Healthier Happier Halloween...

We know very well our kids are going to get their sugary fix on Halloween, so why not challenge them with a fun prelude by creating together spooky-themed healthy snacks, treats and food. I filled our family table with a chock-full of fresh produce and healthier ingredients to see what kind of master pieces they'll come up with. It's a fun-time of year and a wonderful time to be creative and cook together!

Also, in the spirit of Jamie Oliver’s Healthier Happier You campaign, we at Food Revolution want to know your ideas of a healthier Halloween. What healthy homemade treats do you make for the kids? What alternatives do you have for trick or treaters? Drop me a note! 

The night before, the kids and I went through the web looking for awesome creative junk-free Halloween-themed snacks and they all shouted for homemade pizzas for dinner-- landing on a few ideas that made up for the grocery list, everything was ready for them after school, to roll up their sleeves, wash their hands and getting cooking!

First up were clementine pumpkins-- so easy and cute with celery pieces or green beans for stems!

Next up, black olive spiders on hard boiled egg halves. I've seen people hollow out the yolks, mix them up with mayonnaise and spoon/pipe it back into the whites. To make it easy, we left them as is and topped with pitted black olives cut into half lengthwise for the body and into smaller wedges for legs. Six legs, eight legs doesn't matter, as long as the kids are having fun.... my older six-year old boys have been learning knife skills, and paring knives work perfectly. If you have more than one using a knife, just sit them further apart. 

I really like these creepy apple bites-- fill them with a spoon of PB or strawberry jam, poke in some toasted almond slivers spaced apart on the top and bottom, and you got a healthy mouth treat full of with rotten teeth.

We made this spooky pear chef on a whim! Cauliflower floret makes a great tall chef's hat!

And here is our first finished healthy platter of snacks...

My family loves guacamole, so I knew I wanted to get this in somehow. And I think it turned out disgustingly well vomiting out of a wonky warty pumpkin-looking squash (red kabocha) don't you? This is a great simple recipe the kids can help with from slicing into the avocadoes to mashing and seasoning.

Guacamole served with blue tortilla corn chips.

Next up is an incredible savoury tangy sweet dressing I tasted while serving lunch at a school for children's catering company Real Food For Real Kids. It was tossed in a simple grated carrot salad and I knew I had to get the recipe. Because it is brownish in colour, I thought how about using this as a mud/swamp water dip with a veggie monster claw coming out.

Using a bit of jam, I adhered pumpkin seeds/pepitas as fingernails to the end of four long thin carrots and one short one (thumb) shaped at the tips for fingers.

And last but not least, even though we were quite happy eating all the great snacks, we still made room for the finale-- pizzas. Extra dough was shaped into bones and brushed with garlic and oregano-spiked olive oil.

So who says Halloween can't be healthy and creepy? Here are some more food ideas from Halloween last year. Have a spookilicious Halloween y'all!!

Unique Hand-Slapped and Pulled Chinese Noodles at Artisan Noodles....

Hand-slapped hand-pulled noodles is the rage in this awesome small North York eatery-- Artisan Noodle serving famous Xi'an (northwest China) Street Eats, and is always packed! I was so looking forward to my interview with the owner Henry today to dish why their style noodles are uniquely standing out from the other made-by-scratch ones in town! However, as a multitude of things can happen in restaurants, they had some maintenance repairs to take care of forcing them to close on a business day and to open the next day Tuesday- their day off and our planned meeting. Being busy, we were not able to talk but I went ahead and had lunch there with my best friend anyway, finally having her try their exquisite smooth silky noodles I've been raving about! And it's all eyes-rolled back double thumbs up!

Henry told me he will perform a demo next time we reschedule. I am so interested to hear his story-- if he came from this part of China (Xi'an), was opening a restaurant a business aspiration and why noodles? We see all these young people doing their own thing now (I believe he is in his late 20s or early 30s) and you want to know what was the driving force behind their ventures. These stories always inspire...

Photo Credit: Emily O. on Yelp.ca

I love their cute black and white illustrations on their front kitchen wall. Makes noodle eating happy, fun and whimsical!

Their house signature Yo Po Biang Biang Mian made with hand-slapped and pulled flat silky ribbon noodles  with stewed beef cubes, sautéed tomato, fried egg and mixed vegetables, potatoes, ground ginger, garlic, chopped cilantro finished in chili oil vinaigrette is to die for! 

The wicked combination of flavours and textures creates a wild party in your mouth that doesn't shut down until you're done!

This Xi'an combo consists of Xi'an Liang Pi Cold Noodle-- chewy wheat starch noodles in a savoury chili oil vinaigrette dressing topped with bean sprouts and shredded cucumber, and Pork Jia-Mo--housemade Xi'an style dense Mo bread stuffed with chopped braised pork belly and gravy. All washed down with an orange soda. Scrumptious!

So until next time, I will get the low down on how this awesome restaurant came about and share with y'all... for now check them out on Yelp or their official web-site....

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month...

October is a festive month full of activities--- first you've got Canadian Thanksgiving and then there's Halloween and all the fall fun in between from watching the beautiful changing fall foliage to visiting farmer's markets, and apple and pumpkin picking. However, it is also an important month to bring awareness to one of the leading causes of death amongst women-- Breast Cancer. Did you know one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime? And that breast cancer also affects 1% of men? With increased awareness and early detection, there are greater treatment options available. 

This cause touches me deeply because breast cancer affected my family. A decade ago, my dear aunt lost her fight to breast cancer. She was diagnosed very late in the stage, and with intensive chemo, she went into remission but it came back and she passed away at home hooked up to a breathing machine. Until this day, we believe she could've still been with us. The thing was she noticed unusual symptoms early on but didn't get them checked. She kept going to work instead of visiting her doctor until she felt too sick to work, and the eventual diagnosis confirmed the news she had suspected all along. Knowing the devastation, I'm not going to take a chance on my health and I'm proud to say I am a regular checker! Bringing awareness is key to detecting early warning signs and the amazing prospect is that it saves precious lives!

"When breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the five-year relative survival rate is 100%." American Cancer Society

Campaign supporters like BHG360° Bankers Healthcare Group provides a hub for conversation, tips and also financing solutions to healthcare professionals. Click here to read more about who they are and what they offer. 

So What Could We Do?

Educate. Every person should know the symptoms and signs of breast cancer period! If an abnormality is discovered, it should be checked out by a healthcare professional. When breast cancer symptoms and signs are initially noticed, typically only one or two, their presence do not mean that you have breast cancer. The only way to find out is having it investigated by your doctor. 

Perform a Monthly Breast Exam. Adult women of all ages should perform monthly breast self-exams, to be able to more easily identify any changes in your breasts. If you notice anything unusual, your healthcare professional should be informed. I know every month, this gives me peace of mind that I'm being pro-active with my health as a woman!

“Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump, so establishing a regular breast self-exam is very important.” John Hopkins Medical Centre

While mammograms can help you to detect cancer before you can feel a lump, breast self-exams help you to be familiar with how your breasts look and feel so you can alert your healthcare professional if there are any changes.

See here for instructions on how a proper breast self-exam should be performed.

Early Detection Plan. The best way to fight breast cancer is to have a game plan that helps you detect the disease as early as possible. You can create an early detection plan with the NBCF. It is super quick to sign up and breaks down what you should be doing monthly with reminders to do breast self-exams, and when to schedule your clinical exams. You can also search for clinics in your area. I can not emphasize enough:

"When breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 100%." American Cancer Society

Reduce the Risk. Although you cannot prevent cancer, you can follow healthy lifestyle habits that can help reduce your risks such as:

The more armed we all are with the knowledge of breast cancer symptoms and signs, and how to reduce our risks gives us a greater chance to fight this awful disease! Let's empower each other by spreading the word and increase the awareness by sharing it with our family, friends and colleagues. Power in numbers-- banding together to raise awareness is far greater than what we can achieve alone!

The Beautiful Woman Behind Real Food For Real Kids (RFRK)...

I am looking forward to meet with Real Food For Real Kids founder Lulu Cohen-Farnell in a few weeks to talk about how we can combine our real food advocacy efforts in the community. An amazing woman and mother who revolutionized school lunches with her popular children's catering company serving wholesome delicious meals to schools coupled with a lunch club program across the GTA!  Read her inspirational story on why and how she got started. So excited to start as their Lunch Club Coach this week at an elementary school in my neighbouring area where I will be serving and encouraging kids to try new foods and flavours. I can't wait to meet all the smiley faces :). Watch here for more updates.

Lulu Cohen-Farnell, founder of Real Food For Real Kids Photo Credit: Green The Y

Herbs and Garlic Crown of Pork Roast...

A late big Thanksgiving dinner with my family and the past Friday`s World Food Day-- sharing good times over food #WFD2015 can only mean celebrating with a roast beast, where a gargantuan piece of meat is the show-stopping focal point of the meal (vegetarians excepted). This kind of meat whether it's beef, turkey, pork or game meat is not as important as its girth (size). You want something that turn heads and get people to clamour around the table in anticipation of that first bite. A crown roast of pork was our dinner's main attraction and what a beast of a feast it was with all the sides and fixings! The butcher at my neighbourhood Coppa's threw in a few more ribs even though I just asked for 15... I ended up with 20 and this baby was a whopping 14 pounds!

It’s the shape that gives crown roast its name. A bone-in pork loin is trimmed of excess fat and gristle so the bones protrude white and shining. Then the whole thing is tied into a ring which can be done by your butcher. Traditionally, crown roasts have been cooked with the bones standing up, which gave rise to the tradition of covering them with those frilly little paper toques to keep the tips from burning. However, as I've researched, roasting the meat upside down actually creates a juicier roast-- the juices that drip down from the pork keep the bones from blackening and the layer of fat on the bottom of the roast is exposed to the dry heat of the oven, giving it a chance to brown and crisp. You can use a rack to hold the teetering roast upside down, or, if it’s tied tightly enough, it might be able to balance on its own bones. And don't stuff so you can cook the roast evenly- rather add the cooked stuffing into the cavity afterwards, especially for that spectacular photo opp. before dissecting!

Herbs and Garlic Crown of Pork Roast
Makes 12 to 15 servings (this recipe uses a smaller roast than mine)

1 (10 pound) crown roast of pork (12 to 15 ribs), depending on how meaty the ribs, tied into a circular crown

1/2 bunch of fresh thyme, leaves plucked off stems
1/2 bunch of rosemary, pines chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

zest of one lemon
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

How Many Servings? Generally, it is suggested you plan 3/4 to 1lb. per person which is approximately one (1) rib bone per person. The average Crown Roast will serve about 8 to 10 people. If you are serving fewer people, ask you butcher to tie a smaller roast for you.

I just bought a cute little mortar and pestle, and was so happy breaking it in to make the roast paste. Combine all the ingredient in the mortar except olive oil and mash with the pestle. Add a little olive oil and continue mashing into a paste. Stir in remaining olive oil. TIP: Don't have a mortar and pestle-- use your food processor to whiz everything to a smooth liquid paste. 

Remove thyme leaves and rosemary pines by pulling them off their stems opposite of their growth.

Slice the membrane between each rib chop about an inch in. Rub the pork all over, in between chops and its crevices with the herb mixture. Use disposable plastic gloves to make it easy and mess-free. Marinate overnight covered in fridge for best results.

My son Sébastien helping to prepare a vegetable dip platter. Great job-- getting better at the knife skills-- practice, practice, practice!

Sides for the feast includes roasted thyme cauliflower and broccoli, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed corn and Mixed Green Salad with Fennel and Avocado in a Burnt Almond Vinaigrette.

Remove marinating roast from fridge and leave in room temperature for two hours-- this will bring the roast out of the cold and give you better results. Bake 20 minutes, uncovered, at 450 F. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F. and continue to roast until the internal temperature reaches the desired temperature of 140° to 145°F on a meat thermometer, approximately 2-1/2 hours. Allow about 20 minutes per pound for roasting. Rotate roasting pan halfway through cooking time. Remove from the oven, loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting. Before serving, pour off the fat juices from the pan-- skim off the excess oil and use the pan juices and scraps for gravy.

Cooked at 145 F internal temp. but would have prefer a moister
roast at 140 F. Next time...

A simple prepared stuffing goes inside and WOW voila!! 

The ultimate salad! Toasting almonds to just short of being burnt gives an interesting slightly bitter dimension to this unique salad dressing. Every time I've served it or brought to a potluck, it is never short of rave reviews. The results are gloriously addictive- full of flavour and textures, and easily a side star at any gathering!

Mixed Green Salad with Fennel and Avocado in a Burnt Almond Vinaigrette

Slice between the chops and serve on a platter. Garnish with rosemary sprigs for presentation!

Served the rib chops with my sis-in-law Yoko's homemade pear jam.

Now let's chow!!

Nothing beats sharing good times over good food! What's your beast for your next big feast?