Food In The Hills | Autumn-Winter 2012

Apple Challenges

AUTU

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A culinary educationVegetarian wisdomA wilderness lunchCountry pubs

autumn winter 2012 | food in the hills 5

One of the biggest challenges facing the local food movement is distribution – or how to best get produce from the fi elds and farms to area restaurants and home kitchens. The renaissance of farmers’ markets in recent years has been a boon, both to growers and those of us who crave fresh, homegrown food. But, as effective as markets are for bringing producers and consumers together, any farmer will tell you how diffi cult it can be to take time out from the demands of planting and harvesting to make it to the weekly market. Likewise, restaurateurs fi nd it diffi cult to tour farms to pick up the produce they need.

Stores such as Creemore’s 100 Mile Store bridge the producer-consumer gap by doing a lot of farm pickups themselves, and by providing a central drop-off for locally produced food. We wish there were more like it.

You may have seen the Grown in Peel map or the Dufferin Farm Fresh map, which offer detailed listings pinpointing the locations of the region’s farmer/producers. The new Dufferin map, brainchild of locavore Marci Lipman, also includes

This little van goes to market

farmers’ markets and local-food committed restaurants and retailers. Both maps, and those in neighbouring counties, are invaluable aids in putting food lovers and farmers in touch.

Wonderful as these efforts are, they still involve a lot of driving around by people who have scarce time for the task. That’s why we’d like to tip our hat to Karen Hutchinson of Caledon Countryside Alliance and Bob Fines owner of Fines Ford Lincoln dealership in Bolton. Karen is always looking for ways to help producers distribute their products. She approached Bob and he generously agreed to arrange a short-term (six-month) lease on a brand new Ford Transit Connect van, allowing the CCA, with Eat Local Caledon, to launch a pilot project that will, in Karen’s words, “move the food system forward.”

In addition to delivering local produce to area restaurants, the van will ferry fl our from K2 Milling’s Tottenham-area mill to the Inglewood and Caledon farmers’ markets. As well, Karen intends to make the van an integral part of the HAYville farm incubator program for area youth.

By helping distribute the program’s many food products prepared in the Palgrave Community Kitchen and grown at the Albion Hills Community Farm, Bob and Karen’s souped-up little van brings the dream of an integrated local food network one step closer to reality. And, as Karen points out, “It’s a great example of how non-profi t and private partnerships can benefi t us all.”

Herewith, the fall 2012 issue of Food In The Hills. Let us know what you think.

[email protected]

A ticket to ride

Fines Ford has donated a van to Eat Local Caledon to assist in delivering locally grown food to local markets and restaurants.

ide


32 | Cooking with

James Preparing

succulent, tender duck

confi t isn’t diffi cult, but it is

time consuming. Millcroft

chef James Buder gives

step by step instructions

for this classic French dish,

and explains why it’s so

worth the effort.

36 | That’s Entertainment

Join Emily Worts on a tour of

Miriam Streiman’s dream kitchen,

where quirky charm and state-of-

the-art convenience set the stage

for the ultimate in culinary theatre.

a taste of our autumn|winter issue

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14 | Where the Wild Things Are Cecily Ross goes into the woods with

forager Lisa Yates and comes out with wonderful weeds for lunch.

Off the Shelf | 10Goodies and gadgets for those on the go.

Digest | 12Food for thought.

Maize Index | 54All about Zea mays.

What’s Cooking | 56A calendar of local food events.

End Note | 61Feast of Fields’ Daniel Gilbert.

Best Bites | 62Pia’s Bakery French onion soup.

The Apple Growers’ Blues | 20An early spring and a dry summer are wreaking havoc with local orchards. Tim Shuff reports.

Reading, Writing and … Roasted Ribs? | 25Where better to learn a basic life skill – cooking – than in school? Liz Beatty visits some innovative local culinary programs.

A Taste of Spanish Gold | 42When it come to olive oil, Erin’s Dolores Smith knows an extra virgin when she tastes it. Nicola Ross reports.

A Cook’s Tour of Country Pubs | 48Where do you go when you’re hungry for good company and casual food? To your local pub of course.

On Being Vegetarian | 52When Julie Suzanne Pollock decided to stop eating meat, her friends and family were not amused.

more seasonal specials always on the menu

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Weddings & Special EventsSweets & Fine Chocolate

Artisanal CheeseTake Out Dinners & Lunch

The Bartlett RoomWine Dinner Club

Locally Made DelicaciesGourmet Imports

Catering all of life’s special occasions.

905.584.000516023 Airport Rd, Caledon Eastwww.gourmandissmo.com

Best Customer ServiceHills of Headwaters 2011

Chef Gilles RocheCaledon Culinary Challenge Winner 2011

Enjoy our services at the award winning Best Western PLUS Orangeville Inn & Suites


volume 2 number 2 | autumn winter 2012

™

editorial

Liz BeattyJames BuderDouglas G PearceJulie Suzanne

PollockNicola RossTim ShuffEmily Worts

copy editor

Janet Dimond

publisher

Signe Ball

editor

Cecily Ross

operations

manager

Kirsten Ball

art director

Kim van OosteromWallfl ower Design

web manager

Valerie JonesEchohill Inc.

advertising sales

Sarah AstonRoberta Fracassi

advertising

production

Marion HodgsonType & Images

to advertise

Sarah [email protected]

photographers

Trina BerloMK LyndePete Paterson

food st ylist

Jane Fellowes

events editor

Janet Dimond

cover

Apples by Jane Fellowes andPete Paterson

advertising

deadline

The advertising deadline for the Spring|Summer issue is Friday, April 12, 2013.

subscriptions

Subscriptions are $11.30 per year (includes hst).

let ters

Letters to the editor are welcome; email [email protected]

Food In The Hills is an independent, local magazine, published twice yearly in mid May and mid August. It is a sister publication to In The Hills. 10,000 copies are distributed through restaurants, inns, specialty food stores, markets and tourism locations throughout the Headwaters region.

published by

MonoLog Communications IncRR 1, OrangevilleOntario L9W 2Y8519-940-3299519-940-9266 [email protected]

www.foodinthehills.cawww.inthehills.cawww. kidsinthehills.ca

ce on y

Fresh bread made and baked on site ~ Fine elegant cakes, wedding cakes and pastries made with the highest quality ingredients ~ Artisan gelato made with wholesome ingredients and no preservatives ~ Mini gelato bars

now available ~ Delicious premium hot food available daily ~ Catering for all business and family occasions

1 queensgate boulevard in bolton 905-857-9040 mercatofinefoods.ca

We proudly carry BERETTA beef and chicken.We carry frozen organic meats. We also have a selection of fresh antibiotic and hormone free beef and chicken.

Livestock raised within Canada. Canadian Angus Rancher endorsed.

501 Queen Street South in Bolton | www.gardenfoodsmarket.com | 905-857-1227

Come in for our famous fresh produce, wide selection of organic meats, specialty foods and organic products, and visit our garden centre with its extensive selection of hanging baskets, annuals, perennials and shrubs.

Eat Fresh for Better Health!Owned and Operated for 30 Years

off the shelf

Hot, hot, hotSpice up your life with Orangeville griller Christian Horner’s dry rubs for meat, fi sh and vegetables. Horner promises his Fire in the Kitchen dry marinades will impress your guests and heat up your cooking. Specially formulated for meats, poultry, fi sh and vegetables, the rubs are gluten- and MSG-free and low in sodium. When he isn’t playing around in the kitchen, Christian is a professional fi refi ghter. “I spend hours cooking and feeding the boys in the hall using all of my spice blends,” he says, and heaven knows, those guys like things hot. Christian recommends rubbing the marinade onto your food two to six hours before cooking for the maximum fl avour hit. Shown here are Fire Rub for grilled steak and chicken, Veggie Blaze to give grilled asparagus or corn a kick, and Ocean Rub, delicious on whitefi sh, salmon and scallops. Fire in the Kitchen rubs are available at From the Kitchen to the Table and Dave’s Butcher Shop in Orangeville, as well as other fi ne food stores throughout the GTA. www.fi reinthekitchen.ca

Naughty sweetsCaledon cookie maker Keirstyn Eric’s Wicked Shortbread is sinfully delicious. The homemade treats were so popular with friends and family, Keirstyn decided to sell her wares at her local farmers’ market. When sales fl ourished, she went one step further and packaged the three basic fl avours (classic, toffee bitz and chocolate chunk) for sale in retail outlets around Headwaters, making use of Palgrave Community Kitchen’s commercial food preparation facilities. But this is no commercial cookie. The recipe, inspired by her grandmother and mother-in-law, uses local ingredients as much as possible, is gluten-free and contains no additives or preservatives. This summer, Keirstyn opened a shop at 96 Broadway in Orangeville called (what else?) Wicked Shortbread. You’ll fi nd her basic shortbread plus several new fl avours, as well as a new line of Wicked squares, locally made pies and crisps, and organic coffee and teas. It’s the evolution of shortbread. www.wickedshortbread.com

Our roundup of fabulous quality items available locally

T-LocalHelp spread the locavore gospel by wearing one of these trend-setting “eat local” T-shirts. The clever logo, with its fork and knife motif, was designed by Creemore’s Lucas Gordon, a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design. The shirt, which comes in two eye-catching colour combos – black on brown (shown) and turquoise on black – is available in men’s and women’s sizes extra small to extra large. It is made of 100 per cent organic and recycled cotton by me to we style (www.metowestyle.com), a company that promises “sweatshop-free manufacturing” and donates 50 per cent of its profi ts to Free the Children. As a bonus, if you buy a tee, the company promises to “plant a tree.” To date, the shirts are only available through the 100 Mile Store in Creemore, but we think the local food movement should adopt this as its offi cial logo. Call 705-466-3514 or email [email protected] and order yours today.

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t, ,

e up your life with Orangeville

Downtown Alliston 77 Victoria St. EastAlliston, Ontario (beside the tracks) Tel: 705.435.7177


poor cook

“We enjoy the cynical story of the old-fashioned doctor who insisted fi rst on going straight to the kitchen of the affl icted household. Not until he had effusively thanked the cook for giving him a new patient did he dash upstairs to see how he could relieve the cook’s victim. The fact is that everyone who runs a kitchen can, in the choice and preparation of food, decisively infl uence family health and happiness.”From Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and

Marion Rombauer Becker,

Bobbs-Merrill, 1975.

peruvian

asparagus

“Asparagus grown in Peru and sold overseas is commonly held up as a symbol of unacceptable food miles. Water depletion is another problem arising from its production. Most of the asparagus is produced in Peru’s Ica Valley, a desert area in the Andes and one of the driest places on earth. The asparagus beds developed in the last decade require constant irrigation, resulting in a plummeting local water supply, as extraction overtakes replenishment. In some places, it has fallen by eight metres a year since 2002, one of the fastest rates of aquifer depletion in the world. Peru is now the largest exporter of asparagus in the world, and the expansion of the industry has been made possible thanks to the World Bank’s commercial investment. “About 10,000 new jobs have been created in a very poor area. This development has contributed signifi cantly to Peru’s economic growth, but has produced confl ict. It is now obvious that attention has to be paid to water conservation. The water tragedy

unfolding has wide-ranging implications in all countries that produce fresh fruits and vegetables for shipment to the northern hemisphere off-season.”From “News of Diversity” by Hugh Daubney,

Seeds of Diversity, Seeding/11 www.seeds.ca

no contest

“Only 16 per cent of watermelons now have seeds, down from 42 per cent in 2003. Often the melons are not eaten out of hand as they used to be, but are more likely sliced and used in salads. Chefs prefer seedless melons, which are much more easily transformed into elegant cubes and fi ne dices. And without seeds, there can be no seed-spitting contests that were traditional across America. Alas, it is unlikely that the world record for spitting a watermelon seed will be broken. For the record, the tiny black bullet of a seed was spat 22.9 metres, about a quarter the length of a football fi eld.”From “News of Diversity” by Hugh Daubney,

Seeds of Diversity, Seeding/11 www.seeds.ca

waste

“Roughly a third of food is wasted, according to raw statistics from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. That’s about 1.3 billion tons per year. “In the developing world, over 40 per cent of food losses occur after harvest – while being stored or transported, and during processing and packing. In industrialized countries, more than 40 per cent of losses occur as a result of retailers and consumers discarding unwanted but often perfectly edible food.”From Small Farm, Jul-Aug/11.

www.smallfarmcanada.ca

imitation worcester sauce

“One gallon of ripe tomatoes washed and cut up. Pour over three quarts of water; let it boil down half. Stir occasionally to prevent the tomatoes from sticking. (A double vessel is valuable in preparing these sauces.) Strain through a sieve; add two tablespoonfuls of ginger, two of black pepper, two of salt, one of cloves, one of red pepper. Boil down to a quart; add a tumbler of vinegar. Strain, bottle, and cork tight.” From Mrs. Hill’s Southern

Practical Cookery and

Receipt Book by Annabella

P. Hill, University of South

Carolina Press, 2011.

First published 1872.

just like us

“Over fi fty million years ago, some ants began to alter their hunting and gathering strategies. Rather than simply killing and eating sap-sucking bugs, they learned to herd and ‘milk’ them, just as we herd and milk cattle and sheep. These ant-shepherds tend their fl ocks with utmost care, driving off insect predators, and, if the fl ow of sap on which the herd depends begins to dry up, the bugs are carried to richer pastures. The ants even construct shelters that they herd their charges into in bad weather. At around the same time that this Lilliputian pastoral society was coming into being, other ants took a different path. They learned that instead of killing rival ants they could take them as slaves.”From Here on Earth: A Natural History of the

Planet by Tim Flannery, HarperCollins, 2011.

digest c o m p i l e d b y d o u g l a s g p e a r c e


diet note

“... two martinis before dinner count as much as a generous slice of pie for dessert and, if you are trying to keep your weight constant, second thoughts are better than second helpings. In addition, ‘Let your contours be your guide.’”From Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and

Marion Rombauer Becker, Bobbs-Merrill, 1975.

stem cell research

“Consumers concerned about the environmental footprint of their diet can look forward to a new food product ... In vitro meat – an animal fl esh product produced in laboratories from the stem cells of farm animals – is being billed as a groundbreaking alternative to conventional livestock production. “Time to sell the farm? Not quite. Scientists estimate it will take at least another 30 years of research to produce anything more sophisticated than Spam.” From Small Farm, Jul-Aug/11.

www.smallfarmcanada.ca

peeling

tomatoes

“Putting tomatoes whole into the freezer saved time and energy at the hottest time of the year. When I was ready to use my frozen tomatoes, I ran a little warm water over them, and the skins slipped off easily.”A readers’ tip from Molly Peyman, Glenn Dale,

Maryland, in Mother Earth News, Wiser Living

Series, Winter/11. www.motherearthnews.com

good cook

“The cook was a good cook, as cooks go; and as cooks go, she went.” Saki �

Join us at the 23rd Annual

Feast of Fieldswww.feastoffields.org • 905.859.3609

at the COLD CREEK CONSERVATION AREA,in the Township of King. 1 - 5 p.m.Sun., Sept. 9, 2012

Pick up your napkin, wine glass and gift bag and begin your

stroll amongst our celebrated chefs, farmers, vintners and

brewers. Your senses are instantly tantalized by the delicious

organic creations you are about to experience.

One of your stops will be the “Marketplace” filled with organic

products from noted Artisans.

Feast of Fields is the longest running Organic Event in Ontario

presented by “Organic Advocates”, a non-profit organization

dedicated to the organic lifestyle.

TICKETS: $100 each or 10 for $90 each From June 1st-Sept. 8th, 2012.

Visa, Mastercard, Interac accepted. Purchase on-line at feastoffields.org or call.

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17049 Winston Churchill Blvd, Caledon519.927.5902 www.heatherleafarmmarket.ca

Farm-gate market offering drug-free black angus beef, bison, wild boar,

lamb, chicken, pork and turkey.

Local gourmet products and seasonal produce.

Taste You Can TrustTues & Wed 10-6; Thurs & Fri 10-7; Sat 9-5; Sun 12-4


Known as the witch of Mono Centre,

Lisa Yates is a wizard in the kitchen,

transforming ordinary weeds

into uncommon victuals

by cecily ross

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The driveway winds through the trees past a sign reading Cailleach Cnoc (Gaelic, I later learn, for “witch hill”), until it ends in a clearing beside a small stone cottage overlooking a pond. Right away, you can feel the magic.

Herbalist, folklorist, wild-foodie Lisa Yates emerges from the cool darkness of the broad veranda with a basket over her arm. Small and slender, with her reddish blonde hair pulled loosely into a ponytail and no makeup, she looks younger than her 53 years. And there is defi nitely something about her, not witchy, but something – nymph-like, fey, a hint of mystery.

Lisa has invited me for lunch, a meal she will prepare using ingredients we will forage from the grassy meadows and wetlands surrounding her house. We set out in the June sunshine, and before we have gone 10 paces, she stops and crouches down.

“Look at this plant trying to get my attention,” she says. It is wild yarrow, with its feathery leaves and creamy white fl ower. “You can eat the leaves,” she says, picking off a few, “or use it as a disinfectant on wounds.”

Oxeye daisy. “I’ve been eating a lot of these lately.” She explains the entire plant is edible, though the stalks get fi brous later in the summer.

We forage ahead through the bee-fi lled morning. Young fl eabane: “The leaves taste like spinach. Dry the fl owers and grind them into powder. It makes an excellent fl ea repellent.”

“Milkweed is my favourite plant right now. In June, you can break off the top two inches of the plant, blanch, then stir-fry, and it tastes like mild rapini.” Oh yes, and the “milk” is said to remove warts.

Dandelion. “The buds are great in salads.” Brine them and they taste like capers. The leaves are bitter, a taste Lisa says we’ve forgotten. Dandelion also helps digestion and aids the body in absorbing minerals.

Queen Anne’s Lace (wild carrot) can be eaten raw in early spring. The leaves taste like parsley. Older plants can be cooked with wild apples to make a broth.

Thistle. “Most people would never think of eating thistle,” says Lisa, “but boiled or fried, you can eat them, thorns and all.” They’re also an excellent source of manganese, iron, phosphorus and zinc.

“That’s why we are so malnourished,” she says. “We have forgotten how to use these highly nutritious plants. Wild things have way more nutrients and they make you feel full. Our bodies crave these things and we eat too much of empty foods trying to get them.”

Lisa, who has a doctorate in alternative medicine, grew up in Kentucky. She attributes her lifelong devotion to wild plants to a natural curiosity and the infl uence of her maternal grandmother. There is something semimystical about that devotion. She believes in the intelligence of plants, that they have something to tell us.

“Years ago, we had more intuition. We’ve lost that, but I believe that if you listen, plants will teach you.”

Lisa has been listening all her life, and experimenting too. She cautions it’s important to identify plants carefully before eating them, and even then to ingest small amounts before eating the whole thing. Not all plants are friendly. “I have probably poisoned myself a few times,” she says of her trial and error approach.

We pass a tangled patch of vetch, its elongated purple blooms just emerging. “Toxic!” she proclaims. Buttercups shimmer in the breeze. “Deadly poisonous. Leave them alone.”

We are barely halfway through our circumnavigation of the pond, and there is still so much to learn. The pollen from cattails is high in protein, add it to pancakes or baked goods. Hop clover can be used to make beer. The oily seeds of plantain are a high-energy trail food. The tender tops of goldenrod taste like mild asparagus. And a tea made from cedar is loaded with vitamin C. Ground spruce tips are excellent as a rub for grilled ribs. Chewing baby pine cones will protect your teeth.

I try one and indeed, it has a lemony, astringent taste that is not unpleasant. As we climb the hill to the house for lunch,

continued on next page

left, top to bottom : Wild grape tendrils, pine tips, milkweed fl ower tips, oxeye daisy.


Lisa’s basket now brimming with green things, I envision (my hunger tinged with dismay) platters of plantain and sautéed jewelweed washed down with mugs of mint tea, and I contemplate picking up a pizza on the way home.

Back at the house, while the “witch” of Mono Centre, as she is known locally, bustles away at her stove, I sip a cup of slightly spicy “coffee” made from dandelion roots. (Chop and roast in a 250°F oven for an hour. Store in an airtight container). Beside me, an open cupboard is fi lled with an array of preserves – jars of pickled wild leeks, dried mushrooms, elderberry cough syrup, pickled day lilies, wild quince vinegar, candied violets and dried wild mushrooms.

“I eat something wild every day,” says Lisa as she blanches lamb’s quarters, garlic mustard and dandelion greens. “I believe it connects you to where you live. Eat what you have around you and you’ll feel more grounded.”

Lunch, when it comes, is not what I expected. Despite her reverence for nuts and berries, Lisa’s culinary repertoire reaches well beyond the fi elds and forests. We sit on the veranda in the warm breeze and lunch on a sumptuous wild-weed chowder garnished with bacon, milkweed-ginger pot stickers with soy-sesame dipping sauce, tender wild grape leaves stuffed with local sheep’s milk cheese, oxeye daisy-black walnut pesto smeared on crusty bread, and for dessert, a simple fl an sweetened with pine syrup and candied violets.

And while we eat, Lisa continues her tales of trolls fl ying about on stalks of dockweed, how placing dogwood leaves in the pages of your journal will make the words invisible, that witches ingest deadly nightshade because it makes them fl y.

“I probably would have been burned at the stake if I’d lived 200 years ago,” she says. Today, Lisa Yates is a walking encyclopedia of the secret lives of plants. “I believe what is underfoot is trying to give us something. We just need to get out and learn.” �

where the wild things are

Oxeye Daisy PestoExcellent smeared on fresh bread or tossed with pasta.

ingredients

2 cups oxeye daisy fl owers, buds and tender leaf parts

1 cup black walnuts, chopped1⁄3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated2 large cloves of garlicSea salt to taste1 cup olive oil (approximately)

preparation

Place all ingredients except oil in food processor, and blend until mixed. Slowly add oil (more or less may be used to achieve desired consistency). Makes 2 cups.


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clockwise from top left : Wild dumplings with dipping sauce; wild greens chowder; wild grape leaves fi lled with cheese. Oxeye daisy pesto.


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Serving 11am to 9pm, Mon to Sat

Chef Matthew Jamieson

Wild DumplingsIn spring, these savoury treats contain tender milkweed fl ower tips. In fall, fi ll them with the roots of young burdock plants.

ingredients

2 cups milkweed green fl ower tips, diced, or 2 cups chopped fi rst-year burdock root*

Olive oil1½ tsp chopped fresh gingerSea saltChinese dumpling wrappers¼ cup sesame oil¼ cup soy sauce

preparation

For milkweed dumplings, blanch fl ower tips in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and dice. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté with milkweed and ginger for 5 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt. Set aside.

For burdock root dumplings, peel root and dice. Sauté in olive oil with ginger until tender. Season to taste with sea salt. Set aside.

Prepare dumplings by placing 1 tsp wild fi lling on each wrapper. Wet edges of dough and pinch to seal. Steam dumplings for 6 to 8 minutes, or fry in a small amount of oil until browned. Serve with dipping sauce.

dipping sauce

Blend ¼ cup sesame oil, ¼ cup soy sauce and remaining chopped ginger.

* First-year burdock root does not have a fl ower stalk and leaves are close to the ground. Always use proper identifi cation when preparing wild foods.

WildDumIn sprintreats cmilkwefi ll themyoung

ingredients

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Our handmade truffles and chocolates are created from Belgian chocolate,

cream, butter, nuts and fruits.

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To help you identify wild plants, Lisa Yates recommends Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada by Andy MacKinnon, Linda Kershaw, John Arnason, Patrick Owen, Amanda Karst and Fiona Hamersley-Chambers (Lone Pine) and Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons (Allan C. Hood & Co.).

seasonal wild farewhere the wild things are

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3

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springdandelionsjewelweed sproutsmustardsvioletsfi ddleheadsleeksconifer tips 1cattails 2watercress 3milkweed sprouts

and green fl ower 4asparagus marsh marigolds 5mintselect fungiwild grape tendrils

and new leaves 8locust fl owers cleavers

autumnwild applescrab applesquincewatercress 3acornsblack walnuts 11

chicory rootdandelionssumac 12

high bush cranberry 13

summermilkweed buds and

small pods 4lamb’s quartersjewelweed stalks, leaves

and fl owers 7burdock 6day lilieswild grapes 8select fungiwatercress 3dandelionspurslane 9cattail pollen 2berries

(elder, black, thimble, raspberry, goose etc.)

wild cherries ground cherries 10

plantain seeds

winterWatercress, from streams and ponds that do not freeze 3

Rowan berries after a freeze are palatable 14

Wildfl ower heads with seeds (identify before eating)

Preserved wild food, canned, dried, fermented or frozen �

Wild Greens Chowder

Use whatever greens are in season and still tender for this delicious and nutritious chowder.

ingredients

1⁄3 cup vegetable or chicken stock3 medium potatoes, boiled and

cut into chunks4 cups wild greens (dandelion,

lamb’s quarters, nettles, chickweed, garlic mustard), roughly chopped

6 slices bacon, diced1⁄3 cup celery, chopped1⁄3 cup onion, chopped1¼ cups milk1¼ cups cream1 tbsp fl ourSalt and freshly ground pepper

preparation

Heat stock in a pot and simmer greens on low for about 5 minutes until wilted and tender. Add boiled potatoes to greens.

Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan and set aside. Sauté celery and onion in bacon fat and add to greens and potatoes.

Stir in 1 cup of milk and all the cream. Simmer on low until heated through. Mix fl our with reserved ¼ cup milk and add to chowder. Heat, stirring until thickened. Add bacon bits. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into heated bowls. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 2.


TThe early spring thaw and April frost hit hardest in Glen Huron, where Bob Giffen, 68, runs a hundred-acre apple orchard and Giffen’s Country Market. Giffen estimates 97 per cent of his crop was wiped out by the refreeze. It’s the worst crop failure he’s seen in 45 years. Giffen has crop insurance, but that won’t cover the costs of leaving his cold storage facilities empty, his fl eet of trucks idle – or the salaries of the 20 employees he would usually hire.

Even in a normal year, Giffen would have plenty to say about his declining fortunes. Ontarians consume more fresh fruit every year, but less and less of it comes from here. We import nearly half our fresh apples. While apple imports from places like China are increasing, Ontario exports are in decline. Apple acreage in the province is less than half what it was in 1994.

It’s a squeeze forcing local farmers like Giffen to modernize, make more farmgate sales directly to consumers, process their own product to add value, or simply pull out of the business altogether. The situation is partly our fault. Given an array of imported choices, we’re all too likely to pick the Granny Smith from Washington over the McIntosh from down the road. The mainstay varieties that grow best here, like the Mac, aren’t the big sellers they used to be. The other problems are grocery store consolidation and fi erce competition in which the major food retailers wield all the power and farmers get squeezed.

“The cost of production has gone up very dramatically in the last decade, and yet the return to the farmer has not,” says Brian Gilroy, chairman of the Ontario Apple Growers. If apples sell for a dollar a pound

at the grocery store, the farmer would be lucky to get a quarter.

“We grow it, take all the risk, but the packer gets as much as we do, and the retailer gets twice as much. If you can capture the rest of the 75 cents a pound by retailing it yourself, that’s where your money seems to be in apple growing,” says Gilroy.

The proof is in Giffen’s small produce and baked goods shop nestled amidst the orchards and storage buildings on Station Street in Glen Huron.

“I’d survive a lot better on ten acres of apples and sell all our own just out of the

the apple growers’blues

A spring freeze

that wiped out

88 per cent of

Ontario’s apple

crop is only the

latest in a string

of challenges

pressuring local

growers to squeeze

more value out of

the humble apple

by t im shuff

“We grow it, take all the risk, but

the packer gets as much as we do,

and the retailer twice as much.”


store,” says Giffen, but for now he’s trapped by the inertia of his investments in cold storage and trucking.

The future appears to be in large scale, corporate farms or small pick-your-own operations and farm stores, with medium-sized family farms like Giffen’s gradually disappearing. To grow and be more profi table, he says, farmers have to invest in planting dwarf trees in high density – a thousand or more to an acre instead of his 200. At $20,000 an acre to plant, high density is capital intensive, but the payoff is increased yield and lower labour costs.

Still, few are willing to put up the money. “There’s not many 25 or 30 year olds in this business,” says Giffen. At 68, he has opted to downsize. He recently received a subsidy to rip out 30 acres of trees. From 2008 to 2010, the Canada-

Ontario Orchards and Vineyards Transition Program (OVTP) offered farmers $1,600 per acre to destroy orchards.

The intent was to get rid of “ineffi cient” trees, says Giffen. “But man, some of those acres we pushed out were not ineffi cient.”

While other apple producing provinces (B.C., Quebec and Nova Scotia) have funding programs to pay for replanting with modern orchards, for years the Ontario Apple Growers have been unsuccessfully lobbying the province for similar support. The OVTP came with no incentive or requirement to replant.

“Growers just took the money and ran,” says Giffen. �


Apples at farm stores like Giffen’s Country Market in Glen Huron come straight off the tree in season and straight out of storage in the off season, making them fresher than grocery store apples that sit on unrefrigerated shelves. Buying local also helps support local farmers by giving them at least four times as much as they would get wholesale.

Another buy-local advantage is the chance to sample and support heritage varieties. At his farm in Mulmur, Alan Hibben grows some 250 to 300 varieties of heritage apples on a few acres of land. Heritage apples, Hibben says, are basically what we call commercial failures. “They’re the ones that don’t ship, don’t keep. You’ve got to use them quickly after you pick them.”

From the Adams Pearmain to the Zabergau Reinette, Hibben’s list of varieties on the Creemore Heritage Apple Society’s website reveals the bewildering diversity that we’re missing out on at the local superstore, which may carry few local varieties at best. Some have red or pink fl esh, others are as large as a pound apiece. One of Hibben’s favourites is Grimes Golden (illustrated, top), a sweet, greenish-yellow apple you’d never fi nd in stores – unless you drop by a local shop like the 100 Mile Store in Creemore, which just happens to sell some of Hibben’s “failures.” — TS

Giffen’s Country Market

55 Station St, Glen Huron705-466-3080, www.giffens.ca

Freshness and variety:more reasons to buy local

After 2011’s bumper crop, Bob Giffen (above) laments the loss of more than 90 per cent of this year’s yield.

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A soft spot for hard cider

A Caledon East couple is turning Ontario apples into profi ts at their recently opened Bolton processing and bottling plant. Nick Sutcliffe and Lindsay Smith’s Pommies Dry Cider has made it onto the coveted shelves of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. The timing was right for the couple thanks to a spike in the worldwide popularity of hard cider as a beer alternative in the wake of Prince William’s endorsement of the beverage in the UK. In the last three years, the LCBO has seen a 34 per cent increase in its volume of cider sales, 19.7 per cent last year alone. “We think we can make a mark in Caledon for cider,” says Smith. “We should. We have lots of apples here.” Smith and Sutcliffe buy only Ontario apples for their cider (although this year’s crop failure may force them to look further afi eld). The apples are pressed at Spirit Tree Estate Cidery and transferred to the Pommies facility on Healey Road in Bolton for the fermentation process and bottling. Eventually, the couple hopes to acquire their own orchard and open a retail store selling their cider directly to the public. Sutcliffe says it’s the taste that sets Pommies apart from other ciders. “Ontario grows great cider apples with high acidity because of the cold climate.” Their secret recipe uses a minimum of three to fi ve apple varieties, no concentrates – ever. “What you put in you get out,” says Sutcliffe. “You can taste the freshness.”

www.pommiesdry.com

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r

With a small operation on 50 acres where he grows apples for direct sale from his own store, Scott Lunau is avoiding the wholesale market entirely. Lunau bought his farm 16 years ago. Early on, he realized there was no money in wholesaling apples. So he opened Albion Orchards Apple Farm and Country Market, a pick-your-own business and on-farm store. His success is tied to his proximity to the GTA. He can sell fresh-from-the-farm apples at lower than grocery store prices and still make a profi t. Last year, Lunau sold fresh apples for 89 cents a pound. Some of his best customers are older European immigrants.

“They recognize that if you go to the farm at harvest time, you can buy lots and save money.” A local-eating tradition that predates the notion of a hundred-mile anything. “But most Canadian young people don’t really think that way,” he says. “They’re not coming to the farm to stock up and save money. They’re just coming here strictly for entertainment.”

Which makes the pick-your-own biz as weather dependent for the selling season as it is for growing. Lunau’s business is open only from mid-August to December. “We count on nice sunny Sunday afternoons. If it’s rainy, we’re dead.” This year, however, he is praying for rain.

Lunau wasn’t hit as hard by the spring frost this year as Giffen, but he still suffered “well over 50 per cent” crop loss on his 6,000 trees. And with the dry conditions this summer, his losses now stand at close to 90 per cent. Province-wide, crop loss prior to the drought was estimated at 88 per cent.

“I will not have enough apples to sell to get by,” says Lunau, who struggles to fi nd enough time to farm as a single father of two young children. “This is the worst year I’ve ever had. Things are going downhill really quickly.

“I’ve got to fi nd other things to sell,” he concludes. “I learned quickly you can’t just have a store and sell apples. We sell some cookies and pies, juice, a lot of apple cider.” He grows pumpkins and Christmas trees too, and is looking for other ways to branch out.

the apple growers’ blues

continued on page 24

Weather matters at the pick-your-own

“I learned you can’t just have a store

and sell apples. We sell some cookies

and pies, juice, a lot of apple cider.”

Albion Orchards

14800 Innis Lake Rd, Caledon905-584-0354, www.albionorchards.com

With a spring frost and a summer drought, “This is the worst year I’ve ever had,” says Albion Orchards’ Scott Lunau.p

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Scott Lunau might look no further than the other side of Highway 10 in Caledon to fi nd a way to add more value to the apple business. Tom Wilson grew up on a pick-your-own farm like Lunau’s, but in 2007 he and his veterinarian wife Nicole Judge ventured in a new direction.

“We wanted to do something that wasn’t as affected by weather, and something more upscale,” says Judge.

The pair bought a property on Boston Mills Road, planted a new high-density orchard, and built an innovative, geothermally heated and cooled timberframe and strawbale building to house a cider press, fermentation room, wood-fi red oven bakery, retail store and tasting room for their new year-round business – Spirit Tree Estate Cidery.

They went to Somerset, England, and then Cornell University to take courses from the world’s foremost cider-making expert. They took pastry, bread making, and wood oven courses to round out their skill set for a food philosophy that is back to basics, from scratch and local. Spirit Tree’s bread is made from locally stone-ground, Hockley Valley–grown heritage Red Fife wheat. On Friday evenings, the wood oven is reserved for thin crust pizza. Commuters and cottagers can call ahead for pick up, stay to eat on the deck, or take away some cider for the weekend with their order.

Today, Spirit Tree’s fl edgling orchards are increasing production by about 80 per cent each year. This spring’s frost damage was only about 20 per cent, making them perhaps the only orchard in Ontario that will harvest more this year than last. The market for hard cider as a beer alternative is booming, following in the tracks of the microbrewery trend. And Wilson has noticed a spike in demand for juice apples for the fi rst time in decades. Even large brewers like Alexander Keith’s are launching ciders, but Spirit Tree is ahead of the curve with a product that is truly artisanal and local.

Even as subdivisions close in on the farms and orchards around Spirit Tree, it only means their customer base will grow. And they no longer dread the autumn rains, which now drive customers into their place to have a snack and drink by the fi re. Wilson and Judge are in the right place at the right time, and they seem to represent the future of the local apple, whose value nowadays lies more in what you can add to it – by baking it into pies, opening the farm to tourism, or pressing and fermenting it into cider – than the humble fruit itself. �

Tim Shuff is a freelance writer.

the apple growers’ blues

High spirits at the Cidery

The market for hard cider as

a beer alternative is booming,

following in the tracks of the

microbrewery trend.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

1137 Boston Mills Rd, Caledon905-838-2530, www.spirittreecider.com

Tom Wilson and Nicole Judge of Spirit Tree Estate Cidery expect to be the only orchard in Ontario that will harvest more this year than last.p

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Reading, writing and

… roasted ribs?At Bolton’s St. Michael Secondary School, the hickory stick has been replaced

with a baguette, and Chef Gallo is calling the tune | by l iz be at t y �

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Alysha Muir and platter of succulent roasted ribs.


“You must be our visitor,” says Grade 10 student Liam McLaughlin, walking through the offi ce door at St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Bolton. Neatly dressed in black chef ’s garb, he looks me straight in the eye, shakes my hand with a grin, then points the way to his classroom. Such poise. Remarkable for a 16 year old, I think. Then I meet Liam’s classmates.

Even as they chop, stir, and scurry between stations in this state-of-the-art professional kitchen, the students in St. Michael’s busy hospitality and tourism program emanate an uncommon confi dence. The vibe here is palpable – clearly these kids feel part of something important, partly because the school’s brand new banquet facility rivals top hotels in the GTA, and partly because they work with a professional caterer to feed the entire school population every day. But mostly these students seem to

have found a deep sense of purpose in their work with food.

“Food is life,” says chef/teacher Michael Gallo, 29. He reaches between two students preparing fresh pasta and shows them how to shape a pile of fl our to hold a raw egg. “Food starts with elements perfect and whole, and if you approach it with passion, gratitude, creativity and care, you can make something truly magical out of it.” This

is Gallo’s credo, and his program is just one shining example of how schools in the Headwaters region are connecting kids to food in ways that can change lives.

It’s not just that new provincial nutritional guidelines for food sold in schools refl ect an increased awareness of how high-quality fresh food is key to growing minds and bodies. Yes, the new standards for sugar, carbs, fats, and sodium are a fi rst step in combatting obesity and a variety of attention and behavioural issues. But they don’t come close to the vision of this homegrown Jamie Oliver.

A graduate of Humber College’s prestigious chefs’ school, Gallo took his stagiaire (internship) at chef Andrew Fairlie’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. He returned to Canada with offers from some of Toronto’s top hotels and restaurants. Industry peers expected the Bolton native

reading, writing, roasted ribs

new guidelines for food sold in schools refl ect an increased awareness of how high-quality fresh food is key to growing minds and bodies


to open his own restaurant in Toronto or New York. But Gallo’s abiding passion for food remained deeply rooted in Bolton. It was here, growing up in a fi rst-generation Italian-Canadian home, that his love of family, community and home cooking were inexorably linked. But it was his wife Josie and her passion for her work as a teacher that brought Gallo home.

“Josie’s stories about her students inspired me,” says Gallo. “I’d pretty much gone to the top of my game, but I knew the greatest reward for me would be giving back to my community. I wanted to pass onto these kids all the amazing things that inspired me to become a chef.”

Fate smiled. St. Michael needed a champion for its new hospitality program. Gallo started last September, and now the program is operating at full capacity of 200 students to rave reviews.

“Michael really engages students with his

left to right : Christopher Sciamarella, Alexandra Terisigni, Vanessa Gutta, Alexandra Rebelo: Meeting the demands of mass food production.


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passion for culinary arts,” says Antonio Rosa, head of the technological studies department at St. Michael. “He’s generating candidates for top chef schools, but the respect he commands and his high expectations also do wonders for at-risk students who really enjoy the energized hands-on learning.”

The hospitality and tourism program combines culinary skills focusing on fresh, healthy foods with a commercial kitchen environment where students must meet the demands of mass food production. They also work front and back of house for their popular staff bistro. The goal is to prepare top graduates for work in the catering industry or post-secondary chef school. And if this year’s fi nal project for the Grade 10 class is any indication, they’ll be ready.

At a Titanic-themed dinner theatre event held at the school last spring, Gallo’s students planned the menu, prepared the food, and served dinner to 200 guests. The

entrée was New York strip loin. For dessert, they created an eight-foot-long cake in the shape of the ill-fated vessel. “I can’t tell you the number of people who remarked how professional the catering was,” says Rosa.

With his rookie year now complete and the program’s fi rst Grade 11 class in the wings for this fall, Gallo is focusing on his next steps. He’s reached out to local farmers and community gardens. “Our connection to local food sources is something special in our region,” says Gallo. “Now I want to bring that into our kitchen.”

The value of kids connecting with food at its source is something veteran geography teacher Jamie Richards at Orangeville District Secondary School (ODSS) understands well. ODSS was one of the fi rst secondary schools in Ontario to initiate a culinary arts program, and Richards was involved from the start.

His self-sustaining greenhouse program

includes cultivating and selling fresh produce such as beans, peas, lettuce, fennel, cabbage, beats, Swiss chard and more to staff and the very popular student-run cafeteria. If you’re not lined up fi ve minutes after the lunch bell, you’ll miss out. Carrots picked in the morning can end up in a chicken pot pie by lunch. A fresh kohlrabi at 9 a.m. might be mango-kohlrabi slaw by noon. Students grow and prepare foods, some they may have never seen before, and their peers throughout the school are eager to savour the fresh new fl avours.


“our connection to local food sources is something special in our region … I want to bring that into our kitchen”

back row, left to right : Paul Rubino, Michael Marriani, Noah Marrano, Daniel Rojas, Matthew Provenzano, Michael Khatib, Roberto Lolli, Christopher Scricca, Samantha Simone, Vanessa Gutta, Krystina Hnatykiw. front row, left to right : Alexandra Terisigni, Antonio Murgida, Liam McLaughlin, Alexandra Rebelo, Alysha Muir, Peter Gonzalez. in front of table : Michael Gallo.


Call it a sensory object lesson for what Richards’ students learn in class. “We were just talking about different forms of agriculture, like factory-farmed chickens versus free-range,” he says. Richards brought in both kinds of eggs, the latter from his own farm. The kids then cooked and ate them in class. “They were blown away by the difference in fl avour.”

His goal: “If the greenhouse program inspires kids to have their own little garden at some point in time, we’ll have succeeded in shaping well-rounded citizens who are healthy and can take care of their own food.”

Others are starting even earlier to help local students make the connection between living well and eating well. Belfountain Public School’s eco-focused curriculum has had kids planting and harvesting vegetable gardens for some time. Now their hot lunch program, run by school parent Stacey Fokas of Freshalicious.ca, is helping make that


Chef/teacher Michael Gallo demonstrates knife skills with Christopher Sciamarella.

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fresh food connection for students even stronger. Fokas’ company co-ordinates fresh hot lunch programs for schools in Caledon, Bolton and Orangeville using local chefs who source as many local foods as possible.

“The best measure of the food quality and taste is the near full participation of school families in the program,” says Belfountain principal Raymond Kaake. Their spring menu included roast pepper bruschetta with chicken, beef stir-fry with basmati rice, penne primavera, and for dessert, Stacey’s cranberry cookies or apple cobbler. Allergy-friendly options include gluten-free, lactose-free, vegetarian and nut-free items.

“The kids talk about it. They love the food, and I notice they’re becoming more

aware of local seasonal foods on our menus,” says Fokas. “For me, it’s all about the goodness that comes from fresh food.”

Gallo would agree. Back in the kitchen at St. Michael, a student approaches with an outstretched handful of freshly made pizza dough, destined for today’s lunch crowd. Gallo picks it up, considers it side to side, and then pinches it. “Perfect, absolutely perfect.” He turns to me and suggests, “You try.” I do. Then he hands it back with a proud smile. “Really perfect,” he insists again as the student leaves beaming. He continues, “I guess what I hope to impart here is what I call a Michelin-starred life. Every little thing you cut, every little thing you plate, means something. It’s really the same passion and care that we should bring to every aspect of life.” �

Liz Beatty is a freelance writer and branding consultant living in Brimstone.


every little thing you cut, every little thing you plate, means something

top : The happy faces of well-fed Belfountain kids. bottom, left to right : Belfountain parents Katarina Prokosch and Jennifer Schill, and Stacey Fokas of Freshalicious: “Making fresh food connections even stronger.”

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cooking with James

James Buder, chef at The Millcroft Inn, demonstrates how to prepare succulent duck confi t.

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Any chef can make foie gras and beef tenderloin taste amazing because, in a way, they already are. But to take a challenging food like duck and make it extraordinary is what I really love to do. Duck legs are naturally tough and sinewy because the duck uses them so much. As a result, they require long, slow cooking at a low temperature to ensure they are not rubbery. If properly prepared, the meat will be moist, buttery and extremely fl avourful.

The term “confi t” comes from the French word confi re, which means “to preserve.” A specialty of southwestern France, particularly the Occitan region, it is usually prepared from the legs of geese or ducks by slowly cooking the cured meat in its own rendered fat and allowing it to cool. If this

centuries-old technique is properly followed, confi t will last about six months in the refrigerator without spoiling.

Remember to season the meat generously with salt and herbs distributed evenly on all surfaces of the legs. After allowing it to cure in the refrigerator for two days, be sure to carefully wash off all the seasonings. Even traces of garlic or thyme could turn rancid during the cooking process. It is also very important to dry the duck thoroughly before placing the legs in the fat to cook. A few minutes in a moderate oven, just until it begins to brown, will ensure it is completely dry.

Then it can be submerged in the liquefi ed duck fat. A rule of thumb is the fat should cover the duck legs by at least one inch. This

duckConfi t

b y j a m e s b u d e r


may seem like a lot of fat (and it is), but duck fat can be kept indefi nitely in the refrigerator and reused for many dishes.

The most important part of making confi t is to remember “slow and low.” After about two hours or more in a 250° to 275°F oven, check for doneness by inserting a skewer. If it meets little resistance, the confi t is

done and ready to be stored. When you’re ready to eat it, allow the

duck to come to room temperature before removing from the solidifi ed fat. Brown it carefully in a frying pan and serve. I suggest accompanying it with braised red cabbage and lightly fried potatoes. Confi t is also wonderful served cold in a salad with baby greens and a savoury dressing.

Preparing duck confi t is not diffi cult, but it is time consuming and requires patience, technique and even love. Investing time, care and passion will result in something really memorable, which is what we strive for daily. �

James Buder is executive chef at The Millcroft Inn in Alton.

ingredients

salad

4 oz (100 g) duck confi t, shredded4 oz (100 g) baby Swiss chard½ oz (15 g) red onion, very thinly sliced 1 oz (30 g) enoki mushrooms3 grape tomatoes, halved1 tsp porcini vinaigrette½ tsp truffl e oil

porcini vinaigret te

1 tsp Dijon mustard1 cup red wine vinegar½ oz (15 g) dried porcini mushrooms,

ground in spice mill to powder consistency

Fresh herbs, chopped 2½ cups extra virgin olive oilSalt and freshly ground pepper

preparation

In a small bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, porcini powder and fresh herbs. Slowly add oil, whisking constantly to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 3 to 4 cups.

To serve, divide duck among 4 plates. Top with Swiss chard and onions. Arrange mushrooms and grape tomatoes. Top with fresh herbs and drizzle with vinaigrette and truffl e oil.

Duck Confi t and Swiss Chard Salad


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cooking with james

Place cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, thyme and garlic in a large bowl. Add brown sugar and salt, mix well and reserve.

Spread half spice mixture on bottom of a medium-sized pan or platter. Place duck legs skin side up on the spices. Top with remaining spices.

Remove duck legs from pan, wash off salt and spices completely and discard. Pat legs dry with towel. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

1 2

4

Place duck legs on a baking sheet and roast until skin begins to brown, about 15 minutes. This will dry them completely after washing. In the meantime, in a medium-sized cooking pot, warm duck fat over low heat until liquifi ed.

5

Submerge duck legs in fat, cover with aluminum foil, and place in oven at 250ºF. The legs will take roughly 2½ hours to cook. Check for doneness by stabbing with a wooden skewer near joint. If skewer pulls out easily, legs are done. If not, continue cooking. Allow to cool until fat congeals. Store duck confi t in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

6

Spiced Duck Confi t

The cloves, cinnamon, and brown sugar give this recipe an exotic twist. However, feel free to replace them with shallots and a bay leaf for more traditional fl avouring.

ingredients

2 tbsp whole cloves2 tbsp ground cinnamon1 tbsp black peppercorn,

coarsely cracked¼ bunch fresh thyme sprigs3 garlic cloves, sliced¼ cup brown sugar¼ cup coarse salt4 whole duck legs8 cups duck fat (enough to

completely cover duck legs)

preparation �


Cover pan with plastic wrap and place another same sized pan on top of duck legs. Weigh down top container with soup cans or jars. Place duck legs in the refrigerator and allow to cure for two days.

3

To serve, remove duck legs from fat. Fry legs skin side down in a heavy skillet. Continue to cook over low heat until skin is browned and crisp. Serve on a bed of fresh greens with sliced potatoes fried in duck fat and braised red cabbage. Reserve any leftover duck fat for later use. Serves 4. �

7

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That’s


If cooking is theatre, then Miriam Streiman’s farm kitchen is the ideal stage, and the 31-year-old professional cook has landed a leading role.

Miriam is a force: chef, local/sustainable food advocate, food stylist and recipe developer for the Food Network, CBC, CTV and TVO, as well as a member of the steering committees for Slow Food Toronto and Terroir, a Toronto-based hospitality symposium.

She has also just opened Mad Maple Country Inn and Agriturismo in Maple Valley, north of Shelburne. (Agriturismo is an Italian term for a farm guest house that serves local fare). It is here, in the newly renovated kitchen, that Miriam is putting on the performance of a lifetime.

The space does double duty as Miriam and husband Neil Epstein’s leisurely country kitchen and a hectic entertaining centre. It is both cozy enough for two and spacious enough for a cast of dozens.

A bundle of energy, Miriam whips around her kitchen in a polka-dotted shift and bare feet. The morning sun pouring through the expansive new windows softens the black slate countertops. The view from every corner of the open kitchen/dining room takes in the rolling fi elds and freshly dug gardens. There isn’t much wall space, which is exactly what the couple wanted. The farm landscape and this spectacular kitchen are all the artwork that’s needed.

Miriam and Neil bought the 1890s yellow brick Victorian farmhouse on County Road 124 four years ago. And with the help of local contractor Jamie Korthals, they began its transformation into a country inn last year. Now that it’s fi nished, Miriam can’t say enough about Korthals and his appreciation for older homes.

“You could tell Jamie cared deeply about the house and our vision,” she says.

This kitchen renovation was no small deal. To open up the space, the supporting wall between the kitchen and dining room came down and was replaced by a 26-foot steel beam.

“Most kitchens are a big job in older homes like this,” says Korthals. “Kitchens function a lot differently today, so we usually have to take out walls to incorporate the work area into the living space.”

For Miriam and Neil, the big country kitchen with its long trestle table and wood-burning fi replace, is a dream come true. Miriam knew what she wanted even before they bought the house. She always imagined her stove at centre stage, with a step down into the dining area so guests would be able to see, hear and smell the magic as it was being created. And that is what she got.

The large, welcoming Calacatta marble island, fl anked by colourful mismatched vintage stools, is the hub of the action. The island wraps around a pair of Blue Star gas ranges (one 24-inch and one 36-inch), from where Miriam and Neil entertain their audience of house guests, family and friends.

“This is theatre,” says Miriam.And on this particular morning, rehearsals

are underway. The deep stainless steel industrial sink (from DSW Restaurant Supply in Toronto) is fi lled with veggies from their garden and bounty from foraging expeditions out to the surrounding countryside. The 50-cubic-foot fridge from Nella gives another nod to Miriam’s professional cooking background.

Ikea cabinets have been customized with barnboard ends and Restoration Hardware knobs to give them a country feel. Many items, from the light fi xtures to the beech fl ooring, are reclaimed. The hardware securing the sliding barnboard doors came from Singhampton chef Michael Stadtländer. Neil constructed the range hood himself using original exterior wood siding uncovered during the renovation. The countertops and island top are seconds with quirky chips and scratches.

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EntertainmentMiriam

Streiman’s

country kitchen

is more than

a place to eat,

drink and be

merry – it’s a

culinary stage

and she’s the

leading lady

by emily worts


top : Mismatched vintage stools add a quirky charm to the immaculate white kitchen. bottom left : Twin Blue Star gas ranges take centre stage. bottom right : Two massive pine tables and a collection of fl ea market chairs will accommodate as many as 20 guests.


“They’re seconds but totally fi ne,” says Miriam. “We want the kitchen to look used and we want the patina. It shows it’s loved and we want people to be comfortable here.”

This is an interactive space, at its best when fi lled with people all cooking together. For years, Neil and Miriam have been collecting kitchen tools and gadgets. In one drawer, Miriam counts seven rolling pins. Another is fi lled with wooden spoons, and yet another is dedicated to cast-iron frying pans.

“Everything you want is where you need it,” she says.

Her schmata (Yiddish for a piece of raggedy clothing or a bit of old cloth) drawer holds a collection of vintage aprons and the piles of tea towels she uses for everything from wiping counters to cleaning chickens. That’s why she put the laundry room right beside the kitchen. Sliding barnboard doors conceal the area, which doubles as a bussing station, when the laundry (particularly schmatas) is piling up. The laundry room has another large restaurant-style sink for washing up.

Once upon a time, Miriam and Neil’s house was a general store and a resting spot for weary travellers passing through. “So it’s only natural for this home to be shared with other people,” she says.

And indeed, Miriam and Neil’s kitchen has already become a hub of culinary activity, with local artists, chefs, and farmers coming together in celebration of the area’s bounty.

“We are bringing people together through food,” she says. “When people come here, they are really engaging with food and having a tactile experience. We want them to leave with delicious memories. I love serving and making them feel special.”

It’s hard not to feel special here. Miriam places a wooden cutting board loaded with her homemade Red Fife and maple scones on the island. She pours coffee and fetches Harmony Organic cream from the fridge. Grabbing a schmata, she erases the fi ngerprints left on the fridge door. This old house, with all its quirks and second-hand charm, is the perfect stage for her next performance. �

Emily Worts is a freelance writer. For information about Mad Maple Country Inn and Agriturismo, see www.madmaple.ca

that ’s entertainment

recipes on next page

We serve and sell premium, top-quality,great-tasting beef. Always tender andjuicy. There’s no taste like it.

We are pleased to introduce our newline of gluten-free pork and poultryproducts. Come in and try some fordinner tonight.

Our mobile kitchen serves smokedbeef, all-beef franks and sausage on abun, as well as peameal, egg andcheese on a bun.Wayne Speers Orangeville [email protected]

The GlobeRestaurantFine dining in 19th

century surroundings

*****Lunches • Teas

Dinners

*****Reservations (705) 435-6981

Closed TuesdaysIn Rosemont, Hwy. 89,

east of Airport Rd.


Caramel Apple Butter

This recipe is a tribute to the apples grown around the hills of Headwaters. It is perfect with cheese, on toasty bread with a thick swoosh of butter, as a fi lling for tarts, or mixed into sauces. Experiment with other fruit or vegetable purées to celebrate what is available each season, such as pumpkin, pear or carrot. Inspired by Toronto chef Justin Courneya’s recipe.

ingredients

8 lbs or about 25 sweet apples, cored and cut into eighths (Miriam uses organic Four Wheel Farm* apples)

1 cup sugar ½ cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter,

softenedPinch of salt

preparation

Place apples in a large pot over medium-high heat and cover. Once they begin to release their juices and soften, uncover and cook until completely soft, approximately 15–20 minutes, stirring often. Purée using a food mill or blend and process through a sieve. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spread sugar evenly in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Watch carefully until sugar dissolves and becomes a deep golden colour, approximately 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, taking care not to burn the sugar.

Once sugar caramelizes and is liquid, turn heat off and quickly add apple purée. The mixture will steam and splatter a little, so wear oven mitts or long sleeves. Stir vigorously, scraping bottom of pot and incorporating apple purée into caramel.

Add butter, season with salt and mix to combine. Bring apple/caramel mixture to a strong simmer. Remove from heat and transfer to a large, fl at-bottomed roasting

pan. Place pan in oven and roast until mixture has reduced by half, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check oven often, scraping down sides of pan to incorporate the crispy caramelized sugar pieces and prevent the edges from burning.

Once mixture is a rich dark brown and thick in consistency, remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle and pack into jars. Or while still hot, spoon over vanilla ice cream!

Caramel-Apple Butter can be refrigerated for up to two weeks, or processed and canned. Makes 4 cups.

* Four Wheel Farm : Glen Huron 705-428-3425

that ’s entertainment


Mad Maple Scones

These scones celebrate the fl avour of freshly milled heritage fl ours, butter and maple syrup. Crisp on the outside with a rich, nutty interior, they make a perfect morning treat. They are meant to be devoured the day they are baked and pair perfectly with a smear of dense Caramel-Apple Butter or fruit preserves and good coffee.

ingredients

2¾ cups pastry fl our, plus extra for dusting (Miriam uses K2 Milling’s† Gold Finch Pastry fl our)

¼ cup Red Fife wheat fl our (K2 Milling)½ tsp baking soda2 tbsp baking powder¼ tsp fi ne salt1 cup unsalted butter, frozen1½ cups 35% cream

¼ cup maple syrup1 fresh egg (Miriam uses The New Farm’s‡

eggs for their bright orange yolks)¼ cup sugar

preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F and position rack in middle of oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Coat frozen butter in the fl our mixture on all sides. Using large holes of a box grater, grate butter into dry ingredients. With the tips of your fi ngers mix grated butter into the fl our.

Whisk together 1¼ cups cream and maple syrup. Add to dry ingredients and gently combine with a fork, scraping the sides of the bowl. Finish incorporating with tips of your fi ngers until mixture just comes together. Do not overmix.

Lightly dust a clean, dry surface with pastry fl our. Place your scone mixture on the fl oured surface. Lightly dust top of dough with fl our, if needed. Roll out into a large rectangle 1½–2 inches thick. Dust a pastry scraper or knife with fl our and cut into squares (4 large or 8 small), then divide squares into triangles.

Using an offset spatula or knife, gently place scones 2 inches apart on baking tray, leaving enough room for rising and spreading. Whisk egg and remaining cream together. Brush tops of scones with eggwash and sprinkle generously with sugar.

Bake until scones are golden brown, approximately 12–15 minutes, rotating tray once during baking. Remove tray from oven and let cool. Makes about 8 large or 16 smaller scones. �

† K2 Milling : Tottenham 905-936-3494 k2milling.blogspot.com / ‡ The New Farm : Creemore 705-466-6302 www.thenewfarm.ca


Erin’s Dolores Smith

shares her passion for

the many wonders of

extra virgin olive oil

by nicol a ross

Decadent chocolates made with extra virgin olive oil. Recipe on page 46.

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When she started out with her company The Olivar Corp, her objectives were to import and distribute the best quality olive oils from Spain, the world’s largest producer, and educate people about its health benefi ts. She chose Spanish oil partly because the marketplace was saturated with Italian and Greek oils, and because she was born in Madrid.

To get our tasting underway, Dolores explained the term extra virgin: “Extra virgin oil has no taste defects. It doesn’t taste woody or metallic or mouldy.” Extra virgin means the oil is unrefi ned – extracted by pressing, with no fl avour-destroying heat or chemicals used in the process. She urged us to taste the difference between “extra virgin” and “virgin” oils. “If a person tasted an ordinary virgin oil,” she said, “it would turn their stomach.”

The International Olive Council stipulates the fatty acid content of extra virgin oil must be less than 0.8 per cent, but the high quality oils she imports are nearer to 0.2 per cent. Extra virgin oils must also contain less than 20 units of peroxide (a measure of oxidation), and the temperature of the oil during processing must not exceed 27°C, hence the term “cold pressed.”

Sultry Peach Chutney

We substituted Ontario peaches for the usual mangoes in this spicy chutney.

ingredients

2 large fi rm peaches or 3 small, peeled and cubed

2 ⁄3 cup fresh apple cider1⁄3 cup rice vinegar¼ cup brown sugar, or slightly less1 inch fresh ginger, grated1 garlic clove, crushed 5 cardamom pods½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed1 bay leaf½ tsp sea salt¼ cup quality extra virgin olive oil

preparation

Place peaches in a saucepan, add liquids and cover. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to boil slowly while stirring.

Lower heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes until syrupy. Add more cider if mixture is too thick. Cool and stir in olive oil. Makes 1 cup.

For Homer, olive oil was “liquid

gold.” Athletes in ancient Greece

would ritually slather their bodies

in it. At one time, anyone caught

cutting down an olive tree in Greece

was condemned to death or exile.

This symbol of abundance, glory and

peace has been considered nutritional,

medicinal and, at times, magical.

I didn’t mention olive oil’s exalted history when I invited some friends over for a tasting with Dolores Smith, an Erin-based olive oil expert, but they came nonetheless – for what turned out to be an engaging couple of hours.

Dolores’s fascination with olive oil dates back about ten years to when her older sister gave her a beautiful bottle of it. “It wasn’t the best olive oil, but it intrigued me,” she says. For the next four years, she dedicated all her spare time to learning about Homer’s gold, taking courses and attending tastings in Europe and the U.S.



spanish gold

We tasted seven of Spain’s best extra virgin oils that day, starting with Dauro Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a delicate, pale oil perfect for light salad dressings. As proof, Dolores brought along a batch of her delicious sabayon dressing.

We sipped the oil straight from little cups. “It’s almost as if you don’t feel it in your mouth,” Neil, one of our tasters, piped in. But, as Suzanne, another in the group, suggested, “It leaves a peppery sensation in your throat.” Dolores recommended pouring some over blue cheese, and agreed with Bob that drizzling a bit to fi nish his homemade pizza would be delicious. At about $25 a 500 ml bottle, this silky oil was a group favourite, best consumed within six months of being pressed.

Next up was Full Moon, another delicate oil harvested during the full moon in October and sold in an arresting square bottle. That was followed by Oro San Carlos, a medium-strength oil that seemed buttery, creamier, more herbal and, surprisingly, less fl avourful in comparison. “Higher acidity gives it its oily feel in your mouth. It also results in less fl avour,” Dolores explained.

We enjoyed our way through four more offerings, including the organic Rincón de la Subbética, winner of more than 85 awards and honourable mentions since 2006, comparing notes on fl avour and potential food pairings as we went.

Each new taste was a revelation, confi rming Dolores’ concern that most Canadian consumers lack the knowledge to

understand the subtleties of this common ingredient, one that has such potential to enhance our culinary experience.

Like wine, olive oil gains a particular fl avour from the producing region’s soil and climate – its “terroir.” Its taste also depends on the variety of olives, and how they’re gown and processed. Bruised, broken or diseased fruit increases the fatty acid content, as do insects. Fruit fl ies, the bane of producers, can easily turn an extra virgin oil into a virgin one. Peroxide levels climb when the oil oxidizes, as it might if processed carelessly or stored in a warm spot, especially in a clear bottle. Dolores recommended keeping olive oil cool and in the dark, though not in a refrigerator.

For our kitchens, Dolores recommended having three different extra virgin olive oils on hand – one delicate, one medium and one intense.

On a roll, she slipped in one last oil: “Do you know the wine Beaujolais Nouveau? Well, Olis Gasull is the Beaujolais Nouveau

of olive oil.” Unfi ltered, it has a delicate fl avour along the lines of Dauro, but at half the price.

Dolores topped off the tasting by serving her exquisite homemade chocolates made with the Dauro oil. Meanwhile, she explained how olive oil can help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels and even contribute to weight loss. No wonder Homer was so enamoured.

This summer, Dolores is offering olive oil tastings in her backyard. You can wander through her grapevines while sipping some of the best olive oils Spain has to offer. Find her imported oils at Dave’s Butcher Shop in Orangeville, Howard the Butcher and Gourmandissimo in Caledon East, Simple in Primrose and The Naked Vine in Bolton. For information on tastings, links to health studies, and a full product list, see theolivarcorp.com. �

Nicola Ross is freelance writer from Belfountain.

Dolores Smith with one of her bottles of “liquid gold.”


Olive Oil Sabayon Sauce Adapted from Rainier Club’s executive chef Bill Morris’ recipe especially for the Olivar Corp. This is great as a dressing for green salad and warm beet salad, or as a sauce for seafood or beef.

ingredients

2 egg yolks1 tsp brown sugar (or more

to taste, depending on type of wine used; see below)

1 tbsp lemon juice1 tbsp shallots, fi nely minced ¼ cup extra virgin olive oilUp to 1⁄3 cup white wine such

as pinot grigio½ tsp each dried thyme and

ground fennel, or to tasteSalt and white pepper

preparation

Place egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and minced shallots in a small stainless steel or glass bowl, and whisk quickly over boiling water until very light and doubled in volume (quite thick), approximately 2 minutes. Do not let it burn. Keep bowl about 1½ inches away from boiling water.

Remove from heat and whisk in oil, slowly at fi rst to start the emulsion.

Whisk in white wine until creamy consistency is reached.

Season with herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Makes ¾ cup.


CULTIVATE YOUR LIFEYYYYYYYYY R LIFER LIFLIFELOOUUURURR OURR O LIRR LL

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o share in the Allliston invites you aand your family tny events and festivals!weeekend fun all yeaar long at our man

Pootato Festivaal Aug. 10, 11, 12

P 012aarkinson Superwalk 20p Sept. 15

Frrightfully Fun Oct. 27

HHometown CChristmas Nov. 24

w w w. a l l i s t o n b i a . c o m 7

Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Catering pick-up available on Saturdays

3 Church St. S. Alliston705-434-1668 [email protected]

Daily homemade baked goods, wraps, sandwiches & hot mains. A la carte menu of prepared meals and trays.

Wicked Shortbread is now open in OrangevilleFeaturing the finest local desserts and ingredients

of the Headwaters regionHandmade ~ Artisan ~ Local

96 Broadway, Orangeville wickedshortbread.comFacebook/Twitter


Since 2006, long-time Bolton resident Nick Tzaras has been producing high quality organic and conventional olive oil from olives grown on his family’s farm near Platana, southeast of Sparta in Greece. Nick, who used to run a service station at the corner of Highway 10 and King Road, now sells his olive oil under the name Spartan Rolling Hills at some 50 locations in Southern Ontario, including Garden Foods in Bolton. Indeed, Garden Foods’ store brand olive oil is also bottled by Nick. Nick’s olive plantation has about 3,000 trees, mainly Manataki, Koutsourelia and

Kakoni, and local folklore places some of them up to 2,000 years old. From these and more than 150,000 trees owned by family, friends and neighbours in the region, Nick produces his oil. Unfi ltered and with a guaranteed acidity level of less than 0.8 per cent, his First Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin Regular Olive Oil and his Organic First Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil are premier products. Each winter, Nick travels to Sparta to oversee the harvest. There he hires the pickers, watches over the pressing (which takes place within a day or two of harvesting), and makes sure the oil is not fi ltered, and no impurities spoil his beloved product. It is then shipped to Canada for bottling and packaging. When he can, Nick helps with the harvest, all of which is done by hand, just as it was by his father and grandfather from whom he inherited his trees, his age-old harvesting techniques and his love for what they produce.

Pick up Spartan Rolling Hills olive oil from Garden Foods in Bolton, the Esso Service Centre on Hwy 5 north of Bolton, or the Apple Factory at Hwy 7 on Mississauga Rd. www.spartanrollinghills.com

spanish gold

Deluxe Olive Oil Chocolates Another Bill Morris recipe adapted for Dauro.

ingredients

¾ cup 18% cream2 tbsp corn syrup14 oz (400 g) good quality dark chocolate, fi nely chopped1⁄3 cup plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oilGround almonds and orange zest to sprinkle over chocolates

preparation

Mix cream and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Insert a candy thermometer, and when mixture drops to 176°F, pour over chocolate. Mix until smooth.

from motor oil to extra virgin

At 95°F , add olive oil and stir carefully to emulsify.

Pour into silicone molds or spoon small amounts onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle chocolates with mixture

of ground almonds and orange zest.

Refrigerate or leave in a cool room for 48 hours to set.

Makes approximately 16 small chocolates.

Bolton’s Nick Tzaras harvests olives in Greece.

The Edge Wine Bar & Grille is Orangeville’s newest choice

for casual fine dining.Located within

The Headwaters Racquet Club,we are open to the public.

Where great food and music meet!

Live Music EveryTHURSDAY, FRIDAY,

SATURDAYfeaturing various local artists

starting at 8:30pm

Open for dinner 6 days a week.Reservations recommended.

Lounge is available for private functions for up to 80 people.

205467 County Rd 109Orangeville

(inside Headwaters Racquet Club)

519-940-1111theedgewinebarandgrill.com


and it’s good for you tooExtra virgin olive oil is the highest of all olive oils in monounsaturated fat and antioxidants such as chlorophyll, carotenoids and vitamin E. Studies indicate substituting olive oil for saturated fats or polyunsaturated fats can help:

1Reduce blood pressure

A compound in olive oil called oleuropein inhibits cholesterol buildup and can lower blood pressure.

2Inhibit the growth of some

cancers

Another compound, oleic acid, has antioxidant properties.

3Benefi t people at risk for or

with diabetes

A low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet with olive oil helps to control blood sugar levels better than a diet that consists entirely of low-fat meals.

4Lessen the severity of asthma

and arthritis

Olive oil’s healthy fats produce natural anti-infl ammatory agents.

5Maintain a lower body weight

Weight loss is assisted if olive oil is substituted for saturated fats. �

what will you find in...

now licensed

mon-wed 6.30a-7p \ thu-fri 6.30a-9p \ sat 8a-9p \ sun 8a-6p

4 main street south in erin \ www.theshedcoffeebar.com

Servedat some of the bestrestaurants inHeadwaters

Preferredby award-winningchefs

Availableat these local farmers’ markets

Wednesday . Inglewood

Friday . Sherway Gardens

Saturday . Bolton

Saturday . Orangeville

Also available at the farmby appointment.

No Sunday calls, please.

Bert NieuwenhuisLamb & Wool Producer

Amaranth Township

[email protected]

Find us on Facebook

VAN DYKEN BROS.PickYourOwn VegetablesEnjoy the country air while picking vegetables on over 40 acres of our

family run farm.

Growing for YOU since 1974!Tomatoes, Beans, Peas, Eggplant,

Onions, Melons and more.To find out what’s in season

phone 9058573561Open Monday through Saturday

8am to 8pm, Closed Sundays

14510 The Gore Rd, Caledon


The great diarist Samuel Pepys described his country’s numerous

pubs as “the heart of England,” a tribute no doubt fuelled in part by his sometimes rueful

love of liquor and good company, but also by a realization that the local pub is often the

focal point of a community. Nowhere is this more true than in rural areas, where the pub

is an ideal gathering place for residents isolated by wide open spaces. Even in this era of

social networking, nothing can compare with real face time and the pleasure of getting

out now and then for a pint and a bite to eat in the company of friends and family.

The best pubs (short for public house) are casual, friendly places where the food is

unassuming and reasonably priced. Headwaters is blessed with several, all cultivating a

casual ambiance that evokes a home away from home. �

A cook’s tourof country pubs

Happy imbibers at the

Terra Nova Public House

From left to right, Marie Alonso, owner Troy Gallimore, unknown patron, owner Anna Alonso, and patron Christine Wright.

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The newest of these is the fi ttingly named Terra Nova Public House, which opened in 2011 in the hamlet of Terra Nova. Situated at a crossroads in the heart of the Pine River Valley, the one-time general store has been extensively renovated to create a warmly intimate bar and dining area as well as an expansive outdoor patio. The location is particularly attractive to hikers coming off the nearby Bruce Trail.

Set in the heart of the beautiful Mulmur hills, the Public House is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Chef Malcolm Muth’s menu features locally sourced meat and fi sh, plus daily specials. Tuesday nights showcase local musicians. Entrées range from $11 to $20.

Terra Nova Public House667294 20 Sdrd, Mulmur705-466-5992; www.terranovapub.ca

Another hikers’ mecca is the cleverly named Peter Cellar’s Pub at Mono Cliffs Inn in Mono Centre. Just across the road from the 750-hectare Mono Cliffs Provincial Park, the tiny basement pub has provided succour to walkers and locals since 1987 when the former general store reopened as an inn.

Proprietors Carol and the late Michael Hall hailed from Australia, so the pub has a defi nite Down Under atmosphere, particularly thanks to the extensive wine list. Chef Jason Reiner’s creative menu is a constantly changing exploration of local and exotic fare, everything from escargot to red deer chops and chocolate pâté. The bread pudding is legendary, the quiche divine. Publican Wayne Biegel’s warmth and enthusiasm keep people coming back for more and more.

Peter Cellar’s Pub, Mono Cliffs Inn367006 Mono Centre Rd519-941-5109; www.monocliffsinn.ca


�

�


A local watering hole since the 1860s, the charming and historical Caledon Inn has been home to the James

McCarty Pub since 1967. Named for the family who owned the land in the 1800s, the lower-level pub retains the old-world warmth it has always been known for. A former way station on the coach road linking Toronto and Owen Sound, the Caledon Inn appears in many international pub guides, and for good reason. The menu features such pub staples as burgers, chicken wings and fi sh and chips, plus novelty items for the more adventurous, including deep-fried pickles, poutine and souvlaki. There’s cold beer on tap and you can drop in and hear live music every Thursday. Entrées range from $8 to $15.

James McCarty Pub, Caledon Inn16626 Airport Rd, Caledon East905-584-0033; www.caledoninn.ca

On the banks of the Credit River in the hamlet of Terra Cotta, countless couples have pledged their troth in the beautiful gardens of the eponymous inn. Perhaps they calmed their nerves before taking their vows with a cold drink in the Terra Cotta Inn Pub. The riverside property is known for its serenity, and the pub has been a favourite spot for locals and the many enthusiastic mountain bikers who come to the area to cycle the extensive network of nearby trails. The Inn, which has been operating since the early part of the last century, has survived fi res and economic collapse. Today, the traditional pub menu features burgers, wings and fi sh and chips in a casual and welcoming atmosphere. Entrées from $8 to $15.

The Pub at Terra Cotta Inn175 King St, Terra Cotta905-873-2223; www.cotta.ca

a cook’s tour of country pubs

�

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DAVE’S

BUTCHER SHOPBUTCHER SHOP

Aged beef, Ontario lamb, veal, pork, meat pies,

fruit pies

Alder Street Mews, 75 Alder St, Unit 4,

Orangeville

www.davesbutchershop.ca

519-415-MEAT (6328)

Openings in the Hills

� After an extended sojourn in Victoria, B.C., chef Matthew Jamieson, former owner of the popular Woodside in Hockley, is back behind the stoves in his new Orangeville restaurant, Forage. With partners Jennifer Grant of Harmony Whole Foods and his wife Wendy as pastry chef, Matthew describes the venture as “casual fi ne dining.” The 60-seat restaurant features all things local and seasonal and specializes in superbly prepared fresh fi sh. Matthew’s signature shrimp curry, a favourite at Woodside, is back, as is Wendy’s legendary key lime pie. Forage also has a takeout section featuring a wide selection of salads and prepared meals. The juice bar serves fruit smoothies and healthy wheat grass drinks. (At press time, the resto was set to open in early September in the same plaza as Harmony Whole Foods.) 163 First St, Orangeville; 519-941-8961

�� Food lovers in and around Creemore will have to wait until December to try out the village’s much-ballyhooed new restaurant. Located where the bookstore once resided (it has moved up the street), Creemore Kitchens is the brainchild of owners chef Caesar Guinto and his partner Sam Holwell. Caesar describes it as “a place where you can drop by in your wellies, or put on that new summer dress, and you’ll still feel comfortable.” As for the food, Caesar and Sam’s mantra is “seasonal and local. There are so many wonderful producers in this area.” At press time, the website was still under construction. 134 Mill St, Creemore

�� Keirstyn Eric has taken her Wicked

Shortbread on the road and opened a shop of the same name in Orangeville. In addition to the three fl avours of her melt-in-your-mouth cookies (classic, chocolate, toffee), Keirstyn has added lemon twist, maple walnut, and cheddar cheese, among others. The shop also carries organic fair trade coffee and an array of desserts, squares, cheesecakes and pies. Sweet! 96 Broadway, Orange-ville; www.wickedshortbread.com �

Fine DiningCasual Atmosphere

on Hockley Road

307388 Hockley Rd • Orangeville519 938 2333


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I stopped eating animals 24 years ago. My weekly cruise up the tidy meat aisle could not be reconciled with what I knew, as a country girl, about blood and death. I was unsettled by the sight of cattle trucks on the winter highways, the blind faces of windowless chicken barns, and my awareness of the intelligence of pigs. On the other hand, I knew nothing about being vegetarian.

As it turned out, neither did my doctor. She had only one idea, but it was a good one. “Start by reading Diet for a Small Planet,” a 1970s best-seller by Frances Moore Lappé about world hunger. I had hardly opened this sensible little book to begin my self-education when arguments erupted all around me.

Friend, family, foe, they all wanted to know the same thing. “Why won’t you eat meat?” Those were the days when distinctive eating habits were viewed with suspicion. Some friends wanted to argue about ethics. Some lectured about hunter-gatherer culture. Others proselytized for the health of the beef industry.

The acidic tone of some caught me off guard. “You wouldn’t be vegetarian if your plane crashed on the tundra and all you had was a gun.” True perhaps, but not a test I was likely to endure. “Your shoes are probably all leather.” Not true, but always delivered with squinty-eyed certitude. One standout accusation took us into quasi-religious territory. “If you still eat eggs, you must believe in abortion.”

People would invite me for dinner and toss me a dry veggie burger while the other guests dug into beautifully prepared salmon. One Christmas week, my mother-in-law served me day-old greens fl ung on a plate. I could appreciate I had entered a minority group and had to put up with some kitchen incompetence. Nevertheless, it rankled, because day after day I was willing to cook meat, fowl and fi sh for my loved ones. Was it so hard to dig up one vegetarian recipe?

Why wouldn’t I eat meat? I was grappling with the question myself and was fraught with defensive insecurity. I cringed at allusions to ethical failings in other areas of my life. Back then I smoked,

and a few people made connections between the tobacco industry and animal farming. They challenged me on arcane points of ecology, economy and agriculture. It took me some time to decipher the reason for their angry undertones. I realized skipping the meat course is political – for some, being vegetarian equalled left-wing radicalism.

Those arguments did me great service. They forced me to examine my own hypocrisies. I perceived what I had stopped putting in my mouth was still scattered around my person – leather books and handbags, ivory jewellery, feather pillows. Animals were still dying for me, I just wasn’t eating them.

So I changed my buying habits. Then it got complicated. Weren’t dairy cows pregnant with meat-destined calves? And what about laying hens? Honeybees? I thought I should be vegan. I knew my family and friends would be even more impatient with me. So I compromised by only swearing off dairy. “You’re getting weirder,” said my mother. No one asked me to dinner anymore.

Vague in my evolving philosophies, I probably came off as fl aky. I was too emotional to be articulate, and I was pissed off at having to defend my choices. I didn’t know much about public policy or agri-business. I’d always been a person who lived by her heart. It seemed to me anyone could see there was a problem with food in the world. There was famine in the midst of abundance. There were hordes of species vying for food every day, and people were snapping up most of it without a thought for the rest of the beasts.

Then I spent a month in Tanzania. I couldn’t get “non-dairy vegetarian” across to the lean brown locals in the restaurants of Dar es Salaam. No nyama, ok. There are plenty of reasons why you might avoid meat. But anything more fi nicky was simply off the table. Why wouldn’t you eat the rice with creamed curry squash and peppers? Why indeed? I fell off the milk wagon.

And I didn’t feel that badly as I stirred rich cream into my coffee for the fi rst time in fi ve years. Something relaxed in me. Layers of First-World guilt fell away like a snake’s skin and pleasure returned to my table. Where there was angst, there came perspective.

I had been picking holes in the tablecloth of abundance. Under the tropical sun, I savoured native cashews in neat foil bags from the local roastery. I sat on the beach watching fi shermen tossing nets for the evening’s catch. I sampled fresh fruit from street-side tables tended by hard-working farm families. I felt a connection to the harvest that I had lost.

I’m still skipping the meat course and I haven’t changed my mind about industrial-scale farming. But I have come to see that choices are subject to circumstances. And I stand behind the harvest of my choice with equanimity. �

Julie Suzanne Pollock lives in Honeywood with her carnivorous husband and son.

When Julie Suzanne Pollock gave up meat,

she discovered the personal and the political are sometimes inseparable

… it seemed to me anyone could see there was a problem with food in the world


the maize index

abundant

300 million tonnes of maize are grown annually in North and South America. In 2009, worldwide production was 817 million tonnes, more than rice or wheat.

origins

First cultivated in Mexico as early as 10,000 years ago, maize was likely introduced to Europe by Columbus, where it was soon recognized as a valuable food crop spreading to northern Africa, western China and the East Indies by 1575.

uses

Maize (aka corn in the Americas) has as many as 500 uses. In addition to being a staple food for humans, and livestock, corn is used as packing material, fuel, ornamental accents, and in the production of everything from adhesives to paint and insecticides.

modified

Maize is one of nine genetically modifi ed crops grown commercially. Approximately 85 per cent of the North American crop is GM.

ethanol

40 per cent of North America’s maize crop is used to make corn ethanol, a biofuel thought to have a lower carbon footprint than conventional fuels. Now, however, evidence shows increased ethanol production has raised the price of corn, a food staple in many poor countries.

Maizen. a cereal plant originating in Central America and

yielding large grains (corn or sweet corn) set in rows on a cob

Oxford English Dictionary

sweet

Sweet corn is eaten as a vegetable. It contains more sugar and less starch than fi eld corn, which is intended for livestock, and comes in three categories (white, yellow and bi-colour) and dozens of varieties with such whimsical names as Bodacious, Cloud Nine and the ever popular Peaches and Cream.

nutrition

Sweet corn is low in saturated fat and sodium and contains no cholesterol. It is high in dietary fi bre, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamin and vitamin C. The folic acid in corn is important in preventing neural tube birth defects.

harvesting

Sweet corn is harvested at the “milk” stage before starch has formed, usually midsummer to early fall. Field corn is left in the fi eld until very late in the fall or even winter to thoroughly dry the grain.

porridge, etc.

Cornmeal (ground dried maize) is the basis of polenta in Italy, hominy grits in the southern U.S., mealiepap in South Africa and angu in Brazil. It is used as a replacement for wheat fl our in cornbread and Mexican tortillas.

popcorn, etc.

Certain varieties of maize explode when heated, forming fl uffy pieces that are delicious seasoned and eaten as a snack. Roasted kernels are popular as snacks in Vietnam and Peru. Corn fl akes are commonly eaten as a breakfast cereal in many countries. �

Zea mays L. �illustration : Prof. Dr. Otto

Wilhelm Thomé Flora von

Deutschland, Österreich und

der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany.


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what’s cooking in the hills

fundraisersoctober 20

Farmstock 2012

Albion Hills Community Farm’s Farmstock 2012 kicks off its annual campaign “From Dirt to Dessert” with a four-course meal featuring local food, music, and live and silent auctions. Learn about sustainable agriculture, eat with your neighbours and dance the night away. See the amaizing online auction. Reserve early, only 200 tickets. To donate to the auctions, contact [email protected]. 4pm to midnight at the Presidents’ Building, Albion Bolton Fairgrounds, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. www.albionhillscommunityfarm.org or 905-880-4905.

october 21

Soupstock

Following the highly successful Foodstock last fall, Michael Stadtländer and 200 chefs are continuing their fundraising to stop the proposed Highland mega quarry in Melancthon Township by holding Soupstock, this time in Toronto at Woodbine Park in partnership with the Canadian Chefs’ Congress and the David Suzuki Foundation. www.canadianchefscongress.com.

october 21

Empty Bowls

Buy a bowl, fi ll a bowl, and take it home to help fi ght hunger. Buy delicious soup in a handmade bowl, and keep the bowl to remember those who don’t have a full bowl every day. Bowls are made and donated by local artists. All proceeds go to local food banks. Last year Empty Bowls raised almost $12,000 for food banks operated by Caledon Community Services and Orangeville’s Westminster United Church. 11am to 5pm at the Alton Mill. www.altonmill.ca or 519-938-2092.

communityuntil september 2

SummerFeast

For three weeks some of the region’s fi nest restaurants, in partnership with The Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association, will showcase their extraordinary cuisine at very affordable prices. Each restaurant offers a dinner menu, and in many cases a lunch menu, at prix fi xe rates. Prices vary by venue throughout the Hills of Headwaters Region at various locations. For more information on participating restaurants, call 519-942-0314 or visit www.summerfeast.ca.

until november 2

Take a Bite Out of Climate Change

Caledon!

Promise to make eight major climate-friendly diet actions. Then try some of the challenges (like making a fruit crumble with three local ingredients, or chocolate-beet cupcakes) and enter the weekly prize draw. Photographic proof of the “action” must be provided, either via post to the Facebook page or email to [email protected]. See www.eatlocalcaledon.org for challenges.

august 19

Corn-Tomato Salsa Bee

With all this hot weather we’ve had, it’s going to be a bumper year for tomatoes. Eat Local Caledon and Toronto Region Conservation Authority invite you to preserve some locally inspired salsas in a fun group setting, and take home a few jars for your pantry. Both beginners and old hands are welcome. Noon to 5pm. Peel Junior Farmers’ Building, 12942 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon. $25, register at [email protected].

september

Eat Local Month in Caledon

This month-long initiative is dedicated to celebrating, supporting and strengthening Caledon’s local food and farming system. Events to promote eating, cooking and savouring the local harvest take place around Caledon. For event listings and more details, visit eatlocalcaledon.org or contact 905-584-6221; [email protected].

september 8

Mono’s Big Day Out

A community celebration featuring great food by Mono chefs, heritage display, farmers’ market, fabulous Mono musicians and artists, plus activities including a return of the Kids’ Art Show. Wingfi eld playwright Dan Needles kicks off the day with reminiscences from his childhood on a Mono farm. It all takes place in downtown Mono Centre. 11am to 4pm.

september 16

Melville White Church 175th

Anniversary Tea Party, Book Launch

Celebrate the occasion with tea and scones by Tintagels Tea Room as you listen to live music, gaze at work by local artists. Plus, there’s the launch of the MWC 175th Anniversary Commemorative Book that features both the art and a brief history of the church and the Rockside pioneers, by Nicola Ross. 2 to 5pm. $20, children 6-12, $10, under 5 free. Melville White Church, 15962 Mississauga Rd, (just south of Belfountain), Caledon. www.belfountainheritage.com.

september 23

Apple Salsa Canning Bee

Always wanted to make your own preserves? Eat Local Caledon and TRCA will teach you the home canning process, and you can take home a few jars for yourself. Noon to 5pm. $25. Brampton Fairgrounds, 12942 Heart Lake Rd, Caledon. 416-661-6600 x5646 or www.eatlocalcaledon.org.

a c a l e n d a r o f f o o d h a p p e n i n g s

september

s


september 27

Palgrave Pie Bee

Make some delicious pies to practise for Thanksgiving and Christmas and help stock the pantry for the great Palgrave Turkey Dinner. Free, 1 to 4pm at the Palgrave Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. 905-880-0303 or www.palgravekitchen.org.

september 29

Palgrave Turkey Dinner

Is your mouth watering already? Palgrave United Church is serving up its annual turkey dinner, featuring turkey (obviously!), potatoes, rutabagas, peas and corn, all from local farms, as well as famous Palgrave-baked pies. Volunteers welcome. 4 to 9pm. $20, seniors $15, children $10, takeout $17, and family (2 adults 2 children) $50. Palgrave Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. For tickets, www.palgravekitchen.org.

october 14

Wild Apple Jelly Canning Bee

Another hands-on lesson, this time making wild apple jelly. Palgrave Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. 416-661-6600 x5646 or www.eatlocalcaledon.org.

november 17

Palgrave Community Kitchen

Christmas Bazaar

Pick up some “goodies for foodies” including food, craft and gift items. 10am to 1pm at Palgrave United Church, 34 Pine Ave. 905-880-0303 or www.palgravekitchen.org.


DUFFERIN TOWN& COUNTRY FARM TOUR

Saturday, September 29

SEE FARMING AS IT HAPPENS!This year, the tour will take you to North Dufferin.

See working farms - animals, agricultural production inaction, participate in educational activities, talk to farmers

and learn how food is grown for families.

On location - food booths and local produce for sale

The tour takes place from 9 am to 4 pm - rain or shine

Pick up your passport from 9 am to 2 pm at

DUFFERIN COUNTY MUSEUMHwy 89 & Airport Road

orSUPERBURGER

Hwys 89 & 10 (Primrose)

Admission: a non-perishable food bank donation

Tour Information: www.thehillsofheadwaters.com/farmtour

1-800-332-9744 519-942-0984

GROW LOCAL • BUY LOCAL • EAT LOCAL

r tchen.org.

Di


what’s cooking…

festivalsseptember 9

Feast of Fields

In its 23rd year, this celebration of organic culinary excellence showcases the talents of chef Michael Smith with some of Ontario’s top chefs, vintners, brewers and organic farmers. Pick up your napkin and wine glass at the gate, and stroll through beautiful Cold Creek Conservation Area in King Township while you sample delicious food and drink. Visit the farmers’ market, artisans and relax to live entertainment. 1 to 5pm. Tickets $100 ($90 each for groups of 10 or more). To order tickets or for more info, 905-859-3609, feastoffi [email protected] or visit www.feastoffi elds.org.

september 23

Carrot Fest

Everdale Farm’s annual harvest festival and fundraiser has u-pick veggies, local food and artisans, bread baking, a farm store and, of course, carrots! The family fun includes live music with The Funky Mamas, animal visits, tours of Home Alive – an eco house, workshops and harvest games, all on a beautiful 50-acre farm. 11am to 5pm. $5, kids are free. 5812 6th Line, Hillsburgh. www.everdale.org.

october 1

Belfountain

Salamander Festival

Celebrate the village of Belfountain with a hot breakfast and mouthwatering BBQ lunch made with local food, and enjoy the squash and pumpkin festival, farmers’ market, works by local artists and dog trials. In the conservation area, tie a fl y, meet some river critters, be amazed by the birds of prey fl ight show or join the Bruce Trail Club. www.belfountain.ca.

For print and online advertising information, contact Sarah Aston at 519-940-4884, [email protected]

foodinthehills.ca

Spicy Sweet Veggie ChiliFrom Scratch chef Kelly Pleadwell insists a good chili is the perfect combo of sweet, spicy, salty and sour.

Eat Local Caledon continues its updates on who’s growing, serving and cooking local – with more seasonal recipes!

You’ll also fi nd up-to-the-minute listings of local food events, profi les of local producers, and links to any of the restaurants, markets and other advertisers in these pages. While you’re there, don’t forget to nominate your candidate for Best Bites in the hills (see page 62). Or just send us a note. We love to hear from you!

Keep things cooking at foodinthehills.caThere’s a long winter ahead, but you don’t need to wait for the spring issue of Food In The Hills to get creative in the kitchen. Between issues, our food bloggers continue to offer fabulous recipes and advice. Here’s a taste of the online menu.

Chocolate Sour Cherry Anise BiscottiFor an extra jolt with your java, try these addictively delicious biscotti by Sarah Hallett of Roseberry Farm.

Chocolate Covered Brownies with Buttered Rum Caramel Congratulations to Heritage Hollow’s Cathy Bray who won Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia contest with this deliciously decadent confection on a stick.

Pickled Cabbage with Chick Peas and Black BeansEdible Tulip’s Daphne Randall offers an easy and hearty bean salad that is packed with protein.


fall fairsCan you smell the kettle corn? The region’s fall fairs will soon be in full swing with the usual food, animal competitions, talent shows and homecraft exhibits, all show-casing the best Headwaters has to offer.

august 31 – september 3

Orangeville Fall Fair

www.orangevillefairgrounds.ca

september 14 – 16

Shelburne Fall Fair

www.shelburnefair.ca

september 21 – 23

Bolton Fall Fair

www.boltonfair.caGrand Valley Fall Fair

[email protected]

october 5 – 8

Erin Fall Fair

www.erinfair.ca

november 2 – 11

The Royal Winter Fair

Exhibition Place, Torontowww.royalfair.org

toursseptember 29

Dufferin Town & Country Farm Tour

If you ate today, thank a farmer! This self-guided driving tour takes you to a working beef farm, horse ranch, angora goat farm, an art gallery in North Dufferin and the Dufferin County Museum. See agriculture up close and personal. Our farmers promote grow local, buy local, eat local! Host farms will have the welcome mat out. There are food booths available en route

and local produce to purchase. Admission is a non-perishable donation for the local food bank. 9am to 4pm. www.dufferinfarmtour.com.

farmers’ marketsWhat better way to shop for Headwaters’ freshest foods than to visit our farmers’ markets? There’s one almost every day of the week, and the harvest promises to be a good one for several crops this year. Check websites for details on special events at each venue.

saturdays, until october 20

Orangeville Farmers’ Market

8am-1pm. Next to the Orangeville Town Hall. www.marketonbroadway.ca


Creemore Farmers’ Market

8:30am-12:30pm. Station on the Green parking lot. 705-794-8943, www.creemorefarmersmarket.ca


Caledon Farmers’ Market

8am-1pm. Albion Bolton Community Centre, 150 Queen St S, Bolton. 905-584-2272 x4286, www.caledon.ca/farmersmarket


Alliston Farmers’ Market

8am-2pm. Mill St & Victoria St. 705-435-1787, www.allistonbia.com

wednesdays, until october 3

Amaranth Farmers’ Market

5-8pm. Amaranth Municipal Offi ce, 374028 6th Line. 519-941-1007.

wednesdays, until october 10

Inglewood Farmers’ Market

3:30-7pm. Inglewood General Store. 905-584-6221, www.eatlocalcaledon.org

fridays, until september 28

Erin Farmers’ Market

3-7pm. Erin Agricultural Society Fairgrounds. 519-833-2808, www.erinfair.ca

fridays, until october 5

Rosemont Farmers’ Market

2:30-6:30pm. Rosemont Hall parking lot, 9237 Hwy 89. 705-434-2461.

sundays, until october

Hockley Valley Garden Stand

Noon-3pm. Hockley Valley Resort, 793522 3rd Line Mono. www.hockley.com


in the hillsa c a l e n d a r o f f o o d h a p p e n i n g s

air

A Peel Health certified kitchen operated by the

Palgrave United Church

Rent the kitchen for canning, preserving, baking or hosting events

PALGRAVE’S FAMOUS TURKEY DINNER

Saturday, Sept 29, 4:30pmFeaturing local food and farms

Tickets at the door starting at 4pmEat in or take out

$15 Senior, $20 Adult, $10 Child, $17 Take Out

Eat Local Caledon Dinner Series

PALGRAVE PIE BEEThursday, Sept 27, 1pm to 4pm

Learn to make delicious pies

CHRISTMAS BAZAARSaturday, Nov 17, 10am to 1pm

Goodies for Foodies

A FRESH APPROACH TO LUNCHVolunteers Wanted

School Salad Bar program to be launchedat Palgrave Public School this Fall

Volunteers needed Wednesdays andThursdays, starting October 2012Food handling training provided

CookingCreating CommunityCaring for Creation

Palgrave Community KitchenPalgrave United Church

34 Pine Ave, Palgrave [email protected]

palgravekitchen.org


kids mondays until october 22

Food and Farming Series for Youth

If you’re between 11 and 19, you can gain hands-on farming, gardening, cooking and

preserving experience at HAYville, Caledon’s food and farming business incubator for youth. Events include a corn-tomato salsa bee, August 20; canning

workshop, August 27; apple salsa bee, September 18; cake and cookie

decorating, September 25; pumpkin purée and pies, October 2. Palgrave Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave. www.eatlocalcaledon.org/hayville.

september 29 – october 31

Downey’s Pumpkinfest

Downey’s Boo Barn is sure to scare you, but you’ll soon recover with a wagon ride. Pet the farm animals, ride the pedal carts, try the straw jump, battle balloon typhoon, or try and get out of the super corn maze. For an extra charge there’s build your own scarecrow or paintball. Pick your own pumpkin or get one to carve for everyone in the family. www.downeysfarm.com.

october 5

Caledon Crunch

Nearly 10,000 children from Caledon elementary schools will be joined by Town of Caledon employees and community groups to eat local with a farm-fresh crunch. Tune in to Radio Caledon (Bolton 105.5 FM) or live at radiocaledon.com at 11am to hear everyone crunch simultaneously on a locally grown carrot. This year, because of the poor apple crop, carrots from Holland Marsh will replace apples. www.eatlocalcaledon.org.

classesaugust 27

Bernardin Canning Workshop:

Pickles & Salsas

Straight from the source! Bernardin Canning representative Emerie Brine leads a two-hour canning workshop and prepares some seasonally based canning recipes. You’ll receive Bernardin bags, recipes and brochures on safe home canning. 6:30-8:30pm. Youth 11-19 free, adults $10. Palgrave Community Kitchen, 34 Pine Ave.

september 15

SPIN Farming

Wonder what SPIN farming is all about? For all you backyard gardeners out there, SPIN is small intensive plot farming, and you’ll get hands-on training in Everdale’s own SPIN gardens, a copy of SPIN-Farming Basics, and ongoing online support. $160. 10am to 4pm. www.everdale.org.

september 29

Seed Saving

Seeds of Diversity’s executive director Bob Wildfong takes you through the process of saving your own seeds. Everdale’s own seed gardens is your classroom with lots of hands-on basics such as how to collect and save vegetable, fruit, ornamental and herb seeds, hand pollinating, germination and recommended isolationdistances. 10am to 4pm.$85. www.everdale.org. �

preC

be

what’s cooking in the hillsa c a l e n d a r o f f o o d h a p p e n i n g s

ww.eatlocalcaledon.or

Carrot Fest!

www.everdale.org

September 23, 11am to 5pm5812 6th Line, Hillsburgh

• Feast of Food & Artisans• Farm Games & Animal Visits• The Funky Mamas• Tours & Workshops• KIDS FREE, Adults $5

Don’t Miss this 4 Day Celebration

See our website: www.orangevillefairgrounds.ca

for a schedule of events and times

Labour Day WeekendAug 31st, Sept 1st, 2nd & 3rdLabour Day WeekendAug 31st, Sept 1st, 2nd & 3rdA

yLabour Day WeekendLabour Day WeekendLabour Day WeekendA 31 t S t 1 t 2 d & 3 dA 31 t S t 1 t 2 d & 3 dA 31 t S t 1 t 2 d & 3 d

ORANGEVILLE FAIRORANGEVILLE FAIRORANGEVILLE FAIR

“Grandma’s Kitchen”“Grandma’s Kitchen”d ’ Kit hd ’ Kit hd ’ Kit hThis Year’s ThemeThis Year’s ThemeThis Year’s Theme

Don’t Miss this 4 Day Celebrationyyyof Local Agriculture!of Local Agriculture!of Local Agriculture!

Live Entertainment on Saturday Night, Live Entertainment on Saturday Night, Demolition Derby, Truck and Tractor Pull, Demolition Derby, Truck and Tractor Pull,

Midway Rides, Helicopter Rides, Midway Rides, Helicopter Rides, Cooking Demonstrations, Car ShowCooking Demonstrations, Car Show

Live Entertainment on Saturday Night, Demolition Derby, Truck and Tractor Pull,

Midway Rides, Helicopter Rides, Cooking Demonstrations, Car Show

The Homecraft and Livestock Shows,The Homecraft and Livestock Shows,Agricultural Awareness Education,Agricultural Awareness Education,

Antique Farm Equipment Display, Petting Zoo,Antique Farm Equipment Display, Petting Zoo,Eat Local Farmers MarketEat Local Farmers Market

The Homecraft and Livestock Shows,Agricultural Awareness Education,

Antique Farm Equipment Display, Petting Zoo,Eat Local Farmers Market


food in the hills : When it comes to food, what’s more important? Organic or local?daniel gilbert : They are equally important. Both have benefi ts. The problem is people who buy local often think it’s organic. They pick up a bag of carrots in the grocery store, see they come from Ontario, and think they are healthier. Or they pick up a bag of organic carrots only to discover they come from California. What we need is local, organic produce. Then it’s good for the environment and our health.

fith : Is the Ontario government supporting organic and local agriculture?dg : There is a lot of support from the government now. Still not as much as for traditional agriculture, but it’s better than it was. However, if farmers want to get government funding, they need to leave out the word “organic” and just talk about “local.”

fith : Is there a conspiracy against organic agriculture?dg : I don’t want to use the word “conspiracy.” I simply believe some people at the top in government, industry and in universities don’t believe in organic agriculture. It’s like global warming. There are lobby groups too. Monsanto isn’t interested in farmers switching to organics.

fith : You are an organic chef. Is it easier for you now than when you began?dg : Oh, it’s much easier. I used to have to go to the farm, which was cool, but it was time-consuming. It took a few years, but now there are distributors who carry organic foods. We even have distributors who specialize in organics, which makes it much easier.

fith : Where do you buy your organics?dg : There are some farmers who deliver. I like to go to farmers’ markets, but it’s hard for chefs to go to weekend or evening markets. I use distributors and I can even buy in grocery stores now.

fith : Are the big grocery stores helping?dg : Loblaws is doing a good thing, but with their power they could do more. Some grocery stores have small markets within the bigger store that sell fl owers or wine. I’d like to see grocery stores that have similar little markets that sell only local products. The large grocery stores say they can’t buy from local producers because small farms can’t supply all their stores. These little local markets would overcome this problem. If someone would start it and if it were successful, it would catch on.

fith : What is Feast of Fields’ role in organic and local agriculture?dg : Its main role is raising public awareness. Some people who don’t normally use organic food might come out and discover celebrated chefs are cooking with organics. When we started Feast of Fields, there were no organic wine producers and now there are four. And there seems to be an event like ours every weekend, but Feast of Fields is still the only exclusively organic one. �

— nicola ross

end note

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A pioneer in the business of organic food, chef Daniel Gilbert says things have come a long way since he opened the doors of his organic restaurant, Daniel’s of Nobleton, in 1980. Feast of Fields, the annual outdoor organic food and wine fest, which he has been helping organize for 22 of its 23 years, has also matured. In this exclusive interview, Daniel shares his insights into the organic food movement, and how it blends with efforts to buy local.

Organic?Local?

or Both?

The 23rd annual Feast of Fields takes

place Sunday, September 9, 2012 from

1–5 pm at Cold Creek Conservation

Area in King Township. Tickets are $100

or 10 for $90 each. Celebrity chefs

include the Food Network’s Michael

Smith and grilling guru Ted Reader. For

tickets and information: 905-859-3609,

tickets@feastoffi elds.org


best bites

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best bitesWhether it’s a veal sandwich in Bolton, a butter tart in Erin, wings at your local pub, or a chocolate sundae at the diner down the street, we want to hear about the best-kept food secrets in the hills. You tell us and if we agree, we’ll reveal them right here. Submit your nominations at www.foodinthehills.ca.

Pia’s on Broadway

177 BroadwayOrangeville519-307-1258www.piasonbroadway.com

Take a French classic, update it with a Québécois twist, and you’ve got a meal in a bowl. Reader Miyeko Simons turned us on to the French onion soup chef Adam Ryan created for Pia’s on Broadway in Orangeville.

According to Ryan, his soup is traditional because it contains more onions than broth to hold up the cheese-covered crouton. But Adam has dispensed with the usual bread covering

that garnishes the classic French version. Instead, he tops his soup with crisp French fries and melted cheese curds in a nod to his Canadian roots.

“Basically, it’s a cross between poutine and French onion soup,” he says.

And then there’s the soup. Instead of a meat-based broth, Adam uses a heady mixture of

beer, molasses, red wine and soy sauce. Even the fl owers are edible.

“Yup,” he says modestly, “we sell quite a bit of it.” And at only $8 a bowl, it’s no wonder. Find it on the dinner menu under appetizers.

Simons enthuses, “It is an unbe-lievable burst of fl avour, fi lling, and the

price is right. Love it!” �

Pia’s French Onion Soup

163 First Street Orangeville519-941-8961

www.harmonymarket.com

FreshOrganicLocalNon-GMOGluten Free

Specializing in

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HIABERETTATT ~ BERETTATT

ORGA

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~ETOT BICOKE ~

Harmony Whole Foods Market… and our valued local producers

GGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD FFOOOOODDDD ~~~~ GGGGGGOOOOOOOODDD PPEEOOPLLEE ~ AA GGOOOOOODD PPLLAACCEE TTOOO SSHHHOOOOPPP!!GGOOOOOOOODDD FFOOOOODDD GGG

SHAN

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~ SHELBURNE ~

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~HOCKLEY VALLEY COFFEE

ROA

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~HOCKLEY VAV LLEY

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FARMS

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DOUG

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~COLLINGWOOD ~

JOH

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THERLAND ~ DEERFIELD NURSERY

GREENS

~HILLSBURGH ~

Food In The Hills | Autumn-Winter 2012

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