You can do this

I’m heading out of town for a week so am down to the dregs in my refrigerator. But lucky for me the dregs include whole wheat English muffins, some whitefish spread and a fresh batch of my onion marmalade (or onion jam; six of one, half a dozen of the other.)

Here’s what I did to make this snack-sized sandwich: I tore the muffin in half, toasted it up, spread it with the smoked whitefish then topped it with the onion marmalade. Delicious! Total PMS delight.

And then I got to thinking that if people really wanted to, using the very helpful National Nosh they could feasibly create every component to this PMS Delight by hand (I just gave it that official name since the previous paragraph. Things move fast around here.)

After all, way back when I taught you how to make onion marmalade here.

And then I explained how to make that Jewish delicacy called whitefish spread here.

And let’s not forget about that time I whipped up homemade English muffins here.

Bottom line? Search engines are our friends.

Nibble

This is a new favourite nibble of mine, green olives in brine. I know what you’re thinking: “Why didn’t she just say green olives? Does she think she’s better than us?”

I said green olives in brine because these are not the typical tangy, salty olives that most of us plop into our martinis or use as a topping on our pizzas.

Though they are brined – you cannot eat olives raw – it’s with the lightest touch so that what you taste is the newness, the almost greenness of these big fat olives – it’s a very subtle almost nondescript flavour, really -- a tap on the shoulder rather than the punch in the face that is a heavy salt and vinegar cure.

I know that I’ve eaten these green olives in brine before, somewhere, somehow, and Morocco, or the Mediterranean come to mind (don’t I sound all worldly?)

I happened to buy these beauties at my corner Italian grocery, not that that really says much.

After all, they sell Gryfe’s bagels and jars of matzo ball soup there, too.

The Chef Philosopher

This is Marco Pierre White, the British chef famous for being the youngest ever to win three Michelin stars.

His lusty, seminal hardcover White Heat, is out of print and hard to find.

Every French-trained chef I know absolutely idolizes the guy.

So when I recently had the chance to meet him at a tiny gathering at Bonnie Stern's cooking school, I was rendered mute for the first half-hour of the casual question and answer period, throughout which, the chef stirred a pot of risotto, boosted by Knorr products, for which he is a spokesperson.

Marco Pierre White is tall, charismatic and confident, more than a little sexy, and dare I say, quite the philosopher. He says things like, "Success is borne out of luck. Luck is being given the opportunity. It’s an awareness of mind that makes you act on that opportunity.”

I especially enjoyed his stories about dining out in the great French restaurants of Europe as a child, which was what inspired him to become a great chef. But it wasn't only the food: “When you step inside a three-star you should know you’ve arrived. When you leave, you should miss it.”

Hilarious

Isn’t this donut funny? It’s not too often that a snack can make you chuckle, but that’s exactly what this Tiger-Cats donut did to me.

Tim Horton’s introduced a limited edition Tiger-Cats-themed Supreme Donut to celebrate the Year of the Tiger this summer. Only available in locale-appropriate Hamilton, it’s filled with custard and embellished with a candy Tiger-Cats logo and team colour sprinkles – that is, while supplies, and the CFL season, last.

You can read about other animal-themed experiences I've enjoyed in Hamilton by reading my travel column in this weekend’s National Post.

MmmmVienna

Cafe culture is alive and well and living in Vienna. (In case you were worried.)

Pie!

This is the single best pie you will ever eat, and I’m not lying or even exaggerating, and, I don’t even happen to be a pie person.

The recipe was created by my cottage neighbour Judy Singer. You can read the story about Judy and her baking prowess here. And if for some reason that link dies, I’ll post the recipe down below as well so that there are no sore feelings or grumbling tummies.

If you’re not a blueberry fan, switch up the fruit for whatever you like – from raspberry and apple to peach and plum. To be honest, I don’t care what fruit or berries you use, just as long as you make this pie.

I cannot stress that enough.

Judy’s Blueberry Crumble Pie

(makes a 9” pie)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For crust:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

¾ cup canola oil

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tbsp milk or orange juice

Put flour, salt and sugar into a pie plate. In a small bowl, whisk oil together with vanilla and milk or juice. Pour oil mixture into dry ingredients, right into the pie plate. Stir with a fork and then with your hands, work it into a ball of dough.

Remove a small handful of dough, as there is usually too much for a 9’’ pie, and set aside for the crumble topping.

Press dough evenly into pie plate, making sure is isn’t too thick on the bottom. Prick the crust with a fork and bake in a 350 oven until golden, approximately 10 minutes.

For Filling:

2 ½ pints fresh blueberries

freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

Add filling to prepared piecrust

For Crumble Topping:

½ cup flour

¼ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 oz butter or margarine

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Put flour, sugars and salt into a bowl. With a pastry blender, blend in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Toss with vanilla. Add the handful of piecrust dough to the crumble, blending it in with your fingers. Crumble ½ of topping onto top of pie, more if you like it sweeter. You can freeze the rest for another pie.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 375 for another 25-30 minutes or until pie is golden. Let cool for several hours before eating.

Eat Here: Serious Pie

There’s a no reservations policy at Chef Tom Douglas’ Serious Pie in Seattle, but the airy crispy blistered crust on their oblong pizzas with toppings such as roasted local chanterelles and truffle cheese, are worth the wait.

I actually just saw this exact pizza featured on a new Food Network food porn show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate, when chef Tyler Florence picked the same decadent pie I had chosen as his favourite in America.

I don't normally trust TV chefs, but let’s just say Tom Douglas gave his restaurant the exact right name.

A first harvest

The weather has been great this summer, so my vegetable garden is doing great. That's how that works.

I had friends over for a barbecue dinner tonight, and besides the corn and burgers, everything we ate, I grew.

In my backyard plot.

In downtown Toronto.

I think that's cool.

My new gig

This isn’t child labour. My niece Julia wanted to help me make flour tortillas from scratch when I was developing authentic Mexican recipes for my first issue of House & Home magazine as Food Editor. And let me tell you, if a six-year old can do it, so can you.

And you can find out how in the September issue of the mag, hitting stands this week. Go pick up a copy and let me know what you think!

Eat Here: Fromagerie Lemaire Restaurant

What's going on with me? I had never tried poutine up until a few years ago (and this – even though I lived in Montreal for four years), yet suddenly can’t get enough of the stuff. I’ve had it high (Martin Picard and Jamie Kennedy’s versions) and low (Harvey’s). I’ve had it here, in Calgary, just last night at Charcut Roast House, a great new restaurant in the great new Le Germain hotel, and there, in Quebec City.

There’s an honest-to-goodness poutine boom going on in Toronto, as this “fries as a meal” dish appears on most restaurant menus, in chip trucks and even at standalone poutine haunts such as Smoke’s Poutinerie and Poutini’s House of Poutine.

What is poutine? Fresh cut french fries, chicken gravy, cheese curd. Those are the basics. I find the rest of it – foie gras and shredded shortribs, lobster and béarnaise sauce, pulled pork and curried chicken – to be silly, superfluous stuff.

After all, a classic is always timely.

Which brings us to Fromagerie Lemaire Restaurant in Drummondville, Quebec. See how the word fromagerie is right in the title of the restaurant? That’s because they make their own cheese on the premises, including the freshest, saltiest, squeakiest cheese curds you’ve ever tasted.

Heaven on a cafeteria tray.