Food Algebra - Dumplings

So we ventured into new territory and tried to cook something out of our comfort zone (pasta, steak, general gwai-lo food).

Him: What are we having for dinner?
Me: I want to try something new!
Him: Uhh .. ok .. (worried look)
Me: DUMPLINGS!

It was actually really fun! Honest. I had scoured for dumpling recipes, combing through the websites with the nicest looking dumpling pictures (biased, I know) and seeing what combination of ingredients we would use. We settled for the following (mainly because it was whatever was in the fridge)

- store bought dumpling wrappers (too risky to mess up if made from scratch)
- lean ground pork
- green onion
- shittake mushrooms
- egg wash (for the wrapper edges)
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- chicken broth
- salt
- 5 spice powder
- black pepper

I kind of wanted to document the process, but he's not exactly one of those ppl who snap pictures of food on a minutely basis like me so I ended up snapping a few photos (read:took 3 pics in total) of the process. In the process I came up with ... FOOD ALGEBRA! Lo and behold, my brain child creation. Mash 2 things together and end up with an end result:




How did they turn out? Not bad, for a first try. But a few things to change up for next time:
- Cornstarch. Or flour. The filling ended up too dry
- Seasoning. More. Lots more. Salt really does do wonders, no matter how much I try to erase it from my diet. Could have used a bit more of everything
- Better proportion. We couldn't really taste the veggies. It should be like, 2 parts veggie and 1 part meat! That, and you don't want to taste all meat and no wrapper. Need to half the amount of filling per dumpling. A few were really beefy (well, porky)

Early on we realized that assembly line formation would be the best way to do this. He would plop the filling in and grease the edges, and I would fold. My origami skills from way back seem to have paid a helping hand, since they looked pretty presentable. It was a fun couple-y experience!


A side note: My Photoshop skills are pretty lame. But I get around. The above Food Algebra pic was put together with Photoshop 6 (yup, ancient stuff). Pics were taken with my Canon P&S and the background was created by DragonArtz (based on their Creative Commons License)

Uhhhh ..

There's something seriously wrong with this.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1095633--afghan-president-pardons-woman-serving-time-for-being-raped

I love this pic

This is touching. Who says karma's a bitch?

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1088632--winnipeg-man-reunites-with-u-s-woman-who-saved-his-life?bn=1

You know you have an amazing boyfriend when ..

.. you are having the bitchiest day ever and all you want to do is explode at someone (namely him even tho he's not at fault), and when he sees you, he gives you a kiss on the forehead and surprises you with your favourite dessert.

<3 you

:)

Jeebus. This story broke my heart.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1059479--disabled-pickering-boy-took-his-own-life-after-he-was-mugged-and-bullied

RIP Mitchell ..

I am so angry right now. My blood is boiling and there is nothing more I want to do than sit in the shower and cry. That, and break a 2x4 in half.

I had taped the funeral for Jack Layton from yesterday and just watched it now. I don't know how his wife kept so calm and composed but kudos to her for giving everyone else support. Even I cried a lot just watching the service on TV.

I'm glad he wanted his funeral to be a celebration of life, not of mourning and sorrow. If only he could see how he brought so many Canadians together.

Transcript of eulogies from the Toronto Star

RIP Jack. See you on the other side.

RIP Jack Layton .. you will be missed dearly by Canadians.

Read his letter to Canadians here

"Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
- Jack Layton

My condolences to Olivia Chow and the Layton family.

You know you have a good boyfriend when ..
.. he tells you everyday that you're beautiful
.. he always drives you home, even if you're in the opposite direction or out of the way
.. he surprises you with your favourite dessert after a miserable day at work
.. he lets you drain his phone battery playing games
.. he lets you rant about your day even though his day was 10x worse
.. he always makes sure your needs are taken care of before his
.. he lets you take the first bite of a donut and the first sip of coffee
.. he waits patiently for you even when you're the one who's making both of you late
.. he somehow sees the silver lining in the worst possible situation
.. he goes out of his way to take you to your favourite restaurant
.. to be continued ..

You know you have an amazing boyfriend when ..
.. all of the above

<3 you
:)

“Killing is the biggest sin to commit,” he says. “There’s no honour in killing. So why use that term?”

He's right.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1035512--domestic-violence-or-honour-killing?bn=1

In the end, no one wins .. although, an eye for an eye does sound justified at its moments

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1032995--blinded-iranian-rejects-eye-for-eye-punishment-of-attacker?bn=1

Amaaaazing weekend. He surprised (well, almost surprised) me with a weekend out of the city. Had a great time!!

Thanks hunnie .. love you :)

I hope Oslo heals .. you are never alone.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1032455--the-survivors-the-victims-a-shooter-and-his-manifesto-how-the-norway-tragedy-unfolded?bn=1

My first birdie! Ever! Whoot! :)

Sorry.

I said I was tired but I was actually tired and a bit disappointed. Maybe disappointed isn't the right word. Saddened? Not indifferent? It will probably blow over in my head tomorrow or next week but it will probably play again in the back of my head later on. I can't help it.

Is it wrong to feel sad, feel a twinge of disappointment when you hear things that are different than what you had hoped? If so, I'm guilty.

I guess things will happen for a reason when the time comes.

RIP Betty .. say hi to Mike for me
See you on the other side ..

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1014992--brutal-assault-on-ubc-student-just-one-of-thousands-in-south-asia

It really saddens me to hear about this stuff. I don't deny that it still happens in the 21st century but it just makes me feel so weak and powerless reading about it.

Foodie Blog: Canoe

Canoe
66 Wellington St W, TD Tower
Toronto, Ontario
Cuisine(s): Western
Date visited: May 2011

I've always wanted to try Canoe. This place is impossible to get reservations for Winter/Summerlicious so the bf decided to "surprise" me by taking me there for my birthday. Well, not quite surprise .. I kind of knew it was coming .. plus he asked me if going there a week later than my birthday was ok since the place was all booked up :)

Food: 4.75/5
When you come to Canoe, you order what your heart desires. And my heart (and stomach) wanted Mozzarella! I had the bufala mozzarella and the bf had woodland mushrooms. The woodland mushrooms were fantastic!! It came in a small ramekin but there was actually quite a decent portion. My cheese portion was quite large for an appetizer. It was tasty, not overpowering. I think if the portion was cut in half (and the price :)) then it would be better. I was getting sick of it near the end of it. For our mains, I ordered sturgeon and he had the deep sea char. Both came with pureed potato (his mixed with water cress, that was delish), but mine came in a an absolutely fantastic sauce! Both our fish was wonderfully cooked. The only thing I didn't like was the small chunk of braised beef my dish came with on the side. For dessert we ordered the Niagara apple cake. It was definitely something different. Not sure if I'd order it again tho.

Service: 4.25/5
Service here was great. There was a "main" waiter for your table, and other people who refill your bread and water, take away your empty plates, bring your dishes, etc. Our waiter came at sporadic times. Sometimes I wouldn't see him for 20 minutes, sometimes only a few minutes in between. My biggest gripe is the wait for our entree. Probably over an hour! Fortunately we milked our appetizers for a while.

Atmosphere: 5/5
On the 54th floor of the TD Tower, you get a spectacular view of downtown Toronto. And it being dinner, I saw the most beautiful sunset ever. Beside the CN Tower and Lake Ontario, there was this pink, half sun that was setting over Toronto. Gorgeous. There's a glass view on most parts, depending on where you're sitting. We were lucky and got the GREAT view. The seats were nice and cushy, the table was spacious and the atmosphere was great. An open kitchen lets you see what the chefs are up to. Washrooms are standard TD Tower ones.

Price/Value: 4.5/5
No where else (other than the CN Tower) can you get such a view and fantastic food. I have to admit it's quite over my budget (bf paid .. thanks hunnie .. love you), but I don't go to these kinds of restaurants that often. The total damage was over $150 for 2 people: appetizers, entrees, dessert and a beer.

Overall dining experience: 4.5/5
Everything was worth it here. Especially the view. And the food. Service is great too. Would I come back? Not every day, week or month. Maybe once a year. When I can afford it. But I can be sure that I will have a wonderful time.

Foodie Blog: Le Papillon

Le Papillon
169 Front Street E
Toronto, Ontario
Cuisine(s): French
Date visited: March 2011

We went (read:forced him) to watch Bugs Bunny at the Symphony when it was in town. It was a great show and since we were all pretty and dressed up, decided to go somewhere nice nearby. I've always wanted to try Le Papillon out since I pass by it everyday, so we went!

Food: 4/5
I was feeling a bit extravagant and wanted an appetizer to start. Bf wasn't really feelin' it but I convinced him to get a bowl of mussels. Mmm mm whee were they good! Bf ordered the meat pie and I got the chicken crepe. We both didn't really like the meat pie but my crepe was really good! I'm sure all the crepes on the menu were good. Too bad it didn't come with waffles instead :)

Service: 3.5/5
Service here was com si come sa. Our waiter started off attentive to begin with but then he kind of lagged later on throughout our meal. But, he did top off our water right when it was hitting low. The food came out in decent time (15-20 minutes) after we ordered. Nothing special about the service.

Atmosphere: 3.5/5
We got smushed in the corner of the restaurant, right near the door. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was seated in the middle of the place. I actually don't remember too much about the decor or the atmosphere. Very high ceilings and lots of floor space, that's about it. Didn't try the restrooms.

Price/Value: 3.75/5
I think if the bf's meat pie was better, I would have given this place 4+ stars on the food. The mussels were really good, as was my chicken crepe. But there was something about the meat pie that really set my rating lower .. I think it was a bit dry and lacking flavour. But overall, $15-$20 for a Francais place? Not bad. I think our total damage was $75 for 2 people.

Overall dining experience: 4/5
Nice French place to go to. Not sure if I'd go back but the crepe was really good. If we do we'd definitely order another crepe, maybe even 2! Didn't find anything particularly special or amazing that I liked, except for the mussels. But, it's a convenient, posh place to hit up if you're nearby the Sony Center.