My brother, ever a whirlwind, blew into town from Kelowna this weekend. I immediately insisted we go dress shopping in Sherwood Park. My TRUE motive was to get him to go to Cafe Haven with me, though.

I first read about Cafe Haven on foodiesuz’s website and have stored it away in my brain for my next visit to the bedroom community of Sherwood Park. I often go to Costco there, and you know what they say about shopping on an empty stomach!

I must confess cafes in Edmonton (other than Sugarbowl, da capo or Tesoro) turn me off. I think of schizophrenic menus, glass cases half full of stale baked goods and sad cups of coffee when I think cafe here. Hence, I went into Cafe Haven with a cautious approach.

Cafe Haven’s glass cases were full of deliciousness!

My concerns were unwarranted.

This little cafe has it goin’ on. In the community where I imagine Starbucks and Second Cup are the norm for caffeine junkies, Cafe Haven was bumping. Located in a strip mall in the space of a former bank (there is even an old vault), it is full of eclectic decorations and furniture, and features a limited but focused menu (lunch fare, mostly) and helpful staff. I totally agree with foodiesuz/Susan’s sentiments about most coffee shop menus being disjointed and all over the place. That said: Haven nails all the good stuff.

We both got sandwiches and I got a London Fog to drink. There were many other things that piqued my interest: nachos (!), pumpkin pie, hummus, soup. Their menu changes for the autumn/winter seasons and then again for spring and summer. There is also brunch (the menu changes weekly), catering… it’s a wonder cafe!

The brunch menu is taped up, but also updated online. They will be having a Valentines Day brunch as well.

My London Fog came out quickly and was, hands down, one of the best I have ever had. Along with a nutmeg-y sugar blend, there were curls of orange peel on top of the rich foam, adding a citrus brightness to the creamy tea blend. I do regret not getting a latte though; their latte art is beautiful and their beans are from Transcend.

Grilled pumpkin feta pesto spinach panini. The pumpkin was odd, but amazing. It just worked. My brother got chicken brie. He found the brie a bit sloppy and gooey, but otherwise the sandwich was delicious.

While we visited midday, they are open for dinner as well and are licensed. They had a posting for a short story slam, and while normally I might scoff at such things, I thought it was a good idea for a great space.

I will definitely be back, maybe as soon as for Valentines Day brunch.

Lunch for two with two drinks was about $22, and on my brother. Thanks Tory!

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Cafe Haven
9 Sioux Road
Sherwood Park
Mon – Fri 8am – 9pm
Sat 9am – 6pm
Sun 10am – 4pm

Side entrance to Zinc. You may also enter through the main foyer of the AGA.

On Sunday January 31, the Art Gallery of Alberta reopened after being closed for nearly five years of renovations. The new building made a lot of promises: more gallery space, better exhibits, a stunning exterior and new spaces for restaurants and cafes. Tuesday February 2 marked the first day of operations of the flagship restaurant, Zinc. (Or is that ZIИC?)

Naturally, I have been excited about Zinc for sometime. Working where I do l afforded me the ability to see a lot of behind the scenes photos as things were put together going up to the big day, and doing a site tour of the Art Gallery of Alberta as a possible wedding venue amped up the excitement even more.

Visiting on the first day of a restaurant’s opening is a different experience, and not one necessarily recommended. Service may lack smoothness, menus could be in the process of being tweaked and may not be complete yet, and everything is in a state of change and upheaval.

I attempted to make reservations earlier in the week on their online reservation system, but it wasn’t operational yet. It wasn’t clear what number I should call to reach the restaurant, but the woman manning the phones at the AGA’s main number put me through.

We arrived a bit late for the 7pm reservation, but were seated in a mostly empty restaurant. Perhaps we missed the dinner rush, or perhaps there was just less hype about the restaurant than I expected.

The room, and building, are stunning. Some have criticized the design to be a non-Gehry designed Frank Gehry style building, and there are definite similarities, but the building is stunning nonetheless…especially when compared to the building before. Many people walking by stopped to peer in and more than once a car slowed to a crawl outside as the occupants stared as the impressive curvy zinc facade.

The restaurant itself has soaring zinc ceilings, with large ENORMOUS windows. Sitting near them, it was not chilly at all, however. Cool blue light accents the metallic accessories which is equalized by a warm yellow glow from candles and the bell tower at nearby City Hall. It’s a very industrial room, but also cozy due to carefully placed dividers and a gorgeous Douglas Fir wall. The view is quite captivating as it overlooks the square and City Hall, and I imagine in the summer it will be a great place to grab a drink before attending a festival or event in Churchill Square.

After we were seated our (very) green waitress asked us if it was our first visit to the restaurant which amused me a great deal. She was definitely still learning the ropes, but was careful to do things the right way in a restaurant of this calibre, like serve from the right and switch out cutlery after each course.

The menu was an abbreviated version of what is to come, and is expected to change seasonally, according to sommelier and maitre d’ Claude Fournier. He came around twice to see how we liked our meals, and took our thoughts and concerns very seriously. It’s nice to get someone who cares about the answer when they ask the question. Claude also said that Chef David Omar and him hope to have dishes which reflect the different exhibits in the gallery at that time. I’m excited a restaurant in Edmonton (other than the Blue Pear) will focus on a varied rotating menu. Although he is not a beer fan (”I cannot stand the yeast,” Claude said) he hopes to do beer pairing as well at some point.

At first glance, it seemed that there was a lot going on in the menu. I saw a lot of food trend buzzwords like foam, gelee and the like. I was also alarmed by the amount of flavours appearing on a single dish. For instance, the fois gras ballotine. However, they were all variations on anise, and it really worked in the end. There were only three appetizers plus a soup and five mains available to order. Later, two desserts (which we had to pass on.)

There is also a large cocktail list with some interesting libations available, and a selection of Alberta beers, but all in the bottle.

Our amuse bouche was served in a tiny coffee cup and was an extremely cold, extremely bland cream cheese avocado “pudding” with ginger. Thank god for the overly zingy ginger, because there was NOTHING going on in this otherwise. It did not amuse my mouth at all.

The housemade butter was angelic. Fennel with spring onion and fleur de sel. It was served with brioche baked in house.

Foie gras appetizer. A slice of foie gras with salted licorice caramel ice cream, black sambuca gelee, coriander apple with salad and brioche toast. As I mentioned previously, this dish sounded all over the map, like there was too much going on. Turns out: it was pretty good! The saltiness balanced well with the sweetness and the anise flavours just worked with the foie gras. The brioche provided just enough crunch for the creamy foie gras.

My dish was less successful. I had the beet salad. The Good: the presentation (like a salad painting!), the parsnip goat cheese puree, fresh carrot juice as a palate cleanser and rose honey reduction. The Bad: Rose honey reduction was hidden on the bottom of my salad, creating an unbalanced sticky glop of flavour as my greens disappeared and the beet “carpaccio” was kind of ridiculous. They’re just raw beets. And they were hard to cut. In addition the beets that were supposed to be roasted were not and were mostly crisp and hard as well.

“Taste of Alberta” main. At $44 this was the most expensive item on the menu. It featured (left to right) bison short ribs, caribou and a saskatoon berry sausage on a bed of braised red cabbage, artichokes and gnocchi. On top, a drizzle of spice chocolate sauce. To put it lightly, disappointing. While the short ribs were toothsome and savoury and moist, the sausage was dry, as was the caribou. How dry? This dry:

This caribou does NOT look succulent.

Wild Alberta pickerel with pickled mushrooms, edamame, beets and warm potato espuma.

I waffled on a main, but finally went with fish. I just HAD to know what “potato espuma” was. I was pleasantly surprised by this dish; it really knocked it out of the park. The pickled mushrooms perked up what is a relatively plain, light fish, and the glorified mashed potatoes just worked. Espuma is supposed to be more of a foam, but this is more of a light creamy mash. Menu error? I was left wanting more; the serving size was adequate but I just wanted to taste more.

I will have to return before I make any firm decisions, but this first visit left me wanted more of the good and less of the bad. I sense great things in the making, though, so I will remain hopeful and try to not judge before they are fully operational.

Dinner for two (two courses each), with one beer ran about $130.

Liane Faulder wrote a preview about Zinc in the Journal a few weeks ago: Zinc offers beautiful food, by design

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Zinc at the Art Gallery of Alberta
Open for lunch and dinner service everyday but Monday
Sunday Brunch is also served
780.392.2501
online reservations also available

I have to admit, I’ve always been cautious when it comes to sausage. I mean, I love it, but I can only eat so much. Perhaps this is because I can’t stop thinking about all the bad that comes with the good. It’s salty, it’s full of fat, it’s often smoked which isn’t that good for you either. There are nitrates and preservatives…and it’s so filling! Despite all these negatives, I am Ukrainian, so I grew up around rings of garlicky kielbasa and do enjoy dried sausages when hiking.

But: I am no sausage addict.

Mike has been discussing wanting to make sausage for some time. We have a lot of extra bits of deer meat from the bucks he shot this fall perfect for making into sausage. There are places in town that will make sausage for you out of game meat, so we considered dropping it off there and coming back to collect the links later. But, the more reading Mike did, the more interested he was in developing his own recipe, and in smoking his own meats. I have to admit when he said “I am going to make sausage” I envisioned this classic scene from Seinfeld:

So, we went to get a Bradley digital smoker a few weeks ago, and it’s been non-stop meat at the house since. Ribs, chicken and yes: sausage. We purchased the smoker at BBQ Country.

BBQ country is a pretty great place. In addition to many BBQ models, there is a wide selection of BBQ tools, wood chips, sauces, rubs… anything the avid BBQer needs.

The smoker is about the size of a bar fridge, and is happy living on our condo patio. It doesn’t make all that much smoke, but it really billows out when you open the door. It’s completely automated, with a special loader for wood chip “pucks”, a timer and a bunch of other settings I am completely unaware of. Mike is the smokemaster.

In addition to the smoker, we also needed a few other specialty items, such as:

• pork back fat (to add to the lean venison)
• sausage casing
• sausage press
• meat grinder
• smoke sticks
• spices
• measuring equipment: thermometers, scales and tape measures

Most of these items were purchased at CTR Refrigeration & Food Supply in Edmonton (10456 170 Street). The meat grinder we already had, but a few stops at the butcher and Home Depot and things were completely set up. And that is where I took my leave from the process and the men took over.

There were two days of sausage making, with a bratwurst style venison sausage and venison hunter sausage being the final products. Here, Mike and Evan are trying to get the first sausage coil going. Things went pretty smoothly over all, with a few bursts and air pockets, but nothing too out of hand. I do know our kitchen is probably too small for three tall men to be making sausage in, though.

I can’t speak much to the steps, but seems having the right grind on the meat and keeping the meat and equipment very cold (pre-grinding and during pressing) seemed helpful, and that there was a lot of cutting of meat, and double grinding of meat.

I think that hog casings were used. They come packed in salt, for sterilization and preservation, so you have to soak them and rinse them thoroughly before using them.

Before the sausages smoke, they must hang overnight to develop a pellicle. This is a sticky surface for the smoke to stick to.

Then, they smoke.

After a few hours (depending on flavour desired) the hot sausages are plunged in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Oh god, so good. Paprika laden venison bratwurst with braised red cabbage and bacon, and tarragon potatoes.

The sausage is unlike anything I’ve ever had. It’s got a crispy snap when you bite into it, and the inside is at once juicy and substantial. The venison is a great flavour, and any dryness is tempered by the pork fat. The smoke adds depth, and the spices are strong, but not overwhelming. This is no supermarket sausage. It’s not even deli sausage.

I guess you could now call me a bonafide sausage lover, since I can not stop thinking about it.

I’ve been crazy for gingerbread this year, and have been experimenting with different gingerbread recipes for a month.

Gingerbread

The best has been one that is molasses-y but not too much so, kind of crumby yet moist and very spicy, with both ginger powder and freshly grated ginger root. I’m about to make another batch tomorrow, this time with ginger chunks from Bulk Barn.

This opened the flood gates and I started obsessing over ginger flavours. Before I knew it, I was trying anything remotely ginger related. Gingerbread lattes at Starbucks (ho hum, kind of thin). Gingerbread snap cookies (meh.) Then, finally a break through:

Real ginger beer by Crabbie’s

Summer? We drank this the day it was -46C in Edmonton. No ice though.

This is an awesome alcoholic beverage by the way. I got it at Sherbrooke Liquor, when they were out of the newest obsession in the house, a beer called Route Des Épices (Ale Rousse Au Poivre) by Quebec’s Dieu Du Ciel (it’s spicy. VERY spicy.) $6 for a reasonable serving, and this was tart, spicy and light. It’s 4%.

Then, because it was so cold I wanted to find a way to keep warm. I made hot chocolate from scratch. That is to say…

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

I attended a Christmas party a number of years ago where I remember exactly three things: we watched a Lord of the Ring marathon, we had souffles but the host was perturbed they fell, and there was some wicked home made hot chocolate with Screech in it.

What’s Screech? Why it’s a rum endemic to Newfoundland. Mr M’s mom brought some back when she visited the east coast a few months ago. I’ve been dying to use it.

Real cinnamon reserved for special occasions

Chocolate “paste”

(This pot is my Gran’s. It is great for heating milk in, as it never burns, and stays hot a long time. She made it for making cream of wheat in.)

I edited my dad’s recipe for hot chocolate and came up with an awesome Gingerbread modification.

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

• 1 cup of whole milk
• 2 portions of 1/4 cup heavy cream (i.e., whipping cream. My dad uses evaporated milk)
• 1.5 tablespoons of good-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder (I have started using Ghirardelli, but Valrhona or even Fry’s are good)
• 1.5 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 0.5-1 ounce Screech (or any rum. Can also be omitted entirely.)
• stalk of ginger root, peeled and cut into slices
• half stick of cinnamon
• dash of ginger powder and cinnamon
• whole cloves or nutmeg, if you have them

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, pour in milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Add ginger root, cinnamon and any other spices you desire, such as cloves and nutmeg. Let just come to a simmer, and drop heat until milk gets very hot and steeps in spices, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine cocoa, sugar, dash of ginger powder and cinnamon, vanilla, rum and 1/4 cup of whipping cream with a whisk. It will get very pasty, so add milk or water to thin slightly and incorporate.

When milk has steeped, whisk in chocolate mixture until it has dissolved. Strain into a cup, over marshmallows or with fresh whipped cream on top.

This recipe is not too sweet, very spicy and highly drinkable. I don’t know how well it scales up, as I have only made two servings at a time of it. It’s quite rich.

Finally, at Duchess last week I saw one of their seasonal items:

Gingerbread macarons.

I have nothing to say other than: they’re great. Just like everything else they make.

Finally, at work a few weeks ago, we had to photograph some products from local business Beardog Cafe. One of their products smelled so good it was all I could do to not scarf it down as I shot it: Raven’s Gingerbread.

However, it’s for your four-legged friend. All-natural, and some pretty cute packaging, too.

Do you have any favourite ginger treats?

I eat a lot of sandwiches as meals. Perhaps because they’re easy, perhaps because they are infinitely customizable. Some favourites (made at home) include egg salad, BLTs, and grilled cheese. Purchased favorites are the pita pizza/sandwiches from Sunbake Pita and banh mi from Van Loc.

I had my first muffuletta when I was but a wee girl, or so the story goes according to my parents. Most recently, I had an authentic one while in New Orleans in 2001 (hardly recent!). I also had a crawfish po’boy, while wandering about. These sandwiches are regional favourites, are packed with numerous ingredients, and filling. VERY filling.

I made a muffletta this weekend. It’s kind of wrong to just make a single sandwich, and it’s a thing best done to an entire loaf of bread.

An olive salad must be prepared, and meats acquired. They are layered thickly and compressed down.

First I started by hollowing out the loaf of french bread. Round breads or flatter breads are advised for this sandwich.

Then I made the olive salad. This is extremely customizable, but mine included kalamata olives, green olives, pepperocini peppers, roasted red peppers, roasted cauliflower, green onion, celery, garlic, carrots and parsley. Add lots of olive oil and pepper and let it marinate for a bit. It will last for some time in the fridge, so you may want to make a larger portion for future sandwiches. Like ajvar, it’s great on many things.

Layer after layer of meat was added. I included ham, mortadella and genoa salami, along with provolone and mozzarella cheese.

Sliced into chunks and warmed in the oven until the cheese melts, this is a hearty meal.

I don’t know why, but for many years I shied away from bolognese on restaurant menus. Perhaps I thought the sauce was plain and unsophisticated: I mean, meat sauce when you can have a fancier, harder-to-make cream sauce? Perhaps I was reliving bad memories of overdosing on bolognese in Belgium many years ago.

However, lately it has become a favourite pasta sauce. Although my recipe is far from authentic (many believe “true” bolognese should use white wine, not red, and uses very little tomato), it it still very good, and fairly easy to cook up.

My soffritto of carrots, celery, onion and pancetta, frying in a helping of butter and olive oil.

Chubs of meat are not the most attractive packaging. Plus they have a tendency to burst open into a wormy snake of meat when you cut into them.

My recipe only requires a cup of red wine, leaving a lot left in the bottle. I freeze a cup for use later, and drink some while cooking or use it in other cooking in the days after.

At $3.49 a can, these tomatoes were not cheap, but I tried them to see if there was a discernible difference. I think it is worth it to get tomatoes low in sodium and sugar, so that I can control the end flavours a bit better. Here, I am using kitchen scissors to cut the whole tomatoes into smaller bits.

I also spent a bit more on a different brand of tomato sauce. The ingredient list is a long one, as you can see. The paste and tomatoes had the added benefit of not tasting metallic.

Mike’s bowl on left, mine on right. I did go back for seconds, though. I serve a healthy serving of sauce with a chunky, chewy pasta such as orecchiette that helps scoop up the meaty sauce, and top it with cheese and parsley.

Lamb and Veal Bolognese

This will make several cups of sauce, which is good to freeze and serve with fresh pasta later, or just eat on its own. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe, so feel free to adjust amounts if need be.

• 0.635kg (1.5 lbs) meat. I used a mix of veal and lamb, but you could use beef and veal or pork.
• 1/2 cup pancetta, cubed. I just buy a chunk from the deli and cube it at home
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup red wine you like (don’t cheap out, although it may be tempting)
• 28 oz. can tomatoes, whole and cut up or diced
• can of tomato paste
• cayenne powder, chili flakes to taste
• herbs, dried or fresh
• salt and pepper

Set large pot on medium high heat, allow to warm up. Add diced pancetta, cook while stirring until it browns. Add splash of olive oil and butter, throwing in diced carrots, celery and onion. Allow this soffritto to soften and brown, about 10 minutes.

Add your meat, let brown. I normally add my spices at this point, cayenne or chili, dried thyme, oregano or basil. Crank the heat to high, and add the wine while scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Turn heat down to medium, allow to cook down for about 10 minutes, and add the tomato paste and entire can of tomatoes and juices. Allow to come to a boil, and simmer for as long as you can stand it, at least 45 minutes, but longer if possible.

Most of my cooking starts with a single ingredient. I see something unusual or new, buy it, and then find a way to learn a new recipe.

Although I have been stockpiling ingredients (masa harina, corn husks, dried peppers) from trips to the U.S. to make tamales for some time, it was actually the purchase of pasilla peppers from Sobeys Urban Fresh that prompted the tamales finally get made. I’ll admit it, I was intimidated. I have learned how to roll cabbage rolls and make perogies from my Gran before she died, but she’s Ukranian, not Mexican. So I did not know how to roll tamales, and it seemed complicated.

Oh, I had books. Rick Bayless has a multi-page section dedicated to the filling and making of tamales. There are diagrams, tips and descriptive paragraphs, but it just wasn’t the same. Luckily, Youtube came to the rescue with a visual guide on what to do.

Zarela runs a restaurant, and has a series of videos up on Youtube on Mexican cooking. She also had an easy going attitude, and was knowledgeable. In four minutes with her help, I was rolling tamales.

I made the masa dough for a filling and stuffed the tamales full of roasted pasilla peppers, adobe tomato salsa and Monterey Jack cheese. I made a few vegan tamales by making the masa dough with vegetable shortening instead of pork and omitting the cheese.

And you know what? Just like perogies and cabbage rolls, tamales aren’t that hard to do.

First you must acquire corn husks, and soak them so they are pliable. I used the hole filled ones to tear into strips to tie the tamales with. This isn’t a necessary step, but it’s a pretty one.

Bob’s Red Mill masa harina from a Whole Foods in Minneapolis. I would have bought a bigger package, but my luggage was already grossly obese.

I cannot find masa harina in Edmonton. I’m hoping the latin markets will have it, I just haven’t had time to look yet. It’s easier to do my grocery shopping while on holiday, apparently. Safeway, Save-On and Planet Organic all carry a wide assortment of Bob’s Red Mill products, just not this.

What gives?

Masa harina is a corn flour, mixed with lime. It’s used to make a variety of things, including tamales and tortillas.

The masa dough being stirred. You need strong arms and a wooden spoon if you don’t have a mixer. Luckily I’ve been making cookie dough for years, so I can handle my spoons.

Peeling the roasted pasilla peppers. I broiled them in the oven on all four sides, tossed them in a bag for a bit and then peeled, cored and seeded them.

After making an adobo tomato salsa, and cubing the cheese, I rolled. It’s really easy.

Tied with strips of corn husk. Not as easy. I had to redo a few, and some popped on me.

The tamales were steamed for about an hour. The dough gets fluffy, and the smell of corn is wonderful.

A bit moist, still, but I think I had a good dough to filling ratio.

If it seems like I’m proud, it is because I am. The key thing is to have the ingredients. The rest is easy.

Vegan Masa filling for tamales

• 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
• 2 cups masa harina
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable stock, plus 1/4 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Beat the shortening in a bowl with a whisk until fluffy. In another bowl, mix the masa harina and salt. Combine stock and water. Mix the masa and liquid into the shortening, alternating, until the dough stiffens. Mix in the baking powder. This makes enough for about 15 mid sized tamales.

I made mine sort of chile rellenos tamales, with peppers and cheese. You can use any variety of ingredients however, and make them any size.

While my parents have considerably trimmed back their raspberries bushes and apple trees and we do not have as much to pick, I know not everyone is in the same boat. With no time or simply too much fruit to get to, some home owners have buckets of fruit left to waste on their plants, once the animals have had their fill.

However, a new group of people in Edmonton have gathered to rescue your fruit: Operation Fruit Rescue! The team of volunteers representing OFRE comes to pick your fruit, and the bounty is divided into thirds. 1/3 to the pickers, 1/3 to the home owner and 1/3 to the Food Bank or other food centre. How great is that?

ham + cheese baguette

It’s no secret that I enjoy the bread Cobs makes. For a chain, they make damned fine bread products. Their pane di casa italian rolls are crispy, light and airy with a hint of chew, and I’m a fan of the new Turkish rolls, with the same consistency of the pane di casa, but a generous smothering of olive oil and seasonings on top.

When I visited the other morning, one of the bakers came barreling out of the back. “Behind!” he shouted to the front clerk, before loading a wire rack laden with French baguettes into the display. He then rang a cowbell hanging above, and yelled “FRENCH BAGGGGUUUETTES!” while the other bakers cheered in the back. Turns out the French baguette is a brand new item at Cobs. It was amazing and it immediately brought me back to the first time my Mom brought my brother and I to continental Europe in the early 1990s.

We were living in England at the time, and caught the ferry over to Bruges, in Belgium for a day trip. The food had a huge influence on me, and I still remember every meal we ate that day. There was a serving of spaghetti bolognese that could have sunk a ship (and indeed sunk me, I was ill after overeating it) and the crispiest most delicious pizza ever eaten at an outdoor cafe on the main square of the town. But the best was a last minute picnic of fresh baguettes and some cheese and meats we found at a small market. God, was it ever delicious.

After I finished day dreaming, I naturally had to get a baguette and desired to fill it with ham and cheese. I swung by the Italian Center and loaded up on meats and cheeses. I wasn’t home two minutes when I was tearing into the meats, cutting cheddar and assembling a delicious rosemary ham and cheese baguette. So simple, so delicious.

When I was a kid I used to spend hours plucking the juiciest, biggest raspberries off my grandma’s bushes. We would eat them, freeze them in four litre ice cream pails, bake with them, and even play with them.

Some things never change.