The day for fathers is nearly upon us.
We’re going to go over delicious steaks and how to make them, some drink ideas for the thirsty dad, and of course, some gift ideas, because who wants another tie.
Butter Basting for a Perfect Steak:
How to cook (and, what determines) the perfect steak is a hotly debated topic.
In one corner, you will find advocates of grilling as the only way to truly prepare your chosen cut, in another, proponents of cast iron skillets, searing and extreme heat.
What we’re going over today is a fundamental way to make a steak at home, in a pan, because we don’t know if you have access to a grill and frankly - I prefer a pan made steak over one prepared on a grill.
When making a steak, simplicity is vital. When I make mine at home, I enjoy rosemary & garlic butter basting the steaks after quickly searing one side. I find this to give a fantastic crust that’s salty and flavorful without overpowering the taste of the meat.
Here’s the quick recipe I use:
2x 1lbs steak, Rib Eye
Digital Meat Thermometer.
Kosher Salt (lots).
Pepper (lots).
2tbsp Avocado oil or Canola oil - Avocado is best as the smoke point is over 100 degrees higher than Canola.
6tbsp Butter.
3-4 Garlic cloves (chopped).
1 Rosemary sprig (or dry equivalent).
4-5 Thyme sprigs (or dry equivalent).
First Steps
Second Steps
Drinks for Dad:
Here are a few options for the thirsty dad. If you happen to make the recipe above, these will all pair well with the steak for a tasty dining experience.
Gifts Dads Will Use:
If you would like to read more about our 1:100 Reforestation Program, you can click here.
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." – George Bernard Shaw
And of course, what would a date be without some great music?
Meet Elijah - an 11-year-old athlete with a passion in the creative field. His dream is to make it into the NBA and design his own brand.
Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
]]>This is Hanna - German & Torontonian to the core. With a killer eye for design, she's making her mark in the world of post-production.
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If you could advise your younger self, what would you say?
I would advise my younger self to be more confident in who I am.
What is the habit you're proudest of breaking?
I was an avid nail biter when I was younger, I've happily kicked that bad habit.
If you were an artist, who would you be and why?
I don't think I'd want to be anyone else honestly...It's much more exciting figuring out who I am!
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Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
]]>This is Courtney - senior sales specialist and visual merchandiser for Uncle Otis, a men's fashion boutique in Toronto. His style is inspired by such characters as James Dean, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood - effortlessly cool.
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How do you push through your worst times?
I pray.
What was the last song you listened to?
I just finished listening to Jay-Z - Legacy.
If you were a place, what would you be and why?
One place I love more than anything that I've been to is the Ralph Lauren's RRL Mansion in New York. It is the one place that I connect to, and in my opinion Ralph Lauren is an Artist and a Visionary.
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Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
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Meet Sarah - full-time muse, model, and owner of the badass clothing brand Daddy's Day Off.
Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
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How do you push through your worst times?
I try to take a step back and surround myself with the people I love most, in the places I love most. This helps keep everything in perspective.
What was the last picture you took with your phone?
A picture of an orange, mandarin and sweet-lemon seeds I saved from fruit I picked in Nicaragua.
If you were a place, what would you be and why?
I’d be a beach where mountains and ocean meet - surrounded by the ultimate beauty and power of our planet.
This is Michelle - a Toronto-based interior decorator known for creating beautiful white spaces. Partner in Lloyd Ralph Design.
Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
]]>This is Adi - only truly content when he's on the soccer field.
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What did someone say to you that completely changed your way of thinking about work?
You spend over a third of your life working. If you don’t enjoy it, then what’s the point?
Any good app idea?
I’m still waiting for my groundbreaking, million dollar app idea. But it’ll surely come one day, right?
If you were a place, what would you be and why?
If I were a place, I’d be the Maldives. I grew up there for a few years and it’s absolute heaven.
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Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
]]>This is Christina - Social media strategist, digital content producer, multimedia storyteller and avid blogger.
Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
]]>This is David - master interior painter based out of Toronto.
Photo by Alex Browne ; makeup by Linda Radan.
]]>According to Drink Spirits founder - Geoff Kleinman - before Patrón, most tequila in the US was 51% agave and 49% sugar. This inexpensive hybrid had a harsh reputation, so harsh that you had to drink it with salt and lime just to get it down.
In the early 2000s, Patrón started turning heads with its smooth finish - largely due to its ingredients - 100% pure agave. Other brands were quick to follow and according to The Huffington Post by 2014 tequila imports had increased by 98%.
To exceed this benchmark in 2014 Patrón released, in our opinion, the best tequila for sipping - Gran Patrón Piedra. Made from Weber Blue Agave and hand crafted using the centuries-old tahona process, it is difficult to ignore how light and clean, yet full of flavour this tequila is.
So with this in mind, consider how honoured we were when Patrón approached us to collaborate in creating a Gran Patrón Piedra toothpick - the first of its kind.
Piedra Manhattan, garnished with a Gran Patrón Piedra toothpick
Made from American milled - sustainably harvested - birch and hand steeped good things like bourbon and sweet fennel, our toothpicks are born of the same dedication to purity and process as Patrón’s tequila.
So before we started distilling, Daneson’s founder - Peter Smith - went on a quest to the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, to learn from the master distillers at Patrón tequila.
In Smith’s words:
"It’s unbelievable the lengths Patrón goes to keep its product as pure and true to form as it was when the business first started”.
And what exactly does that mean?
According to Town & Country Magazine:
“Gran Patron Piedra ("piedra" is Spanish for "stone") is produced using a very traditional process of using a stone wheel (called a "tahona") to slowly crush the agave. The resulting juice is then fermented and distilled along with crushed agave fiber. It's then aged for a minimum of three years in new American and French oak barrels.”
For these reasons, Smith says, “The ethos of the company aligns very well with our own. How Patrón makes its tequila is truly awe-inspiring and mirrored ours well in terms of putting such a high emphasis on quality—whatever the benchmark is— and trying to go beyond it.”
The challenge for us - however - was to ensure we locked the essence of Gran Patrón Piedra - into our toothpicks, capturing its smooth, subtle essence.
This, of course, is a well kept secret, but Peter offered a hint of the process:
"The toothpicks are made in a distillation process with natural ingredients. We have to go to really great lengths to make sure these flavor compounds and notes stay in each toothpick.”
The results speak for themselves, but for now, we can only share the story - as this particular blend is only available to VIPs and members of the Patrón Social Club.
Looking for what to mix with Gran Patrón Piedra tequila?
Try their signature cocktail:
There is something about this direct relationship I appreciate. Foremost, it is equally as clear to see what Daneson needs to do - we need to put more trees back in the ground than we use.
It is one thing to replace what you use, and a whole other kettle of fish to affect the broader system. And we don’t pretend to have all the answers but as a start, we strive to work exclusively with American or Canadian suppliers. This way we know where the timber came from to make our toothpicks which in turn makes it clear where our efforts should be focused to conserve forests.
As an aside, this North American-centric ethos applies to all our suppliers from ingredients through to packaging. It's not a marketing ploy - it’s a way of doing business. As a result, you get a superior product.
We are also working towards using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified suppliers. In the near term, this will lend us an air of credibility, but it is not a direct relationship with the woods.
With a direct relationship in mind, for every tree we use in producing our toothpicks, we are replanting 100 trees back into forests. Furthermore, those replanted trees have a priority for non-harvest regions so that we know our initiative has a positive, rather than net, outcome.
The current goal is to maintain a minimum 1:100 ratio of consumption to preservation. In simple terms, if one acre of forest goes into Daneson then, at the very least, one-hundred acres comes out of Daneson in forest preservation.
It’s that simple. It’s a start. And we think it’s the way business should be done.
We call this natural wealth.
See the full shout out at: http://hypebeast.com/2012/10/essentials-ronnie-fieg/
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The Naturals...
The list of those who can pull off a toothpick is long and illustrious. It’s inhabited by characters like George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Robert Pattinson, Kanye West, Matt George, Dusty Baker, 50 Cent, Ronnie Fieg, Lindsay Lohan, Tom Harrow, John Cusack, Mark Ronson, P Diddy, and, bless his soul, Paul Newman. Even your badass Grampa is on the list.
Let me be clear. I’m not sure if even one of these characters has tried a Daneson, this isn’t an endorsement, but evidently, they like toothpicks.
And granted, some of these characters fall into a rebellious category - thank god. However, most are just good at who they are.
So think about it.
Are you a natural?
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That said, I needed a change and long story short: I like toothpicks; I like making things; and the challenge of creating a business blew my hair back in terms of how it operated and in terms of getting people to rethink what they put in their mouth seemed fitting.
Like it says on the box: we strive to only do business with American and Canadian suppliers. Our birch is American. We're working on sourcing FSC birch for our toothpicks (there will be more on this later), but for now, we can at least see where our trees come from and where we are going. We only use natural ingredients. Where possible, we use organic. Many recipes use ingredients collected by hand on the Georgian Bay Shore where we like to spend our time. This is a good thing because getting natural flavor to stick to wood is time-consuming.
Just about everything you behold with Daneson was crafted, designed, and pulled together by me, Peter. The recipes; the graphic design; the packaging; website, copy, etc.. This is not a well-oiled big business machine, this is one guy who busts his ass, gets help from his friends and who is bank rolled by his boot straps.
Daneson toothpicks are expensive because it's the cost of doing good business. Let me be clear - this is a pride before profit business. My first boss Bruno Morawetz put it this way: "It is better to sleep well than it is to eat well." It is better to have a clean conscience and sleep well than to have a guilty conscience and eat well. The price you're paying reflects the cost of making extraordinary small batch toothpicks with hygienic, environmentally practical packaging.
There's lots to tell about toothpicks and Daneson so stay tuned for more.
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This is no ordinary diving-board. The Eliminator requires mastery. It amplifies miscalculation. The over confident end up bucked into back-flops or unintended ‘first time ever’ flips. Where a typical board has a short bounce and kick, The Eliminator has Looney Toons exaggerated launch sequence. When you hit it, it loads up energy slowly, bending down the ten or so feet to the water storing tension then... THWANG!!! You’re sent on your way - via con dios amigo. The resulting arc of flight and deadly plummet is a fortnight of howls, frantic arm thrusts and terror stricken eyes.
I mention The Eliminator because it is one badass piece of wood. It sparks conversations, it has a beguiling beauty, and it separates the wheat from the chaff.