Reading is my other passion...

So I am going to take a slight departure on food for this post. After I reviewed Family Meals by Chef Michael Smith, I received a copy of Virgin by Radhika Sanghani from Penguin. I love getting lost in a good piece of fiction and it is even better when it funny and I find myself giggling or snorting, often times in my case. My review of the book is below and I kind of wish that I had this book at the beginning of the summer, to start with a good laugh rather than the end of summer as I am slowing getting my head around going back to work. But it is still a worthwhile read and thoroughly enjoyable. I promise my next post will be about food as I have made a few awesome things over the summer and I finally have a BBQ! Another way to cook even more real food! Enjoy the review and get a copy of this book, it is worth it.

The book Virgin by Radhika Sanghani, a British journalist and first-time author, is an hilarious take on a very tricky and taboo subject when it comes to sex. So often today we see teenagers trying to shed their mantle of youth i.e. their v-card, thanks in large part to mass media, in such haste that they don't stop to think of the emotional and physical consequences of having sex before they are ready. The feminine heroine/ antagonist of this novel Ellie Kolstakis is embarrassed by the flashing cursor over one word on her medical file at her doctor's office that just screams virgin at her. And it sends the 21-year-old into a complete tailspin thinking that a one night stand is the only way to go. Instead of embracing her uniqueness in holding on to something that she has complete control over, she wants to be like everyone else that she knows; like she feels she is on the outside staring at the cool kids, including her bestie Lara.

After a fight with Lara, Ellie teams up with her new friend Emma, from her literary class to begin looking for the person who will help her cash in her v-card for experience. Little does Ellie know that in order to gain experience in all aspects of life, including sexually, you must gain confidence in yourself and your abilities first. Ellie is clearly lacking in confidence as evidenced in the clothing scenes, where everyone compliments her on what she does have and Ellie focuses primarily on what she is lacking.

Even after she meets Jack and begins her trial writing for the Pi Team, her angst builds up about the fact that Jack has not texted her and when he finally does, she realizes she is entering unfamiliar territory, but feels that Jack will be the one who gets to "devirginizer" her. Ellie is relatable and quirky when it come to Jack. I think most women who are dating, in this day and age, can relate to what Ellie is feeling regardless of how old they are. The dating world has become so convoluted what with texting, the online scene and the bar scene that take and devalue emotion at the basic level and leaves people wondering how the opposite sex even end up interacting with one another at all.

Ellie's foray into blog writing or vlog writing turns her adventures from Brazilian waxing gone awry, coupled with Emma's contributions about her sex life to Ellie learning to pleasure herself into hilarious pieces that the reader can completely identify with.

As the book progresses, Ellie does not lose any of her endearing charm or quirkyness and her new found confidence helps her to accept parts of her past that she cannot change and embrace the parts of her future that are slowly being laid out for her with her hard work in accepting who she is. While the ultimate goal was for Ellie to lose her virginity, it was also became about her learning to accept who she is and what she can and will achieve if she has faith and accepts that things will happen and not necessarily in the time frame that she wants it to; but it will happen with determination and courage that evolves with maturity.

I recommended this book to anyone who is looking for a lighthearted look at the female perspective of sex and relationships, or who just needs a good laugh while reminiscing about the "firsts" of everything related to sex, dating, friendships and relationships. I think we can all see a little piece of Ellie in ourselves.

Meal times are family time...a review of Chef Michael Smith's Family Meals

Courtesy of Penguin Canada

When I first received the email asking me to review Family Meals by Chef Michael Smith for Penguin Canada, I was a little hesitant. I am single with no "family" of my own that resides with me 24/7.  I do have family of course; my parents, my brother and his family, my cousins and my friends who are as close to me as family, but I wasn't sure that this was a book meant for me. But I began to realize that families come in all shapes and sizes. I am a family of one with a large extended family including friends. If I do not cook for myself, then I do not eat. Fast food is not an option for me either as I have specific dietary needs, and I do not mind making a big batch of something and eating it for the week to make life easier for myself. I do however miss the conversation that a family dinner affords and I am always grateful when people join me for dinner at my place. Never mind that I am slightly control freakish when it comes to cooking now, since I am the only one that can meet my needs, but also I love to cook and I am always experimenting with new things, but again it is hard when the TV, the DVD or the internet are your only dinner companion.

Growing up, dinner time was always family time. It did not matter what you were doing, what you were right in the middle of or how hungry you were or weren’t; as soon as the call to the dinner table arose, you came. The only time you were ever excused from dinner time was if you were too ill to come to the table or, as we got older, if your shift at your job was over the dinner hour. Dinner was a way for us to connect and talk about the day, sometimes the discussion started earlier over a cup of tea before dinner but generally the discussion about the day was over dinner. Today’s generation, from what I can gather from the stories of students and friends, does not know what it is to sit down to a family meal every single night. Schedules are more hectic, traffic a little more crazy, convenience foods and fast foods a little more convenient and it leaves families disjointed and heading in different directions and very little time to sit as a family and enjoy a meal together. Even as adults it is hard to coordinate schedules to share a meal together and catch up on events.

Chef Michael Smith believes that "cooking real food for your family is easy and fun," and he organized a number of recipes that are a collection of tried and true family recipes and recipes sure to become new family favourites to prove this theory. The book is visually stunning and jam-packed with full colour photographs of the recipes. Not only does he showcase his creations but he also intersperses photos of him with his family, cooking and enjoying the meals that they have prepared together. Chef Smith is a proponent in this book that kids should be involved in the planning and preparation of family dinner times etc...He believes that the better the connection they have to their food the more likely they will be to try new things. If they meet the farmer that grows their food, at the local market, they will gain a better understanding of where their food comes from and in turn eventually gain an understanding of how the economy works and why we should be supporting local. He gives 10 tips at the beginning of the book of how to work with your children in the kitchen and cook with them; instead of regarding it as a solitary chore he proposes that you make it a fun family time. He also includes weekday tips to guide the adults of how to save time and keep the kitchen running smoothly and also tips on how to organize your kitchen. Of course everyone has their own unique style when it comes to their kitchens but it never hurts to see how a professional chef operates and incorporate a few good ideas now and again. Cooking, creating and being in the kitchen are constantly an evolutionary process.

The layout of the book is like most cookbooks, it begins with breakfast and works its way through the major meals of the day, but it also dedicates space to slow cooking, hacks to make food fast but not fast food quality and the meatless Monday that has become popular as of late. Each section has its own cover page and then a separate table of contents so that you can easily scan the recipes for that section and find what you desire. This actually annoyed my Mom when she looked through the book, but then again she is from the Company's Coming generation whereby the books had a meticulous, orderly fashion of retrieving recipes. Whereas I am from the Pinterest generation, who scans and flips through things with fingers and thumbs and quickly reads and evaluates to determine whether something is worth the time to prepare. Mom missed the picture index at the back all together but I found it to be quite useful because if the picture appealed to me, I went in search of the recipe and its ingredients based on the page number listed. It is through this flipping and scanning that I stumbled upon Chef Smith's tip for cooking bacon (found in the prelude to the Frittata recipe) and I happened to employ it while making his Everyday Egg Sandwich for lunch one day. Thanks to this tip, I will never be spattered with grease again I hope. I also used the index to eagerly find the recipe that I committed to try in order to write this review. Normally I would choose a salmon recipe, but since it is summer I have been on a bit of a burger kick; so Nacho Burgers ended up on my long weekend menu.

Courtesy of Penguin Canada

 

The Nacho Burgers are not a complex recipe to follow, the picture shows how simple and delicious the appeal to them is; who wouldn't enjoy their salsa and chips in the burger rather than on the side. So I went to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market and the Brewery Market to collect my ingredients and make myself some nacho goodness in a bun.

The recipe was simple to follow and did not require any complex use of equipment. If I had been able to have my nephew in the kitchen with me I would have been able to give him little tasks, such as crushing the nacho chips, to help prepare the meal. The burgers combined quite easily and while I will admit to having reservations as to the amount of cumin in the recipe and wondering if it was a typo, it really added to the uniqueness and aroma of all the different ingredients. I did make one swap in the recipe though and that is because I had a lot of fresh oregano that I needed to use up so I opted for fresh over dried. The only other reservation about the recipe that I had was when it came to buttering and toasting the bun with chili powder. I usually try to avoid using excessive amounts of extra fats and oils if I can possibly help it, but as I needed to use a gluten free bun and occasionally must employ this trick to keep it moist, I kept to the recipe. The end result was a moist burger with a smokey, citrusy flavor that words really cannot describe nor do justice to. The butter/chili pepper on the bun in combination with the salsa, melted cheese and the surprise crunch of nacho chips led to a supremely satisfying burger experience that cannot be had in a fast food restaurant. It is definitely a recipe that I will make for my extended family, if we can ever get our schedules coordinated that is.

I thoroughly enjoyed Chef Michael Smith’s cookbook Family Meals and I have already lined up a couple of more recipes that I want to try and very soon. My mother eyeballed the Cinnamon Oatmeal cookies, so I know that I will have to move that to the top of my list. I can also see myself using a lot of his lunchbox recipes, when I go back to work in September, to keep lunch interesting for myself but also passing them on to my sister-in-law, for my nephew who begins school in September, as well. The only drawback to the book that I am critical of is his use of full fat meats for certain recipes, but this could be due to my health consciousness and refusal to purchase full fat items, especially meats, because I do not want the excess calories that comes with it. I know that full fat does lend flavor and preserves moisture, especially where meat is concerned, as I have worked in restaurants and learned a few tricks here and there. Full fat meat items sometimes require a few extra steps to drain the excess to ensure that the fat does not end up in the final product, so sometimes it is easier to purchase the lower fat content in the first place but it also comes down to the preference of the family chef. This family chef though has learned well from the Master Family Chef, her mother, but I think I can learn a few more things from the other Master, Chef Michael Smith. I will definitely be reaching for his book, Family Meals, to make new and interesting things for my family to sit and enjoy a family dinner as soon as we can get those silly schedules coordinated.

Sweet William's ground beef & cumin from the Spiceman

Beef & Cumin

Add an onion

Some fresh oregano

6 large patties

Toasted buns

Broiled burgers, since the weather wasn't great

Cooked patties

Nacho Burger on a gluten free bun from O'Dells, with salsa mixed with Chipotle Lime BBQ sauce from Little Red Kitsch'n

 

 

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.