Labour Day Weekend

In about 1 hour planes will start to screech over my back garden and I will feel strong bonds with residents of the serene Gaza Strip and beautiful downtown Kabul. With the earth moving under my feet and the foundations of the house shaking, I am feeling the need to cook. The cooking things that stood out this week are: The arguement over no knead bread on SOUNDS LIKE CANADA, on the CBC with Shelagh Rodgers, Liz Driver and Bonnie Stern. I might have to try the bread out this weekend and pressure cookers are beginning to sound intriuqing. 'The husband' hates the CBC and thinks me and a pressure cooker could be a very bad mix. In the Bread agruement Liz Driver states that pioneers used yeast usually gotten from the local brewery. http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/foodanddrink.html or http://www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/recipes/noknead.html Maybe thats what influenced my second discovery: The Grand River Brewing Company where I met and chatted with the knowledgeable Brewer Rob Creighton. Really who could resist "Bumbleberry Beer" on a road sign. He tells me that one of the beers I purchased was best drunk from a chalice. Great website with recipes with beer. http://www.grandriverbrewing.com/index.php And last but not least I also bought myself a John Deere..... cast iron frying pan.... who knew. I visited one of my favourite stores, The TSC http://www.tscstores.com/. They have the neatest stuff you ever didn't know you actually needed, but sadly no chalices. I need to season my John Deere today and drink my beer, I have no idea what's on the menu yet but I feel the need for earthiness and harvest, maybe I am just lacking iron... my new pan has added fringe benefits in that department. Now if I only had found the 'holy grail' literally, I would have a perfect chalice for my beer while I crane my neck looking for those F18's.

"til Burnham wood comes to Dunsinaine"

I may have spelt that wrong, I believe it was Duncan's line in Macbeth. I do know it was from Macbeth as it was continually quoted during my childhood. We lived on Burnhamthorpe Road, but I digress.

I was channeling Lady Macbeth this weekend, by cooking beets. If you have ever contemplated murder, peel a few beets and you might just get it out of your system. Its the closest most of us will ever come to oozing sanguine out of a living thing , other then CSI I suppose, and really that's a good thing.

Beets are something you either love or hate. I happen to love them either roasted or pickled, red or golden, canned or fresh. In France you can buy them in fours pre-roasted and peeled in a shrink wrapped package. Take them home and slice them up into almost anything. I particularly love them cold, in salads and turning everything around them a delightful shade of pink.

One of our very first dinners with "the husband" as new house owners was a beet dressing on Boston lettuce from Martha Stewart. I processed it in a too small mini chopper and it went everywhere in the the kitchen and on me. Undaunted and slightly pinker I poured this magenta sauce over the bright chartreuse leaves of lettuce and it looked like something off a Disney set. Our guests came running to see the what the "oh my goodness that's a bit strange looking" thing was in the kitchen. It tasted good though.

Here is my Garlicky Pink Salad.

I bunch of beets. (3-6 depending on the size)

salt and pepper

3/4 cup of walnut halves

Juice of 1/2 lemon

roughly the same amount of Walnut oil ( or Olive Oil if you have not)

1 garlic clove

3/4 cup of Balkan yogurt (optional)

Place the beets in a baking dish with a lid, lightly season with salt and pepper. Pour enough water in the bottom to cover the bottom by about 1cm. Put the lid on and roast for about 1 hour at 400' or until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Toast the walnut halves for about 8 minutes until fragrant, remove from oven and let cool.

Combine, lemon juice and oil and grate the clove of the garlic into it.

Peel the beets and roughly chop, crumble the walnut meats in your hands into the beets and the juice and lemon and carefully combine. Season with salt and pepper. Gently but firmly stir in the yogurt and let the flavours mingle for about an hour in fridge if its wildly hot or at room temp if not so.

You could stop finish the salad before the yogurt bit but you would miss the lovely pinkness of it all or crumble feta cheese instead.

Blast some 'Pink' on the ipod and get this party started, just for the heck of it.

Murder Most Foul

It's been ages since I posted, so long in fact that I forgot how to sign in and my profile is gone. Oh well adds to the sense of mystery I suppose. Who got murdered your asking yourself I bet. I grew up as the youngest of a family of five children. We never had "pets", although my mother grew up in a house full of them. Whenever we would ask for a dog or cat, we got the standard answers. Your my little pet. It wouldn't be fair to the animal When you grow up with your own house, you can do whatever you want then. 3 out the the five of us have pets. I and my sister both don't.... until yesterday that is....... I bought 5 goldfish for my pond. Picture now the scene of the crime, back garden pond. Yesterday at 4pm, 5 fish..... this morning at 9am.....Gone. Fishnapping is now a serious crime in our area of Toronto! Or perhaps it was murder by those masked bandits, Rocky Raccoon and gang. Either way they are gone and I am devastated. Anyway I should plan the wake.... and I am thinking fish for dinner......grim reality

Rainy Saturday in June

Oh, it is June already. I didn't realize until today that April and May had flown by with seemingly record speed. April started with a wonderful trip to Paris, and then two weeks of recovery. May besides work, was full of the business of the garden, cleaning, moving and planning. And then finally the process of planting. I actually do very little of the cleaning, moving and planting stuff, it is the almost exclusive domain of 'the husband'. I do the planning or at least try too, it is sort of a mad romp through the garden centre to buy this years 'must have'. I say mad romp because 'the husband' and I are competing for the garden space! We actually both sneak plants home, Thursday two rose bushes and 2 lilies just appeared on the patio! 'The husband' also laid a new brick boarder for the path and I replaced 4 dianthus along its sides. He also confiscated my rock garden which I planted last year and revamped it. Its been busy. Last weekend was our anniversary and a nothing too fabulous meal (Okay it was truffled roast chicken) ..... But this weekend will include the 'Lucy Waverman' menu from the Globe and Mail today. Shrimp Cakes, and Roasted Asian chicken with rice stuffing. I found a new fabulous store for fresh vegetables and fancy food stuffs, so I off to do the shopping, oh did I mention it is also a Garden Centre...something might just have to follow me home for the garden, we actually do need some more geraniums. Really! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060603.WAVERMAN03/TPStory/?query=lucy+waverman

Love at First Sight

I am in love, truly, madly, deeply............. I went to the 'Interior Design Show' yesterday. A very nice gentleman from 'Maison la Cornue' introduced me to my new object of desire. She is sleek, shiny and with just the of sparkling metal accent (like most French women she wears the perfect amount of jewelry) I fell madly in love. Her name is CornueFe. She comes with five burners and two ovens and is solid as a rock, I have turned my back on 'Aga' and added this to the dream list. The two ovens open by swinging out sideways like cabinet doors, one could be conventional electric and one either gas with salamander or convection oven. 'Yippee!' The salesman offered me a glossy expensive looking catalogue and price list in a sexy little colour coordinated bag. He then said 'CornueFe' was much more affordable for a modest budget, 'Youpe' (French for Yippee). Without skipping a breath he said, in the $9000 dollar range, I must have fooled him with my 'Longchamp' purse. Yup, as the smile slid away from my face, I thanked him and 'modestly' added 'CornueFe' to my dream list................ I told 'the husband' I would sacrifice the Hermes 'Kelly Bag" off the list for this little baby................ Sadly, he was unmoved by my unselfishness. I did move one step closer to the reality of having one of these lovely creatures in my kitchen, I pasted the picture into the inside of my pantry door. It doesn't cost anything to dream, 'the husband' chuckled, nervously. I told him the one I really wanted starts at $31,000 US prior to taxes and shipping.

Sunday Dinner in Paris

On the occasion of turning 40, yes really, in April me and two great friends (also turning 40) are going to slip away for a week in Paris. Its booked and confirmed and now all we need to do is decide what we want to do. I have found myself as the reluctant tour organizer. I don't really consider myself an organizer, compared to these formidable women one with 5 children and one with 2, I have really only ever had to organize myself. 'The Husband' pretty much does as he is told. What do they want to do and see? It is the first trip to Paris for both, and only my second. This could be disastrous, the blind leading the blind. So, this weekend I have been reading up on sites, museums, shopping and restaurants. I started to search for a restaurant that would be open for dinner on a Sunday Night. With this particular task I was not having a whole lot of luck. But what I did stumble upon was this www.jim-haynes.com. Mr. Haynes an American/Scottish expat hosts a dinner party every Sunday. Very nice your thinking, an intimate gathering for a select few friends? Right? WRONG The dinner is for 50 -100 people and the invitation is posted on his website for anyone. Come one, come all, just phone and then confirm on the Sunday Morning. Added bonus, there are recipes on the site as well, Boeuf Bourguignon any one? Enough for 25 to 100 people (http://www.jim-haynes.com/contact/recipe/recipe2.htmand it looks good too! Complete cookbook coming soon. Well if this guy can organize a really large group of almost complete strangers, I (now have renewed hope)can organize two good friends. From their feedback, they really just want to be able to eat couple of meals, do some shopping, and have some 'me' time in peace. Oh the joys of motherhood.

Valentine's

Have you ever had a love hate relationship? Firmly in the February Blaw's and I am caught in the middle of a bad love triangle. My love triad is with my clothes, food and The Cheese Boutique. The Cheese Boutique, obviously never got the memo regarding , rude staff, lack of service and selection that is the deriguer of retail shopping in Toronto. I love and hate this store all at the same time. If you are looking for cheese, come here. If you are looking for cheese selection, come here If you are looking for cheese education, come here. If you are looking for smug service people who don't care about what they do, don't come here because you won't find it. My love is also based on the fact that, if you are looking for some obscure hard to find ingredient, come here. I was in France, bought a mustard from guy who swore up and down it was made by his wife on a farm down the road, found it again at The Cheese Boutique. The problem is that things you never even knew you needed, wanted or sometimes even knew existed in Canada are also here. And here in lies the hate, they just follow you home. I went in earlier this week to buy Duck Fat. Simple, one ingredient right! ( I am making casoulet this weekend) I walked out with, spices, peppers, real French beans for the casolout, and two fabulous cheeses, the mustard Violet and a great French stick. I had forgotten what I had come for. Went again today to get the duck fat only. Got Duck Fat, Walnut Oil, more French beans......And crap they had Truffles...............They had truffles bigger then my fist. As 'the husband' walked through the door on Friday, he got a truffle for Valentines. Saturday we sauted, filet Mignon and served with a Pechement and Truffle reduction. Yum.

Roast Beast with Smirking Bastards

You know I give my mother a lot of guffaw, concerning cooking. A lot of it is well deserved. She is the 'Master' of well done. But she has always meant well and we never went hungry (She does make a killer 'apple crisp'). My mother did give me exposure to the city beyond my front door. I remember going to 'Chinatown' where we would buy blue and white 'rice bowls', rattan mats, sandalwood soap, slippers and all the exotic things that were not for us in the suburbs. I also remember snagging a size 4 raw silk Alfred Sung suit that I, and my friends wore for years. We would walk right by the hanging flattened Peking ducks along Spadina, ( avert your eyes girls) and be marshaled through the cafeteria at 'Shopsy's Deli' for lunch. Where we were instructed that we had to order apple juice to eat with our meal to conform to 'Jewish Dietary Laws' because we would not have been allowed to have milk in our tea. I don't remember anything remarkable about the smoked meat sandwiches, but I do remember the time when my sister Clare pointed out that they had a 'Pepsi' machine that we felt that we had been rooked into apple juice by our parents. Shopsy's is gone from Spadina and moved to a higher rent district and the days of a 'kosher deli' in the core of downtown have all but vanished. As an adult, I have discovered that I like my beef medium, which is something that I never had growing up. And I love asparagus, which is not that 'unaffordable' of a vegetable and I like it ' al dente' . That being said, you might be wondering what on earth a 'smirking bastard' is? Anyone who has read 'Acquired Tastes' by Peter Mayle might know. A smirking bastard is the waiter in a restaurant that sells asparagus 'by the inch' and 50$ lamb chops for lunch ( published in 1986 ). And as well it is a joke between the 'husband' and I, its what we call white asparagus, one of the ultimate in midwinter decadence (Truffles would be dipping into the long term savings plan). This is an adaption of an two LCBO recipes one, http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?action=recipe&language=1&recipeID=217&recipeType=1 and the other adapted for the oven from ' France, love at first sip' undated. The Roast Beast: Marinade 3 tbsp Grape or violet mustard ( or coarse Dijon) 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp dried Herbes de Provence 1 tbsp chopped garlic 1 tbsp olive oil freshly ground pepper one 2.5-lb beef fillet roast Sauce 6 tbsp cold butter, divided into 1 tbsp sections 1 cup thinly sliced onions ( two small) 1 tsp sugar 1/4 cup ruby port 1/4 cup white wine 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 cups beef broth Salt and freshly ground pepper Combine marinade ingredients and brush over roast. Marinate at room temp for a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 450 degrees ( it really helps to have a super clean oven) . Place roast on rack over a roasting pan ( I wrap the pan in foil for easier clean up.) Bake for 40 minutes for medium . Remove from oven Place on board and let sit for 10 - 30 minutes. Meanwhile, you have popped the roast in, heat 2 tbsp butter in skillet on medium-high heat, reserving remaining butter. Add thinly sliced onions and saute until softened and slightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add sugar, cook 1 minute, add port, wine and balsamic vinegar. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes or until wine is reduced almost evaporated . Add broth and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining butter piece by piece until sauce thickens. Smirking bastards: White asparagus Fleur de sel Steam asparagus, sprinkle with lovely crunchy 'fleur de sel' or sea salt. Serve beef thinly sliced with sauce on top , asparagus, green salad and potatoes if desired.

She is so cute!

I just had to share this with you all. This is my great niece on her first visit to the dentist. I think I want to go to this dentist ( although my current dentist is very nice, unhurtful and really cute). You get to dress up as the toothfairy and they take your picture, how great is that? Sure beats the sadistic dentist's, who drilled for gold, that I went to as a kid.

Tarragon Roast Chicken

Could it already be halfway through January? I have really been slack with my posts for my Blog during the last quarter of 2005. I could use the excuse that I was busy at work, relentless travel schedule, crunching numbers and burning the midnight oil to finish out the year on a corporate high. I was really busy, and I have only been to Vancouver, Barrie, Orillia, Bracebridge. Not necessarily glamorous and mostly not work related. I really never crunch numbers, unless eating cookies shaped as numbers or balling up the change from shopping and throwing it into the bottom of my purse instead of my wallet counts. I have been really busy at work running a product blitz, designing a new training program, National Sales Meetings and product presentations. But I have always found the time to be cooking something, it brings out my creativity..... And Santa ( aka 'the husband') gave me some truly wonderful cookbooks for Christmas. Also my sisters gave me a really great one from Vancouver called "La Regalade", by Alain Raye. But truthfully, I was just too lazy. I just slacked off. I just got back home from a week away from home. Monday through Thursday, I was at a national sales meeting away from my home but as a guest in my own city. It was really cool to be a tourist and tour guide on your home turf. But tonight I have a tiny tickle in the back of my throat and craving food from my own kitchen, and on the menu is Roast Chicken. Comfort food. This is just a basic roast chicken, I have made it with and without the Tarragon and with all sorts of other herbs like thyme or rosemary even with cilantro all of which taste great. I have also made it 3 at a time to feed a crowd. It is super easy, smells and tastes great, and your guests ( if they mostly eat out of boxes) will think you have reached a stage in your cooking akin to splitting the atom. Be creative have fun it will be our little secret. 1 chicken 2 small onions roughly chopped olive oil 3 - 5 sprigs fresh Tarragon 1 lemon, quartered seasalt ( or any other salt you may have on hand) 3 tablespoons of melted butter toasted slices of French bread Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove any giblets from chicken, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Generously salt the inside of the bird. Roughly chop the Tarragon. Loosely stuff, the chicken with about 1/2 to 3/4 of the lemon and Tarragon. Place the onions in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and place the chicken on top and any left over lemon. Brush with melted butter and place in a preheated oven for about 1 hour or until the juices run clear ( if you are doubling or tripling adjust the time accordingly). Remove chicken from the pan and rest for 15 minutes but keep warm. Drain excess fat off the top of the juices in the pan. I toast my French bread in a pan on the stove top as rough croutons with olive oil and a bit of garlic but in a pinch I guess you could just throw them into the regular toaster. Place the croutons on a platter, slice chicken and place on top. Pour the pan juices , onions and any blackened roasted lemons from outside of the bird over it. The crisp bread will soak up all the juicy sauce, yummy. Serve with Green Beans and a salad, if desired add some couscous as a extra side for a crowd.