The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

This is one of those seasonal recipes I’ve been wanting to make for quite a while. I can’t remember where I first saw these but I do remember thinking that I should have thought of this idea before. More specifically, this should have been my invention.

Does that ever happen to you?

For me this is almost a daily occurrence, which is something I probably shouldn’t be admitting. Instead of thinking wow that’s really creative of that person to think of that amazing use for eggshells, I think I can’t believe that wasn’t my idea. I also then decide that I will not be attempting this great idea in the near future. No what’s worse, is I generally follow this with a lengthy sulking period, during which time I refuse to attempt said great idea and put my best effort forward convincing myself that the idea is in fact pretty annoying.

Terrible I know.

I’ve been hearing the praises of oatmeal for breakfast for many a year, starting from childhood, and have successfully managed to ignore or at least fain disinterest. While I was attracted to the health benefits and the possibility of staying full for longer than I was used to,  I suppose it was more out of a bored feeling I would get at the thought of reintroducing this into my breakfast routine.

You see, my childhood was one that was over populated by bowls of bland oatmeal. Even though there was plenty brown sugar and milk available to perk it up, it was never enough to get me excited about eating in the mornings. I remember begging my mother for anything but oatmeal for breakfast, followed by several dramatic demonstrations of my dislike once I didn’t get my way.  I also remember that I secretly thought it wasn’t terrible when I eventually did eat it, because I must confess I’ve never been one to starve myself even out of protest. Yet despite not hating it completely, like I wanted people to think, it didn’t inspire me or get me excited like I thought all food should. To be quite honest it still doesn’t.

I don’t know about you, but I have an extremely hard time straying away from my everyday salad dressing for my everyday salad. For the past 10 years or so I have been simply mixing some good olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice, a smashed garlic clove and sea salt and after allowing the garlic to infuse the oil for a few minutes, tossing this with whatever greens I have on hand.

Easy and delicious.

The simplicity of this dressing has always pleased me. It’s easy but don’t be fooled into thinking this makes it ordinary in any way. The only thing you have to remember is to use good olive oil and not be afraid to season it with sea salt. I won;t get started on this last point. This dressing gets all sorts of complements too, which is even more satisfying because when someone asks you what is on this fabulous salad dressing you can simply say ” just a little olive oil and lemon juice” and you wouldn’t be stretching the truth too much.

Mussels are truly one of my favorite things to eat. They are nostalgic of course, conjuring up memories of those impossibly perfect moules frites down the cost in the south of France. They are perfect for a light spring dinner and we are so lucky to have such an abundance of them in the pacific north west.

This recipe is so simple. In an effort to keep it healthy I decided to skip my usual lardons and cream for a lighter and perhaps a bit more subtle tomato white wine sauce.

Another great thing about mussels is they are absolutely easy to make, there is really nothing to be afraid of and once you understand a few basic things about preparing them, the flavor possibilities are endless.

There are really only a few things you need to know before you start:

Now these may look like your regular scrambled eggs, but my dear friends, they most definitely are not. No, these eggs are completely different, they are soft, creamy and are almost nothing like the standard north American scrambled fare. I’m sure there are many of you who have had the French version of this classic and ever since I first attempted this slow cooking process with my eggs years ago, I have not looked back.

This is one of those times where it just made sense. I was never a fan of scrambled eggs. I would see my friends eating them and wonder what it was about them that they fancied. Or whether they were just satisfied with mediocrity. In my experience scrambled eggs are dry, relatively boring and a sure way to ruin a great farm egg or render your average egg completely inedible. Sure you can add other flavors and dress them up but underneath it all I fell like you should be able to enjoy the egg itself, not simply use it as a flavorless vehicle on which to add a whole bunch of ciaos.

A bit crazy? Yes I am.

I’m back and extremely relieved about it. There’s something very unsettling about the past few weeks, wanting desperately to write but feeling like I can’t possibly do that without the accompanying photos. For those of you that don’t know, I had the misfortune of losing my camera charger few weeks ago and after finally giving up the search for it, during a particularly spazy moment (I’m good at those) I ordered another one on ebay without bothering to check the country of the seller.Ugh.

I was just so desperate to regain the use of my camera that it never even occurred to me that there may be people from from Singapore in the generic camera accessory market. Who would have thought? I know, stupid me but sort of typical of the way a tend to flail about in moments of panic.

As I wait not so patiently for my new camera battery charger to arrive in the mail so I can get back into regular posting, I thought I would publish a quick overview of my current 5 favorite Vancouver brunch spots. I maybe should have titled this post as Top 5 Gastown brunch spots because the majority of my picks come from in and around the neighborhood where I live.

1. Cafe Medina

Yeah I know, predictable right? As far as I’m concerned this is the best brunch that Vancouver has to offer. Apart from offering a very unique Mediterranean menu and the best waffles this city has to offer they also actually serve great coffee. If you’re adventurous try the lavender latte, it’s delicious!

556 Beatty Street
Vancouver, BC V6B2L3, Canada
(604) 879-3114

Brunch is served from 8 to Noon Weekdays and 9 to 3pm Weekends.

http://www.medinacafe.com/

We are finally back in our apartment after a month in boxes and I couldn’t be more happy. There’s still a lot of unpacking to do but we should be back to normal this weekend, which means that I will be posting more regularly again in the very near future.

Anyway, I made zucchini sticks! The healthy kind. And they rocked!

These little babies are a quick fix when there’s nothing much left in the kitchen. It’s also a recipe I find myself making quite often. For some reason it’s invariably the zucchini’s that are left in my fridge at the end of the week. I suppose  this is because historically I’ve never really been a huge zucchini fan. There’s something about cooked zucchini that’s never appealed to me and I can identify a few traumatic situations involving ratatouille as a child, or should I say extremely overcooked zucchini mush.

(Don’t worry Mom, I’m not referring to any meal you prepared. I promise.)

I guess that’s what turned me off, this is not a vegetable that lends itself well to long cooking times. I know people, there are a few exceptions to this and I assure you I’m just as much a fan of zucchini bread and other cake like zucchini applications. Obviously. I just find that for the most part, I prefer zucchini raw or just slightly cooked.