The Tomato - July/August 2011

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The flavour of Edmonton’s food scene | July August 2011 | thetomato.ca

Summertime!Easy peasy summer farmers’ market recipes

2010 Frank Award recipient

The culinary wonders of The Ave

97 Street & Jasper Avenue | Reservations 780.423.0969 or hardwaregrill.com

truffled mac ’n cheesewith baby lobster, shiitake mushrooms and white truffle oil — a true original!

Plain: not our strong suit

Lunch served Monday through Friday 11:30 am – 2 pmDinner served Monday through Saturday from 5 pm

Bring a friend to lunch! Visit hardwaregrill.com, sign up for our newsletter and receive a gift certificate

for a second entree of equal or lesser value when you purchase a first.

*Valid only when two or more people are dining. Not redeemable for cash. Not valid in the month of December.

The Tomato | July August 2011 3

editorMary Bailey

[email protected]

publisherBGP Publishing

copy editorAmanda LeNeve

designerBossanova Communications Inc.

contributing writersPeter Bailey Jan Hostyn

Judy Schultz Karen Virag

Debby Waldman

illustration/photographyCurtis Comeau Photography

LS Vors To Be In Pictures

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thetomato.ca

Features

A Recipe for IndulgenceEpic recipes from the 2011 Indulgence event

2010 Frank AwardEdmonton and area Farmers’ Markets

Just a Typical Argentine AsadoA transplanted porteños has a few friends over for a barbecue | Mary Bailey

Flat Out Best Picnic EverDebby Waldman

The Culinary Wonders of the AveDown on 118 Avenue | Karen Virag

Easy Peasy Farmers' Market FoodSummer recipe collection | Mary Bailey

Departments

DishGastronomic happenings around town

DrinksThe campaign for aperitivos | Mary Bailey

Feeding PeopleUp close and personal at the communal table | Jan Hostyn

Beer GuyBeer alfresco | Peter Bailey

Wine Maven

Kitchen SinkWhat’s new and notable

According to JudyThe boss dogs of summer | Judy Schultz

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Contents

Cover photo: Curtis Comeau of Curtis Comeau Photography captures a typical Saturday morning at The Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market

KeepEdmontonOriginal.com Exercise your power as a consumer thoughtfully.

14

162026

Now that’s Italian!Bakery • Deli • Produce

Specializing in European Products

DOWNTOWN • 10878-95 Street SOUTHSIDE • 5028-104A Street780-424-4869 • 9-9 Everyday www.italiancentre.ca 9-9 Everyday • 780-989-4869


Fancy fetching a beer?

Mary Bailey (L) indulges Louise Charron

Top Chef Ben Weir

going coastalIt’s not just about the Okanagan

anymore — or even the Similkameen for that matter. John Schreiner’s BC

Coastal Wine Tour Guide lists the 65 wineries of the lower mainland, the Gulf

Islands and Vancouver Island, from Sooke to Campbell River, organized

by region with good maps and tasting notes. Schreiner tells the entertaining

stories of several intrepid winery pioneers and characters — sparkling

specialists Vigneti Zanatta; pinot noir aficionados Andy and Wendy Johnson’s Cowichan Valley property Averill Creek; and Peter and Jane Ellman’s Muse Winery on

Saanich Peninsula. Also included are cider-makers such Sea Cider Farm in Sannichton

and Cobble Hill’s Merridale; fruit wineries using the luscious berries of the region, and

the artisan sake from Granville Island. The book is a handy and well-researched guide to wandering BC’s coastal back roads from winery to meaderie. John Schreiner’s Coastal

Wine Tour Guide, Whitecap, 224 pages, $19.95.

top chef indeed!Shirley Fortez and Ben Weir were the finalists

in Century Hospitality’s Top Chef competition held this spring. Line cooks and sous chefs

from their restaurants, Century Grill, Hundred, LUX and Delux Burger Bar were encouraged to

enter the black box competition. Contestants had one hour to make their dish, testing

their basic skills, abilities to think on the spot and creativity.

Ben Weir took the top spot, and a whole whack of prizes, for his creative use of B.C.

spot prawns, farmed steelhead salmon, beef short ribs and eggs. Ben will also receive a $2000 raise. “We wanted to encourage the talent in our company,” says exec chef Paul

Shufelt. “It's easy to get bogged down with the day to day monotony of service — this was an

opportunity for our chefs to flex their creative muscles. The top

chef competition has allowed us to further encourage that growth.”

play misty for meWorried about your salad

being deep in dressing? Use the Salad Mister. Easy to use

and to clean, the mister features a well designed filter to keep the unit clog free and misting greens

all summer long. At Dansk, $25.

snip snip goes the parlseyThese attractive little scissors make

cutting herbs, lettuces, or spring onion a breeze. Hang a pair by the door before you go out to the herb patch, and you’ll never be caught

trying to cut the tarragon with the knife on your corkscrew. At Dansk, $15.

indulgence with a purposeLouise Charron of NAIT Awards was presented with a $26,000 cheque from Indulgence, a Canadian of wine and food at Slow Food Edmonton’s Indulgence 11, held June 13, at the Delta Edmonton South. The new $1500 Slow Food Edmonton (SFE) Indulgence annual bursary will be available to NAIT culinary grads to fund a stage at a farm, vineyard or in locovore restaurants and purveyors. The money has come from a decade of the event’s budgets, ably managed by treasurer Joanne Tkachuk; a decade of wineries, farmers and restaurants funding the bursary via registration fees. Its purpose? To encourage culinary alumni’s personal and professional knowledge of farm to table gastronomy, local food systems and value chains. It continues the serious work of Indulgence, which introduces farmers to chefs to grow our unique Northern Alberta gastronomic culture. Mary Bailey, founder of SFE, co-founder and past co-chair of Indulgence, presented the cheque. The event has also raised over $200,000 for the Junior League of Edmonton’s youth and food programs.

beer babesSherbrooke Liquor is producing 12 beers with Saskatoon’s Paddock Wood, celebrating the historical gods and goddesses of beer. “The 2011 Solstice beer is Ragutiene Baltic Porter, featuring the fresh-faced and rosy-cheeked

goddess Ragutiene,” says Jim Pettinger. “The Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe are a pretty diverse crowd, and their collective pantheon of ancient gods covered a lot of territory regarding daily life and the universe beyond.” Sherbroooke plans to release the beers each solstice and equinox with labels at least as fetching as this one, we trust.

gastronomic happenings around town | dish

To B

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6 July August 2011 | The Tomato

Slow Food Edmonton’s Indulgence a Canadian epic of food and wine is about the chefs who want to work with

farmers and the farmers who want to supply them. You’d think

that would be easy, right?

Not so fast. Take the status quo: restaurants require a steady

supply, delivered to their loading dock on a regular basis.

Farmers have seasonal supply and don’t deliver. There’s more:

our cool wet spring has delayed planting of field vegetables

and grains; most of our pulses are shipped overseas to eager

markets and we have a serious labour shortage.

Indulgence is a celebration of those who have met in the middle,

redefining the status quo to develop working relationships with

each other. They have chosen to approach the challenges of our

northern market economy as an opportunity, not a problem.

We salute you, with delicious Canadian estate wine!

indulgence ’11A rec ipe for

Top: Culina’s Brad Lazarenko mixes Culina Salad with Culina house dressing (recipe pg 28), above left: LUX chef Tony Le’s braised Hog Wild Boar bacon with watermelon and honey citrus vinaigrette (recipe pg 28); centre: Domaine Pinnacle ice cider; right: Domaine Pinnacle apple, walnut and pecan croustillant (recipe pg 28). Photos by To Be In Pictures.


Amber Lane Elk meatball stuffed with pecorino, served with soya-red wine reduction and chickpea purée

Wilson and Judy Wu, Wild Tangerine

Our landscape and climate is ideal for suberb protein on the hoof, not just beef, but elk, bison, and wild boar. It takes an intuitive chef like Judy Wu to show us just how accessible these other meats can be.

“This dish also goes extremely well with a lightly-oaked, well-structured red wine such as Note Bene,” says Wilson.

Meatballs

½ c breadcrumbs

2 eggs

2 t salt

1 t sugar

¼ t ground pepper

¼ t cayenne pepper

2 lb (1kg) ground elk meat

1 piece pecorino cheese, approx 3x4, cut into ¼“ cubes

¼ c flour

canola oil for frying

½ c water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 cloves shallot, finely chopped

1 c red wine

1 c veal/beef stock

3 T soy sauce

3 T dark soy sauce

In a large mixing bowl, soak breadcrumbs in ½ c water for 5 minutes. Add eggs, salt, sugar, pepper, cayenne pepper and ground elk meat. Mix all the ingredients until it takes on a doughy texture. Use a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon to portion the meatball then stuff with a cube of pecorino cheese. Handroll meatballs to form even, round ball shapes. Roll each meatball in flour, coating lightly.

Heat up a large deep frying pan and fill with oil so it is about ½” deep. Once the oil reaches 400ºF, place meatballs in the oil and keep turning until they turn crispy. Set aside meatballs on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.

Place 2 T oil into the frying pan. Add garlic, shallot and sauté until soft. Add red wine, stock and soy sauces. Place meatballs back in the pan and reduce the sauce to a gravy-like texture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chickpea Puree2 c chickpeas

2 c whipping cream

sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste

Soak chickpeas in cold water overnight. Place in pan, cover in water and cook until soft. Drain and place chickpeas in a medium sized pot. Add whipping cream ¼ c at a time and stir until it turns into a creamy-textured puree. Season to taste.

To serve:

Place the chickpea purée on a plate and place meatballs on top — this keeps the meatballs from rolling around on the plate. Serve with a green salad and piece of toasted multi-grain bread. Serves 6-8.

Irving’s Pork Scrapple

Andrew Cowan, Hundred bar + kitchen

1 kg pork shoulder or pork jowls

1 T mustard seeds

1 T coriander seeds

1 sprig thyme and rosemary, leaves only, finely chopped

1 T whole cardamom

1 carrot, roughly chopped

3 ribs celery, rough chopped

1 large white or yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 c yellow cornmeal

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Place pork shoulder with all the ingredients except cornmeal into a pot with cover, or a slow cooker. Slowly braise until pork is fork tender, about 3 hours, internal temperature should be 170ºF. Shred the meat and set aside.

Strain the stock and reduce by half. Combine cornmeal and meat and cook until cornmeal is thick, about 20 minutes. The cornmeal should be smooth, not grainy. Cool enough to handle the cornmeal mixture. Wrap in plastic wrap to form a tube and refrigerate overnight. Cut into coins and fry until golden.

Please see “Indulgence” on page 11

Japanese-style barbequed Spring Creek Ranch beef short rib in Sunomono broth with Alberta honey glaze

Shane Chartrand, L2 Fantasyland Hotel

Short rib4 lbs Spring Creek Ranch boneless short rib

½ c miso paste*

1 clove garlic, crushed

fresh cracked pepper to taste

4 c black tea, chilled

4 c gluten-free soy sauce

1 c mirin

Trim top fat from short rib. Season with fresh pepper (miso is salty). Pan sear meat until the top is crusty and golden. Rub the garlic and miso paste into the short rib on all the sides. Refrigerate overnight (max 12 hours) checking to make sure the miso is penetrating the meat.

Mix tea, soy sauce and mirin together and pour over meat. Before putting in oven, place a cast iron skillet on top of the meat to make sure the meat stays flat.

Cook at 280ºF for about 2 ½ hours or until fork tender. Cut into even squares.

Sunomono Broth2 T mirin

1 t sugar

1 T sake

½ c rice vinegar

½ c gluten-free soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together. Taste for balance, then chill.

Honey Glaze½ c local honey

1 knob fresh ginger

2 stalks lemon grass

1 T water

Open the lemon grass and remove the fragrant middle. Chop fine. Clean the ginger and shave. Mix all ingredients into the honey. Let set for 1 hour then strain.

To serve:

Drop a nice square piece of short rib in a small bowl. Brush glaze over meat and add broth. Finish with bacon shard, if desired, thin-shaved raw asparagus and radish.

Serves 6-8 tapas-style.

* We like Shin-mei-do Miso from Denman Island BC. ed.


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The best way to enjoy our wines is to allow them the opportunity to entice

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drinks | mary bailey

The campaign for aperitivos

Campari the ultra-bitter, garishly red coloured,

medicinal drink is an acquired taste — for some. Others, like yours truly, hunt it down across the city. Why? It’s so refreshing!

Mixing with citrus, especially grapefruit, takes the edge off

the medicinal bitterness mellowing the spirit.

the february My favourite Campari aperitivo is also the simplest. It’s a tonic in early spring when the luscious Texas ruby grapefruits hit the market — but as long as you can find good fresh grapefruit, keep on making this deliciously refreshing drink. Look for large, heavy grapefruits — heavy being the operative word — they are the juiciest.

1 juicy, ruby red grapefruit

½ c Campari

Juice the grapefruit, breaking the pulp into small pieces. Pour juice, and pulp, over rocks glass filled with ice. Add Campari and stir.

Makes two drinks.

roman dawn Campari with crushed tangerines, cane sugar and raspberries. By Joe Badali.

1½ oz Campari

1 whole, small tangerine chopped

7 raspberries

½ oz cane syrup

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and muddle. Fill the shaker with ice and add Campari. Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a tangerine slice.

Aperol is made from the infusion of over 30 aromatic herbs, sweet orange peel and spices. Sweeter and slightly

less bitter than its companion Campari, it too marries well with

citrus, particularly mandarin or tangerine. It’s also fairly low in alcohol (11 per cent) which makes it a wise choice before

dinner. We fell in love with Aperol on a recent trip to the Veneto where Aperol Spritz

were as ubiquitous as Vespa scooters.

Call it cinq a sept, or the cocktail hour – it’s the perfect time to have an aperitivo, Italian for drinks after work.

It’s the time to shift gears, by marking the end of work and the start of the evening. The ideal drink to have is an aperitivo, lighter in alcohol, often with a bit of sparkle.

Sure, a rye and coke or a Caesar could suffice. But why not have a drink especially built for this purpose? Aromatised wines were first developed in northern Italy. Distillation, followed by the infusion of herbs,

spices and fruit created an entirely new category of drinks and a brand new way of looking at the after-work drink.

They were sweet and bitter, a combination to make the taste buds sing. Now, we can enjoy St Germain, naturally flavoured with eldeflower, the slightly sweet/slightly bitter orange-based Aperol and the classic Campari.

Let’s start a campaign, a campaign for aperitivos. Start by trying one of these delicious aperitivos.


drinks | mary bailey

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aperol spritz

1½ oz Aperol

2 oz Ruggieri Prosecco (or any good quality sparkling wine)

splash soda

In a rocks glass or wine glass filled with ice, slowly pour the prosecco followed by the Aperol and soda. Carve a large piece of orange rind over and twist while dropping into the glass to release the flavourful oils. Follow with a slice of orange, if desired.

nicli negroniNicli Antica, a newish pizzeria in Vancouver’s Gastown, not only makes deliciously authentic Napoli pizza, but they have also created a smart cocktail list — seasonal, modern, filled with unique drinks and clever variations on the theme.

Their version of a Negroni (the classic is gin, red vermouth and Campari in equal measure) uses Campari, Aperol and an artisan vermouth. Carpano Antica Formula, which came in what looked like a brown apothecary bottle, added an earthy chinotto-type note to the drink. We’ve replaced the not-able-to-buy-in-Alberta vermouth with Nardini Amaro and it’s a fine substitution, if we say so ourselves.

1 part Aperol

1 part Campari

1 part Plymouth gin

1 part Nardini Amaro

orange twist

Build over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a thick slice of fresh orange.

St. Germain is flavoured with hand-picked elderflower which gives it a mysterious flavour; slightly citrus, pear and spice, somewhat undefineable. Try it on the rocks or as an aperitif.

The classic aperitif is prosecco or champagne and St. Germain

with a splash of soda. It’s also delicious when it plays a herbaceous supporting role,

such as in a gin and tonic or a mojito.

st. germain mojito

2 parts white rum

1 part St. Germain

1 part fresh squeezed lime juice

10 fresh mint leaves

club soda (optional)

Muddle mint in a tall Collins glass. Add other ingredients. Half fill with crushed ice and stir; fill to brim with more crushed ice and stir again.

st. germain gin and tonic

2 parts Victoria gin

1 part St. Germain

¼ part Rose’s cordial

juice of one lime

splash Q tonic (other tonics will be too sweet)

Build over ice in a tall glass and garnish with a quarter lime.

elderflower blossom

3 parts Belvoir Elderflower Cordial

1 part St. Germain

lime zest

Pour Belvoir Elderflower slowly over ice in a pretty glass, add St. Germain and stir gently. Squeeze lime zest over and drop into the glass. Variation: use Belvoir Raspberry Lemonade instead of Elderflower Cordial.

moonlit martiniTarquin Melnyk at The Manor Café is an inventive mixologist. He calls the Moonlit Martini a combined creative effort between himself and one of their servers, Clara Song.

1 part Aqua Luca Cachaca

1 part St. Germain

1 part hibiscus simple syrup (Tarquin purchases the hibiscus flower dry and boils it in the sugar syrup for a 1/2 hour for the desired flavour and colour desired — a stunning red glow)

Juice of 1/2 lime

Shake then double strain through a tea strainer to remove pulp, impurities and ice bits.

Garnish with candied hibiscus flower, which is a pleasant by-product of making the simple syrup. Bake the sugar-drenched flower in the oven to dry it out after making syrup. Finally, add three drops of orange bitters to the drink and serve. Aperol can be used if you don't have a concentrated orange bitter.

Aperol Spritz


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feeding people | jan hostyn

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Up close and personal at the communal tableMy coffee cup — the one that had just been filled to the brim and the one that I had waited forever for — started shaking.

Not the usual caffeine-deprived, I-need-a-sip-now, jittery-type trembling, but a full blown tidal-wave-type jolting. So much so, in fact, that the immensely precious liquid was escaping from the confines of my mug. And the culprit? A leg. A very jittery leg, actually, attached to a very jittery person, one who just happened to be sitting right beside me. Oh, and the best part? I didn’t even have the slightest clue who that person was.

So this was what communal tables were all about.

My day had started out innocently enough. As usual, I got up, and when I get up, my stomach typically insists that I feed it. This particular day was no exception. Only I wasn’t at home, which meant I didn’t have easy access to my trusty toaster or any other essential breakfast-y-type appliance. So, with my family in tow, I decided to venture out. We ended up at a trendy little diner — along with what seemed like every other hungry breakfast-eater in that unfamiliar city.

We joined the long line-up, subjecting our motley assortment of less-than-happy parts to the nasty elements, and waited. When a table — or rather, a spot at the communal table — finally became available, we took it. Never having partaken in the whole communal table thing before, I brushed aside the distressed glares of my usually-lovely children and squashed the niggly “don’t do this” plea that my brain was desperately trying to relay to me.

Our communal dining experience had been launched.

A flock of full stomachs must have just vacated the premises because, as we approached the cheery-looking sixteen-seat entity, it looked more empty than full. Our designated seats were kind of in the middle, with nobody seated immediately next to us. So far, so good.

Shortly after settling in, though, the stool next to one of my daughters was suddenly sporting a person and thus began our game of musical chairs. But it was all for naught. After a few stool swaps, and just when we were all feeling somewhat secure and unthreatened again, the seats on the other side of us were unexpectedly occupied by

living, breathing persons. Persons who laughed,

talked and, according to some of us, invaded our space bubbles.

A bit of shifting and careful body

placement made the situation tolerable —

evidently if you angled your body just so, with your

shoulders doing a 45 degree twist-type manoeuvre, you could almost pretend there wasn’t someone planted right next to you. Not great, but tolerable.

Breakfast was ordered, coffee and juice were delivered and then it began — the whole twitching leg, sloshing coffee thing. Glances of wide-eyed disconcertion were exchanged amongst our little group and then, just as I was about to execute a quick swivel to quietly assess the situation, the noise started. It bore a slight resemblance to talking, but it was a faster, louder, staccato-type blast.

A full-scale rotation brought me face-to-cell phone with the person attached to the leg. My eyes valiantly attempted to make contact with the leg person, but to no avail. He was fully immersed in the moment and it appeared nothing or no one would be


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Up close and personal at the communal tablepermitted to intrude. And his dining partner, seated obliviously across the table from him, didn’t seem to think anything was amiss. Evidently eating off of a shaking table with a jittery partner who completely ignored you while he shouted into his cell phone was par for the course.

Meanwhile, another pair of diners was seated on the other side of us. So much for the whole musical chairs thing. Now we were all seated next to strangers anyway.

The new strangers weren’t really strange, mind you, they just weren’t friendly. They didn’t appear to believe in making eye contact, not even to acknowledge us, and they certainly didn’t smile. In fact, they would have made their moms proud with their tenacious adherence to the whole “no talking to strangers” mantra. It was a rule they couldn’t seem to break, not even when their toast demanded to be topped with a healthy dollop of jam and the sought-after jam happened to be sitting perkily in a basket right next to the jittery leg person, just out of their reach. So, instead of politely turning towards us and asking us to pass the basket, the lean-and-reach manoeuvre was employed. And that reach went right over two of our plates, with a flopsy sleeve coming dangerously close to parking itself right on top of my lovely pile of hash browns and ketchup.

Meanwhile, on the other side of us, jittery leg person was still jittering and shrieking into his cell phone. Only now, a bit of variety had been thrown into the loop — his massive plate of pancakes had arrived and now he was quaking, shouting and eating, all at the same time.

So, yes, my first foray into the communal table phenomenon was definitely memorable. It wasn’t exactly as addictive as that wobbly cup of coffee, though.

Jan Hostyn is still mustering up the courage to tackle another communal table.

Please see “Indulgence” on page 25

IndulgenceContinued from page 7

Pilatus Farms bison brisket on blueberry scone with curried slaw

Paul Campbell, Café de Ville

Why don’t we eat more brisket? Lean, flavourful, inexpensive, simple to cook as long as the method is low and slow with moisture, even more important when the brisket in question is bison. Don’t let the lengthy list of ingredients in this recipe scare you off, it’s easy to put together, and most of the time spent is in the smoker or the oven. This versatile recipe will yield a lovely brisket that can be eaten hot or cold, at a family reunion, on a hike or at a picnic.

1 bison brisket

Mop4 c beef broth

2 bay leaves

1 t dried oregano

2 T butter

¼ c chopped onion

¼ c chopped celery

¼ c chopped green pepper

¼ c minced garlic

2 T dry rub (recipe follows)

½ t dry mustard

½ t salt

½ t ground white pepper

½ t ground black pepper

¼ t cayenne

zest of 2 lemons, grated

juice of 2 lemons

2 T soy sauce

2 T white wine vinegar

1 T olive oil

1 T sesame oil

1 lb sliced bacon small dice

Bring the beef broth, bay leaves and oregano to a simmer. In a large pan, melt the butter and sauté the onion, celery, green pepper garlic, dry rub, mustard, salt, peppers and cayenne for about 5 minutes. When the onion has softened, add the mix to the broth along with the zest and juice of lemon, soy sauce, vinegar and oils. Stir to mix well. Fry the bacon until soft and starting to crisp, and add the bacon

and the drippings to the broth mixture. Simmer for 1 hour or until reduced by 1/4.

Rub¼ c salt

2½ c brown sugar

2 T paprika

2 t dry mustard

2 t garlic powder

2 t onion powder

1½ t dried basil

1 t ground bay leaves

¾ t ground coriander

¾ t dried thyme

¾ t ground black pepper

¾ t ground white pepper

pinch ground cumin

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl then generously coat one brisket. Wrap brisket in plastic wrap and leave in refrigerator overnight. Place brisket in smoker and smoke for about one hour (more if you desire a smokier flavored end product). If you don't have a smoker, the brisket can be rubbed with liquid smoke (the result won’t be quite the same).

Wrap brisket in foil with two cups mop (or place brisket in a roaster with a tight fitting lid and baste every 1/2 hour with mop), and cook brisket at 200-225ºF until the interior temperature of the thickest part of the brisket registers 185ºF.


The Tomato’s Annual Award for Exemplary Contribution to Edmonton's Culinary Life



2010 Recipient: Edmonton and area Farmers’ Markets

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The Tomato’s Frank Award honours the person, place, or thing that has most contributed to culinary life in Edmonton in the past year: farmer, rancher, chef, restaurateur, market/grocer, scientist, food, or dish. The award is named for Frank Spinelli, who built a legacy in the grocery business, now carried on by his daughter Teresa. We applaud his vision, tenacity, perseverance, and sense of community and look for these qualities in Frank Award nominees.

2010 Recipient: Edmonton and area Farmers’ MarketsEvery great city has farmers’ markets — they act as a vehicle for farmers to reach their customers in the most direct way possible, and as a way for urban to explore rural.

Some of Edmonton’s markets are well established and successful — so much so that we grumble about crowds, and not being able to get our shopping done speedily. Some are fledglings, and need nurturing in the form of more vendors and lots more customers. Some are inside and cosy; some are outside and fall victim to bad weather; some are a bit of both.

The variety is why they are so wonderful — each provides a microcosm of its neighbourhood, a reality check on where we are right now. For customers, weekly markets provide fresh vegetables and meats, time to chat with our regular merchants, to buy bedding plants, to people watch, to wander. For vendors it’s an opportunity to learn customer service, and a lesson in basic commerce — what sells, what doesn’t, and at what price.

We salute Edmonton and area farmers markets, and marvel at our great luck in having them as part of our urban fabric.

2009 Frank Award recipientsShared by Monique Nutter of the Greater Edmonton Foundation (GEA) and Dieter Kuhlman, founder of Kuhlmann’s Market Gardens, for bringing the issue of urban farmland into the fore and onto Edmonton’s Municipal Development Plan.

2008 inaugural Frank Award recipientChef Simon Smotkowicz executive chef, Shaw Conference Centre and president, Canadian Culinary Federation Edmonton for the High School Culinary Challenge, encouraging high school students to pursue careers in the culinary arts.

We salute current and past winners for their dedication, vision and sense of community.

2010 Edmonton and area Farmers’ MarketsWe can now shop at a market from Wednesday to Sunday

Alberta Avenue Alberta Avenue Community Centre 10150 80 Street Thursdays, 5pm - 8pm.

Castledowns (Renegades) Castledowns, Moose Lodge 10811 146 Avenue Wednesdays 4pm - 8pm

Old Strathcona 10310 83 AvenueSaturdays, 8pm - 3pm.

Salisbury, Salisbury GreenhouseSherwood Park, Thursdays 4:30pm - 8pm

Seasonal markets May to October (exact dates vary with market)

Beverly Towne 40 Street and 118 Avenue (south of Cenotaph Park) Tuesdays, 4pm - 8pm

CallingwoodCallingwood Mall, 69 Avenue and 178 Street. Wednesdays, 2pm - 7pm Sundays 10am - 3pm

City Market Downtown North of Jasper Avenue on 104 Street Saturdays 9am - 3pm

Southwest EdmontonLillian Osborne High School parking lot, 2019 Leger Road Wednesdays, 5:30pm - 8pm

St AlbertSt Anne St and St Thomas Streets Saturdays, 10am - 3pm

For a list of all Alberta markets, visit albertamarkets.com


Buenos Aires is a glorious city — great architecure,

beautiful people (porteños, people of the port), hip bars

and cafes. During a recent visit with friends, we enjoyed

amazing steak at La Cabrera, topnotch contemporary

cuisine at the Faena; chorizo, lomita, empanadas at the

San Telmo market, dulce de leche and many glasses of

champaña and Malbec.

What we didn’t have, however, was asado, Argentinian

barbecue. We didn’t even go to a restaurant that

specialized in asado. Now, I’m glad we didn’t because, as

we are going to discover, asado is best practiced among

friends, unless of course Frances Mallmann is cooking.

More on him later.

On the flight home I met Adrian Baranchuk and his family,

returning from Christmas holidays with the relatives.

Adrian is an associate professor of medicine at Queen's

University and a connoisseur of asado.

Just a typicalArgentine asado

A transplanted porteños has a few friends over for a barbecue.

Mary Bailey


We talked for several hours about what cut to use where; the preparation of offal; the proper height of the parrilla grill; why Argentinians eat their beef well done.

“Would you be interested in walking me through an asado step by step, maybe sharing some recipes?” I asked. Yes, he would. In fact, he was having a large contingent at his home for an asado following a conference he was organizing in June.

“There will be over 20 people and I will prepare a true asado,” he said.

Over the next couple of months I started to discover how seriously Argentine people take their barbecue. In Laura Catena’s book, Vino Argentino An insider’s guide to the wines and wine country of Argentina, Dr. Catena (of Catena Zapata, one of the country’s most innovative wineries) writes several pages about asado, half of which are devoted to how to set up the grill.

The asado is all about wood — hardwood — and cooking over it. There are seven ways to do this, according to Frances Mallmann, Argentina’s Joel Robuchon. Chef Mallman describes them early in his book, Seven fires, grilling the Argentine way: the parrilla (the grate that goes over the fire); the chapa (a flat piece of cast iron, or to describe any cooking done on a flat surface over a fire); the infiernillo (two fires with a cooking level in between used for large groups — the large rotating thing often seen in restaurants that specialize in grilling); the horno de barro (a wood fired oven); the caldero (a big iron pot); rescoldo (cooking in embers and coals); and the asador method (cooking a whole animal in front of, or beside a fire, generally lamb, a reminder of Basque heritage).

Clearly, firing up the Fiesta isn’t really what it’s about.

Back to the good doctor and his get-together.

“I have an open bodega — go into my cellar, pick the wine you want, we drink it, then someone else goes back for another,” Adrian says. “This isn’t an asado thing, it’s my thing. I have nice wine from all over the world and this is my chance to share it.”

“That night was mostly Malbec, I kissed them goodbye. One of the standouts was a 2003 Rutini. Someone brought a Tannat from Uruguay — it was good.“

This guy knows how to throw a party.

“First we served picada (platters of cold cuts, cheeses, hot peppers, pate, chips) for everyone to enjoy, as it was lunchtime and people were hungry.”

Adrian explains the cuts of meat that every parallada (mixed grill) must have: beef kidneys, beef sweetbreads, tira de asado (beef ribs cut across the bone, also called Miami ribs), chinchulin (tripe).

“It cannot be a parallada without chorizo and morcilla,” says Adrian.

“Then we have pork ribs, flank, then pork tenderloin, and I did a chicken because someone wanted chicken. We find here that people like their meat less well done so I cooked the flank to medium rare only. Another departure from tradition, for practical reasons I used a gas grill. My friends from Argentina said they couldn’t tell.”

How to make asado: Adrian’s directions for preparing the organ meats and the order of service

“Beef kidney: the whole piece spends the night in white vinegar with the connection facing down.

“Beef sweetbreads: the whole piece in lemon and salt the night before. Make sure you are buying salivary glands not thymus; it tastes better. Not expensive if you can find them; about two pounds for $5.

“Chinchulin: small bowel. They are crispy on the outside chewy on the inside. A parallada has to have chinchulin. You must boil in milk for about 10 minutes to soften external layer. Add salt and pepper, cool milk, drain.

“Put the whole thing on the fire or cut in 10 cm pieces. Buy from a good butcher, someone you trust, $5 for 10 pounds. Tripa gorda is what we call the large bowel. It’s not as popular or sophisticated — it has lots of fat, and becomes very chewy.

“The sweetbreads go to the barbecue first. They need an hour and a half cooking at a low temperature. Cook the piece whole, then cut into ½ cm slices, place on higher heat for a few seconds, splash with lemon and serve burning hot. Organs should be eaten hot. In restaurants they are served on mini braziers, over coals.

“Kidneys: Wash the kidneys with cold water to remove all the vinegar. Cook low and slow, they will change colour to a brown grey when done. Cut in two halves to remove all the extra tissue. Then cut in ½ cm slice and barbecue until crisp. Serve in a white wine butter and lemon juice.

“An Argentinian eater will expect chorizo and morcilla sillia (blood sausage). Cut in slices on a toasted baguette, it becomes a choripan, the national sandwich. In Canada, Maple Leaf brand is quite good, but a bit too lean.

Sweetbreads are still cooking.

“Tira de asado: until the Pig ‘n Olive (a Kingston Ont. specialty butcher) opened, I had to go to Toronto to get typical Argentine cuts, the Latin community is larger there. The ribs are cut across the bone, and the meat is more tender and flavourful. Cook bone side down, on an upper rack, then 30 minutes on a lower rack to crisp up. Season with sea salt only. My theory on why they are called Miami ribs: the Argentine actor Jorge Porcel opened restaurants in Miami; he was the first ambassador of Argentine cuisine.

“Pork back ribs: sea salt only, cook until tender but still red, then five minutes on other side to keep them juicy and tender.

Sweetbreads are ready.

“Flank: grill a whole beef flank medium rare, then cut in long thin slices across the grain.

“Pork tenderloin: cook it slow from both sides, sea salt only. I always serve it last. Whatever comes after the pork will not seem as tender and tasty.”

The asado menuMains• Picada• Chinchulin• Sausage: chorizo and morcilla sillia• Organ meats: kidney and sweetbreads• Beef ribs• Pork ribs• Flank steak • Pork tenderloin

Sides• Toasted baguette• Lettuce and tomato salad with white onions,

the salad of Argentina.• A potato and egg salad made with

salt, lemon and olive oil is typical.• Typical for dessert would have been flan,

or dulce de leche crepes (el panquehe) but we served ice cream and fruit.

“ Nobody waits, we eat when the food comes off the grill.”

Adrian Baranchuk


of the more original gifts my husband and I received for our wedding was a large wicker picnic basket. Inside were melamine dinner plates with matching flatware, a checkered tablecloth with matching napkins, plastic wine goblets, and a bright red corkscrew.

I hadn’t entertained the possibility of a picnic since my then-mother-in-law-to-be hosted a wienie roast in my honor at Laurier Park. In December. I think she was hoping her soirée would discourage me from marrying into the family, but all it did was discourage me from wanting to have a picnic in December or, for that matter, any month.

To be fair, I hadn’t been a fan of picnics since I was seven and my mom accidentally spilled Coke on my dad’s lap during our first and only family picnic. (We were en route to an outdoor concert two hours from home and picnicking was cheaper than stopping at a restaurant.) Mom laughed at her clumsiness. Dad had a tantrum (another first). My sister and I were sure the marriage was going to break up right then and there.

The wedding gift didn’t erase the trauma of picnics past, but it made the idea seem appealing. It was a prompt, a suggestion, or quite possibly an order: go forth and dine outside!

But for various reasons, inertia, a lack of culinary imagination, a

foreshortened picnic season and fear of sharing food with insects, my husband and I put the basket in a storage closet and forgot about it.

Then we had children, and once they graduated to solid foods and we spent one too many mealtimes watching them pitch hot dogs and macaroni around the dining room, it occurred to us there would be less wear-and-tear on the house if we ate outside.

We left the corkscrew and wine goblets at home and filled the picnic hamper with Butterball turkey dogs, buns, pasta salad, chips, condiments, and s’more fixings. Then we drove to the nearest park, for what would be the first of many family outings.

I confess, I felt guilty using our gourmet basket for such pedestrian fare. But our kids were far more likely to eat turkey dogs and chips than the more sophisticated menu for which the basket seemed to have been designed. Also — and this is key — when it comes to picnics, I believe the only food-related rules are:

• Don’tleavemayonnaise-basedsalads in the sun.

• Don’tputyourblanketontopofa nest of fire ants.

• Cleanupyourmessbeforeheading home.

As my foodie friend Ellen said when I asked her for picnic menu advice, “the sky’s the limit.”

Admittedly, I’ve never managed to rise much above the sidewalk, at least here in Edmonton (more on that later), but I’m ahead of my friend Sue.

Sue is a gourmet. She loves to shop for, prepare, and eat interesting and impressive food. She turned me on to one of my favorite sandwiches — a croissant stuffed with chutney and five-year-old cheddar. But when it comes to picnics, she’s pathetic. And she knows it. When I received her response to my email query about picnic ideas, I didn’t have to read between the lines to pick up on her embarrassment:

“We have an annual picnic, but it involves our yearly bucket of KFC,” she admitted. “There is a ban on KFC all other times of year, except when it hits plus-20 and is sunny — then we head to Laurier Park, eat greasy chicken and play bocce ball. We pay for this with indigestion afterwards, but it is a tradition, so we must conform.”

I liked Ellen’s picnic food suggestions better: noodle salads, rice salads, cold cuts, salted caramel brownies. The dish that sounded best was new to me: pan bagnat. According to Ellen, you remove the “centre fluff” from a loaf of French bread, and fill it with “roasted pepper, tuna, all those salad nicoise things, and some kind of garlicky vinaigrette. Then you wrap it tightly and put it under a brick so it gets smooshed and all the flavors meld.”

I researched recipes and

discovered that a pan bagnat is a

“soaked” sandwich — the soaking

comes from the liquids in the

ingredients, which leach into the

bread when it’s smooshed. Pan

bagnat got its start as a sandwich

for fishermen, who used anchovies

because they were cheap and

plentiful.

Traditional recipes call for hard-

boiled eggs, beans, and whole

anchovies, which I ruled out

because various family members

won’t eat them (though in a bow

to tradition, I used anchovy paste).

One website claimed you’re to use

only fresh vegetables, which meant

no roasted peppers. But I was

wedded to the roasted pepper idea,

so I made up my own recipe.

I hollowed out a loaf of fresh

French bread (not a baguette) from

Safeway, into which I emptied two

tins of albacore tuna, minus the

water. (If you use tuna packed in

oil, don’t drain it: the oil will help

flavor the sandwich.) I added a

layer of roasted peppers, thinly

sliced purple onion, chopped

kalamata olives, sliced plum

tomatoes, a thin strip of anchovy

paste and a handful of arugula.

I topped that with olive oil, a bit

of balsamic vinegar (most recipes

called for red wine vinegar, but

I used what I had), salt, pepper,

and garlic powder. (Alternatively,

you can rub the bread cavity with

raw garlic before adding the other

ingredients.)

Flat out picnic ever.bestOne

Debby Waldman


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After covering the sandwich in plastic wrap, I put it under the heaviest baking stone I own. Twenty minutes later the loaf was thoroughly smooshed — it was about the width of a couple copies of The Tomato. It was also delicious, and I imagine it would have tasted even better if I’d left it longer.

The pan bagnat reminded me of a picnic our family had with friends in Burgundy, France, in the summer of 2009. We went to an outdoor market and bought three loaves of bread, two rotisserie chickens, a half dozen varieties of cheese, four different kinds of olives, and a couple of bottles of pop. We had no blankets — we sat on the grass and used the food wrap as serving dishes. Our hosts had a French-made folding knife, an Opinel, which we used to cut everything and which impressed me so much I bought one after lunch.

What I remember about that picnic, though, is how little thought went into it, and how perfect it was. Which, really, is as it should be when it comes to a picnic: pack what you and your family like to eat, find a spot that makes you happy, spread out the food, and enjoy. (Just avoid the fire ants. And don’t forget to clean up after.)

Debby Waldman is an Edmonton writer. Orca will publish her books Room Enough for Daisy (written with Rita Feutl) and Addy’s Race in the fall.

pan bagnatTreestone’s small rustic loaf are ideal and will feed two handily. Oil packed tuna gives the best flavour.

1 small rustic loaf

2 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 can tuna (preferably packed in olive oil), loosened to make it easy to spread

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

2-3 slices white anchovy, sliced thin (or use anchovy paste)

2 t capers, drained

1 c or so, roasted red pepper (canned or homemade)

½ c Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1 large boiled egg, sliced

sea salt and freshly-cracked pepper

Heat garlic clove in oil until warm, simmer for about 5 minutes then take out clove. Cool oil and reserve. Cut loaf in half and remove most of the middle (reserve to make bread crumbs, or crouton) leaving ½-inch-thick sides. Brush insides with the garlic oil. Spread tuna evenly over bottom half. Top with onion, and peppers, press down. Continue layering anchovy slices, egg, capers and olives. Season. Top with remaining bread half and press together firmly.

Wrap bread tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours or overnight. Cut in half or threes depending on appetite. Let come to room temperature before eating.

Serve with juicy tomatoes and a glass of rosé.

picnic ever.


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beer guy | peter bailey

There are two seasons in Canada: winter and patio. Or so say some beer ads.

In Edmonton, the patio season is a short and fleeting thing that burns brightly and then is gone. The season’s brevity makes it all the more precious to be savoured and treasured. I sincerely hope you are reading this on a sun-dappled patio. If not, I urge you to resolve this situation forthwith.

Edmontonians embrace patio season at the slightest provocation. Every winter seems longer than the last and, by God, it is almost 9 degrees today and that patio had better be open. My advice for early season patio-goers: if the Oilers are still playing hockey, it is too early; spring has not yet come.

Like hockey, open-air beer is a Canadian staple, but it wasn’t long ago that it was a forbidden act. Indeed, with apologies to Gordon Lightfoot, there was a time in this fair land when the beer did not run — not indoors, not outdoors. Prohibition began in Canada on July 1, 1916 (Happy Canada Day! Not.) and ended in Alberta in 1924.

The prohibitionists lost the battle but in some ways won the war. In the decades following prohibition, the main concern with liquor sales was control. The goal was to make the new legal drinking establishments as unfriendly and inhospitable as possible. Germany has its festive beer halls and gardens, Britain its cozy pubs, and America its friendly neighbourhood taverns. Canada? We gave the world the grim beer parlour, or more accurately “beverage room.” Only draft beer was allowed. No standing. No food. No entertainment. No darts. No advertising. No radio or TV. No dancing, I presume. No fun, certainly. Of course, absolutely verboten was drinking outdoors: someone might see drinkers enjoying themselves!

Like Alberta politics, liquor laws changed slowly. Licensed dining lounges serving mixed drinks were approved in 1958. The drinking

Beer Alfrescoage was dropped to 18 from 21 in 1971. By the 1980s, when I went to university, things were loosening up. But it was easy to experience the old days of beer at the classic beer barn, the Strathcona Hotel. During those halcyon college days, my own love affair with alfresco drinking began, reading about Fitzgerald, Hemingway and the rest of the Lost Generation hanging about the open-air terraces of the Paris cafés in the 1920s. But in the Edmonton of the day it was difficult to pretend one was drinking a pression (draft) Kronenbourg at Le Dôme on the Left Bank.

Drinking laws changed as Canada and Alberta changed, as we opened up to the world. For the patio imbibing of today, we owe a tip of the beret to Alberta’s Francophone community. Franco-Albertans have held differing views on alcohol over the years. St. Albert, historically a Francophone community, was none too pleased with prohibition, seeing it as an imposition by their Anglophone neighbours. Founded in 1929, St. Albert’s Bruin Inn was a social hub for the Edmonton area for decades, as St. Albert was exempt from the law which made it illegal for men and women to drink together (only quashed in 1967). My mother-in-law attended the U of A in the early 1950s and remembers well the trips out to the Bruin Inn for a tipple or two.

But it may be Ernst Eder, a French émigré from Alsace, who we have to thank for liberalized outdoor drinking laws. Eder came to Edmonton in 1974 and founded La Bohème restaurant and B&B. Never a fan of red tape, Eder says that in the late 1980s liquor inspectors threatened to throw him in jail for serving beer on his outdoor patio. He protested and eventually received permission, opening the way for alfresco quaffing throughout Alberta.

True story? Isn’t it pretty to think so? Regardless, next time you are enjoying a cold beer on an Edmonton patio, why not raise your glass to Ernst in thanks. Salut!


beer guy | peter bailey OPEN MAY 21 TO THANKSGIVING WEEKEND.

Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET)

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A pick of five great local patios and a beer to enjoy on them.

Fairmont Hotel Macdonald Mill St. Organic LagerThe Fairmont to visitors, the Mac to locals, the grand patio off the Confederation Lounge might be the best in the city with its spectacular view of the river valley. On tap is Toronto brewer Mill St’s quite quaffable Organic Lager.

Sugarbowl Unibroue Blanche de ChamblyThe Sugarbowl is a jewel, with a charming patio facing a tree-lined Garneau street, near the University of Alberta. The Sugarbowl has one of the best beer selections in the city including Unibroue’s tasty witbier, Blanche de Chambly.

Black Dog Freehouse Big Rock Gopher LagerNever mind the youthful hipsters, just grab a beer and head upstairs to the rooftop patio — one of Edmonton’s few. From the roof

you have a great view of the dynamic street-life of Whyte Avenue. Sit back and enjoy the show with Big Rock’s latest brew: a malty-sweet, summer-friendly lager.

Original Joe’s Glenora Wild Rose Velvet FogOJ’s has earned the respect of beer geeks for their support of Alberta craft beer. Take a seat on the amiable patio and enjoy Calgary’s

Wild Rose brewing’s take on wheat beer: the unfiltered, golden Velvet Fog.

Urban Diner Downtown McAuslan St. Ambroise FramboiseThe High Street/124th St area is a hot-spot for great patios, with Café de Ville, the Manor Café and the Urban Diner leading the way.

The Diner wins for me with their menu of upscale diner fare and their interesting beer list. Hit their leafy

backyard patio with a tasty raspberry seasonal from Montreal’s award-winning McAuslan brewing.

Peter Bailey is an Edmonton-area librarian wearing an old man hat at the patio table next to you.

Patio Five-Pack

118 AV98 ST As much as any creature from

sci-fi, neighbourhoods are shape-shifters, morphing as the generations pass, falling into and out of popularity as demographic and economic conditions change. One day, you might look around and realize that a former cute little mum-and-pop store has been replaced by a multinational chain or that the alternative video store is now called Pussy Cat Video (which is an alternative of sorts, I suppose). And so it was with 118 Ave — also known as Alberta Ave. Running through some of the oldest parts of the city, Alberta Ave (hereafter referred to as The Ave) saw some hard times over the last couple of decades. But now, thanks to some imaginative residents and a neighbourhood renewal project called the Avenue Initiative, the area from NAIT to Northlands is being transformed. Arts on the Ave, a grassroots group that promotes neighbourhood revitalization through the arts, has helped breathe new life into The Ave, and the area is now home to the largest number of artists in Edmonton as well as an eclectic mix of immigrant communities.

And where there are arts and ethnic communities, there is food. And what food there is!

The custard tart warsTwo notable Portuguese bakeries grace The Ave: Handy Bakery and Popular Bakery (the Portuguese Canadian bakery at 118 Ave and 53 street is another contender, but this article deals with the area between 82 and 96 streets only). Each sells a wide selection of breads from heavy, dense cornbread to pagnotta (a large crusty white loaf) as well as a variety of sweets. For many, however, the battle is really for the best custard tart crown.

Portuguese custard tarts have been a tradition since Catholic nuns began making them over 200 years ago. Handy and Popular both put their unique spin on the deep yellow crème-brûlée-like custard caramelized inside a puff pastry shell. Handy’s tarts are delicate; Popular’s rich. Both are excellent, and fabulous with coffee.

Each bakery has expanded in the last few years to offer cooked meals in addition to baked goods. Handy’s menu includes classic Portuguese dishes like bacalhau (salted cod) and kale soup, which, now that warm weather is here, can be eaten on the pleasant outdoor patio. Popular Bakery has a nice on-site grill for chicken and pork, and inexpensive meals of grilled meat, rice and salad can be had for under 10 dollars, though your tastes might run to a bifana — a garlicky roasted pork sandwich.

Tomatillos, pupusas chicharrones, oh my!Paraiso Tropical (tropical paradise) has been selling authentic Mexican and Central and South American food for years, including corn tortillas and dried chiles such as pasilla ancho, arbol and habanero. You can also get sugar cane, frozen and fresh chorizo (sausage) and tomatillo salsa (a staple in Mexico, the tomatillo is related to the cape gooseberry and is known as tomate verde, or green tomato. Tomatillos are used to make green salsa). On Fridays and Saturdays, they make empanadas, tamales, soups, tacos, yucca (cassava) and more for takeout.

El Rancho offers up Salvadoran and Mexican cuisine at good prices. Some of their most popular items are the pupusas, a corn-based dumpling stuffed with cheese, beans, cabbage and chicharron — the latter possibly the most enjoyable word to say in any language, but only if you really roll your R’s. Tacos, flautas (deep-fried tortillas filled with meat), and enchiladas with mole (a popular Mexican sauce that contains chiles and, sometimes, chocolate) as well as seafood and fish like whole deep-fried tilapia and camarones (shrimp) in garlic figure prominently on the menu.

The culinary wonders of The AveKaren Virag


Getting stuffed, Italian and Jamaican styleCalzone is from an Italian word meaning trouser leg (but be careful, in Central and South America calzones means girls' underpants). Looking at a calzone, you can see how it got its name: it’s essentially a pizza turnover stuffed with ingredients like mozzarella and tomato. Battista’s Calzone Company is rumoured to make a good one, though its hours seem a little capricious — best to phone ahead.

Next door to Battista is Saffron Caribbean Delights, whose hours are anything but capricious and whose owner and chief cook, Safron, learned to cook at his grandmother’s knee. Safron’s menu is pure Jamaica: jerk chicken (jerk refers to a method of cooking where meats are dry rubbed or marinated in jerk spice (traditionally containing allspice and hot peppers, as well as cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme and garlic), curried goat, fried plantain, oxtail, and Jamaica’s national dish, ackee with salt fish (ackee is a tropical fruit related to the lychee; the salt fish is cod).

For dessert, Safron proudly showed me a sweet potato pudding and gizzarda, which has nothing to do with gizzards and everything to do with a pastry shell filled with sweetened and spiced coconut. To wash all this down, try a bottle of Jamaican Red Stripe beer or a ginger-flavoured soft drink. You’d almost think you were in Montego Bay.

If you make it, they will come eat itThe Ave is home to two fine caterers that have expanded their operations. Creative Quality Catering & Bistro has a nice little café. Absolutely Edibles Real Food Fusion and Wine Bar is a full-service restaurant and bar.

The owners of Absolutely Edibles, Brenda Dutton and Bjorn Cochran, told me that they make almost everything from scratch. They

also composte all their bio-waste and use biodegradable materials. Of course, they also try to use as much local products as they can.

To attest to this, a nice little outdoor patio runs along the front part of the restaurant, replete with beds planted with cabbage, cucumber and rosemary. The day we ate there, we sampled a number of items from the extensive menu — excellent homemade spanakopita, delicious thin-crust pizza, wild mushroom dumplings, sweet potato skins, and a dessert of bananas and coconut sautéed in butter and served with vanilla ice cream and liqueur. Lovely.

Fee fi pho fumThe arrival of Vietnamese people over the last few decades has been a boon to food lovers, and the wonderful Vietnamese broth soup, pho (pronounced “fah”), has become a city-wide favourite. Pho King does a very nice pho (order the small unless you are really, really hungry). They also make other typical Vietnamese dishes that are definitely worth a try.

Africa on The AvePerhaps the most striking development on The Ave is the establishment of a vibrant African community. Hailing primarily from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, these new Edmontonians have established many businesses and some fine restaurants. Primary among them is Habesha, a word that refers to people from Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The menu at Habesha asks the philosophical question: “Cutlery, who needs it?” Ethiopian and Eritrean food is traditionally served with a spongy flatbread called injera, made from teff — a grain derived from a grass native to eastern Africa. Diners rip off bits of injera and use it as a spoon or fork to gather up the highly flavourful sauces of such dishes as doro tibs, seasoned cubes of chicken and gored gored, beef cubes marinated in wine and spices. On Wednesdays, they offer

a vegetarian buffet (don’t worry, they will give you a fork if you really want one). Habesha has another distinction — for $12, diners can rent a hookah filled with herbal molasses blended with fruit flavours, the smoke of which infuses the restaurant with a delicate and pleasant scent.

A block east of Habesha, Dur Dur serves up Somali cuisine, as does the Mareeg, just across the street.

Jamming out on The AveAs if all of this weren’t enough, the Alberta Ave Community Hall hosts one of Edmonton’s few year-round farmers’ markets. On Thursday nights from 5 to 8 pm, patrons can buy organic meats, produce, jams and jellies, bread from local bakers and The Queen of Tarts, and homemade crafts. Lucky attendees this year got to try the cuisine of Brad and Cindy Lazarenko, of Culina restaurant, who ran the concession at the Market Cafe in June.

What to bring to The AveThe Ave continues to evolve: a large multi-use arts facility will soon take over the old Alberta Cycle building; the Avenue Theatre is going gangbusters; the Carrot Coffeehouse is a mecca for musicians, visual artists and craftspeople; and the neighbourhood, with its fabulous festivals (Kaleido in September, and Deep Freeze in January), continues to entice interesting and creative people to move in or just walk the increasingly walkable streets. A major part of the attraction is food, but food on a human scale.

All of the venues mentioned above are small, family-run restaurants that have a vested interest in the health and viability of the neighbourhood. So, we on The Ave await you. Bring yourself, your kids, your dog, and most important of all, your appetite.

Writer and editor Karen Virag lives in Cromdale and is on the board of Arts on the Ave.

Handy Bakery 8660 118 Avenue

780-477-8842

Popular Bakery 9307 118 Ave

popularbakery.ca

Paraiso Tropical 9136 118 Avenue

780-479-6000

El Rancho 11810 87 Street

780-471-4930

Battista’s Calzone Company 8309 118 Avenue

battistascalzonecompany.ca

Creative Quality Catering & Bistro 8905 118 Avenue

mgluska.webs.com

Saffron’s Caribbean Delights

8307 118 Avenue 780-474-9005

Absolutely Edibles Real Food Fusion

and Wine Bar 9567 118 Avenue

780-424-6823

Pho King 9103 118 Avenue

phokingedmonton.com

Habesha 9515 118 Avenue

habeshacuisine.com

Dur Dur 9409 118 Avenue

780-756-6884

Mareeg 9420 118 Avenue

780-757-2223

Alberta Avenue Farmer’s Market

Alberta Ave Community Hall 9210 118 Avenue

The culinary wonders of The Ave



2009 Mitchell Clare Valley Waltervale Riesling (Clare Valley Australia) $28Clare Valley, near the Barossa, is the home of Australia’s best Rieslings. The Mitchell Watervale is a stellar example of why — dry, with sprightly acidity and mouth-filling favours of lime, melon and honeysuckle. Drink with miso-grilled black cod (recipe on page 15) or chicken satay.

rose and red wInes

2007 Mitchell Clare Valley GSM (Clare Valley Australia) Grenache $28An Aussie GSM with a twist, sangiovese! The primary expression of juicy black fruit, along with lovely, soft and dusty tannins, make this the perfect go-to wine all summer long. It’s equally at home with grilled

eggplant as it is with grilled rib eye.

2008 Underagga Pinot Noir (Maipo Valley, Chile) $19Think aromas and flavours of ripe red cherries, juicy raspberries, plus a hint of earth and underbrush in this light-bodied wine with sprightly acidity. Easy drinking, ideal with a variety of dishes from pizza bianca to salmon rolls or grilled chicken. Drink slightly chilled to make the most of the berry fruit, actually a good way to drink most reds in the summer.

Dr L Sparkling Riesling (Mosel, Germany) $15You can’t have too many bubbles around in the summer, I always say. This light and fresh sparkler is from the excellent Mosel house of Ernie Loosen. Well priced, tastes great.

whIte wInes

2005 Domaine Huet Vouvray Les Mont (Loire Valley, France) $45Fragrant, with startling minerality, along with the intense depth of flavour and integral acidity required to work with robust foods such as grilled wild salmon, roasted pork rack and aged cheeses — a superb expression of Chenin Blanc.

2008 Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay (Livermore Valley, California, USA) $20Impressive, displaying a complexity far above its under $20 price tag. The wine is clear and bright, with a pleasing integration of wood, citrus, tropical (especially guava) fruit and acidity. Take this to dinner with pride. Actually, take two.

2010 Blasted Church Hatfield’s Fuse (Okanagan Valley, B.C.) $25A fruit salad of white grapes make up this vintage of Hatfield’s Fuse. Gewurz, Erhenfelser and Riesling do most of the aromatic heavy lifting while a backbone of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot

Blanc provide luscious mouth feel and an appropriate amount of zesty

acidity. The warm notes of honeydew, citrus and summer blossoms lead to off-dry tropical fruit flavours. Drink with foods with a bit of heat, such as calamari with spicy mayo; or grilled halibut with stone fruit salsa.

2009 Donnafugata Anthilia (Sicilia IGP, Italy) $22The taste of summer, with gorgeous aromas of white peach and orange blossoms on the breeze, moderate acidity, a good weight in the mouth and expressive length. Made from local grapes, primarily Catarratto and Ansonica native to the island. Drink with seafood, especially crustaceans, but also vegetable dishes, or by itself as an aperitif.

wine maven

Summertime and the drinking is easyDelicious high quality wines in every price range, for breezy afternoons and hot summer nights.


2008 Triacca Bello Stento Chianti Classico (Greve in Chianti, Italy) $25Aromas of violets, berries and the green/woodsy scent of a garden after the rain, with soft, slightly dusty tannins, refreshing acidity, and medium, ripe cherry flavours. Sangiovese is the perfect party mixer — drink with pizza or pasta, also juicy bratwurst from the grill, tomato salads and finger food.

2008 COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOCG (Sicily, Italy) $44.Want to bring the grooviest wine to the next dinner party? Hand over a bottle of Cos. Is it the stubby bottle? The dashing winemaker? The Sicilian

heritage? Maybe just because it’s delicious? It’s all of the above, and Cos is on trend big time. Cos is great wine, the brooding Heathcliffness of the Nero d’Avola grape brightened by the other Sicilian native, Frapatto. Enjoy rich aromas of Italian leather handbag, warm black fruit, liquorice, with flavours of bright berry fruit, layered

and expressive.

Nardini Amaro (Veneto, Italy) $50The prestige grappa house located in Bassano del Grappa produces a fine amaro as well. Nardini infuses grappa with herbs and fruit, including peppermint, orange and alpine gentian. The flavour, perfectly balanced between bitter and sweet, hints of caramel, mint, citrus and fennel. Tradition says to drink a small glass after diner to aid digeston, yet we’re seeing more use of it in cocktails, such as a Nardini sour, where the amaro replaces the whiskey, and as an aperitivo, on the rocks with a twist and a splash of soda.

Fruté Fruit Ciders (Nelson, New Zealand)

Think of a Fruté instead of a cooler this summer with its bright flavours, nothing artificial, just cider and fruit at a refreshing five per cent alcohol, and thick with fruit pulp, shake before drinking. Sparkling apple cider blended with fruit, Fruté comes in a handy four pack in four flavours: Berry; a zesty blend of boysenberries, raspberries and blackcurrants, Orange Vanilla; reminiscent of a creamsicle, and Mango and Lime. All natural and very tasty.

Prices are approximate. Find at Crestwood, Wine Cellar, Liquor Select and other fine wine shops, not all wines in all stores.

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wine maven

The Next Issue:

Harvest recipes

Thanksgiving memories

Making cheese in

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kitchen sink | what’s new and notable

restaurant buzzKeep your fork duke! The independent restaurant group Original Fare brings back its popular Fork Fest weeknight dining menus from July 17-21 and July 24-28. For details and menus visit live-local.ca.

The Hardware Grill (9698 Jasper Avenue, 780 423-0969) will be closed for summer holidays July 1-13. The perfectly handsome downtown dining room will reopen for dinner on July 14 (lunch on July 18) with a summery menu. Plus, you’ll be able to book using OpenTable. Yaay!

4th & Vine Wine Bar & Bistro (11358 104 Avenue, 780-497-7858) has new owners, Duncan Scott and Kara Thompson, a new chef, Michael Coates, and a new menu for the summer — smoked salmon, smoked tuna and crab sushi rolls; crab cakes; short rib tostadas. Check it out!

Whiskey alfresco on the Bothy patio, now open, 5482 Calgary Trail, 780-761-1761.

Madison’s Grill, 10053 Jasper Avenue, 780-401-2222, features toothsome, dry-aged Spring Creek Ranch strip loin throughout the summer. Enjoy on their new patio on warm summer days with a specialty cocktail. Check the events section of unionbankinn.com for upcoming winemakers dinners such as the October Macallan Scotch dinner.

The Blue Pear (10643 123 Street 780-482-7178) offers a relaxing dining experience including right-on-the-money-wine-pairings by their resident sommelier Kimberley Theoret. Enjoy live jazz Sundays and free corkage Wednesdays. Visit the thebluepear.com or call 780-482-7178 for reservations.

Chinese food vendors created the hearty, nutritious, inexpensive dish called dan-dan noodle to fuel the labours of humble street couriers. The noodlemaker, Siu To, has tweaked his unique menu for the summer, adding his version of dan dan noodle, along with new vegetarian dishes and a meat feast for the barbecue season: apple pulled pork, Tuscany herbed chicken and Texas smoked brisket served on a crusty bun for $5. Enjoy at the Noodle Maker, 9653 102 Avenue, 780-428-0021. The restaurant will be closed for a time in August — dates tba.

We love it! Range Road is the new name for chef Blair Lebsack’s culinary adventures and upcoming restaurant. First up is Range Road/Nature’s Green Acres farm tour and dinner July 23. More summer events with farmers and Edmonton Tourism are planned. Blair says he’s close to signing on a location. Let’s hope he can get in and get going by the end of the year.

wine tastings happenings and eventsThe jolly Pinot on the Patio (Nick Lee’s fundraiser for Kids with Cancer) is Wednesday July 6. Call 780-496-2459 for tickets.

Tinhorn Creek’s 2011 Canadian Concert Series: Bend Sinister, June 25; The Matinee, July 23; the Odds, August 27; Grand Finale is k-os, September 10. Tickets are available through the winery by phone, 1-888-484-6467, or tinhorn.com. Miradoro Restaurant is offering dinner and a concert packages for all concerts.

The south Okanagan’s Tinhorn Creek Vineyards racked up (or should we say down as they were all reductions in outputs) impressive environmental numbers in their last carbon audit: 28 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; 41 per cent reduction in landfill waste; 32 per cent reduction in electricity; and a 38 per cent reduction in paper usage. Bravo to Tinhorn for caring for the planet, while making deliciously accessible wines.

How many people can actually say; “we bought U2 a beer.” Sherbrook can. Various members of the stage crew had worked up a thirst erecting the monster stage, discovered Sherbrooke, and were happily toasting Edmonton with beer from the cooler. The lighting crew left with Sherbrooke’s gift of a 3L bottle of Duvel for the band, so they can now truthfully say “We bought U2 a beer.”

AMA Travel is offering a tour in conjunction with Slow Food Italia (to provide an alternative to fast food, preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourage farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem). The eight day tour explores a

region of sprawling vineyards, rolling hills, charming old cities, and tasting of Slow Food Presidia food products. September and October departures from 1969 Euro/person, land only, based on two people sharing, call 1-866-667-4777 to book.

The Cookbook Company Cook’s Gail Norton’s food and wine tours to the village of Olonzac are eagerly anticipated by Francophiles and foodies alike. The 10th tour/cooking school/cultural phenomena is in May 2012. Gail will be joined by Judy Wood, executive chef, Mise en Place, and Richard Harvey of Metrovino. Visit cookbookcooks.com for itinerary, pics of past tours and the details.

Join Gail Hall for a culinary weekend in the south Okanagan at the Watermark Resort, September 16-18. Contact Melissa Tenant at [email protected] to register. Other tours in the works: October 13-18, Eastern Townships of Quebec; March 9 to 24, 2012, Vietnam and Cambodia. Check out all itineraries at seasonedsolutions.ca or contact Worldwide Quest, [email protected].

product newsThe Italian Centre (10878 95 Street 780-424-4869, 5028 104A Street, 780-989-4869) stocks ricotta salata, a traditional, Sicilian sheep’s milk cheese. It’s mild, slightly salty flavour and dryish, crumbly texture make it a tasty alternative to feta or grated Romano. Try it with fresh summer fruits or dates and figs, or drizzle with a bit of Lola Canola honey for a taste treat.

Tree Stone Bakery (Boulangerie Artisanale Bonjour) 8612 99 Street, 780-433-5924) is still open during the 99 street construction and expect their bakery renos to be finished in early July. It will be open concept — customers will be able to view each step of production, from flour milling, mixing, to finished product being pulled from the ovens. “It is our philosophy that customers should be able to see how their food is made, by who and where are the ingredients from. Nutritional, tasty, clean,” says owner Yvan Chartrand. Phase two: The Tree Stone Bistro, is scheduled to open this fall when the traffic levels are back to normal. They will have several new breads and pastries, plus space for local artisans and artist’s work. Contact Yvan for more information.


kitchen sink | what’s new and notable

Like strong beer? Sherbrooke recently took delivery of Glenda Sherbrooke, with ABV 18.5%. Rumour has it that somebody in Ontario is about to bottle one higher, but for now, Glenda (Alley Kat Olde Deuteronomy aged in barrels of the Glenora Distillery’s Glen Breton 10 Year Old whisky) is the record holder.

Seasoned Solutions Market Fresh Loft Cooking Classes, July 9, 16, August 13, 20. Shop the Downtown Farmers’ Market with Gail Hall in a small (max 10 people) group. Meet producers and select ingredients to create a fabulous, fresh menu. Each class is $175, all inclusive. Email Gail at [email protected] to register or visit seasonedsolutions.ca for more details.

Find the delicious Edmonton-made Newget at the City Market (104 Street and Jasper Avenue) on July 16, 23 and 30. Newget is also available at Bon Ton Bakery, 8720 149 Street, Culina Highlands, 6509 112 Avenue and at newget.ca.

Sunterra Market’s (10025 Jasper Avenue, 780-426-3791; 5728 111 Street, 780-434-2610) Burger Packs make it easy — no chopping or slicing, just grab and grill. Each pack includes lettuce, tomato, cheddar, onions, barbecue sauce, four freshly baked buns and four Sunterra beef burgers.

Luzzara, Sarah Jackson’s jewel box of a coffee bar on east Whyte, is closing July 17. The coffee shop shared space with Top Gear scooter shop, which closed this spring, and the landlord wants to rent the spot in one piece. Sarah will work with caffe tech, the local Danesi coffee distributor for now. No doubt we’ll see Luzzara and Sarah, pop up in another location at some point. Thanks for the great coffee and tweets.

New and/or interesting food and drink related news for The Kitchen Sink can be faxed to 780-433-0492.

Matahari

10108B – 124 Street • 452-8262Ample free parking at rear with rear entrance available.Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday, hours vary.

A P A N - A S I A N D I N I N G E X P E R I E N C E

Dining, Takeout, Catering & Special Events

Blueberry Scones2 c all-purpose flour

¼ c white sugar

1 t baking powder

½ t baking soda

¼ t salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cold 2/3 - ¾ c buttermilk

½ c dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 375ºF (190ºC) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. You want the mixture to look like coarse crumbs. Add blueberries, then the buttermilk and stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk if necessary).

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead gently and form into a round about 1 to 1½ inches thick. Use a 2½ inch round biscuit cutter to cut the dough into circles. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 8.

Curried Slaw ½ head green cabbage thinly sliced

¼ red cabbage thinly sliced

1 carrot grated

1 broccoli stem grated

1 green apple small dice

2 green onions thinly sliced

Toss the slaw ingredients together and then add vinaigrette. Mix thoroughly and place slaw in fridge until ready to serve.


Please see ”Indulgence” on page 28


checkerboard watermelon feta salad The melon and feta form a checkerboard of sweet/salty flavour — the look inspired by a photo in Bon Appetit magazine. Think it’s not worth the time? Grab a child or an adult who likes to be precise and hand them a set of tongs to carefully place the squares of watermelon and feta on the plate.

1 ripe watermlon

1 block of Bulgarian feta or ricotta salata (approx. 4x4x5)

1-2 sprig thyme

2 T fruity extra virgin olive oil

squeeze ½ lime

2-3 sprigs flat leaf parsley, chopped

sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Carefully cut the watermelon and the feta into same-sized squares (about ¾ of an inch). Arrange on a plate, alternating watermelon and feta (you could also incorporate another colour of melon if desired).

Whisk dressing and drizzle over right before serving. This salad is best made right before serving as the watermelon bleeds a bit, washing the bright pink colour out of the top of the fruit. If made ahead of time, wrap plastic wrap tightly, with a layer of wrap touching the surface. Bring to cool room temperature before serving and salt at the last minute.

Serves 6-8.

Easy Peasy Summer

summer tomato saladBuy the ripest, prettiest tomatoes you can find at the farmers market, in various sizes and colours. Quarter or slice them attractively on a plate or in a bowl and slather them with this Green Goddess dressing. If this is too complicated, drizzle a very good olive oil over, pass the sea salt and pepper grinder around the tomatoes and toss on fresh basil. Tip for best tasting tomatoes? Never ever put them in the fridge.

green goddess dressing 1 egg yolk

1 T water

1 c organic canola, or extra virgin olive oil

1 c picked watercress or chervil

1-2 leaves fresh basil, chopped

1 t leaves fresh tarragon, chopped

2 chives, finely cut

1 c flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 c curly parsley, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1½ t nam pla (fish sauce)

sea salt and freshly-cracked pepper

juice of ½ fresh-squeezed lemon (or to taste, chervil is lemony as well)

Make a mayonnaise: whisk egg yolk with water, then slowly add a few drops of oil at a time, whisking constantly to help it emulsify. Use about half the oil. Put the herbs, garlic and fish sauce into a food processor with the remaining oil and process until smooth. Whisk herb mixture into mayonnaise thoroughly. Season and add lemon juice to taste. If not using immediately, hold off on the juice as the acid tends to bleach the colour. Use within two days and thin with water if necessary.

chimichurri There’s nothing subtle about chimichurri. The bold and brash flavours compliment burgers or steaks equally. The correct texture should be slightly oily with noticeable vinegar and heat.

1 c fresh flat leafed parsley, packed

¼ c fresh cilantro, packed

1 bird (or Thai) chile, chopped fine, seeds removed (to taste, that’s where the heat is)

1½ t fresh thyme leaves, chopped fine 1/3 c red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, peeled (to taste)

¼ medium red onion, chopped fine

½ c canola or extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Cover chopped onions in cold water with a bit of salt. Soak for 5 minutes then drain and proceed.

Chop parsley and cilantro by hand*, mix in thyme and chile, then put all ingredients into a food processor bowl. Pulse until puréed. Taste for seasoning and adjust heat and salt if necessary

Puree all ingredients in processor. Transfer to bowl. Flavours are best if the sauce has some time to develop. Serve at room temperature. Makes enough condiment for 6-8 people.

* Parsley, cilantro and basil taste better if hand chopped first. Why? Probably something to do with bruising leaves. For example, why you tear lettuce, not cut it.

This collection of recipes is effortless, quick and always tasty. They rely on what's freshest at the markets for minimal prep and maximum enjoyment.

farmers’market recipes


tofu in brad’s barbecue rub*Research chef Brad Smoliak makes an amazing rub for fish, chicken, beef, whatever. Here’s two ways to use it.

1 block firm or extra-firm tofu**

Brad’s Barbecue Rub

canola oil

Press the tofu between paper towels for about 10 minutes to firm, then cut into medium-sized squares or rectangles. Brush with oil, and using tongs, dip into the rub coating the tofu on every side.

Grill on a medium barbecue until each side is crispy. Serves 6-8.

** Buy fresh tofu and other soybean products at Ying Fat Foods, 10512 98 Street.

pork in brad’s barbecue rub

1 pork tenderloin (1½ lb), or pork chops or pork shoulder

Brad’s Barbecue Rub

Cover meat with the rub and let rest for at least 30 minutes for tenderloin, and to up to one day for shoulder.

Preheat barbecue to medium high. Grill the pork until internal temperature is 140ºF, about 15 to 18 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serves 4-10 depending on cut.

* Find Brad’s Barbecue Rub at Sobeys Nottingham and Lakeland Sobeys, Sherwood Park.

miso-marinated sable fish (black cod) The earthy, slightly sweet miso flavour is a winner paired with silky-textured black cod. Ocean Odyssey at The City Market sells this sustainable Pacific ocean fish as does Fin’s Seafood in Sherwood Park.

½ c sake (or white wine)

½ c mirin

1 c miso paste*

1 green onion, sliced thin

4 black cod fillets

toasted sesame seeds for garnish, optional

radish sliced thin for garnish, optional

In a medium saucepan, bring sake and mirin to a boil. Remove from heat, add miso and green onion and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Put the fish in a ceramic or glass dish and pour over cooled marinade, cover with plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours up to overnight.

Preheat barbecue to medium. Place fish directly on the grill or on a barbecue fish pan (Black cod is a sturdy fish but the pan is insurance against fall through or breakage.) Cook for about ten minutes, just until the fish is becoming opaque. Err on underdone as it will keep cooking after being removed from the heat. Toss radishes and sesame seeds over, and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

grilled b.c. peaches

The simplest dessert of all. Cut and pit 4 large ripe peaches. Brush lemon or lime juice on the cut side. Place peaches cut side down on the grill and cook until the peaches are charred and softened, about 6 minutes. Serve with a Moscato d’Alba or Vin Santo, or ice cream if desired. Serves 4-8.

Don’t we wait all year for the trucks to roll in with B.C cherries? After you get mildly bored of eating them whole, make syrup, ice cream or dip in a decadent mascarpone cream.

cherries in mascarpone cream Best eaten outdoors so you can have a pit spitting contest.

1 lg pkg ripe B.C. cherries

2 T milk or half and half

1 tub mascarpone (buy the Italian, has better flavour and texture)

½ c star anise honey, warmed (If you can’t find honey flavoured with star anise, try anise or fennel flavoured.)

Add warmed honey and milk to cheese and whip until well-blended and the cheese is quite soft. To serve: Dip cherries into the honey mascarpone mixture and eat.

cherry syrup Mix this syrup with lime Perrier, sparkling wine or espresso vodka on the rocks for a refreshing drink. It also makes an amazing Manhattan.

5 c fresh B.C. cherries, pitted (frozen or jarred sour cherries can work well, the flavour will be slightly different)

¾ c sugar

1 c water

pinch salt

cinnamon stick

1 t vanilla (optional)

Muddle cherries in a saucepan to release juices. Pour in boiling water, salt and cinnamon stick and let steep for about ½ hour. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Pour in another ¼ c boiling water, take out cinnamon stick and stir until reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Strain thoroughly, using a chinois or a fine mesh, pressing gently on the solids. Discard solids. Makes about one cup syrup. Cool, then chill, covered.

cherry chocolate ice cream Adapted from Cuisinart recipe book. If you have a different machine follow the manufacturers directions.

4 c ripe B.C. cherries, pitted

1½ c sugar, divided

2¾ c heavy cream

1¼ c whole milk

4 egg yolks

1 t kirsch

2 t freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 t natural almond extract

½ c best quality dark or milk chocolate, shaved

In a small bowl, combine the cherries with ½ cup of the sugar. Stir gently and allow fruit to macerate for 2 hours. Strain cherries and reserve juice. Mash, or purée half the cherries reserving the rest. Stir together the cream, milk, remaining sugar and cherry juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat. Place the egg yolks into a large bowl, whisk in hot cream mixture, about 2 tablespoons at a time, until you have added about 2 cups of cream to egg. Whisk the hot yolks mixture into the saucepan of hot cream, then cook on low, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 170ºF (75ºC) and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold, 4-6 hours.

Add the mashed cherries, kirsch and lemon juice to the cold custard. Turn ice cream machine on; pour the mixture into the ice cream maker, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved cherries and chocolate shavings, and mix in. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.


Curry Vinaigrette2 T curry paste

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T fresh lemon juice

2 T rice vinegar

1 t salt

¼ t ground black pepper

¼ c olive oil

2 T canola oil

Whisk together the curry paste, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper until the salt is dissolved. Slowly add the oils while continuing to whisk until the mix is fully emulsified (a food processor works well here). Hold in refrigerator.

To serve:

Split the scones and top with thin slices of brisket. Top with slaw.

Braised Hog Wild Boar bacon with watermelon and honey citrus vinaigrette

Tony Le, LUX steakhouse+bar

Sweet and salty, always a tasty combination. This makes an excellent starter or pass-around appetizer.

1 lb Hog Wild boar bacon

4 c veal/beef stock

½ red onion

½ carrot

1 rib celery

1 bay leaf

1 T Szechuan peppercorn

1 T black peppercorns

1 T salt

1 clove garlic

5 gr ginger

¼ c dried sour cherries

½ c brown sugar

1 stick cinnamon

1 pod star anise

¼ can chipotle peppers

½ c red wine

Cut red onions, celery and carrots into large dice, and place in bottom of oven safe pan. Add remaining ingredients and cook in oven at 350°F oven for 4 hours, or until bacon is fork tender.

Watermelon1 small watermelon

1 t salt

Cut watermelon into ¾” inch slices. Use a medium cookie cutter to create discs. Salt right before serving.

Honey Citrus Vinaigrette½ c white balsamic vinegar

½ c quality olive oil

1 T salt

½ T pepper

1 lemon zest and juice

1 T garlic powder

1 T Aromat seasoning (optional)

toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)

micro arugula (optional garnish)

Combine ingredients and whisk together. Toss bacon with vinaigrette and serve with watermelon. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and micro arugula if desired. Serves 6-8.

Culina Salad with Culina House Dressing by Mighty Trio

Chef Brad Lazarenko, Culina

We love the culina house dressing. We could eat it with a spoon with the fridge door open. But we try to resist and use it on salad, of course, but also as a glaze for fish, tofu and pork. Mighty Trio buys local flax hemp and canola and makes and distributes oil and seed products, including the Culina salad dressing.

lg handful arugula, washed and dried

lg handful spinach, washed and dried

½ c grated Sylvan Star gouda

handful dried cherries

handful toasted almonds

handful chickpeas

handful quinoa

¼ c Culina house dressing

Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss with dressing. Serve immediately.

Domaine Pinnacle apple, walnut and pecan croustillant with Fairwinds Farm goat cheese mousse

Austen Neil, Lit Wine Bar

Lit’s talented chef sent us the recipe using a cool ISI foamer. Thinking that most are still whipping and folding the old fashioned way, we adapted the recipe. But if you have a foamer, go right ahead and make a goat cheese, honey and mascarpone foam over the apple slices.

1 stick + 1 t unsalted butter

¼ t salt

½ c pastry flour

½ c dark brown sugar, packed

½ c small pecan pieces

¼ c small walnut pieces

zest of one orange

½ t cinnamon

Mix butter, salt, cinnamon, orange zest and pastry flour until sandy. Add sugar, walnuts and pecans and combine until nut pieces are evenly distributed. Chill for 2 hours then roll out and bake at 350ºF until golden, about 10 minutes.

Cut into squares or rectangles when slightly cooled. Serves 12.

Apple topping4 gala apples peeled and diced

3 T honey

2 T Domaine Pinnacle Ice Cider

Heat sauce pan and add honey. Once honey bubbles, add diced apples to pan and cook on high heat until they start to caramelize. Remove from heat and deglaze with Domaine Pinnacle Ice Cider.

Goat cheese mousse¼ c honey

2 c Fairwinds Farm goat cheese

1 c mascarpone

2 c heavy cream

¼ c sugar

Mix honey, goat cheese, and mascarpone together until smooth and creamy. Whip cream with sugar until it holds soft peaks. Carefully fold cream into cheese mixture. Reserve.

To serve:

Place a smear of cheese mixture on top of pastry, top with apple pieces and sprinkle burnt sugar if desired.

Berry Ridge Orchard saskatoon berry and black pepper cheesecake, Saskatoon spaghetti and coulis, almond brittle crumble and spun sugar

Robert Simpson, Madison’s Grill

Chef Simpson uses agar agar and a syringe contraption to make the saskatoon spaghetti. If this doesn’t sound like something you want to attempt, just skip the step.

Cheesecake24 oz cream cheese, softened

¾ c sugar

1 T cornstarch

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 c sour cream

1 t black pepper

In a large bowl, stir cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, stirring gently after each addition. Stir in sour cream and pepper. Reserve a third of the mixture and combine with Saskatoon berry compote.

Lightly oil 6 to 8 2.5 oz ramekins, fill one third with the Saskatoon cheesecake mixture and fill the rest of way with regular mixture.

Place ramekins in a bain marie or use a roasting pan and fill with water until it comes half way up sides of the ramekins.

Bake at 325ºF until set, let cool before removing from ramekins.

Almond Brittle Crumble4 c blanched and sliced almonds

3 c sugar

¼ c water

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toast almonds until golden brown. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water and cook over medium heat until mixture turns a light golden brown. Once caramel is off the heat, add the almonds to the



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pot and stir quickly to incorporate. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread quickly to an even thickness. Let the brittle cool completely then pulse in a food processor until a coarse crumble.

Saskatoon Berry Coulis2 c Saskatoon berry juice

1 c sugar

Place in a saucepan and reduce to desired consistency. Strain mixture while still hot, allow to cool.

Saskatoon Compote1 c saskatoon berries

½ c sugar

Cook berries and sugar in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved and berries are soft. Purée mixture in a food processor.

Spun Sugar2 c Isomalt

In a saucepan heat the Isomalt until it has melted. Allow to cool slightly. Use a whisk with the ends cut off and drizzle mixture back and forth over parchment paper.

Saskatoon Spaghetti1 c Saskatoon berry juice

1 c Sandhill Rose

½ c sugar

2 grams agar agar

Combine all ingredients except agar agar in a saucepan. Add the agar agar with a concentration of 1.6 per cent. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Take off heat and skim to eliminate any impurities. Fill syringe with the mixture and connect a rolled tube to it. Disconnect the tube from the syringe and place in an ice bath to firm liquid. Let it rest for 1-2 minutes. Fill the syringe with air and connect it again with the tube. Press on the syringe pump and expel the spaghetti out of the tube. Repeat. Serves 6-8.

Slow Braised Irving Farms Pork Shoulder on Carrot Risotto Cake with Citrus Jam

Frank Olsen, Red Ox Inn

We liked the informal instructions of the Red Ox pulled pork recipe so much we didn’t adapt to house style. Here it is, in Frank Olsen’s own words

day 1Pork:Get a hunk of pork shoulder about the size of your head from Irving’s.

Rub it with a generous mixture of brown sugar, kosher salt, smoked paprika, pepper and dry mustard and put it in the fridge overnight.

day 2Pork:Put the shoulder on a rack in a roasting pan, add a litre of apple juice to the bottom of the pan and cover and bake for about 5 hours at 300ºF. Take off the foil and bake another hour to get a good crisp crust on the outside.

Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes on a cutting board and shred with forks or tongs. Cool and cover in the fridge for day 3.

Save the apple juice liquid from the pan and put in a container you can put in your fridge to cool overnight.

Risotto:Make a dry risotto with onion, wine, chicken stock and parmesan — use less stock and sub in a cup or so of carrot juice near the end when it is just about al dente. Taste and season. Pour the risotto into a sheet pan lined with plastic wrap. Smooth out and chill overnight.

day 3Sauce:Skim the lovely orange fat off the top of the apple juice liquid and add equal amounts of orange juice and carrot juice into a saucepan and simmer until reduced by half. Taste and season.

Jam:Dissolve a small handful of brown sugar in a couple tablespoons of oil over low heat.

Add a minced clove of garlic, some minced ginger and a couple of chopped shallots and cook til softened.

Throw a cinnamon stick and a handful of dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, prunes, etc.) into the pan along with two handfuls of fresh smaller berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.).

Zest an orange into the pan mix and squeeze the juice from the orange in as well.

Add a touch of your favourite vinegar and a spoonful of Dijon and cook about 5 minutes.

Taste and season.

Risotto Cakes:Cut the tray of chilled risotto into manageable pieces and dip into cornmeal to coat.

Panfry in oil until brown and crispy on both sides.

Reheat the shredded pork with a bit of sauce and serve with the risotto cakes and some chutney on top.


according to judy | judy schultz

Americans, always quick off the mark, have declared July to be their official hot dog month.

Hiss, boo. In my kitchen, hot dogs are the boss dogs of summer, and they rate a two-month season: July and August.

I figure that’s why we call those months “The dog days of summer.” Apparently the dog days were named after Sirius, the dog star, but my theory is that some early Roman version of the hot dog was the kickoff.

Pause now to reflect on the humble tube steak, iconic dish of long summer evenings. Hot dogs are often the first food independently cooked by little kids. They love to stand too close to a campfire, small paws locked around a wiener stick, impaled sausages alternately burning and blazing, mothers shrieking, ketchup dribbling.

No tribute to the dog days of summer could ignore Edmonton’s own boss dog: Fat Frank’s smokies. I’ve been eating them for at least ten summers. When Fat Frank’s mobile hot dog carts arrive downtown, I can smell the smokies in Sherwood Park. Swear to God.

For my money, smokies are the icing on the cake of every music fest the season brings. Give me a summer night on the hill, a blues band cookin’ in the valley, a smoky in one hand, a cold beverage in the other. Perfection, especially if it isn’t raining. Add an August moon rising over the north skyline. Could it get any better?

Smokies and their many cousins belong to the summer dog days: sausages of all kinds, notably a hefty chunk of coarse garlic sausage (koubasa or kobasa, or kielbasa, or even cabasa, depending on your source). Spell it however you wish, a rose by any other name, etc.

In Alberta, home of giant food art, we have the towering mushrooms

The boss dogs of summerof Vilna, the great pumpkins of Smoky Lake, the biggest pyrogy-on-a-fork in Glendon or the world, the enormous mallard duck in Andrew, and the giant gorgeous egg in Vegreville.

Isn’t it only right that we also have the world’s biggest garlic sausage? Six tonnes of tasty-looking fiberglass, reaching 13 metres skyward. It stands in its own park, a tribute to the made-in-Mundare sausages of the Stawnichy family and the town’s former mayor and benefactor, the late Eddie Stawnichy, Alberta’s undisputed sausage king.

It must be said, those Mundare sausages are darned delicious when served as a fully-dressed hot dog.

Here’s what to do: cut a ring of garlic sausage into manageable

chunks and grill until the fat spits. Plunk one into a toasted hot dog bun along

with fried onions, fried peppers, maybe

a little sauerkraut and a small application of German

mustard. Avoid those mushy hotdog buns in the plastic bags. The weight of the trimmings will overcome them, and in the heat of the moment they’ll self-destruct all over your clean shirt. Go for a reliable crusty roll, one that can handle the pressure.

Various versions of the hot dog have been responsible for crashing more of my diets than any other dish, including maple walnut sundaes.

It’s because of the smell. The meat, the onions, everything frizzling away on the grill, fat spurting, aromas wafting.

My resistance crumbles and once again, faced with delicious food, I’m helpless.

So I’ll be a little fatter. So what?

To woefully misquote the immortal Miss Piggy: summer is short, eat hot dogs first.

Judy Schultz is a food and travel writer based in Alberta and New Zealand.

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The Tomato - July/August 2011

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