City Food Foraging :: Ginkgo

There was quite a number of clusters, only circled a couple just in case they were hard to see.

I love that sometimes when you walk around the city, there are trees planted that bear fruit AND are free for the taking!  Yesterday, I was out walking to a local supermarket and came across two ladies gathering little orange balls that had fallen from a tree along the sidewalk (well, actually the tree was shook, lol!) and I had a suspicion it was Ginkgo nuts (technically a seed rather than nut).  I was right; the lady showed me the seed inside and said it was used in Chinese medicine.  There was also an unpleasant smell to it which is characteristic of Ginkgo nuts.

I almost stopped to get some myself since they are known to be healthy but I didn't know the first thing about eating them fresh!  Luckily I didn't because after doing some online reading, touching them bare handed might induce a poison ivy like skin rash!  But, if anyone is interested in taking a look, there were about 4-5 trees along Doris Ave. between Elmwood and Spring Garden.  (However, I'm not a botanist or someone that really knows about Ginkgo so, picker beware!)

For sites with some good info about Ginkgo nuts and where to find them elsewhere in Toronto, look here and here.  I also found it interesting that you can request a tree to be planted in your area by the city and the Ginkgo tree is one of them.

Review: Ocean's Seafood Restaurant

HK Style Cafe by day, family style restaurant by night.

Ocean's is a fairly inexpensive breakfast and lunch place for those looking for HK cafe style foods.  I've been at various times of the day (breakfast, lunch and dinner).  Walking in, it reminds us of Pheonix Restaurant but there are features such as the chandeliers that give it a family dinner restaurant feel.

1st Impression:  Value meals
Several Impressions Later:  Value meals for any time of day

When talking about taste, food is okay, nothing out of this world.  But prices are great for what you get.  The first time I went was for lunch and had a baked rice dish.

Baked chicken rice dish

They offer a few lunch and afternoon specials that are under $7 like the baked rice above.  Comes with milk tea or coffee.  It was a little on the salty side but okay for the price and portions were good.  Breakfast is also very inexpensive but I would say the noodles are better than the egg-type breakfasts since you can always make eggs at home.  Note, when they say sausage on their menu they actually mean hot dog weiner...so not so good!

Simple dinner items are $7-8 and were also acceptable in taste.  As you can tell, presentation is not their forte but you can't really complain when prices and taste are good.  Surprisingly, the Peking sauce pork chops was really good.  Meat was tender (didn't need a knife), slightly crispy, and the sauce was not overly sweet and just coated the meat.

Spinach and enoki mushroom

Egg and beef on rice noodles

Peking (Beijing) sauce pork chops

I also went to try their special dinner deals.  Value is definitely there but taste-wise it's just okay again.  But, I was really impressed with our friendly server.  I messed up on the number of people we had so we had to add extra seats and they made it work the best they could.  The server was always polite and she tried to make sure we had everything.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures!  Maybe another time...

Anyway, this place is definitely a good place for lunch or dinner when you want something quick, good, and inexpensive.

Waiting for Ramen!!

Ramen!  I love eating ramen and have missed going to the ramen joints in downtown Toronto as I've been spending most of my days uptown or in the east end where very good ramen is lacking.  But, soon that is going to change.  An exciting new development caught our eyes recently, a golden yellow pig painted on a black background...Kinton Ramen!!!   Their facebook page will likely announce the opening date but it's going to be madness!

Located just north of North York Centre (where the Jetsun's Juicy Burger used to be).

I've also noticed a number of other establishments that have recently opened in the Willowdale - Yonge/Finch - Yonge/Sheppard area...planning to check them out sometime soon.

Toppoki - /Korean snacks like rice cakes located at 5 Northtown Way
ZenQ - Taiwanese bubble tea and desserts, grand opening is actually tomorrow Oct 17th, located at Yonge and Byng.  BOGO special.
Sweet Pea Dessert Cafe - smoothies, juice, western and asian desserts and lunch options.  Located at 4704 Yonge, south of Sheppard.

October: I'm Dreaming of...

October has come and is going fast, fast, fast...

I needed to write this post in order to pause.  Pause, cause lately, I think I lost myself a bit.

I ate at a few new places, went apple picking, and did a few other things but didn't blog about them as I normally would be inclined to do.  I also shopped quite a bit as it's a very easy thing to do when online shopping is so easy and malls are great on weekdays.  I have a small glass cake display stand that sits on my kitchen counter where I like to put things I've baked into it and it has sat empty for quite some time...dust covers the top of the cover...and each day I pass it numerous times...wanting to put something inside.  But it remains empty.

I came across this word (from this blog) which I think reminded me to begin this post.

Tsundoku 

A Japanese word with no English equivalent.  Essentially buying books and creating a reading pile, but that pile goes unread.  I found out more here, and realized I have this but it hasn't been too extreme...however, I'm really interested in buying the book mentioned.  It would be ironic to buy it and leave it unread, which could very well happen!

Anyway, back to October.  October I'm dreaming of... 

- apple tarts and apple pie, using apples picked from an Ontario orchard (here's a great one in Brampton)...and maybe pies like my dad used to make with raisins

- scones...all kinds of scones, cheddar ones, apple ones, buckwheat ones....I think I have too long a list

- a big chalkboard...to post notes, to draw, to imagine I'm in a cafe while I drink my tea at home and read the overseas magazines I bought (or my pile of books),...whatever it is, this diy project has been on my mind for over a year!  

Book Review: The Seed Underground

The Seed Underground
A growing revolution to save food.

Author:  Janisse Ray

Interesting and thought provoking.  Ray really shows her passion for seed saving and pushing forward the local and organic food movement in this book.  (Book cover and other reviews here.)

Why did I choose to read this book?  I'm not a gardener and I don't save seeds.  Although I have grown cherry tomatoes and strawberries in the past, it never became a passion.  I think I like the idea of growing things but for me, the time is not right.  So, why?  What probably interested me most about the book was learning about the many varieties of food, thus in turn making me want to eat and cook with them.  (But I also think I was in need of some brain food too...most of the other books I've read of late are baby bedtime stories on repetition, lol!)

In this book, Ray helps us to understand the importance of seed saving and sustainable cultivation practices.  The book was very informative as she speaks with many different individuals, gives us a run down of plant breeding, and adds her own personal goals and metaphors into the mix.  She is an activist though, so you'll read lots on how local and organic are good and genetically modified (GM) and large agricultural/biotech companies are "bad".  The open-source seeds discussion was quite interesting to read and how in Canada there was an example court case of farmer vs biotech company where genetic drift resulted in a biotech company suing a farmer in the prairies.

Some of the things mentioned like seed bombs I have heard of (luckily I have a friend that inspires and has contributed to the seed saving movement in Toronto, read here), so it's definitely interesting to see it in a book too.


Highlights:  Parts I really liked...

• Seeds as a cultural resource was an interesting way to think about seeds.  Through many quotes and examples, Ray emphasizes this point.

Quotes:
"An heirloom variety of seed, besides being a genetic resource, has another quality.  It is a cultural resource.  It has a story.  The story changes as time passes."  (p.71)

"Seeds are multipronged.  They have so many pouches, full of stories.  A seed is a city full of avenues, a forest traversed by trails."  (p.72)

John Swenson: " 'All these stories, these recipes -- that's what matters.  Take garlic.  Genetically there are maybe thirty genotypes.  But you have hundreds of names floating around.' ... 'Each name has a story.  Each story has a purpose.  We're supporting the preservation of human culture.' " (p.73)

• Sweet potatoes and the process of saving the tubers that eventually sprout (sprouts are called "slips") which serve as the seed was interesting.  I was also reading this section when I started noticing and buying more varietals of sweet potatoes.  Ginseng Red (creamy, not too starchy, and sweet) and Red Gold sweet potatoes are mentioned.

• Notion of growing crops adapted for the area

• Discussion on public universities and private companies breeding new varieties.  Public universities developing new varieties, selling it to corporations that in turn sell back to the public.

• Annual Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa - interesting plants mentioned, keynote speakers highlighted.

E.g. "fantastical allium...the plant looked like a four-story onion, rib-high." (p.102) -- walking onion, Egyptian onions, top-setting or tree onion.


Not so fond of...

• Sometimes there's a feeling that some judgement is being made.  I.e. you were bad if you enjoyed what large corporations offered

Most people are passionate about something and people support all different types of causes but people cannot be passionate about ALL things.  Sometimes economic status, location, and a multitude of other personal factors may put seed saving, buying local and organic at the bottom of the totem pole.


Overall, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to foodies.  A lot can be learned and I think I'm more inclined to support local and organic.  Ultimately, I do think the book inspires some change; small or large, anyone who reads this book is going to think more about local/organic/seed saving and be inclined to do something different.  I've definitely ate more local foods but it's been easier this past summer; winters will definitely pose a challenge.

And one final quote from one of Ray's interviewees Sylvia Dawatz:
"The logical next step for the local-food movement is to establish locally grown seeds."