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| Fresh Food | Harmony Farm, Beetroot Delights, |
More (Archives + Search) * Contact * Please Subscribe (it's free) * About Us * Wine Agents * NEW: Gremoblog | ||
| Browse or Search All of Gremolata  Gremolata; gremolada: [greh-moh-LAH-tah] A garnish made of minced parsley, lemon peel and garlic. It's sprinkled over osso buco and other dishes to add a fresh, sprightly flavour. (Source: Food Network Encyclopaedia) Gremolata's Summer Wine Picks 
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| Harmony Farm | NEW: Dry-Aged Beef  at the Cheese Boutique Gremolata's Lulu's Provençal River Cafe Easy The Cooking And bear Two Towns Garlic and Gremolata's
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Domaine La Batteuse The French region of Limoux, just to the south of Carcassone and nestled in the beginnings of the Northern foothills of the Pyrenees, is most famous for its Crémants and Blanquettes: sparkling wines made from white varietals only. In fact the locals claim that their fizzies pre-date the ones in Champagne said to have been discovered by Dom Perignon - a subject of much viniferous internecine rivalry. No matter, it's a still wine that has caught Gremolata's interest, at $11.95, Limoux-based organic wine producer Delmas' 2004 Domaine La Batteuse Chardonnay (LCBO# 930842) proves there is still great value to be had at Vintages for under $15.00...[more]. | |||
Beetroot Delights Never mind David Miller, Niagara's Grace Lallemand is on a mission to make beetroot Ontario's hottest veg. A long time foodie and food business veteran, Lallemand claims beets are actually a "garden variety Viagra", explaining that they're full of the mineral boron which scientist think stimulates the production of testosterone. Lallemand is a big fan of Thomas Keller, since he makes beet ice cream, and developed her taste for the crimson treats as a girl at her mother's table, where they were served with butter, salt, pepper and and a splash of raspberry vinegar. When Gremolata asked if there was one beet fact that every gourmet ought to know, Lallemand replied, "There's probably lots, but one thing comes to mind: beets don't stain!" Apparently there is no natural staining compounds in them, as there are in red fruits like berries. Lucky for us, Lallemand has channelled her passion into a thriving direct to consumer business: Beetroot Delights. Her creations include a spicy beet ketchup, relishes, horseradishes, and other preserves. Visit www.beetrootdelights.com to find out more. | |||
Ontario Blueberries Air conditioning installers are not the only ones benefiting from the hottest, sunniest June in Ontario since records have been taken. Fruits that we normally don't see until late July or even August are ripe and ready now. The original Farmer's Daughter, Michelle Shabatura reports that her tomatoes are already being staked and she expects to stock local raspberries and cherries in the next few days. Even better news: Gremolata has discovered the first wild Ontario blueberries of the season at the Cheese Boutique. In 2003 the American Dietetic Association deemed blueberries the healthiest food in the world, because of their extraordinarily high levels of anti-oxidants, demand for the fruit has been at an all time high across North America. But the big plump cultivated ones available all year round pale in flavour to the small berries picked from sun scorched brush, especially in Northern Ontario. Enjoy them as they hit the shelves! | |||
New City Bites This is Gremolata's nightmare: one of our trusty correspondents goes to a tasting, finds a wine that he/she loves, writes it up, we publish it, then later on they buy a bottle and discover it's swill! It's never happened and it never will, since we double taste all of our recommendations. But as City Bites Editor, Dick Snyder explains in his article 'Tasting once, tasting twice', context can make a difference to the palate. In this case he reviews two wines that tasted better the second time around. Dick's piece is actually a sneak peak at City Bite's all new Harvest Issue, granted exclusively to Gremolata readers...[more]. To find a (free) copy of City Bites in your (Toronto) neighbourhood, click here. | |||
Pedestrian Sundays Kensington If you have ever commingled with the masses on the sidewalk of Baldwin street in Toronto's Kensington Market while some idiot tries to drive by, you'll know why local merchants fought so hard to have the gourmet neighbourhood declared a pedestrian zone. For a number of Sundays this summer, they've won. Visit www.pskensington.ca to learn more, or just head down there on Sunday and enjoy the personal space: now with less smog! | |||
Membrillo con Manchego As all things Spanish continue to lead culinary trends in the English-speaking world, the country's famous sheep's milk cheese, Manchego, continues to enjoy increasing popularity. But do all these new manchego munchers know the true and proper way to enjoy the cheese in the classic tapas manner? It took one of Canada's most high-powered publishers to show us what we were missing: membrillo. Membrillo is a paste made of quince and the traditional tapas accompaniment to Manchego...[more]. | |||
Rare Swiss at the Cheese Boutique This July the Cheese Boutique will be featuring a number of rare (at least, rare in this part of the world) cheeses from Switzerland. Featured cheeses include Le Marechal, Le Tonneau, Tête-de-Moine and specialty, raw milk, cave-aged Gruyeres and Emmenthals, like Alpine Lace. Every Saturday there will be top chefs serving samples of dishes made with the cheeses, along with Swiss-related door prizes. Gremolata has partnered with the Cheese Boutique (who in turn is presenting the program with Switzerland cheese Marketing Inc.) to promote this series of July weekend events...[more]. | |||
Tomatillo Salsa Even the most dedicated foodies have to buy toilet paper once and awhile, so next time you find yourself in a store with a parking lot bigger than a schoolyard, head for the Mexican section and look for the little 210g cans of Herdez "Green Sauce" - they usually retail for about 99¢.The ingredients are simply listed as green tomatoes, onions, serrano pepper, salt and coriander, but "green tomato" is an off translation: it's really made with the more exotic tomatillo. Wonderfully tart, with a sharp bite - perfect for salty tortilla chips. | Toronto's Chef Database Can't remember the name of the first restaurant Susur Lee worked in? Want to know who was the chef at Centro in 1990? Then checkout the Toronto Chef and Restaurant Database. When IT professional Brian Will started the Chef DB as a hobby a few years ago he had no idea it would grow to include 3,000 names and 2,000 restaurants. Now his father George helps manage the site, which is sure to conclusively end any Hogtown culinary argument. Visit www.chefdb.com. * * * | ||
| Ontario Produce Alert! This week, Gremolata received a new update from Farmer Dave Perkins at his Niagara farm, Wyndym. He writes:
Visit Wyndym's Website to find out how you can enjoy Farmer Dave's produce at home. | |||
Jason Collett Jason Collett is probably the most in demand singer-songwriter in the Canadian music scene today. Organiser of Toronto's renown Radio Monday concerts, guitarist for indie-rock superstars Broken Social Scene and accomplished solo artist. Collett's new album Idols of Exiles has just been released to critical acclaim as varied as NOW Magazine and Maclean's. Gremolata caught up with Collett on a sun-dappled patio in Little Italy to talk about food, wine, the road and a rock'n'roll life...[more]. | |||
Little India Toronto's Little India neighbourhood, set along a strip of shops and restaurants on Gerrard Street East, holds some of the city's most delicious treats, for people who know where to go and what to get. Gremolata's Michele Chandler found a great guide in cooking school teacher Arvinda Chauhan. Chauhan, an accomplished cook, writer and recipe developer, barred no holds and their trip along Gerrard Street covered several regions on Indian food and just about every course...[more]. | |||
The Spice Trader The first of two new Queen West gourmet stores to share an address, The Spice Trader opened recently, featuring all organic or wild harvested spices. Neil Bougourd, who started the store with partner Alison Johnston, explained that he was tired of spending a lot of money on beautiful organic produce and meats and then throwing on spices that could have been made any way at all. Bougourd also told Gremolata that the volatile oils, which give dried spices their flavour are lost when exposed to light, which is why The Spice Trader's wares are packaged in opaque tins. The store also features certified organic sea salts, which may only be harvested in heritage reserves in three countries: New Zealand, Wales and France. 805 Queen St W, call 647 430 7085 or email info@thespicetrader.ca | |||
The Olive Pit The second of the two new Queen West stores to open recently is the Olive Pit, which carries 36 varieties of extra virgin, cold pressed, olive oils from nine different countries. Owner Shirley Bougourd (mother of Neil, see above) is particularly proud of her single estate oils from France, which feature single varietal pressings - very rare to find in this country. The Olive Pit also carries the fabled Minus 8 ice wine vinegar from Niagara and has three varieties of EVOO that can be purchased in bulk (you can bring your own container, if you like). These can always be tasted first, as can at least one of their flavoured oils (porcini when Gremolata visited recently). 805 Queen St W, call 647 430 7085. | |||
Copyright © Gremolata Media Group Inc. 2005.
It has been an interesting start to the season, with the weather being the big boss that it is: driest May in 71 yrs followed by the hottest June in 38 yrs. First season ever that we have not had lettuce! But that is changing as we get set up for our "anti-mesclun" assault on fine dining. We started harvesting baby vegetables this week: three kinds of beets, two kinds of kohlrabi, two kinds of turnip, tiny red and torpedo onions, baby fennel, braising greens and some other surprises. Our vegetables are now being picked by myself or an entremetier who is working part time here, so the consistency and size are where we like it to be. Plus other cooks are dropping by to help now. We all had a field snack of soramame the other day: soaked baby fava beans grilled for minutes on a wood fire and then salted and ate by hand. Very Shunju...or was it very Wyndym? Finally, We are excited to finally have a home for our stuff at ORO on Elm St in the T-dot. Dario Tomaselli is a talented, passionate chef and his insistence on "turning" vegetables properly and cooking to order à la minute made it a perfect fit.
