Friends, food & drinks in Montreal (GLUTEN FREE)

OLD DELHI SPICE MARKET

2011-12-14T16:05:00.009-05:00

TROPICAL SPICE FARM, GOA

2011-12-14T14:31:00.027-05:00

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During our weekend in Goa, Catherine and I had the chance to visit the Tropical Spice Farm in Ponda. When we arrived on site, Juliet served us delicious lemongrass tea to welcome us. Then, she took us for a tour on a part of the 6-hectare spice plantation. As we walked through "the jungle", Juliet showed us ginger, banana, papaya, guava, arabiaca coffee, green and black cardamom, garam masala, curry, cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, turmeric, basil as well as aloes and she described their culinary and medicinal uses.

We chew cinnamon bark, moisturized our skin with (edible) aloes and smelled many spices. My favorite one was garam masala. It can be produced either by mixing some spices (coriander, nutmeg, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, clove, curcuma, cardamom and more) or by using a leaf of garam masala all spice plant that combines all aromas together.

After the tour, we had a fresh and healthy lunch, prepared from the plantation's organic spices: plain rice, sweet yellow rice, spicy chicken, papadum (a chip made from lentil flour) and vegetables.

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Four most expensive spices in India:

1- Saffron
2- Vanilla
3- Green cardamom
4- Clove
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MOHAMMED ALI ROAD, MUMBAI

2011-12-14T12:59:00.027-05:00

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When the sun sets at Mohammed Ali Road in South Mumbai, food lanes become very busy and Indians gather to feast after a very long fast day during the Holy month of Ramadan. Noise, hanging chicken, oil "pools", food stalls, colors, spices... If you are looking for THE Indian experience, you are well served.

Catherine, Simon and I met Siddarth and Hena, our Mumbai friends, at this famous place for dinner. They decided to order a bunch of typical meals to give us the best experience. The only restriction: the food had to be gluten-free. The chef brought us many plates containing red, orange and yellow food. We had no clue what the content was, but everything was exquisite! Then we learned that we had just eaten goat brain, chicken 65 (made with 65 spices), liver, biryani and more... Unlike Muslims, we hadn't fasted all day. So I was full and I thought I would be sick! But it was only the first part of our Indian dinner...

After, Hena and Sid took us to the dessert shop. Their goal: have us taste every dessert. Since they were all deep-fried and made from wheat flour, I was exempted from eating an additional quantity of food. The greasiest dessert I had ever seen was there, right in front of me: an egg pancake, deep-fried in a pool of oil, topped with cream. Seriously, I couldn't even look at it. Thanks to my gluten allergy, I was saved!

GLUTEN-FREE INDIAN MEALS

2011-11-03T17:54:00.028-04:00

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Last summer, I travelled to India. Indian food had always been one of my favorite foreign cuisine, so I was very excited to explore the real thing even if it meant not eating any naan bread, chapati, samosa or deep-fried food. Eating gluten-free was a lot easier than I had thought. I did some research prior to my trip and realized that lentils, chickpeas and rice were often used instead of wheat flour. Of course, gluten-free options were limited and I ended up ordering masala dosa, uttapam, dal or biryani most of the time. But the real challenge was the "sharing" aspect: I had to make sure that none of my friends dipped chapati in the plates! Here is a list of some gluten-free Indian meals:

DAL
Dal is a thick stew prepared from lentils. It is usually served with rice at the end of a meal to facilitate digestion. But I liked to order it as a main dish since it is quite filling! Dal is very common. Served in every part of the country, it is always fresh and yummy.

RAITA
Raita is a sauce made with yogurt. It may be seasoned with cucumber, cilantro, mint and other herbs. Its refreshing taste brings balance to a spicy meal.

IDLI
Idli is a delicious South-Indian cake popular throughout India. It consists of a batter of fermented black lentils and rice that is steamed and then served with spicy sauce. The first time I tasted idli was in Pune, Maharashtra. I bought 2 pieces in a small store in the morning and ate them for lunch at the famous Aga Khan Palace & Gandhi National Memorial.

FENNEL SEEDS
In India, a small plate of fennel seeds is served at the end of each meal with the bill. The licorice taste is so refreshing that it (almost) replaces a toothbrush. Plus, it facilitates the digestion of a very greasy and spicy Indian meal. My favorite seeds were the few sugar coated ones.

MASALA DOSA
Masala dosa is the first Indian dish I tasted and it became my favorite. Made from rice batter and black lentils, this crepe is stuffed with spicy potatoes. It is a staple dish in southern India.

UTTAPAM
Uttapam, the Indian adaptation of pizza, is a thick pancake with various toppings. Since its batter is made from rice and black lentils, it is gluten-free and very easy to digest. Veg uttapam is delicious for breakfast!

BUTTER CHICKEN
Probably one of the most popular Indian dish all over the world, butter chicken is a classic. I had never been a fan of this dish (the name is a real turnoff), but in India, butter is the "main ingredient" in anything. So let's just taste this "chicken meal" and forget what it really is! Because you really don't want to know how much ghee (clarified butter) was poured in the pot!

BIRYANI
A great option for celiacs is the delicious biryani. A South Indian dish, it is less fat (or at least appears to be) than other dish. The mountain shaped rice hides vegetables or meat. I shared the most exquisite mutton biryani with Ajinkya in a very old restaurant, in Pune, Maharashtra.

AU P'TIT RESTO

2011-07-10T20:45:00.023-04:00

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When you have the celiac disease, eating at the restaurant can be a nightmare. But it can also be a great experience. Julien invited us to his friend Guillaume's restaurant, Au P'tit Resto. Guillaume recently adapted the menu to make sure most of the dishes were "gluten-free friendly". The food was delicious and on top of that, the chef was very comprehensive and accommodating to my gluten allergy and to Julien's lactose intolerance. As a starter, I ordered a refreshing gaspacho made without tomatoes, but with other ingredients such as melon and figs. Then I had the horse tartar, served with fries and coleslaw. And for dessert, la crème brûlée! Yum! I was full when I left the restaurant. What a great meal, with great wine! The restaurant is BYOB, but because Julien knows the owner, Catherine, Maxime and I had the privilege to blind taste three delicious wines. Thank you to Julien and Guillaume!

BEAVER AND GOOSE IN NEMASKA

2011-05-29T17:17:00.015-04:00

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Last spring, I went on a daytrip to Nemaska, a Cree community. I was invited to the official opening of "Remember This", a travelling exhibition I had the pleasure to work on. The exhibition was in a school gymnasium. On schedule that day was a Cree traditional feast: beef, goose and beaver. Since the meat was only grilled, with no sauce/seasoning, it was naturally gluten free and it was exquisite!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2011-04-10T20:53:00.042-04:00

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To celebrate my birthday as well as my mother's birthday, we organized a family dinner at my parents' place. During the afternoon, Mom, Dad and I prepared tilapia ceviche, stuffed tomatoes and gluten-free carrot cake. The ceviche was a mix of my father's recipe and a dish at Lolita's, my favorite Mexican restaurant (located in Vancouver, BC). The result was very tasty since we added mango, cilantro and roasted red peppers to the basic mix and we served it with GO-MEX Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. The tomatoes were stuffed with sausages and black olives. The gluten-free sausages came from La Saucisserie Levy, in Lévis. Finally, we baked our family's traditional carrot cake and used buckwheat flour as a substitute for wheat flour. Yum! Catherine and I kept eating the icing even after the cake leftover ended up in a Tupperware!

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CEVICHE (SYLVAIN'S RECIPE WITH A HINT OF LOLITA'S)

- 4 tilapia fillets
- 8 limes
- 1/2 cup white wine (or more, until fish is covered)
- 6 drops Tabasco sauce
- 1/4 medium red onion, finely sliced
- sea salt to taste
- 2 roasted red peppers
- 2 atulfo mangoes
- pepper to taste
- cilantro
- GO-MEX Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (gluten-free)

-> Cut tilapia fillets in small cubes.
-> In a medium bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.
-> Leave in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
-> Cut roasted peppers and mangoes in small cubes. Combine with chopped cilantro and pepper.
-> And the second mix to the first one a few minutes before serving.
-> Serve in a small bowl. Garnish with a piece of lemon.
-> Scoop with corn chips.

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POMODORI RIPIENI SALSICCE (À LA DI STASIO)

- 8 ripe tomatoes
- olive oil
- 1 chopped onion
- meat of 3 gluten-free Italian sausages
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup black olives, finely chopped
- Italian parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper

-> Cut tomato caps. Remove juice and seeds, without breaking tomatoes.
-> Salt tomatoes and place them on a grill, upside down, to soak.
-> Heat oil in a large pan (medium heat) and fry onion. Add sausage meat and cook. Mix often to crumble meat.
-> When meat is cooked, add red wine and keep cooking until complete evaporation.
-> In a bowl, mix olives and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Add to sausage meat.
-> Stuff tomatoes with mix and place in a well-oiled dish. Drop a hint of olive oil on tomatoes. Cook in oven (400° F) during 20 minutes.
-> Serve at ambient temperature with yam potato and parsnip fries. Salt and pepper to taste.

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GLUTEN-FREE CARROT CAKE

Dry ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- a dash of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup crushed pineapple
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup dates

-> Mix all dry ingredients.
-> Beat eggs. Add wet ingredients.
-> Combine dry and wet mix.
-> Pour batter into well-greased pan.
-> Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes.

Cream cheese icing
- 4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar

-> Beat cream cheese, butter and egg together. Add sugar gradually, and beat until fluffy. Spread onto cake.

SOUPESOUP WEEK-END

2011-03-20T22:38:00.020-04:00

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The other week-end, I decided to open my favorite cookbook: Soupesoup by Caroline Dumas. I made two soups and two salads. My favorite of all four was the mango and fennel salad. Simple and yum! Now that spring has arrived, it is so refreshing to mix papaya and ginger, blueberries and chorizo, italian parsley and tomatoes...

THIÉBOUDIENNE, LAKH, MAFÉ...

2011-01-10T18:51:00.065-05:00

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If I didn't post any Christmas stories in the past weeks, it is because I flew far away from the traditions. In this summary of a two-week long holiday adventure, you won't find any turkey, meat pie or dessert. Instead, you will discover thiéboudienne, lakh, mafé and more. Here is my journey to the country of Teranga, Senegal.

I travelled to Senegal to visit my friend Catherine who has been working there for 5 months. She introduces agroecological practices in villages, such as building a stove with peanut shells or making compost with millet shells.

THIÉBOUDIENNE
On the first week, we stayed at Anta's house, a friend of Catherine, in a suburb of Dakar named Grand Mbao. To help me discover Senegalese traditional food on my first night, Anta suggested that we prepare thiéboudienne all together with her (very extended) family. The famous dish is made from fish, rice and tomato sauce. It can be served with other vegetables such as onions, eggplant and sweet potatoes. The name of the dish comes from Wolof, a dialect, meaning rice and fish. Thiéboudienne is most of the time prepared with Maggi, a Nestlé brand of seasoning cubes, which I believe contains gluten. Unfortunately, Maggi is used in every Senegalese dish, so we cooked all the time!

GRILLED TUNA ON THE BEACH
On my second night, we invited a bunch of friends for a very late dinner on the beach. Mo and Pape lighted the fire and cooked the fish, Karim played the guitar, Mbaye danced with the spatula and all together we sang "Africain à Paris", "Aaaaaa-ruba-ruba yeah" and the zikr happily. La ilaha ilallah...

LAKH
Lakh is another Senegalese classic. It reminded me of my favorite dessert, carrot cake! It is made with millet semolina and raisins on top of which we spread sour milk. In Anta's recipe, pieces of pineapple were mixed with the topping. It was so good, especially since it was the only sweet thing I ate in Senegal, apart from café Touba and tea, two beverages served with an astronomical quantity of sugar.

COOKING FOR 30 PEOPLE ON CHRISTMAS EVE
For Christmas Eve, we rented a house by the ocean and invited 30 friends. To help us organize the event and prepare food, we requested Tata Sophie's help. She gave us a list of groceries to buy at the Rufisque Market. We bought so much food that we had to pay someone to carry our bags and baskets. In the meantime, Mo went chicken shopping. He bought 8 freshly killed chickens and carried them with pride. We stored everything in Tata Sophie's refrigerator (the only place I went where there was a fridge) and came back early the next day, on Christmas Eve, to prepare everything.

The menu:
- 8 chickens buttered (with a lot of garlic) and stuffed with a gluten-free mix of vermicelli, ground beef, cilantro, parsley and other ingredients I can't remember
- merveilles salées: deep fried cheese-flavored munchies (which I couldn't eat because they were made with wheat flour)
- a huge bowl of gluten-free fries (fried in a separate pot, with fresh new oil)
- a delicious salad combining lettuce (cleaned with Javel bleach), tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, carrots, onions, parsley and cilantro, served with gluten-free Island dressing
- gluten-free millet doughnuts, flavored with banana and mint (fried in a separate pot, with fresh new oil)
- gluten-free nems: deep fried rolls made with the leftover stuffing
- gluten-free sangria
- fruit & whisky punch

With Tata Sophie's family, we cut dozens of onions, at least 50 garlic cloves, more than 30 potatoes and prepared and cooked all dishes until 9pm. I could barely wiggle my fingers at the end of the day! We finally put on our boubous then walked from Sophie's house to the rented house, carrying various large plates under a sky full of stars, tripping on every road bump.

It was a success and we ate until Christmas morning!

KAOLACK FISH MARKET
Sunday, December 26th. The seam breams were resting in peace on a table at the Kaolack Market and a thousand flies flew around in the sunset light. The scene was dramatic, yet poetic.

GRINDING MILLET AT THISSE MASS
On this wonderful day at Thisse Mass village, Arame (Catherine) and Madjiguène (I) helped women grind millet with a large mortar and two long and heavy pestles. Women in the village were experts in this "sport" and grinded in turn, quickly, still managing to clap their hands while lifting the pestle back up. It was very impressive. As for me, I was having a hard time handling the giant pestle and I thought my Nikon D90 felt light after the exercise!

WITH OR WITHOUT MAGGI
The only meals we didn't cook were the ones we ate at Keur Bamboung, an ecolodge located near Toubacouta in the Sine-Saloum delta. There, we had to eat whatever the cook prepared, that is thiéboudienne half the time. When we checked in, Catherine went to the kitchen and explained my gluten allergy, in Wolof. To keep it simple, she simply said "allergic to Maggi". The cooks, Senegalese women, were so nice that even if the meal was already cooked and ready to serve, she prepared a new batch of Maggi-free rice, topped with the regular fish and vegetables, just for me. Sans Maggi, avec magie!

SOUP...
To satisfy our Christmas time comfort food needs, Anta's family prepared a gluten-free beef soup, that Catherine renamed "Soupe à Papa" since the dish reminded her of her father's classic beef stew. As for me, I thought the taste was similar to my Mom's roasted beef. We had this meal twice. The first time, we ate it directly in the pot for our Christmas dinner, at 3:30 am, after several bottles of wine at Auberge L'Oustal de L'Agenais in Rufisque.

...AND MAFÉ
Finally, my favorite Senegalese dish was definitely the traditional mafé. Mafé is a mix of beef, eggplant, sweet potatoes, turnip and manioc, all served in a tomato and peanut paste sauce on top of steamed rice. Yum!

SENEGALESE WINE
When Senegalese drank Gazelle, a local beer, I drank "local" wine. By local wine, I mean table wine bottled in Dakar. There were 4 options, all of them available in red, white and rosé: Le Pichet, Bon Bouquet, Saint Sernin and Le Cep d'Or. They were probably the worst wines I have ever tasted, but on a beach, by a fire, they were all delicious! In Senegal, you can buy wine in special boutiques or even at some old woman's house. One night, we ran out of booze, so we walked to Tata Marie or Tata Rose's house (I can't remember which one) and there, in the middle of a beautiful garden with grapefruit trees, we bought several bottles of wine, whisky and beer!
Another interesting fact is that wine openers aren't very common. When by mistake we forgot to ask the boutique's salesperson to open a bottle of wine, Mo or Mbaye were the men in charge of the situation. Their technique was pretty simple: push the cork strongly (with a stick) until it fell into the wine. It worked all the time!

CELIAC MEETS CELIAC

2010-11-28T18:54:00.022-05:00

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I created this blog more than seven months ago. It helped my family and my friends learn more about the Celiac disease and it brought me the opportunity to explore a gluten-free gastronomy. But on top of this, I met other celiacs. Marilyn is one of them. As well as being on the same GF diet, she lives in my neighborhood and we share common interests. After exchanging a few emails, we decided to meet and prepare gluten-free tapas together.

TAPAS

- Dates stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese, wrapped in San Daniele prosciutto
- Olives, pickled with olive oil, lemon and pepper
- Mushrooms stuffed with garlic and chorizo
- Rapini and garlic stir-fry
- Shrimps, garlic and chili peppers stir-fry

Marilyn's roommate, Julie, joined us for dinner. We drank two bottles of red wine, finished our tapas to the very last piece and had this amazing time! Long life to Celiacs!

GASTRONOMICAAAA

2010-11-10T21:03:00.034-05:00

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Last week-end, Maxime, Catherine, other friends and I were invited to a Seven-Course Dinner at Julien's house. The event, named Gastronomica, was the opportunity for Julien to experiment a sequence of inventive new dishes. The biggest challenge wasn't the gastronomy itself, but the limitations of a gluten-free diet! It wasn't a piece of cake and at some point he had to call Heinz to check if their ketchup (an ingredient for the baby back ribs) was gluten-free:

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Julien: Is your ketchup gluten-free?
Heinz: Why should I tell you that?
Julien: Well, what if I were allergic to gluten?
Heinz: ........(pause).....(thinking).... Our original ketchup is gluten-free.
Julien: Which one is the original? Oh what the hell! I'll prepare my own ketchup.
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That's how he ended up preparing a whole batch of homemade ketchup! The dinner was exquisite, from the urchin velouté to the dessert, and the bottles of wine were chosen in harmony with the various dishes. My favorite dish? I was charmed by the contrast in texture and taste of the butternut squash soup, served with chives oil and grilled pancetta.

Finally, on top of all this, we took part in a crazy absinthe tasting with la fée verte and all. Oh no! Tomorrow is Monday! Thank you Julien for this amazing dinner!

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GASTRONOMICA

Velouté d'oursin au poivre blanc
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Gravlax de saumon et gingembre, crème à l'aneth
Caviar de saumon
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Potage de courge Butternut, huile de ciboulette, pancetta grillée
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Quinoa aux champignons sauvages et roquette
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"Baby back ribs" braisées
Purée de topinambours
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Yogourt pris à la fève de Tonka
Fraise macérées au Cognac
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Crème glacée aux amandes rôties
Fondants au café et cardamone

SUNDAY FOODIE SUNDAY

2010-10-25T20:59:00.037-04:00

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Sunday is the perfect day to cook lots of food for the week to come. This is why Vincent and I went to the Jean-Talon market with a shopping list in hand. But things got out of control and the more food we bought, the longer the list became! We had to leave the market before it got even worse and rode our bikes back home with several bags full of vegetables, fruits and cheese in the same way overloaded camels cross the desert.
Back in the kitchen, we turned on the oven and prepared the following: cranberry and ginger bread, tomato sauce, eggplant lasagna, zucchini gratin and yam potato fries. We generously covered the lasagna and zucchini gratin with Comté, a French cheese to die for.
After working hard to prepare all this food, we had dinner, twice. First, we had a plate of eggplant lasagna with a side of fries and homemade sprouts; second, we had a plate of zucchini gratin with the same side dishes. And after dessert, we finished the remaining yam potato fries!!! I felt like a camel again. Yam... I mean... yum!

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CRANBERRY AND GINGER BREAD

- 1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill All Purpose gluten-free flour
- 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free arrowroot powder or potato starch
- 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill flax seed meal
- 1/2 tsp Bob's Red Mill gluten-free baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp agave nectar
- 3 tbsp fresh chopped ginger
- 1-2 cup fresh cranberries

-> In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
-> In a larger bowl, blend eggs. Stir agave and vinegar into eggs.
-> Mix dry ingredients into wet, then add cranberries and ginger.
-> Pour batter into a well greased load pan.
-> Bake at 350°F during 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

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TOMATO SAUCE (inspired by a la DiStasio)

- 3 tbsp olive oil
- a dozen of fresh tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 2 tbsp ginger
- sugar to taste
- salt and pepper to taste

-> In a large pot, brown garlic at medium heat.
-> Add tomatoes and parsley.
-> Simmer during 30 minutes or until preferred consistency.
-> Season with sugar, salt and pepper.

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EGGPLANT LASAGNA

- 1 eggplant
- tomato sauce
- grated Comté

-> Cut eggplant in slices (1/2 inch thick).
-> Grill eggplants slices on the BBQ of in a pan with olive oil and water.
-> In a large Pyrex pan, "build" the lasagna according to the following sequence: tomato sauce, eggplant, tomato sauce, eggplant, comté.
-> Bake at 350°F during 30-35 minutes, or until cheese is grilled.

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ZUCCHINI GRATIN

- 4 zucchinis
- 1 tomato
- a few mushrooms
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- grated Comté

-> Cut all vegetables in thin slices.
-> In a small or medium Pyrex pan, place all slices on their side, alternating zucchini, tomato and mushroom.
-> Add olive oil on top and cover with grated Comté.
-> Bake at 350°F during 30-35 minutes, or until cheese is grilled.

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YAM POTATO FRIES

- yam potatoes, cut in sticks
- olive oil,
- fleur de sel

-> Cut yam potatoes with a mandolin.
-> Put sticks in a large Ziploc bag and add olive oil.
-> Shake bag until all sticks are covered with oil.
-> Cover a large pan with aluminum foil. Place all sticks side by side on pan (they must not touch each other).
-> Bake at 400°F until grilled. Turn fries to ensure they grill on all sides.
-> Serve with fleur de sel.

THANKSGIVING WITH RANI

2010-10-14T22:10:00.029-04:00

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Summer is definitely over and fall in settling in, slowly. As well as beautiful colors in the landscape, fall brings abundance of food, especially vegetables. And when it gets colder outside, it's time to turn on the oven!
Last week-end, my New Yorker friend Rani was in town and we had the best food experiences. One of them was our Thanksgiving dinner at my place, Sunday night. It started with a "shopping session" at the Jean-Talon market, then we headed back to my place and started cooking dinner. The menu was the following: 1- cheese + homemade gluten-free date bread and olive bread; 2- spinach and butternut squash laksa; 3- apple, nectarine and butternut squash compote. While I was baking bread, Rani sat at my temporary kitchen table (a desk actually) and cut squash and fruits. Then, I prepared the tasty, spicy and comfy laksa. After eating many pieces of bread with cheese and two portions of laksa each, we were so full, but we still wanted to taste the dessert! And it tasted like...heaven. It was just perfectly sweetened, with a mix of maple sirup and sparkling cider. I served the dessert with a glass of the remaining sparkling cider (Bulle No 1, La Face Cachée de la Pomme). Sharing this feast with Rani reminded me of my trip to Barcelona, where we met, a year ago. It felt like if I was travelling, again. Thank you Rani for sharing three different meals with me over the week-end and for inspiring me. See you soon in New York City!

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SPINACH AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH LAKSA
(recipe in La Presse, Saturday, September 25, 2010)

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 butternut squash, in cubes
- the zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4 cups rice noodles, cooked
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup bean sprouts
- a few basil leaves
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper
- a few basil leaves
- spicy oil or hot pepper, to taste

-> Heat oil in a pan and brown ginger, garlic and onion at medium heat during 5 minutes.-> Add squash. Season and brown during 2 minutes.
-> Add water and coconut milk.
-> Add lime juice and zest, then lemongrass stalk.
-> Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer until squash pieces are tender.
-> Garnish each bowl with a cup of rice noodles, bean sprouts, basil and chopped spinach.
-> Add spicy oil or hot pepper to taste.

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APPLE, NECTARINE AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH COMPOTE

- 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut in cubes
- 6 apples, peeled and cut in cubes
- 6 nectarines, peeled and cut in pieces
- 1 cup maple sirup
- 2 cups sparkling cider
- the juice of a lemon
- a dash of salt
- a dash of nutmeg

-> Combine all ingredients in a large pot.-> Cook at medium heat until compote texture.

A TASTE OF CHINA

2010-10-04T23:25:00.009-04:00

CANDY MAKING IN YANGSHUO

2010-10-04T22:10:00.006-04:00

LONGJI RICE TERRACES

2010-10-04T21:33:00.012-04:00

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Bus
Somewhere between the Longji Rice Terraces and Guilin
China
Saturday, August 7, 2010
4:20 pm

"After the long-haired women show, we catched the local bus to go all the way up the hill. It reminded me of that crazy taxi ride in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands in 2003: horns at every turn or should I say, at every scary, dangerous U-turn. We finally got off the bus and walked the remaining part on a winding trail punctuated by stairs with loose stones. On top of the mountain was a charming village where Christine and I had lunch. We ordered the local specialty, Longji Bamboo Rice: sticky rice stuffed into bamboo and cooked over an open fire. It was very tasty. We ate it with tomato and egg soup as well as a spinach and pork sauté."

LOCAL TEA TASTING

2010-10-04T21:12:00.012-04:00

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Room 8108
Taste Xi Jie Hotel
Yangshuo, China
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
5:22 pm

"On our first day in Guilin, we tasted local teas. Among all, our favorite was the famous Osmanthus tea, a mix of Osmanthus flowers and black or green tea leaves. From April to October, a delicious sweet smell emanates from Osmanthus flowers and spreads all over the city. It was the finest and most exquisite tea I had ever tasted. So I bought a box that I will enjoy back home."

TURTLE SOUP

2010-10-04T20:33:00.006-04:00

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Room 8108
Taste Xi Jie Hotel
Yangshuo, China
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
5:22 pm

"It took us a long time to find a hotel in Guilin and after we found one, we had lunch at the restaurant. We ordered turtle soup, some sort of thinly sliced potatoes marinated in vinegar and a sauté of mixed greens, white eggs and black eggs. The turtle soup was basically a piece of a turtle (including the shell) in a broth, served in a clay pot. I realized that the turtle is a fat animal with many bones! It took us a while to bone the meat. It wasn't my favorite dish, but it was worth a try."

WANGFUJING STREET FOOD

2010-09-27T21:51:00.014-04:00

WANGFUJING FOOD COURT

2010-09-27T21:25:00.012-04:00

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Study room
Residence #21
Tsinghua University
Beijing, China
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
5:10 pm

"On our way to the Wangfujing market, we stopped for lunch at the food court. After we bought the food court credit card, we selected the ingredients for our sauté: bacon, mini eggs, spinach, chicken wings, shitake mushrooms, blood, pork and beef tripe and dried tofu. It took a couple of minutes for the chef to cook our lunch. Starving, we finally enjoyed our delicious sauté spiced with garlic and served in a large bowl."

CHINESE HOT POT

2010-09-26T19:36:00.014-04:00

-
La Bamba bar
Beijing, China
Saturday, July 31, 2010
9:11 pm

"Yesterday night, I finally enjoyed the Chinese hot pot experience. I had been begging Christine to try it since my first night in Beijing. But when it is 40°C outside, you hardly feel like sweating even more in a hot pot restaurant. Despite the extreme heat, we finally went to Xiabu Xiabu, a chain restaurant in Wudaokou that offers the fast food version of the traditional Chinese hot pot. The restaurant is so popular that we had to wait in line for 30 minutes, which is a very long wait for dinner in China. Because we were only two people, they finally placed us at the bar counter in the middle of the room. Groups of four sat at the tables all around the counter.

The way it works is pretty simple. Each person has his own hot pot (a pot on top of a hot surface). First, we had to choose our broth: regular or spicy. We both chose the regular one considering the fact that we were already sweating enough above the hot pot steam. Second, we picked our lunch kit: cabbage, spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, carrots, raddish, blood, tofu, rice noodles, meat, black fungus, etc. Third, we selected our sauce: peanut sauce mixed with freshly chopped cilantro. Finally, we started cooking and eating!

The hot pot in 2 steps:
1. Drop stuff in broth.
2. When cooked, dip food in peanut sauce mix.

It was delicious! I even managed to take a few photos illegally behind the counter until the staff warned me that taking photos was prohibited. Too late!!

CHINESE DINNER

2010-09-22T22:55:00.019-04:00

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Bus 919
Between Beijing and the Great Wall
China
Friday, July 30, 2010
12:33 pm

"Yesterday evening, we had dinner with Christine's friends and their friends. In total, we were twelve people sitting at a large round table at Sushe, a typical Chinese restaurant. We ordered many dishes that the waiter placed on the table's rotating centre. I made sure most of them were gluten-free.

In China, the guest of honor, me in this case, is always served first. I was very shy and uncomfortable because I didn't really know the appropriate way to approach each dish. We ordered fish, black fungus, broccoli and mushrooms, lotus flowers, tomato and beef soup, rice, bacon, etc. The beverage was delicious and very original: a pitcher of plum juice. The taste reminded me of the plum sauce we serve with egg rolls in Quebec City, which shouldn't be classified in the Chinese food category by the way.

I started taking photos of every dish and that made all Chinese friends very excited. Each time a new dish arrived, they were screaming all together "Photo, photo!!!" They even helped me display the food nicely for the purpose of the photo. What a great dinner with incredibly nice people!"

FRUIT PICNIC IN CHRISTINE'S BEDROOM

2010-09-15T22:40:00.010-04:00

-
Bus 919
Between Beijing and the Great Wall
China
Friday, July 30, 2010
12:33 pm

"Yesterday morning, we had a delicious breakfast in Christine's bedroom. On our way to her place, we bought fruits at a little market and carried them in our bike baskets. We bought a dragon fruit, a papaya, white peaches and an unknown fruit. It looks like a big plum and the flesh separates just like garlic cloves. To complete the meal, I chose smoked tofu and Christine ordered one of those stuffed pancakes. The stuffing was a mix of eggs, onions, soy sauce and deep-fried tofu."

BARCELONA, PARIS, BEIJING

2010-09-14T22:13:00.018-04:00

-
Room 728
Residence 21
Tsinghua University
Beijing, China
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
8:18 am

"My flight landed in Beijing at 5 pm last night. I spent over an hour at the customs, and finally met Christine who had been waiting for me at the airport for several hours. We took the subway and arrived 1h30 later at Hayder's apartment (where I will stay for the next days) in Wudaokou.

Around 8 pm, we got together with Alan at a nice restaurant well-known for its delicious duck. I met Alan for the first time in Barcelona last September. We were staying in the same room at the Itaca Hostel. We met for the second time in Paris, 3 days later, and spent a day together at the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay. Since Alan lives in Beijing, we met again yesterday.

Dinner was delicious. We ordered several plates and I tasted the ones that seemed gluten-free. The problem with Chinese food is that I have absolutely no idea if cross contamination is possible. Should I trust spices and rice? Well, yesterday, I only rejected brown sauce and tortilla, obviously made out of wheat flour (Alan confirmed this with the waiter). I really enjoyed duck liver, roasted duck skin dipped in brown sugar, duck meat, duck hand and veggies (asparagus, lotus flowers and unknown veggies). There was also a bowl of black fungus and a soup, probably duck broth since duck was all over the place, even in the entrance as a huge plastic decoration! No need to say it was hideous!"

BABETTE'S FEAST

2010-08-28T23:23:00.021-04:00

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Seat 20L
Continental Airlines aircraft
Somewhere between Newark and Beijing
Monday, July 26, 2010
5:38 pm

"Tonight, I had a delicious dinner on board even if the gluten-free meal I had requested a month ago while booking my plane ticket had never been registered. So when the stewardess asked me to choose between fish or ravioli, I chose fish (much safer). It was served with steamed rice, edamame, a salad topped with a tiny piece of Pacific smoked salmon, a slice of boiled egg, a warm bread bun, a dessert cookie and a fortune cookie. I ate the salad without the ranch dressing - the list of ingredients was way too long to even think it was gluten-free - and I automatically rejected the bun and both cookies. The highlight of the meal was a small bottle of Redtree wine, a Californian Chardonnay. Thanks to a coupon in the Customer Care Kit that Continental Airlines gave all passengers earlier today as a compensation for the flight delay, I enjoyed free wine that I intentionally mixed with Gravol to make sure I could fall asleep.

All of this was enjoyed while watching Babette's Feast on my personal entertainment screen. Ok, Redtree wine wasn't Veuve Cliquot 1860 and my fish dish was far from Cailles en Sarcophage, but I was so hungry that my Continental Airlines meal was divine! And I could have eaten 10 of those smoked salmon pieces!

It's 5:50 pm now, and the mix of Gravol and wine is starting to make me feel very tired...zzzzzzz..."

MELON & PROSCIUTTO SALAD + EMILIE'S SALMON TARTAR + MANGO & TOMATO SALSA

2010-07-24T14:51:00.023-04:00

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Last Monday, Hippo arrived in Montreal. Hippo is my friend Becki's pink hippopotamus. In the same way as the garden dwarf in the movie Amelie, Becki carries Hippo when she travels and makes sure Hippo appears in most photos. That said, she shipped it from Vancouver to Montreal so I could take good care of him and bring him with me on my trip to China.
As a welcoming party, I invited Marie-Eve over and all together we had a nice dinner on the balcony. I had prepared a melon and prosciutto salad to start. I stole the idea from O'Thym restaurant where I had dinner earlier this week. Since I couldn't taste it there (gluten in the dressing), I tried to copy what I had seen and spiced it up a little bit. It was so fresh! The main dish was my friend Emilie's delicious salmon tartar that I served with blue corn chips as well as a mango and tomato salsa. Thanks to Marie-Eve, we enjoyed all the above with a bottle of Aufkellereien, a German white wine.

-

MELON & PROSCIUTTO SALAD

- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 honeydew melon
- dried figs
- a few slices of prosciutto

dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp plain yogourt
- 2 tbsp maple sirup
- juice of a lemon
- zest of a lemon
- fresh dill
- sea salt & fresh ground pepper

-> Scoop balls from cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Put in a large bowl.-> Mix all dressing ingredients; add dressing to cantaloupe and honeydew.
-> Serve salad in ramekins.
-> Garnish each ramekin with a tbsp of plain yogourt, a dried fig cut in pieces, a slice of prosciutto and fresh ground pepper.

-

EMILIE'S SALMON TARTAR
(4 servings)

- 1 fresh salmon filet (for 4 persons)
- 1 tbsp gluten-free dijon mustard
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp lime juice
- 2-3 drops Tabasco sauce
- fresh dill
- zest of a lime
- sea salt & fresh ground pepper

-> Remove skin and cut salmon in small cubes (1 cm²).-> In a large bowl, mix salmon cubes and all other ingredients.
-> Leave in refrigerator for a few hours.
-> Mould salmon tartar in a cookie cuter or ramekin.
-> Garnish with fresh dill and a piece of lime.

-

MANGO & TOMATO SALSA

- 2 atulfo mangoes
- 1 tomato
- fresh basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- juice of a lemon
- zest of a lemon
- sea salt & fresh ground pepper

-> Cut mangoes and tomato in small cubes (1 cm²).
-> Mix all indredients in a bowl.
-> Serve salsa with salmon tartar.

GLUTEN FREE SUSHI

2010-07-11T21:58:00.023-04:00

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One thing that I don't like about having the celiac disease is not being able to buy sushi from the corner sushi shop anymore. Why? You might think "Oh, it's just rice, fish and vegetables!" Well, it's tricky because gluten can be hidden in various ingredients used in the making of sushi. First, unless the chef can certify the rice is safe and really gluten-free, we have to assume it has been contaminated with other cereals that contain gluten. Second, most soy sauces are made with wheat, a thickening agent. Third, all deep fried vegetables and seafood (tempura) are obviously to avoid. And anyway, all other ingredients could have been contaminated in the process. So what is the solution? Make your own sushi and invite a bunch of friends who will love your creations! To help you, here is a short list of gluten-free substitutes for regular ingredients:

RICE
Lundberg Organic, Gluten Free, Long Grain Brown Rice
(it's not sticky, so forget about making nigiri, but it's delicious)
SOY SAUCE
Organic Wheat Free Tamari Natural Soy Sauce
TEMPURA
Nature's Path Gluten Free Corn Flakes, crushed
SAKE
Hakutsuru Sake (Marie-Eve contacted the producer who confirmed their product was gluten-free)

FOOD WEEK-END - PART 2: MONTREALERS LOVE TO HAVE BRUNCH

2010-07-05T22:17:00.010-04:00

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On Sunday morning, I invited my friends Émilie and Étienne who were also in town to join my parents, my roomate and I for a delicious brunch. The table was covered with colorful plates: honeydew, cantaloupe, blueberries, blackberries, mango, cherries, dates, chocolate truffles, rhubarb compote, maple yogurt, camembert, Gruyère des Grottes, goat cheese mixed with dried cranberries (leftovers from the pork filet we prepapred the night before), cherry sauce, fig jam and bread (honey, raisin and nut baguette + chocolate cranberry bread for my guests, gluten-free bread for me). Yum!
Conclusion: Sunday brunch is a Montreal tradition. When you have it at home, the food is so much better plus there is no line-up! And drinking 5 espresso won't cost you 10 bucks.

FOOD WEEK-END - PART 1

2010-07-04T21:13:00.029-04:00

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6:00 am, Saturday morning: breakfast with espresso, finish a logo design then off to Marché Jean-Talon. When I arrived there, it was early and very relaxing compared to Saturday afternoon rush hour. I came back home with two bags full of fruits, vegetables and cheese. At noon, my parents arrived from Quebec City, right after the appliances repairman left, without repairing my stove! Actually, I electrified myself while cooking pasta last week and now I am scared of even touching my stove. Unfortunately, according to the repairman, "je n'ai rien trouvé, il n'y a rien d'évident...Next!!" Damn!
In the afternoon, my parents and I walked around town and bought groceries for dinner. Thanks to my BBQ and its side burner, we prepared a delicious crispy pork filet, stuffed with basil, cranberries and goat cheese. We served it with cherry sauce and grilled asparagus. Marie-Eve came over and brought a bottle of L'Orpailleur, a delicious rosé. Then, my roommate Elizabeth arrived right on time for dessert, which was supposed to be a fruit platter. Well, plans changed! My guests ate the most uninviting cake, a fraisier (full of gluten), but propably the most delicious one! Eli had brought it back from work, Les Co'Pains d'abord, since it was too squashed to be sold to customers...but it delighted everyone!

-

CRISPY PORK FILET, STUFFED WITH BASIL, GOAT CHEESE & CRANBERRIES

- 1 pork filet
- basil leaves
- 1 goat cheese tube
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (Ocean Spray's cranberries are gluten free)
- 8 thin slices of prosciutto

-> Cut pork filet lenghtwise (just like a hot dog bun).
-> Cover the open filet's central part with basil leaves, leaving a border of 1 cm.
-> In a small bowl, mix goat cheese, cranberries and pepper. Spread uniformly on basil leaves.
-> Close filet. Wrap prosciutto slices all around. Use toothpicks if required.
-> Place filet in a pan on the BBQ grill and cook until tender.
-> Take filet out of the BBQ and wrap it in aluminum foil.
-> Leave in foil during 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

-
CHERRY SAUCE

- approx. 40 cherries
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

-> Cut cherries in halves and remove pit.
-> Heat cherries with brown sugar in a pan (medium heat).
-> After 5 minutes, add balsamic vinegar and heat for a minute.
-> Serve warm.

Ô CANADA!

2010-07-03T10:18:00.020-04:00

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Terre de nos amis,
Ta table est ceinte de repas copieux!
Car ton bras sait porter la coupe,
Il sait porter la fourchette!
Tes potins sont une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta saveur, d'herbe citronnée,
Nourrira nos corps et nos esprits.
Nourrira nos corps et nos esprits.

-

BBQ ROASTED POTATOES

- red grelot potatoes
- garlic scapes
- shallots
- dill
- chive
- salt & pepper
- olive oil

-> Wrap all ingredients in parchment paper, then in aluminum foil. Parchment paper prevents potatoes from sticking to foil.
-> Place on the upper grill of the BBQ for 45 minutes.

-

SOUTHWESTERN SALMON
(3 servings)

- vegetable oil
- 2 limes
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- oregano, chopped
- cilantro leaves
- salt & pepper
- 1 tsp tabasco
- 3 servings of skinless salmon filet
- fresh basil or cilantro, finely chopped

-> Fire up the BBQ.
-> Squeeze one lime into a small bowl.
-> Stir in sour cream, oregano, cilantro, salt, pepper and tabasco.
-> Place salmon filets in aluminum foil.
-> Spread sour cream mixture on salmon and close foil.
-> Bake during 12-15 minutes or until salmon is tender.
-> Garnish with basil, cilantro and lime juice.

-

TANGY CUCUMBER & AVOCADO SALAD
(4 servings)

- 2 medium size cucumbers, cut in cubes
- 2 avocados, cut in cubes
- fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 garlic clove or 2 garlic scapes, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- dill
- chive
- 1/4 tsp salt
- black pepper
- 1/4 lemon
- 1 lime

-> In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, avocados, cilantro, dill and chive.
-> Stir in garlic, onions, salt and pepper.
-> Squeeze lemon and lime on top and mix.
-> Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

MUSHROOMS, TOMATOES, BALSAMIC VINEGAR...

2010-06-27T16:15:00.024-04:00

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Yesterday afternoon, Jean-Philippe and I went to buy groceries on Parc. I explained him what I could and couldn't eat and he was very interested in learning how to prepare a gluten-free meal. Back to his place, we had a glass (that turned out to be a bottle) of Albis, a delicious white wine, on the balcony. Thirsty, I asked him for a tall glass of water and I couldn't help but notice how original his water bottle was. Actually, every object and piece of furniture in his apartment is incredibly beautiful and hides a funny story or anecdote. Since we weren't extremely hungry, we prepared a simple and refreshing tomato, cucumber and mushroom salad. Jean-Philippe is one of the best cook I know, so even the most simple ingredients combined together resulted in an exquisite meal. The mix of vegetables, salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan was perfect, especially when served with a bottle of Taurino Riserva, Salice Salentino. On the side, he had some pieces of bread and I ate Le Pain des Fleurs's gluten-free buckwheat crackers topped with salt and balsamic vinegar.

2 BBQs, 5 SPARKLING WINE BOTTLES, 10 YEARS AND A DOCTOR

2010-06-21T20:53:00.030-04:00

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For the past ten years, my sister has been working very hard to become a doctor. Well, it was worth all the efforts whe put into it: she passed her final exam successfully and is now officially an ophthalmologist! To celebrate this grand achievement, family and friends gathered at my sister and her fiancé's house in Beauport last Saturday. Thrilled, Dad and Steve kept pouring sparkling wine into our glasses (high quality flutes!). Evening schedule: a speech, gifts, burgers and hot dogs on the BBQ, spa, fire and fireworks. So what does a celiac person eat when everyone else is eating meat, sausages and bread on the BBQ? The answer: food in a foil parcel to avoid contamination. Mom prepared a delicious salmon steak, covered with vegetables and white wine, and I brought a gluten-free red cabbage and apple salad for everyone. Other guests were jealous and almost wished they were allergic to gluten!

-

SALMON IN A FOIL PARCEL
(4 servings)

- 4 salmon fillets
- 2 apples
- 8 shallots
- 4 baby carrots
- 1 tbsp chives, chopped
- 4 tbsp white wine
- 4 tbsp calvados
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper

-> Peel apples and cut in thick slices.
-> Cut shallots in halves. Peel carrots and cut in slices.
-> In a pan, heat oil. Brown shallots then blanch carrots during 5 minutes.
-> In a large aluminum foil sheet, place shallots and carrots, then apples and salmon.
-> Add salt, pepper and chives.
-> Pour calvados and white wine, then close foil parcel.
-> Cook on BBQ until tender.

WINE, CHEESE & GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

2010-06-15T21:07:00.021-04:00

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Last Sunday night, I hosted the craziest Wine & Cheese Tasting. It was fancy at first: a large variety of cheese, a great wine list, fruits, rhubarb compote, cherry sauce and roasted peach & honey salad. Yum yum! I asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine as well as a piece of cheese and I took care of the rest. When we were ready to start eating, I explained the rules for the evening:

---

1- The red colander filled with free bread (thanks to my roomate Elizabeth
who brought it from Les Co'pains D'abord) is for everyone, except me (gluten = danger);
2- The small metal bowl with a few expensive crackers is mine (gluten-free);
3- The two black-handled knifes must be used to cut and transfer the cheese from
the shared cheese plates into our personal plate (no contact with any kind of bread);
4- Butter knifes (one per person) are used in second, to spread cheese
(the pieces in our personal plate) on the bread;
5- If rules 4 or 5 aren't respected, knifes must be washed.
---

We couldn't help but wonder: if a fly settles on a piece of regular bread, then flies and settles on gluten-free crackers, what happens? Oh, what the hell! And what happens when you invite graphic designers to a wine & cheese tasting on a Sunday night? Answer: a mix of strange conversations about animated gifs, Stephen Hawking, Jacques Bossé and shake faces! I actually organized a shake face competition: the best (or should I say "the worse") shake face, JosiaNNe, won my bottle of Baileys! And that's how it got out of control!
Conclusion: Never drink a bottle of Baileys while riding a Bixi, and watch for the trees!

HOLY SMOKES!

2010-06-14T21:45:00.026-04:00

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My planning last Saturday: bike to Cinéma Beaubien with Marie-Eve to see Les Amours Imaginaires then bike back to my place and cook all night. The movie was excellent, so was the food. And we put a lot of energy into it! Marie-Eve was in charge of cooking cedar plank salmon on the BBQ and red wine poached pears for dessert. As for me, I prepared the most delicious warm roasted zucchini salad as well as rhubarb compote to go with the poached pears. Well, things didn't turn out the way we expected, but the photographer inside me was delighted! The cedar plank was literally on fire, so was the salmon! Holy smokes!!!! It was good anyway and the smoky taste matched perfectly with a glass of Townsend Jack Unoaked Chardonnay (Prospect Winery, Okanagan Valley). And the dessert, served with port, was... something words cannot describe!
Conclusion: It is worthwhile soaking the cedar plank for a whole hour!

-

WARM ROASTED ZUCCHINI SALAD

salad
- 3 tbsp walnuts
- 4 zucchinis
- 2 slices of prosciutto, chopped
- fresh chopped mint
- 1/2 cup parmesan

dressing
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper
- fresh oregano

-> Cut the zucchinis lenghwise into quarter-inch slices.
-> Whip all dressing ingredients in a bowl.
-> Toss in the zucchinis and make sure they're all covered with dressing.
-> Grill the zucchinis on the BBQ, lid closed, for 6-8 minutes, turning at about 4 minutes to make sure both sides cook.
-> When zucchinis are brown, scrape them with a spatula into a large plate.
-> Cover the zucchinis with the remaining dressing.
-> Garnish with chopped prosciutto, fresh mint and walnuts.
-> Add salt and pepper.

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CEDAR PLANK SALMON
(2 servings)

- 1 cedar grilling plank soaked in water for a minimum of 1 hour (we did 30 min = fire!!!)
- 2 skinless fresh salmon portions

topping
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp maple sirup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup shallots
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 green onion
- zest of one lemon
- lemon juice
- sea salt
- pepper

-> Mix all topping ingredients.
-> Spread the mixture over the salmon fillets.
-> Season plank with more sea salt. Place on the grill.
-> Close the lid avec plank-grill for 20 minutes or until cooked (or burnt in our case).

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RED WINE POACHED PEARS + RHUBARB COMPOTE
(2 servings)

- 2 bosc pears
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla

-> Peel pears, leaving stems intact.
-> Hollow out with a small spoon starting at the bottom, taking care not to break fruit.
-> Place pears in a bowl of lemon water.
-> Bring wine, vanilla and brown sugar to boil in a saucepan.
-> Add pears and let simmer for about 25-35 minutes. Turn pears once in a while.
-> Top pears with a thin drizzle of leftover sirup.
-> Add rhubarb compote on the side and garnish with mint leaves and a square of dark chocolate.
-> Serve with a glass of port.

RAMBUTANS, 6.5 YEARS LATER...

2010-06-09T21:02:00.018-04:00

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Tonight I walked back home from work with my colleague Mélanie. On our way, we stopped in front of a small market in Chinatown. Then I saw rambutans! The first and last time I ate these exquisite fruits, I was traveling in Malaysia with my friend Guillaume. I just couldn't resist so I paid 5$ for 11 rambutans. I am pretty sure our huge bag of rambutans was much cheaper back in 2003. But it was worth every penny and, for a second, I could taste the Cameron Highlands... and it reminded me of that day we got screwed by a car driver while hitchiking and bought rambutans to cheer us up.

-
EXTRACT FROM MY TRAVEL JOURNAL

Father's Guest House
Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands
Malaysia
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
7:48pm

"Aujourd'hui, on a acheté des rambutans au marché sur le bord de la route.
Ce sont des fruits dont le goût s'apparente à celui des litchis.
L'intérieur ressemble un peu à un raisin. C'est délicieux et un peu sucré.
Dans son ensemble, le fruit ressemble à un gros litchi avec de longs poils
rouges et verts qui sortent de partout. Les fruits sont regroupés par grappes."

MAPLE ROASTED SALMON & MANGO SALAD + WHITE SANGRIA

2010-06-08T22:50:00.030-04:00

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Yesterday, I had dinner at Marie-Eve's apartment. When I arrived there after work, she had already prepared this delicious maple roasted salmon & mango salad. As for me, I had brought all the ingredients to prepare white sangria, according to Le BBQ de Louis, on Canal Vie. I decided to use peaches instead of pineapple and if I were doing this sangria again, I would replace sugar with honey. We drank our first glass on the balcony and both agreed on how basil matched perfectly with this kind of beverage.
Conclusion: Next time, I think I'll try a rosé sangria: rosé + cherries + raspberries + cranberries + pomegranate + ...

-

MAPLE ROASTED SALMON & MANGO SALAD

salad
- 4 salmon fillets (180 g - 1/3 lb each)
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 mango, sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pecans

dressing
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup maple sirup
- 1/4 olive oil
- salt & pepper

-> Preheat oven to 205 °C (400 °F).
-> Mix all dressing ingredients in a bowl.
-> Place salmon on a pan covered with parchment paper.
-> Top fillets with approx. one third of the dressing.
-> Cook 8-10 minutes in oven, until salmon flakes easily when inserting a fork into the thickest part of the fillet.
-> Cool down and break in small bits.
-> Mix baby spinach with all remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
-> Cover with dressing and mix well.
-> Add salmon bits.

COMFORT FOOD = SOUP + CHEESE + BREAD

2010-06-06T17:44:00.033-04:00

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Today's weather reminds me of Vancouver: gray, cold, rainy and humid. This afternoon, Mont-Royal was partly hidden in the fog, just like North Vancouver probably is right now. So, to warm up my kitchen and take the nostalgia away, I picked a recipe from my mom's recipe binder: carrot & orange soup. Simple to make, it spread a delicious aroma in my apartment, which helped cover the smell of paint that remained from yesterday (I repainted the living room). Since I still haven't explored the gluten-free chicken broth market and didn't feel like cooking a chicken this afternoon, I used water and made sure I added enough salt and ginger to compensate for the lack of taste. To complete this comfy meal, I toasted the last piece of my gluten-free nutty bread and spread some camembert on top. Yum! Plus there are leftovers!

-
MOM'S CARROT & ORANGE SOUP

- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 5 big carrots. peeled and cut in pieces
- the juice of 2 oranges
- 1 tablespoon orange rind, grated
- 4 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup thick cooking cream (15%)
- ginger
- fresh dill
- salt & pepper

-> Melt butter in pot; add onion and cook until tender.
-> Add carrots, orange juice, ginger and chicken broth.
-> Cover and simmer until tender (about 20 minutes).
-> Puree in a blender.
-> Put back in the pot; add cooking cream and orange rind.
-> Add salt and pepper.
-> Garnish with plain yogurt and fresh dill.

QUEENS OF THE BBQ

2010-05-31T19:39:00.031-04:00

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Last week-end, I decided to become a man: I bought a barbecue! Emilie was in town on Sunday evening and Marie-Eve came over to help me carry out my first BBQ meal succesfully. Well, I chose the easy way out and cooked breadless hamburgers. Since I couldn't find any gluten-free bread with a satisfying taste, the meat was sandwiched between two leaves of iceberg lettuce. Then we "pimped" our burgers with gluten-free Dijon mustard, Gruyère des Grottes and onion confit. Grelot potato salad and chips & salsa completed the meal. While talking about men, relationships and life, we drank a bottle of Willm Pinot Gris, a gift from Marie-Eve. And for dessert? Goat cheese with cherry sauce, and chocolate sausage leftovers...yummy :)
Conclusion: I always thought burgers (with bread) and french fries resulted in a heavy meal. And girls want fries with their burger, or they will just order salad and steal some (or a lot of) fries from their boyfriend. Why hasn't any restaurant thought of the iceberg salad option? Spread the idea!

-
GRELOT POTATO SALAD

salad
- 15-20 grelot potatoes, cooked and cut in quarters
- 5-10 radishes
- 1 green onion
- the juice of half a lemon
- the zest of a lemon
- dill
- fleur de sel
- fresh ground pepper

dressing
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Life Source's Prepared Mustard - Organic Dijon Style
(or any other gluten-free dijon mustard)
- 1 teaspoon maple sirup
- 1 teaspoon Liberty plain yogourt (2% m.f.)

-
GOAT CHEESE WITH CHERRY SAUCE (MARIE-EVE'S RECIPE)

- 20 cherries
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- thyme

-> Cut cherries in halves and remove pit.
-> Heat cherries with brown sugar and thyme in a pan (medium heat).
-> After 5 minutes, add balsamic vinegar and heat for a minute.
-> Serve the sauce on top of goat cheese slices.

CAFÉ JOJO, MUFFINS ON THE GO GO

2010-05-30T12:09:00.036-04:00

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Yesterday, I invited Marie-Eve an Sebastien over to brunch on the balcony of my apartment. I baked Elana's Pantry Gluten Free Nutty Bread for the second time (see older post). I also decided to prepare a chocolate and dried figs sausage, inspired by Josée di Stasio's recipe. This delicacy is perfect for breakfast, dessert or in a cheese tasting plate. I served it with Gruyère des Grottes, that I bought at Fromagerie Beaubien. On my way there, I stopped by SAQ on Beaubien/Boyer and bought a bottle of cava, a product of Spain. I must admit that on my trip to Barcelona last September, I fell in love with cava and drank copas de cava everyday. I admire Spaniards' tradition to celebrate life, day after day. Back home, I mixed cava with orange juice in order to make these delicious mimosas. Pears, mangoes, blackberries and fig jam completed the menu. And now you're probably thinking: what about the muffins? "Café Jojo, muffins on the go go" comes from the time when I used to bring chocolate muffins to my colleagues at cause+affect, in Vancouver. One day, Rob suggested that I use my jorg&olif bike to sell muffins on the street. It became a big joke that reappears when friends spend the night and have breakfast at my place.
Conclusion: I made a second version of the chocolate sausage today. I replaced almonds with pistachios, then added dried cranberries and fleur de sel. It was closer to perfection now that flavors were balanced.

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CHOCOLATE AND DRIED FIGS SAUSAGE (CAFÉ JOJO'S VERSION)

- 4 oz Camino's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup pistachios
- 1 cup Rice Krispies (Nature's Path Gluten-Free Crispy Rice)
- 1 cup dried figs
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- fleur de sel
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

-> Melt chocolate and butter in microwave or double boiler.
-> Add pistachios, Rice Krispies, figs, cranberries and fleur de sel.
-> Place mix on aluminum foil. Form into a tight 2-inch wide sausage.
-> Leave in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
-> Unwrap sausage and place in a Ziploc plastic bag, with powdered sugar.
-> Shake well until sausage is covered with sugar.
-> Cut in slices and serve with fruits and cheese.

BEAT THE HEAT

2010-05-24T16:40:00.017-04:00

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Monday afternoon, statutory holiday, 30 degrees Celsius in Montreal... I invited Laurie & Tommy over for a smoothie on the balcony, in an attempt to deal with the heat. The smoothie, topped with fresh mint leaves and ground pepper, was indeed refreshing. We had some pieces of Camino's fair trade 55% Dark chocolate to increase our taste buds' pleasure. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to quench our thirst so we decided to prepare iced espresso, thanks to my blender who saved my life today. Later on, we were craving nachos, so we bought Go-Mex's Organic Yellow Corn Gluten-Free Tortilla Chips, Organic Ville Gluten-Free Mild Salsa, avocado, lemon, olives and sour cream at Mondiana. The nachos pan was gargantuan! But as usual, we ate everything up and almost licked the pan.

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SMOOTHIE
(4 servings)

- 2 atufo mangoes
- a few strawberries
- a few raspberries
- a few blackberries
- a few blueberries
- the juice of a lemon
- the zest of a lemon
- fresh mint leaves, chopped
- fresh ground pepper
- 3-4 ice cubes

-> Put wine glasses in the freezer for a few minutes (until they frost).
-> Mix all ingredients in blender, except mint and pepper.
-> Serve smoothie in frosted wine glasses.
-> Top with fresh chopped mint leaves and fresh ground pepper.

ICED ESPRESSO
(4 servings)

- 4 espresso
- 125 ml milk or cream
- 10 ice cubes
- sugar (optional)

-> Mix all ingredients in blender.
-> Serve in tall transparent cups or wine glasses.

I CARRIED A WATERMELON

2010-05-23T09:35:00.017-04:00

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Yesterday afternoon, Marie-Eve and I went to Marché Jean-Talon where we enjoyed a rosé wine tasting. We couldn't resist so we bought a bottle of La Mission, a product of Québec. The label was badly designed, but the taste was good and especially refreshing. We also bought some stuff for dinner: feta cheese, radishes, blackberries and the best yogurt I have ever tasted which is Yogourt au Moka, Beurrerie du Patrimoine. It is made of only 4 ingredients (skimmed milk, coffee, maple syrup, bifidus) and therefore gluten-free. Back to my place, we prepared a delicious watermelon & feta salad. I had bought the watermelon at Mondiana and carried it back home earlier in the afternoon. I carried a watermelon? :)

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WATERMELON & FETA CHEESE SALAD

salad
- 1/4 watermelon, cut in small cubes
- 200 g feta cheese, cut in small cubes
- a bunch of radishes, cut in thin slices
- 1/3 cucumber, cut in thin slices
- a few mint leaves, chopped
- the zest of a lime
- the zest of a lemon
- ground pepper
- fleur de sel

dressing
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Liberty plain yogurt (2% m.f.)
- the juice of half a lemon

GRANDMA'S RICE KRISPIES SQUARES

2010-05-20T22:56:00.021-04:00

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For the visit of her mother from France, my friend and colleague Mélanie asked me if I could prepare her some of my famous Rice Krispies squares. These special squares are actually a dessert my Grandma used to prepare each time we visited her, years ago. The recipe is pretty simple: 4 ingredients transformed into delicious squares, in 5 minutes. So I invited my friend Marie-Eve over for dinner and together, with my roomate Elizabeth, we copied my grandma's recipe, with love and a glass of rosé. Of course I had to substitute Nature's Path Gluten-Free Crispy Rice for Kellogg's Rice Krispies, but the taste was similar. No need to say that is was a pleasure for our tasted buds! And because I doubled the quantities, I will give the remaining half to Mélanie tomorrow.
Conclusion: To satisfy my sweet tooth, I tend to use less than 350g Rices Krispies. I like the squares to be rich, sweet and totally decadent!

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GABRIELLE'S RICE KRISPIES SQUARES

- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/4 butter
- 350 g Rice Krispies (Nature's Path Gluten-Free Crispy Rice)

-> Place first 3 ingredients in a pot and bring to boil.
-> Add Rice Krispies to boiling caramel, then remove from heat.
-> Place the mix in a square Pyrex pan.

REFRESHING AND SOPHISTICATED

2010-05-19T22:38:00.008-04:00

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On this warm Wednesday night, I came back home late and didn't know what to prepare for dinner. I asked my colleague and good friend Caroline for advice and here is the result: a refreshing and sophisticated red cabbage, apple and minth salad that, if served in a small Mason jar, would fit perfectly in SoupeSoup's lunch menu. While talking and drinking a glass of Peron with my roommate Elizabeth, I started preparing the ingredients suggested by Caroline: red cabbage, apple, mint and lemon. I decided to add some cucumber, feta cheese and the zest of a lime (with my precious Microplane). I enjoyed the beautiful mix of colours. Purple and green, summer was definitely in my plate. The dressing was pretty simple: olive oil and lemon. I added Fleur de sel to increase the contrast of the overall texture. Since I felt this pure, natural salad (therefore gluten-free) was sligthly too healty, I baked homemade fries, according to à la di Stasio's recipe. Well, this was the perfect way to end the day!
Conclusion: To make it a special moment, listen to summer music and drink a cocktail instead of red wine.

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RED CABBAGE, APPLE & MINT SALAD

salad
- 1/2 red cabbage
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cut in slices
- a few minth leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cucumber
- feta, cut in small cubes
- the zest of a lime
- the zest of a lemon
- fleur de sel

dressing
- olive oil
- the juice of a lemon

I HEART MONDIANA

2010-05-13T19:12:00.019-04:00

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Mondiana is my new favorite place in Montreal. It is a small market where I stop by every night on my way back home to buy groceries. The owners, Moroccans, are extremely nice. But what is so special about Mondiana? Answer: they have a large variety of organic and gluten-free products, plus the prices are much lower than well-known grocery stores. For example, Oasis juice (2.84L) only costs $2.99. They have Les Veaux de Charlevoix products and Valens' gluten-free and nitrite-free sausages and cold cuts. Apart from meat, they sell Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour as well as bread and pancake mix. Fruits and vegetables are again very cheap, but if you buy them, you have to eat them in the next couple of days. This is very convenient when you need mangoes or avocados for a recipe you are planning to do on the same day. For a celiac person, it is easy to locate gluten-free products because they are identified with a green sticker.
Conclusion: On your next visit to Mondiana, have a chat with the owners at the cash register. They love to talk about their country of origin and they make sure you go back home with a smile in the face. Please note that they only take cash or debit, no credit.

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MONDIANA

address
1130, rue Bélanger,
Montréal, QC, H2S 1H4

WINE+TAPAS @ BUVETTE CHEZ SIMONE

2010-05-10T23:15:00.029-04:00

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Last Saturday, my friend Émilie from Quebec City was in town. It is now a ritual to stop by Buvette Chez Simone on Parc for a couple of drinks and a bunch of tapas. We sat at the bar and ordered a rosé Cuvée Buvette for me and a pint of blanche for her, then we went on the patio to get a breath of fresh air. Back inside, we ordered a bottle of red wine and tapas. I just love how they serve bits and pieces of food on a cutting wood board. The waitress remembered my allergy from our last visit and made sure none of the food touched the bread basket or any "prohibited" ingredient. We ordered fries (spiceless), Bouton de culotte, a delicious goat cheese, duck breast, proscuitto and a single "to die for" accra de morue for my friend. And as usual, I was allowed to eat my organic, gluten-free crackers as a poor substitute to fresh bread. Of all my visits Chez Simone, it was definitely the most quiet night. The reason: hockey night! So we made friends with the staff and had such a good time.
Conclusion: This very trendy, yet authentic, bar/restaurant is the hip place to be in the Mile End. If you are lucky, you may have the opportunity to sit next to Jean Leloup, bump into James Hyndman or chat with Ima on the patio.

GLUTEN-FREE SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI IN BROWN BUTTER SAUCE + BROCOLI & HAZELNUT SALAD

2010-04-20T21:20:00.040-04:00

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Our second Sunday afternoon cooking session: homemade yam potato gnocchi. We followed a recipe from Spark Recipes website. We had a really bad time trying to roll the dough, which was extremely mushy. We considered the solution of baking the "can't hold itself" dough in the oven and let God finish the work, but we decided to wait till it cooled down, which turned out to improve the texture. Finally, despite the mushy dough and my eternal disdain of butter, the flavor was exquisite. I enjoyed the sweet sensation and aroma of fresh sage. We served the dish with a refreshing brocoli and hazelnut salad and a bottle of Townsend Jack Unoaked Chardonnay (Prospect Winery, Okanagan Valley). Marie-Eve & I agreed on one point: the lack of contrast in the overall texture of the gnocchi dish.
Conclusion: add roasted hazelnuts or raisins as well as shavings of parmesan on the gnocchi.

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BROCOLI & HAZELNUT SALAD

salad
- 1 brocoli (steamed and cooled down)
- a handful of crushed hazelnuts
- the zest of a lemon
- fleur de sel
- fresh ground pepper

dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Life Source's Prepared Mustard - Organic Dijon Style
(or any other gluten-free dijon mustard)
- 1 teaspoon maple sirup
- 1/8 cup Liberty plain yogourt (2% m.f.)

GLUTEN-FREE NUTTY BREAD

2010-04-12T21:39:00.031-04:00

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On our first Sunday afternoon gluten-free cooking session, my friend Marie-Eve & I baked this delicious bread, based on Elana's Pantry's recipe. We replaced almond flour with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. The result was almost as tasty as Terra Breads' Pecan Fruit Loaf, a bread we used to buy at Capers, in Vancouver (ah nostalgia!). We spread fig and blueberry jams on the loaf, then combined the mix with Paillot de chèvre and a piece of firm cheese, brushed in red wine, whose name I can't remember.
Conclusion: loaf pan is optional. For a country style bread, simply put dough on a baking pan, in a round loaf shape.