In a Tizzy

Category: KTTeats

  • A Photo Update: Barn Burner 2014


    As I await the professional photographs to be released, I will share some of my personal Barn Burner 2014 photos from a few weekends ago:
    The ever-so-mysterious Wu-Wu.
    R, K, and G!
    Chef Wu-Wu getting breakfast readied the
    following morning!

    French toast with lots of fruit!



  • Last Weekend: Food

    Last weekend was one full of delicious meals and baking adventures. I shall summarize below:
    Marble Swirl Chocochip Banana Bread (CCK Recipe) – baked
    with AA while we caught up on life and drank tea.

    A sushi-filled double date with the sister and our novios!
    Sushi Topia is captained by a pleasant man who makes
    very delicious food – even for us veggie-heads!
    It was Waffle Gone Wild!’s 1-year anniversary event –
    we just happened to stop by for brunch on the right day!
    We were allowed to burst a balloon to find a giveaway
    inside – we ended up with free ice cream.
    J and M both ordered the Banana
    Nutella waffles – mmmm, chocolate.
    Delicious Bombay Chai tea.

     


    I went for the Cinnamon Apple option!

    (Not quite the weekend…) On Monday, I baked vegan cookies for my council meeting! Which was followed by my first full staff meeting as a future advisor – I got to meet my future team! It was very exciting, and all of my future colleagues seem like fun and kind people. The cookies were also great – adopted from a CCK recipe with added Ener-G Egg Replacer to see if they would fluff up. They did!

    A tour around campus to take some
    photos the other day led me to what
    I consider a sure sign of impending
    Spring – blooming daffodils! =D

  • HoCho Fest Day 5: Put De Lime In De Coconut

    After a hot chocolate hiatus involving career path searching, banana bread, and anxiety over what I am going to do with myself next year, I returned to my delicious trek today with a trip to Chocolate Arts.

    It was tucked away on West 3rd in a location I would not have expected to find a chocolate artistry shop! However, I was pleasantly surprised when I entered and was greeted by a wave of chocolate aroma.

    Then the decision: A Snowball’s Chance in Hell or Put De Lime In De Coconut? One had ice cream, one had coconut milk blended with another milk of your choice… I went with the latter as I am always interested in trying new dairy-free creations. (Luckily my company chose the former option so I could sample both.)

    Single origin Mexican chocolate with Mexican chili poured over house made chocolate ice cream. 
    Accompanied by a flourless chocolate cookie.
    Single origin Venezuela chocolate with organic coconut and kalamansi lime.
    Accompanied by a toasted coconut shortbread. 
    ($6.25)

    You read that first one correctly – there was chili in the hot chocolate that was poured over the ice cream. That sent a spicy flavour kicker right to the back of my throat when I tried a little sip of it!
    As for my choice, it was laid out most elegantly with the kalamansi lime-vanilla mixture in a shot glass on the side, waiting to be added to the coconut-soy milk chocolate blend served in glass. The flavour of the hot chocolate (sans lime-vanilla) was surprisingly light – I had expected it to be thick from the coconut milk. The glass was rimmed with sugar and it dissolved ever so slightly as the drink passed over it – then I added the lime and my company added his chili to his ice cream.
    The lime was quite tart – and I added more than I probably would have otherwise because I forgot to take a picture when I added the first touch (and neglected to sample the balance at that point). The vanilla with the lime helped bring some balance to its power, but the drink went from light and gently chocolaty to exotic and flavour-crazy very quickly! It was more than I would have liked on the lime side, but I enjoyed the interesting blend nonetheless – helped along by the sugar on the glass and the coconut shavings on the shot glass which I sprinkled into my drink. If you like citrusy lime flavours and the taste of coconut, this is a good one for you! The coconut shortbread on the side was delectable. I would return here for samples of all of their chocolate and the homemade cookies and other goodies behind the counter.

    Until tomorrow,


  • A Baking Break

    Today is a busy day, and to alleviate any potential stress on my mind (and my chocolate-infused blood) I have taken to stay closer to campus today and attend a couple different career workshops (which I imagine I will have something to say about later).

    However, without wanting to shock my system by having no chocolate, I will indulge in a bit of homemade chocolate chip banana bread (vegan), adopted from Chocolate Covered Katie’s “Polka Dot Banana Bread” recipe.

    I added almond’s on top and a thin layer of granola in the middle for some texture here and there.

    Vegan chocolate chip banana bread with almonds and granola.


    It is glorious when warmed up and covered in some sort of buttery spread (I use Becel’s vegan margarine), and I imagine it would also be good with something like peanut butter or perhaps jam if you’re feeling more adventurous (I like jam so it tastes good with anything to me).

    Hopefully my next post will contain some insight into future career or educational paths – be it a better idea of what I want to do or a better idea of what I do NOT want to do (both would be helpful). As a side note, I also think I’ll be switching to this font for a while.

  • HoCho Fest Day 2: Call Me A Cab

    Today’s adventure in hot chocolate tasting took me to Terra Breads in Kitsilano. I have only had the baking sort of treat from them, and had no idea there was such a range of specialty beverages and meal items! Along with my hot chocolate, I enjoyed an avocado and veggie sandwich. 



    The hot chocolate is called “Call Me A Cab” – one of Terra’s two items offered for the festival. I vouched for this one as the other was white chocolate and I wished not to test my stomach’s sweetness tolerance for the afternoon. 

    Call Me A Cab: Cacao Barry Extra Brute Hot Chocolate with Cabernet, cinnamon and pear. Served with a pear crisp and a cocoa sugar cookie. 

    I ordered it with soy milk, and found it to be extremely light and fluffy. There was no overwhelming sweetness or intense chocolatey-ness (in a rather pleasant way). I had trouble detecting the pear flavours, but was met with a hint of the Cabernet throughout the whole drink and it finished on a cinnamon-y note which sat on my tongue. The pear crisp atop it was a unique and delicious treat, and the heart-shaped cocoa sugar cookie was yummy and made for good dunking! 

    I quite enjoyed today’s experience and will definitely return to the location for sandwiches that are perfectly-sized, healthy, and delicious. Perhaps for the less-than-$5 soup I saw on the menu as well! I look forward to what tomorrow brings. 


  • HoCho Fest Day 1: Passionista

    Today (actually, yesterday) marked the beginning of the 2014 Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival! I am very excited, and thusly decided to make my first stop Thomas Haas Chocolates. Here, they offered the “Campfire” and the “Passionista” – I tried the latter.

    “Fresh passion fruit-infused hot chocolate with Grand Marnier Chantilly, served with passion fruit Pate de Fruit.”
    ($5.95)

    I ordered mine to be made with almond milk, while my friend Alex ordered the Campfire made regularly (my small taste yielded happy taste buds). The woman who took my order informed me that no one had ordered the Passionista with almond milk yet, and to return with a review for her. This, more or less, is what I said:

    It was very unique! The passion fruit taste was very strong throughout the entire drink and was unlike any thing I had tried in a beverage before, particularly one with chocolate. I found that the almond milk offered a very clear nutty tone to the entire drink, which was not bad! However, I believe that if I had ordered it with soy milk, the greater creaminess of the soy milk would have better absorbed the fruit flavours. The fruit flavours are very unique (in my experience) to have with hot chocolate, and having the almond flavour remain slightly separate from the fruit flavours was slightly overwhelming.

    Overall, I would love to try it again with soy milk, and am happy that I tried one with a sexy name to start off a delicious journey for the next four weeks! The passion fruit jellies served on the side were also delectable. 



  • Dining Discovery: Nuba – Authentic Lebanese Cuisine

    Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sampling a “mezze” lunch appetizer from a restaurant on Broadway called Nuba. For someone such as myself, the appetizer sufficed for a meal – it was the perfect size, and happened to be gluten-free and vegan in addition to being DELICIOUS.

    My particular appetizer of choice was the Garden Falafel:
    “Victor’s secret recipe of organic chickpeas, fava beans, veggies and spices [VE+GF]”


    It was only $7.50 and filled me right up to the brim – with pita to spare (I myself do not generally like to consume a lot of bread anyways). They event sent me home with a generous amount of extra pita – perhaps based on my empty plate… 

    A definite recommendation for anyone – meat- and veggie-eaters alike!

    Click the link to check out their website.

    Until the next discovery,
    Still Salivating

  • "What is intuitive eating?"

    This is an interview with my friend’s mom (who is a registered dietician from Edmonton, AB) – here, she speaks on something that I have been actively trying to incorporate into my life for the last couple of years. I think it is important to listen to your body! Sometimes guidelines need to be set in more extreme circumstances where one’s life is in jeopardy, but on average, I think that “eating intuitively” can be beneficial in the long-term for anyone and everyone.