chromedome

Footwear is an ongoing PITA for me. Currently I'm wearing a pair of plain ol' steel-toed work shoes from the hardware store, stuffed with the biggest/fattest set of insoles I can find. These have steel toes (which I'm very attached to) and "non-skid" soles (meh). My problem is that I have *NO* arch whatsoever on my wide, flat, foot; therefore anything with an arch support (ie every clog I've ever seen) is cripplingly painful. Also most shoes are too narrow, which doesn't help. I've never been keen on the feel of clogs on my feet (aside from the arch support issue) and the few times that I've worn a borrowed pair for 5-10 minutes I've generally managed to throw a shoe in mid-step at least once or twice, which is not something I'd care for during service. So, If I had a clog wish list, it would consist of "A clog with no arch supports, very wide across the ball of the foot, with steel toes, lots of cushioning, and a bit of leather across the back to keep them on my clumsy-ass feet while I'm moving." Anyone got any suggestions? I have a pair of Wolverines for my off-work hours which I'm ambivalent about. They have some sort of shock-redistribution thing going on in the soles, which is supposed to reduce the impact on your foot and legs, but I find it just makes my feet hurt in different places. Overall a decent shoe, but yay! for fat cushiony insoles.

Wouldn't it be too cool if they had a little tribute to the late H S Thompson at the track? Maybe fly Steadman over from England for the occasion, reproduce the Scanlan's cover from way back when in about a Colonel Sanders-sized format? Not that it'll happen... (PS, Zilla, it's never officially spring in Canada until after Victoria Day, third weekend in May. Except in the Vancouver area, anyway.)

Unibroue Fin du Monde. And an Alexander Keith's IPA, as a nod towards home.

Try paper towel over the frame, plastic wrap over the paper towel (and around and underneath, so it'll hold). Don't know if that'll keep it from forming a skin, but it should solve the condensation issue.

The London Style Porter mentioned by Mallet in his post is an unsung gem of Canadian brewing, taking home a silver medal from the 2002 World Beer Championships (beaten, IIRC, only by archetypal porter Old Growler). Highly recommended, if any of you are planning to visit Halifax...

Okay...looking to pick some brains again. At my work I've got something on the order of eight cases of bananas that need to be used up. We already make three different kinds of banana muffins, each of which requires a full 16L bucket of mashed banana, and I have a fourth coming into the lineup. We make banana bread daily, I've put bananas into my bread-pudding-of-the-week, I'll be making banana cream pies in two different sizes tomorrow, and...I'm still looking for ideas. I found the thread Patrick S started a few months ago, and there may be some things there that I can use, but I wanted to throw the question out to see what new ideas people have tripped across. My limitations? Can't do anything frozen, or plated. Refrigerated is okay, I have a refrigerated showcase (would need to be packaged into clamshell containers). Limited time/space/manpower, like everybody else in this business. I'm thinking about a "tarte tatin" variation for tomorrow, and perhaps a truffle-centred banana cupcake (I have some leftover ganache centres to use up). Anyone? Anyone? Class? ...........Bueller?

Actual recipe I was given for "Creme Anglaise"...50% vanilla yogurt. 50% sour cream. Sugar to taste. Kid you not.

IIRC, Adria put the laboratory's price tag at about 300,000 Euros per annum. I'd hate to try tweaking my food cost to accomodate that, pretty much anywhere in Canada. Realistically, like any avant-garde, this one will fade. Adria and a couple of the others are stone geniuses, wild men who will take us into places we'd never dreamed of before. Most of what they've done will be forgotten almost immediately, because that's the way of the creative world (the shortest line between two points runs from Avant-Garde to Old Guard). The remaining...what, two percent?...of what the MG crew come up with will continue to inform and inspire us for a generation. As in any field, most other practitioners of the style will not have the chops, the creativity, to make a lasting impact on the culinary world. Think fast, how many cubist painters can you name after Picasso, Braque, and Miro? There were thousands, and a few of them did interesting things, but none measured up those three.

A couple of years ago when I lived in Halifax, the NSLC picked up a huge quantity of Spanish wines and used them as monthly specials (I think maybe the Spanish Trade Commission cut them a deal, or something...). There was always a decent (if not always inspiring) bottle available for $9.95 CDN, which is pretty damn rare. Last week I picked up a bottle of the Marques de Murrieta Ygay Reserva 1997, an orphan found buried in a back corner of our sister wine store. Haven't cracked it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm told that, unless it's corked, I'm in for some happy taste buds.

The missus and I had some rare time out together yesterday afternoon, so while we were rambling through the Old Strathcona neighbourhood we stopped into a pseudo-Irish pub for some wetting of the collective whistle. I had a Guinness (what else?), about the only thing I wanted at that point in the day; then I finished my wife's Keith's (a popular IPA from Nova Scotia). Several hours later, around the neighbours' backyard fire, I enjoyed a Unibroue "Terrible;" a BIG bad-ass abbey-style brew weighing in at a whopping 10.5% alcohol, but with flavour and complexity enough to make it fly. Like many of Unibroue's beers there is bottle fermentation going on, so be careful when you open the champagne-style cork! They anticipate up to eight years' successful bottle aging with this product, if anyone has the patience to cellar 'em... Unibroue is my favourite readily-available Canadian brewery.

I've had trouble putting across savoury bread puddings at my shop. Fortunately, the conventional ones are selling briskly. My ham and cheese croissants are popular, but unfortunately my night bakers can't seem to get the knack of handling them, and they're always underproofed/overproofed underbaked/overbaked. I'll probably end up dropping them, because so many end up unsaleable. It's always interesting for me to see what the hot items are in someone else's store. I liked the look of those raspberry shortbread bars (finally got to see the mag today). Might give them a spin...

That's what I love about this place. Wanna know what Jose's thinking? Jose tells you. Wanna know what Bourdain's up to? Tony tells you. Problems with Bill Yosses' white chocolate molten cake? Yosses shows up and tells you how he does it. <sigh> Just a little slice of foodie heaven...

One more for me. I went back to the clearance outlet and got a copy of Apicius, the Vehling translation. Hope the sale is still on when next payday rolls around....

Here in Canada the lineup is a little bit different, of course, and since I can't be bothered to get cable I've only watched it while staying with the in-laws. Of the shows I've watched... Rachel Ray...the food wasn't that interesting, but I'd watch her all day with the sound off. Sara's Secrets...the reverse. Her food seems to have something goin' on, but the woman puts me to sleep. Bobby Flay...like oven cleaner, he irritates on contact. Severe case of ego pollution. Molto Mario...a huge favourite. Excellent balance of information and entertainment, excellent food, lots of knowledge, a smattering of humour. (No wonder they've dropped him, adds the bald guy's cynical side...) Tony Bourdain...loved the couple episodes of Cook's Tour that I caught, as well as the book. That gawky Lou-Reed-meets-Judge-Reinhold charm...who can resist? Bob Blumer...okay, the guy's not a cook. He just putzes around and does silly stuff. But you know what? I enjoy watching him. Maybe I have a previously-underrated sense of whimsy, but the goofy things he turns out are fun to look at and I bet they taste okay. Cook Like a Chef...Canada only. Various reasonably high-profile Canadian chefs prepare things they like, in a monstrous studio kitchen. Most of them are impaired in their camera-friendliness, droning inanities as the camera zooms in on their hands, *but*...these are serious pros making decent food, and I watched it every chance I got. Christine Cushing...is in front of the camera 'cause of her cheekbones, not because she was knocking Toronto's culinary world on its ear. Having said that, her show is fairly watchable and the food is frequently interesting. Michael Smith (Chef at Large)...one big ol' goofball (6'7" or so), but pretty serious about food and a very giving individual with his time. His show was hit or miss, but frequently fascinating (I loved the episode where he visited the Famous People Players, a troupe of mentally-challenged puppeteers who now cook at their own dinner theatre). Emeril...shut the f*k up and cook, already. I understand and appreciate the influence he's had, I just wish the show had more substance. And lose the audience of barking seals, applauding madly when he dribbles EVOO on a plate. Alton Brown...rather silly at times, but he puts food science across to Joe Schmoe and I don't think anyone else could do what he does. I enjoyed every episode I ever watched, though I sometimes hated myself for it. Anna Olsen...again, Canada only (I think). She's not super-smooth on camera, but not clumsy either...a working pastry chef, she'll show two or three related dessert items on every show. Best part: at the end of each episode she takes a simple item from the beginning of the show and morphs it into a nicely showy plated dessert. I liked watching her. Her show, I mean. Iron Chef...mixed feelings about this one. Loved watching the chefs lose their minds under the pressure, detested the goofy narration. And the judges...who picks the judges? A businessman, a starlet, and somebody's mother-in-law...what's up with that? (I refer to the original IC, of course, haven't seen the American version)

Score! My local mall has a book liquidation outlet; I never let a payday go by without adding something to my library. Today they had an additional 50% off everything in the store...<ominous music> I contemplated several large-format books, originally $80 CDN/their retail $40 CDN/now $20 CDN; but decided not (I'd just spent $20 unplanned on a Henkel boning knife for my son). In the paperbacks, though, I spotted Claudia Roden's A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Gitlitz & Davidson's A Drizzle of Honey, Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History; all of which I grabbed (only one copy of each on the shelves). These, plus a Kipling bio I'd had my eye on, cost me the grand sum of $20 CDN and change. All brand new. <insert "happy dance" here> Definitely a good day, and hey! I have a "comp" to a single malt Scotch tasting yet tonight, complete with pipers (balm to the soul of a homesick Nova Scotian). Yup, definitely a good day.

Hmmm. I'm in Edmonton, too. About a week now, maybe two, since the last of the snow melted away from the shady parts of my garden. What I've got for seasonal is the first 1/2 cm or so of some crocuses, and some patented Super Early Dandelion . Might just pick those dandelions, though, at that...

Congratulations on your new hire, Mel! Hopefully you can get your own work week back down under 100 hours now...I feel like hell because mine got up to 70 or so, this week (so happy they didn't need me at my other job this weekend...). Onwards and upwards! I may have light at the end of my tunnel, too...interviewed a young'n from the baking program at the local (highly regarded) trade school, has both formal training and field experience. Keen to work graveyard, since he's something of an introvert. Just need to decide what to do about my current graveyard baker.

If the repairman hasn't already been, Bill, pop your microwave's hood and check the fuse. More often than not, that's all it is...$2 or less at your local Radio Shack, and you're good to go.

I remember one year when I was at Radio Shack...we needed just one decent staffer for a high-volume store. A place where everyone made decent money, within the context of that particular organization. We began advertising in June. We had our first *decent* applicants the last week of October. Now understand, we're not talking rocket science here. People who came into the store properly dressed, with a decent resume, and knew enough to say the right things in the interview. That's all we wanted. It took four friggin' months. Then we got two of them on the same day, and hired them both ('cause we'd figured out by then we couldn't afford not to). Both of them were managing their own Shacks within a year. In between, we had a steady parade of absolute losers. The kid who slouched in wearing a "Kill Cops" t-shirt, no socks in his runners, and a resume handwritten in pencil on a torn piece of newsprint. The ones who looked good until the personality testing ("Everybody steals from their employer...Strongly agree. Everybody is stoned at work sometimes...Strongly agree." etc). We used to joke that it would at least be nice to get some smarter dishonest people...

Context is key, for sure. Any question can sound dumb when taken out of context. Having said this, I'm sure Mel's done enough interviews to know who's asking an intelligent question (albeit badly) and who's just a dumbass. Mentoring vs babysitting? I hire and train the pizza person at my day job. The current one is a young woman who started with us as a cashier in the area she now runs. We moved her to a different spot with some prep duties and greater responsibility; and eventually gave her the current assignment (that's where I started, in fact). She had no cooking experience, and needed some assistance during the first few weeks, but she's settled in and does a better job than anybody we've had in there since me (he says modestly). That's mentoring. One of her predecessors, on the other hand, came in with lots of experience. Didn't matter, he was a chucklehead. During the six weeks he was there, I never went two days in a row without having to jump in and help him out. Anything...and I mean anything that took him out of his routine was a major crisis. That's babysitting, and I don't have time for it.

No-one's mentioned banana bread yet? Tsk tsk. Most cakes, in fact. Oh, and waffles...heck with that "there's enough fat in them already" crap. In Newfoundland, a traditional bachelor's/fisherman's meal is just a slab of bread with a slab of butter and a generous pouring of molasses. For anyone else, that's one of the sides...or dessert. Unfortunately, in recent years margarine has become the standard-issue table fodder with the disappearance of the family cow.

Golf's...holy crap, I think that's where I worked as a busser for all of two weeks when I was 18. I remember being rather amused by the old-school trappings, even then (1981, IIRC).

Some off-the-cuff offerings... Little-known factoid: Saskatchewan is a major producer of coriander. Some local producers here in Alberta are trying to promote a line of "cold-pressed extra-virgin canola oil." It looks absolutely gorgeous, thick and viscuous with a rich gold-green colour. Unfortunately it has the same window-putty taste as regular canola oil, only more so. Emanuela Leoni, in Canmore Alberta, makes an artisanal Parmesan-style cheese called Leoni Grana. It is of very high quality, and is a favourite with local chefs. I'm told that they do a very good tour, as well.

I've added a few in recent months: Magic in the Kitchen, Jan Bartelsman Dori Sanders' Country Cooking And my wife's grandmother's 30-year-old copy of The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes, in a practical coil-ring binding. I picked it up when it arrived, and opened it at random, and was terribly amused to find myself looking at a recipe for gefilte fish!