Okay, this poster has nothing to do with food either...
The ByWard Market is situated at the city's heart and an important part of the history of our nation's capital. The manager is banking on a local-foods only approach, to ensure that the market has a bright and lasting future.
Below: Our parliament buildings are in the background and to the left, "The Laff"-- both a part of my Ottawa (I studied political science at Carleton U).
***North of the main market is a Murray Street, which has been nicknamed "Gastro Alley". The street is known for its leading edge cuisine, sincere emphasis on shockingly fresh local and artisanal ingredients, and an atmosphere of casually laid back cool: http://foodmode.com/online/index.php/2008091981/news/latest/gastro.html
Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro came as a tasteful yet colourful surprise. I'm sad that the photos were so blurry so I'm not going to share any. You can check out their website, however: http://www.sweetgrassbistro.ca/ A husband and wife team have created a welcoming place where it's easy to experiment with new ingredients and combinations. Get this: "he" is Jamaican like me -- now that's eclectic!
***
Saturday night out with the ladies... dinner at Oz on Elgin Street.
Cast-iron grilled bison flank steak, roasted parsnips and more... wow. I should have snapped one of our cute-but-not-quite-competent waiter, too!
Saturday night out with the ladies... dinner at Oz on Elgin Street.
Cast-iron grilled bison flank steak, roasted parsnips and more... wow. I should have snapped one of our cute-but-not-quite-competent waiter, too!
The OPIRG PEAS "Seed to Scrap" Bus Tour was an event organized by members of a new OPIRG working group based at McMaster University. Tour organizers put together a well-orchestrated first hand experience that contributes to our community's understanding of the importance, intricacies, and opportunities inherent in Hamilton's exisiting and future food system. The tour ended with a a reception that included a delicious meal with contributions from Hamilton Food Not Bombs, Eat Local Catering (wicked soups!) and others.
Heart's Content Farm: horses pull ploughs, sheep mow lawns... everyone lends a hand!
Katrina's purpose was to accompany The Ancaster Old Mill's genial Head Chef Bryan Gibson, as he purchased ingredients for a local food cooking class he would be teaching that night in West Hamilton. We met at the Tim Horton's at Main and Dundurn at 4am. It was still pretty dark when we arrived at the terminal, just outside Toronto.
There was considerable hustle and bustle everywhere. A surprisingly large area of the terminal was being used by local farmers who were selling their produce by the case and in bulk to restauranteurs and other food industry purchasers.
This market is special in that it is not open to the general public: not even Katrina could visit unless she was in the company of a chef, restauranteur, buyer or manager. Bryan was clearly in very familiar territory, and seemed to be among old friends with so many of the guys there saying "hello", so Bryan would sometimes pause to pick up on this or that bit of family or business news.
The fact that there were almost no women in the facility was pretty noticeable.
Here's some of the gorgeous Ontario produce that we saw...
These re-useable wooden crates are a great way of keeping packaging use and costs down for farmers. They seem to be a better idea than the cardboard boxes that usually show up at restaurants and grocery stores. Based on what I've seen they mostly end up in landfill... sadly, recyling them takes more time and effort than many cost-focused establishments are willing or able to invest.
Preserves, poaching, platters, pies, pancakes, parfaits -- all perfect for Ontario's pretty and plentiful peaches!
Her plan is pretty cool. The invitation that she sent out to her guests sets the scene:
