Herbed Crepes with Rice, Mushrooms and Kale

Fun fact of the day: Did you know that nearly 65 per cent of rice consumed in Canada is grown in the U.S? Canada barely produces any rice of its own, so I guess we can thank our U.S neighbours for all of those whole grains. The USA Rice Federation sent me some recipes for summer using rice and this recipe for stuffed crepes caught my eye:

It also reminded me of the last time I ate crepes, which was in Laos. Yes, Laos. Believe it or not, with the strong French influence in that part of Southeast Asia, some of their street food includes freshly made crepes, pastries and baguettes. One night in Luang Prabang, after perusing the night markets, we stopped at a crepe stall for a late night sweet fix. The delicate, light crepes were flipped and served using only a stick and a hot pan. The ones we got were filled with gooey melted banana and Nutella; the art of the delivery though is in the crepe itself.

The next morning, someone on our tour group asked about the crepes and one of the girls said, "they were alright, but they could have used more Nutella." The phrase kind of stuck with us as a running joke throughout the trip. So when someone asked how something was or how we liked something we would say, "alright...but it could have used more Nutella."

It's funny how you associate food with a certain place or even time. That's why local food can say so much about a community. For example, something as simple as a stack of rhubarb from a co-worker's garden can become multiple jars of Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce. This was my first canning project of the summer. 

I also made a Strawberry Rhubarb pie and it was definitely not my first pie of the season. The sauce works on yoghurt, ice cream, granola and pretty much anything you want summer rhubarb on. I also plan to make some Dandelion Jelly, Zucchini Relish and more salsa this summer all on my preserving to-do list. 

I also like to stock up on local vegetables when I can. We have one tomato plant on our porch ready to go this summer and I am always looking for fresh, leafy greens in season. These crepes are a great way to use up some vegetables and make a savoury, filling meal whether you like them French-style with traditional sauce or on the lighter side with just a bit of cheese grated inside and baked:

Herbed Crepes with Cheese, Rice, Spinach and Mushrooms 

Ingredients:

Crepes

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

Filling:

1/4 cup butter, melted

8 cups sliced cremini or white mushrooms

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

8 cups fresh trimmed spinach leaves (or kale)

1 3/4 cups brown or white rice

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dry sherry, dry white wine or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/4 cups milk

1 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Note: I omitted these ingredients and made the crepes without the sauce on top. Instead, I grated about a 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese into the rice filling. 

Crepes: In a blender, blend eggs, milk, flour, 2 tbsp of the butter and salt until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. 

Heat 8-inch crepe pan or stick-resistant skillet over medium heat; brush lightly with some of the remaining butter. Stir half of the chives into batter. For each crepe, pour about 1/3 cup batter into centre of pan, swirling to coat; cook, turning once, until set and light golden, about 1 minute. Transfer to plate; repeat with remaining batter to make 12 crepes. 

Filling: In large, wide saucepan, melt 1 tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat; sauté mushrooms, onion, garlic, half of the salt and pepper until golden brown and liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. In 2 or 3 batches, add spinach, letting each batch wilt before adding the next and stirring often. Once all is wilted, continue to cook until almost no liquid remains, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in rice. 

Some exciting news for my Ontario readers who also like tasting, savouring and promoting local food. Food Story is a Toronto Farmer's Market Delivery Service that delivers a customizable weekly box of artisanal and farm fresh food to your door. Similar to a CSA box program, Food Story wants to connect local producers to local food enthusiasts:

They are offering new customers in the Toronto area a discount and free delivery with your first delivery order of organic, local food. Use promo code FOODLOVEHAPPINESS with a minimum $25 purchase to receive a 25 per cent discount and check them out on Facebook and Twitter. 

"Top Banana" Frozen Bananas with Coconut Sugar

I started quite a few business ventures when I was younger and although I wouldn't quite call them successful, I can see where I get my entrepreneurial spirit. From a cat-sitting/dog walking venture, to garage sales, lemonade stands and even creating a mini-summer camp in my backyard with my friend (which only had 2 campers, so it was pretty much babysitting), I have always been an "idea" person. I also made cassette tapes of myself playing piano and singing and would try to sell them to my parent's friends at dinner parties. 

I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy blogging. It's about branding yourself, creating interesting e and trying to find your niche. Who knows where it will go, but one of the perks is definitely sampling neat food items from different companies. 

GraceKennedy sent me a sample of their Organic Coconut Sugar; it's a natural sweetener made from nutrient-rich sap of coconut flower buds. I used it on top of yoghurt and granola, but it can be used as a 1:1 substitute to brown sugar in baking or to sweeten coffee or tea. The other day I sprinkled some into tomato sauce as a bit of a sweetener and I also added some to this frozen dessert. 

Because the new season of Arrested Development was released last week I thought it would be fitting to make some frozen bananas to eat while I watch the new episodes. Even though the Bluth company never really works out as planned, they still try to do their best (I guess?) and keep the family together. 

These frozen bananas were somewhat inspired by this Nutella Crunch Ice cream Cake. I used melted nutella as the coating and then rolled the bananas in a mixture of All-Bran buds, puffed quinoa cereal and coconut sugar. I found the puffed quinoa cereal at Bulk Barn and thought it would be neat to try. It's kind of like quinoa in Rice Krispies form. 

Frozen Chocolate Bananas with Coconut Sugar

Ingredients:

3 bananas

1 cup Nutella

1 cup All-bran buds

1 cup puffed quinoa cereal

3 tbsp coconut sugar

Melt Nutella in a small bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Peel the bananas and cut them in half. Coat the bananas in the melted nutella. Combine the All-bran, quinoa and sugar. Roll the coated bananas in the cereal mixture. Place them on a plate or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the bananas in the freezer for at least one hour. I used skewers as the sticks, but you could also use popsicle sticks or toothpicks. Make sure to put the sticks in before they are completely frozen. 

I am sometimes too much of a "thinker" for my own good. Sometimes I over plan things a little too much, like with planning parties. When I was younger, my birthday parties were always elaborate and meticulously planned. From the Indiana Jones themed party where my parents actually buried treasure in the backyard to having a Clown entertain and paint our faces to even a session at Glamour Shots. 

Birthdays seem a little more low-key nowadays. I don't need treat bags, invitations or formal activities. Some good friends, good food and cozy setting and maybe some drinks are all I need. And especially for the summer, some homemade Sangria is always nice. Sometimes I need to let go, stop planning and just enjoy the wonderful moments. 

When we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake the other weekend, we picked up a few bottles of red wine that was on sale. According to the salesperson, the wine was from 2008, which was not a great year for Ontario wine; however, she did say it was a great wine for house parties or making Sangria. 

So I turned to the Joy of Cooking for a classic Sangria recipe made with club soda, fruit and lemon juice to serve at my Birthday celebration. I also made a Thai-inspired coleslaw with cabbage, mango, green onions, peanuts and a dressing to go along with burgers and pulled pork. After a getaway exploring wineries and food trucks, my low-key Birthday party was a great way to unwind and finish up the long weekend.

We ate some burgers, drank quite a bit of Sangria and relaxed on the porch. My birthday cake was an experiment based on this summer fruits chocolate frosted cake recipe I found on Pinterest. Like many things on Pinterest, looks can be deceiving. The idea is that you ice a whole watermelon so when you cut into it the slices are all "cake-like" slices of watermelon. The tricky part was getting the icing to stay on the watermelon. I don't know if you know this, but watermelon is made up of mostly water, so this was a difficult task. 

I ended up scraping the icing off of the side and iced the top of the cake instead with some icing and sprinkles. The process was quite neat and Mike did a great job carving the watermelon--the intentions were there--however, the staying power of icing on water was not.

Good ideas can easily flop and sometimes you have good intentions. Like the Bluth family, you don't always plan for crazy things to happen; they just do. But just remember, "there is always money in the banana stand." 

Food Truck Eats at Peller Estates Winery

If you've ever been to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side, you probably know the main strip is like Piccadilly Circus mixed with the vibe of creepy clowns and amusement park rides. When I was younger, I was somewhat traumatized by the The Fun House--not so fun as an anxious child--and especially the Butterfly Conservatory.

However, about 20 minutes away from Niagara Falls is Niagara-on-the-Lake, a beautiful town set right where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario among wineries, scenic roads and quaint shops. For tourists and Ontarians, it's a relaxing destination to sip some wine, take a romantic stroll and stop to smell the flowers. 

Even better was the opportunity to hang out at a winery, taste some wine and eat food from gourmet food trucks! Food Truck Eats was the perfect summer kick-off with 20 food trucks and 20 different wines to sample at Peller Estates Winery. The event is in its second year and this year offered an afternoon event and an evening market. This year both events completely sold out with about 3,000 tickets sold. 

Peller Estates is one of the flagship wineries in the Niagara region and has been making their award-winning wines, including their famous icewine, for about 50 years. They also know how to throw one heck of a party. Included in each ticket was entry to the event, a souvenir glass and a complimentary glass of wine. I had my game face on:

Before the event they sent out a list of "Top Tips to Enjoy Food Truck Eats." They recommended to make a plan of the trucks you wanted to visit and to "not wear white." My partner in crime did not wear white, however, and spilt some red wine on his shirt in the first 10 minutes. The only thing about these events is trying to balance wine in one hand, food in the other and good conversation. My friend Steve also came along for the festivities. 

The first step was to get some wine, which is the best thing to mull over as you're waiting in line for food trucks. Peller Estates had many of their wines to sample, including their icewines and Late Harvest Vidal. I tried a glass of the Gewuztraminer, as I tend to go for light, refreshing wines.

Then we waited in line for our first food truck Gourmet Gringos for their tacos, ceviche and Huevos Rancheros. I got the Peruvian Tiradito, which was fresh seared marlin, jicama and in a jalapeno-lime mojo along with beer battered mahi mahi tacos with coleslaw and guacamole. There were also tacos with a variety of fillings, including chicken, chorizo and black beans. 

Whenever I tell people about food trucks and how popular they are now I think they are still a little hesitant about the idea. Someone I know said they probably wouldn't order seafood off a truck, but I think it's just the misconceptions about street food. This is definitely still gourmet food and beautifully prepared even if you do eat it while sitting on the ground. The seared tuna was refreshing and the salad underneath was tangy and crispy. It was the perfect cool appetizer to start the warm afternoon.

Then we ventured to Rome N' Chariot, an Italian food truck and tried their Holy Trinity of sliders with meatball, veal and eggplant with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese on slider buns. Again, a nice little sample of the different foods as opposed to gourging ourselves. 

There were so many trucks I wanted to try, but alas, so little time. The boys were looking forward to the "Dirty Southern Love" sandwich, a triple-decker made up of fried chicken, candied bacon and waffles topped with Louisiana butter sauce and Ranch dressing from Dirty South. Unfortunately, they were sold out of those before we got there.  

My favourite looking truck was Manual Labour Coffee with their 1969 Bailey Travel Trailer converted into a mobile espresso and coffee truck. My dream is to one day restore a vintage RV or camper van. Maybe I'll be in the food truck business one day...or at least take it on some adventures. 

The classics were also there from my days hunting down Toronto food trucks. Gorilla Cheese never disappoints and Feisty Jack was serving some classic British favourites, including Tikka Masala, Scotch Eggs and Fish and Chips. The line-ups weren't so bad if you had a glass of wine in hand. I have to praise the food trucks workers and cooks for being incredibly efficient and friendly, especially serving crowds of people on a hot afternoon. 

We stayed at the Moffat Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is part of the Vintage Hotels group who also own the Prince of Wales Hotel. That doorway was actually the door to our room, which had two doors: one on the inside and one to the street. 

We then strolled through the nice shops on the main street and got some ice cream for dessert. There were so many neat goodies and treats in that shop. Don't let me into a speciality food shop, especially a tea and coffee shop. We ended up buying a bag of Niagara Icewine tea made from the frozen grapes that produce Ice wine although there is no alcohol in the tea. 

The next day we stopped at some wineries to check them out and then had to leave the wonderful paradise. This was part of my birthday present and it was a nice, relaxing weekend to kick off my birthday, the long weekend and the start of summer. 

Afternoon Tea for Two and Strawberry "Monkey Bread" Cake

When I was in London, England for the summer a few years ago, I lived in Notting Hill right near Hyde Park. I took walks through the park all the time to unwind from work and exercise from eating too many fish and chips.

I really thought of the park as a kind of heaven on earth. At any given moment there were people hanging out, playing sports, rowing boats, riding horses, eating ice cream and soaking up the English sun. To say it was a magical place would also be fitting, as an elaborate production of Peter Pan was staged in the park at that time as well. The park is every bit of English elegance, charm and history all in one place. 

Nestled in Hyde Park is Kensington Palace, now the home of the Royal Couple Will and Kate. At the time you could stroll around the castle for free, as well as the gardens. I'm guessing the security might be a little stricter now. Next to the palace is The Orangery, probably the fanciest place to have a cup of tea in London. Let's just say, it was a little bit out of my price range. I can dream though.

Lucky for me, my favourite tea shop in London, Ontario--where I now live--The Tea Haus (in Covent Garden Market, also named after the "real" market in England) started up an Afternoon Tea at their store. It was Mike's Birthday last weekend, so instead of, you know, watching the hockey game and drinking beers, I took him for tea at the market on Sunday.

The tea for two included unlimited tea served in fancy china and on a nicely set table along with a platter of goodies from Le Petit Paris, which is also located in the market. The tray included macarons, tarts, biscotti, sandwiches and much more. I assumed it would be all sweet treats, but it was nice to have a few savoury things thrown in there to balance everything out. There was a tuna, chicken and egg salad "tea sandwich."

Saturday morning was also the first farmer's Market of the season, so I picked up some rhubarb and lavender, as my dining room table vase has been neglected lately. According to the lavender farm owner, you can actually barbecue lavender. You put a few sprigs on the coals and the scent and flavour will infuse into whatever you're grilling. How cool is that?

This would be a nice treat for Mother's Day too. The only weird thing was that we were the only ones having the tea service at that time, so a few people walked by wondering why we had a nicely set table and fine china in the seating area of the market. A little girl walked by and asked if we were having a tea party. Why yes, we had a tea party. We're adults, after all.

As well as the tea treats, I also made a Strawberry "monkey bread" cake with a lemon glaze as a Birthday cake. The original recipe called for cream cheese icing, but I thought that would be too much, so I added a little glaze made from icing sugar, lemon juice and milk. I also added a few sprigs of lavender on top of the cake.

Monkey bread is a sticky, pull-apart, cake, similar to a coffee cake. Apparently it is also known as "monkey brains," "bubble loaf," and "sticky bread." You make a sweet dough bread and let it rise for about an hour. Then slice the dough into strips and brush brown sugar, butter and strawberries on each piece and layer the pieces into a stack. Then place the juicy stacks into a bundt pan and let it rise again for about an hour.

Bake the cake for about 30-40 minutes and let it cool before adding the glaze or icing. See the full recipe here. It wasn't quite a traditional coffee cake, but the slices ended up being huge and it pulls apart nicely if you don't want the effort of utensils or plates.

I also made a layered chickpea salad for a BBQ we went to on Saturday. You have to have a salad with burgers at a BBQ if only to add some greens to all that protein. I made a similar dish before as a layered dip with hummus, tzatziki, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese. For a salad, I layered chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, green onions and feta cheese then made a dressing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and garlic and let the dressing soak into the salad. 

Normally, I would put the dressing on right as I was serving the salad, but I thought it would almost "marinade" the chickpeas. The worst thing about making chickpeas is having them taste too much like chickpeas. Am I right? It tasted exactly like a Greek salad. Plus it had all those chickpeas for extra fibre and anything layered in a glass bowl always looks extra fancy. Here's the original recipe.  

If you also love eating well, and bright colours, head on over to enter to win a Yonanas machine. It's a machine that makes frozen yoghurt with bananas and other fruits. All you do is freeze some bananas and add them to the machine with any flavour combinations you want and you have your own healthy soft-serve ice cream.

They also come in cool colours, such as Raspberry, Cranberry, Lime and Grape. Go to their Facebook page before May 9 at 10pm and let them know your favourite colour for a chance to win!