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In Recipes

Spot Prawns and Seafood Available Year Round by Skipper Otto + Coupon Code

May 9, 2023

May is typically the start of the Spot Prawn season in British Columbia. This is when local fishermen start harvesting from the cold, clean waters of BC. Spot Prawns are highly prized for their sweet, delicate flavour and firm texture.

But, did you know you can actually get Spot Prawns year round? Skipper Otto has flash frozen spot prawns with easy and convenient pick-up at 90+ locations across Canada from Victoria to Ottawa.

Skipper Otto Coupon Code: FOODOLOGY

If you use our code ‘FOODOLOGY‘ for a $50 off coupon (includes a free membership and $20 share credit towards your first seafood order). You must purchase a minimum $200 share size to sign up (this can be applied to ANY seafood order until the end of the year.Deadline for the offer and to become a member is May 31st, 2023.

Become a member now.

Skipper Otto: Access to a wide-range of high quality, wild and sustainably caught Canadian seafood.

Skipper Otto allows their members to purchase sustainably harvested seafood directly from independent Canadian fishing families.

When you sign up for a membership with Skipper Otto, rest assured, the seafood is 100% traceable, caught by independent Canadian fishing families – versus industry wide issues around mislabelling and poor quality.

Skipper Otto has a unique business model where you need to become a member and decide what size share you will need for the year before the fishing season begins (Deadline May 31). This helps to ensure fair prices for the fishermen and gives consumers access to fresh sustainable seafood year round.

The local, independent fishing families love working with Skipper Otto because they treat them with the dignity and humanity they deserve, paying timely, a living wage, and helping with the steep upfront costs of fishing. Thus in turn, giving members seafood that is the highest quality, and is harvested in a way that minimises its impact on the environment.

Each product comes with labels that have the face and name of the fisherman who caught it, when, where and how the seafood was caught. As a member, you can order what you want, when you want it.

Flash frozen spot prawn

Flash frozen spot prawns are a great option for enjoying the delicious taste outside of the traditional May spot prawn season.

Flash freezing is a process where the spot prawns are frozen quickly at a very low temperature, usually within hours of being caught. This helps to preserve the quality, flavour, and texture of the spot prawns. They can be cooked in the same way as fresh spot prawns and can be eaten raw.

To prepare them, simply thaw the prawns in the refrigerator overnight or by placing them in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes. Then, you can grill, boil, sauté, or steam them to your liking.

This year’s spot prawns will be available for Skipper Otto members by the end of May. Other items in season this month are halibut and lingcod.

Here is a recipe inspiration below!

Foodolody’s Easy Ceviche

My personal preference is to enjoy spot prawns raw or turn them into a ceviche. Skipper Otto provides home cook members with access to lots of easy to follow recipe ideas with the

seafood they order, but I’ve adapted their ceviche recipe to make it simpler and full of spot prawn flavour.

Ingredients:

1 lb spot prawns from Skipper Otto, peeled
1 lemon, juiced
4 limes, juiced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
½ cucumber, diced
¼ red onion, diced
½ jalapeno, diced
¼ bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

In a bowl, mix spot prawns, lemon and lime juices and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
After the spot prawns marinate, add tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, red onion, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, salt and pepper. Gently stir to combine.
Chill in fridge for another 30 minutes.
Serve it up in your favourite individual glasses, on a plate, or with crunchy tortilla chips.
Enjoy!

Final Thoughts

Skipper Otto is a great option for individuals and families who want to support sustainable fishing practices, local families, and enjoy delicious, fresh seafood from Canadian coastal waters.

The seafood products are incredible and you can really taste the difference in quality.

This blog post is sponsored by Skipper Otto but the opinions are all my own.

In Meal Kits

Fresh Prep x Anh and Chi: New Lemongrass Vermicelli Bowl + Up to 90% off Promo Code

January 20, 2023

Fresh Prep, Western Canada’s top-rated meal kit delivery service is teaming up with Anh and Chi, an award winning Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant through an exclusive chef collaboration until April 1, 2023.

We have personally used Fresh Prep for 7 years and they are the largest meal prep and grocer based out of Vancouver, BC. There is no delivery free with your order, they are a certified B corp and use Ocean wise certified products. They definitely stand out and try their best to do better and be better compared to their competitors.

Award-winning Anh and Chi dishes made at home

There are two limited-edition meal kits available – the Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli Bowl and the Lemongrass Tofu Vermicelli Bowl (Vegan).

Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli Bowl
Lemongrass Tofu Vermicelli Bowl (Vegan)

Those who purchase the kit will also have exclusive access to a special cook-along video with Anh and Chi Co-owner and Creative Director Amelie Nguyen.

Fresh Prep Discount Code: Up to 90% Off

You can get up to 90% off your first order (applicable to 2-meal/2-person plans, or a value of $49). New users only and code is valid until January 31, 2023.

Use code INFDIANA90 or visit www.freshprep.ca/INFDIANA90

What’s inside the bag

The Fresh Prep x Anh and Chi vermicelli bowl kits come with pre-portioned ingredients for the dish and all plastic and paper bags are recyclable. Inside the bag, you’ll find fresh vegetables, aromantic lemongrass and garlic, and the protein of your choice – either the chicken or the tofu.

Each kit includes either the award-winning Me’s Chilli Fish Sauce (included in the Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli Bowl) or the plant-based Me’s Sweet Soy Sauce (included in the Lemongrass Tofu Vermicelli Bowl). They are both developed and handcrafted by Anh and Chi head chef and family matriarch Ly Nguyen to bring a great blend of flavour for the dishes.

Cooking process

The Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli Bowl and Lemongrass Tofu Vermicelli Bowl (Vegan) take approximately 30 minutes to put together and are easy to prepare. I didn’t have any issues as the directions are very straight forward, plus it comes with a video from the co-owner of Anh and Chi.

It’s rated as an ‘easy’ dish to prepare, so it has some light cooking and assembly. Perfect for novice home cooks.

Website: freshprep.ca

This blog post is sponsored by Fresh Prep but the opinions are all my own.

In news

Celebrating BC Produce at White Spot with new Limited Time Only Menu

August 8, 2022

When thinking about restaurants that are iconically British Columbia, White Spot comes to mind since founder, Nat Bailey, started the company in 1928. For more than nine decades, White Spot has proudly supported local growers and has been dedicated to highlighting these ingredients which make their menu shine.

Celebrate BC menu

To celebrate, White Spot has created a new Celebrate BC menu for a limited time only across locations province-wide from July 25 to September 4, 2022. As White Spot is Canada’s longest-running restaurant chain, they buy more fresh, locally-grown produce than any other full-service restaurant chain in British Columbia.

The Celebrate BC menu features 8 menu items celebrating BC ingredients:

Celebrate Summer Hummus & Tzatziki Dip
BC Summer Salad
BC Brie & Bacon BBQ Burger
Steelhead Florentine Bowl
BC Brie & Bacon BBQ Chicken Burger
BC Blueberry Pie
Caramelized Pineapple Gelato Coupe
BC Blueberry Milkshake

A great range of delicious choices on the Celebrate BC menu for the whole family. Our family gave the Celebrate BC menu a try and were pleasantly surprised in the quality. The BC Brie & Bacon BBQ Burger and Steelhead Florentine Bowl really stood out. We highly recommend giving those items a try.

The Local Ingredients

Did you know White Spot purchases enough locally grown zucchini for zoo sticks to stretch longer than 27,000 football fields? Mind-blowing but mighty delicious. With the strange weather affecting BC farmers, it’s great to see local restaurateurs continue to support the local economy. Suppliers, food producers, and farmers ensure our food security is supported so we don’t have to rely on importing from other countries.

Here are some of the local ingredients used throughout their menu:

100% Fresh Canadian beef
Fresh BC chicken breast
Locally baked artisan style buns
Naturally smoked Canadian bacon on burgers and Canadian back bacon at breakfast
Local cabbage
Kennebec potatoes
BC mushrooms
BC grown cucumbers
100% BC VQA Wine and local craft beer on the beverage menu
Ocean Wise Steelhead from Lois Lake, BC
Locally grown butter lettuce

The Growers

You’re probably wondering, who are these people who are growing the produce feature on the menu?

The fresh BC Blueberries featured in several dishes like the BC Blueberry Milkshake, BC Summer Salad, and BC Blueberry Pie are sourced through Silver Valley Farms in Maple Ridge. Windset Farms produces the tomatoes ripened on the vine, which you can find in their burgers. Golden Ears Cheesecrafters from Maple Ridge BC has their brie as part of the BC Brie Bacon BBQ Chicken Burger, which is amazing.

You can’t forget the 465 BC Dairy Farmers who work year round to produce milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, and more that go into the menu.

I love seeing these local farms be a part of this menu and the quality of the product really shine through.

Final Thoughts

Some of our favourite items on the Celebrate BC menu include Celebrate Summer Hummus & Tzatziki Dip, BC Brie & Bacon BBQ Burger, Steelhead Florentine Bowl, and the BC Blueberry Milkshake. Our kid loved the BC Blueberry Pie. Celebrate BC this Summer!

The Celebrate BC menu is available at all White Spot Restaurant locations across British Columbia until September 4, 2022.

Website: https://www.whitespot.ca/celebrate-bc/

This blog post was sponsored by White Spot but the opinions are all my own.

In Car

Sustainable local getaway with the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50

June 16, 2022

As the world opens up, everyone is taking their own pace to travel again. Our family of 3 is focusing this year exploring the beauty of British Columbia. We worked with BMW Canada to craft a beautiful getaway to Vancouver Island and keep our trip as sustainable as possible and reduce our carbon footprint.

With the pandemic, we barely travelled as we wanted to keep our family safe. 2 years of going nowhere and we’re ready to explore our own backyard as British Columbia is truly stunning and beautiful.

With gas prices, inflation, and general spending soaring, any way to save money is a bonus for growing families. Here are a few tips on how we kept our local getaway as zero waste where possible.

Go Far with Electric

We currently own an electric vehicle but the range gives me a lot of anxiety for longer trips. With newer electric luxury vehicles hitting the market, the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 was everything we needed to go further.

Range

With a driving range of up to 521 km, that’s pretty impressive for an electric SUV. If you are plan on going larger distances, proper planning is needed as you will need to figure out where the super chargers are located as level 2 chargers will take some time to recharge the battery for the next day. Sometimes they’re not always available at where-ever you are staying overnight. That’s the case for all vehicles that are over 500kms in range.

Our resort did have one level 1 charger available to guests but it only charged about 7% overnight. Luckily, going to Victoria Island wasn’t a problem at all and we had plenty of charge left after the trip. We juiced up on our level 2 charger at home overnight and got back to 100% the next morning.

Comfort and Drive

With the luxury vehicle of a BMW, you will have the ultimate comfort for the driver as well as all passengers. The ride as smooth the suspension absorbed all the little shocks in the paved and gravel roads. Our little kid took many naps as well as the other adults in the SUV.

Tech

Packed into the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 are a lot of features that we are still discovering. My favourite were the USB-C chargers in the back seats so passengers can keep their phones and tablets charged for any long road trips. The curved central display was a stunner as it merges the informational display and the control display. It looks really nice and we kept admiring how sleek and modern it made the car feel. The panoramic roof is stunning and I love how it can be electrochromatically shaded for more privacy.

The 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 is a stunner and we got a lot of positive comments about the look of the vehicle and questions about it’s performance and price point.

Staying Sustainable

I’ve always wanted to go to Villa Eyrie Resort on Vancouver Island in Malahat for their European-esque vibes and incredible views. Look out for resorts that provide electric charging. Villa Eyrie provides one outlet to use for electric vehicles on a first come first serve basis, you just need to bring the cord.

I did have a thought about what happens to all the remaining toiletries in the rooms after each stay. Villa Eyrie confirmed they keep all of the soap and shampoo that is not completely used and donate to Soap for Hope. The organization works with community facilities that serve vulnerable individuals across the country to provide essential hygiene services. They also donate remaining lotions too. Nespresso coffee pods are recycled along with the bathroom tissue empty rolls.

Make sure to stop at Alpina Restaurant at the resort and make reservations. Pro-tip, in the comments request a table by the window for the best view and they will do their best to accommodate. We love their selection of produce that is sources locally where possible.

Reuse, reduce, and recycle

A good way to reduce any waste is to bring reusable containers and bottles. Plus, in some cities they are charging for take out containers, so you’re saving a bit of money too. Win win!

I always carry a large water bottle of filtered water just in case the family get thirsty or if I need some water to clean up any messes. When you have a crazy toddler, sometimes things happen.

We also carried around a cooler with us throughout the trip if we needed to keep anything cool and chill. We would refreeze the ice packs back at the resort.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend and loved how we kept it as sustainable as possible. We absolutely loved the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 and we are still debating if we should upgrade to this vehicle. If you’re in the market for an electric SUV, definitely give it for a test drive and you might just fall in love with it just like our family.

This blog post was sponsored by BMW Canada but the opinions are all my own.

In Meal Kits

Fresh Prep: Revitalizing Meals for a Busy Family + Coupon Code

December 5, 2021

Fresh Prep is your one stop shop for making meal times easier. They have an assortment of convenient and flexible meal options beyond just meal kits.

We tried Fresh Prep for 4 weeks to infuse more flavour and inspiration to our family lunch, dinners, and snacks. This is all made in-house by their culinary team or locally-sourced from food producers. I really loved browsing the ‘Add-on’ section and discovering more local small businesses and seeing that quality and freshness is a priority.

We chose to use Fresh Prep to revitalize our weekly meal routine as I was tired of the same old dishes I was making. I needed an infusion of flavours and pairings.

Fresh Prep was voted best meal kit service in Vancouver by the readers of the Georgia Straight. We absolutely love how they are committed to making meals convenient, delicious, and sustainable.

Fresh Prep Discount Code: 75% Off

You can get 75% off your first order (applicable to 2-meal/2-person plans, or a value of $36.75 on other plans).

Use code INFDIANA21 or visit freshprep.ca/INFDIANA21.

Safety

Their Zero Waste meals is a game changer and they ensure their customer and staff health and safety is #1. They ensure the cleaning process is separate from their food prep and packaging facility. This helps them better monitor and control the cleaning process. The process is contactless and automated to limit the amount of human contact.

Fresh Prep ensures the cooler bags, components, and ice packs are disinfected and tested regularly.

Delivery

3 hours before the delivery, you will get a text message from Fresh Prep with the tracking link and estimated arrival time. They use their own fleet of local drivers instead of the postal service. Once your order arrives in the cooler bag, you’ll get one more text message.

Inside the cooler bag are all your meals and add-ons. I love how they use reusable packaging and have a recycling program.

Meal Kit Options

Every week, you can put in your order for their different meal kits. I love how there are many options for those with dietary restrictions or cooking skill level. I’ve never felt too limited by any of their options. You can filter the recipes too by vegetarian, vegan, dairy aware, and gluten aware.

It’s easy to navigate between the meal to get more information.

Add Ons

Outside of the meal kits, you can add other products into your order for the week. Best of all, these are local small businesses they help support. I discovered some new brands and enjoyed some favourites as well.

Here are a few of my personal favourites:

Tayybeh Hummus and Pita Chips
Barakah Eats – Channa Masala
Organic Ocean – Candied Pink Salmon
Earth’s Own – Barista Oat Milk
Loop – All their drinks are great
Nelson the Seagull – Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Polly Fox – Brownie

Stand Out

Fresh Prep is one of the largest meal prep and grocer based out of Vancouver, BC. There is no delivery free with your order, they are a certified B corp and use Ocean wise certified products. They definitely stand out and try their best to do better and be better compared to their competitors.

Returning cooler bag

Upon your next delivery, return the cooler bag, ice pack, rinsed soft plastics, and zero waste kits to the delivery driver that’s dropping the next delivery. It was that easy.

Final Thoughts

After 4 weeks of revitalizing my lunch and dinners with Fresh Prep, I was impressed with the service and food offerings. Just getting 2 – 3 meals delivered a week really helped me diversify the types of dishes we had as a family. I quickly learned what style of dishes we enjoyed as a family while still discovering new flavour combinations in our meals. I like how I can skip certain weeks if none of the dishes appeal to me or if I get busy.

It’s definitely worth a try to fit it into your weekly meal plans.

Website: freshprep.ca

This blog post was sponsored by Fresh Prep but the opinions are all my own.

In Recipes

Festive Persimmon Carpaccio with Burrata and Arugula Salad

December 10, 2020

I love this time of year since persimmons are in season. We have partnered up with persiMon®, a brand of persimmons originating from the heart of the Ribera Del Xuquer Valley in Spain. This beautifully bright orange fruit is available between November and January and you don’t want to miss out on it.

persiMon® are firm and naturally ripened and ready to eat as is. It’s also a perfect ingredient in many dishes. I personally love to keep the natural state of the fruit to let the flavours shine. It is sweet, delicate mango and peach flavour, seedless flesh, and distinctive star cross-section. Keep an eye out for freckles as it’s a sign of extra sweetness.

The ones I had did have freckles and were so so delicious.

I’ve had persimmons since I was a little kid and it would be a delight eating it with my family. For this year, we have put together a shared appetizer – Festive Persimmon Carpaccio with Burrata and Arugula Salad for the family. There’s no need to cook any ingredients and the flavours and textures pair so well together.

You get the bitterness from the arugula, sweetness from the persimmons, creaminess from the burrata, saltiness from the Caesar dressing and the salami. Plus, the textures from the pomegranate and pumpkins seeds. I really loved it, so here is the recipes below.

Festive Persimmon Carpaccio with Burrata and Arugula Salad

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

2 pieces of persiMon®, sliced
1 whole Burrata
1 handful of Arugula
A few Pomegranate
A few Blueberries
8 slices of Genoa salami
1 tbsp Caesar Salad Dressing
A few pumpkin seeds
Salt + black pepper to taste

Directions:

Use a mandoline to slice up the persimmon thinly. Alternatively, you can use a very sharp knife, but be careful about your fingers.
In a separate bowl, lightly dress your arugula in Caesar salad dressing.
Open up the pomegranate and remove the arils inside.
Assemble on a plate by placing the persimmons first. Add the handful of dressed arugula on one side of the plate, then add the burrata on top. Fold the Genoa salami and place just under the arugula.
Garnish with pumpkins seeds, blueberries, pomegranate arils, salt, and pepper.
Eat and enjoy!

Where to Find persiMon® in Vancouver

persiMon® comes from the heart of the Ribera Del Xuquer Valley in Spain and is now available in Vancouver at IGA and Safeway stores in mid-December.

When you’re looking for persimmons be sure to opt for the persiMon® brand, they are the only persimmon brand certified by Protected Designation of Origin.

This blog post was sponsored by persiMon® but the opinions are all my own.

In Sponsored Content

[Branded Content] What it Means for a Restaurant to be Michelin-Starred

December 16, 2019

Disclosure: This is an advertorial by LottoLand.

Being awarded a Michelin Star is no easy feat. It is the pinnacle of accolades for restaurants that even the very best establishments in the world revere. Currently, there are little under 3,000 restaurants of about one million worldwide with at least one Michelin star. Tokyo has a remarkable 230 of them with Paris following distantly with 123 stars, ahead of Kyoto (103) and Osaka (97). Canada still does not have any Michelin Star restaurants, but mostly because the Michelin testers are yet to evaluate any restaurant in the country.

So, what exactly is a Michelin Star and what value does it come with?

Understanding the Michelin Guide

Very few people have been able to wrap their heads around this famous rating system. Popular notion is that Michelin restaurants are overpriced and only serve the rich, but that’s not factual in the slightest. You can get a $5 meal in a restaurant with three Michelin stars. It is just that the better-equipped and staffed higher-end establishments are more likely to meet the Michelin requirements for a star. Good chefs are also significantly more expensive, and restaurants hiring them may be prompted to share some of these extra costs with the customer.

The Michelin Guide was started in 1900 by the Michelin tire company founders, Edouard and Andre. The two brothers were looking to provide drivers with a restaurant rating guide in a bid to make them drive more and require new sets of tires more frequently. It all started in France and gradually spread into other parts of Europe as the rather unconventional strategy seemed to pay off. The star system as it is known today was firmly established in 1936, five years after the introduction of the third star.

The Awarding of Michelin Stars

As you may already know, restaurants are given Michelin stars for achieving success at the highest level. A one-star-rated restaurant is extremely good but still a significant distance behind a two-star one. Three stars are only awarded to the best of the best, with excellence and consistence in food quality, use of quality ingredients, mastery of cooking techniques, and value for money.

A rather interesting measure used in Michelin ratings is the ability of the chef to express their personality in the cuisine. This is widely regarded as creativity. It carries a lot of weight in evaluations, which is why traditional restaurants offering excellently prepared dishes do not receive Michelin awards if there is nothing “special” about their food.

The Michelin inspectors visit restaurants anonymously, and are not allowed to give public interviews. They are usually highly-experienced chefs with first-rate skills in culinary arts. They are also graduates of the mandatory Michelin Guide training held in France. Inspectors visit a restaurant severally before deciding if it is worthy of a Michelin award, and if yes, which one.

The fact that the ratings are assigned by certified former chefs is perhaps what makes the Michelin Guide a class apart from other popular rating systems. Yelp and Zagat, for instance, base their ratings on consumer feedback, which can be riddled with flaw and bias.

While the actual metrics used by the Michelin inspectors to award stars is still a secret, many believe that, besides food quality and consistency, service, décor, and ambiance count.

Here is what each of the three stars means, according to the Michelin Guide:

One star: A very good restaurant, with very high-standard food
Two stars: Great cooking and the cuisine is consistently high-quality
Three stars: Worth a special visit for their excellent cuisine and superb execution of distinctive dishes using the best ingredients.

Besides the typical 0-3 stars rating, Michelin also offers a fairly newer award called the Bib Gourmand to restaurants that have great combinations of quality and price. A restaurant in the typically expensive New York City, for instance, might receive this award for charging less than $40 for a two-course meal, plus dessert. The amount is capped €36 for a three-course meal in Europe.

The Rising Star is another special award given by Michelin. Candidates for it are restaurants that already have one or two stars and are being considered for an additional star the following year. Recently, this award was extended to cover star-less restaurants that are being considered for a Michelin rating in the future.

Conclusion

Michelin Stars are coveted for the fact that the bulk of the restaurants evaluated each year receive no rating at all. As an example, 500 restaurants were assessed in Chicago in 2014, and only 25 received a star. That is nothing to sniff at. The Michelin Guide homes in on the cuisine and conducts a comprehensive assessment on the food quality, much to the advantage of travellers who don’t know much about the local cuisine. If you are looking for the gold standard of restaurants in a city you are visiting, then the Michelin Guide is definitely worth a look.