MoCupcakes, No Problem!

The manliest cupcake. Does that sound like a contradiction? I wasn’t sure what to expect when asked to be a judge in the MoCupcakes event that took place at Transcend Garneau last Monday, but it sure sounded like it would be a tasty task.

Cupcakes galore!

MoCupcakes is one event in the Movember arsenal to help raise awareness of and funds to fight prostate cancer, a disease that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with in their lifetime. Although the campaign has been around for a few years (yes, it is the reason for the unsightly moustaches seen in November), 2010 has been the most successful year by far, having raised over $800,000, contributing to the over $20 million raised in Canada.

Demistache

So, why cupcakes? Well, why not? From the MoCupcakes website:

Why not combine an iconic feminine baked delight “cupcakes” and mash it up with a historically masculine cause that is changing the face of men’s health?

Jas Darrah was the mastermind behind Edmonton MoCupcakes, soliciting six bakers and five judges to determine the city’s manliest cupcake. The team at Transcend (who were also growing ‘staches for the cause), were generous enough to donate the venue, with staff agreeing to work on their own time when the shop closed for the night. Bravo.

Jas explains the rules

Each of the six competitors were given an opportunity to describe their creation to the crowd, knowing that the name and explanation of their cupcake would be worth 10 out of the possible 30 points (10 additional points were awarded for the look, and the last 10 for taste).

Jerry introduces his cupcake

Bacon enthusiast Jerry Aulenbach did not disappoint – his Cheddar Bacon Mo-fin with a chocolate ganache was a play on sweet and savoury flavours. But he even had bacon-less versions for those needing a kosher cupcake!

Cheddar Bacon Mo-Fin

Although Ailynn Santos of Whimsical Cupcakes wasn’t on hand for the presentations, her box of “Big Poppa” cupcakes were accompanied with an explanation that the moustachioed cupcake featured a spice base and root beer frosting. The straw cigarette was a nice touch.

Big Poppa

The cupcakes from Upper Crust were about twice the size of the others, and gorgeously showcased Edmonton’s most popular professional sports teams – right down to an Oilers decal made of icing and a football constructed from a chocolate-covered almond.

Sports-themed cupcakes

Transcend’s own Chad Moss offered a Chocolate Beet-down Mo-cake, using his wife Thea’s recipe. Though he would not divulge whether or not bacon fat was added to the batter, his cupcake was made using local ingredients where possible.

Chocolate Beet-down Mo-cake

Food blogger Chris Falconer offered his own interpretation of a cupcake with his Sunday Dinner Mancake, featuring a toasted bread crisp surrounding the ground beef, bacon and parmesan centre, then topped with a goat cheese mashed potato fondant and a maple sugar crisp. Talk about a dinner in cupcake form!

Sunday Dinner Mancake

Last but certainly not least, Jas’s wife Linda Affolder presented her tool-belt wearing Stud Muffins – an encapsulation of men with their “strong chocolate exterior”, a shot of Guinness in the frosting, and a soft caramel centre. The fleur de sel sprinkling was icing on the cake.

Stud Muffins

Alongside Kerry Powell, Ryan Jespersen, Seth Glick, and Nathan Box, we had the arduous task of assigning scores to each of the cupcakes. I know I was glad to have a rubric to fall back on.

Cheers!

Who has the best milk moustache?

Nate means business!

The judging

That said, Linda’s salty-sweet Stud Muffin was my personal favourite – the combination of the dark chocolate, caramel centre, and fleur de sel was just perfect, and made me wonder why the local cupcakeries aren’t already capitalizing on those flavours (Linda’s recipe can be found here).

It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it!

The judging remnants (all taken home and finished later)

The winners, you ask? Chris’ savoury cupcake earned 125 out of a possible 150 points for third place.

Chris and Sarah toy with their prize

Second place was awarded to Chad for his beet cupcake, who earned 132.5 points.

Chad accepts his prize from Jas

And Linda, with 140.5 points, won first. She was unfailingly humble even then!

Kerry bestows the feather boa to the MoCupcake champion

Thanks to Jas for organizing the event – it was great fun to be a part of! And a big thanks to the bakers for contributing their time and efforts to the cause.

Mack did an awesome job with the photos! You can see his entire photo set here.

City Market in the Winter: Parkade or Bust?

Though I am not a fan of the heated tents on Churchill Square as a temporary bridge to a permanent, indoor City Market venue, when I heard the market would be shifting to the first level of the City Hall parkade, the tents didn’t seem to be such a bad idea after all.

Market Day!

Well – more than anything, it was just far enough outside what we were used to that we didn’t know what to expect. Walking in, this was the scene:

Parkade market

In place of vehicles were 50 or so vendors, a gift wrapping station and a children’s craft table. Though the grey surroundings and lack of natural light were difficult to overcome, the market organizers did their best, with balloon decorations and carollers to lighten the atmosphere.

Carollers (love the balloon reindeer!)

Vendors made the best of their space, using whatever was available to them to hang their signage.

Medicine Man Bison’s creative use of overhead pipes

In contrast to the individual tents, the best thing about this venue was that it allowed all of the vendors to be in the same room together.

Good turnout

Santa was walking around, scaring some children, and keeping in touch with the North Pole via his Blackberry. There was also another mascot, who we thought was a little more frightening, his blue, blue eyes bright under the fluorescent lights. It didn’t stop Mack from taking a photo with him though.

Nipper and Mack

Not knowing which vendors will be at each of the market dates makes it a little difficult to depend on these winter markets (as much as say, the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, or even Alberta Avenue), but I still enjoy the convenience of walking down the street for local products. I’m not sure the parkade is the best place for the market either, but I suppose until a permanent venue is found, whatever is central will have to do – I know I appreciate the City Market organizers doing what they can in the meantime.

Wide aisles

It was good to see Bamir of Eva Sweet, though I have to say I almost always expect to see him in the confines of his waffle truck. In addition to waffles, he was selling vanilla waffle dough, which is a great idea for the holidays – a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, and an easy breakfast for those with a waffle iron at home.

Eva Sweet dough

We also met Darcy Goodrich of Pure Country Food, who offers free-range pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, and grass fed and finished beef. We missed him at the last winter market in November, but look forward to seeing him again at the next two winter markets – if not only for their beef jerky, which I had to hide from Mack after he consumed half the package in one sitting.

Darcy from Pure Country Food

After picking up what we needed, we headed back to ground level to take advantage of some of the other market activities.

Marshmallow, anyone?

The lines were quite long for the sleigh ride during the Holiday Light-Up, so we were in luck today – crowds were thin, and meant we didn’t have to wait at all for our turn.

Giddy-up!

Art Gallery drive-by

Mack

Overheard during the ride – a 10 year old girl behind us said, “There’s always something fun going on downtown.” Agreed!

There are still two more City Market winter dates remaining this year – December 11 and 18, 2010, from 11am-3pm on Churchill Square (yes, back to the tents). See you there!

The Cooking Chronicles: Hurrah for Leftovers!

Most of the time, I’m just hoping our weeknight dinners yield enough food to provide us both with a hot lunch the next day, but sometimes, the recipes that are meant to feed a large family are wondrous for the two of us – eliminating a night’s worth of work, without sacrificing a home-cooked meal. What’s not to love?

Mark Bittman’s Paella

Mark Bittman’s recipe for paella in Food Matters is very similar to Michael Smith’s that we tried last year. But somehow, it worked out better. It could have had to do with the fact that we had superior ingredients this time around (sausages from Irvings, tomatoes from Kuhlmann’s), or because we had a more heat efficient vessel (a Le Cruset Dutch oven), but the resulting paella was so tasty! I loved how the tomatoes just fell apart, and infused their sweetness throughout the dish.

Paella (a photo of the leftovers…I had forgotten to take a photo of the meal before that)

And all the better – we were able to milk two additional meals from the pot. Score!

Mashed Potato-Topped Mini Tourtières

A recipe for mashed potato-topped mini tourtières in the Winter 2010 issue of Inspired appealed to me because of its likeness to shepherd’s pie, and its incorporation of seasonings more in line with tourtières. The recipe made it easy to incorporate many locally-sourced products, including onions from Kuhlmann’s, potatoes from Greens, Eggs and Ham, ground pork from Irvings, and ground beef from our cow share (it keeps going and going…). I decided to omit the cream cheese (knowing that we wouldn’t be freezing the pies) to keep the fat content down also.

Though the steps themselves weren’t difficult (sautéing the meat with the vegetables and reducing down a sauce, boiling and mashing potatoes), it took about an hour to finish cooking (given the pies had to bake for 30 minutes after assembly).

Mini Tourtières

Mack said it was missing a kick (perhaps some cayenne or chili powder would have helped), and I knew I should have added carrots for the texture and the sweetness, but as a whole, I enjoyed them.

And how many pies did we end up with you ask? Seven! They were easy to reheat, and made a great lunch the next day too. Hurrah for leftovers!

Shop Local Month 2010: Favourite Gifts to Give or Get

I haven’t really begun my Christmas shopping yet, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it! Things I’m leaning towards this year: treats from Duchess Bake Shop and Jacek Chocolate Couture; wine from Barr Estate Winery; or, like we did last year, baskets of locally-sourced products.

With Shop Local Month coming to a close, but the gift-getting-and-giving season just ramping up, I thought it might be helpful to collect ideas from a few city personalities, similar to last year. I asked them:

What is your favourite locally-purveyed gift to give or get?

I hope their answers will help you with your own shopping!

Garner Beggs, co-owner of Duchess Bake Shop

I would have to say a beautiful fountain pen or some ink from Stylus at 10538 102 Avenue. I’ve got more than a bit of a pen fetish and Stylus, besides having amazingly friendly and knowledgeable staff, has the most ridiculous number of inks I’ve ever seen crammed into one shop. Plus their selection of writing utensils in general is superb.

Tamara Stecyk, Special Events and Community Relations for the Edmonton Food Bank

I’ve always loved bakeries. Fresh bread can be so comforting and I love to treat myself to the apple caramel bread from Prairie Mill. It’s a great gift as well because the flavour is different than any other bread that I’ve tasted and others who have shared this sweet doughy pleasure with me agree.

I also recommend buying one or both of local writer Debby Waldman’s children’s books. Clever Rachel has riddles that even adults can enjoy. A Sack Full of Feathers teaches kids why it’s not a good idea to spread gossip.

Liane Faulder, Edmonton Journal Food Writer

I have to say that local cheese is my new favourite gift. A recent visit to Paddy’s (or Everything Cheese if you live in the south west) left me with three great ideas for locally-inspired hostess gifts over Christmas. Take a piece of St. Maure (by Holly Gale of Smoky Valley Goat Cheese) a chunk of pecorino (by The Cheesiry‘s Rhonda Headon) and a sizeable bite of Grizzly from Sylvan Star Gouda. Put them into a basket with a jar of preserves by The Jam Lady (available at Uncle Ed’s Restaurant or Bon Ton Bakery while the City Market is closed for the season) and a loaf of fresh bread from Tree Stone Bakery (baguettes are great, but they are long and might look funny sticking out of your basket). You are sure to be praised as the best guest ever at your next Christmas party.

Kendall Barber, marketer and blogger

This holiday season wrap up the gift of handmade with gifted and talented Edmontonians.

For design lovers or aspiring chefs, give a solid maple or walnut cutting and charcuterie boards handcrafted by Geoffrey Lilge. Available at Zocalo (10826 – 95 Street) or 29 Armstrong (10129 104 Street).

Give some sparkle with handmade jewelry from So Pretty. Absolutely adoring the rose gold collection for those hard-to-buy-for-gals on my list. Purchase online or at Coup Garment Boutique (#101 10137 104 Street).

Show up to your next holiday soiree with a hostess gift from g l a s s . f u l. These hand blown, tripled layered, coloured glass votives can be used as candleholder, vase, drinking glass or centerpiece. At only $30 a glass votive, these will be my go-to holiday gift.

Kids on my list will be reading all about jam with The Jam Story line-up of books from local illustrator Sarah Jackson. The adorable books teach important lessons on self-acceptance and realizing your tastiliciousness. Available at the Art Gallery of Alberta gift shop.

Omar Mouallem, editor, writer and rapper

No Edmonton woman is at her full potential of coolness without a piece of clothing by Fridget Apparel. Her line is a little 50s, a little mod, a little revolution.

And to add some animal or leafy charm to your life, I adore the felt anthropomorphized animals and hairpins by craft-ster Bevan Kovitz and her Trial By Fiber company.

Kat Danser, musician

I recently received a lovely gift of a massage at Prana Holistic. This business is owned by a mother/daughter team who are committed to the community and environment as well as providing a nurturing, professional atmosphere. My professional life as a musician means that I must commit to health and wellness. Creativity relies on a relaxed mind and body so that one’s spiritual essence can guide the way. The more out of my ego/mind self I am, the greater success I have in communicating musical meaning. I plan to return to Prana Holistic many times in the future so that I can expand my body knowledge and nurture myself. A lovely gift to receive and to give.

Gerbera daisies are my absolutely favourite flowers! When I first came upon La Piazza Dasee, I realized that something special was happening in that business. The calm environment, the care and attention of the creative flower artists and the value are outstanding. Whether sending beautiful flowers for to myself or to others, La Piazza Dasee is the only flower shop for me.

Valerie Lugonja, food blogger

I will be giving gifts from La Fourchette this year as I love the back story on this young foursome and their little funky flattened silverware markers that I first found at City Market downtown.

I will also be giving memberships for the Art Gallery of Alberta to my daughters as supporting our local art community is so important.

The last gift I will be giving is the gift of learning how to cook and bake through a gift certificate to a cooking class at my new business partnership with Maria: Taste Tripping.

I would love to get a gift of a donation made on my behalf to go to The Boys and Girl’s Club of Edmonton or to the Edmonton Food Bank. It is a time for me to give back and when someone wants to give me a gift, I ask that they keep these two very needy and incredibly important organizations in mind.

Jerry Aulenbach, realtor and bacon enthusiast

Bacon stuffies by @Evieheartsmilo. They are hand made, cute, cuddly, awesome, and bacon! Available as a muppet or a simple pillowy stuffy.

Bruce Clarke, photographer

Coffee – you can’t go wrong with just about any coffee product from either Transcend or Credo. Gift cards are always nice too.

AGA Membership – I’ve visited the new Art Gallery of Alberta more times in it’s first year of being open than I ever visited in all the previous years combined so I think a gift of a one-year membership would make an amazing gift to give or receive.

Hats – Headcase on Whyte Ave has a great selection of funky hats for men and women. As a man with a growing forehead, I’m learning to appreciate hats more and more.

Cosmetics – for the lady in your life, check out Lady Venom Cosmetics. Gina Cicero is an amazing makeup artist from Edmonton who has created her own line of high quality cosmetics.

Adam Rozenhart, Social Media Specialist and Podcaster

Boy, this is really a tough question. And I hate to default to something so common as what I’m about to suggest, but over the last five or so years, Edmonton’s food and beverage scene has grown by leaps and bounds.

If I had to give a gift from the local food scene, it would probably have to be a selection of fine roasted coffees from Edmonton’s very own local roasterie, Transcend Coffee. The boys and girls at Transcend have coffee bean roasting down to a T (pardon the ironic pun, if you’re reading this out loud). But more than that, they get what it means to be a local business. They’re active in social media, they love chatting with customers, and they also chat with competitors like the folks at Café Haven in Sherwood Park, and Nate Box over at Elm Café.

The holiday season is about staying warm and spending time with family. And nothing beats a delicious cup of coffee to help facilitate both.

Cindy Lazarenko, owner of Culina Highlands

Kerstin’s Chocolates! One year I received a gift basket with chocolate, book, coffee etc. wrapped beautifully, they do a great job there.

I love macarons from Duchess! Especially the salted caramel.

Also Callys Teas (8608 99 Street), her teas are so good and she sells these great little colored brown betty type teapots with basket inside, we use them at the restaurant.

Ryan Jespersen, Host of CityTV’s Breakfast Television

My wife (Kari Skelton) and I are big fans of “the experience,” so we try to give out-of-towners gifts that provide an opportunity to visit and learn a little bit about Edmonton. In past, we’ve gifted “itineraries” – weekends built around an Oilers game, a show at the Citadel (especially A Christmas Carol!), the Edmonton Indy or even the Ice on Whyte festival. A weekend in the capital city isn’t complete without a visit to one of our excellent independent restaurants, so we’re sure to include a stop at one of our favourites – Madison’s Grill, the Blue Plate Diner, Koutouki, Lux Steakhouse or Delux Burger Bar. Presentation-wise, it’s tough to beat the offerings at Notables Stationers. We’ve designed custom Christmas cards with their talented staff in past (and the hand-made wrapping paper is sure to impress). And for that person that seems to have everything, we’ve always found something special at La Piazza Dasee. Their team pushes floral design to a whole new level and their expanded location just south of Whyte Avenue has a great selection of unique gifts you won’t find anywhere else!

Make sure to check out Lightside Photography’s blog, featuring 30 local businesses over 30 days, for even more ideas!

Food Notes for November 29, 2010

If you haven’t yet entered the contest to win $750 worth of prizes to the Thompson Okanagan Region, make sure you do so by Friday, December 3! On to this week’s food notes:

Vinomania is hosting free wine tastings every Saturday from noon-5pm until December 18, 2010.
Foodie McPoon has uncovered some newish and soon-to-be restaurants in Edmonton: Sanpachi, a Japanese noodle house, and a dim sum joint in a Howard Johnson hotel, called Delicious, Delicious.
I came across a new French bistro called La Persaud on the Campus Saint Jean.
Kerstin’s is a great place if you’re looking to satisfy someone’s sweet tooth. And even better, besides knowing you are supporting a local business, you can also feel good that your purchases are benefiting those in developing countries too. As of December 1, 2010, Kerstin’s will be donating 10% of their profits to Change for Children, as the organization supports work in countries where cacao is grown.
Similar to how Allan broke down his veggie cost from his CSA share this summer, Kevin calculated the cost of his whole cow from Nature’s Green Acres, or, as he calls it: Nouveau Beef-onomics.
I almost missed Jennifer Cockrall-King’s post about “Gordonspotting” Gordon Ramsay at Hardware Grill on his recent stop in Edmonton.
A new Loblaws store, No Frills, opened in Edmonton last week.
Another group-based deals service launched, called Swarm Jam, courtesy of the Edmonton Journal.
Paula Simons posted a recipe for the cookie heard ‘round the world, and Chris tried out the recipe himself.
I can’t remember when I first saw these, but these collapsible bottles would be a great gift idea for a traveler, or really, anyone environmentally conscious.
SF bans Happy Meals (well, at least the marketing ploy of a toy for meals over a certain calorie count.
Sure, the Thanksgiving ramekin from The Dish was great – but how about most of a Thanksgiving meal stuffed into a croissant?
Frank Bruni asks: have we gone too far with our quest for the perfect cup of coffee at home?
There was a good piece in the NYT about one-note restaurants, with a particularly en-pointe statement: “‘Certain movie stars can carry a movie; certain foods can carry a restaurant.’”
First Julie Powell (of Julie & Julia fame), now Sarah Bigelow – are female butchers the new “it” thing?
Ruby Dragon, which has replaced Kai (10909 Jasper Avenue), is now open.

Ruby Dragon

Look out for new establishments in the 124 Street area, including Somerville Wine & Cheese.

Somerville Wine & Cheese

Also on tap, two doors down from Duchess, is Food Dish Wishes, a pet bakery.

Food Dish Wishes

The board I volunteer for was treated to a lovely dinner at the Royal Glenora on Monday. The food was great – my favourite dishes included the cedar-planked, panko-coated salmon, and the creamy mashed potatoes (it really is difficult to get attractive photos of a buffet spread).

I had to take a photo with Vicki, who is my partner-in-crime on the board!

Have a great week!

Saturday in Edmonton

It was a great day to be in Edmonton this weekend – I’m not really a football fan, but the excitement in the city for Grey Cup weekend was palpable. It helps that where we live is right in the thick of things, but based on the numbers of people on the streets – tourists and residents alike were out in full force taking in one of our biggest events this year.

We started our Saturday at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (which seemed to be emptier than usual, no doubt because of the festivities downtown), then wandered over to the Cosmopolitan Music Society, which was hosting the 9th Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair.

Inside the Royal Bison

There was some uncertainty earlier this year whether or not Royal Bison would continue, as founder Raymond Biesinger moved to Montreal, but thankfully, three of the artists/vendors saved the fair from demise. It’s such a great event – I love the unique products, but also the variety available.

Fun vinyl accessories by Majesty Inc.

Suitcase amps!

Beautiful jewellery by Saraswati

Omar Mouallem is multitalented – associate editor at Avenue Edmonton, he is also a writer and rapper

Sarah Jackson of A Jam Story was nice enough to tell us our love fortune (something we missed out on at the last ArtsScene event)

We picked up a few gifts, then zoomed back home, just in time to catch the Grey Cup parade just outside our building.

There were snowbirds

And cheerleaders

Mascots

And smile-inducing floats

Horses

And those that clean up after them

Our armed forces

And of course…a sea of green

I knew from attending an Eskimos game against Saskatchewan that Roughriders fans are rabid supporters of their team, but I really didn’t know how much until this weekend. It really was amazing to be a part of, if only for a few days. (You can check out Mack’s post on the parade here, and see the rest of his photos here.)

After ducking inside to warm up (funny how staying stationary in even mildly cold temperatures can be chilly), we wandered over to Huddle Town, centering on Churchill Square, to check out the festivities.

A football game in front of City Hall

It was really amazing to us how many people were outside wandering around, enjoying themselves, not minding the cold. We hear so often that being a winter city prevents more programming of events outdoors – and though I recognize that the weather was actually not too bad, to some extent, the “build it, and they will come” mantra seems to hold true.

The crowds

The Gridiron Zone, for example, held in the square just south of the Stanley Milner Library, is empty most of the year. One reason provided was that the concrete isn’t sound due to the parkade structure just underneath. Well, everything seemed fine this weekend – as the space hosted sponsor booths, and, what else – a bar.

Inside the Zone

Lines seemed to be the word of the day, however – besides the massive wait for the Zipline (please, please bring it back in the future!), there were lines to get into the Spirit of Edmonton, the Huddle Dome and even the tented sports bar by City Hall!

Lines everywhere

In spite of the waits, everyone was in such a good mood. We even got a random hug from a woman walking around with a huge “Rider Nation” flag!

Spread the love

There really was something for everyone though, and enough activities to keep crowds busy. The music at the outdoor stage kept things lively, and of course, food is never a bad thing. It was great to see Eva Sweet out so we could warm up with some hot waffles!

Fozzy with Chris Jericho

Eva Sweet (without a truck!)

Though I’m sure people didn’t come out for the free stuff, there was quite a bit of swag to be had, some more random than others (we took the can of baked beans, but we live nearby; who would want to carry it around with them?). My favourites were the Mardi Gras-inspired beads from the organizers of TigerTown and the Grey Cup bandana.

Mack with his swag!

For non-sports fans, Alberta House could have been a bit of a sanctuary, with a good variety of arts and culture programming. We finished off our tour of Huddle Town with a quick demo by Brad Smoliak, who used quick-cook barley from Progressive Foods to make a risotto (which also featured pecorino from The Cheesiry, and wild boar bacon from Hog Wild).

Brad Smoliak at work

The finished product (I’ve made it before, but never with bacon – it tastes so much better with bacon!)

Kudos to the organizers for such a great weekend! Hopefully it leads to even more events downtown in the winter.

Playing Elves at Santas Anonymous

Mack and I had signed up a little too late for last year’s Wrapping Tweetup, an annual event organized by Brittney to help Santas Anonymous for an evening. We made sure not to make the same mistake this year.

On Friday night, we headed to their warehouse just north of the City Centre Airport, a different location than when we volunteered two years ago. There were over a dozen people already there, busily wrapping gifts.

The warehouse

We were assigned bagging duty – placing gifts for each household securely in a bag, then sorting it by location. Time flew by quickly, as it always seems to, and though the group made a small dent on the number packages bagged, the remaining tags were still too numerous to count, and of course, requests will continue to come in for the next few weeks.

Mack bags a package

The need is mind boggling, and a reminder of how many families are less fortunate in our very community. And though Santas Anonymous has, thankfully, been providing this wonderful service in Edmonton for 55 years now, it is also stunning that they haven’t yet secured a permanent home to conduct their business (the Jerry Forbes Centre for Community Spirit, which will house Santas Anonymous, as well as other non-profit organizations, is not slated to be completed until 2013).

Waiting to be delivered

If you’re looking to help out at the Santas Anonymous warehouse, click here. Or, there’s always the delivery days, December 18-19, 2010 – another very worthwhile experience. Thanks to Brittney for organizing this opportunity!

Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market: Update

I had some time after work on Thursday, so hopped on the train and headed to the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market. After a quick connection to a bus at Coliseum station, I was there – fifteen minutes after leaving downtown.

All decked out for the holidays

The market has undergone some changes in the past two weeks since my last visit. A new market manager has been installed, and from the sounds of it, was a necessary step, and a positive one. Kerry is working on bringing in new vendors, and though the market will be closed December 23, 2010 and January 2 and 9, 2011, she’s already planning to partner with Deep Freeze, Arts on the Avenue’s winter festival, to offer a special market in conjunction with the festivities.

Mary Ellen and Andreas of Greens, Eggs and Ham have also been tirelessly drumming up more vendor support for the market, and helped bring on both Shooting Star Ranch and Smoky Valley Goat Cheese. They really are amazing – between farming, deliveries, and family, they’ve also managed to squeeze one more market into their roster – the Kingsland Market in Calgary on Saturdays.

Andreas and Mary Ellen Grueneberg

Elk farmer Christine Harrison of Shooting Star Ranch has an amazing memory – she had to prompt me that we had already met – briefly at Planet Organics’ Meet the Locals festival over a year ago (where they also carry their products). This was her second market day (and the only farmers’ market that she does), and though it had been slow so far, she was confident that sales would improve. I picked up some ground elk, which will be perfect for a warming batch of chili later in the week.

Christine Harrison of Shooting Star Ranch

It was the first Alberta Avenue market day for Holly Gale of Smoky Valley Goat Cheese. It’s so fantastic for this small market to have such a wonderful cheese producer. I really hope customers give her cheeses a try – they won’t look back!

Holly Gale of Smoky Valley Goat Cheese

Arie Jol of Ma-Be Farms is a veteran at this market, having joined in the fall of 2009. He sells grass-fed beef and bison, naturally-raised pork, and free-run chickens and eggs. He has his share of regular customers, such as one woman who asks, “Are you treating your chickens well?” before buying her eggs. Every week, he responds, with assurance, “Yes.”

Arie Jol of Ma-Be Farms

Though the selection of vendors is small (which will hopefully change soon, along with the hours), I love the vibe of this market. Sure, it is so different in many ways from the City Market, but they do both have an intimacy not seen at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market – space and time to be able to individually connect with the vendors. This market also has such potential to become a community gathering venue like The Carrot down the street, vitally important “bumping places” for burgeoning neighbourhoods like Alberta Avenue.

Check out the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market when you have the chance!

Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market
118 Avenue & 93 Street
Open Thursdays, 2-7 p.m.

Downtown East Diner: Early Bird Cafe

A colleague and I attended an all-day training session at Canada Place today, which, besides being a nice change of pace, also meant we were able to try out a new restaurant! I had been eying the Early Bird Cafe for some time, tucked away in the soon-to-be-revitalized Quarters on 97 Street and 102 Avenue. Though it is getting better, it is still not the best area after dark, which may also explain why the restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch.

Our instructor cut our lunch hour in half, hoping to get a jump on the afternoon material, so I crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t be a mistake for us to opt for a non-food cafeteria meal. It wasn’t.

The restaurant is narrow, with a welcoming long wooden bar at the front, where customers could watch the kitchen in action. Unfortunately, the walkway between the door and the bar isn’t particularly wide, so customers all inevitably drifted to the rear of the space. The room is functional, with a nice refurbished wooden floor, but what passes as decor gave us a bit of a laugh because of its randomness – a poster of mushroom varieties displayed next to a glossy of Marilyn Monroe, for example.

The no-frills menu is filled with comforting diner favourites – baked pastas, burgers and donairs. Due to the time constraints, my coworkers and I both decided on a sandwich with the day’s soup on the side.

My colleague enjoyed her Denver sandwich, with ham, green pepper, onion and egg ($6.95). We both agreed the cream of spinach soup was pretty good – nice flavour, and fresh spinach that had been added just before serving.

Denver sandwich

My Monte Cristo with ham, turkey and Swiss ($8.95) was a bit unusual – where I was expecting crisp egg-dipped bread, I was presented with the equivalent of a sandwich made with French toast. I found out later that this simply is another version, and ultimately, would make a great brunch dish – savoury with hints of sweetness.

Monte Cristo

Staff were great – friendly and attentive; if we didn’t have to promptly return, it would have been a great place to linger a while. It’s really great to see another small business open up in downtown east – give it a try if you’re in the area!

Early Bird Cafe
10221 97 Street
(780) 420-6826
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm

Win a Basket from the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association!

As much as I love Edmonton, my mind seems to naturally drift to warmer climes when the mercury drops. How easy is it to get lost in a daydream just looking at the photos below?

The sky that never ends…

Can I have the bottle please?

And as luck would have it, I have a gift basket from the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) in British Columbia to give away – just in time for Christmas! The basket is worth over $750, and includes:

One nights’ accommodation for two from Accent Inns
A Red and White Vinotherapy spa lotion and 20 “Spa Dollars” from Beyond Wrapture Spa
One nights’ accommodation for two from Best Western Kelowna
Two lift tickets for Big White
An Okanagan Wine Cheese Plate made from recycled VQA Wine bottles
One bottle of Okanagan-Similkameen Wine from the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society:
A complementary upgrade to one bedroom executive suite for two people from Sandman Group Kelowna
A$25 gift certificate from Chop Restaurant
One body butter cream sample from Smudge
A $10 coupon towards a wine purchase at their Wine Shop and a tasting and tour gift certificate for Summerhill Pyramid Winery
A Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association 2010 Vacation Guide
One nights’ accommodation in a complementary suite and a $50 credit at the Wine Bar from the Watermark Beach Resort
A copy of the Fall/Winter 2010 Wineries Refined Magazine

Though I’ve been through the Okanagan region before, it was many, many years ago, and I was too young to appreciate the full bounty of our neighbour to the west (well that, and being a child, the wineries were off limits). I do, however, remember seeing more fruit on trees than I ever had before. Cherry picking our way through one orchard, my youngest sister gorged herself to the point of inevitable illness.

Since then, I’ve only explored the area vicariously through a few of my fellow local bloggers – Jennifer Cockrall-King, who organizes the annual Okanagan Food & Wine Writers Workshop, FoodieSuz, and Liane Faulder – a read through their experiences is to believe that paradise is only a half day away. The winner of this basket will no doubt have an amazing time getting acquainted with the area firsthand!

Food, glorious food

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below with your favourite memory of the Okanagan. Or, if you’ve never visited the area before, what do you most look forward to enjoying in the Okanagan? The contest closes at 5 p.m. on December 3, 2010. I will contact the winner by e-mail.

To learn more about the Thompson Okanagan region, check out their website, Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter. Good luck!

Edit on December 6, 2010: Congratulations to George Wenzel for winning the basket. Enjoy your trip, George!

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