stovetop

One of the best le Beaujolais the post Grizzly house OLD School giorgios steve

Claytonia lanceolata http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/potato.htm Very interesting plant- the root it seems is like a potato but from all what I have read I see no common connection. steve

yes- somewhere along the line someone thought that wet aged was going to improve meat, I belive this is the most major facture in what makes meat good. steve

The lonely Potato comes from south America- it is not a native plant; although there could be a bulb type plant maybe a cousin, but most night shades had been brought in from south America. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and many other vegetables were sent over to Europe and did not naturally occur there or here. There are many wild plants that also have root or bulb like that are very tasty, the cattail has one very soft and sweet root that is almost potato like. But the potato as we know it today does not occur naturally in the wild. steve

I think that is what they do here in Alberta, they send the cows to prep school and fatten them up before slauhter and maybe clean them out of any antibiotics or drugs before they are killed. steve ps corn is good- I love the effect of corn on chickens

Hi Jay What feed is it that is being fed to cows when it is not wheat? I mean you can feed a cow corn or other grains- not unnecessarily wheat. Or is there like a Monsanto special --------------------------------------------------------- You mean a shoulder quad steak? This area of the cow is best braised Whats up with sirloin steaks these days, I would rather have a strip loin any day, the other side of a good steak is to have air dried rather then wet aged meat, I whole heartedly believe that this is where all the difference lies not all in what it eats. Steve

The Docks in Granville island and Steveston from the Fisher steve

Supply lines realy do suck! We need a central supplier of Montreal smoke meat. For you New Yorkers out there- who is older-Montreal VS New york( smoke Meat) like Bens Schwartz's The cost of bringing meat from Montreal prohibits profitablty- The best is horded; but I am sure it does not even leave Montreal? steve

http://www.bluegoosecattle.com/ Nice link- It is good to see some BC companies coming forward and finding ways to market themselves. I love their web page and see great things in the way they are streamlining their marketing; if they left it up to BC Gov they would not do as well. I have a question, does anybody know what is up with BC Agriculture in regards to abattoirs, especially in the alternative food producer bus. I mean such products as free range- organic- or just plain old school mentality. When I was in the kootneys ranchers there were very afraid of what was coming down the shoot from the BC gov. They wanted to ban all independent producers and only have one local abattoir. This plant was to be located to far away so the cost would be to high for any independents or small producers. I feel that if you take away the small guy how will the organic meat business survive? The way of success in any agricultural commodity is to have farmers be able to reach a level of equilibrium so cost can be met and the business can be sustainable. That is what organic is all about not creating a high end product, which I feel is the shortcomings of organic and eventually big business just buys the company and you are back where you started. If the basis is about sustainability and quality meats the industry will have more chance to survive; by thinking globally but acting locally you keep more food around home, this is where organics is loosing it's edge. This should be the basis of the whole process not creating a high end product but creating traditional sustainable and locally grown beef or any other commodity.

Chef Scott kidd does well with organ meats- I belive he is at "Cafe de Paris" Phone ahead- I bet he could set you up good with enough notice or just find out what his specials are. Don Lentendre can do a mean dishes with organ meats- I am not sure where he is at? Adam Busby and Michael Allemeir both did wonders with organ meats but both are no longer in Van. What about Michael Jacob- Le Crocodile? steve

Strathcona Farmers Market Edmonton Strathcona market located in Edmonton's south side in an area called Old Strathcona; years ago it was a competing city of its own right across the once busy Saskatchewan river. Traders and industry once littered the fast moving waters on a daily basis getting around the Northwesters and Hudson bay trading areas. Native Peoples, the French, Metis, Scottish, and Irish were the inhabitants of the day- the English where just starting to arrive on the banks of the great river that hauled many furs and the fruits of logging and now a busy brick company made home on the river banks of the Saskatchewan. Strathcona has always kept its independent attitude from its neighbour Edmonton across the banks of that busy waterway. The river separated and made travel a little difficult before there was a bridge- only the ferryman could carry you away. Alberta become a province in 1905 but the two cities remained separate souls for a little period longer. The great train pulled into town and forever changing the way people moved around the territory. The University of Alberta is located on the south side and is a big part of why Starthcona has always had that slight different edge then the working man's part of town. Many of the British elite built beautiful brick mansions on the south side of the shores of the north Saskatchewan. Edmonton in the seventies oil boom destroyed most of the beautiful old western Architecture that once doted the old Western town of Edmonton. Jasper ave had many Beautiful old sandstone buildings like the Hotel Macdonald. The boom waited for no one and time and history was just a hindrance in progress so down went the past for a fast future that only in five years changed the face of downtown Edmonton and almost forever the scares of that violent period would mark the personality of the city for years. The South Side seemed to miss that wind like a gale broaching a big tall ship Sailing on the Coast of Vancouver island bringing furs back to Hawaii onto the world market- putting her on its side, many men drowning in the angry waters reminding the captain of the fierceness of the waters of that great Pacific sea. The eighties the dust settled from the big oil boom and many a men and woman were licking their wounds from the onslaught of the new depression- the land of many was no more, at least for another 25 years. Somebody woke up from the hangover and saw how many beautiful old structures survived the booms of the 70's. Run down but not beaten- the govs of the day had the foresight to put money and create many quality jobs for trade workers renovating all the old buildings in the old city creating what we call today Old strathcona. White Avenue is the heart beat of the city of Edmonton. Without it, Edmonton would be a very boring town with no past- devastated by the gale that hit the banks of that old western town back in the seventies forever changing her face for the bad not the good. All this character is infused into The South Side's Starthcona Farmers Market helled every Saturday. The modern version is now over thirty years old and has all the history and character of days gone by. The Huderites have a huge booth with the most amazing produce and old school crafts- they have been a consistent part of the growth of the market. Alberta hot house in my opinion now is surpassing BC in quality and is not held back by the powerfully marketing boards which is doing more harm to farmers profits then good. There is three different farms now that have peppers of every colour under the rainbow. The hot peppers come in every heat and size. Tomatoes galore- sweet and skins that are not like rubber ( BC hothouse)- which I find in the most part Bland. Cucumbers, eggplants and a array of herbs. You have Buffalo- free range and organic Beef and chicken and many home business poping up like mushrooms after a prairies fire. That Alberta free enterprise way runs free and wild within these walls. Something I do not see in the Beautiful BC. Bc is more about buracracy then about free enterprise. It amazes me of what landlocked winter wonderland Edmonton is doing in Agriculture. In the last five years I have watched BC plundure its resources and watch one by one food Manufacturing move out like rats on a ship. When you cruise the booths of the Strathcona farmers market on sat- you see that entrepreneur attitude come out of the pores of that living and organic creature called a market steeped in history and character of days gone by. That farmer and old school Western tenacity runs rampant like children in a candy store. So far in Vancouver and what I have seen in Bc; the only thing I have seen that comes close is the market in New Denver on Fridays and China Town. Vancouver and BC is dire need of a central wholesale farmers market where that free enterprising system can move freely and where local growers can get their food to market. Let these people make a living and alow the consumer access to all that great food that BC grows, stop the flow of the exporters that no longer have the benefit of the Canandian Peso but are not fast enough to realize they would make more money selling localy then to export. Marketing boards are a thing of the past. Bring on the bartering and the atmosphere of a great market. steve

I am going out on limb-the branch might break. I have some basic understanding of feed and farming. I believe like chickens and Cattle or just us humans; you are what you eat- you eat shit well you become shit. What you feed your animals depends on cost and what is available. The region where the cow is being raised has a great influence on what it eats. Right now I am working in Northern Alberta- Slave lake area to be exact and to get there you drive through some amazing farm land to get to Slave- I work on a camp that feeds Oil and gas workers and Fire fighters. I have lived on Vancouver Island around Port Alberni and there was grass growing for feed all over the place, they would get four crops a year- it was a lovely crop that reached the ski at such a fast pace. They would cut sometimes in march. The grass growing madly because of the rain and warm weather. No chemicals and I am sure that it was what mother nature grew not some biology owned by Monsanto. This feed would serve some cow well and produce some quality beef. In Bc the government wants to get rid of all local aviators and only have federal inspected plants. Alberta does not seem to be that stupid and the people here will not just roll over and play dead for the government. Although one farmer at the Strathcona farmers market said: “in Edmonton that they ( the small Aviators ) will step in and produce for BC.” In Alberta they all have fed approval but seek local markets. Thus they are not tied to Cargil. They are producing free-range product that is dry aged not wet aged- this is where it all begins; Corn- wheat- milk powders- alfalfa a cows diet. How an animal is killed and what they eat before you kill them and how it is processed plays a huge part in what that meat is going to be like. Cargill owns us in Canada and the small farmer is working like hell to survive. In BC they are not doing it right but Alberta is working with the small-scale producer and is more of a helper then a hindrance. Bc better get its shit together or else there will not be any industry there. Other then that Maybe Alberta like in every other sector will produce the product for BC. One by one BC is dropping off the scene in Agriculture. All Govs in that province have done wrong- it is time the farmers step up to the plate and stop playing politics and kick some but. As for the taste of beef- Local Alberta- free range- air dried- hung beef- the shit we ate for hundreds of years. We have not re-invented any wheel- we have just made animals like cars and improved the bottom line for shareholders. It has nothing to do with farmers and consumers. It has to do with Cargil- monsanto and adm The best beef is local beef from your farmers market- air dried- not wet aged. Alberta Beef is still the Best Steve

What is the difference- I have been cooking for a long time and I thought AAA was the best- is prime just another marketing name?Please forgive my ignorence- I have heared of prime used in chicken labeling but beef?? steve

Hey SBonner: How long will it take business' to recover from the costs of changing accounting systems regarding that 1% change in the GST? All POS sytems and all year end sytems and daily monthly book keeping all have to be changed and is this retroactive and if not who keeps track of the variable rates and for business what about the GST payed out- what about thoses two variables if things are not retro. Boy that is a lot of data. If I still had my business I would let the government come and get their GST- have the money waiting-check in hand; but let them fiqure out their own accounting. What are we- banks??? just a thought steve

The best garlic fest Hills Gralic Fest Last year it was huge- so much fun steve hills garlic fest

Canadian Food is about Multiculturalism and not the melting pot- if we take our selves out of the British imperialist history model and add over 100 year French control time in our mix and bring that forward to the Canadian modern Central Canada Imperialism and the Toronto City state theory. You can have many Types of Canadian food depending on your point of view and what your angle is. Swing that with the fact that culture and food have a lot to do with what foods are grown in the area. Incorporate that with History (which is different- depending on whose history) - such as the Hudson Bay period- the Coeur de Bois-The Northwesters- the Loyalist- all these first have added to the base to what our food culture is. Add the cultures of many Asians who brought their cheap labour to British Canada- that is over a 100 years ago. Do you think that in a 100 years you might have diversified something from mother country (china I mean) The TV dinner generation bastardized all food and brought us the modern convenience of the modern food world and an influx of Americanism- but we have been trading people and ideas since white man arrived on North America (us and canada). Our Cultural similarities are so tied to North South relationships and Cultures. That border is relatively new compared to History that is not British. America kicked out all the British Queen loving people and where do you think they came. Remember the Boston Tea Party- that in my Opinion is the Beginnings of Modern Canadian culture. The emergence of and Concentration of the Loyalist- concentrated one culture over the other but what gives us balls is the French peoples and Cultures did not just roll over and die- they fought to keep their religion and way of life. Also the French are not just in Quebec but all over north America and their Culture is strong and people still speak dialects of the language and cook things that are over a hundred years old A 100 years of Italian- Chinese- Portuguese – Canadian foods; these are just a few of different cultures that call Toronto home. Toronto is a city of Neighborhoods and cultures- so when one wants to check out Canadian food- go to The Danforth, Kingsington Market, and the many China towns all over TO. When will we branch out of our imperialist ways and call all these things Canadian- after all they all make this great county Canadian. Ps we also have had millions of people’s north and south of the border for hundreds of years that have changed alliances moving north or south. The Americans have been adding their Culture above the 49th for Centuries. steve

Oh My There is a big difference to what I was wanting to discus- it had nothing to do to with what the customer should tip but what we do with it after- not what percentage the customer pays but I was talking about something completely different. The two topics are like apples and oranges- my whole angle is what we do with the tips and how we divvy them out to different people within the restaurant and the whole taxation issue. I read what I said in the header and do not understand how it could be confused- I felt I was very clear, again people are not reading what it is you are really saying. thanks steve

It is just a French word Prawns and shrimp are more then just different words or different language I have been looking for answers for about 20 years and have not had a same answer from anybody crevette is the french word( spelling)

Prawns seems to be a regional thing-I think it is a sub species of shrimp- certain regions have prawns and certain regions have shrimp. In Canada they are all wild ( I think) But we have side strip shrimp and prawns steve

The Green Room has been quietly going about its thing for years- it used to be at the library square downtown. Now it is on trendy Main Street arriving before-not 1st but before the masses chased down the trendy ness of the area. The green room is one of the best vegie restaurants in Vancouver- miles ahead of the naam (not sure why it is still here). It is a small and very energetic place with a great space that brings calmness to the most hectic day. Desserts are also very good there. I would go every week if I were still in Vancouver- I am going again in the end of the month and it is on the top of my list. steve http://www.thegreenroomcafe.com/

What! How many is that now- I lost count. Ten in 20 years steve sidebar- somebody needs to exercise that place

Today I went to Dadeo's- one of Edmonton’s coolest restaurants, once again it was a afternoon visit and the place was still rocking. It is in the space of one of Edmonton’s old diners- booths and the old jute boxes at each table, unfortunately they do not work, but still add to the environment- that is being Cajun and the music definitely is present; not front and center but there- the blues and jazz are the most formidable tunes wafting from the speakers- definitely for me adding to the space and for me (Being blues biased)- love this place. The servers are not totally efficient but are cute and add to the space- fun is what this place is about- more fast and fun food then fine dinning but for me fine dinning can be boring dinning. sidebar--- why can not somebody do both ( fine dinning service, food-fun space) I have had the Po-Boys- catfish, chicken, pork; all were ok but the catfish was best, very fresh on the day I had it. I have had the prawns Creole the chicken main course- all where good but not great. It is a interpretation of Creole but not necessarily authentic. Creole sauce is a tough go and I have not seen to many interpretations that have grabbed me by the ****- still waiting for that real kick ass Creole; mixed with lettuce tomato, Cajun tarter, catfish on a French stick; I like mine closed faced- spicy and with a cold beer. Now that rocks. I still love the place even with its warts and all- in all I have gone about 15 times and have a great time- full the belly and soul every time. It is a fun time and a quick place to get some chow and head out to a movie or clubbing. steve

Rimrock is a solid choice- the wine list is very California- the restaurant very Casual- Suits and shorts can share the same space. Service is professional; the food and wine knowledge beyond most and the team at the Rimrock is one of the best. Phone Bob and he will set you up- the Rock is a fun and elegant place to eat and drink wine. Go for a hike and bring that appetite into one of Whistlers best and oldest establishments. steve

http://mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/conte...hrimpReport.pdf http://www.bartleby.com/65/sh/shrimp.html http://oceanlink.island.net/ask/arthropoda.html http://www.pnptc.org/shrimp.htm http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/projects/msap/...spotshrimp.html Shrimp vs prawns I am so confused It seems that both words are so interchanged even in the bus. A shrimper told me on vancouver island that one has more legs and one is a vegetarian- can not remember which is which there are different species steve

Another very positive If you do not talk- nothing positive comes either Communication is key in our business! If we ever want to become a more professional business we must tackle this issue- we are going to be taxed on our tips- this is inevitable- computers are tracking everything- it is very easy to audit these days and they (tax) are coming to a restaurant near you. So if we do not solve the issues in our own house then when they come it will affect everyone in the business. All you cooks out there also will have to declare your tips. I believe the gov will make it the responsibility of the owners to collect the data- it seems to be our job to be the book keeper to the gov- GST-PST-Source-EI. steve