A quick dinner of sesame noodles and some group dynamics

Ramen-type noodles with carrot, edamame, fried tofu and boiled egg. The dressing was tahini, cider vinegar and sesame oil. A recipe from Canadian Living that I had bookmarked.  I’d make it again. It appeals to my inner food-geek that it has 3 types of soy (sauce, tofu and fresh) and 2 types of sesame.

I went to the second meeting of the climate change group last night. It’s interesting to observe group dynamics. Everyone has their own idea of the one way that we should organize and move forward. I’ll give it another shot before I make up my mind on long term participation. It’s good to get to know some folks regardless of the impact on the climate. (20 sleeps til woodstove).  

They taste like more

I bought Andrea Nguyen’s cookbook Asian Tofu when it came out a couple of years ago and i use it fairly often – last night it provided the perfect dinner suggestion. Spiced Chickpea Crepes with Soybean Paneer. The ‘crepes’ are really simple  – just chickpea flour, rice flour, spices and water to make a thin batter and the filling only took a couple of minutes to put together. The recipe makes it sound like more bother than it is.

 

I added some nectarine chutney from that batch I made back in the summer (ahhh…summer….) and some of my homegrown sprouts – a mix of clover, radish and fenugreek. These pics are actually fom the leftovers I had at lunch today becuase last night I ate before I ever managed to get the camera out.

A couple of recipe notes in case you decide to make these. “Soy paneer” is just firm tofu. You cold just as easily use real paneer (Indian fresh cheese) or any cheese or no cheese at all. They are very much like a soft taco – except that the combination of chickpea flour with rice flour means that the crepe itself is a complete protein.

 

An eventful week and some food.

All is unfolding as expected on the reno front – 2 weeks to go until they start and for the most part the loose ends are taken care of. I ended up getting the slate, ordering travertine for the backsplash and finding a Venmar range hood dealer in Eganville. I also got handles for the cupboards from Lee Valley. The appliances were delivered last week. The stove is in my living room and the fridge is in the middle of the kitchen.

A warm potato and lentil salad sounded good in the blog post but I didn’t execute it very well. It was mushy. It did however make excellent breakfast potatoes, fried to crisp in butter.

I used to make this years ago. Puy lentils cooked with ginger garlic chili cumin turmeric lime preserved lemon and coconut milk.  I used to add boiled eggs but I didn’t this time. Nowhere near authentic anything, but really really good.

.And an interesting pot of baked beans rounded out the week.

Brr

It’s minus 27 and I just got in from. A walk downtown. Hot cocoa with real cocoa and real milk seemed appropriate.  And 28 sleeps still until the wood stove gets installed. An opportunity to live in the moment. One step at a time. 

A suggestion and an update.

I read the Northwest Edible Life blog regularly. The blogger Erica writes about things that make sense to me in a very straightforward, practical way. Her most recent post “Three Steps To Reduce Your Consumption” pretty much aligns exactly with my way of living – or at least with my values. You may find this to be an interesting read. http://www.nwedible.com/2014/01/reduce-your-consumption.html

On the home front, things are progressing well. Cabinets are being built in the shop, the counter has been ordered,  hardware has been ordered (crap cabinet handles can be expensive!), appliances are on the verge of being delivered (hopefully I can delay them a bit or they will be sitting in the middle of my living room for a month)  and demolition work will start in my house in about 2 weeks (wee delay due to uncontrolable circumstances.) I managed to find lights for over the peninsula while I was in Ottawa and slate tile for under the woodstove but no luck on the backsplash yet. Next up, I need to source an exhaust hood . A company in Quebec called Venmar seems to be a likely source if I can find a dealer in Renfrew County.

I’ve been planning this kitchen reno in my head for over 10 years now.  It’s nice to be finally moving forward with it.  I’ll get some “before pics” up here soon before the demo starts.

All Pho is not created equal (Apparently I’m spoiled)

I’m in Ottawa for a day of shopping – in particular lights and a backsplash for the kitchen. So far no luck. The helpful saleswoman at EPSTORE suggested that I take pictures and then let my wife decide. I’ll get right on that.

A quick stop for lunch at Mr. Pho on Robertson reminds me that not all Pho is created equal. 

It’s definitely passable but no where near the quality of Pho Dau Bo in Kitchener. I didn’t realize it at the time but I was definitely spoiled by it. In comparison, these noodles were flabby and the broth lacked depth.  I’ll have to make a point off going to PDB next time I’m in the neighbourhood.

Noodles

Fresshly made lamb stock. Fine wheat noodles. Cabbage. Poached eggs. Ginger. Soy.