Masala Chickpea & Eggplant Soup

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan     autumn, curry, delicious, Indian-inspired, quick and easy, recipes, soup, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

2 yellow onions (chopped)

3 clove garlic (minced)

1 eggplant (1/2″ cubed)

2 13.5oz cans chick peas (drained, reserve liquid of one can)

1 TSP masala tandoori powder

1 TSP garam masala powder

1 TSP yellow curry powder

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth (or veggie to keep vegan)

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

1 TBSP lemon juice

salt and pepper

olive oil

I start refining my hearty soup skills a month or two before autumn is about to rear it’s ugly head. Well, I don’t actually mean ugly, I really do like fall, the changing of the leaves, being able to wear knits again, pumpkin bowling, all of those things are great. It’s just that I’m always sad to watch the warm weather slip away, and with it, my tan. But, I digress…this soup embodies fall. It is meant to warm you up on a chilly evening. This soup can be served pureed or left chunky. I prefer somewhere in the middle, pureeing half, leaving it a bit chunky! I love eggplant and cook with it often. For any eggplant haters out there, this soup will help convert you, I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you would I? #teameggplant

Start things off by tossing the onion and garlic in a medium-sized pot. Drizzle with some olive oil, and cook down on medium-high heat until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggplant, chickpeas, as well as the masala tandoori, garam masala, and curry powder. Stir mixture until the spices have evenly coated the vegetables. Stirring occasionally, continue to let cook for 8-10 minutes, until the eggplant pieces start to soften.

Now, place all remaining ingredients into the pot, including the reserved chickpea liquid. Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce to low heat and let simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper, puree if you wish, but, above all else, enjoy!

Best served with warm bread…naan if you’ve got it and maybe a dollop of sour cream if you’re feeling extra crazy!

Serves 5-6

Total cook time…45 min

This week, this recipe is featured on the site There & Here as part of their guest blug series to compare different parts of the world! Check it out here! You’ll love it!

Wining and Dining at Vin Room, Calgary

Dan    Calgary & Area, Restaurants     calgary, eating out, Restaurants, Vin Room, wine, yyc

It’s hard to turn down a dinner, complete with wine pairings, on one of the nicest patios in Calgary. Actually…it’s pretty much impossible. It was a beautiful evening in early August when I attended a special supper at Vin Room in Mission. In this city, we don’t usually get a substancial amount of beautiful evenings, so you need to enjoy them while you can. Did I mention that September is only weeks away…sigh…

Just in case you’ve never been, Vin Room specializes in, well, wine (hopefully that’s obvious?), and great food to compliment whatever it is you decide to sip on throughout the evening. On this particular night, restaurant owner Phoebe Fung had her executive chef, Claire Cameron, lay-out a multi-course menu for our table which read as something of a whimsical fairy tale for my taste buds. Well, shall we begin?

Our first course for the evening was actually three different dishes, ‘sub-courses’ if you will? The first in the trio was a candied salmon salad. The salmon sat on a bed of arugula, fennel and roasted corn. It was topped with a red wine and seed vinaigrette. For the past while, I’ve been in love with fennel, so this was a hit with me. Can’t go wrong with candied salmon either, right?

The second ‘sub-course’ (I think I just invented that word, and I love it.) was a simple tabouli (pictured above) with toasted quinoa replacing the traditional bulgur wheat. I love the fact that tabouli always has that great fresh taste to it, this serving was no exception. The real king of the first course for me, though, was hands down the grilled calamari.

Just take it in for a moment. Gorgeous scoring, gorgeous char from the grill, accompanied by double smoked bacon, peas, mint, and sweet potato. That is one summery seafood offering if you ask me. I wanted to eat this entire place myself, but then that little voice inside my head said something to ‘No. Dan, you have to share with your friends at the table.’ Ugh, fine…The calamari was cooked perfectly. I always hates when it gets to that rubber-y stage. No one is a happy camper then!

Moving along, the table’s second course was split into two dishes. The first, a serving of israeli couscous (pictured) with rock prawns and merguez sausage. Halibut cheeks followed, topped with salsa verde, on a bed of sauteed radishes. The couscous was a rich, filling dish, and I think all of us at the table fought over the meaty chunks of prawn and sausage. Back that fork up Anh!

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Although it was cooked well, I’m not the biggest fan of halibut, so the dish was, unfortunately, not a highlight for me. I do, however, really love sauteed radishes (have you ever tried them? You should!), and the salsa verde had a nice intensity as well.

Once we had devoured the second course, the third began to arrive. Breaking back down to sub-courses within the course, the table was decorated with plates of food as colourful as they were different. Pura Vida Beef Flank Steak, Seared Chorizo, Lamb Kabobs, and Grilled Scallions, Zucchini and Endive dishes all graced us with their presences’. At this point, it only seems appropriate to continue to visually stimulate you. So, I’ll do just that…

The steak was served with some garlic green beans, and an almond picada, which I could only describe as being oddly delicious. Kind of on the sweeter side of things, but it went well with the steak.

On this plate there was Chorizo and confit baby potatoes with fresh tomatoes and herbs. The chorizo had great flavour. The only down-side for myself was that it was cut into long, thin strips, making it a bit difficult to eat. I prefer sausage that I can really sink my fork into.

The lamb kabobs was a surprise addition to this course. Phoebe said they were not to be missed, and that was very true. The ground lamb meat was seasoned perfectly, complimented by the mild curry sauce underneath. I had more than my share of this one.

The grilled vegetables embodied a great summer barbeque kind of a feel. I’ve only recently started grilling endives and scallions, and they have become a staple in my summer diet. The romesto sauce was bright and tangy. I may of dipped a lamb kabob in it. Just saying…

Did we have room for dessert? Well, sure we did!

Green Bean And Smoked Salmon Salad

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes     appetizers, awesome, delicious, recipes, salad, salmon, summer

What you’ll need…

1 cup white vinegar

2 TSP sugar

2 TSP salt

1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)

3 cups fresh green beans (trimmed, halved, blanched, and ice bathed. Wow, that’s a mouthful)

1 red bell pepper (julienned)

1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)

2 fillets smoked salmon

Dressing:

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1/2 cup fresh chives (finely chopped)

1/4 cup fresh dill (chopped)

1 lemon (zest and juice)

1 TSP sugar

salt and pepper

I was just home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan this past weekend for a wedding (not mine…definitely not mine…). On the Friday night, my parents were having some other relatives stay over as well, so we had an extended family dinner. My mom had picked the beans for this salad fresh from her garden. By some sort of Harry Potter-esque magic, these beans started out as purple, but as soon as you applied heat to them, they would turn to green. Now, I am not sure what kind of witchcraft was at work here, but it was cool nonetheless. We blanched the beans and put them in an ice bath, hence the reason why it is a ‘green bean’ salad and not a ‘magic purple bean’ salad. If you like more of a crunch, then feel free to opt out of the blanching.

We’re going to start off by doing a quick pickling of the red onion. Combine the first three ingredients in a small pot, and let it come to a boil on the stove. Remove from heat, toss in the sliced red onion, make sure all of the onion is submerged, and set aside for 5 minutes. While you’re waiting, place all of the remaining vegetables in a large bowl, followed by the salmon (just break it up into decent sized chunks with your hands). Next, strain the quick-pickled onions and add them to the bowl.

Moving onto the dressing…combine all ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Salt and pepper to desired seasoning. Pour dressing over top of the salad ingredients and toss gently to combine (don’t shred the salmon!). Place in refridgerator for at least one hour to chill. When you’re ready to dish it out, finish it off with a nice portion of cracked black pepper. Bam!

Best enjoyed outside…Summer is almost over after all!

Serves 4-5

Total prep time…15 min (not including chill time)

Start From Scratch Applications Now Open!

Dan    Thoughts     calgary, cooking, Kick The KD, learning, Mount Royal University, Start From Scratch, University of Calgary

After a few months of prepping and planning, We’re now accepting applications for the second run of Start From Scratch! Head over to www.startfromscratch.ca now to fill one out. Remember, this time around, the class is open to both University of Calgary AND Mount Royal University students!

We will be offering a Tuesday night and a Thursday night class! It’s going to be awesome, I promise! Also, just a quick FYI, all future updates regarding Start From Scratch, will be going up on it’s website. There will be interviews with past participants and guests, as well as recipes, and more! So check back to www.startfromscratch.ca often!

Monday Night Supper Club: Park Potluck And Frisbees

Dan    Monday Night Supper Club     #MNSCyyc, awesome, bbq, calgary, dinner, friends, pizza, social media

For the fifth installment of Monday Night Supper Club, we decided to head down to Sandy Beach Park for a potluck dinner. Sandy Beach Park is definitely a nice space, but I do have one mild bone to pick with it (listen up Nenshi!). It does not have any sand, nor a beach, which is generally comprised of sand. Nonetheless, ‘Sandy’ ‘Beach’ Park proved to be a great destination for our Monday night gathering. We’ve really been lucking out with the weather over the past few weeks (knock on wood) and this Monday was no different. There was nothing but sun in the sky!

We staked territory over a group of picnic tables and grills, then got to work unpacked and setting up all the food. As our dinner club has been growing in size, there’s always new individuals attending each week, so it’s always interesting to see how everyone interacts with each other. (Tammy, Jacinthe and Sarah pictured to the left)

Luckily, thus far, everyone seems to be getting along quite well, but I’m hoping for a massive Gossip Girl-esque cat fight soon. Nothing says ‘life of the party’ like some good old fashioned drama! Hopefully between the two Chelseas…Fingers crossed!

The dishes were nothing short of amazing tonight. Newcomer Mike (of Mike’s Bloggity Blog) brought some vodka soaked tomatoes (I liked to call them ‘deconstructed caesars’) and a balsamic watermelon and mint salad to the table. Funnily enough, I assumed I would also bring a watermelon and feta bites with a balsamic blueberry reduction, so we kind of had a watermelon overload on the table, but at least they weren’t exactly the same thing.

Continuing on the salad side of things, Jacinthe made an absolutely breathtaking salad using edible flowers, different greens and herbs all from her own home garden. The flowers, and their petals, were a little peppery and reminiscent of arugula. Her home-made vinaigrette was equally as impressive as the garden salad.

I just need to say salad a few more times…Sarah brought a green bean and potato salad, then Tym and Tammy both brought quinoa salads. Now the salad chapter of this story can finally come to a close.

For the main course offerings, Jacqueline brought some souvlaki chicken skewers, pitas, and appropriate toppings while Rob W barbecued some salmon. Although not pictured, Rob W seems to be growing a beard. He looked quite rugged and manly on this particular Monday.

The ‘gold star’ of the main dishes, would probably have to go to Mealan. She brought an array of sausages from a European meat shop near her home, as well as a platter of mustards, pickles, and sauces to accompany them. If the extensive lay-out of this wasn’t enough, she also made labels for each item on the tray. How Martha Stewart. I won’t lie, there may of been some phallic references/jokes happening during the barbecuing of these sausages, but that’s par for the course, right?

For desserts, Wendy (from Yelp!) brought some nanaimo bars, eclairs, and cream puffs. You know, healthy desserts! Rob M was too preoccupied ensuring that he had enough different colours of frisbees to make anything for the dinner, so he brought a pie from Safeway. Priorities Rob, priorities…

His pie was quickly put to shame, by Adria’s yogurt fruit cups made with baked wonton wrappers, and then, again, by Stephanie (fellow food blogger @globaldish) who created what was probably the most beautiful tart I have ever seen. Her blueberry buttermilk tart was really a work of art. I think everyone felt bad slicing into it, but it was equally as delicious, and simply had to be eaten. We should probably take a moment to look at it…

Amidst the prepping, grilling, eating, laughing, and talking, it seemed that we hardly noticed the sun swiftly disappearing from the sky. It’s funny, when summer begins there are so many long days, where the light lasts until after 10PM, but this Monday it was pretty much full-blown night by 9PM. Sigh, that means fall is approaching…So what do you do in the dark besides make s’mores (courtesy of Jacqueline)…No, not that! You play glow in the dark frisbee, of course!

Or maybe those are UFOs?

Here are some more pictures from our potluck night…

Digging into the food!

Sarah’s green bean and potato salad.

Mike’s vodka soaked tomatoes. I am trying this at home soon.

I’m pretty sure I told Jamie and Adria to pose casually…

Stephanie snapping a shot of the food. What can I say? It’s what we do.

Twitter in Attendance:

@dansgoodside
@JacquelineTyler
@frecklesandash
@mikesbloggity
@yelpcalgary
@globaldish
@jacinthekoddo
@rjmcleod
@robwaye
@anchorgirl
@tymarmstrong

Monday Night Supper Club: A Chef’s Tasting At Anju

Dan    Monday Night Supper Club     #MNSCyyc, awesome, calgary, dinner, eating out, friends, social media

When we decided to start this Monday Night Supper Club, the point of it was not only for us to find a suitable life partners for Chelsea K and Alex, but also to seek out some great dining destinations in our city. It never ceases to amaze me the sheer number of fantastic establishments there are in Calgary, and I’m excited that these regular dining adventures are allowing us to have some delicious experiences week after week. This particular week of the supper club brought us to the restaurant Anju. Being tucked away on the corner of 5th Ave and 10th st SW, it is definitely a little off the radar. That being said, many of us had heard that this place boasted some of the best Korean fusion dishes in town. Anju actually means tapas or a dish eaten with alcohol. So, it was finally time to taste, drink and find out for ourselves!

(On a side note, we’re trying to decide on a supper club graphic, pictured above, which Chelsea K has been working on. Which one do you like? Let me know!)

For this dinner, we were offered a chef’s tasting menu to be cooked up by the chef/owner Roy Oh, so everything would be a surprise. I’m always cool with surprises, unless it’s a crazy man dressed up as a clown jumping out of my closet. That kind of surprise is not ok…

Anyway, the first dish that was brought out to us was some lobster sashimi. This was my (and I’m pretty sure everyone else’s) first time having raw lobster and it was interesting. Very fresh tasting, and seasoned nicely with a bit of after-heat.

Next, the table was served a plate of fried soft tofu bites with green onions and a tangy sauce. Oddly enough, this was one of the highlights of the dinner for me. It always manage to impress me when you can have tofu and actually enjoy it. I know you’re nodding your head in agreement.

Another great moment happened for us during the dinner when we were served some platters of chicken wings. For a moment, each person looked around the table, not knowing exactly what to think. I mean, this was a chef’s tasting after all, we thought we were being all ‘fancy‘. It was then that we were informed that these delicious wings were there only to serve as a reminder that ‘this was not fine dining’. Laughter ensued. I mean, who doesn’t like a good chicken wing? They were awesome.

Now, the time had come for the main course. We fought over pieces of marinated flat iron steak, a whole roasted Broek Acres pork shoulder (which had been brined, then slow-roasted), and also a mackeral dish. That one we left mostly for Chelsea K, since she’s the only pesco-vegetarian in the group. The meat was accompanied by butter lettuce, kimchi, and oyster kimchi so we could all make our own lettuce wraps (bo ssam in Korean)! Fun! As you can probably imagine, we all had our fair share of these. The pork was fall apart tender and I always like the heat from a good batch of kimchi.

Once we reached a point where we could eat no more, we were then served dessert. Unfortunately, my photo quality had been questionable at best throughout the night, and by the time this sweet (literally) asian pear pie with vanilla ice cream came around I was no longer the very average photographer I pride myself on being. In addition to sipping on my beloved Steam Whistle Pilsner (a beer which I will actually marry one day), the table was also served a korean drink called Soju. We had two versions, lychee flavoured and yogurt flavoured. They were refreshing and went down quite easily. I’m pretty sure I didn’t need to help myself to the Soju quite so freely…anyway…

(Brie and Alex pictured mid conversation re: The Bachelorette, while Rob M leans over to the table talking to someone. Flirting perhaps?)

The best part of dining Korean tapas style here at Anju was that it encouraged sharing, and conversation between everyone. This was the largest Monday Night Supper Club to date, where about half of the group did not know each other. Coupled with sitting in a comfortable atmosphere, it truly was an evening of great conversation, good jokes, and, perhaps, a couple inappropriate ones too! There’s nothing like breaking the ice over some Soju! Am I right people?

Want to join in on one of these Monday adventures? Send us a tweet!

Twitter in Attendance:

@dansgoodside
@chelscore
@brie_elise
@frecklesandash
@alexKGT
@akajolie
@JacquelineTyler
@rjmcleod
@gwendolynmr
@VincciT
@socialgrrrl
@Lana_Rogers
@MealanCalgary
@pasaskettegirl
@jacinthekoddo