Who would ever think of innocent looking gummi bears as incendiary material. Apparently, mixed with molten potassium chlorate, just one red gummi bear can cause a rather violent reaction.

Here's an explanation from a teaching resource, originating from Queen's University's teachers' college.

Potassium chlorate (KClO3) is a powerful oxidizer, used in matches and fireworks. Sucrose is an easy-to-oxidize energy source. Candy is composed primarily of sucrose.

Here is the chemical equation for the reaction: 2KClO3(s) ?> 2KCl(s) + 3O2(g)

BTW, did anyone else notice the bottles of other chemicals littered around the lab bench? If you're prepping a demo of a violent reaction, shouldn't you clear the area around your setup as a precaution?

Sometime during the fall, a friend and colleague threw a party to bid farewell to the house he designed and built himself. He had just put the property on the market and decided to invite friends and co-workers over to admire his handiwork.

The approximately 2200 square foot bungalow with custom baths, a spacious kitchen, solid wood cabinetry, and laminate hardwood floors is located in Cornwall, Ontario. Personally, my main draw was my friend's custom built barbecue enclosure. It weather proofed his barbecue from rain, wind, snow, and sleet, permitting him ready access to a propane grill year round. I had heard so much about the enclosure that I had to see it before the property sold.

Since this was the first time my better half and I ventured into Cornwall, we volunteered to drive down with my colleague to setup for the party. On the way, we stopped by a cheese co-op to purchase curds for the party and had lunch at Shoeless Joe's.

St. Albert Cheese Co-operative Inc.
According to its website, the St-Albert Cheese Co-operative Inc. (aka: St-Albert Co-operative Cheese Manufacturing Association) is located in the Casselman region (just a few kilometers from Ottawa) and represents approximately 50 producers. It employs approximately 60 people and has been producing quality cheese for over 100 years with 100% pure milk.

There, I purchased a package of pre-sliced old (fort) cheddar from St. Albert's dairy bar.

100% Milk Old Cheddar

At $4.78, quite the bargain

Nutritional Information
Originally, I intended the cheddar to make a baked macaroni and cheese. However, after I sampled a slice, its strong sharp cheddar flavor - tangy, slightly salty, and smooth - made me reconsider. I ate the rest of the cheese over the period of a week with whole grain crackers. It has to be the best cheddar I have ever sampled.

Shoeless Joe's
When we arrived in Cornwall, we had lunch at Shoeless Joe's. Shoeless Joe's is a chain sports-oriented restaurant with well over a dozen establishments throughout Ontario. According to my colleague, the Shoeless Joe's in Cornwall had newly opened. My better half and I, however, were quite familiar with Shoeless Joe's pub fare and menu. You see, we often frequented the Kingston establishment while she schooled at Queen's. We are particularly fond of Shoeless Joe's freshly made lattice fries and garlic dip.

Here are pictures of our orders:

Fish and Chips w/Garlic Dip ($12.45)

Pulled Pork Sandwich w/Lattice Fries($10.68)

San Diego Chicken Wrap w/Lattice Fries($9.95)

Personally, I ordered the San Diego Chicken Wrap. With its fresh vegetables, soft tortilla, and slices of crisp seasoned breaded chicken, I had a good lunch. The wrap must have been made to order because wraps made with slices of freshly fried chicken quickly go soggy with the moisture from the vegetables and sauce (typically mayonnaise or ranch dressing).

Total cost for 2 platters of fish and chips with garlic dip, 1 pulled pork sandwich with lattice fries, 1 chicken wrap with lattice fries and 3 drinks: $63.58 (before tip, after taxes).

Oh and here are pics of my colleague's barbecue enclosure. It was made with several sheets of plexi glass, pressure treated lumber, and a composite material that fits snugly around the pressure treated lumber:

Barbecue Enclosure

Composite Material
Cheers to my colleague for coming up with this solution. If I ever get the opportunity, I plan on plagiarizing the design :)

Particulars:
St-Albert Co-operative Inc.
150 St-Paul Street,
St-Albert Village
(613)987-2872

Shoeless Joe's
1110 Brookdale Avenue,
Cornwall
(613)937-4838

On December 16, 2007, approximately 37 centimeters of snow fell on Canada's capital, breaking records and causing havoc for just about everyone. The snowy onslaught forced snow removal services to work overnight. Flights were canceled. Even trains were delayed. According to CBC, the OPP reported over 400 collisions.

Besides high winds causing whiteout conditions, the temperature stayed well below zero, so snow quickly accumulated. How does a foodie cope with such conditions? If you're my former colleague, Jack, you put the snow to good use and make a digital Christmas card. Besides being one of Ottawa's foremost data analysts, Jack is a beer aficionado. His make-shift "beer tree" is studded with 3 Beck?s Beer, 2 Lowenbrau, and a can of Stella Artois.

I "borrowed" the idea on Christmas day to chill pop for Christmas dinner. Cheers to Jack. By re-locating 1 L bottles of pop to my balcony, I cleared enough space in my fridge to stash the trays of thinly sliced beef, pork, and chicken that made up this year's annual Asian fondue (Mongolian Hot Pot). The drinks were nicely chilled by supper time.

When dosing out the extra virgin olive oil (evoo to Rachael Ray fans) or the sesame seed oil, I am always careful not to spill a precious drop. Both oils are unrefined and have strong flavours. Both oils tend to be expensive. To this end, I have been eying one of those metal tipped oil dispensers with the ceramic bottles. Does it prevent light from oxidizing the oil? Yes. Does it allow two of my favourite finishing ingredients to be easily accessible? Yes. Does it prevent drips? Not really. Even with the thin metal spout, there's gonna be drip-page.

Enter the dripless bottle from behance.net's Noro portfolio. Noro is located in Barcelona, Spain and specializes in design (industrial and otherwise), photography, graffiti, arts, and writing. I am currently somewhat confused as to whether or not Noro is one person or multiple people. Whatever the case, Noro's dripless bottle is a simple and elegant design. With its concentric lips, should the dispensing lip drip, droplets will simply fall onto the secondary lip and flow back into the bottle. The bottle retains its standard shape and functionality.

Unfortunately, according to posters at Digg.com, the design may not be original. The Danish designer, Eva Solo, seems to have come up with the same design in 2002. Hers employed a rubber stopper. It was awarded multiple awards, including Form 2002, Design Plus 2003, and Red Dot 2003.

As a member of the generation that schooled when the World Wide Web exploded, I have kept alive the tradition of keeping an archive of some of the more remarkable images I come across. Of course, back in the days when dial-up was the only way onto the Internet, connectivity was problematic, so saving copies of the images you liked meant that you didn't have to depend on somewhat finicky telephone connections to go online. At the same time, bandwidth was expensive, so you were never sure you would see the same image again.

Here are 4 images from my archive of "odd food-related stuff":

Ultimate Big Burger

Really Big Salmon Nigiri Sushi

Kneeling at the Throne

Sexy Chick

I've long since lost where these pictures came. They are in no way mine.

The markings, on the other hand, are the result of my toying with an uploader and my needing "test subjects."

I never thought I'd live to see the day that someone would wax poetic or philosophical about butter. Leave it to unoriginal marketing (borrowing name-brand recognition) and a mischievous grocery clerk to put together the "three philosophies" of butter: faith, reason, and hope. Of course, the products displayed aren't even butter, but that's another issue.

Please note that the image was originally captured by Elysse Sewell, who posted the it on LiveJournal. The caption "Faith. Reason. Hope" comes from Adam Conover of tweebiscuit.net.

For another buttery post, follow the link.

More images of unbelievable-ness:

Unbelievable Indeed!
Source: divinecaroline.com


I Want to Believe
Source: holytaco.com

I caught this pic on digg.com a couple days ago. It originated in Australia, but has garnered over 5000 "diggs" during the past 5 days.

For a Canadian point of view, according to torontogasprices.com, as of 10:28 am, the cheapest gas in the GTA (greater Toronto area) can be purchased from the Gas Star gas station that is located at the corner of Danforth Avenue and Madelaine. The cost: 99.5 cents/L. This translates into approx. $1.24 for 1.25 L.

A 1.25 L bottle of coke retails for $1.50 before taxes at the corner store in my building, so we are not currently at par. However, please bear in mind that gas did rise well above a dollar this past summer.

For a truly Canadian measure, perhaps someone should figure out how much 1 L of maple syrup costs vis-a-vis 1L of regular unleaded gasoline. :)

My manager forwarded me an e-mail entitled "This is what happens when chefs get bored." It contained a whimsical collection of extremely innovative ways of serving fruits and vegetables. I don't think I'll be looking at either the same way again.

Judging from the file numbers, the images look to be a subset of a much larger picture collection. Several of the images are watermarked with the words "dog food." Anyone have a source?

Anyhow, here is a sample:

bok choy fish

green pepper frogs

eggplant penguins

The rest follows...

More after the jump...

Wired.com? Food? Really? I kid you not!

The image is of foodstuffs seized over a 48 hour period from passengers arriving at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. It is part of a slide-show entitled "America's Best Kept Secrets."

Among the items pictured are African yams, fresh eggs, and okra.

The photo was taken by photographer Taryn Simon.

It seems that two controversies have emerged today in two different countries with distinctly different culinary traditions.

Firstly, according to yahoo.com, sausage lovers in Switzerland have to contend with the potential loss of the "Cervelat" sausage by the end of the year. This is because a key ingredient is now in short supply.

According to wikipedia, cervelat (also known as Zervelat or Servelat), originated in German and Swiss tradition. Like the German variety, swiss cervelat once contained brain. Today, it is made with 10 parts minced beef, bacon, and pork rind and 8 parts ice. It is lightly smoked and boiled.

Approximately 7 million Swiss consume 160 million cervelats during a given year. Unfortunately, stocks of cervelats' traditional casings, cows' intestines, may run out in the wake of the European Union applying restrictions on the import of cow intestines from Brazil because of fears over mad cow disease (BSE). Alternative sources are being sought from Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

Secondly, according to various news reports, one of China's oldest restaurants chains that specializes in roast duck, Quanjude, is planning to switch from wood to electric ovens to prepare its signature dish. Reportedly, the new ovens employ German-developed computer technology to prepare roast duck, supplanting the traditional method of hand turning ducks in a wood-fired oven. This has infuriated customers who are already upset by Quanjude changing its English name to "Quanjude Peking Roast Duck - Since 1864." Their fear: Quanjude becoming the next McDonald's.

According to yahoo.com and wikipedia, Quanjude dates back to 1864 during the Qing Dynasty. It established a tradition of preparing roast duck using open ovens and hardwood fuels such as date, peach, and pear to impart a fruity flavor. Currently Quanjude serves approximately 2 million roast ducks in 400 different styles to over 5 million customers annually. Quanjude has sold well over 150 million roast ducks since its founding.

Recently, Chef Heston Blumenthal visited Quanjude during his visit to China to learn how to make Peking Duck. His visit was televised in a segment of Chef Blumenthal's cooking show, "In Search of Perfection." In the segment, he tucked into the restaurant's 150 390 636'th duck.

Ironically, I came by this news story the same time I found a new recipe for Chinese roast duck. It too mentions Quanjude, but its recipe is designed for the home cook.

Until around noon this afternoon, I was completely unaware that the Ottawa Citizen, a local newspaper, published an annual dining guide. It is written by Anne DesBrisay, a 15 year veteran restaurant critic of the newspaper. According to her slightly abridged profile on the canada.com website, she is a graduate of the LaVarenne culinary school, which is situated in Paris, France. She is also the author of Capital Dining and has been publishing her annual dining guide since May 2004.

In Capital Dining, Anne reviews 150 restaurants located in the national capital region. Part 1 of the 2008 Dining Guide includes slightly less restaurants. The guide covers both ethnic and domestic cuisines.

I enjoy reading dining guides because I get to compare notes for restaurants that I've visited, my being a lowly foodie and Ms. DesBrisay being a classically trained and experienced critic. Besides, any insight into the service, menu, or workings of a restaurant tends to be valuable when you're in search of your next culinary outing.

Go have a look!

Like a lot of other foodies, I have a soft spot in my heart for sandwiches. From deli classics, like dagwoods, reubens, turkey and ham clubs, monte cristos, and muffulettas, to exotic Vietnamese Bahn Mi's, I've never met a sandwich that I didn't like. I adore freshly baked crusty loaves, carefully chosen cold cuts, savory cheeses, crisp vegetables, and conservatively applied condiments. It maybe the fine balance that classic sandwiches make between flavours and textures or the fact that sandwiches magically transform less than choice cuts of meat to something mouth-watering. Take for instance pastrami sandwiches. Pastramis is made from beef brisket, a cut of beef that is traditionally smoked to make it edible.

Imagine my happiness when I read a listing of Ottawa's Favourite sandwiches from the September 2007 issue of the Ottawa Home Magazine and realized that the sandwich shops listed offer only specialty sandwiches. Here is the list:

• DiRienzo's Grocery: 111 Beech Street(original location) - (613)729-4037 or 1121 Meadowlands Drive - (613)723-4664
• La Botegga Nicastro: 64 George Street - (613)789-7575
• La Gourmandise: 2200 Montreal Road - (613)842-9904
• Il Negozio Nicastro: 792 Bank Street(original location) or 1355 Wellington Street - (613)729-9100
• Pesto's Deli & Fresh Pasta: 471 Hazeldean Road - (613)836-5432

Save for La Gourmandise, the the restaurants listed specialize in Italian sandwiches. Personally, I'm interested in Pesto's Deli. According to the article by Laura Cummings, Pesto's Deli is owned by and run by the same family as Il Negozio Nicastro. Veal sandwich anyone?

For more details on the various sandwich purveyors, do pickup the issue of the Ottawa Home Magazine.

During the month of November, my better half and I threw a dinner party for our neighbor as a thank-you for her helping us with a particularly difficult home renovation: the upgrade our formerly dated bathroom. Our living in a one bedroom/one bathroom condo made things difficult. Not only did our neighbour put us in contact with a wonderful contractor who completed the project on schedule, but she let us use her bathroom while the work was being done.

Because of some dietary restrictions and taste preferences, the following was the chosen menu:

• Chicken Consommé
• Stir Fried Chinese Shanghai Bok Choy with Shitake Mushrooms
• Quick Steamed Chinese Broccoli
• A Sweet Green Curry

This somewhat odd amalgam of dishes was not served in courses. Unlike their North American equivalents, Asian meals, particularly dinner, do not involve dishes of individually portioned plates of food. Instead, diners are given bowls of rice. Meats and vegetables are placed in large communal dishes in the center of the dining table. Everyone helps themselves. Soup also tends to be served last.

Our neighbour, having lived and worked in Japan, was quite familiar with Asian-style dinners. I, however, was not familiar with Thai curries, green or otherwise. To me, curries involved mixing together spices in very specific quantities to produce a powder that I then use to flavor dishes. Employing such ingredients as green chile peppers, coconut milk, or kaffir lime leaves was new to me.

Miraculously, I cobbled together a recipe and produced a dish that was well received.

Sweet Green Curry
Using the Thai green curry tradition as a base, the dish employed many of its characteristic ingredients. I, however, replaced the green chile peppers, that give green curries their specific colour, with green onions. I also omitted the kaffir lime leaves, opting instead for lime juice and lime zest. These modifications substantially lowered the heat and strengthened the herbal and aromatic flavors. Hence this is a sweet curry.

The recipe follows:

More after the jump...