EATING WELL + BUILDING COMMUNITY
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GOOD BEER GOOD TIMES
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FROM DAMASCUS TO EDMONTON
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GATHER HERE: RECIPES FOR SPRING
SPRING 2019 | EDMONTON
CELEBRATING EST.
60
1959
YEARS
SERVING ALBERTANS
Local f lair, European fare. Grocery. Bakery. Deli. Café.
At our shops, we import thousands of European culinary treasures to compliment ingredients produced by Alberta farmers and purveyors to create a truly unique blend of local and global flavours.
Italiancentre.ca
EDMONTON Little Italy | Southside | West End
CALGARY Willow Park
Celebrating Five Years as Edmonton’s Original Gastropub! /’gastrō,pəb/
(noun)
An independently owned restaurant that specializes in serving high quality comfort food in a family friendly, casual room.
Eat & drink … together! 5842 – 111 Street
www.theglassmonkey.ca
780.760.2228
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SLOW COOKING, FAST FOOD
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MICROGREENS + SPROUTS
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GOOD BEER GOOD FOOD GOOD TIMES
18 A DAY IN THE LIFE WITH CHEF CHRISTINE SANDFORD
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THE SPRING RACE
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GREY ARROW FARM
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ENTERTAINING LOCAL: BOYS NIGHT IN
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5 Q&A'S WITH CAMOLA FOODS
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FROM DAMASCUS TO EDMONTON
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SPEAK TIKI'S COCKTAIL RECIPE
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GATHER HERE - SEASONAL RECIPES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 CREATIVE DIRECTOR'S NOTES
22 #YEGFOODMAKERS 29 ONE TO WATCH 52 BEHIND THE SCENES 54 MARKETPLACE 56 ONE LAST MUSE
Magazine
Creative Director Heather Muse Contributors Heather Muse Julienne Slomp Laura Muse Melissa Tolsma Daniel Jack Gwen Rus Guest Contributors Andrea Forstbauer Speak Tiki Dong Kim Garrett Gengler EATING WELL + BUILDING COMMUNITY
Kaelin Whittaker
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FROM DAMASCUS TO EDMONTON
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For distribution, advertising, and general inquiries, please email hello@eatlocalmagazine.ca
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Anne deJong
SLOW COOKING, FAST FOOD
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Production and Design
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GATHER HERE: RECIPES FOR SPRING
SPRING 2019 | EDMONTON
On our cover: Farm fresh eggs from Dreamin' Green Farm - we @eatlocalmagazine Eat Local Magazine, established 2018 Contents copyright © 2019 by Eat Local Magazine
used these beauties to make our Creamy Smoky Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs on page 41. Photo: Heather Muse On the back cover: Top left, bottom left photos:
Printed in Canada
Julienne Slomp Bottom middle photo: Andrea Forstbauer
No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher.
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
All other photos: Heather Muse
FROM THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR As this cold, cold winter rolls into spring, I’ll be appreciating every scrappy piece of green that fights its way through the snow. When I feel down about the length and harshness of our winter, I try to remember that it will only make spring that much sweeter. Last year in March, my dining room was covered with hundreds of little tomato plants that went on to produce hundreds of pounds of tomatoes. Every year I tell myself to cut down on the seeding, but it’s likely that this year I’ve overdone it again. There’s just something about being surrounded by new growth inside while waiting for the snow to melt under the spring sun, and the nights to be warm enough to plant outdoors. In Issue 2, we’re celebrating spring’s imminent arrival, and sharing with you more stories of people who are making the food scene in Edmonton and the surrounding areas great. We hope you enjoy
Heather is a local food photographer living her best
life in an old farmhouse with her family just outside of
our second Issue!
Edmonton. With one foot in the country and the other in the city, you’ll find her at a local coffee shop or spending time with her chickens.
heathermuse.photographer
OUR TEAM
Julienne has dabbled with
Laura loves to create simple
Anne is a graphic designer
over the years. Her love for food
ingredients. When not in the
by hiking and camping trips
and different cultures makes
kitchen she enjoys curling up
taken with her husband and
working with Eat Local a dream for
with a good book or spending
four daughters. She also enjoys
her. She enjoys spending time with
time in nature.
getting outside and spending
photography and videography
dishes using fresh, local
her family and going to the gym. jslmpvisualnarratives
and landscape painter inspired
time in her gardens. lauramusecooks
annedejongart
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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SLOW COOKING, FAST FOOD PHOTOS + WORDS HEATHER MUSE
Skip the typical fast food joints on your way home from work and try these instead. You’ll get good slow-cooked fast food – your taste buds and stomachs will thank us.
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
LITTLE VILLAGE 14816 Stony Plain Road, Edmonton www.littlevillagefoodtruck.com Owner: Theo Psalios
WHY WE LOVE THEM: Chances are, owner Theo Psalios will be there to greet you when you stop by Little Village to grab your lunch or dinner. Started as a food truck in the summer of 2012, Little Village expanded to add a take-out location in the West End of Edmonton in March 2017, and now offers catering. While you can choose to eat in with casual bar seating by the window, Little Village is primarily a take-out location, offering slow Greek food without a wait. With high quality and fresh ingredients, it’s clear that Theo is uncompromising in providing the best Greek food including marinated roast chicken, slow roasted lamb, keftedes (pork and bacon meatballs), lemon roasted potatoes, falafels, tzatziki, Greek salad, a variety of delicious dips, pita sandwiches, and more.
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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MAMA ASHA CAFÉ 11745 95 Street, Edmonton
www.mamaashacafe.com Owner: Saharla Aden WHY WE LOVE THEM: Located on a bustling corner of 118th Ave, and named after owner Saharla’s grandmother, you’ll feel immediately calm when walking into Mama Asha Café. A spacious and modern interior with sit-down tables makes way for the friendly faces behind the counter. We especially love their sambusas, the Somalian version of samosas – they’re kidfriendly, and it’s quick and easy to grab a bag full to bring home for dinner time. Don’t forget dessert: their thick mango shake made in-house and topped with a scoop of ice cream is one of the most delightful things we’ve tasted in a while.
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
BUOK FRESH KOREAN KITCHEN 10707 100 Ave NW, Edmonton
www.buokfresh.ca Owner: Henry Song WHY WE LOVE THEM: Owner and chef Henry Song is passionate about bringing authentic Korean food to Edmonton in an easy and accessible way. Buok, which means “kitchen” in Korean, is inspired by Henry’s mother’s cooking, and how she always uses good, fresh ingredients. Buok can create a customized BiBimBap bowl (it’s pronounced BEE bim bap and means “mixed rice”) bursting with flavour in just minutes, including gluten-free and vegan options. The kimchi is handmade in-house following Henry’s mom’s recipe and traditional methods, and the making of it is often a family event. If you’re relatively inexperienced with eating Korean food, as we were, the key to a BiBimBap bowl is to mash all the ingredients together before digging in and enjoying the delicious flavours in each bite. Besides their BiBimBap bowls, Buok also offers a variety of sandwiches and small plates inspired by Korean street food.
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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WORDS GWEN RUS PHOTOS HEATHER MUSE
SPOTLIGHT ON
Microgreens + Sprouts Are you itching to get outside and plant some seeds in a garden or pot? While you wait for winter to pass and the warmer weather of spring, try growing sprouts and microgreens in your kitchen. You can buy sprouting jars and trays, or simply use what you likely have on hand and make this a low-budget project. There are a wide variety of seeds available exclusively for sprouting and growing as microgreens at most natural or health food stores, as well as online. SPROUTS AND MICROGREENS HAVE BEEN GAINING POPULARITY IN RECENT YEARS, AND FOR GOOD REASON: • They are higher in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than most mature vegetables. • They taste wonderfully fresh and add crunch and unique flavour to your foods. • You know they are pesticide and insecticide free because you grew them yourself. • They are inexpensive, don’t require much in the way of equipment or space, and are fun and quick to grow (a great project for kids). • They add beauty (and a conversation starter) to your countertop or windowsill.
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
SPROUTS: Soak 1-2 Tbsp of seeds in water in a wide mouth mason jar for the time specified on your package, usually 4-8 hours. This softens the hull (outer covering of the seed) and prepares the seeds for sprouting.
MICROGREENS: Use a container about 2 inches deep that you can punch a few holes in the bottom of (I use an aluminum baking tray). Fill your container with regular potting soil, and moisten the soil with water until damp. Liberally sprinkle the surface of your prepared soil with seeds.
Using a spray bottle of water, spritz the top of the soil until very moist. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Continue to spritz once or twice a day to keep the soil moist until the seedlings sprout. After they have sprouted, place the entire pan in ½-inch of water in your kitchen sink once a day for 5-10 min. This allows the soil to get wet from the bottom. You want to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. After about 10-14 days your microgreens will be a few inches tall and ready to harvest. Cut them off with a scissor and enjoy.
Cover the jar with a few layers of cheesecloth and secure with the ring portion of the lid or a tight rubber band. Drain the water off your seeds into the sink and leave the jar upside down at an angle in a dish drainer or bowl until the next morning. Rinse and drain the seeds twice a day. Simply pour water through the cheesecloth screen into the jar, swirl it around, and drain right away. Leave your jar upside down so no residual water is left in the jar. In 5-10 days (depending on variety) your sprouts will be ready to eat. While it is not necessary, I find it preferable to remove the hulls before eating the sprouts. To do this put the sprouts in a salad spinner, fill it with water, separate the sprouts gently with your hands, and pull the strainer up to drain. Most of the hulls will be left behind in the bowl of the salad spinner. Then drain the spinner and spin the sprouts dry. Sprouts are best used immediately, but if you have spun them dry you can store them in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container lined with a paper towel.
IDEAS FOR USING YOUR NEWLY HARVESTED CROP: • Add sprouts or microgreens to a salad for extra flavor and crunch. • Use larger bean sprouts to give texture, crunch and flavor to a stir-fry. • Smaller alfalfa mix sprouts are excellent on sandwiches. • Add microgreens to sushi as a flavourful filling. • Sprinkle microgreens on your soup or any dish as an attractive and edible garnish. • Add microgreens to a smoothie for extra nutritional benefit. Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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ILLUSTRATION ANNE DEJONG Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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GOOD BEER GOOD FOOD GOOD TIMES WORDS DANIEL JACK | PHOTOS HEATHER MUSE 14 Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
I COULD TALK ABOUT BEER ALL DAY. Mmmmmmmm, beer. Who doesn’t love the taste of a delicious cold beer? A refreshing beer on a hot day. Or on a cold day, for that matter, after playing some vigorous pond hockey. How about a beer with pretzels, beer with nachos, beer with hotdogs, beer watching football, beer while fishing, beer around a fire…? I could probably list off a hundred beer combinations. In fact, I may have cracked a beer to help inspire this little masterpiece. Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend four months in Europe in my post-high school, pre-college days. If you want to explore an incredibly diverse beer culture, go to Europe. You cannot pass through any old town market or square without being lured onto a terrace serving the local brew. In my tour of 13 countries I sampled at least a beer or two from every place I paused at along the way. Some of my beer highlights include Budvar from the Czech Republic, Hertog Jan from the Netherlands, Brugge Tripel from Belgium, and an incredibly frosty bottle of Beck’s that a kind Italian pulled out of the depths of his cooler when we had to spend the night sleeping on a beach in +40°C temperatures somewhere south of Rome. Ah, the good old days. Along with sampling the beer I also did the tourist thing and went on a couple brewery tours. Perhaps the younger me didn’t fully appreciate the brewing knowledge that I could have acquired on such a tour, but I took full advantage of the 45 mins of free beer sampling that inevitably concluded it. Nothing like kick starting a good night out with free beer. Amazing how a group of complete strangers that may or may not speak your language suddenly become your best friends in a few short hours. When I came back from Europe, I remember being incredibly disappointed at the lack of variety of beer in pubs and bars. Generally, I get along with all types of beers whether it’s a nice light lager or even a stout
pint of Guinness, but it seemed that every place only served a handful of options that were all very similar. Fast forward a couple decades and the same cannot be said today. If you walk into any one of the fine beer establishments in Edmonton, you will find a vast variety of beer to try. And we are starting to see more and more local micro/craft brewery options. Obviously, our local beers do not have quite the same history our imported friends do - one of my favorite European beers even boasts “ANNO 1366” on the label of its bottle neck - but that doesn’t mean they haven’t acquired that same outstanding European taste. Heather Muse and I recently visited a new craft brewery in downtown LA. That’s right, Leduc, Alberta is home to one of the Edmonton area’s newest - and Leduc’s first - craft brewery. Rural Routes Brewing Company is owned by Braden and Chelsea Folk who have, very recently, been able to live out their dreams with the opening of this gem of a place. Beer loves to accompany food and food loves to accompany beer, so it just makes sense to accommodate this relationship by bringing them together under the same roof. Both Braden and Chelsea have a long history of working in the food and restaurant business. Braden even began to "BEER LOVES TO experiment as a chef at the wise ACCOMPANY FOOD AND old age of 12 or 13. When I FOOD LOVES asked why they chose to set up TO ACCOMPANY BEER." in Leduc, Chelsea simply stated, “We knew Leduc was the right crowd for craft beer and it was only a matter of time before someone else did this.” I think they’ve nailed it. Heather and I popped in on a busy Friday night and everything about this place felt right, from the delicious food made with fresh local ingredients, to the beer sampling provided by our fantastic server Raquel, to the industrial farm interior design. Braden and Chelsea constructed a lot of the finishing touches, including the tables, from raw old barn wood and other eclectic odds and ends that came from the farm where Chelsea grew up. We devoured the Farmer’s Board, a selection of meats, cheeses and pickles, the perfect complement to our beer.
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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Later in the week, Heather and I returned to Leduc so Heather could photograph Braden, Chelsea, and their super cute and super helpful cabbage patch kids. I love family businesses and I expect that these girls, whether they like it or not, will likely be washing dishes and serving dinners in the restaurant as soon as they are tall enough to accomplish this. During this visit to Rural Routes Brewing Company we also met brewmaster Kolin Krokis. Kolin is responsible for all the brewing decisions and is an absolute fountain of knowledge on all things related to making beer. He walked us through the process from start to finish and gave us samples of the outstanding end results. It is obvious that Kolin loves the craft beer industry. He attended brewmaster school in Berlin, Germany and has held down a variety of jobs in the brewing world around the globe. He has backgrounds in chemistry and welding, and his obvious passion for what he does has given him extensive knowledge in a very specific industry. Although he has traveled and worked all over the world, he returned with his family from Germany to his home town of Edmonton where he has found his happy place: brewing beer at Rural Routes Brewing Company with precision and creativity however he likes.
So why make beer? I sprung this question on Braden, and then later, on Kolin. I think the slightly blank look with a growing smile that I got from them both said it all. I imagine it was the same look that Sir Edmond Hillary had on his face when asked, “Why climb Mt. Everest?” And of course, Sir Edmond Hillary’s famous response was, “Because it’s there.” Why make beer? Because we can. If you enjoy craft beers and need another craft brewery to include on your next beer sampling tour come out to Leduc and experience Rural Routes Brewing Company for yourself. Of the four house beers I sampled my personal favourite was the Holstein Milk Stout, but you can’t go wrong with the other three. Braden and Chelsea, congratulations on the opening of Rural Routes Brewing Company. We look forward to coming back to sample more of the menu. And to brewmaster Kolin, thanks for the informative tour. I could have spent the rest of the day smashing beers and talking about Europe, but I coach my daughter’s basketball team and we had practice soon. I guess I’m no longer twenty-something with hours to spend over exquisitely crafted beer. But I’ll be back soon so Braden, Chelsea, and Kolin, keep the good times brewing.
Visit Rural Routes Brewing Company online at www.ruralroutesbrewing.ca or in person at 4901 50 Street, Leduc.
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
ABOVE: Braden and Chelsea recycled old wood into solid farm tables for the restaurant TOP LEFT: Life with two kids and a brewpub keeps things interesting LEFT: Brewmaster Kolin Krokis samples some fresh beer
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
A D AY I N T H E L I F E O F
CHEF CHRISTINE SANDFORD PHOTOS JULIENNE SLOMP 10:30am Start the day with a good workout, strong espresso & likely some eggs or something quick but protein forward. 11:45am Head to Biera, often stopping at the store to get any needed groceries for the day. 12:15pm Get to Biera, get a coffee from Transcend and head up to the office check in with our Front of house manager Justin, check orders, emails, cost any new dishes and plan out any menu changes for the day. 1:15pm
Get in chef whites, head into the kitchen and check on our bread for the day, catching up with our head baker Ali to see how the morning has gone (she starts at 6am each day, our sourdough is a labor of love!)
1:30pm Accept our order from Galimax (an Alberta based company who has bridged the gap between farmers and restaurants. We get to order from all sorts of farms around Alberta and they deliver right to us!) 2:00pm Get the charcoal grill started and prepped for smoking. We make a small fire and use hay to smoke various items. 2:30pm Tam from My Prairie Gardens is here with more produce and beautiful herbs. (I am in love with her herbs. She grows all sorts of amazing things like oxalis, lemon verbena, anise hyssop, and in the summer the most beautiful strawberries.)
3:00pm The rest of the kitchen team arrives, we catch up and chat about any changes to the days menu, how many covers (reservations) we have, when the busy points are. We open at 5pm, so it’s a good hussle to get all the prep done and be set up and ready for service. 3:30pm I am prepping pans station today, so I am getting all sorts of various items prepped. 4:30pm Pre-shift with the front of house team. We are talking menu changes, trying new dishes, and learning about new beers and proper pairings. 5:00pm – 10:00pm We are in dinner service 10:30pm Clean down of the kitchen 11:30pm Quick post shift meeting to chat about the next day, how service went and maybe have a quick bite to eat, a beer or a glass of wine. 11:45pm Back up to the office to check numbers, and then head home for the night for some much-needed rest. Christine Sandford is the head chef at the restaurant Biera by Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company, located at Ritchie Market: 9570 - 76 Avenue NW, Edmonton contact@blindenthusiasm.ca www.biera.ca
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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THE SPRING RACE WORDS MELISSA TOLSMA | PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
THE SPRINGTIME SUN shone brightly. The yellow rays were rising
higher and higher in the sky and the shadows of the trees were growing shorter. Its warmth warmed the ground and the snow was slowly melting from the mounds on the tree-lined boulevards put there by a grader scraping the snow from the street on a cold and snowy day in the middle of winter. Chickadees and sparrows and robins and magpies sang and chirped while perched on the naked branches of the trees. The sun and the songs were soon joined by the laughter of two boys slowly making their way home from their bus stop. They were a noisy pair tossing their hats in the air as they walked and looked for the white ice in the shadows. The ice that had escaped the warm rays from above and instead melted slowly from underneath. The ice that gave a loud and satisfying crunch when a pair of boots happened upon it and stomped. The sounds mingled with the sunshine and a world still full of winter hues became a world of noisy colour. The boys with their hats in their hands now, rounded the corner to their street and suddenly stopped. The sewer grate in the middle of their crescent was roaring. Water from the snow melting at the beginning of their street had collected together, and as it flowed down the street meeting more rivulets of water, it grew and grew until it came to be, in their eyes, a mighty swollen river. It flowed down into the sewer echoing against the metal pipe, and in their ears, it was a mighty waterfall. The boys looked at each other with wide eyes and mouths agape and knew. The best boats were the seeds that grew on the trees that lined the boulevards. They called them helicopters because when they threw them up in the air, they would spin like the blades of a helicopter on their way back down. The helicopters made the best boats because they were shaped like a wing with a pointed end that wouldn’t get caught on anything and they floated the best. The boys quickly went to task and started digging deep into the mounds of snow on the tree-lined boulevards. Whoops of joy erupted from their mouths and joined the
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
songs of the birds amongst the crashing of waters in the loud sunshine as they found two perfect helicopter boats. They left their school bags on the sidewalk in front of their house and ran to the beginning of their street. They carefully put their helicopter boats into the tiny creek that was slowly, so slowly flowing down to the sewer at the end. The boys watched as their boats slowly, so slowly started floating along with it. Walking alongside them, the boys smiled and shouted as each boat vied for the lead in the race. The boats dipped under a ledge of frozen snow hiding them from view. The boys held their breath and quickly walked to the end of the ledge, anxiously hoping the boats would come out like the water before them. The roaring from the sewer in the distance and the songs of the birds were forgotten as they leaned forward, hands on their knees in silent anticipation. Suddenly, the boats sprang forth from beneath the ledge. They rode swiftly on the currents of the stream, momentum growing as the rapids grew, while the boys whooped and hollered and the sun’s rays ebbed. The river carried the boats and the boys down the street, flowing through rocks and still frozen mounds of snow. The current quickened and became a torrent as it drew closer and closer to the waterfall. It caught leaves and twigs and little pieces of nature as it flowed along, and it all disappeared into the depths of the sewer. One boat finally broke free in front of the other as if it had a rudder that knew which way to go and the boys watched excitedly as it disappeared into the depths of the echoing waterfall. The noise from the sewer grate muffled out the last songs from the birds, the shadows grew longer as the sun began to set, and the boys gave a final hooray as the last boat fell into the noisy depths of the black waterfall and they made their way back home. A cold front moved in over night and two boys silently walked to their bus stop in the still morning. Snowflakes fell slowly on the cold icy sidewalk and the birds huddled quietly in the branches of the naked trees that lined the boulevard. The echoes from the depths of the sewer were replaced by the crunching of snow beneath two pairs of boots, and hats that were tossed the day before were sitting firmly atop heads with chins buried in the upturned collars of zipped up coats. The cold breath of winter had taken the lead again, and spring was making us wait at the end of a snowy ledge for it to emerge and push triumphantly ahead.
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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#YEG FOOD MAKERS They are the culinary movers and shakers. They put food on
our tables, help us celebrate our milestones, and encourage coming together to forge relationships over breaking bread. They introduce us to new cultures and warm our hearts and bellies with old, familiar cultures. They are the #yegfoodmakers
STEVE BROCHU After 3 years, Chef Steve Brochu is moving on from Beaumont’s Chartier and starting his own consulting and catering business called MilkCrate. @chef_brochew chefbrochew@gmail.com
PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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GREY ARROW FARM Andrea Forstbauer shares the story behind their family farm and introduces us to CSAs
WORDS & PHOTOS ANDREA FORSTBAUER 24
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
GOOD LOCAL FOOD FOR GOOD LOCAL PEOPLE THROUGH OUR CSA PROGRAM Imagine climbing into your car, shifting into gear, and heading south of the city. The sounds of traffic dissolving in the rear-view as the peaceful open prairie spreads before you. Soon it’s rustic countryside, range roads, aging barns, and tractors popping up in the distance. You drive a little further still, until, just before coming to the town of Camrose, you turn onto gravel and find yourself approaching a beautiful 35acre oasis known as Grey Arrow Farm. That’s our home. Our precious vegetable farm. It was just over two years ago that Denis and I pulled into this driveway for the first time with our five eager kiddos piled in back, ready to introduce them to country living and embark on our dream of sustainably farming our very own market garden. From the moment we moved into the two-storey farmhouse, we found ourselves jumping in with both feet and hitting the ground running – ordering seed, putting together a website, making a garden plan, signing up customers, and establishing our program — all before spring arrived and it became time to get busy in the garden! The concept of growing vegetables wasn’t exactly foreign to us. Denis grew up working on his parent’s organic vegetable farm in Chilliwack, BC (with his eleven brothers and sisters), tan and barefoot, running around in the dirt, sweating in the sunshine, and
eating food straight from the earth like he was living in a paradise. Myself, I grew up more commonplace in a residential neighborhood, eating generic frozen peas and corn and the occasional lettuce salad as my vegetable helpings at mealtimes. I was completely unexposed to real variety in my foods or the concept of how things grew, and I hadn’t yet tasted the incredible flavours of straight-from-the-garden goodness. When Denis and I met in high school, he began inviting me out to his family’s 100-acre farm to spend time together and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. From that point on, I spent the majority of my summers happily alongside him in the fields planting, weeding, harvesting, and dangling my feet off the back of the truck selling produce with him at the Vancouver farmer’s markets. I fell in love with the farming lifestyle as readily as I fell head-over-heels for him. I remember many times walking along the soft earth when he would suddenly reach down, twist a soilcaked carrot out from the ground, wipe it clean with his shirt and hand it to me. It always tasted unbelievably sweet, crisp, and PHOTO JESSICA MUSSLEWHITE delicious. Our very first date was spent planting rows upon rows of kale transplants side-by-side in the damp earth, and then 15 years (and five children) later found us doing that very same thing together – except this time on our very own farm.
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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LEFT: young pea plants FAR LEFT: freshly picked beets BELOW: everyone pitches in to get the work done
While Denis brought me in on his passion for farming and fresh veggies, I brought him in on my love for beauty and creativity. As a photographer, my inspiration has come alive more than ever here on our farm. You will often find me lugging along my big camera, pausing between rows in the garden to snap pics of the vegetables or our kids in the dirt, documenting a new garden recipe in the kitchen, or pulling over by the side of the road to take in that breathtaking sunrise on my range road drives into town. (See @greyarrowfarm on FB | IG for life on the farm.) Though it certainly requires a lot of hard work and commitment, there is something completely soulfilling about living life on a farm.
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Starting up Grey Arrow Farm, we knew we wanted to grow good local food for good local people, and do it naturally and sustainably. We wanted to sell farm-direct to our customers so that they could enjoy the full flavours and seasonal variety (as well as health benefits) of having fresh-as-it-gets produce. We also wanted to invite our customers to connect with our farm, to have a relationship with us (the very farmers growing their food), and to know where their food comes from and how it is grown, so we launched our CSA program supplying fresh vegetable boxes to our local community.
WHAT IS A CSA PROGRAM? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Joining a CSA is like investing in a farm.
HOW DOES IT WORK? Members sign up and pay ahead of season, allowing the farmer to buy the seeds and supplies needed to grow the food. Once the crop is ready for harvest members begin receiving regularly scheduled bundles of farm fresh produce. Many local farms offer CSA programs, and there are many different types available (meat, eggs, produce, berries, greens – even fresh cut flower bouquet subscriptions). Every CSA program is run uniquely and the specifics vary from farm to farm. Our Vegetable CSA program runs for 12 weeks from mid-July to the end of September. Members sign up in the spring on our website (greyarrowfarm.ca) and then reap the benefits all summer long, receiving their weekly bundle of garden-fresh produce direct from our farm to their table. Our veggie bundles contain a selection of 7-11 seasonal produce items, all washed, packed, and ready to rinse and eat. We include a different variety each week, depending on what’s in season, along with some regular staple items (carrots, potatoes, and greens). Everything is fresh-picked and delivered within 24-48 hours of harvest to a nearby pickup location where members come to retrieve them. We offer seven different pickup locations in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Camrose, and Tofield.
WHY DO IT? There are so many incredible benefits to joining a CSA! Joining a CSA is cost effective – our bundles add up to the same or less than buying your produce from the store. You get to enjoy the incomparable taste of garden-fresh produce all summer long as well as all the nutritional benefits of including more vegetables in your diet (especially ones that have been sun-ripened and fresh-picked, that have an even higher nutrient content). You also get the fun of trying some exciting
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varieties and flavours of vegetables not commonly found at your local grocery store – perhaps even finding a new favourite. And lastly, you gain the benefit of supporting local and contributing to your local economy, along with the confidence of knowing where your food comes from, how it’s grown, and a connection to the farmer who grew it. Taking part in a CSA is a truly valuable and rewarding experience. Two unique perks of our program include ‘add-ons’ and the option of Garden Time. Add-ons are the option to include farm fresh eggs, chicken, beef, honey, or freshly roasted coffee in with your veggie subscription. All of our add-ons are sourced locally through our partner vendors (Roasti Coffee Co., Wildflower Bride Honey, and Herbert Family Farm). Garden Time is the opportunity to come experience firsthand how your food is grown and get your hands dirty working a shift in the garden with us in exchange for a discounted membership. Roughly half of our members select this option and love it. Typically shifts involve picking, washing, and packing produce the evening before veggie bundles go out, or weeding together for a couple hours on a Saturday morning. Our CSA program invites our members to enjoy all kinds of tasty, local grown goodness and to participate in the full farm experience.
IS THERE ANY RISK INVOLVED?
By joining a CSA you are sharing in the risks and rewards inherent in farming. Every growing season is unique, and with a CSA you buy into the risks and rewards of farming along with the farmer, knowing that on occasion a certain crop may fail despite the farmer’s best efforts. We put in the hard work, steady effort, and care required to produce a bountiful garden, yet the seasons don’t always cooperate, weather can be finicky, and animals or pests sometimes move in and take out vegetables without warning. Whenever those grim prairie storms roll in, you feel the depth of just how much is beyond your control as a farmer standing by and watching helplessly as the wind ferociously whips your little seedlings or hail pelts down and shreds up rows of beautifully budding plants. Occasionally due to these factors quantities in our veggie bundles may vary, however every measure is taken to provide members with a bountiful share each week. As with so many young farmers, Denis still works full-time off the farm (as a high school math teacher) to supplement the farm income and make farming feasible for us. That means during spring I run the planting and weeding crews, while he works in the garden on evenings and weekends until dark. In the fall it’s the same story with harvest, working two full-time jobs and often not eating supper until 9 or 10pm. There is always lots of work to be done on a farm and we are eager for the day when we get to have him home fulltime, but for now he somehow manages it all with a smile on his face and a healthy supply of ‘dad jokes’. The kids are great helpers as well, whether weeding, hoeing, harvesting, washing, packing, or making suppers; they contribute in a big way and really seem to love the lifestyle of being farm kids. We are so proud of them, and we feel honoured as a family to be growing good local produce for the people of our community. Never have I had so much appreciation for all that goes into producing quality food for people as I do now that I am a farmer. I have a much deeper awareness of the fact that nearly all our food comes from some form of farm originally – without farmers the world wouldn’t eat. When you recognize the bigness of that, the phrase “if you ate today, thank a farmer” rings out loud and true, and one of the best ways to support a local farmer is to buy farm direct. Joining a CSA is a great way to do that!
Grey Arrow Farm serves Camrose, Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Leduc and Tofield. You can find out more
about Grey Arrow Farm by visiting their website greyarrowfarm.ca or by following them on Facebook and Instagram @greyarrowfarm
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ONE TO WATCH PHOTOS GARRETT GENGLER
the old red barn The Old Red Barn is located on the family farm of Melissa and Matthew Schur, just 7 minutes SW of
Leduc, AB. They provide a seasonal “Taste of The Farm” dining experience on a modern robotic dairy farm. These unique dinners take place in the upper loft of their 1950’s gambrel barn, overlooking the tranquil Whitemud Creek and picturesque farm fields. They focus on locally produced foods, supporting local farmers & education on how food gets produced on a farm.
To view their upcoming Farm Table Dinners, visit their website at www.theoldredbarn.ca
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ENTERTAINING LOCAL
BOYS NIGHT IN BY HEATHER MUSE
CHICKEN WINGS
SPICY PICK UP STICKS
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Local Meats
Range Road Meat Co.
www.localmeats.ca
www.rangeroadmeatco.com
BLONDE ALE
BASICALLY BACON
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Sea Change Brewing Co.
Big G’s Jaw Droppin’ Jerky
www.seachangebeer.com
www.biggfoods.ca
WHITE FLAG WHISKEY
ROASTED NUTS
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Black Diamond Distillery
Alqitta Nuts
www.blackdiamonddistillery.com
https://alqitta-nuts.business.site
PEPPERONI
BARREL AGED GIN
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Hines Creek General Store
Strathcona Spirits Distillery
www.hinescreekgeneralstore.com
www.strathconaspirits.ca
SMOKY SCONA BBQ RELISH
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BIRCH PLATE AND BOWL
Reclaim Organics
Central Valley Furniture
www.reclaimurbanfarm.com
www.centralvalleyfurniture.ca
HOPPED HONEY MUSTARD
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Original Redhead Condiments www.originalredhead.ca
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SPONSORED
GET FOR
READY SPRING WITH CREEKSIDE HOME AND GARDEN
George, the resident cat can usually be found napping in the plants
LOCATED AT THE C ORNER OF: 215 ST. + 23 AVE . NW EDMONTON www.creeksidehomeandgarden.ca | @creeksidehomegarden Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019 33
5 Q&A’S WITH
CAMOLA FOODS PHOTOS HEATHER MUSE
CAMOLA SUSTAINABLE FOODS OFFERS BAKED GOODS MADE WITH EDIBLE INSECT FLOUR 1. Who is the duo behind Camola Sustainable Foods and how did you start your business?
Silvia Ronzani and Claudio La Rocca are the minds and hearts behind Camola. A few years ago, we started talking together about creating recipes using edible insects. We both have backgrounds in entomology (the study of insects) and environment sciences, which gives us very good insight into the environmental impacts of food production and dietary choices, and how raising insects for food can reduce those impacts. We also LOVE good food (we are Italian after all), so we decided to put together our passions and bake some insect-based goodies and create Camola! 2. Why should people eat insects? Besides being a great conversation starter (“You know what I just tried? Crickets!”), insects have health and environmental benefits. They are packed with protein (up to about 70% in weight), with a complete amino acid profile, and high levels of vitamin B12 and
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minerals. Some recent studies show that the fiber content in crickets can help with gut health and digestion. But the most interesting part is the amazing environmental benefits of using insects as a source of protein. Less water, less land and less feed are used to farm them in comparison to any other animal proteins, and many plant-based proteins. For example, farming 1 Kg of beef requires up to about 40,000 liters (or 10,000 gallons) of water, while 1 Kg of insect powder (more specifically cricket powder) needs as little as 4 liters (or 1 gallon) of water. 3. How do you raise and process your crickets? Currently we source our crickets from other Canadian companies, but very soon we will launch our own farming operation here in Edmonton. Commercially farmed crickets in Canada, and more generally in North America, are farmed indoor (crickets don’t fare well in the long Canadian winters), under controlled conditions to ensure the best quality of the final product. The final processing includes a freezing phase (a natural way to kill them), a pre-cooking phase (usually ovenroasting), and grinding. The powder is then added to our products, or can be used as an ingredient in other recipes. 4. What products do you sell and do they taste … cricket-y?
They taste delicious! We sell a wide variety of products, from Bugscotti to Crick Chips. And we are planning to launch new products constantly throughout the year, from our new Bug Bites (energy snack) to pancakes and more. The best way to stay up to date is follow us on our social media channels for new products launch announcements and recipes. The fun part is coming up with new ways to present edible insects to customers that is not intimidating (not everyone wants to eat whole crickets), and promotes the health and environmental benefits through a culinary experience. 5. How can we get our hands on your amazing products? You can find us every Saturday at the Downtown Farmers market (inside City Hall until May, and then on 102nd St and Jasper in the summer). You can also buy our products through our website (camolafoods.com), or at our retail partners in Edmonton. Find a full list on our website under “Where to find us”. camolafoods.com @camolafoods
THIS PAGE: Chocolate Bugscotti OPPOSITE PAGE: BBQ Crick Chips
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From Damascus to Edmonton
PHOTOS + WORDS HEATHER MUSE
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ALQITTA NUTS BRINGS FRESHLY ROASTED NUTS AND COFFEE TO YEG A little shop sits in the corner of a strip mall in a quiet northwest neighbourhood in Edmonton. I pull up in front and put my car in park, grab my camera and hop out. It’s one of those clear, sunny winter days where the snow crunches under your feet and you have to breathe into the collar of your jacket so you don’t hurt your lungs. The door of the shop hasn’t even closed behind me as a man inside is pouring freshly brewed coffee and coming over to hand it to me. I can smell the fresh coffee mingling with something sweet and spicy in the air. It’s warm and colourful inside, and I’m grateful for a little bit of caffeine. It’s quiet on this weekday morning, and we have the shop all to ourselves. I explain to Emad who I am and why I’ve come to his shop and show him our magazine. At first, he isn’t sure if I’ve come to sell him something, but he cracks a smile when I tell him that I’m just interested in his business, his story, and his roasted nuts. He gives me samples to try and I can tell that he knows what he is doing, as I’ve never tasted nuts that good before. He tells me that they were freshly roasted today and suddenly the grocery store nuts I normally buy pale in comparison.
When the Syrian Civil War started in 2011, parts of the country increasingly became unsafe to live in, which caused a massive dispersion. It is estimated that since the beginning of the war more than 6 million Syrians have been displaced internally, more than 5.6 million have fled the country, and over 400,000 people have been killed as a direct result of the war. Emad and his family fled to Jordan in 2013, leaving his business and extended family behind. It wasn’t long before they realized that it would not be safe for them to return to Damascus.
I had first heard of Alqitta Nuts in an archived clip from CTV News, and was interested in hearing more about how Alqitta Nuts started in Edmonton and who the person behind the shop was. The clip told the story of Emad Alqitta, his wife Nuna, and their children who were Syrian refugees sponsored to come to Canada, and how after only 18 months of being in this new country, Emad had opened up his own shop in Edmonton.
After three years in Jordan, the family’s application for refugee status was processed and the family was invited to emigrate to the United States. Emad and Nuna declined because of the fear of culture shock, and the uncertainty of learning a new language. Soon, another opportunity to come to Canada came up and the couple decided that this time they would take a chance and see if there would be a life for them in this distant country of Canada.
Emad used to own a shop with his brother selling roasted nuts in the Syrian city of Damascus and has been roasting nuts and coffee since the 1990s. Shops in Damascus are typically named after the proprietor’s last name so people know who owns the shop. Emad and Nuna were making a life and starting a family together in Damascus when their world shifted and the war broke out.
On December 7, 2016, they arrived in Canada and were met by smiling strangers holding a cardboard sign with their names written on it. The temperature that night measured -38°C, a far cry from the lows of Damascus where it rarely dips under 0°C. Their sponsors helped them get settled in Edmonton, and it wasn’t long before Emad was making plans to open a shop. Driven by his need to do something for his
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family, Alqitta Nuts opened its doors on August 15, 2018, just a year and half after Emad and Nuna first set foot in their new home. I can’t imagine the shock of being forced out of your home not by choice, but because it is the only option to keep your family safe. To leave behind loved ones, possessions, your business – the life you’ve built. To move to a new country with a culture so different from your own. To learn a new language, and put your kids in a school you know nothing about. To make new friends that don’t share the same traditions as you. To trust that you are making a future for your children. I marvel at the fact that Emad and Nuna speak English so well. Nuna laughs and tells me their children, ages 10, 8, 5, and 3 all speak perfect English with no accent and I can tell she is proud of her children for being so resilient. Nuna tells me that she worked in accounting back in Damascus, but now she is taking courses to become a dental assistant here in Canada. She tells me she is sad that their family is still back in Syria, and if they work hard they hope that one day they can sponsor them to come to Canada.
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Alqitta Nuts is more than just a shop selling nuts. It’s a re-birth of what Emad was building back home in Damascus, and concrete evidence of this family’s determination and irrepressible spirit in overcoming adversity. Emad kept the name of the shop the same as it was in Damascus, creating a connection between his home country and his new country. By bringing his past into his present, Emad is giving his family hope for the future. And Edmonton is privileged to be a part of that future.
Alqitta Nuts is located at 12130 161 Ave, Edmonton
https://alqitta-nuts.business.site
SPEAK TIKI’S
A Strange Century PHOTO DONG KIM
This cocktail is a variation and cross between a classic cocktail from 1937 called “The Twentieth Century”, and a modern classic cocktail from Death & Co called “Strange Brew”.
INGREDIENTS: 1.5 oz Hansen Distillery “Trouble” Gin .5 oz Yellow Chartreuse .75 oz Housemade Falernum 1 oz Fresh Pineapple Juice .5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice 1 oz CRW Orient Coffee Cold Brew Blindman Longshadows IPA
GARNISH: 3 Dashes Apothecary Cacao Coffee Bitters 5 Dashes Angostura Bitters Mint Pineapple Leaves Combine all ingredients (minus the IPA and the bitters) on pebble ice in a hurricane glass and swizzle until properly diluted. Top glass with ice, add Blindman Longshadows IPA and dash bitters over the top of the cocktail. Garnish with mint, pineapple leaves and a swizzle stick.
Speak Tiki is Nicolas MacDonald, Natasha Trowsdale, Andre Bober, and Warren Johnston, a team of four of Edmonton’s top industry professionals in the craft cocktail biz working to bring island hospitality and exceptional service to your special event.
speaktiki.co | @speaktiki
gather here RECIPES FROM OUR TABLE TO YOURS RECIPES + WORDS LAURA MUSE | PHOTOS HEATHER MUSE
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Although I was brought up in a family of excellent (my mom) and adventurous (my dad) cooks, I didn’t really come into my own until about a decade ago. After leaving home, cooking was daunting at first, but as I spent more time in the kitchen (and in the grocery store or farmer's market holding up some previously unknown-to-me vegetable or spice while asking, “What’s this and what can I make with it?”) I started to find a love for creating in the kitchen I didn’t know I possessed. I hope you enjoy making these dishes as much as I've enjoyed creating them. Follow Laura on Instagram @lauramusecooks
CREAMY SMOKY BACON AND CHIVE DEVILED EGGS TIME: 30 MINUTES | SERVES: 6-9 After Easter you may find yourself with an over-abundance of hardboiled eggs. Use them up by making these creamy and decadent deviled eggs. If you haven’t hardboiled your eggs yet, this is how I do it: Start with eggs at least a week old (fresh eggs are harder to peel). Fill a pot with enough water to cover your eggs and bring to a boil over high heat. Poke a hole in the large end of each egg (I have an egg punch), gently drop into boiling water, and boil for 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain water, and leave to cool about 10 minutes. Rinse in cool water before and during peeling to help separate the shell and membrane from the egg. 9 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
¼ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup sour cream 1 tsp. mustard Pinch of salt (about 1/8 tsp.) Sprinkle of freshly ground pepper 1 Tbsp. fresh chives, finely chopped + extra for garnish
½ tsp. smoked paprika or ground chipotle chili pepper 1-2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled Remove the yolks from the egg halves, place in a bowl, and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, salt and pepper and beat with a mixer until fairly smooth. Stir in chopped chives with a spoon. Arrange egg whites, yolk cavity up, on a serving platter. Spoon or pipe ½ - 1 Tbsp. of the yolk mixture into each half egg. A decorative end on a piping bag will give the eggs a more elegant look. Sprinkle smoked paprika (or chipotle chili pepper for a bit of a kick) on each egg, then top with extra fresh chives and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately or cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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If you have an asparagus patch, you’ll want to bookmark this recipe to try once the tender spears start to make their appearance. Tangy, sweet, and crunchy, this salad is a delicious way to use and enjoy the abundance while you have it. Asparagus is available in our gardens and farmer’s markers for such a short time we have to take advantage of it while it’s here. Be careful not to overcook the asparagus. You want it to be tender and crunchy rather than soft and mushy. One minute in the boiling water is often enough.
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ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH SWEET LEMON VINAIGRETTE TIME: 15 MINUTES | SERVES: 4-6
ASPARAGUS SALAD 1 bunch (approx. 1 lb.) asparagus, sliced diagonally into 1-inch pieces
½ of one medium-sized English cucumber, sliced and quartered 2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
¼-1/3 cup Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette Freshly ground pepper Fill a medium-sized saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Boil asparagus 1-2 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain asparagus and rinse with cold water to cool. Lightly dry or allow to drain as much as possible. Toss asparagus with cucumber, dill, and Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.
SWEET LEMON VINAIGRETTE ½ tsp. lemon zest 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil ½ Tbsp. liquid honey ½ tsp. Dijon mustard Pinch of salt (about 1/8 tsp.) Sprinkle of freshly ground pepper Zest lemon, then extract juice. Add all ingredients to a small jar with a tightfitting lid and shake until well mixed.
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STRAWBERRY AND FETA SALAD WITH BALSAMIC AND BASIL VINAIGRETTE TIME: 20 MINUTES | SERVES: 4 With spring just around the corner I’m getting excited for salads. Extremely versatile, salads are an easy way to get a variety of produce into your diet. And most salads can be turned into a meal simply by topping with some kind of protein. You can turn this salad into a meal by topping with grilled chicken breast. Pound 2 chicken breasts to ½-inch thick with a meat pounder (or slice them in half horizontally to create four thinner breasts), season with salt and pepper, grill as is or with your choice of BBQ sauce, then slice and add to the salad.
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STRAWBERRY AND FETA SALAD 4 handfuls spring greens
(baby spinach, romaine, arugula, etc.)
4-inch piece of cucumber, sliced and quartered
½ cup button mushrooms, sliced 2 hardboiled eggs, roughly chopped
1/4 - ½ cup strawberries, sliced or quartered 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled 1/4 - 1/3 cup Balsamic & Basil Vinaigrette Sprinkle of freshly ground pepper ¼ cup toasted pecans Wash and dry greens in a salad spinner. Tear or cut into smaller pieces if desired and separate into four bowls. Top each salad with cucumber, mushrooms, eggs, strawberries, and feta cheese. Spoon 1 - 1 ½ Tbsp. of vinaigrette over each salad and sprinkle with pepper and toasted pecans.
BALSAMIC AND BASIL VINAIGRETTE 1/4 cup olive oil 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. liquid honey ½ tsp. mustard 1 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped Pinch of salt (about 1/8 tsp.) Sprinkle of freshly ground pepper Add all ingredients to a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until well mixed.
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LEMON CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE TIME: 30 MINUTES + 30 MINUTES CHILL TIME | SERVES: 6
My parents own a rather large raspberry patch, and I get excited every summer when my mom calls me to let me know that the berries are ready. A morning in the raspberry patch, with the sun overhead and bees buzzing in the raspberry canes, is time well spent. Since raspberries are fragile, I try to have multiple pails so I don’t need to fill any particular one too full. At home I gently transfer the berries to a few parchment lined cookie sheets, pick off any bugs or debris, and place in the freezer for a few hours or overnight. This keeps the berries from freezing all in one clump so they can be measured out and lets them keep their shape when thawed. When the berries are frozen, I transfer them to freezer bags and replace in the freezer until I need them. If you, like me, have frozen raspberries in your freezer from last summer, you’ll want to make this decadent dessert. Prepare the mousse and the sauce ahead of time so they can chill, then assemble just before serving.
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LEMON CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE 175 g cream cheese, softened Zest from one lemon 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¾ cup powdered sugar ½ cup whipping (35%) cream (about ¾ cup whipped) 6 Tbsp. raspberry sauce + 12-18 whole berries for garnish Place a metal or glass deep, medium-sized bowl into freezer to chill. Zest one lemon, then extract juice. In another deep, medium-sized bowl, beat cream cheese with lemon zest, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. Using the chilled bowl, whip whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. With a spatula, gently fold whipping cream into cream cheese mixture until just combined. Spoon or pipe about ¼ cup of mousse into six individual serving bowls or jars. Chill at least 30 minutes. Top with 2-3 whole raspberries and 1 Tbsp. raspberry sauce before serving.
RASPBERRY SAUCE 1 c. frozen raspberries 2 Tbsp. water 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 2 Tbsp. liquid honey Pinch of salt Soften raspberries with water over low heat in a small saucepan, then mash with a fork. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Pour into a jar or bowl and set aside in fridge to cool before spooning onto mousse.
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RECIPE DEVELOPMENT FOR SPRING 2019
TOP LEFT: Piping lemon mousse into individual servings TOP RIGHT: Drying off asparagus after it has been lightly cooked LEFT: Beat the deviled egg filling until fairly smooth ABOVE: Making whipped cream for the Lemon Cream Cheese Mousse
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Eat Local’s PANTRY
Page 50-51: Eat Local’s Pantry FEATHER & HILL FARM We grow delicious vegetables and beautiful flowers for our CSA Veggie Box program and offer pasture-raised elk meat from our family’s farm. www.featherandhillfarm.com instagram: @featherandhillfarm
RAEFEN COFFEE ROASTERS We are all about the Stories of Connection. Small batch, direct trade coffee roaster at local farmers markets.
FLAGHILL RANCH GRASS FED BEEF Local, home raised, hormone free & humanely produced Grass Fed beef. Home delivery & online store. www.flaghillranch.com 403 857 8016
YOUR AD HERE Email us for more information. hello@eatlocalmagazine.ca
www.raefen.com instagram: @raefencoffee
ILLUSTRATION ANNE DEJONG
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back alle
yb
ak
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рy
o m d
n’s o t n
Rear-10334 82 Avenue, Edmonton | www.Sugaredandspiced.ca
IN RES S TO NOW
made locally culinafamily.ca 12 Rayborn Crescent, St.Albert | davinci-gelato.com
BEHIND THE SCENES A glimpse of the fun and hard work of putting together our Spring issue.
PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
marketplace BLACK DIAMOND DISTILLERY
page 7
www.blackdiamonddistillery.com
LITTLE VILLAGE
littlevillagefoodtruck.com
HINES CREEK GENERAL STORE
www.hinescreekgeneralstore.com
page 8
RECLAIM ORGANICS
MAMA ASHA CAFÉ
www.reclaimurbanfarm.com
mamaashacafe.com
ORIGINAL REDHEAD CONDIMENTS
page 9
www.originalredhead.ca
BUOK FRESH KOREAN KITCHEN
RANGE ROAD MEAT CO.
page 14-17
BIG G’S JAW DROPPIN’ JERKY
buokfresh.ca
RURAL ROUTES BREWING COMPANY
ruralroutesbrewing.ca
www.strathconaspirits.ca
biera.ca
CENTRAL VALLEY FURNITURE
www.centralvalleyfurniture.ca
page 22 MILK CRATE
chefbrochew@gmail.com
page 34-35
page 24-28
camolafoods.com
CAMOLA FOODS
GREY ARROW FARM
greyarrowfarm.ca
page 36-38
page 29
https://alqitta-nuts.business.site
THE OLD RED BARN
www.theoldredbarn.ca page 30-31 LOCAL MEATS
www.localmeats.ca
ALQITTA NUTS PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
ALQITTA NUTS
STRATHCONA SPIRITS DISTILLERY
CHRISTINE SANDFORD
SEA CHANGE BREWING CO.
www.seachangebeer.com
Eat Local • Edmonton • Winter Spring 2018 2019
www.biggfoods.ca
https://alqitta-nuts.business.site
page 18-19
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www.rangeroadmeatco.com
page 39 SPEAK TIKI
speaktiki.co page 40-47 BIG G FOODS
(mustard) biggfoods.ca
BLES WOLD YOGURT
(sour cream) bles-wold.com
DOEF’S GREENHOUSES
(lettuce, cucumber, dill) doefsgreenhouses.com DREAMIN' GREEN FARM
(eggs, bacon) www.facebook.com/Dreamin-GreenFarm-142205402521102/ EVOOLUTION
(olive oil, balsamic vinegar) evoolution.ca GOOD MORNING HONEY
(honey) goodmorninghoney.com HERBOLOGIE
(paprika) herbologie.ca NOBLE MEADOWS FARM
(feta cheese) noblemeadowsfarm.com PLANET MUSHROOMS
(mushrooms) mycoinnovations@gmail.com page 56
therubyapron.ca
PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
THE RUBY APRON
Eat Local • Edmonton • Winter 2018
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one last muse PHOTO HEATHER MUSE
"BREAD -– modest and humble food, a part of every culture, something we have been eating for ages, simple yet complex. For me, bread starts long before the flour and water mix together. It starts in the field. It starts with the farmer. It’s so important to connect with the farmers and producers around the province who are doing incredible things to provide us, the consumer, with traceable ingredients that tell a story. This is one reason I love teaching. I will show my students whole grain that if stored correctly will last forever, and if milled and mixed with water will give us something incredibly nutritious and delicious. I love that I am able to share the stories of the farmers behind that grain with my students. I am fortunate to live in a province that grows grain for the world, and am fortunate to have access to these grains, to be able to mill them fresh on a daily basis, and to use these freshly milled flours in my kitchen. Before I had my mill, John Schneider from Gold Forest Grains sent me a note as he was milling some rye for me saying he wished I could smell it – I think about that every time I use my mill, and am grateful that now I can smell the grain. My mill tells a story, and connects me to the farmer, the grain, the flour, and the bread in a more intimate way. It is beautiful while resolutely doing a tough job day after day, and when not in use it sits proudly on a shelf in my kitchen like a work of art." -KAELIN WHITTAKER
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Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
Kaelin offers cooking classes in her beautiful home kitchen including learning the art of sourdough, sweet bread, flat bread, pasta, fermenting, and much more. Learn a new skill, enjoy time in the kitchen, and share a meal together. You can view a list of Kaelin’s classes on her website at www.therubyapron.ca
Find more local goodness at
EATLOCALMAGAZINE.CA
Eat Local • Edmonton • Spring 2019
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@eatlocalmagazine
eatlocalmagazine.ca