Recipe: Kale Chips!

Kale Chips - They are crispy, packed with nutrition, and are surprisingly delicious. If you don't already know all the health benefits of kale, search it up!
When I first heard about Kale, I shrieked at the sound of it. This may sound bad, but if you knew me in person, you'd know I am NOT a fan of vegetables at all (except for french fries, because they're considered vegetables right?). 

Believe it or not, this was my first time eating kale and I am already addicted. This post was inspired by my friend Kiki who posted a picture of her kale chips on instagram. Being curious, I searched it up on youtube and found numerous recipes, so I got dressed, headed to my local grocery store, and bought myself some kale xD

This is an extremely easy and inexpensive recipe. All you need is Kale, olive oil, and salt! That's it!!

I already had salt and olive oil at home, so I just grabbed a bundle of kale at Superstore for $1.47.

When choosing kale, it's best to choose ones with big leafs, because once you bake it, it shrivels up a lot. My big bundle of kale was enough for me to make 3 separate batches and I'm glad I made them separately, because my first 2 batches didn't come out so well, but success comes through trial and error, right?

I started by taking the leafs off the big stem. You can either use scissors and cut along the stem, or just run your hands down the stem and pull the leafs off as you go. Once you have the leafs off, discard the stem and begin to rip the leafs into bite size pieces.

Keep in mind that the leafs will shrink up quite a bit, so don't make them too small. Try your best to make the sizes as uniform as possible so they all cook evenly.  

Next, wash your kale thoroughly! There are always going to be nasty stuff in the produce section at your grocery store that you can't see. Don't be surprised to find a dead fly or bug in your water, cuz that happened to me.. mhmm..

So after washing your kale carefully, give it a shake and lay them down on a surface. In my case, I used a cookie sheet lined with tin foil. For my first 2 batches, I had the tin oil shiny side up (as seen in the picture above) - bad idea, because they kept coming out burnt :(. So make sure you put the shiny side down!! 

Pat everything to dry with a paper towel. You want the kale to be as dry as possible before you proceed to the next step. At this point, you may preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once your kale is dried, take some olive oil and drizzle it all over your kale. You don't need much, maybe about 2 tablespoons.

Give your veggies a quick toss and then pick up each leaf individually and massage the oil onto them, gently coating each leaf with olive oil on both sides.

They should be nice and glossy.

Once everything is coated, spread your kale evenly onto the tray. Try your best to make sure that nothing is overlapped and that they are sitting in one single layer. That's what gives it the crunch!

If you have too much kale, make them in separate batches.

I know that some people like to put salt on their kale before baking, and some prefer to salt it after.

I have tried both methods and found that salting them after works a lot better.

So the final step is to put them in the oven on the middle rack. 

For my first batch, I put it on the top rack and it came out extremely burnt, you don't want to do that!

Most of the recipes calls for 10 minutes, but I find that my kale begins to crisp up and turn brown at the 5 minute mark for some strange reason. You don't want your kale to be brown otherwise it becomes very bitter. At the 5 minute mark, open the oven door to check up on your kale. Then, turn the baking tray around so that everything cooks evenly. Check up on your kale every minute at this point because it will begin to brown very rapidly. I wouldn't leave my kale in the oven for longer than 10 minutes in total. Once you see your kale shrivel up and begin to brown, remove it from the oven immediately.

Once your kale is out of the oven, sprinkle on some salt, toss it in a bowl, and serve warm!

If cooked right, kale chips should taste almost like roasted seaweed. Enjoy this inexpensive and easy to make guilt free snack!

Tips:

• If lining baking tray with tin foil, put the shiny side down.
• Put oven rack in the middle instead of the top.
• It's hard to tell whether kale is brown through the oven window even with the lights on, so don't be afraid to open the oven door when checking up on your kale.
• Majority of your leaf should still be green after cooking. If it's too brown, it's burnt.

Happy cooking!

REVIEW: LA TAQUERIA

HELLO IMAGINARY READERS (and Sarah), today I am back with another review and this time, it's on an authentic Mexican restaurant named La Taqueria.

 Located on the corner of Broadway & Cambie, this authentic Mexican restaurant definitely attracts a lot of foot traffic. There is also pay parking just around the corner for those who are driving. I have been told there is often a line up outside during lunch time, and some people even wait in line for an hour just to get a bite.

Sarah and I decided to come on Wednesday because you get 6 tacos for $10. We met up at around 2:45 to avoid the huge lunch hour line up. My first impression of the restaurant was that it was really quirky and had it's own unique character. Customer service was prompt and friendly. Also worth mentioning is that there is a GIANT cactus by the door, that is almost as tall as the ceiling, so be careful not to run into it..

Sarah wasn't too hungry so we decided to order 6 tacos to begin with. We placed our order, sat down at a table, and 5 minutes later a lady called our name and brought the tacos to our table. Here's a breakdown of what we got:
2 Al Pastor (Pork marinated in achiote chilli and pineapple),
2 Tinga De Pollo (Chicken in chorizo in a chipotle tomato sauce, topped with mexican cheese & sour cream),
DeCachete (Braised beef cheeks),
Frijoles Charros Con Queso (Refried cowboy beans with mexican cheese)

 

My favourite one was definitely the De Cachete, it was very juicy and flavourful.
My next favourite would be the Tinga De Pollo. The chicken was flavourful with a little bit of heat.
Sarah liked the Al Pastor but I wasn't a huge fan of it, because the meat was really dry and my tortilla was kind of hard, but maybe I should added some sort of sauce to it.. :/
Sarah said her Frijoles Charros Con Queso just tasted like beans. That's all.

VERDICT

This was my very first time trying out authentic Mexican food (none of that taco bell bullshit), and I gotta say it was very different but awesome! The 6 for $10 Wednesdays is a really good deal. There were so many selections on the menu that I haven't tried yet and if there is ever a chance, I would come back and try them again. They have everything from meat to veggie, and they also serve beers and special sodas too. I recommend this place to anyone wanting to try out authentic Mexican tacos!

Customer service: 5/5
Flavour and taste: 4/5
Cleanliness of restaurant: 5/5

Recommend: Yes 

Review: Italian Kitchen

Last Sunday, we decided to head Downtown to grab some lunch before shopping.

We decided to park our car and  go into the very first restaurant we saw (yes we are spontaneous like that). We walked a block down and the first thing we saw was Italian Kitchen on the corner of Alberni & Burrard St.
During Christmas, we received a $50 gift card for the Glowbal Group, which worked out perfectly for us because Italian Kitchen is one of the restaurants associated with the Glowbal Group.
We were greeted and seated immediately by a friendly hostess.

The first thing we noticed was that the kitchen was outside, opened and connected to the bar area. I have this theory that if a guest can see the food being cooked, it tastes more yummy / the restaurant gets more tips. I don't know if that's just me..

We were given complimentary meatballs on the house; and believe me, pictures don't do it justice, they were HUGE in person.

The meatballs tasted delicious! They were tender and the flavours complimented each other well.
I appreciated the fact that the herbs/ greens didn't overpower the flavour of the meat like some other meatballs I've tried before.

Eric ordered a Grilled Angust Tenderloin with poached egg, Atlantic lobster hollandaise, and caramelized onion hash ($19.95). The first thing we noticed was how tender the steak was (duh it's called tenderloin for a reason). But seriously, it was so tender and easy to eat. The egg was cooked perfectly and Eric really liked the potatoes. The lobster was okay, maybe a little bit of butter would have made it taste better. The dish itself wasn't that big, but it will satisfy your stomach for a Sunday brunch.

To be honest, I didn't know what half the stuff on the menu was (or how to pronounce it), so I ordered a Classic Eggs Benedict ($10.95) because I'm boring like that. It had 2 eggs, crispy prosciutto, hollandaise sauce, served over potatoes. If you knew me in person, you'd know that I LOVE my butter. That is why I'm a big fan of their English muffin because it was very soft and buttery :P.. Everything on the plate was seasoned perfectly, however, my only complaint is the fact that ONE of the eggs were way overcooked while the other one was cooked just right.. The server even asked how I wanted my eggs =_=

My over-cooked egg. In my books, it's not a real eggs benedict unless the yolk oozes out when you cut it in half.

Verdict

I definitely liked this restaurant. It had a comfortable atmosphere, good service, yummy food, and reasonable prices. With the food and 2 beers, our bill came to under $50 which was covered entirely by the gift card. If I came back here next time, I would try out their pastas for sure.
I recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a more modern / fancier Italian restaurant to try out. They aren't as busy during lunch, but if you're going here for dinner, make sure you call ahead of time to make reservations!

Customer service: 5/5
Flavour and taste: 4/5
Cleanliness of restaurant: 5/5

Recommend: Yes 

Review: Yolks Restaurant & Commisary

Hello imaginary readers! Today's post will be a review on Yolk's Restaurant & Commissary.

I originally heard about this place from my manager, who posted a picture on Instagram of her Chicken & Waffles. DUDE CHICKEN & WAFFLES?! I've never had it before, so of course I had to come and try it for myself. Here's my take on this restaurant:

Located on the corner of Clark Dr and East Hastings St, this is definitely not the prettiest neighbourhood to chill in. But hey, at least this restaurant attracted a lot of traffic (as you can see from the line up at the door). But don't let the line ups fool you! Because it's definitely not worth the wait. Or at least we didn't think it was, here's why:

I was told by my manager to get here early because there will be a long line up guaranteed. We arrived just after 10AM and spent a bit of time trying to find parking. There is street parking just around the corner, but most of the spaces only allow you to park for 1 hour, which means by the time you line up and finally get your table, you have to go and move your car again. 

So we went inside, put down our name, and stood back outside and waited like everyone else. A quick tip if you want to beat the line up, is to go with only two people. The hostess told us that tables of twos go way faster. So Eric and I waited outside for about half an hour before getting called in. Most of the people who got there before us or at the same time as us were still waiting outside, because they were in bigger groups.

First impressions: When we first went inside, we were greeted by the friendly staff who notified us about their daily special. The inside was a small, cozy old fashioned diner.

We took a look at the drink menu and decided to order a jug of "Iced Callebaut Chocolate Milk" to share because the waitress explained how rich and creamy it is. It was a one litre jug which costed us $6.25. Eric and I both agreed the chocolate milk wasn't that great because there were a lot of powdery bits floating around, and it was nothing like described. At this point I was already starting to get disappointed, but I kept a positive attitude anyway because I was excited for the food.

Also worth noting is that you can add a shot of booze (such as Bailey's) to your drinks for an extra $4. Overalll, I think the drinks were a little overpriced and not that yummy. I'd stick to water next time. On the menu, you are given many options. You can also add more sides to your dish, or switch them out for other alternatives which will cost you an extra couple bucks.

Eric decided to order the Belgian Waffles with Maple Ham ($9.75), and I ordered Chicken & Waffles ($11.75). We also tried their "Poached Free-Ranged Egg" with double smoked bacon, aged white cheddar, served over their Truffle-Lemon Hashbrowns ($7.50 for one egg, $10.75 for two eggs).

The food took about 20 minutes to get served to our table. In my opinion that's not the fastest speed, but a reasonable time considering how busy the place was. Although it was busy, service remained friendly and prompt. Unfortunately the food looked a lot better than it actually tastes.

Above is our poached egg. It was hands down our favourite dish out of all! This dish is not for the faint of heart, because the first thing I noticed when I bit into the potatoes was how pungent the Truffle-lemon flavour was. It wasn't bad - it was just.. different, like something I've never tasted before! The aged white cheddar went really well with the potatoes, I wish they added more of it. Egg was cooked and seasoned perfectly with the yolk running out, and bacon is bacon, so it will always be good.

Next up is Eric's Belgian Waffle served with Maple ham, house-made dijon mustard, and maple syrup. Unfortunately, we both agreed that the waffles weren't so great. It was EXTREMELY hard and dense which made it difficult to chew and swallow. The best thing on the plate was probably the few slices of maple ham + their mustard. Sadly, we were NOT impressed by this dish :(

 Lastly is my Chicken & Waffles. This was the main reason why I kept nagging Eric to bring me here and it was the dish I looked forward to trying the most. It is "Organic fried chicken sandwiched in Belgian waffles, served with chicken gravy and Canadian maple syrup". Sounds good right?
I really wanted to love this dish, but unfortunately I was VERY disappointed. Like I said before, the Belgian waffles were hard and dense, chicken was SO rough and dry it makes me wonder if it's even organic, and I couldn't really taste the gravy or syrup much. Everything on this plate got soggy real fast and just didn't go well together at all. The entire time I was eating this plate, there was this weird, spoiled smell coming it and I couldn't tell whether it was from the chicken, waffle, or the gravy. Either way, it just wasn't very appetizing.

Verdict:

I had high hopes for this restaurant, and in the end got really disappointed. Our bill for 2 people came up to just over $50 after tips, which is a little expensive for breakfast in an East Hastings neighbourhood. I wouldn't mind spending $50 for breakfast if the flavours blew me away, but this was just plain disappointing. Definitely not worth the money and lining up for. I'm not even sure why there is so much hype in the first place. Service was friendly but that's about it. For the price, they could at least improve the flavour and texture of their food and beverages. This restaurant seems to be a hit & miss with many people; and in my case, it was a miss. Would not come back here again.
I will not settle until I find the best Chicken & Waffles in town >:(

Customer service: 5/5
Flavour and taste: 2/5
Cleanliness of restaurant: 3.5/5

Recommend: No.