Still not able to write worth a fuck, so this is all I’ve got.
This brief column is for our dear, beloved American friends trapped behind enemy lines. The rest of the world is pulling for you (Except those who are playing Monkey See, Monkey Do and acting out because The Orange-16 virus appeals to their Inner Asshole).
Put on some warm socks, sit your lounge-pants-t-shirt-covid-haircut down in front of your computer (like you ever left), grab a cup of tea, or coffee, or a cocktail (the boss ain’t here anymore), and give this a watch. Sami Tamimi is the business partner of my favorite chef Yotam Ottolenghi. He and Tara wrote a beautiful cookbook (which I now own) called Falastin (pronounced Palestine).
Although his legal name was Spencer David Nelson Davies (he dropped the ‘e’ from his last name early on), those of us who were fortunate enough to be his friend knew him as Spence.
When my friend died on Monday (October 19), the news hit me like the grill of a Mack truck going 200 (miles or kilometres, you choose). Spence was 81 but I always thought he’d live into his 90’s. His mother did. He came from strong Welsh stock and that’s one of the initial things we had in common.
This week, in Ontario, the government decided to put the brakes on their re-integration plan to have us return to normal because the pandemic has decided to return for a victory lap. They shut down public spaces and gathering places like bars and restaurants because despite being told not to act like selfish jackasses scoring hookers and turning their livers in alcohol-filled swimming pools on the last night before their wedding day, idiots be idioting. Couple that with people marching in parades demanding that they have the right to be jackasses and endangering the health of everyone else and it seems our dear leaders had no choice.
This recipe, adapted from the cookbook “The Family Meal: Home Cooking With Ferran Adrià” (Phaidon, 2011), is a study in simplicity. The chef of El Bulli, the famous Spanish restaurant, Mr. Adrià created an omelet reminiscent of a Spanish tortilla that comes together in minutes using only eggs, salted potato chips and olive oil. As with any recipe calling for just a few ingredients, quality truly matters here, so opt for the best potato chips, the finest olive oil and the freshest eggs.
For all intents and purposes, Lindsey Adams Buckingham has lived a charmed life since first dropping 71 Octobers ago.
Sometimes simple is the most elegant solution to an evening meal. With a good roast chicken in your repertoire you can choose from a thousand different sides, depending on the season, and never go wrong.
One simple meal, from three incredible chefs. For technique, these go from easy to more advanced (although the most advanced is still pretty straightforward).
Choose your favorite, or practice all three.
The very first live gig I ever played was 40 years ago this month – September 19, 1980 – with a band called The Swindle (we’d switch drummers and become SWindleD a year later). We were a bunch of barely passable punk rockers from Scarborough who were too young to play clubs. What does one do when you’re underage and need to get your rock on?
Over-intellectualizing about a subject as pure and simple in its perfection as the Ramones sort of defeats their entire purpose, now doesn’t it? The proverbial “dancing about architecture,” as Steve Martin (by way of Frank Zappa) might well say.
Consequently, I’ve shied away from most books and studies concerning Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Co. that have appeared over the years. So when a copy of Vera Ramone King’s Poisoned Heart came my way, I cracked it open with a wee bit of trepidation, I do admit.
Bullseye Records of Canada
