Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Loaf

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Loaf

Lemons and Stawberries. Strawberries and Lemons. Doesn't that just scream summer to you?

A few good friends of ours all gave birth around the same time so we are surrounded by babies this summer. Look how precious she looks. Only 8 days old!

Summer Baby

To celebrate, I decided to bake this delicious dense yogurt loaf filled with strawberries and lemons. Hope you're all having a wonderful summer so far!

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Loaf

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Loaf
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 3/4 cup of plain low fat Greek style yogurt
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp of almond extract
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 tsp of lemon zest
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
- 2 cups of fresh strawberries, small slices

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together the yogurt and sugar. Slowly add the yogurt and sugar, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and almond extract to the dry ingredients and whisk slowly. When the mixture is almost smooth, slowly add in the vegetable oil and continue to whisk slowly until perfectly smooth. Fold in the strawberries until evenly distributed.

3. Lightly grease a loaf pan (9x5x3 inches), and line it with parchment paper. Lightly grease and flour the pan lined with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan, let it cool on a cooling rack, and serve.

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Loaf

Aroma Festival, Sydney

The Rocks Aroma Festival
Next Sunday is Aroma festival in Sydney! An outdoor festival, in The Rocks, dedicated to coffee, tea & chocolate. What can be better? This is an event where vendors from all over Sydney come together to showcase and serve their finest drinks, chocolate, and spices.
As cool as that sounds, this event is so much more than that. It's not just about coffee, tea, and chocolate. There's also food, mulled wine, entertainment, outdoor markets, and much more...
Ummm...like camel rides for example :) How random, right!? These camels were just hangin out in the crowds like it was no big deal. I was shocked that they didn't freak out with so many people around.
Camel Ride
Last year, my good friend Super J, her new boyfriend, and I explored Aroma Fest together...eating and drinking as much as we possibly could.
Meet Super J's boyfriend! LOL. He is such a good sport. I can't believe he said yes when I told him to try on a mask.
Aroma Festival in Sydney
Outdoor Market at Aroma Festival 2010
So this is how it goes down at Aroma Fest:
Grab some grub and fill your tummy.
Sauteed Shrimp
Fight through the crowds and grab a cup of coffee for cheap.
Sydney Aroma Festival
Eat some more.
Fried Calamari
Quench your thirst with another cup of coffee. Let's do organic this time.
Organic Coffee
But wait, you'll need to fight through the crowds and long line ups first.
Sydney Aroma Festival
More food to go with that coffee. These Turkish gozlemes were insanely good. You squeeze fresh lemon juice over top while they're still hot, and you've got heaven on a plate! Gozlemes were a discovery I made while in Sydney.
Gozleme
Keep the cycle going until you are completely stuffed from the food and wired from all the caffeine. When you're ready to call it quits, unwind and complete the day by headin to a pub! :)
Aroma Festival, Sydney
The Rocks, Sydney

Black Cat Bistro, Ottawa

Black Cat Bistro, Ottawa

Black Cat Bistro has been on my list of places to try for a very long time. My good friend, N, invited us out for dinner to meet his new girlfriend, so I took the opportunity to knock Black Cat off my list.

This place is easy to miss. I have driven and walked past Black Cat Bistro many times without even realizing it was there! The sign for the restaurant sign is not an in-your-face sign, and I find that the restaurant just kind of blends in with the building it is situated in.

But when you walk in, you get the total opposite feel. The interior is a funky modern space (designed by Yvonne Potter of Y Design Studio) with a hip feel to it. And the food? It is French with a modern twist.

To start, we had home made bread with a delicious maple butter. Not to sweet but just enough to make you crave more.

Maple Butter
Bread with Maple Butter

For an appetizer, the four of us shared the sharing table: Chef's choice of 4 different appetizers. On the night we went, the appetizers were: a pork terrine with apple butter, bbq chicken wings, duck liver with grainy mustard & raisin jam, and asparagus salad.

Everything was very good. My favorite was definitely the duck liver. I had no idea duck liver went so well with grainy mustard!

Starter Plate
Sharing Table

Our sharing plate came with a small plate home made baguette slices.

Baguette
Baguette Slices

My main was the seared Atlantic scallops with roasted tomato, grilled green onion, asparagus, pancetta & vanilla salt. I ate my dish pretty quickly! The scallops were so well seasoned that I was just popping them in my mouth like candy.

Sea Scallops
Seared Atlantic Scallops

CK had the pan roasted Ontario pickerel with potato fingerlings, ramps, carrots, mushrooms, brown butter & caper vinaigrette. He was trying to eat healthy that night, and although it was good, I'm pretty sure he wished he had ordered the steak or burger!

Pickerel
Pan Roasted Ontario Pickerel

DP had the BCB Signature Steak Frites: black angus striploin with maitre d’hotel butter & Peppercorn Bordelaise.

Steak
BCB Signature Steak Frites

The frites part of the steak frites was a clean bowl of sage fries cooked in peanut oil.

Fries
Sage Fries

Every Tuesday, BCB serves a different Angus burger. N got to try the Mexican burger topped with avocado and a fried egg. The burger was massively tall, so he ended up having to cut his burger instead of biting into it. He would have liked his burger to be a bit easier to eat.

The burger was served with sage fries and a truffle mayo that went really well together!

Mexican Burger
Mexican Burger

Black Cat Bistro428 Prestron Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-569-9998

Black Cat Bistro on Urbanspoon

Winners of the Taste & Travel Magazine Giveaway

Taste & Travel Magazine

The winners of the Taste & Travel magazine giveaway are:

La Table De Nana, Hungry Hippo, Lily, yzhalia, and Just Kira!

If you guys can send me an email at nooschi [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing addresses, I'll get the magazines sent to you ASAP!

Thanks and hope you all had a great weekend!!

Taste & Travel International Magazine + GIVEAWAY

Taste & Travel International Magazine
If you haven't picked up a copy of the latest Taste & Travel magazine, get on it! For those of you who couldn't snag a copy because it was sold out, it's a great new culinary travel magazine that recently launched across Canada. It's all about food with a travel flare, showing you great food from the coolest places around the globe. No worries if you can't travel to all the exotic places featured in the magazine because it includes lots of recipes that you can try at home, from tangy curry fish from Assam, to Piri-Piri sauce from Mozambique, and Mayan Spicy Chocolate Chicken!

In addition to great articles on Yucatan, Morocco and South Africa, the upcoming issue also has a write up on Ottawa! YAY!

What I love about this magazine is that it contains intelligent journalism. Something can be learned in every article and recipe; not your typical '75 recipes in less than 30 minutes'!

The mastermind behind Taste & Travel is Janet Boileau, an accomplished food enthusiast and publisher who holds a PhD diploma from the University of Adelaide in culinary history, and a Master of Arts in Gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu.

Taste & Travel is a quarterly publication that can be found in Chapters stands across Canada. I personally love being able to hold and read a printed magazine, but if you're more of a digital person, you can get an electronic subscription through Zinio at this link here.

The first issue, a collector's special launch edition, flew off the stands in just a matter of weeks. If you didn't get a copy, here's your chance!

Taste & Travel Magazine

I'm giving away 5 copies of the collector's special launch issue to the first 5 commentors. All you have to do is tell me what you love most about the food magazines you currently read. Is it the recipes, chef features, or food porn? For me, it is definitely for the food porn and recipes.

Taste & Travel Collectors Special Edition

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Creamy Avocado Pasta

I know it's been a while since I posted a recipe. The truth is, I've hardly been cooking. And if I do, it is quick, easy peasy stuff. Stuff not worth photographing and writing about. Until now that is...

Life is busy, and when I do have time for myself, I'd rather get out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather we've been getting. Gotta take advantage of it, summer doesn't last long here!

CK and I are lovin this recipe, and the best part is that this is a healthy option that perfectly satisfies that craving for a rich, creamy pasta. I swear it's better than pasta alfredo!

This recipe makes 3 servings.

Creamy Avocado Pasta(Adapted from Oh She Glows)

- 2 small or 1 large ripe Avocado
- 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 300g of linguine pasta
- fresh ground pepper
- red pepper flakes

Method
1. Cook the pasta, al dente, as per package instructions.

2. While the pasta is boiling, combine the avocado, garlic, lemon juice, basil, salt, and extra virgin olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth.

3. When the pasta is done, drain in a colander. In a large bowl, while the pasta is still hot, mix the pasta with the avocado sauce until evenly distributed. Garnish with black pepper and/or red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Margot Cafe and Bar, Nashville

Margot Cafe and Bar, Nashville
Margot Cafe and Bar

Hope everyone had a great Canada Day! And if you're in the US, Happy 4th of July! I just got back from an awesome but tiring trip to Europe, so CK and I just laid low and took it easy.

We watched movies and vegged out on the couch with a bag of my new favorite chips: PC Loads of Ketchup Chips. You've gotta try them! Absolutely mind blowing how much seasoning is on those ketchup chips. The other flavors don't live up to expectations, but the ketchup is awesome!

My post this week features a great brunch spot in Nashville called Margot Cafe and Bar. Situated in a renovated 1930's building, Margot's is a lively ecclectic restaurant where people flock to every Sunday morning for brunch.

The menu changes often, offering fresh dishes that are rustic French and Italian influenced.

Margot Cafe and Bar, Nashville
Margot Cafe and Bar

While waiting for a seat, we all started with some bubbly. Between the 6 of us, I think we pretty much ordered every bubbly offered on the menu. My favorites were elderflower, scarlett (blood orange), rhubarb, and the bellini. As you can imagine, we were all very 'happy' by the time we were seated.

I was craving Italian cold meats badly that day, and made sure every one of my dishes had it. To start, I ordered the sopressata with radish, celery, & pecorino salad. The salad was just simply delicious.

Sopressata Salad
Sopressata with Radish & Celery

My main meal was poached eggs on tuscan toast with asparagus and no hollondaise. To satisfy my taste buds, I also added prosciutto to the dish. The prosciutto was fatty, tender, and slightly thicker than what I was used to, but really good. When I asked the waitress about it, she informed us that it was brought over from Italy.

Eggs Benedict with Prosciutto
Poached Eggs with Asparagus and Prosciutto

Just as I was about to cut into my food, the waitress brought over a jar of a green secret sauce that she recommended me eating with my eggs. The secret sauce was a jalapeno sauce with sea salt. It was a refreshing mild sauce that went really well with my brunch.

Jalapeno Sauce
Jalapeno Sauce

For starters, CK ordered the pastry plate: cinnamon pecan sticky bun, coffee cake, and a housemade biscuit

Pastries of the Day
Cinnamon Pecan Sticky Bun, Coffee Cake, Home Made Biscuit

For his main meal, he continued with his sugar theme and ordered the cornmeal pancakes with strawberries & warm maple syrup. These were fantastic: warm, fragrant, and comforting.

Cornmeal Pancakes
Cornmeal Pancakes with Strawberries

Our cousin, K ordered the sugar snap peas & ricotta crepes with mint gremolata.

Ricotta Crepes
Sugar Snap Peas & Ricotta Crepes

One thing I loved about Margot's was their beautiful China. Eating and drinking out of beautiful dishes puts a smile on my face...it really is the little things in life.

Tea
Tea

For dessert, our table shared the home made strawberry ice cream served with a pizelle. After taking a small bite, I totally regretted not ordering my own.

Strawberry Ice Cream
Home Made Strawberry Ice Cream

Margot Cafe and Bar
1017 Woodland Street
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Telephone: 615-227-4668

Margot Café on Urbanspoon