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ilinda

  • Toronto, ON
  • Member since 2009
  • Total posts 18
  • Total comments 73

I am wondering if anyone has found where to buy Torpedo melons in Toronto. They look like rugby footballs, large, long and oval, but with a yellow-green skin similar to a cantaloupe. They have light green to yellow flesh similar to a honeydew melon, but the taste is consistently sweeter like a honey dew or canary melon, but with a cantaloupe undertone.

 
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I used to really love the Viennese coffee at The Future Bakery in Toronto at Bloor and Brunswick (now apparently Future Bistro!!). Then they stopped offering it. I have never been able to find a replacement since.

Can anyone recommend some good Viennese coffee beans I can buy in Toronto and make my own at home?

Thanks!!

 
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Just got back from a vacation where I had a delicious drink of guaro - sugar and orange limes - apparently also called orange limes. Anyone know where to get them in Toronto?

 
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ilinda commented 5 years ago

Thanks!! I will definitely have to check out the vendor you mentioned...when I am in NYC.

 
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ilinda commented 5 years ago

Btw, the result was pitiful. I only got about 1 pound of potatoes that were the size of new potatoes or smaller. I won't be doing that again in that soil. :-(

 
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ilinda commented 5 years ago

A lot of North-Eastern European and Nordic countries are heavily into this kind of cottage cheese, and didn't know the soft and wet curds until more recent years. So, if you are looking for recipes think countries like Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
I am Latvian, and this cheese called "biezpiens" (directly translated: "thick milk") is a major staple. In its simplest form you can mix it with sour cream and a bit of salt and just slather it on rye bread, maybe top it with scallions, chives or minced garlic. Or mix the cheese, sour cream and salt with finely chopped cucumber to make a sort of satisfying salad as a light breakfast or lunch with a slice of bread.
We make a dry or pressed cottage cheese "bread" to die for called "Biezpienmaize", which is really just a thin bread crust covered in what tastes a lot like cheesecake mixture, usually flavoured with lemon or raisins. Here is one recipe: http://latvianeats.com/archives/117
We also make a summer solstice cheese (I am making it next week) from the dry or pressed cottage cheese, milk, eggs and caraway called "Jāņu siers" or John's Day Cheese. There are several ways to make it, but here is one recipe: http://kitchenmouse.rozentali.com/200...
And, as someone else suggested, you can make pancakes, but two ways. Either use the cheese in thicker pancake batter ("Biezpiena plācenīši"), or make crepes and fill them with this sweetened pressed or dry cottage cheese cheesecake-like filling ("Plānās pankūkas ar biezpiena pildījumu"). Unfortunately I could not find an English recipe online for this last one. Too bad! :-(

A lot of North-Eastern European and Nordic countries are heavily into this kind of cottage cheese, and didn't know the soft and wet curds until more recent years. So, if you are looking for recipes think countries like Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
I am...

 
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ilinda commented 6 years ago

I have a previous post about whipping sour cream as a frosting for a cake. It is a traditional Latvian recipe and I would not want to replace it with creme fraiche. However, I have a suspicious feeling that the sour cream in Latvia may be a higher fat content over 40% (i.e., literally soured cream). However, I have only seen up to 30% here from Western. Just wondering about other sources.

 

In and around Toronto, I have widely seen Western Sour Cream with 30% fat, but has anyone seen anything with a higher fat content? What's the highest available?

 
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ilinda commented 7 years ago

Good suggestion. I think I may have been a little impatient and didn't wait for the full re-thickening for fear of over-whipping. I have a feeling the sour cream needs that longer and extra whipping.

 

I have a recipe that uses sour cream and sweetened condensed milk as frosting, provided the sour cream has at least 20% milk fat. I have 30%. However, I have noticed that it does not whip like regular whipped cream. It first sort of thins out, then thickens again. However, does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to ensure the thickening happens just right? Last time it seemed a little too thin. Just wondering if there is something I must always do, or can do to improve my odds. For instance, with whipped cream you can over beat and get butter. Can you over beat sour cream? Help would be great! Thanks.

I have a recipe that uses sour cream and sweetened condensed milk as frosting, provided the sour cream has at least 20% milk fat. I have 30%. However, I have noticed that it does not whip like regular whipped cream. It first sort of thins out, then thickens again. However, does anyone have any t...

 
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ilinda commented 7 years ago

You can also make fritters or balls. After soaking the kapucijners overnight and boiling them in salt water until they are soft, you can then mash them with some boiled potato, some fried onion, and any lightly fried smoked meat like bacon cut into small cubes. Roll into 2" balls, flatten slightly and fry. Kind of like falafel. You can eat them with an onion cream sauce or sour cream.

 
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ilinda commented 7 years ago

Thanks both of you. In the end, even though I did not have a crust, I cooked it to her recommended temp of 180'F.

 

I am thinking of using Julia Child's Pâté de Canard en Croûte recipe without the "Croûte", so as a roasted galantine. However, I'm not clear what would be the best adjusted time and temperature at which to roast it. The same as with the crust, just a little shorter time. Any suggestions?

 
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ilinda commented 7 years ago

There is a new coffee roasting storefront at Bloor and Dundas West-ish called Outpost Coffee Roasters that specializes in their own coffee blends for taking home, but also looks like it has a display case for something to eat with it:
http://outpostcoffee.com
To be fair have not have gone in yet, but have been watching the renovations eagerly.

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

Thanks pearl3! Just got the fresh sauerkraut from Super Kolbassa next to Benna's. Really VERY good, and as close as possible to the Latvian kind I wanted to find in Toronto. Not as salty as sweeter! Refreshing. Thanks for the tiop!

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

Sounds delicious! Although a stewed traditional sauerkraut would be really nice too with yellow potatoes (boiled or fried). A good sausage likes a stewed and caramelized sauerkraut. When can I come over? ;-)

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

JUST got back from a weekend in Sudbury. Hope there is still some left!
L

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

Thanks PoppiYYZ!
Sounds like a great weekend project! I think the one I was looking had a bit of sugar added, but that is easily solved. Will have to look for a recipe from Latvia, and if I find it I will translate and post here.

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

Bloordale Pantry is now Whipoorwill, but haven't been there yet for brunch. However, they are great for dinner. Loved the apps and burger!

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

My pleasure. Please post what you thought of them afterward!

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

BTW, the Holland Store did have them canned, but we always c cook them from dried, so that's why I didn't feel like the order had come in. But if you want to try them, I suppose the canned might do. We just bought a can to see what we think but haven't tried it yet. Not sure if the texture will be as good as from dried. We'll see.

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

OK PoppiYYZ, I've posted the Latvian marrowfat pea recipe in Home Cooking.

 

Someone on another board asked me to post this recipe for an Latvian Christmas dish made with marrowfat peas, unusual large brown-grey peas also enjoyed by the Dutch.

1 kg marrowfat peas
Salt

200 g streaky bacon, chopped into 1-cm dice
1 onion, peeled and chopped into 1-cm dice
Freshly ground pepper
Salt

Wash peas and leave to soak in cold water overnight.
Drain peas. Put into pot and cover with fresh cold water. Boil peas until soft, adding salt only few minutes before peas are ready.
In meantime, saute bacon and onion together in pan over medium-high heat to render fat and make bacon a little crispy. Add pepper and additional salt to taste. Reserve and keep warm.
When soft, drain cooked peas. While they are still warm put a few spoonfuls of peas into individual bowls and spoon over bacon and onion mixture together with a good serving of the bacon fat. The bacon fat is essential to balance the somewhat floury texture of the large peas.
Very filling, so serve in small portions. Traditionally served as part of a Christmas or New Year's feast that might have black pudding and hunter sausages, and other traditional foods like pīrāgi (bacon rolls - yes, we like our bacon). Often eaten with a spoon and large glass of kefir or buttermilk.

Someone on another board asked me to post this recipe for an Latvian Christmas dish made with marrowfat peas, unusual large brown-grey peas also enjoyed by the Dutch.

1 kg marrowfat peas
Salt

200 g streaky bacon, chopped into 1-cm dice
1 onion, peeled and chopped into 1-cm dice
Freshly g...

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

Of course, you can always get them and a selection of brands and quality priced accordingly at Starsky's:

http://www.starskycanada.com/aboutus.php

You can get just about any good northern seafood product there.

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

I love your posts PoppiYYZ. You are so knowledgeable. You turned me on to Bintjes potatoes.

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

I really am wondering if these peas have a doppelganger, because these brown peas are usually much larger than a regular pea and brown. In Toronto I buy them dry by the package at the Holland Store (2542 Weston Rd), as Dutch people also really enjoy them and import them. However, I just checked today and their order isn't in yet.
We Latvians eat them for Christmas in a bacon and onion sauce. You can't eat a lot as they are very filling, but they have a very specific earthy flavour.

 
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ilinda commented 8 years ago

I think you are making a mistake here. Marrowfat peas are not the same as green split peas. They have a brown to grey skin and they are larger. We call them "pelekie zirni" in Latvian and they are a very specific texture and taste.