A Week In Pictures

Driving down N High St on Wednesday. "Avoid Hell Repent Trust Jesus Today". Indeed.



A new original piece by Terribly Odd to add to my collection of creepy kid artwork. "Poor sweet Dorothy Sutton, who's eyes were scratched out and replaced with buttons."




Made these Raw Vegan Brownies, and will be bringing them in to work tomorrow. I think they taste more like Tootsie Rolls, while my friend Venessa thinks they're similar to Li'l Debbie brownies.



And I just got back from the 2nd match of the season for the Ohio Roller Girls with Venessa, Andrea and Suzanne.

A Weekend Spent in the Kitchen

Friday

• Cinnamon Peanut Butter (my own recipe)
• Green Garlic Oil (raw)

Saturday

• Yogurt
• Whole Wheat Flax Meal Tortillas (my own recipe)
• Tomato Sauce (raw)
• Jicama Ravioli with Tomato Sauce (raw - paper-thin jicama slices, marinated in Green Garlic Oil, wrapped around raw almond hummus, made last week and stored in the freezer, covered in tomato sauce)

Sunday

• Mint Oreo Cookie Balls
• Roasted Vegetables and Seitan (big ass pan of; seitan = homemade)

Yes, this entry was just so I could post pictures of the cookie balls. Whoops?

A Birthday Weekend in Chicago

I am back from a wonderful weekend in Chicago, wherein I turned 34. I spent the weekend with my friends Lisa and Matt, and we had excellent meals, and experienced excellent shopping.

First, the meals.

Before the shopping began, Lisa and I had lunch at Karyn's, a raw food restaurant. I was delighted to find that it was just as good as NYC's Pure Food and Wine! We shared the following, and I very much wished that Karyn would put out a cook(construction?)book:

Appetizer:

• Crimini Mushrooms stuffed with a Nut Pate and Topped with a Light Gravy

Mains:

• Basil Scented Ravioli (wrapper made of jicama) with a Macademia Whipped CrËme Dressed with a Sun-Dried Tomato Puree
• Taste the Riches of the Ocean with this Creamy Sea Wrap, Filled with Avocado, Crunchy Walnut Pate, Sweet Onion and Basil Wrapped in a Seaweed Crepe

That evening, Lisa, Matt and I went to Moto. We had the 5 course tasting, Matt and Een had the meat version, and I had the vegetarian. We had the same basic courses, with vegetarian proteins substituting the meats, and without meat ingredients in the purees, sauces and reductions.

Menu:

• Edible menu was a very thin, crisp cookie printed with edible ink, accompanied by a slightly salted pear gelee an pear reduction .

Courses:

• White truffle brulee with a white truffle biscuit (veg) / maple and bacon biscuit (meat)
• Pan fried tofu (veg) / cod (meat) with soya miso puree and pan fried puffed rice
• Crispy hash browns, hard boiled egg with spinach (both were perfect cubes) with a kind of beans I can't remember (veg) and thin slices of beef (meat)
• Wee flourless chocolate and black tea cake, wee vanilla and lemon cake enrobed in gelee with raspberry
• Coffee ice cream with a cup of warm almond biscotti flavoured creamy liquid. The ice cream was freeze-dried, and you dipped it in the cup of warm liquid biscotti

Although Moto definitely has that molecular gastronomy bent, the flavours on the plate would be in place with any other high end, more traditional restaurant that I've been to. Both Moto and Karyn's were absolutely amazing, and it's really hard to choose a favourite. Out of everything, though, I do think that the white truffle brulee was the champion of the day.

Between lunch and dinner, Lisa and I went to a number of shops. I took pictures of the cuteness that came home with me.

At Habit, I picked up this brass necklace.



At Renegade Handmade, I bought this Erica Weiner bronze necklace of a mouse pelvis:



And this mounted bunny head, by T&A:

I Go To New York, Eat Raw and Buy Jeans

It's true, I do. But if it works, it works, no?

Friday's flight out was delayed by two hours, putting me smack-dab in the middle of drizzley rush hour traffic on the drive into Manhattan. But the frustration of it all evaporated when I met up with my friends Heather and Lauren at Pure Food and Wine. Excellent conversation and food that was vegan and raw and immensely flavourful. Who could ask for anything more?

We decided to go with the five course tasting menu, pared with a refreshing rose. For most of the courses, we all received something completely different, and I feel like almost everything that came out of the kitchen was something that I had wanted to try. So we shared every dish, and it was so, so satisfying and flavourful, I can't even begin to tell you. Wanna see it? Here it goes.

Amouse Bouche:

• Chunk of cashew cheese topped with a blackberry with a balsamic reduction

First Course:

• Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps with Tamarind Chile Sauce, Pea Shoots, Mango and Cabbage
• Jerusalem Artichoke and Cucumber Dolmas with Cilantro Tahini, Preserved Lemon Oil and Fresh Mint
• Ironbound Island Sea Vegetable Salad with Blue Green Algae Dust, Watercress, Avocado, and Mellow White Miso Dressing

Second Course:

• Marinated Shiitake and Avocado Sushi Rolls with Pink Pickled Ginger, Cucumber, Dulse rolled in Jicama Rice
• Morel Mushrooms with Spring Vegetables and Ramp Cream, Sweet Corn, Sugar Snap Peas and 50 Year Balsamic
• White Corn Tamales with Raw Cocoa Mole, Marinated Mushrooms, Salsa Verde and Avocado

Third Course:

• Cold Avocado Soup with Mango and Chili Chutney

Fourth Course:

• Zuchinni and Roma Tomato Lasagne with Basil-Pistachio Pesto, Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce and Pignoli Ricotta
• Lapsang Smoked Portabella Mushroom with Caper Potato Salad, Hawthorne Valley Ruby Kraut, and Wildflower Honey Mustard
• Chanterelle Mushroom and Kalamata Olive Raviolo with Macadamia Cream, Parsely Salad and Pistachio Oil

Palate Cleanser:

• Shot glasses of Melon Water

Fifth Course:

• Chocolate Molten Lava Cake with Mocha Mousse, Chocolate Sauce, and Vanilla Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream
• Passion Fruit Mousse with Lime Cream and Pineapple Coconut Sorbet
• Orchid Trio of Ice Creams of Umeboshi Lemongrass, Chamomile Tamarid Mangluck and Green Tea Cardamom Pistachio

Dude, I KNOW.