by Therese de Grace

Succumbing to the mercy of trades peoples is a skill I have yet to master, in my kitchen no one holds me hostage. I can do any station any time from the dish pit to the grill, but ask me to fetch a punch and I’ll show up with a fruity mocktail. 

Our displaced kitchen dwellers are dying to get back into the heat, craving the security of our anti-social madness where eye contact and movement along with flavor and savour speak to our souls…. fuck the drywall give us a whisk already!  Today I arranged a little field trip to the local artisan cheese shop that had the lot of us ecstatic, we have been bailing cement for far too long.  Halfway out the door, giddy with the anticipation of a lactose coma, we came face to face with a squirrel (insert the theme from The Good the Bad and the Ugly).  The quickest way to get a dish pig out of a euphoric state is to introduce a rodent.  Thank God for Nacho (remember the guy that sings like a woman).  Our sweet Mexican friend tried to entranced the squirrel with his soft melodic inflections, unfortunately squirrels in Toronto are racist and don’t appreciate sexy Spanish sonnets.  Did you know that squirrels do not like to be cornered?  Neither did Nacho for that matter, so it was off to the hospital for Pobre Nacho.  It was a sacrifice that the restaurant demanded, whatever Lola wants! 

Most importantly we carted him off without missing our appointment in Cheese Utopia where we bumped in to an old Friend named Mimolette. 

By old I mean ancient this fair lady was created in Lille France by commission of Louis XIV who wanted something that tasted a bit like Edam and suggested that Achiote be added to give it an orange colour. It is truly heavenly and expensive but a little goes a long way.  This is a cheese to be celebrated, drink it with a full bodied wine and elegant condiments like fresh fennel, grapes, nuts, ice wine jelly,  wafer crackers and the Pear Chutney I have listed below. 

Pear and Walnut Chutney

You will require the following ingredients:
6 ripe Bosc pears, peeled and cut into cubes
1 diced white onion
1 clove of minced garlic
½ teaspoon of cumin
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika
Pinch of turmeric
2 tablespoons of butter
Juice of one lemon
1/3 cup of white wine
1/3 cup of sugar
½ a cup of finely chopped walnuts

Method
In a sauce pot over medium heat up butter and lightly brown your onions, add your garlic and spices and cook until mixture forms a paste, deglaze with lemon juice and wine.

Allow liquid to reduce by half and add your sugar, pears, and walnuts and reduce your heat to low. 

Simmer for half an hour and allow to chill for 2 hours before serving.