Been Eatin

I haven’t hunted for an egg in probably fifteen years (except for bargain egg prices at the grocery store). I remember the egg hunt in my backyard when I was a kid. I have quite a few young cousins and some neighbourhood friends who would come by and join in, and the ensuing chaos of tearing through the yard trying to find the hidden chocolate among our apple trees and crocuses was always fun and maybe a bit scary. I think I always knew the Easter Bunny was actually my father, just like I knew he was the Tooth Fairy. I also knew for a fact that my mother was Santa Clause because they had the exact same handwriting. I was a slightly cynical and annoyingly aware child.

Easter has always been a holiday highly associated with chocolate and family time. One Easter when I was a pre-teen I spent the entire day reading Twilight in the living room, unwrapping and eating foil-wrapped Easter eggs, as my parents, aunts and uncles prepared dinner. I appreciate family time more now than I did then. I also appreciate the work and time that goes into making a good meal more than I did then, although I am less-appreciative of Twilight and dollar store chocolate these days.

This year Gemma stayed in Montreal while I came home to Toronto for the weekend. My extended family was in Washington and the prospect of having Easter dinner with only me and my parents seemed a bit bleak. Seb was also home for the weekend and in a similar position, so we decided to amalgamate our dinners. Seb made most of the food pictured here, except the salad and roast beef which were made by me and my dad.

Of course I’ve harkened to my favourite, Nigella Lawson, in this nested egg cake. I’ll leave the link to her recipe here. I think I’ve inherited my love for Nigella and her recipes from my aunt, who always makes this cake for Easter.

FOR THE CAKE

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)

6 medium eggs (2 whole, 4 separated)

1 cup superfine sugar (75g / 1/3 cup for yolk mixture, 100g / 2/3 cup for whites)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract TOPPING:

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

1 cup heavy cream1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 packet chocolate mini eggs (for decorating)

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350°F.

Line the bottom of a 23cm / 9in springform cake tin with baking parchment, or better still, Bake-O-Glide but do not grease the sides of the tin.

Melt the 250g / 9oz chocolate with the butter in either a double boiler or a microwave and then set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk the 4 egg whites until firm, then gradually add the 100g / 2/3 cup of sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape and peak gleamingly - but not stiff.

Remove this bowl and set aside while you whisk, in another bowl, the 2 whole eggs and 4 yolks with the 75g / 1/3 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract, and then gently fold in the chocolate mixture. Lighten the mixture with some egg whites - just dollop a large spoonful in and stir briskly - and then fold in the rest of the whisked whites gently, in about three goes.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no longer wobbly on the surface. Cool the cake in its tin on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools and the sides splinter. You want this to look like a cake with a crater in it, so do not panic at the vision of imperfection in front of you. That's one of the reasons this cake is so unstressful to make.To finish the cake, carefully remove it from the tin and place it on a plate or cake-stand, not worrying if bits fall off here and there. Put them back in a loose fashion.

Melt the chocolate for the topping and leave it to cool a little. Whip the cream until it is firming up and aerated but still soft, and then add the vanilla and fold in the melted chocolate. Fill the crater of the cake with the chocolatey cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake with a rubber spatula, and then arrange the little sugar Easter eggs on top.

Now that I’ve spoken briefly about my mother, I think it only appropriate to discuss my father. Philip Savage is sort of an enigma. I have never met anyone else quite like him. It used to embarrass me, but as I get older I’ve learned to appreciate it more. When I think about my father there are certain things that come to mind immediately: 1) His voice. The only time I can remember him silent he had three double gin and tonics rolling around inside him and was riding in the backseat of a car going 100km/h through the winding roads of Phuket, Thailand. To this day I maintain that the only reason he wasn’t speaking was from fear. Fear that if he opened his mouth to speak, those gin and tonics would come right back up. 2) His all-consuming fear of being without a hat. Seriously, he goes into a strange panic when he doesn’t have a hat with him. 3) His ability to eat an entire family sized bag of Lays potato chips while watching the Good Wife. 4) His devotion to the arts. By devotion to the arts I mean his devotion to: singing, lecturing, quoting, reading, playing the tin flute, drinking red wine, playing his bodhrán (Irish drum), and consuming excessive amounts of television and film. He is so devoted to the red wine and bodhrán in particular that once, in front of my friends, after drinking quite a lot of red wine he commenced playing the bodhrán non-stop for forty minutes. He ignored my pleas for him to stop, not even breaking a sweat when his finger began to bleed all over the drum. It was quite charming. 5) Soda bread.

Soda bread is something I associate with my Irish grandparents. My father, like my mother, is a first generation immigrant. He was born in Wales, lived in Ireland for a few years before coming to Canada when he was a young child. Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made with flour, bicarbonate soda (baking soda), salt and buttermilk. The buttermilk contains lactic acid that reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. This acts as a leavening, and for this reason no yeast is needed. I remember very clearly coming home to find my dad elbow deep in dough, and asking me to pass him things. Just so you know, having someone there with you to pass you things is very useful as the dough is sticky. Take your rings off before you start! 

Philip is a stickler when it comes to soda bread, and will not allow anything but plain soda bread or raisin soda bread in his kitchen. I am more experimental in my approach and I present to you here:

Kalamata Olives and Rosemary Soda Bread

Recipe:

3 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour 1 cup all-purpose flour 3 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup butter, unsalted 1 egg beaten 1 3/4 cup buttermilk 1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 1/4 chopped kalamata olives Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet and dust with flour. 

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces, and crumble it in with the flour (the same way as when you make pastry) until you have a fine crumb. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, add the buttermilk after and then mix in the honey. Mix the wet ingredients in with the flour-butter mixture, mixing at first with a wooden spoon and then eventually move into using your hands. Add flour if the mix feels too sticky. Knead the bread (you can do this in the bowl) and then separate it into two balls. Roll the dough around a few times to shape it, and then cut an X on the top of each loaf. 

Stick the balls in the 375 degree oven and bake for 35 minutes. 

Growing up in Toronto both my parents worked full-time jobs. My sister, Gemma, and I were placed in a home daycare where we would spend the hours in between school and dinner. At daycare we were given carrot sticks, raw zucchini sticks (a fact I still cannot fathom and am slightly repulsed at) and celery sticks with peanut butter or cream cheese. I always received cream cheese on my celery, as I had a peanut allergy growing up. Depending on the day, either my father or my mother would pick us up. On a good day, a parent would arrive before 5:30 – before all the other parents. On a bad day someone would show up closer to 6, after all the other children had already been taken home.  Every time my mother picked us up, without fail, she would ask us in the car what we wanted for dinner. These days in our house my father is the main cook, and my mother only cooks special meals that usually take hours to prepare. But when I was young both of my parents seemed to be extraordinarily busy, and they split equally between the two of them cooking duties. For some reason I barely remember any of the meals my father made for us before I turned ten, but I recall very clearly the meals my mother would make us. One of my favourites was pineapple rice.  

She makes hers with pork sausage and white rice. Since I am currently not eating pork I decided to make mine with chicken breast. I also decided to substitute white rice for brown vermicelli noodles. I have been thinking about this recipe quite a lot, and the other day I asked Mom what was in the distinctively sweet and savory sauce.

“Ketchup, brown sugar and crushed red chilies.”

Simple enough! Ketchup is not an ingredient I cook a lot with, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have its value in the kitchen. Sure - it’s full of sugar and salt. But aren’t those the ingredients that make everything taste amazing?I made this recipe for Seb and he loved it. As I ate, I was reminded of eating with Gemma and Mom at the emerald green kitchen counter. It reminded me of the Simpsons and jumping on the couch waiting for dinner to be ready. It made me think of the cactus we used to own. 

Saucy Chicken Pineapple

Pickled Red Onions:

red onion vinegar sugar salt

For the pickled red onions, finely slice ½ red onion. In a bowl add enough white or red wine vinegar to cover the onion. Add 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp salt. Mix and then let sit while you make the Saucy Part.

The Saucy Part:

1 chicken breast, sliced into bite size pieces 1 inch-long piece of fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp crushed red chilies 1 can pineapple chunks in their own juice green onions coriander/cilantro (fresh) ketchup brown sugar rice vinegar soy sauce

1) To start drizzle a pan with vegetable oil. Dice the fresh ginger and add to warming oil with the red chilies. Add the pieces of chicken and allow the meat to brown on both sides.

2) When the chicken has firmed up a bit, add 2 cloves crushed garlic. Stir the ingredients together and then add the pineapple and its juices.

3) To this pan add the white bottoms of about 4 green onions.

4) Add one 2 second squeeze of ketchup (about ¼ cup). Add ½ tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and ½ tbsp. soy sauce. Let the mixture come to a boil and then reduce down to a simmer. Add a handful of fresh cilantro leaves.

5) Boil water and then add as many noodles as you think you’ll need. When they are done, drain and serve with the Saucy Part, the Pickled Red Onions and Toppings. 

Toppings: Cilantro leaves Chopped green onions Crushed peanuts

Today is my beautiful roommate’s birthday, and we made breakfast with her.

Allie made rosemary potato rosti. She’s been talking about potatoes for about two weeks, and her potatoes did not disappoint. 

Claire made perfect poached eggs. I think her waspy blood makes her a born-to-be egg poacher, because she did not mess up a single egg. I have never been as successful myself.

I contributed by putting arugula in a bowl and putting dressing on it. I suppose it was a salad.

The finished meal was a beautiful start to a very important day in our house: Claire’s birthday and the day we finally got wi-fi.

It was 32 degrees in Toronto today, 40 with the humidity. Despite the heat, I felt an urge to cook. Mom and I sauntered over to the farmer’s market and managed to find some really beautiful treats. First thing we bought was a bunch of red russian kale. 

Using the kale I made a really basic salad with goat’s milk cheese and roasted sunflowers seeds. I dressed it with some finely chopped shallots and an olive oil, red wine and honey emulsion.

The next thing we found were beautiful chanterelles, and going at 10$/pint these nuggets of funghi gold needed to be respected properly. To prepare them, rub them with a paper towel to clean. Don’t wash mushrooms in water, as this can ruin the texture. I sauteed them in butter with a tiny sprig of thyme, salt and pepper.

We found all the produce we needed at the market, but couldn’t find a protein we wanted (besides the chicken livers I found... recipe coming) so we purchased a huge piece of prime rib from Rowe farms. Rowe farms sources locally, and all their meats are organic and hormone-free. Happy cows make tasty steak. 

To prepare the steak I simply rubbed it with salt and pepper, and then using the grill pan, cooked it for 4 minutes on each side. Try not to fuss around with it too much, because you want to seal in all the flavour and develop a crust on the meat. After 8 minutes (4 on each side) take it off the heat and let it rest for a few minutes, so that the juices don’t escape. When cutting steak, always cut against the grain of the meat.

I like rare meat, and this cut was so fantastic. It was probably the most tender piece of steak I’ve ever had.

When you walk into the Evangeline cafe, the first thing you notice is how white it is. Slightly sterile, almost hospital like, the walls and tables are cream coloured and the patrons all boast a milky sheen. Although the cafe has undergone renovations in the past few years, the feeling when you enter the space is akin the the feeling of drinking a cup of tea from a flowered teacup with your great aunt. 85% of the clientele at the Evangeline are above 60 years old. Most wear linen, khaki and cotton in pale hues. The Evangeline cafe has two ramps: one to enter the building and another one that leads into the enclosed porch seating area. 

Once seated, a waitress will come up to you. She has most likely been working on and off at the cafe for at least five years. She will be wearing a cream coloured polo, dark khaki pants and a pair of running shoes (not the fashionable type, though). She might have the name Kenzie tattooed on her wrist, which makes you wonder who Kenzie is (daughter, son, lover, husband, dad, mom...?) 

If you order the fish chowder, which you should, a basket of scones arrives at your table before anything else. The scones are warm, and coated in sugar. If you have the patience you can wait for your chowder to arrive, but most just go straight for the little package of salted butter and start in on the scone. 

The ham sandwiches at the Evangeline are straight from an Enid Blyton novel. When you order you are given the choice of white, whole wheat or multigrain. Miracle whip and mustard? The ham is cut thick, the bread is soft and the pickles are bread and butter.

Once you’ve finished your meal, the waitress brings your attention to the board where a list of pie fillings are listed. 

“the cherries are seasonal and might have pits so just be aware!” She says as she puts it down in front of you. The pie crust definitely has lard in it, and you try not to think about the amount of fat you’re about to consume. Low fat didn’t exist fifty years ago, so why consider health at this moment? Live like they did in 1940, the way the Evangeline wants you to. 

After demolishing your pie, slightly embarrassed you get up and pay your check at the counter. 

Today I went for a jog and all the cows in the pastures along the highway were judging me.

Dinner tonight:

- Very very simple romaine salad with red onions. At one of the local grocers a head of lettuce literally the size of my torso costs 1.50. I will be weeping about this in six months when I’m bundled up rummaging through the lettuces in Montreal that cost $4 but are the size of my hand. 

- Crab cakes and haddock, battered and fried, from the Wolfville Farmer’s Market

-Green beans with cherry tomatoes and scapes

-Chow chow. If you don’t know what chow chow is, that’s alright not many people do. Chow chow is a relish made from green tomatoes. Chow chow is, like most relishes, both sweet and sour. I find it has a nicer balance of acidity than other green relishes. Chow chow is popular in the Southern United States, New Mexico and the Maritimes of Canada. 

For dessert: attempt #2 at strawberry shortcake.

This time I managed to make good biscuits! I had to walk down the road with a tray full of the dough to my Aunt’s house to bake them though, because the oven we have here at the cottage is horrible and makes the whole house smell like horse manure. 

Look at those perfectly baked biscuits. So fluffy!

The finished product. I feel proud of myself, but I also feel really full. 

Second night here and another gorgeous meal. Went to the Canning meat market to pick up some local rib eye. Canning is the closest town to our cottage, although calling it a town is a bit of a stretch. The whole place is only a street long, with about five storefronts. The meat market is run by a butcher who looks exactly what you expect a Nova Scotian butcher to look like: ruddy and tall with some meat on his bones. 

I prefer my meat rare as do my parents. We got into a bit of an argument though when I asked for the steak to be taken off the heat a bit prematurely for their liking. According to my father I am a “bleu” eater whereas they are rare folks. It’s true, I do like my steak as rare as acceptable. 

Here they are right as they were placed on the grill. Seasoned only with lots of salt and pepper.

I’ve eaten scapes before, but I’ve never made them. Garlic scapes are the part of the garlic plant that grows above ground. The little buds on scapes are the beginnings of the garlic flower. Scapes are harvested right before they bloom, which allows the plant to devote more energy into developing the bulb - the part of the garlic plant more widely used. 

We marinated ours in olive oil, salt and pepper and then threw them on the grill. 

For dessert I made strawberry shortcake. 

Strawberry shortcake is a biscuit topped with strawberries and whipped cream. If you google any shortcake recipe, you’ll see how easy it is to make.

The oven at the cottage is literally insane. You have to preheat it, turn it off and then wait five minutes before even putting what you want to bake inside it. Therefore, baking up here is kind of a game of Russian roulette. My biscuits turned out okay, but definitely not amazing. Drenched in strawberries and whipped cream though it’s hard to tell.

I would rather just eat strawberries and whipped cream though. 

Here for a week basking in sea air and eating as much seafood as I can stomach. 

The menu for my first night here:

Freshly picked raspberries and cherries from our fields...

And lobster from Hall’s Harbour. 

We had dinner guests and each person got to destroy a whole lobster a piece (hence the slightly horrifying platter of steamed crustacean carcasses).

We also had the fluffiest and whitest dinner buns, the type of bread you can only really find in the rural Maritimes these days. 

I also made a salad with beets and chive boursin but it was hardly worth a picture next to the glorious lobsters. 

I’m going to be meticulously cataloguing my meals in Nova Scotia, since we’re smack dab in the middle of farms and fresh meat and produce. 

DaiLo is located on College, right near Palmerston. The restaurant serves Chinese traditional fare with French cooking technique. The meal is served tapas style, and the delicately crafted dishes are meant to be shared. I made a reso here for my birthday. The first thing you notice about DaiLo is how beautifully it’s decorated. Gold and teal, dark hardwood and a stunning bar reflect the Chinese tradition, but made contemporary. 

Mum got a Chinese Five Spice Dark and Stormy, I got the feature cocktail a Thai Baisl Mojito and Seb got a Tsinga. The drinks were really tasty, even in my stupendously hungover state. 

The dishes are not giant, so for four people we ordered six dishes. The dishes are served as they’re ready, which I love. I wish I worked in a restaurant where this was the case. 

This dish is called the Egg Net Salad. It has ground pork, green papaya, pomelo, bean sprouts, almond crumble and coconut caramel dressing. A good side salad to accompany the more saucy dishes.

 Fried watermelon with bean sprouts, basil, pickled melon rind and pork floss (like cotton candy made from pig - amazing). I loved this dish.

In the back of this photo is the Mapo “Doufu” Halloumi. The cheese replaces tofu in the traditional Chinese dish, and is served in a sauce of chili black bean, chilis and grilled scallions. Really yummy, the sauce especially. 

The dish at the front of the picture is the Pork Hock dish with Jellyfish slaw. (REAL Jellyfish!) This dish was one of those dishes that makes you pause and really contemplate the beauty of life. 

Whole Fried Trout. Came with three dipping sauces. Something I’ve never seen before, but it was really good. Perfect for four people to share. The fish was local (from Collingwood) and fresh. I would recommend ordering this if you go to DaiLo.

Truffe Fried Rice with a sweet chili sauce. Very good.

Homemade hummus is easy and cheap. All you need is the juice of 1 lemon, a glug of olive oil, a can of chickpeas, 1-2 cloves of garlic, salt & pepper and 1tbsp of tahini. 

Using a food processor or a blender (I’ve used both, the food processor wins but I did use a shitty little magic bullet in Montreal) blend/puree the ingredients, adding salt and pepper to your taste.

Perfect recipe for summer dinner - simple but amazing in flavour. 

I grow thyme in my backyard and know that it pairs beautifully with lemon. For this recipe I picked up six boneless skinless chicken thighs from Rowe Farms, a butchery that only sells non-hormone happy meat. I like happy meat. 

The recipe:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs olive oil 5-8 sprigs of fresh thyme 1 lemon 4 cloves garlic

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place your chicken in a COLD castiron pan drizzled with some olive oil. Turn on your stovetop element to high and let the chicken render in the pan for at least 10 minutes. The chicken will crisp up, crackling and spitting a bit - but not to worry. Turn your chicken over and let the other side crisp, for another 5-10 minutes. When you’re done crisping the chicken, turn your element off and slice your lemon in to wedges. Squeeze the juice over the chicken and then arrange the wedges around the pan. Add your thyme to the pan, using tongs to mix them up with the meat. Finally crush up some cloves of garlic and throw them in there as well. Bake in the oven at 400 for another 15 minutes. 

I served mine with a ricchia salad and roasted asparagus.

I bought too many avocados. I forgot that when you buy a bag of them, they all ripen at the same time. This simultaneous ripening lead to a panic as I desperately attempted to use them up in some way other than guac. 

Avocados are used in desserts, but we don’t often see them in Canada. I found this cake recipe on Chatelaine after searching for a recipe that wouldn’t just cover up the avocado taste with chocolate. 

http://www.chatelaine.com/recipe/desserts/avocado-pound-cake-with-raspberry-glaze/

For the raspberry glaze I added the zest and juice of one lime.

The batter was beautifully fluffy and slightly green, exactly what I wanted.