The Culinary Rules

When cooking I want authenticity, I want to create something from nothing, that is why I have certain rules when it comes to recipes.

1. All Ingredients Must Be Easily Found

Some of the more uppety cookbooks have ingredients that there is no way I'll be able to find, even in a well stocked grocery stores or world markets. That is why I'm limiting my cooking to foods that we can all make, thankfully Canada ia multicultural so ingredients from other countries is not going to be too difficult with a little bit of hunting and the occasional stink eye from the regulars. I'm talking about the foo-foo nouveau chefs who put "wild squirrel cheeks in truffle sauce" in their books and expect any of us not to roll our eyes. Might be fun to post some of these up though just for gits and shiggles.

2. No Healthy Conscious Substitutes

There may be a need to substitute or omit some ingredients from time to time, but when a recipe asks for whole milk, I'm assuming it comes from a cow and not a soy bean. For the sake of authenticity and getting as close to what the chef had in mind, I would like to stay as true to the ingredients as I can. No low-fat, vegan alternatives unless this is specifically what the recipe asks for.. There will always be an issue when making recipes from countries with no GMO as the food quality is much better there IMO.

3.  Everything From Scratch

Well, maybe not everything. I'm more talking about recipes that include sausages, pre-made puff pastries, cans of soup, etc. Sure your food is going to taste good if you buy the pre-made flavour base. I don't want to make food taste better by adding better tasting food, I want to make it out of the raw ingredients, from scratch, so I know exactly what is in it and I know I can reproduce it without having to rely on some pre-prepared ingredients. Maybe I'll give condiments a pass, but I've made my own mayo and it is a thing of beauty.

4. Simple Accessible Tools

I do not own a sous-vide machine or even a stand up mixer. Although I do have a food processor (daddy loves you) an air fryer and slow cooker, but that's about it. If a recipe calls for the use of a stand alone, uncommon tool, I'll exclude it. I'd love to buy an ice cream machine, but it would have to make bread, self clean and do my taxes for that amount of money.

5. There Is No Five

Four rules doesn't look too cool so I made this one. I'm sure as I'm going through recipes something else will come up. But I'll reserve the space. 

Always Leave Them "Wonton" More

"Let's go out for Dim Sum sometime." Words I never thought I's here comin gout of my wife's mouth. Largely due to an incident  in Detroit where she got food poisoning from chinese take out. And it didn't help that her old housemate would regularly get sick after buying and eating discount meat from the chinese market.  I have fond memories of Dim Sum in my Ottawa years, a tasty and inexpensive lunch shared among friends so I am definitely up for it anytime.  So far I haven't tracked down a location that I am confident with but there are a few contenders. But until we have our date night at a local T.O. spot. What's to stop me from making some at home?

Chicken feet aside (tried it, not a  fan) The most popular item on the Dim Sum menu are the assorted pot stickers. I've made them before and can easily find a decent recipe for any assortment of flavours. But most cookbooks generally skip the recipe for the wontons. This was made clear to me by a recent visit to Chapters, as I perused the Asian cookbooks, not a single one had a simple wonton wrapper recipe. What gives? I know they are easily found in most grocery stores (aside from my local No Frills, jerks, finally found them with the salad greens) but I thought it would be like reading a decent italian cookbook which generally have a simple pasta recipe within it's pages. Not the case. So with a bit of googling, I found that the wrappers are not only simple to make, but are pretty much the same as egg noodles. I was thinking rice flour, but nope, just good ol' A.P.F.

I had just bought a whole organic chicken and used the breasts to make chicken fingers for the girls the night before, and was brining the legs and thighs. So I thought I'd use them for a potsticker filling. Using a "Pork and Cabbage" recipe from Asian Bites - Tom Kime as my frame for this effort.  Did I succeed? Not so much. But in a good way. I made the dough for the wontons, then the filling. But just as I started rolling out the dough, my family burst through the door. Out of time. So with the chicken and cabbage filling still warm on the stovetop. I threw a pot of water on, pulled almond sized  pieces off of the dough into a bowl. Threw them in the boiling water and a quick strain and used the residual heat and starchy liquid to reheat and sauce up the meat. And oh man, it may not be dim sum, but it was tasty. Next time. Start an hour earlier. But for now, maybe I've come up with a new family staple.

Slow and Steady wins with Taste!!!

Yes, wins the taste...Bravo, Christos...

I am of course referring to the age old art of slow cookery. On our recent trip to our storage unit to drop off our environmentally friendly christmas tree (plastic Canadian Tire tree) and I dug out our old slow cooker. Nothing fancy, not even a shut off timer. But I thought I'd give it a test run. Try to make some fix it and forget it goodness. So far I've made a couple of dishes with it. One was a vegetarian curry recipe I got out of a no name slow cooker magazine. Thoroughly underwhelmed with that one despite my wife and her sister's compliments. I thought they were being generous but they even had seconds; so either vegetarians are use to bland or my tastebuds are losing their subtlety. But the next dish, A mahogany chicken that mimics the flavour of those ducks you see hanging in chinatown windows. This recipe I got out of a slow cooker cookbook from my trusty ole library. Art of the Slow Cooker by Andrew Schloss. I had to make some adjustments due to my lack of various soy sauces and chinese cooking wines. Back with my vegetarian thai experiments light soy was used in place of fish sauce so I reversed the dish and used the fish sauce in soy's place, along with tamari and bragg's aminos and brown sugar, I made something very tasty. Sweet, Salty, Savoury, and dark, right down to the bone, and I am a bone chewer from way back so chewing through the softened bone and taste the brine in the marrow left a very good impression.

Apparently,  because the cooker is always covered, there is no concentration of flavouring liquids as it simmers away. In fact the liquid increases with the juices released from the meat and veg. What happens instead is the liquid impregnates the food in the slow cooker, much like a brine. this may be why hunks of meat took to it better than slices of vegetable. But I'm sure if the flavours in the curry were stronger, it would have worked.

Mr. Schloss tends to skillet fry most of his ingredients for a few minutes before adding them to the cooker. then when the cooking is done, remove the meat and add a thickener like cornstarch, breadcrumbs, instant potato flakes as the recipe suggests, or just simmer the sauce down. At this point, I can figure out what flavours can add a lot to a dish with a slow and low cooking time. So I see great things ahead with my slow cooker.

You Thought You Knew: Bread Crumbs!

I have been betrayed by Bread Crumbs!!!

I always keep some bread crumbs in my pantry, as most people do, it always useful for filler, breading, etc. and I use it as a key ingredient in my bean burgers. Sometimes I splurge and get the Panko, but I usually just stick to the most generic stuff I can find. Recently I was making some food for a Baby Shower and realized I was out, so in a rush, I went to the convenience store downstairs. All they had was the "Italian-Style" breadcrumbs, with parmesan, herbs, and a crapload of things that I didn't want to feed a bunch of pregnant women. But with time being an issue, I guiltily used the store bought, preservative rich italian. Vowing to never buy it again because of the poop it came with.

Not long after I went to the big chain grocery store to stocked up on supplies, grabbed the good ol' bread crumbs I usually buy as I gave the stink eye to the "italian-style" next to it. And thought to have a look at the ingredients listed on the regular crumbs. And wouldn't you know it. Aside from the flavourings in the italian, all the same preservative and modified hoodads were in my staple crumbs. A little light-headed from this realization, I bolted from the store with a deep sense of betrayal (this is a dramatization) the same betrayal when you realize your mom has been using Knorr's salt and MSG blend. (A.K.A Stock) for the wholesome meals you have been eating since you were a pup.

So where do I turn for fresh breadcrumbs? I tried drying out my own bread, which is not as convenient in a pinch. But then I thought. Why not dry them out in the oven, and then another thought, why not bake them in small cubes like crutons, and then the big daddy of all thoughts. Why not make some killer crutons and grind them up? BAMMM!!! a star is born. With a 3-4 of slices of good quality bread, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and paprika, baked for 10 min. or less. then a few whizzes in the processor. You have a cup of the most wonderful breadcrumbs that would put any storebought to shame. When I tried it on my next batch of bean burgers, it gave them a wonderful crunch as if they had been slightly breaded as well as a whole new level of flavour. Free of any preserves or mods. Hurray for thinking!!!!

Meat Free Menu:BlackBean & Corn Sliders

In my never ending quest to find food that is tasty and good for you. I continue to try and find meals that are meat free and not only taste good, but keep you feeling full. So I search through multiple vegan cookbooks and try to find things that I think will fill my needs. In my search I fell upon a cookbook called "Spork-fed" written by two vegan sister whose names escape me, but look like delightful vegans from Los Angeles, where all vegans come from. I may have messed around with the recipe, but probably not, and call me what you will, I didn't track down vegan worchestershire sauce. I figure a little anchovy juice doesn't hurt when you have replaced the rest of the burger with beany goodness. I omitted the corn my first time out, but have since added it and tastes just as good. I really like the fact that I get to put in oats. I think it gives it a chewy texture that helps me not miss the meat.

Catering the Shower Pt. 2 (shopping)

Well I didn't get to post prior to the event as I was hoping, so I'll do a recap.

Made my final ingredients list and went shopping. Did almost all of it at No Frills. Yes I know I should have gone to the organic market and such. But this was a non-paying gig and as much as I like the guest of honour at this shower and as much money you can save by illiminating meat from the menu. The bill was still going to be well over $100 even at the discount market, so I had to go on the cheap. Not that the food wasn't healthy. Just not organic healthy, and if Michael Pollan has shown me one thing, even the  word "organic"can be sketchy. My shopping excursion was a success except for Hungarian Paprika (which was not a necessity, but a personal choice for the chickballs) and the rice paper wrappers. I was surprised that No Frills and Sobey's either stopped carrying them or were completely out. Even the staff at Sobey's were surprised. We all know what they looked like, we all knew where they would be if they were in stock. But no rice paper. I eventually had to go to the Superstore down the road a ways to pick some up.
With my ingredients in hand I ventured forward into the catering world. Little did I know that being a dad and working in a kitchen your baby daughter and wife refuse to stay out of can lead to a huge headache, cooking at all hours of the night. and illiminating one of the dishes all together. Which one? Tune in next week when I'm not in the middle of my worknight for "Chickballs n' BBQ Sauce"

Catering the Shower

At this writing I can't say whose shower I'm catering. Even though the only person reading this blog is the person writing it. This is more of a place for me to keep track of my recipes, only posting the one's that work. This event is for a vegetarian, so with my new burgeoning interest in cooking meat free. I have undertaken an entirely vegetarian cocktail party menu. At this writing I have come up with a menu. The Party is on Saturday, today is Tuesday, on the schedule today is clearing out the fridge. The party will consist of 30 women. I have opted for 4 dishes, all various cuisines, a couple overlapping so I had to improvise a vegan version of an old greek standard. I hope it works, if not, I can save it with dipping sauce. God bless the dipping sauce. it can turn cardboard into a late night drunken snack (or um...So I've heard)

On the menu:
Mini Leek Tarts with Red Pepper and Feta (a oroven recipe)
Chickpea Meatballs in 2 sauces. (meaty meatless balls with 2 classic sauces, let's hope they hold up)
Mushroom Summer Triangles w/ Mustard Dipping Sauce (something lighter with an asian flair)
Vegan Spanikopita w/ Tzatziki (vegan pita w/ yogurt sauce, I know, but it would be sacrilege to substitute)

60 bitesize pieces each, minimum. oh my.

Up next: The Shopping List!!!

Herb Your Enthusiasm: Basil

What do I know about herbs. What do I need to know? Mainly how they taste, what dishes they work best in, how to use them properly, different types and maybe some health and medicinal attributes. but other than that all the rest of the information is...well, fodder. But fascinating to some. I won't delve too much into the scientific names and such, but I'll just touch on what catches my fancy.

 BASIL: THE FRAGRANT KING!!!

Largely associated to italian cuisine, it is surprisingly not  native to italian soil. It actually is a plant originally from India and tropical parts of asia, where because of the consistant warm weather are perrenials (continuosly growing) plants. The herb has been used for over 5,000 years. Although there are over 40 known varieties the predominantly used would be of the sweet basil variety, of these the Genovese basil is most popular in mediterainian cooking. But the herb is widely used in South Eastern Asian Cuisine, these regions favouring Thai, Lemon, and Holy Basil. I'd Love to try some of those varieties.

Generally the herb is used fresh, and at the end of the cooking process, it's subtle flavours will not withstand the cooking process too well. It's characteristic flavour in my opinion is floral and sweet, with a hint of mint (not surprising since it is a member of the mint family) and an slightly camphor aftertaste, others describe a peppery and clove taste as well. Having just eaten a leaf, I get a baby spinach aftertaste now. If you use dried,  you won't get much more than a hint of the true basil flavour, Still, I always have some on hand. I try to rehydrate it in warm water, but don't think it does much. a more useful suggestion is to chop the basil and freeze it with a little water into an ice cube tray. then just pop it in to your dish when needed.

Basil works extremely well with tomatoes and tomato based sauces, but is also wonderful with cheese, most meat dishes, richer pasta and rice dishes. Works well combined with Garlic, Lemon and/or Thyme.Basically if you want something a little floral to add to your dish, Basil's your herb.
Most popular dishes:

Insalata Caprese (tomato,basil and cheese. Oh my.)

Pesto (Genovian Basil preferred)

Pizza Margherita (pretty much Caprese on Pizza dough)

Gai Pad Gapow (Holy Basil Chicken Batman!)

Other things to note; basil grows well in sunlight so if you've got good exposure on your window sill, you'll never have to buy basil again, the more sunlight, the more aromatic the basil, this is all heresay, I face the cold, dark north in my condo. Also interesting is it's wonderful affect in your innards, helps with vomiting, flatulance, constipation, and is also known to act as a mild sedative. hmmph, the things you learn. Maybe I'll have a cup of basil tea at the end of a long day or a questionable meal out.

Well that's it for my first Herb Your Enthusiasm. I'll attach a Basil based recipe I've tried in the near future to round this posting up. Until then. Love, Learn, Eat!!!

Shame on Stamos: "Greek" Yogurt De-mystified

When I was a boy my mother would often make Tzatziki and she would always use thickened yogurt that she made herself. Not the yogurt (although she can and does on occasion) but the thickened yogurt that has recently been gaining notoriety as "greek" yogurt. I have always seen it various places never paying much mind to it. I figured if someone is in a pinch, they can just grab a container of thickened yogurt to make their last minute greek dipping sauce. Usually these were in clear plastic containers such as you would find in a bulk store. But with this new surge in the market for "greek" yogurt culminating in a new advertising campaign for Oikos starring well known greek icon, uncle Jessie himself, John Stamos. With a price tag double the balkan style yogurt that most likely is it's source I had to ask. Why would anyone pay for something that is literally as easy to make as making a pot of tea. All that is required is a few seconds of "work" and a few hours of time. Is our society so crippled that we can't wait for 4-8 hours for anything? It's yogurt, not a new kidney. Other than those last minute greek dinner parties, I don't know anyone in dire need of thickened yogurt. I looked at the Oikos website to see if there was anything more to their greek yogurt. They even have a "How we make Oikos" page on there in which they reveal that they use a "centuries-old straining method that removes the whey from the yogurt" and that this "requires about three times the milk used to make regular yogurt". Well let me take the time here to de-mystify this most basic of sacred straining methods and in the process explain how three times the milk can me obtain with the same amount of yogurt.

"Greek" Yogurt
1. get a tub of your favorite organic or low fat Balkan Style Yogurt.

2. lay two or three paper towels (or a few layers of cheesecloth) in a seive over a bowl.

3. pour yogurt into paper towel covered seive.

4. cover with plate or pot lid and put in fridge overnight.

5. Remove lid, dispose of bowl of yogurt liquid (whey), what you are left with in the paper towel is thick, creamy greek yogurt, and because of all the liquid removed about a third of the amount which may also be considered "three times the milk" in it's condensed form. Maybe not, I'm not a fancy food scientist.



So, there you have it folks, "greek" yogurt de-mystified, the "centuries old straining method" brought crashing into the modern kitchen. Do I feel guilty for exposing this secret recipe to the world? Well let me put it this way; At over $4 for a small tub, I seriously don't think Dannon are kicking any of that money back to the old world yogurt craftsmen. Better that "greek" yogurt be put back in the hands of mom and pop bakeries who took the time to strain some yogurt so that you could have a last minute dip for your keftedes (greek meatballs). And Stamos, c'mon you're better than that.

Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 5: The Event

Game Day!!!


My day started at 8 AM. Mincing, chopping and frying, and squeezing oh so many limes. I think the count was 14, and I still had to send my wife to pick up one of those squeeze bottles of lime juice, sacrilege or not, I wasn't squeezing one more G.D. lime that night. The desserts were done and out of the way the week before as was the dipping sauces. So all that was left was the main, sides and appetizers(oh my). Ah the appetizers...for future reference; in this day and age, people aren't as into the public eating of fried foods as they use to be, let alone wheat, meat, and heat. So deep fried samosas and spring rolls didn't go over so well with the folks. Although my adventurous friend Michael gave them and the Galangal Emulsion the thumbs up. I didn't mind much since I had these wonderful treats to snack on throughout the week. The Chicken Samosa particularly made me happy.

Onto the sides, The ginger fried rice asked for day old rice which I was happy to accommodate for the day (or two) before. It was such a surprisingly simple dish to make and oh so flavourful that it is now my staple rice dish if I'm in a pinch. The power of slow cooking leeks is undeniable in this dish. The ginger, garlic and fried egg come in to round out the flavour. The lime noodles were tasty, I made the lime syrup the day before, thrown together with some rice noodles and vegetables. I'm sure the vegetarian were pleased with this one. And last was the mango, cherry tomato and long bean salad. I was doubling all the ingredients so that the usual “Serves 4” would accommodate the 8. And although I bought double the vegetables for this salad, I ended up just using the one servings worth, I've made salads before and there's just so much mango and long bean a person will eat. And I didn't need leftover salad taking up fridgespace. It was more than enough.

And as all this was going on my tofu and chicken breast were cooking and blackening away. This was the dish that sparked the event. I needed it to be everything it could be. Biggest lessons learn, double the sauce and lose the kumquats, anything so small with so many seeds should be banned from the kitchen. But all in all, the citrusy sweetness of the kumquat sauce was tasty and I wanted to make “the best chicken” my wife's ever tasted as authentic as a cookbook would let me. Nobody was dissappointed, not even the vegetarians who had my molecularly altered Tofu (frozen, thawed, squeezed, brined, squeezed again and dry rubbed) instead of chicken.

And after a few drinks and great conversation we had the dessert. And you can't go wrong with a chocolate coffee tart and coconut sorbet.

All in all a success, we had a wonderful meal, good wine, great conversation. and all it cost me was a lot of money, a lot of time, two very sore feet and a clean up that wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

Bottom line. 8+ dishes is a lot for one man in a small condo with no cupboard space. But with the grace of god and mainly the help of some very wonderful friends washing dishes, feeding me alcohol, giving me an extra hands in the kitchen, serving up dessert as my feet cooled. It all worked out. They were as much the reason the night was a success as was the food. And I thank you all.

So Jean Georges, I salute you for a wonderful excuse for a wonderful evening. I have learned a lot, forgotten much. Feel more confident in asian supermarkets. Have a new love for sriracha, kimchi and shrimp paste, a new resentment for kumquats and freshly squeezed lime juice. And forever fond memories of that afternoon in NYC where the Spice Market Experience was born.

Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 4: The Prep

Making 2 appetizers with multiple dips, 1 main with a vegetarian option, 3 side dishes and 2 desserts for 8 people may seem impossible for one man. Well if not impossible, then highly inprobable. Shortly after posting the invite it began to dawn on me that my biggest challenge would not be to make these dishes, but to have them done and ready at the appropriate time for serving.


So, I began working on my chart...Yes, I made a chart. With most of my cooking challenges I get myself a nice new notepad to take down notes, recipes, shopping lists, and make prep charts. I began working backwards from the night of the event to prepping, to ingredients, marinades, sauces, to buying ingredients, until I had it down to the smallest detail. Long streetcar rides are great for making charts.

Starting two weeks before the event I began purchasing all the non-perishable ingredients. I also attempted to make pre-made meals as to keep the kitchen free of any unnecessary ingredients or cooking. That didn't work out so well, but I tried my best to stick to sandwhiches and indian boil in a bag meals. I think I also made and froze some potstickers which had me up til 4 in the morning, I watched Solomon Kane, it was a grand ole time.

Week of the event I started buying the longer lasting perishables, onions, lemongrass, galangal, etc. and made my red curry paste and I also started the dessert, Ice cream will keep for a week, as will a couple of pie crusts. And slowly throughout the week I bought groceries, made marinades and sauces, and did as much as I could before the night of, thinking I'd just throw everything together and heat it all up. Easy Peasy...So how did I end up standing in my kitchen for 12 hours straight, madly squeezing limes and slicing mangos?

Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 3: The Recipes

In Thai cooking, afew dishes instantly jump out at you. In my world those are Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup with a similar 4 1/2 S flavouring (salty, sweet, savoury and spicy, and maybe (s)citrusy for an extra s sounding ingredient) a wonderful combination, now if only they threw in smoky.

I am a stickler for working with root ingredients. I wanted to start off with a basic Thai Curry Paste I would use in many of these recipes. There is the red and green variety, separated mainly by the colour of the chilies used. I make this assumption since no two recipes for a curry paste I have seen are the same, green or red.
  JG had a green curry recipe to go along with his Green Curry Lentil recipe. So I figured I'd learn how to make the curry as well as take my first baby step into the “Asian Flavors” cookbook. The curry had all the wonderful new ingredients in it; lemongrass, galangal, shrimp paste, nam pla. The only thing not in the curry was the lime leaves, but they were used in main recipe so I got to try all the new ingredients and see what each one brings to the dish. The results were wonderful, better cold the next day. And the left over green curry didn't last the week. I added it to other thai recipes, as well as eating it with almost everything else.

Next up was Tom Yum Soup. For this I used the Bhudda's Table recipe because it was a little simpler and I wanted to use up the ingredients I already had, plus I got to make Tamarind paste for the first time (this is the main source of the sour “S” for this recipe). The main thing I noticed was how much the lime leaves give this soup it's distinct flavour. The results were not as flavourful as I hoped. I think it was due to my omission of Chili Paste with Soybean Oil because I couldn't find a non MSG ladened version.This recipe was vegetarian and would have called for nam pla (fish sauce) if not. Usually I turn a blind eye to extracts and enhancers, but with a pregnant wife. I tried my best to keep it clean. I finally tracked one down with the addition of basil leaves. It would have to do. The broth was also lacking the subtle sweetness I have come to expect in this soup and just a weaker flavour than I have come to know and love.

My Pad Thai was a combination of two internet finds and it turned out well. Here I use shrimp paste. God all mighty that stuff stinks! But once all the flavours come together. The salty, savoury taste can't be beat. The results were very tasty. A slight sweetness, but as I despise Spring Rolls syrupy sweet Pad Thai Sauce, I was cautious of the sweetness.

I followed these up with a dish I'd be making for the evening. The Grilled Chicken with Kumquat-Lemongrass Dressing. Great dish but pitting those kumquats was annoying but I did learn that I needed to double the sauce recipe as there was barely enough for all the servings. If it weren't for the sliced kumquats I'd say it was meant to be a glaze. But still delicious. So with some familiarity of the ingredients I was ready for the challenge of making multiple dishes for 8 people. Piece of cake!?!?!!

Adventures in The Spice Market Pt 2: The Ingredients

Galangal, Thai Basil, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Shrimp Paste, Fish Sauce, Lemongrass, Tamarind Paste, Shaoxing Wine, Pickled Turnip, Palm Sugar, Vietnamese Coffee. It may surprise you, but most of these ingredients cannot be found at your local Superstore.

Now, Toronto is as multicultural as a city gets so there is no doubt in my mind everything I need is here. But where to find it? I've attempted searching Kensington Market and Chinatown for Galangal in the past with poor results. Kensington had nothing and the chinese markets had no english labels on any of their produce so it was obvious I wasn't there preferred clientele. I'm sure if I asked someone would have helped, but it wasn't a must at the time. I was just tempted to try Tom Yum Soup at home. And I am a bit of a coward when it comes to asking for help.
So I thought for my next attempt, I was going to educate myself on the ingredients as much as possible, what it looks like, what the best quality brands are, AND most importantly, decipher the chinese spelling of the ingredients. Jean-George also gives some brand name suggestions he uses as well as websites to get any obscure ingredients. Here are some sights that came in handy for finding ingredients.

importfood.com - Almost everything Thai food related can be found here.
Kalustyan's - A New York based Asian Spice market that has plenty of imports.
Temple of Thai - Very useful site for putting images to thai brand names.
Thai Table - My personal favorite, full of recipes, images and descriptions of ingredients. A real asset.

As luck would have it though, I live in an amazing part of town. And a T & T Asian market opened up about a 20 min walk from my house. I've been tempted to check it out before but haven't had a reason, well now I do. My first trip there was merely a reconnaissance mission, with my list of obscure ingredients I hit the market to see what they had and didn't have. And to my delight everything was labeled in english as well as Chinese. And to my further delight, everything I needed, except for the good quality Shaoxing Wine was there. Jean-George suggests you don't use the overly salted cooking wine that goes by the same name but if not available, a good quality sherry would do. After searching one of our largest liquor stores for the Shaoxing I decided on the sherry.
But wait!!! What about the vegetarians? Can't be using Fish Sauce and Shrimp Paste on their dishes. What do I do? For this I turned to my library again to find a Thai Vegetarian cookbook called Bhudda's Table by Chat Mingkwan. In which the author points out that Fermented Bean Curd could be used in place of Shrimp paste and Light Soy Sauce (not to be confused with Lite Soy Sauce which is a lower fat version. Light Soy is lighter in colour, but a hell of a lot saltier).

So there I was, in a market full of strange exotic ingredients. What's my next step? Well to really know a cuisine I figured I'd have to play with the ingredients before attempting the recipes on the menu, So my next course of action was to make some Traditional Thai as well as some of the Spice Market dishes to get a better understanding of how and why each ingredient is used.

Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 1: The Menu

First things first, I needed to decide which dishes I was going to make for the evening. There were certain must that had to be included the Char Grilled Chicken with Kumquat Lemongrass Dressing, the "best chicken I've ever tasted" according to my wife. And I really wanted to make a simple but thoroughly pleasing Ginger Fried Rice, it had a sunnyside egg on top that when cuinto the rice made for an unbelievable yolky rich flavourful side dish.

I would have loved to make the beef skewers for appetizers, but without a vegetarian substitute, felt some of my guests would feel left out so I opted for spring rolls, chicken for the meaties and mushroom for the veggies. As for a vegetarian main, Originally I was going to try to substitute Seitan or Marinated Tofu for one of the fish dishes but then thought why not make my life easier and just do the chicken dish with the Tofu. And for dessert, we had the Ovaltine Kulfi which I found a bit too rich, but we also had a very pleasing dish called Thai Jewels and Fruit w/ Coconut Crushed Ice, which was subtle in sweetness and refreshing at the end of the meal. but I'm sure it wouldn't have been a show stopper for anyone else, so I opted for a tart, but to lighten it up I thought I'd add a scoop of Coconut Sorbet. So here's the final menu.

.

Appetizers

Mushroom Spring Rolls & Chicken Somosas (ended up as Spring Rolls)
with 4 dipping sauces: Nam Prik, Galangal Emulsion, Peanut Sauce and Cilantro-Yogurt Dip
Main
Char-Grilled Chicken Breast w/ Kumquat Lemongrass Dressing
Sides
Ginger Fried Rice
Mango, Cherry Tomatoes & Long Bean Salad
Lime Noodles w/ Vegetables, Basil and Sesame Seeds
Dessert
Chocolate & Vietnamese Coffee Tart
Coconut Sorbet

With the recipes selected, my next task would be the most difficult. Finding the ingredients. Ingredients I've never used and some I have never seen.

Adventures in the Spice Market

In the fall of 2010. My wife and a couple of our friends planned a trip to New York City.

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Each of us had a chance to pick one activity they would like to do while there so naturally my choice was a culinary experience in NYC. After a bit of research I decided that the Jean-Georges' Spice Market in the meat packing district was a good choice. Originally I considered his namesake restaurant, but heard that it could be a little cramped at times, plus it would be nice to try his Asian fusion menu.

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I think it's safe to say that everyone was pleased with my selection. The decor was warm and inviting, the waitstaff courteous and professional, and the food...exquisite. We agreed on the Tasting menu. Among the dishes were:

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• Shaved Tuna with Chile Tapioca, Asian Pear and Lime
• Chili Rubbed Beef Skewers with Thai Basil Dipping Sauce
• Char Grilled Chicken with Kumquat Lemongrass Dressing
• Cod with Malaysian Chili Sauce
• Ginger Fried Rice
• Thai Jewels on Crushed Coconut Ice
• Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee Tart with Condensed Milk Ice Cream.

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I'm sure I'm forgetting something but never the less, an unforgettable dining experience. Not to mention the delicious and (literally) intoxicating pitchers of Ginger Margarita's we were drinking, made it a perfect afternoon's feast and a memorable New York experience.

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As we were leaving the restaurant, I noticed a cookbook in the lobby called Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges . Could all of the miraculous dishes that we tasted be in this beautiful book? If not all, then most seem to be in there. My wife insisted we buy this book, but after dropping so much money on lunch on the first day of our NYC adventure. I thought I'd hold off until we got home to check out the price online.

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Now, I own a lot of cookbooks; more than my little condo can hold. I've even made my own out of recipes I've gathered out of magazines and websites so the thought of buying another wasn't so appealing to me. So I decided to see if our trusty Toronto Public Library had the book in it's system. It did. I reserved it. And in a matter of days I had the book in my eager little hands free of cost for 3 weeks, no shelf space required. A good way to try out some recipes without committing.

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Initially I thought I'd just jot down the recipes that we had in NY and see if I could re-recreate them. But with the turning of each page, I found more and more recipes that looked too good to resist. So, bottom line, I ended up typing out 2/3 of the book, with my wife's persistent

urging to "Just buy the dang book!".

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So with the wealth of recipes, full of ingredients I've never used. How could I justify all that time wasted typing out all these wonderful recipes? Have a dinner party of course. An elaborate Thai fusion dinner party to re-produce the wonderful experience of the Spice Market. I sent out an invite to 8 of my more adventurous friends. And then it dawned on me. I'll be cooking for 10 people. 3 of which are vegetarian, 1 of which has a gluten sensitivity, and at least one that cannot handle excessive heat. What have I gotten myself into?!?!

The odyssey begins.

Turkey Stock 2010

Three days of brining, chopping and roasting

The holidays are over and with them this year's turkey dinner. The bird was largely a success, but with some definite lessons for future birds. Especially in the stuffing department. As I mentioned before, I was making the bird at my in-laws place in Halifax, and being a stranger in a strange land left plenty of time for working up a recipe and a plan of attack. As always, I wrote out all the recipes by hand. A little trick I developed first just to copy recipes out of books so as not to ruin them, how many sticky or warped pages are the result of this. And secondly, as a sort of dress rehearsal for the actual day by working out the recipes from prep chopping to cooking schedules so that everything comes out hot at the same time. It gives me the impression that I just made the dish a few days ago rather than a year. So there is a greater confidence in the kitchen, especially a foreign one.

Day 1

Shopping and Brining

The bird was on it's third day of thawing in the neighbor's fridge (long story), still a little frozen which turned out to be a blessing by the end of the day. So today was Brine Day. But first...Shopping!!! Big lesson learned, when working in someone else's kitchen, you never know what they have in their pantry and more importantly how fresh it is. So rather than take inventory, I went to the Bulk Barn where I could get the exact amounts of ingredients I need for the recipes and little goes to waste. And the rest of the goods I picked up at the Superstore, except for ginger and wild mushrooms which were a bit too exotic for the SS so we took a special trip to some organic fruit place for those . The brine was my old faithful Apple Cider brine I suspect I picked up from Canadian Living Magazine years ago. I used the sweet cider, not the hard cider as recipe originally asks for. I've tried both and enjoy the sweetness and the golden colour the non alcohol cider gives the bird. But I've included a combination of both in the recipe.

Day 2
Stuffings!!!

This year, I did something I thought I'd never do. As a kitchen purist I thought if it doesn't involve the turkey, I'm not doing it. But something inside me wanted to make both a meat lovers AND a vegetarian stuffing. Why? who knows, maybe I just wanted to try two different stuffings and needed and excuse. My original plan was a Sausage and Sourdough Bread Stuffing for the meaties, and a Wild Rice and Mushroom Stuffing for the veggies. using the same base and herb mix for both to save myself some work. But at the last minute I made some changes that I would later regret.
Mistake #1
Something made me think that a good substitute for a nice country sausage would be pepperoni. And I'm not even talking about good quality dried stuff. I'm talking about the big processed one's that give you a headache after eating a slice. Why? I thought "well, since there is literally a Pizza joint on every street in Lower Sackville, they must really love their pizza, So why not make the stuffing taste like pizza?" I guess playing to the crowd never really works out and it didn't work out in this case. When you're eating something as subtly flavoured as turkey. The overpowering processed taste of cheap pepperoni really doesn't work. Strike one!!! Although I have to admit, a couple of days later, on it's own. I did mind it. If I added some hunks of mozzerella and a squirt of ketchup I might be on to a whole new pizza cuisine. I'll open a shop in between Pete's Pizza and Frank's Pizzeria.
Mistake #2
Wild Rice seemed a little bland in my mind, so I thought I'd try a Cornbread stuffing instead. Making a pan cornbread from scratch was easy enough. And on it's own tasted fine. But once again when relating to the subtlety of the bird. the cornbread flavour was too strong and the texture too grainy. Strike 2. And I can't say it got any better with time.

I tried my best to get both stuffings done the day before but once again working in someone else's kitchen led to unforeseen difficulty. And then we went to mass.

Day 3
Game day

Getting up bright and early on Christmas day, I got the bird out of the brine and dried it off and continued working on the stuffing and my bird rub. A version of my Paprika/Fennel dry rub and butter. Next time I think I'll use olive oil or melted butter because it will clump if the bird isn't completely dry. I left the bird out for an hour thinking it's dry enough. On the outside yes, under the skin, not so much. But I managed to rub the bird inside and out. Popped it into the oven covered in foil. I've decided not mess with changing temps, rotating the bird, or any other tricks for a crispier skin. With the marinade the bird will stay juicy and the rub will make the skin crispy enough. 350 is where the temp stayed throughout. Meanwhile I worked on the stuffing amongst the present openings. And I couldn't have timed the bird more perfectly because it was done just in time for dinner. Resting time and all. I was happy with the results this year. A well cooked bird. The colour was wonderful. My wife has a picture of it somewhere but she hasn't given me a picture she's taken in the last 3 years so let's not hold our breath. Suffice to say. The results were well received.

So This Christmas Bird was a success, the stuffing not so much, next year I'll stick to a bread stuffing. Maybe I'll try the wild rice and mushroom. But I've also learned a lot this year. One thing I learned is if you don't have a baster, just tilt the pan to one side and ladle the juices over the bird. Try to keep the bird from touching the side of the pan, because the bird will cook unevenly. Sharp knives and fridge space are invaluable. And last, although I may forget the specific reasons I decided this over time, I will never make Christmas dinner in anyone's house other than my own. Cooking in someone else's kitchen is a nightmare. And because, as Arron Sorkin wrote in the Social Network "the internet is not written in pencil. It's written in ink." I'll keep my reasons to myself and though they may fade away, I will look back at this blog posting and hopefully past Christos can remind present Christos why he had to stop.

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

Holiday Bird Take 3

Well the time has come upon us. I have commited to make the Christmas turkey once again. And as of yet, haven't done any research into what I am going to do to the bird. My first attempt was a bit of a letdown, burnt the skin in the first hour. So non of that high initial heat stuff for me, I'm all about the foil til the last hour, also the brine made the gravy salty.Last year was a complete success. I think largely due to the fact that I did it in my own kitchen with all handy tools and no distraction. Focused, well thought out and properly timed. Sorrily, I didn't document it in any way so I have nothing to blog for it. Basically I brined the bird, rubbed a butter,herb and spice mixture under the skin and on it for the most gloriously browned bird you've ever seen. and I think I went with a sourdough stuffing. Don't want to stray too much this time around but like I said I haven't set my eyes on anything new. I'll check my American Thanksgiving newsletters and see what pops out, if anything.

Soup: Not you again!

After a long day of Christmas shopping and holding off on mall junk food binging. I go grocery shopping because I am going away for the holidays. So I have to finish what is left in the fridge. And out of the kindness of her heart, my wife has made a healthy mixed bean soup. Well, made as in she bought a package of pre-made(grrrr) dry soup mix from The Big Carrot (so you know it good).
Soup; there are good ones out there. My mom's greek lentil soup called "Faki" is equally good hot or cold, and gets better as the flavours meld together every passing day. But unlike my mother who puts flavour first, my wife's oh so healthy and easy soups tend to be....bland. Where is the slow sweating of the onions, celery, garlic. The richly flavoured broth with, if I'm lucky, has the gelatinous richness of a good chicken stock (which I have frozen in my freezer for such soup emergencies.)
But I know health is important and to tell you the truth the issue here is not the flavour. I can stomach a healthy, rich in folate and fibre organic soup on a weeknight meal with a wedge of cheese and a bit of bread. It's the quantity that kills me. I've got about 6 servings of this stuff and nothing else to eat.
Why does it seem that the people who try to stuff you full of "healthy" foods tend to eat out a lot more and rely on pre-mades more than us true omnivores. My wife is presently enjoying lunch at Fresh while I'm here stuck with wet legumes. And believe me I'll probably be the one finishing them off... Was that a tangent? oh well. I guess I'm just trying to put of the soup eating.

So to soup I say you're welcome to visit. But don't pack an overnight bag.

Mac n' Cheese Without the Cheese?

When it comes to cooking I believe in the truth, real ingredients for real food. No lo-fat alternative made of artificial substances, no pre-made time saver. Hell, I won't even use pre-made sausages in a dish because I consider that cheating. So when someone suggested to me that there is a non-dairy cheese alternative that was not processed beyond recognition. but actually an all natural product, I was skeptical, and when I found out it was yeast, I was a little grossed out.

But this is no ordinary yeast, it is Nutritional Yeast Flakes. and unlike Active dry yeast, it is dead, or rather, deactivated, having been grown on molasses and sugarcane, then laid to rest. and in passing has a nutty cheese-like flavour.
Kudos on the first soul to try a spoonful of this stuff.

So I was intrigued, ever on the hunt for a different take on something familiar, more to prove that there is no replacing the original than anything else. I picked up a tub of flakes and tracked down a recipe for the cheesiest of all cheesy dishes. The classic homemade Mac n' Cheese. I tracked down a couple of recipes online, amalgamating them, and to my surprise, not only was it easy to make but damn tasty. Now, I'm not going to say it's as tasty as the real deal, but I will say that Vegan mac n' cheese is to homemade MnC what what homemade Mac is to Kraft dinner. Maybe not as flavourful but probably a lot better for you. And as a former KD junkie, I have come a long way.

The recipe is similar to the classic, Start by making your pasta and straining it when done.

Then to the sauce starting with a roux of equal parts non-hydrogenated margarine and spelt flour.

Next, add water with flavour enhancement of salt, mustard, tumeric and hot sauce,

tasting it at this point you get a savoury yet empty taste but once the yeast is added,

the whole sauce become this rich full flavoured magic that has me thinking of how many other ways I can use this magical sauce.

Mix half the sauce with macaroni, then pour the rest on top.

I used brown rice mac just to go completely wheat free as well and you won't believe how utterly edible this faux comfort food can be.





I have just made my third batch of the stuff and just ran out of yeast. but believe me, I will add it to my shopping list from now on.


So as a fan of real food where would I place this? There is not an artificial flavour in this dish, nothing pre-made or highly processed. So yes, it is real by my standards. The only thing unreal about it is to call it mac n' cheese but the alternative Mac n' Yeast isn't as appealing. So I'll stick with MnC for now, until I come up with a word that defines the amazing flavour of the sauce better. Maybe Mac n Crazy Good?

Christos's Classic Cookbook: Mains is Complete!!!

I like most foodies love cooking magazines. And at certain point the time comes where the collection of these magazines becomes overwhelming. I don't want my shelves cluttered with them but I can't bear to throw them away. So I decided to clip the best recipes I could find and catalogue them in a binder. And so the C.C.C. was born. This was roughly 3 years ago and I'll have to admit I have been working on it sparatically. So the clipping began and as I was cutting out the recipes I have been collecting for possibly the past 10 years from magazines and the internet. I soon realized I was "going to need a bigger boat" So I broke them up into Volumes. As of right now there are 4. Appetizers, Vegetables, Mains, and Desserts. Knowing that over time I will be adding and removing recipes I catalogued the pages in groups of ten rather than numbering each page. As the years go on I will keep on adding to the collection So I may break it down into even more Volumes, Pastas, Fish, etc. But as of this morning I am happy to say it is complete. Over 240 pages of Breads, Soups, Pastas, and Meats,Condiment, Rubs, and Sauces. All in one go-to book. Now onto Appetizers, or maybe Desserts. That one seems like it's going to be a big one.