¡Ándele! ¡Ándele! ¡Jaiba! ¡Jaiba!

Spring used to come in like a lion 'round these parts, but mostly it just arrives in fits and starts these days, feinting and dodging, teasing and mocking.  Sure, you'll get some warm, toasty days every now and then, but there's sure to be a few bitterly cold days (and nights), too.  And like our friend at the dépanneur down the street says, "You can't be sure of anything until May 15."  And even then...

 fig. a:  printemps québécois

Anyway, signs of spring usually begin sometime in March in Montreal (like most places in the Northern Hemisphere), but, foodwise, it takes a while to see a whole lot of rebirth going on.  With the exception of maple syrup, most of our spring flavours tend to show up in May and June.

Which is why snow crab is of such importance to people like us.  Not only are we enormous fans of crabmeat, but snow crabs are one of the earliest spring arrivals, and snow crab season is really the only time of the year we can get fresh, live, and regional crab here in Montreal.  Officially, the season is said to last from April to November, but our experience has been that in actual fact it's a very short season, lasting no more than about 6-8 weeks.  But, oh, is it ever sweet.  Or, at least, it can be.  And it's going on now.

Just how excited about snow crab are we?

Well, Michelle and Seth have been preparing a lovely snow crab pasta dish as part of their Quebec Spring/Printemps québécois menu at the Foodlab.  It features handmade/housemade tagliatelle cooked to perfection and tossed with a medley of spring vegetables (string beans, peas, shallots, and the first of the cherry tomatoes from our friends at Birri Brothers), herbs (chives and parsley), a generous helping of snow crab meat, and a beautiful crab cream.

And here at home we've been going to town on our very favourite tacos in the entire world:  tacos stuffed with salpicón de jaiba.



 fig. b & c:  crab tacos!

We've featured this recipe before, but it's an absolutely essential one, and a great way to stretch your crabmeat a little further, because, god knows, those snow crabs are tasty, but they can also be quite costly.  Here it is again, revised and updated:

Salpicón de Jaiba 

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup cooked, shredded crabmeat
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed chili pepper blend (some combination of ancho, pasilla, arbol, chipotle, and/or New Mexico grande chiles)
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion gently until translucent.  

Add the celery and sauté for about one minute.  Add the fresh chiles and sauté for 30-60 seconds.   

Add the crabmeat and fry until it is warmed through and begins to brown ever so slightly.  The mixture should be rather dry--remember, you're going to be placing it in a taco. 

Lastly, take the mixture off the heat, add the cilantro, salt, and chili blend, and toss, allowing the flavours to mingle for a minute or two before serving.

Serve with hot tortillas and plenty of fixings, like pico de gallo, sour cream or crema, hot sauce, and limes.

Makes enough to fill at least 8-10 corn tortillas. 

[based on a recipe from Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico]

Might seem a little strange to make Mexican tacos with Quebec crab, but, trust me, a little cultural exchange can be a good thing.

 fig. d:  Juan Carlos, the Mexican crab

 fig. e:  Jean-Charles, the Quebec snow crab

Go, Crabs, go!

aj

Fou de Kamou, rev. ed.

 fig. a:  Kamou view 1

Until this summer, Michelle had never set foot in Kamouraska.  Oh, sure, she'd heard lots about it.  In this part of the world, Kamouraska is a fabled region.  Situated at the point where the salt water of the Atlantic mingles with the freshwater flowing east along the mighty St. Lawrence River ("entre la mer et l'eau douce"), at the beginning of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the largest estuary in the world, and encompassing verdant fields, lush forest, impressive rock formations that shoot out of the landscape, and fantastic views of the river, its marshes, a number of its islands, and the mountainous north shore, Kamouraska is a pretty striking place.

 fig. b:  Kamou view 2

Michelle felt instantly at home.

 fig. c:  Kamou girl

She took to the landscape, and the landscape seemed to agree with her.  And she quickly adopted Kamouraska as a home away from home.

We were only in Kamouraska for a little over two days on that visit, but we had a pretty active couple of days:



 figs. d & e:  sowing seeds

We attended a traditional seed-sowing ceremony, featuring live musical accompaniment and an elaborate fertility ritual, at Patrice Fortier's magical Société des Plantes.





 figs. f, g, & h:  there will be eels

We visited a cultural centre dedicated to eels and eel fishing.  (Eel fishing has been a staple of the local economy for hundreds and hundreds of years, long before the settlers arrived.  Eel was a traditional part of maritime Quebec's diet, but has decreased in popularity over the last several decades, due in part to the misconceptions that surround it.  Still, the eel hunt persists, with most of the catch shipped to either Japan or Europe, but mostly to Japan.)

 fig. i:  Boulangerie Niemand

We checked out Boulangerie Niemand, perhaps Quebec's very best bakery (and almost certainly its most beautiful), and a real hub for the local community,

 fig. j:  côté ouest de Côté Est

as well as Côté Est, right next door, a fine new addition to the local dining scene, with wonderful views on the river, a convivial atmosphere, and a menu that specializes in local delicacies like eel and locally raised salt-marsh lamb, as well as natural wines from Montreal's own La QV.

 fig. k:  got fish?

We made sure to pick up some smoked eel, sturgeon, and salmon before we skipped town.

 fig. l:  faire du pouce

And although the idea of hitchhiking from Kamouraska to La Pocatière to visit our friends at Fou du Cochon (the very same ones who'd made the wonderful charcuterie pictured above at Côté Est) held a certain romantic appeal, ultimately we opted for other means of transportation.

 fig. m:  golden age

When we got to Fou du Cochon we were blown away by how meticulous an operation it is, but we were especially impressed by the hand-crafted maplewood architecture they'd created to age their vast array of charcuterie, which not only looked beautiful, with its golden hues, its aromas also imparted an additional goût du terroir to their product.

 fig. n:  après Kamou

When we got back home, we celebrated our trip with an après-Kamou feast.  And Michelle immediately started to put the plans together for an Hommage à Kamouraska menu for the fall.

Notes:

Kamouraska is roughly 400 km away from Montreal along Autoroute 20/the Trans-Canada, but it pays to follow Hwy 132 along the river soon after you pass Quebec City--it's one of my favourite drives in Quebec.

 fig. o:  beauty queens

If you'd like to experience the flavours of Kamouraska, but you're not in a position to make a trip out to that region anytime soon, you might want to visit Seth & Michelle at Foodlab over the next couple of weeks for their Hommage à Kamouraska menu.  That's right:  it's now fall, and their Kamou menu has gone live.  It features bread from Boulangerie Niemand, charcuterie from Fou du Cochon, smoked fish from Poisonnerie Lauzier, and a truly amazing array of fresh produce from our good friend Patrice at la Société des Plantes.

For an extra special treat, you might want to attend tomorrow night's (November 15) Fou du Beaujo festivities at Foodlab, featuring the entire Hommage à Kamouraska menu, plus some amazing Beaujolais wines from La QV.  If you happen to be in Kamouraska that night, you can attend the tandem Fou du Beaujo event at Côté Est (!).  How's that for inter-regional togetherness?

And if all that wasn't enough, the Hommage à Kamouraska menu features one my favourite Michelle Marek desserts in recent memory:  a phenomenal maple custard with caramelized apples and pecans.

Fou du Beaujo info:

Foodlab, 1201 boulevard St-Laurent, November 15, hours:  5 à 7

Fou de Kamou addresses:

Boulangerie Niemand, 82 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-1236 

Côté Est, 76 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 308-0739 

Poissonerie Lauzier, 57 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-7988 

Site d'interprétation de l'anguille de Kamouraska, 205 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-3935 

La Société des Plantes, 207 rang de l'Embarras, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-2493 

Fou du Cochon et Scie, La Pocatière, QC (available in fine food establishments across the province)

aj

There Will Be Eel

 fig. a:  God bless the Eel Hunt!

Yes, it's true.

 fig. b:  The Eel Hunters

The Eel Hunters traveled to Kamouraska in search of the last of the season's catch, and though their prey were a wily and slippery lot, they didn't come up empty-handed.  In fact, they brought a few eels back to Montreal, live and feisty, and the next day they were summarily dealt with.

 fig. c:  success!

So, not only will there be eel, but They Will Be Smoked.  And tonight we'll be celebrating the Eel Hunt at La QV.

On tap:  eel rillettes with rye bread from the legendary Niemand Bakery, prepared by Julie "Miss Vivres" Rondeau, and an Austrian white (Grüner Veltliner, Domaine Meinklang) selected by Cyril "Boss Soif" Kérébel.

Come one, come all!

Tonight's apéro will only set you back $12.  The festivities start at 5 p.m. and will last until sometime after 9 p.m.  And there's no better way to get yourself in the mood for Raspipav 2012.

La QV, 29 Beaubien E.

aj

Field notes: NB/PEI/QC

fig. a: early morning, Cabot Beach

Does the thought of Atlantic beaches, red cliffs, lookout towers, lighthouses, and countless shades of green appeal to you?

fig. b: late afternoon, Cabot Beach

What about copious amounts of oysters, lobster, scallops, mussels, haddock, and cod?

If the answer to both of these questions is an enthusiastic "Yes!," you're not the only one.

fig. c: "free tour map"

I recently had the opportunity to head out to New Brunswick--"THE 'Picture Province'"--on business, and I managed to extend the trip by a couple of days so that I could continue east towards the Northumberland Strait, the Atlantic Ocean, and the bounty of "The Garden Province," Prince Edward Island. This enhanced road trip was inspired in no small measure by a recent feature by our friend Melissa at The Traveler's Lunchbox, who, when she hasn't been busy making cheeseand butter, has apparently been making coast-to-coast trips from Seattle to Prince Edward Island. Melissa's PEI post is quite a bit more extensive than this one, and her photographs are endlessly more pro. Consider the following a series of stray field notes that just might encourage some of you who haven't been to the Atlantic Provinces (or some of you who haven't been in ages, like Michelle) to do so.

Fredericton, NB

Should you find yourself in Fredericton on a Saturday morning, you might very well want to make your way to this handsome building.

fig. d: W.W. Boyce York County Market

You see, every Saturday this building plays home to the W.W. Boyce Farmers' Market, a.k.a. the Fredericton Farmers' Market, and it's a dandy.

You'll find bakers, butchers, fish mongers, cheese mongers, and a wide assortment of other vendors (from sausages to samosas), alongside real, honest-to-goodness New Brunswick farmers, but my favorite stand was a stand that was run by a Mennonite family,

fig. e: "taste the difference!"

where I found my first perfect raspberries of the season, as well as some truly phenomenal maple syrup.

Sackville, NB

Sometime back in the 1990s, Michelle spent a summer in Sackville, home to Mount Allison University, the 2008 Cultural Capital of Canada, and the self-proclaimed Cultural Crossroads of the Maritimes, and it evidently left quite the impression on her. It may have been a short chapter, but it's a chapter from her life that comes up again and again. So when I found myself passing right by Sackville en route to PEI, I decided I had to pay a pilgrimage.

I called Michelle when I got to downtown Sackville and asked her where she used to hang out, and she just said, "The diner! You've gotta go to the diner!"

fig. f: Mel's

"You mean, Mel's Tea Room?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

So I did.

After all, Mel's is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Plus, with a sign like that, how could I resist?

Prince Edward Island

I liked Prince Edward Island from the moment its coastline came into view as I crossed the massive Confederation Bridge. In addition to the physical beauty of its landscape, there was the physical beauty of its mermaids to behold.

fig. g: mermaid, sandwich

And everywhere I looked there were signs that fresh seafood was readily at hand.

fig. h: Flex Mussels' mussels

By now this is practically a cliché, but when in Charlottetown, the locally raised, locally harvested mussels at Flex Mussels are not to be missed. I'd been wanting to check out Flex Mussels for a while, ever since I heard that John Bil, oysterman extraordinaire and former member of Team Joe Beef, had been enlisted to help get Flex Mussels NYC off the ground (for some reason, not only did this tidbit of information have me wanting to visit the NY operation, it had me wanting to visit the original, too). Flex Mussels Charlottetown was a little more swish than I was expecting (I'd always imagined something more along the lines of Go Fish), but the mussels were plump and fresh and very reasonably priced, and with the sun shining brightly and a steaming bowl of mollusks before me, I couldn't have been happier.

Hours later, I was looking out at the open waters of the Atlantic from Cabot Beach.

fig. i: early evening, Cabot Beach

Cabot Beach Provincial Park offers an awfully nice stretch of coastline, but it also has the advantage of being directly adjacent to Malpeque, PEI and the Malpeque Bay region. When you buy a Malpeque oyster in the Montreal region, there's a high likelihood that the oyster bed that it came from was nowhere near Malpeque Bay (Malpeque is something of an umbrella term for PEI oysters, just as Caraquet is something of an umbrella term for New Brunswick oysters), but if you go to Malpeque you can be sure that you'll find plenty of oysters.

fig. j: Malpeque harbour 1

Fishing is Malpeque's bread and butter. Cabot Beach brings in a fair number of tourists, but the focus here is on oysters, lobsters, mussels, and fish.

fig. k: Malpeque harbour 2

There are a number of fish markets and seafood restaurants in the region, but my favorite was the appropriately named Malpeque Oyster Barn.

fig. l: Malpeque Oyster Barn

Their oysters on the half shell were supremely fresh and expertly shucked, but the show-stealers ended up being their delicate, savoury fried oysters, made with more freshly shucked choice oysters and a light batter with plenty of herbs.

fig. m: Highland storm

As you drive across PEI, you see potato patches, potato fields, and potato farms pretty much everywhere you go. Occasionally (like on Day 2 of my visit), you see them with big dark storm clouds looming overhead.

fig. n: new potatoes

If you pay attention, you'll also see plenty of roadside stands advertising NEW POTATOES, many of them operating on the honor system,

fig. o: shells, trap

and some of them decorated with shells.

Should you find yourself in PEI during the height of summer, my advice to you is to pick up a bag (or two, or three...)

fig. p: PEI potatoes 1

and bring it home.

fig. q: PEI potatoes 2

These little jewels are easily the best potatoes either of us have had in a long while: lovely flavor, perfect texture.

fig. r: Landmark Café

Should you find yourself in Victoria-by-the-Sea, I, like Melissa before me, highly recommend the Landmark Café. Not only does its dining room bear a striking resemblance to ours here at AEB HQ, but they have a great little menu that's seasonal and PEI-proud, and they serve an awfully satisfying lobster roll.

Islet-sur-Mer, QC

fig. s: sign of the times

On the western edge of Islet-sur-Mer, QC, on the scenic Hwy 132, sits the Casse-Croûte Islet, a.k.a. the Casse-Croûte des Érables, a.k.a. Casse-Croûte INSERT NUMBER OF YEARS IN OPERATION HERE. When I first started going, the sign out front read "37." Now it reads "46." More importantly, it's a real, old-time roadside casse-croûte (outdoor seating only), it's been owned and operated by the same woman for 46 years (!), and their toastés, hamburgers, and fries rank a 5/5 on my personal roadfood scale.

They're so good, in fact, that whenever I head out east, I make a point of stopping on the way out and on the way back.

Be Prepared

Oh, yeah. And if you drive to New Brunswick, PEI, and/or Eastern Quebec, bring a cooler. I returned with several pounds of mussels and oysters, some smoked cod, and a bag of potatoes, and a couple of hours later Michelle and I were sitting down to yet another seafood feast.

W.W. Boyce Farmers' Market, 665 George St., Fredericton, NB--Note: Saturdays only, 6:00 am - 1:00 pm

Mel's Tea Room, 17 Bridge St., Sackville, NB, (506) 536-1251

Flex Mussels, 2 Lower Water St., Charlottetown, PEI, (902) 569-0200

Malpeque Oyster Barn, Malpeque, PEI, (902) 836-4322--Note: only open July 1 to September 1

Landmark Café, 12 Main St., Victoria-by-the-Sea, PEI, (902) 658-2286

Casse-Croûte Islet, Hwy 132, Islet-sur-Mer, QC--Note: only open from May through September

aj