Recap: Goodfood #20

20 boxes into this Goodfood journey! There really isn’t much to say anymore other than the fact that I love doing these recaps.

Although, this box was kind of sounding really good but also very experimental? Who knows, right? If Goodfood has taught me anything, its to be adventurous in my foodie and cooking adventures!

Chicken Yakitori
with Roasted Carrots, Chinese Broccoli & Miso Butter

A lot of firsts here. I’ve never actually made yakitori before and rarely have attempted the kabobs things either. That turned out to be fairly simple. I never had thought about roasting Yu Choy in the oven but I guess that also does work. It just works a lot like kale and I think the recipe is still a little borderline on how long it keeps it there so mine turned out a little burnt. However, Chicken Yakitori did turn out to be really delicious. They had some lovely spices and other than the prep work for the kabobs taking a little longer, this recipe was pretty tasty and well worth the work.

Vegetarian Paella
with Marinated Artichokes & Toasted Almonds

Vegetarian Paella sounds a little odd but we’ve been exploring these vegetarian takes on food with these boxes and most of the time they don’t disappoint. Unfortunately, we weren’t a huge fan of this one. The zesty taste was a little too abundant for my taste. It was the first time I tasted marinated artichoke and that was also really acidic. I didn’t have an issue with the artichoke but more the fact that it was so acidic. Then there was tomatoes also which were also really acidic. This dish was just a whole plate of off balance. Can’t say I’m a particular fan but my husband was a mega champ and helped take care of what I didn’t want to eat. A rarity in our home because I usually manage to finish everything and am not a picky eater.

Gourmet Bacon & Cheddar Stuffed Hot Dogs
with Homemade Ketchup & Grilled Romaine Salad

modified version

I should have looked at the ingredients more carefully when I chose this one. I never thought that the cheddar and bacon was actually a cheddar and bacon sausage. So my husband had the real deal, except the pictures turned out bad so I’m using the modified version. He was the master chef before this meal and he didn’t buy into the stuffing it overly and making the bun soggy and mine is a sausage with bacon so pretty much we modified this recipe to our own liking or at least in presentation. The homemade ketchup was pretty good. I can’t say it delivered quite as well as the awesome looking picture in the recipe looked like it would taste. Still, I love hot dogs so any excuse to have one is fantastic.

Ground Beef Tacos
with Homemade Salsa Verde, Cabbage Slaw & Panela Cheese

Finally, the beef tacos! I actually put together 75% of the meal but then my husband wrapped it up and also I ended up just telling him to eat it because it would have too many modifications. According to my husband, the beef tacos were quite good. He’s into one word responses when it comes to food so honestly, it did smell really good as I was cooking it. The spices were great and the beef smelled good. The slaw was easy to put together. There was a decent amount of prep work for this since its a lot of cutting. It also uses tomatillos as the salsa verde and we have to roast it a little in the pan which was a pretty neat cooking experience.

Overall, this box was a little lackluster. My fave went to the Chicken Yakitori.
One of those weeks that we picked recipes and well, I just had to modify a lot to my allergies.

Recap: Goodfood #3

Welcome back to the next Goodfoods recap!

We are trying out this new eating healthier and more balanced thing so Goodfoods is a nice step in that which means also that we’re trying to order twice a month if the menus work to our taste. We aren’t sponsored so we just do these as we see fit. Regardless, Goodfoods has been a great addition to our lives. We’re starting to see what weeks it works best in our routine. Plus, the different recipes make for some delicious culinary adventures.

In this third box, everything came well. The box was less dented than last time but still a little scarred from the journey. I still say that they need to find a better, at least more careful courrier company to take care of these deliveries. So far, nothing damaging has occurred with the food so I’m still okay with it.

We’re all hear to check out the food and here it is!

Vegetarian Paella with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Vegetarian Paella

The first meal we did was the vegetarian selection, Vegetarian Paella with Grilled Portobello Mushroom. I love portobello mushrooms and the Spanish spices used for this dish is awesome. I’d have to say that this is my favorite out of this box. It did however (somehow) take longer to make than I expected. I’m still not quite a fan of making rice in a pot. Being Chinese, making rice in the rice cooker is how I’m used to. This was a true collaboration between me and my husband as I had the rice ready and he wrapped up by making the portobello mushrooms to add in. There’s a little bit of heat and there’s a nice balance of rice and veggies. The portobellos had a beautiful texture. I really like this one a ton.

Blackened Haddock with Herbed Rice & All Dressed Corn

Blackened Haddock with Herbed Rice & All-Dressed Corn

Kudos to my husband to taking care of this one. We modified this one and removed the cheese that was supposed to be on the corn. I can’t remember if there was yogurt somewhere else also in the sauce but if there was, my husband took it out also. This one was okay. Nothing really spectacular. It was still very tasty. The seasoned corn was the highlight for myself. The fish was good and the herbed rice was interesting.

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches in Pretzel Buns with Broccoli Salad

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich

My husband’s winner in this box was this sandwich. The chicken was really delicious especially with the barbecue sauce. The broccoli was a nice addition. Looking back at the picture, the broccoli was supposed to be added to the sandwich but we left it on the side. I actually even had extra chicken to eat. The pretzel bun is also a lovely touch.

Mazemen Pork Ramen with Grilled Carrots & Yu Choy

Mazemen Ramen with Grilled Carrots and Yu Choy

With the increasing love for ramen, it was inevitable that it would reach one of these boxes as well. Unfortunately, this meal had to be modified as we were so busy that we waited for too long and the pork had expired so we went the vegetarian route here. However, the taste here is really amazing. The veggies they use are great. I like Yu Choy a lot and particularly the multicolor nantes carrots are also something I personally love to use all the time also. They use a Japanese spice blend which is rather unique. It added some heat but never too overpowering.

Overall, this box was a win. The haddock was not a fave but it still turned out well.
We can’t wait for the next subscription box. Coincidentally, the menu in 2 weeks looks fantastic.

MTL a Table: Restaurant Etre Avec Toi (Montreal, Canada)

This past weekend was a fun one. We had back to back dinner dates on Saturday and Sunday. If you missed Saturday’s dinner, you can check it out HERE!

On Sunday evening, we met up with friends for the next MTL a Table dinner. It was time for our most anticipated choice, Restaurant Etre Avec Toi (E.A.T) located inside the W Montreal. E.A.T. has a beautiful environment complimented by the classy decor of the hotel itself. The restaurant had fun and quirky art on its walls. It had a rather artsy vibe.

Lets look check it out! Just saying, between the six of us, we managed to see almost everything on their MTL a Table menu at a decent $31.

Restaurant Etre Avec Toi (“E.A.T.”)

First service: Appetizers

Tuna Tartare (Moroccan spices, quail egg, dates, almond and mint)

Salmon Tartare (lemon, coriander, olive oil)

Grilled Caesar Salad (grilled romaine, smoked black cod, parmesan and lime)

Foie Gras Mi-Cuit with granny smith salad (+9$)

Second service: Main course

Paella (calmari, grilled octopus, saffron rice, mussels, shrimp au jus, chorizo)

Mussels & Fries

E.A.T. Signature Burger (Angus beef, bacon, black beer cheddar, romaine lettuce, tomato, sweet onion butter)

Burger paired with fries with individual little bottles of Ketchup and Mayonnaise

Third service: Dessert

Le Mont-Royal (Brownie Sundae, selection of ice cream, caramelized banana, creme chantilly, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce)

Churros (originally paired with creme chantilly) Lactose free modification: fruit sauce

Restaurant Etre Avec Toi does so much right from the atmosphere to most of all, the service. Our waiter made a great effort in making sure we were all good from trying his best to get a wine for us, which didn’t work because their selections didn’t fit our tastes unfortunately to making sure the kitchen knew of my allergies and making those necessary changes for every portion of my meal. As for the food, I can’t say that it was great and I doubt my group felt it was spectacular however, the presentation was very nice.

I started with the foie gras mi-cuit appetizer. Seeing as I’m not particularly a foie gras fanatic, I did like this one a lot. It was done really well and paired well with the granny smith salad and the sauce they used was really delicious. It balanced the whole dish along with the crunchy bread on side. I liked this a lot.

As for the main course, I took the paella. There was a huge debate on my part between this and mussel and fries and somehow the paella won. The paella was rather different but in a relatively good way. Let me explain: the saffron rice and the balance of the tastes were all there. The only issue was that there was one rogue piece of chicken that tasted good but seemed out of place. The calamari was done really well, along with the two pieces of shrimp and mussels as well. The one thing I felt a little disappointed by and probably made this dish the most challenging to eat was the grilled octopus. It was a giant piece and we had a butter knife to cut it, making it a tiring task and then it was very very chewy. I’ve never cooked octopus before but while I do remember eating it before and having it chewy, maybe this one was a little overcooked. Just a tad, perhaps.

Finally, the dessert was churros. I had one piece at the restaurant and took the rest home to finish because I just needed time to digest, which is a rare situation that arises at MTL a Table meals but it happened. The churros are fantastic. If I could go back for one thing, it would definitely be this. Plus, the fruit sauce was a nice touch which tasted something like strawberry and some other fruit perhaps. We had a debate of whether it was banana or orange or maybe both. It was really awesome.

As for the other dishes, I do remember that the other dessert had the constant comment about its sweetness. The burger was a little overpowering with the sweet onion butter taste (according my husband). As for the tartare, perhaps my friend Starry Traveler will share her thoughts on it. Her family is my constant companion every year for MTL a Table (and other Montreal-based food events).