Instruments For Sale

I'm trimming down the collection a little bit and selling off the following items. I am in Calgary, but can ship anywhere. If you are interested in something, email me.

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Digi Rack 003 with Pro Tools 8 LE and iLok

Everything you need to make studio quality recordings at your house. Only used twice. It is brand new.

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Mackie SR24-4 Soundboard with metal flight case

This mixer is in great shape. The heavy duty flight case has kept this mixer in great shape. 24 channels. Comes with the manual and it also has the light to go with it for dark situations.

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Morgan OM Acoustic Guitar with Pickup

Handmade in North Vancouver. Indian Rosewood back/sides. It is really boomy for a smaller body guitar. It has a Fishman matrix pickup installed and it sounds killer plugged in. Perfect for folk or finger style players.

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Replica Gibson F Style Mandolin

This is not an actual Gibson Mandolin. Having said that, it is still very nice. It also has a pickup installed in it.

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1947 Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Archtop Electric Guitar

This guitar has been modified. The electronics have been changed and I believe the guitar may have been refinished as well. It plays and sounds great. Perfect for the jazz players. Comes with hard shell case.

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Replica Martin Dobro

This is not a real Martin Guitar. It is a replica of a D-45 but it is not authentic. It was turned into a resonator guitar. The strings are raised so it must be played with steel, unless you fit a new nut on it.  Comes with a moulded hard shell plastic Martin dreadnaught case.

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Gibson "Parts" Banjo

This is what is referred to as a parts banjo. People would buy parts and put them together to make a banjo so it would be a little cheaper. Comes with hardshell case.

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Granola

Photo inspiration from www.kitchensimplicity.com

No attempt at a PUN, clever introduction or back story for this recipe. Its just a great, simple recipe.
Enjoy!

Homemade Granola
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/4  Cup Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Tbsp Vanilla
4 Cups Oats
1/2 Cup Almonds
1/4 Cup Walnuts
1/2 Cup Coconut
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Cloves
1 Cup Craisins

• Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, honey and vanilla in a pot and bring to a simmer on the stove.

• In a separate bowl add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the craisins (the craisins get added after it comes out of the oven).

• Once the pot on the stove has come to a simmer, stir it, and add the bowl of dry ingredients and stir well.

• Spread the mixture out over 2 lined cookies sheets and bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until the oats are browned. You have to take the cookie sheets out and stir them 2-3 times while they are baking.

• Once they are done, put the mixture back in the bowl and add the craisins. Stir it well and allow it to cool completely before storing.

• The granola will keep up to a month in an air tight container.

Another great idea for this is to give it away as a gift. People love getting homemade gifts and this is a great one, because you can mail it across the world. Put the granola in a mason jar and cover it with some cloth and you have a great, inexpensive homemade gift that people will love.

Hot Chocolate

Nothing can warm a person up in the middle of winter like a good cup of hot chocolate. I'm all about simplicity and making hot chocolate at home is about as simple as it gets. All you need is milk and chocolate chips. Any kind of chocolate chips will work. I used semi sweet, but feel free to use milk chocolate, or white chocolate. Use a mix of all three if you like.

Hot Chocolate
3 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips
1 Tsp Vanilla

In a pot, heat the milk and vanilla until its just about ready to boil, stirring regularly. Add the chocolate chips and whisk until they are melted. If you whisk it fairly hard, the milk will get foamy, which is a good thing.

A little presentation goes a long way. People eat/drink with their eyes. This drink already tastes delicious, but you can make it look really nice, very easily. Pour the mixture into a mug and top it off with some whipped cream (if you don't have whipped cream, marshmallows are always great on hot chocolate). Grate some chocolate on the whipped cream. If you don't have any chocolate to grate, you can use caramel sauce, or even just put some extra chocolate chips on top. Serve it to your guests and they'll think they are at Starbucks. 

Butterscotch Marshmallow Squares

Every now and again, a person just has to indulge. These little guilty pleasures will have you saying, "It was worth it."

Are they good for you? Nope. Healthy? Not even a little bit. Are they delicious? You can bet your bottom dollar on that one.

They are really quite simple to make and only have 4 ingredients. I have to give a shout out to my friend and fellow blogger Michelle from Baking in the Burg. I got the recipe from her blog and tweaked it a little bit.

Butterscotch Marshmallow Squares

(adapted from Baking in the Burg recipe)

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup Butter

1 Bag Butterscotch Chips

1 Bag of Multi-Coloured Marshmallows

• Put the bag of marshmallows in the freezer about an hour before you start to make this. You can just store them in the freezer so they will be ready to go.

• In a pot on medium heat, melt the peanut butter, butter and butterscotch chips on medium/low heat. Stir it fairly constantly to remove lumps and keep it from burning.

• VERY IMPORTANT - You have to let the mixture cool down before you can add the marshmallows. I let it cool for about 20 minutes, but you could even let go for 30 minutes. You must be patient here. If you add the marshmallows too early, they will melt. The other thing that will happen is the butterscotch sauce will sink to the bottom and the marshmallows will rise to the top. It looks weird.

• While you are waiting for the mixture to cool, line a 9 x 9 pan with parchment paper, or wax paper. Lining the pan will make your life much easier when it comes time to remove the squares.

• Once the mixture has cooled enough, add the bag of marshmallows to the pot and stir them into the mixture until they are evenly dispersed.

• Pour the mixture in the parchment lined pan and spread them out evenly. Immediately put the pan in the freezer. After about an hour or two, remove the pan from the freezer and take the squares out. Cut them into 2 inch squares.

• Put the squares in a tupperware container and keep them in the freezer. It is best to store these in the freezer for several reasons. The taste delicious when eating them cold and it keeps them fresh for a longer period of time.

Seared Scallop Arancini Cake with Pesto Aioli and Truffle Oil

I'm not a big left over guy. It's bad. I'm terrible at packing a lunch and taking it to work with me. Sometimes I'll make extra of certain foods to have left overs, but more often than not, I'll make just enough for what I am going to eat at that time. It's a bad habit that I'd like to break.

The idea for this dish came to me while discussing how to use some leftover risotto with my girlfriend. While talking on the phone, I said to her, "I'm getting sick of always making arancini (cheese stuffed deep fried risotto balls). Then while thinking out loud I said to her, "You know what would be great? An arancini cake instead of balls, and serve it with a scallop on top." I know I'm on to something good when she agrees with me right away.

This is a very tasty dish that has many different flavours but also many different textures. You'd be proud to serve it your guests, or to just eat a bunch of it yourself. Either way you'll feel like a chef at a fine dining restaurant.

Seared Scallop on a Arancini Cake with Pesto Aioli and Truffle Oil

ARANCINI CAKE
2 cups of left over risotto, chilled in the fridge overnight
1 cup of panko bread crumbs
2 eggs
Splash of milk
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Make the arancini cake first. With the left over risotto, form some small patties about 3 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. When making risotto the for this dish the day before, it's best to make it a little extra creamy. If it is too dry, the patties won't hold together very well and they will be difficult to work with.

In a bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs with the splash of milk. Dip the pattie in the egg and make sure it is fully coated with the egg mixture.

In a separate bowl, place the panko bread crumbs (feel free to add some flavour here with parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. You can also some heat with cayenne pepper or smoked paprika). Coat the pattie entirely with the bread crumbs. 

Repeat this process until you have as many cakes as you need. If you are serving it as an appetizer, 1 cake per person is suffice.

In a pan, pour in a generous amount of olive oil and fry the cakes until they are golden brown, Carefully flip them over and fry them on the other side. Store them on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven to keep them warm.

PESTO AIOLI
Aioli is a fancy word for mayo. Don't let it scare you. You can easily add some flavour to the mayo that is in your fridge. If you happen to have a jar of pesto, just add a tablespoon of pesto per tablespoon of mayo. If you don't have it you can add pretty much anything you want to it to change the flavour profile that it brings. Lemon aioli is always delicious and goes great with this dish. All you have to do is grate in some lemon zest to the mayo and mix it together. If you have some salsa you can use that. Other things that work well include dijon mustard, relish, and even plain old ketchup. The sky is the limit. Use your imagination. Just make sure to have this done in advance so it'll be ready to go when it is time to plate the dish.

You can however make your own aioli at home. It is surprisingly easy and it tastes way better than any mayo you will ever buy in a store. Here is how you do it.

AIOLI
2 Egg Yolks
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 Garlic Clove (chopped)
3/4 to 1 cup Vegetable or Canola Oil

In a food processor or blender, add the eggs, dijon mustard, chopped garlic and lemon juice. Turn on the processor or blender and in a slow and steady stream add the oil until the aioli becomes the desired thickness. You will probably add about 3/4 to 1 cup of oil. It is crucial that you add the oil very slowly so that it emulsifies. If you add it all at once or too quick, it will not work. You can also do this by hand with a whisk in a bowl if you don't have a food processor or a blender.
SEARED SCALLOPS
1 big scallop per person (biggest count size you can find 10/40 is ideal. I used 17/20 this time)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a nice hot pan, add enough olive oil to just coat the bottom. Season your scallops with salt and pepper on both sides before putting them in the pan. Add your scallops and cook for about 1 minute per side. Becareful not to overcook the scallops. There is nothing worse that a rubbery scallop. The scallop should have a nice brownish crust on both sides. When you see that, you know it is done.

ASSEMBLY
- Take the arancini cakes out of the oven where they have been keeping warm and plate them.
- Spread a heaping tablespoon of the aioli on top of the arancini cake.
- Place the scallop on top of the aioli
- Drizzle a little bit of truffle oil on top of the scallop. A little bit of this goes a long way. If you don't have truffle oil use olive oil. (You should add some truffle oil to your pantry if you don't have it. It is expensive, but worth it. It can really add a nice dynamic to certain dishes.)
- Garnish the dish with some fresh parsley, cilantro or pea shoots on top of the scallop and serve

Restaurants To Try in 2013

Here is my list of restaurants that I would like to try in 2013. Some of these places are new places that I've heard good things about, and some of them are places that have been on my list for years and I still haven't made it there.

Have you been to any of them? Leave a comment with your thoughts. I'd love to hear what's good on the menus.

• Model Milk
• Clive Burger
• River Cafe
• Rouge
• The Ranch
• Mercato
• Blue Star Diner
• Avec Bistro
• L'Epicerie
• Candela Lounge
• The Highwood

Italian Sushi

It doesn't happen very often, but every now and again I'll catch lightening in a bottle. This time my brilliant idea was Italian Sushi. I swear on my guitar collection that I came up with this idea all on my own. Having done some research on it since, I can assure you that I definitely wasn't the first to do it, but I'm sticking to my guns that I came up with the idea.

This is a great appetizer/hors d'oeuvres/amuse bouche etc...Your guests will be blown away when you make it for them.

On some parchment or waxed paper, spread out some Prosciutto so that it over laps each other by about 1/2 inch.

Liberally spread some leftover risotto on the prosciutto so that it covers evenly.

Add a good amount of fresh basil on top of the risotto

Add any kind of cheese you like (a soft, cheese works best, but any cheese cut into strips will work) and some tomatoes cut into strips as well. 

At this point, season with salt and pepper. You can also add a dash of olive oil or even truffle oil.

 

Tightly roll the prosciutto into a log and cut into even pieces using a very sharp knife. Serve it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.