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In this issue:
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Sardines
Hot Toddy
Ketchup
Back in Stock
Recipes of the Week
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Yumm
Tested all weekend in the store as hot chocolate. It also works as chips in cookies, and eaten' out-of-hand!
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 Dining with the food editor
This past weekend I was invited to dine with a friend and her son. She, in my mind, has this wonderfully romantic job as the Food Editor of F&W Magazine; traveling the world and eating food at the finest restaurants cloaked in secrecy. So, when she visits Seattle, it's always a kick to go eating with her. You order up all the things you want to try, whatever sounds good, and you eat!
Not only is it nice to catch up on family stuff and eat good food, but when you go out with this unassuming food editor, you gather interesting tidbits and learn lots!
One of the places we went to had just opened; a place that I knew nothing about. It was a 1/2 a block away from the lake and had a menu with a number of interesting offerings. The space was understated and had a nice north light feel to it. And everything we had was good and definitely worth going back for.
One of the dishes we had was Sardines on toast, cherry bombs, skordalia and it was very good. Simple and delicious! See the recipe below for skordalia, the bedding under the sardines.
Shop now for the healthy little fish, the sardine.
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Hot Toddy defined:
(No facts are used in the following ...)
There are many scholarly people (and I am, obviously, not one of them,) that believe that the word toddy comes from India and is a derivative or an interpretation of the word, Tari. I, on the other hand, believe that the Scottish story is a much more likely one, and certainly much more romantic.
The debate rages on ...
Here is the story behind the Scottish origins of
Hot Toddy.
Once, a long time ago in 1665, in the faraway land of Scotland, an expert spoke about dirty water. Tod's Well was spoken of as the source for clean aqua vitae, or usquebae in Highland Gaelic, meaning the water of life. Kettles full of Toddian Spring supplied the city with the water of Scotland, he writes. He referenced the medicinal benefit of drinking hot aqua sweetened with sugar and cinnamon, for clearing a stuffy head just before bedtime.
The veteran expert goes on to describe that, in Scotland in the whisky trade, the custom is to use aqua as an acronym for whisky on the invoice. The conclusion then, of course, is that the word Toddy comes from the Well of Tod.
After tasting Hawkshead's Hot Toddy, with the Seattle rains beating down on the store's skylights, Tina's take was that she would like to take a hot toddy bath, and that she would like her hot toddy to have 8 times more whisky!
Perfect in a cup of warm water, in porridge, or on ice cream. Qualifies as "spoon ready" for the common cold or a scratchy winter throat.
Shop now for a honey of a Hot Toddy
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Ketchup the Hawkshead way
These two tomato based sauces are red all over and could be used in place of boring old ketchup.
The redder of the two, the Steak Sauce, looks much like ketchup, but with the added spices tastes like a sophisticated version meant for more upscale dishes. Dress your lamb in a marinade of Hawkshead Steak Sauce, add it to chicken or vegetables when frying. Or, just use it like you would ketchup, on burgers and fries. The hint of citrus and spice makes it very nice!
Hawkshead Spicy BBQ sauce.
Darker than it's cousin above, the flavors jump at you as soon you spoon it in to your mouth. Though, not spicy as in hot or as spicy as spicy is, in the south, it is pleasantly tingly to eat.
It's a challenge to identify the flavors. There are onions, sherry, apricots, pineapples, raisins, sultanas, ginger, garlic, and more. As an easy addition to your favorite marinade or as a topping to the grilled burger or chicken, though complex, it comes across as simply delish!
Shop now for Hawkshead Steak Sauce and BBQ Sauce
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L'Abbe Rous Banyuls Vinegar
In the southwest of France, in a small Mediterranean seaside town called Banyuls-sur-Mer, some of the finest wines are produced.
So, it's no wonder that the grapes grown on the region's ancient vines also yield one of the world's finest vinegars: Le Vinaigre de Banyuls. Made from the naturally sweet wine of the region, the grape base for this very small production of "vin doux natural" (no sugar added) is 50% Grenache noir, 40% Grenache gris and 10% Carignane.
The wine begins its first year of aging in huge oak "foudres" (barrels) stored in cool cellars. It is then transferred to smaller 60-liter oak barrels and stored outside, where it will spend the next four years. There, exposure to the elements - the hot sun of summer and the cold winds of winter in the Pyrenees - accelerates the aging process. The progress and quality of the fledgling vinegar is constantly monitored by the enoligist. During its fifth year, the new vinegar gets a jump start from an older brother - a 20% solution of Vieux Vinaigre de Banyuls - which inoculates the Banyuls wine and turns it into full-fledged vinegar. An additional 6 months of aging in cool cellars is still required before it is filtered and bottled under the Le Vinaigre de Banyuls label.
Its distinct nut-like qualities make it the perfect companion for vinaigrettes made with hazelnut or walnut oils, or high quality all-purpose Provençal olive oil. Try it for deglazing sautéed duck or mushrooms.
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