Trust Me, Try This

Your EastTO Fall To-Do List

By Cheryl Torrance

There’s no better ambassador to East Toronto than Cheryl Torrance (aka Chef). Whether you know Cheryl from Torq Ride, Food Network’s Wall of Chefs, her many charitable activities, or her Uncle Chuck’s line of BBQ sauces and rubs, you’ll know that Cheryl is an aficionado of many things. But perhaps closest to her heart is Cheryl’s love of cooking — particularly cooking with local produce.

Fall is a great time to reset your culinary repertoire with some new menu ideas. So with harvest underway, we turned to Chef Cheryl for some fresh ideas to make the most out of the cornucopia of local produce available.

Fall in love with local produce!

Fall time is harvest time! So pack up the fam (or friends) and spend the day shopping at our local farmers’ markets. Pick it, process it and eat it: it’s farm-circle!

Not to mention, it’s an excellent opportunity for the kids to meet the folks who make the food they eat.

→ Withrow Park Farmers’ Market Withrow Park, 725 Logan Ave. Saturdays until Oct. 16, 9 am to 1 pm → Leslieville Farmers’ Market Greenwood Park, 150 Greenwood Ave. Sundays until Oct. 31, 9 am to 2 pm

Bring the farm home

Did you know that you can have your own farmers’ market brought right to your door? Digital Farm Box companies will pick fresh produce at its peak and deliver it to you the next day. The best part is that sometimes your box is packed with some added mystery, like a veggie you’ve never cooked with before. It’s a great way to try something new and see what you come up with. You can make it even more fun by splitting boxes with your neighbours and trading recipes. I get my farm box from Sosnicki Organics. → Sosnicki Organics 1164 Thompson Rd E, Waterford, ON

Make it easy with prepared meals

Even the most passionate chef doesn’t want to cook every night — I find picking up a prepared meal from one of the many neighbourhood kitchens a great way to try out new flavours.

Everything Eadrey Hemmings offers from her namesake shop, Eadery Foods, is as fabulous as she is. Try the jerk chicken and roti. → Eadery Foods, 129 Queen St E Yoona Hong’s The Side Kitchen is a little gem that sells products from female chefs and entrepreneurs, including yours truly! → The Side Kitchen, 1093 Queen St E

Next door to The Side Kitchen, Mercatino E Vini by Ascari Hospitality Group serves up take home meal kits, panini, luxury pantry items and a uniquely curated wine list. (While you’re there grab one of Shannon’s amazing coffees.) → Mercatino E Vini, 1091 Queen St E And if you don’t have time to bake, look no further than Spaccio, the hub for Terroni and Sud Forno restaurants. I’m not a baker, so I love picking up their frozen croissants, which I leave overnight in the oven. In the morning, I throw on a little egg wash and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Mwah!

→ Spaccio, 22 Sackville St

Host a porch dinner

So you’ve got all this great, local Ontario produce — but what do you do with it? Over the pandemic, my wife, Tamar, and I have fallen in love with hosting porch dinners. We grill up our favourite food on the BBQ — or plate up in the kitchen — and eat out on the porch with friends and family.

Our tip is to get your prep work done before anyone shows up, so it’s less time in the kitchen. Then you’ve got time to set yourself up nicely: your favourite sweatpants (my faves are from Province of Canada), drink, blanket over your legs if it’s chilly. All you need is a pair of Muskoka chairs, and you can pretend that you’re up North!

→ Province of Canada 1004 Queen St E

Preserve and conserve

Seasonal foods come in hard and fast. Keeping up with the abundance can be overwhelming.

Preserving and canning are great ways to keep the fall feast going all year round. Just google the fruits or veggies you’ve got on hand, and you’ll find a bunch of recipes that you can make your own.

My favourite things to preserve are pickles from Sosnicki Organics. My not-so-secret ingredient? Grape leaves stolen from a local alleyway. The tannins in the grape leaf make the pickles snappy.

My preserved pickles are a gift that keeps on giving: I put them on my sandwiches and burgers. I add them to my potato salad. I put pickle juice into my Ceasar. And that big chunk of garlic at the bottom of the jar? It goes right into my mouth! → Sosnicki Organics 1164 Thompson Rd E Waterford, ON

Smart storage

To keep the rest of your lovely produce from spoiling ahead of its time, please, please, please get rid of your Tupperware and Ziploc bags and get yourself some glass or stainless steel containers.

Here’s a tip: keep tomatoes out of the fridge. Instead, store them in a bowl on your counter. But the important trick is to keep the stem side down. This makes them last longer, just don’t ask me why!

To get the most out of your herbs, wrap them in a paper towel or a little water. If you know they’re not going to make it, put them in a food processor with some garlic, salt and chilli flakes. Press the button and make it happen! This will be a great mix to put on potatoes, steak, chicken, and veggies. → Urban Bulk & Refill 1380 Queen St E

Clean your fridge weekly

You read that right, my friends. Clean that fridge weekly! Knowing and using the food you have is the best way to minimize food waste. Emptying your fridge weekly means you’ll always know what’s lurking behind those jars.

There are so many ways to use your leftovers. You can always make a nice tomato sauce, soup or stew with all the odds and sods and veggies that are about to spoil. Personally, I like making a cheap man’s beef stroganoff, which is ground meat, onions, peas, beef stock, mushrooms, and wine (if you have any of THAT left over). Then serve over noodles or rice.

I’m passionate about not letting good food go to waste, so, shameless plug, check out my instagram @uncle_chucks for easy meal ideas using leftovers.

→ Uncle Chuck’s available at Side Kitchen 1093 Queen St E

An easy porch dinner solution?

This crispy duck breast with peaches and hazelnuts over a bed of greens helped Chef Cheryl win Food Network’s Wall of Chefs:

THE CROWD PLEASER

1. Score the fat of the chilled breasts in a diamond shape with a sharp knife — do not pierce the meat. Preheat oven to 400°. 2. Pat dry the duck breast and season well with kosher salt. 3. In a cold, heavy cast-iron skillet, place the breasts fat side down and turn the heat on to medium-high heat and press the breasts down, so the skin fully makes contact with the pan. 4. Render the fat for about 5-8 minutes or until the skin is crispy and most of the fat is rendered off. 5. Turn the breasts over to cook the flesh side. 6. Cook on the flesh side for 2-3 minutes. 7. Place in the oven for about 4-6 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 120-125° for rare. 8. Remove from the skillet and rest skin side up uncovered for 10 minutes before slicing. 9. Arugula with sliced peaches and roasted hazelnuts. 10. Slice duck thin and lay it on top of salad (use a simple oil and vinegar dressing). Salt and pepper to taste.