This is so simple. You can either make a fish broth by boiling the head of a fish with a bay leaf and some peppercorns (celery and carrots if you've got time to burn), or boil Nordic shrimp and save the cooking water. OR buy a carton or bottle of fish broth. Chicken broth or … [Read more...] about Simple Fish Soup with Quebec Turbot
Hannah Brook Farms, Purple Rubber Boots and Gumption
It’s 8 a.m. and I’m crouching in a field of watercress on an organic farm in Southeast Vancouver. I’m wearing purple rubber boots and sitting on my haunches to snip the green, rounded leaves. Sally is in front me, also picking the curly-stemmed plant. I’m going to marry her son, … [Read more...] about Hannah Brook Farms, Purple Rubber Boots and Gumption
Made With Love: Maqluba from Yotam Ottoleghi and Sami Tamimi’s “Jerusalem”
It comes in threes, love. And in so many forms. First, in the romantic idea of a recipe. If that sounds like hyperbole, go to a bookstore and look, just look at a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's cookbook, Jerusalem. It's art. You want to make everything. It doesn't … [Read more...] about Made With Love: Maqluba from Yotam Ottoleghi and Sami Tamimi’s “Jerusalem”
Pickling This: Poblano Chili Peppers with Green Tomatoes and Peruvian Oregano
That's just a fancy way of saying I had a bunch of green, mild-ish chili peppers and needed a recipe to preserve them. It's a simple brine. I wanted to make the kind of green chili peppers you find in cans and need for all sorts of Mexican dishes. But it seems that chilies made … [Read more...] about Pickling This: Poblano Chili Peppers with Green Tomatoes and Peruvian Oregano
How to Cook Whole Fish
When I buy a fish and the fishmonger fillets it for me and tries to throw out the head and bones, I almost cry. What a waste! You're paying $20 for two slivers of flesh. But if you keep that head and vertebrae, you have two more meals worth of quality protein. No, you're not … [Read more...] about How to Cook Whole Fish
Seared Mackerel with Peaches (or Figs) and Ratatouille
I saw chef Becky Selengut make this at the Queen Anne Farmers Market in Seattle with peaches instead of figs last year. You can make it with either. Right now the Greek and California figs are in Montreal groceries. but so are Ontario peaches. The California peaches taste better, … [Read more...] about Seared Mackerel with Peaches (or Figs) and Ratatouille
Sarah B: An Absinthe Bar in Old Montreal
The Intercontinental Hotel in Montreal is a little intimidating. It connects directly into Square Victoria, bastion of downtown finance, so I never know where one ends and the other begins. And there are multiple levels in the hotel, with bars and restaurants divided amongst them … [Read more...] about Sarah B: An Absinthe Bar in Old Montreal
Off to the Gaspésie to Cater to Entrepreneurs
I've never been east of Rimouski. But I remember the world's most beautiful sunsets and a long drive. Today will be longer. I'm driving 11 hours to the tip of Quebec, as far east as I can get before I fall off the land, a feeling I know well from living in St. John's, … [Read more...] about Off to the Gaspésie to Cater to Entrepreneurs
How Does Your Garden Grow?
This year I meant to document my garden's progression from plot of nothingness to feast of green. That was the plan, anyway. But life never quite works out as you plan, does it? In the grand scheme of things, not plotting the course of a tomato to fruit explosion is not the end … [Read more...] about How Does Your Garden Grow?
Strawberry Summer Salad
Don't worry. You don't need all these ingredients for the salad. It's a variation on a theme. If you don't have sorrel (and who has sorrel if it's not in their garden?) or holy basil or pickled cabbage, who cares? The recipe can't see you. And it's made up, anyway. Strawberry … [Read more...] about Strawberry Summer Salad