Week 47: More Adventures in Cooking

Because I now cook, I try to cook at least one new thing every week.  Now, I'm not talking 5 star gourmet meals for 6.  Simply put, it could be a type of meat or fish, or even a single vegetable I've never made before.  It has been a good system because it keeps me challenged, interested, and continuously learning.  They haven't all been great successes but no big failures either.  Not yet have I  had to throw out food due to it being inedible.

One evening I had company for dinner.  Since my guest had an allergy to shellfish I had to scramble for protein to add to the meal.  All I could find in my tiny freezer was a single portion of stewing beef and a fourth of a President's Choice salmon wellington.  I decided to remove the "wellington" part and use the salmon instead.  That's why the salmon in the picture below is so minute.  I cooked some asparagus with the beef and salmon in a sauce pan on the stove.  The new items for me with this meal was the corn, which I baked in the oven, and the pesto macaroni.  The pesto sauce came from a jar, of course.  They were both delicious!  

Baked Corn, Pesto Macaroni, Asparagus, Salmon, Beef 

Here's another example of scrambling up a meal.  This time it was just for me.  I had to have something for dinner and needed to eat up a few items that were getting near expiry in the fridge.  So, I took the left-over ground beef and mixed it up with some asparagus, mixed frozen veggies and Thai sweet chili sauce.  It may not look overly appetizing, but I enjoyed it.

Ground Turkey, Asparagus, Frozen Corn/Carrots/Peas, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

One day at Loblaws I came across something interesting in the produce dept.  Sometimes they have ready-to-cook vegetables that have been washed, cut, and packaged up with cooking directions.  I had tried their squash once and it was really good, so I just had to try their rutabagas.  I had no idea what rutabagas are until I looked it up.  They are basically a type of Swedish turnip that began as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip.  I baked them in the oven hoping they'd turn out like the squash, but no such luck.  They don't taste anything like squash.  I ate them but I won't buy them again.  I never did like turnips much.

Rutabaga

Baked Rutabagas

I'm a big fan of asparagus and Thai sweet chili sauce.  I also think that it's always a good idea to have some frozen shrimp in the freezer for quick and easy stir-fries on a day when you've run out of time, ideas, or protein.  That's how the meal below came about.

Brown Rice, Asparagus, Shrimp

As I've stated before, I'm also a big fan of sauces.  I don't cook with much seasoning so a ready-made sauce is a perfect way for me to add various flavours to my meal.  You can basically eat around the world from a bottle or can of sauce from the ethnic section of your grocery store.  I really enjoy Indian food but there's so many spices and curries involved that I was quite concerned about how VH's Indian Market Butter Chicken cooking sauce would taste.  Anyway, I heated some up with chicken, eggplant, and of course rice and it was surprisingly tasty.  I bought a similar bottle of Thai cooking sauce but I haven't tried it yet.  I'm hopeful after this one's success.

Butter Chicken Sauce from Walmart

Brown Rice, Chicken, Eggplant, VH Butter Chicken Sauce

When I go grocery shopping I spend the most time carefully choosing my produce and meat for the week.  While searching for something interesting in the meat dept., I came across what I'd call a ready-to-cook pork roast.  It had been seasoned with herb and garlic and they were even kind enough to give me the cooking instructions.  It's like they knew I was coming!  I baked it as directed and it was good.  Don't you just love it when things are so simple?

President's Choice Herb & Garlic Pork Tenderloin

Cooked Pork Tenderloin

Have you ever had fiddleheads?  Fiddleheads are a type of young fern gathered as a vegetable.  Some people rave about them.  Being from New Brunswick where fiddleheads are commonly harvested, you'd think that I've had them before.  Well, if I have they were so great that I lost all recollection of the experience.  They had them at the grocery store so I bought some to try.  I looked up on line various ways to prepare and cook them and decided to go with boiling.  I learned that it's very important to wash and cook fiddleheads thoroughly to avoid getting ill.  Although I didn't have butter to put on top of them, I did use a bit of vinegar.  They basically tasted the way they look--green and blah.  They weren't disgusting but they're weren't great either.  I had some of that President's Choice pork roast to accompany my dinner.  I liked the pork better.  Don't you think the fiddleheads resemble green alien snails???

Fiddleheads & Pork Tenderloin

Week 46: Algonquin Provincial Park

Growing up in small-town New Brunswick, I feel as though I've had my fair share of rural experiences.    I enjoy the beauty and purity of nature, and the holistic sense of being a part of it.  However, I like nature on my terms.  For example, you couldn't pay me enough to go camping in the bush somewhere, or even in someone's backyard for that matter.  I know there are many people out there who are in love with it, and boast about how great the experience can be with all their high-tech camping equipment, blah, blah, blah.
Here are the reasons why I'm strongly against camping:
1.  Bugs!  I don't care what kind of super-duper netting you got at Mountain Equipment Co-op; they always find a way in.  And, who wants to coat their body with repellent DEET slime?  Not me.
2.  Sleep deprivation!  With a bad back, I struggle to sleep on top quality beds let alone a few inches of plastic or foam over a hill of rocks.
3.  No toilets!  What is a person supposed to do in the middle of the night to relieve themselves?  Venture into the wilderness only to be eaten alive by the bugs who are swarming outside your tent?  Not this girl.
The kind of nature I like to do is the one where you visit for the afternoon and then return to your comfy nearby hotel for the night.  You get the best of both worlds that way.  That was my plan for visiting Canada's oldest provincial park.

Algonquin Provincial Park is about a 3.5 hour drive north of Toronto.  It has over 2,400 lakes and is 1.5 times larger than Prince Edward Island.  Highway 60 runs through the southern part of the park linking the West Gate (nearest to Toronto) to the East Gate (nearest to Ottawa).  You can simply drive through the park for highway purposes only, or purchase a permit required for any stops along the way.  A day permit costs $14.16 plus tax.  You can get a ticket if you're caught stopped at any of the park's services along Hwy 60 without a permit.  The park offers many activities such as picnic grounds, campgrounds, day trails and overnight backpacking, lodging, restaurants, canoe and boat rentals, outfitting stores, bike trails, etc.  I like to hike so I decided to try one of their many interpretive day trails.  If you're really into hiking their overnight backpacking trails offer crazy distances from 19 km to 88 km.  Go, Hiking!  I chose a short 0.8 km trail not far from the West Gate called Hardwood Lookout. The trail was fairly easy and had a view of Smoke Lake.  I don't know what I really expected but it was certainly anti-climactic.  I had every intention to complete another day trail after lunch, but to be perfectly honest I was so bored out of my mind that I needed to escape.  Apparently there are common moose sightings in the park but I was not so fortunate.  I did, however, see a fox with a fresh kill of some kind of bird.  That was the highlight of my wildlife sightings.

Overall, Algonquin Provincial Park is a great place for those who love to be as far from the city and as close to the bush as possible.  It has all the trees, lakes, and bugs that anyone can ask for.  As for excitement?  Nil.  Oh well.  I can scratch another place off of my "TO DO - And Never Return To" list.

Week 45: Niagara Falls, USA

This past weekend was back to Buffalo, not really Buffalo but rather Niagara Falls, New York, for more time time to shop and explore.  And did I shop!  On Saturday I went to three malls and two huge department stores spending a total of approximately 12 hours shopping!!!  Even though I got several decent deals I still don't see what all the hoopla is about with cross-border shopping.  Only one mall is an outlet mall; the other two are regular malls and quite comparable to malls we have here in Toronto.  I began my shopping trek at Walmart, then Fashion Outlets mall, Boulevard Mall, Walden Galleria mall, and ended with Target.  I spent less than $70, excluding dinner, and bought sandals, shorts, 2 tops, and coffee.

Boulevard Mall

Exactly why there's an unused carousel in the Boulevard Mall food court is beyond me.

Walden Galleria Mall

This mall is the largest out of the three.  The only highlight here for me was dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  The menu was the size of a book.  It was my first time there and I really enjoyed their food.

Cheesecake Factory

Bang - Bang Chicken and Shrimp

Moroccan Chicken

Best Western Summit Inn

This was the hotel I stayed at for the night.  It was quiet, comfortable and included breakfast.  I would totally stay there again.

Niagara Falls State Park

After spending the entire Saturday shopping, it was a nice change of pace to head to Niagara Falls State Park and compare the US falls view to our Canadian side.  I started the park at Goat Island.  I was pleasantly surprised that parking was free and there was plenty of it.  Goat Island has several points of interest:  Terrapin Point, Top of the Falls Restaurant, Cave of the Winds, Three Sisters Island, Luna Island, and the Niagara Rapids.  Due to construction, Three Sisters Island, Luna Island, and Cave of the Winds were inaccessible.  Various viewpoints from the walk around the island were very scenic and picturesque.  They even offer a trolley to service those who do not or cannot walk around the park.  I believe the fee was $2/adult.  From Terrapin Point you can get an up close and personal view of the Horseshoe Falls.  For better views of the American Falls you need to face the Luna Island direction.

Niagara Scenic Trolley

Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls

American Falls

After completing Goat Island, I drove over to the mainland part of the park which hosts many more attractions.  First I went to Prospect Point.  Prospect Point is a walkway that travels alongside the rapids to the top of the American Falls.  Next, I went to the Observation Tower.  The fee to enter the observation deck is a nominal $1.  From the tower you get great views of both the American and Horseshoe Falls.  There's also an elevator that takes you down to the bottom of the gorge for people to board the Maid of the Mist and check out the Crows Nest which overlooks the American Falls from beneath.

View from the Observation Tower

Crows Nest

All Aboard the Maid of the Mist

Seneca Casino


I finalized my New York stay with a stop at Seneca Casino which is about a 10 min. walk from the falls.  I definitely would not say that I'm a gambler; I don't even buy lottery tickets.  However, it's always interesting to check out various casinos just for curiosity's sake.  I'm too intimidated to play any of the tables so on the odd occasion that I do gamble I tend to stick to the penny or nickel slots.  Here's the "funny" thing about penny slots.  These machines don't take coins.  The minimum cash even a penny slot machine will accept is $5.  Of course they'll also accept larger bills but nothing under $5.  Wait, because there's more.  You can't simply bet one penny each time you play either.  The minimum bet per game is 20 cents.  And that's just the penny slots!  It's quite the business they're running.  I decided to play one penny slot machine so I dropped the minimum five bucks and watched my money fly by in less than 5 minutes.  Don't worry though.  I did win a little.   Check out my winnings on the cashout voucher in the photo below.

Overall, I had a great time in Niagara Falls, New York.  I would totally recommend a night's escape out of the city for something a little different.  Just think, you might even win some cash like I did!

Week 44: Baking My First Pie

Isn't the aroma of freshly baked goodies heavenly?  I've often said that bakers create the most beautifully delicious food.  Whether you choose to taste them or simply enjoy their sweetly decadent scent and mouth-watering eye candy, baked goods are truly special.  That is unless it's this baker who's creating them.

Ever since I baked those muffins a while back I had set my mind on baking a pie.  Why pie?  Because I've never made a pie before.  Of course I didn't bake one from scratch.  That's simply not my personality, nor is it practical.  I knew the grocery stores sold canned pie fillings and ready-made pie crusts.  I figured it looked fairly easy.  The problem I had was that most pies require a top crust and they don't sell those parts.  I was going to make a pumpkin pie since it didn't need a top crust, but the can filling only contained pumpkin.  I'd have to get all the other ingredients and mix it together.  Way too much work!  My favourite pie is actually blueberry so it was the winning choice.  Plus, it has everything you need in one can, minus the crust.  And there was the crust problem once again.  The ready-made crust is a Graham cracker crust.  Someone once gave me a piece of pumpkin pie with this exact same crust and it was quite delicious.  However, I still needed a top crust for my blueberry pie.  I decided to buy a bag of Graham crumbs and try to cover the blueberry filling with a layer of Graham crumbs as a top crust.  I really had no idea what to expect, but it was the best I could come up with.  You have to be a little adventurous when cooking, right?  Anyway, I put the three together and baked my pie according to the instructions on the pie filling, 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is what my blueberry pie looked like upon completion directly from the oven:

This is what it looked like after I butchered it attempting to cut myself a slice to try:

And, this is what it looked like after sharing a piece with my informal food critic:

She thought it was pretty good.  To be honest, I kinda enjoyed it too.  The downside is that it looks so rugged and unappealing.  Rugged isn't really a baker's adjective of choice.  Oh well.  I guess its taste is more important than its appearance.  It's like they say, "You can't judge a book (pie) by its cover (ruggedness)."