Best Sandwich in Vancouver (Hands Down)

If you haven't been to Finch's in Gastown yet, I highly recommend you try it. Their sandwiches are to die for! I had the blue-brie, prosciutto baguette with pears, roasted walnuts, olive oil and vinegar. I was elated to finally try blue-brie as I had heard great things about it and love both blue cheese and brie. For those who are skeptical of blue cheese, this has a much milder taste thanks to the brie so is ideal for those less wild cheese enthusiasts.  At first I thought the price point ($8.95) was a bit high for a sandwich, but the quality and quantity of ingredients made it more than worth it. Generous wedges of cheese layered with a healthy amount of prosciutto and ripe pear slices were the perfect combination of sweet and salty. While the oil & vinegar were not obvious, the roasted walnuts completed the sandwich with a nice crunch and flavour. Served on a piece of parchment paper fit the shabby chic style of the place. Finch's also serves vegetarian options, including salads and breakfast as well as whole grain bread for those who prefer it to baguette and other types of cheese, but the sandwiches are an excellent starting point.


 finchteahouse.com

Next item to try: the salad version of the sandwich (with greens and baguette on the side)

Hummus from the Heart

With hundreds of hummus recipes available out there, I think the best approach is tossing out the recipes and going with what you like. Since you throw all the ingredients into a food processor at once, there is no need to follow any real guidelines. Just add ingredients to taste. If you like lemony hummus add more lemon, if you like garlicky hummus add more garlic and so on. *Traditional Lebanese hummus does not contain garlic, but I am Greek after all, so bring on the garlic!


My latest creation: Hummus with Basil


1 can chickpeas / garbanzo beans
tahini to taste (I like a lot, 5-6 tbs.)
handful of fresh basil
juice of 1 lemon 
3 cloves of garlic
water (add more depending on how runny you like it)
generous drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Combine ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste and add more of any ingredient you like. Serve with warm pita or veggies. Yields about 2 cups. Let sit in fridge before serving.


Healthy Hints:
Chickpeas are a good source of protein and Vitamin E and are rich in fibre.
Garlic can reduce the risk of both cancer and heart disease.
Basil helps with indigestion.

Avocado Chocolate Pudding?

Avocado chocolate pudding? Yes, it sounds super weird, but that's exactly why I was so excited to try it. Plus, this pudding has no sugar so it's absolutely guilt free! The original recipe calls for carob powder, but I didn't have any on hand so I used cocoa powder instead. When substituting cocoa for carob powder use half as much cocoa as whatever the recipe calls for. Throw the avocado, lemon, salt, honey (or maple syrup) and cocoa in a food processor and shazam... chocolate pudding in less than 5 minutes! The avocado makes the texture super creamy, but you can't taste it. Now you're probably wondering about the taste: delicious.  

Garnish with seasonal fruit (I think bananas go particularly well with chocolate)

Yields about 2 servings

Recipe link: www.ehow.com/video


Healthy Hints: 
Avocado has Vitamin E, magnesium and is high in monounsaturated fats to help lower cholesterol 
Cocoa is rich in antioxidants 
Carob has no caffeine and less sugar than chocolate but a similar taste

Festive Pumpkin Cheesecake

If you are a pumpkin pie and cheesecake lover you can have the best of both worlds with this delicious cheesecake. An easy recipe with few ingredients, but a bit costly due to the fact that the recipe calls for four packs of cream cheese. I used light cream cheese and it still turned out great! This is by far the best cheesecake I've ever had / made. The pumpkin makes it super moist and not too sweet. I used pure pumpkin from a can, not the kind for pie filling.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup graham crumbs

3 tbsp. butter -melted 

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. brown sugar

Filling:

4 - 250g packages cream cheese -softened 

5 eggs

1/4 cup flour

2 tsp. pumpkin spice or equal parts ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg

1- 14oz can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)

2 tbsp. light rum

1 cup whipping cream -whipped 

splash of vanilla

Combine crust ingredients. Lightly grease a 10" springform pan and line bottom with crumb mixture. Pat firm and chill. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat softened cream cheese till fluffy on low-med. setting. Slowly beat in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour, spices, pumpkin and rum. Pour batter over crust. Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or till filling is set. Cool for an hour. Refrigerate several hours. Garnish with vanilla whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serves 10 to 12. 

Burger or Bust

Alright, so I'm not usually a fan of chain restaurants, but if you're looking for a tasty burger that isn't fast food, Milestones is a great option. For only $12.99 you get to choose from 3 customized burgers. I typically get the "American", which includes bacon, cheddar and the trimmings (pickle, onion, tomato and lettuce). You can also choose to have it served with curly fries, salad, or half and half at no extra charge. The burger is huge so I would suggest the later option. At least you can feel somewhat healthy by ordering a half salad... yeah right, I was full for the entire next day. I had to do some intense yoga to burn some fat, but it was well worth it.  And if you'd like to indulge even further... order the watercress dip for your fries... yum!  A very satisfying burger, to say the least. I think the picture says at all.

Lesson learned: I can eat a lot!
Next burger joint to try: Romer's 

I'm jammin' and I hope you like jammin', too

Not sure what it is about making jam, but I always find it problematic. Today, I decided to use some apricots that I had prepared and froze in the summer. The nice part was not having to do all the washing, cutting & pitting so I could get straight to it. Mind you, I still managed to mess it up. I probably should have let the apricots defrost completely before tossing them in the pot, but sometimes it's nice not to follow all the rules. I made the special calcium concoction, which helps the pectin gel without adding the sugar required in conventional pectin brands. I somehow completely missed that I was supposed to use a particular brand of pectin called Pomona's. So I ended up using conventional pectin (because I had it on hand), made my own calcium water (normally it comes in the Pomona package), AND decided to use water instead on concentrated apple juice seeing as I didn't have any (the juice is what provides the sweetness since there is no sugar). 

End result: Apricot Jam that isn't sweet 

Lesson learned: Make sure you have all the ingredients before starting a recipe. 

So much for winging it! 

Please note: I don't usually do this. In fact, I am infamous for following recipes to a t. 

The actual recipe can be found on ehow.com

Healthy Hints about apricots: high in fibre and potassium, low glycemic index

Tis the season... for making apple sauce

Apples are in season and I can't think of a tastier, healthier, sugarless treat that makes the perfect substitute for dessert. The recipe I discovered on food.com literally tastes like you're eating apple pie, minus all the calories. If you're lucky enough to have an apple tree in your backyard, then you will be looking for a way to use up them apples. If you don't, I would suggest buying local and organic considering the high pesticide use on apple crops. You can often find bags of apples on sale at Choices and even at regular cost there isn't much of a price difference. I used King apples, but any sweet apples will do. You can even throw in a couple tart apples if you have some laying around. I doubled the recipe and filled about 5 mason jars. My only modification for the recipe would be to use lemon juice over lemon slices because I found it hard to remove the lemons after boiling and some little pieces could be tasted in the end product (which isn't really a big deal if you like lemons). If you do use lemon slices, be sure to remove any lemon seeds as they give off a bitter taste. Don't forget to boil your jars so that the lids seal to preserve your sauce. If you want, skip the jarring process altogether, as you will probably end up eating the sauce faster than you think (especially if you have kids). Yum!

Uses for apple sauce: eat it straight up, slap it on a pork roast, pour in on yogurt, or eat it with latkes.

Here is the recipe I used (quick and simple):

www.food.com/recipe/quick-homemade-applesauce-no-sugar-added-201473

How to Sterilize Jars for canning:

www.ehow.com/how_4577254_sterilize-jars-canning.html

Healthy Hints about apples: High in fibre and potassium, can keep hunger at bay