Summer jams

It's a long weekend here in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada. How about some tunes?

Summer's popping off

It seems frozen ice pops are the hot new thing, toppling the now-ubiquitous cupcake from the twee foodstuffs throne.

Sweet. I guess I'm an early adopter.

Pepper

This variation on the Italian straccetti di manzo (steak salad) is a quick and easy supper for two that combines two intense peppery flavours: black pepper and the fresh snap of arugula. A hint of balsamic in the glaze adds sweetness, while crisp fried garlic and onions bring a bit of crunch to the proceedings.

The blues are still blue

 

Despite the heat and ample sunshine we've been showered with so far, this summer has been tinged with sadness. In just a matter of weeks, we'll be packing up and saying goodbye to the west coast, the friends we've made and the life we've built out here to start a whole new chapter in a new city. It's hard to say goodbye, harder still to be sad when there's pie.

Good Livin'

“Chicken fried steak /country gravy and bourbon straight
Ain’t it great? /It’s good livin’!”-The Supersuckers-“Good Livin’”

I don't think you need any special reason to have chicken and waffles on a Tuesday night.

Eating the Emerald City

Not much happening on the Kitchen Front these days, but we did just get back from an all-too brief sojourn south to Seattle. Unfortunately, I was unable to achieve my summer goal of eating at Salumi. Having neglected to check out their hours of operation, we showed Sunday up to find the place dark. Fortunately, Seattle is a city with no shortage of fine eats and drinks, so we weren't at a loss for fall back options. Below are a few of the culinary highlights of the trip.

Where the streets have no food

Back at the old place, I did a post about Vancouver's bid to promote street eats by rolling out a food cart pilot project.

Well, the results of the lottery to determine who gets a coveted license to peddle their wares on the streets of our fair city are in. And they're, well, kind of underwhelming.

At first blush, there's not a lot of variety. Sure, a heavy Asian influence was to be expected, but the lack of any South Asian/Indian options sticks out, as does the lack of innovation. I love meat on a stick, but it's not exactly a bold culinary statement.

Still, you gotta start somewhere and hopefully this project will be a big success and food carts become a permanent fixture of Vancouver's street culture.

Of salad and sunshine, and sandals and shorts

I know what you’re thinking. “A salad? All the fuss of starting a new blog and you lead off with a mere salad? Where is the skill? Where is the artistry? Where, and I mean this literally, is the beef?”

If it means anything, I intended to roll out with a bigger splash. A magnificent roast with all the trimmings, perhaps? A delicate tart with neo-Gothic spires of meringue and puff pastry flying buttresses? Alas, it’s been damn hot for the last few days and the last thing I wanted to do on a sunny Sunday afternoon was stand in a sweltering kitchen just to come up with that special dish to feed my new blog baby.

In my defense, this is a really, really good salad. It’s hard to beat a combination that includes crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes and avocados and juicy roast chicken, consumed in a patch of sunlight on a July afternoon.

Opening salvo

Welcome to the Kitchen Front. To those of who are here via my old blog: welcome. If you're new, allow me to give you a brief rundown about what we're all about here. Primarily, we'll be writing about cooking and recipes, but there may be diversions into dining out, food politics or even music and pop culture. But the main focus will continue to be on the output of my humble kitchen.

At the moment we (that is: myself and my lovely partner and occasional guest poster D.) live in Vancouver, B.C., birthplace of the 100 Mile Diet, one of the world’s 10 best restaurant cities (according to Food and Wine Magazine) and, thanks to a steady supply of fresh, locally produced ingredients, a home cook's paradise. Toronto, Ontario.