Baking Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry with Sugar Snap Pea Salad for FOODalogue's Virtual Journey

Baked Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry

with Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Yokoso (Welcome)!!! We have been travelling on a virtual culinary journey with Joan of FOODalogue for her Culinary Tour 2011. Joan has been travelling virtually wherever her imagination takes us. How about meeting her in any one of her itinerary stops and presenting your interpretation of the cuisine from that destination? Who wouldn't enjoy taking a journey around the world even if it is from the comfort of your favourite armchair?? We have already met up in Panama where we feasted on traditional dishes  and visited the markets, caught our own salmon and alien looking King Crab in Alaska, and traversed the spice markets of Turkey. Next on our stop is...

Japan

If you were asked to think of one Japanese food, what would come to mind? Sushi, raw fish, tempura, tofu? That's what I would think of as well. With Japanese restaurants and Sushi bars popping up all over the world these days Japanese food is no longer considered mysterious. In fact, more and more we are recognizing Japanese food as one of the healthier cuisines. L'il Burnt Toast, the future dietitian, insists on eating sushi like it was going out of style!!!! The traditional Japanese diet is impressively low in cholesterol, fat, and calories, and high in fiber. No wonder residents of Japan have the highest longevity rate.

"Invite a Blogger to Your Table." We Made Pasteis de Belém (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

Pasteis de Belém (Portuguese Custard Tarts)

 I think I missed my calling as cruise ship director or party planner since I am always cooking up something here on these pages at More Than Burnt Toast as well as in my life. This time around I am bringing you along for the ride if you wish. I don't know about you but I love to challenge myself.  Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to "Invite a Blogger to Your Table"! This is a fun event and an outlet for us each to challenge ourselves and create stronger bonds within the blogging community. Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships than cooking and sharing meals together, even it is virtually. But hey, if you live in the same area as another blogger what's to stop you from gathering in your own kitchen for this challenge.

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges to infuse new life into my cooking adventures. Even every day food should always be an adventure either with new ideas, or experimenting with a new cuisine. With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired. With this ongoing event I will challenge myself and one blogging friend at a time throughout the year as the seasons change.  I hope this inspires you to make new friends in the blogging community as well as create something you have been itching to try.

Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Cumin for My Legume Love Affair

Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Cumin

Simona, the talented author of Briciole, is hosting My Legume Love Affair #31 the legume-centered event that is the brainchild of Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. One of my promises to myself in 2011 is that I would continue to introduce more heart friendly and subsequently lighter dishes into my menus. Submitting a recipe to My Legume Love Affair seemed a good way to continue to steer me on the right path.

My favourite legume is still the lowly chickpea or garbanzo bean. Garbanzo beans (like most legumes) have long been valued for their fiber content. There's now direct evidence about garbanzo beans and appetite! Participants in recent studies reported they consumed less food overall when the diet was supplemented with garbanzo beans. Just like eating 6 sticks of celery for a mid afternoon snack reduces your appetite. Yay for fiber!!!

A Powerhouse Dinner is Ready in 10 Minutes with Avocado Pesto Spaghettini

Avocados were once shunned by the fat and cholesterol conscious,but, in fact have been proven to reduce overall cholesterol levels. Within their creamy goodness is an excellent source of folate and potassium, not to mention thiamine, magnesium and vitamins B6, C ,E and K. Plus they are an antioxidant powerhouse!!!!!

So when I came across this recipe in a Homemakers Magazine I had to give it a try.  For one I am attempting to make healthier choices and for another it's pesto folks!!!! Since I have been dubbed by a small handful of readers as the "Pesto Queen" it seems only fitting to shine up my crown in the middle of a sunless Okanagan Canadian winter, get into the kitchen and amp up the vitamin factor. Tree-ripened avocados will never be a reality for me living in The Great White North but if left to ripen for a few days on the counter the store-bought ones will have to do.

Even in the depths of winter I can still find huge bags of basil at my local Choices grocer. Thank goodness for greenhouses in Canada! The addition of avocado to pesto adds a delicious richness and creaminess and lets you reduce the oil, as well as omit the pine nuts. This dish takes as long to prepare as it takes to cook the pasta. Who wouldn't love to have dinner on the table in 10 minutes on a crazy work night!!

Stop for Turkish Lahmacun with Piyaz on the FOODalogue Culinary Tour

Turkish Lahmacun with Piyaz

Turkey is a fascinating country high on my list of countries I hope someday to explore, but for today I am "almost" content to be travelling on a virtual culinary journey with Joan of FOODalogue for her Culinary Tour 2011. I think if I delved into my past life you would find me somewhere in the Middle East browsing the markets. I find myself inexplicably drawn to their cuisine, flavours and culture. I have a special affection for bulgur, yogurt adn lamb none of which appeared on my table growing up in Southern Ontario.

Joan has been travelling virtually wherever her imagination takes us through cuisine, sights, and cultural exploration.  How about meeting her in any one of her itinerary stops and presenting your interpretation of the cuisine from that destination? Who wouldn't enjoy taking a journey around the world even if it is from the comfort of your favourite armchair?? No passport necessary, no cancelled flights or long airport layovers. You can also do a little daydreaming through your taste buds. We have already met up in Panama where we feasted on traditional dishes  and visited the markets, caught our own salmon and alien looking King Crab in Alaska ...so next stop on her tour is, you guessed it:

Confessions of a Kofta Burger Lover

Kofta Burger with Tzatziki Sauce

I have a confession to make.

But before I do don't forget to send in your dish for the Best Thing I Ever Ate (recently) challenge here at More Than Burnt Toast. Send your submission to bestdisheverate@gmail.com by midnight February 15th. Read all about it here.

The confession.....here on these pages I am guilty of sometimes making dishes to share with those who read this blog that use ingredients I am not really crazy about. Shhh, that's our little secret.

Let me assure you a recipe that does not turn out well will not appear on these pages but sometimes certain ingredients don't have that SWOON factor for me personally. It is true that my own culinary skills are rejuvenated and I am happy with the recipes that appear on MTBT, but, in 2011 I think I should consider sharing more what I enjoy. I have been trying to incorporate more culinary vacations and learning experiences in my personal life but my life, like yours, revolves around others...but sometimes I need to get off the merry-go-round in the culinary sense?

FOODalogue Takes us North to Alaska for Grilled Alaska Salmon Tacos with Corn Relish

Grilled Alaska Salmon Tacos with Corn Relish

Joan of FOODalogue has starting the year off with another informational armchair travel adventure with her Culinary Tour 2011 - The Final Tour. I have really enjoyed travelling with Joan virtually for the past 2 years and have been lucky enough to meet up with her two years in a row in "real time" in San Francisco at Foodbuzz. Blogging brings the whole world closer together.

Joan will be travelling virtually wherever her imagination takes us for the next little while through food, sights, and cultural exploration.  How about meeting her in any one of her itinerary stops and present your interpretation of the cuisine from that destination? Who wouldn't enjoy taking a journey around the world even if it is from the comfort of your favourite armchair?? No passport necessary, no cancelled flights or long airport layovers. You can also do a little daydreaming through your tastebuds. We have already met up in Panama where we feasted on traditional dishes  and visited the markets...so next stop on her tour is:

Whole Chicken Soup With Avgolemono and Orzo from Michael Psilakis

Whole Chicken Soup With Avgolemono and Orzo

Today we are making an iconic Greek dish that can be found in almost every taverna in Greece, at least that would be my expectation.  I remember being in a taverna in the mountainous regions of Greece in the tiny town of Metsovo in the northern most part of the Zagoria region famous for its cheeses. Early evening was a wonderful time to arrive. As we descended through the mist, dazzling lights twinkled in the ravine. Stone houses with grey slate roofs and sharply projecting balconies lined the steep serpentine alleyways.

The following day I was in the square near the orthodox church nursing a cold with this very soup. Sniffling I observed the elderly men sitting on a bench lined up like crows on a tree branch in black flat caps, dark baggy pants and wooden shoes. Older women coming from the market with their greens wore dark blue or black with embroidered trim and brightly coloured aprons, jackets and scarves.

Growing up in a British household this is not the chicken noodle soup I grew up with but this iconic Greek chicken-egg-lemon soup has been a favourite of children for millennia. It is hearty and cheering on a windswept, snowy day just like today. On top of being a wonderfully warming high-protein soup, it is surprisingly easy to make! Some orzo is simmered in the stock until tender, the yolks and lemon juice are tempered by some of the warmed stock.The eggs soften the acidity of the lemon, which leads off the flavour profile of this heartwarming soup. Whipping the egg whites as Michael does makes the soup  have a lighter tongue feel than my usual version.

The pasta used in this dish is orzo. The word orzo is Italian for “barley,” and a reference to the size and shape of the pasta. You can also see orzo called kritharaki, manestra, rosa marina, reiskornpasta, or pasta gallo pion. This pasta is very popular in Greece especially, although it is used in other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern nations, Germany... and here in the melting pot of cultures we call Canada as well!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate (Recently) Challenge...Aglaia Kremezi's Greek Lemon and Oregano Potatoes

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my cooking adventures. Even every day food should always be an adventure either with new ideas, or experimenting with a new cuisine. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local markets for our favourite comfort foods.With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired.

My inspiration comes from so many different places... cookbooks, your blogs, the Internet, magazines, restaurants and friends. With the birth of a New year this is the perfect time to pump up our kitchens into high gear and celebrate cooking!

 I would like to invite you to share the "Best Thing You Ever Ate" (recently) with the rest of the blogging world. Is there a dish that you've created or recreated in 2010 that knocked your socks off; or perhaps your mom or dad make the best "something" in the whole world; perhaps you had a dish at a local restaurant that you can't live without and would like to create in your own kitchen?????

Recipe to follow...

Culinary Food Tour 2011 -Have You Heard of Johnny Mazetti...the Dish?

Joan of FOODalogue is starting the year off with another armchair travel adventure with her Culinary Tour 2011 - The Final Tour. I have really enjoyed travelling with Joan virtually for the past 2 years and have been lucky enough to meet up with her two years in a row in "real time" in San Francisco at Foodbuzz.

This year with her virtual culinary tour we will visit the cuisines of 7 of our neighbours... Panama, Alaska, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria. Each one of these destinations challenges us to create a dish outside the box. Joan will be travelling virtually wherever her imagination takes us for the next little while through food, sights, and cultural diversity.

Why not join Joan on this virtual culinary journey? How about meeting her in any one of her itinerary stops and presenting your interpretation of the cuisine from that destination? Who wouldn't enjoy taking a journey around the world even if it is from the comfort of your favourite armchair?? No passport necessary, no cancelled flights or long airport layovers. You can also do a little daydreaming through your tastebuds.

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club Takes on New Food for the New Year.... Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spinach

By now I hope you have each embraced 2011 like a warm blanket and look forward to all the possibilities a new year brings. I am not one to make New Years resolutions but when our newest member here at the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club suggested we start our year off with a New Food the course was set.

In our well-rounded worlds it was at first hard to believe that we had not tried pretty much every ingredient available to us in our 5 corners of the world. What ingredients have I never tried before was my first reaction? But as I peeled back the layers it came to me that I have never tried quinoa...yes that's true... so a search was made on the Cooking Light web site for the perfect dish to share with our ladies. Since my initial reaction I have come across so many foods I have not tried making before like panna cotta, sauerkraut, oysters, kale soup...the list goes on. We tend to make resolutions like keeping the house cleaner, spending less, or biking to work. This year why not throw your foodie fantasies into the mix? Do you want to learn to handcraft pasta or make the perfect pie crust? Thank you Mary Ann for opening our minds to all the possibilities.

As we continue into our second year we are so glad you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where 5 ladies in two neighbouring countries get together to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. We are now in our second year and continue to share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. This is a team effort where we combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!! Every month millions of readers turn to Cooking Light for recipes, advice on nutrition and fitness.

Frogs Hollow Granola Maple Baked Apples

L'il Burnt Toast and The Kid are visiting for the weekend. Talk about the perfect way to start the new year for this mom!!New Years Day we indulged in a hearty breakfast that included Maple Glazed Peameal Bacon with Latkes, strip bacon, English Muffin Loaves...in short a "not so healthy" way to begin a new year resolution of eating health conscious choices, but, still the perfect way to bring in a year of promise. These are not the "Breakfasts of Champions" but are certainly acceptable for hearty weekend fare.

In saying that, today is the day I am turning over a new leaf and present to you a healthier alternative for breakfast that is equally delicious and filling. I used  the Frogs Hollow granola I received at Foodbuzz this year. I can't believe I still have some leftover it is that good!I don't expect to be back in California before the fall so with a little Google search you will find the recipe below from Epicurious for Frogs Hollow Granola so that we can all enjoy our own.