I first discovered Boreal spices d’Origina through chef Martin Gagné of Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations in Wendake, Quebec. One of 80 chefs featured in my À la bonne franquette cookbook, he chose these indigeneous spices from Canada’s forests as his “coup de coeur” or fave local product.

From Labrador tea to sweet gale seeds, Boreal fruits, roots and leaves have long been known and used by First Nations to prepare infusions and cook food. Should Québec experience its very own Scandinavian-style food revolution as explicited in Claus Meyer’s Nordic Cuisine Manifesto (a foodie must-read here), Boreal spices may well be one of the first steps on the road leading back to our unique terroir.

Actually, more and more Québec chefs have started experimenting with distinctive local products and brands from d’Origina to Gaspésie sauvage. Add the rediscovery of elderberry and marsh samphire;  the world-leading number of raw cheeses produced by our artisans (more than are made in France!); the appelation contrôlée sought by ice cider and the one already secured by Charlevoix lamb; plus, of course, the amazing unicity of our maple syrup; and there’s no doubt in my mind that Québec has the food riches needed to sound its own revolution.

Knowing that fear of trying new foods acts as a deterrent, d’Origina has created a trial kit with 5 spices: Sweet Gale Seeds, Peppery Green Alder, Wintergreen, Wild currant and Labrador Tea, in whole or powdered format. The Labrador Tea also comes in a second pouch for brewing the mellowest, subtlest tea you can ever wish for (of course I made a cuppa the moment I got home)

Also included in the kit is a brochure with sample recipes to test-drive your new spices:

•          Zucchini and Sweet Gale Seed Gaspacho

•          Raspberry Ostrich Carpaccio with Peppery Green Alder

•          Apple, Brie and Wintergreen Power Filo Pastry Puff

•          Grilled Salmon Steak with the Subtlety of Wild Currant Wonder

•          Confit Lamb Parmentier with Wintergreen Powder

•          Sautéed Veal with Sweet Gale Seed

•          Cranberry and Orange Clafoutis with Labrador Tea Spice

It makes a wonderful hostess gift for that food lover in your entourage. And of course, with its friendly $15* price tag (what I paid at Moulin aux Épices in the Laurentians’ Piedmont), it’s the perfect chance for you to experiment.

Here’s the first recipe I tested for you from the booklet enclosed. There are also many recipes on the d’Origina website that you may want to try your hand at or just peruse to make up your mind.

So, how about we start Québec’s food revolution right here and now? And if they say I’m a dreamer, then surely I’m not the only one…

* On the d’Origina website, you can also find a gift box for $49.99.

Zucchini and Sweet Gale Seed Gaspacho
Serves 4

Pair with Pinot Griogio from Northern Italy or California.

• 500 ml (2 cups) uncooked zucchini, partly peeled then cubed
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground sweet gale seeds
• 20 ml (4 tsp) grapeseed oil
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) chicken or vegetable broth (I used vegetable to make this vegetarian)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tomato, diced

1. Cut 8 thin slices of zucchini and reserve for garnish.
2. In the food pro, purée zucchini, sweet gale, oil and broth. Season to taste.
3. Serve in small cups or bowls, garnished with zucchini slices and diced tomato.

Sweet gale seeds, which are tangier than their name would let you think, remind me of a strong oregano.

It was the kind of challenge I relish: convince 10 of Quebec’s top chefs to play the healthy card by creating gourmet recipes for the Montreal Heart Institute and the nutritionists at its EPIC Centre. A unique cookbook that could also serve to raise funds for the Institute’s well-respected and much-needed Foundation.

The initial call came in the spring of 2011: “You have free reign. We’re sending you a list of chefs that the Institute likes, but you choose who you want to work with.”

Right away, I made a mental list of chefs I knew and liked, plus a few others I wanted to get to know. One name appeared on both my list and the Institute’s: Danny St Pierre of Sherbrooke’s Auguste Restaurant. He was my first call.

The second one went out to Michael Makhan of Montreal’s Aux Vivres Restaurant, out of a personal desire to feature vegan cuisine. Other names were added as I went, new upcoming chefs and top toques that the team fancied:

• Giovanni Apollo of Apollo Restaurant;
• Anne and Emmanuel Desjardins of L’Eau à la bouche;
• Jérôme Ferrer of Europea;
• Mélanie Gagnon of Auberge Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley;
• Patrick Gérôme of Le Baluchon;
• Sébastien Harrisson Cloutier of Bistro Bienville;
• Jean-Baptiste Marchand of La Fabrique;
• and Ian Perreault, the famous-chef-turned-caterer.

I’ve been know to say on the record how much I like chefs, their larger-than-life generosity, their insatiable appetite for life, their incessant quest for more and more pleasure. Even when I don’t know a chef at the beginning of a joint project, a meeting of the minds takes place pretty quickly. Which is a good thing, because kindred spirits and team work were much needed in the course of creating this healthy cookbook. Analyzed by the Institute’s nutritionists, no duck recipe survived. A few desserts bit the dust. Mussels, algae and kale barely made it due to their high sodium levels…

Mélanie Gagnon had to test her egg and carrot verrines one night, to replace her duck confit financiers at the last minute (a recipe that remains in my archives, one of the marginal benefits of my job). Jean-Baptiste Marchand’s Egg and Bagel Brunch was sent back to bed. And I am holding on to Patrick Gérôme’s regretted Duck Confit Parmentier, to be cooked next fall when the Faubert family yearns for the return of comfort food.

In the end, 80 recipes succeeded in convincing both our tastebuds and the Epic Centre’s nutritional software, a taskmaster as unbending as an elliptical machine, lol. As a lapsed vegetarian, I was seduced by all the recipes provided by Aux Vivres; by the melon, ginger and honey wine soup from L’Eau à la bouche; by the soy bean, strawberry and thai basil salad from La Fabrique; and by Auguste’s poached chicken on a bed of tomatoes, capers and raisins. And by the following, the very first recipe from the book, a delicious salad created by Giovanni Apollo that is tailor-made for summer and kind on the arteries. Trust me, I’ve got a nutritionist’s word on that.

Fennel and clementine salad with lime
Serves 4

• 2 fennel bulbs
• 5 clementines
• 1 cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1 minced green onion

Dressing
• juice of one lime
• 30 ml ( 2 tbsp) olive oil
• 7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) sesame oil
• pinch of salt and black pepper

1. Finely mince fennel using a mandoline and chill in a bowl of icy water. Peel 2 clementines, divide into sections and set aside.

2. Juice remaining clementines and whisk together with dressing ingredients.

3. Drain fennel, transfer to a salad bowl and combine with other vegetables as well as reserved clementines. Sprinkle with dressing, mix carefully and serve.

In April 2012, I gave French CBC radio show Bien dans son assiette a 10-minute interview about a topic few dare to discuss: cookbook ghostwriting. One of the many hats I wear as a food writer, actually. Although fans would like to believe famous chefs write their own books, most do not. And if several journalists decry the role of ghostwriters, I think it’s pretty harmless and often justified (most chefs are great cooks but lousy writers), especially compared to ghostcooking. But that’s a whole other subject.

Listen here (in French): Bien dans son assiette

Concept and contents development, selection of the book’s 10 participating chefs, coordination with publishing and nutrition teams, recipe selection and editing, copywriting.

Publishers: Publications Transcontinental and Montreal Heart Institute Foundation

While I have every intention of cooking from the Pied de cochon sugar shack book (things like Breakfast PDC, veal curry and chicken with gnocchi come to mind), let’s face it, for a busy mom, these are time-intensive recipes. And with two picky eaters at home, I’m always a little scared to spend 24 hours in the kitchen only to be greeted at the dinner table by dubious looks, if not all-out dramatic groans.

You’re looking to indulge your sweet tooth this spring? You’re going to Paris and want to bring a typically Québecois gift? You’re invited for Easter and are scrambling for hostess gift ideas? Here’s a small, simple cookbook that only wants you to discover the joy of cooking with maple syrup. (BTW, it won a prize at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards as the best single subject French cookbook for Canada, so this is no lightweight.)

You will find a traditional section with sugar shack specialties of course. But the real added value here are the modern recipes, many provided by Québec’s leading toques from Jérôme Ferrer to Marie-Fleur Saint-Pier, and Patrice Demers to Michèle Marek.

Vive la différence? The book has its own, brand-new WordPress page (!) where you can also order a gift assortment including 3 samples of maple syrup and sugar. Isn’t that sweet.

Fact of life when you are a blogger: Ad agencies, publishers, companies et al. often offer to send you products or books, invite you to launches, etc., hoping you will blog positively about them. I’m no exception.

However, if you are familiar with FrancoFoodie, then you know I don’t feature new products much, except for the occasional aside when presenting a new recipe where I use the product. Or book reviews, of course, but that’s my niche.

If I don’t like the product, for sure I’m not going to present it here or praise its too-elusive qualities. But it happens, too often for comfort, that I receive a product I do like and never get around to. I scrounge around for an angle, try to find a way to insert it into a scheduled post, time flies, and my two cents worth becomes useless and dépassé.

So, as part of my new “Cool Stuff” category (see À la carte in right sidebar), here is presenting one such product.

Monsieur Felix & Mr. Norton Cookie cakes

Basically, these are cakes made from layers of MFMN cookies, with buttercream in between. Chocolate chunks are also generously distributed throughout and on top. They are rich, oh my! are they rich. They are super sweet, so it helps to have the corresponding tooth (or serve them with strong espresso like I did). They are also expensive, at $14.99 for 400 g in IGA Québec stores only.

But they are frozen, so you can keep them handy for when friends show up, with no shame attached to serving them on a Saturday night even. And the quality is worth congratulating. I don’t remember the last time I saw a non-organic grocery product where honest-to-goodness cream was the 1st ingredient. Dear Felix and Norton, for sure, you don’t skimp, guys.

Brand
Monsieur Félix & Mr. Norton is a Montreal-based bakery with numerous cookie outlets throughout Québec. You can also buy their frozen ready-to-bake cookie dough at IGA.

Flavours
• Ménage-à-Trois Chocolate Chunk Cake
• Ebony & Invory Chocolate Chunk Cake

Price
$14.99 (400 g or easily 6 servings)

Where
IGA grocery stores in Québec

On the French side of this blog, a new post presents some of the very few French apps available to foodies. If you read French, you may want to switch over.

If you think you’re missing something by not reading the language though, don’t worry.

Although French gastronomy remains one of the world’s iconic cuisines, it has not found its mobile voice. There’s very little to byte into. Let’s say we need a French Jamie Oliver…

“Would I be interested, as a food blogger, to be matched to one of 2012′s trendiest organic products from Québec?” The invitation came from Expo Manger santé et vivre vert, the annual healthy living tradeshow whose 15th Edition will be held in Montreal from March 16 to 18. Given that I have my own Facebook page (see right, in French only) dedicated to local products, my enthusiastic answer was kind of a given.

One week later, a mysterious box landed on my kitchen counter, its contents enough to take one’s breath away: a veritable cornucopia of shiitake and oyster mushrooms met my eyes, in hues I had never suspected existed, pink, grey, brown, blue… They instantly filled the house with their woodsy aroma. The thrilling fungi had been delivered directly to my house by Monsieur Basilic located in nearby Saint-Placide, in Québec’s Lower Laurentians.

The next Saturday, with kiddo in tow, I headed towards Oka to visit Monsieur Basilic’s greenhouses, and meet with Maryse and Dino, two food adventurers with decidedly green thumbs and unique “raw” talent.

Created in 1994, Monsieur Basilic first specialized in the local culture of greenhouse tomatoes and Lebanese cucumbers. But with their high quality standards, they found it hard to compete with Ontario producers who used Quebec to unload their tomato surpluses at prices well below production costs. So Maryse and Dino decided to turn their home kitchen into an R&D lab of sorts where they experimented with new products, one seed at a time. Soon, more greenhouses sprouted on their Saint-Placide lot, initially devoted to the culture of popular basil and arugula. Today, fields of miraculous microgreens, salads and fine herbs occupy most of the company’s seven greenhouses, alongside small refrigerated chambers devoted to their extraordinary mushrooms.

Forget the romance: a farmer’s life, whether they work in the fields or inside a greenhouse, is beyond tough. You need to be immeasurably passionate and on the job 24/7. So how does one stay motivated through the years? “We love R&D,” explains Maryse, ever-smiling and totally oblivious to the mud under her fashionable black boots. “There’s always a new project, a new seed, another challenge. For example, we experimented with several varieties of mushrooms, like Lion’s Mane, but nobody knew them, so there was no demand. We settled on oyster mushrooms and shiitakes as a result…”

So how irresistible are Monsieur Basilic’s products? Let’s say my green-hating 5-year-old may have been spied nibbling on edible nasturtium, far away from prying eyes. Because according to said young’un: “Flowers are good eats but they’re also girly, ‘kay Mom?”

If their famous potted basil can be found in major Quebec food banners, you will have to visit Monsieur Basilic’s website to find a location nearest you for their amazing potted sprouts (or call to see if they have home delivery in your area). Or you could wait for the day when the food-processing kitchen and roadside stand finally open, one of those projects that keep Maryse going.

With more and more of us increasingly wary of industrial products and their lengthy ingredient lists, edible potted plants provide a healthy renewable alternative. Here are 5 tips from Monsieur Basilic to help them thrive for several weeks, if not months, in your home. Good luck!

________________________________________________________

1 - Place your potted edibles in a well-lighted area.

2 - Notwithstanding #1, do NOT place your pots on a windowsill. They hate temperature variations, especially in winter. (This applies most strongly to basil.)

3 - Always water from the bottom with room-temperature water.

4 - Water once a day, every day.

5 - Only provide enough water to barely cover the bottom of your pot holder, so the roots may draw it slowly. More than that and you will drown your plants.

________________________________________________________

It was sometime in November, and Monsieur and I were planning Christmas. “I’m spoiling myself this year, I announced. I’m buying an iPad2. Since I write mobile sites for clients, it’s about time I learn more about apps and stuff so I can keep up-to-date.”

Monsieur looked positively alarmed. “An iPad is so expensive, the best apps are not free, sure it’s a great gizmo but do you really need it?” Da. Like anyone needs an excuse to buy an iPad, puhlease. We probably argued over my “out-of-control spending” for a good 10 minutes before Monsieur’s unusual anti-tech stance explained itself: he had bought me an iPad as a Christmas present! (Admit it, you gotta love the boy.)

Since then, I have spent my iPad-earmarked budget on, what else, every app under the sun. Some I bought because they were the top hits and I truly did wish to explore the technology. Many are about food, what a surprise. On the way, our family has also discovered the great educational value of iPad apps. Beyond Gangstar Rio and Dead Space — which we own, I regret to admit —, there is a world of fun stuff for preschoolers to learn letters, numbers, storytelling and what not. Truly a game changer in terms of learning, mark my words as Mitten’s pigeon victims would say.

I don’t pretend to be familiar with every great app out there. In fact, I’d love it if you would recommend your favourites to me, especially the food and education ones. These are just my thoughts and preferences to date. Today’s post is about recipe apps, what else, but do come back in the next few days for more posts about food, kids and even eBooks so we can compare notes?

Recipe Apps

Generally speaking, I have found that food apps come in two categories: the recipe apps served up by celebrity chefs, food magazines, TV shows, etc.; and the tool apps that include calorie counters, recipe timers, grocery lists, etc. Beyond the recipe apps, of course, more and more eBooks are being published. A few can be bought directly on iPad (your eyes won’t thank you though). If you absolutely want to read them on iPad, you can just download apps like Kindle & Co. to access your library. Dealing with recipe applications alone for now, here are the ones that got my juices flowing.

Best value

If you are searching for value and don’t need an app that replicates a Food Network show, then Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything is for you. We are talking 2000 recipes here! Be warned, there’s few beauty shots of dishes and no technique videos. These are illustrated through old-fashioned drawings that are quite thorough. A shopping list, a timer as well as metric and imperial options are provided.

Techwise, this is an in-between app: it doesn’t take advantage of iPad’s video capabilities — in fact, it started life as an iPhone version — but the breadth of recipes more than makes up for it. It may feel more like a cookbook 2.0, less like an app, but it’s a must-have if you ask me. You may also want to check out Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Given the number of recipes in total, you’re pretty much set for life…

Cost: $9.99
Published by: Culinate
Last update: November 18, 2011

Runner-up

In App Store Rewind 2011, Apple itself picked Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals as the best recipe iPhone/iPad app of 2011. No doubt, it comes with all the bells and whistles of the best apps available: you can switch servings from 2 to 4, there’s multiple videos detailing techniques, a shopping tool and more.

If you like to be taken by the hand when you cook, this recipe app could easily become a favourite. Plus, Jamie Oliver is admittedly camera-ready. Spiffy videos remind me of TV shows broken down into recipes or techniques. Be warned that it has only 60 or so recipes and the format was initially devised for iPhone (so much for screen resolution). That said, it should satisfy most cooks and recipe-obsessed foodies.

Cost: $6.99
Published by: Zolmo
Last update: September 6, 2011

You might also like: You want to get a taste without spending the dough? The new app by Jamie Oliver, Jamie’s Recipes, is a FREE download with a short selection of recipes. If you want more recipes though, you’ll need to buy extra “packs” ranging from $1.99 to $2.99. Its interface is made-to-measure for iPad, i.e. bigger and bolder. Overall, pretty cool and a worthy introduction to the world of recipe apps. (Did I mention it’s free…?)

Presently exploring:

What other Recipe apps am I tinkering with?

On the celebrity front, Nigella Lawson’s Quick and Mario Batali’s Cooks combine recipes and TV-style videos. They are quite fun to explore. Batali offers a limited number of recipes but Nigella has already updated Quick to total 100 dishes, quite impressive given the sophistication of her app. Both feel like an extension of a Food Network show, with the ubiquitous Tool Trio added: Timer-Shopping-Favourite.

When all is said and done, recipe apps mirror the chef’s sensibilities in terms of recipes and visual approach, but technically they’re already starting to feel the same to me after only 2 months. So if you like Gordon Ramsay, let’s say, I suspect he would provide a similar experience.

I am very impressed so far by Baking with Dorie, as in the great Greenspan. This 24-recipe app is all about video which I find invaluable in baking where texture is so critical. You can watch the recipe from beginning to end and explore related technique videos. All recipes include a list of the cookware you will need. Dorie is a baking wizard who will even bring to your attention the whirring sound of the mixer to pinpoint when dough is ready. You can’t get more hands-on than that. The recipe selection focuses on the basics, so I assume (?) there will be updates with more fanciful choices. At $9.99, it is pricey but worth the price.

In the crowd-sourcing mode, I’m having fun exploring Food52 Holiday Recipe and Survival Guide, which can come handy anytime of year if you ask me. It has a nice selection, tons of step-by-step pix that may seem superfluous at first glance but provide useful tips in the legends. Now I just need an excuse to throw a party and actually test them.

Finally, kiddo has jumped on the recipe app bandwagon and is crazy about the Kung Fu Panda 2 Interactive Cookbook. It’s only 19 recipes that are intended to get kids cooking. Each one comes with a mom-and-son video, plus shake the screen and Tigress herself will select the next recipe for you. With few recipes to choose from, she tends to repeat herself fairly fast. My veggie-hating son rediscovered his love of broccoli thanks to the Masters Favorite Beef with Broccoli recipe, so it holds a special place in my heart. Please forgive me, though, if I can’t reveal what’s in the featured Secret Ingredient Soup…

This blog has what’s called a USP or Unique Selling Proposition. Or niche, if you want. I’m a food writing mom with 2 picky eaters at home. I cook for them out of the newest Québec cookbooks and review the results and the opus at the same time, providing the recipes that worked and might please your own family.

It’s fun (most times), hands-on and, let’s face it, not so inventive, save for the fact that no other blog in Québec seems to devote itself to local books quite so much. Mind you, if you’d like to suggest a “foreign” title for me to cook from and review, feel free to make suggestions.

In 2012, I’m thinking of changing gears once in a while by featuring other stuff I like. Case in point: this Lurpak video that screams appetite appeal and makes me want to rush to the fruit store NOW. Hope it inspires you as much.

Lurpak – Lightest from Blink on Vimeo.