Cooking With Ideas

Ottawa Eats -- or Drinks -- Coffee and Related Bits

On the recent-isa trip to Ottawa, we stayed in Hull/Gaitneau on rue Notre Dame d'ile -- a small, historic kind of area near the museums but more importantly, quiet. The apartment was delightful, despite the incredibly horribly hot weather. We made the most of where we were staying, dining in a night or two on salad and fixings, buying a baguette or two here or there, and making (eventually) coffee in the morning.

The first morning, I struggled awake and went across the street for coffee to a little place. My french is horrible and I was not awake on top of that. But, I did emerge with two adequate coffees and a small bottle of Minute Maid orange juice (which was not great but sufficed). Where did I go? Depanneur Chenier & Freres. Yep, an epicerie. No, my french still sucks. One night we randomly went there as there was a horrible rain storm and treated ourselves to a "dinner" which was basically potato chips and wine and. . . well, you know.

We did hit a few other coffee places in Ottawa itself and they were delightful.

First we went to The Ministry of Coffee on Elgin where we had a good coffee (mine a latte) and a terrific donut. (I had a fairly plain one and my partner a chocolate one). The ambience was totally great -- quiet, minimalist, and focused. The customers were varied from little kids (with their parents) to hip college age types to us. IT would have been the best coffee of the trip, until we went to 

Happy Goat (also on Elgin). I loved Happy Goat for three reasons. First, I have no idea why, but goats are trendy and cute. Second: the guy behind the counter was very knowledgeable and could describe in useful ways every single coffee. And hence, as you will see below, we not only bought some (ground) to consume in the airbnb but stopped on our way out of town later in the week to buy beans because Third: their coffee is swell. 

What did we buy for beans. We bought Bohemian Dark Roast. It was described by the aforementioned guy so exactly right I am amazed. (He described another and we tasted it -- zowie, that guy really really could describe coffee). Anyway, we got some ground and had it in the airbnb and stopped on the way out of town to purchase more. I would buy it on line if it were available in the States. Is it? The taste: chocolate-y but coffee for sure. 

Hmm. Maybe it is possible to order it on line? Off to check that out.

Hatch Peppers are Not Always Hot

Its that time of year. The time when Wegmans advertises hatch peppers and brings them to market (from Melissa's I think) in large quantities, complete with a way to have them roasted for you on site. The first year, we bought some pre-roasted and they were so hot I tossed them. Among other things, this led me to resist the idea of getting them pre-roasted. Last year, our second, I bought some -- not too many -- and dry roasted them -- that is cooked them cut them in half, removed seeds and etc, put them on a baking sheet, spritzed with olive oil, and stuck them in the oven at 200 or 250 degrees for hours and then froze them. They were tasty and somewhere between mild and hot. 

This year, I lost my mind. A friend picked them up for me and I asked for a case. In my heard, I meant a basket of them, and what I got was what I asked for: a case of medium hatch chilis. 

Toes provided for perspective. A few things: these looked bigger than my emory. And, this box has already been providing large numbers of chilis to be given away and/or processed. In any case, I spent a day or so with the feeling that there was cayenne oil in the air, and I now have hatches in the freezer in two forms.

First: I have a few batches done as last year: cut in half, and dry roasted slowly. Here's what they looked

Second: I roasted (at around 450 degrees for about 25 minutes) and blistered whole chilis. Having been shaped by a) my own laziness and b) a bit of internet reading which went kind of 50/50 on peeling and then freezing versus freezing and peeling later, I went with just freezing the suckers after they were blistered. So: I have a load of hatch chilis in the freezer that are whole chilis. I will spare you a picture. Suffice it to say there are about 125 whole peppers frozen in bags of 10 or so in the downstairs freezer!

Ottawa Eats: Pure Kitchen

Despite the fact that I am reading a delightful book critiquing the politics of purity, this restaurant is worth visiting! It's name: Pure Kitchen. 

What's the book?  Against Purity: Living Ethically in Compromised Times by Alexis Shotwel. The book is arguing (so far and very over-simplified) marketing purity (simple lines, names like Pure dish soap) and politically inflecting along lines of purity (purity of  ideology or politics, for example) and, on the other hand, living fully in worlds where everything is always already compromised. You want to eat vegetarian? Does that reduce your carbon profile (yes and no). Do you want to argue for reproductive justice in a culture (for which you also want to support cultural autonomy rather than colonialist management) which opposes abortion and women's rights? How does compromise itself lead to -- or undermine - ethics? Is refusing to compromise unethical?

In any case, the book came to mind when I chose Pure Kitchen as a place to eat in Ottawa some time ago. We were hungry. I was a tiny bit testy. Without even looking, I imagined: vegetarian or vegan, clean lines and a sense of hip humor. And, that's exactly what I got. Let me elaborate. 

Pure Kitchen has staff with humorous punny kinds of t shirts, a youthful vibe but an age diverse clientele, and offers things like smoothies but also cocktails (and yes it is a juice bar), and a variety of veggie foods (including multiple kinds of veggie burgers). We went with (a) guacamole with chips to get us into the frame of mind of being less hungry so capable of ordering; and then (b) I wanted pirogies because, for some reason, I was on a pierogi kick. Alas, no pirogues so we had the quite wonderful dumplings. I admit it -- they were so good that we had two orders. I have a vague memory of getting something else, but the memory receded past the dumplings!

And, I have no idea what cocktail I got, though I was on a kick involving gin, cucumber and herbs that week. So, I likely had something like that. 

It was damn (pardon me) hot out and the respite was wonderful. I would, in fact eat there again. Pure Kitchen made me happy because it was not annoyingly cloyingly veggie, or annoyingly cloyingly pseudo politically healthy. It was just tasty food in a reasonable venue on a very very very hot day. 

Location: 340 Elgin Street, Ottawa -- and parking can be a pain, but it was not the day we went to Pure Kitchen and briefly wandered the streets. 

For a review form the Ottawa Citizen, click here. For a totally well done blog review that is much more detailed than what I provided to you, click here. 

 

Ottawa Eats: Atelier

Atelier is amazing. It is flat out over the top amazing. A 12 course tasting menu which did not overdo it (does that sound like a contradiction in terms?), with attentive non-robotic service from the moment of one's reservation (they called several times to make sure we knew what we were getting ourselves into and planned for the several hours of dining), pairings worth the price and, most crucially, surprising and amazing food which was not simple nor was it so over complex that the idea of eating was the furthest thing from one's mind. The techniques were all there -- sous vide fish and various tinctures -- the ingredients were all there -- spices and kimchee and the lightest vegetable waters and more -- and the plating was sometimes humorous and sometimes serious but never distracted from the dish. 

I give this place an A++. 

A few memorable bits: (a) early courses featured a variety of fish and several of these items were among the best fish I have ever had -- sous vide and more. One of them was "plated" in a kind of hanging terrarium, something which looks fun but is often awkward. I loved this and it was easy to eat. (b) the use of spices was delightful, especially one that involved a kind of deconstructed curry -- in the sense that the various very colorful -- and in this instance amazingly tasty - spices appeared as an array of powders on the plate. The coming together of the dish was among the best I have ever had in a tasting menu. Another dish had some house made kimchi in it -- and that too was tasty -- tart, spicy hot, but not overwhelming.  (c) the final bit was two truffles made by an assistant (or was she an intern?) in the kitchen. They were amazing.

One comment on location: We did decide to cab it to the location to ensure that we could both enjoy the evening rather than having the designated driver distracted from the pairings. Good idea. Do, though, listen to the restaurant when they remind you that there is NO signage. The site is not very impressive from the outside -- nor very high end inside -- but truly the food is impressive. 

Location: The location made me smile every time I had to say it: 540 Rochester Street, Ottawa. Those who know me will know why this made me smile. 

Other reviews: Here is what they have on their own website in regards to press. 

Summer: What I did with Apricots in Less than a Week While Upside Down (Not Really)

Apricots. Yes, apricots. Upside down apricots in this case, but apricots. Processed (quite literally) apricots. But definitely still apricots. Local apricots. Yes, upstate NY apricots. And, many of the other ingredients also local, such as the honey in one of these three forms of apricots being preserved  (though not all, I do admit, of the additional ingredients are local). 

There are three forms of preserved apricots here, for those of you who cannot read upside down -- as I cannot seem o turn the picture in the blog entry! First: halved apricots in honey. Second: a chutney from the Washington Post. And Third, a spicy sweet chutney.

All apricots are from a local place (which some of you elsewhere will know): Red Jacket Orchards. I (We) purchased a rather large basket of apricots -- not seconds though everyone told me to get seconds -- and eventually I made these three wonders from those very apricots. No: I did not let any spoil. YEs, a few seemed a bit like seconds by the time I got to the end of the process (get the word play) of creating and processing when is now in the jars. Lets' review what those orange to brownish things are!

First, again, halved apricots in honey. In this case, the recipe came from a beloved friend (and eventual interviewee on this blog) -- Julia Hoyle, winemaker par excellence at Hosmer. The recipe involved honey, water, apricots, and time. Here's what one does: (a) go out and buy honey (unless you have some) -- preferably seasonally relevant to apricots, but just buy some local you fool! (I went with Wixson Honey, picked up at Red Jacket! No, not the same top as the apricots. Alas. As there was no spring flower honey on offer, I went with clover honey.) I also picked up some new ball jars as I am (gasp) running low!)  The task was easy: put 1 and 1/4 cups of honey in a sauce pan with 3 cups of water. Warm up to a simmer. Meanwhile, wash and dry apricots and cut in half. Push as many apricot halves as you can into pint jars. Add honey/water to about a half inch from the top. Make sure to get rid of bubbles and air pockets. Process for a while (in my case I went with 30 minutes.) And voila -- beautiful! Thank goodness for friends. 

Second option: make chutney from the Washington Post discovered via google. Why the Washington Post? Two reasons: (a) I found the recipe there and liked it; and (b) they are doing us all a service in today's horrifying political climate. Here's the recipe. Of course, as usual, I did not quite follow the directions. And, of course, as usual I did learn something. 

Let's start with learning: in this recipe and the one following, the recipe calls for GRANNY SMITH APPLES. I was surprised -- but the reason given various places was the reality that apples are a natural source of pectin. In this recipe, the apples are unpeeled. Inthey re-eppear  the next apricot chutney recipe discussed, they reappear peeled. 

So what did I do with the Washington Post recipe: I made a huge batch is the first tweak. The second: I did not use a habanero but some local jalapeños and related peppers. I did use local peaches from (if you are following along you guessed it): Red Jacket. But, as they had no apples I had to go with Wegmans for the apples. A few other things: (a) under no circumstances was I willing to use a thermometer because a) I am not sure we own one and b) I forgot. Nor did I really test the consistency the way the recipe suggests. And I just automatically processed the stuff. 

And technically, I should admit: this is peach apricot chutney or apricot peach chutney. With apples. 

Third option, and second version of chutney? Here's the recipe, discovered by my partner. There were several reasons we liked this option: star anise; spices including mustard seeds, and yes, for me, onions are a plus. A few tweaks: I could not locate cabernet sauvignon vinegar though I have seen it and know it exists. I used a nice red wine vinegar. It did not say whether to peel the apples or not, so I peeled in this instance. And I made a big batch. So. . . . and processed it in pint jars. Hence the picture above with THREE Different forms of preserved chutney. 

I feel I am cheating by just linking to the two chutney recipes, but there you go. And here are a few links: one, two, three, to other entires to Cooking with Ideas on chutney! First: peach chutney. Second: Chutney, Chutney, Chutney . . . how I love you. And this very one is number three, so no link because. . . here you are!