The Rain in Toronto falls mainly on my laundry...

What a great weekend. All around.

The last of the summerliciousness happened Friday - met Patrick and three of his bosom buddies (Mary, Tim & Jay) for Mexican goodness at Milagro. I must admit, I wasn't expecting much (of the dinner, his friends are terrific) - when it comes to Mexican in Toronto I really haven't been impressed at all. You're welcome to refer a great place if you like, in fact I wish you would! Or better still, take me there and let's eat! But back to the subject at hand...
Not only Mexican in Toronto, but just south of the theatre district in TO - usually restaurants there are expensive with a focus on getting you in and out fast, not on the quality of either the service or the food. The location was good, the decor nice overall - what can I say? I like Mexican wrestling. The prix fixe menu covered the country from Yucatan to Puebla, and coast to coast. I like that. The drinks were pricey - I don't like having to pay 13$ for a marg, esp when I've got primo tequila at home. It was scrumptious, though.

Had the Sopa de tortilla azteca (pasilla infused tomato broth), then the cochinita pibil (pulled pork yucateco style) with refritos and tortillas and then a rice pudding (mexican style) for dessert. We also opted for extra appys, ordering some guacamole with tortillas and some ceviche (P LOVES ceviche. If you want to bribe him, that's your ticket!). A Mojito Macho (with jalapeno pepper!), a guanabana boozy drink and a bigass marg were ordered as well.

Bad photo technique, good food... The soup rocked. I loved it. The cochinita (above)? Excellent, although some sauces to make the tortillas a little more exciting would have been good. The rice pudding? Plebian and a bit runny, but a nice flavour. Overall a good value for the $$. The marg? I can't argue with tequila, I just can't. But I think it was too frakken expensive.

I'm not sure of the advisability of muddling a jalapeno IN a mojito, however, but each to his own.

About Summerlicious - I think I came out ahead this year, first time in ages - I didn't feel rooked by any of the places, and I'd go back to each of them. In fact, I'm still craving Czehoski.

Saturday morning was an early rise to meet Sarah for a trip to the Brickworks market. Caught the shuttlebus from Broadwat at 7:45 and headed down - scouted out the market and decided what we'd be canning. Ended up with some beautiful plums and sour cherries :) Met Liz there for a coffee and a breakfast enchilada, then home to start the preserving!
Gentle readers, we're now the proud owners of some of the most gorgeous fruit you've ever seen. I want to open it now and eat it all. And we learned a little, too. You can get more in those damn jars than you might think, and when it's canned it all floats up to the top 2/3 of the friggin jar.

Inhale butterflies, exhale bees.

Then I went downtown to meet P, we wandered and laughed for a while, came home for a pizza and relaxed. Ran into a neighbour the next morning on the way to the Diner and ended up laughing our way through breakfast!

 A great way to spend part of the morning. I'm on the lookout now for ricotta salata, if you know where some is let me know!

Home after a walk in the rain, movies, made some cookies (peanut butter chocolate volcanos!) and thai food for dinner. Just a perfect day. All it needed was chips, and I was just too lazy to get up and get some Old Dutch. Must buy some and store them for emergencies.

Hope you had a great one as well, amigos - ttys!

Wait for the pics!

Take that, heart!

Ok, there's nothing like a challenge... 

Going through an old cookbook, photocopied from my grandmother's stash and passed on to me by my Dad and Jan - it's Doukhobor cooking (Called Symbols of Faith: Bread, Water and Salt). 

I've found a recipe for Impossible Pie. And one for Vareniki Casserole. The boyfriend and I will be eating well this coming week, I tell you what. If you'd like a place at the table, let me know and I'll plan ahead :) 

Beyond a preponderance on the old Doukhobor women to use Name Brand yeasts, Kraft cheeses and more Crisco than God, there's another theme in this book, other than which Baba can get more airtime. There are the old traditional versions, and then the Lazy/Man's version of them. Maybe I'll do both side by side to compare... 

OK, here's Lazy Vareniki Casserole. Vareniki, for those who don't know, are what Russians call perogies. 

Vareniki Casserole

9 lasagna noodles 2 cups cottage cheese

1 egg 1/2 tsp salt

2 cups mashed potatoes 1 cup cheddar, shredded

1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup (or more) butter

Cook noodles according to package directions. Mix cottage cheese with egg and salt. Place 3 noodles in the bottom of a pan, spoon the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Cover this with 3 more noodles, and then mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar. Salt and Pepper. Cover with the last of the noodles. Saute the onions in some butter until soft and clear. Pour over noodles. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350. 

Serve with sour cream. All credit goes to Mrs. Anne P. Dergousoff for this gem. 

Ok, for those of you who have not yet been to my house for a Russian Christmas Party, you might not know what you're in for. My friend Joel came away from one year smelling of fried onions and butter for a week, and I swear to God I could smell sour cream on him for that whole time as well. The Holy Trio of Doukhobor food, no doubt of it. 

On to Impossible Pie! 

Impossible Pie (Makes its own crust!!)      <----- (sic)

1/2 cup melted butter 4 eggs

1 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup flour 1 tsp vanilla

2 cups milk 1 tsp ground nutmeg

Put all ingredients into a blender. Mix well. Pour into an ungreased large pie pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Thank you, Mrs. Pearl Lazaroff of Canora - I'm looking forward to trying it! 

And one more, just because I love you all so! 

Bachelor Cake

Filling

3 eggs, well beaten 1 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter 3 tbsp cocoa

1 tsp vanilla 1 cup soft butter

3 tbsp strong hot coffee

Beat until fluffy. Line a 9x13 with graham wafers. Spread a layer of filling on the wafers, then more wafers on top. Make three layers of filling and then graham wafers. 

Topping

1 egg 1 tsp butter

1 tsp vanilla dash of baking powder

1 cup icing sugar 1.5 oz. melted chocolate

1/4 cup canned milk

Mix, and spread thinly enough over the graham crackers. Top with walnuts. 

Needless to say I won't, but I may try almonds! 

Enjoy - I'll be back with more goodness anon. 

The Joy of Porn

OK, I'm not afraid to admit it. I like it. I like the feeling of a nice new mag in my hands, the way the photo is set up, the colours, I can practically smell it all as I check out each spread. But I'm a bad, bad man. I rip shit right out of the magazine, I sometimes fold pages back and I bend, crease and mutilate with abandon. Not to mention the stains and sticky pages. But the recipes, the articles and little tidbits just MAKE me do it.

You got me! I'm addicted to food porn.

It's a bit of a joke among my friends, and definitely a default gift. My love of cookbooks and cooking magazines is really out of hand. They have taken over my kitchen, that's for sure. And there are boxes and boxes out in the garage just waiting/hoping I'll remember them and use them again. It could happen.

I have YEARS worth of recipes in shoeboxes and envelopes. I come by this honestly, my grandmother was the same and I have all of hers too. At one point, years ago when I had spare time, I tried organizing them into easily findable categories. That bold and valiant effort died on the vine - I don't think it even lasted a month before I just clipped out things and put the on a shelf, then in a box when the shelf started shedding recipes. I like to bring them out sometimes and get caught up in it all again. I can picture myself kneeling on the floor, tending a sourdough starter like a cat with dropsy (Can cats even GET dropsy? What IS dropsy?) or examining striations on a heirloom vegetable to see if it'll make the perfect Summertime Strata. There's a lot to be said for picturing this kind of thing, especially if you have a great imagination (like me!). Not least of which is that one needn't actually DO it.

When it comes to magazines, I'm of two minds. Make that several minds. It's part of being a Libra, I swear. I love the down- home goodness of some magazines like Home Cooking. They helped me make Twinkies and icing into little sweet dill pickles, and that's a good thing. Sorry Martha, but it really is. And I like showy ones like Food & Wine, telling me that I need to go to Kerala to learn how to make a masala blend with some nice lady in the comfort (relative) of her home. And I like the travelogues, pictorials, foodnerdiness of Saveur, telling me that Pawbucket Maine has a strawberry festival right now followed by a four page spread on blue potatoes. I subscribe to 4 magazines, and I read them all. Food & Wine, although I don't find the wine parts either interesting or useful. Gourmet. Bon Appetit. And Saveur. My buddy Alexa started me on that, I owe her one. LoveloveLOVE it.

But a special place in my heart goes to Cook's Illustrated. God how I love that magazine. So much so that I refuse to buy it on stands - I'll wait for the annual compendium and then take a weekend to pore over it all. Reminds me, must get the latest one. Articles, recipes, consumer comparisons and great illustrations, hence the name I guess. Not cheap, but oh so very worth it.

Plus if you subscribe to some of these, there's additional content Just! For! You! on their websites. And that's always fun, because none of us spend enough time online as it is! But still.

There are a TON of foodie sites I like to look at and get inspired by, and so many more I don't even know about yet! And don't even get me started on cookbooks, that's a whole nuther post for DAMN sure.

I'll see about scanning in some of those recipes that follow me around, or some of the pics that accompany them! I'm not tech savvy for much more than that at this point but I'm willing to learn!

Upcoming posts: Cookbooks, canning, the last of the Summerlicious gorgings and some tried and true recipes!

Food, Glorious Food

OK, apologies for not posting in the past week - it's not that there hasn't been food present, because Lord Knows There Has! Blame it on carb coma, I was digesting...

So what exactly HAS been happening? Let me tell you! Picnics, Summerlicious, Farmer's Markets, the Night Market, cheeses and brunches and dinners Oh My! I'd say the Summer of Salads has died a painful death here, folks. RIP, buddy - you were a great idea while you lasted but it looks like lipo is the answer now.

Anyhoo...

Picnics. It's amazing the great stuff you can have on a picnic. Like wine. Cheeses, boar pate, crazy cakes, and friends. Took the ferry to the islands with some friends and the Beau a while ago for a bike ride and a picnic. I know, I was on a bike. A sign of impending Armayouknowwhat. Get your affairs in order, because it will happen again. But I digress. The hosts, the ever enchanting Madame Sarah and her hubby Robert, made a killer spread for us - friend chicken, asparagus, baby potatoes, etc. Our friend Andrea brought some wonderful cheeses, and Patrick & I brought some Chimay and a cake from St. Lawrence market which apparently wasn't going to let itself be taken alive and threw itself around in the box on the way there. Sunshine, larfs, good tunes good food and good friends. I have a great life.

And then we have Summerlicious Happenings. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a couple of weeks in the summer where various restaurants open their doors to the hordes, creating prix fixe menus that give folks who might not consider a place an opportunity to try their food at a lower price point. Great idea in theory, but I've had some crap-ass experiences in the past that make me a wee bit hesitant. Teensy-tiny portions, snotty service from waiters who have calculated the 15% on a 25$ prix fixe in advance and are going to make you pay for it and desserts made two weeks before so the chef can go to Muskoka for a week. But the Beau and I were good to give it a go, and due to his amazing organizational skills it all fell into place.

A mini-gang went to Caju on Queen - Jayne and David, Patrick and I. Only four, but hey, we count as a gang. I LOVE Brazilian food, so I was really looking forward to it. Plus, a Brazilian place would undoubtedly make a kick-ass caipirinha.

So, being me, I didn't order one. I had a caipimorango instead. Hadn't had one of those since, well, I lived there! And it was delicious. We all had gazpacho to open (yummy), then I had the pork and beef skewer with farofa and cassava fries, and a passion fruit mousse for dessert. Gazpacho = great, skewer = delicious, dessert, quite nice. Smaller portions generally make big people cranky, but the company was good and the cocktails scrumptious - no complaints. I'd go back for the regular menu (which is why chefs opt in for Summerlicious, it's the positive exposure and possibility of repeats) and try the feijoada mineira. Man o man, it's been a while since I've had that, and I WANT SOME.

Up early the next morning to meet Liz and head to the Farmer's Market at the Brickworks. Let me say that I'm now addicted to it. Liz, anytime you need a burrito buddy for the Brickworks, you let me know. My neighbour and friend Vickie had gone the weekend before and brought me back Saskatoon berries (and if you know me, you know what a terrific gift that is!) so I had to check it out. I forgot my camera, but suffice it to say that I came home laden with goodness. Lots of great veg, some elk steaks (P & I grilled them that night with some asparagus and an heirloom tomato caprese salad using the bajillion dollar balsamic vinegar Eric gave me), some boar bacon to try, bread, a Saskatoon berry pie and a wonderful quilt. All in all a success. Plus, Liz bought a Loon Painting, which is always a good thing.

And I went to the Night Market in Markham! Started with Patrick (Hunkalicious), Liz (Superduper) and Alexa (Cheapeats Goddess) coming to my place for cocktails and cheese before we left. Gerry (Man of Quality) joined us as we piled into the Lizmobile and made the trek to Northern Ontario to check it out.

Gentle Reader - they did NOT mislabel Stinky Tofu. There was a big booth called "Mama Bear's Stinky Tofu" and although I did not actually see Mama Bear I have no reason to doubt her existance. Especially since the Stinky Tofu part was so very very VERY factual. Undoubtedly she was there, prob deep in the back holding a gas mask to her face. It was like rotting durian. Swear to God. Picture that.

I am guessing that that's a Stinky Tofu behind the rapper guy onstage. Underneath the Stinky Tofu Man are his victims, all passed out from the fumes and wishing they were dead.

Basically, we ate our way through the market. Like the one under the bridge in Richmond, it had a ton of food to try, and we made a valiant effort. Highlights? The lamb shashlik and the watermelon juice. The squid skewers were a bit boingy for me though. Apparently they haunt milkshake people though, as evidenced by the picture below.

That pig has no idea.

And another Summerlicious event! Jay, Jess, Yolaine, the Beau and I went to Czehoski on Monday. I've had good food there, and OK food there. But on Monday I had excellent food there. You got a starter, a main and a dessert for the prix fixe - regular menu. Which meant regular portions. Unheard of.

Figs wrapped in double smoked bacon, then a roasted little chicken, then a spiced creme brulee. And because I love it so, I had some grilled rapini with the chicken. Other foods on the table - cauliflower soup, truffled brie perogies, a sous-vide flatiron steak, chicken liver pate, chocolate terrine and many kinds of boozy goodness.

All in all, a success. I'd go back in a heartbeat. The chicken was delicious and perfectly done (not to mention a huge freakin portion!), the brulee was nicely spiced, and I can't stop thinking of the perogies.

But don't get the sangria at La Hacienda - ERROR! Cheap red plonk with cheap orange juice on the bottom.

Missed last night's Trevor experience for Summerlicious, but P says I really didn't. WHEW!

More as it's eaten, JP

Traditional cooking

Talking about home cooking the other day got me to thinking about the kinds of food I grew up with. What do you get when you cross Russian (Doukhobor) with Scottish?

My siblings and me.

We grew up, for the most part, in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia in a small town called Westbank. Actually, a smaller suburb of Westbank called Glenrosa. Not much in the way of fine dining, or ethnic cuisines. A real treat was heading into Kelowna to Carmel's Crepery for a seafood crepe. Or to the Golden Panda for Canadian Chinese.

My mother grew up on the coast and was pretty adventurous in her cooking - I recall Cherries Jubilee, lots of Open Houses with cheese balls (well before Amy Sedaris), Stroganoff, crazy amounts of holiday baking - the kitchen was always busy. To this day, I get a happy feeling ordering curried prawns... Her father, my Grandpa McCallum, was a wizard at making fritters and I can picture him at the stove flipping them in the oil until they were perfect. The love of fritters got me into a great deal of trouble in high school, with a bakery not too far from the school, but that's for another time.

My father's side of the family was in Grand Forks in Kootenay country, and if you're familiar at all with the Doukhobors from anything other than an academic POV you know that means food. In large quantities. With Butter. LOTS of butter. Vereniki. Pirohi. Borscht. Haloushki. Halouptse. Lapshevnik. Ploh. I get hungry as hell just thinking of them.

My grandmother was a brilliant cook. And not just because I thought the sun shone out of her smile. Flour up to her elbows, rolling dough, slipping us treats. We loved visiting them - we'd get sugar cereals (we only got them at Christmas at home) and Velveeta cheese. Fresh raspberries from the massive garden. Peas in the shell. The smell of dill, and the chikchikchik of the field sprinklers. She tried so hard to get my little brother to like Russian food (he was a hamburger, no sauce, no butter, no eggs, plain hot dog kinda kid) that she made PBJ vereniki in an attempt to woo him. Didn't work, he's tough.

I know, get to the recipes... And I will. In a minute.

3 things:

1. The Doukhobors tend to be remembered for the Sons of Freedom, the naked protests and the burnings. It happened, and it's true. Don't piss us off. The horror of New Denver is rarely if ever mentioned, despite the govt's willingness to apologize once a month to someone. But instead of getting mad, I suggest you cook some of the food. You won't regret it. Unless you fear carbs...
   
2. Once a year, I throw open the doors of wherever I'm living and cook my ASS off. I call it Russian Christmas because I hold it on the Saturday closest to the Orthodox Christmas, when some of the holiday fatigue has abated. As the guest list has grown, I've had to open the floor to potluck style buffet, but I still make all of the traditional dishes in quantities large enough to feed an army. My little sister claims bragging rights for eating over 100 vereniki at my uncle Jim's one Christmas - she's welcome to come by and prove it if she's in town, or if you'd like to bust the record just let me know!
3. Food is for sharing. When I think of my family - Russian and Scots alike, I think of the massive meals in Grand Forks, with relatives and ten thousand "Aunts" and "Uncles", or roasting hot dogs at the Lake, or how to cook kokanee or make wacky cake, or Mom's baking powder biscuits. I think of a family trip to LA where Mom let us get room service and I had lobster for the first time. My sister ordered a BLT and my brother a PBJ. Seriously.

So go forth and cook for your friends and family. Treat them to something new, or make something you know they love. Spend time at the table, maybe a nice bottle of wine. If you're able, get some of the recipes from your Mom or Dad or grandparents, learn your culture's cuisine and specialties. And share them around.

Recipes and pics tomorrow, promise.

Home cooking

Right off the bat, let me admit to something - I LOVE home cooking. Don't misunderstand, restaurant food is terrific. I enjoy gastronomical splendour just as much as the next foodie. But I'd rather eat a Jamie Kennedy burger than an Adria waft of norwegian blue parrot. And for that matter, I'd rather eat a burger from a backyard BBQ... That goes for entrees (pork chops in mushroom sauce, chicken a la king, beef stroganoff), desserts (wacky cake, nanaimo bars, pineapple upside down cake or fruit crumble), or appetizers (friends of mine brought homemade chili poppers to a potluck - jalapenos filled with Philly cream cheese wrapped in a bacon slice and baked. They FLEW off the platter, and rightly so!)

Why do I bring it up? A couple of reasons: two people in the past two weeks have felt bad about having a fondness for the less adventurous foods out there, and I just had another friend get all hoity about "Leave Mac & Cheese to those who can't spell Chateaubriand". And no, he's never had chateaubriand...

People - there's nothing in the world wrong with Mac and Cheese. I like it. Even KD, although I prefer the PC white cheddar variety. I lived with a superwoman named Joanne, and she would always cringe at what I did to it, mind you. I add tuna, broccoli, garlic, green onions, etc - brussel sprouts if they were handy. It would be a lazy man's casserole in a pot. DELICIOUS!

Back to the train of thought... Pork chops with a can of Campbell's mushroom over em make me salivate, I've been thinking of making chicken a la king this week, and I'm feeling for peanut butter cookies with a forkprint on top. This is good food, mes amis, if not GREAT food. Food does follow phases - we saw a brief stint of home cooking brought to the restaurant a few years ago but then it's faded. No one wants to pay $30 for a plate of Mac. At least I don't.

We've got Summerlicious coming this week, that's what started it. Where should we go for sampling goodness? So many great places to try - I'll keep you posted on where we went and how it was, don't fret! I'm as happy in a little Mexican hole in the wall like El Rey de Popo (RIP) as I am with Auberge or Colborne Lane, and I don't judge if we make dinner plans and you suggest Tacos el Asador (in fact, please suggest it!). No harm, no foul. Eat what you want, and I'll support you.

Amazing how long one can go on, eh? Eat drink and be merry, folks! And if you've got some good home cooking recipes to share, I'm all ears...

Happy Canada Day - btw! 141 and looking H O T