Every nut-lover's dream...

Nut-lovers: There exists a bakery in Toronto which specializes exclusively in nut products (there is 1/4 lb. of nuts in every bag of their product, actually). And I have to tell you - I've tried all their products first-hand and they are delicious.

The Nut Bakery sent us some samples of both their low sugar and pure cane sugar varieties of Grainless Granola (chunks), Grainless Granola (bars), Pecan Walnut Chocolate Macaroons, and Chocolate Nut Chunk. The latter two were definitely our favourites.

None of the products were too sweet, and just one or two pieces gave you energy for days (I'd recommend everyone have an emergency bag at work - you never know when a late night where you need brain power will come, because as we all know nuts are incredible brain food and I've also heard they can have a mood-stabilizing effect).

The only fault I found with them was that the low sugar varieties, of course, have a bit of an aftertaste that the pure cane sugar ones don't, which is simply part and parcel of having to use a sweetener in place of sugar. But it provides a nice alternative that diabetics can savour. Also, those with Celiac disease can indulge safely in these products, as all are gluten free because they use nuts in place of grains.

I had brought the remains of my least favourite, but still delicious, Grainless Granola Bars to work and my colleagues were amazed. I told them I wish they could've tried the Chocolate Nut Chunk and the Pecan Walnut Chocolate Macaroons, but I ate them all before any leftovers could make it into the office!

Here is a list of places where you can get your hands on their products if you're interested in trying them out.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Trying out the new pistol-grip ShuckerPaddy knife with Guinness World Record holder Patrick McMurray!

This week the Guinness World Record holder for most oysters shucked in one minute, Patrick McMurray, launched his personal "ShuckerPaddy" oyster-shucking knife and even taught me hands-on how to shuck an oyster!

(By the way, he shucked 38 oysters in one minute - and he's not even left-handed - He was telling me how lefties have a big advantage, as they don't have to turn the oyster 180 degrees mid-way through the process of shucking like righties do, and that saves them time.)



He's got a great product out that I think both home chefs and professionals can appreciate - some highlights of the knife:

• Unlike any other on the market it features an ergodynamic "pistol grip" handle that puts your hand in a more natural alignment with your forearm, so you ultimately use less force to pry open the oyster. (I found it natural to hold and use)
  
• Its 4" blade is long enough to accommodate the largest of oysters.
• Patrick guarantees the ShuckerPaddy handle for 228,865 oysters (which equals two years for Patrick, or a lifetime for everyone else).
• Even though the blade may break, as all blades do eventually, Patrick says “bring it to me and I'll fix the blade personally.”
  

Check out the You Tube Tutorial on how to use the knife here.

The ShuckerPaddy is available at The Ceili Cottage, Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill or by calling Spirit of Hospitality at: 905-277-3380.

Happy shucking!
-Stacey

Would "noise ratings" in reviews keep you from going to a restaurant?

I (the Stacey half of Tasting Toronto) am admittedly a little bit noise sensitive - it's funny, I live right downtown and can sleep through total chaos with no issue at all but when I'm trying to concentrate on something important to me, the noise around me can drive me to distraction. Enter my trusty iPod to drown out the world when needed!

But that sooo doesn't work when I'm in a noisy restaurant trying to scream across a table to Mark or one of my friends, of course.

I was intrigued to find out that ten years ago the San Francisco Chronicle was the first daily newspaper to introduce "noise ratings" in its restaurant reviews. Although that stat is a bit dated, noise ratings in the restaurant review world is a pretty interesting idea and it got me thinking whether or not that would affect my decision to go to a particular restaurant.

After much thought (so much thought that I NEARLY HAD TO REACH FOR THAT iPOD!) I concluded that I don't think a high noise rating could initially keep me from trying a restaurant whose menu was making my mouth water, but if it was ridiculously loud once I'd gone, it could certainly keep me from going back. I love beerbistro with all my heart but damn, it can get loud in there! I'll still go back. Their mussel bowls and beer-infused desserts are worth it.

But I also wonder if more Canadian publications and blogs will start rating noise levels in their restaurant reviews... I guess it could be hit-and-miss as it depends which night you visited the restaurant (Saturday nights are probably more raucous than Wednesday afternoons). What do you guys think? Will it become more popular to rate noise in reviews? Would a high noise level stop you from going to a restaurant in the first place or prevent you from returning?

[Thanks to my friends at Zoomer 96.3 FM for the info - they are leading the charge against noise pollution in dining establishments with their Anti-Noise Pollution League.]

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Valentine's Round-up: Something for everyone (specifically men & vegetarians!)

Men tend to get left out of the Valentine's equation.

And oftentimes, as vegetarian friends have told me, finding a good veg prix fixe for Valentine's Day dinner is tough.

Here come some potential solutions to both issues!

For men, giving a good Scotch or other alcoholic beverage is a nice idea. But try taking it a step further and finding something truly unique: For example, for Valentine's Day, The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky came out with a small batch of chocolates infused with their 14-Year-Old Caribbean Cask - this will be the *perfect* thing for Mark, I think he'll love them - me, well, I'll give them a try, and not to sound sexist or ridiculous or anything but doesn't it even just sound like a really manly gift? Anyways they are going to be perfect for Mark, can't wait to try them out - we'll update this post with photos when they arrive.

As for our vegetarian friends, Toronto Vegetarian Association has partnered up with Toronto restaurant L.A.B. (Live and Breathe) to offer Toronto's very first Veggie Valentine in support of Meatless Mondays - and if you check out the site and enter their contest, you could win Valentine's Day dinner for two at L.A.B.! From what I've heard about L.A.B. they are nothing short of amazing when it comes to treating vegetables as the star ingredients of their dishes so even if you're not veg, this place sounds like a true culinary experience not to be missed.

Hope everyone has an amazing Valentine's Day!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

Trend question: Restaurants focusing on a “specialty ingredient” that drives their entire menu + brand identity?

Wanted to pose a question to the community here just to gather some of your thoughts:

Do you think restaurants focusing on a “specialty ingredient” that drives their entire menu and brand identity will catch on in Toronto? (Think Obika Mozzarella Bar which is coming here.) Will they be profitable? Will people love them or hate them? Just a trend? Does it have staying power? Is it too risky/difficult a concept for chefs to want to take on? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Give yourself the gift of an end-of-the-week treat: A Friday Night Roast!

Most people wait until Sunday to make a roast or some other type of more elaborate home-cooked meal. Also, most people who don't have a family don't really bother with roasts at all. But Mark and I think there's something almost sacred about taking the time to make yourselves such a grand treat - and even better, we made it on a FRIDAY NIGHT! Screw waiting til Sunday. It was so much more rewarding to get home from a week at our full-time jobs and feed ourselves something hearty.

The slide show of delicious pictures speaks for themselves but, in short, Yorkshire Valley Farms helped us out by giving us two delicious organic grain-fed free-range chickens - they are air-chilled, rather than water-chilled (which tends to add more water and salt to the finished product and in turn it may block the true taste of the chicken from coming all the way through).

We rubbed the chicken with some salt (from Spain, brought back by our two good friends!), freshly-ground black pepper and a bit of olive oil/canola oil (our olive oil we have now, while extra virgin, is not really the tastiest, I find it a bit too grassy so we neutralized the flavour with canola). Softest, juiciest, and most flavourful chicken we've ever had by far, no joke.

We put the other chicken in the freezer and we'll probably use different seasonings on it - something more elaborate. We just wanted to get the true, unadulterated taste of the chicken first time around.

We paired it with a wine Inniskillin gave us to try - they have an East West Series of blended wines that use grapes both from their winery in British Columbia and their winery in Ontario. Certainly an interesting concept. We had the Riesling / Gewurtztraminer blend. While I'm generally a fan of sweet German Gewurtztraminer's, it was probably a good thing this one wasn't too sweet because the flavour of the chicken was so simple that it needed something that would complement it, but not outshine it. It did pair very well with our simple roast chicken, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

For dessert I whipped up a Dutch Chocolate Icecream Mix my Mom was given for free by a lady at a craft sale. I know, sounds sketchy. Trust me, I was scared. It was actually pretty tasty - we had to add two cups of whipping cream and 1/2 a cup water to it and beat it like crazy, being careful to not let the cream separate.

Mark was telling me they treat Dutch Chocolate with alkali or something to take the bitterness out of it, which is why it tastes different, but the process also kills the antioxidants naturally found in chocolate so that sucks but it was tasty nonetheless.

Later this week we're planning on making a soup broth with the carcass and all the bones we've saved, potato peelings, and asparagus stems - then we'll add fresh celery, carrots and potatoes to it - yum!

Update (Jan 29): Soup has been made, and I also forgot to tell you guys where you can buy Yorkshire Valley organic products: Loblaws, Zehrs and Superstore locations across Ontario, and in the GTA at Big Carrot, Bloor Meat Market, Organic Garage, McEwans, and Dufferin Meats.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

P.S. please note the AMAZING custom aprons Mark and I got for Christmas from my sister and brother-in-law! Love you guys - thanks for supporting us!

Post-holiday food desires and a possible cure!

The holidays are amazing, and I think I might possibly love them more than anyone else on this earth, but I also feel a specific feeling after the holidays pass - maybe it's just because I've been buying for everyone but myself since October (no complaints, I love shopping period whether it's for me or others, just sayin' that I think that's where this January desire to buy for oneself stems from! And yes, I started my Christmas shopping in October!) - but I find it extra-nice to treat myself to something special just for myself, from myself, after the holidays pass.

I usually only want something small - sometimes I'm jonesing for a new planner, or a new pair of jeans. The past few holidays it's been food - for some reason I'd been hoping someone would give me some red pepper jelly over the holidays as a gift and, despite my silently-sent mental messages to all my friends and relatives, alas, I did not come out the other side of the holidays with any red pepper jelly! ;) Must... get... some... red... pepper... jelly...

And thus, now is probably a good time to introduce you to a site that I think could very well cure you if you have the same post-holiday food desires...

Back in November I had a conversation with Jonathan Chiu, founder of Savouries.ca (a Toronto-based online artisan food marketplace). Of course, with my red pepper jelly desires and general post-holiday "want to treat myself" feelings, that site popped back into my head today.

In discussing the site with him, I learned he has a goal to bring on as many local Canadian producers as possible who offer unique products that are hard to find elsewhere (locavores rejoice!) but most of our conversation was around what his most delicious and unique products are. Here are a few he gave me some interesting insights into:

• "Personally, I think the idea of combining fruits and flowers in jams and salsas that Krista from 'From these roots’ came up with is really unique. A few of the ones I like: Pears and Pansies, Raspberry and Rosemary and strawberry basil salsa. But the most unique one I find is the Mango Peach Passionflower Salsa. That one is really different and is definitely my favourite."
• "The eggplant antipasto by La Natura Fine Foods is amazing. The owner Vik uses a family recipe to make it. It turned me from an eggplant hater to an eggplant lover."
• "The smoked salmon by Medallion Smoked Salmon is the best in PEI and one of the best in Canada. Readers Digest talked about them a couple years back, and people line up for their salmon bagels every weekend at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market."
• "Everything by Form V Artisan is very much homemade, which is definitely a change from most things you get out there. I haven’t actually tried her truffles, but her salted caramel and the gingerbread spice caramels (Stacey's note: pictured above) are amazing."
  
• "Vida Grains is a pretty interesting concept in itself, it’s made up of a mix of 6 organic seeds and 6 sources of bran. It was also a family recipe that they decided to bring to the market. Not only is it healthy, it actually tastes very good."

I think my red pepper jelly craving was just replaced by a desire to try eggplant antipasto...

Happy new year everyone, let's make 2011 a delicious one!

Yours in food,
-Stacey