happy valentine’s day!
Cookie or brownie? The brownie cookie from Tafeli, a newish cookie boutique in Riverbend Square (5647 Riverbend Road, 587-521-7841, https://tafelicookies.com) is both. Generous in size, crispy, chewy, deeply chocolately, and yes, you can eat the whole thing – it’s Valentines Day after all. The cookie lineup at Tafeli is classic butter cookies (sable, icebox, Florentines, Linzer) ) with some Swiss styles such as Brunsli for good measure. Buy in store (Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm) or online. Yum.
what’s new on the tomato radio podcast
Mary and Amanda chat with Mike Freeland of Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, the first made-in-Alberta gourmet chocolate. Think of it as everything you wanted to know about the chocolate business, including what those numbers actually mean and why they may not be the most reliable guide to quality chocolate.
And, why sparkling Moscato from Italy’s Piedmont region is chocolate’s ideal partner. Check it out https://soundcloud.com/tomatoradio.
and the winner is
Chef Alex Chen of Vancouver’s Boulevard Restaurant topped the podium at the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna. Medalists spanned the country — Eric Gonzales, Montreal, won silver and Barry Mooney, Halifax, took the bronze. Our Gold Medal Plates champ Shane Chartrand just missed the podium, but it was a fabulous effort from Shane and his crew. The pan-Canadian culinary events have raised over $13 million for the Canadian Olympic Foundation.
pot ’n shop at your local mall
Aurora Cannabis has bought a stake in Liquor Stores N.A., according to the CBC. Think of it this way— your local Liquor Depot may soon be a pot shop instead. Talk about covering all the angles. The amount of vertical integration that is shaping up across the country in the retailing of cannabis is surprising. Wine and spirit companies or importers cannot buy (or be) standalone retailers, but marijuana growers can. Interesting!
love pho?
Join Miles Conrad and colleagues at SnoGlobe Communications in celebrating Phobruary. The idea is to go out for pho (February’s perfect food?) and donate to Edmonton’s Food Bank when you do.
no yolk noodles
If you are concerned about cholesterol in your diet, consider No Yolks Noodles by Catelli. The noodles are made with hard wheat flour, corn flour and egg whites and come in broad, extra broad and fine (1/16), ideal for chicken noodle soup.
chicken soup season
Fortifying, especially if the sniffles are coming on.
- 5 c chicken stock
- 1 t soy sauce
- 2 T sherry (or rice wine vinegar)
- 1 piece fresh ginger about 2-inches long, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1½ t sesame oil (optional)
Bring stock, soy sauce, sherry, ginger and garlic to a boil in a pot. Remove ginger and garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Add a handful of thin egg noodles if desired. Whisk in eggs in a slow, steady stream. Simmer, undisturbed, until strands of egg are cooked, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, add scallions, and drizzle with sesame oil.
Serves 4-6.
