soupnancy

Bits and Bites

August 31, 2007

Opening and closing - Leslie Chesterman's scoop on the Montreal scene:  New chef in the old Cube space, the Joe Beef empire expands.. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/weekendlife/story.html?id=5b82be34-89df-407b-9d9a-49ce04eb3924

La Belle Excuse olive oil : This is an olive oil worth seeking out, made by a Greek couple from the Lanaudière. They have two oils, one made from green, and the other from black olives from their family’s estate in the old country. It is the black olive one that I particularly like - so smooth, rich and complex, and partly Québecois.. Available in specialty stores and at Marché des Saveurs.
La Belle excuse olive oil

A food and wine show in Ottawa Sept 14-15 featuring a TV celeb chef I don’t know, but my brother’s band will be playing..

http://www.teamredeye.ca/owad.html

Slowfood autumn events : Slowfood celebrated 75 years of local eating at the Marché Jean Talon last weekend, kicking off the fall schedule of festivities. There is a conference at Concordia on Irish cuisine with Darina Allen on Friday, September 14 at 20h00. This autumn, there will also be events on Mon, Tues, and Wed. (good for us restaurant people), including a session on special vegetables, one on mushrooms and one on coffee and cheese pairing. www.slowfoodquebec.com

Lenoir Lacroix coffee cheese tasting: Les pates fermes et leurs cafés

On Sept 5, 2007 at 19h00, at the Centre d’animation SAQ Selection Rockland, 2305 chemin Rockland , suite 502.1 , Mont-Royal. For more information or too reserve a spot, call 514-733-7843 or email s.larose saq.qc.ca

Anti-microbial films for food –scary! Why is the US government (may as well be ours) investing in this? More elaborate food manipulation than we are already bombarded with? It is just another way to make industrial food that will keep forever so that it can be shipped for miles, as opposed to supporting small farmers, sustainable and organic practices, promoting education and taste.. Which seems to be the simpler solution in securing a safer, tastier, healthier food supply? Take the chemists to a farmers’ market and treat them to a real meal, for fork’s sake. To think I was almost one of them. That’s harsh, it’s not the chemists - some of them might just be in search of the truth, caught up in their research and only happy that someone is willing to subsidize it. “This is not intended to make up for sloppy growing or handling or cleaning and processing,” Professor Krochta said. But of course, big agri-business has other less noble ends.

Edible films with superpowers. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/dining/29film.html?ref=dining

Alice Waters and Chez Panisse – a book I highly recommend to anyone interested in NA food history, or just a good story. It’s an authorized biography of sorts. I just loved it, but I am an Alice fan. In any case, it is a fascinating look behind the scenes of this infamous Berkeley restaurant (of 30+ years), with its huge cast of colourful characters, and their incredible journey in being the first to source out pure local ingredients and apply classic technique, all in an unpretentious setting. You meet the real Alice , not entirely flawless, but you can’t help but be moved and cheer her on. To see her determination, integrity and extraordinary vision translate to ultimate success and a transformation of the culinary scene in North America is inspiring. It is also disheartening, because it makes you realize how long it takes for things to change. She has been working her whole life to make a difference with Slowfood and related projects to promote better quality local food and knowledge, and twenty years later, so little has changed; these issues are just starting to enter the mainstream. The now ubiquitous ‘local, seasonal’ mantra among North American chefs, as well as the increasing popularity of farmer’s markets and organic food, talk of the environment and sustainability, and better food for kids are all very positive signs, and somehow linked to a set of principles that Alice and her protégés set in motion along time ago.

Groundbreaking pilot project in the townships: In the image of Alice Water’s Edible schoolyard project, a new non-profit Quebec organization dedicated to school gardens is off to a successful start in teaching kids about real, good food and sustainability.

www.jeunespousses.ca

Celebrating the tomato :

The history of the tomato:

http://www.saveursdumonde.net/?action=ingredientitem_show&id=33&lg=fr

NYTimes article with tomato recipes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/dining/22appe.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin

My tomato post last year:

http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2006/9/30/birth-of-a-blog-and-tomatoes.html

Vegan-sexuals : a new breed of vegans who will not have sex with carnivores because for one, they stink?!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/AAMB4/aamsz=300x44_MULTILINK/4147483a6009.html

Which fruit and veg to buy organic first : Survey a list of which fruit and vegetables have the highest pesticide load, and so should be made priority when buying organic.. http://www.foodnews.org/

A new kid on the block . Check out Nathalie Spielmann’s blog and sign up for her monthly newsletter, ‘A Palatable Report: Gastronomy from an amateur perspective’ for her food discovery notes, restaurant and wine tips out of Montreal . http://foodwithapoint.squarespace.com/

Way to go Joé , mon joueur d’hockey preferé, who is embarking on an adventure to Kujiuack with his family in the name of a school-hockey project for the kids. I expect feedback on the culinary front, and if we’re lucky, maybe some fish, berries and wild mushrooms sent back? Forget the seal. I’ll keep you posted.

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/08/06/juneaus-goodwill-odyssey/

For Champagne lovers , a benefit evening event for La Fondation des Amis de l'Art culinaire will take place on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 , 19h00, at the Marriott Château Champlain Hotel. For information, call M. Jean-Claude Phisel, 450-476-1895.

Yes to Local labelling! We already do it somewhat in Quebec , but the feds getting involved could only be good..

http://gremolata.com/chongsegal.htm

Then again… Doing right is ever a complicated affair..

Organic farmers in Africa fear for their livelihoods as U.K. frets over food miles

‘Kenyan fury at threat to organic trade’: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2126614,00.html

‘African farmers fear impact of U.K. supermarkets buying local’ : http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2007/02/22/4/index.html?source=weekly

Valuable cork : I have come to like the screw caps myself, but don’t diss the cork altogether! It turns out that cork isn’t so bad after all, the industry playing a positive role in the ecosystem. Again, there’s always another side to a story..

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/corticeira_amor.php

Weird meat: a blog about one guy’s adventure eating all kinds of ‘weird’ meat, but what I like is that the slant is learning about different cultures with an open mind - its not only about pure shock and ooh-factor driven boy stuff. http://www.weirdmeat.com/2004/04/weird-meat-master-list.html

A closer look at some of our favourite ingredients .. A little knowledge on where your food comes from makes you less likely to take it for granted. A terrific example of this is the ubiquitous vanilla..

A vanilla primer: http://www.chow.com/stories/10439

Brown sugar: the difference between the different kinds: http://www.chow.com/stories/10674

Bison – the national meat we almost lost: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=c1426340-4315-46c8-9277-13681053f06d

Stealing staff in Vancouver, poor Lumière

Poaching restaurant employees has become the last resort amidst a shortage of skilled workers, specifically in Vancouver where there is a restaurant opening every minute. There’s always been a fine line between outright fishing and crossing paths with a disenchanted individual who is seeking to make a move, especially when the market is tough and given the fact that restaurant employees are by nature antsy and often underpaid, always looking for greener grass.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070820.wlrestowars20/BNStory/lifeWork/home

We can do it too! Ten easy steps towards a more sustainable kitchen :

http://starchefs.com/features/trends/sustainability/index.shtml

Unfair trade . Regulating our own farmers and artisans more than imports just does not make sense. Only more reason to buy local:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=f46a8178-8b67-4af1-9816-e73b7961027b&k=59194&p=1

A great quote that could me my motto for life, as written by

Laura Shapiro in describing Julia Child in her new book.

‘Use all your senses, all the time. ... Take pains with the work; do it carefully. Relish the details. Enjoy your hunger. And remember why you’re there.” That could be a recipe for life.’

JULIA CHILD

A Penguin Life. By Laura Shapiro. 185 pp. Lipper/Viking. $19.95.

Another book out on Julia Child :

BACKSTAGE WITH JULIA, My Years With Julia Child. By Nancy Verde Barr. Illustrated. 285 pp. John Wiley & Sons. $22.95.

Behind the scenes on the set of this summer’s food movies, Ratatouille and No Reservations.. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/food/20070809_Film_food__No_faking_it.html