...What a Melton Mowbray Is.

One 'theme' you'll be rading about here is how much I enjoy Hamilton. Every time I say it to someone I get a sneer and no one can believe I could say such a thing. Most people think the entire city of Hamilton is located within the steel mill you see while going over the bridge towards Niagara. But Hamilton is pretty great. They people are quite friendly, there is a great art scene, wonderful restaurants, and an impressive farmers market. This is where I inquired about the Melton Mowbray.

Also home to the Bird Egg Washing Festival

One of the few good things about doing the late shift is that I'm up in the morning. I'm kinda a morning person so it works well. I get to have brunch for dinner, get my favourite muffins (the Southwest Muffin from Mulberry St. Cafe. Its a corn bread muffin with jalepeno, sundried tomato, broccoli, corn, and cheddar cheese on top) warm from the oven, hit the stores before they get busy, and the LCBO opens at 9:30. I've been craving some Spanakopita for quite some time but haven't been able to find any here. I follow a blog called This Must Be The Place (if you want to see how cool Hamilton is check it out) and sent the author a Tweet where I could find some and she suggested the market.

I went to the Farmers Market at Jackson Square after my shift. It was probably odd that there was a man in a shirt and tie walking around at 8:30 in the morning, but considering how I look in it I'm sure no one minded. You know those people who wander around slowly and don't pay attention to their surroundings and annoy the hell out of you? That was me at the market this morning. Its a great market with all sorts of foreign foods, fresh meat, eggs, bread, and cheese. The prices are amazing and I'll now do most of my shopping there. I found, and bought, my Spanakopita after some time searching. I also purchased two empanadas and two chicken and mushroom pot pies. It all cost less than $15 but untold expense to my waistline.

Beware the pastry.....

I bought the pies at a british pie booth, as you might imagine, and that is where I noticed I could also purchase a Melton Mowbray. I had no idea what was in it, but it was another small pie and I asked the man what was in it. This is how he described it after asking what it is: "Well, the answer to that leads to a question. Have you ever eaten aspic (me: no.....)?  Well, its in head cheese if you've had that. But its pork fat, essentially. A pork pie is made then the fat is poured into the pie surrounding the filling. Its named after a town in England" It's typically served cold. How can you tell its a genuine Melton Mowbray? According to the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association it is usually cooked free standing, use fresh chopped pork (giving the meat a grey colour. Other pork pies use minced cured pork.), and must be well jellied.

The hard white bits of fat are my favourite

There it is. A Melton Mowbray. Interestingly enough, it has Protected Geographical Status. Its a legal status that protects regional food names due to their uniqueness. Much like the way Champagne and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are called such and have other names when produced outside their original territory (Sparkling Wine and Italian Hard Cheese respectively).

French fries don't count.

And that is what I learned today.

NEW FEATURE
Its been harder than I thought picking topics each day. There are things I learned yesterday I would have like to share, but I can only pick one. And I can't use something yesterday for today because that sorta defeats the purpose. So I'm going to jot down some other things I learned but won't explain them. Although I can provide one if asked.

Other things I learned:
-Babys have accents when they cry.
-A perfect hug is 3 seconds long.
-The phrase 'painting the town red' was originated in Melton Mowbray.   
-OK Go are pretty good.