Chasseurs d'Epices: A Spicy Adventure Comes to TV

Local food & travel enthusiasts will not want to miss an exciting and unique new show that makes its debut tonight on ARTV.

Chasseurs d'Epices ('Spice Hunters' for the Anglos) follows renown Montreal spice master, Philippe de Vienne and his charming wife, Ethné, on their world travels in search of the best spices.

Last week I attended a small launch party and private screening of the show. Philippe cooked a feast for us and alongside the gracious hosts themselves, we watched the debut episode of Chasseurs d'Epices. Such fun!

Chasseurs d'Epices is like if your favourite travel show merged with your must-watch cooking show. The true personalities of our hosts shine through, making for a colourful, emotional and interesting ride. This series is going to go far.

Just take a peek:

Don't miss the first episode, airing tonight at 8 on ARTV. I'm only going to give one hint: Philippe and Ethné, wedding crashers extraordinaire.

You can also connect with Chasseurs d'Epices on Facebook.

Come Enjoy Cupcakes for a Cause

I probably don't have to tell you where I'm going to be on Sunday afternoon... that's right, scarfing cupcakes at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel for Cupcake Camp Montreal!

Foodies, gourmands, and cupcake aficionados are all aflutter over this event and who wouldn't be? I mean, have you heard?

20,000 cupcakes.

At this point, the organizers are only concerned that enough people will show up to eat the veritable sea of sweetness.

It's practically my duty to go. Plus, it's for charity, raising funds for La Tablée des Chefs and Kids Help Phone. You should totally come too.

What's this? Cupcake Camp Montreal
When: Sunday, November 21, 2010 from 1-5 p.m.
Where: Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, 900 Rene Levesque Blvd. W

A $10 ticket at the door gets you three cupcakes, a gourmet coffee and an opportunity to mingle with local bloggers and bakers. You may even spot your favourite celebrity chef or TV personality, as the panel of judges is quite colourful!



I'll see you there. Come over and say hello! I'll be with the tall guy, probably trying to corral two little boys with sugar highs. Oh yeah, with 20,000 cupcakes to enjoy, there was no way I was getting out on my own for this one.

Getting organized, seriously organized.

It's something I've wanted to do for ages.

I love lists, after all. I make them every day. And I love baking, especially holiday baking

So I finally swapped precious sleep for a few extra hours* on my laptop and am absolutely tickled to bring you...

The Ultimate Holiday Baking Pantry Checklist!

It's an A-Z shopping checklist of everything you need to stock your pantry for holiday baking. The PDF can be downloaded and printed to help you organize your baking ingredients - and be sure nothing is forgotten.

From my post on Simple Bites:

"I designed this list with efficiency and thoroughness in mind. Here's how I'm going to keep track of ingredients I need for my holiday baking this fall:

• Print the free checklist.
• Sit down with cookbooks, magazines and bookmarked online recipes AND the list.
• Go through recipes that I know I will be making and check the boxes on the printable.
• Keep the checklist on the fridge or somewhere visible for a few days, and add items as they come to mind (or remove items as ideas change)
• Go through my pantry and take note of anything that is running low or has gone stale. Check those ingredients off on the list.
• Head out shopping WITH the Ultimate Holiday Baking Pantry Checklist in hand.
• Highlight any items I am unable to locate or are temporarily out of stock, so I know I need to keep looking for them."

Trust me, you'll want to print this up. With Canadian Thanksgiving less than three weeks away, it is not to early to start planning for holiday baking.

Head to Simple Bites and download the tidy Holiday Baking Pantry Checklist pdf today. You're welcome!

*I have to say, Danny gave up sleep as well, as he made the pdf pretty for me. Thanks honey!

Meatless Monday: Coconut Rice & Beans (but so much more than that)

I wish I could form one or two well-written paragraphs about how our eating habits are changing here at UtHC. I keep procrastinating over writing anything because I don't know where to start and there's so much I want to say, but not enough time to devote to this space.

If I had a quiet afternoon to write, I would begin by filling you in on how our family table (and pantry, fridge, etc...) has slowly been evolving into more nourishing food, even though the rare (we're talking twice in 8 years) appearance of glazed doughnut would make it look otherwise.

In those paragraphs, I would paraphrase the many conversations Danny and I have had over what we put into our bodies, feed our kids, and the small, but steady steps we are taking to improve our families diet.

I would aptly summarize my myriade of thoughts after watching programs like Food, Inc. and Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food, conveying my ragged emotions after each one finished, (cried myself to sleep after Food, Inc, no joke) and my square-shouldered determination to DO something. For myself, for my family, for my community.

(Oh, not to mention this book club with the enlightening and deeply disturbing-yet-inspiring, In Defense of Food. There would be a pretty long rant about the state of our grocery stores these days.)

Then, if anyone besides my mother was still reading*, I would formulate a moving conclusion to my post by sharing some of the steps we are taking to eat more nourishing, real, food, as well as daily making choices with our fork to help change our sadly derailed food system.

Things like Meatless Monday.


I brought you The Beef Chronicles** which honored (and rightly so) the locally raised, grass-fed Angus, and now I'm swinging the pendulum and introducing a new series called Meatless Mondays.

You can call it contradictory OR balanced, either way I'm still going to be eating one more vegetarian meal a week, so it doesn't really matter. Why says you can't have a meat-lovers series and a vegetables series on the same blog anyway? (OK, so it's a little confusing.)

I'm going to try my darnedest to share the dishes with you every week, which may end up being every second week... I think we all know that the new baby gets all the attention--and there's not a lot of leftover time for older siblings.
I'm aiming for a Sunday posting, so you can add the recipe to your weekly menu plan.

We'll see how it goes.

OK, about this weeks recipe. We enjoyed it, but then again anything with a cumin/lime/cilantro combination, I pretty much flip over. Add toasted coconut and mango, and it gets added to our regular repertoire stat.

You know what the thing is about this recipe, besides the brilliant flavor profile, of course, it that it is CHEAP. Plus most items are pantry stapes, making it a good choice when the fridge is bare.

Give it a try. Give Meatless Monday a try. Be a part of the solution***.

Coconut Rice & Beans
adapted from this recipe, originally found in Southern Living.

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/4 cups uncooked basmati rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black eyed beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 red pepper, chopped (optional)
1 lime
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings: lime wedges, diced mango, sour cream, cilantro, green onion.

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted. Cool.
2. Bring broth, coconut milk, salt & pepper, 2 Tbsp. butter, and 1 cup water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan. Stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.


3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in beans, chili powder, cumin, and 3/4 cup water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
4. Grate zest from lime, avoiding pale bitter pith, into a bowl; squeeze juice from lime into bowl.
5. Fluff rice with a fork. Fold lime zest and juice, coconut, green onions, and cilantro into hot cooked rice. Serve bean mixture over rice with desired toppings.


*My mother doesn't read. That's right, you heard me correctly. It's kind of hard to when you don't have the Internet. I'd like to see you try.

** The Beef Chronicles are alive and well, on our table, anyway, if not on this blog. We ordered another half-cow, having plowed through all 120-plus pounds of Angus over the winter. It's currently at the butcher, getting divided up into future ossobuco and roast beef dinners.

***Meatless Monday: a worldwide movement to reduce consumption of animal products in favour of more plant-based meals to fight global warming and improve personal health.

For Your Weekend Reading Pleasure (and 'Thanks')

My laptop has been getting plenty of use lately. A series of rainy days made it easier to crank out a few guest posts, as well as the usual content for my two food blogs.

Can I just say? Thanks for reading. I don't usually talk numbers much around here but I see that well over 13,000 of you are popping by on a monthly basis and that makes me very happy. Really.

It's still a pleasant surprise to find that my sporadic recipes and copious photos of my (ridiculously cute) kids holds your interest. Hey, it even lands me on lists like this, which brings even more readers (and a whole heck of a lot of email spam, apparently. Ick.).

Another list I was super tickled to make was the popular Bullet List from The Mother Huddle.

I didn't have to think twice when founder Destri invited me to participate and I dedicated my list to Jamie's Food Revolution in support of his efforts to teach children how to cook.

• How To Help Your Child Embrace Real Food :: The Mother Huddle

Kids and cooking was the topic of choice this week. I also guest posted for Kim Vallee, Montreal's lifestyle and entertaining expert, while she jaunted around Japan with her husband.

• 5 Simple Ways to Get Kids Involved in the Kitchen :: At Home with Kim Vallee

Oh, and Ready Made decided they loved Simple Bites:

• Food Blog of the Week: Simple Bites :: Ready Made

I've been spicing up Simple Bites with my Spices 101 series. In case you've missed it here where we're at:

• Common Spice Myths Debunked (and a killer Spiced-Chai Granola Recipe)
• What you NEED to Know About Buying Spices
  
• How I Became a Spice Enthusiast (and link love spice edition)
• Storing Spices (and a killer Black Pepper Shrimp recipe)
  

OK! That's probably more than enough weekend reading for you! Now get outdoors and enjoy Mother Earth. It is Earth Week after all.

UtHC Bulletin: An Exciting Week

This has been one happenin' week for me! An update is obviously needed at this point because it's all good news that needs to be shared.
So here goes...



Giveaway
Today is the last day to enter my super-duper basket giveaway at Simple Bites. 'Basket' giveaway means ONE lucky person wins the WHOLE shebang. Are you feeling lucky? Winner will stock their kitchen with nearly $500 worth of pretty cool products. You have until midnight to enter, so get over there and leave a comment.





Blog Aid: Recipes for Haiti
Yesterday our fundraiser for Haiti wrapped up. The Blog Aid cookbook was a spectacular success, selling 1818 cookbooks in a little over a week and raising, with matched funds from the Canadian government, $47,166.00 for Haiti relief.

Not bad for a bunch of food bloggers!
A huge thank you to all who purchased our cookbook--you now have a limited edition book to treasure. My copies have already arrived and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I can't wait to try those recipes and it's pretty cool to see our little family photo on those glossy pages.



Simple Bites Launch
Five blogs launched Monday under the Simple Living Media umbrella and were met with a very warm welcome indeed. My part in this, as you know, was Simple Bites.

I hardly know what to say about the enthusiastic response to Simple Bites, as it has completely take my by surprise. I'm exceedingly grateful for your support. Many of you have joined me over there and for those of you who haven't visited yet, you are welcome anytime!

As editor, I had set goals for SB--three month goals that were surpassed after three days. Things haven't slowed down all week, and I have sat, mouth agape, watching the stats come in and reading the comments. It's been amazing.

Danny continues to wax eloquent about it all, remarking "Hey, people gotta eat".
Guess he's got a point there. I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.


Montreal Centre-Ville Magazine
I was fortunate enough to be featured in a local magazine with some of Monteal's creme de la creme food bloggers. How my name ever made it past the editors, I'll never know, but nevertheless, there is a lovely little blurb about UtHC and photo of yours truly.
Also featured is Gastronote, ...an endless banquet, le gourmet galopin, and 2Capriciux.


Cooking School
For some reason, I have always held back over talking about my experiences in culinary school. It was both a good and bad experience, with a little 'ugly' thrown in, and I always felt like there wasn't enough water under the bridge before I made events public.

Well, shy no longer. Today was the first post in my 'Cooking School' series on Simple Bites, a series that will be as helpful as it is entertaining. At least, that's what I am hoping. You can read it and decide for yourself!

* * *
My time is up! No Valentine's Day post from me, sorry...

My plan for V-day is to cook up some of our filet mignon that I have been hoarding, and create another recipe for the Beef Chronicles.

Have a wonderful weekend!

UtHC Bulletin: Cookies, Conditions, & Cupcakes

If you're looking for a recipe, I'm over at Simple Mom giving a recipe on How to Host a Memorable Holiday Cookie Swap! We're no stranger to the cookie swap here at Under the High Chair and today I'm dishing my ideas and tips in a simple step-by-step format to help you get the jump on your Christmas baking.
I'm a big fan of this social event with a practical side, although with our big move happening in just over two weeks (yikes!), may have to forgo my annual cookie swap this year. Oh well, good thing I've been invited to one already; I can at least make that happen.

Mateo (left) & Noah

On a more personal note, our little family sincerely wants to thank everyone who sent prayers, thoughts and get-well wishes over the last week. Our youngest, Mateo, had major surgery to correct an ongoing medical condition and that was tough on all of us. Although he had been on a waiting list for surgery, it was still a shock to get the call (on a Monday) to say "It's on." (Friday). He made it through just fine with no complications, being the little trooper that he is, and in retrospect the whole ordeal was probably slightly harder on mama!

After 3 1/2 days in the hospital, he and I are home and focusing on healing, rest & relaxation. At times like these, it obviously important to pare down one's schedule and focus all attention on the family.

Even if it means missing very. exciting. events. such as this one..



Well, I was going to see you there, but, to reiterate what I just stated above, not even the promise of thousands of cupcakes can take me away from my little boy. And you know how much I love cupcakes.

Cupcake Camp Montreal is happening this Sunday!!

Proceeds from this one-of-a-kind fundraiser will go towards Kids Help Phone/Jeunesse, J'écoute and massive sugar highs will go to all who attend this sweet event.

Do not miss this chance to bake for a good cause! Visit the Cupcake Camp Montreal website to see how you can get involved by contributing cupcakes or follow them on Twitter for regular updates.

Photo by Lydia

My love affair of the Tonka bean is such that I have been known to ship them to my U.S. food bloggers on more than one occasion. I just can't do with out tonka in my kitchen and feel badly for our neighbors to the south, where tonka beans are banned (yes, they can be toxic if consumed in large doses, but then so can nutmeg).

My friend Lydia, from The Perfect Pantry, was the recipient of such a gift recently. As usual, she posted a clear and concise article about the tonka bean and compiled a nice tidy list of recipes.
Visit her blog for a little tutorial on this amazing spice, including where to buy it online and featuring my recipe for Spice Snaps with Tonka.

UtHC Fall Bulletin

For starters, can we just take a minute to acknowledge the always-inspiring Gourmet Magazine and its immeasurable contribution to the culinary world?
Shocked and saddened were two words that popped up the most on Twitter this morning when news spread that the magazine was folding. It certainly impacted my day.

It will be missed.










Submissions have been streaming in for the UtHC Virtual Jam Swap and the good news is that if you haven't yet submitted your entry to the swap, you still have a few weeks to do so!

It's easy to enter:

• Can it--jam or jelly, you decide.
• Post it--on your blog or website
• Link it-- link to this post
• Email it- send me the link & a photo

Deadline for submissions is November 1 and the roundup will be posted in mid-November.

Happy Canning!

It seems as though all my time twittered away has not gone unnoticed: last week the National Post's food & drink blog, The Appetizer, named @HighChair (that's me!) one of 15 Canadian Foodies on Twitter. How cool!

I had to pinch myself after reading a few of the other names that I found myself in the same category with: @BonnieStern, @coreymintz and *gulp* @lucywaverman.

"More deliciousness from Montreal." NP said of my tweeting, which was nice to hear but left me feeling even more guilty over a certain rant on Twitter that occurred a few weeks ago.
Note to self: stick to food and the occasional mothering topics on Twitter--that's why nearly 1000 people are following.

You can join in the fun by joining Twitter and following me here. If you enjoy reading UtHC, chances are you'll love my latest obsession as it's really a micro-blogging extension of UtHC.














Alright, just in case you've been listening to the rumors out there, yes, it is true that there is a new project in the works for me. Not necessarily for UtHC, but more for Aimee.
It involves food-- which kinda goes without saying-- the Internet and writing. What else can I tell you about it? Not too much just yet, but I can say that it's going to be pret-ty darn exciting when it launches in early 2010.

Stat tuned for details. You'll hear about it here first, I promise.

UtHC Bulletin

Under the High Chair bulletin is a scattering of various and sundry happenings, discoveries and news.Keep reading...

Garden News

"This is what's cruel about springtime: no matter how it treats you, you can't stop loving it."

Barbara Kingsolver

Truly March is the most frustrating month. It brings sunny warm days that cause you to cast away the wool scarf and haul out sneakers from the back of the closet, and then slams the door in your face with its plunging temperatures and occasional snowfalls. Still, I admit that I give in to its games and occasionally allow myself to believe that it is spring. My hope was validated today by the discovery of some very brave rhubarb poking its little heads up in the garden.
Consider this a warning that I will probably begin blathering about seedlings, compost and my garden in future posts and won't let up until about mid-October or so. It's almost gardening time!!

* * *

Interview with Aimée
Mother of three and food blogger, Kate of A Merrier World, has decided it's high time to discover the stories behind some of her favourite food blogs and guess who she picked to go first? Yep, in the very first installment of her fascinating Edible Lives series, you can read all about Under the High Chair's humble beginnings and the journey to what we are today. Curious as to how everything began? Head on over to the interview for a trip down memory lane and also discover which popular blogger she'll be interviewing next!!
Thank you for this opportunity, Kate!

* * *

Raw Pet Diet
Alright, so after the last fiasco with our cat, Cassis, I decided to put him on a raw diet to avoid going through anything like that again. Correction, I didn't really 'decide', more like I was told to by my little sister, resident family pet expert and B.A.R.F pioneer (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) around these parts. Note that I don't usually take commands from a sibling seven years my junior, but believe me when I tell you, if Miranda strongly suggests something pet related, I know I'd better listen up.
If you want to find out what is involved in committing to a raw diet for your pet or how to transition, my sister outlines the process at her informative, easy-to-understand blog My Mini Zoo. You can also follow her on Twitter.
Raw pet diets are not for the faint-of-heart, let me just say that! There's nothing quite like hacking up chicken carcasses (bone shards flying everywhere and the baby trying to eat them off the floor), mincing chicken hearts & livers, tossing in a raw egg, serving it to your cat--and then sitting down to your own dinner. They don't call it B.A.R.F for nothin'. Just saying.

* * *

Making Baby Food 101
From cat food to baby food, the lovely Cheryl from Backseat Gourmet has two articles on making your own baby food that I wanted to recommend to all my mommy readers out there. I've always made all my own baby food, but never got it together to post a how-to on the subject, even though more than a few of you have asked. (Sorry!)
Cheryl lays out the steps simply and smartly, without lecturing or sounding 'preachy', so if you're expecting a little one or about to transition your baby to solids, be sure to check out Step 1: Purees and Step 2: Textures.

* * *

So, it's only right that I share what has been both an inspiration and a kick in the pants these last few weeks (not to mention a darn good read). Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life"
Written as both a love letter to the land and a wake-up call to the consumer, I haven't been able to put this book down. Even my Tweets are suffering. Her ode to asparagus alone had me weak at the knees.
Suffice it to say, this book is a must-read for any gardener, cook, environmentalist or the like.

* * *

Sugar Shacks
Lastly, I guess my last two posts about sugar shacks got you all fired up about sugaring off season and now you have a hankering for all things maple. Just so you know, I've considered all your requests and am now giving my recommendations! Unfortunately, I am not aware of any places that collect sap in the traditional method and allow you to participate as I did (lucky me! OK, now you just want to smack me). However, here are two places that allow you to get out of the city, admire the tall maples and feast to your hearts content.

• For families, you won't regret a visit to Cabane à Sucre Bouvrette, which we visited last spring. If the amazing pea soup and tire d'érable don't do it for your little Johnny or Jane, the tidy petting zoo and old fashioned train ride will.

• For grown-ups, gourmands and anyone who has $45 to spend very wisely, get yourself to Martin Picard's sugar shack: Cabane à sucre: Au Pied du Cochon. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time to ensure there is some maple-poached lobster left for you.