I know, I know. I much prefer making one from scratch or actually, someone baking one for me. But when you’re in a bind, Costco’s lasagna ain’t bad. Saucy, hearty and humongous. For $15 you get to feed a whack of people. It’s worth it.
According to its website, Tabasco Sauce has been produced since 1868 in Louisiana and is in its fifth generation as a family business. All shareholders inherited their stock or were given it by a living member of the McIlhenny family. Tabasco Sauce is made from tabasco peppers (Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco), vinegar and salt.
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| Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco – Photo by chilifoorumi.fi |
The peppers are mashed the same day they are picked and placed in white oak barrels to age for up to three years. Once the barrels are closed, a thick layer of salt is spread on top, creating an air-tight seal. This keeps out oxygen and allows fermentation gases to escape. The barrels are stacked to the ceilings in the Louisiana warehouses. They are kept there for up to three years until they have fully aged. A member of the McIlhenny family personally inspects each barrel of pepper mash and deems the aging process complete. The fully aged mash is then cleaned, drained and mixed with high quality, distilled, vinegar for up to 28 days in 1,800-gallon vats. The resulting sauce is sent to the plant’s floor to be bottled and distributed to over 160 countries and territories around the world.
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| Photo courtesy of brewer_doug |
Ottawa’s a pretty small town. The hunt for annoto seeds, fresh dates, morel mushrooms or cabot cheddar can take you on a pretty wild goose chase. Nicastro’s on Bank street has bailed me out on more than one occasion in those times where I need to acquire a hard to find ingredient for my recipe. It’s a beautifully well-stocked market where you can find fresh produce, pasta, meats and sausages, deli items, cheeses, coffee, cookies and other gourmet foods. If Julia Child had lived in Ottawa, this is where she would have shopped.
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| Il Negozio Nicastro, 792 Bank Street (at Third Ave), Ottawa |
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| A variety of olives in the deli case. |
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| Find pretty much any mushroom you need for your recipe. Even those very expensive morels. |
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| One of the best assortment of cheese in the region. |
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| The walls are lined with oils and vinegars from all over the world. |
I live in a condo with a strict no BBQ rule so I’m forever looking to find anything that replicates the mouth-watering tastes of BBQ that I crave so much. And I found it in a chip. PC’s World of Flavours Canadian Burger Chips. These chips taste like a bacon double cheeseburger. No joke. They capture that grilled beef flavour that men love so much. In an informal taste test of the sexes, men thought these chips rocked. Women, not so much. Buy them and taste for yourselves.
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| Loblaw’s President’s Choice World of Flavours Canadian Burger Chips |
I like grits. Is it that unusual for a guy from Canada with no ties to the south? I suppose it is. I can’t really explain it. The south and southern food is just something I’m drawn to. Why fight it? There’s something inherently comforting about eating a bowl of warm grits. I like grits plain. I like them with butter. I like them with biscuits and gravy. I just like them. And the same buddy that got me the Cocoa Pebbles scoured Daytona Beach for locally made grits. I’m stoked to try Dixie Lily and Jim Dandy grits. My friend usually brings me Quaker brand which is just, well, dandy. But with five boxes of grits, I should be good till next spring.
I’m a bit of a child. Not sure if you’ve been able to figure that out through reading this blog. Thankfully I have friends who will indulge my childlike nature. My buddy goes to Florida every year and brings me cereal treasures from down under. Ya see, up here in the true north strong and free, we don’t get Cocoa Pebbles cereal. Such a shame, really. We used to. I ate it as a kid all the time but then it was suddenly taken away from me (Ok, us). I googled “Why no Cocoa Pebbles in Canada?” and found my response. According to Gluten Free Doll’s blog, she wrote to the people at Post Cereal and here’s what they wrote back:
“Due to character licensing and copyright issues, the Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles cannot be sold in Canada at this time. It is also due to Canadian law popular cartoon characters on the television cannot sell products such as cereal. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for using Post.”
So there you have it. Looks like I’m going to have to continue to have my friends bring in Cocoa Pebbles through the US border for the forceable future. Thankfully I have good people in my life who value my childlike qualities.
