For this episode I did an on-site interview with Shana (nickname, "Bean") who is the owner and baker at a new cupcake shop in my neighbourhood of Leslieville (east-end Toronto) called Baked By Bean.
She gave me her origin story, what brought her to Canada, her education and work experience, and how she finally got the courage to open up her own shop.
Then we talk specifics about baking, some tips she has for home bakes, and we go deep into buttercream frosting (discussing it, not eating it.)
Please follow Baked By Bean on Instagram and Tiktok. And please also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Substack (my weekly newsletter about food, wine, cooking, and baking.)
In this episode I had the honour and pleasure of speaking with a local Toronto Executive Chef and Restaurateur, John Sinopoli. John is the owner of the Ascari Group, currently operating the restaurant Abrielle, a coastal Mediterranean restaurant in the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto.
Besides sharing his experience and philosophy about food and wine, this episode is jam packed with John's tips on how home cooks can level up their cooking.
Two sites John mentioned in this episode are Serious Eats and ChefSteps.
As always, you can reach out to me by e-mail, or follow me on Instagram and Substack.
In this episode, Tyler and I talk about all things pizza from the dough, to the sauce, the cheese, and pizza ovens. We have a few segues into other things related to pizza (including whether pineapple belongs on pizza) and some of our favourite pizza places.
If you want Tyler's dough recipe, check out my most recent Substack post.
Here are the links to a few of the books, products, and Instagram accounts we talked about (none of these are paid promotions):
The Elements of Pizza with Ken Forkish (YouTube and Book)
Dave's Pizza Oven on Instagram
Al's Home Kitchen Pizzeria on Instagram
This is another cross-over episode between the podcast and my Substack newsletter where ou can read about my cake baking escapades with my 10-year-old friend, Isla. We made a vanilla cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting.
You can also follow me on Instagram @Noreciperequired.ca
You can read more about my wine tasting experiment in this week's Substack newsletter:
https://open.substack.com/pub/noreciperequired/p/canada-vs-the-world-riesling
To read and/or subscribe to my other food- and wine-related content, follow me on Substack, here: https://noreciperequired.substack.com/
The wines we tasted and reviewed were:
Domaine St-Jacques, Riesling 2022, Vin du Québec (IGP), $23.70
Liebling Wines, Riesling 2022, VQA St. David’s Bench, Lingard Vineyard, $19.10
Studert-Prüm, Riesling Trocken 2023, Mosel, Germany, $15.60
In this episode I'm chatting with my online friend, Cristina, who has a Lemonade stand in her home state of Georgia. We talk about how she got started in the business, what her recipe is for perfect lemonade, her tips for starting up a small food business, and some funny customer stories.
You can follow her on Instagram @_Limonista.
And, if you're not already subscribed to my weekly newsletter on Substack (it's free!), you can do so here:
This is a companion episode to go along with my most recent Substack Newsletter on How To Choose A Wine. If you're a subscriber, that would have been in your inbox on Tuesday morning. It's free to subscribe and I write content about food, wine, cooking, baking, and home economics.
In the newsletter, I recommended four wines - all Cabernet Sauvignon - from four different regions. So I thought it would be a good follow-up to taste the wines and give you my reviews.
Here are the wines in the order I reviewed them:
Submission Cabernet Sauvignon, California, $19.95 (on sale for $17.95 at the LCBO until the end of April) 14.5% / 7g/L
Peter Lehmann The Barossan Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, South Australia, $20.95 14.5% 4g/L
Zuccardi Q Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Mendoza, Argentina, $20.95 14% 3g/L
Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile, $19.95.
Follow me:
web site: Noreciperequired.ca
Substack: No Recipe Required
Instagram: noreciperequired.ca
Facebook: No Recipe Required
e-mail: cook @ noreciperequired.ca
This is a cross-over episode with content from my most recent Substack newsletter. If you're not already subscribed and following me there, here is the link.
The two Syrah/Shiraz wines I'm talking about in this episode are:
François Villard L'appel des Sereines Syrah 2020, Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône, France ($22.95 at the LCBO,) 13% ABV, 3g sugar/L.
Thompson Estate Four Chambers Shiraz 2021, Margaret River, Western Australia ($21.25 at the LCBO, on sale, regularly $24.95) 14.2% ABV, 3g sugar/L.
You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and my new website. My e-mail address is "cook at noreciperequired dot ca."
Just a quick update on what's new in the No Recipe Required world!
Here's the link to subscribe to my weekly newsletter on Substack (contrary to what I said in the episode, there is no "dot CA" in my account name there): https://substack.com/@noreciperequired
Thanks for listening and supporting me for the last 3 years!
No notes... just listen to the randomness of this episode. And if you're reading this and can tell me how many times I used the word "random" in my intro and outro, maybe I'll have a prize for you!
Since 2024 has just started and this is the first episode of the year, I'm calling this a new season, so welcome to Season 5, Episode 1 of the No Recipe Required Podcast!
This episode with my dear friend and co-host, Leo Troy, really is quite random, hence the title "The Random Episode." I talk a bit about the wine I was drinking, how sourdough bread is made, New Year's resolutions, and eating more veggies.
If you want to learn more about vegetarian and vegan eating, check out my 4-part series from February of 2022 (S2, Ep. 10-13) where I do a real deep dive with two long-time vegans, a dietician, and a nutritionist about all things plant-based.
Part 2 of my random chat with Leo will come out soon, so stay tuned for that. In that episode, he turns the table and interviews me!
In this episode I give you some new content and tips on cooking a turkey, as well as how to simplify your holiday meal prep by doing things in advance.
Tourtière can be very divisive, and I give my thoughts on what makes for a traditional tourtière spice blend.
I finish off with some wine selections that might be worth a bit of a splurge from what you normally spend on a bottle of wine. After all, it's Christmas, so why not treat yourself!
Wine Links:
Michel Gassier - Nostre Païs $21.75
Michel Gassier - Fleur de Syrah $22.95
Xavier Vignon - Côtes du Rhône $17.95
Xavier Vignon - Lirac (Grenache/Syrah) $20.75
Xavier Vignon - Châteuneuf-du-Pape $72.95
Grant Burghe - The Holy Trinity $41.95
Past episodes mentioned in this episode:
Splurge Worthy Wines (part 1) - Bonus Ep. 3
Splurge Worthy Wines (part 2) - Bonus Ep. 4
Splurge Worthy Wines (part 3) - Bonus Ep. 5
S4.E3. Sparklers with Cousin Jano
Merry Christmas!
Here are the wines I talked about in this episode:
https://www.lcbo.com/en/gerard-bertrand-pollinat-syrah-29506
Gerard Bertrand
Pollinat’ Syrah $15.95
Sud de France
https://www.lcbo.com/en/quinta-da-rede-reserva-2017-431742
Quinta da Rede
Reserva 2017 $20.95
Douro, Portugal
https://www.lcbo.com/en/colchester-ridge-crew-meritage-2016-426833
Colchester
Ridge CREW Meritage 2020 $23.95
VQA Harrow, ON
To order Tourtières for pick-up in Toronto, go to noreciperequired.ca. I will also be having a pop-up event on Saturday, November 4 and Sunday, November 5 from noon to 3PM at Mess Hall, 1125 Gerrard St. E. at Leslie.
In this episode I chat with my cousin, Alexander, who is a product consultant at the LCBO in Toronto. He LOVES Riesling, so he was the perfect person to have on to talk about all things Riesling. In the previous episode, I gave you my thoughts on the Pierre Sparr Riesling from Alsace that was this month's Wine Club selection. While Alexander and I talk about Riesling as it's made in Canada, France (Alsace) and Germany, we are tasting the 2017 Riesling from Stanners Vineyard in Prince Edward County. I bought this at my local farmers' market a few weeks ago, and since I'd just baked a Peach Pie yesterday, I figured this was a good time to open this bottle and share it with Alexander.
Here are the wines we talked about in this episode:
Please don't turn your nose up at Riesling! The wine I've chosen this month is a dry Riesling from Alsace (France.) Pierre Sparr Grande Réserve Riesling 2020, $18.95
If you can't find this exact wine, look for a Riesling from Alsace (France) that has 5-7g of sugar per Litre. This one has 6g/L. Many popular red wines are in the 4-7g/L range, in fact, the Ripasso we tasted last month had 12g/L!
This wine is pale yellow in colour and has nice viscosity. Aromas of peach, honey, honeysuckle. Mouth feel is medium bodied, citrus, minerals, med-high acidity, and dry yet juicy.
Let me know what you think! In a couple of weeks I'll be talking with my cousin, Alexander, who is a product consultant at the LCBO and who LOVES Riesling. After that, you and I will surely know more about Riesling than we ever did before.
Here are the wines we tasted on this episode:
No Recipe Required Wine Tasting Club Selection: Louis Bouillot Perle d'Aurore Brut Rosé Crémant de Bourgogne, $27.95
Cousin Jano's other favourite sparkling wines:
There are 2 reviews in this episode: first, I give my review of a new book by wine writer Natalie MacLean called "Wine Witch On Fire: Rising from the ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking too much." I was a beta reader for this memoir, and I've heard Natalie speak about it in person at her book launch as well as on her own podcast, The Unreserved Wine Talk Podcast with Natalie MacLean. In this episode I read a passage from her book that I found to be impactful for me, as well as giving my thoughts on the book as a whole (spoiler alert: I really liked and and recommend that you read it.)
Secondly, I give my tasting notes on this month's Wine Club selection, Monte Zovo Sa' Solin Ripasso Superiore DOC ($23.95 at LCBO.)
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this wine, as well as on Natalie's book once you get a chance to read it. You can reach me on Instagram @noreciperequired.ca, or join the Facebook group, No Recipe Required Challenge.
Welcome to Season 4 of the No Recipe Required Podcast! We're taking a 90 degree turn, but not too far off what the podcast is about since we'll be talking about wine for the next several months. I've started a free Wine Tasting Club (free to join, you just have to buy the wine yourself) so that we can try new things and compare notes. If you want to be a guest on the podcast to talk about this month's wine, please reach out to me.
Join the FB Group to discuss this month's wine: https://www.facebook.com/groups/956452831576049
Link to the LCBO site for this month's wine: https://www.lcbo.com/en/stoneleigh-latitude-sauvignon-blanc-324228
Follow me on Instagram, my DMs are open: https://www.instagram.com/noreciperequired.ca/
And you can also reach me by e-mail at cook@noreciperequired.ca
