More from the kitchen

We haven't been eating out much lately, save a trip to Bua Thai earlier in the month and a late night post chocolate and coffee tasting falafel from La Shish this past weekend. I've got a post on the former soon, but I gobbled up that falafel so quickly that picture taking didn't stand a chance.

But back to the kitchen... I made three recipes recently that I thought were worth mentioning. Slow Cooked Carne Adovada from David Tanis' Heart of the Artichoke, Breton Buckwheat cake with Fleur de Sel from David Lebovitz's Sweet Life in Paris, and Buttermilk Roast Chicken from Smitten Kitchen.

Carne Adovada

The David Tanis recipe certainly needs some work, mostly due to his suggested cooking time and temperature - 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. I'm hoping a lower, slower cooking time will benefit the final tenderness of the pork shoulder. The chile paste/sauce, however, is perfect.

The pork shoulder. On sale earlier in the month from Serben.

We couldn't find the dried New Mexican red chiles at Paraiso Tropical, so we substituted Ancho chiles, as per Chowhound's suggestion. Removing the seeds from 6oz. of dried chiles is a tedious job (and we were finding seeds everywhere afterward), but it was worth it. The resulting sauce was smoky and slightly spicy, and worked beautifully in a taco and in a roll for lunch the next day.

Breton Buckwheat Cake

This past week my mum and Nanny hosted a mid-week lunch, and the Breton Buckwheat Cake was Rachel's answer to my dessert dilemma. Our main ended up being the kale and bean stew from Smitten Kitchen, which worked well for my vegetarian/Coeliac cousin, along with bannock made by my aunt. The super buttery, nutty buckwheat cake turned out to be a lovely finish to the hearty meal (and just in case you're wondering about the above mentioned Coeliac cousin, I brought her a couple peanut butter cups from the shop in lieu).

The final piece.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

And finally, the buttermilk roast chicken. This recipe comes together in no time, with the chicken simply hanging out in the fridge for 24-48 hours. We ended up brining the chicken for just 24 hours, and the flavour was incredible. We enjoyed our chicken with some rice, spinach and a bottle of Brüton's sparkly Lilith for a quick mid-week meal. At the end of the night, even if you don't choose to use the tin foil to line the baking dish, clean up is easy.

We're still looking forward to checking out some new-to-us restaurants in Oliver, particularly Cibo, Bistro India, the newly located CoCoDi and Café Beirut. Until that happens, I'm happily making my way through some of EPL's cookbook collection and online recipes bookmarked long ago.

Leva - Morning, Noon and Night

On Wednesday my Mum and I met up for lunch. With class until noon, we decided to convene at Leva for salad, pizza and chai lattes.

The place was packed with hungry students, university staff and others, but we managed to squeeze in at a table for two along the window. I meant to mention after our visit last Saturday, that Leva under went a small renovation recently; the 'ledge' that previously ran along the window has been replaced by square wooden tables that comfortably seat two, while the round tables that filled the rest of the space have been replaced by tables that more easily seat four (or a couple studying students). There are also some fancy new lights that run the length of the space.

After heading up to the front to order, we soon found a salad each in front of us and dug in. Like the roasted pear salad I had on Saturday, this one was beautiful, with roasted zucchini, yams, red peppers and onions providing an enjoyable sweetness amongst the spinach. Our pizza came out soon after our plates were cleared. Although this pizza featured mushrooms, I think it's also comparable to a version I love at Da Capo, with potatoes and blue cheese also making an appearance here, along with porcini cream and mozzarella. Both my Mum and I enjoyed the flavours, but I think next time I'm at Leva, it's just going to be a simple Margherita, which is where they really seem to shine pizza wise.

Beyond our dinner this past weekend and this recent lunch, Charles and I have been finding ourselves at Leva fairly frequently during evenings for several reasons. It's always a good place to study/read, with excellent music at a volume just loud enough to tune others out. They also make a latte that Charles finds enjoyable, they have an excellent selection of Kusmi teas for me, the almost-always-irresistible desserts, and best of all, they are open fairly late (until 11pm on weekdays) and are only three blocks or so from our apartment.

I should also mention that I have become addicted to their muffins. Last semester, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had an English class in Humanities 'early' in the morning. With Leva on my way to class, there was no reason why I couldn't stop to grab a freshly baked muffin. There are new flavours daily, usually with two types per day.

The situation on Tuesdays and Thursdays is the same this semester (although 'Reading Class and Ideology' has been replaced with 'Canadian Literature: Writing and Colonial Contact to 1900'), and I stopped on Tuesday for a lovely blueberry version. There's much to love about these muffins, namely that they aren't cloyingly sweet, with just a little sugar sprinkled on top. But they are also slightly over-baked so that the edges get a little crisp and caramel-y - my favourite - and the flavours are always fresh and enjoyable (there was a fig and pistachio version awhile back that I loved).

This evening we did head to Leva for tea and coffee (and a rhubarb square and molasses-ginger cookie), and I picked up a muffin for tomorrow morning's 'early' class venture (sadly it happens on Fridays too, though the 112th street route is far more convenient). A carrot, apple and raisin muffin will surely make my History of Archaeological Thought lecture just a little better... or at least I like to think it will.

Leva Café and Bar
11053 86 Avenue
780.479.5382
Hours - M-F (7am - 11pm); S (9am - 12am); Su (9am - 6pm)


P.S. One day last semester I ordered a breakfast croissant. It was incredible - a fried egg, spicy salami, mozzarella, potato and pesto all sandwiched between a flaky croissant and grilled in the panini press. Needless to say this 'sandwich' was a little more indulgent than my usual morning muffin, and I only ordered it once so as not to become addicted. But if you're in the neighbourhood, I'd strongly recommend one of these beauties. Like the muffins, there are daily versions, usually one vegetarian and one meat.

All about the Apple Strudel (and Beef Goulash) at Accent European Lounge

Last night Zed and I decided to find a $20 Fork Fest menu to sample. Our first instinct was to head to Blue Plate where they are offering their $20 vegetarian menu (an appetizer and entree) this week. However we thought we should go somewhere a little less familiar, and Accent European Lounge, a newer Original Fare member, turned out to be the destination of choice.

We had visited Accent sometime last year on a dessert craze, where we ventured to restaurants simply for dessert and coffee (ie. Cafe Select Southside (now closed), High Level, Leva, etc.). We had ordered the apple strudel and fell in love with it, so we thought trying their entrees would be fitting.

The Lounge had not changed at all since last we had last visited - a small but fair size, dark wood everywhere and a small shortage of lighting (there are some dark pictures below). There were three other couples who seemed to be on dessert when we arrived so there was a healthy choice of seating (we chose a high table close to the window). Our server brought us menus and a wine/beer list, pointing out the Fork Fest features on the back. A few minutes later she was back to see if we were in need of drinks - I went for an Alley Kat Amber Brown Ale and Zed for a Keith's.

Accent's Fork Fest menu (their selections from the regular menu) consisted of a choice of House or Greek Salad, entree choices of Weiner Schnitzel, Beef Goulash, Steak Tartar or Grilled Veg Stack with Bocconcini and Basil Pesto, and for dessert a choice of Apple Strudel or Crepes. I went for the Greek Salad, Vegetable stack and Strudel, and Zed opted for the House Salad, Beef Goulash and also for the Strudel.

A couple minutes after placing our orders our server appeared again to inform me that they would be unable to make the Veg stack as they were out of the portobello mushrooms. She offered to replace the Vegetable stack with their Vegetable Pasta - because the other three Fork Fest options were meat, it was an offer that I really couldn't turn down.

The salads came out quickly. My Greek salad was a good combination of red onion, Feta, Olives and lots of peppery Arugala. Zed on the other hand didn't care for his House Salad. I have to admit that after a small sample the sweet-earthy dressing didn't quite agree with me either, but as Zed is not at all a fan of salads, it would have taken something incredible to win him over.

The House Salad

The Greek Salad

Our entrees arrived soon after. Zed's Goulash looked good - a deep rich brown colour, it was full of red and green peppers and lots of beef and Paprika. On the wet snowy evening it was definitely fitting, and Zed really enjoyed it. While my Vegetable Pasta was good, it was nothing too special - chunks of zucchini, red pepper, onion, broccoli and cauliflower were tossed in a sauce that reminded me of Bruschetta, along with linguine (I'm no good with raw tomatoes, so the dish already put me off a bit). In the end there was nothing really wrong with the dish, maybe it just needs a bit of an update.

Beef Goulash

Vegetable Pasta

I was glad to finish with the Apple Strudel, as it almost made up for my entree. Two nice sized slices of Strudel arrived with a pleasant aroma of walnuts and cinnamon. The outside layer of dough was lovely and crispy, while the inside was full of soft apples and lots of finely ground walnuts.

Apple Strudel

While Accent was good, it definitely wasn't the best meal we've had in the city. But although the lounge was a bit darker than we normally prefer, the casual service meant that we could linger and talk as long as we wanted (preferably with some of the strudel), something we both appreciated; because of this we will likely return (plus, I really want to return to try the vegetable stack...).

Accent European Lounge
8223 104 Street
780.431.0179