BBQ Salmon and Veggie Stir Fry

I’m in the mood for veggies and protein this week.  The salmon, I improvised with onion jam, apricot red pepper jelly and some orange marmalade.  The sweetness of the glaze compliments the salmon nicely. Instead of the oven, I had hubby throw it on the grill for 25 minutes. The stir fry is centered around the mixed bean sprouts, which help fill you up with protein. They are a combination of mung beans, red & green lentils, green peas, garbanzos & adzuki beans.

Festive Roast Party Salmon

Stir Fry Veggies

I used whatever I have available, but prefer to use veggies that are sturdy and can stand up to high heat.

  • kale, chopped
  • celery and carrots, diced
  • Eatmore mixed bean sprouts, package
  • grape tomatoes, package,
  • red onion, diced
  • garlic, chopped
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sushi vinegar, Maggi sauce, chili & garlic sauce, sesame oil

Heat a couple tablespoons of grapeseed oil on medium high in a wok. Add garlic and saute until just starting to brown.  Add all the veg except sprouts and tomatoes. Cook until just starting to brighten in color. Add rest of veg. Season to taste with any combination of sauces. Turn off heat and add sesame oil.

Festive Roasted Salmon with Stir Fry Veggies
Festive Roasted Salmon with Stir Fry Veggies

Death by Black Forest Trifle

Office potluck lunch. Yeah sometimes I throw it all out the window. This is one of the most processed, unhealthy things I’ve eaten.   Thank goodness I had other people to consume it. Apparently, it’s bowl licking good.

Death By Chocolate Trifle

9×9”  baked chocolate cake (devil’s food), cut in small pieces (Duncan Hines needs 3 eggs)

Cool Whip, large container (works better than store brand) plus extra

2 pkgs prepared Oetker chocolate mousse

Skor bars, frozen and broken up, or ½ pkg Skor bits and Callebault chocolate, broken up

Generous handful  Callebault chocolate shavings for garnish

  1. Place in layers in large glass bowl or trifle dish:
    1. Chocolate cake
    2. Chocolate mousse
    3. Skor bars or Skor bits and chocolate
    4. Cool Whip
  2. Repeat layers until bowl is full (2 layers)
  3. Garnish top layer with chocolate shavings
  4. Chill until served.

Black Forest Variation

Add cherry pie filling after the chocolate cake layer but before the Cool Whip

trifle and I
About to devour the Black Forest Trifle

Heuvos Rancheros

Thought I’d send hubby off to work with a nice breakfast this morning. I had learned to make some Mexican food from scratch many moons ago. Found a recipe for hand made tortillas in the back of my recipe binder.  Tastes so much better than store bought ones. Also dug out the homemade salsa we canned in September. Delicious.

Homemade tortillas
Homemade Tortillas
Heuvos Rancheros Homemade flour tortilla, homemade salsa, organic eggs, Spragg's Hawaiian sausage, avocado, sour cream, chives and cara cara orange slices
Heuvos Rancheros
Homemade flour tortilla, homemade salsa, organic eggs, Spragg’s Hawaiian sausage, avocado, sour cream, chives and cara cara orange slices

Oriental Palace

It’s Friday night and there’s no food in the fridge. Still looking for a good Chinese delivery. Decided to try Oriental Palace as the ratings on Urbanspoon were very good. Ordered at 6:30, told the wait was an hour. Reasonable. We were about to call them again after an hour and a half. Then it arrived.

The food was pretty good. It was hot, tasted fresh; was not over salted or greasy.  We ordered grilled pork and vegetable dumplings, three kinds of seafood with bean curd hot pot and stir fried mixed vegetables. Being cheap, I made my own steamed rice while waiting. The dumplings I could tell were from frozen and commercially made. The wrappers were thick. The  Szechuan chili oil was a nice touch. Both the seafood and stir fry were tasty although there was more bean curd than seafood.

I can forgive the transgressions with the food but not the delivery time. Better to tell us an hour and a half rather than an hour. Will look for amother Chinese delivery.

Oriental Palace on Urbanspoon

Calypso's Taverna

Ah, Calypso’s.  This would be my second visit after a memorable first one a couple years ago. Some of us were quite hungry as we had spent a few hours in the climbing gym.   We ordered the appetizer platter which advertised for two, but big enough for the four of us. It came with calamari, poseidon garithes, spanakopita, soutzoukakia, tzatziki and pita. It was very filling and delicious.  I had the Kleftiko, which is slow roasted lamb shank.  It was some of the best lamb shank I’ve ever had. They also had a roasted suckling pig as a special. I would have liked to try that too.

The service is not boring.  Very Greek I assume. It was attentive, but not overbearing.  Be prepared to eat or take it home as the portions are substantial. Has all the trappings of a family run restaurant.  One of those gems that should eventually catch the eye of shows such as You Gotta Eat Here!

KleftikoTry out house specialty. Lamb slowly roasted to perfection
Kleftiko
Try out house specialty. Lamb slowly roasted to perfection
Appetizer Platter for TwoCalamari, poseidon garithes, spanakopita, soutzoukakia, tzatziki and pita
Appetizer Platter for Two
Calamari, poseidon garithes, spanakopita, soutzoukakia, tzatziki and pita

Calypso's Taverna on Urbanspoon

French onion soup

I got bored of the usual, so I decided to make french onion soup. In a slow cooker. Because I am lazy. It still took 30 minutes to brown the onions! Well more because food in a slow cooker has better flavor. Anyways… Excuse the Chinese soup bowl but I should get some proper French onion soup bowls. Apparently, it is a meatless dish, usually served with a green salad. I had some sugar snap peas that I had to use, so I stir fried them with bacon and onions. Tasty.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-french-onion-soup/

French Onion Soup Emmental, Gruyere, Parmesan cheese on whole wheat baguette with sugar snap peas and bacon
French Onion Soup
Emmental, Gruyere, Parmesan cheese on whole wheat baguette with sugar snap peas and bacon

Big Catch

With a name like that I would expect big things. Well, it is a small food stand in the Kingsland Farmers Market. But the sushi is big restaurant quality. I had the Nine One One roll, which was crunchy wonton bits and tuna topped with salmon, fire sauce, tobiko, green onion and cayanne pepper. It is normally ridiculously hot but I had them turn it down to medium. They take the time to prepare it right, so they sent me off with a pager so I could shop while I waited. When I came back, my roll was artfully presented, completed with vegetable flowers on a nice plate. If it weren’t for the plastic tray (and the seating) I would have thought I was in a nice restaurant. One of the owners works full time in IT and does this on the side. I suspect they are going to open a real restaurant at some point. If not, I think they should.

I did take a photo, but my phone is on the fritz. At some point I will upload the picture.

Big Catch on Urbanspoon

Brunch at the Banff Springs Hotel

Ahhh…. Sunday brunch at the Banff Springs Hotel. An institution in Banff. I have partaken a few times over the years, the last being several years ago. The first time was memorable.  It was held upstairs in Rundle Hall, not in the Bow Valley Grill as it is today.  I also remember at least six types of smoked salmon. I’ve also seen the price start at twenty eight dollars  and grow to it’s current fifty something per person. The last time I visited, there was a noticeable decrease in food quality.

Today, reminded me of my early visits. The food is exceptional and so is the variety.  I really enjoyed the cooked vegetables, especially the asparagus wrapped with bacon.  I dislike brussels sprouts, but these roasted ones were delicious. I also sampled some roast lamb and veal. The baked brie with accompanying compote was a delight. Also loved the large dessert selection.  For a buffet, everything was presented on family style platters and arranged beautifully.  For a special occasion, well worth a visit.

Bow Valley Grill (Banff Springs Hotel) on Urbanspoon

Sleeping Buffalo Restaurant and Lounge

We stayed at the Buffalo Mountain Lodge this weekend. That is one of my favorite places to stay in Banff and the Sleeping Buffalo one of my favorite places to eat. We had the breakfast buffet before our ski. I certainly ate nineteen dollars worth of food. There was eggs benny, thick cut french toast, bacon, pork sausage, fried keilbasa, roaated potatoes and all sorts of other delights. We went back for dinner. The portions were just right, not oversized. Even for a couple of hungry skiers. I love Rocky Mountain cuisine, especially with wild game. CRMR also owns properties and restaurants in Emerald Lake, Lake Louise, and of course The Ranche in Calgary, where we had our wedding reception.

They were booked full for dinner, so we went early to the lounge.  It was not crowded at all, and ordered from the restaurant menu.

Carpaccio Ranch Elk Tenderloin, Preserved Wild Mushrooms, Sicilian Olives, Padano, Rosemary Honey
Carpaccio
Ranch Elk Tenderloin, Preserved Wild Mushrooms, Sicilian Olives, Padano, Rosemary Honey
ravioli
CRMR Ranch Elk Shank Ravioli
Wild Mushrooms, Madeira Braised Pearl Onions, Dill Creme Fraiche
apple tart tatin
Warm Apple Tarte Tatin
Candied Walnuts, Cider Coulis, Cinnamom Ice Cream
chocolate dessert
Chocolate Hazelnut Mocha Cake
Vanilla Hazelnut Toffee Ice Cream

Sleeping Buffalo Restaurant & Lounge on Urbanspoon

Coyotes Southwestern Grill

This would be the second time that I’ve visited Coyotes. Their food is really good.  We got into Banff late and I was looking for lighter dinner options. I started with the sweet potato and corn chowder. It reminded me of butternut squash soup. I like the way it was served; with the sauce in a pattern. Hubby had the Southwest smoked salmon sushi roll. I ordered an appetizer for my main, the oven baked quesadilla. It was delicious. Hubby had the grilled AAA Alberta beef tenderloin. He enjoyed his dish, but thought they were a little heavy handed with the bearnaise sauce. I really like their food; it tastes fresh and healthy.

Grilled AAA Alberta Beef TenderloinTopped with a green chile bearnaise sauce
Grilled AAA Alberta Beef Tenderloin
Topped with a green chile bearnaise sauce
Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder
Garnished with chile paint and sour cream
quesadilla
Oven baked quesadilla
With cilantro pesto, goat cheese, grilled shrimp and mango salsa

The only downside was that we’re pretty sure the diners a table away from us had body odour problems.  It became apparent, the change in the air quality when they left. Fortunately, the nice aromas from our meals masked it.

Coyotes Southwestern Grill on Urbanspoon