Blue Fox Breakfast

Breakfast is the most remarkably versatile meal of the day. Sweet and savory flavors mix together and create tantalizing dishes that make the stomach rumble. Despite my rather strong dislike of mornings, I truly enjoy a good breakfast restaurant. While in Victoria with my sister recently I was lucky enough to discover the Blue Fox Café. We arrived as they opened and were surprised to see the small crowd waiting outside. Somehow I believed that 8 am on a Sunday would be quiet, but the café was filled with good cheer and alluring smells.  

We were seated right away and offered organic coffee or a variety of teas. In retrospect I wish I had sampled the red chili mocha, but my earl grey tea was still delicious. The menu is filled with mouthwatering choices such as the Moroccan Chicken Benny (Moroccan spiced chicken breast, mushrooms, onions, sweet apple chutney, and hollandaise) and the Oranges del Sol French toast (cinnamon scented toast, vanilla velvet sour cream sauce, triple sec syrup, and fresh orange segments). When it came time to make a decision, my sister Tamra and I both went for the Huevos Rancheros. It can be somewhat risky ordering Mexican food in the Pacific Northwest, but the Blue Fox Café definitely impressed me.

Two fresh over easy eggs with beautiful dark orange yolks covered in spicy refritos, melted cheddar and jack cheese, avocado, and salsa; served with pan-fried potatoes and the option of chicken breast or pulled pork. I chose the pulled pork and was impressed by the large amount of food brought to us. The flavors were perfect, albeit less spicy than I would prefer. The pulled pork was rich in flavor although next time I may try the chicken, or just stick with the huevos on their own. The meal was filling and I was very sad to leave some of the delicious potatoes on my plate. Luckily the café serves breakfast all day so I can return without time constraints. For any breakfast lover, this is one restaurant not to miss.
   

Busy Days

Oops? I guess the combination of life, new job, and lack of post material has made this a rather long hiatus from blogging. My apologies for that. Keep an eye out though because there should be a post tomorrow or Sunday. In the meantime I leave you in the capable hands of my favorite chef!

Pacifico Pizza

I am afraid that I have fallen slightly behind on blogging thanks to a new job, but hopefully I will get in the swing of things and continue with regular posts.

Recently my mom came to Vancouver to visit the Farmers Market and spend the night with me. When it came time for dinner we had several problems in deciding where to go. Our first choice was closed for a private event, our second choice had a thirty-minute wait, and our third and fourth choices had both closed down recently. Luckily we smelled a delicious aroma wafting from Pacifico Pizzeria Ristorante on Smithe St. and followed our noses to a fantastic meal. The service at Pacifico was fantastic. When we told our waitress that we would like to split an appetizer, entrée, and pizza, she arranged it into a three-course meal experience.

We started out with mussels in a garlicky tomato sauce served with delicious focaccia. It is rare to find mussels in a red sauce instead of a classic herbs and white wine sauce, but this was perfection. The mussels were tender and the sauce was perfect for dipping. While I loved the flavor of the focaccia, I wish there had been more available to sop up the delicious broth.

Our second course was gnocchi tartufo, which I have to say, is the best gnocchi dish I have ever had. Usually I prefer to make gnocchi at home since it is so simple, but the Pacifico has complete mastery over this particular dish. Walnuts, mushrooms, and truffle oil come together to make a mouthwatering flavor! Our third and final course was the prosciutto and arugula pizza. First of all, this pizza had the best thin-crust that I have enjoyed in Vancouver. The toppings were fresh and the arugula was put on after baking to keep it crisp. There was plenty of pizza for leftovers the next day.

In the end my experience was excellent thanks to both the quality of the food and service. The prices were reasonable and after our three-course meal and three cocktails, the bill came up to around $70. In fact I enjoyed it all so much that I returned with a friend for a celebratory dinner just one week later. On my second trip I sampled the smoked salmon tagliatelle, which was delectable, but not on par with the gnocchi. I recommend Pacifico Pizzeria Ristorante to anyone who wants to enjoy quality Italian food and pizza at a decent price.

Bacon Green Chile Cheeseburgers

I have been working on making the perfect burger for months now. There has to be a suitable balance between toppings and meat. The patty has to be thin enough to bite into, but thick enough to be a mouthful. The outside has to be browned, but the inside needs to be juicy and not overcooked. Despite the fact that I can make a mean salmon with beurre blanc and that my Caesar salad is out of this world, burgers are still a challenge for me.

For my bacon green chile cheeseburger, I chopped the green chile into the patty itself. I have found that this helps keep the flavor evenly throughout.  I also mixed a small amount of Cholula, kosher salt, and pepper. Delicious! For once I cooked it perfectly, but I was somewhat lacking in condiments. In the end the burger was excellent, but I will have to do some more planning before I make this the next time. 

Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness

Sometimes when I am feeling frustrated with my life, I watch My Little Pony. Definitely not kidding here! It is a wonderfully uplifting show, even if I am almost twenty years older than the target audience. Quite a few of the episodes have little food vignettes, but my favorite episode centers on the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness. In the show it is described as “All that rich creamy goodness of the marzipan combined with the tart tanginess of the mascarpone blended perfectly with the smooth silky sweetness of the meringue.” My friend Laura and I set out to recreate the cake with our own special touch.

Clearly neither of us is a professional baker, but I used my culinary training to make some delicious marzipan and Laura’s artistic ability went a long way in the coloring and shaping of the fruits and leaves. Since I am not a huge fan of normal cake, we decided to make a delectable creamy mascarpone cheesecake as the base.  The meringue did not turn out very well, but I decided it was somewhat superfluous anyway. In the end the cake as a whole was delicious. Well worth the cavities.

Green Chile Tempura Trial 1.0

This past weekend I continued my green chile adventures and made green chile tempura and arroz verde. There is an amazing sushi restaurant in Santa Fe called Shohko Café which I highly recommend to any visitors of the city. My green chile tempura is not nearly as impressive as theirs, and for that reason I will not be sharing the recipe.  I still have one fresh green chile left and I might use it to perfect this recipe.  The key to amazing tempura is a light and fluffy batter and mine left a lot to be desired. Up next is bacon green chile cheeseburgers! 

Chiles Rellenos

In my opinion chile rellenos exemplify New Mexican cuisine. In fact, if they had pork in them, they would contain New Mexico’s four favorite ingredients—the other three being chile, cheese, and cilantro. Perhaps I should start experimenting with a bacon chile relleno…

This recipe was adapted from one taught to me by the amazing Chef Michelle Roetzer at Santa Fe Community College. She teaches classes for tourists and does food tours at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, which I highly recommend, for anyone who visits the Land of Enchantment.

Chiles Rellenos

4 New Mexico green chiles (Anaheim or poblano chiles will work as well)

4 oz jack cheese, grated

2  scallions, chopped

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

½ cup flour

3 eggs

¼ cup 7-up or Sprite

Cayenne

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

Roast chiles and place in sealed ziplock bag until cool. Peel carefully and use a paring knife to cut a one-inch slice toward the top of the chile. Gently remove the seeds and set chiles aside.

Combine the grated cheese, scallions, cilantro and a pinch of cayenne, salt, and pepper. Form into marble sized cheese balls.

Carefully place 3 cheese balls in each of the chiles without overfilling them or causing rips. Set stuffed chiles in the freezer until ready to batter.

Make a seasoned flour with ¼ of the flour and pinches of salt, pepper, cayenne,  and garlic powder.

Separate the egg whites and yolks into two bowls. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Add 7-up and remaining ¼ cup of flour to egg yolks and mix well.

Heat 1 inch of oil in pan. Lightly coat stuffed chiles in seasoned flour and then dip in batter before frying. Fry with the slit up and spoon oil over the top of the chile before flipping. Repeat with remaining chiles and place on paper towels to remove grease. Serve with arroz verde and enjoy!

Chile, Chile, Chile!

Growing up in New Mexico meant that I had an endless supply of green chile and ate it with almost anything. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest I have had to somewhat change my New Mexican diet. I have been hoarding chile like treasure and I currently have two jars and one pound of frozen taking up space. Despite this stockpile I have really been missing the late summer smell of freshly roasted green chiles. Luckily Whole Foods flew in to my rescue! Not only are they currently selling fresh Hatch green chile, but they are roasting it in their parking lot. I am now the lucky possessor of fresh chile and some extra hot roasted for freezing. Tomorrow I will making a batch of chile rellenos and will share the recipe, but for tonight, here is a list of my top 5 green chile dishes. Thanks to my bountiful harvest, I will be able to do recipe based posts on each of these meals in the next few weeks.

Chile Rellenos

Green Chile Bacon Cheeseburgers

Green Chile Stew

Bacon Chile Breakfast Burrito

Green chile tempura

Simply Delicious

Sometimes the best meals in the world are the simple ones. They don’t need to have expensive ingredients or require hours of preparation; they can be ready at a moment’s notice. Any good chef’s repertoire should contain several quick and easy meals both for groups and individuals. My dinner tonight was one of my favorite simple snacks and is always delicious, despite how many times I make it. This kind of meal doesn't require a recipe, but I have provided some guidelines, just in case.

Gourmet Simple Sandwich

2 slices toasted sourdough bread

lightly salted butter

2 slices extra hot capocollo or prosciutto

½ avocado, sliced

Put a thin layer of salted butter on both pieces of toast. Top with capocollo and avocado slices. Enjoy as an open face sandwich.

Sandbar Views

On Granville Island, most restaurants are 75% view and 25% decent food. It can be difficult to find a place to eat that is both delicious and beautiful. Luckily there is the Sandbar to provide both excellent food and atmosphere. Recently a friend and I had a lovely simple meal at the Sandbar that ended with fireworks over English Bay. I was in the mood for a simple meal and settled on the fresh mussels in a coconut curry sauce. Now any true mussel lover knows that the sauce is the best part, and luckily the Sandbar provides plenty of bread for dipping. The food itself was perfection. The mussels were juicy, the sauce was delicious, and at the end of the meal I felt like I had received my money’s worth.

My only complaint about the whole night would be the service. It is rare for me to feel wholly uncomfortable in a server’s presence, but the young man who waited our table would simply not stop staring. Apparently I reminded him of his cousin and he called me by her name for the rest of the night. In addition to calling me his cousin, he was difficult to find, frustrating to communicate with, and very slow to respond to simple requests such as water with no ice, and a bowl for mussel shells.

Despite the poor service, both the food and the view at the Sandbar make me certain that I will return.

Please forgive the poor quality photos. The lighting was not great and this was before I received my fantastic birthday camera!

An Excellent Day's Work

The best part of cooking for a crowd is seeing the different reactions as people try new foods, develop new tastes, and expand their horizons. I recently catered a team building retreat for twelve very different people. The way the event was organized allowed the guests to be in and out of the kitchen. There were no real boundaries and it was more like a large family gathering than a paid job. Having conversations with the guests made the compliments at the end of the meal all the more heartfelt. At the end of the day, my two amazing chefs and I went out for champagne to celebrate a job well done. As far as the food goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Freshly picked carrots of all colors

Ready for roasting

Coconut prawns with sweet chili sauce

Dessert trio of lavender earl grey creme brulee, blueberry lemon curd tart, and pecan brownie

(Forgive the lack of an entree photo. Kitchen chaos is entirely to blame. For those who are curious, it was chicken breast with garlic wine sauce, citrus rice pilaf, and roasted carrots)

A Fruitful Market Day

One of the many things I love about the Pacific Northwest is the huge variety of fresh local fruit available. From apples to cherries and raspberries to plums, there is something for everyone. Thanks to the ridiculously cold June weather, all the fruit harvest was pushed back a few weeks, but we are now at the peak of the berry season and the peaches are finally ripening. Naturally I took advantage of all this bounty and delicious fruits dominated my market haul.

Klippers Organics. Apricots and peach plums. The peach plums were delicious and perfectly ripe, but the apricots still need a little time to reach juicy perfection.

Sandhu Produce Growers Ltd. Raspberries, and blueberries. You may notice that the raspberries are not in the photo this week. My only explanation is that I sat down to eat one and then suddenly the whole pint was gone! Luckily I bought two pints of blueberries and still have some left for my yogurt tomorrow.

Ice Cap Organics. Turnips. These turnips looked absolutely amazing and will be gracing my weekly meal.

Birthday Pie??

I have to be completely honest and say that I am not a huge fan of cake. It is delicious, but only when you have the perfect piece from the corner with the frosted pink rose. There are always the "best" pieces and then there are the pieces that get lost in the cracks. In fact, unless it is a chocolate hazelnut mousse cake from Chocolate Maven in Santa Fe, I could do without it completely.

And so in lieu of a real post today, I will simply say that it is my birthday. It is my birthday and I had pie. Delicious, fresh, strawberry rhubarb pie! With the rhubarb fresh from the garden and the strawberries summer-sweet. Pie is an equalizer. Every piece is amazing and there are no frosting roses to argue over. Can anyone think of something better than a slightly warm slice of pie with homemade melty vanilla ice cream on top? I think not. Happy birthday to me!

A Tea-licious Summer Picnic

Yesterday was a spectacularly sunny day. The sky was blue, the temperature was high, and the market was hopping. Since I had an overload of vegetables taunting me from my refrigerator, my friend Naomi and I decided to make this Saturday a summer teatime picnic. We searched the market for fresh berries and a delicious looking lavender earl grey scone, made iced tea, boiled water for hot tea, and hauled everything out to the park in a collection of baskets. And because we refuse to do anything half-assed, we also dressed up! In other words, this is not my usual market day review.

I started out the day by brewing a fresh batch of Bengal Spice iced tea before Naomi arrived and we went skipping off to the market. After picking up raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries from the Sandhu Produce Growers, Naomi and I waited in line at PureBread and managed to snag the last delectable lavender earl grey scone (what better for a tea party?).  Upon finding the perfect park location (dappled sunshine, green grass, flower gardens) and ooohing and ahhhing over Naomi’s new picnic basket, we settled down for some serious eats.

The raspberries were perfect. I am generally not a huge fan of raspberries as I find that there is a fine line between ripe and rotten, but these were excellent! The blueberries were less inspiring, but since it is the first week of the season, I will cut the farmers some slack. The same was true for the blackberries. With any luck they will be much better in the coming weeks. I have only one word to describe the scone; scrumptious. I honestly cannot think of eating a better scone. The flavors were perfectly mixed and the light lemon glaze just added to the flavor. Excellent both on its own and when dipped in the hot white tea we enjoyed.

In the end it was a perfect summer’s day picnic. With any luck, there will be many more to enjoy!

Produce of the Week

Finally the sun has come back to the fine city of Vancouver, making it a paradise once more! Naturally this meant that the market was flooded with people. Despite having a nearly full fridge, I braved the crowds for a small market haul and my bimonthly bacon wrap. This time at Pig on the Street, I tried the Southern Piggy, which consists of bacon, BBQ sauce, grilled peppers, corn, cheddar, and chipotle mayo. As always it was completely delicious and well worth the long line. While the Southern Piggy was just as good as the PigLT, I still have to rank the Porker as the best sandwich offered by Pig on the Street.

Paul’s Produce. Strawberries. Since Klippers is done with the strawberry season, I decided to try somewhere new. I have purchased from Paul’s Produce in the past without being disappointed, but these strawberries were a total letdown. I hate to seem overly harsh, but unless they drastically (and miraculously) improve in taste between tonight and tomorrow morning, I will likely be throwing them out.

Klippers. Romaine lettuce, purple kale. The romaine will be used in a Caesar salad later this week, or may be used in Vietnamese lettuce wraps if I choose to get wild. The kale will be lightly sautéed with garlic and lemon tomorrow night.

Forstbauer Farm. Golden beets. I hadn’t planned on buying beets today, but they just looked so good! My plans for those beauties are still up in the air.

Indian Night of Delight

One thing I love about the cultural diversity of Vancouver is the ease of having theme nights. Recently my dear friend, Naomi, and I decided that we should plan a series of theme foodie outings for the summer. Our first adventure was the Indian Night of Delight (Canada Day Patriotism, Buckingham Palace Tea Party and Guacamole Gangsters coming soon). We started the evening off right with a high-energy bollywood dance class at my favorite studio, Harbor Dance Centre. The music was hopping, the instructor was great, and the smiles infectious.

After a quick shower, Naomi and I met at a great Indian restaurant in downtown, Salam Bombay. I must confess to being rather predictable when I go to Indian restaurants. I adore butter chicken and garlic naan and tend to try them at every new restaurant I visit. True to culinary school fashion, Naomi went through the menu in great depth before choosing on the chicken biryani. I first have to say that the naan here was practically a work of art! I almost felt guilty while eating it. My butter chicken was absolutely delicious and despite having the appearance of a smaller portion, was more than enough to fill me up. Naomi’s biryani was the most flavorful rice I have ever tasted. It was a filled with chicken and spices and was completely excellent. All together we each spent about $20 for a great Indian feast.

After our delicious meal, we headed back to my apartment to end our Indian night with a fun bollywood film, Bride and Prejudice. Altogether, it was a wonderful night full of food and fun that will be repeated with a new theme in the near future!

Produce of the Week and Thoughts About Pie

As I sat in my apartment eating split pea soup and drinking tea I tried to come up with a supplementary blog topic for today’s post. Of course I could complain about the miserable weather, but I have already done that. I could go on some more about the pure delicious joy of Klipper’s strawberries, but I have already done that. I could even talk about the wonderful community feeling that comes with living in the West End, but I am pretty sure I have covered that topic as well. And so, in light of my terrible writer’s block, I have decided to describe sour cherry pie as a parallel to this blog. 


Now anyone with common sense knows that sour cherry pie is truly amazing (just like my blog, of course), but requires more than a little effort. First there is the task of finding sour cherries. Now this is strongly influenced by local growers and can be a huge pain. Up next is pitting which can take forever, cause hand-cramps and inevitably leads to frustration. After making flaky dough, mixing the filling, and sticking the pastry in the oven there is a bit of an energy crash, but smelling the completed sour cherry pie makes the whole thing worth it. In the end, I truly love writing and taking photographs for this blog. I am proud of my accomplishments and despite occasional frustration, I will never stop.

Snowy Mountain Organics. Sour cherries. Clearly these will be used in pie and there will be photos posted on Monday or Tuesday.


Forstbauer Farm. Squash blossoms. It is becoming a post-market tradition for me to make my squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and basil. Perhaps I should try something different, but why mess with perfection?


Klippers Organics. Sugar snap peas and strawberries. First peas of the season! Not quite sure what my plan is, but I am sure it will be delicious. Sadly, I was told that these are the last strawberries of the season so I was sure to buy two pints. For those of you who were curious about the varieties, I was told that they were a combination of sapphire and sable strawberries.


Sandhu Produce Growers Ltd. Potatoes. These will be used for my meals-to-go business and any leftover potatoes will go into either Swedish potatoes or stew.

Produce of the Week on $15

One of the most common complaints about buying local is the extra cost. People claim that farmers overcharge and that organic is not worth the price. Having spent my childhood in restaurant kitchens and behind farm stands, I am a vehement supporter of local growers. Today I decided that I would bypass my usual Saturday ATM trip and see what I could buy with just $15 cash at the market.

Klippers Organics. Strawberries and garlic scapes. I will be making garlic scape pesto for my business later this week. The strawberries, as always, were delicious and have been completely consumed.

Sandhu Produce Growers Ltd. First raspberries of the season! Tasty, but I have to be honest and say that raspberries will never be my favorite berry (I can’t wait for market blueberry season!). So far the berries have been eaten raw, soaked in wine, and I plan to make raspberry iced tea tomorrow.

Paul’s Produce. Carrots. These will be going in a batch of split pea soup which I plan to make during one of the inevitably rainy days this week.

On my way out of the market I had to stop at the Pig on the Street food cart once again and was overjoyed to see that they take both credit and debit. This time around I tried the Porker sandwich, was given the alias of "Ham Solo", and decided that these wraps will always be worth the long line. The Porker was even better than the Pig LT. Imagine delicious sausage and bacon wrapped together with goat gouda cheese, caramelized onions, and arugula. Now imagine being able to walk up to a van in downtown and buy one of those. Perfection!

Rain, Rain, Go Away and Produce of the Week

I absolutely adore Vancouver weather about 75% of the time. This is not one of those times. I love summer in this city and all the wonderful things to do. I love waking up early on a Saturday morning and cruising the farmers market before dashing off to ballet. I love it much less when I wake up to a dismal lack of sunshine and the sound of endless rain outside my window. It is so much harder to motivate oneself when walking outdoors causes shoes to be soaked and hair to frizz (oh good lord the frizz…). Despite these gloomy Saturday feelings, I managed to get myself to the market and have a lovely time chatting with vendors and browsing produce. After all, even an incredibly dreary day is brightened with fresh strawberries!

Forstbauer Farm. Squash blossoms that will be, once again, stuffed with cheese and basil, tempura-battered, and fried.

Crisp Organics. Delightfully fresh romaine lettuce that has already been used in a Caesar salad tonight.

Klippers Organics. Kale, strawberries, and collard greens. The kale will be lightly sautéed and drizzled with lemon and olive oil. Strawberries=gone. The collard greens were my favorite find this week! They will be gracing my meals to go along with shrimp etouffee and garlic bread.

Hui’s Farm. Baby shitake mushrooms that will go into a light risotto on Tuesday night.

Achin' For Bacon

 

I have previously mentioned that I find bacon to be one of the true joys of life. Breakfast, lunch, dinner? Anytime! Luckily there is a new food cart in the great city of Vancouver that is designed to serve bacon addicts like myself. While leaving the Farmer’s Market on Saturday I saw a pink-painted van that smelled enticingly like everyone’s favorite food. How could I possibly resist? I ordered a Pig LT and was given a pork themed pseudonym to listen for. While I waited for someone to call “Harry Trotter” I chatted with the woman next to me, aka “Ham Solo”, and watched as “Kevin Bacon” dug into his meal. 

At long last I was called up to fetch my flatbread wrap, which was full to bursting with arugula, bacon, and avocado. I honestly cannot think of a time when I have tasted a better bacon sandwich and at only $9 it was well worth the cost. Despite the knowledge that it may cause a heart attack, I look forward to trying every item on the menu. I wholeheartedly recommend that tourists and locals alike keep an eye out for a pink van that is jam packed with flavor.

Strawberry Contests and Produce of the Week

Another beautiful Saturday with sunshine, bacon, and fresh veggies. Below are the produce finds for the week and a strawberry showdown between two vendors.


Forstbauer Farm. Romaine lettuce. Sadly no squash blossoms this week, but I have already used the romaine in a caesar salad and believe that it was 100% better than store bought!

Klippers Organics. Arugula, garlic scapes, and the first batch of test strawberries. I plan to make a pine nut and arugula pasta later this week and I will be using the garlic scapes to make a pesto for a cold pasta salad. In other words, there will be much carbing this week.

Paul's Produce. Mixed varietal bell peppers. A lovely bag of multi-colored bell peppers for only $4? Perfect. These peppers will go in a curry this week as well as possible fajitas and gumbo. The possibilities are endless.

Langley Organic Growers. Radishes, bok choy. I found these amazing multi-colored radishes and couldn't resist them, despite having radishes in the fridge already. These are meant for munching. The bok choy will go in a curry with the bell peppers.

And then there is the strawberry showdown. I bought the first pint of strawberries from Klippers Organics. Since I enjoyed them so much last week I decided that it would be foolish to resist. Two stands further in the market, there was another strawberry vendor and I purchased a pint to taste-test. Unfortunately I cannot read my own handwriting and therefore have no idea who these came from, so we shall call them Vendor X. In the end it is a simple truth that size isn't everything. Granted the smaller strawberries from Klippers had tons of seeds, but they were tiny, delicious, and practically burst in my mouth. My second pint from Vendor X was much more similar to traditional grocery store strawberries. They were fairly juicy, but simply couldn't compete.