The Ontario Table

Archive for August, 2012

Rural Perth

$10 challenge, agriculture, bakery, blueberries, cuisine, farm, farm fresh food, farmer, food, food obsessions, food tour, Lanark County, local crops, local food, lynn ogryzlo, Maple Syrup, travel7 Comments

I’m never clear why more people don’t venture into rural Ontario for a day of delicious adventure but I find it exciting and always so much fun, I can’t wait to go somewhere new. Ontario is a huge province and it provides a lifetime of adventure. I’ve been at it for the past 4 years and have rarely visited the same place twice.

This time I was leaving Perth and heading home to Niagara. My husband Jon and I left our great hotel, Code’s Mill Inn & Spa. If you’ve ever romanticized about having your own quaint but beautiful, little hotel, this is the one for you. What a great stay.

We drove out on Wilson Street and ran right into one of the greatest local food grocers in Ontario. Foodsmith is a healthy grocery store that is a fantastic example of just how much local food one grocer can support. We met store manager Molly who showed us around talking about family food businesses not food, she talked about people and their expertise in creating great food not food, recipes and how to cook the food. Hanging from the ceilings were posters of families and the food they grow or make. We willed our bags with local food and headed home.

Instead of heading home, we drove north to the town of Balderson. Balderson is a quaint little village with a few shops and the famous Balderson Cheese store. The amazing success of Balderson’s delicious cheeses means the cheese making has moved to larger facilities but the retail store remains and there is enough cheese here to make any dairy lover dizzy.

In this small village with limited resources multi purposing is important. For example Ema Lee Ladies Fashions also sells local garlic – the sign says so on the door – you gotta love it!

Driving west along highway 7, it’s beautiful country. Towards Addington County small wild blueberry stands pop up out of nowhere. Walk up to the stand and the tiny little purple berries can be purchased in many sizes, preserved in canning jars and made into pies. I looked at the large 750-mL size canning jars filled with preserved blueberries and to me it meant I could have a fresh wild blueberry pie in the middle of a dull dreary winter, or perhaps for a new Christmas treat!

The smallest container of wild blueberries are sold in oriental take-out containers. Just the suggestion of walking away with wild blueberries to eat in the car is too much to pass up. Wild blueberries are tiny and so we popped about 5 in my mouth. I bit down and the intensity of the flavour exploded in my mouth and the blueberry flavours shot off the reciter scale – it was pure blueberry porn. We squealed, laughed and savoured every mouthful as we moaned under the greatness of flavour. All blueberries should taste this good!

At the junction of highway 7 and County Road 41 there is the small Ontario town of Kaladar, which like many small Ontario towns throughout Ontario, it’s more of a busy intersection than a town. On one corner is a large building screaming visit me! The building itself is condemned and Jerry Sammut has parked his Spud Box adjacent to the front of it while he uses the large building behind as a billboard.

There was a few people lined up in front of The Spud Box Chip Truck and the look screams ‘food adventure’. We stopped in and ordered fish & chips to test it out. Jerry’s wife is friendly and helpful but Jerry himself is a bit of a stand-offish sort. I have to say the best part of The Spud Box Chip is the outside look and the vibe created by the people lined up. Good food inspires and while the food was far from bad, it didn’t inspire.

If Jerry was the sort of a guy that looked like he’d entertain a conversation about his food, I’d have told him about the amazing fresh fries in Sarnia. The chip wagons under the bridge in the downtown area are so delicious, they’re exciting and yes, I’d drive to Sarnia to satisfy a craving for really good fresh fries. You can tell they’re made with fresh potatoes and not ones stored. Fresh potatoes have a sweet flavour that makes the fries almost taste like they’re sugared. The older the potatoes are, the sugar converts to starch and you loose the brightness, the purity of flavour, the terroir –  and the inspiration. This is another example why seasonal food is worth getting so excited about.

Down County Road 41, through Addington County is a beautiful stretch of Ontario. Waterways, marshes and almost every inch of water surface is covered with water lilies with their beautiful white flowers. County road 41 weaves it’s way through the best of it with little towns or ‘corners’ along the way.

Eventually you reach Hwy 401, the most impersonal highway ever travelled. For anyone wanting to explore Ontario, take the back roads, the roads less travelled and get a true flavour and experience the real beauty that is Ontario. We are so lucky to live here.

Check out some of the beautiful pictures.

24 Canning Tips

agriculture, Blog, canning, farm, farm fresh food, farmer, local crops, local food, lynn ogryzlo, Ontario local food, The Ontario Table6 Comments

In the summer I have eyes bigger than my stomach. In season, I always buy much more fruit and vegetables than I believe I can eat and then it sits on the counter. When my grandmother canned fruit, she would buy bushels of peaches and pears, perhaps 3 of each. The neighbours would come over and spend the entire day canning fruit for the winter. While it was great fun, canning no longer needs to be an entire day event.

Farmers Feed Cities www.farmersfeedcities.com wants everyone to know that canning is easier than you think. It’s the modern day woman who knows that the leftover fruit on the counter that turns riper than the family can eat it, can easily be preserved. Simply wash 2 or 3 jars in the dishwasher. While that is happening, boil some simple syrup (1 cup sugar to 2 cups of water). In another pot of boiling water, drop as many canning lids as you need and allow the rubber rings to soften. Meanwhile, peel the fruit and fill the jars. Now wrap each jar in a clean kitchen towel and place carefully in a large pot of boiling water to process. After processing, remove jars to the kitchen counter and let cool.

Here are a few more tips…

  1. Pick the freshest fruits and vegetables in season. U-pick farms ensure the freshest and best quality fruit
  2. Soft over ripe fruit is best for jam and jellies but not preserves
  3. Fruit and vegetables need to be at their peak of freshness for the best preserved flavour. You may want to allow fruit to sit on a counter for a day or two if your fruit is not fully ripe.
  4. Jams and jellies made without pectin must be cooked longer.
  5. Acidity provides flavour, texture and helps prevent bacterial growth. Acidity is important for the fermentation process in pickle making. General acidity rule is lemon for fruit, vinegar for vegetables
  6. Easy sterilizing of canning jars can be done in a hot dishwasher.
  7. When canning, fill when jars are hot.
  8. You can reuse jars and rings but lids must be replaced.
  9. Keep your jars in good condition, a chip on the rim could compromise a seal.
  10. Soak the lids in hot water to soften the rubber seal
  11. Small jars take less time to process. Large jars take longer.
  12. Run a knife around the insides of a jar after they have been filled to release any air bubbles.
  13. Wipe the rims of jars clean with a paper towel to remove any food residue that may prevent a good seal.
  14. Screw the rings on firmly but not tightly, retighten the jars after processing when the jars have cooled.
  15. Boil your jars of preserves in a hot water bath, covering the jars with at least 1-inch of water.
  16. Once the water comes to a full boil, boil for an additional 10 minutes.
  17. Remove hot jars with special canning tongs to avoid burns.
  18. Place jars on a counter covered with a kitchen towel to absorb any excess water.
  19. When cooling, you may hear a little “pop” as the jars seal themselves.
  20. If you can press down on the centre of the lid and make it move, the jar is not properly sealed.
  21. When completely cooled, label and store jars in cool, dry, dark place.
  22. If preserves are not properly sealed, refrigerate and consume with 2 weeks.
  23. Store your jars away from sunlight, in a cool, dry place.
  24. Preserves should be consumed within a year.

Here are almost 400 different uses for those canning jars once you’ve eaten the delicious summer contents.

 

Aromas of Local Food

$10 challenge, beef, Canadian food, cuisine, culinary holiday, culinary tourism, farm fresh food, farmer, Farmers' Market, food, food tour, Lambton County, local crops, local food, lynn ogryzlo, Ontario local food, Sarnia, seasonal food, The Ontario Table2 Comments

It started to be a great weekend of farm visits and local food feasting in Lambton County. First, a visit to the Sarnia Bay Farmers’ Market. The market over looks the beautiful white boats bobbing in the blue water shimmering in the sunlight. Forest Glen Herb Farm was selling fresh herbs and dried bouquets of lavender, the pie lady was there was fruit pies, Williamson Farms had 3 long tables laden with fresh vegetables and Forest Glen Orchards has baskets of peaches, and nectarines; Lena’s Lamb, Bluewater Beef and The Whole Pig were there with frozen cuts of their naturally raised meats.

We were inspired to go out to Forest Glen Herb Farm but before we did, we had to make a stop to one of the many chip wagons under the bridge in downtown Sarnia. Sarnia chip wagons are famous for the best fries and I have to say, there is a lot of truth in that reputation!

Forest Glen Herb Farm is hidden away behind a row of bushes, but drive into the driveway and as it unfolds garden by garden, your eyes get bigger and bigger. It’s a beautiful and incredibly intense farm where every inch of property is filled with romantic colour and seductive aromas. Inside the retail barn there is barely a path to walk. Dried herbs hang down from the ceiling, reach out from the walls and The most romantic herb farm in all of Canada!posts in the room and baskets of dried herbs line the floor and spill themselves across tables. It’s a Willy Wonka wonderland of beautiful dried herbs and flowers. In the back is an ancient room with antique furniture where herb workshops take place. What a great farm that everyone should visit!

Feeling thirsty, we made a stop to Twin Pines Apple Orchard and Cider House where we sipped on delicious cider, Bluewater Beef to see the baby cow, we stopped off giada de laurentiis pokies at Volryk Farms where our city shoes got covered in beautiful sandy soil in the potato patch. Our last visit was to Sara’s natural pork. It was here when Jon and I got to the edge of the pig barns where the aromas were overwhelming.

We didn’t stay there very long but long enough to fill the car with pig aromas when we climbed in. As we drove through the countryside the smell lingered. Inspired to roll down the windows, we didn’t realize we were down wind of a farmer fertilizing his giant field with cow manure. The strong smells filled the car almost immediately and we choked as we hurried to roll the windows up while laughing hysterically.

All of a sudden I remembered the lavender bouquet from the herb farm in the back of the car and reached for it. I stuck my nose deep into the bouquet and took a huge whif. The lavender was strong and enough to give a bit of a reprieve until it was safe enough to roll the windows down again. No matter how long we drove with the windows open, when we closed them again, the familiar smell of pigs and cows seemed to be embedded in the car – or was it on our shoes. We stopped to wipe our shoes on a patch of grass. On the way home the lavender continued to help when we dug our noses deep into the bouquet and breathed deeply.

City folk like us aren’t used to the natural smells of live food production. It certainly isn’t for the faint of heart but it’s part of the job – and it’s the only time we get to enjoy those great belly laughs. Life is all about accepting the good with the bad and if this is as bad as it gets – I’m still a happy and well-fed food writer.

Food Day Canada Dinner

$10 challenge, agriculture, beef, Blog, books, chef, cooking, cuisine, Dining, dinner, farm, farm fresh food, farmer, food, food obsessions, garlic, grilling, herbs, honey, local crops, local food, lynn ogryzlo, Maple Syrup, Ontario Farm Fresh, Ontario local food, seasonal food1 Comment

It’s a long weekend and it’s Food Day Canada. Just outside Sarnia in the small neighbourhood of Courtright, farmers bring their food for a Food Day Canada farm dinner. It becomes a different kind of menu, one that centres around the food, its origins and its preparation. There is as much time and attention spent on the raising of animals and the butchered meat; the planting, nurturing and harvesting of produce, as there is time and attention paid to the preparation of the best food of the county into a delicious, memorable meal.

The site is the Smith Homestead Farm; this organic vegetable farm is picture perfect. A white tent is set up on the perfectly manicured lawn behind the retail barn and next to the labyrinth garden. The meal will be unlike any other strategically thought out dinner. Unlike the traditional 3 courses of appetizer, entre and dessert, this farm meal will be a collection of farmers, their food and whatever comes out of the kitchen first.

It starts with a cold beet salad tossed with beet greens and goes into pork, chicken, lamb, beef, then another salad of crisp, sturdy, bitter greens, the flavours are strong and excitingly refreshing. The dinner goes on with roasted garden vegetables, tomato sautéed chicken and pork. When you don’t think you can eat any more, a line of half a dozen people emerge from the retail barn each holding a pie in each hand. We end a feast of peach and cherry pies.

So what was everyone eating on? The Ontario Table brought the longest tablecloth in the world dedicated to Ontario local food. Each tablecloth, when joined end to end is over 150-feet long and on it is hundreds of dedications to farmers, home grown food and The Ontario Table. It was the perfect backdrop to a farm feast!

A true farm dinner is an appreciation to how our food is conceived, not procured; good soil, good climate and good weather. Like a generous act of Mother Nature, the evening ended with a rain shower that had everyone running, laughing to their cars.

Here’s the menu, the farmers and the amazing chef who brought them all together, Dave Duguay of Blackwater Coffee.

 

Smith Farms Organic Beet Salad

Forest Glen Herb Farm Mesclun with Garlic Herb Butter

Roasted Smith Farm Vegetables with Twin Bridge Lemon Honey

Swiss Chard and Feta Quiche with Noppen’s Eggs

Gwen’s Garden Produce Beans

Purdy’s Fish Cakes

Bluewater Beef Roasted with Blackwater Coffee Herb Rub

Sara’s Natural Side Ribs, Glazed with 5 Spice & Williamson Farms’ Maple Syrup

Vrolyk Farms Tomato Braised Chicken

Lena’s Roast Leg of Lamb with Peach and Mint chutney

Roasted Franz Turkey Breast Ballotine with Roasted Garlic Jus

Francy Tarts’ Peach Pie and Cherry Pie

Twin Pines Orchard and Cider House Cider

Munro Honey and Meadery Tastings

 

Take a look at some amazing pics of what you missed! Don’t miss Food Day Canada next year.

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