Asparagus time

It's the awakening of things (at least here in British Columbia)
         It's springtime and the air is getting slightly warm - sun shines through the clouds a bit more often.
And the local supermarket flyers are bombarding us with big giant "asparagus sale" signs! Annoying? Maybe - yes - sure.  But where they come from (mostly Mexico or USA) those asparagus on sale are fresh in season  and delicious!
   The other day I had some - quite thick, soft, flavorful, super green gems - so good!  If you think asparagus is a snobby and expensive food now it's the time to prove yourself wrong.  Go grab a bunch right now.  The asparagus will prove fantastic at the first garden/patio outdoor luncheon of the year.  It will be the protagonist together with a nice Pinot blanc.  Have crisp white linen, a fresh baguette and a chevre together with the asparagus and you are set.  In this case I would suggest cooking the asparagus in salted boiling water until tender but not soft - otherwise they will absorb too much water and loose texture.  Drain the asparagus and let them cool on a plate.  I like them best with a simple lemon-olive oil vinaigrette and a bit of black pepper.  Or you could make a mayo and that would be another wonderful match.  This is super basic but always very good.  Tip: at this time of the season the asparagus are very tender so there is no need to cut too much off the stalks and no need to peel them.

Another suggestion is to pair the asparagus cooked as mentioned above with other vegetables in a nice salad.  This spring I'm keeping in mind Provence as a theme for menus - trying to steer away from cliches and creating plates take hints from that region.  I suggest a grilled eggplant and asparagus salad with pistou and citrus dressing.  It's super easy.  Grill the eggplant cut in medium-thickness slices on your bbq or stove top griddle: give them nice marks and make sure they are tender.  Prepare a pistou: a blend of basil leaves, a bit of garlic, olive oil, salt&pepper, and a few drops of lime/lemon juice - typical of Provence.  Cook the asparagus as above and wash some romaine lettuce leaves.  Prepare a citrus olive oil dressing (tip: add a bit of sugar in the dressing to bring out the lemon essence.)  Assembly: place the lettuce leaves whole on a flat plate; toss the eggplant in the pistou and create a circle of eggplant slices in the center and top with the asparagus. Finally, drizzle the asparagus and lettuce with the citrus dressing - add cracked pepper if you like it.  You will be amazed. The usually assertive flavors of the eggplant and asparagus don't clash but are brought together by the citrus and basil undertones - magnifique!

With some of the same ingredients you can whip up a light and elegant asparagus risotto for a nice dinner.  Make a vegetable broth with half a carrot, half celery stalk, the asparagus stalks cut off, and a small piece of onion.  Use olive oil to sweat some white onion - add the pieces of asparagus and proceed like you would for a risotto - keep it vegetarian, light and clean tasting.  Add a few drops of lime juice instead of wine, add minimal amounts of cheese at the end, no pepper and finish off with a thin julienne of basil! Risotto made this way is spring-ready and quite different from the richer versions we crave on cold, rainy winter days.

Interesting approach:  at the Eden Roc in Ascona, chef Rolf Krapf's spring menu (great menus!) proposes asparagus perfumed with elder flower.  Wow - would love to try but not sure where to get elder flowers here.  I will see.

Welcome to spring!

Mussel Fest!

What a great way to celebrate the almost ending shellfish season!  You can enjoy fruits de mer all year round but they are really best between September and April, especially in the Winter months.
And you really can't beat the small old fishing town charm of Coupeville where the festival takes place.  It's a simple and well organized event with the town's restaurants and mussel farm (Penn Cove Shellfish) getting together to prepare mussels in a variety of ways, one better than the other.  There's local beer, rustic bread to soak up all the flavors of the mussels, live music, sunshine and a great laid back vibe.

Of course the superstars were the super fresh and delicate mussels and the aroma of shallots + butter + wine all around you.
One place in town served them with a concasse of tomatoes and fresh basil.  Another place had an equal winner: jalapeno & green grapes. Effing good!

I know mussels are not for everyone.  As a kid I did not trust them because of their soft and weird appearance.  But one bite was all that I needed to be convinced.  It's one of those simple foods that need only a nudge of seasoning to turn into something much more complex.  Make sure they are fresh! There's nothing worst than a dead mussel.  Any mussels that are open before being cooked or that refuse to open once cooked should be tossed.  If you see a semi-open one and are not sure just smell it and you will know if it is not edible.

The festival is every year at the beginning of March in Coupeville, on the Washington coast above Seattle. It's easy to reach through a scenic detour from highway 5.
It's great.  You can buy a plate of mussels right on the street from the various restaurant stands.  I'll be back - can't wait!

TIP - Did you know that if you are in Brussels (one of the capitals of mussels) you can find outstanding moules frites right in the Grand Place? At a decent price (20 euros for 1kg mussels + fries)! In a place that is like a cave? Yes, at the Cave du Roy - http://www.caveduroy.com  The place is a bit cramped but what an effing atmosphere and mussels!  But more on Brussels later on - such a gastronomical city.

short note

A note on the word "gourmand:" it does sound a bit snobby and outdated but according to the Larousse Gastronomique it is the correct one to use for people interested in g-astronomy.  I prefer the word gastronome and the two are very similar.
The L. Gastronomique describes it nicely: "Such gourmandise orders with discernment, supervises with wisdom, savours with enthusiasm, judges with profundity."  It's all about approaching, tasting and enjoying food with style, moderation and in an educated fashion.
Everyone in love with food should keep in mind the quote above and strive to treat food and the people that produce and prepare it with the respect they deserve.  With humble humility.

Enough about "foodie" - I don't know what it is or means and perhaps it means nothing but when I hear that word I think about fad, about appropriation and about vague.  It definitely took over and as a result it has become a word that is convenient to use.  I won't use it.

G-Astronomy

What's the topic of this blog? G-Astronomy

What do I mean by that? Simply put: "good eating" is bigger than the term gastronomy.

According to the online Oxford dictionary, Gastronomy is "the practice or art of choosing, cooking, and eating good food." Don't you agree? The keywords sum it up nicely: ART! CHOOSING, COOKING, EATING (& DRINKING)

According to the online Oxford dictionary, Astronomy is "the branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole" and the word comes from the Greek, astronomos which means "star arranging."  

Good eating is a bit like arranging stars and creating our universe of taste.  We take our telescope and look for unexplored galaxies of flavors. Sometimes we travel for a long time until we reach a distant planet we never thought existed. Other times we have a great dinner experience that feels like a warp drive. Have you ever ended dinner thinking: "that was intergalactic?"

Food is a topic that is as vast as space and equally idealized.  A great food experience is a bit like a science fiction story - something was so good we can hardly believe it was real.

So strap on your helmet, get into your flying pan and delve into g-astronomy.

Intro

BACKGROUND
First, I should introduce myself.  I grew up in Italy and later moved to Canada.  I went to hotel school in Italy for 2 years and then took a cooking program in Vancouver, Canada.  Cooking is my big passion but not my current profession.  I did work as a cook for a short time.
I've always been interested in food and moving abroad helped me expand my food horizons: understanding North American, Mexican, Japanese and Chinese food.  I have more of a traditional French/Italian approach to food and cooking.

TITLE
Liking food is not the same as understanding good food.  Most food lovers will have that epiphany when they realize oh yes this food is "effing good!" It's a special experience and has nothing to do with expensive and elaborate food.  It's about good food and good times.  The term is borrowed by a cooking school classmate and good friend.  His enthusiasm towards life and food was contagious and that's what this blog will try to accomplish.

DISCLAIMER!
Food and pleasure are very subjective, cultural and personal.  The blog will at times be dictatorial and politically incorrect in its ideas and like all liberal thought it will for sure give rise to discussions and hopefully induce you - the reader - to more thinking and great ideas.

GOAL
I'm not trying to make the next "foodie", picture perfect blog but something that talks about various traits of food in life: its experience, psychology, origin, history and much more.
I hope I will be able to entertain, inspire and keep things simple but with a personal identity. English is my second language  I've been writing and speaking in English for a long time but I apologize in advance if here and there you will find some mistakes.  It happens!

Enjoy!