Ratatouille With Salmon

I literally dumped almost all the veggies in my fridge into one pot and called it ratatouille! On the plus side, there's only 2 tablespoons of oil in the whole dish which makes it super low fat (which is a bonus considering I'm trying to lost weight for my sister's wedding in August!).




Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper
4 fresh basil leaves
2 salmon filets

1. Heat your pan with olive oil.
2. Dice all your veggies while you wait for your pan to heat up and throw in all your veggies in this order: onions, carrots, garlic, eggplant, zucchini & tomatoes.
(I also had mushrooms but my pot was pretty darn full so I left them out)
3. Saute for about 5 minutes, add in your tomato paste, chicken stock and dried herbs. Cook on medium-low for about 10-15 minutes.
4. When your ratatouille is done and your veggies are soft, place your seasoned salmon onto and cook for about 5 minutes with the lid on. When your five minutes are up, turn off heat and let sit for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Check everything for seasoning and enjoy!

6. Oh! I almost forgot about the basil, tear and stir into the vegetables before you serve your meal.

Bonnie Gordon Cake Show 2011

http://www.thecakeshow.com/

Bonnie Gordon College had their annual cake show last Sunday at Artscape Wychwood Barns (Downtown), I didn't really know what to expect since it was my first time going but I was still super excited.

Here are just some of the cakes from design competition (by students, armatures, professionals). The theme this year was "Four seasons", you could either focus on just one season or all four seasons but honestly some of the cakes were just pretty cakes and I didn't really see any of the theme portrayed.


They also had a bake sale and some of the proceeds go towards the confectionery arts bursary fund. So knowing me and my sister we would never pass up on a bake sale! Cupcakes: $3, french macarons: $2 and gourmet cookies: $2.


Yellow: Passion fruit Pink: Chocolate hazelnut
The passion fruit macaron was AMAZING! It was so good my mom even asked for more (and she doesn't even like sweet stuff). The chocolate hazelnut was good but not outstanding.


Left: Carrot cake w/ cream cheese frosting Right: Red velvet with cream cheese frosting
I LOVE carrot cake and I will always order it if it's on the menu, this one was super most and carrot-y and not too spiced (loads of cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) but I thought the frosting was a little too sweet for my liking. My sister loved the red velvet but I thought it was too sweet.

These are the cakes that won prizes.
People's Choice


Most Innovative


Grand Prize


To be honest I don't think I would go to another cake show, it was kind of boring (I have an attention span of a 3 year old) and super crowded. It's a good experience to see all the talent in Toronto and I definitely think if you're into the whole cake decorating thing you should check it out at least once.

Banana Bread

This probably one of the first things I can remember my mom ever teaching me how to bake! It's super easy to whip up and it's great in cupcake or muffin form too!

I'll type up the recipe later.

Sugar Tiers

Sugar Tier
735 Markland Street Unit 4
Markham, ON
www.sugartier.com

The store opened up about 1 year ago and it's super close to my house, literally a 5 minute walk from my house. I wouldn't really call it a pastry shop since they mostly sell specialty cake/pastry decorating supplies. They do have a little display case with a few items and an assortment of Asian inspired macaroons. I really liked the macaroons here and honestly I'm not a big fan of macaroons.


Going clock wise starting from the top left: Orange Earl Grey, Taro, Sesame & Lychee.

I LOVED the lychee & sesame and everyone NEEDS to try them!
Man, I could go for some macaroons right about now! Too bad they're closed :(

Pesto pasta with Seared Duck Breast

Sorry for the long over-due posts, to be honest I just kind of forgot about blogspot but I'm back! :)

I actually made this probably two weeks ago for just my mom and I. It's pretty easy and quick.

Ingredients:
3-4 tablespoons pesto
1 duck breast
1 lb linguini (or any other pasta you prefer)
Salt & pepper



1. Boil pasta according to the directions on the package, usually takes 8 - 12 minutes.

2. Season with salt & pepper and score the fat on the duck breast so the fat can render more easily.

3. Put your pan on high, let it get pretty hot and place the duck breast fat side down. I seared it on it's fat side for about 5-6 minutes (or until golden brown), turned it to sear the other side. Place it in a 350F oven for about 6-8 minutes for medium.

4. When your pasta is cook, drain it and in the same pot scoop your pesto in and stir until each strand is covered.

5. Let the duck breast rest for about 5 minutes before slicing it.



To be honest I don't like duck breast so I actually just ate one piece foe dinner and a whole lot of pasta! Ha!

Failed Green Tea Macarons

LOOK AT THEM, YOU CAN ALMOST SEE THEIR FEET!


Probably going to try again tomorrow or later this week but either way they still taste delicious!

Ambiyan

Ambiyan, The Indian Experience
149 Main Street
Unionville, ON
http://www.ambiyan.com/

A bunch of us came here for Kevin's belated 22nd birthday dinner, kudos to Kevin for making such a great choice!
I think Ambiyan is fairly new considering I haven't even seen it there or haven't noticed it but anyways you don't have to worry about parking because there's a parking lot 2 minutes away from the restaurant. Even before walking in you could smell delicious Indian food from half a block away (I would know cause Jess and I kind of got lost and I just used my great sense of smell and I followed my nose right to the door of the restaurant!) and as soon as you walk in you get a really warm cozy feeling (It's so intimate).


Complimentary Mango Lassi Shots!


Beef Samosas, $8
Katie, Jess and I we're shafted to our own table because we were late...but it was still super great. We shared Beef Samosas that were served with mint yogurt chutney, deee-ricious!

Cherry also gave us a piece of her Tandoori Chicken Tikka, $13 and it was SO good, it was so moist and flavourful considering it was chicken breast! [no pic.]


Butter Chicken (Chicken breasts in tomato infused sauce), $15
I love Butter Chicken and it's usually what I get whenever I get Indian food! It was really good, the chicken was really tender (they use chicken tenders) and it wasn't too salty or oily. The portions are pretty large too, some of the other Indian restaurants Ive been to I had to dig through the sauce just to find some chicken but this was was pact full! (Jess got this too and I'm sure 3 more people at the other table did too!)


Lamb Shank Roganjosh (lamb stewed with red chili, Kashmiri spices & royal cumin), $16
Katie got this, I tried some but I'm not a big fan of lamb but I guess it was alright. She finished all of it though.


Buttered Naan (Traditional naan dough baked in the tandoor), $2.50
Between the three of us we shared two orders (4 pieces) but I think one order would've been sufficient because we didn't even touch the last piece and I couldn't even finish all mine!


The food was really good, the atmosphere was really nice but our waiter was kind of weird but Ambiyan will sure be seeing me again!