Month: November 2009

Food Notes for November 30, 2009

I can’t believe it’s December 1 tomorrow – I’m sure we say this every year, but where did 2009 go? Still, as it’s my favourite time of year (only 25 days until Christmas), I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. On to this week’s food notes:

  • Up-and-coming chef Daniel Costa is hosting a special tasting at Red Star (10534 Jasper Avenue) on December 3 in honour of Parlous Magazine’s launch party. Tickets are $25; contact Daniel at 780-937-2276 for tickets. You can also read an interview with Daniel in the current issue of Parlour on pages 36-37.
  • Sutton Place Hotel’s annual Taste of Christmas lunch buffet kicks off on December 8. At $30 a person, it’s a bit pricey, but I’ve been before, and the selection and quality generally speak for themselves.
  • If Sutton’s price isn’t right, a new hotel restaurant on the block – Creations in the Sawridge Inn – is offering their own “12 days of Christmas lunch buffet” from December 7-23, at just $14.95 per person. The Journal happened to review their dinner service this weekend.
  • Sweet Lollapalooza, a new chocolatier in Commerce Place, opened today. Foodie Suz was one of the first to sample their treats.
  • Foodie Suz also posted about Cafe Haven out in Sherwood Park, which I would venture out to try just because of their Twitter presence. Looks like a neat place.
  • Chris over at Eating at the Hard Part wrote about his visit to Greenhouse, a “gourmet” salad eatery that shares a space with Good Earth on the U of A campus. Could this be the start of the salad bar trend in Edmonton?
  • Kiwi Kiss was in the Journal last week – turns out the man who started Booster Juice is behind this new frozen yogurt shop.
  • Liane wrote today that chef Nathin Bye of Lazia failed to place in the national Gold Medal Plates competition this weekend in Vancouver. It’s still a fantastic achievement to get that far, especially as the youngest one there!
  • Mary Bailey is Delux Burger’s celebrity chef for the month of December! Mary’s locally-sourced creation sounds delicious, featuring beet relish and Sylvan Star smoked gouda.
  • Valerie (aka A Canadian Foodie) was featured alongside her catering club at Kate Chegwin where she teaches. It’s awesome that she is passing down an appreciation for good, clean food (as well as teaching cooking skills) to a new generation.
  • I wrote about the Meet the Locals Festival for last week’s issue of Vue Weekly (providing a bit more information that my blog post about the event).
  • This is kind of cool – the NYT broke down Thanksgiving-related recipe searches on Allrecipes.com by geographic location. Wonder how a similar analysis of a Canadian Thanksgiving would turn out?
  • Last week, I linked to a fast food flow chart that I found absolutely hilarious – just as funny is their method of answering the question, “What kind of cereal should I eat?”
  • The restaurant trend articles have started to roll in: Nation’s Restaurant News says simple and restaurant-grown will be in, and Restaurants and Institutions call more specialty menu items (gluten-free, vegetarian), more deals, and asks, “Are eggs the new bacon?”
  • I was excited to see that the Chinatown outpost of Hoang Long finally reopened about a month ago, after being closed for months. When I met Cristy there for lunch last week, I somehow thought the interior would have changed more. What mattered more than the decor, however, was the food – still the same good soup. And though the service could have been better (I wasn’t offered even a glass of water until Cristy arrived), I’m glad to have another pho option in the area.

 

Beef Noodle Soup with All Types of Beef ($8.95)

 

Wor Wonton Soup ($7.95), absolutely loaded with veggies

  • Mack and I stopped at Bulk Barn on Saturday while at South Edmonton Common (next to Payless). I was looking forward of checking out their “over 4000” items, and while I wouldn’t be able to do as thorough of a job chronicling the store’s contents as Chris already has, I have to say I love the nutritional information next to each of the bin labels, and their selection of baking ingredients. I was also expecting more “unique” bulk items though – what exactly, I’m not sure, though our relatively fast walk through yielded a few semi-interesting items.

 

Surrounded by bulk bins!

 

I heart fortune cookies

 

Chocolate toonies (not as common as their $1 counterparts)

The Gyoza Chronicles: Slow Food Edmonton Potluck

Though I probably should have listened to that little voice in my head, I made a conscious decision to block it out and make something I hadn’t made before for a brunch potluck.

A dish for the annual Slow Food Edmonton potluck had to encompass the values “good, clean and fair”, and while contemplating my options, I remembered Anna Olson’s gyoza (pork dumplings). Sure, it may not have been the most authentic recipe, but it seemed fairly straightforward. Moreover, I had some Irvings Farm Fresh ground pork in the freezer, and a Kuhlmann’s red cabbage in the fridge.

Mack and I sat down to make the dumplings a week ago, when we knew we had time to do so. I also intended to fry a few up at that time to ensure they were worthy of being served to others. The filling was a mixture of ground pork, diced cabbage, garlic, soy sauce and sugar, and I had defrosted a package of Wing’s dumpling wrappers the night before.

Though it took some getting used to, we eventually got used to forming the little half-moon shaped dumplings. Making the pleats look attractive was something else entirely, and as long as the gyoza stayed shut, we were happy. We froze most of them, but steamed up just a few to try– we gave up attempting to make the bottoms crispy, though using a stainless steel instead of a non-stick pan probably had something to do with it. My Mum was probably also right about using green cabbage instead of red – the red cabbage bled colour, and made it difficult to tell if the pork was fully cooked. They also made the exterior of the dumpling vein-y in appearance. In the end, given how few ingredients were contained in the filling, they were actually pretty tasty, and we deemed them acceptable for the potluck.

Gyoza ready for the freezer

We woke up this morning, downed our breakfast, and with coffee standing by, started frying up the gyoza. I am sad to say the first batch did not go swimmingly – we lost several gyoza to the unforgiving stainless steel pan. After switching to the non-stick pan, things went better, and filled up the tray only slightly later than our original plan.

Gyoza, finished!

The ever-gracious Mary Bailey hosted the potluck, and alongside about twenty other Slow Food members, Mack and I helped celebrate local food and an end to a year of Slow Food events (my first!). Unlike some other potlucks I have attended, it was clear that everyone took time to make something they were proud of and eager to share with the group. For example, Anita brought Latvian bacon buns (which Valerie wrote about here), and Valerie herself made sarma (smoky sour cabbage rolls, a dish from her husband’s former Yugoslavia country of origin).

Anita with a plate of her Latvian bacon buns

Though everything was great because of the homemade touch, I did have a few favourites. Kirstin of Spring Creek Ranch Beef made meatballs using (of course) their beef, marinated in a Jam Lady condiment, some garlic, and chilli sauce. Maria made a bread pudding using Tree Stone Bakery brioche that was absolutely divine (I think it was the chocolate that put it over the top) – and I am not usually a fan of bread pudding. I am also happy to report that the gyoza went over really well, whew!

Table bursting with food

Plate of mains

Dessert plate (bread pudding on the left)

There’s just one more Slow Food event taking place before the close of 2009 – in celebration of Terra Madre day on December 10, there will be a screening of The Islanders, a film about the fun that happens when chefs and farmers get together. Food and drinks will be provided, and the $20 per ticket will be going towards sending a local young farmer to Terra Madre, a conference where attendees share traditions and innovative solutions to keep small-scale food production alive and sustainable.

Thanks Mary for hosting a lovely brunch, and here’s to another great Slow Food year in 2010!

Farm Visit: Greens, Eggs and Ham

I’ve been buying products from Mary Ellen and Andres Gruenberg of Greens, Eggs and Ham for a few years now, and joined their Community Supported Agriculture project this year in order to help them expand their operations. I had been meaning to visit their farm at some point, but timing just never worked out. So when they announced that they would be hosting a greenhouse open house to be held at the end of November, I was ecstatic that I would actually able to attend!

My parents wanted to come along for the ride as well, so this afternoon, we piled into a car and drove to the farm, located just over a half an hour outside of the city in Leduc County. Greens, Eggs Ham is a ten acre mixed farm – in addition to various produce (salad greens, baby zucchini, squash and potatoes, among others), they also raise several types of poultry, including ducks, cornish game hens and turkeys.

Farm (with a shell of a new greenhouse set to be finished next summer already up on the right)

As the focus of the open house was the greenhouse, it was no surprise that we found the other visitors in the second-floor greenhouse, built above the barn that holds the majority of the egg-laying ducks. Though Andres said he is continually making improvements to the greenhouse, they started to grow greens indoors about three years ago.

Greenhouse interior

The wooden beds contained nearly two dozen varieties of greens, from swiss chard, kale, and beets to sorrel, spinach and lettuce. Both Mary Ellen and Andres encouraged us to taste the leaves, and we took advantage of the opportunity. My Mum loved the sorrel, while I found the purple oracle plants (explained to be a predecessor to spinach) to be interesting – all the leaves have to be hand picked instead of cut by shears. Though to be honest – when would fresh-picked greens ever not taste good?

Rainbow swiss chard

Lettuce (relatively boring compared to some of the other exotic varieties)

Oracle

Can’t remember what this green is called, but so pretty!

The most jarring thing about the greenhouse were the swarms of ladybugs inside. Greens, Eggs and Ham employs natural pest control methods, and to remedy an outbreak of aphids last week, they released 35,000 ladybugs to eliminate the problem. Apparently, a combination of two types of wasps and the ladybugs will eradicate the aphids, and as opposed to pesticides, are more effective, given that sprays cannot reach on the underside of leaves. Eventually, when the ladybugs run out of their food source, they die off.

Ladybugs

I think it is amazing that Mary Ellen and Andres can produce high-quality products in the dead of winter. So for those that think that fresh, locally-grown produce can only be had in the summer months – think again.

Mary Ellen also took us to visit the barn that held the birds raised for meat. Upon our entry, the birds welcomed us by sounding off, noises that were quite harsh to unfamiliar ears. The head goose in particular was quite friendly, and came over to greet us.

Inside the poultry barn

Mary Ellen said that while in the summer, the doors are open to allow the birds free access to the outdoors, she said the birds are actually really finicky, and in certain weather conditions, will refuse to leave the barn.

The group also visited with the other animals on the farm, including two beautiful goats who weren’t people shy at all, two adorable dogs, and a cat named BunBun who loves car rides so much we found her in our van after leaving the door open for a minute.

Opi wants attention

My parents playing with Yukon

Before we left, Mack and I helped Andres harvest a bag each of sorrel and spinach as a part of our order – the joke was that any ladybugs within the mix were a testament to its freshness.

Harvesting sorrel

Thanks to Mary Ellen and Andres for your hospitality, and your willingness to open up your farm to us!

If you’re interested in picking up some Greens, Eggs and Ham products when the City Centre Market is off-season, both Careit Urban Deli in Crestwood (9672 – 142 Street, 780-488-1110) and Ocean Odyssey Inland (10027 167 Street, 780- 930-1901)  stock their eggs and proteins, but if you want to make sure they have what you’re looking for, or you want a full product list, just e-mail Mary Ellen.

Shop Local Month: Favourite Gifts to Give or Get

In honour of Shop Local Month, Keep Edmonton Original’s campaign to remind citizens to buy local, I wanted to write a post about my favourite gifts to give, purchased from small businesses based in Edmonton.

For example, I love to give: bottles of en Sante, especially to those who are unaware that Alberta had a cottage fruit wine industry; Gabe Wong’s funky Blockheads, “humanoid paper toys for the people of today” that can be punched out and pieced together without glue; and boxes of Chocophilia samplers from Kerstin’s Chocolates, which must include Mocha Bean and Ecuador 72%.

But then I thought – the more the merrier, especially on a topic as subjective as gift giving. So I canvassed several local personalities for an answer to the following question: “What is your favourite locally-purveyed gift to give or get?” May their answers assist you in your holiday shopping in the coming weeks.

Jessie Radies, co-owner of The Blue Pear, and founder of Keep Edmonton Original

To receive: anything from Lux Beauty is awesome; spa gift certificates from Tonic; and Notables has a great line called Russell and Hazel that I love.

To Give:  Really depends on the person, but here are a few:

Standard hostess gift – bottle of en Sante wine, I keep a few on hand for last minute emergencies

For my foodie friends – boxes of local food and specialty items, usually a trip to the Italian Center and the farmers’ market gives me enough variety for a number of gifts.  Sometimes a run through Call the Kettle Black will score the perfect gadget to round out the gift. I also like to do a mix of coffees and teas with honey or a nice mug.  Transcend, Vitalatea or Cally’s Tea and Lola Canola are good starting points.

For the hard-to-buy-for man – A monthly Beer Subscription from Sherbrook Liquor Store

For people I know well, gift certificates for Yoga, Integration Pilates or Pause Massage.

Tickets to the Citadel are perfect for people that have all the stuff they need, and would enjoy a night out. Gift cards from Original Fare are great gifts too, as they can let you eat at a number of local restaurants.

Jennifer Crosby, Global Edmonton News Hour Final Anchor and Producer

I like to give people gifts they can use, as well as enjoy. I’m also a big fan of food grown, raised or produced locally, so I often make up packages of unique food items. I love to visit the H & R Farms booth at the Old Strathcona Market for the beautiful jams and relishes. Right now, between my fridge and my gift cupboard I have their Rhubarb Rose Petal jam (one of my favourite to give), Cinnamon-Pembina Plum jam, Cranberry Apple Pear relish, and Corn relish. I’ve mailed away a few different care packages that include the adorable little jars – to rave reviews. Add some local coffee, honey, and pastry, and you’re just bacon and eggs away from a made-in-Edmonton breakfast.

Cary Williams, financial advisor for Edward Jones and co-chair of Edmonton Next Gen

Not sure I can give one ‘favourite’ but we often get gifts from Red Ribbon in High Street. This year though I’m leaning towards gift certificates from Agency III. They’re a local lifestyle management/concierge company. I think I have people who would love having their own personal assistant to create more free time.

Jennifer Fong, staff writer for the Edmonton Journal and creator of the “52 reasons to love Edmonton”  series

My favourite item to give would have to be a box of macarons from Duchess Bake Shop. They’re light, not-too-sweet sweets that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating, they come in a million flavours, and they’re adorable. Plus, Duchess wraps them up in gorgeous gold boxes. Perfect.

My favourite item I’ve ever received was a pair of earrings by local jewelry-maker Nicole Salvalaggio. I got them at a Royal Bison fair and they’re beautiful silver drop earrings made with heart-shaped lockets that actually open. A friend of mine drew me a picture to put in one of the hearts. It’s amazing.

Michael Janz, Marketing Director for the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues

My favourite locally purveyed item to give is… the gift of talent and knowledge from the really awesome courses at the City Arts Centre. From guitar to art to wellness, there is something there for everyone and the flexibility is awesome.

My favourite locally purveyed item to get is… one of those fancy coffee machines that they have at Leva Cafe on 111th. I’ve never been given one but would love one. So if someone out there really loves me this December… *hint*

Jeff Samsonow, Editor-in-Chef and News Director for The Edmontonian

Something local that I love is Geekware. Nicola Harper has taken our e-waste and turned it into fun, funky accessories. I have a fantastic circuit board business card holder from the collection. It’s locally sourced and locally produced. She’s got the website and is at a lot of craft fairs. (We met her when she had a table beside Sally [also of the Edmontonian] at one such fair.)

If you’re looking for stores alone, we’re big fans of The Tin Box for interesting, helpful and even wacky stuff.

Sarah Bourque, the creative behind the adorable monsters of Belua Designs

My favourite gift to receive (or to treat myself) would have to be a hat from Sugar Soul Studios. I already own 3 but they are so fabulous I need more! They are universally flattering and are made from amazing fabrics. I think I need one for every outfit 🙂

Jeff Haslam, actor and Artistic Director of Teatro la Quindicina

I love love love to give or receive gift certificates from wither of my two fave Strathcona restaurants… Both family run and completely local: Gino’s Italian Kitchen (great Italian fare just south of the Varscona on Calgary Trail… Grandma is still cooking in the kitchen), and Culina (the Mill Creek branch, amazing food – a great brunch – and wonderful service too).

Dave Cournoyer, popular political blogger

My favourite local gift to give and receive is the jam made by the Strathcona Country Kitchen. I first discovered their jams at the 104th Street Farmers Market downtown this summer and I now fill up with their Raspberry Red or Strawberry Rhubarb jam whenever possible. Their jams are excellent with multigrain toast and organic peanut butter. It really is great jam.

Alex Abboud, Executive Assistant to Councillor Kim Krushell

To get – as someone who is gluten-intolerant, I like pretty much anything from local gluten-free food maker Kinnikinnick. While some of their products (and those of other companies such as Glutino) are readily available in grocery stores, the selection at their Edmonton factory store far exceeds that of anywhere else.

To give – I’ve started giving prints of photos I’ve taken. The frames are almost certainly not locally-purveyed, but the photos usually are. Otherwise, I also like to give concert or theatre tickets (or if the recipient is someone with a busy schedule, gift certificates for the Winspear or Citadel).

Nate Box, chef and operator of the forthcoming Elm Cafe

To receive:
– PORK:  Only once in my life has a friend been so confident in how well they know me, that they purchased not one, but two pork tenderloins for me as a gift.  I took it out of the bag and was (I kid you not) overjoyed!  But it doesn’t have to be tenderloin, just about any pork gets me excited.  Irvings Farm Fresh  product is definitely on the top of my wish list.
– MUSIC:  Blackbyrd Myoozik gift certificates are also at the top of my gift list.

To give:
– CLOTHES:  The girls at Nokomis are always more than helpful when it comes to finding a something unique for my wife.  They usually present three of four things, I narrow it to one, and then sneak it under the tree.
– COFFEE:  Most holiday meals, especially Christmas morning, my mom or sisters (whoever is hosting breakfast) usually receives a pound of coffee from Transcend.
– MOVIES: Tickets to the Garneau or Princess are also up their on the giveaways.  I’m always amazed at the number of friends and family that have “been before, but it’s been years”.

Sarah Chan, chic city cycling advocate and blogger

My favourite locally-purveyed item to give or get is Transcend coffee. Their shop smells delicious, the people are divine, and the only setback was their location. I’ll just say that biking on 99 street isn’t all that inspiring. However, this will be remedied with their new location! I’ll be able to enjoy their beans with just a short bike or bus ride. Two of my favourite things, together at last.

A shopping opportunity…

To help you get started (or finish) your Christmas shopping, Jenna Herbut, the organizer of the upcoming Make It Fair (December 11-13 at the Alberta Aviation Museum), has generously provided me with 10 pairs of tickets to the craft show to give away. It looks like it will be a great show, with over 100 designers in attendance offering unique gift ideas.

If you are interested in attending, please leave a comment with a valid e-mail address below (in the e-mail address field, not the comment itself) by noon on December 5. I will randomly select five names and contact the winners by e-mail on December 6.

Good luck!

“We Eat Together” Book Launch

When I heard about the forthcoming book We Eat Together back in October, I was excited – not only did it feature local farmers, but recipes featuring ingredients from those farms.

Julianna Mimande (formerly of Bacon and currently the chef behind the EATery at the ARTery), joined forces with local designer Gabe Wong and photographer Zachary Ayotte to produce a celebration of local food production in book form.

Gabe Wong, Zachary Ayotte and Julianna Mimande (nice enough to pose for a photo!)

The launch at d’Lish tonight was absolutely packed. Several of the producers featured in the book were there (the Irving family of Irvings Farm Fresh, and Patty Milligan, aka Lola Canola, among others), as well as other members of the food community (food writer Jennifer Cockrall-King, Isabelle Gallant of CBC Radio and The Little Red Kitchen, chef Nate Box, and Liane Faulder of the Journal). It was good to catch up with some people I hadn’t seen in a while – as always, food has a tendency of bringing everyone together.

Inside d’Lish

Chef Sebastian Lysz of Relish Culinary Consulting was in the kitchen all night, cooking up a few dishes from the book to the delight of the crowd. I unfortunately didn’t get to try the carrot spread, which seemed to be the biggest hit, but what I did sample was great. In particular, the shredded pork in adobo barbeque sauce on a potato crisp was amazing, as was the (what else?) bacon ‘n’ cornbread.

Sparrow’s Nest Organics Carrot Spread (so vibrant in colour!)

Canada Goose Wild Rice Cakes with Blueberry Relish

Victoria Fancy Bacon ‘n’ Cornbread

Of course, we were there to pick up a copy of the book, and boy is it gorgeous. For $40, it’s not inexpensive, but from my relatively quick first glances, it is worth every penny. Cover to cover colour photos, with recipes that include helpful cooking tips and substitutions, it’s a book that any home cook would love. But more than that, We Eat Together pays respect to the farmers that produce our food, with nine profiles of farms from James Vriend and Jennifer Berkenbosch of Sundog Organics and Emily McNairnay and Sean Superkoski  of Mighty Trio Organics. In particular, I love the “We Want to Get to Know You” questionnaire page – it’s a fun read not normally found in such books.

It was flying off the shelves!

But then again – I suppose We Eat Together really isn’t a typical book. It’s a made-in-Edmonton book that highlights how incredibly lucky we are to have access to such bounty all year round. Thanks to Julianna, Gabe and Zachary for this gift!

You can pick up a copy at the Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair on November 28-29 and at the Make It Fair on December 11-13.

Value-priced Cupcakes: The Cake House

Though my homeward bound bus drops me off right around the corner from The Cake House, it took an after work need for pick-me-up sugar to finally gave me the push to walk through the shop’s doors.

Owner Silvia Salas has twenty years of baking experience. She spent a year working for Fuss Cupcakes, and this year, decided to branch out on her own – The Cake House has been open for about six months. Though her main focus is on special occasion cakes (customers come from as far away as Devon to order her 100% nut free creations), she also offers smaller cakes, pies and cupcakes.

The Cake House

Though the exterior of barred windows and functional interior aren’t as charming as the other cupcakeries like Flirt and Whimsical Cake Studio (plus, no seating area), Silvia’s warmth and friendliness makes up for it somewhat. More than that, the cupcakes are the most economical in the city – just $1.75 each, $10 for a half dozen, and $19.50 for a dozen.

There were more than a dozen flavours to choose from on my visit, including red velvet, oreo and caramel. I picked out French vanilla for myself, and a carrot cupcake for Mack. I brought them home, and couldn’t help but dig in right away – the cake base was moist and not too sweet, and while buttercream icing is not my favourite, I didn’t mind Silvia’s version as much – the super-creamy texture probably had something to do with it. Mack loved his cupcake as well, cinnamon spiced to perfection.

French Vanilla and Carrot Cupcakes

For the price, The Cake House offers very good value – worth checking out if you need a cupcake fix that won’t break the bank.

The Cake House
12415 – 107 Avenue
(780) 451-8882
Monday-Friday 10am-5:30pm, Saturday 10am-4pm

Food Notes for November 23, 2009

Mack and I booked our tickets to Yellowknife last week, and were able to cash in on a seat sale! We’ll be visiting his folks for a week at the end of December. Looking forward to the trip, but not necessarily to the cold. On to this week’s food notes:

  • A reminder that the launch of Julianna Mimande and Gabe Wong’s book We Eat Together, a celebration of local food and farmers, is taking place at d’Lish on November 25. I hope to attend! You can read more about the book here.
  • Billingsgate will be hosting their annual open house on November 28 from 10am-2pm. Their kitchen will be sampling jambalaya, while several suppliers will be on hand as well offering a taste of smoked salmon and shrimp, among others.
  • A new chocolatier is coming to Commerce Place called Sweet Lollapalooza (lollapalooza is defined as “something outstanding of its kind”). It looks like they are still under construction, but they hope to be open in the next few days. I salivate when I see the photo of the buttercrunch. Can’t wait.
  • New restaurant alert, as seen on Chowhound – an Indian restaurant named Guru is in the works in west Edmonton, in the space formerly occupied by Julio’s Barrio’s.
  • Nate Box twittered that Moriaties Bistro and Wine Bar is coming to the downtown space off Rice Howard Way that used to hold Ching’s Dim Bar.
  • Kerstin’s Chocolates is running an interesting contest called Name That Origin. Visit the store between December 1-22 to fill out an entry form and then taste four different pieces of chocolate to determine their cacao origins. If you can’t identify them currently, you’ll still get a 20% discount coupon, and if you can identify them, you’ll win a container of Chocophilia Drinking Chocolate. Sounds like a good deal to me, and while you’re there, you can get some Christmas shopping done!
  • My article about Garner Beggs of Duchess Bake Shop was published last week. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to talk about Garner’s commitment to making the city a better place: “I’m a complainer. And most of my friends are rather sick of hearing me complain about, ‘Oh, the city should be designed this way,’ or ‘Why don’t they do this.’ This is a chance for me to put my money where my mouth is, and do something in the way I think it should be done and take a stance.” Moreover, I think it’s really interesting that Garner and Giselle deliberately chose a neighbourhood that they deemed to be on the cusp: “I wanted to be a part of fostering a community. And part of building something up, rather than just slotting myself into a pre-established [community] such as Whyte Ave. I like 124th, it’s good character.”
  • See Magazine interviewed Hong Nguyen, a manager and daughter of Chinatown’s Lucky 97 owner.
  • Eater linked to an amusing flow chart for fast food restaurants that will help you answer the question “Where should I eat?”
  • Mack sent me a link to an infomercial for the EZ Egg Cracker. Though I don’t think it’s amusing as he does, comment #6 after the video is pretty funny.
  • After checking out the Meet the Locals Festival at Planet Organic, I hopped over to the Doan’s next door for a quick pho fix. It’s not my favourite, but it was close by. I had my camera and Moleskine out, as I hadn’t put them back in my purse yet, and after the waiter took one look at them, the look on his face seemed to be one of “food reviewer recognition.” I have to say, I’ve never had any food from Doan’s come out of the kitchen so fast. As for the pho? All right, but the brisket was notable.

Special Beef Noodle Soup ($8.95)

  • Mack and I ordered pizza on Saturday, succumbing to the Panago spam. We both wanted to try one of their meatball pizzas. We called in the order, placing it for pickup at the Meadowbrook location. When we arrived, the clerk said that our pizza was actually at the Mill Woods location – thankfully it’s not far, but it was definitely an inconvenience. Thankfully, the pizza was pretty darn good – the meatballs were nice and tender, on a pie just loaded with cheese. The red onions were a nice touch too.

Italian Meatball Pizza ($12 for a large)

  • I am among a few coworkers who are voracious consumers of grapefruit. So much is a single grapefruit a part of each of our winter lunch routines that we joke about belonging to a “grapefruit club”. Well one day last week, I found a grapefruit spoon and an accompanying card on my desk. The card proclaimed me to be an official member of the “pamplemousse club” – such a lovely surprise.

All hail the grapefruit spoon!

Meet the Locals Food Festival

On Thursday night I headed out to Planet Organic in Old Strathcona to take in their first ever Meet the Locals Food Festival.

Meet the Locals Food Festival

Meet the Locals celebrates local food producers and manufacturers, and is deliberately set during a time when some believe local food production stops – the organizers wanted to draw attention to homegrown food that is available seasonally and year round. And as Planet Organic locations in Edmonton stock about three dozen products from area companies, they definitely have a strong base to draw from.

Grainworks display

The festival has two components: tasting tables and cooking demonstrations. On that night, six local companies were on hand providing customers with product samples. I had the chance to try some elk from Shooting Star Ranch (so incredibly tender), flatbreads made with wholesome and filling lentil, chickpea and whole wheat flour by Rio Vita, fresh bagels from Henderson Bagels, hummus and spanakopita (still warm) from Supreme Georgio’s Fine Foods, and chocolate from Kerstin’s Chocolates.

Rio Vita Flatbreads

I also had the chance to chat with Emily from Mighty Trio Organics, a company located near Redwater that produces cold-pressed, unrefined hemp, flaxseed and canola oils. I was particularly interested in the canola oil, which is made from GMO-free canola sourced from a farm twenty minutes away from them. Though I have heard the term “cold-pressed” before, I didn’t really know what it meant – Emily explained that when manufacturing the oil, cold-pressed oil is not heated to beyond 40 degrees Celsius, preserving the essential nutrients in the oil. She poured me a bit of oil to sample, and I was blown away by it – orange in colour, more viscous than conventionally-made oil, and possessing a slightly floral aroma, it tasted richer and unlike any canola oil I have tried before. I would imagine that like most high-quality products, I would end up using less of this oil in cooking. They didn’t have the oil in stock that day, but I will be heading back soon to pick up a bottle for myself.

I also stayed on for the first of two cooking demonstrations by Madison’s Grill Executive Chef Blair Lebsack.

Blair Lebsack

Blair’s commitment to supporting local farms was apparent throughout his forty-five minute class, as he talked about personally visiting all of the farms that supply products to Madison’s Grill. On the menu, besides the Sylvan Star Cheese gouda, apple-pear compote and crackers, were a spinach and radish salad with goat yogurt dressing and a bacon cassoulet topped with bison sirloin.

His meal utilized no less than eight local products, including Fairwinds Farm yogurt, Alley Kat Raspberry Mead, black eyed peas from Grainworks, bacon from TK Ranch and bison from Olson’s High Country Buffalo.

The dressing on the spinach salad was superb, and it was just a simple combination of vanilla goat yogurt and sherry vinegar. I also had to commend Blair on his attention to detail – prior to the start of the cooking class, he removed all of the stems from the baby spinach leaves. When an attendee asked why he was doing that, he explained that it made the salad easier to eat, and negated the potential hazard of a diner getting spinach stuck in their teeth. The restaurant would then use the stems for purees to ensure that nothing was wasted.

Spinach and Radish Salad with Goat Yogurt Dressing

He also incorporated what he believed to be under-utilized vegetables into the meal – radishes in the salad and celery root in the cassoulet. I have to say that my favourite part of the cassoulet wasn’t the vegetables or the beans, but the bison striploin that topped it. With a sprinkle of salt to finish, it was a perfect bite of steak.

Cassoulet with Bison Striploin

As Meet the Locals is taking place once a week for three months, you still have a chance to check it out in December and January. And until then, although farmers’ markets are great places to shop and interact directly with food producers every week, it’s hard to beat the convenience of a store like Planet Organic that offers local products seven days a week.

Meet the Locals Food Festival at Planet Organic, 7917-104 Street
Continues December 14-20 and January 11-17
Tasting Tables: Monday-Friday 3-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 12-4pm
Cooking Demonstrations: December 14 and January 11 at 6:30pm with Julianna Mimande, co-author of We Eat Together; December 17 and January 14 at 6:30pm and 7:30pm with Gail Hall of Seasoned Solutions; January 16 at 6:30pm and 7:30pm with Sebastian Lysz of Relish Culinary Consulting

Shopping on High Street

Working on an article on Saturday, I kept looking up from my laptop, distracted by the scene outside of freshly fallen snow glistening in the warm afternoon sunlight. At some point I decided I needed some fresh air, and to kill two birds with one stone, wandered over to High Street to get some Christmas shopping done.

Paul Kane Park, en route to High Street (or as Jim Diers would call it, a “pocket park”)

Though the sidewalks were slippery, it was a pretty nice day to spend outside, wandering in and out of some of my favourite stores in the city. Many other people thought so too, as some of the stores were jam packed with shoppers.

High Street

I picked up a few things at The Tin Box, one of the best shops in my opinion for unique gifts. They had a rack of animal hats and gloves that were ubiquitous in Banff’s gift stores.

Hats and gloves at The Tin Box

Carol’s Quality Sweets is a nice store to satisfy the kid in all of us –I love the brightness of the store, and the colourful candy jars that line the shelves. For just a few dollars, your retro candy craving can be taken care of.

Candy behind the counter at Carol’s Quality Sweets

Notables is another great store, and in recent years it seems they’ve expanded their selection of offbeat giftware. Staff are super-friendly, and you won’t find a better assortment of greeting cards anywhere else in the city.

Christmas display at Notables

My last stop was Call the Kettle Black, a kitchen retail store. I almost always end up buying something if I enter the store, so a visit is a dangerous one for me. Luckily, I balanced a purchase for myself (a lightweight Epicurean cutting board) with the purchase of a gift for someone else. What wasn’t in my shopping basket were these onion goggles – although they might be effective, I think they’d take up too much room for just a single purpose.

Onion Goggles

Other than the stores I’ve listed, Acquired Tastes Tea Company, Floc Boutique and Ginger are a few other shops I like to patronize.

Boulevard trees on High Street

In addition to finding unique gifts, it’s a nice change from wandering within the confines of a mall. Especially during Shop Local Month, I would encourage you to consider doing some of your holiday shopping at High Street.

Card-making 101: Holiday Stampin’ Up Workshop

Back in high school, I used to scrapbook. I think I made one scrapbook a year, filled with photocorners, glitter-glue page titles and magazine cutouts. Sometime since then, I’ve channelled that energy into other endeavours, but can still appreciate the tangible thrill of looking upon something beautifully assembled by one’s own hand.

Ornament card

My friend from high school Jane, on the other hand, never did lose her creative flair, and recently became a Stampin’ Up demonstrator For those who aren’t aware of Stampin’ Up – it is a company made up of crafty entrepreneurs who lead workshops where attendees pay to assemble cards in a fun and supportive environment. Nearly all supplies are provided by the demonstrator, making it easy for non-crafters and lapsed crafters like myself to participate.

So last Sunday afternoon, Janice, Annie and I headed to St. Andrew’s Centre for a workshop alongside a dozen other people. I paid just under $40, which included materials for 15 cards and a “snail adhesive”, a plastic applicator filled with double-sided tape – it was the first of many words specific to the Stampin’ Up world that I would learn that day.

Janice and I

Jane explained that we would be rotating through the five different “stations”, and would be assembling three of each type of card (Jane had created four out of the five designs we would be making). Before we got started, she demoed how to put each card together, from embossing to die-cutting, attaching brads (tiny metal accents that work like duotangs) to using dimensionals (double-sided foam stickers that provide a 3D look).

Jane!

Although the steps to some cards seemed daunting at first, we helped each other around the table, and Jane was always around to answer a question or lend a hand. The fact that almost everything was pre-cut and ready to go simplified the tasks for us, but there was also room for creativity – each table had more than enough colour and stamper options, so those who could think outside the sample could indeed experiment.

North Pole card (the penguin one is my favourite)

I haven’t played with glitter in years, but I think I got more than my share of sparkles at the workshop –it seemed as much of it ended up on me as on the cards!

Reindeer “sparkly and bright” card

The card that we embossed was probably the coolest design – not only did we get to use a heat gun to set the slightly raised and shiny stamped image, but the card incorporated a clear plastic cup to be filled with candy to look like a colourful ornament. It is definitely something not easily found in a card store.

Season’s Greetings 3D ornament card

Though we initially thought that the three hour time frame for the workshop was too generous, Janice, Annie and I were the last to leave, nearly three and a half hours after the session began! I have to say that we weren’t hard at work during that entire time though – Jane had brought snacks with her as well, and even baked mini cupcakes the night prior for the group to nosh on.

Annie shows off one of her creations

It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and I am certain that those who are given a handmade greeting will appreciate it more than a generic boxed card. If you’re interested, Jane will be hosting another workshop on January 17, 2010 – she says that Valentine’s Day cards will be in the mix. Check out her website for more information.

Thanks again Jane for the opportunity to rekindle my creative side!