Peter the eater

Pork Belly Best part of a pig? Possibly. Almost all the pork bellies produced here get processed and sold as bacon. My butcher says the only people who ask him for fresh whole bellies are "from away". I've got a lovely one-kilogram slab to cook for dinner tonight. We had our turkeys weeks ago as Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Jour de l'Action de Grâce, as they say in French Canada. Pretty sure pork bellies count as traditional food everywhere there are men with pigs. I'm struggling to resist all my "from away" pantry items like star anise, cinnamon, Szechuan pepper, etc. Pictures to follow . . .

I haven't tried them all, not even close, but the last few years we've raised a handful of Broad Breasted Whites from chicks from the Co-op with outstanding flavour, and I'm a dark meat guy. Nurture is as important as nature, in my experience.

I like that kind of puzzle on the plate. Have you done other such successful reinterpretations?

I'm working on a house design with an L-shaped kitchen counter that has a split-level entry behind one wall. We're going to cut a 12" diameter hole in the counter at the elbow, and have an organics bin below that can be accessed from the entry. To empty the green bin, the corner cabinet opens from the back through the wall with a door 4' off the ground right by the backyard door.

Rooftop Tracey?

My favourite part on this bag of Europe's Best frozen blueberries is where it says "Product of Canada" on the back. Don't get me started.

And thank you again. That LMS makes great sense to me, and I can see why it's important to industry. I'd love to read a fancy-pants restaurant reviewer eating vindalu and writing "moderate to strong chemesthesis".

I know Guelph as a fun summer place and also as a major research site with Agricultural and Veterinary Colleges, plus lots of Biotech. Does this have any impact on your cooking?

That's as impressive as it is fascinating. How does one qualify and excel at a job like that? Whenever I think my tongue and brain cells are firing together with cosmic clarity I read or hear words to set me right.

A salmon quail Scotch egg? Even if I'm amiss . . . why didn't I think of that? Gorgeous photos, all of them. Thanks.

I totally forgot about that dish. I saw it in my library's copy of The River Cottage Meat Book a few years ago and fully intend to make it myself one day. What do you like for the dip?

The cut I used was labeled flank which I believe means the thin slabs behind the breast toward the rear legs. If a tiny person were to saddle-up on a lamb, its where the spurs would make contact. It was about three-quarters ribs -- definitely a cut that requires long and low moist heat. This piece simmered in a smoky brine for two hours on the stove top, then marinaded for two hours, then roasted for another hour. A longer roast time at a lower temp may have made it a bit more tender, but nobody complained.

Here are the photos. This particular chunk of meat was under $5 and served as the entrée for 3 adults. The mint and parsnips are from my own garden, greens from the market, so all things considered it's a pretty frugal plate. I like the manageable size of these ribs as compared to pork and beef which tend to be a big scale production. As long as the meat is moist inside with a crunchy coat I'm happy. Maybe I'll try a dry rub next.

Lamb Ribs In 1975, when I was a child, my future father-in-law imported some 3000 head of North Country Cheviots from Scotland to Cape Breton. He no longer raises sheep for a few reasons, but mostly it was the coyotes. They're everywhere these days. Fortunately, there are a few local farmers successfully raising NC Chevs. I pulled some lamb ribs out of the freezer this morning. Here's the sequence: frozen flanks go into a brine with saltpetre and liquid smoke simmer/poach at 100C for two hours marinade in oil, vinegar, mint and garlic roast covered for an hour at 150C serve with parsnip puree and bitter greens I like that it's just one pot for the meat -- defrost, brine, simmer, marinade and roast. Photos after dinner.

That's a fine-looking kitchen. Do you use a microwave? Mine crapped out a few weeks ago and it was hard to go without, at first. I kept thinking (and singing) "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone". Now I'm thinking it's a handy thing but by no means essential.

I sometimes put liquid smoke in my brine. I can definitely taste it after cooking. In fact, I'm doing lamb ribs today. Frozen flanks went into salty water with saltpetre and liquid smoke, and are simmering at 100C for the next couple of hours.

That's the place - we'll be there next week! Lucky you! Please ask your server/chef/proprietor there what makes their canned seafood so deliciously different, and how they select what gets served.

When I started this topic, I gathered up all my cans of seafood for a group photo -- see post #5. I was surprised to learn they were ALL from Asia. I switched from SE Asian frozen shrimp to the Atlantic kind over a year ago because of all the bad press. I hadn't considered other products in cans.

Wow. Do you plate all the lobster parts or just the meaty bits?

My 1960's hand-me-down Larousse has often made me yelp "you crazy French bastards". Fresh pickerel from The Bay of Quinte, Ontario. Good lard makes clear bubbles and a well-battered fish golden.

Thanks Grace, for sharing your stellar food. I loved it, you have been bookmarked.

I just Googled wahoo (a phrase that wouldn't have meant much to me ten years ago) and want to know what one does with it. Treat like mackerel?

When I learned you were up next, like a week ago, I asked at my local British Butcher and Frootique if they carried any real Birmingham food. He showed me packages of Balti curry, Typhoo tea and some cheese who's name escapes me. Maybe you could show us some great grub of the Region that's important to you.

What an interesting series of events. I read this eGullet topic after dinner yesterday, and today saw this salon.com article. It's impressive how fast a cyber-lynch mob assembles -- I hope the facts are right.

These days I rarely get an empty nest. When alone I go for the things my family isn't keen on. Blue cheese and Porto, weird stuff from the fish monger, offal. So I don't feel like a sad bachelor, my rules are 1. don't eat over the sink, and 2. wear pants.