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A Pizza Date

On October 25, 2016

Beef carpaccio pizza

I was feeling really fantastic after my September Challenge, so I decided to continue into November. N was going to be away at the beginning of the month, so we made a date to check out a new spot, Full Circle Pizza, as motivation to keep me going. I’d been hearing really fantastic things about their menu, & since pizza is N’s favourite food group, he was more than game for this plan.

I walked over & met N after work. We made it in time to benefit from their happy hour cocktails & oysters, which was an unexpected bonus. I went for a Caesar, which was basically an appetizer on its own, with an oyster, salami, a huge hunk of cheese, tomato, anchovy, & aranchini. I would totally go back for happy hour to order another one. N went with a local Calgary beer, & we set to work deciding which appies to order.

Leslie Hardy, Shiny Sea, & Kusshi Oysters

Full Circle Menu

We decided on three types of oysters, two East Coast ones, & Kusshis from the West Coast. Full Circle is a pizza & oyster bar, so we couldn’t pass up the second half of their specialty. I think the Kusshis were my favourite, but I also really loved the two East Coast ones we tried. They take a lot of pride in bringing in fresh seafood & that was certainly apparent from their oysters. I’d been reading rave reviews about their octopus, but they were unfortunately out. I guess I’ll just have to go back sometime soon to try it myself.

Deep Fried Oysters

Fried Oysters

We also decided to order the deep fried oysters. They presentation really lovely. They arrive on tucked back in their shells with a little aoili for dipping. The breading is light & crispy, & the aioli was the perfect addition.

Full Circle Pizza & Oysters

Since we went straight after work, we got a window seat right at the front. It was nice to catch the last bits of daylight after having been inside all day, but I also think it’d be fun to sit near the ovens, & watch all the pizzas go in! There’s lots of great spaces for a big group, which I think would be fun to do something (who am I kidding? I’m just a sucker for more opportunities to sample lots of the menu!).

Flaming Moe Pi

Beef Carpaccio Pi

I had waffled back & forth between the Beef Carpaccio Pi & the Reuben Pi after the Dr. Octo-Pi was off the table. In the end, I just had to try the Beef Carpaccio Pi & I have no regrets! It’s probably not something I could reproduce at home, which is usually a deciding factor for me. The flavours were so good (I really love grainy mustard). If you like carpaccio, I highly recommend it! There’s not a lot of cheese to it, but I didn’t find that took anything away.

I could have told you N was going to order the Flaming Moe weeks before we’d ever stepped foot in Full Circle. It’s spicy & meaty, & that’s totally his jam. I really enjoyed the couple slices of his I tried too. The crust on both was some of the best I’ve had in the city. This pizza is quite spicy though, so make sure you’re ready for that. We both felt that it could have done without the sriracha, which kind of surprised me. I love sriracha!

The best part about pizza dates? Pizza leftovers!

Overall, we really enjoyed our night out at Full Circle. I’m already planning another trip back for more pizza (& hopefully some of that octopus too!).

September Challenge \\ Finale

By whoalansi

On September 30, 2016

In Fitness, Food, Personal, Social

Home stretch! The final week is more or less over, & I think it’s been a pretty successful month for everyone. Some of the girls set some pretty lofty fundraiser & health goals, which I totally respect. Go big or go home, right?

As for me, I’m feeling pretty awesome. It’s been a pretty successful month & I’m really pleased with some of the side effects I’ve experienced from #SoberSeptember (& paleo). So pleased, in facet, that I’m thinking of continuing it a little longer. I’d like to commit to a mostly Sober October as well. I’m out of town the first two weekends, so I know they won’t be perfect, but I’d like to make a conscious effort to continue eating pretty strict paleo & staying away from alcohol. I’ll allow myself a couple cheats, but N will be away again so it seems like a good opportunity to keep working hard. We’ve decided that if it goes well, we’ll go for pizza & oysters at a new (to us) spot to celebrate a great fall. Seems like a fair trade off to me.

Amazing Bam Bam Shrimp from the Domestic Man blog

Roast Sirloin & Adair Caesar Salad, side of spiralled potatoes

Cheat Breakfast: Anju KFC

Roast chicken with veggies

Vietnamese lettuce wraps by Nom Nom Paleo are a new staple in our house

Homemade Almond Butter Chocolate Cups

Braised beef with carrots & arugula

Snacks with hubs: Duck Liver Mousse from Peasant Cheese (the best), homemade pickled carrots, & olives.

I sometimes forget just how great I feel when I eat paleo. I generally average under 8 hours of sleep per night. With morning workouts & evening commitments, I’ve been getting less sleep lately, but have way more energy. It’s my favourite side-effect. (I’m sure the extra workouts have been helping too.) I’d also normally break out at some point this month, but my skin showed no real signs of a breakout. Even my psoriasis seems to be laying low. It’s been a great reminder that I should make more of an effort to eat this way more consistently.

Bocce Handstands

Daily bike to work. It’s getting quiet in the cage at work.

Spin with some lovely ladies!

Ready for an early morning workout!

The best part of this whole month for me was joining November Project. I’m totally hooked & can see myself continuing to attend. I’m not sure if I’ll always be able to make it both Mondays & Wednesdays, but I’d love to go as often as possible. I actually don’t have to get up too much earlier than I normally would & I just pack my bag, prep my meals, & lay out my workout clothes the night before. This week I also got back in the pool, which was a humbling experience. I hope to make it out to a practice once in a while this year – it’s such a good challenge for me.

Early morning abs

Speech time!

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Group Hug!

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Crab walks

Amazing sunrise after the 600s workout

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Banner for our sister city, LA.

On the fundraising side, I’m at 60% of my goal for the month. I’ve added my $65 donation to the mix for the cheat meals & drinks. I’m pretty happy that I managed to mostly stick to my goal, aside from in Kelowna. I even went out a few times with friends without having more than the wine I was allowed, so I don’t feel like I missed out on too much this month. Thank you to everyone who donated to my campaign. If you would still like to donate, today’s the day. This it it! (We made it, ladies!!) Check out my campaign page for more information or to add a donation to the cause. All proceeds go to cervical cancer research at the BC Cancer Foundation.

Thank you for your support! #FuckCancer

September Challenge \\ Week Two

By whoalansi

On September 19, 2016

In Fitness, Food, Personal, Social

The second week of this challenge was, as expected, more difficult. Since we’d already booked a wine tour in Kelowna & would be attending a wedding, I opted to donate $50 to the BC Cancer Foundation in order to partake in this lovely weekend away. We ate well, drank an assortment of beautiful local wines, & danced our butts off. It was more than worth the expense.

I think this tells you everything about how much fun we had at Bobby & Karla’s wedding.

Getting back into the heathy living swing of things was tough, but I managed to do pretty well. I did take advantage of my daily wine allowance a couple times last week, but I also got lots of great workouts in, & managed to stay on track with my meals. Even with N in town, enjoying ice cream, pizza, & beer a couple times this week, I resisted the urge to partake. I think the “first” full week is actually the hardest part, & I’m going into this next one feeling like I’m over the hump.

My friend Zoe recommended we make the above lettuce wraps. They don’t look like much of anything, but trust me when I say, they are amazing. Make them. They’re so easy!

L & I have been really great about biking to & from work. High five, friend!

Last week was particularly busy for me, so we didn’t make a lot of super exciting recipes. I had dinner out twice too, actually: once at the Coup & once at Van Son. Both times, I managed not to cheat, which was pretty awesome. I’d never been to the Coup before, but I really enjoyed it. The entire menu is vegetarian, & I almost didn’t miss having meat in my meal. Plus, I finally got to have what felt like a real dessert after a few days of N eating ice cream in front of me.

My salad at the Coup

Coconut Lemon “Square”

Random lunch: roasted yams, tuna salad with pickled carrots, bacon & kale chips.

Spiralized cucumber salad & dilly basa

Once again I made it to November Project on Wednesday morning. Gymnastics also started back up that nigh,t & after class, I stuck around for Open Gym & did a very handstand-centric workout with our coach, Tanis. I realized halfway through that I was getting 4 hours-worth of exercise that day. Needless to say, I was pretty sore over the weekend. I had a few Beakerhead commitments that kept me active though, & we helped friends move on Saturday morning. I think I more than fulfilled my workout obligations!

Not a bad view of the city after an early morning workout

Killer hill repeats

Tricep dips at sunrise

NP Crew

I managed to prepare two really nice meals, despite our hectic weekend. First was Gyudon from the Domestic Man. It’s such an easy recipe, but the flavour is awesome & it looks quite impressive. The second was Sunday brunch. Our friends were hosting us for football, but I didn’t want to inconvenience them or go hungry, so we ate beforehand. I prepared my favourite pumpkin pancakes & cooked some maple beef sausages from our Grazed Right stash. We topped them with some preserved peaches from family.

Gyudon

Pumpkin Pancakes, Peaches, & Sausage

I kicked off this week with November Project this morning at Shaw Millennium Park. We did a workout using our phone numbers, which was pretty fun. It was a great way to start the week. I’m on track to have a great fitness week with NP Wednesday morning, gymnastics Wednesday night, spin Thursday night, & bocce on Saturday. I’m excited!

Run!

Tricep Train

More than halfway through this challenge & I’ve raised $100. Thank you so much to everyone who’s donated to my campaign. With my (possibly growing) contribution, I’m almost halfway to my donation goal! (I MAY have some brunch plans coming to add, which will put me even closer! EEK!) I’ve love following along with the other ladies in this challenge – they’re all doing great & raising money for a great cause!

If you’d like to donate, or find out more, check out my campaign page. Otherwise, follow along on snapchat or instagram (whoalansi for both) – I’d love to see you at November Project, on a run, or at spin, so hit me up for a workout sometime! #FuckCancer

September Challenge \\ Week One

By whoalansi

On September 7, 2016

In Fitness, Food, Personal, Social

We’re one week into the FFPK Healthy Living Challenge to raise money & awareness for Cervical Cancer through the BC Cancer Foundation, & it’s been a fantastic start. I’ve been eating such healthy & delicious meals, & getting lots of activity in.

I spent the long weekend in BC with my parents & we ate like kings! Their neighbour had brought over some delicious vegetables from her garden, & then we were given even more from my girlfriend’s parent’s garden too. We had fingerling potatoes, dill, mint, heirloom tomatoes, beets, kohlrabi, zucchini, black walnuts, spaghetti squash, & kale. Everything was incredible! I can’t wait for my parents to plant a garden of their own out there!

heirloom tomato

fingerling potatos

For workouts, I went for a couple extra long walks with Odin, in addition to his usual 15 minute ones. I think his favourite was going down to the lake & getting a swim in, but I really loved going out to the lookout point for the first time. It’s a gorgeous walk. I had done a huge stair workout with November Project at McMahon Stadium last Wednesday to kick things off, & I went again this morning. It was PR day so I set my first one: 10 times up & down the memorial stairs in 40 minutes. I also did some running with my dad & will be adding some more bodyweight workouts this week for a little variety. Gymnastics starts back up next Wednesday too & I can’t wait!

November Project at McMahon

Banff Hike

Lookout Point, Columbia Lake

Hikes with Odin

Laische’s first day of bike commuting!

November Project Views

I’ve been using some of my go-to recipes over this first week: chicken thighs with roasted beets, cumin spiced pork tenderloin with root vegetables, big ass salads, & egg bites (for breakfast). I’m really used to eating paleo at this point, so cutting out grains & bread isn’t something I have to wrap my mind around. I generally eat that way at home anyway, so it’s just sticking to it more closely this month. My friend, Zoe, sent me a few fantastic paleo recipes that I can’t wait to try this month so I’ll try to post how those turn out. If you follow along on instagram, I post most of my food with the hashtag, #deBoerDinners.

Paleo Pumpkin Biscuit, Eggs, Tomato, & Bacon

Egg & Red Pepper Scramble with Pumpkin biscuit.

Cumin Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Root Vegetables

Kale Chips

The hardest thing for me this week was abstaining from alcohol & dairy. My parents always put out an amazing appetizer spread at the lake. It usually includes cheese, & this time was no exception. Luckily, I came prepared with homemade pickled carrots & duck liver pâté. While I was still quite envious of their cheese selections, it helped to have some equally delicious options for myself. I also managed to hold myself to my allotment of wine over the weekend & substituted my usual patio drink with Kombucha or water. Planning ahead has always been the key to success for me.

I tested myself again a little yesterday when I picked up some fudge for N as a special surprise after his knee surgery (just a scope, nothing serious!). The smell of that fudge was almost enough to send me over the edge, but I didn’t indulge.

Pickling Carrots

This week will be a little bit different with us heading out to Kelowna for a wedding. I will be buying out on Friday for a wine tour & Saturday for the wedding. I’m glad to have this as an option so I can still participate in the rest of the month!

Thank you to everyone who has donated to my campaign so far! You guys are the best! I’ve raised $90 toward my $350 goal. Thank you!!! If you’d like to donate, or find out more, check out my campaign page. Otherwise, follow along on snapchat or instagram (whoalansi for both) – I’d love to see you at November Project, on a run, or at spin, so hit me up for a workout sometime! #FuckCancer

2016 Cancer Fundraiser

By whoalansi

On August 30, 2016

In Fitness, Food, Personal, Social

Last year, my girlfriend completed a no makeup challenge to raise funds & awareness for the BC Cancer Foundation. It was the inaugural fundraising challenge for the female chapter of Family Photos Kelowna. The “family” shares the same fundraising & awareness goal across all chapters.

When this years’ challenge opened, I decided I wanted to take part. This September, FFPK is committing to 30 days of healthy living. As summer is my favourite time to indulge a little more, this challenge seemed like the perfect fit. The added bonus of raising money for a good cause made it a no brainer.

There are some general guidelines for the challenge, but everyone has been encouraged to make it their own. I love reading everyone’s personal goals & outlook on what a month of healthy living means to them. You can check out all the campaigns here; there’s an awesome assortment of things going down this month.

For me, I’ve noticed I feel my best when I’m not eating gluten, soy, or dairy. I know Paleo can be a little controversial sometimes, but I’ve never felt better than when I eliminated those few things from my diet. I also find it keeps my psoriasis in check, which is an amazing side effect. I’m excited to get back on track for a full month. Although we’ve never fully gone back to our old way of eating, I’ve enjoyed a lot of cheese & a fair bit of beer over the summer.

In addition to eating Paleo this month, I’ll be severely cutting alcohol. The challenge allows for half a glass of red wine a day. There’s a penalty if we cheat on this rule so I will be donating $20 for the two days I’m in Kelowna this month for a wine tasting & a wedding. Aside from that, my goal is to stick to no drinking.

Fitness-wise, I’m endeavoring to get my sweat on 3x a week for at least 30 minutes. I’ve been meaning to check out the November Project for a while & this is the perfect opportunity to get my butt in gear. I’m kicking it off tomorrow at McMahon Stadium, & I’d love to see some of my lovely friends out there if they’re up for it. (Meet at the SE Gate at 6:13 AM!) I’ll also be biking, running, spinning, swimming, & getting my gymnastics on this month!

You can find my personal campaign here, but a donation isn’t the only way you can support me this month. Cheerleaders are just as valuable in a challenge of this kind, so I hope at least some of you are willing to join me in a workout from time to time (or simply remind me to get my ass out of bed & to November Project). Let’s get after it, friends!

Thirty One\\ My Birthday Weekend

By whoalansi

On July 28, 2016

In Food, Personal

whoalansi.com

Thirty one. I guess I’m officially a 30-something now. My birthday was on Saturday & I spent pretty much the entire weekend celebrating. I got completely spoiled by both my friends & family.

To kick things off, I took Odin to daycare on Friday, which meant I got to join my coworkers for lunch. We went to a new spot (Backwards) nearby. It’s a restaurant by day & nightclub once the sun sets. They have a $10 lunch special this month & the food is quite good. We shared a bottle of wine, chatted, & in the end they took care of my bill. I work with such lovely people!

That evening, my family picked me up & we headed down to Inglewood for dinner. My mom, my brother, & I are all summer babies, so dad treated the three of us to a fantastic dinner at the Nash. I’ve come to expect great things from the Nash & the food certainly did not disappoint. We shared a trio of appetizers to start (in hindsight, probably too many fries. How do you choose between poutine & moules though?).

Drinks at the Off Cut Bar

I love Sours. The Nash’s Buckskin Sour is a real treat!

Dad & Brother

Mom & I

Moules & Poutine

Tartare of Alberta Beef

Our mains were equally delicious. We each ordered something different & then shared their feature risotto. I could barely finish my meal, but I certainly wasn’t going to leave any duck behind. After dinner, we headed back to the house, opened a beautiful bottle of wine from Summerhill, & spent some quality time with little O before bed.

My Pan Roasted Duck Breast with Bing Cherry Jus, truffle pain perdu, beetroot, orange & thyme. Incredible!

Hanging with Odin & enjoying some wine with the fam.

Odin

Saturday was my actual birthday, & I’d decided to treat myself to a mani pedi. It was the best reward, especially since I’d started my day with a 2 hour training run (I’m running the Seawheeze in August!). I lucked out with some gorgeous sunny weather, so I spent the afternoon hanging outside with Odin & a nice cold glass of rose. No complaints there.

Run & done. !7 km in the books!

Mani pedi & a good read

Hanging with Odin in the sun

I’d made a reservation for me & a few girlfriends at Pigeonhole. N & I had gone for my birthday last year & I was itching to go back with a bigger group so I could try more of the menu. Five of my lovely friends joined me & we picked a wide array of dishes off the menu, ordered some beautiful wines, & had the loveliest of evenings. They totally spoiled me, taking care of the bill. (Thank you so much, friends! You’re too wonderful!!) My friend Jan also got me a couple lovely gifts including my favourite Kelowna wine, local honey, some of her artwork, & wrapped in an adorable Bark YYC bandana, a smirnoff ice. Well played, Jan, well played. A couple of my other girlfriends dropped by as we were finishing dessert & bought me a glass of bubbly too, which was lovely. So spoiled!

Ready for dinner!

We sat right by the kitchen so we could watch the action.

I love their mismatched china & gorgeous cutlery

Pigeonhole

I really should have gotten one with all of us

Thanks for the photo, Jan!

Just so happy!

Gull Valley Tomatoes with Sunflower, Sesame, Nori

Amazing white salmon special with crispy skin & edamame.

Grilled Duck Leg with Coconut, Peanut, Thai Basil & Charred Cabbage with Mimolette, Jalapeno Salad Cream

Lamb Breast with Mint, Cress, Apricot

Spoons for sharing dessert

As we got into our second bottle of wine, I forgot to take photos of the rest of our meal. We also ordered the zucchini, chicken liver mousse, beef tartare, & clam casino. I loved everything we ordered, but my favourites were the clams, the lamb, & the chicken liver mousse. Definite winners!

Afterward dinner we headed back to my house where a couple other friends joined us. Odin was definitely ready for some company so we had a couple drinks before everyone headed home to bed. It was as close to perfect as a birthday without N could be. Thank you so much, friends!

The next morning, the birthday treats continued with brunch with my sister in law & my brother in law’s girlfriend. We snagged a spot outside at Container Bar. They serve most of the Brasserie brunch menu, which is fantastic.

Lovely ladies at brunch

Jules hiding 😉

All the doggies & a beautiful backyard

Doesn’t get much better than this

I spent the rest of the day outside with my sister in law, checking out a friend’s fantastic new backyard (& letting the pups play together) & then having a few drinks in our yard. It was such a great day!

Leading up to my birthday I wasn’t sure if I even felt like celebrating, but I’m so glad I did & feel so grateful for my great friends & family for giving me a spectacular birthday weekend. You guys are the best!

Poutine Week 2016 : Gravy Bowl

By whoalansi

On April 22, 2016

In Food, Social

The last couple years, I’ve been lucky enough to score tickets to the Poutine Crawl. Both times, it was a highlight of Poutine Week, which is clearly my favourite of all the food themed weeks in the city. For seven days, the sale of each creative poutine provides a meal to someone in need. Eating poutine & supporting Mealshare, how can you go wrong? If you haven’t gone out yet, you still have one more day to get down to one of the participating restaurants & grab one of their delicious contributions to this cause.

Due to my unwavering commitment to stuffing my face with cheese curds, gravy, & fries, I scored an invite to the Gravy Bowl Battle this year. Seven Calgary Stampeders were paired with seven chefs to battle for the title of best poutine. (Shout out to Karen for thinking of me! She’s the awesome lady behind this week!)

N happened to be home last weekend, so I brought him along as my date. It was a gorgeous day, so we decided to head down a little early & grab a beer on the sunny Local 510 patio before heading over to Anju for the main event. Can I just take a moment to say that I love how many patio beers I’ve had so far this year?

Anju was already hopping when we arrived. We were immediately told to join everyone mingling by grabbing a drink & that Village was on the house (Thanks Anju & Village!). They’d provided many of their standbys, as well as the new (to me, at least) Village Squeeze. I can definitely see myself ordering this beer as I’m sitting on a patio this summer. It’s light & a little bit fruity without being overbearing. Totally perfect for those hot summer days.

Waiting for the competition to start

After a few words from our poutine week creator & from Mealshare, the competition began. Teams prepared their poutines two by two, presenting to the judges in Anju’s fabulous open kitchen, followed by the rest of us at the back, by the bar (& the drinks…). As the poutines started coming out I had a tough time deciding between grabbing a photo of each creation & digging right in. I managed to get a photo of each (although some are a little blurry), & luckily there seemed to be enough poutine to go around so I didn’t miss a bite.

First up was quarterback Drew Tate & Blanco Cantina‘s Matt Davidson with their Blanco Poutine Burrito. It was shaved skirt steak, cheese curds, spicy Mexican gravy, & house cut fries. I really had no idea what to expect with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s so different (a burrito? what?!) while being so familiar. Does that make any sense?

They were matched against defensive back Adam Thibault & Wurst‘s Rudy Schmid. The Smoking Duck Poutine is a longtime personal favourite & it did not fail to disappoint once again. Schmid tops ducks fat fries with cheese curds, green peas, speck gravy, truffle oil, & duck confit. This was N’s favourite poutine of the day. He’s a true duck lover. The minute he took a bite, he said, well, that’s it.

Blanco Poutine Burrito

Smoking Duck Poutine

N answering some questions about the first two poutines

Next we had Briggs Kitchen & Bar & Market. Running back Tim St Pierre was paired with Xavier Lacaze to create Newf’s Poutine, which had chunks of lobster & lobster cream sauce. The fries held up well to the rich & creamy sauce & well, what can I say about lobster. Can you really go wrong here? I think this might be cheating, but I have no real complaints.

Sean MacDonald of Market and running back Rob Cote we very creative with the Carbonera Poutine. I had the honour of breaking the sous vide eggs over this one. It also featured black pepper bechamel, peas, pancetta, curds, pea tendrils, & parmesan. I really liked this contribution as well, but I found myself still thinking about Wurst’s poutine. Truffle oil always lingers on my palate a bit, so I think it would have been better to have it last.

Newf’s Poutine

Carbonera Poutine

I was starting to feel the effects of four poutines at this point, but we ordered a couple more drinks & prepared for the next pairing.

Anju‘s Roy Oh & offensive lineman Quinn Smith were up with Poutine for your Seoul. Now, we all know how I feel about Roy & his restaurant, but unless we’ve hung out, you may not know about my love of tater tots. Roy’s creation combined curds, carrots, green onion, & an incredible Korean curry with tater tots. It was a match made in heaven, if you ask me. I loved this untraditional take on an old favourite & the flavours were incredible, as to be expected with all of Roy’s food. (Who’s surprised that I loved Anju’s poutine? No one!)

Their competitors were running back Charlie Power & chef Mel LaFleur of The Unicorn. They created a tacotine with a crispy flour tortilla shell, tater tots, cheese curds, cheese sauce, chili, pico de gallo, cream fresh, cilantro, & scallions. This one had a lot going on. I definitely enjoyed it, but I kept commenting that I couldn’t find the poutine (it was a little buried). The chili was fantastic though, so I know where I’m going next time I have my next chili craving!

Poutine for your Seoul

Tacotine

At this point, I thought we were done. I’d told myself there were six poutines for some reason. But then this last poutine arrived on its tree stump plate & I’m glad we still had a great spot at the bar. The Oxtail Poutine was brought to us by kicker Rene Parades and Brasserie‘s Cam Dobranski. They took their amazing duck fat fries & smothered them in a red wine duck gravy and chanterelle emulsion. I loved it & only wished I wasn’t so full. I’d definitely recommend checking out any of their food. Brasserie consistently has some of the best food, but seems to pass under the radar too often! Get your butt down to Kensington & try their poutines. You won’t regret it.

Oxtail Poutine

With all these delicious poutines, the judges had a tough decision. They deliberated for a while before announcing the winner: Briggs Kitchen & Bar’s Newf’s Poutine! (I mean, lobster.) Congrats to all the participants though. You’re all winners in my book! (D’awwww).

Congrats Briggs!

We lingered for a while longer, chatting about the poutines & grabbing a few more photos. I even worked up the nerve to ask Roy for a photo. It made my day to officially meet him. You know how people get really excited when they see a celebrity? I get like that about chefs.

Meeting Adam Thibault & Rudy Schmid

The judges deliberate

My new favourite photo

We ended up spending the rest of our evening in the glorious sun on Anju’s patio, ordering dinner & drinks with friends until it got too chilly to stay outside. It was a fantastic day! I think the Gravy Bowl was a great success & I can’t wait to hear what’s in store for next year. Thank you to everyone who made this a possibility & congrats to Karen on an incredibly successful event.

I hope you’ve had the opportunity to get out & try some of these poutines. Personally, I’ve decided it’s ok that my pants fit snugger this week since it’s for a good cause!

Quick Mayo

By whoalansi

On February 2, 2016

In Food

Homemade mayo. It’s become a bit of a staple in our house. I know not everyone loves mayonnaise, but I swear homemade is a game changer. It takes about 2 minutes to make & tastes significantly better than most store bought versions. & then you can quickly throw together a delicious crab salad or some spicy mayo dip. Trust me on this one – it’s really simple.

For this non-recipe, you’ll need an immersion blender & a tall mason jar. The jar should only just fit your blender, without a lot of extra space around it. Assemble the following ingredients in the mason jar to start. To make a little under a cup of mayo, you’ll need:

1 egg
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup of oil

I generally eyeball the ingredients & it turns out great, so don’t worry too much about exact measurements. If anything you want a little more oil than less. Use any mild-tasting oil for this. I generally use light olive oil because I find regular olive oil has too strong a flavour. Many people like avocado or macadamia nut oil too. Experiment & figure out what you like best (or just use the light olive oil – it’s great!).

Mayo Ingredients

Throw all your ingredients into your mason jar & put your immersion blender to the very bottom of the jar.

Fire up your blender! Keep it at the very bottom to start, & slowly raise it as it starts to emulsify. If it doesn’t seem to thicken to the right consistency (think thick, but spreadable), add more oil & repeat the process with the blender & the mason jar.

Halfway

Fifteen seconds in, it should look like the photo above. You can still see a little bit of oil at the top, so you can slowly start to raise the blender so that it mixes with the rest.

Our finished product is always a little more on the yellow side because we use those Omega 3 eggs. It tastes delicious though. Add it to crab meat with a little hot sauce, celery, & dried seaweed for some quick midweek lettuce wraps – that’s my favourite use for this stuff!

30 sec mayo

Experiment with different oils – each will add a bit of a different flavour, so you may have to play a little to find the one you like the best. There’s some debate about how long this mayo keeps for. I usually keep mine a little over a week, since I make it in smaller batches as I need it, but I’ve also heard it’s good until the date on the egg you used.

I like it a lot better than most mayo’s I find in the stores (with one pricey exception I sometimes give in to) & it’s easy & cheap to make with ingredients you’re likely already buying. Have you ever made your own mayo? Is it something you’d try?

Braising

By whoalansi

On October 27, 2015

In Food

Totally profession plating here…

For the last few years, we’ve ordered an eighth of a cow from a coworker of N’s. His family has a smaller ranch called Grazed Right. Our beef order has since become something we look forward to every fall as the beef is some of the best I’ve ever had. (I am in no way affiliated with their ranch, btw – I truly love their beef & have recommended it to most of our close friends.) Ben & his family are really great people & I’m happy to support them in becoming successful full-time ranchers. I hope they’re well on their way to achieving that goal!

One of the unexpected perks of ordering a portion of an animal is learning to cook cuts that you may not have otherwise bought. I’m very rarely intimidated by any cut of beef anymore since every eighth has such a variety – from bone-in steaks to roasts to chuck steak & short ribs. It’s a great opportunity to get a little creative in the kitchen.

We were discussing our upcoming beef orders recently & comparing what we had left from the previous year. As N & I are on our third year, we’ve fared a bit better with our ground beef usage especially (when you order in bulk, you generally get a lot of ground beef – we turned some of ours into sausage which definitely helped!). A few people mentioned they still had chuck steaks leftover since they usually require a lengthy marinade. Personally, I marinating a bit tedious so I’ve turned to braising instead. While it is a slower method of cooking, it’s virtually foolproof & a delicious way to turn a tougher cut into something wonderful. I love that this method is back in popular rotation – I’m sure my grandparents would have a good chuckle over what was probably a common way to for them to cook.

I thought I’d share my favourite recipe on the blog today, in case you’re looking for a way to use this cheaper cut. I’m using the term recipe pretty loosely here – there’s really nothing groundbreaking here. For those of us who forgot about braising though, I hope it serves as a little inspiration to put it back into your weekday rotation.

You’re going to need:

1 medium onion (white or yellow)
1/2 cup of red wine (split in half, I used cab sauv)
Stock (Beef or Mushroom preferably, I think I had chicken on hand – whatever)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T butter or fat
Pinch of thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste

Get your chuck steak out. I usually let my meat come to room temperature before I throw it on the grill on in the oven. This is especially true with chicken, but I find it works well for keeping steak juicy too.

Next, grab a sharp knife & slice your onion. I like to do them a medium thickness. I find I get the best caramelization that way. While you’re slicing your onion, heat a large oven-proof dutch oven on medium heat. (I used my le Creuset for this recipe. It’s awesome, but you definitely do not need to use one. Any oven-safe dutch oven will work. Normally I would actually use my Staub because the lid is basically made for braising. There are a lot of options out there though & you don’t HAVE to splurge on either of these!)

Add the butter or fat to the dutch oven. I use a mix of bacon fat & butter. Once it has melted, you can add your onion & turn it down to low. You want to slowly cook the onion until it’s caramelized. While this is cooking, grab your steak.

You can admire her for a minute here if you like…

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Cube your steak & set aside in a bowl.

Keeping an eye on the onions, measure out the rest of your ingredients. Mince the garlic if you haven’t already. Measure out a cup of stock & 1/4 cup of wine.

When your onions are almost caramelized, add the garlic. Cook until fragrant.

Remove the onions & garlic & set aside. Add the steak to brown on all sides.

Once the beef has browned on all sides, add 1/4 cup of the wine to deglaze the pan. (You want those browned bits in your “sauce”!) It will cook off a bit & then you can add your onion & garlic back in. Add the stock, the rest of the wine, & the spices until the meat is covered. (My measurements aren’t an exact science so you may need a little more or a little less depending on the size of your dutch oven & how much steak you have.)

Cover & put in the oven. Set your timer for 30 minutes. I check it every 30 minutes or so until the sauce has reduced & the meat is tender. It usually takes about an hour & a half to two hours.

After an hour, I’ll usually start prepping my side dishes. We like to pair this with mashed faux-tatoes (cauliflower pretending to be mashed potato). It’s really simple & delicious. It would also go well with real mashed potatoes or even rice, if you’re like one of our friends who loves rice!

Mashed faux-tatoes in the vitamix

When it’s done, it will look like this. If you’d like to add a little flour to your sauce (or make a roux), that would probably be lovely. I sometimes add a tiny bit of tapioca flour to thicken it, while keeping everything gluten-free. I don’t think it needs it though if you don’t want.

I served it on top of the mash & added a bit of arugula. That’s it! It makes for a delicious meal!

So that’s how I make use of our chuck steaks. These are more guidelines than anything else – add your own twist (& let me know how it goes!) or keep it the same.

While braising is a bit of a slower process, I think it’s worthwhile. Your whole house will smell fantastic, it’s relatively hands off, & you end up with a fantastic, hearty meal at the end.

WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Category: Food Page 2 of 3

A Pizza Date

Thirty One\\ My Birthday Weekend

Quick Mayo

Braising

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