Category Archives: About Food

About Food

Monthly Mélange: May 2010

Noodles!!

What, No Challenge?

May has been a pretty slow month for cooking. I was going to set a challenge for the month, but then I didn’t have time to cook much in the first week, and figured I’d wait until June or July to set another monthly challenge. There’s no point in having a month-long challenge when I’m not home to cook…

I did set a couple of short-term challenges for myself, though. As usual, I did the Daring Cooks challenge.

I participated in an ‘Adaptation’ challenge, where you pay homage to a recipe on another blog by adapting it and making it your own (and, of course, giving due credit to the original post). This was almost a cop-out for me, because I do this kind of thing quite a lot. That said, I like to give props to the blogs I enjoy, which you’ll see more in the coming weeks.

I decided to find and make a Turkish (or Turkish influenced) dish before my trip to Turkey at the end of the month. This ties into my spice of the month, so I won’t bla-bla about it here. Let’s get into the rundown!

Just say ‘No’ to Food Waste!

Always in the back of my mind, I am continuing with a less formal food waste challenge. I continue to “freeze my bits”, and try not to buy more fresh food than I can use. Sadly, a couple of husks that were once heads of garlic had to be sacrificed to the bog of eternal stench. Scratch that — it makes it sound like I compost, which I sadly cannot (yet). Indeed, when I do find a condo-appropriate composting option, I will have to name it “The Bog of Eternal Stench“, after the movie Labyrinth. My garbage will now be known as the “Almighty Trash Heap“, after a character in Fraggle Rock.

The Almighty Trash Heap

Margery, The Almighty Trash Heap (photo from muppet.wikia.com)

Monthly Spice
Sumac. A few weeks ago, I bought Sumac for no real reason. I just remember that I saw it used on something and that at the time I had thought I should get some. So I did. I later realized that I saw it on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, in an episode where they went to Istanbul. Ta-da!! Sumac is used all over the Middle East, but isn’t mentioned much here in North America. It has a bizarrely tangy and smokey flavour that you really can’t compare to other spices. Since buying it, I’ve seen a number of really great things I’d like to try with it (like Za’atar). This month, I used it in my mini-challenge to make “something Turkish”.

Party in My Mouth
I’ve actually been staying away from the sweet stuff, after last month, so there isn’t much to report here. Instead, I’ve been really excited about the new herbs growing in my container garden. Fresh is best, and I love running out to the balcony to snip a few stems for a meal. They add a freshness and intrigue to everything – dinners, drinks and even desserts.

I Made This!
J was pretty impressed with the Turkish inspired Encrusted Fish & Tomato Pilaf. This was the first time I’d tried breading fish, and it went really well! It was also pretty yummy reheated — not as crispy, but it kept the fish from drying out. Pretty fun. I think I have to vote for the Daring Cooks challenge again this month. The Crab Enchiladas were really impressive, and I liked roasting the peppers and tomatillos, making the sauces and playing with spices. Yum!

Mystery Ingredient
Fresh green onion. This is the first year I’ve tried growing onions, and I’m really enjoying having fresh green onions to top every dish. It adds a mild punchy onion flavour, freshness and a nice pop of green. OK, this sounds like my writeup about the herbs in my garden. It’s true, though! Right now, I’m trying to resist the temptation to pull the green onions right up. The longer I leave them, the more likely I’ll end up with actual onions at the end. Not sure I have enough space for it, but it will be interesting to see how things turn out.

Shameful Secrets
I gave away the rest of my Jelly Bellies. They were actually hurting me, and I had to let go (at least for a while). I’m sorry I didn’t give them all to you, but you weren’t there at the time. Mea culpa.

The next few weeks will be full of adventure, and no doubt I’ll have lots to post about when it’s done. So excited!! In the meantime, I have some fun posts planned.

S

About Food

Desperately Seeking Sumac

3 Comments

Crusted Fish and Rice Pilaf with Asparagus

Crusted Tilapia and Tomato Pilaf with Asparagus

Soon, I will be off on an adventure in a strange land, eating exotic food and exploring things older than my country.

Dramatic, yes! J and I are off to Turkey, and while there I will be taking in all of the new flavours. In fact, I’ve decided to start early. I bought some sumac, which is used in some Turkish dishes, and I’m ready to explore.

What is sumac like? This sounds kind of silly, but it tasted like smokey fire roasted tomatoes and berries. Weird, no? That’s what I thought of while I was eating it. I think it’s also important to be able to smell it, which is why it’s great to top a dish with it. The smell is at the same time intoxicating and bizarre. Seriously, I can’t think of any other spice that is like this. I think I’m in love.

OK, so I don’t know what constitutes “authentic” Turkish cuisine. Most of the dishes I see include some lamb, which I’m not against trying but will not be preparing any time soon. I’m also not quite ready to make a table full of Turkish mezze. I did a little bit of digging, and found this interesting sounding dish consisting of breadcrumb coated fish and a tomato rice pilaf.

Is it Turkish? Not sure. It sounds inspired by Turkish food, at the very least. It also sounds yummy.

Asparagus

Finally! Fresh, in-season, Ontario asparagus!

I added some local fresh asparagus, and was ready to roll! How was it? I really liked the coating on the fish, and had lots left over (wish I had more fish to coat!). I had to cook the fish a little longer than the recipe called for, but in the end it was cooked perfectly. I thought that there was not enough sumac in the dish – the smell and taste of the sumac got a little lost in the breading. I added some extra to the bread crumb mixture, and ended up sprinkling it all over the rice pilaf.

Intrigued? You can find the recipes I used at the links below. I used tilapia instead of flathead, I used pecans instead of walnuts, I think I doubled the sumac in the coating and I cooked the fish a little longer than suggested… but yeah, really great recipes from a site that I think I will have fun exploring. Check it out!

Recipes from What You Having for Your Tea?

Continue reading Desperately Seeking Sumac →

About Food, Found Favourites, Recipes

Canchánchara

Canchánchara

Cuba is the land of many drinks, and many dances. Even on a resort, sheltered from the “real” world, you can almost get a sense of the culture from the drinks and the dancing. The drink that people usually connect with Cuba is the Mojito – a refreshing drink with rum, lime and mint. I love Mojitos.

When in Cuba, I was introduced to another refreshing drink, the Canchánchara. Like the Mojito, it combines rum and citrus and lots of ice. It also includes honey, giving the drink a warm sweetness. The kicker is that it calls for “raw rum”, which I had never heard of before.

Cuba - Canchanchara

Canchánchara in Cuba – yup, that’s me, no makeup, hair covered from the sun.

It was so tasty and different that I decided I had to be able to make it at home. We even tried to buy a bottle from the bar at the resort. While they wouldn’t let us buy one, they did give us the name of the brand and said that we would likely find it in the airport shop. Lucky for us, we did find it! I think it cost us all of $4.

At home, I avoided opening the lonely bottle, knowing that once we finished it, we would not be able to find any more without going back to Cuba. Eventually, I gave in, and made the delicious drinks that I enjoyed on our trip!

Canchánchara

adapted from this famous recipe

Ingredients

  • 0.5 oz / 1Tbsp honey
  • 0.5 oz / 1Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1.5 oz / 3Tbsp  raw rum (I got some Sao Can raw rum in Cuba. If you don’t have raw rum, use white rum.)
  • 1 oz / 2Tbsp water (optional)
  • 1/2 cup cracked ice

Preparation

This can all be made in one glass, but I find the following steps to be the easiest (read: less sticky splash). This is definitely the best option if you are making a number of drinks at once – just pour the drink over the ice in each glass.

  1. In a measuring cup (or something else with a pour spout), add the honey and lemon juice. Stir until the honey is dissolved.
  2. Add the rum and water (if using).
  3. Add the ice to the glass you will be drinking out of, and pour the drink into the glass.

I added a purple basil leaf as a garnish, mostly for colour. I think I might try to make a purple basil Canchánchara… that would totally rock.

About Food

Bees & Cheer

Cheese N Beer - Belgian Beer

I recently had the pleasure of attending the “Beer School for Cheese Fans – Best of Belgium”, with brewmaster Sam Corbeil. This tasting event took place at the Leslieville Cheese Market West Market (541 Queen St. West, Toronto).

I’ve been a bit of a cheese dork for a while now, very slowly trying new fun cheeses and resisting the urge to become a total cheese “snob”. It’s only been the last few years that I’ve even been open to drinking beer, however.

J has always enjoyed trying new beers, and back in 2007 we were in Boston when he had me try a locally brewed, unfiltered wheat beer with fennel and cardamom. My opinion took such a sharp change in direction that we spent the rest of our trip trying new beers… and enjoying them! Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out what kinds of beers I like (and almost more importantly, which ones I don’t like).

Beer and cheese are now two of my favourite things. So it makes sense that someone would see “Beer School for Cheese Fans” and instantly think of me 🙂 Yes, this tour of deliciousness was a gift from a good friend (thanks!).

Cheese N Beer - Blue Haze

Blue Haze, a smoked blue cheese

Tonight’s tour paired 5 Belgian style beers with 5 different cheeses. The beers were all very different, and very tasty. I think that I had only had the Mill St. Wit before. Sam, who was doing the presentation, said something that I hadn’t thought of before – beer naturally pairs with cheese, because their flavours are more similar. I thought about this, and realized there’s at least some truth to it. It always seems like you choose foods that compete (favourably) with some flavours in wine, whereas there really isn’t that battle with beer. We ended up buying some crazy smoky blue cheese, and some cave-aged gruyere. We tried to buy some of the salty sheep’s milk cheese, but it was sold out by the time we made up our minds.

  • Mill St. Belgian Wit / Mouton Rouge (a salty sheep’s milk cheese)
  • Duvel / Morbier (creamy cheese with an ash vein)
  • Chimay “White Cap” Triple / cave aged Gruyere
  • Goulden Carlous “Classic” / Sauvagine, a creamy soft cheese,  on sausage
  • Trois Pistoles  / Blue Haze, a smokey blue cheese,  on rye crackers

In the end, I have to say that the Blue Haze was a great choice. A little bit of blue plus a little bit of smoke make a really good pair – and it tastes AMAZING on fresh Ciabatta bread (thanks, J-dog!).