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CdnLifeguard

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Posts posted by CdnLifeguard

    The Coastal Gardening Topic

    in Western Canada: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    So with it already being the end of September and the weather is cooling suddenly, am I too late to get anything started on my apartment balconies? I have a small one on the south side of my apartment, sun blocked from the eat due to a wall, and north due to the building, but aside from the it gets a fair bit of sun. Also have another larger one on the west side which doesn't get as much sun, but atleast a few hours a day...

    Too late, or can I get anything going?

    Shane

    Openings and closings (2009– )

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Maenam the Thai replacement for Gastropod on W.4th (same chef/owners) officially opens for business Friday although they have been doing a soft opening the last couple of days.

    Have you been? Looks very promising.

    Yes, and it is.

    Very very enjoyable. Four of us dined on Saturday night and had a great time.

    Started with:

    Chicken satays - standard satay, but the peanut sauce was great!

    Hot and Sour seafood sour - Lovely slighty lemony flavor, light coloured but very falvour broth...very enjoyable, would get in an instand

    Pad Thai - Havn't had a lot of good phad thai's to compare to, but I loved it.

    David Thompson 3 flavour fish - exactly as the description, "equally sweet, salty and sour"

    Mussaman chicken - prety sure it was described as sort of sweet....sure it wasn't as spicy as the 3 flavour fish, but it wasn't really sweet. That being said, definately a great dish that I would order again and again.

    Of the 5 plates we tried, there is not one I wouldn't order again. I look forward to going again soon and working at the rest of the menu!

    Shane

    Food of the Maldives

    in Cooking

    Posted

    A couple months ago and few friends and I decided to expand our cooking abilities into alternate cuisines that we generaly touch upon. Out came a map on Google and with out eyes closed we all chose a country.

    So far I did Zambia, which went over very well, but next are the Maldives.

    With Zambia I was atleast able to find some recipes on net plus JasmineLL and gfron were both a wonderful help!. But with the Maldives, I am not having much luck....

    It's a Muslim country so there no pork or booze; as a island seafood is obviously the easiest choice.

    With it's proximity to India and Sri Lanka, there would be a large influence from there, plus it's relatively close to Madagascar also....But what is Maldavian food?

    I'm looking for a just a few dishes that would make up a relatively traditional meal in the Maldives.

    Any Maldavians out there that can help, it would be much appreciated!

    Vancouver/Western Canada Ingredient Sources Topic

    in Western Canada: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    It's not food, but any ideas on where to find a pizza peel?

    It's just for making pizza's at home, so no long handle is required.

    Thanks!

    And if you're lucky you can find the coolest version which is the Mario Battali pizza peel which features a swing out handle for compact storage. Seen them occasionally at Home Sense.

    Got it on the weekend! Works pretty good...Not bad for $25 from Home Sense

    Zambian Food

    in Middle East & Africa: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Thanks for the all more ideas Jasmine and gfron. Also, thanks for the pictures Jasmine, really cool to see.

    I think I have come up with my basic menu:

    Nshima (I mean, you can't have a meal without it!)

    Ifisashi

    Goat with tomato and onion (I just really want to cook goat!)

    I may do a chicken dish too, if some others ideas come up....

    Jasmine, you mentioned Purity brand wheatlets. Where can I find them here in Vancouver? Something I can get an Safeway/Save-On, or do I need to go somewhere a bit more specialized? For your Ifisashi, what type of greens do you use? In the markets here, all I ever really see is Kale.

    Also, if you can post your Ifisashi and Nshima recipies it would be much appreciated!

    Thanks for all the help so far!

    Zambian Food

    in Middle East & Africa: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by CdnLifeguard (log)

    Thanks for the quick response Gfron.

    I will let everyone know how it goes once the meal happens, and I will get some pictures posted.

    Next country we'll need help on will be The Maldives!

    ***Now that this has been moved to the Africa forum, if anyone else has any more input it would be appreciated!***

    Zambian Food

    in Middle East & Africa: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Gfron,

    I will definately have to do some searching for the perfect meal to make Nshima.

    You mentioned which is made from Cornmeal. Is this along the type of meal I should be looking for, something bigger with more distinct pieces, or should I be searching for more of a flour consintancy product? (Maize flour as I have read).

    We don't have a massive African population here in Vancouver (atleast that I have ever seen), but we do have one area that has a larger concentration, so I will check out a few Afro-groceries in the area and see what I can come up with.

    I don't think there will be any ants or grass hoppers served. Not that I would never try them, but I have no idea where one would find these products (aside from the local pet store).

    If you or your spouse can give me a recommendation on a meat dish also, it would be much appreciated. Don't really care what the meat is...

    Thanks so much

    Zambian Food

    in Middle East & Africa: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    So a few friends and I were sitting around last night and we got to talking about how we all want to expand our cooking horizons.

    I suggested we take a map, point randomly to country, and then we would each cook a meal based on the local cusine of the country we picked.

    We pulled out two relatively easy counties, Russia and New Zealand. But we also got The Maldives, and Zambia.

    I happily got Zambia, as I was hoping for something unquie like that.

    After much searching, I really couldn't find much on Zambian cuisine. I will do Nshima, which is a really thick (basically dough) maize flour porridge used for picking up and dipping in food. (It also seems to be the un-offical national dish). With the Nshima, I was to do a vegetarian and meat based stew/sauce (which they call Ndiwo). I found a recipe for Ifishashi which is basically greens in peanut sauce. But I am having troubles finding something very 'Zambian' or atleast central african that is a meat based dish. I don't have a huge preference to what the meat is: beef, chicken, goat, lamb. I would rather not do fish, as red meats are a bit more forgiving when cooking.

    If anyone can help me with some recipes and ideas it would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Here's a picture of Nshima in the top right, and a few different relishes/stews that would be traditionally be served. Thanks to Wikipedia!

    Nsima_Relishes.JPG

    Dine Out 2008 - The Reviews

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Last Thursday the SO and I went to Chambar to test out DOV.

    For $25, I have to say this was probably the best DOV value/experience.

    Reception was quick and curteous, though the dining area was quite packed. We were seated against the long side wall in the back where you have a banquet on one side of the table and chairs on the other side. With it being DOV it was very tightly packed and you couldn't really slip gracefully between your table and the next to get to the banquet. Not a really major issue, as it is DOV, but maybe one less table would have been great.

    To start we both had the corn and crab chowder. Sweet, slightly creamy. Maybe a bit short of crab bits, but overall a great start to the meal.

    For mains I had the braised shortrib and the SO had the mussels. The shortrib was tender and flavorful with mashed potatos and cranberry (? can't remember now) reduction.

    The SO mussels were GIANT. I couldn't believe how many mussels were in the pot. For a DOV meal I expected maybe 10 or so mussels. This dish must have had atleast 20 giant mussels. Flavorful slight spicy broth with tasty large mussels.

    We also shared some Pomme Frites, which were slightly crispy, nice and salty with a great mayo.

    For dessert, we had the Belgium Waffle with Ice cream and the Pot de Creme. Neither of the dishes were amazing, but again neither were bad. The Belgium waffle was a bit thick so it was difficult to cut gracefully.

    All in all, for $25 DOV, I was extremely impressed. Great food, nice sized portions and good service. This is a restaraunt I will for sure visit through the year after such a positive experience (Plus the giant beer list is nice!)

    Shane

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