Pam R

Two peas in a pod, we are (though I'm not allowed to eat peas during Passover . . .) Things have changed a lot in the last five years. Our business has changed -- the retail part of it is very different than it was 5 years ago. In 2006 we had just moved our store across town. We had a restaurant in the old location, not a retail store, and it took a couple of years to learn how to order and plan for Passover. The first couple of years I ordered so much matzo we were left with a few hundred pounds after the holiday. Right now there might be 100 lbs. left in the store -- and we're open on Thursday and Friday and will sell more. I've started writing notes for myself at the end of each season, telling me what to do next year. And a couple of years ago we put in a new cash register system that keeps track of all of the sales -- best thing ever. The catering . . I don't know if I can tell you what's changed exactly, because things have changed slowly over the years, but I can tell you that things went really smoothly this year. Ten years ago we would be at work until 3 AM the night before Passover -- we'd be carving turkeys, decorating cakes, packaging and labeling and organizing the store. Then we'd be back by 7 AM to do the last-minute things before customers came to pick up their orders. Last night, instead of 3 AM, we were all gone by 11:45 PM. Great staff that have been with us for years, cousins that have been coming in to help with Passover since they were teenagers -- it all helps. It's still exhausting.

That works, thanks! We usually open a few boxes every year and let customers try them. Some people are loyalists -- they've used the same brand for 50 years and they're not going to change now! Some shop price -- in Canada the Israeli brands are all cheaper than the American (and just as good . . or better ) I have never been a fan of chocolate matzo - I don't remember ever having it growing up. Manischewitz came out with some new chocolate covered matzot this year -- one had dark AND milk chocolate on it (ohlala) and they also had small squares of matzo covered with mint flavoured chocolate. The mint chocolate was pretty good . . but it still had matzo in the center. If you have any questions, please ask! I'll try to cover some of it but I know I'll just touch the surface so let me know if you have any specific questions.

Speaking of matzo . . there are many brands and many types. Matzo is usually made with ingredients: flour and water. But you can get some made with egg, whole wheat, spelt, oats (gluten-free), extra bran, "lite" (thinner boards), handmade or machine made and it goes on. Generally speaking, I like the Israeli brands (King David and Yehuda are the most popular brands we sell). But I'm partial to the Streit's spelt matzo. Anybody have a favourite?

Good morning! I'm not in bad shape here, so I thought I'd post before things get crazy. Got to work about half an hour ago - and it's a crisp, clear day. (-4 C at the moment) Breakfast was at my desk. Very exciting breakfast too. Awww (I'm not sure I agree with the sticker . . but they weren't bad:

!חג פסח שמח or Happy Passover! This is not the first time I've done an eG Foodblog during Passover. It's hard to believe that the first one was in 2005 and the second one, just one year later in 2006. Since it's been 5 years since I last blogged, I thought it was time to do it again. For those of you who don't know me, I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. If you take a look at this map of North America you'll find Winnipeg right in the center - about 100 km north of the US border (we border North Dakota and Minnesota) and dead centre between the east and west coasts of Canada. I work in the family business - we call it Desserts Plus, but the emphasis is more on the Plus and less on the Desserts. We're kosher caterers and have a kosher food store in Winnipeg. Tomorrow (Monday, April 18th) marks the end of the 3 busiest weeks of the year for us -- we expect over 150 catering orders to go out over a 4 hour period, plus customers coming in for last-minute items before Passover starts tomorrow evening. You probably won't hear much from me tomorrow -- unless there are some lulls during the day. But if you have any questions, please ask them! I'll get to them as soon as possible. The plan for the week is a small seder dinner on Tuesday night and a lot of home-cooking over the holiday. It's 11 PM and I have to go finish packaging the chopped liver -- I've been here since 8 AM and have to be back by 8 AM tomorrow - and there's still stuff to do before I go. (This is about 1/3 of the 90 lbs. we made this year)

Thanks for sharing your week with us, Evan! The markets, pottery, great looking food coming out of a caravan and a visit to a new place were all great fun. Thanks

I've done it both ways - my first book was done by a great Canadian publisher (and US rights were purchased by an American company) and my second book was self-published. Not POD. I had 6000+ copies printed, and have been distributing it myself (not easy, even with help from my sister). There are pros and cons doing it each way -- though I think it helps that the first book was done through a publisher. If you have a concept and can put together a good concept, it doesn't hurt to try to find a publisher. A small investment in something like the Writer's Market is a good idea. It has a section on publishers that tells you what subjects they publish (so you don't send your cookbook submission to a company that only publishes science fiction novels), whether or not they accept unsolicited manuscripts and what they like to see in the submission. I sent in dozens of submissions and ended up with 3 offers to publish. I had no idea what I was doing when I started and I found the book really helped.

Yeah . . . I agree. The tasting was awkward and weird. Please give each judge a plate so they don't have to share and do away with the curtained room. Loblaws/Superstore does seem like an odd choice. Wonder if they have plans to move the show to other cities in future seasons (assuming they're going into this thinking it won't be for only one season) -- how many Canadian cities have Whole Foods? (Three, according to their website.) There's probably a Loblaw's/Superstore/No Frills/Wholesale Club/etc. in most, if not all provinces. Just a guess. The host, btw, used to be on ET or some other entertainment show.

Good points, Marc. I wonder what the actual number of female chefs (vs. male, I guess) is in Canada. I watched most of it - missed the first 15 minutes because I was at work, in the kitchen. From what I saw they really stuck to the Top Chef formula -- the host, head judge, Gail-esque judge and a nice star guest judge. It'll be interesting to see if they diverge at all from the US version. The thing that makes this Canadian is the competitors, of course. I mean, you think we'll ever see seal served on Top Chef US? It will be interesting to see who shows up as a guest judge. Anybody else?

They steam, roast, bake, etc. They have grates that you can put in and preheat and 'grill', so to speak. I've gone to a demo for one (and used an early version in university). I don't know if they make home versions. According to the sales team at the demo, a lot of places that sell whole, roasted chickens are using huge combis. The oven has a probe (or several) that you stick in the food when it goes in. You can program the oven to stop cooking and hold the food at a certain temperature for hours. So you could potentially throw a roast in the oven in the evening and get to work in the morning and have it be cooked to the perfect temperature.

Hey. When were you last in Winnipeg? The two largest grocery chains use coins -- Superstore (a Loonie) and Safeway (a quarter). Superstore sells loonie-size tokens that clip onto your keychain so you always have one on you. Do you miss any foods from here? Get hankerings for perogies or smoked Goldeye?

Final clue:

Does this help?

There will be another image . . . tomorrow.

Our short break will be over next week. Here's a teaser from our next blogger:

I really like their cheeses. The sharp cheddar actually tastes like cheddar (unlike many others). The same company also produces cheeses under another name (escapes me at the moment) -- cheeses under the other label are chalav yisroel. Actually, since this topic was started there are many more options out there for kosher cheeses (at least in Canada). I can even get wedges of Parmesan now.

Thanks for sharing your week with us, Rhonda. It was an amazing glimpse into your region and the food culture. Now you can get some rest!

Those red beans and rice looked amazing. If I wanted to make a non-pork version could I just smoke a turkey and use stock from the bones, then add the meat at the end? I've never had red beans and rice but it looks so good I want to try (a kosher) version. Pam, (and Rhonda), I've used smoked turkey legs in RB&R before when I couldn't find ham hocks. It worked very well, maybe a little less smoky that with the hocks, but pretty good. They may be easier to find than the necks. I do sell smoked drums that would probably work, but a whole, smoked turkey is a beautiful thing. When it warms up enough for me to get the smoker out I'll have to try this -- smoking a whole turkey means I get to have plenty of smoked meat on top of what I'd use in the beans. I can't wait to try it.

Those red beans and rice looked amazing. If I wanted to make a non-pork version could I just smoke a turkey and use stock from the bones, then add the meat at the end? I've never had red beans and rice but it looks so good I want to try (a kosher) version.

Thanks for sharing your week with us - and a lovely week it was!

Of course, you were right. It is robirdstx! And now for a clue from our next blogger:

This, then your citrus plants -- do you grow a lot of the produce you use? Your fish then fishcakes look so good to me -- I'd like a plate of each, please.

I'm adding my thanks for a fabulous week, Roberta. Thanks for inviting us into your kitchen and taking us to some great places. It was a blast spending the week with you. You deserve a cocktail and a nap!

Hmmm .. somebody here may be on to something . . . Final shot:

The meatball lettuce wrap looks great. Do you think it would be good with chicken rather than pork? I'm very envious of your produce, up here in the frozen tundra.