Sweet on Sorrel: Schav

Sorrel soup, or schav

Italian parsley and young arugula in downy bunches, elastics wrapped around their stems. Stacks of pointy-leafed mint, variegated lemon thyme, and slender chives creating a landscape of fragrant green pyramids. Soft, pillowy bags of baby spinach, mixed lettuces, and mâche. But no sorrel.

“I am too late this morning? Has all the sorrel been snatched up?” I asked, clearly ...
Continue reading ...

Photo Friday: Soup Shooters

Sweet corn soup shooters

Here’s the scene: People are arriving at your cocktail party on an icy January evening. The biting wind has driven the temperature down to a frigid –20°C. Guests unwind scarves from their necks, shake out their hair from the confines of toques, and sling their bulky long coats over the entryway banister before entering the dining area while ...
Continue reading ...

A Short History of Chowder

Curried chicken chowder

Chowder. It’s not quite soup and not quite stew. So what is it?

Enter the Oxford Companion to Food, which tells me that in fact, chowder is thought to be named after the iron cooking pot, the chaudière, brought to the east coast of Canada by early French settlers. The Micmac peoples introduced these settlers to clams, which ...
Continue reading ...

My Caldo Verde

Caldo verde, traditional Portuguese soup

Among the many things my partner, Michael, has brought into my life, an introduction to Portuguese cooking is not one of the least important. Had I not the opportunity to share in his cultural heritage, it’s likely I never would have ventured beyond takeout churrasco chicken from the joint down the street from ...
Continue reading ...

I'm a Weirdo Meme, Food Edition

“Sweet tooth” graffito, Riverside District

Jess over at O Solo Mama would like you to know the seven weirdest things about me. Because I tend to be rather long winded (see? I’m admitting my problem. It’s the first step towards recovery), I’m only going to give you five. But to put a little twist on this meme affair, I will ...
Continue reading ...