Archive for the ‘Eating Out’ Category

Whether you're simply going out for lunch or travelling in an exotic far-off place, sampling culinary treats when you're away from home is one of life's sweet pleasures. Let's face it, we've all experienced that dreaded post-meal remorse from eating too much and too decadently. In truth, it can be hard to keep health and wellness in mind when you're not at home, so I've written down my Top 5 tips on how I like to keep things healthier when eating out.

Carbonated water is a great alternative to sugary pop

(1) Say no to sugary drinks. Make it a habit to drink water. It keeps you hydrated and is much easier on the pocketbook than most other drinks. If you're like me and love fizzy drinks, ask for a carbonated water with a big wedge of lemon or lime. Best of all, you can treat yourself to a cocktail later on without feeling guilty.

(2) Do the "trade off." Try to stay away from foods that are fried (yes, that includes our beloved french fries) and foods drenched in sauces which are usually high in sugar and fat. Look for items that are grilled, roasted, steamed or poached, swap white bread for whole grain bread, opt for tossed greens with vinaigrette on the side instead of a creamy mayo-based salad and try to load up on more vegetables than starch or meat.

(3) Don't be afraid to ask. Most of us don't want to come across as picky and high-maintenance, but if you're unsure of how your dish is prepared, ask your server. Restaurants pride themselves on their level of customer service, so if you don't see something on the menu – like a big salad with grilled chicken or steamed noodles with veggies, you can always ask to see if they can put something together for you. Of course, it always helps if you ask for a modification of a dish that they already have on their menu.

Choose dried fruit, nuts and seeds instead of candy or chips

(4) Plan ahead. If you can, pack healthy snacks with you, such as dried fruit, seeds and nuts, which help to keep you full between meals. Also, go online and check out the neighbourhood or restaurant where you plan on eating. This will help you narrow down your options and develop a game plan for your meal. Before I try a new restaurant, I like to check out their official website (if they have one) as well as customer reviews and pictures on sites like Urbanspoon and Yelp.

(5) Watch your portion sizes. This is probably the easiest way to keep on track without feeling like you're missing out on all the fun. If the portions are large, pack half of your food to go or share your entrée with a friend. Feel free to treat yourself, but remember that eating is not a personal challenge. You don't really have to beat your personal best of 50 wings in 30 minutes every time you get the chance.

How do you eat healthy when you're away from home?

In September, I got a chance to visit Orlando, Fla., with a group of journalists and see what the area has to offer. I ate tons of delicious food there, but two fun, food-oriented stops really stood out. Mainly because they involve two things that are my food equivalent of Kryptonite: wine and chocolate.

First stop: Farris & Foster's Fine Chocolates

This cute little store is a regular chocolate shop in front. But look behind the counter and you'll discover Party Central. The store's chocolate-making parties – for every occasion from date night to corporate team building – are a bit like Disco Night at your local pub.

First, you get a quick lesson in chocolate making from the affable owner Foster and his lovely wife, Teri. They teach you how to dip, drizzle, mould and enrobe your favourite fillings in dark, milk or white chocolate.

Then they crank up the dance tunes – and dim the lights if it's date night – and you're off to the races, creating all the mouth-watering chocolates you can cram into a container to take home.

Foster showing us how to pipe chocolate into a candy cup

From pretzels and chips to candies and nuts, there's every kind of filling imaginable. The only limit is your imagination – or perhaps the capacity of your stomach.

Chocolate shells to fill

Mmmmmm, candy!

Nuts and dried fruit

The most fun is tossing items onto the belt of the enrobing machine. There's nothing better than watching a Nutter Butter or a giant salty pretzel take a bath in warm milk chocolate. Yum.

The enrobing machine in action

The scrumptious results of my chocolate-making adventure

...

Second Stop: The Wine Room

Just outside Orlando, on Park Avenue in Winter Park, you'll find a nice assortment of shops catering to all the needs of the carefree yuppie. Cute cafés, cigar stores, spice shops and boutiques line the street. Whether you want a drink, upscale makeup or a handmade recycled-newspaper basket, there's a store that carries what you're looking for.

The Wine Room is perched halfway down Park Ave., beckoning customers in with a great selection of wine and an interesting premise: try before you buy.

A large selection of wines greets you right inside the front door

Tucked in among the thousands of bottles for sale are wine-serving machines called Enomatics.

French reds, ready for sampling

To taste, you buy a smart card loaded with a certain amount of money and insert it into the machine. You can choose just a taste, a half-pour or a full pour of any variety in the dispenser. The open bottles stay fresh because they're surrounded by inert nitrogen gas, which prevents oxygen from ruining the flavour of the wine.

My verdict: Brilliant! With my $10 smart card, I sampled 6 different wines – and didn't have so much that I ended up singing karaoke. That's always a win.

If you're in the mood to spend a bundle, there's always the Rare Room. I ducked inside for a look and found myself surrounded by pricey bottles from around the world. The best one? A Screaming Eagle Cabernet from Napa Valley that was going for a cool $2,500. Not on a journalist's salary!

A 97 on the Parker scale still isn't enough for me to drop $2,500 on a single bottle of Cab.

...

Thanks to the folks at Visit Orlando for arranging my trip. For more info on visiting the area and planning a trip, click on the linkety-link.

Are you planning on escaping the winter blues in Florida this year?

When I say I love barbecue, I mean two things:

1.    No namby-pamby, unsmoked grilled-for-15-minutes meat; and
2.    I could eat the stuff till it came out my ears.

My husband and I are both huge fans of Southern barbecue, thanks to university years spent south of the Mason-Dixon line in the U.S. So imagine my excitement when I was invited to tour a new cottage development up in beautiful Honey Harbour, Ont., where none other than the King of the Q himself, Ted Reader, would be serving up a barbecue lunch fit for, well, a king. Ted is known for his crazy, over-the-top style, which melds many different barbecue traditions into something that’s uniquely his – and uniquely delicious.

Ted Reader and his travelling BBQ rig: 3 propane grills, 3-doored charcoal barrel smoker and a propane-fired wok

The setting for my crazy feast was spectacular. I’d been invited to tour The Cottages at Honey Harbour, which sits smack on the edge of Georgian Bay in a picturesque corner of Ontario’s famous cottage country. The new cottages are built on an old trailer park site, and the builders are working with local biologists and wildlife experts to bring back the local endangered wildlife and ensure that the cottage development is respectful of the gorgeous land it's sitting on.

View from the beach, Cottages at Honey Harbour

One of the cottages, built to fit into the rocky landscape

Each cottage has an old-fashioned Muskoka room, complete with banging screen door.

Sigh. If only my budget allowed for a cottage. Can't you just imagine savouring a cup or three of morning coffee in that Muskoka room?

Once we'd seen the site and admired the views, it was time to dig in to the luscious menu Ted and his crew prepared. We feasted on Plank-Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Apricot Stuffing, 8-Hour Smoked St. Louis Ribs with BBQ Icing and Crispy Crunchy Crust, Bourbon Barrel Grill Smoked Beef Tenderloin with Blueberry Bourbon BBQ Compote, Plank-Grilled Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, Pulled Pork Baked Beans, and tons of vegetable sides.

From left: grilled mashed potatoes, smoked ribs, smoked beef tenderloin and coleslaw. Beyond delicious!

The mashed potatoes were divine – smoky, creamy and a little toasty on the top. And the beef tenderloin was so tender you almost didn't need teeth – just exactly the texture you're looking for in great barbecue. The ribs were literally frosted (plain old white frosting!) and topped with a crispy crust of fried onions, crushed peanuts and panko. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of sweet meat dishes, but the ribs underneath the frosting were utterly tender and perfectly smoked – you could see the reddish ring of smoke that had penetrated the meat during the 8 hours they spent in the smoker.

Oh, and the beans. The beans! They featured a spicy mix of pulled pork, black beans, hominy, smoked and fresh hot peppers and – the secret weapon – Ted's homemade hot pepper relish. With all that succulent pork, they really were more of a meal than a side. But so delicious.

Pulled Pork Baked Beans. Mmmmmmmmm.

As we digested our fabulous lunch, we had a talk with Robin Tapley, a fascinating naturalist whose knowledge of the local flora and fauna is staggering. He'll be working with the developers to set up a nature program for adults and kids in the cottages. Georgian Bay is a biosphere reserve area, so the possibilities for bird watching, hiking, and nature tours are limitless.

And what better way to cap off a day full of sun, gourmet eats and beautiful scenery than some cupcakes decorated to look like some of the local species?

Chocolate dragonfly and water lily cupcakes from The Sugar Garden in Barrie, Ont.

All in all, it was a beautiful day. And just in case you're in the mood to make some ribs Ted Reader–style, here's a home-based version of the ones he made up in Honey Harbour. Happy barbecuing!

St. Louis Ribs with Apple BBQ Icing
Recipe by Chef Ted Reader

Serves 4

2 racks St. Louis–style ribs, about 2-1/4 lb (1 kg) each
1/2 cup melted bacon fat
1/2 cup Ted’s World Famous BBQ Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning
1 onion, chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups apple juice
1/2 cup commercially available vanilla icing
1/3 cup apple butter
1/4 cup Ted’s World Famous BBQ Apple Brown Betty Grilling Sauce
1/2 cup crispy fried onions (available in Asian grocery stores and specialty food markets)
1/2 cup crushed peanuts
1/2 cup panko

1. Work a sharp knife under the membrane on the back side of the ribs. Once you have a piece large enough, use a paper towel to get a good grip. Gently pull the membrane away from the ribs. Trim away any large pieces of fat.

2. Brush ribs on both sides with melted bacon fat. Season ribs on both sides liberally with Bone Dust seasoning, about 1/4 cup per rib rack.

3. In a large roasting pan, place the chopped onion, jalapeños and garlic. Pour in the apple juice. Place rib rack over onion mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Preheat oven or grill to 325˚F (165˚C).

4. Braise in the oven or grill for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until you can wiggle a bone cleanly from the meat. Remove from oven or grill, remove foil and allow ribs to cool long enough to be handled.

5. In a bowl, combine the vanilla icing, apple butter and Apple Brown Betty Grilling Sauce and stir until well mixed. Set aside.

6. In another bowl, combine crispy fried onions, peanuts and panko. Mix gently and set aside.

7. Preheat grill to medium (approximately 350°F to 450ºF). Grill ribs, top side down, for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly charred. Flip over.

8. Spread Apple BBQ Icing evenly over the surface of the ribs. Be generous! Sprinkle with crispy onion/peanut crust mixture. Close grill lid, reduce heat to low and allow ribs to grill bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.

9. Remove from grill. Cut between every third rib and serve immediately. Serve with baked beans and your favourite coleslaw.

JULY 4, 2011 UPDATE: Winners have been notified. Check your email boxes!

Web editorial potluck picnic, 2010, as I recall....

Every summer I organize a digital team picnic with fellow web editors from our sister sites StyleatHome.com, CanadianGardening.com, ELLECanada.com, Homemakers.com and ThatstheSpirit.com. It's an informal potluck that gets us outside the office, into the summer sun, and sharing some great food together.

Bean & grain salads rock the summer potluck scene
I've watched year after year the bean & grain salads disappear faster than anything else at these potluck picnics. They're healthy, filling, and stay fresh for a long time. Not to mention how easy they are to make the night before and transport safely to the potluck destination. Plus: delicious.

Now we can make even more nutritious bean & grain salads!
Toronto-based artisanal bakery ShaSha Co. has just launched Bio-buds, a line of organic sprouted grains, legumes and pods. Health nuts know nutrient levels explode when a seed comes to life. When people eat seeds at this stage, we capitalize on the miracle of life by absorbing all the new nutrients.

Sprouted? Not the same fresh sprouts causing issues in Europe. These sprouted grains & pulses are dehydrated at peak nutrient value. There is no medium for harmful bacteria to take hold.

Tell me how you rock the summer potluck in the Comments section below, for a chance to WIN!
The good folks at ShaSha Co. have given me 5 fabulous prize packs, each including:

• 1 pkg Raw Organic Sprouted Brown Rice
• 1 pkg Raw Organic Sprouted Mung Beans
• 1 pkg Raw Organic Sprouted Lentils
• 1 pkg Raw Organic Sprouted Adzuki Beans

Bio-buds left to right: lentils, adzuki beans, mung beans & brown rice. So perfect for summer salads!

Start date: June 23, 3011
End date: June 30, 2011
Winners chosen and contacted via email: July 4, 2011
What to do: Tell me how you rock the summer potluck - ie what popular dish do you bring to potlucks? or, what's your favourite bean & grain salad combo? or, tell me a funny story that happened at your last summer potluck. 5 of the most delicious/creative answers will win.

Good luck!

In the meantime, here are 15 crowd-pleasing potluck salad recipes to inspire your next picnic.

It was a moment I had waited 32 years for.

BC spot prawns delicately perched atop local Pemberton valley snap peas and wild sockeye salmon.

To kick off the Pemberton Slow Food Cycle - which happens every August in Pemberton, BC - I was invited to the Pemberton Slow Food Cycle Dinner Event where Chefs James Walt & Grant Cousar served up the best local menu I have ever known.

And like something from a dream, the appetizer - seen above - floated down in front of me.

Two BC spot prawns were perched like still ballerinas on top of Pemberton sugar snap peas and wild sockeye salmon. oh! I couldn't believe my eyes. There they were, after years and years of pining, yearning, and helplessly listening to spot prawn season come and go every spring.

The taste? Let's get this out of the way - I hate shrimp. BC spot prawns taste nothing like shrimp or any other garish, trucked-in seafood I've choked down my gullet in landlocked Ontario. The first thing I noticed was the texture. Firm, but yielding meat. Once I bit down, the juices released were nectar-sweet with the faintest hint of sea. I was right to pine for this wondrous Canadian delicacy all these years. Oh so right.

And guess what - the 6- to 8-week spot prawn season is ON NOW in beautiful British Columbia! If you live close to the west coast, you won't want to miss these remaining spot prawn festivals where you can taste them fresh from the ocean:

• Kelowna, Saturday June 4th from 1 – 4pm at the Manteo Resort, 3762 Lakeshore Road;
• Osoyoos, Sunday, June 5th from 1 - 4pm at the Watermark Beach Resort, 15 Park Place

What's so great about BC spot prawns? Why are you so crazed, Colleen?
This species of spot prawns caught in BC - Pandalus platyceros - is the poster child of sustainable seafood in addition to being unbelievably delicious.

• They are caught using a longline trap which has minimal impact on the ocean
• There are a limited amount of fishing licenses, and only so many traps per license
• Harvest is strictly logged so authorities can keep a close eye on the health of the population
• Females carrying eggs are released back into the ocean
• and more!

I hope to make it out to BC next year. Sigh.

And just in case I piqued your interest about the Pemberton Slow Food Cycle, you get to do this:

Riding through Pemberton valley, BC

And visit places like this:

<--Food; Chicken & Pigs --> Lambrecht Surfboards -->

And eat a barn burger by the mountain, like this:

Barn burgers make the best burgers.

Yum. Are you in the "I've tried a BC spot prawn" club? Have you ever eaten one?

Or, the 8 most annoying things that happen when I try to eat.

Instead of in my mouth, this burger would be down my shirt and on my lap in record time.

1. A lock of hair gets pulled into my mouth as I take a bite of something.
This happened the other day. How? I can't explain. It's so annoying, it ruins the whole bite of whatever it is I'm trying to eat.

2. Sandwich juice runs down to my elbow before I notice.
This also goes for wraps, burgers, fajitas, tacos, and maybe a calzone if I'm alone and nobody is looking to see if I'm using a knife and fork. Even worse: the juice traps itself under a bracelet or watch band, floating unnoticed until many hours later...

3. Flecks of food shoot themselves down "the wrong tube" and I cough forever.
Does this ever happen when I'm alone at home? NEVER! Does this happen around people I know well and am comfortable around? NEVER! A business lunch or formal dinner is exactly when bits of food get sucked down my windpipe.

4. Phyllo pastry bits shoot out of my mouth at cocktail receptions.
Fancy cocktail receptions often involve delicate hors d'oeuvres made from phyllo pastry. Every time I think, "surely just one of these delicious bites floating past won't end in disaster?" No. Disaster always happens. Soon after my first bite, I am trying to carry on a polite conversation with strangers without spitting phyllo on their shirts with every consonant. Phyllo is social suicide.

5. Corn silk hangs from every crevice of my teeth.
By my 10th summer cob of corn, I can control myself. But those first few - oh! I mash my face into that corn and chow down like I've never eaten before. But when I surface for air, I am a sea monster with corn silk hanging from my jaws. By this time, butter has also likely left a grease-trail down to my elbows.

6. Water pours out the side of the glass, away from my mouth.
Every so often, a hole in my mouth appears out of nowhere. Water heading straight for my throat somehow ends up on my shirt, the table, or dribbling down the side of my face. I can't explain it, beyond that tiny wormholes through the space-time continuum randomly appear just as I take a sip of water.

7. Sometimes, wasabi looks like guacamole.
OK, only once in my life did wasabi look like guacamole. Fool me twice, bowl of nacho chips placed beside a sizable dish of wasabi, then shame on me. I should have listened to the shrieks in the room before I put that fully-loaded chip into my mouth.

8. Things explode out the back end when you take a bite from the front end.
Splat. The alleged hand-held and contained meal is not my friend. Especially while driving.

How does food make an April Fool out of you?

This past February I was thrilled to spend 7 days exploring Israel, and had the pleasure of eating the most spectacular falafels I've ever known, each one more incredible than the last.

What is a falafel? Ground chickpeas and spices are formed into a golf-sized ball, then deep fried and served in a pita with lots of veggies and topped with tahini (sesame seed paste). A wonderful vegetarian sandwich so flavourful, you forget there's no meat inside.

Mashowa restaurant, Haifa
This small restaurant in Palyam #7 is in an area of ministry offices, thus serving up quick fare for busy professionals. It reminded me of the pita places we have here, but oh, the light falafel, the melty tahini, the pillowy pita....oh!

Falafel at the informal Mashowa restaurant, Haifa

...the vinaigery pickles, the crunchy cucumbers, the sweet pickled cabbage, the lemony-minty tomatoes, the pale green falafels.....

Pickled cabbage, crunchy veg, light green falafels, velvety tahini, homemade pita. Mmmm.

Falafel No. 1, Mahane Yehuda market (Shuk), Jerusalem
After being dazzled by the fruit, vegetables, fish and poultry of the Shuk, we came across Falafel No. 1, and had to stop.

Falafel no. 1. How could we lose?

Mash your way through a sea of people on a narrow sidewalk, all trying to get their hands on the freshest falafels around:

The falafel man furiously stuffs falafels while ignoring waving hands...and cameras....

I couldn't hold my French fry- and eggplant-topped falafel so fresh it made me want to weep....and take a good photo at the same time:

But as you can see, everyone is blissed-out, shoveling these incredible falafels into their mouths:

Abu Shakri, Muslim Quarter (across from the 5th Station of the Cross), Jerusalem
Famous all over Jerusalem for their hummus, Abu Shakri served up the lightest falafels I had eaten yet. You wouldn't know they had spent a second drowning in delicious Israeli olive oil. Abu Shakri takes a DIY approach to falafels, making sure you enjoy all their amazing accompaniments: sour pickles, sweet & herbaceous eggplant dip, lemony chopped salad, spicy Turkish sauce, signature hummus, labneh (fresh yogurt cheese), smooth tahini, and homemade pita.

Pickles, eggplant dip, creamy hummus, salad, Turkish sauce, tahini, labneh (soft cheese) and fries...go into the pita with your falafel!

It was so amazing I made a movie:

Ha'chatzer restaurant, Jerusalem (close to the German colony)
This dinner spot - known as "The Yard" because they converted an old gasoline tank into a restaurant - treated us to a veritable feast that blended the Middle East with French, Italian and Southeast Asian flavours. But what did I love the most? Fish falafels!

Fish falafel nestled on creamy tahini, surrounded by an olive oil moat.

The chef put a twist on the traditional ground chickpea by adding fresh fish to the falafels, making them meatier than the original with a sweeter undertone. Complete with creamy tahini and Israeli olive oil, this gourmet version of falafel was a special treat indeed.

Make your own falafels at home!
Of course our stars in The Canadian Living Test Kitchen have created falafel recipes. Here are three of them below. Don't forget to add lots of crunchy veggies, creamy tahini, smooth hummus, and fresh-as-can-be pitas. The French fries were kind of awesome on top too, but not necessary:

• Mini Falafels
• Chicken Falafel with Tahini Sauce
• Fava Falafels

Where's your favourite falafel joint in Canada?

Yesterday, Oprah announced she and 378 Harpo staffers are taking a one-week vegan challenge:

Oprah and some members of her staff recently took on a radical challenge: to go vegan for one week. That meant no meat, no fish, no milk, no eggs—nothing that comes from an animal—for seven full days.
- oprah.com

This isn't shocking news, considering the raging success of Skinny Bitch vegan books, Chelsea Clinton's vegan wedding last year, and Michael Pollan enlightening (dare I say, "enchanting") us all with his eat-more-veggies-and-save-the-world wonderbooks.

Inspired by Oprah? Here are my favourite Canadian Living vegan recipes:
Some of the best meals of my life have been vegan. There is nothing bland or boring about vegan fare, unless you're being lazy and taking shortcuts. Tofu sandwiches on white bread with mustard, for instance.

(Yes, I was a defiant vegetarian youth who ate a lot of tofu sandwiches on white bread with mustard.)

Stick-to-your-ribs vegan main courses can be hard to find. I've made each of these personally and vouch for their ease of preparation and tastiness.

1. Tofu and Broccoli in Peanut Sauce - I loooove peanut sauce. I also quadruple the hot spice in this recipe.
2. Fragrant Chickpeas with Dates - I like to add any nuts I have on hand. This makes a great lunch the next day warmed up in the microwave.
3. Black Bean, Chickpea, and Avocado Salad - Made with zippy lime-jalapeno dressing, I like dipping a slice of bread into the juices.
4. Korean Cold Somen Noodle Salad - This is CRAZY DELICIOUS. I made it working on another project, and would never have considered it otherwise. It is now one of my all-time favourite recipes.
5. Biryani-Inspired Vegetable Rice - The addition of green lentils gives you protein in this flavourful Indian classic.
6. Grilled Portobello Mushroom Caps - A classic vegan staple, marinated in balsamic vinegar.
7. Tofu-Stuffed Eggplant with Mushroom Ragout - Bring this to a vegan dinner party. It's as beautiful as it is delicious. This recipe won the Vegetarian category of our 2008 Cook of the Year contest.

Hungry for more? Here is a bigger list of Canadian Living vegan recipes.

Do you flirt with veganism and have favourite recipes, or do you think it's a stupid fad? (Mom, if you're reading this I already know what you think...sorry again about those sandwiches...)

Did you know Agassiz, BC, is the heart of Sasquatch country?

I sure didn't.

It's true. My friends from Tourism BC told me you can go on Sasquatch tours there, and there are some gnarly details you just can't ignore.

This was after they wound me through the luscious Fraser Valley, filling me to the brim of Fraser Valley fresh corn, hazelnuts, salmon, wine, and artisanal cheeses.

Then they took me to the Rowena's Inn for a feast of fresh Fraser Valley corn, hazelnuts, salmon, wine, artisanal cheese, grass-fed beef and local strawberries.

I rolled into my cabin room at Rowena's, nestled among the Douglas Firs and mountains. Alone. At night. And remembered the Sasquatch. And I realized, should he come through the window to attack, I was too full to defend myself. And this is what I imagined all night long in my food-filled delirium.

As I confessed in my first post on the topic of learning to love veggies even more, I adore rotisserie chicken skin. So when my husband forced me to go to rotisserie chicken world (a.k.a. Swiss Chalet) on the weekend, I decided to try out their veggie burger to see if I could survive without my usual quarter white with fries.

I've tried various veggie burger recipes at home, and ordered them at restaurants, but have generally been disappointed. So I was pleasantly surprised when this arrived at my table:

looking like a real grilled burger. It tasted like a real burger too, with a real meaty texture and yummy grilled burger taste.

I must confess that I did eat my husband's chicken skin, though. Luckily for me, he doesn't like it.

What's the best takeout veggie burger out there? I searched the blogosphere and found raves for Burger King, M&M's, and Harvey's and an interesting discussion on the best veggie burger in Calgary at Chowhound.

Have you found or cooked the best veggie burger in Canada?