Peter the eater

I finally made it to The Real Canadian Wholesale Club here in Halifax. It's a big box retail store from Loblaw Companies Limited, much like Costco but more focused on food. There appears to be several dozen stores across Canada, and they try to appeal to small businesses, large families, community groups, sports clubs, etc. Consumers are rewarded with a lower unit price if they buy multiples of whatever product -- like 10% off for 3, or 20% off for a dozen. There's no membership fee. The highlight of my first visit was finding beef tenderloin for $4.99/lb in 4-6 lb vac bags. Too good to be true? Maybe. The beef was frozen and the label had words like "random" and "ungraded". What does that mean? There were no butchers on hand to answer my questions, so I didn't get any. And they don't take VISA. Comments? Experiences?

Thanks for the gift certificate tip PG, last time we sent one out west he got some pleasant Feenie's Weenies. I think Zombies have a lust for life, and I'm a method actor. Well, method background performer, as seen on post #32.

Give me time, I'm new in town. Plus, I've got the first part of London written, I'm just waiting on my friend to email the photos. When I get to part two we can go all George A Romero.I'm enjoying this topic for three reasons: 1. I haven't lived in Vancouver since 1993. 2. I want to give my musical brother-in-law, now working in North Van, a cool foodie gift certificate for xmas. 3. Before I die, I need to be an extra in a Zombie movie, so the mere mention of Romero gets me worked up.

The overall best movie of 2008, according to me, has an important food theme. It's a dystopic and subtly depressing comment on Western food and culture, more like "Supersize Me" than the enticing movies listed here. This year I'm going with "WALL*E" from PIXAR, which is a big step for me because "Cars" is just about the worst I've ever had the misfortune of seeing.

So you are looking for a food movie to slobber over during the holidays? There's not much new to DVD that I'm aware of -- "No Reservations" is alright. Aaron Eckhart was even better in "The Dark Knight" but there's not much food there. You may need to go to the classics, many of which have been mentioned. The best film of 2008 (according to me) has an important food theme, but it's not what you're looking for . . . so I think I'll post it over here.

More family lexicon . . . on Wednesday mornings I take the new bridge to Dartmouth, because Wednesday is POMBA playgroup day (Parents Of Multiple Births Association). The ladies at Tim Horton's drive-thru window recognize our order of "two ball cakes" to mean "a pair of sour creme glazed timbits, each in its own bag".

You took an eel on the T? I suppose you'd need another fare if your seminal victim was a hog or a steer. Seriously, I applaud your efforts -- more people in North America need to be reminded what groceries really are, and how our food decisions can have far-reaching ramifications. Lots of people are too busy to care, or just don't want to know the full life-cycle of a hot dog. Over the years I've slowly gone from "ignorance is bliss" to "give me all the facts" and that's the way I like it.

I would never remove marrow from bones to make stock -- if you got it, use it. Marrow is extremely nutritious and caloric. I don't think it adds beefy flavor like muscle and connective tissue does, but it certainly adds body and depth. I suppose it depends whether you're making soup for an ailing child or consomme for the Emperor.

Context is important. I'd like to think I could be a trooper and eat like a polite visiting diplomat, there are things in this world more important than an unhappy fish. At least it's not a monkey fastened to the underside of a table with leather straps.

I've never had the opportunity to eat live fish, like Ikizukuri, but the thought of the fish gasping back at you whilst you dine on it's flesh is a little disturbing. Mind you the Japanese don't have a monopoly on this, there is the Sichuan delicacy of Fried Live Fish too, not sure about this dish... ← This seems to be a completely unnecessary and cruel cooking method. Fresh fish is wonderful but this is wholly unappetizing. ← Roger Ebert said that one valid measure of a film is how long it stays with you, in your head. That Youtube half-alive Sichuan delicacy has been haunting me for 24 hours now. That fish's gaping mouth sucking air . . . as if to say "catch and release . . . catch and release". Damn you Prawncrackers! And thank you, too. Read, chew, discuss.

I like hot Earl Grey tea with milk, and really crisp ginger cookies.

I've never had the opportunity to eat live fish, like Ikizukuri, but the thought of the fish gasping back at you whilst you dine on it's flesh is a little disturbing. Mind you the Japanese don't have a monopoly on this, there is the Sichuan delicacy of Fried Live Fish too, not sure about this dish... ← There's an important difference between raw food and live food. The fish in that video seems uneasy with the people picking at its burned-alive body. It may be a delicious treat, but I think I'll pass.

I've never seen salt hake for sale around here. There are several species that get called hake, all of which belong to the order Gadiformes, but can be of the family Phycidae or Merlucciidae. The one I showed above is of the latter. I'm guessing you saw salted red or white hake, from the family Phycidae. They're bigger and more common. Does the vendor know?

I've made beef soup from raw marrow bones, roasted marrow bones, and roasted marrow bones that have been mostly emptied of marrow. The second one was the best.

How big are the pieces?Up here we get red hake and silver hake. The reds are bigger and more common, and available as long white fillets. The silvers are sold whole like this one:

For 500 years cod has been the most important food for Newfoundlanders. The cod fishery collapsed abruptly in the early 1990's and a moratorium was imposed to drastically reduce the level of harvesting and save the species. In 2004 cod fishing was banned outright. Now there's the 2008 Northern Cod Stewardship Fishery, so at least you can get some cod at the store -- fresh, frozen or salted. Salt cod is stored in the fridge or freezer, and gets soaked for a day in cold water before using. I love the stuff and I'm glad to see a dedicated topic.

That looks like fun, but I have to say, Mr. Doolittle looks a little scary.

Here's an interesting one, although it doesn't have a permanent home: NY Food Museum.

There's a recent topic called "Is It Broth or Is It Stock?, And what's the difference?" over here.

What do you mean you don't agree with me? You're right, low-fat ground fish make excellent classic stock -- if that's what you want. I just think too many cooks overlook the extreme deliciousness of fattier fish stocks. My objection to a 1 hour simmer is that fine bones begin to disintegrate and the broth can get a bit chalky. Cloudiness from emulsified fats doesn't bother me as much as it probably should. I'm focussed on gently converting fish collagen, which is far less cross-linked than the equivalent mammal protein and therefore "more melty", into lovely fish gelatin. I know I should skim, there are lots of things I should do. I'm happy with the results I get from filtering -- I use three nesting screens that are progressively finer. If I worked in a restaurant I might skim. Julia Child keeps the head on, and the fins too! She does remove the gills.BTW thanks for introducing me to Kindai Tuna.

Great topic, Chappie! I adore making stocks and broths from seafood. Often it's just a matter of saving the watery juices left over from poaching or steaming. Here are some of my current thoughts on the topic: 1. Just about all the good flavors are extracted within a half hour, beyond an hour is too much. 2. A very gentle simmer is best. 3. I don't skim, I just filter. 4. If it's seafood then it can become a broth. Restrict yourself to the traditional firm white fish and you miss out on a world of great flavors. Salmon heads and smoked mackerel bits together is a wonderfully deep and complex combo. Collect all the lobster shells after a family feed and put them back in the pot.

I totally agree. If there's demand but no plan on how to legally deliver something, then there's trouble. One way to thwart poachers is to develop and manage the resource. Since I don't own a gun, I'd love somebody to sell me bear, moose, seal, etc. If somebody had a registered quota or something and legally brought the stuff to market, I'd try it.

I read something about Labrador residents collecting cormorant and gull eggs for personal consumption. If one has a Status Card there are lots of hunting privileges: ". . . . if you live in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta, your right to hunt, trap and fish, except for commercial purposes, is guaranteed by the Natural Resources Transfer Agreements, 1930." "Registered Indians who live in the Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are free to fish and hunt in all seasons throughout the territories." - from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Jackal10, thanks for the link. That same blog also says: About the size of bantam eggs, with mottled sea-green shells, the bright-yolked gull's eggs are prized for their richness and slightly fishy flavour. It would be a challenging market to develop here in Canada, not unlike the recent squab fiasco. Over here there's an enormous population of gulls, also known as flying rats or shithawks.

Finally, a Pastry & Baking topic that I can contribute to -- although I'm not the first here to praise hot custard. My high school sweetheart's folks were Brits and we had Bird's all the time. As well as Ovaltine, Marmite, Flake bars and Heath bars. I associate all those items with being a teenager in the 1980's.