Participate in Localicious!

Eat your way to a greener planet by participating in Localicious , a campaign aimed at drawing awareness to the significance in utilizing local and sustainable produce.  "From now until October 18th, WWF is making it fun to eat local through Localicious , WWF-Canada's first annual local and sustainable restaurant event.  Participating restaurants offer mouth watering local and sustainable dishes with partial proceeds going to WWF-Canada's vital conservation work.  You get to enjoy delicious local and sustainable dishes and help the planet!" (wwf.ca)

To find a participating Localicious  restaurant near you, search here .

Download free homegrown recipes by some of Canada's top chefs!

MTV's Sharlene Chiu's Muttar Paneer with Mango Avocado Salad and Mint Raita

(Behance Network)

Canada's news reporter and segment producer Sharlene Chiu has brought music television in Canada back to the early days of Much Music's The New Music and Going Coastal, shows that revealed music beyond overexposed Top 40, allowing quality music to take the forefront.  Smart, passionate, trendy, and beautiful, while still having the ability to remain relatable to the general MTV audience, Chiu has become a strong female figure in the substantial sea of the MTV Canada cast.  It is clear that an extensive amount of research goes into each and every interview for Chiu, showing her true passion for music.  She has covered high profile artists such as U2, Coldplay, and the Killers, while still exposing the up and coming and/or under the radar artists like Cat Power, Beirut, and Vampire Weekend.  Chiu puts her research to good use by daring to go beyond generic and stereotypical questions, letting viewers really get to know their favourite artists.

At this point you must be wondering what a music reporter is doing on a food blog?  Well friends, Chiu's talent extends beyond the music stage, extending into the kitchen.  Yes, the woman can cook! While scrolling through Twitter updates, I came across Chiu's photo post on her Sunday night dinner.  "http://twitpic.com/kapgh - cookin' up some muttar paneer, mango-avocado salad, and cucumber-mint raita!"  After seeing just how delicious the meal looked, I immediately asker her for recipes, to which she kindly replied back.  So enjoy, Sharlene Chiu's Muttar Paneer and Mango-Avocado Salad:

Mango-Avocado Salad
Ingredients:
mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
red onion, sliced
tomatoes, seeded and diced
fresh parsley, chopped
olive oil
chipotle sauce
dash of paprika
salt and pepper

Directions:
1.  In a bowl, toss together fruit and vegetables with parsley.

2.  Add enough olive oil to coat, as well as desired amount of chipotle sauce and combine.

3.  Season with paprika, salt and pepper.

Muttar Paneer (to use as a guideline) (source: www.manjulaskitchen.com )
Ingredients:
16 oz. bag of frozen green peas
3 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 ib paneer, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tbsp oil + additional oil for deep-frying
pinch of asafetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Deep-fry paneer on medium high heat until they become a light golden colour.  Place on paper towel so oil is absorbed.

2.  Mix cornstarch with 3 tbsp water and set aside.

3.  Blend tomatoes and ginger to make a paste.

4.  Heat the oil in a saucepan.  Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil.  If the Cumin seed cracks right away, the oil is ready.

5.  Add the asafetida, cumin seeds, bay leaves, and cinnamon and stir-fry for a few seconds.

6.  Add the tomato and ginger paste, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and paprika.  Cook under it reduces to half.

7.  Add the green peas and 1/4 cup water.  Cook covered on medium heat.  When peas are tender, add the paneer, and season with salt and pepper.

8.  Thicken gravy with reserved corn starch mix, and continue to cook for several more minutes.

Follow Sharlene Chiu @sharlenechiu.
Follow me, Danielle Rose @thisgingerrose.

Packed Lunch Guide

I am a big advocate for homemade lunches.  Being a student, I would much rather take the extra 5 minutes out of my morning to make a healthy, and affordable lunch that I can bring with me to class or work.  I truly don't understand how students can complain about their financial woes, while at the same time, wasting a large chunk of money each day on costly, and, quite often, unhealthy meals.  I don't know about you, but I would much rather make a delicious meal from home to transport with me, and save my money to buy something special for the future!

I understand that many people feel as though they can't make a tasty lunch from home, that will still taste as good hours later, upon eating it.  But a simple search in your favourite food website will end that problem.  I did just that with some my favourite food sites and came up with an abundance of delectable options! Here is Martha Stewart 's take on brown bag lunches.  Epicurious  also has a wonderful Back-To-School lunch guide, which includes nutritional info, college student tips, and taste tests.  What are your favourite websites for packed lunch tips?

Just to prove my point on how much money you are truly saving, cockeyed.com has created a handy little Sandwich Price Calculator , which allows you to calculate the exact amount you are spending on a homemade sandwich.  My multigrain sandwich with mayo, dijon mustard, salami, tomato, lettuce, swiss cheese, and processed turkey came out to a mere $1.40 using the Sandwich Calculator !  Sure the costs would be slightly off (we aren't all buying Kirkland brand bread), but you get the idea.

Image courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Cheaters Handbook: Popeyes Biscuits

It's funny, I have never been inside a Popeyes in my life, nor have I ever even tasted a bite of their chicken, but I sure can't get enough of their warm and buttery biscuits. I have only had them a few times, because I refuse to walk into a Popeyes , purely for the intoxicating smell of friend chicken that makes me feel sick. So I knew that in order to fulfill my love of their biscuits, I would have to make them myself. I had thought that it would be difficult to find a recipe replicating the famous Popeyes Biscuits, but a simple google search led me instantly to several Popeyes Biscuit recipes. And what do you know, the recipe was as simple as can be!

This recipe for Popeyes Biscuits, from Cooks.com, is another Cheaters Handbook recipe. With the help of Bisquick mix, making your own Popeyes Biscuits is as simple as can be! In my google search, I found two variations on the recipe, one with 7-Up, and the other with Club Soda. I didn't have any 7-Up in the house, so I used Club Soda. I was very worried once I had combined the ingredients together, as the dough was incredibly wet. I could barely get it out of the mixing bowl, not to mention cut them into biscuits. After two failed attempts at cutting the sticky, wet dough with my biscuit cutters, I ended up just scooping them onto my baking sheet and trying to form them from there with a spoon and my hands (which, at this point, were covered with dough...as well as my sleeves and hair!).

Thank goodness the biscuits turned out wonderful! They were warm, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with a delicious buttery taste. With a swipe of salted butter, my homemade Popeyes Biscuits were near perfection! I think that they would have been able to reach the point of perfection had I used 7-Up. I can see how the citrus flavour of the soft drink would give the biscuits a little extra flavour that I thought it was lacking, although I can see the recipe succeeding with the Club Soda with the addition of some salt. These biscuits are the perfect accompaniment to any meal...in fact, I think there is one left over that I am going to have right now!
Tip: Instead of using a biscuit cutter, scoop and form your biscuits with a trigger ice cream scoop.
Tip: Make this for your Thanksgiving dinner!!

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-Up or Club Soda
1 tsp salt (if using Club Soda)
about 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
1. Cut sour cream into biscuit mix.

2. Add the 7-Up or Club Soda and stir to combine. If using Club Soda, add the salt at this point as well.

3. Pour half of the melted butter onto baking sheet.

4. Using a trigger ice cream scoop, scoop the dough, and release onto baking sheet. Do not allow the individual biscuits to touch, as they will spread once baked.

5. Pour the remaining melted butter on top of the biscuits.

6. Bake at 450º for 15-20 minutes.

22nd Birthday Festivities

This past Wednesday was my 22nd Birthday (as you know from my little self-indulgent Birthday post on the day), and unlike previous years of failed attempts to make my birthday a drinking filled shit-show, with more acquaintances than friends, I chose to make this years birthday more low-key.  I would much rather surround myself with family and good friends, and have an intimate evening filled with good food, than try to live up to some stereotypical model of what a 22 year old birthday "should" be like. Yes, I did start some early celebrations prior to my birthday, going to the Kings of Leon concert and taking a road trip to Montreal, but for the actual day of my birthday, I wasn't looking for anything extravagant.  This turned out to be quite a success.  I invited my family and best friends over to my home for wine, appetizers, coffee and cake, which ended up making for a much more joyful celebration than I have had in a long time.  

I want to give a big thanks to my mum, who generously took the time to prepare a beautiful table filled with amazing food, drinks, and desserts, as well as my dad who filled the house with roses and balloons.  My mum, knowing that food would be my favourite part of my birthday celebration, prepared a TON of delicious food, which included:

• Chilean Wine
  
• Cocktail Shrimp with Dip
• A Cheese Platter (with aged cheddar, triple-cream brie, creamy cambazola, and purple grapes)
• An Assortment of Crackers
• Kicking Horse Coffee
• Apple Cheese Tort (my favourite!)
• Raspberry Trifle
• Lemon Coconut Squares
• A Gluten-Free Chocolate Tart (purchased from Ikea for my grandfather and friend, who are both celiac...it actually tasted really good!)
• Macaroon Madness Bars (from M&M Meat Shops)
• A Fruit Platter (with strawberries, pineapple, mango, and cantaloupe)

Thanks to my amazing family and friends for making my 22nd Birthday so special!  Here's to another great year!