Yesterday one of the chickens died, I am not sure what happened but it was very dead by the afternoon. I am going to ask Malcolm what may have happened and why when he gets back from Nova Scotia.
I am wondering what to do with the chickens in any case, they are closing in on three years old and production is way down. I would like to build a new enclosure, the last two and a half years have shown me what I did right and what I should do differently. I am also thinking of building it with two connected but separate enclosures so that I can add new chickens over time to my flock and I do not to start all new. I would like to be able to try some different types of chickens when I get more.
I would like to move my flock up to eight to ten chickens. Given the amount of baking we do and all the eggs I need to clarify stock, we need to have more chickens.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sous-vide Salmon
On Saturday I went to dinner at ulla and I was very impressed with the sous-vide chicken roll they had. Sous-vide is not a cooking technique I have personally had much experience, I am not sure I have ever eaten anything sous-vide before. I have seen the technique used on programs like Iron Chef America, but really no personal experience. So what did I do? I decide to sous-vide, how hard could it be?
Last night I decided to sous-vide some fresh sockeye a friend drop off on the door step (this year my freezer is more than full but if I could I would get 20-30 sockeye and freeze them, but I really need a second freezer to do that). I filleted the fish - my skills are no longer what they once were. When I lived in Lillooet I would process between 20 and 40 salmon a year and I got fairly decent at cutting off decent fillets. I also made some steaks that I am going to through on the BBQ tonight.
Four of the fillets went to make graavilõhe (also know as gravlax). I used to make a lot of this from spring salmon in Lillooet. The bigger fillets made cutting slices so much easier.
Two of the fillets looked like perfect portions for one person for dinner and I thought about the preparation and quickly decided to try sous-vide. I do not have an immersion ciculator so I had to cook the salmon in ziplock bags and a pot of hot water.
I seasoned each fillet, covered them with thin slices of onion and put them in the ziplock bags. I added about a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to each bag. I removed as much of the air as I could from the bags, not enough and next time I will use a straw to remove more.
I put on an eight litre pot of water on the stove and aimed for 114-120 degrees Fahrenheit. I easily reached it and the water rose up to 135. I let it cool down to about 120 before putting the fish in. I added a bunch of canning rings to the bottom of the pot to make sure the salmon could not touch the bottom of the pot. I was also using a stick blender to circulate the water from time to time to ensure a consistent temperature.
I only needed to have the element at the lowest setting to keep the temperature consistent.
I cooked the salmon for just under 20 minutes at 116-117 degrees. I kept the temp within one degree for the whole time which was actually not hard to do. The air in the bags did make them want to rise and I needed to put a coffee mug on them to keep them under water.
The salmon that came out was amazingly delicate and perfectly cooked. I had no idea I could make a piece of salmon that good in my kitchen. The onion added a perfect light bite. The flesh of the salmon was tender but firm, no mushiness. Wow is all I can say to it all.
We had rice with the salmon which had been cooked in a stock I had made from the salmon bones and head. For the veg I made lemony almost Chinese style braised pepper and zucchini dish, the acid from this dish balanced nicely with the rest of the meal.
I was impressed with the sous-vide method and I will be trying it again sometime soon.
(not pics because we still have no camera, outs was stolen in Manning Park about a month ago)
Last night I decided to sous-vide some fresh sockeye a friend drop off on the door step (this year my freezer is more than full but if I could I would get 20-30 sockeye and freeze them, but I really need a second freezer to do that). I filleted the fish - my skills are no longer what they once were. When I lived in Lillooet I would process between 20 and 40 salmon a year and I got fairly decent at cutting off decent fillets. I also made some steaks that I am going to through on the BBQ tonight.
Four of the fillets went to make graavilõhe (also know as gravlax). I used to make a lot of this from spring salmon in Lillooet. The bigger fillets made cutting slices so much easier.
Two of the fillets looked like perfect portions for one person for dinner and I thought about the preparation and quickly decided to try sous-vide. I do not have an immersion ciculator so I had to cook the salmon in ziplock bags and a pot of hot water.
I seasoned each fillet, covered them with thin slices of onion and put them in the ziplock bags. I added about a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to each bag. I removed as much of the air as I could from the bags, not enough and next time I will use a straw to remove more.
I put on an eight litre pot of water on the stove and aimed for 114-120 degrees Fahrenheit. I easily reached it and the water rose up to 135. I let it cool down to about 120 before putting the fish in. I added a bunch of canning rings to the bottom of the pot to make sure the salmon could not touch the bottom of the pot. I was also using a stick blender to circulate the water from time to time to ensure a consistent temperature.
I only needed to have the element at the lowest setting to keep the temperature consistent.
I cooked the salmon for just under 20 minutes at 116-117 degrees. I kept the temp within one degree for the whole time which was actually not hard to do. The air in the bags did make them want to rise and I needed to put a coffee mug on them to keep them under water.
The salmon that came out was amazingly delicate and perfectly cooked. I had no idea I could make a piece of salmon that good in my kitchen. The onion added a perfect light bite. The flesh of the salmon was tender but firm, no mushiness. Wow is all I can say to it all.
We had rice with the salmon which had been cooked in a stock I had made from the salmon bones and head. For the veg I made lemony almost Chinese style braised pepper and zucchini dish, the acid from this dish balanced nicely with the rest of the meal.
I was impressed with the sous-vide method and I will be trying it again sometime soon.
(not pics because we still have no camera, outs was stolen in Manning Park about a month ago)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Dinner at ulla
We went to dinner at ulla on Saturday night with Ross and Jennifer. We had all been interested in trying this new restaurant. I also wanted to take Sheila back to the site of our first date for our third anniversary, which was at 509 Fisguard but a different restaurant.
Coming into the space, the restaurant feels open and spacious and not formal, I would feel comfortable dining wearing jeans, t-shirt and sandals though we had dressed up for dinner. Take a look on their facebook page for pictures of the space. Overall the restaurant reminds me a lot of Poppy in Seattle for decor, service and the type of food, though the style of how it is served is different.
The service was attentive and friendly but not over bearing. The waitress knew what she has talking about.
The menu was short, only six appetizers, six mains and two deserts. I actually like seeing a short menu because it means the chef is thinking about what is realistic to deal with for ingredients and to cook. The menu also changes consistently as the source of currently fresh food changes.
What is the style of the food? I think it would be best described as modern fresh chef inspired. The chef makes use of ingredients that are all basically all sourced locally. He also makes use of one technique that I have not seen in use anywhere else in town, sous-vide. It is a way to gently cook food at a consistent temperature by placing the food in sealed plastic bag that are immersed in a water bath to cook. I want to be able to try this at home, but we do not have the equipment needed to do it well. This is the first indication that this is food I can not do at home.
We deliberately all ordered different starters and mains to make sure we might be able to try a tasting from everyone on the table. These guys would do well to do a tasting menu or something almost tapas like. I think they might want to consider Poppy's thali idea. The menu is short but I really wanted to try three or four starters and mains.
The best way to described what arrived the table was works of visual art on the plates. The rectangular white plates really come across as canvasses with the food the painting. I have seen elegant plating, I have seen pretentious plating and I have seen the boring and bland. I have never seen a chef that plates as if he was a painter.
In the ordering, I seemed to the person that chose the weakest dishes. My starter was a beef tartar. People that know me know I am a bit of a freak for raw beef dishes. I have had the classic beef tartar numerous times over the years with the whole table side preparation. The most interesting one was at Hy's in Vancouver, this is the classic dark panel steakhouse with a waiter serving the dish table side working with a large dark wooden blow. What I got was a something that reminded me of the current trendy raw meat mixed with peppers and other bits all formed into a puck with a ring mold. It came with creme fraiche and potato chips. It was decent enough, but not world shatteringly good.
Seems the tuna tataki that Shiela and Jennifer shared was earth shatteringly good. Ross's pea soup looked and smelled prefect, it was my second choice for a starter.
For the main I had the salmon and prawns with quinoa. The quinoa and veg were wonderful, when I have had quinoa in the past it has felt like a chore but should be eaten because it is good for you. The prawns were perfectly done. The salmon..... it was a little overdone, it was a little dry, it was not the best I have had.
Sheila has this rolled chicken thing with a smoked chicken leg. I had some of each meat and it was perfect, done in a way I could only dream of achieving.
Ross had the shortrib and the beef was cooked to perfection. He also had these amazing cauliflower mash tortellini. Jennifer had the lamb - once again perfectly cooked - and it came with what are the best gnocchi going in this city, maybe on the westcoast.
I had the sous-vide rhubarb on a dacquoise with a yogurt ice cream. Well done and I enjoyed it, the rhubarb was a quite unique texture from the cooking process and very nicely tart. The others all had the chocolate desert which I can not remember what it was.
So what does it cost? $9-12 for the starters and $22-25 for the main and $9 for the desert.
The food here is much better than I could do at home, it is worth the money. It also shows me that the food scene in Victoria is continuing on an upward trend. A place like ulla will set a new and higher standard for everyone else, which I think is a good thing.
Coming into the space, the restaurant feels open and spacious and not formal, I would feel comfortable dining wearing jeans, t-shirt and sandals though we had dressed up for dinner. Take a look on their facebook page for pictures of the space. Overall the restaurant reminds me a lot of Poppy in Seattle for decor, service and the type of food, though the style of how it is served is different.
The service was attentive and friendly but not over bearing. The waitress knew what she has talking about.
The menu was short, only six appetizers, six mains and two deserts. I actually like seeing a short menu because it means the chef is thinking about what is realistic to deal with for ingredients and to cook. The menu also changes consistently as the source of currently fresh food changes.
What is the style of the food? I think it would be best described as modern fresh chef inspired. The chef makes use of ingredients that are all basically all sourced locally. He also makes use of one technique that I have not seen in use anywhere else in town, sous-vide. It is a way to gently cook food at a consistent temperature by placing the food in sealed plastic bag that are immersed in a water bath to cook. I want to be able to try this at home, but we do not have the equipment needed to do it well. This is the first indication that this is food I can not do at home.
We deliberately all ordered different starters and mains to make sure we might be able to try a tasting from everyone on the table. These guys would do well to do a tasting menu or something almost tapas like. I think they might want to consider Poppy's thali idea. The menu is short but I really wanted to try three or four starters and mains.
The best way to described what arrived the table was works of visual art on the plates. The rectangular white plates really come across as canvasses with the food the painting. I have seen elegant plating, I have seen pretentious plating and I have seen the boring and bland. I have never seen a chef that plates as if he was a painter.
In the ordering, I seemed to the person that chose the weakest dishes. My starter was a beef tartar. People that know me know I am a bit of a freak for raw beef dishes. I have had the classic beef tartar numerous times over the years with the whole table side preparation. The most interesting one was at Hy's in Vancouver, this is the classic dark panel steakhouse with a waiter serving the dish table side working with a large dark wooden blow. What I got was a something that reminded me of the current trendy raw meat mixed with peppers and other bits all formed into a puck with a ring mold. It came with creme fraiche and potato chips. It was decent enough, but not world shatteringly good.
Seems the tuna tataki that Shiela and Jennifer shared was earth shatteringly good. Ross's pea soup looked and smelled prefect, it was my second choice for a starter.
For the main I had the salmon and prawns with quinoa. The quinoa and veg were wonderful, when I have had quinoa in the past it has felt like a chore but should be eaten because it is good for you. The prawns were perfectly done. The salmon..... it was a little overdone, it was a little dry, it was not the best I have had.
Sheila has this rolled chicken thing with a smoked chicken leg. I had some of each meat and it was perfect, done in a way I could only dream of achieving.
Ross had the shortrib and the beef was cooked to perfection. He also had these amazing cauliflower mash tortellini. Jennifer had the lamb - once again perfectly cooked - and it came with what are the best gnocchi going in this city, maybe on the westcoast.
I had the sous-vide rhubarb on a dacquoise with a yogurt ice cream. Well done and I enjoyed it, the rhubarb was a quite unique texture from the cooking process and very nicely tart. The others all had the chocolate desert which I can not remember what it was.
So what does it cost? $9-12 for the starters and $22-25 for the main and $9 for the desert.
The food here is much better than I could do at home, it is worth the money. It also shows me that the food scene in Victoria is continuing on an upward trend. A place like ulla will set a new and higher standard for everyone else, which I think is a good thing.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Red Fish, Blue Fish
I was volunteering at the Dragonboat Festival all weekend and therefore had a chance to go to Red Fish, Blue Fish. I love their tacones but so rarely get a chance to go down there and buy them. I got two of the chipotle shrimp tacones for dinner on Saturday.
The shrimp we well cooked and not little rubber balls, the chipotle mayo dressing was enough to give it a bit of heat, but not enough to overwhelm. The pickled onions are a nice addition. The price is quite reasonable, they could charge 20% more and not see a drop in business. It is $10 for two of the tacones, though they leave off the HST.
I love the fact that they use an old shipping container for their restaurant. They have a new seating area at the end of the dock against the rock bluff, this was not there the last time I had eaten her which was in the summer of 2009.
The shrimp we well cooked and not little rubber balls, the chipotle mayo dressing was enough to give it a bit of heat, but not enough to overwhelm. The pickled onions are a nice addition. The price is quite reasonable, they could charge 20% more and not see a drop in business. It is $10 for two of the tacones, though they leave off the HST.
I love the fact that they use an old shipping container for their restaurant. They have a new seating area at the end of the dock against the rock bluff, this was not there the last time I had eaten her which was in the summer of 2009.
ulla
On Saturday Sheila and I will be going to dinner with some friends at ulla on Fisgard. The reviews seem to be very good so I am hoping for a decent experience, more details on Sunday about the meal. You can see that the votes on the Urbanspoon badge below is quite high.
The menu is westcoast modern that changes based on what is fresh and available.
Mat Wright has a good review of the restaurant on Vibrant Victoria. You can see some pics on their facebook page.
The Little Piggy also has a good review and she was there on opening night.
The restaurant is in the space where Tamami Sushi was, which is where I took Sheila for her 33 birthday and our first formal date out. I will be paying attention to see if Sheila remembers this was the location.
ps - only moments later Sheila came down and I showed her the pictures from facebook and she immediately recognized as the place of our first serious date.
The menu is westcoast modern that changes based on what is fresh and available.
Mat Wright has a good review of the restaurant on Vibrant Victoria. You can see some pics on their facebook page.
The Little Piggy also has a good review and she was there on opening night.
The restaurant is in the space where Tamami Sushi was, which is where I took Sheila for her 33 birthday and our first formal date out. I will be paying attention to see if Sheila remembers this was the location.
ps - only moments later Sheila came down and I showed her the pictures from facebook and she immediately recognized as the place of our first serious date.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Ramadan
I met up with my friend Terry at Pizza Allnite for dinner last night, I thought Terry would like a chance to try some good food from Afghanistan and connect with one of the local people from Kabul. What Terry noted in his conversation with the owner is that it was Ramadan. During Ramadan you can not eat or drink anything during daylight hours and this obviously is not easy when you run a restaurant.
This year Ramadan is from August 11th to September 9th, next year it will be August 1st to the 29th. Ramadan shifts in the calendar each year and is moving closer and closer to the longest day of the year for the northern hemisphere, in 2015 the summer solstice will be during Ramadan.
In the middle east the length of the day is moderately consistent all year long, as short as ten hours to as long as 14 hours depending on where you are. In Victoria at the moment we have 14 and half hours of daylight. Our longest day is 16 hours and 10 minutes long, a very long day during Ramadan in 2015. This is long, but not impossible, what happens if you are living north of 60 degrees? At that point the longest day is 19 hours long or longer. I have no idea what a Muslim in Yellowknife will do in 2015, and there is a community there.
Pizza Allnite is one of about 20 local businesses that sponsor a Ramadan and prayer calendar so that people know the exact times they can eat and when they should be praying.
This year Ramadan is from August 11th to September 9th, next year it will be August 1st to the 29th. Ramadan shifts in the calendar each year and is moving closer and closer to the longest day of the year for the northern hemisphere, in 2015 the summer solstice will be during Ramadan.
In the middle east the length of the day is moderately consistent all year long, as short as ten hours to as long as 14 hours depending on where you are. In Victoria at the moment we have 14 and half hours of daylight. Our longest day is 16 hours and 10 minutes long, a very long day during Ramadan in 2015. This is long, but not impossible, what happens if you are living north of 60 degrees? At that point the longest day is 19 hours long or longer. I have no idea what a Muslim in Yellowknife will do in 2015, and there is a community there.
Pizza Allnite is one of about 20 local businesses that sponsor a Ramadan and prayer calendar so that people know the exact times they can eat and when they should be praying.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Off to Pizza Allnite for dinner
I am going to meet Terry Glavin at Pizza Allnite for some dinner at 5:30. It will be interesting to see what he thinks of the food given all the time he has been spending in Afghanistan.
It is through Terry that I have been gaining insight into what Afghanistan is like as a country and the very fact that even though there are numerous ethnic groups, there is a sense of an Afghan nationality.
It is through Terry that I have been gaining insight into what Afghanistan is like as a country and the very fact that even though there are numerous ethnic groups, there is a sense of an Afghan nationality.
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