The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

I pride myself on the fact that I never leave home without eating breakfast. While I’m not one of those people who sits down at the table with a newspaper, cup of coffee and a plate of fresh fruit after a reviving hour of yoga either, for me breakfast is simple and fast: a piece of toast with some almond butter and a cup of tea five minutes before I run out the door. Simple and healthy, two words that I would like to think describe my eating habits effectively.

You’ll often find me berating people close to me who say they have no time to eat in the mornings-especially my mother who rarely eats anything before noon-how easy it is and how much healthier they’ll be for doing it. At such times I always disclose my theory on how eating breakfast curbs your appetite throughout the day, making it easier to eat several small meals without overeating at any one. Funny how you can really start to believe the things you say! While all these things may be true for some, what I generally always leave out of these breakfast conversations, due to its obvious hypocrisy, is my other not so healthy habit: second breakfast.

It is officially feeling like fall in Vancouver and I’m wondering how it’s possible that the summer flew by so quickly. It’s the end of September, how is that possible? Is this what happens after you turn 30? If it is, I don’t think I’m comfortable with it.

It really seems like just yesterday when I was laying on top of my bed, limbs spread out as far as possible from one another, with a sunburn so bad that you could get third degree burns from just touching my skin. I’m pretty sure I shaved a good 5 years off my life with that one yet I keep telling myself that the tan I had in weeks that followed was worth the price. It really was spectacular. Not to mention that it lasted for at least a month! I don’t tan very easily thanks to my extremely fair skin and usually apply the highest amount of SPF I can find, so a tan is a rare thing…. which is what I used to also say about burns. Ha!

This is a very quick recipe that literally took 20 minutes to pull together and was the result of last weeks overzealous fruit purchase. While we were able to eat the majority of the figs we purchased fresh, there was one small basket that seemed to be ripening at lightening speed. I immediately knew I had to make jam, even if it would only result in a small amount.

The first time I consciously tasted fig jam was in Corsica over 12 years ago. I have spent many summer afternoons attempting to replicate that buttery texture laced with those small and delicate seeds that popped in my mouth after each bite and left nothing in their path to be desired.

You see, the fig jam in Corsica has a depth of flavor so complex and full of the best ripe fig taste you could ever imagine that it appears as though you’re in fact eating 8 figs concentrated into one small bite. Replicating this intense flavor is no small undertaking as I believe that there is no competition for the quality of fig available in France.

What I have found though is that the riper the figs are that you use, the more robust the flavor of the jam. I wait until the figs are so ripe that they would probably not be usable within 24 hours of making the jam. I have also in the past added a few dried figs to mix as their flavors are more concentrated.

About two weeks ago I was totally seduced by my supermarket. I found myself in line with all kinds of ingredients in great quantities that I knew would require extra attention to use and not waste. I would have to be creative.

It was obvious that we could not possibly eat 4 pounds of fresh plums, a crate of the most perfect mission figs as well as a dozen each of every available variety of peach under the sun. Call me crazy but there is something about the end of summer and all of the amazing produce that calls my name and instantly inspires dozens of recipes that would be next to impossible to produce in one week.

Peaches and plums aside, the ingredient that had the most impact on me that day were these amazing bags of mixed hot peppers. They were extraordinary! Their perfect, spotless shapes with red, yellow, gold and green called to me and the possibilities just seemed endless. I couldn’t possibly just grab one bag and without a second thought I had 2 bags in my basket and my hand on a third as my imagination ran wild with thoughts of hot pepper sauces and the perfect jar of pickled peppers.

Figs are a favorite in my house.When they’re in season I find it hard to leave the grocery store without them. When they’re out of season and I happen to find some in an over priced fancy market that I shouldn’t be shopping in I buy them then too. Figs as you may already know are not cheap even when in season because they are so delicate, but despite their delicate nature they are wonderful paired with a wide variety of ingredients both sweet and savory. I generally favor figs in the sweet department. Well actually, I generally just eat figs as they are. This recipe is an exception and is adapted from the September issue of Bon Appetit.

I don’t think that it’s possible for everything to go smoothly when you cook dinner for your in laws for the very first time. I get extremely nervous when I cook for anyone I’ve never cooked for before, so making mistakes where I normally wouldn’t is usually a defining characteristic of these first time occasions. Naturally this dinner was no exception to the rule.

My problem is that I always try to do too much with too little time and definitely should know better by now. I’ve been doing this for years and apparently have learnt nothing. I won’t go into the details of the dinner and thankfully it all turned out pretty good in the end, but let me tell you it was a struggle getting there not to mention that I looked like I just came in from a 10k run by the time they walked in the door. Not an attractive look for me at all.

This is probably the third time in a week I’ve come home starving and thrown myself into making a meal that requires some time to cook. By the time it’s actually ready to eat, I’m no longer hungry because I’ve consumed every available snack food in my pantry. I started out thinking I was going to make Maple Brown Rice Risotto with Mushrooms and Rosemary and fortunately for me I realized the mistake early and quickly changed to Pilaf before I consumed all of our snacks for the week!

It still took an hour to make but I’m pretty sure that if I had stuck to my original risotto idea, I would still be at the stove adding the 2000th cup of chicken stock to the pan and probably swearing off of cooking forever.

Recently when it has been my turn to pick a place to eat out on a special occasion, Italian seems to always be my first choice. I’m not sure why this is. When it comes to fine dining in Vancouver there really is an enormous amount of choice. I think that perhaps more than most people, I have a tendency to go back to the places that have left an impression over and over again . I like the familiar aspect of dining in a place where you know the standard of cuisine you will receive is going to be consistent with your previous experiences. There are a few Italian restaurants in Vancouver that fit this bill and Cioppino’s is right at the top.

This place is consistent across all aspects of the dinning experience. From the service, to the food to the over all experience this place always delivers. From being awarded Gold Winner in the 2007 BC Gold Medal Plates to being voted chef of the year in 2008, owner Pino Posteraro has many accomplishments under his belt. Once you tatse his food you’ll know why.

I’ve been trying to master the art of the perfect pizza crust for a long time. It seems that I’ve tried so many recipes by so many different people and really made no progress what so ever. I bought a pizza stone, read every article that exists on the subject and still I find myself extremely disappointed after each attempt. Naturally I came to the conclusion that the perfect pizza made in a domestic oven is impossible.

Well that is until a few hours ago. While flipping through my Jamie at Home cookbook. I came across his recipes for something called Pizza Fritta. Having glanced at this several times before I thought I would read further to see what set it apart, if anything, from all the rest of those recipes that have been nothing but a let down in the past.

Are you ready for this?

Like most people in this city I have a great appreciation for a good cup of coffee. So much so that for many years this appreciation would result in 3 to 4 cups of the bean juice before noon. I could never have imagined starting my day with a cup of tea, even the black variety. There really is nothing like a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning to make that 7am wake up call seem manageable. Whether it’s homemade or the perfect Americano at my favorite shop, coffee had always been what I relied on to get me through the morning.

The funny thing is that I was able to get away with consuming this clearly unhealthy quantity of coffee without experiencing any of the common side affects such as shakiness or headaches.

This daily coffee routine of mine went unchallenged until maybe a few years ago. What exactly happened is hard to say. What I can tell you is that it happened quickly and without warning. Suddenly, one morning after JUST 2 AMERICANOS my earlobes started to sweat and my heart appeared to be beating its way free from my chest. I thought I was having a panic attack, but it turns out that what I was experiencing was my body finally saying enough after the years of caffeine abuse.