Recently in rants Category

I've got some time off this week, so I finally decided to read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain it's been sitting in my stack of books to read for a few years, so it's about time i got around to reading it. With the holiday upon us I hope that, you my loyal reader don't have to feed a vegetarian over this wondrous and delicious holiday. Here's a quote that from the book, that really makes sense to me.

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I'll accommodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine." From Kitchen Confidential, p. 70


Happy meat eating!

I'm a bit miffed as Canadian Tire used to be my go-to place for bbqs.. On a trip today to buy bags for my vac sealer I could not resist wondering into the bbq section. Every single BBQ was a cheapy made in china! There's even a Ted Reader Napolean Grill there, also made in China!? We have a great Canadian Q manufacturer (OMC) that makes the broil king, broil mate and a bunch of other quality Grills, in fact my 8 year old Broil King was from Canadian Tire. I was sad a few years ago when my dad bought a "Centro" from Canadian Tire which was a terrible uneven Q, with 2 settings Hot and off...

They did not have my vac-seal bags.. so off i went to Wal-Mart and guess what I see there? almost the same cheap Chinese made bbqs, for even less money of couse with Wal-marts buying power and all.

If you are in the GTA and are even a little bit of a locavore, check out Ontario Gas Bbq  They have a massive selection of quality grills and many of them Canadian made. 
 

Did you know that the beer store in Ontario is 100% owned by offshore companies? Heck even "Molson Canadian" is owned by Coors, an American company. I've been boycotting the beer store for the most part for years now as many of my loyal readers know I fancy myself somewhat of a locavore so i generally shop at the LCBO, which has a greater variety of beer, and will carry the Ontario Craft Beers  that the Beer Store will not.  With the recent turn in the economy I cant think of a better reason to boycott sending your hard earned dollars for beer out of the country, and check out the latest Ontario Craft beers from the LCBO, and support your local economy!  For more info on the travesty that is the beer store in Ontario check out  http://freeourbeer.org/ 

I recently has a chance to cook with some premium quality and certified organic ingredients from Whole Foods Market for the Cameron's cask night. I have not shopped in an actual grocery store for a few years now, and I dont have a car, so I visit 3 different farmers markets on my bike just about every week to get my ingredients, it's become part of my ritual to search out ingredients and some might say that it's a time consuming endeavor, I find the whole process fun, and over the years I've found myself on a first name basis with many of the people working at the markets, and I have a great relationship with a family owned butcher shop as well. I bet that I spend about 3 hours a week hunting for ingredients, and chatting with farmers at the markets. The thought of shopping at a grocery store has not passed my mind for a long time, but I have to say the quality of the ingredients from Whole Foods were awesome, although the price was also quite a bit more. -- So if you have a busy schedule and cant afford the time to search out local markets Whole Foods is a viable source to get healthy, premium, local and organic ingredients.  If you have the time though, you can find the same quality from a variety of local markets for less money.... Just my 2 cents.