Goose Island Dinner at the Bier Markt
categories: Food, Restaurant
The Bier Markt invited me to a Goose Island Dinner with Goose Island Brewmaster Brett Porter and Bier Markt Executive Chef, Michael Cipollo.
Essie Introduces Gel Polishes
categories: Beauty, Nail Polish
Excellent news for Essie lovers! As of now, you can find your favourite Essie shades in gel polish at your favourite salon.
Essie’s gel system was designed to respect natural nail health with essential nutrients.They worked hard to create a gel polish that wouldn’t be harsh and damage nails upon removal.
Check out all 36 shades available below!
Make This: Butter Chicken with Jaswant’s Kitchen
The other day I decided to break out my box of Jaswant’s Kitchen Spices and try a new recipe from the box. I decided to try…Butter Chicken! If you don’t know, Jaswant’s Kitchen is a Toronto based company that creates natural, authentic Indian spice blends along with easy to follow recipes available free on their site. Last time I made Curry Shrimp!
Murgh Makhani, more commonly known as Butter Chicken, is a delicious dish of grilled chicken simmered in a rich buttery tomato sauce that’s very popular during the holidays.
Grilled Chicken
- 1 kg chicken breasts
- ¾ cup plain yoghurt
- 4 tsp Jaswant’s Kitchen Tandoori Masala
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp Jaswant’s Kitchen Garam Masala
Sauce
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes (I used good quality canned tomatoes)
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- 120 g unsalted butter
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 green chili (minced)
- 1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped for garnish)
Butter Chicken Sauce
Sauce can be made a day in advance. Remove seeds from tomatoes and chop coarsely. Cook tomatoes on medium heat for 5 minutes in a heavy pot. Cover and lower heat to simmer. When tomatoes are soft use a hand blender to puree. Add butter, salt, pepper and green chili. When butter has melted add the cream and mix.
I found this recipe pretty easy to follow. At the end, it looked just like Butter Chicken from an Indian restaurant! Or at least, I like to think so. the spice blends have a nice deep flavour. We really liked it! I also went the extra level and tried to make naan. Yum. Here’s how I made the chicken!
Instructions
Remove skin and wash chicken with cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Make deep cuts in chicken. Rub salt and lemon juice all over and into the cuts.
In a bowl combine yoghurt, Jaswant’s Kitchen Tandoori Masala, vinegar, ginger, garlic and 1 tbsp oil. Add chicken to bowl making sure all pieces are covered with mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours to help the flavors penetrate the chicken.
(Note: I didn’t do this and the flavour was still amazing.)
Bake on middle rack of oven at 450°F on a greased pan. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn pieces and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Check for doneness. Sprinkle Jaswant’s Kitchen Garam Masala and lemon juice on all pieces. Brush with 1 tbsp oil and broil for 3-4 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Heat sauce and combine with chicken pieces. Simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add ½ of the chopped cilantro. Add more salt and green chili to taste. Garnish with rest of the cilantro. That’s it!
For this week only, Canadian readers can use the code HEARTLESSGIRL at http://www.jaswantskitchen.com to get free shipping! That’s not all…
Jaswant’s Kitchen wants to give you the chance to win your very own spice blends in their “Starter Kit” ($50 value)! The contest is only open to Canadians. Follow the link to enter the contest. Enter by April 25th.
Lou Dawg’s Celebrates 5 years
categories: Restaurant
Do you love pulled pork and ribs? Then you’re in luck! Toronto staple restaurant Lou Dawg’s is celebrating its 5 year anniversary tomorrow!
They are celebrating with live blues, country & jazz music and FREE Mighty Loutine (pulled pork poutine) from noon til midnight with the purchase of a drink.
There will also be a slow smoked rib eating contest (open to the first people who RSVP).
For more info check out their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/loudawgs!
Spring has Sprung at Indigo
categories: Style
Spring is finally here! Now I can look at these amazingly cheerful Chapters Indigo items without despair. Here’s what you can find in stores now!
There’s lots of lovely things for Mom for Mother’s Day. Beautiful pillows,
polka dot notebooks, and tote bags in pastel hues just to name a few.
I just love these illustrated plates and napkins.
Isn’t this packaging gorgeous? Inside and out. They come in delicious scents like Desert Tulip and Coconut Milk Mango
See what else in new in stores at http://www.chapters.indigo.ca
Spa Weeks Returns!
categories: Spa
WaySpa Spa Week returns to Toronto from April 21-27. Spa Week gives you access to tons of high-end spa services at local spas for only $50!
Spa Week is a great time enjoy the healing and therapeutic benefits of spa treatments above and beyond looking beautiful. Several studies show that going to the spa reduces stress hormone levels, boosts your immunity, acts as a pain reliever, boosts your mood, and relieves PMS symptoms, etc. This is fantastic for this time of year, as the winter typically gets the best of us and decreases productivity.
Some participating Toronto spas are: Yorkville Beauty Spa, Moksa Day Spa, the Trump Hotel Spa and more! Check here for a full list.
April Reads
categories: Books
Looking for something new to read this month? Whether it’s YA, cooking or mystery, I’ve got you covered!
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews (April 15th)
You won’t forget Elf and Yoli, two smart and loving sisters. Elfrieda, a world-renowned pianist, glamorous, wealthy, happily married: she wants to die. Yolandi, divorced, broke, sleeping with the wrong men as she tries to find true love: she desperately wants to keep her older sister alive. Yoli is a beguiling mess, wickedly funny even as she stumbles through life struggling to keep her teenage kids and mother happy, her exes from hating her, her sister from killing herself and her own heart from breaking.
Circus by Claire Battershill (April 8th)
As they transport us from a crowded airport departure lounge to the stillness of the British Museum, and from the spectacle of the Winter Olympics to the modesty of a local Miniatureland, these radiant stories explore the often surprising things we’re willing to do for love and human connection. Fed up with his long history of failed blind dates, a shy English bureaucrat gives himself thirty-one days to find love on the Internet. A father buys his daughter a blue plastic tent to ready her for outdoor adventure, but neither is prepared when the tent becomes a neighbourhood sensation. The world of competitive sports provides the backdrop for a young man’s coming of age in “Two-Man Luge: A Love Story.” And in the award-winning title story, the granddaughter of a former circus performer (who played the role of a man-wrestling bear) finds herself grappling with the capriciousness of life and love.
My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz (April 8th)
A collection of stories and 100 sweet and savory French-inspired recipes from popular food blogger David Lebovitz, reflecting the way Parisians eat today and featuring lush photography taken around Paris and in David’s Parisian kitchen.
Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong (April 8th)
In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court–one that will alter the balance of their world forever.
Listen to the Squawking Chicken, Elaine Liu (April 1)
Listen to the Squawking Chicken is a loving mother-daughter memoir that will have readers laughing out loud, gasping in shock, and reconsidering the honesty and guts it takes to be a parent. Read my review!
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