Waiting, Impatiently!

Tomato Baby

For those of you that are not familiar, Calgary has been having a rather difficult time moving away from Winter and into Spring. 17 degrees over a few days has not even melted all of the snow, and I am feeling a little grey. 



My only glimmer of hope is the seeds that I planted about two weeks ago. Purchased from Seedy Saturday and Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes of Airdrie, these little "babies", as I like to call them, are slowly starting to pop up and show signs of season changing. It is so exciting to watch and nurture the little seedlings into food. I also can't wait to try out some of the other interesting varietals that I picked up too; Red Giant mustard greens, purple basil and the Royal Chantenay Carrots. I have no idea what to do with some of them, but my plot at our community garden will be full of new things to experiment with.

Basil Babies!

I started some nasturtium seedlings that I hope will become colour on my deck and in my salads. And, just to spite this slowly arriving season, I am going to toss a packet of black & white poppy seeds out into the garden tonight too. I can't wait for flowers, and vegetables and all of the joys of growing. 


What's growing in your neck of the woods? Do you have a recipe for Mustard Greens?! Happy Spring to All!

Burgerthon Restaurant Numero Cinco: Five Guys Burgers & Fries

Two Patties!

Our next stop on our Burgerthon adventure took us all the way out to Airdrie. Five Guys Burger & Fries just recently opened there and has been getting a lot of buzz. We tried to visit their Deerfoot Meadows location another week, but found the line up to be a little too long! Must be a good sign!

Leftover Cajun Fries

On the Friday night that we visited, the Five Guys in Airdrie was super busy too. A long line and full dining room showed promise. We ordered a Little Cheeseburger, a Cheeseburger and large Cajun fries. A couple of notes; All burgers are two patties but a "little" burger equals one patty. It is not a kids burger, or smaller than the regular burgers. No where on the menu board is this noted, so consider yourself informed! Also, their large fries are gigantic. Seriously. One order would easily serve 4 people. Five guys serves fresh beef in their hand formed patties, and you can top the burger any way you like with no additional charge. This is a nice touch! The burgers themselves were well seasoned, and have an authentic flame broiled flavour. The white sesame bun held up well to the toppings. There was even, dare I say, pretty substantially satisfying Drip Factor with these burgers! 


All of that being said, Five Guys gives you your order not on a tray, but in a greasy brown paper bag. I think they want you to leave! The atmosphere of the rooms is fairly downscale, with plain white walls, self-important signage, uncomfortable furniture and loud music. I have been in fast food restaurants that have nicer space. All of that being said, it was busy. I wonder if it will stay that way after its initial novelty wears off? 


One other note that may deter you or your family from heading to Five Guys is their use of peanut oil for fries, and service of in-shell peanuts in the restaurant (in a box for the taking, on top of the garbage can???). I found it fairly odd that there is a potentially serious allergen present in a place where you might not expect it to be. 


Husband and I do not suffer from peanut allergies, and we understand that this concept of "fast casual" is popular. For the burger, we would return, but we would take it out to a picnic spot and enjoy far from the restaurant. Burgerthon rating, 3 out of 5. 

Treasures

I have a treasure. It's a cookbook, and it belonged to my beloved Grandmother. It is quirky and completely retro in design and content. From Good Housekeeping in 1963, it has spattered pages and notes in the margin, showing use and love. When Grandma passed, my mom had the foresight to give this to me, although I hadn't quite realized my love of all things culinary. I can still smell her kitchen when I look at the pages.

Grandma & Her Cookbook

The recipes are actually a little bit comical now, and the tips for entertaining, directed at woman, are archaic, but I still love it. I enjoy flipping through and being reminded of an era where serving tiny, canned wieners in a sauce was considered high-brow entertaining. I rarely saw Grandma use a recipe (clearly, I inherited this from her), but her kitchen was always welcoming. Anyone could drop in for tea unexpectedly, or get in the door at 10:30 at night after a long drive, and she would pull out roasting pans full of perogies, cabbage rolls, turkey and ham. She made bread, jams, pickles and one thing that I wish I could get my hands on again; sweet relish. There is nothing quite like her sweet relish on fresh white bread with ham. It was impossible not to munch on something in her kitchen. When I was little, my snack after running in from the garden or playing in the basement was to grab a couple cold perogies from the roaster in the fridge. Marvelous! I can still hear her saying in Ukrainian, "Eat! Eat!"


Cookbooks have a way of connecting us to a different time, or memory or area of the world. Besides the retro book of my Grandmother's, I have a few other's that I treasure;  


1. Mossey River Book- a community cookbook from the area that my family is from in Manitoba. It is full of family favourites, including recipes contributed by my Grandma, aunt and other relatives. 


2. In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters- Alice is the goddess of the Slow Food movement. This book makes me drool and desperately want to live in Berkeley, California.


3. Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver- Have you seen the show? Full of from-the- garden recipes that are not fussy, and always delicious. 


4. Williams Sonoma Complete Entertaining & Williams Sonoma Simple Classics- These two books have the best pictures! They alone inspire me to entertain more often and with more elegance. 


5. LCBO Food & Drink 2009 Holiday- Ok, so this is not a cookbook, it's a magazine of luscious, decadent recipes and wine pairings. I stole it from someone's desk, and I'm not giving it back.


Some of these books are kept not in my kitchen, but on my bedside table. I will randomly pick one up for inspiration or a walk down memory lane (better than any paperback!). What are your favourite cookbooks and how do they round out your kitchen adventures?

French Fling

It's nearly Spring, right? While it may not quite feel like it here in Calgary, one of the surefire ways to make our greyish brown days a little more interesting is with wine! I was lucky enough through the generosity of fabulous friends to score a ticket to the French Fling at Willow Park. We celebrated several French wines, alongside delicious cheese, pâté and baguette. 

Some of the Goodies that I picked up

The distributors and reps were all very knowledgable, and some had fantastic stories about the old family vineyards where they produce their wines. If you don't know a lot about wine, or even if you do, I would highly recommend that you attend one of these events. So much better than a larger scale event held at a cold conference centre because these people are actually interested in teaching, and telling stories. Stories that bring you closer to your bottle while sharing it with your friends. Wine speaks to a tradition of patience, of caring for vines, earth and grapes, of aging and waiting. I love that wines are nurtured into something brought to tables all over the world, shared over meals, between friends and family. And, in this age of instant gratification, there is certainly something to be said for that. 

Fantastically French!

Among several others, one of the goodies that I was lucky enough to pick up was from a small family vineyard in southwest France...100% Malbec (Malbec from France!?) that is a gem; Domaine La Berangeraie Cuvée Maurin Cahors 2007. For $12.49 a bottle a Willow Park, this wine is a steal of a deal, and such a surprise. If you are interested, here is some their story, awards and information. The wine is organic and low sulphite too! 

We tried wines from $10 to over $100, some great, some not. We had a great time, and learned a lot. My generous friends are soon headed to the Rhone valley of France, and may just have a chance to speak directly to some of these vintners, and maybe to see, smell and feel all of the aspects that make these wines delicious. I wonder if they would be generous enough to take me with them? 

Burgerthon Restaurant Numero Cuatro: Fatburger

Good day Burger lovers! Today's creation comes to you from the sunny south of Calgary, as the Burgerthon's visit our next restaurant, Fatburger. 


Fatburger has been in Calgary for a few years, and can be found in the Deerfoot Meadows or 32nd Avenue. Fatburger offers up a diner style atmosphere, in a chain honoured by Californians and celebrities alike. It claims to be 'the last great hamburger stand' so we decided to check them out. 

The California Burger

The first thing that we noticed while waiting for our Backyard BBQ and California burgers was all the yelling. From one corner of the busy grill, a team member yells something (things that sounded like "Cheesy Fatburger!" "Thank you!" and "Strawberry Shake!"), and then in unison, the other team members yell it back. The enthusiasm contributes to an animated and entertaining atmosphere. Our burgers arrived piping hot, on a very soft, white bun. Husband's Backyard BBQ included bacon, pepper jack cheese, BBQ sauce and an onion ring, with lettuce, tomato & mayo. My California burger was simple, with bacon, pepper jack, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and mayo. The first thing we noticed when our baskets arrived at our table was the overall expanse of the burgers awaiting us; these burgers are large. One of Fatburger's claims is that they use fresh, not frozen, patties- a very nice claim to make. In spite of that, for me, the courser grind of the meat left me feeling a little bit underwhelmed. I felt that the patty itself lacked flavour, and would have benefitted from additional seasoning. I also had to remove some of my bacon, because it was not crisp enough (Ok fine, here is a truth about me: I am not a fan of bacon fat. My apologies to all you Baconists out there). Husband found his overall burger to be flavourful, but agreed that it was probably from the addition of the sauce and the onion ring. 


Fatburger is a busy, buzzing, burger joint, and I think it speaks to a level of burgers just beneath gourmet, that doesn't leave you feeling broke or dissatisfied. I would have liked a higher quality of meat with more flavour. However, they serve a variety of burgers, including chicken, turkey and veggie, and have a vast array of available toppings. You can even get a pretty good milkshake, so, for all of these reasons, Fatburger earns a score of 3 out of 5.