Day 81: Strawberries

Strawberries are the epitome of that childlike mindset that if it's tasty, it can't possibly be good for you. Because strawberries are yummy, but people used to tell me that they weren't as healthy as, say, brussell sprouts. Based on my own research, in fact, strawberries have an exceptional amount of antioxidants. In any case, no one eats strawberries for antioxidants, nor should you because that takes away from the fun. I also hear about strawberries as an example of indulgence that contributes to global harm. Has anyone ever complained to you, in the context of a world of consumerism leading to excessive transportation and global warming externalities, that "as a society, we require things like strawberries in the wintertime". So a bad rep for these fruits. But point taken, strawberries in the wintertime aren't that tasty (I think that's the point of these anti-consumerism activists, right?)

Strawberries have been in season for a few weeks already, and the season is going to stretch maybe into mid July if we're lucky. For the rest of the year, we get them from places like California. They get picked early on, ripen in trucks, and then arrive in Ontario. The species are genetically selected for size, shininess and to withstand the harsh treck diagonally across the continent. But when they're in season, they picked at their prime, ripening on the bush and letting the sugars all blossom naturally. The best strawberries are the small ones, slightly darker in colour, not shiny, but fresh because that's where all the sugar comes from. The big fat shiny ones are watery in their juices, slightly sour, and one dimensional in flavour. They're about $5 per quart (about 20 strawberries) or sometimes $6 per quart for smaller strawberries, but for smaller ones, you get more because even though it's still a quart, you can fit more strawberries in them because they're smaller and they fill more of the empty spaces. And the smaller ones are sometimes better. I've seen these smaller ones called "field strawberries" here... wondering if they're actually a different variety?

You usually should wash them before eating them because of the pesticides, but eating a few unwashed won't kill you, unless you are a bug.

On Strawberries (from wikipedia)

The strawberry is, in technical terms, an aggregate accessory fruit, meaning that the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries but from the "receptacle" that holds the ovaries. Each apparent "seed" (achene) on the outside of the fruit is actually one of the ovaries of the flower, with a seed inside it. In both culinary and botanical terms, the entire structure is considered a fruit.

The first garden strawberry was grown in France during the late 18th century. Prior to this, wild strawberries and cultivated selections from wild strawberry species were the common source for the fruit. Other names for wild strawberries include  Alpine Strawberry, Fraises des Bois, Wild Strawberry, and European Strawberry.

Day 80: Shell Peas

Shelling peas are in season now and you can get them at farmer's markets or grocery stores. They are these fat peas that you peel by hand and eat raw. This was a sort of critical point in the summer for me as a kid because that's when summer vacation started. As a kid, I used to hide in the neighbour's garden (these plant grew tall enough that a kid can effectively hide in them) and just eat and eat and eat, and throw the empty shells on the ground. The benefit was the oxygen from the mass of leaves combined with the shade, made for an escape from the summer heat. Some of them are super sweet, some of them a bit more neutral. They're a bit crunchy and the process of shelling, eating, shelling, eating... just the repetitiveness of it is meditating. It's a bit like eating edamame, but not cooked and no salt, and you eat them immediately after being picked.

I got the ones in the picture from a farmer's market, a quart of them (~50 peas in total) was $2.50 and it took me about 20 minutes to eat the whole thing because I didn't even realize I was eating them so fast until I looked back into the bag and realized it was all just empty shells. The best way to eat them (in private of course), it to crack open the shell and then dig your mouth into them and eat all of the seeds in one gulp. A close-second is to pick them out one by one. Either way, enjoy! Third best way is to collect all the seeds, and cook them then put them into salads, pasta, or whatever.

Day 79: Soft Shell Crab

Doesn't that photo look appetizing? About as appetizing as biting into a fried spider.

Unfortunately, this one was a bit old and had probably been sitting around for too long. So I'll have to try again at a later time. But the meat was tasty - tastes like sweet crab and the shell and little legs are pretty much, soft, which should have contasted with the crunchy batter had my dish been fresh. But loads of mayonnaise pretty much hides everything... oh wait, sorry it doesn't.

On Soft Shell Crabs: Soft-shell crab is a culinary term for crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft. In the United States, the main species is the "blue crab", which appears in markets from April to September. In Japan, various species are used to make sushi, including the Japanese blue crab or the shore swimming crab. In Italy, the soft-shell of the common Mediterranean crab is a delicacy typical.

Day 78: Collard Greens

Collard Greens are maybe a kid's worst dream. Green (very green), potentially brown, they're mushy, they're  bitter, and did I say it before, oh, they're green. But I had these bad boys at a show in New Orleans and they were pretty damn good. Too brown for my likes, but that comes with the steam table I guess.

I usually prefer them, though cooked with something smoked and fatty, like bacon or ham hock.

On collard greens

Collard greens are various loose-leafed vegetables, from the same family as kale, spring greens, cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro, Spain and in India. The name "collard" is a shortened form of the word "colewort" (cabbage plant).


Collard greens are a staple vegetable of Southern U.S. cuisine. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens". Typical seasonings when cooking collards can consist of smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, smoked turkey drumsticks, pork neckbones, fatback or other fatty meat).

Day 77: Cheese Mankeesh

Cheese Mankeesh: A soft bread  that bends and folds as soft as a piece of pita bread, but with a crispiness of being straight from a hot oven. It tastes a bit like a nice, buttery pizza. One of my favorite $3.99 snacks (incl tax!) on my way home from work at Paramount Middle Eastern Restaurant.

On Mankeesh (from wikipedia): Manakish, also manaqish, manaeesh or manakeesh (Arabic: manāqīsh) is a popular middle eastern food consisting of dough topped with thyme, cheese, or ground meat. Similar to a pizza, it can be sliced or folded, and it can either be served for breakfast or lunch. The word manaqish is the plural of the Arabic word manqūshah, meaning that after the dough has been rolled flat, it is pressed by the fingertips to create little dips for the topping to lie in.

Traditionally, one would bake dough in a communal oven in the morning, to provide the family with their daily bread needs, and would prepare smaller portions of dough with different toppings for breakfast at this time.

Day 76: Taylor Fladgates Late Bottle Vintage Port

One of the most incredible drinks to have at the end of a meal, that warms up the tummy, makes your head slightly fuzzy, but is nice and sweet on the tongue, and can go with cakes or creams and cuts right through that fat. Probably doesn't eliminate the fat, but at the least, makes you feel less heavy.

As the reader may know, port is a sweet dessert wine. But this bottle had an interesting mushroomyness to it. Its nice and warm on the back of the throat, and an almost instantaneous buzz as the warm fumes rise straight to your brain. At less than $20 a bottle, a real steal, especially considering in about 3 years when it gets to that magical 10 year mark, it would be double the price.

On Port:

Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Porto, and often simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine.

Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside Portugal, most notably in Australia, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, and the United States. Under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port or Porto.

Port is produced from grapes and the wine produced is then fortified by the addition of a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente in order to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content. The wine is then stored and aged, often in barrels stored in a cave before being bottled.

The wine received its name, "port", in the latter half of the 17th century from the seaport city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was brought to market or for export to other countries in Europe.

Late Bottled Vintage (this particular bottle), as the name suggests, is bottled later, remaining in wood between four and six years. This is in contrast to Vintage Port which is kept in wood for only twenty months or so before being transferred to the bottle where it will continue to age. Therefore, Late Bottle Vintage was developed as a high quality but more affordable and immediately drinkable alternative to Vintage port to be enjoyed by the glass on everyday occasions. Late Bottle Vintage is the most popular premium Port style in both England and Canada,

On Taylor Fladgate:

Taylor, Fladgate, & Yeatman (often simply Taylor Fladgate) is one of the largest port wine houses. Founded in 1692 in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal by Job Bearsley, becoming Taylor, Fladgate, & Yeatman when Joseph Taylor, John Alexander Fladgate and Morgan Yeatman formed a partnership in 1838, it is also one of the oldest. The house ships almost all types of port including vintage, tawny, ruby, late-bottled vintage, and white. The house invented the style of late-bottled vintage port. Taylor Fladgate's vintage ports are some of the most sought-after and expensive ports in the world.

Day 75: Mezzo Mondo Wine

When I look for a nice, simple, sipping wine at an amazing price, I almost always go for this one - MezzoMondo brand Negroamaro Salento. You're not going to find anything bold or loud. You may even find it a little too tanic. But for under $8 a bottle, all that doesn't even cross your mind because it's just so far off the radar.

Why do I like cheap wines? Because it plays second or third fiddle to the conversation, it's something you don't even notice - it's neither fantastic nor terrible. But THAT'S the way I likkke it baby.

On Negroamaro
Negroamaro, also Negro amaro, is a red wine grape variety native to southern Italy. It is grown almost exclusively in Puglia and particularly in Salento, the peninsula which can be visualised as the “heel” of Italy. The grape can produce wines very deep in color. Wines made from Negroamaro tend to be very rustic in character, combining perfume with an earthy bitterness.

Although 100% varietal wines are produced, Negroamaro is more commonly used as the dominant component of a blend including such varieties as Malvasia Nera, Sangiovese or Montepulciano.