Mmm Pumpkin Pie: Fife n’ Dekel

This guest post was written by Mack, an Edmonton-based geek who fancies himself a part-time foodie. You can find him online at his blog, and on Twitter.

Like Sharon, fall is my favorite time of year. I love the brisk weather, the colorful leaves, and yes, seasonal treats! Perhaps my favorite is pumpkin pie. While driving in the west end this past weekend, Sharon and I stopped at Fife n’ Dekel to pickup a slice for me ($3.49). Sharon doesn’t like pumpkin pie, if you can believe it!

Pumpkin Pie

I opted to forego the whipped cream. I found the pie very tasty with great texture! Great pumpkin flavor. The crust was just right – not too soft, not too crunchy.

Pumpkin Pie

I had never been to Fife n’ Dekel before, but based on the pumpkin pie, I’ll be back!

Fife n’ Dekel
10646 170 Street (2 other locations)
(780) 489-6436
Monday-Friday 7am-4:30pm, Saturday 10:30am-3:00pm

The Cooking Chronicles: Harvest Corn Chowder

I’m still in shock of how fast winter descended upon the city, with the trees, yellow leaves still attached, frozen in a sad reminder of fall.

Anyway, the dip in temperature means it is officially soup weather, so I made a harvest corn chowder based on a recipe I clipped from the Edmonton Journal a few weeks ago. Because we are still swimming in potatoes from the Great Potato Giveaway, I substituted them for the sweet potato called for in the recipe.

While it was tasty, and not too heavy, owing to the fact that the majority of the liquid is chicken stock and not cream, it seemed there was something lacking in the soup. Perhaps the sweet potato was indeed the missing link?

Harvest Corn Chowder

Volunteering for Homeless Connect 3

The third Homeless Connect took place this past Sunday, and Mack and I were there along with about three hundred other volunteers to lend a hand.

At the volunteer orientation

If you are not aware, Homeless Connect is an event organized by Homeward Trust. Homeward Trust coordinates one day in the spring and one in the fall where numerous organizations gather at the Shaw Conference Centre to provide free services and information. In an effort to provide a “one stop shop” of services for underprivileged individuals, this time around, over 60 groups offered everything from haircuts, dental care, immunizations, clothes, reading glasses, and of course, a hot meal.

At the last Homeless Connect in May, we were blurry eyed after just returning from a weeklong vacation in DC the night before, so I am happy to report that we were better adjusted for the daylong shift this time around. It also helped that this incarnation seemed more organized: the large group orientation started relatively on time; the team orientation was conducted in an enclosed space with a microphone (instead of yelling in the auditory vacuum of the hall); and volunteers had an opportunity to ask questions. Both Mack and I ended up on the registration team (the same position I held last time, but different for Mack), and would be one of the first contacts guests would have as they entered the hall. Our team leads went through the registration form with us, and as a result, I actually felt prepared for the task at hand.

Readying for the doors to open

The day started briskly; people had started to line up an hour or two before the doors opened at 10am. The voluntary registration form we had to administer did not collect names, but did ask details about the person’s current living situation. The big change from the previous form was the extremely tedious list of agencies that clients had to either acknowledge that they were aware of, or had used. While I understand that the answers would be extremely valuable for the agencies in understanding whether or not they are connecting with their target population, it was a cumbersome inventory to get through with some guests. Also new this year was a wristband guests received to indicate that they had completed the registration process, meaning they could bypass the registration area if they had to step outside the hall for whatever reason. Such a small detail, but much appreciated and thought-through.

Our registration table

As this was my second round as a registration volunteer, I was once again struck by how the face of homelessness is not a middle-aged male. There were numerous families with young children, and more than a few guests that were my age. It reminded me to take nothing for granted – many of them, I am sure, could have been on the other side of the desk next to me if not for certain circumstances.

Each guest received a bag with personal care items

In the volunteer rest area, I met a fellow volunteer who said that a year before, he was one of the guests, strung out and in dire need of addictions counselling. It was at the November 2008 Homeless Connect that he was introduced to a program that would change his life – he will be celebrating his one year anniversary of sobriety in just over a month. He was at the event as a client wanting to give back, hoping that his own story might convince others to take the path he did.

The final count of guests was somewhere around 1100 – less than half of what the organizers had prepared for. Somehow, I had thought that the colder weather might have encouraged more people to attend the event, but there are so many factors that influence turnout that it’s hard to pinpoint just one.

Regardless, Homeless Connect is a great event – bravo to Homeward Trust, Shaw Conference Centre and the service providers for another successful day.

You can read Mack’s post about the day here. Alex Abboud’s post about volunteering is also worth a read.

Edmonton’s Newest Bakery: Duchess Bake Shop

Life is all about the little things. Watching the leaves fall from the trees in autumn. Drinking in the mid-afternoon sun. Savouring that first sip of morning coffee. Or, finding that a new bakery opened up in your neighbourhood.

Thanks to Nate Box (who will be opening his own restaurant, Elm Cafe, soon enough), I found out about Duchess Bake Shop, located in the High Street area within walking distance of Mack’s place, and right along my homeward bound bus route. I stopped in on Monday to check them out, and found that they had only been open a whirlwind three days.

Interior

The shop has a chic, sophisticated feel about it, with hardwood floors and a dominant white interior. A chandelier and a handful of tables and chairs round out the space, helpful for those looking to stay and pair their indulgence with something from the bakery’s cafe menu.

Owners Garner and Giselle Beggs have been thinking about opening a bakery for years. Fresh from a four year sojourn in Tokyo, they decided the time was ripe to return and make their dream a reality. Although Duchess offers many French-inspired treats (croissants, macarons, madelines), Garner says they aren’t restricting themselves to a French repertoire, with apple and banana cream pies also available, among other treats. Everything is made from scratch without preservatives – even the food colouring they use is from natural sources.

Macarons

I picked up two croissants ($1.50 each) for Mack and I to serve as a savoury bridge to dinner. They smelled of butter, and on first bite, had that crispy-crunchy texture I look for in a croissant. Mack didn’t like it as much (he prefers the softer variety), but I’d buy it again.

Croissants

Duchess also serves croissant sandwiches, which would make it an interesting destination for lunch. Or, like the couple who filed into the shop after me – for those looking for something to “make a bad day better”. I will be back.

Duchess Bake Shop
10720 124 Street
(780) 488-4999
Hours as of October 26, 2009: Wednesday 9am-6pm, Thursday-Friday 9am-8pm, Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-5pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Food Notes for October 5, 2009

Mack and I damn near froze to death at the penultimate City Centre Market day on Saturday. We decided to walk, which was actually not too bad, but by the time we got there, the wind picked up. We bought our groceries as fast as we could and left, but the poor vendors had no choice but to stay! Anyway, this coming Saturday is the last day of the City Market for the year – though I know there are other year round markets, it’s my favourite, and I’ll be stocking up as much as I can!

  • Foodie Suz gets the quick draw review award – she visited the new Edmonton location of Cora just three hours after it opened.
  • Liane sampled some of the menu items on Hardware Grill’s new lunch menu this week, and also wrote about two vegan restaurants – Refresh and Misella Delite in Stony Plain.
  • Isabelle from The Little Red Kitchen will be reviewing restaurants every two weeks on CBC radio! She is actively seeking recommendations by e-mail.
  • Vue had a piece about Cake Couture’s Annie Dam last week.
  • Workshop West’s upcoming show The Seed Savers sounds like a worthwhile production to take in. The premise: “Mindy and Joe have spent fifty years on their farm, their family and each other, but when genetically-modified canola gets into their prized crop, much more is at risk than the ancient right of farmers to sow their own seed.” The show runs October 30-November 8.
  • I read about Localicious, a two week-long World Wildlife Federation venture to promote local foods with restaurant specials taking place in select Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Calgary. Why not Edmonton? I would think there are enough restaurants serving local food here that would be happy to participate.
  • The Globe & Mail had an article on the national green-washing trend, which the majority of local food advocates interviewed for the piece support.
  • Via Eat. Drink. Better., a calculator by an American organic company that lets consumers see how much synthetic nitrogen, herbicides and pesticides they would prevent by choosing their organic dairy products. An interesting way of getting the point across.
  • After 68 years, Conde Nast is pulling the plug on Gourmet Magazine. I’ve been reading stories over the last few months about the possibility of either Gourmet or Bon Appetit, so it’s not really a surprise. I’m still a little sad though.
  • The reviews of Starbucks’ instant coffee, VIA, have been lukewarm. I actually haven’t tried it yet – Mack has, and said he could have done without the sludge-like residue at the bottom and near the top of his mug.
  • The FTC ruled that bloggers must disclose any freebies (when posting reviews, etc.) – I had no idea they were even considering this as an area of possible regulation.
  • Mack sent me a short piece about the seemingly common disorder of food aversion (one man has apparently subsisted on cheese since birth).
  • Annie and I refuelled on an indulgent cinnamon bun from CinnZeo (which should really be called Sin-Zeo) at Kingsway last week. And yet, at $4.25, it was worth every icing smothered bite. Yum.

 

Cinnamon Bun from CinnZeo

  • Mack’s Mum was in town this weekend, and we met up with her, and Mack’s siblings at Cactus Club for dinner before a double feature of Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3D. We sat out on the patio, enclosed and heated in cool weather, which is really a great maximization of the space. My butternut squash ravioli ($17) was a lovely dish to have in the fall, and Mack enjoyed his cajun chicken burger ($12.50). Patti and Thom liked their pesto chicken quesadilla ($10) too. It was good to see everybody!

 

Enclosed Cactus Club patio

 

Cajun Chicken Burger

 

Pesto Chicken Quesadilla

Marathon Pho: Ninh Kieu

The ongoing chronicles of pho continued at Ninh Kieu, an establishment I have passed by countless times on my way into Chinatown, but never really noticed. The only reason it stood out at all was due to the fact that they had, at some point, put up a white vinyl sign which attracted my eye.

The restaurant is most notable because of their large windows, which enclose just about the entire dining area. As I am used to the shadowy corners of Pho Tau Bay, this was definitely a pleasant change. We could have done without the tinkering elevator music though, which although had the intention of providing a relaxing atmosphere, had the opposite affect.

Interior

As is standard, we split an order of green onion cakes ($4.75) to start, and opted for our usual benchmark bowls of pho – for me, the medium rare beef ($7.50) and for Dickson, the special beef noodle soup ($8.50).

Service was friendly and fairly efficient – we weren’t left waiting for our food. I would pass on the green onion cakes next time though – while crisp, the kitchen may have misplaced the salt while making the dish.

Green Onion Cakes

As I always order the smaller portions of pho when given the opportunity, I wasn’t ready for Ninh Kieu’s marathon version of pho. And it wasn’t just me – even Dickson had difficulty getting through the entire serving. However, quality is more important than quantity in the case of pho, and though we found the broth to be satisfactory, it didn’t make an indelible impression on us either.

Medium Rare Beef Pho

Special Beef Noodle Soup

Having the opportune location next to Pho Tau Bay, whose closure periods are hard to predict, I would consider returning to Ninh Kieu in a pinch. I would just have to prepare my appetite for a worthy opponent beforehand.

Ninh Kieu
10708 98 Street
(780) 429-8881
Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm

The Cooking Chronicles: Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables

I adore fall – I revel in the brilliant golden hue cast by trees, find the crisp (not cold) air refreshing, and recognize that it is the one season that acts as a yearly reminder to live in the moment – because before we know it, winter will be upon us. On the food side of things (which it always comes back to), I think autumn speaks to me because what I love to eat corresponds most with a turndown in temperature. Light, warm-weather appropriate meals of salads and the like are far from being my favourite. Instead, curries, stews, and lovingly braised meats appeal more to my palate. While I know I need not justify my preferences to anyone, I feel the harvest season is when it all comes together.

So, utilizing some of my farmers’ market bounty, I set to create Mark Bittman’s cassoulet with lots of vegetables, another gem from Food Matters. Unlike some of the other dishes that I mistakenly label “one pot wonders” (somehow, I never consider the rice cooker to be a “pot”), this recipe truly is contained to one vessel. The large saucepan I chose, however, turned out to be not quite large enough, and as a result, I wasn’t able to include all of the recommended stock. The variation turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the sweet tomato juice (I used canned tomatoes) thickened wonderfully as the beans naturally cooked down. I was also afraid that one pound of sausages wasn’t enough considering the large quantity of vegetables, but actually, there was more than enough meat, and more than that, the fact that they were immersed and finished cooking by simmering away in liquid meant that they ended up moist and full of flavour.

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables

The cassoulet was a hearty, satisfying dish, and like stews or chilis, was even better for lunch the next day. We ended up with six good-sized servings, which helped save me an evening of cooking – always a bonus! This recipe is definitely a keeper.

October in Edmonton is for Halloween!

Dedmonton, Canada’s Halloween Festival, runs this month. I’ve mentioned some events included under the festival’s umbrella, but for more, check out the website for a great calendar of Halloween-related events.

  • The fifth edition of Pecha Kucha, Edmonton Next Gen’s popular series showcasing everything from design, art and sustainability will take place at the Myer Horowitz on October 2. Mack wrote about the last incarnation here.
  • On October 2-4, the fifth annual Pure Speculation Festival will celebrate science fiction and fantasy. Some of the sessions look like they will be fun, like a tongue-in-cheek session on zombie preparedness.
  • The Edmonton Film Society’s Fall 2009 series, Kings of Cool, continue on October 5. Screenings of these classic films are just $5, and run nearly every Monday at 8pm.
  • Edmonton commemorates 20 years of Read In October 5-9.
  • Did you miss the last Edmonton Tweetup in September? Not to worry, you have another opportunity on October 6 to meet up with other Twitter users, this time at Ceili’s.
  • A family friendly way to celebrate Oktoberfest is taking place on October 6 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra – sing along with “Bavarian alpine music” and even learn how to yodel! With Robert Bernhardt as the conductor, it’s almost guaranteed to be a fun night.
  • Joining an Edmonton Ghost Tour is a great way to spend the evening, offered October 12-29 this month. I went on one years ago, and it was an entertaining ride, particularly around the Halloween season.
  • Music Wednesdays at Noon continue at the McDougall United Church on October 14, 21 and 28.
  • DedFest: Hellberta’s Horror Festival, showcases the best in independent horror cinema October 15-18.
  • The 17th annual Edmonton Scarecrow Festival rolls into Northlands Park October 16-18. All funds raised go to ABC Headstart.
  • The 2009 North of Nowhere Expo: Festival of Independent Media & Underground Art is a non-profit activist-arts festival and runs October 16-31 at the Edmonton Public Library and Metro Cinema.
  • ChangeCamp asks the question, “How do we re-imagine government and citizenship in the age of participation?” Join other engaged citizens at Lister Hall on October 17 to discuss answers to that question.
  • To mark the worldwide celebration of Home Movie Day on October 17, the Stanley Milner Library is hosting an event where you can chat with archivists about preserving your home movies, and stay for screenings.
  • A cool event is coming to Edmonton for the first time on October 17 – Timeraiser is a unique event that merges a volunteer fair with a silent art auction. As a means of enticing young people who are looking for a way to explore volunteer options, attendees are able to bid on artwork with their time instead of money. I’m eager to see this in action.
  • Need a reason to go for a stroll? How about the 124 Street Fall Gallery Walk? On October 17-18, at least seven galleries and area businesses participate in this biannual event that showcases local artists.
  • The Pop Culture Fair, featuring the “world’s most popular collectibles” is on October 18 at the Mayfield Inn Trade Centre.
  • LitFest, Canada’s only festival dedicated to creative nonfiction, runs October 21-25. Their theme this year is “Brain Food”, and though it has a more metaphorical meaning, they do have one event intertwined with food (Savouries pairs appetizers with readings).
  • After October 17, the Edmonton Corn Maze is transformed into the Farm of Fear. Check it out October 21-24 and 28-31. Though I’ve never been (I don’t think I could handle it), as it is “not recommended for young children”, I think it’s safe to say peeled-grapes-as-eyes are out of the picture.
  • It’s a play I’ve been waiting to be remounted for years – turns out, patience pays off. The Bone House, Marty Chan’s thriller revolving around the hunt for a serial killer, returns to the TransAlta Arts Barns October 22 –November 7. I’ve written about how that was the play that introduced me to the city’s theatre scene – I can’t wait to see it again.

Enjoy your October!

Edmonton Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2009

I met up with my sister and a few of her friends last Thursday for the fall/winter incarnation of Edmonton Fashion Week.

Serendipity by Kelsey McIntyre

The final night of the weeklong celebration of fashion saw a mix of seasonally appropriate, cold weather wear, alongside optimistic, albeit out of place, spring lines. Although I appreciate that the organizers provide designers with seemingly free reign when it came to exhibiting their collections, I think some control should be exerted – otherwise, the show comes off as disjointed and inconsistent.

More than other Fashion Week shows I have attended in the past, the age range of the audience varied widely this time around – from families with young children, to groups of teenage girls, to clusters of retirees. I think it’s great that such diverse individuals decided to attend the event.

I have to also make mention that I loved the music played that night. And probably because of being trained after numerous seasons of The Hills, I almost expected (and wanted) a continuous listing of the the evening’s soundtrack.

As for the collections themselves, Kelsey McIntyre and Jason Matlo stood out the most for me, although for different reasons. I was happy to have had the opportunity to see McIntyre’s Serendipity collection again (she also exhibited in the spring), and as previous, I could definitely see myself wearing her designs – fitted pants, feminine but practical sweaters, and flirty skirts. And oh, the dresses…

Serendipity by Kelsey McIntyre

Matlo’s shows (he had two) got off to an odd start. Instead of letting the collections speak for themselves, he felt the need to project choice words up on the backdrop, such as “chic”, “classy” and “sexy”, prior to his first model hitting the catwalk. Form-fitting, Babe by Jason Matlo definitely displayed his appreciation of the female figure.

Babe by Jason Matlo

His second showcase wasn’t notable so much for the clothes, but for his choice of models, which included the runner up in this past season of Canada’s Next Top Model, Linsay Willier. As someone commented, her air of confidence was unmistakable. Although she wasn’t necessarily much taller than her fellow models, she definitely seemed to be.

Linsay Willier wearing Jason Matlo

The other three collections didn’t really appeal to me, although Lani Van Rooyen had some show stopping gowns (why the models had to walk like they were jilted brides was another issue entirely). Amanda’s favourite outfit of the night was by Laura Dreger, which featured a leopard print coat, leggings, and a Starbucks cup as an accessory (you can read more about her thoughts about fashion at her blog).

Lani Van Rooyen

Laura Dreger (not Amanda’s favourite outfit, but another leopard print one)

Edmonton Fashion Week Spring/Summer will be returning in April – check the website for updates in the spring.

Thanks to Amanda and Eric for taking all of the photos – you can take a look at the photo set here.

Food Notes for September 28, 2009

I’m happy that my crew of choice won the latest season of America’s Best Dance Crew (even though they still pale in comparison to last year’s champion, Quest Crew). This week also sees the return of both The Hills and The City, hurrah! On to this week’s food notes:

  • Chez Cora has been on my hit list of brunch diners to hit (with locations in Calgary, among others across Canada), but as it opened its first Edmonton outpost today, it looks like I will be able to satisfy my curiosity without leaving the city. The restaurant is located at Calgary Trail & 29 Avenue in Gateway Village, and is open for breakfast and lunch from 6am-3pm. Hurrah for more sit-down, non-fast food breakfast options in Edmonton!
  • Creations, the revamped restaurant in the Sawridge Inn (4235 Gateway Blvd), opened on September 25. The menu looks promising.
  • Liane reported that the third Mikado outpost in the west end (9942 170 Street, 780-481-2202) is set to open on October 1.
  • Jan Hostyn profiled Patty Milligan (aka Lola Canola) in Vue this week.
  • I know traditional media outlets often receive press releases sent en masse, but I’ve never before seen an impersonal “blogger targeted” mass e-mail…until this week. It’s for an upcoming fall harvest dinner at Culina Highlands on October 19: 5 Italian dishes, each paired with an Italian wine, for $65/person. I wish there was something I could link to, but nada.
  • The LitFest schedule is out – and there are many food-entwined events on the list, such as Savouries – readings featuring Liane and Jennifer McLaglan (author of Fat), alongside appetizers inspired by the writing. I’m sad that I will have to miss it (I will be out of town), but I’m sure it will be a great evening!
  • Andree wrote about gourmet food available on campus at Calgary’s SAIT Polytechnic – as with NAIT’s student showcase buffet, I think it’s awesome when students are able to show their hard work and efforts off to the public.
  • This magnet that looks like a chocolate bar is too cool. I originally thought that it would make a great gift for a chocoholic, but on second thought, because it looks so real but is made of wax, it might actually be a cruel present.
  • The word of the week in the NY blogosphere was “foodiot” – first, an article discussing the phenomenon of people’s constant obsession to update others on what they are eating – enabled by tools like Twitter and Facebook. And then, a great deconstruction of how this came to be over at Grub Street. Yes, I admit to being a foodiot sometimes…
  • After picking our share of potatoes on Saturday, the lot of us headed to Hudson’s for lunch. This may well have been my first visit to Hudson’s, but I wasn’t sure. The patio at the 104th Avenue location was pretty nice, and felt sheltered from the thoroughfare. I liked their “mini menu” that featured small versions of burgers and sandwiches, inspired, I’m sure, by the popularity of bite-sized sliders. I ended up ordering the mini beef dip ($10.99, plus $1.99 for fries). The meat was a little thicker and seemed to have been drenched in a sauce to disguise the dry texture – with the au jus, it wasn’t bad, but I’ve had better beef dip elsewhere. Mack had nothing negative to say about his fish and chips ($13.99), and Jane, Yi-Li and Annie all liked their burgers. Watch for a fifth location at South Common to come in November.

Patio at Hudson’s

Mini Beef Dip

Fish and Chips

Yi-Li with his Champion two patty burger (which he heroed)

  • Mack and I finally made our way to the sparkly new Southgate this weekend. We had been meaning to go for weeks, but between our busy schedules and Mack’s sound un-enthusiasm for shopping, our belated visit made sense. The new wing interior reminded us a lot of Calgary’s Southcentre Mall (actually developed by the same company), and for that reason, we weren’t as wowed as we could have been. The food court, however, is definitely the nicest in Edmonton. And seeing as I remember the days when the booths could have easily been misconstrued as dungeons in the Southgate food court of old, I can hardly believe the change.

    • Revamped Southgate Food Court

  • What I don’t want to accept is how expensive mall food has become. We hedged our bets with something new – a decent butter chicken from Rasoee, an Indian outlet – and at $6.59, I’m sure we could have done much worse. Still, the value wasn’t there, even though both of us admitted that the basmati rice was very nicely cooked.

    • Rasoee’s Butter Chicken

  • VIA, Starbucks’ venture into the world of instant coffee, hits all North American stores on September 29 (they will be sold in boxes of 3 or 12). Yesterday, while picking up a night cap, we were lucky enough to get a few free samples! We haven’t tried it yet, but we have read many positive reviews that say that it is the best instant coffee to ever hit the market.

VIA Samples