An Asparagus Tour

It was a tour to beat all tours; an asparagus farm tour. Yes, it’s asparagus season. Our cool spring slowed things down a bit but then we had a few warm days and wow! Asparagus is one of those plants that grows so fast, you can almost see it growing right before your eyes; tall, slender, green and irresistible.

The Fruit Shack on Niagara Stone Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake has a small asparagus patch behind the retail store. The store is only open on the weekends until the season picks up and then they’ll be open 7 days a week, but for now, they had a few minutes to tour a small group of eager foodies around the farm.

We walked into the cherry orchard in full bloom. The trees were in full bloom and filled the air with the floral aromas of sweet, delicate blossoms; then we past the plot of garlic before arriving at the asparagus patch.

Asparagus patches are pretty drab and unexciting to look at. The brown earth is interrupted only with a straight line of drab green spears; no leaves, no bright colour. But as soon as we focused on the row of spears standing straight like a line of soldiers, we could hardly wait.

The Fruit Shack is a family run farm and Frank and Steve Pohorly, father and son, were on hand to teach us a bit about asparagus. Steve took a knife and began cutting the spears and placing them in a basket as he talked about the high demand he has for his crop that was originally just suppose to be enough to feed him and his family. But an asparagus patch is not something you can keep secret for long and now everyone is hungry for their just picked asparagus.

Steve was neat and tidy in his picking, you could tell these were his prize possessions, but I bent down and snapped a spear off at the base and popped it into my mouth. I knew what to expect, I’d done this before. The juicy spear exploded in my mouth with the ultra sweet flavours of fresh sugar peas and the freshness of cold, pure spring water. It was full of life and crunch; who could not become addicted to the ultra fresh and uber delicious flavour of asparagus just seconds from harvest!

Others in the group followed and moans of delight began to ring through the crowd like a symphony of joy. No I’m not exaggerating, picking and eating asparagus in the patch is one of life’s greatest joys. Those who never liked asparagus were astonished at how good it was and others delighted in the discovery of the freshest flavours they’d ever eaten. It was like a feeding frienzy in the field.

We left The Fruit Shack and took our just picked asparagus to Escabeche Restaurant at Queens Landing Inn. The chef prepared them simply with lots of sweet, creamy butter. In the centre of the table was more fresh asparagus (raw) standing straight up in a flower vase. We feasted on the buttery asparagus and the fresh. It was an amazing lunch.

Shopping With A Chef

Six in the morning is David Garcelon’s favourite time to shop at the St. Lawrence Farmers’ Market. David is executive chef of the Royal York Hotel in Toronto and today I was going shopping with him.

We met in the lobby and began our short walk to the market. Toronto seems to be alive no matter what time of day and the market was in full swing by the time we arrived. It’s customary to walk about with a cup of coffee so chef with his coffee and I with my tea made our first sighting. On one counter we found jars of Forbes Pickled Spruce Tips and Milkweed Pods. The chef chatted a bit about wild foods and we moved on.

We reached the meat section with lots of vendors competing for business. Chef, inspired by the ultra thick, glistening pork chops began his appreciation of Ontario pork. “It’s the best in the world,” he starts. Like a walking, talking billboard for Ontario Pork, his heart is in every word.

We moved on to the fish section and chef asked to see a large Lake Erie Pickerel on ice behind the glass. The fishmonger placed it on a sheet of brown wrapping paper and handed it over. “It’s really fresh when it has no smell, there’s still blood in the gills and the eyes are glistening,” explains chef as he examines it closely then holds it up for me to smell the fish that has no smell.

Someone from behind us yelled to the chef that fresh spring salmon should be in next week. I turned to see who it was when a sign caught my eye. It said, “We will not sell Chilean Seabass.” Hum, a fish monger with ethics – the appreciation is not lost on me.

Next stop was Golden Orchards Fine Foods where we met owner Murray Graziano. Murray worked with his mom in this shop since he was a small boy. He shows us information on the local farmers he’s working with and tells the chef he’ll soon have bags of local shelled sweet peas for him. “There are nights I don’t sleep,” says Murray. “If we don’t support local farmers today, they’ll all be factories tomorrow and it will be too late.”

All this talk of food is making the chef hungry and I follow him like a little puppy to Carousel Bakery where he buys two internationally famous, Peameal Bacon on a Soft Country Bun. He hands me a my sandwich wrapped in white paper and quickly runs off again. We end up at the Kozlik’s mustard stand where he pulls out 4 of his favourite mustards and asks me to pick one for my sandwich. We eat in the hustle and bustle of the market, washing the sandwich down with more tea.

With no time to waste, we’re off passing another meat place before he stops abruptly. He picks up a few bags of bones explaining, “these are the best deal in the market.” At $1.50 for a giant bag of bones, I agree. Then as if distracted by the calling of succulent slabs of savoury, fresh beef, chef begins to teach me all I need to know about buying the best quality beef. Like a good student I soak it all in studying the examples he points to as he talks.

Next we head across the street to the north market. Unlike the main building which is open all week, the north market is only open on Saturday. We meet John Rowe, founder of Rowe Farms who has partnered with Niagara grower Paul Moyer to growing red fyfe wheat. Together they mill it and make delicious pasta that he sells fresh at the market. John starts to talk about lessening our carbon footprint with farming when chef realizes he needs to get back to his kitchen. “Dinner, seven tonight, don’t be late,” he says as he leaves me at the market.

No, no I wasn’t dining with the chef, he’d be busy in the kitchen. Although I would have given anything to cook with him, but he was gone before I could ask.

The Royal York is a grand hotel and they offer a Shop With Chef package that anyone can book. The package is best taken from the time the Niagara orchards are bursting with their bounty to the fall harvest of Ontario’s fertile soil and through the holiday season when the best of free range poultry and festive meats are in demand. It’s a great opportunity to meet one on one with some of the people who produce the best food in Ontario. It includes an insider’s tour of the market with the chef, 2 nights accommodation, dinner in EPIC and a culinary tour of the market with historian Bruce Bell (1.800.441.1414, www.fairmont.com).

Bruce shares stories enthusiastically on the buildings previous incarnations. Once town hall only to be repurposed many times until what we see today as the St. Lawrence Farmers’ Market. It’s a captivating and brilliantly executed tour (www.brucebelltours.ca).

Another Day in the Big City

So I seem to be in Toronto an awful lot these days. Don’t mind it, for someone who works from their home, these trips seem like the only time ‘off’ from work – or at least it separates me from my work, so they’re very welcomed.

This time my son Jordan had a concert to go to at The Opera House. It started early and ended late so Jon and I had plenty of time to relax in the big city.

First we took the kids to Chinatown for lunch and a bit of shopping. Lunch at Pho Hung on Spadina was really bad. The food came out dry and we were given giant bottles of cheap processed sauce that was watered down. I don’t recommend it at all. We did a bit of shopping, mostly for the boys. From Chinatown to Honest Eds to Sonic Boom.

Dropped the kids off at the concert and Jon and I went to the Riviera Bakery on College for a rest, coffee and decadent pastry. We had a window seat to people watch and had a Zeppola.

Zeppola are the Easter pastry or the pastry Italians eat to celebrate S Giuseppe. It looks like a giant donut sliced horizontally and filled with luscious whipped cream and topped with a cherry or two. For those who know it better, it's feather light egg dough, deep fried and dredged in sugar, stuffed with whipped cream and decorated with special Italian preserved cherries - beyond delicious!

I asked why they’re making Zeppoles so early and the owner said there is such a frienzy a few weeks before Easter – people were lined up down the street and they just couldn’t manage the onslaught of business around that time. Now they start making Zeppole a few months early and that has helped as people now come in early for the favourite Easter treat.

It was early evening, we went to the Manulife Building and shopped in Chapters for a while. This is probably the largest Chapters anywhere and it was opened until 11 pm on Sunday. Decided to go up to the Panorama for a drink. The Panarama is a beautiful, sultry bar on the 51st floor of the Manulife. We sipped on wine and watched the lights of the city come on.

On our way up to the Panorama we noticed the cinemas. We wanted to see the King’s Speech but were too early for the late show and too late for the early show. But there was a showing in between at the VIP theatre. We’d be out in time to pick up the kids.

VIP is a much smaller theatre (probably holds 36 people) with larger, plush, very comfortable seats that rock and have plenty of leg room. There are small coffee tables on ether side of a pair of chairs and it’s a licenced theatre with full service. You can order wine, beer, popcorn, anything the theatre offers. The concept was great so we paid the extra $5 per ticket.

When we arrived the theatre was dirty; popcorn scattered everywhere and we had to pick the clean seats as many of them had sticky pop over them. We found 2 good seats and sat back; this was nice. We ordered popcorn and it came in it’s traditional paper bag – not very VIPish at all.

For service you need to be in your seats 10 minutes before the show and that was doable, but waiting for a movie is like watching paint dry, it’s simply not convenient.

The movie was fantastic, but the VIP theatre concept needs a bit of rethinking to get it right. Don’t think it’s worth the extra money unless it’s a clean space, popcorn comes in a bowl and the movie starts when you’re ready.

I love impromptu trips into Toronto, not everything works as you'd like or expect but it's a break for the ordinary and it's all good.

Looking for the Best Greek Food

I’m sitting cliffside in the village of Fira in Santorini, Greece. I have a small apartment that hangs over the Santorini cliff. It’s not my first time here, I’ve been many times before so I know the lay of the land. For instance most of the beautiful and affordable hotels, suites and small apartments aren’t widely publicized so the only way to make sure you’re where you want to be is to book one or two nights accommodation, then set out on foot to find the perfect place.

I arrived late last night and did the touristy thing. I went to the square and ate an gyro – to me it’s like the flavours of home – Greek comfort food. I’ve been coming here for almost 25 years and the view, climate and people have remained constant. Usually I come in the off season and it’s quieter. This time it’s July and I don’t like how the village rocks with too many bars blasting music off the cliff and across the sea – it’s a disgrace and it cheapens this place - most beautiful and magical place in the whole world.

Today is a new day and Jon and I walked up the street, picked a nice restaurant from the hundreds that exist on top of the cliff and sat - cliff side again - and had a cool and crisp Santorini salad. It's the only thing to do on this deliciously hot, hot day.



I’ve got some leads on the islands best chefs so in another day or two Jon and I will rent a car and venture out to meet them. Traditional Greek food is not what I’m here for, although that’s all the restaurants here seem to think the tourists want. It’s the new food of Greece, the taste that’s a reflection of who the people are today – sophisticated, brilliant and beautiful.

I'm here for another 10 days so keep in touch and I’ll keep you posted.

DELICIOUS AND EXCITINGLY LOCAL

Have you heard about it? Have you tasted their food? Have you gone to Ballygiblin’s?

It’s a modern little restaurant with a boutique feel, casual attitude and some outstanding food. It’s in a beautiful little country village called Carleton Place just southwest of 

Ottawa and if you’re inclined to take in the country, there’s a charming stone inn on the main intersection with a cozy outdoor patio that’s perfect for people watching in the sleepy little village.

It’s the quintessential country experience and Ballygiblin’s is located among the quaint shops on the main street decorated with pretty hanging flowers. Surrounded by farms and fields, Executive Chef Roger Weldon cherry picks the best producers and lines up his menu to reflect the best flavours the region has to offer.

He has an obsession for planning his menu’s from what he can find from local farmers. I met Roger at Alpenblick Farm where he introduced me to one of his food sources before dinner.

Alpenblick is a natural farm.

The animals roam freely so you have to close the gate behind you when your come or go. Roger wasn’t wearing the traditional white chefs jacket but a t-shirt that said “Eat Local”. 

Thought he was a bit cheeky wearing that while he walked among the cows and sheep.Farmers Robert Oechsli and Petra Stevenson raise their animals in a safe, natural way and the resulting meat just can’t be compared says Roger.

Back at the restaurant the large black menu says Ballygiblin’s is “linking pleasure and food awareness and responsibility with agriculture and ecology”. What that means is that Chef Weldon not only knows where his food comes from, but that he selects farms that have respect for the animals and natural food production practices – it leaves a good taste in your mouth.

We started with maple planked brie with market raspberries. It was cheese from Alpenblick Farm, Robert himself makes a small amount of hand crafted cheeses and sells it to a few lucky customers. As far as I know, Ballygiblin’s is one of the few places you can get Roberts brie – it’s worth the effort – it’s not to rich and big in flavour. A refreshing change to the commercial types.

Next we all had burgers! Hand made 1 ½-inch thick beef patties, all natural, fully organic burgers made from Alpenlick farm beef. I had lots of hot peppers just picked from the field, cheddar and sour cream to help with the heat. Difficult to eat, it was piled high and sandwiched between two slices of thick artisan bread – yum! It comes with “made from scratch”, ketchup, maple mustard, sweet relish and house mayo.

Ask about the food and it’s like a guided tour to the neighboring farms. The menu includes interesting tidbits of info like, “Did you know that Roger went to Terra Madre in 2008!” and “Find locally produced foods that have traveled fewer miles from field – market – kitchen. These foods have a smaller carbon foot print or “FOOD PRINT”.” They’re just so in love with local flavours!

Make a reservation, I was there on a Sunday evening and the place was packed! It’s refreshing to find such a delicious locavore restaurant at a comfortable and reasonable price level. They don’t all have to be five-star dining establishments.

Ballygiblin’s – Eat Local, 151 Bridge Street, Carleton Place, ON, 613-253-7400, www.ballygiblins.ca

EATING LOCAL IN WOODSTOCK

Six Thirty Nine is an exciting new restaurant on 639 Peel Street in Woodstock, Ontario. Chef and Owner Eric Boyar is young and deliciously talented. I found Eric in the kitchen on his day off, so I sat at the Chef’s Table and he treated me to a new dish he’s putting on his menu.

The Chef’s Table is a beautiful wooden bar much like a butchers block with 4 bar stools that face the kitchen and large window that brings in the beautiful outdoor gardens. I perched myself at the bar and watched as the chef made a local dish from some fresh rainbow trout he’s just picked up that morning.

Boyar has a passion for flavour and that motivates him to go beyond what many chefs would. The back pantry is filled with baskets and bags of fresh vegetables he just picked up from the market and I love it – his bicycle is leaning up against the cupboards – he’s a wholesome chef who treats his customers to his wholesome cooking! But don’t be fooled, wholesome in my world never tasted this amazing.

He served me a bowl of Truffled Mushroom Soup and Duck Confit, I suppose in a chef’s kitchen you can never be without food. He started to prepare his rainbow trout dish.

Six Thirty Nine Restaurant was a home transformed in 2005 into a modern 28 seat restaurant with a sleek sexiness and welcoming appeal. Boyar is classically French trained and inspired by farms and fresh farm produce from his childhood of working on farms. The duck in the soup came from Everspring farm, the pea shoots from Sleger’s Organic Farm and the mushrooms from a farm on County Road 54.

As Boyar moved around his extremely well organized and neat kitchen one task flowed into another with the grace of movement of a dancer. He was amazing to watch, dusting the skin side off the trout sharing some tips with me. “Don’t dust the flesh side of the fish because crisping up that side tends to dry it out”. He warms a mixture of butter and olive oil in a skillet and lays the fish, skin side down and leaves it to work on the rest of the dish.

He takes some previously blanched vegetables and warms them in more butter and olive oil. He adds some home smoked bacon, chantrel mushrooms and when he’s content with his flipping them around in the skillet, he finishes it off with a tiny bit more oil and a handful of Swiss chard.

For now the dish is jokingly called Trout a la Eric and it’s an impromptu dish of his favourite ingredients. He pulls warm dishes from his oven and spoons a large smear of cauliflower puree on the bottom. On top of that he adds the vegetable mixture and to my surprise he adds some green and yellow beans he had going in another skillet.  On top of it all, he lay the trout fillet which was now cooked to perfection.

Now wouldn’t all of us love to have a chef cook amazing and brilliant dishes like this for us all. The meal was an interplay of textures and flavours that comforted the palate and soothed the soul. The beans were fresh and clean, the bacon veggies were savoury and warm, the cauliflower puree luscious and creamy and the trout clean with a bright buttery flavour. They all came together in one sophisticated mouthful.

As well as delicious the dish read like a geography lesson; trout from Goossens in Otterville, fingerling potatoes other veggies from Tim Creton’s Vegetable Farm in Tavistock, the beans and cauliflower from the market, pork belly for the bacon from Rudy’s Meats and the sprouts from Slegers.

Six Thirty Nine Restaurant is definitely work the trip to Woodstock. Book the Chef’s Table ahead of time and remember it only seats 4. In the summer they have a 16 seat patio in a beautiful garden.

Six Thirty Nine Restaurant, 639 Peel St, Woodstock, Ontario, 519-536-9602, info@sixthirtynine.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFE IS GOOD, EAT IT UP!

BERRY SEASON

I just picked up some cherries from the Fruit Shack on Niagara Stone Road and they're absolutely glorious! Big, blackish red, ultra sweet and brilliant. So many of Niagara's cherries fall short of being really good. Don't know why, I'm guessing it's the variety, but the folks at the Fruit Shack grow these beauties under hoops to protect them from rain and give them much needed extra warmth to ripen this variety. The sweet cherry season is almost over, so get them now!

I was walking with Diana DeMarco at Bluemin' Acres on Line 1 yesterday afternoon and she has a bumper crop of blueberries. The same bushes that produce the delicious blueberries in previous years are producing giant berries that are bursting with amazing flavour - they love this weather. While there, Kelly Nemeth from Toute Sweet came by for some berries. She's the ice cream lady in Jordan who mixes the best Niagara fruit with ice cream on a frozen marble slab. This is her with Diana picking out the best blueberries!

Bluemin' Acres open for the season so go down with your own containers and buy them by weight. They're very reasonably priced - in case you're comparing.

I just spent the morning in the kitchen working with these delicious berries. I made sweet cherry mouse and tuile that I thought I could use as a sandwich, but the tuile shrunk, so I'm turning it into sweet cherry pate with the tuile as toasts - it's amazingly delicious!

With the blueberries I made blueberry crumb squares - don't know about the recipe I put together - think I'll have to work on it - too crumbly. I may have to make some ice cream and turn it into a blueberry sunday.

I also have some blueberry cornbread coming out of the oven - yum!

It pays to find the best berries out there. Get some and let me know what you've done with it!