Tasty Tangents

Food, life and other morsels

June 14, 2010
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Comments Off on Fresh Herbs

Fresh Herbs

My little herb garden

My little herb garden

One of the best things about the summer is getting to use fresh herbs without paying an arm and a leg at the grocery store.

I’ve finally got my little herb patch just about where I like it. It’s only a little 5 ft. by 4 ft. patch off the back patio, but I love it.

I’ve had my herbs in pots on apartment balconies in years past as well and they’ve still thrived, but it does seem easier to have them in the ground. It’s a little less watering, but a little more weeding.

There are a few I’ve kept in pots, rosemary and bay laurel so I can move them inside for the winter, and two kinds of mint so they don’t take over the entire garden.

The other herbs are flat-leaf parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, sage, garlic chives and lavender.

So far no issues with little critters nibbling at anything, but I’ll keep you posted.

If you have any wish for your own little herb garden, plants like thyme, oregano, chives and sage are super easy to grow, and not very picky about sun and water.

Many types of those will also come back each year or self-seed. Good luck if you give it a try!

May 23, 2010
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Mac n’ Cheese

"Perfect" Macaroni and Cheese

I had a craving, which is what usually leads to me making far more complicated recipes than I would usually attempt.

The craving was for this cool corkscrew shaped pasta, which I thought would go perfectly with a cheesy baked pasta recipe.

So I went on the hunt for a classic Macaroni and Cheese recipe and found a great one from Martha Stewart, which you can find on the marthastewart.com website here.

I made some minor alterations, using orange instead of white cheddar, and a combination of asiago, mozzarella and parmeggiano instead of gruyere and pecorino romano. I also used ready-made breadcrumbs and melted butter instead of making my own.

Anyway, while this dish was absolutely delicious and garnered rave reviews, I have to say it was far more time-consuming to make than I expected. And there was a lot of stirring involved.

It’s a far cry from a box of KD, but I think it may become one of those dishes where it’ll be hard to go back to the orange powder.

May 10, 2010
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Niagara Wine and Herb Tour

Niagara Wine and Herb Tour

Niagara Wine and Herb Tour

For Mother’s Day, the entire family took mom for a day of wine tasting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

As part of a special program, many wineries offer the tasting of a specific wine paired with an ‘amuse bouche’ made with a specific herb. You can find the entire list at wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com

We had a wonderful day, and the weather even cooperated by clearing up and warming up, at least a little.

I thought the best way to share the day was with a little photo tour.

So without further ado, starting from top left:

-2007 Cabernet Franc with a Goat Cheese Tart with Oregano Marinated Grape Tomato at Chateau des Charmes
-Spring Vegetable ‘Paella’ with Seared Shrimp and Saffron Aioli at Coyote’s Run Estate Winery
-The beautiful vineyards at Marynissen Estates Winery
-Ontario Buffalo Mozzarella and Basil Pizza at Reif Estate Winery
-A basil plant at Reif Estate Winery (many wineries had potted herbs to emphasize their wine and herb pairing)
-Tarragon Ricotta Croustade with Oven Dried Tomato at Inniskillin Wines
-The chef hard at work at Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery
-An Arugula Chevre Tart at Jackson-Triggs was paired with a 2007 Gewurstraminer ‘Grand Reserve’
-Peller Estates Winery served a 2008 Private Reserve Pinot Gris with killer Lemon Balm Sweet Cake
-I have never seen sage bushes like these magnificent ones at Lailey Vineyard
-We finished the day with some crazy-huge slices of cake at Kurtz Orchards and Country Market

It was a lovely day full of magnificent tastes and pairings that highlighted both the wines and the herbs. Delicious!

May 4, 2010
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James Beard Awards

Last night The James Beard Awards were given out, in categories as diverse as best television host, cookbook and restaurant design.

You can find the winners here, but the category that caught my eye was best food blog.

That award went to blogger Ed Levine’s seriouseats.com.

The website is actually an amalgamation of several sites, all of which I wish I’d thought of years ago.

Needless to say I will be a regular visitor to the site, and I’m sure I will come away inspired to make a new dish or visit a new restaurant every time.

Just a footnote, Food Network Canada host Laura Calder (a New Brunswick resident), of ‘French Food at Home’ fame, also picked up a nod for her show.

April 30, 2010
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Comments Off on Taking the “happy” out of Happy Meals

Taking the “happy” out of Happy Meals

Santa Clara County in California is trying to set a precedent by banning toys in Happy Meals that don’t fulfil certain nutritional requirements.

You can read more about it here, but the general idea is it might make high fat meals less appealing to kids.

It’s the latest attempt to curb the growing obesity epidemic among children in North America.

I can’t say that I’m convinced it will work though. On the rare occasion that I do go to McDonald’s I order a Happy Meal, since it has more acceptable calorie and fat levels than any of their adult meal options.

But if anything the toys are an annoyance to me. And I refuse to believe that kids aren’t more savvy than we’re giving them credit for here.

Has anyone out there bought a meal for the toy for themselves or their kids? I’m just wondering, does anybody thinks this type of ban will actually bring about results?