AN EDIBLE COOKBOOK

Pinterest is so popular these days and after looking at the "Food" section it reminded me of one of my old favourite foodie websites - Tastepotting. Which is basically online collection of food, recipes and cool things about food. And today was no different, I found an article with pictures of a cookbook that you can use to read, cook out of and then, get this, EAT! 

Made out of 100% fresh pasta, it can be opened, filled page by page with the ingredients you wish and then finally cooked. It is designed and packaged to become a classic lasagne and was devolved as a pilot project for the Gerstenberg Publishing House (they produce hight quality culinary & art books) based out of Germany. 

Check out the pictures, I think this is just too crazy and neat!

photo credit: http://www.korefe.de/en/2012/1960/das-erste-und-einzige-kochbuch/

PEACH PIE POPSICLES

I had never been on Pinterest until yesterday, and this was one of the first pictures I came across and I am now obsessed with making these!

Peach pie is one of my favourite pies! It brings back so many summer memories as it is my mom and Aunt's favourite summertime pie! I grew up during the summer eating them constantly, and they sort of became the replacement for a birthday cake for those with summer birthdays.

Homemade popsicles I find always taste so much better, and this is one that is definitely packed full of flavour but healthy none the less! I know my friend & personal trainer Christie Preston (check out her life&fitness blog http://beautyandthebod.com/ ) would approve!

Peach Pie Popsicles

Ingredients:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 frozen banana, peeled and chopped
- 2 large peaches, seeded and diced
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp agave
- 1 pinch of cinnamon

Directions:
- Blend all the ingredients together and pour into popsicle holds
- Freeze for at least 4 hours


photo credit: pinterest

KHAO SAN ROAD

Khao San Road is Toronto's acclaimed Best Thai Food, featuring real fresh flavours from the streets of Thailand!

This place has been open for a while now, and I realized that I had never blogged about it. A little late to the game on this one,  but with a recent visit I thought this would be a good chance! Who doesn't love looking at pictures of some truly incredible Thai food?!

Open for lunch & dinner and located in Toronto's Entertainment District, Khao San Road is a perfect spot for a flavour filled quick lunch or a fun vibrant dinner. The feeling of the restaurant is not like your typical Thai restaurant! It is fun, lively and ALWAYS packed! A really homy & welcoming spot to be, with great tunes playing all the time.

Featuring a diverse menu Khao San Road has great appetizers for sharing (they are big!) and wonderful curries, noodles, specials and some of the best pad thai I have ever had! I adore pad thai, and if you do too, you know it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find a good pad thai in Toronto! But look no further, if you haven't been then I have answered your prayers, check it out! Featuring two types, Street Style and Chef's Style (Sweet, Sour or Savoury) you can't go wrong!

You must also get the Chai Nom Yen: an infusion of Thai spices and black tea mixed with condensed milk and served over crushed ice, also known as Thai Iced Tea! It is so delicious and refreshing! It is big though, so you could easily share between too because you don't want to fill up before the food from your drink!

Gaeng Massaman (curry) is my other favourite, and a favourite of a good friend who spent a lot of time in Thailand! She informed me that this Massaman is equally as good as the ones she ate while travelling. This dish is, "The only Thai curry with a twist of tamarind, cooked with onions, peanuts, potatoes, and bay leaves, topped with crispy fried shallots." So incredibly tasty!!

Another appetizer I tried were the Gra Bong squash fritters! A really light batter on shredded squash seasoned with ginger, lemongrass and red curry. These were a great start to a meal!

For a wonderful dinner (or lunch!) filled with real Thai food, making you feel like you are in the middle of the road in Bangkok, check out Khao San Road!!!

Khao San Road

326 Adelaide St West

647 352 5773

www.khaosanroad.ca

@khaosanroadTO

photo credit: my own

CATCH

Catch, a new seafood themed restaurant opened early February on St Clair West kitty corner to its sister restaurant The Rushton, and I had the pleasure of going last week!

Lately I have been seafood obsessed! I never used to be one to order fish off a menu, but with this new found love I seem to be ordering it all the time! It's nice to start comparing a different type of food, usually I go for the meats or pasta choices but now I am having so much fun trying out the different fish varieties that menus have to offer. The most popular these days I have found are trout, Arctic char and halibut!


So, I went to Catch, a seafood restaurant with a menu featuring oysters, mussels, scallops, salmon, smelts, char, halibut, tuna belly and sea bream, you really can't go wrong. Catch lived up to every expectation I had for a place specializing in seafood. It's not everyday you find beautiful cooked fish, but everything at Catch was pure perfection. Our waiter was incredibly knowledgeable, sharing interesting facts about many of the menu items. Such as the oysters, which come in three sizes. And the smallest of oysters was one of the only original oysters native to North America. Most other varieties have been brought over and then grown, but the small ones they had at Catch were a true native oyster!


Since living on the East Coast for four years I have become a mussel connoisseur, and I know that mussels are not always delicious or fresh when you aren't on a coast! I'm also not always a fan of the larger mussels as I find they don't always have a nice texture and taste fishier. But the mussels at Catch were nothing like a bad batch of mussels. They were rich and luxurious, cooked to perfection accompanied by tomato, garlic confit, sumac preserved lemon and parsley. 


For my main I had the Arctic Char accompanied with roasted artichokes, Kalamata olives, cherry tomato, and a tarragon buerre blanc. This was truly heavenly! I didn't want it to end! With warm olives and blistered cherry tomatoes and a tarragon beurre blanc, how could I go wrong?!


The other great thing about Catch is that are serving environmentally responsible fish through their partnerships with Oceanwise. They use fish that are line caught, and responsibly farmed and making sure to stay away from products that are endangered or fished by drag nets. 


The meal was truly special, and with a small dining room seating I'd say around 35-40, the restaurant was just humming! A definite gem on the St Clair West strip, Catch is not to be missed!!


ps. Order the side of brussel sprouts! Just wonderful!!

774 St Clair Ave West

Tues-Sunday 4pm-Close

416 658 0568

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE & PARSNIP RISOTTO

Risotto is one of my all time favourite winter comfort food dishes.

This winter I made one with two of my favourite vegetables, parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes. Now Jerusalem artichokes also go by the name of sunroot and sunchoke. Despite the name the vegetable is not actually an artichoke, so get that notion of a green bulb out of your minds! The grow from a large plant that actually really resembles a sunflower and a yellow daisy.

Jerusalem Artichokes

Here is the recipe for a very simple and delicious risotto! I love the toasted breadcrumbs on top, it gives this silky risotto a little crunch!

Recipe serves 3-4
Time: 20 minutes to cook the risotto and about 35 to roast the vegetables

- 2 cups arborio rice
- 1.5 L chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 1 small diced white onion
- 1/4 cup white wine
- drizzle of olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 6 piece parsnip
- Roughly same amount for Jerusalem artichoke, but depending on the size it could be 12 little pieces or 8 larger pieces
- 1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Roast the veg. Peel the parsnip & artichokes. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 35 minutes in a 375 oven until golden brown
2. Once the vegetables are roasted, you can begin on the risotto. (Put your stock in another pot on the stove and warm it up, making sure it is warm during the whole cooking process)
3. In a pot sauté the onion in a little bit of olive oil until it becomes translucent, do not brown.
4. Add in the rice and coat with the olive oil & onion mixture, let the rice "toast" a little
5. Add in the wine, it will begin to bubble stir continously until the alcohol has burned off
6. One ladle at a time slowly begin to incorporate the stock into the rice. It will take about 18 minutes to incorporate all of the stock and ensure that the rice is cooked through. I always taste test throughout just to make sure it is coming along the way I want
7. When the risotto is basically cooked add in your vegetables (I always give them just a rough chop before putting them in) to re warm and allow the roasting flavour to mingle with the risotto
8. Add in half of the parmesan cheese and season again with salt and pepper
9. To finish, plate your risotto and sprinkle with the toasted breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese

TOP CHEF SEASON TWO

I am an avid Top Chef watcher! I have watched a few seasons from the US show, I really liked the most previous one out of Texas. But I am a Top Chef Canada fanatic!

Last year was it's first season and really great! And now they are back with a second season, last week was the first episode so be sure to tune in!

Monday nights on Food Network

Meet the contestants at http://www.foodnetwork.ca/topchefcanada/

2011 Top Ten

Every year brings new discoveries and 2011 was right up there for new things in my world of food!

Here are the top ten things from 2011!

TOP TEN

1. Completing an 8 week internship at BUCA and then getting hired on the Salumi Station

2. Dinner at Toronto's Campagnolo, a 2011 winner of Air Canada's EnRoute Top 10 New Restaurants

3. Experiencing one of my favourite types of food: BBQ in Chicago at legendary barbecue joint Chicago Q 

4. Finally making it to EATALY in NYC (from previous posts you will know, it is an Italian foods mecca located in the heart of Midtown, NYC)

5. Managing to cater a three night weekend event for 25 people each night all on my own! Including menu design, presentation etc. I really felt I pushed myself on that one!

6. Learning to finally make different types of pasta. Also with the use of two new pasta machines!

7. Eating at The Breslin in NYC. An incredible nose-to-tail restaurant run by a fabulous British Chef, April Bloomfield 

8. Catering a three course meal + appetizers for 12, for a company office party with my two good friends from GBC

9. Attending a Jamie Oliver event in Toronto where I loved every minute of hearing him talk about how he has helped children's eating through his food campagins 

10. Finally starting to master some desserts in the kitchen! Not always my favourite part of cooking, but I am finally embracing desserts and really taking some chances!

RECENT HIATUS

As many of you have probably noticed my blog has been on a bit of a "hiatus."

In September I started an internship at BUCA Osteria & Enoteca in Toronto (which led eventually to a part-time job!) and then the continuation of my final two semesters of culinary school! Between juggling school & work my life of food has been quite busy!

But I am back now to blogging away bringing tasty treats and ideas to all my readers, enjoy!

And as Julia would say,  BON APPETIT!