Jenny's Food Ink

The Flawed Definition of Value.

2014-05-14T17:49:00.000-04:00

Duane Hanson's Shopping Lady Sculpture

Fat shoppers lean against their carts of cardboard and plastic packaging as they fall forward incredibly slowly, scanning the shelves and throwing in the items marked on sale, or those with the words Value or Only preceding the price. Do they not price compare? No. Because Walmart has marketed its brand smartly. If the little bouncy smily face says something is good value, the shoppers believe and flock to get the deals while they last (as if they would ever stop the rrrrrrrrrollback days!). The transitory yellow sale stickers promote a sense of urgency. It’s better to buy three jugs of Sunny D now because it’s better value, the sign suggests. Big name shops know that their clientele are flocking to their store under the pretense of affordable food. The shop thrives because it earns huge profits by selling high quantities of low quality food, under the guise of value.

Unstable paychecks lead to erratic shopping, especially when it comes to food. Marketing teams exploit the flustered shoppers, encouraging them to stock up while they can. The non-perishables take the cake and are considered part of the budget. Soon, pantries are filled with sugar and salt-filled snacks and the fridge is barren of greenery. When there’s just a little money in the bank, the mentality becomes like that of a squirrel - get busy collecting food now that it’s on sale so that during harder times, one can start digging into the non-perishables. Historically, cultures with little money also relied on non-perishables like whole grains, and canned and pickled vegetables. These are valuable, and proven to be affordable, nutritionally high foods that have since become lost stapes. Nowadays “value” carries little significance, yet the term has substantial gravity in every aisle other than the fruits and vegetable section.

Something of real value is unique (heritage food, for example), hand-crafted ( or nurtured a human, with love), and would be long-lasting in its use. In short, when we ascribe value to food, the definition should be : most nutrition for a low to reasonable price. An organic apple these days may run you $1 but your body can use 100% of that apple, so you get a $1 return in nutrition (vitamins, fiber, energy). Please appreciate that the cost also supports the farmers who are relentlessly laboring at less than minimum wage to keep healthy options affordable. Why aren’t there ever ‘value’ sales on whole foods? 2 for 1 apples; Buy one pear, get one free; Perfectly ripe yellow bananas, get them before they blot!, etc. There aren’t because there isn’t much profit for the business. It’s a whole different ballpark when the a box of cookies that took $1 to make is lowered in price from $2.99 to $2.50. Still, there are ways to make fruits and vegetables more attractive to shoppers looking to be told what to buy. Some grocery store flyers are now capturing the market for those who want easy access to healthful suggestions, but more needs to be done to slant the shopping and eating habits of North Americans.

Instead of the nutrition panel on the side of the box, shoppers search out the “value” stickers to weigh their options. Those chicken strips, although 5 for $2 does seem like a deal are actually FAR more expensive than going to a butcher shop and buying 1 large chicken breast for $4. But Jennifer! you say, That’s double the price plus the work to prepare it! To which I say, GOOD GRIEF! I feel like I’ve had this discussion a million times in the last 5 years. Using the nutritional percentage again quickly discerns that real chicken is better value. Your body can digest and absorb 100% of the nutrition it has to offer. On the other hand, one frozen chicken finger contains an orgy of meat, diluted with cheap wheat fillers and preservatives. Maybe you’re body will only absorb 40% of it because the rest is “junk” (my dad’s favourite word when relating to processed food). To calculate the value of chicken fingers, simply multiply 40% with $2. You paid 80 cents worth of long term nutrition and $1.20 on fleeting fullness, before flushing your money down the drain.

‘Fullness’, most often caused by bloating, high salt or sugar content is often equated with value, as in the case of parents justifying a kid’s meal at McDonalds. The meal may fill up a child for $3, but his body may only be able to use 20% of the meal. His growing brain suffers this neglect of nutritional value. The other 80% of the meal is so processed that once the child eats it, his body shoots it through to the other end, without absorbing much nutrients at all. Thus, the kid’s meal gets you only 60 cents worth of nutrition and the rest ($2.40) literally goes down the drain. When you think about it in terms of nutrition, it’s hard not to scoff at the alleged “value” signs. If fruits, vegetables and other whole foods were marketed as valuable nutritional sources as eagerly as zealous competitors slap on claims to otherwise processed garbage, then we would all be wealthier in health. We will look back and think that these value signs are as preposterous as doctors recommending cigarettes.

The further you get from the original ingredients, the less your body is able to recognize the food as food, and in turn the less nutrients (if any!) you absorb. “Value” has been marketed to those who seek instant, easy gratification. It attracts a personality type that went to Walmart because it’s a one stop shop, because it’s easier and admittedly, a time saver for those juggling two jobs and a gaggle of kids. It’s painful to see these kids, overweight, trailing behind their fat mothers, gathering boxes sugary snacks, packages of packages of Lunchables and frozen dinners - because their parents send them out like troops to seek out those infamous stickers. Then, at school, depleted of nutrition, these children become hyperactive or comatose and are unable to learn. They grow up and out, and their education is barely absorbed due to a malnourished brain. This leads them into adulthood fat, unhappy and unhealthy. Now does that value sticker look different?

My dad used to spew rhetoric about junk food to me and my sister long into our teens, to which we rolled our eyes but did absorb in the end, if not hesitantly. It’s going to be work to convince shoppers that while they feel satisfaction from saving money, in the long term they are putting in money towards an early death. If you want your body to glow with health, vitality and stamina, don’t even go down those middle aisles of packaged food. You can and will save money eliminating packaged foods. Reject the notion of value, or at least, what it has become. When someone mentions their valuable find, ask them to specify what they mean and correct them if they are following a marketing teams idea of value. When prescribing value to food, there could be a whole list of why the packaged cartons of this and that should not be included. There is a golden rule I follow: The more packaging, the less healthy. When consumers start favoring whole foods, we will all be wealthier.

Tips for Healthy Kids

Tips for saving money on whole foods

Make Real Cream Cheese the Norm

2014-03-16T13:53:00.000-04:00

I blame my early years spent in the south of England for my gluttonous addiction to all things butter and cream. My visits in recent years have been stark reminders of how far ahead the British are when it comes to food labeling laws and ingredient allowances. Many ingredients we use here in Canada are banned in Britain. Canada needs to catch up, especially when it comes to products high in fat. The thing with fat is, it stays in your body far longer than carbohydrates or protein. If you eat fat with a bunch of chemicals and artificial ingredients, those too will cling to your organs. I like my fat sources to be pure, so even if I can’t afford a cornucopia of organic groceries, I still choose to pay extra and get organic eggs and milk. It’s in the cream cheese department that I find myself constantly struggling to find an alternative to Philadelphia’s many products, none of which are organic. Cream cheese is an essential in my fridge and so I had to do some research to figure out how I can keep up my mass consumption of the stuff while remaining free of toxins.

I’ve looked at the packaging and noticed that most grocery store brands call their product ‘cream cheese spread’ or ‘cream cheese product’. Imagine a small fraction of cream cheese molecules suspended in an artificial matrix of synthetic ingredients, and voila: cream cheese spread. I’m thankful for the politicians who fight for transparency and who have no tolerance for false or leading labels. Here, we are nearly par with British laws, or at least trailing closely behind. As soon as a company pumps in more than what is necessary to make cream cheese, we start getting into the impostor zone of ‘spreads’ with ten ingredients. These impostors, by law, have to, even in a discreet way, differentiate their product from the real thing. As the consumer, it is our responsibility to educate ourselves about which codes companies use to sell food riddled with so many artificial ingredients they aren’t allowed to use the actual food name (even though we shouldn’t have to carry any background knowledge in order to shop for healthy food!). Among the juice “drinks”, “cocktails” and “buttery spreads” we find “ cream cheese product”.

It doesn’t take much to make cream cheese; just dairy and a certain few bacteria, heated to the right temperature for the right amount of time. The process starts with milk and cream and by law needs to contain at least 33% fat. To turn the liquid into a solid, we need to add lactic acid bacteria. It is one of a few bacterium that can withstand the acidic conditions of cheese-making. When the solution has been heated, the proteins begin to coagulate (read: almost nearly cheese now!) and water (well, whey) is squeezed out of the cheese (officially considered curd at this point). Here, we can stop the process, scoop out the soft curd and package it as cream cheese but for the most part, it’s here in the game that manufacturers make the decision to continue the process, essentially switching from cream cheese to cream cheese spread.

You know how natural yogurt gets that yellowish liquid on top? That’s whey, which is totally edible!. The same thing happens to natural cream cheese, but we rarely see it (because we rarely have the opportunity to even choose a natural cream cheese in grocery stores). Because the yellowy liquid grosses some people out, manufacturers add emulsifiers to stop the product from separating, even just a little. It’s step one down the slippery slope to create the ‘perfect’ product. It’s obsessive compulsive the way companies insist upon modifying a natural product to keep it consistent, but sadly, it’s what they have learned they have to do. It makes a profit. It maintains their status as one of the big boys. The manufacturers are responding to the former reaction of disgust from ignorance. We can’t blame them - they just want us to open their product and be enticed, not afraid of pee-coloured substances. They need their food to be appetizing to their customers. North Americans have learned to ignore the multitude of extra ingredients which create a smooth, thick, glossy, white cream cheese because they know the product. It is consistent and therefore they don’t need to read the ingredients. There is trust in consistency. They see the product as a whole and not the sum of its parts. There is nothing inherently evil by acting on market analysis, it’s the way they do it: by pumping a product with artificial ingredients and selling to the uneducated rather than teaching their buyers that they should expect a layer of whey. It’s cheaper to extend the process and increase the volume by adding extras rather than keeping the product in its simplest form. At the end of the production line, a machine smacks on a graphically appeasing label, a familiar brand name or a frivolous health claim (contains calcium! gluten free!) and the tubs get shipped by the thousands into supermarkets, where they fly off the shelf.

Cheap food sells, which is a bonus for cream cheese companies who already add a multitude of cheap fillers in order to have a consistently smooth and super white product. The further we get from the real thing, the cheaper the product becomes. The product is diluted as much as possible before it teeters from the government regulated ‘cream cheese spread’ into something that isn’t even allowed to be sold legally as food! And still, cheap food sells. This sends the message that a low price is superior to quality and gives the industry the go-ahead to replace cream with modified milk ingredients, skim milk powder and other byproducts of cows milk, because once you’re this far from the original cream cheese, why bother spending money on anything natural at all?

By selling such large quantities, they push out the small guys who somehow stay motivated to produce the real thing. The healthy, natural alternative becomes the ugly duckling, squeezed to the edge of dairy shelves by the towering, familiar labels. The bigger they display on the shelf, they more trust-worthy they appear, the more they sell, the more they produce. Companies like Philadephia have the resources to stock the dairy section for weeks without their product spoiling and with frequent sales that still earn a profit. Cream cheese spread has become the norm. Let’s tip the scales and even things out a bit. You don’t have to buy organic, or even local, but try to support the little guys who are doing things right, lest we lose cream cheese altogether!

Some of the grocers in Toronto who sell natural cream cheese:

1. The Big Carrot 2. Cheese Magic 3. Leslieville Cheese Market

The ingredients that are used to stretch the product all affect the cream cheese. They also affect your body. The easiest way to eat well, in my opinion, is to eat food that is modified as little as possible. Here’s a quick list about what Food and Drug Administration of Canada allows in cream cheese products:

Acetic acid (can be labeled as Ethanoic Acid): used to alter or control the acidity or alkalinity of a food or to prevent a food from drying out. It also adds ‘flavour’ by making things a little tart. It is a good selling point! Good for up to 3 weeks! It means when there is a sale, you can stock up and enjoy the product in bulk before it goes bad.

Calcium Carbonate: As a food additive it is designated E170;[22] INS number 170. It is used to alter or control the acidity or alkalinity of a food or to prevent a food from drying out. *excessive consumption can be hazardous* (something to worry about if you take a lot of antacids or calcium supplements). But it does help reduce diarrhea!

Calcium Phosphate (can be labeled as Acid Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Biphosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate,Tricalcium Phosphate )

Carageenan ( can be labeled as A171F , carageen, eucheuman, Irish Moss Gelose)

Carob Bean Gum ( can be labeled as locust bean gum)

Cirtic acid

Lactic Acid (can be labeled D-, L-, DL-2-hydroxypropionic Acids D-, L-, DL- lactic Acid, Racemic Lactic acid (Racemic 2-hydroxypropanoic Acid [for DL-form]):

Locust Bean Gum

Malic acid ( can be labeled as Hydroxysuccinic Acid)

Phosphoric acid

Potassium bicorbonate ( can also be labeled Potassium Acid Carbonate)

Potassium carbonate

Potassium Sorbate ( can also be labeled as 2,4-hexadienoic Acid Potassium Salt, Sorbic Acid Potassium Salt)

Sodium Aluminium Phosphate (can also be labeled as Aluminum Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminophosphate) : up to 3.5% of the solution can contain it. Works as an emulsifying agent

sodium bicarbonate (can also be labeled as Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Carbonate, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate)

sodium bisulphate (can also be labeled as Nitre Cake, Sodium Acid Sulphate,

Sodium Hydrogen Sulphate)

sodium carbonate (can also be labeled as Sal Soda, Soda Ash, Washing Soda):

Sorbic Acid (can also be labeled as 2,4-hexadienoic Acid)

Tataric acid(can also be labeled as L(+)-tartaric acid)

Xanthum gum

Permitted colour agents: Annatto;Carotene;Chlorophyll;Paprika;Riboflavin;Turmeric, ß-apo- 8′-carotenal;

Ethyl ß-apo- 8′-carotenoate(35 ppm), caramel (1.5%)

Permitted Enzymes: Bovine Rennet (Aqueous extracts from the fourth stomach of adult bovine animals, sheep and goats), Chymosin

(i) Chymosin A ( Escherichia coli K-12, GE81 (pPFZ87A)), Chymosin B (Aspergillus niger var.awamori, GCC0349 (pGAMpR);Kluyveromyces marxianus var. lactis, DS1182 (pKS105)) , Chymosin ( Aspergillus niger var.awamori (pCCEx3)) , Pepsin (Glandular layer of porcine stomach), Renet ( Aqueous extracts from the fourth stomach of calves, kids or lambs), Transglutaminase (Streptoverticillium mobaraense strain S-8112

http://recherche-search.gc.ca/rGs/s_r?st=s&s5bm3ts21rch=x&num=10&st1rt=0&langs=eng&cdn=health&q=cream+cheese+

“only aluminum sulphate (including its potassium and sodium salts) is permitted to be used in Canada as a food additive.”

CFIA: food additives and permitted synonyms table http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/core-requirements/ingredients/food-additives/synonyms/table/eng/1369857665232/1369857767799#h

Permitted colour agents:http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/list/3-colour-color-eng.php

2014-01-01T14:42:00.000-05:00

Nutrient Packed Nutty Muffins

These aren't your typical cakey and sweet muffins. They are moist but not dense and the energy they give you won't spike your sugar levels, thanks to the oatmeal. Make theses little guys for a semi-sweet treat you can feel good about.

Cream together 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar
Beat in 1 egg then whisk in 1/2 cup 2% milk
Scatter on top ( in lieu of sifting): 1/2 cup quick oats, 1/2 cup a.p. flour, a pinch of b.s. and b.p., 1/4 cup craisins ('cause fuck raisins, right?), 1/2 cup crushed walnuts and 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Gently mix the ingredients together and portion into 6 parchement-paper-lined muffin tins
Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes then smear it with butter (obviously!)

Beef Shank Casserole

2013-11-28T10:38:00.001-05:00

This is a super scrumptious hot comforting AND inexpensive dinner that can be made in 15 minutes!

2 cups left-over beef stew (I did this the night before: 1 shank, braised in enough tomato sauce to cover the meat. Seasoned with thyme, garlic and chilli flakes (or any hot sauce you want). Simmered with a lid on for 3 hours before I removed the meat, reduced the sauce, pulled the meat then reunited the sauce. Tip: All stew is better the next day.)
1 cup orecchiette or spirali 32 (shown)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup aged cheddar, grated
a little butter

While you are waiting for your (salted) pasta water to boil, gather your other ingredients - not that there are many.
Sip some whiskey. If you’re making such a from-the-pantry dish, you may be tired, broke or just in need for some comfort, fast. You can also grate your cheese now. (Man I hope you don’t buy that pre-grated crap.)
Butter your personal-sized casserole dish. I got mine at Winners. It may be a 2 person serving, but YOLO and I like to eat....a lot. The butter will help the pasta get a little crunchy on the edges, if you’re into that kind of thing.
Test out your pasta. You want it under done but not crunchy. Drain and save a little water (always, with every pasta dish) in the pot and return it to the stove.
Add the saucy braised shank and once it’s hot, throw in the peas, hot sauce and pasta. Give it a quick stir, taste and season then pour it into the casserole dish and top with cheese.
Broil while watching through the oven window, face almost pressed agains it until your bubbly cheese starts getting crusty. Pull it out when you like how it looks.
Good job, you deserve more whisky. Once you’re done eating, you should probably have some well-earned gelato too.

Rosewater Yoghurt with Fresh Figs and Granola

2013-10-15T17:16:00.001-04:00

This fabulous, low sugar dessert is floral, fresh and satisfying.

For a single serving, combine:

1/2 cup Balkan yoghurt (or another full fat, proper yoghurt)
1 tbsp rosewater
1/4 cup nuts or granola
1 fig, chopped

And that's it! If you wanna play around, try using orange blossom water with almonds and orange segments.

Speedy Healthy Mac and Cheesy

2013-10-15T17:10:00.001-04:00

So I knew I wanted mac and cheese, but I also hadn't had a vegetable in a while. I compromised and boosted the nutritional value of my boxed dinner and it was fabulous, so here you are:

1. Boil: 1 box macaroni with 4 garlic cloves
2. Meanwhile, finely chop:

1 orange pepper
1 stalk fennel with fronds
2 big tbsp of fresh dill

3. When the macaroni is cooked al dente, drain all but about 1/4 of the liquid and return to the pot to stir in the super-artificial-you-shouldnt-really-eat-it cheese powder, along with

2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp chili oil
veg medley (above)

That's it! The veggies stretch out the starch and sauce so you end up eating less crap, and more of the good stuff.

Comparing Chicken, Silkie, Turkey, Guinea Hen, Duck and Goose Eggs

2013-06-27T19:53:00.001-04:00

At Sanagan’s Meat Locker, we sell all sorts of eggs, but most people opt for the regular ol’ chicken eggs. Here are selling points and information about the others we have:

Chicken Egg

per egg (50g) 71 calories, 5g fat, 6g protein
a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein and Selenium.

Silkie - good for hors d'oeuvres and small servings

breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk.

in cooking, 2 silkie eggs = 1 jumbo chicken egg

similar in taste to chicken eggs

Guinea Hen - good for baking

more yolk than white
similar size to silkie
hard shell ( this also means longer shelf life and less chance of egg taking on fridge taste)
whites cook faster than chicken eggs, so gentle heat is best to avoid rubbery whites
custardy, rich and creamy taste
fun tidbit: guinea hens are quite loud when intruders are near so they help farmers by warning of foxes and hawks

Turkey - high in protein

similar taste to a free run chicken egg

1 egg is approximately 80g ( about 2 regular chicken eggs)

high in protein : 11g/egg

high in iron (18% rdi)

yellow yolks

great for fluffy omlettes and angel food cake

Duck - great for savoury dishes (omelettes, steak with béarnaise, carbonara)

rich taste, double the fat compared to chicken eggs (9.6g/70g egg) which makes for great carbonara
stay fresh longer than chicken because of thick shell
6x the Vitamin D, 2x the Vitamin A
water content is lower than chicken eggs so best not to overcook them ( also means they are great for pickled eggs)
the whites have higher albumin (protein) so they are more difficult to whip than chicken eggs for merignues and angel food cake, but the higher protein also gives baked goods more lift/height

Goose - high in iron

1 egg = 144g, 19g fat, 20g protein
very high in iron ( almost 30% rdi)
big, firm, pale yolk
great for scrambled eggs, eggy breads ( like challah), hollondaise/bearnaise, sous-vide, souflee, quiche, homemade pasta, as the centre piece on a platter of devilled eggs as well as christmas tree ornaments!

White Paper Coffee Cup Culture

2013-06-27T18:10:00.000-04:00

There was a time when virtually every coffee cup in hand was from Starbucks. The gap between Starbucks locations is shrinking, but so is their patronage. Starbucks is something for the suburbs, where people have big families and drive big cars. For them, there is no urge to try a new coffee place because there is not enough time, too many options, and really, why bother?

Totting a white coffee cup is much more indie and appeals to the downtown crowd who is younger, poorer and happy to find a community coffee stop en route to work. We are at the ground level, experiencing the city by its neighbourhoods, exhibits, parks and free movies in the park. We don’t look into the city from a traffic jam on the Gardnier while sipping our brew, we talk to strangers and smile at dogs and experience the city as a part of it. This sense of inclusion is what keeps the coffee shops thriving and the reward for helping your community to develop in your picture is what keeps you coming back.

Fair trade may not be our daily mantra, but we appreciate it and choose it when the option is given. Sometimes the beans are fair trade, roasted locally and sometimes in the evening the coffee shop turns into a screening room for emerging artists. The main attraction is that the white cup implies sustainability and community.

There is likely only a handful of employees and you know all of them by name and together you scoff at triple mocha swirl type drinks that barely resemble coffee at all and are marketed to teens who are lured in by sugar. Most indie coffee places have raw cane sugar or setiva - a subtle hint that the place is about the coffee and culture and not about addiction to caffeine and sugar.

The white cup isn’t just full of coffee, it’s full of hope. The independent coffee shop owners of this city didn’t meet and collectively decide to use non-branded white cups (sometimes with a stamp of the logo), but the unified preference goes with the territory. These are people who oppose mass marketing, who don’t want to expand and who care about the customer more than the profit.

The white paper coffee cup has become a subtle clue that the carrier may be a hipster. With many definitions ranging from snob to stylish, the main gist of ‘hipster’, I believe, is an awareness (perhaps over awareness) of and connection to the independent music, art, film, fashion, and/or coffee culture scene.

These shops choose to remain independent and small scale and that is what makes them attractive. Owners provide their customers with an environment of enlightenment, not bogged down by 6 word coffee cocktails or seasonal marketing. An independent coffee shop has become a social hub where you can also buy coffee. The popularity of Mac products stems from their marketing strategy; the company represents an idea, and if you agree with that idea, you will buy their products. You drink coffee from independent stores because you see them as like-minded. This is why hipsters on Mac products flood indie coffee shops. Alternatively, Starbucks marketing focuses on who you become, or how you feel because of drinking their coffee. And nobody tells hipsters how to feel or what to drink.

Ironically, by collectively choosing to remain unbranded, the white coffee cup has become a symbol of independence. The coffee shops fill the streets with their idea, but not their brand.

So, maybe you’re a hipster for avoiding Starbucks and scoffing at ‘blended’ coffee drinks, but more likely you are just a young adult with not too many bucks looking to drink coffee out of a cup you can be proud to hold.

Sausage Kale Bread Bake

2013-06-22T00:07:00.001-04:00

When I cook I find myself imagining two realities ( neither the present). I start by making a supper. It is nutritious, fun and delicious and even as I cook on a whim I feel confident of my decisions and I explain what I am doing and why to my audience (I’m cutting the crust off of this fresh loaf of bread, and this is how I hold my hand so I can keep it still and guide the knife at the same time, and we are taking off the crust not because it isn’t good but because the crust will block the soft porous interior - soon to be in large dice - from absorbing the seasoned egg mixture.) But soon my vision slips into the second reality and I am teaching not on a television show but to my children, who I can’t imagine, but in my dream I know are there.

So as I often express, apologies for the verbosity but I promise you will learn and be rewarded with a delicious, cheap and quick dinner that's a cinch to prepare, even when there isn't much in the fridge. The opportunities for substitutions are vast so use what you like, but keep it simple and use fresh, local whole foods.

To work efficiently you need to have everything ready, so turn on the oven to 350 ℉ and gather your ingredients:

1/2 bunch of kale, washed, boiled in seasoned water then blanched
1 onion, any kind you want, cut in half then sliced thinly
1 sausage. I used the Deli Sausage at Sanagan’s Meat Locker but the flavour options are endless and you could even add some bacon because why not. Vegetarians: I would crumble seasoned tofu into the egg mixture rather than a veggie sausage as they often are not healthy at all.
5 eggs, cracked into a bowl, whisked and then seasoned (if you season the egg first then whisking makes it rubbery). I added some barbecue sauce to this wet mixture, as well as about a 1/4 cut of chicken stock but you could use anything with equal viscosity: tomato sauce, milk, beef stock, apple sauce thinned out with worcester, et cetera.
1 loaf of crusty bread, crust removed and the interior diced
Sriracha, or any hot sauce you like

Heat up a medium sized frying pan, add a splash of oil, then push the sausage out of the casing and into the pan. Add the onions and sauté together, with a little maple syrup if you have some. Add the bread and continue onto the next step as it warms up and marinates.
Line the bottom of a shallow baking dish with a thin layer of hot sauce. Using the back of a large spoon is best for spreading out the sauce.
Squeeze the kale of excess moisture so the eggs don’t curdle and chop it into one inch strips, then pack into a single layer above the hot sauce in the baking dish.
Taste the bread mixture and season accordingly. Pour it into the baking dish but do not pack it down (this is so that when we pour in the eggs, the mixture can dissipate into each layer, and down to the kale)
Pour in the eggs, then push down the bread with the back of that large spoon of yours. As the spoon sinks into the bread, you will notice some of the egg mixture sinks onto the spoon; drag the soon backwards slowly and tilt it so that you can glaze the surface.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 ℉ and don’t burn your tongue when you try to scarf it down scalding hot. :) This recipe makes about 4 servings if it is served with a side salad

It costs only about ( eggs: 5, 4/12 = 30cents/egg x 5 = ) $1.50 + (kale $2/bunch) $1 + (bread) $3 + (sausage) $2 + (onion, hot sauce, maple syrup, chicken stock) $1 = $7.50 / 4 = Less than $2 per person!

Why so healthy?

it’s made from scratch, with love
it uses whole foods - only the hot sauce is packaged
the sausage is made locally, using locally sourced meat that is hormone and antibiotic free
the bread can be whole wheat or unbleached, which ups it’s nutrition
eggs are a great source of protein (6g/serving! )
kale is super high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre

Spring Potato Salad

2013-05-29T21:43:00.001-04:00

Super easy and healthy:

Ingredients:
about 6 new potatoes, cut in half
about 2 cups of green beans, chopped in half
big handful of organic heirloom tomatoes (found at Lucky Moose in Chinatown)
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pureed

Dressing:
1 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper

1. Put the potatoes in cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, then add the green beans and cook 1 minute longer.
2. Drain and while still warm, add the tomatoes, dill, garlic and dressing.
3. Serve warm, or chilled. Beef it up with lettuce, or add some boiled eggs for added protein.

So, now you know it's easy to make, this is why it's good for you:

Garlic: promotes heart health, boosts the immune system, and helps circulation and is a natural antibiotic.
Dill: helps digestion by promotion of bile secretion, helps to calm menstrual cramps
Sour cream: yes, it is high in fat, but the body and brain needs fat from natural sources in order to function at full potential.
Heirloom tomatoes: I like to buy organic tomatoes because they are made up of so much water that toxicity can be high in tomato plants that are sprayed with pesticides. 'Heirloom' means these little guys have never been crossbred so the chance of them being GMO is also incredibly small.

How to Cook with Tea

2013-04-10T23:47:00.000-04:00

How to Cook with Tea

The rich and illustrious history of tea conjures up thoughts of elegantly executed and flavourful dishes when we introduce it to modern cuisine. It inspires us to imagine luscious dishes like Earl Grey Clam Chowder. Tea has traversed the globe and thus lends itself to fascinating fusion such as Lap Schong Smoked Duck over Parmigiano Reggiano Risotto.

It isn’t tricky to cook with tea, or even that uncommon, but it does sound intimidating at first. There are many things to consider when cooking with tea: which type of tea to infuse into what ingredients, and how to accomplish this using common cooking methods. Simply follow the three steps below and you’ll be fearlessly cooking with tea in no time.

1. Choose the Tea

Tea	Flavour profile
Chinese Green Tea	toast, sweet and savoury
Japanese Green Tea	grass, hay, seaweed
Oolong Tea	floral, dried fruit
Black Tea	rose, smoke, wood, chocolate

2. Choose your complimentary flavors and ingredients

When pairing food with tea, we follow the same rule as we do when pairing food with wine: highlight flavours by matching flavour profiles, and balance the dish by contrasting them. Some examples are given below, but feel free to explore ideas outside the box.

Tea	Complimentary Flavours and Ingredients
Chinese Green Tea	game meats, couscous, miso, rice, barley
Japanese Green Tea	seafood, pork, chicken, lemon, kale, seaweed
Oolong Tea	seafood, duck, squab, elk, quail, blueberries, jus
Black Tea	beef, dairy, lavender, thyme, orange

The Appropriate Infusing Method

Tea	Infusing Method
Chinese Green Tea	smoke, poach, marinate, braise
Japanese Green Tea	smoke, poach, marinate, braise
Oolong Tea	smoke, poach, marinate
Black Tea	smoke, poach, marinate

a. Aromatic Smoking - As with any smoking, make sure you are in a well-ventilated area. A quick and easy shortcut to infusing your meat with smoke is to first poach, marinate or braise the meat using tea according to the instructions below. Once cooked, heat a cast iron pan on the stovetop until hot. Add approximately 3/4 cup (75 grams) of tea and heat until it begins to smoke. (Using a smoked tea such as Lapsang souchong adds extra smokiness to your dish, which is beneficial when the meat is smoked for only a short time.) Add your cooked meat, and cover. Smoke for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, brush off any tea leaves and serve.

b. Marinating - Make a marinade using oil, tea leaves and some ingredients and seasonings of your choice. Marinate for 2-6 hours, then wipe off the marinade using a clean cloth, and pat dry before searing in a pan or popping in the oven.

c. Poaching - To prepare a poaching liquid, make a large batch of tea (1-2L) using the guidelines below. Once the tea leaves have been strained add some flavour boosters such as onions, celery, bay leaves or thyme. Simmer the meat or vegetables in this liquid until cooked, then use a slotted spoon to remove from the liquid. Poached foods are quite delicate in flavour, and so they pair nicely with fats and creams. You can also poach fruit in a tea for both sweet and savoury applications. For example, you could poach some prunes in Oolong tea to add as a finishing touch to a Moroccan lamb casserole, or you could poach them in black tea and sugar to create a floral sauce to accompany a custard tart.

d. Braising - Make enough tea to cover the bottom half of the piece of meat when it is in a roasting pan. Add flavor boosters of your choice such as onions, garlic, herbs. Choose the braising time and oven temperature according to a recipe for the size and type of meat. Black tea is not recommended for this application, as it has a high amount of tannins, which may result in bitter-tasting meat.

Tea Brewing Guidelines:

Use 1 tsp/ 2 grams of loose tea leaves for every six ounces of water. After steeping, do not squeeze the tea leaves to extract more liquid as it will impart a bitter taste. This goes for any type of tea.

Tea	Water temperature	Steeping Time
Chinese Green Tea	160℉/ 70℃	2-3 minutes
Japanese Green Tea	160℉/ 70℃	2-3 minutes
Oolong Tea	203℉ / 95℃	3-5 minutes
Black Tea	203℉ / 95℃	3-5 minutes

Te gustas ir al txikiteo? = Would you like to go on a fabulous bar hopping night filled with good, cheap food?

2013-04-10T23:44:00.000-04:00

txikiteo – quick group migration from one bar to another, sampling wines and bar food, also known as "pinchos" and "caxuelitas".

After a healthy lunch chosen from the menu del dia ( a low-cost three course lunch that by law must be offered at all Basque restaurants) and a few more hours of honest work, the masses flood the streets with laughter and chatter, hollers and handshakes. Newborns bounce on enthusiastic mums, the elderly shout wise words firmly to gaggles of girls and couples stroll on the cobble streets. They spill in and out of one bar after another. It’s what the Basque do, and they call it txikiteo, a steady migriation from one locale to another, sipping the local cidre (poured with muchos flare)and snacking on pinchos.

In most of Spain they are referred to as tapas, but in Basque, they call them pinchos: from the Spanish verb pinchar (to prick), pinchos are little bites you can pick up with one hand - leaving the other for your glass. They are small, so they’ve got to pack a punch to fuel and satisfy the swells. Not that they need any more seducing. With local avacados, olive oils, cheeses and chorizos to choose from, they are all bound to swallow. Gulp after satisfying gulp, they cut the rich bites with crisp apple cider or sips of Sauvignon Blanc from their neighbours in Loire. The tart drink leaves the stomach wonting; Digestivo is apertifo too, separated by bites of salt cod confit on crackers, olive oil seared scallops spiked with toothpicks and simple sandwiches made with just one slice of meat. Most of them are 1 euro.

Typical Basque pinchos include fried Piquillo peppers, blood sausage, and the famous Gilda, which is an olive, a guindilla (a very hot pepper), an onion and a piece of cod or anchovy drenched in olive oil and vinegar. The oily, salty, sweet fish helps to calm the firey pepper and the onion helps the pepper fight back.

After bar hopping and gaining a steady appetite, the Basque population will slowly slow down and sit down for a long and late dinner.

Olive Oils of Spain

2013-04-10T23:39:00.000-04:00

The mountain-sheltered land, flanked by the mediterranean encapsulates the perfect climate for tropical plants like lycees, mangos, macadamia nuts, cherimoyas, avacados and olive oils. If you keep in mind that what grows together goes together then highlighting olive oil goes from daunting to inspirational; Think olive oil drizzled over grilled mango with camerano cheese

The Basque region is overflowing with olive oil.

In Basque alone you will find a olive oil comes in a full spectrum of greens, signifying the varying intensity and diverse applications for this celebrated oil.

Lighter olive oil has a higher smoke point, meaning it is the perfect medium for a spanish freiduría (chip-frying shop). The lighter oils are often used in canned foods like what I imagine to be the most unctuous treat: chorizo canned in olive oil or fish out some Hojiblanca -soaked anchovies for a an easy snack.

The darker the oil, the more complex the flavours and when the choices are endless, it can take an expert to decide a pairing that will put both the oil and the other components of the dish in the best light. Olive grower and Chef, Jean Pierre Vandelle introduced Spain to its first olive oil trolly, where diners at El Olvio can oogle the oils before a professional selects the perfect one for the dish. One of them is Arbequina olive oil which is slightly sweet, a little bitter, with a delicate notes of almond. It’s favoured by chefs for desserts (think olive oil chocolate truffles), but some can’t resist using it as a dressing with herbs over freshly caught, sweet lobster.

Other oils are piquant, deep green and sometimes grassy. These are begging to meet on a plate with equally-grassy goats cheese and some crackers, or over braised lamb with fresh herbs.

Really, there is an olive oil for every dish. ( And that’s just olive oils from Spain!)

Cakes I Bake

2012-08-15T11:59:00.000-04:00

Jenny’s Cakes: I take pride in baking the following cakes from scratch using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. I don’t and will never use any artificial sweeteners or colours. All recipes are my own, inspired by my favourite flavours. The desserts below are all packed with flavour and have only a touch of sweetness so you put your fork down feeling satisfied rather sugar rushed.

100% Organic versions of the cakes below are available upon request

Type	Frosting	total price per 8’ cake
Bourbon Manhattan: Lemon Peel, Bitters, Marachino Cherries	Serve with a shot of Bourbon	$16
Pina Colada: Pineapple cake	Coconut Buttercream	$17
Triple Berry Twist: A swirl of colourful berries & orange zest	Citrus Sugar Glaze	$16
Carrot Cake: Rich with grated carrots. No raisins!	Traditional Cream Cheese Frosting	$15
Speckled Citrus : Grapefruit pieces & poppyseeds	Citrus sugar glaze	$16
Malva Pudding: Traditional South African cake soaked in Bailys just before serving	No frosting. Comes with Bailys mixture to warm on site and pour over individual servings.	$17
Caramel Peach Cake	(the caramel)	$15
Ginger Spice: Refreshing summer take on a winter classic		$15
Souflee Cheesecake: Flavours optional: mango mint, strawberry rose, blueberry lemon or candied ginger caramel		Please note this cheesecake has a pastry crust so it is best consumed within a day of delivery. Must give 48 hours notice for this order. $20
Plum Pudding: A moist and boozy cake perfect for welcoming in the fall and winter	Grandma’s Sauce Superb	$16
Boozy Banana Cream Pie: Chocolate glazed pastry with layers of bananas and caramel sauce under a orange rum cream cheese frosting. Decadent, rich and delicious.		Should be consumed within 1 day of delivery. Must give 48 hours notice for this order. $18
Lemon Tart	none	Must give 48 hours notice for this order. $18
Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake (flourless too!)	Suggested: whipped cream or a citrus gelato	$17
Orange Date Cake: Orange segments and date pieces	Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting	$15
Pistachio Crunch	Orange Blossom Frosting	$17

It's Not Them, It's Us: When You Shop, You Vote

2012-07-17T10:50:00.000-04:00

After working on a show that features numerous food factories, and after watching more than 65 interviews I have learned that more than anything, companies create, modify and continue to process food with the consumer in mind. Using social media as an effective marketing tool, as well as receiving direct customer feedback, companies that produce mass quantities of food will do all they can to sell all they can.

We first saw the eagerness of food companies to please with the boom of organic foods, then companies toting the ambiguous ‘green’ on their label and most recently, locally sourced. We are the growers of change and as Local Food Plus has repeatedly reminded us, to do this we vote by buying what we support and believe in - not what is cheapest. When companies check their stats, and see a growing consumption in products that are fair trade, ‘green’ or local then they will ensure they have a lace in the market by creating new products, or beefing up the labeling of their current products to match trends. In turn, these large companies will eventually be up against each other and that means prices will go down.

We’re not quite there with GMO-free products yet. There are still tons of studies to be conducted and analyzed but to me the important thing is that GMO is labelled so that the customer can make his or her own choice. In England, the GMO-free market is booming. In Canada, the FDA has said that because no studies have found averse results, there is no need to distinguish what is what. I too am unsure of the dangers of GMO but I would definately like to know! The problem with GMO, to me, is not that the food has been cross bred but that the companies who do this slap patents on everything, and design extremely unsustainable plants which don’t produce seeds so that farmers must continue to buy them from Monsanto and the like. Why do companies like Monsanto exist? Well, it’s sad to say that as evil as any believe them to be, the stemmed from our desires. They made sure every tomato is ripe when it hits shelves, they make sure they can grow field upon field of rapeseed so we can indulge in fried food, they send not one bruised apple to the grocery stores, and every cucumber is perfectly cylindrical. Somehow in North America we have grown so accustomed to uniform food that we forget that fruits and vegetables are unique as humans and no two are alike - unless of course they are genetically modified. They way to avert the support of GMO without knowing what is and isn’t, is to buy from farmers to whom you can speek. That means going to a farmer’s market, or a co-op like the new West End Food Co-Op in Parkdale.

In order to change the way food is produced, we need shoppers’ persistent dedication. One cannot flip flop; in the summer buying local, but in the winter forgetting it all and buying tomatoes and bananas. We’ve seen an increase in chefs and home cooks who preserve the summer bounty and there is a plethora of books on the subject. It does take work, but good food should! Why do we spend more time working under florescent lights than we do at home sitting around a table with friends and family sharing a good meal? We’ve becoming too entrapped in the Western way of thinking about ‘the economy’ and instead drown ourselves in coffee so that we can keep on marching. I would be so happy if we turned back the clock and lived like how I saw Italians living in Chianti. You grow your own food and at lunch everything stops and stores close so that every person can go home and enjoy food and time with their loved ones. But now I’m drifting from the point. Basically, I think food needs to be appreciated for it’s beauty, it’s vitality and it’s nourishment. Not for it’s ability to supply protein or for it’s low fat qualities. It should be appreciated as a whole and not for it’s parts. Whole foods are always better than processed for a number of reasons; Our body can absorb their nutrients easily, they are easier to digest, they can be bought locally and they have less packaging.

That being said, most of us do buy packaged food in one form or another and so in that case the best thing to do is to buy from a company you support. That’s it. Every time you shop, you vote.

Introducing: Square Snacks

2012-02-17T14:53:00.002-05:00

Most energy bars have lists of +20 ingredients, most of them unrecognizable. Most energy bars are so heavy and difficult to digest that the package suggests drinking up to a litre of water after consumption! Most energy bars are just plain gross.

But not Square Snacks!

With 2 lines available ( 3pm Snacks and Marvellous for Mom Snacks), these 100-calories bites offer everything your body craves:

All natural and raw*
Ingredients sourced from the best, close-to-home farms
Locally produced
Recipes developed and tested by a nutritionist
Easy to digest
Delicious ans convient!

Questions, Comments or Orders:
We can be reached at (416) 461-9379 or via email at info@squaresnacks.com

*Honey has been pasteurized

FoodShare's Next Event: Recipe for Change

2012-02-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

Join Toronto's top chefs on March 1st, 2012 for an unforgettable night of local food and wine, listening and learning about sustainability and joining the community of good food fighters!

http://www.foodshare.net/RFC/RFC-buytickets.htm

Sesame Bread

2012-01-14T19:47:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am still making bread without a recipe. In this batch I added 1/2 cup of sesame seeds and about 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds. I worked out food costs et cetera and figured out that it cost me less than $2.00 to make these 2 loaves! They stayed moist for 3 days. If you'd like to learn how to bake bread without a recipe, check out my post here

Be Inspired and Eat Local in January

2012-01-06T17:35:00.003-05:00

My personal favourite guide to seasonal Ontario produce is Foodland Ontario. It isn’t impossible to eat locally all winter and it certainly isn’t boring!

Even if you can’t make it to a farmers’ market, all major grocery stores now have signs stating the origins of the fruit or vegetable so it won’t be difficult to choose local.

Here is the list of vegetables that are grown in January with inspiring menu ideas and some recipes that are definitely not the norm. (Recipes and menu ideas that do not have a chef’s name afterwards are my own. If you would like the recipe for any of the dishes below, please email me. Click on the book title or Chef after the recipe for a link to buy the book)

Apples

Apple Soup (The New English Table by Rose Prince)

Melt 85g/3 oz of unsalted butter in a large pan. Add 1 large onion, roughly chopped, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 12 apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped, 2 celery stalks, chopped, 2 sprigs of thyme and 1/2 tsp allspice. Cook over low heat until the apples soften and then add 1.2 liters of chicken stock. Cook for 15 more minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with bread and cheese. Serves 4.

Beets

Beetroot Purée (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Purée 1.5kg cooked and peeled beets with 2 peeled garlic cloves and 1 large red chili. Wash 1 large bunch of coriander very well, then chop roughly and add to the beet mixture with 1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves, 1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil. Blend until a smooth puree and then fold in 125mL full fat Greek-style yoghurt. Serve as a garnish to a white bean soup, or as a dip with pita, or as a garnish to grilled fish.

Cabbage

Sautéed Savoy cabbage with chili and garlic (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Cabbage soup with confit rabbit shreds (A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Carrots

Sweet Carrot Pickle (A Taste of Palace Life: Royal Indian Cookery by Manju Shivraj Singh)

Peel 1lb carrots and cut into small cubes. Put in a pot and cover with 2 cups water then bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Add 1lb sugar, 4 cloves, 2 sticks of cinnamon and 4 cardamom pods to the liquid and simmer covered with a lid for 20 minutes. Add the carrots and simmer until the mixture thickens. Cool completely, then spoon into jars.

Cucumbers (greenhouse)

Fried Cucumbers ( I learned this recipe while working in Ireland, at the Rathsallagh House Hotel)

Slice one cucumber lengthwise and running a spoon down the length of it, remove the seeds. turn over so that the cucumber is steady on the cutting board. Chop the cucumber into half moons, about 1/4 inch wide. Heat a pan until very hot. Add 2 tbsp butter and once bubbling, toss in the cucumbers, keeping the heat high. Toss them a few times until hot, then season with a generous amount of fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately. These are a superb surprise.

Garlic

Garlic white wine mussels

Leeks

Leek Chips ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Split open the white of a leek and cut the layers into large bite-size squares. Blanch for a few seconds and then pat dry and brush each side with truffle oil. Dry them out in a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven at the lowest temperature until crisp.

Saffron-scented leek soup with pickled girolles ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Lettuce ( greenhouse)

Heart of romaine with wood-grilled onions, radishes, fresh cheese and roasted garlic dressing (Rick Bayless)

Mushrooms (greenhouse)

Mushroom risotto garnished with chopped almonds and shaved pecorino

Mushroom caps fileld with bone marrow ( Jeremiah Tower)

Onions

Panade of slow-cooked onions with Gruyère (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Melt 50g unsalted butter in a large pan over low heat. Add 4 yellow onions, sliced very thinly and sprinkle over 1 1/2 tsp caster sugar and a pinch of salt.Cook gently for 20 minutes until very soft. Pour in 50mL brandy* (*Be sure to keep children well away as the brandy may ignite. If it does, don’t try to blow it out! Simply let the alcohol burn off and soon the flame will extinguish). Increase the heat and add 1 bay leaf, 4 sprigs of thyme and 750mL of chicken stock. Cook for 10 minutes and then remove the herbs. Toast some bread and rub with a clove of garlic. Ladle over the broth and onions and finish by sprinkling some grated Gruyère.

Parsnips

Smoked haddock chowder (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Woodcock with caramelized parsnips and chocolate sauce ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Potatoes

Potato soup with a drizzle of truffle oil ( A Chef for all Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Rhubarb

Baby red mullets with choucroute and rhubarb ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Rhubarb compote with seared foie gras

Rutabaga

Rutabega dip with sour cream and fried sage

Squash

Squash soup Mantua style (Giuliano Bugialli’s Foods of Italy by Guiliano Bugialli)

Cut 1 butternut squash, about 2 pounds, into thirds then remove skin and seeds. Cut the squash into smaller chunks and soak in cold water for thirty minutes. Heat 8 tbsp butter in a large pot and once melted add 1 4oz piece of prosciutto and sauté over low heat for 5 minutes. Drain the squash and add it to the pot. Cook for 15minutes, then add 3 cups beef broth and then cook another 15 minutes. Remove the prosciutto and discard. Purée the soup, add salt and pepper to taste and then cook for 10 minutes longer over low heat. Serve hot, garnished with a basil leaf. Serves 6.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato stew with crab, coriander, lime and butter (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Coleslaw

2012-01-02T12:11:00.002-05:00

coleslaw.

Although I'm unemployed, it seems I am rarely home and it is depressing when I watch an entire case of baby spinach go to mush before it is opened. What I need is an appetizing, affordable and nutritional food in my fridge that will stay good for a week. I need coleslaw.

I almost always have coleslaw in my fridge. It is the perfect food for a number of reasons. Cabbage, carrots and onions are cheap and available all year round. They last forever in your fridge and so do the other ingredients necessary for slaw: mayonnaise and vinegar. Once you make your slaw, it will last up to a week. Red cabbage, carrots and onions are packed with nutrients. Of course, as soon as any vegetable is picked, plucked, cut, or cooked it begins to lose its nutritional value, but coleslaw is still better than KD.

My recipe:

1/2 red cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, grated

1 kholrabi, peeled ( optional. It is another healthy veg that stays fresh for a long time)

1-2tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp mayonainse

salt and pepper

Stir it all together and eat. The next day, stir again before eating and it will be even better than day one!

All About Persimmons

2011-11-27T13:29:00.002-05:00

I knew they existed. That is to say, I knew that they were orange and called persimmons but I didn’t know much else. I saw signs in Chinatown flaunting a sale of 15 for $5, but I couldn’t buy that many without first knowing more. Even though this temperate fruit can cause pain if eaten before it is ripe enough, it is still part of every fruit display along Spadina, and therefore it must be delicious. I began my research hoping I was correct in assuming dangerous = delicious

Persimmons Species

The Mexican species (D.digyna) known as black sapote gets unenthusiastic reviews. However, if you ever need to dye a sheepskin black, then black sapote is the way to go – or so I’m told.

American persimmons (D.virginiana) are plum-sized and used to be highly valued in eastern United States, but have since been out-shadowed by the superior kaki (D. kaki).

Kaki is the most popular persimmon worldwide. Native to China, this non-astringent species was adopted by Japan. They are about the size of apples and are prized for their sweetness, which is balanced by their low acidity. The bright orange flesh contains beta-carotene and lycopene and because of this, they share a similar aroma with winter squash.

The most popular cultivars of Kaki persimmons are the flat-bottomed persimmons, Fuyu and the Jiro. Neither is tannic and both can be eaten when still fairly firm. You can peel them before eating, and when you take a bite, make sure not to eat any seeds.

Astringent Persimmons

Like the stringy bits inside a banana peel, not everyone enjoys astringency. Astringent persimmons, identified by their acorn shape, need to be very ripe before eating and even then the skin is fairly inedible and is better used as a cup for the pulp inside. The most popular astringent cultivar is the Hachiya, distinguishable by it’s dark yellow flesh.

The astringency comes from the high level of tannins in the fruit. In Japan, unripe, astringent persimmons are crushed, fermented and used as a dye called kakishibu (meaning, persimmon-bitter). Kakishibu was one of the most widely used preservative and weatherproofing agents in Japan during the Heian Period (794 – 1185 AD) and continues to be used in the same way today. Artist Masamichi Terada was “intrigued by the subtle beauty of the material” and decided to devote his life to study and preserve kakishibu-dyeing as an art form.

If you are going to eat the astringent persimmons, you must wait until they are so ripe they are almost liquid beneath the flesh; otherwise, they are inedible. The astringency of an unripe persimmon is due to the tannins, which break down the salivary proteins and cause the mouth to feel dry and sandpapery.

It was centuries ago that the Chinese discovered that if unripe persimmons were buried in mud for several days they would lose their astringency. For the scientific foodies: The lack of oxygen in the mud altered the persimmons’ metabolism, resulting in the accumulation of an alcohol derivative: acetaldehyde, which binds with tannins in the cells, thus preventing them from binding with our salivary proteins. Cool! If you want to try it out yourself, you can tightly wrap your unripe persimmon in cling film; there is no need bury it in mud unless you are hardcore. Freezing the fruit and then thawing it softens the fruit and also removes some of the astringency.

Medicinal Properties

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? I am curious about the health qualities of persimmons because in traditional Chinese medicine, bitter foods are connected to the heart. As it turns out, astringent persimmons (shi zi) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years. Some practitioners use fresh persimmon juice to lower blood pressure (note: persimmons DO interact with blood-pressure medicine. So talk to your doctor). More commonly used is the dried calyx. (A calyx includes all of the sepals of a flower, which form the outer floral envelope that protects the developing flower bud.) The persimmon calyx (shi di) is dried in the sun and used to treat ailments of the lungs and stomach. It directs stomach qi downwards, which pushes food downwards in order to remove impurities.

Harvesting and Preparing to eat Persimmons

Harvest season varies depending on elevation, sunlight, et cetera, but wherever they are, the fruit is picked - always leaving the calyx intact - when it is dark orange and still firm – between October and December. For better flavour, non-astringent persimmons can be left on the tree until they are a bit softer.

Persimmons – astringent and non-astringent – are delicious when dried. They can either be peeled and dried whole or cut into slices. In Japan, the dried fruit is called hoshigaki. Traditionally in Japan, the whole, peeled astringent Hachiya persimmons are hung in rows, resembling lanterns so that airflow is even. When astringent persimmons are dried they lose all their astringency and develop a sweet, chewy consistency. Every few days they are massaged gently to distribute the pulp inside. Eventually a white bloom develops; it looks like mould, but in fact it is the sugar drying on the surface. Once dried, the darkened persimmon maintains its acorn shape. In China it is called shi bing, in Vietnam it is known as hồng khô and in Korea it is known as gotgam. In Korea, dried persimmons, cinnamon and ginger are used to make the traditional Korean spicy fruit punch, sujeonggwa. In Korea, persimmon vinegar, called gamsikcho is praised for its health benefits.

If persimmons can be made into vinegar, then they can be made into wine. Persimmon wine is made and enjoyed worldwide. There are also many recipes online that do not seem too difficult; you’ll be hiccuping in no time!

In the United States, persimmon pudding is made in a similar way to pumpkin pie – and also served with whipped cream. Heat accentuates astringency, so adding half a teaspoon of baking soda to every cup of persimmon pulp will help moderate the taste.

There are far too many delicious ways to eat persimmons – I think I’ll make persimmon chutney and go from there. Recipe to come soon or available upon request.

The Toronto Food Policy Council's 20th Anniversary: Together at the Table

2011-11-01T13:48:00.003-04:00

Below are the inspiring, informative and educational notes I wrote furiously during the wonderful Together at the Table event, held at 157 King Street East on October 20th, 2011. Sustaining communities and sharing knowledge was the medium and the message at the event.

Welcome, 9am:

Joe Mihevc boasts that “ organizations have been mushrooming”
Debbie Field is the Director of FoodShare
City counsellor Joe Mihevc is proud to have both Wychwood Barns and Not Far from the Tree in his ward and explains, “ We as city counsellors need to learn to be facilitators”.

Helen St.Jacques began working with the Toronto Food Policy Council through FoodShare. She urges anyone who is interested to sign up as a “friend” to the TFPC, and attending the monthly meetings ( which alternate week to week from formal to informal). Also of note is that the meetings are audio recorded at City Hall.
Currently there are 4 standing committees representing the TFPC.
Lauren Baker is a member of the food strategy team at Toronto Public Health

How Now Brown Cow: Milky Science for the Public Good, 9:30am:

Rod MacRae was the 1st full time health food advocate embedded in government.
MacRae suggested a number of articles including: Reducing Urban Hunger in Ontario: Policy Responses to support the transition from food charity to local food security, and Efficiency, Substitutions and Redesign.
MacRae illustrated how the TFPC took its first big leap in establishing itself as a sturdy force driven by a mantra of transparency, holistic thinking and community involvement. In the 1990’s, When the TFPC challenged the r.B.H.G. case, the government chose to head the advice and reject the drug ( which had at that time, already been approved in the United States), and instead work with the Health Council and Agricultural Sector. For the first time a municipal body - functioning as subcommittee to Toronto Public Health - had an impact on the larger provincial and federal government, directed through Health Canada. To this day, MacRae reminds us that it is a big challenge in food policy to intersect and interact with governing bodies at decision-making levels.

Policy by Participation, 9:45am:

Acting as moderator is Catherine Mah, who works at the Food Policy Research Initiative at the Centre for Metal Health and Addiction. She is also an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana school of Public Health at U of T. To Mah, ‘policy’ is a statement of “who eats what, when and how”.
Nick Ferri is the Farmer and Chair of the GTA Agricultural Action Committee, a provincially started organization which developed a strategy/ “action plan” for “horseshoe agriculture” ( from Toronto to Hamilton).
Tracy Phillippi began as an intern at the TFPC in 2009 and shortly after founded the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council (TYFPC). She is currently an apprentice at Black Oak, as an aspiring Brew Master.
Barbara Emanual works with Toronto Food Strategy (Toronto Public Health), managing international development, social development and policy. She adds, “ public health policy is the full spectrum”: from health to the environment.
Anan Lololi has been a TFPC member for 15 years. As executive director of the Afi-Can FoodBasket, Lololi supports urban agriculture and the adversity of food grown and sold in Ontario.
Author of The Tyranny of Rights, Brewster Kneen begins by explaining that he was awakened to how humans are related to the world when reading The Economy of Sugar. In 1971 he farmed in Nova Scotia, where he remained until 1986, learning about how and why the metropolis benefits from reaping and rendering farms dry. In the 1980’s he acted as Food Chair, a precursor to the TFPC and appreciated how the community had to come together, forming “unforeseen alliances” during the Real Milk Campaign.
Asked about a spectrum of participation, and whether citizens can really make an impact, Emanuel points out that many communities don’t have the proper information that is accessible, transparent and easy to understand. Once the communities demand - as they must, she adds - transparency from the Food Policy counsellors, they will have the means to move forward and participate.
To the same note, Brewster adds that even if the government does issue information, it is to the tune of their agenda. For real facts, the structure should be more grassroots, including the statements and concerns of communities and farmers.
With more inclusion during the decision making process, we are more likely to come to results that benefit each tier and their respective platforms. Ferri gives the example of the Greenbelt. While Toronto boasts a green nest on maps, farmers feel their voices have not been heard and worry about the implications of being told what to do with their land and fret about their retirement money being taken away.
To help our farming neighbours, many Torontonians have taken to voting with their dollar: buying local produce to support local farmers who are forced to compete with companies south of the boarder who don’t have to face the same strict regulations and labour costs and can thus sell their product at a cheaper price.
There are lots of ways to become involved: Phillippe suggests collaboration; entrepreneurship; simply asking organizations what they are missing; becoming an expert or by reciprocal mentorship.
Lololi explains that the more people involved, the more food security attained. The government grants mobility to community ideas through the support of non-government organizations (NGOs). Emanuel discusses that in giving a small community the means to fund a community-driven food project the project was able to thrive and become highly successful, impacting council and policy making. The constant creative focus at the TFPC is fueled by events such as Together at the Table, where issues large in government scope are brought forth, discussed and solved city-wide.

Charting the Future of Food, 11:30am:

Wayne Roberts was the second coordinator at the TFPC. He notes that the TFPC is part of Toronto but not of Toronto, citing that the Public Health office is not even located with the other government buildings, but rather quite a few blocks away, at Bloor and Dundas. There, you will find the next speaker, and manager at Public Health, Susan Shepherd. She reminds us that not only is it the TFPC’s 20th anniversary, but also the 10th anniversary of the Toronto Food Charter. The charter works to reinforce the right to nutritious, culturally appropriate food. It is a document put together by a web of community and city agencies, which promotes community supported agriculture (CSA) and partnerships, amongst other sustaining solutions. It is a tool for institutional refinement, Roberts adds, as well as a reference for the TFPC: “All departments of every business will view food as part of their responsibility”.

Reports from the Field: Designing a 21st Century Food System, 11:45am:

Executive Director of Local Food Plus (LFP) Lori Stahlbrand acts as the moderator.
Brian Cook of Public Health Toronto begins by stating that “Food has become invisible”. Private sector zoning inhibits the ability for local food shops to grow and there are still many laws which restrict the areas one is able to sell local food. We need subsidies on healthy food! If we intentionally combine and connect all of our efforts and strategies, we will go far, Cook assures the room.
Next, farmer of 20 years and now project manager at FarmStart, Sri Sethuratnam warns that the Canadian farm populations are aging and now only 2% of the population is involved with food production. Canada has some of the most fertile land in the world, and yet it is still under constant threat of being suffocated by cement infrastructure and roadways. Many immigrants come to Canada with vast knowledge and organic farming practices more than 100 years old, and yet the end up working at assembly line jobs because there are few other options. That is why Sethuratnam started incubator farms in 2008, and why he enjoys working at FarmStart, where new farmers get access to to land and equipment.
Kelly Gordon is a community dietician who works with the urban aboriginal population.
Leading The Stop’s food program is Nick Saul, who wants to change that “the rich get organic, the poor get diabetes”. By creating food hubs - community spaces to share food - we create access to local, organic food for people of all income levels: “Food banks are dead” because they marginalize the poor and divide us as citizens. Food banks, unlike food hubs, are also infamous for their shelves of corn-packed, sugar saturated “foods”. We need to look at food as the route to health, not as a social divider. We can’t all vote for local food by purchasing it. We are more than just consumers: we care about our health, and the health of everyone! Saul hopes to create a myriad of centres and robust organizations which find a way to provide often expensive organic foods, cooking classes, and other often elitist activities to everyone, of all income levels. Saul hopes for 25 community food centres in Toronto by 2025.
The lively Chef Joshna takes the microphone next and enthralls the crowd with her success story: The Scarborough Hospital has hired her as a full time consultant to help develop and implement a new menu of homemade food using local ingredients for the patients. The cost to stay a day in a hospital bed will add up to approximately $1200. Just $10 of that goes towards food. What’s more, is that food waste had risen to 43%. By adjusting portion sizes and creating sumptuous, salubrious meals, Joshna will be able to lower food waste, which saves the money she will use to fund her local menu.
Jennifer Welsh was the first Citizen Co-Chair of the Toronto Food Policy Council (1990-1992) and coined the term “food security”. In the 1970’s she interviewed Tim Lang in the United Kingdom, who helped to format how the TPC would function.

Lunch, 12:30pm:

Before lining up for the complimentary vegan lunch of curried vegetables, brown rice and salad, Cathleen Kneen, Chair at Food Secure Canada, lead the group in a round of grace. We sung the grace together three times, thanking the farmers and the soil for our meal. Lunch was delicious, and all leftovers went across the street to feed a group of protestors supporting Occupy Toronto.

A Farmer & Food Activist Walk into a Bar: The Birth of the Good Food Box and Student Nutrition Programs, 1:30pm:

Expertise development is critical to successful campaigning, which leads to successful programs, then to policy development with the hopes that the policy will act to support and maintain that program. This is how student nutrition programs began.
Debbie Field sites that the most important book to read on this topic is by Jeremy Rifkin called Empathetic Civilization. It tells of how we must create a new supply chain based on empathic actions and relationships.

How Can We Grow? Food Hubs from Concept to Practice, 1:45:

Janine de la Salle now works in Vancouver as a Planner and recently co-authored Agricultural Urbanism: Handbook for building food systems in 21st centuries cities. Before “food hubs”, Vancouver had the City Market in the 1990’s, which eventually became (and still is) the New City Market.
Randy Whitteker of the Ontario Natural Food Coop is proud to share with the audience that his “hub” has more than 50% Canadian vendors, with 93% of sales in Ontario. He has worked out an operational business model to guide his 200,000ft hub. It will be comprised of local ingredients, and a place where they can be cooked and prepared ( there will even be a mill for grinding flour!) and distributed from one centre.
Whitteker mentions Russ Christianson who created a sustainability scorecard
Utcha Sawyer, FoodShare’s Community Animator brings ideas to life. She has overseen 720 student nutrition programs and supplies subsidized food boxes that also food information.
Ayal Dinner is the Operational Coordinator at the West End Food Coop. His focus on Parkdale’s producers, eaters, community partners and workers will ensure that the coop, set to open in a few months, will flourish. In 2009, he and his team conducted surveys, and involved - and encouraged the involvement of - the community. The results helped to shape what the hub will become.
Gavin Dandy teaches at Flemming College and works at the Everdale Environmental Learning Centre, where they have had an active local food hub for almost 10 years. Everdale is known as a teaching farm, which builds and engages local communities. Their produce is sold at Everdale and Brickworks markets.
So what is a “hub” anyways? To de la Salle, a hub is a centre whose whole is greater than its parts; it has multiple functions that results in local profit ( educational or monetary) for multiple stakeholders. Because it is a fairly new term, “hubs” are a nightmare for zoning bylaws.
So how do we measure the effectiveness of food hubs? Allison Palmer ( Food Counts) deems that measuring qualitative and quantitative data in order to track the progress of the sustainable food system may have too many results to understand as a whole. She suggests we map it graphically, such as an areal of the food system.

Serving Up a Tray of Ideas, 3:45:

Lauren Baker speaks about the ‘community kitchen’ and its origins in Peru. Brazil, too, has a large infrastructure of food at the citizen level: there are seed banks and even a school program which helped to develop biological pesticides.
“Ya Basta” (“Enough!”) was shouted by Mexican farmers who protested against free trade with the United States for a number of reasons found here
Wayne Roberts advices those discouraged by set-backs and failures: “ don’t worry, be happy”. He describes conflict like friction, ever wearing away our energy but chirps up that we should be enjoying the ride, making the right choices for the moment, and not worrying about a peak-oil future. He suggests we work together on all levels, to develop platforms so that the public interest of ‘good’ food is ultimately protected by the government.

Closing Keynote: Ralph Martin, 4pm:

Ralph Martin reminds us, to have an attitude of gratitude. He mentions that he believes “ to ‘grab’ a bite to eat sounds disrespectful to food”.
Taking the ideology used by Roberts, Ralph Martin begins his keynote presentation by sharing his email and phone number, and encouraging the audience to contact him should we even have any concerns about anything environmental.
He discusses Thomas Berry’s idea of the Technozoic vs Ecozoic eras. He explains that Berry has used “-zoic”, to describe the length of an era because our technological timeline, although quite short in comparison, has had an impact on the Earth worth one whole era. We have numbers of pollution/destruction “resistance” strategies and feedback loops, but it is arrogant to think that we can fix the world, as humans are just a blink of the Earth’s existence. Berry belives that the 21st century is a transitional phase from the Cenozoic to the Ecozoic era.
Anthropence is the attitude that humans are superior to, and separate from other species. This results in treating other living beings as dispensable objects, and the exploitation of the Earth as a mere ‘resource’. The opposite is Ecocentric.
The fallacy that there is not enough land to grow food for everyone is based on the over-eating and wasteful habits of North Americans. If portion sizes were reduced to what they should be, and we stopped wasting so much ( more than 40% of food is wasted in Canada), and if we followed Michael Pollens suggestion to “Eat food. Not much. Mostly Plants”, then we would be closer to sustaining our Earth.
In Canada, we have plenty of land. There are 78 Canadians per square kilometer of farmland ( a vast difference to the Netherlands 2205 people per square kilometer of farmland). Yet, farmland is used for things besides food: fuel, fiber, and feed. Much of the time, the methods used to reap the four aforementioned “F’s” leave the soil wallowing in pesticides and contaminates. Unfortunately, half of the grade A land in Toronto is already buried under concrete and will never be fertile again.
Martin asks us to use “Sustain” as a verb, rather than “Sustainable”, the noun. He suggests that the action word will motivate thought processes focused on the present, while maintaining the knowledge that the landscape of what is and is not sustainable is constantly morphing. He uses the example of the use of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. At first seen as a blessing, nitrogen-rich fertilizers acted to reduce hearty crops for the suffering post-war citizens. Instead, we eventually learned that the soil had become nitrogen-dependent and that excesses of potassium were running into our streams, polluting them. The sustaining thing to do, Martin suggests, is to use legumes, specifically the Kolberg legume, which protects soil and provides feed for livestock. We can effectively recycle municipal solid waste (MSW), manures and sewage and it is imperative we do so that we are recycling phosphorous, rather than dumping it into the ocean.
Ralph Martin recommends reading Peter Senge’s The Necessary Revolution.
“One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”
We must reduce the degrees of separation to our food. It is when we see the animals, the farmers and the land that we can truly have an “attitude of gratitude”. If you appreciate what you have, Ralph says wisely, then you know when you have enough. Globalization has enhanced our separation from our food source, and has stripped many of the feeling of responsibility. In a small town, everyone is nosey, and Martin suggests we begin butting into other people’s business, because in the end, the Earth is important to us all, and it is our business.
One way to get involved, is to become a “Yeeppie”: a Young Ecological Entrepreneur Professional/Practitioner, rather than the consumerist Yuppies.

FOODSTOCK

2011-10-18T17:06:00.002-04:00

On Sunday October 16th, we drove north through the hilly Hockley Valley, up to Ontario’s roof: the highest and most fertile land in Ontario. From there, we tossed our map and followed the peloton of car-pooled cars to Foodstock.

Hockley Valley

arriving at Foodstock

Arriving at the edge of a golden-leafed forest, we submitted our donation towards the cause: to stop the mega quarry proposed by The Highland Companies, an American company which bought 7000 acres of farmland with the guise of using the land for potato production. The quarry would be the largest on the continent – deeper than Niagara Falls, and would not only take massive amounts of energy (i.e. pollution) to fuel, but would also contaminate the watershed of spring water that feeds into numerous rivers and streams. When The Highlands Companies has scraped up all of the limestone (used for highways and infrastructure), they propose to use the land again for farmland. If the farmland can be rehabilitated (the Minister of MNR is doubtful) it would still require 600million litres of water to be pumped in per day, perpetually.

Outraged, the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) began to petition and in September 2011, they convinced the Ontario government to demand an environmental assessment (EA). It is mind-boggling that no quarry of any size has had to face an EA in Ontario, but promising that government has agreed to look into how the quarry will impact the watershed, farmland, environment and communities.

Chef Stadtlander dishin' out some soup

It was comforting to arrive to the windy, rainy, muddy forest, greeted by wafts of smoke and crackling fires. Foodstock is an event is to raise awareness and bring community together. There is power in numbers. Michael Stadtlander deserves a hearty round of applause, as he is known in food-lovers’ circles as a pioneer to Slow Food in Canada. Respected for his Michelin-star worthy creations using all local ingredients, he has often brought chefs together from around Canada to bond, discuss, cook and praise food from farm to fork.


Buca boys

from Buca: boar prosciutto, soft pecorino, balsamic and pistachios

The map showed that more than 60 cooks from restaurants in Toronto and surrounding areas had set up tents along the forest paths with small fires behind over which to cook. The (FREE!) food was amazing due to the talent and hard work of the chefs and their cooks, but it was also an obvious homage to Ontario’s produce, which is honoured by the chefs not just for Foodstock, but all season long at their respective restaurants.

from Loic: potato-beet rosti with fennel cream and a candied beet chip


handmade gnocchi with pancetta, brussle sprouts and sage

Parts & Labour tent

The first tent I visited was Parts & Labour and Chef Matty and (we cooks know him as) Kung-Fu, who were smearing liverwurst on a large baguette, topping it with pork belly braised over the fire and sprinkling slaw on top before slicing the sandwich into eight portions and handing them to smiling faces. Chef Matty Matheson passed a sandwich to a woman behind him, who had raised the cow whose liver became liverwurst. It was beautiful to see it full-circle and a perfect start to a day filled with intimate interactions and comradeship.

from Parts & Labour: liverwurst and pork belly sammy

two gentlemen helping a lady stuck in the mud

The estimated number of people to attend was 20,000. Given that the weather was sporadic, I hadn’t expected to see so many people but in each line, there they were - grandparents and kids and everyone between – holding their mismatched cutlery, cups and plates, smiling and steadying themselves on mud as they waited to be served by the chef. After just two hours many of the chefs had already served 2,000 people!

from Kolapore Springs: trout gravlax cured in lavender with beet relish

the sun comes out

Through the trees, we followed the cheers to find an opening to a large field, where there was a stage set up for performances by Canadian musicians: Sara Harmer, Ron Sexsmith and The Barenaked Ladies, to name a few. There were tractors on display and children bobbing for the most delicious (Ontario) red apples.

When the event was scheduled to end, around 5pm, it began raining heavily and the space cleared out fairly quickly. Left behind were the chatting chefs, hard-working mud-soaked farm-hands racing back and forth on their 4-wheelers, and cars stuck in the mud, pulled out by tractors and directed by volunteers. The car was silent on the way home save the crunch of crisp apples savoured by soothed souls. I am hopeful.

the day's end

Thank you to all the chefs, musicians, organizers, farm-owners, and to everyone who came.

Can't Wait for Those Peaches to Ripen?

2011-09-08T14:17:00.001-04:00

Every Ontarian knows that it is peach season and we all have the sticky, smiley faces to prove it.

But living alone, one has got to be creative when finding a way to eat through a basket of peaches. They were just $2.77 at No Frills, but not one peach was ripe.

What to do!?

That night, I made a wonderful slaw of Ontario Kholrabi, cucumber and carrots (apple cider vinegar dressing) to accompany my "40-garlic-clove-chicken". I had bought a little Hallal chicken ("Hand Slaughtered" it said on the packaging) for $5 and smothered it with a bulb's worth of crushed Ontario garlic. I also bought a giant bag of rice and put some on the stove.

Suddenly, I craved a sweet and sour sauce for my Asian-ish dinner.

I grabbed two unripe peaches and chopped them up. I threw them into a little pot with about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and about the same amount of white sugar. I let the peaches simmer and once they had softened, I used my hand blender to puree the sauce. I tasted it, and added a bit of salt.

Since I was craving that glossy, sticky clear sauce, I decided to go one step further and strain it. I used the back of a spoon to rub the pureed peaches through the sieve and voila!

Dinner was delicious and I found a way to enjoy unripe peaches!

No slices is fine with me at John's Pizzeria of Bleecker Street

2011-08-21T14:09:00.002-04:00

“No slices” it reads on the website, menu, and on a plaque hanging over the kitchen. Below the plaque, a cook faces out into the dining room as he scoops handfuls of toppings from 8L buckets. That’s a lot of mise (preparation for what I imagine is a usual night: Busy!). Everyone who eats at John's leaves smiling, celebrities included. Vanilla Ice, Regis Philbin and Jack Black have all demolished a John’s Pizzeria pizza. There are photos lining the front window to prove it. The “small” is quite large at 14 inches but the thin crust is enough to persuade me that it’s possible to finish it alone. I opt for cheese and pepperoni ($14).

As I wait, I sip my Chianti (no vineyard listed on the menu, $6) and enjoy watching the two waiters rush around serving pizza on big silver trays to the chattering patrons. There is rock music on, but it’s quiet enough to hear conversations swirl around the room. The restaurant is small and every seat is taken. There is a line outside of hungry New Yorkers and tourists, but there is a high turnover rate (that it, people order, devour, and tear themselves out of their seat to make room for the next customers quite rapidly) so they needn’t wait long. There are 10 booths and 4 tables of 4 – all of which have become a canvas of happy etchings of customers past: “KIKI” and “I <3 U”. It reminds me of Sneaky Dees, home and good times.

A few minutes later, my pizza arrives. I usually smother my pizza in chili flakes - and there are some on the table, along with powdered Parmesan - but I take my first bite without either. I finish my first slice and decide I won’t use either for the rest of the pizza. The thin layer of cheese is lying on the dough, with two concentric circles of sweet, tangy and bright red passata on top of it. The pepperoni is thin and not too salty. I began scribbling down notes at first bite – and I have now consumed half of the 6-sliced pizza. Needless to say, it’s delicious.

Orange oil drips onto my plate and I am quick to sop it up with the thin (but still moist and chewy!) crust. The waiter hasn’t visited me since he dropped off the pizza. Maybe that’s because he knows it’s perfect. I leave dazed, with a paper bag containing my two last slices. I eat one the next morning for breakfast and it’s still perfect. I save the other for Toronto.

John’s Pizzeria

278 Bleecker Street, between 6^th and 7^th Ave.)

New York City

New York