Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

It’s Spargelzeit or Asparagus time here in Europe, particularly in the German-speaking Europe.  Restaurants frenziedly put the signs Spargelkarte offering menus based on the vegetable.  Soldiers of them, bunched with a thick piece of rubber band, stand in attention in farmers’ markets.  Some are spread in green plastic baskets marked with their origin - the ones from Baden is the most favoured here- and different grades - grade I being the largest, the longest, and most expensive .  It’s a sign of spring.  

The white asparagus is the same as its green twin just grown differently.  The emerging shoots are constantly covered with earth, depriving the plant of light which is responsible for creating chlorophyll, the green matter in plants and leaves.  Taste-wise, white asparagus is more delicate, sweeter, and milder. 

Written in Dec 05.

Artichoke is a purple/green, thorny, flower-like vegetable.  I think its shape is more flower than a vegetable (but then again, grain and nuts are fruits.  Whadayaknow?).

Not a native Asian vegetable, I fell in love with artichoke in Canada.  I had always wondered what that strange thingy was until my roommate brought one home and taught me how to eat it.  Since then, I’m hooked to its sweet, cleansing flavour and aftertaste.

Whether steamed in microwave, boiled, grilled, or pickled, I eat them all.  However, to me, the best way to enjoy artichoke is to:
a.  steam it, wrapped in cling-wrap in the microwave, with butter, lemon, salt, and pepper for a leisurely, luxurious experience; or
b.  eat it as antipasti for quantity.

Eating whole artichoke is an experience akin to a good love-making:  (continue…)

from Aux Petit Gourmands
168, rue Paccard
74400 Chamonix Mont-Blanc
Tel : +33(0)450530159

I used to like Nutella and I still do when it is spread over crepes.  However, I think I’m spoilt after discovering this wonderful homemade concotion from the pattiserie in Chamonix.  I was enchanted by their eclair and as I proceeded to pay several more to go, I spotted jars of hazelnut spread near the counter.  Judging from the good chocolate from the eclair, I took a bet and purchased a jar.

Unlike Nutella, it’s more nutty than chocolaty.  It still has a respectable, in fact, delicious, dark chocolate flavour which is not cloyingly sweet.  And the jar screams of home-made quality:  no split layer of oil on top of the gooey chocolate mass and no rancid smell.

It’s best savoured with a fresh baquette and a cup of foaming cappucinno on a slow Saturday morning.  

In our recent trip to Chamonix, we were introduced to Pate.  I’ve had Pate before.  While some can be delicious, when not well executed, they can be rather rank and disgusting.  The texture doesn’t help either.  I generally avoid them. 

Until this particular one.  Found in a store selling local goods in Chamonix, there are various types:  one with mushroom, berries (blueberries!) and others I can’t remember.  We chose one with mushroom and now regretting eternally that we didn’t get the one with blueberries. 

The pate is smooth and rich without the rank, meaty smell.  It was great with fresh bread and green salad. I wish we had more in stock. 

If your travel brings you to St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, please drop by Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard on the ground floor.  Their mustard is great (despite the fame of Dijon mustard, mustard seeds are actually supplied by the Canadians) but it was the Ice Wine Vinegar that blew me away. 

Prettily packaged in a CN-Tower like bottle, this vinegar is a balance of sweet and sour with complexity of the lovely Ice Wine.  It is unlike the normal white/red wine vinegar which is more vinegary or the typical balsamic wine which is thick and syrupy.  I refuse to use this precious liquid other than mixing it with olive oil, salt, and pepper on top of crisp greens.

It’s not cheap though.  I don’t remember how much it was but I can assure you it is worth every loonie.