Indie Alehouse

We accidentally walked in on Indie Alehouse's soft launch, although my husband has been opening the door and peaking in for weeks now. I assumed he was already on the banned list! He wasn't and we took our usual places at the bar. 

Things looked surprisingly smooth for their first day. The decor is pleasant - tin roof, pale blue paint, and polished wood. The bar height is too low for my liking. The taps are located on the back of the bar in a vintage refrigerator (but in a good way!) It was very easy to wave down the owner who we talked to about beer for a while. I appreciate the fact that he was easy to find and interested in talking to us. The staff was friendly. I expect that Indie Alehouse will attract a lot of hipsters! 

They'll be open regular hours starting Tuesday and will have a beer on cask and brunch so expect a more detailed review! 

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Apples to Apples

My father, in his bachelor years, cultivated a half-dozen apple trees and dabbled in grafting experiments. In a flash, he had four children under the age of seven which made such hobbies seem, I'm sure, a vast and distant extravagance.
 

The trees and children grew together. We spent many summer and fall days between those apple trees. We gorged on crabapples. We threw fallen apples at the shed and each other. We gathered crabapples for my mother to can in syrup and bake into pies. As the children grew, fewer apples were eaten, fewer pies were made and the apple trees became a tiny bit detested as their wild and unpruned branches became a grass cutting nightmare. 

(Original Post)

Most people, my husband included, believe the only value crabapples have is as ammunition in childhood fights. I know their true value. Crabapples are tiny, tart, rosy apples which grow with wild abandon throughout this great city. The organization, Not Far From the Tree, brought crabapples back into my life after a long absence. After a pick I was able to consume crabapples with such gusto that I soon had that specific, familiar, long-missed stomachache that only tart little crabapples can cause. My @NFFTT haul was more than I could eat so I canned most of my crabapples into sparkling, jewel-toned jelly. Yes, crabapples make the perfect ammunition but there are many other options for this tart, unassuming apple.

 Submitted to Gastropost

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Cooking from Vegan MoFo: Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls

While thrifting with my sister I found many a treasure. I snatched up a working dehydrator for ten bucks and a huge baby blue pot that is large enough to use as a canning pot. While browsing a furniture store my sister handed me a book. I opened it and decreed 'Getting it!' It was “Traditional Ukrainian Cookery”. My sister was a little disappointed that I was so excited for if I had been nonchalant about this find she would have adopted it. I did email her the recipe for Nachynka (a type of cornbread) for which she was harboring a ten year long craving. Nachynka is standard fare at small town Saskatchewan Legion potlucks.

When embarking on cabbage rolls I turned to “Traditional Ukrainian Cookery” for insight. “In the summer beet, lettuce, or spinach leaves may take the place of cabbage. In the grape-growing areas of Ukraine, the filling is often encased in grape leaves.” (pg 215) Upon advice from this cookbook, I omitted the tomato sauce in favor of lemon juice mixed with water. I did this because tomato sauce isn't my favorite ingredient (especially when it comes to Campbell Tomato Soup). I would recommend a somewhat more flavorful sauce than mere water with lemon juice as my cabbage rolls were a little lackluster.

The recipe and MoFo inspiration is: The Real Meal

Visit me at this year's Canzine! Mention that you read the blog and get a free zine!

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Is it possible for comfort food to be classified as something new?

 
Comfort food does not seem like something that would classify as new. However, every culture has a unique version of comfort food so a specific bowl of comfort food can be classified as new. The universal qualities of comfort food allow it to be simultaneously new and satisfying. This allows cultural comfort food to be a low risk/high reward introduction to ethnic food.

My recent exploration of the comfort food of other cultures began when I spent a long Saturday afternoon making tamales. After hours of work I unwrapped the corn husk and dug into the soft pillow-like masa dough. The first few bites were foreign, reminding me of mushy baby-food but soon the tamale began to comfort. I began to imagine my Mexican Grandmother making me tamales and the warm combination of corn and beans surrounded by smooth, slightly sweet masa dough warmed my soul as comfort ought to do. 

 

 (Dried Corn Husks)

After the successful exploration of tamales, I headed out to Noodleholic (2210 Dundas Street West) because it's tag line is “Asian Comfort Food”. The vegetarian ramen soup was pleasant, noodle-heavy, and a little bit oily. The food was not complex or fancifully plated but it was comforting. The restaurant was furnished with plastic chairs and harshly painted walls but the server was attentive and very polite. Overall Noodleholic is worth a visit because the food is affordable with large servings and lives up to their tag line.

The universal quality of comfort food is that you have to imagine that your grandmother made the dish for you. I have met my Mexican and Asian grandmothers as a result of trying something new.

Submitted to Gastropost

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Pae de Milho Amerlo: Or how I learnt to love the Portuguese

Pae de Milho Amerlo: Or how I learnt to love the Portuguese

Throughout the five years that I have lived in Toronto I have nipped in and out of the tiny Portuguese cafes that dot my neighbourhood but I never sat down. I did not pull up a chair and consume any part of the Portuguese culture that surrounds me. Pae de Milho Amerlo is the only thing of substance that I have taken from the Portuguese and made my own.

My discovery and subsequent consumption of the cornbread of Portugal began when the Golden Wheat (579 Rogers Rd) opened their doors across the street from my condo building. Where there was once coin operated gambling machines there was now an espresso machine. Where there was once day old donuts there was now a glass case full of petite, glossy desserts. We became regulars. An Americano for my husband, and an Iced Espresso for me. Occasionally, a delicate dessert. Baking bread in the sweltering heat of Toronto's summer heat waves seemed suicidal so I resorted to the bread selection on the shelves of the Golden Wheat and I welcomed Pae de Milho Amerlo into my life.

With deep brown cracked crust and bright yellow crumb the Pae de Milho Amerlo is a bread of contrasts. The crevices of the crust are erratic and the colour of rich dark chocolate. The majority of the crust is light beige and covered in a thin layer of baked and browned flour. The interplay between the parts of the crust is reminiscent of the crackled paint style popular in the nineties. The airy interior is the bright yellow of farm fresh egg yolk with a crumb that is large and practically pebbly. The crumb reminds one of polenta as both hold smooth creaminess and toothsome resistance within their grasp, surprising the eater at every turn. When crust and crumb are consumed together the result is soft and supple while simultaneously chewy. The flavour is sweet and smooth while the crust offers a slight nutty char.

The vast cultural landscape of Toronto makes it easy to live in a Portuguese neighbourhood but never consume it's culture. When we overlook the culture that surrounds us we miss out on treasures like Pae de Milho Amerlo and the tiny bit of Portuguese culture that it represents. 

 

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Hello MoFo 2012!

Technically I started blogging last September but I think of MoFo as being my blogging birthday. I am pumped for this MoFo! I love how active the online vegan community becomes in October - so many lovely comments and reads!

My theme this year is : Toronto! I will be posting reviews, food essays, and finds about the great food community that Toronto has. I've been away for a few years and it's so amazing to be back.

I will also be table-ing at my very first zine event this month - Canzine Toronto 2012! My zine for this event is entitled "Winged Snail Eats: MoFo". It chronicles the journey through my personal favourite posts of last year's MoFo. Here's the links to those posts. The zine also includes a few food essays, a favourite blog post or two, and an excerpt from an upcoming project.   

Happy MoFo!

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Eating the Web: Katz and the state of things.

1. While the Popinator may encapsulate all that is wrong with Western society... I'd still buy one!
2. As you can tell from my "From Scratching" tag, I enjoy making when the rest of the world buys so homemade coconut butter seems like a good idea. 
3. Sador Ellix Katz, the godfather of fermentation, visits Momofuko Noodle Bar. 
    A. I thought he lived on a commune 
    B. His "Art of Fermentation" is already on it's third printing
    C. He started with a zine!
    D. Read about it here. 
4. Pick-your-own orchards represent all that is wrong with America in this article.
5. And of course, the state of food writing.

I'll be back in October for Vegan MoFo. My theme will be Toronto.
In the meantime, follow me on twitter @Sarah999 for more food tweets!

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