Tasty Tangents

Food, life and other morsels

April 24, 2009
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Testing a Twitter recipe

Curried Chicken Thighs

Curried Chicken Thighs

So last night saw my first attempt to try one of the recipes supposedly posted on Twitter (I’m not on Twitter, so I can’t say for sure). I decided on the chicken, since it seemed so simple. The recipe goes like this: “Curry Chicken Thighs: 2T Indian curry paste, 2T v oil, 2t ginger, 2t garlic. Brush over chkn thighs. Roast 425 for 20 to 25 min.” My first dilemma came early. It doesn’t say how much chicken the recipe is for. I used about a dozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I had to make another assumption for the recipe too. I used grated, fresh ginger and garlic, not the powdered form. I also used the barbecue instead of the oven. In the end, whether I actually made the recipe intended or not, it was quite delicious. Score one for Twitter recipes.

April 22, 2009
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Marshmallow explosion

I like to make s’mores in the microwave sometimes. Top a graham cracker with a spoonful of chocolate chips and a marshmallow and zap it for 30 seconds and voila. I know it doesn’t compare to the taste and smell of the campfire, but sometimes you just need sweet and chocolatey hit. I think the most fun part of the whole thing though is to watch the marshmallow inflate to three times its original size and then shrink back down in just seconds. Food should make you feel like a kid sometimes.

April 21, 2009
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Is there anything Twitter can’t do?

A recent Globe and Mail article, Cooking on Twitter, looks at whether it’s possible to sum up a simple recipe in 140 characters, as per the popular social networking website. It proposes several simple recipes, and I promise to get back to you all when I have a chance to do a little experimenting. I think the ultimate message may be, though, that cooking does not have to be complicated. With a few staples around the house, quick and easy meals are possible.

April 18, 2009
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The food makes it…

I have lots of happy memories of nibbles at some favourite destinations, and I don’t mean restaurants. I mean having funnel cakes at Canada’s Wonderland, the local amusement park. I’m talking about cotton candy at the fall fair, roast pork at the annual backyard picnic and the famous burgers at our favourite summer beach spot. So many places come with happy memories that have a little food mixed into them.

But what amazes me now is the events being built around food, where it is the focus of an entire event. One of my personal favourites was London’s Ribfest, a staple of hubby and my summer routine for years. There’s also Toronto’s “Taste of Danforth,” a festival of Greek cuisine, and strawberry, sausage, garlic, maple syrup, chicken wing, peach and pumpkin festivals. And that’s just in southern Ontario. I wonder what’s next? I think it’s great that we’re celebrating food, and appreciating food. And as the push towards more local and fresh food increases, both eaters and growers should be celebrating the bounty.

April 13, 2009
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Comments Off on Fishy Friday and Sheepy Sunday

Fishy Friday and Sheepy Sunday

As the Easter weekend draws to a close I can’t believe how much we ate. As is traditional in our household, Good Friday involves only fish, and no meat. But one kind of fish just wouldn’t cut it. We started with pasta and a tomato sauce that included salted cod, which had been soaking all week. As the “intermezzo” we served clams and mussels steamed in white wine and herbs with crispy bread. The next course was skewers of scallops and shrimp with mushrooms and red peppers along with sea bass steamed on the barbeque with ginger and garlic. This was accompanied by grilled asparagus. We ended with fruit and chocolate.

Easter Sunday was lamb two ways. One done in a tomato sauce with spaghetti. The other marinated and grilled, served with grilled portobello mushrooms, artichokes and broccoli raabe sauteed with garlic. The meal concluded with grilled pineapple and a ricotta tart. Oh, and did I forget the chocolate? Because the bunny brought some, just in case we hadn’t blown our diets already.

Anyway, I think it’s wonderful to prepare and appreciate good food with family as often as possible, and this weekend was another one full of food and memories.