May 25 2003 is an awesome day. Guess what???? Giada got married!!! On May 25 2003, she married Todd Thompson. A designer for Anthropoligie. They were dating since July 1989. They had their first child, Jade Marie De Laurentiis-Thompson, On March 29 2008. Jade is named after her mom. "Giada" is "Jade" in Italian. Anything else about May 25 2003? Nope. Wait! Oh yeah, I was born on May 25 2003.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Yum.....Easy Casual Family Restaurant
Yesterday, I had 2 dress rehearsals for the show today. In between both rehearsals, Mama took me for lunch. We went to a nice, casual diner. Diner No. 1 in Steveston. (Right beside Steveston Bakery across the street from McDonalds.) We shared a fried haddock burger and a veggie burger. There was an oyster burger on the menu, after all me and Mama have been searching for the best oyster burger. So far we have had 2. One at Chewies Kitsilano, see blog post 'Chewies.' and the other one, at a food truck in downtown called 'The Kaboom Box'. Sadly they were out of oysters to make the oyster burger at Diner No. 1.
We asked for Crispy Onions on top of the veggie burger (Yum!) We each had fries and coleslaw. There is an easy family diner.
We asked for Crispy Onions on top of the veggie burger (Yum!) We each had fries and coleslaw. There is an easy family diner.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Who says Mama's day can't be THIS great?
Mother's day brunch...Now, that's something Mama will LOVE.
Here is a quick brunch menu Mama will look forward to every May.
Almond Pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes flavored with pure almond extract. Topped with whipped cream, sliced blanched almonds and quartered strawberries. 100% delicious.
Pancake mix (made according to package directions. Enough for 5 pancakes.)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 tablespoons sliced blanched almonds plus 1 more tablespoon for serving
4 large strawberries, quartered for serving
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Whipped cream, for serving
Whisk the almond extract into the prepared pancake mix, fold in the 3 tablespoons of almonds. Melt the butter on med-high. Cook 1 pancake at a time. Make each pancake 1/4 cup. Flip when the top of the pancake is bubbling. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Top with whipped cream, the sliced almonds and strawberries.
Nectarine Mint Fruit Salad
A delicious blend of nectarine, strawberries, grapes and watermelon. Tossed with fresh mint. In fact, I'm eating some RIGHT NOW.
2 small nectarines, diced
1/2 a watermelon, cubed
10 large strawberries, quartered
20 red grapes, halved
10 mint leaves, cut into ribbons (see Nailah's Note on post "A great weeknight meal.")
Toss all ingredients together. (As easy as that!)
Finish brunch off with Mama's favorite coffee!
Happy Mama's Day!
Here is a quick brunch menu Mama will look forward to every May.
Almond Pancakes
Buttermilk pancakes flavored with pure almond extract. Topped with whipped cream, sliced blanched almonds and quartered strawberries. 100% delicious.
Pancake mix (made according to package directions. Enough for 5 pancakes.)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 tablespoons sliced blanched almonds plus 1 more tablespoon for serving
4 large strawberries, quartered for serving
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Whipped cream, for serving
Whisk the almond extract into the prepared pancake mix, fold in the 3 tablespoons of almonds. Melt the butter on med-high. Cook 1 pancake at a time. Make each pancake 1/4 cup. Flip when the top of the pancake is bubbling. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Top with whipped cream, the sliced almonds and strawberries.
Nectarine Mint Fruit Salad
A delicious blend of nectarine, strawberries, grapes and watermelon. Tossed with fresh mint. In fact, I'm eating some RIGHT NOW.
2 small nectarines, diced
1/2 a watermelon, cubed
10 large strawberries, quartered
20 red grapes, halved
10 mint leaves, cut into ribbons (see Nailah's Note on post "A great weeknight meal.")
Toss all ingredients together. (As easy as that!)
Finish brunch off with Mama's favorite coffee!
Happy Mama's Day!
Sunday, 6 May 2012
A great weeknight meal.
After reading Giada's cookbook full of weeknight meals, sides and desserts, I decided to think up my own. This is a great weeknight meal.
Seafood Pasta
1 pound linguine pasta
1/2 a can tomato sauce
1 can roasted garlic alfredo sauce
2 fresh sole fillets all bones removed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups Kani, (crab flavored pollock) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
5 basil leaves, cut into ribbons (see Nailah's Note)
Boil water in a large pot add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain the pasta and set aside. Put the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onions and garlic, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato and alfredo sauce, then the kani and sole. Simmer 10-15 min. Pour over pasta and garnish with basil ribbons. Serve and Enjoy!
Nailah's Note
To cut leafy herbs into ribbons, stack them on top of each other and tightly roll them. Then slice on the diagonal.
Tropical Punch
1 cup mango juice
1 cup lychee juice
2 cups ginger ale or sparkiling water
Mix together in a large pitcher. Pour the ginger ale slowly! Or it will fizz to high and spill.
Seafood Pasta
1 pound linguine pasta
1/2 a can tomato sauce
1 can roasted garlic alfredo sauce
2 fresh sole fillets all bones removed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups Kani, (crab flavored pollock) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
5 basil leaves, cut into ribbons (see Nailah's Note)
Boil water in a large pot add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain the pasta and set aside. Put the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onions and garlic, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato and alfredo sauce, then the kani and sole. Simmer 10-15 min. Pour over pasta and garnish with basil ribbons. Serve and Enjoy!
Nailah's Note
To cut leafy herbs into ribbons, stack them on top of each other and tightly roll them. Then slice on the diagonal.
Tropical Punch
1 cup mango juice
1 cup lychee juice
2 cups ginger ale or sparkiling water
Mix together in a large pitcher. Pour the ginger ale slowly! Or it will fizz to high and spill.
Monday, 30 April 2012
My Cupcake(Play)Date.
Me and my friend, Taylor just went to our BFF, Zara's house. We had a cupcake day. Zara just came back from Las Vegas and got me and Taylor a baking spatula from M&M World.(after all, we like to bake) Zara invited both of us over to make cupcakes to test our spatulas. We made chocolate cupcakes with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting (I loved the frosting, so at the end of the story I will include the recipe.) We added food colouring and folded in sprinkles to the white vanilla frosting. Then, we put the frosting into pastry/icing/frosting bags with different frosting tips. The best part was decorating the cupcakes!
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
I'm not a fan of buttercream frosting. But, this recipe is just buttery and soooo good. It's not to sweet and not to buttery.
1 1/3-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons-1/4 cup milk or half&half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup softened butter
Pinch of fine salt
Blend the sugar and butter on low speed for 30 sec. Add the rest of the ingredients and raise the speed a little bit more and blend for 3-5 min. You can add more sugar by the tablespoon if your frosting is too thin.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
I'm not a fan of buttercream frosting. But, this recipe is just buttery and soooo good. It's not to sweet and not to buttery.
1 1/3-1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons-1/4 cup milk or half&half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup softened butter
Pinch of fine salt
Blend the sugar and butter on low speed for 30 sec. Add the rest of the ingredients and raise the speed a little bit more and blend for 3-5 min. You can add more sugar by the tablespoon if your frosting is too thin.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Weeknights with Giada.
Aaaaaaa!!!! I just met my favorite chef Giada DeLaurentiis!! After staying in line for over 2 hours, I went in to Williams Sonoma to meet Giada. Guess what??? I got a birthday greeting! How cool is that? Giada asked me how old I was and I said I'm going to be 9 next month. (May 25) So she said "Well, happy early birthday, Nailah". She was really rushed so she could just say one thing. Obviously, If I could stay longer I would. That's just 1 thing I did while I was Seattle. Stay Tuned for more details about my trip to Seattle, WA
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Chewies.
On Friday, April 13, Me and Mama went to Chewies restaurant in Vancouver. When we walked in it was sooooooo jam-packed because there was a Canucks playoff game, and the only spot for two was at the side of the open kitchen, so, of course we took it.
After looking at the menu for about 5 minutes, we knew what to order.The two of us shared the whole meal. For a starter, we had a beet salad. It was SUPER delicious!! Next, for the main course, we spilt an oyster po-boy with cayenne-seasoned fries and a side of fried okra. Everything was fantastic! I was so excited when the owner, Chewie, came to ask us how the food was. He is a very friendly guy :) Finally, the BEST part of the meal.......DESSERT!!! We had Cafe du monde style beignets with coffee anglaise. This could be one of the best desserts I have ever eaten! So if you are looking for a New Orleans type meal, definitely check out Chewies in Kitsilano! You will absolutely love it!
After looking at the menu for about 5 minutes, we knew what to order.The two of us shared the whole meal. For a starter, we had a beet salad. It was SUPER delicious!! Next, for the main course, we spilt an oyster po-boy with cayenne-seasoned fries and a side of fried okra. Everything was fantastic! I was so excited when the owner, Chewie, came to ask us how the food was. He is a very friendly guy :) Finally, the BEST part of the meal.......DESSERT!!! We had Cafe du monde style beignets with coffee anglaise. This could be one of the best desserts I have ever eaten! So if you are looking for a New Orleans type meal, definitely check out Chewies in Kitsilano! You will absolutely love it!
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