Traditions

I'm not an overly ordered person. I don't feel a need to organize my books, clothes or papers. In fact, my desk (both at home and in the lab) tend to be in a constant state of disorder. When I travel, I prefer to go somewhere new than to visit the same place twice. When I do eat out, I like to be adventurous and have a dish I've never tried or one that I wouldn't make at home. Despite all of this, there are some things that I don't like being tampered with. I suppose once I have that view point on a particular thing or event, it has become a tradition.

I feel this way about most of my Dad's cooking, particularly the traditional Acadian dishes. When I go home I look forward to certain meals and I expect them to taste the way I'd been remembering and imagining. Right now, I can almost taste the gooey cheese on the buttery, piping hot French Onion Soup. I realized, not too long ago, that I had better make an effort to learn how to make these classic dishes. For one thing, I live too far away from my parents to pop over for a bowl of soup. More importantly, I want to be able to continue to hand these recipes down to the next generation.

Many of the Acadian dishes have roots in French cooking, but are heavily influenced by the local maritime environment. When the French settlers first arrived on PEI, cod fish was plentiful and the soil was perfect for growing potatoes. I like to think that fish cakes were concocted as a portable variation on the boiled fish and potato dinners that I'm sure were popular. Though, to be fair, I really have no idea how and when the dish originated. I do know that the recipe has survived centuries and generations and, I suspect, has undergone very little revision. Today, it's no longer necessary to preserve the summer catch of fish in thick layers of salt for winter sustenance, but the fish cake is still a nostalgic treat.

















Yesterday I found myself in the fortunate situation of having salt cod in my fridge and finding PEI potatoes at the grocery store. I set to work. There isn't much to it: desalt the fish, boil the potatoes and saute some onions (in butter of course). The ingredients are simple and won't overshadow the salty fish flavour. I add parsley to my recipe, not so much for the flavour, but for the splash of color it adds. The final product was crispy on the outside and opened to the silky smooth potatoes, which contrasted perfectly with the chewy fish chunks. Even if you aren't of Acadian heritage, you might find that fish cakes become one of your traditional treats.


Fish Cakes
From Ronnie Blacquiere and all the Blacquiere's (and LeClair's) before him.

• 1 lb salt cod
• 9 medium potatoes (~ 4 lbs)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 small onion
• ~ 1 tbsp butter
• pepper
• 1/2 bunch of parsley

Rinse the fish to remove the surface salt. In a pot, cover fish with cold water and bring to a boil. Discard water and repeat two more times. Meanwhile, boil potatoes until tender, saute the onion in butter and chop the parsley. Break up the fish into small chunks (this is best to do while the fish is still quite warm). Mash the potatoes, no lumps! Stir onions, pepper, eggs, parsley and fish into the potatoes. Form into small patties and coat with flour. Pan fry the fish cakes, turning when browned. Note: If not eating at once, wait to flour and fry until just before eating.

Served above with carrots, parsnips and sauted kale with almonds.

Collaboration

One of my favorite parts of my day is walking to and from work. It's a 30 minute walk along the canal in Ottawa, where I can pretend I'm not really in the city. This time of year is especially nice; the crisp cool in the morning helps to wake me up and in the evening I can watch all the people skating on the canal beside me. I take this time to either think about my day ahead at work, or to decompress and plan what will be on the supper menu. The part I look forward to most however, is listening to music.

I'm not overly picky when it comes to genre, but right now I'm completely addicted to CBC Radio 3. A few years ago I discovered Vancouver's The New Pornographers, composed of a few fantastic musicians, one of which is Neko Case. She had a new album last year called Middle Cyclone and I dare say it was one of my favorites of 2009. I'm not the only one to say this, as it hit many 'best of' lists in December. Generally, when I listen to music first (or for the second, third or forth times) I focus only on the melody and the beat, not paying much attention to lyrics. Neko Case has such a beautiful voice it wasn't hard to enjoy this album straight away. As my play count increased, I began to really listen and then I couldn't stop. How could I? with lyrics like 'It was so clear to me, that it was almost invisible' found on the title track (sorry no official video for the song, but this was the best quality audio link I could find). The more I listened the more I was interested, which led to reading articles about the album and how it was made.

If you've read any of these stories you probably know how she recorded the album in her farm house with old salvaged pianos; that she filled up the space on the end of the CD with the relaxing sound of singing crickets; or that a musicbox is a prominent instrument on the album. What I was most interested by, was how collaborative the album is. Nearly every song has a guest appearance by some other well known artist (people from Calexico, The Sadies, Sarah Harmer...). I really have no idea what the nature of the collaboration was, and just how much input each collaborator had, but by the feel of the songs, I suspect Neko was very willing to allow others to layer in and mix their influence with her own. It sounds like such a fun and inspiring atmosphere, don't you think? Perhaps one that some of us could learn from.

I think it must take a certain amount of selflessness to let go of a creation and let another elaborate on it. From a scientific perspective, collaboration amongst research labs is certainly not the norm. Ideas are closely guarded, to prevent getting 'scooped'. It's a ruthless game where the first to publish a result is the winner. Recently, there seems to be more of a push for collaborative efforts, particularly as we're faced with global problems, such as fuel shortages. I certainly hope that these collaborators eliminate the proprietary attitude and that they are as fruitful as Neko Case was with all her friends.

PS. I made this lentil soup the other day and it was delicious!

Pizza Recipe

This won't be a long post. I got a request for the pizza recipe and figured it's only fair that if I write about food that I share the recipes with you. For the macaroons you'll have to wait until I have the recipe perfected.

Pizza Dough
Modified from Bon Appetit March 2007

• a little greater than 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
  
• 1 cup flour*
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar (not packed)
  
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil

Add the warm water to the yeast and let sit for ~ 5 min. Mix together the flour and sugar, pour in olive oil and yeast mixture. Knead on a floured surface until elastic, continuing to add flour until the dough only just doesn't stick to your hands. Let rise in a oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap and a towel. It will rise better if it's in a warm place. After an hour punch down the dough. At this point you can either use the dough or I like to put it in the fridge for the next day. I like to make it a day ahead, otherwise it takes too long to make your pizza after work when you're stomach is grumbling. When you're ready to use, spread the dough on a greased pizza sheet. This is enough dough for one pizza.

*NOTE. Sometimes I add flax (I usually just pour some in, I'll guess it's between 1/4 and 1/2 a cup) to the mixture. If you do this you will want to wait to add all of the flour as you may not need the full cup.

Topping
Be creative

• tomato sauce (I don't really remember how I did this, perhaps I'll do another post when I make another batch)
• 1 orange pepper, chopped
  
• a small onion, chopped
  
• mushrooms, sliced
  
• green olives, sliced
• spinach
• goat cheese

Cover dough with tomato sauce. Saute the onion, pepper and mushrooms and spread over the sauce. Add the olives. Cover with spinach and add goat cheese. Bake at 425 ˚F for ~ 20 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned.

Enjoy!

Preserving health and happiness

First of all, thank you(!) to all you lovely people for the comments and the encouraging emails. It has certainly given me more incentive to get back here and write another post. In fact, the day after writing the last post I spent most of my walk to work thinking about what I would write next. I actually had a great idea, but I had to shuffle it aside this evening....once again, food takes priority. Don't worry though, I will get that other post to you eventually.

What dinner item could have possibly upset my blog plans? It was pizza. I'm sure some of you are groaning, as pizza is generally not overly spectacular, and I think some of you may not be fans of this food item at all. However, I'm going to argue that there are several reasons this pizza was special and worthy of a blog post. First, it was beautiful, look at that lovely spinach green color contrasting so effectively with the blobs of goat cheese and tomato sauce. And can you see the olives underneath? I feel healthy just looking at it. Secondly, it was a fairly unique pizza. It would have been an embarrassment to the likes of Chuck E. Cheese as it did not have layers of gooey goodness. Yes, I do love cheese (I have been known to eat a massive block of Havarti for supper), but it's nice to change things up once in a while. Third, the crust is homemade made from my favorite recipe. It always comes out crispy and just the perfect thickness, so that you don't feel as though you've eaten a loaf of bread by the time supper is over. The last, and most important, reason for the pizza to be distinct was the sauce.

The sauce was also homemade, which I have done on many occasions, but this sauce I made way back in September. No, it was not moldy sauce I found at the back of the fridge, but some I had canned and preserved. When I think of canning, for some reason I picture a turn of the 20th century kitchen with a wood burning stove/oven and a well stocked larder. The process could be considered to be antiquated, especially in a world where all kinds of out of season veggies, fruits and sauces are available year round from any given supermarket. However, I've been hearing from more and more people about their chutney's, pickles or whole tomatoes that they have canned this past fall. You may or may not be surprised to know that several of these people were not of an older generation who were raised on this method of food preservation. It may simply be a reflection of my friend group, but I think it does show a shift in people's priorities towards food with a known origin and composition.

So you see, this pizza wasn't just a yummy meal, but it also represents the way I strive to eat. Fresh, local and homemade. In fact, we gave thanks to our favorite market tomato-man over dinner.

mmmmacaroons

I have a bit of a deadline coming up so I spent most of the day working. Generally, when I have a day filled with work requiring me to sit in front of my computer, I tend to periodically get bored. Today that turned into a slight (this may be an understatement) detour into the world of food blogs. Anyone that knows me will say that I love food. As a result, I find it to be quite a challenge to tear my attention away from something as intriguing as a recipe for caramel corn, that can insight feelings only a teenage love affair could. I may be leading you astray here; it is the recipe that I find so appealing, not the teen-romance. However, like a good novel, I find I can easily let several minutes, then a half hour or an hour just slip by while browsing for new food ideas.

While it was a very successful distraction, it also inspired me to be a little more proactive for my love for food and cooking. If I have this blog, why not include an entry about a delicious treat now and then? I make the rules here, so I say 'let's eat'!

A few months ago my roommate introduced me to the packaged Jennie's Macaroons. They are perhaps the most surprisingly delicious thing I've ever tasted. Ever since I've been on a mission to recreate them. The ingredient list: unsweetened coconut, egg whites and honey. Usually the most simple things are the most challenging to understand. This is my third attempt and I must say it did not quite go according to plan.

Whipping the egg whites is the most crucial step to this process. It is very important bring the froth to a consistency where peaks will form before the sugar (or honey in this case) is added. Then further whipping is required. In fact, it's best to add the honey in small portions, whipping after each addition.

My error occured when I underestimated the amount of coconut I'd need. Of course I ran out, and of course it was 10 pm and my favorite bulk food store was most definitely closed. Not to be dismayed, I consulted with Nigella (thank you Robin) who suggested I add ground almond. Success! My macaroon mixture no longer looked like pancake batter but instead a fluffy little white haystack.

Check out the final result. The true test will be when my roommate tries them. Decision is pending.

Taking the plunge

I'm finally doing it; I'm writing a blog. I've been thinking about doing this for several months now, which seems quite appropriate considering why I've decided to start a blog. The reason I want to write a blog? It all comes down to my lack of motivation for writing. So you can see, since it has taken me months to start this up, I have some room for improvement.

My biggest goal with this blog is to practice. For more 'hands-on' activities, such as knitting, cooking or sports, it's quite apparent that practice makes perfect. I'm not striving for perfection, but a more efficient writing process. I'm hoping this will come in handy over the next eight months while I write my PhD thesis.

I had thought I might write in a journal for practice but, my brother wisely pointed out that I may need a deadline or external motivation. I suspect he's right, so please bear with me.

I'll be writing again soon.