TicTac

Not sure what type of french olive oil you are getting, but olive oil around these parts surely does NOT have a high smoking point. Quite the opposite in fact.

Wayne, Can you tell me more about this 'weed'? I believe I have some of it out of the cracks of my driveway and throughout some beds - being near you (Southern Ontario) it is quite possibly the same beast. Curious as to your method of identification, whether you are aware of any 'dangerous' plants with similar attributes and how you enjoy them (and if you are aware of the health benefits I would love to hear more). I have lately gotten into foraging and there is quite the variety (some amazing) that one can find in this region.

You don't need much besides a fire pit and a pot. The rest mother nature will provide) - the best scallops, clams, lobsters, crabs and mussels you can imagine!

Oh joy! A Newfie blog - how exciting! I know their cuisine can be quite unique and I hear they are some of the nicest people in the country (and that says a lot for us as we are a nation known for our friendliness!). Looking forward to this one.

I would Love to see a Newfie blog! My folks just got back from PEI and raved, I have been to Nova Scotia myself, and NFLD is supposedly just as gorgeous! And the people are a hoot....it's hard not to be after a few shots of SCREECH!

My wife makes a similar sauce for her grilled salmon (I call it her crack sauce) - she substitutes on occasion vinegar (or sometimes adds, depending on fancy) for Ontario maple syrup.

Interestingly enough I have a bag of mung beans I purchased after some friends of our made it at a party. Is there any other method of preparing (sprouting) that might be easier/less time consuming?

Great looking dumplings, my 2 little ones gobble them up - would be interested to hear your wrapper recipe; perhaps for when I am feeling adventurous. I hear you on the long work days, that's about when I smartened up, went out and started my own gig, and now I am working 14 hours a week and happier than ever!

I recall when we dined there 5 years ago, we too were not impressed. Case in point, look at those scallops, totally inconsistent sear, and not even much of it at that! I recall we had a fantastic meal at Koi and a few sushi spots as well.

I can assure you that I would not hit anyone (unless they started becoming aggressive towards my child and did not respond to verbal warnings, then they are waking up a sleeping bear) - perhaps when I was young and slightly more foolish I would, but you learn a lot of restraint when you have kids - physical violence is not something I condone, unless you are being physically threatened. I would however warn them with some strong choice words, should they choose to become verbally abusive/threatening towards my family or myself.

I am guessing he/she does not have children. I took my boys (3 y/o and 11 m/o) for lunch at a fairly empty (see 2-3 other tables) restaurant the other day. My little guy decided that he was going to exercise his lungs (babies communicate in the only way they know how, to make noise - often loud, as they get frustrated that others don't understand them as well as they understand you - and trust me, they understand more than you realize), while we did try to get him to calm down, he was still fairly loud and after a few minutes of no success, my sister took him out. The point is, parents should be able to handle the situation on their own, you might have to put up with a few minutes of noise, but guess what, kids need to eat too, and as long as it is not ongoing through your entire meal and they are trying to deal with the issue, you 'making sure the parents know to control their child, or else you will' will not get you anywhere - in fact, I would love to see someone come up and say something to me, not sure you would like my response.

Awesome meals everyone. With 2 young boys (3 y/o & 10 months) our ability to dine out has greatly diminished, though not due to lack of desire. As such, with more meals at home, my propensity to splurge on high quality ingredients has also increased. The fact remains however that your contributions tremendously boost my creative nature and offer ideas and innovations - for example; Last night, after seeing one of RRO's posts re: her recent noodle indulgence, I created a riff; and took Udon noodles, made a Dashi broth, compounded with an peeking duck stock - and created a 'flavour boost' sauce to dip the noodles into, consisting of: Black vinegar, light soy, brown sugar, star anice, orange peel, black pepper, black bean paste, black pepper, Ancho chili oil and some Vietnamese coriander. Absolutely killer, and not something I would have thought of without the inspiration from you folks. Kudos to you all.

Who needs melted butter when you have a bottle of Dom, a fresh lobster and a lush green deck (with I'm guessing a nice view!) to enjoy it from!

I did a mini 'social experiment' last year and threw 3 plants right by the edge of the road against my fence (we back on to and side on a ravine.park) in an effort to see the 'awareness' of kids (grade school uses the path to come to/leave school) as it relates to fruit/veg and if they would venture to try some - funny enough, not until the end of year did I have my first visitor who decided the cherry tomatoes looked good and tried a few (I went out and smiled and asked if she liked them - she did). I think I will expand it slightly this season and try to double production - eventually I will get rid of all the grass (oh how exciting it will be to toss the mower!) and put in rock garden/flower beds with paths and some raised veg beds.

Is that your front yard? I am very tempted, given we face south, to turn some of the front yard into garden - my 3 y/o might have a bit of a smaller swath of grass to play on, but we live next door to a park and back onto a ravine so it should be ok.....

LOL - I dont know why, but reading this post screamed Seinfeld to me, straight out of the Peeterman Catalogues, I am sure Elaine's writer colleagues would have approved.

A man who clearly knows what he is talking about!

It is my preference, huiray, especially as I can enjoy multiple 'sproutings' if I prune mindfully. In the past I have not been so fortunate to have access to such a bounty (until just these past couple years), perhaps now I can 'thin out' (in fact the lady who owns the land might even prefer and dare I say, embrace it) via transplanting, some of these beauties.

Great find Chris! I am interested to see how these transplanted ones fare. If successful, the lady who let me pick on her land will be more than pleased for me to find more bulbs new homes. Oh and you can eat the white, just dont pull/eat the roots. Lastly, another incarnation of a fantastic ramp instance - 'chutney' - a simple heating of ramps, chilli, good aged sherry vinegar, maple syrup, S&P - reduce. Served on some chickpea curry.

I am not sure which part of my statement requires clarity...where lies the confusion?

btbyrd - nice score! do you treat the ramps at all prior to making the butter? I have done so both ways and have found that if I do not remove some moisture (I like to chop up and put dry in a hot pan) from them the butter gains moisture content and 'weeps'....curious as to your method. huiray - that is a practice employed by some (see; educated), often when a bounty is to be had. More now than ever, sadly; people have caught wind and are solely in it for the money and yank entire patches dry. Nice score, so many uses for these beauties. A favourite of mine is in a soft scrambled egg.

Though perhaps a few weeks late (at least here up South Eastern, Ontario), Ramps have emerged and are in (almost) full form. Curious to hear if others cook with this fantastic wild treat - I make vast batches of (pounded; huge difference between zapped in the processor) olive oil, pickled ramps, and this year I want to make a ramp chutney. Besides mushrooms, one of my favourite things mother nature offers us that cannot be found in grocery stores.

This is a fantastic blog, Kenneth. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. Very interesting regarding the variety of herbs given when ordering Pho. Here in Toronto, you rarely see anything outside of sawtooth coriander, or vietnamese basil - though a few (and my favourite) place(s) also put chopped the coriander you picture, rau ram. Looking forward to future posts.

Anytime, Shelby Just bring your toque and mittens, its getting chilly in the Great White North!

As age and (subsequent) intelligence increased, years ago we (and friends) decided going out with throngs of intoxicated people, lining up and paying far too much money in the cold (and often snow) was lunacy. So instead I cook - this year's menu: Apps: House cured Gravlax w/ Dill/caper/balsamic sauce. Smoked Mackerel house 'mayo' Smoked Oysters Olives/Cured Meats 'Pinwheels' - puff pastry rolled out, various toppings (3 incarnations - prosciutto/goat cheese/oven smoked tomato - bacon/onion/thyme - black olive/ parm) spread, then rolled and sliced - and baked. Shaved fennel and orange salad palate cleanse House made egg noodle with self foraged wild mushroom sauce, chantrelles and black foots sauteed and topped - veal reduction. Canada Prime Fillet's with white asparagus w/ truffles Cheese board Something sweet. And wine - perhaps a Williams Selyem vertical.