Out and About: Hermanos in Winnipeg

August has been a busy month for dinner's and lunches out. My summers are usually packed with friend or family meet-ups at a nice patio or restaurant. Ryan and I have also decided to try and go to new restaurants almost every time we go out (we made an exception for Stella's though, because it's cheap, close, and we both LOVE it). So far we've only been to a few new places but we're really enjoying it. I've discovered a lot of places I didn't know existed and a few hidden gems. Next on my list is Saaadal Kherys Somali Restaurant on 164 Isabel Street. But that's for later.

This August has been particularly restaurant packed because of Ciao Magazine's Taste the World. In hindsight, I really should have posted this at the beginning of August, rather than on the last day so no one else can take part in it. I managed to take part in 3 menu's and all were excellent. I'm going to spend a couple of posts talking about this promotion (as well as others from Ciao), and the recent new restaurants we've visited - although not all Ciao inspired.

Last week I invited my mom and Nana out for lunch. We browsed the menu selection on the website and narrowed it down to a couple before deciding on Hermanos Restaurant and Wine Bar. Hermanos is located in Winnipeg's Theatre District. Had it been a nicer day we were planning on going to The Forks but it turned out to be rather chilly. However, Hermanos' close proximity to The Forks and the walkway on Waterfront Drive make it a nice date spot, in my opinion.

As it turned out, I had actually been to 179 Bannatyne when it was an East Indian restaurant. The atmosphere is really lovely, with a classic look of exposed brick walls, dark red walls, and black chairs and booths. They boast "South American cuisine at the most reasonable prices" and suggest communal meals, sharing tapas and main dishes together. Looking at the menu, that sounded like a fabulous suggestion for dinner out with friends, but my Nana, mom, and I decided to do our own individual lunches.

Despite choosing this restaurant for their Ciao $10 lunch menu, only my mom ended up getting the Ciao special of Salpicoa , a traditional Brazilian chicken salad with chicken breast, fire roasted corn, hearts of palm, peas, shredded carrots, garlic, onions, mayo and bacon served with fresh house baked bread, tomato and greens. I'm not really a fan of "chicken salads" most of the time but my mom loved it. I can't speak much to it because shamefully, I didn't even taste it.

My Nana decided on the Bianco Mejillones (mussels). Served with cachaca, cilantro oil, lime, garlic butter, cream, and bread, it was a simple but delicious dish. I have to admit, I didn't taste her mussels either. They looked and smelled fantastic, but mussels are something I haven't conquered yet. The idea of them is a little too weird but my Nana loved them. She practically licked her plate clean, first eating every single mussel and then sopping up leftover sauce with her bread. For $12 a pound we thought they were priced very reasonably.

Finally, I decided on a nice Tapas dish of Grilled Ribeye Skewers served with 4 skewers, 3 small dishes of bacon and port buttered mushrooms, a roasted veggie and oil salsa (not listed on the menu), and carmelized onion and black pepper aioli with homemade potato chips. I go in and out of stages where I like red meat. Lately I've been into it but a few weeks ago we picked up some steaks that I was really looking forward to. They ended up being the toughest most tasteless steaks I've ever eaten. So when I saw the grilled ribeye skewers at Hermanos a few days later I wanted something that would fill my red meat void. Oh...my...god...they were exactly what I was looking for and cooked medium rare, just the way I like it. The mushrooms, roasted veggie mix, and aioli were all fantastic and the chips came out crispy and crunchy and fresh.

The only leftovers we came away with was a bit of my mom's dish she couldn't manage to finish. We all want to go back at some point, but I think both my mom and I want to experience the dinner menu with a larger group. I like that Hermanos also offers options for 2-3 people and has a fairly diverse menu. All in all, I'll definitely be making a stop here again. For the 3 of us, lunch ended up being just over $50, after drinks, tax, and tips.

Coming up soon: Fusion Grill, La Bomba, Lovey's, Sydney's

Sick Day Soups: Chickpea, Kidney Bean, Parsley Soup

Here in Winnipeg there's a small local chain of restaurants called Stella's. Stella's could very well be my favourite place to grab a bite. They have a big menu but they do a Quiche of the Day and two soups and I almost always end up getting the soup and salad because they always sound delicious. I don't think I've ever been disappointed.

A couple of months ago they were featuring a chickpea parsley soup that was delicious but also seemed pretty re-creatable. Today I was having some bloodsugar issues which generally makes me feel pretty under-the-weather for the whole day. My appetite hasn't been great and I was really craving a quick, easy soup. I looked up a couple of recipes but none of them sounded right so I just winged it.

Chickpea Kidney Bean Parsley Soup

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 cups veggie broth
• juice of half a lemon
  
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until soft. Add chickpeas, kidney beans, parsley, veggie broth, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Use a potato masher, food processor, or blender to mix depending on how thick you want the soup. I used a potato masher and it turned out nicely.

This was the perfect meal for a sick day. I know it's only August 10th and extremely hot and humid in Winnipeg, but this already feels kind of like a fall meal. Eeep! August is flying!

Back to Routine with a Classic: Potato Salad

I'm back! June and most of July were very stressful and very busy for me. Luckily from July 20th to August 3rd I was on vacation doing a road trip with Ryan and some friends from Winnipeg - Minneapolis - Chicago - Windsor -Toronto - various provincial campgrounds throughout HWY 17 in Northern Ontario. It was a well deserved break and we got to enjoy some great meals along the way too.

At Chino Latino's in Uptown in Minneapolis. Ryan making silly faces with the remnants of his enchilada.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at Giordano's.

Turkey smokies, asparagus, and new potatoes over the campfire on the shores of Lake Superior.

Before our vacation, I had little time or desire to be in the kitchen but now that things have settled down and I'm back to work and my regular routine I've been feeling excited to get into the kitchen again. We got back into the city on July 31st and had a picnic to go to on August 2nd. Now, up until recently I have never liked potato salad. Last year I experimented with a vinaigrette potato salad and found it was alright. A few weeks ago Ryan's aunt made a really nice potato salad that was more along the lines of my taste though. And I recalled Jenn at The Whole Kitchen posting a few different potato salad recipes (which I stole some helpful hints from), so I took all of them into consideration and put together a pretty damn good potato salad. We picked up groceries at The Forks and they had local red potatoes too and fresh local dill and I got to work for the BBQ food. I've come to keeping a jar of the dressing in the fridge most of the time now and just boiling up a bunch of potatoes (whole) in advance to snack on this throughout the week.

A mid-afternoon snack of potato salad with pumkin seeds, honey almonds, gluten free crackers and Tall Grass Prairie Jam, local wild blueberries, green grapes, and cheese from Fenton's.

Mustard Dill Potato Salad

• 3lbs small red potatoes
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1/3-1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds, or toasted hemp, etc)

Dressing

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped (or less if you aren't so dill inclined)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 1/2 tbsp grainy mustard (experimenting with others is tasty too but this is my favourite so far)
• pepper to taste, I didn't find this needed salt

Put washed, whole potatoes in a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Then turn off heat and let potatoes sit fowhr 30 minutes for smaller potatoes, and 35-40 for larger sized ones. Drain, cool, and cut into bite sized pieces - I know some people remove the skins but I think they belong in the salad. Or alternatively, put whole potatoes in fridge and save for use later in the week. Cut up when you're ready to eat it.

Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Either use immediately or put in a container in the fridge for use later in the week. When ready to serve, toss chopped potatoes and celery together. Add dressing and toss - I find I sometimes have a little left over but I like a very light dressing. Before serving, sprinkle the sunflower (flax, hemp, pumpkin, etc) seeds over top. The crunchy seeds are really nice mixed in.