Hooray for Canada!

Wow, what an awesome way to end the 2010 Olympics. Normally, I'm not much of an athlete. I think walking is a strenuous exercise. And I'm not really a sports fan either. But come the Olympics... I'm mesmerized. The flexibility, the endurance, the sheer ...well the only word for me watching some of these death defying sports is ...terror. Fortunately the athletes don't feel the same. So I always love watching the events.

This year there was more to it than just the games themselves. It was a sense of HUGE pride in being a Canadian. So kudos to all you medal winners - we won more gold than any country EVER in the history of the Olympic games. And kudos for all of you who tried your best, who got up, and finished races even when you knew you couldn't win.

Since my only way to say thank you is to cook something up....I'll just share some of my favorite cookbooks that are truly Canadian....with a recipe or two from each, of course.

Anita Stewart's Canada

The Best of Chef at Home

A Year in Lucy's Kitchen

a la di Stasio

And you'll find even more of my favorite Canadian cookbook authors and their dishes, right here.

And now I'm off to go swimming....I'm starting my training for the Summer games.

A Chat with Anita Stewart

First things first....I admit that that though I've always loved food...loved to try different ethnic foods...loved to use fresh produce, meat, poultry and fish, I've never given very much thought to how it came to be - meaning, the farm where it was grown or who grew it.

And, although I've always loved going to markets...wherever I've been lucky enough to live and visit, I've never given much thought other than that things looked wonderful. Until I moved to Halifax and went to the local Saturday markets in Halifax and places like Hubbards and Wolfville, just to name two. There's a sense of community spirit and pride in what's brought to market.

Which leads me to an "AHA" moment ....I recently wrote about a fabulous book - Anita Stewart’s Canada which I love to death. There are a number of what I call "National Geographic" cookbooks on my shelves. Books with gorgeous photos of various regions, a history of the people and the culinary wonders they create. In fact I have a collection of Time/Life Series of Foods of the World which is long out of print that I will never part with. Each volume is a terrific journey on a rainy/blizzardy afternoon. I'm ashamed to say that I never thought of Canada in that way until I read Anita's book.

It made me realize how special it is to live in Canada, especially in regards to our abundance of delicious things and the pride that people take in producing them. It gives new meaning to "multicultural mosaic" from the perspective of taking recipes from "the Old Country" to Canada and transforming them using local ingredients.

There are very few cookbooks that I actually choose to curl up with for a good read...Anita Stewart's Canada is such a book and I'm savoring it chapter by chapter. So much so that I really wanted to have a chat with her. One... to tell her how wonderful her book is and, two...to find out what a "Culinary Activist" does.

Let me say right off...Anita is charming and I felt like I was chatting with an old friend. Here's just a bit of what I reaped from our conversation....

Anita lives in Elora, Ontario, north of Guelph, in Mennonite country and probably the most fertile part of Ontario. She has four sons, three of whom are chefs. And she is passionate about food production and distribution. As Cultural Activist, she is a frequent keynote speaker on the challenge of local produce for local enterprise, meaning that it will take about 10-15 years to build the capacity for local restaurants and retailers to be able to actually only offer locally grown food...fruit, vegetables, lamb, poultry, beef, pork...

Growing up in Mennonite country, she saw first hand the link of farm stands at the end of the farm driveway, to how farmers loaded their produce onto buggies and drove to Produce Auctions north of Elmira where local retailers and restauranteurs/chefs could purchase local goods in quantity, giving those of us living in the cities the true benefit from it. Anita saw the challenges farmers face and the need for someone to promote this sense of community and importance of promoting Canadian farms.

We spent much time talking about the book, the remarkable people and the wonderful stories that make Canada so remarkable. The stories of immigrants and the heritage they brought with them...Germans, Scots, French...the list is endless.

The book starts with a chapter called "The Original Palate" and gives us a glimpse of the culinary expertise First Nations, from British Columbia on the west coast to the Maritimes on the east coast and every part in between, shared with the first settlers..a lovely read. In fact, Anita says the recipes in the book are just the "skeleton to hang the stories on" and she does a remarkable job in making us all take a moment to appreciate where the food comes from and how important our stewardship is, and, in her words…

“Our collective challenge is to build and nurture the connection between those produces and consumers, urban and rural”.

The cover of the book is of her Grandmother Rodger's recipe for Blackcurrant Preserve (page 277) and like all the other stunning photos is a wonderful backdrop for stories of how families grew food in their gardens and created simple, wonderful recipes to enjoy them, not just for the season, but for the long cold winters ahead.

I did get to ask her the usual interview questions....
R: When did you start cooking?
A: Well, my mom was widowed when I was 7, so it was just the two of us. She was a school teacher and so until I was about 12 we had a housekeeper. After that, I did the cooking and she did the cleaning up. That was our deal. I taught myself to cook really, and one of my first cookbooks was actually Gourmet Magazine which opened up a whole new world.

R: What were some other cookbooks that influenced you, particularly when you were young?
A: Growing up in the heartland of Ontario, in Mennonite communities, I loved reading Edna Staebler's Food That Really Schmecks; Doris Janzen's More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook) ; The New Moosewood Cookbook ; and in school - for home economics, The Canadian Cookbook (Ruth's note: I couldn't find it on line).

R: And so, for all those out there, who love your book and want to grow up to be like you...what does a Culinary Activist do?
A: I write and speak promoting sustainable farming. In fact, I'll be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, in Toronto. And I just got back from New York City where I participated in promoting Ontario flavours with Ontario Ministry of Tourism.

R: If you could invite any 4 people to dinner?
A: My four sons...can I invite more? My mother, MFK Fisher (Ruth's note: Actually, the list was quite long and I'm sure conversation would be wonderful)

R: What's your favorite meal of the day?
A: Well, it depends where I am, I guess.

R: What's always in your fridge or pantry?
A: That's too hard to answer...I actually have 2 fridges!

R: What's your favorite ingredient?
A: Salt, tomatoes and anything in season.

R: And last, what's your guilty pleasure?
A: Caramel and cheese.

Reading her book and chatting with her has given me a much deeper appreciation for those who work so hard and so passionately to provide me with the foods I love so much.

Two wonderful recipes from the book that I'll be making over and over:

Roasted Indian Spiced Salmon

Warm Balsamic Lentils

Now, I'm off to enjoy a cup of tea and spend more time with Anita's Canada!

Taste Canada for Canada Day

It's that time again...
Jennifer, The Domestic Goddess (the sweet side of Canada) and ...

Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict (the savory) are doing another Taste Canada Event for ... Canada Day, naturally. And we are fruly fortunate to live in a country so lush, and rich with verdant farm lands from ocean to ocean and we should honour that.

One thing I love about moving to Nova Scotia last year is the proximity to the sea...scallops, mussels, lobster, clams and salmon (my favorite fish), plus cod and haddock for the best fish and chips ever.

Then there's the Annapolis Valley with lots of grazing farmland for free range, grass fed lamb, beef, pork and chicken. Artisan dairy farms produce glorious cheeses like Dragon's Breath Blue at That Dutchman Farm and wonderful fresh goat cheese from Rancher Acres, to just name two. Winerys are not just found in British Columbia and Ontario...Nova Scotia has some award winning vineyards too...like Blomidon Estate Winery and Jost Vineyards.

Throughout the province, there are lots of UPik farms...apples, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries....you get the picture. Winter may be long and dreary, but summer is awesome in Nova Scotia!

And I can never forget my favorite Valley haven...The Tangled Garden with its beautiful herb and vegetable gardens that are so peaceful and their unbelievable herbal jellies, vinegars, oils and now liqueurs. They grace my table almost daily...slathered on bagels and cream cheese, as a glaze for chicken or fish dishes, a dollop of jelly in yoghurt or a drizzle of liqueur over ice cream - nothing's better or more Canadian to me.

So many wonderful options to choose from for this year's celebration... I think the last time I submitted a very Canadian dish was for the first Taste Canada...way too long ago...2005! Yikes! But, I must say, the dish is still a brilliant combination for me...using maple syrup and salmon - two very delicious Canadian treasures.

But decisions, decisions, decisions...should I send in a savory dish like...

Seared Scallops & Shrimps on Blueberry & Mixed Greens

(I'm not sure if shrimp are Canadian or not, but they work so well with the scallops)

...or a fantastic dessert with local fruits like...

Super Strawberry Tart

that I've been making with fresh local Canadian strawberries forever...which means that my family desperately waits for local strawberry season to begin...and if the weather holds this weekend, I'll be out picking my first batch in Nova Scotia. Summer comes late here and I've only just started to notice local berries for sale.

Well, I guess I'll just send this post to both of them and let them decide how to split the wealth.

You can enter your own savory Canadian dishes with Jasmine and your sweet delights with Jennifer Just do it by June 28th so it can be included in the roundup on July 1.