The Winter Olympics had me reminiscing about my days in Whistler, so I pulled out my old pictures from last summer. It was then that I stumbled upon this heavenly steak tartare that I once had the pleasure of tasting. Embarrassing part: I can’t remember the restaurant’s name. Horrible of me, I know. But ______’s version of steak tartare is in the Top 5 of the Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten list. They served the dish with these hot, crispy edged starchy cakes made out of deep fried rice, and the contrasting textures and flavors still makes me weep inside a little bit. I’d go as far as to say that’s one of the main reasons I miss Whistler in the first place.

If I’m forced to move aside from the subject of flavor, though, I really liked the plating. In general, I’m very interested in dining, decor, and food styling. We can approach things at random, strictly out of utility, or we can approach things with thoughtful care and passion. I believe that food is so much more than just a necessity. My mother taught me this. Most of my interest, and what I’ve learned, in terms of food was due to her influence. My mom never took any courses on design or cooking. She manages the statistical team at a major pharmaceutical company, so she’s not obviously artistically inclined. But despite her technical and analytical background, she raised me with the belief that everyone can bring a little art into their life. Here are a few of her food styling basics I’d like to share.

The food below is all made by my mother (one or two dishes I’ve specified are by myself), and all the photos were taken by me.

1. Flowers. They’re an obvious way to dress up your dinner table, but there are plenty of ways to add them without blindly stuffing a premixed bouquet into a random vase on your table. I find that sticking to one color is the classiest way to go, and sometimes it’s nice to break down a bouquet and store them in individual little glasses. The tiered pink carnation display was from one of my birthdays. The frame is just stacks of clear plates and glasses; my mother didn’t buy some insane holder. The flowers are also from the supermarket. No fancy florist required!

2. Add height. The chicken breast with the mashed cauliflower on the right is actually my own cooking. See, I learn!

(Left to right: Cheese platter, White wine chicken breast with mashed cauliflower)

3. Simple repetition.

(Left to right: Takoyaki, Caviar on deep fried tofu, Tomato Watermelon salad with basil)

4. Adding a touch of green is probably one of the easiest ways to dress up your food. The seared scallop was made by my mother (obviously I am not that talented), but the okonomiyaki (a Japanese seafood pancake) and the pasta was made by yours truly. It’s interesting how a few pieces of raw vegetable and a brush stroke of sauce can really add something special to your meal.

(Left to right: Seared scallop on pea shoots, Okonomiyaki, Tagliatelle and Meatballs)

5. Interesting plates can really do a lot of the work for you. My mom bought most of her plates from Value Village and random restaurant clearance sales, so you don’t have to run off to Pottery Barn or anything and kill your wallet/self.

(Left to right: Strawberry pavlova, Grilled shrimp and peach salad)

6. Do something unexpected. This is probably the most ambiguous piece of advice, and probably the hardest to follow. Honestly, I don’t think I’m there yet– but I’m assured that with practice I’ll get there. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about. My mother thought of interesting ways to top cupcakes, like taking mini marshmallows and cutting them diagonally to replicate flowers.

(Left to right: Marshmallow cupcakes, White chocolate chip cupcakes, Strawberry brownie cups)

I first heard about snickerdoodles a few years ago from the TV show “Veronica Mars”. Veronica always made Wallace snickerdoodles, and I had no idea what they tasted like. Let’s get this out of the way: snickerdoodles have nothing to do with Snickers bars. They’re basically cinnamon sugar cookies, but then again, I feel criminal underselling them like that. They’re so much better.

The cookies themselves are soft and chewy; something that your teeth can sink wonderfully into. They have a comforting mildness and lack that sophisticated intensity, the kind you might get with a flourless dark chocolate cake. It’s all fine and well to have a decadent treat like that on occasion, decorated with a gooseberry and drizzled with some organic raspberry puree, but sometimes you want something nostalgic and uncomplicated for those rainy days.

I encourage people to make these simply for the pleasure of being able to eat them fresh out of the oven. Not all cookies benefit so much from this, but when snickerdoodles are still warm, their outsides are crisp and spicy with cinnamon while their insides are amazingly light and soft. Not gooey. Soft. Their texture balances out more after they’ve completely cooled, so woe to those who’ve tried my cookies the day after. Just kidding. I still think they’re marvelous cookies, but when I tried them warm, I think I fell in love.

What differentiates these cookies from regular sugar cookies is the cream of tartar used in the recipe. I think that is what rounds out the flavor, and is what brings lightness to the sugar.

I used this recipe from Recipezaar.com. Please enjoy it as much as I have!

Snickerdoodles (24 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs altogether in a large bowl
3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl
4. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture
5. Chill the cookie dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes in the fridge
6. While your dough is chilling, mix together the 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl
7. Take the dough out of the fridge, and scoop teaspoon size amounts of dough
8. Roll the balls of dough gently in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat
9. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes
10. Remove from pain immediately to a cooling rack.

]]> http://www.iy88blog.com/2010/02/13/snickerdoodles/feed/ 11 http://www.iy88blog.com/2010/01/20/hibiscus-other-healthy-things/ http://www.iy88blog.com/2010/01/20/hibiscus-other-healthy-things/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:23:14 +0000 Ingrid http://www.iy88blog.com/?p=200 It has been over a month since I’ve blogged. I think every blogger goes through this– the whole “Ahh I’m so bad, etc etc.” Except can I really call myself a blogger? I don’t exactly have a vast body of work behind me.

I thought if I was going to blog, I might as well write about the restaurant I’ve been practically living at for the past month. I was vaguely aware of this, but then my friend MK pointed out that I had tweeted about eating there 3 times in the last week…

Hibiscus is located in Kensington market. Just take the westbound streetcar outside College Station, and get off one stop past College & Spadina. Walk down Augusta Ave. and you’ll find it tucked away.

There’s not much to order there. Everyone mostly goes for the Soup & Salad special. Now hold on, this ain’t no romaine affair. I was hesitant too, when my friend GB introduced me. He usually introduces me to cool places, but for some reason I like to go kicking and screaming.

But back on track. Yes, there’s basically just the Soup & Salad special. They have buckwheat crepes as well, but you know what? The Soup & Salad special is so amazing that I have never, ever been tempted to order a crepe. Like I said, this ain’t no romaine affair. What you get with the special is a bowl filled with different piles of all these lovely, lettuce-free superfood salads. Things like quinoa with dried cranberry, sweet potato, marinated broccoli, ginger carrot, or one of my favorites– the soy paste with mushroom. There’s a bunch of other stuff, including grated beets with sesame oil. I’m usually not crazy about beets (I never understood those people who just piled those frightening, fluorescent slices of them onto their plate at the salad bar) but as my friend FM agreed, these are delicious.

Everything is delicious, and even though it’s just a bowl of vegetables, I have never met anyone who wasn’t full afterward. Even my friend CT was full– and he’s a tall, athletic, hungry guy. All the skeptical, burger eating people who have tried the special (including myself) have loved it.

It comes with a mug of the daily soup, which has ranged from butternut squash with beet to ginger carrot. Dip in their raw sunflower seed cracker that comes with your meal, and you’ll be one content son of a bitch.

Was that unnecessary language? I’m sorry, but I feel the need to be a bit aggressive after prattling on about all this flowery health junk.

But seriously, folks, this is a place you can leave feeling good.

A bunch of hippies that were sitting near me once voiced out the thoughts that I was secretly thinking– key point being secretly, as when you say things like this out loud you sound moronic and insane. But to their credit, yes, yes I did feel like all the toxins were leaving my body. I, unfortunately, was unable to match them on their spiritual cleanse…

In general, for this glorious year of 2010, I’ve been trying to stay on a bit of a health kick. Gone are my days of frozen dinners (although those cheese cannellonis seriously aren’t bad). I’ve been drinking water, eating real vegetables, and I’ve finally replaced sugar and maple syrup with agave nectar.

What the hell is agave nectar? Well, it’s this natural sweetener derived from the agave plant, and it’s supposed to be better for you. I think it’s because it’s sweeter than sugar, and thus you need less? Regardless, it’ll be a gentler calorie count, and it doesn’t have any scary side effects like aspartame. Usually, when we substitute something for something healthier, we’ve downgraded. This is not the case. I actually prefer agave nectar in my oatmeal now. It’s a lighter, cleaner taste than both sugar and maple syrup, without losing sweetness.

I feel like Gwyneth Paltrow. What the hell am I doing, touting agave? I’ve become Vanessa’s douchebag mother from Gossip Girl (“I only use agave”). But you know what? It’s pretty cool when you can find healthy things that don’t secretly sort of suck, like Hibiscus and agave nectar.

Not that I always treat my body like a temple. Sometimes, after popping all those omega-3′s and slow cooking all that oatmeal, a girl needs to eat something disgusting and awesome. Buffalo wings are a favorite. I don’t need a million different flavors– I’ll always be a Duff’s girl at heart. Last night I dropped by St. Louis’ for some hot wings with my friend MV after the Tegan & Sara concert at Massey Hall. Which brings me to a point Tegan raised on stage: when you tweet (or in this case, blog) about something, is it a form of bragging?

Things to consider.

——

Notes:

Hibiscus (416) 364-6183
238 Augusta Ave.
Toronto, ON
M5T 2L7

Closed on Sunday. Open Monday to Saturday, and you have to get in the door by 6ish as they close at 7.

Also, try their ice cream. They’re all non-dairy, but I’d stick to one of their three coconut flavors: coconut mango, coconut blueberry, or coconut raspberry. Seriously, so amazing. I tried a regular flavor that wasn’t made with coconut puree, and it tasted like newspaper. Like the stuff you expect health food to taste like.

*The picture of the food from Hibiscus is mine, but I stole the store front from yelp.ca, and the agave picture from Thursday’s Girl.

It’s not your typical Chinese restaurant. For one, it’s small without being decrepit. They also don’t use MSG, so shazam, there goes that stereotype. The crowd’s also usually at a nice, low murmuring level, so you’re not in a shouting match with the table next to you. Another nice touch is that they offer nice bottled organic Black River juices (though they use to go with Sarah’s), which is a really nice change from your standard Coke and Sprite. They get bonus points because this was one of their features way before the organic boom.

Their deep fried squid with spicy peppers is my favorite, and their soups are always so amazing too. There’s no reservations though, so either go early or late unless you’re willing to wait in line. I remember I used to bump into my old private school French teacher here all the time when I was young. She went there every week, I think. Good memories.

Lee Garden
(416) 593-9524
331 Spadina Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 2E9

http://www.leegardenrestaurant.ca/

I’ve read reviews about Japango, and there are a lot of complaints about the cramped size etc… I prefer it that way though, even if it means I might have to wait longer for a table. There’s just something about a tiny restaurant that brings me back. It makes me feel like there’s a private space I can escape to.

I like that they play jazz music there, it’s an interesting compliment to the Japanese food. It reminds me of some of the sake bar/restaurants I visited in the Harajuku district in Tokyo.

Although Le Cafe Michi is still my favorite Japanese restaurant in Toronto, this is a lovely, accessible place to go with friends. I really suggest taking advantage of their authentic appetizers, instead of only getting a sushi platter which you could get anywhere. Check out their yaki nasu (grilled eggplant) or their sweet shrimp karage.

Japango
(416) 599-5557
122 Elizabeth Street
Toronto, ON M5G 1P5