The best heatwave food - Gazpacho!

GAZPACHO- Is it a soup or a salsa or a salad?

I don't write a lot of recipes for a couple of reasons.  One because I hardly ever measure anything unless I am baking and the other is that I generally make classic time tested dishes.  But I decided to write this recipe because it's close to traditional but the way I have been making it for a few years and it's been a go to every summer.  Gazpacho is a classic Spanish dish that is made with just a lot of knife skills and some refrigeration.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Green Onions
• 2 tbsp Red Onions
• 2 tbsp Yellow Onions
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 1 tsp Jalapeno
• 2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar or Red wine vinegar
• 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 lime
• 2 tbsp Cilantro
• 2 Tomatoes- on the stem or heirloom
• 2 Cucumbers
• 1/2 a Green Pepper
• 1 rib of Celery
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1 cup of Clamato Juice or tomato juice
• 3 Dashes of Cholula hot sauce - optional

DIRECTIONS

Squeeze the lime into a large bowl and you can use the zest if you like.  If you don't have a lime you can use a lemon and put it into the bowl.

Grate 2 garlic cloves with a microplane or finely chop and add to the lime juice.

Finely chop about a quarter of a jalapeno.  I used 4 slices of one and used the end where there were less seeds.  Add to the bowl.

Add the Sherry Vinegar or Red wine vinegar, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and mix the ingredients.

Chop the green onions into a fine dice, chop the red and yellow onions into a small dice as well and add all of the onions to the dressing in the bowl.

I didn't peel my tomatoes and this is a great time to use soft tomatoes because they break down anyway.  I used tomatoes on the stem and diced them.  I left the seeds as well but you could peel and seed them if you like it smoother.

Finely dice the green pepper, cucumber and celery and add to the bowl.

Finely chop the Cilantro and add to the bowl.  

Mix all of the ingredients.

Pour the Clamato Juice over the vegetable mixture until it covers all of the vegetables.  If you like it less thick add more juice.  I like it chunky and the vegetables break down as it sits in the fridge.

Taste for flavour and then add the salt and pepper to taste.

Let sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours for the onions and tomatoes to break down and mix the juices.

Serve in a glass or bowl and add a sprig of cilantro for garnish and you can drizzle with olive oil.  If you don't add bread which is in a traditional Spanish Gazpacho I would suggest you garnish with Croutons.  I prefer the Gazpacho like a chunky soupy salsa.

This is great for really Hot summer days because you don't have to cook anything and it can stay in the fridge for days and still be great.  This is one of my friends favourite things that he asks for in the summer.  It's a winner.

Toronto Soup Festival at Fort York

I checked out a fun event recently at Fort York.  TORONTO SOUP FESTIVAL was an outdoor event with proceeds going to Second Harvest.  With a few soup vendors like Fidel Gastro's, Fat Rabbit, Ted Reader and Neruda there were a host of different types of soups.  I enjoyed the corn soup and Fidel Gastro's Leek and Potato soup.

 

There was also a Free to enter Farmer's market at the entrance that we stopped by on the way out.  I picked up an amazing loaf of sourdough bread that I ate every last crumb of.

I think my favourite thing to eat at the festival was Craig's Cookies though.  One was still warm and gooey.  Not soup but went so well after some warm bowls of soup.

A really cool thing they did was hand out spoons attached to lanyards that you could wear around your neck while leaving you hands free in between soups.

Fidel Gastro's Matt Basile

Fat Rabbit's Trevor Lui

 

Music by Corey Music

A popular place to hang out was around the fire pit. It rained for a bit so people left for cover but when it stopped they all flocked back to it.

There was fun entertainment for kids an adults with great music by Corey Music and a bouncy castle for the kids and games like Giant Chess and bricks to move around on the grass. 

A perfect place for a fun selfie was in front of the Huge Stock Pot that had steam coming out of it at different times.

It was the first year at the Fort York location.  It's a bit tough to get there but it worked out pretty well on the Saturday but not sure how it was on the chillier Sunday weather.

It's a bit pricey with a single ticket for $25 which includes the spoon and entrance and I think 2 tickets but there was a $45 price for a 4 pack which is a bit better.  Most items were between 3 to 5 tickets and each ticket was $1.   I don't know if they will do it at the same location next year but it's a fun event to hang out with a group of friends and family.

Website:  http://soupfestival.ca/

Chowder Chowdown - Serves up Sustainability

Event:  Chowder Chowdown

Date:   November 14, 2017

Location:  The Fermenting Cellar - Distillery District - Toronto

November is Ocean Wise Seafood month and last night I had the privilege of attending the Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown for the second year in a row at the amazing Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District.  Although it's a hike to get there once you are at the Distillery you feel like you have gone somewhere else in the world.  There is nothing else like it in Toronto.  And the Fermenting Cellar is a great place for a Chowder Chowdown contest brought to you by some great Chefs in Toronto.  Centennial College was also one of the participants.  This event is a fundraising event for Ocean Wise's Sustainable Seafood Program.  It's a fun event where there are 5 Top Chefs and food industry people as Judges including Brad Long and Martin Kouprie this year.  It is hosted by Vancouver Chef Ned Bell who is a champion for Seafood Sustainability and who has a new cookbook called LURE that has just been released. It's a fun event where the Judges judge but also the attendees get to place their votes.

And the Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown Champion is......

For the second year in a row, a judging panel of food-savvy media, chefs and industry leaders selected Chefs Chris Torgis and Joel Gray as the 2017 Ocean Wise Seafood Chowder Chowdown Champions. The Thornbury-based restaurant presented chowder lovers with their patriotic Canada 150 Coast to Coast Chowder . It featured a mélange of sustainable seafood, including Ontario farmed whiteleg shrimp, Gulf of St. Lawrence crab, Lake Huron smoked whitefish and wild Pacific ikura, complemented by local corn velouté, wild leek pesto and pickled roots and left the judges wanting more. The attendees voted Scout’s Cannery as the People’s Choice Award winner, selected for their Scout’s Scullery Soup, made with clams, mussels and haddock.

Chef Ned Bell

Chef Dave Mottershall

Judges included:

     Brad Long, Owner and Executive Chef, Café Belong

        Martin Kouprie, Executive Chef

      Kristin Donovan, Co-Owner, Hooked Inc.

      Joseph Chiaravalloti, Sustainability Specialist, Seacore Seafood Inc.

        Rita DeMontis, National Food Editor, Sun Media

 

 Even though the Chowders are served in little bowls, there were 14 of them so I think  I only tried about half of them.  My favourite was the not very Chowder like Thai Tomato by SOCO Kitchen.  I just loved the balanced flavour and a kick of heat at the end but it was very far away from a traditional chowder so I can see why they chose a more traditional chowder by Bruce Wine Bar with their National Seafood Chowder.

2017 Ocean Wise Restaurant Finalists

The Beverly on Locke
Chef Rory O'LearyCatfish and Caviar Chowder

Bistro '67Chef Raul SojoOyster and Bacon Chowder

Bruce Wine Bar
Chef Chris Torgis and Chef Joel GrayNational Seafood Chowder

Centennial College: The Local Café and Restaurant
Chef Nick MooreSmoked Seafood Chowder

Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie
Chef Murray McDonaldCod Chowder

Distillery Events and Archeo
Chef de Cuisine Joshua Dyer
Wampanohog Chowder

Le Sélect Bistro
Chef Laura MaxwellSnow Crab and Smoked Clam Chowder

Loka
Chef Dave MottershallPEI Potato Mussel Chowder

PORT RestaurantChef Samantha JoyceClam Chowder with Bacon and Grilled Clams

Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill
Chef Danny Chae
Asian Inspired Clam Chowder

The Restaurant at Peninsula Ridge Winery
Executive Chef Matt Hemmingsen
Chowder with Lobster Grilled Cheese

Rodney's Oyster House
Chef Rodrigo de Romana
Bahamian Seafood Chowder

Scout Canning
Chef Charlotte Langley
Scout’s Scullery Soup

SOCO Kitchen + Bar, Delta Toronto
Chef Keith PearsThe “TTC” Thai Tomato Chowder

These Chowder Chowdown events are held in Toronto and Vancouver and for more information you can check out their website: Vancouver Aquarium 

The Ocean Wise seafood program began as a grassroots movement in Vancouver in 2005 and is now Canada’s most recognizable sustainable seafood program. What started as an initiative involving 16 chefs has expanded to include more than 700 partners with locations from Victoria to St. John’s.  

Cooking like a TV Chef

I started cooking at about 12 years old or it could have been earlier but that's about when I remember actually having a say about what was being cooked in my kitchen at home.   My mom who actually didn't like cooking would cook dinner almost every night.  She wasn't too good with the breakfast and lunches and I was kind of on my own to work that out.  My dad was the master of weekend breakfasts though so at least I would get a big breakfast most weekends when he was in the mood to make what he liked.

When I was a kid and most other kids were watching cartoons and teen shows or whatever was geared to kids,  I was watching Cooking Shows like Julia Child and whoever was on at the time.   I learned a lot of things about food that my mother didn't know and got to see that there was an unlimited amount of ideas when it came to food and recipes.  I am still addicted to watching cooking shows on TV and one of my favourite shows that I try and watch everyday now that I am at home is THE CHEW on ABC.  I love this show because it has some of my favourite people as hosts who all contribute their own individual personalities and experience to the show.   It's not just a cooking show it's kind of like an entertainment hour that is wrapped around food.  I used to watch Mario Batali's cooking show years ago and love that he brings all kinds of Italian dishes to the show.  I also love Clinton Kelly who is also the host of What not to Wear, a show where I learned that a lot of people don't know how to dress themselves.  He brings his touch of craftiness, style and entertaining to the show.  Carla Hall was on one of the Food Network competition shows and that's how I was aware of her before the Chew.  She has a Southern Charm and brings her recipes from the South to the Show and her catering knowledge.  Michael Symon I only knew as an Iron Chef prior to the Chew but I love Michael Symon and his love of all Pork products and his infectious laugh.  He brings the party and the rock n roll to the show.  Daphne Oz brings the balance to the show when it comes to indulgence and provides recipes that are more health concious, due to the fact that she grew up in a healthy household as Dr. Oz's daughter and had written a book about losing weight when she was in College.

I watch the show as much as I can and I laugh while I get inspired to cook new recipes.  Yesterday Daphne made a Sweet potato and kale Soup recipe that was like a super charged super food soup.  All the things that boost your immune system and help fight cancer and other diseases in one bowl.  It looked interesting and I realized that I had all those ingredients already and could make a pot of it.   So this morning I got out all of my ingredients and whipped up a batch for lunch.  I kicked up the spices for a warming effect that also boosts the thermogenic properties in the soup.

I pretty much made the recipe pretty similar to Daphne's Recipe but I didn't follow the amounts and added a couple of things.   I added mustard seed, leeks, shallots instead of the onions.   I used frozen Kale because I had that and didn't have any fresh Kale.  It probably made it easier because it's already blanched and chopped so all I had to do is dump it into the soup.  I had frozen chicken stock so I used that instead of water for the soup.

I had a whack of vegetables and this soup made it easy to get your 7-10 servings of vegetables in your day.  This is a great winter soup and I will freeze the rest of it for those days when I need a health boost and some warm soup.


Thanks Daphne for the Inspiration and thanks to the Chew crew for making me laugh and learn everyday.

SOUP - the Universal Food for Rich or Poor

Everyweek there is a new Mission created for the National Post's Gastropost section in the Newspaper. I like to look at these missions as little food challenges to inspire me or make me think about food or even think about new ways of making food.

I submitted a few photos of some of the soups I have made like these:

ROASTED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP

MATZO BALL SOUP

MEXICAN SOUP

ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE AND GREENS SOUP

They are all very different soups but the one thing they all have in common is any kind of ingredient and some liquid cooked until the flavours develop.    

Soup is that simple.

Soup is the one food that everyone in the world eats and either makes it themselves from whatever they have or they get a can of good old Campbell's soup from their grocery store.

Soup can be quick and cheap like a can of Campbell's soup to a more labour intensive soup like Goulash or something like that.

You can be rich or poor and still have soup.  It can go from the simple chicken feet soup to the extreme and expensive Shark Fin Soup which is now getting banned throughout the world for the environmental damage it does and the cruelty to the shark's who are just caught for their fins and then just tossed back into the ocean or wasted.

When I was a kid soup was something my mother made for me when I was sick.  She would make homemade chicken soup with thin soup noodles and she would call it "Jewish Penicillin".  I think it actually works too.

When you don't have a lot of food and don't know what to make for dinner and you look in your fridge and see a few remnants of food and some leftovers what do you do with them?  You toss them in a pot with water and cook it until you have a flavourful soup.

Many people take oxtails which are very inexpensive and make soup with it.   

You can take the bones of almost any meat and make some sort of broth from it and add whatever else you like to it,  vegetables, noodles, rice, whatever.  

There aren't really many rules to soup.   The big rule is that you need to be able to eat it with a spoon.   That's it.   

It also made me wonder how many actual different kinds of soup there are in the world.

How many can you name?

Let's see how many I can think of...

Mulligatawny Soup

Tomato Soup

Chicken Soup

Potato and Leek Soup

Shark Fin Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Mexican Soup

Kale and Sausage Soup

You get the picture... the list is endless.

So take out your stockpot and raid your fridge and pantry and see what you can come up with.

Feel free to post the soup you made or if you can even a photo of it.

I would love to see what everyone is putting in their soups..

"SOUP FOR YOU"....  make a big pot of soup and share it...

if you want recipes for the soups I posted there are some in previous posts...

Soupstock - Woodstock for Foodies

It was a beautiful day in Toronto today and perfect for a huge gathering of Foodies in the Woodbine Park near the beaches for SOUPSTOCK.

This was the first time I have attended this event which felt like a kind of Woodstock for Foodies.   Complete with muddy grounds but luckily no rain.

Soupstock is an event that brings together between 180-200 chefs from all over Ontario and some from further away even.   It's purpose is to draw attention to STOP THE MEGA QUARRY.

 It is an Eco event that is presented with the David Suzuki Foundation with the support of the local chef community who come out and provide a variety of hot soups that you can purchase for 3 samplings for $10.  It's a bring your own bowl and spoon event but there were vendors on hand selling bowls if you forgot yours.

The event ran from 11am to 4pm but by the time I got there close to 3pm there were already vendors that had sold out of their soups and started to pack up.  So I don't know what I missed.   All I know is that there was a huge line up for the lobster soup.

I tried 2 soups and opted to pick up some Brick street buns for my 3rd ticket.

I tried a Potato and Leek soup with a bit of chevre and croutons on top.  It was delicious and had some sort of herb or flavouring that I am still trying to figure out.

I also tried a Japanese soup that seemed like it would be a really healthy soup with mushrooms...not my favourite but I know they are good for me  and it also had carrots and I think daikon radish, chicken and a bunch of other things that I wasn't sure about.  It was very flavourful and something I know I wouldn't have made at home so it's always nice to try something you know you will never make yourself.

Even with the muddy ground and no tables or seats it was still a huge event that was well attended.   This should be a sign to city councillors that Torontonians want something other than hot dog vendors and sit down restaurants.   We want food events that we can attend with friends and family and have a choice as to what and how we eat.

I am glad I was able to attend even though I wasn't able to get there until close to the end but I still got to try a couple of soups and see what a great even it was.

Next year I will make sure I don't have anything planned so that I can go early and sample some great soups.

And on a side note... I am not even a big soup person but it's nice to try some different soups to maybe expand what you think about soups.