Egg Avocado Salad

Egg Avocado Salad

This is a healthy spin on regular egg salad, and is great to serve in a sandwich. What's great about this egg salad is that it is really filling, and it keeps you full for a long time. I find too much avocado is overpowering sometimes, but the lemon juice really lightens it up. I added paprika to this for a bit more flavor, but it makes the avocado mix a brownish greyish color. If you are put off by the color, just leave it out!

This recipe yields 4-6 servings.

Egg Avocado Salad
- 2 small ripe avocadoes
- 6 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup of red onion, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, juice
- 1/4 tsp of paprika (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. In a bowl, mix the avocado, cilantro and red onion with a fork. The fork will break the avocado as you mix.

2. Add paprika, eggs, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Continue to mix until even. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve cold with bread.

Griffintown Cafe, Montreal

Griffintown, Montreal

Wow, so I haven't been excited about a place like this in a long time! I have to admit, I'm pretty uninspired with what is out there. Don't get me wrong, there is lots of good food out there, but I think that is exactly what the problem is. It is so hard to set yourself apart these days because EVERYONE does it well.

What I love about Griffintown Cafe is that this place has got soul and character! Not only is the food great, but they've really created this atmosphere that isn't easy to replicate. This place has got this old funky saloon type feel that makes it a lot of fun. They are open for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner, and have live music three nights a week.

Griffintown, Montreal

Fresh cold water was served in Bulleit Bourbon bottles. I loved the idea and want to do that at my house. Like I said, they make it fun!

Bourbon Water Jug

I ordered the huevos divorciados with corn tortillas, poached eggs, cheddar cheese, black beans, avocado, Mexican crema, and salsa verde y roja. For an extra $2, you can add pulled pork which is well worth your money. I was absolutely in heaven with this dish. It was substantial, flavorful, fresh, and absolutely DELICIOUS!

Huevos Divorciados
Huevos Divorciados

The eggs were cooked rare, and it was a perfect dish to mix up and eat all mushed together. I was so satisfied with my dish that I didn't even look at anyone else's, which is rare for me. I always have food envy and want to try every dish on the table, but not this time. I was faithful to my dish.

Huevos Divorciados
Huevos Divorciados

S and P had the eggs benedict served on home baked biscuits with hollandaise, potatoes and mixed green salad. S had hers with homemade bacon.

Eggs Benedict with Bacon
Eggs Benedict with Homemade Bacon

 And P had her eggs benny with house cured organic salmon.

Eggs Benedict with Salmon
Eggs Benedict with Salmon

J opted for something sweet and had the brioche french toast with bourbon, vanilla bean, cinnamon fresh berries, sweet cream and maple syrup.

Brioche French Toast
Brioche French Toast

1378 Notre Dame Ouest
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Telephone: 514-931-5299


Griffintown Café on Urbanspoon

Roasted Vegetable and Spinach Lasagna

Vegetarian Lasagna

Everyone needs a good lasagna recipe in their repertoire. Growing up, my mom tried hard to make a good lasagna, but no matter what she did, it would always turn out soggy. I was always envious of my friends whose moms knew how to make soggy-free lasagna. Well, I finally perfected a recipe, and can now enjoy soggy-free lasagna whenever I want!

Roasted Vegetable and Spinach Lasagna
- 1 (375g, 13oz) package of uncooked oven ready lasagna noodles
- 2 cups of parmesan, mozzarella, and provolone cheese mix
- 2 red peppers, seeded and cut into thick slices (4-6 slices each pepper)
- 16 oz mushrooms
- 475g light ricotta cheese
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 (156 mL, 5.5 fl oz) can of tomato paste
- 2 300g packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed with water rung out
- 2 eggs
- 2 zucchinis
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 (739mL) jar of roasted red pepper and garlic tomato sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper

Method
1. In a small bowl, cut the zucchini in 1/2 inch slices, and lightly coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Place the zucchini and red pepper slices on a baking tray and broil low for 25 minutes. Half way through, turn the zucchini and red peppers so that they are evenly cooked on both sides. Let it cool, peel the skin off of the red peppers, and roughly chop the zucchini and red peppers.

3. In a pan, saute the onions and garlic with some olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms, basil, oregano, and thyme and continue to saute until the mushrooms are cooked. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, paprika, zucchini, and red peppers and saute for another 10 minutes. Add some water if the mixture is too thick.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs, spinach, and a large handful of the cheese mixture. Layer the lasagna: coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with the sauce mixture, place the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce until the dish is covered, spread a thin layer of the spinach mixture over top of the noodles, sprinkle the cheese mixture over top, and cover with a layer of the lasagna noodles. Add a layer of the tomato sauce mixture, sprinkle the cheese mixture over top, and cover with a layer of the lasagna noodles. Repeat until the baking dish is full and your ingredients used up. The last layer should be the tomato sauce with some cheese sprinkled over top.

5. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and broil high (2-5 minutes) until the cheese on top becomes a golden brown. Let it sit for 8-10 minutes before serving.

Vegetarian Lasagna