Taco Tastings

The first thing a visitor to Vancouver discovers is the plethora of food carts in the downtown area. From Smithe St. to Canada Place and Thurlow St. to Richards St. a visitor to Vancouver can find Dim Sum, Indian food, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tacos galore! It is extremely easy to completely empty your wallet on naan and rice balls. For those of us on a bit of a tighter budget, it can be extremely rough to balance the tasty goodness of street food against the necessary money saving efforts of cooking at home. 

Thanks to google and a little imagination I found it possible to make my own food cart-style Korean tacos. I chose to make Dwaegi (spicy pork) Bulgogi tacos with chili-lime rice and jack cheese.  I started marinating the pork 24 hours before making the tacos in a spicy soy sauce sesame mixture. In the end they were some of the best tacos I have ever made and the only thing I will do different next time is make a fruit salsa to go with them. Possibly guacamole as well because avocados can improve anything!

Korean Dwaegi Bulgogi Tacos

 Pork

• 1 pound pork shoulder or loin thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce 
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons rice wine

Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours. Cook meat on a grill or in a skillet, then chop for tacos. 

Chili-Lime Rice

•  1/2 cup rice
• Water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons chili powder

Make rice according to individual preference. Mix in lime juice and chili powder.

Assemble meat and rice on small flour tortillas and top with shredded jack cheese and Sriracha chili sauce. Enjoy!

SuperValu Grocery Store Review

  

Sometimes the simplest grocery store can surprise you. SuperValu is the Canadian equivalent of a Kroger store in the US. It is a great one stop shopping location for anything from a mop to frozen scallops.  Aisles are clearly laid out and it is rare that you need help finding things, which is lucky since the store is minimally staffed. SuperValu has a large number of surprising products. In the summer they sell local fruit and vegetables in a special produce section. They also have a good selection of frozen products including delicious seafood, a large ice cream section, and frozen fruit. 

Overall I definitely recommend visiting the SuperValu for any general grocery shopping. The one surprising disappointment was a lack of artichokes, but upon inquiring, I was told that they had artichokes just last week, but have stopped ordering them because it is the end of the season. Despite the lack of a large organic presence and the low staff numbers, it is easy to find almost anything here. I was most impressed with the large spice collection that had not only one brand of star anise, but also a second that was amazingly inexpensive.

Leg of Lamb Not sold
Panko $3.29/227 g
Star Anise $2.99/12 g
Artichokes Unavailable

MarketPlace IGA Review

Urban Fare Review

SuperValu Davie St.

MarketPlace IGA Grocery Store Review

It can be rather shaming to objectively review a place that you go to regularly and realize that it is not as great as you might think. Unfortunately, this is what happened to me when I went to review the MarketPlace IGA. I do most of my grocery shopping at this store simply because it is 1.5 blocks from my apartment (as the jaywalker runs) and has some organic produce available. I will admit that the first few times I went shopping there, it was extremely difficult to find what I needed. So difficult, in fact, that it took me over fifteen minutes to find the frozen food on my first trip. Somehow I put this behind me and continued to shop there.

Fast-forward eight months and I still go to this same grocery store on a weekly basis. Any time that I need to find a new ingredient results in frustration. This store truly has potential to be great. They have high quality produce, a good frozen section (once you find it), and the cashiers are some of the friendliest people in Vancouver. It is also conveniently located next to the movie theater, near my apartment, and on my way home from ballet class. However, MarketPlace needs to hire someone to do a full reorganization of every product they sell before I resume my regular shopping there. Until then, I will be taking my business to Urban Fare where the prices might be higher, but at least I can always find what I want. Hopefully someday when laziness wins and I go to the MarketPlace IGA, the system will have been fixed and I won’t be forced to wander through chaotic aisles in search of anything from panko to honey.

Leg of Lamb Not sold (can be special ordered-price unavailable)
Panko $2.19/150 g
Star Anise Not Sold.
Artichokes $2.99/ea.

Urban Fare Review

MarketPlace IGA Burrard

Improvisational Traditions

 

Every family has certain things that they cook and enjoy for holidays, birthdays, and specific days of the week. My family always had Friday popcorn nights, Christmas green chile stew, and annual mac and cheese. When I first started high school, my Dad and I would spend the week at a house close to the school while my mom worked on the farm an hour away. It was a new experience for all of us and it forced my Dad to expand his culinary horizons and Cook for the Teenager. One of my favorite weekly Dad meals was canned corned beef hash with an egg and ketchup. Best. Dinner. Ever. Sadly, I am now jaded enough to pay attention to the nutritional value on the cans. In other words, eating corned beef hash weekly is no longer on option. But on this fine day, I am going to embrace my wacky Irish family traditions and improvise corned beef and cabbage!

Unfortunately I almost forgot it was St. Patrick’s Day and by the time I remembered, all the stores were out of uncooked corned beef. But I did not let that stop me.  One quick stop at a deli and I have ¾ lb of sliced corned beef. Step two was making the spice mix to cook the cabbage, corn, and potatoes. Hopefully bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seed, whole cloves, garlic, and coriander seed will do the trick.  Step three: warming the corned beef without overcooking it. I believe that thirty seconds in with the potatoes and cabbage should do the trick.

It might not taste exactly like St. Patrick’s Day dinner with the family, but my corned beef and cabbage turned out nicely. Sometimes traditions change. People move, families spread apart, and new life experiences take hold. Today I may not be having a "normal" holiday meal, but I am wearing green, eating my corned beef and drinking a Guinness. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

 

Urban Fare Grocery Store Review

Within eight blocks of my apartment there are over eight grocery stores. Some are small family-run shops that are wonderful in the summer and display their products on the sidewalk. Others are lower quality chains that have endless sales and promotions. And of course there are the “boutique” stores such as Whole Foods (Capers) and Urban Fare. It is extremely easy to just fall into a rut with one store and never actually see if it is the best option. I chose to visit four popular grocery stores near my home and compare prices and availability of four semi-gourmet items. First on the list is Urban Fare.

My first impression of Urban Fare upon moving to Vancouver was that it is the Whole Foods of Canada. The vegetable and fruit selection is very impressive as is the large cheese section and butcher’s counter. That said, they have a lot of work to do on bulk items and dried goods. I cannot complain too much about the small bulk selection though, because it is truly refreshing to find bulk items at all. Perhaps this area will become stronger in the future. Overall the store is well-laid out and I did not need any help to find the items on my list. The prices are more expensive than other stores in the area, but there is a lot to be said for one-stop shopping. Being the bread addict that I am, my favorite part of Urban Fare is the bakery. The pastries look amazing and the fresh baguettes are inexpensive and delicious. My favorite purchases here: fresh baguette and St. Andre triple-cream cheese!

Leg of Lamb $12.99/lb
Panko $3.59/227 g
Star Anise $11.49/17 g
Artichokes $3.59/ea.

Urban Fare-Alberni St.

MarketPlace IGA  Review

Sala Thai Bliss

Photo taken in Bangkok 2009

When I moved to Vancouver, I went on a search for the best Thai food. I have had a special attachment to Thailand since I was a child. It was always the magical place where dragons were real and giant golden Buddha guarded me at night. Luckily, I discovered that my favorite Vancouver Thai restaurant was a mere two blocks from my apartment. Sala Thai not only has excellent Thai standards such as Pad Thai, Emerald Curry, and Thai Iced Tea, but also has some more difficult to find menu items such as Mee Krob and Drunken Noodles. The Tom Kha Gai soup is perfect as comfort food takeout on a rainy winter night. Dishes are served family style and the prices are very reasonable with entrees ranging from $11-$18. On my most recent visit to Sala Thai I shared a relaxing meal of Drunken Noodles and Red Curry with a good friend.  As always the service was friendly, the food was delicious, and for one excellent meal, I was able to remember exactly why I love Thailand.

Caesar the Day

Sometimes at the end of the day a good simple meal is all that can keep a person sane. Everyone has a specific dish that they cook when all else fails. My family has a Caesar salad dressing recipe that goes back to the mid-80’s when my godfather shared it with my mom. Since then it has been through a few modifications and made in three different countries on two continents. With the Ides of March approaching I will send it out so the world can have a taste. After all, Julius Caesar himself said "It is better to create than to learn. Creating is the essence of life."

Caesar Salad Dressing

2 eggs

2T parmesan cheese

2T sherry vinegar

2T lemon juice (or you can use just 1/4 cup lemon juice and not put in sherry vinegar)

1t tabasco

1t worcestershire

4 cloves garlic

4 anchovy fillets

1cup oil (1/2 olive and 1/2 canola)

Using a high-powered blender, combine all ingredients except oil.

With the blender on a low speed, slowly pour oil into the mixture.

Serve over romaine lettuce with homemade croutons.