Five things to look forward to and alleviate Zoom fatigue
Congratulations, you’ve made it through another week of October! I only know what time it is because I have Thanksgiving turkey broth in the freezer and the Halloween candy isn’t on sale yet. Like last week, I asked my colleagues at the Star to send me things they’re looking forward to. It’s to help add variety because, not shockingly, the things I pay attention to relate to food.
Boot and book drives
The Encampment Support Network is collecting new and gently used adult winter boots for people living in encampments across Toronto. Drop off the boots (be sure to give them a good cleaning first!) at Parkdale’s Capital Espresso (1349 Queen St. W.) on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and weekends 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On the east end, a book drive for incarcerated people is being held at RedSea Foods at 886 Danforth Ave. until Tuesday. As with the boots, the books should be in good condition.
New cookbooks!
Fall brings forth colourful leaves and cosy sweaters in Canada, but we don’t talk enough about how this is also the season for new cookbook launches. October has a few titles from local authors. Here are a few I’m looking forward to: á The debut book from Toronto chef Nuit Regular (Pai, Sukhothai, Sabai Sabai, Kiin), “Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand” ($38, Penguin Canada). á Mississauga author Ruwanmali Samarakoon-Amunugama pays tribute to her family’s cooking with “Milk, Spice & Curry Leaves: Hill Country Recipes from the Heart of Sri Lanka” ($40, TorchWood Editions) á Peter Sanagan of Sanagan’s Meat Locker butcher shop has his first cookbook out this month, “Cooking Meat: A Butcher’s Guide to Choosing, Buying, Cutting, Cooking, and Eating Meat” ($40, Appetite by Random House) á Recipe go-to Anna Olson has her 11th book out this month. “Baking Day with Anna Olson: Recipes to Bake Together” ($40, Appetite by Random House) á Michael Hunter of Antler Kitchen & Bar in Little Portugal has his first book,
“The Hunter Chef Cookbook: Hunt, Fish, and Forage in Over 100 Recipes” ($40, Penguin Canada).
New takeout option
Indonesian restaurants are few in the Greater Toronto Area, which is why NaiNai Noodles caught my eye when chef Elita Rocka announced in late summer she opened a brick-and-mortar location at 852 King St. W. (Her food was previously available at the World Food Market near Ryerson University.) As temperatures continue to drop, I am craving the mie medan (egg noodles in shrimp gravy) and the kwetiau goreng (stir-fried flat rice noodles), which also comes in a vegan version. Delivery is available through Uber Eats, but I recommend getting the food in person whenever possible so the restaurant can avoid commission fees.
Relaxing Chinese cooking videos
Lately, I’ve been going down the rabbit hole of a very specific food YouTuber genre: young Chinese home cooks who grow, forage and prepare meals for their family in rural China against a backdrop of soft piano music. They’re not instructional cooking videos, but rather beautifully shot escapist fare that show ingredients from the time they’re picked from the fields and forests to when they arrive on the dinner table. My favourite is Dianxi Xiaoge, who often makes multiple dishes that centre on a single ingredient. There’s also Liziqi, Ermi Chuiyan, Longmeimei, Wild Girl, each with hundreds of thousands (if not, millions) of followers.
Ahaunted Halloween drive-thru
Running until Halloween, the Docks (176 Cherry St.) is the site of a haunted drive-thru where each car will go through a 1.5-kilometre route of animatronics, pumpkin patches and graveyards. (The site says the drive takes about 30 minutes.) Tickets start at $45 per car. (For another $15 there’s the option to also watch the SuperDogs, one of the mainstays of the CNE that was cancelled this year.) The site says it’s intended for people 13 and older. Tickets can be purchased online through TorontoShines.ca, which also has more information about the event.