Luke's Gastronomy!

Here we are, sliding into month 2 of 2010. I realize I have not been very diligent about posting of late. Possibly too preoccupied with the new year and thinking about what it will possibly bring. But that does bring something to mind that makes my fingers anxious to say Hello to my keyboard.

I use to be the type of person who resisted change, and quite adamantly. When I was a wee lad I liked everything to be just as it was yesterday. No one ever accused me of being wild and crazy! In fact, up until only a short time ago, I would cross the street if I saw Spontaneity walking towards me. No, no, no… when things were the way I liked them,then dammit, that is how I wanted them to stay. My mum would call me a curmudgeon, an old fart, but I could be a very stubborn old fart!

When I became Chef I did have to loosen the seat belt a little bit, because after all, the art of food creation is not black and white. I had to learn, grudgingly at first, that it was OK to step outside the box. I didn’t want to be someone who regimentally followed recipes and other peoples’ rules. As Harold Mcgee  encouraged in his brilliant tome On Food & Cooking, I wanted to question everything I read. If a recipe insisted that only certain steps be followed, only the requisite ingredients be used… well, that made me want to experiment, to try to make it my way. Similarly, when I would get a dish exactly as I wanted it I felt relieved. ” There, the lamb shanks are perfect. I won’t have to change them for some time now”. I slowly began to realize that very few things are perfect, that there is always room for improvement. That was one of the things I loved about food — the playing and experimenting and striving to make it better!

Sure, I’ll admit that making changes still does make my palms a tad sweaty, but I no longer cross the street to avoid spontaneity. I welcome it and thank it for making me a better Chef and, more importantly, a better person. In fact, I’ve decided that my mantra for this new year will be to do something everyday that makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

I highly recommend this to anyone who might not be a big fan of change. Lamb chops? Try a shank. Only jazz? Try on some Funk. Short hair? Grow it long. Murder mysteries? Reach for a biography. Couch potato? Downward dogs on the double! Tomorrow I’m going to wear a red bow tie, listen to hip hop, make some small changes to the menu, get a new funky haircut, and have a port instead of my customary sherry. Change is Good! Damn, palms are getting sweaty……. !

Tastefully Yours, Luke

This time of the year we are inundated with lists of what will be ” in” this coming year. Music, fashion, movies, and yes, food! They make me simultaneously laugh and engage in primal scream therapy ( Quite the sight, let me assure you!) And so many people take these lists seriously. Playlists, restaurant menus, theatre offerings, stores, books, runways— so many allow the “what’s hot” lists to dictate to them what they will offer consumers. Grrr! Just because something was on last year’s list, but didn’t make the cut this year, are we expected to wildly abandon it?

As a Chef, it is the food lists that drive me crazy. Bacon’s in, green tea’s out, kimchi is hot, parsnips are not, spelt is sexy, quinoa is so yesterday! I have one thing to say— Delicious is Timeless! Wonderful foods cannot go in and out of fashion. Sweet succulent pork belly is not a mini skirt! I have an idea…….. drum roll please…… let’s collectively start permanent lists. Under “What’s Hot” – - -delicious food, local foods, made-from scratch foods, locally raised pastured animals, community gardens, farmers’ markets, eating how Mother Nature intended, eating 6 small meals a day, sharing foods and ideas. Under “What’s NOT” – - – jet-lagged foods, mass-produced meals, commercial feedlot meats, any purchased grocery item with any unrecognizable ingredients, “fast food”, gorging on 3 meals a day, eating on the run, foods (and I use the term lightly) thought up in a boardroom and produced in Frankenstein’s lab.

There, now we have food lists we would be proud to call our own. No further need to buck the trends. I think we’re onto something! But we still have work to do about all the other lists. Hmmm. If skinny jeans are in, let’s do boot cut. If the world is listening to Lady Gaga, let’s dance to Parliament and Afro Celt Sound System. Polkadots? Hah, we’ll do stripes!

Ok, the movement has begun – - – non-conformists of the world unite!

Tastefully Yours, Luke

So, the big day has come and gone. Presents exchanged, thank you’s  given, turkey bellies causing groans of contented bliss. All the Christmas cliches came out to delight and comfort; now eager to be tucked back into storage until next year.

We had a wonderful couple of days. Dinner on the 25th was just perfect; our heirloom turkey rewarded us for the brining and herb-roasting, and accompanied with savoury sweet potatoes, caramelized carrots & celeriac, and a spelt bread stuffing with saucisson d’ail and oodles of garlic, sage, fennel & white wine, it was truly a meal to remember. After removing the leftover turkey from the bones I threw them into a big pot with onions, garlic, peppercorns, carrots, fennel seeds, thyme and rosemary sprigs and celery. Six hours later I had a beautiful stock I’ll use to make a winter-worthy soup.

We had some extra fun with our gift giving this year. As we don’t like using commercial wrapping paper, we have always wrapped with newspaper. We like to disguise things so they don’t look like what they are. ( Hmmm…..also sounds like what I like to do with food…. I see a pattern here!) But this year we went one step further and we gave each gift a clue to help, or hinder, the person receiving it. It added an extra element of fun. All those in favour of fun say “Yay”! UH-HUH, the yays have it!

It’s so wonderful having a little time off. Extra time to read, to write, take long walks, engage in more elaborate debates and discussions, and make every meal a little bit special. We even light candles for breakfast at this time of the year. And music… the new additions received as gifts (this year Stravinsky, Doobie Brothers, DeVokchta, Londinium, etc.), and, of course, our stand-by favourites (Jamiroquai, Morrissey, Zero 7, Billy Bragg, REM, Joni Mitchell, Ella, K’Naan, Pretenders, and so on and so on and so on…) And I suppose I don’t have to tell you how much I love having free kitchen time to experiment and play. (Gee, Luke, really? Yeah, yeah, I do realize I can be a tad predictable sometimes!)

Right now I’m playing with a blow torch and spoons. How predictable is that? HAH!  Seriously, I’m having a blast, creating the funkiest spoons that will, without a doubt, end up funkifying a plate or two in the New Year! I’ll have photos in my next post.

Until then, remember to take every opportunity to make your days fun and memorable. Play, listen, learn, tell someone you love them, have a food fight, turn up the volume, add extra hot sauce, dance, get flour on your nose, pick up a book or a dumbbell, plan a garden, have another food fight, and laugh!

Tastefully Yours,

Luke