Fuel

Fuel is toast

Hello and welcome to the final entry for Fuel.
Six months ago we created this blog as an online food section for The Mercury. The newspaper can only fit a fraction of the food and drink material out there and so this site was to get more stories to you.
However, I'll be leaving Guelph at the end of this month and won't be able to post on a daily basis.
I hope you learned as much as I did via this site and found great new websites and blogs to visit.
Thanks for reading,
Roger LeBlanc

Eggs and sausage

Eggs and Sausage from Jackie Lay on Vimeo.

Cookbook review: Slow Cooker Comfort Food

Judy Creighton, The Canadian Press
Comfort food is different things to different people. Consequently, Toronto cookbook author Judith Finlayson has reached out to the global community to reflect the diversity of soothing foods from many lands in her sixth slow cooker book.
“Slow Cooker Comfort Food: 275 Soul Satisfying Recipes,” (Robert Rose, $29.95 paperback) combines the convenience and versatility of the slow cooker with many international dishes that make one feel better physically and emotionally.
“For me comfort food is chicken soup, beef stew or pot roast, but if you are south Asian it is probably curry or if you are Vietnamese it is pho, the noodle-based soup with a particularly flavourful broth,” she says.
As we head into another fall and winter when slow cookers again are taken out of the cupboard and dusted off to serve up more substantial fare, this book adds an all new and adventurous repertoire to cold weather cooking.
Finlayson, who has sold over 750,000 copies of her various cookbooks, is now seeing them distributed not only in the U.S. but in Australia and England as well.
“Slow Cooker Comfort Food” has a colour guide on every page and tips on halving recipes for single people and couples. She has also highlighted dishes suitable for entertaining as well as vegan and vegetarian friendly recipes.
“Vegan friendly are included because so many people are looking for vegetarian options,” she says. “Even if they still eat meat many are moving to have at least one or two non-meat meals a week.”
As in all her previous slow cooker books, Finlayson has given essential instructions on using your slow cooker with cooking times, temperatures and many suggestions she has gleaned from hours of testing recipes.
In keeping with the international flavour of many of the recipes, here is one that she discovered when holidaying in Mexico. Chocolate atole is a beverage made from corn flour and flavoured with chocolate and fruit.
It uses soy milk, because it cooks overnight to be served at breakfast. Finlayson says cow’s milk would sour.
However, instead of soy, you could use a nut milk like almond, she says.
“Incidentally, atole is reputed to be good for curing hangovers,” she says with a chuckle.
Equipment needed:Lightly greased slow cooker stoneware and small 2 to 3Ω l slow cooker

Chocolate Atole
50 ml (º cup) stone-ground cornmeal
125 ml (Ω cup) packed brown sugar, preferably Demerara or raw cane sugar
50 ml (º cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
5 ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
1 l (4 cups) soy milk
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
In a saucepan over medium heat, toast cornmeal, stirring until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or a clean coffee grinder and pound or grind as finely as you can. Stir in sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon.
In same saucepan over medium-high heat, bring soy milk to a boil. Gradually add cornmeal mixture in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Return to a boil and transfer to prepared stoneware. Stir in vanilla.
Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or overnight, or on High for 4 hours. Stir well before serving.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Store brand products gaining favour with food shoppers

Judy Creighton, The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Canadian grocery shoppers driven to purchase store brand products because of financial necessity during the recession now claim a longer term loyalty to them, a recent study shows.
In fact, when asked what they purchased in the last 12 months, store brands represented 50 per cent or more of food items for two of three households surveyed in Canada.
“This is a long term trend and I think it will continue to grow,” says Joel Gregoire, food and beverage industry analyst for the NPD Group which provides consumer and retail information for manufacturers, retailers and service companies.
Store brands are those which are the supermarket’s own brand of products or a brand name exclusively for sale at particular chains. For example, Sobey’s store brand products are sold under the Compliments label while Loblaws’ label is President’s Choice. An example of a generic label is No Name Brand.
Gregoire says that the study shows “nearly every Canadian household is consuming store brand goods in some form or another within an average week.”
He said Canadian seniors and those aged 50 and up are also choosing store brand food products over name brands. He gave no reason other than these groups tend to be careful and cost-conscious shoppers.
“And as the perceived quality gap narrows, name brands will increasingly need to invest in name-changers by raising the bar on innovation in order to stand out from the crowd.”
Gregoire says that while store brands are gaining in popularity, name brands continue to be strong in the beverage and snacking categories.
“The manufacturers in this category have done a very good job of building and maintaining their brand image,” he says. Examples of name brands or national brands are Kraft, Heinz and Coca Cola.
The study used NPD’s online Canadian panel and National Eating Trends Canada for its findings. It polled 623 consumers who are responsible for at least half of the food and beverage shopping for their households. It was conducted April 30 to May 8, 2009.

Optician-turned-baker makes gourmet biscotti

Carmelina Prete, Hamilton Spectator

HAMILTON — She’s written to Oprah, Ellen and Rachael.
She’s left free home-baked treats at dozens of local coffee shops.
And Debby Stroud looks shocked when asked if there’s a minimum amount customers must spend on an order.
"I would never turn anyone down!" she says.
Stroud is the lone baker behind Hotti Biscotti, a new line of gourmet treats she makes out of her Dundas home.
At 52, the energetic entrepreneur started a new career with an old family recipe of triple-baked biscotti.
In her letters to TV queens Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Rachael Ray, Stroud has offered to bake goodies for their studio audiences. No response yet, but she’s undeterred.
"Once people taste them, they sell themselves."
She’s had a strong local following since launching her business as a part-time venture last fall. Several Hamilton-area coffee shops carry her biscotti.
Lisa Tkachuk, owner of Bad Dog Cafe, said she often sells out.
"Everyone loves them. People come from other restaurants in the area to get them."
Cousins came over from Europe after the Second World War and had everyone making the traditional plain family biscotti, said Stroud, who grew up outside Buffalo and came to Hamilton in 1978.
She’s since tweaked the recipe by adding various dips, such as toffee, chocolate, nuts and sprinkles.
Hotti Biscottis are triple-baked, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Unlike many biscotti that are hard and often dry, hers are light in texture.
Baking and selling delectable treats such as toffee crunch biscotti (Stroud’s favourite), chocolate-covered pretzels, buttery almond sugar cookies and mini-Snickers cookie pies, Stroud feels like she’s finally doing what she’s always wanted.
After a divorce in 1987, the young mom of a four-year-old son didn’t feel she could give up a stable full-time job as an optician to pursue a career as a baker.
It was always a part-time venture. In the ’80s, she ran Hugs and Quiches, supplying local restaurants with homemade quiches. She still makes quiches, but last fall decided to focus on gourmet treats.
Then she got laid off in June.
"It was a blessing in disguise, " she says. "I never really felt fulfilled (as an optician). This gave me an opportunity to pursue my passion."
Helen Mason, a professional chef, tried Stroud’s biscottis at a wedding trade show in Burlington.
"They were so amazing that my 12-year-old daughter went back with her allowance money and bought more."
She ordered 200 mini-biscotti and 150 sugar cookies for the cappuccino bar at her wedding this past Saturday.
Stroud says 80 per cent of her business is to restaurants and 20 per cent is catering, including gift boxes for corporate functions and special occasions.
She hopes to grow the business so that one day she can run her own store.
"It’s so nice being your own boss, " she said.
Then she laughs.
"And I get to eat the rejects."

Where to find Hotti Biscotti:
— In Hamilton: Bad Dog Cafe on Locke Street South, My Dog Joe in Westdale
— In Burlington: Caffe Demetre on Brant Street, Marilu’s Market on New Street, Fortinos Bean Roast cafe on Plains Road.
— In Stoney Creek: Fortinos Bean Roast cafe in Fiesta Mall
— For pricing or to place an order visit hottibiscotti.ca or call 905-628-9011.

Health officials warn salmonella outbreak may be linked to sprouts

The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Health officials in Ontario are investigating an outbreak of a rare type of salmonella.
Authorities say there have been seven recent cases of salmonella cubana in Ontario — with the last person becoming ill on July 12.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a health hazard alert for certain Sprouts Alive and Sunsprout brand onion sprouts and mixed onion and alfalfa sprouts, due to possible contamination with salmonella.
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care says in a release that a few of the people who became ill have reported eating sprouts.
The ministry says individuals at high risk for serious health effects from foodborne illnesses — particularly young children, seniors and people with weakened immune systems — should avoid eating raw sprouts.
Anyone who has experienced symptoms — such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps or fever — should consult their health care provider.

Fruit frying is in the bag

The Associated Press

Dying for guacamole, but avocados still days from being ripe? Put them in a paper bag and toss in a banana, apple or citrus fruit.

That's because avocados -- which are powerhouses of ethylene, a natural ripening hormone -- ripen faster if placed in a paper bag. And they ripen even faster if you add another ethylene producer, such as a banana.

Summer is prime season for this increasingly popular fruit. And while there are nearly 500 varieties of avocados grown around the world, in North America people tend to favour just a few, mostly Hass or Hass-like varieties. These avocados are creamy, green-fleshed and have a pebbly skin that turns purplish-black when ripe.

Hass are your basic guacamole avocados, small and bell-shaped, great when eaten like a vegetable on salads or, even more creatively, deep-fried as french fries.

But there are also what are called "green-skinned" avocados, varieties such as Simmonds or Monroe.

These avocados have a smooth skin that remains green when ripe, and they can weigh up to 3 1/2 pounds (1.5 kg). Green-skinned avocados also have less fat and more moisture than Hass, giving them a milder flavour.

These qualities make them well suited to sweet preparations, such as the ice cream favoured by Brazilians or milk shakes enjoyed in the Philippines. Unfortunately, such avocados are virtually unknown in Canadian markets.

To tell when avocados are ripe, give them a little squeeze. They should yield to slight pressure but not be mushy. Unripe avocados should be stored at room temperature, then moved to the refrigerator when ripe. They will keep there for two to three days.

To peel, run a knife around the fruit lengthwise, then twist it slightly to separate the halves. Remove the pit with a spoon.

Recipe: AVOCADO FRIES

Reality winemaking

 
TheFoodSection.com

Coming this fall to PBS: "The Winemakers," a six-part reality series following a group of 12 contestants as they "undergo a series of grueling challenges devised by real world winemakers, as well as top chefs, sommeliers, restaurateurs and industry leaders." The winner of the competition will, according to the show's website, "win the chance to launch their own wine brand."

Lighten your fast food

Readers' Digest

Our hectic lives are often so busy that we feel we can’t get by without eating on the run. However, it is possible to make your fast-food choices a little lighter by being careful when you choose a menu item. Click through these tips for helpful reminders when you're at the fast-food counter. 
• Fats to Avoid in Fast Foods
• Turn Takeout Healthy
• Eat Out, Eat Smart

Source: Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal, Reader's Digest Canada

Tip of the day

Hamilton Spectator

A reader asks if she can freeze corn on the cob.

It's kind of bulky, but yes. However, it is important to blanch the ears first; blanching kills the enzymes that will discolour the corn and eventually rot it.

Clean the ears and plunge them into a large pot of boiling water -- about 6 minutes for small ears and 9 for big ones -- then immediately remove to an ice-water bath for about 20 minutes.

Dry the corn, wrap each ear in plastic wrap, then place them in a large freezer bag and seal and freeze.