Several months have passed since Mill Street finally opened its brew pub and restaurant in what was historically a grist mill. The doors opened to public three months late, but several days ahead of its last “official” opening date.

Now, if you cram a restaurant with cheese artisans, Southern Ontario’s only purveyor of artisan salumi, and probably the only Chef we would watch on the Food Network, yeah, I’ll show up. I will come armed with a fresh memory cartridge, a newly charged camera battery, a notepad, and a pen. It takes quite the event to attract this kind of talent.

This year we move in a totally different direction… demoing it at mill street tomorrow for media press release for Cheese festival.. are you going to be there?

Chef Michael Blackie

Add some bottles of Sandbanks Estates wine, including some of the first bottles of the Prince Edward County (PEC) winery’s 2011 rose, you would be hard pressed to dissuade me. Before you ask Sandbanks’ John Squaire takes good care of Ottawa.

Mill Street Brew Pub

The artisan cheese makers were Maggie Paradis and Christian Girard of Quebec’s La Fromagerie des Folies Bergères in Sainte-Sixte. They showcased some of their newest cheeses, including the runny “Enchanteuse.” Grace and Paul Mussel of Ottawa’s Clarmell on The Rideau Farms were also on hand, showcasing their goat gouda.

Clarmell on the Rideau Farms' Goat Gouda

Glengarry Celtic Blue

The purveyor of artisan salumi was Mike Mckenzie of Seed to Sausage, whose shop and soon-to-open retail store are located in Charbot Lake. He brought quite the sampling of his wares with him, including a dry cured leg of lamb that noted food journalist Gay Cook, formerly of local newspaper The Ottawa Citizen, raved about.

Seed to Sausage Salumi

The noted chef was sometimes Food Network personality Michael Blackie, Executive Chef of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. He served the dish he will be preparing and serving at the festival’s Cooks and Curds Gala event. The first seating of that event at 6 pm is completely sold out by the way. Tickets for the second seating at 7 pm are in short supply.

Chef Michael Blackie

Regarding the festival, as last year, Crystal Palace in Picton, Ontario, will host events from a two-day artisan cheese and fine food fair to tutored cheese tastings and the aforementioned Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala.

Beginning June 1st and ending June 3rd, founder Georgs Kolesnikovs intends The Great Canadian Cheese Festival to be the largest exhibition of farmstead and specialty cheeses in Canada. According to the press release, there will be more than 125 cheeses on display from more than 30 producers from Vancouver to Prince Edward Island (PEI).

Georgs Kolesnikovs

For the fair, 50 food producers, craft wineries, and micro breweries will show off their products, including Lacey Estates Vineyard & Winery, Karlo Estates, Rosehall Run Vineyard, The County Cider Company, Barley Days Brewery, Beau’s All Natural Brewing, Major Craig’s Chutney, Seed to Sausage, and michaelsdolce. Slow food and sustainability are themes.

Operating concurrently with the fair, there will be cheese tastings and seminars in the “All You Need Is Cheese” Annex, presented by the Dairy Farmers of Canada. One particular seminar, the “Taste of Quebec”, will be led by Ottawa’s own Vanessa Simmons, cheese sommelier of Savvy Company.

New this year, the festival’s food court features Toronto’s Cheesewerks and PEC’s Buddha Dog. Cheesewerks being the festival’s “Official Grilled Cheese”, co-owner Kevin Durkee will be unveiling a signature sandwich. And, on Sunday, actor Kris Holden-Ried (aka: Dyson on the television show Lost Girl) will work the Cheesewerks stand to help raise funds for a Cheesemaking Technology Scholarship Fund at the University of Guelph. The scholarship will go to a young Canadian, pursuing a career in cheese.

For the Cooks & Curds Gala, eight Canadian chefs will prepare tasting dishes with cheese and either fine wine, craft beer, or craft cider. The “strolling dinner” will then conclude with an after-dinner cheese board, sweets, sparkling wine, ice wine, port, coffee, and tea. The chefs follow:

1. Whistler, British Columbia’s Jimmy Stewart of Bearfoot Bistro (Top Chef Canada 2012 contestant)
2. Winnipeg’s Talia Syrie of the Tallest Poppy
3. Toronto’s Jamie Kennedy of Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
4. Ottawa’s Michael Blackie of the National Arts Centre
5. Montreal’s Marc Cohen of Lawrence
6. Montreal’s François Gagnon
7. Bay Fortune, PEI’s Dominic Serio of Inn at Bay Fortune
8. Upper Amherst Cover, Newfoundland’s Katie Hayes of Bonavista Social Club

The gala is also a challenge with attendees voting on their favourite dish. Chef Blackie holds the title from 2011. His Clarmell on The Rideau feta and pulled elk dish was voted most popular by the event’s 400 guests last year.

It was a family win. Chef Blackie’s entire family helped out with preparing and serving the dish during the gala. His wife Jillian expertly worked the fryolater beside chef Kennedy’s son Micha. His children plated and served the dish.

Here is a similar dish Chef Blackie prepared for a Taste of the Prairies event in 2011.

This year, Chef Blackie is moving away from round shapes…

Highland Blue Cubic Melt with Seed to Sausage Chorizo Crispy Bits, Kumquat Compote, Mustard Lettuce, and Acidulated Shimeji Mushrooms

Unlike the Glengarry Celtic Blue (above), which Simmons of Savvy referred to as a tame “starter blue”, Back Forty Artisan‘s Highland Blue is full flavoured, earthy, and savoury. The Highland Blue is named for the Lanark Highlands where many Scottish expats settled.

Pairing recommendations for Chef Blackie’s dish of contrasting textures, balanced flavours, and seasonal ingredients include late harvest riesling or vidal, tawny port, oatmeal stout, or ice-cider.

So great food, lots of cheese, good drink, culinary competition…how much?

General admission is $35/person and tickets can be purchased online here. Tickets entitle attendees to access to all exhibitors; 10 tasting tickets for cheese, artisan foods, wine and beer, valued at $10; a souvenir festival glass; and admission to the cheese seminars presented by Dairy Farmers of Canada. At the door, tickets will be $40.

Youth and child tickets are available for the cheese and fine food fair. All other events are age of majority only.

The program of “Tutored Tastings” requires separate ticket purchases of $50/p/seminar. They can also be purchased online here.

The Cooks and Curds Gala, the culinary highlight of the festival, is also separate from general admission. Tickets are $100/person and are quickly selling out.

Already, pre-events leading up to the weekend events, a cheese tour ($95/p) and cheese cooking class ($90/p), are sold out.

Our wine blogger Claire already purchased tickets to attend. Will you be joining her?

For more indie-food blogger coverage of the launch, click on the following links:

• “The Great Canadian Cheese Festival – June 1st-3rd in Picton” – Uncork Ontario
• “#TGCCF – It’s Great, It’s Canadian & It’s Cheese” – The Food Gypsy

Particulars:
What: The Great Canadian Cheese Festival
Where: Crystal Palace (375 Main Street East, Picton, Ontario)
Date/Time: Friday, June 1st – 3rd, 20112
How Much: General Admission is $35

Yes, there are a lot of “Michael”s in the realm of food in the National Capital Region. There’s Michael Blackie, Executive Chef of theNational Arts Centre; Michael Hay, Executive Chef of the Courtyard Restaurant; Michael Moffatt, Executive Chef of Play Food and Wine and Beckta Dining and Wine; and Michael Sunderland, artisan confectioner and trained pastry chef of michaelsdolce. There’s even Matthew Carmichael, an award-winning chef who was behind three restaurants located in a city block of one another: E18hteen, Social, and Sidedoor Contemporary Kitchen and Bar.

What sets Mike McKenzie apart? Besides being the ever understated and humble purveyor of all things salumi in Ontario, who can be found heaving a dry cured leg of heritage pork over his shoulder, he’s everywhere!

Salumi Demo at the Ottawa Bagel Shop

Hot Diggity Dogs at the Kelp Records Winter Warmer

Mike McKenzie

Seed to Sausage Charcuterie Sampler at Sandbanks Winery

Seed to Sausage Charcuterie Sampler during #indulgePEC

If you haven’t heard of McKenzie’s Seed to Sausage or how his salumeria has taken Ottawa by storm, you clearly haven’t been paying attention. Bought any fresh or dry sausage from The Piggy Market in Westboro, the Ottawa Bagel Shop in the West Wellington Village, or Mckeen Metro in the Glebe lately? Tucked into a charcuterie plate at Play Food and Wine, Taylor’s Genuine, Wellington Gastropub, or Murray Street Kitchen Wine and Charcuterie recently? Odds are you’ve eaten something that came from McKenzie’s shop.

I first met him while volunteering at Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company‘s annual Oktoberfest celebration, the most recent one. I recognized the saucisson sec McKenzie served as that which owner Dave Neil addicted me to at The Piggy Market. Neil handed me my first slice with a knowing evil grin. At Oktoberfest, McKenzie neatly arranged slices of saucisson sec and sopressata on scrap wood boards I later learned he picks up from his neighbourhood wood mill in Kingston. We struck up a conversation, starting with the subject of sous vide. I then brought him beer.

McKenzie is an Ottawa native, having grown up in the city and attended Woodroffe and Laurentian high schools. He rented his first apartment over Hillary’s Dry cleaner’s on Wellington Street West in the West Wellington Village, just paces from the Ottawa Bagelshop that would resell his wares.

What started out as a hobby, with McKenzie working out of the garage of his Kingston home, grew into a family business, incorporating his wife, Meghan, and his parents, Anna and Ken. Eventually, as more and more restauranteurs and chefs asked for McKenzie’s products, he left his career in the Canadian Armed Forces and set up shop in the former Sharbot Lake Meat Market (12821 Highway 38). There, he hired third generation English butcher, Martin Jenkins, and two chefs. Jenkins built the meat market originally.

Together, the team that makes up Seed to Sausage breaks down whole animals to produce salumi, wasting nothing. Besides more recognizable cuts like loin and belly, cheek and jowl are all directed to different applications. McKenzie’s father Ken does the books. His mother and wife work in the shop, retailing products to the public and ensuring wholesalers that distribute Seed to Sausage are well stocked. Meghan also makes artisan marshmallows exclusively for The Piggy Market.

Meghan's Salted Caramel Marshmallows

In a week’s time (Saturday, May 19, 2012), McKenzie will host a food festival at his shop in Sharbot Lake. There are two reasons. Firstly, he wants to participate in this year’s Food Revolution Day, an international event originated by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to inspire people to change their food habits. Secondly, he wants to celebrate, opening his new retail store.

We caught up with McKenzie during the Great Canadian Cheese Festival launch at the Mill Street Brewpub in Ottawa. As usual, he brought quite the spread with him.

Seed to Sausage Charcuterie Sampler at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival Launch

Not only will Seed to Sausage participate in the festival’s Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair, Chef Blackie incorporated McKenzie’s chorizo in his dish for the Cooks and Curds Cheese Gala.

Mike McKenzie, Sitting Down to an Interview

Regarding the Seed to Sausage grand opening,

I wanted to do something special to mark the opening of our retail operation and what better way than to recognize Food Revolution Day and celebrate the joy of eating wonderful food with your friends, family and those who have helped support us over the last year,” said McKenzie. The event runs from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will move indoors in the event of rain.

Source: “Local Entrepreneur Celebrates the Onset of Summer” media release.

The retail store will offer the same products Seed to Sausage has always retailed to the public and more. It will be attached to the shop. McKenzie aims to stock the store with salami, sausage, artisan bacon, and what he calls successful “experiments” like artisan hotdogs or the lamb loin he served at the Great Canadian Cheese Festival event. The loin was prepared in the tradition of a copa, but smoked. One batch was cured, smoked, and air dried in black pepper and another in cayenne pepper. Both were delicious.

The store will also have an artisan butcher’s counter where McKenzie plans to offer dry aged beef, lamb, pork, and offal like sweet breads. He also plans to resell artisan jams, pickles, chutneys, and cheese. These artisan products, however, will have to meet a strict standard. They must be some of the best on the market. And, McKenzie himself must be comfortable serving them in his home to his family. If it’s not in his fridge, it won’t be on his store shelves.

The grand opening will be quite a feast, complete with live music. To date, McKenzie has invited Kingston Chefs Derek Macgregor of Le Chien Noir and Steve George of Olivea, who will prepare whole roasted lamb and pork. He invited Ottawa chef Kyle Christopherson of the Brookstreet Hotel’s Perspectives Restaurant to work out of a food truck McKenzie loaned from another Kingston chef. The truck is named “Good to Go” and McKenzie has requested “funky dishes.” During our conversation, he mused about liquid nitrogen “smoke” billowing from the service window and pass.

Besides Christopherson, Josh Bishop of The Whalesbone will be on-hand, serving freshly shucked oysters. The Whalesbone’s Brett Arden will serve wood-fired pizza from his mobile food venture, Strata Pizza.

To accompany the food, which will range from $5 to $10 per plate ($2/oyster), Montreal’s St. Ambroise microbrewery and PEC’s Sandbanks Winery will provide libations. Drinks will also retail in the $5 to $10 range.

Presently, Seed to Sausage wholesales to 35 restaurants and specialty shops in Ottawa, Kingston, Perth, and Toronto, cities that now celebrate McKenzie’s salumi.

Can you imagine the party Mckenzie will throw when he opens his own retail store? If you can free up the time on May 19th, do attend. It will be well worth the visit.

Both the Seed to Sausage shop and the soon to open retail store are located at 12821 Highway 38 in Sharbot Lake, which is “10 km south of Highway 7, 60 km north of Kingston, 130 km west of Ottawa and 100 km east of Belleville.”

Particulars:
What: Seed to Sausage Grand Opening
Where: Seed to Sausage Shop (12821 Highway 38 in Sharbot Lake)
Date/Time: Saturday, May 19, 2012 11am – 4pm.
How Much: Free Admission

Don: “How did you make that?”
Me: “Erm, well, I used this and that and that and some of that.”
Don: “How much of each ingredient did you use?”
Me: “Uh, I used a handful of this and a splash of that. Oh! And I shook this jar of spices a few times onto the meat.”

It culminates in Don staring at me and shaking his head. You see, I’m terrible at writing down recipes. After years of watching my mother and grandmother cook, I mostly cook by smell, taste, and sight. Unless I am baking, I rarely ever follow recipes, let alone write measurements on paper. Besides, I thought, “Who would ask me for a recipe?”

Well, this past winter, Dairy Farmers of Canada approached foodiePrints. Would we be willing to take part in their Anyday Magic Recipe Makeover challenge? Of course we would!

The Anyday Magic Recipe Makeover is a year-long competition, each round challenging three different food bloggers to “makeover” a given recipe, use cream instead of milk, and when possible, to use butter rather than oil. Also, the new recipe must contain the main ingredients from the old one. Once the recipes are received, they are posted on the Anyday Magic website and the public is invited to vote for their favourite using facebook.

Selected to participate in the first round, we had to re-make a breakfast dish, a bowl of “hot oatmeal with a spoon of yogurt and a handful of frozen berries from the summer.” After much debate, Don and I settled on a pancake recipe using fresh blueberries, rolled oats, and 10% cream (half-and-half in lieu of yogurt).

Click here for our entry.

Very Berry Oatmeal Pancakes

What You’ll Need:

• 1 ½ cups (375 ml) rolled oats (not instant)
• 2 cups (500 ml) 10% half-and-half cream (or 5% light cream)
• ¾ cup (185 ml) all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) brown sugar
• 1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
• 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
• ½ tsp (2 ml) salt
• 2 cups (500 ml) blueberries
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
• ½ tsp (2 ml) pure vanilla extract
• Butter for cooking

Prep:

1. In a bowl, combine 1 cup of cream with the rolled oats. Let stand for 15 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining cream, eggs, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients along with the rolled oats mixture. Stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Gently fold the blueberries into the mixture.

Method

1. In a large non-stick skillet, melt some butter over medium heat. Using a ¼ measuring cup (50 ml), pour in batter for each pancake. Cook until underside is golden (about 1 ½ to 2 minutes) and bubbles break on top.
2. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes until the underside is golden (about 1 to 1 ½ minutes). Serve hot with maple syrup. Sprinkle fresh blueberries on top and with fresh fruit on the side.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Yields: Makes approximately 12 pancakes – 4 to 6 servings

This dish is best served warm. You can also substitute the cream for a lower-fat milk. Finally, add your favourite fruits to accompany the pancakes. I love blueberries, pineapple. cherries, and strawberries.

Blueberry Pancakes with fresh fruit

Finally, drizzle some maple syrup, a pat of butter or a dollop of whip cream on top of the pancakes, and voila! Time to start your morning with a delicious breakfast!

Ready to eat!

After two months of voting, I am excited to reveal that foodiePrints are the winners of Round 1. And to thank our readers for voting, we are delighted to announce that Dairy Farmers of Canada has given us 10 prize packs to give away. Each pack includes a new spatula and whisk.

Anyday Magic Recipe Makeover Giveaway

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below and let us know how you would “makeover” the original recipe of a bowl of oatmeal. A draw for 10 names will be made on Wednesday, May 16th at noon using Random.org.

Addendum: This giveaway is open to Canadian residents, but is void in Quebec.

Update: Winners
The ten winners of the giveaway, courtesy of Dairy Farmers Canada, follow:

• Richard
• spydergrrl
• Jessica
• Eve Honeywell
• Heather, Mmm… is for Mommy
• Kate
• Katy
• meg
• Krista
• Paula Roy

Congratulations!

Many thanks to all those who entered.

Although, as adults, we have opinions about what our children should eat (don’t get me started on The Kid’s Menu with its chicken fingers and pizza), Lil’foodiePrints is a pretty independent girl and we thought she might like to express her own ideas on food for kids.

The fact of the matter is that she can and does eat from the “adult menu”, she likes pizza but also sushi, pho and chicken noodle soups,  raw oysters and grilled cheese sandwiches, not to mention chocolate fondue and cupcakes. Frustrated by cookbooks for kids with recipes for carrot sticks and dip, chocolate chip pancakes from a mix and chopped egg salads, Lil’foodiePrints spent her birthday money on Jaimie Oliver and Nigela Lawson.

Lil’foodiePrints likes to eat a wide variety of foods, cook bread from scratch and the odd rice crispy square. We don’t believe she is alone. And that is why we’ll be featuring recipes from her once or twice a month: Lil’foodiePrints Eats.

So, tell me, Lil’foodiePrints, what kind of recipes are you going to be sharing with our readers?

The things I like to eat. I think other kids would like them too. But not just kids. I think parents will like them, too.

Do you like to cook for adults?

Yes, I like to cook food for my Mum and the neighbours. I cook when I am with my Grandparents. They have a big garden and I like to help pick the vegetables and clean them and then make supper. We have flowers that you can eat there and I like to decorate salads with them.

What are your favourite foods?

I like everything, excepts raw onions. I like uncooked red onions but not the white ones; they’re too spicy. I like the food my Mum cooks. My favourite is brik à l’oeuf  and she also makes home-made potato chips; I really like those.

What kind of food do you think kids should order in restaurants?

There should be kids’ menus, but they should just be smaller portions of the regular menu. Kids don’t have to eat only chicken fingers and fries. They can have salmon and rice but less.

Is Lil’foodiePrints your real name?

No, Jenn called me that. They don’t put my photo or my name on the blog. I don’t mind.

What do you think of food blogs? Do you read any?

No, I am not allowed on the computer much. But I like to read cookbooks and I also watch The Food Network. I like Top Chef and Drive-Ins, Diners and Dives. I also like Cupcake Wars.

What do you think will be your first recipe?

I don’t know yet but it’ll be something I like and kids can make, maybe my crab dip.

Lil'foodiePrints

In Prince Edward Country (PEC), blooming tulips mean Georgs Kolesnikovs will again dawn his cheese hat to launch the Great Canadian Cheese Festival (#TGCCF). The second annual festival will again showcase Canadian artisan, farmstead, and specialty cheeses, paired with locally-produced food and drink. Kolesnikovs, the Cheese-head-in-Chief, founded the festival to promote and celebrate Canadian cheese artisans who, according to him, are beginning to produce cheese comparable to their European counterparts.

Georgs Kolesnikovs

The cheese tasting seminars operate concurrently with the food fair. One particular tasting, the “Taste of Quebec”, will be led by Ottawa’s own Vanessa Simmons, cheese sommelier of Savvy Company.

The Cooks & Curds Gala features noted Canadian chefs, preparing tasting dishes with cheese and either fine wine or craft beer. Noted chefs include Toronto’s Jamie Kennedy and Ottawa’s Michael Blackie.

But, more about the Great Canadian Cheese Festival in a later post. The foodiePrints team attended the Ottawa launch last Friday, previewing the dish Chef Blackie will be preparing during the gala.

Let’s talk about cheese. Let’s talk about making a very simple cheese that can be used to prepare a very comforting spring dish, ricotta pasta. Now, ricotta is Italian. Pasta is Italian. Mixing the two together with herbed panko bread crumbs may not necessarily be Italian, but homemade ricotta contributes a distinct creaminess.

There are many methods to prepare ricotta, a fresh cheese made from straining curdled milk. The curdling agent can be anything from vinegar to fruit juice (usually lemon). Following the advice of Executive Chef Michael Moffatt of Play Food and Wine and Beckta Dining and Wine, I went with buttermilk. A little research on the web produced the ratio I used (4:1 milk:buttermilk by volume) and a recommendation the cheese be strained overnight.

To make ricotta, I used 5 cups of whole (homogenized) milk, 1 cup of table cream (18%), and 1 1/2 cup of 2% buttermilk. First, I heated the milk and cream in a heavy bottomed pot set to medium-low heat to 185°F (approximately 85°C). Then, I added the cold buttermilk to the pot. I stirred the mixture conservatively. I covered the pot and took the pot off the heat for 20 minutes. Afterward, I strained the curds from the whey using a doubled layer of cheesecloth and a strainer. Covering with plastic wrap, I left the curds, enrobed in the cheesecloth and contained in a wire mesh strainer, in the fridge overnight.

This method produced approximately 1 1/2 cups of creamy ricotta cheese.

To make ricotta pasta, I took a handful of panko bread crumbs (1/3 – 1/2 cup) and fried them up in melted butter (2-4 tbsp) until they went golden. These, I set aside in a metal bowl with some torn sage (half dozen leaves) and parsley (half dozen leaves). The residual heat wilted the leaves.

Mise

Then, I took one serving of dry spaghettini (2-4 oz) and placed the noodles in a small pot of boiling salted water set to medium heat. Meanwhile, I sauteed a handful of sliced mushrooms (approximately 4-6 oz) with some olive oil in a cast iron skillet set to medium heat. When the pasta reached the super-aldente stage, a little harder than toothsome, I drained the pasta, reserving a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. I placed the pasta back in the pot and positioned it on a burner set to medium-low heat. To this, I added half the pasta water, a handful of ricotta cheese (approximately 3/4 cup), and the sauteed mushrooms. After stirring to mix everything together, I seasoned to taste with kosher salt and ground on a little pepper.

If the pasta does not coat with ricotta, add more cheese and a splash of the remaining pasta water as necessary.

I plated the mixture with the panko/herb mixture.

Served

That’s it, plain and simple.

Consider this dish of creamy pasta and crunchy breadcrumbs a healthier alternative to carbonara. Though, carbonara is imminently more satisfying.

Want to try something more complex than fresh cheese? Consider the Great Canadian Cheese Festival. Already, Grace and Paul Mussel of Clarmell on the Rideau Farms gave attendees of the festival’s launch a taste of the goat gouda they have in store for the festival. The gouda was made in partnership with Glengarry. It was exquisite, not nearly as sharp or nutty as cow’s milk gouda, but slightly cheddar-y. It should go wonderfully with a craft beer.

Cool, now that everyone has raised their hands, foodiePrints was issued a Mavea Elemaris XL “Water Filtration Container” to test with our cooking. Mavea’s marketing company, Brill Communications, reasoned home cooks could benefit from cooking with filtered water, part of “a healthy lifestyle.”

Before opening the boxed pitcher we were sent, I asked Facebook about water filters and food. The very knowledgeable Matt Kayahara of Kayahara.ca made the argument that much of what makes water taste funny, dissolved substances like chlorine or flouride, leaches out, especially when boiled. Susan Murphy, one of Ottawa’s social media luminaries, pointed out our city has pretty good tasting water already.

Indeed, even the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC) published a FAQ to the effect, so long as your municipality or utility supplies your drinking water, it is likely you do not “need” a water filter. Municipal water, like Ottawa’s, is heavily regulated to meet strict health and aesthetic requirements. If you filter municipal water, the additional treatment is purely aesthetic.

Now, should your home be much older or your utility employs lead pipes, your water may contain lead. This, you should test for and purchase the required equipment to treat the water.

Mavea Elemaris XL Pitcher

Mavea’s filter cartridges employ a combination of activated carbon (AC) and resin filtration. According to the CHMC, AC filtration is effective in removing organic contaminants: hydrogen sulphide, mercury, copper, and chlorine. Resin filtration removes heavy metals, some of which forms limescale. Together, the filter cartridge works to reduce substances that affect the odour and flavour of water.

A Mavea Elemaris XL pitcher retails for $34.99 CAD at Sears and The Bay. Filters retail for under $15 for a package of three. What is novel about Mavea is its recycling program. You can mail spent cartridges to them, postage paid, which they recycle.

As someone who has always read that stocks should be made with filtered water, I looked for a recipe that would fit the season and involve boiling the water. With the weather slowly heating up (and then cooling unseasonably thereafter), I chose a lemonade sweetened with a simple syrup recipe from The Food Network website.

But first, how does the Mavea filtered water compare to tap water? Using water from the kitchen faucet in our condominium, neither I nor my better half, Jenn, could tell the difference in blind taste tests, be they freshly filtered cold, freshly filtered lukewarm, or chilled samples. Even when we let water sit to acclimatize to room temperature, one batch in the plastic Mavea pitcher and another in a plastic water jug, we could not taste any difference. We followed the instructions that came with the jug very carefully, submerging the filter in water first and filtering two full batches before using the pitcher to test with. The filter-equipped pitcher produced no better tasting water than what comes out of our tap.

First Filter

To test how the filtered water performed, “cooked”, I made two half batches of “lemonade” and “lemongrass simple syrup”, one with filtered water and one with tap water. When assembled, the filtered water lemongrass lemonade tasted no different from the tap water lemon grass lemonade. Filtered water did not improve the lemonade’s flavour. Filtered water did not improve infusing lemongrass flavour into the simple syrup.

Lemongrass Lemonade Comparison

Filtered Water Batch of Lemongrass Lemonade

Now, if you don’t plan on testing a water-filter equipped pitcher, to make a whole batch of lemongrass simple syrup, place a cup of water, a cup of sugar, and 4 stalks worth of lemongrass in a pot. Bring the mixture to a boil at medium-heat. Then, lower the heat and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, add the zest of five lemons, cover, and leave the mixture to steep for at least 15 minutes. When cool, strain the syrup into a jar or another lidded container and chill in the fridge.

To ensure maximum lemongrass flavour, I removed the root ends and thick green tip portions. What remained of the lemongrass stalks, I chopped into four pieces and bruised in a mortar and pestle. The same can be accomplished, carefully, with the back of a cleaver and a cutting board.

To make the lemonade portion, take the juice of the now naked lemons and mix it with 2 cups of cold water.

To make the lemongrass lemonade, mix the syrup and lemonade together. Now, for the most important part, taste the mixture. Dilute to desired sweetness and tartness with more water. Garnish and serve.

After testing the lemonade, we came to the unscientific conclusion that aesthetics of Ottawa tap water do not benefit from filtering.

Still, with two batches of lemongrass lemonade, we figured a picnic was in order. Finger sandwiches anyone?

Picnic Food

Recipe

What You’ll Need:

• pre-sliced white bread for however many sandwiches you want (clearly, 2 slices each)
• ripe avocado to add to those sandwiches, two hass avocados provide enough slices for 3 sandwiches
• smoked salmon, again enough for however many sandwiches you want
• cucumber
• butter or mayonnaise
• squeezes of lemon (optional)

Prep:

1. If using butter, place the butter on the counter to soften at room temperature.
2. Slice the crusts off your bread and place them in a freezer bag. Freeze the crusts for bread crumbs later.
3. Slice your cucumber with a mandolin, a v-slicer, or a really sharp knife.
4. Hull and slice your avocados.

Method:

1. Spread softened butter or mayonnaise on one side of the bread.
2. Assemble your sandwiches, cucumber on the butter or mayonnaise slice. Then add smoked salmon and finish with avocado and unbuttered or unmayonnaised slice of bread.
3. Serve immediately as the bread will go stale very quickly.

Assembled Sandwiches

Served

In 2011, a darker beer, 1855, joined the line-up. Named for the year in which Ottawa became a city, this beer is a brown ale with a more pronounced caramel flavour and a sweeter finish.

Kichesippi Natural Blonde

For its second anniversary, the brew master at Kichesippi created a limited edition Maibock: although amber in colour and higher in alcohol at 6.3%, this beer is not heavy. In fact, I was surprised at how crisp and clean it was and was particularly struck by its effervescence. Associated with the months of May and higher alcohol content, this is traditional spring ale, a transition beer from the darker winter brews and the lighter summer fare.

Although I arrived late to the party, it had clearly been a success, with Pascale’s All Natural Ice Cream, Life of Pie, and The Piggy Market almost sold out of their beer-infused products. (I confess, I was tempted by the chocolate, beer, and pecan pie).

While only the Natural Blonde is available at the LCBO, all three beers are available at the brewery and in many of your local restaurants.

We here at foodiePrints support local producers and I am personally thrilled that Ottawa has beers that we can call our own. If your favourite pub doesn’t stock Kichesippi, be sure to ask them why.

Happy birthday Kichesippi and many happy returns!

Last month, I headed to Toronto to visit friends and left Don to his own devices. After an evening of shopping, dinner, and doing wedding errands along Spadina Street, my best friend and I decided we were in need of a late night snack. And so, we decided to visit Luma on the second floor of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Bell Lightbox in the heart of the Entertainment District.

Luma is part of the well-known Oliver & Bonacini (O&B) restaurant chain in Toronto. One of the things I really like about O&B is the diversity of its restaurants for its patrons. Whether you’re looking to make it a special date night, celebrating a milestone, looking for a casual meal, grabbing food on the go, having a family dinner with young children, or eating on a student budget, there is something for everyone. And with restaurants scattered throughout the Greater Toronto Area, you’re bound to find an O&B restaurant near you.

Heading into Luma, you first need to walk past O&B Canteen, on the ground floor. Taking the escalator to the second floor, you’ll see posters displaying the latest movies and entertainment news. I’ve never had the privilege of attending the film festival, but I’ll bet it’s one exciting place to be.

Walking into Luma, you’ll be greeted warmly by a friendly face. You’ll find seats at the bar, large table seatings throughout the restaurant, and more intimate seats by the window. And with Executive Chef Jason Bangerter in charge of both Luma and Canteen, my friend and I were excited to order.

Having already eaten dinner, we decided to share a few things from the menu. Over a bowl of soup ($9), we shared a plate of Tongue & Cheek ($15) with a basket of bread crisps.

Tongue & Cheek

Consisting of braised veal tongue, duck pâté, and pork head cheese, the menu describes the dish as having “wild Canadian flavours.” I’m not sure what that meant, but the veal tongue was a hit with us, as was the duck pâté. Each component had the right amount of saltiness and savouriness, and while I enjoyed the pork head cheese, my friend found it had too many mustard seeds.

WIth eyes bigger than my stomach, I also ordered the handmade pappardelle for myself.

Handmade pappardelle

With braised beef short rib, caramelized onions, and horseradish cream, how could I resist? Don and I love eating braised beef short ribs, and the tender pieces of beef did not disappoint. On the other hand, the pasta was rather a letdown. The outer edges were al dente, but by the time I had reached the centre of the dish, I felt as though I was eating a bowl of warm dough with sauce.

We also had just enough room for dessert, a chocolate délice ($10), consisting of dark valrhona chocolate, caramelized
bananas, peanut butter ice cream, and brownie crumbs. I might not have been able to eat the chocolate itself, but I assure you, this was absolutely scrumptious, maybe even sinful. We were so delighted with it that we forgot to take a picture until there was almost nothing left on the plate.

It was an enjoyable evening with fantastic service, friendly and efficient. I’ll be back for more, this time with Don.

At this year’s Celebrity Chefs of Canada event, Chef Bangerter teamed up with local chef Jason Duffy of the ARC Lounge.

Left to Right: Jason Duffy, Jason Bangerter

Together, they created and served one of the event’s most popular dishes:

Braised Elk Ribs

Braised elk ribs with creamy polenta and tasty crispy bits, every mouthful was savoury and creamy.

If you missed this year’s Celebrity Chefs of Canada event, Luma is just a four hour drive from Ottawa!

Total (including drinks and taxes, before tip): $67.80

Particulars:
Luma
TIFF Bell Lightbox, 2nd Floor
330 King Street W.
Toronto, ON
(647) 288-4715

Quite frankly, social networks are transient. They fade away. Does anyone remember My Space? How about Friendster?

Klout makes some grandiose assumptions. Imagine my shock when I discovered a certain 6-year old food blog is influential on the subject of “cosmetics.”

What social networks do excel at is bringing people together to form communities of interest. One of my goals is to materialize virtual connections, meet some of my favourite food tweeps.

I have made some new friends through social networks. One of them is Lynne Frappier (@latwistedchef), fellow food blogger, sometimes baker entrepreneur (Hello Kitty cake), and sometimes stagiaire in much loved restaurants from Ottawa’s Whalesbone Oyster House (430 Bank Street) to Gatineau’s Edgar (60 rue Bégin).

Thoughtful, sincere, and outgoing, Lynne has a genuinely sunny disposition. You will not meet a nicer person. Neither will you meet anyone more passionate about food.

It is the infectious nature of her passion that Rogers TV, a community-oriented television station, decided to tap into when Lynne mused about a food show idea during one of her regular appearances on Daytime Ottawa. “It would be all about local cooks – (professional and home cooks) – people who are known for making certain things,” she describes in an email to us.

Eventually, Lynne’s concept materialized, she filming episodes of “Must.Love.Food.” over the past several months.

Must.Love.Food

“I want to showcase great food and the passion people have for their recipes,” says Lynne in the corresponding media release. “Some of the recipes my guests will present are family favourites, passed on for generations.”

“You’ll get great recipes and get to meet those who are most knowledgeable about these culinary heirlooms.”

Every episode has a theme from “Must.Love.Meat” with Chef Trish Larkin of Black Cat Bistro (428 Preston Street) and Ryan Mesheau (Mr. Rachelle Eats Food) to…

the burger

“Must.Love.Entertaining” with Chef Steve Mitton of Murray Street Kitchen (110 Murray Street), Chloé & Joe O’Shaughnessy and Platonic Jeff and…

“Must.Love.Pie” with Amanda Brown and Lynne’s 13-year-old cousin, Olivier Dumas.

Loyal readers of Lynne’s food blog, La Twisted Chef (formerly Le Twisted Chef), will recognize Platonic Jeff from many a whimsical and delicious post. Must.Love.Food. gives you the opportunity to meet him.

Lynne with Guest Tanya Manoryk

“Oh – and there is a segment in each episode with Sommelier Steve Robinson of Atelier (540 Rochester Street) and Andrew Rastapkevicius of Lifford Wine Agency [with whom] we talk wine, alcohol and food pairings.”

An episode list follows:

• Must.Love.Family Recipes.
• Must.Love.Entertaining.
• Must.Love.Pies.
• Must.Love.Spice.
• Must.Love.Lemon.
• Must.Love.Cupcakes.
• Must.Love.Chocolate.
• Must.Love.Meat.

For a guest list and profiles as only Lynne could write them, click here.

The first episode airs April 29th at 8:00 pm on Rogers TV.

We at foodiePrints hope the show captures Lynne’s characteristic joie de vivre. She makes people smile! This way, you will understand why we think you Must.Love.Lynne.

The wine gadget tractor beam locked on to me and I was pulled to the aerators, the wine drip catchers and the corkscrews. Hanging on a dusty hook was a gadget I had not seen before: a thingamabobber to remove corks from inside the bottle!

Regularly $24, reduced to $14, on sale for $12, and down to $8? A bargain I could not pass up.

Cork Retriever by Argyle Wine Accessories

From the box, it looked fairly straightforward: should you accidentally push your cork into your bottle, instead of pulling it out (not sure how that would happen), simply insert this claw-like plunger, grasp the cork, and pull it out!

Cork Remover with arms folded, at rest

Cork remover ready for use

The first problem arose when I tried to use it: I didn’t actually have a wine bottle with a cork floating in it.

Picking a bottle of wine that I knew I did not like, White Zinfandel from California (judging from the Twitter reaction when I Tweeted it, neither does the rest of the Twitterverse), I attempted to shove the cork into the bottle.

The problem with this line of thinking was two-fold:

1. While corks themselves are porous, the seal between the cork and the bottle is pretty tight. Else they would be slipping out in transit and wine would be leaking all over the place. In addition, the bottom of the cork is usually in contact with wine and wet… cork expands a bit when wet, making the seal that much tighter. It is therefore very difficult to force a cork into a bottle!
2. A cork is a small object, with a limited surface area. A wine bottle has a narrow neck. Trying to find a tool that will fit into the neck of a bottle on which I could apply enough force was impossible. In addition, corks are soft (that’s why they make great pin board!). The screwdriver just sank into the cork and the corkscrew was designed to take a cork out, not force it.

1st attempt to force cork into bottle with a screw driver

Close, but no success

Thinking myself clever, I grabbed a water bottle and popped the cork into it. My idea was that thr wider mouthed bottle would allow me to float a cork in the water and at least get to test the gadget. I was unsuccessful; the wide neck of the bottle allowed the gadget to drop the cork before removal. Clearly, a wine bottle was needed.

In the end, I settled with breaking the cork in two and forcing part of it back into the bottle. I justified this act by reasoning that this is the most likely scenario. I am far more likely to break a cork than accidently shove the entire thing into the bottle. (Although there is a trick with a classic waiter’s corkscrew for removing broken corks, that is for another post).

Attempt with a broken cork pushed into bottle

No one was more surprised than me when it worked. I opened the umbrella-like claw, inserted it into the bottle, braced the gadget against the lip of the bottle with its cuff, grasped the cork piece and removed it successfully.

Successfully grabbing the broken cork

Starting to remove the cork

Broken cork coming out of bottle

Cork Remover - success!

Like any good toy, this one was fun to play with, did not require batteries, worked well when wet and is dishwasher safe.

The only problem I see with this gadget is its limited use: corks just don’t drop into bottles that often. (And, if they do, you can always decant). On the other hand, who says toys have to be useful?