POM Wonderful - Bountiful & Beneficial

The almighty pomegranate. If you are willing to put in the effort to tackle an often time messy endeavor, the end result will be a bounty full of delicious and nutritious red jewels that your body and taste buds will appreciate. We all can understand though that you do have a busy life, and there is sometimes not enough time to dig for those red seeded jewels yourself. As pomegranates are ripe and in season now, let POM Wonderful do the work for you as it is the perfect time to indulge in a cold, refreshing glass of pomegranate juice.

According to a recent Leger survey, 93% of Canadians want to live a healthier lifestyle, and part of that dedication to healthier living starts with changing beverage choices from sugar-filled carbonated drinks to more natural options. Pomegranate juice contains natural ingredients that are vital for our bodies. POM Wonderful (original) is made with 100% pomegranate juice and does not contain any added sugar, colourants, or cheap filler juices. It is also a great source of potassium.

Did you know that every 473ml bottle of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice has the juice of four whole pomegranates inside and nothing else? That means that 125mL is a serving of fruit towards the 7-10 servings a day recommended for adults by Canada's Food Guide.

One thing I was not aware of about POM Wonderful was not only do they sell their pomegranate juices that we all know and love, they also sell POM Arils! If you have never heard of what an aril is, it is simply the seed pod inside a pomegranate. Translation? The pomegranate seeds have all been magically picked out for you to enjoy with no work or mess involved on your part! It is a wonderful, wonderful thing. You really won't be able to appreciate the hard work it is to pull those arils out unless you have actually cut the pomegranate fruit open and tried it for yourself. It's tough work! 

POM Wonderful being such a versatile drink also comes in three delicious flavours. Of course there is the original 100% pomegranate juice, but there is also POM Cherry and POM Blueberry! A small fruity twist to the already wonderful flavours and nutrition of pomegranate. If you are feeling even more adventurous and want to try something else besides drinking it on its own, with the Holiday season upon us it can also be transformed into the Winter Warmer Cocktail. This is a winning drink recipe created from Toronto bartender Meghan McIntosh, designed to taste festive as we head into this Holiday season. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1.5 oz Tromba Anejo
1 oz POM Wonderful
1.5 oz Apple cider
1 oz Cinnamon syrup
0.75 oz lemon juice  

Method

1) Shake
2) Served straight up or on the rocks with lemon wheel and pomegranate seeds as garnish

#LGChuckBites - Tomato Pie Recipe From Chuck Hughes & LG Appliance Showcase

Celebrity Chef Chuck Hughes was in the city last week showcasing some of the latest, most technologically advanced kitchen appliances LG has to offer. Utilizing the LG Stainless Slide in Range with ProBake Convection, Chuck Hughes demonstrated right in front of our eyes how easy it was to put together a delicious and savoury Tomato Pie that is perfect to share around the Christmas dinner table. Speaking of Christmas, the entire time spent watching Chuck work his magic in the kitchen, all I could think of was how I was going to lure my family and friends to get me one of these sleek LG kitchen appliances. I mean it would fit perfectly in my kitchen decor. Honest! 

LG has really stepped up its game recently by releasing their newest generation of kitchen appliances, notably the new LG Black Stainless Slide in Range with ProBake Convection (MSRP $2899.99). Inspired by pro-style ranges, it has a modern, luxurious look that is fingerprint resistant with a finish that easily wipes clean with just a smooth, dry cloth. Its heating element is moved from the bottom of the oven to the back wall for optimal heat distribution, and cleaning has never been easier using EasyClean for just ten minutes.

Watch Chuck Hughes create his Tomato Pie recipe using the LG Black Stainless Slide in Range with ProBake Convection below!

Need a place to store all your tomatoes? Look no further than the new LG Stainless Fridge (MSRP $4899.99). The coolest thing about this fridge has to be its InstaView Door-in-Door with ColdSave Panel built right into it. With just a double tap on the right side door, it instantly lights up allowing you to see what's inside without opening the fridge. Its Slim SpacePlus Ice System is also located on the door, so you end up with more storage space on the top shelf of the freezer.

Watch Chuck Hughes show us the features of the LG Stainless Fridge including the built-in InstaView Door-in-Door with ColdSave Panel below!

Now this Tomato Pie recipe from Chuck Hughes does not require you to have the above LG appliances (although it would be nice to have), so any oven and fridge will do. This savoury pie combines fresh tomatoes, basil, and sweet onions in a delicate phyllo crust with zesty Cheddar topping. It's extremely flavourful and presents very well, yet so easy to put together.

Ingredients

Crust

6 sheets of phyllo
1 cup cold butter, cut up, melted

Filling

6 large field tomatoes, divided
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) freshly shredded extra-sharp white Canadian Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin
Basil leaves
1 tbsp instant tapioca

Directions

Crust

Melt the butter. Lat out 1 sheet of phyllo and brush with clarified butter. Lay another phyllo sheet on top and repeat until you have 6 layers of buttered phyllo sheets

Filling

Cut 4 of the 6 tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices and remove the seeds. Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Stir together Cheddar, Gruyere, mayonnaise, eggs, sugar, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until combined.

Pat tomato slices dry with paper towel. Sprinkle tapioca over the bottom of the crust. Lightly spread 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture onto the crust. Layer with half of the tomato slices in slightly overlapping rows.

Spread paper-think red onions and basil leaves evenly. Then spread on another 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture.

Repeat layers, using the remaining tomato slices, red onions, basil leaves, and cheese mixture. Cut the remaining 2 tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices and arrange on top of the pie.

Bake at 425F (220C) for 30 - 35 minutes, shielding the edges with foil during the last 20 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 1-2 hours before serving.

Sudio Sweden

Fond memories of my latest summer's trip to Europe included a stop at the city where the headquarters of this consumer electronic's company is based in. I'm talking about the beautiful city of Stockholm. Sudio Sweden is a lifestyle brand that makes elegant earphones with both studio quality sound and exquisite quality. For people in the food industry like myself, the wireless, hands-free earphones are great to use when in the kitchen.

Their latest, premium model is called Vasa Blå which is a light-weight, wireless, and stunningly crafted headphone with amazing sound quality. They come in 4 different colours (Black, White, Blue, Pink) along with two colour accents (Gold, Rose Gold).

Each headset comes with an exclusive leather carrying case along with its built-in microphone. It's made compatible with all bluetooth devices with up to 8 hours of wireless freedom.

To get your hands on your very own Sudio Sweden headset such as the Vasa Blå, please visit HERE. To all our loyal followers, use the exclusive promo code theeverydayfoodie at check out to receive 15% off your purchase! Sudio Sweden always offers tax-free purchases as well as fast and free worldwide delivery.

Real Brewed Moments with Pure Leaf Tea

Lets be real. We all want a drink that is going to quench our thirst. A drink that does not only taste good, but is also healthy and nutritious. In order for this drink to be good for our bodies, it needs to have no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, and no added colours. A drink I can get behind is a drink made with real ingredients, and that is why I love Pure Leaf Tea so much. They are passionate about realness as their tea experts pick real tea leaves and real ingredients, that are purposefully crafted and carefully brewed, to deliver a genuine tea experience.

I'm here to celebrate real moments with Pure Leaf Tea because it's real brewed tea, made from real tea leaves, and the best way to celebrate these real moments is to just be yourself in your natural environments and state of mind. Drinking Pure Leaf Tea is nothing fancy for me because I've incorporated their teas into my daily life, and I'm here to share with you all some of my daily and weekly rituals I take on. Whether it's drinking their Unsweetened Lemon, Green Tea with Honey, or Peach flavour, I know it's going to be a good day whenever I can grab a bottle of any of their flavours and take it with me.

Here are just a few of my real moments with Pure Leaf Tea.

Netflix and Chill

There is nothing better than relaxing at home, watching one of my favourite shows on Netflix, and sipping on some Pure Leaf Tea. The goal here is to try not to drink it down too quickly because I want the bottle to last for the entire duration of the episode. It's a hard thing to do. Trust me.

Running Errands

It has been scorching hot lately in Toronto, so to beat the heat while I'm driving around town doing my errands I make sure I have a cold bottle of Pure Leaf Tea sitting snug in my cup holder beside me. Pro Tip: crank up the a/c in your car to keep it nice and cool for as long as possible.

Video Games (Seriously)

I've waited almost 5 years to play the next installment of my favourite video game series, and now that it's finally out I need some much needed energy while I'm glued to the couch and playing hours on end. It doesn't get any more real than that folks.

Qualifirst

Finally able to put my Molecular Gastronomy set to use and channel my inner Michelin star chef. Going through my molecular recipe book, I noticed that there were a handful of gourmet ingredients that were needed. All of which I have never heard of before, let alone know to where to even buy them!

I was lucky enough to be introduced to Qualifirst, a gourmet and niche ingredient company based in Toronto with their mission to help Canadians find gourmet ingredients at affordable prices. Qualifirst has made finding the world’s best specialty foods its number 1 mission for more than 50 years. Their customers and clients are true foodies—people who share a passion for world-class ingredients, cutting-edge techniques, and exquisite presentation.

To help with my molecular gastronomy journey, I received 6 of their gourmet molecular ingredients which include Gum Agar, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Alginate, Soy Lecithin, Calcium Chloride, and Calcium Lactate Gluconate.

If there is a niche/gourmet ingredient you are looking for, more than likely Qualifirst will have it in their line of over 3000 products! Just visit their website to browse their catalog and place an order! It's as simple as that.