tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67104006916918732252012-01-28T12:19:30.887-05:00A World Of Taste - A Local PerspectiveAlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.comBlogger551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-5042451690649535062010-08-25T22:15:00.046-05:002010-08-26T00:55:40.899-05:00

What a year for tomatoes in Toronto.I'm having trouble keeping up, but I'm still eating fresh from the yard!This year has been all heirloom and all in containers. I've learned that tomatoes sure can grow tall and wide, even bigger than me! I continue to use my ball of twine to tie up the branches to anything I can find that supports the heavy fruit.My favourites have been the Black Zebras and the

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-70697466953395769222010-06-15T18:03:00.008-05:002010-06-16T09:41:14.052-05:00

Two weeks later and the sweet cherries are just asking to be eaten!They look so delicous right now...Some of the shaded are taking a little longer to mature.But I have to wait another week before they are dripping scarlet juices all over me!

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-39396620220498099352010-04-29T22:26:00.007-05:002010-04-29T22:52:36.200-05:00

After a warm and dry winter, spring just continued in the same way. The backyard sweet cherry trees flowered a week or two early. Luckily there was only one day, just after the first blossoms appeared, that was cold and sleety. Since then the days have contiued to warm up and the pollinators are out in force. We should get a sweet cherry crop this year.Double click on the first photo to see a

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-57895672132435487232010-03-28T18:30:00.113-05:002010-04-02T15:35:07.181-05:00

Seven Briskets & Seven TastersWe wanted to find out how local smoked meat/pastrami compared without being influenced by any advance knowledge of product identity. In other words, this was a single blind taste test. Only the host knew what was being served. The host was not allowed to participate in the judging or identify any of the samples until all the scores were in. All the meats were

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-59561843122581590722009-12-19T17:12:00.039-05:002009-12-19T20:54:31.575-05:00

Last week I received three items from the Muskoka based Cottage Chef, a package of pre-sliced pastrami, a brisket deckle, and a bottle of creamy homemade horseradish mustard. My most successful preparation (seen in the picture above) was the result of hand-slicing the cold deckle before steaming the slices, loading the hot slices on light rye bread, scooping the mustard onto the meat, and finally

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-21025411915567833222009-11-28T16:06:00.024-05:002010-04-01T17:40:06.878-05:00

I had a chance to visit The Stockyards Smokehouse yesterday at 699 St.Clair W. in Toronto, and I really enjoyed my meal. I'd heard lots of chatter about the ribs, the pastrami, and the burgers and wanted to find out for myself what the real deal was.We arrived on Friday about 4pm before the evening rush. A quick look about hour later revealed a lineup of people hoping to score the smoky ribs &

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-59727619630209444492009-11-25T22:56:00.010-05:002009-12-02T23:56:02.954-05:00

Disaffected users of Chow are attempting to create a new, user centric, food forum for Toronto. Ontario, and beyond.The forum is almost ready for beta testing, but needs a domain name. Many have been suggested. The most popular name so far (chowfound) has been eliminated due to legal reasons. I've updated this poll to include the other names that had gained votes in the initial poll, plus a few

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-36821171746208428402009-07-26T12:28:00.005-05:002009-07-26T12:47:51.286-05:00

Another insult to our captive, carnivorous fish (mostly salmon).They're being fed land mammal bits and pieces.I have this image in my imagination of salmon leaping through the air while travelling upstream to mate, and biting chunks out the bears that are trying to catch them.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-69173780438418781072009-07-17T14:02:00.013-05:002009-07-17T16:04:06.342-05:00

It's mid July in Toronto and the summer has so far been cool with lots of clouds but not too much rainfall. Many crops have been delayed by a week or so and the quality is below normal. Our local strawberries were very limited in both quality and quantity causing the price to double from last year. Not good when competing with industrial berries from California.My backyard has been producing

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-55589383482015246532009-07-13T23:33:00.012-05:002009-07-14T00:26:29.954-05:00

Afrofest 2009, a two day festival at Queen's Park in Toronto featured African culture, food, music, and crafts. There are so many festivals during the summer in Toronto that I almost missed a classic performer, and for free!I've always been deeply moved by the music of Mali. Oumou Sangare was born in 1968 in Bamako, the capital of Mali, her family, though, was from Wassoulou, in the southwestern

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-31936853263274684972009-06-03T16:23:00.007-05:002009-06-03T17:44:47.204-05:00

My participation in Internet social media has brought me knowledge, information, and the pleasure of interaction. Since I'm emotionally and physically connected to food at an elemental level, one of the sites that originally captured my attention was CHOW.I read and learned about Toronto food. Eventually I signed up and started writing my own posts. It was exciting to interact with the

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-62842922068029737712009-04-26T21:31:00.012-05:002009-04-27T13:55:01.186-05:00

On a beautiful spring Sunday Toronto afternoon, April 26/09, the David Buchbinder Trio played 2 sets upstairs at the Monarch Tavern, Caplansky's Deli.David Buchbinder (trumpet/flugelhorn), playing world music and jazz since 1987, is best known for his Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band .Being able to eat Zane Caplansky's delicious home-made smoked meat sandwiches while listening to live sophisticated

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-44407901248015920932009-04-24T12:35:00.006-05:002009-04-24T12:51:05.112-05:00

Check out the Scotch Mountain Georgian Bay grape business in 'northern' Southern Ontario.It's a bit of a goofy site with non-traditional navigation but just that it exists tends to support the concept that climate change is real. It seems with global warming we'll soon be seeing Timmins Red on the LCBO shelves.This is an authentic Bleet from the Rastalam.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-52046461414056598752009-04-23T23:08:00.013-05:002009-04-24T12:53:59.442-05:00

Since I haven't had enough time recently to create content rich blogs with deep insights, I've decided to post what I call 'bleets'. They are basically 'blog tweets'. Short comments about links that I found to have interesting content. Pretty much a back to the future approach to blogging. Most will have a food connection of some kind or other.So here's my first bleet:Wolf and PigA unique

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-29827467478890090252009-02-19T22:17:00.008-05:002009-02-19T22:35:44.146-05:00

Now we know why he went to Ottawa's Byward Market... His own Beaver TailCheck out the lunch menu. I thought Obama hated beets! And here's Vilsack on food safety. I'm just so discouraged. Why are people waiting in the freezing cold for hours to 'not see Obama' in Ottawa? I'm only seeing him bending to the powers with dollars, even if those powers are really bankrupt and demanding unregulated pubic

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-31768787484826276662009-02-05T14:18:00.005-05:002009-02-05T14:43:17.837-05:00

With that tardily reported spill of radioactive material from Chalk River recently, and being upriver to Ottawa, I guess this result should not be unexpected.US border checks found Ottawa sludge radioactive with Iodine-131, a medical product.Hmm... Chalk River makes medical radioisotopes for the global market using a reactor that is working beyond it's design limits. They also spill and

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-11680875492828330532008-09-13T19:21:00.010-05:002008-09-13T19:41:47.020-05:00

I know I haven't been posting enough recently.Life is unpredictable and not always friendly.So I'm going to try harder!Here's a current Ontario legal case that I found illuminating."...it is illegal to sell raw milk, which health officials warn can contain dangerous pathogens..."From the article about Ontario farmer Michael Schmidt in the Toronto StarRaw milk crusader awaits verdict But I guess

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-82088943182638148452008-07-05T13:51:00.029-05:002008-07-05T17:05:10.661-05:00

Bone suckin 'n finger lickin good.A warm summer day, a carnival/party atmosphere, the mouth-watering smell of meat 'n sauce flavoured barbecue smoke, free parking and admission, live rock 'n roll, and beer! that's the makings of an excellent day trip experience!Ribs are king here, and pork dominates. Since all the participants buy from a single wholesaler, (I believe 'Maple Leaf' in this case),

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-1505099944230908772008-05-17T19:04:00.012-05:002008-05-20T19:17:21.878-05:00

It's that fleeting spring season in Southern Ontario that provides us with a couple of weeks of wild leeks or ramps. Once you leave the city they're pretty easy to find once you know what to look for. Friends with 10 acres of maple forest just northwest of Toronto allowed us to to a little foraging this week. The forest was full of trilliums, tiny blue flowers, and early to seed dandelions, just

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-76012589642015191762008-05-05T21:07:00.011-05:002008-05-08T13:54:04.447-05:00

My old backyard cherry tree flowered again last week but then struggled with below freezing nights and rain drenched days for the next week. The warm weather has now returned, but the blossoms show the wear and tear of surviving. The tree also seems to have managed to reproduce itself. I have 3 new volunteer trees that blossomed for the first time this year. I assume they grew from seeds, but I

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-31105646287465096782008-04-09T22:24:00.007-05:002008-04-09T23:31:43.035-05:00

Even the bears are hibernating later this year after a deep winter. Did you see the pictures of Toronto in March? These recent days of spring weather are helping wake me up! I'm starting to poke my head out of my cave.During a pre-season wakeup, I managed to plant a few seeds. Mostly saved from herbs I grew last year and from old seed packages I found around my cave.I've learned that catnip seeds

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-29601578076936072902007-12-01T14:00:00.000-05:002007-12-01T15:23:25.420-05:00

Toronto is a bagel lovers heaven!You can find the sweetish Montreal style bagel at Bagel House and the St.Urbain's chain, and the more classic Toronto style poppy seed twisters from Bagel World and Kiva's. And then there's the unique light and airy Gryfe's bagel with it's interesting crust and all the myriad coffee and donut store varieties for those addicted to Tim Horton's.But I've always

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-49658855332223193682007-10-26T14:58:00.000-05:002007-10-26T22:39:50.122-05:00

From my location near Yorkdale in Toronto, the fastest way out of the city to find farmland is north and west. Heading north, I pass a couple of my favourite urban/suburban supermarkets, Highland Farms and the Concord Food Market, both of which provide a wide selection of high quality local fruits and vegetables. A lot of human labour goes into the hand selection of produce on display at these

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-38936464073237186982007-10-22T23:00:00.000-05:002007-10-26T17:53:16.289-05:00

While I was picking up some fall fruit and vegetables at the final North York Centre's farmers market of the season last week, I noticed boxes of fresh local Ontario strawberries being sold among the pumpkins and apples. Local strawberries are typically only available for a few scant weeks in June, but these day-neutral strawberries produce fruit right up until the first heavy frosts, usually

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-87248070873686486402007-09-17T16:10:00.000-05:002007-10-22T14:32:50.652-05:00

One glorious summer afternoon we visited outside patio of the Lion's Head Inn on the Bruce Peninsula. The restaurant lives in a century old building (circa 1879) in the busy lake port village of Lion's Head. We knew that the Inn had locally sourced Cape Chin Bison Farm burgers on the menu and were definitely in the mood for a burger after all the delicious local fish we'd been gorging on. And we

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-42370795021171500472007-09-15T17:51:00.000-05:002007-09-17T11:13:48.328-05:00

It's been a busy month so I'll get right into it. Much time was spent in the Grey/Bruce area of Southern Ontario. It's an area with an amazing variety of landscapes and communities. One special highlight was Tobermory, at the northern end of the Bruce Peninsula where the waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron are deep and clear, with an awesome range of colours.Many of the restaurants in the

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-8081745751322439772007-08-01T12:29:00.000-05:002007-08-01T13:09:36.991-05:00

My first backyard tomato on a toasted flaxseed bagel with a light sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. What a treat! The tomato still warm from the summer sunlight, simply sliced, naturally juicy and full of local flavour.As the early varieties continue to ripen, the later types have just finished flowering and the fruit has emerged as tiny green balls.With the hottest days of

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-73401115300900861662007-07-27T08:47:00.000-05:002007-07-27T10:52:37.376-05:00

The best local food is the food you grow yourself.For city dwellers, the eco-niches available are limited only by imagination. If you have no land to cultivate, then container gardening is one of the best options. Inside or out, containers offer mobile planting options for decks, patios, rooftops, windowsills, etc.I've often lived in rented houses with a backyard but the incentive to dig a garden

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-70533489859523219332007-07-19T21:49:00.000-05:002007-07-19T23:02:29.107-05:00

After being dismayed by the rules and regulations required by Farmers Markets Ontario I was ready to dismiss yet another organization that promoted a certification procedure to rate agricultural businesses conforming to a set of rules that hopefully identified local, sustainable, ecologically and economically responsible farmers. But the more I dug into the details, the more it made sense.Local

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-15763724345150069262007-07-08T12:47:00.000-05:002007-09-12T12:19:42.705-05:00

For the last couple of weeks I've been making incredible buffalo burgers with the subtle garlicy/onion taste of scapes.Now that the garlic-scape season in Ontario is ending, I'll be substituting green onions and/or garlic chives to achieve a similar taste.The first and major ingredient is locally sourced bison meat. I had the ground meat from my last Blanbrook Farm purchase processed as both 

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-34656626348748944452007-07-04T13:17:00.000-05:002007-07-06T11:20:10.584-05:00

By Peter DuffinThe biggest problem I have with farmers market meats is that quality and consistency can be all over the map.What you are purchasing at the market has been federally or provincially inspected, or at least it should have been, but it doesn't hurt to ask the vendor, "Who does your meat packing, and where are they are located?". If the vendor has no idea, then walk away. Better

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-90271263168943254992007-06-30T12:33:00.000-05:002007-06-30T14:36:51.722-05:00

It's sweet-cherry picking time again in the backyard! At least this year the bounty is a little more restrained than last year when we were literally giving away buckets of them and spending days pitting, packing, and freezing. I still have a giant bonanza of last year's fruit frozen and waiting for me to get cooking. This year my focus has been on eating them directly from the tree as they ripen

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-77233079919979340802007-06-29T08:42:00.000-05:002007-06-29T10:26:09.192-05:00

I'm a self-confessed food locavore with an insiders distaste of supermarket culture. My instincts are to support local farmers and their economic well-being. If Farmers Markets help the farmer then I'm a wholehearted supporter. But some of that enthusiasm has been drained from me over the last few years with the development of 'certified markets' and the experience of being a market customer.I

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-49157264180738480882007-06-21T12:49:00.001-05:002007-06-25T14:52:54.947-05:00

My garden's mint plot has grown outrageously this year. What do I do with all my spearmint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, peppermint, orange mint, etc.? The varieties seem endless.My first joy is to crush the leaves in my fingers and just breath in the amazing flavours and fragrances. Yet it seems so wasteful to have such a bountiful crop that doesn't get into my cooking. There are a number of

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-56972159889115754412007-06-19T10:40:00.000-05:002007-06-19T11:29:21.834-05:00

Toronto's New Certified Farmers MarketsBy Peter DuffinYou have read about it here, and it's been in most of the major dailies too. Farmers' Markets Ontario (FMO) with the help of a million dollar grant, care of the Ontario taxpayers, is now sponsoring and controlling two new markets. 'MyMarkets', as the FMO refers to them, are now operating at Liberty Village and Woodbine Centre with several more

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-6665272524833912992007-06-10T10:44:00.000-05:002007-06-10T17:29:45.587-05:00

Do we unquestionably accept the need for, and practices of, Toronto's new Farmers' Markets Ontario publicly funded, certified markets? Do we lose all our critical reasoning just because their publicity promotes local food and local farmers?Do we all agree that farmers should have to open their farms, business accounts, utility bills and tax statements to intrusive FMO inspectors before they can

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-9672117062060195412007-05-19T22:53:00.001-05:002007-05-20T00:34:17.609-05:00

There's more treasure than a heritage river to be found in Ontario's Madawaska River valley.In the tiny village of Palmer Rapids, Kelly bakes her amazing butter tarts at Hannah's Food Mart.Kelly was bringing out packages of still-warm butter tarts when I dropped in one weekday morning in early May. Although too shy to have her own photo taken, she was rightly proud of her butter tarts. She tells

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-63775627701552384412007-05-13T01:10:00.000-05:002007-05-13T02:29:30.855-05:00

My vegan daughter calls me from one of her restaurant haunts; "Do I want a burrito?" she asks. Well sure, I love burritos, but it's just that I'm a little gun shy after my depressing Burrito Boyz experience and can't imagine a better burrito than one from my own kitchen. But I was still interested in trying the Bar Barrito experience.The Bar Burrito burrito (from the Yonge/Sheppard location) was

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-10783394019743802342007-05-12T16:56:00.000-05:002007-05-20T00:04:56.392-05:00

On the main street (Hwy 7) in Norwood, Ontario, east of Peterborough, you'll find Ralph's Butcher Shop. This was my last chance to find wild leeks before I arrived back home in Toronto. Rumour had it that Ralph had a source! Turns out that wild leeks do end up in the store, but all are destined to become ingredients flavouring one of Ralph's most popular sausages. But it also turned out that

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-50499964622472233292007-04-30T10:13:00.000-05:002007-04-30T10:24:09.303-05:00

No posts for the next few days. I'll be exploring the backwoods of Ontario and staying at our 10 Point Lodge retreat. I'll be helping to create and taste new bison based recipes with my friend Peter from Bison Basics for the next week or so. See ya when I get back!

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-64994534134982086692007-04-28T20:22:00.000-05:002007-04-28T21:45:48.241-05:00

Ranking higher than lettuce in protein, carbohydrates, calcium and iron, and much higher in nearly all vitamins and minerals, the free growing Taraxacum officinale is truly a super green. With more beta-carotene than carrots and an iron and calcium content greater than spinach, dandelions are one of the most versatile and nutritious edible weeds.The dandelion is a perennial, herbaceous

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-44213440340530494442007-04-21T22:40:00.000-05:002007-04-21T23:12:52.147-05:00

No fanatical elite attitude here. My reasonable 100 miles includes coffee, citrus, bananas, rice, and all those other food and spice 'essentials' that makes international trade so much fun. But if I can source my food within Southern Ontario, then I will.I've outlined my core foodshed above. I deliberately stretched north so I could claim wild blueberries were local for me. I still might have to

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-58062235678797752072007-04-21T21:07:00.000-05:002007-04-21T22:09:57.395-05:00

This will be my last Good Food Box for a while. I expect to be out of town during the next pickup, and a few weeks after that my distribution centre shuts down for the summer. The price has been fair and the not-for-profit Food Share has values that are easy to support. Probably my greatest disappointment has been the freshness of the products in the box. Too high a percentage are at or beyond

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-63987430700846259192007-04-18T23:57:00.000-05:002007-04-20T23:00:47.408-05:00

Of all local food, the most difficult to source is usually meat, particular grassfed meat. In most of rural North America there is no meat processing infrastructure left. Processing has been consolidated into a small number of very large operations. Small farmers who only process a few animals a month find themselves outside the system often without other options.One solution, borrowed from

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-14362419007093463972007-04-10T00:36:00.000-05:002007-04-14T23:57:58.453-05:00

Juicy red-skinned, and often local, organic apples have been a staple of my Good Food Box and I've been getting behind in my use of them. I've also been making an effort to use the fruit I froze and bottled last year. So I put the fresh apples together with some frozen backyard  raspberries, covered them with a topping of oat and nuts, and baked up a colourful and juicy, awesome apple raspberry

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-73515905061810553832007-04-08T23:17:00.000-05:002007-04-08T23:49:06.991-05:00

Buying famine relief food locally in the affected countries would annually feed at least a million more people for 6 months than the current distribution system, according to a report in the NY Times.The UN World Food Program has requested an urgent donation of cash for this purpose in Zambia, but opposition comes from US agribusiness, shipping, charitable groups, and Congress, who seem to value

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-66111631318556564202007-04-05T18:40:00.000-05:002007-04-05T21:00:27.483-05:00

Just in time for the extra-long holiday weekend, I picked up my twice-a-month box of organic fruit and vegetables from Food Share's Good Food Box program. This box contained the least number of products flagged local since I first started buying the boxes, and I seem to be missing one of them, the local fresh garlic! There's an unlisted bunch of green onions with limp leaves which I guess is the

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-10951914750555618062007-04-04T22:03:00.000-05:002007-04-04T22:38:40.197-05:00

These old fashioned, sugar shack style butter tarts are the liquidy kind that I love. And if the repeated requests 'to make some more' are any indication, there's a lot of runny tart lovers out there!Here's the recipe!Alan's Maple Syrup Butter Tarts1/3 cup pure maple syrup1 egg1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted1 tbsp half & half cream (10% MF)2/3 cup brown sugar, packed1/2 cup raisins1/2 tsp

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-64284986019872676242007-04-01T14:32:00.000-05:002007-04-04T22:11:23.540-05:00

I'd never thought of rutabaga (aka swede or 'yellow' turnip) as anything more than an occasional ingredient in a meaty stew. I seem to have some ancient memories of being served a bitter, yellowy mash of swede and that association lingers as a mental barrier for my using them more often in cooking.My most recent Food Share Good Food Box included a couple of local organic rutabagas and an info

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-75964831435769718462007-03-30T23:28:00.000-05:002007-03-30T23:50:13.461-05:00

The tomatoes were not usable by the 3rd day after pickup. They suffered internal collapse causing the whole tomato to become soft and squishy and started to attract fungus. I think they travelled too far and for too long before I ever saw them.The strawberries were rock hard and tasteless, not unlike the plastic clamshell container they came in. They were large and well coloured, designed to fool

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-69398978600204156012007-03-22T17:19:00.000-05:002007-04-01T15:40:32.613-05:00

There were some really nice local hydroponic greens in this week's (March 22 2007) Good Food Box from Toronto's Food Share. The lettuce and spinach came with roots still attached and soaked in water to keep them fresh. I was missing the expected bosc pears but I got a credit note for my next order to cover them. Here's the summary:2 rutabaga (flagged local)1 red cabbage (flagged local)1 bag

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-5913894238854889342007-03-08T19:04:00.000-05:002007-03-22T18:23:34.614-05:00

It's Thursday again and that means another Good Food Box! Here's the lowdown on the box I picked up on March 8, 2007.5 lbs Red Potatoes (Pfenning's product of Canada)2 lbs Carrots (Cal-Organic Fams, Bakersfield, Calif)2 baby Bok Choy1 Sweet Dumpling Squash (Pfenning's - flagged as local produce)3 lbs red apples in a plain brown paper bag (flagged local)4 grapefruit (Purity brand - USA)1 bunch

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-33651603901749266352007-02-27T17:41:00.000-05:002007-02-27T18:59:25.991-05:00

I picked up my first Good Food Box from FoodShare.I chose the $32 Large Organic selection because it was promoted as the one which would have the most local and seasonal produce in it. Keeping in mind that it is mid-February and deep into the winter season here in Toronto, 3 of my 11 items where sourced locally. I expect to see that proportion increase once we move into spring.2 small rutabaga (

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-28194944966271279332007-02-23T16:33:00.000-05:002007-02-27T18:52:43.649-05:00

There sure is some hysteria out there regarding raw milk and products made from it! I posted earlier about how Ontario continues enforce draconian containment of this so called 'public health threat' with armed force.It all comes down to how the animals are treated. If you run an industrial milk business, you focus on the quantity of milk production, and the cows are just part of your input/

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6710400691691873225.post-83462776679102870642007-02-11T14:17:00.000-05:002007-02-27T19:03:24.088-05:00

Apparently the golden arches are only a little tarnished.Their economic performance seems to be on an upswing.Luckily Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) , in an interview with The Observer, gives us a little perspective on this corporate economic success story and at whose expense it comes.After some promotion of his new film, the discussion becomes focussed on McDonald's. "In the US, they're

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05155534322029676096noreply@blogger.com1