An update from the front

I'm still getting used to the new flat. The stove is a bit of a change for me - but since it's gas I'm still burning myself, so all is good on that front - but it doesn't light that quickly after I start the gas going, which causes me some concern. I'm sure at some point in this blog I've told the story from my early childhood, when I was ten or eleven, and I nearly asphyxiated my siblings - and, more importantly myself (which, by the way, is a correct use of the pronoun) - because I inadvertently blew out the pilot light for the water heater one night when my parents were out at a party and I was left alone for a good part of the evening - only for them to come home at 2 or 3am to a house full of gas. So as a cook I have endless respect for gas, and treat it accordingly.

Inspired by a friend to whom I bequeathed my Bradley Smoker when I moved to the flat, I pulled out my Cameron smoker this evening and smoked a couple of chicken breasts that I'd been marinating in a mixture of Herbs de Provence. And thankfully not a peep from what I have experienced as the flat's highly sensitive smoke detector.

I picked up the chicken breasts this morning while on a quick trip to the other end of Westboro - what I think, for the time being, is the "food end" of the village; we have the "Pig Place" at this end, but other than that it's a bit of a wasteland. So my routine for the last few weekends has been to head to "the other side", stop in at the Parkdale Market, Sasloves, Ottawa Bagel, Herb & Spice, Harvest Loaf and then. . . Three Tarts. And it's something I love - I just love building friendships with purveyors of fine food - it's a shared passion, and it doesn't matter what you say, or how the conversation morphs, there seems to be an instant, immediate understanding of mutual respect and passion for food. And it's really cool.

But there're a few things missing in the hood:

• first, there's no fish monger - to me, this is a failing. . . and an opportunity - if only I knew something about fish, beyond the fact that a Monkfish is ugly;
• secondly, there's no cheese shop - Ottawa Bagel has some great cheeses, among other things, but there's something about walking in to a cheese shop and talking to someone who lives for cheese; now me, I think cheese will kill me - or certainly be an instigating factor - but I don't know enough about it, yet;
• third, there are no food specialty shops - shops like Chily Chilles in Navan; I think with the MEC as a draw, there's a real opportunity for some specialty shops in the cool end of town; and,
• finally, there are no ethnic stores, which to me give real character to a food neighbourhood - admittedly there is a Middle Eastern food shop on the south end of Churchill, but I've already become a Westboro snob and I think it's on the outer limits.

And one final note - the Loblaws store! I think this is a blight. And for clarity, I'm not being a snob here. I don't think a reputable grocery store should have four aisles populated with baby clothes, pots & pans, and toys, as a green zone between the produce section and the canned goods. And I have a serious problem with any store that employs a department supervisor who, when confronted with the question "do you have any blue cheese?" responds with "No, I'm sorry - we don't stock it any more". Seriously - it's Blue Cheese! Don't tell me, you've ceased to stock frigging Blue Cheese!

So, ya, I think the Loblaw's may be super convenient for the pram-pushers, but for those interested in food, the Super Store version is a bit of a travesty.

And there you have it - an update from the food front. But to return to a happy note, as soon as I've posted this entry, I'm popping the few steps to the kitchen to grab that chocolate chip and pecan biscuit that I picked up at Three Tarts on my outing early this morning. :-)