Thursday 29 January 2009

Crock-pot Yogurt

The first attempt I've ever made at yogurt was this recipe. I am really pleased with the outcome although I'd like to do two things differently next time: (1) add acidophilus to give it an extra boost in good bacterias and (2) not use any milk less then 2%

The yogurt turned out really good. The taste is good, although it's a bit runnier than I expected.

You'll need:
4 cups of organic milk
1/2 cup of organic yogurt for starter
Crock pot

Put milk into crock pot and simmer on low for 2hrs. Unplug, leave the lid on, and let stand another 2hrs. Mix 1 cup of the warm milk with 1/4 - 1/2 cup good quality organic plain yogurt (I used Mapleton's Organic - Cream on top). Pour into the crock pot and stir until yogurt is completely mixed in.

Cover the crock pot in one or two heavy towels and let sit for 8 hrs. Ta Da!! Yogurt!

A quick, tasty dinner

A mostly organic/local meal I made from things out of my fridge.

1 package local/all natural ground pork
1 organic zucchini, diced
1 home-canned jar of local tomatoes
2 large organic, local leeks
dash of Worcestershire
salt & pepper to taste
basil, oregano
basil pesto

I started by sauteing the leeks by themselves, then the zucchini, and adding everything to a large pot when done. Season and cook the ground pork and add to the pot. Add the canned tomatoes, and add herbs and seasoning. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, then the remanents of some basil pesto for some body to the flavour. Taste, season, taste....

Serve with 4 cups cooked jasmine rice (admittedly, not local. I haven't figured rice out yet)

Wednesday 28 January 2009

A first attempt at Kale

We just tried Kale for the first time, and loved it! It made a fantastic side dish to tonight's meal.

The Meal:
Local/all-natural Pork chops stuffed with Cajun sausage, broiled
Organic baked herb-Parmesan sweet potato fries
Organic lemon garlic Kale

How I made the sweet potato fries: I quickly cut up two sweet potatoes on our mandolin. In a bowl I tossed these with herbs de province, parmesan cheese, finely chopped garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper. Roasted these in an oven, stirring occasionally.

How I made the kale: In a saucepan, I started with butter, garlic and onions. I cut up the kale into 1/4" slices (afte removing the stems). I slowly added it into the saucepan and cooked for approx 10mins. Garnished with lemon juice, and salt & pepper to taste.

Results: Fantastic!! I like a lot of dark greens (chard, beet greens) but kale has a wonderful taste. Definitely a cook-again!

Monday 26 January 2009

Ice wine, a fairly local treat


I'm very blessed where I live, I completely understand that. I have two fabulous markets (ok, technically three) right next door that I frequent and more in the area. I have a store I buy local meats and dairy through year round. There are organic stores in and around town....

and wine is a short drive away.

We took a tour of the Niagara region for the Ice Wine Festival this past weekend. We each bought a Discovery pass, which gave us tastings at 6 wineries (for half the price it would have cost to pay for each). The lovely man at the tasting bar in the first one said we'd never make all six. We made 9 ;) The wines and food were fantastic, and the ambience was everything you'd hope for in a winery tour.



Tastes and adventures along the way, in order:

  • Lakeview Estates: A fabulous start to our trip, it's a pretty building. We bought our discovery passes here, and were shocked to find out we bought the last three. I am still not sure how to buy them online earlier next year. The pass took us upstairs to a separate tasting bar where Hayden walked us through three wine samples and a double-bacon mini quiche. We started with their Brut (a sparkling wine), then the Late Autumn Harvest, then finally the ice wine. To top it off he snuck us an extra sample to show us a tasty treat: sparkling wine + ice wine. Fantastic!
  • Cave Springs: Usually one of my favorite wineries. Our pass got us a taste of the Dolomite Reisling and a corkscrew. We were disappointed (we've had the Dolomite before) and we said something and got a complimentary taste of their ice wine. I still bought two Reislings from here, their CSV: Estate bottled Reisling is my favorite.
  • Flat Rock Cellars: I can't tell you how beautiful this winery is. The building is mostly window, and with good reason. You are on top of the escarpment here, but you can see everything out to the lake - breathtaking. In a private room with a fabulous view of the vineyards, we tasted two ice wine martinis. They both had vodka, one had mango and apricot juice, the other white cranberry juice. Also, we sampled some frozen red grapes which had been rolled in sugar. Out at the sample bar, we tried ice wines from two different harvests and settled on one (2007) for purchase. We also bought a tasty treat for later: homemade ice wine marshmallows.
  • Creekside Estates: At the outdoor patio, a large serving of roasted chestnuts with an orange-garlic butter (the other option was cajun) with an ice wine. Inside we enjoyed some mulled wine. A tasty stop, and a beautiful building.
  • 20 Bees: Ok, this one actually suprised me a bit. The building you go into literally looks like an oversized classroom portable. But it's quaint inside and the wine is really good. We got free samples of three wines (a perk of the smaller wineries) and bought a sample of ice wine. We ended up buying the bottle of ice wine and reisling, both of which were incredibly inexpensive.
  • Inniskillin: The pictures up above are all from Inniskillin, another of my favorite wineries. First of all, the wine is fantastic! The buildings (the sample bar is in another building separate from the gift shop) are beautiful. Outside they had an ice wine sample bar, carved of ice. It all comes at a cost in the price of the wine, but it's all delectable so who could complain? The discovery pass tasting was fantastic: an ice wine and a truffle cauliflower soup. Mmmmm. See those ice grapes up there? I ate some. So sweet.
  • Riverview Cellars: An awkward room full of people, but the discovery pass gave us a very tasty treat: a red ice wine with a plate full of goodies on skewers to put into the chocolate fondue (store bought marshmallows, banana, strawberry, soft fresh biscotti etc). They have a cute gift shop with a lot of wine bags.
  • Peller Estates: Probably my most favorite Winery to go to, it's phenomenal. The building is *grand* by definition, I think. Large stairways, a posh room to sample and purchase wine, a fancy restaurant, and I think someone said there were rooms you could stay in. The discovery passes got us ice wine and homemade ice wine marshmallows, outdoors on the patio. We roasted our marshmallows in the open fires, and we were fabulously shaded from the wind. Afterwards, we made our way to the sample bars and had a flight of dry whites.
  • Pilletteri Estates: A cute place, it looks like it might have been a veggie stand once upon a time ago. We had some free samples and bought a bottle of wine. It was a cute place.

On the way home the next day, we took a quick detour to one last winery (so, that's 10). Rosewood Estates was my favorite new discovery. It is not only a winery, it is also a MEADERY. Mead is a honey wine, and my husband and I bought have a love for it. We sampled 4 meads and a wine. We bought two meads. Fabulous taste. It is the second meadery we've found in Ontario, and it's only about an hour's drive.

All in all, a great wine-related weekend.

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Friday 23 January 2009

Roasted cauliflower goodness

You have a lovely head of organic cauliflower... what do you do? Roast it.

Why hadn't I thought about roasting a cauliflower before? Maybe I resolved myself to the way we'd eaten it growing up: boiled until slightly mushy, topped with cheddar cheese sauce (or cheese whiz, as it were).

You'll need:
1 head cauliflower
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 - 6 whole cloves of garlic (depends how much you like garlic)
herbs de province
good quality olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Cut the cauliflower into small florets, and cut the stems into 1" pieces. Combine the cauliflower, onion, garlic, herbs de province, olive oil and salt and pepper until well mixed. Spread out onto a large roasting pan and bake at 350 until browned and softened. Enjoy.

Thursday 22 January 2009

What can you do with smoked pork chops?

Our Farmer's Choice, where we get all of our meats (local/all natural), is carrying smoked pork chops that we've been buying now for a couple of months. We usually end up frying them, and eating them with a couple of side dishes. I was looking for something a bit different, and I finally figured it out.

You'll Need:
12 whole cloves
1 medium - large onion
2 - 4 smoke pork chops
2 cups good quality/organic beef broth
sauerkraut
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Put 2 cups organic/good quality beef broth in a large pan or wok. Cut the onion in half, you'll be placing both sides, cut side down. Along what will be the bottom of this, stick the cloves in the onion so it will be sitting in the broth. Add the onions, bay leaf and pork chops to beef broth. Cover and simmer 30mins. Serve with cooked sauerkraut.

The Verdict:
According to husband, this is a "make again". I actually ended up over cooking these, but the smoked pork just kind of caramelized and it was absolutely delicious. This is definitely a make again, and I'd like to add some mushrooms (like morels?) to it!

Tuesday 20 January 2009

A sick foodie wants thai food

I was sitting here thinking I had nothing of interest to post about today. I've come down with a bit of a cold, and it's left me awfully congested. My thoughts, however, turned to foods that I like to eat when I am sick.

I like the classics: toast, gingerale, chicken noodle soup.... There is something about eggs that makes me feel good when I am sickly.

Amongst todays staples are several cups of a concoction of orange pekoe tea (fair trade), lemon, and honey (local/all natural). For dinner I am eating a dinner of Red Curry noodles from Bangkok Cuisine, a thai medium in heat (not a western medium, beware!). I figure I'll scare it out with some spices. If it doesn't cure my congestion, nothing will.

If you haven't been to Bangkok Cuisine, go. It's on King street near Fairway road, right about where the highway entrance/exit is. The thai food is absolutely amazing, and you can tell they are using quality and fresh ingredients. Warning *again* the food is hotter than many of you might expect. I love hot foods and I tend to stick with medium. Favorite dishes include the curry noodles, drunken noodles and pad thai. The larb, and appetizer, is to die for. They even have a website.

Update: the red curry totally works but wears off after about an hour. Rx - 4-5 tbsp of red curry dish every 1hrs until better :)

Monday 19 January 2009

Oh-no, G-M-O

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, and refers to living things that have been genetically modified at the molecular level (DNA). Sometimes it means taking genes from one organism and putting it into another. GMOs exist in the pharmaceutical, medical, and agricultural industries, and has widespread applications.

There is a considerable amount of controversy regarding GMOs in the food industry. Many will argue that altering DNA of a species (florae or fauna) can have serious environmental reprocussions that we don't fully understand. There are biological, environmental and ethical arguments against the GMO industries.

Canada is one of the biggest suppliers of GM canola. In fact, Canada is one of the biggest producers of GMO foods. Approximately half of the foods in our grocery stores are GMO foods.

Here is an excellent article if you'd like more reading: Canada wakes up to GMO issues

How can you avoid GMO foods? Buy organic or all natural. Talk to the people whom you get your food from. Where do they get their seeds? How do they raise their livestock? Get to know your food producers, and you'll find natural, quality foods.

Asparagus & mushroom quiche in a brown rice crust

I recently made this dish for my husband and it was a huge hit. I made it with leftover brown rice after making a lot of it the night before for a stir fry. It was an easy meal to make after work, and I felt better making the crust rather than buying a pre-made store bought one.

Brown Rice Crust
* 1-2 cups cooked brown rice
* 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese
* splash of milk
* 1 egg (optional)
Mix the Parmesan, brown rice and milk. You can add a beaten egg to the mixture if you'd like it to hold together better, but I tend to leave it out since it's holding an egg dish. Spray or lightly grease pie pan. Press the mixture firmly into pie pan, forming a crust. Preheat oven to 425 and bake the crust for 10 - 14mins

Asparagus/Mushroom Quiche
* 3 eggs or substitue
* 1 cup milk
* 4 - 5 spears asparagus (cut into 1" pieces)
* handful of mushrooms (whatever is local)
* 1/2 chopped small onion or 3-4 chopped shallots
* 2-3 tbsp old cheddar cheese, shredded
Lightly steam the asparagus pieces. Saute onion or shallots in butter until slightly brown. Add mushrooms of your choice, then asparagus and saute for a few minutes. Do not overcook. Put mixture into the crust and add shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Mix eggs with milk, pour into quiche. Bake 10 minutes for 425 degrees, lower to 350 degrees for 30 minutes longer.

He makes a mean local roast

I was feeling under the weather last night, so my husband made dinner. He used a beer to marinate a inside round roast from an all-natural, local farmer. Although we have local beer (Iron Duke, Wellington Brewery) he opted for the foreign beer in the marinade, I believe, because he's almost out of the local stuff to drink.

With the beef roast he put in locally grown carrots, potatoes and onions. He pierced the roast itself and inserted cloves of a locally grown garlic, then used some of the beer marinade in the bottom of the roast pan. I added some herbs de province before it went into the oven.

Accompanied by locally grown and made horseradish, of course.

Sunday 18 January 2009

Jan 24th & 25th around the area

If you're looking for something to do in the area next weekend? Why not take a quick trip over to the Guelph Organic Food Conference. Located at the University of Guelph, this is Canada's foremost grassroots organic show. This will be its 28th year and there are well over 150 vendors. Free admission and free parking!! Learn about organic foods, and taste samples at an organic marketplace. You'll also get a chance to meet some of the certifying bodies to help you understand organic/fair trade food labels. A variety of workshops and other special events will also take place throughout the event, Jan 22th - 25th.

I'm going to try to make it there on Sunday, but I'll also be enjoying the tastes of the Niagara Ice Wine Festival next weekend. We'll be celebrating (and stocking up on) local wines as well as a uniquely Canadian treat, Ice Wine. A number of wineries are offering food/wine pairings, so it should make for a excellent gastronomic experience.

Saturday 17 January 2009

Weekend food hunt

My neighbours, my husband and I went out looking for local, and organic (or all-natural) foods today. Someone jokingly said something about how we were out "hunting and gathering" our food. It made me think.

When I go shopping for my food at a large chain grocery store, I feel really removed from the food that I am buying. I have no idea where most of them were grown. In fact, a lot of the foods I buy from there come from farther than I've ever travelled to. I'm disconnected from the farmers who've produced it, the land it was grown on, and indeded the food itself.

So off we went, from store to store around the area, hunting and gathering for our foods. We went to Organic Oasis, Pfennings Organic, Grainharvest bakery and Our Farmer Choice.

What did I find? Locally grown organic garlic, onions, and local organic oats, horseradish, milk & chocolate milk. Organic romaine lettuce, kale, kabocha squash, bananas (fair trade), roasted red peppers, zucchini, raisins, dried apples, tea, snacks, All natural & local rye buns, 7 grain bread, smoked pork chops, stuffed pork, inside round roast, fresh bacon, fresh farm eggs and pepperettes.

Mmmm... tasty treasures.