Olivia Chocolat (Touch of Maple)

Olivia Chocolat Touch of Maple bar is made by Olivia Chocolatiers, a local Ottawa-area company who truly strives to make good chocolate in the best way possible.

The chocolate is made from fairly traded, certified organic, single-origin Criollo and Trinitario cocoa beans from the Caribbean. These beans represent 10% of the world's cocoa beans and are more delicate than the Forestaro bean that is used in the other 90% of the market. The Criollo and Trinitario beans are slow roasted at lower temperatures to maintain the nutrient value and flavours of the raw bean.

Olivia Chocolatiers doesn't include any milk solids in their chocolate. They are also a very eco-centric company that promote the use of renewable resources, alternative fuels, and ways to become more self sufficient while continuing to protect the environment and everything in it. In the chocolate world, this affects how the production facility runs and what is used for the packaging.

Review:

I really wanted to like, no, love this product. Chocolate. Ottawa. Maple. Eco-friendly. What's not to love!

I found this chocolate to be dry and waxy. Those are the two words that came to mind as I chewed the chocolate. I wouldn't ever have thought to characterize chocolate as dry, but it's the best way I could describe it. The maple flavour didn't stand out as much as I would have hoped. The flavour was faint and the texture was chalky.

The cost of the bar was a little high, I think around $5 and that would have been ok had the chocolate, in my opinion, been worth it. I firmly believe that you get what you pay for. This company takes a stand for many issues and the price reflects that and I agree with the price because of the principles.

I actually discarded it because no one in my household liked it.

Pickled beets

Pickling beets extends the life of Summer's crimson bounty and lets you enjoy farm-time freshness all winter long.

I've always loved pickled beets and have especially grown fond of a specific recipe which is prepared by a co-worker of mine. Each year I trade her a jar of my dill pickles for a jar of her beets. This year, I thought I'd attempt to recreate the recipe, with my stamp on it of course! It was my first time pickling beets too!

This vegetable has the highest sugar content of all vegetables. There are many types of beets that are available and their colors range from red to white to golden to candy-care stripes (Chioggia). They all taste different but all have the distinct beet flavour. I used the readily available reddish-purple beets for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups honey

4 cups white vinegar
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
10-15 medium-size beets
1 vidalia onion


The first and most important thing is to put a pair of latex gloves on.

To prepare to cook the beets, cut both ends off. The beets should have at least two inches of stalk when you buy them. This top is what you want to cut off as well as the little filament on the bottom of the beet. Next, scrub the beets with a brush under water to remove dirt. Cut out any impurities or blemishes at this point and cut the bigger beets so that all the beets are the same size.

Put the beets in a big pot of water and bring them to a boil. The beets will need to cook for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on their size. They are done when you can pierce them easily with a fork. Don't overcook them because they will fall apart when you peel them.

Once the beets are cooked, drain the water and run them under cold water to stop the cooking and make it easier and faster to peel them.

(If you removed your gloves while the beets were cooking, now is a good time to put them back on!)

Take each beet with your fingers and slide off the skin.

 

Give the beets a rinse to make sure all the little pieces have come off.

The next step is to prepare the pickling liquid. In a pot, mix together the two vinegars, the water, the honey and the salt. Bring to a boil and boil the mixture for a few minutes. You may need to adjust liquid amount depending on the amount of beets. Just use the same ratio. Set aside.

At this point, you could add the beets to clean jars with the liquid and stick the jars in the fridge. You would wait a month for the beets to pickle and then they could be eaten. However you won't be enjoying them for too long because the shelf-life is significantly reduced if you don't sterilize the jars.

To sterilize the jars, I placed the jars in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then placed them on a paper towel. I did them same thing for the lids.

While the jars and pickling liquid cooled, I cut the onion into two-inch long pieces and seperated the rings.  

The final step is to place the beets, onions and liquid into the jars. Secure the lids and leave the jars for a whole month for the pickling to occur.

The beets should last about a year.


Review:

I really enjoy my co-worker's beets and I really enjoyed my version of them too.

They weren't as sour or pickled as hers and the sweetness was different since I used honey as opposed to sugar. 

This recipe will take between 2-3 hours to make. This recipe filled twelve 500 ml mason jars.

I really want to try pickling other types of beets too, but that will have to wait until next year when the local farmers have different varieties once again!

Upper Canada Cheese Company

The Upper Canada Cheese Company is located in Jordan Station in the Niagara region. What makes this company unique is that they produce cheese that's made with milk from local Guernsey cows.

Most cheeses are made with milk from Holstein cows. Guernsey cows produce half the milk that Holstein cows do. The choice of milk depends on what characteristics the cheesemaker wants the cheese to have. Different milk means different cheese color, different fat and protein levels, different flavours and different nutritional values. Each cheese has its own personality.

The three cheeses that are produced by the Upper Canada Cheese Company are the Niagara Gold, Comfort Cream and Ricotta. Samples of the Comfort Cream and the Niagara Gold were available when I visited this store. The Comfort Cream is similar to a Camembert. It's buttery, smooth and rich! The Niagara Gold has become one of my all-time favorite cheese. I love the texture, color, and flavour!


This store offers much more than cheese. There were so many local gourmet artisanal products available! There were tons of preserves, sauces, oils, juice, condiments, honey, sauces, and much much more!

In addition to the Upper Canada Cheese Company cheese, there were many cheeses from other small-scale handcrafted chesemakers available for purchase. I even found a local Ottawa cheese among them!

So after careful investigation of ALL the cheeses and discussion with the staff, I chose to bring home two of the Upper Canada Cheese Company's cheeses, Comfort Cream and Niagara Gold, and since I'm a sucker for curds, I bought the White Cheddar Curd from Jensen Cheese.


Review:

Once in a while I meet a cheese I don't like, but that happens very rarely. Cheese is generally one of my favorite foods! Being from the Niagara region, I love to visit and discover the treasures that it has and I go out of my way to do just that! The cheese from this cheesemaker did not let me down!

The Niagara Gold has got a nice bite to it and tastes SO good. The Comfort Cream's name says it all. It's really comfort food and a great alternative to the French versions of this type of cheese. I found the curds a little greasy and small. They did however have pretty good flavour.

The visit to this store was well worth the sidetracking we did to get to it on our way to our 'real' destination. It was a great trip off the beaten path! It's a cute store with really nice staff and really nice cheese.

Saucy Greek Goddess vinaigrette

I came across the Saucy Greek Goddess vinaigrette in an Ottawa store and noticed that's it's produced in Stittsville. I am always on the lookout for local gourmet products so I had to give it a try! It's made by a company called Saucey Girls, which is basically two best friends with a passion for good healthy food.

The ingredient list is short; the vinaigrette contains balsamic vinegar, canola oil, spices, garlic and onion powder. The vinaigrette is free of peanuts, preservatives, gluten or artificial colours.

I used it as a marinade instead of a salad dressing. I marinated boneless skinless chicken breast in it for about an hour before grilling them.

Review:

This product worked really well as a marinade. It has lots of flavour and a good balance of ingredients to infuse meat with. It's nice and thick and coated the meat well. It didn't burn on the grill but there was enough oil in it so that the chicken didn't stick to the grill either.

Greek-style vinaigrettes sometimes seem to be heavy on the oregano and dried spices and you can feel them on your tongue when you eat. This vinaigrette does not have this characteristic.

I used about 1/4 of the bottle to marinate two joumbo breasts and the amount was just right.

The price of the product was average. I would definetely buy this product again and look forward to trying the other flavours and products.

The buzz about honey

Honey and Sugar. Often used interchangeably as terms of endearment, these sweeteners could not be more different.

Sugar is a staple in many kitchens but honey has yet to become a familiar alternative. I would say that most people have an old jar of honey kicking around but rely on sugar to sweeten their beverages and food.

For about a year now, sugar has taken second stage to honey in my house. Sure, I still have some on hand but my go-to sweetener is honey. One tablespoon of honey contains 60 calories and 17 grams of carbohydrates. The same amount of sugar contains 45 calories and 12 grams of carbohydrates. The properties are similar so neither alters the nutritional value too much when you substitute them, but you have to keep in mind that one is a liquid when you're substituting them.

I've switched from sugar to honey in coffee. I use it in recipes that call for honey and as a substitue for sugar.

Now that I've come to know the health benefits of honey, I wish I had incorporate honey into my lifestyle way before I did! One of the big things I've learned is the difference between raw honey and processed honey (commercially available honey). Raw honey is raw - it's un-pasteurized and contains all the good stuff it can. Processed honey has been heated over 119 degrees and has had these natural nutrients destroyed before the honey is packed in the jar.

Honey is good for the OUTside of your body. It's anti-microbial - most bacteria cannot grow in honey. It's antiseptic and can prevent infection as well as reduce inflammation and scarring.

Honey is good for the INside of your body. It soothes sore throats and can kill bacteria. It's been said that honey reduces tooth decay and helps calm gastro-intestinal problems. Honey has alot of antioxidants and that can help reduce heart problems. Honey contains vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids.

Honey is not created equal. It depends on which plants provided the nectar, where its from and if pollutants have come into play. There are hundreds of types of honey that exist.

Honey won't spoil. It may crystallize over time, but heating it up will liquify it once again.

Honey is local. Many local farmers produce honey and most of it is raw. This means that it's easily accessible to you and you'll get the best type of honey. Honey is produced in most countries in the world. Sugar, on the other hand, is produced in the tropics then has to be milled, refined, packaged and transported.


Review:

Don't expect to pay the same amount of money for the jar of honey you buy from your local farmer as the jar you buy from the supermarket that's been mass-produced. They will both taste like honey but the similarities end there. I've said this in past posts, but it's still true - you get what you pay for.

Honey makes things taste so much better than sugar does. It's a whole other level of flavour.

If your going to indulge in something sweet, you can still make it as healthy as possible.

Chili con carne

Tis the start of the season of warm and hearty meals and chili fits the bill! My hubby and I have tweaked this recipe for years and it's finally to our liking! It's easy to make, full of flavour and very filling!

I've often wondered what the difference is between 'chili' and 'chili con carne'. I've seen both on menu for many years and now I finally know what the difference is: con carne means 'with meat'. Some places refer to chili with meat simply as chili, so buyer beware if this is an issue for you!

Ingredients

1 chopped onion

3 lbs ground meat
1 tsp salt

4 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp oregano
3 tbsp cocoa
1 1/2 tsp cayenne
1 1/4 cup tomato juice
1 1/4 cup beef broth

4 cloves chopped garlic

2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 jalapeno (optional)

Cook the onions and brown the meat together in a large pot with the salt. I used two pounds of lean ground beef and one pound of ground chicken and a large yellow onion.

Remove the excess liquid and leave only enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pot. 

Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, cocoa, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

Simmer two minutes and then add the juice and broth.

Simmer one hour and then add the garlic.

Simmer 15 minutes and then add the beans.

Serve.

Review:

The spice blend really takes center stage in this recipe. You don't taste a specific spice but the spices come together and create a smooth flavour that's really unique. Use good quality spices - it really makes a difference.

You can spinkle flour after you put in the garlic if the chili is too watery.

I serve the chili with a dollop of sour cream or a handful of shredded cheese on top. Any cheese will do! A nice piece of crusty toasted bread goes really well with the chili.

This chili freezes well.

Glengyle Garlic's feta garlic spread

I came across the Glengyle Garlic booth at the Ottawa Farmers Market at Lansdowne Park and picked up one of their delicacies. It just happened to be #23 of the Ottawa Magazine's '101 tastes to try before you die' that was published in the Fall of 2009.

The feta garlic spread sontains tiny cubes of feta, garlic, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes and coriander. It comes in a small plastic 8 oz container and costs $8.

I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it when I bought it but as soon as I had decided on having chicken for dinner, I had my answer.

I placed my boneless skinless chicken breasts on plastic wrap and covered them with plastic wrap. Then I proceeded to beat the crap out of them with an empty wine bottle in order to make them thinner and flatter.

Next I spooned the cheesy mixture across the center of the flattened breast, leaving about one inch from the edge.

I folded over the chicken breasts into rolls and placed them onto a pan lined with parchment paper and drizzled a bit of olive oil on top of them.

I cooked the chicken in the oven until the flesh was no longer pink.

Review:

The chicken was so yummy and moist! I really recommend trying this out!

I didn't season the outside of the chicken before cooking because the filling had plenty of flavour, including salt due to the feta, so I didn't want to overpower it with any other flavours. I'm glad I didn't because every bite had an intense flavour of the spread and was perfectly seasoned.

Cooking the chicken this way made the oil that was in the spread seep out, which I didn't mind at all. I figured, better have it in the pan than in me!

Keep in mind that your chicken is thinner when you beat the crap out of it and doesn't need to be cooked as long as a regular chicken breast because it's not as thick.

Glengyle Garlic only sells their products at local markets.

The price is a little high for the amount you get but it's really really good. I would definetely buy it again.

I used about half the container for two breasts.