Fair warning, this post is going to be a lengthy one. Lions, tigers, and bears, there will be a recipe; our advocating cooking by mass; and a review of a kitchen scale. Seemingly disparate subjects, there is a connection. We accepted an inexpensive digital scale to test with our “everyday cooking,” so used it to measure the ingredients to make arctic char crudo with which we made “cowboy” maki rolls (translated: deep fried “tempura” maki rolls). It seemed the thing to do… To begin, home cooks are losing what makes them cooks, the skills and... | Continue reading article

For a good number of us in Ottawa, Monday was a trying day, dragging on as we nursed the aftereffects of participating in Oktoberfest festivities. Some of us gave the snooze button a little extra love yesterday morning. Others reached for the Advil or Tylenol. I brewed some extra strong coffee. Suffice it to say, the weekend was a busy one in the National Capital Region. So many events came to pass: Beau’s Oktoberfest (held in Vankleek Hill), Oktoberfest Ottawa (held in Barrhaven), Harvest Noir, and Taboo Eats. The latter two food-related events were a... | Continue reading article

What does a food blogger do with a week to go before he is married? He jumps at the opportunity to lend a hand to Mike Mckenzie of Seed to Sausage. You see, not only can you find Mckenzie’s hand made meat products at many a local retailer, from Westboro’s The Piggy Market to the Glebe’s McKeen’s Metro, but his team participates in community events like the National Capital Craft Beer Week’s (NCCBW) festival. While the mayorally-proclaimed NCCBW ran August 10th to 18th, on the Friday and Saturday, a large number of breweries assembled on... | Continue reading article

It’s been a hot summer. And what is better on a hot summer day than a cold, refreshing drink? Even though the weather has been less punishing of late, there are still a few lazy days ahead of us. Weiss is the German word for White. When it is used in reference to beer, though weiss refers to wheat beers. There are many different types of Weiss beers with as many different flavour profiles. But, in general, they tend to be lighter in colour than Stout or Porter, and coriander, orange peels and other citrus... | Continue reading article

I left for my trip to Italy with a list of requests: olive oil, coffee, spices, limoncello etc… From Katy Watts (Sheltered Girl Meets World), Ottawa’s source of all things beer, I had a request for an Italian beer. But she requested it not be Perroni which is widely available in Canada. While Italy does have a small but growing craft beer industry (they even have an app called “iMicrobirriffici ” , it is still a wine country. Although I searched my local supermarkets and kept my eyes peeled at restaurants and bars (a bar in Italy... | Continue reading article

Although I will be in Italy this Canada Day (thinking of you every moment, dear Readers, every moment), may I suggest you enjoy a nice cold beer? After all, what could be more Canadian than a beer and a patio, or a beer and a dock at the cottage? And may I suggest a nice Scottish ale from Innis & Gunn? “A Scottish beer, Claire? Could you not find a nice local brew?” It is certainly true that we have many fine and enjoyable beers, but Innis & Gunn have created a Limited Edition Canada... | Continue reading article

When a person finds something new or sees something beautiful, his or her first instinct is to share it with someone else: “come look at this rainbow”, “you must try this new restaurant.” On Tuesday evening, I attended a beer and cheese event hosted by Savvy Company and sponsored by the Ontario Craft Brewers. Held at Ottawa’s own Kichesippi Brewery, there were five local breweries and brew pubs showing their wares: The Old Mill at Ashton Country Pub and Brewery, The Clocktower Brew Pub and Big Rig Brewery. The idea behind the event was to... | Continue reading article

Last summer I wrote a series of short pieces on affordable summer wines, perfect for the patio or the BBQ. This summer, as I have been increasingly drawn to beer (I blame Justin Van Leeuwen who, in addition to being a great photographer, is a keen beer aficionado), I thought it might be fun to cover beers on Fridays.  This not only gives me an excuse to try more and varied beers, it might also stop me from turning Wine Wednesdays into Assorted Spirits Middles of the Week. This week’s beer is not made from... | Continue reading article