Lobster Fresh Rolls with Sambal Mayo

Lobster Fresh Rolls with Sambal Mayo
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This is the week I was supposed to be in Nova Scotia visiting my folks. Although I moved to Toronto nearly 13 years ago, I still go through bouts of homesickness. They usually increase in intensity during the summer months because, well, Nova Scotia is particularly spectacular in the summer. Usually, I visit around this time to ease this annual affliction. But due to COVID, I will be staying in Toronto this summer. So instead of swimming in my beloved Atlantic, star gazing, and building bonfires with my dad, I will be traveling via my dinner plate. I think it’s fair to say, these Lobster Fresh Rolls with Sambal Mayo won’t be the last East Coast fantasy meal you’ll find on this blog this summer.

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Lemongrass Shrimp Vermicelli Bowls (bún tôm nướng)

Lemongrass Shrimp Vermicelli Bowls (bún tôm nướng)
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No, your eyes do not deceive you, this is another Vietnamese cuisine appreciation post. I can’t stop waxing poetic about its wonderful sense of balance. The marriage of raw and charred, herbaceous and sour, sweet and salty. I just love it so much, I can’t believe I lived my first 25 years without it. But I did, so I will kick these Lemongrass Shrimp Vermicelli Bowls (bún tôm nướng) off with my usual disclaimer. This is not an authentic recipe, this is merely the recipe I have concocted over the past five years of making vermicelli salads or bún in my own home with only YouTube and Google to guide me. All this is to say I am not an expert, just a fangirl.

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Tuna Tahchin with Green Lentils & Preserved Lemon

Tuna Tahchin with Green Lentils and Preserved Lemons
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What you’re looking at looks pretty elegant, doesn’t it? Some might even call it ostentatious in this current climate. But what you’re actually looking at is a handful of pantry staples, the end of a yogurt container and a few egg yolks. This Tuna Tahchin with Green Lentils and Preserved Lemon is my pantry’s take on the classic Iranian dish – Tahchin. Tahchin is a sort of rice cake bound together by yogurt and eggs and seasoned with saffron. It can stay as simple as that and still be called a tahchin. But most versions include a layer of protein, most often chicken, in the center. I made it with tuna, lentils and preserved lemon because that’s what I have in my house right now.

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Umami Bomb Spaghetti with Shiitake Mushrooms

Umami Bomb Spaghetti with Shiitake Mushrooms
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I want to start today’s post off with an apology. I’m sorry for the recent lag in content. I generally plan a lot of recipes in advance, but the COVID-19 crisis made quick work of those plans. So, I’ve been rebuilding my content calendar from the ground up. And now, I have the added challenge of limiting the ingredients in my new recipes to what I have on hand. I am fully aware that you may not currently have or have access to the same things I do. So, I will be providing possible substitutions in each of my posts from here on out. With all that out of the way, allow me to introduce the first of my new (weird) normal recipes – Umami Bomb Spaghetti.

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