ATE: June 25th to July 4th — Kit Kats vs Gazpacho

Being years since I made gazpacho, I looked at three books, only one of which told me to start with a mixer/paddle. "Do not use a blender or food processor to puree the tomatoes," writes Paul Bertolli in his book Cooking By Hand. "Doing so introduces air and you will end up with foam as rigid as cotton candy."

Turns out I have a rarely used food mill that is terrible for potatoes but great for tomatoes.

Pepper, zucchini & onion on the left, tomato puree on the right.

The finished gazpacho, which we used as a pre-antidote before our Kit Kat tasting party.

You might think that the slightly darker Ontario strawberries on the right were the sweeter. Turns out they were both disappointing, like all the strawberries this year.

Some curried chicken, just to use up the half can of coconut milk in the fridge.

Turns out that lamb, peas and peanut, with a little bit of minced anchovy, is a good combination.

Finally got rid of most of the "joke booze" shelf, things left to me by my grandmother and the cherry wine that Michelle Sheppard brought.

Cattail, a little like cucumber and leek. Also a little like nothing.

I ended up sauteing the cattail and adding it, with mustard, to broccolini. And then a pork chop.

Chris Butcher's Kit Kat collection, which includes (but is not limited to) : Adult Dark Chocolate, Adult Dark Chocolate Chunky, Almond Chunky, Annin Dofu (almond tofu), Apple, Bitter Almond, Blueberry, Blueberry Cheesecake, Cheese, Cherry, Citrus Golden Blend, Edamame Soybean, Raspberry, Green Tea, Green Tea with Sakura Blossom, Hot Japanese Chilli, Intense Roast Soybean, Orange Bites, Purple Sweet Potato, Red Bean, Regular Roast Soybean, Semi-Sweet, Cookie Plus (shortbread), Soy Sauce, Sparkling Strawberry, Strawberry, Strawberry Bites, Strawberry Cheesecake, Sweet Potato, Wasabi and Yubari Melon (similar to cantaloupe).

More antidote veggies to fight the candy.

Our Kit Kat sommelier Chris Butcher.

The Japanese Kit Kat fingers are about half the size of ours (USA! USA!)

Ennis Esmer, after tasting 30 of them. "I need a break from Kit Kat"

Andrea Yip (who punked out and started taking half bites) and Amy Wood (who stood tall).

The aftermath. Kit Kat tasting story dropping soon.

Blanching asparagus.

An everything in the fridge dish: asparagus, morels & sea asparagus.

Stupid kale and sausage.

Stupid kale and ribeye.

Definitely the best steak I've had this year, possibly because I ate it all by myself, standing up.

Eric Vellend brought me his delicious home made barbecue sauce. Here is the recipe:

Whiskey BBQ Sauce

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup rye whiskey or bourbon
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp molasses or honey
1 tbsp favourite hot sauce
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp cocoa powder
salt

In a medium pot, combine all of the ingredients except the cocoa
powder. Place over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. As soon
as the mixture starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low and simmer
gently for about 25 minutes - the sauce should thicken and change from
red to mahogany. Season with salt, if necessary.

Pass the sauce through a sieve.
Sift the cocoa powder into the sauce and stir until combined. Taste
and adjust the seasonings - you might want to alter the sweet/sour
level with more sugar or vinegar.

Always satisfying to go into Sanagan's and watch they butcher my order (tri-tip and lamb shoulder).

The tri-tip got smoked, then finished on the barbecue, at the cottage.

Leftover smoked & roast beef made second breakfast on Sunday.

On Sunday, I said I wanted crepes. And then Emma made crepes.

Environmental guilt = a garbage bag filled with Japanese Kit Kat wrappers. If it weren't for my kidnapping and blackmail side business, this would be the worst thing I've ever done.