jacquichan

There has been a chapter of Slow Food in Ottawa for several years. Membership is available through the international website. I know that the chapter has gone through an organizational shake up but has emerged with a fairly strong group of committed members. I recieve updates of Ottawa/Gatineau slow food events, and meetings via this address. joannelarose@rogers.com. Hope this helps.

I cooked all day oblivious, but something seemed off. The timing, the seasoning, the jive. Perhaps she took a little of our passion with her today.

Thanks To You All..for the prompt replies. I have already guided myself to the Daniel Rogov site as it was mentioned on a previous gullet board and it is too full of information for choices at this point in time ( as I am still in Canada and impatient for my vacation). To my consternation I am already regretting that I have only 10 days to discover for myself the culinary heritage of this region ( although this might be a " first visit"). My personal interest is mainly the street and everyday foods of the region. As a chef I am of course interested in how fine dining and restaurants interpret the cuisine, however, since I am a newcomer to the actual cuisine(s)- it will be my first visit to that area of the globe- I would like to first taste how the food is cooked before I taste how the food is interpreted. I have had a long term interest in the foods of the Eastern Med and as a vegetarian am particularly drawn to the varieties of diet available. As I am visiting during Passover I realize that there are great changes in the daily diet that occur. I would prefer to be a traveler and celebrate this adventure rather than a tourist and wonder where all the pita dissapeared to. Comfort Me with yeast after the celebration. Tell me what I should be enjoying and I wil do my best to accomidate my own gullet.

After only a few years of hard work as chef/proprieter my staff have decided to allow me to go on a vacation. I will be spending 10 days during and after Passover based in Tel Aviv. Aside from enjoying the natural wonders of the country I want to fit in as much culinary "tourism" as possible. Any suggestions and or guidance would be very welcome.

Am I the only one who finds the correction of the pronounciation of foie gras less excruciating than the explanation of what the dish actually is. To the un-initiated a dish of goose or duck liver that is " pumped" to 90% fat and then......by the time I hit the word liver most people have already decided it can be nothing less than disgusting. Lately I have been trying to describe sauteed fois gras as an ambrosia akin to fried butter.