Rhubarb, matar paneer and online shopping
Good morning!
I am a huge fan of rhubarb, so every spring I buy tons of it, spending amount of money that would seem ridiculous to anyone who has a patch in their backyard. But then this year, in my delivery-only grocery status, I was having a hard time finding any. I was stalking (ahem) various retailers to no avail, until I got an email from a farmer who usually sets up at the Trinity Bellwoods Farmer’s Market. (I had signed up for his list via the market’s website.)
He had rhubarb! And even though I was in the middle of a virtual game of bridge with my bridge club, I detoured to email in my order. (Sorry, bridge club!) Good thing, as he sold out quickly. So yesterday I picked up my five pounds of rhubarb from the table he set up in front of a local school, and last night I made a quick compote for dessert. The rest is waiting in the fridge for the weather to cool down so I can use my oven.
I’m considering a bunch of recipes from Flourist: rhubarb rye galettes, rhubarb custard galettes, a rhubarb almond upside down cake, and a rhubarb custard cake. I’ll let you know what I end up making. Do you have any favourite rhubarb recipes I should add to my list?
Indian-ish at home
I’ve still been cooking pretty simply, but then on Sunday I got ultra-ambitious and made matar paneer and naan for dinner. I make no promises as to the authenticity of these recipes – I am not an expert on Indian cooking. But it was an enjoyable meal.
First, the naan: I used my sourdough starter to make this recipe from Baked The Blog. It is tricky to roll the dough thinly then transfer it to the pan, but even my messy versions worked out well enough and were delicious.
I also made homemade paneer, which I had done once before and is ridiculously easy. I used this recipe from The Kitchn. My paneer was very soft and crumbly, which is fine flavour wise but in future I would make it a day ahead and put more effort into squeezing out any liquid.
And for the matar paneer, I followed this recipe. I was preoccupied with my naan but in future I would pay more attention to spice levels before serving (you know, that whole taste-as-you-cook thing) as I would have boosted a lot of them. (Side note: if you don’t eat dairy, I think this would be just as delicious with the right tofu.)
Online shopping
I’ve been trying extra hard to support small/local businesses since lockdown hit, especially when it comes to food. So I thought I’d share some options I’ve come across. Let me know if you have others you’d recommend.
First, I’ve been impressed with Greenhouse Juice. They were already set up with online order and delivery of their own products, and have expanded their shop to include plant-based ingredients and products from a selection of local suppliers: everything from flour and olive oil to chocolate and halva as well as ready-made meals and kits. We enjoyed the Baldassarre pasta with Sugo tomato sauce and the “Six Mix” from The Roasted Nut, and are looking forward to sampling the vegan wontons still in the freezer.
Our regular weekly delivery comes from Mama Earth (who are still not taking on new customers), but you can get something similar from Fresh City Farms, who are. And we’ve gotten a lot of delicious groceries from The Healthy Butcher. Another local grocer with delivery that Jessica told me about is Annex Market. And I’ve been doing curbside pick-up from low-waste store Unboxed Market, who also now have a delivery partner.
For the bakers out there, there was already a trend of small-batch, locally milled flours before the pandemic, and it has now swung into high gear. I’ve ordered from Brodflour in Toronto, Flourist in Vancouver (who also sell organic Canadian-grown legumes) and 1847 in Fergus. I’m extra fond of 1847 because they use plain paper packaging, i.e., no plastic. Sweets from the Earth is also selling flour as well as yeast, if you’re still looking for that.
I haven’t been doing takeout or meal kits from restaurants, but if I were, two on my list would be Fat Choi (the vegan arm of Ossington restaurant Soos) and Uncle Mikey’s, who by the way have excellent taste in wine. And I’ve got my eye on these mochi from Natural Japan Eats.
Also, check with your local farmer’s market to see if they have links to vendors who are doing direct sales.
If you have more ideas, please send them my way and I’ll share.
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