shelora

Yes, sir.

I feel left out. So how far in advance should I make a reservation? Four days? One week? Like Mr. Talent, I'd opt for the Linner hour (5 - 5:30 p.m.) before things explode into full force. Maybe I could accomplish this on a day trip?

Oh.

I'm so disheartened. A friend has enlisted me to recommend places to eat in Las Vegas. I urge her to check out Thomas Keller's restaurant there, Bouchon, along with a few other places not to be missed. According to her latest blackberry messages, the all-you-can-eat buffets are "awesome." No evidence of Thomas Keller on the horizon.How much can a person eat for mercy's sake? Why don't the buffets just go away? What is the point of them? How are we supposed to educate and encourage friends and relatives to refine their palates when they succumb to the evil all-you-can-eat buffet?

Attended the Feast of Fields today. This year at Glenora Farms in Duncan, the island's only biodynamic farm. A brilliant turnout of chefs and foodies feasting on the best. Some of my highlights this year were the offerings from the Marina team under chef Jeff Keenliside. Handpeeled Tofino shrimp were tossed along with fresh chanterells, organic green topped with Saanich Organics baby squash relish, creme fraiche, all stuffed in a seaweed tuille cone. Vista 18 surprised with something they called a Squash Latte. Tiny hubbard, Tronboccino and pumpkin squash were hollowed out and filled with squash bisque, topped with sage foam, sprinkled with pumpkin seed dust and at the last minute, a grilled chicken skewer that has been marinated in apple cider worked as a stir stick. Sooke Harbour House again channeled ideas from the other side with smoked sablefish atop a sea lettuce cracker, finished off with "jelly balls" perfumed with fennel, mint, calendula and chile flakes. They resembled salmon roe. Point no Point offered a refreshing alternative with chilled Denamiel Creek Farm cucumber soup with Dungeness crab served in a large mussel half shell. Just a quick slurp and it was gone. And then there was the offering from the Fairmont Empress. Smoked Queen Charlotte Sablefish on a bamboo skewer served atop a crab and daikon (Umi Nami Farm) slaw, drizzled with a ginger juice. Notice the colourful alternating petals of violets and roses on each piece. As pictured below, presented on top of a banana leaf square. There was so much to photograph, but lack of battery power resulted in no other pictures except this one. Hopefully, MattR will bring in some reports from the service end. S

And how about that close neighbour of the U.S.'s..........Canada! Oh, yoo hoo... over here!

Make anything that reflects the three colours of the Mexican flag. This is how our evening is unfolding. Let's start with a wild Mezcal purchased from the Gutierrez family in Matatlan, Oaxaca. Let's sip it from those Reidel glasses specially designed for tequila. Mmmmm, so earthy. A perfect accompaniment is a hand ground guacamole made in the volcanic stone molcajete. The "mano" you see - works as the grinder - and is in the image of a liitle dog with a corn cob in his mouth. Good dog! Notice the lovely colours of the Mexican flag - green guacamole, red tomatoes and white onion. I guess it's time for a little something more substantial. The smoked pasilla chiles of Oaxaca biting in their heat, but balanced out by the hot melting cheese inside and the tomato caldo with hints of epazote, looking an awful lot like marijuana. Ambrosia. Then let's cap it off by having a chile ancho stuffed with a classic picadillo - shredded pork, plump raisins, tomatoes and almonds perfumed with cloves, cinnamon and black pepper. This rich dish rests on a warmed crema with cilantro. And el grito (scream) begins with the words, Viva Mexico! Viva Mexico! Viva Mexico!. I recommend screaming it from your lungs at around 11 p.m. Apparently there is an entire speech that follows but I won't find out what it is until later this evening. So until then, Viva Mexico!

Jeez, We feel like Mexican food tonight. Let's start with a wild Mezcal purchased from the Gutierrez family in Matatlan, Oaxaca. Let's sip it from those Reidel glasses specially designed for tequila. Mmmmm, so earthy. A perfect accompaniment is a hand ground guacamole made in the volcanic stone molcajete. The "mano" you see - works as the grinder - and is in the image of a liitle dog with a corn cob in his mouth. Good dog! I guess it's time for a little something more substantial. The smoked pasilla chiles of Oaxaca biting in their heat, but balanced out by the hot melting cheese inside and the tomato caldo with hints of epazote, looking an awful lot like marijuana. Ambrosia. Then let's cap it off by having a chile ancho stuffed with a classic picadillo - shredded pork, plump raisins, tomatoes and almonds perfumed with cloves, cinnamon and black pepper. This rich dish rests on a warmed crema with cilantro. Gosh, I'm stuffed. I love this restaurant!

I absolutely LOVE Vietnamese coffee. From the patience required for every last drip to make its way into your glass to stirring the coffee into the sweetened condensed milk to pouring it over ice, its one of my favourite coffee rituals. You can buy the units in Chinatown in Victoria or at Cairo Coffee on Fort St., but I doubt Mr. Talent would want to venture that far.

Excellent idea!

What are you making to celebrate Mexican Independence Day? I'm off to buy poblano chilies and make a picadillo de puerco. What will you be making? Do you plan on doing the "grito" later in the evening? I will be attending a fiesta late tonight, where the grito will be performed! Can hardly wait. s

You got that right, sweet cheeks!

Heirloom. Organic. You know. Precious. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the concept of preserving old varieties, but on my budget I can't buy great wreaths of the stuff and can only support the subsistance farmer in dribs and drabs. I've bought one or two for an isolated taste test, but beyond that, its too rich for my tastes.

Hello, I will gladly give you the recipe. Except I guess I can't print here since its from a cookbook - copyright laws and all that. I could certainly revise it, but its probably safer to PM it to you. Would that be okay? Besides peeling the garlic and cutting the beef into cubes, a chimp could make this dish! s ...And the book is, The Olive and the Caper by Susanna Hoffman, published by Workman Press. s

I did a demo at Urban Fare a couple of years ago for Cinco de Mayo - I made killer ceviche with wild salmon and avocado. I've still got the recipe sheets if you want them. I'm not sure why stores carry products like cactus and dried chilies when the majority of the population doesn't have a clue what to do with them. I've approached stores here in Victoria about doing demos, but nobody has bitten. It's all really simple to use these wonderful products. And I agree let's just get the taco carts rolling, then we can work on the finer points of interior Mexican cuisines as opposed to the Northern and coastal cuisines - I really don't want to see another fajita or chimichanga as long as I live. Mexico has so much to offer our palates and we continue to get the same old slop. I don't want to think about it too much, its too depressing.

We did have another stellar dining experience in Seattle. We returned to some of our favourite haunts and tried the new Lark - sleek contemporary room, I like the innovative layout where you can curtain off areas of the room. Went back to The Harvest Vine. Exceptional food but we did notice a vase increase in the price point of tapas. The current $15 to $17. per small plate price point really squeezed our budget and we'll have to give a pass to the vine next time round. In comparison, Le Pichet, continues to offer the best plates big on flavour at affordable prices. Crisp fried pork tongue on shredded carrots marinated with cumin, currants, orange and parsley - $8.00 - excellent value. And such a cozy room. I hear rumour that they are planning on a second location.......... Our favourite happy hour haunt is the Metropolitan, where a three set of raw oyster shooter are $1.50, giant beer boiled prawns, $1.50 and three tiny sandwiches of prime roast beef with creamy horseradish - again, $1.50. Paid a visit to Matts on the Market and were suitably impressed with the kitchen set up - two propane burners and one convection oven. And a staff so wine saavy. In fact, everywhere we dined we encountered pro service staff. I love Seattle.

We are going back to the Rosemeade in October for the Winchester Cellars wine dinner. Ken Winchester promises to bring out some of his private reserve and that Pinot Noir of his is exquisite and he has some new tricks up his sleeves which we've already been privy to at the winery. If any of you Vancouver-ites can score a ticket to this dinner, I highly recommend you make the trip over. The food Richard Luttman cooks at the Rosemeade is sublime. Th decor is so chic and if you can ever score a tour of the kitchen you won't believe it - I', hoping the chef's table in the corner of the kitchen will be open soon. So glad you went James.

I made the recipe yesterday with your thought on it being too overpowering. I cooked off the 2 T. of raw minced garlic - it mellowed it right out along with lemon juice - it was really good. Since it was a vegetarian recipe, I couldn't resist adding a bit of chicken stock to the mix! I also omitted the sesame seeds. It was excellent. Thanks for the recipe. Yes Susan in FL, thanks for reminding me about the bagna cauda. Served warm, right? One thing that really stands out from my Saturday garlic extravaganza was the lack of odour on my hands. You'd think after peeled 171 cloves that there would be some sort of smell. I find that odd. Do you think a new strain of garlic has been developed? I seem to remember a time when garlic had a strong smell. What do you think??

Although I'm a Beefeater gin girl - I would be willing to give the Plymouth a swirl. I believe I've only seen Plymouth in Seattle. Well, chef Nwyles, is it something you carry? s

Like Senor Frogs? Thats a handy phrase!

I like the idea of combining the roasted and the raw minced garlics together. The other addition if the lemon juice. All three of the dishes I made on Saturday required the addition of an acid. It just seems to elevate the garlic. Thanks for the recipe. S

Garlic is being harvested in these parts and selling from $1.50 to $3.00 a head. Being on a tight budget, I have opted for the grocery store garlic that hails from either California or China - 3 heads for .99cents. So I filled two plastic bags and have begun to cook. Saturday we invited a few friends over dinner. I dove in and hand peeled 171 cloves for three dishes: 15 cloves for a batch of skordailia (a Greek dip redolent with garlic, a mashed potato and crushed blanched almonds), four heads thinly sliced for a garlic soup and the piece de resistance, a 100 clove beef, slow cooked with a bottle of red wine. Mercy. All for the pursuit of research and development. The skordalia was a stunning example of raw garlic's intensity. The soup a delicate slightly sweet rendition and the beef dish reduced the 100 whole cloves into a thick and rich paste. Can you overdose on garlic? Myself and the Mr., both felt slightly nauseous and a little crampy the next day, but quickly recovered around noon. I plan on taking a few days off before I take up the cause again. The skordalia may again get the green light slathered all over a slow roasting lamb. What sort of exquisite dishes do you make with tons of garlic that I just can't miss?

And a most interesting perspective indeed! Get ready to be swarmed by the masses looking for the best samples. If you run out of food before the event is over - and many do - you can take a moment and meet other chefs or sample food from the other booths. Then its party time!

Matt, Go right when the flood gates open, get the map and start eating and drinking like the fiend I know you are! You'll love the event being held this year on Glenora Farm (www.glenorafarm.com). It is a biodynamic farm ( an article about the farm appears in the latest issue of EAT magazine). Glenora boasts Highland cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens and also produces their own vegetables, wheat to mill flour, maple syrup, fruit, woven goods and beeswax candles. They will be the recipient of 50% of this year’s Feast of Fields profits to purchase an evaporator to increase production of their own maple syrup.