Red Shoe Crawl: 124 Street Edition

The 124 Street area is a natural fit for the growth of the Red Show Crawl, an event put on by the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Alberta, a charity which provides affordable accommodation to families of sick children receiving medical care in Edmonton. I attended the inaugural crawl based around Whyte Avenue last year, and enjoyed it immensely. Well-organized and pedestrian-oriented, I thought it was a great way to eat our way through the neighbourhood. Mack and I looked forward to exploring 124 Street in the same way.

We arrived at the Desert Rose Dance Studio for check in, and were assigned a random starting point from the eighteen participating businesses. This probably did much to help alleviate initial congestion from venues surrounding the registration site.

We were assigned to begin at The Bothy, one of the few places who opened up specifically for the event. It was our first time at their downtown location, though we intend to return again in the future for a more formal experience.

Bothy’s beautiful bar

The Bothy started us off with a pour of wine, which became a pattern on this tour. As Mack said about halfway through the afternoon, it seemed more like a pub crawl as opposed to a food crawl. Though organizers may not have known in advance what each establishment would be serving (since each business donated their time and refreshments), it probably would have been better to have set expectations up front.

Our first glass of many

As a result, the most memorable of the stops involved food. The garlic chili prawns at the sleek Somerville Wine and Cheese Bar, for instance, were at the top of our list. We finished the delicious, flavour-packed bites much too soon.

Chili prawns and bubbly from Somerville

The generous plate at Paddy’s Cheese Market was also a welcome sight to balance out the wine (or even to have accompanied it). It even featured a local selection of The Cheesiry’s sheep’s milk ricotta!

Cheese plates at Paddy’s

Neighbourhood favourite Urban Diner featured a long-braised pulled pork sandwich and their house-brewed lemonade, enjoyed on their sun-drenched patio.

Pulled pork and lemonade from Urban Diner

New bakery Cookie Love served adorable one-bite cookies alongside shots of milk. The taste definitely piqued my palate – I’ll have to be back to purchase a full bag next time!

Cookies from Cookie Love

Also for dessert – a two-bite macaron, plus a meringue, from Duchess.

My sister Felicia photo bombs Mack

We finished our crawl with gelato from Cococo – a scoop of our choice!

Gelato from Cococo

Food aside, the crawl was a great opportunity to check out not only our favourite shops along the way, but also some of the businesses I’d never been to before, such as the Daffodil Gallery, Thread Hill and Body by Bennett. Mack will attest to the fact that I did a lot more shopping this time around when compared with the Whyte Avenue edition.

Blending up smoothies at Body by Bennett

Rajeev and Felicia browse at Windscape Clothing

Mack makes a new friend at Call the Kettle Black

Overall, it was another well-organized crawl and a fun way to spend an afternoon, all while benefiting a great charity. Thanks to all of the businesses who participated, and bravo to the organizers for another great event!

Finis!

You can take a look at my full photo set here.

What’s Your Colour: KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway!

Although I love my ever-present, practical rice cooker, it definitely doesn’t help beautify my kitchen. And let’s be honest, most countertop appliances are designed for functionality, not for aesthetics.

The KitchenAid Stand Mixer is one exception. A staple in most kitchens (especially in those that see a lot of baking), the stand mixer commands attention, in a pretty, statuesque way. And now, with twenty-six shades to choose from, it’s a way to add a pop of colour all while easing your prep work.

While browsing through the options is one way to find your favourite, KitchenAid has come up with a fun way to determine which Artisan Series Stand Mixer colour is you. Just answer six questions at www.KitchenAidColourology.ca and your shade will be revealed!

I did the quiz and was a bit surprised at the answer: crystal blue (I think I was hoping for empire red, which is the shade my Mum has). My profile reads: “Sometimes you just need that little extra sparkle to brighten your surroundings. Crystal Blue is the bling you wear with your favourite outfit for a night on the town. It’s that “something blue” that will make your kitchen glisten with style.” Hm, maybe it’s telling me that I need a bit of a kitchen makeover!

Regardless, KitchenAid has kindly allowed me to give away a KitchenAid Stand Mixer on my blog. To enter, simply take the quiz and comment (with a valid e-mail) on which colour is chosen for you. Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm on October 9, 2012. I will contact the randomly chosen winner by e-mail by October 11, 2012. Only Canadian residents can enter.

Good luck!

Food Notes for October 1, 2012

Thrown back into work today, I realize I have quite a bit of catching up to do! And though we just got back from a holiday in Portland, we’re already preparing for another short vacation – a few days in the Okanagan as a tagalong to a conference in Kamloops. I am really fortunate to have these opportunities to travel, but it’s all a bit much for me, I’ll admit. On to this week’s food notes:

Dreading the end of food truck season? Then head over to Azimuth Theatre on October 6, 2012 for a taste of Drift and Nomad in celebration of Oktoberfest.
This is the last week the Green & Gold Garden will be open for regular market hours. Go check out this volunteer-run garden for one last fall hurrah!
Culina Mill Creek is hosting harvest dinners on October 23 and 24, 2012. The five-course dinner with wine pairings is $95.
Sturgeon County is hosting its first ever Food & Wine Festival on October 27, 2012 at the Enjoy Centre. Admission is $25 and food and wine tasting tickets are $0.50 each.
Duchess Provisions is now open! Check out Liane’s preview for an idea of what you can expect on the shelves.
Great news: the Italian Centre is set to open a location in the city’s west end, in the former Ethan Allan storefront.
Congrats to Corso 32 and Tres Carnales for their inclusion on Macleans’ 50 Best Restaurants list. Hopefully next time around we’ll beat out Calgary in numbers.
Great piece about Bully Food Truck in the Edmonton Sun.
Missing Kerstin’s Chocolates? Well you’re in luck – Kerstin’s sister Angie has brought the brand back, and will be selling the line at farmers’ markets in Edmonton, including the City Market indoors at City Hall.
We missed the opening of Williams Sonoma in West Edmonton Mall, but it received so much coverage I felt like I was there! Check out write-ups from Liane, Karlynn, Michelle and Lillian.
Also new to WEM is another location of Tutti Frutti, a chain that seems to be quite aggressively expanding.
The City released its long-awaited Food and Agriculture strategy today, entitled Fresh. I haven’t had a chance to page through it myself, but here are some thoughts from Liane and Jennifer.
The City also released its report on outdoor patios last week.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the supposed bacon shortage forecasted for next year. But should you really be panicking? Maybe not.
104 Street played host to another rockin’ street fest on Friday night, as the kick off to the annual Alberta Culture Days. There was an on-stage cooking demonstration, street food, and of course, music. Hope you enjoyed the festivities this weekend as well!

Liane hosts a cooking demonstration where second year NAIT students prepared flank steak

My DECL colleagues heart yegdt too!

My braised beef sandwich from Drift

The stage (right below our building, and so loud things were vibrating on our kitchen counter)

Recap: What the Truck?! @ Churchill Square

September 8, 2012 saw the biggest What the Truck?! take place in Churchill Square. Twelve trucks congregated downtown for our final hurrah for the 2012 season.

WTT @ Churchill Square

As with our penultimate event on Victoria Promenade, we again lucked out with the weather. And though it started out unbearably hot, the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings in the early evening soon made the conditions absolutely ideal for an outdoor food festival.

Enjoying summer

There were other benefits to setting up on Churchill Square, which made it immediately obvious why it is Edmonton’s de facto events space – the infrastructure, which includes built-in power hook-ups, on-site washrooms and a multitude of seating options is efficient, and cost-effective. It also does, in a way, spoil us for any other location in the city, but given the pop-up nature of the event, we hope you’re willing to bear with us in the future!

Lots of seating

Loved that newly-married Nadine and Glyn stopped by!

That said, we also recognized that in order to even attempt an event at Churchill Square, we needed to have our biggest turnout yet to not only animate the area but also enough people to patronize the trucks. Thankfully, we were thrilled for the support we received that night. One of the pieces of feedback we did receive was that people appreciated the expanse of the location – lines had enough room to breathe, and those browsing through menus could do so fairly easily. We do have to thank Northlands for stepping up and lending us stanchions for this event – they did wonders for directing and managing lines!

Yay, stanchions!

The trucks all deserve a standing ovation for what they did that night – all twelve absolutely rocked it, serving the huge crowds tirelessly and with grace to spare. We are very lucky to have such a great food truck community in Edmonton that seems to be getting bigger by the season! Among our WTT newcomers this time around were Little Village, Yellowbird Cafe and Bully.

Little Village

Nachos from Yellowbird Cafe

Bully is the shiniest new truck on the scene, the city’s first American-style truck. I tried their grilled salmon served on salad – the fish was deliciously flaky, with a nicely seared crust. The portion was so big that I didn’t have room for any other savoury dishes that night!

Bully

Buttermilk and basil marinated salmon from Bully

This time around, we also had volunteers helping us out with set-up and clean-up. Especially when things got going, it was great to have extra pairs of hands changing garbage cans so we could ensure the Square stayed spic and span. Thanks again to Brittney, Fel, Kathy, Kim, Patrick, Su and Thom for all of your help!

Some of our great volunteers – Kim, Thom and Patrick

It was great to work DJs Raebot and wijit, who really helped set the tone for the evening. No doubt Churchill is a large space, but their tunes helped bring it all together.

DJs Raebot and wijit

Thanks to everyone who came out to What the Truck?! in 2012, and to those who voted us Edmonton’s number one pop-up event in Vue Weekly’s Best of Edmonton poll. We really appreciate the support!

Churchill Square

And though we might be done for the year, that doesn’t mean all of the trucks are! Bully, Drift and Little Village among others will be serving into October. Keep the truck love going!

Check out the full photoset here.

City Market Report: Week 20

With an empty fridge after returning from Portland on Thursday night, it was nice to get back into routine this morning with a prompt visit to the City Market.

Sunshine!

It was also great that the weather held out for another week in September – I think we can safely say we’ve had a pretty good fall!

Pumpkins from Sundog Organic

Carrots from Sundog Organic

Celeriac from Green Valley Farm

Squash from Kuhlmann’s

More squash from Kuhlmann’s

Pears from Steve & Dan’s

Apples from Steve & Dan’s

Brussels sprouts from Riverbend Gardens

Cauliflower from Riverbend Gardens

All sorts of gourds at Riverbend Gardens

The market has just one more outdoor date on 104 Street, before relocating indoors at City Hall for the rest of the fall and winter season. Make it count – see you next week!

Recap of Blink: Urban Picnic

Our second pop-up dinner in the Blink series took place on August 26, 2012. Situated outdoors in Louise McKinney Park, the weather would undoubtedly make or break the event. We were fortunate that it was the former and not the latter.

But even better than the conditions that evening, Mack and I were able to find three amazing partners that really helped make Blink: Urban Picnic happen. The first, the Shaw Conference Centre, not only helped us ensure the price of Blink remained affordable, but went above and beyond by kicking things off in an extraordinarily creative way. Shaw lent us dishes and flatwear, a cost that would have otherwise been passed on to the diner. They also introduced the idea of offering an “escalator cocktail” as a welcome beverage. Diners, greeted at the Jasper Avenue entrance, were handed a refreshing drink, and invited to enjoy it as they took advantage of the escalators, an ideal gateway into Edmonton’s river valley.

Cocktail hour

Communal walk to dinner

The tables are set

Second, Kara and Nevin Fenske of Drift, helped articulate the concept of an “urban picnic”, designing a casual but refined family-style menu perfect for communal tables. Their commitment to local producers also meant the courses were seasonal, highlighting the breadth of harvest produce available from area farmers. They also secured live music, which further enriched the setting.

Mobile eatery (photo by Hugh Lee)

Nevin and Ron working hard

Kara serves up some crostinis (photo by Hugh Lee)

Enjoying the sunshine

Musicians from Drive the Day and Calan and Cole

Urban picnic

Family style (photo by Hugh Lee)

The fried chicken was divine, though the warm potato salad was a close second

The third, River Valley Adventure Company, agreed to serve dessert and coffee to patrons as a cap off to the night. Given that many still aren’t aware of their presence in the park, it was a great opportunity for guests to learn more about their services. Even better, Chris, the gregarious owner, offered free segway demos to anyone interested.

Free rides

Though it wasn’t entirely intentional, I ended up really enjoying the physical transitions down the gradient of the river valley. From a cocktail hour at the Shaw, dinner with a view, finished with segway ride next to the river, the sum of the parts made for a very special evening.

Watchful (photo by Hugh Lee)

Thanks to everyone who attended Blink – we hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did!

You can take a look at Mack’s full photoset here.

Food Notes for September 17, 2012

Mack and I are finally packing up for a long-awaited vacation! We’re not going far, or for very long, but because of our very busy summer, it couldn’t come at a better time. Portland, Oregon, here we come! As usual, I’ll be taking a break from blogging, but make sure to check out those in the blog roll for local reads! On to this week’s food notes:

Next week, make sure to check out the kick-off to the Alberta Arts Days festivities on September 28, 2012! One of the al fresco events will see live music and food trucks commandeer 104 Street from Jasper to 102 Avenue.
Cookie Love (12525A 102 Ave) is now open. We had the chance to try their cookies on the Red Shoe Crawl on Sunday – two thumbs up!
On the heels of a successful tour to Portland, the Journal is leading another excursion in November, this time to the food mecca of Manhattan.
Although I enjoyed learning about Cafe Select’s menu transformation, this piece read too much like an advertorial to me.
Were you ever curious about what former Journal food writer Judy Schultz’s kitchen looks like? Wonder no more.
Mack sent me a link to a relatively new feature on The Gateway’s website – video food reviews called Campus Bites.
I missed this last week – Valerie posted a great review of Manor Cafe’s Passion for Pork dinner.
Great to see Sundog Organic Farm featured in Vue’s cover story this week.
Jennifer Cockrall-King sent me a link to a story about tiffin boxes: a project in Vancouver is looking at eliminating wasteful take-out containers by encouraging the use of re-usable tiffin boxes. Even better, a portion of each tiffin box sale goes towards a fund to help restaurateurs purchase local produce. Any takers for something like this in Edmonton?
Coming soon to Whyte: a Lebanese eatery in the space formerly occupied by Crepeworks.

La Shish

Mack moderated a panel last Thursday at the AGA titled “Closing the Food Gap”, a part of The Way We Green speakers series. The panel featured Kevin Kossowan, Jennifer Cockrall-King, Kathryn Lennon and Mark Winne. It’s always great to hear different perspectives on local food issues!

Closing the Food Gap panel

On the weekend, Amanda and I checked out Pinkberry at West Edmonton Mall. We didn’t mind the non-self-serve orientation, and although I initially balked at the $5.70 price tag for a small, given the amount of toppings “comfortably” crammed into the cup, it probably ended up being relatively cheaper than Tutti Frutti, my usual frozen yogurt haunt. The pomegranate yogurt I tried was tart and refreshing. I’d be back, but probably only if I was at the mall to begin with.

Pinkberry

For dinner that night, we met up with Felicia at Three Boars. It was another consistently good meal, with the standout dish for us being the perfectly crusted Alberta lamb sirloin served alongside a shiitake mushroom baklava.

Bacon and apple poutine (I could see the appeal, but it wasn’t for me)

Beef cheek and creamy rutabaga pie

Jerk pork loin banh mi (loved that they cut it in three for us!)

Alberta lamb sirloin, shiitake mushroom baklava, glazed lentils and wheat berries, mustard greens, carrot puree

Amanda and I continued our gluttonous day at Da Capo on Whyte for gelato. Yum!

All mine

I also tried Thai Orchid (4005 Gateway Boulevard) for the first time on Saturday for dinner. It was a big group, and a few orders got lost in the shuffle, but I did enjoy my pad thai. Worth returning to for a more complete meal.

Pad Thai

My parents hosted a “Thanksgiving dinner” on Sunday night, given Amanda likely won’t be back to Edmonton for quite some time. For dessert, my Mum made waffles, served with whipped cream and Steve & Dan’s berries.

Dessert!

Enjoy your week!

City Market Report: Week 18 (plus Cornfest!)

We were blessed with another beautiful market day on Saturday, which always feels fortunate the later in the year that we get. Shoppers were our enjoying the sunshine at the City Market, though I wasn’t one of them myself!

Beautiful day

I was volunteering for Downtown Edmonton Community League’s Cornfest (more on that later), so Mack did the shopping and the picture snapping this week.

Beets at Sundog Organic

Kale at Sundog Organic

Assorted squash at Riverbend Gardens

Peach display at Steve & Dan’s

Lovely fruit basket from Steve & Dan’s

I did stop by the Fork and Spoon Brigade about halfway through my shift, to satiate myself with one of their hearty breakfast in a bowls.

Eggs, potatoes, bacon and cheese – how can one go wrong with that combination?

Over at Beaver Hills House Park on 105 Street and Jasper Avenue, my community league had organized our annual harvest tradition of Cornfest. Although this event has preceded the city-wide Community League Day, in the last few years, we now plan for it to coincide with that date.

We love #yegdt!

Sobeys on 104 Street had generously donated the corn, which we cooked and handed out for free. I didn’t think to count the boxes before, but needless to say, we shucked A LOT of corn.

Shucking corn

For whatever reason, it wasn’t as busy as last year, when we ran out of corn about an hour earlier than expected. But those who did come out seemed to enjoy themselves all the same!

Steaming hot corn

Enjoying corn

There were also children’s activities, with corn husk doll-making lessons, a Downtown in Bloom awards ceremony, and opportunities for people to pick up their community league membership for 2013. But if you missed us, DECL will be at the City Market again on September 22, 2012 with a membership sales table.

Laurissa shows off her corn husk doll

MLA Laurie Blakeman hands out Downtown in Bloom awards

Chris mans the membership table

Hope you enjoyed your community league activities as well!

Recap: Farming in the City Guided Bus Tours

On August 26, 2012, Mack and I took part in the Greater Edmonton Alliance’s Farming in the City guided bus tours. Organized to increase awareness about the pristine farmland we currently have in Edmonton, in an effort to ensure it remains farmland as City Council considers the Food and Agriculture Strategy on October 26. Though it wasn’t our first time in the area (we took part in the Great Potato Giveaway and have been to Riverbend Gardens in the past), it was a different experience to visit the farmland as a part of a collective group. Tickets were just $10, quite a steal considering the day they planned for us.

We took the LRT to Northlands, a partner for the tours. For an event about promoting sustainability, it was odd that the organizers only had signs directing those who drove to the pick-up site, and not for those who took public transit. We couldn’t see the buses from the mouth of the LRT station, so did a fair bit of wandering around the massive Northlands parking lot before we came upon the site.

Our ride

Anyway, we were happy to discover the first bus of the day was full (8:30am on a Sunday morning wouldn’t have been our first choice, but with Blink: Urban Picnic to follow, it was our only option). It also turned out the rest of the buses were equally well subscribed, to the point where the organizers were turning people away! In total, around 400 people took part in the 10 bus tours throughout the day, quite a feat considering the number of competing summer festivals going on.

It was also a particularly impressive volunteer effort, with enthusiastic, dedicated members of our community lending their time to this cause. Our tour guide, for example, is a student attending the University of Alberta.

Volunteers like Joveena helped run the event!

The bus took us through five different farms in Edmonton’s north east, though we only stopped to visit three of them. The first of these stops was Horse Hill Berry Farm.

I never knew this little gem of a u-pick farm existed! David and Jackie Clark grow half a dozen varieties of raspberries on ten acres, and are open from late July to late August every year.

Jackie Clark of Horse Hill Berry Farm

We were actually there on their last weekend of operation, but could still spot many juicy berries between the brambles ripe for the picking. Jackie encouraged us to not only wander the neat rows of raspberry plants, but to help ourselves to the fruit!

Neat rows of raspberries

Raspberries!

Our second stop was Norbest Farm, a potato farm. Owner Gord Visser was on hand to greet all of us as we departed the bus, and had a surprise for the group – fresh hand cut fries made from his potatoes!

Another batch for the fryer

Mack loves his potatoes

We were also able to each take home a bag of potatoes, so we could further taste the kind of produce the land supports.

Spuds

Last but not least, our final bus departure took place at Riverbend Gardens. We were given an hour at this lush farm, which seemed to give everyone a leisurely opportunity to explore a part of the fields, take in the gorgeous views and enjoy the free corn that was being handed out!

Riverbend Gardens is located right next to the North Saskatchewan River

Will stop for corn

Janelle chats with Global about her farm

Kale!

Among the cabbage

Riverbend Gardens has 120 acres of farmable land, and currently sell their produce at 7 farmers’ markets in Edmonton. But special for that day, owners Janelle and Aaron Herbert set up a produce stand right at the farm, so attendees could not only see the variety of vegetables grown, but to also purchase some to try for themselves!

Produce stand

Freshly picked veg

It was a great way to spend three hours on a summer morning – getting to know our farmland, our farmers, and some other Edmontonians who are committed to preserving our city’s food future. Thanks to the Greater Edmonton Alliance for putting this event on, and to all of the volunteers for making it happen!

You can take a look at the full photoset here. If you want to get involved, take a look at Friends of Farmers.

The Cooking Chronicles: Breakfast Suppers

Having breakfast for dinner in whatever form is usually a treat, and always a great go-to when nothing else seems to be an option. We deviated from our usual formula of eggs, bacon and toast recently to see what other breakfast dishes we could concoct for our evening meals.

Black Bean and Egg Tacos

A recipe for black bean and egg tacos was billed as a frugal meal on The Chew, based around three relatively inexpensive ingredients – tortillas, beans and eggs. The hosts kept raving about how tasty this dish was, but I really didn’t believe such a simple combination could be so tasty – until we tried it ourselves.

It was a meal rummaged from the depths of our fridge and freezer – eggs from Sunshine Organic, two long-forgotten Don Antonio’s whole wheat tortillas, and a bag of cooked black beans I had stored away. The prep was simple – while the tortillas were warming in the oven, the mixture of eggs and black beans were scrambled in a skillet. Shredded cheese was added to the mix, then cilantro, and that was it!

Black bean and egg tacos

The black beans not only added heft to the eggs, but also a bit of depth. The fresh herbs also made it pop ever so slightly. It is definitely something we will make again!

Eggs Florentine

In Giada de Laurentiis’ new book, Weeknights With Giada, she devotes a whole chapter to “Breakfast for Dinner”. We tried her recipe for eggs florentine one night, swayed by the promise of luscious egg yolk and creamy spinach-flecked sauce.

The best thing about this recipe, however, was making the prosciutto chips that we crumbled on top. Into the oven went slices of prosciutto on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet, and out came crisp, salty, meat chips. They could be a garnish on so many things – soups, pastas, or eaten straight up as we did while the rest of the dish came together.

Anyway, the dish itself was nothing spectacular, though it was tasty enough (given the eggs, cream, and cheese in the dish, it would have been hard pressed not to be so). I recognize I also went a little overboard with the sauce though, which quickly transformed the English muffins from toasted to cream-saturated.

Eggs florentine

I’ll be working my way through some of her other recipes though – hopefully the next one will be more inspiring!

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