Foodie Notes

Conquering the World One Tomato at a Time

2009-09-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

In spring, we planted three Heirloom plants and before mid-summer our beloved balcony was conquered by them. They have grown into huge plants - taller and wider than myself. We had to re-decorate the balcony and take the BBQ out to accommodate them. Well, love - and curiosity - make you do things. Watching them grow up right in front of our eyes made me somehow feel very connected to them. I wonder if farmers are feeling like this all the time or do they just get used to it. Anyhow, this is our 4th year growing produce (whatever we can) in our tiny balcony and it gives great satisfaction and pride. So far, we only planted for summer but this year I'll try to grow winter produce as well. I have leafy greens and fingerlings in mind..we'll see.

Now here is the Chickpea and Spinach Salad recipe that I promised to post last week.

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Chickpea and Spinach Salad

1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lemon, washed and cut into medium dices
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 bunch spinach
1/2 bunch arugula
1/2 Tsp sumac
1/2 Tsp cumin
1 cup canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1 Tbsp walnut, chopped fine
salt & pepper to taste

Saute the onion with olive oil until slightly cooked. Add lemon dices, sugar and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes. Wash the spinach and arugula and squeeze their access water, chop and add to the pan. Add sumac, cumin, salt and black pepper. Saute for another 3-4 minutes. Transfer to plates and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. Serve immediately.

Such a lovely day!

2009-08-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

...and I am treating myself to this tasty Chickpea and Spinach Salad. Recipe is coming soon :)

Summer Favorites

2009-08-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here is something I never thought I would say in Canada: It is brutally, unbearably hot in here! So much so that for the past one month most of our days and even nights had to be spent outside: in the park, by the lake, under the huge maple tree at Kits beach, at my regular coffee shop and favorite bookstore...

...just anywhere that is slightly cooler than our south-facing, sun-and-heat filled home. (which I adore in winter months :)

So when I woke up this morning feeling the cool breeze coming in from the window by our bed, I said: Finally! I can spend the day at home.I really missed that. I also missed to be in the kitchen. In the past one month, I rarely cooked anything exciting. Most of the time we had light meals: quick sandwiches, cold mezes, lots of salads and grilled food on the barbie.

Saying that, there had been a few exceptions. Like this time when I found fresh BC Spot Prawns, a seasonal delicate that you can enjoy only for a very short time between late May and early July. For me, the best way to enjoy their sweet flavour is to go simple and have them grilled with garlic, sea salt and a touch of olive oil. But this time, I decided to try something new and followed the "Spot Prawns with tomato confit, garlic and chile" recipe I adapted from "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" - a wonderful cookbook that celebrates the simple, seasonal cooking of Suzanne Goin.

Encouraged by the hot weather, I forced myself to be a bit more creative with cool summer salads we have been eating almost everyday. Among the recipes I tried these two were definite winners:

~ Beet, Cucumber and Yogurt Salad and
~ Arugula Salad with Couscous Cakes and Goat Cheese

For the beet salad, I first decided to make a traditional cacik but then one careful look at our fridge reminded me that the beets I got from UBC farm earlier that week need urgent attention before they lose their fresh firm texture. So I decided to make a few changes in my basic cacik recipe: I placed 3 large beets in an oven-proof baking dish, added 1/3 cup of water, covered very tightly with foil (I used double foil), and roasted them for 45-50 min in a preheated oven at 400F. While the beets are roasting, I mixed 1 cup plain yogurt with 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon (each) salt, red pepper flakes, mint and sumac. I peeled and cut one med-sized cucumber first lenghtwise that into half-moons. Once the beets are cooked, I drained and peeled them and cut them into four. Then I mixed the cucumbers, beets and the yogurt dressing in a bowl and drizzled olive oil before I served.

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I adapted the second salad recipe from FineCooking magazine. It immediately became a favorite of B. Light and tasty, we had it twice in one week...

Arugula Salad with Couscous Cakes and Goat Cheese

For the dressing:

2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs plain yogurt
1 Tbs finely chopped fresh mint
5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Black Pepper to taste

For the cakes:

3/4 cup couscous
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
zest of 1 medium lemon
3 Tbs canola oil (to fry)

For the salad:

1 large bunch arugula, washed and torn
10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Season to taste.

Put the couscous and 1 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. In a food processor, chop the garlic and parsley until finely chopped. Add the chickpeas, 1 tsp salt and pulse until coarsly chopped. Uncover the coucous and fluff with a fork. Stir in the chickpea mixture, eggs and lemon zest until well combined. Using your hands make cake balls out of the mixture.

Heat 2 Tbs oil over medium heat until shimmering hot. Add the cakes and use a spatula to flatten them a bit. Cook, flipping once, until golden and crisp. (3-4 min each side)

Assemble the salad: In a salad plate, place the aragula and cherry tomatoes. Toss with half of the dressing. Season to taste. Add the couscous cakes on top (you might have more cakes than needed, in this case you can keep them in the fridge for 3 days) Sprinkle with goat's cheese and the remaining dressing.

Farm to Folk

2009-06-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Vancouver farmers markets took a start with Trout Lake and although it was a very busy day for us with home renovating, I was able to sneak out for an hour. It was a warm Saturday morning and the market was packed.

I found the produce fresh and visually very appealing. The only downside is that there wasn't much variety, at least less than I would have liked, which is I guess understandable when you think that the produce is coming from BC farms and not from say Ecuador. I was able to get eggplants, onions, nugget potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, apples and some greens.

There were also a few stands with organic vegetable plants. I picked heirloom tomatoes: black grim, green zebra, sungold cherry and hot habanero peppers for our tiny balcony. Yesterday I was happily surprised to see that the tomatoes are flowering already!

Back at home I decided to cook a casserole with eggplants and I called B's mom for the recipe of the version we had at her place last summer. B. had been dreaming about it since then and although we had many many casseroles in winter and spring, this one turned out to be the most simple and delicious...

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Eggplant Casserole

1 kg (2 lb) eggplant (try to find the dark purple ones also known as Chinese eggplant)
1/2 kg (1 lb) ripe tomatoes, grated
1 large tomato, sliced
3 Green peppers, sliced
1 tsp tomato paste
4 large cloves of garlics, sliced
300 gr stewing meat: lamb or beef to your taste (cut into small cubes)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
salt&black pepper

Take a Dutch Oven or another deep pot and lightly grease with olive oil and butter. Put the cubes of meat and cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked, around 45 minutes.

In the meantime, peel the eggplants, cut them into medium size cubes. Eggplants usually cook fast so try to cut the cubes slightly large to avoid fast cooking. Once done, put them in cold salted water for 15 minutes. Take them out and with a paper towel dry them.

Check the meat and if it is cooked to your taste, add the tomato paste and mix with a wooden spoon. Top with (in this order) half of the eggplants,sliced garlics, green peppers and grated tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. And again top with the rest of the eggplant, garlic, peppers and tomatoes. Place sliced tomato on top.

Cook on a low heat (between 2 to 3 in an electric oventop)with lid on for 1 to 1:30 hrs. After an hour you can check to see if it is cooked. You can serve this dish with plain jasmine rice.

Cinnamon & Kumquats

2009-05-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

A few days ago as I was shopping at a Greek market closeby, I was captured by the wonderful smell of cinnamon. I asked the shopkeeper if they are baking anything at the moment "I have to have a piece if that's the case". He said "Nope, we are just transfering a large pack of ground cinnamon to small packages"

Hmm...well, in any case I am having a cinnamon cake today otherwise I'll dream about it all day. I quickly thought what would go well with cinnamon: apples obviously and walnuts...and perhaps raisins or dried apricots. We'll see what we have in the pantry.

On the way back home I also picked up fresh kumquats to make a jam or candied fruits. Haven't quite decided yet but I need to hurry. They get ripe so quickly.

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An afternoon cake with apple, walnut and cinnamon
3 eggs (organic, bring to room temp.)
160 gr sugar
180 gr unbleached white flour, sifted
150 gr unsalted butter, melted
2 grated apples, grated (I used organic red delicious)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp golden raisins (you can replace this with dried+chopped apricot)

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease and lightly flour a loaf pan. In a bowl mix the sifted flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until thick and frothy. Add the melted butter and mix until blended. Gradually and preferably with a wooden spoon or a spatula fold in the flour mixture. Try not to overmix. Add the grated apples, raisins and cinnamon. Again, fold until blended.

Bake for 50 minutes. Allow the cake to cool before serving. Best to enjoy with a freshly steeped black tea with bergamut oil.

Hungry for Change?

2009-05-20T13:13:00.001-07:00

Click to view the trailer

Tom Yam Goong

2009-04-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Let's go to T&T, I said to B. It's been some time...

Here in Vancouver we are very lucky to have a large and diverse Asian community. Not only the city has many great chefs and we are exposed to a lot of different flavours but it is also possible to find almost any ingredient to work with in your own kitchen.

And T&T is a wonderful place to start with. It's a supermarket where you can find seafood - as fresh as it gets! - , variety of exotic fruit and vegetables, crispy snacks, cooking oils, noodles, herbs, spices and so many other flavours from China, Japan, Thailand and other Asian countries. Beyond filling our shopping bags, we always find it great fun to navigate the ailes, browse the unfamiliar products, and try to make witty guesses on their uses.

Saying that, last Saturday I had a mission! I didn't spend a lot of time walking around this time. Instead, I had a long shopping list and only 15 minutes before we meet our friends at their house.

***

I remember the first time I tasted Tom Yam Goong. I was studying in London back then and one of my friends was originally from Thailand. Her uncle had a tiny restaurant close to Piccadilly and she took me there after a long day of study. I quickly checked the menu to have an idea and immediately understood that I wanted to eat them all. So I let my friend and uncle to decide what we will have.

Well, my little Thai tasting turned into a pig-out session. I am a fan ever since. For years I dreamed of going to Thailand and literally eat all day. We finally did it last year and food was amazing, well beyond our expectations. Our trip was 'sadly' limited to Bangkok and Krabi though. I can't imagine what we would have experienced if we had gone to other regions as well. Next time hopefully...

Some of the ingredients I used in this soup are from a wonderful place called 'Gourmet Market' in Bangkok that we spent quite some time at. The one we went was located at Siam Paragon shopping centre but they also have a branch at Emporium.

We got the fresh ingredients from T&T in Vancouver, they have branches all around the city.

Tom Yan Goong
Serves 4
(slightly adapted from delicious magazine - uk edition)

1,5 litres chicken stock
2 tbsp tom yam paste
6 kaffir lime leaves (chopped)
1 lemongrass stick (inner part only, roughly chopped)
Juice of 1 lime
4 tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 small fresh red chillies (finely chopped)
1tsp sugar
150 gr brown mushrooms (quartered or halved)
500 gr peeled raw prawns
4 small spring onions (cut into strips)
1/2 bunch coriander, chopped

Heat the stock and tom yam paste in a pan with the lime leaves, lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, chilles and sugar.

Bring to boil, add the mushrooms, simmer 5 minutes, add the prawns and spring onions, cook until prawns are cooked but tender.

Sprinkle chopped coriander to serve.

Spring has Sprung!

2009-04-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Although we had a mild winter this year in Vancouver, I am still happy that spring is finally here. Mind you, when I say mild winter I mean not as much rain and when I say not as much rain, I mean not like the year before when it rained non-stop for 27 days in January alone. Well, I guess you have to love rain in Vancouver. And I do, I really do...In the end, rain makes this city so green and lush. As the rains of winter come to an end, the city turns bright with the yellows, greens, pinks, and reds of spring.

Other than the blooming flowers and longer days, spring also brings us wonderful new produce: rhubarb, peas, asparagus, new potatoes, and local spring lamb (from the Islands). We also celebrate the return of the city's farmers markets from their winter hibernation. Our family's personal favorite is UBC farm, the only working farmland within the city limits.

About a week ago, I hosted a babyshower for a dear friend of mine. Considering we will be 12 ladies in a tiny living room, I wanted to prepare things that can easily be eaten.

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My spring-inspired menu included finger foods like:

~Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crostini (slightly adapted from here)
~Feta Cheese and Parsley Börek
~Potato Nests with Crab and Apple Topping (Bea's recipe)

Feta Cheese and Parsley Börek

Borek
5 phyllo dough sheets
500 ml milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
black sesame or black cumin seeds for garnish

Filling
2 cups crumbled or grated white cheese (feta or havarti works well)
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Beat the milk, olive oil and eggs in a bowl. Grease the baking dish. Arrange the first sheet of dough on the dish and brush with some of the egg-milk-oil mixture. Add the second dough on top of the first one and brush with the mixture. For the filling, mix the grated cheese and parsley and add half of this mixture on top of the dough. Add two more sheets of dough, brushing each with the milk mixture. Top with the remaining cheese filling. Cover with the last sheet of dough. Pour over the remaining milk mixture on top. Garnish with black cumin, cover with strech film and let it stand in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight (to let phyllo doughs soak up all the milk) Bake it for 45 minutes (or until the top is golden) in the pre-heated oven at 420 F.

Story Behind the Photo

2009-04-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

After touring around the city all day, we decided that we were too tired to walk the last mile to our hotel. To get some rest, we sat down on one of the benches by the Hoan Kiem Lake and started watching the Vietnamese teenagers, dressed in cool shirts and shorts, dancing to a hip hop song. In a traditional city like Hanoi, a modern sound and moves like that were quite unexpected. Therefore, it wasn't only us who were watching closely but quickly a group of audience formed ranging from curious elderly couples to school children in their traditional ao dai. So, I started taking pictures, trying to be as quiet and unseen as possible to capture the most natural shots of the dancing teens and their viewers. A few minutes later I noticed an elderly lady - holding a sugar cane longer than her height - running towards me. She came and immediately said: One Dollar!

-Excuse me?
-Photo! One dollar!
-Oh OK...so you want me to take your picture and give you a dollar?
-One dollar, one dollar...
-Sure, OK...

(She was way too good looking to say no!)

So I took a shot. But my camera was set on continuous shooting so it automatically took 2 pictures and clicked twice. And, yep - you've guessed right, with a big smile on her face she said:

-Two Dollar!

Well, deal is a deal I guess...so we didn't think twice. Later on we tried to talk to her a bit. She was such an interesting character but unfortunately her English was limited to these three words: Photo, one dollar, two dollar.

People of Hanoi: beautiful, kind, ever-smiling, extremely polite and generous. They are the true reason why we dream of going back all the time.

Links

2009-01-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

Food Blogs

Magazines

Other Sites of Interest

About

2009-01-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Foodie Notes is written and photographed by Duygu Unal - a Turkish expatriate living in Vancouver. Born and raised in Istanbul, I moved to London after graduating from university. In the following years, I happily worked as a Marketing Communications Specialist in film, travel and tourism industries - based in Europe and Turkey. In 2004, I moved to Canada to join my husband who has been living in Vancouver for the past four years. Other than Foodie Notes, I also own a Turkish blog that I've been keeping since 2005. Both blogs reflect my passion for food and travel as well as other discoveries in life.

Copyright

All material including my photography, recipes and text are protected by Intellectual Property Rights. Please contact me from duygu.unal@gmail.com if you are interested in licensing one of my photographs.