by Gabriel Hall

We generally connect salsa as something red, something spicy and something Mexican that comes in a
jug or a jar and is poured on top of rock hard tortilla chips when you’re desperate for something to eat.
The word salsa actually means “sauce”, being derived from the Latin for “salt”. Most Spanish influenced
countries will refer to any sauce or topping, no matter sweet or sour, how thick or runny, or whatever
color, as salsa.

In addition to the very common chopped tomato relish-like mixture we use on chips and tacos, well
known salsas also include mango salsas and corn salsas. I tend to give these two a bit of a sideways
glance as I consider them more like salads or side dishes than an actual sauce. Guacamole is also
considered a salsa although we primarily use it as a dip or a spread. In the same vein, molé with its
sweet, spicy and smoky flavours is well recognized as a defining sauce of Mexican cuisine. But king of all
the South American salsas is my personal favourite, chimichurri.

Chimichurri is made famous by Argentina and Uruguay, two famously meat crazy nations. Needless to
say chimichurri is a great sauce for any cut of beef, but works especially well on grilled hangar and flank
steaks. The sauce is a surprisingly light mixture infusing the nuttiness of the oil, the fresh of the parsley,
the acid in the vinegars and tomatoes, the pungent garlic and the heat of the chilies. A drizzle on top of a
sliced steak gives it a beautiful complexity.

There is no wrong way to use chimichurri. Chicken can benefit from it as well, pork chops, grilled
vegetables, even potato salad can be made using the mixture. Marinating with chimichurri is also a great
option to be able to further infuse the meat with all those flavours. It has the added bonus of utilizing
the acidity to break down some of the tougher connective tissues, resulting in a tender steak. Just don’t

try to re-use the marinade as drizzle once you’ve cooked the meat.

Since summer is almost here, it is a good time to head out, get some fresh parsley, some good quality
olive oil, a lot of garlic, and some nice juicy steaks for grilling. Enjoy the sun, and enjoy your salsas with
it.

Gabriel Hall is a business and technology strategist, a freelance writer, a world traveler, a seeker of
gastronomic experiences, and a lover of all things hedonistic. His site, Le Voyage Gourmand and twitter
@voyagegourmand is a catalogue of his global experiences and thoughts.

LVG’s Chimichurri
makes approximately 7 cups

• 3 medium onions
• 14 cloves of garlic
• 2 cups of finely chopped parsley
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 hot chilies or peppers
• 1 tablespoons of dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons of dried oregano
• ½ tablespoon of ground cumin
• ½ tablespoon of paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of pepper
• 1 lemon
• 100 ml sherry
• 150 ml white wine vinegar
• 400 ml olive oil
• 100 ml sunflower oil
• 100 ml water

De-seed the chilies and finely chop them along with the onions and garlic. Dice the tomatoes and place
everything into a sauce pot.

Add the herbs and spices, mix lightly in the pot. Grate in lemon zest and then juice the lemon into the
pot. Add in the oil, vinegar and water and turn heat on to low before adding the bay leaves on top.

You want to slightly warm the oil to start releasing and infusing the nuttiness of the olive oil with all the
other sour, sweet and savoury flavours. You don’t want to get the oil too hot because it will degrade the
parsley too much when you put it in.

Once the oil is warm, turn the heat off and take it off the stove. Remove the bay leaves and throw in the

chopped parsley and mix well. Let the sauce naturally cool. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well or put
in a jar or bottle to shake before serving.

You can either use it immediately or let it age a few days. It only gets better if you leave it overnight as it
gets more time to infuse all the flavours into the oil. Alternatively, you can put everything in a blender,
or use an immersion blender to get a better emulsion with the oil, vinegars, and water. This of course
has the effect of turning everything into a paste like consistency instead of being fluid and chunky.

This sauce will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and 4 months if you freeze it.

by Heather Johansen

By nature, I am a planner so when it comes to cooking, I always plan for leftovers. I work full
time in an office downtown and bringing in my own lunch helps me avoid eating questionable
food court fare, saves me some money and allows me to make the healthiest choices. I often like
to have breakfast ready to go as well. Simply heating something up saves me time in the morning
so I don’t have to do much thinking at 6:00 am before I’ve had coffee! Preparing a frittata on
Sunday morning is a perfect solution.

A frittata is similar to an omelette. The cooking process starts on the stovetop but then it’s baked
in the oven until set. It is completely customizable; you can add as much vegetables or cheese as
you want. You can even add fruits, like apples or berries, beans, lentils, meat or chopped nuts.
It’s an easy dish that lends itself to experimentation. Frittatas are good any time of the day…
breakfast, lunch or dinner!

For this week’s frittata, I used a few shortcuts to make my morning prep a little bit easier. I
purchased a delicious black olive tapenade from Angela’s Olives. I was able to sample the
chunky paste at their booth and thought the simple mixture of black olives, sundried tomatoes
and garlic created such a huge flavour. The savoury saltiness would pair perfectly with eggs. I
could have taken the time to roast my own artichokes & red peppers but instead, I used jarred red
peppers and bought some freshly roasted artichokes from Community Natural Foods’ Chinook
Station location. The artichokes are simply roasted in olive oil and sprinkled with fresh parsley.
The goat cheese is optional here but its creamy texture is a nice complement to the vegetables.
I used Noble Meadows goat cheese, available at the Broxburn booth, because it is one of my
absolute favourites.

On to the recipe! This frittata would be a great addition to a Sunday brunch but works well as a
quick weeknight dinner. It heats up wonderfully and its Mediterranean flavour will be enjoyed
by all.

Black Olive, Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Frittata
Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 leek, chopped (white & light green parts only)
• ¼ c black olive tapenade + more for serving
• ½ c roasted artichoke hearts
• ½ c jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
• ¼ c soft goat cheese
• 6 large eggs
• ½ cup egg whites (or 2 additional whole eggs)
• Black pepper, to taste
• Arugula & cherry tomatoes, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Heat olive oil in an oven proof skillet on medium heat (I use a cast iron skillet for frittatas).
Swirl the oil to coat the bottom and sides. Sauté the leek for 4 minutes, until lightly browned and
softened. Add the artichoke hearts and sauté for 1 more minute. Turn heat to medium-low.

Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, ¼ cup of tapenade and roasted red pepper. Pour the egg
mixture into the skillet. Mix it with the leek & artichokes using a rubber spatula, then dollop the
goat cheese around. Allow the eggs to set on the bottom (1-2 minutes) then transfer to the oven.

Bake for 12 minutes, and then finish the frittata under the broiler for 4 minutes. Test, using a
fork or toothpick, to ensure there are no liquid portions remaining. Allow the frittata to cool for
at least 10 minutes before cutting it into four or six equal pieces. Top each piece with ~1 tbsp of
tapenade and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.

Serve with a simple arugula salad, dressed with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper and
cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Bachelor Chow 10 – A Beer A Day…
by Gabriel Hall

Beer is often maligned as a drink for blue collars, poor students and bar flies. A stereotypical portrait of the average beer drinker will paint them at a dive bar in a mesh trucker hat and a stained wife beater with a can of cheap generic brew in-hand. Far from this truth, beer is one of the most diverse drinks in the world enjoyed worldwide by a wide range of people.

A number of years ago I had the pleasure of attending the Osaka International Beer Summit, which was at that time, the second largest beer summit in the world. Dozens of different countries were represented including all the big hitters: Belgium, Germany, Czech and Palestine… Why yes, Palentine! Even a country with a predominantly Muslim population has a single brewery; although I wouldn’t say it their beer was very good.

Canada ranks 21^st in the world with each person in the country drinking an average of 68 litres of beer each year while our friends to the south ranks 13^th with 82 liters per person. That’s not bad, although we’re relative lightweights when compared with the Czechs who pound back an average of 158 litres per person per year. Continue Reading