Shop Local

By WANDA BAKER

Shop Local!

Fall harvest, Thanksgiving, Halloween – so many things to be thankful for this season. In this issue, we are shining light on a few of Alberta’s well-known movers and shakers plus sending kudos to those who started new businesses during the pandemic. The celebrations in your homes may look different for many reasons as some of us reflect on loved ones lost but will also be a time to create new memories, and relish in time spent with those we care about most.

POWERED BY BIRCH BARK

Like many business owners trying to stay afloat, former engineer Paul Poutanen knows a thing or two about facing adversity. His distillery Tippa Inc. makes handcrafted small-batch gin and rum (Lovebird Gin, Wood Duck Oaked Gin and Magpie Rum,) but when the pandemic hit and sales started to drop, he switched gears to producing hand sanitizers. Another slow-down forced him to rethink his plan leading to the creation of Alchemist Vinegar using a secret ingredient to ramp up production. Poutanen explains vinegar is made from alcohol and his process involves starting with making a honey mead using yeast for fermentation. Once the cycle is complete and the solution turned to alcohol with no sugar remaining, the vinegar process starts using the secret ingredient – birch bark. The vinegar debuted late last year at Christmas markets and sold out. There are 20 vinegars currently in the line-up with more in the testing phase. While more common in the Middle East and Mediterranean, this style of vinegar is slowly catching on in Canada using local, raw honey. The Honey Blackened Garlic is the most popular of the bunch offering a deep garlic flavour, the Honey Pineapple is delicious on ceviche, or in cocktails, and the Honey Curry vinegar packs a punch and is great in soups. All vinegars are unpasteurized and contain the mother. Currently available for purchase online.* Alchemist Vinegars | Alchemist Vinegar | $14-$17 tippadistillery.square.site

LET’S GET SAUCY

Making healthy nutritious meals has never been easier. Sunterra Market has launched a new program featuring fresh pastas and sauces made in-house from scratch. A trip to Italy inspired the team to create their own pasta using simple yet quality ingredients. Chefs make the pasta using only omega 3 eggs and durum semolina flour from Italy which, when combined, give the pasta its rich golden yellow hue offering a coarse texture for the sauce to cling to. Freeze it or keep it in the refrigerator for up to one week. Available shapes include casarecce, orecchiette, lasagna, spaghetti alla chitarra, fettuccine or rigatoni. The sauces are also made in-house using market fresh ingredients with six varieties to choose from. The jar redemption initiative allows you to return the empty Sunterra pasta jar for a $2 refund. Pick up fall meal kits, market-made soups, fresh made artisan bread, the pasta with a sauce at any of the Sunterra locations or shop online for delivery straight to your door. Fresh Pasta and Sauce | Sunterra Market | $9.99 - $13.99 sunterramarket.com

BUZZING WITH EXCITEMENT

Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem and the relationship they share with humans an important one. These fascinating little creatures are naturally resilient and popular among hobbyists including former pilots turned bee keepers, Art and Cherie Andrews. These two decided to leave the airline business to start Chinook Honey, a honey farm located outside of Calgary in the midst of a nectarladen alfalfa field. The duo sets itself apart from the pack by offering educational programs, a learning centre with a live observation hive, retail store and, in recent years, Chinook Arch Meadery, offering award winning mead. All products like honey jams, honey-made candles, honeycomb, home-care products and apitherapy are available online or in the store. With so many products to try and love, we are obsessing over the Honey & Almonds, made with the farm’s natural alfalfa honey and superfood almonds combined in a glass jar. They are the best desk snack, eaten with a spoon to avoid drips, or adding to a charcuterie board. Another must try is the mead, a wine fermented with honey, dating back thousands of years and once consumed in a horn. The Bodacious Black Current mead we sampled is made with locally grown black currents featuring a light, fruity taste delicious with chocolate. The Chinook Honey team started running their education programs again midsummer and hope to get back to full programming and events within the year. Check out the triedand-tested recipes online, and watch for additional products to be added in the future. Purchase this non-pasteurized, non-filtered honey through the website or through Best of Calgary Foods.

Did you know Alberta was the province with the highest volume of honey produced in Canada in 2020 at 29.9 million pounds?

Honey Almonds + Bodacious Black Current Mead Chinook Honey Company and Chinook Arch Meadery $9.50 - $22.75 chinookhoney.com

The season of celebrations and gift giving is fast approaching and we are always on the lookout for a special gift. On a recent visit to Springbank Cheese Co., we discovered these stunning porcelain serving platters and bowls and may have picked up one or two ourselves. Adrian and Carie Lee Watters are passionate about cheese. So much so, they struck a deal with owner Tom Hemsworth to open and operate the Willow Park Village and Crowfoot locations. Today there are three owners and four stores in Calgary, each unique in characteristics, offerings, and all worth a visit. The Watters showcase over 400 types of cheese in their two locations, plus seasonal varieties and all kinds of accompaniments made for entertaining. Here you’ll find big bold flavours in hot sauces, jellies and jams and more because, according to Adrian, balance is boring so go big or go home. In addition to all the delicious edibles, there are all kinds of accessories, like platters, perfect for any cheese lover. Indigenous artist Kelly Robinson uses his art to tell the stories of the Nuxalk and Nuu-chah-nulth people, their land and culture. He examines stories of the supernatural, potlatch societies, and the land and sea in his artwork. Kelly’s work is shown on the orca and raven platters and bowls available in Watters stores. Klatle Bhi is an Indigenous artist of Squamish and Kwakwaka’wakw ancestry. His name means “head killer whale of a pod of killer whales” and his art is an expression of his personal and spiritual journey, as well as a reflection of his cultures. Klatle is known for creating moon artwork, also showcased on the platters and bowls in the store. Drop in for a visit and a chat with Adrian or Carie Lee to find all kinds of goodies you never knew you needed or to pick up the perfect gift. Raven and Orca or Moon Platters and Bowls | Springbank Cheese Co. Willow Park Village and Crowfoot | $5.95 - $24.99 | springbankcheese.ca James Waddock and Clint Jensen are two local entrepreneurs showcasing high-quality grains grown on the prairies. Research and studying technologies in flour making that retain nutrition and flavour led them to start Harvest Moon Mills using grains from Jensen’s family farm (Jensen Farm) and an old-fashioned method of stone-milling. They tell me this ancient method of making flour is enjoying a modern-day comeback and for good reason. The results are a product rich in nutrition and flavour without any added chemicals, bleach or fortifying. The temperature of the grain is not increased during the stone-milling process ensuring no nutrients are lost. As of press time, the flour line-up includes sifted bread, hard white wheat, durum flour, pastry and all-purpose, plus whole grain bread, and rye flour. Waddock and Jensen say they’re committed to creating new products, educating the public about the importance of supporting local businesses, and how much better stonemilled fresh flour is nutritionally. Order your flour online for all your baking and pie making needs this holiday season and taste the difference. Coming to retail stores soon. All-Purpose Flour | Harvest Moon Mills | $13.95 harvestmoonmills.com Did you know that durum flour is what is used in most Italian pastas and pizzas? Most of the durum flour that is milled in Italy today comes from Canada (even from Jensen Farm!) So, the next time you consider buying that “made-in-Italy” flour or pasta, know that it is a locally grown product that is now available for you to purchase directly!

MiMercadoEsTuMercado

Latin Cravings Made In-house Authentic Taste