This was dinner one night last week. Curried potatoes, steak and salmon, beet greens with ginger and fresh garlic, dayglo beets, carrots and squash. Pretty tasty. Everything except the salmon and ginger is local.
Billingsgate Lighthouse Cafe
I’ve known about this place for a while, but just got around to trying it. Billingsgate Fish Co. has both a seafood market and a diner. Their fresh sea food in the market is superb. I brought home oysters in the shell and pickeral. The cafe is a nice idea, you can pick anything from the market and they will cook it for you. This is mostly a fried fish kind of a place. My friend had the Boston clam chowder. I sampled it, it was good, but had a strong flavor of tarragon. I find tarragon to be pretty overpowering and should be used sparingly.
We shared the crab cakes which tasted house made. Very good. The oysters in the burger were plump and delicious, but they spent too much time in the deep fryer and were dark brown. Same with the fries. For a diner, I think its’ good value. I would come back if only for the freshness of the seafood.
This Week's CSA Delivery
Got there a little late this week, so a little short on choice. Swiss chard, cucumbers, two kinds of zucchini squash, rainbow carrots, potatoes and garlic. Looking like salad and Shepard’s Pie kind of a week.
Big Fish Dockside
Where in landlocked Calgary, can you find good seafood? Big Fish! This would be the second time I’ve visited, and it won’t be the last. If you like oysters on the half shell, Mondays are two for one. We made a raid on them. Their fish dishes were perfectly cooked, and full of flavor. We also had dessert. The Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie with Praline Vanilla Bean Mousse and Caramel was sooo good! Holiday Monday, we practically had the restaurant all to ourselves. We had a diverse group (including a gluten free diner) and our server was very patient with offering menu suggestions. Will return to sample more of the menu.
They source what they can locally and the fish… well it’s pretty fresh.
Ox and Angela
Went to Ox and Angela for dinner. Beautiful night, sat on the patio and watched the traffic go by on 17th Ave. I really like the idea of tapas. Order a couple of dishes, sip on your drink, chat, eat. Order a second round, do the same. Then a third. We finished our meal with the salads.
The food was really good. Enjoyed the bruschetta and clam dishes. Loved the scallops. Thought the asparagus was tasty, but a bit on the greasy side. Surprised with the salad. The vinaigrette had a touch of sweetness which I appreciated. The zucchini could have had more flavor but I did enjoy all the manchego that came with it. Their food is locally sourced, with organic and naturally raised ingredients. Tomatoes come from Broxburn Farm and the beef is Spring Creek Ranch.
The service was very good. They tried not to be too intrusive, we were really engaged with our conversation. The type of service where they give you fresh dinnerware and cutlery between courses.
I would recommend this place for a date. Well, outside anyway. A casual, kind of a date. Or the place to catch up with friends if you haven’t been in a while.
This week's CSA delivery
I don’t have much time for cooking these days, but I do have time to post about my latest CSA delivery. Kohlrabi, some nice sized carrots, lettuce, a giant, round zucchini, dill, red and white potatoes and a sunflower.
This time, I’m going to stir fry the kohlrabi leaves now that I know they are edible. Thinking some carrot, beet and dill soup to freeze for later as I still have last week’s carrots and beets to use. The zucchini… maybe I’ll make it into a cake or something.
This Week's CSA Delivery
This week, we have mixed greens, beets, carrots, potatoes, kohlrabi, fresh garlic, chives and a sunflower. Looks like a warm beet salad and stir fried beet greens kind of a week.
CSA Delivery – Catching Up
Was away for part of last week, so didn’t get a chance to post or cook. Threw together some oven roasted veggies cut into wedges. Potato, turnip, beets, kohlrabi, fresh garlic seasoned with fresh cilantro, chipotle seasoning, chili powder, smoked salt, black better and olive oil. Delish. More of a fall dish, but made the best of what I had.
Pizza
Ah, my pizza technique is improving. Managed to get the dough in some places as thin as a cracker. Didn’t proof it in the oven, definitely less air bubbles. Have to work on making a circle though. Topped with naturally raised ground beef, mushrooms, pesticide free yellow pepper, mushroom, pesticide free tomato, red onion, sorrel, freshly picked basil, dried oregano and stretchy mozzarella.
This Week's CSA Delivery
This week, I got: sorrel, carrots, red potatoes, mixed greens, garlic scapes, cilantro and a sunflower. They were out of bok choy. Looks like more garlic roast potatoes and salad. Last week I made a nice salad with the beets, horseradish and a whatever veggies I had in the fridge.
Here are the lilies from last week in full bloom. I asked and they are not edible, but rather poisonous. Good thing they didn’t make it to the stir fry. That’s the basil I got two weeks earlier. Doing quite well, I’ve been pruning it for my marinara sauce. The spider plant however, is doing poorly. I suspect it did not like the food spikes I gave it.