Peter the eater

I suppose. Like most port cities, there's lots of good seafood available. The population of Halifax is around 350,000 and I would say most fish buyers are quite traditional and slow to adopt new options. The biggest sellers at the markets are salmon, haddock, lobster, scallops, mussels, and then all the rest. Most shoppers want easy fillets that have been cleaned and boned. That's probably why a whole flounder is such a deal. It amazes me how one man's delicacy can go straight into another man's compost bin. When my market gets monkfish, it's because it's a by-catch of the halibut fishery. They chop off the tail and chuck the rest, liver and all. One of these days I'll get a big one for a backyard barbecue and shock the neighbors.

I can see the logos on the jerseys . . . Strictly speaking, I should've called them Kentish Huffkins. I don't think I'll change my name (it was the espresso talking) but still, Kent Huffkins sounds to me like a BBC reporter.

Whole Flounder From an anonymous letter sent from Halifax to Billingsgate, London, dated August 21, 1749: "A man may catch as much fish in two hours as will serve six or seven people for a whole week, such as cod, halibut, turbot, salmon, skate, haddock, herrings, smelts and lobsters." Sadly this isn't true today, and sadly there's no mention of flounder. They always seem to take a backseat to halibut and other flatfish. The one shown below is a Pseudopleuronectes americanus or winter flounder, also known as black back or lemon sole. Sometimes they're misleadingly sold as sole or fluke. As far as I know, real sole is dover sole, and the unpalatable word fluke refers to summer flounder. So how do you tell apart the winter sole from the summer sole, since they're both caught year round? They start out life looking like regular fish, then one eye migrates to the other side of the head during a period of lopsided swimming, and before long they become flatfish with two left eyes, in the case of summer flounder, or two right eyes, in the case of winter flounder. Small flounders like this one are very hard to clean and fillet, for me at any rate. Bigger specimens can be chopped up into steaks, which is how halibut usually appear at the market. This one weighed around 3/4 lbs whole and uncleaned. I gutted it, trimmed the fins and scraped off the scales from the up side. It was baked at 350F for 10 minutes, a few more under the broiler, then served whole, one fish for one person. The sides are a baked russet split with butter, diced carrots and turnips with maple butter, warm greens, and cranberries. It's like a seafood Thanksgiving. The fish flesh is white and delicate, and as always, tastes best cooked on the bone.

We've got our kit together and should start tapping this weekend. There are a few mature sugar maples out in our woods near Iona, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, that have produced well in past years. Here's the process: pick a spot on the tree around a meter off the ground, below a branch is good drill a 1/2" hole 2" deep, don't use last year's hole insert the spile (spigot) and hang the bag or bucket to collect the sap come back in a few days and remove the sap-filled bags boil the crap out of the sap -- 40 ounces of sap becomes 1 ounce of syrup filter, jar and refrigerate You can use the raw sap for making tea or coffee. You can also boil off almost all the water to get a fudge-like maple butter.

I've got a DVD of Jamie Oliver's stage show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London from ten years ago. It's a bit odd, with the cooking props, scripted comedy, audience participation and drum kit for the lamb curry segment. Mildly entertaining.

What a coincidence, Wild Grey Mullet is my current haircut of choice. Sorry. I've never cooked a grey mullet myself but I've had it baked whole at an Italian restaurant -- stuffed with herbs, olive oil and sea salt on top. Very nice.

An appropriate article from yesterday's Toronto Star: Here's why maple syrup is very good for your health

I'm about 600 miles East and North of Bangor, Maine. Sunny days and freezing nights are the key to good sap flow. We've had some nice weather, but I think we'll still get a good amount. Things definitely slow down in April.

Many years ago my extended family began making small amounts of maple syrup from scratch, mostly as a means for getting together at the end of a long winter. We don't always pull it off, for some it's a hard time of year to get away and the traveling conditions can really suck. Next week we're planning to do it again even if family participation is low. This time I'm bringing my camera and laptop. Anyone else making and/or enjoying maple syrup?

At the Farm Market I like to buy bakery stuff that I can't easily make at home, which for me is a lot. Savory pastries push my buttons, crunchy and foreign doesn't hurt.

I'm in a foggy zone 5a or 5b with the Atlantic Ocean across the street. Last year we put up a modest greenhouse which is now ready for daytime transplants. Mostly, it's my wife's tomatoes, and I'm trying a bunch of exotic hot peppers. Salsa time should be formidable this fall. These sprouts get a fluorescent lamp overhead in addition to South window light.

Making stock is so personal. For me, veal broth is more neutral and versatile -- you get all the depth without that strong beefy taste.

I've yet to make an authentic haggis, so I'm enjoying this discussion very much. I've had the Real McCoy made from scratch, courtesy of relatives, and also some nice incarnations at pubs, etc. My question is: does anyone else like canned haggis? It ain't the same beastie, but it's got something special. The analogy I think of is canned smoked oysters.

I've only ever used one. Hardwood pear-shaped handle, 2" tapered steel blade with a chisel tip. We call it "Richard" because that's all it says on the steel part. I haven't met an oyster that I couldn't open with it.

It looks mighty fine. What is the method for the baps ? I've an occasional acquaintance with 'morning rolls' (as seen, for example, last week in The Bread Topic). Nice buns, Blether. Your Scottish Morning Rolls look lighter and fluffier than my baps. My yeast was near the expiry date on the jar, which is not ideal. Keep in mind I was using a personal recipe from a hundred years ago which, frankly, lacked some detail. My mystery baker says the dough rises for an hour, gets punched down and rested for ten minutes. Shape into flat ovals, brush with milk, sift flour on top, proof until doubled in size, poke a thumb well in each centre, and bake at 400F for 15 minutes. Evidently, this dough can be used for Kent Huffkins. Make smaller balls with a bigger indentation, then once they're baked you add jam and thick cream to the well! They look real good. In fact, if I were to legally change my name . . . I'd go with Kent Huffkins.

Scotch Bap and Split Pea Soup This is a good meal to make as the end of winter approaches. The freezer pork is almost all gone save for a few chops, ribs and a nearly-finished ham bone. The old recipe card says to simmer the ham bone with an onion for a few hours, cool & strain, then put the meat aside and use the stock to soften dry yellow split peas. Pretty basic. The bap is a small, flat dinner roll made with flour, milk, water, yeast and salt. It gets baked with a generous dusting of flour to keep the tops soft and powdery. It's a practical accompaniment for a thick soup or stew -- I don't think I even used the spoon.

Use a microplane on the rinds then soak the shavings with olive oil for a nice condiment:

Black pepper really is the Master Spice. Like coffee, grind just before use. I like it best on a soft-poached egg.

Maybe the metallic taste requires an electric current, like chewing aluminum foil with amalgam fillings. Human blood tastes metallic to me, it makes me think of iron. That is, my own blood from a hockey stick to the mouth or some other injury.

What does metallic taste like? What foods set off this sensation?

There was some subterfuge involved with this presentation. My dinner guest was boasting how well she can distinguish different meats and proteins, so this was a case of "guess what's in the amuse". Funny you should mention eggs -- once peeled, these cojones were the exact size and shape of medium chicken eggs.

Two and a half years later and I finally took the plunge. I poached them until almost cooked through, peeled them, sliced them, then soaked them in diluted vinegar and lemon juice. Pat them dry, dust with seasoned flour and bread crumbs, shallow fry until golden, then serve with various toppings: plum sauce, mint jelly and cranberry. Salt, pepper and rosemary. They have a mild lamb taste with a texture like thymus sweetbreads. They're quite delicate once the outer layer comes off so the coating and frying must be done carefully. The crunchy gold crust helps a lot. The low pH soak seemed to draw out some raw-looking juices, although maybe milk would work too. Two thumbs up. I don't feel extra virile.

Johnnyd, you won't get off the hook that easily. We're enjoying good hauls North of ME, the boat guys and resto guys are embracing the sustainable shrimp. Cold water = yummy.

We keep 2 jars of peanut butter in the house - organic nuts only for my wife and regular grocery store Jiffy for me. I like the higher viscosity. They're quite different foods, aren't they? For jar-to-mouth I like the Jiffy. Fluffy white bread with jam it's gotta be Factory PB. For cooking with dipping sauce for meats, filling celery stalks etc. I still like the real stuff.

Oh my. I've finally admitted to myself that I prefer Jiffy Factory Peanut Butter to the Organic Nuts-Only kind.