Durian and Hearsay

I know a guy here in Winnipeg who likes to tweet about food (among other things). I've been trying to get him to join the Manitoba Food Bloggers, but he says he's not that social. He does send out the most mouth-watering tweets ... maybe one day we'll get him to post recipes and stuff.

Anyway, he posted the other day about durian. I confess that I reacted with the utmost disgust. My friend immediately called me out by asking me if I'd ever tried it.

OK, I admit it. I've never tasted durian. More to the point, I've never smelled it. Apparently that is the salient point about durian - the authentic odour. You either love it or hate it, so I'm told.

The point is that I appear to have an opinion on durian, completely second-hand, based entirely on hearsay. I don't actually know whether I think durian smells disgusting, because I've never smelt it. My friend says it is quite good when ripe, and doesn't necessarily smell bad. He's speaking from experience. I have promised to give it a try one of these days and report back.

Of course this little, trivial conversation had me thinking about hearsay and the conclusions we all draw without adequate information. Some might call it malicious gossip, when we feel negatively about something, or more importantly somebody, based on other people's experiences. Now, I'm not concerned that I hurt the durian's feelings, and I'm sure Kim Kardashian doesn't give two hoots what I think about her, even though I don't know anything about her first-hand (and am quite happy to keep the relationship at this distance).

But now I'm thinking about real people in my life, or even real people in my city or in my online communities, upon whose lives I might actually impinge one way or another. It suddenly becomes much more imperative that I not form opinions without adequate information. If somebody tells me something bad about someone we both know, surely it is incumbent upon me, if I intend to do anything with this information, to gather evidence on the matter rather than spread gossip. It seems obvious, but I can't help wondering how many of us actually take the trouble to verify those delicious little tidbits of gossip. Defamation can happen very quickly. It doesn't matter if it's a fruit, but it definitely matters to a person.

In Judaism, even if the gossip is true we are prohibited from spreading it unless there's an extremely good reason for doing so. This concept is called Lashon HaRa, the evil tongue. It differs from defamation in that the gossip is true - but so what? Unless somebody's life or well-being depend on this knowledge being spread, we are supposed to just shut up.

As we begin to approach the High Holy Days, with their call for soul searching and self-improvement, Lashon HaRa is often at the top of people's lists. I would love to have an ongoing conversation about this. When should discreditable knowledge be spread, and when not?

Oh, and I still have to go pick up some durian from the Asian market. Stay tuned.

The Great Manitoba Food Bloggers' Bake Sale!

Chocolate dipped marshmallow pops

My presumptuous brownies

 Wow. That was quite the experience. The Manitoba Food Bloggers were having a bake sale in support of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, so I decided to join in. They were being supported by the Manitoba Canola Growers, so I modified the Better Brownies recipe I got through the Fast Paleo website. Paleo frowns on vegetable oils such as canola, but I found some local non-GMO oil and went with that. I also used Cocoa Camino organic fair-trade chocolate chips, which are probably also not strictly paleo as they may contain traces of dairy, etc. Hence, Almost Paleo Brownies ;-). I didn't have time to make a blog post about making them, but that will come.

Chocolate bourbon balls

Man, was I intimidated when I got to Aqua Books and saw what the pros had brought. Some of them actually were professional bakers. I stupidly didn't record the names but just look at these pictures and drool ...

I did receive some kind words from some people who tried the brownies. I wasn't surprised that they didn't sell out ... believe me, those pops above were gone within the first hour!

I also received a very cool white apron, courtesy of the Manitoba Canola Growers, which, as you can see, received very good use when I was cooking for Shabbat after I got home from the bake sale. I hope it washes out, but if it doesn't, it's a well-loved apron and my kids all went gaga over it.

There was a photographer there from the Winnipeg Free Press, who took a picture of those of us who were there in our fancy white aprons, so stay tuned for that.






 Of course, the absolutely best part was hanging out with all these foodies for a few hours. They are very cool, knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming to amateurs like me. The odd chef wandered in and I managed not to fan-girl too badly.

 Thanks again, Shel and others, for letting me play with the big kids and I hope we raised lots of cash for Jamie Oliver's good cause! Looking forward to spending more time with you and learning more about good, local food.

Why Blogging About Food in Manitoba is Really Cool

Chef Michael Shafer demonstrates

Sometimes you just have to step out in faith and ask to play with the big kids. I have recently joined a FaceBook group called Manitoba Food Bloggers. I'm fortunate to be in a group there with people like Shel Zolkewich, Rebecca Hadfield, Ron Cantiveros and other luminaries of the Manitoba food blogging world. They talk about food and farming and restaurants in Manitoba and are generally awesome.

Now I am still recovering from an amazing lunch that I enjoyed on Monday, courtesy of Tourism Winnipeg as part of their kickoff of national Tourism Week. In particular, they were launching Peg City Grub, a very cool blog featuring as many as possible of Winnipeg's 1100 restaurants. It is written and photographed by Robin Summerfield, who totally rocks, and not just because she checked out this blog and decided I was a good fit.

The event at the Forks started with a demonstration by Chef Michael Shafer, of Sydney's at the Forks and the newly opened Rudy's Eat and Drink. Not being a pork eater, I am not clear on the details of the tenderloin he was working on, but I do know it involved Fort Garry Dark Ale, and the smell made me hungry.

That was a good thing as we then moved on to an impressive lunch, which I live-tweeted - how nerdy can you get? Luckily so did a few other people, so I didn't feel too freakish. I also got to meet and share a table with some delightful bloggers. Now I have some real-life faces to put to the posts I see in the FB group!

The lunch consisted of a lot of tiny courses, each supplied by a different restaurant at the Forks. I didn't partake of all of them (in particular, I passed on the crab, bison and chicken), but those I had were delectable. A few pictures (by no means everything we were offered!) just to make you hungry, too.

Empanada from Chilean Corner

Greek Salad from Zorba's Pizza

MB pickerel from Fergie's Fish 'n Chips

Seasonal mini-pie from Tall Grass Prairie Bakery

Three-chocolate canolli from Casa Bella

 So now I am really happy I plucked up the courage to ask Robin if this event was only for the important people with big blogs. It wasn't, and that is what this city is like.

Oh, and one more thing. Those awesome folks from Manitoba Food Bloggers are holding a bake sale on Friday at Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, from 10 am to 2 pm, in support of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day. I will be contributing some almost-paleo brownies, which are currently making my kitchen smell good and about which I will be blogging shortly. I hope to see you there!