Happiness ~

Happiness ~, a photo by ©EpicureanPiranha ~ on Flickr.

...we all have it within our reach!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by ♥ Have a delicious day!

~ marie, the EpicureanPiranha

~ 9 11 2011 ~ We Remember

~ 9 11 2011 ~ We Remember, a photo by ©EpicureanPiranha ~ enjoying last days of summer! on Flickr.

~ a small but heartfelt tribute ...


A personal thought ::

Is remembering enough?

No. We should all remember and strive for greater peace and harmony in this world, starting with the smallest things. Peace and harmony with the people around us;  the people we see everyday. Deeply ingrained beliefs are hard to change, but we must start somewhere ...

My Fresh Raspberry & Basil Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream

Luscious, juicy, fresh ruby-red raspberries, and the sweet taste of fresh basil ~ the flavours I used in one of my latest creations, a scrumptious, rich (but NOT heavy!), coffee cake.

♥ This is one of the most delicious coffee cakes I’ve ever made ♥ The marriage of fresh raspberries and basil is perfect! It was inspired by a delicious raspberry-basil jam I purchased from a lovely auberge in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. To make it even more special, I made a rich cream-cheese frosting which I flavoured with fresh lemon zest and vanilla.

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea in the garden!

Just to tempt you, here are a few more photos:



The fresh tastes of summer! Juicy, ruby-red raspberries, and fresh basil.

 The cake is easy to make. It has a wonderful texture, somewhere between a cake and a buttermilk muffin, which is divine when it's warm from the oven. It you want to serve it warm, then serve the cream cheese buttercream in a bowl on the side.



Impossible to resist with a perfect cup of tea or a delicious latte!

Here is the link to the recipe on my gourmet webzine: EpicureanPiranha.com.

Richly Spiced Cambodian Chicken Curry

Cambodian cuisine is less known than that of its neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. It is a colourful cuisine whose style and ingredients reveal strong influences from its neighbouring countries. Influences can also be seen from the period of French occupation (though less spicy in general), China (including the use of caramel in certain dishes and eating curries with toasted baguette) and India (many Cambodian curries contain Indian curry powder and black pepper as opposed to chilli, which is served separately).

There are many curries and stir-fries in Cambodian cuisine, and most dishes are served with rice (hundreds of varieties are grown there). This delicious Cambodian curry contains a number of spices and herbs, including Indian curry powder, as well as nuoc mam (or Thai fish sauce) and coconut milk. Lemongrass, lots of fresh basil and coriander, fresh galangal (or ginger if you can't find galangal), and the addition of dark caramel (which you can see in the top-right portion of the image below) impart a special warmth to the fragrant sauce.

The recipe also calls for sweet potatoes, so all that’s needed to accompany this dish is some Thai fragrant rice and a green vegetable. In the image below, I chose to serve it with lightly stir-fried bok choy, which I first cut in half and then served sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

This is another shot of the same dish, which I had prepared with new potatoes and parsnips this time (replacing the sweet potatoes). When preparing a recipe like this, don’t be afraid to substitute certain ingredients depending on what you have on hand. As long as you preserve the “essence of the recipe”, the dish will be slightly different, but equally delicious!

The recipe for this delicious curry is now published on my gourmet webzine ::
Richly Spiced Cambodian Chicken Curry

A Festive Apricot Orange Almond Bread ...

A Festive Apricot Orange Almond Bread ..., a photo by ©EpicureanPiranha on Flickr.

...this is what I baked for my Mom on Mother's Day. Perfect for special days, for brunch, or afternoon tea ♥

Freshly published on my gourmet blog/webzine: Festive Apricot Orange Almond Bread ♥

Deliciousness !, a photo by ©EpicureanPiranha on Flickr.

A Message of Love on Mother's Day ♥

Mother's Day is a very special day for me, because I have the dearest, most loving Mother one could hope for!



Always my champion, Mom has been my staunchest supporter and ally, in everything I've undertaken. When others failed me, she's always been there with warm words of support. She's been the first to celebrate my victories, and always been my guiding light in my darkest hours ...


♥ Mom holds me tenderly in her arms ~ Christmas 1956, I was 15 months old ♥

More than a Mother, she is is a close friend and confidente. A beautiful, strong woman, who radiates sunshine and warmth all around her when she laughs or smiles ~

Christened Rose-Blanche, which means white rose, she could not have been called by a sweeter name! She wears it so well, because she's the Sweetest Rose I know!

"A mother holds her children's hands for a while...their hearts forever."

~ Author Unknown



♥ In Celebration of All the Wonderful Women I Know ♥



Alas, I'm not a professional writer, and far from being a clever wordsmith! So I've tried to find words that could express my feelings for her from the many beautiful things have been said about mothers ...

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden,
fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends
who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken
around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts
and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."

~ Washington Irving (1783-1859)



Epi's Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Caramelized Lemon Glaze


I'm sending You all my Love on Mother's Day, Dearest Mom ♥ You will always be so very close to my heart!

And I wish all mothers a Very Special Day this Mother's Day!

Love,

marie, the EpicureanPiranha

A Wonderful Surpise Tasting Gift!

A Wonderful Surpise Tasting Gift!, a photo by ©EpicureanPiranha on Flickr.

Via Flickr :
Last week, after creating my official EpicureanPiranha Page on Facebook, the charming owner of É Café Canada, Michel Alloul, left me a message to say how much he enjoyed my gourmet webzine. We started chatting on Facebook about food, coffee, and coffee beans, and Michel said he’d send me some of their coffee for me to try.

I had been expecting a few small samples ~ so imagine my delight and surprise upon receiving a large box containing a selection of four 454 g bags of their coffees, a package of dark chocolate covered coffee beans, a package of dark chocolate covered cranberries, and a package of assorted biscotti!

I’ll be writing up a review and posting a new article on my webzine about all the É Café goodies and coffees I received, so watch out for it soon!

A Springtime Frittata & Citrus Salad

The lovely month of May, when springtime has finally begun to settle in. Birds are singing, flowers are sprouting, and there’s a lightness in the air  ♥  I was in the mood for something as fresh and light as spring, which has taken so long to arrive!

Serve the frittata, cut in wedges, with the fresh citrus salad or a green salad if you prefer.

I had a nice selection of green vegetables and fresh herbs on hand, and some small, cooked new potatoes left over from dinner the night before. These ingredients, and a large box of pretty, juicy, and very sweet Jaffa Clementines I’d purchase two days ago, inspired my springtime brunch!



This simple Clementine salad is pretty and so fresh!

This would be perfect as part of A Mother's Day Brunch :-)

Freshly published on my Gourmet Webzine, EpicureanPiranha ~ enjoying life in tasty bites!™, where you'll find the illustrated, step-by-step recipe, along with serving suggestions.

Thank you for your Foodie Love and continued support, dear friends ~ have a delicious day ♥

Savouring Quebec

One of my Facebook friends posted a link to an article on the Louis d'Or today, a Quebec cheese from the Fromagerie du Presbytère which won first prize in the prestigious Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. As I was reading the article, from the Montreal Gazette, I came across another interesting bit of info which I thought might interest some of my readers:

"If you plan a holiday in Quebec this year, the latest edition of the annual guide to B and B's, inns, and farms to visit which offers a savoury collection of addresses throughout the province has just been published. Called Terroir et saveurs du Québec (Guides de voyage Ulysse, $24.95), it lists 330 places to stay or dine, 250 farms and producers of foods, wines and ciders, 105 restaurants serving local products, plus careful directions, maps and copious photographs. It's a mouthwatering read...."

Read more on the Online version of the Montreal Gazette: Quebec Cheese Wins Award.

From: http://www.bonjourquebec.com/  Travel Media Centre

You'll find lots more information on Quebec's official tourism website, Bonjour Quebec. Here's a link to the site. It provides information on some key events taking place in the Province, as well as other usful info (to change the language, check the top right hand of the screen where you can select French, English or Spanish):

Bonjour Quebec Travel Media Centre.

Morrocan Chicken with Chickpeas, Almonds, & Currants

Morrocan Chicken with Chickpeas, Almonds, & Currants, a photo by ©EpicureanPiranha on Flickr.

This is a lovely Morrocan dish, but unlike the original, it is much lower in fat because the chicken is skinned. The recipe is from a Time Life series of French cookbooks I bought years ago on healthier eating, and sadly lacked flavour. So I adjusted the spices and seasonings, and the resulting flavour was perfect! Subtle, delicious ...perfect with a chilled, dry rosé or white wine, or a cold Boréale Blanche white beer "on lie" from one of Quebec's excellent micro breweries!