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Mar 27, 2011

Chefs' TOP TIPS

By Rebecca Lynne Tan and Eunice Quek

 

LifeStyle teases out 10 cooking tips from five chefs.

The chefs:

Chan Kwok, 55, group master chef of Orchard Hotel Singapore

Sam Leong, 46, chef and owner of cooking school Sam Leong@Forest Cooking School

Milind Sovani, 47, chef-owner of high-end Indian restaurant Song Of India

Violet Oon, 62, cookbook author and food consultant

Devagi Sanmugam, 55, chef-restaurateur and owner of Epicurean World Cooking School

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1 How do you minimise odours when frying fish in the kitchen?

Chef Devagi says: Boil a pot of water with lemon and orange peel, unwanted parts of lemongrass, or smashed ginger and keep it bubbling as you fry the fish. The vapour will help dissipate the fishy smell.

2 How do you cut onions without crying?

To prevent tearing, chef Leong recommends cutting onions in half and soaking them in iced water for five minutes before dicing them.

Another way is to store the onions in the refrigerator. Onions release a volatile vapour when they are cut, which is what causes the tears; keeping the onions cold retards the release of the vapour.

Oon has a simple solution: Cut the onions such that the side you are cutting faces away from you.

3 How do you tenderise beef?

Chef Devagi suggests using pineapple, grated green papaya or mashed kiwi fruit. The natural fruit enzymes help break down the meat fibres, making the meat more tender, she says.

Alternatively, buy tender cuts such as fillet and tenderloin, and always cut against the grain, recommends Oon, who favours the ribeye.

4 How do you tell if an egg is fresh?

Put the egg in a glass of room- temperature water, says chef Chan.

If the egg is fresh, it will sink to the bottom. If it is stale, it will float.

Adds chef Chan: 'Stale eggs have air inside them, which causes them to float, or sink slowly.'

He also looks at the texture of the egg white. If the white is thick and does not separate from the yolk, it is fresh.

5 Why and how do you use toasted spices?

Singapore's humid weather causes spices, such as cumin seeds and cardamom pods for making curry powder or pastes, to become damp. Chef Sovani recommends toasting spices in a dry pan which removes the moisture and in turn helps release its flavours. Spices to be cooked in hot oil need not be toasted.

6 How do you cook vegetables with thick stalks without overcooking them?

Leafy vegetables with thick stems, such as kai lan, often take longer to blanch or poach. Chef Leong's trick is to add a smidgen of soda bicarbonate into the boiling water before adding in the vegetables. This keeps the leaves green and helps to soften the stems, without the need to boil the vegetables for an extended period of time.

7 How do you get rid of garlic odour from your fingers?

Chef Devagi recommends rubbing a cut lemon over your hands. The acidic juices will help remove the odour. Another option is to wash your hands in milk, she says.

8 How do you prevent your fingers from turning orange when peeling turmeric?

To remove the bright orange stain from turmeric root, wash your hands with lime or vinegar. If dealing with turmeric powder, make sure your hands are dry and use a teaspoon where possible, chef Devagi advises.

9 How do you tell when the oil is hot enough for deep-frying?

Put a small piece of bread in the oil to check if it is hot enough. The bread should puff up and rise to the surface immediately.

Oon says: 'The bread should be bubbling at the sides with little droplets of hot oil all around it.'

10 How do you store fresh herbs in the refrigerator?

Chef Leong wraps fresh herbs such as coriander, parsley and spring onions in newspaper, and stores them in the chiller.

The newspaper-wrapped herbs may look slightly limp when you take them out of the fridge. Chef Leong suggests soaking them in some iced water - they will spring back to life.

To ensure that these herbs last longer, soak them in cold water for 10 minutes before storing in the fridge. You should trim and dry the herbs thoroughly with kitchen paper towels, and place the herbs in a zip-lock bag or plastic container. They should stay fresh for about four days.

This is the start of an occasional series.

NY Times: A Better Way to Serve Eggs

 

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March 21, 2011

A Better Way to Serve Eggs

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

I teach a class in knife skills for home cooks in Los Angeles. The students aren’t expected to wield their blades like Top Chefs, but my fellow instructor, Clifford A. Wright, and I do have them chop, slice, mince and dice often enough to become comfortable in front of a cutting board.

At the end of the class, we usually end up with several pounds of chopped vegetables on hand. A few weeks ago, after dividing up the spoils, my onions, peppers, carrots, zucchini and leeks found their way into frittatas. These flat omelets, which can be eaten hot or cold and pack well in a lunchbox, are a perfect destination for all sorts of vegetables.

If you avoid eggs because you think they’re bad for you, you should reconsider. It was never clear that dietary cholesterol had a significant impact on heart health; saturated fat in the diet is thought to be a bigger culprit (how big is also a matter of dispute these days). The government’s new dietary guidelines acknowledge as much, advising that eating an egg every day will not affect blood cholesterol or cardiovascular health.

Try to find eggs that are not produced en masse by caged chickens. Healthier cage-free chickens produce yellower, more flavorful eggs, and your frittatas will be better for using them.

Onion and Thyme Frittata

This recipe is an adaptation of a Provençal frittata that agricultural workers traditionally carried to the fields for the midmorning repast. The French call it the “harvest omelet.”

3 cups finely chopped onion (slightly more than 1 pound onions)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

8 eggs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons low-fat milk

1. Place the chopped onions in a bowl, cover with water and add the vinegar. Soak for one hour or longer. Drain, rinse and dry on paper towels. (Note: This step is optional, but the onions will be milder if you do it.)

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat in a 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, the garlic and the thyme. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the onions are lightly colored but not browned, about five more minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool slightly.

3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the salt (about 1/2 teaspoon), pepper, milk and onions. Clean and dry the pan. Return to the burner, and set on medium-high. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Drop a bit of egg into the pan; if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with the spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking.

4. Turn the heat down to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that it doesn’t burn. It should turn a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not.

5. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan, and place it under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for one to three minutes. Watch very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, and shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking. Allow it to cool for at least five minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.

Yield: Six servings.

Note: For four servings, use the same recipe but reduce the number of eggs to six.

Advance preparation: In Mediterranean countries, flat omelets are served at room temperature, which makes them perfect do-ahead dishes. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for a few days, and they make terrific lunchbox fare. They do not reheat well.

Nutritional information per serving: 191 calories; 3 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 248 milligrams cholesterol; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 101 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 10 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

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Frittata With Grated Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Dill

Spinach and Red Pepper Frittata

Carrot and Leek Frittata With Tarragon

Ricotta and Spinach Frittata With Mint

Marketing Daily: New Seafood Brand Lets You Track Your Snapper

Then my question is how much will the fish cost? Will the cost of tracking be passed on to consumers? Is it worth the premium?

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Story

New Seafood Brand Lets You Track Your Snapper

Sarah Mahoney, Mar 22, 2011 05:08 PM

Get ready to have an up-close and personal relationship with your red snapper supper. In response to last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and growing concerns about ocean sustainability, the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance is launching Gulf Wild, a branding effort that will attach a unique tag to the gill of every fish its members catch. Chefs and consumers can then enter the code in a "Find my fish" feature on its Web site, and not only see precisely where the fish was harvested, but even a photo of the fisherman who caught it. The brand, and the promotional efforts that will support it in the coming months, are important for two reasons, David Krebs, president of the group, tells Marketing Daily. "First, we want consumers to know this fish has been specifically tested for safety, beyond what the government does. But it's also a way to let chefs and consumers know that these fish are now being caught in an environmentally sustainable way." Red snapper from the region is currently on the "avoid" list of such environmental watchdogs as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, he says, even though the program to bring the fish's numbers back up ended in 2009. Red snapper has seen an increase of 40% in its allowable catch, the Alliance says, as have red grouper, and more than a dozen other grouper and tile fish species. "We knew we had to have a system in place so that chefs and consumers can say, 'Yes, this fish was caught in a sustainable way.' We've got a very accountable system," he says. A spokesperson for the Alliance says marketing will be heavy on events, including programs at such seafood-famous restaurants as Lulu's in Alabama and Dewey Destin in Destin, Fla. Plans also call for local partnerships, celebrity chef tie-ins, and social media. Fishermen throughout the Gulf region continue to be affected by consumer perceptions of fish safety, as a result of the April 20, 2010 BP disaster, which spewed more than 5 million gallons of oil into the water. A survey from Technomic and Seafood Business, a trade magazine, found that while 72% of people did not change their seafood consumption habits as a result of the spill (possibly because most consumers don't know where their fish comes from), 23% deliberately cut back on all seafood purchases. And of those, 78% said they made a point of specifically avoiding Gulf seafood. A similar study from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board found that 48.3% of consumers say they are eating less seafood overall. "We'd like to change that," Krebs said. "It would make me super happy if chefs across America were featuring red snapper, confident that it is a sustainable and healthy fish."

Boing Boing: Fried egg rug

Fried egg rug

Cory Doctorow at 4:56 AM Sunday, Feb 6, 2011 

 

 Architect Valentina Audrito's fried egg throw-rug looks comfy and delicious!

Salone Satellite: Valentina Audrito (via Cribcandy)

 

Boing Boing: Bent fork egg-cup

Bent fork egg-cup

Posted: 24 Mar 2011 12:22 AM PDT

Scott Bedford bent and twisted a fork to make a snaggletoothed egg-cup. I have a friend who has a mild phobia of bent fork-tines, this would drive him crazy (and I have to admit, there is something somehow unwholesome about such a grotesquely distorted bit of cutlery!).

Egg cup from a bent fork (Thanks, Sally599, via Submitterator!)

NY Times: A Golden Crunch to Carry You Into Spring

Reprints

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March 18, 2011

A Golden Crunch to Carry You Into Spring

By MELISSA CLARK

TO me, crunchy fried food is hearty fare, the kind of thing I crave by the bucket in the frigid cold. But spring is middle ground, when the call for golden crackly fried morsels still rings loud, but so does the siren song of salad.

With the mercury rising past 50 degrees one recent balmy evening, I found myself craving both. So I made a fried calamari salad, bulked out with baby arugula.

And since I didn’t want to wait for the oil to heat up in a deep-fry, I decided to shallow-fry. The rule of thumb with shallow frying is that the oil in the pan should cover a little more than half the morsel of food you lower into it. Once that morsel thoroughly browns on one side, you flip it so it browns nicely on the other side.

Naturally, smaller tidbits like squid are perfectly suited to this method, particularly the tentacles, which turn potato-chip crisp on the ends while the centers stay moist and springy.

To further cut the richness of the fried squid, I added some thin lemon wedges to the oil, allowing the peels to caramelize while the pulp crisped into thin, tart wafers that melted when you bit down.

Frying squid and lemons was the extent of my plan, but once the oil was hot, I found that I didn’t want to stop.

In the refrigerator were some maitake mushrooms I’d intended to roast, but I knew from past flights of frying that maitakes — with all their little nooks and crevices — turn into brittle, crunchy strands. I thought their earthiness would be a nice match with the tanginess of the arugula.

So I cut the them into squiggly slivers and shallow-fried them, too. Then I tossed them with the squid and the lemons, adding the arugula and some grated Parmesan for depth and fresh lemon juice for brightness.

Before the arugula had time to wilt, I gobbled everything up. It was a light meal with a golden crunch, just what the season ordered.

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March 18, 2011

Crispy Calamari, Lemon and Maitake Salad Over Arugula

Time: 45 minutes

 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt, more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, more for seasoning

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

1/2 pound squid, rinsed and patted dry

1 lemon, plus additional wedges for garnish

1/4 cup fine cornmeal

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Olive oil, for frying

1/4 pound maitake mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces

8 cups baby arugula

1 ounce Parmesan, shaved.

 

1. To make the dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper until the salt dissolves. Whisk in the olive oil.

2. To prepare the squid and lemon, cut the squid tentacles in half and the bodies into 1/4-inch rings. Slice the lemon lengthwise into quarters and then thinly slice each quarter crosswise, discarding any seeds. In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge the squid and lemon slices in the cornmeal mixture.

3. Heat 1/2 inch oil to 350 degrees in a large, straight-sided skillet. Frying in batches to avoid crowding, cook the mushrooms until golden, about 1 minute per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the squid, followed by the lemon slices.

4. In a large bowl, toss the arugula, mushrooms, squid and lemon slices with the dressing. Add the Parmesan and toss gently once more. Serve with lemon wedges.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Boing Boing: Learn how stir-fry works with this awesome cutaway wok image

Learn how stir-fry works with this awesome cutaway wok image

Maggie Koerth-Baker at 10:07 AM Tuesday, Mar 22, 2011 

 

As a little kid, I loved picture books where buildings and machines were shown in cutaway and everything, from apples to hats, was labeled—think Richard Scary or, more advanced, The Way Things Work. That's why this photo of a wok, taken from the book Modernist Cuisine, immediately caught my eye. The book teaches cooking technique and science with the help of tons of images, just like this. Most taken by Seattle photographer Ryan Matthew Smith. The best part: According to an interview on Serious Eats, this photo was made by simply cutting a wok in half and cooking stuff in it.

Serious Eats has a link to enlarge the photo, which will allow you to read the text. There's all sorts of cool information in there about how stir-frying works.

NY Times: D.I.Y Cooking Handbook

D.I.Y. Cooking Handbook

By JULIA MOSKIN

Illustrations by Andrew Rae

If you live in an apartment, or tend to let surplus vegetables die in the crisper drawer, you may think that the do-it-yourself food movement does not apply to you. Not so. Making some of your own staples — and a few luxuries, like chocolate-hazelnut paste or better-than-balsamic maple vinegar — is possible, and enormously gratifying.

What follows is a D.I.Y. starter kit: small kitchen projects that any cook can tackle. What they all have in common is that they are simple, seasonless and a clear improvement on the store-bought version. Many books on craft food are daunting: full of advice on how to put up bushels of kale or bury an old washing-machine drum to use as a root cellar. Nothing here requires special equipment, a shed or a backyard; no canning or even freezing is involved.

Before getting underway, it's not necessary to understand lactic fermentation, or to learn the difference between bacon and pancetta.

You can't get more local than your own kitchen: use it, and produce a horseradish-spiked mustard that does justice to artisanal ham, or a batch of cream cheese with a taste that cannot be bought.

Click the following links:

1. Chinese Chili-Scallion Oil
2. Chocolate-Hazelnut Paste
3. Corn Muffin Mix
4. Crème Fraîche
5. Cultured Butter
6. Fresh Cheese
7. Horseradish Beer Mustard
8. Kimchi
9. Maple Vinegar
10. Preserved Lemons
11. Tesa (Cold-Cured Pork Belly)
12. Tomato Chili Jam
13. Vin d'Orange

WSJ: Kitchens Play Hide and Sleek

HOMES
MARCH 16, 2011

Kitchens Play Hide and Sleek

High-End Appliances Go Behind Closed Doors, Room for Real Art and Web-Surfing

By ANJALI ATHAVALEY

After Lisa Gilmore, 50, and her husband, Merle, became empty-nesters, the North Barrington, Ill., couple decided to renovate their kitchen and tailor it for two.

A growing number of homeowners and kitchen designers are transforming the kitchen into a living and entertaining space. Anjali Athavaley has details.

Working with Chicago kitchen designer Mick De Giulio last spring, they knocked down the wall that separated the kitchen and dining room. Mr. De Giulio concealed the dishwashers with cabinetry and encased the refrigerator in a wooden armoire with art hanging from the back. And they added a "keeping room," an area adjacent to the kitchen with comfortable couches and a fireplace. (The name refers to a cozy parlor near the hearth in Colonial-era houses.)

That seating area is "where we have our meaningful conversations," Ms. Gilmore says. "We do pretty much everything in there."

Redesigning the Kitchen

View Slideshow

David Walter Banks/LUCEO for The Wall Street Journal

Katherine Huge's kitchen at her home in Cumming, Ga.

• More photos and interactive graphics

For years, kitchen designers have been treating high-end appliances like trophies, making a stainless-steel-and-glass refrigerator, or a range in a shiny color finish, into the room's focal point. Now, more homeowners are veering in the opposite direction, hiding kitchen bling behind wood panels or underneath countertops. The resulting look—streamlined, uncluttered, often with LED lighting and a mix of stone and wood finishes—marks the next phase in the kitchen's evolution from cooking-and-eating hub to flexible multitasking space.

Many new kitchen designs feature adjacent seating areas with sofas or armchairs, instead of a kitchen table or high counter with chairs. The designs build in more storage and keep countertops empty, with sliding panels or doors hiding equipment.

Many incorporate fireplaces and TVs, emphasizing the kitchen's increasingly important role in entertaining, lounging, homework and media surfing. In June, Samsung Electronics Co. is launching a refrigerator, priced at $3,499, with an LCD touch screen with Wifi connectivity on the door, which the household chef can use to access applications like Pandora, Twitter and Epicurious.

According to the company's research, 59% of consumers consider the kitchen the hub of the home. "Refrigerators have been sort of the bulletin board," says James Politeski, senior vice president of home-appliance sales and marketing at Samsung.

Disguising appliances helps contribute to a clean, airy, sleek feel. Stoves, ovens and hoods can't be completely covered up, though, because wood panels wouldn't be able to withstand the heat. "Microwaves are one of the most aesthetically challenged of all the appliances," Mr. De Giulio adds. "We try to hide them."

Hidden or "integrated" appliances are becoming a hallmark of the luxury kitchen, says Mr. De Giulio, author of the book "Kitchen Centric" and principal of the Chicago firm de Giulio Kitchen Design.

"Every great kitchen has a hook," he says, a visual element that draws you in. The new hook in many high-end designs isn't an appliance, but a piece of antique furniture, a decorative hood or a special sink.

In Europe, kitchen designs were integrating appliances as far back as the 1970s. The look is becoming more common in the U.S. as remodeling starts to pick up. In a recent survey of 150 kitchen and bath dealers by the National Kitchen & Bath Association, 79% expect an increase in showroom visits in the first quarter of 2011 and 82% anticipate a boost in sales volume because of kitchen remodels. "There is a little bit of pent-up demand, where people have been holding off and now are saying, 'This is the time to do it,' " says David Alderman, association president and a kitchen and bath designer based in Chesapeake, Va. "What people are trying to do is make the kitchen a more-functional room."

Appliance makers have noticed. "People are gravitating toward a more simplistic or minimalist look," says Paul Leuthe, corporate marketing manager for Sub-Zero Inc. "I think a clean kitchen is more pleasing to the eye," he says. "It makes you feel calmer." Sub-Zero is developing its "panel-ready" refrigerators in new sizes to help them blend seamlessly with cabinetry. "We're hearing demand for more sizes and more flexibility," he says.

But wait—isn't it a little crazy to spend thousands of dollars on a refrigerator only to cover it up? "Some people feel, 'I have to shout it out that I have a $10,000 refrigerator,' " Mr. Leuthe says. "There are some people who probably take delight in the fact that people can't find their refrigerator in their home."

Whirlpool Corp. last year released a clear-glass-and-stainless-steel canopy for over the cooktop priced at $949; the company says it offers a lighter look than traditional stainless steel. And it launched new built-in refrigerators under the Jenn-Air brand that it says "virtually disappear into any kitchen décor." People who entertain at home a lot "might just feel like too many appliances distract from their decorating," says Deborah O'Connor, senior marketing manager for the KitchenAid and Jenn-Air lines.

Katherine Huge, a 46-year-old stay-home mother, hid her appliances as part of the $97,000 kitchen renovation in her Cumming, Ga., home. Attached dark-wood panels conceal two dishwashers and a refrigerator; the microwave, toaster and coffeemaker are kept on shelves in the "breakfast garage" with retractable doors. The designer, Matthew Quinn, created a custom range hood—he calls it a "slice" of stainless steel—which is also a shelf to hold Ms. Huge's vases. "No matter what you do, the kitchen always ends up being where everyone gathers," Ms. Huge says. "We wanted to make the kitchen the centerpiece of the house."

Penny Hecktman and her husband, Jeffrey, chairman and chief executive of Hilco Trading, a Chicago financial services firm, made a 17-foot-long painting by New York artist Alex Katz the center of the kitchen in their second home, in Miami. "The concept of this kitchen was that it didn't look like you were coming to a suburban home kitchen," Ms. Hecktman says.

There's ample storage for small appliances; big appliances are concealed. The stove is an induction model, so there are no gas or electric burners. "What looks like a backsplash is a deep storage system," she says. That's where she keeps her dishes and coffeemaker.

The Hecktmans opted for a sleeker look because they do a lot of entertaining at home, for both friends and business. "It always felt like we were having guests over," Ms. Hecktman says. The painting, which shows individuals moving around at a gathering, helped set the tone, she says. "It was like a party."

Write to Anjali Athavaley at anjali.athavaley@wsj.com

Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

NY Times: The Baker and Her Baby

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March 8, 2011

The Baker and Her Baby

By PAMELA PAUL

CINNAMON BABY

By Nicola Winstanley

Illustrated by Janice Nadeau

Unpaged. Kids Can Press. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7)

Anyone who has ever passed through an airport or mall has experienced the overpowering aroma of industrial-strength gusts of cinnamon; those who have not themselves indulged have surely seen many a would-be dieter fall victim to the wallop of cinnamon bun calories. But according to “Cinnamon Baby,” the first picture book by Nicola Winstanley, the scent of cinnamon also has the ability to cure colic. Well, why not?

In this modern-day fable, Miriam, a baker who commutes by bicycle, creates wonderful bread “full of smells to make your nose twitch and tastes to make your tongue tingle” at her Alchemy Bakery. The sound of Miriam’s singing and the scent of her steaming hot breads are enough to woo Sebastian, a violinist who likewise travels by bike.

In short order, they are married and expecting. The offspring of the red-haired, red-lipped Miriam and her black beau has “big brown eyes and dusky skin and smelled like sweet milk.” One of the book’s charms is what’s left unsaid: The interracial coupling is a romance that needs no sociological picking apart. And when the baby starts crying soon after birth, his ailment is never named. Older siblings who have witnessed a new baby’s incessant tears will easily recognize the myriad efforts mother and father (naturally co-parenting — again, without comment) undertake to calm their child. Whether it’s true colic or mere displeasure is of little consequence.

In the warm tones of Janice Nadeau’s illustrations, even the sight of a screaming baby, one who “cried at the moon and the stars and the streetlights and the darkness,” is never altogether miserable. The baby’s tears form a river, streetlamps are decorated with gentle curlicues and cinnamon bread exudes hearts and sprigs of wheat. Nadeau, a three-time winner of  Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Award for Illustration, turns the power of a mother’s love into about as delicious a story as you could want when the subject is unhappy babies.