It’s Not You, It’s Me

Dear Beer and Butter Tarts Readers,

There needs to be more hours in the day.

When we started this site a month ago, we were not sure it would fly. We figured a couple months of beta testing, building content and adding resource info would allow us to determine if a website dedicated to food in Canada would be a viable project.

And while we still think it’s something that someone ought to do, unfortunately, it won’t be us. At least not right now.

While I love the idea of this site, I didn’t plan on it effectively doubling my already heavy workload. But it has, and I’ve been overwhelmed, and July is the slow season in this industry. Between this site and TasteTO.com, I wrote over 30 posts last month, in addition to the editing, promotion, advertising and general administration both sites require.

Our deal when we created TasteTO was that it be all about great writing, because we really believed (and still do) that there isn’t enough great (good, even) writing about food in Toronto, especially online. But great writing requires time to make it so. It requires care and attention. And I’d rather run one site with great writing as opposed to two sites where my own writing (and editing) is half-assed because I’m too busy and stressed.

So this will be the last post here on Beer and Butter Tarts for now. We’ll leave the past content up, but there will be no new posts.

The good news is that the wonderful writers we’ve already brought on will be joining us at TasteTO. Watch for their work to start appearing there in September. And the Food For Thought column that migrated here from TasteTO will move to my personal food blog Save Your Fork. I hope you’ll stop by to check it out – I love putting together that daily round-up of food news.

So from Greg and myself, many thanks for stopping by and reading, and for your support. If there were more hours in the day, or if I could clone myself, we’d be good to go, but we tried to do too much and just couldn’t manage it.

Warm Regards,
Sheryl

Wild Summer Rosé

Stratus Vineyards in Niagara-the-Lake, Ontario generates conversation. I’ve heard devoted fanatics rave about the quality of wine produced in their LEED-certified winery, and I’ve heard mocking remarks about assemblage in purposely horrific French accents. Horrific French accents are always funny, but Stratus’s assemblage-style wines are a great example of what the Niagara region can produce. Their winemaker, J-L Groux, strives for a true expression of the land through carefully assembling wines made from each grape from their vineyards in a particular year. He typically produces only two signature wines each vintage – Stratus White and Stratus Red – that he believes shows off the best characteristics of the vintage.

Wildass is Stratus’s second label. While Stratus wines fall into the 30-50 dollar range, Wildass wines are approachable to the average consumer with modest wine budgets. The wines are under 20 bucks, and highly rated. Mostly limited to local restaurants, some are released to the LCBO and a limited number are available online.

Food For Thought – Friday, July 31st

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• The official Earl of Sandwich (a direct descendant of the guy who thought to put meat and bread together) owns a chain of sandwich shops in the US under the Earl of Sandwich name. Now expanding to the UK, he’s started legal proceedings against an independent Aberdeen shop called, guess! – the Earl of Sandwich – to cease and desist using the name, even though the Aberdeen shop predates the US chain.
• “What am I doing with that pickle?” Eric Ripert discusses the perfect hamburger, and wait until you see where he got his inspiration.
• Who will defend Bud Light? President Obama got flack for choosing a very pedestrian (and not especially flavourful) beer for the beer summit. Nobody will admit to liking the stuff yet it’s the US’s top-selling brew.
• We’ll let it slide once, but if they bring a coupon, go to the restroom and climb out the window to get away. Is it cool to go to a chain restaurant on a (first) date?
• I adore designer Isaac Mizrahi, and I love that he’s made great strides in bringing affordable fashion to the masses, but a QVC show in which he sells cheesecakes and petit fours? Could be a dud, or utterly and completely awesome.
• Would you eat at a restaurant where the staff is treated poorly?
• And finally… Snake ‘N’ Bacon.

The Savvy Shopper – The Lies on Your Yogurt Container

There has never been any debate that yogurt is a healthy food. Yogurt adds calcium and protein to the diet; can positively affect other health issues such as cholesterol, immunity and colon health; and is easier to digest than milk. Plain yogurt contains live bacteria that can regulate digestive issues and restore balance to a system thrown off by things like yeast infections or antibiotics.

These good bacteria are known as probiotics, and occur naturally in plain yogurt made with live bacteria. However, once you get into sweetened or flavoured yogurt of any kind, the processing and sugars kill off the live bacteria and the nutritional benefit is thought to be negligible.

Because food companies are always working to keep and increase their market share, and because our society seems to work on the theory that if a little of something can be helpful then a lot of something must be really, really great, processed foods have been popping up on the shelves of the dairy case touting the inclusion of pro and pre biotic bacteria.

The problem is – no one seems to have any proof that the added probiotics are doing anything.  In California, a lawsuit has been launched against yogurt maker Dannon (Danone in Canada):

The lawsuit contends Dannon’s own studies failed to support its advertised claims that its Activia, Activia Lite and DanActive were “clinically” and “scientifically” “proven” to have health benefits that other yogurts did not.

Food For Thought – Thursday, July 30th

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• Yeah, yeah, we know – organic food is not any healthier than conventional. That’s no reason to stop eating it, though.
• Here’s what’s “smart” – reading the nutritional info, instead of believing that because there’s a green check mark on the box that it’s good for you.
• Remember when you were a kid and corn tasted like, well, corn? What’s with all this sweet mushy stuff? A restaurant in San Francisco has pulled sweet corn off its menu, saying that the sweet hybrids overpower all the other flavours in a dish.
• I’ve been coveting the lamb’s quarters in my neighbour’s yard, and have been known to swipe mulberries from a tree overhanging the sidewalk. Turns out I’m not alone – urban foraging is hip.
• Hey cops, want donuts? Apparently cops in Queens do, and they have no intention of paying for them.
• Would making chocolate bars smaller help fight obesity? Note that this piece is from the UK, where they don’t really celebrate Halloween with the bag o’ trick or treating junk, so maybe they have no concept of sitting down with 3 or 4 mini chocolate bars to make up the equivalent of a full size one.
• Okay – enough with the bacon already!! Bacon gumballs might just be the last straw.

Rocket Science: What Makes Wild Arugula “Wild”?

“I suspect I spend more on peppery, horseradishy rocket than I do on shoes,” writes Jill Dupleix by way of introduction to the Beans and Wilted Rocket recipe in her cookbook Totally Simple Food.

Jill is my kind of girl.

I’ve always eaten my leafy greens; not once did I turn up my nose at spinach as a child, and my repertoire of favourites has only steadily expanded since to include the likes of sorrel, beet tops, chard, cress, collards, and kale. Of late my taste has veered towards the bolder greens, and I delight in their explosive effect on the palate — the bitter tang of dandelions, the spicy heat of mustard greens, the acidic bite of rapini. But perhaps most wonderful of all is arugula (also known as rocket), with its sharp pungency that leaves a lingering tingle on the tongue. On a recent market visit, with visions of arugula salad dancing in my head, I stopped at the greens stall to stock up and noted signs tacked above separate piles: “Wild Arugula” and, simply, “Arugula.” Curious, I bought a bunch of each and headed home to taste-test and do a bit of research.

Food For Thought – Wednesday, July 29th

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• The rising protest by Canadians about our lack of inclusion in the upcoming Coco book of emerging chefs has made it to foreign shores.
• Can we change food policy by shopping at the farmers’ market or do we need to be out there doing more to influence our politicians?
• Padma Lakshmi isn’t leaving Top Chef to star in her new sit-com. Apparently TV Guide reports that she’ll be doing both.
• Fans of the TV series True Blood will soon be able to buy their own Tru- Blood bottled beverage, flavoured with blood orange. Wonder what the mark-up will be at Goth bars?
• The moon is not made of cheese and neither is Neil Armstrong. A sculpture of the astronaut – made of Wisconsin cheddar – melted recently when the AC at the Neil Armstrong Air and Space museum went on the fritz.
• Not just for food bloggers – photographing everything you eat can help towards keeping track of calories. And having to photograph that plate of second helpings can be a good arguments against taking it in the first place.
• And finally, just because it’s adorable – panda cake.

BBQ Who?

Saturday August 1st is the 6th annual World’s Longest Barbecue.

Created in 2003 to support Canadian Beef Farmers during the mad cow crisis when countries all over the world shut their doors to Canadian beef, the premise is that all Canadians should all go out to their backyards at the same time on August 1st, and put some beef on the Q.

Which is nice… and patriotic. But, well, there are some issues.

First, not all of us have backyards or barbecues. Many city dwellers, especially those in high rises, don’t own a bbq. We either do not have a balcony, or condo rules prohibit us from grilling stuff there because it can bother other people in the building. Q-less city dwellers could find some friends with a back yard, I suppose, or go out to eat a burger, but mostly the event leaves us out.

Food For Thought – Tuesday, July 28th

Here’s some food for thought for today…

• They’re officially done! Chefs can go back to real shoes that actually protect their feet in the kitchen. Buh-bye Crocs.
• Jay Rayner shares his thoughts on food bloggers and restaurant critics.
• No, it’s not just here in Ontario where we censor booze labels – based on a classic ad from the late 19th century, the wine label for Cycle Gladiator wine from California has gotten the product banned in Alabama. The fuss? A naked nymph.
• Could it be a conspiracy theory? With constant reports about how Americans need to make a lifestyle change to the fight the fat, and how obesity is costing the health care system billions, think about who is profiting from our collective girth. Weight loss businesses, sure, but maybe the chain restaurants also have a vested interest in our continued appetites.
• A common blue food dye seems to be having a positive effect in studies of people with spinal cord injuries.
• When your dinner is a entry rather than a entrée – is Top Chef ruining restaurant food?
• Aaannndd.. it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a porn parody of Hell’s Kitchen.

Preservation Culture

By Porsha Perreault

You could say that I have an affinity for the art of preservation, but the words come too lightly to convey how much I enjoy this arcane practice.

According to the news media, sales in the canning sector (who knew it had its own sector?) increased by almost 25% over last year. The article extrapolates this jump to be connected to the local food movement, but if anything, it probably has more to do with the recession. Buying up produce while it’s in season (thus, relatively cheap) and then preserving it was a method commonplace among the octogenarian set back in the day, and is slowly but surely regaining ground. Preservation is a basic, primitive form of guaranteeing a local diet, too. If you’re not keen on foregoing your favourite fruits and vegetables over the long winter, you find a way to preserve them somehow (canned, dried, jammed, etc.) so that you can enjoy them year round.