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Mouthwatering morsels

I am psyched!!! I am off to take a 5 day Thai cooking course in Chiang Mai. 

I am looking forward to learning from a renowned Thai Chef.  Although I have been cooking Thai food for years I am sure there is still so much to learn.  I wonder how many holes exist in my own teaching and cooking techniques?  I will blog my discoveries and RECIPES!!!!

For the last week I have been focusing on Asian tapas menus.  This bite-sized world of fusion can be a wild and sensual world of mouthwatering morsels.  Now that I have had a real lesson in confusing fusion cuisine in Bali I am driven to find out ways to combine various cuisines together in perfect harmony.

SOME OF THESE RECIPES ARE PERFECT FOR THOSE ON THE ATKINS DIET.  IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS OR WHERE TO FIND THEM....LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW.

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/fusionrecipes/r/lettucewraps.htmAsian tapas recipes

http://www.hungrymonster.com/recipe/recipe-search.cfm?Course_vch=Tapas&ttl=33Asian Tapas

LOVE THESE .....

Crisp Cheese Tikki Patties

Mix these ingredients and then chill for 20 minutes-

*1 cup of drained yogurt

*1 cup cream cheese

*1/2 red onion, diced finely

*4 tbsp minced green chilis (jalapenos will work also)

*3 tbsp of grated ginger (fine as possible)

*2 tsp minced coriander leaves

*1 tsp of salt

When the mixture is cool enough form into small balls and roll in breadcrumbs or panko flour.

** Deep fry and serve with plum sauce or deep fried chilis (as they do in India)

Where to find organic produce on PEI???

Thanks to David Mackay  and the Certified Organic Producer's Co-op you can navigate this well-designed website to find out who produces and sells organic products in Prince Edward Island.

http://www.organicpei.com/index.php?page=marketPEI Certified Organic Producers Co-op

They have started an online community where local consumers can learn about organic farming and meet your organic producers in a community forum.

The most neglected schoolroom is the lunchroom

"Teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the center of an education."

I found this inspirational article on Alice Waters by KEN KELLEY.  I need to meet this woman. Have you ever read the words of a stranger and found that they described your own passions and values completely?

"....the school should allow time in the curriculum for the really important matter of teaching [kids] how to take care of themselves--how to feed themselves, how to clothe themselves, how to build their own houses, how to live in a community responsibly. That, to me, is the center of an education, and I think we're being completely neglectful of our children to allow them to go through the whole system and come out without the most simple and essential education. "

Check out the article....

http://www.motherjones.com/news/qa/1995/01/kelley.html

Join the 'Big Noise'

I just received this link from a foodie friend from the U.K.

http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=action_contents.htm&cat=1&subcat=1&select=1

Take a look and join the big noise.....

Butterfish, butterfish where art thou butterfish?

I have a new found love - BUTTERFISH!!!!  This delectable, melt in your mouth, sensational fish is also called Gindara .  It is perhaps the best raw fish that I have ever tasted.  I was lucky enough to have it provided as a main ingredient in my appetizers for one of Peter's parties.

After a full day of shopping and design with Peter; he still has energy to prepare a fabulous evening for a couple of close friends.....29 people!!!

OUR DAY BEFORE THE PARTY>......

Here is Peter collaborating with another passionate designer.  Chen is a master with stainless steel; bending and welding it into organic shapes.

I watched intently as I saw them share ideas without even speaking.  THe paper was scribbled on and then passed to the other and then "hmmms", "sighs" and eye expressions and then the paper filled with prospective designs was passed to the other and then he would scribble below and it went on and on....

I squatted next to these artisans to watch them closely.  They talked and laughed as they worked; seeming so at ease with their delicate and complicated tasks.

Chen was so enamored with Peter's energy that he suggested that we visit his brother's glass factory.  So, off we went....wow!!!! AS I wandered around eyeing the various platters, glasses and plates I envisioned tables of geometric tapas meals served in these incredible works of art.

I love these triangular plates!!!!!

Then it was onto stone carvings.  Selecting unique carvings from an enormous collection can be hard on the eyes, but he keeps going despite the heat and dust......

Oh what a day!  Peter did not loose the pace for the entire day.  He was attentive to each detail, answered every question asked with care and still had energy and ideas for the evening festivities at his villa that night.

.  PEter and NAsh were completely relaxed (Peter is flying through the air...literally), despite their hectic days. 

As usual they did not miss any details from the flowers to the house drink concoction, food and entertainment.

I was given the task of preparing the apps and so I sliced and slivered 2 kilos of fresh butterfish and tuna into various canapes and a giant sashimi platter (served with Hopey's spicy mayo)!

APPETIZERS- *tuna tartar with garlic chives and sesame seeds served with wasabi cream * butterfish tartar with pickled ginger and soy syrup *Nash's tuna and butterfish wontons with soy dipping sauce  * Chili oil spiced fuji apple coleslaw with toasted nuts served on endive leaves.

It was a cool 95 degrees at 8 pm.  You can imagine the sweat rolling off of Hopey's proverbial drain pipes.  Although our appetites seemed to battle the dark forces of humidity and we scooped up every last sashimi tidbit and moved right along to the Indonesian 'Nasi Campur' buffet- a selection of stirfries, curries and sate dishes to accompany the yellow rice.

OH, and the monkeys ate pringles......

What a night!

Add a little fire to your diet!!

For some reason I have chilis on my brain today. I guess I have been saturated with the suckers for months now. I am literally sweating them out here in Bali. Chilis are a food experience in themselves. I was pondering how boring meals would be for many people in this world if it were not for the chili plant.

What do you do if you are living off bland staple foods with not much flavor and variety..hmmmm add chilis!!!

In India the poor eat a highly spiced lentil curry, dhal with their rice or chapatis (bread) and fried chilis. In Laos villagers dab fistfuls of sticky rice into a firey salsa called jeow. In Thailand the most favored dish is som tam- a startling concoction of unripe papaya, the trinity of: lime, sugar and fish sauce AND chilis. The Chinese and Koreans adore pungeont and spicy kimchees heavily laden with chilis. The Vietnamese, Khmer, Sri Lankans, Africans, Caribbean, Mexicans........all feature chilis in their cuisines.

I have become a worshipper of all types of chilis. The initial spurt of saliva promoted by the first mouthful of hot gives way to the lip tingling, then the cheek pulsing high leaves me sweating and reaching for more bites. Torture? No, it has become addictive. Some people have asked me if eating copious amounts of hot food has dulled my taste buds? Definitely not! If anything it has made me more aware of the subtle undertones of flavor that is unique to each variety of chili.

Chilis are not just poor man's food. They are quickly becoming part of the global diet. I am learning that a dash of heat can balance most dishes. Cayenne in a creamy sauce..oh yes! Chili and chocolate....oh do go on...! Pasta sauces, noodle dishes, soups, breads- try putting a touch of heat into your life.

*Chili facts*

- Eating chiles is not only a tasty and feel-good experience, but defends your body against nasty microbes as well.

- When you eat chiles, you also get a release of natural endorphins, the brain’s own opiates.

- Chiles also help to open up clogged and congested sinuses.

- Burn calories! –Eating chiles actually helps you to burn calories, and shed pounds. Research conducted at Oxford Polytechnic Institute shows that eating chiles increases thermogenesis, the body’s caloric burn rate. If you eat chiles or chile sauce with a meal, your body will burn calories at an increased rate of about 25%. This translates into maybe 45 calories more burned per 700 calorie meal. So splash the hot sauce onto your food, and burn the fat.

For more chili facts check out the Medicine Hunter webpage- http://www.medicinehunter.com/nfm.htm

I will never forget the time that I fed my younger brother a small, incredibly hot chili in the guise that it was a 'sweet little green pepper'. He had been irritating me all day and I wanted him to stop. He loves green peppers and so......well as soon as he chomped down he began to scream. I immediately regretted my horrible plan. Poor James, he sweated and cried for ages. Guess who got into BIG trouble?

Maritime Soycraft is expanding

Healthy roasted soy nuts, a quality alternative to junk snacks, are available from Maritime Soycraft!!!!!
When I tasted these crunchy bites last year I immediately thought of the possibilities for children. I conducted the best test possible and took a bag of seasoned soy nuts to a few of my classes last year. The students unanimously gave them the thumbs up!

John Hardy, company president, says the company is completing packaging design and hopes to start distribution within the next few weeks.

For more info go to their website at this link......

The company is located in Alberton, PEI.

Fusion can lead to confusion

Peter is my kind of man.  He wants to try everything on the menu!!!!  We gorged ourselves, as usual, at a lavish restaurant owned by a fellow Canuck.  The menu was elaborate, if not complicated....fusion cuisine at its height. 

I was curious to see if this Chef could pull off dishes like- Seared sesame tuna steak stuffed with blackened achovies, soba noodles salad with peanut pesto, grilled vegetables and a chilli sambol....ALL on one plate!!!

Fusion did indeed lead to confusion.  There were just way too many tastes for the mouth to take in.

One almost needed a map to navigate around the enormous plates. 

Hmmmm....I too have been guilty of trying to combine too many flavours at once.  Mr. Pendergast (The Sea Salt Baker)  has really helped me to see the beauty in working with a few  ingredients, by respecting their individual qualities.  It is more difficult to  properly achieve a delicious but simply elegant dish.

Is ignorance bliss? Taking responsibility with our purchasing power!!!

I received this message from a friend in Nova Scotia.  I had some idea of the monstronsities that were going on behind the scenes in the realm of MASS food production....but god to hear Herb's firsthand experience made my stomach turn!!

I know that many of you do not opt for the organic or free-range products because they are just too expensive.  Yet, you do not baulk at the idea of spending $3 on that  DEEELICIOUS coffee.  We need to have a look at how we spend our money and make sure that we are being conscious of the whole food chain.

This animal cruelty is not just isolated to the poultry industry....it is widespread, and as long as we keep buying they keep torturing. 

*Side note*- In Laos the people only eat poultry that has been raised by themselves or someone they know.  They certainly never buy the plump, juicy poultry from Thailand ( that has been fed antibiotics and raised in horrid conditions...as Herb describes).  They have grown to love the chewy, flavorsome and completely organic animals raised right before their eyes. 

While I shared a delicate dish of laap gai (minced chicken with herbs, chillis, lemon, paa dek and roasted rice powder- an amazing way to bring out the best in tougher free range chickens) I explained to my Laos friend how the West approaches chicken farming.  They were horrified and said 'no wonder you have so many health problems...even if you do live a long time imagine what is inside your system!!!!'

JUST IMAGINE...OHHHHH

Many of you already know the facts...but read this, share it with others and start making conscious decisions in the grocery store.  Sorry about the wonky spacing..been trying to fix it but cannot on this computer. Bear with me and read it all.

Hello All friends,

I want to rant about a serious experience i was involved in over the last
week. I was working for a local farmer who has a beef/chicken/christmas tree
farm. I will get right to the point........we slaughtered 15 000 chickens.
It was disgusting!That is right 15 000 chickens and it was only one of his
three chicken barns. Then we packed up 15 000 baby chickens and put them
back into cages. All of you that are faint of heart please stop reading now
and stop buying grocery store eggs unless they say free range or organic.
Others cointinue on.........

This was the worst job i have ever had. My sholders hurt and my wrists and
forarms are permently "clawed" from carrying so many squirming chickens off
to the grinder. I can hear some of you sayin " why did someone who likes
animals even take the job". Well.....money is money an I need some of that.
More than that though i took one for the team. I went undercover to see the
sytsem from the inside out, to be the man on the inside. To go through this
experience and tell others about it so that u know whats up and can make
informed decisions on buying eggs.

Here is the deal.......whenever we buy a pack of eggs in the grocery store
we are supporting this industrial eggs system. We are voting with our
dollars and buying into the process. I know money is an issue for everybody
and therefore just do what you can. Buy free range or organic when ever
possiable, 2 out of three times is a good start. Also not everybody raises
their own chickens like me or has access to a local farmer who raises them.
But their is an alternative in every store...so just look for it...or
request it from the store manager. With out the consumer input the stores
will never change.

The system is sick and getting more twisted the more we go along with it
people. The chickens have no lives at all. And in fact are barly alive at
all! They breath uncirulated air that is thick with dust and chicken shit.
They are kept four to six chickens in a space one foot by one foot by one
foot! They do not move around like a normal chicken and i am not sure if
they even know how to walk. All the chickens do is peck the feathers off of
each other, sit and lay eggs. They are debeaked ( a process where the beak
is burned off) so that they can not kill each other and declawed too. Life
is short.....only one year for these guys. They never see the light of day.
NOt at all. As well they are fed growth hormones and anti biotics which make
them inediable and make their way through bioacumilation into the eggs. Did
i mention the average lifespan of a chicken is four to six years and these
guys live one year in horible conditions. They would not be able to live
longer than a year anyway because of the circumstances of their pittyfull
existence.

This was the worst example of animal cruelty i have ever seen. Try not to
support this industrial egg paradigm. It sucks for the chickens and is not
healthy for us the consumers. Everytime you buy regular eggs in the grocery
store this is what the chickens go through.

Ignorance is bliss and some of you will wish you did not know this. But the
only way we can move past this horrible practice is through education and
consumer demand. So tell your friends about the way the grocery eggs are
raised. You will be suprised by how little people know on the subject or how
they have heard something but have forgeton about it now and still buy the
crappy eggs. IE factory farming sux!

This message has been brought to you by the letter B and the number 7. Send
it to as many people as you want, but more importantly, talk about it and
think about.

PS. anybody in the Nova Scotia area can contact me about purchasing farm
fresh eggs raised by healthy free range organic chickens :)

food security specialist...............Bdub

This will make you smile.....after all of that

Children raising chickens in a more humane way

Maybe all the Western food??

Peter Jansons has more energy than a classroom of 10 year old boys!!!!! 

Here is a picture of him in action.....Peter Jansons- The Dunes Studio Gallery PEI

I have been working at his tireless pace for almost two weeks now.  Our schedule has been different every day; but each 9 hour shopping spree is equally as productive and exciting.

My bag has finally found a resting place ...well at least for a short while...finally... Peter has put me up in a fabulous suite (pics to come) and treated me to a very lavish lifestyle while I help him with my input towards his furniture, clothing, jewellry and interior design.  I do not have any prior experience in these matters but am finding that I am becoming more and more interested in subjects other than culinary treats.

Our day begins at 9 sharp.  Nengah, his charismatic driver, picks us up at the suite.  Peter's partner Nash hands us our pack-lunch (in case we have no time to stop for a bite...often the case with our whirlwind excursions) .  Nash hops on his bike and makes his way to the clothing factory, or the textile markets, and the two of us venture to follow up on Peter's numerous projects on the go.

There is a loose schedule of planned meetings and shopping to be done.  But usually we just see where the day takes us.  I love working within these relaxed perameters.  Peter gets inspired by a design in a shop and just goes with it...up, up and beyond the initial model.  He has engineers and artists flapping with energetic eyes as he builds ideas from the ground up before their eyes.  It seems that there is nothing that he will not work with.  In a single day we have worked with glass, stainless steel, rattan, woods- of all types, silks and ikats, pearls, beads, shells, granite, marble.....the list goes on.  Sometimes our excursions have us working until 6 pm.  AT which point we jump out of the car and straight into the pool; barely taking time to drop off the aplethora of bags.

He is calm, except for when he is really excited about a vision or idea and then his face illuminates with a boyish grin.  It is his 5th year doing business in Bali and I can see that he has a growing network of people that like and respect him.

I am learning a great deal from this gentle man.  He has an incredible vision for all his endeavors.  He trusts each idea and pours endless amounts of energy into making them happen.  It is amazing to watch things unfold; after only 10 days!!!  He has set huge goals and pressures to consider, yet he always remains calm.  Not only does he have his existing business (pottery, art gallery, furniture showroom, clothing and jewellry, gardens and housing a great RESTAURANT...thanks to Chef/Owner Emily Wells) but he is now building another building to house more artwork, furniture and clothing!!!!

*Check out the restaurant this summer if you are on the Island.....I love it...and* Emily is one of the sweetest people that we all know!!!!!  Asian fusion ...mediterranean flavors...and some island fav's-http://www.dunesgallery.com/cafe.htm

Above all Peter enjoys life.  Each day is entirely new and he celebrates his life with flair.  He is uncontrollably generous and is the expert entertainer.  Wow...the meals, wine, artwork, flowers never seem to stop!  He has given me a new appreciation for the finer things in life.

It is lovely to meet and work with people like Peter.  Although, I have to admit that my tummy is a bit worse for wear at the moment.  I have been feeling under the weather for the past few days. Maybe it is all the rich feasts that I have not been able to turn down?  Perhaps I am just getting too old for all this shopping.....ha ha.  I wanted to post my food adventures with pictures. The restaurant tour of Bali has been unforgettable.

Still feeling woozy so I will come back soon...in full health- ready to talk food!

Peter and Nash are renting a huge, splendid villa this weekend; equipped with a kitchen!!!! It looks like I will be at the stove again!

Hope you are well...I am sweating for all of you!  IT is over 35 degrees at night!!!