beautiful fishs [of] wallpaper

Newspaper Column - HOT MUSTARD FISH

Published in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, 16 June 2008.

Hot enough for you? How I long to hear those words. When I’m asked, Hot enough for you? I never say yes. I love the heat and soak it up as if I’m stoking my fires for the long winter ahead. No matter how hot it gets, it’s not hot enough for me. Until recently.

Just the other day, I had to admit it was hot enough. Of course, I was not speaking of the weather because that has definitely not been hot enough. I was referring to the Droolin’ Devil Mustard Gourmet Habanero Hot Sauce that was slathered all over my hamburger. I have always been a fan of mustard, so it stands to reason I would be a fan of hot mustard, too – within reason. At 1,500 Scoville Units, this mustard hot sauce is mild, relatively speaking, which is just hot enough for my palate. But what makes it extra special is that it is – from start to finish – a local food. The mustard is grown here, the sauce is made here and it’s sold right around the corner from my house in City Park. It doesn’t get more local than that.

The mustard hot sauce is the culinary creation of Craig Lowenberg, a hot sauce aficionado who moved his business from Calgary to Saskatoon just in time to catch the wave of the economic boom. His other creations include Uncle Big’s Serial Killer Hot Sauce which, at one million Scoville Units, is the hottest hot sauce made in Canada. You might say, it’s a hot commodity in a hot economy.

“The trend is that nothing’s hot enough anymore,” says Craig, who grew up at Grenfell, near Regina.

He and his wife Lorein moved to Saskatoon in summer 2006 to escape the fast pace of Calgary, where they couldn’t afford the high price of retail space. They wanted to live and raise a family in the friendlier pace of Saskatoon. It was a good move. Their daughter was born last fall and sales of their hot sauces have jumped nearly 300%.

“It gives you more of a chance to focus on what makes you happy,” says Craig. “Since we’ve been back, the new hot sauce recipes we’ve created won three international awards.”

One of their hottest items (in terms of sales) is a green hot sauce commemorating the Saskatchewan Roughriders – it’s a big seller in Alberta, too. In fact, sales in Alberta have increased since he moved here because he has more time to focus on that side of his business. “I always thought at one point I would retire back to Saskatchewan, but I didn’t think it would be thirty years sooner,” he says, “I’m really glad we moved when we did.”

So am I. Small processors like the Lowenbergs are critical to Saskatchewan’s future as a food producing province – one that not only grows the raw product but also processes it into foods we can eat. Too often, raw foods produced here are shipped to another province for processing, and then shipped back to our grocery stores with nary a hint that they originated here.
No wonder it’s so hard to find the label “Made in Saskatchewan” on the grocery shelf. The Saskatchewan Food Processors Association has more 50 members producing hundreds of food products (listed at www.sfpa.sk.ca and sold at the Saskatchewan Made Marketplace). There are many more small food processors who aren’t members of the SFPA who sell at farmers’ markets and local stores.

I love to hunt down these locally-made products and, when I find something I like, I become a loyal customer. So, the next time someone asks if it’s hot enough for me, I’ll tell them that Saskatchewan’s food economy is just heating up.

Hot Mustard Fish
Slather fish fillets (Saskatchewan fish, of course) with Droolin' Devil Mustard Gourmet Habanero Hot Sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Press course fresh bread crumbs onto both sides of the fish. Generously butter the bottom of a baking dish. Place fillets in the baking dish. Dab the top of the fillets with butter. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, until the fish is flakey and cooked. Baking time varies depending on the thickness of the fish, so keep an eye on it.

News Talk Radio - Favourite fish recipes

Thanks, Michelle, for having me on your radio show today. Since we talked about Saskatchewan fish, I thought I'd highlight a few of my favourite fish recipes:

Fish and potato cakes
Fish baked in salt
Fish on a bed of carrots and celery
Nice salad

Another great way with fish: Slather fish fillets with Droolin' Devil Mean Ass Mustard Gourmet Habanero Hot Sauce (produced right here in Saskatoon). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Press fresh bread crumbs onto the fish. Turn fillets and repeat on the other side. Generously butter the bottom of a baking dish. Place fillets in the baking dish. Dab the top of the fillets with butter. Bake at 325F for 15 minutes. Flip the fish and bake another 10 minutes. Using a fork, check if the fish is flakey and cooked. If not, bake a few more minutes. (Baking time varies depending on the thickness of the fish.)

Newspaper column - NICE SALAD

Publsihed in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Oct. 22, 2007.

Occasionally, there is a fine line between tenacity and hard-headedness. I admire tenacity in garden vegetables, like the rhubarb that refuses to be cut back and the squash that grows out of the compost.This past spring, my garden was full of renegade spinach in places that had never been planted to spinach. I admired that spunk so much I carefully transplanted it into a proper row.

But when a full-grown tomato plant is still in the garden in mid-October, with its yellowing leaves and spindly stem, and pinkish tomatoes struggling to soak up enough sun to turn red – well, that is sheer hard-headedness. And the hard head is all mine. Perhaps a psychiatrist would diagnose me as suffering from winter denial syndrome, but I can think of no better way to stave off the commencement of winter than to prolong the advancement of the summer garden.

So, every night I go out and cover my tomatoes with an old sheet and every morning I roll back the frosty sheet so the tomatoes can bask in the sun. Somewhere in between the sheets – preferably at dinnertime – I pluck off the ripest of the red tomatoes and eat them – preferably with the salad greens I planted in August which are now at their tender peak. (Lettuce and spinach can take a bit more frost than tomatoes, but I’m not taking any chances; I cover them at night, too.)

A few years ago, my husband and I spent the winter in a medieval mountain town in Italy where, right up to Christmas, gardeners were nurturing their tomatoes on the vine. These tomatoes were usually planted in front of a rock wall and staked to a tall pole, which maximized the warmth and exposure to the sun. It didn’t matter that the stems were spindly and the leaves were almost gone, those last few delicious tomatoes kept on ripening to the bitter end – which came with the first snow on New Year’s Eve.

I decided to try this principle in my own garden here in Saskatoon. I planted a few tomatoes up against the house (grey stucco, sort of like rocks) and attached them to tall stakes. And here it is, the latter half of October, and I am still enjoying fresh tomatoes from the garden. This may be hard-headed obstinacy, but there is method to my madness. Like an Italian grandmother, I prefer my vegetables to be fresh and in season. I want to eat what local gardens have to offer, rather than defy the seasons by buying imported vegetables from other parts of the planet. So, tomatoes and salad greens only when they’re fresh here in Saskatchewan (and, I hasten to add, you can still get both at the Saskatoon farmers’ market).

Here’s a great salad based on the French original called Salade Nicoise (nee-swaz), named for the city of Nice. I made it last week with tomatoes, salad greens and baby fingerling potatoes fresh out of my garden. The French version calls for tuna, but I use leftover Saskatchewan fish when I have it. It turned out so pretty and delicious, I called my version the Nice Salad. This recipe is a meal for two or a first course salad for four.

Nice Salad
3-4 cups of salad greens
Several thin slices of onion
(or 2 sliced green onions)
Two handfuls of baby potatoes, boiled
(or larger potatoes, cooked and quartered)
2-3 small ripe tomatoes, in wedges
3 hardboiled eggs, in wedges
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
(or steamed green beans/asparagus in season)
1/2 cup cooked fish

Dressing:
Juice of one-half lemon
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Dash of salt and pepper

Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss half of the dressing with the salad greens and onion. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, eggs and other vegetables around a platter. Drizzle with the remainder of the dressing. Mound the salad greens in the centre. Top the greens with the cooked fish. Serve with a big spoon and two salad bowls.

Isn't that nice - NICE SALAD

The French make a salad called Salade Nicoise (nees-waz), named for the city of Nice. It’s usually made with tuna, but since that is not a Saskatchewan ingredient, I made it with trout. It turned out very nice, and that is why I’ve called it the Nice Salad. This recipe is for two. You can double and triple it if you like.

2 small boiled potatoes, peeled and cubed
½ green pepper, sliced
10 thinly sliced rounds of onion, or more to taste
Small handful of fresh basil, thinly sliced
2 red tomatoes, cut in wedges
2 hardboiled eggs, cut in wedges
½ cup cooked trout, flaked

Dressing:
Juice of one-half juicy lemon
An equal amount of olive oil
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Dash of salt and pepper

In a bowl, mix together the potatoes, green pepper and onion. Make the dressing by mixing the lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil, all the while beating with a whisk to form a creamy dressing. Toss the dressing into the potatoes. Let marinate a few minutes or longer. Before serving, mix in the basil. To serve, divide the potato mixture onto two plates. Place the wedges of tomato and hardboiled egg around the edge of the salad. Mound the fish in the centre. Eat! (A Salade Nicoise often includes green beans, but since they are not in season yet, I’ll leave them out my Nice Salad until later in the summer.)