To everyone lamenting the slow approach of warmer weather in the Ottawa region, we would like to point to the receding ice and almost completely dissolved snow banks. We would like to point to the grass that is beginning to green. We would like to point out the windchill augmented subzero temperatures are limited to the morning commute. Spring has arrived. Last year’s early onset warm weather was an anomaly. It also wreaked havoc with fruit crops, causing trees to bud and bloom early. When more seasonal temperatures returned, blooms were destroyed by frost. Winemakers... | Continue reading article

Did you know that there are more wineries per area in Prince Edward County than in Niagara? No?  And did you know that Prince Edward County is closer to Ottawa than Niagara? No? Well, there are and it is. This year’s IndulgePEC saw the usual suspects troop through PEC again, enjoying what this area has to offer. While I’ll be writing more, I wanted to take the time to tell you about PEC’s oldest winery. Waupoos,  an Ojibway word for rabbit, was created by Ed Neuser and Riata Kaimins in 1983 when they bought an old apple orchard and... | Continue reading article

Loyal readers have likely noticed we routinely submit photos to the National Post’s #gastropost project. If you haven’t heard of gastropost, it is a Toronto-centric experiment from the National Post Labs. Its aim is to engage readers of the National Post’s print newspaper and encourage them to share their “expertise,” specifically in the food realm. Hard copy media noticed there is a lot of citizen reporting when it comes to food? Since everybody “tweets their lunch,” why not exploit the free photo-journalism? Right? Not quite… As Chris Tindal pointed out last June (2012) during gastropost’s... | Continue reading article

Every week, I sit down and write about wine. And every week, I pause briefly and think about what message I am sending. In general, I think I try to impart a little knowledge, some history and try to demystify the wine making process. I try to honour those who make it and connect with those who drink it. If I can entertain my readers along the way, maybe elicit a chuckle, even better. But I have a twelve year old daughter. What do I want her to think about when she sees me sitting... | Continue reading article

Members of the “MTV”-generation, having come of age during television’s heyday, were bombarded with commercials. The thirty-second “spots” showcased the familiar Golden Arches and, of course, Coca-Cola. Winner of the “cola wars,” it is a tall glass of “Coke,” brimming with ice, that many of us associate with “thirst quenching.” Sports stars drank coke. Celebrities, from singers to actors, drank coke. Coke and Coca-Cola products were popular “placements” on sitcoms, even Hollywood blockbusters on the silver screen. Paul Meek, owner of Ottawa’s Kichesippi Beer Company (866 Campbell Avenue), wants to share a different memory. It... | Continue reading article

Two years ago, veteran restauranteur George Monsour opened Back Lane Cafe (1087 Wellington Street W.). Newly returned from France, he had a vision for serving “back-to-origins” cuisine. It runs somewhat counter to Paris’ present “Young Cuisine” movement, which is seeing young culinary disciplinarians put aside centuries of tradition in classical French food. Essentially, they looked to new world restaurants for inspiration: smaller plates that change daily to accommodate the best local meat and produce at the market; dishes that feature artisanal ingredients fashioned in-house; and entirely blind tasting menus. Think accessible food, flexible meals, and... | Continue reading article

Well, it’s that time of year again: Passover and Easter. Or, as we call it in our house, Peaster! As I wrote in last year’s post on Kosher wine, there are varying degrees of “Kosher-ness” when it comes to wines for Passover. In fact, I am learning that there are varying degrees of “Kosher-ness” when it comes to most things in Judaism: it’s remarkable the number of people who keep Kosher at home but love a good slice of bacon in a diner on a Saturday morning! Next week, we are heading to Montreal to... | Continue reading article

If you’re wondering why we have been somewhat inconstant with content of late, it has something to do with a handful of in-progress projects. Most will come to fruition at the end of March. Last Friday, we submitted our entry to the HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) cooking contest. The contest, which is part of a NASA-funded food study, asked for recipes researchers could prepare in a MARS-simulated environment during a 4-month mission. Recipe entries were restricted to a shelf stable pantry, extremely limited meat options, and almost non-existent fresh produce (essentially, only... | Continue reading article