#still need to try fried polenta one of these days

[carlyraejepsans]

https://www.tumblr.com/steampoweredwerehog/733492467280838656

Die fool

unironically would love to try those. the only thing that triggers my fight or flight is breaking the spaghetti, but that's frowned upon because you need the length to wrap it around your fork better. since this dish is something you're supposed to eat with your hands, the problem doesn't come up at all. the frying thing is chill too, go ask the neapolitans and the sicilians, those guys are like the soul food of italian cuisine. they'll fry anything

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Love at First Bite

Rayla is taken by a client to eat at the Italian-Korean fusion place in town and falls in love with the food, and later, the chef.

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Rayla smiled at her client as they waited for their server to come.  Her boss had told her that they had to keep the contract with the client’s company no matter what, and if that meant going to a Korean-Italian fusion restaurant that would probably be too spicy for Rayla’s Scottish, fried-food-loving taste buds, so be it.  The client, Ms. Danvers, had been hyping the restaurant up all evening.  “You said you like potatoes?  This place as amazing kimchi-style potatoes and potato pancakes.”

Rayla nodded.  “My grandmother is Irish and there are always potatoes cooking in her house.”  Rayla subtly looked around the dining room. The walls were mostly white with a few panels a beautiful red.  There was artwork on the walls, ranging from sceneries to portraits.  They all looked to be done by the same artist but Rayla couldn’t place a name to them.  The air was warm and smelled of spices and herbs and cheese.  Rayla could see a row of cheeses on one of the shelves.  “Do they use a lot of cheese here?”

“Korean food pairs wonderfully with cheese.  There’s a rumor that all the vegetables here are from the local farmer’s market as are most of the cheeses.  It’s fusion, but it’s as domestic as possible, too.”

“You’ve really been talking this place up.”

Ms. Danvers flushed.  “It’s my favorite restaurant.  I come here for lunch once a week and get take-away whenever I’m having a bad day.  This place is known for Korean-Italian fusion, but they make a delicious Thai laksa and a vegetarian Tom Yum that is to die for.”

“Really?”  Rayla didn’t know that much about Asian food, but she knew that Tom Yum was common in Thai eateries.

“The chef is a quarter-Thai and a quarter-Korean, his grandparents being from Thailand and South Korea.  He knows the flavors well and plays with them, but when he goes authentic, he’s the best in town.  He will also make almost any dish vegetarian if you request it.”

“How accommodating.”

A server came up, a smile on their face.  “Good evening and welcome to Sarai’s Place.  Any wine to start this evening?”  Rayla shook her head, surprised when Ms. Danvers asked for Thai iced tea for the both of them.  “And what can I get started for you?”

“Ms. Burrows?”

Rayla looked down at the menu again.  “Hmm.  I’m not sure what to get.  I don’t have a very high spice tolerance.”

The server nodded.  “Scale of 1 to 10?”

“Maybe a three.”

“Do you like kimchi?”

“Never had it.”

“Then I recommend trying the kimchi potatoes, if you like potatoes, or the risotto, which features chopped kimchi, sesame oil, and garlic.  The chef makes two kinds of kimchi, one mild and one spicy, so he’ll use the mild for you.  For the main dish, if you enjoy cheese, a pasta dish that has mussels, a Korean chili paste and tomato sauce, and fresh parmesan.  Everything that can be local, is local and if you eat vegetarian, the mussels will be taken out and instead you will get mushrooms.”

“My grandmother is Irish so I’m very snobbish with my potatoes.”

“I would rate his potato pancakes a ten.  He takes the traditional Korean recipe and adds parmesan cheese and some rosemary and its cooked with the house chili oil, so when you cut into it, it’s cheesy and subtly spicy.  The house chili oil is made with both gochugaru and the type of dried chilis usually used to make olio di peperocino.”

“I’ll go with the pancakes and the mussels pasta you suggested.”

“Excellent choice.  And for you?”

Ms. Danvers smiled.  “Did he make Tom Yum or laksa today?”

“Laksa.”

“I will take a bowl of laksa while Ms. Burrows is eating her pancakes and I will also take the mussels pasta.  Can we also get an order of garlic bread?”

“Of course.  I’ll get your Thai iced teas ready.  Anything else today?”

“What’s the dessert of the week?”

“Since it’s summer, mango pudding, Thai coconut pudding, and strawberry-lime cheesecake.”

“We’ll each take a slice of the strawberry-lime cheesecake.”  The server nodded and walked away after reading back the list.  “I hope you don’t mind me ordering dessert for you, but he only makes that cheesecake when the strawberries are in their peak season and it’s worth it.”

Rayla nodded.  “No problem, Ms. Danvers.  I wouldn’t really know what to order otherwise.”

They chatted while they waited, pausing when the garlic bread came to the table.  Rayla had been expecting the kind of garlic bread Americans seemed to adore, buttery and almost artificially garlic-y.  Instead, they got small, fresh loaves that had pieces of roasted garlic and thyme baked into it, served with the house chili oil and garlic that had been cooked until it spread like butter on the bread.  Rayla was impressed with the flavor and how the pieces of garlic were not overpowering.

When the potato pancakes came, Rayla could smell the spice but trusted the server had not led her astray, eyeing her glass of Thai iced tea just in case.  One bite and she was in heaven.  The cheese and the heat from the chili only enhanced the potato flavor as did the light smattering of soy sauce and vinegar-based sauce.  Rayla almost ignored Ms. Danvers when the pasta came, inhaling the dish.  At the end of the meal, once the excellent cheesecake had been finished, Rayla was in love with the food.  “Well, Ms. Danvers, I suppose I should be thanking you for introducing me to my new favorite restaurant.”

Ms. Danvers chuckled.  “It’s good, isn’t it?”

“I would marry the chef in a heartbeat if I got to eat like this every day for the rest of my life.”

-----------------------------

Rayla brought all her clients and her coworkers to Sarai’s Place in the following months.  She tried almost everything on the menu, though she was still mildly terrified of the spiciness of the laksa if the smell alone was anything to go by.  Every Monday and Thursday, she got take-away and ordered the dessert whenever she ate in on Saturdays.  She was thankful she was single or else she would have to come here every week with someone and she liked dining alone in the quiet restaurant.

Sometimes, they played classical music, other times K-pop, and Rayla would always remember the night they had played an opera medley when several people with the Katolis Opera Company had dined that night.  The chef seemed keenly aware of who came to his restaurants at what dates and times and played music to fit their tastes but also made sense with the theme.

It was a popular spot with not only Foodies and high school kids, but a lot of Asian-Americans dined there.  Rayla had looked up the reviews and had seen it was highly recommended by the Katolis Korean and Thai communities, the Katolis restaurant circles, and the Commission for the Promotion of Local Ingredients and Farmer’s Markets.  No one said anything bad about Sarai’s Place without at least ten people defending the restaurant’s choices.

And now Rayla was sitting with her boss, Ahling Patel, and having to stop herself from inhaling the food in front of her.  The risotto was so satisfying and paired with chicken breast stuffed with kimchi, perilla, and ricotta.  “What do you think, Mr. Ahling?”

“It’s delicious.  I’ve always felt that fusion was a gimmick, but I’m sold by this young man’s food.  Young lady,” Ahling called the server, smiling good-naturedly when she nodded at him and finished up with her current customer.  When she came up to their table, she greeted them again.  “Is there anyway we can speak to the chef?”

The server blinked before nodding.  “I’m sure I can arrange it.  Dinner service is almost over and there are only you and two other tables.  Can I bring you dessert while I’m talking to him?”

“What do you recommend?”

“Our pastry chef made yakgwa, which are little honey pastries made with pine nuts, ginger, and sesame oil and they also made a yuja polenta cake and a play on Italian lemon cake, but with yuja.”

Rayla ordered the yakgwa and Ahling got the polenta cake and waited for the news.  Rayla couldn’t recall having ever seen the chef even though she came there at least twice a week, closer to three.  She hadn’t seen any pictures of him, either, surprisingly enough.  He was said to keep to himself and shunned the limelight, which is why he never made TV appearances.

A few minutes later, it wasn’t their server, but a man who looked be about 26 arriving with their desserts.  His green eyes were striking, as were his cheekbones and sharp jawline.  He gave them both an awkward smile as Rayla noticed his ring finger was bare and didn’t seem to have a tan line.  Was this the chef?  His coat would seem to say so.  “Nice to meet you both.  I’m Callum Evans, the owner and executive chef here at Sarai’s Place.”

Ahling smiled.  “It’s nice to meet you, young man.  I’m Ahling Patel and this is my employee, Rayla Burrows.”  Rayla nodded her head in acknowledgement.  “Your food is delicious.  How on Earth do you even think of this?”

The young man flushed, looking down at his feet.  “Um, I’m not that special.  Many people before me found that Korean and Italian food go well together.  Most of my recipes are riffs on family recipes and all my Thai dishes are family recipes.  I was originally going to go traditional Korean or Thai but there were no fusion places in the area and I’m part Irish and German on top of being a quarter-Thai and a quarter-Korean.  It felt…right, I guess.  I’m mixed and grew up with a variety of food cultures in my house, so why not do fusion?  Korean and Italian just made the most sense, so…”  He looked embarrassed at the praise, rubbing the back of his neck.

Rayla leaned forward a bit.  “I’ve eaten here at least twice week for the past six months.  I can tell you, without a doubt, it’s my favorite place to eat.”

“Thank you.”

Ahling cleared his throat.  “Are you single, Mr. Evans?”

Callum flushed even deeper.  “Ah.  Yes.  Being a chef requires long hours and running a restraint requires even more.”

“You need a good partner to help you find balance in your life!”

Rayla remained quiet as she watched them talk.  The only thing going through her mind was ‘I’m going to marry this man for his food.  I’ll eat well for the rest of my life.’  She stayed when Ahling said good night and while the restaurant emptied out.  Callum stayed at the table, fidgeting under her gaze.  “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“A date.”

Callum blinked.  “We have a sticky rice made with dates-”

“No.  A romantic excursion.  An outing.”

He gulped, looking her up and down.  “A date?  Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I fell in love with your food almost immediately after I tasted it and would like the chance to know the man who cooks it.”

Callum blushed.  “OK.”  They exchanged info and Rayla smirked as she left with his number in her cellphone.  There was no way she would be letting this one go.

------------------------------------------

After four months of dating, Rayla could confidently say that she was now just as in love with Callum the man as she was with his cooking.  Learning that his restaurant was named after his mother who died when he was in high school had endeared him to her, as had the knowledge that all the art on the walls were his paintings.  Was there anything he couldn’t do?

They were currently in Callum’s kitchen, him developing a new recipe while Rayla took down notes for him.  Even on his days off, he was always thinking about what he would do next and Rayla admired his passion to his craft.  When he brought her up to try the dish, she groaned.  “I will marry this man if it’s the last thing I do,” she muttered.

“I can hear you, you know,” Callum chuckled.

Rayla raised a brow.  “Then why haven’t you accepted my proposal?”

“Because you proposed to my food?”

“I hardly see the difference.”  Callum laughed at her, shaking his head.  “Hey, move in with me.”

“We’ve been together for four months.”

“Is that a problem?  Too short?”

Callum stared at her.  “You’re serious.”

“I told you; I fully plan on marrying you to eat your cooking ‘til the day I die.”

“So, it’s my cooking you love?”

“When have I hidden this?”  Rayla reached for his hand, pulling him closer.  “I’m serious.  Move in with me.”

“Why?”

Rayla shrugged.  “I’m happy when we wake up next to each other.  I like the idea of coming home to you or you coming home to me.  I don’t like sleeping alone, and, for the past month, the two of us have been alternating sleeping at each other’s places and it doesn’t make sense to pay rent on two places when we could be happy together?”

“That and I’m the only person willing to put up with your stubborn ass.”

Rayla gave him a mock offended looking, giving his arm a playful smack.  “You love my stubborn ass.”

“I do.”  Callum leaned down and captured her lips, letting her taste the dish he had been working on for the past hour.  When they pulled apart, he looked down into her eyes with his bright green ones.  “I think I love you.”

“That’s good, because I think I love you, too.”

Rayla would take that for now.  And in two years, when she would be standing next to him in front of their new house, matching rings on their fingers, and a very pregnant belly, she would remind him that he had his food to thank for their relationship.  “I fell in love with your food first.”

“I’m glad you did, because you kept coming back.”

“Lucky you.”

“Lucky me.”        

[this-lioness]

Weekend Review

Long, boring and mundane, as usual, but I find it relaxing.

The last two grocery orders for my Mom were only about 1/3 to 1/2 full, and I knew that wasn’t going to hold her very long.  Food is readily available in the stores, it’s just that the stores are no longer doing substitutions for out-of-stock items, so if there are six versions of a given item available online you have to hope that the one you pick is one they have in stock, otherwise you’re not getting anything at all.  Your only choice is to keep ordering and ordering and ordering or physically go into the store.  Ugh.

There’s a Grocery Outlet up the street from us, and we decided Friday afternoon would probably be less crowded than a Saturday morning, and took our chances going out.  We wore masks and gloves, to be safe, and I left most everything home -- purse, glasses, phone.  I didn’t want to have to decontaminate more than I absolutely had to.

It went pretty smoothly, all things considered.  We have a full decontamination area in the pantry now: drop cloth on the floor, rolling rack with a bleach-water solution, washable wipes, clean grocery bags and gloves.  So we bring everything in through the back gate, I spray everything down with bleach (or SimpleGreen, if we’re worried about bleach getting on it) in the pantry, let it sit, then Marc wipes it dry and transfers it either to our own cabinets or into clean bags for my Mom.  Produce gets transferred directly to the sink where it’s washed with warm, soapy water and then dried.

Is it enough?  I don’t know.  It’s certainly a whole process, which makes me feel like we’re doing some amount of good, but I suppose you can’t really know for sure right now.

Saturday morning we had our breakfast biscuit sandwiches and coffee, then packed up (what we thought was) all my Mom’s groceries and drove them over.  En route she texted me to ask for Splenda (*sigh*) and a flashlight, because Jim uses a flashlight to navigate to the bathroom at night.  By then it was too late, but it turns out we’d forgotten all her frozen items anyway, so I told her I’d bring it the next day.

Dropped everything off with her and then went to Lowes to pick up garden soil and some drainage rock.  It was still cold and cloudy out, but warm enough that we got a good hour or so of work done in the back yard -- mostly cleaning up the winter muck.

A few months ago we bought a stack of old icing buckets from a baker ($1 each!) and Marc drilled holes in the bottom and layered them with rock and soil.  He also dug up one of the original three blackberry beds which we decided to retire.  I’d planned to just toss the canes, but they were already greening up so nicely that he took the chance they could be salvaged and transferred them to three new planters.  To my surprise they don’t seem shocked at all, so we may be able to keep them going in a better location!

Marc is debating what to do with the retired bed, but we’ll probably use it to dry firewood or store things off-season.

I went over the blackberry bushes and cut off all the old winter growth and one or two dead canes.  They’re greening up beautifully, and one of them has thrown FIVE NEW CANES, two of which have sprouted in the little gap between beds.  Complete assholes.  I rocked off the gap so it is now unofficially our new third berry bed, and gave it a stern talking-to about behaving itself from now on.  I swear to God those canes grew more since just yesterday.

The raspberries are greening up, but not so vigorously.  I need the time to get them back in order, frankly -- we have to completely redo the training wire.  There’s fucking thistle everywhere, I want to scream.  The harder you try to get rid of the stuff the more aggressively it spreads.

Blueberries are greening up as well.  I acidified the soil as best I could, but we’re giving them just this year to prove themselves.  If they can’t grow berries I can’t spare the garden space, and frankly it’s just too much work trying to acidify their beds.  The blackberries and raspberries would literally kill their mother to take over that space, and I’d love to try some gooseberries or something else new and different.

I pulled last year’s baby maples from their winter bed and gave them a once-over.  They’ve got tiny little buds on them, it looks like they all made it -- a good five or six at least!  I’ve got them in the sun now, anyway, to see if we can coax them fully back to life.

After choring I cleaned litter boxes, showered, then came downstairs and completely tore the pantry apart -- mud room, cabinet pantry, and the two sides of the kitchen island where we normally keep canned goods.

We normally keep a very well-stocked pantry, but I wanted a better idea of everything we had, and it was starting to get cluttered in a way that made it hard to get everything.  I spent a good few hours -- and Marc even got into it, and was a huge help -- taking everything out, combining items, moving some bulk goods to air-tight containers, and then sorting it all back new spots.

I had a bunch on hand that was more than we needed, and offered to bring it to my Mom with her frozen stuff.  In exchange she offered us some polenta and a few frozen items that neither she nor Jim would eat.  Good trade.

I’ve run past Marc the idea of organizing his tool chest as well, which is currently a six-foot-tall column of absolute madness that I have to avert my eyes from, but it seems like that’s going to wait until tomorrow.  Ah well.

Had tacos, watched Onward (I wasn’t expecting much but I actually really liked it), played some Animal Crossing and went to bed.  Good day.

This morning Marc made chocolate chip waffles and then we popped back out again.  The plan was just to drop the groceries off at my Mom’s, but we managed to get a few other things done: brought over the old tiered planter so she can use it for herbs and annuals, and set up the frame for a raised garden bed so she can grow some veggies (with my help, no doubt).  Later this week I’ll go over and lay down some weed blocker for her and fill it with soil.  I’ve got more than enough broccoli sprouts to spare and I’m sure the same will be true with the peppers, so she’ll have that if nothing else.

Afterwards we hit Lowes again, picking up a few more bags of top soil, bird seed, and more buckets.

Today was absolutely beautiful, cloudy on-and-off but warm and good for gardening.  We did a bang up job!

Marc gathered all the old wood paneling and other crap that’s been accumulating and got it into one spot so we can call a haul-away company.  He also cleaned up most of the leaf litter from around the yard and helped me organize the little collapsible greenhouse we got for free late last year.  It’s really handy, we’re already talking about replacing it with something more permanent.

I planted some of the broccoli sprouts and put them out in the sun.  Here’s hoping!  The three onion bulbs I planted a few weeks ago were sprouting up green so I got those into a planter and plugged most of the rest of the bulbs into biodegradable containers to see if we can get them growing as well.  Onions seem complicated, but I’ll do my best.

I’ve been saving every kind of little container I could get my hands on, these past weeks, and I filled them all up with soil and got some eggplant seeds going as well.  The bell peppers are just now starting to sprout, they need a bit longer, but I think they’ll get there.  Also planted some pinto beans and cat grass.  I’ve still got some baby spinach and pumpkins to get going, but I’m holding onto those for just now.

We sorted the “guest” patio chairs off into the side yard, as we don’t really anticipate having anyone over this summer.  We can always break them out again if we need to, it’s easy enough, but right now I’ve got almost every single sunny spot dedicated to something we can grow and eat.

We’ll have tomatoes at some point, too, but I’d prefer to buy them as seedlings.  I’m already unsure just how well the current round of babies is going to do.  I’m so worried about that broccoli, but I guess at some point you have to just let it do its thing and hope for the best.

I hope everything comes up.  I’ve read everything I can, but sometimes it all gets confused and muddled, so at some point I just sort of have to... hope.  Supposedly last year’s corn should return, but man... I don’t know.  We’ll keep an eye on it.  If it hasn’t come up by the time seedlings start appearing in the store we’ll just pull them up and replant.  That was a wonderful exercise last year.

We also put out more clover seed in the front (last year’s clover is BOOMING), and spread some wildflower seeds around as well.  Marc filled up the bird feeders, hosed off the patio and set up the chairs.  We’re going to buy a better pressure washer than the old electric one we have from the old house, both for our use and so my parents don’t have to keep hiring someone to clean their siding.  That will make a big difference.

It’s amazing what a difference an afternoon of work made in the back yard -- it looks and feels so much better.  Afterwards we got showered up and changed, and then a little bit ago I made some veggie fried brown rice with steamed veggie dumplings.  A little later on I’m going to make us some sakura lattes and maybe something light to snack on for dessert.

And how are you?

[heymondoitaliano]

The Sgag that keeps on giving

This Lecce sojourn has rekindled the idea that it might be nice to own an apartment here. Truly, this is a lovely city. It’s relaxed. It’s clean. It’s certainly beautiful. The people are friendly and the vibe (I may be overusing this word) is cool. The living is easy, and relatively cheap compared with our home town (swigs another 90 eurocent coffee). Of course it’s got its other parts, but by and large a lovely time can be spent here.

So, we met a charming agent named Cristiano and he showed us an apartment in an old convent (built in the 1700s). The apartment is currently rented to an Australian lecturer working at the University of Salento. It was small, but the space worked well, with the bedroom underneath in a cavernous cellar, with windows at the top of their walls. Needed a bit of work in the decor and bathroom departments, but interesting and well-priced. Cristiano, in that cunning way real estate agents do, suggested he might show us a couple more (more expensive) options tomorrow. We agreed.

After the viewing, we had made a plan to visit Bari that avoided the nearly two hour drive up the very boring superstrada and back again. The train we thought. There was a bit of time to kill before the train, so we popped home for a mome. As we arrived, the signora across the way met us and we had our usual conversation about our plans for the day before we headed inside. Once inside we heard the never before heard doorbell ring and found the signora outside bearing food and a warning about olives still having their stones. She presented us with two, fresh-out-of-the-forno buns - pizzo - which are like pizza dough buns with pepperoncino, onions, olives (unstoned) and capers. They were deliciously good and I don’t think we missed any of the stones.

We jumped the 14:15 outta Lecce, after purchasing and validating our tickets and sat back on a relatively small train, known hereabouts as a Regionale. This was the cheapest option, at about €11 per person each way - the speedy one, which is only 20 minutes faster, was twice that. The station is quite close to where we are staying and the trip would take an hour and 40 minutes.

We arrived at Bari Centrale at about 4pm, still in the daylight, and walked the kilometre from the station, straight down a wide mall, to the old city, Bari Vecchia. Previously, a couple of years ago, we spent a short time here and we were hoping to dive a little deeper. The Bari Vecchia is a classic Italian medio-evo town, with narrow stone lanes and churches on every second corner. The tourist guides show these streets on sunny afternoons with smiling nonnas making pasta outside their front doors, waving their tea towels at the throngs of tourists. Our Bari was somewhat darker, not just because the sun was setting. The Barese who inhabit the old city are a bit of rough lot. As we headed down the main lane, it was uncomfortably gauntlet like. Men in tracky-daks and beanies scowling on either side of the way. We came upon one of the famous sites of the area, one I’ve read about in guides, Da Maria Sgagliozze, a smiling, friendly lady who sells fried polenta (6 for €1) from a door surrounds by posters proclaiming her fame and her claim that you haven’t been to Bari if you haven’t had Maria’s Sgagliozze. We weren’t in the mood for fried dough, but Pip wanted a picture (as is her foodie wont) - she got the picture and a tongue-lashing from some fellow unhappy with that (we think). I say we think, because only that day we had seen a comedy sketch that pilloried the Barese for their slurring speech, and it was true.

He could have been unhappy because he thought Pip was taking pictures of the card game next door, but we’ll never know. Other activities included passing through more groups of roughnecks, one with a stoma and one of those electro larynx talking things that makes you sound like a robot, who continue talking right through as you pass, and being stared at when you stop to look at goods in a shop. We did pop into St Nick’s, quite an austere church, with an un-austere crypt, but passed up the opportunity to confess, even though the priest was in the box ... waiting with the green light on.

We had originally planned to have dinner in Bari and then head home, but given that the smiling waving nonnas had turned into black-clad, stern-faced women frowning out of their windows, we repaired to a bar to review our options. There was even a Nonna with a 3m stick bashing on the outside of an upstairs windows, screaming ‘Elena!’, over and over again. Even the bar guy was gruff so we sipped some wine (I had a gin fizz) and snacked on some bruschetta and decided to try and find somewhere, in the new, modern, shiny Bari for a quick bite, then head home on an earlier train. We must have been in the wrong place - not a restaurant to be found (that met our stringent requirements), so we returned to the station, did a bit of shopping in the supermarket there and waited for our train home.

We got home at 10:30pm after a long dark ride on a train that was near empty by the time it got to Lecce.

[mortadellahead-blog]

15 Italian Street Foods You Need In Your Life

Anyone who’s been to Italy knows that it’s a country full of delicious food. And you don’t have to sit down to be treated to some of the trendiest items out there. Enter street food. It’s cheap, authentic, and highly instagrammable. Not sure where to start your foodie quest? Use this guide to find the most iconic Italian street foods to ensure the best culinary exploration.

  Arancini:     Though arancini means “little oranges” in Italian, there’s nothing fruity     about these amazing fried rice balls. Arancini are deep fried until     they’re crispy on the outside but warm and creamy on the inside. Cheese     and peas are the most common fillings, with minced chicken and beef     sometimes added. Do yourself a favor and order a couple with a side of     spicy arrabiata sauce. Want the most authentic arancini? Head to Sicily     where they originated, all the way back to the 10th century. 

Olive     all’Ascolana: It’s probably no surprise that olives would be on this list,     but it’s not just the fruit you’re getting with this popular street food.     Imagine olives stuffed with ground meat and parmesan that are lightly     breaded and fried. Drooling yet? Your order will come in a paper cone or     bag, piping hot straight from the street seller. Dive right in!

Lampredotto:     Most loved by the locals, this dish may not sound particularly appetizing     but it’s super flavorful. Ready for what’s inside? Lampredotto, the     ultimate Florentine street food, consists of cow stomach cooked in a broth     of tomato, onion, celery, and parsley. You can order it as is or choose to     have it in sandwich form. It’s not for the faint of heart, but we’re     confident you’re brave enough to try it. 

Pani     ca meusa: If we didn’t scare you off with the lampredotto, brace yourself     for this one. Pani ca meusa is chopped veal spleen and lung steamed in     lard, then stuffed into a sandwich. Again, it tastes way better     than it sounds. 

Porchetta     Romana: If you’re still reading (nice job!), prepare to salivate.     Porchetta is a juicy, savory boneless pork roast seasoned with salt and     herbs and roasted on a spit. A great roast will be stuffed with garlic,     rosemary, fennel, and other herbs. It’s served sliced and piled atop a     crusty bread roll, making for one heck of a sandwich. 

Pizza     al taglio: You’ve been waiting to see pizza on this list, haven’t you?     First, take everything you “know” about pizza and toss it out the window. Pizza al taglio, or,     “pizza by the cut” is baked in large, rectangular trays and sold by     weight. Savor your options, point to what you like, then ask for as much     as your body can handle.

Panzerotti:     While you’ve got pizza on the brain, listen up for this next one.     Panzerotti closely resembles a smaller version of a calzone, or folded     pizza. But guess what? It isn’t baked. It’s fried. You’re welcome.     Traditionally, these pockets of pizza dough are packed with tomato sauce     and mozzarella, but the ingredient list often     includes ham, olives, and mushrooms.

Panelle:     What was once considered cucina povera (poor man’s food), is now a     street food staple. You’ll be daydreaming about this fried chickpea     polenta for years to come. It’s best eaten alone, but if you’re feeling     fancy, make it a sandwich. Mmm, mmm.

Polpette:     Spaghetti and meatballs? Forget about it. The polpette is really all you     need. Look for these meatballs on the streets as well as in Venetian wine     bars served as cicchetti. LINK HERE. 

Pesce     fritto al cono: The fried olives mentioned above aren’t the only     deliciousness served in a cone. There isn’t much better than roaming the     streets of Italy holding a cup of fresh, fried seafood. Is there? Don’t     think so. You’ll get seafood fresh off the boat that is lightly battered     and fried right before your eyes. Depending on the catch of the day, you     may get a combination of fish, squid, or shrimp. Brighten it up with a     squeeze of fresh lemon.

Piadina:     Both meat eaters and vegetarians alike will line up for this delicious     dish. It’s essentially a flatbread made of flour, olive oil, salt, and     water. You can get it served alone or stuffed with, basically anything, to     create a wrap. Keep it simple and order it with tomatoes and mozzarella so     you can taste the quality of each ingredient.

Arrosticini:     Here we’ve come to one of the lesser known street foods, but certainly one     of the most delicious. These long and thin skewers of lamb can only get     tastier with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt. The meat is     skewered and cooked on an elongated charcoal grill. The skewers rest on     top of metal grills and hung directly over hot coals. For those who like a     little heat, add some chile pepper flakes for a spicier take on this mouth     watering street food.

Gelato:     You’ve been waiting for something sweet, haven’t you? We’d be remiss if we     didn’t include Italy’s most sought after dessert. Made from a creamy base     of milk, cornstarch, and sugar, gelato is less creamy than ice cream but a     lot more flavorful. Popular flavors include pistachio,     stracciatella, and lemon. 

Zeppole:     From bakeries to cafes to street fairs, you’ll find these deep-fried dough     balls pretty much everywhere. While they are said to have originated in     Naples and Rome, nowadays every city in Italy has put their own twist on     zeppole. Depending on where you go, you’ll find zeppole filled with     chocolate, jelly, custard, pastry cream, or even a honey butter mixture --     but they’re always topped with powdered sugar. Make sure to eat them right     out of the fryer!

Cannoli:     Last but not least, we had to include an easily recognized Italian street     food, er, dessert. LINK. Please do us a favor and never, ever resist this     tube-shaped pastry dough filled with ricotta cream. It’s worth every bite     -- especially the ones with topped with chocolate chips. 

 Now that we’ve schooled you on the hottest street foods of Italy, which ones will you be hunting down on your next adventure abroad?

   Browse through the https://mortadellahead.com/ and you will see what you have been missing out on for all these years. Delivering the best Italian food online!

[044-eu]

Typical recipes of Puglia

The Puglian cuisine is simple and genuine. The products of his land range from the grain of the Table to the blue fish of its seas (and not only), to extra virgin olive oil and vegetables. All these products are the basis of the best typical Puglia dishes. Thinking of Puglia as not to think of the famous orecchiette sweepers of the rape tops, known all over the world, the stuffed mussels and the taralli and its liqueurs also very well known as the Puglian nut.

Taralli

Taralli are a great accompaniment to an aperitif or snack out of the meal. The only problem is that they are like cherries, one pulls the other. There are flavored in many ways, fennel, chili, pepper, just to name some of the best known. This is the basic recipe, then you can customize it as you like. Necessary for taralli 300 grams of flour 00 89 grams of white wine 60 grams of olive oil salt and pepper just enough to taste with fennel seeds, onion, chilli etc. Preparation of taralli Form with flour the typical fountain to knead and in the center add the oil, fennel seeds, salt and pepper and start kneading. Slowly add the wine and knead the dough until you get a firm and elastic mixture. Let the dough rest about thirty minutes, after which form dough cylinders about 7 - 8 centimeters long and form the classic shape of the taralli, round, joining the two garments overlapping them. Once you have finished preparing the taralli, boil a pot of salted water and put in the taralli a few at a time that they are removed as soon as they come to the surface. At this point the taralli are ready to be put in the oven already hot at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes.

BARESI GAGLIOZZE

A typical crunchy and delicious Puglia starter made with fried polenta. In the old town of Bari they are fried on the street especially in winter and are accompanied very well with cured meats and cheeses. Necessary for BARESI GAGLIOZZES 400 grams of cornflour for polenta a litre of water salt as needed seed oil for frying. Preparing BARESI GGAGLIOZZE To prepare the polenta boil the water and pour the corn flour in rain following the instructions on the corn packaging for polenta. At the end of cooking, however, it must be very dense. Transfer the polenta to a rectangular mould with very high edges and allow to cool completely for several hours. The polenta must become very dry otherwise it does not fry well. After this time, cut the polenta into slices of about one centimeter and fry in plenty of olive oil until the slice turns golden. Dry them on paper towels and serve still warm.

Orecchiette with turnip tops

The first best-known dish of the Puglia tradition. Traditionally orecchiettes are prepared at home, but are already ready in all supermarkets. Following the recipe with the turnip tops, I will also write the recipe to make orecchiette in the house. Necessary for orecchiette with turnip tops Grams 400 of turnip tops 400 grams of orecchiette 4 fillets of anchovies 1 teaspoon sweet paprika 1 garlic clove salt up, olive oil and chilli just enough Preparation of orecchiette with turnip tops. In a pot with plenty of boiling water cook the turnip tops that will have been cleaned and washed for about 2 minutes. After that also put the fresh ears that will cook in about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the sauté, putting in a rather large pan a drizzle of olive oil, the whole garlic (which should be removed at the end of cooking) the fillets of anchovies in the oven, roughly chopped and a pinch of chilli. After 5 minutes of cooking, add the turnip tops and orecchiette, which are now cooked, drained of the cooking water. Stir gently adding the sweet paprika and serve warm.

Puglia minestrone

Necessary for apulian minestrone 250 grams of pasta type trtiglioni 800 grams of turnip tops 2 onions olive oil, grated pecorino cheese, chilli powder, olive oil, salt and pepper just enough Preparation of minestrone with Puglia Clean the rape tops having the care to choose the turnip tops with the flowers that are softer. Cook the turnip tops in plenty of salted water for about ten minutes, Remove the larger stems and finely chop together with the onions. In a large pot with a few tablespoons of olive oil fry the onions and chopped stems of the turnip tops for a few minutes, adding salt, pepper and a pinch of chilli powder. As soon as the onion is golden add two liters of water and let it boil for about an hour and a half. After this time put the pasta and the tops and flowers of the turnips in the pot. Cook the pasta al dente and remove from the heat. Sprinkle the grated pecorino soup, season with salt and pepper and two or three tablespoons of seed oil. Serve not too hot.

Mussels stuffed with Puglia

This is a quick and tasty second that some also present as a starter, but it is so rich that it becomes almost a unique dish. Necessary for mussels stuffed with Puglia 800 grams of mussels 150 grams of grated pecorino cheese 150 grams of bread crumbs or breadcrumbs 4 eggs 2 cloves garlic half a small onion plenty of chopped parsley 400 grams of tomato puree or chopped tomatoes olive oil, salt and pepper just enough. Preparing stuffed mussels Wash the mussels thoroughly with a hard toothbrush and with a knife open the valves. Preserve the water of the mussels to flavor the sauce even more. Wet the bread crumb and squeeze it well and with this prepare a mixture by combining the whole eggs, the grated pecorino cheese, a clove of garlic and the parsley, very finely chopped. It must be a compact compound. With this mixture fill the valves of the mussels trying to close them by tightening them well. Now we prepare the sauce where to cook the stuffed mussels. In a large pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil fry the finely chopped onion and a whole crushed garlic (it will be removed at the end of cooking). Now add the tomato purée or the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 20 minutes. Combine the mussels and water, cook for another 20 minutes and serve warm.

Octopus A PIGNATA

This is an ancient recipe from Salentina that owes its name to the pinata that is the pot of crock where usually in Puglia the octopus is cooked. Necessary for the octopus A PIGNATA 1 octopus or meatballs for about 1 kilograms 350 grams of chopped tomatoes 500 grams of potatoes 1 garlic clove 1 small onion chopped parsley a tablespoon 2 bay leaves salt pepper and olive oil just enough Preparing the PIGNATA POPO Clean the octopus or meatballs very well, cutting it into not very small pieces. In a few tablespoons of oil, in the shard pinata, brown the finely chopped onion and the whole garlic (which is then removed at the end of cooking). Add the peeled tomatoes into small pieces and cook for a few minutes. Add the octopus in pieces, along with the chopped parsley, the 2 bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook very slowly for about an hour and a half with the lid. The octopus produces a lot of water in cooking so there should be no problems with cooking. Halfway through cooking, add the potatoes, which should be peeled and cut into small pieces. After this time cook the octopus for another twenty minutes without a lid to let the sauce be withdrawn a little. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot.

Puglian Nocino

It is a typical Puglian liqueur made with nuts. It is very well known both in Italy and around the world. It is a bitter with digestive properties. Necessary for the Puglian nocino half a litre of alcohol at 95 degrees half a kilogram of nuts 1 nutmeg 1 cinnamon stick 3 cloves the peel of half a lemon 150 grams of sugar 100 grams of water Preparation of the Puglian nocino In a very large glass container put the walnuts that will have been cut into pieces along with the lemon peel, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon stick. Now add the alcohol to 95 degrees and immediately close the container to prevent the alcohol from evaporating. Leave to infuse for 40 days in a cool and dry and possibly ventilated place. After this period, cook the water with sugar to prepare a syrup that will be added to the liquor once it is completely cooled. Stir and strain before bottling the liquor. This is left for several months before being enjoyed usually 3 or 4.

Lecce pasticciotto

Typical sweet treat salentino very greedy because stuffed with custard. Necessary for leccesian pastries 500 grams of flour 200 grams of sugar 200 grams of butter 2 whole eggs the grated zest of half a lemon (as for the shortcrust pastry) half a litre of whole milk 5 egg yolks 80 grams of flour the grated zest of half a lemon 170 grams of sugar (as far as custard is concerned) Preparation of leccesial pastries We prepare the shortcrust pastry for the pastry. In a bowl combine the flour with the sugar, the butter at room temperature cut into small pieces, the two beaten eggs and the grated zest of half a lemon. Work the dough obtained on a flat esplanade to obtain a firm and elastic dough. Wrap the dough in a clear plastic sheet and refrigerate for at least 50 minutes. Let's prepare the custard in the meantime. With the electric whisks whisk whisk the egg yolks with sugar, add the flour and the zest of half a grated lemon. In a saucepan cook the egg and sugar mixture with the milk until it reaches the boil. Freshly boiled put the mixture in a bowl to make it cool completely. To make these treats you need special molds (they are oval molds made of aluminum). Take the shortbread and after working it a little with your hands spread it in a pastry of about half a centimeter. From this puff pastry cut oval pieces a little larger than the molds where you will put the piece to cover the bottom and edges. Now fill with the custard each mould with the pastry and cover everything with other pieces of shortbread to close. Beat an egg and brush the surface of the pastries with it before putting them in the oven already hot at 180 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes. Read the full article

[guitarpanda8]

8 Amazingly Easy Summer Recipe Ideas With 10 Minutes Prep!

These recipes are brought to you by Woolworths.

Want to make the most of summer? These 8 easy recipe ideas will have you enjoying your time outside the house but still eating well. Think a crowd pleasing 6 layer salad; refreshing Limeade; polenta & parmesan fries with pesto aioli; my favourite ever chicken salad (and I mean it, pinky swear); Nashville Hot Chicken with maple and waffles and to finish a quick freeze Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Cake! Best of all these take between 5-15 minutes prep thanks to some smart shopping!

For me, while I love to cook, you may have noticed that my summer recipes are simpler. That's because I don't want to spend too long in the kitchen. I'd rather be out with friends. Winter is another matter where I braise and roast for hours and stay indoors reading or watching movies while waiting for summer to reappear. But summer is really an outdoor season.

6 layer salad to feed a party!

That’s why I’ve come up with some quick and easy Summer recipe ideas using Woolworths’ ready made products. Because sometimes you want to cook something that takes 10 minutes prep but you know me, I like to fiddle with things. And you shouldn't have to sacrifice flavour or taste in order to save time. And here I show that you can use ready made items to come up with canny shortcuts to make a yummy dish!

My favourite ever chicken salad

If I could do one thing it would be to be able to control time. Because I feel like I'm in a constant battle to do things while fighting time. By the time the end of the day rolls around I really wonder where the time went.

Quick Freeze Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

The other night I was up late-much later than I wanted to be. You know those times where you just wish you were home in bed? I was out at dinner and I was bone tired and they had cleared out dessert plates. And sometimes when I am tired I get sort of tired tipsy. I'm not actually tipsy but I feel like it. I get sort of delirious.

Refreshing Limeade

We were all eager to leave but one guy had gone to the bathroom and been gone for so long we had almost forgotten about him. And I think I almost dozed off and when I woke up I was thinking, "What are we waiting for???"

DIY Peanut Butter and Salted Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

Except I blurted it out loud. Like very loud. I only realised that I had actually spoken out loud when everyone turned to me. I honestly try and be polite most times but when I get tired, things fly out of my mouth.

Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffles with Maple Syrup

"Did I say that out loud?" I whispered to my seat mate. She nodded laughing. Thankfully our host didn't take offence as I think he too was wondering where he had gone and he too wanted to be home in bed too.

Smoked Beef Brisket with quick Japanese Potato Salad

So while I usually offer you from scratch recipes there are times when shortcuts and time savings helps. Sometimes you just don't have the motivation or means to smoke an entire beef brisket and sometimes you do. But save these recipes for when you are short of time. And don't get delirious tired like me ;)

So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever blurt out things? Do you get a bit delirious when you are tired? And do you ever wish you could control time?

Polenta and Parmesan Chips with Pesto Aioli

My Favourite Ever Chicken Salad

All Original Recipe ideas by Lorraine Elliott

This is one of my favourite salads and a real crowd pleaser if you're taking it to a picnic or a gathering. Even though I'm not a huge celery fan, it earns its place in this salad by adding a fantastic crunch along with the walnuts.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

Serves: 6-8 (perfect for a crowd)

1 Woolworths Macro free range roast chicken

1 green shallot, sliced

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1-2 sticks celery, chopped

1/4 cup chopped sweet pickles

3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted

Step 1 - Remove the meat from the chicken-you should get around 3.5-4 cups of chicken meat. Mix this along with the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve with greens or on its own.

Refreshing Limeade

If you've ever baulked at the cost of limes but love citrus drinks like limeade these frozen lime slices are perfect to keep in your freezer. They come already sliced up so all you do is muddle them in a light sugar syrup. This is utterly refreshing and perfect for a hot day!

Makes 1 litre Limeade

Preparation time: 7 minutes

Cooking time: 7 minutes

1 cup water

1/2-2/3 cup white sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

1.5 cups Woolworths Frozen Lime Slices (freezer section)

Caviar beads from 2 finger limes

750ml soda water, chilled

Step 1 - Boil the water with the sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lime slices and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and muddle using a French rolling pin or end of a thick wooden spoon. Allow to cool completely.

Step 2 - Pour into a large 1 litre jug along with finger lime caviar and top up with soda water.

Polenta & Parmesan Chips with Pesto Aioli

Like a lower fat version of hot chips, these polenta and parmesan chips are just like at your favourite restaurant. Baked rather than fried they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I'd even suggest making double for a crowd they're that good.

Preparation time: 3 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Woolworths Polenta & Parmesan Chips (250g, freezer section)

1/4 cup Woolworths Garlic Aioli

1 tablespoons Woolworths Select Pesto Basil

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Basil leaves for decoration

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray with parchment. Place chips in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes or until crispy.

Step 2 - Meanwhile mix the pesto and aioli and place in a small side dish. Grate parmesan cheese on top, add basil leaves and serve with the pesto aioli.

Six Layer Salad

The perfect entertaining salad, this six layer salad melds fresh vegetables and potato, quinoa and bean and pasta salads. This is a real time saver and can feed up to a dozen people as part of a spread.

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

800g Woolworths Potato Egg And Bacon Salad

2 avocados, skin and pit removed and chopped

800g Woolworths Ancient Grain Salad

2x200g punnets Solanato Tomato, 3/4 of them quartered, 1/4 halved

2x350g Woolworths Basil Pesto Pasta Salad

300g corn, drained

1/4 cup chives, chopped

Step 1 - Take a trifle bowl and layer the bottom with potato, egg and bacon salad. Add the diced avocado. Then layer with ancient grain salad pressing down gently to create a smooth surface.

Step 2 - Then add the tomatoes-I put a layer of the halved tomatoes cut side facing out and then placed the quartered tomatoes in the centre. Add the basil pesto pasta salad on top of this. Then add the corn on top and then sprinkle with chives.

Nashville Hot Chicken With Maple & Waffles

Now Nashville hot chicken is an entirely different beast than chicken and waffles. Usually Nashville hot chicken is served with a piece of white supermarket bread and not with maple syrup and waffles. But hear me out Dear Reader, sweet goes so well with spicy (think sweet chilli sauce) and while this was delicious without the maple, once I drizzled maple syrup on the chicken it became one of those things that I could not stop eating!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

850g Woolworths Southern Style Crumbed Chicken Pieces (freezer section)

2 teaspoons smoked hot paprika

2 tablespoons rice bran oil

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

130g packet English waffles (6 pieces)

250g Woolworths Maple & Bacon Salad Kit or American slaw

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray with parchment. Lay out chicken pieces in a single layer and sprinkle with hot paprika. Combine oil and cayenne pepper and brush it over the pieces. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until done.

Step 2 - Make the salad by adding the cranberries and bacon bits and then add dressing and toss. Just before serving toast the waffles and add the salad and chicken. Serve with maple syrup (it may sound odd but trust me, it's delicious!).

Beef Brisket & Quick Potato Salad

This recipe saves so much time but the end result doesn't show it (honestly you have to try this!). Beef brisket is a big deal. It takes ages to make and you need a smoker as well. This beef brisket is super soft and tender and tastes like it came from Texas. All you have to do is heat it up in the oven for 30 minutes. For the true Texas experience, eat it with your hands, unadorned without sauce.

Japanese potato salad is definitely not on the menu at a bbq restaurant but hear me out. Most of us have probably tried potato salad but have you ever tried a Japanese potato salad? It's amazing! A Japanese potato salad is mostly made up of soft mashed potato with boiled eggs, mayonnaise, onion, carrot and cucumber. It too can be quite a production but I found a fun use for the Woolworths roasted garlic mash. All I had to do was add the mix ins and condiments and I had a divine Japanese potato salad to go with my beef brisket!

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves 4-6

2x 750g Woolworths Simply Heat Smoked Beef Brisket

2x 475g Woolworths Roasted Garlic Mash

3 boiled eggs

1 small red onion, finely diced

3/4 Lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, shredded

3/4 cup kewpie mayonnaise

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

Salt and pepper to season

Step 1 - Heat BBQ with the lid on to medium heat. Cook the brisket for 30 minutes per 500g of meat. OR cover with oiled foil and roast in a 210C oven for 25 minutes per 500g. Remove foil and cook for 5 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes then slice.

Step 2 - Make the potato salad while the meat is cooking. I find it easiest to have all the ingredients measured out and then you just mix it all up together (don't heat the mash). Season with salt and pepper.

Quick Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream cakes usually require freezing for a few hours or overnight to set the entire thing. This one sets in an hour as it uses ice cream sandwiches wedged with some peppermint chocolate cream so freezing time is a lot shorter! The decoration is a cinch too!

2 packets Woolworths Peppermint Chocolate Flakes Ice Cream Sandwich (8 in total freezer section)

600ml cream

4 tablespoons honey or sugar

5 Peppermint crisp bars

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Fresh mint leaves to decorate

Step 1 - Line a long loaf tin on the base and sides with parchment. Smash up 2 of the peppermint crisp bars and set aside. Whip the cream with honey or sugar until soft peaks form and then mix in the smashed chocolate bars.

Step 2 - Spread some on the base and sides of the lined tin. Line with the ice cream sandwiches and the smooth some more cream to fill in the gaps and make another layer of ice cream sandwiches. Cover with some more of the peppermint cream and cover and freeze. It should be set in about an hour or so since the inside is made up of frozen ice cream sandwiches.

Step 3 - Dust with cocoa powder and then the remaining smashed peppermint bars.

Peanut Butter Salted Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

These peanut butter salted chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches are the ultimate easy dessert. Sometimes biscuits can get soft in the freezer but these King of Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies stay crisp as you make them fresh every time!

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

1 litre tub of Woolworths Peanut Butter and Salted chocolate Ice Cream

1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

310g box Woolworths The King Of Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1 - Leave ice cream out for 5 minutes to soften a bit. Spread peanut butter on the inside of one cookie. Scoop some ice cream on top and press down with another cookie. Freeze until needed.

Source: https://www.notquitenigella.com/2019/02/12/easy-summer-recipes-10-minutes/

[keywestlou]

IF YOU DON'T SPEAK FRENCH, BE WARY OF EATING IN CHAMONIX.....THE BOILED HOT DOG CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

DAYS 36 and 37…..Greece the First Time

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Key West Lou

I am back!

It is a question mark each day whether I will return. I failed to bring my computer with me. I am at the whim of internet stores and friendly people. One thing I know for a fact. Everyone in Italy is using old and sick machines. Each day is a task and a surprise.

I have been sleeping in Courmayeur the last three nights. Driving back and forth to Chamonix each day. The Alps are always before me. From the moment I rise to the time I go to bed. They are there on the drive to Chamonix and back. The mountains dominate the scene.

I would be remiss if I failed to make some additional comments regarding Mont Blanc. Recall it is 11 peaks on top of an already big mountain.

Mont Blanc defies description. I guess that is why I am back trying to tell you more about it. Words do not adequately verbalize what the eyes see.

The mountain is high and tall. It stands defiantly. Speaks quietly. Says…..Don’t screw with me!

Impossible to see all 11 peaks at one time. Clouds up high. Block the view.

Trees cover the lower range of Mont Blanc. Pine. All the way up to a certain level. Then nothing but bare rock. Someone told me pines will not grow above 2,000 feet. The bare land is formidable. Then comes the peaks. Not just the very top. The top for a considerable distance downward.

When I arrived, some of the peaks had valleys of glaciers. Ice. One day later all the peaks were covered with snow. A significant dusting. Impressive.

Many waterfalls. They are streams running down the sides of the mountain. All over. Some a foot wide. Others up to 20 feet. Beautiful. They run in and out of the woods. You see it, then you do not. All of a sudden the stream reappears again.

The thinner streams were not running yesterday. They were frozen. Yesterday at this time (11 am) the temperature was 29 degrees F. At the same time 24 hours later it is 50 degrees F.

The waterfalls are attributable to two factors. The first is the melting glaciers. The other is that the mountain top is loaded with natural springs and wells. Below ground. They seep their way upward and add to the glacier spill off.

Yesterday morning, I had a unique experience. When I opened the door to the balcony starring at Mont Blanc, I saw a number of clouds. Some were below my eye level. Others at my eye level. Others above my eye level. All set against the green pines of Mont Blanc. A wow!

Last night when driving back to Courmayeur, I had another experience. Though one I have had before. Fog. Big time. There were occasions I could not see at all. Bad.

Moving on from Mont Blanc, let me share two food experiences I had yesterday.

The first was in Chamonix at lunch time. I went into a big restaurant at the main corners of Chamonix. Where all the world walks by. It was too cold to eat outside, however.

The menu was in total French. No English sub titles as I had become accustomed to elsewhere on this trip. I saw what appeared to be the word sausages. I have been eating many sausages this trip. All different. All good.

I ordered sausage. Pointed to it on the menu to the waitress. My mistake was not asking her to spell out exactly what I was ordering. Assuming she spoke English. I do not know. I found whereas many Greeks and Italians have at least a smattering of English, the French seem to be above a second language.

I was served two boiled hot dogs and french fries. Not big fat hot dogs. Not long ones. Two regular sized.

I looked at them for a few minutes. And then decided, oh well! My mistake. Eat them. I did not wish to be the ugly American.

I called the waitress over. Asked for ketchup and mustard. The least I could do was dress the meal up. She looked at me in shock. I knew what was coming…..We do not serve ketchup and mustard! We are French!

I quietly ate my boiled hot dogs and fries.

Dinner last night got screwed up, also. I was at what might best be described as a good neighborhood restaurant in Courmayeur. It had been so described to me. I was told to be sure to eat polenta. It is the favored dish in this Alpian village.

There were only six entrees on the menu. Each served with polenta. The only thing I recognized was chicken cachetore. I asked what polenta was. No screwing around this meal. Lunch had been bad enough bad enough.

The waiter provided a polenta description. It was crushed corn. All mashed together with what I could not understand. He told me it was everyone’s favorite. Had me look at the other tables. Each had a heaping large dish of yellow stuff on their table. He further told me Christopher Columbus introduced polenta into Italy. There was no corn in Europe prior to Columbus. He brought it to the old world from the new world.

I did not like the polenta. I was told to bury it in the tomato sauce. That is the way it is supposed to be eaten. I did. Better, but still not my dish.

The polenta alone cost me 12 euros. About $16 American money. Not worth it.

I am absolutely impressed with Italian roads and bridges. All appear in tip top shape. The Italians have also recently constructed a speed train from Milan to I know not where. A new road was built near the railway tracks. The road had to have 72 bridges. So the trains could pass underneath.

Italian roads and bridges are well maintained. There is a reason for it. At some point a law was passed that whoever built or constructed a road, received a contract to maintain the road for 30 years. The money for maintenance comes from tolls. The contractor charges the tolls. The contractor keeps the money and makes repairs as needed.

A good deal for the contractor! Positive cash flow!

The Italians using the roads are not very happy about the 30 year thing however. The tolls are expensive. My two hour drive from Novara to Courmayeur had cost me 25 euros one way. The Italians are an adept society. Their way around the burdensome toll is to drive back roads. They know all the bye ways.

I think the Italian way of building and maintaining roads and bridges is worthy of investigation. Gets the job done! The job we are not and have not been doing for years. Our roadways and bridges are a disgrace. Forget maintenance. A pot hole per family. The cost is not a tax to be imposed. It is paid daily by the users of the roads and bridges.

It is probably a screw job either way. However, worth exploring.

A few words about Chamonix. Lovely! Gorgeous! Exciting! People all over. Summer and winter. Great pedestrian walk ways. Terrific high scale stores. No tee shirt vendors. Very European. I sat several times having a coffee at an outdoor cafe and watched the world go by. It was the world. The whole world. Every nationality walking the streets.

I got to Chamonix through a tunnel. A nine mile tunnel. The Italians and French built it. Runs right under one of the Alp mountains. Cool!

Somewhere in the back of my mind comes a recollection of Mary Shelley and this area. I did not have the time to research it. Forgive me if I am wrong.

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein’s Wife. A best seller at the time. She lived in the Courmayeur area. Courmayeur provided the background for the book.

Recall that her story took place in a castle. Castles all over the place here. Recall also the fog. Fog frequent here. Recall further the fog I drove through last night. The fog was thick enough not only for Frankenstein, but also Dracula and Wolfman.

Later today, I am driving to the Portofino area. The Italian Riviera. A three hour drive.

I will be staying in Camogli, a town immediately next door to Portofino. Camogli a part of the Italian Riviera also.

The trip should be interesting. It is summer time and the area should be flourishing.

Enough for today. I am going to be thrown out this internet store. It closes from noon to 3 each day. In Chamonix, all the stores closed from 1 to 3. Siesta time.

Enjoy your day!

—

Florida’s Governor DeSantis maintains a fixed place in my mind. Incompetent. Grossly incompetent. Yet he still ranks high on the list of Republican Presidential candidates for 2024.

Vaccine distribution has been a disaster in Florida. Everything COVID has. DeSantis generally the blame. To place my observation in better perspective, Trump considers DeSantis the best Governor in the U.S.

Florida uses Publix as one of the places where vaccine shots can be received. Seventy thousand doses a week are delivered to Publix’s distribution center in Lakeland. From whence Publix distributes the vaccine to various Publix stores throughout the State.

This system has been ongoing for 5 weeks. Three hundred fifty thousand vaccine shots distributed thus far.

One problem. Officials do not know where the vaccine is delivered once in leaves Publix’s distribution center in Lakeland. Florida has not required any such information. Publix has provided none.

Not the way the distribution should be handled. Problems will reveal themselves at some point.

Publix was a major financial supporter of DeSantis.

The 70,000 vaccines received by Publix weekly represents 25 percent of Florida’s available doses.

Most Republican governors are not on the ball when it comes to the virus.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbot an example.

What he has done represents pure insanity.

Abbott announced yesterday that he was opening Texas as of next wednesday. One hundred percent. All businesses. Mask requirement will no longer be in force, also. He is reversing his own pandemic orders imposed several months ago..

Abbott has his reasons. Though not correct.

He claims Texas vaccination numbers are increasing. The State and people generally have more knowledge as to how to manage the spread of the virus. Hospitalization and positivity rates are decreasing.

Abbott’s representations much like Trump’s. Permeated with falsehoods.

Texas is not out of the woods. Masks still needed. COVID-19 continues to be widespread. Following Abbott’s address yesterday, the San Antonio mayor said in response there were still too many cases, Abbott’s decision was a mistake.

Texas likes to dance to its own tune. The recent grid power failure an example. Texas believes it knows better.

Here are the facts. Only 6.5 percent of Texans have been fully vaccinated. Herd immunity has not yet arrived. May never.

What follows is the best. A recent study of U.S. counties having the “worst” of virus conditions has been made public. The 20 worst counties the most interesting. Eleven of those counties are in Texas.

Additionally, not all health case workers have been vaccinated yet. People are told to sign up to get the vaccine shot. They are told no vaccine available when the time comes to receive their shots.

Biden will have to make a decision soon. To save the filibuster or pass his agenda. He cannot have both. The Republicans a long time ago forgot bipartisanship.

The stimulus package will pass. It is not subject to filibuster. However the voting rights bill will fail because it is so subject.

One or the other. Biden’s program will fail unless he gets rid of the filibuster. He will face problems with Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema who support filibuster.

Biden has his work cut out for him.

In the modern era, it is becoming more frequent for Presidents and former Presidents to be indicted. Israel’s Netanahyu is one.

Another France’s former President Sarkozy. He was charged with forming a “corruption pact.” Tried and convicted. Sentenced to 3 years in jail. Two years suspended. The Court not sure whether he will be jailed or serve home confinement for the third year.

In 2 weeks, Sarkozy faces his second criminal trial. The claim is he violated campaign financing rules in 2012.

Sarkozy’s third problem still under investigation. He remains under investigation for allegedly receiving millions of euros in campaign funds in 2007. From who? Mommar Gadafi.

Trump’s time is next. He has the Manhattan District Attorney investigating him for tax and bank fraud. The Futon County, Georgia District Attorney announced yesterday that she had convened a grand jury to investigate the telephone call between Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State. Trump wanted the Secretary to find some 11,000 votes that Trump could say were wrongly counted and should have been in Trump’s column. The Secretary refused.

The telephone call was recorded.

Stormy days ahead. Black clouds are assembling.

Pope Francis continues to play out as the best of men.

It is Lent. Catholic Church members give up something. Could be candy, drinking, swearing, food, etc.

Francis says lets be more realistic this year. Give up something of more value. Like gossiping/speaking ill of others. Christians should stop spreading hearsay/false rumors. He also recommends the Bible be read with more frequency. In most instance, a start to reading it. Francis suggests only one verse a day. No big deal.

Great show last night! Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Outstanding topics. Everything meshed.

Enjoy your day!

IF YOU DON’T SPEAK FRENCH, BE WARY OF EATING IN CHAMONIX…..THE BOILED HOT DOG CAPITAL OF THE WORLD was originally published on Key West Lou

[angsarapblog]

The last time I ate here would probably be around 9 to 10 years by now and some things hasn’t changed, they still serve amazing Churrasco Experience in an affordable price compared to what they have in offer for you. I tried this place three times before and all of those experiences were great, all of them I was full to the brim and had some meat dreams and meat sweats the next day 🙂

Many years later, here we are again, and I am doing this as a birthday treat to myself, so this post was quite late by a couple of months. The last few visits we had we tried their Churrasco Completo which included desserts, it was a mistake because their cheapest option is more than enough, so that room for dessert will be a really tight fit on your belly. This time we opted out of the dessert and chose the Churrasco Experience that includes two course of Tapas & Tasters, Churrasco and Side Dishes for NZ$62.95. And during our visit these are what’s on offer.

For Tapas and Tasters, it was a selection of the following:

Breads & Spreads – cannellini bean puree, tomato tapenade Panko Piquillo Peppers – filled with Prosciutto-Manchego cream Escalivada – Catalan style roasted summer vegetables, crostini Brandade of Salt Cod – potato crema, virgin oil, focaccia toast Ciccioli Popsicles – sesame crusted pork terrine, Nuoc Mam Cham gel Jamon Serrano – sliced Spanish cured ham and compressed apple

This is usually served once you are seated, and it will be coming as a set, usually in one go. This was a good thing to start with, apart from the bread everything is not heavy, it’s just there you entice your taste buds, preparing it for nicer things to come. I loved everything on this set specially that Brandade of Salt Cod, if it’s not for the Churrasco, I will surely get extras of this one if possible.

Next stage was the churrasco, the server will ask if you are finished with your tapas, and once you say yes, you will be handed over that magic stop and start marker. Basically, a cylindrical wood with red and green sections, this basically instructs servers you need meat if the green part is up, and if the red part is up then it’s time for a break, so they won’t bother you.

For the Churrasco there was a good selection but this visit I was expecting that beef ribs but looks like they moved it to the premium selection, anyways what’s on offer was still great, and this is what they had on that day.

Leg of Lamb – slow roasted, rosemary, oregano, olive oil Angus Sirloin – wood-fire grilled, Bordelaise sauce Angus Beef Rump – butcher salt, sage, Dijon mustard Pork Roast – crackling, roasting juices Pork Scotch – cranberry-wine glaze Wildfire Pork Sausages – coarse ground, hint of nutmeg Hen Thighs – spit-roasted on the bone, citrus glaze Marlborough Salmon Fillet – oven roasted, salsa verde Crisp Calamari – persillade, lemon aioli Fresh Mussels – skillet grilled, salsa rosa

I told you, there was a lot and we tried them all. Everything was good but if I have to choose three it would be a hard decision anyways what’s the point you can try it all anyways. But for ranking sake the best three were the Pork Roast, Salmon and the sausages, they were all phenomenal, with right amount of fat on all of them, the meats were juicy and very tasty. The mussels deserve a mention as well as I like how it tasted, a bit sweet like barbecue, something new to me. Plus, the Leg of Lamb where the waiter asked if I would want the bone part. Looks like he knew me well, and I certainly did grab it. It was tender, juicy and not gamey at all, I love it.

While the churrasco is being served the side, dishes started to flow as well, and the selections are the following:

Daily Varying Salads – chef’s selection Seasonal Vegetables – sautéed, virgin oil, parmigiano Roast Agria Potatoes – garlic, lemon, herbs Casarecce Pasta – mushroom ragu, tomato Polenta Fries – truffled oil, parmigiano

Now is something to take less of, if you notice they are mostly heavy carbs so take in moderation, so you have space for your meat. But having said that we tried most of them apart from the Polenta Fries and Pasta. Potatoes were spectacular, very soft on the insides and the outer layer was nice and sticky crispy. I also loved the seasonal vegetables where it was served with broccoli, carrot and bok choy, well-seasoned and its perfectly cooked, they were still crispy. Very nice to the bite.

While enjoying all of that, I paired it with a 2018 Oyster Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir which went well with all the meats. And to top it all up since it was my birthday, we got a complimentary dessert in the form of lemon meringue pie complete with Brazilian Happy Birthday song from the amazing servers in Wildfire.

It was a good dining experience, the waiter assigned to us accommodated all our requests with a smile, he is a pro in what he was doing and made sure we are happy and comfortable with our experience. Combine that with the amazing food, great place, this is one of the must try restaurants in Auckland, for as low as NZ$62.95, it’s an experience surely to remember and treasure.

Wildfire Auckland Address: 137 Quay Street, Shed 22/Princes Wharf, Downtown, Auckland 1010, New Zealand Phone: +649 353 7595 Website: https://wildfirerestaurant.co.nz

Wildfire (Auckland CBD, New Zealand) The last time I ate here would probably be around 9 to 10 years by now and some things hasn't changed, they still serve amazing…

[ayyoitsalex]

Chapter 9 - Yes Chef!

Ooh! It's finally my turn to talk! We've never formally met, you've only read about me. Well anyway, my names Elizabeth Brooke Ryan. I go by a few names that my friends and family have come up with, so just pick one of those. Those names are; Elizabeth, Liz, Lizzy, Beth, Eliza, E.B., E.R, E., E. Ry, Ryan, and I think that's it. As you already know I'm youngest of my Ryan family siblings, I'm five foot five, blonde hair, green eyes, and I wear glasses. I didn't do sports like my siblings when I was in high school, I found a different kind of skill that I was good at. Instead I would learn cooking and baking at different rec centers and take classes wherever I could. I just found the whole thing so interesting, and it just came so natural. Despite my reputation as a picky eater. Hey I'm working on it! At this point I'd like to consider myself the best cook in my family. My siblings love being my taste testers and always have been ever since I made my first batch of cookies with mom when I was like..eight. Even though theres a pretty significant age gap between us, we're all close. I'm not any closer to one sibling more than another, I love them all equally. They all took time to take care of me growing up and in different ways. I study at a culinary school in San Diego, and my parents were gracious enough to pay for my entire tuition, but I do work at a restaurant for experience and y'know ya girl needs some spending money. I work at kind of a fancy-ish french restaurant, but I only do prep work. So I'm cutting lots of onions, carrots, potatoes, and crushing a whole mess of garlic. My dream is really to be a chef at a restaurant I love. Simple I know, but I'm a simple person. A lot of people think cooking is a chore or a hassle, but it's something I do that makes me happy and makes me feel creative and special. I live in a small-ish apartment near the school so on occasion I'll walk to school and work, but sometimes I'll feel weird walking around toting around a briefcase looking bag of knives. When I made the decision to go to culinary school it wasn't until I'd already done a year at a traditional college. I wasn't passionate about anything I was taking, and nothing seemed to make me want to dedicate my life to it. It was a real internal struggle since I didn't wanna feel like I was disappointing my parents in going an unconventional route. Though when I did finally tell them they were supportive. I don't know why I expected anything else from them, they're the best! Word got to my siblings on my decision and they all chipped in together to buy me my knives to show their support as well. They were Henckel knives that I'd walk by in Sur la Table all the time and just pine for. Can you say #Blessed ? -ALARM- I struggled underneath the covers trying to find my way out. When I finally emerged I turned the blaring alarm off, and made my way to the bathroom. I did my business and splashed some cold water on my face to wake me up a little bit more. "Alexa, play THE LIST!" I smiled turning to my reflection in the mirror. C'est La Vie began playing and I danced around my apartment probably looking like an idiot. Though what did I care I lived alone. "Say you will say you won't, say you'll do what I don't!" I continued singing probably off-key, dancing my way into the kitchen to make breakfast. Opening the fridge I examined the miriad of leftovers populating the shelves. First things first, i popped open a monster energy. I shook the caffiene through as I took the first sip. "C'est la vie!" I smiled hitting it right on time. -Knock knock- I skipped over to the door and looked through the peep hole. I unlocked the door welcoming inside my two best friends James and Rebecca. James walked in also holding the hand of his son. We usually walk to school together, but today they were early. "Healthy breakfast you got there." James laughed pointing to my energy drink. "It's just a warm up. I was going to have a real breakfast." "That and maybe put on some pants there." Rebecca said. "I'm wearing shorts! I wouldn't have answered the door pants-less I'm not a heathen Rebecca." Though I could see how I did look pantless with my big t-shirt covering my shorts. "Anyway, what're you guys doin here so early. We don't leave for another like..half hour." "I was actually going to ask if I could use your shower cause they were doin some stuff over at my building and the waters out.." Rebecca said pushing her index fingers together. "Well let me go first. And since I'm doing you this favor you make us breakfast then!" "Okay deal. See James look at how nice our friend Elizabeth is. That's why she's my best friend not you" "I can't help that my roommates had the bathrooms occupied when you came over. Get cookin there." I heard Rebecca rummaging through my cabinets for pans while I walked over to the bathroom to take a shower. The good thing about having friends in culinary school is that you can always rely on someone to cook. When I came out the cloud of steam flowed into the apartment. "Jeez you must take some hot showers." Rebecca said plating an omlette. I shrugged my shoulders, still drying my hair. "Okay I did my part. SHOWER!" She picked up her bag and practically ran to the shower. I sat down with James and his son, eating the omlette with what looked to be cut up portions of leftovers. I washed up the dishes and made final checks before we all made our way out of my place. I slinged my bag over my shoulder and picked up my knife kit on our way out the door. We talked about random things on our way to school, but not before making a quick stop for James. He dropped his son off at day-care which also was conveniently close to the school. "I really don't know how you do the whole single dad thing." Rebecca said. "What do you mean?" He said while replying to texts. "I mean I can barely take care of myself let alone another person, and ALONE." "Well he's not alone Becks. He's got us." I smiled. "Aha thanks Liz. But yeah I've got help but I just wanna do as much on my own as I can without burdening anyone else." "You're one of the strongest people I know James." Rebecca said before taking the last sip of her coffee. We made our way onto campus before parting ways to head to our classes. "Meet for lunch!" Rebecca shouted. Both James and I gave her the thumbs up. i walked into my first class of the day which was baking. I learned a lot of my baking knowledge from not only my mom but also my aunt Camryn. Along with her wedding planning business she has her own baking business on the side. She wasn't always my nicest teacher to me, but I did learn a lot. I buttoned up my chef's jacket and sat down in the lecture hall to watch a demonstration. I paid attention as best I could taking whatever notes I felt would help me the most later. This isn't like a typical lecture with slides,  it's literally a projection of someone making a dish. When it was finished the class went into the test kitchen to see if we could recreate it. I did fairly well on my recreation but just a few plating issues kept me from a perfect score. Still an A none the less with room for improvement. I checked the clock. I walked over to the cafeteria where Rebecca was already there waiting with her second coffee of the day. Though what can I expect from someone that considers themself a sommelier of coffee. "How was baking class?" Rebecca asked a little shakily. I'm assuming it's from all the caffiene she's had in such a short amount of time. "I made the pastry fine, but I just had plating issues. My coulis wasn't as thick as I wanted and it started streaking on the plate. So I got docked points, but still an A." I shrugged trying not to think about it too much. "Well that's good." "What's good?" James asked walking over to us carrying a tray. "Liz got an A in baking today, but she's mad about her coulis." "Oh bummer. Cookie?" He offered. I smirked taking it. "Ha nothing a cookie couldn't solve." "Okay rude you didn't offer me one." "Excuse me where are my manners, Rebecca would you also like a cookie?" "Hold the sarcasm with that one." Rebecca said reaching over. "But yes I would." I took a bite laughing at their exchange. "*SPITS JAMES!" I rubbed a napkin on my tongue. Both of them looking at me crazy. "THESE ARE RAISIN!" "...and?" James said slowly taking a bite for himself. "WHO LIKES OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES!?" I fumed passing it back to him. Rebecca's eyes grew wide. "You would like raisins!" Rebecca huffed. "C'mon Elizabeth, let's get real food." We stuck our tongues out while James laughed to himself. Moving through the lunch line, Rebecca and I grabbed food onto our trays to forget the trauma of the raisin trying to be a chocolate chip. What sick bastard decided cookies needed raisins?! I settled on a chicken sandwich with polenta fries, while Rebecca got a skirt steak salad with chipotle dressing. Perks of going to a culinary school is you get food normally not thought of in regular college. "I can't believe you did that to me. I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!" I took a hard bite into my sandwich. He just shrugged his shoulders before taking another bite of that monstrosity of a dessert. When we finished lunch it was time for me to head to my cooking basics class. The class I'm probably best at. Like my baking class we start off watching a demo of a dish being made and then are asked to recreate. I like this one in particular cause we get to eat whatever we make. I'm not so much a sweet tooth person so that's why this one takes rank over desserts. Also this way I usually don't have to make dinner. We were making pan roasted chicken, braised swiss chard, roasted parsnips, and carmelized cipollini onions. It's a dish I could make in my sleep. When I got into the kitchen it was time for business. I didn't hear anyone, I wasn't talking, the only thing I was doing was cooking. I finished somewhere in the middle of the class, and brought my dish up to be judged. My professor cut into my chicken and I hoped to fuck it wasn't raw. He picked the piece up on the fork and I saw BOOM right on the money. He took bits from around the plate onto a single bite. "Very good Elizabeth. Another good days work. You can enjoy your dish if you want or leave it to another student." FUCK THAT. I brought my plate back to my station and started eating. I did the dishes at my station when I got done, and packed up my knives. James and Rebecca were waiting outside my class as we were all going to work right afterwards. James is a waiter at the restaurant, and Rebecca works the bar. They're both a little older than I am, and I'm only twenty. I met them both pretty randomly when sitting alone in the cafeteria. Rebecca sat down at my table and just introduced herself to me. Complete opposite of my own personality, and then right after James did the same. I guess they could tell I was new or something and needed friends. Since then we've all just hung out, and they even helped me get the job at the restaurant. "Looked good whatever you were eating." Rebecca said. "Oh so good. I love having a class where you eat what you make." "Aha I remember those classes. Enjoy them now." James warned. "Aw James don't scare her!" Rebecca laughed. "I'm just sayin! I can't eat my accounting homework." Way to bring down my mood James. "Well whatever, let's get to work." We walked off campus and rode the bus. I made it to my station of unchopped vegetables and got right into it. "Hey Elizabeth." Our head chef greeted me. "Hi!" I smiled looking up from my pile of carrots. "I'm also gonna need you to break down those romaine hearts. We got tableside Caesars going tonight." "Ooh fun. Are you guys making the dressing from scratch?" "Yeah actually, you ever done it?" He asked inspecting the various stations. "Just at home, it was okay." "Aha hard to believe this is your first year at culinary." What can I say? Humble brag. "Well I'll leave you to get back to work." "Alright, bye chef!" I don't even think I know our head chef's real name. I just call him chef. I set my knife down for a minute to shake the feeling back into my hands. The pile of carrots slowly began to dwindle down, so I shifted my focus to the romaine hearts. After washing and spinning them I broke them down for salad. I brought the bowls to the trolleys for the table side service. I stood at the front of the kitchen just imagining what it'd be like. "Alright on order! Four covers!" I said pretending to read a ticket. I heard laughs behind me and immediately I turned around shook. A few of the line cooks had seen me. "Aw..she's playing pretend." One of them said walking past me. "How cute..thinks she's an actual chef." Another chef smirked attempting to pinch my cheek. I pulled my face away, trying to be as stone face as possible as they walked by. Inside I was dying. I was so embarrassed. I ran back into the walk-in fridge to cool off. I took a few deep breaths to collect myself. The head chef walked in, and jumped back surprised to see me in there. "Whoa! I didn't expect to see anyone in here." "Oh..um I was just..never mind I don't know what I was doing." "You okay?" He asked looking me in the eyes. "Yeah yeah just..nothing." I tried to walk past him back into the kitchen. He held his arm out blocking my way. "Hey tell me what's wrong." He leaned up against the door. "No one can hear what we're talking about it's okay. What you say will be between us, and I can tell you're a little rattled about something." "*sigh well..alright. I was at the front of the pass with no one in the kitchen and I kinda like pretended I was calling out orders..y'know like a real head chef. Then I guess some of the line cooks saw me and kinda..made fun of me for pretending." "Mm I see. So lemme ask you something. What's your goal from all this?" "What? To be a head chef." "So what if you imagine yourself in that role and some people see? You can see yourself doing that, and that's what matters. Those chefs are probably just content working the line and never getting better. They probably stopped learning a long time ago. You're dreaming bigger. You've got something Elizabeth and I'm not just saying that." I nodded my head. "Now walk back in there like you belong in there." He pointed me back into the kitchen. I pulled my shoulders back and walked confidently back in. I found the chefs that passed by me. They smirked at me again, mocking the motions I was doing earlier. "I will be a head chef one day, and a damn good one. So FUCK YOU!" The head chef covered his mouth laughing as I returned to my station. I must've said it pretty loud since I could hear both James and Rebecca laughing their ass off. Good thing we hadn't opened for dinner yet!

[anachef]

Heading to Animal Kingdom Over the Holidays? Don’t Miss These Limited Time Tasting Sampler Eats!

The holidays are REALLY on now in Walt Disney World…

Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life

… and we’ve seen the crowds and the attraction wait times to prove it!

Animal Kingdom Entrance

Flight of Passage Wait Time

Fortunately, in Animal Kingdom there are lots of new and limited time eats (in addition to all sorts of longtime favorites) to serve the increased number of guests.

Meatball and Polenta at Terra Treats

Because, as we always say, the best thing about more crowds in Disney World is MORE FOOD!!!

Tasting Sampler Guide

In fact, if you have plans to be in Animal Kingdom from today through January 2, 2019, you can pre-purchase the Animal Kingdom Tasting Sampler, which offers a $35 digital value card to redeem for select food and beverage items around the park for the price of $30, PLUS preferred seating for the second showing of Rivers of Light on the night of your visit.

Find our how you can reserve the Animal Kingdom Tasting Sampler here!

Lots of new, limited time items (available through January 2nd) have arrived in conjunction with the availability of the Tasting Sampler at various carts and kiosks throughout the park. However, these items are also available for regular purchase (including several that are available for Disney Dining Plan snack credits) even without the Tasting Sampler!

Tasting Sampler Guide

Even if you aren’t participating with the Tasting Sampler, you can still pick up a handy Tasting Sampler Guide if you’d like to know where all the items are!

Tasting Sampler Guide

That said, if you ARE participating with the Tasting Sampler, you’ll DEFINITELY want to pick up a guide to find out where your digital value card can be put into use!

Tasting Sampler Guide

Now, let’s dig into some of the additional items available around the park during this busy holiday season so you can start making your list — and checking it twice — of everything you’d like to try!

Discovery Island

Terra Treats is serving a specialty menu, and it gives a good idea of the “tasting-sized” items available throughout the park to begin.

Terra Treats

You’ll notice as we go that several items bear a strong serving resemblance to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival Food Booth items.

Terra Treats Menu

We tried the Meatball and Polenta along with the Butternut Squash, Potato, and Prosciutto Pizza. The Meatball and super creamy Polenta are delicious together, with the flavorful meatball also being packed with spinach.

Meatball and Polenta

Meatball and Polenta

The Butternut Squash, Potato, and Prosciutto Pizza is really enjoyable, too, thanks to the unique and fresh toppings.

Butternut Squash, Potato, and Prosciutto Pizza

The Smiling Crocodile has specialty items as well.

The Smiling Crocodile

A Pastrami Beef Slider and a Plant-Based Chili make up the offerings.

The Smiling Crocodile Menu

The Plant-Based Chili is packed with flavor and just a perfect fit for these cool days. Aside from the variety of beans and tomatoes and more making up the chili, the cornbread croutons are also a great touch!

Plant-based Chili

The Pastrami Beef Slider is yet another winner. (And keep this one in mind, because we’ll show you another slider in a little bit that doesn’t live up to this one.)

Pastrami Beef Slider

The terrific toppings over the tasty pastrami include a unique sauerkraut-kale slaw and whole grain mustard along with a pickle spear.

Pastrami Beef Slider

Pastrami fans should not miss it!

Africa

If you’ve ever wanted to try several of the Dawa Bar signature cocktails in one go, now’s your time, thanks to the Dawa Bar Flight!

Dawa’s Flight

It includes tastings of Ngumu Jungle Juice, Lost on Safari, and the African Margarita.

Dawa’s Flight

Curry dishes are the focus for the Sampler offerings at Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery, featuring a Shrimp Curry, a Chicken Curry, or a Curry Sampler to try both.

Kusafiri Specialty Items

Before we dig in, just a note that regular menu items are still available at Kusafiri, too.

Kusafiri regular offerings

The Curry Sampler is quite tasty. In particular, the chicken is fall-apart tender, and the curry flavor isn’t too overpowering.

Curry Sampler

Curry Sampler

As you can tell, though, you definitely need to appreciate plenty of cilantro in order to enjoy this dish!

Curry Sampler

Asia

Strolling from Africa towards Asia, you’ll happen upon Caravan Road.

Caravan Road

On the menu is a Korean Fiery Beef Slider and a Tuna Bao.

Caravan Road Menu

The Tuna Bao serves up seared tuna, cabbage slaw, and spicy mayo.

Tuna Bao

While we didn’t pick up much spice at all from the mayo, it was impossible not to be impressed by the insanely fresh tuna and crisp slaw.

Tuna Bao

Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything special about the Korean Fiery Beef Slider.

Korean Fiery Beef Slider

Made with kimchi, black sesame seeds and rainbow carrots to top the beef, we expected to like it much more than we did. But it was just okay.

Korean Fiery Beef Slider

Directly across the way is Mr. Kamal’s. Chicken Dumplings are the specialty item.

Mr. Kamal’s

Mr. Kamal’s Menu

Served with a tart ponzu sauce, the Chicken Dumplings are served in a fried wonton wrapper, giving them an especially nice crisp. They are seriously yummy.

Chicken Dumplings

Chicken Dumplings

And Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks is getting in on the fun, too!

Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks

You can try three of their beers — including the Kungaloosh Spiced Excursion Ale — in a Beer Flight!

Beer Flight on the menu

Dinoland, U.S.A.

Next stop? Dino Diner in Dinoland, U.S.A.!

Dino Diner Specialty Menu

Corn Chip Pie shows up as a specialty offering among the items!

Corn Chip Pie

Chili, sour cream, green onion, cheddar cheese, and jalapeno assemble to make this twist on nachos, which features corn chips as opposed to tortilla chips. (This is a fun one for the kids!)

Corn Chip Pie

And at Dino-Bite Snacks, a Peppermint Sundae is up for grabs.

Dino-Bite Snacks Menu

The base is a peppermint brownie with vanilla ice cream and it’s all topped with fudge sauce, peppermint candies, peppermint sauce, and a chocolate garnish.

Peppermint Sundae

As you can probably tell from the ingredient list, this one is for serious peppermint fans only!

Peppermint Sundae

And Trilo-Bites has added a seasonal milkshake to their selection.

Trilo-Bites

Find an Eggnog Shake on the menu (with or without bourbon)!

Eggnog Shake on the menu

Cheers!

Eggnog Shake

We were quite impressed with most of these new offerings today, and hope that some might even become regular menu items. (Hey, you never know!) And if your holiday plans include a visit to Animal Kingdom, we highly recommend checking out any of the items above that may have caught your eye. But before we leave…

Friendly Reminders

FOR GUESTS PARTICIPATING IN THE TASTING SAMPLER: Remember, the new items we’ve shown today are not the only items eligible when using your Tasting Sampler digital value card. The full list of eligible items and participating locations include items such as Pongu Lumpia at Pongu Pongu in Pandora and the Macaroni and Cheese dishes at Eight Spoon Cafe, and MUCH MORE. You can find all the eligible items  by picking up a Tasting Sampler Guide.

Tasting Sampler Guide

Baked Mac and Cheese with Shrimp at Eight Spoon Cafe

FOR GUESTS NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE TASTING SAMPLER: These new items highlighted here are not limited to those who are utilizing the Tasting Sampler. They are available through January 2nd for regular purchase (and, in many cases, for a Disney Dining Plan snack credit).

You’ll always want to keep your eyes peeled for new food offerings in Animal Kingdom no matter what time of year you visit. In fact, the park is packed with all sorts of hidden gems from dining and beyond. Check them out in our DFB YouTube Video!

Are you visiting Animal Kingdom during the holidays? Please let us know with a comment!

Related posts:

Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Menu UPDATES! What’s New To Eat?!

What’s New at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom and Resorts! June 21, 2018

What’s New at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom: April 3, 2018

from the disney food blog http://bit.ly/2PVbsuJ via http://bit.ly/LNvO3e

[gethealthy18-blog]

Low Carb Restaurant Guide, Low Carb Dinner Ideas

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/healthy-diets/low-carb-diet/low-carb-restaurant-guide-low-carb-dinner-ideas/

Low Carb Restaurant Guide, Low Carb Dinner Ideas

Low carb restaurant guide it's not as hard as you think It may seem impossible to go out to eat while sticking to a low-carb diet What's the fun if everyone else is picking out on buttered bread and desserts? It doesn't make it any easier when you're with friends Who insist that you order the taco salad with them or share their triple layered chocolate cake? However, it's not impossible to stick to your diet and be realistic and still have a good time out here Are some ways you can keep to your health goals while still? Enjoying good food with good friends away from the safety of your limited foods at home Plan make goals ahead of time to stick to while at the restaurant designate limits and consider what kinds of foods allowable within those bounds You might also want to look up the menu ahead of time and choose items that are safe Go easy at first if you're not used to your low-carb diet, don't try to be over ambitious Start at places that don't lay on the carbs too heavily that is Italian restaurants with pasta dishes dry beginning with simpler eateries with items with fewer ingredients You can pick off carbee contents more easily off a burger than complicated cuisines be confident You're not the only one who has special needs at the restaurant It's ok to ask questions and make requests the worst They can say is no be polite and don't expect too much They aren't obligated to serve your every need though They should if they know what's good for them Fancier restaurants are more likely to accommodate you by asking questions You can also learn more about the restaurant business and how you might go about making special requests in the future general tips easy to order low-carb items plain unbraided meats with veggies and or fruits Try to go for extra greens rather than potatoes Salads as meals are healthy and often affordable You can also order a sandwich but ask for the contents to be placed on greens as salad toppers Get a burger or other sandwich without the bun You can also have a Sal on the side take advantage of the breakfast all day places by ordering eggs all day like omelettes with vegetables spinach peppers Etc

Perhaps with a bowl of fruit on the side rather than hashbrowns Remember just because you order a salad doesn't mean you're home free Keep the carbs off your greens No croutons or garlic bread keep away from the fries and macaroni Salads stray from the complimentary chips or bread baskets Focus on passing it to the person next to you know deep fried items not only are the trans fats bad But often deep fried items are breaded or coated with cornstarch before being fried Rather than ordering a whole dessert for yourself You can make a goal to sample your friends instead Keep your eye out for good dishes You may want to try to make it at home the fresher the better Often highly processed foods are filled with sugars and starches that you don't want while on a low-carb diet live in la vie to low carb ethnic foods Craving a type of food, but dreading a night out to eat it wondering which types of foods are better than others Here are some tips specific to some of those restaurants You might be faced with in your quest to keep carbs low Italian when you think Italian you might initially think carbs pizza pasta bread, etc however You can still stick to your diet while eating Italian at the restaurant a real Italian meal should be balanced However, so taking out the carbs isn't so bad Here are some things to keep in mind while perusing the menu in the restaurant middle dot keep away from the pasta and pizza Sections of the menu there are plenty of other good things to order rather than pasta bread risotto Polenta bruschetta and crostini also meatballs may have bread crumbs so you may try to avoid those as well Middle dot there are so many fresh choice ingredients try to stick to items full of them rather than baked goods fried foods Often appetizers are fried our not so good Mittal dot olive oil is good and is thankfully used in many items on Italian menus the fats in olive oil have health benefits Thus the positive aspects of the Mediterranean diet Mittal dots savor your food if you eat too quickly You can consume more carbs than you intend to enjoy the conversation around you instead low carb items appetizers antipasti samplers often feature meats and other low carb items Including carpaccio thin slices of beef or fish with olive oil dressing and veggies gamberoni shrimp sautéed in garlic and wine and steamed seafoods like clams soups Thankfully soup is served rather than pasta Even those soups with bins or pasta have very little included in them Don't eat bread with soup and keep to thinner soups like strexy Attell especially with lots of veggies meats and seafood Secondiy meats and seafood generally have few carbs Just make sure they're not breaded also keep away from red sauces because often they include lots of added sugars This goes the same for pasta sauces Just be careful not to substitute the red sauce for super fatty cream sauces Desserts the richer the dessert the more carbs stick to none or share with a friend instead This might be hard because Italian desserts are so savory and tempting, but may try some sugar-free ice cream

Later Italian chain restaurants with low-carb options Chris Madrid's Cici's Pizza Chinese This is such a simple option for those looking for a quick meal to eat at the restaurant or take home These foods are stuffed with sugars and starches The sauces themselves are so dangerous for low carb urse It's difficult because each restaurant varies according to location and origin of the recipes Try to set limits before you make it to the restaurant about how strict you'll want to be at the meal Don'ts middle dot rice as in fried rice and steamed rice dot dot dot sorry Metal dot noodles such as those in chow mein lo mine shelf on MIT wanton especially deep-fried middle dot breaded meats middle dot egg rolls They're fried and it's hard to tell what's inside the middle dot sweet sauces sweet-and-sour duck plum oyster Poisson and sweet foods in general middle dot thick soups usually thickened with cornstarch A tablespoon of which contains seven grams of carbs a cup of hot and sour soup may contain a teaspoon of the stuff middle dot fried foods cooks may coat meats with cornstarch Before frying you often can't even tell by looking though You shouldn't be having fried foods Anyway middle dot water chestnuts a few slices are okay But 1/2 cup of them can have 7 grams of carbs instead dry middle dot clear soups middle dot steamed foods Especially meats with various vegetables middle dot stir-fried dishes without the sugar or starch middle dot walnut chicken egg foo, young mu shu meats black bean sauce Mongolian barbecue For example Asian chain restaurants with low carb options son Mongolian bo BQ and buffet Panda Express Mexican the rice bins and chips are hard to avoid when eating out of Mexican restaurants Especially when the chef's make them look so good however Try to focus on the great meats and veggie fruit based sauces and you've got a good start Also Mexican food includes lots of fresh ingredients Which are great for your low carb diet Remember middle dot while chips are bad guac is good It's nutritious and good Also, try cucumber or other things to dip rather than chips The salsa is great, too Especially when made by the restaurant itself rather than in the jar the fresher the better Middle dot try putting meats on salads to make them less boring They add great flavor without all the carbs middle dot seviche may seem strange But the marinated seafood is often good unserved with various vegetables Give it a try Mittal dot grilled meats are great for a low carb diet Vegeta's feature grilled ingredients and are popular and easy to find Mittal dot moles sauces include lots of spices and are good to have Avoid middle dot tortillas

Don't be too sad Instead try to get just the fillings or toppings of those tacos to Quito's burritos to Dilla's Etc fried tortillas rather than the plain soft tortillas are even worse get the taco salad without the car be fried shell Also nachos are a killer middle dot Albin biz soup it often has rice and carbee meatballs Middle dot sugary margaritas you can still get them sugar-free though remember how many carbs alcoholic drinks have in them by themselves if Possible keep away from them completely and maybe stick with plain iced tea There are plenty of other sugary drinks like Ja Rita's sodas and horchatas that are dangerous to your diet Be careful Mexican Jain restaurants with low carb options Acapulco remember don't be afraid to ask for other options Even if it seems they may not be the most flexible It's worth it to not corrupt your hard dieting work

[feedblogspot]

Unique in its name and concept, Ryne offers Melbourne a stylishly relaxed restaurant and bar in the heart of Fitzroy North. Referring to ‘a course that is continuously moving onwards‘, the restaurant’s name has Anglo-Saxon origins that tunefully assimilate with the British heritage of owner and chef, Donovan Cooke. Ryne’s ambiguous definition may refer to a patron’s experience, whereby the diner is taken on a continuous journey from start to finish, bringing to life the chef’s gastronomical creations and ideas; or, it may come from a chef’s perspective, signifying the accumulation of skills and knowledge in the industry, ultimately culminating in a persistent strive for improvement and perfection. No matter which way you look at it, Ryne’s potential is seemingly endless.

Since its opening in October of 2017, Ryne depicts an intended departure from the more upmarket, fine dining restaurants that Donovan has owned and managed over the past few decades throughout Europe, Hong Kong and Melbourne. Aiming to be a local establishment that customers enjoy frequenting every couple of weeks or so, the design and ambience of Ryne is pared back to resemble a venue that people will regularly visit because of the comfortable feel and enjoyable experience that is offered, on top of the quality food, wine and service. Business partner Vicente Montalban is responsible for the interior design and layout of the restaurant, choosing to focus on exposed brick and light-coloured timber to portray an industrial warehouse vibe, along with dark grey cement flooring that simultaneously contrasts yet compliments the fashionably casual tone. Add in a front-room sofa and cushioned chairs amongst the spacious table settings, and customers can breathe a sigh of relief that they won’t need to worry about spilling red wine on white tablecloths… because, there are none.

Encouraging the slightly more relaxed concept of Ryne is the calm and approachable nature of the staff, and in particular, of Krystelle Cooke (Donovan’s daughter). Her knowledge of the wine list is understandably confident given her role as the restaurant’s Sommelier. However, her dedication to the restaurant as a whole is pleasingly observed in her friendly conversations with customers throughout the restaurant, on topics that are not restricted to the wine menu, but also include asking customers how the meal was, offering advice when ordering from the food menu, and openly discussing the restaurant’s concept and inception to those who express interest. It is this genuine interest in customers’ thoughts and opinions that makes them feel valued, and supports Ryne’s intended desire to be an approachable venue for all.

Commencing customers’ experience at Ryne, a centrally-located bar welcomes ‘Happy Hour’ drinks and a bar food menu that challenges the usual sticky finger-friendly options. Prepare for slightly more sophisticated, yet still beer-friendly, items such as Spicy Tempura Prawns with chilli aioli, Wagyu Beef Cheek Croquettes with truffle mayonnaise, or vegetarian-friendly Corn Polenta Chips with harissa, just to name a few. On cold Winter nights, the house-made Mulled Wine is a must-try!

  Upon arrival at the table, the dining menu is presented, listing an intentionally condensed choice of six entrees (‘An Opening…‘), six mains (‘The Main Event…‘) and three sides (‘Accompaniments…‘). Perusing the combination of ingredients listed within each dish, it is seen that ingredients utilised are mostly seasonal, with the current menu showcasing an abundance of Winter-grown produce that appropriately support the meat or seafood main event of each dish, with a couple of vegetarian options available as well. To keep things exciting for both the kitchen team and their regular customers, the menu is rotationally changed every couple of weeks. Inspired by classic French cooking techniques, the menu successfully blends tradition with contemporary, and demonstrates Donovan and fellow business partner, Alex Law,’s fine dining training and expertise through the precise preparation of ingredients, and the purposeful plating consistently presented.

To start the eating, a complimentary amuse-bouche arrives in the form of wallaby tartare with wasabi dressing, half-sitting atop a house-made crisp bread that forms the vehicle for the raw, lean protein. A perfectly delicate glimpse into the style of cooking and cuisine at Ryne.

Amuse-Bouche

House-baked Bread and Butter

As an entree, Prawn Cannelloni arrives impeccably presented, featuring an overwhelmingly tasty prawn mixture wrapped inside a rolled squid ink pasta sheet, served alongside orange marmalade, butter-poached prawn, shellfish foam and baby coriander. The balance between sweet citrus and bitterness in the marmalade compliments the seafood on the plate unbelievably well, whilst the marriage between the shellfish foam and butter-poached prawn elegantly melts away in the mouth. A consistent theme throughout Ryne’s menu is this infusion of unique flavours into sauces and foams to not only complement, but also to enhance, the other ingredients on the plate. A style of Donovan’s cooking that hopefully never disappears.

Prawn Cannelloni ($26.00)

Pan Fried Scallops arrive as a trio, accompanied by crushed apples, beetroot puree, cider foam and a fried pillow of black pudding. Translucent and charred to perfection, the scallops are cleverly balanced with earthy flavours from the beetroot puree and black pudding, whilst the ever-popular flavour of Apple Cider is given a complete revamp through its crafty deconstruction and play on ingredients used.

Pan Fried Scallops ($25.00)

Moving onto mains, Donovan’s signature dish of olive oil salmon has remained on the menu, with his intention being for it to remain a constant, but prepared differently and paired with varying ingredients according to the season. The delicate piece of Olive Oil Confit Ora King Salmon easily flakes away to reveal thin bites of pink salmon, whose rich flavour is toned down by roast curry cauliflower, spiced carrot sauce, apple, and a fino sherry and golden raisin puree.

Olive Oil Confit Ora King Salmon ($36.00)

For the meat-lovers, Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek tenderly pulls away with a gentle prod by the fork, appropriately contrasted by the slight textural resistance of the lightly charred outer coating. Topped with swede, tendon, pickled shimeji, parsley essence, pancetta and smoked butter, the quality of every ingredient in this dish could put it in the running for dish of the year, in my books. My only gripe? The modest serving size of this dish, leaving a desire for more substance on the plate.

Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek ($37.00)

Italian Coleslaw ($9.00) (cabbage, fennel, capers, onion, parmesan)

To finish, the dessert list is similarly compact in its choices, but maintains the theme of contemporary classics through its variety. Valrhona 64 Manjari Souffle intentionally challenges the norm by resembling a cross between dense lava cake and airy souffle, with the coffee anglaise poured into the souffle to create a puddle of chocolatey-coffee goodness. The double cream ice cream and chocolate crumb supplement the dessert, whilst the cubes of Kahlua jelly will give you a sufficiently strong hit of the coffee-flavoured liqueur, thus finalising this clever deconstruction of a Kahlua-spiked espresso martini.

Valrhona 64 Manjari Souffle ($20.00)

Cinnamon Scented Rice Pudding is cooked to a perfectly textural softness with some bite, topped with mulled wine poached Winter fruits, candied pecan nut and a yoghurt sorbet. Light in flavour yet hearty in substance, this is the ideal dessert with which to satisfy that desired hint of sweetness at the end of the evening.

Cinnamon Scented Rice Pudding ($18.00)

Enlivening the dining scene in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs, Ryne is definitely a restaurant worth visiting for those seeking an enjoyable, and approachable, experience. The desire to steer away from the fine dining market is portrayed through the rustic design of the venue, as well as through the comparative affordability of their a-la-carte dishes, and set menus and degustations. As is the latest trend in Melbourne’s dining scene, serving quality food in a comfortably accessible setting is a reliable selling point for Ryne. Although the meticulous preparation, construction and presentation of the food could still be considered a facet of high class dining, this approach to cuisine is becoming the norm these days, with people happy to experience slightly smaller portions of exceptional quality ingredients, provided the prices are reasonable. Safe to say, Ryne has nailed this one to a tee.

Note: I dined courtesy of Ryne Restaurant. The opinions, comments and photos presented in this article belong to the author, and need to be approved before being used by others.

Ryne 203 St Georges Road Fitzroy North, VIC 3068 Ph: (03) 9482 3002 Email: reservations@ryne.com.au Hours: Dinner – Wed-Sun 6pm-late, Lunch – Sun 12-3pm.

  Donovan Cooke's latest venture: Ryne, Fitzroy North. Unique in its name and concept, Ryne offers Melbourne a stylishly relaxed restaurant and bar in the heart of Fitzroy North.

[stagesofabreakup]

Stages of a Breakup: Week 50

1. Uber home from Sam’s house for 8 dollars

2. Get a gay black man named Dwayne who you bond with over Will Downing who tells you about the old Mardi Gras traditions he had growing up in the Tremé

3. It’s Lundi Gras!

4. Unpack the 2 containers of meatballs and red sauce and polenta that have leaked/exploded

5. Eat a pastry that was loose in there

6. It’s still good

7. Successfully connect to wifi on not 1 but 2 devices with no help!!!!

8. Try to make plans for today/tonight but everyone is asleep

9. Start the movie “Jack,” a 1996 Robin Williams movie also with Diane Lane where he is born 10?

10. Everyone responds to your texts at once

11. Quick take a shower/get dressed

12. Uber to Molly’s to go to Red Beans (parade)

13. She is still getting ready

14. Wait there

15. Try on a blonde wig and 2 turbans

16. These are not your looks

17. Your friend Mary-Devon meets you guys

18. Try to catch the parade

19. Catch it!

20. Wait in line for a bathroom

21. Run into some people

22. Eat some 7$ gumbo Molly gets

23. Get a free piece of chicken

24. Run into your friend Claire!!!

25. Hang out

26. Get too high

27. Think you lost Molly for an hour when really she’s only been on the phone 13 minutes

28. Go back to Kate’s house with Molly

29. She and Kate craft

30. You want to craft but none of your stuff is here

31. Make a weird headband/headpiece out of scraps they both have

32. It’s pretty bad

33. Watch 3 episodes of America’s Next Top Model and drink a lot of vodka with Triple Sec and grapefruit juice

34. You guys Uber Eats 60 dollars worth of sushi that still isn’t enough

35. Eat

36. Decide to go to this Krewe de Selena dance party at Allways Lounge

37. Rally

38. Kate and Molly get dressed

39. You stay as you are

40. Uber there

41. Go to the dance party

42. The bar is cash only

43. And the ATM is broken

44. Go to Kajun’s

45. Get drinks and money

46. Hang for a while

47. Run into a girl you have complicated feelings about

48. She touches you too aggressively which always happens

49. See this couple you met 4 years ago when he moved her down and they broke up but now they’re back together and he moved here to be with her

50. Leave

51. Run into Rachel and her bff Hallie who is visiting from Portland

52. Go back to Kajun’s because they need $ as well

53. Get a double whiskey sour

54. Hang

55. Go back

56. The performances have started

57. See a 17 year old rapper

58. You know that because all of his songs mention that he is 17 and still in school

59. He is amazing (Maja?)

60. The next performance is some amazing men twerking and one of the best dancers you have ever seen in your whole life

61. Somehow without realizing it you have moved from the back to the second row and are dancinggg

62. See your friend Mariama!!!!!!!!!!

63. You love her

64. It’s so nice to see people you know and love!

65. Leave at 2:00am

66. Take an Uber that’s TWENTY-SEVEN DOLLARS because surge pricing for Mardi gras

67. This is usually like an 11 dollar ride for context/rage

68. Your Uber driver is an adult man named Kevin who tells you he isn’t driving Uber for the money (which apparently he “doesn’t need”) but to meet a girlfriend

69. You stop talking to him but are enraged at how cavalier/misogynistic he is being, and how it clearly doesn’t even occur to him how that’s a terrifying this to say to a woman he’s alone with, driving, at night, to her fucking house

70. Angry tweet about it

71. Say nothing

72. Get home

73. Take a shower and try to wash all your makeup off, unsuccessfully

74. Sleep for 4 hours

75. MARDI GRAS!!!!!!

76. Your alarm goes off to meet Molly at Kate’s to go with her but you don’t want to do that

77. Hang out with Erica who’s awake

78. Eat meatballs & polenta

79. Talk

80. It’s so nice you haven’t gotten to hang out with her that much and it’s really nice to catch up

81. Do your makeup together

82. Drink champagne

83. A guy gets back to you about a potential room in NY for March and you arrange to get in touch when you get back after you explain that it’s Mardi Gras and you’re going to be drunk very soon

84. She has so much good glitter

85. Ride with her and Joe

86. Get a 6 pack at a corner store

87. Walk to Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shoppe (oldest running bar in the continental US)

88. Get a “purple drink” that’s deceivingly strong

89. Walk to meet people

90. See so many costumes

91. Drink

92. See Erica’s drunk friend and her kids one of whom is a sleeping baby, the other of whom is miserable and 3 today

93. Bounce back and forth between R Bar & Mimi’s areas

94. Go to Grace’s house with Molly & Sam

95. Watch some of Sam’s porn’s

96. They are good

97. Drink more

98. Eat a sandwich

99. Mardi Gras!

100. Run into more people

101. Take pictures

102. Eat king cake

103. More people

104. Use the bathroom at your friend Lindsey’s house

105. Watch and cry to the video for Ke$ha’s “Praying”

106. Whiskey

107. Walk more

108. So much bouncing around all over

109. You’re trying to avoid your ex-boyfriend and his gf because they are out together

110. Go to Granpre’s (bar) to meet people

111. Get drinks

112. Take a boomerang of some strangers pretending to take a shot

113. Walk into the Quarter again

114. Feel angry because your friends did drugs and are being by themselves and you miss them and feel outside and it’s frustrating

115. Frustrated Cry to Molly

116. Find Rachel

117. Sad Cry to her

118. Feel heard

119. Decide to go to Lost Love Lounge by yourself because comics/friends will be there even though your ex-bf might be there

120. Go

121. See people

122. Not him

123. He’s not there

124. A guy cries to you that he didn’t give you enough credit for the things you were right about when you were here and your leaving has left a hole and people “needed you”

125. Which is very nice

126. Uber back with Geoff & MD

127. Hang for a little while

128. Get the key to their house, where moving to tomorrow

129. MD gets you an Uber since your phone keeps closing out of all its’ apps which is fun and not terrible or frustrating at all

130. Shower

131. Makeup remover

132. Realize how sunburned you are from an entire day spent walking outside in the sun

133. Could be worse

134. Try to watch Jack more

135. Are too tired

136. Sleep

137. Wake up at 8:42am

138. Erica is awake!!!

139. Lie on the couch with her

140. Watch This Is the End

141. Get Chinese food

142. Think about getting vegetables, don’t

143. It’s Valentine’s Day!

144. Watch a documentary about a rich British man who murderd his girlfriend then his mom tried to cover it up for him

145. Watch Some Like It Hot

146. Wish for aloe

147. Check your ex-boyfriend’s new gf’s social media

148. Huge mistake

149. You dumb idiot

150. Block her on Instagram

151. And facebook

152. Talk to Erica

153. Realize through her wisdom you can’t do this to yourself

154. Block him on Facebook

155. Feel good and in control

156. It’s ok however long it’s taking you to process this and you shouldn’t judge yourself for

157. Have Erica get you an Uber

158. Do makeup and pack in 16 minutes

159. Get to Mary-Devon and Geoff’s house

160. Drop off your things

161. Go to Carrollton Station for the mic

162. See people

163. It’s nice

164. Your ex-bf comes

165. His gf isn’t there

166. Glad to see they’re spending their first Valentine’s Day evening apart

167. She’s probably working and they’ll have sex later

168. You can’t check anything now

169. Which is good

170. Go up pretty early

171. Buy a million drinks

172. Your tab is 36 dollars in a place where drinks are 2 dollars

173. Get a little drunk

174. Smoke some weed

175. Ignore your ex-bf & don’t say one word to him

176. Watch his set where he talks about dating a “Catholic woman”

177. It’s gross to you

178. He looks good though

179. But who cares!!!!!!!!

180. Eat 2 hot dogs at the bar

181. Leave

182. Come home with Geoff & MD

183. Eat a chicken taco

184. Put your leftovers in the refrigerator you forgot to earlier

185. Fall asleep while sitting up

186. Walk to the guest bedroom

187. Spend Valentine’s Day sleeping on the bed you had sex with your ex-boyfriend on the last night (and morning!) you were in New Orleans

188. Seems tragically & poetically right

189. It’s ok though

190. Lol it also has the sleeping bag on it that was your ex-bf’s dog bed at your old house

191. You never got to see him (the dog) and now you leave in 2 days and you probably won’t

192. He is a sweet baby angel and you hope you will see him another time

193. Wake up at 5:15am for some reason

194. Some of your eyeliner has migrated to different places

195. Stay on your phone for 2 hours

196. Go back to sleep?

197. Try to text people to go to lunch with you at The Turkey and the Wolf

198. Everyone has a job

199. Mary-Devon comes home!!!

200. She has time and wants to go to lunch with you!!!!

201. Smoke weed

202. Their slogan is “Get high and come by” so really you’re just following orders

203. Drive there

204. It’s 19 minutes away

205. You’re high

206. Order the most beautiful food of:

207. Fried bologna sandwich

208. Fried pot pie (Like a savory turnover)

209. Roasted garlic eggplant dip with dill & cucumbers & roti

210. A drink with tequila, spice & almond milk called

“Nothing Goes According to Plan”

211. Mary-Devon gets a different equally beautiful drink called “My Mom Blacks Out Better Than Yours” which is a great name

212. Wait for what felt like a million years for the food to come

213. IT COMES

214. It’s perfect

215. The fried pot pie thing is one of the best most perfect things you have ever eaten

216. Go home

217. Listen to some of Under the Blacklight, this breakup album by Rilo Kiley you listened to a lot abroad before you were ever in a relationship

218. It has a different meaning to you now!!!!!

219. You’re excited to rediscover that

220. Remember that a long time ago your ex-boyfriend tweeted how wonderful it was falling out of love and your (you thought) mutual friend sent him a link to one of these songs

221. Annoyed that even this can’t be all the way free of him

222. Oh well, it will be one day

223. Still high

224. Take some leftovers even though you could have just pushed through and ate it but then you would have been uncomfortably full and you’re proud of yourself you didn’t

225. Get home

226. Lie down and watch The Office with Fred the cat

227. Take a shower without conditioner

228. Put aloe on!

229. Watch The Office for many hours

230. Eat your fried bologna leftovers

231. Think about getting ready for this mic before the show

232. Ubering everywhere costs so much money

233. Order an Uber on your laptop because your phone is a piece of shit

234. Get there

235. Go up

236. Do well

237. Meet a comic who’s on the next show you’re on

238. Hitch a ride with him

239. Get to Sidney’s

240. Mary-Devon told you sometimes there is a man who sells pulled pork in waffle cones outside the show

241. Look for him

242. He is not there

243. Lots of people you know are there!!

244. Hang

245. Get your clothes for Mardi Gras from your friend Jade lolol

246. Do your set

247. It’s very fun

248. You miss being able to do comedy for longer than 2 minutes

249. Eat free strawberry ice cream

250. Get 25 dollars!!!

251. Convince Geoff (who’s driving you back to his house) to go to Hank’s

252. Spend TWELVE DOLLARS on fried food

253. Which doesn’t sound insane but fried fish is 2 pieces for 1.50, so it is

254. Eat some chicken strips and a corn dog with your friends

255. Go home

256. You’re drunk

257. Look at Geoff’s senior yearbook and see pictures of him and everyone’s quotes

258. Find your ex-boyfriend’s old roommate

259. Want to send the picture to your ex-boyfriend because it’s truly a hilarious gem

260. But you don’t !!!!

261. Progress bitch

262. Watch some of The Office

263. Pass out

264. Wake up like 5 different times because you can hear MD’s alarm for work

265. Go back to sleep

266. Sort of have a group text with your friends Molly & Gabe you keep falling asleep during

267. Wake up when your friend Wyshonda calls you

268. She’s near and can come get you to hang out!

269. Quick go to check in/print your boarding pass

270. Find out your flight is at 7:45pm not 9:00pm like you thought?

271. Call Rachel see if she can still take you to the airport

272. She can

273. Get dressed

274. Wyshonda comes

275. Get sushi from the grocery store

276. And so many free samples

277. Think about getting a king cake to take back, decide against it

278. Go park and eat in her car which reminds you of high school

279. She tells you all about her trip to Cuba which sounds amazing

280. Catch up in general

281. She drives you to this cool abandoned house that is covered in graffiti

282. She takes some pictures of you! (She is a photographer)

283. You look at them and don’t like your body but accept that that’s ok

284. Hang out for a while longer

285. She drops you back home

286. Think about packing

287. Think about drinking

288. Watch The Office

289. Take a shower

290. Eat cold fried fish and chicken and one meat pie

291. Finally start doing stuff

292. Ask MD if she wants the white wine you have left in a baby bottle, then drink it yourself when she asks, “Why don’t you just drink it now?”

293. Pack everything

294. MD takes you to Rachel’s

295. You guys listen to songs with the word “blood” in the title for some reason

296. Hug her and say goodbye

297. Rachel takes you to the airport

298. You guys talk for a little bit at the terminal, it’s good and you love her

299. Go to your plane

300. Look for daiquiris

301. Text your friend Laura who flies for a living if they’re anywhere near

302. They don’t sell them at this terminal

303. They do have a smoothie king though

304. Get one (Berry Punch)

305. Get two Bacardi white rum’s on the plane

306. You made your own!!!!

307. The plane is half empty so you get to go from being cramped in a middle seat to having your own whole row

308. One of the flight attendants is hot

309. Not hot enough to make you sign up for a credit card though

310. Write in your journal

311. Masturbate

312. Yes on the plane

313. No one’s there it’s fine

314. Try to sleep

315. The plane is landing

316. You land in Newark, NJ even though you live in Brooklyn, NY because it is cheaper

317. Take a bus

318. Meet a Norwegian woman and her daughter

319. Help them get where they’re going

320. She gives you a bar of Norwegian chocolate

321. You give her glass beads Mardi Gras beads

322. But then you feel terrible because you tell them to get off one stop too late ☹ ☹ but they’ll figure it out

323. But you still feel terrible

324. Take the train

325. See a woman that you can’t tell if she’s being harassed or not

326. Go up and ask her if she’s alright

327. She sort of is blank

328. Ask if she knows him and wants to talk to him

329. She says no

330. He starts yelling at you, “WHAT’S WRONG WITH A BLACK MAN TALKING TO A BEAUTIFUL BLACK WOMAN?”

331. He is kind of slurring his words a little and it makes you uneasy

332. Your train comes

333. You both get on the train, you get in a different car than her in case he follows you

334. He does

335. He keeps yelling at you

336. You close your eyes and do your best to ignore him

337. It goes on

338. Change cars at the next stop

339. Luckily he doesn’t follow

340. Take the train forever

341. Finally get home

342. You have three exciting pieces of mail

343. A save the date for a wedding you’re not sure you’ll go to that’s in a literal castle

344. A nice note from your mom

345. Your moviepass card!!!!!

346. Check to see when you have work tomorrow

347. Not til 3:00pm baby!!!!!

348. Feel good in this place

349. And happy to be here

350. Know for the first time that this is your home now

351. Check your messages

352. Your friend Wyshonda sent you three pictures!

353. They are phenom & you love them

354. Decide to post tomorrow

355. Wake up an hour before your alarm

356. Think about sleeping more or doing something productive

357. Waste the hour scrolling through your phone

358. Post the pictures Wyshonda took

359. Message 2 people about seeing rooms for March

360. Eat some old vegetables, chocolate & granola for breakfast

361. Waste time

362. Wait for a train for 20 minutes because you had to buy a new Metrocard

363. Only get to work out for 30 minutes

364. It’s a good 30 min though

365. Work

366. You’re a “floater”

367. Which kind of sucks

368. But there’s free pizza

369. Have 2 pieces

370. Make 93 dollars

371. Solve a problem

372. NEW free pizza!

373. Have 3 pieces

374. Walk home in SLUSH because it SNOWED

375. Yesterday you were wearing a sundress in New Orleans and now you’re mad you don’t have snowboots

376. Feel the most tired

377. Home

378. Facebook

379. Not enough sleep

380. Wake up to go to the gym

381. Stop in a Modell’s Sporting Goods to see if they have sneakers because you DESPERATELY need some new ones

382. They have a smallish selection and you don’t really love any of them

383. Convince yourself to get cool thin sneakers because you are momentarily swayed by the world

384. Spend 59.84 bc you signed up for a rewards card to get 10% off

385. Go to the gym

386. Work out in them

387. THEY FEEL TERRIBLE AND YOUR FEET STILL HURT MAYBE MORE THAN BEFORE AND YOU HATE THEM YOU JUST WANT CHUNKY LAME SEARS SNEAKERS BUT YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO FIND SUBURBAN STORES IN NEW YORK

388. Text your friends Molly and Gabe

389. They say return them

390. Look up DSW, see that there’s one very close to you

391. Go back to the store not even an hour later

392. Return them

393. The salespeople are kind

394. Train to work

395. There was a fire on the track so there are delayssssssss

396. Wait for so long and get stressed about being late to work

397. Read more of your book “Bad Haircut” by Tom Perrotta

398. It’s good writing but the perspective isn’t something you can all the way latch onto

399. You’re late to work

400. You have many groups

401. Lose your voice very badly

402. Drink 3-4 cups of Sleepytime tea at work because it’s the only kind of tea they have left

403. Make 208 dollars in tips!!!!!!

404. Bond with your coworkers, they are mostly really cool

405. Think about making out with one of them

406. Home

407. Watch Eddie Izzard’s Dress to Kill special that you first watched at a friend’s house when you were in 5th grade

408. It’s SO good

409. He is a genius and so funny and this special is ridiculously good

410. Eat 2 pieces of Papa John’s pizza and an entire sleeve (except for like 6) of Club crackers

411. Watch Fergie sing the Jazz National Anthem at the NBA All Stars game

412. It’s breathtakingly terrible in a way only art can be

413. Floss

414. You’re seeing a room tomorrow that you really hope works out!!!!

415. And you hope you have your voice back by then otherwise it’ll be weird!!!

416. Drink water

417. Try to sleep

418. Eventually succeed

[dschaeposts]

Day 4 - Palermo

11/29

A lot more pictures today, as I’ve gotten time here now in the sunlight.

I’ve found it hard to get used to shooting video, albeit that’s one of the strengths of this machine in my hands.

One thing I’ve learned caffeine is acceptable at any hour. With every country in the world to go to explore I am glad I chose Italy. Although travel times forced me to shy away from Marrakech, I think I can rather add it to the bucket list. Napoli will be a destination, not a compromise.

I think I’m getting sick again. Which I am not enjoying. Let’s see how I feel. Much better I was just dehydrated.

Did some walking today for about 45 minutes. Today I think I’ll try to find the docks. I forgot to take a shit this morning which was a rookie mistake.

I guess pastries for breakfast isn’t that weird. Americans dump syrup on a lot of their breakfast items. What I’m not used to is not having protein. I missed breakfast in the hotel so I went out to one of the bars to grab a quick bite and coffee.

I’ve had two espressos and instant pick me up

Heavy lunching again. Spaghetti and a fresh fish mix of squid swordfish. I really wanted to taste the swordfish because of what I had in New York at cafe luluc. Comparisons are fun aren’t they? The pasta course was heavily salted, I don’t know what kind of fish was in it but it tasted similar to mackerel. The second course was much nicer with a swordfish steak, an octopus with eggs inside, which was a nice surprise, and a grilled shrimp. This course seemed to be simply seasoned. Paired with a glass of white wine. Overall I give it about a 7. Although the jet lag is gone my stomach is still in that wtf is happening right now stage. I get really hungry then when I sit down to eat I can’t. And you know what my favorite thing to do is? Forcing myself to eat and drink when I’m not hungry because I know I need the calories and I need to fight dehydration.

I’m forgetting to focus on the subject so instead the subject is now the light.

I walked along the coastline and then downtown. I spent about 4-5 hours exploring without my maps. I feel like I’m most likely done for the day and gonna chill in the hotel. I got to soak in a lot of the architecture and get some pictures that I wouldn’t have had the chance to take if I just took the bus everywhere. There’s still a lot left to explore and I have one more day here.

If I walked just a bit longer I would have gotten a blister.

I almost forgot, there was a street musician playing redemption song by Marley that literally turned me around to stop and listen. I wish I had a euro to give but I only had 60 cents.

Dinner was half a roast chicken with fries, onion rings, polenta balls, and a thin fish cake looking thing for 5 euros. The fried food was meh but the chicken seasoned with Rosemary salt pepper olive oil. Again simply seasoned at a rotisserie/pizza joint. Better than anything I can get back home for 7$.

[samirgianni]

Seasonal Ontario Food's Top Ten - Appetizers an Hors d'ouvres, Soups & Salads

Ten years of blogging! There's been a whole lot of food under the bridge in that time. I thought I'd try to narrow down some of my favourites, and some of the most popular recipes from Seasonal Ontario Food. So, some LISTS, every day for the rest of the week. I'll start at the beginning with Appetizers and Hors d'oeuvres, Soups, and Salads. These are in order of publication, no other order intended or implied, although I am going to put in my most popular post of each category. AND HEY! I want to know - what ones are YOUR favourites? Top Ten Appetizers and Hors d'oeuvres: Yes, I like dips and it shows. Still I think there is a reasonable variety here. Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce - colourful, flavourful, flexible, simple... what's not to like? Louise's Emergency Salsa Dip - sometimes the best things come from thinking on your feet. Sunflower Vegetable Paté - best tasting beige lump, bar none. Baked Scotch Eggs - much easier to make especially when it's time to clean up than deep-fried; this is my most-viewed appetizer recipe.  Seedy Red Fife Crackers - lots of dips here; need something to scoop them up. These are good! Even without the dips. Tzatziki Stuffed Cucumbers - a simple and modest but delicious treat for warm summer days. Fried Halloumi Cheese on Polenta Cakes with Tomato Sauce - I can get a little fancy, when the occasion warrants it, but these are still quite straightforward. Cheesy Zucchini Bake - an old-fashioned family recipe but one that's guaranteed to please. Oh well, guaranteed. You know. I hear not everyone loves cheese. Well, they just aren't family then.

Cherry Tomato & Shallot Bruschetta - roasty stuff, on toast; always a winner. Roasted Red Pepper & Cheddar Dip - O dips! How I love you. And this one is a classic. Top Ten Soups This one was hard. Very, very hard. I don't know if I'm particularly good at making soup (she said modestly) or if soup is just sooo good, or both. (Both.) All I can say is that narrowing it down to just 10 was quite the job. There's at least another 10 that should be on this list. Chicken Barley Soup - simple and classic; can't be beat.

Baked Bean Style Bean Soup - a real rib-sticker for cold winter days. And yes, Navy beans and split peas. Smoked Trout & Rutabaga Chowder - under-rated ingredients produce an unusual but special chowder. Kitchen Sink Soup - a vegetarian legume soup for the masses, in more ways than one. A perennial winter favourite. Cream of Rutabaga Soup - yes I said CREAM OF RUTABAGA. It's DEElicious. Deal with it. Vegetarian Sauerkraut Soup - my most viewed soup recipe. Not sure it would have made my best-of list otherwise, but it is a fine and easy little soup, so maybe. Dad's Bean Soup - I think he picked this one up when he was in the army. He did pick up his basic cooking skills there. And while this is very plain and simple, it hits the damn-this-is-good bean soup spot very nicely, without being too heavy. Leek & Brussels Sprouts Soup - with bacon; what could go wrong? Nothing, that's what. Milky Vegetable Chowder - another simple yet surprisingly satisfying light soup. Sopa de Ajo - much better than the photo suggests. Yes it is a bit gloppy, but it's glorious glop. Curried Roasted Parsnip & Apple Soup - this one might be my personal all-time favourite. Yes, it's rather good. Use my Madras Curry recipe for the curry powder nowadays. Stracciatella with Sorrel, Spinach, & Shallot Greens - Italian, with a local twist. My food doesn't always look it, but I am so inspired by the Italian approach to food. Minestrone di Piselli - One of the simplest soups on this list, but it sticks in my memory as really special. Super fresh peas and good soup stock can do that. And I can count just fine, thank you. Top Ten Salads Just as hard as the soups to narrow down, really. I love salads, and as my selection shows, I particularly love salads with cheese, fresh or dried fruit, and/or nuts and seeds. Also, cheese.

Spinach, Strawberry & Buttered Almond Salad - make it now! Or at least, within a few weeks. A classic for very good reasons. Sautéing the almonds takes it out of the ordinary, as do perfect Ontario strawberries. Lentil, Roasted Onion & Spinach Salad - a robust and hearty meal salad, although it would play second fiddle to the right main dish quite well. A bit time consuming, but easy and worth the effort. Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Pasta Salad - I guess if pushed I have to pick this one over Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Salad, but it sure is a tough choice. They're both awfully good! Root Slaw - my stats show 29 people have viewed this recipe at time of posting, which is pathetic. It's a delightful winter salad and deserves much better. Check it out! Fruit & Carrot Salad - is it fruit salad, or is it carrot salad? I guess it's fruit and carrot salad and it hits the spot in late winter; so sweet and juicy but grounded by the carrots. Leeks Vinaigrette - or, do I mean Zucchini Vinaigrette? So hard to choose, so very very hard. Japanese Carrot Dressing - very nice but again, if it wasn't my most-viewed salad I don't believe it would be on this list. Blue Cheese Salad Dressing - the ultimate. Yup; the ultimate. The secret is - not in the blue cheese. Chick Pea, Egg & Belgian Endive Salad - a modest little group of ingredients that just go together so, so well. Cabbage, Carrot, Sprout & Apple Salad - simple, simple, simple; I hardly thought it was a recipe but it's just awfully good. Red Cabbage & Parsley Slaw - I forgot to mention the raw parsnip, which makes it. Seriously. I made this then spent all year waiting so I could make it again. Taco Salad - ho hum, a cliche. But, I have to admit, a really delicious one. That's a zingy, singy salad dressing if I do say so myself. Cold Zucchini Stuffed with Cheese & Seeds - how to eat stuffed zucchini in the heat of summer, which is when you are going to have zucchini, after all. from Seasonal Ontario Food http://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com/2017/06/seasonal-ontario-foods-top-ten.html