In your face pig ...

Well, I never imagined I would be doing this but here I am. Sitting in my hairdressers chair, getting my hair done (what else would I be doing you ask, way to state the obvious you say, ahem...) Annie Lennox in the background and me tapping away at the keyboard, writing. How diva. All I am missing is my personal assistant...who by the way, should have told me that the farmers market in Val David was yesterday. That's right. Yesterday. And I completely missed it. But oh wait, I don't have a personal assistant. So I went. With big excited eyes, jumping up and down in my car seat. To an empty parking lot. With no one there, hence emptiness. Because the market was yesterday.

Dear readers, with all my hopes and might, I wished it untrue. 

Maybe they were inside!!!!! Maybe everybody walked!!!! Maybe the padlocks on the door were to keep people in!!! Maybe the lights are all of to preserve flavor!! Maybe there was absolutely nobody there because they were all on the other side of the building! Maybe there was nobody on the other side of the building (yes, I went) because they had all just decided to go around the other way (you know like when you are looking for someone and they are looking for you and you just keep missing each other, like that). Maybe ... maybe ... well... okay ... maybe it's closed...

And so it went dear readers. It was closed. There was no more denying it. I had run out of scenarios. I gave one, last, doleful look through the glass at the hollow emptiness inside, hunched my shoulders in an appropriate manner for such situations, and left. I was all torn up. Blue about my missing hog. And totally upset with my personal assistant (completely untrue as I don't have one)! By any means, I will be going back in March and guess who is not scheduling it for me ...

Anyhow, thus ends this particular tale, and after all this I bucked up, and went to eat crepes. With ham. In your face Gaspor.

Bitter.

Time to dish.

Not a Gaspor Porc recipe. An amazing Chicken Broth. In your face pig...

Ha! And amazing beautiful chicken from Jean-Pierre.

Here is what you need:

• One whole happy chicken that has spent his/her life like a chicken should.
• One leek
• One onion
• Shiitake mushrooms, about a handful
• Asian dried dates, about a handful
• Galangal, a piece about the size of your thumb
• Ginkgo Biloba, about a cup, just ask your Asian grocer, they are like little yellow balls
• Dried hot, whole chiles, as many as you can tolerate
• Goji berries, about a quarter of a cup

Here is what to do:

1. This is a whopper now, are you ready? Place all the ingredients, whole, into a giant stockpot and fill it up with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let it be for about four hours. Serve the broth with the chicken meat, goji berries, dried (well not anymore) dates and the ginkgo biloba. Toss the rest of the ingredients out.

Dear readers, you will love it. It will cure whatever ails you and fill your souls with joy.

In your face pig.