Truffle Mutt

It's Fall

It's fall and the local fennel is hitting the market shelves.  Inspired by a recipe I saw in La Cucina Italiana I slowly roasted my fennel in butter.  The slow roasting transformed the sharp licorice taste into a mellow flavor that blended with the nutty burnt butter.  To finish I tossed a variety fresh herbs from my patio with the remaining butter, drizzled that over the fennel and then sprinkled with grated fresh romano cheese.

Happy Shrimp

It's nearly impossible to find US or Canadian cultivated shrimp here in Calgary.  That's not entirely true, I've spotted live BC shrimp at a couple of Asian markets, but the look of those wiggly spider-like legs freak me out.  In most cases the shrimp you find here are farmed in Thailand or Vietnam, that is until I discovered Gulf shrimp from North Sea Fish Market at the Calgary Farmers' Market.

Originally my interest in seeking out these relatively local shrimp was to support more sustainable fishing methods, but that was before I tasted them.  They have a more prominent taste that's subtlety sweet and reminiscent of lobster.  I can't believe the difference having happy shrimp makes.  :)

In the picture above I used sole and Gulf shrimp from the North Sea Fish Market, to create a rich dish that I adapted from this one posted on epicurious.  The secret ingredient in the sauce is shrimp butter and it's worth every bit of the effort it takes to make.  For a simpler dish the sauce would be perfect served over pasta with wilted spinach.      

Like Lemmings off a Cliff

Looking around several sites I've seen people adding this cool list of 100 things to their About pages.  I'm not usually one to follow what everyone else is doing, but in this case I'm making an exception. 

I think the list is a cool way to let people know interesting facts about you that they might not learn just reading your blog and so, like a lemming off a cliff, I've put together a list of things about myself.  To maintain my individuality however, there are 101 of them, not 100.   

1.  I like grapes, but dislike most grape by-products (raisins, wine, grappa)
2.  I have an unnatural fear of spiders and I also seem to attract them
3.  Wool sweaters make me itchy
4.  I own a black horse, 2 Great Danes and one black cat
5.  I don't think I could eat a live bug
6.  I find watching baseball or golf on TV a painful experience
7.  My car is silver, but I'd rather it was black
8.  The movies I watched as a kid include: The Last Unicorn, The Flight of the Navigator, The Dark Crystal and Howard the Duck
9.  Cilantro is the only food that I absolutely cannot tolerate
10.  I love to garden, but I don't have quite enough space