adventures of a food & lifestyle blogger
Why did the mushroom get invited to all the parties? Because he’s a fungi! Get it? Because mushrooms are fungi, not plants? Okay, bad joke. But in all seriousness, mushrooms are pretty spectacular – why else have we foraged and eaten them for 13,000+ years?
By Chrissy
One of my top-five favorite TV shows is Boardwalk Empire. Boardwalk Empire tells the story of a twenties gang called the Big Seven Group and their rise to gangster fame. The Big Seven came together to bring people booze during Prohibition by smuggling barrels of Canadian Club whisky across the border. Gangsters like Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Nucky Johnson, Meyer Lansky and, my personal favorite, Lucky Luciano.
Why is this relevant? It’s relevant because right now in my top-five favorite Edmonton coffee shops is Lui-Chi’s. A shop that sells wood roasted, whisky barrel aged coffee (see what I did there? Luciano-Lui-Chis, whisky barrels… you get it).
By Chrissy
Philly cheesesteaks are iconic, and for good reason. A well-made one can be a thing of beauty. All of the ingredients kind of… fuse together. Thinly shaved beef, glistening caramelized onions, melty gooey cheese – all loaded on a perfectly toasted roll (pause to wipe drool).
Making cheesesteaks at home doesn’t require any fancy moves, only the willingness to turn your kitchen into a South Philly hoagie shop.
By Chrissy
Attention Slurpee Lovers! 7-Eleven Canada is inviting you to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, put your clothes on front to back and warm up with a FREE ice cold Slurpee drink.
I know what you’re thinking – an ice cold Slurpee in the middle of November? Seems kind of backwards? That’s because it is. Unless, of course, it’s Reverse 7-Eleven Day!
On November 7th, the date is 11/7 (7/11 in reverse), and 7-Eleven is celebrating in backwards style by giving out free medium Slurpee drinks. The twist? You have to wear your clothing backwards.
By Chrissy
One of my first dates with my boyfriend was to a Justin Bieber concert. Before the concert, he invited me over for one of the best roast beef dinners I’ve ever had. I remember thinking to myself “this guy likes Justin Bieber AND knows how to cook? Jackpot”.
As it turned out, he wasn’t actually a Belieber and doesn’t really cook, but the roast beef recipe is still one of the best. The secret is the addition of coffee to the rub. Just like red wine, coffee is acidic and acts like a spice to enhance the flavor of the meat. The combination is a match made in heaven.
This roast is a show-stopper, and perfect for whomever you’re looking to impress. It reminds us that we should be using our coffee beans in much more than our morning mug. It makes great leftovers too.
By Chrissy
Giving back never tasted so sweet.
On Friday, September 14th, Slurpee Name Your Price Day is back at 7-Eleven Canada for a day of Slurpee-styled fun in support of a great cause. Slurpee fans are invited to pay whatever they want for a large Slurpee starting at 50 cents. The twist? 100% of the proceeds will go to WE, helping to send young Canadians to WE Days across the country.
By Chrissy
What are you doing for lunch? According to recent studies, two-thirds of Canadians do not leave their desk at lunchtime, and choose to dine “al desko”, a phrase that somehow makes this statistic all the more depressing. This isn’t a new phenomenon. If you Google #SadDeskLunch you will find picture upon picture of people eating in front of computer screens, and a laundry list of how-to tips on avoiding the practice.
Here’s the thing – just as 5 p.m. is to cocktails, noon is to lunch. It is the earliest socially acceptable time to grab a slice of pizza or burger. With so many great lunch specials out there, who needs to wait for happy hour?
One such example are the newly launched lunch specials from The Rec Room’s Three10 restaurant. Named in honor of Canada’s 3 territories and 10 provinces, Three10’s menu offers Canadian-inspired cuisine (which is difficult to define, but I digress).
By Chrissy
Would you believe that there was a time in Canadian history when lobster was so inexpensive and undesirable that it was fed to servants and prisoners? It’s true. Unfortunately, this is not ‘back in the day’. So, to anyone younger than 100 years old and not living on the Atlantic coast, fresh lobster is a luxury.
With that said, there are very few things that I look forward to more than Lobster Summer at The Keg Steakhouse and Bar.
By Chrissy
Tim Burton’s remake of the 1971 classic novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is amazing for many reasons. Starring Johnny Depp as the incredible Willy Wonka, Burton’s film utilized the latest state-of-the-art special effects, to help in realizing author Roald Dahl’s surreal vision. One aspect that is particularly noteworthy was the use of one actor, Deep Roy, to portray all 165 Oompa Loompas. Roy’s actions were not duplicated – rather, each Oompa Loompa is an individual performance that was later digitally compiled. It is spectacular to watch. Oompa Loompas were apparently paid in their favorite food, cocoa beans (not the worst form of payment, if you ask me- cocoa beans make chocolate, and chocolate makes the world taste good).
One place spreading their love of chocolate across this part of the world is Cacao 70. This Montreal-based chain started as a chocolate drinking bar (yes, you read that correctly), and now serves everything from sweet and savoury brunches to ice cream with all the fixings.
By Chrissy
On the rare free Saturday night, my boyfriend and I will often go to Walmart. We like to go walk around, pick up some groceries, and get McDonald’s coffee. Don’t ask me why, it’s just something we like to do.
On one such Saturday night, as I stood in the aisle contemplating whether or not to buy McDonald’s Big Mac sauce for the house – it happened. My boyfriend had what I can only describe as a mid-life crisis. “YOU’RE TRYING TO MAKE ME FAT!” he shouted, drawing attention from all of the other Saturday night Walmart patrons. The rant went on for the next minute or so, and then he took a deep breath and said “okay, so you want to grab some coffees?”
It goes without saying that I didn’t buy the Big Mac sauce that day. Determined to never let an episode like that happen again, I frantically grabbed any reasonably healthy-looking thing I could find on the shelf. The result was a mishmash of items that could not actually form a cohesive meal.
Some good eventually came out of the situation. We started eating healthier at home, trying new recipes. There is one recipe in particular that we make at least once a week – Flax Meal Muffins. Remember that mishmash of items I grabbed from Walmart? A large bag of flax meal was one of them, and on the package was a recipe for some sort of microwave mug muffin. Since we don’t have a microwave at home, I played around with the ratios of ingredients until I got a dozen delicious muffins. (Side note: for the life of me, I cannot remember the brand of flax meal and have not seen it in Walmart since, but if I do, I will be sure to give them the credit they deserve).
The muffins are low carb, no sugar, and low fat, BUT they are so delicious that you wouldn’t suspect it.
By Chrissy