Hand-pulled Shanghai noodles redolent of wok hei, the near-mystical “wok energy” or caramelized smokiness that has been called the breath of a wok, are a revivifying dish of comfort — soul food for hard times.
Tag Archives food
Comfort food for hard times
First We Eat: What foods help you find peace in stressful situations? Here’s one of mine
Cooking Canadian, part 2: Shopping local
First We Eat: In recent years we’ve seen serious disruptions in our culinary supply chains
The eruption of trade wars and tariffs has me looking harder than ever at what we eat and where it comes from, like every other Canadian.
Cooking Canadian, part 1: Rediscovering cabbage
First We Eat: As Canadian food staples go, cabbage is cheap and plentiful
Cabbage and its bitter cousins — brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli — can be eaten raw, roasted, grilled, braised, stir-fried, steamed or simmered, best with something equally pungent, like garlic and onions, or salty, like anchovy or bacon.
Tools and techniques, part 4: Handmade
Inanimate objects have a time and place — but the hands are a cook’s first tools
My hands knead and stretch and shape, fold and pleat. They evaluate texture and assess degree of doneness. In the kitchen, my hands are my first tools.
Tools and techniques, part 3: Between a rock and a hard place
First We Eat: Pounding ingredients with a pestle encourages a calm approach to cooking
My mom tells me my counters are too cluttered. “Why don’t you put some of that stuff away?” she asks me repeatedly. Much of the counter space in my old farmhouse kitchen is occupied by electric tools designed to grind foods or to alter their shape: a food processor, blender and coffee mill stand shoulder […] Read more
Starch market search yields results for pulses
Food scientists look to improve pulse crops’ value proposition beyond their proteins
Glacier FarmMedia — Protein is normally the focus of pulse production, but research shows value can also be gained from the starch byproduct. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are seeking new uses for pulse starches in the food and biomaterial sectors. Byproduct market research aims to reduce food waste, increase efficiency and add more […] Read more
Books worth cooking from, part 2: My Thali
First We Eat: How a meal can centre around a starch, rather than a protein surrounded by sides
You’ll recall that in my previous column, I posed the question of how many cookbooks a home cook really needs, and which new ones are worth buying or borrowing. Part of my research for this month’s column was to peruse the shortlist of nominees for the 2024 Taste Canada book awards. Several books appealed, but […] Read more
Books worth cooking from, Part 1
The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope arranges recipes according to the non-profit’s core principles
How many cookbooks do you own? How many do you need? Which of each year’s new cookbooks are worth buying or borrowing? We’re going to take a look at several over the next few columns. Here’s the first! Chef José Andrés is famous in North America and his native Spain for his two dozen food […] Read more
Food cost cuts deep in consumer food report
The latest survey of Canadian grocery from Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab habits shows food prices are still impacting how consumers buy their groceries.
Eating while retreating
Homemade dressings can help with mindful eating while elevating any salad
I am standing in a laneway lined by a double row of blue spruces, a shelled bit of peanut on my ungloved palm. It’s only a few seconds before a black-capped chickadee settles on one of my outstretched fingers, its tiny wire claws gripping my skin tightly. It’s an alien feeling, and I work hard […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
