INGREDIENTIA: On Hazelnuts, Going Beyond Nutella & Making Thierry’s Awesome Sablés

by Claire Lassam | My love affair with hazelnuts started when I was very young. I don’t remember having them around the house, and as an Ontario girl, I don’t remember them growing around where I lived. What I do remember is Nutella.

I vividly recall the first time I ate it. It was a big spoonful shoved into my mouth by my Dad to make me shut up in the back of our car after a early morning run to Little Italy. I remember the chocolate, the instant rush of sugar, but mostly I remember the taste of hazelnuts. Now, despite 56 roasted hazelnuts per jar and a whole cup of skim milk, I can’t keep Nutella in my house. I’m far too addicted to the stuff to keep it anywhere near, so I get my fix in smaller doses elsewhere.

You can’t even imagine my happiness when I moved here a few years back and found that not only were there beaches and mountains, but also hazelnuts! Consider me sold, Vancouver. Now, Nutella has been produced since 1963 (and a slight variation from Ferrero was produced beginning in 1944), which seems like a long time, but when you consider that archeologists have found traces of hazelnuts in Scotland that date back 9000 years, well, half a century seems only a blink of an eye.

Hazelnuts were grown in Ancient Rome; they were given to the sailors and explorers of England because of their long shelf-life; fhey have been flavouring liqueurs in Italy for over 300 years; and more recently, they’ve been used as food for Oregonian hogs to make some of the best prosciutto to ever come out of North America. BC makes up a very small part of the hazelnut trade. They’re mostly grown in Agassiz, where we only produce about 330,000 kilos a year. In contrast, Turkey cleans up with 625,000 tonnes a year, which is about 75% of the global market.

Those grown here are still the best I’ve ever eaten. They’re often thinner then commercial filberts; slightly longer with a crunchier texture and a stronger, more pronounced flavour. And they just so happen to be in season right now.

At home, I often pulse them with basil and lemon zest in my food processor and pour the resulting pesto on everything from pork roast to pasta, or I grind them up and put them in cakes or macarons. If you feel like having someone else do the work for you, get into West on South Granville for hazelnut spaetzle with pork, or get the duck breast at Boneta, which is served with brussel sprouts and local hazels. One of my new favourite chocolatiers, Beta5, caramelizes them and enrobes them in Michel Cluizel chocolate, and those things are pretty close to heaven my books. And of course there’s the masterful Thierry Busset, who uses hazelnuts over and over again in his Alberni St. store. You can snag some in his financiers, tuiles and sable cookies, and in his macarons as well. And if you can’t get enough, you can make them at home now, because he has very kindly given us a recipe… Read more

Seen In Vancouver #325: “The Window Community Art Shop” Opens On The DTES

The Portland Hotel Society throws down with yet another community-building venture. This one, located at 9 West Hastings (a few doors east of Save On Meats), is called The Window Community Art Shop. The non-profit is a place where local artists and designers can flog their wares without forking over huge commission fees. And don’t roll your eyes yet. Just because it’s not-for-profit doesn’t mean it’s full of itchy, ill-fitting sweaters and lacy lavender pillows. This is a really cool retail/studio space where people can buy, sell and create arts and crafts. Think of it as Etsy or Cargoh in 3-D with a little bit of DIY on the side. Scout popped in the other day to have a browse and this is what we saw:

The not-quite-ready-website might be here one day. For now, hook up with The Window on Facebook and note well that the grand opening goes down from 5pm to 8pm on December 2nd.

Tuesday – Saturday | 10am-6pm | The Window Community Art Shop (9 West Hastings)

EVERYTHING SEEN IN VANCOUVER

GOODS: “Pink Elephant Thai” On Alberni Set To Launch New Menu Tomorrow Night

Pink Elephant Thai is located at 1152 Alberni Street in Vancouver, BC | 604.646.8899 | www.pinkelephantthai.com

The Goods from Pink Elephant

Vancouver, BC | Desmond Chen, president of Thai House Restaurant Group, is pleased to announce that his newest restaurant, Pink Elephant Thai, is launching a new, expanded menu with mass appeal on October 18th. “We’ve learned a few things since opening in April,” said Chen. “One of our observations is that many guests are looking for their go-to Thai favorites, and our original menu didn’t cater to this group. Sure we had green curry and Pad Thai, but they were served with fish balls and crab instead of chicken and shrimp. We still offer the many of the more adventurous options, but now they are positioned alongside some more familiar choices as well.” Plus, Pink Elephant Thai has taken it one step further for those who want to take the guess work out of ordering… Read more

How To Help Out Hungry Local Kids Over Thanksgiving Without Spending Any Money

This Thanksgiving, we’re asking Scout readers to do something for disadvantaged kids in our community without spending a dime. The Vancouver Inner-city Backpack Food Program runs out of the Strathcona Community Centre and provides nutritious snacks and meals for food-insecure children (elementary schoolchildren and their siblings) on the weekends when they aren’t assured nourishment at school.

Inner-city children face food insecurity on a regular basis, which affects their behavior in the short term and their overall health and development in the long-term. Children who are hungry or undernourished are more likely to become sick, miss school, exhibit behavior problems, and fall behind in class. By offering a weekend food program for children, we will be able to provide many benefits including: increased ability to participate in recreation, close the gap of food insecurity over the weekend, help improve attention span and behavior during the week in school, mentoring interpersonal and communication skills to the children who received the backpacks, providing leadership and pre-employment training to youth volunteers.

The program is looking for funding from the Aviva Community Fund to purchase food that cannot be obtained from a food bank (think dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables). In order to secure that dosh, they need your vote. That is all. Many thanks, Happy Thanksgiving, and be sure to pass this on.

Chambar Veterans Eleanor Chow & Slavita Johnson Opening “Cadeaux” On The DTES

by Claire Lassam | With big name bakeries like Thierry opening up downtown it takes no small amount of confidence to open another beside the Number 5 Orange strip club on the DTES, but that’s the plan for young, first timer owners Eleanor Chow and Slavita Johnson. The Chambar alumni have big ideas for 172/178 Powell Street (at Main). It’s a new building in an area that’s quickly changing (see Big Lou’s and Two Chefs & A Table), and their plan – with me as their assistant – is to change up French classics with local ingredients (think perfect French macarons with cranberries, cakes seasoned with fresh herbs and more). They want to make the place feel cozy, clean and warm, and with the help of designer Craig Stangetta (see Revolver, Meat & Bread, Pizzeria Farina), that’s unlikely to be a problem.

Slavita has already started collecting cake stands in her apartment, and in less than 3 months they hope to debut the room with its huge glass counters displaying everything from cookies to wedding cakes. The most important thing, Eleanor says, is “to make food that we want to eat.” That means unfussy and unpretentious but still executed with the techniques she and Slavita learned from working desserts and pastries at places like Lumiere and Blue Water Cafe.

They’re hoping to include the greater community by naming ice creams after friends and local celebrities, and to make it a spot that people commuting downtown from anywhere east of Main St. can grab their morning coffee or pick up dessert on their way home. If all goes according to plan, expect a pre-Christmas splash. In the meantime, I, their trusty assistant, will continue making pastries (sold at the Dirty Apron Delicatassen) and getting excited for opening day.

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Claire Lassam is a baker, blogger, and freelance writer based in East Van. She has been cooking and baking her way through the city for nearly five years, working in restaurants ranging from Cioppino’s to Meat & Bread. She currently toils at the soon-to-open Cadeaux Bakery in Railtown and runs the baking blog  Just Something Pretty.

VANCOUVER AT WORK #7: Multimedia Mastery At Gastown’s “Sharks + Hammers”

Reader “A.U” | Sharks & Hammers | Gastown | 3:45pm

“Designing take out chopstick packaging graphics while listening to a YouTube playlist of Charles Bradley.”

With Vancouver At Work, we invite Scout readers to send in photos of their work spaces, be they home offices, corporate cubicles, artist studios, fishing boats, bars or kitchen lines. It’s a lot like our View From Your Window feature, only you tell us your initials, your title at work, your place of work (optional), the neighbourhood, and the time the photo was taken with “Vancouver At Work” in the subject line. Photos and info should be sent to scoutmagazine [at] gmail [dot com], and need to be as high res as the sender can manage. Cell phone shots will do if they are no smaller than 588px wide. Now get snapping!

DINER: Josh Pape And James Iranzad To Open 115 Seat Restaurant On Hastings

by Andrew Morrison | Good news, gluttony fans. Local restaurateurs James Iranzad (Abigail’s Party, Cartel) and Josh Pape (former Bartender of the Year, co-owner of The Diamond) have picked up the voluminous, 2,400 sqft space at 120 Hastings across from the Woodwards complex with plans for turning it into a new restaurant and bar by February 2012. They’ve only just signed the lease on the newly renovated (read: empty) location, but trades have nevertheless made their assessments and the keys are in hand. The board is set. The pieces are moving. I can’t wait for this one. Read more

Johnny Taylor “New Pages” Show At Save On Meats This Friday, September 30th

Local artist Johnny Taylor is doing an open studio exhibit of recent work done over the course of the last 9 months on the 4th floor of the Save On Meats building on Friday, September 30th (ie. tomorrow):

This is a unique studio. In it, I feel part of a community, involved in the buzz all around, the creative energies and emerging identity of this neighbourhood. That external presence had a direct influence on the energy of the work.

This work is a showcase of small scale pieces on vellum and paper.

The physical use of paint is immediate and loose, full of gesture – washes of thinned down paint, scratches and dents into the paper then filled in with wax, wax is layered up and scraped away, then more wax over top – finger swipes of thick paint, smudges of oil sticks knifed away rubbed out and done again.

Compositionally, the pieces are focused and restrained with a sketch-like quality, fusing elements of architechture and written language. Parts of the surface are left untouched and empty, drawing you in with sharp perspective lines towards deeper hushed activity.

Check the flyer for details after the jump… Read more

GOODS: “Just Like Dinner At Nonna’s” Set To Return To Campagnolo On Main Street

1020 Main St | 604-484-6018 | campagnolorestaurant.ca | 1944 West 4th | 604-288-7905 | refuelrestaurant.com

The GOODS from Campagnolo and Refuel

Vancouver, BC | Just like Dinner at Nonna’s, a series of home-style Italian meals offered Tuesday nights at 6:00pm for $19, returns this fall to warm your heart, body and soul. On every Tuesday night starting October 4 and ending November 15, Main Street diners can look forward to a hearty meal made from quality seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers and purveyors, paired with a pint of R&B Brewing Company’s finest, for an affordable price ($19) at Campagnolo. Menus after the jump… Read more

DINER: Chef Dale Mackay Of “Ensemble” To Open Big New Pub Downtown This Winter

by Andrew Morrison | I’ve had to sit on this news through its rumour stage – that Dale Mackay, owner/chef of Ensemble and recent Top Chef Canada victor, was opening a second restaurant this December just a block or so from his Thurlow St. address – but Mackay confirmed to me this morning that it is definitely in the works for December. I can’t say exactly where just yet, nor can I tell you the name (it’s still being registered), but the concept sounds like a BBQ and beer-heavy pub that will serve the kind of fare that you’d normally associate with the milieu (nachos, burgers, bangers, pot pies, etc) only elevated to a level where just about everything is made in house from scratch and by hand. It’ll be sports heavy, too, with some fifteen 45″ flat screen TVs. Helming the kitchen will be chef de cuisine Bradley Hendrickson (now at Ensemble), with former DB Bistro sous chefs Alex Amos (recently Mission Hill) and Greg Reid (recently Quail’s Gate) in support. There will be a 40 foot bar of reclaimed wood to tend, and another 80 seats in an expansive dining room (with mezzanine). Running the show will be current Ensemble barman Christopher Cho, with operations back-up from the lovely and talented Ali Maher, formerly the maitre’d at DB Bistro. More soon.

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