a toronto food blog
Had a quiet Sunday today. Stayed in, baked some scones, watched the Food Network, obsessed about my sourdough yeast starter (I think it died…top picture), and enjoyed dinner. (In four months I’ll probably be looking at this picture pinning for my mother’s cooking – more on that in a future post.) I have another little book review scheduled for Tuesday morning. If you’re interested in what I have to say about Mark Bittman’s VB6 book, drop in then ;) – the bread you see is from the book.
We bought quail last fall and made an easy – ah, isn’t it always around here? – dinner out of it. The bird was pan-fried and to the caponata (a Sicilian dish with eggplant) we added sweet cherry tomatoes. The fettuccine was tossed in butter with fresh cracked pepper.
The meal didn’t take much effort, a bit of dicing, a quick fry, boiled water, etc… Two years ago this would have been a lasagna, and now we’re slowly and happily building our repertoire.
Recipe here.
A visit at the Art Gallery of Ontario for the Evan Penny exhibition led us to Kinton Ramen afterwards. We had the Spicy Fried Chicken, Shio Ramen, Spicy Garlic Ramen (with extra meat), and the Vegetable Ramen.
Technically, every dinner Leo and I have can be considered a ‘date night’, but I specifically requested we do a special night out one November. I was pretty bored with our usual food spots at the time and the idea of having a taco or another pork belly something felt as enticing as eating chalk at that point. Sheherzade Dizi & Grill was a welcomed change for sure! It’s such a cozy little spot, dimly lit, with lots of colourful decorations. I’m pretty sure 90% of the people dining alongside us were on dates as well… Romantic dates, bro dates, and lady dates. No family dates. Also…dates..get it? (The fruit kind. They’re popular in Iranian and Middle Eastern cuisines, no?)
It was actually our second time there. I felt adventurous and got the Kaleh Joosh, which the menu says is a broth of Persian whey, mint, and onions cooked with white beans, chickpeas, potatoes and eggplant. It comes with a side of walnuts, beets and cucumbers, and flatbread. When it arrives at the table, the vegetables are served in a clay pot and the broth strained in a soup bowl. I was told to drink the broth first, then, with a special instrument, to crush the vegetables in the pot and use it as a spread for my flatbread.
When I looked up kaleh joosh on google, it seemed like it was an entirely different thing from what I had. Sheherzade’s kaleh joosh was a vegetarian version of their popular Abgoosht, which is a lamb stew that comes with everything I’ve mentioned above. It’s served and eaten the same way.
The kebabs Leo ordered came with Persian style rice with butter on top, a salad, and a whole roasted tomato. The rice puts most of the other rice I’ve ever eaten to shame.
The meats are halal.
Cusco: Part I
Hostal Pascana
Calle Awaqpinta #539
Hostal Pascana was a quaint little place that was booked for us during our brief stay in Cusco. The breakfasts are simple, usually bread with jam and butter alongside coffee or tea. At 3 PEN (Peruvian money) extra, they are more than willing to make you eggs to order.
Cafe Ricchary
Calle Concebidayoq
Touted as the best place to get coffee in Cusco, our guide took us there during our afternoon tour. We had the cappuccino, cafe mocha, an americano, and of course, I ordered a cortado. The beans are organic, coming from the Peruvian andes, and are grown and roasted by the owners themselves.
Granja Heidi
Cuesta San Blas #525
A German owned restaurant catering to European patrons who seemed to be either ex-pats or tourists looking for familiar dishes. Though I wasn’t specifically looking to eat there, it ended up being our lunch choice after we failed to find the quinta I wanted to try. (Turns out we were on the wrong street!) We had the lunch special, which was…spaghetti.
Nuna Rami
Calle Triunfo #356
Peruvian food, finally! While I had the roasted cuy (guinea pig), others opted for less adventurous options such as quinoa salads and chicken in yellow chilli sauce. You’re probably wondering what the cuy tasted like. It was similar to pork, but, it didn’t taste like pork entirely…maybe a bit sweeter. The skin was quite good.
The street food in Cusco seemed pretty diverse. To my disappointment, there were no ceviche stands – I was told these are usually found in Lima and the coastal regions of the country. However, there were carts selling what looked like breads, pastries, churros, popcorn, and yoguis, which are Peruvian-style corn dogs that replaces the corn batter with waffle!
Next up: Cusco’s market.
Kinton Ramen