yet.

This is it. It is, once more, from Canadian Living, this time the May 2010 issue.

I added fresh dill from my AeroGarden and some grated cheddar cheese, and they were fantastic hot out of the oven! This is one of the nicest biscuits I've ever made, I think. Definitely keeping this in my repertoire!

Magazine Monday #76: Egg & Shrimp Sandwiches

My AeroGarden containing the herb mixture is doing great, I am happy to report, especially the dill. In fact, I have so much dill I'm not sure what to do with it all. I might start drying it for a rainy day. Tonight I am planning a dilly pasta for dinner, and now I am obsessed with finding recipes with dill... Dill bread? Dill biscuits? Dill cookies??? There is so much dill I don't know what to do!

So, in an effort to use a teeny bit of what I have on hand, I decided to make this sandwich today for my lunch. This is the Open Faced Shrimp & Egg Sandwich, made on a toasted bagel, from the June 2010 issue of Canadian Living Magazine. The recipe is here.

Very easy, very tasty. And it hit the spot. You can't beat fresh dill - unless you have too much of it and it beats you!

Another Lunch at Max & Irma's

I think my dad and I are addicted to Max & Irma's in Nelson, because we went there for another lunch yesterday, and once again, had a fabulous meal. Every Monday night they have a ethnic theme, and this Monday, the 7th, it's Greek. Oh, I'd love to go because I adore Greek food!

Here is our lunch from yesterday.

Dad opted for the spinach salad, which came topped with prosciutto. It was accompanied by M&I's homemade multi-grain bread.

After much deliberation, I chose the chicken club wrap and it was so excellent!

Since we both had "lighter" lunches, we decided to give into dessert temptation. M&I's make their own desserts and they are always excellent. The dessert board contained an item that immediately caught my attention: peanut butter & chocolate ganache pie! OMG! Fantabulicious! I got quite a large slice and it was very rich and filling, but so amazing!


Dad had ordered the same, but there was only one slice left and I got it, so he went with the flourless chocolate espresso torte. He said it was excellent.


I'd love to go back for dinner because they really have a great menu.

Peruvian Roast Chicken

Long have I been a reader of Future Grown-Up's blog, Growing Up (And Having Fun) After 40. She makes a ton of delicious stuff - well, everything she makes looks delicious - and long have I been threatening to make some of her recipes. Alas, I haven't gotten around to keeping to that goal, until now. The other day, FG-U posted a recipe for Peruvian Roast Chicken with Garlic & Lime that so excited me I immediately went over to my freezer and took out my very last roast chicken from my last cross border shopping expedition. I was also excited because my herb AeroGarden is producing mint like crazy, and I had tons of fresh mint I didn't have to buy to use in this dish; everything else I had on hand. And so, last night, I made the chicken.

PHENOMENAL! Abso-freaking-lutely fan-frakking-tastic! This is one of the tastiest roast chickens I've ever made, if not the most tasty roast chicken I've ever made.

There recipe is here.

Making the paste was a beautiful thing, the colours, the scents...



And here is the end result:


The only thing I would change next time - and there will be a next time - is to perhaps halve the salt; I found the 2tbsp to be a bit too much.

Other than that - perfection!

Thanks FG-U!