It snowed in Vancouver today! It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I am over the moon. This is what winter is about. Bright skies, blinding white snow, rosy cheeks, wool mittens, mugs of creamy hot chocolate, and a steaming bowl of stew.

This succulent chicken stew with apples and cabbage might just be the best stew ever made. It’s got cream and bacon, need I go on? It is positively packed with earthy vegetables. Tender bites of tart apple offset the richness. Sweet, aromatic sage perfectly complements the winter flavours.

I mopped it up with warm, homemade whole wheat bread, and then I licked the bowl. Continue Reading »

I just spoke my mind to a man who was rude to me in the grocery line. Here is what I learned:

Lesson #1: Rude grocery line people (unsurprisingly) do not like being told that you hope strangers are kinder to them than they are to strangers.

Lesson #2: Men who are mean to girls buying butter and sugar are probably chemically imbalanced. Do not anger them.

Lesson #3 (the big one): Don’t waste your time/breath/energy trying to rationalize with irrational people (applicable across the board, not just co-liner-uppers).

Lesson #4: Be extra nice in grocery lines to make up for the fatheads of the world. Continue Reading »

Ever just crave a deliciously sticky chicken wing? Here’s the answer. These are simple, and completely addictive. Perfect as an appetizer, or as a meal with a bowl of sticky rice and some steamed bok choy.

I’ll get to the wings in a minute, but first, allow me a teeny moment of shameless self-promotion! As you may know, I recently graduated and became a dietitian. Well, I have just launched my nutrition consulting business – Foodie Nutrition – and I am really excited!!! I love food (…) and I am passionate about sharing the pleasure of guilt-free, delicious and uncomplicated eating – for general wellness and balance, or in the face of nutrition-implicated health challenges (i.e. diabetes, heart disease, allergies, weight issues, etc). Come see my new site?

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I am a huge fan of plain yogurt. I much prefer it to the oversweetened flavoured varieties with ingredient lists a mile long or the icky, fake sugar stuff. I buy the higher-fat variety, which has more flavour and is much less sour than the thin, blue-ish fat-free option. I like the natural yogurt flavour with just a spoonful of sugar mixed in. You can alternatively stir in some honey or maple syrup, your favourite jam, or try it with a bit of vanilla extract and then sweeten to taste with sugar.

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This sticky, spicy chicken curry is deliciously sweet and packs just the right amount of heat. It is to be scooped up with warm, chewy naan, then licked off of fingers.

Also, it has a very special place in my heart, for two reasons. First, because it constitutes one of the two dinners my boyfriend Adarsh has ever made for me, and second, because I’m not sure it exists outside of his family kitchen. If you ask him, he will call it Chicken 65. But if you then google “Chicken 65″, you will find plenty of recipes bearing that name, but none that are even remotely close to this particular dish… hmm. Considering it stars ketchup as its secret ingredient, I am forced to question its authenticity as a traditional Indian curry. But it is delicious, regardless of whether or not it is regularly eaten off of banana leaves in the kitchens of the East.
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