THRIFTY TABLE

3 weeks later: Bell's Palsy update

Thrifty Table — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:09:45 GMT

Well, it's been 3 weeks since I first woke-up with half my face paralyzed. Thankfully, I saw a doctor within hours of the first onset of Bell's Palsy and started medication (anti-virals and steroids) immediately. Today, 3 weeks later, I am starting to see some improvement.

I can now drink without slobbering all over myself and my smile is becoming more even, to the point actually, where my paralysis is hardly noticeable. Though the battery acid taste in my mouth has dissipated, my tastebuds are still a bit dulled, but improving.

Bell's Palsy: Smile here

Thrifty Table — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:37:32 GMT

In case you didn't know, the other morning I woke-up early, put on some coffee and made breakfast. Kind of like I do every day. But this morning, I couldn't wrap my lips around my coffee mug and immediately, panic set in.

I've had Bell's Palsy before. I remembered the progression of my first bout with this still mysterious affliction. I started bawling and it took me a good hour to calm down. I don't consider myself a vain person, but I love to smile and the one major thing Bell's Palsy takes from me is my smile.

I'm day 4 of the paralysis and I'm doing my best not to allow this to stop me from being me. This could go on for quite some time. It could be gone in a few weeks. There is just no way to know. I've been heading outside, talking to people and even attempting to smile it off, crooked and strained, but 100% sincere.

Click here for more information on Bell's Palsy.

Leftovers: It's what's for breakfast

Thrifty Table — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:08:40 GMT

Leftovers Benedict

What you get when you open the fridge one very cold and brisk morning and all you can find are a few eggs, some unsteamed steamy buns, one portion of slow cooker pot roast, a few baked potatoes and some celery tops. It's too cold to run to the store, so you improvise.

Restaurant review: Deville Dinerbar

Thrifty Table — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:35:58 GMT

Let's see, I had wine, 2 glasses, red of course, 8 oz each (that a full pint-o-wine) of the Monticello tempranillo. The beau had wanted Sam Adams, but alas there was no more, so Ricard's white for him.

The first thoughts in my mind when I saw the menu was, how the heck am I to choose from all of this! It all looks good (except fried pickles, I am over them). After some back and forth we settled on sharing 2 apps, the Philly cheese steak spring rolls and the Crispy mac and cheese stuffed wontons. I ordered myself the "Fat Cat" burger and the BF ordered the bone-in veal parma. On the advice of our bartender, he suggested that maybe, that might be, just a little too much.

We dropped the mac and cheese wontons and eagerly awaited our first bites. Looking around, this place could easily be dropped right into the Flamingo in Las Vegas. The dark and pink theme, the retro counters, all of it rings true to that bygone era. I think I would have liked to see the theme brought more into the menu, but that's just fluff.

Once our app arrived, I was worried we'd made a mistake dropping the second app.. I mean, 3 "tacquitos" was hardly going to appease our ferocious appetites and I don't think the bartender could have possibly thought we were lightweight eaters. Then our meals came out, and well, the veal. I could have put my face in there and there would still be breading showing.

My burger wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would be a boneless rib on a burger bun. Nope, it was the rib AND a burger. Oh wait, no, a double burger! Much too ginormous for me to eat gracefully, but I have never been very graceful, so why start now?

The fries were delicious, I usually prefer big fat fries with their crispy skins on each ends, and these were skinny little McD fries. Fearful of a repeat of the "Plaisirs Coupables" fiasco of yesteryear, I stole one fry and all my fears were set aside. The restaurant cheered in triumph and I reached back for a handful more of the crispy skinny fries.

I thought everything was pretty good. I liked the service, the food, the drink choices, the atmosphere. Everything. As I spoke with the waitress some more, I learned that the owners here are the same as those at Reuben's and at Anton & James, and just as we were talking, in walked the manager from Reuben's deli. He knows me very well as whenever I am downtown I inevitably stop in to Reuben's to pick up a pound of smoked meat.

Would I go back to Deville - yes, particularly at slower times of the day, like before 6PM. I am not a fan of waiting for a table. Knowing that they are owned by the same people as Reuben's gives me the confidence that the food will be consistent.

Experiment: Bacon Bourbon Marshmallows

Thrifty Table — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:15:27 GMT

I candied the bacon in a little brown sugar and some of my homemade chipotle chili powder.

Mallowing is nearly complete after 6 minutes. Then I add the bourbon and bacon, turn the mixer up full blast and let it ride until it is pulling away from the side of the mixer. It took another 10 minutes this time because I made an error and added the bacon when it was still a bit warm.

The marshmallows are tossed in a half and half mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch, then cut into squares and tossed in the sugar again to avoid sticking.

Soirée Élite: Bonne fête à moi! au Jello Martini Lounge

Thrifty Table — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:26:46 GMT

Pop-Mon-Frais Martini at Jello Martini Lounge

C is for Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thrifty Table — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:29:00 GMT

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Restaurant review: Mate Latte

Thrifty Table — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:25:00 GMT

Mate Latte

A few months ago a new spot, Mate Latte, opened up across the street from my apartment but I hadn't paid it any mind because the previous cafe was... hmmm, not so good. Even so, a few days after the place opened I decided to pop in and see what was going on.

The cafe set up is hard describe. A little bit cozy, a little bit modern and a whole lot of eclectic. There are a few modern pieces, including some funky bar stools, a few Ikea chairs seated around a fake fireplace. The same space is shared by a long 1970's white camelback couch, and a few of your standard diner tables and chairs. My favourite thing though, is the strange collection of salt and pepper sets.

I've stopped by here a few times now, mostly for a coffee and a little sweet. Just about everything they sell was made by the three ladies who own and run the cafe (mother and two daughters) and they put quite an emphasis on keeping it healthy. The food is pretty good, not great, but I think, with a little more time and some tweaking, they certainly have the potential to be great.

They make a delicious coffee and the ambience is so NOT Starbucks, which I can really appreciate. I would recommend stopping by if you happen to be in the neighbourhood.

Mate Latte

5837 Sherbrooke West

(514) 419-8886

Leftover: Cheese

Thrifty Table — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:33:00 GMT

First posted on 5/11/2011

I buy a lot of cheese. I am lactose intolerant, but I will never give up my cheesy habits. Never!

Almost every week I pick out 4 to 5 varieties of cheese, doing my best to keep within my budget; under 25$. That does not include what I keep on hand regularly like Parmesan Reggiano and some Neufchatel or Cream Cheese.

I take cheese out for snacking throughout the day and because the temperature is constantly fluctuating, I don't keep them for very long (and most times, they don't last very long). Instead, when I replenish my cheese stock, I remove any inedible skin, wrap each piece up and store it in the freezer for a future use, this stops the aging process and cheese straight from the freezer is so much easier to grate.

Some ways to use these frozen nuggets of flavor?

Grated into chili
Mixed into a potato salad
Added to mashed potatoes
Crumbled into a salad
Add chunks to a creamy soup before blending
Melted into a pasta sauce
Add extra flavor to a souffle
Make a cheesy soup
A mish-mash fondue
Welsh rarebit
Add some grated cheese to biscuit
Top garlic bread and bake, making it au gratin tonight!

The options are endless; a little research on what certain cheese melt well and such, and a little experimentation will go a long way!

No mess: Double chocolate brownies

Thrifty Table — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 02:30:36 GMT

Double chocolate brownies with walnuts

Although I have a dishwasher, I still detest doing dishes. When I make some recipes, there isn't even enough room in the dishwasher for all the dishes that come from just one dessert or main. Crack pie was a nightmare of dishes and dirty, sticky, vessels. But these. This is one metal bowl, a whisk, a sifter, a few measuring tools, a spatula and the baking pan.

I use the metal bowl as a double-boiler in this version, then after it has cooled down, I proceed with the batter. It is simple, easily adapted to suit your mood and is pretty much foolproof. You could use 1/2 chocolate chips, 1/2 chocolate covered raisins.

Double Chocolate Brownies

(my mother's handwritten recipe)

1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a double-boiler, melt 1/2 the chocolate chips. the sugar and the butter together. Once melted, add in the vanilla and remove from the heat. Let this cool for a few minutes.

Lightly whisk the eggs. Add half the egg to the chocolate, whisk until well blended. Add in the second half of the egg, whisk until blended.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the chocolate mixture and mix lightly with a spatula. Once it is mixed up, add in the rest of the chocolate chips and the chopped walnuts.

Pour into a greased and floured 8" square pan. Bake at 350˙F for 25 minutes.

Remake: Donut muffins

Thrifty Table — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:30:21 GMT

Apple-butter filled donut muffins

Old standard: Chocolate chip scones

Thrifty Table — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:59:00 GMT

Chocolate chip scones

I think that by now, it is no secret that I absolutely love scones. For starters, they are easy. Really. With my food processor, I can put together the dough within 5 minutes and only dirty up a few dishes.

The trick with using a food processor is not to over use it. I add the chocolate chips in this recipe a little later than I would in a stand mixer because I don't want to chips to be broken down too much. When making scones, the pulse button is your friend.

Makes 8 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 salt

3 tbsps unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375˙F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a Silpat)

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the food processor and pulse a few times to blend. Cut the butter into the flour.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and egg.

Turn on the food processor and dribble in about 1/2 the milk mixture.

Add in the chocolate chips and the rest of the milk. The moment the dough comes together stop the food processor.

Turn the dough out onto a cooking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Knead the dough a few times, then pat into a 1/2" thick circle. Cut the pie into 8 scones, only going about halfway down with the knife.

Bake at 375˙F for about 20 minutes.

I dropped the chicken

Thrifty Table — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:07:27 GMT

Sage roasted chicken with sweet potatoes

I spent a good deal of yesterday afternoon cleaning the kitchen. While my chicken roasted in the oven, I pulled out all the stops, cleaning everything but the inside of oven. Scrubbing every nook and cranny. It was like spring cleaning, without the springtime view.

Once I pulled out the chicken. It looked so juicy and delish that I ran for my camera so I wouldn't forget to take a picture. This happens all too often to me. I make something that looks pretty good (or maybe it doesn't) and I don't document it.

I actually have the same problem with everything, I just don't take enough pictures. Two adult kids? I only have only one album of pictures. Graduation day? 10 pictures. Maybe it's in part because they were times when we only had film cameras and developing photos was expensive. Who knows, but it has somehow carried over to this new era of picture taking.

Anyhow. So I run to get my camera, take a picture then start pulling pieces of the irresistible crispy skin off the chicken. I'm going for areas of the chicken skin where the sage is visible, devouring it like an animal, realizing that it's almost 5PM and I hadn't had any lunch yet. One thing leads to another and then entire thing ends up on the floor. Me, in irrational tears, mopping up the mess.

PDT: Bacon-infused bourbon

Thrifty Table — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:46:49 GMT

Please Don't Tell: Bacon-Infused Bourbon

First try: Soufflé

Thrifty Table — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 03:59:08 GMT

Fudgy Chocolate Soufflé

I've never made a soufflé before. I just never had the interest. No interest in baking one. No interest in eating one.

It did flop a little bit, but it was quite delicious.

Cooking Light Cookbook: Ham & Cheese Scones

Thrifty Table — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:35:20 GMT

Cooking Light: Ham and cheese scones

As a person who has always been "voluptuous" or the less sexy sounding, generously proportioned, I have been on almost every diet imaginable. My resolve to lose weight never lasts long because the food is either too fake (lot's of artificial sugars, use of margarine, etc) or just plain yucky. However, even though I am not on a diet, I turn to the Cooking Light Cookbook quite a bit. Most of the recipes include real food and use the "fatty" ingredients in limited/reduced quantities rather than reducing the quality.

I think the fun part is that the recipes have good bones and so I can easily adjust them to make them more pleasing to me, or make them more healthful (by adding in some whole wheat flour). One of my favourite recipes from the Cooking Light Cookbook is the Ham and Cheese Scones. The dough is prepared using buttermilk and extra sharp cheddar cheese, and they bake up fluffy and delicious.

Ham and Cheese Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup finely chopped 33%-less-sodium ham

3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk

2 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese and ham. Combine buttermilk and egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times with floured hands. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 8 wedges, cutting into but not through dough. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Momofuku MILK Bar Cookbook: Crack Pie

Thrifty Table — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:42:48 GMT

Momofuku MILK Bar Cookbook: Crack Pie

Anyone who knows me even a teenie-tiny bit knows that I don't follow recipes very often. As a single mother, I often just didn't have the money to go out and buy ALL the ingredients for a single recipe and as a result, I kind of rock at improvising and coming out with a fairly tasty product afterwards.

For Valentines I got the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi. It's a beautiful book with plenty of sexy sweets and some really interesting dialogue about Christina's own approach to baking; from techniques to equipment. She gets into how she believes that sifting is a waste of time for American cooking, I'll paraphrase at say she wrote. "we're not making temperamental, fussy French macarons". From what's essential to what might not be, just reading her rational, whether you agree or not, is entertainment enough.

I decided to make the Crack Pie first, mostly because I had all the ingredients on hand and I could get started right away. Crack Pie is pretty much a traditional Canadian butter tart filling in a 10" oat cookie pie crust.

Okay, I didn't have ALL the ingredients, I don't have freeze dried corn. Big whoop, I used a little more milk powder (I think that is how they adapted it at Martha Stewart as well). Other than that, I did follow all of the instructions though when the pie was ready to come out of the oven, it was no where near set. I baked it for another 5 minutes (as instructed) to no avail, but persisted anyhow and cooled it.

The pies turned out great. I kind of knew from the get go that this was very much going to be extremely sweet and I was not wrong. It is just shy of sickly sweet, but sickly sweet in a good way! Cue sugar high!

Momofuku Crack Pie (from the LA Times)

Cookie for crust

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (3 ounces) flour

Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar

3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar

1 egg

Scant 1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) rolled oats

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. With the mixer running, beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined. Stir in the oats until incorporated.

6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

Crust

Crumbled cookie for crust

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 1/2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). Divide the crust between 2 (10-inch) pie tins. Press the crust into each shell to form a thin, even layer along the bottom and sides of the tins. Set the prepared crusts aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar

3/4 cup plus a scant 3 tablespoons (7 ounces) light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon (3/4 ounce) milk powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

3/4 cup plus a scant 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 egg yolks

2 prepared crusts

Powdered sugar, garnish

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.

3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.

4. Divide the filling evenly between the 2 prepared pie shells.

5. Bake the pies, one at a time, for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown (similar to a pecan pie), about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.

6. Refrigerate the cooled pies until well chilled. The pies are meant to be served cold, and the filling will be gooey. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Restaurant review: Gerry's Delicatessen

Thrifty Table — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:15:00 GMT

This morning we were doing the rounds of secondhand shops and as we hadn't grabbed breakfast yet, we decided to head into this spot, just a few blocks from the Renaissance and Village des Valeurs.

Service was a little slow, but very friendly, and definitely nothing unreasonable. The menu offered your typical breakfast fare, with eggs, benedicts and pancakes. Nothing fancy, no s'mores pancakes, no spa benedict, no la-di-da, just simple food, done properly.

I had a bagel, ham and egg sandwich, and my friend order two eggs with brown bread toast. Everything came out within a reasonable time frame, what I ordered was as described, with a heaping helping of fries and a nice bowl of fruit.

The fries were pretty good. I am kind of a French fry purist, so I was hesitant about the coated thick cuts when they came out, but I rather liked them. The seemed a little like mashed potatoes inside a crunchy coating!

The coffee was passable, not very strong but 50% better than the coffee offered by most diners. The fruit salad was okay, I always appreciate a little banana and strawberry with breakfast - the token melons, I can do without.

There are no surprises here when it comes to breakfast, and that is just fine with me! Breakfast came to 15$, not a bad deal at all.

Gerry's Delicatessen

3982, Ontario East

514.254.1691

Lactaid: Will it save my mealtimes?

Thrifty Table — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:05:01 GMT

Buttered Popcorn Ice-Cream

It's been 2 weeks without lactose and I hate (but am happy) to say to it but I'm feeling much better. Less bloated. More energetic. Clearer. I'm really psyched to learn that I have a solution to problems that have plagued me for decades. I'm just hoping I don't have to go on this way, forever avoiding things like butter or whipping cream!

Today, I'm adding back products containing lactose, but I'm taking the precaution of taking Lactaid supplements beforehand. I guess, I am coming back to lactose with a vengeance, as I am making ice-cream. Who am I to resist the brilliant idea of making buttered-popcorn ice-cream? So, we'll see in the coming days how my body reacts to the lactose, and whether or not Lactaid actually helps.

Guest post: Nutella powder

Thrifty Table — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:40:00 GMT

Molecular gastronomy: Nutella powder