Shaw is coming to, hopefully, fix my internet in the morning. Anyone know of other providers for the Spruce Grove area that are not Shaw or Telus?
Acquired Taste
Cilantro and Muscles are two things that I tried very hard to like for a very long time before finally getting my taste buds to cooperate. It turns out that cilantro is tough for a lot of people, and my primitive exposure to muscles was the problem there.
I had tried cold muscles on brunch and seafood buffets at the various hotels my family frequented for swim meets and boxing and martial arts tournaments. The Ramada near the down-town airport always had cold muscles on their Sunday brunch buffet. I would put a few on my plate every time. One of my parents would sweetly remind me that I didn’t like them and I would protest that I heard somewhere that they were an “acquired taste.” Which I knew to mean that if you kept trying them you would learn to like them. I recall my mom trying to tell me various house chores, as well as things like algebra, were also “acquired tastes.” I am proud to say I never bought that BS. (I love you Mom)
I finally found some muscles that I exciting discovered I loved at The Cheese Cake Factory. On a brave whim, ordered Louisiana Muscles with Frococcia. I remember my boyfriend at the time saying “are you sure?” I likely replied in my usual muscle defence, “they are and acquired taste.” They came to the table in a large shallow bowl swimming in a decadent red sauce that smelt like heaven probably does. The frococcia bread that was teetering on the side of the bowl looked like a sponge from outer space. I was accustom to regular North American style breads and this was just weird. (I know make a kick-ass forcia bread that I will share will you guys soon.) But the muscles, that is what we starting talking about, were amazing. The just spicy enough Louisiana sauce had a creamy, buttery edge. I ordered it every time we went, which was often because every time anyone wanted to meet for dinner I jumped on suggesting The Cheese Cake Factory.
My lovey affair with Louisiana Muscles ended when The Cheese Cake Factory, the only one in Edmonton, burnt down. I was crushed. I tried other muscles at other restaurants (I wasn’t brave enough to make them myself then) but they just didn’t compare. I wasn’t until I was in Chile that I found muscles that I could love with the same mouthwatering craziness.
Before I had even left for South America I had decided that I was going to eat as much seafood as I could down there. I had to. It would be fresh and fabulous, cooked in ways that I would not have considered at home.
I discovered my first my first treasure of a Chilean restaurant with some of my fellow Spanish students in Santiago where we were all studying together. Someone told someone about a little place down town and away we went. Everything we ordered was amazing, especially the muscles. I can’t remember exactly the seasoning but I do remember that there was cilantro. Cilantro seemed to very often be the little thing that went along way in most of the food that I tried and loved in South America.
I don’t remember trying cilantro for the first time. I do remember when I decided that I hated it. The girl living upstairs from me in basement suite I had in Edmonton loved the stuff. It was springtime and we were planning a few things in our tiny backyard. I tried a little leaf of her cilantro. “It tastes like soap!” I protested. I avoided it cilantro until my first trip out of Canada to the Dominican Republic. Some of the food was seasoned partially with cilantro down there and I decided that maybe the stuff wasn’t so bad.
I didn’t try cooking with muscles or cilantro until a couple years ago. Board and avoiding homework I wandered to Safeway to find something inspiring to cook up. I had been lusting over memories of my traveling time and was craving muscles. Poking around in the meat isle I found live muscles. I hadn’t noticed them before. Although I knew I wanted to put something with cilantro on them I wasn’t sure what else to do. Safeway has a little tower of recipe cards. One of them had a recipe for muscles with roma tomatoes, cilantro, lemons and onions. I grabbed a card, all of those ingredients and then hit the check out.
At home I followed the recipe fairly close. I did add some red pepper flakes and garlic. I don’t remember if the recipe card called for white wine or not but defiantly use white wine. Pick a dry white, NOT a riesling, gewürztraminer or chardonnay. Use something not-so-sweet like a sauvignon blanc or pinot gris. You’ll need about 1/3 of a bottle for each pound of muscles. So buy according as you must have some for sipping as well.
Rinse you muscles, removing any beards. I like to make sure they are all closed before I cook them. I do this by putting them in the sink with running water (room temperature) and stirring them around. If they close all the way, of even a little, that movement tells me that they are alive and safe to eat. I have a friend who “smell tests” her open ones and if they don’t smell yucky she cooks them. I have not gotten sick from her muscles or mine. You decide what you want to do. Whatever you do, if any do not open after being cooked, don’t eat those ones. If there are more than a few that don’t open. Talk to the place you bought them.
For each pound of muscles:
Dice 1 cup each of red onion and roma tomatos (1/2 a large red onion 3 roma tomatoes)
Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic
Toss the above ingredients and the clean muscles into a large pot. Pour in at least a cup of white wine for each pound. Add 1-2 tsp of red pepper flakes or grind some in if you have them in a grinder, then add salt and pepper to taste. Stir the muscles up again and set aside.
Put your element on high, when it is red-hot place the pot on the element. Once the liquid is simmering stir the muscles every minute until they have all open. Usually about 3-5 minutes, more if you have a very full pot.
Quarter a lemon and set on the side to squeeze the juice on each serving.
Acquired Taste
Cilantro and Muscles are two things that I tried very hard to like for a very long time before finally getting my taste buds to cooperate. It turns out that cilantro is tough for a lot of people, and my primitive exposure to muscles was the problem there.
I had tried cold muscles on brunch and seafood buffets at the various hotels my family frequented for swim meets and boxing and martial arts tournaments. The Ramada near the down-town airport always had cold muscles on their Sunday brunch buffet. I would put a few on my plate every time. One of my parents would sweetly remind me that I didn’t like them and I would protest that I heard somewhere that they were an “acquired taste.” Which I knew to mean that if you kept trying them you would learn to like them. I recall my mom trying to tell me various house chores, as well as things like algebra, were also “acquired tastes.” I am proud to say I never bought that BS. (I love you Mom)
I finally found some muscles that I exciting discovered I loved at The Cheese Cake Factory. On a brave whim, ordered Louisiana Muscles with Frococcia. I remember my boyfriend at the time saying “are you sure?” I likely replied in my usual muscle defence, “they are and acquired taste.” They came to the table in a large shallow bowl swimming in a decadent red sauce that smelt like heaven probably does. The frococcia bread that was teetering on the side of the bowl looked like a sponge from outer space. I was accustom to regular North American style breads and this was just weird. (I know make a kick-ass forcia bread that I will share will you guys soon.) But the muscles, that is what we starting talking about, were amazing. The just spicy enough Louisiana sauce had a creamy, buttery edge. I ordered it every time we went, which was often because every time anyone wanted to meet for dinner I jumped on suggesting The Cheese Cake Factory.
My lovey affair with Louisiana Muscles ended when The Cheese Cake Factory, the only one in Edmonton, burnt down. I was crushed. I tried other muscles at other restaurants (I wasn’t brave enough to make them myself then) but they just didn’t compare. I wasn’t until I was in Chile that I found muscles that I could love with the same mouthwatering craziness.
Before I had even left for South America I had decided that I was going to eat as much seafood as I could down there. I had to. It would be fresh and fabulous, cooked in ways that I would not have considered at home.
I discovered my first my first treasure of a Chilean restaurant with some of my fellow Spanish students in Santiago where we were all studying together. Someone told someone about a little place down town and away we went. Everything we ordered was amazing, especially the muscles. I can’t remember exactly the seasoning but I do remember that there was cilantro. Cilantro seemed to very often be the little thing that went along way in most of the food that I tried and loved in South America.
I don’t remember trying cilantro for the first time. I do remember when I decided that I hated it. The girl living upstairs from me in basement suite I had in Edmonton loved the stuff. It was springtime and we were planning a few things in our tiny backyard. I tried a little leaf of her cilantro. “It tastes like soap!” I protested. I avoided it cilantro until my first trip out of Canada to the Dominican Republic. Some of the food was seasoned partially with cilantro down there and I decided that maybe the stuff wasn’t so bad.
I didn’t try cooking with muscles or cilantro until a couple years ago. Board and avoiding homework I wandered to Safeway to find something inspiring to cook up. I had been lusting over memories of my traveling time and was craving muscles. Poking around in the meat isle I found live muscles. I hadn’t noticed them before. Although I knew I wanted to put something with cilantro on them I wasn’t sure what else to do. Safeway has a little tower of recipe cards. One of them had a recipe for muscles with roma tomatoes, cilantro, lemons and onions. I grabbed a card, all of those ingredients and then hit the check out.
At home I followed the recipe fairly close. I did add some red pepper flakes and garlic. I don’t remember if the recipe card called for white wine or not but defiantly use white wine. Pick a dry white, NOT a riesling, gewürztraminer or chardonnay. Use something not-so-sweet like a sauvignon blanc or pinot gris. You’ll need about 1/3 of a bottle for each pound of muscles. So buy according as you must have some for sipping as well.
Rinse you muscles, removing any beards. I like to make sure they are all closed before I cook them. I do this by putting them in the sink with running water (room temperature) and stirring them around. If they close all the way, of even a little, that movement tells me that they are alive and safe to eat. I have a friend who “smell tests” her open ones and if they don’t smell yucky she cooks them. I have not gotten sick from her muscles or mine. You decide what you want to do. Whatever you do, if any do not open after being cooked, don’t eat those ones. If there are more than a few that don’t open. Talk to the place you bought them.
For each pound of muscles:
Dice 1 cup each of red onion and roma tomatos (1/2 a large red onion 3 roma tomatoes)
Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic
Toss the above ingredients and the clean muscles into a large pot. Pour in at least a cup of white wine for each pound. Add 1-2 tsp of red pepper flakes or grind some in if you have them in a grinder, then add salt and pepper to taste. Stir the muscles up again and set aside.
Put your element on high, when it is red-hot place the pot on the element. Once the liquid is simmering stir the muscles every minute until they have all open. Usually about 3-5 minutes, more if you have a very full pot.
Quarter a lemon and set on the side to squeeze the juice on each serving.
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