Canada Dreams

Miscellaneous

Daylight Savings Time
Fishing
Wine
Beer
Herbs
Bean Cooking Time
Substitutes

Daylight Saving Time
Prolongs daylight by advancing clock for summer
Begins 2am first Sunday April / Ends 2am last Sunday Oct.
Fishing
Magnetize lures to catch more fish

Wine & Cheese
First service: Brick, Havarti, Provolone, Burrini, Caciocavallo, Scamorza, Cottage Cheese,
Butter, Caciotta, Swith/Emmental, Quark, Cream Cheese, Mild Cheddar, Colby.
With Alsace, Orvieto, Entre deux Mers, Sauvignon, Chablis, Moselle.
Second service: Munster, Saint-Paulin, Elbo (Edam), Fontina, Gouda, Oka, Friulano,
Medium Cheddar, Brick, Havarti, Provolone, Burrini, Caciocavallo, ScamorzaButter,
Caciotta. With Beaujolais, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Macon, Minervois, Valpolicella,
Valdepanas, Marechal Foch.
Third service: Farmer's, Camember, Brie, Monterey Jack, Old Cheddar, Limburger.
With Burgundy, Bordeaux, Medoc, Dao, Cotes du Rhone, Zinfandel, Rioja,
Chianti, Cabernet, Saint-Emilion.
Beer & Cheese
First service: Light beer with Brick, Brie, Camembert, Havarti, Caciocavallo.
Second service: Lager with Munster, Saint-Paulin, Oka, Friulano.
Third: Ale with Swiss/Emmental, Gouda, Cheddar, Edam.
Closing: Stout with Provolone, Old Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Limburger.
Herbs
Allspice
Flavour reminiscent of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Anise
Licorice flavour good for digestion and mildly sedative.
Fresh leaves in fruit salads and salads. Ground seeds in bake goods,
saute seeds with scallops.
Asafetida
Hardened sap of giant oriental fennel, garlicy odour.
Basil
Good for digestion and mildly sedative member of mint family.
Enhances the flavour of tomatoes and meat. Can be stored in the freezer.
Pesto for pasta and new potatoes.
Bay
Can be rubbed into rheumatic joints for relief and can be used as an insect repellent.
Great in stew. Use in all cooking including custards and rice pudding,
it has a cinnamon flavour.
Bergamot
Substitute for tea and secret ingredient in Earl Grey tea.
Flowers can be added to salad for a minty flavour.Also good in mint
or pepper jellies, curries and salsas.
Borage
Cucumber substitute. Can also be sauteed, or used in cold drinks.Use only fresh leaves.
Great in white sauces, and soups. Can be served as a cooked green.
Caraway
Aquavit liqueur.Fresh root can be boiled and buttered as a vegetable.
Leaves can be added to soups and stews.
Cardamom
Member of ginger family with cinnamon like flavour.
Cayenne
Provides relief from indigestion, high in vitamin C, niacin, potassium, and Iron.
Cayenne with lemon honey and boiling water is very effective in sweating out a fever.
Celery Seed
Too much can give a bitter taste.
Ground with salt it produces celery salt a fast way to enhance a dish
especially poultry.
Chervil
Flavour reminiscent of tarragon or parsley. Use fresh and add at the end of cooking
time to avoid bitterness.
Chives
Add to salads and sauces. Can be substituted for onions.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is always rolled while its inferior relative Cassia is chipped.Can be added to
meat dishes like lamb casseroles or chicken stewed with tomatoes and onions.
Cloves
Can be used for toothache relief. Can be used to season ham, curries, marinades and chutneys.
Coriander
Cilantro in Mexican cooking, and Italian parsley in other recipes. Does not freeze well.
The seeds and leaves are not interchangeable.
Cumin
Seeds of a member of the parsley family. White and brown seeds are similar, but
black are very much stronger. Used in Mexican and Indian dishes.
Dill
Good with fish, soups and salads as well as many other dishes.
Leaves and seeds are not interchangeable.
Fennel
Licoricey flavour and substitute for anise. Can be used as an eye wash. Seeds are good in
pasta and pizza sauces. Leaves are good in salads, fish, and butter sauces.
Fenugreek
Used originally as an animal fodder. Medicinally in the treatment of diabetes
and to lower blood pressure. Used in Indian curries and halvah.
Five Spice Powder
Anise seed, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and Szechuan peppercorns. Great in Asian dishes.
Garam Masala
Cinnamon, cumin, cloves, coriander, and black pepper. Add to dish just before serving.
Garlic
Parsley can soften the odour of garlic. If only the juice is used in cooking then
the odour does not last as long.
Ginger
Most of the flavour is just under the skin.
Horseradish
Root of plant from the Mustard family.
Lovage
Substitute for Celery. Good as a diuretic and relieves headaches.
Mace
Outer skin of nutmeg.
Marjoram
Member of the mint family resembling oregano.
Mint
Spearmint is more versatile in the kitchen.
Mustard seed
Black, brown, white, and yellow seeds. Black seeds are the most flavourful.
Fry seeds in hot oil to release flavour.
Nutmeg
Whole nutmeg is stronger, but needs a special nutmeg grinder. Enhances spinach, broccoli,
or cauliflower soups. Can be added to mushrooms sauteed with garlic and sherry.
Oils
Olive oil has the lowest smoking temperature followed by peanut, sesame, safflower,
cottonseed, soybean, and corn. Sesame oil added to the finished dish can bring out flavour.
Onions
Need to be sauteed or singed to release flavour.
Oregano
Can be frozen. Is the signature herb of Italian cooking as well as Greek and
Mexican cuisine. An essential herb in Italian, Mexican and Greek cuisine.
Paprika
Milder form of chili peppers.
Parsley
High in chlorophyll it makes a perfect breath freshener. High vitamin content.
Peppercorns
Black peppercorns are more intense.
Peppers, Chili
Intensify as they cook. Chili powder is not pure chilies.
Rosemary
Avoid the ground form, it is less flavourful. Good with lamb and chicken
or sauteed mushrooms, fried potatoes, and poultry stuffing.
Saffron
Most expensive spice. Mexican saffron or Safflower colours but does not taste the same.
Creamy seafood recipes, paella, couscous, and white rice benefit from saffron.
Sage
Alternate layers of washed leaves with salt and refrigerate in a jar. Rinse leaf then use.
Use in poultry and pork stuffings. can be used in stews and sparingly in salads.
Salt
Pickling or Kosher salt is the purest form.
Savory
Summer savory is milder than winter.Universal seasoning and can be used as a substitute
for oregano and basil.
Star anise
Can not be substituted with anise. Member of Magnolia family.
Tamarind
One of the main ingredients in Worcestershire sauce.
Substitute two parts lemon juice for one part tamarind.
Tarragon
Store in vinegar in tight jar. Use in small quantities toward the end of the
cooking process. Good with fish.
Thyme
Combines well. Classic addition to poultry stuffing and bouquets garnish for soups
and stews and a companion herb for basil and oregano.
Turmeric
Member of the ginger family. Essential ingredient in mustard pickles, relishes and
Indian curry powders and pastes.