Talking Thermomix with Don Genova · Friday July 5, 2013 by colin newell
Talking Thermomix with the amazing food historian Don Genova!
As most of my readers know, I have been playing with coffee machines for a decade and a half – and in some of my in between times I do take the opportunity of horsing around with related gadgets that are used in the kitchen (that could also have a coffee connection…) and some not so much.
And it was with great delight that Andrea and I managed to arrange a loan of a Thermomix “food appliance” from Island food journalist and author, Don Genova – locally of Cobble Hill, B.C. and a regular on CBC Radio “Food Matters”. We had seen the Thermomix in use at one of Don’s popular cooking classes – on the subject of pasta. And guess what, Don had the Thermomix handy for not only making the pasta but also making the sauce for the pasta! And for this reason and a few others, I don’t call the Thermomix simply a food processor – because, it is much more than that.
The Thermomix is a powered blender, chopper, stirrer, mixer, digital scale and labor saver – Designed in Germany and manufactured in France, the Thermomix is more industrial grade multi-purpose kitchen appliance than the kind of single use devices that many people would spend their money and time on.
Many folks, in fact, often pick a Vita-Mix over the Thermomix as a cost saving measure – and as awesome as the Vita-Mix is, it cannot cook anything. And where the Thermomix really, really shines – is that it can prep a dish and then cook it… or steam it. Or do both at the same time!
In the video below, Don tackles a recipe we tackled a couple of times… with awesome results!
Andrea and I gave the Thermomix a work out with a couple of variations of a popular and relatively challenging recipe: Risotto. For those who have made Risotto, it is labor intensive and requires your attention for the duration of the process.
Apart from getting the ingredients together and getting them into the Thermomix in the right order, the bulk of the work was done by the Thermomix with little interaction from me – the primary thing with Risotto is, of course, the stirring – often 10 to 15 minutes of stirring… which the Thermomix does gently and steadily.
We ended up with a restaurant grade Risotto that we would have proudly served any chef in the city… or any of our friends.
We chatted with Don Genova on the subject of the Thermomix this afternoon at Victoria’s Cafe Roaster 2% Jazz at the Hudson – and future home of the Victoria Public Market. When asked, Don pointed out in the audio recording above, that all kinds of people buy the Thermomix and they buy it for a variety of reasons – the main thing for us was labour saving, streamlining processes in the kitchen and making food better – and maybe even saving some money in the journey and eliminating some waste – because the Thermomix measures everything very precisely, the end results are exactly the same every time.
The Thermomix is clearly well made (designed and built in Europe) with heavy duty components for years and years of service. Interestingly, you cannot buy the Thermomix online or in a store – it is sold by a network of dealers in Canada that are particularly hands on when it comes to training and initiation of new users to this very useful tool.
I had the Thermomix for around a week – and I think I may need to borrow one again for another couple of tests (my main loan this month was interrupted by a trip to Hawaii!). In the meantime, if you need any information on where you can find one in B.C. (or anywhere else in Canada…) just drop me a line!
For more information on what Don Genova is up to and where you can see/hear him, pop on over to his Blog
Podcast – If you cannot see the audio player above, click here for the mp3.
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Pasta - Scallops in lemon pepper and butter · Tuesday May 14, 2013 by colin newell
Toast 1/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs
Put some pasta on to cook – enough for 2.
Into Saute pan put 1/4 cup of quality Extra virgin Olive oil to heat.
Put in 1/4 cup of butter
Cut 5 large Scallops into quarters – season with lemon pepper
Toss in the Scallops into Saute pan. Cook for 2.5 minutes.
Remove the scallops to paper towel – add another sprinkle of lemon pepper.
Add some more butter to the pan – add 1 heaping tablespoon of chopped
garlic + heaping tablespoon of capers with some caper liquid.
Put in 1/3 cup of lemon juice to saute pan.
Add 2 heaping tablespoons of dried parsley.
Put on low simmer.
Remove toasted breadcrumbs from oven and toss 2 tablespoons of fresh grated Peccorino Cheese to the hot bread crumbs.
Put 1/2 cup of hot pasta water into saute pan and toss.
Return scallops to pan.
Drain pasta – add pasta to saute pan.
Sprinkle 1/2 of the toasted bread crumb and cheese mixture onto saute pan and toss.
Plate the pasta between 2 plates – sprinkle remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.
Bed and Breakfast in the Cowichan Bay - The Damali · Tuesday May 7, 2013 by colin newell
Andrea and I did a wine and cheese pairing in Cowichan Bay a few weekend ago – and in the name of safety and enjoyment we decided to spring for a good Bed and Breakfast in the Cobble Hill – Cowichan Bay area. And it was on very short notice that I did a quick Google of B&B’s in the area. Some very attractive places jumped out and one of the most attractive was the Damali B&B Lavender Farm and Winery. Inasmuch as that is quite the mouthful, the website was very compelling and attractive.
The Damali B&B is a purpose built building that feels somewhat more like a spa-lodge for its spacious layout, awesome great room and cozy kitchen area. The folks that run the place really loving presenting this multipurpose facility and it shows – with a wide variety of loving touches, impeccable cleanliness, thoughtful extras and all that passion that you really need to engage strangers (like Andrea and I) on a regular basis.
And good for us as we literally phoned in less than 48 hours earlier looking for a place to sleep – luck would have it, all 2 rooms were available.
Damali, as I mentioned above, has a lot on the go – from a functional lavender farm to a winery. So, depending on the time of the year there are a lot of neat things to do there.
As we were attending a special event that night (At the Cow Bay Conference Center) hosted by Hilary’s’ Cheese of Victoria and Cow Bay, we had the good fortune of hanging out with two of the partners from the Damali Farm; Dave and Marsha – great folks who love their job.
The Damali B&B Winery and Lavender Farm are on 13 Acres on Telegraph Bay Rd. (on the left 50 yards before the Hutchinson Rd Junction — pay attention for the sign, you might miss it!)
By and large it is a great location, whisper quiet apart from the occasional dog bark and the evening air is filled with the sounds of crickets.
Check in is pretty informal – a quick orientation, and introduction to Chevy Chase, the sweet Jack Russell Terrier and a discussion of how and when we would like our breakfast and we are off to the events of the evening.
Sleep came super-easy in the comfortable and well-appointed rooms — the bonus being the quiet and darkness and the fresh air – knocks you out in minutes!
Breakfast was a brilliantly presented combo of fresh fruit in Yogurt, and a set of proteins; an nice egg dish with some thick cut bacon and artisan whole grain bread – tasty and perfectly portioned for a weekend morning.
Overall, a great experience – the only regret was leaving after one night! I could have stayed a week.
You can contact the Damali at:
3500 Telegraph Road, Cobble Hill,
British Columbia, Canada V0R 1L4
For BED & BREAKFAST Requests & Bookings
Email: info@damali.ca Phone: 250 743-4100 Fax: 250 743-4170
Toll Free: 1 877 743-5170
Waiting on the farmers and public market chapter one · Tuesday May 7, 2013 by colin newell
Hey everyone! Thank you for your patience. It has been a while since I have blogged regularly – no excuse at this point… and it is not like there isn’t a lot going on to report on… because there is. So let’s dig in already!
Living in the urban environment of Victoria B.C. comes with a dynamic and ever changing set of variables when it comes to hunting and gathering – because let’s face it folks: Food and drink is the one thing that you spend the most time thinking about – go ahead, deny it. It is likely true.
For instance, when I am making breakfast, I am probably thinking about lunch and dinner (the latter more likely) and I am often looking forward a couple of days. Our weeks (lucky us) almost always include a date night. And date night means a dinner out – generally on Thursdays. We cook in virtually all the other nights and this is our reward. It is also a good habit to get into – it is good for the economy and it is great for a relationship.
And for those people that know Andrea and I, I might just be a little guilty of frequenting favorite places to the exclusion of a little variety and risk taking. But that is OK too – because becoming a regular at one or more local joints has it advantages.
Back to the gathering for a moment. One of my bad habits, locally, is not making much effort to do fully sensible shopping – and that would include going to farmers markets, local markets, even corner stores or natural food stores that go that extra mile to bring you local produce and products. I will not name any names but I shop at a local “Canadian owned” mega-mart that used to (they probably still do…) sends Island grown products to Vancouver for sorting – and then ships them back to Victoria – which is utterly and inexcusably bad on so many levels.
Anyway – just around the corner is the June opening of the Hudson’s Public Market in the old Hudson’s Bay building on Douglas, Blanshard, Herald and Fisgard blocks. I am so ready for this – and yes, I know there are markets like the “Moss” that is closer that I do not currently take advantage of. My bad. Baby steps right.
Victoria’s last year round Public market closed in the late 50’s – so technically, I have been waiting that entire time for a public market in Victoria. There have been a few sad attempts in Victoria… but clearly, they never succeeded. So. It’s coming. I am excited. And I really hope that the city of Victoria embraces this market – because we need it – for Oh so many reasons.
On one hand, there are great food products around us – which is awesome. On the other hand, there are some fabulous products and foods being produced on the Island that are not readily available – maybe until now – and yes, I get that there are various neighborhood markets… but they are only open on the weekend.
So expect to see me in the front of the line on opening day!
This is the first in a series of hunting and gathering on southern Vancouver Island – how important it is to better understand our food supply – and to embrace and preserve natural, healthy and holistic food production on Vancouver Island.
Stay tuned!
