Monki Bistro

Trio of chocolate mini- domes from MonkiBistro

I am pretty sure that half of my recent restaraunt visits lately have come directly from Instagram… between neat ice cream places and cool eateries – there’s also Monki Bistro. (Seriously… check out the Monki Bistro Instagram feed. Maybe not on an empty stomach though…)

Well, I put the idea forward to the little foodie group I’m a part of, and one Sunday afternoon we headed there, en mass.

 

Poké dinner at home

Home made poke salad

After visiting Poké in Kensington, I had my eyes open for some tuna.. now Safeway NEVER seems to have tuna in stock, so I didn’t think too much about it – but on 15% Tuesday (the first Tuesday of every month) … there it was… gorgeous Ahi Tuna!

Destiny!

The Kitchn had a recipe with a bunch of ingredients that sounded super tasty.. their recipe suggested that you could marinate the tuna for 2 hours for the best flavour – but that it would stay in the fridge for about 2 days. They said it would be best eaten the same day it was made though… however a bunch of other online recipes were  a lot more simple, and said the mix only needed to marinate for 5 minutes…

 

Po-ke Special Bowl

Poke bowl from the Kensington Poke location.

Almost a year ago, my friend Skye and I walked past a Poké place on center street – not far from an event we were heading to. We’d already had dinner… but we made a mental note to go in there and try it sometime.

Well… we never did. Instead, while out playing PokemonGo a while ago I was in Kensington, and walked past another Poké place. I was actually on my way to a recommended Ramen place… but it was hot…and I was hungry.. and Poké it was!

Boy was I glad for the detour!

 

Rabbits Pantry Perfectly Peachy tea

Rabbits Pantry Perfectly Peachy tea

Pale flowered linen summer sundresses, walking barefoot through the grass, the scent of flowers in the air… and Perfectly Peachy. Summer – in a glass.

The second sample of tea I tried from Rabbit’s Pantry was Perfectly Peachy. This is an “Organic black tea with organic peach pieces and natural peach flavor” according to the website. 

 

Sumo Grill Japanese Restaurant

Sushi and sashimi from Sumo Grill in Sunridge Mall

It’s been… YEARS since I was last at Sumo Grill in Sunridge Mall. Part of this is because I’m rarely in that area.. and partially because when I am – I’m now grabbing food at the nearby Blaze Pizza instead. However I was there not too long ago, and popped in because… well honestly I was too tired and hot to take the extra time outside to get pizza…. LOL

 

Master Chocolat – Bernard Callebaut Fine Handmade Chocolate

The Jean Luc Chocoalte – Earl Grey Tea infused dark chocolate ganache from Master Chocolat – Bernard Callebaut Fine Handmade Chocolate

Other people’s birthdays are an excellent excuse to buy yourself chocolate -right?

 

Sushi Shop – Calgary location

Two different sushi rolls from Sushi Shop in Deerfoot Crossing in Calgary

If you’ve been reading Happy Sushi Belly for a while, you might remember some of my previous posts about this Quebec-based chain – Sushi Shop. I visited them first in Quebec City, and then was excited to find a location in Edmonton’s Kingsway Mall. Then, in mid-May I saw a bus in Calgary drive by… advertising the shop!

It turns out, they recently opened a location in Calgary, in Deerfoot Meadows near Jysk.

 

Rabbits Pantry Hot Mess tea

Hot Mess black tea with cinnamon and orange peel

Hot Mess is like a cup of warm homemade apple pie in a teacup – but surprise… there’s no apple in it!

Not long ago I contacted the tea company Rabbits Pantry about the opportunity to sample and review a number of their teas. When they arrived, I had a number of super-hot days, and the last thing I wanted to drink was tea… but then ahhhh a nice cool refreshing rain day, and out came my infuser. The owner hoped to have reviews and descriptions in by May 25, but unfortunately because of the delay in the post… I didn’t even get it until the 27th..

 

April 2018 Culinary Night

Dishes from the Iberian Peninsula SCA culinary night in the barony of Montengarde

In the SCA barony I am a part of we have a culinary group. It’s an unofficial group, but the people who unofficial lead it try really hard to do a themed potluck dinner nearly every month. In April the theme was the Iberian Peninsula, and a luckily it was in a location I can relatively easily get to, so I was able to attend.

(They’re rotating the locations now which is great – both for me to be able to attend a little more, but also for those with kids who would like to attend but have childcare concerns.)

I had actually gotten a little confused about the theme, and am not great with culinary research, but wanted to participate all the same. I made muhammara using blood orange olive oil from Eau Claire Oil & Vinegar Bar. I couldn’t find much about the dish, only that it was “really old” which since it was what I WANTED to make.. was good enough. (It’s more about eating interesting food with good people and learning more from them about medieval dishes for me, than treating it like an Arts & Sciences project.)

Dishes from the Iberian Peninsula SCA culinary night in the barony of Montengarde

The dishes presented included (roughly top to bottom, left to right in the photo to the side):

• A potato ‘cookie’. I liked hearing about this – it was supposed to be fried but the cook decided to bake it instead, turning it from a potato dumpling kind of thing into a potato cookie. I actually ended up not liking the taste of it – but it was still neat to try.
• A soft-style of rosewater-flavoured marzipan-like sweet. The recipe suggested rosewater to counter the oils in freshly ground almonds, but the chef opted to use pre-ground almond flour, so the dish ended up softer than anticipated. I really, really liked this one – but I love the flavour of rosewater.
• Onion soup, I did have a little of this, since frequently heavily cooked onions don’t bother me like raw and near-raw ones do. I thought the broth was nice, but of course couldn’t really enjoy it like those who like onions do.
• A second attempt at the marzipan-like sweet. The chef used far less rosewater on this one, recognizing the almond oil issue with flour vs. freshly ground. This one ended up quite hard and crumbly, and of course a lot less flavoured with rosewater. I liked this one as well… but still prefer the softer, rosier one.
• Watermelon juice. Literally a juiced watermelon. This was cool and refreshing. I think it would be super yummy mixed with lime juice or served with mint!
• A pomegranate sauce served with roasted chicken. The original medieval recipe would have had the chicken served in the sauce, but the chef opted to serve them seperate so folks could control the amount of sauce.
• My red pepper dip served with store-bought pita bread. The consistency ended up similar to hummus – (maybe a little less firm) and I really liked it. I used a recipe my friend sent me, but instead of using a jar of roasted peppers I roasted my own fresh, and toasted the walnuts in it. I also used twice the walnuts and half the bread from her recipe, since I really loved the nutty flavor and thought they’d have a near-similar impact on the consistency.
• A Spanish style cheese, served with store-bought bread and preserves.

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Making my dip

I took a few photos while making the dip and loaded them to Instagram. If you click the link you can go through the three photos, or use the arrows on the sides of the photos if your browser shows them.

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SCA

If you’re in the SCA or any other historical reenactment group, do you have a group that tries different historical recipes? Do you participate? Have any favourite recipes? Share some links with me in the comments below!

 

 

Kruse’s Bakery

Delicious rum balls from Kruse’s Bakery – located in the Market On Macleod in Calgary, Alberta

My last post wasn’t very positive I’m afraid… but in contrast, I’m back writing about Kruse’s Bakery again. I’m pretty sure this is one of my favourite bakeries in Calgary (tied for the top spot with Gluten Free/Paleo/Vegan Nourish Kitchen & Bakery, and Glamorgan Bakery)  There are a few favourite things I get nearly every time I visit (The lemon strudel) and then a few things I’ll pick up now and then… but there are also new things to try too.