Monday, January 18, 2010

Caulifower Curry makes me purr..... ee.

Hiya Possums!

It's been a little while and I apologise... I know at least ONE person has been checking daily to see if I've posted! (Mwah).

It was a staycation week... and I did very little if I'm honest. I organized my spare room and FINALLY got rid of Bellasinead's mortuary. It was a hassle to move, but Joey and the Igor at Goodwill were more than helpful! That same day- Thursday I think, I went with my auntie for lunch at a new Japanese restaurant.

I have said before that 168 Sushi is the best in Brampton... well, the competition is here. More on that later!

A friend of mine mentioned to me that Bee Pollen was really helping her Mom's energy levels. Ever the slave to fad and fandangled ideas, I picked some up the other day and decided to give it a shot in my green monster.
The taste IS distinct.. nutty sort of... hard to really describe. They are crunchy little nuggets of gold that are sweet to start of with, and really lend themselves well to a shake. In with the ground flax, you'd never know they were there... save for a slight aftertaste.

As for the energy contribution... I'm sorry to say I have no definitive results. I find the shakes pretty invigorating on their own, so the added boost of pollen was lost on me if there was one. I will persevere though, increasing the amounts... Keep you posted if I leap any tall buildings!

In one SERIOUS bout of cooking, I hauled out the Vegenomicon and decided to make some Cauliflower and Lentil Curry...

Following the recipe in any book is pretty tough for me. I tend to stray after the third or fourth ingredient, so my results can not be found to be conclusive.

To prep: Vegetable stock, Red Lentils, One inch of ginger, Coriander, One head of cauliflower, Assorted bell peppers (my own addition- they were in the fridge), Onion, Garlic, Chilies, Assorted Curry Spices (cumin, cinnamon, cardamon- I added a pre mixed veggie masala spice mix)
I accompanied my curry with these sexy paratha(s) {I think an 's' is required to pluralize?}


Fry up peppers, onion, garlic and chilies in some grapeseed oil. When onions are translucent, and before garlic burns... add spices and toast them for 30 seconds or so. Next- add vegetable stock (enough to cover, plus an extra inch or so) and lentils.
So now I veer TOTALLY of the recipe's track... It calls for you to add the cauliflower after the lentils have cooked for 12-13 mins and let simmer for a while. I don't like cauliflower unless it's all broken down, so I steamed the hella out of mine and then mashed it whilst the curry was cooking the lentils.
While I was producing A LOT of dishes... I was trying to keep up with the clean up at the same time. Mrs. Garrett is off this week...
When the lentils were tender and mushy (like cauliflower- the only way I like them), I added the cauliflower mash and a can of coconut milk. This is a high calorie and fat ingredient, but it's a healthy fat and the rest of the meal is relatively low cal. The fat content definitely adds to the satiety of the meal.
There she is... with some chopped cilantro and a serious dose of lime juice!
While this was a good recipe (had I actually followed it), it needed some serious KICK and I squeezed a couple of rounds of Sriracha on top. All in all, not bad for my first curry without packages... but not great. Also, while I tried to lessen the quantities in the recipe, I had TONNES when it was complete... so Mum and Joey got some, seems nobody else I know is into curry. Cowardly Bastards!

Friday night I went to the illustrious Tonawanda. Saw one of the WORST- MOVIES- EVER: Amelia. Good golly. If I was ever a Hillary Swank fan, and I haven't been, this would have reversed such affinations in short order. Her accent kept changing from Katherine Hepburn to Eunice Kennedy. Richard Gere is is beginning to look startlingly like Renee Zellweger. Someone give these people a pocket dispenser of stevia... squinty lemon sucking eyes!

I did run into a chocolate fountain, but that's not really my thing... so I had a mini marshmallow and decided to stick a chunk of marble cheese under the wafting waves of milk chocolate. Never again.

So, now that I got my choc/cheese and Indian on... I was like the RAF and back to the Japanese! The lunch I had with my Auntie was SO good, that I decided my food loving girls needed to check this place out too! On Saturday night, we headed back to Tokyo Maki for the weekend night dinner!

This place operates similarly to 168 and Prince and has a fill-out menu that the waiters (who were very attentive- if not a little lacking in communication skills) pick up every few minutes. Food streams out very quickly from the kitchen, and these little worker bees earn every cent as they dart to and fro. Almost like Bridget Jones' mother: "A very industrious people".

A warning though: While the restaurant offers beer and wine, they do NOT offer liquor. This was an especially unfortunate notification as I was dining with this years winner of the "Girl Who Most Deserves a Drink" award and there was not a shot of rye to be found.

Among the various rolls and tempuras, we also had some Agedashi (fried soft tofu- my new favourite), tuna and salmon sashimi, edamame, teriyaki and this beautiful bouncing boy... an avocado pizza...I've had sushi pizza before, but it's not been great. This was AWESOME! The rice cake base was so crispy and warm compared to the creamy cold top, just an excellent combination of flavours and textures! Considering they eat essentially no dairy, I have no idea how the Japanese got on the mayo train- but I want to shovel coal all day and conduct that mayo train into my mouth station because I approve people... I approve!


This is my mayonnaise delight look. This is also a reminder that while green eyeshadow might look good in the powder room ladies... this does not always translate to the dining room.

More MAYJAH mayo, but on a healthier incarnation, on these adorable little cucumber rolls.
A ribbon of cucumber wrapped around shrimp and avocado with heavenly spicy mayo and sesame seeds. So basic, so delightful. I will be making these at home soon... think I will use surimi instead of shrimp. These are so light you could easily pop 5-10 in a sitting.


I did nothing at ALL at the gym last week- but I did go for a tan... if you don't lose the fat, you might as well make it less chalky.

I am currently addicted to the series Little Dorrit (it's Dickens- but Andrew Davies produced it... he did the mini series' Pride and Prejudice as well as He Knew He Was Right) and found myself perfectly incapacitated while imagining myself being rescued from impoverished obscurity by Matthew MacFayden. Also, Jamie's Ministry of Food is back on the Food Network- really educational about working class people and cooking/eating habits. I watched it on it's first go around and found it fascinating and a little sad.
New favourite show is definitely Come Dine with Me! 30 mins episodes each night have 5 strangers hosting dinner parties for each other and at the end of the week one of them wins 1000$ (it's actually pounds- but I can't find that symbol) based on the scoring of their dinnermates. I know 30 mins a day can be a bit consuming... but it's such light viewing, it's great for background noise. The commentator is HILARIOUS.


I've written off the Bachelor and Jersey Shore is coming to a premature (in my opinion) ending. I guess this means I'll have to turn off the fireplace and go outside and interact with real people. Sigh...
So it's Monday now- and I walked/ran outside for 4k, as the weather was pretty decent. I'm off to the gym in the morning, with a pretty pathetic stirfry for dinner tonight. No pics required folks... take my word for it, sad.
On a side note... I've texted twice to Rogers to donate to Haiti... has anyone else tried this? I know it's only ten dollars all told, but I thought it better than sending down my curry.
Slainte!
Amanda

2 comments:

  1. Hey Babe...... Really enjoying the updates you've been providing....Kiki and I are doin' a date on Friday for lunch.....trying your recommendation for the new Japanese on Bartley Bull but still using 168 as the "benchmark"
    Look forward to seeing your sweet face soon.....Love ya' Puddin"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Firstly...am resenting the implication that only 1 person is checking daily...I am aware of atleast 3 of us...Secondly...do you not require a signed release to post a picture of someone other than yourself on this thing....Thirdly...I would have tried the curry but we had sushi instead....Fourthly...i have heard the effects of bee pollen take some time (min. 30 days) to show any postive effects and that is according to Wally who researches these things to death...anyways...FABULOUS lady...as always just fabulous...and please note these are not criticisms...love ya xoxo LA

    ReplyDelete