Early this morning, I noticed a very strange tweet from the chef/owner of the neighbourhood sushi restaurant I frequent, Sushi Umi (1311 Wellington Street W.). Normally, Chef Chris’ tweets and Facebook page updates are less than regular, mostly business-oriented. He announces specials and new products Sushi Umi offers. Yesterday, he tweeted: @sushiumiottawa (May 7, 2013 4:01 pm) warning to all clients. this post is invalid. sushi umi never agreed to such promotion or was aware. Do not buy… http://fb.me/2iK78tFKt Randy Fitzpatrick and Dave Loan, restauranteurs of Petit Bill’s Bistro (1293 Wellington Street W.) an Zen... | Continue reading article

Many people have asked how this blog came to be called “foodiePrints.” Neither a word nor a composite of related words, I developed a “predictable” canned response. Dawning a false smile, I usually explain foodiePrints is a combination of interests: food (so “foodie”) and photography (so “prints”). In all honesty, foodiePrints was an accident. Wanting to share a recipe for a more North American take on biscotti, without having to resort to copying and pasting it into multiple e-mails, I created a sub-domain and installed a content management system. The web-space was leftover from the... | Continue reading article

Someone recently drew my attention to a restaurant review; it was remarkably like one I had written a few months ago in style, imagery and language. The author of the piece was a paid professional working for a major daily paper. To say that I was upset was putting it mildly. I had put my heart into my piece and was particularly proud of the way it read. I had taken care to paint the portrait, to set the scene, and to give the restaurant its proper due. I had done this on my own... | Continue reading article

Canada Day has again come and past, much of Ottawa participating. This year, unlike last, July 1st fell on a Sunday, so Jenn and I celebrated the weekend by visiting two of Ottawa’s farmers’ markets, the Preston Farmer’s Market and the Ottawa Farmers’ Market at Brewer Park. On Canada Day proper, we visited a friend to celebrate his boyfriend’s birthday and ventured downtown to watch the annual fireworks display put on by the National Capital Commission. Preston Farmers’ Market At Preston Farmers’ Market, we partook of something unique to the incubator market located at the... | Continue reading article

Last year I shared my favourite pasta carbonara recipe with you. The most important ingredient in that dish, second only to the love I put into making it, is the guanciale. Guanciale is a non-smoked salt-cured pig’s cheek of Italian origins. It is traditionally made by sweating the pig or hog’s jowl in salt for a few days, before covering it in cracked pepper, and thyme and hanging for 3-4 months to cure. The texture is drier and harder than bacon, and more meaty in taste than pancetta. As the skin is left on, you... | Continue reading article

For a number of months now, foodiePrints has been submitting events to OttawaStart.com‘s Glen Gower for inclusion in weekly event roundups. It has been an absolute pleasure, our already maintaining a calendar of local food events on Betidings.com. OttawaStart.com‘s list lets us highlight not-to-miss events. This week, Gower’s reminder email to submit events asked not only to provide an event but why they are important, personally. This week, I submitted the fourth and last Christmas at Lansdowne market, organized by the Ottawa Farmers’ Market. Here is the typically wordy email I sent. In the interest... | Continue reading article

Ever looked through the bins in the electronics section of a supermarket? You never know what you’ll find! Personal Trainer: Cooking I really wish this software title was available when I went to university. It would have been the perfect gift for a friend who was learning to cook. After instructing him on the finer points of making toast, instant noodles, and fried eggs over ICQ instant messaging and MSN messenger, giving him something he could pop into his Game Boy would have been helpful. With verbal instructions, recipes, videos, shopping list of ingredients, and... | Continue reading article

Index: Atelier So, what do you do when it’s Thanksgiving Monday and you’ve already feasted with friends and family? Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. In 1957, it was declared a statutory holiday, meaning most businesses are closed, from shops to banks and many offices. Intended to encourage Canadians to give thanks at “the close of the harvest season,” Thanksgiving arrives just after the bounty at the local farmers’ markets begins to wain in Ottawa. On our end, Jenn and I usually celebrate Thanksgiving with family the Sunday of the three-day weekend.... | Continue reading article