The Tomato January February 2016

Take a bite of your city | January February 2016 | thetomato.ca

SUSHI

It’s our birthday but the is yours!

present

“Thank you Edmonton for an amazing 5 years!”

-Oscar Lopez, Chef Joao Dachery and Team Pampa

9929 109 Street NW Edmonton, AB (780) 756-7030 Visit our website to receive your gift

pampasteakhouse.com/edmonton

#eatpampayeg @ eatpampayeg

Contents

Editor Mary Bailey marybee@telus.net

Publisher BGP Publishing

Features

Copy Editor Don Retson

A photo essay | Curtis Comeau

Contributing Writers Peter Bailey Caroline Barlott Lisa Catterall Curtis Comeau Cindy Lazarenko Milena Santoro Judy Schultz Catherine Tse

16 Two chefs equal one great pizza Brayden Kozak and David Escamilla create a delicious bison pizza for Relish Film Fest week

20 Musings in Milan Learning from the world at Expo Milano 2015 | Milena Santoro

24 The healthy cocktail No need to completely ditch your New Year’s resolution | Catherine Tse

John Quark

Departments

Design and Prepress Printer

14 Full of beans Edmonton’s roasters are brewing up something strong | Lisa Catterall

Advertising Sales

Bossanova Communications Inc.

8 What’s the deal with bone broth?

Is bone broth the new green smoothie? | Mary Bailey

Illustration/Photography Curtis Comeau Photography Shane Hauser Talia Kleinplat Issha Marie Catherine Tse

6 The art of sushi

5 Dish Gastronomic happenings around town

16 Beer Guy Brewing good | Peter Bailey

Distribution Greenline Distribution For editorial inquires, information, letters, suggestions or ideas, contact The Tomato at 780-431-1802, fax 780-428-1030, or email marybee@telus.net For advertising information call 780-431-1802.

The Tomato is published six times per year: January/February March/April May/June July/August September/October November/December

18 Wine Maven Mary Bailey

22 The Lunch Lady Cooking with Olay | Cindy Lazarenko

28 Feeding People Original harvest | Caroline Barlott

32 Kitchen Sink What’s new and notable

34 According to Judy Cooking the books | Judy Schultz

Cover photo: The art of sushi by Curtis Comeau Photography

by BGP Publishing 9833 84 Avenue Edmonton, AB T6E 2G1 780-431-1802 Subscriptions are available for $25 per year. thetomato.ca The Tomato | January February 2016 3

Dinner just got easier.

Italian fast food.

10643 123 St.

✸

780 447 4577

RGERD.CA

Ingredients 1 Tbsp.

1 Bag

Salt Ontario Jumbo Ravioli (Meat or Cheese)

1 Pkg. 2 Tbsp.

1 Can

Hot or Mild Italian Centre Shop Sausage Extra Virgin Olive Oil Menu Pomodorino Sauce

To taste

Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

Cibo / chee-

bo / noun. Ital.

1 food. 2 a place to eat great Italian food.

Bring water to boil. Add salt and ravioli, stirring often for 20-25 minutes.

In a preheated pan, sauté sausage with olive oil.

Once meat is browned, add sauce and simmer.

When ravioli is al dente, remove from water and place into sauce, stirring gently to coat pasta.

Top with grated cheese.

Buon Appetito!

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Dish

gastronomic happenings around town a trio of cookbooks

A Spicy Touch Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen, Noorbanu Nimji and Karen Anderson.

Karen first met Noorbanu when she took a cooking lesson in 1996, then became her recipe tester. The Calgary flood was the push they needed to make a collaboration on Noorbanu’s fourth book. It’s a smart partnership, Noorbanu’s cookbooks are regarded as the bible of Ismaili cooking, while Karen’s experiences on trips to India and with her company Calgary Food Tours brings another perspective. The book is organized as an Indian feast, starting with a tour of the kitchen and the ingredients common to Indian cooking, especially the spices, then chaat (snacks) daal, vegetables, Indian grilling and tandoori, sweets and drinks. There is a chapter dedicated to samosas with step-by-step photos plus a chapter on the British colonial influence called butler cuisine—expect puddings. Find at aspicytouch.ca or Audrey’s.

True North: Canadian Cooking from Coast to Coast, Derek Damman and Chris Johns, Harper Collins.

Chefs who know Derek Damman (chef/owner of Montreal’s Maison Publique) say his name with a bit of reverence; his cooking is that good and that groundbreaking. So is this cookbook.

It’s thoughtful—the book opens with an essay about root vegetables in Newfoundland, not the first thing you think about given the province’s proximity to the sea but logical when you think of its history of isolation. It’s original— True North goes far beyond our usual notions of Canadian cuisine (cedar-planked salmon, butter tarts and Nanaimo bars) yet you will find a recipe for pancakes and bacon.

Maybe the Prairie section is a bit tiny, talking—again— about how much things have changed since the ’80’s (you could say that about any region in Canada) and doesn’t focus on the extraordinary food that is being made here these days, but that is a small quibble. What shines brightly from the pages is the lack of pretense—this is the story of two guys who absolutely love food and food people. So dive in and get cooking.

A Profession of Hope Farming on the Edge of the Grizzly Trail, Jenna Butler, Wolsak &Wynn.

When I first heard about this book, the story of two educators becoming weekend farmers, I thought great, another book about urbanites lighting out for the territories (apologies to Huck Finn). Shame on me. Jenna Butler’s book, about carving a working farm out of boreal forest and muskeg, is masterful. Heart and soul and a lot of backbreaking labour went into the making of Larch Grove Farm. What they have done is not for the faint of heart. “Nobody tells you when you decide to start growing in a cold climate like ours just how tough a journey it will be… We take a perverse sort of pleasure here when our winter temperatures

are worse than those of Siberia.” Whether you care not a whit about farming, or farmers for that matter, read this book for its close-to-the-bone, unsparing and unsentimental writing. Follow the line through Wallace Stegner and Wendell Berry, Jenna Butler’s writing carries the same emotional weight and intellectual rigour. I couldn’t put it down.

get to work at the workshop eatery Popular Edmonton chef Paul Shufelt (Century Hospitality Group) has opened his own joint on the south side near Ellerslie Crossing in the Mosaic Centre (2003 91 Street SW). It’s a wide-open, bright and modern space with a comfortable menu. The all-beets-all-the-time dish called Beets n’ Barley, red, yellow and Chiogga beets with a bit of goat cheese and barley risotto, was tasty and colourful; the chicken liver parfait creamy smooth and luscious.

Best thing so far? The house-made potato chips— crispy, salty, just the amount of greasy, are well worth the indulgence. Open daily, including early in the am for coffee and pastry and weekend brunch.

heritage hen program takes flight The UofA heritage egg program has settled into a nice rhythm of registration, adoption, then egg pick-ups for several weeks while the hens are laying. But, it’s as big as it can get. Program leader Agnes Kulinski had to come up with other ways to support the program.

She hatched upon the idea of selling heritage chicks to interested hobby farmers and acreage owners.

“Many people expressed an interest in starting their own heritage flocks. We wanted to introduce our genetics, and we can supply small numbers. It’s hard to buy one or two or five chickens and many of our supporters are small farms with one to 20 chickens.

Peavey Mart and Canada Post are the partners.

“Our first priority is the egg program, then in the spring, we collect for Peavey. We ship in special boxes designed for the brand new chicks and they reach the buyer within 48 hours. We have chicks across Alberta now and Peavey wants to expand into Regina and Kamloops. We also do seminars on how to raise chickens.”

For all the information on this award-winning program, visit heritagechickens.ca.

From top: a colourful collection of cookbooks; Paul Schufelt in his newly opened Workshop Eatery; a Peavey-generation heritage hen struts her stuff in a cosy bespoke sweater-vest.

The Tomato | January February 2016 5

Sashimi Salad, Yokozuna

The Art Of Sushi curtis comeau

Photographing in a sushi restaurant is a wonderful experience.

Each dish is always colourful, well-crafted, balanced and creative. Even a minimalist dish at a sushi restaurant has an aesthetic that is pleasing to the eye.

I eat sushi at least a few times a week, so when The Tomato asked me to capture a photo essay focusing on the Art of Sushi I figured I was well-prepared to shoot this story. However, early on in this assignment I found out that, even as a regular sushi eater, I had several misconceptions about sushi in general.

6 January February 2016 | The Tomato

You are a Sushi Chef right?

A sushi chef is called an itamae.

The word literally translates as front of the board, which refers to the cutting board where he or she works. A respected itamae requires discipline, precision, attention to detail and longevity in their profession.

“An itamae tends to be a very serious individual. They need to care about each dish that goes out, they have to see each dish as an extension of themselves,” says one restaurant manager.

eat it. Nigiri should be eaten with the hands and NOT chopsticks.

“It’s kind of like a slice of pizza.

You can eat pizza with a fork and a knife if you wish but it’s meant to be eaten with your hands,” one itamae tells me.

Sashimi is just RAW fish.

I was correct that in Japanese cuisine sashimi is most commonly served as raw fish or seafood. However, I learned that sashimi can also be raw meats

When I photographed itamae Shigeo Takeda of Japonais I found out that he had been practising his craft for 20 years and during that whole time has only used one knife.

Nigiri is fancy food.

I knew that nigiri, slices of raw seafood over hand-pressed vinegared rice, is one of the original forms of sushi. I did not know that nigiri is actually an early form of fast food. In the late 1800s nigiri, as we know it today, was consumed by locals in Edo Japan on their way to work and at the theatre. Another misconception I had was how to

such as beef, horse, chicken or frog. The other differentiating characteristic of sashimi is that it’s not served on rice of any kind, but is often served on a bed of greens as a sashimi salad. Itamaes fully express their creativity when creating sashimi dishes.

All Maki Rolls are created equal.

I had figured a maki roll was simply known as a roll. I found out that there are actually

several types of maki: hosomaki, chumaki, futomaki, uramaki, temaki. Maki is not differentiated by the types of ingredients used, but by three elements: the physical size of the roll; the placement of the nori (seaweed paper) and the number of ingredients. You can make maki with seafood, beef, tofu, egg, literally anything.

Uramaki, also known as the inside out roll, is probably the most common type of maki in North America. The nori is on the inside and the rice and other ingredients are on the outside. Uramaki tends to be very colourful and shows a lot of ingredients, making it pleasing to the eye. Popular uramaki rolls are the rainbow, salmon and avocado rolls.

Futomaki is the largest type of maki consisting of four or more ingredients. Futomaki rolls are often so big you can’t fit one in your mouth in one bite.

Often futomaki are the house roll where the itamae creates something truly unique like the king lobster roll pictured in this feature.

Itamae Shigeo Takeda, Japonais Salmon, beef, avocado uramaki, Kyoto

Sashimi, Japonais

Futomaki, Mikado

The Tomato | January February 2016 7

Mary Bailey

What’s the deal with

bone broth?

Is bone broth the new green smoothie?

The latest diet craze is bone broth, long-simmered broth made with roasted bones. Or, what we used to call brown stock. Paleo diet proponents appeared to be the first to cotton on to this classic culinary tradition made new again as a magic elixer of health, touting its ability to help you lose weight, grow hair, improve your skin, reduce inflammation—you know the drill.

Then a restaurant in NYC started selling $5 cups of broth through a self-serve window. Bone broth, coming to a food truck near you.

Some say to sip a cup three times per day to get the full benefit. Though the scientific community is not sold on the idea that sipping collagen will help you build collagen, generations of grandmothers have been spooning broth to countless numbers of under the weather children. They don’t call chicken soup Jewish penicillin for nothing. Making your own has always been a good thing—stock is nutritious, the culinary building block for toothsome soups and sauces, and so cosy, just the thing for a cold winter’s day.

The key is long and slow cooking to get all the richness, minerals and gelatin from the bones into the stock.

Whether you call it bone broth or brown stock or home-made boullion, get out that stock pot and start simmering. You’ll be right on trend and have lots of tasty soup too.

8 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Good Basic Beef Stock (brown stock or beef broth) Classic brown stock is made with roasted veal bones. If you can find, use, but beef bones will give you a beefier flavour. The bones should be fairly clean but don’t worry if there is some meat or tendon attached. Don’t rush the process.

The long, slow low-heat cooking infuses the liquid with every bit of goodness and flavour that is in the bones and vegetables.

4-6 lbs bones, cut into manageable pieces drizzle

canola oil

2 T

tomato paste

2 onions, unpeeled and quartered 2 stalks

celery, each cut into thirds

2 carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled and crushed 1 c

white wine

1 handful flat-leaf parsley including stems 4 sprigs

thyme

1 sprig

rosemary (optional)

2

bay leaves

2 t

whole black peppercorns

Arrange bones in a single layer in a roasting pan. Drizzle oil over and turn to coat. Roast, turning once and stirring often for even browning, until beginning to brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and add tomato paste. Stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for about 30 seconds to brown the paste, which takes the edge off the acidity and concentrates the sweetness, then add vegetables. Return to oven and roast until vegetables are browned and tender

and bones are deeply browned, about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

1 clove

garlic, finely minced

6 c

beef stock

Transfer bones and vegetables to a large stockpot, spoon off fat from roasting pan and discard. Add water and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits from bottom with a wooden spoon. Boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes, then pour into the stockpot.

½ c

dry white wine

¼ c

barley, rinsed

Add enough water to stockpot to cover bones and vegetables by 2 inches. Bring to just under a boil, then reduce heat to a bare simmer; you’ll see bubbles breaking the surface occasionally. Add herbs and peppercorns and simmer, partially covered, over low heat for 8 hours or overnight, adding more water as necessary to keep everything submerged.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and brown the beef. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Reserve.

Carefully pour stock through a sieve into a large heatproof bowl or another stockpot. Do not press on the solids and discard after the liquid is separated.

Stock will be dark brown. Skim off fat if using immediately or let cool completely (in an ice water bath, if desired) before transferring to airtight containers. You can concentrate further by simmering to reduce by about ⅓. Refrigerate at least 8 hours to allow the fat to accumulate at the top; lift off and discard fat before using or storing. The stock will keep for three days in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 3 months.

3-5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only, chopped 1 handful parsley leaves only, chopped

Reduce the heat to medium. Add remaining oil and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes, scraping the pot to loosen any brown bits.

Add the carrots and garlic and sweat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add stock, meat, barley and thyme. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, skimming the pot occasionally, until the barley is cooked and the meat is tender, about 50 minutes.

Ladle into deep bowls and serve, garnished with parsley.

Serves 6-8.

Quick Pho-like Beef and Ginger Soup

A childhood classic, rich and fortifying.

Use leftover steak or buy a small thin steak available at the meat counter (generally top sirloin, often labeled quick fry). This soup packs a pleasant heat due to the ginger, great if you feel a cold coming on.

1 T

2 c

beef stock

½ lb stew beef, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 sml. nub

ginger sliced thin

1 med.

onion, coarsely chopped

½

carrot, shredded

2 med.

carrots, coarsely chopped

2-3 leaves kale or other winter green, shredded

Beef Barley Soup

extra-virgin olive oil

1 sml. steak or equivalent leftover, sliced thin

essential. The Reggiano is richer but you could use aged pecorino instead.

1 sml. handful parsley leaves only

6 c

3-5 leaves

4 eggs

basil

Heat stock and combine all ingredients except the parley and basil and cook until the steak is just pink. If using leftover beef, put in at the end just to heat up.

Serves 1-2.

Chicken Stock It’s easy to be a good cook when you have home-made chicken stock in your freezer and, once you get in the habit of making it on a regular basis, it’s easy to always have some.

Use a stewing hen available occasionally from the UofA’s heritage chicken program, a carcass from a roast chicken, or bits and bobs you have been stockpiling in the freezer. Chop everything about the same size and don’t worry if you don’t have one herb or another on hand.

homemade chicken stock

3 T freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 1 handful Italian parsley, chopped 2-3 leaves fresh basil, chopped bunch spinach leaves (approx 1 c lightly packed) cut in thin strips pinch

freshly ground nutmeg

squeeze

fresh lemon

sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Combine eggs, cheese, greens, herbs and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk in a cup of cold stock. Season.

1

chicken carcass

5 stalks

celery, chopped

2 med.

onion, chopped

Bring the remainder of the stock to a boil. Whisk in the egg mixture so the egg forms fine strands (straccetti). Simmer for another few minutes, stirring constantly.

Right before serving, squeeze in the lemon juice and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with a little more grated cheese on the side.

2 lrg.

carrots, chopped

Serves 6

3

bay leaves

You will notice a lot of gelatin when the stock is chilled. This liquid gold will disappear into the stock when you heat it up.

1 handful parsley stems 5 sprigs

fresh thyme

5

whole black peppercorns

8 c

cold water

Place everything in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Remove foam, turn down heat and let simmer, covered, very gently for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

When ready, take the pot off the stove and carefully pour the mixture through a large strainer to remove the large bits of bone and vegetables. Then press through a smaller strainer or chinois to get a very clean stock. Refrigerate and use within 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Stracciatella (Roman egg-drop soup) I love this soup. It tastes hearty without delivering a big whack of calories. As long as you have good stock in your refrigerator or freezer the rest of the ingredients are pretty much pantry basics.

There are probably as many recipes for stracciatella as there are cooks. Don’t be afraid to improvise. Use whatever greens you have in the fridge—kale, chard, even lettuce will do— or none, but the parsley and good cheeses are

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Yucatan Lime Soup (Sopa de Lima) You’ll find variations of this soup all over the Yucatan peninsula. This is a recreation of one tasted at a little restaurant on Isla Mujeras. All that lime on a cold winter’s day is immediately refreshing.

4 cloves

garlic, peeled

4 plum tomatoes, cored (you could use high-quality canned Italian tomatoes, not blackened) 2

habanero chiles

8 c

chicken stock

4 limes (2 peeled of pith and roughly chopped, 2 halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced crosswise) 1 sprig thyme, leaves only, chopped 1 t

dried oregano

8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, to taste 1 c

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finely chopped white onion

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Please see “Bone Broth” on next page

The Tomato | January February 2016 9

Bone Broth

2 med.

carrots, thinly sliced

Continued from previous page

2 med.

onions, thinly sliced

4 stalks

celery, thinly sliced

2

bay leaves

1 handful Italian parsley or cilantro, leaves only, chopped fried tortilla strips, recipe follows

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Arrange an oven rack 4” from broiler and heat broiler to high. Place tomatoes, garlic, and chiles on a baking sheet and broil, turning as needed, until blackened all over, about 15 minutes for tomatoes, 10 minutes for garlic, and 6 minutes for chiles. Remove stems and seeds from chiles, slice into thin strips and set aside.

Transfer tomatoes and garlic to a food processor along with 2 cups stock and 2 peeled limes; puree until smooth, at least 2 minutes.

Pour through a fine strainer into a large saucepan and stir in remaining stock.

Add thyme, oregano and chicken. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through about 25 minutes. Remove chicken and transfer to a bowl to cool. Discard bones (or save to make stock) and shred the chicken into fine strips. Set aside. Season soup with salt and pepper.

To serve divide onion, chiles, sliced limes, shredded chicken, parsley and fried tortillas among serving bowls. Ladle soup into bowls, and serve immediately.

8 sprigs

fresh thyme

2 T

black peppercorns

sea salt

Combine fish bones and wine with just enough water to cover). Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam from the top of the stock as it approaches boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer.

Add the onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and peppercorns. Add more water. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the stock from the stove, stir and allow it to steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and season lightly. Use immediately or cover after it has completely cooled. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Fish Soup A one bowl meal can be so satisfying not to mention easy to put together.

4 T

butter

2 med.

carrots, finely chopped

Fried Tortilla Strips

1 stalk

celery, finely chopped

2 c

2

shallots, minced

3-5 sprigs

thyme

canola oil, for frying

12 corn tortillas, cut into ¼” thick strips

Heat oil in a 12’ skillet over mediumhigh heat. Working in batches, add tortilla strips, and fry, tossing until crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Set aside until ready to use.

Serves 4-6.

Fish Stock Home made fish stock adds a fresh depth of flavour to chowders, paella, risotto, any fish dish. Use bones from sweet white fish such as snapper, monkfish, sea bass or cod, not oil-rich fish such as salmon or mackerel. You may have to stockpile bones in the freezer until you have enough to warrant pulling out the stockpot.

2 kilo (about 4 pounds) clean fish bones ½ c

dry white wine

water

10 January February 2016 | The Tomato

1 handful Italian parsley leaves and stems roughly chopped

sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1 sml. can whole peeled plum tomatoes in juice 2 c

fish stock

1½ lbs skinless cod or halibut fillet, cut into 1½-inch pieces

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Add carrots, celery, shallot, and 3 thyme sprigs; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and juice. Simmer, breaking up tomatoes into bite-size pieces, until liquid is mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in stock and fish; return to a simmer. Remove from heat. Serve with buttered toast.

Serves 4.

Oyster Stew Rich and luxurious, this oyster stew is a bravura dish, yet, simple and straightforward to make.

The quality of the ingredients is key, use good home-made stock and fresh oysters, not canned, as is the timing; this dish waits for no one.

Have warmed bowls ready as the soup should be served immediately.

30 oysters or equivalent shucked* 4 T

butter

2

shallots, minced

white part of one leek, chopped fine 1 sprig

fresh thyme

½ c

white wine or brandy

1 clove

garlic, minced

sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste 4 c

fish stock

1 c

heavy cream

grating fresh horseradish or 2 to 3 drops hot sauce

Strain the oysters to remove any stray bits of shell or sand. Chill oysters and liquid separately.

Melt butter over medium heat in a wide saucepan. Stir in shallots and leek and saute until translucent and soft. Blend in garlic. Cook 30 seconds. Deglaze pan with wine and pour in stock and oyster liquid. Simmer for about five minutes.

Check seasoning.

Whisk in cream and let cook for about 5 minutes to marry flavours. Check for seasoning and add hot sauce or horseradish, if using. Turn down the heat and carefully add the oysters. Cook just until the edges start to curl. Take off the heat and ladle into waiting soup bowls.

Dust with chopped parsley.

Serves 4. * Buying your oysters pre-shucked is ideal for soup and generally a bit less expensive.

Miso Brown stock is not the only traditional broth undergoing a new age makeover. The fermented Japanese food called miso has become mainstream.

Miso is made by fermenting soybeans, barley or rice with salt and koji (aspergillus oryzae).

The thick paste that results keeps well and has a pleasing buttery texture.

Chock full of B-vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibre and good bacteria from the fermentation

process, miso is also high in umami, bringing a rich and satisfying, if salty, flavour to a dish.

It’s also a quick fix if you don’t have any stock; a spoonful or two mixed in hot water makes a lively base for soup. It’s not necessary to boil or cook for a long period of time.

There are three kinds of miso, classified by colour, which indicates how much fermentation the grain or bean has undergone: shiro (white) fermented the least with the mildest flavour; yellow (shinshu) and red (aka) miso, fermented the longest with the saltiest, most assertive flavour.

1 c water 1 T

miso

1

green onion,chopped

½ carrot, grated

Boil water, take off the boil and stir in a spoonful of miso. Whisk in onion and carrot and you have a simple restorative bowl of broth. You could also use dashi or chicken stock instead of water and add some dried seaweed.

Chicken Vegetable Miso Soup 1 medium onion, chopped handful shiitake or other mushrooms, chopped fine 2 stalks

celery, chopped fine

2 T

vegetable oil

4

skinless chicken thighs

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4 heads baby bok choy trimmed, cut into bite-size pieces (or similar green) 3 T

miso

lime wedges, Srirachi and cilantro leaves (for serving) 6 c

chicken broth

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, mushrooms, and celery.

Cook until vegetables are just beginning to soften, 5-7 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken thighs from broth, remove meat from the bones, shred and return to pot. Add greens and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in miso and correct seasoning.

Pour into 4 bowls and pass the cilantro, lime and Srirachi.

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Serves 4.

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The Tomato | January February 2016 11

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“Corporate beer still sucks,” said the cheeky label on Elysian Brewing’s Loser Pale Ale. And then the largest beer corporation in the world bought Elysian.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s buyout of Seattle’s Elysian Brewing in 2015 was a body blow for craft beer fans. Elysian was a pioneer in the vibrant Pacific Northwest craft beer scene. Led by brewmaster Dick Cantwell, Elysian created some great innovative beers like Dragonstooth Stout and Avatar Jasmine IPA. Loser Pale Ale celebrates Sub Pop, the Seattle record label that gave the world Nirvana. Loser’s ‘corporate beer still sucks’ tagline channels local hero Kurt Cobain.

Elysian isn’t alone, with AB InBev recently gobbling up craft brewers Goose Island, Blue Point, 10 Barrel, Golden Road and, right here in Canada, Toronto’s Mill Street. Other giants have picked up Lagunitas and Ballast Point.

Does it matter if your favourite indie ale is now brewed by a Belgian-Brazilian brewing behemoth? Yes, dammit—it does! The microbrew revolution started in the 1980s as a reaction to the bland homogeneity of beer caused, in part, by the consolidation of the beer industry into a few multinational giants. We must never allow the tyranny of insipid lager to return: you will have to pry my hoppy IPA from my cold, dead hands!

Of course, today with over 500 breweries in Canada and over 4,000 in the U.S., a return to the bad old beer days seems unlikely. However, if AB InBev’s proposed $108 billion takeover of SABMiller is approved, the merged beer colossus will have 30 per cent of global beer sales and 70 per cent of American sales. A brewing Goliath that size is tough for even the pluckiest David to fight.

But craft brewing is full of Davids with little fear of Goliath. They’re armed with great beer, of course, but their secret weapon is their close connection

12 January February 2016 | The Tomato

to their communities. Goliath can try to fake authenticity but more and more consumers aren’t buying it. I am especially heartened by younger beer drinkers. Some may mock the pretensions of the millennial hipster crowd, but at the core there is hunger for positive change and a belief that enterprises like breweries can blend social and commercial purpose. Being connected locally means brewing can be more a community process than a factory-led supply chain machine. Craft beer fans support breweries that brew their social values into every bottle.

You can see this in craft breweries in Alberta. Alley Kat, Wild Rose and Village have all chosen to go slow, not to expand too rapidly—some even deciding not to export their beer, and to focus on cultivating local supply. Phillips in Victoria focuses on sustainability and was voted the Green Company of the Year in 2015 by Drinks Magazine for their comprehensive green ethos. Across the Georgia Strait, Persephone Brewing is British Columbia’s first certified B (Beneficial) Corporation, valuing social and environmental return over profit.

Meanwhile, down south a number of major craft brewers have become employee-owned corporations through ESOPs (employee stock-ownership plans). New Belgium, the fourth largest U.S. craft brewer, became 10 per cent employee-owned when founder Kim Jordan sold her shares to the employees.

Deschutes, Harpoon and Odell are also employee-owned.

Back in Alberta, a change in government has meant a positive change in the support for Alberta craft brewers. Beer brewed in Alberta by small breweries is now taxed at a lower rate than beer brewed by large breweries and those outside Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.

Alberta craft beer drinkers may have to pay a little more for their favourite non-western Canada craft beers, but isn’t that a small price to pay to support your fellow Albertans brewing great beer right here at home?

Peter Bailey

Social good six-pack Doing good by drinking beer? I’m in. You can find these beers at your local independent beer shop, like Sherbrooke Liquor, Keg ’n Cork or Liquor Select.

In-Store Tastings | Food & Wine Pairing

Alley Kat Coffee Porter, Edmonton, AB

• Fun and Education — it’s all about the experience

Slow and steady wins the race, and after 20 years of brewing great beer and growing organically, Alley Kat is definitely winning. A brewery that lives and breathes community, Alley Kat sources locally, employs your neighbours and brews sustainably. The coffee porter combines Edmonton’s Transcend Coffee with roasted malts to produce a dark, delicious porter.

• Wines for every occasion • Premium & Luxury Spirits • Craft Beers

Unity Brew 2015 Extra Special Bitter (ESB), Edmonton, AB Craft brewers are a collegial crowd, none more so than Alberta brewers.

Each year the members of the Alberta Small Brewers Association gather to create a collaborative “Unity” brew. In 2015 they brewed at Alley Kat, creating an earthy, malty Extra Special Bitter. While too many cooks can spoil the broth, too many brewmasters is just enough.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Olds College Old Skhool, Olds, AB Olds College Brewery is a teaching brewery, with all revenue from beer sales supporting the college’s brewmaster education program, and through that, the Alberta brewing industry. Olds’ graduates are helping to transform Alberta’s craft beer industry, using skills they learned in brewing beer like this rich, roasty English brown ale.

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‘Thirsty Thursday’… all beer is on sale!

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Phillips Benefit Brew 2015, Victoria, BC Phillips Brewing began in 2001 in an Esquimalt garage and today is Vancouver Island’s biggest brewer. Phillips has been deeply engaged with their community every step of the way. In 2016 Phillips is brewing an oatmeal brown ale as their Benefit Brew, with funds from sales of the beer going to the Edmonton Area Land Trust.

Persephone Golden Goddess Ale, Gibsons, BC Persephone is a completely socially-engaged brewery near Gibsons BC, in business to do good – including making good beer. Partially owned by the Association for Community Living, Persephone employs people from disadvantaged groups in the brewery and on their 11-acre malt and hops farm. Golden Goddess is a refreshing, flavourful English pale ale.

Great Western Original 16 Canadian Pale Ale, Saskatoon, SK Great Western Brewing’s back-story is delightful. In 1989 Molson moved to close Saskatoon’s former Carling O’Keefe brewery. But 16 employees stepped up to save their jobs by buying the brewery, founding Great Western as an employee-owned brewery. Original 16 is a tribute to those founders, an easy-drinking blonde ale in the lager mode.

Peter Bailey works for a social enterprise aimed at empowering and educating everyone: a public library. He tweets as @Libarbarian.

The Tomato | January February 2016 13

Full of beans Lisa Catterall

14 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Edmonton’s roasters are brewing up something strong.

Edmonton’s coffee scene may have begun with chic cafes such as Leva, Da Capo, and Credo, but quickly became more as Edmontonians began reaching for something more refined than a double-double. As this evolution of taste has occurred, the number of coffee roasters in the city has grown to match.

“It’s only specialty coffee that’s growing, all across North America and Europe.” says Poul Mark, founder/CEO of Transcend Coffee and Roastery. “Betterquality coffee is more desirable, and people want to know where coffee comes from. People want traceability and transparency.”

Mark started Transcend in 2006 and has witnessed the growth of the city’s café culture.

“We’ve always been of the view that the more independents there are, the more exposure the market gets to something that isn’t Starbucks or Tim Hortons,” says Mark. “We see this growth as a good thing.”

Coffee roasting in the city is not new.

For over 30 years, Java Jive provided Edmontonians with freshly roasted beans from its base in Old Strathcona.

The European-style roasts were particularly influential at the University of Alberta, where Java Jive’s two cafes supported the caffeine addictions of generations of students. Though Java Jive closed in 2013, it remains a legacy in the city, with many roasters viewing it as an influential force that helped birth the local coffee movement.

Following in the footsteps of Java Jive, Iconoclast Coffee began operations in 2008, working out of an industrial space on 118 Avenue. Since that time, more entrepreneurs have followed suit. Catfish Coffee and Café Tiramisu have been

FINE WINE, SPIRITS AND ALES

operating for a number of years while ACE Coffee Roasters began distributing in the spring of 2015 and Rogue Wave Coffee opened its doors in summer 2015.

Like Transcend, and many of the city’s current roasters, Rogue Wave seeks to make a deeper connection between consumers and their coffee.

“Every roast is very important, every bag of beans is very important, and where the beans come from is important,” says David Laville, co-founder of Rogue Wave Coffee, “We use specialty coffee importers who work directly with farmers and cooperatives and we also source beans directly from small farms.”

Though the approach each roaster takes may differ, one thing is clear.

Edmonton’s thirst for coffee is unquenchable.

Now in Edmonton Centre!

780.458.4777 • info@unwined.biz www.unwined.biz • 2, 512 St. Albert Trail

“Edmonton’s coffee scene is changing,” says Ryan Arcand, owner of Iconoclast Coffee. “It’s no surprise, really. Roasting is a nice thing to do. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s artisanal, it’s qualitative, and like all things culinary, you can look as deeply into the product as you want.”

Each of the city’s roasters specialize in different products and offer a wide variety of complementary options for aficionados.

Transcend focuses on the origin character of the beans used, lightly roasting its beans and working closely with coffee farmers to highlight the complex flavour notes that are a result of climate, soil content and processing. Rogue Wave takes a similar approach, selecting each batch of beans individually.

Please see “Beans” on page 30.

Transcend Coffee's Poul Mark with his vintage Probat UG22 roaster.

FLAVOURFULLY IMAGINED

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The Tomato | January February 2016 15

Two chefs equal one great pizza Brayden Kozak of Three Boars and David Escamilla of Rosso Pizzeria create a delicious bison pizza for Relish Film Fest week.

Brayden Kozak, Three Boars and David Escamilla, Rosso Pizzeria came together in November to collaborate on a dish for Relish Food on Film Festival’s opening night.

First stop was Jacqueline Fisher at Canadian Rangeland Bison. Chef Kozak had worked with the company during Cook it Raw and Relish Film Fest wanted to feature bison.

As Rosso is next door to the Garneau Theatre, home of Relish Film Fest, would they consider offering the pizza as the feature during the festival? Yes! What cut? The chefs wanted something not too lean with lots of flavour.

Jacqueline Fisher from Canadian Rangeland Bison dropped off a bison shoulder at Rosso. Chef did a long slow braise.

16 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Neither chef had made a pizza with bison before. Together they came up with a colourful pie brimming with the flavours of the season—unctuous bison shoulder, with chunks of roasted squash providing some sweetness, woodsy wild mushrooms and tangy Taleggio cheese with a drizzle of cold-pressed canola vinaigrette. Crispy (deep-fried) beets scattered over provided crunch.

Red or white sauce? Two pizzas were made for the test run, one with the vinaigrette and one with Rosso’s tomato sauce. The white pizza was a better balance of flavours. “It didn’t need the tomato sauce,” said Brayden, a new convert to the concept of white pizza.

How did it sell? “People loved it,” said Dave Manna, owner of Rosso. “The cross-promotion was fun, a great way to get new business.”

Top: David Escamilla (L) and Brayden Kozak show off their pizzas. Facing page, clockwise from top: David cuts squash; Braydon deep-fries beets; chowing down.

All photos Kevan Morin, Curtis Comeau Photography.

The Tomato | January February 2016 17

bonjour Good bread, speciality cheese.

Tonight, or for a special occasion

8612-99 Street 780.433.5924 www.bonjourbakery.com

you know you want more...

Wine Maven We have become huge fans of the Bender Riesling Sekt We love the small persistent bubble, its gorgeous elegance, the beautiful acidity and the under $30 price tag. Canada isn’t the only country that over taxes wine—German sparkling producers pay the schaumweinsteuer, a tax on sparkling wine which dates back to Bismarck’s time. $28.

Andrea Bender Hofpäsch Mosel Riesling Auslese The wine comes from a steep red slate slope near Liewen where Bender lives. Hofpäsch translates roughly to front porch. Can he see the vineyard from his front porch? Not exactly, but the idea is that this is wine from the neighbourhood. The extraordinary concentration, heady aromas and flavours of quince, peach, citrus, honey and juicy minerality combined with the knifeedge balanced acidity makes this wine one for the ages. $34.

Barone Ricasoli export director Ollalla Lopez Corona came to dinner at Sorrentino’s Downtown last November to talk Chianti. The menu, by new Sorrentino’s chef Claudio Tentenni, and executive chef Sonny Sung, was a master of understatement to allow the focus to be on the wines, which have a long history. The Baron Ricasoli is credited with actually inventing Chianti in 1872. Highlights: The classic Brolio is always reliable Sangiovese, ruby red verging on brick in colour, lots of cherry and licorice aromas with lovely, slightly chalky tannins and some nice spice on the palate. $20.

We also tasted the Rocca Guicciarda Chianti Classico Riserva, mostly Sangiovese with some Merlot and Cabernet—sweet violet and cherry aromas, a savoury spicy palate, with lots of depth and finesse. Drink now or cellar for five to seven years. $28.

Francesca Dal Cero was here in early December for a sold-out dinner at Solstice Seasonal Cuisine. Her family makes wine in the Veneto and in Tuscany in the relatively new DOC of Cortona where Syrah is allowed. What is special about the Corte Giacobbe Soave is the volcanic soil unique to the eastern part of the appellation, which gives the wine a specific minerality and a lovely green floral note. It tasted of toasted almonds and lemon, with an intriguing salinity. Dal Cero Corte Giacobbe Soave $20.

We also enjoyed the Selverello Cortona Syrah. “We use a different training system for our Syrah in Cortona called alberello,” says Francesca. “Corona is a good area for Syrah as we have very hot days and cool nights.” The Dal Cero Syrah is elegant, fresh and complex with tasty spicy notes and a long finish. Dal Cero Selverello Cortona Syrah, $26

18 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Mary Bailey

EVENT CALENDAR JANUARY 8-16

JANUARY 31

The Marc’s Alsatian Week Patrick@themarc

The Roti Vineyards Winemaker Dinner, The Marc, Patrick@themarc

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2

WSET Level 1 Class alandon@aii.edu

MONDAY, JANUARY 11-31

Two new small-batch, familyowned premium spirits to try. Gilpin’s Westmorland Extra Dry Gin is about as crisp a gin as you can get. Botanicals include juniper, sage, and borage with citrus peel, coriander and angelica for a distinctively dry gin. $61.

The rich and spicy Sonoma Rye Whiskey Cask Strength is aged in new charred American oak barrels then finished in old wood and tastes of white pepper, vanilla and allspice. Be careful, cask strength means it’s 109 proof. $97.

Official Winter Signature Drink Competition, Facebook.com/ WinterCityEdmonton

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19

Workshop Eatery Wine Dinner 780-705-2205

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 6 Gold Medal Plates, Kelowna goldmedalplates.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9

Swine and Dine Dinner The Common, 780-452-7333

Dinner Pour Deux Tasting Unwined Fine Wine, Spirits and Ales 780-458-4777

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10

Robbie Burns Scotch Tasting aligrawineandspirits.com/events

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22 Fine Wines by Liquor Select Annual Robbie Burns Night 2016

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22 Blue Chair /Unwined Robbie Burns Night, 780-989-2861

Bordeaux Without Borders Tasting aligrawineandspirits.com/events

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 13 Winefest Edmonton celebratewinefest.com

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23 Cheap & Cheerful Tasting aligrawineandspirits.com/events

“People are coming back to sherry,” says Christopher Canale–Parola of Gonzales Byass.

Let’s hope so as the drink has so much to offer in flavour and value. Let’s start with Tio Pepe, classic Fino sherry, fragrant and dry, ideal with almonds, olives, small plates and one of the best buys around, $20. Then we’ll move on to Noe VORS Sherry on the other end of the spectrum, rich, complex, intensely sweet, made for dried fruit and nuts and conversation. The Pedro Ximénez grape and long aging in the solera system result in a wine of great distinction. The VORS designation stands for Very Old Rare Sherry, wines of an average age of at least 30 years. $34.

Ich Bin Parisien, $5 from each bottle of specially selected French and German wines available at Ling Nan, Festival Place and Normands, goes to support victims of the Paris attacks. Normand’s Restaurant will be having a fundraising dinner sometime this winter.

The Tomato | January February 2016 19

Musings in Milan

Learning from the world at Expo Milano 2015 ~ Milena Santoro ~ The site had opened up with a visual feast of stunningly innovative pavilions. Imagine seeing 40-foot high undulating walls resembling the desert dunes in the United Arab Republic, or giant bamboo canes exploding into the lotus flower shapes of Vietnam. But where?

We were at Expo Milano 2015. My husband Giovanni and I were in Italy in August with our three children, Sophia, Fausto and Max, on a whirlwind trip visiting family and had allocated three days for visiting this international exposition dedicated to the wonders and complexities of food.

Expo Milan served a feast for the mind. The theme was “Feeding the Planet: Energy for Life,” and the concepts of co-operation, sustainability, health and nutrition were woven throughout the displays. Pavilion Zero traced mankind’s history through our relationship to food while the Future Food District stretched to the future showing how technology is changing all aspects of the food chain.

Many larger countries had their own pavilions but there were nine clusters of smaller countries that were brought together because of their relationship with specific foods such as spices, cereals and tubers, or rice and fruit and legumes.

Of course being an Italian family we naturally gravitated to the two clusters devoted to the beauties of cocoa and chocolate, and coffee. One of the clusters focused on our Mediterranean area while another hosted an unlikely grouping of “Islands, Sea and Food Arid Zones.”

Being part of the world’s population that lives in water starved zones, Israel’s pavilion Fields of Tomorrow hoisted a 40-foot vertical garden to

20 January February 2016 | The Tomato

highlight Israel’s transformation of mainly arid land into green fields through their innovative use of technology. The Agro-BioDiversity Park was another green area we much appreciated under the hot Lombardy sun. Its miniature landscape replicated the contours of Italy, showing the rich regional diversity in both the natural landscape and farming fields.

Enough of learning. Max, our grade one guy, wanted fun! The children pulled us towards the children’s area. The Italian Ferrero group, of chocolate fame, had sponsored an area ‘Kinder and Sport: The Joy of Moving.” Imagine the fun of hand propelling and racing horses made of multi-shaped, multi-coloured tiles, or similar giant birds or sailing yachts. There were myriad other activities all designed to engage movement while calculating the amount of energy burned.

Whatever calories were burned were soon replaced as our kids hit the station to make crepes and fill them with Nutella.

While crepes were the hit with our youngsters, the two floors supporting 11,000 bottles of wine and grappa was the draw for the two of us of drinking age. Ten Euros could be exchanged for a glass and a choice of 3 wines from the 1,100 open bottles of wine. We feasted on the regional dishes of our beloved Italy, eating amidst the multi-coloured boxes of fresh produce, and tried offerings from other countries. However, we passed on the choice of crocodile, zebra or python burgers in the Zimbabwe Pavilion and decided not to gamble on Japan’s offering of puffer fish sashimi. In the Future Food District we could have sampled canned insects, while in their look to the future food sustainability, Holland’s menu offered ‘weed burgers’ made from seaweed.

Technology and interaction were exciting tools to educate us about food. We threw balls to

follow the food chain from the birth of a lamb to its arrival on the table. The UN-hosted Pavilion Zero used banks of multi screens showing food commercials from around the world while simultaneous market tickers displayed instantly changing prices on food commodities. Video projectors and interactive globes demonstrated how Japan’s basic food culture of rice, fish and vegetables is a means to end world hunger through balanced eating.

Back to the future. Expo Milano has collected a staggering 240,071 online recipes (http:// worldrecipes.expo2015.org/en/) from the participating 146 countries, organized in clusters by geographical regions, dish types or ingredients. To aid the understanding of the environmental impact, each recipe was assigned a foodprint which rates on a scale of one (low) to five (high).

But where was Canada? Certainly not here.

Our government had decided not to spend the estimated $50 million to participate, despite the benefits of commerce, or our duty of exchanging ideas and sharing solutions. If São Tomé and Príncipe, with its population of less than 200,000, could attract visitors, wouldn’t visitors have been as curious about our poutine and musk ox burgers, as their country’s fiote?

Our country is aware of world-wide hunger.

Canada has enviable resources and innovative technology. Isn’t it our duty to be part of all dialogues about world-wide food sustainability and be part of the solution? In our family we want our children to enter such discussions and to continue to celebrate our wealth of food and culture. Our dining table, our cherished place for greeting and eating, continues to be our very own personal Expo.

Milena Santoro is a passionate food lover, broadcaster and wife and mother.

Edmonton / Calgary / Ottawa / Kelowna 10820 82 Ave

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For information call 780.464.4631 or visit www.thepantree.ca View class schedule at: register.thepantree.ca #550, 220 Lakeland Dr. Sherwood Park, AB @PanTreeKitchen

/ThePanTree

#cookingwithOlay You may have noticed me use the hashtag #cookingwithOlay on social media. Olay is the aunt of Stephanie Alcasabas (the wonderful chef at Culina Muttart). She is from the Phillipines and has lived in Canada for eight years. I like to introduce Olay as my new best friend. I’m not sure if the feeling is mutual and it seems to embarrass her every time I say it, but I can’t help it.

How did Olay come into my life? This summer I helped out my brother Brad by managing his catering headquarters at A.C.T. in Rundle Park while he opened four new cafes on City of Edmonton golf courses.

I met with Olay for the first time to describe a rather unique position—one which required kitchen prep, running a concession and serving a high percentage of special-needs customers, one where kindness and patience is an absolute must. As I described the job I noticed she did not for a moment hesitate in answering questions with a definite “YES. I can do that.”

My kind of woman.

I immediately appreciated her soft skills, easygoing nature and focus on food and family. It didn’t take long before I realized I would never want a job where she wasn’t the person I worked with side by side each day. Not only is she smart and talented, hardworking and conscientious, she feeds me!

www.wusthof.ca Experience the WÜSTHOF difference at a retailer near you: The Pan Tree 550, 220 Lakeland Dr. Sherwood Park

Hendrix Condon Barr 11935 145 St. Edmonton

22 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Bella Casa Design Centre 9646 142 St. Edmonton

She brings me chicken stirfry with quail eggs, sweet and dense casava cake, the most delicious fruit cocktail concoction and exotic coffee. My kids get dried mango slices and cookies from the Phillipines. One day she insisted I try duck balut. Oh my. Olay was so excited to prepare this, how could I refuse. I slurped the liquid out of the cracked egg first, as per her instructions and enthusiastic nodding of her head, then

proceeded to peel away the shell to find, maybe I should skip this part, the little feet? Feathers? I’m not even sure. I am not the squeamish type when it comes to food but I really had to talk myself into this one. I had a co-worker video me eating this egg because I was feeling a bit like Anthony Bourdain on Parts Unknown. The whites were hard and undesirable but the yolk was absolutely delicious. I found myself craving more duck balut for the rest of the day.

One day she asked me where to find purple yams. When Olay asks me where to find ingredients I know something good is coming my way. The next day I was treated to little glass jars full of sweet, periwinkle-coloured, creamy, slightly chewy purple yam pudding.

Empanadas. Everyone loves her empanadas. She had a great technique of rolling out the dough, filling the end piece, then, after folding the dough over, using a plate to form a half moon.

We don’t interfere with her when she’s making her empanadas. She takes such pride in her work and is a bit of a perfectionist; Olay is fussy about having them the same size and shape. She stuffs them with ground chicken, peas, egg and raisins, or beef, raisins and green olives.

My very favourite Olay dish is tortang talong. She grills eggplant until very soft, peels it, then dips it in beaten egg with spices. Then she grills it with ground pork on top. I eat it with white rice and chili sauce. This dish is the next best thing to going out for Dim Sum. This relationship does work both ways.

It’s not just me taking. I give as well.

For catered functions we often make Chicken Marbella, an old favourite from the Silver Palate Cookbook, a slow cooked chicken dish with lots and lots of oregano (more oregano than you would ever put in any other dish) white wine, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, olives and prunes. Olay loves to cook for her family (another thing we have in common).

She made this dish for a family gettogether and they loved it.

At Thanksgiving we gave her an organic turkey from Meadow Creek Farms.

She had never roasted a turkey before so we prepared it together at work and I showed her how to make my mom’s stuffing (with the addition of her secret ingredient, brown sugar. Sorry Mom, people need to know; just add a tablespoon or so when you are sautéing the onions and celery). When it came time to wrap the turkey neck in foil for roasting separately, Olay asked if she could season it with vegetable stock powder and mayonnaise. Of course I said yes, it was HER turkey. Well, if that wasn’t the best tasting neck of turkey I ever tasted.

Olay loves to bake. She makes cascaron cookies, a simple little deep-fried nugget rolled in warm sugar. We make a similar Ukrainian cookie called khrustyky and she was quick to request the recipe to make them for her family. She makes Spanish bread and ensaimada, and chocolate-glazed brownies with pecans, and hummingbird cakes that we sell at the cafes and concessions. We are constantly coming up with new recipes to try together.

I don’t know if it’s possible for the two of us to work together until the end of time, but I sure hope so.

Chicken Marbella Adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook ½ c

olive oil

½ c

red wine vinegar

1 c

pitted prunes

½ c

pitted Spanish green olives

½ c

capers with a bit of juice

6

bay leaves

1 head garlic, peeled and finely pureed ¼ c

Cindy Lazarenko

4 chickens (2½ pounds each), quartered 1 c

brown sugar

1 c

dry white wine

¼ c fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley or fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Combine the olive oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and juice, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Next Day: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in one or two large shallow baking pans and spoon the marinade over it evenly.

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the brown sugar and pour the white wine around them.

Bake, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the thigh pieces yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice when pricked with a fork, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with the parsley or cilantro.

Pass the remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

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To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in the cooking juices before transferring the pieces to a serving platter. If the chicken has been covered and refrigerated, reheat it in the juices, then allow it to come to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juice over the chicken.

Serves 10-12.

Cindy Lazarenko is the chef/owner of OnOurTable, a volunteer at Highlands Junior High, and helps her brother at Culina Catering.

dried oregano

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The Tomato | January February 2016 23

Green Dream, Catherine Tse photo

The Healthy Cocktail ~ Catherine Tse

24 January February 2016 | The Tomato

No need to completely ditch your New Year’s resolution when meeting up for drinks. At least not in Vancouver, where even the cocktails are healthy.

We’re already used to elevated ingredients—antioxidant and vitamin rich cold-pressed juices and home-made bitters. But have you ever had a cocktail made with seaweed, kale or coconut water? Not just healthy for trend’s sake, these cocktails have been crafted by some of Vancouver’s most highlyrespected and crazy-talented bartenders.

Here are eight impressively healthy cocktails in and around Vancouver.

Green Dream, $16 Four Seasons Whistler, 4591 Blackcomb Way, Whistler Made with kale and garnished with kale, there’s no mistaking the healthy intentions of this cocktail. In fact, it leans more towards a smoothie given the presence of avocado and yogurt. But the addition of Żubrówka, a bison grass vodka from Poland, definitely makes this a grown-up treat. The vodka imparts an earthy grounding to this cocktail with subtle coconut and grassy notes, perfect with the kale.

The Lantern, $12.50 Vij’s, 3106 Cambie Street A beloved Vancouver institution; when Vij’s moved locations recently, head bartender Jay Jones created a new signature cocktail to celebrate the occasion.

Made with Belvedere vodka infused with ginger and turmeric, Campari, organic papaya nectar and lemon juice, Jones was channeling Vij’s essence into liquid form: community, creativity and a playful approach to Indian flavours.

Topped with a nasturtium blossom (from their rooftop garden) and served in a traditional silver-plated saag bowl, this cocktail also embodies Vij’s flair for style.

In this crisp, exotic cocktail, ginger aids digestion and helps prevent gas, while turmeric, great for the skin and an excellent anti-inflammatory, helps to detoxify.

Glacial Snout, $18 YEW, Four Seasons Vancouver, 791 W. Georgia Street A year ago, the Four Seasons Vancouver launched the Oceans Program, offering cocktails inspired by the five oceans.

Lauren Mote, an award-winning

rockstar in the mixology world, helmed this project and created, among 15 other new cocktails, the Glacial Snout.

Adorable name aside, a glacial snout is real and in this case refers to the tip of the glacier that once covered Ireland and Scotland.

than 50 per cent protein and contains a laundry list of vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and other goodfor-you nutrients.

The Glacial Snout cocktail features Irish moss, a red seaweed that’s grown abundantly along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Rich in protein and minerals, the seaweed adds an herbaceous note to this cocktail, which is made with two kinds of whiskies, yellow chartreuse, lemon and bitters. This is a beautifully balanced and nuanced cocktail.

Sur Une Plage, $12

Coastal Gin & Tonic, $10 Catalano Restaurant and Chicchetti Bar, 619 Courtney Street Victoria This gorgeous, emerald-green gin and tonic is made with real spirulina, a bluegreen micro algae that’s considered to be one of the oldest organisms on Earth. It marries well with the classic botanicals in the gin and could be the easiest way you ever incorporate a superfood into your diet.

Considered one of the most nutrientdense foods available, spirulina is more

Catalano Restaurant and Chicchetti Bar, 619, Courtney Street Victoria, BC

Acorn, 3995 Main Street We all know you need to stay hydrated when drinking, which makes Sur Une Plage the ideal cocktail. Made with coconut water, this beverage delivers a tropical treat along with electrolytes, enzymes and amino acids.

Made with local East Vancouver Odd Society vodka, chardonnay reduction syrup, vanilla, lime zest and sparkling water, this is the vacation island version of a Moscow Mule. Fresh, citrusy and exotic.

Matcha Sour, $12 The Urban Tea Merchant, 1070 W. Georgia Street This charming tea retailer and salon offers TWG teas exclusively, which also feature in their tea cocktails. The Matcha Sour, so simple—bourbon, lime Please see “Cocktails” on next page.

It’s been a sleeper hit for the Four Seasons. Once customers overcome their initial bewilderment, they’re hooked on this healthy cocktail. It’s nearly a guilt-free indulgence, packed with kale (superfood), avocado (healthy fats), lowfat yogurt (probiotics), agave (natural sweetener) and low-fat milk (calcium).

Sour Roses, $15 Uva, Moda Hotel, 900 Seymour Street Pink and pretty, bittersweet and refreshing, it’s no secret why Sour Roses is one of Uva’s best-selling cocktails. Made with Novo Fogo cachaça, Campari, Lillet, lime juice and sour rose petal jam, this unique cocktail offers a lot more than easy sipping.

Sour Roses, Issha Marie Photography.

Rose petal jam is renowned in South Asian cultures as a cure-all for the body— it aids digestion, eases ulcers and cramps, is a strong anti-inflammatory, detoxifies the blood, decreases stress levels and even perks up your energy level.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a single-note, candy-rose cocktail. The rose note hits at mid-palate and ends with a clean, citrusy finish. This is a delightfully thoughtful, well-balanced cocktail.

The Tomato | January February 2016 25

Cocktails Continued from previous page.

and matcha tea—yet so dangerously tasty. The acidity from the lime perfectly balances the earthy grassiness from the Matcha, which are both rounded off with a base of oaky, smoky bourbon.

Matcha tea is famous for being a powerhouse of antioxidants and polyphenols, because you’re ingesting the whole leaf (in powder form). It also enhances calmness, improves memory, detoxifies the body and increases your immune system. It’s no wonder that sales of Matcha tea at The Urban Tea Merchant spike every January.

The Velveteen Rabbit, $12 Mission, 2042 W. 4th Street The Velveteen Rabbit was inspired by head bartender Justin Darnes’ childhood memories of longing for a pet bunny

(and never getting one). Decades later this cocktail is a grown-up homage, complete with fresh sage leaves as garnish that look like bunny ears in miniature.

This cocktail is made with local organic Sid’s Vodka infused with grilled apricots, wild cherry wood syrup, fresh sage, lemon and orange blossom soda.

It’s a whimsical cocktail and once you understand the reference, it’s as if you can taste nostalgia. The cherry wood bark in particular adds a deep richness to this drink. An innovative ingredient for a cocktail, cherry wood is best known for its incredible healing properties and is used in traditional medicine to treat everything from bronchitis to fevers to gout.

Vancouver travel writer Catherine Tse prefers her vitamins in cocktail form, especially in January.

Matcha Sour, Catherine Tse photo

Sur Une Plage, Catherine Tse photo

The Velveteen Rabbit, Talia Kleinplat photo

26 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Feeding People Original Harvest Wild rice is one of few cereals native to Canada, and by far the most nutritious. Yet, the demand for the grain is far greater outside of our borders.

The sun is high overhead, shining down on a clear lake that provides a direct reflection of the teal sky. Eric Whitehead, owner of the wild food company Untamed Feast, is visiting a supplier of wild rice in Manitoba. Whitehead climbs aboard the open air cabin of a propeller boat. It’s not a regular water craft; it’s the boat equivalent of a farmer’s combine and it’s being used to harvest wild rice.

Wild rice isn’t really rice—it’s actually an aquatic grass that simply looks similar to its Asian counterpart.

As the boat passes across the water, the seeds fall into the trough at the front of the boat.

The rice is later bagged, and taken to a facility where it ripens and is roasted and dried. It’s a far more modern process than how wild rice was historically harvested.

Your LOCAL choice for Gluten Free since 1991

Gluten Free, Fresh 10940 - 120 Street Open Tuesday to Saturday www.GetItFresh.ca 780-732-7527 GLUTEN FREE HAS NEVER TASTED SO GOOD®

28 January February 2016 | The Tomato

Wild rice has a very long history in Canada—in fact it’s one of the country’s few native cereals—growing around the Great Lakes for centuries, and harvested by indigenous groups for as long. In the past, canoes were used to traverse the lake, and harvesters would hit the stalks of rice with long sticks until the seeds fell into the boats.

The grain grows wild in Manitoba, Ontario and parts of Alberta. In the 1930s, wild rice was imported into Saskatchewan lakes as a way to increase duck and muskrat populations with the goal of increasing hunting, trapping and tourism. It’s still widely used as a food source and now a method of income for those of aboriginal descent across the country—in Saskatchewan, for example, between 75 and 80 per cent of producers

are aboriginal. The use of the grain is also tied to indigenous ceremonies, reflecting more than just a dietary aspect of the culture.

Though, the dietary aspect alone is significant. The whole grain is incredibly nutritious, containing high amounts of fibre, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc and niacin, according to Kelly Toups, program manager for the Whole Grains Council. “It’s very nutrient dense, especially when you compare it to normal rice. It has more protein, more fibre,” says Toups.

Harvesting in Canada or the United States requires a permit. But different areas have different restrictions for how the seeds are harvested. In Minnesota, for example, harvesters must employ the traditional Native American method of using canoes to harvest the seeds.

While the U.S. has a long history with wild rice, that association has shifted in recent decades. The majority of wild rice in Canada continues to be grown in natural lakes, but most of the wild rice in the U.S. is not technically wild anymore.

Instead, it’s grown in farmed paddies in California. In 2009, 10.2 million pounds of wild rice was produced in California while Minnesota and Canada together produced 10 million pounds, according to Toups.

“There’s a big difference between the rice from California compared to that found in Canada,” says Whitehead, “because the mass cultivated product tends to lose both nutrition and flavour. It’s the same seed, but the methods of cultivation create a far different end result.”

Wild rice is harvested in a way that’s low impact—and governments have set in place rules for how producers can interact with lakes—no chemicals can be used,

Caroline Barlott

and no roads can be built into the area, for example.

While wild rice has a strong history in Canada, and is culturally significant, recent years have seen a shift in the way people have thought about the cereal.

Whitehead thinks most people just are unaware we have such a great harvest in our backyard—one that’s full of nutrition and flavour. But others view wild rice as a nuisance. This year, for example, cottagers on Pigeon Lake complained the wild rice growing in the lake was preventing people from being able to boat and swim on the water. They worried it might bring down property values.

In Canada, there are many wild rice operations, some small, family owned, along with some larger corporations. Most of the harvest, says Whitehead, is exported overseas to Europe, Asia, North Africa and the U.S. According to the Global Trade Atlas, in 2010 Canada exported US$4.5 million worth of wild rice mostly to the U.S. Meanwhile, the majority of the wild rice available in our grocery stores is the cultivated kind from the U.S. Northern Lights Foods, a wild rice producer in Saskatchewan owned by the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, employs up to 1,000 seasonal workers and purchases rice from more than 100 independent producers in the province. The large producer sells locally, but also has a large market overseas, exporting to Europe and the U.S. Local Alberta producers Alice and Wayne Ptolemy have been cultivating rice in local lakes for 24 years. They grow the wild rice from seed on about 1500 acres in various lakes and harvest it in the early fall. When the couple first started growing their crops, Alice says very few people were interested in wild rice, and knew little of the taste or the health benefits.

Alice has noticed an increase in interest in the last few years. The wild product is the ultimate in local food; and there is a movement towards individuals wanting to eat food that is both sustainable and local.

But there’s still a long way to go before wild rice would be considered popular in our country by any stretch, says Whitehead. For Whitehead, wild rice makes up a very small part of his business, simply because Canadians aren’t as interested in it as some of the other wild foods.

In an ironic twist, Canadians at some point stopped seeing one of our best native harvests as an asset—preferring to sell our bounty rather than enjoy it ourselves—but Whitehead is hopeful for a turn around.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf

about 45 minutes. Drain and discard bay leaf. Reserve.

parsley and grated cheese just before serving.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, garlic and porcini, sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chopped mushrooms and sauté until tender, about 7 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine, let evaporate.

Serves 6.

Add rice and reserved porcini soaking liquid, discarding sediment in bottom.

Simmer until almost all the liquid is absorbed, but mixture is still moist, about 10 minutes.

Untamed Feast: Various retailers and untamedfeast.com

Check for seasoning, a grate of black pepper is welcome. Stir in chopped

Sources for Wild Rice Lakeland Wild Rice, Alice Ptolemy: 780-675-7075 Northern Lights Wild Rice: 306-425-3434.

Caroline Barlott is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Canadian Geographic, Discover, and Avenue.

Adapted from epicurious.

1½ c

chicken or vegetable stock

1 packet (approx ¼ c) dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed 1¼ c wild rice, rinsed under cold water 1 t

salt

1 large

bay leaf

“But where,” she wondered, “would she find that drink she loved so much? Customized baskets and gift cards for all her gift-giving needs? Exclusive tastings, classes and Wine Club? A warm, welcoming store and the best staff in town?”

1 stalk fresh thyme, leaves only, minced 3 T

butter

¾ c

finely chopped onion

½ c

finely chopped carrot

1 clove

garlic, minced

West Edmonton Mall • Entrance 58, Beneath Simons Like us on Facebook • Follow us on Twitter • Find us on Yelp www.aligrawineandspirits.com • 780.483.1083

1 handful (about 10) medium button mushrooms, chopped fine 1 glug (approx ¼ c) dry white wine or dry sherry 1 handful (about ¼ c) chopped parsley ¼ c (or to taste) grated ricotta salata, parmesan, or aged pecorino

Bring stock to boil in small saucepan.

Remove from heat. Add porcini mushrooms and let stand until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Finely chop porcini.

Bring medium saucepan of water to boil. Add rice, salt, bay leaf and thyme.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, until rice is almost tender,

www.themarc.ca

@themarcedmonton

The Tomato | January February 2016 29

Beans Continued from page 15

MARCH 3 & 4, 2016 CALGARY ALBERTA JOIN US AT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT MAGAZINE MEDIA EVENT IN WESTERN CANADA Expand your knowledge, skills and networks in editorial, design, digital media, circulation, sales and the business of publishing.

BUY ONE GREAT ALBERTA MAGAZINE and GET THE SECOND FOR FREE albertamagazines.com/bogo-subscription There’s a magazine for every interest

PublisherElements

AMPA acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, as well as the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Media Fund (AMF).

Nourishing Entertainment!

Metro Cinema is a community-based non-profit society devoted to the exhibition and promotion of Canadian, international and independent film and video. metrocinema.org Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr Jan 22 @ 7pm Jan 28 @ 9:15pm Sleeping Giant Jan 23 @ 7pm Top Ten Short Films Jan 24 @ 2pm

Beach Party!

Les Etres Chers Jan 24 @ 7pm Closet Monster Jan 26 @ 7pm The Forbidden Room Jan 27 @ 9:15pm Into the Forest Jan 29 @ 7pm

Ninth Floor Jan 30 @ 7pm My Internship In Canada Jan 31 @ 2pm The Demons Jan 31 @ 7pm

Enjoy a taste of summer this winter.

Beach Party Double Feature Jan. 19 Muscle Beach Party @ 7pm The Girls on the Beach 9pm Adult: $20 Student/Senior/Child: $15 Reg. admission for single shows.

Awards Night at the Garneau

More Beach Party!

Blue Hawaii Jan 31 @ 4pm Gidget Goes Hawaiian Feb 16 @ 7pm

Join us for the biggest awards celebration of the year as we splash the classiest award show in Hollywood up on the big screen. Join us for champagne, movie trivia, games, cotumes, and prizes while our guest hosts entertain through every commercial break.

Dressed up or dressed down, the Garneau is your goto for all things Awards night.

Feb. 28 at 5PM

Metro Cinema at the Garneau

Metro Cinema receives ongoing support from these Arts Funders:

8712-109 Street | metrocinema.org

30 January February 2016 | The Tomato

“We roast small amounts of coffee. We’re looking for something that really wows us and something we think will work in certain applications, especially pour overs,” says David Walsh, co-founder.

Laville and Walsh order small amounts of beans, sampling as many as 30 varieties each month before deciding which will make it to the shelves. Their first love is the pour over—so each varietal is roasted to accentuate the delicate flavours and prepare them for this use.

ACE Coffee Roasters, on the other hand, specializes in darker roasts for both coffee and espresso.

“Right now, we’re focusing on an Italianstyle roast,” says Daniel Lodewyk, roaster at ACE, “but it’s very much about the pursuit of quality, not of a certain style.”

“As roasters, the one thing that we could do more of is highlight what the others are doing. We’re all doing different things, and we want people to explore that a bit more,” says Laville.

Laville and Walsh currently use two roasters at Rogue Wave—one small Huky roaster for preparing their sample beans, and a larger Coffee-Tech roaster for larger batches. Using the CoffeeTech, they are able to prepare enough for their own café and retail use, but have found that they are quickly reaching their maximum capacity. In order to meet demands for more beans, the pair have ordered an additional roaster, and are currently awaiting its arrival.

Edmonton has welcomed the increased number of roasters and cafes in recent years. Movements promoting local consumption, such as cash mobs and “shop local” events, have supported independent cafes and roasters, yet there seems to be a disconnect between local roasters and many smaller, independent cafes. Instead of serving locally roasted beans, many cafes have opted for highquality artisan brands like Four Barrel from San Francisco, Bows and Arrows from Victoria, and Phil & Sebastian from Calgary.

Coffee Bureau, one of Edmonton’s latest caffeine merchants, made the decision early on to source their beans from a local roaster rather than looking farther afield. For owners Cristiane Tassinari and Peter West the choice was simple. They have worked closely with Edmonton coffee expert Joe Parrottino of Leva and Caffe Tech as he began building the ACE brand. With decades of experience in the coffee industry, Parrottino was motivated to launch ACE Coffee Roasters when West was preparing to launch Coffee Bureau.

“We finally felt like we were ready to start roasting,” Parrottino says, “and we were looking forward to working with Peter again.”

“We had both worked with Joe in the past. It was almost a no-brainer when we were talking about opening up a coffee shop and deciding on where to get beans,” says Tassinari. “It’s great to have that connection to our roaster. We can talk to him about the roasts; if anything happens, he is right here for us.”

Parrottino and Lodewyk are industry veterans who are dedicated to building ACE into a household name. The two use a 24-kilogram Diedrich roaster to prepare fresh beans several times a month.

This connection between consumers, roasters and farmers demonstrates coffee’s ability to bond and connect individuals, ideally with Edmonton’s independent roasters being supported more by local independent cafes and retailers.

“There’s definitely room in the market for more cafes, especially those that are focusing on local roasters,” says Mark.

“Coffee and the café scene are vibrant; they’re interesting. It makes sense that more and more people will try and develop a business,” says Arcand.

Right now, the scene is percolating, we’ll see where it goes from here.

Lisa Catterall is an Edmonton-based freelance writer who is often far too caffeinated for her own good.

It’s a wrap!

To all the makers of reservations, heaters of water, cooks, chefs, wine lovers, beer geeks and cocktailists, thank you for making RelishFest 2015 a success.

Sponsors of Relish

To our sponsors, volunteers, and friends of Relish, we live in gratitude.

Friends of Relish

See you in autumn 2016 with another line up of savoury dramas, spicy comedies and food for thought documentaries.

Relish Fest is presented by the Relish Food on Film Festival Society

www.relishfilmfest.org

Bruce Bell, An Alberta Farm

Peter & Emma Den Oudsten, Peony Farms

John Schneider, Gold Forest Grains

Shannon Ruzicka, Nature’s Green Acres

Shane Chartrand, Sage Brayden Kozak, Three Boars Eatery Kim Nguyen

Tell Us a Food Story Short Film Challenge Winners Cooking Wild by Rosvita Dransfeld

Snack Attack by Christopher White

Kitchen Sink restaurant buzz Every winter The Marc (9940 106 Street, 780-429-2828, themarc.ca) celebrates the food and drink traditions of the Alsace region of France. This year Alsatian week runs January 8-16. Come for the beer, stay for the choucroute.

Rosso Pizzeria (8738 109 Street, 780-433-5382, pizzeriarosso109.com) has a few new items on their already delicious menu; an appetizer of whipped buffalo mozzarella with polenta, fresh thyme and Parmesan cheese with confit tomato, topped with micro arugula for a peppery hit and a dollop of house-made jalepeno jelly. The trick is to get a bit of everything on your fork at the same time for the most sublime marriage of flavours. Another new appetizer is local organic meatballs served in a cast iron pan with tomato sauce, homey and delicious.

The salad is fire-roasted apple with mixed greens with goat cheese and pine nuts in a sesame seed apple cider vinaigrette. Add a piece of chicken to make that a meal on the days you don’t feel like pizza.

their delicious pork buns made with either pork belly or pulled pork. Oh, the choices you’ll have to make.

Tuesday to Sunday, 11am-9pm, no reservations.

don’t miss event, a real treat. Dinner is $140/pp, call to book or email Patrick@themarc. This dinner will kick off The Marc’s Rhone week in February.

Culina’s Dogwood Brunches (Victoria Golf Course Clubhouse, 12130 River Valley Road is now serving winter brunch. “It’s a casual, leave yer ski boots on, ski chalet-esque atmosphere” says Dogwood chef/operator Brad Lazarenko. “I’ll be cooking all the brunch classics, French toast, bennies, heuvos, plus weekly specials.”

Brunch runs from 9am to3pm, walk-ins only, no reservations. Dogwood is fully licensed with tons of free parking and there are plans for a firepit out front. Get your touque on and schuss on over.

The new Workshop Eatery (2003 91 Street SW, 780-705-2205 theworkshopeatery.com) is having a Spanish-themed wine dinner Monday, February 2, $95/pp++ includes a $20 voucher for Uber. Call to book, or email jenni@theworkshopeatery.com

cooking classes Embrace your inner baba with a Ukrainian cooking class at Kitchen (10130 105 Street, 780-757-7704 kitchenbybrad.ca). There are five classes to choose from in January, so round up a few pyrohy-loving friends and sign up at info@kitchenbybrad.ca, or call 780-757-7704.

Pampa Brazilian Steak House (9929 109 Street, 780-995-0316, pampasteakhouse.com) celebrates their fifth anniversary with a series of dining promos from January 4 to February 29. Always different and fun — look for things like complimentary desserts, merchandise, and percentages off dining. Check the website for the latest promotion.

Enjoy a Seasoned Solutions Express Demonstration Cooking Class: January 20 is Comfort Food, soups and accompaniments; February 10 is Foods from the Heart with sweet and savoury ideas for Valentine’s. Find all the details and the full schedule at seasonedsolutions.ca.

Daniel Costa’s new restaurant Uccellino, next door to Bar Bricco on Jasper Avenue, should be opening sometime in February. The fabulous Chris Hyde heads up the kitchen.

Take a cooking class with chef Vinod Lothia.

The experienced and personable chef offers cooking classes in your own home for just you or for a group up to 12 people. Endlessly customizable, contact to learn how: vlohtia1803@gmail.com

Something new from The Volstead Act (Andrew Borley, Jordan Clemens, Evan Watson), a cocktail bar/bistro called Clementine in the Pearl Tower (11949 Jasper Avenue) opening late winter. Heading up the kitchen is chef Roger Letourneau (Three Boars, Staff Meal) so we know the food will be as high-quality and terrific as the drinks.

Check out the new Prairie Noodle Shop (10350 124 Street, prairienoodleshop.ca, 587-926-8481). They call it prairie inspired ramen—Sylvan Star’s smoked gouda ends up in a vegetarian miso soup; the roasted barley chicken ramen is made with yakitori chicken sweetened with honey and roasted barley tare sauce in a chicken and dashi broth; the meat and potatoes ramen is ground beef ragu and chile sauce with potato and charred onion soup on the side. The ramen (a traditonal Japanese dish) is rich and hearty but leave room for

32 January February 2016 | The Tomato

wine tastings, events and happenings Love pork? Love chef Jesse Morrison-Gauthier’s cooking? Enjoy both at the Swine and Dine Dinner at The Common, (9910 109 Street, 780-452-7333, thecommon.ca) Tuesday, January 19. Easy on the wallet too—four courses, $40/pp featuring Alberta pork from appetizer to dessert. Call to book.

The Marc (9940 106 Street, 780-429-2828, themarc.ca) hosts a winemakers dinner with former geologist Sean Boyd of the small, focused Rotie Cellars of Walla Walla, Washington, Sunday January 31. If you love graceful Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre or Marsanne, Rousanne and Grenache Blanc, this is a

Unwined Fine Wine, Spirits and Ales (#203 Edmonton City Centre, 780-421-0015; #2 512 St. Albert Trail, St. Albert, 780-458-4777, unwined.biz) presents Dinner Pour Deux, wines to pair with that special Valentine dinner, Tuesday, February 9, at the St. Albert store, $35/pp, call to book.

Upcoming events at Aligra Wines & Spirits (Entrance 58 WEM 8882 170 Street, 780-483-1083, aligrawineandspirits.com): January 20, Robbie Burns Scotch Tasting with sommelier Ken Bracke, $65/ pp; February 10, Love wines with passion? Bordeaux Without Borders, discover a world of wines made in the Bordeaux style, $40/pp; February 23, Cheap & Cheerful, great wines under $20, $20/pp. Register for all aligrawineandspirits.com/events Blue Chair (9624 76 Avenue, 780-989-2861, bluechair.ca) is having a Robbie Burns Night, with help from their friends at Unwined Fine Wines Spirits and Ales, Friday, January 22. Enjoy a five-course meal of traditional Scottish delights—haggis, cockaleekie soup, neeps and tatties, roast beef—with paired whiskies. There will be Robbie Burns poetry read by Andrew Campbell Walls and general merriment, all for $99/pp +GST. There is a wine flight for those who prefer that to whisky, $89/pp+ GST. Call to book.

Fine Wines by Liquor Select Annual Robbie Burns Night 2016: A Salute to 25 Year Olds featuring Bowmore, Laphroaig, Bunnahabhain, Highland Park, Tullibardine and Glenfarclas. Twenty-five year old single malts, Nick Lees, a piper, and a haggis, imagine that! Friday January 22, 7pm, tickets $100/pp. Call to book or purchase in store.

Want to know your Chenins from your Chards? Want to know why some wines taste like vanilla and others taste like butter? Take a Wine and Spirit Education Trust course offered in 58 countries. A special one-day WSET Level One Foundation is on January 9. To book, call Angela Landon 604-988-8009, 1-888-9888009, or email alandon@aii.edu. Classes are held on the second floor of Fine Wines by Liquor Select, 8924 149 Street.

what’s new and notable

The Official Winter Signature Drink Competition launches January 11 and runs until January 31. This is the third year for the good-natured competition, all part of the city’s plan to help us get outside and enjoy winter. Yes, a cocktail helps. There is both a boozy and a nonalcoholic category and the contest is open to both professional bartenders and amateur mixologists. Enter your original libation at Facebook.com/ WinterCityEdmonton. Contestants are encouraged to make and share videos telling the story of their recipe.

Mark your calendars for Winefest at the Shaw Conference Centre Friday, February 12, and Saturday, February 13 from 2pm-5pm and 7pm-10pm each day. The all-inclusive wine only event allows you to sip and savour specialty wines and hors d’oeuvres for one ticket price in a relaxed, casually refined atmosphere. For details and tickets visit celebratewinefest.com.

The 2016 Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna start Friday, February 5 with the Mystery Wine Pairing at the Delta Grand and continue Saturday morning with the Black Box Competition at Okanagan College. Then it’s back to the Delta Grande for the Grand Finale. It’s a spectacular weekend filled with drama, stellar entertainment and great food and drink. Jan Trittenbach of Solstice Seasonal Cuisine is the Edmonton champ gunning to win the national title. With the focus on food it’s easy to forget that Gold Medal Plates has garnered close to 11 million dollars for the Canadian Olympic Foundation in support of Canadian Olympic athletes.

Don’t miss it! Purchase tickets at goldmedalplates.com Alberta Agriculture and Forestry present a webinar series led by sustainability expert Brett Wills of the Green Enterprise Movement Inc. On January 5, Sustainable Strategy Development teaches how to integrate social environmental and economics

factors in the strategic planning process.

During Sustainable Strategy Execution on February 2, learn the steps and actions required and best practices to lead your organization. Contact Jim Cooper at jim.cooper@gov.ab.ca. For more info visit explorelocal.ca.

A Sensory Experience!..

The ShopS aT Boudreau | ST. alBerT, alBerTa #109 150 BelleroSe dr. | hickSfinewineS.com | 780-569-5000

product news Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is creating a phone app to make it easier to find all the Alberta Approved Farmers’ Markets quickly and easily for on your phone. Expect lots of searchable features and a spring launch of this handy product.

February is the month to buy a new Japanese knife. Knifewear (10816 82 Avenue, 587-521-2034, knifewear.com) offers 15 per cent off the Masakge line for the entire month.

in memoriam Edmonton hospitality veteran Adrian Francis died December 8 in Calgary after battling cancer. Adrian had a long and successful career in the restaurant business beginning at the Creperie and ending as general manager of Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Calgary. Adrian was funny, kind, always ready with a quip. We will miss him immensely.

Ruth’s Chris in Calgary plans An Extraordinary Event in Adrian's honour January 17, 403-246-3636, calgary@ruthschris.com.

Fine Wines by Liquor Select Fine Wines | Exceptional Staff | Private Tasting Room Join us for weekly tastings, private events and corporate functions in our private tasting room — equipped with LCD projector and screen.

8924 149 Street | 780.481.6868 | liquorselect.com | wine@liquorselect.com

Send new and/or interesting food and drink related news for The Kitchen Sink to thetomato.ca.

Four Course Set Menu Dinner cheese • wine+beer • espresso

wine pairings optional Saturday February 13 2 seatings (5-8:30pm) & (9pm-close)

Special Offering of Cavern Cheese School Sunday February 14 Wine, Chocolate & Cheese Pairing 2-4pm at Cavern

Valentine’s Gift Boxes 10169 - 104 street | 780.455.1336 | info@thecavern.ca | @CavernYEG

The Tomato | January February 2016 33

According to Judy

Judy Schultz

Cooking the books

SAMPLING WINE EVERY SATURDAY (780) 439-9069 | colordevino.ca | 9606 82 Ave Edmonton

Ta-daah! The 2016 crop of cookbooks has arrived, while a stack of oldies-but-goodies demands re-reads.

Certain cookbooks are timeless, and so good they deserve a place in your collection, no matter if they’ve hit the backlists.

The Kitchen Diaries, I and II, by Nigel Slater. His books are generally better for reading than for cooking, but I wouldn’t be without him. Slater is an inspiration because he so loves his subject.

Neither would I be without My Paris Kitchen, and The Sweet Life in Paris, both

by American chef David Lebovitz. His stories about living and cooking in Paris are entertaining and informative, and the recipes are better structured and more reliable than Slater’s.

Somehow, between 2005 and 2010, Australian chef Greg Malouf and his former wife, Lucy Malouf, managed to produce three wonderful books, each one crammed with good writing and splendid photography. Saha, a Chef ’s Journey through Lebanon and Syria, is simply excellent. Find this book if you can; read it and weep for the lost culture of two beleaguered countries. Then there’s Turquoise, a Chef ’s Travels in Turkey; and Saraban, a Chef ’s Journey through Persia.

The Malouf ’s travels throughout the Middle East are as important as their recipes, but you’ll enjoy both.

introducing our new

Cocktail Club

*Flare Bartending Optional. Tom Cruise not included.

find out more in-store or online 0.455.4556 RT TRAIL | 78 11819 ST ALBE

LIQUOR.COM

KE | SHERBROO

Hot off the press: Nopi. The newest offering from London chef Yotam Ottolenghi is co-authored

by Ramael Scully, his head chef at Nopi, yet another of Ottolenghi’s restaurants.

Scully and Ottolenghi’s recipes are a tad exotic (think pomegranate molasses, zatar, sumac) but doable. Ottolenghi continues to lean heavily on Middle Eastern kitchens for inspiration, as he did with Jerusalem, Plenty, Plenty More and Ottolenghi. Together, their finely-tuned palates deliver multiple layers of flavour and texture.

Happy Cooking: Make Every Meal Count.

Giada De Laurentis, the television chef

34 January February 2016 | The Tomato

from the Food Network, is back with nearly 200 recipes, plus helpful chatter about everything from hosting a simple potluck to packing a lunch, and how to pull off a formal dinner. De Laurentis is an accomplished multi-tasker (mother, restaurateur, television personality) who manages the tricky balance between what tastes good and what’s good for you.

Atelier Crenn — Metamorphosis of Taste.

Chef Dominique Crenn is the first woman in North America to be awarded two Michelin stars for her restaurant, Atelier Crenn. Progressing from a French childhood to ownership of an übersuccessful dining spot in San Francisco, Crenn is militant about ingredients: fresh, local, organic, sustainable, or they don’t make the cut.

If you’re an armchair chef, the book is great fun to read, but for anyone who aspires to roll up sleeves and actually cook as she does, there’s fantasy involved.

The bouillabaisse? Try it, I dare you. It’s a feat of patience, invention and expensive wishful thinking.

Sea and Smoke: Flavors from the Untamed Pacific Northwest, by Joe Ray and Blaine Wetzel is part cookbook, part journey around the San Juan Islands. I was lured into this book by the essays and lush, evocative photography in the first half, but Wetzel’s recipes are interesting, if not entirely practical.

The book details Wetzel’s ambitious labours to create a world-class restaurant, The Willows Inn, on an island in the San Juans.

Lummi Island is only accessible by a small ferry, yet a reservation is incredibly hard to get. If you go, a passel of local fishermen, farmers, foragers, hunters and gatherers will be involved in your dinner, at roughly US $175 per person.

Apparently it’s worth it. Award-winning journalist Joe Ray may not be the chef, but he’s a terrific writer, and his year of researching the mystique of Lummi Island has produced a gorgeous book.

Judy Schultz is a food and travel writer who cooks at least one recipe from every cookbook she buys.

What’s the best thing you ate last year?

Tell us about your favourite thing to eat or drink We’ll add it to our list of the 100 best things to eat in Edmonton

Enter by January 29. Here’s how: • Visit our web site the tomato.ca and click on “100 best things to eat” • Enter at facebook.com/thetomatofooddrink • Tweet @tomatofooddrink using the hashtag #TomatoTop100 • We’ll even take a letter in the post.

The 100 best things to eat and drink will be featured in the March April issue of The Tomato food & drink. *For the purposes of this competition, Edmonton includes Sherwood Park, St. Albert and surrounding communities — we’ll drive for food!

Tomato guy illustration created exclusively for The Tomato by Darcy Muenchrath, www.darcymuenchrath.com.

The best thing you ate last year could be: • a restaurant dish • a farmers’ market specialty • a product from your favourite local farmer • a snack food • a condiment

Whatever makes your mouth hum!

Enter at thetomato.ca January 4 through 29

BONJOUR EDMONTON

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