Southwestern Ontario Foodie

Do you drink Water?

2012-01-31T08:10:00.000-05:00

I am always amazed that there are so many people around me who don't drink water. EVER. Really? It's so hard to believe, especially since I drink so much of it... Sure, I make myself a smoothie in the morning and I'll have the odd cup of tea or coffee but water is usually my drink of choice.

I'm not sure how much water I drink in a day but I usually have a glass in the morning, a couple more while I'm at work, another at dinner and then one or two more in the evening. Based on the quantities/size of the glasses, I think I'm probably taking in around 8-10 cups of water per day. Then there's the added water from the foods that I eat too...

According to About.com, "the body is estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. Blood is mostly water, and your muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water. You need water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to your organs and tissues. Water also transports oxygen to your cells, removes waste, and protects your joints and organs." (About.com)

There are several known symptoms of mild dehydration:

chronic pain in joints and muscles
lower back pain
headaches
constipation
tiredness
irregular blood pressure
dry skin

Not surprisingly, people who don't drink a lot of water (or who drink a lot of coffee or soda) tend to have a lot of these complaints; especially the headaches and the tiredness. I know that when I feel a headache coming on (which is rare) it's likely due to me not drinking enough water. This usually happens if I'm out and about and forgot to bring some water along with me.

According to the 'experts' you need water even before you start feeling thirsty. But how much does a person really need? One easy calculation that I found showed that if I divided my weight in half (160/2) the resulting number would signify the number of ounces I should be drinking. In my case, that's 80 ounces, or 10 cups of water (don't forget that this would include water in the foods that I eat, like fruits, vegetables, etc.).

Would you drink more water if you knew some of the benefits that come with drinking water? Here's just a few good reasons to pour yourself a nice cold glass of water right now:

weight loss- drinking water reduces hunger, is an appetite suppressant, has zero calories, and helps break down fat during digestion
natural remedy for headache - dehydration is the most common reason for headaches
look younger - water leads to healthier skin, helps replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin elasticity
water helps you think better, be more alert and helps with concentration
regulates body temperature - when exercising it increases energy and helps to fuel muscles
water raises metabolism because its role in digestion
fiber and water go hand in hand - water helps with regular bowel movements
water improves the immune system which means you'll get sick less often
water relieves fatigue and flushes out toxins - if body lacks water the organs need to work harder which exhausts them and you'll be exhausted too.

You know what's the BEST reason is for drinking a little more water though? It's free (and local too)!!

Non-water drinkers (you know who you all are) always say that they just don't like the taste of water. They're also the same people who are more likely to buy those yucky flavored waters, vitamin waters, etc.. Although I love my water plain I sometimes add flavour to it by adding cucumber slices or wedges of lemon or orange to spice it up a little. If you've been trying to drink more water perhaps flavour them this way (naturally) and then get yourself to the point where you actually start craving a glass of water with ice. Mmmmm...water....I think I'm going to get myself a glass right now!

Is it Spring yet? No? Well, let's pretend it is and make Green Pea Soup!

2012-01-27T21:12:00.000-05:00

It's around this time when I'm really starting to look forward to Spring again. I shouldn't really complain though. This winter has been really mild compared to the norm. We haven't had much snow and the temperature hasn't been too frigid. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the longer days, warmer temps, and the return of rhubarb, asparagus, and peas! Oh...and maybe just a little bit more sunshine!

Who says I need to wait though? Lucky for me I froze a ton of peas last year! Typically, I don't freeze a lot of vegetables as a preserving method because they end up limp and tasteless. I froze some green beans, broccoli and cauliflower a couple of years ago and will never freeze them again. Blech! Instead, I freeze a lot of peas and corn. Peas and corn are great additions to many winter dishes, such as shepherds pie or in pastas or soups. This week I made a simple green pea soup to remind myself that winter won't last forever and that we will be enjoying fresh peas again sooner than we think.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
2 small onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups frozen peas
handful of mint leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot on medium heat melt the butter and add the onions. Cook the onions until softened (about 5 minutes) and add the garlic for another couple of minutes. Add the potatoes, peas, and broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the mint, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Using a food processor (or blender), blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

I know it's only January but man, I'd really love it if spring were just around the corner. Maybe it's because the days are getting slightly longer already or maybe because January has been so spring-like with all the rain but I've really got spring on the brain.

Speaking of the days getting longer -- do you know how hard it is to get decent pics of my dinners when it's so dark out? It's a good thing we tend to eat pretty early! Geez....remember when it was daylight until 9 at night? Sigh.....

Naan Bread - Attempt #1

2012-01-21T23:20:00.000-05:00

Now that I know that I CAN make bread, one of my goals this year is to make different types/varieties. One that I really wanted to make, for instance, was Naan. Although authentic Naan is typically made in a special clay oven there are many recipes that use an oven, a frying pan, or a griddle instead. I figured that since I had never tried 'real' Naan before then I probably wouldn't know the difference anyways.

Homemade Naan
(recipe adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups flour

In a skillet set over medium-heat melt 1 tbsp butter. Add the onions, reduce heat to low, and cook until the onions have softened. Place them in a bowl and cool to room temperature.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet and pour into a mixing bowl. Add the warm water, onions, salt, and flour (1/2 cup at a time). Work the dough into a ball by hand or in a mixer.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until the dough is slightly firm, 1 to 2 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. Let them rest for 3 minutes.

Roll each ball into an 8" round about 1/2 inch thick. (**I think I rolled mine too thin...)

Using an ungreased pan or griddle, place the dough on high heat (I had my griddle set to 400F). Brown each side for 3-4 minutes. Place the breads on a rack to dry as you remove them from the heat.

This recipe worked out allright... The breads tasted really, really good. However, they turned out more like flatbread I think. They weren't puffy like they should have been.

I'm going to do some more research and see if I can find a better recipe.

Until then, I'm going to enjoy my naan/flatbreads.

For dinner, we had the naan bread with a hot black bean dip, a side of raw carrots, and chicken wings with blue cheese dip. Delicious!!

As you can see, not all recipe attempts turn out right the first time. The trick is make adjustments and to try again.

As a food blogger I don't try and portray myself as the perfect cook (or photographer, or writer for that matter). My blog is simply a story; a story about my obsession with food and about my journey as someone in Southwestern Ontario enjoying new recipes, using seasonal ingredients, visiting farms, and guiding people who want to do the same. Sure, not all of my recipes work out, but that's real life, isn't it?

I'll be back soon with another attempt at another Naan bread; hopefully a nice puffy one!

Covent Market Calendar - January (Ontario Beef Stew)

2012-01-15T22:16:00.001-05:00

In addition to blogging my way through the 2012 Foodland Ontario Calendar this year I thought it would be fun to do the new Covent Garden Market Calendar as well. My twist for this one is that I will attempt to pick up all of the ingredients required for the recipe at the market itself.

January's recipe is Ontario Beef Stew

Ingredients

3 slices Ontario bacon (from Fieldgate Organics)
3 lbs Ontario stewing beef (from Chris' Country Cuts) **I cut it down to 2lbs
2 medium Ontario onions, chopped (from Doris Family Produce)
4 cloves Ontario garlic, minced (I already had garlic at home)
3 large Ontario carrots, peeled and diced (from Doris Family Produce)
1 tsp dried thyme (from Snack 'n Bake)
1 tsp dried basil (from Snack 'n Bake)
1 tbsp grainy dijon mustard (Savvy Chef mustard found at Havaris Produce)
1 tbsp tomato paste (I already had some)
1/2 cup Ontario flour (I used my Arva Flour mill flour)
4 cups beef stock
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350F.

In a large oven proof saucepan, cook the bacon until it is crispy. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels.

Return pan, with remaining bacon fat, to heat. Brown meat in batches, until it is browned on all sides. Remove meat from pan and set aside.

In the same pan over medium heat, cook the onions, stirring frequently, until they are browned, about five minutes. Stir in the garlic and the carrots and cook for another five minutes. Stir in the thyme, basil, mustard, and tomato paste. Then add the flour. Cook and stir the mixture for about three minutes, until everything is well combined.

Gradually whisk in the beef stock. Let the mixture come to a boil, whisk and simmer until it is smooth. Stir in the cubed beef, cover the saucepan with a lid, and place in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from oven. Chop the cooked bacon into small pieces and stir into stew. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Along with the delicious beef stew we had mashed celeriac (celery root) and potatoes.

All of the ingredients were easy to find at the market. Initially, however, I wasn't sure if I'd find the mustard, but sure enough...I found that too. Wouldn't you know it? The mustard is prepared right here in London with all-Canadian ingredients. It feels good to know that although mustard seeds are mainly grown in Western Canada I can still support a local business here in London. For more information please check out http://www.savvychef.ca/.

For an online version of the Covent Garden Market Calendar see this link: http://www.coventmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2012-Market-Calendar.pdf

February's recipe? Herbed Ontario Mushroom Crostini - can't wait!

2012 Foodland Ontario Calendar - January (Turkey Pasta Soup)

2012-01-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

Have you gotten your hands on the 2012 Foodland Ontario Calendar yet? I hope so! It really looks awesome this year; partly due to the fact that the pictures (front & back covers) were photographed by Jesse from another blog that I follow called 'Crackers - A Homemade Blog'. Here's a link to their post showing how/where the pictures were taken: http://homemadecrackers.blogspot.com/2011/11/2012-foodland-ontario-calendar.html .

Last year I blogged my way through all 12 of the recipes in the calendar and I plan to do the same again this year. There are a few recipes that I'm looking forward to making; like Fresh Greenhouse Pizza (April), Strawberry Breakfast Parfait (June), Grilled Lamb Chops with Peach Mint Salsa (August), and Steamed Apple Maple Pudding (December).

Here's the first recipe of the year - Turkey Pasta Soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Ontario onion, diced
2 each Ontario Carrots and Parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced Ontario mushrooms
8 cups sodium-reduced chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked Ontario turkey
1 cup alphabet pasta or thin noodles
1/4 tsp dried thyme
pinch pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Luckily I did remember to freeze some of my leftover turkey from Christmas dinner for this recipe. Chicken could easily replace the turkey, however (obviously).

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, carrots, parsnips and garlic; cook, stirring, until vegetables are slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms for 1 minute.

Add broth, turkey, pasta, thyme and pepper; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

The soup was really good. Honestly though, you just can't go wrong with soup; it's a great way to use up leftovers, it's easy to make, and it's so comforting on a cold winter day.

Next month's recipe for February will be a Pork & Vegetable Stovetop Stew.

**If you wish to view the online version of the calendar you may access it here: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2012/index.html

**If you'd like to view my blog entries for last year's calendar click on the 'Foodland Ontario' label on the left side of the page or view them by following this link: http://southwesternontariofoodie.blogspot.com/search/label/foodland%20ontario

Homemade Lip Balm

2012-01-08T21:54:00.001-05:00

Today we had a birthday party for my daughter. She's going to be 7 tomorrow. In past years we've just hosted a party at home but this year we thought we'd do something different and have a party at the YMCA. Her and her friends went for a swim and then they spent some time eating pizza and cupcakes and opening presents.

In return for coming her friends got a squinkee (my daughter's obsessed with these things), a $2 gift certificate to Baskin Robbins, a small container of bubble soap, a purple foil chocolate heart (it was a Justin Bieber party so everything has to be purple), and some homemade lip balm.

Over the holidays (at MasterMind Toys) I came across a company called Kiss Naturals (http://www.kissnaturals.com/). They have homemade DIY perfume kits, soap kits, bath fizz kits, and various lip balm/lip gloss kits too. I thought it would be something fun to do with my daughter and a great thing to give out to her friends. What really got my attention though was that everything was completely natural (and that it's a Canadian company).

The box contained a bottle of safflower oil, yellow beeswax beads, a container of shea butter and some essential oils.

It was super easy (and fun) to make. We simply mixed together the shea butter, oil, and beeswax into a glass measuring cup, popped it into the microwave for a minute and then stirred until the beeswax was melted.

Afterwards we added the essential oil (we had grapefruit) and tried to add food coloring to it. We were disappointed that the food coloring didn't work, but I guess I should have known better since it's an oil product. Oops! See those red dots at the bottom of the containers in the picture below? Yeah..that's the food coloring. Apparently science isn't my strong point.

About half an hour later we had lip balm.

Looks like lip balm is pretty easy to make at home. Going forward, I think I'm just going to make my own (big surprise, eh?). Like everything else the ingredient list is just so much shorter when it's homemade (and cheaper!). I found quite a few lip balm recipes online and they're all different. I'll have to try a couple and report back with what worked and what didn't. Until then, we're going to enjoy our nicely moisturized lips!

Tomorrow the plan is to head out to the mall. The kid has wanted to get her ears pierced for a long time now so I thought it would be a great birthday gift for her. Let's hope there aren't too many tears!

Homemade Butter

2012-01-04T22:51:00.000-05:00

Butter is expensive, especially the sticks of butter. Actually, what I normally do (instead of buying the sticks) is buy a pound and then cut it into quarters. I then wrap the quarters and put them into the freezer. There you go, inexpensive sticks of butter. You know what's even more inexpensive? Making your own butter. I made some on the weekend.

I had some whipping cream leftover in the fridge so it was the perfect time to give it a shot. All you need is cream (30% or more), a jar with a tight-fitting lid, a piece of cheesecloth and some salt.

Pour the cream into a jar with enough headspace to allow the cream/butter to move around.

Then you shake the jar (a lot). At first you'll hear the liquid sloshing around, then it'll sound like there are chunks flying around in there, and then nothing. Don't worry though, it means that you've made whipped cream. Just keep shaking...and shaking...and shaking. Have you ever seen the infomercial for the shake weight stick thing? They exercise while shaking this stick? Well, whoever invented that must have made homemade butter. It's a great arm workout!

At some point when you're starting to wonder if you'll be a failure at making butter you suddenly hear something in the jar. Could it be? Did it work? Yup, there's something rolling around in there now and it's making a a clunking sound and there's some liquid sloshing around again.

At this point, cover the jar with a cheesecloth and drain out the buttermilk (use the buttermilk for pancakes!). That's not it though, the butter needs to be 'cleaned'. Run some cold water into the jar and strain out a number of times until the liquid being drained out becomes clear. It's important to remove all of the buttermilk from the butter to prevent spoilage.

To be extra sure that there isn't any buttermilk left spread the butter onto a cutting board and absorb any remaining liquid with a paper towel. Keep moving the butter around and blotting it until it seems to be pretty dry (only takes a couple of minutes).

And there you have it - fresh, homemade butter!

Who knew that butter would be so easy to make and there's no hours worth of 'churning' required? Next time you need butter and it isn't on sale, check and see if the cream is on sale instead. Chances are, the cream will be cheaper so why not just make your own?

Homemade Pasta for our Mac 'n' Cheese

2012-01-02T09:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it.... I finally got around to making some homemade pasta. I normally buy my pasta from Glenda's at the Covent Garden Market but really, really wanted to start making my own.

Evidently, a pasta maker was on my Christmas wish list this year. Sadly, I did not receive the pasta maker that I dreamed about but did receive some money from my mother-in-law to buy myself something nice. I used that money to finally buy my pasta maker. Originally, I was going to get the traditional pasta roller but then saw that Kitchenaid now has the pasta press available too. The pasta press can make spaghetti, macaroni, rigatoni and more. After thinking about it I thought that I'd likely get more use out of the pasta press instead so got that one.

What a great machine! It was super easy to use (even for me) and I was able to make some pasta successfully on my first attempt.

Here is the basic 'starter' recipe that I used which was in the Kitchenaid booklet included in the box with the attachment.

Basic Egg Noodle Pasta

4 large eggs
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt

Break eggs into a glass measuring cup. Check to see that the eggs measure 7/8 cup. If less than 7/8 cup, add water, 1 tsp at a time, until measurement is reached. Coincidentally, my 4 eggs measured exactly 7/8 cup; talk about choosing perfect eggs, eh?

Place flour and salt in stand mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and gradually add eggs and 1 tbsp water. Mix for 30 seconds. Stop mixer and exchange flat beater hook for dough hook. Turn to Speed 2 and knead for 2 minutes.

Remove mixture from bowl and place on clean surface. Dough may appear crumbly (no kidding!). Hand knead for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until dough is smooth, pliable and holds together in a ball. Cover the ball with a clean towel to prevent the dough from drying out.

Form walnut-sized pieces and extrude pasta into desired shape (I used large macaroni).

As the pasta comes out of the extruder cut into the desired length with the swinging cutting wire thingy and place on a baking sheet or clean surface. The pasta could be used immediately or stored for future use. If not using right away, air dry for 1 hour, then wrap in an airtight plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To freeze, double wrap the pasta and keep frozen for up to 4 months. To use frozen fresh pasta, do not thaw - it should go directly from freezer into boiling water.

When cooking the pasta, cook in boiling water for 2-5 minutes, as opposed to the 7-8 minutes for dry pasta. Notice how the pasta floats to the surface?

I have loved macaroni and cheese since my childhood. Uhm...actually, I had a slight addiction to Kraft Dinner and ate it ALL.THE.TIME. It was also one of my cravings when I was pregnant with Joelle. Needless to say I don't buy it anymore; it's definitely not real food, no matter how much cauliflower they try and put into those noodles now. Blech..

With my first attempt at making homemade pasta I knew that I'd have to make macaroni and cheese. Remember that show '100-mile challenge' that ran on the Food Network from Mission, B.C.? On the show there was a family who loved Kraft Dinner and then on one episode (at the end of their journey) they made both the Kraft Dinner and the homemade version with homemade pasta and they decided that the homemade version tasted the best? Yes, that's when my desire to make homemade pasta began. That was over 2 years ago. Homemade mac 'n' cheese with homemade pasta has been on my mind ever since!

Macaroni and Cheese

1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk, heated
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the milk until smooth. Return to the heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time, until thick, smooth, and glossy.

Stir in the mustard and cheese to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Add sauce to cooked pasta and serve.

Was it worth waiting two years? Yes,..yes it was. But you know what? I think homemade pasta would be delicious with a good bolognese sauce. Mmmmmm.....

Stay tuned for more homemade pasta recipes this year - I'm thinking butternut squash pasta, spinach pasta, herbed pasta, etc..

Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat REAL Food!!

How my Blog (and me) have changed over time..

2012-01-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

Like many others out there I'm sitting here this morning on New Years Day and reflecting on my life and the events of the past year. It's really hard to believe that yet another year has come and gone. Doesn't time seem to pass at a quicker rate as you get older? I think so!

Anyways, as I was having my breakfast this morning and checking my emails/Facebook/Twitter accounts I took a look at some of my older blog posts. Wow.... When I started the blog in 2009 I was just starting to visit the markets and didn't really know where I was headed. I didn't know that there was such a thing as Ontario cranberries, cherry orchards near London, or even to what extent I could still support the farmers and producers over the winter months. At that point I was still focused on the produce and hadn't yet even thought of local flour, popcorn, peanuts, meats, or even dairy. I laugh at some of the old posts that I wrote; I was just learning back then.

As I gain new readers I often wonder what their thoughts are. Do they think that I just jumped into this lifestyle cold turkey? Do they get overwhelmed and think that they would never be able to do it too? If someone had told me in 2009 that I would be making all my food from scratch and eating seasonally/locally as much as I do I don't think I would have believed them. It was a work in progress, and it still is 2 1/2 years later. There was a time when I used to shop 100% at the grocery store and bought a lot of my food packaged in a box. Then, I made a few visits to the farmers' market and then everything started to change.

It's not about perfection, but about being willing to make small changes everyday; it's about wanting to be healthier, supporting the local economy, supporting the farmers, educating yourself and your family, etc..

I still have a lot to learn myself and a lot of farms and markets that I have yet to visit. This year I'm hoping to spend more time in the St. Thomas area, Chatham, Grand Bend, Woodstock, Kitchener-Waterloo, etc.. I'm also hoping to step things up a notch in my avoidance of processed foods. Stay tuned for more from-scratch recipes like homemade butter, yogurt, and pasta. There will be more homemade breads too - naan, flatbreads, crackers, etc.. It won't just be about the food though - expect more homemade versions of mouthwash, dishwasher detergent, and moisturizers. I'll be more involved in the community and various events throughout Southwestern Ontario too.

Looks like 2012 will be a great year I'm sure; another year of growing, learning and taking things one step at a time.

Remember: Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat REAL Food!!

Foodland Ontario Calendar - December (Apple and Pear Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce)

2011-12-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

Guess what time it is!? It's time for the December (and last) recipe from the 2011 Foodland Ontario Calendar.

I waited until Christmas before making this particular recipe because it was a perfect dessert to serve for the holidays. I made it last night for Christmas Eve and everybody really enjoyed it. In fact, most of us were scraping some extra caramel from the serving dish to spread onto our slices of cake.

Apple and Pear Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used homemade Ontario applesauce)
3 Ontario eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 each Ontario apple and pear, cored and chopped

Caramel Glaze

1/2 cup Ontario butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp Ontario milk

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Using a wooden spoon stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. Stir in apple and pear. Spoon batter into greased and floured 3L bundt pan. Bake at 350F for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool on rack for 20 minutes.

Caramel Glaze: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and milk; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove cake from pan; spoon warm glaze over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Well, that's it... This year I blogged my way through all 12 months of the 2011 Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes. At first I thought that I would end it here but then once I saw the new 2012 calendar I knew that I'd have to blog the next one too. Have you seen the new calendar? It looks GREAT!! (check out the online version here: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2012/index.html) Note: getting your hands on a hard copy is well worth it though--the pictures are beautiful.

The first recipe for January 2012 will be Turkey Pasta Soup - I'll have to remember to freeze some of my turkey so that I'll still have some available in the first week of January.

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

If you'd like to view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry
August - grilled chicken salad
September - Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa
October - Pumpkin Ravioli
November - Savoury Onion Scones

Homemade (Vanilla) Coffee Creamer

2011-12-24T09:56:00.000-05:00

I've been a cooking/baking machine the last couple of weeks getting things ready for the company coming over for the holidays. It's not just about the snacks and treats though; it's also about me trying to make everything I serve to be completely local/seasonal and homemade (from scratch).

One of those things that I wanted to make was a coffee creamer. My parents 'must' have their morning coffee and my mom usually ends up buying some sort of coffee creamer at the grocery store to keep in my fridge while she's here. Have you seen the ingredients on one of those bottles? Here's an example of one:

"water, sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, carrageenan, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, salt, dipottasium phosphate, polysorbate 60, sodium caseinate, natural and artificial flavours, artificial color"

Hmmm...for one, yuck!, and two, why isn't dairy the first ingredient? The ingredients are really concerning actually.

My friend Stephanie (Twitter: @cafeaulait) made a couple of different coffee creamers this month so I thought it would be a great idea to make my own. To make a Vanilla Coffee Creamer you only need 4 ingredients; and they're ingredients that are actually familiar and that you can pronounce even!

1 cup cream
1 cup milk
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 vanilla bean

Heat the milk, cream and maple syrup on medium heat until it begins to steam and add the vanilla bean (halved and seeded). Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 30 minutes. Put the mixture through a fine sieve and transfer to a bottle or container. Keep refrigerated and use within 2 weeks.

The opportunities are endless with this kind of recipe. To change up the flavour, rather than using a vanilla bean, use almond extract or peppermint extract instead. Add some cacoa powder for a chocolate kick.

I feel better serving this homemade creamer rather than letting my mom buy her store-bought one instead. This morning we made a pot of coffee using some beans that I picked up at the Western Fair Farmers' Market last weekend from the Fire Roasted Coffee Company and tried out our new creamer.

Result? Yum!

Mom's Raisin Pie

2011-12-22T22:53:00.000-05:00

So a couple of weeks ago I blogged about my mom's traditional Christmas tourtiere ... Today's post is also another one of her recipes. This one is for her Raisin Pie. As odd as it sounds it's delicious and one of my favorite pies. We had it often growing up and it tastes like home.

I made one the other day and put it in the freezer to have for dessert on Boxing Day.

Mom's Raisin Pie

2 cups boiling water
2 1/4 cups raisins
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten

Combine boiling water, raisins and lemon rind in saucepan. Simmer 10 minutes. Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add gradually to hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add a small amount of the cooked mixture to the beaten egg. Add to remaining mixture in saucepan. Return to heat and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool. Prepare pastry for a double crust pie. Fill pastry-lined pie pan with the cooled raisin filling. Place top pastry over filling.

Bake at 425F for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool before serving.

I'm not sure about the egg part of it. Some of it scrambled so I picked the bits out of it. Other recipes that I've seen online add 2 tbsp butter at the end instead of the egg. I would probably make this change next time I make this pie.

I will have to say, however, that I've been able to make pie dough (successfully) twice in the last couple of weeks. I owe my success to Anna Olson. I've tried other recipes for pie dough in the past and none of them worked quite as well as hers.

Anna Olson's Double-Crust Pie Dough

(from Anna Olson's Back to Baking)

1 cup cold unsalted butter
2 1/3 cups flour
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp cold water
2 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice

While it's cold, cut the butter into small pieces and then leave it out of the fridge for 30 minutes. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter to the flour, mixing it until the dough is a rough, crumbly texture.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, water and vinegar or lemon juice, and add it to the dough all at once, mixing until the dough comes together. Shape the dough into 2 discs, wrap them each in plastic wrap, and chill them for at least 1 hour before rolling.

French Macarons - Easier than you may think!

2011-12-19T08:23:00.001-05:00

I don't know when the macaron craze came about but it would seem that just about everyone is making them, or at the very least, talking about them. There are a few places in town that sell them and they are sooooo expensive, like $2.50 or more per cookie.

My goal this Christmas was to make an attempt at making them myself. I really didn't think that I would be successful. I had done some reading online and other bloggers were very specific about the technique to be followed and the instructions were quite lengthy. Well, to my surprise I actually managed to make these and it wasn't a day-long saga.

Here's how you make them (recipes with quantities to follow):

Place the ground almonds and confectioners' sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture is fine and powdery. Sift the mixture into a bowl through a large strainer.

Using a stand mixer whip the egg whites until you have soft peaks. Gradually beat in the superfine sugar a little at a time. Beat until the mixture becomes a firm and glossy meringue and it looks like shaving cream. This would also be the point when any additional flavors or colorings would be added and mixed in.

Add one-third of the almond mixture to the meringue. Using a spatula, fold the dry mixture into the meringue until combined. Add the next third and repeat the process. Finish off with the remaining third and repeat the folding motion once more. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth and glossy. Don't undermix or overmix - overmixing leads to a runny batter and undermixing leads to a tough one. Once combined, you're pretty well good to go.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe circles onto the prepared baking sheets.

Tap the underside of the baking sheet firmly with the palm of your hand to remove any air bubbles and settle any small peaks and bumps. This action also helps the frilly foot (or pied) to form during baking.

Let the macarons stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to let the surface of each macaron dry and form a slight crust.

Bake the macarons at 325F, 1 baking sheet at a time for 10-15 minutes. The macarons are ready when they have a crisp shell. Carefully peel them away from the parchment paper and let the macarons cool completely on a wire rack.

The next, and final, step is to spread a filling of your choice between the wafers.

I made three varieties of macarons - vanilla macarons, hazelnut chocolate macarons and peppermint chocolate macarons. The recipes were from the book 'Macaroons: 30 recipes for perfect bite-size treats' that I picked up at Winners for a mere $5.99. (note that the book calls them macaroons... Yes, these cookies suffer the same fate as yams/sweet potatoes. Some people call them macaroons and others call them macarons)

Vanilla Macarons

3/4 cup ground almonds
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 extra large egg whites
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Hazelnut Chocolate Macarons

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 extra large egg whites
1/4 cup superfine sugar
Filling:

1/4 cup hazelnut spread (I used my homemade Nutella)

Mint Chocolate Macarons

3/4 cup ground almonds
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 extra large egg whites
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
green food coloring paste
Filling:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 oz chocolate, melted and cooled.

I'd say that for my first try at these I did a pretty good job. By the third batch I felt like I could really whip these up quickly if I needed to.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

2011-12-16T23:12:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a little project for the last few months...

In August I mixed together some rum and vanilla beans/pods in a jar and 8 weeks later I had my very own homemade vanilla extract.

Do you know what's in your vanilla extract? Is it genuine? Or is it imitation? If it's imitation it may have been flavored with vanillin and not actual vanilla beans. It may also include corn syrup or caramel color. Hmmm..not for me - I'd rather have the real thing. If you've ever had a custard, ice cream, or whipped cream flavored with actual vanilla beans you know what I'm talking about. I figured that if the vanilla beans tasted so good then homemade vanilla extract would be fantastic. And it is. It was so easy to make too.

Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise. Spread the two halves apart to reveal the vanilla seeds. Scrape the seeds from the pod and put them into a jar (along with the remaining pods). Put 3 or 4 vanilla beans into a medium-sized mason jar and fill the jar with rum or vodka.

Place the jar in a cool dark place. Every week give the jar a gentle shake. In eight weeks you'll have your very own vanilla extract.

Once you begin using the extract add any used pods that you may have into the mix to concentrate the flavour even further. The best part is that you'll never run out - just keep filling the jar with more rum or vodka.

Hmm...looks like I've got a few more jars made to be given out as Christmas gifts. I wonder who will be the lucky recipients? Any guesses?

Mom's Traditional Christmas Tourtiere

2011-12-11T21:56:00.000-05:00

In my family it's not Christmas dinner unless there's meat pie on the table. I grew up in Northern Ontario so there was a lot of French-Canadian influence from Quebec and New Brunswick in our meals. Meat pie was definitely one of them.

This year I'm hosting Christmas for the first time EVER! We've always made the trip up to Sudbury every year but this time we asked to stay home and have people come to us instead. We also wanted our daughter to know what it's like to have Christmas at home and to wake up in her own bed. Plus, I'm kind of curious to see what London is like at Christmas.

So knowing that I'm doing Christmas I'm starting to really pin down what it is I'm going to be serving over the few days that I'll have guests staying over. Obviously, there WILL be meat pie. Thankfully it's something that can be made ahead of time and frozen to save time later.

My mom makes the best meat pie. I don't know why but everyone else's just doesn't taste right. I knew that I'd have to give her a call before I attempted to make mine. I was really disappointed though when she told me that it was nothing but pork, beef, onion and spices. That's it? Really?

Yes, that's it. But when I asked her which spices she just said 'you know,...whatever I feel like putting into it. Usually the same as what I use for my marinara sauce'. Sheesh..that wasn't really much help; typical of family recipes I suppose. I guess I was going to be winging it...

Here is what I ended up with:

1 lb ground pork
1 lb lean ground beef
2 medium onions, diced
1/4 cup beef broth
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Epicure Herb & Garlic Dip Mix (dried garlic, herbs, spices, salt, sugar, chives)
salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large pan saute the meat until browned. Drain off the excess fat and add the onions. Once the onions have softened add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool. Spoon the filling into a prepared pie shell and cover with the remaining rolled dough. Pinch the edges of the crust together and poke holes onto the top with a fork. Bake in a 375F oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

To serve: Top with a good drizzle of ketchup. Yes, ketchup. Like spaghetti, shepherd's pie and eggs, us French-Canadians love our ketchup! It's delicious and meat pie demands ketchup!

This pie freezes very well. We baked the smaller one right away to make sure it tasted just right (wink, wink) and placed the larger pie in a ziploc bag and tucked it away in the freezer. For Christmas I'll take it out and let it defrost a little in the fridge and then bake it in the oven. Easy, peasy!

You know what made me real proud though? I made the crust myself using Anna Olsen's recipe for pie crust in the "Back to Baking" book. Finally!! A pie crust that worked out for me! Usually I end up with chunks of butter here and there or it shrinks on me or doesn't roll out well... This one was perfect.

And you know what? I actually think my pie is better than my mom's. Can't wait to see what she thinks of it!

Anna Olson's Back To Baking

2011-12-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a chance to attend Anna Olson's book signing at Springridge Farm in Milton.

Anna's newest cookbook 'Back To Baking' consists of 200 recipes and has chapters on cookies, custards, cakes, holiday desserts, dairy-free desserts, egg-free desserts, gluten-free desserts, low-fat/low-sugar desserts, etc..

The book also contains many tips and FAQ's about baking, like how to melt chocolate, why use salt in baking, which cookies can be frozen, how to make a perfect crust, whipping egg basics, etc..

At the farm, Anna spoke about her journey - about her shows on the Food Network, 'Sugar' and 'Fresh', and also about her other books and her time as the pastry chef at The Inn on the Twenty in Jordan. She also explained the process of writing a cookbook; about testing recipes over and over, about the editing process, the photography, etc..

Did you know that she donates the foods that she makes to the local shelter? Yup! The cakes and pies may be missing a slice every now and then (for the pictures) but they're always very appreciative for the sweets that she provides them.

And how does she stay so thin even while doing all of this baking? To avoid eating all of the product she snacks on salty olives or on crackers and hummus.

Anna is a great speaker. She is professional and very personable. You could tell that the audience was just smitten by her. I know that she inspired me to get 'back to baking' again. I think my list of baked goods I was planning on making for Christmas has just grown (again). I really hope that my guests are going to be ready to eat while they're here. Anybody want to come over for a visit over the holidays?

Here's a list of just 'some' of the recipes that I'm hoping to try out (not right away but hopefully in the next little while!).

-Salted Orange Toffee Slices
-Tuile Cookies
-Maple Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
-Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars
-Gingerbread Cream Pie
-Pumpkin Cheesecake and Chocolate Tart
-Caramel Soufflés
-Hazelnut Latte Yule Log
-Chocolate Pavlovas
-Honey Spice Rice Pudding

Everything just sounds so delicious - I'd better get 'Back to Baking'!

Homemade Peppermint Patties

2011-12-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

You know when you go to a restaurant and next to the cash register they'll have a container with peppermint patties that you can get for $0.25 each or 3/$1.00? I love those things. And you know what I do with things that I love? I make my own homemade version (of course).

I did a bit of looking around online and found a few recipes that either called for an icing sugar filling with peppermint extract or others that called for coconut oil, honey and actual peppermint leaves. Unfortunately the ones using the oil and leaves were a complete failure. The filling ended up an oily mess with no flavour whatsoever.

I liked the recipe with the icing sugar instead.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

2 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tbsp water
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tbsp vegetable shortening
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Beat 2 1/4 cups of the icing sugar with the corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and shortening. It'll be crumbly. Dust the counter with the remaining sugar and knead the mixture until it comes together. Shape it into a log (roughly 2 inches wide and 8 inches long). Wrap in in wax paper and freeze it until firm (half an hour or so).

Using a sharp knife slice the log into rounds. Place them onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and freeze once more for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Let it cool completely.

Dipping the peppermint rounds into the chocolate is a bit of an art form I think. Initially I tried to use my fingers but quickly realized that there was more chocolate on my hands than the patty itself. Good thing my husband is always full of good ideas because he suggested using tongs instead. It was still a bit sloppy but was definitely less messy.

Once the patties are covered in chocolate let them sit out to dry/firm up and then store in the fridge in a sealed container. To serve, let them come to room temperature.

Mmmmmm.....so good......and so minty..... And you know what, the homemade version tastes much better than the ones next to the cash register. No surprise though; the other ones are usually stale and taste like chalk.

Traditional Walnut Snowball Cookies

2011-11-28T22:51:00.000-05:00

The season of Christmas baking has begun so get ready for a slew of recipes in the coming weeks. I was actually a bit happy to wake up to a dreary/rainy morning on Sunday because I knew it would be the perfect day to stay indoors and start my baking. One of the treats that I made were walnut snowball cookies.

I was asked to participate in the California Walnuts Holiday Blogger Challenge so I thought that this would be a great place to start. Although it's not an original recipe, it's a traditional tried-and-true Christmas recipe.

Walnut Snowball Cookies

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups California walnuts (finely chopped)
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (cut into pieces)
pinch salt
icing sugar

Mix dry ingredients together in a food processor. Add the vanilla extract and butter and process until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Form the dough into small balls (about the size of a walnut coincidentally) and place onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 35 minutes at 300F.

When they are lukewarm roll the cookies in icing sugar and again when completely cooled.

Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Did you know?

walnuts are the only nut with a significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids
due to omega-3's walnuts can lower cholesterol, protect the heart, defend against certain cancers and help ease symptoms of inflammatory diseases like arthritis
the fat in walnuts is 72.4 percent heart-healthy polyunsaturated fat
walnuts contain no cholesterol and no trans fat
walnuts are an excellent source of magnesium, folic acid, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, iron, zinc and dietary fibre

For more info and recipes using walnuts check out http://www.walnutinfo.com/ .

Another recipe that I made on Sunday was homemade peppermint patties. Stay tuned!

My Newest Addiction: Greek Yogurt

2011-11-27T16:08:00.000-05:00

Geez....I've been really quiet these last few days. Don't worry though, I've got lots and lots of posts coming up for December, like tourtiere, raisin pie, walnut snowball cookies, homemade peppermint patties, homemade vanilla extract, etc..

While making my list of recipes for the Christmas season (yay! we're staying home this year!!) I've become addicted to Greek Yogurt. You'd think that I would have tried this stuff before now, wouldn't you? Yeah...me too. Considering it's being touted as a health food and such I'm surprised it took me so long to try it.

The brands that I've tried so far are the PC Brand (because it goes on sale a lot) and Skotidakis Greek Yogurt (from Eastern Ontario http://www.skotidakis.com/), which can be found at the Covent Garden Market (Doris Produce/Havaris Produce) and other specialty food stores in London. Although I could easily make my own by straining regular yogurt in a cheesecloth I just haven't had the time. Besides, with only two ingredients I won't go through the trouble (ingredients typically only include milk and bacterial culture).

How is Greek Yogurt different from regular yogurt, you ask? Well, here is a good description of what it is from Leslie Beck in the Globe & Mail:

"Greek yogurt is made slightly differently than regular yogurt and this is what changes its consistency. After the milk is heated and cultured (i.e. the active live cultures are added), Greek yogurt is strained in a filter or cheesecloth. This straining process removes the whey, the liquid part of milk. The result is a thick yogurt with twice as much protein as regular yogurt. One serving (3/4 cup) of plain, non fat Greek yogurt has 18 to 21 grams of protein and 110 to 120 calories. The same amount of regular, plain non fat yogurt has 9 grams of protein and 100 calories."

That's what's great about Greek Yogurt. You can have a fat-free yogurt without all of the extra junk in it. Typically low-fat items will have sugar and other things added into it to make it taste good. Not in this case; fat-free and 2% have the same ingredients, with the exception that skim milk is used to make it fat-free.

The biggest bonus? 18-21 grams of protein per serving. That's awesome!!!

Here are just a few ways to use it:

use it in place of sour cream on potatoes or with quesadillas
use it in a veggie dip
make a creamy salad dressing
enjoy for breakfast with honey, fruit, or preserves (jams/jellies)
top it with granola
make a really creamy frozen yogurt

How do you enjoy your Greek Yogurt?

Sweet Potato Frozen Yogurt

2011-11-20T22:28:00.002-05:00

I think the easiest snack/dessert to make is homemade frozen yogurt. Ice cream is fine, but you're dealing with eggs, cream, making a custard, etc.. It's not really worth it for me. I'd much rather make a frozen yogurt; it's just easier to add a flavour to the yogurt and freeze it.

I was so excited to receive my latest issue of Clean Eating (November/December 2011) in the mail a couple of weeks ago. In it, they had a recipe for Sweet Potato Pie Ice Cream. Looking at it, it reminded me of the pumpkin ice cream that I made last year. Pumpkin and Sweet Potato are similar in a lot of ways so I knew it would probably taste pretty good.

Sweet Potato Frozen Yogurt
(adapted from Clean Eating November/December 2011 magazine recipe)

1 large sweet potato (or 3 small ones) - peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F. Place potato in a bowl and pour maple syrup over top and toss until well coated. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until very tender (30 minutes to an hour).

Remove from oven and transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate overnight to further soften the potatoes.

In a blender, puree potato, milk, yogurt, honey, vanilla and spices. Blend until creamy.

Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process until it becomes thick and partially frozen. Transfer to a container and freeze until ready to serve. (if you do not have an ice cream maker you can also pour the mixture into a 9x9-inch metal cake pan and freeze for 12 hours, until solid.

All I have to said is 'YUM!!' It was super sweet and my daughter who claims not to like sweet potato totally gobbled it all up. This recipe will be going on my list of dishes to serve over the Christmas holidays for our guests.

Homemade Nutella

2011-11-17T07:43:00.000-05:00

Do your kids love Nutella? Mine does. Not sure why though...I don't believe I've ever bought a jar of the stuff (ever). Hmm....must be the commercials that have told her that she loves it. Anyways, I saw an article about Homemade Nutella in the Huffington Post and thought I'd give it a shot. Who doesn't love a little nutty/chocolate spread on toast for breakfast. Mmmmmm....

Ingredients:

1/4 cup hazelnut meal

Note: for a smoother texture run the hazelnut meal in a coffee grinder - works great!

1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp coconut oil

Combine the ingredients in a food processor (I use my mini food processor).

Result? It tastes just like the real thing! Probably a little healthier than the real thing too. I don't care what the commercials say 'nothing but hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa'. Whatever,....I've seen the ingredients; there's more than that in there (including palm oil, soy lecithin, etc..). Again, as per usual, I'd rather just make it myself.

Did you know that although Nutella is originally an Italian product the main manufacturing plant for North America is in Brantford, Ontario? I didn't know that until today. Even better is manufacturing it in my own home though :-)

Homemade Hairspray

2011-11-13T08:22:00.000-05:00

Allright...so a lot of people think that I'm already completely crazy, but I'm going to really go over the top with this one -- I made homemade hairspray!

I don't use a ton of hairspray but because of my fine hair and because it's short, I do use a bit to keep it out of my face and to provide texture. I hate that hairspray has so many chemicals in it though (like all other beauty products). I also hate spending money on things that I could easily make at home given the chance.

A few months ago I noticed that Organic Authority posted a recipe for homemade hairspray on their website (http://www.organicauthority.com/). I had it saved in my favorites and knew that I would eventually go back to it and try my own version. Here's the recipe:

4 tsp sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp vodka (acts as a preservative)
3-5 drops essential oil for scent
empty hairspray bottle (not aerosol)

Heat water in a saucepan to just under a boil. Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, stirring thoroughly. Add the vodka and remove it from the heat. Once cooled, add the essential oil and pour into the spray bottle.

I've been using my hairspray for a week now and I'm pretty darn impressed. It works great!

You should really check out their website. They have lots of great homemade alternatives to pretty well anything you'd normally find at the drug store, even homemade dishwasher soap! If you're not the crazy make-everything-from-scratch type (like me) then maybe a trip to your local environmentally-friendly store for some better-for-you products? Here in London, P'lovers is great! I had visited their Stratford store a couple of times but it wasn't until a couple of days ago that I went to the store in downtown London (http://www.ploverslondon.ca/).

Originally, I thought that I would go in and see about buying a couple of Christmas gifts but got distracted and bought myself a few things instead. I could have easily bought more but had to contain myself. There was a lot of different soaps, candles, cleaners, clothing, towels, baby items, books, laundry soap, etc. You can even refill your own containers which is great because it's (1) cheaper, and (2) better for the environment.

So.....do you think I'm crazy now? Or are you going to make your own hairspray too? Maybe I'll try making my own dishwasher soap...

Royal Winter Agricultural Fair

2011-11-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

We went to the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair on Sunday. The 'Royal' is an annual event held in the month of November in Toronto at the Direct Energy Centre (Exhibition Place). When it began in 1922, it was held mainly to let farmers display equipment, discuss new trends, and showcase their wares. Essentiallly, it was a way for farmers to get together after the harvest.

Today, the farmers still get together and compete in various competitions but it has also become a way for the city-folk to learn about agriculture and about where their food comes from.

We didn't spend too much of our time viewing the competitions or showings. I'm sure they would have been more interesting if I knew what in the world they were doing out there! We did, however, check out a lot of the animal displays. Who doesn't love listening to the sheeps baaa's and the cows mooing. A favorite, however, were the cute little baby chicks.

Another crowd favorite at the Royal is the butter sculpting. Apparently, student artists are given a 25kg block of butter and have only one day to create their masterpiece. We saw this guy carving out a pig.

There's always a lot for the kids to do, of course! We put together puzzles, jumped in a bouncy castle, played some trivia games, and even had a chance to 'milk' a cow; a pretend cow, that is.

While walking around visiting the booths we sampled a lot of food and also had a chance to get a lot of free stuff too. The Ontario Apple Growers were giving away bags of carrots that were just picked on Friday in the Holland Marsh. The bags were just flying off the table!

They weren't just giving away carrots, though. They're the Ontario Apple Growers! Obviously they would also be sampling apples. Here, they were sampling Macintosh, Honeycrisp and Ambrosia apples.

At the Foodland Ontario booth there were a few things going on. I picked up my new copy of the 2012 recipe calendar (make sure you pick up a copy; it looks AWESOME this year!) and they had a few games for the kids too. My daughter had a chance to spin the wheel and landed on 'honey'. Her question was: Why do bees dance? (or something to that effect). The answer was 'to attract and let the other bees know that there was nectar to be found in that area'. As a prize she could choose to take an apple, a bag of Ontario popcorn, or a flower. She chose the bag of popcorn.

When we had first arrived and had begun walking around I heard a familiar voice coming from the cooking stage. I soon realized that it was Lynn Ogryzlo's voice. She was starting her presentation and was going to be making an Onion Tart using onions from the Holland Marsh. After the show we were able to sample the dish. It was delicious!

P.S. Don't forget about my November cookbook contest - I have a copy of Lynn Ogryzlo's cookbook to give away. Simply let me know how you'll be eating local this winter on my Facebook Page, on Twitter (@swontariofoodie) or as a comment to this post.

The Northern Ontario section is always a great place to visit. I had a chance to see Wendy from Johnston's Cranberries, saw lots of maple syrup, and got some information about trout farms near Little Current. One booth was even milling some flour on-site.

You know what though? I really wish that other parts of Ontario were also displayed. Last year, the Ottawa region was profiled next to Northern Ontario, but this time Ottawa wasn't there, just the North. I think it would be great to have a Toronto aisle, a Southwestern Ontario aisle, a Niagara aisle, etc..

One good change at the fair this year was that the Harvest Market was moved from it's hidden location on the 2nd floor to the main floor right across from the 'Journey to Good Health' area. I bought some paprika from Meleg's Orchard (from Kingsville) and for a treat, some honey sticks to snack on.

It wouldn't be an agricultural fair without food to munch on, right? Well, there was no shortage of food that's foresure. Check out these apple dumplings; yes, there is an entire apple in there. I didn't have one but they looked delicious.

In the Journey to Good Health area Becel was offering free cholesterol tests to everyone. I have never had mine checked before so I thought it would be fun to do it just to see where I'm at. Well, let's just say that the nurse's eyes pretty well popped out of her head when she got my reading. Yes, as per the proof below, my cholesterol was off-the-charts low. I didn't have the heart to tell her that it definitely wasn't from eating their margarine and that I typically eat butter instead. Not just butter, but eggs, beef, and salt too. I'll take that as proof that eating REAL foods is what our bodies need, not processed junk.

Speaking about margarine,....what they have to do with agriculture, I'll never know.... That's my only gripe about the Royal... Why is it that there are so many corporations and brands that get in there that really shouldn't be. There was Becel, there was Shneiders with their 'natural' processed meats, Pizza Pizza, etc.. Lots of people just there to market and make money. It sort of takes away from who should really be there - the farmers!!

Foodland Ontario Calendar - November (Savoury Onion Scones) with Roasted Garlic Soup

2011-11-03T22:15:00.001-04:00

Yeesh! Another month has come and gone! However, that means another Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe.

This months recipe was Savoury Onion Scones with a suggestion to pair them with the Roasted Garlic Soup on their website. As suggested, I made both together.

Savoury Onion Scones

1 Ontario Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Ontario Butter
2 cups biscuit mix
1/2 cup shredded Ontario Old Cheddar Cheese
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
1/2 cup Ontario Milk

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine onion and butter; microwave on High power for 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is softened. (I use my microwave as my bread box and I was too lazy to take out the bread so I just softened the onion on the stove instead). Stir in biscuit mix, cheese and pepper. Stir in millk (just enough to make soft dough). Knead mixture on a lightly floured surface several times. Pat or roll dough into a 1/2-inch thick circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Place wedges on non-stick baking sheet and bake in 450F oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

So....when I first read the recipe, I thought 'what is biscuit mix?'. I went to the grocery store, walked around aimlessly and finally made my way to the pancake mix area and realized that I'd have to buy a box of Bisquick Pancake/Biscuit Mix. I looked at the box, pondered it a moment, and then decided to go home and make my own biscuit mix instead.

Homemade Biscuit Mix

5 cups Ontario Arva Mill Flour
1/4 cup baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup Ontario butter

Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor until it looks crumbly. That's pretty well it.... I used the 2 cups that I needed for the recipe and put the remaining mix in the fridge for future biscuits/scones.

Roasted Garlic Soup

4 heads Ontario Garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp Ontario butter
4 Ontario Leeks, chopped
1 Ontario Onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose Ontario flour
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry vermouth or additional chicken broth
1/4 tsp each of dried marjoram and thyme
1 cup light cream or milk
4 oz Roquefort or Stilton cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp each snipped fresh chives and chopped parsley

Remove any loose outer layers of skin from garlic. Cut 1/4 inch thick slice across top of each head to expose cloves. Place on a large piece of foil, drizzle lightly with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; wrap completely in foil and roast in 350F oven for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Holding garlic at root end, squeeze out pulp into a small bowl.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add garlic, leeks and onion; cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Stir in flour and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and gradually stir in broth and vermouth if using, marjoram and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly. Purée in batches in blender or food processor.

Return soup to saucepan. Stir in cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat gently but do not boil.

Meanwhile, stir together cheese, chives and parsley; sprinkle about 1 tbsp on each serving.

Doesn't it look good? The scones turned out incredibly well. I guess the homemade biscuit mix worked with the recipe (Whew!)

There's only one more month to go to complete the year's worth of recipes from the calendar. December's recipe is going to be an Apple and Pear Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze. Yum!

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

If you'd like to view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry
August - grilled chicken salad
September - Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa
October - Pumpkin Ravioli

Cranberry Pavlova

2011-11-02T23:01:00.000-04:00

I'm in love with making meringues. If I've got some egg whites to use, it's going to be made into a meringue. I fell in love with meringue last year when I had tried Jamie Oliver's recipe from the 'Cook with Jamie' Cookbook seen here. Typically, I'll make the meringue into one large piece and then top with whipped cream and any fruits that I may have on hand (usually berries). I've made it with pears and chocolate before too and also tried it with lemon curd. It's always delicious no matter what!

On the weekend I had some egg whites again (can't remember what the egg yolks were used for...hmmm, it's probably not a good time for me to write a post if I can't think straight...). Anyways, as per usual, they were made into a meringue, but this time I thought I'd alter it a bit and make a pavlova.

According to the Joy of Baking 'a pavlova is a meringue cake that has a light and delicate crisp crust and a soft sweet marshmallow center that is typically served with whipped cream and fresh fruit. There is a long standing debate about whether New Zealand or Australia invented this dessert, which has yet to be resolved. What we do know is that the name, Pavlova, was chosen in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who toured both New Zealand and Australia in 1926."

A meringue is very easy to make. To begin, make sure that the mixing bowl is clean and free of any oils. Whisk 6 egg whites until they have hard peaks. You should be able to hold the bowl over your head without any of it slipping out. At this point add a pinch of salt and 1 cup plus 5 tbsp of caster sugar (superfine sugar). If you don't have caster sugar on hand, simply grind regular granulated sugar in a food processor or a coffee grinder. I always use the coffee grinder and it ends up giving me the same consistency as superfine sugar, which is a cross between icing sugar and granulated sugar. Whisk the mixture until smooth (about 7 minutes). Check the smoothness but rubbing a bit between your fingers. If you can still feel the sugar, whisk it a little longer.

Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper (use some of the meringue as glue in the corners under the paper to keep it in place). You can either spread all of it onto the sheet as a whole, or as two separate circles for a two-layer cake. Bake it at 300F for one hour.

Once the meringue has cooled, top with freshly whipped cream and your choice of fruit. For this cake I used some of the cranberry sauce that I made a couple of weeks ago. Let's just say that it didn't last very long. I think this is what we'll end up having for dessert come Christmas! It's light and with the cranberries, quite seasonal.

What are your favorite meringue/pavlova toppings?

Menu-Planning 101 (including recipe for Mushroom and Barley Soup)

2011-10-27T23:17:00.000-04:00

So this week I decided to try something new. I thought it would make sense for me to plan my meals for the week. I know, I know..you probably thought that I was already doing this. Nope. I've been winging it!

I'm usually sitting at my desk at work everyday wondering what in the world I'm going to be making for dinner and causing myself more stress than anything else. I also have a tendency of going to the market and buying whatever looks good and then coming home with way too much food and then not having the chance to consume all of it. That also means that I'm likely spending more money than I should be.

That being said, I typically do buy a lot more food over the summer months for canning, preserving and freezing and buy a lot less over the winter months since my freezer and pantry are filled to the brim. Plus, there isn't as much available so that really helps the budget as well. I think fall/winter is the perfect time to start planning meals.

For the next few months I'm going to really try and plan my meals on a weekly basis. The goal is to choose a cookbook every week and plan my menu around the recipes included in that book. I may not be following the recipes to the letter but at the very least, using them to get my thoughts going. This week, for instance, I chose 'The Earthbound Cook' by Myra Goodman and wrote down which recipes I was going to try along with the ingredients that I would need. Not surprisingly, I didn't need to buy too much because I already had a lot of them.

Here is what my menu looked like this week:

Saturday: I made my French Jacques Pepin meal (see previous post), which included a salad with goat cheese and caramelized pecans, chicken in tarragon sauce, and chocolate mousse for dessert
Sunday: Shepherd's Pie
Monday: Leftover chicken from Saturday with Brussel Sprouts and a salad
Tuesday: Vegetarian Chili
Wednesday: Used more leftover chicken and chili and made enchiladas with salad
Thursday: Mushroom Barley Soup with a side of Spring Mix salad with warm-almond crusted goat cheese and apples
Friday: We're going out for dinner. It's my birthday soon but my husband will be away so we're celebrating a little early.

My thoughts on the week? Menu-Planning is going to be successful. For one, I will be making use of the many cookbooks that I have on my shelves, (2) I won't be stressing about what I'm making for dinner, (3) I'll only be buying what I need and thus, won't have as much waste, and (4) I'll probably save money too.

The best meal we had this week was tonight's mushroom and barley soup and salad with warm almond-crusted goat's cheese so I'm going to share these recipes with you.

Mushroom and Barley Soup

3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup sliced leek
2 small celery ribs (out of season now but I can't have soup without celery - it's one of my exceptions)
1 medium diced carrot
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
4 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
2 tsp fresh thyme
8 cups beef broth
1 cup barley
salt/pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, celery, and carrot and cook until the vegetables soften. Meanwhile, place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the shitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and thyme to the pot. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, untl the mushrooms give off liquid and begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the porcini mushrooms from the soaking liquid and add them to the soup. Pour in the soaking liquid, leaving behind any grit that may have settled at the bottom. Add the beef stock and barley. Cover the pot and cook over medium-low until the barley is tender, 50 minutes or so. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Spring Mix Salad with Warm Almond-Crusted Goat Cheese

4 oz plain goat cheese log
2 tbsp finely chopped toasted unsalted almonds
6 cups mixed greens
1 large crisp apple, sliced
1/4 cup lemon-thyme balsamic vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp minced shallot
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp sugar

salt/pepper
1/4 cup raisins

Cut the goat cheese into 4 rounds, about 1/2-inch thick. Press the almonds into the top and bottom of each cheese round. Transfer the cheese to a foil-covered baking sheet and broil for 1-3 minutes.

Place the greens and apple slices in a large bowl and add half of the vinaigrette. Toss to coat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more vinaigrette as desired. Divide the greens onto 4 plates and place a cheese round in the middle of each salad. Sprinkle with raisins and serve.

Do you typically plan your meals? Do you have a tendency to plan more during the winter rather than the summer?

Going Back to my French Roots with Jacques Pepin

2011-10-22T23:18:00.000-04:00

Back in 1633 a man was born in Le Bignon (Reveillon), France. His name was Toussaint. In 1654 he moved to 'Nouvelle-France' (Beauport, Quebec). Generations later, the ancestral home in France still stands.

This is my heritage. The family (both my mom and my dad's) originally came to Canada from France. I guess you could say that I'm a pure-bred. My ancestors came from France on the boat and have always lived in New Brunswick, Quebec or Northern Ontario. Everyone married French and, as a result, had French babies. I did the same; my husband is also from a French family.

Based on my blood-line I'd like to think that this has something to do with my love of food and cooking. The French are known for their cuisine, correct?

Jacques Pepin, born in 1935, is one example. He is an internationally recognized French chef, television personality, and author. Since 1975 he has written 25 cookbooks, with his most recent one 'Essential Pepin' in 2011. His newest cookbook encompasses over 700 of his favorite recipes from the last 60 years as a chef. Lucky for me, I was given a peek at 3 of the recipes from the book and had a chance to try them out today: Composed Salad of Greens, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans, Chicken in Tarragon Sauce, and lastly, Chocolate Mousse.

Composed Salad of Greens, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans

For the Caramelized Pecans:

1/4 cup pecan halves
1/2 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of sugar
pinch of cayenne

Put the pecans in a skillet and cover (barely) with water. Bring to a simmer over high heat and then drain immediately. Return the pecans to the pan and add the oil, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the nuts brown and the sugar mixture caramelizes. Set them aside to cool.

For the Dressing:

1 1/2 tbsp oil, preferably a mixture of walnut, hazelnut and/or canola (I just used canola oil)
1 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and toss with 4 cups salad greens, preferably mesclun (I used a Spring Mix).

To serve, add the caramelized pecans to the greens along with apple strips drizzled with lemon juice and crumbled goat cheese.

The salad was amazing. The dressing, although simple, was perfect and worked well with all of the ingredients. The pecans were especially good and I'll be sure to make them again just to be able to have them to snack on. Actually, I think that ended up eating a third of them before they actually made their way onto the salad. Oops!

Chicken in Tarragon Sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white vermouth
2 bay leaves
1 fresh thyme sprig
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp potato starch, dissolved in 2 tbsp vermouth
1/4 cup cream
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon

Combine the chicken, onion, stock, vermouth, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and boil gently for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside. There should be about 1 cup of liquid left in the pan. If not, boil to reduce it to 1 cup. Stir in the dissolved potato starch and bring to a boil. Add the cream and return to a boil once again. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and heat through. Sprinkle with tarragon and serve.

Initially, when I looked at the recipe I didn't think that the dish would have much flavour but I was wrong; it was delicious. The tarragon made all the difference. Before making this dish I had never used tarragon before. I think I'll be looking for other ways to use it in my dishes from now on. It's wonderful!

The finished product for our dinner was the salad, the chicken, and a side of steamed broccoli. Doesn't it look good? You know what's sad though? I ended up having dinner by myself tonight... My daughter was at a birthday party chowing down on pizza and cupcakes and since my husband ended up staying at the party too he had pizza as well and came home with a full tummy. His loss though; I think my dinner was way better than pizza. He'll have the leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Funny thing though, both my husband and daughter found room for the chocolate mousse dessert that I also made while they were out.

Chocolate Mousse

1/3 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
10 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
2 tsp cognac (I used whisky)

In a mixing bowl, beat 2 tbsp of the sugar with the cream for a few minutes, or until soft peaks form. When complete, transfer about 3/4 cup of the whipped cream to another bowl to use as a garnish later.

In a stainless steel bowl mix the remaining sugar and the eggs together. Place the bowl in a skillet of hot tap water (or use a double boiler), and whisk the mixture for 3 minutes, or until it's fluffy, smooth, and has doubled in volume.

Using a rubber spatula, combine the melted chocolate with the yolk mixture and the cognac. If the mixture starts to seize, immediately stir in 1-2 tbsp of the whipped cream to smooth it out. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until incorporated. Transfer the mousse to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

At serving time, whip the reserved 3/4 cup whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Use it as a garnish on top of the mousse.

The mousse was my failure for the day. I don't know what I did wrong, but it didn't have the consistency of a mousse. It was harder and the chocolate was a bit chunky. It was also extremely 'chocolatey'. My husband and daughter liked it but I really think I could have done a better job of this one.

Are you a fan of French cuisine? Do you enjoy dishes from France, specifically? Or would you rather stay close to home and enjoy French-Canadian food? How do you feel about Tourtiere? Or Raisin Pie? Poutine?Stay tuned for more French (both authentic and Canadian) recipes coming soon!

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

2011-10-18T22:09:00.000-04:00

I think one of my favorite flavours has got to be lemon. I love lemon meringue pie and pretty well anything with lemon curd in it. It's no surprise that my favorite muffins are lemon-cranberry muffins. It's not just the lemons that make these muffins so tasty though; lemons are a perfect match for fresh cranberries.

Here is the recipe that I always use (courtesy of Eating Well - January/February 2011):

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup Ontario canola oil
1 large Ontario egg
3 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (from who-knows-where)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Ontario flour
1/2 cup Ontario cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen Ontario cranberries

Preheat oven to 400F

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, 2 tsp lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla in medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in cranberries.

Divid the batter into the muffin cups. Combine the remaining 2 tbsp sugar and remaining 1 tsp lemon zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins. Bake the muffins until golden brown - 20 - 25 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

2011-10-13T21:38:00.000-04:00

How do you feel about cranberry sauce? Love it? Hate it? Whole berries? Jellied? Canned? Homemade?People seem to be pretty darn set in their ways when it comes to cranberry sauce..

I have always loved cranberry sauce. Growing up we ate it with our dinner for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas. My favorite way to have it? All over my potatoes and my turkey. Yum!! Up until a couple of years ago though I had only ever had canned cranberry sauce. Fresh cranberries weren't something that my parents or relatives considered buying so I just never knew what I was missing.

Thanksgiving has already passed, but if you can, make sure that you try and make homemade cranberry sauce for your Christmas dinner. Here is the recipe:

In a pot, combine 3 cups cranberries (1 bag), 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes or until the cranberries start to burst. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature and then in the fridge. The sauce will thicken as it chills.

Cranberry sauce is very versatile. It's really easy to adapt it for your own personal tastes. When I canned some sauce this week I replaced the sugar with honey and added diced apple, orange rind, and orange juice. Other options? Some people put raisins or currants or may season it with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.. It all depends on what you're looking for and what it'll be used for.

Do you have any tried-and-true recipes for cranberry sauce? What do you use your sauce for? Just for the holidays? Or do you use it in other dishes? Pork perhaps?

Field Trip: Johnston's Cranberry Farm

2011-10-11T22:54:00.000-04:00

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving weekend?

We were away in Sudbury for a few days visiting family. We don't get home very often but we do try and make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Our newest tradition has been making a stop at Johnston's Cranberry Farm to pick up our stock of cranberries for the year. We take the Friday off from work and take the child out of school for the day to make sure we've got the time to make the all-important pit stop.

We typically buy a 4lb bag of cranberries, some dried cranberries, a bottle of wine and anything else that catches our eye.

The farm is located in Bala, Ontario which has been deemed the Cranberry Capital of Ontario. For years we drove by not knowing what was hiding beyond the highway. We kept seeing the signs and eventually decided that we had to check it out - so glad we did! This is our second year visiting the farm now. Here's a cool little video about the farm:

It's so great to have the opportunity to experience the cranberry harvest. Cranberries are very unique compared to other berry crops. For one, they require work year-round and secondly, they grow on land, but are harvested in water. In the late fall, for instance, the bogs are flooded so that the resulting layer of ice will protect the cranberry plants over the winter months from the extreme cold. Then throughout the rest of the year (i.e., fall/spring), the crop may be flooded again or sprayed with sprinklers to avoid frost damage. At harvest time they're flooded once more to help with the picking process.

There are only two areas in Ontario that have cranberry farms - Bala and the Ottawa Region. Otherwise, in Canada, growers can be found in British Columbia., Quebec and Nova Scotia. Cranberries don't grow just anywhere; they need a bog, which is an area of soft, marshy ground, usually near a wetland. The land is typically very acidic as well.

Have you ever eaten cranberries raw? Although they are a very tart they are pretty tasty on their own. I really enjoy adding a few into my morning smoothies for a little extra kick of flavour. My daughter wasn't so thrilled with them raw but she did enjoy getting us a few from the marsh to snack on. We couldn't resist....

The cranberries are harvested using a special machine that is driven through the beds to coax the berries off the vines. The cranberries then float to the surface and are collected in bins and then dumped into a truck. At that point they are dried and packaged onsite.

The packaging process is pretty straightforward. The bad ones are picked out and the good ones move on down the conveyor belt and put into bags.

There you have it, freshly picked cranberries for purchase!

There's a lot more to find in the shop than just plain 'ol cranberries though. There is cranberry sauce, cranberry fudge, cranberry dressing, cranberry jam, cranberry and apple pie, cranberry apple cider, cranberry buttertarts, cranberry soaps and candles, etc.. Check out their website at http://www.cranberry.ca/ - They have online ordering available too!

At the cafe we enjoyed sausages topped with cranberry mustard and cranberry chutney. We really wanted to try the cranberry buttertarts too but we ran out of cash unfortunately. Next time we'll have to remember to bring more funds!

While we were there we also had a chance to do some wine-tasting from the Muskoka Lake Winery. We tried a Wild Blueberry Wine, the Georgian Bay Rose, Cranberry Wine, Cranberry Blueberry Wine, White Cranberry, and Red Maple. They were all delicious but in the end we left with a bottle of Cranberry Wine.

Keep an eye out for Muskoka Lake Wine at the London Wine and Food Show coming up in January and be sure to try the Red Maple variety; it's delicious!!

Here are a few more cranberry 'facts' from Johnston's website (http://www.cranberry.ca/):

cranberries are native only to North America
early pilgrims thought that the cranberry blossom looked like the head of a crane and called them 'crane'berries.
cranberries do not grow in water
cranberries are harvested in water because it makes them easier to to pick
cranberries are planted with cuttings, not seeds
cranberries are a perennial but it takes 5 years for a new plant to become established and to produce a crop
cranberries grow on an evergreen vine, which means they keep their leaves year-round
the first bog was planted in Massachusetts in 1816. Canada's first commercial bog was planted in Nova Scotia in 1870
cranberry vines don't need to be replaced; they continue producing indefinitely. The plants at Johnston's have been producing for 60 years
there are over 100 varieties of cranberries; Johnston's produces 5

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make a batch of cranberry sauce for canning and some lemon-cranberry muffins. Whatever is left will be frozen for my winter fruit smoothies or perhaps in my famous apple-cranberry crisp as shown in the Foodland Ontario video I appeared in last year.

Here's a link to the post I did about my first visit to Johnston's Cranberry Farm last year (complete with a video of Rick Mercer's visit there): http://southwesternontariofoodie.blogspot.com/2010/10/johnstons-cranberry-marsh.html

Be sure to look for Ontario cranberries at your local grocery store! I was at the SuperStore earlier today and was disappointed to find U.S. cranberries on display. If you can't find local ones let the manager know you want them available! Remember, we vote with our dollars.

Foodland Ontario Calendar - October (Pumpkin Ravioli)

2011-10-06T23:31:00.000-04:00

Why does it seem that we're always turning the page on the calendar to yet another month? Can you believe that it's October already? It's getting darker earlier at night, there's a chill in the air, and the leaves are starting to change colours. I wish it could be Fall year 'round!

This month's Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe is pumpkin ravioli. I think it's great that month after month the recipes become more and more unique and aren't just your typical run-of-the-mill boring 'ol recipe; great way to encourage people to try new foods and new ways of cooking with them!

Pumpkin Ravioli

1 cup Ontario pumpkin puree
1 tbsp Ontario butter
1 1/2 tsp cornmeal
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper
36 wonton wrappers
1 Ontario egg, beaten
1/4 cup Ontario butter, melted
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
freshly grated Ontario parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl combine pumpkin puree, butter, cornmeal, sage, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Working with 6 wrappers at a time, brush edges lightly with egg. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pumpkin mixture in the centre of each. Fold each wrapper over into a triangle and press the edges to seal well. Place on a baking sheet and cover with damp tea towel. Repeat with remainin filling and wrappers.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the ravioli in 4 batches, until tender, about 4-5 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and gently toss with butter and parsley. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Surprisingly, this recipe worked out for me. As many people already know I don't do well with pastry or dough-like substances. I'm getting better, but it's a work in progress. At least the use of wonton wrappers really made it easy to make homemade ravioli. I ended up with a few pieces that lost their insides into the water but most of them remained intac.! I'll likely make more in the next few days with the spinach and ricotta cheese in my fridge that are screaming to be made into a ravioli stuffing.

Now, if I had a Kitchenaid pasta attachment in my possession, I'd really be in the business of making homemade pastas. You know....my birthday and Christmas are coming soon... Maybe I'll get my wish soon enough!

Anyways,...moving along...since I had more pumpkin puree leftover I thought I'd heed the calendar's advice 'since you're pureeing, try our old-fashioned pumpkin pie recipe'. Great idea!

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

1 9-inch deep-dish pie shell
2 cups pureed Ontario pumpkin
1/2 cup 18% Ontario cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each of ginger, nutmeg and salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Thaw pie shell for 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of shell with a fork. Bake in centre of bottom rack of oven 8 to 10 minutes. Place baked shell on a baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 350F.

In a large bowl, stir together pumpkin puree, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt until combined. Pour into prepared shell. Bake on centre rack of oven until filling is set, about 35 minutes (the centre will still be a bit jiggly). Let cool completely before serving. Top with freshly whipped cream.

You'll notice that I used a frozen pie shell. Yes...like I've said, pie/tart crust is my downfall. If anybody out there would like to show me how it's done I'd really appreciate it! I've followed recipes to the letter and kept everything cold like I'm supposed to but still, it's my nemesis!

So what's November's Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe going to be? Looks like Savoury Onion Scones are going to be on the menu. Can't wait!

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

To view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry
August - grilled chicken salad
September - Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa

Field Trip - Kernal Peanuts in Vittoria

2011-10-03T22:46:00.001-04:00

When you think of local food what do you think of? Fruits, vegetables, meat? Dairy perhaps? How about peanuts? Yes, peanuts! Did you know that the largest producer of peanuts in Canada is right here in Ontario? Yup! Kernal Peanuts in Vittoria (between Simcoe and Delhi in Norfolk County) is the largest peanut grower in Canada.

Like many other farms in Norfolk County the farm began growing tobacco but when the government stepped in with new regulations many farmers sought out other crops to grow instead. In the case of Ernie and Nancy Racz they wanted something that would grow well in their area, would be unique, and would also be something that others in the area were not growing to avoid saturation or competition.

Today, they have 100 acres of peanut plants; or more specifically, Valencia peanut plants. Valencia peanuts grow well in sandy soils and have been known to be one of the best tasting peanuts.

Like potatoes, peanuts grow underground. As they foliage matures, small yellow flowers form and once pollinated they eventually turn downward and make their way into the ground, where they complete their development. In the Fall when the peanuts are harvested the entire plant, including the roots is removed from the soil, at which point the nuts are separated from the plant itself.

Did you know that peanuts aren't actually nuts? They're legumes. In fact, until they are dried they taste like peas.

Yes, peanuts must be dehydrated (dried). After they've been harvested, they're cleaned and then put into large vats and dried for seven days. That's one of the things that they had to experiment with when they first began growing peanuts. Traditionally, in the Southern U.S. states peanuts are simply harvested and then left to dry on the ground for two weeks. In Canada, this is not possible because of the likelihood of rain and damp weather in October.

Once the peanuts are dried they are then de-shelled and sorted - the small immature peanuts are used as bird food, the medium or broken ones are used for peanut butter and the others end up in the roaster. You want to know what happens to the waste (i.e, the peanut shells)? They are burned along with wood to power the dehydrator, which saves them around $30,000 in natural gas that they would need to shell out otherwise. Another way that they use their waste is by using peanut oil in their diesel-powered tractors. Pretty cool, eh?

Once the peanuts have been sorted they are processed and packaged on site and then shipped to specialty food stores throughout Canada, such as Picard Peanuts (http://www.picardspeanuts.ca/). They have peanuts of all different flavours - garlic, barbeque, sour cream and onion, cajun, salted, unsalted, dill pickle, etc.. In addition to the regular red-skinned peanut they also have the black-skinned peanut as well. If you're looking for something sweet, they also have chocolate covered peanuts, peanut briddle, fudge, etc.. There's peanut butter too! Their peanut butter is all-natural; nothing but the peanuts. Apparently since the Valencia peanut is a sweeter peanut it naturally adds sweetness to the peanut butter without having to include any additional sugar.

When I first started my journey with sourcing out local foods I never imagined that there was such a thing as a peanut farm. To tell you the truth I didn't know where peanuts came from; I had assumed that they came from California or Mexico. Then, when I saw that Picards Peanuts had Ontario peanuts a couple of years ago I knew that I'd have to make my way out to Vittoria to check out Kernal Peanuts. It took a while but I finally made it!

Be honest,...did you know that Ontario grew peanuts?

Another "Ontario Table" Giveaway

2011-10-01T22:56:00.000-04:00

So I met up with Lynn Ogryzlo at Jill's Table a couple of weeks ago here in London. We were able to catch up and talked about how things were going with her book-signing tour. Did you know that her book has become a national bestseller? Yup! Not bad for a book about 'Ontario' food, eh?

Anyways, I'm going to be doing a couple of giveaways over the next couple of months and will be giving away not just one, but two copies of Lynn Ogryzlo's book "The Ontario Table".

Here's how you can win a copy of the book:

1) October: From October 1st to 31st talk to me about Ontario Food - what is your favorite memory about local food this summer? Did you visit a farm? Did you go to your local market? Did you try any new recipes? Please post your comments to my Facebook Page (Southwestern Ontario Foodie) or on Twitter (@swontariofoodie). The winner (chosen randomly) will be announced on November 1st.

2) November: From November 1st to 30th tell me what your plans are for the winter - how will you continue to support local foods? Did you do any preserving (canning or freezing)? Again, comments can be posted to my Facebook Page or on Twitter and the winner will be announced on December 1st.

Contest open to Ontario residents only.

To learn more about the book check out the "Ontario Table" website at http://www.ontariotable.ca/ .

Foodland Ontario Calendar - September (Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa)

2011-09-29T22:54:00.000-04:00

So for the second month in a row I am posting my Foodland Ontario recipe at the end of the month. Bad, bad, I know...

Ugh...I had such grand plans for this recipe... My hope originally was to go to a Trout Farm, blog about it, and then use that fish in the dish. Well,...we went to a Trout Farm in Komoka earlier this month and when we arrived we were told that in order to fish you have to bring your own gear. I was so disappointed! My daughter was disappointed as well; she really wanted to go fishing for the first time. At the same time I was a little relieved because neither my husband or I have ever cleaned a fish from start to finish so that bit had been causing me a little anxiety.

My second option was to head out to Port Stanley and get some fish there. Unfortunately, I was so busy that I wasn't able to find the time to get out there.

My third option? I got my husband to visit the Covent Garden Market this morning where he bought some trout from Fairhaven Mission Farms (from Arkona). What would I do without him?

Now, let me tell you something else -- I don't really like fish. Ever notice that there aren't any fish recipes on this blog? Yeah...I'm not a huge fan. I'm one of those people that just eats fish that doesn't taste 'fishy'. I have had lobster and can tolerate shrimp, but I hate salmon. I do like chowders and creamy fish soups, probably because you can't taste the fish. I'm also fine if it's breaded and fried - now that's yummy! I guess I just don't like eating fish if it's on its own.

Anyways, my husband loved the recipe, and suprisingly, so did my daughter. She had my leftovers (minus the salsa, of course...she's one of those kids that likes each of the items in a dish but won't eat them if they're mixed together).

Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa

2 Ontario tomatoes, diced
1 cup diced Ontario cucumber
1/4 cup chopped fresh Ontario basil
2 tsp red wine vinegar or lime juice
2 cloves Ontario garlic, minced
1 lb fresh Ontario trout fillets
canola oil
salt and pepper

In a large bowl, gently combine tomatoes, cucumber, basil, vinegar and garlic; set aside.

Brush trout lightly with oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place trout skin-side down on greased grill over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; close lid and grill, about 5 to 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily. Remove fish and serve with tomato salsa spooned over top.

Next months' recipe - Pumpkin Ravioli. I'm actually hoping to do this one on Sunday. It sounds like it'll be really good; let's hope that my skills are up to par for this one!

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

To view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry
August - grilled chicken salad

Savour Stratford 2011 - Day 2

2011-09-26T07:54:00.000-04:00

Today was Day 2 of the Savour Stratford Festival. Like yesterday, we had a great time. Our day was a little less eventful this time around but it made for a nice relaxing day. Who wouldn't have a relaxing day in Stratford? It's the cutest, quaintest, simplest town that I know. I love their shops and the little town feel of everything. More than anybody else, I think they really know how to live simply and know how to appreciate the little things.

Our first stop of the day was at the Slow Food Perth display in Market Square. My daughter and I had agreed to help them out so we spent a couple of hours at their sensory display. In the booth they were showing how food affects all five of our senses; taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound. For taste they were offering samples of 3 types of apples and 3 types of honey (dark, amber, light) to show how the same food may have different flavours. So many people said that it was the first time they had sampled raw honey from the comb and that they were amazed with the flavour.

Look! The booth next to the one we were in had steamed corn on the cob with hand-churned homemade butter. How cool is that? And only for $2.00!

After helping out at the sensory booth we headed out to see Connie Desousa's presentation. Connie was one of the finalists on Top Chef Canada on the Food Network. She was my favorite contestant on the show so I was excited to watch her cook live. On stage, she put together a fried artichoke and toasted hazelnut salad with homemade goat cheese curds; and yes, she made the cheese right there on stage. It was so simple. I'll have to give it a try.

After the presentation we were starving so we head out in search of food. Prior to eating, however, we stopped to see the "Fire Guy" (again). My daughter loved watching him and I think over the course of the weekend we saw his act 4 times. Ugh...I knew his whole act by heart by the end of the day. He is a very talented man though, I do have to say..

For lunch, we ordered sandwiches from the York Street Kitchen. I had the Thai Chicken Salad Sandwich with peanut sauce, shredded carrots, and green onions. My daughter chose the peanut butter and jam sandwich. Both sandwiches were great! I'd order mine again. Don't you just love the little take-out window outside?

Check out these guys! We saw the tall skinny chef a few times yesterday but the tall fat chef was new today. Can you imagine how hard it must be have been for her to spend the day walking around in that suit?

By the time we got down to see the vendors down on Veteran's Drive it was already getting toward the end of the day so there was a bit less to see than yesterday. I did manage to find the homemade ice cream sandwich booth again so I tried their strawberry and peppercorn ice cream sandwich. It was yummy! My daugther's treat for the day was a cookie from Kandy Cakes. She really wanted the one with the bacon and eggs picture on it. I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't end up having an apple fritter or a buttertart this weekend but I'll survive! There's always next year!

Hmmm...I wonder what next's years event will bring? I'm excited about it already!

Savour Stratford 2011 - Day 1

2011-09-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

It's Savour Stratford this weekend. I was there today and all I've got to say is that last year was great, but this year it was fantastic!! We arrived around 10am and our first stop was to see Lynn Ogryzlo's presentation about her book "The Ontario Table" with Elizabeth Baird. Together they made a cauliflower and leek soup with roasted garlic spreaded on a baguette. It was delicious!

Since releasing her book a few months ago, she has been visiting different locations within Ontario to share her story, her $10 challenge, and to collect signatures on her 'Ontario' tablecloth, which is just about 100ft long and may just be the longest tablecloth in Ontario thus far.

After viewing the presentation we made our way out to the Kids' Tent for make-your-own smoothies. My daughter had a chance to make herself a strawberry smoothie made with strawberries, frozen vanilla yogurt, and honey.

While we were there she was also able to make herself a salad by clipping her own lettuce and topping them with red pepper, yellow pepper, and zucchini pieces. Personally, I think that this was a brilliant idea. Although my daughter does love her veggies she hates salad. She says that she doesn't like the texture of the lettuce. Anyways...even she was excited to have the opportunity to make herself a salad for lunch.

Since her lunch was taken care of now it was my turn to find myself something to eat. After a lot of looking around and being unable to make a decision, I finally settled on the grilled goat cheese and apple sandwich with a side of homemade ketchup.

Once we finished our lunch we did a bit of walking around, listened to some music, visited some vendors and then made our way back to the Kids' Tent. Every hour on the hour Montforte Dairy was making ice cream with the kids and we had to try it out. After filling a small ziploc bag with cream, sugar, and vanilla we added that bag to a larger bag with ice and salt and shook, and shook, and shook the bags until we had ice cream.

While eating her ice cream, we managed to visit a few more vendors and to see a few other shows. We came across this 'chef' on stilts entertaining the kids. He was showing them how to balance and spin a ball on their finger. Coincidentally, my daughter has been trying to do this for the last few days at home so she was happy to give it a try and was beaming when it actually worked.

I probably could have skipped having lunch today because we had so many samples that I could have made it through the day on that alone. We had popcorn, fudge, carrot juice ($1.00), melon, etc.. Shakespeare Pies was even giving out small pieces of pie as samples. Wow!

And then we ended up at the Kids' Tent again...strange how we kept making our way back there; must have been all the cool stuff going on there. On this particular visit Joelle had a chance to try her hand at making pizza dough with Chef Gilad from Pazzo Ristorante and Pizzeria. Here's the recipe:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp yeast

They weren't actually making the pizza on site, but we did get sent home with the dough we made, some tomato sauce from the restaurant and some shredded cheese. Guess what we had for dinner tonight? It made for an easy dinner - I rolled out the dough, put it onto a pre-heated pizza stone, and baked the sauce and cheese pizza (topped with garlic herbs) at 450F for 12 minutes. Perfect! And what did it cost me? Absolutely nothing! Actually, all of the events going on in the Kids' Tent were absolutely free of charge. Amazing, eh?

Okay...so after we were done with our dough-making class we headed out to the Culinary Stage for 3 o'clock to see Chuck Hughes - my highlight of the festival. I am a huge fan of the Food Network so I was excited to say the least. I wasn't disappointed; Chuck put on a great show. He was hilarious and made some great food. The best part of seeing him cook in person is that normally you can't smell the food through your television but I was able to experience that today.

On our way back to the car from the show we saw a sign for some homemade ice cream sandwiches. We couldn't resist - we had to try them! Yes, yes,...it was almost time for dinner, but come on! Had to have one! We each had the Honey Lavender ice cream between two sugar cookies. DELICIOUS! I think I'm going to try the Strawberry and Cracked Black Peppercorns tomorrow!

Yes, tomorrow....I am going back again tomorrow!! There's just so much to see and do that this festival deserves another visit tomorrow. I'll be at the Slow Food Perth Sunday Market in Market Square, hopefully listening to The Upside of Maybe (great band), and going to see Connie DeSousa's presentation. I'll leave you for now, but expect another post tomorrow for the experiences that we shall have on Day 2 of Savour Stratford.

Iced Maple-Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins

2011-09-22T08:01:00.000-04:00

My favorite season is definitely Fall; more specifically the months of September and October. Everything seems to be in season right now and with the cooler weather it really makes me want to spend more time in the kitchen. This past week, for instance, I made an apple crisp, made my first slow-cooker stew of the season, and made some iced maple pumpkin muffins.

Fall foods are so comforting to me. Pumpkin, squash, root vegetables, pears and apples are all so versatile. They work well in savoury dishes and in sweet desserts. The comfort factor, however, is the smell in the house whenever I'm cooking with them.

These pumpkin muffins were perfect for breakfast on cool Sunday September morning!

Iced Maple-Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins

In a mixing bowl combine the following dry ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

In another bowl, combine the following wet ingredients:

1 cup milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and fill 12 muffin cups with the batter. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes. Let them cool completely on a wire rack. If you're feeling a little indulgent drizzle a maple-cinnamon glaze on top - 1 1/4 cup icing sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3 tsp maple syrup and 2 tbsp milk. Whisk together and drizzle on the muffins. The last step is a must - lick the spoon!

Field Trip: Appleland Station

2011-09-18T22:43:00.000-04:00

Would you believe that until yesterday I had never been to Appleland? I had been to many other apple orchards, like Birtch Farms and Chudleigh's, but yet,...I never made it out to Appleland. Anyways, on Saturday I wanted to get some apples but didn't feel like driving out too far. As a result, we ended up just outside of London (between London and Woodstock) at Appleland Station.

I don't know what took me so long but I finally made it. Strangely enough, my daughter had already been; she went with her Junior Kindergarten class a couple of years ago.

Over the last few years I had heard a lot about Appleland and about their big sandpiles. Nothing could have prepared me for this though. They don't just have ordinary sand piles; they have HUGE sandpiles...with tunnels going through them and everything! Obviously this is the highlight of every child's visit.

Check out the view from the top of one of the hills.

Once I pried my daughter away from the sand (with a promise of going back before leaving) we made our way out to pick some apples. To get there we got to ride the train, led by Ernie, Appleland's famous conductor (and first-generation owner of the orchard).

On this day, four varieties were being picked - Mac's, Courtland's, and hmmm....can't remember what the other two were...they may have been Empire and...I don't know...I have a terrible memory!

On the train, Ernie talked about how the crop was doing this year. Apparently it has been a great year for apples. They're being harvested a little later than usual this year because of the cool, wet spring and then hot, dry July but that we won't be disappointed. The trees are FULL of apples. In fact, they were so full that a few weeks back they had people come in to remove apple blossoms from the trees because there were going to be too many apples. Just take a look at the next picture - these are apples on the ground...it was like this under every tree. As we picked apples more and more just kept falling to the ground. There won't be a shortage this year, that's foresure!

After picking 40lbs of apples we made our way out to the store and had a slice of pie in their lovely cafe. We enjoyed a slice of apple pie with a drizzle of caramel. I would have liked to buy a whole pie but since the husband is travelling again and it's just Joelle and I at home I figured a whole pie would be a bit much right now. A fancy slice of one was just a little bit more special anyways.

So what did I do with 40lbs of apples? Well, I canned 15 jars of applesauce (raspberry applesauce, strawberry applesauce, concord grape applesauce, cinnamon applesauce), made a batch of apple butter, and dried some of the apple peels that I had left from the apples in the applesauce. I can imagine that the scent coming out of my kitchen last night probably had a few neighbors craving apple pie! That's not it though, today I made myself an apple and cheddar panini sandwich for lunch and made an apple crisp for dessert after dinner.

Here's the recipe that I used for the apple butter (courtesy of The Seasonal Family)

10-12 medium apples
6 cups of apple cider or apple juice, reduced to 3 cups
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
fresh ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves

Before chopping the apples, pour the apple cider/juice in a large saucepan with arrowroot powder and whisk to combine. On medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Continue to boil until the apple cider has reduced to half. While the cider/juice is boiling, chop the apples and core them, leaving the skins on. Put the apples into the slow cooker and mix the spices in and then the cider/juice. Cover, and put the heat on low for 12 hours or overnight.

Once complete, puree the apple butter. If it is still a bit runny, keep it at a low temperature and cover again, leaving the lid slightly ajar. Or, you could also reduce the liquid by bringing the apple butter to a slight boil in a pot.

I ended up with two 500ml jars of delicious apple butter. I think there's a lot of tasty toast in our future! Or, there's also the Apple Butter Spice Cake that I made last year.

Anybody planning to do some apple-picking this year? Where do you like to go? What do you make with your apples?

Honey Harvest Dinner - Garlic's Restaurant

2011-09-16T07:54:00.000-04:00

Aaahhhh...I had a great dinner out with a friend tonight. It's not too often that I get out for dinner and even more rare for me to get out with a friend for dinner. Tonight my friend Jen and I headed out to Garlic's for their Honey Harvest Dinner. I had heard about the event a while back and could not wait to experience it.

All I can say is 'wow'! While we were having dinner Chris Hiemstra from Clovermead Apiaries in Aylmer was busy harvesting honey from Garlic's own rooftop hives right there on the dining room floor. He began by scraping down the frames and then extracted the honey by spinning the honey from the frames the old-fashioned way. The honey simpled dripped out into the bowl beneath it. The bees were very generous; turns out the hives were FULL of honey. They filled bowl after bowl after bowl with honey. The best part was being able to sample some of it - delicious!! Can't get any fresher than that!

The dinner itself was great too - we started with a honey martini and some honey-wheat bread with roasted garlic butter.

Our starter was a roasted butternut squash bisque which was made up of honey-maple roasted squash, roasted garlic, and herbed creme fraiche. Following the soup we were given a local pear and peppercorn sorbet topped with a piece of Clovermead honeycomb. It was mine (and Jen's) first experience eating from the comb. The honey inside was good but it felt strange to chew the honeycomb itself because it was like chewing a piece of rubber. We learned afterwards that some people eat the comb and others don't; in fact, some just like chewing on it like a piece of gum.

For our main we had a choice of the Ontario peach and corn risotto with blue cheese crumble, toasted pine nutes and truffle or roasted honey glazed chicken breast with potato puree and sweet peppers. We both chose the risotto. What a strange combination of ingredients, but they actually worked very well together and tasted fabulous.

The dessert was to die for - a honey cinnamon pound cake with bee pollen ice cream. Yum!!! And look, a ground cherry too!

We had a great night. We had a chance to sit and talk (without being interrupted by the children), we learned a few things about how honey is harvested, we tasted honeycomb for the first time, and had a wonderful dinner. I'll definitely come back here again.

Some facts about honey that I learned about:

Eating local honey can fend off allergies
Bees are the only insect that produce food eaten by man
Bees must consume about 17-20 pounds of honey to be able to product each pound of beeswax
It takes about 556 workers to gather 1 pound of honey
Honey is 80% sugar and 20% water
A bee can fly for up to six miles, as as fast as 15 miles per hour, so it would have to fly around 90,000 miles (three times around the globe) to make one pound of honey
The average bee only makes one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey it its lifetime

Note: I appologize for the cruddy picture-taking. My camera doesn't take decent pictures in a dark room so I ended up using my ipod touch. I think I need to invest in a professionsl camera that takes decent pictures (hint, hint to my family..my birthday and Christmas 'are' coming up soon).

Stratford Garlic Festival in Pictures

2011-09-10T22:52:00.001-04:00

We went to the Stratford Garlic Festival today. We had gone last year as well and we were excited to make it out to the fairgrounds again. Luckily the weather cooperated this time; it was a beautiful sunny day and a perfect day to tour around Stratford.

I'm not going to say too much though- I'll let the pictures do the talking!

There was soooo much garlic. Mmmmmm....garlic!!!

We sampled pickled garlic scapes,..

We had garlic lobster wraps and roasted garlic soup for lunch from Simple Fish and Chips...(delicious!!)

Didn't get any, but the roasted garlic shortbread and the roasted garlic buttermilk biscuits from Lindsay's Bakery looked really yummy...

We sampled garlic ice cream...

Garlic honey...

I had a chocolate covered maple pickled garlic from Big Ass Garlic (try and say that 5 times!)...strange treat with a weird texture but very tasty.

Rosemary and Garlic jelly from McCully's Hill Farm...bought some of this one!

The highlight, I think were the garlic shooters. Before leaving I had to try one; so many people were talking about them and I was intrigued. The shooters (non-alcoholic) consisted of garlic, lemon juice and soda. I liked it, my husband didn't. Let's just say that my immune system is probably working at high capacity right now. I can still taste the garlic actually..

And of course, there was a lot of garlic to buy...

and more garlic... There was garlic everywhere...

The Garlic Festival was a success again this year I'm sure. Lots of people were there and I even saw a few U.S. plates in the parking lot. Festivals such as this one are a great way to promote Ontario foods. They let growers and producers come together and showcase their product and they increase the likelihood that people will search out local foods, such as garlic, once they realize it's out there and available to them.

After we left the festival we headed into town and picked up a drink at Revel Caffe, checked out the Local Market Coop, and then rented a paddle-boat and rode it down the Avon River. It was such a relaxing day and just what I needed to recharge after a tiring week.

This won't be my last trip to Stratford this month though - I'll be going back again for their famous Savour Stratford Festival on the 24th and 25th. If it's anything like last year's event then I'm going to have a blast. Did you know that Chuck Hughes from the Food Network will be there? And Connie Desousa from Top Chef Canada? Yeah,...it'll be a great event!

Field Trip - The Cider Keg (Norfolk County)

2011-09-08T23:01:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit The Cider Keg for a little tour. The Cider Keg is located in Vittoria, near Delhi and Simcoe. Up to this point, I hadn't really had the chance to venture out to Norfolk County but it was always in the back of my mind. There is so much out there; there's Kernal Peanuts, Y U Ranch, Jensen Cheese, Kent Kreek Berries, the Ontario Popping Corn Co., etc.. Actually, I have plans to visit Kernal Peanuts for a tour later this month so stay tuned!

When we arrived, we were taken out to the orchard and were given a tutorial about where the apples comes from; from the blossoms to why they are shaped and coloured as they are. It was quite informative. Did you know that they're a family-run business? Yup, they're on the 5th generation now.

What's pretty cool too is that their cider is pressed from their own apples that they've harvested. Currently, they make their own cider under the name "The Cider Keg" and also produce cider for Longo's in the GTA and the 'Our Compliments' brand for Sobeys. Thumbs up to Sobeys for using local products!!

After our walk through the orchard we went into the shop and were treated to some samples. We sampled several different flavours of apple cider, elderberry pie in a jar, apple butter, a sparkling apple and rhubarb jelly, hot pepper jelly and their spiced apple red pepper jelly; all of which were sampled with Barrie Bros. Stone Wheat Crackers from Cambridge. Everything was delicious. We left with quite a few jars and also our favorite cider, their limited edition apple cider with saskatoon berries. Yum!

The Cider Keg isn't just about apples, however. They have pumpkins, squash, and strawberries. Actually, they grow everbearing strawberries, which will be available all through the Fall season up until the frost hits. Up until this year, they were also growing acres and acres of cucumbers. Unfortunately, this was the last year because the Bicks plant in Dunnville will be closing. As a result, they will begin growing a different crop; they're not sure what yet, but it's something they've been thinking about and working on. Hearing about these stories makes me sad. Because the plant is closing, so many farmers will have to send their cucumbers elsewhere or start again with a different crop. It's the downside of farming I suppose...

Here are some more facts about The Cider Keg and their cider that I found on their website (http://www.ciderkeg.com/)

Only Norfolk County hand-picked apples are used in their products
100% Canadian product content, packaging and processing
No sugar or water is added to the cider; just juices pressed from fresh apples
All of their ciders are non-alcoholic

Last but not least, the cider just tastes good. My daughter loves them because she gets to pretend that she's drinking wine. As a treat tonight we had some cider in wine glasses. Doesn't she look excited? She's a future wine-drinker foresure!

I'm a Watermelon Failure!

2011-09-05T22:43:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I was asked to take part in a blogger's watermelon carving competition. I agreed, but then spent the following weeks having anxiety about what I could possibly do with a watermelon, other than slicing it open and eating its contents. I am not a very creative and/or artistic person to begin with so I knew that this would be a challenge.

After a lot of thought I decided that I would cut into a large round watermelon, empty it with a melon-baller and would then carve hearts into it all the way around. Canteloupe hearts would then fit into those holes and I would fill the melon with yellow watermelon, red watermelon, and canteloupe balls. HA! Easier said than done!

The first problem that I had was a really watery watermelon and then since it had a lot of cracks inside I didn't get many nice balls out with the melon-baller. I ended up with lots of broken bits instead. Then, the watermelon rind was really thick and hard to cut through so only managed to cut one heart before I decided I wouldn't do be able to do anymore.

What a mess I ended up with; lots of watermelon juice everywhere, watermelon on my kitchen table, on the counter, and in the freezer too. Actually, that's were a lot of it ended up - in the freezer. Oh, and lots of watermelon juice in the fridge to drink.

Conclusion? Carving a watermelon is a lot harder than it looks!

Eating a watermelon, however? Much easier! I love making watermelon ice cream with frozen watermelon in my Vitamix, in a drink with strawberries, and in homemade popsicles.

Funny thing is, I didn't like watermelon until just a couple of years ago. I don't know what changed, but I really enjoy it now. There's something really refreshing about it; must be due to the fact that it's 92% water!

Have you ever wanted to know where seedless watermelon ever came from? Here's the explanation from the National Watermelon Promotion Board - http://www.watermelon.org/

"Seedless watermelons were invented over 50 years ago, and they have few or no seeds. When we say seeds, we are talking about mature seeds, the black ones. Oftentimes, the white seed coats where a seed did not mature are assumed to be seeds. But this isn’t the case! They are perfectly safe to swallow while eating, and don’t worry - no seeds will grow in your stomach.

So, how are seedless watermelons grown? Chromosomes are the building blocks that give characteristics, or traits, to living things including plants and watermelons. Watermelon breeders discovered that crossing a diploid plant (bearing the standard two sets of chromosomes) with a tetraploid plant (having four sets of chromosomes) results in a fruit that produces a triploid seed. (Yes, it has three sets of chromosomes). This triploid seed is the seed that produces seedless watermelons!

In other words, a seedless watermelon is a sterile hybrid which is created by crossing male pollen for a watermelon, containing 22 chromosomes per cell, with a female watermelon flower with 44 chromosomes per cell. When this seeded fruit matures, the small, white seed coats inside contain 33 chromosomes, rendering it sterile and incapable of producing seeds. This is similar to the mule, produced by crossing a horse with a donkey. This process does not involve genetic modification."

Interesting, isn't it?

Have you ever carved a watermelon? Was it successful? Check out these beautiful carvings: http://www.watermelon.org/Carvings/Carvings-Entertainment.aspx

Are you a melon lover? Or hater? Seedless? Or with seeds?

Foodland Ontario Calendar - August (Grilled Chicken Salad)

2011-08-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

Where has August gone? Is it seriously the 29th already? Yeesh!

I am sooooo late on the Foodland Ontario calendar recipe this month. For one thing, pears have just come into season and second, I kept forgetting to get some lettuce, which isn't something I've seen at the markets lately for one reason or another. Anyways, I finally got around to it.

I have a confession though...I took the lazy way out today and bought a ready-made roast chicken at Sobeys. I don't typically buy my meat at the grocery store but I will sometimes buy the roast chicken when I'm really pressed for time (like I was today) or I just have a hankering for it. Luckily, Sobeys does have an Ontario organic roast chicken available for only $2.00 more than the regular. Good enough for me.

Grilled Chicken Salad

12oz Ontario boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 clove Ontario garlic, minced
4 cups Ontario salad greens
3 Ontario green onions
1 Ontario peach, pitted and sliced
1 Ontario pear, cored and sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh Ontario cilantro or parsley
3 tbsp low-fat Italian salad dressing

In a shallow dish, arrange chicken in a single layer. In a small bowl, stir together oil, lime juice and garlic; pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Discard marinade. Place chicken on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and grill, turning once, until no longer pink inside, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes and slice into strips.

In a large salad bowl, toss together salad greens, green onions, peach and pear slices, cilantro and chicken strips. Drizzle with salad dressing to moisten and toss again.

I think I butchered this recipe... I used my roast chicken so didn't grill it or use the marinade and then instead of an italian dressing I used the garlic and mango dressing that I got from The Garlic Box in Hensall back in July. It was delicious, nonetheless. Besides, recipes are just a guideline; make it your own.

Oh, and I added green beans; just because they were in the fridge and needed to be eaten sooner rather than later.

Next months' recipe - Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa. I have great plans for this one. We're going to a trout farm! Stay tuned for this one - it should be interesting...

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

To view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry

Field Trip - Springwell Farm, Belmont

2011-08-27T09:18:00.000-04:00

Have you been to the Saturday market at Masonville Mall lately? There's a great new vendor there this year - Springwell Farm. Located in Belmont, they've really added a little something to that particular market. I was so impressed that I had to go and pay them a visit.

With my daughter and mother-in-law in tow we went over there yesterday afternoon after work. Although Brian and Elaine have been living on the farm and gardening for years this year was their first attempt at a large garden and selling their stuff at the market. They didn't just stop there either, they went all out and started doing weekly CSA baskets as well. I think they've had a successful first year - they've got me hooked.

What's great about their table at the market is that they sell many items that other vendors don't. They don't just grow your typical peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.. They have had ground cherries, swiss chard, candy cane beets, herbs, many varieties of heritage tomatoes, eggplant, kale, edemame, garlic, etc.. Coming soon, they'll have brussel sprouts, fennel and they're even growing popping corn for popcorn. Next year, there are plans for even more!

The farm is completely organic. The field on which the garden is on was never used for gardening before so has never had any pesticides or sprays applied to it. Everything is composted and then used for the soil; it's a no waste farm. To reduce pests and attract bees for pollinating there are plenty of flowers, marigolds and sunflowers all around. They make the garden look pretty too :-)

Here's one view of the garden - lots of greenery! Although the season is coming to an end for many items the've reassured me that there is still a good amount to come. Brian, who has been retired for 11 years is a master gardener and is teaching everything he knows to his daughters, Cheri and Tracy who are absorbing as much information as they can so that they can be involved and continue the business in the years to come.

In the house, I got a look at what they were preparing for today's market. Just look at this garlic - it's only half of what they had. Some people say Ontario garlic is hard to find. I don't think so; I think more and more people are growing them. Mmmmm...garlic.....

This picture will make your mouth water. Just look at all of the color! Fridays are their 'working day' which means that they were busy picking all of this yummy goodness for the market today. It's amazing to see it all in one place like that. Right now they're selling hot peppers, tomatoes, peppers, beans, ground cherries, edamame, and more.

Isn't it great to see new farmers coming into the business? They weren't around last year and now this year, here they are. And look at what they've had to offer! I wish them luck for another successful year next year.

Homemade Canned Peaches

2011-08-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

Kids love those little tins of fruit cocktails and diced peaches/pears at the grocery store. As a result, they tend to be pretty popular in kids' lunch boxes at school. Have you seen the ingredients though? The tins of 'no sugar' added diced peaches include peaches, water, ascorbic acid, natural flavour, sucralose, and citric acid. Hello! Sucralose is still sugar...actually, it's worse than sugar, it's an artificial sweetener. And why do they have to add natural flavour? If they were using good quality peaches I'm sure the peaches wouldn't need any additional flavouring, correct?

Anyways, in true Dallas fashion, I make my own canned peaches. I've been doing them for the last couple of years and haven't looked back. How could I go wrong when I'm preserving the great taste of Ontario peaches?

Last weekend I bought a case (yes, a case) of peaches for $15.00! It was so hard to wait for the right time to buy the peaches. I originally wanted to can them when I was on holidays but was told to wait another week for the best peaches and the best price. He was right! I'm so happy I waited! I had to wait a little longer still though. I bought them on Friday and had to let them sit on my counter in the box until Tuesday to let them ripen further. This, my friends, is the secret to making the canning process much simpler. The riper they are, the more easily the skin will peel off. It's all about patience!

The next secret to simple canning is being prepared. Prepare your station - sanitize your jars ahead of time, get your pots boiling, set out the bowls and tools out, and make sure you've got some ice cubes ready in the freezer.

A second set of hands helps too. My mother-in-law has been visiting this week and spending time with the little one while I'm at work so I took advantage and put her to work.

The whole process is very simple once you know what you're doing.

Sanitize your lids and jars by boiling them or using the 'sanitize' option on your dishwasher
Start boiling water in your canning pot (it takes mine about 20 minutes to come to a boil)
Start boiling water in another large pot that you'll be using to blanch the peaches
Make a simple syrup - mine is about 1-2 cups of sugar or honey to 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer
To blanch the peaches, mark the bottom of the peaches with an X using a knife and drop them a few at a time into boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Remove them and halt the cooking process by putting them into a bowl of cold ice water
Peel the skin from the peaches. If the peaches are perfectly ripe and were boiled properly then the skins should peel right off
Dice the peaches and put them into the jars
Fill the jars with simple syrup, leaving 1/2 to 1 inch of headspace
Wipe the rims clean and put the lids on
Process the jars in the hot water bath for 15 - 20 minutes
Once complete, leave the jars to rest for 24 hours before storing.

It sounds like a lot, but believe it or not we managed to get through all of the peaches and completed 17 cans of peaches in one hour! Don't they look pretty? More importantly, don't you think these will taste delicious when we're in the midst of the winter season?

Gooseberry/Ground Cherry Crumble

2011-08-24T08:09:00.000-04:00

Don't you love it when you find a great recipe and upon looking at the list of ingredients you realize that you actually have everything needed to make it? I was perusing my July 2011 Clean Eating magazine the other day and saw a recipe for a gooseberry crumble. Normally I wouldn't happen to have gooseberries sitting in my fridge, but yup...had some sitting there.

So last night I decided to make the crumble for dessert and instead of pairing the gooseberries with the peaches as suggested I used the rest of my ground cherries that hadn't yet been eaten. I love making crumbles/crisps when my fruits are getting a little too ripe for comfort. It's a great way to prevent fruits from being tossed into the trash. There was a time (many years ago) when I would actually be tossing out moldy strawberries and even apples. What was I thinking?? For one, I apparently wasn't eating enough fruit in my diet, and two, I wasn't planning ahead or thinking outside the box.

Another easy solution to using up fruit is to make a quick jar of jam or a fruit sauce/syrup to be used on pancakes or as an ice cream topping.

Gooseberry Crumble
(adapted from Clean Eating Magazine - July 2011)

2-3 cups gooseberries and ground cherries
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp melted butter

Line the bottom of a 8x8 inch dish with the fruit.

In a medium bowl, combine pecans, flour, oats, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add syrup, vanilla and butter and mix until a crumble is formed.

Sprinkle mixture evenly over fruit and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, until topping turns golden brown and edges start bubbling.

To serve, top with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzling of maple syrup or honey.

Yum!!

What do you do with your fruit when it's getting past its prime?

Field Trip: Clovermead Apiaries & Berry Hill Fruit Farms

2011-08-19T22:53:00.000-04:00

Wow...another week of holidays has come and gone. I really thought that I would get to this post earlier but I have been so busy these days. It just seems that the week passed by so quickly. Can you believe that there's only two more weeks before school starts up again? Crazy, isn't it?!

Anyways, at least I was busy doing the things that I love to do the most - cooking, hanging out with friends and visiting different farms and markets. On Monday, for instance, we visited Clovermead Apiaries and the Berry Hill Fruit Farms' stand just north of Aylmer.

I've mentioned Clovermead a few times on this blog but haven't really done a proper post about them specifically. We got there ALL.THE.TIME. Our favorite beach to visit is the Port Burwell Conservation Area (south-east of Aylmer) so we usually make a stop there on our way back home to buy some honey. If you have the chance to visit you must try the different flavours that they have; they have maple, blueberry, lemon, ginger, lavender, root beer, cinnamon, strawberry, etc.. My personal favorite is maple.

Make sure to bring an empty jar with you - they have jars of regular honey for purchase but they also do re-fills on their liquid honey. Unfortunately, I always forget to bring a jar with me...

They don't just sell honey though; they also have many different types of preserves, many great jams, some teas, fudge, maple syrup, etc..

On this trip, I brought a friend along and her daughter to visit the adventure farm out back. I had brought my daughter a few years ago when she was 3 but we were never able to find the time to do it again. They've been hard at work these last few years, that's foresure! Lots of new things to see and do!

The girls loved hanging out in the old 'village', feeding the goats, bunnies, and chickens, playing in the sandbox and going down the slides. They rode the wild bee, climbed hay bales and had fun with the carts and tricycles. Did you know that they also have a zip-line now? Our girls weren't interested and I was too scared to try it but there's always next time. They did play on the rope swings though.

The highlight of their farm adventure, however, was the bee ride. They were just dying to go on it. Thankfully, one of the workers came and did a few rounds at one point. There were lots of laughs and giggles while they enjoyed their trip around the playground.

Once we left with our honey and our girls in tow we thought it would be nice to visit the Berry Hill Fruit Farms' stand just around the corner on Glencolin Line. You can just tell that we're well into August now. Everything is pretty well in season right now - peaches, plums, strawberries, blueberries, watermelons, canteloupes, corn, beans, etc..

Funny, as I'm typing this I have the Staples jingle/Christmas song in my head 'It's the most wonderful time of the year....' It's so true though.

I bought some plums and my friend decided on....hmmmm...can't remember what she bought actually. Oh well, we both left happy anyways.

The girls were happy too. There were a couple of dogs there and they absolutely loved watching them eat corn right off the cob. That really made their day; it doesn't take much to make them happy sometimes.

Overall we had a pretty terrific day. The weather was beautiful, the girls had fun, we brought some fruit and some honey home... Sigh...it's going to be really hard to go back to work on Monday!

Have you tried Ground Cherries? Or Candy Cane Beets?

2011-08-17T07:30:00.000-04:00

Look at the picture below. Do you know what these are?

They're ground cherries.

I was at the market last weekend and noticed that a few vendors were selling them. I had no idea what they were so one of the farmers let me have a sample. From my perspective the taste is a cross between a red grape and a tomato. Others have said that they can taste a little bit of pineapple or strawberry but I didn't get that at all. Although they are related to the tomatillo, they are actually a fruit. What makes them so cool is that they have paper lantern husks that need to be peeled away. Many high-end restaurants love using them because they just look really nice on the plate when they're partly peeled. Since bringing them home I've just been eating them raw but they would also do well in a salad, in a dessert (tarts, pies), dried, poached, or in a jam. In fact, I came across a recipe online for a ground cherry/pear marmalade. It sounded pretty interesting..

Every year I make an effort to try something new when I visit the market; it's a great place to try new foods. It's rare for a traditional grocery store to offer something like ground cherries or different varieties of watermelon or canteloupe, or meats like bison or elk. Actually, something else I tried recently were candy cane beets.

I had heard about them before but hadn't had a chance to try them. They're called 'candy cane' beets because when you cut them in half they have white and pink stripes inside. I think they are a great alternative to traditional beets. They taste like regular beets (but sweeter) but they're so much easier to work with. For one, they don't stain your hands (or your cutting board) and they don't turn the rest of your dish pink. One thing to note, however, is that once cooked, they lose the stripes so don't expect them to look pretty afterwards. I ate mine raw in a lovely coleslaw.

Have you tried any new foods this year?

How to Preserve Corn for the Winter

2011-08-14T08:48:00.000-04:00

There aren't too many summer vegetables that I preserve for the winter months. I tend to focus on fruits instead. In Ontario, the only fruit available from December to April is the apple. Eating apples for months on end would (1) cause me to go crazy, and (2) wouldn't give me optimal health; a diet needs variety. To preserve fruits for the winter months I freeze them, can them, and make jam with them.

Vegetables, on the other hand, are plentiful year round and are versatile so they can be used in an endless amount of dishes. Plus, they don't typically freeze well,and because I don't own a pressure canner I can't can most vegetables (vegetables, with the exception of tomato and pickles can't be preserved with boiling method due to low acidity). Corn and peas are the exception for me. These guys freeze really well.

The only thing to remember when freezing vegetables is that they need to be 'blanched' beforehand. Blanching is the process of boiling vegetables for 2-3 minutes and then plunging them in a cold bath (bowl of cold water and ice) to stall the cooking process. Blanching is important because it neutralizes bacteria and enzymes in the food which would otherwise cause it to go bad. It also ensures that the food remains crisp, flavorful and colorful in the freezer.

Side note: blanching is also the best way of removing the peel from tomatoes and peaches. Put an X on the bottom of the fruit with a knife, boil for 3 minutes, move them to a cold bath and the peeling will become easy to remove.

I was able to freeze a lot of peas a few weeks ago when they were in season. The last week or so, however, has been corn. Corn has had its difficulties this year. First, there was the never-ending rain of April and May which resulted in the corn being planted reeeeaaallllyyyy late, and then July was really hot, sunny, and there was no rain in sight. If you've had a chance to drive through the country you'll see that the corn fields look terrible compared to past years. Some are tall, some are short, there are bare spots, and the corn just isn't what it should be. The kernels are small and the cobs are rather thin. Let's hope the farmers have better luck next year...

Once the corn has been blanched you can freeze them still on the cob, or you can cut the kernels off with a knife. I tend to cut them off myself. Once the kernels are removed, spread them out on a baking sheet and put the whole sheet into the freezer. When they're frozen use a spatula and place them into a Ziploc bag. That's about it...now you've got a stock of corn for the winter. Each 1/2 dozen will fill a medium-sized bag.

While I was shucking the corn I had a craving for corn bread so I put one of the stalks aside and made some for dinner. Here's the recipe:

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread

1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (I used Thornloe Salsa Cheddar)
3/4 - 1 cup corn (about 1 cob)
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 orange or red pepper, chopped finely

Instructions are as expected - mix the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Combine the two together and pour into a greased 9-inch pan.

Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes.

Do you freeze any vegetables for the winter?

Homemade Condiments Part 3 - Relish

2011-08-09T22:45:00.001-04:00

I've been slacking on the homemade condiments lately. Back in February I made mayonnaise and in March I made some ketchup. It's August now and I'm just now thinking about condiments again. This time it's all about the homemade relish.

Relish was on the top of my summer to-do list this year; specifically zucchini relish. We don't typically go through a ton of relish in my house but after making my own, I think we're going to be eating it a lot more.

Zucchini Relish (from Canadian Living website)

3 lbs zucchini cut into 1-inch chunks (about 3 large zucchinis - my husband weighed himself with the zucchini and then without to see how much we had)
3 onions, chopped (I used red onions)
2 red peppers, diced
1/4 cup pickling salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp water

In a food processor pulse zucchini a few pieces at a time until they are itty bitty pieces. I used my Vitamix and put the setting at variable 1 to 3. The onions and peppers were put through the food processor, however, because the Vitamix would have pureed them rather than simply chopping them. Combine the zucchini, onion and red pepper pieces together in a large bowl and stir in the pickling salt. Let stand for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain well; rinse and drain again, pressing out the moisture.

In a large pan, combine sugar, vinegar, mustard, ginger, turmeric and hot pepper flakes. Bring it to a boil. Add drained vegetables; reduce heat and simmer, stirring often until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Mix corn starch and water and stir into relish; simmer, stirring until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

Pack the mixture into 4 2-cup (500 ml) sanitized canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles, wipe rims and cover with lids. Boil in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

All I have to say is 'Wow!' Is this relish ever good! I can't wait to have sausage or a burger so that I can smother it with this relish. I'm never buying store-bought relish ever again!

My First Beer

2011-08-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

I have a confession to make. I am 32 years old and until this past Friday I had never had a beer...EVER.. It's not just beer though; there are many types of drinks that I just don't care to have. In fact, something else that I don't drink is pop. There is a picture of me (I may have been 5 or so) drinking a grape crush with my brother at the kitchen table so I know that I did have some at one time. I also remember having the yucky orange pop with my Happy Meal at Mcdonald's; anybody else remember that orange pop? LOL I hated the darn stuff. I wonder why my parents didn't just get me milk instead? Maybe it just wasn't an option.

Anyways, I never acquired a taste for it so I just don't drink it. I hate anything carbonated actually...or anything that has a strong taste, including coffee and juice. I tend to drink fruit smoothies and lots and lots of water. That's about it. In terms of alcoholic beverages I typically choose 'girly' drinks like pina coladas, kahlua and milk or a nice wine; and one is usually enough for me.

On Friday, however, my husband and I went on a rare evening out and decided to try out Gambrinus Bistro, which is located in downtown London right next to the Covent Garden Market. We weren't able to get out to enjoy Londonlicious in July but this particular restaurant had extended their special $25 3-course meal an additional week. Gambrinus Bistro is known for its beer selection; in fact, they have seventeen draughts which feature Ontario craft beers, seasonal one-offs, imported draughts, and over 130 different varieties of bottled beers.

With all that beer I came to the conclusion that if I was going to be eating a meal there, I should probably make an attempt at drinking beer. After some thought and perusing the menu for Ontario beer, I chose a bottle from the Mill St. Brewery in Toronto. So...I drank it....okay, I drank half of it. I didn't like it. I don't think I'll be drinking any beer in the future. Oh well...I tried it at least. I'll stick to my usual glass of water from now on.

So what else did we have? Well, we started our meal with the soup of the day which was a vegetable and spinach soup. It was tasty.

For the second course, I had the Chicken Supreme which was chicken stuffed with sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese served with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and a beer mustard sauce. My husband's dish was the Seared Tilapia which was served with a Thai curry sauce, saffron basmati rice and seasonal vegetables. We both enjoyed our entrees.

Our third course, dessert, was a bit of a let-down unfortunately. My husband chose the chocolate cake and I had the creme brulee. The cake was fine; nothing exceptional but it was good nonetheless. My creme brulee, however, did not have the traditional crisp top and was actually liquidy when it came to the table. Strangely, when I spooned some of it up it pretty much candied immediately and was actually really hard for me to chew and the custard itself was separated, lumpy and flavorless. I was sad about it...

So that was our evening out. I tried a beer (finally), we ate some food, and then we went home.

Conclusion: I don't like beer, I'd rather have water, and there IS such a thing as a bad dessert.

Zucchini Spaghetti

2011-08-05T16:36:00.000-04:00

I think zucchini is one of the most versatile vegetables there is. The options are endless with them; you can roast them, bbq them, fry them, shred them, pickle them, bake them, and they're good raw or cooked.

Here are a just a few hints/tips/recipes to get you started:

Roasted: In a bowl, stir together the zucchini, some olive oil, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and salt/pepper. Bake in oven at 450F until tender.

BBQ/Grilled: Slice the zucchini lengthwise and brush the slices with olive oil. Season with your favorite herbs/spices. Grill until zucchini is tender.

Fried: Fritters are a great way to use zucchini - here's a great zucchini fritter recipe from another blog that I follow - Folks Gotta Eat

Shredded: I love shredding my zucchini and adding them to my mashed potatoes, into a spaghetti sauce, or in an omelette. Again, so many uses for shredded zucchini and a great opportunity to increase the nutritonal content of any dish by adding it in.

Pickled: Making relish is another way to use the zucchini. Stay tuned for a future recipe on this one! I'm going to be making some myself in the next week or two..

Baked: I think this is everyone's most popular use for zucchini - making a nice loaf of zucchini bread. Last year, I made Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Recently, however, I tried my hand at using them in the place of traditional pasta. Using my spiraler I made some zucchini spaghetti noodles. I used both green and yellow zucchini.

In the meantime, in a frying pan I cooked down some diced onions, diced red peppers, and finely diced carrots. Once the vegetables had softened I added the zucchini noodles and my tomato sauce and heated until warm. To serve, I seasoned with salt and pepper and shredded some cheese on top.

This is a dish that I will make again and again. You don't miss the pasta and even my daughter was fooled...well, partially fooled...she avoided eating the green pasta noodles because she knew that it was zucchini (she hates zucchini). She did, however, eat the yellow noodles... Sigh....if only she knew...

I think that zucchini noodles would taste great with a pesto or a cream sauce too. And in case you're wondering (cause I know you are!), they don't get mushy. They hold their shape well and have the same consistency as traditional pasta.

What's your favorite zucchini dish?

Food Day Canada Celebrations for my 2-Year Anniversary

2011-08-01T08:29:00.001-04:00

Two years ago I started this blog. I'm not really sure where the idea came from initially but it was really a spontaneous decision. I had just started shopping at the farmers markets and was feeling really good about the foods I was purchasing and was interested about finding farms to visit and picking my own fruits/vegetables. One day the family and I had gone to Port Burwell for a day at the beach and on the way back we noticed that there was a home selling garlic at the end of their driveway. We stopped and bought a few heads of garlic. On the drive back home I started thinking...what if I started a blog and could write about different places/farms/markets that I visit to encourage others to do the same? What if I then blogged about recipes using local/seasonal foods that I buy from the farmers?

Well, here we are two years later....and the blog has become much, much more than I ever thought it would be. I've met so many new and interesting people and have been given so many great opportunities. To date I've accumulated 48 direct followers, 99 likes on Facebook, 560 followers on Twitter, and roughly 2300 monthly views. So many people have told me that they've started going to the markets after reading my blog, or going to the farm to pick their own strawberries or cherries; heck, I've even converted a bunch of people from margarine to butter! This has been the most satisfying thing of all - inspiring people to change their habits and to think about where their food is coming from.

To celebrate, we went out to the Food Day Canada All-Local BBQ at the Covent Garden Market on Saturday. Food Day Canada is a yearly event held at different locations throughout the country to encourage people to support agriculture and farmers in Canada. The Covent Garden Market is one of those locations.

This years menu included:

your choice of a Blanbrook Bison burger, Renecker Elk bratwurst, Fieldgate Organic chicken burger or Eco-Logic marinated portabello burger all served on International Bakery's whole wheat buns
Dolway Organic garden green bean salad
Empire Valley garlicky grape tomato salad
Joyce Farms and Corn Crib corn on the cob
Purple Hill Farm water buffalo milk ice cream with Blueberry Hill blueberries
Made-From-Scratch lavender shortbread cookie
The Tea Haus fruit explosion iced tea

There were lots of people at the event and everyone I spoke to were very impressed with the BBQ and about its price - $5.00!! Can't beat that!

The Tea Haus provided the Fruit Explosion Iced Tea. Located upstairs at the market, they have over 200 blends of loose leaf teas. I haven't been to their store yet, but will have to go and check them out soon.

For dessert, the water buffalo milk ice cream was a hit. We had sampled some at the farmers' market the previous Saturday and were excited to be able to have some again. It tastes similar to cow's ice cream except creamier. It's super yummy! Come to the market and check them out.

Here's a picture of my husband's plate. He had the elk bratwurst, along with my parents and my daughter. I was the only one who chose something different. I tried the chicken burger. Everyone was pleased with their meal.

Not surprisingly, my daughter's favorite part of the meal was the ice cream and cookie. She also liked the sausage and corn but only after we cut everything up into pieces for her. Both of her top teeth are extremely loose right now which has been making it hard for her to enjoy corn this year. Oh well...at least it's easy to cut the corn off the cob and have her eat it with a fork. I can't wait for those darn teeth to come out though!!

Overall, we had a great day at the market and a delicious lunch too. What a great way to celebrate another successful year with the blog. I celebrated my one-year anniversary the same way last year. Check out that post here

I wonder what the next year will bring? Anything that you'd like to see?

You'd think that after two years of blogging that I'd run out of things to write about??!! No such luck,....the list keeps growing and growing. It's amazing what Ontario has to offer - it's endless!! Just think, I haven't even talked about fish yet, or visited a peanut farm, or even a winery. Did you know that there's someone producing Ontario vodka? Or that there are salt mines in Ontario (Windsor Salt is actually from Windsor LOL)? As you can see,...still lots to explore!!

Stay Tuned!! And remember - Eat Fresh, Eat Local, Eat Real Food!!

Company's Over - Time for Real Meals

2011-07-29T07:56:00.000-04:00

You know what's the best thing about having company over? Being able to cook meals. Because my husband travels a lot for work it's just myself and my daughter most of the time I don't always have the chance to cook a really nice meal without ending up with a lot of leftovers.

My parents are visiting this week from Sudbury so I've had a chance to let myself loose in the kitchen these last few days.

To start, I made a couscous salad. Couscous is a great dish to make when it's really hot outside and you don't feel like cooking. It's so simple to make too - put one cup of couscous in a bowl, add one cup of hot water and then cover with saran wrap. After 5 minutes take a fork and fluff it up. Cover again for another 5 minutes and it's ready to use.

To make the salad I added chopped zucchini, tomato, red pepper, green onion and a little bit of shredded cheese. To pull it all together I dressed it up with garlic olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper.

The next day I prepared a flank stank on the barbecue (a first for me), steamed some yellow beans, made a great tomato cream sauce for some gnocchi and finished off the rest of the couscous.

For the gnocchi (Glenda's at the Covent Garden Market has some in the freezer) I boiled them and then added them to a pan with garlic olive oil to saute and then made a sauce with strained tomatoes, cream, cherry tomatoes and chives. They were yummy! My dad asked for seconds but none were left.

The flank steak was delicious as well. I had picked it up at Farmgate Markets at the Western Fair Market. I didn't have a chance to marinade it overnight (as suggested) but did season it and let it sit for a couple of hours before putting it on the bbq low and slow. It was perfectly tender and everyone raved about it.

Luckily we had lots left for the salad I put together the next night, which included sliced radishes and yellow peppers as well as some cheese. For the dressing I made a creamy garlic dressing by combining:

1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp garlic olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp mustard
2 tbsp mayonnaise

Along with the salad we had steamed corn-on-the-cob topped with a garlic butter and sprinkled with salt. I had hoped to barbeque the corn but didn't end up having the time to do it.

One of the desserts that I made this week was a Yellow Plum Souffle from Lynn Ogryzlo's "The Ontario Table". My mom had brought a basket of plums with her because she didn't want them to go to waste at home while they were away. Coincidentally I had been eyeing this recipe just a few days prior and was happy to be able to enjoy it sooner than expected.

To begin, make a yellow plum puree:

Pit and quarter 6 yellow plums (I used 8). Put them in a saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tbsp Ontario honey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until plums are soft. Puree in a blender.

This is very tasty on its own; I think that plums would make a really great jam!

To make the souffle you'll need:

2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp Ontario butter at room temperature
3 Ontario eggs, separated
3 tbsp Ontario flour
1/2 cup yellow plum puree
1 cup while milk
dash salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until creamy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Gradually stir in flour, alternating with the yellow plum puree and milk; stir until well blended. In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt and cream of tartar and continue beating until the soft peaks form.

Fold egg whites gently into the plum mixture, just until incorporated. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart souffle dish. Set the dish into a larger pan with about 1-inch of hot water. Bake until top is set, about 35 - 45 minutes. Serve it hot with the remaining puree.

I'm not sure if the result was what it was supposed to be but the top was set while the bottom was still runny. Anyone know if this is how it's supposed to be? Or should it have been set all the way through? It was delicious, nonetheless.

Other than these dishes, I also made a garlic and zucchini pasta dish, pork burgers, a fresh loaf of raisin bread (recipe to follow on another post), and made an attempt at some honeyed plum swiss chard. Swiss chard is something that I'm really having a hard time enjoying. It's not something that I grew up eating. I enjoy it in an omelet or incorporated into something but not as the star of the show. Anybody have any tried and true recipes that will help me learn to like swiss chard?

Do you have any dishes that you like to make when company's coming over?

Visit to Springridge Farm and Baking Cookies at Chudleighs

2011-07-24T23:33:00.001-04:00

On Friday my daughter and I went to Milton for the day. We attended a mom and child cookie event at Chudleighs with Stacey Fokas. I had heard about the event on Twitter and was so happy to see that the event was happening on my week off from work so we signed up. Road Trip!!

Since we were going to Milton for the event I figured it would make sense to make a day out of it and visit Springridge Farm too. Located 10 minutes away from Chudleighs on Bell School Ln, it's nestled right in the escarpment between Appleby Line and Tremaine Rd; one of the most beautiful places to drive through in the GTA. I still remember the first time I accidentally took Appleby Line from Campbellville Rd. to Derry Rd. and ended up driving through the windey road on top of the escarpment, near Rattlesnake Point. If ever you're in the area take a drive through and then make a stop at Springridge at the bottom of the hill. It's worth it.

When we arrived we were just in time for lunch. Luckily they had a great selection of sandwiches and snacks to choose from. I ordered the Heirloom Tomato BLT with pesto mayonnaise (which was delicious) and my daughter had their Sandbox Special. The Sandbox Special is a choice of either a grilled cheese or jam sandwich with carrots, a cookie, and a drink inside a sandpail. What a cute idea for the kids!

While we were there I had a chance to meet Jesse Lauzon (food manager at the farm and president of the board of directors for Ontario Farm Fresh). We had a nice discussion about the farm and about food in general. It was great to meet someone so enthusiastic about food, farming and about the industry in general.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to get the full experience of the farm while we were there, but we did leave with a blueberry pie. We'll go back again for another visit in the fall during their Harvest Festival. The store has many goodies inside that I really need to go back for and my daughter would have a great time playing in the Farm Fun Yard.

After our lunch we made our way out to Chudleigh's. We were scheduled for our baking class with Freshalicious cookbook author, Stacey Fokas. We were going to be making Maple Apple Shortbread Stars. Thirty of us were there to hang out with Stacey, roll out cookie dough, cut out star and apple shapes, and then topping the cookies with caramelized apples.

Stacey Fokas is the author of Freshalicious (http://www.freshalicious.ca/), which features delicious dairy-free recipes and chronicles Stacey's fabulous food journeys in Ontario and her tips on buying local and eating within the seasons using the freshest ingredients. I have her book in my kitchen and have made a few recipes from it already; I especially love the perogie pizza.

Here is the recipe for the shortbread cookies that we made:

Salty Cardamom Shortbread Dough

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cardamom
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup + 4 tbsp non-hydrogenated lard

Combine flours, salt, and spices. In another bowl, cream the lard with the icing sugar and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until completely combined. Wrap the ball of dough in saran wrap and press the dough to make a disc.

Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for a couple of weeks. If using it immediately, place it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to one hour first.

Each batch can make up to 24 cookies, one tart, or one pie shell.

Once the cookies came out of the oven we topped them with finely diced apples that had been caramelized with maple syrup, cinnamon and brown cane sugar.

My daughter had a great time making the cookies and had even more fun afterwards playing in the playground, riding the horse swings, running in the maze and checking out the farm animals. Doesn't she look tiny on this slide? The slides are huge!

Chudleigh's holds a special place in my heart - when we were living in the Burlington area a few years ago we visited the farm for the first time when my daughter was just 9 months old. We picked apples, took tons of pictures and bought her a little pumpkin of her own. I had never been apple-picking before, or rather, anything-picking before. I don't even believe I'd ever visited a farm to that point or really considered where my food came from. That all changed after my first apple-picking experience. We went back again the next year and thus began my journey. Here's a picture of us on that first visit....

A trip to Hensall for Garlic, Meat and Honey

2011-07-22T23:14:00.000-04:00

Sigh....it's going to be really hard to go back to work on Monday. We have spent pretty well every day either at the beach, in a pool, or in the sprinkler. It has been so HOT!! So hot that it has taken me two days to write this post. Last night I was trying to write this but the heat from the laptop was too much to handle on my legs. It's a little cooler tonight though so I'm hoping that I can finally post this one.

Unfortunately with this heat I have not been able to do ANY cooking. This isn't how I had planned on spending my holidays but I guess this is the hand that I was dealt this time around. I have, however, been able to visit some farms on my travels. On Tuesday, for instance, I drove up to Bayfield to visit friends who had rented a cottage for the week. On my way there I made a few stops in Hensall.

My first stop was at The Garlic Box. Located on Hwy 4 just past King St. This was my first-ever visit but I had been meaning to go there for a long, long time. I absolutely love garlic! Did you know that they process more than 40,000 pounds of fresh Ontario garlic per year?

The store had so many products to choose from. I ended up coming home with Garlic Bread Seasoning, Garlic Grilling Sauce, Garlic & Mango Dressing, Garlic Dip Seasoning Mix, Roasted Garlic Oil with Scapes, Dehydrated Garlic Scapes (seasoning), and a Garlic/Olive Tapenade. I can't wait to use them. I'm going to use the roasted garlic oil in some pasta, and will use the Garlic and Mango Dressing in the August Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe (grilled chicken salad with peaches and pears).

Are you a garlic lover but can't make it out to Hensall? Did you know that you can order their products online (http://www.thegarlicbox.com/)? They also have their products available at the Remark Fresh Market, Jill's Table and Kingsmills in London. For other locations check out the website and click on Store Locator.

My next stop was to Metzger's Meats. Initially, when I planned my trip I had hoped to purchase some meat to take home with me at the end of the day. However, due to the heat and the fact that I forgot my freezer bag at home I didn't come home with anything. I did buy some pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon though. I thought it would be nice to bring something along with me to the cottage to contribute to my friends' dinner. I'm glad I did. Everyone loved the pork!

Metzger's is very well known in Hensall and throughout Southwestern Ontario. Located on Brock Rd. (off of King St., they process and supply their customers with locally grown pork, beef, lamb, chicken and turkey products. For more information about them go to their website at http://www.metzgermeats.com/ or check out this video I found about them: http://vimeo.com/20456702

I'm sure I'll be back again another day; with a cooler this time! Or maybe in the winter when I can just throw everything into the trunk of my car.

My third stop was to Ferguson's Apiaries. This was another place that I had been wanting to go to for a while now too. I had seen their products at The Covent Garden Market at Doris Family Produce and was curious about what other products they had. In the past, I had gotten a honey barbeque sauce, but after looking at their website (http://www.fergusonapiaries.on.ca/) I really wanted to give their honey-mustard a try.

I wasn't disappointed; they had some in stock. I bought the honey-mustard and also a honey-lime dressing. I was told that it would be great on some coleslaw. As soon as cabbage is in season I'll have to try that. I'm also thinking that it may work with an apple and pecan salad in the fall. Hmmm...the heat seems to be getting to me...why am I already looking forward to fall - cabbage, apples??
According to my daughter though, the honey mint chocolate patties were the highlight of our trip. I bought two of them (one for her and one for me) but she ended up eating them - minus the tiny piece that she left for me. Has anybody seen these in the London area? I think we should have bought more than two...

Overall we had a great trip. We had a nice break in Hensall and had an even better time in Bayfield. It was a great way to spend a day that was just way too hot to handle. Unfortunately I wasn't able to visit any other farms/producers in Grand Bend, Bayfield or Goderich but I am hoping to make my way out there again soon!

My Homemade Beauty Products

2011-07-21T00:34:00.000-04:00

Have you ever read the ingredient list on your beauty products? Again, like food, there are many ingredients that I am not familiar with or that I really shouldn't be ingesting or putting onto my skin. Think about it, even though the product isn't ingested, per se, it's still getting into your body.

I read somewhere that if you rub a clove of garlic on your feet then within 15 minutes you should be able to taste garlic in your mouth. I haven't tried this myself, but a quick Google on the topic shows that people who have tried it say that this actually does work. So what does that mean? It means that products on your skin are actually being absorbed into your body. Not good!

I've been on an ongoing mission lately to remove many products from my home (not just processed foods) and making homemade versions of them using stuff from my kitchen. Shocking, isn't it? (I'm being sarcastic obviously)

The first things to go were the bottles of body wash, face cleansers, and moisturizers.

The body wash was replaced by actual bars of soap; I've been buying my soap at the Natural Foods place in the Covent Garden Market at $1.25/each (sorry, can't recall the name of the store...)

My facial cleanser is now a simple mixture of baking soda and honey. On those days, however, when my skin needs extra cleaning my new exfoliating scrub is a combination of sugar, honey, and olive oil. What a difference that has made to my skin! It feels smoother and my pores actually appear smaller. The best part is that it has really reduced some of the redness on my nose and cheeks - bonus!

According to http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/ "honey's ability to absorb and retain moisture make it an ideal ingredient in a lot of cosmetics as it helps keep skin hydrated and fresh and prevents drying. Also, honey's natural antioxidant and anti-microbial properties help to protect the skin from the damage of the sun's rays, supports the skin's ability to rejuvenate and to refresh depleted skin, leaving it feeling silky soft and supple".

Last, but not least, my moisturizer. Yeah..that's gone too. In its place is a bottle of almond oil. Again, I picked this up at the health food store in the Covent Garden Market. There are several different types of oils available but this was the one I had chosen at the time. At $5.95 a bottle it has lasted me months. I use it on my face (doesn't clog pores) and on my body too.

These aren't the only products I've removed from my bathroom and laundry room but I'll save those for a future post (hint: homemade mouthwash...oh yeah!).

On the topic of chemicals in our beauty products and such, I thought I'd make you aware of a talk going on next week. My chiropractor, Dr. Paul Catania, is hosting a talk in his office about living in a chemical free home. He will have a few different speakers discussing simple and healthy changes that everyone can make in their homes.

If you are interested in attending please RSVP to the number listed in the poster below.

Have you made any changes in your home recently? Do you have any homemade recipes for facial cleansers or moisturizers?

Foodland Ontario Calendar - July (Spicy Garlic Bok Choy Stir-Fry)

2011-07-18T14:48:00.000-04:00

We're getting to the end of July already. Can you believe it? I really wish time would slow down a little. I wish summer was a little longer so that we could take more advantage of all of the foods available to us. Oh well, that's what makes it that little bit more special, right?

This month's Foodland Ontario's recipe (a stir-fry) made use of many seasonal summer vegetables - greens, peas, carrots, garlic, etc.. It's also a great dish to make when it's hot and humid outside; only one pan to wash and the cooking time is minimal.

Spicy Garlic Bok Choy Stir-Fry

2 tbsp Ontario canola oil
12 oz Ontario boneless beef grilling steak, cut into thin strips
12 oz Ontario baby bok choy, sliced in half
2 cloves Ontario garlic, minced
4 oz Ontario sugar snap peas or snow peas
1 Ontario carrot, shredded

Sauce

1/3 cup chicken-broth
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Ontario soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp Asian chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

In a bowl, whisk together broth, oyster and soy sauces, cornstarch, chili garlic sauce and sesame oil; set aside.

In a wok or large deep skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil over high heat. Stir-fry beef in 2 batches for 2 minutes or until browned but still pink inside; transfer to a bowl. In wok, stir in remaining oil; add bok choy and garlic for 2 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and 1/3 cup water; cover with lid and stir occasionally for 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender-crisp.

Pour sauce into wok, stir-fry for 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Stir in beef and juice and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add carrot and serve.

I made a few changes to the recipe based on what I had in the house. Rather than using beef I decided to use elk that I had purchased at the Covent Garden Market in the morning. Also, instead of shredding one large carrot, I cut my small carrots into slices. I added some red pepper to the mix as well for a little color.

The biggest change, however, was my use of teriyaki sauce rather than using the ingredients listed. For one, I didn't have most of the ingredients on hand, and two, I had just purchased a bottle of Ontario teriyaki sauce in Niagara the previous weekend. The sauce, from Pristine Gourmet (http://www.pristinegourmet.com/) is made from Ontario soybeans and doesn't have any artificial flavours or colours; just water, soybeans, sugar, wheat flour, salt, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, garlic, and onion.

I paired the stir-fry with some potato salad I had left from the night before.

August's Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe is a Grilled Chicken Salad with peach and pear slices. Doesn't that sound delicious?! Can't wait for the peaches to come into season...

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

To view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips

February - parsnip, apple and brie soup

March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap

April - potato toppers

May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles

June - strawberry cheesecake shake

Caramel Popcorn

2011-07-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

I'm on holidays from work for the next week. I have been looking forward to some holidays for a while; it's my chance to fully focus on the blog, cooking, and enjoying the foods of summer. I have quite a few plans for this week, in fact. We're hoping to go blueberry picking, checking out a local apiary, going to visit friends in Bayfield and in Sarnia, and also making a trip out to Milton to visit a couple of farms and visiting another friend in Burlington.

To start the week, however, last night I took my daughter to see Rio at the Fanshawe Conservation Area. She had never been to an outdoor movie showing and we didn't have to chance to see Rio when it was out in the theatres. For me, it was an excuse to make a great snack for us to enjoy. There was going to be some pizza, candy and drinks for sale at the event but I chose, instead, to make some caramel popcorn.

Caramel Popcorn (from the Canadian Living website):

8 cups popped Ontario popcorn
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Ontario butter
3 tbsp corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt over high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, stirring for two minutes. Stir is baking soda and vanilla and remove from heat. In a large mixing bowl, immediately toss caramel with popcorn to coat. Transfer to large baking sheet and bake at 325F for 10-12 minutes. Let cool slightly and transfer to container. Once completely cooled, cover the container and shake it to break up the pieces.

The popcorn was a great snack for the evening. I would have loved to add some nuts to the mix but opted out due to the risk of affecting any children with possible allergies at the park.

What are your favorite movie/evening snacks?

Has anyone tried making popcorn with a maple syrup coating? I regularly make roasted nuts with it, why not do the same with popcorn?

Weekend Trip to the Niagara Region

2011-07-11T22:41:00.000-04:00

The family and I visited the Niagara region over the weekend. We thought it would be nice to go on a mini-vacation and decided on visiting Niagara Falls. We hadn't been in a few years and my daughter had never been. We arrived Friday, had fun viewing The Falls, played mini golf, had a ride on the ferris wheel, did the haunted house/fun house, etc..

That was what our Friday evening and early Saturday was like. Our Saturday afternoon, on the other hand, it was all about visiting the different farms and markets on our way back home.

Our first stop was to the Whitty Farm Market in St. Catharines. Here, I purchased some zucchini, some black raspberries and saskatoon berries. I also spotted some great flatbreads and almost got one for dinner. The problem - someone else picked up the one that I was eyeing. Oh well!

Our second stop was just a couple of kilometres away at Inn The Pines (just east of Port Dalhousie). This was such a cute little farm market. We picked up some cucumbers, peppers, gooseberries, and beans (yellow and green). While we were there we also visited their calfs and free-range chickens. My daughter loved watching them run around on their short little legs.

Next up was Nokara Farms (just down the street from Inn The Pines). Here, I got a pie and some red raspberries.

Lucky for us some children at the farm were selling lemonade. We were very thirsty so they didn't have to ask us twice. We each had a glass. Very refreshing!

Our last stop was in Vineland at the Grand Oak Culinary Market. Would you believe that they had just had their grand opening just the day before? Yup! We were there on their 2nd day of business! We found quite a few treasures here. We found quail eggs, duck eggs, tea from Guelph, and some Ontario soy sauce. But what did we come home with? Well, we got 'real' grape juice, Ontario teriyaki sauce, and more raspberries. Yes, more raspberries...got the yellow ones this time.

We had a great trip home. I love visiting markets when we're out and about in different parts of the province. You never know what you'll find. On this trip I came home with 5 different types of berries; most of which I haven't seen around London yet this year.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to tour around Niagara-on-the-Lake but it's definitely on my list of places to visit very soon! Another place I'm hoping to visit this summer is Manitoulin Island. My husband has an aunt that lives in Little Current so we're hoping to pay them a visit very soon for some sailing and to see what they've got growing at their end. Has anyone got any suggestions for farms or markets in that area?

What is Cultured Celery Extract?

2011-07-07T23:24:00.000-04:00

Hmmm...it looks like a lot of people are looking for information about cultured celery extract lately. Actually, I'm getting a ton of hits on my site as a result of people's curiosity. I think I can give a pretty good guess as to why too....there seems to be a trend among food manufacturers/processors to remove nitrates/nitrites from processed meats and going 'natural'. But what does this have to do with celery extract you ask? Read on...

'Natural' weiners for instance, have the following ingredients: pork, water, sea salt, vinegar, cane sugar, cultured celery extract, spice, dehydrated garlic, and smoke. Doesn't sound half bad, eh? Hmmm...there has to be a catch; there always is...when processed foods are labelled with 'natural' I'm always suspicious. Did you know that there aren't any guidelines for using the word 'natural'? Putting the word 'natural' and a picture of a barn or cows on the front doesn't make the food any healthier. It's called healthwashing - promoting something as healthy when it really isn't.

But, one may say, the ingredients aren't that bad, are they? No, not really. They could be a lot worse actually. I've seen many, many other products with way worse ingredients. A loaf of processed bread, for instance, has a list twice as long AND with words that most people can't even pronounce. Looking at the ingredients, the one item that most people seem to be wondering about is the cultured celery extract. Why is there celery in weiners, bacon and deli meats? Plain and simple - it's a natural source of nitrates.

Traditionally, sodium nitrite has been used as a preservative in processed meats and fish to prevent the formation of bacteria that may cause botulism. Unfortunately, it has been shown to have carcinogenic side effects. Recently, fooducate.com listed 7 things to know about nitrites in your luncheon meats http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/03/16/7-thing-to-know-about-nitrites-in-your-luncheon-meats/ Here are a few highlights from the article:

Sodium nitrite is a food preservative used primarily in prepared meat and fish such as ham, bacon, hot dogs, corned beef (spam), luncheon meats, and smoked fish
Sodium Nitrite helps preserve the pink/red color of the meat which should have been grayish having been precooked.
It wards off closridium botulinum, the bacteria responsible for botulism, a dangerous disease causing respiratory and muscular paralysis.
When cooked or broken down in the stomach, nitrites form nitrosamines, which can cause cancer in young children and pregnant women.
Spinach, beets, lettuce, celery, parsley, and cabbages are among vegetables with high concentrations of nitrates. The amount is determined by the plant's genetic age, and the amount of nitrate in the soil. Don't stop eating these veggies, many of them also contain vitamin C, naturally limiting the formation of the toxic nitrosamines.

The last point is interesting... After doing some additional research, I have learned that sodium nitrate is a naturally occurring mineral and is actually present in most vegetables. Basically, anything that grows from the ground draws sodium nitrate out of the soil. Even still, the nitrate present are not a cause of concern because due to the vitamin C and antioxidants present the negative effects are eliminated.

As a rule I don't buy meats from the grocery store but I have bought elk weiners from a vendor at the Covent Garden Market. I did speak to him about the trend towards using celery extract and he told me that he also used this ingredient in his weiners. To be honest, he said, it's impossible to make true 'nitrate-free' weiners, bacon, or deli meats. They would be completely unpalatable and everything would have a grey color tinge to them.

The question remains, however, if the 'natural' celery nitrate is a good replacement for the traditional sodium nitrate?? What do you think? What are your thoughts? Are you more likely to purchase these products?
I'm on the fence on this one.... I'm not sure if I support the use of celery extract or not. It's a step in the right direction I'm sure, but there isn't a lot of information out there to support any benefits of using celery versus traditional sources. I've concluded that everyone else is on the fence as well because there doesn't seem to be any difference really. Is it just a case of food processors 'healthwashing' their products once again?

The Great Canadian Bacon Festival - Arva Flour Mill

2011-07-01T22:37:00.000-04:00

Today was a picture-perfect Canada Day. It was sunny and warm outside and we were able to celebrate Canada's birthday enjoying pork and bacon at the Great Canadian Bacon Festival. I was in great company too. I met up with my friend Kelly from http://www.eatlocallondon.com/ who originally let me know about the event.

The festival, put on by Sarah Reynolds was held at the Arva Flour Mill. Even though this was a new event, the turnout was huge. Just look at the picture below. This was the line-up for pulled pork sandwiches. Along with the sandwiches they were giving customers cupcakes with bacon sprinkles. I didn't get a chance to try one but my daughter said that it was very yummy.

The Whole Pig from Dashwood, Ontario (near Grand Bend - http://www.thewholepig.ca/) was also on site with samples and had some of their pork for sale. The big draw to their table, however, was their Spiced Twisted Bacon. I had one and it was delicious! Luckily they were giving away the recipe so I'll be making some of these next time we have guests over for breakfast.

Here is the recipe:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
dash cayenne pepper
10 center-cut bacon strips

Combine the first 5 ingredients; rub over bacon on both sides. Twist bacon; place on a rack in a baking dish. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until firm.

Other items I found were bacon salt, bacon-flavored toothpicks and bacon cheese buns. Although the toothpicks were pretty cool I bought some of the buns instead. They will be great for the picnic lunch I'll be packing for our trip to the beach tomorrow.

Apparently, there was also supposed to be bacon coffee, pork dumplings, a whole roast pig, peameal on a bun, bacon chocolate and vegetarian options but I did not see these. I think that because this was the first time for this event a few things likely didn't make it. Next year I suppose...

I was happy that the event occurred at the Arva Flour Mill. It's been a long time coming I think. I absolutely love the mill and was so excited to see so many people visiting it today. I overheard many people talking about how they'd never been to the mill and that they had no idea it was there or what they were about. I'm sure many people will be making a return trip to buy their flours and grains going forward.

The proceeds from the event's entry fee are going towards a restoration project at the mill. I've blogged about the mill before (see: Arva Flour Mill) and couldn't imagine what else they could do to improve on it. I assume it'll be to replace some of the behind-the-scenes machinery that they use to mill the flour and to the building itself.

Other news from the mill that I found out today is that beginning in September they'll now be open on Sundays from 11-4. How exciting! Also, in case you weren't aware, they also carry many gluten-free pastas and flours/grains.

For more information about the Arva Flour Mill and its products check out their website at http://www.arvaflourmill.com/ or better yet, just pay them a visit. You won't regret it; although you'll have to wait until next year for some bacon.

How much do we love Strawberries?

2011-06-27T23:18:00.001-04:00

We go through a lot of strawberries in our family. So far this season I think that we've gone through about 45 quarts of strawberries already...and it's still only June.

What have I done with them all? Well, I've made 6 jars of jam (3 of them are for my daughters' teachers), I've frozen 5 large bags of them for winter use, I've made smoothies for breakfast every day, I've made a pie, bread pudding, used some in oatmeal, with my yogurt and granola, had lots of spinach and strawberry salads, raw on their own or with sugar on top as a treat and, finally, in my new favorite drink - strawberry-rhubarb lemonade.

Making strawberry-rhubarb lemonade is a free-form type of recipe. It's really hard to pin down the measurements and such because I typically throw everything into a pot and adjust the flavour as I go. I begin by putting a two-to-one mix of strawberries to rhubarb. To that I add some sugar and add enough water to cover the fruit. Simmer until the fruit has softened and then put the mixture through a sieve to separate the chunks from the syrup. Let the syrup cool. Add the juice of 3-4 lemons and fill up the container with water. Taste and adjust the sugar if needed. The leftover chunks are great as a topping for ice cream or on toast. Don't let them go to waste.

On the weekend we fed our strawberry addiction by going to Heeman's to pick our own berries. Typically, I'll pick up my flats at the main greenhouse but I like going out at least once a season to pick some ourselves. Heeman's is definitely my farm of choice. I've been getting my berries there for a couple of years now and have recently had the opportunity to meet many members of their family.

Will, one of the Heeman's, is the man behind the tweets on Twitter (@Heemans). He is very involved with the family business and has done a great job promoting the farm this year. I think he's been in every local paper, on the radio, and even on TV. Gotta spread the word on the Ontario strawberry!

His most recent news? Raspberries are now available! And cherries are not too far behind; they'll be available by this weekend. Although they aren't grown at the farm, Heeman's sells many different local fruits and berries (as well as potatoes and corn) throughout the season. I love this because I know that I can make a stop over there any time I need to stock up on my fruits without having to wait for my market run on Saturdays. Besides, they have the best prices in town in my opinion.

I think that one of their best kept secrets is that they have strawberries available until mid-October!! Most people are under the assumption that Ontario strawberries are only around for a limited time in June. Not so! It depends on the variety. Yes, there are some varieties that only grow in June, but there are others that grow into late Summer/early Fall too. They have them! Although the pick-your-own is only open for a limited time, ready-picked strawberries can be bought at the greenhouse until the end of the season.

There was a lot of excitement out on the fields while I was there. Everyone around me was talking about how great the berries tasted and how big they were this year. It's so much fun to watch people eat their first Ontario strawberry of the season. Their eyes just light up when they realize how much better these berries are to the imported ones they've been eating all winter. It's the moment they realize what strawberries are supposed to taste like. Yay for Ontario strawberries!!

My daughter feels the same way...

To check on berry availability or for some great strawberry recipes check out their website at http://www.heeman.ca/ . They've added a couple of my recipes on their site. Can you guess which ones they are?

Who's up for some Culinary Camping?

2011-06-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

There's a new festival concept coming to southwestern Ontario. It's a culinary camping weekend at the Springwater Conservation Area in Alymer July 22rd, 23rd and 24th 2011.

The event will have chefs, musicians, a glamped out campsite, a fishing derby and an onsite farmers’ market. Specifically, the programming will include:

* Cooking demos featuring both celebrity chefs and award winning musicians
* Farmers' Market on site so all the ingredients can be purchased fresh and local during the weekend
* Gourmet competitions
* Campsite cooking trends
* Glamped out site includes pedicures, manicures and product demos
* Charity breakfast for the food bank
* Activities such as hiking, kayaking/canoeing, food tasting, etc..

The music line up will include Juno award winners Barney Bentall, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson from Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Emm Gryner, Lynn Miles and Joe Fournier plus more. Celebrity/Musician and in house CTV Chef Michael P Clive will be on site to emcee and to coach the performers with their culinary skills and then join them on stage to offer his bass playing abilities.

Tickets for the event are available on line at www.ticketscene.ca

For more information contact Michelle Fournier at 519 782-7260 or via email at info@culinarycampingevent.com

Website: http://www.culinarycampingevent.com/

This sounds like such a great event. I'm hoping to attend on the Saturday! What foodie/locavore wouldn't be interested?

Have you been to the new Market on Southdale yet?

2011-06-21T21:31:00.000-04:00

Have you heard? London has yet another farmers' market and it's in the South end of the city.

Located in the parking lot at Southdale and Adelaide, the market recently opened on Sunday, June 12th and will be open every Sunday until Thanksgiving. The market is an initiative between London's Child and Youth Network, residents of the Westminster neighborhood, and the London's Farmers Network.

The project aims to encourage healthy eating and physical activity in children and families within this neighborhood which has been considered to be a food desert, due to a lack of grocery stores. With the new market in place fresh foods are now within reach.

I had a chance to visit the market this past weekend and was happy to see so many vendors there. There were strawberries, asparagus, potatoes, apples, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and the first of this season's zucchini. In addition to produce, there were also brownies, buttertarts, coffee, breads/bagels, cookies, and popcorn.

I really think it's great that this new market has opened up. It'll be good for people living in this area of the city and having a farmer's market open on Sundays will definitely have its perks as well.

Have you been out to the new market yet? Did you know about it?

A Sunday Visit to the Stratford Slow Food Market

2011-06-15T22:10:00.000-04:00

Due to a work event on Saturday I missed my regular farmer's market run. That's okay though because it was a great excuse to head out to Stratford on Sunday for their Slow Food Market.

I love visiting Stratford. There's such a great vibe there and there are just so many people who are motivated about local food and about everything that their region has to offer. The Slow Food Market is a prime example of that. Located in Market Square and run by the Slow Food Perth County Convivium, the market is open from 10am to 2pm. Their focus is on good, clean and fair food!

When we were there we spoke to Pam from Kawthoolei Farm. She had several sprouts available and was even able to convince my daughter to try one; and she liked it!

Another vendor that we were excited to see was Simple Fish and Chips. We had been meaning to visit their restaurant for a while now but since they're closed on Sundays we were able to visit them at the market instead. They sell (and serve) sustainable fish with one concept in mind - good for you. and good for the environment. We bought a container of their ready-made clam chowder and later that day we had it for dinner along with some gruyere croissants from Lindsay's Bakery (another vendor at the market).

What else did we get? Hmmm..well, we got some asparagus from Megens, a jar of vanilla maple rhubarb compote from Koert Organics, bacon from Erbcroft Farm, and some goat's milk gouda from Monforte Dairy.

While we were there I also had a chance to speak with Steve Stacey, who is the Local-Come-Lately blogger (http://www.local-come-lately.blogspot.com/) . Like me, he was provided with a copy of Lynn Ogryzlo's new book "The Ontario Table" to promote. In fact, he let me know that Lynn will be doing a book signing at the Slow Food Market on Sunday, June 26th. Here's a picture of Steve with his copy of the book!

After we were done our shopping at the market we thought it would be a good idea to have some lunch prior to making our way back to London. As per Steve Stacey's recommendation, we decided to try the new Brunch menu at The County Food Co. This was our first time visiting this particular restaurant and upon entering I knew that this was the place for us. It was obvious that their focus was on local and seasonal foods.

Check out the menu!

I got the fresh asparagus omelette filled with ricotta cheese and chives with bacon and yukon gold home fries on the side. Isn't it pretty?

My husband, on the other hand, had the County Foods Special - homemade potato pancakes topped with smoked salmon, 2 fried eggs and fresh tomato salsa. I really love the addition of the chives - it makes all the difference.

We had a great day visiting Stratford. We bought some great food at the market, chatted with some farmers, had a wonderful meal and just enjoyed our Sunday.

Do you ever visit any neighboring towns to check out their farmer's markets? I'm hoping to visit a few more this year - I'm thinking St. Thomas, Exeter, Aylmer, etc..

Don't forget - If you buy $10 of local food this month take a picture and post it to my Facebook page to get a chance to win Lynn Ogryzlo's new book!

Foodland Ontario Calendar - June (Strawberry Cheesecake Shake)

2011-06-10T22:54:00.002-04:00

It's time for another Foodland Ontario 2011 Calendar recipe! For the month of June the featured recipe is the Strawberry Cheesecake Shake.

I have been looking very forward to this recipe since January when I started blogging about the calendar. And then I finally got a hold of some of the first strawberries a week or so ago. Yum, yum, yum!! Unfortunatelly, they got eaten up before I had a chance to make the milkshake. Oops!

I've since gotten my second batch of strawberries (from Heeman's of course!!) and made sure I'd have some available tonight to make this delectable treat. It wasn't just about the strawberries though. I went the extra mile with this one and got some fresh locally-made ice cream, cream cheese, and even grinded up my own graham cracker crumbs!

For the ice cream I made my way to the Covent Garden Market to The Ice Creamery. The Ice Creamery, with locations in London and Sarnia, makes their ice cream from scratch with natural ingredients and without preservatives. And they make ice cream cakes too! On this trip, I bought some of their vanilla bean ice cream.

For the cream cheese, I made my way to Smith Cheese (also at the Covent Garden Market). Smith cheese carries several varieties of cheeses, both local and imported. They have feta, cheddar, asiago, gruyere, buffalo mozzarella, bocconcini cheese, etc.. No matter what type of cheese you're looking for...Smith Cheese will definitely have it. One of my favorites is the salsa cheddar from Thornloe Cheese. Yum!

The graham cracker crumbs were processed from my very own homemade graham crackers . I had made a batch a couple of weeks ago and saved the leftover dough for this very purpose. I took the dough out of the fridge, rolled it out and cut them into pieces to bake at 350F until browned. Once cooled, I put them into the food processor to make the crumbs. The remaining crumbs can be kept in the freezer to be used another day.

So now that you know where I sourced out my ingredients, here is the recipe (finally!).

3 cups halved Ontario strawberries (mine were from Heeman's)
2 cups vanilla ice cream (locally-made from the Ice Creamery)
3/4 cup Ontario milk (Organic Meadow from Guelph)
1/2 cup light cream cheese (locally-made from Smith Cheese)
3 tbsp graham cracker crumbs (made by me!)
1 tsp lemon juice (totally not local...but post coming soon about a local alternative)
4 Ontario strawberries to garnish

In a blender, combine the strawberries, ice cream, milk, cream cheese, graham cracker crumbs and lemon juice. Process until smooth and creamy. Serve each shake garnished with a strawberry.

This recipe serves 4 but I ended up dividing up the recipe since it was only my daughter and I here this evening.

Next month's recipe for July? Spicy Garlic Bok Choy Stir-Fry

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

January - veggie chips
February - Parsnip, Apple and Brie Soup
March - Breakfast Ham 'n' Cheese Egg Wrap
April - Potato Toppers
May - Grilled Proscuitto and Asparagus Bundles

Please don't forget to buy your $10 of local foods this week! I've got some entries for my contest to win Lynn Ogryzlo's book The Ontario Table. 'Like' me on Facebook, post a pic of your local food and you may get a chance to win!

The Ontario Table - Rhubarb Applesauce Tart

2011-06-05T22:06:00.000-04:00

Since receiving my copy of Lynn Ogryzlo's new book 'The Ontario Table - featuring the best food from around the province', I managed to make one of the recipes this weekend.

I decided to try the Rhubarb Applesauce Tart. It sounded yummy and rhubarb is in season right now so it just made sense.

Now, some people would wonder...what about the apples? It's not Fall so apples aren't in season, right? Incorrect. In Ontario, apples are pretty well in season all year round. Apples may be harvested in the Fall but they are kept in cold storage and sold at the markets and some grocery stores from September into August. Many farmers have likely run out by the summer but they're still around.

Here's the recipe for the tart:

5 fresh Ontario rhubarb stalks, 9-inches long
1/4 cup sugar
3 Ontario Royal Gala Apples (I used Ida Red)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp Ontario butter, melted
2 cups homemade applesauce (don't forget to use Ontario apples)
1 cooked and cooled tart shell
pinch of cinnamon

Heat the oven to 400F. Toss rhubarb in sugar and roast for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel, core and very thinly slice the apples. Toss the apples with the brown sugar and the melted butter. Spread the applesauce in the base of the the cooled, baked tart shell. Add rhubarb pieces into the applesauce and arrange the sliced apples over top. Brush the apple with any remaining butter and sugar remaining in the bottom of the bowl and lightly dust with cinnamon.

Bake until the apple slices are very soft and golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or completely cool for a firmer tart.

Did you buy any local food this weekend? If you spent $10, don't forget to take a picture of your purchase and post it to my Facebook page - Southwestern Ontario Foodie. You'll have a chance to win a copy of the cookbook!

The Ontario Table & My First Giveaway!

2011-06-02T22:53:00.002-04:00

Guess what I pulled out of my mailbox yesterday?

I received my special pre-launch (hot off the presses) copy of the book 'The Ontario Table - the best is close to home' by Lynn Ogryzlo. The book doesn't launch until June 22nd at the Nathan Philips Square Farmers' Market in Toronto from 12 noon to 2 pm, but as a blogger I was the lucky recipient of one of the first copies to be made available.

Lynn had contacted me a few days ago and asked if I would promote her new book and blog about it for the month of June. How could I refuse? Actually, I'm already in love with this book!

The book contains more than 100 recipes that use only ingredients that can be found in Ontario; recipes like Asparagus Grilled Cheese, Cranberry Beef Stew, Garlic and Thyme Braised Cauliflower, Vodka Chicken, Rainbow Trout Taco, and more. It's not just a cookbook though. It's more than that. In the book Lynn takes us on an culinary journey with visits to different areas of the province and introduces us to the farmers and producers in those areas. She visits Northumberland County, Chatham Kent, the Ottawa Region, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Halton, Middlesex, Perth, Waterloo, Essex, etc.. In total, there are over 100 farmers, producers, and organizations profiled in the book.

In an exerpt from her book, Lynn defines local food and sustainability as follows:

"For the most part, the search for local food started as a quest for safer and healthier food. There are others who buy local food for reasons of principle--environmental, animal welfare and sustainability. But the overarching priority is agricultural sustainability. It's the sustainability issue that deserves defining, for if we talk local but don't buy local, sustainability will never be achieved and we will lose our local food opportunities forever. For this reason the definition of local food can only be judged by the bottom line dollar. By this I mean you must follow the money trail. If the money you're spending on local food stays in the hands of a local farmer, then that's sustainability. But if the money you spend on food locally goes to a company outside the province, then it's not sustainability."
She goes on to say that 'if every household in Ontario spent just $10 of their grocery budget on local foods each week, there would be a $24 billion dollar influx into the provincial economy each year!'

Here is my challenge to you: I want you to spend at least $10 per week on local foods this month. And, if you 'like' me on Facebook (Southwestern Ontario Foodie) and post a picture of your purchase(s) you'll be entered into a draw to win a copy of the book. The contest is open for the month of June and the winner will be announced on July 1st (Ontario residents only).

For the next month I'll be blogging about the book; I'll visit some of the farmers/producers profiled, I'll try some of the recipes, and will (hopefully) encourage more people to eat and buy local foods in Ontario.

A preview...did you know that there is such a thing as Ontario salt? Have you heard of Verjus? Locally-produced Soy Sauce? Stay tuned!