Screw you . . . maybe.

There used to be letters. You’ll remember them; they were written on paper and then mailed in envelopes. Okay, maybe you don’t remember them.

But now it’s email. Could the “e” stand for “evil”? Because it’s just so oh-disposable. Free. No effort, just type whatever ur thinking at the time and it becomes chat, another perversity of the online wrld.

Until you get the blowoff, the online equivalent of “You’re out of my social circle, dude.” This is not conducted civilly, as it might be by a polite rejection letter of old times, but just by silence. Silence is the new rejection letter. And your increasingly anxious attempts to keep in touch are treated with increasing contempt, or, even worse, nothing at all.

There is no excuse for this cowardly behaviour. I don’t go around my life making friends idly. Every single one is a large investment in time and emotional energy. I’m not just fucking around.

People, please pay close attention to the people in your life who pay attention to you, and don’t blow them off. They might be the only thing holding you to this planet in the end.

Hot Air

It was appropriate that yesterday Kalli Anderson of CBC Radio called me and asked if I would pundit (not sure it's a verb, but if it ain't, I just created it) for a segment on Daybreak about tipping. Appropriate because today is the hottest day of the year so far, and hot air was probably what was going to come out of my mouth.

I like being a pundit, but especially when I don't even have to be a talking head — just a telephone head. Because I have Taishi with me, there was no way I could make it downtown at 7 a.m. for a nine-minute segment, but Kalli was most accommodating and it was agreed I could phone it in.

It's amazing how contentious the issue of tipping is. I've already referred to it but there are definitely two entrenched camps here in the Americas, and I'll wager no one is going to budge from their position any time soon.

On this segment, my co-pundit was Suzanne, a bartender from West Island (I think) who commented on the behavior of various tribes of tippers (or non-tippers.) The verdict? Europeans often pretend ignorance that the tip is not calculated into the final tally and that all one can do is shrug if they leave nothing, and that Americans are good tippers, contrary to popular belief.

But that Quebecers were the best tippers of all.

Further reading

To Not Do List

Well, you can scratch Bistro Continental and Buffet Maharaja from your "must visit soon" list.

They both burned to the ground in separate incidents this week. Continental, I will mourn. Great steak-frites, and a good competitor to L'Express down the road.

Buffet Maharaja . . . no comment.

Thai Mussaman Beef Curry

This curry is made in the southern part of Thailand that is close to the border with Malaysia, and is obviously heavily Indian-inspired, the Thai twist here being the lemongrass, galangal and coconut milk.

The ingredient list looks daunting, but most of it can be bought at your friendly neighborhood Asian market. The actual cooking of this dish is incredibly easy and this is one of the most flavorful curries I've ever prepared.

Mussaman curry paste

Dry ingredients:
1 T coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 dried red chilies

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 T chopped fresh lemongrass
1 1/2 T grated galangal (easiest to do frozen, with a Microplane grater)
2 T minced garlic
1/2 cup minced shallots
6 Thai chilies, chopped finely (optional)
1 T salt

Method:

Dry fry the dry spices in a nonstick pan on medium heat until toasted but not burned. Grind to a powder in a coffee grinder reserved for spices. Combine with wet ingredients.

Main curry

1 cup shallots, chopped finely
4 T garlic, chopped finely
3 T coconut cream (comes in blocks)
3 T ground Spanish peanuts (with skin on)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 T nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
3 T tamarind paste (comes in a plastic container in the consistency of ketchup)
3 T palm sugar (brown sugar may be substituted)
3 bay leaves
3 cups chicken broth
2 T Thai red curry paste
1 1/2 lbs. good quality top sirloin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed
Cilantro
Ghee (clarified butter) or peanut oil

Method:

Brown beef in nonstick frypan with ghee (or oil) in two batches. Set aside. In more ghee/oil, sauté curry paste with shallots, garlic, and coconut cream until well combined and cream is melted.

Add meat back to pan. Add ground peanuts. Sauté 10 minutes uncovered, stirring often.

Add coconut milk, nam pla, tamarind paste, palm sugar, bay leaves, chicken broth and curry paste. Stir until well combined, simmer uncovered 15 minutes, stirring often.

Add potatoes and simmer on low, covered, 25 more minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Serve on coconut jasmine rice (see recipe below) with cilantro garnish and cucumber/red onion/tomato/ chile side salad.

Coconut Thai Rice

This subtly spiced rice will just hint of coconut — no need to overpower it.

2 cups Thai jasmine rice
2 tsp ghee or peanut oil

3 cloves
3 cardamom pods
2-inch stick cinammon
1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 large shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger (easiest to do with frozen ginger and a Microplane grater)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 3/4 cups chicken broth

Method:

Wash rice several times until the water runs completely clear. Soak in cold water for 2 hours, or even overnight (past a certain point, the rice will no longer absorb any water.)

Drain rice in colander. In a large, nonstick frypan with a tight-fitting lid, sauté the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and shallots in ghee or oil on medium for about five minutes. Add the rice, ginger and garlic, and sauté, stirring but making sure not to break the grains, for about five minutes more. Mix coconut milk and broth and heat in the microwave; add to the rice, stir to combine, reduce heat to minimum, cover tightly (you might want an aluminum foil assist) and steam for about 18 minutes. Turn off heat and wait ten minutes (or as long as you want after that.) Remove hard spices, fluff rice and serve.

Facing the Music

If you’re even a remote fan of music, any kind of music, and you live in Montreal, you absolutely need to catch Philippe Bélanger playing the massive organ at L’Oratoire St. Joseph on Sundays at 3:30 p.m.

I stumbled upon a performance two weeks ago and was transfixed by the absolutely awesome sounds that echoed through the Basilica. No Yes, Pink Floyd or Genesis concert in any venue has ever even come close to the majestic sounds that I encountered in those short 20 minutes.

I took the liberty of recording today’s performance with my video camera and uploading it (copyright holders need never worry—the quality is atrocious) — but in actuality the sound reverberating though the Basilica, manipulated through the masterful ministrations of M. Bélanger, will literally blow circuits in your brain if you go and listen to it in person. There was some asshole couple talking a few rows behind us in loud voices that totally ruined the recording (you'll hear us leaving the vicinity for a much quieter, and thus less interesting experience) but hopefully this will give you an inkling of the performance. (And I can't discount the frequent "I want to's" from my tiny son as a distraction, though the finale soon kept him and everyone else quiet.)

I know I’ll be there next Sunday.