June10
Although the St. Norbert Market just outside Winnipeg is officially open, I understand the produce trucks have not moved in as of yet. The vegetable harvest will be hard to predict this year as the rain is plentiful but the sunshine scarce (or up until now that is). I intend to go anyway as I love the home baked and home processed goods that the market has to offer. Just thinking about it, takes me back to our market day in Nice.
Olives in one direction and olives in the other-more varieties than I have ever seen.
Sea salt mixtures-who knew?
I thought honey from clover was the norm-I was wrong.
The most beautiful marzipan-every creation a work of art. Too beautiful to eat.
Candied fruit of every imagining.
Spices from around the world-this area was mostly curries. We bought Herbs de Provence in a herb grinder at the next table.
Focaccia.
Varieties of raisins and other dried fruit.
Edible flowers.
A morning to remember forever and always.
Kath’s quote: “The difference of a single day is perceptible. Vegetables can only be tasted in perfection, gathered the same day.”-John Pintard (1759-1844)
May7
Hoisin sauce, also called Chinese barbeque sauce is a fragrant, pungent sauce used frequently in Asian stir-fries and marinades. The sauce is made from a combination of fermented soy, garlic, vinegar, and usually chilis and sweetener. Hoisin is dark in color and thick in consistency. It has a very strong salty and slightly sweet flavor which is probably why I like it so much. Hoisin became one of the staples in our fridge when we discovered mu shu many, many years ago at the original Mandarin restaurant when it was located on Sargent Ave. We found a great substitute for the pancakes by using small flour tortillas and the dish became a family favourite when the kids were still quite young.
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Fixings for Mu Shu
We now enjoy hoisin stir fries, on dumplings, noodles, salads and even meat loaf! Here’s a unique version of a family favourite:
Hoisin-Glazed Meatloaf
Whisk 2 eggs in a large bowl, mix in 2 c fresh bread crumbs, 2 c grated carrots, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 t ground ginger and salt, 1/2 t pepper and 3/4 c thinly sliced green onions. Mix in 2 lbs of lean ground pork (or 1/2 pork & 1/2 beef or even all beef). Pack into a loaf pan, mounding the top. Spred 1/4 c hoisin sauce over the top and roast in a 400 degree oven for approx. 1 hour. Upon serving, sprinkle with another 1/4 green onions.
Our picks for Hoisin dishes: The Plaza Restaurant in EK and The Spicy Noodle House on Osborne. Our fav place to buy Hoisin Sauce: Oriental Market on King St. Where are your favourite places for Hoisin dishes?
Kath’s quote: “It is the Americans who have managed to crown minced beef as hamburger, and to send it round the world so that even the fussy French have taken to le boeuf hache, le hambourgaire.”-Julia Child
April15
The Food Network is always on in our house and often times I catch an interesting recipe without even sitting down to watch a show. That is how I heard about this Spelt Risotto recipe. Then yesterday, by coincidence I was at Organza Market because I was meeting someone for lunch at the adjoining Dandelion Eatery. I picked up a bag of spelt in order to experiment a bit. What I found most intriguing was the fact that spelt being a grain similar to wheat, does not require the same amount of cooking time as a rice risotto.
So here goes:
1 cup spelt
8 cups water
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
butter, to taste
1/2 cup chopped shallots (divided in two)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2/3 cup white wine (+ 2 tablespoons)
2 cups chicken broth
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Soak the spelt in cold water 20 minutes. Drain; rinse. Bring 8 cups water to boil in medium saucepan. Add 1/2 cup oil and the spelt. Simmer 20 minutes. Drain in strainer and rinse.
Clean and slice mushrooms while spelt is soaking. Heat up a small amount of oil in a medium sized skillet, put in 1/2 of the finely diced shallots. Cook for about a minute, then put in mushrooms. After the mushrooms have started to soften, put in a splash of the white wine. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms and shallots start to get sticky and golden.
Put a little bit of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots; saute 1 minute. Add spelt and wine. Simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth 1 cup at a time and simmer until liquid is absorbed each time. After the third helping of liquid (1 wine and 2 chicken broths), stir in the mushroom mixture. Let the liquid continue to evaporate. This should take about 15 minutes or so. Taste the risotto to make sure spelt is soft. Stir in cheese and butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Kath’s quote: “Nature alone is antique and the oldest art a mushroom.”-Thomas Carlyle
April13
One weekend while I was out of town, my son called to see if he and his wife could drop in for a Saturday night dinner. My husband was so thrilled that he started recipe searching and shopping right away. He headed to Neptune Seafood on Dufferin in the North End of Winnipeg where he met a Food Musings blog follower who works there. She suggested that he try shark and personally sliced it for him.
This is the recipe that he decided upon: Macadamia Encrusted Shark
2 cups macadamia nuts, roughly chopped in a food processor
2 pounds shark, cut into 4 (8 ounce) portions
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 large eggs, whites only
4 tablespoons canola oil
Directions
Lay the 4 pieces of shark on a clean work surface. Season each piece with the salt, pepper, and cayenne. Using a brush, quickly spread a thin layer of the egg whites on top of the fish and then sprinkle over the chopped macadamia nuts. Press the nuts into the fish to secure. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large saute pan coated with the oil to medium heat. Place 2 pieces (or 4 if the pan is big enough) of the fish, macadamia side-down, in the pan and sear for 3 to 4 minutes, until the macadamias are golden brown. Flip the fish and cook for another 3 minutes. Repeat the process with the 2 remaining pieces of fish. Place all 4 pieces of fish in a baking dish and cook in the oven for another 8 to 10 minutes.
Kath’s quote: “Fish, to taste right, must swim three times – in water, in butter, and in wine.” ~Polish Proverb
Post Script: My little Grandma and my sweet Dad were both born in Poland and my heart is grieving with the people of Poland at this time.
April7
Thank you to my patient readers, this is the last entry about our traditional Easter celebrations. We have a group of friends that have been getting together for an Easter Feast for over a decade. It started when Connie (our transplanted Sicilian friend) remarked that she was missing her families’ celebration that year and so we decided to create an traditional Italian Easter celebration of our own. Connie and Roger are visiting from Castellammare del Golfo right now and so the timing was perfect.
Connie and I in her home town
Connie assembled the antipasto. Three Italian meats, provolone cheese, olives, marinated veggies and spicy eggplant. She picked everything up at Sobey’s and was very pleased with their selection and quality.
Next course was Judy’s Caprese salad, topped with a light shake of olive oil from C&R’s own olive trees back home. This was accompanied by Connie’s stuffed sun dried tomatoes-a recipe that she taught me when we visited them in Sicily. In addition, delicious and authentic breads purchased at De Luca’s (that were contributed by another attendee) were served.
The meat course was Italian sausages that I brown and then roasted with tri-coloured peppers and a roasted herb chicken that we have called “Ruth’s” Chicken since she shared the recipe with me 20 years ago. Roasted potatoes and yams with a drizzle of truffle oil and yellow and green beans sauteed with toasted pine nuts, accompanied the meats.
The person who was to have brought the salad course, which was to have been served next, couldn’t make it and so “uncleansed”, we ate on. Gina contributed a decadent tiramisu that she purchased at La Grotta and Connie had brought a special cake from Sicily –Il Panettone Grandorato. Jamie brought a platter of fruit to accompany the sweets and Doug put on the tea and espresso.
Kath’s quote: “Food is not about impressing people. It’s about making them feel comfortable.”-Ina Garten