Well.. i did get a reply from our “friendly” grocery store, in fact one of the biggest in Atlantic Canada.   If you don’t know what i’m going on about.. i wrote that i missed my rum and raisin ice cream from Haagen Dazs and since our local grocery do carry Haagen Dazs, i had written an open letter .. to customer service and to cc a copy to Mr Jason Potter - Operations President of the Atlantic Stores.

Below is the reply I had gotten yesterday and to say that i’m disappointed is an understatement.  Not only is “Ann” who doesn’t have a designation said that they are not carrying it.. but even if they do.. in the future.. they will have to consider listing it.   And I thought Sobeys was very into “customer service “.. and will go beyond and above their call of duty . But nope.. i was proven wrong.

Oh well..!!  i am gonna send a hard copy of my request again to Mr Potter, to let him know that this is the way .. “Ann” does her best for customer service, so he will know how i feel.   In the meantime, I think I will switch and support some other stores instead.. like Walmart.. or my friendly neighbourhood meat market.

**************************************************************************************

Hi Jan

Thank you for taking the time to write. Unfortunately this item is not available in Canada. Should it become available we will consider listing it at that time.

Sincerely
Ann

CUSTOMER INQUIRY
Customer Name:  Jan Killam
Customer Email: bokchoibaby@gmail.com
Customer Phone: 1-902-7422287
Store:  Sobeys
Subject:        [Sobeys.com - Customer Inquiry]
Category:       request a new product

Found some really pretty maple leave cookies at the local grocery store.  Every now and then. .they do come up with something really cute.. and colorful.  But this maple cookie definitely tasted like maple syrup.. but that’s to be expected right.  We could smell maple syrup .. even without opening it.  No special occassion when we saw this.. i guess.. it is just a Canadian thing eh.

It is sad when you are in another country and can’t get the food that you are used to.  But it’s even sadder when you can’t get the treats too, like my rum and raisin from Haagen Dazs (that even the not so developed countries like Cambodia has).  And the saddest is that the local grocery stores do carry the Haagen Dazs brand, but not the Rum & Raisin flavor.  Now who doesn’t love the rum and raisin, right?  Holy! I can’t get enough of it.

But for the last 8 years in Canada I can’t find it in Yarmouth at all.  Sad  eh?  Well, I’m throwing the ball into our local grocery stores court by leaving a note with my name card on it and hoping against all hope that he will come thru’ for me, finally.  So I wait.  Today I left the note for him, I had wanted to speak with him personally but every time I see him in the local store he never ever made eye contact with me.  Yup! Very sad!  But since he got me the Udon that ran outta stock a few weeks ago I’m inclined to give him another chance to earn more brownie points.  So we’ll see eh?  This is Canada after all, not a third world country.

Tired of eating bad Baklava.. i’ve decided to follow the recipe i had gotten from our local grocery store. I’ll be posting up the recipe very soon. Check back later.

Updated:

This recipe is great for people like me who is diabetic . .by using Fruit and nuts .. but you can use less honey and substitute sugar is you wish. This recipe makes 40 pieces

Preperation time : 20mins

Total time : 50mins

Cooling time : 4hrs

1 pkg (150g) nuts & seed trail mix

2 cups (500ml) dried and sweetened five fruit medley

1.5 cup (75ml) sugar (can use substitute sugar/sweetner)

1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon

1 pkg (445g) Phyllo Pastry sheets, thawed

1 cup (250ml) unsalted butter, melted

1 jar (500g) liquid honey ( but can use as little or as sweet as you want)

3/4 cup (175ml) water

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (180 degree C). Lightly greese a 9 x 13 inch (3.5L) baking dish or pan. Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise to fit in pan. Cover phyllo with a lightly dampened tea towel to prevent drying out.

2. Combine trail mix, dried fruits, sugar and cinnamon in a food processor. Finely chop, set aside.

3. Gently lay a piece of phyllo pastry in pan and brush with melted butter. Repeat with 7 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter.

4. Sprinkle a thin layer of nut and fruit mixture over phyllo, cover with 2 more sheets of phyllo pastry, brushing each sheet with butter. Repeat this step of sprinkling the nut mixture, then 2 sheets of buttered phyllo pastry, until all the nut mixture is used.

5. Top with the final 8 individually buttered phyllo sheets. With a sharp knife, cut into 40 equal squares. Bake until edges are crisp and top in golden brown, 30 - 35 mins.

6. In a small saucepan, combine honey and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 7 mins, or until slightly thickened. Let cool. Spoon cooled syrup over hot baklava and let it cool for at least 4 hrs. Garnish with some more finely chopped pistacho nuts if desired.

Recipe taken from our friendly grocery store.. SOBEYS.

Being a diabetic is no fun.  One feels like you cannot eat anything.. and for dessert.. you probably is like me..  “forget it” .. when it comes to dessert right..??

Well.. here is a cool.. and creamy plus fruity dessert that is diabetes friendly.

2 cups of Frozen Strawberries, thawed

3/4 cup thawed cool whip light/whipped topping

1 peek Freans lifestyle selections/shortcake biscuit crushed.

Directions :

Mash strawberries in medium bowl, gently stir in whipped topping, spoon into dessert dishes and sprinkle with biscuit crumbs.  Serve immediately.  Not that sinful.. and you’ll be able to sleep tonite.  Only 7 g of sugar in it when you take half a cup.

I love cheesecakes..but not just any kind of cheese cakes. The plain ones like this one is my favorite but strawberry cheesecake is not too bad either. But if you know me by now.. you know i can’t eat too much sweet stuf.. and that’s not because i’m diabetic. I just don’t like eating alot of sweet stuff. A cake like this will last me 3 days. Hehehe!! donch laugh at me now.. when you get as old as I.. you kinda have to watch it too.

The man of course is a different story.. he eats anything chocolaty and rich..!! the richer the better. This is a mini boston cream pie. He said it was good.. but i didn’t wanna try it. Of course the daughter is like him. .. and eats anything with chocolate.

Next a restaurant review…  Pizza Delight.  Check this out again.

I was at a bakery the other day.. to get some mocha squares.. and the bakery had this open concept thing.. that you can see the kitchen.. and how the cakes..and desserts are being made.  I thought it was quite awesome.. and funky.  Then i also saw one of the young bakers.. wearing headphones while baking and decorating those mocha squares.  I guessed it is only here in the Western countries. .that bosses allowed their employees to do that.. because when i was in the hotel industry.. in Asia.. we would never be allowed to do that.  Working in Canada.. is alot different from working in Asia.. that’s for sure.

Who doesn’t love seafood? It’s easy to cook; from fish to scallops to lobsters, and don’t forget my favorite, oysters. Eat it raw or eat it fresh with a twist of lemon or bake it with cheese. Of course we are totally blessed here since it’s a fishing town, we get lobsters at great prices. One of my favorite dishes that we make out of the lobsters that we buy from the wharves is just by boiling it in the pot, strip out the flesh and make soup or even tomyam/lobster/beehoon soup with it. The extra lobster can be kept in a Tupperware and be used later for lobster bisque or fried bee hoon with lobster. It is so simple you don’t even need a recipe.

I don’t know if this would win anything in the Great American Seafood Cook off, but come Aug 2nd and 3rd at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center they will be holding their annual cook off where some great chefs will gather together to pit their culinary skills in an attempt to win one of the most prestigious titles: “King of American Seafood” . Tickets for the event are just $10 and the doors open at 11am. Awesome! I really wish I could attend, knowing how much I love food. Plus we all know the American seafood is one of the finest in the world. It is said that if the American seafood is on the market, you can be sure that it is being managed in a sustainable manner.

Do you have a secret seafood recipe you would like to share? Or some seafood you have eaten before that is so good you wanna go back for again and again? Or try to replicate the recipe at home? Come share your recipes with me!

This has been in my diet recently… and that’s because of my surgery, i can’t eat alot of solid food.. so i had no choice but to eat jello.  The man make this for me.. because they are of less sugar.  I’ve never eaten so much jello in my entire life.

Instead of buying the ready made ones.. the man got some he made from scratch.. so it wouldn’t be that sweet .. since i’m diabetic.  Very thoughtful of the man.. i know i should count my blessings.

The man and the kid loves chocolate.. and if you know them you will know that we go thru’ alot of chocolate every month. Fannie May Chocolates is no stranger to all of us, we’ve heard of it for so long now we even use them for sending out gifts to our family and friends. What better way to say we miss you or I love you than with a box of chocolates.

You can now order your gifts thru’ Fannie May’s website, it’s easy and convenient and safe. Use them for corporate gifts, for family or friends, on any occasion. Create your own assortment to share or choose from their many variety pre-packed gift boxes. You will have so much fun, but don’t forget the bib because you will be drooling before you finish ordering them.