Daydreaming of Greece and Portugal

After a week of sneezing and coughing every five seconds, not to mention rarely leaving my cozy bed, I'm finally returning to the Land of the Living. Having a leisurely coffee, sitting on the balcony and enjoying the view of Bedford Basin and Halifax Harbour on a such a sunny morning, made me think Mediterranean ..... which naturally had me thinking of food.

Meat, Meat & More Meat

It's been weeks since I've been to the farmers' market on a Saturday morning.  I feel I've probably missed some of my favorite firsts - ramp, baby leeks, fiddleheads, Spring salad greens...But sometimes we can't control life.

Lucky for me, several producers are there throughout the week.   And we are in desperate need... carnivores that we are... to stock up the freezer with some Getaway Farm Beef.   That's Ben the Butcher doing his magic...

Fall Market Score

Yesterday started early and didn't stop until dinner so none of my usual Market Score photos.  I went to two farmers markets, starting off with the Historic Brewery Market or as we all call it ... the Old Market and bought humungous garlic and giant spears of rosemary... not as easy to come by as you think.   Stopped by my favorite "lamb guy" in Halifax - Bill of Wood 'n Hart Farms and got not only some delicious lamb sausages that will be part of a pasta dish this week, and some lamb stewing meat for.... not sure, but it will be delicious, whatever I decide.

 I also got some wonderful eggs that made the delicious scramble (along with some of the chopped rosemary leaves) which is what we enjoyed for breakfast this morning - Potato Pancetta & Rosemary Scramble.

Onward to the Seaport Farmers Market (how lucky am I to have two superb farmers markets) where I knew I'd be heading over to The Fish Shop at Pier 20 (open all week) for some scallops to skewer on those glorious rosemary sprigs... at $1 each for the rosemary you know I'd have to put something wonderful on them.  Grilled Scallop Rosemary Skewers... nothing could be simpler or easier to fix... a quick 15 minutes (just long enough to heat up the BBQ) to marinate in some lemon juice, chopped rosemary, garlic...and you're ready to rock and roll.

More delicious things from various farmers - beets and new potatoes (with more garlic and rosemary) rounded out dinner - Rosemary Potato & Beet Rosti.   Another simple dish, thanks to a food processor and everything ready at the same time with minimal cleanup - double bonus!

Lots more purchases, including some awesome looking beef short ribs, that Graeme of Getaway Farm (also open all week) cut to the thickness I wanted (this time about 1 1/2 inches thick to make some sort of fantastic beef stew... Fall is coming even if the temperature seems like summer today.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying a diner style breakfast with kids and grandkids, more fun all afternoon with little boys. Rain outside didn't stop us from enjoying each other.

But the real purpose of writing this diary style entry is to spark you to enjoy local food, family and friends.  What's your favorite way to spend the weekend?  I hope it includes lots of the above.

Catching up on Great Eats

I apologize for the lack of writing, but it's summer and life is busy. Or at least, I'm busy being lazy. It's not that I haven't been cooking... I have. I just haven't been sharing, so here's a recap of some very tasty dishes.

The dinner above was definitely the highlight of the week - Grilled Butterflied Lamb with Anchovies, Rosemary & Garlic, tweaked from Food & Drink, Summer 2011 issue, which couldn't have tasted as good without lamb from Bill of Wood 'n Hart Farm (see what happens when you get there late in the morning... almost empty case of lamb goodness)anchovies from The Italian Market and fresh rosemary right from my window sill. The Best Garlicky Rice Ever... and I'm not kidding, is an old standby that I've somehow never shared with you until now. You will thank me! To get in a healthy portion of veggies I whipped up a Simple Swiss Chard & Mushroom Stir Fry ... we loved it.

It was an interesting dinner, because we were looking after little boys so their parents could go out on a date. Not being sure if they'd eat any of that I made a couple of pasta options from a previous pizza meal my Honey and I enjoyed.

As for that meal...since I couldn't decide on ONE option, I made two variations of an old awesome recipe Shrimp & Onions over Pesto and Chorizo, Mushroom & Onion over No Cook Tomato Sauce, using fire roasted tomatoes . I made my own California style pizza dough

Back to the boys, my daughter has told me more than once that they DO eat more than just chicken fingers, so I wanted to give them a number of options. I was too busy to take pictures, but I did toss some pasta with the tomato sauce and another batch of pasta was tossed with ricotta & Parmesan with a touch of milk to make it creamy, not to mention the cold pizza (which my Honey enjoyed). With all that at the table, guess what their choice was for dinner? You guessed it... chicken fingers. They did taste everything, but apparently, nothing compared to chicken fingers zapped in a microwave by Grandma.

Late But Fabulous Market Visit

Two weeks in a row, sleepovers with little boys have made me very late for the markets. I didn't even go to the Seaport Market this week. It was about 11:30 AM as we drove by and the tons of people I saw from the road, meant the crowds would be insane. Of course, those loving crowds and shmoozing with little care to actually shopping, love that time. Mental note to self... sleep-overs can't happen on Friday nights.

I did get to the Historic Farmers Market though, not expecting much but hoping for better luck than last week when Hutten Farms had very little left, and Wood 'n Hart's Bill had already closed up shop for the day.
So I was pleasantly surprised at the finding gorgeous Japanese turnips and
two varieties of young beets and greens at Hutten Farms. I did a quick peek at Wood 'n Hart and the case looked pretty bare, so I kept on going hoping against hope that Costas & Ruth, distributing for Epics de Cru would still have the fantastic grill collection of spice blends.
The six blends are so wonderful, I don't know which one to start with...Classic BBQ Blend with no salt or sugar; Tlalelolco Rub made with Mexican spices; Masala Grill Blend; Steak rub; Satay spice blend and Classic Spicy Rub. You can find out all about them HERE.

And to yet another reason, I love about developing relationships with local farmers... while I was talking to Costas about spices, I got a tap on the shoulder and there was Bill Wood... with two pounds of lamb neck bones. Turns out he had seen me peek around the corner and wanting a cleaned out case, he found me and gave me the bones! AWESOME!

Since I'm too pooped from the sleepover to do too much, I plan on spending the afternoon with my feet up and my trusty iPad with a ton of foodie apps to find the perfect recipes to enhance my finds.

What's your favorite thing about supporting local farmers markets?

Mr Zinman "Chickie" Man

There have been many times when I've mentioned growing up in suburban Montreal and never hearing terms like "free range" or "organic". It was a simpler time... to say the least. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, like all of her sisters and all of our neighbours and no one ever even asked what they "did". And although we lived quite a hike to even a paved road - we were one of the first families in the new suburb called Ville St Laurent - so new in fact, we left billy boots at my parents' friends house over half mile away for our trek home.

Imagine.... my mother didn't have a car and yet, we ate extremely well. I'm obviously dating myself, but the milkman came to the door - and nooooo...not in a horse driven cart - I'm not THAT old. Milk, however, was sold in glass bottles - a new resurgence at some of today's farmers markets. Grocery stores delivered FREE OF CHARGE - our fruits and vegetables came from Mr Young's Fruit Market. My mother would call in her order and a couple of hours later it would arrive - everything fresh and delicious. She'd arrange for her meat purchases the same way from butchers who had close connections with the source. My mouth waters for her veal chops. Unlike today, veal came from small animals. A typical dinner portion was three breaded veal chops (we didn't eat much pork at home), a side of mashed potatoes and some vegetable - usually green. Today... if you can find veal chops near you... they are huge - think rib steak... and expensive. SIGH....

But my favorite memory is the weekly phone calls from Mr Zinman. When any of us kids would answer, he'd say "It's Mr Zinman - the chicky man. Is your mummy there?" I knew wonderful things were in store. Fried chicken, "BBQ" chicken (mom's sauce is also awesome on spareribs), ginger capon for special events like Rosh Hashana... I'm drooling.
You can find them all in my eCookbook Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories , if you're interested. But I digress a bit.

When Sharron and I were leaving the Jean Talon Market, I couldn't believe my eyes...
and in trying to find their website - they don't have one, but I did discover this great review...

"I can't believe no one mentioned Zinman Chicken Market. the place is huge, supplies most of the mentioned butcher shops, and has great service! the meat never disappoints, and they will prepare anything you want. the store is on the corner of st-dominique and mozart. the butchers are extremely knowledgeable. you can ask them pretty much any thing. give it a try you won't be disappointed!"

from Chowhound forum on great butcher shops in Montreal

It's always wonderful to see that an old favorite is still everyone's favorite all these years later. Do you have a long standing favorite?

What Does One Serve to a Group of Wonderful Chefs?

I was pleased to be invited by the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia (better known as RANS)to serve on the panel of judges with the difficult task of deciding winners for five different categories, to be presented at this year's AGM & Awards Dinner.

There was a huge turnout, with association members catching up with each other, participating in a very interesting presentation and doing the voting thing found at all Annual General Meetings. Truth is, it was my first time attending and it was much more interesting than many an AGM I've been to in the corporate world.

But while others were focusing on the business of running a restaurant, I was wondering what one would serve to such a distinguished guest list and how intimidated I would be having to come up with a menu for people who really know their food and how to serve it up.

Executive Chef at the Westin Nova Scotian is Raj Gupta, and he and his team did a wonderful job, even before the dinner started. The reception had a Nova Scotian theme with hors d'ouevres and wines from local sources. One of the hors d'ouevres was the Panini Toscano that was the win for Chef Michael Howell, Executive Chef & owner of The Tempest, one of my favorite NS restaurants and well worth the drive to Wolfville from Halifax, but I digress. The panini took first place at the Grate Canadian Grilled Cheese Cookoff at the CNE this summer. A perfect choice, given that Chef Michael is the incoming RANS President.

Before sharing the winners with you... it's back to my question... What does one serve a room full of restauranteurs and industry suppliers? Another digression... think of it as snacking on hor d'ouevres... I had the pleasure of sitting with the folks from Steak 'n Stein - a great family friendly restaurant (and one of the few places I'd dare to take my two little heathen grandsons); Cafe Chianti (one of my favorite Grown Up restaurants); Janes on the Commons (another personal favorite - especially for weekend brunch) and Jeff from Coca Cola, a huge sponsor of RANS.

The menu for the evening was lovely... I shouldn't have expected less. The photos on the other hand, (my own attempt at styling - less successful, but I think you get the point).

Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup en Croute
Duet of Peppercorn Sirloin and Chicken stuffed with Prosciutto and Asiago finished with Bourbon sauce served with maple glazed root vegetables and oven roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Dessert, a superb Chocolate Molten Lava cake with Ganache Starbucks Coffee and Tea.

But the real reason I was invited... the second annual awards which were given to...
Best Small Restaurant: out of 50 nominees... Charlotte Lane in Shelbourne - and definitely worth the 2 hour drive from Halifax. It will be our first road trip next May!

Best Large Restaurant: out of 46 nominees... Trendz Cafe & Wine Bar in Burnside.

Best Wine & Beverage menu: out of 24 nominees... The Five Fishermen in downtown Halifax.

Best Green restaurant: out of 13 nominees... The Wooden Monkey in downtown Halifax.

Best Design & Décor: out of 27 nominees... Pipa Restaurant & Bar in downtown Halifax.

Congratulations to all the winners and runners up... and to Chef Gupta and his team for a delicious dinner.

Savour Food & Wine Show

Lucky me, a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to attend the Seventh Annual Savour Food & Wine Show, showcasing the diversity of Nova Scotia's food and wine industry. SFWS is actually the culmination of a month long party orchestrated by the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, better known as RANS, a non-profit organization established in 1947 to promote the food and beverage sector of the hospitality industry. And they do a great job all year round. (You can check out their calendar for upcoming events)

It's taken me two weeks just to digest it (pardon the pun) and try to figure out how to write about it...not so much to make you jealous if you've missed it, but rather to book your calendar ahead for next year's event. The photo at the top (Chefs from Trendz, over in Dartmouth) just a taste of what's in store for everyone once the doors open.

I must mention that the clever people at RANS work hard to organize February's Dine Out Nova Scotia, to help us endure the longest month of the year...and yes, I know that actually it's the shortest, but it certainly feels longer. They entice us all to come out of hibernation and savour some very tasty menus at local restaurants, who in turn, show off their best creations with a prix fixe meal - 3-5 course meals (depending on the restaurant) of very interesting fare.

And if that didn't get you out of the house, there was Decadence Chocolate, Wine, Cheese event that sold out in seconds, and Rare & Fine Wine Tasting. But the real show stopper was,is, and always will be, the big finale...

...the Savour Food & Wine Show, showcasing more than 60 fantastic restaurants and beverage producers and suppliers. What can I say...it was over-the-top two and a half hours of live entertainment, (lots of ) sips of wine, spirits (I had an awesome cocktail at Mosaic) and beer.

Let me just say, that if I were to organize a do...wedding, anniversary...whatever, I'd stick to appetizers and bite size tasty morsels - the more the better. And that's exactly what SFWS is all about - Two and a half hours of tasting and sipping. It was all a delicious blur and I thought I'd share some of the tasty treats with you. Not the best photos, but it was hard to juggle, crowd, plate full of goodies and a glass of the perfect wine to pair it with.

Here's a little photo sample of my adventure... and I apologize in advance for the ones I've neglected to mention.
Greeted by 44 North's version of poutine...Duck Poutine, with duck fries, duck confit,local curds
Vodka bottle weren't the only things on ice (I couldn't get a good photo), forget shaken or stirred martinis and cosmos - imagine your drink poured through an ice sculpture funnel - awesome way to start the night.
Some live entertainment to add even more zip to the evening
and of course there was a crowd - more than 600 people showed up, but have no fear...a little sip of a tasty cocktail from Mosaic Social Dining Lounge...
...and then, the doors open and the chefs et al are ready for you....
Chef's at Le Caveau and their trio of house cured charcuterie sandwiches and...
their deconstructed lamb pastilla.
Chef Dennis Johnston and the crew from fid
with a simple and so delicious crumpet with smoked salmon
The NSCC - Nova Scotia Culinary College's Junior team (which went off to win the NS Cullinary Championship - I'll be visiting with them and their awesome coach Chef Sean Kettley right after Spring Break) and a jaw dropping Smoked Salmon, carrot bomb, melon caviar, & pappadum crack
Opa Greek Taverna chefs and their whole roasted lamb
A very intriguing - and delicious - Cajun escargot fritter from Onyx
Saege Bistro & Scanway (every Halifax bride wants a Scanway cake) went with the Olympics theme
Savoury Tiger Prawn and cucumber bobsleds
and sweet their Taste of Victory
Dirty Nelly's Oysters fresh from the ocean - I can still taste them on my tongue.
And no SFWS would be complete without Hamachi's fantastic sushi (They've won for best cold food year after year) This photo below represents all of their restaurants.
My apologies to all the other awesome restaurants and beverage stations that I never got a chance to photograph. The rest of the evening is quite a blur still. But I can't wait for next year and there were certainly lots of restaurants I'm glad I was introduced to.