Lolita’s – South of the border cantina April 6, 2008

Mexican restaurants are not that frequent here in the North West as they are in Southern California for example (for obvious reasons…look at the map) and I love Mexican food! When we were in San Diego last spring I really had a blast and I do own a Tex-Mex cookbook :)

Lolita’s is a small place downtown Vancouver, fairly new, with a very nice atmosphere. Beer and cocktail selection is nice and the menu is not too bad either; a bit more sophisticated than the majority of Mexican restaurants I have been to.

We went to Lolita’s twice…

The first time we had the Ceviche, which was a bit bland, and the Beef Taquitos with BBQ sauce which were a success with my husband [not crazy about BBQ sauce myself] for starters and the Paella for main – seafood was cooked perfectly, it was nice and spicy but I thought a bit more rice was in order. We also had some sort of a banana split with vanilla ice cream and Rum caramel for dessert which was yummi.

Yesterday we went for a second round and had some Tacos * Shrimp and Pineapple salsa * Carne Asade* served with rice and fried beans – delish! were too full to try anything else or order dessert :)

*** No reservations are accepted; first come first serve.

Address: 1326 Davie Street

Tel: 604-696 9996

WWW: http://www.lolitasrestaurant.com

 

 

 

Spring is here….sort of… April 6, 2008

Spring is here…all the Cherry trees are in full bloom here in Vancouver but its pouring rain outside – you literally can’t stick your nose out! and I had so many plans for today…

Spring, for me, associates with two colors – green and pink, for the leaves and for the flowers…and for my favorite very green Pea Soup. When I cook and bake from other people’s recipes it is almost always a modification of the original; whether I read, saw or tasted it somewhere…This soup is no exception as the credit belongs to Wolfgang Puck.

This soup has a beautiful color, it could be made with fresh shelled peas or frozen peas (and no, canned ones wouldn’t work!), it is super easy and quick as well as sweet and delicious. I would assume kids will like it too…though I am not sure as I don’t have any of my own (at least not yet…but my grandparents made some suggestions already).

Ingredients:

7 cups of peas [defrosted if using frozen]

1 shalot

Olive oil

Butter (unsalted)

1 liter (about 1 quart or 1/4 gallon) chicken stock

2 cups (500ml) Half & Half [you can use cream if you like...milk might work as well but the soup will be too thin]

2 tsp Kosher (Rock) salt

1 pinch white pepper (about 1/4 tsp)

2 Tbsp honey

Lemon – to serve

To make:

Heat olive oil and butter in a pot (1:2 ratio), fry onions until translucent but not colored.

Add all ingredients but the peas (and lemon), bring to boil on a Medium heat and boil for about 5 minutes 

Turn heat to High, add peas and boil for about 2 minutes or until peas are tender (some peas have thicker skin so they need a bit more time)

Remove from heat, puree in or with a blender; if not smooth enough for your liking you can always strain it. Serve with lemon wedges or add a little squeeze of lemon juice into each bowl.

* If not serving all immediately, cool the remaining soup as quickly as possible (balcony, ice bath, snow, A/C or whatever other creative methods you have) to keep the color bright and green.

Serving suggestions: I had some fresh pea pods which I served on the side and some pea shoots for garnish. You can use edible flowers – orange like Nasturcium (Nasturtiams) or purple like Lavender (one of my favorite flowers). 

The color contrast is beautiful :)