Beerfest and Brunch

Another year, another Great Canadian Beer Festival.

This year I did things a little differently.  I opted to cancel my volunteer shift at the last minute and bought a ticket to attend Friday’s festivities instead of Saturday’s.  After a short survey of my friends on Facebook I came to the unsettling conclusion that 99% of my Beerfesting friends were going on Friday…and drinking somewhat alone on Saturday didn’t seem like much fun.

Laura and I spent the day sipping our way through pretty much all of the fruity beers in the park, and taste tested our favourite stouts and porters. 

This year’s highlight for me again came from Salt Spring Island Ales…they brought along a Gruit (say it with me…Scottish accent and all…GRRRRROOT!) that was delicious, herbacious and hop-free!  Almost as good as my favourite of theirs…the Heatherdale Ale….also hop-free. 

There were a few crazy letdowns this year too.  I think some of the brewers are trying too hard to create something ‘different’.  ‘Smoky’ seemed a theme amongst the dark beers and we didn’t enjoy any of them.  A beer that starts our smelling like a horse barn probably should go back to the drawing board.

I enjoyed attending on a Friday this time and may have to consider this the new way to do it.  :)

The next morning was the perfect opportunity for a carb-heavy brunch.  A few of us shook off our Beerfest headaches and headed to The Superior Cafe for good eats and chit-chat.

It was a toss up for me between the Chorizo Hash or the Breakfast Poutine, but Michael opted for the poutine so I went with the hash.

Both dishes were so flavourful, hearty, and a little something different.  In the end I was glad I got the hash because I loved the little kick from the chorizo and the over easy eggs broken over the fresh hash browns were just what my tummy wanted.

But I’d go back tomorrow for pulled pork poutine with poached eggs and hollandaise.  I see a #Pouteam mission in the making!

The best part about doing Beerfest on the Friday? 

Having the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday free! 

Do you Beerfest?

Weekend fun with boats, borders, and Trader Joe’s!

On Saturday morning I was on a boat.  A BC Ferry to Vancouver to be specific.

Then I was with Catriona and Sarah as we waited over an hour to cross the border into the US of A.

Where we immediately bee-lined for outlet stores and grocery mecca.  Hello Bellingham Trader Joe’s.  Nice to meet you!

Yep, I go out of my way to cross a border just to return with two new bras and two heaping bags of non-essential groceries.

As sustenance we required deliciously squishy beefy burgers and soda from a magic techie fountain.

And then we waited over 90 minutes to make our way back into Canada.  I’m not a fan of border patrol’s organization.  Nope.

But the copious amounts of red wine and girl talk took my mind off things (later that evening, not at the border!).

Sunday morning obviously required brunch.  As seen on TV brunch of course.  Nothing like a trek through East Vancouver to track down yummy bacon and eggs.

I highly recommend a vanilla milkshake alongside your scrambled eggs and coffee. 

And then I was back on a boat! 

And a city bus.  With two heaping bags of groceries.  Win!

Green Eggs with Shrimp

Last week I wrote on my menu plan “something with egg whites” because I kept meaning to use up the carton in my fridge but somehow couldn’t possibly remember to do it without a note.

Like whipping up a quick omelette or something might have been soooo hard. Geeze.

Instead I had to leave myself that little guilt note and drag it along to the supermarket with me so it could find some inspiration and create a meal.  Fortunately I’d left a few dollars in my grocery budget for one or two impromptu items and when I wandered by the seafood counter I found that inspiration in the form of fresh hand peeled West Coast shrimp.

Back at home I got to thinking about what to do to make egg whites and shrimp special and immediately knew it needed pesto.  And a pie crust.  And romano cheese.  And a little TLC.  A quiche was born!

I blasted up a wee batch of quickie pesto (spinach, garlic, salt, parmesan, red pepper flakes, and olive oil) and made short work of this recipe.  Easy peasy!

Shrimp and Pesto Quiche

Yields 4 wedges

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen pie crust
• 1/2 cup fresh pesto of choice
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk of choice
• 150 grams fresh shrimp meat (cooked)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 10-12 grape tomatoes, halved
• grated Romano, Asiago or parmesan cheese (enough to cover quiche)
• avocado for garnish

Directions:

1. Thaw pie crust according to package instructions.  Preheat oven to 375.  If necessary, prepare pesto and set aside.
2. Arrange tomatoes, shrimp and green onions in crust.  Whisk together egg, egg whites, milk and pesto and poor mixture over fillings in crust.
3. Grate cheese over fillings, ensuring some coverage of crust as well.
4. Place pie crust (still in foil tray) on a baking tray and bake quiche for 20-25 minutes.  Egg mixture should be springy but not hard if lightly shaken (a little moisture is expected).  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.
5. Garnish with avocado slices and serve immediately.

Made with skim milk and my quickie pesto MyFitnessPal has this ringing in at only 335 calories per wedge.  Yum!

Served with salad a wedge of this made a lovely supper.  Served with hashbrowns and bacon the leftovers made an even better weekend brunch. 

Those are some happy egg whites! :)

Blueberry Brunch Muffins

When I was a kid my Mom would occasionally make blueberry muffins as a weekend breakfast treat.  Actually, it was probably brunch because I’ve always been a late sleeper but I suspect that when I was 10 I didn’t actually know what brunch was.

Funny how that works because now as an adult brunch is one of my favourite things ever.  Whether that be hitting up a cool restaurant for a plate full of hash browns or chilling in my pyjamas eating homemade muffins with my scrambled eggs.  Either way, brunch is the shiz.

Those little muffins my Mom made were delicious.  I remember them clearly as if it was yesterday.  Sadly there was no recipe (because they came from a package…shhhhhh) so when I got to thinking about them I had to do a lot of searching around to see if I could find something that even came close.

No healthy, flax filled, bran muffin was going to cut it here! 

Once I started looking I became inspired to change things up a little make my own version of brunch muffins.  Sure blueberry is nice…but how’s about something a little snazzier?  Gorgeous navel oranges were on sale this week which made for beautiful inspiration!

Oranges and blueberries piled into a perfect dome topped muffin?  I think so.  And while we’re at it, let’s dig out some almonds and add a little crumble to the top of these.  Oh, and if that isn’t enough let’s add Greek yogurt to the batter to really get things going. :)

Now these aren’t my Mama’s muffins but maybe, just maybe, these are my muffins!  Sunday pyjama brunch, look out.

Blueberry-Orange Yogurt Muffins with Almond Streusel Topping

inspired by My Baking Addiction

yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins

• zest of one navel orange
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• juice of two navel oranges
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp cold butter
• pinch of orange zest
• pinch of cinnamon
• drop of almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. In a food processor, blitz almonds until coarsely chopped.  Add remaining streusel ingredients and blitz to a combined coarse crumb.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. In a small bowl, combine orange zest and sugar. Mix with your fingertips until sugar is lump free and combined. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
5. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar mixture with a whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Continue beating while slowly pouring in the oil. Stir in vanilla.
6. Whisk dry ingredients into egg mixture alternating with yogurt until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries.
7. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and top with a heaping tablespoon of streusel topping.  Press lightly with fingers.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until streusel begins to brown.  Do not overcook.  Let cool completely.

Notes:

• No food processor?  No problem.  Just chop your almonds by hand, stir dry ingredients together with a fork, then cut butter in using two knives.  Harder work but similar result.
• Avoid using paper muffin liners.  The blueberries stick and that’s no fun. 
• Mine were slightly overcooked on the bottom.  Ensure you use the middle oven rack (or higher even) and check for doneness at 16-17 minutes.

According to MyFitnessPal these beauties roll in at about 210 calories per muffin with the streusel, and about 260 calories with it.  Treat indeed!

I guess the next project will be to healthy up these little balls of white sugar and all purpose flour.  Or maybe some things just aren’t meant to be messed with.  Next you’ll be asking me to healthy up the bacon in my brunch.

Gasp.

Bits of Weekend

Right behind Michael’s house is this lovely green space…perfect for doggie walking (and Saturday morning coffee sipping).

Saturday brunch: egg puff/omelette with corn and ham. Oddly delicious combo.

Impromptu family BBQ.  Perfect excuse for leftover fancy cheeses and such.

Super sunny day.  Breaking in my Greece travelin’ hat and cuddlin’ my pupper.

Hot day quencher.

Rumblin’ tummy filler.

Smart aleck family cheeseballs.  :)

Super late Sunday brunch a la Kitty’s.  Oatmeal appetizer.

2-2-2-2…apparently the kitchen can’t count French Toast.  Win!

Massive breakfast burrito.  This doubled as Monday breakfast as well.

Brunch companions.

Clearly when your Harley’s gear shifter thingamajig goes kaplooey on the drive home you use your girlfriend’s hair elastic to fix it.  Apparently he was a boy scout in a previous life.

After a rough afternoon of sunbathing, book reading, and dog petting a comfort food dinner seemed the way to go.

Salad by her.  Stroganoff by him.

Bye bye weekend, we’ll miss you.

Dog Day Afternoon

After being gone all day Saturday for our Salt Spring Island Adventure, we decided we had better spend some quality time with the dogs on Sunday. 

But first…brunch!  While picking up dinner on Saturday night we also grabbed Bisquick and bacon for Sunday breakfast.  Mention the word “pancakes” and they must be made!

While I fried bacon and whipped up pancakes Michael picked the last batch of fresh strawberries from his garden.  Quite the haul this year!

I think Michael is trying to steal my blogging job.  His pancake stack looks damn near like a professional food stylist set it up, no?

Mine might not be as pretty as his, but it still tasted great.  Thumbs up for bacon sitting in a pool of maple syrup.  nom nom nom.

After brunch we loaded the puppers into the truck and headed for the dog park.  Included with Miss Chibi and Burl was Maggie…Michael’s folks’ 16 year old Jack Russell.  So cute!

Burl is a big lug who needs 10x more exercise than the little dogs.  They just stare at him like he’s a crazy fool.  LOL.  He also plays more since he’s still pretty much a puppy compared to the old gals.

He likes Michael to drag him around in the grass.  Weirdo.

The rest of the afternoon we spent chillin’ on the deck.  Michael mowed his lawn while I chatted with his stepdad and hung in the hammock.  Then we hot tubbed before dinner.  I know, sounds rough eh?

Chinese take-out leftovers for dinner and early to bed.  All that chillaxin’ wore me out. :)