I have had a few more occasions to visit Deer + Almond this summer and I continue to enjoy the food and atmosphere of this trendy little tapas restaurant in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. 

My bestie was in town to celebrate her 50^th so I thought Deer + Almond would be a place where she would enjoy the food and we could have a leisurely visit with a couple of cocktails.  As usual our dinner started with a bowl of seasoned popcorn, an on-the-house amuse bouche to get your appetite going as you review the menu.  From the regular menu we tried the house salad of thinly sliced beets, creamy goat cheese, mixed greens and pecans in sherry vinaigrette.

I have long wanted to try the grilled zucchini which in reality has very little zucchini but lots of hummus, tabouleh salad and tzatziki sauce.  It is served with lightly toasted pita, which we could of used a few more slices of to scoop up all that goodness.

From that night’s special board we selected a prawn dish cooked with cilantro and tomato and served with garlic toast.  I liked it but long for the return of Chef Mandel’s Sultry Prawns. We also tried the steamed pork buns which I thought rivaled any I have had at a dim sum house. 

Being a special occasion we had to finish with dessert.  The sound of the affagato appealed to my friend so that is what we ordered. Although this dish of ice cream with crumbled amaretto biscuit and espresso had an enjoyable flavour, it is not an easy dish to share as by the end it is more a coffee drink than a dessert.  

My most recent visit to Deer + Almond was for lunch.  Members of our department are spread out among three hospitals so we often meet in the Exchange District as it is a central location. The gang was looking for recommendations, so this was my recommendation. The tastes and levels of adventure when it comes to food are diverse in this group, so my hope was this place would offer something for everyone.  I must say I was impressed with the value at lunch. 

The sandwiches and wraps included your choice of house salad or grilled corn on the cob. 

My boss tried the soba noodle salad which proved to be too much food for her but was apparently still delicious as lunch the next day.

A few of my coworkers had the smoked lamb pita which they thoroughly enjoyed.  A few of us had the chicken salad sandwich. Chunks of chicken with grapes, cherries and walnuts, however I could not find any cherries.  It was topped with alfalfa sprouts and served on delightful toasted pumpernickel.  Others had the pulled pork wrap from the daily feature board which met more mediocre reviews than the regular menu items.

The dish that most intrigued me was the sprouted pulse ancient grains salad.  A mix of butter lettuce, radish, beets, carrots and grapes, enoki mushrooms with hemp and chia seeds in a goji dressing.  It is then topped with a soft boiled egg that has been soaked in beet juice making this a visually stunning plate.  I can’t wait to try it on a future visit.  

Kath’s quote: “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee”.- Martin J. Nystrom

Love-that is all.

I was treating a friend to lunch and needed a place that was close to my office that could feed us within my one hour time limit.  As my friend is a bit of a foodie and we were doing some brainstorming about food related things I thought I should find a place where the food was the star.  Fitzroy seemed like a logical choice to fit that bill and we were not disappointed.

Our waiter was attentive and displayed an obvious passion for the food he was serving. The menu is not extensive, which suits me fine.  I would rather see a menu with twelve items done well that with fifty items that are so-so.  Even with limited choices we had a hard time deciding as it was all tempting. We knew we wanted pork and shrimp as those are favorites of both of us.

We started by sharing the warm pretzel with soft brown butter.

We loved the sticky pork with corn and crackling.  I’m still not sure why it is called sticky as nothing about it was sticky but it was no less delicious.  The pork is prepared sous-vide, meaning it is vacuum packed in plastic then cooked in a water bath at a very precise temperature. This process allows the meat to quickly absorb flavors and break down connective tissue making the final product melt-in-your-mouth tasty.  The pork was served with corn that was creamed as well as crunchy corn nuts and crispy chicken skin. I thought they might have selected pork crackling instead of chicken but this was good too. This dish reminded both of us of our Mom’s pork roast dinners with cream corn and scallop potatoes, a classic in both our households growing up.

Next we tried the buttery shrimp on parsley sauce with horseradish.  I was expecting much more heat from this dish but it was none the less, scrumptious.  The shrimp were nicely seasoned and perfectly cooked and the creamy puree complemented the lovely texture of the shrimp.

On our waiters recommendation, we added the chopped salad, a smart idea as there were no vegetables with our other three dishes.  The salad was very pretty, crunchy and I really enjoyed the zingy dressing.  At $11.00 for a small bowl however I’m not sure the value was there.

Overall I really enjoyed our lunch.  I personally found the prices a bit steep for the neighborhood but the atmosphere is sleek and hip, the service efficient and friendly and the bites yummy.

Kath’s quote: “It is not elegant to gnaw Indian corn. The kernels should be scored with a knife, scraped off into the plate, and then eaten with a fork. Ladies should be particularly careful how they manage so ticklish a dainty, lest the exhibition rub off a little desirable romance.”-Charles Day, 1844

Love-that is all.

My Mom is Queen of Cabbage Rolls.  Her recipe took years to perfect: getting the right proportions of ground beef and bacon, the correctly matured cabbage leaves, using tomato juice instead of sauce so that the acid in the juice would permeate the cabbage and add to its tenderness.  She has instructed me in all of these nuances but I have actually never made her cabbage rolls.  That is because, I will confess, I am a lazy cook.  My favourite dishes are big platters of delicious ingredients that you just kind of throw together at the end, stroll it into the dining room and have the family go-ahh!

So I am a “lazy” cook, but I am also a frugal one.  We have had beautiful cabbage in our garden share boxes this summer and I have made a couple of slaws to have as a salad or as a topping for pork sliders but I have not been able to keep up to the quantity.  So a couple of weeks ago, I took two complete cabbage heads and blanched them as I have seen my Mom do.  When they were tender, I cooled them and carefully removed the cabbage core, and placed the intact leaves between paper towel and placed them in the freezer for future use.

This week, now that my fall routine of teaching an evening class is upon me, I made up a couple of casseroles in the morning.  I say a “couple” because I find that these kind of meals are just as easy to cook up a double batch and then freeze one or drop it off at the home of a new Mom or elderly neighbour.  In this case, I delivered one to a family who has recently arrived from Great Britain.  I thought that they would get a kick out of tasting stick-to-your-ribs prairie food.

But because I am always trying to find ways to increase fibre and reduce fat in our meals, I modified the more traditional ingredients a bit by using brown rice instead of white, sliced lean ham instead of bacon and replaced the salt with extra garlic.  I think that the experiment was a success.

Sorry, I didn’t get a photo of the finished product because, when I got home that evening, it was gone.  Must have been a hit!

Kath’s quote: “Cabbage as a food has problems. It is easy to grow, a useful source of greenery for much of the year. Yet as a vegetable it has original sin, and needs improvement. It can smell foul in the pot, linger through the house with pertinacity, and ruin a meal with its wet flab. Cabbage also has a nasty history of being good for you.”-Jane Grigson

Love-that is all.

Being a foodie blogger has many fringe benefits.  I am able to make dates with my girls to join me for a lunch and other times I have invited D along to an opening or special dinner event.  J1 and J2 have even had the opportunity to “sub in” for us on a culinary tour of the Muskokas.  Rarely am I able to invite the entire family along to an event, but this past weekend we “almost” all got to participate.  My readers know how important family is to me and how I love to spread around the benefits of my wonderful life.  Last week, Chef Matt Frost of Earl’s on Main St. inquired whether we were available to join him at his Chef’s Table to sample their new Brunch menu.  The weekend was already very, very full but we were so glad to have agreed.

Chef Matt met us at the entrance to the private dining room and we were delighted to have a separate area to ourselves.  It is not that we are rabble rousers or anything, quite the opposite in fact.

We wanted to make sure that Wee One, who was accompanying us, didn’t give one of her urgent cries and disturb guests around us.  Coffee and mimosas were poured all around and we settled in to a brunch extravaganza.

First up were Cream Cheese Cinnamon Buns which we were told will be served to everyone who joins the good folks at Earl’s for brunch.  Had it been the only thing that I knew that I would be eating that morning, I would have enjoyed every gooey morsel but anticipating that there was more ahead, allowed me to restrain myself after a taste.  I love a good yeasty and cinnamony bun, pure and simple, so I considered the frosting overkill, but I know that those of you with a sweet-tooth with go gaga for them.

Matt then explained that a key component to the brunch menu was their crusty sourdough bread.  Matt created the starter himself and so you will know that whenever you tear into the flavourful loaf, no matter when in the future, you will be eating something that he created for your dining pleasure.

When made into French Toast, we loved that the flesh of the loaf was airy but the crust was crunchy and full of ridges to make it even more so. The Chantilly cream, berry puree, real maple syrup and butter, were the icing on the cake-literally.

We mistakenly thought that the frittata that came out next would be with a potato base (potato lover that I am).  J2 clarified that a frittata is simply a quiche without the crust.  This one is its own cast iron frying pan which kept it piping hot.  I particularly appreciated the nuggets of goat cheese when offset by the glistening green chives, which was likely added for a colourful garnish but was what I thought, an essential ingredient for my tastes.

The Croque Madame was declared to be the favourite of many of our family members.  In short, it was a grilled ham and Swiss cheese sandwich that had been crowned with a rich yolked Omega 3 poached egg and surrounded by a Serrano cream sauce.

While in France, D and I took every opportunity to order a Croque Monsieur which the Parisians often have in a cafe as a snack.  The addition of the poached egg makes the Monsieur, a Madame.

Matt plans his tasting menu to serve the richest and heartiest dish last.  I would have selected it as my favourite, no matter when it had been placed in front of me, combining many of my favourite brunch foods into one dish.  Officially titled Chorizo + Mushroom Hash, the dish was exceedingly more delicious than its name.  The base of the hash were Yukon Gold Potatoes that had been roasted and smashed and then tossed in a garlic confit.  The poached egg and field mushrooms enhanced the dish but not, in my mind at least, to the extent that the delicate hollandaise and clever addition of avocado slices did.  The inclusion of breakfast sausage would have been an insult to this dish, instead the choice of chorizo was brilliant.

You are certain that you have consumed beautifully created food when even the plate that is being cleared away is beautiful.

Many restaurants are judged at brunch by their Eggs Benedict and Earl’s are sublime.  The substitution of thinly sliced Virginia ham rather than thick Canadian bacon, matched the delicacy of the poached eggs in a more appropriate manner.  The same potatoes as the ones utilized in the hash, accompanied the dish. Heaven, I am m in heaven……  Each time I go out for brunch I have to specially request that my hash browns be served crispy without being deep fried to extermination.  If I simply go to Earl’s in the future, I will never have to make that request again.

As desert and to demonstrate a lighter offering, Greek yoghurt layered with home-made granola and berries arrived.  The inclusion of fresh mint and agave syrup elevated this Earl’s dish above the version that I prepare at home (yes-I even make my own granola).

Earl’s Brunch Menu is available at all Winnipeg locations on weekends and holidays.  Thanksgiving weekend would be a perfect time to go, but don’t wait that long.

Kath’s quote: “All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.”-John Gunther

Love-that is all.

You know the saying: “a watched pot, never boils”?  I think that is true of the way people grow and mature too.  The daughter on Sister #2 is more than my niece.  She is my Goddaughter but even more than that, our two families are intricately knit together.  Our unique connections go back to the time when she and her brother and our three offspring were all babies and toddlers.  The bond has been cemented over time with our two families sharing our little (500 square foot) beach house on Lake Winnipeg.  Close proximity, hormones, humidity, mosquitoes and heartache will do that.  Now, an exciting new time has begun for our families.  Sister #2’s family have moved to a new home that they are in the midst of building just a few doors away from us at the lake.  My niece has moved as well and not just out of their home, or across the province but to the other side of the world-Australia.  Were she to have stayed, I do not believe that I would have seen the osmosis in her.  She was always exquisitely beautiful and a talented artist and dancer.  But while she was away she also became this amazingly mature, knowledgeable, engaged, self-aware person.

This new person has brought knowledge to our family. She is exploring the complex wold of food science and raising provocative ideas amongst us. She has been with us for a wonderful summer and now she has gone back to her new home “down under”.  But not before we enjoyed one last Sunday meal together.

Mom and daughter planned the menu together.

Cedar Plank Salmon in a honey mustard sauce.

Brown and wild rice pilaf with celery and mushrooms.

Asparagus tossed in pesto.

Parsnips, carrots and parsley root with fresh dill.

Beets with walnuts and chevre.

I contributed this rustic caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes.

All these good things created a gorgeous palate of colour on our plates.

The piece de résistance was this amazing cake that crowned our time together. The recipe was not original so I cannot post it, but here is the link: http://nutritionstripped.com/chocolate-coconut-flour-cake-with-chocolate-mousse-frosting/#.UjfWOuDFVdg.

The surprizing cake recipe was made with dates for sweetness and the frosting was concocted from avocado!  You just have to try it for yourself to believe the tasty results.

My Mom with my Grandbaby. 

In addition to wishing my niece well before her departure, we all took the opportunity to snuggle with the Wee One and marvel at her growth and changes.

Kath’s quote: “Life is no brief candle to me.  It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.”- George Bernard Shaw

Love-that is all.