Hate the Morning No More

Generally my idea of a great weekend morning takes place outside of the home at a local where nice people come by and refill your coffee mug every five minutes. However there are times though when a leisurely breakfasting après home is called for. I am not what you would call a morning type person, particularly in the kitchen: messes in the morning make me frazzled, cranky and generally put off for the rest of the day (oddly enough the same mess at noon has no effect at all). So in the aim of domestic bliss I’ve created a routine that can – with little fanfare – create a full meal (pancakes, bacon and scrambled egg) using minimal effort and dishes. Let me share.

Pre work – make pancake mix one day when bored. Honestly this takes about four minutes out of your day and pays dividends later. Use Nigella’s recipe. It’ll change your life.

Step 1 – Lay bacon on a tinfoil lined baking sheet. Put in oven. Turn oven on at 350. Forget about bacon until kitchen is heavy with bacontastic smells.

Step 2 – In a large liquid measuring dish scoop about 1 cup of pancake mix. Add one egg. Add milk to desired constituency (I prefer a thicker batter resulting in heftier pancakes (I also don’t measure in the morning). Add whatever berries, fruits or chocolate appeal to you.

Step 3 – Put pan over med heat and melt about 1 tblsp of better. Swish around to coat pan and dump excess into pancake batter and mix in.

Step 4 – Pour batter from measuring cup onto pan in dollops. Flip when bubbly and the edges look singed. Repeat.

Step 5 – When finished all pancake batter use the same pan to fry/scramble an egg (only do this if you have The Banker or a teenage boy to feed. Otherwise pancakes and bacon should suffice).

Step 6 – Take out perfectly golden bacon from oven. Marvel at your brilliance. Plate with pancakes and an obnoxious amount of maple syrup.

Step 7 – Enjoy while reading the New York Times and drinking copious amount of coffee.

Step 8 – Make others do the (minimal) dishes.

Delicious Math

I find a certain amount of arrogance develops after you learn the kitchen fundamentals. To be more correct, I have developed a certain amount of arrogance since my days in cooking school, particularly regarding recipes. What tends to happens is once you understand the underlying principles all recipes start to look like variations on a theme. Their are of course huge exceptions to this – I would no more go off page in most baking endeavors then I would drive without GPS (and trust me on occasions where I have done either calamity has ensued). But generally in the kitchen many things become a fill in the black exercise. Let me illustrate with ice cream.

Ice cream is a flavoured frozen custard (Custard + Flavour Agent + Freezing Mechanism = Ice Cream). Custard (for our purposes here) is sweetened cream (of varying fat content) thickened with eggs (Eggs + cream + Sugar + Heat = Custard ). Flavour agent is pretty self explanatory. It can include anything from fruits, chocolate, spices to, well, anything. The sky (and your good taste) is the limit.

So my internal template for ice cream reads,

Ice Cream = (Egg(s) + Cream + Sugar + Heat) + Flavour Agent + Freezing Mechanism

Now this is where you begin to experiment. The ratio of eggs, to cream, to sugar, for the custard has to be chosen, which you can do pretty intuitively after making a few times. The fat content of the cream is another choice. High fat content equals richer end result, with a smoother mouth feel. Sometimes that’s a good thing; other times the goal is a lighter product. And, of course the type and amount of flavour you chose to inject plays a huge role in what you end up with (will it whisper or scream?). All these decisions come into play, and are in fact are fun to play with, once you understand the basic underpinning of the dish. Recipes often give you new insight into how to alter the variables, but are not a necessity in the creation of the dish.

This is why when asked by my mother for my recipe for a given dish I often respond with a blank look. Somehow I don’t think she’d be impressed with,

Blueberry Ice Cream = (2 Eggs + 1 cup of Milk + 1 cup of 18% Cream + 1/3 cup Sugar + Heat) + 1 pint puréed Blueberries + Kitchen aid mixer w/ Ice Cream attachment

Zucchini Bonding

Zucchini and eggplant are two vegetables that rarely get exposure on my tabletop. Not out of any great dislike; I think it’s a hereditary glitch passed on to me from my mother. I like them, eat them often at restaurants but just never think to incorporate them into dinner. Anyhow, this changed with a vengeance this year when The Banker came home with a face box chock full of both offenders. Always happy to receive edible I mainly stuck to the safe road and spent weeks eating roasted eggplant and zucchini with ______. Tasty and easy but getting a tad repetitive.

I wanted something interesting but requiring no more effort. As I was out of eggplant, I needed something with zucchini as the star (and possible only) player. Fun Facts about zucchini; they are technically an immature fruit – not a vegetable, they contain reasonable levels of folate, potassium and Vitamin D and C, and they originally hail from Italy. Along with the factoids I came across a compelling dish from a guilty pleasure, Jamie Oliver (I’m a sucker for an English accent). In it he makes ribbons out of the plant, grills and then lightly dresses with garlic, red pepper and lemon juice. Sounds both tasty and lazy – right up my alley.

I used a regular vegetable peeler for the ribbons and highly encourage it, the texture of the dish is improved the wispier the zucchini is. As far as the salt goes, I'm of the school of thought that Maldin is always better, but if not that at last kosher or sea salt. And while I can see this dish working well in an elegantly austere meal – think grilled white fish with new potatoes and a Chablis– I paired it with lasagna. Because I’m a rebel, that’s why.

Zucchini Salad (Serves 2)

1 medium sized zucchini, sliced into very thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler or a mandolin (or, if you are a masochist, a knife)

3 Cloves of garlic

½ Teaspoon of red chili pepper flakes

Juice of ½ a lemon

Salt to taste

Method:
1) On a very hot grill (or grill pan) quickly grill the zucchini until the edges are slightly singed.
2) With the side of you knife reduce the garlic to paste. Incorporate red pepper flakes and salt.
3) Thoroughly coat the zucchini with the garlic mixture.
4) Add the lemon juice to the salad.
5) Taste and add salt if required.

Bees, Bones and Desserts

When The Banker is cranky he starts to resemble a toddler who’s just been told that blankie can’t come on vacation this year. Lip goes out, eyes get stormy and outside of major intervention the next hour is going to be uncomfortable. This was the case this Friday evening; early afternoon patioing with the Banker Boys on the street in addition to a market that went turbulent, had him sobering, tired and slightly petulant by six. In this state the two of us plus Faithful Friend made out way over to The Harbord Room. Which meant that this meal, in fact any meal, was probably not going to please him.

I liked the Harbord Room for this situation because it’s cute, the patio is a backyard and not crowded. Again like dealing with a toddler them aim is to reduce stimulation to increase calmness. Coming in at 6pm the restaurant had just opened giving us the pick of the tables. They don’t take reservations for the patio and space goes fast – either come early or be prepared to wait. We were soon tucked into a lovely table, greeted by a pleasant server and things were looking up. The bread came quickly and the small but well thought out menu had options that appealed to the tree of us.

Then the bees came.

Wildlife is a fact of life when dining al fresco but either by some quirk of fate or styling products five bees made a routine of dive bombing The Banker for the duration of the meal, setting the tone resulting in a string of unhappiness from The Banker. The wine, a Malbec with strong chocolate notes , was pronounced undrinkable, his mains, lamb done three ways, declared to fatty and undercooked (totally unfair because one cut was the belly, by it’s very nature a fatty cut). It is a testament to the servers, who managed to relocate our group inside to hide from our aerial attackers, and the desserts, amazing, that by the end good humour had returned and peace reigned once more.

In the mean time my meal pleased me. To start I had the Applewood smoked cheddar on Fred’s walnut loaf. Not original (in my opinion there are superior smoked cheeses being make closer to home) and a little greasy but it delivered on taste and texture. A main of fresh parpadelle and braised rabbit surpassed expectations, with the grainy Kozlik’s mustard working with an anise scented broth while the braised meat was both tender and flavourful. My only issue would be the boning of the rabbit which was slightly incomplete. Ending up with a mouthful of rabbit ribs puts an uncomfortable halt to dinner conversation.

The desserts were where the meal shone and moods improved. The peach bread pudding was paired with an uber rich, very dark chocolate mousse that brought the more austere fruit dessert to a whole new level. The pot du crème was a marvel with chocolate, caramel and espresso it was neither too sweet nor bitter but lovely and mellow on the tongue and smooth and rich in the mouth. Clever the kitchen is to not add to fatigue the palate with any rich garnish but rather topping with a milk foam, providing a nice textural change.

In summation The Harbord room is a lovely little restaurant that can’t be blamed for cranky bankers or deranged insects. It however can take full credit for an interesting menu, accommodating service and sublime desserts.

Snacktastic

I like greens, I really do, but I have issues with amounts they tend to be sold in. Case in point, last week I picked up kale to compliment the pickerel I had for the night’s dinner. One third of the amount, sautéed with sesame oil and red pepper flakes, was more than sufficient and very tasty. Now I have a situation; there are at least four servings left but I really don’t feel like using the greens in the dinner rotation for the next few days. I know Wasted Food = Bad, but Boring Dinners also = Bad. Dilemma ensues.

Solution, make snacks.

Kale chips may sound incredibly bizarre but they work, are delicious and a cinch to make. It’s literally a process of ripping the washed kale into bite size pieces, taking care to remove the fibrous leaf centre, putting on a baking sheet and then liberally pouring olive oil and tossing on sea salt. Bake for 15ish minutes at 350 or until nice and crispy and you are done. The result is an excellent a snack and also works as a tasty and interesting garnish. Not only will no kale be wasted, you might need to make another trip to the store.

Chowing Down at City Hall

Tasty Thursdays are back and, well tasty. Most of the planed schedule of this city hall event were cancelled due to the stike o’summer 09, but happily, with normalcy returned, the last few weeks have been salvaged. The premise is simple; restaurants from the city set up booths and sell their wares, all under $5 and all in environmentally friendly containers. A band plays (in my opinion much too loudly), the sun shines and frivolity ensues. Not a bad gig, but how is the food this year? It turns out pretty good; two adequate passings and an A-.

I, in an attempt to avoid the lines, decided to try Kathmandu and ordered the Momo’s (chicken dumplings) with a side salad, and vegetarian samosas. Verdict? Not bad, but if you’re serving me deceptively gyoza like dumplings you better make sure they pack a flavour wollop – these come carrying a sternly worded letter. Not bland, very meaty but I would have preferred a more confidently seasoned product. Curry sauces kicked it up though; sadly, limp undressed salad brought it back down. Better than a street dog but not as exciting as I hoped.

The Banker’s Brother went Cuban with his sandwich from Freshwood Grill and ended up with a stronger contender. Loads of flavourful braised pork, bacon and aioli wrapped in dense flatbread – simple and to the point. I was sold. The Banker was sold. Brother wanted vegetables in it. Banker and I looked quizzically at Brother. He’s always been a strange one.

The Banker, who always picks the best meal (poor guy never does get to finish it though), spent his time in the longest line and was rewarded for his patience. La Fiesta won the day with it’s roasted pork and potato omelet with rice and beans and a side of (dressed!) salad. Yes, the meat was somewhat fatty and salty. Yes, the rice was probably soaked in fat. This was ‘not good for you at all’ food. I consumed my half it up in five minutes (I may have been afraid The Banker would ask for it back) and considered going back for seconds (sadly the line remained). It was satisfying and greasy and a little spicy with hints of paprika. This is hot summer picnic food at it's best.

So, what's the moral of the story? Wait in the longest line – it turns out people do know what they’re doing. And try and sit away from the bandstand – it’ll make you deaf.

Tasty Thursday's at City Hall

Kathmandu Restaurant
517 Yonge St.

Freshwood Grill
197 ½ Baldwin St.

La Fiesta Restaurant
503 Oakwood Ave

Hank's Peach Pie Rocked My World

Peach pie can be very good. It’s a great fruit to turn into a pie; sweet enough that it doesn’t require additional sugar and while not heavy with pectin the texture of the fruit doesn’t require a lot of gel to set. Anyhow it’s in season right now making it plentiful and cheap. I say this not to promote the baking of pies; as readers will know it is neither a strength nor a joy of mine. It’s just that I had a really great slice yesterday and now have it stuck in my brain (I understand this sort of thing happens with other people and songs). The crust was okay– it did not excite nor offended. The interior though was velvet summer, flavourful and ripe. Garnished with rich Chantilly cream it was a truly superior dessert. Something that Jamie Kennedy’s new lunch spot Hanks seems to be familiar with.

The first visit to Hank’s was a pastry and tea affair. At 10:30 my troop of three easily beat the lunch rush and took full advantage of the minimal line making multiple trips to the counter to reload on sweets and caffeine. The pie was the winner – a dessert that hovers in one’s memory. The croissants were adequate, rich and buttery but not as flakey as I would like. Cookies aimed higher and in the case of the lemon ginger with good sized candied ginger bits, achieved. Macaroons fared less well with great taste but a tough texture. Double chocolate walnut cookie provided a nice moist crumb with a solid chocolate flavor (although I favour the Double Chocolate Espresso cookie and B Café for a similar, but better, take on the concept).

Returning for lunch we learn an important Hank rule – show up before 12:15. After that the eclectic lunch crowd fills up the joint, causing some significant linage. The lunch menu is small but sufficient. Soups and sandwich, each offered in full or half servings (a serious benefit for those of us that don’t have full dinner appetites at lunch). I go for the egg salad sandwich which is fine, but bland. Much better is the smoked turkey sandwich I promptly steal from The Banker, chock full of meat garnished with picked radish, sautéed green pepper and an herbed aioli. A serious sandwich. Soup is another highlight, a herbed squash with a light citrus note contrasting nicely with the rich sweetness of the squash. For $10 a head this is good value.

The service was adorably inept each time. By no means bad service and all intentions seem very good, but things just don’t go quite right. Drinks are spilled enroute and require a top off, sandwiches make a long a tortuous route though the space before finding their happy home at your table. All mistakes are remedied quickly with apologies and I imagine given time will dissipate. Even if they don’t I’ll take a good natured clumsy server over an efficient grump any day. The music was also a little off but in a very good way. One rarely hears Common and Nina Simone back to back.

http://hankstoronto.blogspot.com/
9 1/2 Church St.
Toronto, Ontario
(647) 288-0670

The Best Bread Recipe (and newspaper) Ever

The running joke in our house is that a full two thirds of my conversation begin with “in the New York Times today…”. The habit, established in high school, of treating the papers as a conversational gambit, has driven The Banker a little crazy through the years and while I have tried to stop it’s hard. Because the minute you don’t pay attention to NYT you risk missing a life altering article about bread. No knead bread, to be specific, has in the past year revolutionized bread making in our household. The thing about this is it almost annoying how easy it is. I’ve baked many dozens of recipes using a multiple of flours and starters and methods. I’ve started sponges, babysat sourdoughs, hand kneaded and used the Kitchenaid. This recipe is much, much better than any other and requires about 1/100th of the work (in fact I can/have done it returning home from somewhat rowdy nights out on the town). It’s also hyper adaptable – experiment with different flours and timing. I feel free to omit that fact when receiving praise on the finished product.
Long live The New York Times.Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street BakeryTime: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising



The York Times No Knead Bread Recipe
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf

Food Happenings the the CIty

Summer is finally showing itself in the city; the sun is shining, garbage is (mostly) gone and all is well with the world. I had a fantastic time touring St. Lawrence Market, Kensington Market and Chinatown yesterday with Scott and Mia, a fantastic couple from Minnesota. Hope they enjoy the rest of their stay in the city and sample many more examples of Toronto's tastiness.

This weekend is a great one to spend in our city with multiple delicious events and happenings. Below is a short list of festivals and related links. Makes you almost pity the cottage folk.
Hope to see you there!


Toronto Food Events for the Weekend of August 7th-9th

Festival of Beer, August 7th and 9th (the Saturday is sold out) @ the Exhibition Place, Tickets $45 – More beer the food (obviously) but interesting things happen in the grilling forum and some the the breweries are great finds) http://www.beerfestival.ca/main/torontos_festival_of_beer_2008

Taste of the Danforth, August 7th-9th **Highly recommended** Incredibly interesting street festival with multiple vendors of Greek food - http://www.dine.to/tasteofthedanforth.php

Jerk Festival, August 8th & 9th, A bit of a hike from the downtown but if you have a vehicle and love the spicy well worth the trip - http://www.jerkfestival.ca/directions.php

South Indian Festival, August 9th, Central location this is an easy stop to fit into a schedule of sightseeing - http://www.ydsquare.ca/

Openings

The much awaited Sam James coffee bar should be opening it's doors tomorrow August 8th. With coffee by Toronto's most famous Barista (none other then Sam himself) and pastries by major Chef about Town J.P. Challet this place has created enough buzz to live up to it's main beverage.
Sam James Coffee Bar297 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON

sidecar goes beyond

Gotta love a place that serves great food at good prices and pays for the cab! Went to Sidecar on College last night for a casual meal with friends and forgot our wallet. Worse The Banker and I realized this pertinent fact in the cab outside of the restaurant. While I stay, mortified, in the car trying to explain to the driver that we aren't generally so useless The Banker goes in search of our friends (and hopefully benefactors). With no familiar faces in sight Sidecar becomes our hero when the bar offers to lead us the cash to pay the cab and put it on our tab.
Evening rescued. Dinner Fantastic. Fans Forever.

Come East Young Man

The Toronto’s east side gains a little West coast flavor with the opening of the Lady Marmalade, a beloved Victoria brunch local that is trying the fickle Toronto trade. From the line out the door I think our city has provided a receptive welcome.

Bunch is tricky because it must appear simple. At no time do I want to be confused by the menu, servers should use short words and small sentences and loud noises are to be avoided (good rule of thumb for all dining rooms but particularly important for the early meals). At the same time it shouldn’t be boring (exception if the meal is occurring in a dinner variation). The Lady Marmalade wins, with interesting yet approachable fare (breakfast poutine anyone?) and bonus points for simple but lovely presentation.

Hourvos ranchos are common enough in Toronto but often underwhelming. The version I had was fresh and clean tasting with eggs that had been respected while cooking so the retained the texture of eggs not tires and fresh guacamole (sadly not much). The tomato sauce was well spiced and the whole wheat tortilla added a nice textural touch. The miso gravy on the poutine ordered for the table was a bit overwhelming when paired with an already salty aged cheddar (this is not to say the dish did not disappear quickly) – next time I’d like to try the hollandaise. The third sauce option, tomato orange cream, may be pushing the brunch envelope for me. It doesn’t work in my head and I am neither brave nor adventurous before coffee.

The second time around I went for the poached egg BLT with avocado and chipotle mayo and was reduced to silence. Again the egg had not been over cooked (why do so many places do that?) and the mayo was distinctly smoky, working well with thick cut, properly cooked (neither insipid or charred) bacon. Absolutely lovely.

Coffee, an important brunch measurement, was a good roast and refills were offered at suitable intervals even though the place obviously humming. Service in general was just right; wholesome looking and efficient with an easy grin but little need or time to chit chat. It fit into the overall feel of the place; with mismatched mugs, salt and pepper shakers that range from fire trucks to Santas and a chalk board for idle little ones to decorate, Lady Marmalade is laid back charm. This city would be lucky to receive more of this particular west coast migration.

Lady Marmalade

898 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON

647-351-7645