Category Archives: Vivian Law

Vivian’s Picks at Foxley, Toronto

Posted on October 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

We had a special occasion to celebrate last night and our group of four friends had dinner at Foxley 207 Ossington Avenue, Toronto. Somehow I got carte blanche to do the majority of the ordering…I’m pleased to report all  four of us had a most inspired dining experience with all the amazing and unique flavours Tom Thai creates.

Here is what we ordered and shared. I highly recommend trying this list sometime. This is a top Asian fusion dining experience I have had and it won over three friends. Enjoy!

Blue Crab Avocado Salad

Seaweed salad with mango and herbs

Kale salad with pecorino cheese

Lamb and duck proscuitto dumplings

Oven steamed black cod with asian greens and truffle oil

Scallop ceviche with kumquat

Tempura oyster handroll

Lemongrass marinated grilled cornish hen

 

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Posted in Greens, Recommendation, Restaurant review, Review, Toronto, Vivian Law

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Momofuku Noodle Bar Toronto

Posted on October 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

I just had dinner with a friend at the Momofuku Noodle Bar in Toronto. I did not have patience to wait in line for the noodle bar in New York, but I did have dinner at Momofuku Tsam and a little dessert at the Milk Bar while I was there last year. My friend was recently at the Momofuku in New York and we were both interested to see what it was like in Toronto.

It’s a loud, bustling atmosphere with a modern dining room in Toronto. Momofuku noodle bar is very well executed fast food. We really saw that in action while sitting at the bar in front of where the food was being assembled. The shrimp fried rice looked pretty enticing as it was being put together. We did not get to try it, as our server forgot to tell us about the specials, because I distracted him with my questions about the short menu. Service was quite attentive and informed throughout the restaurant, which I really appreciated. Apparently they serve only Tito’s vodka here and in New York and the bartender handled my grumbling with grace. It was a pleasant experience to wait in the upstairs bar area and overlook the busy restaurant below.

The brilliance of the noodle bar is in its small menu. David Chang has created a great formula for flavourful asian food and trained the staff well to execute on a focused list of food. The famous pork buns are assembled in volume and are the same as they are in New York. These buns are a great fast food take on Peking duck with its combination of tasty animal fat, sweet sauce, scallion and cucumber in a bun.  The ramen comes in a broth that has flavour depth and an egg that is specially slow poached in the combi oven. Special egg poaching technique seems to be a current food trend. We tried a sous vide ‘poached’ duck egg at Peller Estates this summer where the egg texture was the same throughout the white and yolk.

The Momofuku brand has a lot of potential to expand further with its fun atmosphere and tasty food that can be replicated. The food here is more exciting than the UK chain Wagamama. However, my favourite asian influenced restaurants remain Mission Chinese in San Francisco for its amazingly spiced food and Foxley in Toronto for its bold and unique flavours.

 

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Posted in Restaurant review, Toronto, Vivian Law

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Recipe: Fall Fruit Crisp

Posted on October 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a rather loose recipe to inspire you to make a healthy dessert anytime. I consulted with Chef Melissa Saunders to ascertain the appropriate amount of fruit per person. For example, if making apple crisp, allow for about 1-1.5 apples per person you are making crisp for. Or about 1 cup of fruit per person. I tend to leave the fruit plain to let the natural flavour come out through the cooking process. You can always squeeze a little lemon or add a sprinkle of sugar or honey if desired.

For the crisp topping. I prefer a simple version with just oats, butter, and brown sugar, because it has more crisp. It is also easy to create a gluten free version by using gluten free oats. Oats on their own are gluten free, it is in processing that they may come into contact with gluten. The formula for the crisp topping would be 1/4 cup oats, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar per person. You could use coconut oil instead of butter to make this a vegan recipe.

Crisp Topping

(Serves 4 as an example)

1 cup quick oats

1/4 cup butter at room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange sliced fruit in an even layer in a glass baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, butter and brown sugar with your hands until well combined.

Spread over prepared fruit in glass baking dish.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until topping is browned as desired. Enjoy warm on its   own or with a little whipped cream or icecream.

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Posted in healthy recipe, healthy treat, Recipe, Vivian Law

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Recipe: Pumpkin Pie with Whole Grain Crust

Posted on October 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is my favourite pumpkin pie recipe that I have developed over the years. Chef Michael Smith provided the inspiration for a whole grain crust a several years ago for an apple pie. He even created a gluten free version in 2010. I enjoy the whole grain crust with pumpkin pie filling, because it holds up well in texture and flavour. The filling with apple butter adds a luscious sweet flavour to the pumpkin. I found the original recipe for this filling years ago in my Bon Appetit cookbook. However, the recipe came with a delicious sounding gingersnap crust that included a rim of overlapping pastry leaves, which was sadly beyond my pastry skills. I had to find an alternative crust and this one here a tasty, reasonably healthy choice with the whole grains.

Gluten Free Version:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/chefs-recipe-whole-grain-crusted-apple-pie/article1241347/

Whole Grain Crust

1 cup whole wheat or barley flour

1 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oil (try grapeseed)

1/4 cup water or orange juice

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add oil, and mix well until combined. Add water and stir until the mixture comes together. Form a round disc with hands. Chill until ready to use.

Pumpkin Filling

1 1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin

3/4 cup whipping cream

6 tablespoons apple butter

5 tablespoons brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, then add and combine all other filling ingredients.

Roll out dough on a floured surface into a large disc enough to cover a 9 inch pie plate. Press into greased pie plate and gently push to cover edges of pie plate.

Pour filling into pie plate prepared with whole grain crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is barely set. Remove from oven, cool and enjoy!

 

 

 

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Posted in Recipe, Vivian Law

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Drink More Water: Ways to Make Water More Fun

Posted on September 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

With the fall season here, many of us are motivated to make healthy lifestyle changes. One of the most important health changing tasks we give our clients is ask them to drink enough water on a daily basis. The calculation we use is:

Your Weight in kilograms X 0.033=Daily Water Intake in Litres

More details here: http://www.vivianlaw.ca/fat-loss-tip-daily-water-intake-goal/

It is great to have a technical goal and a number to achieve. However, what actually happens in practice on a daily basis is more of a challenge. One challenge that I continually come across is ‘I don’t like plain water’. In fact, this piece is inspired by this question I came across on a UK website:

Q. I really don’t like drinking water but worry that drinking squash each day isn’t good for me?

I really appreciate the honesty of this question. Squash is a sweet beverage that is  made by diluting a concentrated syrup, which typically consists of concentrated juice and sugar with water or carbonated water. I can understand that preferring to drink squash and other beverages is a natural consequence to not liking water. Having everyone drinking all the water they need consistently is like a magic bullet that we need in the health and fitness world. However, we are all human and have our idiosyncratic behaviour.

I think that making drinking water more fun will help. Ideally, we would all drink all the water we need in plain water and herbal tea. Since that is unlikely, how about these ideas to help meet your daily water intake goal:

-herbal teas (loose leaf teas have better taste and higher nutritional value)

-low sodium club soda, sparkling water

-infuse water with lemon slices, lime slices, cucumber, herbs, or other fruits

-try warm water with a teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar

-try adding orange blossom water to plain water for extra flavour

-try plain water or sparkling water with Minisyrup, a natural, concentrated, unsweetened flavouring product. See the story on how: http://www.vivianlaw.ca/healthy-drink-recipe-mango-lime-soda-with-minisyrup/

Natural flavour minisyrup is available in lemon, mango, orange, pear, raspberry, and strawberry kiwi. Order at https://www.zavida.com/minisyrup

For example, if you manage to drink 1/3-1/2 of your daily water intake goal in plain water and drink the rest in the form of the ideas above, you will get to your daily water intake goal faster. You can meet your daily water intake goal more easily by making some small efforts to make water more appealing and fun. Does that sound doable?

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Posted in fat loss, Healthy Beverage, Recommendation, Vivian Law, water intake guideline

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Recipe: Pear and Arugula Salad

Posted on September 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a recipe that was inspired after I got my hands on the best honey ever

http://www.vivianlaw.ca/the-best-honey-ever/ 

this summer and was also given a sample of sunflower oil from my friends at La Societe Orignal. This was what I came up with as a way to use honey and sunflower oil in the same dish, because those were the exciting new ingredients I procured that day. I’m still not sure where this idea came from, perhaps from ordering a pear, arugula and walnut salad on a Montreal patio and having the pear replaced with canned lychee(?). This is a really simple, and delicious salad to put together. The sauteed pears also pair very well with waffles and/or icecream (salted caramel was my pick).

Sauteed Pears:

Core and slice 1-2 medium ripe pears. Heat 1/2 tbsp butter in a small skillet. Add 1/2 tbsp of Classe Ouvriere honey (ordinary honey is alright too). Stir pear slices in butter and honey mixture and saute until lightly browned and softened.

Pear and Arugula Salad:

Organic baby arugula

1-2 sliced, sauteed pears,

drizzle of cold pressed sunflower oil

Place the desired amount of arugula (at least 2 large handfuls) onto a plate. Drizzle with sunflower oil. Top with sauteed pear slices and enjoy.

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Posted in Healthy food, healthy recipe, Recipe, Vivian Law

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Recipe: Three Lentil Soup

Posted on September 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is a recipe I adapted from the Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection. I found it worked just as well on the stove top. I use 3 types of lentils for the nutritional and texture variety. This is a brownish coloured soup that packs a lot of nutrition as a source of fibre, magnesium and folate on a cold day.

1/3 cup brown lentils

1/3 cup green lentils

1/3 cup black lentils

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 plum tomato, finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

4-5 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, tomato and celery until softened. In a strainer, rinse lentils thoroughly. Add lentils, bay leaf, thyme and vegetable stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste. Enjoy piping hot topped with finely chopped greens such as watercress or chard (the greens will wilt and cook lightly in the hot soup).

 

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Posted in gluten free, Greens, healthy recipe, plant food, Recipe, Vegan, Vivian Law

Food Inspiration: Kensington Market Tour

Posted on September 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

Kensington Market is one of my favourite spots to shop for food in Toronto. There is no other area where I can find so many unique foods that I love. I make a trip there whenever I can spare a couple hours to wander around, check out the ever changing new eateries and gather up my growing list of favourite items. Here’s my tour:

Caribbean Corner (171 Baldwin Avenue) -I stop in here for fresh callaloo they get flown in from Jamaica, caribbean hot sauce, and/or jerk sauce, among all things caribbean.

Essence of Life (50 Kensington Avenue)-is the stop for any health food or supplement you can think of with great selection and prices.

Salamanca(204 Baldwin Avenue)-I have been buying nuts and other dry goods here for over 10 years.

La Tortilleria (198 Augusta Avenue)-makes fresh tortillas daily, with organic blue available on the weekends only.

Jumbo Empanadas (245 Augusta Avenue)-I have been stopping here for a bite of lunch for over 10 years. Their homemade salsa is unbelievable. The chicken empanada with the salsa and Chilean salad are absolutely delicious.

Perola’s (247 Augusta Avenue)-This is a shop I just started frequenting this summer, as I developed serious taco obsession when I missed out on eating at Rick Bayless’ Torta in the Chicago airport. Tacos seem to be the trend of the moment as well. This shop has all the authentic fixings you could want.

Wanda’s Pie in the Sky (287 Augusta Avenue)-Sometimes I stop here first. Amazing dessert is required. This shop is even more fun here than it was when it was located in Yorkville. I love the dulche de leche coconut macaroons (gluten free) and the small fruit pies (which I cut into 4 pieces and share, maybe).

Seven Lives (69 Kensington Avenue)-My top pick for tacos in Toronto. There can be a bit of a wait, but service is quick and the tacos are incredibly flavourful and inventive.

 

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Posted in Healthy food, local food, Recommendation, Toronto, Vivian Law

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Recipe: Sauteed Callaloo

Posted on August 13, 2012 | Leave a comment

I developed a love for callaloo while I was in Jamaica. It has to be one of the tastiest green veggies around and it is so easy to eat a good volume of it. I have found it here in Toronto at Caribbean Corner in Kensington Market, so look for it at a Caribbean grocer near you.

There is some technique to handling this plant once you have it in your hands. Separate the leaves and the stems throughout. Use a paring knife to remove the fibrous outer coating from the stems.

Sauteed Callalloo

1 bunch of callaloo, stems and leaves separated

1 clove garlic, slivered

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to your taste

Cut the stems and leaves of callaloo into small pieces. See below for a visual:

In a large pan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat. Add cut callaloo, saute for 2-3 minutes or until leaves start to wilt. Cover pan and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper or any other seasoning to your taste. Enjoy!

 

 

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Posted in antioxidant, Greens, Healthy food, healthy recipe, plant food, Recipe, Recommendation, Vegan, Veggies, Vivian Law

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Recipe: Healthy Granola

Posted on July 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Granola is a food that most of us enjoy for the taste and texture, but consider to be a food that is too high in calories to enjoy regularly. However, the source of the ‘high calories’ is very important to consider. This recipe is wheat free and contains various sources of fibre and healthy fats that we could all use in our diet. The soluble fibre in the oats can help lower blood cholesterol. The pumpkin, sunflower and chia seeds provide healthy fats and vitamin E in addition to fibre. The coconut oil provides flavour and medium chain fatty acids, which help your cells absorb nutrients amongst other benefits.  I like to have granola for breakfast with non dairy milk, such as Coconut Dream, and fresh berries. I find it to be a great source of steady energy that tastes great at the same time. Many friends that have tried this granola just love to eat it out of hand as a quick snack.

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup whole chia seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1tsp ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup honey or maple syrup or combination

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together oats, coconut, ground flaxseed, oat bran,  chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and cinnamon. In a small sauce pan, melt together honey and/or maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Pour liquid honey mixture over the oat mixture and toss to coat evenly. Spread mixture evenly on shallow rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 min, remove from oven, use a spatula to stir the mixture to ensure even browning. Bake a another 15-20 minutes until granola is crunchy and browned to your desired level.  Add 1/2 cup of your favourite dried fruits after the granola cools, if desired. Store in an airtight container. Try a 1/3-3/4 cup serving size to see what amount fits your energy needs.

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Posted in Healthy food, healthy recipe, Healthy snack, Vegan, Vivian Law

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