Summertime and the living is....chaotic?

Okay, so I have found myself severely remorseful that I have not maintained my blog properly. But when the spring months hit, life becomes just a little more crazy at work and I tend to take on a little more too or perhaps it is a case that everything that I took on in September finally comes full circle in the Spring months; who knows.  So now I find myself with the month of July nearly gone and I still have not updated with news of all the wonderful gluten free things that I have consumed and/or made.  It is all such an incredible journey but there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything  that I want to do. :(

First things first, before I talk about two incredible meals at fabulous restaurants that I had to celebrate my birthday in May;  Joy McCarthy is coming to Halifax in August for a book signing. If you read my book review post in the winter you will know that she is the author of Joyous Health and a holistic nutritionist. I have, since writing the review of Joyous Health, made some of her recipes including: Chia Black Bean Brownies, Detox Juice, Double Chocolate Gluten Free Cookies, Apple Beet Carrot Slaw with Honey Dressing and Raw Carrot Cake Balls (absolutely fabulous). I have more recipes earmarked to try as I find the time. Anyhow, she will be at the Healthy Bug on August 22nd and Organic Earth Market on August 23rd. You can find a link to her site here. I will definitely be going to one of the signings and hear what she has to say about organic living and healthy eating. Hopefully others will come out and show her some Maritime/ East Coast hospitality.

Secondly, I will be reviewing Chef Michael Smith's newest cookbook, Family Meals. Looking forward to doing this and to see what kind of family friendly recipes he has to offer. My nephew or parents may be the guinea pigs for this food experiment. :) Stay tuned, as the review will be forthcoming in the next two weeks. He will also be in Nova Scotia for an event in September as well.

So for my birthday in May I decided to do something a little different this year. Traditionally I go to the Wooden Monkey, primarily because I know that it is a safe spot for me to eat. However, I had been wanting to try Morris East for quite awhile but never quite got around to it. I knew that they had gluten free options, as Schoolhouse Bakery supplies them with the crust, so I know that it is completely safe. I decided it was time to give it a try. My parents came into the city 2 days before my birthday, on the same day as Open City. The weather was horrible and I only managed to get to Lost Cod Clothing Co. before meeting my parents to treat myself to a couple of new t-shirts, but dinner with Mom and Dad more than made up for it.

Morris East--Kale Sprout Salad

Morris East has two locations, downtown on Morris Street and just off Larry Uteck Blvd in the Bedford area. Mom and I decided that we would be better off going to the Larry Uteck location, as my father does not have patience for driving downtown at the best of times, let alone in the pouring rain while trying to find a parking spot.  The atmosphere at the Larry Uteck location is very modern and Art Deco. Photos that I have seen of the Morris Street location show a more old world pizzeria feel.  There was a lot of light from the floor to ceiling windows but alas it was pouring rain. The menu was still their winter/spring menu, so the menu has now slightly altered for the summertime. I first looked at the wine menu, as I had already determined that I wanted a glass but was dismayed by their lack of Nova Scotia wines on the list. I contented myself with a Pinot Grigio from Mission Hill B.C. and it was light and fruity and crisp but not quite what I had wanted. I ordered the Kale and Brussel Sprout salad to start, while Mom had the Beet Salad with warm goat cheese. I loved the Kale Salad with its big flakes of parmesan cheese, candied hazelnuts and mustard vinaigrette. My Mom did not enjoy her salad as much as the beets were a cold contrast to the warm goat cheese and she had assumed that the beets would also be warm. We ordered separate pizzas, as my parents decided they wanted a regular crust as opposed to my gluten free crust. My parents are supportive of my need to be gluten free, but sometimes they just don't wish to eat it. So they ordered the mushroom and sausage pizza on a whole wheat crust while I ordered the enchilada with blackened chicken on my gluten free one. I loved the fact that you can see the flames in the oven from the dining room and the pizzas coming from said oven did not disappoint. There is something about a pizza from a wood fired oven. It crisps the crust so beautifully and melts and browns the cheese so perfectly that you want to stare at it and savour the woodsy smell before diving in for the first slice. My parents thoroughly enjoyed theirs and I almost regretted not ordering the same but on my crust. I liked mine, as it was what I was in the mood for at the time, but I cannot say with definitiveness that it is something that I would order again. The dessert that we all shared, on the other hand, was this gluten free, chocolate lovers dream. It was a chocolate, cheese mousse confection piled high with white chocolate shavings resting on a chocolate ganache base. It was decadence on a plate and it took the three of us to make quick work of it. I would, without hesitation, order that again if given the chance. All in all I was impressed by Morris East and as long as they have gluten free options, I will make an effort to put it on my safe list and frequent it a little more. They just need to work on that wine list a little ;)

Morris East--Beet Salad

Morris East--Mushroom and Sausage Pizza

Morris East--Dessert, Salad and Enchilada Pizza with Blackened Chicken

2 Doors Down--Grilled Salmon

2 Doors Down--Pot de Crème

The second birthday celebration I had, was a week later and with my friends Michelle and Shawn. I almost opted for the Wooden Monkey with them, but again looked around at my options and really wanted something different. I chose to go to 2 Doors Down with them. This restaurant tries to use as many locally sourced things as possible and gives a variety of vegetarian and gluten free options which is really nice. I had eyed the menu online and kind of knew what I wanted when we got there. The rustic décor surprised me and I felt kind of overdressed once there. I liked the fact that we were served water from a Fox Hill Dairy glass milk bottle. It was a nice touch for a place that prides themselves on locally sourced items. Their wine selection was really good but the minute I placed my order for a glass of Blomidon Baco Noir, I was informed that they were in the process of changing over to the summer wine selections and there was no Baco to be had. I was disappointed to say the least as my wine selection was going to complement my dinner selection. So I settled for a glass of Seyval Blanc and changed my dinner selection consequently. I had wanted the burger with gfo, but opted for the salmon which really is not a bad alternative and when it came out perfectly grilled with perfectly roasted veggies and vinaigrette it truly was a good choice and one that I was extremely satisfied with. Michelle and Shawn respectively enjoyed their burger and poutine/calamari as well. Michelle and I shared a Chocolate Pot de Crème, which was essentially a small Mason Jar of chocolate mousse and we were enamoured by the genial use of the jar. It was another birthday well spent and I honestly cannot wait to go back to 2 Doors Down and finally try their burger for myself and hopefully they will have some lovely Baco Noir to pair with it.


Post Christmas in the New Year

So my Christmas vacation is coming to a close and pretty soon the days of sleeping in and wandering aimlessly, day in and day out will come to an end as well. I am looking forward to getting back into my routine though, I won't lie. Especially that I now have a juicer making my days fairly exciting and fresh. The trick is to now incorporate my juicer into my work a day life. It will probably take a bit of planning and prep but I am up for the challenge, I think. I want to have a fresh veggie/fruit concoction once a day. That is my goal. So far I have done well with the exception of one day where I was out and about and barely home. But this is one thing that I am going to endeavor to do and I have already played with a number of combinations. I have looked at a few recipes but I much prefer to experiment. This is not so much a resolution for me but rather a resolve to get more fruits/veggies and the nutrients that go along with them and I would much rather do it in a raw format than a cooked one and hopefully decrease the amount of vitamin supplementation that I seem to require. Below is a list of my combinations thus far, they have all been really good and range in taste between tart, earthy and really sweet. My favourites so far have been day 2 and day 5. I never thought that beet juice would be something that I would take to, but I am truly addicted to its earthy taste and deep rich colour.

Day 1 (Dec 29^th)

1 apple, 1 carrot, 1 satsuma mandarin, 1 piece of ginger root

Day 2 (Dec 30^th)

1 cup of cranberries, 1 lemon, 1 kiwi, ginger root, 1 carrot, 1 cup of pineapple and 1 celery stalk

Day 3 (Dec 31^st)

6 strawberries, 2 mini cucumbers, ½ a personal watermelon, 1 cup of spinach, 1 pear, 1 satsuma mandarin and 1 cup of pineapple

Day 4 (Jan 1^st)

1 beet, 1 cup of spinach, 1 kiwi and 1 carrot

Day 5 (Jan 3^rd)

2 beets, 1 cup of spinach. 1 and a ½ carrots, 1 lemon, 1 cup of pineapple and a large piece of ginger

Day 6 (Jan 4^th)

1 cup of spinach, 1 cortland apple, 1 large navel orange, 1 piece of ginger root, 1 cup of cranberries, 1 and a ½ carrots

Day 1

Day 3

Day 5

Day 6

 

The other thing that marked my break was the amount of baking that I managed to complete. I will have to share the recipes in a separate post, but needless to say that I made a lot of treats for Boxing Day dinner at my place. Instead of one big dessert, I made numerous small ones including; Rum Cake, Besan Barfi/Burfi (Indian Chickpea fudge), Chex Muddie Buddies, Fudge Brownies, Marzipan Squares, Shortbread (my great-grandmother’s recipe), Date Balls, and Spiced Pecans and they were all gluten free. I cannot remember the last time that I baked that much or even attempted to and to be able to complete it all gluten free this year was a major accomplishment for me and it was all so yummy and I still have a lot leftover.

Clockwise from left: Shortbreads, Spiced Pecans, Fudge Brownies,

Besan Barfi,  Date Balls and Marzipan Squares

 

Speaking of Christmas and Boxing Day, I really adhered to the “Buy Local” movement this year. Most of the things that I bought were either manufactured/conceived or purchased locally or will help people regionally. Most of my nephew’s gifts I purchased at the Thomas the Tank Engine Experience by Ambassatours in Saint John. I also purchased books for him from Woozles and an Eastcoast Lifestyle hoodie. I bought my parents sweatshirts from the Lost Cod Clothing Co. and treats from Pete’s Frootique.  My sister-in-law received a clutch from Maggie Pearce and a necklace from the Shy Giraffe, while my brother received a tie from Prostate Cancer Canada. So my brother’s gift was not locally bought but I know that the money spent on it will benefit prostate cancer patients regionally. I participated in Movember this year, so the gift was well intentioned.

When you really stop and look around at places like the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s, DalPlex Christmas Craft Show, Christmas at the Forum and all the other unique places in the Downtown areas of any Maritime city including Halifax; you will find stuff that is better than anything that you can buy at any big box store. Beauty part is that it is unique stuff. There is no way that I would ever have been able to give my mother a little piece of her history if I had never been able to buy her a sweatshirt from Lost Cod Clothing Co. She can now proudly display her Sea Nymph Fish Foods Hoodie; knowing she once worked for A.M. Smith & Co. at the Smith Wharves.

Okay, so I clearly need to blog more often. I have so much to say some times that I cannot fit it all in. Next time, I promise to talk about my gluten free baking and share my recipes; as I started this blog to talk about being gluten free in Halifax.