Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

Christmas in most cultures almost always involves a lot of cooking, baking and of course, eating. Here are some of the highlights of the Christmas season feasting in our household:

On Christmas Eve, we had a not-so-traditional Christmas dinner of basil, tomato and shrimp linguini, and a tomato mozzarella salad, accompanied by delicious french red

wine.

After dinner, we indulged in a double-layer chocolate cake, separated by raspberry jam and covered with a dark chocolate ganache.

And my very favourite, Christmas morning breakfast, in which I made oatmeal-blueberry pancakes and belgian waffles for the family.

My first dim sum experience!

Last weekend, one of my good friends took me out for dim sum, something which I had never tried before! She took me to Garden City Hot Pot, located in Richmond, a few blocks away from Aberdeen Shopping Center.

The first thing we ordered when we got there was tea from a distinguished selection of tea leaves, each type of tea possessing a different quality. I opted for rose tea, which was said to relax, while my friend chose a black oolong tea, which was said to be a fatty-acid burner.

After ordering tea, we ordered the dim-sum dishes! My friend selected a variety of dishes for us including:

• 蝦餃 (shrimp dumplings)
• 腸粉 (rice noodle rolls-which came with fried oysters)
• 腐皮捲 (tofu steamed roll-which were stuffed with prawns)
• 蘿蔔糕 (turnip cake)
• 蛋撻 (egg tarts)

Overall, it was a delicious experience! <3

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

"Is a vegetarian permitted to eat animal crackers?"

I hope so...

Cafe Flora

My boyfriend and I drove down to Seattle on a whim last night. Once we checked in at our hotel, we asked our concierge for some good "veggie" restaurant recommendations and he suggested Cafe Flora. After spending a good chunk of time aimlessly driving around the streets of Seattle, we finally found it!

Cafe Flora is a quaint little cafe which offers up a menu of funky and creative vegetarian food. To start, we shared a "bucket" of perfectly seasoned yam fries before our main meal. For my entree, I opted for a seasonal pasta: celery root and sweet potato ravioli complimented with roasted seasonal vegetables. My boyfriend decided to be adventurous and ordered the pear and gorgonzola pizza.

Overall, the meal and atmosphere were a success! I recommend anyone who is in the Seattle neighbourhood to check this place out...

http://www.cafeflora.com/

Let's get this party started...

I missed France... so I made a Tarte Tatin!

I miss France.
I miss France so much.
My sister and aunt took me to see Julia & Julie this last week.
Everyday at work we play the Amelie soundtrack.
All my parents ever buy for me anymore is cheese.


The recipe can be found on Martha Stewart Living: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/baking-handbook-tarte-tatin?autonomy_kw=tarte%20tatin

WEST

My friend and I decided to participate in the exclusive world of fine-dining and attended the restaurant West this past weekend. West has a reputation for being the best restaurant in Vancouver, if not the whole world...

The atmosphere was very sophisticated and enjoyable, the only downside being that we were the youngest ones there! The food was delicious; we each had a starter, main course and dessert, each enhanced by a bottle of smooth red wine from the Rhone Valley in France. Unfortunately, the Nikon D60 did not fit in my purse so I had to settle for my sister's inferior Canon instead!

For the starter, I had an aged risotto with chanterelles, zucchini, and peas.


As a main course, I chose the smoked sablefish. It was served with tabais beans, sweet peppers, shaved radish and a yellow pepper puree.


Finally for dessert, I had a mascarpone espresso cake atop a brownie, served alongside a cinnamon meringue and coffee ice cream.


By the end of the night I felt as though my previously not-so-tight dress was going to pop a seam! (it was well worth it though!) For anyone interested in West, check out their website: http://www.westrestaurant.com/index.html