Roasted Vegetable Bread Pudding

1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 head of broccoli
1/4 head of cauliflower
10 pearl onions
6 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

6 eggs
1 cup milk

3/4 loaf of bread

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven  to 350F.

Cut and add all vegetables and garlic to casserole dish. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and drizzle with olive oil. Cover and roast, about 35-40 minutes, until tender.

Cut bread into bite sized pieces. Add eggs and milk to food processor and blend until mixed. Add cooked vegetables to mixture. Pulse mixture until vegetables are smaller but still chunky. 

Pour vegetable and egg mixture back into casserole dish. Add bread. Stir to coat bread well. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350F or until inserted knife comes out clean. Sprinkle cheese on top during last 10 minutes of baking. 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I have known about steel cut oats for a while now but did not buy some until recently. I have made them on the stove top, which takes almost an hour so the mornings need to be pretty organized for that to take place.

I set my slow cooker up last night and had breakfast ready for the entire family at 6 o'clock this morning. Darcy took his to eat at work and Calista and I ate breakfast before leaving the house.

I also brought some for lunch. Calista has the option to have food warmed up at her daycare, which I think is awesome. She has taken oatmeal before for lunch but today she took left over ravioli and sausage from dinner last night.

Here's how I made Slow Cooked Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal:

1 cup steel cut oats
3 1/2 cups water
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup honey  (optional. I did not add and instead sweetened with brown sugar in the morning)
Cranberries or raisins, optional, added after done cooking.

Wisk all ingredients together in slow cooker and set to low for 8 hours. Go to bed and wake up to fresh cooked, clean eating oatmeal.

Reinventing Gemini Food Diaries

I have only posted a couple of times on this blog and while it has always been in the back of my mind, it still never made it to the front burner.  I have been thinking about this blog for a little while now and thinking about ways that I can reinvent it.

A blog just containing recipes is not that interactive and really, there is a lot more behind the recipes that I have posted.  Most people know that I have lost weight and some know that I have gained some of it back. I was thinking that I could turn this blog into an actual diary about food.  

I have a love hate relationship with food. I am an emotional eater, happy or sad, food goes into my mouth. When I am sad, it is all of the wrong choices. With this blog, I can explore emotional eating more in depth and write about ways that I am working through it.

It is about being authentic and real with myself through this process. I don't really know who actually reads this blog so this may be for myself, which is fine.  Eventually, this may turn into something more.  I am all about growth and change and reinventing myself as those changes happen.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

This recipe is from a soup making class that Darcy and I attended.  We enjoy doing interactive things like cooking classes on our date nights.  Some of the vegetables used in this recipe will not remain in the finished product of the soup.  I saved them and made a new soup with them the next day by adding vegetable stock, water, pearl barley, and half a jar of roasted garlic salsa.

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
3 cups cremini mushroms
3 cups portobello mushrooms

1 tbsp olive oi
2 tbsp butter
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 spring minced fresh thyme

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups chopped leeks, white parts only
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup dry white wine

3 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup fresh minced flat parsley

Fresh ground pepper
Kosher salt

Method:

Clean mushrooms by wiping with a dry paper towel.  Do not wash them (mushrooms are like sponges and will absorb water).  Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts and coarsely chop the steams.  Slice the mushroom caps 1/4 inch thick.  Set aside.

Heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large pot.  Add the chopped mushroom stems, onion, carrot, thyme, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Add vegetable stock, bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Strain and reserve the liquid.  There should be about 4 1/2 cups of stock.

Heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks.  Cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown.  Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes until they are browned and tender.

Add flour and cook for 1 minute.  Add wine, scrape bottom of pot, and mushroom stock.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the whipping cream and parsley.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat through but do not boil.

ENJOY!

Morning Glory Breakfast Bars

I like to keep homemade, ready to grab foods like muffins in the freezer.  It takes 20 seconds or less to defrost them in the microwave if I need them right away.  If I won't be eating it for a couple of hours, I just throw it in my bag and it is usually defrosted by the time I'm ready to eat it.

Between myself, Darcy and Calista, I've been baking a lot of muffins lately to keep the supply up in the freezer.  I was in the mood to try something different other then muffins.  I came across the recipe for Morning Glory Breakfast Bars in The Costco Connection (magazine/catalogue we get in the mail from Costco) and they looked interesting so I gave them a whirl.

Time frame wise, I would compare this recipe to the same amount of time it takes to make a batch of carrot bran muffins.  The only time consuming thing was at the end when I individually wrapped each bar that was going to go into the freezer.  They don't need to be individually wrapped, although; I would suggest placing wax paper in between each bar so that they don't stick together while in the freezer.  I wrapped mine because I wanted them to be ready to throw into my purse on the way out the door.

They're very moist and not too sweet and loaded with lots of healthy ingredients.  I gave one to Calista for her afternoon snack and not one piece hit the floor.  That's a very good sign that they are kid friendly!

Morning Glory Breakfast Bars


Ingredients:

2 cups bran cereal
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup milk
3/4 cup drained canned crushed pineapple
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt as that is what I have started buying)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup liquid honey

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a 13x9 metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang at each end.  Lightly butter foil.

2. In a bowl, combine bran cereal, carrot, milk, pineapple and yogurt; let stand for 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Whisk egg and honey into mix mixture. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

3. Spread into prepared pan, smoothing top.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely in pan.  Using foil overhang as handles, gently remove from pan and cut into bars.  Makes 16 bars.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Lasagna

This evening for dinner, we made turkey lasagna!  We've really taken a liking to turkey over the last little while and almost always have ground turkey in the freezer.  It was our first time making turkey lasagna and I was pleased with the results.

I don't think I would classify this dish as healthy nor would I classify it as unhealthy.  It's certainly not something I would eat on a regular basis unless the copious amounts of cheese were scaled back.  The added vegetables help make the dish a little more well-balanced.  The flavor was certainly delicious and in some cases, that is all that matters!
Ingredients:


1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic around here)
1 pound ground turkey
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese (or goat cheese), crumbled
2 tbsp parsley

1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained of liquid
1 can of mushrooms
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, chopped

350 g shredded mozzarella

12 lasagna noodles
Cooking spray

Method:
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.

Spray large pan with oil and saute onion and garlic together.  Add seasonings.  Add turkey and cook until browned then add the tomato sauce.

In a medium sized bowl, combine egg with cheese and parsley and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine spinach, mushrooms and sun-dried tomato.

In a 9x13 sized baking dish, spread 1/3 of turkey mixture on the bottom.  Lay 4 lasagna noodles over top of mixture, overlapping if necessary.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the spinach mixture followed by 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top, sparingly.  Repeat layers, finishing with turkey on top followed by mozzarella cheese.

Cover with tinfoil and place on baking sheet to collect any drippings.  Bake in preheated 400F oven for about 30 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before removing foil, slicing and serving.

Enjoy!!

Sweet, Sweet Pineapple Delight

On Friday evening, I went to a Pampered Chef party.  For this Domestic Goddess, it was a nice way to spend a Friday evening.  I spent a couple of hours chatting with friends and trying out kitchen gadgets.  Very relaxing!

We had a taste of three different foods and one of them I knew I would have to make again.  Soon!  The moment I tasted these delightful creations, I knew that they were blog material.

What is it you ask?  Pineapple dipped in lemon zest and white sugar. 

Now, I don't know if it was because the Pampered Chef consultant was talking about lime being an aphrodisiac, but my mind did drift towards a sensual place when I tried them.

My friend described them as tasting like Life Savers and I would definitely agree with that statement.  These little creations are here to stay in my recipe book!

To recreate these at home, I used:

2 tbsp white sugar
Zest of one lime
8  medium sized pineapple chunks (pre-packaged from Sobeys)
Toothpicks

Method: Stir together sugar and lime zest.  Poke toothpick though pineapple and dip into sugar mixture.

As you probably guessed, I do not own the pineapple wedger from Pampered Chef although; I did purchase a couple more products at this last party I went to.  Stay tuned for a blog entry about one of the new products.  I'm already writing the entry in my mind.

Deceptively Delicious

It’s -35C outside today with the wind chill so I declared it a stay inside and bake muffins kind of a day.  I flipped through my various cookbooks looking for a muffin recipe and I decided on Applesauce Muffins from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.  The cookbook was given to us by close friends at Christmas and I’ve looked through it a number of times for ideas when I wanted a new recipe.  The muffin recipe is the first one I have made but there will be others!

Like for anything, there is always going to be criticism and I've heard a little bit from other moms regarding this book.  The criticism lies with vegetables being pureed and hidden within the food so that the kids are deceived into eating their vegetables, thinking that there are not any.  The title of the book is catchy yet I can see how it would be an automatic turn off to some parents.  My recommendation is to take the time to look through the recipes.     

I don’t feel that vegetables should necessarily be pureed and hidden within spaghetti sauce or meatloaf just so the kids will get their daily dose of vegetables.  In fact, I’m a firm believer in exposing children to a wide range of flavours and textures and I do not believe in “kid food”.  I also do not short order cook but will make concessions when I can but not for an entire meal.

With all of this being said, I think that it is perfectly ok to puree fruits and vegetables to enhance the flavour of a meal and to provide an extra dose of nutrition at the same time.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Deceptively Delicious does this for the most part.  There are a few exceptions where I would not puree carrots or broccoli as an example, and I would add them into the dish in bite sized pieces. 

Pureeing fruits and vegetables is not a new concept and I have memories of my mom adding mashed peaches to chocolate cake as part of the liquid, I’ve had chocolate cupcakes at a children's birthday party made with pumpkin puree and on many occasions, I’ve used apple sauce instead of oil in my baking. 

Here are a few examples of recipes from Deceptively Delicious that I would like to share with you to give you a better idea of the type of recipes that are in this cookbook.  There is a section devoted to "the celebration and not the sugar" that I'm very interested in.  I have not made any of the recipes below so I can only vouch for how great of an idea I think they are and not the taste of the recipe.

•  Peanut butter banana muffins made with carrot or cauliflower puree
•  Oatmeal raisin cookies with both banana and zucchini puree
• "Buttered Noodles" where pureed yellow squash acts as the butter
• Quesadillas with pureed butternut squash and shredded cheddar cheese mixed together.  This was also done with the grilled cheese sandwich in the book.
• Brownies made with both pureed carrots and spinach.  This is a future recipe that I will definitely be trying!
• Chocolate pudding made with mashed avocado
• Aloha chicken kababs with sweet potato and pineapple puree mixed in with the egg mixture, then breaded
• Banana pudding pie made with pureed cantaloupe and yellow squash

Gone are the days where I keep frozen purees in the freezer but there are many families who are in that stage and the purees would readily be available to them.  Imagine making a little bit more to save for the recipes in this cookbook.  While it did take an additional 20 minutes to peel, chop, steam and puree the carrots, I think it was worth it in the end.  I give this cookbook 2 thumbs up!

The Applesauce Muffins are moist, delicious and Calista had a little taste of one during lunch and she kept asking for more.  I had to turn her highchair around so that they were out of sight and out of mind.  Until snack time anyways! 

Applesauce Muffins

This recipe is from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious. 

These muffins are very moist and delicious, with a hint of carrot flavour.  Carrot and apple pair very well together so I knew that the combination would be a hit.  I made some of the muffins with the streusel topping and others without.  While the streusel is delicious, I don't think that the added sugar is needed.  The recipe also calls for pureed carrots but I left mine a little more chunkier.

 

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

Topping:

2/3 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread, melted (I used butter)

Batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk

1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree (I had carrots on hand but I would be interested to know how the butternut squash would taste!)

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 large egg

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

2. To make topping, stir together the oats, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir in margarine.

3. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl or zipper lock bag and stir or shake to mix (shaking would be great for the little ones helping in the kitchen.)  In a second bowl, mix the applesauce, milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil and egg with a wooden spoon.  Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened.  Do not over - the batter is supposed to be lumpy.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping.  Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins, about 18-20 minutes.  Place the muffins on a rack to cool slightly.  May be served warm or cool.

ENJOY!!  

Simple New Years Eve Appetizers

The Holiday season has come and gone, with New Years Eve last night being the last of the celebrations.  December was packed full of gatherings with family and friends.  We hosted two get togethers; a Winter Solstice Party with friends and on Christmas Day, my Mom came over.

At our Winter Solstice Party, we served appetizers and punch.  The punch is a secret recipe so I'm not going to talk about it any further.  Everyone mingled, moved around and the conversation flowed.  Calista even had a little playmate for the evening.  We thought about having a sit down style dinner but we decided against it since there would be two toddlers at the party.

Gingerbread/sugar cookie/rice krispie village complete with Stonehenge where gummy bears live.

On Christmas Day, we cooked a turkey with all of the trimmings including prosciutto between the skin and meat of the turkey.  I also made homemade cranberry sauce and homemade stuffing featuring apples.  I really wish I had taken pictures of the turkey dinner but unfortunately, Calista was under the weather that day so things were a tad stressful and pictures of food was the last thing on my mind.  Never the less, we still know how to rock a turkey dinner around here! 

Last night for New Years Eve, I prepared a few appetizers for Darcy and I.  My Mom gave us a basket full of goodies for Christmas including a couple different kinds of spreads, mustard's, sauces, cheese and crackers and a hot sauce for Darcy that she searched high and low for.  We've dipped into a few of the goodies already and I used the fig spread last night for one of the appetizers.

I enjoy goat cheese.  It's rich and creamy and it has a tangy flavour.  It pairs well with salads, is great on pizza and is fantastic to use with appetizers.  On top of a sliced baguette is fig spread and crumbled on top is goat cheese.  Simple yet delectable.  Fig spread is sweet, just like most jams and it balances out the tangy flavour of the goat cheese.  Very delicious!

Bruchetta is a flavourful appetizer to serve and is great for a light lunch as well. I chopped up one tomato, added in some chopped purple and green onion and added about four cloves of garlic. We like our food very garlicky around here plus it's a natural cold and flu fighter so I really bump up our garlic intake around this time of the year. I finished it off with a dash of dried basil and a few drizzles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  It's very healthy for you!   

Could these be any cuter and easy to eat?  I'm really working hard on serving and eating healthy, well balanced meals and snacks.  I sliced up a cucumber and used a spoon to scoop out the seeds and I filled the center with hummus.  I have a couple of regulars that I take to potlucks and I think I'm going to add these to the list. 

.Hummus is well liked around here.  I've made it before but I often pick up a couple of containers when it is on sale and we snack on it for a few days.  When it comes to dips, hummus is probably one of my favorites and I like trying the different flavours that are available: jalapeno, roasted red pepper, lemon and garden vegetable.

Today for lunch, Calista and I finished off the hummus and bruschetta with crackers and vegetables.  I was curious to see what she would think of the fig spread and goat cheese so I made her a little appetizer on a cracker.  She devoured it down and responded with, "mmm mmm".  You know that something is well liked by her when you get not just one, but two "mmm mmm's!"

Stay tuned for a future blog post about raising a little foodie!

Guilt Free Cookies

Most of you know that I am on Weight Watchers (WW).  There are a couple of reasons why I love Weight Watchers and the first is because it teaches us that loosing weight and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change and NOT a diet.  The second reason that I love WW is because they encourage us not to deprive ourselves.  When we deprive ourselves, especially those who have struggled with weight issues, tend to go overboard and end up eating an entire bag of cookies.

In real life, there are cookies!  Lots of delicious, delicious cookies.  The trick is to say "yes" to the right kind of cookie because there is no cheating on WW.  WW is all about real life!  So, I present to you, two WW cookie recipes that I have baked, tested and tasted and give two thumbs up to:

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies 

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg WHITE
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Cream together butter, oil and brown sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white, and mix together thoroughly.

Mix together flour and baking soda. Add chocolate chips and stir to distribute evenly.

Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto a nonstick baking sheet. Bake cookies for 4 to 6 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. Yields 2 cookies per serving.  PointsPlus Value: 2.



Caramel Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Add remaining ingredients and beat thoroughly.

Scrape dough out of bowl and onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll dough into a log, about 2 1/2-inches wide; completely wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 20 minutes or up to overnight.

Cut dough into 1/8-inch-thick slices and arrange on several large ungreased cookies sheets about 1- to 1 1/2-inches apart. Bake until lightly browned around edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for about 1 minute and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yields 1 cookie per serving.  PointsPlus value: 1.

Note:  Add some spice to these cookies by adding a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.  It's super yummy and makes for a great Holiday cookie!

Perogi, Pierogy, Perogy, Pierógi or Pyrohy

However you spell it and whatever fillings you choose, I'm sure we can all agree that there is a common love amongst us for perogies!  They are a simple food yet delicate and some skill required to make them. 

I don't know too many people who could resist mashed potatoes mixed with bacon, onion and cheese that are wrapped inside of dough.  Then they are boiled and fried up with more onion and dipped in sour cream.  Commence drooling!  Let's not forget about blueberry dessert perogies either.  Yes, that is right!  Perogies are perfect for dinner, or any meal of the day in my opinion and they are also perfect for dessert too.

That is why four friends, one husband and one apprentice (a friend who stopped by after work to hang out and help a little bit) got together at my place a couple of Saturdays ago and made close to 450 of these delicious creations.   

I have nicknamed us "The New Generation of Baba's".  Barb is full Ukrainian, I'm half Ukrainian, Jessica is an Honorary Ukrainian by marriage (and perogy making skills) and Kristina is Croatian which is part of Eastern Europe.  I'm not sure what Jackie "the apprentices" background is but she is an Honorary Ukrainian for coming out and helping.  Darcy, my husband can be an Honorary Ukrainian too by marriage and for helping to make the day run smoothly.

The new generation of Babas

We each brought a different pre-made filling and since I was hosting, I supplied the ingredients for the dough.  The different fillings were: potato/bacon/onion, potato/cottage cheese, potato/marble cheese and blueberries.

We had not seen or had a perogie that was made with whole wheat flour before so we decided to give it a try. Remember, we are the new generation of Baba's! We used Barb's Moms' recipe and made one change to it, eliminating two cups of all-purpose flour and replacing it with two cups of whole wheat flour. We all agreed that it was the perfect amount and anything more or less would probably not have worked out as well.

We were hard at work from two o'clock in the afternoon until about 7:30 in the evening.  Making such a large batch of perogies is definitely an all day activity and should ideally be started in the late morning.  Due to every one's schedules, we had to start later but I think we all agreed that the next time we do this, we're going to try and start earlier.

I had a fantastic day with my friends and we all went home with enough perogies to stock our freezers with and to show off at Christmas dinners!  Making perogies with my friends feels like the start of a beautiful tradition that I would like to continue with.  I didn't hear any disagreeing from any of them so next year, we'll hopefully do this all again.

Here is the dough recipe that we used which makes about 150 perogies per batch.  The dough also freezes well.

16 cups flour (14 all-purpose and 2 whole wheat) 
1 tbsp salt 
2 eggs
1 cup oil
6 cups warm water

Mix wet ingredients together and add to dry ingredients, mixing and kneading well.  The dough will be quite sticky and will require lots of flour while rolling it out.  Roll dough out to 1/8" thickness. Cut circles out using biscuit cutters that are about 3" in diameter or a drinking glass or soup can works well too.

Filling:
For the amount of perogies we made, we each used 5 pounds of potatoes and mixed it with various fillings:

• Potato/cottage cheese: I simply mixed one large container of cottage cheese with the mashed potatoes.  You could also just use dry cottage cheese instead of adding potato to the filling.
• Potato/bacon/onion: Fry one package of chopped bacon with one large chopped onion together and mix with mashed potatoes
• Potato/marble cheese: Add 2 cups of shredded marble cheese to warm, mashed potatoes and mix to combine and melt.
• Blueberry: We added about 6 blueberries to each perogie and once boiled and ready to serve we will sprinkle icing sugar over top.

Place about a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the dough, fold dough over to form a semi-circle and pinch closed using the heat of your fingers to seal the edges. 


We lined cardboard boxes with tea towels (lesson learned, do not use cheap tea towels from the dollar store as you'll be picking fibers off of frozen perogies).  We placed the perogies on the tea towels and since it was cold outside, we placed them outside to freeze.

After freezing the perogies overnight, I divided the perogies up by fillings and labeled the freezer bags.  I placed one dozen into each bag and placed them in the freezer where they await consumption.  Since having our Perogy Making Party, I've tried all of the different perogies and I'm very happy with them and they are so much better then store bought!

My Beginners Guide to Sushi

When I talk with people who have not tried sushi and really don't have much interest in wanting to, it's often because of the "unknown".  Sushi looks intimidating and uses ingredients in a much different way then what most people are used to.  With some people who have tried sushi but didn't enjoy it, it usually has to do with what they were presented with to eat.  More than likely it wasn't a slow introduction to sushi and instead there was all this "weird" stuff placed in front of them. 
I recall the first time I tried sushi:  I went to Wasabi on Osborne Street with a friend who was also trying sushi for the first time.  We had no idea what we were ordering and the server wasn't overly attentive.  I recall it being busy so that probably had something to do with it.  My friend ended up ordering rolls that had raw fish on top.     

It was hilarious watching her eat it, "oh my god this is so weird...gag...gag."  I was laughing so hard and told her not to eat it anymore because she was gagging.  She said it tasted good but the texture was too much for her.  I ate sushi occasionally again afterwards but it wasn't until I met Darcy that I started eating more and more of it.  Go figure, the guy wouldn't eat tofu but ate raw fish.... 

Here, I present to you, is my beginners guide for eating sushi.  Mastering the chopsticks will come later on!

Get yourself in the door.  Did you know that most sushi restaurants serve more then just sushi?  Often, there are noodle and rice dishes on the menu as well.  When I was pregnant and we went out for sushi, Darcy usually ordered a vegetarian roll with his dinner that I had a few pieces of.  In addition to those few pieces, I also ordered myself either a chicken or beef noodle or rice dish.  A common sauce that restaurants offer is teriyaki; a sauce that most of us are familiar with.   

Assorted tempura: onion, zucchini, red pepper,
shrimp,broccoli, mushroom and yam

Order an appetizer.  Tempura is an excellent choice to go with when first getting into the sushi scene.  Stick to the vegetables and shrimp, although; other items are offered such as unagi (eel).  Basically, the food is deep fried and served with a dipping sauce normally consisting of soy sauce, rice vinegar and white sugar.  If you are feeling a tad more adventurous, try gyoza.  It's basically like a pan fried perogie that has pork inside and is usually served with a ginger soy dipping sauce.         

Your first few rolls, the first few times.  When looking at the menu, look for vegetarian rolls and rolls that are made with chicken and beef.  There is nothing raw, except for some of the vegetables in these rolls.  Some common ingredients used in the vegetarian rolls are cucumbers, yams, avocado and mushrooms.  Keep an eye out for daikon which is a Japanese radish that I personally find has a strong, overpowering taste.

Calista's dinner: yam tempura, avocado roll, ginger beef roll and pickled ginger (she likes to eat it straight up.)  She's still learning how to use a fork but I couldn't resist the photo op with Winnie the Pooh chopsticks that her Uncle Jeffrey sent her from Japan. 

On to the next few rolls.  California roll is an excellent choice if you're wanting to try fish.  It's made with crab (cooked), avocado and tobiko which are fish eggs.  A California roll is pictured in the top right hand corner of the picture below.  Another popular roll that would be great to start with is Dynamite.  It's made with tempura shrimp (cooked), avocado, cucumber, mayo and tobiko.  Another great choice is the Philadelphia roll which is made with smoked salmon, cucumber and cream cheese.

Various sushi rolls that we ordered for dinner and brought home.  Pictured at the very bottom is Rainbow roll which is a California roll topped with salmon, tuna, squid, unagi, shrimp, and surf clam.

Slowly try new rolls and new menu items.  Get some friends together or convince your partner to have a sushi night out or in (take out is usually available).  Order the menu items that you are comfortable with and enjoy plus try one that you have never tried before.  Sushi is wonderful for sharing too!  Everyone can order a couple of rolls and eat it family style, placing it in the middle of the table and choosing what they want.  It's like a mini buffet!

I hope that for those of you who were nervous about sushi feel a little better now about experiencing it.  By far, it has become one of my favourite foods and to be quite frank, if I had to choose a last meal to eat, it would more than likely be sushi!  Liking sushi as much as I do certainly didn't happen over night.  Like many foods, it can be an acquired taste and that is why I encourage you to start off slow and as time goes on, try new menu items.  Before you know it, you'll be attempting to make sushi at home like I do (a future blog post to come). Here is a list of my top 5 favorite sushi restaurants in Winnipeg that I encourage you to check out:

My Top 5 Favorite Sushi Restaurants in Winnipeg
1) Blufish @ 179 Bannatyne Avenue
2) Utage @ 1599 Regent Avenue West
3) Tokyo Sushi @ 3140 Portage Avenue
4) Umi @ 1659 Kenaston Boulevard 
5) Kenko Sushi @ 788 Corydon Avenue   

What are some of your favorite rolls and favorite sushi restaurants?  Who is up for a sushi night out?!?   

The Four Year Journey Towards Tofu

Darcy and I are opposites in many ways including in the beginning of our relationship, the type of food that we ate.  I swear that he was thisclose to being a carnivore when we met.  Then along comes me who preaches that you really can make friends with salad.  The first meal that we cooked together was a tofu stir fry (my suggestion obviously).  I know that he only said that he liked it to impress me because as things became more serious between us, he started to take more of a stand towards not wanting to eat tofu.  As time went on, I started to eat more meat dishes and he eventually started to warm up towards meatless dishes.

After four years, guess who asked me to make a tofu stir fry again after eating it one evening for dinner and guess who suggested that we add it to our list of go-to dinner staples?  Yup, Darcy.

Tofu is one of those things that people are a little nervous about and won't try because it is "different."  I always get a kick out of people who say they don't like something even though they've never tried it or maybe they've only tried it once.  I can understand that maybe the first time wasn't a positive experience but I like to encourage people to have an open mind with food.  Try a particular ingredient at least 3 times, prepared 3 different ways before you completely write it off as something you don't like.

Tofu is also budget friendly at around $1.78 for enough to feed 3-4 people!  Meatless Mondays is looking even more appetizing now, isn't it... 

Here are two of my favorite tofu stir frys that I encourage you to try.  The Tofu Vegetable Stir fry is the one that we eat most often:

Tofu Vegetable Stir Fry

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

1 package extra-firm tofu

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger

1 pinch hot pepper flakes

2 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 cup snow peas, cut diagonally in half

2 green onions, thiny sliced

2 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

In small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, cornstarch and 3 tbsp water; set aside.

Pat tofu dry; cut into 3/4-inch (2 cm) cubes. In large wok, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; stir-fry tofu until golden, about 6 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Heat remaining oil in wok over medium-high heat; stir-fry garlic, ginger and hot pepper flakes for 30 seconds.

Add carrots and mushrooms; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add 1 tbsp water; cover and steam until carrots are tender, about 3 minutes.

Add snow peas, tofu and soy sauce mixture; bring to boil and boil, stirring, until thickened and vegetables are tender, about 1 minute. Stir in green onions and sesame oil.

Spicy Tofu with Red Bell Peppers and Peanuts

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil

2 large red bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger  

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 14-to 16-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained well, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach leaves

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts

Preparation

Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add bell peppers, ginger, and garlic; saute until peppers just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add tofu and green onions; toss 2 minutes.

Add next 3 ingredients. Toss to blend, about 1 minute. Add spinach in 3 additions, tossing until beginning to wilt, about 1 minute for each addition. Mix in basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle peanuts over top.

The Official Turning Stones

For my first official post on Gemini Food Diaries, I've decided to write about the challenges and successes that have come with changing my eating habits and lifestyle.  For many years, I said that I wanted to loose weight and become healthier but the steps that I took to achieve those goals were very far and few between.  As an example, I've had multiple gym memberships over the years that went unused and even though I knew what was healthy in terms of food, my portion control was way off and I struggled with binge and emotional eating AKA chowing down on an entire bag of cookies. 

The first official turning stone with changing my lifestyle came for me when I was pregnant with my daughter, Calista.  During those 9 months, I ate a very well balanced diet and went to water aerobics 2-3 times a week plus I started walking more.  My gym membership was finally being put to good use!  My Obstetrician was very pleased that I had decided to start doing water aerobics and encouraged me to continue with it right up until I was almost due.  I had a very healthy pregnancy with no complications, I felt great towards the end of my pregnancy, had very little swelling and I was full of energy.  I owe it all to the lifestyle changes that I made.

After Calista was born, I put on some weight.  I often didn't make the best food choices when it came to what I ate but I made it a point to feed Calista nutritious food.  I know what is healthy and what is not and for various reasons, I didn't choose healthy foods for myself.  There were days where I grazed and did not actually eat a full meal at any point during the day and I also became less active. 

Calista was about 6 months old when winter hit.  I had recently got my drivers license and I was still not comfortable driving with her so we stayed inside for most of the winter unless Darcy, my husband was home and could drive us places.  A friend of mine picked Calista and I up to go to a baby play group, which I am very thankful for.

Across the street from me, there was a stroller fitness class being offered so I signed up for 6 weeks of that.  I remember attempting to go one week but the sidewalks had not been plowed and Calista's stroller nearly tipped over in the snow drift.  A sled would have been perfect to get there but the class was called 'stroller fitness' and not 'sled fitness'.  It was suggested to me a number of times that I put Calista in her carrier and walk the hallways and stairs in my apartment building but I think I only did that a few times.  As much as I thought about my health, I had other things on my mind.

That brings us to my second official turning stone, Calista's 1st Birthday.  When I saw pictures of myself, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in how I had allowed myself to gain the weight I had.  I've gone up and down on the scales a handful of times (not as many times as Oprah but enough to know that I know I have it in me to look and feel a certain way).  For most of my adulthood, I've had high self-esteem and high self-confidence and I learned to embrace and love my curves.

But the pictures of me taken at the end of June 2011 was an eye opener.  Regardless of how high my self-esteem was and how much I had learned to embrace my body for what it looked it, I needed to make changes for my health.  I needed to be a positive role model for Calista in all areas of life.  I needed to improve my health so that I could be around to see as many of her birthdays as possible.

I started going to the gym on a more regular basis and after a couple of months, I told Darcy that I was joining Weight Watchers and have been attending meetings on a weekly basis.  I started going to different classes offered at the gym so that I would not get bored and that I would continue to surround myself with people who are together for a common purpose. 

I still struggle some days with sticking to the Weight Watchers plan and trying to change my habits and I know that it will take a lot of work to change 28 years of bad habits.  One of the things I really like about WW is that it is a lifestyle and not a diet.  Once I reach my target weight, I will hopefully be able to continue living a healthy lifestyle because WW has taught me how to.      

A lot of the recipes and foods that I will write about will be healthy and some of them won't be.  Weight Watchers teaches us not to deprive ourselves because when we do deprive ourselves, we'll end up going overboard and feel really crappy about it.  My journey towards a healthy lifestyle consists of continuous learning and being aware of the changes that I need to make.  I love food and flavour and going forward, it's a matter of choosing the best foods to fuel my body 98% of the time because seriously, who doesn't love a cupcake every now and then! 

This is it!

Thank you for visiting my blog and for "following" it.  *Wink, wink!  This blog will be a work in progress from the layout and design of it to the content of what is published on it.  I love to write and I love food so this blog will be the perfect combination.

My goal is to post at least once a week, maybe more depending on the content.  My posts are going to be all about food, ranging from recipes to restaurant reviews to personal and funny stories involving food as well as tips and tricks that I pick up along the way.

Please feel free to leave comments below the posts, as that is one of the ways that I will grow as a writer and a food blogger.  This is it!