SWEET HONEY SOY SHRIMP MARINADE - GLUTEN FREE OPTION!

This recipe is so easy! I paired this dish with some Japanese sticky rice but you can use any starchy base you like. I would also recommend pairing this with Asian noodles, quinoa if you want to be a little bit healthier or even just on its own if you are trying to optimize your protein intake. This recipe is perfect if you are looking for something to prepare for dinner that is super quick or if you invited someone over last minute. I always keep some frozen shrimp in my freezer so that on the occasion I need to whip up something I have this awesome recipe to fall back on! ENJOY

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup of soya sauce (you can substitute for a gluten free soya sauce if you want)
2-3 crushed garlic cloves (or minced)
1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger
1 lbs of uncooked, cleaned shrimp
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onion (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the honey, soya sauce, garlic and ginger in a large flat bowl. Add in your shrimp and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes

*If you are cooking a starchy base I would start cooking/prepping it now while the shrimp marinade

Heat up a pan on medium heat and add in your olive oil. When the olive oil is warm add in your shrimp including marinade and allow to cook until bright pink! Apx 4-6 minutes.

Remove from heat and add onto your rice (or whatever starch you choose). Garnish with some chopped green onions and enjoy!
 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

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BOSK CHAMPAGNE DINNER AT THE SHANGRI-LA HOTEL FEAT. CHARLES HIEDSIECK

This week I was invited to a champagne tasting and dinner at Bosk Toronto. This refined, modern and, most importantly, delicious restaurant is located in the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto’s downtown core. Heading into the dinner I had never dined at Bosk even though I have been, on several occasions, to their bar located adjacent the Shangri-La’s newly remodeled lobby. The Bosk bar is a social hot-spot for the Bay Street crowd but during TIFF it was definitely the place to spot some drool worthy celebrities like Ryan Gosling!

The dinner was elegantly set up in the Bosk private dining room – each place setting aligned with champagne glasses a plenty. I knew from the first moment I entered the room that this was going to be a great event. All the champagne for the evening was supplied from the cellars of Charles Heidsieck in France and I was quickly introduced to their cellar master Cyril Brun who led us through a brief history of the champagne house.

For dinner Chef De Cuisine Richard Singh of Bosk restaurant carefully picked four perfectly paired dishes that both stood out in beauty and complimented each champagne.  It was with this delicate and deliberate curation of food and drink that our palettes would soon be sent buzzing with vibrant flavors after each bite. To start of the dinner we had a 'Sunchoke' soup with cranberry turnip and black truffle accompanied by an elegantly assembled bagal lavash and paired perfectly with the Charles Heidsieck Brut – a champagne with a complex and voluptuous nose of fresh brioche and sun drenched fruits.

Next up on our Bosk menu for the evening was scallops with zucchini, chorizo oil, baby fennel and romesco vinaigrette.  This dish was one of my favorite dishes of the entire night. The scallops were cooked to perfection and each bite came with a burst of sweet flavors. It is no wonder that it was paired with the Charles Heidsieck rosé reserve, a champagne with rich warm notes that mimic homemade strawberry jam followed by smaller notes of gingerbread and cinnamon.

For our mains Bosk featured a delicious halibut dish with pommes puree, arrow leaf spinach, glazed chestnuts, samphire and red wine béarnaise. This dish is a fish lovers dream and really rounded out the meal perfectly. To complement the dish it was paired with Chales Heisieck’s 2005 vintage which had a sharp nose of stinky cheese. The funny thing about the nose on this vintage is that I believe it would only be as pungently noticeable when tasted beside other champagnes. If you were not comparing and tasting multiple champagnes you may not pick up on it right away. Another thing to note about this champagne is that the nose is intentional and comes from the aging/fermenting process.

Dessert was melted raclette cheese with oat crumble, sour cherry, celery and walnut! I really enjoyed this dish especially to finish off my Charles Heidsieck 2005 vintage before moving onto the Charles Heidsieck Black de Millenaires 1995 vintage which also contained nose notes of cheese but not as pungent as its 2005 petit frère.  Other notable notes for this champagne were dried and candied fruits which was perfect to finish off the meal.

I knew that the Shangri-La Hotels always offered luxury products and high-end service, but Bosk restaurant can certainly carry the savoir faire of Toronto’s top restaurant all on its own. The only thing that had me all perplexed was why I hadn’t eaten there sooner.

If you would like to make a reservation at Bosk, visit their website HERE

If you would like to learn more about Charles Heidsieck visit their website HERE

CALII LOVE - TORONTO'S NEW POKE BAR AND CAFE

CALII LOVE - 367 King St W (416) 792-5683

Calii Love is the newest addition to Toronto’s King West hip food scene. This California-inspired Hawaiian poké bar and café aims to please the masses – and it does. If you are in the area, waking home from work or just finished at the gym this place is the perfect place to drop in for a quick healthy bite.

What is poke? Well, poke is raw tuna or salmon marinated in shoyu (a by-product of miso that is thicker then typical soya sauce) and it is delicious!

With a healthy ‘Californian Surfer Lifestyle’ in mind, Calii Love’s menu is made up of coffee, acai bowls, super-food smoothies and poké bowls that are all named after emotions and aim to help you find balance in your bustling city life. All ingredients are sustainable and locally sourced and the seafood is delivered twice a day to ensure quality and freshness.

This week I got to sit down with Dan Gunam, one of the owners of Calli Love who described how the menu was inspired by LA’s clean eating lifestyle and a surfer’s diet. Apparently it is typical for a surfer to have a smoothie bowl in the morning before a big ride and a poké bowl for lunch to re-energize, all while maintaining a clean diet.

The restaurant has already been visited by numerous celebrities during TIFF including John Legend, Ann Hathaway, Ryan Gosling, and Natalie Portman, many of who’s signatures can be seen on one of the surf boards that line the walls of the restaurant.

The restaurant features a very bright, energetic, colourful, and clean interior and holds both a large family-style communal table along with small individual tables, and of course free WiFi for patrons. If you typically like to set up shop in a café and work on your laptop like me this is a great alternative to your regular cafe and you don’t have to worry about binging on pasties because they don’t have them.

Other cool features about the restaurant include a second floor that will soon be used to host pop-up yoga classes (coming in 2017).

What did I order? A customized poké bowl with spicy salmon, edamame, radish, tobiko, green onion, pickled ginger and wakami. To drink I had an ‘Awakened’ smoothie and a cappuccino with my face drawn in it by the incredible Barista Brian- what an awesome party trick!

To see their full menu click HERE

CHORIZO SEAFOOD PAELLA

This time last year I was on my way to Barcelona! Last weekend, in memory of one of my top 5 favorite trip I decided to practice my paella skills. For this paella I went with a traditional chorizo sausage and seafood mix. Things to note: I am a huge fan of saffron as I was heavy on my pinch but you do you. Also the shrimp marinade is on the spicy side so if you are not that into spice go easy on the pepper flakes.   If you are planning to make dinner for a large group paella is great! This one was devour in 15 minutes flat! Enjoy!

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INGREDIENTS

Marinate Shrimp:
1 lbs of shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander

4 Cups of Vegetable Stock
Pinch of salt to taste
Large pinch of saffron (ground)
3 tablespoons of oil
1 Spanish onion (diced)
3 cloves of garlic (grated)
1 cup of wine (split in two)
2 Cups of Paella Rice
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 Chorizo sausages cut up
1/2 lbs of Mussels
1/4 cup of green peas (steamed)
1/2 lbs of Clams1/4 Cup chopped Italian Parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Clean and peel your shrimp, add oil and spices for marinade and set aside in the fridge. 

In a small pot heat up your vegetable stock and add a pinch of salt to taste (this is the only salt I added to the entire dish) Once boiling add in your ground saffron and let steep until you are ready to use it.

Steam peas and set aside.

In a large paella skillet (or any large flat skillet) add in your oil and fry your diced onion until they become translucent. Make sure they dont burn. Add in your garlic and coat them in the oil. Let them cook for a minute or two before you add in your rice and coat the rice in oil.

When ready mix in half your wine, let that evaporate before adding in all your vegetable stock. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

In a smaller deep skillet add in olive oil to coat the bottom before frying up your chopped chorizo. when they are almost done cooking add in your shrimp and cook until nice and pink.

Remove shrimp and chorizo and add to rice. Leave the greasy bottom and throw in your mussels and clams. Add the remainder of the wine and cover. Let the mussels and clams steam open and the alcohol to evaporate before transferring on top of your paella.

Add your steamed peas and garnish with parsley before you are ready to serve.

ENJOY!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

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PESTO SHRIMP WITH GLUTEN FREE PASTA

I love me some pasta and this is one of my easiest recipes. If you are hungry or dealing with some 'hangry' company/kids this is the fastest and easiest meal to get on the table. The longest part of this recipe is waiting for the water to boil, after that it's done in 10 minutes. I'm not celiac but I like using gluten free pasta whenever I can. In this case I used qunioa pasta (my fav gluten free kind of noodle) because it is easier to digest plus its a complex carb (1 part protein to 2 part carbs) making your noodles that much healthier for you. I also find that taste and texture wise it's the closest to regular aldente wheat pasta from a box. Enjoy! 

Serves 2 Adults

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 TBSP of Olive Oil
2 TBSP of Butter
1 Clove of Garlic (minced)
1 Shallot (Finely chopped)
15-20 Shrimp (de-vained and shell removed)
Pre-made Pesto*
Quinoa Pasta
Salt to taste
Parmesan Cheese (garnish)

*make sure it's gluten free

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a pot of water to a boil add 1-2 TSP of salt and your quinoa pasta. You have to stir quinoa pasta for the first two minutes so that it doesn't stick together. Continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes for aldente.

Add olive oil and butter to a skillet and allow to heat up on medium heat before adding in your garlic and shallots.

Once shallots become transparent add in your shrimp and pesto. Mix and allow the shrimp to cook until pink.

Once pasta is aldente remove 3-4 TBSP of water from the pot and set aside. Drain the remaining pasta water and add the pasta into the skillet with the shrimp and pesto. Mix well so that the pasta is well coated.

If you need a little more liquid to cook the pasta a little more add in the pasta water you set aside now. This will also help remove anything stuck to the bottom of the skillet.

Twirl pasta and plate. Add shrimps from the skillet and garnish is pesto sauce and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!