It was a heck of a zucchini season, wasn't it? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't feel bad. For anyone who had giant leaves draping over trellises, weighing them down to the point of collapse, their two-foot-long fruit dangling above the ground, you get it. … [Read more...] about Zucchini Pickles and the Mighty Squash
Dry-Brined Fish with Roasted Tomatoes
What do you do with the leftover salt and sugar cure from your homemade gravlax? Why, make dinner, of course. If you add it to other fish or meat and let it sit about 30 minutes it soaks into the flesh and does a mini-cure. Then you rinse off the cure and roast the fish fillets … [Read more...] about Dry-Brined Fish with Roasted Tomatoes
How to Cure Salmon – The Cheap and Easy Way
You're supposed to drown the fish in vodka. Most recipes think so, anyway. Or gin. Or any high-proof alcohol that can seek into the fish's flesh and denature it. Denature: to cook without heat. Like what happens when you ferment cabbage into sauerkraut. But in this case there's … [Read more...] about How to Cure Salmon – The Cheap and Easy Way
Top Restaurants for MTL à Table
Does it seem strange to anyone else that Montreal's restaurant week is actually 11 days long? I guess "Montreal Restaurant Week and a Half" isn't as catchy. In any case, from October 30th to November 9, 2014 a ton of the city's top restaurants are offering three or four-course … [Read more...] about Top Restaurants for MTL à Table
Horrible Mistakes, Getting it Right, and Peach, Tamarind and Tarragon Pie
Have you ever made a horrible mistake? I'm talking worse than starting a grease fire when your confit cooking goes awry. Worse than overcooking fish. Even worse than deflating mousse. Actually, if you type "disaster" in the search bar of my blog you'll come up with a whole slew … [Read more...] about Horrible Mistakes, Getting it Right, and Peach, Tamarind and Tarragon Pie
Chocolate Sourdough and Dried Apricot, Fig, Date, Cranberry, and Apple Turkey Stuffing
This is what you need to make tonight for Thanksgiving. First, Bonnie Stern had a stuffing recipe up for Rosh Hashannah, and it seemed like a waste to stuff turkey breasts with it. You have to cut open all the breasts and you can never get enough of the delicious filling in … [Read more...] about Chocolate Sourdough and Dried Apricot, Fig, Date, Cranberry, and Apple Turkey Stuffing
Artisanal Saké in Vancouver
In Vancouver's Granville Market sits the country's only saké producer and brewpub with its own Canadian rice paddy. I think there are only two saké makers in Canada (the other in Toronto's Distillery District), but this one in Vancouver owns a rice paddy not far from the city. It … [Read more...] about Artisanal Saké in Vancouver
Two Farmers Markets Diverged in an Green City…
...and I did travel both. Screw you, Frost. I was going to call the post "A War of Two Farmers Markets," but that wasn't fair, because there really isn't a war between the Trout Lake Market and the Granville Island Market. They're just different. And one's not really a farmers … [Read more...] about Two Farmers Markets Diverged in an Green City…
Soup for a Rainy Day
Sometimes I feel like my digestive system is over-worked, it’s unionized and is picketing…kind of like the firefighters, but with fewer pension benefits. So, like any good enlightened despot, I like to give my stomach a false reprise. I make soup in an effort to convince it … [Read more...] about Soup for a Rainy Day
Sustainable Sushi in Vancouver
Shizen Ya. Organic brown rice. Sustainable fish. And they told me to avoid the pickled ginger. All that to make my meal as eco-friendly (and gluten-free—the ginger) as possible. And it was tasty. The brown rice didn't taste too whole-grain-y. The spinach gomae was n a thick … [Read more...] about Sustainable Sushi in Vancouver