Torontonians love the cottage like no one else. Let those Vancouverites camp out in their organic hemp tents and the New Yorkers slouch in their Hamptons mansions, we want the cottage and we don’t care if it’s five hours away or surrounded by an impenetrable wall of mosquitoes.
So here we present some tips for making your cottage experience the best it can be. Continue »
Baby it’s hot outside!
The perfect weather for salads, grilling, ice cream sandwiches and now, how about a little icy cold soup? We sent out a tweet the other day asking for cold soup recipe suggestions and quickly got overwhelmed by the response. Continue »
Not a clubhouse, or a BLT, not ham & swiss or tofurkey and tomato. We’re talking about a different kind of sandwich people! The greatest sandwich you could ever have in the blazing heat of summer. Ice cream sandwiches!
Bake your cookies late at night. It sounds crazy but it is much better than cranking the oven in the heat of the day. Continue »
It was officially Canada Day yesterday but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate all weekend. This is the best time of the year for Canadians. We get to drink a few beers in the sun and set off a lot of fireworks at night. Whether you’re grilling some fresh caught trout up at the cottage or roasting veggie dogs over a hibachi on a tiny downtown deck enjoy the blue skies, gentle breezes, the free healthcare and all that is great about our county.
There is so much that is great about this land, where to start?
the Tragically Hip, Stompin’ Tom, Anne Murray, Buffy Saint Marie, Alanis, Justin Beiber, the Kids In the Hall, Four on the Floor, Codco, SCTV, This Hour, Rick Mercer, John Candy, Pam Anderson, Shannon Tweed, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Josee Chouinard, Kurt Browning, Barbara Frum (what?).
Hamilton Tiger Cats, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Blue Jays, PEI lobster, Alberta Beef, B.C. oysters, Newfie Screech, Moosehead beer, poutine, rappie pie, sugar pie, flipper pie, Vachon cakes.
Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney’s chin, Jean Chretien, hockey, CFL, lacrosse, ringette, Chief Dan George, the Beachcombers, Prairie Gas, Wayne Gretzky, Mike Weir, loonies, toonies, Roll up the rim, Tim Horton’s, White Spot, Beaver Gas, Shoppers, Canadian Tire.
Farley Mowat, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Leacock, Diana Krall, Ben Hepner, Measha Bruggergosman, Great Big Sea, Ashley McIsaac, Rita MacNeil, the Trailer Park Boys, Rush, Bob and Doug MacKenzie, and oh that free health care….
Every time we use the barbecue we’re always left with a bunch of beautiful coals after our grilling is done. The steak is ready for the table, the grilled potatoes are already being tossed with olive oil and chives and the zuchinni is dressed with basil and chevre. Dinner is ready, but what about those lovely coals?
It’s a shame to let them go to waste. Here’s a great way to use them up, make an easy dessert at the same time and stock your freezer with one of summer’s greatest treats. Continue »
We are enjoying the sunny days of summer and most of us are cooking every dinner outside. It’s that time of year to give the kitchen stove a rest and spend some time with the beloved barbecue.
What’s your favourite condiment? What makes for the perfect barbecue party?
We asked, you answered and here are the lovingly compiled results. Continue »
A guest post by Kerry Knight
 Kerry is a big fan! Living in a house with three dogs pretty much guarantees that our linoleum kitchen floor and hardwood dining and living room often have the look of a Frat house. Once a week I mop the whole area, and am always on the lookout for one product that will make the job easier or at least less tedious. I decided to try “Spuma di Sciampagna’s PAVIMENTI” and give Mr. Clean a break. Intrigued by the bottle design and the claim that it can “degrease and wash ceramic and marble floors, stairs, bathroom fixtures and wall tiles” I figured that it must be the perfect all purpose household cleanser. I bought a bottle and tried it out on the floors, and an intimidating old fan that I recently dragged out of the cellar during our last heat wave. Continue » |
Happy Birthday!
Here in Canada we don’t have much in the way of food magazines, no Saveur or Food & Wine, no Martha Stewart Living or Cook’s Illustrated. No, we might not have those big glossy tomes, but we’ve got something better. Continue »
Please take a moment to read this message. It’s about a great opportunity that exists for us to shape the way our city engages with food, and it’s something I believe in quite strongly. I send this message to all of you in the supportive and collaborative spirit that exists among our kitchens. – Joshna Maharaj
(This message was originally sent to city chefs, but due to considerable enthusiasm from others, I’d like to extend this invitation to anyone who cares about food. Please join us at city hall next Tuesday and lend your support to a great new vision for food in our city. Also, you can show solidarity with chefs in their whites by wearing an apron to the meeting.)
Here we will introduce you to the young, passionate entrepreneurs behind some of the products on our shelves. These are the people who are helping to shape the way we eat with their new and innovative products.
Katherine Hall, Executive Chef
At Hall’s Kitchen we believe in healthy, handcrafted vegetarian foods that are made with fresh, wholesome ingredients of the highest quality and prepared without the use of chemicals, preservatives or additives. We recently launched a new and unique line of vegan soups and stews that are doing very well in many specialty food and health food stores around Toronto and the GTA. All of our soups and stews are made fresh, are GMO free, gluten free, dairy and yeast free.
Each one of our products is also carefully made by hand, not machine, and is slow cooked in small batches in stainless steel soup kettles.
Where did you start out in the food world?
I did my apprenticeship at George Brown in Toronto in the 80’s and my first job was at the Ramada Inn. I spent 3 years at the Ramada where I worked through all the different kitchen stations including saucier, garde manger, pastry, butchery, banquet service etc. After that, I took a position with The McGill Club in Toronto as saucier and soon afterwards became Chef de Cuisine for the Accor Group – a European hotel chain (eg. Novotel). With the Accor Group I had the opportunity to train in France and then held Executive Chef titles at several major hotels, resorts and restaurants in southern Ontario.
What inspires you to do what you do?
I think that the aspects of plate design, menu and recipe development feed the creative side of my personality and knowing that people enjoy eating the food I’ve worked hard to make for them, feeds my nurturing side. Being a chef is a very satisfying career for me, it always has been. With soup in particular, they are heart warming, comfort foods. When someone is sick, people will bring them soup. There is something very healing and therapeutic about a hot bowl of soup. I also like how so many different flavours can be layered together in just one soup or stew dish.
Why make vegetarian soup?
We originally started with chicken in our Bangkok Curry Coconut soup actually, but found that the shelf life was considerably less with meat than without meat. Meat can spoil quickly and to be honest, after all the processed meat scares this past year with the listeria outbreaks etc. we just didn’t want to work with meat. I’m a “flexitarian” not a vegetarian currently, but I can see myself becoming a vegetarian in future.
Fresh vegetables are just so much cleaner and easier to work with. People can add their own meat to our soups and stews if they want. It’s a fresher way to eat in any case. And, now the vegans have some more interesting options to eat!
What has been the biggest struggle or obstacle you’ve had to overcome in order to get your product onto shelves?
I think the biggest struggle was finding the right space to set up our production kitchen. It took months to find the right space and it was incredibly frustrating! It was like shopping for your first home all over again. We finally found this great space in the west end with lots of light, high ceilings and lots of artists as well as other small food companies and caterers around. It’s the perfect creative space for me to work and get inspired!
