Chocolate Banana Coconut Cake

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup dried, unsweetened shredded coconut
Chef's decision: 1/2 cup chocolate chips

***

I tell you, nothing is better than warm chocolate cake. Except maybe warm pie. Hmmm...

This was from my farang-Thai cookbook I had mentioned previously. It's basically a yummy chocolate cake:

Not much to it. I didn't make any icing for it or anything. The author recommends that you serve it with a mango-lime sauce, so I think I'll bake the cake again later this week when I have to bring in some dessert into my workplace on Friday. I'll provide a new blog update with comments on the sauce. I think a chocolate icing would have worked just as well.

Regardless of the no-icing, no-sauce status of the cake, it was warm and moist and delicious. You can't smell the nutmeg at all, so it doesn't remind you of Christmas, or your best friend getting sick from rum and eggnog. All-in-all, a very good 8.3 out of 10.

Here's an individual piece for you to feast your eyes upon...

Maple Apple and Blueberry Crisp

Filling:
6 cups sliced peeled apples (I used Granny Smith)
1 pkg (300g) frozen blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp butter, melted

***

Well... I met up with ANOTHER ex-coworker just recently. What's with me hangin' out with ex-coworkers? Don't I have any co-workers worthy of my precious time?

Anyway, I went to her house for dinner on Saturday. She wasn't too keen on me providing a write-up of her hostessing and cooking talent, so I just focused my criticism on the dessert I prepared - The Maple Apple and Blueberry Crisp.

I've actually brought this dish in to work several times when I was employed with FCC and AIMCo, and so it's has usually cooled down when served. But Saturday night it was hot! A good change.

As always, the dish was quite sweet. I honestly could have eaten the whole pyrex dish by myself. You know, because it's so darn healthy, those blueberries being such good antioxidants.....

Here's the goods. On my plate.

Rating: A solid 8.0 out of 10.

Grilled 5-spice Octopus Salad with Spicy Tangerine Vinaigrette & Rendang Beef Asian Po'Boy - The Wild Tangerine

Grilled 5-spice Octopus Salad with Spicy Tangerine Vinaigrette  $9.00 CAD
Rendang Beef Asian Po'Boy                                                      $14.00 CAD

***

Three people who contributed a lot to society to come from Saskatchewan: Gordie Howe, Leslie Nielsen, and Felix. No, not this Felix but my ex-coworker. He (on a moment's notice) decided that we were to meet at "The Wild Tangerine" for lunch today (10383 112Street NW, Edmonton). It's on the South side of 104th Ave., right beside the Starbucks. I didn't even know this place existed, but well Felix opened my eyes to some pretty good food...

I ordered the Octopus salad and the beef Po'Boy. I've never had a Po'Boy before, so I was licking my chops in anticipation of that. And well, I order the Octopus salad because it had 5-spices and octopus.

The salad came first:

You really can't see the tentacles or the suckers very well. In fact, the Octopus plays a very minor part of the salad. The best way I can describe this salad is like a Thai mango/papaya salad. It was simply scrumptious. Crunchy vegetables and fruit combined with a slightly spicy and sweet dressing, it was very superb. The octopus wasn't really required - it was really 3rd wheelin' it like nobody's business.

The Po'Boy didn't disappoint:

Yeah, you only see half of the sandwich here. One of my ex-coworker's, "Kim" with her voracious appetite stole half my sandwich before it even got placed in front of me. It kinda went down like this. (Is that Captain Picard's voice?). Anyway, the sandwich was quite good - a slight curry taste to the beef. Hmm. Maybe that's what "Rendang Beef" is? The bread was soft, and the roasted red peppers and onions added some nice flavour.

Overall, a very good lunch surprise. The dinner menu looks great too, and the potato and lavender soup they served to the other table smelled divine. A little pricey, but a score of 8 out of 10.

Banana Ginger Squares

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

***

Well, I busted out Mr. Hyam's ol' Thai cookbook this afternoon, after I had finished my revisions to my week 3, Module 1 CASB assignment....

Regardless, I was thinking I should use up some of those bananas we had. Yes, banana bread would be a great idea, but how else can you combine bananas, ginger and coconut?

Mummy and I had some warm Banana Ginger Squares while we watched some episodes of season 4 of Homicide. Good stuff. Really, I should have added a little pad of butter to it, so it could melt and find it's way into all the nooks and crannies of the bread....  Indeed, another option I was considering was adding chocolate chips to the batter before it goes into the oven.

Here's the whole pan, at a 3/4 view:

...and now a side view. You can see the banana see clearly mixed in. Tough to see the ginger, but believe me, it's in there:

Overall, a quick and easy bread to make. My tastebuds give it a 7 out of 10.

Grande EggNog Latte - Starbucks

1 Grande Eggnog Latte $4.75 CAD

***

Well, it was with great excitement that I was finally able to order my favourite hot beverage - the Eggnog Latte... I had seen some eggnog at the local Wal~Mart a few weeks ago, so I've been just itchin' to get to a Starbucks.

I think the barista went a little heavy with the nutmeg, as you can all plainly see above. It was close to hot, and it's eggnogginess filled me with happiness. Although I find their lattes get cool a little more quickly than their coffees. That's something I'd like to see changed.

Rating: 7.5/10

St. Patrick's Bison Burgers

4 slices French bread, crusts removed
1 cup (250 mL) Guinness Draught, room temperature
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons (30 mL) ketchup
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 lb (1 kg) ground bison (I used extra-lean ground beef)
1 red onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried thyme
1 large egg
1/2 cup (125 mL) freshly chopped parsley (I used a handful of dried parsley)
kaiser buns
Cheddar cheese
bread crumbs (This is not part of the recipe but I added some in)

***

Let's be honest, shall we? We're in Alberta. We eat meat. We eat beef. This burger has got beef, and it's got beer. Nothing spells "l-o-v-e" like homemade hamburgers. And this is good stuff. It's very, very moist. I was pretty impressed with the results today. I usually use a little less than 1 kg of beef, so it's a little too 'wet' and it will fall apart in the bar-b-q. Solution: a little bid of bread crumbs to stick it all together a little better. It's a sound investment.

Again, I obtained the recipe from the Edmonton Journal's bistro/food section - it was a St. Patrick's Day writeup. I'm guessing it's from about 5 years ago, because I have a note on it from October 17, 2007: "Made at Jeff's - more bread??". I think that day it was too wet or soggy that day, so I've been trying to up the bread quotient up or at least add some bread crumbs to keep things together a little better.

You can see the burger below. It's a little small, but I think they cook a little better. And I added some cheddar on top, of course. The burger is accompanied by one lovely yam (or is it a sweet potato? whatever, it's the same thing I used in the soup from a few days ago). Speaking of yams/sweet potato, I was watching foodtv before preparing the patties and there was this show "Spice Goddess" with an attractive Indian lady who was cooking - and she had some tasty, simple dishes that I need to try. One of them being a kidney bean stew (yes, it contains sweet potato).

Net result was a tasty meal. I'd give the burger an 8.5 out of 10.


Actually, I think this is the second best use of a Guinness. Hopefully I will be able to write about the best use of a Guinness relatively soon...

Earl's - One Pound Wings

One pound of chicken wings - hot, with parmesan dip and celery sticks.

***

Here you can see my lunch today:

Yes - your eyes don't lie - that character to the right of my plate is a cow. It's "Kimberly the AIMCo Cow". Yes, she dresses like a dude, but she's a good friend of mine from my days with AIMCo.

But no, I didn't meet her for lunch today, but another ex-coworker. It was at Earl's on campus.

The wings were just as tasty as I remember, from my days as an undergraduate at the U of A. Just hot enough to warrant a second beverage. And the wings meaty enough to fill my belly. I must say Earl's has kept their wings tradition intact. In fact, it was also Wings Wednesdays today, but that doesn't take effect until after 3 pm. The only thing I think I would like would be a blue cheese dip. That could be a nice sharp offset to the hotness of the wings.

Yes, you probably do pay a little too much at Earl's, but you also pay for the environment and ambiance... Not that I was paying. My ex-coworker did that. :)

Overall, I'd rate the wings an 8 out of 10. Very good.

The Free Press Bistro - The Kubla Khan with Russian Potato Salad

Lean strips of beef, marinated in Mongolian spice and pressed with chiles, shredded carrot, Hoisin sauce and mozza. $12.95

***

I ventured downtown into the big city today for lunch. The Free Press Bistro was my friend's choice, but I was still eager to go. Once I looked at the menu, I realized that the focus was on sandwiches - not what I was expecting at all. I didn't know what to expect, but I just wasn't expected so much focus on the Earl's invention.

I was originally tempted by the Cuban, as I could compare it to my own work (click here). And then the Kubla Khan caught my eye. And then the Shrimp Po' Boy caught my eye (I've never had a Po' Boy). What was Chef Jeremiah to do? In the end, after some discussion as to what "Russian Potato Salad" is and the exciting night the Oil had on Friday, I decided on the Kubla Khan.

It was pretty good. I chose it because it reminded me of the subs I got at the Saigon Givral. I miss that place. Anyway, the sandwich was pretty good, although the bread was just a tad dry for my liking, and the price just a bit too much for what you get (I opted up for $1.50 to get the Russian Potato Salad). The meat was tender and flavourful - in fact it reminded me of a pulled pork sandwich. And the carrots and Hoisin sauce added enough zest and moisture to it. I would have it again, no questions asked.


Here is the proof:

Now, that is only half the sandwich as well - I had forgotten to take to photo until partway done.

I wish I could have quizzed the waitress again about what makes up a Russian Potato Salad, but she was just too busy after we had received our meals. There just isn't enough time at lunch during the week to allow Chef Jeremiah to get his questions answered.

Overall I'd give the experience about a 6.5 out of 10. It would have been better had we accompanied our sandwiches with some beer.