Maciej's Little Kitchen of Horrors: Travelling Mini Post #4 St. Lawrence Market & some cheesy inspiration talk

I've recently discovered a friend's passion for food, as well as many things in life that lend themselves to creativity, which has ultimately dominated any meeting or conversation we've had since. We are almost at the stage now where we ignore small talk and instead dive directly into our latest culinary adventures. His are almost always more interesting, and advanced than mine.

Anyways, at his suggestion, I ordered a book that I am proud to say has inspired me more than any other single piece of literature (yes, this is more than a cookbook) I have ever read. I am also a little worried to say that as a result of this book, food now consumes my thoughts.

the MAN

the book

This entry already seems like an enormous plug for Paul Bertolli so I will just once again mention that this is much much more than just a cookbook, and also caution any aspiring customers of Cooking by Hand, that this book is probably designed for people who want to get their hands dirty and involved in their food on a much deeper level than buying from the store and tossing it on some heat.

If you like to get your hands a little dirty, and want to know your food at all levels, read this book, but again, caution, because there's no going back.

To pull some meaning out of that wall of text, I brought up Paul Bertolli because he celebrates a food philosophy that has been the direction that I have been pursuing, or at least trying to, for the last year or two. Since I became serious about food.

The philosophy in its simplest form: Get involved with your food. Nurture it from the soil, through the food mill, days/months/years/decades of aging and maturing, into the pots and onto the table of you and your loved ones. Eat close to the source, and truly love and respect it.

St. Lawrence Market - Toronto

I get excited about seeing food early on in its journey. I spent a day last fall assisting in the butchering of chickens from a local Yukon organic farm and must say while I think its important to be a part of this stage of the food, or at least see it, its not much fun. The market on the other hand is pure fun. Tons of different products, from different growers etc. all with a story and respect in what they do. An overload of stimuli and inspiration for any food lover can be found in the market. Our market in the Yukon lasts only as long as the short summer months, but here, the market is open year round. What a treat.

St. Lawrence Market in Toronto was recently rated by National Geographic as the best market in the world (cbc article). I have visited markets in Whitehorse, Calgary, Granville in Vancouver, and now this one as reference and would suggest that while what I mentioned about markets in the previous paragraph is true for all, this one is probably the best one I've seen yet.

While I didn't realize it at the time, a giant pantry on the bottom floor really found a good little fortified spot in my brain because I can't stop thinking about jarring various items in assorted preserves including brines, pickling solutions and even just a good glug of nice olive oil on top. I'm also going to take a crack at Kimchi sometime in the foreseeable future. I also found myself closing my eyes in the spice section and just breathing in. I can finally say I now know the smell of saffron.

Here are shiny pics

To those in the Yukon, there exist more than two types of tomatoes.