| I've discovered, much to my dismay, that my once rapacious appetite for cookbooks is now down to a nagging peckishness, and I'm sure that's entirely due to the Internet. Food Web sites are everywhere – it's much easier to type "cassoulet" into Google or epicurious.com than to spend 15 minutes pouring over five books looking for the perfect recipe.
The main disadvantage with online cooking is contextual. If you're familiar with a cookbook author's style, you can generally tell how the recipe will turn out – rich, intense or subtle, and easy or hard – while if you just download a recipe you're out in space. But there are some food Web sites I’ve come to trust – my favourites follow.
Chowhound.com
This is the granddaddy of all food Web sites. Each region of the U.S. has a separate message board (there are three for Canada: Montreal, Toronto and the rest of us) where foodies swap cooking tips, can't-miss restaurants, recipes – you name it. The Canada board recently had a long discussion about the best Nanaimo bar recipe. If you're ever travelling, post a message on your destination and within hours you'll have a long list of places to eat – then discussions and arguments ensue, and it's like being at an online dinner party. There's also an excellent General Topics board, where an online community will answer any food question.
outlawcook.com
Run by iconoclastic food writer John Thorne, Outlaw Cook is the e-version of Thorne's bi-monthly newsletter Simple Cooking. It's got a good search engine where you can type in something like "ribs" and get an exposition on the difference between Memphis barbecue and Kansas City, along with good instructions.
foodtv.com
The American version is significantly better than its Canadian cousin, foodtv.ca. In addition to a much superior search engine and huge recipe list, there's also rundowns on all the programming, including a long exposition about the Japanese cult hit Iron Chef. I always wondered what host Chairman Kaga (the guy with the Rick Springfield hair) incants to begin the competition, and thought it was some sort of Japanese fighting cry. But no, he's shouting "Allez cuisine," which must be intended to mean "Begin cooking," but could also be translated as "Go kitchen." The weird get weirder.
epicurious.com
Epicurious is like the Oxford English Dictionary. If you need a recipe for something odd, like braised beef cheeks, somewhere in its list of 15,000 recipes the right thing, or something close, will be there.
cooksillustrated.com
If you're prepared to pay a monthly fee, it's worth signing up for this information-packed and advertising-free site, which has fantastic product reviews (including tests on the best canned tomatoes and the best stoves). You can also find similar stuff, for free, at www.taunton.com, the site for Fine Cooking.
AND FOR THE BEST PRODUCE I'VE HAD IN MONTHS
Hotchkiss Herbs and Produce (phone 236-2963) has started home delivery of their organically grown greenhouse-raised produce – and it's fantastic. Our delivery this week included two pounds of heirloom tomatoes, some cucumbers, baby leaf lettuce, baby spinach, arugula to die for, some crisp and wonderful swiss chard and, best of all, organic baby carrots. All the produce was picked, packed and delivered the same day. All this, delivered to your door, for less than $20. The only catch: you've got to live near a major delivery route, so this means relatively close to a restaurant or specialty food store who orders their produce. If you're unlucky, you can still buy the produce at Sunnyside Market, Amaranth Whole Foods or Community Natural Foods. But there's nothing quite like arriving home and finding a box of great veggies waiting for you. |
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