the carrot, not the stick...

 it is currently -8°C (14°F), feeling like -18°C (1­°F), as i begin. i just got through nearly dislocating my (already injured) shoulder by wrenching open a door that was frozen shut. oh… and i am battling my first head cold of the season. 

happy Winter Solstice, everyone!

what was so important that it was worth the risk of (re)injury, you ask? an agreement that cannot be broken, i respond. i was concerned that the birds and the squirrels would not realize that there was food in their special bowl, so i ventured out just long enough to brush away some of the snow and top it up with a handful of (unfrozen) food. 

selfless as it may seem, this is actually a carefully calculated investment. i developed a significant case of SAD-ness last Winter, and i ended up befriending a squirrel. my new friend started showing up every day for lunch, and i obliged by sharing my food. the problem with feeding Nature is that you end up also feeding Nature’s friends. fast-forward to the present, and we are buying raw peanuts and bird feed by the kilo. lucky for me, Nature has the coolest friends! 

i was initially afraid that feeding Nature would result in the total destruction of this Summer’s balcony garden project. turns out, Nature responds much better to the carrot, not the stick. 

i was so convinced that the squirrels would take my Wintertime offerings as an invitation to consume everything, that i planted a test-run garden in one of the window boxes. i went with plants that could withstand the cold, as it was still early in the season. enter… lettuce and nasturtiums! 

i had already accepted the likelihood of finding it uprooted the next day, and having to reconsider our plans for the transplants we had already ordered from the nursery. what happened, you ask? absolutely nothing, i respond. we harvested the larger lettuce leaves every couple-few days, and the plants kept going for several weeks, before bolting. 

and, just like that, an understanding was formed. we made a daily offering to Nature, and our plants remained undisturbed. it sounds too simple to be true, but the carrot really worked, and i rewarded their self-control by occasionally adding something special to the mix. the birds and the squirrels all seem to enjoy the petals and seeds from the zinnias. they gobbled up any flowers that fell to the ground, but they never messed with the plants. so, i might include that in the mix.

or, an occasional sweet treat, just for the squirrels. yes, i eat Honeycomb cereal. have i lost your respect for that? 

i placed sections of chicken wire on top of the soil, to discourage the squirrels from digging there, but they left everything else alone. everything, that is, except for the mini sunflower. it was downright comical having to move that one pot around, and every new location seemed to further enrage the squirrel. that poor sunflower must have done something extra-wrong in a past life.

there was also that time we took too long getting out of bed, so the squirrel let itself in to get some peanuts. i kid you not… the squirrel figured out how to open the safety latches on the cat door, and it came in for breakfast. nothing else was disturbed. the squirrel had one target, and when it had satisfied that hunger, it went right back out the kitty door. i should point out that the cat absolutely refuses to use the flap, as she enjoys the frustration of making me open and close doors at her command. so, i just shook my head in defeat and taped it shut. 

the season quickly drew to a close. the large planters were covered and neatly stacked for the Winter, and the last harvest of beans was consumed with ramen. i have gotten much better at resisting the allure of wheaty things (allergies, if you are new here), but i still indulge every now and then.  

 still, Nature kept showing up.

sometimes, it brought a date. it took weeks to finally get a shot of these two together, as the female (i assume, as she is the smaller of the two) takes off at the slightest movement. their coloring becomes slightly washed out in the Winter, and they start looking less blue, and more like silvery-violet jays.

you enjoy that meal, friend. 

i took tons of photos of this year’s garden, and i plan hope to share more of them. maybe i will do so during the SADdest part of Winter, when i need to be reminded of the existence of sunshine and warmth. 

until then, i am taking all of the precautions to avoid a relapse of last Winter. most of all, i am making plans. 

next year's balcony garden project will be the best one yet. that is, if we manage to survive the Winter… and the (literal) gangs of turkeys that have been attacking people all over the city. Montreal is wild, for real. 

while garlic watched...

we need to have a talk about my latest culinary obsession. not sure what you are supposed to be looking at? well, allow me to explain. and, worry not... we will get back to these ridiculously tasty scallops in a bit. 

i am struggling to find the right words to describe black garlic to the uninitiated. despite the name, it delivers a culinary influence that is, frankly, something else. tastewise, it is like prunes had sex with fermented black beans ... while garlic watched. that is something else, right?

i am using a single-bulb variety here, but the principle and process is the same for regular (multi-bulb) garlic. in short, there is a whole lot of sugar in garlic, which is usually masked by all the sharp, peppery flavor. when cured at a controlled temperature and humidity, all that sugar is transformed into sticky, gooey goodness. no additives necessary! the process also significantly reduces the sharp, peppery smell and taste, resulting in something with barely a trace of garlic. the end product tastes like a smoothie of extra-dark molasses and miso... at low tide. i did mention that i am struggling to describe this stuff, right?

out of the peel, the cured garlic look like mini dried figs. the root ends reminds me of a black-eyed Susan or a sunflower. 

we had mussels the previous day, and i saved some of the (unapologetically unstrained) jus for this non-special occasion. what occasion you ask? just some random day, when i felt like eating a truly delicious meal. i may have also purchased a tennis-ball-canister full of black garlic, so now it needs to be used.

the scallops were left to drain in the fridge, on a plate lined with paper towels. excess moisture gets in the way of forming a nice toasty sear in the pan, so this is an important step. 

i began by preheating the pan on medium heat. the entire cooking process took about five or six minutes, so it is important to start with the pan ready to go.  i removed the scallops from the fridge, and sprinkled them with Kosher salt, freshly-ground pepper, and a bit of (also freshly-ground) coriander. it is best to season scallops at the last minute, or you risk ruining the texture for all Eternity.  

into the hot pan went a splash of olive oil, and a bit of unsalted butter, swirling to thoroughly coat the bottom. i waited briefly for the distinct smell of toasty, browned butter, before quickly arranging the scallops—seasoned side down—in the pan. then... i just let them sizzle away for about two minutes, occasionally tilting the pan, to encourage even cooking. mostly, i made sure not to disturb that precious bit of real estate below each scallop. 

i get mocked for saying these things, but you can actually hear when that lovely bit of crust has formed. the "sizzle" sounds... different. 

i seasoned the second side right before giving them a flip, carefully and quickly. again, i did  nothing, except continuing to give the pan a few more tilts, and maybe a 'rotate' or two to keep the heat distribution even. 

once it got  to the "sizzle" stage on that second side, in went a dollop of crushed black garlic...

along with the reserved mussel sauce.  

i also turned up the heat to nearly-full-blast. the objective was to reduce the sauce in about a minute or so. i carried on swirling the pan, using the back of the spoon to thoroughly incorporate the crushed garlic into the sauce, and continuously spooning the mixture over the top of the scallops. it was a very busy 'minute or so'.

finally, i removed the pan from the heat, and added a pat of butter to the reduced sauce, swirling and spooning as i went, until it was thoroughly melted. the bits of green are chopped leeks and herbs that were part of the mussel sauce.

not gonna lie... i used to think that chefs on tv were a bit over the top when the added extra butter after stuff was done cooking. but, now... i understand. it really does make for a tastier sauce. 

et voilà... a special (i hope) meal for any ordinary day!

i am absolutely loving all the je ne sais quoi this magic ingredient brings to everything. it is umami on steroids! the following day, i added some to a vegetable and oxtail stew that may have changed my life. there may also be a plan to use it in a 'Singapore black pepper style' snow crab adventure i will be undertaking in a few days. 

oh, yeh... it is snow crab season in Canada! 

and, speaking of seasons... i had my very first butterfly sighting of the season when i got out of bed (technically, yesterday, as it is almost two in the morning). it was a Mourning Cloak, because i know you love these pointless details. i may have squealed with delight for a whole minute. yes... you should be embarrassed for me. that kind of joyful display could ruin my whole brand. 

now, pardon me while i get back to dreaming up more delicious things to make with black garlic. 

modest midweek meal...

i love seafood. seafood does not always feel the same. as a result, the list of 'sea things that hate me' seems to get a bit longer with each new year. i can still enjoy fish, but shrimp and prawns are now 'eat at your own risk'. that discovery process might have involved a visit to  the Emergency Room. the details are still a bit fuzzy.

so, what is one to do?

you make mussels, of course!

mussels are awesome! they can be farmed in open waters with minimum impact. in fact, they have been known to improve the surrounding habitat in many places, largely by promoting a healthier local ecosystem where other species can thrive. so, there is that.

but, most of all, they are delicious... and cheap! a significant proportion of all the mussels imported to the US is farmed in Eastern Canada, including in Quebec. as a result, they are available fresh and (relatively) local all year... and they are an incredibly affordable seafood treat. 

so, i present to you, a modest midweek meal in Montreal.

[full disclosure: my kitchen is tiny, and the lighting sucks, so i had to drag out a light stand, which got in the way. this meant constantly tripping over stuff. so, a meal that should have taken less than ten minutes, ended up taking twice as long. did i mention that i really love this place?]

this is very bare bones, in terms of flavor. i used what was at hand, including (pre)chopped leeks, chopped green onions, a bit of roughly chopped jalapeño, and lime juice to taste.

grab the kitchen staples of butter and olive oil.

add a glug of oil and a pat of butter to a pan on medium heat. 

in go the leek, onion, and jalapeño.

add two pounds (one mesh bag) of mussels, washed and clean.

i added a generous sprinkling of kosher salt, along with my special pepper mix. this is a multi-colored pepper blend, with the addition of some coriander seeds from last Summer's balcony garden project. yes, i freshly grind my pepper and coriander... because, of course i do. and, no, i do not own a pepper grinder, mainly because i do not want one. i should also note that any (wholly unwanted) pepper grinders that are gifted to me will end up in the Salvation Army. yes, mom... i am talking to you. 

i am not really into white wine, not unless it is sparkling, but i do love a good hard cider! this one is from a cider house just outside of Montreal. in goes about half the can. 

i love that mussels open right up once the steam rises. you just need to throw the cover on the pan for a couple minutes, while you finish off the rest of that cider.

remove the cover and turn off the heat. this is where the extra-special magic comes it. first, an extra pat of butter near the side of the pan...

and some freshly squeezed lime juice over everything. then, give the pan a few gentle swirls to ensure that every bit of the jus will be extra delicious.

you will need an extra tasty sauce. where else are you gonna dip your chunks of baguette?

here comes the crazy bit though... i still had to take an antihistamine before eating this meal. i am still allergic to wheat, just not nearly as bad as with prawns and shrimp. the wheat allergy remains, thankfully, non-life-threatening. so, i can risk a touch of hives for the occasional delicious meal. this one certainly was. 

best part is, the whole meal (including the half a cider i drank, and other half of the baguette he had for breakfast the next day) cost about the same as a sandwich and a drink at a coffee shop. not bad for the middle of the week, no?

betrayal of the corny variety...

after eighteen(ish) Summers of watching me lose my mind over the arrival of fresh corn season, my favorite animator recently confided in me that he is not a fan of the stuff. he only ate it because i cooked it. i contemplated walking out on him right then and there. however, i remembered that i still have the rest of the week of being solely responsible for litter-scooping and kitty-feeding on account of that bet i lost Saturday. so, i am still here... for now. but i am struggling to figure out how i will live with this betrayal of the corny variety. 

on the plus side, i no longer have to take him into consideration when deciding how to indulge in the best thing to come from this steamy, sweaty, allergy-assaulting time of the year. a short while later, i was trying to figure out how to make a meal from some leftover barbecued things on skewers... when inspiration struck!

this meal took all of five minutes to come together, and it may just be my new favorite way to enjoy fresh corn. it began with a quick search in the container of random sauce packets. one mini envelope of spicy instant ramen broth later, and i had the start of something amazing. i added that to boiling water and tossed in some sliced bits of previously-cooked kebab and an ear of fresh corn cut into neat rounds. 

while that simmered for a few minutes, i boiled rice noodles briefly in a separate pan, then rinsed them in cold water to stop them from getting soggy once combined with the broth. the noodles went into a bowl, topped by the contents of the broth pot, plus a few strands of cilantro and red onion slices. then i remembered all the nasturtiums in this year's balcony garden project, so i added a handful of freshly-harvested, locally-grown, organically-nurtured, sustainably-farmed, ethically-sourced, free-range nasturtium leaves to the bowl. just doing my part to save the planet.

then i sat down to eat. it was amazing! i especially enjoyed the bites with a bit of noodles, meat, and a nasturtium leaf. nasturtium leaves have a sharp, peppery bite similar to a spicy radish, but they also have the unmistakable earthy, borderline-bitter flavor of fresh dark greens. trust me... this combination was sheer culinary perfection. 

the absolute best bits, however, were those rounds of fresh, sweet corn cooked briefly in that delicious broth infused with the smoky, meaty flavors from the leftover kebabs. 

i sat there, completely enraptured by the slight pop of each plump, sweet kernel being bitten away from the cob, and in that moment, i could only feel pity for the animator whose life will never know such joy. sad. 

Jultember still officially sucks...

Jultember has come to an end, and boy am i happy to see it go. 

with a couple days left to go in the month, i was bitten on the ankle (at like two in the morning) by a "false widow" spider. it looked like someone stuffed a golf ball under my skin, and i spent the better part of an hour contemplating if the electric hand saw was strong enough to remove my foot from the rest of my body. boy, was i in serious pain! stupid imposter spider!

then, with mere hours left to go, my (former) favorite cat...

sent my second favorite coffee mug crashing to the floor...

that photo of her has been the background of my laptop for ages. she is seriously adorable... but i am still not happy with her right now. so, while i know that there is actually important negative stuff happening in the world, in my absurd, pointless little corner... Jultember still officially sucks!

other than the occasional burst of animal-induced absurdity, life continues to be pretty calm in these parts. i had all of these grand plans of things i intended to do once Summer started. now, we are the end of Jultember—and with it, the end of the Summer—and i still cannot figure out where any of that time went. 

i had a birthday at some point during the Summer, which we celebrated in our usual super-low-key fashion. mostly, it was an excuse to eat something special. this time around, it featured an almost one-and-a-half kilogram (roughly three 'murican pounds) tomahawk steak. you can keep your soft-as-butter fillet. i am all about the rib eye, and this beast is rib eye squared. 

we cooked it sous vide at 49°C/120°F (very rare), then crusted it up on a super-hot grill, by which time it was perfectly medium rare. it may not look like it, but trust me when i say this was a lot of meat for two people to eat. that is a huge serving platter in the first photo, not a plate. the animator was adding bits of the leftovers to bowls of ramen for days. 

and, speaking of the grill... i had to downsize this year's balcony garden project as he decided that we were in desperate need of a bigger barbecue. luckily, i could not muster the enthusiasm to buy many plants this year, so we ended up with a few herbs and some flowers to appease the bees. [we are hanging on to the propane tank from the old grill to appease his man genes' refusal to get rid of things.]  

oh... and we added some new flooring to the balcony... which is barely visible under the tangle of leaves. i seriously love having my own mini jungle out here.  

my culinary mojo is still feeling very meh, but i do occasionally get the urge for something interesting... like the Thai curry mussels that took all of about seven minutes to make. this dish featured the "Thai holy trinity" (galangal, kaffir lime, and lemongrass) combined with curry and coconut milk. there are no words to describe the joy i got from eating this meal.

it has also been a bit of a struggle to keep the crafting mojo going, but i did manage to finish a few things (some of which i will discuss in more detail at a later date, as they require their own posts). and, yes... i will be keeping this mug many miles away from a certain ridiculous cat. 

i (finally) finished up that green sweater from the last post... and the post before that. the pattern is Langeline by Ditte Lerche. it is a free pattern (in English, German, and Danish) on Ravelry and on the Filcolana website. i liked the look of the eyelet section at the top, so i kept it going for the whole thing. this was knit from the top-down, making it perfect for when you have a limited amount of yarn (or if you want to knit until it is all used up to avoid leftovers). 

i usually avoid knitting things the same color as the pattern sample, but i am (still) trying to add some life to my greyscale wardrobe, so i dyed some yarn in the brightest green i could produce. i also spun that yarn... sorta... but we can talk about that some other time. 

as per usual, a few changes were made along the way. most notably, i made the neckline slightly larger (it is wider than it looks in the photo, trust me)...

shortened the sleeves... 

and i used the eyelets allover because it was more interesting to knit than a plain stockinette fabric. did i mention that it is a superfine merino and cashmere blend that is soft and snuggly enough for an allergic-to-all-the-things cupcake like me to wear? yum!

all that green must have gotten to me, because i pulled some more fiber out of my stash, and dyed that green too. i will probably talk more about this yarn when i get i around to using it... eventually.

and for a change, i dyed up some yarns in three very similar shades of turquoise-blue. if you look closely, you will note the different construction of the three yarns, two of which were sorta-spun by me. i have a garment's worth of each one, so that is three more future projects to get around to... eventually. 

the absolute best part of the summer, however, had to be the addition of a new toy to my crafting library. i officially own a knitting machine.

but, wait... it gets worse. 

i actually now own THREE knitting machines. no joking. the animator really knows how to deliver on a birthday gift. they will likely be the subject of my next post... eventually.  

so, now i have even more ways to keep myself occupied in the middle of the night. seriously... would you rather be laying in bed at two in the morning, waiting to be stung by a stupid spider seeking vengeance for his comrade that you slaughtered the night before, or sat on an uncomfortable chair staring at something like this? 

exactly!