Weekly Menu Recap - Week of April 19

Sunday, April 26, 2009

So I was hoping for a week that was more to plan with my meals. As I noted previously, this week was anything but normal!! It did get better towards the end and I was able to make a lot of the meals I had planned out, with a few tweaks here and there. Both Eric and I are feeling better now and I really appreciate everyone's love and kind words this week
Pork chops with carrot soup (refresh) and lemony roasted potatoes (Veganomican)
After getting sick, I really didn't want to eat anything too crazy so I opted for soup with potatoes (I made pork chops for Joey because he loves them!) The potatoes were PHENOMENAL. Both Joey and I went nuts over them. I need to branch out a bit with Veganomican, because I seem to have made a lot of their potato dishes. Seriously, these potatoes give any lemon potatoes in Greektown a run for their money because they are amazing. The carrot soup from refresh was also delightful, but the potatoes were the star of this meal. Both items felt good to this gal who hadn't really eaten much in the 24 hours prior to dinner. 

This was really nice although neither Joey or I liked the mint, so I think I would omit it next time. Like the recipe says, the chopping is definitely the most tedious part of the meal, but once that is done it is really a breeze! I loved all the asparagus and the kale was a nice touch. I've made it my own personal mission to be eating more green veggies, so this meal definitely helped me to do that. 

On Thursday, Joey and I took a walk to Kensington prior to the "Gutsy Affair" gala at the Revival. We went to Rice Bar for dinner and it was good! I ordered the brown rice with chicken, seasonal vegetables and chimchurri sauce. 
Everything came together nicely in the bowl and I liked that items that were gluten free were clearly labelled on the menu, although it wasn't until after I had finished that I found out I had been given the wrong sauce, and it was actually one that contained gluten. I was a wee bit annoyed when I found out, but I didn't feel any ill effects (apparently the only wheat/gluten in the sauce was in the soy sauce it contained) so everything was okay. It was still a great meal and I think we would go back there again. Joey went nuts for one of their juices. 

We had fun at the gala and I was really happy to support this initiative. There was a silent auction as well as a performance by the Arabesque belly dance troupe. I was so excited to see their performance, but they didn't perform on the stage so I couldn't see anything! It had been a long week so we made it a bit of an early night, but I'm glad that we attended. 

Lunch Out - Fresh
I went to Fresh and had lunch with my best friend Melanie who is going to China very soon! It was really nice to see her and as I previously postedFresh is one of my favourite restaurants. I chose the grilled veggie & pesto burrito on salad instead of a wrap and it was amazing! 
Such a great combination of things and incredibly yummy. I will definitely order this again.

Lemon Garlic Pasta (ED&BV)

Still love this recipe. So simple and delicious. 
I used a bit less oil this time but it didn't really show and still came out creamy and delightful. 

Dining Out - Bario Lounge
We took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and walked down to Leslieville. I had wanted to go to Pulp Kitchen, but apparently it has closed and they're opening a new restaurant in its place? We were both hungry and we stumbled upon Barrio Lounge nearby. The eggs benny was enticing to Joey and I found a few options for myself so we decided to check it out - so glad we did. It was fantastic! Our server was wonderful. He told us all about the daily specials, gave me info on ingredients I wasn't sure of and let us know about the organic and local ingredients they procure. 

After learning that the eggs benny came on a crumpet, Joey decided to branch out a bit and tried the Grilled sausages with baked spatzle. It looked awesome and he said it tasted great. I found out that I couldn't have just egg whites in an omlette so I opted for a bunch of sides - salad, home fries and bacon. 
So the salad looked nice and fresh and green but it was the dressing that was fantastic. It was homemade wild leek and by the end, Joey and I were using it on everything. The home fries were crunchy and the organic peameal bacon was brilliant. It's not often that I eat bacon so this was a real treat. Joey helped me with all of my various plates and I know that we will definitely go back again. 

Burgers with bok choy & kale and sweet potato fries
After our long walk we came home and took a nap, only to wake up and find that it was pouring rain - so much for BBQ-ing!! After our big brunch, we didn't eat dinner until later, but decided to stay inside and pan fry the burger (for me) and steak (for Joey).  I stir fried the bok choy and kale with a little olive oil, garlic, ginger and wheat free hosein - yum! The sweet potato fries were quite nice as well. I did them in the oven at 400 degress with some chili powder, cinnamon and paprika. I also tried a new veggie burger. The Sol Cuisine Original Burger is totally wheat/gluten free and has some great nutritional stats - 109 calories, 2.8 g fat and 4 g fiber; but would it be a good substitute for my beloved Boca Burgers

YES!

They are a little bit bigger than a Boca burger and the flavor is great! I enjoyed it with a little bit of garlic hummus on the side and I'm looking forward to getting one of these little guys on a BBQ in the near future. I will definitely be eating more of these and I'm happy to have found a gluten free veggie burger for a decent Points value that tastes good. It looks like Sol is a Canadian company, which is also very cool! I think I may have to try their falafel patties very soon... 

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