The Food Fluffer: Tiffin - the Ultimate Reusable Lunch Pail

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tiffin - the Ultimate Reusable Lunch Pail

Talk about the ultimate reusable lunch pail! Stainless steel tiffins are the carrying device and food container all in one. I have one, made in Mumbai, India and just the right size for someone with a healthy appetite, or for sharing with someone who you really care about.

A friend of ours of Indian descent brought us a gorgeous lamb biryani for dinner about two months ago, and it was in a four level tiffin! I was so thrilled: delicious, hot dinner made and delivered and all in fantastic containers! I also appreciate that they are not plastic, have stack-ability and the closing and carrying mechanism are all in one - brilliant. Perhaps I will pick up a few more so that each of the three kids can have one for their lunch bag. The foam quilted plastic bags available everywhere just aren't doing it for me. They typically tear, the zippers break and I am sure that the lining is a breeding ground for all kinds of interesting science experiments - seeing that it is challenging to clean properly. Here's to all of us using tiffins, packed full of our favourite foods - Indian or not. Enjoy, FF.

Photo: Michael Kohn, Styling: Anita Whyte

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Sunday Night Dessert Party

Had neighbours over for dessert last night, and seeing how I did not take photos I will just describe it. It is actually a great little way to entertain, without highjacking the entire day doing food prep. I made a black plum clafoutis, served with a lemon posset as well as a chocolate caramel tart dusted with pink salt flakes (Saveur Magazine, April 09) and a fruit salad of blueberries, pineapple, ataulfo mangoes, orange sections and kiwi. Seeing how we had many things to celebrate, we washed it all down with a bottle Champagne - a very civilized way to spend a Sunday evening indeed. 11.04.11.

Tarte tatin

On a recent shoot, some of the recipes that I baked up were so good that everyone in the studio was actually eating the food after we shot it - unheard of! The dish was a tomato tarte tatin made with roasted tomatoes, cheese and a cheese pie crust. I have since made it several times and used other ingredients depending what I have on hand including: onion confit, roasted eggplant, zucchini and peppers, goat cheese, and have used phyllo and puff pastry to top it off. This dish is so versatile that it is well on its way to becoming a family favorite. 13.09.10

T&T: Sanitized Chinese

I was at the T&T on Cherry Street yesterday evening, and for those of you who have not yet been, it is a well lit, spacious and well stocked grocery store, kind of like a Sobey's - but Asian. It has a wide selection of Asian products, produce, live fish, fresh meats, sushi to go and a hot table. I often to go to Chinatown for specialized shopping and take it for granted that I won't understand what half the items are and what they are for since they are not explained in English or French - maybe Chinglish if you are fortunate. Not only does T&T put names to its fruit and vegetables, but remarkably the store has no odour, unlike the pong of some of the stores in Chinatown. Each have their benefits, one is closer to home - the other has no smell and fresh sushi a.k.a fast dinner after soccer practice down on Unwin Street, just around the corner from the store. 15.05.10

Now That You Know, Do Something About It

In the USA more than 13 billion plastic bottles are disposed of each year. Most plastic beverage bottles are made from PET. After being emptied and hopefully tossed in the waste bin the beverage bottle may end up being recycled. While plastics are recyclable, the resulting materials are limited to “second generation reuse” only, such as fleece clothes, carpet and other ‘second-life’ products. This means that at the final end of the life-cycle the materials made from recycled plastic bottles are ultimately disposed in landfills. Although there is a tendency to re-use recycled PET in new beverage bottles, such as the PlantBottle of Coca-Cola, only a relatively small percentage is added to the virgin resins used. In the United States, up to 63 lbs of plastic packaging per capita is discarded each year, instead of being repeatedly recycled.

Great Weather + Toronto = Hotel Gelato

Toronto's forecast for the next few days is stellar, it will be in the 20's! Such fabulous weather is an excellent reason to go to the newly opened Hotel Gelato, at 532 Eglinton Ave. W. I was there recently and enjoyed the experience and the gelato very much. Owners Dan & Christopher both yield from the hotel industry hence the hip Philippe Starck inspired lobby-look for the decor. In addition to the fabulous array of gelato flavours, an on-staff Cordon-Bleu trained pastry chef creates beautiful baked offerings. Hotel Gelato also serves fantastic coffee and has a tasty lunch menu. I was fortunate enough to get a behind the scenes look at the very cool Italian gelato making equipment and sampled the mascarpone & fig gelato. If you need further convincing on this perfect food, rejoice in the fact that gelato has a lower fat content than ice cream, containing only 4-8% fat versus 14% for ice cream, and a slightly lower sugar content as well! 31.03.10

Smoked

I love smoke enhanced foods and beverages, especially lapsang souchong tea. I recall when I first sampled its intoxicating taste, my friend & I ordered it for our high tea whilst at Harrod's in London. She was familiar with it, and described how the hand-picked leaves are first withered, then fermented and finally smoked over pinewood embers. The result is a delicious, complex, and comforting black tea with a big mouthfeel. It is said to have been Sherlock Holmes' favorite cuppa. Thanks Alison for introducing it to me, and Happy Birthday! 05.03.10

Tasting Quebec

I recently went to the food shop in the Toronto Distillery District called "A Taste of Quebec". Manager Tom Sokolowski is a friend of a friend so he gave me a guided tour of the place - and it is most impressive. Located on Distillery Lane and incorporated into the Thompson Landry Gallery, the food store offers a beautiful selection of terroir products from la Belle Province. Cocktail events for up to 150 people, or 100 sit-down for dinner can easily be accommodated in the high ceiling and herculean-post construction. The Quebec cheese selection is unparalleled in the city, amongst the many other products they carry are beautiful preserves with fruit and flowers, dried mushrooms from Gaspé, sliced magret de canard sous-vide, and Labrador tea from the very far north. www.atasteofquebec.com 18.01.10

Salt Added...

One of the gifts that I opened on Christmas Day was put into use that evening: very festive Christmas bauble place card holders! Too fun, and very pretty to boot. The same gift source gave us a pound of "Salts of the World - a collection of the finest gourmet salts available on earth". The collection contains 15 beautiful salts from such such places as: France, Korea, Israel, Italy, Hawaii, Utah, Australia, Wales, UK and Maine. I love great salt, in moderation of course, and not the iodized stuff either. I justify our salt use by the fact that so much of our from is made from scratch, we are getting very little from processed foods. (I recently read that one cup of Cheerios has more sodium that 21 Miss Vicki's kettle chips!) Another very cool item about this salt kit is the fact that it is assembled in Canada, in Dartmouth N.S. no less. Chef Stefan is the mastermind behind these and other such products. Seeing how we have three oceans surrounding our fair and native land, wouldn't it be cool if we could come up with some Canadian sea salts? 05.01.10

Leslieville Cheese Market

I walked into the Leslieville Cheese Market last week and it was like walking into a perfect little cheese boutique in France. The look, feel, and most importantly - the smell, were very genuine and most impressive. They carry about 100 types of cheese, including a healthy selection of Quebecois product. They are located at 541 Queen St. E., (@ Logan) and have recently opened another location at 891 Queen St. W (@ Augusta). A perfect gift for any foodie friend, they offer cheese appreciation courses!! www.leslievillecheese.com 07.12.09

Prestige de Bourgogne

I was out with a few friends last week, doing a little retail therapy when we found ourselves in the cheese aisle of a big box store. They may be accused lot of things, but they do have cheese and if you love chunks of Parmesan - it is the place to get it. My friend pointed out a cheese to me that I had not yet been acquainted to, Prestige de Bourgogne. It has a white rind like Brie, is deeper and has the consistency of a St-André, but the flavour is a little more pronounced. Delicious! More than half of the one pound that I bought has disappeared and I am the majority eater. Oh yes - the BF, is only 32% - not too far off the richest of them all - the Brillat Savarin. A slice of Prestige on a ripe pear is worth every fatty calorie. 01.12.09