Dose Espresso Bar

Address:1517 West Broadway
Date: August 27, 2011
Drink: Machiatto Breve


I am always on the hunt for a great coffee shop and while taking the 99 B-Line every day, I pass a lot of little coffee shops. I decided to start to explore the best coffee shops on the B-line route.
The first coffee shop on this new exploration is Dose Espresso Bar at the Granville stop. It is located meere steps from the bus stop and is a tiny little shop filled with light and a tiny but comfy bench seating area. Dose has been open for 10 months and it seems to be doing well with a loyal following. They source their beans from origins coffee on Granville Island. The barista/owner was very friendly and made a mean machiatto. It was creamy and sweet and was not too bitter or burning hot. If you're jonesing for a quick pick-me-up on the b-line in the morning, hop off at granville and grab a dose of caffeine from Dose Espresso Bar.




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Bao Chau Vietnamese Restaurant

Bao Chau Vietnamese Restaurant
2717 East Hastings
Vancouver BC
604-251-6956

Date of Visit: August 6, 2011
Dish: Pho Tai Bo Vien - Rare beef and beef balls noodle Pho
Price: $6.00

After going on a beautiful hike with my friend Mike at Deep Cove in BC, we were both starving. Being a little tired and sweaty we definately didnt want to cook and Mike suggested getting vietnamese soup, which most of you know as Pho. Many of you will be appauled to know that in my 30 years, this was my first time eating Pho. Well, yes it was, and I freakin LOVED it! Not only was the soup delicious but I loved the whole idea that no bowl of Pho is alike. Everyone adds what and how much they like to their own bowl.
I ordered #7 (Pho Tai Bo Vien - Rare beef and beef balls noodle) and Mike ordered #6 (beef ball noodle). I am really happy that I ordered the rare beef, it was perfect and flavoured the already wonderful broth more as it sat in there being delicious. I added some lime, hot oil, and teriyaki(? I think)sauce, bean spouts and thats really all I needed. The broth without anything was really good and I could just drink that straight.
It was a blast trying to use the chopstick and spoon to eat soup. I basically made a huge mess of myself but we had fun. The service was very fast and there was no fuss with anything, we walked in and got our cold tea, ordered and got served in a matter of 15 mins. Not that I have any other Pho to compare to, I thought this was really good and I would suggest you stop by and give it a go. If you didnt like it, you only wasted 6 bucks!! Can't complain about that!


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The Biden's Sweet and Sour Spicy Pecans

I found this recipe again in the September 2010 edition of the Food Network Magazine. It takes no time at all to prepare. The only hard part is having the patience to wait for them to cook!

Ingredients:

1Large Egg White

2 cups unsalted pecan halves

2 cups unsalted roasted cashews

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon groud cumin

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon water in a large bowl until foamy (only takes about 1 minute with a whisk). Add the nuts, sugar, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix well.

Spread the mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are mostly dry but still slightly sticky, about 40 mins.

2. Remove the nuts from the oven and stir. Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees. Return the nuts to the oven and bake until crisp, about 30 mins. Stir and loosen the nuts from the bakign sheet; cool completely on the sheet.

Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad

I found this pasta salad dressing in the June 2011 food network magazine. I am in love with it! It's tangy and creamy and it goes so well with whatever you want to throw in the bowl!

Difficulty Level: Simple
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Total time: 30 mins(or more if you chill in the fridge)
serving: 4

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked rontini pasta (or whatever pasta you have on hand)
1 tomato
2 small carrots diced
2 tbsp chopped cheddar cheese
3/4 cup cucumber
1/2 tbsp parsley

dressing:
1/4 cup mayo1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp lemon juice1/4 tsp grated garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
(I add some chopped dill in the dressing too)

Preparation Steps: Boil pasts until al dente, then drain and cool. Chop tomato, cucumber, cheddar, carrots and put in a large bowl. Add drained cooled pasta to the veggies.

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and add to pasta and veggies. If you can wait, which i never can, cover pasta salad and chill for at least one hour.
Once chilled, chop fresh parsley and put some on top of your salad. ENJOY!!!

Beetroot and Cumin Salad

I am such a huge fan of beets but have never cooked with them. This was my first venture cooking with beets and it was so easy and fun that I will definately do it again.


Difficulty Level: Easy
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 60 mins
Total Time: 80 mins
Servings: 8

Ingredients:
8 medium beetroots
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tsp groud cumin
salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 med red onion(if you really like onion just use a whole one)
2 Tbsp chopped flat parsley

Preparation: Cut the stems from the beetroot bulbs, leaving about 3/4 inch attached. Do not trim the roots. Wash well to remove all traces of soil, and boil in salted water for 1 hour(yes 1 hour!), until tender.

Leave out of the water until cool enough to handle.

In a deep bowl, beat the olive oil with the red wine vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper.

Wearing rubber gloves, so the beetroot juice doesn't stain your hands, peel the warm beetroot bulbs and trim the roots. Halve them, cut into slender wedges and palce in the dressing. Halve the onion, cut into thin slices and add it to the beetroot. If you have time, place the sliced onion into cold or ice water so its not so 'oniony'. Yes, I just called onions oniony...
Add in the grated carrot and parsley to the beetroot and toss well. Serve this warm or at room temperature.
Surprisingly, this will not stain your teeth, so you can definately serve this at a dinner party and not send people away to buy teeth bleaching kits.

Mediterranean Mushroom Soup

Difficulty Level: Easy
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Serving: 8







Ingredients:
2 cups mushrooms, cleaned and sliced(I just buy basic button mushrooms)
and
1/2 lb finely chopped fresh boletus mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I bought small portobellos from the farmers market)
2 ounces butter
2 ounces flour
6 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp finely chopped flat parsley
1/4 cup creme fraiche of heavy cream

Preparation steps: in a large saucepan or Dutch Oven, melt the butter on low heat. Then, add the flour and cook stirring continuously, until the flour starts to change colour. Gradually add the chicken stock, a little at a time, continuing to whisk to avoid lumps.

In a seperate frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the button mushrooms(I buy about 3-4 cups worth so you have 2 cups cooked) add salt and pepper and cook for 8 mins. Then put cooked mushrooms with some stock into a blender ( I used a magic bullet) and blend until its almost smooth. Put the blended mushrooms into the stock and mix.

In the same frying pan, add a little more olive oil and the boletus or portobello mushrooms with the onion and garlic. Cook for 6-8 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked mushrooms to the soup base and simmer on low for 10 mins. Add the creme fraiche and simmer for 5 more. taste and modify the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve in warm cups or soup bowl with chopped parsley sprinkled over top.