Fiesta for one

As yesterday was a Monday, and thus the beginning of another long no-carb (read: no-cheeseburger) week, I decided to recreate a particularly tasty taco salad I had the pleasure of trying at a baby shower last week. 

I substituted ground meat for chicken breast and, sadly, left out the tortilla chips entirely. Despite the lack of carbs it made for a surprisingly delicious, and filling, Monday meal for one.

The beau and I visited the Jean-Talon Market last week and thanks to a quick visit to El Rey del Taco (the taco king, I'm assuming) I had a couple of authentic ingredients, like Mexican crema, which made the salad even more tasty than I had imagined.

Lucky me!

I started by seasoning the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, cumin, ground coriander and ancho chilli pepper. After quickly browning them in olive oil I baked them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, turning them over once mid-way.

While the chicken was in the oven, I started building my salad. I started with arugula lettuce, added diced tomatoes, avocados and cheddar cheese, and finished with coarsely chopped fresh coriander.

Once the chicken was fully cooked, I removed it from the oven, cut it into bite-size pieces and let it cool. 

While it was cooling, I made a quick dressing composed of Mexican crema, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

I tossed it all together and wished I was enjoying it on a beach in Playa del Carmen rather than on a sofa in Cote-St-Luc. One can dream... of carbs and beaches.

this salad is on fire

Oddly enough, the overall flavouring of the salad, and evening, reminded me of Girl on Fire by Alicia Keyes... and so, here it is:

 


  

Orange you glad I didn't say banana!

Knock-knock jokes aside (please), the Orange Julep really is one of the most, shall we say, interesting landmarks the city of Montreal has to offer. 

Shaped like, well, a giant orange, and visible as far as the eye can see, it is the purveyor of many an earthly delight, including the aptly named Orange Julep drink.

Fresh, frosty and refreshing, the "julep" tastes like a mix of milk, or ice cream, and orange juice. 

Its exact ingredients, though, are unknown.

my very fresh, very strong, friend

When an equally fresh, though decidedly less frosty, friend asked our waitress (who, unfortunately, was not on roller skates as used to be the case during the Orange Julep's heyday) what - exactly - the julep was made of, she replied "it's a secret."

And she wasn't kidding.

Built by Hermas Gibeau in 1932 to serve his trademark drink, the Orange Julep's tasty elixir is a faithfully-guarded family recipe.

Aside from mysterious juleps, the Orange Julep also serves delicious hot dogs, burgers, french fries and poutine. Since Mondays to Fridays are now carb-free (for me), weekends are best enjoyed with a hefty side of cheeseburger.  

three cheers for cheeseburgers!

Interesting side note: The beau has been staying with me for the past few months. When asked where he lives, he usually replies something like "five minutes from the Big Orange." This is interesting because the beau is a pilot, and the Big Orange once served as a landmark for a pilot whose radar system had failed. 

The reason for my recent visit to the Orange Julep, other than it being carbfest the weekend, was that it was on the way home from a nursery where I bought my first ever black flower, in honour of Kat Von D. 

i swear it's black

I guess orange really is the new black!