Colorful Foods :)
*updated* March 15 2006
Look what I've been eating this week I mean, what kind of homemade food I've been making throughout my ever-busy weekdays. Why did I say weekdays, did I mean to exclude weekends? Yes, probably. Weekends are too nice to be spent on doing homeworks or required readings. Especially a weekend like today.
Today in Toronto is bright and warm (only if you're wearing a proper jacket though :p ), and I knew that all along, so Mr. W and I went to downtown as early as we could. We left at 8 o'clock (which means I had to get up around 7.30) and arrived in Union station just a tad past 9am. Wonder where we went? Wonder no more, we revisited St. Lawrence Market!
Believe it or not, it's my 3rd consecutive visit to St. Lawrence :) Have gone crazy or something? I live in a suburb and the market is way in the heart of Toronto! But, I love morning, and I think I'm a morning person. And our market adventure was again extraordinarily fun! We've never been to downtown this early and I sure like it :)
Usually, now is about the time I share about my findings in the market. But, I am not going to do that this time with fear of being boring. :p I will talk about something else instead, something out of the blue.
Last week I was talking to a friend and suddenly this subject of foods having country of origin's name came up. What I meant by that is some foods that are named partly after a country or a part of a country. For example Italian Sausage. Then, she protested me of stereotyping (of course, she was joking!). Stereotyping foods, eh? That's pretty interesting, I thought. On the other hand, this is not like negative sterotyping or anything. Although the nature of the word "stereotyping" is actually negative :p But, it's interesting, because if you pay attention there are sooo many that could go on the list! Let me start my own list. This is not done with any prior reasearch. Only prior knowledge ;)
Israelli couscous
Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
Greek-style Yogurt
Italian Gelato
Jerusalem Artichoke
Honestly, I can't recall anything else right now. Please join me if you like :)
Now, to the main topic. The homemade foods of the week... and the theme is COLOURFUL!
First dish:
Couscous with Yam and Carrot Stew
(recipe adapted from Epicurious)
This was supposed to be a vegetarian delight. It was in some sense, but not really in another. The idea is nice and I love experimenting with unfamiliar ingredient like couscous. However, I didn't follow the recipe word per word. Instead, I substituted the butternut squash with yam and I could have used the wrong paprika (I don't know if mine if Hungarian). The recipe for the couscous itself I think was pretty good, using butter, garlic, and turmeric for color. On the other hand, the stew upset my stomach a little bit. I'm afraid I have an intolerance for squashes and yams. As far as I could recall, I made a butternut squash soup a month ago and it always left my stomach groaning. Uh-oh...
Second dish:
Fish Taco Platter
(again, from Epicurious)
I truly had fun making this Mexican dish :) And even better, it paid off! On the night this platter was made, I ate three (small) taco wraps :9 I love the (long) process of making this dish because everything was new to me. First I had to char some vegetables under my broiler (never done that before on purpose) then I had to pickle some red onion and jalapeno, and finally I had to add lime rind into my sourcream and mayo mixture.
Although, again, I didn't follow every single step because I couldn't find tomatillo. I replaced it with Roma tomatoes instead (there you go again!). The final taste for the salsa was alright, I had to add a splash of tabasco for more flavor though :p Other than that, the pickle was fantastic and so was the baja cream! Pardon my amazement, but it was my first time pickling anything! I was so amazed when the vinegar bath turned deep pink (like a grapefruit color) after an hour.
Finally, never had fish taco too! So it was a great experience and would certainly be great for a get-together meal!
Dessert:
This delicious Mascarpone Cheesecake was made with fresh ingredients obtained from St. Lawrence Market at the same day. I love the fact that I got to pack my own farmer's cream cheese in the 18 oz container :) This farmer's cream cheese differs from the packaged Philadelphia cream cheese, it's much more spreadable and creamier. As a result, my cheesecake was creamier, yet lighter. I also love the candied pecans! I think I'm falling in love with pecans! Thanks to Ivonne for recommending this recipe :)
I hope you enjoyed this colorful passage :)
Today in Toronto is bright and warm (only if you're wearing a proper jacket though :p ), and I knew that all along, so Mr. W and I went to downtown as early as we could. We left at 8 o'clock (which means I had to get up around 7.30) and arrived in Union station just a tad past 9am. Wonder where we went? Wonder no more, we revisited St. Lawrence Market!
Believe it or not, it's my 3rd consecutive visit to St. Lawrence :) Have gone crazy or something? I live in a suburb and the market is way in the heart of Toronto! But, I love morning, and I think I'm a morning person. And our market adventure was again extraordinarily fun! We've never been to downtown this early and I sure like it :)
Usually, now is about the time I share about my findings in the market. But, I am not going to do that this time with fear of being boring. :p I will talk about something else instead, something out of the blue.
Last week I was talking to a friend and suddenly this subject of foods having country of origin's name came up. What I meant by that is some foods that are named partly after a country or a part of a country. For example Italian Sausage. Then, she protested me of stereotyping (of course, she was joking!). Stereotyping foods, eh? That's pretty interesting, I thought. On the other hand, this is not like negative sterotyping or anything. Although the nature of the word "stereotyping" is actually negative :p But, it's interesting, because if you pay attention there are sooo many that could go on the list! Let me start my own list. This is not done with any prior reasearch. Only prior knowledge ;)
Israelli couscous
Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
Greek-style Yogurt
Italian Gelato
Jerusalem Artichoke
Honestly, I can't recall anything else right now. Please join me if you like :)
Now, to the main topic. The homemade foods of the week... and the theme is COLOURFUL!
First dish:
Couscous with Yam and Carrot Stew
(recipe adapted from Epicurious)
This was supposed to be a vegetarian delight. It was in some sense, but not really in another. The idea is nice and I love experimenting with unfamiliar ingredient like couscous. However, I didn't follow the recipe word per word. Instead, I substituted the butternut squash with yam and I could have used the wrong paprika (I don't know if mine if Hungarian). The recipe for the couscous itself I think was pretty good, using butter, garlic, and turmeric for color. On the other hand, the stew upset my stomach a little bit. I'm afraid I have an intolerance for squashes and yams. As far as I could recall, I made a butternut squash soup a month ago and it always left my stomach groaning. Uh-oh...
Second dish:
Fish Taco Platter
(again, from Epicurious)
I truly had fun making this Mexican dish :) And even better, it paid off! On the night this platter was made, I ate three (small) taco wraps :9 I love the (long) process of making this dish because everything was new to me. First I had to char some vegetables under my broiler (never done that before on purpose) then I had to pickle some red onion and jalapeno, and finally I had to add lime rind into my sourcream and mayo mixture.
Although, again, I didn't follow every single step because I couldn't find tomatillo. I replaced it with Roma tomatoes instead (there you go again!). The final taste for the salsa was alright, I had to add a splash of tabasco for more flavor though :p Other than that, the pickle was fantastic and so was the baja cream! Pardon my amazement, but it was my first time pickling anything! I was so amazed when the vinegar bath turned deep pink (like a grapefruit color) after an hour.
Finally, never had fish taco too! So it was a great experience and would certainly be great for a get-together meal!
Dessert:
This delicious Mascarpone Cheesecake was made with fresh ingredients obtained from St. Lawrence Market at the same day. I love the fact that I got to pack my own farmer's cream cheese in the 18 oz container :) This farmer's cream cheese differs from the packaged Philadelphia cream cheese, it's much more spreadable and creamier. As a result, my cheesecake was creamier, yet lighter. I also love the candied pecans! I think I'm falling in love with pecans! Thanks to Ivonne for recommending this recipe :)
I hope you enjoyed this colorful passage :)
posted by little pomelo @ 10:12 PM
2 Comments:
kus kus!
Ceendy,
Congratulations! Your food looks delicious, healthy and completely irresistible!
And I'm so happy to read that you are discovering the St. Lawrence Market. Isn't it wonderful! I try to get there often during the spring and summer when I can zip there on the subway during my lunch hour. I just love it!
I look forward to reading about what your other adventures result in at the Market!
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