Our charming hostess for this month's somerville kitchen cookbook club featured not a cookbook, but a magazine - Fine Cooking.
Fine Cooking was described as always having good recipes and with the subscription you get a series of best of issues.
Plus, all the recipes are handy online. I, personally, have not really been familiar with Fine Cooking, but I sure would be exploring it soon.
And the treat was a pumpkin spice cake with butter cream frosting from a Fine Cooking recipe.
Indian, Lebanese, even Indian-Jewish cookbooks were featured this month.
But the most appropriate was The Best Christmas by Ruth Phelan and Brenda Thompson.
Anyone wants to join the bookclub? (we are short on guys). The next meeting is on December 28 and who knows what festive goodies will await all.
My dear Peaceful Restaurant;
I have written you when I first met you (read A Letter). I have been back at least four times since then.
So what do you think of my photography?
Yes, your food looks much better in person.
The Xing-Jiang Cumin Lamb is sure a treat - like redesigning the earth to align Tunisia and China on the same continent.
The more I eat your Beef Roll, the more I am convinced this is the best in the city.
Crunchy, tasty, excellent beef quality that is rare in many Chinese restaurants.
The chives pockets were definitely large and filled with chives.
Unless you are a big fan of chives, don't order those.
A beautiful lunch you served Peaceful Restaurant. Thank you.
Peaceful Restaurant
43 East 5th
Vancouver, BC
I was born on the streets of Prince Rupert with my three brothers, Mr. A, Mr. B and Mr. C.
A kind lady rescued us before winter last year and the kind VOKRA flew us to the big city.
I was teamed up with Mr. A and Mr. B & Mr. C teamed up together - each of us with lovely kind foster humans.
My father was white and strong. But my brothers' father was orange, weak and not too healthy. My three brothers inherited their father's traits.
Mr. A and I were adopted to a warm home on Christmas. We loved our home and ran around for months, until Mr. A got really sick and passed on (Read Sad Thursday).
I loved Mr. A so much, but I am a wise catsess and let his spirit go in peace while I went on happily with my life, toys, and humans.
My human likes the No. 1 Ladies Detective stories and I think he likes to play detective. In one of his detective games, he found out that Mr. C passed on the same time as Mr. A, but Mr. B was alive and still in foster home.
"You are coming to live with your sister", said my human and Mr. B came to live with us at the beginning of Fall.
I took to Mr. B from the first night. I kept him awake running after him, licking him and talking to him the same way I talked to Mr. A.
Slowly he warmed up to me. He was not very playful, but loved hanging out with me to keep his weak body warm.
Mr. B loved the heat. It may have been his weak body but anytime you lost him, he would be next to a heater... or the fire place.
Wherever Mr. B would be, he would run to the fire place at the sound of crackling wood.
While Mr. B was not the most playful, I did not hold it against him.
You see, he was the intellectual type who hung around the human's desk and loved playing with pens and typing on the computer.
I tried to teach him to be a snob, but he loved humans; always the center of social gatherings.
Everyone loved Mr. B. He was warm, talkative, purring and loved me cleaning him, specially as he got sick.
Yes, Mr. B got weaker I cuddled him till the last minute - he joined his brothers on November 29.
My humans were sad, but I, the wise catsess, reminded them of all the fun Mr. B had in his last months with us.
He had all the good food he wanted, he was cuddled constantly and he had few visits to le jardin which he loved.
My three brothers, I will remember you all and think of you, but I am focusing on keeping myself healthy to look after our human.
Rest in peace my three orange brothers.
Mr. A
Mr. B
Mr. C
Tonight, I took over the Art of Recycled Food (Read Part A) starting with leftovers cooked lamb.
The cooked lamb was simply heated up in a bit of hot olive oil, while french fries got fried.
A few accompaniments decorated the table that went well with lamb.
And a Mediterranean style feast was served out of a bag of leftovers lamb.
One hit article on the blog was called Recycled Foods. So when I said I am serving leftovers Wacky Meatloaf, Replacement Chef took over.
The spaghetti was ripped off the meat, the meat thrown in a pot with tomato sauce and leftovers half carrot and half zucchini and a rich meaty sauce was soon simmering.
Replacement Chef cannot resist making the production a piece of art. Just see how the pasta is dropped in the boiling water.
Or how the pasta is poured into the pepper sprinkled plates.
Oh the art of recycled food - tune back tomorrow for Part B.
This is not the first time I rave about my firewood provider (read the last installment at Lumberjack Meal - The Sequel).
The wood arrived, piled up beautifully in the living room this time, making it way more convenient to make a fire without having to dress up and head outside.
My wood provider not only brings the best wood in the city, but has the science of piling up wood perfected, with a side tower to hold all in place (specially with cats intrigued and wanting to jump on the pile).
And what excites me the most about my wood deliveries are the fresh eggs that show up with the wood.
I still cannot get over the difference in colour and taste between those fresh farm eggs and the ones you buy in store, no matter how organic and farm fresh their labels tell you.
I think it is time to consider chicken in le jardin (hmmm, two or three?).
The fire lit, the eggs cracked, a simple meal of fried eggs.
I am looking forward to fresh eggs breakfast in front of the fire this weekend.
Thank you again the best wood provider ever.
An empress spent a whole weekend perfecting many of her talents.
She perfected ambiance setting; perfected brunch cooking and perfected time travel that allowed a blogger and a cake lady to cross time spheres and land upon a 1930's Paris inspired brunch - all dressed appropriately for the occasion.
Writing about the table setting can fill up a complete blog article, let alone the food.
One of the oldest and most beautiful china was set up among a multitude of French motif items.
And once sitting down with tea and a flowing conversation, munching on home made liver paté and French bread and cheese, platter upon platter of delicious brunch items kept on flowing.
Below is a picture of the feast items. I may have missed pictures of a side dish or two; the cold cuts, the cheeses, the paté. My excuse; overwhelmed with options.
Every dish, inventive or traditional, was perfectly cooked with care, love and the elegance of an Empress.
Merci beaucoup ma chére Empress - you sure impressed.
The prosciutto; architecturally built on the platter.
Of course, les croissants; buttery crunchy and packed with melting goodies.
The traditional European brunch dish of baked sausages and potatoes.
Along with a modern fresh tasting inventive way of cooking eggs within an avocado.
Just when we thought the flow of platters stopped, french crepes made their way.
With a thoughtful white and creamy on top of a chocolate nutty base; wow what an orgasmic ending to the meal.
Too bad the real world was waiting for us, but the memories will last a long time.
No words can express my thanks - simply a beautiful meal; Merci!
My dear lovely neighbour was busy on the stove with an aromatic rice filled with cashew nuts and spices. The rice, I quickly found out, is to go with three delicious chicken dishes.
A South-Indian style butter chicken with lighter sauce than what we typically eat in Indian restaurants.
A South-Indian style chicken curry, with less sauce and way more spicing than any restaurant will serve.
And my favourite; chicken liver that is perfectly spiced, South-Indian style.
Another amazing, surprise meal from My dear lovely neighbour, who, like me, does not cook the same thing twice.
Thank you one more time!
