B&B June 2008
Bits and Bites June 2008
Finding grass-fed beef in and around Montreal http://communities.canada.com/montrealgazette/blogs/greenlife/archive/2008/06/24/searching-for-grass-fed-beef.aspx
Stellar local products: a few Quebec favourites most of us are familiar with, but in case you're not.. http://www.voir.ca/publishing/article.aspx?zone=1§ion=21&article=59024
Upcoming books on Sousvide http://blog.khymos.org/2008/06/25/upcoming-books-on-sous-vide/
Turtle soup: I don’t know anyone who grew up eating turtle soup, but it sounds good with the meaty broth and the sherry on the side, even without the turtle.. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08178/892555-34.stm
China makes ‘kung pao chicken’ official for the Olympics, in an effort to make the names of many traditional dishes more inviting to visitors. Out with ‘Chicken without a sexual life’, ‘bean curd made by a pock-marked woman’ and ‘ants climbing a tree’..
http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/goodbye-to-chicken-without-sexual-life/2008/06/20/1213770880006.html
What’s up with Chinese menus? http://www.slate.com/id/2194074/
A fantastic, important article by Tom Philpott: How the organic movement can regain its relevance
Organic being the new place of worship for white people who just want to feel better has meant an increase in organic farming but not a rosier big picture. So much for the ‘Law of Return’. Even if we’re buying organic more, the corporate giants (Mosanto, Cargill, Potash) are still making gains, to the detriment of the environment and our food supply. Why? Because 1% of want to get our hands dirty farming, and less than 1% of the agro land is managed in an organic, sustainable manner. How do we change that? (We don’t have to take up farming) By making smaller diversified farms more viable; Tom Philpott has some good ideas for government. For us, it’s all about opting out of the mainstream industrial food chain that promotes ignorance and deceit for the bottom line.
I don’t only buy organic, but mostly from small and local enough producers that I know I can trust; that’s what’s most important to me. With time, and article after article like this one, I am becoming more convinced that it is better to buy from small and not necessarily certified organic rather than big, corporate and organic.
His conclusion to the article sums it up : ‘As our globe lurches into a period of ecological and economic crises -- not least, the food crisis -- what we need is less ignorance about food and more people with their hands in the dirt producing it. If we can't achieve that, than the Tysons, Cargills, and Monsantos will retain their grip over food production, and organics really will amount to some "stuff white people like" -- a soothing room within a sinking ship.’
http://www.grist.org/comments/food/2008/06/27/index.html
Grilling season: Some hot recipes - Spatchcocked chicken (chicken grilled flat under a brick), Naked ribs and Lamb roast http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook25-2008jun25,0,7195219.story?page=2
Basted eggs - a cool looking recipe http://www.cheftalk.com/content/display.cfm?articleid=252
Katahdin lamb A new breed of lamb to look for http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080625.wllamb25/BNStory/lifeFoodWine/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080625.wllamb25
Menu fonts I absolutely don’t agree with fussy fonts to sell fancy food.. But I’m a no frills, no bullshit - Arial, Times New Roman kind of girl anyway, and I’ve always believed in minimizing a customer’s annoyance with clarity above all. Besides, with all my weird sounding wild ingredients, no matter how straight-forward I want to be, my menus can’t help but sound convoluted - the last thing the customer needs is more confusion..
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1813950,00.html?CFID=7382408&CFTOKEN=90008197
Copyrighting and patenting in the food world: For chefs, protecting your intellectual property is no easy business, not that I really believe in it. For sure, copycats are frustrating, but since food and restaurants are so much more than a script or ingredient list, the whole idea seems pointless. Besides, chefs are naturally always in motion, just keep on moving and ‘creating’, I say.. http://www.chow.com/stories/10708
Holy trios by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Some three-ingredient summer dishes to inspire you.. It’s a helpful hint when building menus and recipes that I go by too, whether cooking at home or at the restaurant. First you, decide on the three key ingredients that will provide the structure and theme of the dish, then you decide on the form and direction (seasoning), and fill in with supporting minor touches.. At the restaurant, a few extra steps in method or a few extra supporting ingredients might add a certain complexity or subtle layers of flavour, additional flash or texture, but the main players should be shining in the forefront (and what’s mentioned on the menu), the rest there to boost and show them off..
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/foodanddrink/hughfearnleywhittingstall/story/0,,2285202,00.html
Le Locale - An attractive new Montreal restaurant with personality and attitude. First of all, for the ‘locale’.. What a great spot! A beautiful terrasse, a hot lounge, an airy artsy cool big dining room with an open kitchen.. Then there’s a very enticing menu with a mix of low brow –high brow offerings: an array of composed salads, with poireaux vinaigrette, the ubiquitous beet-goat cheese thing, but more surprisingly one with brussel sprouts, and there are poached eggs everywhere (a good thing); tartares seem to be a popular item; hot entrées include escargots, pork belly, crabcake, foie gras, and the mains feature big meat: pork ribs, blade roast, ribsteak, pork ribs, the place smells like a bbq (another good thing). More up my alley, there were fish offerings too (the mackerel sounded good, as did the halibut and tuna, but they’re off my list).. My dining partners had calf’s liver, a main course tartine (there’s the lowbrow.., alongside the ‘hangover’ tart featuring smoked meat) and I had a nordic shrimp chorizo risotto. All were satisfactory, but not as good as the entrées (salads, escargots).. I’d be curious to try so much more because I do sense a passion, a certain seriousness and an authentic style.. Besides, this place is beyond seductive, both ambiance and food wise, not to mention the terrific people watching. Although the service was good when present, it was scarce, and the food was very slow. We didn’t mind, but couldn’t help but notice how obviously juiced the staff was.. Considering that the restaurant was packed, with an added private party upstairs, I can understand, especially given that this is still a very young restaurant.. Perhaps, it’s by nature too big and busy to ever expect perfection, but I’ll be back nonetheless. 740 William (on the western border of Old Montreal just west of McGill..), 514-397-7737
Bottlemania – A book about water How it happened that we tragically bought into bottled water, the ensuing backlash, and the issues surrounding water, from the fight over its privatization, to the safety of the water we drink, how we drink it, and how much we actually need to drink..
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/books/review/Margonelli-t.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
White pepper bites I’ve never been a fan, and I never adhered to the rule that you can use white to replace black in light preparations.. Because they don’t taste the same - black pepper tastes great, white pepper doesn’t, especially when over used. It often came up with my students when I was criticizing their seasoning (usually saying there was too much white pepper, who told you to use white pepper anyway?!), and they would be ‘like, but like, chef, I barely used any like at all’. Well I could taste it, and didn’t like it. Now I know why. http://news.curiouscook.com/
Kasu – a novel unami rich ingredient to play with
Where are the women? I’ve obviously thought and talked about this before, and I think this article says it pretty much as it is, but my feeling is that nowadays, most women simply opt out because cheffing at the highest level does not ultimately suit them in their lifestyle choices.
http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2008/06/womenchefs
Bacon salt : ‘You won’t believe it isn’t bacon!’ Then what is it ??!!, faux bacon bit powder mixed with salt? Bad slogan, I say. I can understand wanting bacon taste everywhere, but I’ll stick to more natural ways like smoked salt, or real bacon, thank you.. http://www.idahostatesman.com/life/story/405785.html
Best Vegetarian recipes : A round-up of the best sites for Veg-heads
James Beard Awards (the Culinary Oscars) : Grant Achatz takes the top chef prize, Gavin Kaysen of Café Boulud the Rising Chef award; Gramercy Tavern is outstanding Restaurant and Central Michel Richard was awarded Best New Restaurant.. The Top Cookbook Prize goes to The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. http://jbfawards.com/content/2008-nominees#books
Mexico City smog hurting people's sense of smell http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0430376020080604
Attack of the killer tomatoes, another chapter in the industrial food disaster
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/5/91413/99653?source=weekly
McDonald’s and Tim Hortons pull tomatoes from their menus
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gHOS5aiZzMkus0JnifVP8PDokb4gD916TIDG0
Michèle Formeman’s new cookbook on the Lanaudière – Look for it in Quebec bookstores for a glimpse of our region’s underrated bounty, for a couple of my recipes and a surprisingly good photo of François and I with sun in our eyes.. http://www.lanaudiere.ca/fr/index.jsp?numPage=425&numFiche=1054
François on La Semaine Verte Catch the last of François' five week series of clips on wild edibles on the fantastic TV show La Semaine Verte, on Radio Canada (Channel 4 in E, Channel 2 in W) on Sundays at 12:30pm or Saturdays at 6pm.. Whoops, it appears I'm a little late; the last one airs Saturday at 6pm (a repeat of this past Sunday's show)..
Seratonin levels as important as blood sugar in affecting reasoning, emotions and decision making We've heard of the effects of 'nature's tranquilizer' with tryptophan and turkey soup, but it turns out that cheese offers more of a tryptophan boost, and that not only can it make you feel good and sleepy, it can do wonders for you at the office (if you can stay awake, I guess..) I've long gathered that I had low seratonin levels due to my insomnia and inherent madness/moodiness, but I also tend to think my decision making is more rational than emotional, and I sure do eat a lot of cheese.. My present decision making leads me to the conclusion that the human body is evidently far more complex than that..
The cheesy secret behind good decision making http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-cheesy-secret-behind-successful-decision-making-841419.html
There will be chicken blood! I know I won’t ever relish being at any slaughtering, but I do think it’s important to be near enough to at least be aware; it is a part of being an omnivore. Or as Martin Picard said albeit less delicately, ‘If you’re going to eat it, well ben ?$%?&*!, you have to kill it!’ Or it was something like that on English TV, very funny..
http://www.slate.com/id/2192934/?from=rss
How About Slaughterhouse Tour Before Supper, Food Lover? The issue comes up in a real way at Blue Hill, Stone Farms, where Dan Barber wonders how connected to their food his customers actually want to be.. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/nyregion/06bigcity.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
I LOVE this chandelier!! http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2008/06/a-bright-lighti.html?cid=117621764
The World According to Monsanto – An ABSOLUTE MUST SEE! Now playing at the AMC Forum in English and at the Ex-Centris in English and French with French subtitles, this is a deeply troubling documentary about the sketchy ethics of the corporate giant and their horrifying, monstrous, detrimental influence on the world food supply and on our health with their GMO program. Solutions seem daunting and far-off in face of this monster but mainstream information as provided by this film is some kind of a start. Awareness is the only seed of hope for change in this David and Goliath battle between good sense, small farmers and agri-business profits.
Ironically, I could easily have been working for Monsanto if I’d continued down my original chemical engineering career path – looks like the seductive kitchen aromas saved me from a destiny of sure hell.
Recipe deal breakers ?? A funny article about what line, ingredient or technique will stop you from doing a recipe. I can relate; there are certain things I would never do in my home kitchen or in any kitchen for that matter, but I would never hesitate to substitute or not follow the recipe altogether. In fact, those are the kinds of recipes I like to read. It’s like food porn. I would have liked to see that fleur de sel recipe, but I would have used bought salt for the dish. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/dining/04recipes.html?partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss
New Cookbooks to check out
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/books/review/Sifton-Cooking-t.html?ref=review
Eating weeds. I guess you have to start somewhere, but if only people knew there was much tastier weeds than dandelion out there (which is barely edible unless very young). I do however support the idea of most wild greens with bacon, with cheese and in quiche. http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/FEATURES17/806030313/1034/FEATURES17
Leading Spanish Chefs scrap - Santi Santamaria, the traditionalist, attacks Ferran Adria for his use of questionable chemicals and techniques. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/1955806/Famed-El-Bulli-chef-Ferran-Adria-accused-of-'poisoning'-his-diners.html
Nancy Hinton
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