a memoir of the foods of India I have always enjoyed books that mix storytelling with delicious recipes. Food Sutra – a memoir of the foods of India is one of those books. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a “recipe book” in the typical sense; although you will learn about many dishes and […]
Sous vide cooking with Anova Nano
Time to play I have had some fun playing with my new Anova Nano precision cooker lately. If you are at all culinary inclined you have probably heard of sous vide cooking, the method of vac packing or bagging a food product and then cooking it in a water bath. Precisely controlled The water can […]
Provisions – a book review
Dark and Dreary months During these dark and dreary months here in the Pacific North West it was like a ray of sunshine when I opened my copy of Provisions a cookbook with roots in Caribbean cooking. Written by sisters Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, very successful restaurateurs in Kingston Jamaica with their groundbreaking restaurant Ciao Bella, fusing classic […]
Altamura to Matera in 20 minutes
Pulling out Pulling out of Altamura our Fiat 500 was filled with the smell of fresh bread still working its magic sitting in the sun on the back seat. Looking forward to a brisk jaunt of twisting scenic country road to our next destination, Matera, I was sadly disappointed with a new boringly straight stretch […]
Tales from the Table: Pein Assutt
Getting to Altamura After the snow, rain, sleet, construction, high street and low, we found ourselves approaching the glorious little town of Altamura in the comune of Apulia in the province of Bari. The sun had popped out and I made an awesome sighting of a group of wild boar (cingale) that barreled over a […]
Montasio DOP: a perfect model of Italian industrialization
Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Montasio Several emails back and forth with the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Montasio had us scheduled to visit a cheese factory a couple of hours outside of Trieste in Udine. We arrived in Udine and promptly located our host Isabella in the parking lot and after a […]
Tales from the Table: Hostaria La Vecchia Fontanina
Reading menus I love reading menus. Whenever we travel and are staying in town to eat I make it a habit of reading as many menus as I can when walking passed restaurants. Just about every town has at least one dish that shows up on every menu. In Verona, it’s bigoli pasta, one of […]
Seasonal treat – Pappardelle with roasted corn and peppers
Seasonal treat One of my favourite times of the year is when I see those huge bins of freshly harvested ears of corn at the market. Corn on the cob, a great Canadian (and American) tradition that thankfully remains a seasonal treat that we can look forward to every year. It means fall is on […]