Edible Tulip

Fish Oil

Is this just the grossest thing ever? As a kid, I was given cod liver oil by the teaspoon. I remember it vividly - that awful dead fish smell hovering on the lips all day long. Later it came out in clear capsules and we tried those instead. But by mid-morning recess, if you burped, it was hell.

Last week I went for a massage. I hadn't been since last May and I deserved it after the summer I had (2 moves and a terrible environmental illness from mould). The massage therapist said my body soaked up the oils and lotions she used indicating my body and especially my skin was terribly dehydrated. I could chalk it up to coffee or smoking the odd cigarette or drinking wine with dinner, all elements that dehydrate the system despite the huge amount of water I drink and change those habits, or I could do something like ingest fish oil each morning and see what effect it had on my skin. I opted for the fish oil.

I went to a health food store in Kensington Market that I like and I asked about the various cold fish oils they had. I ended up with a relatively cheap ($15) bottle of this very finest Fish Oil from Norway with a guaranteed lemon-taste. Fish oil is very high in Vitamin D which is important in the fall and winter when we aren't exposed to much natural sunlight; it's also full of omega 3 containing DHA and EPA two essential fatty acids only found in fish that are thought to protect against all sorts of debilitating mental and physical health problems.

The issue? It tastes disgusting. It was warm out of the bottle (refrigerating might help) and it sat all fish smelling on the spoon. I sucked it back but nearly gagged afterward. The mouth of my water bottle smelled so terribly after I drank a litre from it to flush down the oil that I had to throw it out. Apparently you are supposed to add it to salads and mix with foods. I just can't imagine it.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday baby Solenne & Happy 27th little broth'a!

Ethiopian Spice Store

Tucked behind large glass doors on Baldwin Street in the main hub of Kensington Market is a room so full of colour and scent you could be picking over wares in a market in Addis Ababa. The colourful handwoven baskets are used as combination plate-table. The rounded out hollow part is covered in enjera and then various Ethiopian dishes are served on top of the flat bread. People sit at these baskets on low lying wooden stools and use their hands to scoop up the food.

Masks, folk art, animal sculptures and basketry take up the entranceway and then once you are down the stairs you have to manoeuvre between bags of bulk food (couscous, beans, licorice root, etc) View this photo and make your way over to a tall shelving unit that has plastic tupperware containers full of blended spices imported from Ethiopia. Turmeric takes on various hues proof of the authenticity of the spices - they are blends so none can be exactly the same. The curries and the chili spice blends are incredible. They add a profound depth of flavour to dishes. I used them all last fall and winter and I went back yesterday to re-stock. View this photo

The Ethiopian Spice Store is located at 160 Baldwin Street in Kensington Market. Go out on a Sunday and enjoy a car free experience.

Prince Edward County

If you read magazines or newspapers, eat cheese or drink wine, then by now you must have heard of Prince Edward County. It's a region in southwestern Ontario that extends like an island connected to the main land by a cosway at Belleville and Trenton. The main town of Picton is in PEC as well as a number of other towns: Bloomfield, Wellington, Ameliasburgh, Northport, Waupoo, etc. And everyone connected to the world of food in Ontario seems to be joining the exodus from urban areas and landing in PEC - Jamie Kennedy and other well-known chefs, cheese makers, vintners, B & B owners, inn owners, organic farmers, restaurant owners...

TASTE! is the fourth annual celebration of great food and great wine with a focus on the region. It's held on Saturday, October 8th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For a schedule of events and directions go to the Taste! website.

Food Writing

I highly recommend to anyone passionate about food and writing to take the Food Writing class at George Brown. It's taught by a woman named Carol Ferguson, former editor for many years of Canadian Living and Homemakers, and a fire-cracker of knowledge in her own right. She incites passion and excitement in her students and she's also a formidable believer of opportunity. That's what I like about her the most.

As she says, food writing is the most diverse subject on the planet. It draws from religion, culture, history, politics, geography, etc and it's what everyone single person on the planet has in common. They eat.

The classes are intense. Be prepared to work hard, keep your antennae up, be continuously curious, read lots, write lots, and learn tons. And revel in being around others who share your interest. It's the only food writing class, other than informal workshops, in Canada. So sign up for the winter course. Hurry along now.

Smoked Trout and Mango Salad

The other weekend I was on babysitting duty for my two nieces (2 1/2 and 11 months) with my mom. We strapped them into strollers and headed out for the morning, not without incident however. While mom and I stopped for extra large coffees at the Cherry Bomb cafe on Roncesvalles Avenue (mom had been up since 5:30 with the little ones) Kyra ran to the Film Buff for Crunchy Frog icecream - mint icecream with chocolate chunks. It wasn't even 9 a.m. She got hyper and didn't want to be strapped into her stroller because she's such a 'big girl' which inevitably led to us hitting a large curb as I raced across a pedestrian walk and the stroller flipped and she scraped her knees and fell flat on her face. Then of course all she wanted was 'grandma' who was on the other side of the street and long out of sight as she bustled to try to get the baby to sleep. The magic solution was taking my traumatised neice into Scooter Girl, an excellent children's gift store, where she became instantly distracted by toys.

The four of us then moved on to High Park in search of their Saturday morning Organic Farmers Market. It's a small but elaborate set up under a tent on the hill near the restaurant. There are tons of organic fruits and vegetables and, since it's early September, lots of end of summer into early fall produce. I passed on the squashes but we did see some delectable perfectly unripe green mangoes.

Green mangoes make a delicious accompaniment to smoked fish and it is the perfect foil to the late arrival of fall. It makes a great side dish to curried shrimp and rice. This recipe comes from "Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet", the beautifully written and photographed Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid cookbook.

Smoked Fish and Green Mango

2 green mangoes
1 small smoked trout
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves (a bit of mint is encouraged)

Dressing
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced shallots
1 Tbsp minced galangal OR 1 tsp minced ginger with a pinch of grated lemon zest

Peel the mangoes and coarsely grate. Or finely julienne the flesh. Put in a bowl.
Remove and discard the skin and the bones from the fish. Chop into small pieces and add to the mango. Stir in the coriander and set aside.
In another small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing.

Super Sprouts

There's a super way to spice up salads a la "Fresh" style (the old fit for life way) - all those baby greens and steamed arame and grated carrots and beets and crushed cashews and cubed tofu all taste much earthier with a healthy sidekick of sprouts - alfalfa, sunflower, buckwheat, lentil, chickpea, sunflower... I stopped buying alfalfa sprouts years ago from supermarkets because, for the most part, the plastic boxes of sprouts also contained bits of furry mould or brown swamp-dredge-like substances; sprouts need to be eaten as quickly as possible after they are boxed otherwise they take on that old-lettuce-wrapped-in-a-damp-towel smell. So I was thrilled to see the little boxes of Super Sprout packages at the High Park Farmer's Market which is housed under a tent up near the Grenadier Restaurant. Apart from the sprouts, there was lots of fresh organic vegetables, bread from St. John's bakery (which deserves a post all on its own), and lots (View this photo) and lots (View this photo) of elk meat.

The Super Sprouts store is at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor, just south of Honest Eds. It is "Toronto's first indoor organic sprout farm and living foods resource centre" as well as a place to buy sprouting equipment, sprout seeds and seedlings, or boxes of sprouts ready to eat.

The Horn Worm

These little-big guys seem to crawl out of the ethers and land smack on the tomato vine. By the time you notice one, since their camoflauge is surprisingly effective given their size, especially on a cherry tomato plant, the leaves have been munched into oblivion and the stalks will have begun to wilt with tracks like small canals traversing them. The horn worm has five pairs of legs accompanied by a horn on the last segment. Apparently they thrive in hot weather which makes this summer's tomato crop especially vulnerable.