We talked about going out for fish and chips for quite some time. When we lived in Vancouver, we used to take my hubby's aunt out to
Troll's, a well known fish and chips restaurant. I had missed the fried fish, coated exactly to my liking with malt vinegar and salt, while overlooking the water in the bay.
We live in Edmonton now and we weren't sure where to go for fish and chips. We had quite a few people throughout the summer mention Brits Fish and Chips so we chose the downtown location. Instead of looking at mountains and water, we overlooked the parking lot and Oliver Square stores from our seats. Not quite the same at all.
We ordered a couple of beers for us and juices for the kids and decided upon the fish sampler and fries. This way, we can try a variety of fish. We sat at our table and the staff brought the children coloring books and crayons. YAY! I must say, the staff was absolutlely wonderful.
The sampler arrived and then I looked at my husband confused. The fish came all together, piled onto the plate, with no way to tell the difference between them. I couldn't tell you the difference between fried cod and fried halibut. I guess I could have asked but with two children in tow, digging in was all we could do.
We don't eat a lot of fried foods and the four of us couldn't finish off the sampler and fries. The fish was not greasy, as the paper underneath the fried fish pieces was barely soaked, but my stomach was very full for the rest of the evening. I think I have to slowly work myself up to fish and chips because it was a bit much for this lightweight.
Many people swear Brit's has wonderful fish and chips, though I can't really give you a yay or nay because I haven't eaten enough fish and chips to be able to compare. I also haven't eaten fish and chips in a restaurant since we left Vancouver, well over five years ago. So, I guess you'll have to go and make your own opinion about it.
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Brits Fish and Chips
11603-104 Ave location
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2R1
Since it's now officially fall I thought I'd share some pictures of the little sunflower sitting on my dining room table.
Sorry, didn't feel like doing a recipe post today.
I'm sitting at my computer, munching on Lucky Charms cereal (oh those little mini marshmallows are just divine). I don't let my kids eat cereal without milk, but when the kids are away, mom will eat away :)
I'm trying to distract myself from cheese. I'm craving it REAL bad and I can't have any. I'm taking some medication this week and I'm supposed to avoid the dairy several hours before and after taking it. Of course I'm taking the meds twice a day. And that's why I'm craving cheese. Can only really have it mid day. I really wanted some melted gooey cheese so yesterday I had an early supper and ate a bunch of crackers with melted cheese on top. I know, you're probably wondering why I didn't just make a grilled cheese sandwich right? That's because my stove/oven died.
My "professional series" appliance up and died. I guess it doesn't matter if you pay more for "quality". It is just over 5 years old I believe. I turned on the oven the other day and heard a pop and smelled a burning odor. But, no worries. My husband picked up the new parts and now it is back in working order. And it
only cost $400 dollars to fix. FOUR HUNDRED. Highway robbery!
We were contemplating whether we should just buy a new oven.
Thanks for letting me vent :) Hope you like the photos. Have a super weekend!
I can't remember the last time I had thousand island dressing.
Growing up, my mom and dad always made their own simple vinaigrettes but if they were going to buy a commercial salad dressing, it was always thousand island dressing.
They wouldn't venture off into other flavors. It was very similar in the potato chip department - the big deal was bbq flavored chips. That was the "big leap" from regular chips. I remember begging for a different flavor but with no luck.
I lived at home for about 20 years. Simple vinaigrette or thousand island were the only options for many of those 20 years. As my youngest brother got older, he seemed to bring in more varieties but until that happened - same old, same old.
Needless to say, I got really really tired of thousand island. In the 10 years I have been married, I have never bought a bottle of thousand island - even though my husband has asked on many occasions. I always shot down that suggestion.
So, this summer, I finally came around. I made a batch of thousand island dressing. Yes, I just needed that much time away to finally be able to come back to it.
And it was worth it. This recipe tastes just like I remember it, maybe even better.
Maybe I should make a batch for my parents? Homemade thousand island dressing... it might just blow their minds :)
...
thousand island dressing
makes 1.5 cups
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1 pickle, finely chopped
1 tbsp sugar or splenda
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika
In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste, if needed.
Recipe from: Thousand Island Dressing, Bonnie Stern's essentials of home cooking.
...straight from my backyard.
Thought I'd share a picture of my apples, a nice end to Applesauce Week.
I'm a wee bit sad because my trees look barren now. Not only that, the leaves are turning yellow and are slowly falling off. I really do love fall but when we harvest all the garden produce, makes me feel sad that I have to wait a whole year more for tasty, fresh food.
Every year, I try to come up with many ideas to use up my apples. Unfortunately, a bunch of apples had to be thrown out but I did end up eating many of them too. The growing season this year didn't produce as much as we usually get but I have to admit, I'm kind of glad because life was a wee bit busy and it was hard to keep up.
I made quite a few apple crisps and of course some applesauce, which is now frozen, to be used at a later date. A batch of apple juice was made today and I still have to try it out. Never tried that before.
Sigh.
Goodbye Summer, fresh produce, farmer's markets and backyard BBQ's.
Hello Fall, root vegetables and a big mug of cocoa by the fireplace.
I thinking all this walking to and from school to pick up my kids is making me hungry. Seriously. I'm hardly an exercise fanatic but now that I've added some energy expending, twice a day and 5 days a week, it has increased my appetite.
I'm not so sure how I feel about that. I love food so getting to eat more is always good and it's good for my blog but if I'm going to be busting a move, it wouldn't hurt to lose a pound or two either.
Well, winter will be around the corner and then it will be too cold to walk. Yes, I'm a wuss to the elements - not a fan of cold. I become almost like a hibernating bear... you don't see much of me in the winter.
Guess I'll just have to bake. Mini-muffins anyone?
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Last recipe of this week's "Applesauce Week".
These ones are also very fiber filled, since it's made with bran and whole wheat flour. I make these and variations of them, often around here. They are so incredibly moist.
...
applesauce-raisin muffins
makes 16-18 mini-muffins or 12 regular muffins
3/4 cup natural bran
3/4 cup whole wheat
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup applesauce
1 egg, beat
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup raisins
Combine all dry ingredients (first 6) into a bowl. Set aside.
Combine applesauce, egg, buttermilk and vegetable oil together. Add dry ingredients to the applesauce mixtures until just moistened. Fold in raisins.
Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center of muffin. Let cool on rack for about 5 mintues and take them out of the muffin tins.
Recipe from: Apple-Raisin muffins, The Lighthearted Cookbook
