The Cooking Chronicles: Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Sweet Spices and Spinach Salad with Apples and Cranberries

When I told Mack we would be having soup and salad for dinner, he complained. “Why are we having two sides?” he said. Well, I wanted to augment the lentil soup with some veggies, and with some spinach in the fridge, it seemed like the easiest way to go. More than that, inspired by Chef Blair Lebsack’s goat yogurt dressing, I wanted to try my own variant on homemade creamy dressing.

Using some plain Bles Wold yogurt I had in the fridge, I whisked in some red wine vinegar and a touch of honey (don’t ask me for amounts, I have no idea). It was delicious! I threw in some apples and cranberries for colour and additional sweetness, and it amounted to one of the best salads we’ve had in a while. Even Mack, the self-proclaimed “weed hater”, liked it.

Spinach Salad with Apples and Cranberries

The red lentil soup with sweet spices was pretty good as well. With the fragrant coconut milk though, none of the spices came through. The earthiness of the soup was much appreciated on a cold night.

Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Sweet Spices

After dinner, Mack said that he stood corrected – as it turns out, two sides can make a right.

101 Combinations: Twisted Yogurt Creations

Not wanting to waste our trip to Sherwood Park last week (I realize I make Sherwood Park sound like Camrose or something, but any public transit routes I’m not familiar with might as well be), I asked Mack and Grandma Male if they were up to visiting a new frozen yogurt place I had heard about. They agreed.

Twisted Yogurt Creations opened up in August of this year, and alongside Kiwi Kiss, might mean the frozen yogurt trend has finally caught up to Edmonton. Unlike Kiwi Kiss’s take-out facade, however, Twisted Yogurt provides seating options, and amongst their bright green walls and fun light fixtures, it reminded me of the chic frozen yogurt bars in the States.

Twisted Yogurt interior

The self-serve nature of the shop caught me off guard, though I soon understood why it was set up that way. With eight base yogurt flavours, fresh fruit and about three dozen dry toppings to choose from, customers were encouraged to experiment and find their favourite combinations. For that reason, I think Twisted Yogurt is definitely more family-friendly, and indeed during our visit, a father was there with his young daughter, out for dessert. Twisted Yogurt also serves coffee and cookies, and in the new year, may look at serving hot food, such as waffles to be topped with yogurt and fruit.

The friendly clerk explained how the process worked – each yogurt dispensing machine had three levers, two of which dispensed the two listed flavours, and a third that dispensed a twist of the two (one or two flavours change every week). Once we chose our yogurt base (we were encouraged to mix and match), we would then select whatever toppings we wanted. The last step was to get our creation weighed and paid for, at 49 cents an ounce.

Mack dispensing yogurt

Mack and Grandma Male chose the strawberry kiwi, while I opted to try both the very berry and pomegranate acai flavours. I stuck to the more traditional fresh fruit toppings, while Mack decided to garnish his yogurt with a sprinkling of gummy bears.

At the dry topping station

While I’m sure the final “weigh in” could end up being pretty expensive, we were all fairly conservative with our amounts, and our three cup order rang in at just under $12, not too bad for a sweet treat before dinner. I loved the pomegranate acai, which balanced between a fruity flavour and the tang one expects from frozen yogurt. More than anything else, I think I liked all of the options I had – possibilities are priceless!

Our creations!

I had the chance to speak to Twisted Yogurt owner Michael Bossio after my visit, and he said that they will be opening up three to four more stores in Edmonton over the next six to eight months. More than that, they will soon obtain the “live and active cultures” seal, which means that their product has more than 10 million probiotic cultures per ounce – a boon in the current state of probiotic mania. Michael is very proud of their frozen yogurt, particularly the tanginess that comes from using genuine yogurt.

I for one am very happy about the forthcoming frozen yogurt boom in Edmonton, and look forward to experimenting with more of my own creations at Twisted Yogurt!

Twisted Yogurt Creations
#138, 1020 Sherwood Drive, Sherwood Park
(780) 416-1133
Sunday-Thursday 10am-9pm, Friday-Saturday 10am-10pm

Salisbury Farmers’ Market

While I do constantly lament the hiatus of my favourite (City Centre) farmers’ market over the winter months, I know I really ought to look on the bright side and take in one of the several year round farmers’ markets in Edmonton. One such market is located in Sherwood Park, at the Salisbury Greenhouse. Mack, Grandma Male and I checked it out for the first time last week.

Besides being my first visit to their market, it was also the first time I had been to the greenhouse. I wasn’t expecting their enormous Christmas decoration section – between their enormous assortment of ornaments and tree varieties (including a few trees hung upside-down), I almost felt like I was at the Festival of Trees! Salisbury is definitely worth a peek if you’re looking to deck the halls.

Christmas Central!

How about a palm tree for Christmas?

Can’t forget the poinsettias!

The market itself is fabulous, and a lot larger than I anticipated. It isn’t fair to compare Salisbury to an outdoor market or even to the Old Strathcona venue because of its dual purpose space, but aside from a too-dim interior, I loved it.

Salisbury Farmers’ Market

The vibe was great – patrons chatting up a storm with vendors, and as a bonus, the market was giving away $5 gift certificates to the first 50 people who asked for them, so between Mack and myself, we rang up $10 worth of free food. They said the promotion will continue until the December 17 market.

Produce!

I appreciated the variety of vendors there, which was a mix of familiar (Irvings Farm Fresh, Medicine Man Bison and enSante) and not so familiar (we picked up some baked goods and veggies from vendors that I neglected to note down). We also discovered another locally-roasted coffee company called Blackdoor Coffee based out of Camrose. The beans are fair trade, obtained from a women’s co-operative, and some of the profits from sales are donated to a women’s shelter in Camrose.

In addition, the market featured a non-profit organization that rehabilitates miniature horses as therapy animals – one of their charges was greeting customers all over the space, too cute!

Almost actual size

While I can’t say I will be back to Salisbury frequently (Old Strathcona is definitely more central and easier for me to get to), if you live in the area or don’t mind the drive, it is a worthwhile market to visit.

Salisbury Farmers’ Market
52337 – Range Road 232, Sherwood Park
Thursdays year-round, 4:30-8pm

Get Your Chocolate Fix: Sweet Lollapalooza

Sweet Lollapalooza is the newest chocolate boutique in Edmonton, and just opened up its doors on Monday. After I read Foodie Suz’s post about tucking into goodies from the shop, I decided to stop by after work today.

Interior

Located on the ground floor in Commerce Place (directly underneath the McDonalds), the shop is easy to miss, tucked behind the escalators. The interior is functional (Mack said they were still painting and finishing other touch ups when he walked by last week), but the store is designed so customers have a full view of the chocolate room. Chocolatier Brett Roy was busy embossing (is that the right word?) chocolates during my visit.

Brett smiles

The friendly clerk was forthcoming with several samples, including their signature buttercrunch and rich hot chocolate. One taste of the toffee, coated in milk chocolate and hazelnuts was enough to push me to buy a bag ($12). Once home, I thought I would eat the entire package in one go, but it turned out a small piece really was enough – the textures and layers are deceivingly satisfying.

Buttercrunch and a sample of hot chocolate

Sweet Lollapalooza is a welcome addition to the city’s burgeoning fine chocolate purveyors. Stop in soon for a taste yourself!

Sweet Lollapalooza
Lower Level, Commerce Place, 10155 102 Street
(780) 436-3190
Monday-Friday 9:30am-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, closed Sundays