#9007 - Dec 1990

Digital Archiving Completed by the Ethnography Lab, A University of Toronto Anthropology Initiative
and Produced in Collaboration with David Perlman/Wholenote Media Inc between July-December 2015.
10 MARKET MARKET The Kensington Market Drum, December 1990
MARKEfGOURMH Santa Cod is
Peigi T Rockwell/
[This feature will return next issue, as usual] coming ... to Town
Recipe for a ioyous start
to the festive season;
a healthy baby girl, Alethea Rose Rockwell, born
Saturday December 1st at 3:30 in the afternoon,
weighing 7 lbs 3 oz.
Love and best wishes from everyone at DRUM!
by Masha Buell
Who travels all around the
world-
On Christmas Eve for
example-
And vanishes without a trace?
(Be sure to get a sample!)
Santa Cod lives in cold
northern waters off the coast
of Canada and Norway. And
what a traveller! Wellknown
to_ people all around
the world - from Europe to
the Americas, the Caribbean
and Africa. Salt cod is
generally available all year
,round in Kensington Market.
Carlos Estrela and the festive St. Johns' cod, Kensington Markel
Fish Co.
John Pacheco and Ha Huynh, Saigon Fish Market.
Saint Who?
At this festive time of year
there is particular demand
for enormous Sao Gioviai
or St. Johns' cod. Shaped llke
a kite, these thick white
salted fish are the basis of
traditional Portuguese
Christmas Eve feasting.
Carlos Estrela at the
Kensington Market Fish
Company and John Pacheco
at the Saigon Ffsh Market
suggested that the St. Johns'
Cod has to be soakd in fresh
water for at least 12 hours,
changing the water at least 3
or 4 times. But just as e~ry
turkey eating family has its
own secret recipe for stuffing
DRUM discovered that there
are as many ways to dress up
Santa Cod as there are
families to welcome him.
Here are two recipes
that sounded terrific. Let us
know what you, think!
Afsoak the fish overnight,
and change the water several
times. Put the soaked fish
into a pot of fresh water and
boil it with some vegetables -
potatoes, collard greens or
broccoli, olive oil, vinegar,
and add some chick peas or
black-eyes peas (pre-cooked)
towards the end.
B/soak the fish overnight,
and change the water several
times. Cut it up into pieces.
On a large oven-proof tray,
put a layer of olive oil, sliced
onions, sliced tomatoes and
green pepyers. Put the fish
on top, spread out. Then
cover the fish with more olive
oil, onions, tom a toes, peppers
and Portuguese pimento
sauce (it comes in a jar and is
generally available in the
Market). Add a squirt of
fresh lemon juice over it all,
surround the whole thing
with a garland of raw
potatoes, and bake it in the
oven for about half an hour
at 350 degrees.
Santa Cod, hanging around Kensington until Christmas ....
The Festive Fish
John and Carlos
both described family
gatherings: "The family gets
together and there's a big
buffet presented. From the
middle of the day the eating
begins and just continues. By
midnight people open
presents ... " said Carlos. The
feast includes salt cod, trays
of shrimp and huge crabs, as
~ Cidade de Toronto
well as dried fruits and nuts,
pastries, and lots of homemade
wine or brandy. .
John (formerly of Martin's
Fish Market on Kensington
Ave.) says that children in
the Azores eat all kinds of
fish and seafood at
Christmas, as well as the
sweet things. And if they
want presents they stay up
until midnight - or wait until
morning!
Aten~ao, proprietarios e inquilinos ...
Ajam com Zelo. Limpem o Gelo!
Quero lembrar-vos que a limpeza da neve ou gelo dos
passeios em frente ou ao lado da vossa propriedade,
e da vossa responsabilidade. A limpeza devera
efectuar-se dentro das 12 horas ap6s a queda do
nevao, chuva gelada ou granizo.
Caso a neve ou gelo nao sejam removidos da
totalidade dos passeios contiguos a vossa
propriedade, o municipio procedera a sua limpeza
e lanc;:ara as despesas a ela inerentes na Contribuic;:ao
Predial do proprietario.
As pessoas com mais de 65 anos ou ffsicamEmte
impossibilitadas, podem vir a beneficiar do servic;:o
de limpeza gratuito que o municipio oferece. Para
informac;:oes sobre a forma de solicitar este servic;:o,
contactar com o Departamento de Obras Publicas e
Ambiente, atraves do 392-7768.
Nicholas Vardin, Eng. P.
Engenheiro Civil e
Comissario de Obras Publicas e Ambiente