Winter Soups, Part II: Potato & Leek Soup

I had this soup two nights ago and it is amazing! Perfect for those cold, wintry nights.
Locally, I can get potatoes and leeks at the farmers' market - for those of you in the area, there is a lady who sells leeks, onions, garlic and potatoes in the market. She is located just past the donut making machine and the Planet Bean coffee stand. Everything you need for this soup is available there. I also add bacon chunks to my soup to make it richer tasting. Bacon goes with anything, really. I prefer thicker bacon for soup - you can find it at one of the meat vendors at the market. If you're as lucky as I am, you have Hutterite and Mennonite connections. They truly make the greatest bacon.
This soup freezes really well, so be sure to use those plastic containers you've been saving. When you thaw and reheat it, add either stock or water to reduce its thickness. Leek & Potato soup goes well with a nice crusty bread. Enjoy!

Creamy Leek & Potato Soup

Melt in soup pot over low heat:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, or 1 tablespoon butter & 1/4 cup water

Add and cook until soft, but not brown:

8 large leeks (white part only), clean thoroughly and chopped

Stir in:

3 medium or two large potatoes (I leave the skins on and puree them into the soup)

5 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft. This takes about 30 minutes. Puree until smooth and return soup to pot.

Season with:

Salt, to taste

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Thin, if necessary.

If you are adding bacon, cook slightly beforehand to remove excess fat. Chop into large chunks and add to the soup after you have pureed it. If you prefer a chunkier soup, as I do, Puree only 75% of the soup, leaving the rest in big pieces. If freezing, make sure to label the type of soup and date frozen. Enjoy!

52 Weeks, An Adventure in Food

52 weeks. 52 new foods. Life's too short to turn your nose up at anything... this year I vow to say yes and try something new each week. Care to join me? 52 Weeks, An Adventure in Food

Fiddleheads... Not the most attractive of foods, but highly sought after every spring. Before this year, I had never even heard of fiddleheads. Had someone tried to serve me one, I would have flat-out rejected it. First of all, they are one of my least favourite plants to look at. For whatever reason, I have always thought that they are extremely ugly. Second, they just don't look like they'd taste good. Finally, I have never seen them in the grocery store, which means to me that there isn't a high demand for them. But curiousity finally got this cat and I had to know. Were fiddleheads worth the fuss?
Fiddleheads rear their swirly-curly little heads during the first weeks of May. They look like a tight coil of tiny leaves, covered with a very fine, brown, tissue paper-like chaff. Their heads are approximately 1-1.5 inches in diameter. However, if you do happen to find some with larger head, they are still edible provided their heads are tightly coiled. Fiddleheads grow all over the place, but not all are edible. The edible variety grows in mudflats.

I purchased my fiddleheads at the Guelph Farmer's market. A sizeable container was going for a whopping $5, but I kindly asked the vendor to divide the container into two, in case I didn't like them. I took them home and stored them in the fridge until I was feeling brave enough to pull them out again. Fiddleheads store well in the fridge, provided they are well-wrapped. They store for up to 10 days, but are best eaten soon after harvest. It took me about 5 days to work up the courage to pull them out again.
Once I was ready, I visited several websites to see what I could do with my fiddleheads. All of them recommended that I first wash and rewash them. So, that's what I did. I found a simple recipe that I felt wouldn't detract from the flavour. I did not want to claim that I was trying something new, and then lather it in some sauce to mask its unique character. I'm braver than that... I think. I chose a simple recipe of butter, garlic and fresh parsley, all of which I had on hand. I sauteed the fiddleheads very lightly in butter, adding a little garlic and parsley for flavour.

Lo and behold, fiddleheads are not the frightening little things I thought they were. They were delicious! They have a slight nutty taste and a texture comparable to asparagus. I liked the way they crunched, even after cooking.

Delicious and nutritious! According to nutritiondata.com, fiddleheads are low in cholesterol and sodium, and a good source of protein and zinc. They are a very good source of Vitamin A and C, Riboflavin, Niacin, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

I'm so glad that I didn't let my fear of the unknown get in the way of trying these delicious little nutty nuggets. I ate the entire bowl in one sitting! With week one down, I can't wait to see what's on the menu for next week. Unless I can find morels, I think it's going to be Quinoa. See you next week!

100 Mile Thanksgiving Feast

This is a year of firsts... my first year having my own Thanksgiving (just me and Alex), my first 100 mile year, and the first time I've ever celebrated Thanksgiving on actual Thanksgiving. My family, for as long as I can remember, has celebrated Thanksgiving on the Sunday. Even though it was just the two of us, I was most excited about Thanksgiving this year. The challenge: to see if I could celebrate entirely 100 mile.

On Saturday morning, as per usual, Alex and I headed to the farmers market. I carefully selected Thanksgiving dinner from vendors whose food was both local and in season. Since I'm not crazy about turkey (it gives me stomach aches), we decided to get a chicke. We picked up a 4 lb fryer from the Guelph Poultry Market. The GPM sells chicken that is free of hormones and antibiotics, as well as being free range. A 4 lb bird set us back a mere $6.80.

To accompany our bird we chose a selection of seasonal vegetables. We got corn on the cob from the little old guy inside the market. He sells local corn which has not been sprayed. I found an heirloom variety of squash at Bowman's booth. It is called a carnival squash and it is yellow and a bluish colour. The Bowmans also sold me some bright yellow patty pans. This was my first time buying them and only my second time eating them. At Greenfields Organics I found some delicious looking carrots and a red cabbage which would add nicely to the mixture. The two pie pumpkins I purchased came from the lady inside who sells free-range eggs. My stuffing was made with local butter, herbs from my own garden, onion, garlic and celery from vendors at the Market and bread that I baked using Grassroot Organics Red Fife flour. I braised my red cabbage with onions and apple (from the family who sells the apples), along with some locally fermented apple cider vinegar, butter, honey (from Mark McAlpine) and a little of Cox Creek Cellars' Peach Symphony.

Although I know that chicken should be served with white wine, not red, Alex and I had finished the white long before dinner. So, with our feast we had a bottle of Cox Creek Cellars Pinot Noir.

For dessert, my favourite... pumpkin pie. The pastry was made with local eggs (from Shannon Lee's new hen!) and Grassroot Organics Red Fife flour. The pie was filled with roasted and pureed pumpkin, fresh from the market.

All in all, the only part of our meal that could not be considered local was the lemon I used on the chicken and the spices used in the pumpkin pie. Would Thanksgiving dinner be complete without pumpkin pie? And would pumpkin pie be complete without nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and allspice? Absolutely not.

Over dinner I told Alex what I was thankful for. I told him that I was thankful that my family has made it through the toughest year of our lives together. I am thankful for my friends, old and new. I am thankful to all the farmers who produced the food that we enjoyed so much. And finally, I am thankful that I have someone wonderful to share my time with and that he puts up with all my antics and idiosynchracies. I really am a lucky girl.

So, all in all, this 100 Mile Thanksgiving feast was a 100% success! Can't wait to do it again next year! Gotta go... pie time!

Wellington Rural Romp

It seems like weeks since my boyfriend and I have been able to spend any time together, just the two of us. So, what could be better than jumping in the Jeep and driving all over Wellington County for the third annual Rural Romp.
The romping started bright and early this morning with a trip to the Guelph Farmer's Market. Since I go to the market every Saturday morning, this was just a quick trip to grab the weekly necessities. Many food stuffs are at the end of their season and I was lucky enough to get a couple of large baskets of roma tomatoes. They make a delicious homemade tomato sauce. We visited our new friends at Backyard Bounty, grabbed enough greens for the week, and headed out on the open road. First stop, Mapleton's Organic.
Mapleton's Organic was the furthest away so we thought we'd start there. I love driving in the country in the autumn. The colours are spectacular.

There wasn't much going on at Mapleton's so Alex and I walked around and looked at the animals. We spent some time hanging out with the cows, goats, alpacas and the pig. I really wanted to pick up some yogurt but we had a long day ahead of us, and it was a little early for ice ceam. Unfortunately, we didn't get to talk to the owner of Mapleton's. A reported from Cogeco News was setting up to interview him. I hope to return another day, when time permits a conversation. Mapleton's Fat Free Plain Yogurt is, afterall, my yogurt of choice.


From Mapleton's we headed to Shepherd's Watch 100 Mile Market, where we met Carol. Alex and I had very recently talked about how cool it would be if there was a local market that sold entirely local food stuffs. Here it was, in the heart of Arthur, Ontario.

Shepherd's Watch carries local produce, meats, pastas, grains and artisan cheese and yogurt. They also sell wool products, country photography and hand knitted crafts.
Their market doubles as a cafe where they serve homemade meals made from real farm food. What a great idea!! Carol urged us to visit Lynda at their farm. We purchased two coffees (Fair Trade coffee from Birds and Beans in Toronto), as well as some Bison, Wild Boar and Blueberry sausages. We'll be having them for dinner tonight. We said our goodbyes to Carol and made our way out to Shepherds Watch Farm to meet Lynda.

When we arrived at the farm another couple was just finishing a tour with Lynda so we wandered around and checked out the sheep. They seemed to know no boundaries, wandering freely all over the property. bawling at one another when left alone. Lynda took us on a fantastic tour, introducing us to the fascinating world of sheep farming. I was especially interested in the cheese making process. I will save the details for a blog which will be entirely devoted to Shepherd's Watch. For now, I'll say that we thoroughly enjoyed Lynda's company. She was knowledgeable and friendly and I look forward to writing the blog about their operation soon.

From Shepherd's Watch farm, Alex and I headed down Hwy. 6 toward Cox Creek Cellars. What romp is complete without a little wine tasting? I had never tried Cox Creek wines, let alone visited their cellars. For obvious reasons, a winery is a popular stop on a rural tour. We weren't surprised to see that it was busy when we got there.

After looking over the list of available wines, Alex and I selected a few that we wanted to try. First on the list was Russet Fantasy, an apple wine. It was light and crisp and delicious. In the whites, we also tried Cox Creek White and Peach Symphony. Since we had just bought a large basket of peaches at the Farmers Market earlier that morning, we chose the Peach Symphony to accompany a near future dessert that I had yet to plan.

For the reds, we selected three wines; Oak Barrel Aged Blackberry Wine, Cox Creek Red (made from the Baco Noir Grape) and the Pinot Noir, a Chestnut barrel aged grape wine. Personally, I found the blackberry wine far too sweet for my tastebuds. We chose the Pinot Noir. It was light but flavourful and would make a wonderful accompiament to some future 100 Mile meal. The young lady who served our wine was informativew and sweet. We opted to skip the tour since there were a lot of people there and I prefer a more one-on-one meeting where I can ask a lot of questions without an audience. Alex and I decided that we would return to Cox Creek another day. There will be an entire blog devoted to Cox Creek in the near future.

From Cox Creek we headed to Magda Farm, but on the way the Jeep decided it had had enough of the Romp. Somewhere on Fourth Line, between County Road 22 and 20, it overheated. We found ourselves stuck in the middle of nowhere, cold and hungry, in the pouring rain. Luckily, Magda Farm was literally a 2 minute drive away. We opted to stop there and tour around while the Jeep's engine cooled.

I had very recently sworn off grocery store meat for good. I don't like the idea that I don't know if hormones or antibiotics were used on the animal. I don't know what the animal has been eating and I don't know how it was treated. All of these factors play an important role in the decision making process when it comes to purchasing meat. When we stumbled upon Magda Farm we found everything we were looking for. Vegetarianism, while an easy choice for some, proved to be difficult for Alex and I. We are not afraid to admit that we eat and love eating meat... but not just any meat.

Since we were the last to grace her farm, we had Vera all to ourselves. She took us on a tour of the farm to show us the animals. While we walked she explained their farming methods, some fixed, some experimental. What was clear was her passion. She obviously loves what she does and really cares about the animals well-being. Magda Farm offers eggs from free-range hens, pasture-fed beef, free-run pork, as well as some roasters. The animals are hormone and antibiotic free and their feed is 100% non-GMO. Look for a future spotlight on Magda Farm. Alex and I had a really nice time chatting with Vera, but since the Romp was technically at its end, we purchased some eggs and meat and hit the road.

I'd like to tell you that this story ended happily, but it didn't. Somewhere just past Magda Farm, the Jeep decided that it had had enough of our day of romping and stopped. We had to be towed along the back roads to a mechanic. All in all, it was a wonderful day though. Alex and I met some wonderful people and learned a lot. Yay! for Rural Romp 2009!