le sauce

happy cookie season to you

Well, I'm certain I consumed more sugar in one month than my whole lifetime, but I also had a lot more fun than I'd thought I would. Most importantly, every one of the recipes yeilded totally scrumptious results (with one small exception, these were not my recipes so I'm free to gush about them!)

I hope you get to check at least some of the ones tested for ^{the le sauce} ₁₂ days of cookies

With this, le sauce is breaking for the holidays, but not just to shop, eat, drink and repeat. Back behind the scenes a whole new look, feel and site, the one that has been soooo long in the making, will be finally coming together--coming soon, in the new year...

And around this time I usually set the bar for the new year, but I think I will wait until closer to the relaunch of the site to tell you about new features and series. For now I will say that in the past I've focused on more, for instance this year there was much more baking, sweet treats and collaborations. I hope you enjoyed the outcome as much as I enjoyed the projects. Next year, I'm focusing on better. Like the most interesting, useful and inspiring menus and a way to tie them into the bigger picture--making every-night dinners a little more special or gatherings with friends on Sunday night a little easier with the goal of making them more frequent!

So...to even better days and nights next year! Every year I have more reason to be grateful for everything and everyone around me. I hope every single one of you has just as many reasons to feel at peace at this moment and that you have a wonderful couple of weeks whether you, or however you celebrate the season. Happy cookie-eating, happy gatherings with friends and family, happy cooking and happy new year.

you've done this before

I mentioned that James and I were recently in New Brunswick to visit his family. It was more than just an annual (ok, biannual) visit. We went to celebrate Grammie's 90th birthday! Celebrations lasted all weekend with family travelling in from all parts of the country, and they took place at a beautiful "tractor barn"/workshop, conveniently outfitted with a kitchen since it's now a regular gathering place for the community. The place was airy, flooded with natural light and the late owner's antique, restored red tractors lined one wall.

As if that wasn't charming enough, I was warmed to see the ladies of the local Women's Institute (Grammie's peers) busy making finger sandwiches for the party while we set up the decorations. They made hundreds of soft, creamy, crust-less delicacies and they did it with minimal mess, over casual chatter and had time to enjoy a few for lunch when they were done. I think I'm safe in assuming they've made a few in their time. It was lovely to watch expert hands and hearts go to work.

i love you, danforth pizza house

We bought our house from someone I knew--by sheer coincidence. To make a long story short, James and I were buying in a hot seller's market (has it ever really changed, Toronto?) and I was going out of town when my collague's listing when up. I recognized the house because certain rooms were featured in a magazine we both worked for (I know, I'm lucky) but there was no time to touch base with her and we weren't sure we were making an offer anyway. I saw it once, that night, and 4 days later while I was still away on business, James bought the house from her and her partner--they were as excited to learn I was going to be the one moving in as I was to buy their well-loved home.

She was a food editor (the house was built in 1912 and I often wonder if the kitchen was always inhabited and inherited by eager cooks!) so when they left behind a few takeout menus, I knew they had to be clues to the best little spots in the neighbourhood. The one that stood out, for its simplicity, was a one-sided, one-colour photocopied leaflet to Danforth Pizza House. No website, only a handful of ingredients and certainly nothing but pizza on offer. As you might expect by the sounds of the flyer, Danforth Pizza house has no delivery service and quite frankly, you need to order long before you start to get hungry. Because most nights, the little pizzeria, with its pizza ovens that take up almost as much room as its modest dining area, is run entirely by one slight, white-haired, masterful pizzaiolo--so the pizza tends to take a little time. You'd be happy to wait after your first time. It's not the pizza I crave when I want a thin-crust, "Neopolitan-style" pizza, but it's the kind I often crave: the large white box with a perfect, cheesy pizza inside and a generous ladle of an absolutely delicious, just-slightly-sweet sauce--this is the one I've been talking about. If you have a chance, you really should visit.

cook love: james

 

Well it's about time I featured James (my partner, best friend, co-cook and, to get all cute about it, my boyfriendxoxox) in a cook love post. I eat most of my meals with him and in fact, he cooks many of the meals I eat. We share all of the work in our home He does the lion's share of the work in our house and if you think I do all of the cooking just because I run this site, you'd be mistaken. Counting multiple recipe tests, I cook a lot more than he does, but James gets about half of our dinners on the table and our lunches done for the next day.

James doesn't follow recipes, at least not by choice, and he puts up a fuss when I make him write his creations down for me. (Click on the images below for his recipes on le sauce.) He hates washing herbs, especially cilantro, and while he gets easily distracted by squirrels in our backyard that he glimpses from our kitchen window, he can get everything from our ritualistic big weekend breakfast to dinner for 8 on the table in rapid time if he must (you have to check out the time I documented this live one night). But the main reason I coaxed him into being featured in this installment of cook love (and it did take coaxing--he's internet-shy, hence the "man of mystery" photo cropping--his words) is because he's an inventive cook whose meals impress, inspire and in many ways influence how I cook and eat. Here's more about James at the table and beyond.

What are your favourite 3 ingredients?
Potatoes, butter and ketchup.

Favourite indulgence?
Ketchup, I guess. I mean if there's ice cream around, I might eat the whole thing, or chips, but they're not always around. With ketchup, I indulge whenever possible and it's always in the fridge so...

How do you come up with unique combos like dijon + paprika in your famous winter stew?
I was using paprika because I wanted it to be goulash-y and then it wasn't thick enough so I added mustard to try and thicken it. All of my cooking happens that way. If something's not right, I just (tweak) it to make it work.

Is there a cuisine that you'd like to perfect? Or something you love to eat and don't make and wish you could?
No. Some things are better when other people make them. You don't have to make everything.

Why do you hate onions so much + tell the truth, when don't you mind them?
I don't mind them when they're super cooked down, or hidden in dishes. I don't mind their cousins leeks, shallots, scallions--they're fine. But I hate the texture of onions. And the flavour. And the smell. I hate everything about them. French onion soup and onion rings are ok. When I was little, Tammie and Annette (my mom's youngest sisters who were more like my older sisters than my young aunts) said "I don't like onions" and I just said "I don't like onions either!"

Tell me about one or two of your early childhood memories--they can be food-related or not.
I remember running around barefoot on Grammie's front lawn and stepping on a red anthill. That's when I learned about fire ants--or what I assumed were fire ants. Not sure if they were or not.

If not in Toronto, where would you live?
Winters in Cuba, summers in Budapest.

You're having a nightmare, you're walking down a dark alley. What awaits you?
An office cubicle. 

What suprises you about yourself today vs. 5 years ago?
My hairline.

(Click on the images to check out James' popular recipes!)

If you had to create an ideal/favourite meal?
Depends. It could be my special Kraft Macaroni and Cheese recipes which are too secret to share. Or good mashed potatoes and gravy--alternatively, poutine.

What else would be on the table?
Eggplant dishes or every kind. Probably some Thai basil eggplant and some Sri Lankan eggplant curry. Eggplant Parmesan. Real light. Some salad to balance it out.

Any favourite art of any kind to share?
Can't pinpoint a certain thing but the art that I've been consuming recently is comic book art. I reread the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first issue and it's a black and white animation--really good animation. And The Walking Dead comics are really good--black and white too. I was reading Allan Watt's The Spirit of Zen and it has cool drawing and paintings from ancient China--monkeys and stuff. Those were really good but I don't know who the artist is.

(James waiting patiently to eat while I shoot something. Something that is getting very cold.)

birthday cake and so much love

Just a little snapshot of my birthday cake. It was as dreamy as it looks, dense, chocolately, the wine paired perfectly with it, the greenery cut from the garden...everyday magic all around. I wasn't really planning on doing anything at all this year, I've been too busy to think about my birthday. But then James and my best girlfriends took me to out for dinner on Saturday night and we lingered for hours. I tried to have some of my friends over to our place on Sunday, mostly because I hadn't seen them in a while, and instead they had us over to their place so I wouldn't have to do a thing. I got to snack on their specialties--Scott makes the best bruschetta, Attit has great taste in and is very generous with his wine selections, and Julia sets the prettiest table and bakes a mean cake.

Today is my actual birthday and James is getting dinner ready as we speak. I haven't even celebrated with family yet, but my parents and aunt cooked all morning to make offerings at the temple on my behalf, and I'll be visiting them on the weekend. I'm overwhelmed, as I am regularly, by how well I'm taken care of by the people around me. I don't think I'm ever more grateful to sit at the table and share a meal with my family and friends than on my birthday. More than the food and wine, I savour every one of them.

cook love: sena seneviratne (my dad!)

When my dad told me stories about growing up in Sri Lanka, he often talked about food. He lived on the southern coast of the island and to hear the tales, you'd think that as a child all he did was swim in salt water long enough to become ravenous, run home to a lavish lunch spread and elbow his siblings for the best pieces of marrow or fish at the table. He's a meticulous, deft and opinionated cook and those lucky enough to know actually request his specialties when invited over for dinner. He can make a well balanced tamarind fish curry and also the best scrambled eggs. I can't fully express how I was nourished, encouraged and influenced by him in the kitchen. Here are some of his food memories and inspirations.


What is your favourite snack?

Cookies, especially oatmeal cookies; dark chocolates.

 

What did your mom (or someone else) make for you when you were sick? Did it comfort you or was it strictly to make you well?

When I get sick the first thing I get is a herbal drink, made with coriander (seeds) and ginger mostly, to make me well.

 

What made you begin cooking? 

Since I was the youngest in the family I was always behind my mother. When we give dana (offerings) to the  temple, Mom wakes up early in the  morning to cook and by watching and helping her, (it) encouraged me to cook as well.

 

What are your signature dishes, the ones that people ask you to make?

Everybody liked my fish curry and also fish ambul thiyal and green chili sambol*; as I am a vegetarian now I do the same dishes with tofu.

 

What food do you miss most from home (Sri Lanka) or what is one of your fondest food memories?

The foods that I miss mostly are fresh jack fruit and bread fruit curry, or these boiled with lunu miris and grated coconut.

 

What would you like to make that you haven't made or made successfully?

I would like to learn to make some Indian dishes like thosai and stuffed godamba roti.

 

Where was or where would your favorite meal be? 

In Sri Lanka at my sisters place.

 

Any tip or advice for cooks?

Learn to cook in more healthier ways, use less fats and more spices and you will always have tasty dishes.

 

Any cook or chef you'd like to cook beside or eat with?

No one special.

 

Any other advice or stories to share with us?

Men in every household should learn to cook.

 

*My dad makes reference to many dishes from Sri Lanka and India. I wish I had recipes for all of them on my site, but they can be easily found online. Here is his famous green chili sambol recipe he refers to, which goes perfectly with the vadais he is frying up earnestly in the picture below. His vadai recipe and a few more of his fantastic recipes can be found here.

(Thanks, Dad! Happy Birthday.)

the best moms ever (and their best recipes)

(photographed by james piper) 

I grew up in a household with three mothers. I don't mean that my aunt and my grandmother were "like" mothers to me. I mean that I felt just as close to them and as comforted by them and as ungrateful for them (being the rotten pain-in-the ass brat I was as a child) as with my own mother. In a busy household of grandparents, parents, an aunt and a cousin who was like a little brother to me, everyone going to school, working shifts, and eating whenever they could, there was no yours and mine. Everyone cooked for everyone, everyone fed all little mouths, and the little mouths made that as challenging a task as possible.

As much as I don't want or wait for a holiday to tell me when to appreciate people in my life, I did use today, Mother's Day, as an opportunity to cook and serve as many special foods to my mom and aunt as I could. I don't think I've ever been more grateful for my mother, aunt and grandmother for all of the unbelievably generous and loving mothering I received, than I am at this point in my life. As I got older, I began to appreciate them and see what a huge impact they've had on my life and who I am, but now with food becoming the main focus of my life and work, having them in my life is the gift that just keep on giving. I owe my nourishment, affinity to food, any skills, knowledge or interest I picked up before I even really considered food the way I do now to them. 

And I owe many of the recipes on this site to them. I'm still mastering Sri Lankan cooking (I'm sure that will be a lifelong quest), but their dishes are honed and revered by everyone who tries them. I thought I'd take this opportunity to feature the recipes for what I think are their signature dishes.

cook love: steph lyn, my friend

My friend Steph and I have been friends since she invited me to her Sweet 16 party. Soon after and for many years after, we were basically inseparable. Our high school law teacher referred to us as the Bobbsey Twins (I'm just realizing now that one of the original twins was a boy...) and the attendance office was known to check if we were both absent from school when one of us called in sick... Not sure what made them so suspicious of us. Ahem!

I ate countless meals at Stephanie's house, every single one of them a downright treat. We'd polish off what was her family's entire dinner of salt fish and dumplings, and her grandmother would happily make more before her parents came home from work. It was at their table that I ate my first escovitch snapper, ackee and salt fish and other irresistible Jamaican food, but also where I had the best roast beef, gravy and roast potatoes--her mother's specialties. What Steph and I ate together provided both a framework for so many flavours for me, and a benchmark for so many dishes. That, and the fact that she's still one of my favourite dinner companions at home and abroad, is why she's the focus of this cook love interview. Meet Steph!

I know you have a sweet tooth. What would you love to make?

Anything chocolate and/or caramel.  I had these caramel covered potato chips in Japan that were so good.  I haven't been able to find them here so I will probably try to make them one day.  I also had macaroons from Lauderee in Tokyo and I love a culinary challenge, so they're definitely on my list. 

Think of your absolute favourite food experience ever, tell us what it was or what it would look like. 

I really enjoy cooking and sharing meals with people who are really passionate about food, cooking and eating well.  A favourite experience would be renting a villa with my friends in Tuscany that has a large, rustic kitchen.  I envision us visiting local farms and makets for the freshest produce, spending the afternoon cooking together and then sitting down to a family style dinner at a large wooden table out back as the sun sets over the hills.  

 

You spent some time in Southeast Asia. Where were your most memorable eats and what were they? 

There were so many!  I guess one that really stands out in my mind was when I was in Hanoi over Tet (their new year).  The guesthouse that I stayed at was run by a young couple who had two small children.  My traveling companions and I were invited to partake in the family's new year dinner.  Not only did we get the chance to taste real, home cooked Vietnamese cuisine...

cook love: my mom

This is the first in a new column on le sauce: cook love. Quite simply, it will feature cooks that inspire me and have influenced how I cook or how I feel about cooking and eating, and whose stories and thoughts on food I want to record and share. 

For the very first feature, who better to introduce you to than my mom! My mom has worked tirelessly all her life, and in no small part, feeding me was part of that work. I was an avid eater and a picky kid all at once. I knew what I liked and I wanted what I wanted (not much has changed), and my mom did her best to comply, but not just to fill my pie hole and gain a moment of silence, but because she is absolutely passionate about food too. She is curious about ingredients and techniques, she's a perfectionist when it comes to both, she has a well-honed palate and she loves to eat foods that are new to her.

She's also the best kind of critic--she is honest and doesn't hold back, but she offers constructive criticism because she wants the best result in the end regardless of whether she's eating my food or the food of a great chef. I can always expect a call about how a recipe that she shared with me, that we tested, re-tested, and nailed, still could be tweaked in her opinion. She'll go through the work all over again to get it right, not because anyone else is judging it, but because she wants it to be as delicious as possible. And when she's eating something she really enjoys, with you, happiness floods the table. I love eating with her and I'm glad that in adulthood, I finally can keep up and cook with her! Without further ado, a little from my mom...

What is your favourite snack?

Something we were never without in the house was bread, so toast with lots of butter and hot lunu miris slathered on was very welcome. Accompanied by a hot cup of plain tea with lots of sugar.

 

winter weekend brunch

We're lucky to live near some of our best friends. So near by (and such great friends) that they will leave their homes on the very coldest day of the year, just to sit around the table and eat together. Brunch, that bitter winter day, was sweet challah french toast with syrup, herbed scrambled eggs, sausage (for those of us who partake of meaty things), fresh biscuits and jelly, hashbrowns, slices of fruit and strong coffee. It was potluck, there was too much food, we ate it all anyway. And I couldn't send them back out into the cold without thick hot chocolate and whipped cream. Here's to perfect Sundays!