Yes... I tried Indian Food

In journalism class we were given a review assignment. We could either review play/show, an independent film or a restaurant. What an excellent way to tie my blogging in with an assignment! So, I went and tried something that I’ve wanted to try for a loooong time: Indian food. I did do a review on it, but this will be much more laid back.

So I dragged my picky self to Clay Oven. I’ve heard tons about it from friends and coworkers who love this place, and from them I was told what my mission was: butter chicken.

When I found my way to my international food adventure, I was already impressed by the atmosphere. It was modern, and had nice warm lighting. From working in the event industry I found lighting makes the whole experience.

I did have an issue with service though. I had a young waiter, who I told I have never eaten this type of food before and I feel like he refrained from explaining things to me. I asked him about a combination dish and ordered the chicken thali platter. When it came it was a large metal plate with nine grooves for different food. I was kind of surprised he didn’t even tell me what I was eating.

I’m also not a spicy food person, and I definitely needed refills on my water, but it was hard to call the waiter over. I tried to get some ‘hey over here’ eye contact going, but it didn’t work too well. I asked the waitress who came over to fill my water what the things on my plate were called and she brought me back a takeout tray. It’s fine she doesn’t know English, but she was working on the floor with customers.

So, I got my plate, and at least I had some familiar foods. Rice, salad (no dressing L) and a hard chip like taco. The naan bread was amazing though. Soft and warm, it was perfect for dipping. Without it I for sure would have headed to McDonalds for a cheeseburger.

I felt the food was mostly sauce, which I’m not too crazy about. There were a few things on my dish that I just could not eat. Raita was a white creamy sauce with lentils and other things in it, but it tasted like goat yogurt. Yuck. Bitter. I only dipped my fork in it to taste it. And the palak paneer was not my cup of tea. It was a mossy green baby poop colour and there were cubes of cheese in it. The cheese was gritty, and I do like spinach but I didn’t like the spices. I was impartial to the allo gobbhi, which was some veggies covered in a red sauce. It was alright, a little soggy, and not that exciting. Let’s just say I didn’t finish it.

But I loved the butter chicken! It was so soft and melted in my mouth! It was spicy and I tasted garlic, but not too spicy for me. The dal makhani was also delicious. It had lentils in it, but I mostly just dipped my naan bread in it. I tasted garlic but it was a bit spicier than the butter chicken. My favourite was the rice pudding. This desert was on the same dish as everything else, and it looked watery but it was so sweet. It was the one thing I scraped clean.

So it’s mixed feelings for Indian food. I wouldn’t go out of my way to have it, but now I know that some aspects I like and I can go along with friends who do like it.

I’d give it *** out 5

Clay Oven

Things I've Learnt To Love

My favourite foods have to include anything that is barbequed, anything greasy (fries, pizza) and ice cream.  Now, those are just my favourites, and it doesn’t mean that’s all I eat though (even if I wish I could). I do also love all my fruits and tons of veggies and over the years I tried things now that I just have to have in my diet, that I really didn’t think I’d like.

Peppers- I now love em on my pizza or in a stir fry]

Zucchini- weird… but delicious

Salad- probably tried it when I was 14/15, and only liked Caesar at first. Now I’m getting more and more creative with different dressings, almonds, cheese, more veggies… now I even love greek salad!

Tomatoes- Only in moderation like in a salad, but I’m still not too crazy about them in a pizza sauce, salsa, lasagna… I know everyone loves it but I just can’t, no matter how much I try it.

COFFEE!- I always liked the smell, but the taste would just make me gag! I started drinking coffee this past summer when I would all these crazy hours between my two jobs. The girls at my event planning job are definitely coffee addicts, and they slowly got me hooked on coffee. I started drinking it with half French vanilla or hot chocolate, and now there are times when I’ll have a couple cups a day (only when I reeeaaaaaally need it though)

Spice- I was so opposed to spice at all! Now I don’t mind a little bit, like Miss Vickie’s Sour Cream & Jalapeno Chips… yum. And my boyfriend is Portuguese, so now I love some cherise (a spicy sausage) with my meal. (Though I won’t go as far as trying Squid Stew, a Portuguese specialty, yuck.)

Hopefully I can keep finding new things I love to eat and cook. Food can be comforting and exciting, and I’m just at the beginning to finding out what else I can add to my diet. And hopefully my dad will stop calling me “Sam I Am”.

Hummus

I'm so not excited to try hummus, not even a bit. I feel kind of bad for it, being called hummus and all. Kind of a gross name, so I probably am being a little prejudice to it. I guess I should give it a fair chance. It probably doesn't help that it's so pasty looking. Or that it's cold. I know you must think I'm nuts, but I don't like chip dip :0 I think it's the temperature. I like hot cheesy dip.

***

I don't even know how to describe it. My mom put a little bit on the end of a cracker, and wouldn't even let me say no before shoving it in my mouth. She said it would taste blah, but I beg to differ.

I know it's just chick peas and sesame seeds ground up, but it did not taste yummy at all. I've never had chick peas, but I think I gave it a fair chance. I tired it twice! Once on a cracker and once with a carrot. My mom said since it was so plain it might be better with a carrot, even though I don't think it was plain.

I wish I liked it because I know it's so good for you, but I just can't. It had a funny salt yet strange taste. And the texture was just awful. It was so pasty I had to chug down water to get rid of the thick residue it left behind.

I think it might be good if you tossed it with some hot veggies... Maybe.

Overall I'd give it * out of five. One for the nutritional value I got out of the two bites I had.

Yucca Yucky

So, I work at a small convenience store where we sell a lot of ethnic food from South America. The old owners, who owned it for over 30 years, were from South America. So, they carried all these items from their culture, and had a strong customer base that relies on the store for their favourite treats from home.  My boss is just keeping up the tradition.

We sell a lot of Yerba Mate (loose tea) imported from Paraguay, and I say a lot I mean A LOT! It’s usually sold in one kilo bricks, but people will buy 10 kilo packs. Mass Tea. We also sell candies, spices and home-made food like empanadas and bread balls.

Frozen- From Costa Rica

 I’ve worked there for three and half years and I haven’t tried a lot of the specialty items we have there. One item in particular I’ve been curios about is Yucca, or Cassava. It looks like frozen chunks of dough (which I thought it was) and customers told me it tastes like a potato. My thinking: then just eat a potato.

Actually, it’s a root with the peel taken off. They grow mostly in South America and even more in Africa. It’s a crop that really helps out those places in times of famine.

 It’s a carb, so it’s not all that healthy for you, especially when they say it’s best when it’s deep fried. (but what isn’t?) The kind I bought had already been peeled and cored, but when you purchase it fresh there can be major danger in cooking this root. If you don’t cook and prepare it properly you can get really sick, and even die. There are poisons in the peel, and if it’s not boiled long enough, that can cause your body to produce cyanide. This is a big issue in those countries that grow it because sometimes they don’t have good cooking equipment, and they are already malnutrition. A lot of people die because of these cyanide issues, but it’s a resilient crop that they depend on.

looks like pale-dry pine apple lol

Being as brave as I am I decided to try it anyway.  Geez, putting my life on the line for blogging. So how do you cook it anyway you ask?  Well online and on the package it says it must be boiled first for half an hour. I boiled mine for 35 mins. to be safe.  Then online it says you can bake it for some crisp or most highly suggested: deep fry it in some oil. There are also some sauce recipes online that go well with it. You can also do some baking with it. I decided to just try it boiled to see if I even liked it.

I was kind of scared cause I couldn’t stop thinking about the cyanide poisoning. So I tried a small piece around the edges, with salt and pepper, like I would a potato. It was odd. It was tasted like a perogie with no stuffing, and a little potato-y. But it had a bit of strange texture, like a paste residue. Maybe like a more pasty cooked potato and I kind want to say like a soggy cookie residue. It wasn’t horrible, but it tasted like it was a wanna-be potato.  I`m sure if I deep-fried it, it would have been much better, but then I`d just eat some fries instead.  

I just think it`s kind of pointless. Potatoes taste so much better, and they can be grown right here in Canada. And they`re cheaper! (and they can`t give you cyanide poisoning J)

I`ll give this whole Yucca-Cassava thing ** out of 5

Kay's Deli

Having a three hour spare on Friday, myself and two of my classmates, Jacky Leskiw and Jamie Mckay, checked out a neat little deli on William Ave. near Red River.


Jacky had heard about it from her parents, and as we headed down William, unsure what we'd find, we wondered if it was even there. We were the only customers in the luxiously decorated deli as we pushed tables together and chose our seats. Beautiful art hung on the walls were for sale, and chalkboards made up the menus. The art varied from sceneries (my fav.) to a jar of pickles (Jamie's fav.).


I really wanted some comfort food that day, so I got a triple decker grilled cheese with two different types of cheese. To drink, I got a citrus berry smoothie, and an expresso. Though I have to choke down expressos, I love the rush of caffiene. Jamie, the sweetheart she is, bought me a second expresso to fuel my caffiene craziness. By the time we got back to school I was bouncing off the walls.


My sandwhich: Gouda and cheddar with a hint of roasted garlic puree


The grilled cheese was perfect. It was crunchy, and the two different cheese tasted amazing together with the garlic (even though there isn't ever a time when garlic doesnt't taste good). I was surprised of how fancy they could actually make a grilled cheese. Our food was up in no time, and with no one else in the place I didn't feel silly snapping some pics.


The smoothie though wasn't the best. I'm a booster juice addict, and have had plently of other smoothies from other places, and this particular drink did not live up to my standards. I mean, it was good of course, but not the kind of smoothie that you think about later, and how bad you want it again.


For atmosphere, service and taste, I gove Kay's **** out of 5

Kay's Deli



my favourite pieces, a wee tad outta my price range ;P




my lunch




'order here' adorable



more art, including pickle jar piece haha

a look at where the magic happens

my friday fuel

vegan citrus berry, for both me and Jacky, blueberry banana for Jamie

Comic Con

It was my first year at Comic Con and I plan to make it an annual adventure. Everyone had such great costumes and such spirit for their fav comics, movies and anything else they felt like dressing up as. I wanted to buy everything! They had clever t-shirts, collectables, toys, a zombie factory and face/body painting. My favourite part was "Artist Alley". They had comic book artists drawing right there on the spot, as well as excellent work in graphic design. I just wanted to share a pictures I snapped of my favourite artist at Comic Con.

I bought the wizard of Oz in black in white, was going to go for a zombie one but that black and white one is something I'll know I'll like for years (and it was the last one ;) )

yea.. the general lee wassup

Things I Will Never Ever Even Try

I know this blog is supposed to get me step outside my comfort zone when it comes to food, but I'm sorry folks there are just some things I won't even give a shot. They are just not my cup of tea.

                  Mustard- The smell is more than enough for me





Minestrone Soup- My mom and sister love it, but all those soggy vegatables and beans are not for moi

Chili in any form- yes that includes spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes..

Swiss Chard- soggy leaves, no thanks

Vern's Flame Thrower Pizza- My boyfriend's favourite.. no thanks. There's just no crust to topping ratio!

 

I'm fine with missing out on these foods, and many more.

Just different Strokes For Different Folks!