chefboyzrfused-blog

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Hugging A Fish Farmer

The farmer I’m choosing to hug is a local dried fish farmer from the country in which my parents grew up, and that is Sri Lanka. More importantly Jaffna, one of the Capital Cities in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Known to my parents as “Jaya Anna” which basically translates to brother Jaya, was a local dried fish farmer who would go out onto the sea and gather fish with a bunch of his friends, come back and dry them out in the hot Sri Lankan sun, and basically sell them to all the locals and others who come out for his famous dried fish. Its great because from the water to the store front it typically takes about four days. Its quite easy for them to dry fish especially cause its so hot and very sunny over there the only worry they usually have is to watch out for pesky seagulls that like to snatch the fish while their drying in the sun.

In that area of Sri Lanka, fish is very well known and eaten only because its one of the easiest proteins to catch. And brother Jaya is really good at showing that its really easy to catch. Catching hundreds of fish monthly, fish commonly caught in the area are a variety of carp, trout and tilapia ranging from all kinds of sizes from what I remember seeing. Its all farmed organically cause the fish are grown in the sea and not in a farm and thats mainly why they range in sizes when caught. Fish come from all over also so basically killing out the whole population of them isn’t something to worry about. Especially because once farmed, dried and ready to go they have the shelf life of 6-12 months before its considered not safe to eat. But brother Jaya doesn’t have to go that far, they usually run out 2 weeks after being harvested.

From what i remember they had many variations of carp, trout, and tilapia, and a couple other fishes that I’m not familiar with, pricing isn’t really bad either 150 - 350 Sri Lankan Rupees which is roughly $1 - $3 Canadian dollars for a handful of dried delicous fish. Then again its a bit pricey for locals but with the shelf life of 6-12 months it really doesn’t matter much to them.

To be honest, being Canadian and going over there, roughly $5 Canadian can get you roughly 2 meals in Sri Lanka. It might seem expensive but yet again with the shelf life of that long, its not a bad deal at all.

Overall, going back to my parents home country to see the local dried fish farmer was more then just a cool experience it was a different life to see someone go get into a boat, out to sea, bringing back nets and nets full of different fish, cleaning them, cutting them up and drying them out just to make a little bit of money to feed their family. Where here all we have to do is walk into our local Walmart and walk to the fish aisle and bam!! fish on a layer of ice. It really changed the way I feel about how other farmers get they’re produce and how they sell it. it was a real eye opening experience and if I can do it again I sure as hell would.

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Most people would call a famous chef or a convection oven an innovation or an innovator, but not me. The innovator I think best suits the topic is actually a Youtube chef personal, and his name is Brad Leone from Bon Appétit magazine. Im pretty sure a couple people are going to jump at me and come at me saying he’s not a chef or whatever because he’s on Youtube but to be honest I can careless about what you think is or is not a chef.

A little about Brad, from what i know. Brad Leone is a Youtube chef for his channel called It’s Alive; being subscribled to him for almost 4 years now and watching every video he uploads every week. I can say I have got some really great ideas from him. There isn’t much of a biography about him other than being a food editor and a manager at the test kitchen for Bon Appétit magazine in New York, on the 35th floor of the One World Trade Centre. But if you watch his video you can really see what kind of a person he really is. I find his personality that much different that what I see from chefs nowadays. He’s more of a older child if that makes any sense, always cracking joking and humourous knowledagble facts about the recipe while proceeding to make it.

Brad falls under the technology category in my opinion. The way he uses Youtube to show home chefs or even chefs to be how to make classic and new recipes is a use of technology. In a society where everyone is connected through the power of the internet. Where anyone can find anything by typing it into the search bar. What Brad is doing by uploading videos onto a big open platform is basically expanding the amount of people who can see and copy this talents.

Why its important to me is because I can understand how going to school to master the craft of cooking can be hard and/or expensive for people. But thanks to chefs like Brad and many other online chefs; basic people like you and I have the advantage of opening and expanding our knowledge about ingredients, that we either didn’t know or did know and not how to use. Knowledge is knowledge regardless. Especailly making a video and uploading it to Youtube makes it ten times easier by constantly going back and fourth super easily to understand the recipe better and to make sure we understand the procedure.

To be honest; Knowing how to cook is a importance of itself, and thanks to Youtube and time of chefs who are willing to record, edit and upload recipes to help other home chefs, or even students how to cook a meal or even expand their knowledge of a ingredient to better themselves in a dish.

It affects me for many reasons mainly because I like seeing someone make a dish I understand it better and helps me when i do it myself. Its not that I can’t just follow the recipe by looking at it but it confuses me quickly. but with someone doing it for me through Youtube i understand it much better. And if that person is Brad Leone it makes it ten times funnier. Its really hard to follow when the chef is tense or doesn’t have any emotions either, Brad like to make it a learning experience he’s serious about doing it properly but also makes jokes and keeps you laughing so it takes a bit of stress of you incase you’re scared your going to mess something up. And if you do miss a part, all you have to do is rewind a bit and whola, he’s teaching you again.

Thats why I chose to do Brad Leone as my innovator.

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Moove Outta My Life

Thank god I’m not allergic to any food allergens some people are allergic too. But growing up in my family, either have a peanut allergy or being allergic to milk is really common; most of my cousins do have them. And i can’t really see myself having them either, just cause i like eating basically everything most people are allergic too.

So why not for a week pretend to have a food allergic and see how id struggle. The food allergen i chose to give myself was to be allergic to milk. Milk also being in dairy means i have to cut out dairy in general. Which for a guy who loves coffees, ice creams and yogurt its going to be like i am going to starve myself for a week. I’m the type of person who grabs a chocolate milk before leaving the house for work or school, ill have to wake up extra early or even prepare before i go to sleep the night before. But come on now there should be a food plan that i can maintain without the use of dairy in general.

Cutting dairy from my food plan is going to be a bit tough for me especially knowing i hate the taste of almond milks, or soy milk, i rather just cut it out in general. So here goes absolutely nothing. enjoy my plan.

I have done some research on meal plans online and most of them look like big big breakfast, lunches and dinners, something i can not be able to maintain on a crazy school/work type of lifestyle. Maybe when I’m a bit more grown up with a steady life plan i can make a steady dairy free meal plan. After a week of substituting basically every piece of dairy from my food choice i usually have i found out how difficult it, I noticed I couldn't just buy a quick milkshake or yogurt for on the run times, i had to change up my eat habits at certain times for certain recipes that involved dairy subs. I had myself working and going home to have a bigger meal to make up for certain skipped meals, i couldn't just get a quick double double coffee at Tim Horton’s to get a quick boost. I really miss having a ice cream after lunch. I makes you understand how much something really effects your life and when you can't have it all of a sudden its much harder especially if you depend on it that much to get you through your day. Although I have noticed how many dairy i do consume on a daily day to day life, and i have stretched my horizons to branch into the sub world of dairy. Instead of milk from cows, they make milk out of everything; hemps, coconut, cashews, and rice. My love for ice cream is not about to die out, they also make ice cream with different milks. Not quite the same in taste but there are certain brands who have done a great job making something very similar to where i don't even realize I'm not eating ice cream. A lot of vegan options for dairy is also out there. Cheese, milk, butter, chocolates whatever your craving, vegans already got it in their carts. Yes it can be a bit more expensive knowing its not coming from a cow can be  a change for some people.  I personally don't think i can continue this more or less challenge in my head, just cause the original thing has been implanted into my head, the taste the flavour the price. But for a person who dairy free, or who has a dairy allergen, not eating it can be a option but there are many many substitutes in and around the world that you actually don't have to worry about never having dairy again. I just personal think I'm used to the original thing, its a big cheaper and its what i grew up with. 

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Continuation from my Butter Chicken. A package of 5 chicken breasts is roughly $10 - $11 dollars at your local Walmart. 

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Yet again not my personal recipe (Thats still in the works)  Recipe is custody of Tansy1308 of New Zealand 

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BUTTER CHICKEN !!

i chose to do chicken. Yea yea yea here come the haters, chicken isn’t a meat… to be honest. thats just BS in my opinion. Chickens are animals, still having feelings and a heart and a brain, we kill them to eat; as a source of meat. Its considered poultry to some, but at the end of the day its still meat.

Well now thats clear.

I chose to go with chicken as my main protein in my dish, which as the title is Butter Chicken. Not the whole chicken, well you can but its better if you don’t.

i used just the breast of the chicken, only because its easier to work with and i feel like it absorbs the flavours its cooked in better than tougher meats like beef and pork.

Boneless and skinless breasts of a chicken, can be easily found at Walmart for roughly $10 for about 4-5 pieces of chicken breast which is perfectly good enough for making 6-8 servings of butter chicken. i like buying them from Walmart, just because i don’t need to trim any excess fats off of them. usually finding a couple tenderloins on them if your lucky ;) i have heard of stories where people found maggots and other unwanted creatures in their meats when bought at Walmart. But all these years of buying my meats there i haven’t had any issues. Just have to look out for the typical discolouring, firmness, reading the label properly (to understand when its expires, and if its graded) and size. 

There are many different ways to make butter chicken, and many of them just differentiate between different spices and herbs used to season the sauce to make it either, spicy, savoury, sweet, thicker and or smoother. Different cultures also like to add their different twist on it, vegetarians would rather add Paneer or tofu which gives it a cheesy or creamy-er taste and texture just because of the type of protein used.

I prefer a creamy, savoury, smooth butter chicken, but don’t tell my mother that.

Butter chicken can be made in one pan or if you want to be fancy you may cook your chicken separately and make the sauce or gravy in another pan and combine them together at the ending, but i feel like if you cook it in one pan it makes it taste ten times better, with all the rendered chicken fat combines into the curry to make it greaser or in better terms more flavourful.  

I really like using this one recipe i found online, ill put the link below and also print a post a copy onto the page but i feel like this is the best one, although i do use a 1/4 cup more cream than what she lists in her recipe. To give it that creamy smoother texture.

https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/butter-chicken-88578?photo=243791

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Theory 2

Hey, Its Varveen again ! If your still with me or are just stumbling onto my page recently, WELCOME !! How have things been? Great, thats good to hear. Well; Hello to my page. Lets take a spin at Theory Of Food 2!!! Take a seat and get comfortable, you are about to scroll and scroll onto a rollercoaster ride called my life :) Please shoot me a message or a text if you wanna know more… or just keep scrolling down.

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FERMENTED MEXICAN PINEAPPLE DRINK AKA TEPACHE 

I like pineapples, sweet and tangy with a refreshing blast of summer in your mouth, who wouldn’t like it. And considering that there is always pineapples at my house, i chose to make some Tepache. Only after watching brad make Tepache above, i got the idea to try making it myself. ‘Tepache” is basically a fermented pineapple drink, mainly made in Mexico and sold on the street as a refreshing drink on the hot sunny days. The pineapple rind is used to ferment the drink, the rind has a lot of bacteria which will break down the sugars in the water and turn it into yeast which will break down even more and pull out flavours from all the spices and peppers into the liquid. It should turn into a deep yellowish brown like a rich beer colour.      Ingredients:  - 1 ripe pineapple  - 1 piece of ginger (size of a fingerling potato)  - 1 scotch bonnet (1/2 or whole pepper) *optional*  - 1/2 brown sugar  - 1 stick of cinnamon  - 500 ml of water  Equipment:  - a glass jar with a lid *preferably a tall one*  - measuring cup  - wooden spoon  - chef knife - liter measuring cup  - china cap

Directions:  - Make sure you wash the pineapple before cutting into it. After washing it, cut off a bit of the top and the bottom. Cut the pineapple into fourths and cut the pineapple into wedges, don’t worry about peeling the pineapple, the rind is used to ferment it. Add all the pineapple to the jar and make sure you leave a bit of space to let it breathe. - Cut the ginger into small cylinders with the skin on, and add it into the jar, depending on how you like the heat, add half or the whole pepper into the jar, snap the cinnamon in half and add it into the jar as well. - Add 500 ml of water into a liter measuring cup and add the 1/2 cup of brown sugar to it, stir the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and add it to the jar as well.  - That’s all, your tepache is good to ferment for the next couple days. Put the lid back onto the jar but dont fully close it, just leave it on top, so it can protect it from any dust or dirt that tries to get in.  - Make sure you open it once or two a day to let it breathe, then put the lid back on. Within a week you should see a deep yellowish brown colour starting to develop and bubbles around the pineapples.  The Finished Product:  After 2 weeks it should be ready to pour all the contains out through a china cap into another jar and woala, your tepache is ready to consume.  Taste:  Your finished tepache should have a deep rich yellowish brown colour with a bit of carbonation. You should be able to taste a slight pineapple taste with a kick of pepper from the back of your throat.  Sweet from when it first goes into your mouth, tangy right after and trust me youll feel the spice hit you right after leaving you with a spicy ending.  Super easy to make, made it with no troubles. The ingredients were the right amount of sweet, sour and spice for my taste buds. Served over some ice on a hot sunny day would seem ideal. I recommend any of you foodies try this out for yourself. Super easy ingredients, with a easy method, for a great summer drink.  

#MEXICAN #TEPACHE #SPICY #DRINK #SUMMER #PINEAPPLES #FERMENTED #TRENDY

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The Beautiful Cactus Fruit

#cactus #food #unique #scary #fruit #forbidden fruit #delicious

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The Beautiful Cactus Pear

Over the weekend I had a chance to drive down to the local Asian supermarket on a quest to find and rare or as I would say, unique food that I haven't tried before. Walked in and wasn't too hard to find a “Cactus Pear”, first thought was “wtf is a cactus pear? a fruit? a plant? why would anyone eat this?”  So I bought it and took it home, in hopes of figuring out what in the world this was.  Took it home, did some research and figured out its a fruit thats found on the tops of actual cactus (Those green leaf looking plants with very sharp needles around them, yeah those) A cactus pear is like its older brother with little sharp needles but instead of being green in colour its red, and edible. After figuring out its actually edible, I did more research on how to cut and eat this fruit. Very simple to be honest, that cut the sides and cut it in half to scoop out the inside with a spoon, or make a small incision from the top of the fruit to the bottom and like a onion, the outside peel just slides off.  Leaving you with a nice round reddish pink fruit, almost as if you peeled a beet. Once you cut it in half, its opens up and looks exactly like how a dragon fruit would look but, reddish flesh with little black seeds, hard but edible. I cut it into slices and threw one into my mouth.  It was sweet but not too sweet to where you'd find it hard to eat the whole fruit, a pleasant amount of sweetness while being a bit sour around the edges. The flesh tasted almost as those Motts applesauce but a bit more grainier, the black seeds weren't easy to bite through, just had to swallow them whole. For such a scary looking fruit it was very soft to eat.  I didn't know what I was getting into when first buying the cactus pear but I'm happy I actually bought one and got to try it, it was cool researching and learning more about the fruit and how to eat it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who hasn't tried it or is just feeling a bit curious on what this world has to offer. I promise you won't be disappointed. I will also be picking up more when I see them around.  

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Saw a video where a guy named Brad made fermented Mexican Pineapple drink also known as Tepache so I decided to make it at home.

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Chilled Watermelon and Rosemary Soup ! 

#chilled #watermelon #rosemary #soup #summer soup #tasty #cold #cold soup

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Chilled Watermelon & Rosemary Soup

The soup I chose to do was something I made for an event while working at one of my past jobs over the summer, its consider a soup to some and a drink to others. It was chilled Watermelon and Rosemary soup and it tasted absolutely fantastic especially during the summer when the weather was hot and humid, it was a thirst quencher for sure, and the rosemary made it fragrant. 

The Recipe: Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed seeded watermelon

1⁄3 cup apple sauce

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon chopped of fresh rosemary

1⁄2 cup a light white wine (such as Riesling)

1 tablespoon honey (optional) 

Directions: Easy As Pie 

1. Process the first 5 ingredients and honey (if desired) in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape sides. 2. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and let it chill for at least two hours. 

3. Then you are ready to enjoy your creation.  I remember serving them at the event; the event organizers and guests loved it, as a appetizer and starter. I clearly remember a lot of the guests kept coming back and we ended up running out of it. Honestly it was a great “soup”, well it was different, but it was a hit in the kitchen and the guest loved it so it speaks for itself. I highly recommend it to whoever wants to try something different.  The soup was a success, and as a chef you’re always looking to create simply but unique dishes that your customers will love and come back for. And well i think the chilled watermelon and rosemary soup is one of those dishes. The different flavors balance out perfect, sweet, tangy, and mostly a explosion of flavor symphony that will keep for mouth ringing for more.  

#watermelon #soup #rosemary #different #tasty #summer soup

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Reference to a Great Culinary Blog you have found and would like to emulate. Include reasons why you like this Blog, what they do well and what could be done better?

: https://firstwefeast.com/eat 

First We Feast, is one of the only blogs that comes to mind when someone asks me about my favorite blogs. Great blog that has a lot of content about great recipes to make at home, amazing places to eat, and post videos with relevant artists and rappers whom I listen to on a daily. And to be honest that’s amazing to see in my opinion, really opens up a door to listen to your favorite artists on what they like eating while still being related to the culinary world of things. I also love how its very easy to roam around the blog, and how its open and everything is spread out so its to look for things I’m interested in. Honestly if I can get my blog to half of what this blog is I’ll be happy with that. I haven’t found a flaw in it so far but that’s probably because I really enjoy the blog already and its always updating with interesting and funny videos and posts to constantly keep me coming back for more.  Definitely a : 4.5/5 stars  

#food #culinary #hiphop #trap #rapper #blog #recipes #drinks

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“ Don’t take it personally. Just take it seriously. “ - Gordon Ramsay  One of my favorite quotes I've heard someone repeat in a kitchen in several occassions and it makes sense. In a kitchen its all fun and games, but you cant take anything personally or else you wont be able to get along with your chefs and other co-workers. Not saying all kitchens run by swearing and cussing off the employees but there will be those few moments where someone will snap and might say something hurtful and rude. Its not meant to be taken to heart, although you’ll have to convert it into thinking someones mad because the product isn’t being completely and to use teamwork to complete it and to push it out the window as soon as possible to make everyone happy. 

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One of my personal favourites: Butter chicken and Cucumber Sushi.

A fusion of South Indian and Asian flavors.

Not the best hand roll, throwback to couple of my first creations I ever made, gotten a lot better now but I remember it tasted great, the savoury butter chicken worked great with the plain but crunchy cucumber wrapped together on a bed of rice and seaweed. Delicious, a must try for those who are into the fusion world.