Parsley Veal Osso Bucco
With the weather getting colder and colder, braised dishes are in season. Rustic flavors consisting of simple vegetables and classic herbs mixed with meats are great for that cold fall or winter evening. This version of Osso Bucco is from the new TV series on TV5, “Recettes de chefs” and comes from chef Geneviève Filion via Restaurant Le Bouchon in Sherbrooke, Quebec. It’s not tomato based as several other versions found online. The beauty with most osso bucco recipes is that they don’t require much work or skill. They’re relatively easy, and sit in liquid for...
Read MoreSpicy Szechuan Eggplant
When visiting my local Chinatown, I can’t resist ordering a pot of spicy eggplants. Served with rice, this dish is the essence of Szechuan cuisine. It is very flavorful combining a sauce called “hot bean paste” which is made up of soy beans and hot peppers it works amazingly well with the sauce ingredients – As a leftover, it’s great as well! I wouldn’t call this a classic dish, as most of my non-Asian friends aren’t very familiar with it, but it is a must-try dish. I do not recommend this dish for those who have issues with hot peppers, it can be on...
Read MoreKorma or Karma? Chicken or Lamb? A Tasty Dish!
I thought making some form of Korma dish would have brought me some good karma, but alas, it didn’t, though it was a fun dish to make. Korma is a dish found in Northern India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Brought to the region during the Muslim conquests, it’s a dish traditionally made up of meats braised in a liquid such as yogurt, creme, stock, etc. It is normally known as a mild curry outside of Southern Asian – hence this one isn’t going to burn your tonsils off (if ya still got ‘em). The spices normally found in the dish are coriander, cumin, and cardamom. The...
Read MoreJoshua Tree National Park – A Short Visit
In late summer of 2010, I spent a few days at Joshua Tree National park, located in California, USA. Unfortunately for me, this is low season – I quickly learned why. With temps reaching 110+ F (43C+), and having spent the days before in the frigid pacific waters around Anacapa Island diving, my body wasn’t ready for the dramatic climate changes that occurred. Considering myself out-of-shape and slightly overweight, this limited my endurance under the intense heat while trekking. The cloudless days were merciless on me as I sipped water from my bottles forgetting the word...
Read MoreUnderwater @ Anacapa Island, California
Anacapa Island, located just off the coast of California is a lovely dive spot for those seeking a VERY different experience than soft water or typical tropical diving. I had booked a three day charter to do 3-4 dives a day in frigid Pacific Ocean waters. That summer, the waters never really warmed-up and remained in the 53-54F “early spring” temperatures. Most of us were suited up in 7mm neoprene suits, though a lucky few were in dry suits (oh boy was I jealous). The cold took plenty of my energy, but even though the visibility was very poor because of rough waters in the week...
Read MoreCantonese Chow Mein – The making of a classic dish
Cantonese Chow Mein is probably one of the most synonymous Chinese “take-out” dishes outside of Fried Rice and General Tao chicken here in North America. It differs slightly across the Americas, but generally consists of pork, chicken, some seafood (shrimps) alongside various veggies such as celery, Chinese cabbage, water chestnuts – all this served on top of a crispy bed of fried egg noddles. A key to this recipe is when you will fry your noodles is to let the oil in your wok (ideally) to smoke. This is what they call “Wok hay”, which is something generally...
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