I adore food markets. I try to find them when I am traveling and I have enjoyed the ones in cities where I have lived. The Windsor Market is not bad. I have not yet been able to enjoy their summer extension in the Armouries building but I have heard good things about that as well.
This morning started out fairly dreary and cool. That inspired me to want to create something comforting and warm for dinner so I headed out to the market. It was packed for noon on a Saturday. I figured all the hardcore shoppers would have been done by then. It is nice to see so many people supporting local farmers and shopping for great quality food.
Once I got there I did get a bit excited and decided to buy a duck. A freakin' big duck. This guy was about 8lbs. The butcher at the stand did a fantastic job cutting the bird into pieces so that I could use the breasts immediately and save the legs and what not for a later date.
Walking around the rest of the market I took a gander at the cheese (always a fave), fresh honey, tomatoes, and abundance of squash. I decided to pick up a butternut as a side dish for dinner. As I left I had to make a pit stop at the Lebanese place that makes the yummy spinach pizza. They didn't have any pizza ready but I was able to pick up rice with lentils and carmelized onion and a spinach pie.
The duck, squash and Lebanese treats hit the spot. See dinner recipes below.
Duck with Port Cherry Sauce
Squash Brulee
September 30, 2006
To market, to market, to buy a fat duck.
Cooking Club
Since April 2006 I have been part of a Cooking Club, along with 4 other women. This past Thursday, we met for the last time with our original group. One of our members is moving to San Diego - she'll be sorely missed, but now we can just have a San Diego chapter to share recipes with!
Once our club is able to decide when to meet, a host is chosen. The host will usually have the club over to use their kitchen, while also choosing the theme for the meeting. Some themes that we have already done include: Favourite Family Recipes; South East Asian Food; Barbeque. The host is also in charge of providing drinks and assigning which course each person will cook. Each member each chooses their own recipe and then we get together and cook.
This months theme was "Fall Foods". My kitchen had lovely smells of spices and fall fruit for the entire evening. It was heavenly. In my opinion, this was one of our best menus yet. Our meal consisted of:
Port Roasted Pears with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts on Arugala Crostini
Veal Saute with Apples
Cranberry Glazed Chicken
Hazelnut Stuffed Pears with Maple Glaze
We are looking forward to finding out what future meetings - and new members - will bring!
September 17, 2006
50 Things Every Foodie Should Do...
I found an article about "50 Things Every Foodie Should Do" from The Observer - May 2005, while searching the Internet. I am pleasantly surprised to have completed some of them already! I'm not sure if this will be one of my life lists but I am proud to have done # 1, 6, 18, 20 (I'll count a dog from Coney Island in Detroit), 29, 40 and 44 (They were from Nova Scotia, instead of Nantucket which makes them even better).
How many have you completed?
