Spring Cleansing

I recently started seeing a naturopath.  Not for any particular ailment (I’m overall healthy – knock on wood) but just for overall health and well-being.  I’m a little kooky in that I tend to be intrigued by alternative medicines, extremely healthy foods (you wouldn’t know that by my Sweet and Sour post) etc.  So when my doctor asked if I’d be interested in doing a cleanse or detox I said, sign me up!

Now, when I said cleanse I thought she’d give me some pills and tell me not to eat red meat.  That would be fine!  But no, by cleanse they really mean CLEANSE.  It’s called the Elimination Cleanse.  The goal being to eliminate potential allergens and then reintroduce them and monitor the body’s reactions.

ETA: We’re not worried about allergens in my case.  Already know that dairy is a potential issue (but I wont give up cheese) but nothing else has caused alarm.  The cleanse/detox is more to just get “clean” and feel good.

For the next 3-4 weeks I can’t eat the following:

Mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, corn and potatoes (no canned or frozen veggies)
Melons, citrus fruits, strawberries, bananas (no dried fruit)
Gluten (wheat, oats, barley etc.)
Soy in any form
Dairy
Eggs
Beef, Pork, Sandwich meats, shellfish
Sweeteners (EVERYTHING maple syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar etc)
Caffeine, alcohol

I’m sure there’s other stuff that I’m forgetting.  When I first looked at the list I suspected that this would suck.  No dairy is fine, no red meat is fine, no gluten is fine, no sweeteners – sucks but is fine.  BUT ALL AT ONCE??  No bueno!  What’s making this particularly problematic is the combination of no gluten, no corn, no potatoes AND no soy.  I think that everything pretty much has soy or corn in it.  Especially if it’s a gluten-free product.  You should have seen me at the supermarket looking for snack foods.  I almost cried, I couldn’t find ANYTHING.

The no sweeteners thing is annoying.  I love sweet treats!  I could totally whip up some gluten/vegan sweets but without sugar?  Seriously?  I guess I could use stevia but this is all starting to sound complicated and like it might defy the law of physics.  So if I want some sweet I eat fruit.

I’m worried about losing weight over the next month.  I’m comfortable with my body and do not need to lose a pant size at all.  For the past two days I’ve had hummus veggies and rice cakes for lunch.  Hardly substantial.  For dinner tonight I made a turkey shepherd’s pie with sweet potato topping.  Very delicious and filling but I don’t want to fill the void in my diet with tons of chicken/turkey

Any suggestions are welcome.  Click the link on the top right to e-mail or feel free to comment.  I’ve bought some brown rice pasta that I will cook with olive oil, garlic and veggies and I plan on making a rice noodle curry too.  My snacks consist of rice cakes and almonds although I just finished roasting some chickpeas!

I’ll still be posting but the recipes will be a lot different!

Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork

I’m always on the hunt for great Chinese food recipes.  Sure, sometimes I’m after more “authentic” dishes, but sometimes I just want some good old North American/Chinese food.  We’re talking Chinese food like your favourite “round the way” spot.  Battered, fried and saucy.  I’m not afraid to admit that.

One of my guilty pleasures when it comes to Chinese food is sweet and sour… pretty much anything!  But especially pork or chicken.  I like it battered and fried crispy and laden with a somewhat artificial sauce.  What can I say?  I grew up on it.  When I saw this recipe in Helen Chen’s Chinese Home Cooking it totally had me at hello.

The ingredients are simple enough and I had them all on hand except for the canned pineapple.  The recipe itself is easy to execute which I like.  It’s easy enough to cook on a weeknight which is always a bonus.  If you wanted to really plan ahead you could probably fry the pork the night before and crisp it in the oven or in some oil.  The one modification that I make here is that I add onions.  The sauce isn’t too sickeningly sweet which is nice AND it’s not that somewhat frightening (but familiar) neon red colour that we’re accustomed to.

Also note that I don’t follow the directions exactly.  It says that the pork should be fried twice.  That just seems like a lot of work to me so I cook it once.  The last time I made this I fried the pork twice and it didn’t make much of a difference to me

If you wanted to be really healthy (although I would question your intent if you’re making a dish of deep fried meat tossed in sugar sauce…) you could add some more vegetables to the mix.  Broccoli would probably work well here.  Also note that I opted for white rice.  Sure, I could have done brown but something about this recipes screams white rice to me!

Enjoy!

1/2 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded, cored, and cut into 1-inch cubes (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup canned pineapple chunks, well drained
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch plus 3 1/2 tablespoons dissolved in 1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon beaten egg plus enough water to make 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon canola, corn, or peanut oil
About 1/2 pound lean boneless pork chops, cut into 1-inch or smaller cubes (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash black pepper

Sauce
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Oil for deep-frying  (pork is deep-fried twice)

Directions
In a small saucepan of boiling water, parboil the carrots for 1 minute. Add the green pepper to the same water. As soon as it comes back to a boil, drain the vegetables and rinse in cold water to stop cooking. Add the pineapple to the vegetables and set aside.
Combine the flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, baking powder, egg mixture, and oil in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is a smooth paste. Set aside.
In another bowl, stir the pork, sherry, salt, and pepper together. Set aside.
In a wok or stir-fry pan, heat 2 inches o foil to a temperature of 375 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Dip the marinated cubes of pork into the batter to coat completely. Carefully drop the pork into the hot oil, 1 piece at a time. Deep-fry until light golden brown. Remove with a wire skimmer, spread out on paper towels, and let cool. Reserve the oil in the pan. (You may deep-fry the pork to this point in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer. The oil may be strained and kept for a day or two; otherwise use fresh oil for the second frying.)
Make the sweet and sour sauce only when ready to proceed with the second frying. Combine the sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, salt, and water in a 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the vinegar. When the liquid comes back to a boil, stir in the cornstarch solution. Cook until the sauce thickens. Add the parboiled vegetables and the pineapple to the sauce, then add 1 tablespoon of hot oil from the deep-fry pan to give the sauce a shine.
While preparing the sauce, reheat the deep-fry oil to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a second frying. Add all the pork to the oil and fry until the pieces are heated and crisped. (Frozen or refrigerated pork should be brought to room temperature before being cooked). Remove with a wire skimmer and drain on paper towels. (If not ready to serve the dish immediately, you can keep the sauce warm on the stove and the pork warm in a 325 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes, no longer. Put together just before serving.)
Put the pork in a deep plate and pour the sweet and sour sauce over. Serve immediately.

Author’s Cooking Tips
*For best results use lean pork that is free of gristle.
**The batter must be prepared exactly as described and the pork fried twice at a temperature no less than 375 degrees F. to ensure crispiness.
***The same ingredients and technique can be used with chicken, shrimp, or beef.  Cooking times need to be adjusted accordingly.

Barefoot Bloggers: Croque Monsieur

I’ve always loved a Croque Monsieur.  Toast, ham, cheese +cheese sauce – toasted until it’s all melty goodness?  How could you NOT love a Croque Monsieur.

When I saw that one of this month’s Barefoot Bloggers recipes (chosen by Kathy at All Things Considered) I was thrilled – I’ve actually made this recipe before!  It’s a great recipe.

This time around I didn’t make any modifications because the recipe is fantastic as it.  I even took all of the components with me to work and made it in the toaster oven.  My co-workers were not thrilled with the smell of melted gruyere.  It was delicious!  Another Ina Garten/ Barefoot Contessa hit!

Croque Monsieur

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

(From Ina Garten’s Barefoot In Paris)

Teriyaki Salmon

Sadly, my Ming Tsai cookbook doesn’t get used that often.  It’s not that I don’t like it but  a lot of the recipes are pretty involved or require things that I’m not so into acquiring.  For the most part I’ve enjoyed the recipes that I’ve made from the book but not enough to really cook my way through the entire book.

This recipe for Teriyaki Salmon has been calling my name for a while because it’s so easy!   It only requires seven ingredients: soy sauce, brown sugar, oranges, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and salmon.  How simple is that?  I’m not sure why it took me so long to get around to make this one.  I actually make a salmon that’s very similar to this except that I don’t use oranges or sesame seeds but do use limes and sesame oil.  Very similar effect.

I cooked the salmon under the broiler because I was lazy.  First I cooked it for a few minutes further away from the broiler and then finished it directly under the broiler to get some colour and some crunch.  Perfection.  I served the salmon with some roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli.  Delish.  Tsai recommends serving the salmon with a cucumber salad.  I don’t do cucumbers so I passed on that one.

Ingredients

• 1 cup thin soy sauce
• Juice and zest of 2 oranges
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

Directions

Combine all but sesame seeds and salmon in a saucepan. Bring to boil and slowly simmer until a syrupy consistency is achieved, about a 50 percent reduction. Let cool completely.

Add sesame seeds and salmon and marinate for 1 hour. Remove salmon from marinade and bring sauce to a boil. On a hot grill, cook salmon for about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Occasionally, brush the salmon with the teriyaki sauce.

(From www.foodnetwork.com)

NYC Eats #2

I’m back from a lovely long weekend in one of my fave cities/former home… New York!

When I go to NYC I’m usually plotting out what I’d like to eat and then building my activities around where I will be for my next meal.  I’m not kidding.  I mean, why eat crappy food in a city so full of yumminess?  With that said, I didn’t really plan my trip that well this time and didn’t have a list of hot spots to try and I had just been to NYC in January so I had covered off some of my cravings (soul food, check.  dos caminos, check.)

Here’s the rundown of my eating…

MERCADITO CANTINA
172 Avenue B, New York 10009
(Btwn 10th & 11th St)

Mexican food isn’t the easiest thing to come by in Toronto.  The Mexican population just isn’t that big.  So when I’m in NYC I try to hit up a Mexican spot.  This time around I figured that Mercadito Cantina (part of the Mercadito “empire”) on Avenue B would be a good spot.  Totally right!

I opted for the Pescado tacos because fish tacos in Toronto are either a.) hard to find or b.) suck. You get three small tacos (single tortilla not doubled) topped with chile poblano and a tomatillo-garlic mojo. YUM. I also opted for a side of rice and bean which was interesting as the beans contained some sort of squash. The menu also has an assortment of salsas and guacamoles which sounded delicious but that I opted not to try as I figured I’d be eating plenty more for the day.

Also, because I was in NYC and NYC always makes me feel a bit boozey I tried the Roja Loca which includes red wine, grapefruit, strawberry, epazote, and jalapeño. Crazy! The first sip was DISGUSTING but it got a lot better as I got into it. Reminiscent of a bloody mary but crazier.

Taco portions are tiny. If you’re a dude (or a hungry girl) one portion is NOT enough. Overall delicious and fresh and a lovely space.

RED MANGO
19-23 St. Mark’s Place,New York, NY 10003

I’ve been a fan of Pinkberry frozen yogurt since they opened up in NYC. Who doesn’t love the idea of frozen yogurt topped with fresh fruit (or other fixins?). Since my departure from the Big Apple another chain has been moving in, Red Mango. After lunch we walked by a Red Mango and it was calling my name so I decided to partake.

I had a plain yogurt topped with strawberry and mango. It was good. Not sure which I like better, Pinkberry or Red Mango but it definitely hit the spot!

GRAND SICHUAN (West Village)
15 7th Ave S, New York 10014
(Btwn Leroy & Bedford St)

There is no shortage of Chinese food in Toronto. In fact, Chinese food is extremely well represented here and the quality tends to be great (from what I’ve heard). So I’m not quite sure how I ended up going for Chinese in NYC. I’d been wanting to try Grand Sichuan (they have a number of locations) for a while but never got around to it. The West Village location that I ended up is a fairly new addition.

Can I get a YUM? I was dining by myself on a Friday night which is always fun but often difficult when doing Chinese because the portions are large. Luckily this location of Grand Sichuan lets you order a small of a number of entrees. I ended up having the Shanghai Vegetable Roll, Wonton Soup, Ma Po Tofu and Pork Fried Rice.

The Wonton Soup was perfect. The broth was light and flavourful and had a few different notes to it. The wontons themselves were very light and not too doughy. The vegetable roll was kind of a disappointment – I’ve had better elsewhere. I had never had Ma Po Tofu at a restaurant before (that I can remember), it’s a dish I just make at home. The flavouring was different than what I’m used too… it kind of tasted like it had cloves in it. It worked though. AND it was nice and spicy.

Overall, Grand Sichuan may be my fave “clean” Chinese spot (versus my favourite round the corner dirty chinese spots!).

DESSERT MOON GRILLE

I went to Woodbury Commons outlet mall. Food choices are slim. I ended up here and had a quesadilla. Nothing too exciting to report at all. Except that I got a pair of $600 Stella McCartney flats for $31. AMAZING!

MYSTERIOUS DUMPLING SPOT

It was my friend’s birthday party on Saturday night and after a day at the outlet I didn’t have any serious dinner plans. And I wasn’t starving. So I decided to grab a quick bite near the party on the LES. I have this thing where I like foods that cost $1. Seriously. I used to LOVE this $1 dumpling spot on Allen (Fried Dumpling maybe) but it JUST closed. So after some research I decided to go to Dumpling House. I’m pretty sure I went to the wrong place. The dumplings weren’t a dollar! They didn’t have scallion pancakes! By the time I realized I was quite possibly at the wrong place I had already ordered and just had to deal.

The dumplings were good. I think I had about 11 dumplings for $3. Crazy. I was sooooo full of dumplings after that. But I’m still confused as to where I went. I was on the south east corner of Broome and Eldridge.

BABYCAKES
248 Broome St, New York 10002
(Btwn Orchard & Ludlow St)

Since I was already on Broome and on the LES I decided to wash the taste of doughnuts out of my mouth with some lovely treats from Babycakes.  Babycakes is a bakery that specializes in allergen-free/vegan treats.  Sure, sounds boring but the treats are anything but.  I have a friend who is allergic to dairy and soy and had never had a birthday cake.  She had her first cake from Babycakes and was thrilled.  As a total consumer of all baked goods this place gets a thumbs up.  I had a vanilla cupcake top with zesty lemon frosting (how ingeneous to only have the top? LOVES IT!) and a chocolate chip cookie.  Both were absolutely delicious.  Sure, they don’t taste just like a typical butter, white flour, refined sugar treat but they do taste yummy.  I could use some Babycakes right now…

THE SMITH
55 3rd Ave, New York 10003
(Btwn 10th & 11th St)

Me and my girls decided to have brunch on Easter Sunday but not an Easter brunch and end up at The Smith. When I was living in NYC The Smith used to be a Pizzeria Uno. It’s on a stretch of Third Avenue that I wouldn’t consider cool at all since it’s on NYC Housing Row. To say the least, I didn’t have great expectations for The Smith. I was proven wrong! The Smith is totally awesome. First of all it’s HUGE by NYC standards and it was still packed. We ended up eating at the bar which was nice. I had the Country Breakfast which consisted of ham, cheese grits, gravy, eggs and the most delicious biscuit ever. The Country Breakfast totally called my name. I mean cheese grits AND a biscuit? Count.Me.In. Sure, the cheese grits weren’t the best ever but I just like having the option. The brunch menu is pretty impressive – I would totally revisit.

MOMOFUKU BAKERY & MILK BAR
207 2nd Ave, New York 10003
(At 13th St)

This is totally my new fave place in NYC. It had my heart at hello. Now, I don’t drink milk so I can’t comment on the “milk bar” aspect of this place but I do eat baked goods! I had three cookies: Cornflake-Marshmallow-Chocolate Chip Cookie, Banana Cookie and Compost Cookie.

The Cornflake-Marshmallow-Chocolate Chip Cookie is probably my new favourite cookie ever. I loved the crunch and corn flavour of the cornflakes and ooey gooeyness of the marshmallows. So perfect. The banana cookie was delish too… a very unique flavour for a cookie and it had sliced bananas in it. Now the compost cookie was bizarre but great at the same time. I’m pretty sure it had pretzels, potato chips, chocolate chips and some coffee flavoured something happening in there. How insane? I could eat about three of them right now!

And for the record we saw Wylie Dusfresne there. If it’s good enough for Wylie…

RANDOM CHINESE
My Easter dinner consisted of round the way Brooklyn Chinese take-out. Yes, I had Chinese food 3 times while in NYC. Let’s move on.

SWEET LIFE CAFE
147 Christopher St, New York 10014
(Btwn Washington & Greenwich St)

I met a few friends for a quick West Village lunch ended up at Sweet Life Cafe. It’s totally not a destination kind of diner but if you’re in the hood it seems like a totally reliable spot. I had the burger and it hit the spot. Was it the best burger ever? No. But at the time it filled a need and for that I’m grateful. The lunch specials are super cheap and the portions are plentiful. You can eat for under $10 and walk away more than content.

GRAY’S PAPAYA
402 6th Ave, New York 10014
(At 8th St)

Gray’s holds a fond place in my heart. I remember when I was little and used to go to NYC the hot dogs were 50cents. I thought that that was insane! Now they are $1.50. Still delicious but it’s a little harder to buy 3 and not feel guilty. I always get mine with saurekraut AND onions AND mustard. And eat them leaning on one of the ledges looking out the window. I like to keep it classy. Somehow nothing beats a hot dog from Gray’s Papaya.

Barefoot Bloggers: Chinese Chicken Salad

Somehow I’m totally a week late posting this!  Not sure how I got the dates so mixed up in my head at all.  Clearly I did not ace this one.  I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to making this recipe in the first place. McKenzie of Kenzie’s Kitchen chose this recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad and lost me at the word chicken.  But in the spirit of Barefoot Bloggers I forged ahead and I’m glad I did!

This is a super simple and delicious recipe.  I used “naturally raised” chicken from Metro which I like a lot better than regular chicken and it’s only slightly more expensive.  Most of the ingredients I had on hand and really only had to buy the veggies required.  I followed the recipe almost to a T and was pleasantly surprised.  I omitted the salt in the dressing and was happy with that choice.  I’m a big fan of a garlicky, peanutty, gingery dressing and this salad delivered.  I would use the dressing as a dipping sauce or marinade for other dishes.

I served my chicken salad on top of Hot and Sour Coleslaw that I found via Epicurious.  I had a quarter head of cabbage from my last veggie box that I had to use up and I always had carrots on hand so this seemed like a natural choice.  I also happened to have some bean sprouts that were on the verge of being not so fresh that I threw in there too.  This was a GREAT accompaniment if I do say so myself.

Would I make this again?  Sure, if I were in the mood for chicken.  I will be adding this to my list of “things to bring to summer barbecues (if i ever were to get invited to summer barbecues)” (a girl has to plan!).  I am however super excited for the lunchtime leftovers!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
• 2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

(recipe via foodtv.com)

Where I’ve Been…

NEW YORK!

Currently in NYC on the last day of my trip.  I’ve done A LOT of eating and will do A LOT of blogging when I’m back home.

SO far I’ve been to…
Mercadito Cantina
Grand Sichuan
Babycakes
The Smith
Momofuku Milk Bar
and Others!

Stay tuned…

Cod with Miso Glaze

Whenever I see cod with miso anything on a menu I tend to laugh.  It’s one of those dishes that got out of hand.  It probably started at some trendy spot and then trickled down to the masses so

that even some random restaurants had some variation of miso cod on the menu.  Part of me always feels like a restaurant is trying a bit to hard to be trendy whenever I see this on the menu.  I seem to think that it started at Nobu, but it could just be the restaurant that made it popular.

I had some miso in my fridge that had been sitting there for a while and I happened to have a fillet of cod as well so I thought, why not?

Oh, I’ll give you some reasons why not, it was not delicious AT ALL.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love all of the ingredients in this dish.  Cod? Good.  Miso? Delicious.  The rest consist of run-of-the-mill Asian ingredients (rice vinegar, soy sauce etc.) so I didn’t foresee any problems.  Perhaps that is what killed it, I didn’t anticipate how this could go wrong.

You don’t really marinate the fish in the miso dressing for that long.  Not that that was necessarily the issue but it’s one thing to note.  You’re supposed to broil, then bake the fish and top it with the glaze.  It looked so unappetizing when it was finished (as you can see above).  It kind of looked like someone went potty on my fish.  ANNNNNDD I didn’t even really like the glaze.  I can’t put my finger on why not, but I just did not love it.

I was going to make the wasabi mashed potatoes to go along with the dish but as I was boiling the potatoes I realized that I didn’t have any wasabi.  I decided to throw in some horseradish that I had in my fridge, I mean they are from the same family.  The potatoes were lackluster to say the least.

This one was definitely NOT a winner.  I contemplated ordering food in for the night but decided against it since I was going out to brunch the next day.  Instead I ate a bunch of Petit Ecolier white chocolate cookies. YUM.

Here’s the recipe… if you dare.

Cod with Miso Glaze

Bon Appétit | March 1999

1/2 cup light yellow miso
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 6-ounce cod fillets, each cut into 2 pieces

Preheat broiler. Blend miso, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and cayenne pepper in processor. With machine running, gradually pour in oil; blend until mixture is smooth. Place cod fillets in large bowl. Pour half of miso mixture over fish; toss to coat. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet.

Broil cod 8 inches from heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Set oven at 450°F.; bake cod until opaque in center, about 5 minutes. Divide cod among 6 plates. Spoon Wasabi Mashed Potatoes alongside. Drizzle remaining half of miso mixture over cod and potatoes, if desired, and serve.

(From Epicurious)

What I Bought Today: Alphonso Mangoes

I’ve been hearing about the infamous Alphonso Mango for years.  It’s a variety from India that people go crazy for and say is the best mango ever. A bold statement, I know.  They are super expensive, have a short shelf life and a short season (April to May) and people go CRAZY for them.

A post popped up recently on the Toronto Chowhound boards singing the praises of the Alphonso.  I thought they were talking about Ataulfo mangoes initially but was corrected   I then became OBSESSED with securing me some Alphonsos.

I grew up eating mangoes.  The variety most commonly found in supermarkets here are the Tommy Atkins mango which is not great.  Sure, I’ll eat them but they are not my fave.  The flavour can be weak, they don’t ripen properly and boy are they stringy.  You need some serious dental floss to eat a Tommy Atkins mango.  I recently discovered the Ataulfo mango and that has been my mango of choice for the past few years.  The flesh is silky and delicious and they ripen well.  I usually by a bunch of them in Chinatown – last year I was eating about 6 a week! Dangerous.  I also enjoy a Jamaican variety whose name I don’t know but it tends to be expensive.

To secure my Alphonso mangoes I had to head out to Little India in Toronto (Coxwell and Gerrard) to a store called Kohinoor.  They had about 8 cases of mangoes – and by the caseload is the only way to buy them.  A case is $24.99 which consists of 12 mangoes.  The shop clerks were really funny.  As soon as they saw me poking around they started singing the praises of the Alphonso explaining that they are imported from India and that they are the best in the world.  All of this I knew but when I saw the gleam in their eyes I knew I had to take the plunge.  I carefully inspected each mango in the box and set home.

As soon as I walked in the door I had to crack open my first mango.  AMAZING.  Not to sound like everyone else but it’s like no other mango I’ve ever tasted.  It tastes like the mangoiest mango with a dash of mango perfume.  It’s really a feast for the senses.  Not only is the taste amazing but the whiff that you get as you bring the mango to your mouth is heavenly.  The inside colour was so vibrant it was almost shocking especially since the outside didn’t give a hint of being too ripe.  I could have eaten half the box in one sitting but I managed to limit myself to one.  My aim is to eat 2 a day otherwise they will go bad.

I wouldn’t buy these mangoes often mainly because I have to trek across town to find them and because of the price.  I also wish that they were available past May because I would love to consume these during the hot summer months but you can’t have it all I suppose.

Here’s a great article from the New York Times.

School Bakery & Cafe

(Photo borrowed from Flickr check out the rest of the photostream for more photos)

School Bakery & Cafe
70 Fraser Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
416-588-0005
Website

I’m a big fan of the Toronto boards on Chowhound and try to post fairly regularly.  Every once in a while I’ll come across a post for the board’s supper club and want to get in on the action.  Well this month I took the plunge and joined in on this month’s meetup! I was happy that I did.

I’ve been brunch deprived for a while.  When I lived in NYC I lived for brunch and would go out 2 or 3 times a month to get my brunch on.  Now that I’m back in Toronto I rarely go out for brunch.  I think it boils down to a lack of brunch companions sadly – and not to a lack of brunch places.  So when I saw that this month’s meetup was brunch I was in!

I’ve been hearing the buzz about School Bakery & Cafe for a little while now.  It’s down in Liberty Village which isn’t so much a village as a condo park downtown.  The menu had me at hello.  They have an excellent selection of brunch items both sweet and savoury.  I’m usually that person that narrows down my choices prior to getting to the restaurant but there were way too many things on the menu that I wanted to try!

The website has a school theme which I’m not entirely sure that I was feeling.  It seemed a bit too cutesy for me but at the actual restaurant it worked.  We’re talking apples on the table, salt and pepper shakers shaped like alphabet blocks, menus on ruled paper.  LOVED IT!  Totally the right amount cute.  And for a restaurant that is pretty generic in terms of their offerings the addition of the theme makes it stand out that much more.

I opted for a green tea which was presented with a glass mug and the tea leaves in a tea infuser that looked like a strainer.  Totally great.  For my meal I had the Chipotle biscuit with a fried egg, pepper jack cheese and back bacon – served with hash browns.  HELLO DELICIOUS!  The biscuit was pure flaky, spicy goodness.  The egg was fried hard just like I liked it.  The cheese had a great kick.  And the back bacon… oh the back bacon was pure delicious!  Other hits at the table included the Eggs Bennie (which I don’t do because I don’t eat poached eggs) and the PB & C Waffle ‘Which (peanut butter, chocolate and toffee filling – intense!).

Not everything was a roaring success at the table.  The Cheesy French Toast and Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwich were not met with great reviews.  Too dry was a complaint.

I got a nibble of the cardamom biscuit and the lemon scone.  The cardamom biscuit was too cardomom-y for my tastes.  It seems like a hard flavour to pair with other things.  It might be best with just a tea or something.  The lemon scone on the other hand was fantabulous!

I’d also like to point out that the prices were great.  My sandwich was $8 and most of the brunch items were between $9-11.

If this place wasn’t so far and if I had a regular brunch routine it would totally be on my radar.  There will definitely be future trips to this place.

Here’s what people have to say about SB&C…
Toronto Star
Taste T.O.
NOW Magazine
Toronto Life