I realize I have not been posting much at all in the last little while. There are a few reasons, some of which involve my increased focus on a new career path, some things are personal, and some is just laziness. The truth is, when I do not make a habit of writing reguarly for the blog, it just doesn’t happen and weeks go by. Also, since I have been living at home, there are more people to talk to so I do not feel as much of a need to write about the various things I think about.
No, this blog isn’t going anywhere. I think this has just been another cycle where I don’t post much and the frequency may increase in the future, but I am just not sure. A lot depends on my new plans and how busy I will be. I told you all some time ago that I would not be making a career as a chef and would be looking for a better paying, more intellectually fulfilling line of work. Now I believe I have reached a decision as to what I want. As my background is in Psychology, my first step was to meet with a career counsellor at the University where I did my undergraduate work. She was able to highlight various careers that psychology graduates go into, focussing on those that do not require a PhD, which I have no desire to get. It did become clear that a Bachelor’s alone was generally insufficient for any of these fields. Some required a Master’s while others look for various graduate diplomas in particular specialties. Areas like therapy and most non-profits did not seem to fit with my temperament or interests, but one thing that stuck out was marketing research. I was unsure about this initially because I didn’t know that this was any different from marketing, which is rather low level and rather devoid of ethics. But on doing further research, I found there is a big difference. Marketing research is the field that lays the ground work and provides information for marketers to do what they do. Market research also includes polling firms and all those polls you see day after day during election campaigns (which are now eternal, right?) In this industry, it seems there are many different types of qualifications, from MBAs to PhDs to nothing more than a bachelor’s. Most though, expect some sort of graduate education in business, marketing, or consumer studies. One option I have is a Master’s program here at Guelph, but that is three years, a lot of money, and no direct work experience. And at my debt level and age, time and money are very much considerations. Then I found a graduate diploma program at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, which is about 2 hours away from Guelph. Their program is one year, costs about the same as one year of graduate school, and includes a 3 month paid internship with leading companies in the field, many of whom hire most of their employees from graduates of this program.
So now I have just put in my application for this program and, if accepted, I will start in school next fall and hopefully be working in the industry a year later. Of course this means a great deal more debt, but government student loans should be able to cover all the tuition and a good deal of my living expenses during that time. So if all goes well, I will be living at home for only another 8 months.
Now in the New Year, I find it interesting to look back on the post I wrote last New Year’s Day. On the surface, it would seem that few of the goals I set last year are actually accomplished now. I am not currently employed and do not have a boyfriend. Yet I do finally have a career track planned out, one that should be more rewarding, both personally and financially. As for my personal life, I think that living at home probably has held me back somewhat, but mainly because I am not in a large city and my lack of funds means I can’t really go out much. This is another reason going back to school appeals to me: even though Barrie is not a big city and somewhat on the conservative side, a college environment will probably be good for me. But at least this New Year’s Eve, unlike last year, I was not alone. We hosted a New Year’s party with some family friends, which also gave me the chance to spend lots of time working on an elaborate party menu. Fun times. I do still love some aspects of the culinary arts, but that can never be my career. Maybe one day, it could be a side venture but not a full time job.
I am still thinking about some interesting topics for posts. There’s one interesting topic I am working on now and, as my parents are once again in Hawaii for holidays, I may do some Hawaii-related posts as I did last year.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
Thai Green Curry
People seem to love eating Thai food in restaurants but really do not know how to cook it at home. Like any cuisine, it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Such is the same of one of my favourite Thai dishes, green curry. Thai curries tend to be based on coconut milk and a very intense curry paste, as opposed to the ground spices predominant in Indian curry. The ideal way to make this curry would be to make your own curry paste, though getting the flavour balance and sourcing the ingredients can be difficult. There are good commercial curry pastes readily available in Asian groceries and some supermarkets. Thai Kitchen is a major brand that I can recommend. Just don’t use anywhere near as much as the homemade paste from this recipe as it is considerably more concentrated.
Curry Paste
1/4 cup peanut oil
3 stalks lemongrass
4 large cloves garlic
1 bunch of scallions
a 2-3 inch piece galangal
a 1 inch piece ginger
½ cup packed mint leaves
½ cup packed thai basil leaves
1/4 to ½ cup packed cilantro leaves
12 keffir lime leaves
10-15 thai bird chilies
1 Tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
juice from 1 lime
zest from 1 lime
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp thai fish sauce
ground black pepper
Grind everything in food processor, refrigerate at least 1 hour. Many of these ingredients may seem unfamiliar, which is why making the paste yourself is not essential though it is desirable. An asian grocery is the place where you would find most of these items. Galangal looks similar to ginger but has a thinner skin and milder, more lemony, flavour. Fish sauce is made from fermented small fish such as anchovies. It has a rather pungent smell, but its use in small quantities is indispensable to Thai and much other Asian cooking. It adds saltiness and gives a rounded, balanced, flavour. If you are particularly fond of cilantro (I am definitely not) you could add more cilantro and less of the other herbs. You could even add the roots as well, but bear in mind they have a very powerful cilantro flavour. Possible substitutions include regular basil for Thai basil, any hot chiles for thai bird chilies (just remember that thai chilies are stronger than most) or brown sugar for palm sugar. Like many recipes I have posted, the balance of flavour is all important and you may have to adjust the quantities of some ingredients to achieve that balance. Thai flavour is all about balance. Traditionally, one is to aim for a balance of sweet, sour, salty, and hot. In this paste, you should be able to detect a balance between all those tastes.
3 lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed
1 lb shrimp
1 bunch scallions
1 onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans coconut milk
½ green papaya, peeled, seeded, sliced thin
2 cups snow peas
2 Tsp thai fish sauce
2 cups white or brown jasmine rice
4 cups water
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised, cut in half
3 keffir lime leaves
2 pieces lime peel
pinch of salt
Green, or unripe, papaya is a very thai ingredient. It is often featured raw in salads but I personally find it a little too starchy to be pleasant eaten this way. Cooking it in the curry however, really allows the papaya to take on the flavour it is simmered in. Just slice it thin and it will provide some very nice texture.
In a large saute pan or wok, saute the onion, green onions and green papaya in the oil until the onions are soft, then add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant. Then add the curry paste. If you do not like things ultra spicy, you may not want to use all the paste but do use at least one half the recipe. Cook the curry paste for 3-5 minutes, to open up the flavours. Next add the chicken, ensuring that everything is fully coated, then add the coconut milk and fish sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. After about 15 minutes, add the shrimp so that it will not overcook. When everything is ready, add the snow peas and cook for maybe a minute longer, then serve over the aromatic rice.
For the rice, put all the ingredients together in a pot, bring it up to a boil, then cover and lower the heat to a bare simmer for about 25 minutes (a bit less for white rice), then turn the heat off and let the rice sit for at least 10 more minutes. Remove the lemongrass, lime leaves, and lime peel before serving.
Curry Paste
1/4 cup peanut oil
3 stalks lemongrass
4 large cloves garlic
1 bunch of scallions
a 2-3 inch piece galangal
a 1 inch piece ginger
½ cup packed mint leaves
½ cup packed thai basil leaves
1/4 to ½ cup packed cilantro leaves
12 keffir lime leaves
10-15 thai bird chilies
1 Tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
juice from 1 lime
zest from 1 lime
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp thai fish sauce
ground black pepper
The ingredients that go into curry pasteGrind everything in food processor, refrigerate at least 1 hour. Many of these ingredients may seem unfamiliar, which is why making the paste yourself is not essential though it is desirable. An asian grocery is the place where you would find most of these items. Galangal looks similar to ginger but has a thinner skin and milder, more lemony, flavour. Fish sauce is made from fermented small fish such as anchovies. It has a rather pungent smell, but its use in small quantities is indispensable to Thai and much other Asian cooking. It adds saltiness and gives a rounded, balanced, flavour. If you are particularly fond of cilantro (I am definitely not) you could add more cilantro and less of the other herbs. You could even add the roots as well, but bear in mind they have a very powerful cilantro flavour. Possible substitutions include regular basil for Thai basil, any hot chiles for thai bird chilies (just remember that thai chilies are stronger than most) or brown sugar for palm sugar. Like many recipes I have posted, the balance of flavour is all important and you may have to adjust the quantities of some ingredients to achieve that balance. Thai flavour is all about balance. Traditionally, one is to aim for a balance of sweet, sour, salty, and hot. In this paste, you should be able to detect a balance between all those tastes.
3 lbs boneless chicken breast, cubed
1 lb shrimp
1 bunch scallions
1 onion, diced
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans coconut milk
½ green papaya, peeled, seeded, sliced thin
2 cups snow peas
2 Tsp thai fish sauce
2 cups white or brown jasmine rice
4 cups water
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised, cut in half
3 keffir lime leaves
2 pieces lime peel
pinch of salt
Green, or unripe, papaya is a very thai ingredient. It is often featured raw in salads but I personally find it a little too starchy to be pleasant eaten this way. Cooking it in the curry however, really allows the papaya to take on the flavour it is simmered in. Just slice it thin and it will provide some very nice texture.
In a large saute pan or wok, saute the onion, green onions and green papaya in the oil until the onions are soft, then add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant. Then add the curry paste. If you do not like things ultra spicy, you may not want to use all the paste but do use at least one half the recipe. Cook the curry paste for 3-5 minutes, to open up the flavours. Next add the chicken, ensuring that everything is fully coated, then add the coconut milk and fish sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. After about 15 minutes, add the shrimp so that it will not overcook. When everything is ready, add the snow peas and cook for maybe a minute longer, then serve over the aromatic rice.
For the rice, put all the ingredients together in a pot, bring it up to a boil, then cover and lower the heat to a bare simmer for about 25 minutes (a bit less for white rice), then turn the heat off and let the rice sit for at least 10 more minutes. Remove the lemongrass, lime leaves, and lime peel before serving.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Restaurant Review - Smoke's Poutinerie
A little while ago I wrote a partial review of this establishment and now I am ready to give a full review. This is also the first review I am posting of a Guelph restaurant, mainly because I do not eat at many restaurants here. It will also be something of an analysis of poutine - what it is and what makes a good one.
Most of the reviews I have posted so far are for upscale or mid-range eateries; fast food is not something I would generally consider worthy of review. And not only would this sort of food be considered fast food, but this is also a chain restaurant, with several locations in Toronto and has outlets in several other cities in Ontario and 3 other provinces. But to me, Smoke’s is different, as they specialize in one food item - poutine - and they use quality fresh ingredients.
Smoke’s Poutinerie Guelph is located in the heart of downtown on Wyndham street. The area is the closest Guelph has to a sketchy inner-city area (the storefront on the right is a shelter and employment centre). But more important for this establishment it is only a few doors down from MacDonell street, which has most of the city’s bars and clubs. As poutine is considered ideal late night food for those who are drunk and/or stoned, Smoke’s is perfectly positioned to make a fortune, especially since they stay open until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights. I had already told you how, when I was there at 2:30am during Nuit Blanche, there were huge lines filling the restaurant and it was a madhouse inside. I went back recently at a much saner time and found no lineup at all but there were several customers there even at 3pm, not a typical time for people to be eating something as substantial as poutine. While on my previous visit, I stuck to the basic, traditional poutine, this time I chose from their extensive list of more elaborate topped offerings. I ordered the double pork, which uses a green peppercorn sauce and is topped with chipotle pulled pork and double-smoked bacon. These meats are also part of several other possible combinations, along with ground beef, shaved roast beef, sausage, grilled chicken, chili and even Montreal Smoked Meat. There was also a cheese sauce used on some of the dishes.
I’m not sure that there really is a perfect poutine. I say this because it was originally intended to be a sloppy, utilitarian food, and also there are inherent contradictions within the structure of the dish that seem to deter excellence. Obviously the ultimate sign of quality in a deep fried item such as fries is to be golden and crispy on the outside and properly cooked on the inside. Now the fastest way to turn fried food into a soggy mess is to smother it with a sauce or anything else wet. So in principle, gravy on fries should be a bad idea. While some restauranteurs have attempted to elevate the poutine through the use of high end ingredients such as foie gras (I’m looking at you Martin Picard!), this is a food of humble origins - a workingman’s food - so being too fancy and meticulous seems at odds with what the poutine is supposed to be. The paragon of poutine excellence is supposedly found at Montreal fast food joints and places you could only call dives. I’m guessing they don’t use fresh ingredients or make their sauce from scratch. So, can poutine fit in with attention to quality?
Let’s get back to Smoke’s. I found mostly positives with some negatives in both poutines I tried, and what I found seems to reveal something about what a poutine is, should be, and can be. First the traditional poutine was quite easy to judge as there are only three elements: fries, gravy and cheese curds. The fries were absolute perfection. Soft and tender inside, and the very first fries I could taste before the gravy soaked in were golden and crispy. It is abundantly clear they double fry using fresh-cut, not frozen, potatoes. The cheese curds were quite tasty and at just the right temperature, somewhere between melted and still intact and squeaking. The gravy was not quite what I was used to and perhaps a little too herbed and peppery, but this gave me the idea that the sauce was maybe better suited to the more elaborate choices.
The double pork poutine was quite interesting. With this version, all the meat is topping the poutine, so you don’t get any crispy fries as they are all underneath. But the advantage is the flavour of the meat soaks into the fries and creates a more balanced flavour. The pulled pork was delicious. By itself it would maybe be a little too sweet, but mixed into the poutine and combined with the double-smoked bacon, it worked perfectly. Here the gravy became a peppercorn gravy. It seemed to be the same gravy as on the traditional with green peppercorns added. But where the gravy didn’t seem to fit so well with the standard poutine, it was perfectly matched for this meat-filled version. Which was just as I thought; their recipes are geared toward the more elaborate, topped poutines. Some of the other options on the menu scared me a bit, such as the smoked meat poutine which had Montreal smoked meat, pickle and yellow mustard and nacho poutines with cheese sauce, others with chilli and so on. But this seems to be their focus, so I believe that those should be good too.
I think what I can conclude from this is that poutine is not really an example of fine cuisine, but more a greasy and comfortable mess of food that will soak up the excess alcohol (or the after affects thereof) from a night of excess. At its best poutine would not be too fancy but we can see it is certainly possible to use well sourced and fresh, local ingredients to make the poutine quite close to real food. It can be simple or baroque. In general, I tend to prefer the simple, but Smoke’s has designed their menu to highlight the more complex offerings, so there I do prefer the more elaborate choices.
Regular poutines range from about 6 to 10 dollars, with large (trust me, nobody needs to eat a large poutine) a couple dollars more. They have not only ordinary soft drinks, but some natural, locally bottled beverages as well. This is also a chain restaurant with several locations in Toronto and across Ontario and some other provinces. And I have found out that this winter they will open a location in the ultimate poutine battleground - downtown Montreal right in the middle of the city’s biggest bar scene. Overall, a fast food restaurant with a quality level quite a bit higher than usual for fast food.
Most of the reviews I have posted so far are for upscale or mid-range eateries; fast food is not something I would generally consider worthy of review. And not only would this sort of food be considered fast food, but this is also a chain restaurant, with several locations in Toronto and has outlets in several other cities in Ontario and 3 other provinces. But to me, Smoke’s is different, as they specialize in one food item - poutine - and they use quality fresh ingredients.
Smoke’s Poutinerie Guelph is located in the heart of downtown on Wyndham street. The area is the closest Guelph has to a sketchy inner-city area (the storefront on the right is a shelter and employment centre). But more important for this establishment it is only a few doors down from MacDonell street, which has most of the city’s bars and clubs. As poutine is considered ideal late night food for those who are drunk and/or stoned, Smoke’s is perfectly positioned to make a fortune, especially since they stay open until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights. I had already told you how, when I was there at 2:30am during Nuit Blanche, there were huge lines filling the restaurant and it was a madhouse inside. I went back recently at a much saner time and found no lineup at all but there were several customers there even at 3pm, not a typical time for people to be eating something as substantial as poutine. While on my previous visit, I stuck to the basic, traditional poutine, this time I chose from their extensive list of more elaborate topped offerings. I ordered the double pork, which uses a green peppercorn sauce and is topped with chipotle pulled pork and double-smoked bacon. These meats are also part of several other possible combinations, along with ground beef, shaved roast beef, sausage, grilled chicken, chili and even Montreal Smoked Meat. There was also a cheese sauce used on some of the dishes.
I’m not sure that there really is a perfect poutine. I say this because it was originally intended to be a sloppy, utilitarian food, and also there are inherent contradictions within the structure of the dish that seem to deter excellence. Obviously the ultimate sign of quality in a deep fried item such as fries is to be golden and crispy on the outside and properly cooked on the inside. Now the fastest way to turn fried food into a soggy mess is to smother it with a sauce or anything else wet. So in principle, gravy on fries should be a bad idea. While some restauranteurs have attempted to elevate the poutine through the use of high end ingredients such as foie gras (I’m looking at you Martin Picard!), this is a food of humble origins - a workingman’s food - so being too fancy and meticulous seems at odds with what the poutine is supposed to be. The paragon of poutine excellence is supposedly found at Montreal fast food joints and places you could only call dives. I’m guessing they don’t use fresh ingredients or make their sauce from scratch. So, can poutine fit in with attention to quality?
Let’s get back to Smoke’s. I found mostly positives with some negatives in both poutines I tried, and what I found seems to reveal something about what a poutine is, should be, and can be. First the traditional poutine was quite easy to judge as there are only three elements: fries, gravy and cheese curds. The fries were absolute perfection. Soft and tender inside, and the very first fries I could taste before the gravy soaked in were golden and crispy. It is abundantly clear they double fry using fresh-cut, not frozen, potatoes. The cheese curds were quite tasty and at just the right temperature, somewhere between melted and still intact and squeaking. The gravy was not quite what I was used to and perhaps a little too herbed and peppery, but this gave me the idea that the sauce was maybe better suited to the more elaborate choices.
The double pork poutine was quite interesting. With this version, all the meat is topping the poutine, so you don’t get any crispy fries as they are all underneath. But the advantage is the flavour of the meat soaks into the fries and creates a more balanced flavour. The pulled pork was delicious. By itself it would maybe be a little too sweet, but mixed into the poutine and combined with the double-smoked bacon, it worked perfectly. Here the gravy became a peppercorn gravy. It seemed to be the same gravy as on the traditional with green peppercorns added. But where the gravy didn’t seem to fit so well with the standard poutine, it was perfectly matched for this meat-filled version. Which was just as I thought; their recipes are geared toward the more elaborate, topped poutines. Some of the other options on the menu scared me a bit, such as the smoked meat poutine which had Montreal smoked meat, pickle and yellow mustard and nacho poutines with cheese sauce, others with chilli and so on. But this seems to be their focus, so I believe that those should be good too.
The double pork poutineI think what I can conclude from this is that poutine is not really an example of fine cuisine, but more a greasy and comfortable mess of food that will soak up the excess alcohol (or the after affects thereof) from a night of excess. At its best poutine would not be too fancy but we can see it is certainly possible to use well sourced and fresh, local ingredients to make the poutine quite close to real food. It can be simple or baroque. In general, I tend to prefer the simple, but Smoke’s has designed their menu to highlight the more complex offerings, so there I do prefer the more elaborate choices.
Regular poutines range from about 6 to 10 dollars, with large (trust me, nobody needs to eat a large poutine) a couple dollars more. They have not only ordinary soft drinks, but some natural, locally bottled beverages as well. This is also a chain restaurant with several locations in Toronto and across Ontario and some other provinces. And I have found out that this winter they will open a location in the ultimate poutine battleground - downtown Montreal right in the middle of the city’s biggest bar scene. Overall, a fast food restaurant with a quality level quite a bit higher than usual for fast food.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Cherry Cheesecake
When I was working in restaurants, one of my specialties was pastry and baking. Yet you may have noticed that I have yet to post a single dessert recipe on this blog. First, I don’t do much baking at home and second, I tend more to follow written recipes rather than create my own, since baking relies far more on exact measurements and proportions. But here is a good one for you. I took the proportions from a recipe in a book but made changes to the flavours and used a couple tricks I learned as a professional. This is a fantastic cheesecake that is just a little bit different.
Cherry Cheesecake
Crust
2 1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs - I used a local brand of cocoa snaps
½ cup granola, ground to crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)
2/3 cup melted butter
Filling
3x 250g packages Philadelphia cream cheese
2 oz plain goat cheese
½ cup + 2 Tbsp sour cream
2 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs
1 cup cherry pie filling - see recipe below
To Finish
2 cups cherry pie filling or enough to cover
1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes
First prepare the crust. This follows the procedure for a standard graham cracker crust but I have substituted a few ingredients for flavour. Instead of graham crackers or oreo cookies, I used ShaSha brand cocoa snaps made by a Toronto-area bakery. I suppose some other chocolate cookie crumbs might do - even oreo crumbs if you must. But they should be chocolate as this is a very good match with the cherries. Grind the cookies and granola together to form crumbs and combine with the sugar and coconut flakes (keep the coconut flakes whole for texture). Then add the melted butter, adding just enough to hold everything together. Press the mixture into a 12-inch springform pan or tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until the crust has hardened. Let cool.
Be sure that the cream cheese has softened to room temperature. Normally I prefer organic dairy or at least dairy products that are local and without tons of additives. Yet cheesecake is somewhat fickle so you need a cream cheese that is sufficiently firm so as not to make your filling too watery. This is why traditional cheesecake recipes do not work with low-fat cream cheese - they have more water in them. The next time I make this I will probably try an organic cream cheese and see if it works. Whip the cream cheese, goat cheese and sugar together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until the mix is smooth. Mix in the sour cream. I learned this trick working in restaurants. One of the restaurants I worked in (in pastry) had an amazing cheesecake recipe and the secret was the addition of sour cream. I have since found many experienced pastry chefs also are using sour cream in their recipes. It really boosts the flavour. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Make sure each egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next one. Now with the oven preheated to 325 degrees, assemble the cheesecake. Pour the batter into the crust, then take the cherry filling and swirl spoonfuls of it into the batter. This will produce a small amount of marbling in your cheesecake. Bake in the centre of your oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cheesecake has firmed up. Then turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for another hour. This will allow the cake to cool more gradually without cracking. Due to the low oven temperature and a relatively small amount of egg, you don’t need a water bath for this recipe. Leave it to finish cooling at room temperature but do not take it out of the pan until fully cooled. Once cool, refrigerate the cake overnight. When ready to serve, unmold and top the cake with more of the cherry filling, leaving maybe a half-inch on the outside uncovered. Sprinkle flakes of toasted coconut on top and serve.
Cherry Pie Filling
No - I am not saying it’s okay to buy a commercial product here. This is rather easy and quick to make. The only difficulty is that it is hard to make this in small quantities. But then, you would require large amounts of this if you ever want to make cherry pie, and if you freeze the excess you will have filling available.
1 1/4 litres water
1 litre cherry juice
680 g sugar
170 g cornstarch
10 lbs thawed frozen sour cherries (in cherry season, stores often carry 10lb pails of frozen, pitted cherries exactly for this purpose - making pie)
Juice of ½ lemon
If the cherries are packed with sugar you will need to calculate how much sugar is already in the cherries and subtract that from the amount of sugar called for. 10% sugar by weight is typical, therefore a 10lb pail of sweetened cherries would contain 1lb of sugar (454g), meaning you would only add 266g of additional sugar. Cherry juice can be found at health food stores.
Combine half the cherries, one litre of water, the cherry juice and sugar in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the cherries have cooked down and softened. Then add the remaining cherries and the lemon juice and bring back to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch into the remaining 250 ml of water, then whisk this mixture into the cherries. Let this boil for one minute, whisking constantly, and being mindful that, as the mixture thickens, there is a risk of splatter and that can hurt. After a minute, turn off the heat and let the mixture cool before portioning into containers and refrigerating or freezing. Though this sounds like an insane quantity, this will only fill 4 cherry pies. Of course for the cheesecake you will be using far less, so feel free to make a half recipe.
UPDATE: I recently used some of the frozen cherry filling for a different application, and realized that, before using thawed cherry pie filling, it must first be reheated to boiling, then cooled back down. Otherwise the cornstarch gel will develop an unpleasant texture resulting from the cornstarch coming out of phase. By re-melting and and heating the filling, the cornstarch will reset and recover its former texture.
This cheesecake is perfect for entertaining. While it takes some time to complete all the steps, it is not very difficult to prepare and looks impressive. And the taste is exceptional.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Separate School Board
Recently, there was yet another gay teen who was bullied and took his own life. Jamie Hubley was 15 year old student at an Ottawa, Ontario high school. I firmly believe that the schools need to do a far better job to combat bullying and discrimination, but that is not really the topic of this post. What caught my attention was one detail of Jamie Hubley's story that connects with other problems in Ontario. The detail was that Hubley originally went to a Catholic school, where he experienced some very severe bullying. His parents did what they could; they offered support and moved him into a public school, but bullying continued there. Many people outside of Ontario may not know this, but a great many catholic schools in Ontario are not private schools, as would be the case for any other religious school. In Ontario we have two separate publically funded school boards; the regular public board and a catholic school board. Residents indicate on their property tax bills whether they wish their tax funds support either the public board or the catholic board. To me, this arrangement flies in the face both of the separation of church and state and of the very principles of public education.
It should be pointed out that the separation of church and state is not quite as sacrosanct in Canada as it is in the United States and, less than a century ago, most schools had a religious affiliation. My parents grew up in Montreal and, when they went to school, there were two school boards: one protestant and one catholic (actually there were four - protestant and catholic each had an English and French board). Now my parents are anglophone and Jewish, so any school board was affiliated to a religion not their own. Some time ago, the system was overhauled and the church was taken out of the public school system. The Catholic board became the French school board, while the protestant board became the English school board (English catholic and French protestant had little enrolment and were merged into the larger boards). So Quebec has removed the church from their public schools, as has most of the rest of Canada. Yet Ontario continues to maintain the catholic school board as a publicly funded entity. No other religious group is granted this distinct privilege of having their religious schools funded by taxpayer dollars. In fact, in 2007 the opposition Conservative party of Ontario proposed a plan to, if elected, institute a voucher system by which people who send their children to private religious schools would be able to receive tax write-offs, essentially giving all religious schools a partial subsidy. This idea was quite unpopular with the voters and the Conservatives lost an early advantage in the polls to lose the election that year to the Liberals. I actually would have been conditionally in support of this idea were it not for the fact the Catholic schools would continue to be fully funded, thus leaving all religious schools still at a disadvantage. However, if the Catholic board were abolished I would support their schools being able to take advantage of a voucher program, as long as all other religious schools could partake as well.
Why does all this matter? Well, since public schools are funded and run by the government, they must abide by official government curriculum and fully conform with all provincial human rights and non-discrimination policies. As homophobia in the public schools will not (or at least should not) be tolerated, most schools have Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) or similar programs, at least if there is a desire for one. If a school principal or local school board tried to block it, the ministry would intervene as that would be against policy. Apparently, the Catholic board does not have to play by the same rules. The Catholic schools are allowed to include religious instruction in the curriculum and it seems they are not required to fully follow provincial guidelines if they are “contrary to religious principles”. Over the past year, there has been a push in the Catholic school boards in Halton region and Toronto to start a GSA, which the catholic board has been consistently blocking. There has been a great deal of overheated rhetoric and some rather disgusting comments, but the real point is that the Catholic board is apparently able to flout provincial law because tolerance of homosexuality is supposedly “contrary to Catholic teaching”. What the boards finally seem to be settling on, only after pressure from the education ministry, is to allow “diversity clubs” or “tolerance” groups - but they can't have “gay” anywhere in the name, and in one case they were not even allowed to use the rainbow symbol. Now, let me think, what is the original symbolism of a rainbow... oh that's right, in the story of Noah's Ark. So the ultimate religious symbol of peace and harmony is too contentious and symbolic of “the gays” and can not have a place in a “religious” school.
Now I am sure that intolerance in the name of religion takes place in other religious schools. The difference is these are private schools - entirely self-funded through student tuition, church or other religious association sponsorship, and private donors. So as long as they are not actively violating the province's human rights code they may teach whatever religious doctrine they please, even if many of us may not agree with it or if it is intolerant. But when a school receives public funding, whatever it does ought to be in the public interest. While you can choose to have your personal tax dollars go toward the public rather than catholic school board, this obviously splits the total available revenues. That means whatever goes to the catholic board is money that could have gone to the public board, so whichever option you select you are still subsidizing both school boards. Despite this public funding, the catholic schools are still permitted to include religious instruction in the curriculum and they are currently insisting that they not be required to teach anything that contravenes their religious principles. If their religious teachings state that being gay is unacceptable, then they can claim that not only do they not have to teach anything about gay issues (if that ever becomes part of the curriculum) but they can refuse to allow students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance. So how does a gay Ontario resident feel, having their tax dollars go (indirectly) to support a school system that will teach kids that you are sinful and ought not to exist? It would serve us well to remember that so much of the most vitriolic homophobia out there today uses the pretext of religion to justify the hatred.
Unfortunately, I don’t really see any prospect of this arrangement changing any time in the near future. There is simply no political will to undo an arrangement that benefits the Catholic Church, which represents a very large number of voters and wields considerable political clout. In the recent election, only the green party was saying anything about disbanding the catholic board, all the parties with any significant vote share are not contemplating any such thing. But if we are serious about equality in education, we cannot continue to support a school system that allows inequality.
It should be pointed out that the separation of church and state is not quite as sacrosanct in Canada as it is in the United States and, less than a century ago, most schools had a religious affiliation. My parents grew up in Montreal and, when they went to school, there were two school boards: one protestant and one catholic (actually there were four - protestant and catholic each had an English and French board). Now my parents are anglophone and Jewish, so any school board was affiliated to a religion not their own. Some time ago, the system was overhauled and the church was taken out of the public school system. The Catholic board became the French school board, while the protestant board became the English school board (English catholic and French protestant had little enrolment and were merged into the larger boards). So Quebec has removed the church from their public schools, as has most of the rest of Canada. Yet Ontario continues to maintain the catholic school board as a publicly funded entity. No other religious group is granted this distinct privilege of having their religious schools funded by taxpayer dollars. In fact, in 2007 the opposition Conservative party of Ontario proposed a plan to, if elected, institute a voucher system by which people who send their children to private religious schools would be able to receive tax write-offs, essentially giving all religious schools a partial subsidy. This idea was quite unpopular with the voters and the Conservatives lost an early advantage in the polls to lose the election that year to the Liberals. I actually would have been conditionally in support of this idea were it not for the fact the Catholic schools would continue to be fully funded, thus leaving all religious schools still at a disadvantage. However, if the Catholic board were abolished I would support their schools being able to take advantage of a voucher program, as long as all other religious schools could partake as well.
Why does all this matter? Well, since public schools are funded and run by the government, they must abide by official government curriculum and fully conform with all provincial human rights and non-discrimination policies. As homophobia in the public schools will not (or at least should not) be tolerated, most schools have Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) or similar programs, at least if there is a desire for one. If a school principal or local school board tried to block it, the ministry would intervene as that would be against policy. Apparently, the Catholic board does not have to play by the same rules. The Catholic schools are allowed to include religious instruction in the curriculum and it seems they are not required to fully follow provincial guidelines if they are “contrary to religious principles”. Over the past year, there has been a push in the Catholic school boards in Halton region and Toronto to start a GSA, which the catholic board has been consistently blocking. There has been a great deal of overheated rhetoric and some rather disgusting comments, but the real point is that the Catholic board is apparently able to flout provincial law because tolerance of homosexuality is supposedly “contrary to Catholic teaching”. What the boards finally seem to be settling on, only after pressure from the education ministry, is to allow “diversity clubs” or “tolerance” groups - but they can't have “gay” anywhere in the name, and in one case they were not even allowed to use the rainbow symbol. Now, let me think, what is the original symbolism of a rainbow... oh that's right, in the story of Noah's Ark. So the ultimate religious symbol of peace and harmony is too contentious and symbolic of “the gays” and can not have a place in a “religious” school.
Now I am sure that intolerance in the name of religion takes place in other religious schools. The difference is these are private schools - entirely self-funded through student tuition, church or other religious association sponsorship, and private donors. So as long as they are not actively violating the province's human rights code they may teach whatever religious doctrine they please, even if many of us may not agree with it or if it is intolerant. But when a school receives public funding, whatever it does ought to be in the public interest. While you can choose to have your personal tax dollars go toward the public rather than catholic school board, this obviously splits the total available revenues. That means whatever goes to the catholic board is money that could have gone to the public board, so whichever option you select you are still subsidizing both school boards. Despite this public funding, the catholic schools are still permitted to include religious instruction in the curriculum and they are currently insisting that they not be required to teach anything that contravenes their religious principles. If their religious teachings state that being gay is unacceptable, then they can claim that not only do they not have to teach anything about gay issues (if that ever becomes part of the curriculum) but they can refuse to allow students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance. So how does a gay Ontario resident feel, having their tax dollars go (indirectly) to support a school system that will teach kids that you are sinful and ought not to exist? It would serve us well to remember that so much of the most vitriolic homophobia out there today uses the pretext of religion to justify the hatred.
Unfortunately, I don’t really see any prospect of this arrangement changing any time in the near future. There is simply no political will to undo an arrangement that benefits the Catholic Church, which represents a very large number of voters and wields considerable political clout. In the recent election, only the green party was saying anything about disbanding the catholic board, all the parties with any significant vote share are not contemplating any such thing. But if we are serious about equality in education, we cannot continue to support a school system that allows inequality.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
A Day At Foodstock
I’m sure you are eager for news of how Foodstock turned out (at least some of you are), so here is my report and review of the event.
We planned to arrive around about a half hour after the official opening time of 11am, so we left Guelph at 10am, planning for about a 90 minute drive though the countryside. As it turned out we got within a couple miles of the farm in only an hour and 10 minutes - then came the first clue as to how popular this event was to be. All of a sudden, we hit total gridlock. When we eventually got to 20th sideroad and made the left turn I was able to really see how far back the line of cars continued down county rd 124. The volunteers did their best to let people know where the parking was and guided people in fairly well but, due to them lineups, it took about 50 minutes to get to the field being used as the main parking lot - a distance of maybe a few miles, if that. Seeing all the cars already parked there, in another full parking lot, and along the sides of a few sideroads as well as all the cars still on the road behind us, it was clear that many thousands of people were attending. Add that to the several buses that were bringing people from Toronto, Guelph, Collingwood and other places and this makes for massive attendance. I was wondering how many people would show up, as the forecast had been calling for rain most of the week and that day’s forecast was calling for mix of sun and cloud with a chance of rain. Driving up, it was raining in Guelph but closer to the event the weather was beautiful. Later in the day, the weather was more mixed, with intermittent showers, and a cold wind by mid-afternoon. The great thing, though is it didn’t seem to bother too many of the attendees. They came prepared and committed; perfectly willing to accept a little discomfort for a great experience.
There were close to 100 chefs at the event, from restaurants in Toronto, Collingwood, Niagara, the local area and many other places in Ontario and two from outside the province. Each booth was spread along a network of paths leading through a forested area and around the outside of that area. The paths were quite muddy, but people were warned to bring boots. At each booth, the chefs served up tasting portions of a dish prepared especially for the event. There were rather long lineups at most, if not all, of the stations, which meant a good deal of time was spent waiting in line. Also there was no place to sit, but these two things kind of worked together; you would get one bit of food and you would eat that while you waited in the next line. I did not even get to half of the booths, especially since by the afternoon many were starting to run out of food. Still I must have had at least 20-25 different tastes, possibly more.
All the food was of high quality and as there were so many different things I can not even remember all of them. Many offerings featured potatoes, as this is a potato farm. Also, given the weather and number of people to feed, it was not at all surprising that there were a great many soups and stews on offer. An early standout was a Jerusalem artichoke soup with brown butter. They heated the soup on a campfire and suspended the pot rather than placing it on a grate.
Another standout establishment was Café Belong, a new restaurant in Toronto owned by celebrity chef Brad Long who has made multiple appearances on Food Network. Long was there himself, shucking and serving oysters. They also featured a vegetarian stew that was quite tasty and enhanced to spectacular effect by a chutney (don't remember what it was though). And the freshly shucked Malpeque oysters were among the best oysters I have ever had - juicy and very pleasantly briny. My mom has never really liked oysters but tried one and loved it - much to her surprise.
Later came two very good fish dishes: a smoked whitefish mousse with local potato chips (not sure if they were made commercially or in-house but they were phenomenal), then arctic char hot-smoked over a bed of hay and served on a thin slice of daikon with some sliced onion.
There was a very good apple and pumpkin cake that really got some nice juiciness from the apple. Then was what I think was the best bite of the day - Le Select Bistro offered mustard-braised rabbit on a white corn polenta with dandelion greens, topped with julienned apple and pea shoots. This was one of the more elaborate and composed dishes, yet still warm and comforting with a stunning flavour.
Caplansky’s food truck, the only food truck operating in the Toronto area (though they are still not allowed to operate downtown) was at Foodstock as well, and offered smoked turkey on a beet-flavoured goat cheese. Maybe not one of the best items but still very good.
By this time we were in the area closer to the main stage where the musical performances would take place and the lines were even longer. There were some very good apple crullers dusted with maple sugar and served with an apple caramel. Then we entered what we thought was the line for the next booth but it was in fact a line that continued past several booths in a steady flow. First was pulled pork on an apple slice. Then was the George Brown college chef school which had several offerings: a squash soup with candied pecans, an excellent antipasto on fresh bread, and apricots preserved in an icewine syrup. Then was celebrated chef Jamie Kennedy’s booth. He was serving french fries. No kidding. Of course he used potatoes from farms in the township and they were absolutely perfect. It was raining when we were served, but the fries stayed crispy and they had some nice herb seasoning. They came with a choice of two mayonnaise-based dipping sauces, a chilli mayo or a cider vinegar mayo which was very tasty. There was also a good smoked pork sausage with an apple compote. Then finally came Michael Statdlander's booth, occupying the ultimate prime location right next to the main stage. That was only appropriate as he was the organizer of this entire group of chefs. He was serving a potato, pumpkin and cabbage soup with smoked bacon, which he ladled out of a giant pumpkin. One booth I regret not stopping at was one that had bison prosciutto which the chefs were carving as they went.
We left a little after 3:30. The wind had picked up, it was getting a bit cold, and most of the food had run out. There were many big name musical performances yet to come on the main stage, but that wasn't really the reason I was there. But for those that stayed on, the final hour and a half of the event featured performances from the Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy and Sarah Harmer, among others.
It was very hard to gauge exactly how many people showed up at Foodstock but the numbers were clearly massive. Based on a quick view of how many cars were parked in the field, it seemed quite likely there were at least 5,000 to 10,000 attendees, and of course the buses likely brought many more. Some of the preliminary estimates are suggesting there were as many as 28,000 -30,000 people on this one farm on that one day. That amounts to half the population of the entire county and was most likely the most attended event ever held in Dufferin County. Up to 30,000 people were willing to drive a good way to visit this beautiful bit of farmland and make a statement that this land must be kept as a potato farm, and a mega quarry is a very bad use of this land. There are also some suggestions that the organizers may do this again next year. Now that an environmental assessment has been ordered, there will not be any final decision on approval of a quarry for several years, which will mean that the quarry opponents will have a long fight ahead of them with plenty of legal expenses to pay for. Proceeds from Foodstock and donations to the NDACT will pay for legal costs and advocacy work to make sure that the environmental assessment is done properly and addresses all of the potential risks. There was also some worry in previous weeks about what effect the provincial election might have had, as the opposition Conservative party is very pro big business and seems to be against environmental concerns (they are very much like the US Republicans) and if they had won it was very likely they would overturn the call for the assessment. As it happened though, the Liberals barely won re-election so what was agreed to before will continue. No decision will be made as to approving the quarry for years. Still that does not mean there is no risk, since many environmentally damaging projects still receive a go-ahead despite such concerns. I am glad many of you care about this issue; while aggregate is always needed for building projects, it is not acceptable to take Ontario's most fertile land and take it out of food production, especially when there is also a real risk of damaging so many important watersheds.
For more information on the fight against the mega-quarry and for the latest news and updates on the fight, visit the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) at www.ndact.com Those of you from Canada are also encouraged to contact your local members of federal and provincial parliament to make your views known. NDACT has petitions that can be signed and sent in (the government needs original signatures so an online petition is not available). There are also links to related media articles and you can also follow no mega quarry on facebook and twitter.
We planned to arrive around about a half hour after the official opening time of 11am, so we left Guelph at 10am, planning for about a 90 minute drive though the countryside. As it turned out we got within a couple miles of the farm in only an hour and 10 minutes - then came the first clue as to how popular this event was to be. All of a sudden, we hit total gridlock. When we eventually got to 20th sideroad and made the left turn I was able to really see how far back the line of cars continued down county rd 124. The volunteers did their best to let people know where the parking was and guided people in fairly well but, due to them lineups, it took about 50 minutes to get to the field being used as the main parking lot - a distance of maybe a few miles, if that. Seeing all the cars already parked there, in another full parking lot, and along the sides of a few sideroads as well as all the cars still on the road behind us, it was clear that many thousands of people were attending. Add that to the several buses that were bringing people from Toronto, Guelph, Collingwood and other places and this makes for massive attendance. I was wondering how many people would show up, as the forecast had been calling for rain most of the week and that day’s forecast was calling for mix of sun and cloud with a chance of rain. Driving up, it was raining in Guelph but closer to the event the weather was beautiful. Later in the day, the weather was more mixed, with intermittent showers, and a cold wind by mid-afternoon. The great thing, though is it didn’t seem to bother too many of the attendees. They came prepared and committed; perfectly willing to accept a little discomfort for a great experience.
There were close to 100 chefs at the event, from restaurants in Toronto, Collingwood, Niagara, the local area and many other places in Ontario and two from outside the province. Each booth was spread along a network of paths leading through a forested area and around the outside of that area. The paths were quite muddy, but people were warned to bring boots. At each booth, the chefs served up tasting portions of a dish prepared especially for the event. There were rather long lineups at most, if not all, of the stations, which meant a good deal of time was spent waiting in line. Also there was no place to sit, but these two things kind of worked together; you would get one bit of food and you would eat that while you waited in the next line. I did not even get to half of the booths, especially since by the afternoon many were starting to run out of food. Still I must have had at least 20-25 different tastes, possibly more.
All the food was of high quality and as there were so many different things I can not even remember all of them. Many offerings featured potatoes, as this is a potato farm. Also, given the weather and number of people to feed, it was not at all surprising that there were a great many soups and stews on offer. An early standout was a Jerusalem artichoke soup with brown butter. They heated the soup on a campfire and suspended the pot rather than placing it on a grate.
Another standout establishment was Café Belong, a new restaurant in Toronto owned by celebrity chef Brad Long who has made multiple appearances on Food Network. Long was there himself, shucking and serving oysters. They also featured a vegetarian stew that was quite tasty and enhanced to spectacular effect by a chutney (don't remember what it was though). And the freshly shucked Malpeque oysters were among the best oysters I have ever had - juicy and very pleasantly briny. My mom has never really liked oysters but tried one and loved it - much to her surprise.
Later came two very good fish dishes: a smoked whitefish mousse with local potato chips (not sure if they were made commercially or in-house but they were phenomenal), then arctic char hot-smoked over a bed of hay and served on a thin slice of daikon with some sliced onion.
There was a very good apple and pumpkin cake that really got some nice juiciness from the apple. Then was what I think was the best bite of the day - Le Select Bistro offered mustard-braised rabbit on a white corn polenta with dandelion greens, topped with julienned apple and pea shoots. This was one of the more elaborate and composed dishes, yet still warm and comforting with a stunning flavour.
Caplansky’s food truck, the only food truck operating in the Toronto area (though they are still not allowed to operate downtown) was at Foodstock as well, and offered smoked turkey on a beet-flavoured goat cheese. Maybe not one of the best items but still very good.
By this time we were in the area closer to the main stage where the musical performances would take place and the lines were even longer. There were some very good apple crullers dusted with maple sugar and served with an apple caramel. Then we entered what we thought was the line for the next booth but it was in fact a line that continued past several booths in a steady flow. First was pulled pork on an apple slice. Then was the George Brown college chef school which had several offerings: a squash soup with candied pecans, an excellent antipasto on fresh bread, and apricots preserved in an icewine syrup. Then was celebrated chef Jamie Kennedy’s booth. He was serving french fries. No kidding. Of course he used potatoes from farms in the township and they were absolutely perfect. It was raining when we were served, but the fries stayed crispy and they had some nice herb seasoning. They came with a choice of two mayonnaise-based dipping sauces, a chilli mayo or a cider vinegar mayo which was very tasty. There was also a good smoked pork sausage with an apple compote. Then finally came Michael Statdlander's booth, occupying the ultimate prime location right next to the main stage. That was only appropriate as he was the organizer of this entire group of chefs. He was serving a potato, pumpkin and cabbage soup with smoked bacon, which he ladled out of a giant pumpkin. One booth I regret not stopping at was one that had bison prosciutto which the chefs were carving as they went.
 |
| Chef Stadtlander with his "No" Pumpkin |
 |
| Yes, that is a leg of bison, cured like a prosciutto |
We left a little after 3:30. The wind had picked up, it was getting a bit cold, and most of the food had run out. There were many big name musical performances yet to come on the main stage, but that wasn't really the reason I was there. But for those that stayed on, the final hour and a half of the event featured performances from the Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy and Sarah Harmer, among others.
It was very hard to gauge exactly how many people showed up at Foodstock but the numbers were clearly massive. Based on a quick view of how many cars were parked in the field, it seemed quite likely there were at least 5,000 to 10,000 attendees, and of course the buses likely brought many more. Some of the preliminary estimates are suggesting there were as many as 28,000 -30,000 people on this one farm on that one day. That amounts to half the population of the entire county and was most likely the most attended event ever held in Dufferin County. Up to 30,000 people were willing to drive a good way to visit this beautiful bit of farmland and make a statement that this land must be kept as a potato farm, and a mega quarry is a very bad use of this land. There are also some suggestions that the organizers may do this again next year. Now that an environmental assessment has been ordered, there will not be any final decision on approval of a quarry for several years, which will mean that the quarry opponents will have a long fight ahead of them with plenty of legal expenses to pay for. Proceeds from Foodstock and donations to the NDACT will pay for legal costs and advocacy work to make sure that the environmental assessment is done properly and addresses all of the potential risks. There was also some worry in previous weeks about what effect the provincial election might have had, as the opposition Conservative party is very pro big business and seems to be against environmental concerns (they are very much like the US Republicans) and if they had won it was very likely they would overturn the call for the assessment. As it happened though, the Liberals barely won re-election so what was agreed to before will continue. No decision will be made as to approving the quarry for years. Still that does not mean there is no risk, since many environmentally damaging projects still receive a go-ahead despite such concerns. I am glad many of you care about this issue; while aggregate is always needed for building projects, it is not acceptable to take Ontario's most fertile land and take it out of food production, especially when there is also a real risk of damaging so many important watersheds.
For more information on the fight against the mega-quarry and for the latest news and updates on the fight, visit the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) at www.ndact.com Those of you from Canada are also encouraged to contact your local members of federal and provincial parliament to make your views known. NDACT has petitions that can be signed and sent in (the government needs original signatures so an online petition is not available). There are also links to related media articles and you can also follow no mega quarry on facebook and twitter.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Foodstock 2011 - Stop the Mega-Quarry!
I know that most of my readers don’t live near here, but this is an important issue and I want to draw attention to this. Melancthon township is a small rural area northwest of Toronto, between Orangeville and Collingwood that is primarily farmland. Specifically, it is one of the most prolific potato-growing regions in Ontario and supplies the Greater Toronto Area with a large percentage of its potatoes. A couple years ago, a large corporation known as Highland Companies began buying up farms in this area, telling sellers they would continue with potato farming. They amassed a plot of 7000 acres, then submitted a proposal to the Ontario government to operate a limestone quarry on this land. Initially proposed at over 2300 acres this is by far the largest quarry to operate in Canada and they have been granted perpetual rights to draw a 600 million litres of water per day from the area. The region is near the headwaters of the Grand River watershed, which serves over a million people in Southwestern Ontario, including Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, the Niagara region - oh, and Guelph. The quarry will dig 200 feet below the water table so the potential for contamination of the whole watershed is high. This land is far from any major highway, yet they will be running 300 trucks an hour carrying stone back and forth. While they intend to grow crops again on the quarry floor, this concept is laughable, as quarrying generates soil contamination and it is highly unlikely that this would even be possible. Further, this company, while supposedly Canadian, receives primary backing from a New-England based hedge fund, and neither company has ever operated a limestone quarry, let alone a mega-quarry. That tells me they will likely be bringing in an outside operator after approval, so any concerns regarding safety records will not be addressed. Furthermore, there is a loophole in the law saying that quarries do not have to undergo an environmental assessment to be approved. This land is located just outside the Greenbelt, a protected area that grows much of Ontario’s produce. Fortunately Ontario’s government has recently reversed course and has finally ordered an environmental assessment for the project.
With this impending threat to our local food security, local Ontario chefs have come together to show solidarity with the protests against this mega-quarry. Leading this is celebrated chef Michael Stadtlander, one of the country’s best chefs and one of the strongest advocates of local, farm-to-table cuisine. The Canadian Chef’s Congress, of which he is the chairman, has organized a fundraising dinner at an area farm that did not sell out to Highland and they are billing this as “Foodstock”, with the implied reference to Woodstock quite intentional. More than 70 chefs, including Stadtlander, Jamie Kennedy, and other top chefs will be present and contributing dishes. Unlike most celebrity chef charity events, that will usually cost more than $100 per person, Foodstock is a pay-what-you-can event. You can either register in advance at www.canadianchefscongress.com or pay at the gate - the suggested donation is a mere $10. Of course, since all funds go to support the cause, larger donations are obviously welcomed. This is a no-frills event - except for the food. Attendees should bring their own plate, cutlery, napkin and water glass. As this is on a farm and will go rain or shine, it is probably also a good idea to bring a chair and boots. The event is on Sunday, October 16, 2011, from 11am - 5pm. The farm is in the village of Conover, at county road 124 and Melancthon 20th sideroad. To get there from Toronto, take Hwy 401 to 410, then to Hwy 10 (Hurontario st.) and stay on it past Orangeville to Hwy 89 at Primrose. Go left and continue to county road 124, just before the town of Shelburne, turn right and follow 124 until 20th sideroad. I imagine there will be signs near the location. I believe it is about 1 hour’s drive from Toronto, depending on where you are. It seems there are also bus trips being organized to the event from Toronto, Guelph, Hamilton, and Collingwood. These are being organized primarily on Facebook.
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I have always wanted to attend one of these multi-chef dinners but the price was always way too high - even though it would be going to support a worthy cause. This one is different. Not only is the price much more reasonable, this really is an important issue for this region and I want to give my support. Also, this event is occurring on my Birthday, my 30th. I will most definitely be attending and I hope if there is anyone else reading this who lives in the GTA or Southwestern Ontario, please consider taking the time to attend this event, have some great food, and show your support for our environment and our food supply.
For more information on the mega quarry and the risks it causes, visit:
www.ndact.com
www.citizensalliance.ca
For information on Foodstock, or to register in advance, visit:
www.canadianchefscongress.com
With this impending threat to our local food security, local Ontario chefs have come together to show solidarity with the protests against this mega-quarry. Leading this is celebrated chef Michael Stadtlander, one of the country’s best chefs and one of the strongest advocates of local, farm-to-table cuisine. The Canadian Chef’s Congress, of which he is the chairman, has organized a fundraising dinner at an area farm that did not sell out to Highland and they are billing this as “Foodstock”, with the implied reference to Woodstock quite intentional. More than 70 chefs, including Stadtlander, Jamie Kennedy, and other top chefs will be present and contributing dishes. Unlike most celebrity chef charity events, that will usually cost more than $100 per person, Foodstock is a pay-what-you-can event. You can either register in advance at www.canadianchefscongress.com or pay at the gate - the suggested donation is a mere $10. Of course, since all funds go to support the cause, larger donations are obviously welcomed. This is a no-frills event - except for the food. Attendees should bring their own plate, cutlery, napkin and water glass. As this is on a farm and will go rain or shine, it is probably also a good idea to bring a chair and boots. The event is on Sunday, October 16, 2011, from 11am - 5pm. The farm is in the village of Conover, at county road 124 and Melancthon 20th sideroad. To get there from Toronto, take Hwy 401 to 410, then to Hwy 10 (Hurontario st.) and stay on it past Orangeville to Hwy 89 at Primrose. Go left and continue to county road 124, just before the town of Shelburne, turn right and follow 124 until 20th sideroad. I imagine there will be signs near the location. I believe it is about 1 hour’s drive from Toronto, depending on where you are. It seems there are also bus trips being organized to the event from Toronto, Guelph, Hamilton, and Collingwood. These are being organized primarily on Facebook.
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I have always wanted to attend one of these multi-chef dinners but the price was always way too high - even though it would be going to support a worthy cause. This one is different. Not only is the price much more reasonable, this really is an important issue for this region and I want to give my support. Also, this event is occurring on my Birthday, my 30th. I will most definitely be attending and I hope if there is anyone else reading this who lives in the GTA or Southwestern Ontario, please consider taking the time to attend this event, have some great food, and show your support for our environment and our food supply.
For more information on the mega quarry and the risks it causes, visit:
www.ndact.com
www.citizensalliance.ca
For information on Foodstock, or to register in advance, visit:
www.canadianchefscongress.com
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