After introducing my sister to Design*Sponge, she now e-mails me projects that she likes. This corkboard idea interested both myself and her. She's still planning on making a corkboard while it inspired me to create an earring hanger.
There happened to be a bag of basmati rice that I figured would be perfect for this quick project. Ideally, you would use a nice frame and just cover the interior of the frame to show the frame off. However, I found an old mirror in the basement that I was going to donate so I decided to use it instead since it was the perfect price: FREE! Since the frame is not very nice, I just covered the whole mirror. The gap between the mirror and the fabric is perfect to fit the earrings!
Cut the fabric so there are a few extra inches to staple it on each side of your frame.
Staple onto the back of the frame. If you do use a burlap bag with a print, don't pull too taut or the print becomes crooked (mine's slightly crooked, but don't tell anyone).
Hang earrings - now I have a reason to go buy MORE earrings!!
Tada!
Start with a frame, or a mirror in my case.
Use any fabric that is slightly larger than your frame.
214 Locke Street South Hamilton, Ontario 905.570.1412
On the Sunday before my sister L and her boyfriend D were to go back to Montréal, we decided to have breakfast at West Town. We met up after L and I went to church, and after D and my roommate G tired themselves after a game of squash.
I always think I might get something sweet for breakfast but then end up getting a savoury breakfast instead, usually involving bacon. D and G got the same eggs and bacon combo. I requested crispy bacon and they did not disappoint. However, the home fries were not so good. D thought his potatoes were cold. Mine were warm-ish and could have been browner; some pieces were not quite cooked either.
Two eggs, crispy bacon with ho-hum home fries, $5.49.
My sister L is the only one who was tempted by the blueberry Belgian waffles. She also ordered a side of Denninger's breakfast sausage. She enjoyed the waffles although they did not really taste like Belgian waffles (some of us have never been to Belgium once, let alone twice!). The sausages were good and hearty. She was disappointed the syrup was corn syrup and not maple syrup. We are in Canada after all! We then started talking about cabane à sucre (or sugar shack) and I realized the last time I have gone was 8 years ago. Maybe this year...!
Blueberry waffle with sausage, sans sirop d'érable.
D & G (no, not that D&G!) after breakfast.
West Town seems to be my go-to place for breakfast in Hamilton. I don't eat out for breakfast often but I've never really thought about its quality until now when I am writing about it. The food is ok but nothing special. It is very well located on Locke Street but with a blog, I have a reason to go try new places. When I start making money that is...
I have been subscribed to Canadian House & Home for a number of years. I like it mainly for the design aspect but there are also recipes in every issue. I have been eyeing this holiday recipe since November 2001!! In fact, I even bought chestnut purée years ago. Seven years later, I finally made them!
My sister and her boyfriend fly to my part of the country for her workplace Christmas party every year. Since they both like sweets, I thought I would make these chestnut brownies as a special holiday treat. The recipe for brownies was very successful. They were dense, gooey and sweet. My sister's boyfriend especially liked them. However, I am not sure that the chestnut part really adds anything to the brownie.
Can of chesnut spread. Isn't the picture of chestnuts so cute?
What chestnust spread looks like: sweet yumminess!
Chestnut Brownies - makes 15
Adapted from Canadian House & Home, November 2001.
The original recipe actually called for bite sizes. However, I did not have the patience to spoon the different layers for 48 brownies. I barely had the patience for 12. I also did not have the lining for mini muffin cups.
Brownie Batter
* ½ cup unsalted butter
* 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
* 3 large eggs
* ¼ tsp salt
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1-½ cups granulated sugar
* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 12 muffin tin liners
Preheat oven to 350F.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan.
Remove the butter from heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, vanilla and sugar.
With a rubber spatula, fold in chocolate mixture then gradually fold in flour.
Set aside.
Brownie Batter.
Chestnut Mousse * ¾ cup chestnut purée
* ½ cup ricotta cheese
* ½ cup granulated sugar
* 2 large eggs
* ½ tsp vanilla extract
Using a wooden spoon, mix together chestnut purée and ricotta.
Blend in rest of ingredients.
Set aside.
Chestnut mousse.
To assemble the brownies Line muffin tins with paper liners.
Fill each cup with 2 tbsp of brownie batter by pushing into the cup with a finger wetted with cold water.
Next add a tbsp + a tsp of chestnut mousse on top.
Finish by using a tablespoon measure to top each cup with a level spoonful of brownie batter. Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 25-27 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).
Another vegetarian recipe that I learned from my ex-roommie D is this vegetarian chili. It's not anything like a traditional chili at all, but it's really good. And healthy, and easy. There is a number of ingredients and I eat it like I ate Campbell's vegetable soup, in order leading up to my favourite ingredient (even though I like them all!): peppers and tofu, black eyed peas and corn.
* black eyed peas, soaked overnight * 1 jar of salsa - I buy the extra spicy!
* 1 can of tomatoes
* 1 can of corn, drained - frozen would be fine too
Brown tofu in some oil.
Season with salt and set aside. Stir fry onion, peppers and zucchini. Add tofu back in with the black eyed peas. Pour the whole jar of salsa in.
Once the peppers and zucchini are cooked, add tomatoes. Add the corn and mix. Tada!
Dry black eyed peas must be soaked.
Diced tofu.
Chopped zucchi and red peppers.
Tofu added.
Adding black eyed peas.
Ready to dig in!
You can follow the same recipe and replace the tofu with ground beef if you prefer. I just start by cooking the beef with some Tex Mex seasoning and add everything else.
I met up with my old colleague and friend S, with her wife A, for dinner. Both S and A are vegetarian, so I suggested going to Affinity Vegetarian Restaurant. Affinity is one of the rare vegetarian restaurants in Hamilton. It serves Chinese fare, and the owner is Taiwanese.
This was formerly the Budapest Hungarian Restaurant and there is some vestige of it.
There is a wall of different tea types that you can pick from.
When I came in, S & A had already ordered tea since it was such a cold day. After catching up a bit, we took a look at the menu. The menu offers typical Chinese dishes, except that any meat is replaced by "meat". There is even a dim sum section!
Since we had all been here before (although never together), we all knew what to order. A ordered the vegetable steamed bun and tofu casserole (not pictured), with a side of rice. The vegetable steamed bun looked like a regular Chinese steamed bun. The tofu casserole seemed like a vegetarian version of Szechuan Mapo tofu. Unfortunately, A did not like silken tofu and so was disappointed by the dish. S got the soy drumsticks as a starter, with thick noodles with soy beef and the Kung-Pao soy chicken. I am always amazed at how faux meat looks like the real thing. The soy drumsticks and beef below were especially convincing.
Soy Drumsticks, $5.50.
Thick Noodles with Soy Beef, $13.99.
I got the combination with Kung-Pao soy chicken. I always get the same combination because it is my absolute favourite. At $15.99 (for the dinner portion), it is a good deal and includes the soup of the day, a spring roll, a garden salad, 2 nuggets (I got 3!), a portion of rice, the main dish and finally dessert jelly with tea!
Plump spring roll.
I was first served the spring roll which was nothing extraordinary but nice and crisp. The soup looked like vegetable porridge with some frozen vegetables. It was well seasoned but had no Asian flavours at all. S said that she usually pays the extra few dollars to substitute it for the hot and sour soup and it is well worth it.
The combo dinner comes in a Bento box. The nuggets were crispy and tasted good dipped in the soy sauce. The salad, like the soup, did not really seem Asian but had a nice, sweet dressing. I really enjoy the Kung-Pao soy chicken, made with textured vegetable protein (TVP). It's amazing how the soy chicken has a meaty texture like chicken fibres. The Kung-Pao also came with large chunks of fried tofu, celery (not my favourite) and mushrooms. I like how the soy chicken absorbs the sauce although I remember it having a lot more kick (weirdly, S thought her Kung-Pao chicken was spicier than usual and she likes spicy!).
Bento box presentation of dinner combination.
The soy nuggets could fool any meat lover!
I like the various rice mixture and sesame seeds.
I could easily eat a lot of pieces of Kung-Pao soy chicken!
Finally, I was served a tea jelly with four slices of apple for dessert. I really enjoyed the jelly but could not finish the apple slices. This was served with the hot tea to finish off my combo.
Tea jelly dessert served with apple.
A & S were nice enough to treat me to dinner. Thanks again!
Affinity is a great option for vegetarian food in Hamilton and meat eaters would not even miss meat. They are also very conscious of vegan diets and the menu indicates whether a dish contains eggs or dairy. I think it is a bit on the pricey side (maybe because I'm comparing to Chinese food...) but the combo is a very good deal. There are two sets of prices, lunch and dinner. If you just want to try this restaurant out, a good option is to go for lunch, which is at a lower price point.
After having spent over a week with my mom and eating everything under the sun (it felt anyway...), I was ready to just eat simple dishes. One of my favourite ways to have a light meal is eating a salad. I really enjoy a Greek salad because I eat a bunch of fresh vegetables and I like the salty ingredients, feta and olives!
Greek Salad I like making a dressing with balsamic vinegar because it adds a bit of sweetness. Pardon that I do not have exact quantities; I just taste as I go along. Don't use too much salt because of the aforementioned salty ingredients!
For the dressing * balsamic vinegar * olive oil * salt * pepper * oregano
Mix everything together.
For the salad * tomatoes, sliced * red pepper, cut into chunks * red onion, thinly sliced * cucumbers, cut into large half-circles * black olives, halved * feta cheese, cubed
When I go to my mom’s, not only does she cook for me but she also has treats for me in her deep freeze. One day, she got a bánh tét that she re-steamed, sliced up and fried for me for lunch. Bánh tét (like bánh chưng) is made for Tết (Vietnamese New Year). Since I missed Tết because I was actually in Vietnam in February, she wanted to share her homemade bánh tét.
Bánh tét has a filling of pork in the middle, then mung beans and the exterior is made of rice. All this is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. The only difference between bánh tét and bánh chưng is their shape; the former is cyclindrical and the latter is square.
Even though you can eat this simply heated, I like it best fried. The edges get crispy. I like to eat it with dưa món (Vietnamese pickles in fish sauce). This time, my mom had some pickled papaya, which was dried by my aunt in Vietnam and smuggled into the US via my grandmother. If you’re looking for a recipe, you will have to wait for Tết. Meanwhile, you can just enjoy these pictures!
Oh, this is going to be a long post… Because it’s my first dim sum post and I love dim sum! I also feel like I am a bit of an expert because I am half Chinese and was born in Hong Kong (I remember my great-uncle calling me "Hong Kong Siu Che", i.e. Hong Kong young lady in Cantonese – the French word demoiselle seems a better translation!! Never mind that I was born in a refugee camp. Ok, ok, I digress.) When I go eat dim sum, Cantonese I didn’t realize existed in me comes out - it’s really just related to food and I can also count to ten. I was also exaggerating a bit about being a dim sum expert…
Rewind a bit. For those who do not know what dim sum is about, it’s a sort of Cantonese mixture of brunch and tapas? It is served between late morning and early afternoon. The food is bite size type food, traditionally served in carts. You can therefore see the food before ordering. However, it is becoming more common to have dim sum à la carte. (Imagine my astonishment when I was given a menu in Hong Kong. Since they only understood one dish I asked for in Cantonese, I only ate har gow. I guess my Chinese isn’t THAT good…) Since bite size dishes are served, dim sum is best shared with many people so you can try different things!
I only refer to dim sum as dim sum in English. If I was speaking in Chinese, it would be yum cha, which literally means drinking tea. (It seems like I’m full of side comments today but isn’t it interesting how tea in many different language is translated to cha?) In Vietnamese, dim sum is điểm tâm, which means eating breakfast. Tea is complimentary at dim sum and is really needed to contrast with all the fatty foods. One tip: when your tea pot is empty, just open the lid and someone will come and add more tea!
There are various dim sum restaurants in Montréal. La Maison Kam Fung is a popular one. I remember going to this restaurant before it moved. It is located in Chinatown, in a little mall on the second floor. I think it’s smaller than it used to be. If you don’t want to wait in line, you should either go during the week or early on the weekend (around 11 am).
Ok, enough yacking on and on. Here are the pictures. Again, I apologize for the less than stellar quality. I should ask my blogger friends how they take nice pictures at restaurants. I feel so much pressure to take a quick picture so people can dig in that I end up with blurry pictures!
Entrance on the third floor.
Servers push carts showing their offerings. This cart had seaweed rolls and crispy fried squid.
For those unfamiliar with dim sum, each table comes with a mini spreadsheet to add up the cost of your meal. You can see that at La Maison Kam Fung, prices range from $2.50 to $3.75. Whenever you order food, the servers will sign their initials at the price point of the dish. At the end, the total is tallied. Dim sum usually ends up costing around $10 per person which is SUCH a steal!
Spreadsheet cum bill.
Anyone who regularly goes to dim sum has their favourites. We usually get into a routine and order the same dishes every time. I actually have not had dim sum with my mom in a while so it seems her routine has expanded. We must also take others' tastes in consideration. This time I went with my mom and her husband H, and my sister and her boyfriend D.
You must always order the classics: har gow (although I think it sounds more like ha kao) and siu mai. They are both served in bamboo steamer containers. Har gow is a shrimp dumpling and definitely one of my favourites. I love the pieces of shrimp. Siu mai is a pork dumpling. I'll have one but it's not really one of my favourites. You can dip either in mustard or chili sauce (or a combo of both) which is served on the table.
Har Gow. Plump dumplings filled with shrimp and bamboo.
Siu Mai's are filled with pork and topped with a decorative piece of carrot or pea.
We also usually order the rice noodle rolls with the shrimp filling. However, since we were a bigger crowd, we also got the one with the beef filling. The steamed rolls are topped with a sweet soy sauce by the server. My mom used to ask for extra because we loved the sauce so much.
Har Cheong, shrimp filled rice noodle roll.
Beef filled noodle roll.
I really enjoy the crunchy bit around the taro dumpling.
I don't think this is a traditional dim sum dish. It's a seaweed roll stuffed with faux crab and then deep fried but my sister likes it.
My mom definitely makes better spring rolls and I don't like the plum sauce...
Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce came in at $6 but might be the only significant vegetable available!
My mom and sister love this baby squid dish.
Finally, my mom couldn't go without salt and pepper shrimp.
Another dish that my mom and I used to have was chicken feet. Not for everyone, it's really all about the acoompanying sauce! I don't even remember seeing it though. We also like haam sui gaau, which has a sweet and sticky exterior with a pork filling. Different buns, congee, rice and noodle dishes are also offered. You just have to go check it out and point to what you like!
We were full with what we had so we were ready for dessert. If you see a dessert you like, just order it and save it. You could wait for a while until you see it again. My sister's absolute favourite is the egg tarts (she could have more than one!). We also ordered silken tofu with a ginger syrup (no picture - it looked boring) and the sesame seed dessert with red bean paste, called jin deui (I just looked it up on wikipedia...).
Egg tarts with flaky pastry.
Sesame seed dessert filled with red bean paste.
My sister L and her boyfriend look content.
H, my mom and myself were full!
If you've never have dim sum, do go seek out a big group of friends and try it. Note that dim sum (and this restaurant) is not generally vegetarian friendly. However, I have seen a vegetarian dim sum restaurant in Toronto that might be interesting to check out one day. I promise next time I have a dim sum post, it will not be so detailed!
