When was the last time you ate the candy you loved as a kid?

I picked some up this past week and couldn't believe how fun it was. Yes. Candy is fun. Just try putting some poprocks on your tongue and then make some noise. And then there was the fun dip. Did you know that double-dipping with a foodie is always allowed and sometimes a requirement?

Relish life
with
fun dip
gobstoppers
and
poprocks
Lick and
double-dip
in
pink
purple
orange
sugar
Pop
fizz
crackle
laugh
Taste test
Froot Loops
and
eat the rainbow
Be
loopy.


History of Lasagna
Lasagna is one of those “go-to” recipes for my family and something I pull out when we all need some comfort food. What’s comforting to me is that I know this is a dish that everyone loves.

People generally assume that Lasagna originated in Italy, although there has been some debate about that since the first recorded Lasagna recipe was in a cookbook written in England! This claim to Lasagna’s origin, however, has been heavily debated.

The word “lasagna” comes from the Greek (lasana) or (Lasanon) meaning “trivet or stand for a pot”. The Romans borrowed the word as “lasanum” in Latin, meaning “cooking pot”. So – lasagna is actually named for the cooking dish in which it is made.

Lasagna is a hugely popular dish in Canada. It was popular in my family and continues to be loved.

Story of Lynda’s evolving Lasagna
When my sister Lynda was 10, she started experimenting with the Lasagna recipe in the red plaid Betty Crocker cookbook that our mom used for most of her recipes. Through the years she continued to tweak it and add ingredients to make it extra tasty. She discovered that it is very important to use good quality cheese for the parmesan and the mozzarella on top. One time our dad used low fat mozzarella and it was a big disappointment. She also cooks it in the oven at 400˚F for 45 minutes and then puts it under the broiler for a few minutes to get the top brown and the cheese a bit crispy.

By simply leaving out the ground beef, this recipe also makes a great vegetarian Lasagna.

Recipe for Lynda's Lasagna

Serves 8

For the sauce:
1 lb. lean ground beef, browned
½ onion, diced fine
1 small can tomato paste
l large can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the cottage cheese layer:
1 egg
4 cups cottage cheese

1 package Lasagna noodles

For the topping:
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated

Brown the ground beef and add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Boil lasagna noodles in salted water and cook until just tender (al dente), about 8 minutes. Drain and set noodles in cool water so they don’t stick together.

In a bowl, mix egg, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese for the cottage cheese layer.

Place noodles on a 9” x 13” pan. Cover noodles with sauce, and create layers by adding the cottage cheese mixture and then repeating: Noodles, Sauce, Cottage Cheese.

For the topping, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 350˚to 400˚F degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour and then place under broiler for a few minutes to make the cheese crunchy and brown.

Tasting Notes
You know lasagna is good when it is bubbling, brown on the top, and your mouth is watering when you are about to take the first bite. It’s easier to cut into nice squares for serving if you let it “rest” for 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven.

Link
Weird Al Yankovic singing “La La La Lasagna”

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The opening night of the International Food Blogger's Conference 2010 in Seattle was filled with business card exchanges, food blog chatter, swag bag excitement, food, wine and a chat with Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame.

Here are some take-away bullet points and visuals from the night:

• Turn your blog into an event.
• Don't hide behind the computer.
• Passion leads to engagement.
• Get active and build a community.
• Be transparent.

Lisa Dupar of Pomegranate Bistro and Lisa Dupar Catering and one of Seattle's best caterers served my favorite bite of the night: Grilled Steak Bahn Mi with house mango sriracha, pickled vegetables and cilantro peeking out of its paper wrapper. The Tonnino Tuna Salad with white beans and artichoke hearts was served in the prettiest little bowls, visually stealing the lime light from their sister sandwiches. The vinaigrette wasn't overpowering in this healthy little bite-sized salad. And not to be missed was the cherry tomato salad with watermelon tarragon ice and mozzarella silly string. The ice with its licorice and spice paired with the watermelon and tomato was a new and fresh taste combination for me.


One of the most popular and memorable items of the event was the lamb pops that were mild and tender.


Amanda Simpson of What We're Eating enjoying a lamb pop

Another highlight was this Carmelized Carrot Soup by Modernist Cuisine where they'd removed the bitter core of the carrot, caramelized what remained, and added ginger, licorice and carotene butter.

Chef Jason Wilson served up individual sandwiches. Mine was filled with fresh cod. The cheese bites from Beechers tasted rich, aged, buttery and strong. The mint chocolate from Theo Chocolate Factory was like a leaf of garden-fresh spearmint dipped in ganache, refreshing yet sweet.


And another of my favorite stops in this exhibition of food was the unusual wine pairings with Wisconsin cheese. Roth's Private Reserve cow's milk cheese paired with chocolate covered cherries was sour, salty, sweet and bitter all at once. The crunch from the dried apple slices played counterpoint to the fruity Sartori Reserve cheese. Popcorn and a 4-year cheddar was whimsical. And the sweet note at the end was the Hook's Blue with the caramelized brittle. All fun pairings that I want to recreate at my next dinner party at home.


And celebrites attended this IFBC event! Morgan Spurlock entertained us along with Warren Etheredge, founder of The Warren Report, and inspired us to engage our readers, get active and build a community. After all this fun, food and frivolity, we all moved down the street one block to Purple Café and Wine Bar for more fun, food and frivolity!


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The following guest post is the first in a series of interviews with chefs competing in Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa. It comes from one of our favourite food bloggers Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food.

Thanks, Rachelle!



Last week I paired up with Ottawa-based food bloggers Shari from Whisk: A food blog, and Don and Jenn from foodiePrints to see what we could do to get everyone talking about the Gold Medal Plates event set for November 16th. Being the ultimate celebration of Canadian Excellence in cuisine and wine, not to mention athletic achievement (net proceeds from Gold Medal Plates are given to the Canadian Olympic Foundation), it seemed like a natural fit - and of course, a very exciting one. Our goal is to feature one of the competing chefs, or any other interesting fact about the event, on every Friday leading up to the event. Here is our first one.

You know how some people are just so nice you want to scream out to the world about them? That's how I felt today after meeting Chef Marc Lepine from Atelier restaurant. This soft spoken, modest and genuinely friendly man made this first-time interviewer feel at ease. I imagine working for him must be the same.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

What's your philosophy when it comes to food and your restaurant?
"I'm not much of a philosopher. I don't take it that seriously I guess. But if I had to answer that, I guess I'd like to not take myself too seriously and not have our diners take the restaurant too seriously. I like using high quality ingredients but having fun with it."

What inspires you? How do you come up with ideas for the dishes that you create?
"We get asked that a lot and I think they're all random things. It's always something different. I have a 5-year-old daughter and, sometimes I'll be at home on my day off playing and an idea will strike for a dish. I get inspirations from that - just from something she's playing with... Sometimes from other chefs, going out and eating and just the slightest thing that someone has done... It can be a movie, we've had dishes based around movies... Seasons definitely, like the produce that's coming out - the amazing cherries that we had this year. That's the easiest inspiration, you get that and your dish makes itself..."

I know your menu changes often. With the current one you have right now, what's your favourite dish on the menu and why?
"Probably the tomato salad. It's something we call Tomatrix Revolution. Visually I love it and there's something going on there that really appeals to me. I think because it feels really seasonal and being tomato season it just brings me outside. That's corny but I really like that, and because of how intricate it is and I don't think it's something you could find in many restaurants."



Tomatrix plating

"I also like a dish called Subterranean Homesick Alien that we have on at the moment. Which is the name of a Radiohead song, but it's a dessert based on star anise and cherries. I like the visual, the artistic side of plating something."

What's the ingredient you can't live without? (other than basics)
"I don't think I have one honestly. Whatever the ingredient is we use it. I guess part of the larger philosophy of this style of cooking is that there's no ingredient that has superior culinary value over another ingredient. I mean, you can take any ingredient and turn it into something quite amazing if it's treated right."

"We could never have a menu that doesn't have a minimum amount of fish and meat on it because Ottawa wouldn't go for that... if we had no restrictions we could do a menu that had no meat on it or minimal meat and still be as happy with it just because whatever the season, the ingredients that are coming in are all amazing."

Is there anything you won't eat?\
"McDonald's or Burger King. I don't eat foie gras... (but) there's nothing I don't eat because I don't like the taste, I just choose not to eat certain things."

Guilty pleasure?
"Potato chips."

What was your most memorable meal and why?
"Hands down it would be the 24-course dinner at Alinea in Chicago. It was very inspiring. It made my head spin. Overwhelming in an enjoyable kind of way. To this day I still think about some of the things that went on."

What would your last meal be?
"Big bowl of grapefruit. Simple. I would love it - grapefruit is one of my favourite things to eat."

If you could travel to just one place in the world for food, where would you go and why?
"Spain. Because I haven't been there yet and there's so many amazing restaurants that I'd like to try there. Particularly Roca."

Describe your perfect Sunday.
"Spending time with my kids. That's pretty perfect. And a nice dinner out that night would be good. With or without the kids."

If you've never been to Atelier, it's definitely one of those places you must add to your go-to list. The entire experience is like no other. I was there earlier this year and had an amazing time. I'm so looking forward to my next visit!

And here's my review of Atelier from Metro Ottawa.

"Have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air?"

I've loved that Pink! song since I saw it on the Grammy's this year.
It still sends shivers when I watch the video.

So, after I learned I had thyroid cancer and before the surgery, I bought some glitter and took it to a field, made a wish and threw a fistful in the air. Then, another evening after telling my three girls about my cancer, we took some more glitter to a field and threw fistfuls in the air and
made our wishes.

It's a good memory.

Blow the dandelion
Toss the glitter
Light a candle
Make a wish
Dream
Hope
Someday I'll be healthy
Someday I'll be happy
...One day...
But today I'll trust life
Breathe
Be
Love
Live


Borscht is said to have originated around 1880 – 1885. The date of origin does not seem to be in question. The ongoing debate is not when, but where. Both Ukrainians and Russians claim that it is a traditional soup originating in their particular country of origin.

The name itself is anything but pretentious. The word “borscht” derives from the Slavic “borschevik” which, simply translated, means “hogweed”. This weed was originally used to add a brownish-green color to the soup, but has long since been left off the list of ingredients for Borscht as we know it today. My paternal great grandparents, who are of German origin, came from an area once known as White Russia, and this is where this recipe originated.

Borscht is a full-bodied, nourishing soup, often used as the main course for a meal. It can be eaten hot or cold, though most prefer it hot, served with a dollop of sour cream. The rich flavor of the soup comes from the stock. And a typical discussion of Borscht among my relatives might go something like this.

“The flavour is in the stock you know. You can’t have good Borscht without good stock.” “But beef or ham – that is the question.” “Ach – it has to be ham – it has more rich flavour.” “But lots of recipes call for beef stock.” “Beef stock? No. Never. It has to be ham. Ham bone. That’s the best.”

So here it is: the evolving family recipe which had not been recorded until my uncle watched my aunt make it and wrote down her every move! This particular Borscht presents a beautiful pink colour because of the addition of whipping cream to the mixture.

The expression “Cheap as Borscht” is an expression used to signify something that is very inexpensive and yet has high value. 

Recipe for Traditional (Evolving) Family Borscht Recipe

Makes 10 servings

3 lb. soup bone (beef or ham; we prefer ham)
2-3 cups carrots
16 potatoes (10 diced; 6 cooked and mashed)
1 small head of cabbage
1 large onion
5 large beets, cooked and diced
1 can tomato paste
Fresh dill
2 cups whipping cream (to add to mashed potatoes)
Peppercorns (a handful)
1-3 bay leaves
Fennel, to taste
Salt to taste

1. Simmer the soup bone for an hour or more. Then skim off the fat and add the following:
• 2-3 cups carrots
• 10 diced potatoes
• ½ of the cabbage (sliced)

Cook until tender.

2. Cook the beets whole in their skins; run beets under cool water and slip the skins off; dice and then add 3 tsp. vinegar and some sugar

3. Sauté the onion.

4. To the onion, add the following:
• other half of the cabbage
• tomato paste
• can of water (from tomato paste can)

5. Cook 6 potatoes and mash with whipping cream.

6. Put vegetables all together. Add bay leaf and peppercorns and cook for 40 minutes.

7. Add dill and fennel to taste.

8. Season to taste with salt (may take quite a bit, depending on what soup stock you have used) and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

9. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream.

Some claim that Borscht

• is the ultimate cure for a hangover

• prevents the body from aging

• prevents disease

Sounds good to me!

"Have you ever looked fear in the face and said I just don't care?" —Pink!

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Gold Medal Plates is one of the most important culinary competitions in Canada, with the regional winners going on to compete in the Canadian Culinary Championship in Kelowna next February and the ultimate victor receiving a four-day stage at The French Laundry and Thomas Keller’s other restaurants in California. It is celebrated in eight cities across Canada and features the best chefs and wines from each area.

The “by-invitation-only” chefs create and serve guests their most outstanding signature dish along with a perfect pairing of Canadian wine. A panel of culinary judges, themselves top chefs and food writers from across the country, will select the gold, silver and bronze winners.

I've eaten at all the restaurants of the chefs represented at this event except Harvest and written reviews for several. I wonder what each chef is creating this year as their ultimate plate. I can't wait to find out!


Net proceeds from Gold Medal Plates are given to the Canadian Olympic Foundation which supports athletes and high performance programs such as Own the Podium. To date, over $4.1 million has been raised.

Tickets to the event are $300 CAD.

To help promote the event, I'll be working with two other Ottawa food blogs, Don and Jenn (@foodiePrints) foodiePrints and Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food. Every Friday (I hope), we'll try to have some behind-the-scenes posts or interviews or other fun information about the event. Plus, we'll be able to attend the event and report back. Yay!

Judges
• Anne DesBrisay
• Pam Collacott
• Margaret Dickenson
• Chris Knight
• Chef Judson Simpson
• Chef Matthew Carmichael, chef at E18hteen and Social Restaurant and Lounge who took Bronze overall in 2009 (Review)
• James Chatto

Chefs
• Ben Baird – The Urban Pear
• Ross & Simon Fraser – Fraser Café
• Caroline Ishii – Zen Kitchen (Review)
• Charlotte Langley – Whalesbone Oyster House (Review)
• Marc Lepine – Atelier (Review)
• Steve Mitton – Murray Street Kitchen (Review)
• Michael Moffatt – Beckta Dining and Wine and Play Food and Wine
• Charles Part – Les Fougères
• Michael Potters – Harvest
• Rene Rodriguez – Navarra (Review)

Links
• foodiePrints: Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa 
• Rachelle Eats Food: Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa 
• Omnivore's Ottawa: Lineup change at Gold Medal Plates
• Documentary: "Gold Medal Plates: The Quest for Canada's Best Chef" 
• Facebook page: Ottawa's Gold Medal Plates
• Tickets: Contact Sue Holloway 818 Nesbitt Place, phone: (613) 274-3107, fax: (613) 274-0851, email: Sue Holloway
• Charity: Own the Podium Program of the Olympic Foundation

 Lately, I've decided I need to "try something new" every day.

Last week, I had a water balloon fight with my kids. At one point, I had to be a non-moving target for Jennifer, the youngest, since she was getting frustrated not being able to hit anyone with her water balloons. We had lots of laughs. And I was soaked.  
Another night, after watching the movie Step Up 3 with my kids, we were walking back to my place, and we were dancing in the parking lot. Anna, my middle child, was laughing, embarrassed by my attempts at dancing. But it was fun. I wouldn't have done that...probably before being diagnosed with cancer. It's funny how it changes you. Jennifer and I jumped on a park bench, leaped from it, and we all skipped, danced and enjoyed lots of giggles and laughter.

Yesterday I did a somersault.

When was the last time I did a somersault?
A head over heels tumble
A heels over head routine
Forwards, backwards, sideways, in the air
In my room
On the grass
In a crowd
360
Dizzy, disoriented, confused
Now
Leap
Jump
Tumble through air
Stick the landing
No more fear
Cartwheel next


This is one of the easiest recipes I've made in a long time. And right now, my life demands easy. With three kids, their activities and camps, work, blog, restaurant reviewing, and all the other stresses on my time, cooking dinner at home lately isn't first on my list. But I'd make this recipe again. My sister sent it to me after she'd made it many times for family and friends. It comes from the July 2006 edition of Gourmet, and it's a keeper.


Recipe for Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce

Recipe for Lime Butter Sauce

Recipe for Grilled Corn with Herbs


This salmon paired well with Inniskillin's Winemaker's Series 2008 Chardonnay (LCBO/Vintages #105379 $16.95) that was medium-bodied, with a touch of oak but not buttery.



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As the story goes, Caprèse Salad was first created in the 1950s in Italy.

So I imagine myself sitting in a little restaurant in Italy, in the region of Campania, perhaps, and before my meal, I order a Caprèse Salad. I know that to prepare this dish, the Chef will pick a top quality tomato in its prime—ripened on the vine. He will then lift some Mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) out of the liquid in the special place he stores it. The buffalo mozzarella will be fresh and springy—even a little juicy and creamy and definitely delicious.

To this, the Chef will add the other simple ingredients, always ensuring that the quality of each individual item is top notch. The Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Balsamic vinegar).The fresh basil from the Chef’s own herb garden. Using dried basil from a spice jar would be irreverent. Even the salt the Chef sprinkles on the salad as a final touch is special sea salt.

And so the simple, yet exquisite ingredients come together to create a salad delicious, yet deceiving in its simplicity. The same salad made with lesser ingredients would be ordinary, even mundane. But something magical happens in the fusion of these fine flavours and textures and the salad becomes a dish fit for royalty.

Paired with a medium bodied white wine, somewhat aromatic and fruity, Caprèse Salad is perfection on a summer plate.

I finish my Caprèse Salad, take a sip of wine, and order dinner.

Actually, that's not far from what I experienced in June -- only the location was Paris, not Italy.

I enjoyed a Caprèse Salad on the patio of a quaint café called Camille in Le Marais, Paris. While people-watching and sipping wine, I marvelled at the melding of these three perfect elements on my plate. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy this salad when you can get two of the key ingredients from your own garden or the local farmer's market.

Buffalo mozzarella is a type of mozzarella cheese that's made from water buffalo's milk, not from cow's milk. In Ottawa, you can get this cheese at La Bottega Nicastro Fine Food Shop or House of Cheese in the Byward Market.
When I returned home from Paris, a friend made this simple salad at his cottage using a drizzle of some fine Balsamic vinegar to dress it.


This salad pairs well with a fruity, light sipping wine such as Inniskillin's Winemaker's Series 2008 Pinot Gris (LCBO/Vintages #177766 $19.95) that's barrel aged. With its slightly crisp, tropical tones, it's a perfect afternoon-on-the-patio sipping wine.



Recipe

Serves 1

1 fresh tomato
4-5 leaves of Basil
4 oz buffalo mozzarella
Balsamic vinegar

Slice the tomatoes. Slice the mozzarella. Layer the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar (or make a homemade pesto to drizzle on top). Season with salt and pepper.


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