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January 2015

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cola-pulled-beef-moist

M got me an Instant Pot for Christmas and I was itching to slow cook something. Mags told me to slow cook beef with a can of Coca-Cola, so I really wanted to give it a try. The secret to tender meat is cooking it at a low temperature for a long period of time.

cola-pulled-beef-all

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  • 2 pounds beef roast
  • 1 cup of Coca-Cola
  • 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled
  • 1 garlic, peeled
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 jalapeno, minced
  • 1 cup of soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
  • a splash of fish sauce

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cola-pulled-beef-items

cola-pulled-beef-ingredients

cola-pulled-beef-onion

Prepare the onions, jalapeno, ginger, and garlic. It’s always easier prepping the ingredients ahead of time so you save some time.

cola-pulled-beef-roast

Take your beef roast and sear all sides by browning it. You can either turn on the Saute function of the Instant Pot to do this or brown it on a frying pan.

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cola-pulled-beef-browning

It will only take a minute or so to brown each side.

cola-pulled-beef-sear

Once it is down browning, add in the onion, garlic, jalapeno, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar.

cola-pulled-beef-add

Don’t forget the Coca-Cola.

cola-pulled-beef-cola

cola-pulled-beef-set

Turn the slow cooker on for 8 hours and let it do it’s thing.

cola-pulled-beef-cooked

Once the beef roast is done, it will be tender and falling apart.

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You can eat it for dinner or eat it as a breakfast. I paired it with scrambled eggs. Tons of protein for breakfast!

cola-pulled-beef-shredded

Miracle-Waffle-eat

Finding a good waffle in the subburbs is quite hard. I always end up gravitating back to Nero’s Waffle Bar, but sometimes it’s a bit of a drive.

A few people told me about Miracle Belgian Waffle near Coquitlam Centre Mall. They opened closer to the end of 2014, so they are still fairly new.

Miracle-Waffle-inner

The interior is quite cute and I wanted to steal some items off the walls for my upcoming wedding. Love the strung up lights and banting.

The space is large enough for small to medium-sized groups. It might be difficult to get a big group in depending on the time. We came in the afternoon and it wasn’t too busy.

Miracle-Waffle-menu

The first side of the menu has sweet waffles on either Brussels or Liege Waffles.

Miracle-Waffle-menu2

On the other side of the menu, there are savoury waffle options and a variety of beverages.

Miracle-Waffle-latte

Cafe Latte ($3) is a good combination with the waffles.

Miracle-Waffle-leige

Kiss Me ($6) has strawberries whipped cream on a liege waffle. KoreanGirl said it was good but Nero still reigns supreme for liege waffles.

Miracle-Waffle-mango

Mango Paradise ($7) has whipped cream, condensed milk, mango ice cream and mango pieces. I got it on a brussels waffle. I love brussels waffles and they make it nice and crispy here!

The mango pieces could have been a bit fresher, but given the time of the year, it’s a bit hard to get fresh mangoes for cheap. The mango on this seemed like it was canned.

Miracle-Waffle-outer

Overall, the waffles are good and I would come back again. No need to travel all the way downtown for just a waffle. It’s definitely one of the better places in the Tri-Cities area.

We Rate Miracle Belgian Waffle:

Address:
2950 Glen Dr
Coquitlam, BC

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Miracleshappening

Miracle Belgian Waffle on Urbanspoon

golden-boy-brand-fish-sauce

I was cooking this weekend and I bought a bottle of Golden Boy Brand Fish Sauce for $2 at the store. You would think opening a bottle would be the least of your worries when cooking. Clearly, I was wrong.

The top had no tab or twist cap that you would expect. Sometimes this happens with imported items, we’re just not used to how they do it there.

golden-boy-brand-fish-sauce-closed

I tried pulling the tip, pushing it, twisting it, stabbing it, and pinching it. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure this out. I’ve never felt so dumb in my life. I graduated with a BBA and I can’t seem to open a bottle of fish sauce.

golden-boy-brand-fish-sauce-knife

Take a sharp knife and carefully slice off the plastic top. I used a steak knife and slowly cut it. I was tempted to hack it up into pieces, but I had to control my rage so I don’t accidentally stab myself.

So simple, yet so complicated to figure out.

golden-boy-brand-fish-sauce-open

Now you know how to open a bottle of Golden Boy Brand Fish Sauce.

einstein-wrap-outer

Einstein Wrap House is located in Tinseltown and they serve up donair and shawarma. I haven’t had a wrap or a platter in a long time, so I decided to drop by for lunch.

einstein-wrap-inner

The prices are under $9 and it’s decent for the downtown area. There’s really no other donair/shawarma shop in the area. A lot of people love the platters since it’s a lot of food for under $10.

einstein-wrap-chickne

Chicken Shawarma Wrap ($6.25) has freshly sliced chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, hummus and tzatziki sauce. It was a good amount. Quality was decent but the hummus or tzatziki wasn’t very flavourful.

Can of Coca-Cola ($1.35)

einstein-wrap-closeup

Overall, I would come here again if I had a donair craving in this area. There are definitely better donair places in town.

We Rate Einstein Wrap House:

Address:
516 Abbott St
Vancouver BC

Einstein Wrap House on Urbanspoon

kimchi-stew-pot

Kimchi guk 김치 찌개 or Kimchi Soup is M’s specialty. He would make this for me years ago when we were dating and still continues to make it to this very day. I just have to ask him kindly.

It’s a popular dish among Koreans all year round and you eat it with rice. Kimchi soup is very easy to make.

kimchi-stew-kimchi

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  • 3 cups Kimchi
  • 1 Tin of Canned Tuna
  • 1 Can of Spam
  • 1 Block of Tofu
  • 5 cups of Water
  • Drizzle of Olive Oil

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kimchi-stew-simmer

Drizzle olive oil at the bottom of your pot and add in the kimchi with a bit of juice from the package. Let the kimchi simmer on medium for 5 minutes as it really transforms the taste.

I buy pre-cut kimchi so I don’t have to make a mess in the kitchen. If you have the onces with the whole kimchi, then chop it up into smaller pieces.

kimchi-stew-water

Pour the water into the pot.

kimchi-stew-tuna

Add in the canned tuna. I like using the Korean kind as it’s so much moist and flavourful than the other brands.

kimchi-stew-spam-pot

Chop up some spam and add it into the pot. Let it boil on medium for about 15 minutes.

kimchi-stew-tofu

Chop up some tofu and add it in last.

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Boil for an additional10 minutes and it’s done.

kimchi-stew

Pour some kimchi soup over steamed rice and enjoy! Easy to make and it’s not complicated.