One day last winter, a Russian-speaking client at work brought me a plastic bucket and a fork. She opened the bucket and heaped some of the contents onto the fork and offered me a bite. I don’t speak Russian, and she barely speaks a word of English, but I recognized the contents of her bucket […]
pickles
The Year in Books: July with Salt by Mark Kurlansky
In July, I’m going to finish reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Salt is a cheap flavouring that I’m always telling people to eat less of at work; I never really realized how important it was in the history of the world until I read this book. Only when I start to consider how […]
New York City Eats: Carnegie Deli
One of my coworkers was in New York the same time as me. She was excited about going to Carnegie Hall; I’ve never been, but I told her the Carnegie Deli is pretty good! Our first attempt at eating at the Carnegie Deli was on a Thursday afternoon, hoping for an early dinner and a […]
Lazy Pickles, or Japanese Cucumber Salad
These are not really pickles, but rather a Japanese cucumber salad. This dish received its name of Lazy Pickles from one of my lunch buddies at work, who moved to Toronto from Ukraine a couple of years ago. The food she brings for lunch are amazing treats that seem to come from a time forgotten by most […]
Tsukemono – Japanese Pickles
Pickles are an important part of a Japanese meal. When Meinhilde and I last visited Japan and overstayed our welcome with the very generous mottekurunoda, we ate rice and pickles almost every morning for breakfast. Not your usual North American start of the day! Maybe that’s why I now prefer a savoury breakfast over a sweet […]