Breakfast of champions in Amsterdam.

Aioli: Warsaw

After our long journey and a nap, we headed out for dinner. Sue reccomended a place called aioli, so we walked the couple blocks over there and managed to get a table. It was a rather tight fit, like the back of a Volkswagen, but the food was great and so was the beer. I had a Ksiazece czerwony. Since czerwony is one of the few words I know in polish, this was a double bonus. 

For an entree I got the gnocchi with mushrooms and caramelized endive.surprisingly solid

This pico de gallo burger was like a salad and a burger in one. I 

It was a great day, but very tiring. Looking forward to a good nights sleep and then heading over to Warsaw's old town tomorrow 

Beers in Minneapolis

Cheers to that!

How do you earn your beer? 

Maybe you didn’t hit snooze and went for your workout this morning. Maybe you spent the day watching the kids… or sat in a cubicle for 8 hours. However you do it, you’ll be thrilled to know there is now a Thunder Bay beer worth earning.

Sleeping Giant Brewery Co. has finally opened its doors, much to the delight of Thunder Bay’s beer lovers. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that is a pretty substantial piece of the population.

There are 4 owners of the company, Kerry, Drea, Rob and Kyle. Each of the owners plays a different role in the business. With a Bachelor in Chemistry, Kyle, who according to Kerry is “very smart,” has been working with different beer recipes for some time, and has taken his time perfecting the beer. ( And perfect it he did- the 360 is now my new favourite beer!)

The 2 current beers are the 360 and the Sleeping Giant Elevator Wheat, the offerings will change seasonally, but as something of a flagship beer, the 360 will stick around all year long. 

The 4 base ingredients in beer are water, malt, hops and yeast, 3 of these ingredients are locally sourced. Luckily, the water we get here is perfect for making beer! There are lots of other local ingredients that can be included in the seasonal specialty beers- Just think of all the possibilities!

Sleeping Giant Beer is sold in a growler; which is just under 2 liters- so about 5 bottles. You pay for a deposit on the growler and for  your choice of beer- then bring the growler back and get a brand new one full of delicious beer!
The brewery itself is very cool- the front area is packed with fun beer ephemerae and paraphernalia. It is as refreshing as the beer itself, as the place feels welcoming and  friendly;  you can tell that the folks there are fun loving….well of course they are, they opened a brewery for goodness sake.

Last night Sleeping Giant Brewery hosted a beer and cheese tasting event led by Mirella Amato. Ms. Amato is a beer Cicerone, which is the equivalent of a sommelier, but for beer. She is one of only 9 in Canada, and the only female beerologist of the bunch. She is a beer sensory evaluation specialist, so she knows about storage, service and most importantly food pairing.
She led us through a series of beer and cheese pairings, reminding us that we all do often pair beer and cheese with nachos, pizza and so on. The tastings were conducted in the style of the ploughman’s lunch, a cup of beer and a hunk of cheese.
She based the pairings on the same basic principle that is followed with wine and food pairing.  Match the intensity of the beer with the intensity of the cheese or one with over power the other, the goal is to create harmony between the flavors, and harmonize we did… 5 times. 

A couple cool new things I learned. Always pour your beer out into a glass. I know a lot of people like to drink from cans, but there is a reason for pouring into a glass. Two reasons actually. The first is that in a glass, you can smell your beer. Out of a can, you just get a noseful of aluminum. Think about when you have a cold and how everything tastes blah. When you drink from a can you are basically impeding the aromas from reaching your olfactory receptors and therefore not experiencing the full potential of the beer. Reason number 2 is the carbonation. Brewers over carbonate by a bit because some of the effervescence will be lost when you pour, which they are expecting you to do.  So, this excess carbonation causes bloating and therefore gross beer belches.  If you’ve ever walked through a cloud of that, I’m sure you can appreciate this pro pouring argument.

Another important element of beer is temperature. “Different beers shine at different temperatures.”  Says Mirella. While it may sound counterintuitive, beers such as complex ales should be served slightly warmer. Still chilled, but not ice cold.

Now, when I taste beer, I generally taste just that…beer. I like it or I don’t.  I seldom think to myself, “My oh my, do I detect a hint of sour cherry?” No. I cannot say that I do that.

However, when someone points a flavour out, it is different.  When Mirella began pointing out flavours, I could taste them, and even begin to detect some flavours of my own. The 2 cheeses she paired with the Sleeping Giant beers were awesome.
The Sleeping Giant Elevator Wheat beer was tasted with a Quebec triple crème brie. The beer itself is exceptionally crisp with just a hint of honey, and a slight bread flavour. When paired with this creamy cheese the citrus notes in the beer really came forward, and the buttery taste of that cheese- omg – it was amazing.  That was the theory behind this pairing- bread and butter.

The Sleeping Giant 360 was paired with a sage derby. The ale has the faintest herbal flavour and with the finish lingered a hint of grapefruit flavour, though I equated it more to a citrus rind flavour. Paired with the herbed cheese it really brought out the caramel notes in the beer with a finish that tasted of fresh creamery butter.

If you are interested in doing your very own tasting, stop in to the Sleeping Giant Brewery. They are now open, and have beer for you to taste. If you want to do your own tasting, all of the cheeses were picked up at Maltese. Try out these pairings for yourself, and see what flavours you can discover. I kid you not, this will be enlightening.

(I’ll write about all of the tasting notes later in the week over at Relatively Gourmand- Hello, Abbot’s Gold!)

Thunder Bay is hungry (well thirsty) for this and it could have come at a better time. With the promise of a long summer ahead of us, a cold beer is just the thing to make it even better. So, stop on over to the Sleeping Giant Brewery, and pick yourself up a growler of ale…you’ve earned it! 

Rhubarb Tart

Every year at this time, I feel a sense of renewed jubilation and excitement about cooking using fresh and local ingredients.
Traipsing through the market this past weekend there were lots of great items that I saw for the first time of the year. Orange tomatoes, mixed greens, and eggs.
(By the way, these were awesome eggs! I put an egg on everything this weekend. I even made mayo from scratch for my market burgers on Saturday! Also, someone obviously has WAY too much free time on their hands…ahem, me)

But, what we’re going to talk about today is a tart. A rhubarb tart to be exact. I wanted to take advantage of those gorgeous ruby stalks growing in the backyard, so I decided a tart was in order. Plus, the weather was crummy, so a little baking didn’t seem completely out of the question. I did a bit of research online, and couldn’t really find a fun tart recipe with rhubarb. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to look and taste like, so I decided to wing it. That of course left me open to the possibility of complete failure, but hey, I live on the edge.
So, went out and cut some rhubarb, much to the chagrin of at least one spider who seemed quite content with his rhubarby home, and came up with this. It isn’t really anything crazy, quite simple actually and it really lets the tart flavour of the rhubarb shine!

Wash your rhubarb and cut into ½ inch pieces. Place into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring it to a boil and let the rhubarb simmer. When the rhubarb is falling apart, add a cup of sugar. Let it cook for about 10 minutes or until it is syrupy and thick. Set aside, and let cool.
Prepare a tart or pie shell. I made a short crust pastry using Brule Creek flour.  I had to tweak my regular recipe a bit to accommodate the different texture of the flour, but it all worked out and the taste was divine!
Next, mix 2 tablespoons of corn starch with ½ cup of water and pour into the slightly cooled rhubarb mixture. Stir and pour into the prepared shell. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (or about that, keep on eye on it!)
Remove from the oven and let cool.
For the topping, put ½ cup of heavy cream into the mixer. Add a teaspoon of maple syrup. Whip until thick. It might sound weird, but I put basil in the whipped cream as well, and it was great. So do a little basil chiffonade, and toss it in!
Serve the tart with a wee dollop of cream.  That is what I had for breakfast today; it’s ok there is fruit in it so that is allowed.
What is your favourite way to eat rhubarb?

Originally Published 5/28/2012 on TBNewswatch, by yours truly 

Vanderwees Farms

You go to the grocery store and look at the giant display of eggs in the cooler.  There are so many different kinds there, does it even matter which you choose?

Of course it does!  Especially if you care about choosing the freshest foods for your family and supporting the local economy!
I had the chance to visit Vanderwees Farms over on Townline road last week. Owner, Bruce VanderWees took me for a walk through of the facility and let me have a look at what goes on in our very own locally owned and operated egg farm!
Vanderwees began as a mixed farming operation in the 50’s and by the 1960’s had put their eggs all on one basket, so to speak, to focus on poultry farming. 

The farm is home to over 30,000 chickens that live in a constant 72 degree climate controlled environment.  The rules and regulations under which the chickens and eggs are handled are extremely stringent and rigorous.  Everything is accounted for and they do extensive testing on everything.  These practices help ensure that the animals stay happy and healthy, and that they produce the best possible product for us.

Amazingly enough, throughout their life on the farm, most of the eggs are never even touched by human hands.  They are brought in on long rollers. Washed, candled, sorted and packaged without so much as a fingerprint.  They are cooled and then sent off to local restaurants and grocery stores. About 80 percent of the eggs produced at Vanderwees stay right here in Thunder Bay! 

You will be exceptionally happy to know that the chickens are also doing their part and eating local. They dine primarily on corn, local wheat and local barley.   Weights of the birds are constantly monitored to assess how much food they need to make sure they are not over or underfed.

See? One of the best things about local food producers is that you can actually go there and ask questions! They are part of our community and want to provide us with a quality product and fantastic service.  It is so important to know where your food comes from, and I am glad to know that much of mine comes from that Vanderwees egg truck that we’ve all seen driving around. 

And the question you’ve all been waiting for. What is Bruce VanderWees’ favourite way to enjoy an egg? Why, a ham and cheese omelet of course! 

In my household we go through a lot of eggs. 

My kids love ‘em.  Every morning the boys get them scrambled, hard boiled or over easy.  I recently bought a new egg slicer so we had been doing lots of hard boiled. But, there has recently been an egg revelation in my household. My friend Stacy was over visiting one day, and asked if I ever steamed my eggs.

No. I had never done this.

As it so happened in an odd twist of fate, I ended up with a steamer basket a few days later. Coincidence? Who cares!
Anyhow I took this method of cooking out for a test-drive, and I will never go back. That’s right. Steaming is AWESOME!  The eggs peel like a dream, and there is no off coloured yolk- Just a fantastic yellow orb.

To steam your eggs put an inch of water in your pot, put in the steamer and then the eggs. Turn on the heat, and when you start to see a little steam, put on the lid and set your timer for 16 minutes… tick, tick, tick, ding!  Remove the eggs from the steamer with a spoon and put them into an ice bath for a few minutes, et voila!

I picked up a few (and by a few I mean 8 dozen) eggs when I visited Vanderwees. We had an Easter egg hunt, made eggs Benedict for Easter breakfast, and a lot more. Most people love eggs, and with so many ways to enjoy them it makes sense to buy this staple from a local farmer.

A St. Paddy's Day Story.

With the excitement of St. Patrick’s Day looming ahead, Kelly was downright giddy for the weekend. It had been years since she had a chance to go out with friends and celebrate the holiday in style!  But, still, deep down, there was a part of her that was torn. As much fun as a night out on the town promised to be, there was a part of her that longed to stay at home and concoct a festive and fantastic  St. Patrick’s Day Feast. 

“Aha!” She cried aloud, “I’ve got it. I will cook a St. Patrick’s Day spread on Sunday instead! 

She hadn’t intended for the exclamation to rhyme, but as you know, sometimes these things simply happen. All of the different possibilities swam throughout her head; colcannon, potatoes, corned beef… Ooh, I’ll make my own corned beef she thought.
After work, she happily drove over to Maltese and asked the woman behind the counter for a piece of a brisket.

“Is this ok?” asked the woman, holding up an absolutely giant hunk of meat.
Kelly smiled and nodded. 2.5 kilos of brisket was hers.

As she drove home, she started to wonder whether this was a good idea.  Thinking about the brisket it almost seemed a shame to brine and boil it. A cut like that should be smoked slowly and slathered with barbecue sauce. Mmmm…Barbecue.

Kelly had been perusing recipes and decided on one from Fine Cooking. An awesome website and even better Magazine. Boy did she have fun making the brine. Juniper berries, salt, brown sugar, and more; it was like 7th year potions at Hogwarts.
She had made the brine, trimmed the fat off of the meat and put it to refrigerate for the week in the brine.

But.. now what? She thought.
As much as she loved cooking, she did not like to just leave things alone! She liked to stir, poke, prod taste and generally monkey with the food and recipe as it was being prepared. A whole week just letting it sit there! How excruciating! Well, she did get to flip the brisket once a day. But that is practically nothing!

After what seemed a double long work week, the weekend had finally arrived! An exciting night out with the girls... And it was going to be fun. She donned a new dress and did her hair. She probably spent at least an extra half hour longer than she usually did to get ready. So about 36 minutes.

The night was exciting. Great friends.  People wearing giant Guinness hats at the Madhouse. Irish drinking songs at the Sovereign Room (and of course some fantastic food.) A brief stop at Crocks and then home before midnight- How responsible of her!

After about 4 hours of sleep, she woke with a start suddenly terrified about the corned beef.  She could sleep through a thunder storm no problem, but failure was far more terrifying What if it didn’t turn out? There were 12 people coming over for dinner. What if it is too salty...or not salty enough? What if all of that juniper makes it taste weird?

She hopped out of bed, tripping over the dog. She yelled a mild expletive and went out to the deep freeze in the garage, digging down through the icy depths for something that she could cook as a backup. Beef roast. Perfect.  She cradled her culinary savior as she walked back in the house and popped it into the microwave to defrost. Five minutes. Still frozen. Ten minutes. The plastic wrap was still frosty and the meat hardly yielded as she poked it repeatedly with her finger. Defrost already!

As it defrosted, Kelly once again began to question her judgment, wondering if all people were this indecisive in the morning. She logged into facebook and asked the best way to cook corned beef. Everyone gave a different answer than what she was planning.
About 15 minutes later the microwave beeped to alert her that the roast was good to go. She placed it into the Crockpot with a half a jar of Carolina mustard BBQ sauce and set it on low.

She ambled back up the stairs, her terror of failure quenched; knowing as she had a backup if some reason something went wrong.
 

ZZZZZZZZ
Back out of bed. Kelly smiled and thought how lovely it was that her parents offered to take the kids over March break. They would be back that evening, but a 10am lie in was quite a luxury!

After a day of doing not all that much other than enjoying a quiet house, it was time to get to work.

With much trepidation she rinsed off the brisket and submerged it into clean, cold water, placed it on the stove and turned on the heat, cringing all the while. 

After a few moments the first bubbles started to rise lazily from the bottom of the pot, and the exterior of the meat started to look grey. What had she done! She picked up a fork and gently prodded the meat. Just as she suspected- It was like shoe leather! Resigning the potentially awesome cut to its fate she returned the lid and let it cook, turning her attention to the pot roast, the potatoes and the menu items that would hopefully not suck.

After an hour she dared take another peek..and poke.

It had softened up considerably. She wondered if she dare take a taste. Redundant question.  Of course she was going to take a taste. She sliced a little piece off of the end, slowly brought the fork to her lips, and with eyes closed, placed the piece of boiled meat into her mouth. “Oh My Stars!” she said, oblivious to the fact that she was talking with her mouth full.  Absolutely fantastic! She stole another piece from the pot and turned the heat down even lower- excited to share the dish with her pals.

Elated and relieved, she popped the cork out of a bottle of sparkling wine and made herself a Kir royale, sat on the deck enjoying sunlight and small victories.