the urban peasant and a note about mead

i would like to dedicate my first post to an after school, Canadian television main-stay who recently passed: James Barber. James, you will be missed.

i had a secret love for him because his recipes always, undeniably, rightfully, included equal parts booze to the cook as to the recipe itself. if the fruit cake called for sherry then he would call for sherry. "and a lil' bit for me too...". i appreciate that. that's a dedicated cook, baker and television personality. i could also say with utter confidence that all of his recipes did indeed require some sort of liquor. i mean, we are in Canada after all. we must keep warm.

on the subject of alcohol, i would like to put a little bit of a word of warning out there. alley kat raspberry mead tastes like ass. not good ass...bad ass. and not "bass ass" like "good'. i mean really really bad. don't do it. if it's a dare, then go ahead, as long as what's on the line is worth more than $20. trust me. or don't.

however, i will recommend alley kat's coffee porter. that's delicious. i bet James would have liked it. maybe he could have worked it into some sort of delectable dessert or something. so, on that note, Canada will miss our half tanked, bearded, good natured, CBC broadcast, after school cook. cheers!