McDonalds salads and library books!!

With my new job as a barista I usually finish work exhausted with extremely sore feet (which Ive been told is the norm for workers everywhere lol). But with my work so close to the public library I decided to stop in and check out their books. 

Maybe its the coffee fumes or just my general exhaustion but Ive hardly been cooking these days let alone eat much. My most popular meal over the last fortnight has been nothing but a variety of salads, some home made and some store bought with a bit of protein added in. The best store bought salad Ive had so far actually came from McDonalds. That sounds horrible - a 'good' salad from McDonalds?!! You must be mad I hear you saying. Hey well try it before you bash it I always say! Here it is - 

Im not saying Im totally naive and foolish to think its healthier  than say a homemade salad especially with the chicken in it. But given the hurry I was in and the starving sensation in my stomach and the McDonalds drive thru calling to me I was relieved that I had a choice other than a 1000 calorie Big Mac. And here in Canada it only cost me approx $7 and the salad was huge and it came in a container I actually took home and reused for my other leftovers because it was so sturdy and had a lid.

For those curious heres a link to McDonalds nutrition information on this salad - 

http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/menu/full_menu/salads/cashew_teriyaki_salad.html

The specific things I liked about it was the teriyaki chicken, edamame and decent sized portions of red pepper and crunchy lettuce. This wasn't a pathetically limp tiny portioned salad. You know the ones Im talking about - the advertising gloats about the real veges in it and when you open it up you discover only tiny reconstituted veges or none at all. Gross. Not this one. I was actually really pleased. I don't think I'd go back continually just for this salad - Id much prefer try and make a homemade version. BUT if you've got the money to burn and McDonalds is all thats around and you don't want bloating and gas from their other options - try it, its delicious. 

So ANYWAY, I was in the library and and these are the cookbooks I got:

 

I know Im a fantastic home cook. Im pretty good at picking a recipe and usually every time getting it bang on perfect. Cooking reminds me that I am good at science (as opposed to what my high school science teacher believed) - its chemistry isn't it? The thing Im discovering with working full time is my need to plan. Previously when I was a energy filled housewife I had this uncanny ability of going to the refrigerator at 5 o'clock in the evening and eyeing up what was there and within 30 seconds knowing what I would make and then making it all within 30-45 minutes. I never planned my meals, I just cooked and everything was done from scratch. 

Now that Im working that super power has all but disappeared. Now when I think of food or look in my fridge I tend to look like this - 

- Persona staring at box of moving pictures in brain dead state otherwise known as "The Nothing Box"

So I got out those four cookbooks for various reasons:

Jamie Oliver: I love this guy but usually I can only do his recipes after watching him do it on tv. Largely because he writes the majority of his recipes in a way that Im not used to - combining the ingredients into the recipe sequences. I got his 'Food Revolution'  in hope that Steven would take a peak and try a few because theyre written for the inexperienced cook. I also got it because this book specifically goes back to basics and inspires me to change my favorites every now and then and because hes a POM and I grew up on British cooking so its all a comfort to me.

Rachael Ray: Again, like Jamie Oliver I can only make her recipes after watching her. Additionally her previous cookbooks were a nightmare to read. As someone who is visual and unfamiliar with her American-Italian food I NEED pictures and her books had zero pictures! And I need descriptions of what the recipe is about since she highly favours spices and chilies in her food. So does Jamie Oliver but at least he warns me in his books. Once Ive made a recipe and I like it, I don't need picturessince I can just use the mental reference. However, I like her energy and I like her recipes and how east coast American they are. So she has lots of Italian, Irish, Jewish, European influences that Ive never heard of that I want to try out.

Martha Stewart: I like Martha Stewart in the capacity as I liked Michael Jackson - I like their talent but not them personally. Martha Stewart despite her private issues and horribly perfect home decor is a fantastic cook and this cookbook especially I would rate up there with 'Joy of Cooking' or Betty Crocker. Its an American Edmonds cookbook. Nothing but American classics. Some of the recipes Ive heard of before and some I havent but this is the 3rd time Ive gotten this book out and that should tell you something. Like most American's she uses far too much fat and carbs than what Im used to in home cooking so I usually adapt it to make them healthier.

Cajun and Creole: Since I moved to Canada Ive been really interested in Southern food particularly the food history of Louisiana with mexican, african and french influences particularly their seafood!. Im slowly getting myself used to spices I would have never tried in my childhood. With our proximity to the US and our ability to buy their food cheaply  I want to really have a go at making some of these recipes esp the ones involving crab and shrimp!

So with some planning around my work days, I will try to make at least 2 recipes from these books during the week and I will put my tryouts and thoughts on them here :D

Road Trip

Eclipse Bookstore - The greatest place on the planet!!

 1104 11th St
Bellingham, WA 98225

 

This place is AMAZING. And I found it by complete accident. I was driving around Bellingham a bit lost trying to find the bookstore 'Village books' when I drove by this place and it caught my eye. For starters I could tell it was a second hand bookstore and personally I love those kind more than the more commercial bookstores. Second hand bookstores are usually always owned and run by people who genuinely love and know their books well. The chap at the front desk was welcoming but quiet and kindly answered my first question "Err, how is this store organised?" I had a bit of a happy heart attack when I first entered, and I literally gaped when he said there was a downstairs. I got the feeling he wasn't the most organised person based on the fact there were huge stacks of books everywhere along the floor, but in a way I thought it was done on purpose and I liked it very much. Kinda like an Aladdins Cave of books. 

It was a pity I was starving and needing the bathroom after all the driving and border stuff I did just to get into the US, cos I didn't stay there as long as I would have liked. Heck, theyd do very good business if their upstairs was a bed and breakfast because I would have happily stayed the night lol just to spend hours or days in that store. 

Another thing I was impressed with was their American History section. It pretty much filled up most of one side of the downstairs section. I saw books that all looked really interesting (except for the typical George Bush and Clinton biographies hahaha). I saw a book that was a volume of the diaries of the Explorers Lewis and Clark that looked facinating. A lot of books on Washington history (can't say Ive ever explored the topic personally). But since Washington State is their home which Im sure their proud of their history, it must be very rich and interesting and might tie in quite a bit with British Colombian history maybe?

I would have liked to have bought more books, but in my rush to leave and find some food I bought one book that caught my curiosity the most:

After I sadly left Eclipse Bookstore, I drove around some more and finally found the Village Bookstore in the Historic village of Fairhaven. I found a carpark easily enough (and was free! woohoo!), and at the right time I looked down the road a bit and saw this:

 

A double decker bus! In the US of all places! But then again, only in the US would they take a bus and turn it into an outdoor dinner. So I walked up and the chalkboard out front said 'Alaskan Halibut Fish and Chips' It was as if they knew a hungry New Zealander was comming! I tell you what, those were the best damn deep fried halibut Ive had in my life. It tastes completely different to New Zealand fish but certainly not in a bad way and the filet was small (I guess halibut is a small fish?) but it tasted lovely and fresh. Their chips could do improving (definitely not up to the caliber of Lyttleton fish and chips) but they were pretty decent. And they served it with some very tasty homemade coleslaw and tartare sauce. I almost wish I had a pineapple ring or hot dog to go with it because I was really hungry! Lets just say I bet the the elderly couple nearby probably thought I was a glutton by the way I shoved it all in my mouth.

Here some more pictures of the surrounding buildings in Fairhaven.

Road Trip!!!

Nothing special I know, just a meander into Bellingham, Washington. My agenda is as follows:

• Drive into US, stop in first town (probably Blaine) and get myself a map book and some cheap gas!
• Continue driving til I get to Fairhaven, Bellingham. Where I spend a few hours at Village Books and the Historic Village.
• Drive to Bellis Fair Mall in north Bellingham - checkout the Target store there and use my staff discount card - woohoo! Wander around the other shops.
• Leave Bellignham and drive north to Lynden. Visit their Dutch museum and bakery. Have lunch.
• Drive back to Canada via Sumas on the border and continue onto Abbotsford and stop at the Christian bookstore 'House of James'. Definitely do some shopping there.
• Drive back home via Mission on the Lougheed Hwy.

7th October 2011 (repost)

So, this is a map of the multiple cities within the Greater Vancouver area with the region of British Colombia highlighted in green. The main cities are:

- Vancouver    
- North Vancouver     
- West Vancouver
- Richmond     
- Surrey     
- Langley     
- Burnaby
- Port Moody  
- Coquitlam   
- Port Coquitlam
- Pitt Meadows   
- Maple Ridge  
- Delta  
- White Rock

The main river is called Fraser River which goes forever more in another direction to the North East (I think). To view a bigger version of this map click on  the link below
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GVRD_Port_Moody.svg&page=1

Steven and I currently live in Port Moody (highlighted in red) with his parents. Its quite a small 'city' that just surrounds the end of what is called Burrard Inlet, that arm of water that comes from the Pacific. Its very pretty and more like a village than anything else. The one thing I love about the multiple cities is that you don't feel like your in a mega city thanks to the huge portions of natural forest in and around the cities. Port Moody as part of the Tricities (along with Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam) are known as Pomo, Coco and Poco). Soon, Steven and I will be moving into our flat in Port Coquitlam and because its such a mouthful to say Im relieved to used the name Poco. It sounds quite neat.



This is a fantastic photo (taken by Mike Chow) of what the north end of Port Moody looks like where we are currently living. Just a small neighborhood with a little beach and this huge expanse of forest behind it that never stops until you reach the arctic :D




 This picture is of Newport Village. This is pretty much the center of Port Moody where all the main businesses are, majority of which are too posh for my tastes. But if anyone in the family is desperate to get milk quickly, they usually go to the grocery store here which looks quite rustic (but expensive). Reminded me of what Big Fresh looked like in Chch. Theres also clothing stores, busineses and of course takeaways and Starbucks.

Iced coffee for warmer weather!

Iced coffee and iced tea have both quickly become my favorite drinks while living here in Canada. I think its definitely an American influence and although Im not a fan of corporate American food I do love discovering their homemade style of food and drinks specific to certain states.

Now that my two winters (in a row) are over finally! and the cherry blossoms have come out and the weather though still a bit volatile has faithfully provided me with some absolutely superb days that has totally renewed my good opinion of living in Vancouver I can return to drinking cold drinks. My husband of course being from Manitoba, thinks cold weather is the best for cold/frozen drinks esp a slurpee and didn't understand why I couldn't stomach a iced drink during the winter. Why he thinks so I don't know, I think its a bit weird.

So anyway, as a happy member of pinterest I recently started to peruse pins re to cold drinks and being a coffee lover I found this fantastic recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman
which I happily recommend. At first I thought she was crowing just a bit too much at her recipe but then I made it (specifically with the condensed sweetened milk) according to her instructions, then I waited over night. Thankfully I had a sunny day waiting for me the next day, I poured it into my mug, took a sip, looked stunned for a bit then looked at my drink and did a Joey rendition of "How you doin?" LOL. Seriously its THAT good.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

The only down side had nothing to do with pioneer woman or her fab recipe but my own ignorance. Being from NZ, I had no idea how much 8 quarts actually was (the amount resulting from the recipe). Ive discovered it really is a lot!! So if like me you don't have a spare tank lying around like this lady to keep all that beautiful liquid in, its probably best to divide her recipe by 2 or 3....


Happy Spring!!

Chicken Fajita's with whole wheat spinach tortilla's

Chicken Fajitas (crock pot)

1 yellow onion, sliced
3 sweet peppers, sliced
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast or thighs
1/4 to ½ cup chicken broth, depending on preference
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp of fajita seasoning
Squirt of lime juice
Tortillas
Fajita fixings

Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottom of a greased crockpot. Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Give a nice quirt of lime juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on High for 4-6 hours). When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon on tortillas with your choice of fixings.

 Whole Wheat Spinach Tortilla's

(About 15 tortillas)

1 Tbsp ground flax seed
5 oz spinach (thawed, not drained)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
1/8 c water
1 c all purpose flour
1 c wheat flour  In a blender or mini-food processor puree oil, flax seed, salt and spinach together (this may take a while). Pulse in flour, 1 c at a time. Drizzle in water until the mixture forms a dough, but stop before it gets sticky.  Divide dough into balls roughly smaller than a ping pong ball. (I got 30 from this recipe) Cover with a towel while rolling out. 

Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand (one at a time).  In a pasta machine, roll each ball out until very thin.  Start on the thickest setting and roll progressively thinner.  I got up to setting 6 on my pasta machine.  If you go too thin and it rips, just squish it into a ball again.  If you want to, you can cut the dough into rectangles or circles or other desired shape before cooking.  I went rustic and went with the shapes formed naturally.

(You could also roll them with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface).

Cook tortillas on an non greased pan on medium heat (I used my electric skillet at 300 F) for a minute or so on each side.  Small bubbles will form and they will brown slightly.  When finished cooking, transfer to a large plastic baggie and seal to keep steam in.  This will keep them soft.  Store in refrigerator.

NOTE: I divided the tortilla recipe and it made 4 large ones :D 

Satay meatballs and pita bread

Since I was last on, I had made satay meatballs in home made pita bread with salad.

The pita bread went a lot better than that bread I did a while back but thats not to say I won't change or improve it next time. Mine were eatable but very thin (got a bit too enthusiastic with the rolling pin!) Thus making them really hard to cut into with a serrated knife. We managed it but it was a squeeze. Next time I will make them thicker so theyre a bit more softer than hard. Here is the recipe taken from google:
 

Pita Bread

• 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.
Combine flour and salt in large bowl.
Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.
Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.
Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.
Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.
Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.
Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.
Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.
Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.
Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Storing Pita Bread

Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.

The satay meatballs that I put into the pita bread were tasty but tricky in terms of the sticky quality the peanut butter gave them thus making them stick and burn a little bit in the pan even with plenty of olive oil. Next time I think I'll coat them with breadcrumbs before frying to prevent that stickiness. I think also that its not worth it making meatballs. Its a nice idea to be sure but its so messy and it think it would be easier if thin but medium to large patties were made to fit in the pita breads. Or even better, make decent sized burger patties and have them with buns instead. Mmmm.

Satay meatballs with salad and pita

• 500g lean pork mince
• 2 slices bread, made into crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
• fresh salad leaves
• pita bread, burger buns or other interesting bread

Preheat oven to 210ºC.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or food processor. Use wet hands to form into ping pong sized balls and bake in a roasting pan for 20 minutes; shake pan several times during cooking so balls turn over. When cooked they will be golden brown and slightly crunchy.

Serve as a salad with bread or as an open sandwich or burger filling.