Road Trip Christmas

Car-sized Tree on Christmas day meets Ontario!

There will be no photos or details about this past Christmas dinner. Let’s just say that this year taught me that although a warm, hearty meal is one of the best parts of the season, if you’re stuck in a snow storm in Northern Ontario, you have no good food left from shopping four days earlier in Vancouver, not one restaurant or grocery store has been open since you left Regina, and the only place to find food is at a gas station, it becomes exceedingly clear that the company one keeps is the most important part. Thank heavens for microwave dinners. (PS. You will never again see a sentence like that on this blog from here on.)

Port-landed

If there was anywhere in the United States that I could see myself feeling comfortable, it would definitely be Portland, Oregon. Yes, it’s true, I haven’t been to all of the places in all of the 50 states, but Portland would certainly give any other candidate a run for its money. And here’s why: 1. the local food system is sophisticated and supported by the community, such that one can procure much of what one needs or desires at one of the many farmers’ markets throughout the week; 2. there is excellent coffee found on every corner of every intersection in every neighbourhood; 3. the cycling infrastructure is user-friendly and comprehensive such that anyone could get from point A to point B in order to eat one’s way across the entire city with no problem; 4. White Pinot Noir. Need I say more?; 5. it’s delicious and has a great sense of humour. Full Stop.

Highlights from Portland

• Saturday Market (on Saturdays and Sundays) full of artisans and knick knacks, and highly entertaining.
• Saturday Farmers’ Market, with 140 vendors, live music, chef demos, many prepared foods for the muting right there, and a dedicated staff pleased to help you navigate and make the most of everything it has to offer.
• The Japanese Gardens and the Rose Gardens. WHOA!
• Alberta, Mississippi, Hawthorne and Alphabet neighbourhoods.
• Great restaurants including (links on the Restaurant Rundown page): Higgin’s, Wildwood, Beast, and Little Bird

It’s tea time for the Cowichan Valley

Read my article on Teafarm for Good Food Revolution!

Large Black Pigs ~ Why heritage breeds matter.

We’ve seen the Is it local? episode on Portlandia, and laughed at its ridiculousness. And we’ve seen the heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market with all of their charismatic bumps and scabs as we balk at the price tag. On menus we have read Red Fife wheat, or Berkshire Pork in an item’s ostentatious description. But why should we care?

It’s important.

The Art of Collecting Eggs

Eggs await removal

There is a common, yet irrational fear of placing one’s uncalloused fingers into a chicken coop for the first time. I’ve heard this phenomenon expressed by several seasoned friends and acquaintances who have embraced the joys of raising chickens. It starts when you walk toward the coop. Within a few metres the scent of ammonia becomes salient, the warmth created by roosting hens, and rooster counterparts, emanates from their humble abode, and the clucking, chirping and cock-a-doodling rings in the ears. You brace yourself for the collection event, which deep down you know will bring joys of custards and frittatas, with certain caution that comes while reaching in.

Cross-Continental Road Trip! With mushrooms, of course.

This post isn’t so much about food. It is the retelling of the adventure that brought me to my newest, food-intensive home on a farm in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. It’s been a while since I have written. I’ve been busy. I’ll refrain from apologizing, but I assure you there are many food-related posts to come as I explore a new region, new skills, and a novel existence on the farm. Stay tuned!

Colorado

Wolfville Farmer’s Market – One Brick at a Time

The Plans - Photo Credit, Bruce Dienes

Eighteen years have passed and it’s been a long and fruitful journey for the volunteers, directors and staff of the Wolfville Farmers Market. Starting with three vendors in a parking lot, this community hub has been transformed into a bustling intersection of business and pleasure. Live music plays prominently every Saturday morning like a piper, enticing neighbours and tourists alike to spend an hour or two taking in all of the flavours of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Well known for its sensational array of apples, berries, organic produce, and rich, red soils, the region is an integral piece of the Nova Scotia food map. It’s a true coming of age story for the little farmers market that can, and with a big fundraising campaign underway, the Wolfville Farmer’s Market is casting off its outgrown, outdoor shell and will be moving into its new home in September, 2011.

Greenwich, Nova Scotia Rezoning and the Future of Farmland in the Annapolis Valley

Greenwich, Nova Scotia

Please visit

Good Food Revolution

to read my ideas on Greenwich, Nova Scotia’s farmland rezoning issues and the  Kings County Municipal Council decision to defer their decision.

Market Central, and What’s Glaringly Wrong with the World.

As I sat quietly alone to eat a Breakfast Burrito from Tempest at the Wolfville Farmer’s Market last weekend, I happened to notice a funny little juxtaposition. Some might argue this is no laughing matter and shouldn’t be referred to in diminutive language. It is, after all, a lesson. Directly across from one another in the hallway of the Student Union Building at Acadia University, were two very different food options.

 

East Wall of Processed and Prepackaged

West Wall of Life and Conviviality

 

 

 

Our five minutes of fame… god help us.

So, maybe many of you have already sought this out and laughed at our expense, but seeing as the Food Network Canada continues to air this episode of Dinner Party Wars, I thought it fair game to post this for your giggling pleasure.

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/video/index.html?releasePID=Rbzxpkd88kgelIhF_5xsmuWUiYsZaKYE