Bollucks!!

My dog doesn't like cussin'! Now, for those of you who know me, you'll understand how that could be a serious handicap in my household - something akin to being a Newfie and not liking fish - it just ain't Penguin! So tonight when I dropped a large container of salt packed capers as I was pulling it out of the fridge, with enough sea salt on the floor to build a "sand castle", I used the odd f-word. And the dog went scurrying behind the couch.

I'm a huge fan of capers. This evening I was chopping capers and using them in a chicken salad (ala chicken-salad sandwich); but among other things, they're frequently the cornerstone of a caper vinegrette that I make for a salad dressing (some dijon mustard, tarragon vingear, a tablespoon or two of chopped capers, some herbes de provence, olive oil - some water, if needed, and a good blending).

It was from Mario Batali that I was first introduced to capers stored in salt - like most people, up to that point I was familiar only with the one's stored in brine. But as with so many things that are preserved in salt, the flavour of the caper is less tarnished than when it's been bathing in a jar of vinegar for a year, and you get a caper taste that is more pure.

Of course in Ottawa the challenge is finding salt-packed capers. My favorite hunting ground is Nicastro's, either on Bank Street or in the Byward Market. I generally have a couple of types on hand - a small, more expensive jar for when I make a simple tomato salad with basil and sheep/goat cheese; or a larger "tub" for utility use.

Tonight it was the utility-type that did me in - a plastic lid that wasn't fastened. . . and a pup taking shelter in the storm.