Cave man's microwave, who needs 'em

Is it just me or is a BBQ just a really fancy place to make a fire. I was out the other day looking at a few. $499 can buy you some really nice looking stuff. But how does it cook? Is it really any better than that little chef mate for $140? What's that cheap one all about any way, flimsy parts, really ugly sitting next to that all stainless steal Napoleon TR485. But does one really cook better than the next, does money buy you food cooked well? I say no and so I stick with the McKenzie Grill master. My BBQ is a $4.00 clay pot and grill from my smoker. Yes that's right I can cook a roast of lamb to perfection with a flower pot and a stainless steal bowl. What if more people come over? Well I have a few more flower pots I can always fie up. I can grow my tomato's and cook with the same tool. Maybe its because I'm cheap, after all I would love to just turn a nob and have fire some days. Like a cave mans microwave. But like a cave man I keep my micro wave in the garage. I feel so much more pride in my food when I'm able to make something from the beginning, that includes the fire it was cooked on. In the end I think I will always prefer a good charcoal grilled stake on my poor mans cook pit to the $1000 gas griller. They sure do look nice though.

Hunting the Ramp

Every blog out there is going to be witting about cooking and eating ramps within the next week. Not me, but I will tell you how to find them. Chances are you've steeped all over them the last time you went for a hike. Here's what I did.

Step #1 Talk to Wendy an Rick from Wendy's mobile market and buy a hand full, just to jog your memory of exactly what your looking for. They have Berkshire pork too, that's a plus if your pockets are deep.

Step #2 Pick out any trail in the Kingston area and go for a hike, chances are once you get out of the parking lot you'll find them. Just look slightly off the trail. They'll be in the same areas you'll find trillium's. They grow in small patches and you'll just see the soft green leaves hanging out over last years leaves. You'll want to take a bag and a knife as well.

Step #3 Plant a bunch in your back yard, roots attached, in a damp shady place just like the one you found them in.

That's my ramp hunting guide. You can check the other 7000 food blogs for what to do with them if you don't already know. Good luck

10 min. fresh Ramen

Who doesn't like noodles and Asian flavours? Or any noodles for that matter! I have all ways liked ramen noodles but unfortunately, to many of us they are reminiscent of potato chip like noodles with salt packed broth. After I read the Momofuku cookbook I fell in love with this idea of fresh vegetables, noodles and a poached egg in a simple broth. What could be easier? Well nothings easy for me. I have this problem with authenticity, or I did. I have been looking for fresh alkaline noodles at every Asian market I have come across for 4 months now and haven't found anything. I wanted to make the same broth you might find at a great noodle bar. What a waste of time that was. I was tired of waiting for the right noodles so I just got great noodles and chopped up what ever I found in the fridge. I boiled some beef broth. Threw in some garlic and ginger, then threw in the noodles for 60 sec. then poached an egg. Put it all together and toss in some kimchee for good measure and you have unauthentic, totally local, fresh and great tasting ramen in about 13 min's! You can get some good fresh noodles from ether of the Asian markets on Princess as well as some good kimchee.

No more wasted wine

All those years of wasted wine, that little bit left in the bottom of the bottle. I've all ways wanted to turn that wine into vinegar but never knew how. I mean I knew it really was just old wine but are you ready to let a wine bottle sit open for a few months and then toss your salad with it when it starts to smell ripe?

I had come to learn you need the "mother", a the bacterial jelly that fights off the bad stuff and facilitates the 2nd fomentation. Well finding the mother is hard and after I thought I had it turns out you don't need i any way. All you have to do stop by your local home brew wine store and pick up some brewers yeast! But that's for another post, this post is about wine with the mother.

I noticed on a bottle of unpasteurised organic cider vinegar a had around that is said it had the mother still in the bottle. I was sceptical as you can starve the mother over time if you don't feed it with fresh wine. Turns out I was right. I chopped open the bottle eger to find that precious blob, nothing. Some sediment and maybe, maybe a few strands of slime. So I sterilised a mason jar pored in some left over wine and added the 3 strands of slime with a bit of that vinegar. Covered the jar with cheese cloth and tightened the outer ring.

We'll see what happens in the next few weeks, I'll keep you updated. As for the future I'll be stopping by the wine store for some yeast.

My Three Daughters

Gertrude, Henrietta and Jim are getting settled in. Wimbley, our dog instinctively knew what he had to do and now is the official protector of our chickens. So far things are looking good, they spent the day out in the sun pecking in the yard, popped out the first egg too. I'm hoping tomorrow we will have at least 2 more for breakfast.