ottawa foodies

Over the years I have volunteered to sort food at a local food bank. It is a lot of fun... but it is a riot seeing some of the "exotics" and the "unknowns" that come in. Some cans we didn't even have a clue what was in them because the packaging wasn't in English or French, and there are no pictures to even give you a clue. Policy was "mystery food" got pitched.

The most exotic thing I ever saw (that I could read) was aligator meat. Don't think I'd be up to eating that one.

So I ask you, what is the most unique thing in your pantry? It could be a collectable, an exotic, or a "confession" of whats been lurking on the shelves a little too long.

COLLECTABLE - A nice collection of fine oils & vinegars

EXOTIC - Not much here... Fleur de Sel

CONFESSION - Baking supplies that are not used enough... I need to go thru them and decide what is past due.

I have a tube of chestnut cream or paste: "Crème de chataigne" that I found at Loblaws. I had just read about it in my favourite food blog from France and the next day saw it on the shelf at Loblaws - weird. And it was the exact same brand from France.
I have NO CLUE what to do with it, but I love having it in the pantry.

Do sardines count?... As far as I know I am the only person in - well - anywhere that seems to like them. Sardines on rye, grilled sardine sandwiches, linguine with sardines black olives and capers, and sardine pizza of course!

I have some assorted salts although my coarse sea salt gets used the most. I am also hooked on celtic sea salt.

As for vinegars I just stick to balsamic now. I used to have others but they would go bad before I finished them. So not much point in buying stuff I'm not going to eat. Olive oil is not a problem. I have one bottle of virgin olive oil on the go for stirfries and two bottles of extra virgin for salads and veggies.

I also have some Asian condiments like rice wine, tamari, sesame oil, mirin, and sea vegetables.

As for condiments black olives, capers and parm are a must.

Staples include whole wheat pasta, risotto and different types of rice.

I also like those little cans of tuna - you can whip up a quick meal with one of those in no time at all!

And of course a bottle of my favourite bbq sauce and salsa.

Not terribly exotic but those are the fancier things I have in the pantry.

ksw,

if it's sweetened chestnut paste (with vanilla and sugar) eat it in crepes.


As for exotic ingredients in my pantry, nothing much unless annatto and epazote are considered exotic.

Unique? Hmmmm, depends on what you call "unique" I guess :-)
Lots of my home-canned goods - those are by definition "unique" :-)
We've got about 6 different kinds of rice and 10 different kinds of flour.
We've got 20kg of organic rolls oats - I bet that's 'unique' by most standards :-)
Lots of staples in larger quantities - like different kinds of beans, lentils, etc. Since we mainly eat whole foods.

And then there are the brewing supplies ... I've got several hundred pounds of malted barley on-hand.

I have 6 kinds of fish sauce.. Is that unique?

Hey Da Butcher,

Surely to goodness, one of them is Cock Brand.

LOL, I have the same brand of Cock sauce in my pantry too!!!

One of my most 'unique' pantry items is this shrimp cake from Malaysia.

The pic is scanned from the package.

I use (small amounts ) in Pad Thai and Shrimp or Seafood stir-frys.

It literally 'stinks' of fish, probably because it's made of blended, fermented, dried, and extruded shrimp. It must be what's left over when they make fish sauce. I have to double wrap it for my pantry or the neighbourhood cats will claw their way in for it.

The stink goes down to a nice fishy taste when cooked into a dish. Use sparingly.

ksw, the sweetened chestnut puree is what the Swiss refer to as "vermicelles" because the tube is designed to produce little worm-like strands of the stuff. I believe it is typically eaten with hard meringues and whipped cream. I'm not a fan of meringues so I would skip them. Mousseline's crepe suggestion is an interesting one.

Pasta lover, I also have a pantry full of sardines. And herring. Yum! :-)

Captain Caper, I have a bottle of the same fish sauce in my fridge, except mine is bigger. ;-)

I don't have terribly unique pantry ingredients though... I guess fish maw and bonito flakes aren't exactly ubiquitous.

I went into a carribean grocer and didn't want to walk out empty handed so I bought some Palm Oil which I have no idea what to do with and also this bag of wheel farfar, I've looked all over trying to figure out what it is or what to do with it and haven't figure it out so far, even went to the website for the company listed and they don't even list it as a product that they sell, so go figure.. maybe someone can help me. I'm sure for the palm oil, there are some recipes I would just have to look up , but as for the wheel farfar, I don't know!!

OMG I also bought this carousel of salts from home sense and seriously one of the salts I used in BAKING made the whole house smell like rotten eggs, it's terrible.

I have a jar of Shipphams Beef Spread in my pantry... dunno if I'll ever crack that one open. Hmm what else... a variety of dried kelp & mushrooms... cans of hominy & tomatillos, and this weird mexican canned mushroom salad a la escabeche.

mmm mexican mushroom, it can only be "huitlachoche" or corn smut as they call it in texas. In canada its also known as "porn on the cob" I love the stuff and hord it whenever I get my hands on it.

Namaste (ph: nom-es-tae) Da Butcher !!, you mycologist, you.

Nice pic !!! I'm gonna ask my corn growning valley lads* to look out for some cuitlacoche (huitlachoche), in this years crop.

Here's a question or two (or three) for ya;

Is the 'huitlachoche' a blue staining variety ?

Didn't Native Americans use corn smut to induce labor?

Doesn't it have medicinal effects similar to ergot, but weaker, due to the presence of the chemical ustilagine ?


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and lookie what I found.

LINK---> www.epicurious.com <--- LINK


So huitlachoche is Aztec for 'black excrement', and we all know what that means.

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* (footnote) If you are new to Ottawa, then the term, Valley Lads, means, guys from 'up the Ottawa Valley'. This furtile valley stretches from Mattawa, ON, through Ottawa and ending up at Hawkesbury, ON

Bottom line is ... lots of corn is grown there ... and thus, more chance for huitlachoche.

Does Captain Caper have any other unique things in his pantry ?

Maybe, We'll let the foodies decide...

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This is a scan of a label from a raw palm suger loaf.

Now that we got the $10, found-it-at-the St. Vinney's* scanner warmed up...

Here is a scan of my Shao Xing Cooking wine. (Do-ya like my fingers ?)

It's quite like salted sherry, but is it unique, for a foodie pantry ???

Yet, another scan from Captain Capers pantry.

Doesn't everyone have some uncooked papadums ready to fry ?

I like the Little Boy & Rabbit Brand from Mumbai (that's Bombay for all you Brits out there).

Ok Ok ... I'm just about out of 'uniqueness'..

Any one got any Kevda Water ?

Kevda (or Kewra) Water (from the Screw Pine (Pandanus Odoratissimus)) is used in Southeast Asian cooking to add a distinct aroma to rice and curry dishes such as nasi lemak, kaya ('jam') preserves, and desserts such as pandan cake.

And I put a few drops in my Lamb Korma.

I like the label, "GIFT OF NATURE"... lol

Speaking of Lamb Korma....

I usually don't go for prepackaged spice mixes because I'm usually able to read the ingredients list on a prepackaged spice mix, and with recipe help, come up with my own...


But ..... I also like to take store bought stuff and 'kick it up a notch ' (a la Emery ... BAM !!!).


You know... when you add a bit of this or that to a store bought item, to give it some oomph.


Well, ... this is one of those, for me.


And part the oomph in my Korma comes from a few drops of Kevda Water.


Now that we've cleaned out my 'unique shelf' in my pantry....



I'll bit everyone, Namaste !!

Hey Chimi,

You liked the "Gift of Nature' on the front label.... check out part of the back label....



Religious ceremonies ?? Wha ?

Food and religious ceremonies ??


Would that include throwing rice during a wedding ? ... which is (usually) a religious ceremony ?

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Then again, it's not just for food and religious ceremonies. The label says it's used for a variety of purposes...

Raises (not Begs) the question ...

What else is this used for, besides food and religious ceremonies ??

Anyone know ?

Do we have room for one more of Captain Capers 'Unique Pantry Items' ?

A can of Patra .... "Indian Leaves Curried with Spices in Oil"

No additives and no preservatives .... just a list of spices, as long as my arm.

Where'd you get your kewra/kevda/etc., Cap'n? I've been looking around for some and haven't had much luck finding it yet.

Oh, and I think the most unique thing I have in my pantry right now is candied Toulouse violets.

That or balchao (shrimp pickle! So good.)

Kevda water ----> India Food Center and Samosa Hut, 1354 WELLINGTON
(613) 761-1072.

As of last week they only had two bottles left. A phone call may be in order if you persue this one.

Oh yes, there samosas come in FRESH in on Wed. and Sat. around noonish, or early afternoon..... mmmmm ... Still warm from the deep frying. My fave is the beef ($1).

I try to keep my pantry void of items that I will not use often, I don't like stockpiling food all that much.

Pasta Lover- I love sardines too, you're not alone.


The only item that might stand out in my pantry would be the chick pea flour, I do tend to rotate 4-5 misc. vinegars but I'm down to 3 now... I am ashamed.

I forgot all about this one because it's in my fridge and not in my pantry (the word pantry creates a "dry goods" mental block for me).

I brought a bottle of this back from Japan and it's been in my fridge ever since. I just can't bring myself to try it :):)

Orleansfoodie and Fresh Foodie (and fellow sardine lovers!) you rock!

Captain Caper do you have bottles of anything with labels written in English? Otherwise that would make your pantry very unique indeed!

Yes I did find something in English.

Angostura Bitters.... How 'unique' this is ? .... I'll let the fellow Foodies decide.

What's an 'Old Fashioned' (www.cocktail.uk.com) without the Angostura Bitters ? A Mod Fashioned ? or a Trendy ?

KSW - your Pocari Sweat bottle got me curious, so I did some googling and found it's like a Gatorade type of drink!

and ....

Pocari, means "like a cloud floating in the sky" or "a situation in which a cloud is floating in the sky" in Japanese, and has a connotation of lightness, buoyancy, and ease. "Sweat" was apparently intended to suggest diligence and its fruits - the idea intending to connote to the user that Pocari Sweat works to make one feel fresh and relaxed.



Talk about "Lost in the Translation".

Pasta lover,

Count me in as a fellow sardine fanatic. Sadly, I am unable to find my favourites anymore. They were the Brunswick Sardines in Jerk Sauce, and the last place I found them was at the Asian grocery that burned down on Somerset. :(

de ruijter chocolate sprinkles :)

I have bitters in my cupboard too - thanks to my Aussie boyfriend! Can't be that unique if we've both got it lol.

Delicious hagelslag: best thing to put on your Nutella sandwiches. Because one type of chocolate just isn't enough.

I purchased a collection of salts a few years back. There clearly is a distinct taste to the different types of salt but not educated enough in the cooking department to really know when to use the different salts and as a result, I don't use them too much.

Cheers

Medicinejar: try experimenting with your different salts in chocolate based desserts or drinks.

Medicinejar if you are interested in trying a few salts coarse sea salt is definitely a good one to start with. It really brings out the flavour of the food you sprinkle it on especially fresh raw tomatoes or avocadoes. Celtic sea salt is also really good but for lack of a better word it is really salty so you only need a pinch. There's a lady at the organic farmers market in Ottawa South that is now carrying different salts and I plan on picking her brain on my next visit there.

I typically use course sea salt in a grinder and fleur de sel. But the selection I bought included Hawaiin Salt, a smoked salt and then about 4 or 5 others. Their flavours are very distinct. I have played with them a little but I think to use them effectively, I would need to have a better understanding of combining flavours.