Zucchini Mama

After this review, she's starting to get on my tits. I mean a food writer who doesn't know the basics about how wine is made--What is the point? Zuke

Another nice thing about an early PF is that it makes going to a concert, play, movie or a piece of performance art much nicer because you can go with a full stomach! Zuke

Isn't the idea for prix fixe also just to get people eating out more often? A few years back when I was in England every up and coming bistro had a prix fixe menu for lunch. It usually meant you got better food at a more reasonable price because it was made freshly with fresh ingredients. I'm imagining it's providence comes from places like Paris--I've heard legends that saleswomen in posh shops will have lunch at the same bistro almost every day. I love that idea. The woman from Hermes ordering the prix fixe for twenty years. It makes dining a bit more of a casual flirt rather than a serious...well you know what I mean. It's a good date meal. The early prix pixe menues are great for land rich cash poor parents on the babysitting meter. Can I think of any more reasons to love it? I just love the way it sounds. Best two words you'll ever learn in French! Zuke

Funny because I had a lemon tart from there Saturday morning. It was lemon on top without the caramelized sugar, bit of the chocolate (which I thought maybe had some hazelnut in it) and then a layer of peach. It was really well done, but I thought it needed more tartness. Sounds like we had different tarts all together. The chocolate ganache one I had was made with a raspberry jam layer and a layer of brickle before the crust. Again, it was expertly done, but just not my favorite. I loved the scone I had with homemade cherry jam. Zuke

I went to uni in Lennoxville Quebec for one year where the pizza joint would put a little bun of dough in the centre of the pizza to keep the cheese from sticking to the box. The dough was incredibly tasty and the cheese and back bacon were top quality. Once in a while I stop at our local deli, Tognina's and she makes pizza for the noon hour crowd out of deli ends some days it's good, and some days it's incredible. She sells her pizza dough and we use it all the time. Zuke

Hi begerka, I am really enjoying this glimpse into the life of a glamorous New York opera singer. Do your ferrets wear diamond collars? When I'm teaching myself to cook something completely new I choose three recipes for the same dish on the web. I line them all up, and get a sense of what's different and what they have in common and then I make my own recipe using that information. I don't know if that works for you, but it's a process I like. I do have experience with baking and I am getting better at telling when something's done by the way it smells. I got this idea from a documentary on Mexican cooking I saw several years back narrated by Allan Alda. He asked a woman making tortillas how she knew they were done and she said "They smell like they're done." Did anyone else see that? I think it's a matter of developing a sense of intuition, but using the written or spoken directions as scaffolding in the meantime. My friend completely disagrees with my process and just likes to use recipes from Cooks Illustrated magazines because they're "infallible." I was trained as a classical singer, so have had my share of "breathing lessons". It's so wonderful when you can just forget about the lessons and sing. Zuke

Shaktea 2 Dropped by Shaktea again with the Zucchini Family this afternoon. You must try the chocolate pumpkin tart with a shortbread crust and topped with pecans. Dark, rich, and moist. Yes, they do sell tea leaves to take home. "U" loved their Serengetti Rooibus served to him in a miniature porcelain tea set. He was in his element, sipping away like a little old tea granny. He also raved about his piece of Chocolate Decadence because it tasted "like chocolate ice cream". CH, let sleeping dogmas lie. Zuke

Zuke, are you thinking about Bon Appétit, the mini-opera that's based on an episode of Julia Child's show on how to make a chocolate cake? ← Yes Moosh, that must be it. I wonder if I can find a recording. I'll have to phone the Magic Flute store and see if they have it on CD. Zuke

Actually, someone wrote an opera about Julia Child, or rather set the "lyrics" from a couple of episodes of her cooking show to music. It was performed here in Vancouver, but (dang) I never got to see it. Zuke

On a miserable blustery, rainy day I noticed that the brown paper is finally off the windows and Shaktea is open for business at 3702 Main Street (across from Liberty Bakery). I dropped in for a scone and tea before picking my son up from school and ended up meeting the two women who have created Shaktea. These two women are just bubbling with energy and excitement and they are eager to create a niche in the neighborhood. I am so happy that there is a place open during the day that is serious about bringing top quality tea to us in a warm and inviting room. I googled the word "Shakti" which seems to have several definitions, one of which is "divine female energy". I'll go with that! I find that coffee makes me hyper and jittery, while tea calms me and then some teas do give me a real energy boost that lasts longer than coffee and doesn't give me the caffeine crash or symptoms of withdrawal. I love the ritual of tea and sweets in the afternoon. Now in order for this place to be successful I think it needs to offer things unique to Vancouver. The owners are using their friends as test customers and are starting out with a small selection of sweets to see what people like. I had a lovely toasted raisin with Saskatoon berry jam (be still my prairie heart!) and unsweetened chai made with whole spices (yay!). They are perfecting their masala chai recipe and we agreed that with a touch more spice it would be perfect. (A friend recently told me he found a good masala chai recipe in an Ayurvedic cookbook). So of course I tell them to check out the tea forum on eGullet and egadz my identity is revealed and...these women are so sweet they treated me and I know Chambar is very nice with their offer of beer to eG'ers, but I'm afraid the way into my heart is not through the bitterness of hops, but through the bittersweetness of tea and scones! Needless to say I hope they do well. They are starting small, with a selection of desserts made by a local baker who uses "real" ingredients. My son and I will be in soon to try the lemon tart. The owners are thinking about other items they may carry in the future. I'm thinking out loud here about some ideas for possible products I'd love to consume: Bad Girl Chocolates, desserts flavored with tea, and perhaps a ploughman's platter with local cheese, hazelnuts, and paté. What would you cross town for to enjoy in a tea shop on Main? Speaking of which, I'm excited I don't have to go all across town for a decent scone and tea at "T". By the way, "T" has stopped serving clotted cream with their scones because their supplier discontinued it. Quel Horror! Anyone out there know of a dairy where these tearooms can source their clotted cream? Namaste Zuke

Okay, imagine you're in a cozy country inn deep in the Cotswolds. There's a rabbit roasting on a spit in the fireplace, and a treacle tart baking in the oven. The cook's made a strudel with roasted root vegetables, and a rocket salad with a nice bitter bite. What would you be drinking? Mead. It's got that olde worlde flavor tasting of flowers and apples and sunshine. When you add spice or herbs you're definitely taking it in a specific direction, since its basic flavor is quite subtle. Mead has a similar anti-oxidant health benefit to wine made from grapes, and for those who believe in apitherapy, it may have other health benefits. According to the winemaker at Tugwell Creek Meadery in Sooke, honey does have a great deal of acidity. So now you're in a candlelit bistro on Main Street where the staff are friendly, creative and open minded enough to try out this medieval brew. How can we bring it into this century? The answer may be in researching some of the old recipes from medieval cookbooks and updating them. I'm thinking barbecued rabbit and creme fraîche cheesecake with quince curd. The possibilities are intriguing. Now imagine you're in an enclosed English country garden, surveying your watercolor painting of the lavender, tea roses and bluebells. A warm breeze tries to gently lift the straw hat on your head. Other than the hat, you're completely naked-- since Britain is full of enthusiastic bare nekkid people who call themselves "naturalists," (which sounds so much more elegant and cultured than "bare-assed", don't you think?). What are you drinking? A cocktail that reminds you of your grannie's 4711 Eau de Cologne. It's made with lavender mead and gin. A heady floral mix with, I would say a twist of lemon. It's the Lavender Rinse, it's the LOL (L'il old Lady--*Deborah's* idea), it's Granny Chic. Back to Aurora. I loved the green tea and ginger mead and will try to order some for Christmas. I did like the lavender mead as well, but I'm thinking it would be a seasonal-summer drink for me. I can see the Tweed Triad sipping these LOL's in our backyard next summer--(fully clothed of course). Although, I am curious to see what the lavender mead and quince dessert combo would be like, and since I do have some quince I may order a bottle of that too. The caramelized crab apple was so buttery and burnt sugar lovely-thank you Jeff for that little Halloween treat. The cheeses were great-can you tell us what they were again? I am always up for caramelized pecans as well. I make them at home and put them on salads and porridge all the time. Actually, crabapples remind me of honey because my dad used to keep bees with a man who had a magnificent crab apple tree, and I remember the day we extracted the honey the crabapple tree was resplendent with the rosy fruit. We had the Lentil flour Encrusted Fanny Bay Oysters, which I've raved about before. I had a glass of the Kettle valley 2003 Viognier-which was all "Come up and smell my apricots sometime. " It went so well with the amuse: duck bacon wrapped around Honshumishi (sp?) mushrooms in a plum wine reduction-did I get that right? Best amuse I've ever had. This is coming from a woman who LOVES mushrooms. I had the pine mushroom risotto with veg. tempura-lovely-creamy crunchy, foamy-all my favorite elements. There was enough tempura for a bite of it with each forkfull of risotto. I had the Laughingstock 2004 Chard with my risotto, but it was not a great match somehow. I should have stuck with the Viognier. The wine's a strange beast-Chardonnay nose, but more grapefruit on the tounge-more like a Sauv Blanc finish-probably better with fish or something. "P" had the bison special, which he devoured. I had the Creme Fraîche Cheesecake with frozen Concord grapes-very lovely and not too sweet, but I could have used a tiny bit of coulis to mop up with the cake as a foil to the creamy texture. Kurtis sent over a glass of the 2003 Township 7 Late Harvest Pinot Blanc, that had such a long finish-it was squirting lemon into my mouth long after I'd drunk it. Wow. This wine was so concentrated I could hardly believe it was Pinot Blanc. I've got to get a bottle for my father in law for Christmas if there's some left. What a warm, generous evening. Thanks so much everyone at Aurora. Nice to meet more eG'ers. Lovely memories. Zuke P.S. The word "honeymoon" comes from the tradition of giving a newly wedded couple a month's worth of mead. I'm not sure about the addition of cranberries to the lavender mead. I'm tasting white cranberry juice in lieu of the tartness one would expect from red cranberries. The mead I would drink on its own would be the ginger and green tea. The lavender mead might mix nicely with strong jasmine tea in some kind of cocktail or quince preserve. Reading Fud's comments made me think that a crab apple cyser would be something interesting to create. I like my cysers mit bubbles. Merridale cyser is dear to my heart. Finally, in my opinion, if you like mead you should taste the wine from Tugwell Creek Meadery in Sooke.

1)The Graveyard, Fraser and 41st It was the festival of All Souls, a community ritual organized by artist Paula Jardin. This is one of the most beautiful and profound events I have ever been to in Vancouver. Paula created a magical atmosphere where anyone of any culture could come and honor their departed friends and ancestors. We stood around burning barrels and warmed our fingers while folk singers warmed our souls with traditional songs. Many people had created lanterns featuring photos of the honored ones, along with messages and poems. Many of the memories cited references to food..."Dear dad, we miss your sandwiches..." All India Sweets sold chai and burfi to boost our energy and keep us warm. The pistaschio burfi was full of whole nuts, and was my favorite of the varieties offered. 2) Takeout Wingnuts for our Halloween pre-trick or treat dinner. I ordered the Togarashi which were not as spicy as they should have been. I ended up putting them in the leftover honey garlic sauce, which made them much more interesting. The protein sustained us through our nocturnal wanderings for sweet things. When "U" sorted out his booty I discovered that S'mores bars have changed. When I grew up they were nuts suspended in chocolate toffee, but now they're graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. I managed to cadge one bite and I think I'm hooked. 3) The Graveyard, Fraser and 41st Today is all saints day, so I wanted to take "U" for a picnic in the graveyard and show him some of the altars that had been set up. We picked up perogies to go from European Breads and I talked to him about my grandmother. I told him about some of the food she used to make and thought about how I have inherited her love of sweets and chocolate. The potato perogies were shaped like the Ukrainian ones I'm familiar with. The turkey ones and the pork ones are shaped like the navel of Venus. Served with sour cream and sprinkled with salt and pepper they are classic. The woman at the bakery told me the pork were tastier than the turkey and she was right. We spread out picnic blanket over a cement bench and chatted and watched the graves turn silvery, then grey, then black. "U" told me he was familiar with the convention of people talking to graves, since he's seen it in his comic books. He told me how much he loves my mom, and he said he talks to his toys all the time. I was surprised there was no one else having a picnic, but then it occurred to me that in Mexico it would be much warmer at this time of the year, and maybe we should have an all soul's day in the summer instead. The Mouse and the Bean are having Mexican food-related events all week to honor their traditions. Check out their web site if you are interested.

That's what I would call an "artist's retreat," CH. You could call it a "business retreat". Just don't let it out that Egullet's most elligible bachelor is going solo for the weekend or the hotel may be inundated with hungry young females and reality tv crews. Zuke

In my opinion Aurora's brunch (available Sundays only) is way ahead of Provence in terms of creativity, atmosphere, and flavour points. I only wish they were open Saturdays for brunch again, as I'd be there just about every week. I do wish we had a rebar here. It's the first place I head when I get to Victoria. Zuke p.s. "flavour points" is my new expression created to match commerceSpeak "price points".

Okay, I'm going out on a limb here because I don't know sushi like y'all know sushi but what about the Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown? That way you can have sushi as appies and then you have a whole other menu to choose from for dinner and dessert. I went there for DOV a couple of years back and had skate, which was so wonderful I will never forget it. Zuke

The Last Market Today was the final Nat Bailey Market before the winter weekend market at Heritage Hall. The venders were all so relieved it was a breezy sunny day. This allows them to dry out their tents before they pack them up for winter storage. It's also better for sales, I'm sure. I bought some cute Halloween cookies from Carole's Country kitchen and a jar of her apple jelly with whole walnuts and chunks of dried apple suspended in amber. She says she should charge more for it, since it takes her two days to make. She warned me not to keep it in the fridge because it gets too difficult to spread. I can't wait to try it on scones hot out of the oven. I bought some Bleu Claire cheese from Little Qualicum that used to be called Light Blue, but isn't blue in color, thus the new moniker. I've been eating this slightly pungent cheese for breakfast with apples and dried figs. It will be in stores soon. This cheese might even be good paired with the apple jelly...hmmm. Bad Girl's Truffle of the Week was Scotch-flavoured. Whew! You could really taste the alcohol. It reminded me of those liqueur-filled chocolates you can buy at Christmas time shaped like little whiskey bottles. Only here the chocolate is so much better--rich, dark and wine-flavored. The Stout truffles remain my all time favorite. The knife-sharpening dude was wearing a Halloween costume that added a surreal and gothic element to the market. He wore a rubber witch's mask and a black furry coat. Yikes! I gave him a wide berth. Note that Chris from Arise and Bad Girl chocolates will only be at the Saturday of the December market. We'll see you in the lineup! Au revoir, Nat Bailey. Zuke

Now that the cold weather is here, my craving for the pear bread pudding with creme Anglaise at Sweet Revenge has been awakened. On a Friday night, the place was warm, cozy, and almost full. The atmosphere was convivial and upbeat. I'm wondering about what Canucklehead said upthread about the flavored rooibus tasting artificial. I had the ginger rooibus and it did have an acrid edge. I guess, since I usually put milk in the vanilla rooibus I didn't notice it. I wonder how the rooibus is "flavored". Next time I will ask. Anywhoo, they have plenty of other teas to choose from. They also have a really nice plain rooibus. My only complaint about the pear bread pudding is that I wish it came in a larger portion, but then again, it's probably good it doesn't, since it's so delicious. The bread has melted into the custard, giving it a creamy texture, with luscious chunks of pear that are not mushy, but toothsome. I think this dish has officially become one of my siren songs. Zuke

Went on a literal field trip with a friend and our boys to the Westham Island Herb Farm to search for Halloween pumpkins. The farm is our preferred pumpkin patch because it's not overwhelmed by bus tours and hay rides. This is the wettest I've seen the fields, but they have produced an abundant crop and the pickings are really good right now. We got four medium small pumpkins for five dollars total. The farm has a huge variety of squash, including sugar pumpkins for baking. They will also cut you a fresh bouquet of herbs and/or flowers. They have apples, potatoes, a good variety of onions, garlic, other root veggies, and a few heirloom tomatoes. They also sell honey and homemade jellies. My son was fascinated with the little "haunted barn", which he was too frightened of to explore in the dark, but spent half the time peeking in the front and back doors. He loved running through the pumpkin patch and wanted just about every other pumpkin. We came home happily laden with vegetables and covered in muck. I bought corn there and it was the BEST we've had all season. I cooked it up in a mild curry with potatoes, wild rice and mushrooms. I served it with my homemade crab apple chutney, and a side of braised purple cabbage with pine nuts. Zuke

1) Shoe-eh [sic] downtown was lined up out the door, so we ended up having lunch at the Maple Delights Café. I was very disappointed to see they aren't making their own soups any more. I used to like their soup and sandwich lunch. Alas, soups are now by Sysco. A staff person told me they are making more sweets and changing over to more of a dessert place. They even make their own gelati sweetened with maple syrup or sugar. It was cozy on a rainy afternoon, but I can never shake the feeling I'm in a shop in an airport. 2) Late night calamari at Subeez. Totally without flavour. I liked my Moscow Mule cocktail though. Noise level became unbearable. Conversation impossible. [Place expletives here.] 3)Lunch at Chutney Villa. Since I last posted about this place they have given the washrooms a lick of paint and removed the paintings and replaced them with more subtle decor. I was with my son, and we had the Chicken 65, which consists of big chunks of real chicken fried in a spicy batter and served with the chutneys. Today's chutney choices were coconut, tomato, peach or pear. I had a classic masala dosa and U. ate the parts of the crepe without the filling. Unfortunately, The chicken fritters were too spicy for him, but he did give them a valiant try before he chowed down on mango kulfi, which is very creamy with a nice mango zing. We had the lime juice with the meal, which is made with real limes and must also have some lime syrup, since it is the color of a green popsicle! I like to have mine mixed with soda so it's not so sweet. The proprietresses are very warm and friendly. Psst-you can buy a take-home container of chutney if you request one. Zuke

I would second the vote for Chutney Villa. I just had lunch there today and it was fantastic. It's South Indian Cuisine with a decent wine menu. With a group of people you can order a variety of small dishes to share and nosh on the lovely homemade chutneys. They have spruced up the place a bit recently, and it radiates warmth. The two women who run the place are very friendly and if you phoned ahead they would make sure you had a roomy comfortable table, I'm sure. Zuke

I'll second that emotion! Palak paneer is one of my absolute faves as well. Is the Rubina Tandoori you're talking about in your post the one that closed down and the same family owns Tamarind on W Broadway? I'd love to hear a report on Tamarind if anyone's been there recently. Zuke

I had to try the musk ox burger Sunday night and was quite pleased with the flavour. Actually, I didn't find it gamey at all. (My dad used to hunt, so I've had a good sampling of wild birds and mammals.) I wish there had been a Shirz/Syrah by the glass, as my taste buds were crying out for it as a good match with the meat. P had the mixed game burger and said he liked my choice better. The buns were remarkable--malty. Wished my burger was thicker. The joint was cozy and fun, and the service was great. I really enjoyed meeting some more eGulls and their partners. Loved the garlic mayo! I had eaten a Whitespot hamburger at a kid's birthday party for lunch (which was anemic and less than a centimetre thick) so the contrast of the two experiences made for a trippy day. Zuke

Hi Vin, Anona on Main (3610) makes marshmallows which she cuts for you from the pan. I really liked the espresso ones I had there once, but she doesn't always have them. My aunt made them once flavoured with rose water and orange water from an old Martha Stewart magazine. Do you want them small to fit into smaller cups? Homemade ones tend to melt into a big froth quite quicky anyhow. Now I'm wondering if you could put chocolate chunks in them that also melt into the chocolate...That could be fun! Zuke

Took a tour of Fraser Street on this Gorgeous fall Saturday, and yes, the Fraser Meat and video store still exists, as does the Fraser Delicatessen Inc., (6579 Fraser-@49th, (604) 321-8575) which is wonderful because it's like walking back in time. You can even get containers of griebenschmalz. I usually head there around Christmas to get special baking spices like powdered star anise. They have more than 100 kinds of deli meats and more than 30 kinds of imported cheeses. They also make fresh sandwiches as well as coffee and have a couple of tables if you want to eat in. There are so many hidden gems on this street to be sure. I noticed a couple of Polish places, the Polish Country Store and Polonia Meats bear further investigation. I noticed the European Breads place has sour cherry perogies that sound intriguing as well. I popped in and bought a couple of goodies for Sunday brekky and a hefty flax doorstopper loaf that looks very healthy. Their Georgian Baguette is a staple at our house. They also have Georgian deli salads. I had a wonderful lunch at Nooru Mahal. The waiter was gorgeous so attentive I thought I'd died and been reborn a Principessa! I had a Lamb Palak Dosa which was filled with hearty succulent pieces of lamb with spicy savory spinach. There were two kinds of coconut chutney, which were amazing and the waiter gives generous refills on the chutney. The place is spotless and the food is great and obviously prepared with love, so why was it empty???? Hey, they deliver too (within a five km radius, orders over 15$). (604) 873-9263 Cell (604) 812-2873. They also serve Sri Lankan and Singaporean dishes, Halal food is available, and you can get a four foot long dosa for the whole family. Zuke

We did a local Pinto Noir tasting at Thanksgiving with the roast beast, and the Cedar Creek 2001 was stunning-it had an intense ruby colour, and was really well-balanced. If they can do this with the heart break grape, I'm not surprised they came out on top. Zuke