Peter the eater

Butter, stinky blue cheese, stouts and porters.

We bought three Topsy-Turvy-esque planters last year from an online vendor. They went up a bit late and spent the growing season in our greenhouse. After the fruit was harvested and the units were cleaned up, I gave them a B+ grade. Now it's year two and we're looking at a C or D. Last year's wicks disintegrated, the metal bits are quite rusted, and the nylon soil pouch is falling apart. I like the idea of hanging tomato vines, just not the way they're made and sold. The ones I bought, in retrospect, are highly overpriced and soon will be buried in the landfill, not biodegrading.

I buy farmed Atlantic salmon trimmings which are the small irregular strips that come off when a whole fish is processed. They are a fraction of the price for other cuts and they are often fatty with Omega-3. Kids love these bits cooked as-is on a non-stick skillet, then dipped at the table in stuff like maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard, dill tartar sauce, etc.

Roosterchef21, that's a very good list. We get wild strawberries all over the yard and they are extremely delicious. The season is just now over and already I miss them.

I recently carved the words "GO NETHERLANDS" from a single unbroken carrot. I hope never to do that again. The carrot was to appear yesterday on national television for CBC's "Soccer Day in Canada" but we got bumped! Sadly, I didn't think to take a photo.

Never had canned potatoes. What can they do that fresh from the sack cannot?

It's a Sophie's Choice, but I'm going with the carrots. Ahhhh, don't make me choose!

Asparagus, artichoke hearts, escargot, smoked oysters and mussels, lots of seafood for that matter. I can't quite say I prefer any of these things canned, they're just different. Vive la différence!

I'm thinking about making lobster ice cream with our machine. I think I saw some in Bar Harbor last year, which may have planted the seed. Sweet frozen chowder?

Wild pheasant are doing well in my neck of the woods. My butcher sells them from time to time -- I don't know if he raises them on his farm, or if they are taken from the woods. Either way, the meat is dark and flavorful and a nice alternative to other birds. I like a pheasant that is slow-roasted breast up, with smoky maple bacon on top to lubricate the process. There's a place in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia that will organize and supply a pheasant hunt. I've not done it, yet. It all sounds very civilized, like you'd go on horseback with a Hunting Pink and Topper.

Sure, but there's always other ways. On a recent restoration project we used reclaimed hemlock and fir on a new radiant slab, screwed and glued to the thin strapping below. Works like a charm.

Why not?

They were compatible. The seal meat is moist and rich, like having a pâté smeared on the toast in lieu of turkey.

Have they tried celeriac? What's the application?

Here's a turkey-less variation on the 100+ year old classic from Saratoga Springs, New York. The Seal Club Sandwich . . .

Seal meat.

Second up, Bakeapple Jam. It's from the bog and it's a bit seedy, but it's got a special honey-like wild berry flavour. It is fully divine on a bagel.

Anna, you are not alone Kerry, I grew up hiking the Escarpment, sometimes on Manitoulin. Aside from the Owen Sound strawberries, what local ingredients do you seek out?

The remains of the head, not the body, yes? These are Gulf shrimp? My local shrimp are small, like 2" max with head. I've never really noticed any tomalley in the head area, just the dark digestive vein where a spine would be, if they had a spine. Is the stuff in question bright red after cooking?

If you precook the meat with a bit of water you get a flavorful base for the sauce, like with ribs.

I like the way steam and hot water cooks chicken. For wings or drumsticks, this works for me: cook through with steam, coat with flavor, then onto a very hot grill or broil. I don't put thick messy marinades on the gas grill because of the clean up -- broiling is easier and almost as good.

That would explain the pink foam on my latte. Seriously though, it sounds rather good. A big step up from the Depression Era ketchup-and-water soup.

The actual recipe for the flipper pie above can be found here.

It's a traditional seal meat pie from Newfoundland, on the east coast of Canada. I liked it so much I started a dedicated topic.

One of the things in my Goodie Basket is a jar of seal meat. It's a standard Bernardin mason jar with a label that says "Bottled Flipper" and a best before date 3 months from the time of bottling. I don't know what I'll do with it yet, although I've been inspired by Paris Hilton's tee shirt which reads "club sandwiches not seals". How about a seal club sandwich?