Coming Soon to a Website Near You!

Bread Breaking News!

I am happy and excited to announce the purchase of  our new web domain(s): http://www.maycontainfoodity.com and http://www.maycontainfoodity.ca

MCF will continue to post at this current location until we are up & running and ready to launch our official website.

Thank you for reading!

– Douglas Carney

Cracked.

People know what they know and like what they like.  The reason we have so many rubber stamp shopping complexes and higher end grocery stores is because people tend to go where they think it is safe.  They know that the place they are going to carries the wares they wish to buy and as a result, that is where they purchase.  I don’t want to get into the age old debate of farm vs. supermarkets or argue scientific findings vs idealism.  What I am going to do, is give my personal opinion.

I am no different.  I grew up in the country surrounded by the farming community.  We did not have any big box stores, we did not have any franchised fast food joints, we didn’t even have a Tim Horton’s coffee shop.  All of those things (at the time, mind you) were 45 minutes North, 45 minutes South or 45 minutes West.  My home town to this day is full of small businesses and back when i was growing up there was no such thing as 24 hour anything.  Farmers markets, farms open to the public and berry picking farms are common and loved.  I am no different because I find buying from those places … safe.  To a foodie like me … farm fresh eggs, freshly baked bread and getting a freezer order of meat from a butcher or farmer is normal.

I have lived in Toronto for fifteen years now.  I like to shop in places like the Kensington and St. Lawerence markets or over at the Riverdale park/farm on Tuesdays during the summer at the Farmer’s market.  I like to explore the city for all of the local food shops and restaurants that pay attention to where they are getting their food and extra care on how it is prepared.  I like all of these things because to me, it is normal.  It is safe.  When I walk into grocery stores … especially the fairly new Loblaws where the maple leaf gardens used to be, I cringe.  Because to me, that isn’t normal.  The variety might be amazingly huge and it is.  No doubt about it, but the thought of how much food waste that place must produce breaks my brain every time.  Before you go asking the question of how much waste the Kensington and St. Lawerence Markets produce as well, please consider that we are talking about one conglomerate vs many individual markets that just happen to be located in the same building or the same neighborhood.   Each business should account for its own waste.  I digress.

My point is … that what consumers consider normal or where they feel safe shopping is simply a matter of perspective.  I like to think on this stuff before entering debates or roasting someone alive that doesn’t have a clue about any of the topics that I have taken the time to learn, feel confident talking about, or cause fight for.   What is normal for you, might be far left field to someone else.

Again, this is just my opinion.

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Seven Steps to Iced Tea Heaven

Happy National Iced Tea Day!

Iced Tea is the answer to a hot summer day’s relentless thirst and don’t you worry, it is extremely easy to make.

First: I want you to hold up the cans, bottles and add-to-water mixes of your favourite brand(s) of store purchased iced tea over the trash bin … and drop! You won’t be needing that here.

Second: Quick, fill up your kettle and put it on to boil.  We can hash the rest out while you wait.

MCF Quick Tip: – Iced tea is all about the steeping and infusing process so what you put in the mix will make or break the batch.

Third: Select the tea that you are going to use and either grab a few bags, prepare several tea balls or put the equivalent into a large spice infuser.

Fourth: Pour your hot water into a pitcher or large pot and place the tea in to steep.

Fifth: Sugar and honey melt in hot water, not cold so you have to add your sweet to the mix while it is hot.

Sixth: Time for the infusion.  Remove your tea and then add your lemons, limes, fresh cut mint leaves or whatever flavours you have decided, into the mix.

Seventh: Chill.  Add ice and put into the fridge until it is cold enough to serve.

Remember:  Do not over steep, Do not put a piping hot jug into the fridge and if you are not going to drink the jug dry in the first day, remove the items that you used for infusion after a few hours in the fridge.

Doug’s Easy Does It Lemon Iced Tea

Ingredients

• 2 Slices (cut thick) of Lemon and a little extra to squeeze
• 2 Black tea – tea bags (I use red rose)
• 1 Pitcher of boiled water
• 1/4 Cup of sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
• Ice

Preparation

Fill a standard size water/juice pitcher with boiled water.  Add the 2 black tea – tea bags and stir in the sugar.  Mix well, allow to steep for 5 minutes.

Remove the tea bags then add the lemon slices to the mix and squeeze in some lemon juice and stir.  Allow to sit on the counter for 10 minutes.

Add a lot of ice (I use a whole tray) to the jug and place in the fridge to chill.

Serve when cold in a frosted glass garnished with a lemon slice.

Hooked on Freshly Caught Fish

My Brother went fishing recently up north past the Muskoka area (Northern Ontario) and reported catching a near 5 lbs Bass.  He released the fish back into the drink but it got me thinking back to when I was a wee Hobbit (younger) and my Grandfather used to take me fishing out on Georgian Bay, off the shores of Parry Sound, Ontario.  We would leave very early in the morning, just before the sun would rise and at most times, we would return just before sunset.  My Grandfather gave  me a lot of credit for having “the patience of a Sniper” at my age and for the skill of being able to pull in a goodly amount of fish.  It was during one of those fishing trips that we hit the jack pot!  The Bass were biting and we were reeling them in, sometimes two at a time with multiple hooked lures.  It was hot out, the lake was calm and crystal clear.  My Grandfather and I caught our quota in an hour but he was a wise man and didn’t want the victory to spoil the rest of the day since it had just started.  So two Carney’s in a boat with a well full of fish, beat red sun burns and shit eating grins from ear to ear, what do you do next?  He turned the boat toward an island, we tied off and used some flat rocks as stairs to get onto the shore.  I had no idea what he was doing, it was the first time we have ever got out of the boat short of when we reached the town boat launch when we were ready to get home.  But he grabbed the cooler that my Grandmother packed for us, his small pack and some of the Bass from the well.  My Grandfather gutted and cleaned 2 of the bass and cut us some nice fillets.  The man was a master and if you found a bone … he would eat his hat!  He got me to gather some kindling, favouring fallen birch branches and then he lit a fire.  Right there on the island with a camp fire my Grandfather taught me 3 important things.

1. As long as you are careful you can set up for cooking in remote areas and not only produce a campfire but also create a make shift grill by soaking long branches without any leaves in water, putting large stones around a dug fire pit, high enough to place the soaked branches.

2. The bounty in which you catch and ultimately kill is to be eaten.  Sport fishing isn’t something that the Carney family is found of, we have fun and enjoy a good challenge but we eat what we catch and kill.

3.  How to cook on a camp fire which has served me well over many years of hiking, camping, canoeing and fishing.

When my Grandfather was done cooking the bass, we had a feast of packed lunch and delicious freshly caught fish.  It was an experience that changed me forever.  So if you get a chance to go fishing, take it.  The fish will be a heck of a lot fresher than anything you get at the market or in the grocery store and … you will have good memories that will stay with you for as long as you live.

Leave it to Beer-ver Mustard

I love mustard, it is one of the condiments that must be in my fridge at all times.  You can buy a variety of different types of mustard in any grocery store but I can promise you that like a homemade batch of pickles or a jar of your Grandmother’s strawberry jam, it just isn’t the same as making your own.  How do you even make mustard?  Well it comes from mustard seeds which grows in white, black and brown.  Its the white seed, dyed yellow with turmeric, that makes the mustard that is predominant on every hot dog cart in North America.  I like the brown seeds.   Here is the recipe to my Leave it to Beer-ver (beer version) Mustard, just make sure that when you make it and jar it, leave it in the fridge for a few days before you eat it!

Leave it to Beer-ver Mustard

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of dry mustard powder
• 3 tbsp of raw honey
• 1/4 cup of brown whole mustard seeds
• 1 bottle of beer (I use Creemore Springs lager)
• 1 tbsp of flour
• 3 tbsp grainy/spicy mustard
• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp fine ground sea salt
• 1/4 cup combo of fresh minced thyme, oregano and chives

Preparation

First, soak your mustard seeds for at least 24 hours (48 is better)

Use a mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder to grind the brown whole mustard seeds. in a glass bowl: Mix with the dry mustard powder, the fine ground seasalt and the flour.

Add the minced fresh herbs, the raw honey.

Pour in the apple cider vinegar and mix around. let sit for 30 minutes.

Slowly pour the bottle of beer while mixing.

Cook over medium heat, continuously stirring for 10 minutes.
bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes continuously stirring.
Pour into a glass mason Jar and store in refrigerator.

Bison Beer-Becue Burgers with Beer-Becue Sauce

Bison Beer-Becue Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil tbsp (15 mL)
• Mitt-full of fresh (out of the garden) finely chopped chives
• 1 Duck (farmers market) egg
  
• 1/4 cup dry or oven baked breadcrumbs
• 3 tbsp of beer (preferably an organic or all natural lager or stout)
• 3 tbsp grainy/spicy mustard
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1.5 lbs ground bison
• hamburger buns (preferably homemade but that is a recipe for a different day)

Preparation

In large bowl, mix together chives, duck egg, bread crumbs, beer, mustard, sea salt and white pepper. Stir in the bison; mix until just combined. Shape into four 3/4-inch thick patties.

Place patties on a well-greased grill over medium heat; close lid and grill, turning once, until no longer pink – about 10 minutes. Sandwich in buns.

Optional:  stuff burgers with artisan cheese, goat cheese, feta cheese or blue cheese

Optional: Doug’s Beer-Becue Sauce

2 tbsp butter (salted is best)

• 2 shallots – diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 cup and  a splash of a stout beer
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup (8oz can) tomato paste (don’t you dare use ketchup or canned tomato soup)

 Directions

• Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the shallots, and garlic to the saucepan and sauté until they are tender and beginning to caramelize.  Pour into sauce pan.
• Add the molasses, beer, cane sugar, vinegar, sea salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Let it cook with a low rolling boil for about 5 minutes.  Reduce to a simmer for another 3 minutes. Stir occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the saucepan.
• Stir in the tomato paste and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature.
• Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Foodfu technique # 1: “Kitchen Sink” Style

When I was growing up my Mother would use the saying “everything but the kitchen sink” to describe what was in a soup, stew or mash.  Basically, it just means that the ingredients are a combination of leftovers and an ass bag of herbs and spices that are thrown together with the hopes of a tasty outcome.  I call this technique “Kitchen Sink”.

Phrase origin: Everything but the kitchen sink – comes from World War Two when everything possible was used to contribute to the war effort…all metal was used for the U.S arsenal. The only objects left out were porcelain kitchen sinks.

Believe it or not, Kitchen Sink Style takes a measure of skill.  Especially if you want the final product to well .. you know? .. taste good. So don’t go throwing last week’s Chili into today’s Tuna casserole, because it could be enough to make a hardened criminal cry.  So how can you use Kitchen Sink Style to save the day?

Lesson 1 – Taste Everything

Empty out your fridge and crack open those containers.  Anything that isn’t lunch is fair game but you have to know what you are dealing with.  If you can’t stand the idea of tasting cold leftovers then do what you can to heat up a small portion just so you can try it.

MCF Quick Tip: – If it smells bad, it is bad. Spoiled food will wreck you.

Lesson 2 – What’s Cooking?

So what is it going to be?  Soup, stew, pot pie, casserole or perhaps a stir fry?  The good thing is that left over vegetables can quickly be added into pretty much any recipe, so start with them.

Lesson 3 – Mix & Match

Find a combination that works.  You want to mix and match your meat, starches and vegetables to get the best possible flavour.  Here are some examples:

Leftovers:  Hamburger + Mashed Potatoes + Peas and/or corn = Sheppard’s Pie
Leftovers:  Chicken + Rice and/or Noodles + Veggies = Stir Fry
Leftovers: Roast Beef & Gravy + Roasted Veggies = Stew or Pot Pie

Try not to mix meats unless it makes sense.  Lemon chicken and pulled pork would not taste good together but ground pork mixed with ground beef for the purposes of a taco would be bang on!

“Kitchen Sink” Style – Final Lesson

Mix it, Mash it, Fry it, Bake it, Grind it, Stir it, Boil it  >>> Cook and serve!