Food for Thought Winter 2008

Chicken Noodle Goodness: Starve your winter sniffles with soup

Agriculture and Food is GROWING ALBERTA

Winter 2008 FREE

BEEF SLAPSHOT Meet a hockey player at home on the range

Perogies With Panache

Here are the ladies who make them

The Watched Pot

Gourmet

Learn how Alberta food stays safer than ever

!

S U L n P our ow s y e k a M die holiday

goo

Klutz to

Go from domestic ditz to diva

Make this, and some biscotti to go with it.

Page 50

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Contents Winter 2008

features

10 Eating for Illness

Drown your cold with chicken soup this winter.

Research shows there’s something to Grandma’s home cures after all B y J u l i e Va n R o s e n d a a l

12 Eyes to the Plate

Albertans are lucky to eat some of the safest and best food in the world. Meet the people who are watching your back

By Kat herine Fawcett

18 Goodbye Stanley, Hello Angus

Dean Kennedy played professional hockey and dreamed of farming. Now he’s a rancher who understands the value of local B y D e b b y Wa l d m a n

21 Goodness Under Glass

It’s snow time for Alberta’s hardworking greenhouses. Find out how they keep produce local, even in mid-winter

By Ryan Smith

18

26 make me a martha

How to go from kitchen klutz to domestic diva in a few easy steps – just in time for the holidays

By Noémi LoPinto

departments

4 A message From Growing Alberta 6 Quick Bites

26

Hunt and gather Alberta-grown products; Must-have mustard; Sip a hot drink; Try a cool yogurt recipe; Meet SweetGrass Market; Become a chocoholic

42 Day in the Life

16 health and safety

Puzzles! Jokes! This issue is a big beef bonanza of bright ideas

Shake off the salt! Too much of a good thing is bad for you 24 in their kitchens

Red Tractor Family Farm Meats chugs along quite nicely 46 Just For Kids

48 Since You Asked

The humble perogy: a cultural comfort food

Can you really be allergic to a pine tree?

This, and other burning holiday questions

32 City Slickers

49 2008 Gala award Winners

In the words of the French chef, “It’s Lilydale”

And our recipe index

39 travel

50 Picture Perfect

Take a trip to Alberta’s beef heartland, Pincher Creek

A reader’s perfect snap PLUS: our cover recipe

21

on the cover: Warming you up on those crisp winter outings, hot chocolate made from fresh Alberta milk.

See page 50

Photography/illustration this page top to bottom, Ewan Nicholson, Isabelle Cardinal, Dwight Arthur

www.growingalberta.com

Editor’s Message THE ENTERTAINING SEASON is upon us! The aromas coming from your kitchen will surely please your family and guests. Whether it’s an afternoon of ice skating or a family outing in the woods, what better way to start off the season than with a cup of creamy, flavourful hot chocolate as pictured on the front cover of our winter issue? See page 50 for the recipe.

The harvest is wrapped up, but supporting our local Alberta producers is always in season. We show you where and how to continue to buy Alberta products. Summer farmers’ markets are closed but it doesn’t limit your opportunity to purchase locally grown products. Let us introduce you to the faces behind SweetGrass Market and Red Tractor Family Farm Meats. These dedicated individuals want to ensure that you make healthy choices and enjoy the quality of the products that are produced in Alberta.

Among these Alberta goodies are Lilydale products. I tossed a few Lilydale sausages into a sizzling frying pan for my family on the weekend, and I can honestly say they are tasty and nutritious too. To find out more, and for those who may feel daunted at the prospect of making a large holiday meal, visit the Lilydale research and development kitchen with Jennifer Cockrall-King for insight into its new Roast & Boast product (page 32), and read our cover story, “Make Me a Martha” (page 26) to get organized for a big dinner party.

Some gems to check out in the Pincher Creek area are featured in our travel column (page 39) and you can meet Dean Kennedy, who swapped his skates for a ranching lifestyle (page 18).

To round out this issue, we have perogies, gift basket ideas, food safety, food myths and recipes, recipes, recipes to delight you. I am dedicated to bringing you more stories about Alberta’s agri-food industry and your notes and comments truly do assist me.

Keep ’em coming.

Wishing you all the best of the season!

Maureen Osadchuk

Contributors

associate Publisher

Growing Alberta Daska Davis

Editors Maureen Osadchuk, Mifi Purvis

Associate Editor Noémi LoPinto copy Chief

Kim Tannas

Art Director Charles Burke graphic designer

Rodrigo López Orozco

Production coordinator Betty-Lou Smith

Production Technician Geoff Cwiklewich Distribution manager

Jolene Hutseal

Circulation Amanda Dammann

Advertising Account Executives

Alicia Kuzio, Penny Smith

Supporters of Growing Alberta

Retail Distributors

Canada Safeway, Save-On-Foods, Sunterra Markets Bigway, Super A Foods, Calgary Co-Op, Calgary Farmers Market Food for Thought is published quarterly by Growing Alberta.

If you would like more information on agriculture and food in Alberta, please visit our website at www.growingalberta.com

You are welcome to reprint articles from Food for Thought, but please credit Food for Thought and Growing Alberta.

WRITERS Malcolm Azania, Bobbi Barbarich, Jennifer Cockrall-King, David DiCenzo, Katherine Fawcett, Sally Johnston, Scaachi Koul, Wes Lafortune, Lisa Ostrowski, Lisa Ricciotti, Ryan Smith, Julie Van Rosendaal, Debby Waldman NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS Julie Van Rosendaal photographers/IllustratorS 3Ten, Dwight Arthur, Raymond Bessinger, Isabelle Cardinal, Ewan Nicholson, Cindy Revell, Amy Senecal Food for Thought, published by Growing Alberta, communicates with consumers about agriculture and food in Alberta. We know that food, the environment and your health and wellness are very important to you. With support from government and industry partners, Growing Alberta and Food for Thought magazine seek to provide recipes and tips using Alberta food products, profile the people working to bring safe and nutritious food to your table, and inform you about issues like food safety and quality, agriculture’s role in caring for the environment and animals, and the heritage and future of the industry in Alberta.

www.growingalberta.com food for thought winter 2008

Publisher

If you would like to contact Food for Thought, send an email to info@growingalberta.com, or write to us at #201, 8704 – 51 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6E 5E8 780-466-7905

Growing Alberta

Food for Thought is printed on recycled paper, using canola-based ink and water-soluble varnish on the cover.

Copyright © 2008 Growing Alberta Growing Alberta™ is a trademark of Growing Alberta.

Food for Thought is published by Venture Publishing Inc. for Growing Alberta.

Undeliverable mail should be directed to the Edmonton office.

10259-105 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 or by email to circulation@venturepublishing.ca Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #40020055

Quick Bites For the Love of Chocolate Chocolatier Kerstin Roos is the owner of Kerstin’s Chocolates and the Cocoa Room, opening in Edmonton in February at 10139 - 112 Street.

She has never met a broken candy cane she didn’t like. Roos uses the broken-but-still-good sweets as the star ingredient in her Candy Cane Truffles, which are easy to make and are great holiday gifts. Roos loves the minty crunch of the candy, and how it interacts with the smooth chocolate centre. You can make them at home, but you definitely have to have a sweet tooth to eat more than one, she says. “But over the holidays people tend to like sweets, so it fits with the season,” she says.

Candy Cane Truffles

14 oz (396 g) premium semi-sweet chocolate (60 to 67 per cent cocoa content) 1 cup (250 mL) heavy cream

1/2 tsp (2 mL) peppermint extract 1/2 cup (125 mL) candy canes or pepper mint candies • Chop the chocolate finely and put it into a steel bowl. Pour the cream into a saucepan and heat to the scalding point, but don’t boil it. Pour the hot cream directly onto the chopped chocolate and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Gently stir the cream and the chocolate until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. You now have what is called a “ganache.” If the chocolate doesn’t melt completely, place the bowl over a small pot of barely simmering water, and stir until it

Low-fat Frozen Treats Yogurt may be the perfect food. It’s high in calcium, which can help preserve bone mass and lessen the effects of osteoporosis. In its low-fat form, yogurt’s high nutrient content (calcium, potassium, and magnesium) can help reduce hypertension and regulate blood pressure.

Furthermore, live and active cultures mean that eating it regularly may help boost your immune system, possibly aiding digestion and assisting prevention of yeast infections.

But really, most people eat it because it tastes great. It’s so versatile it can appear in

food for thought winter 2008

any meal, from livening up cereal to improving dips, sauces and desserts. Try it on a baked potato or in your favourite muffin recipe. Here’s a quick and easy yogurt recipe: line a colander with a cheese- cloth or coffee filter and add plain, low-fat yogurt. Put the colander in a saucer in the fridge and strain the yogurt for a few hours. Sweeten it to taste with honey; add some vanilla and put it in an ice cream maker. It yields a creamy dessert with little fat, and lots of health benefits.

is smooth. Add the peppermint extract.

Pour the ganache into a smaller bowl, cover it tightly and refrigerate for several hours or overnight until it becomes firm. Using a melon baller, scoop out balls of the ganache. Transfer them to your freshly washed hands and roll them around until they are smooth and spherical. Crush the candy canes or peppermint candies into small pieces about 1/8” in size. Roll the balls of ganache over pieces of candy. Serve the truffles immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Do not freeze; water can condense on the truffles’ surface when they defrost.

For more information, or to take a chocolate-making class, go to www.KerstinsChocolates.com

Keen on Mustard There’s no arguing with the tang of one of Canada’s premier crops. From hot dogs to prime rib, the taste is golden Lisa Ricciotti There are so many uses for mustard. If your kids’ sandwiches lack flavour, they may request you “pass the mustard.” Are your slap shots wimpy and your fastballs too slow? Put some mustard on it! Feeling excited? Maybe you’re “keen as mustard.”

No matter how you spread it, mustard’s tiny round seeds add flavour to idiom and cuisine. See below and you’ll never again take North America’s second most popular spice (after peppercorns) for granted.

Mustard’s Multi-purposes • Whether you consume it whole, ground or mixed into a paste, mustard complements all types of red meat, pork, poultry and seafood.

It’s also a popular base for salad dressings, marinades and barbecue sauces.

• Because they help bind fat and water, mustard seed hulls are often used as a thickener in whole grain baking mixes, low-fat mayonnaise, sauces and packaged meat.

• It’s also often used in pickling and canning as a preservative. Try it! Look up Mustard and Alberta Whiskey Brined Pork Chops at www. growingalberta.com.

• American ballpark mustard sauce is bright yellow due to the addition of turmeric, not mustard seeds, which are white.

• Researchers are experimenting with mustard oil as a biofuel, and using leftover meal as an effective natural pesticide.

• It’s a good source of antioxidants, vitamin E, selenium, fibre and magnesium and it also helps prevent the growth of some bacteria in foods.

A Burning Question

Mustard seeds are neither hot nor pungent until cracked or ground, then mixed with liquid, sparking a chemical reaction. The colder the liquid, the hotter the mustard.

Intensity peaks around 15 minutes, but can be extended by adding something acidic – which is why table mustard contains vinegar.

Meet the Brassica Family Mustard is actually a close cousin of canola, a member of the Brassica family, along with cabbages and radishes. Botanists will tell you of its more than 40 varieties, but chefs focus on three:

Black brassica nigra – The most difficult to harvest; and also the most expensive. Of Middle Eastern and Asian origin; it is still very popular in those countries.

Brown brassica juncea – Found in the Himalayans. Often substituted for black, since it’s milder and cheaper.

White sinapis alba – Actually a pale yellow colour. The mildest; originally from the Mediterranean.

A Musty History

Mustard is mentioned in 5,000year-old Sanskrit texts and in the Bible. Scientists recently germinated seeds found in some Egyptian pyramids.

Early uses were medicinal, not culinary. It was used to treat everything from scorpion stings to toothaches and colds. The early Romans were the first to mix mashed seeds and wine into a paste, kick-starting mustard’s career as a potent but delicious spread.

Canada Cuts It

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of mustard seeds.

Alberta was Canada’s first commercial mustard producer, with 40 hectares near Lethbridge in 1936.

Brassica Mustard Ltd. of Calgary offers a line of gourmet prepared condiments. www.brassicamustard.ca

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Quick Bites 100 Mile Giving Every year, during the holidays, Albertans try to come up with original gift ideas. Here’s a list of locally made or grown options: Give a Christmas gift basket filled with locally made bite-sized gourmet foods and other goods. Leslee Creations Ltd. sells gourmet jellies, jams, teas and other hot drinks, sweets, dips and sauces. The company even sells glutenfree ketchup. For more information, visit www.countryspicecollection.com Fill your latkes with sweet and savoury potatoes from the Little Potato Company. Most are of the bite-sized variety, with names like Blushing Belle, Piccolo, and Cherie. They are small and tender, and require no washing or peeling. Go to www.littlepotatoes.com

Fulfil your fresh bread fetish at the Red Barn Bread Company, which offers a wide selection of cookies, muffins and a signature line of artisan wholegrain breads. Find them at Calgary’s SweetGrass Market (www.sweetgrassmarket.ca) or call 403-249-9918 Sweeten your Sunday tea with Lola Canola honey. Lola also harvests pollen, beeswax, comb honey and propolis, a gluey hive sealant thought to have medicinal properties. Products can be obtained at local farmers’ markets, by calling 780-921-3657 or visiting www.lolacanola.com Try something different. Your dinner guests will go hog wild for ham smokies, jerky, bacon, sausage and roasts from Hog Wild Specialties, based in Mayerthorpe. Visit www.hogwild.ab.ca Get cheesy with Alberta’s own Sylvan Star Gouda or Fairwinds goat cheese. In Calgary, visit Springbank Cheese Company (www.springbankcheese.com) in Edmonton and Calgary, visit Planet Organic (www.planetorganic.ca)

Meet the SweetGrass Market When the SweetGrass Market, on Calgary’s southwest side, opened in June 2008, it became the first of its kind. Food merchants, growers and ranchers all came together under one roof to share their products and knowledge with each other and with new customers.

Rather than just weekends, doors are open all week. “There are all the generations here,” says the market president and founder, Anne Lambert. “We have everything from teenage merchants to people in their 60s. Everyone is here sharing their products, knowledge and ideas.”

The market is located in West Springs Village shopping centre. It’s bright and airy, with a tea shop and small rest area, where customers enjoy some of A Touch of India’s East Indian and African dishes, or drink a fruit smoothie from More Than Mangoes.

Although it already has about nine stores, there is still room for more. “I’m still looking for exciting new food options,” says Lambert. “I don’t want multiples of the same. I want to make sure my retailers are not competing with each other so that everyone is successful.”

More than two years ago, Lambert was frustrated by Calgary’s lack of a full-time open market that had a little of everything.

Now that SweetGrass is here, she can’t quite believe it. “When it opened, there were lots of tears of joy,” she says.

“Sometimes I’m amazed myself that I did it.”

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What could be than crock pot Use your slow cooker to make the evening meal prep a breeze.

easier

cooking?

Pork Stroganoff 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 1/2 lbs 1 cup 4 11 oz 24 oz can 3 Tbsp 2/3 cup

canola oil butter cubed pork (pork butt), trimmed of excess fat chopped onion garlic cloves, minced small, white mushrooms, sliced (2/3 of a bag) diced tomatoes tomato paste salt and pepper, to taste light sour cream

15 mL 15 mL 750 g 250 mL 4 345 g 796 mL 45 mL 150 mL

Buttered Herb Noodles 11 oz 1 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp

fettuccine or thick egg noodles (approx 3/4 of box) butter chopped fresh parsley chopped fresh basil

345 g 15 mL 25 mL 25 mL

1. Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook pork in batches for about 5 minutes or until browned all over. Remove from pan.

2. Add onion and garlic to same pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is softened.

3. Place onion mixture, mushrooms and pork in a slow cooker.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste and salt and pepper; stir.

4. Cook, covered, for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low in slow cooker until pork is tender.

5. Stir in sour cream. Serve over noodles.

To make the buttered herb noodle: 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook, uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes or until al dente; drain. Return noodles to same pan.

2. Add butter and herbs and stir until combined. Serves 8.

Nutrients per serving: calories 400.09, carbohyrates 38.71 g, protein 26.84 g, fat 14.64 g, fibre 2.7 g, calcium 84.07 mg

www.moreaboutmilk.com

Cold

chicken soup

for the

’Tis the season to be stuffed up and mopey. Fight back with a cup of goodness story By Julie Van Rosenda al

For as long as there have been colds

and flu, there have been beliefs that certain culinary concoctions have the ability to cure them. Chicken soup, ginger, garlic, orange juice and tea have been popular remedies as far back as the 12th century, recommended not only by healers, but by moms and grandmas worldwide.

We are constantly learning new things about the healing powers of food. But it’s hard to quantify the healing power of a steaming mug of chicken soup – no matter what the old wives say – against colds, flu and other wintertime illnesses. Registered dietitian Susan Buhler weighs in on your mom’s side. Sort of.

“Soup seems to inhibit the symptoms,” she says. “A study published in 2000, showed chicken soup has a mild anti-inflammatory effect and the potential to decrease mucus and reduce the inflammation which usually accompanies a cold. But, although it may make you feel better, it doesn’t act on the cold itself.”

Although researchers don’t understand why it works, Buhler says as long as it makes 10

food for thought WINTER 2008

you feel better, that’s all that matters.

“Chicken soup does deliver fluids, which are important,” she adds, “and often healthy vegetables and garlic, which has been shown to reduce cold symptoms. When you’re sick, it’s important to make sure you get some bang for your buck – no empty calories. Make sure what you’re eating counts.”

There are as many varieties of chicken soup as there are beliefs about what kind should be administered as a cold remedy. Spicy soup laced with garlic and chilies is said to clear nasal passages, even temporarily. While egg noodles are traditional, adding a little barley will deliver complex carbohydrates, fibre and more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, many of which support the immune system.

Your besieged body will thank you.

As long as your soup is steamy and tasty, it will probably help at some level.

While a bowl of hot soup won’t actually cure a cold, it appears to really have the ability to alleviate some common symptoms.

Particularly when lovingly administered by your one and only mom.

Hot Lemon Ginger Tea Ginger has been known for centuries to ease congestion, settle an upset stomach and relieve nausea. And a new study from the University of Ottawa has shown that honey is effective at killing the bacteria that cause many sinus infections.

1/4 cup (60 mL) coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger root

4 cups (1 L) water 1 cinnamon stick

honey to taste juice of half a lemon • In a saucepan, bring ginger, water and cinnamon to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve into mugs and add honey and a squeeze of lemon. Serves 4.

The Ultimate Ginger-Garlic Chicken Soup

1

small rotisserie chicken, or the leftover carcass from a roasted chicken with some meat still attached to the bones

1 small onion, unpeeled and cut into quarters

Making smart choices about the food you eat is key to maintaining your health.

So is having an Alberta Blue Cross individual health plan.

2 stalks celery, chopped (with leaves)

8 cups (2 L)

water

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Alberta Blue Cross individual health plans help you and your family stay healthy by providing practical benefits you’ll use on a regular basis–including prescription drugs, vision, dental care and more. At the same time, you get affordable protection against the high cost of unexpected illness, accidents, ambulance trips or medical conditions.

1 Tbsp (15 mL) grated ginger

1 tsp (5 mL)

whole black peppercorns

1/2 cup (125 mL) pearl or pot barley 1 cup (250 mL) dry egg noodles

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 small sweet potato, peeled and finely chopped (optional)

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper, to taste • Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Shred the meat off your chicken, chop it and set aside.

Place the carcass in the oven and roast for half an hour; this will add colour, depth and richness to the broth, but it isn’t necessary. Transfer the carcass to a large pot with onion, one stalk of celery, water, garlic, ginger and peppercorns.

Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes.

• Meanwhile, cook barley and noodles according to package directions; drain well and set aside. Remove chicken stock from heat and set aside until cooled slightly; carefully pour through a colander or sieve into another pot.

Discard the carcass and vegetables.

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• Bring the stock to a simmer and add the remaining stalk of celery and carrot and sweet potato; cook for about 8 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the barley, noodles and chopped chicken. Stir just until heated through.

Squeeze in the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Edmonton 780-498-8008 Calgary 403-294-4032 Toll-free 1-800-394-1965

Serves 4.

Per serving: 219 calories, 1.9 g fat (0.5 g saturated, 0.4 g monounsaturated, 0.5 g polyunsaturated), 22.3 g protein, 28.4 g carbohydrate, 48.2 mg cholesterol, 3.8 g fibre. 8% calories from fat.

www.ab.bluecross.ca ABC 82447 (10/2008)

vision dental prescription drugs ambulance extended health benefits

000.ABC_2-3V.indd 1

9/29/08 1:27:54 PM

12

food for thought fall 2008

In Alberta, we enjoy some of the world’s best and safest food.

Take a look at who’s watching your food

story By Katherine Fawcett ILLUSTRATION by raymond bessinger

lbertans love to eat.

What could be better than a mouth-watering home-cooked feast, lively conversation with family and friends, the sound of laughter punctuated by the clink of knives and forks? Cut into a juicy steak, peel back the skin of a trout that’s been barbecued to perfection, spin your corncob in butter, and chase it all with a cool glass of milk.

And thankfully, despite high-profile news stories, food-borne illness is rare in Alberta.

Preventing food-borne diseases is serious business. Alberta has developed a strict food safety system in which scientists, regulators and public educators work together with producers, processors and consumers to ensure the food we eat makes it from farm to fork without contamination.

What is a food-borne illness?

Lynne McMullen is knowledgeable about food-borne illness from both professional and personal experience. The University of Alberta food microbiology professor and researcher once suffered from a rare case of salmonella. It was 14 years ago, during her first year as a university professor, and she still recalls the misery. The source of the contamination was never found, but she hasn’t forgotten it.

Food-borne illness, often called food poisoning, is any disease caused by eating food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, viruses or parasites, McMullen explains. Some names consumers may have heard are E. coli, salmonella and listeria.

There are potentially harmful germs on us, in us, and all around us, including on our food. The good news is that most healthy bodies regularly handle these microorganisms without getting sick.

People with compromised immune systems may be hit harder by con-

taminated food than healthy folk. The elderly, the very young, pregnant women, HIV-positive patients and anyone undergoing chemotherapy are especially susceptible to food-borne illnesses.

After consuming contaminated food, there is an incubation period before symptoms occur. This can be as short as 30 minutes or, in the case of listeria, more than two months. The most common symptoms are stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and fever.

Symptoms can be mild and last only a few hours or serious and require hospitalization.

How common are food-borne illnesses?

It’s hard to say. Recent statistics from Alberta Health and Wellness report approximately 3,000 cases of food-borne illness every year in this province. The number represents cases tested and confirmed by laboratory analysis. But not all cases are sent by doctors to be analyzed by the lab, and not all victims seek medical attention for their illnesses.

“Let me put it in a personal way,” McMullen explains. “If you are sick for 24 hours, are you going to go to your doctor and report it? Probably not.” And if you do, she says the physician may not recognize that it is indeed a food-borne illness. A national study estimated that there are more than 11 million cases per year in Canada.

While food-borne illnesses can be downright awful, most cases are self-limiting and not fatal. When cases are serious, the media and the public pay attention. Last summer’s listeria outbreak, traced to particular equipment in a food processing facility, killed 20 and sickened dozens. It created worry among the general public. Many people who’ve never before had reason to think about food safety began to wonder about how our food is inspected.

www.growingalberta.com

13

The national safety net The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (www.inspection.gc.ca) is in charge of the safety of the nation’s food supply. It enforces policies and standards set by Health Canada through inspection and enforcement programs at all federally registered establishments. They follow the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) system, an internationally recognized standard of cleanliness, safety and bio-security.

HACCP pinpoints risks at all stages of food production, from the cow grazing in the field to the steak in the butcher’s cooler. In light of the listeria crisis, the CFIA recently introduced tougher rules for processors of meat products. They must now completely disassemble their meat slicers before cleaning them.

Alberta’s safety stance Here at home, we have the added security of the Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development office (ARD) which ensures that Alberta meat, dairy, eggs, fish and seafood producers and processors meet provincial standards, which are aligned with HACCP and CFIA regulations. It’s worth noting that ARD focuses only on products that are for consumption within this province.

Bob Holowaychuk has been branch head for meat inspection with ARD for the past three years.

Before that, he spent 30 years with the CFIA. He says, only partly joking, that meat inspection is his life. “We have an industry that involves a sensitive product.

Wherever there’s a potential for food-borne illness, our challenge is to limit that risk.” While he sympathizes with the victims of listeriosis, he says the crisis “indicates how difficult this bacteria is to eliminate.”

Food that comes into Alberta from other provinces is subject to CFIA inspections. Food imported from outside Canada is also required to meet Canadian standards. The Canadian Border Services Agency is part of this equation; border inspectors review documentation of food entering Canada, do visual examinations and take samples. The CFIA also does random spot inspections at the border.

Inside an inspection ARD inspectors have multiple tasks. When they go to an abattoir, they first make sure that the animal is healthy before it is processed. “We look for diseases that could make the animal unfit for human consumption,” says Holowaychuk. “We check that they are healthy, bright and alert, no limping, lumps or bumps.”

If the inspection officer is satisfied with the animal, they make sure it is killed humanely, in a way that limits suffering. Then they examine the carcass, checking various organs, the drainage system, the hide, and so on, to make sure the body is free of infection or disease.

14

food for thought winter 2008

“We also make sure there’s good personal hygiene of the people in the facility, that they’re sanitizing the equipment,” says Holowaychuk. ARD inspectors require operators to have their sanitation procedures in writing and check to see that the program is being followed.

Holowaychuk recognizes the need to co-operate with everyone involved. “What we do is a team effort. We have our staff, but we encourage operators to take responsibility. No one wants to sell a bad product.”

Proactive protection Canadian Quality Milk (CQM) program co-ordinator Bill Laing works on the proactive side of food safety. Laing describes CQM’s work as preventing problems rather than fixing them. The HACCP-based on-farm food safety program was designed by dairy farmers in the industry to ensure their products are safe and of the highest quality possible.

“It’s something we knew that we had to,” says Laing, who has been in the dairy industry since 1972. “As the consumer becomes more knowledgeable, we need to be more accountable.”

The CQM program evaluates risks on farms and maintains records for everything from equipment-cleaning and temperature monitors to checking water quality on the farm and ensuring medications are out of a cow’s system before her milk enters the food supply. Today, more than 60 per cent of Alberta’s dairy producers are on the nationally run/provincially administered program. By August 2009, it will be mandatory for all dairy producers.

Not only dairy, but beef, poultry and pork producers also currently have their own stringent farm-food safety programs.

Why do people get sick?

While there are high-profile cases that arise from farms or processing facilities, such as last summer’s listeriosis, most food safety experts say that food-borne illnesses are usually caused by mishandling our food at home. Lynne McMullen agrees. She says it’s not often that problems occur on the food producers’ side, but when they do, the effects are magnified. In the Maple Leaf case, distribution of the contaminated meat was so wide that bacteria on just one meat-slicing machine affected products across the country.

“We have a pretty safe food supply,” McMullen says. “But things do go wrong. The industry needs to take responsibility. You can’t inspect safety into a product.” In Ontario, Maple Leaf responded to the crisis by changing its equipment sanitizations procedures.

Of greater concern, in terms of potential for food-borne illness, is what happens in the kitchens of Canada. McMullen says that we have increased our food contamination risks by not teaching food safety in school. “Taking home economics out of high schools has made us a population who doesn’t know safe food handling. People make mistakes.

You’ve got to think about washing your hands. Use different cutting boards. We don’t do a good job educating people.”

Jay Adams, senior dairy inspector with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, agrees that consumers have to take responsibility for the care of the food they eat. He and his inspectors check Alberta dairy facilities for safe handling practices and cleanliness. They send finished products to their lab for testing. Adams says that dairy is the most commonly

tested commodity in Alberta.

According to Laing, random lab tests target producers eight to 15 times per month, and every truckload of milk headed for processing is tested for antibiotic residues. However, Adams notes that “all the testing in the world won’t prevent milk from going bad if it isn’t taken care of properly.”

“For every hour you leave milk out on the counter, unrefrigerated, that shortens the life of the milk for one day,” says Adams. “And for the most part, you cannot taste bacteria. Cold milk will taste the same. People don’t know that. They get a sub from a store, throw it in the vehicle where it sits for two days. And they wonder why they get sick.”

Tips to take home

Most food safety problems arise far from farms, facilities and stores; they happen at home. But you can take steps to keep your food safe.

• Before you start preparing food, wash your countertops, sinks and especially your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap.

• Use clean utensils and cutting boards. Disinfect with 5 mL bleach to 1 L water.

• Avoid cross-contamination. Wash your hands and utensils thoroughly when you switch from preparing meat, for example, to preparing vegetables.

• Change your dishcloth daily.

• Wash fruit and vegetables in soapy water before cutting them up or eating them.

• Though there is some dispute, play it safe and avoid thawing meats at room temperature.

• Serve food with a dedicated serving spoon or fork.

That is, don’t use the turkey fork to spear the spuds or serve cranberry sauce.

• Stow leftovers in the fridge right away.

• Cook food thoroughly according to CFIA guidelines, using a thermometer.

• Always avoid food with visible mold, cracked eggs, food past its “best before” date or canned foods from a dented or bulging can.

Source: Alberta Health Services/Capital Health

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Dinnertime in Alberta Despite her brush with illness and because of her deep knowledge of food safety, McMullen is confident in our food supply. And nothing slows Holowaychuk down when a perfectly cooked steak is placed in front of him. His involvement in the food safety industry brings confidence. “I do feel that Alberta meat is safe,” he asserts. “And I’m comfortable with our facilities.”

Pane di Casa

10/22/08 10:35:37 AM

Too much sodium is a bad thing for your health. Here’s how to cut down on your intake story by Malcolm Azania

16

food for thought winter 2008

S

alt is everywhere: in our home-cooked meals, takeout dinners, even in our desserts. As flavours go, it’s great stuff. It adds that certain something to everything from salads to Szechuan. But even though we need sodium to survive, our bodies aren’t designed to take in too much. We shouldn’t consume more than 2.3 grams of sodium a day, yet, according to Statistics Canada, 60 per cent of women and 85 per cent of men are consuming three times that amount. Too much salt may contribute to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cataracts, kidney stones, osteoporosis and stomach cancer. Health issues aside, overindulging in salt also leads to a general loss of taste. When your tongue is numb, you can’t fully enjoy the range of food’s many tastes.

So how do we shake off the salt shaker? According to cooking instructor and food activist Gail Hall of Seasoned Solutions, the first thing to change is our minds. “People need to give food a chance,” Hall says. “Taste the vegetables for what they are. Let fresh lemon and lime juice bring out the flavours. It’s amazing how

Salt tales Here’s a commonly held myth: sea salt is better for you than table salt. Not so. Regardless of the type – sea, kosher, iodized, pink, or Martian – salt is salt. Start reading labels for the serving percentage of recommended daily intake. Instead of looking for love in all prepared places (ketchup, sauces, dressings), try natural whole foods.

Switch to garlic. Buy fresh herbs by the bag, or even keep a living herb plant in your home.

Ditch the dressings Discard your “seasoning salts” such as garlic, onion, celery and lemon pepper. Ditto bouillon cubes, meat tenderizers, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce, oyster sauces, fish sauce and miso. Toss away packaged tacos, gravy, salad dressings, instant soups and chili mixes for bad measure. Instead, try dry spices, exchange staple squeeze-bottle sauces such as ketchup for salt-free versions, and eliminate cooking wine altogether, which has added salt, and use table wine instead.

Get leafy Start marinating with herbs and spices. Bathe your meat in a rainbow of vinegars, blended with canola and thick, potent mustards. The longer they wait, the better they’ll taste. If you’re in a rush, use your marinating time to get salad and whole grain pasta ready. If you can plan ahead, let the meat soak for half a day.

quickly you can taste natural salts and sugars.”

When it comes to fast food, there’s no escape from sodium, even in the “healthy alternatives.”

The lower salad dressings are in fat and carbohydrates, the higher they tend to be in sodium. The situation is so serious that the government has responded. Health Minister Tony Clement created the Sodium Working Group in 2007, a saltsuppression league comprising food industry executives, academics and health advocates.

They’re hoping to limit the amount of salt added to processed foods, which may contribute to an annual 72,338 deaths by cardiovascular disease in Canada, reported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. So far, the major fast food companies are holding back. The best advice is to cut back on your own. You may even find you prefer the natural tastes of food, after all.

Pick your produce Get fresh produce, locally grown. Go to your local farmers’ market, the “local” section of your supermarket or, when the season allows, a nearby U-pick and pluck produce yourself. Grilling and steaming fresh veggies really brings out the flavour. Try roasting root vegetables in canola oil.

Stalk up Want to beat down your high blood pressure with a crispy, juicy, convenient snack? Celery’s been used medicinally since 200 BC to lower blood pressure. Celery oil allows muscles that regulate blood pressure to dilate and some studies have shown that rats who consumed the equivalent of four stalks of celery a day lowered their blood pressure an average of 13 per cent.

Shut down the shaker Dietitian Susan Klaver knows some people have a harder time desalinating than others, so she offers an easy, and sensible tip: get that salt shaker off the table. Or tape up the top so only one

hole is exposed. Then skip the instant meals and fill the fridge with bright, delicious fruit and vegetables. “My goal,” says Klaver, “is to get people to eat one potato chip and say, ‘Wow, I used to eat a whole bag of that?’”

Don’t dine dumb Don’t add salt to restaurant food; it’s likely already packed with it. Ask the server if any items can be prepared without salt. Skip fast food establishments completely, or make it a seasonal treat. Get your blood pressure checked, and then, after you’ve stuck to a low sodium diet for a while, check it again. The results may surprise you. Avoid the upsell: “No, I don’t want fries or potato chips with that.” Just keep saying it. One day it’ll get easier.

Make your own Commercial dressings are virtual salt mines.

Restrict stealth-health foods such as Greek salad, which is rolling with sodium thanks to the feta cheese and olives, even without the dressing.

Make your own dressing at home with lemon juice, canola or olive oil, garlic and a little fresh ginger.

Fare better with good fare Jean Carper, author of Food – Your Miracle Medicine, says vegetarians have strikingly low rates of blood pressure. Try eating smaller portions of meat and add some meatless meals. Look for dining establishments that belong to Original Fare, an alliance of restaurants specializing in locally grown and fresh ingredients.

Visit DineAlberta.ca for a list of producers supplying retailers and restaurants, and a list of participating restaurants and cooking schools.

So salty you’re sorry

• A single Tim Hortons Southern Country Raspberry Biscuit contains around 1,070 mg of sodium • Harvey’s Big Harv with Cheese contains 1,211 mg • Burger King’s BK Big Fish Sandwich, McDonald’s Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic, Swiss Chalet’s Messy Chicken Sandwich and two large slices of Boston Pizza’s Bacon Double Cheeseburger pizza clock in around 1,300 mg each • KFC’s Chicken Twister has over 1,529 mg • Pizza Hut’s Pepperoni Lover’s Personal Pan Pizza has 1,830 mg sodium • Subway’s 12-inch Meatball Marinara Sub comprises a stunning 2,580 mg

www.growingalberta.com

17

18

food for thought winter 2008

Dean Kennedy spent his early working life skating on thin ice; it was perfect training for life on the farm story By debby waldman photograph by ewan nicholson

WHEN DEAN KENNEDY’S PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY CAREER DREW TO a close in the late 1990s, he didn’t wallow in self-pity. He didn’t fantasize about his glory days with the LA Kings, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers. He’d given his hockey career everything he had.

When he collected his pay he’d look at the numbers on the cheque and think, “That’ll get me another 10 acres.”

Today, Kennedy and his wife Tammy own 1,120 acres and rent another 400 in their dream location: the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, eight kilometres south of Pincher Creek with picture-perfect views of Victoria Peak and Corner Mountain, also known as Prairie Bluff. Kennedy Ranch is home to 175 mother cows, half purebred Angus (seed stock) and half commercial Angus (for beef production).

One of four new spokesmen for the Alberta Beef Producers (another is fellow NHL vet Brian Sutter), Kennedy has traded his days in windowless hockey arenas for days and nights overseeing calving, weaning, branding, fattening stock, and consulting with neighbouring ranchers on everything from when to buy more cattle to how to deal with grain shortages.

He couldn’t be happier. “I don’t look over the hill and think, ‘I could be working in the oil patch and making a fortune,’” he says. “I don’t think about those things because this is what I like to do. This is who I am.”

Growing up on a family farm in Redvers, Saskatchewan, Kennedy knew he wanted to either play hockey or become a farmer. “I never thought I’d play professionally,” he says. “It was a dream, but I didn’t think it’d be a reality.” But it was.

The LA Kings made him the 39th pick in the 1981 NHL draft, and Kennedy spent the next 13 years moving around in the league. In 1985, he married Tammy, who shared his goal to have a ranch and raise their kids “close to a good town with good friends, good neighbours all around.” www.growingalberta.com

19

Still, making the transition from hockey to ranching in the midprofessionally, if the team was at home, he’d leave for practice at 1990s wasn’t easy. For the first couple of years Kennedy says he really, around nine in the morning and be home by 1:30 p.m. Those hours really missed the game. “I always had this feeling that the phone was were more physically demanding than 99.9 per cent of the days he going to ring and I was going to be told that I had to be on a flight spends on the ranch. Even though he works long hours and has days tomorrow morning to go to some different city to play,� he says. when he falls into bed tired, it’s a different kind of tired. “It’s not that “When spring came around and playoffs started, and when training hour on the ice that absolutely knocks you on your butt. I’m able to camp started in the fall, I got really agitated. It took a couple of years to manage my time and be my own boss. I don’t have a coach tapping me on the shoulder and saying ‘no, down and back one more time.’ get away from the routine and the involvement in hockey.�

The demands are different, the fatigue is different, and the rewards are After so many years in sports, it helped that the importance of different, too.� teamwork had already been drilled into him. Whether he’s working, He’s grateful for both experiences. socializing with neighbours and ranching partners Michelle and Stacey Stauffer, or accepting a hand when needed, Kennedy has forged strong relationships with his peers on the eastern slope. Those relationships have been particularly important over the Cheeseburger meat loaf past few years.

Ranching has taken some hard hits, starting with the BSE crisis of 2003. Just as the industry This is a favourite around the Kennedy house, was rebounding, operational costs began to skya specialty that Tammy makes. rocket, while product values did not. What has 1/2 cup (125 mL) ketchup, divided short sides. Top with the mustard and relish. increased in value is popular support for locally

1 egg Sprinkle one cup shredded cheese on top. grown produce.

Roll up the loaf starting with the short side, As a cow-calf operator, Kennedy usually 1/4 (60 mL) cup dry bread crumbs pulling away the waxed paper as you go. Seal grazes his calves to 800 or 900 pounds. He sells

1 tsp (5 mL) onion powder the seams and ends well.

1 1/2-2 lbs lean ground beef them to feed lots in uniform packages, groups in • Place the loaf seam-side down in a greased

(680-900 g) which the cattle all weigh and look the same.

11 x 7 x 2� baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes (for

2 tsp (10 mL) prepared mustard Cattle that don’t fit those packages remain at the 1 pound) to 60 minutes (for 1 1/2 pounds).

2 tsp (10 mL) dill pickle relish ranch until they are processed. Kennedy then Remove from the oven, pour the juices off 2 cups (500 mL) shredded cheddar hand-delivers the meat to customers, a task he the pan, and place the remaining cheese on cheese, divided finds especially rewarding. “It’s that trust that the loaf. Return to the oven for five minutes they know where the product is coming from, or until the cheese melts. and they know that I believe very strongly in it,â€? • In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the • Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. ketchup, the egg, bread crumbs, and onion he says. “Whether I sell that animal at 800 Serves 6. powder. Crumble beef over the mixture and pounds to a feedlot or at 1,400 pounds cut, blend it together with your hands.

Per serving (made with 1 lb beef): 370 calories, wrapped and frozen, I still take great pride in • Pat the mixture into a 10 x 6� rectangle on 25.1 g fat (12.8 g saturated, 9 g monounsaturawhat I do.� waxed paper.

Spread the remaining ketchup ted, 1.1 g polyunsaturated), 25.5 g protein, 10 g Kennedy doesn’t keep up with hockey these over the meat to within a half inch of the carbohydrate, 118 mg cholesterol, 0.6 g fibre. days, although he’s aware of who’s in the playlong sides and one and a half inches of the 61% calories from fat. offs, who’s won the Stanley Cup, and when the Flames make a trade. Back when he played

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Wintertime in Alberta doesn’t have to signal the end of harvest time.

Find out about a veggie bonanza story By Ryan Smith / photOgraphy by dwight arthur

Every winter, thousands of Albertans flock

g o o d g r e e n s : The Tiemstra family of Gull Valley Greenhouses grow mid-winter veggies as part of Pik-n-Pak Produce in Lacombe

south to warmer climes. But while they bask in the sun, turning their skins various shades of red and brown, truckloads of green Mexican field tomatoes rumble towards supermarkets in the neighbourhoods they just fled.

Along the way, the unripe vegetables are gassed to quicken their maturation process, turning their skins red, too.

Call it the crimson criss-cross – colourful evidence that living on the Canadian prairies in the 21st century still requires making some concessions, such as foregoing fresh, locally grown vegetables during the cold months.

“That’s the reality and it’s too bad because, all else being equal, fresh vegetables taste better and are more nutritious,” says Robert Spencer, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

The good news is Alberta growers are working hard to circumvent solar patterns and provide fresh ingredients for a salad any time of the year. Of course, there are limits to field production: frozen ground has obvious “fertility issues,” no matter how creative a grower may be. But greenhouse operators see room for growth.

“We’re called Sunny Alberta, right? It’s sunshine that makes a pepper or tomato sweeter. That’s why vegetables grown here taste better than the ones you’ll get from elsewhere,” says Peter Oudijn, co-owner of the Root Sellar Garden Centre, home to three acres of greenhouses in northeast Edmonton.

Currently, about 400 commercial greenhouses cover 118.5 hectares (293 acres) of the province, with most of them located in the

www.growingalberta.com

21

Let there be light

A stroll through the Doef family greenhouse facility near Lacombe may not reveal anything extraordinary, at first glance. But look up and you notice what seem to be small spaceships hovering above the crops.

As Eric Doef explains, the devices aren’t alien, but they are space-age: high-tech lights used to promote yearround growing.

Doef declined to say exactly how much the lights cost, but he did admit “they weren’t cheap,” and he and his family had a few restless nights three years ago when they decided to buy them for their six-acre complex. Doef’s Greenhouses is currently the only major commercial greenhouse in Alberta to use them.

“It was a big investment, for sure, and it comes with a lot of risks,” says Doef, general manager of the business his dad, Joe, started in the mid-1980s.

Aside from set-up costs, the lights are expensive to run, but that can be reduced somewhat by running them during off-peak hours, when pulling power from the electricity grid is cheaper. Also, the lights warm the greenhouses a bit when they run, slightly offsetting heating costs.

The Doefs, who are partners in the Pik-N-Pak co-op, grow cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and eggplants, but in the first two years they’ve had their lights they’ve only grown cucumbers yearround. So far.

“Peppers don’t respond very well to the lights, but cucumbers are great,” he says.

This year, the Doefs will experiment and try to grow two rows of tomatoes through the winter months. The yield will be sent to supermarkets all around the province.

The first year the Doefs had the lights, they had “a good year,” but last year, things didn’t work so well, Doef says, declining to elaborate. But he has high hopes for this year.

“There are always are a lot of unknowns in this business. Will we get a lot of sun? What price will we get at the market? How will a new product work out? Labour issues. But we’ve been doing this for awhile now, and we’re always learning. So, we’ll see,” he says.

Medicine Hat, Lacombe and Edmonton areas.

Collectively, the industry in Alberta is now worth about $140 million and provides more than 4,500 jobs. Most of the businesses are family-run operations.

About 50 per cent of Alberta greenhouses cultivate cut flowers, bedding plants, foliage plants and tree seedlings. The other half mainly grow vegetables, particularly cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and lettuce. However, the array of greenhouse-grown vegetables in Alberta is huge, producing everything from arugula to rutabagas.

Much of the locally grown produce can be found on tables in farmers’ markets throughout the province. It also makes its way to bins in specialty grocery stores and major supermarkets, as well as kitchens in local restaurants. However, supplies dwindle in concert with the cold, dark days.

“There’s definitely a demand for locally grown vegetables in Alberta, but it’s a tough business, especially with the downtime in the winter. There is a lot of competition, and there are always a lot of financial pressures, particularly energy and labour costs. But the exciting thing is that our growers are innovative and constantly producing more and better products,” says Lyle Aleman, general manager of Red Hat Co-op Ltd., the largest greenhouse growers partnership in Alberta.

Greenhouse operators have boosted their yields through the use of hydroponics and automated greenhouses that adjust themselves to atmospheric conditions. Also, the operators are becoming savvier with their use of biologicals – plant-friendly bugs that prey on the bugs that harm plants. It’s a natural, though expensive, way to protect the produce without resorting to pesticides.

Lyle Aleman

22

food for thought WINTER 2008

“Greenhouses are basically a Club Med for bugs, and if you want to run your greenhouse organically, it can be done, but your arsenal is limited,” says Tracy Hotchkiss, who, along with husband Paul, operates Hotchkiss Herbs and Produce Ltd., a greenhouse outside Calgary.

Carolyn Tiemstra of Gull Valley Greenhouses, which is a member of the Pik-n-Pak Produce co-op in Lacombe, commiserates with Hotchkiss. “Bad bugs can make a mess of your greenhouse, and we’re pesticide-free, so we spend a lot on biologicals. Sometimes my husband will say, ‘Oh, I wish I could just spray these plants and get rid of these stupid bugs.’

But, of course, we don’t do it,” Tiemstra says.

“We have practiced selective breeding over the years to allow us to grow heirloom tomatoes organically. You can’t find tomatoes like these anywhere else in the world,” adds Hotchkiss, who sells these types of tomatoes to boutique grocery stores and upscale restaurants all around the province.

However, Hotchkiss acknowledges there is a “huge drop” in production over the winter months due to the low light levels, and this year they’ve decided to turn off the heat in their greenhouses altogether to try to “freeze the bejeepers” out of the pests that feed on their produce.

“You have to make sacrifices in the winter, and even then vegetables don’t taste as good as they do in the other times of the year, because you need that sunshine,” Hotchkiss says.

A few years ago, the Hotchkisses tried to enhance winter growing with supplemental lighting, a venture that proved too expensive.

Currently, Doef’s Greenhouses, a family-

If you want to eat locally, put your money where your mouth is. “People vote with their dollars,” Aleman adds. “So, if they want to support local growers, that’s how they can do it. For our part, we work hard to put out top quality products, but we’d also like to have a labelling system in place at supermarkets so the choice is clearer for the consumers.”

Of course, devotees of fresh can always bypass the market and grow their own food year-round in their own greenhouses. That’s not as easy as it may sound.

run operation and also a member of the Pik-nPak Produce co-operative located near Lacombe, is the only major greenhouse in the province using commercial-calibre artificial lighting (see sidebar opposite).

Aleman notes that a number of greenhouses in the Red Hat Co-opertive are close to following in the Doef family’s footsteps.

“But artificial lighting comes with great expense and high risks,” says Aleman. “The upside is that growers can get up to three times the price compared to other times of the year, but that’s risky, too, because prices fluctuate week-to-week based on how much product is coming in from other parts of the world.”

The winter vegetable vacuum in Alberta is usually filled with products from the southern U.S. and Mexico. Oudijin, for one, cites the spraying of unripe Mexican field tomatoes with ethylene as an example of a practice that diminishes the quality of the final product.

“Fast food operators like firmer tomatoes, because they’ll stay firm for four or five hours after you cut them, but a lot of people think they taste like cardboard,” Aleman adds. “A fresh tomato is usually juicy, messy and sweet.”

Many of the greenhouse operators would like to see a “point of orgin” labelling system implemented in Alberta, similar to those in Europe, and already in Canada in provinces such as Ontario and B.C., allowing customers to see where produce was grown. “Locally grown veggies can be more expensive, but we know the demand is there,” Aleman says.

“Most people know there are a lot of good reasons to buy locally grown vegetables, and we’re trying to work with the government and others to do a better job of spreading the word.”

Oudijin’s shop, the Root Sellar, sells the type of greenhouses that people can set up in a backyard, but he admits trying to grow on your own is a challenge.

“Most people can grow healthy plants in the spring in Alberta, but growing in the winter? I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but it is very tricky. You really have to know what you’re doing, and even then it’s really hard,” he says.

It’s enough to make you turn green with envy.

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An InstItute of technology commItted to student success www.nait.ca/continuingeducation

Pocket Perfection

Every cuisine has its dumpling, and an Alberta favourite is Slavic Europe’s humble perogy Story By Sally Johnston / Photography By Amy Senecal For the perfect perogy, it’s all about the dough and the way you handle it. Just ask Olya Vrana, a Ukrainian baba, or grandmother.

“The dough must be soft, so it will roll out and so that we can shape it,” says Vrana. “Watch. Like this.” Deftly, she scoops a small ball of dough into the palm of her hand and uses her fingertips to press it into a circle.

She drops a teaspoonful of cheese and potato filling into the centre, folds over the sides and pinches the edges together. Presto – a perfectly formed specimen of the stuffed unleavened dough pockets that are so popular with Canadians of Slavic heritage.

“Now, your turn,” smiles Vrana.

My mission – to learn how to make perogies – has brought me to this warm kitchen in the basement of St. Michael’s seniors’ centre in north Edmonton. Here, a team of women from the old country listen to Ukrainian folk music on a battered cassette player, and work proudly to keep their culinary tradition alive.

This is the home of Baba’s Own, a unique food operation winning rave reviews since 1991 for handmade Slavic delicacies, including perogies, which Vrana and the other ladies call pyrohy. In 2008, Reader’s Digest magazine ranked Baba’s Own the best perogies in Canada, citing their “perfect mix of delicacy and heartiness.”

Bonnie Boykiw agrees. She’s been selling Baba’s Own at her Good Earth Produce grocery store in Edmonton for several years, and they’re a big hit with customers. “This is as close to homemade as you’ll get. The quality is incredible,” she says. She compares them to the perogies her own grandmother made.

Each week, Olya Vrana and five other women produce an astonishing 60,000 perogies in 12 flavours: potato and cheddar cheese, potato and onion, cottage cheese, mushroom, sauerkraut, blueberry and sour cherry, as well as special order fillings, such as curry. They also make cabbage rolls, stuffed crepes and specialty breads.

Their customers are restaurants, caterers, stores and fundraising groups as well as loyal individuals. Perhaps their most dedicated fans are the 350 elderly residents of the St. Michael’s Health Group facilities, which include the Millennium Pavilion lodge and long-term care centre in Edmonton as well as assisted living centres in Vegreville and Spruce Grove.

“About 50 per cent of our residents have Slavic backgrounds, such as Ukrainian and Polish. Baba’s Own perogies are featured as a menu choice,” says Paul Teterenko, St. Michael’s director of general services. “We have some residents who’d like to eat perogies every day.”

In fact, the perogy-producing venture was initiated 17 years ago by a group of residents, unhappy with the perogies served in the dining rooms.

“They wanted to have a perogy-making bee,” recalls Teterenko. “So we set them up with a kitchen and some equipment.”

24

food for thought winter 2008

The tasty dumplings soon gained a following. As word spread, orders started coming in from staff, family and friends.

“The money they made was used to buy recreational items, such as a pool table and a big screen television,” recalls Teterenko. About a year later, when the original group of seniors was no longer able to continue, St. Michael’s took over the enterprise. Proceeds continue to benefit St. Michael’s services and the kitchen staff are now on the payroll.

“It’s given us an opportunity to provide jobs for recent immigrants while they settle in,” says Teterenko, adding that St. Michael’s trains them in food safety and handling techniques. Olya Vrana’s crew includes Vira Tymkiv, Anna Valovich, Leonila Pituley, Vira Tsiselska and Mariya Verkhomiy. They use old-country recipes that have stood the test of time.

Vrana grew up in the city of Lviv in Ukraine, where, at 10, she learned M I G H T Y P E R O G Y: Every country has its dumpling – the ultimate winter comfort food.

Think of pot stickers, ravioli and schpatzle. With more than 250,000 Albertans claiming Ukrainian descent, it’s no wonder that people here think of perogies as Albertan cuisine. Check out Baba’s Own website for retailers, www.smhg.ca/babasown. html, or call 780-473-5621

SWEET SUCCESS: Dianette Mayhew reaps the reward of Berezan’s attention to her yard.

She has minimal space, but manages to grow an edible landscape, with herbs, fruit and vegetables integrated into the pleasing design of her frontyard

In Their Kitchens

how to make the heavenly pockets from her own baba. Now a grandmother herself, Vrana is passing along the tradition to her seven-year-old grandson.

I’m briefly heartened as she hands me an apron and a hairnet in preparation for my perogy-making session.

If a young boy can make them, then how hard can it be?

It’s not exactly hard. But it’s not as easy as it looks, either.

My first attempt elicits chuckles from Vrana and Vira Tymkiv. “No, no. You make banana,” says Tymkiv. She’s right. I’ve stretched the dough too enthusiastically and instead of the desired semi-circle I’ve ended up with an elongated shape.

As I sit beside Tymkiv and occasionally take a sideways peek at her agile fingers manipulating the dough, I doggedly repeat the task a few dozen more times. Eventually, she utters an encouraging comment. “See. They are looking good.”

The Baba’s Own crew begins each day by making fresh perogy dough, a combination of flour, eggs, oil and water in a floor-standing mixer. They put the dough through a manual roller that resembles an old-fashioned laundry wringer and then they hand cut it in circles. They prepare fillings – from fresh, natural ingredients – from scratch, choosing Albertamade ingredients where possible. The team quick-freezes finished perogies in an industrial freezer and pack 24 to a bag, ready for sale for between $8 and $10.50.

The proof of the labour-intensive procedure is in the eating. “Handmade perogies are softer, delicate. When they’re made by machine the dough tends to be glutinous, and tougher,” says Teterenko.

Which brings us to lunch. Vrana and her crew prepare a hearty assortment of perogies, boiled and served with melted butter and sour cream. “Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.” The Baba’s Own ladies and I were raised in different countries but when it comes to food, we speak the same language.

T H E C R E W: (L-R) Mariya Verkhomiy, Vira Tymkiv, Olya Vrana (leadhand), Anna Valovich and Leonila Pituley make 60,000 perogies by hand each week. Also on the team, Vira Tsiselska is not pictured here

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food for thought winter 2008

Follow this cook’s path from kitchen klutz to holiday diva.

You’ll be ready to try it yourself for all your mid-winter holiday meals Story By Noémi LoPinto illustration by isabelle Cardinal WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, CHRISTMAS DINNER was likely to be whole wheat pasta with soy cheese sauce, grated root vegetable salad, and carob peanut butter balls for dessert. There was no chocolate, no Christmas ham and no roasted turkey. My mother was a very talented vegetarian cook and, most of the time, I enjoyed my grilled tofu sandwiches, but a plate of brown rice did seem kind of plain compared to what my friends were eating around the holidays.

Twenty years later, my grilled tofu sandwiches are as good as my mother’s, but I wouldn’t know where to start to prepare a traditional holiday meal.

This year I want to join Canadians who prepare a traditional holiday meal with all the trimmings. But right away there’s a problem: “You have nothing of what’s required,” says Red Deer-based personal chef Al Simoneau, who’s standing in

the middle of my kitchen. Thankfully, he doesn’t sound horrified, just matter-of-fact. Simoneau has inspected the state of my fridge, cabinets and countertops and quickly concluded that if I want to make a feast for a family of five, plus guests, I needed to A) buy a cookbook and B) go shopping.

My spice collection is nice and eclectic, Simoneau says, but for a first-timer he recommends not getting too gung-ho with that tube of turmeric. “When you’re new to cooking a traditional holiday meal, you want to be conservative,” he says.

“No improvisations or fusion cuisine.”

As he rattles off instructions on how to choose and prepare a bird, select a wine, prep the veggies, blend the sauces and build a centrepiece, I start dreaming about ordering vegetarian pizza. Simoneau suggests I buy a notebook. “Build yourself a timeline,” he says. “Break down chores into small steps.”

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Simoneau suggests clearing my countertops of the current collection of dishes, crayons, knives, receipts, bottles, condiments and other foodstuffs, and creating a proper workspace. There’s no shame in thumbing my dogeared issue of The Joy of Cooking for recipes, he says. They may lack novelty but the recipes have been around a long time and people still love them.

“When I host a holiday meal, traditional recipes are what I make. They take me back home, back to when I was little.”

Over Thanksgiving and Christmas, Canadians eat about 10 million whole turkeys, consuming about 4.3 kilograms of meat each. Thanksgiving dates back to European harvest celebrations; people decorated their homes and houses of worship with cornucopias, pumpkins, corn and wheat sheaves. They sang hymns of thanks, recalling biblical stories related to the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. The English traditionally served roast goose, but when they came to North America they capitalized on the abundance of wild turkeys. Native Americans had been domesticating the birds for about 2,000 years. The first European colonists also enjoyed cranberries, corn, squash and pumpkin.

The best turkey dinner I ever attended was at my friend Karen McCullough’s house. Karen is a sous-chef at Edmonton’s La Bohéme restaurant, and I still think about the meal she made last year. The food was beautifully presented, perfectly cooked, varied and fresh, and she kept new dishes coming for two hours. Karen suggested I make simple side dishes, sauces and desserts. Not only because I’d probably wreck a soufflé, she says, but so I don’t spend the big day chained to the stove instead of enjoying my company. “Don’t make something that needs constant attention,” she says. “Don’t make seven different sauces and all sorts of garnish-

‘‘

es with complicated steps. Keep things simple, elegant.”

“You have to plan where you’ll buy so you’re not making multiple shopping trips,” Karen says. “Make sure you have all the items you need before you start, and whatever you can do beforehand, do it.” She recommends I get started about two weeks before, decide what I want to serve for each course, write down a list of ingredients and then devote the next day to buying non-perishables. Then, a day later, she says, go over the list again and cross-check ingredients. Then go shopping again two days before and begin my “prep” a day before my dinner. Which means chopping, mixing, browning, blanching, putting everything into sealed, labelled containers.

“When you’re ready to cook, your counter should look like those cooking shows on TV,” she says.

“You don’t see them measuring and chopping everything. You see little containers spread out around them, ready to go.”

Shopping locally and in season is important to me, so I hit the farmers’ market and some of the stores that advertise where food is from. I need to stay organized to make this work, which is not something that comes naturally. I create a budget and buy a small calendar to pace myself. From October to January there are many social occasions and obligations, and I have three kids. I don’t want to get confused and stressed out. Plus, it can help me remember what I did, and when, so I can recreate the whole thing next year. I create three lists: 1) Foods and Spices I Don’t Have 2) Cooking Tools I Don’t Have, and 3) Decorations. I conduct a depressing survey of my bank account and discover that I need to buy the full range of ingredients on a small budget and I don’t have a meat thermometer, a turkey baster or a big pan. And my plates and cutlery don’t match. But with a little creativity, I turn a disadvantage into a great idea. I hit the thrift stores and carefully choose mismatched but beautiful plates, bowls and glasses.

I call it Gypsy Chic.

The idea is to make the table look colourful and inviting, says Krave catering marketing director, Cheryle LaCroix. A selfdescribed “centrepiece nut,” LaCroix says she has to have the perfect one for every season. If you have no idea how to put together a nice table, then pick a colour and decorate with just that colour, she says. Pair red flowers with a red tablecloth, for example. If you have no flowers for a centrepiece, then gather up your glass vases, stagger them on the table and put something in them, such as pinecones for winter, or coloured leaves in the fall.

“Remember, keep the table interesting,” LaCroix says. Strapped for time and creativity, I decide to let the kids make the centrepiece, using wildflowers, dried corn, gourds and fall leaves.

LaCroix recommends personalizing the dinner plates or arranging a pre-dinner game to help people relax. “Part of the fun is getting people involved,” she says. “I like to start at one guest and have him say something he likes about the guest next to him. I’ve had baby pictures of all of the guests framed in small silver picture frames as the centrepiece of the table. That gets people talking. I also like the ‘share something about yourself that most people don’t know’ game. If the evening has a guest of honour, then quiz the other guests about him. Make sure you have fun prizes!”

Most Canadians celebrate the Christmas holidays with a feast. For some, it’s a moving Christian religious celebration. For

I hit the thrift stores and carefully choose mismatched but beautiful plates, bowls and glasses.

I call it Gypsy Chic.

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food for thought winter 2008

’’

The bird-free option

Just because North Americans equate the holidays with tasty turkey doesn’t mean it’s the only option. Expand your repertoire; go vegetarian with a tofu recipe.

Stuff a pumpkin, zucchini or squash with grains, vegetables, cranberries, apples and nuts. Or take a page from other cultures; many, but not all, of the ingredients are produced in Alberta.

In Mexico City, a traditional Christmas meal is a vegetable salad made of jícama (a root-like vegetable akin to a radish) beets, bananas, and peanuts, and a corn wrap called a tamale, stuffed with spiced beef, chicken or pork. In Russia, people eat 12 different dishes, each symbolic of Jesus’ apostles, for example, mushroom or sauerkraut soup, grated garlic, baked fish, nuts and slow-cooked kidney beans and potatoes. Christmas dinner in Ghana and the Congo wouldn’t be the same without fufu, a thick porridge made of root vegetables and okra soup.

room and decorated each with a nice cloth many others, it’s a time to get the family together for mirth, and beautiful wine glasses. Each plate bore a good cheer and gift-giving. Most cultures around the world have some kind of mid-winter feast. Before Christianity came folded piece of paper with another guest’s name written on it. When the first round of to Northern Europe, most people partook in Yule celebradrinks was finished, everyone unfolded their tions, sometimes tied to the winter solstice on December 21.

Later, Yule was celebrated as a moveable feast according to the paper and told a funny or heart-warming story about the person named there. “You Germanic (lunar) calendar. Christian missionaries to pagan have to make it comfortable for people,” she Europe attached Christian meaning to centuries-old traditions, and the midwinter feast became associated with the birth of Christ. Geography dictated the feast’s main attraction. The Christmas turkey is COME CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH US! North American, where the birds are native. In Europe, Yule was often accompanied by the slaughter of a boar, hence the holiday ham. WhatFor 30 years we’ve served the finest, including: ever you decide to serve, for most families, it’s a • European specialities to Canadian classics huge spread.

• Valbella’s Prosciutto, Bundnerfleisch & Smoked Buffalo GOURMET FOODS • A plentiful selection of gourmet sausages Calgarian Paula Wallace’s family is so large • AAA Alberta beef, bison & venison products A Canmore Tradition since 1978 that yearly holiday dinners rotate from house to house. She actually looks forward to her turn and www.valbellagourmetfoods.ca has been known to start planning menus and vonrotz@valbellagourmetfoods.ca Retail 403.678.9989 | Wholesale 403.678.4109 activities months in advance. A few years back, 104 Elk Run Industrial Park, Canmore (next to RCMP office) she hosted a Christmas dinner for 25 people.

When you have that many guests, you can’t do it OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY 8AM-6PM, SATURDAY 9AM-5PM alone, she says. “Everyone pitches in.” Wallace makes the side dishes, desserts and drinks, and 000.Valbella_1-6H_nBL2.indd 1 11/3/08 9:08:41 AM her husband takes care of the turkey. When their kids were little they helped by making name tags, decorating or cleaning up the house. Now they help prepare and serve dishes. She emails her guests in advance to assign everyone a job: some serve drinks, others serve food, and some are charged with keeping surfaces clear. This military daughter actually wore a whistle around her neck during Christmas dinner. Every once in a while, she would blow it, announcing the next shift. “It was more funny than serious,” she says. “I made them part of it, and they had a ball.”

Wallace brought folding tables into her living

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The No-Fail Two-Week Holiday Planner

With so many social occasions and familial obligations during the holidays, it’s easy to get frazzled. Are you in charge of hosting Christmas dinner this year? Adapt this handy guide to any special meal.

Day 1: Make your guest list; get confirmation of attendance and find out about dietary needs or considerations Day 2: Pen in hand, plan the entire evening’s fare, including starters and drinks.

Create a detailed list of ingredients Day 3: Organize your freezer and pantry.

See what items you already have; check quantities. Check your spice rack, cupboards and cutlery drawer against your list Day 4: Decide where you’ll shop; call stores in advance to make sure they have what you need; plan a route that makes sense. Buy must-haves – such as frozen cranberries – ahead Day 5: Buy your alcohol in advance to avoid the long lineups Day 6: Get the whole family involved.

Assign everyone a task Day 7: Wash your dessert platters, serving plates and trays. Search your drawers for storage containers for leftovers. Check your supply of waxed paper, plastic storage bags, plastic wrap, napkins and garbage bags Day 8: Organize and clean: the refrigerator, range, grill or barbecue. Get rid of clutter; create two work spaces for larger meals. Check your seating arrangements Day 9: Do an inventory of pots and pans and other cooking supplies. For the traditional turkey, you’ll need a roasting pan, a baster and poultry lifter Day 10: Fill salt and pepper shakers and sugar bowls Day 11: Call a select list of guests to enlist help with the cooking, serving food and drinks and cleaning up Day 12: Chop, cut, thaw, blanch or mix anything you can; label and store for the big day Day 13: Decorate the house, set the table and refrigerate the wine Day 14: Get cooking and have fun!

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food for thought winter 2008

says. “I’ve been to events where the host is stressed out and it’s unpleasant.”

If there’s one thing growing up vegetarian taught me, it’s that there’s more than one way to skin a carrot. A departure from old school, I decide I don’t actually need a fancy pan or a baster. I buy an oven bag – just put the turkey in it and then into the oven. This way, I direct my funds to a locally grown organic bird, produce and herbs. I want to keep the gravy simple, and focus on the stuffing and side dishes. To that end, there are a variety of print and online resources that I can turn to for recipe ideas, says Krave catering’s executive chef, Christopher Thomas. “The Food Network is a real vice for me,” he says. “If I have an idea, nine times out of 10 someone else will have thought of it first, or they’ll have written about something close enough. Look up ideas and then build on them.”

It’s 12 days before the holiday as I write this.

I’ve chosen a rosemary infusion for the turkey,

and side dishes featuring as many local, seasonal ingredients as possible. My menu looks like this: arugula salad topped with grated beets and carrots, diced apples and a ginger vinaigrette; snow goat cheese on fresh rolls; roast prime beef medallions in a herb and mushroom sauce, wrapped in prosciutto; butter-roasted parsnip and carrots; steamed green beans with sesame seeds and caramelized onion. I’ve got lists all over the place; my kitchen counter is clear. Like Thomas, I’ve picked the ideas I liked best. I’ll follow Simoneau’s advice and keep the turkey simple; make the guests bring dessert, like Paula Wallace did; emulate some of LaCroix’s passion for decorating and follow my friend Karen’s admonition to pay attention to my guests.

“You have to want to make everyone happy,” Karen says. “And by pleasing other people you should be pleasing yourself.” Which means there won’t be a carob peanut butter ball, anywhere in sight.

Rosemary Infused Mashed Potatoes

6 large peeled Yukon or yellow flesh potatoes

1 to 2 cups (250-500 mL) whipping cream 6 large sprigs fresh rosemary 3 Tbsp (45 mL) butter or margarine

1/4 cup (60 mL) parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter

Salt and pepper to taste Roasted garlic (optional) • Begin boiling potatoes from cold water until they break apart easily with a fork. Add the cream and rosemary to another small pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the cream into a separate container and put it on hold. Add all remaining ingredients to drained potatoes. Slowly add warm rosemary cream to the potatoes until the desired consistency is achieved. Add additional warm milk if you prefer a creamier consistency.

Courtesy of Krave.

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Ready to Boast

A trip to a test kitchen confirms that processors come up with hit products the old-fashioned way: lots of cooking Story By Jennifer Cockrall-King / Photography By Amy Senecal There’s no denying it; food writing is an odd sort of job. I once had a flat of tinned soup delivered by courier to my doorstep because a big food company was keenly promoting its latest product. Likewise, a raw potato sprouting eyes arrived in a padded envelope in the mail one day, an announcement of a new “advancement” in cooking technology by a major french fry chain.

I’ve also sweated my way through a Christmas dinner in June, on a blistering hot day, in order to write a holiday-themed story that would appear in a magazine six months later.

Today my job involves a visit to Lilydale Inc.’s brand new research and development kitchen, located right next to its corporate head office in Edmonton. I’ve been told to expect a taste of Lilydale’s newest Roast & Boast turkey, among other products. I contemplate belting out Jingle Bells to get into the moment. (Hint: My car windows are all the way down; I’m wearing short sleeves and SPF 30.) Instead, I hum a few bars quietly as I navigate my way through northeast Edmonton to the company’s white and greentrimmed corporate headquarters.

Lilydale is a homegrown success story. What began as a poultry co-op in 1940 is now a company with more than 2,700 employees across Canada at seven manufacturing facilities and three hatcheries. Interestingly, this company has always thought outside of the box; it was one of three Canadian suppliers of powdered eggs to Allied troops during the Second World War. The last shipment was in 1949, when the need for powdered eggs greatly diminished. The company then diversified into fresh eggs, chicken and meat processing.

Currently, Lilydale produces fresh chicken and turkey, as well as an expanding line of deli meats, sausages, frozen items and lines of ready-toeat entrees and side dishes in space-age pouches. Ready-to-eat options are booming nowadays, and these products all started out as a moment of inspiration inside a test kitchen. I’m curious to see the process and meet the people who develop these items from just a concept to a product in your local grocery store.

Lilydale’s manager of corporate communications and public relations, the fresh-faced Connie Smart, greets me as I arrive in a jumble of notebooks, pens, camera and other writer’s gear. Having missed the official unveiling of Lilydale’s new kitchen by just a few weeks – and therefore the chance to meet the exuberant French chef who proclaims so enthusiastically, “It’s not just chicken, it’s Lilydale!” in the company’s commercials –

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food for thought winter 2008

Smart has graciously arranged a private tour for me. I’m barely through the front door before I blurt out the first of my burning questions: “Is the ‘French chef’ really a chef?” I ask. “Is he even really French?” Smart assures me that the accent is genuine, and he is a real chef. At the opening, he whipped up and served the Roast & Boast turkey to guests and stakeholders, and wound up being the life of the party. Apparently, the guy is a butterball of energy.

My curiosity sated, Smart steers me toward an orderly office and introduces me to product development manager Karen Jagoe. Jagoe looks the part of a corporate executive except for the white and green-trimmed lab coat. She runs the R&D kitchen. She has assembled her entire team of product developers – four similarly lab-coated women– and I feel like I’m visiting royalty. They have been cooking up a storm for me.

Despite my natural instinct to follow, like a dog, the aroma of roasting chicken and grilled turkey smokies, our first stop is the “micro lab.” I stand at the doorway and peer inside. I see all sorts of technical and scien-

City Slicker A S L I C E O F S U CC E S S : Karen Jagoe (also pictured at left) serves up a bit of bird to some eager taste testers.

Lilydale has been developing simpler, tastier poultry products for Canadians since 1940

tific equipment neatly arranged on countertops. “This is where we do microanalysis of raw materials,” explains Connie Au, the interim laboratory supervisor. Seeing the confused look on my face, Au decides it’s best to rephrase.

“We analyze shelf life, test and determine ‘best before’ dates, and monitor already processed and packaged items for quality control.” The micro lab supports the company’s processing plants, hatcheries and R&D department. Food scientists such as Au provide technical guidance and assist in monitoring quality by performing microbiological tests.

They perform approximately 200 tests a day.

Smart and Jagoe proudly usher me into the test kitchen.

After the clinical look of the micro lab, the test kitchen looks positively homey, with maple cupboards, a toaster oven, microwave, green tile walls, refrigerator and wall oven.

A luxurious long black streak of granite forms the huge centre

island and the stainless steel countertops are everywhere, adding a dash of upscale-chic to this “home kitchen.” Jagoe explains that she and her team need to develop products and test them for home use. The only way to get predictable results and proper cooking times is to test them on the same residential appliances people have in their kitchens.

Planning, cooking, cleaning, testing and discussion: this is what goes on day in and day out in a test kitchen. (And I get to be in on the eating!) I watch as Yelena Yaworski, product development technician, pulls two nicely browned whole roasted chickens out of the oven. She has been working on new flavourings for the roasted birds that you see spinning away in glass-fronted ovens at the grocery store around dinnertime. The chickens are injected with bastes – such as chipotle, herb, souvlaki, and rotisserie spices – so that the whole bird is infused with flavour.

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h ow th e y roll: Lilydale sausages have their genesis in the imagination of a group of hardworking cooks

A Clea r wi n n e r: After extensive testing, the Roast & Boast turkey came out a clear winner, receiving the coveted best new product award from the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors

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In the meantime, product development technician Janice Celeste is grilling up turkey sausages. She’s been working on developing a line of smokies and sausages for almost a year, and has just returned from the company’s Abbotsford-based processing plant where their re-sealable packaging (yeah! no dripping sausage packages in the fridge anymore) will be used to debut a new line of turkey sausages.

I pop a slice of piping hot Original Smokie in my mouth, and then a Cheddar Smokie. They are super lean but full of flavour. I congratulate Celeste on her work. Next, Celeste’s colleague, Yelena Yaworski, carves slices of the chipotle and a souvlaki-flavoured roast chicken for me to sample.

Meanwhile, Margaret Kam is browning cocktail-sized turkey meatballs in a frying pan on the stovetop. She’s been working on an Asian-influenced recipe. Its mouth-watering flavours come from a combination of scallions, cilantro, celery, Granny Smith apples, parsley and Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce. The problem, she confides, is the cilantro, which is a “love it or hate it” herb.

food for thought winter 2008

Her goal is to concoct a recipe that is exciting but will have broad appeal. Being in the pro-cilantro camp, I’m thinking she has a hit. I love the way the flavours come together.

Last but not least, Leslie Barron, a product development specialist, has been roasting up Lilydale’s new star product: the Roast & Boast pre-seasoned frozen turkey that comes in a miraculous bag that goes straight from the freezer into the hot oven. You have to bake it for about five hours, but it’s foolproof, even for a novice cook. The bag keeps the meat moist and there’s no need to baste. There’s even a built-in pop-up timer that lets you know when the turkey has reached the perfect state of doneness.

Jagoe explains that it took her team about two years to go from the initial concept to getting the original unstuffed Roast & Boast turkey ready for market. But the hard work, including countless renditions of roasted turkey, has paid off.

Roast & Boast was so revolutionary that it won Lilydale the best new product in the Deli, Meat and Seafood Category at the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors’ Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards in May 2008. The company’s gold trophy still stands proudly on display in the kitchen.

Roast & Boast stuffed turkey will be released on the market

by Christmas. Karen and Leslie agonized over the stuffing.

After all, it’s pretty hard to compete with your mom’s. But they believe they’ve finally hit the mark with a cranberry and herb stuffing.

Feeling a little like I have eaten a major holiday meal right in the middle of a summer afternoon, I figure it’s time to let everyone get back to more product development and research. Despite the shiny new appliances and the micro lab, I’m struck by this kitchen’s familiar feeling. It’s an eye-opener to see that these high-tech products start out here with women like Jagoe, Yaworski, Celeste, Barron and Kam, who refine their recipes using a tried-and-true method: a whole lotta cooking.

Adv er t ising Suppl emen t

HARD-BOILED DECISIONS Buying habits of egg consumers tell a little about what they care about and where they live

Shopping for eggs has changed.

At one time, the only decision a consumer had to make was between white and brown. But a trip through the egg section at any supermarket now entails more thought. Do you choose the Omega-3 or the free run? How about the vitamin enhanced or the vegetarian-feed option?

Your choice comes down to preferences of taste, health and your perceptions of animal treatment.

Eggs, says Dr. Ellen Goddard, an agricultural economist in the University of Alberta’s Department of Rural Economy, have become a highly differentiated product. “You can look at specialty eggs as a group but you have to understand there are so many specialty eggs, which are all aimed at different target markets,” she says.

Until now, little research has been done on this growing industry. Dr. Goddard’s studies of specialty eggs looked at two different types of research. The first was an examination of household data collected from 2003 to 2006, which linked the

purchase of different eggs to household characteristics. The second was a “stated preference analysis,” which was based on two studies of egg consumers in Edmonton in 2006 and 2007.

With some types of eggs reaching $5 a dozen, Dr. Goddard and her students wanted to understand the motivation behind purchases.

“We ended up with some interesting results from the survey analysis where we tried to link (purchases with) attitude,” she says. “People who had a strong belief about

animal welfare were willing to pay a lot more for free run eggs.” Shoppers’ choices reflected their perceptions about how the eggs were produced “If they had children in the household,” she says, “people were willing to pay more for organic and free run eggs.”

Dr. Goddard says that people who were health conscious, and people with higher incomes (middle-aged to retirees) were willing to pay more for the omega-3 and the vitamin-enhanced eggs, as well as the organic and free run eggs.

The study compared consumers in Alberta and Ontario, finding that egg buyers in Central Canada were willing to dig deeper. “There was a slightly higher willingness to pay more in Ontario than in Alberta,” says Dr. Goddard.

“In every case, in Alberta, people were not willing to pay very much more for the specialty eggs, but if you had to pick one of the specialty eggs that was the closest in value to normal eggs, it was organic.

“Free run had a much lower economic value to consumers in Alberta,” she says.

Organic had the highest economic value in Ontario, followed by free run. “The health attributes didn’t show up as much.”

While the data clearly suggested that older, health-conscious individuals with higher incomes were willing to pay more for specialty eggs, Dr. Goddard points out

that the survey data was weighted towards younger households, who may be more concerned with price.

And consumers switch it up. Research shows that people are not committed to one egg. Factors contributing to this mindset might include a specific item being unavailable or simply the use of the eggs. For example, if the eggs are for baking, a specialty type may be less of a priority.

Consumer motivation aside, Dr. Goddard estimates that specialty eggs comprise about 10 to 15 per cent of the total egg market in Canada. “It’s certainly not going away anytime soon,” she says.

WHAT’S IN YOUR EGG? Organic – produced by hens given feed grown without most conventional pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers Vegetarian – produced by hens whose feed is free of meat and other animal by-products Pasteurized shell – heat treated to kill bacteria on the exterior Free-range – from hens either raised outdoors or with access to outdoors Free run – from hens in indoor facilities living on the floor of a barn or poultry house Omega-3 – produced by hens who eat feed that contains flax, marine algae or fish oils Vitamin-enhanced – from hens with a nutritionally enhanced diet, be it vitamin E, folate or lutein, for example

THE BEAN SCENE You need a little pick-me-up. Sure you love Colombian, but will you pony up for fair trade?

A few years ago, University of Alberta professor Dr. Peter Boxall was sitting down in the Student Union Building drinking a cup of fair trade coffee. His assessment was clear – he didn’t like it.

That revelation got Dr. Boxall thinking about a taste survey, which eventually expanded into a full-blown study of fair trade coffee and the prices consumers are willing to pay for it.

“The fair trade market is after ethical consumerism,” says Dr. Boxall, a member of the University of Alberta’s Department of Rural Economy since 1999.

He approached Michael Ould, the owner of Java Jive, a small coffee shop on campus.

Dr. Boxall and his students had the rare opportunity to conduct a revealed preference study, which entailed the actual changing of the shop’s prices to ascertain consumer behaviour towards fair trade coffee.

While many studies look at beans or ground coffee purchases, this was unique, to Dr. Boxall’s knowledge, in that it

Adv er t ising Suppl emen t

examined a brewed cup. Discounts were offered on various types of medium-roast coffees, with a Colombian brand representing the non-fair trade coffee and the fair-trade brand coming from a cooperative in Nicaragua. The idea was to observe the purchases made by 451 subjects (181 students, 243 staff, 15 contractors and 23 visitors) in response to price, all of which took place from January to March of 2005.

Prices for each type of coffee were typically about $1.50 (Ould absorbed the additional cost of the fair trade coffee himself.)

“Sometimes we made the conventional coffee cheaper and sometimes the fair trade coffee cheaper,” Boxall says. “What we did was adjust the relative price between fair trade and non-fair trade coffee.

“We found out that the price elasticity for the fair trade coffee was a lot different than it was for the conventional coffee.

There is more of a consumer willingness to pay for the fair trade coffee as ascertained using revealed preference methods,” Boxall says.

“The first conclusion is that the sample of people was less sensitive to a change in the price of the fair trade coffee,” he continues. This means that few people would stop buying it, even if the price increased.

Dr. Boxall found that buyers with a pre-existing knowledge of the fair trade market, especially female buyers, were

What is “fair trade”?

Fair trade products have gained popularity in recent years. In 2003, fair trade coffee sales in Canada alone amounted to approximately $20 million.

Fair trade coffee producers are guaranteed a minimum price per pound ($1.26), as well as a premium of five cents a pound if the world market price rises above the minimum price. In 2004, the per-pound price was 62 cents.

“You can see that the fair trade guys are getting quite a premium relative to the world price,” says Dr. Boxall. more likely to purchase cups of the fair trade coffee.

The subjects were also asked to fill out an online questionnaire where it was determined that those on campus would be willing to pay about $1.89 per coffee.

“If we merge that with the revealed preference information, that decreases to $1.67, which is about 17 cents a cup (more than the actual price at the shop),” says Dr. Boxall. He explains that merging a hypothetical number with the real data allows the team to come up with an accurate reflection of buyers’ behaviour.

“It’s solid empirical data that there is a premium,” says Dr. Boxall. “The fact that it’s demonstrated with actual behaviour makes it a very strong finding.”

What ELSE is fair?

Several other popular products are marketed under the “fair trade” moniker. Look around your grocery shelves.

- Chocolate - Cocoa - Tea - Wine - Sugar (imported) - Bananas - Honey (imported)

“Fair trade sounds good on paper,” he adds. “But if you have more coffee produced under the fair trade moniker than you can sell to the distributors, where are you going to sell that coffee? You will sell it to those roasters (companies like Starbucks who roast their own beans) and you might not get the same price.

“Sometimes there’s an incentive to not have your fair trade coffee certified,” he explains. “because you want to sell it on the world market.”

IN THE BLACK Alberta’s niche blackcurrant market takes lessons from counterparts in New Zealand

With assistance from Agriculture Canada and the University of Alberta, he made a couple of trips to New Zealand to research how to boost the blackcurrant market in Alberta.“New Zealand is the poster nation for niche marketing,” says Cuthbert. “They live off of niche markets.”

He found that use of blackcurrants in the country extends far beyond the typical end products like jams and jellies. Cuthbert suggests that there are four factors that explain why the blackcurrant market in New Zealand has become so profitable.

Firstly, the industry is cohesive. There are approximately 50 producers, most of whom know each other and belong to a cooperative. Secondly, there is a reliable commodity market. Most of these growers, for example, have a contract with juice company Ribena, which provides a solid income base to work from.

There are also synergies when it comes to processing. Cuthbert’s main example is that blackcurrants are often brought to apple processing plants during the off- season to better utilize available facilities.

The fourth factor is the implementation of universal product levies, collected under New Zealand’s Commodity Levies Act. Blackcurrants NZ Limited (BCNZ) is

the company that represents the growers in the country. It collects a compulsory levy per kilogram of blackcurrants, which provides the growers/producers some extra money for marketing and administration.

“It also shows some goodwill,” Cuthbert says. “The government throws in some money, too.”

He says that if provinces that grow blackcurrants could come together like the growers in New Zealand, the result could be a similar strong, cohesive industry here in Canada.

“We’re progressing that way,” he says. “I think we’re going down the right track.”

Get the goods Blackcurrants are rich in anthocyanins, which give them their deep colour and also their antioxidant capacity.

According to Blackcurrants NZ Limited, the juicy commodity may have several potential health benefits due to its high antioxidants, including: • improvement to vision • better diabetes control • better circulation • decrease in inflammation • antibiotic effects • slowing of memory loss

Project funding for this advertisement is made available through the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program (ACAAF), an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada program administered through the Agriculture & Food Council in Alberta.

Research is conducted by members of the Consumer and Market Demand Agricultural Policy Research Network, hosted by the Department of Rural Economy at the University of Alberta.

www.blackcurrant.co.nz

Niche marketing opportunities in agriculture tend to arise more as a result of serendipity than by design. To establish a successful niche market, a few things have to be in place: barriers must exist so people cannot get in and out of the market too quickly; the farmer has to have the physical capabilities to produce the item; and the market has to be a size that can achieve growth, without becoming mainstream.

“It has to be a good size to be profitable with growth potential yet stay under the radar,” says Ron Cuthbert, an instructor in the School of Agriculture Business and Technology at Olds College. It’s called being of “negligible interest” to competitors.

“We know what that means,” Cuthbert says. “It means ‘we don’t want the big guys to notice.’”

Such is the case with the 10-year-old blackcurrant market in Alberta. While the fruit is both delicious and renowned for its health benefits (it is extremely rich in antioxidants), there are only about 400 to 500 acres of farmed blackcurrants in the province, mostly in the Red Deer and Lethbridge areas. Cuthbert says that the central Alberta area, the thin, black soil zone, with its climate and rainfall, really work well for blackcurrants.

Travel Wide Open Spaces

Alberta’s beef heartland is sure to hold some surprises for the uninitiated.

See for yourself Story By Wes Lafortune / Photography By Ewan Nicholson

Alberta and beef go together like France and champagne or Switzerland and fondue, but to truly capture this perfect culinary connection, you must make your way to the southern reaches of the province.

Drive south from Calgary on Highway 22 and watch the city’s skyscrapers recede in the rearview mirror. Ahead, the sun glints off the Rocky Mountains and a carpet of gently rolling foothills, dotted by herds of animals, underscores that you’re in cattle country.

It’s late fall and I’m heading towards Pincher Creek to place myself at the epicentre of what’s regarded as some of the tastiest beef in the world. My first stop in town is Bridges Natural Foods. As I enter the shop, I’m greeted by Brad, a clerk and food enthusiast who waxes eloquently, not about beef, but about some tomatoes the store has in stock.

“They’re unbelievably sweet,” he says. “They’re from Room 2 Grow.”

I soon discover that Room 2 Grow is a purebred Simmental cattle operation run by Heather and Norman Dodd. And it’s also a year-round source of berries, vegetables and protein. Located 37 kilometres east of Pincher Creek on Highway 507, the ranch/farm is where the Dodds recently celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary by doing what they do every day: working.

“We usually only take off one day a year,” says Heather.

Which one? “Christmas.”

Located in the heartland of Alberta’s beef country, the Dodds naturally offer 21-day aged steaks and prime rib. But today, their meat must momentarily share the limelight with sweet day-neutral strawberries, succulent beefsteak tomatoes

www.growingalberta.com

39

and bushels of raspberries. Modest to a fault, the Dodds don’t take much of the credit for their choice produce but instead lavish praise on the natural elements.

“I think it’s the water,” says Heather, handing me one of her glistening strawberries. “I think that’s what makes them taste so good.”

Throw in 364 days of work, a keen understanding of their plants’ growing cycles and a sense of pride that only comes from working the land, and Room 2 Grow has become a trusted source of beef, produce and poultry for those who visit this homespun setup.

I wish the Dodds a happy anniversary and a bountiful future, and I continue my journey through Alberta’s beef belt.

West of Pincher Creek on Highway 507, I drive 19 kilometres to the

Beaver Mines general store to ask for directions to Keith Everts’ Stillridge Ranch. The woman behind the store counter knows where the ranch is.

Everybody does. After all, Everts’ reputation as a vocal advocate for the organic beef industry is growing by the day.

A former self-described hippie and once-devout vegetarian, Everts is now an active beef rancher and committed meat-eater. And he’s the founder and force behind Diamond Willow Organic Beef.

He marked out a distinctive place for himself in Alberta’s beef industry when he created Diamond Willow 14 years ago. It’s not a single ranch, but rather a corporation that now includes nine ranchers from the Pincher Creek area, and it markets its certified organic beef through Save-On-Foods in Edmonton and Lethbridge, in addition to select establishments, including River Café and Hotel Arts in Calgary and the Banff Springs Hotel.

A rancher for more than 30 years, Everts grew up in the town of Pincher Creek where his father made a living as a truck driver hauling grain for local farmers. Yearning to see more of the world, young Keith

b e e f c o u n t ry: Everts’ Stillridge ranch – members of the Diamond Willow Beef Consortium; the tomatoes are from Bridges Natural Foods

40

food for thought winter 2008

C A S T L E M OUNTA I N RE S ORT P H OTO COURTE S Y TR AV E L A L BERTA

When you go

strapped on his boots and threw on a backpack to go on a walkabout.

“I travelled a lot, hitchhiking on a poor man’s budget,” he says. “When I got back here, I looked around and asked, ‘Why is it so beautiful? Who took care of it?’ Well, it was the ranchers.”

As a group, Diamond Willow manages more than 250,000 hectares (63,000 acres) that are certified organic. Meat products from more than 2,000 head of cattle make their way to market on an annual basis.

Everts explains the certification process. “Every year, all nine ranches and our processing facilities are inspected by a third party.” To achieve certification, the ranchers’ fields are not sprayed with herbicides, all feed is organic and cattle receive no growth hormones or prophylactic antibiotics.

Everts’ passion for the land is typical of the area’s ranchers, organic or otherwise. “When you buy our beef, you’re buying into your own future,” he says.

Ranch country leaves me hungry for a taste of Alberta beef.

Everts tells me I can buy Diamond Willow beef at Calgary’s Community Natural Foods, so reluctantly I leave this splendid spot and turn my car back towards Calgary. Once at the city’s taste emporium, I make my way to the meat section and select a rib-eye steak and a choice cut of strip loin.

Back at home I fire up the barbecue to battle a cool evening, a hint of the winter to come. That first hissing sizzle as I add the meat to the hot grill is surely one of food’s greatest sounds. It sets my mouth to watering like Pavlov’s dog. Once it reaches my favoured medium rare, I let it rest a few minutes before nudging it onto platters, adorned with some of Alberta’s best veggies.

As my dining partner and I savour this beef feast, I recount that moment from earlier in the day: Keith Everts walking away to finish some last minute work on his land before the sun sets over the snowcapped Rockies. His words ring in my ears: “Why is it so beautiful here? Who took care of it? It was the ranchers.”

When you decide to take a tour of cattle country, don’t forget that Waterton National Park is located just 42 kilometres south of Pincher Creek on Highway 6. A serene 525-squarekilometre natural area, the park features the Dipper and Cameron Trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. For more information, visit www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton.

Also in the region is Castle Mountain Resort with the downhill ski season running from December to April.

Featuring six chair lifts, Castle Mountain continues to be one of Alberta’s best kept secrets for downhill skiing and snowboarding. For more information, visit www.skicastle.ca.

www.growingalberta.com

41

h a p py at h o m e : Maureen Bignell shares

her passion for local food, prepared perfectly

42

food for thought WINTER 2008

A Spruce Grove food store aims to connect consumers and producers, making shopping downright fun Story By Lisa Ostrowski Photography By 3Ten “Is that everything for you today?” Maureen Bignell asks a young man who has just come to her cash register with a package of naturally raised bison sausage. “Have you tried our gourmet mustards before? They’re delicious, and they’re great with this sausage.”

“Oh, really?” the man pauses to glance back at the customers lined up behind him. “I think I’ll just go with the sausage for today. But I’ll have to pick some up next time.”

On a Saturday afternoon, Red Tractor Family Farm Meats is hopping. Customers come here to experience something completely different from the average supermarket. Shopping here isn’t a chore. It’s a family-friendly shop where customers might just meet their food producers.

You’ll always find Maureen Bignell behind the counter; her sunny personality brightens the place. No matter how new customers are to the idea of buying locally grown foods, she’s there to welcome them. Alongside Bignell is her friend and “cooking expert,” Marian Kyle. The pair is unbeatable; Kyle can answer any questions about food preparation, while Bignell knows all the details about the goods, from where the animals are raised to how products end up on the shelves. The pair has worked hard since the store’s opening to create a product line designed for customers who want healthy home-style cooking, but don’t necessarily have the time to make it from scratch.

“Whenever Marian and I are working on a new product, we like to test it as samples for the customers. It’s supposed to be like a home-cooked meal,” Bignell says. “Nothing goes out of our store that’s not absolutely perfect.”

Although Red Tractor has been around for a while, the current store recently celebrated its first anniversary.

Before that, Red Tractor was a co-operative of dozens of farms needing a place to market their goods. When the first version of Red Tractor Family Farm Meats dissolved, Bignell helped to rebuild a stronger company.

Red Tractor has taken a firm grip on the natural, locally grown market in Alberta. Grown on land that is pesticideand herbicide-free, the animals destined for the retail outlet are “raised naturally,” meaning that they are grass-fed, freerange animals. Red Tractor is building the business around its customers’ expectations, as well as educating them to expect more. The niche of hormone-, MSG- and antibioticfree meats has resulted in a growing fan base.

S t o c k & T r a d e : Peter Kuelken delivers a fresh

supply of bison from his ranch. Below: Marian Kyle preps a pie

Day in the Life

Evolution of Food

www.growingalberta.com

43

b e s t o f a l b e r ta : Maureen Bignell’s product line is always evolving

44

food for thought WINTER 2008

The store also includes a number of items for those with dietary concerns. Their product line is constantly evolving in response to the customers’ requests. “Nearly all of our meat products are gluten-free, because of demands from customers,” Bignell says, “and a lot of our prepared foods, soups and baked goods, come in gluten-free varieties as well.” Other customers have requested low-sodium or dairy-free products so Bignell and Kyle have created specialty items including muffins, pizzas, and wedding cakes just for them.

The store also offers cooking classes for people interested in new recipes and in learning to experiment with types of meat they’ve never had before. A couple of times a month, from January to March, Bignell brings in a chef to teach groups how to enjoy the food that she sells.

The shop’s strong customer focus starts with its producers. Peter Kuelken was one of the farmers involved in the original Red Tractor Family Farm Meats. Unwilling to give up on what they thought was a great idea, Kuelken, Bignell and beef producer Doug Borg worked towards opening a new store.

Kuelken describes the impetus behind Red Tractor. “We care about people,” he says simply.

“Ultimately it all comes back to the health benefits. What we eat is our health system – it affects how everyone lives.”

From his farm near Fort Assiniboine, Kuelken provides the store with its bison meat.

He also shares responsibility with Doug Borg for almost all of the other meat products in the store: they own the butcher shop where Red Tractor meat is processed. Although he raises only the bison, Kuelken ensures that all of the other meat products that go through his butcher shop come from reliable sources.

“We try to connect the consumer to the farm. It’s important for me to know that other peoples’ kids are eating ok, and to be accountable to our customers for what we produce,” Kuelken says.

The tight producer-retailer relationship that Kuelken, Borg and Bignell share serves as the basis for a successful homegrown business.

Kuelken calls it “the evolution of food,” the current movement of people wanting to eat nutritious, local fare. Whatever the name for this new movement, Red Tractor Family Farm Meats has found a growing market of customers – and business is booming.

Visit www.redtractor.ca or call 1-780-960-1909 for store hours and directions.

Marianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hearty Bison & Vegetable Soup This soup freezes very well; just ensure you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t overcook the vegetables.

1 Tbsp (15 mL)

each butter and canola oil

1 cup (250 mL)

each: diced onion and celery

1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper

1 lb (454 g) ground bison 1, 28 oz (540 mL) can diced tomatoes

3 cups (750 mL) tomato-based vegetable cocktail

2 cups (500 mL) chicken or vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) water 2 Tbsp (30 mL) tomato paste

1 Tbsp (15 mL) honey

1 Tbsp (15 mL) Worcestershire sauce

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1/2 cup (125 mL) diced carrot

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1/2 tsp (2 mL) fresh thyme

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2 garlic cloves, minced

1, 14 oz (398 mL) can each: baked beans, rinsed black beans â&#x20AC;˘ In a large stock pot, melt butter and oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and sautĂŠ for 7-8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Sprinkle with pepper. â&#x20AC;˘ Add the bison and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, for about 5 minutes or until no pink remains. Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable cocktail, chicken stock and water. Stir in the tomato paste, honey, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and garlic; bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the baked and black beans and add salt to taste. Heat through and serve immediately, or cool completely before freezing. Serves 8 Per serving: 286 calories, 5.6 g fat (1.7 g saturated, 2.1 g monounsaturated, 1.2 g polyunsaturated), 23 g protein, 40 g carbohydrate, 39 mg cholesterol, 10.5 g fibre. 17% calories from fat.

Taste Treats Inc. POMEGRANITE PEPPER POT Excellent! Topping with cream cheese and bagels.

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story By Scaachi Koul illustrations by cindy revell

Have a cow, man!

What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup?

Everybody can roast beef.

What do you call a cow with no legs?

Ground beef What’s a cow’s favourite food?

Bull-ogna

Cow Patties

Why pick one tasty treat when you can have two? This recipe brings together the best of pizza and burgers.

Here’s what you’ll need: An adult’s help or supervision 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) lean ground beef 1/2 tsp (2 mL) of salt 1/2 tsp (2 mL) of pepper 12 – 18 slices of regular or turkey pepperoni 6 slices of cheese potato bread hamburger buns ketchup, mayo, mustard, etc.

Among other things, Alberta is known for its beef, but did you know that lean beef is a source of 12 essential nutrients? This includes protein, iron and zinc, all of which your body needs. The largest exporters of beef are Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and good ol’ Canada. People in the United States, Brazil, and Japan consume the most beef in the world, and recipes vary. Some eat the tail, stomach, heart, liver, and even the tongue!

46

food for thought winter 2008

• Wash your hands before and after handling food • Mix the first three ingredients together in a big bowl and set it aside • Prepare the grill, or heat a cast iron pan on the stove over medium heat • Form the beef into six patties, being careful not to overwork the meat • Grill the burgers for two to four minutes on each side, or until the meat is no longer pink inside • Top each burger with two or three slices of pepperoni and a slice of cheese • Grill or cook until the cheese starts to melt • Place your patties onto a bun • Add the condiments of your choice and

voila!

Hamburger history

The origin of the lowly hamburger is actually hotly debated. Some people blame the Tartars, a nomadic people who lived in parts of northern Mongolia, Russia, China, Turkey, Uzbekistan and more.

Legend has it they used to tenderize their beef by placing it under a horse’s saddle – flattening it into a patty. (Very useful for eating on the run.) Others say it was invented by German immigrants from Hamburg, who brought a recipe for a disc of raw chopped beef with them to American shores. Others say

it was invented by American restaurateurs, or at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1921.

But we know one thing: American doctor, James H. Salisbury, who served as a physician during the Civil War, became convinced that his troops’ diarrhea could be controlled with a diet of coffee and lean chopped beefsteak. He believed that most diseases were a result of an unhealthy diet and developed a meat patty which came to be known as Salisbury Steak.

Where’s the beef?

Look for: Steak hamburger patty zinc protein iron beef ground cattle meat Salisbury roast

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47

Read answers to nagging seasonal queries and be confident that you are heading into the New Year armed with answers / Story by Bobbi Barbarich We embark on the holidays with high hopes and the best of intentions; but sometimes our plans go awry. Maybe a guest is allergic to your best pesto recipe; maybe you forgot to refrigerate the whipped cream. Either way, our experts have answers to your questions.

Is it possible to be allergic to a Christmas tree?

It’s possible to be allergic to just about anything, says Dr Harissios Vliagoftis, an allergy researcher at the University of Alberta. “But allergies to pine trees, whether ingested or environmental, are uncommon.” But if you’re serving a pine-nut-based pesto recipe at your next party, consider warning your guests. It’s better to be red-faced with embarrassment in front of your guests than watch them bloat up with allergic reactions.

3. Drink club soda. Think of juice and pop as liquid candy and pass on alcoholic drinks.

4. Avoid chocolate, caramel and buttery desserts, which are the highest in calories. Aim for fresh fruit. Garnish with light whipped cream or skim milk pudding, spices such as cinnamon or brown sugar, and serve with angel food, marble or sponge cakes.

Is it true turkey makes you sleepy?

Turkey contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid with well-known sleep-inducing properties. Tryptophan is also used to make serotonin, which makes you feel happy and calm, and melatonin, which regulates sleep. Chicken, pork and cheese are higher in tryptophan than turkey is, so turkey’s sleepy reputation may be overblown. Also, tryptophan must also be taken on an empty stomach to make you feel drowsy, so there must be something else making you want to snooze after Christmas dinner. Fats from gravies, butters and desserts are slowly absorbed by the body, and most holiday feasts contain a lot of carbohydrates – breads, potatoes, pies – which increase serotonin levels. Digestion redirects blood flow from other parts of the body.

You feel tired as your intestines divert blood and energy to your guts to break down a heavy meal. Then toss back a glass of wine and it’s unlikely you can blame your need to nap on a little, or even a lot, of innocent gobbler.

How long can I keep turkey in the fridge?

How can I avoid weight gain over the holidays?

It takes 3,500 extra calories to make a pound of fat. Only 100 extra calories per day and, in a month, you’ve added one pound. Considering that one ounce of spirits has 110 calories and a homemade cookie can easily pack 200, it’s no wonder five pounds find their way under your belt before you’re done singing Auld Lang Syne. To avoid spending the post-holiday period plump and in the dumps, try these tips: 1. Don’t stand by the food table at parties. You’re parking your butt too close to temptation.

2. Stay active when you’re not attending holiday functions.

Go cross-country skiing, sledding, walk around the neighbourhood – just get out of the kitchen.

48

food for thought winter 2008

“Assuming there’s been no cross contamination and proper refrigeration, three to four days is a good rule of thumb,” says University of Alberta microbiologist Dr. Lynne McMullen. But there’s no need to overcook your bird to feel safe, she says. “We often overcook turkey, but the Alberta Turkey Producers’ recommendations are sound. For an unstuffed whole turkey, the thigh temperature should read 170°F (77°C). For a stuffed turkey, 180°F (82°C). The stuffing in the cavity should be at least 74ºC (165ºF).”

Since You Asked

Holiday Myth Busters

*

winners HARVEST GALA AWARD WINNERS In October, 1,000 Albertans attended Growing Alberta’s 11th annual Harvest Gala in Calgary. This event celebrates the harvest in the province and honours the excellence within the industry with Growing Alberta Leadership Awards (GALAs).

Harvest Gala recognizes key leaders and agri-food businesses with its annual presentation of these awards.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Corporate sponsor, CIBC, presented the Growing Alberta 2008 Distinguished Service Award to Doug Livingstone of Vermilion, Alberta. Livingstone and his wife Cheryl have a mixed cow/calf operation and are members of Alberta’s Environmental Farm Plan.

Experienced in agri-tourism and catering, they are dedicated to preserving wildlife habitat and natural watersheds.

recipe index • Hot Lemon Ginger Tea – page 10 • The Ultimate Ginger Garlic Chicken Soup – page 11 • Cheeseburger Meatloaf – page 20 • Rosemary Infused Mashed Potatoes – page 30 • Marian’s Hearty Bison & Vegetable Soup – page 45 • Cow Patties (for Kids) – page 46 • Biscotti & Hot Chocolate – page 50

OTHER 2008 GROWING ALBERTA LEADERSHIP AWARDS: Calgary Stampede Education Committee, recipient of the Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development GALA for Youth Leadership Conrad & Rhonda van Hierden – Fort Macleod, AB, recipients of the Save-On-Foods GALA for Community Spirit The Little Potato Company – Edmonton, AB, recipient of the ATB Financial GALA for Economic Development OH Ranch – Longview, AB, recipient of Alberta’s Credit Unions GALA for Environmental Stewardship Olds College – Meat Processing Program – Olds, AB, recipient of the Meyers Norris Penny GALA for Food Safety John Moore of William Moore Farms – Acme, AB, recipient of the AFSC GALA for Innovation Bles-Wold Dairies Inc. – Lacombe, AB, recipient of the UFA Cooperative Limited’s GALA for Rural Development FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about Growing Alberta and the Harvest Gala awards, visit the website at www.growingalberta.com.

11

30

45 you could win

!

Our prize this issue is a gift pack from the Alberta Pulse Growers. In it you’ll find a casserole dish, a cookbook and – best of all – a tasty variety of Alberta’s best beans and lentils.

Send in a reader reply card or enter online at www.growingalberta.com.

www.growingalberta.com

49

Picture Perfect send us your

best food or farm photo* for a chance to

win

$300!

DAISY FOR THE DAIRY: Teenager Danielle Clark took this picture on her family’s cattle farm in Altario near the Alberta/Saskatchewan border.

She brought the glass of milk from her own kitchen so she could highlight where milk comes from, she says. “I don’t think a lot of people realize how milk gets to the grocery shelves,” she says. “I wanted to show Food For Thought readers the background, give them more info. Milk is not just there, a lot of hard work is involved.” Clark called the cows over, placed her glass on the fence post and snapped Daisy the dairy cow sniffing it curiously. Afterwards, “I drank the milk and headed home,” says Clark.

basic biscotti This recipe is a great blank canvas. Try adding favourites: flavour extracts, ginger or grated orange or lemon zest, spices such as cinnamon or espresso powder, and stir in nuts, seeds, dried fruit or chocolate.

2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter, softened 3/4 cup (185 mL) sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

Your own additions

diana’s hot chocolate For great hot chocolate, heat (don’t boil) 4 cups (1 litre) of milk in a saucepan. Whisk in 6-8 tsp (40 mL) cocoa powder and 2 oz (60 g) grated baker’s chocolate or chocolate bar. Add sugar to taste and heat the mixture through. If you’d like a foamy top, carefully pour the mixture into a blender and blend for 30 seconds. Add a pinch of cinnamon or grated chocolate. Serves 4-6. Serve with biscotti.

50

food for thought winter 2008

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir until almost combined. Throw in your own additions and stir just until blended. Use your clean hands to complete the mixing.

• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide in half and shape each piece into an 8-inch long, 3-inch wide log. Place the logs on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, and flatten them somewhat.

• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until firm and starting to crack on top.

Transfer the logs to a wire rack to cool for a bit and reduce the oven temperature to 275°F (135°C).

• When they’re cool enough to handle (they crumble when they’re still hot), transfer to a cutting board, trim the ends and cut each log diagonally into half-inch slices with a serrated knife. Stand the separated slices upright on the cookie sheet, and return to the oven for 30 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen biscotti.

Per Biscotti: 78 calories, 1.5 g fat (0.7 g saturated fat, 0.4 g monounsaturated fat, 0.1 g polyunsaturated fat), 14.3 g carbohydrates, 20.5 mg cholesterol, 1.6 g protein, 0.3 g fibre. 17% calories from fat

Hot chocolate recipe courtesy Diana Orozco. Biscotti recipe courtesy Julie Van Rosendaal, www.dinnerwithjulie.com

* Photographs are judged on technical quality, composition and overall impact. Email entries to contest@venturepublishing.ca or mail them to Food For Thought Contest, Venture Publishing, 10259-105 Street, Edmonton, AB, T5J 1E3. For full contest details, visit www.growingalberta.com.

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INTER’S FRESH TURKEYS .ATURALLY 2AISED .ATURALLY "ETTER

UNSHINE, FRESH AIR AND WHOLE GRAIN Our turkeys range in the sunshine and fresh air on a largely whole grain diet that is supplemented with forage. This is a fine combination for a great tasting turkey.

OMPLIMENTS TO THE COOK Our customers frequently tell us about the compliments they receive when they serve WINTER’S TURKEY. •••• the exceptional flavour and tenderness •••• the richness of the gravy •••• the moistness of the meat •••• the heartiness of the soup stock •••• the purity of the product

We’re proud of these compliments. We feel these are an indication of our turkey’s consistent high quality, a fact that is confirmed by the growing number of our customers who insist on WINTER’S TURKEYS year after year.

J OY TO T H E W O R L D

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Gather family & friends to enjoy traditional holiday favourites, reminisce about the joy of the season and let our expert chefs spend all day in the kitchen, handcrafting a delicious meal for your holiday table. Celebrate the gift of food and enjoy the offerings of the season by selecting the perfect holiday gift like one of our gift baskets, cooking classes or gift certificates as you share in this wonderful time of year. Sunterra â&#x20AC;&#x201C; helping busy people enjoy wholesome meals.

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PROUDLY SUPPORTING LOCAL RANCHERS Darcy Scott & Erin Butters and Family Butters Ranch, Cochrane, Alberta

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