NOM NOM: Potato Spears

Good fries don't have to be fried! I eat these often for lunch, or as a side dish. Sweet Potatoes are loaded with vitamins and add color, not to mention a flavor boost to an otherwise boring potato.This serving size can be for one as a main, or two as a side.

What You Need:

2-3 Yellow or White potatoes, washed, and sliced into wedges. (NOTE: If you can, try yellow...they cook quicker and taste a little better.)
1-2 Sweet Potatoes, washed, and sliced into wedges (Depends on size)
Pepper, garlic powder, salt, cayenne or chili powder. If you have garlic salt, skip the regular salt
Oil to drizzle

1. Preheat oven to 350 and place tin foil, shiny side up onto a baking sheet. Spread out potatoes evenly.
2. Drizzle oil to lightly coat and spice according to your tastes.
3. Bake 10 minutes and flip for another 10. Best if crispy.
4. Serve with ketchup, or for a twist, try BBQ sauce, or mayo. 

Around O Town: Mini Photo Blog

Introducing my sister to Pho. Its cheating if you use a fork!

Rideau Centre

NOM NOM: Gingerbread dudes

Thank you Food.com and Allrecipes.com*, I am now a slave to your websites. For whatever reason, I have to research recipes...there is simply no room for mistakes. Open to trying new things, yes, but when it comes to my own cooking, I do my homework..probably to back up my ego...it happens.

2 1/4 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
Dash or two of Salt
3/4 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Cloves
3/4 Cup Margarine...or butter, live on the edge!
3/4 Cup Sugar (Too much IS a bad thing)
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Fancy Molasses
1 Tbs water


1. Sift together all dry ingredients and set aside.

2. In a larger bowl, whip margarine and sugar together till fluffy. Beat in the egg and stir in water and molasses.

3. Using a whisk or wooden spoon, blend the dry into the wet mix gradually. If you go all in, guaranteed flour all over the counter and yourself...true story.

4. Instead of preheating the oven, stick the batter in the fridge for at least an hour. It tends to be sticky, so stiffening it up a bit will make it more manageable. Remember this tip when you are rolling out the dough in batches.

5. Prep your sheets with parchment or tinfoil and preheat the oven to 350. Bust out the flour, rolling pin, and cookie cutters (Opt) in the meantime. Make sure there is enough flour under the dough and on top to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin and sliding around. Don't worry, it wont be covered in flour when finished.

6. Cut out your shapes, but don't say I didn't warn you if they start to soften. You'll get the hang of it the more dudes you create. Oven times can vary, so watch after 6 minutes. If you bake them too long, you have ginger snaps, but if you want them soft as originally intended, take them out when they aren't shiny on top anymore. The color lightens when its cooked through.

7. Lastly, let cool and transfer to racks, or plate, table, whatever. Best served warm and with icing if that floats your boat. Oh, and hide from roommates.


 *Recipe has been modified, but based off of Amy1028's info.

Around O Town: Mini Photo Blog

Trees growing over an old bomb shelter

Parliament

The Art Gallery

Sunset behind the Parliament Buildings

NOM NOM: Apple Pie Crumble

Apples...delish with peanut butter, but even better as apple crisp, am I right?? This no fail recipe is sure to warm you up and impress your friends.

What you need:

- 3 to 4 Apples, preferably a mix of Granny Smith and Gala...or whatever you prefer or have on hand.
- 3/4 Cup Soft Butter
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar, slightly packed
- Two big handfuls of Quick Oats
- Allspice, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon

What to do:

1. Peel and core apples. Slice in half  down the middle and slice again with the flat sides down (...geeze, this is kinda confusing, so just slice the way you like 'em! haha.). Place in baking dish.

2.  In a bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and soft butter. The key is to make sure the butter is soft enough to mix into the dry ingredients, but not melted. Your apple crisp wont turn out if the butter is melted.

3. Spoon some of the dry mix into the apples to coat. Sprinkle cinnamon and a LITTLE bit of the allspice and nutmeg on top. Do the same with the remaining mixture in the bowl. The cinnamon should be the most spice put in...the allspice and nutmeg make it taste like more of an apple pie, but don't go crazy with these ones otherwise they over power the cinnamon. Combine the rest of the mix from the bowl on top of the apples evenly, making sure you don't mix it again.

4. Dot butter on top if you prefer and pop into a preheated oven at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!

NOM NOM Food Review: Mango's Fine Lebanese Food

Last night, we were craving shawarma and were disappointed by the last place we checked out. We live in the east end  of Ottawa and drive by Mango's  on St. Laurent often, so we decided to check it out. So far, the best Lebanese place for me was La Shish on Merivale but after eating here, I think I've changed my mind.

We picked up two chicken shawarmas, and noticed the strawberry passion smoothie sounded pretty good. Then we saw garlic potatoes on another customers plate ...and ordered that too...haha. The shawarma was delish and right off the bat, you tasted the lemony zip of the creamy garlic sauce. The bread was soft and the pickles were crispy. Chicken wasn't dry, which was a bonus so overall it was a great wrap. The smoothie didn't disappoint either. You could taste the fresh bananas and strawberries and adding honey to sweeten was a nice change.

Personally, garlic potatoes make it or break it for me in terms of who is good and who isn't. Like I touched on before, the last place we went, the potatoes were AWFUL! they were cold and too lemony. Mango's potatoes were nice and hot, cooked through (I don't know why but some places cook potatoes too short and you can literally feel it go down..gross eh?) and Droooollllll, it had a good dollop of garlic sauce on top. Veryyy tasty and not too greasy.

A great place to check out if you are new to Lebanese food. Oh, and on a side note, the layout of the restaurant was nice and spacious, not to mention clean!! :)

** Sorry for lack of pictures, the food was eaten pretty fast lol

NOM NOM: Melt in your mouth Shortbread Cookies

With Christmas around the corner, I figured I would make sure my recipe for shortbread cookies still worked...yeah..that's it..lol. Anyways, below is the BEST and EASIEST recipe for shortbread cookies. With just 4 ingredients and at total bake time of 15 minutes, these treats are hard to beat! From the "Canadian Cornstarch" box.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES:

- 1 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
- 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Butter, Softened

How To:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, and icing sugar.

2. With freshly washed hands, knead butter into dry mix, working slowly so you wont get covered in powder. Dough is ready when it looks crumbly.

3. Gently roll a quarter size ball and place onto cookie sheet. Dip the bottom of a small glass in milk, and press down onto ball. If you want, try rolling out the dough onto a floured surface and cut with a cookie cutter.

4. Bake for 15 minutes, checking after 12. When the edges are golden brown, remove and let cool.

TIPS: Try melting your favorite chocolate and dip the cookies in. Let cool on parchment. You can also try drizzling chocolate for a funky design.

Makes about 25 rolled cookies.

Remember 11/11

NOM NOM How To: Quick Iced Coffee

Ever made too much coffee and still have half a pot at the end of the day? Instead of throwing it out, try it Iced for a nice change!

1. Grab a mug big enough for 1-2 cups of coffee and microwave until hot, but not scalding.
2. In another mug (glass, sippy cup, whatever!) fill with ice 3/4 full. Add sugar.
3. Pour the coffee into the ice glass, and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Fill with milk to the top, or to your taste. Stir again, and add more ice if you prefer.

Easy as 1-2-3! It's crucial to warm the coffee up since the sugar needs to dissolve...crunchy iced coffee doesn't work well.

TIP #1:
If your making a pitcher, try melting the sugar with equal parts water (EX: 1/2 C water/sugar) in a pot to make a syrup...then you can skip warming up the coffee.

TIP #2:
Try a dash of vanilla extract for a flavor kick!

NOM NOM Food Review: Pho Truc Lien

Most Vietnamese food lovers would be found within a two block radius of each other on Somerset and it's delicious reputation for Pho. Definitely worth the drive to St. Joseph Blvd, is Pho Truc Lien.

Tucked away in a bungalow across from Place D'Orleans Shopping Center, this restaurant has ample seating with friendly staff. We arrived around 5pm on a Thursday night and were able to pick wherever we wanted to sit. The tables are large, which is key since you receive quite the spread as you would other Pho places.

We started with Vegetarian Spring Rolls, and Vietnamese Iced Coffee, along with the standard tea served at most Pho restaurants.  The rolls were piping hot, and came with a tart dipping sauce...sorry, I didn't catch the name!. Once they cooled down enough to eat, they were nice and crispy on the outside, without being greasy. On it's own, the dipping sauce is funky tasting, but I can see how it compliments the rolls when eaten together. I have spring rolls every chance I get, and these were by far the freshest tasting. The iced coffee was made with sweetened condensed milk, which is a nice change from cream and sugar. There was no sugary kick, but instead, balanced out the bitter taste coffee can leave.

If you are a Pho lover, you know attempting the medium and large sizes is a crazy idea. My date (6'2 and 220Lbs) forgot how much you get, and ordered a medium....needless to say, there were left overs! His contained rare beef, brisket, chicken, and meatballs...yeah, you wont leave hungry!. I opted for a small rare beef regular. No funky tastes, very tasty broth. Came with the usual mountain of crispy bean sprouts/lime/mint plate. I drowned my soup with bean sprouts and a dash of hot sauce, and attempted the chop sticks. YUM!!

While finishing up, a couple sat down across from us, and I overheard the guy mention that it was a well kept secret...he was right!. The service was quick and like I said before, very friendly with a smile and warm goodbye. The bill came to $25 for the drinks, appetizer, and main meal for two people. Worth the try, especially if you want a quieter Pho experience...no neon lights!! haha

NOM NOM Food Review: Double Decker Diner and Dairy Bar in Manotick Ontario

Manotick is a small little town located south of Ottawa. The "country close to the city" appeal has increased the population, and not to mention traffic, over the last five to ten years. If you ever have the opportunity to stop, come on an empty stomach and visit the Double Decker Diner and Dairy Bar. This bright red double decker bus is displayed on the main street, in the heart of Manotick. The place is always busy and has a clean exterior with ample parking. The Overgrown Boy and I ordered Poutine's and Vanilla Shakes based on a recommendation of a previous customer. The fries are big and crispy, and the gravy is thicker than most. It didn't punch me in the face with flavor, but I still ate every last fry....a good sign :D The vanilla shakes are worth the little bit of a wait...very creamy, and not overly sweet. The downside is they only come in one size, but you do get the option of adding different candies, or customizing the shake to your choice.

The burgers look delicious and for a twist, try some Sweet Potato Fries instead of the regular. OB also wanted to try the hot dog and we pleasantly surprised...a juicy and plump dog with no oily or fried taste. A dog is usually a dog, but this one's flavor is noticeably fresher.  A lot of the newcomers to Manotick live in the estates so a steady line up of luxury cars coast down the street often. An overall quaint location to change it up a bit from a highway side chip stand. 


*Consider taking your food to go and explore what the town has to offer! a great spot to sit and enjoy the outdoors is a five minute walk down Bridge Street towards the river. Watson's Mill has been around for years and even has its own ghost story. Take a tour, or check out the green space across the water and feed some fish.

Bike Ride view in O-Town.