The greens in our garden have been growing with a vengeance the past couple weeks. Today I picked lots of lettuce, kale, bok choi as well as 3 varieties of basil, some mint, parsley and some Vietnamese cilantro. I shared the wealth with some neighbours… Read More
Yesterday I realized we were almost out of nuoc mam – that super-fantastic fish sauce concoction that makes just about everything better. I use it regularly, not just for making a tasty dipping sauce with some garlic and hot chilies and lime juice, but also… Read More
This isn’t exactly Cá Kho Tộ, the yummy braised fish dish common in the south of Vietnam – but it’s along the same lines. I used monkfish instead of catfish and a cast iron pan instead of a clay pot. Monkfish is great for braising… Read More
Each year we make up a batch of paska, or Easter bread. Tuffy P’s mom was from the Ukraine and she used to bake paska each year in coffee cans – that’s the tradition we’ve continued. Paska is a delicious, light egg bread usually made… Read More
Here in Toronto, thin crust pizzas are popular, and apparently “authentic” especially if made in a wood-fired oven. That’s not the pizza I made today. I decided to try using my sourdough monster for pizza. The other idea I wanted to try out was making… Read More
I was at home this afternoon, practicing the fiddle, and what should cross my mind but the best phở in Vietnam. I enjoyed this bowl in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, served with heaps of herbs, limes, and sliced red chilies. Serious soup.
The other day I bought some rye flour and decided I would try making a sourdough rye. The intelligent thing to do would have been to lever the knowledge of someone with a little expertise and follow a formula. Did I do that? Nope. For… Read More
Today I baked the seventh loaf from my current sourdough monster. Until this loaf I’ve been exclusively using the “no-knead” Lahey method and the results have been consistently fabulous. I neglected to get a dough going last night and mid-morning today I decided it… Read More
This morning I baked a sourdough loaf with olives! I used those briny crinkled black olives, cutting a handful of them off the pits. After the initial overnight rise, I placed the dough on a towel coated generously with corn meal and spelt flour, then… Read More
Before turning in last night, I prepared a bread dough – again using my sourdough monster – so it would be ready to bake this morning. This is a no-knead loaf, and is loaf #3 from this starter. I’m using standard grocery store bread flour,… Read More
