raspberry mint lemonade

There is nothing like a refreshing glass of lemonade on a hot day.  I watched Michael Smith make this the other day on Chef at Home and have been thinking about it ever since. 

We changed this up a little bit by adding mint and using sparkling water.   Since Q doesn't like anything fizzy, we divided the mixture into two containers, making one with still water and one with bubbles.  Q was happy to help in the kitchen, juicing all the lemons needed for the lemonade. 

This was a very pretty drink to look at, the raspberries making it a beautiful pink and the strands of lemon zest and pieces of green mint adding pops of colour.It was tangy and quenched everyone's thirst.

Raspberry Mint Lemonade
Adapted from Michael Smith via Food Network

2 cups frozen raspberries
The juice and zest of 10 lemons
1 cup sugar
Bunch of mint, torn
6 cups of sparkling water

Fill a large pitcher or mason jar with ice and add frozen raspberries, lemon zest, juice, mint and sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and fill up with water.

wordless wednesday: breakfast for dinner

thai boat

It's always bittersweet when friends you love move away.  You're happy for them for their great opportunity but know it will be sad to not have them around all the time.  We went out for dinner with D, who was moving to The Emerald Isle.  Our outings with D are usually for sushi or thai and this time, it was one of our faves, Thai Boat.

Since Q had skipped his nap, we wanted to keep him happy for the short time before his bedtime.  We ordered his favourites, vegetarian spring rolls and calamari.  The spring rolls were great, full of veggies, and he finished off the plate.

The calamari was not your traditional calamari, but boy was it good!  The squid was coated in a thick batter, almost onion ring-like.  The best part was the sweet and tangy sauce that it was served with.

My favourite dish of the night was the Panang Curry.  We ordered it with chicken and shrimp and it was so tasty!  The curry was fragrant and so satisfying.  I could have eaten this dish by myself.

Our second curry was the Beef in Red Curry. This was a mild curry, so perfect for me, and full of flavour. We have had this dish before with chicken and we all agreed that the red curry tasted better with it rather than the beef.  We ordered coconut rice to absorb the curry which added even more flavour.

We rounded up the meal with our usual, Pad Thai with chicken.  It was a good noodle dish, and would satisfy any craving.  We did have Pad Thai a few days earlier elsewhere though, and unfortunately, it didn't compare.

It was a good meal with an awesome friend.  Good luck in Ireland D!  You will be missed!

potato and green bean salad

We had a barbecue awhile back and it included a lot of meat!  We really needed to balance out the meal with some carbs and veggies and this was the perfect dish for it - Potato and Green Bean Salad.  It didn't take long to make and the crisp beans with the cooked potatoes provided great texture.  I served this warm but it can easily be served cold, perfect for taking along to a potluck.

Potato and Green Bean Salad

2 large potatoes
1 pound green beans
2 green onions
1/2 cup mayonaise
2 TB grainy mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Boil the potatoes until fork tender.  Blanch the green beans for one minute and immediately place in some ice water.  Combine the mayo, mustard and vinegar and season well.  Add the potatoes, green beans and onions until well coated with the dressing.

stampede food

It was a fun ten days in Calgary celebrating 100 years of the Stampede.  Everyone knows that when you go to the grounds, you have to try some of the delicious fatty foods that are everywhere you look!  Here are some snapshots of what my friends and I sampled.  I was so excited to find a place that did corn dogs made without pork.  Yahoo!!

wordless wednesday: enjoying passion fruit

towa sushi

It was another crazy weekend but hubby and I managed to squeeze in some time to do some shopping for some work boots for me, for my day job (one of them anyway).  These were the girliest ones I could find without actually buying pink!  I never guessed I would ever need these!

We were both hungry and decided to go for a quick bite. I was wanting some really good salmon and hubby knew just the place - Towa Sushi.

I had been to Towa a couple of times but not for years.  After our experience, I am kicking myself for not going back sooner.  It was so good!

We arrived around 6pm on a Sunday night and it was packed!   We waited a few minutes before we got seated and ended up at a counter at the window.

Because all I really wanted was salmon, we ordered 3 rolls packed with it.  The first was the Tempura Spicy Salmon Roll.  I loved this roll, in fact, I think it was my favourite of the night.  The salmon was so fresh and there was lots stuffed into the roll.  I liked that the outside had the tempura coating, providing that perfect crunchy texture in contrast to that of the salmon. So good!

We also had just the plain old Spicy Salmon roll and that was delicious as well.  Although the prices for the sushi were on the higher end, you could taste why with every bite.

Our last roll was the Towa Special Roll.  This consisted of salmon, red tuna and white tuna.  This was also stuffed generously with the fish.  The quality of the salmon and tuna was exceptional.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Towa, so satisfying.  I will definitely be back for more.