Highest Five

Eating great food is one of life’s most pleasurable experiences, which is probably why so many dates take place in nice restaurants. At this point, you’ve probably become somewhat of an expert at picking winning eateries, but if you really want to impress a lady, showing your talent in the kitchen, (and I don’t mean exposing yourself) is sure to leave a lasting impression. (Exposing yourself would also leave a lasting impression, but only in the creepy sense.) I am not going to outline recipes in this guide as the internet offers infinite information, but rather some basic ingredients you should always have and general rules about cooking in a kitchen, and looking like you know what you’re doing.

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Drinking and singing are two of life’s greatest pleasures. Both have the capacity to bring people together, comfort them when their sad, but also to get ugly people laid. Drinking songs have been around for centuries and just about every culture enjoys their own extensive collection of merry drinking melodies. If you and your friends are planning a night of debauchery, here are ten of the best songs to help you get those drinking pants on.

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Every culture has their own traditional foods and methods of preparation, but what seems mouth-watering to some can be utterly vomit-inducing to others. While I travelled India for a month this summer, I remember talking with some locals about foods and recipes they liked and disliked, asking them if there were any particular Western dishes they found totally disgusting. To my surprise, they were almost all in accord that pizza was by far one of the most repulsive foods, claiming the smell of hot cheese made their stomachs churn. With pizza being pretty well my favourite food in the whole wide world, I became curious to know what seemingly gross dishes are actually considered delicacies depending where you are. Here are some of the notable ones I came across, many foods which you’d never see in any Edmonton restaurants.

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Amidst these turbulent economic times, our diets are often at the mercy of our shrunken wallets.  We try to make cutbacks at the grocery store, pinching pennies by replacing name brands with no-name brands, ham with spam, and real cheese with spray cheese.  But why should our taste buds suffer, just because we can no longer afford to bring home the delicious bacon?  Are we to become vegetarians, simply because a head of lettuce is cheaper than the head of a delicious mammal? Heck no!  And with summer right around the corner, it would be a damn shame, a DAMN SHAME to watch your barbecue just sitting there, lid closed, without a single flame to make the beef patties go ‘tsssszzzzz.’ 

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Whenever I hear someone talk of gourmet food, I immediately get this mental image of a prissy French waiter named Jean-Jacques, working in some fancy restaurant in Vancouver, lifting the dome of some grandiose platter and exclaiming “VOILA!” to a paltry piece of meat, three baby carrots cut in a fancy way and an itty bitty portion of something colourful and mashed. Though I don’t doubt the effort put into this fine cuisine, all I know is that after I’ve eaten my entire meal in two to three bites, I have to head down to the nearest McDonalds and chow down on a quarter-pounder trio, with a cheeseburger on the side to actually fill my hunger. Is this just the reality of gourmet cooking? Is there simply no room for someone like me in the realms of haute cuisine? Well sorry to disappoint you Jean-Jacques, but I am not giving up that easy and what’s more, I’m going to take gourmet cooking out of the posh restaurant and bring it into my own kitchen.

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Had I relied on the taste of my father’s home-made wine while growing up, I might still think that wine was supposed to be carbonated. Having worked in restaurants and had a little travel experience to draw from, I have had the privilege of tasting some phenomenal wines from around the world and partaking in fun and fascinating discussions with sommeliers, connoisseurs and humble wine-drinkers- who have helped me further my appreciation.

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