Cardamomnomnom @cardamomnomnom - Tumblr Blog

Mood: A little blah

Current Craving: meatballs!

I have been hermiting for the past couple of weeks. Partially it’s because I feel swamped and overwhelmed with life a little bit and partially, it’s because I’ve been doing a “cleanse” of sorts.

Sometimes, when I get in a funk, I end up buying a lot of outside-food. My weakness is Tim Horton’s. There are a lot of great things about corporate culture - the bonding that happens in stressful situations, the support you get after a tough shift, paying it forward by buying your team coffees and cookies. It becomes pretty easy to treat yourself a little bit too often though - I found that getting a bagel and a french vanilla hot chocolate post-call or getting a coffee and a cookie before Tim Hortons closed - or both. I was starting to feel pretty logy and low on energy. So I decided to take a 2 week hiatus from eating out and settled on one caffeinated bevvy a day. Here are some of my tips:

1. One cup of coffee or tea a day is enough. More coffee does not help to make me more awake - in fact, I had several calls over the last 2 weeks and survived with lots of water and actually nourishing foods (fruits, veggies, protein and yes, carbs, too).

2. Prep ahead of time. When you have a long day ahead of you, there’s nothing better to get you through it than good food. The smoothie you see is made with frozen berries, frozen mango, half a banana, frozen grapes and a splash of milk and water. My sister made an awesome suggestion to combat my post-call breakfast dilemma: freeze your smoothie the night before and then stick it in the fridge at work so the next morning, you’ve got a breakfast to go! PS - totally safe to freeze them in a mason jar - because it’s a cool liquid going into the jar, your jar won’t crack.

3. Take one of your vices and find a replacement. I.love.pop. Like so much. It’s obviously full of sugar and I hate diet (ugh aspartame taste!). I think it’s the fizziness that I crave - so i switched to sparkling water and lemon. And now I love it! It’s actually a treat for me. I bring one on call with me and it is quite the pick-me-up for me.

Finally, be kind to yourself. I have a lot of trouble with this one. I think I’ve been pushing myself really hard lately. So in addition to adding a little bit of structure to my life with this outside food-cleanse, I’m trying let go of the self-criticism a little and just remind myself that I’m doing the best I can.

#smoothie #meal prep #healthy #letting go

Mood: *squints eyes*

Current Craving: curry

I was feeling so....uninspired this morning. I fully sat on the couch for 2 hours and almost talked myself out of going for a run (am I always uninspired? this is an everyday occurrence).

Then I was thinking about what recipe I should share. Lame-O Android Zoya: Okay, well I’ve just gone on a run...so maybe I should stay with the healthy theme and share a summer salad. Real Zoya: Salad? Really? *you don’t win friends with sa-lad!* SHARE ICE CREAM.

Real Zoya won out...sort of, but even Lame-o Android Zoya would be proud of this answer to a mango lassi, mango kulfi and a smoothie. Yes, you heard me: a smoothie. I’m becoming one of those people who go for a run and then have a smoothie? Oh well! This one is amazing.

Mango Kulfi Smoothie Blend together about a cup of frozen mango chunks, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut milk and the seeds of a cardamom pod. Depending on how sweet your frozen mangos are, you can a squeeze of honey, too.

Et voila! A completely acceptable way to eat ice cream for breakfast: lame-o health nut and hardcore foodie approved!

#mangolassi #smoothie #accidentallyvegan #icecream #mangokulfi

tastefullyoffensive

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theconcretemoon-deactivated2017

“Homer? Who is Homer? I am Guy Incognito!”

cardamomnomnom

Hah!

myjetpack

A recent cartoon for New Scientist.

cardamomnomnom

This is medical research, in a nutshell.

Mood: in between motivated and incredibly lazy

Current Craving: lemonade!

There is one word in the English language that brings vibes of vacationing, lazing out on a patio, wearing sunglasses with coffee, delicious food and cold drinks: brunch.

I.freaking.LOVE.brunch. For those of you who know me well, you know that it’s a rarity for me to order pancakes or waffles - I’m a very savoury person - and brunch is just the perfect segue from breakfast foods into intensely savoury, lunch-time flavours. I also love the social aspect of brunch. No one goes for a quick brunch. Brunch takes up a good chunk of your day and fills it with conversation, delightful company. There aren’t really any expectations that you’ll be productive after brunch - you’re most likely, in fact, to take a well-deserved, food coma-induced nap.

This weekend, I made brunch with one of my very favourite people. We decided to go all out and make a quintessential brunch classic: eggs benny. I’ve been dreaming of making hollandaise since I was - oh - seven? I would watch with wide eyes and intense focus as Jacques Pepin and Julia Child would make this creamy, condiment and just pour it over a perfectly poached egg (yeah, I was a weird kid). And this weekend, I did it - I am still in a hollandaze. With sauteed portobello mushrooms and spicy arugula, this was the perfect way to start a long weekend! Here’s how we did it:

For the Hollandaise: Fill a small saucepan about halfway with water and bring to a very gentle simmer (very few bubbles!). In a heat-proof bowl that will fit over the pan, whisk 2 egg yolks with a teaspoon of vinegar. Continuing to whisk over the heat, add in 2/3 cup of butter cut into cubes. You will want to add the cubes one by one, whisking and allowing each to melt in before adding the next. You’ll end up with a thick, silky sauce. Take off the heat and set aside.

For the Rest: Slice up and sautee two portobello mushrooms in olive oil until they’re soft and lighly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Then, in a bowl, mix a handful of arugula with a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. To poach your eggs, bring a pot of water to a simmer with a spoonful of vinegar. Stir your water in one direction to create a small whirlpool and crack your egg in (this helps to keep the whites together!). Cook for about 3 minutes or until the egg whites are cooked and the yolk is still soft.

Assembly: On your favourite, fresh bread (we used fresh focaccia!), spread some dijon mustard. Add your arugula, the sauteed mushrooms, your egg and a generous dollop of your hollandaise. Top with freshl-cracked black pepper and tuck in!

I think, despite this kick-ass hollandaise, the best part of this brunch was the company! Whatever you eat this weekend, let it make you feel warm from the inside-out :)

Mood: hit-by-a-truck-tired

Current Craving: custard!

This week, I’m doing something a little bit different! I currently live in the city with the most restaurants per capita, in Canada.

Yes, you heard right - Kingston is a foodie’s dream! I had a hard time moving here at first, coming from Vancouver. Of course, I still miss the awesomeness of the food-scene in Vancouver, but this place has a lot to offer.

Last week, I went to Olivea, a little, Italian trattoria serving up fresh pasta and all sorts of other delights. I had the seafood linguine with tomato, olives, chilies, capers. Full disclosure: I.love.seafood but its one of those relationships that has taken time to cultivate. The first time I had real, legit seafood (I’m talking mussels and clams and scallops (oh my!)), I had like, two bites and then ended up sharing my mum and sister’s entrees. Over the years, my palate has refined, shall we say, and now I’ll have seafood any chance I get!

When I ordered this linguine, I had in mind a tangy, spicy sauce to cut the rich seafood atop a creamy pile of noodles. The seafood was on point - especially the mussels and clams and the noodles were perfectly al dente. The sauce was pretty good but lacking a bit of the tang and spice I usually seek in a dish like this - the olives and capers did add some sharpness, though. I will say, the more I ate this dish, the more I liked it.

Overall, it was pretty delicious and i would recommend a venture out to Olivea.

#Kingston #Olivea #Review

Mood: over-excited!

Current Craving: chocolate. and lots of it.

If I could choose to be born into a different culture, it would probably be Mexican. No wait - Korean. No, hang on: Greek. Okay I obviously love food too much to choose, but I do have a soft spot for the fresh, spicy, tangy flavours that accompany almost any Mexican dish. And who doesn’t love a good taco?

This week, I was feeling like having something fresh, but filling and vegetarian (which is really odd for a carnivore like me!). So I came up with these awesome veggie tacos. Bonus: they took like no time to make!

Here’s how you do it:

1. Chop up a pepper (I used half red and half orange), half a large onion and 8-10 mushrooms. 2. In about 2 tbsp of oil, the veggies on high heat until they are a little bit caramelized and still retain a bit of a bite - you don’t want mush! 3. When the veg is cooked, add in a heaped teaspoon of cumin and the same amount of paprika, salt to taste and a squeeze of lime juice. Cook for about 30 seconds and pull off the heat. 4. Time to assemble! I used corn tortillas and charred them on the burner. Layer on your veggies, some greens (I used arugula), salsa (I made a quick one with chopped tomato and spring onion, salt and lime), guacamole (again, I made a quick one with a mashed avocado, half a lime, salt and chili flakes) and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. I topped mine with some pickled jalapenos.

I would highly recommend cilantro on top as well but the cilantro at the store was so wilted, it made my heart hurt :(

The best part of this dish (besides its simplicity and the fact that it’s bursting with flavour), is that you can totally make extra filling and have tacos for a few days - the filling would also be awesome in a wrap or even with some beans and rice - the possibilities are endless!

I hope your tummy enjoys this as much as mine did :)

#tacos vegetarian carnivoreapproved

I’ve been feeling mighty tired lately. I think it’s because I ate out for almost 3 meals a day for a week. Sometimes life just catches up to you - it then swiftly bonks you on the head, rendering you a victim of takeout-itis for a week. Don’t get me wrong - I love eating out as much as the next person, but nothing compares to cooking a meal for yourself; it’s also kinder on your tummy!

I’m a huge fan of one-pot meals - things that I can just plunk in a pot, and walk away from for an hour or so. That’s what drove me to put together this delicious, chicken chili!

Here’s how to do it:

Sautee 2 chicken breasts, cut up in chunks in some oil, 2 tsp. ginger, 2 tsp. garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add about 2 tsp. paprika and 2 tsp. cumin. Sautee everything until chicken is fully cooked. Then, remove the chicken. Add half an onion and half a bell pepper, diced. Sautee until soft and then add a splash of vinegar to de-glaze.

Add a large, chopped up tomato, two heaping teaspoons of tomato puree, 1 cup of chicken stock (or any other stock or water), half a can of beans (I used kidney beans), 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp italian seasoning and salt to taste. Simmer for about 30min on medium low.

Serve with yogurt or sour cream and topped with chopped, green onions!

This is the perfect dish to make on the weekend to enjoy during a busy, tiring week. It’s just the thing to break you out of your takeout slump! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!