Cooking with recipes, Autumn and September

Late August means the start of harvest time in Canada. Fruits and vegetables in many varieties appear  at the Farmer's Markets around the Capital. I bought a basket of Ontario Peaches and was looking for a recipe to make a cobbler. Will said he had a recipe in one of the books where we collect our favourites. Could not find it at first and then saw it wedged as a page marker in one old cook book, I also found recipes on little photo like cards for various dishes.

One was Spinach sautéed with Indian spices another was Carrot and Parsnip purée or a winter crudité salad. All pretty simple and things I like to make for dinner.  Canadian Thanksgiving is one month away, will we be at home or will we go to Merrickville on the Rideau Canal like we have done in the last two years for lunch.

So I went through the books we have, most are fairly old cook books bought because we loved the recipes. I also found cards with hand written recipes. One is for Fennel Parmesan bake, another for Egg Potato and Prosciutto Pie, that one is really good on a Fall or Winter morning. Or what about Chicken Curry Tea Sandwiches, I remember this one from my Beijing days where we use to go downstairs to my colleague's place, Caryl A. and she made those sandwiches while we sang Karaoke, Bridge over troubled waters was my hit song, Unforgettable was another. There is also Crunchy Turkey Cranberry Pie and I did find the recipe card for Peach Schnitz Pie, Will was looking for.

I also found in my Mom's handwriting, she had a lovely hand and her handwriting is very easy to read. Her Campbell Tomato Soup Cake with cream cheese icing, I really have to try this one, she wrote it out for me years ago and the paper is all yellow with age now. A sentimental memory, the first anniversary of her death comes on 28 September.

If you want copies of these recipes let me know and I can send them to my readers/friends (only).

Sunday 31 August was also the day of a spectacular storm, high winds, crashing thunder and lightning, heavy rains with sunshine and what I call 18th Century clouds a la Canaletto with the most vibrant double rainbow I have ever seen. Afterwards we had fresh air and a beautiful sunset.
Which got us to talk of the Gustave Doré (d.1882) exhibit at the National Gallery which ends in 2 weeks. I have seen this exhibit 5 times and attended 3 lectures on it.

Doré lived in 19th Century Paris but also travelled to England and Scotland, his art is full of the romantic style of the era and false religiosity which looks so kitsch to us today. White clouds are transformed in swarms of Heavenly Angels descending to do God's work.  From the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco the 3 ton bronze, 156 feet high and 81 feet circumference, Poem of the Vine is on display. It came to Ottawa on a flat bed truck.

Poème de la vigne. A spectacular piece 

So this being the last long weekend of Summer it is still summer until 21 September, despite the fact that kids go back to school tomorrow and Universities have re-opened. I only hope that the old Almanac is correct and that our September-October months will be warmer than usual, this past summer has not been exactly the warmest.

I continue at the War Museum until 18 September and then return to the National Gallery for the Season, now as a Docent and Cultural Conference convener (les mercredis culturels). A Season of training and learning, not to forget the school program Vive les Arts for the 6 to 12 years old, a tough crowd who likes the moderns.

The Centennial of the Great War, August 1914-2014

Today on 1 August 1914 the Great War started for Canada, we entered the war on the side of Britain and the Empire. Canada sent 10% of its population to war, some 620,000 men, poorly equipped and trained. At the end of the war some 61,000 Canadian soldier will be dead and another 18,000 will be missing never to be found buried in the mud of the Western Front.

Rightly so the Canadian people would ask ''For What ?'' a question the Conservative government of Sir Robert Borden had no answer.

Look at this map of Europe in August 1918 and note how the old Continent looked then. Four great Empires would collapse, Germany, the Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman Turk. Britain despite the armistice in November 1918 very nearly collapsed. This war would change the world and Canada.

In 1919 Europe would see new countries emerge which did not exist previously, created from nationalistic grievances. The Paris Conference would create many new problems and the final Treaty of Versailles will plant the seeds for a new war even more devastating some 20 years later.

Canada would emerge as a great power and would become an independent country, leading to renewed prosperity until the great economic depression of 1929.

Who knew that August one hundred years ago what was about to happen to the old order.

Europe today looks again very different since 1989 and the fall of the Iron Curtain and Communism.

The ceramic poppies planted around the Tower of London and on show now until November.

Some 888,000 poppies represent the sea of blood this war provoked, no one won, ending in an armistice, a war that cause much misery and no resolution.

Boxing Day and recipe for leftovers

I for one am always trying to avoid leftovers, I do not like wasting food, but I have to concede that balancing a meal and the courses is no easy task and requires some thinking. Same with the dessert course, I prefer light courses, fresh fruits, I remember the pineapples of Italy on every restaurant menu or white summer peaches in a big glass of Red wine.

Same for the wines you will serve, I try to pair wines with food so they do not clash but accompany each other. personally I do not like heavy big reds unless they have been chilled a little to make them lighter and much prefer lighter wines at 12.5%. In the whites I prefer dry to fruity. Though I do like a nice dessert wine, Italy produces many such wines, like the Moscato.

So for those of you who did turkey yesterday for Xmas here is a quick leftover recipe and easy to do.

Turkey Pot Pie with fresh sage

It is quicker to make than a regular pot pie because the pastry bakes as the filling simmers. If time permits, you can put the filling in ovenproof dishes, cover with uncooked pastry and bake until bubbly and golden.

Ingredients

1/2 pkg (450 g pkg) frozen rolled butter puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

1 onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 acorn squash, (about 500 g), peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper

1/3 cup (75 mL) all-purpose flour

2 cups (500 mL) sodium-reduced chicken broth

3 cups (750 mL) shredded cooked turkey, white and dark meat

2 tbsp (30 mL) thinly sliced fresh sage

1 pinch nutmeg

2 cups (500 mL) fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup (125 mL) 10% cream

Preparation

On parchment paper, unroll pastry; cut lengthwise then crosswise into 4 equal sections. Brush with egg. Transfer paper with pastry onto baking sheet; bake in 400°F (200°C) oven until puffed and golden, 16 to 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, in Dutch oven or large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; cook onion, celery, squash, salt and pepper until squash is tender, 7 to 8 minutes. 

Stir in flour; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually stir in broth and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes. 

Stir in turkey, sage and nutmeg; cook until turkey is hot, about 4 minutes. Stir in spinach and cream; cook until spinach is wilted. Ladle into bowls; top with puff pastry.

I love oriental Carpets

Through my travels in the Near East, I developed a taste for oriental carpets, the other is for my lead soldiers, I posted earlier that I now have about 200 of them in the 54mm size from all countries and regions where I have been.

My interest started when I was first sent to Egypt, though Egypt is not, in my opinion, really a good oriental carpet market unlike Iran or Arabia Felix and the trade route between Damascus and Mecca via Amman. At first I noticed the carpets in people's homes and how they were treated like heirlooms. Carpets are given as a wedding gift or when a boy becomes a man at age 12, he would receive a prayer rug. Many homes had carpets that were 40 to 60 years of age, various colors and patterns, carpets would be put down in the fall and warm the house in winter and then rolled-up in the spring and put away during the hot season. Beating them regularly and airing them was done every so often. Carpets are not like furniture or drapes, they have an history and who had given them and how they were acquired. They are individuals, like a person or a member of the family, they come from a region, they are hand woven and the dyes are natural made from vegetable extracts, some are tribal carpets, others told stories in their pattern and displayed symbols or forms, some had verses of the Coran, they were hug on a wall. Contrary to popular belief few are made of Silk mostly from wool. Silk carpets are a market,a niche for the wealthy, for display or the foreign tourists. I much prefer hand woven wool carpets and never considered buying a silk carpet.

I also learned to differentiate a hand made carpet from a machine made carpet and I learned that if you go into a store to look at purchasing a carpet take your time, it may in fact take hours, the whole afternoon, several visits. Purchasing a carpet is serious business conducted by men, its men business, women are not involved.

In Egypt the tourists on their way to the Pyramids at Gizah are usually bused to ''my cousin carpet shop, no cost to look'' outlet, mostly machine made carpets or if hand made, of so so quality for outrageous prices. A good carpet does not cost a lot of money, usually anything from $200 to $600 dollars tops depending on size. Many tourists even 25 years ago would pay thousands of dollars for a perfectly ordinary carpet worth no more than $300 dollars, ignorance is bliss!

I never actually bought a carpet in Egypt, never liked what they had on display and the merchants at the Khan Khalili in central old Cairo were con artists, selling carpets by the meter, each meter worth about $300 dollars. I bought all of my carpets in Syria, Turkey or Iran, spending afternoons looking at them and feeling them. I would remove my shoes, which is customary and walk bare foot on them, touch them and examine them closely as you would a painting or a fine object and do not forget to flip them over to see the hand work and the weaving, look at it closely, see how the weaver during the process used unequal amount of effort for every weave giving you the human touch a machine would be unable to give. Look also at the knots and count them, knots do vary depending from where the carpet comes from and do not be put off if a carpet is not perfect, what makes its beauty is the imperfection, though small and almost invisible they are there. Some will tell you that this adds value and interest to a carpet.
Carpets like humans are not perfect, despite their great beauty. An old carpet merchant one day told me while I was in his shop in Damascus that only God makes a perfect carpet and they do not exist in this world.

Oriental carpets are named in the following ways:

The name of the city or town where it was woven.

The name of the area in which the weavers lived where the design was first created, now being woven somewhere else entirely.

The name of the tribal group known for incorporating that particular design into many of their rugs.



Oriental carpets should be only washed in cold water with a stiff brush and let to dry in the bright hot sunshine on the roof of the house. Beat them face down on the clean snow and then let them air out in the sun. Never use chemicals or modern carpet cleaners, never put them in a machine to wash or use a steam cleaning machine or vacuum on them.

Buying carpets led to a lot of interesting adventures, meeting people and the merchants, hearing what they had to say, Often the merchant will offer tea and if you appear serious and ask to see more carpets and expand on what it is you want he will offer to send for food so you can have a little bite to eat while he displays even more carpets to you. In those conversations I learned a lot about the culture of carpets and a lot more than any book could show me on how to buy a carpet or the best carpet. On that subject there is no such thing as the best carpet, the best carpet is the carpet that appeals to you.

Like all things carpets are negotiable, you never pay the price quoted at first nor do you say anything even if the price appears outlandish. The art of negotiation is very important and one has to study the rules and play carefully, a bit like a card game, look at your cards, what is a strong card what do you have in your hand.

Same with carpet purchase, there are steps to follow and protocol to respect, if you are careful and thoughtful you may in fact gain the respect of the merchant and get the price you want for the carpet you chose. I remember once a lady in a shop who was looking to buy a rug for a relative back home. Bossy type, walks in with husband following and announces to the boy who was basically there to help with the display of rugs that she wanted to buy a rug but did not want to pay a lot of money and was looking for a good bargain like her sister got the last time.

Mistake number one, was speaking with the help and ignoring the merchant-owner, mistake number two was announcing she wanted a bargain and mistake number three gave the impression she knew it all when in fact she knew nothing. I was just looking at her thinking she made a big mistake. The owner came up to her and asked her if she had something in mind, what size and color or patterns maybe, hand woven or machine made. Just show me what you got and I will decide she answered, the only problem with that answer was that the store had thousands of rugs of different regions and style. So the merchant asked her what type of rug her sister bought, the lady did not know really, it so big and with all sort of funny designs, looked real different back home, you know. But this time she wanted a rug to match the color of the room and the couch. At that point the merchant started showing her carpets for the tourist trade at $50, camel saddle bags and other cheap rugs used as runners. She did not buy a rug but a couple of cheap looking runners and other items made for the tourist trade.

Tip no.1 never run into a story thinking that you can buy a carpet in 10 minutes flat and get what you want because you have money to blow.

Tip no.2 never go into a store as if you were in a shopping mall looking for stuff to buy at discount. A carpet store especially old family run stores in old markets are like famous expensive jewellery stores, show some sense that you know where you are. The merchant or his sons will watch you and they have a keen eye for body language, they know if you are a serious buyer or are knowledgeable or just the silly tourist ready to be fleeced.

Tip no.3 Ask first about the store and what they have in stock, if you know they have been around for a while or the store was recommended to you by a local friend say so. Do not look like you are in a rush and by all means never start by saying how much is this or that one and I want a good price and give me a discount if I buy more than one carpet. In other words do not try to bargain before you have seen the merchandise and decided on what you want. Look, appreciate, put aside some carpets and then go on eliminating those you don't really want and keeping those you are really interested in. The merchant at this point will probably try to engage you into a conversation to see how serious you are and what appeals most to you. It is the biggest faux pas to talk price first and one too often made by Western tourists.



One trick I use to muddle things a bit is to turn the conversation to another topic, asking more about the shop and where the rugs came from and maybe even asking what the merchant known of the carpet I might, I say might be interested in. Only once I am sure in my head of what I want to buy do I then indicate that my choice is made. But still I will not ask about the price, talk some more and even compliment the merchant on his shop and the quality of what he has, this may pay off in the end.

Tip no.4 once you indicate that you are willing to buy the carpet or carpets, ask the merchant how much he wants or would consider accepting for the carpet. He will name a price and then you have a choice to make, either accept to enter into negotiation or withdraw immediately. The merchant then may then turn to you and ask you how much you want to pay. Name the price 30% below what you want to pay in the end, leaving room for you to go up but not too much. Just wiggle room and this way neither you nor the merchant will loose face. Then it is a matter of politely bringing the price to a mutually agreeable final price. You must never once you have agreed on a final price change your mind and say that you don't want to purchase or pay that price in the hope of forcing the issue to a lower price. Unfortunately women make this mistake, I have seen it too often. It will not work and the merchant may simply throw you out of the shop for causing him to loose face by revealing to you his final price, agreeing on it and now trying to change the deal.

Here are some of the names of Carpets by country of origin, this is not an all inclusive list. I have highlighted the ones I have about 30 in all.


IRAN
Tabriz
Ahar
Mishkin
Heriz
Ardebil
Bijar
Kazvin
Kalar Dashi
Teheran
Varamin
Senneh
Hamadan
Feraghan
Qum
Kermanshah
Malayer
Kashan
Isfahan
Abadeh
Shiraz
Yazd
Kerman
Birjand
Mashhad
Baluchi Region
TURKEY
Hereke
Bergama
Kosak
Ghiordes
Kula
Izmir
Milas
Yalcibedir
Ladik
Kirsehir
Kars
Yuruk Region

TURKESTAN
Khiva
Bukhara
Kerki
Samarkand
Tashkent

AFGHANISTAN
Herat
Maimana
Alubolak
Aksha
Mazar-i-Sharif
Karkin
Kunduz
Kabul

CAUCASUS
Lenkoran
Saliani
Baku
Akstava
Gendje
Fachralo
Borjalu
Soumak
Chichi
Kuba
Derbent