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Lucky old me
I got to realise a long-deferred wish on Saturday, and visited Cyrus Todiwala’s Cafe Spice Namaste to check out some Parsee cuisine. I read elsewhere that the Parsees are shrinking in number, because their religion, Zoroastrianism, prohibits intermarriage and conversion; you have to be born right.
Anyway, the food was very good. The starters were unusual; after poppadoms with wonderful chutneys, we had crab cakes,
beetroot & coconut samosas and some potato pancakes filled with minced beef with smooth tomato chutney. Then some absolutely astounding tandoori duck
that had been marinated in yogurt and lime before grilling, a version of saag paneer and a dish of buttered sweetcorn and water chestnuts.
Naan with chili, garlic and ginger on the side was fluffy and crispy and pretty as a picture.
The passion fruit sorbet was terrific but the toffee and apricot icecream was to slide under the table and faint for.
And the lassi was excellent also.
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Liking London
A week or so ago I attended a reading by Ekstasis authors, in celebration of the Pacific Rim Review of Books. Richard Olafson introduces…
Among others, our excellent Saskatchewanian Glen Sorestad read, and so did the wondrous Yvonne Blomer.
I’m enjoying the bee-keeping course a lot. Here’s how you wrap up your hives and throw them in the back of your truck to take them for a drive. If you listen closely you can hear them hum…
And now, here I am on the other side of the pond once more. I arrived yesterday and after a reviving nap and shower bustled off to the Olivier to catch Much Ado About Nothing, which was nothing short of awesome. Zoe Wanamaker, Simon Russell Beale and everyone — all wonderful. Sets, staging, music, dancing — all wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I laughed, I cried, and I particularly enjoyed the reaction of the many school kids in the audience, who hooted and hollered and clapped upside down and backwards at the end.
I settled in that evening to a gorgeous box of booty from Ottolenghi – roasted aubergines with braised shallots, coriander, chili and green tahini; roasted beets with sunflower seeds, chard, chervil and maple sherry dressing; some soft, tasty new potatoes in mustard sauce; and a couple of slices of char-grilled fillet of beef with dijon mustard, coriander and honey sauce. With a glass of Barbera to wash it down. Looks like I will just miss the publication of Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, but we can still catch some great recipes in the Guardian.
Carrie has sent forth the challenge to participate in NaPoWriMo over April (National Poetry Month) which sounds like an excellent idea. We poets can show those novelists what’s what, eh?
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Growth hormones in dairy, and National Poetry Month in Canada
Shocked by a grim if slightly dated tale about rBST – recombinant bovine somatotropin, marketed under the name “Nutrilac” – a synthetic hormone, developed by Monsanto through genetic engineering, that increases a cow’s ability to produce milk – which is allowed in US dairy cattle but banned in Canada and the EU. Despite intense lobbying by Monsanto, and a made-in-Canada whistle-blower scandal, eventually further study showed cause for concern over introducing it to the human food chain: but it is even more harmful to the health of dairy cattle, who suffer greater risk of lameness, infections and sterility when given it.
Bear that in mind when buying anything containing dairy products from the US. I’m not sure if there are any regulations at all that limit the use of US dairy products in this country – the regs only say we can’t give the hormones to our cattle. A number of dairy producers in the US now label their products as hormone-free, which is causing Monsanto to protest that such claims might make consumers think the hormone-free products are in some way ‘better’ than those which are produced with the benefits of Monsanto’s chemicals. Gosh…
More about milk another day. Meanwhile, National Poetry Month looms in Canada, and starting April 1st, the League of Canadian Poets will showcase poems by its members on a blog, whose theme is “Poetry Without Borders.”
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In her latest collection, Rhona McAdam navigates the dark places of human movement through the earth and the exquisite intricacies lingering in backyard gardens and farmlands populated by insects and pollinators, all the while returning to the body, to the tune of staccato beats and the newly discovered symmetries within the human heart.
“…A beautiful, filling collection, Larder is a set of poems to read at the change of the seasons, to appreciate alongside a good meal, and to remind yourself of the beauty in everything, even the things you may not appreciate before opening McAdam’s collection….”
Rhona McAdam is a writer, poet, editor, and Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a Master’s in Food Culture from Italy and a deep-rooted passion for ecology and urban agriculture. Her work spans corporate and technical writing to poetry and creative nonfiction, often exploring the vital links between what we eat and how we live. Based in Victoria, BC, and available via Zoom, Rhona is always open to new writing commissions, readings, or workshops on nutrition and the culinary arts.
