Cooking

I like cooking, a lot. Really, I like it more than lots of other things like cleaning, accounting, roofing, contract negotiations, and being in malls... that kind of stuff doesn't do it for me like making a good meal from scratch.

I'll shirk other responsibilities by spending time cooking. Like this weekend, when I could have been running around finding the last few things we need to finish off the baby-room, I cooked.

Cooking without recipes is something I'm happy to have gotten a handle (should that be ladel?) of, because finding great recipes can be a bit of a chore. allrecipes and the foodnetwork are alright, but hating malls and grocery stores so much generally means I don't have some of the ingredients, so I generally wind up just winging things anyway.

In the spirit of successful food-winging-it is my latest foodernet find:

Cookthing - how to cook anything.

It's an awesome tool for picking the things you have to cook, and finding inspiration on what to cook with them.

Go make something tasty.

Minty Fresh

I was given a nice little bouquet of freshly cut mint today. I think it was said to be chocolate-mint, but all I can tell from the smell is that it’s amazing.

Not the mint I was given but it kinda looked like this and I enjoy the photo - Pregnant by Andreas Kollegger

I’m relatively new to mint in forms other than tea, gum, and toothpaste, but I’ve quickly become a huge fan of the stuff.

I’m growing spearmint, peppermint, and an unidentified slightly lemony smelling mint I rescued from the bargain-rack at garden works. I’ve had a much better time with it than with the basils I regularly murder, so I’ve been using it more and more in my food and drink.

Number one on the list is the almighty mojito, my summer drink of choice. So far I’ve stuck to the traditional lime and soda, but a lychee version is my next beveralogical challenge.

Baked minty apples are good too, wherein you core an apple, fill with butter, brown-sugar, and some chopped mint before baking until fucking delicious.

Minty spot prawns weren’t a huge success; I think those things should probably just be eaten clean.

A minty cucumber and yogurt salad sounds good, but has yet to undergo testing in the Royal Hopkanowski Culinary Centre of Excellence and Excess. Same goes for mint pesto, sounds good but unproven.

Anybody have good ideas for mint other than the julep? Please, help me out. Seriously, unless I find ways to consume the stuff without alcohol I’m bound for the corner of hastings and main.

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Where’s your food from?

This story from the CBC has me thinking about food again. OK, so pretty much everything makes me think about food, but reading about food probably tops the list.

Anyway, it reminded me to check out the Deconstructing Dinner podcast. Deconstructing Dinner is a great show out of Kootenay Co-Op Radio. I’m sure I’ve linked there before but what with summer hitting Canada and local food being readily available it’s a great time to revisit food issues.

Right now I’m listening to the podcast titled Coffee, The Earth, and the Future of Civilization. It’s pretty interesting and it will change the way you think about the perfect cup.

I’m a coffee addict. I don’t just enjoy a cup, I freely admit to being hooked.

With that I want to point you to the best Americano in Metro-Vancouver – found at JJ-Bean on Commercial. It’s a medium ¾ full cup of heaven made with as much love as can be squeezed out of in-house-roasted beans and baristas in skinny-jeans. Apart from the delicious tomatoes and veggies at the Trout Lake Farmers Market it’s probably the highlight of my Saturday mornings.

Sure Artigiano is fancy and Starbucks is convenient, but both are pretentious and should be avoided at all costs by people who favour flavour.

Cabbage Rolls

It was just before Christmas.
The best time of the year to make cabbage rolls.

1. Cabbage in hot water.

2. Grandma separating cabbage for rolling

3. Filling and rolling.

4. Stacking for baking.

5. Wait for them to be ready so we can eat.

The Best Website Ever

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Evergreen Guacamole?

I was given a little jar of guacamole, Yucatan Guacamole to be precise. It's actually really good for a store bought guacamole, and it seems to never go brown. While I wouldn't ever go out and buy guacamole (I pride myself on my best-around-brentwood guac) I will recommend this stuff to those who do. Now only if avocados grew in the GVRD...

I'm sitting here about to dig in to Adobe Audition and the thought hit me, "How should I put off what I know I should be doing with what I'd rather be doing?"

That's basically the only reason I've been updating this thing at all recently.

This site is also suffering from lack-of-content because I've taken up running, and that along with my other hobbies have nearly replaced internetting as a time-waster. However, As I put off work, put off cooking dinner, and wait for the new Battlestar Galactica, I get in the occasional surf.

So, along the foodie lines of my rambling, everyone who - like me - lives to eat rather than eats to live should check out Mahanandi. I'm becoming ever more conscious of what goes into my recipes and into my body, and this site has been a real inspiration.

Go buy some local food, and make a tasty and healthy meal.

Peace.

Oh, and I ran 5 miles in 44:42 today. Boo plant-hating light fixture, hooray me!