On Learning

I spent last weekend with my friend Rona and looking back, I realized that our weekend had a theme: Learning

I learned about her family and about growing up in London, Ontario over dinner at a Japanese/Korean restaurant. We munched on agedashi - a crisp deep fried tofu appetizer - as she told me about her studies at York University. By the time she started on her zaru soba - cold buckwheat noodles - she had recounted her exploits in Europe, which were spicier than the Korean soup of tofu, kimchi, seafood and vegetables (sundubu) I had ordered so I will mention them here.

Rona and I share a love of scrabble, so a game or two of this fabulous word game was inevitable. Unabashedly, we sat at the kitchen table and started our Friday night word war. Here are two new words I learned: ewer, which is synonymous with jug or pitcher and ovoviviparous, which refers to egg-producing animals. (Did you know that xi and qi are words accepted in scrabble?)

The weekend of learning continued as we cooked together on Saturday night. We discovered that creating flavourful dishes doesn’t have to be complicated. We made a quick appetizer with pita bread and goat’s cheese topped with mesclun greens, grape tomatoes and mango (see recipe below). We paired this wih Chilean chardonnay, a lot of it.

Still at dinner, we learned to appreciate a new kind of pasta called permanente, (we inferred that it came from the word perm, as it permed hair) by cooking it simply: In a bowl we combined chopped capers, kalamata olives, lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, grated garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Then we added the boiled pasta with some of its water. We threw in some watercress and halved grape tomatoes, covered it with plastic wrap for 10 minutes to let the flavours meld. It was simple. It was light. It was good.


The weekend of learning culminated in a celebration of reading and books - Word on the Street. At this book fest, we learned about a few authors and their works as they shared selections from their new novels. We met Jeffrey Rounds, who had written a book called The Honey Locust - about the war in Bosnia, Nino Ricci, whose book The Origin of Species tells the story of a man’s exploration of life and the Galapagos Island, and Jonathan Goldstein, who reinvents the story of creation in his work Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible!. Walking along the different booths and pavilions, we discovered new publishers, browsed at hundreds of books, and got to know other writers. There were also writing classes, workshops and volunteer opportunities to help adult literacy. It was great to see so many people hungry for knowledge and others who want to share it.

When I had the chance to speak briefly with The Origin of the Species author Nino Ricci, I asked him what advice he would give to someone who is thinking of starting to write. In summary his answer was, “Keep at it.” Good advice, which I think could be applied to learning as well. All of us to want to learn. “Keep at it“. When I saw some booths for organizations that help underprivileged children from other parts of the world have access to books and education, I realized that there is one things that binds us human together - our natural thirst for learning. As soon arriving home, I read through the first few pages of Nino Ricci’s book, I learned words that I never knew existed. So whether it be new words or new recipes, let’s keep at it. And share what we know, so others can learn.


Here’s my recipe for the pita bread appetizer Rona and I made last weekend:


4 pita bread
8 tbsp goat’s cheese
2 med. pepperoni, thinly sliced
mesclun greens (mixed greens), 4 handfuls, enough for 4 salad servings
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 cup ripe mango, peeled and cut into ½ cubes
3 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp Olive oil, plus extra for brushing pita
Salt and pepper to taste


1. In a bowl combine mesclun greens, tomatoes, mango and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Brush both sides of pita with olive oil then spread goat cheese. Place on baking sheet.
4. Put pepperoni slices on pita, then a handful of mesclun green mixture.
5. Place pita in 375° F pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove pita from baking sheet and cut into quarters. Serve warm.
　
　

Farmers' Market Inspired Dinner

When I found out a friend was coming for dinner last Saturday,　I started rummaging through recipes for meal ideas.　 But I quickly abandoned this, recalling one time I had committed to a recipe and went to 7 stores looking for panko, a key ingredient in the dish I wanted to make. This time, I opted for a more free-style, rudimentary approach to preparing dinner – hunt and gather my raw materials and see where they would lead me.
Without a list or recipe, I first went to the parking lot of a nearby shopping mall where every Saturday morning it is transformed into a small farmers’ market. I live in Burlington, so the produce sold in this market is all from farms in Halton and Niagara region. There were peaches, corn, beets, peppers, broccoli, melons and array of other fresh colourful harvests. By the end, my bag had been filled with carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and plums. After a quick trip to the supermarket, where I picked up boneless chicken breast on sale ($2.99/lb), I was ready to get in the kitchen to see what to make of all this.

I was happy to be able to incorporate locally grown produce in the meal. I cut the carrots into batonnets to be enjoyed before dinner with crackers and cheese. With some cumin, turmeric, saffron, and cilantro the two heads of cauliflower were made into a spiced cream of cauliflower soup. The potatoes didn’t need much fiddling – cut in half with skin on, parboiled, then thrown in a pan with browned butter and garlic, a great accompaniment for the rosemary encrusted chicken I baked.

Unfortunately, my guest arrived before I was able make dessert . After dinner, the plums, in a variety of colours, smelling sweet and looking so plump were begging to be consumed. I reached for one of the yellow Japanese variety and took one bite. The sweet-tart juices literally squirted and ran down the side of my mouth. “Oh wow”! I thought a quick dessert was in order. I cut up the plums into wedges, heated some butter in a pan and added the plum wedges, followed by a tablespoon of brown sugar and a dash of vanilla. I added a splash or two of Cointreau and let the plums poach in the liquid. Once cooled, served in chilled martini glasses and topped with a scoop of French vanilla ice-cream, this dessert completed a late summer evening meal inspired by local farm produce.

No matter where you are, pick local seasonal produce for your meals. Consult the seasonal produce guide for your province or country. Here’s one for Ontario:
http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/availability.html

Herb-poached Halibut

You know how sometimes you feel you’ve been eating too much junk and heavy food and you crave something light, say, like fish. That’s how I felt yesterday. So I grabbed two fresh halibut fillets from the fish department in my neighbourhood grocery store to make a light Wednesday night meal.

I wanted to keep this dish simple. I had a few leftover herbs in the fridge, so I decided to throw them all in a pan with water. Letting the rosemary, dill, thyme, cilantro and mint infuse the simmering water for half an hour created a waft of soothing gardeny scent that floated all over my kitchen. When the aroma became more intense, I knew it was time to gently slide in the fillets in the court boullion. I cooked the fish at a low simmer – it keeps fish soft and lets the flavour slowly permeate into the flesh.

I served the halibut on a bed of pan-fried sliced zucchini and topped it with a cucumber-tomato salsa. The fish was very delicate in texture and flavour and I could really taste the fine balance of herbs – not one overpowered the others. Not bad for Wednesday!

Healthy Wraps Recipe

Here's the recipe for the healthy wraps that I mentioned in my first blog entry.

Healthy Wraps
yield: 10 wraps

Pack in a lot of vegetables in these wraps. Cut whatever vegetables you have into strips for easy wrapping. Light mayonnaise and mustard can substitute for hummus.
yield: 10 wraps

You’ll need:
1 pkg. whole wheat tortilla
1 head Romaine lettuce,
2 med. carrots, julienne or shredded using a grater
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 med tomato, diced
250 ml hummus
12 slices chicken cold cut
2 cups egg salad, see recipe below
2 cups tuna salad, see recipe below

Spread hummus on the tortilla.
In the middle, put lettuce, carrots, peppers and tomato.
Add the 3 slices of chicken (or egg salad or tuna salad) on top of the vegetables.
Fold side edges of the tortilla toward the center. Then, take the edge close to you and fold it over the filling. Roll up the wrap tightly.
　
Uncomplicated Egg Salad
yield: filling for 4 sandwiches

The secret to this eggs salad is boiling the eggs just until the centre is still soft and bright yellow – about 6 minutes. This makes the salad soft and creamy without having to add a lot of mayonnaise. The best way to break up the boiled egg is to use the big holes of a box grater.

You’ll need:
8 large eggs
6 tsps mayonnaise
2 tsps Dijon or prepared mustard
salt and white pepper to taste

Place eggs in a medium pot. Fill it with water. Bring to boil then simmer for 6 minutes.
Drain the water and soak eggs in cold water for 10 minutes.
Peel eggs and let cool.
Grate each egg using the big holes of a box grater.
In a bowl mix grated eggs, mayonnaise and mustard. Mix gently.
Season with salt and white pepper.
　

Simple Tuna Salad
yield: filling for 4 sandwiches

Use canned albacore tuna for this simple but tasty sandwich filling. If you have any fresh herb like dill or tarragon, chop it up and throw it in with the tuna and mayonnaise.

You’ll need:
2 cans chunk albacore tuna
4 tsp mayonnaise
juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp dill or tarragon, chopped

Squeeze out water from tuna. Place in a bowl and use a fork to break up the pieces.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
　
　
　
　
　

Healthy Wraps for the AIDS Walk for Life

Last Sunday, I did the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life in Toronto with a group of friends and colleagues. We had put together a team and named it after my beagle-Boston terrier mix puppy – Team ALFIE. We had registered our team 3 months prior to the walk, and the weeks leading up to the event were spent recruiting walkers for our team, creating a team poster, soliciting sponsors and asking for pledges on-line, which I thought was a fantastic idea; people from as far away as Japan donated money to our team. I am proud to say that Team ALFIE raised $1,500.

The walk started at 2 p.m., and our group gathered at the corner of Church and Wellesley at 12 p.m. for a meet and greet. From there we made our way to the registration area to drop off our pledges. An official team photo was taken and Alfie had his own “meet-and-sniff” with other dogs. At the main stage a pep talk from a line up of speakers including former Ontario premier Bob Rae and energy and infrastracture minister George Smitherman was somewhat inspiring. This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ Gavin Crawford stirred up the crowd and a fitness instructor from Epic fitness warmed up the walkers. There was a countdown, then we were off!

Knowing that there was going to be a lot of waiting and standing around, I had decided to make a healthy snack for our team. Hey, as team captain, I wanted to make sure that our members were well taken care of lest they faint and not make it to the finish line. Okay, so it’s only 5 k, but except for two of our walkers, all of us were first timers. So the night before I made whole wheat wraps with 3 kinds of filling − tuna salad, eggs salad and cold cut chicken. I made sure I filled them with lots of veggies – chopped romaine lettuce, julienne carrots and red peppers, and diced tomatoes. I also happened to have leftover hummus so I used it to spread on the tortilla. The wraps were great because I was able to fit 15 in my collapsible cooler. I carried it around without a problem, handing one out to whoever got hungry.