Forget about New Year’s resolutions. Everyone needs a few ambitious (or not-so-ambitious) personal cooking goals to get them through the coldest, darkest months of the year.
–‘Everyone Should Have a Winter Cooking Goal‘
by: Anna Hezel, Illustration: Vance Lump
This is fine advice. One of the advantages of living in Toronto is access to George Brown College with its excellent culinary and baking school. It’s one of the reasons I spend the season here vs there on Vancouver Island which has a milder winter.
In November I took a six week session on Charcueterie.
Since it was the holiday season, I practised the recipes at home, building up a supply for gifts and socials. The final tally included: one slab of Maple Smoked Bacon, two brined Chickens, three Ballotines, three Duck Confits, one Cassoulet, four Duck Terrines, five Pâtés de Campagne and nine ramekins of Chicken Liver Pâté.
Suffice to say I was all meat-ed out in December. If I never see another chicken liver … well at least, I don’t want to see it for another ten months.
In January I was looking forward to a carb-intensive Italian class. Unfortunately it was cancelled. I signed up for Indian Cooking instead.
This is new cooking territory for me.
Certainly, I’ve eaten Indian food before. When we lived in Beijing and needed a break from Chinese food, my son’s favorite choice was Indian. We’d enjoy luscious curries, hot naan bread, palate cooling raitas and refresheningly sweet mango lassis. The flavors were delicious, exotic, strange and mysterious.
This class is an opportunity to learn and demystify the cuisine. It’s only six sessions long but we will cover dishes from India’s north, south, east and west. Starting with Lamb Curry, Poori (a type of fried bread) and Samosas.
It’s going to be spicy winter session. That’s my goal.
What’s your winter cooking goal?
Toronto, Canada. January 2020
The Sandy Chronicles 
Oooh, I hope the Indian Cooking class is going well! It is one of our favourite cuisines. Because we are spoilt for choice eating Indian out in Singapore, I haven’t gotten around to actually cooking any real Indian cuisine at home (although Loving Husband has bought many many Indian cookery cookbooks). I know you will do much better than i!
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What kind of cooking do you do? So far I’ve found Indian cooking technique very similar to Malay&Thai, with the emphasis on dry and wet spice pastes. The flavor profiles differ, but the spice elements are the same. Lucky you to have such ready access to these foods!
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We are very lucky to have all these yummy foods available to us.
I am not particularly adept or motivated to cook from scratch, even though I am Peranakan by heritage. I tend to “assemble” meals more than anything, so I do simple stirfrys with store-bought sauces, if needed.
I mostly occupy my kitchen time with baking breads (and cakes when I think my waistline can take it).
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I love the artwork Sandy, did you do that?
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I wish I could but that’s by the magazine’s illustrator Vance Lump. I gave him credit with the quote. I do that with any work that’s not mine.
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Are you suggesting I read all the words? Now I feel pressured. 😮
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“Meat-ed out.”
A great expression!
I’d have been meat-ed out too.
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Somethings are meant to be taken in moderation. Like pate, exclamation marks and made-up words. Once in a while though, they hit the mark. Thanks for dropping by Neil!
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