Food NA·RC

Like most people, I have been loving this early spring…late bursts of winter have been replaced with budding trees and fragrant flowers.  And the sun…I always underestimate what a good dose of vitamin D can do to your mood.  The city has never been so cheery!

Yet, less than 100 km away, Ontario farmers, who provide us with inexpensive and delicious local fruits and vegetables, aren’t  loving this warm weather.  Instead, they are dealing with an agricultural crisis; an early spring mixed with frost has left their crops damaged.  While farmers will be trying to keep their farms in operation, we will be faced with a price increase, which will probably sway some people to buy imported produce instead of local to save a buck or two.  I am going to continue to buy local whenever possible. Biting into a local juicy peach under the sun is worth it!

Check out this post by Tiffany Mayer of Eating Niagara to find out more about the farming crisis (link)

 

Marc and I went to Julie’s Cuban Restaurant a little while ago.  It is one of my favourite restaurants – amazing food, great service and a warm and cozy atmosphere. The restaurant is located on a residential street and used to be a convenience store. It is colourful, full of knick-knacks and covered in twinkle lights (a personal favourite, as I always tell Marc that you can never go wrong with twinkle lights).

We started off with an organic red from Jean Bousuet, which was wonderful!

We shared a mango salad with greens, avocado, mango, red pepper, red onion and a delicious lime vinaigrette. It was fresh and full of citrus. The mango and avocado was perfectly ripe and the red onion complimented the other ingredients without overpowering.

For his main course, Marc ordered the special – Tilapia with rice and beans, plantains and pineapple salsa.  He thought the dish was great. Full of garlic and light and fluffy.  The pineapple salsa was more like a few chunks of pineapple than a salsa. Funny story, I hate fish (a hatred that goes much deeper than mere taste), but when Marc’s dish came to the table it didn’t smell fishy at all. It actually smelt really good – so good, that I asked for a bite. Marc was shocked and I am pretty sure he thought I had lost my mind.  He handed me a bit and I actually didn’t mind it. I still would never order it, but if Marc hadn’t devoured it I probably would have taken a second bite.

I ordered Vaca Frita and it was amazing.  The dish consists of flank steak, seared and pulled with onion, garlic, tomatoes and lime.  It also came with the usual plantains and rice and beans.  The last time I went to Julie’s I had this dish as a special. It must have been a customer favourite because it was added to the menu. Rightly so!

For dessert, we had Tres Leches Cake (Three Milk’s Cake) with bananas and vanilla ice cream.  Tres Leches Cake is a traditional Cuban dessert that involves soaking a sponge cake in evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream.  It was light and creamy – the perfect way to end our meal.

Other items we love at Julie’s

• Guacamole – delicious, but, sadly they don’t make their own chips. I am pretty sure they are actually Tostitos.  I could be wrong – actually, I hope I am wrong.
• Frituras de Mais – corn fritters. These perfectly deep fried balls of dough are like little pillows of amazing-ness served with sour cream.
• Papa Rellena I – Potato puff stuffed with picadillo
• Mojitos – all fresh and full of mint. Best served on there patio.

We highly recommend Julie’s to anyone who loves comfort food and a cozy kitschy atmosphere.  If it is cold outside call ahead and reserve one of two intimate window seats. If you go in the summer the patio is a must.

I hate peeling potatoes. I am all thumbs and I fear that one day I will peel a layer of skin off a finger.

Check out this great video on how to peel a cooked potato without a peeler (link).  They show the peeler version first so skip ahead for the amazing ice water trick.

After seeing this, I predict a potato salad recipe sometime soon.  BBQ season is just around the corner!

Check out this great post about how to ripen a banana quickly! (link)

I bake with bananas often so I will definitely be using this trick! If you want to rippen them slowly, put them in a paper bag. Marc showed me this trick a while back and it works well.

 

 

Marc and I will be growing a small potted garden on our balcony again this year.  Last year, we had chives, chocolate mint, rosemary, basil and oregano.  We found that we used the chives, mint and basil the most. and, often times, we had to wait for more to grow before digging in.  This year, we plan to grow double of each and we may also add some tomatoes and hot peppers.

Here is a great article from Green Lemonade about basil and why you should include it in  your diet for more reasons than it tastes amazing! (link)

Introducing…BIG BIRD…our awesome new cookie jar!

Marc and I have been looking for a funny one for awhile and now the hunt is officially over!

Actually, he isn’t new at all (but, new to our house) as he has been in my family for over 25 years.  He was made by my big brother Chris (or as he likes to call himself “my Hero”). When Chris was a kid he took ceramics…no joke! And, as you can see, he was really good. He did have some help from the other students (mostly older ladies looking for a new hobby), but I think it was pretty awesome that he took ceramics even if it was only until he was introduced to sports.  He made a few other cool things, including a Darth Vader lamp.  Sadly, it broke quite awhile ago.  Man, I would have loved to have that lamp, but Big Bird will due just fine!

Anyway, Chris was nice enough to allow me to “use” it until he needs it back (which will probably be never).  At least, that was how I propositioned him. I have always loved this cookie jar.

Thanks Hero!