Category Archives: Tips

Choosing and seasoning your wok

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Choosing and seasoning your wok

Choosing a wok can be an overwhelming task. They come in a multitude of different materials, sizes, and makes. Rather than reviewing each type, I’m just going to cut to the chase. The best woks for the average household are 14″ in size (not too big or small), made of carbon steel, and hand hammered. Check that the sides are thick and strong enough that they don’t bend when you push on them. Luckily, that combination of wok is actually quite inexpensive (I got mine for $13 CAD), despite being hammered out by hand. Depending on the kind of stove you have, you  may also need to get one with a slightly flattened bottom so it sits on your stove range. That said, you can get circular wok burner rings for the traditional round bottom woks. It’s also best to avoid the non-stick woks. Not only are you usually paying a lot for these pans, the non-stick surface doesn’t do well under high heat, which is one of the biggest benefits of cooking with a wok.

For a more comprehensive break down of the different types of woks, I really like the overview written on Serious Eats.

Once you have your wok, it needs to be seasoned. There are different ways to achieve the same result. This is the method I like best.

What you need:

  • scouring pad or steel scrubber
  • lard or a high smoking point oil

Optional:

Garlic scapes

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It’s summer, and a great season for garlic scapes. Garlic scapes, also called green garlic, are the flowering tops of “hard-neck” garlic (the Rocombole variety of garlic, in case you’re interested). They don’t flower, but end up forming smaller bulbils that will grow more garlic, if you plant them. A lot of gardeners cut them off though, because the stalks keep the garlic from growing larger, plumper bulbs – the part we’re most familiar with eating – and take several years to really get to the point of a large enough bulb to eat. Lucky for us though, because they’re delicious.

Depending on how long they’ve been left on the stalk, garlic scapes can be very tender (if cut early) or a little harder and stronger in flavour (if cut later). You know how long the stalks were left on the garlic by how curly they are. The curlier they are, the longer they were left on the stalk.

The taste is still very garlicky, but slightly “greener” in flavour. A delicious addition to soups, salads, pasta, risotto, and basically anything you’d normally put garlic or scallions in.

You are most likely to find scapes from a local grower or grocer that carries local seasonal produce. They also last in the fridge for a long time and a little goes a long way.

Love fish? Help keep them around.

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Documentaries are a staple in our household. We watch them as religiously as some families follow their favorite sitcoms or catch up on the evening news. This evening, I finally got around to watching “The End of the Line“, based on the book by Charles Clover with the same title. If you haven’t watched it yet and are one for documentaries, I highly recommend it.

The documentary discusses the fishing industry and focuses on the current state of the health of our oceans – and more importantly, the expected degradation we can expect if we do nothing to change our attitudes and behaviors. Having gone diving in some local waters that have been depleted of ocean life and also others that are protected areas that were teaming with life, I have to say the documentary struck a particularly sensitive cord in me. What a shame if within our generation we saw some of our most beloved fish disappear into extinction and the waters look as barren as they already do in some parts.

Upon finishing the documentary, I went to the film’s website where they have more information about what the average person can do, and updated news links about the fishing industry. They also provide links to other sites that give listings of restaurants (unfortunately, mainly in the United States) according to a sustainability ratings, as well as recommended fish to eat and to avoid – based on current population levels. For a detailed pocket fish guide (PDF) of the recommended fish to avoid and eat, you can download it here.

I’ve included a summary chart of the top ten fish to avoid and to eat below, in case it’s of interest to you. I know it was to me.

Image from fish2fork.com

If you’d like more details about why each of the fish is listed in either the avoid or eat list, you can find the original chart on the The End of the Line website. Just select the fish you’re interested and more content will appear.

Locavore food share programs

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Photo credit: Culinarium / Ontario Artisan Share

I know. Hannah and I haven’t posted in a while. Our apologies on the recent radio silence. We had a number of serious personal events happen that have kept us away from Foodiologie. It may take a bit more time before we’re back on our regular posting schedule, but not to worry, we’ll be back soon. But enough about that, what of this locavore business?

Eating fresh and eating local is one of the things that means a lot to us. What it often translates into is how and where we shop, and what we put in our grocery basket: trips to farmers’ markets, finding small grocers that carry local produce, or just selecting locally grown foods from some of the larger grocery chains. A lot of times though, eating fresh and local also means eating at a higher cost and greater inconvenience. But all this is about to change, because Pietro, aka my husband-to-be, and I are joining a food share program through Culinarium in Toronto.

Food share programs are nothing new, but suprisingly, not too many people know about them, and even fewer participate. In reality, community food sharing is a significant part of human history. Only it’s far less prevalent in our big bustling cities, and complicated food production cycles nowadays – most of us are completely disconnected from the source(s) of our food. But we don’t have to be. Food share programs put our food and the farmers that produce it back into our frame of reference.

What’s great about the Culinarium food share programs are that you can choose the program that best suits you: produce-only, meat options, or even an artisan option where you can also get locally-made cheeses and pantry items like maple syrups, mustards, and oils in both meat and vegetarian options. The other benefit is that it’s affordable. The only difference is that you’re paying for your food upfront and securing your personal portion of food with the farmers you’re getting your food from. The farmer has secure orders before the harvest, and you get a gorgeous assortment of seasonal, local food products on a weekly basis when the time comes.

I can’t wait for my first basket.

For other food share programs across Canada, Food Share has a listing here. If you’re not from Canada, look for one in your area. Chances are, you’ll find one. They’re more common than you may think. Good luck!

The basics: Soup stocks

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I consider my mother the goddess of all things soup – especially Chinese soups. When I moved out many years ago, this was one of the things I missed the most: her delicious, nutritious homemade soups.

One of the things she has taught me over the years is that every good soup starts out with a good soup base. And by “good”, we mean fresh, homemade, and healthy. It may take a little more time, but in the end, it’s worth it. Your soups will taste better, and your body will thank you for it too. So you don’t need to buy those artificially preserved broths – you can make your own!

As an aside, of course sometimes the reality is that when you have no time, you just have no time. If you’re in a crunch and need a quick soup stock solution, we always recommend the Campbell’s broths in the carton over any of the canned varieties. Most of the canned soups, including Campbell’s, have MSG in them, whereas the cartons are MSG-free.

Ultimately, all soup stocks are the same. They are made by adding ingredients like meat, bone, and/or vegetables to water and simmering them to extract the flavour and nutrients from them. Continue reading →

Stayin’ Alive

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What not to do with lobsters. (Photo credit: Vivian Chan)

The other night, we decided to go big and brought home two live lobsters and fresh manila clams. Since we’re a household of die-hard seafood lovers, what could possibly be better than picking up fresh, live seafood for dinner? Our challenge, of course, was to keep it all alive until it was time to cook.

Intuition told us that lobsters and clams are ocean dwellers, so naturally, the best tactic would be to immerse them in water for safe-keeping, right? Wrong. Regardless of whether the water is fresh or salted, it’s a bad idea to fully immerse shellfish in water for storage. Within probably 15-20 minutes, the two previously very energetic lobsters were still.

Luckily, the clams could still be saved, and we had discovered the lobsters’ premature deaths quickly enough that our dinner could also still be salvaged. (We immediately brought about an inch of gently salted water to boil and steamed the two lobsters in covered pots right away.)

Continue reading →