Cat's Fish and Chips: Restaurant Review

The other day one of my Facebook friends posted a lovely picture of her fish and chips dinner. The caption read "it's hard to find good fish 'n chips in Ottawa" - as a Brit, she should know. Britain is the land where fish and chips was born! Yesterday was my husband's 32nd birthday, and my friend's photo gave me a great idea. I decided to take my hubby out to the best fish and chips place in Ottawa. My husband is the guy who must try fish and chips at every restaurant/pub we visit - a lot of these meals have been pretty gross. It's easy to screw up fish and chips!

I did some googling, and found Cat's Fish and Chips at Hemlock and St. Laurent. The ambiance takes me right back to Casey Key, Florida, where my family loves to vacation every winter. If I closed my eyes, I could almost hear the ocean waves.

We sat on the patio, and ordered a beer - Beau's Festivale for my hubby (you get to take home the glass, but I believe this brew will be done soon!). The server was extremely welcoming and helpful, and the food arrived in record time. We tried the Crow's Nest (seasoned and fried onions) with chipotle and dill dipping sauces, and then opted for the halibut. Portions are GIANT, so think about it before you consider ordering 2 pieces of fish :)

We were too full for desert, but I can't wait to go back and try their homemade doughnut topped with a scoop of ice cream. There was a kids menu, which would offer smaller portions for the wee ones.

And speaking of kids, I was delighted to see that Cat's was very kid-friendly. The bathroom even had a wooden change table and pad - much nicer than those plastic monstrosities. And any child would be delighted with the decor, which makes you feel as though you're inside an old ship!

Price-wise, Cat's is very reasonable. Our bill was on the higher end, given that we paid extra for the halibut and indulged in an appetizer and some drinks. Most meals are between $10 - $15 (I found the kids menu a bit pricey, but given that my girls don't eat very much when we go out, I would probably have them share something)

And for those of you gluten free - Cat's has a whole menu dedicated to gluten free fare!

It was a lovely meal, and we ended the evening by walking through the National Cemetery of Canada. We definitely needed that walk after a healthy dose of fried fats :) I think Cat's may become one of our family's favourite restaurants in Ottawa!

Mother's Day Brunch Ideas

There are SO many Mother's Day brunches taking place around the city - most are probably fantastic, but we know it can run a hefty bill for a family of four (or more!). Instead, I've compiled a number of brunch-worthy recipes you could try for Mom on Sunday (but let's be honest, we'll probably only have time to whip up one of these options!!) Throw in a plant or bouquet of flowers and I'm sure Mom will be swooning! Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups

Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Peach Breakfast Cobbler

Raspberry and Goat Cheese Breakfast Strata (YUM!!)

Seasonal Options

Raddish and Fennel Apple Salad Bites

Rhubarb and Strawberry Breakfast Crisp

Fiddlehead and Gruyere Tart

Crostini with Ricotta and Pea Shoots

Alright, now I'm hungry! Bon Appetit and Happy Mother's Day!

Easy Mayonnaise

Hey, I understand, OK? We're all busy! It's hard enough having to get the kids dressed, fed, and off to school, not to mention all the extracurricular activities and social engagements. And now I'm going to tell you that you have to make your own mayonnaise!? What kind of cruel person am I?

Before you protest too much, let me try to convince you how completely simple mayo can be. It's just egg yolk and oil...with a pinch of elbow grease! And I realize that it's much, much easier to buy this stuff in a tub, but you clearly haven't tasted real mayonnaise until you've made your own (yes, Hellman's tries to convince us that theirs is "real," but I'm highly suspicious of Calcium Disodium EDTA, which just sounds like a science experiment gone horribly wrong).

The only tools you need are a good size bowl and a whisk. Also, if you're squeamish about the raw egg part of this recipe, I would suggest you invest in some lovely farm fresh eggs - knowing where those yolks came from is key.

Crack your egg, and separate the white from the yolk (I usually scramble up the whites and give them to my toddler....or sometimes the dog eats them). Put the yolk into the bowl, and add several drops of oil. THIS IS IMPORTANT!! DO NOT POUR ALL THE OIL INTO THE BOWL AT ONE TIME!

Now start whisking. Imagine you are Julia Child (ohhhhhhh, look!! It's thickening!) Once it becomes thicker, add the oil very slowly in small batches and continue to whisk. This is a pretty good workout.

Once all of the oil is whisked into the egg, you can add some extras - I like a squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of salt. Others will add dijon mustard, but it's not necessary. Now mix it up with some curry sauce and enjoy a lovely dip for your fish or potatoes!

Bon Appetit!

Mayonnaise

1 large egg yolk 1 cup olive oil (make sure you buy the lighter olive oil - NOT extra virgin, which is very strong tasting. You could also do veggie oil, but why not get your omega 3s from the olives?) lemon juice salt dijon mustard (optional)

Farm Fresh Eggs

Here in Ottawa there is a by-law in place to prevent urban/suburban dwellers from owning and raising chickens. If you're anything like me - suburb born and raised - you probably don't know the first thing about chickens. But we all know about EGGS. Delicious, versatile eggs. My go-to meals during the week if we're rushed are quiche, frittata or omlette. And don't forget Sunday breakfasts of fried or scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. As a family, we go through a lot of eggs!

We're lucky to have a big backyard, and our vegetable patch has grown considerably since we moved here 3 years ago. But I still dream of a little chicken coop out in the back corner by the fence, where my 3 little hens lay their eggs every day.

Some Ottawans are fighting to have the by-law changed, but while I wait for the chicken politics to play out, I must find my farm fresh eggs elsewhere. If you've never tried an egg from a chicken raised in its natural environment (space to move, preen and roost), you're definitely missing out! I swear I can taste the difference from the eggs we used to buy in the grocery store.

Luckily I have a co-worker who lives outside the Capital, and has agreed to share some eggs with me. He's also shared these adorable pictures of his chickens - my girls have a great time chatting about where our dinner came from :)

(if you want to know more about raising chickens, I love this article from Lee Valley Tools)

Kid Approved: Recipe for Non-Dairy Yogurt

We're doing a food experiment in our house. We've long suspected that our daughter has some allergies (or, at least, intolerances - these are not life threatening). But we've been too tired and lazy to change much, other than limiting the amount of cow's milk that she drinks. She still consumes most other dairy products. We recently embarked on a strict diet with her, cutting out all dairy and any trace dairy in other foods (including casein). Lo and behold, we saw an improvement.

Despite the positive changes, I was finding the new diet a struggle. Our daughter's favourite foods include: cheese (all types), yogurt, sour cream and butter. She eats fruit, veggies and protein as well, but not with the same gusto.

So, my challenge has been to find some alternatives that are both tasty and don't break the bank. So far our one success has been fake butter. And no, I'm not talking about chemically-laden margarine laced with milk products; I mean this stuff - Earth Balance. Dairy-free AND soy-free, and given the thumbs up by picky kiddos everywhere!

Other products have been a giant failure. She hates Daiya "cheese," although we haven't tried to make pizza with the shredded variety yet. Another score for the garbage was coconut "yogurt." Blech!! It was jelly-like, a weird pale grey colour and FULL of sugar and additives. She also shunned my homemade almond milk, and still prefers the store-bought variety.

The holiday season arrived. We gave up for a couple of weeks and let her eat whatever she wanted, because food was everywhere, and I was tired of having nothing to offer her for snacks and/or lunch. There's only so much fruit, nuts and vegetable with hummus you can offer a kid before they ask for cheese and crackers.

Christmas day came, and Santa surprised me by leaving a big wrapped box under the tree. Inside I found a Blendtec blender, a kitchen gadget I've been swooning over for a while now. Other people spend hundreds of dollars on hair treatments, gym memberships, Ipads, Iphones and giant TVs. My weakness is kitchen gadgets.

Can I just say, this blender has truly changed my culinary life. Things that I've always dreamed of doing, I can now do in a matter of minutes!! I can make amazingly healthy smoothies, without all the floating chunkies that my hand-held blender used to leave. I can make all my own coconut milk and almond milk, and I can even blend up my favourite drinks (mmmm pina colada!!)

I've also discovered CASHEWS!! Almond milk is totally yummy, but a bit of a pain to make because you have to squeeze it through a nut bag (no, I'm not making this up). But cashews don't take any time at all. You soak them overnight, whiz them up with water, and voila!! Yummy, creamy, awesome milk. And the more digging I did, the more I discovered what I could make out of cashew milk.

In this post I'd like to share my successful Cashew Yogurt, adapted from this recipe at The Spunky Coconut.

First Step

Make the cashew milk! Soak nuts in water overnight, and then drain and rinse. Put them in your food processor or blender. Add 4 cups of water, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1tsp honey. Blend until smooth and frothy.

Second Step

Bring the 4 cups of cashew milk to a simmer in a saucepan.

Third Step

Whisk in 2 tsp of Gelatin dissolved in boiling water (one packet of Knox Gelatin worked for me). The instructions of how to dissolve the gelatin are on the packet. The Spunky Coconut mentions a substitute for vegetarians, but I haven't tried it, so not sure if it would work.

Fourth Step

Let the milk cool until it reaches about 90-92 degrees F (having a good book nearby to wait while it's cooling is a good idea, or just put the whole pot in the sink with cold water)

Fifth Step

Whisk in 3.5 tsps non-dairy probiotic. I used Inno-Vite DDS Original powdered probiotics. Basically, you need about 30 billion colony forming units, so just read the label on your favourite probiotics.

Sixth Step

Put the yogurt into a yogurt maker, oven with the oven light on (I have a "proof" setting on my oven), or in a cooler with something to keep it warm in there....hot water bottles etc. I've heard the yogurt maker is the easiest, but it's one gadget I don't own. Leave the yogurt overnight.

Seventh Step

In the morning, pour the yogurt (it will still be quite runny) into a container and refrigerate. When it is completely cool, it should have set and be thick and yummy. Sweeten with maple syrup, add fruit, vanilla, whatever!! Enjoy!

Misty Pratt is a mother of two girls, 1 and 4 years old. In her spare time she is a doula and childbirth educator. Follow her on Facebook or find out about her services here.