April 1, 2019
Fashions come and go but fermentation is forever In spite of today’s hustle, my soul yearns for slow food traditions and the return of time-honoured classics. I value and wish to learn some of the skills mastered by our ancestors. I am not alone in my hunger of more back-to-basics food preservation and sourcing, as similar feelings echo back to…
December 1, 2018
Whole-animal butcher offers series on broths, braising and buying local meat With the right butcher behind the counter, butcher shops can be a great place to learn about the meat you are purchasing. Brad Doiron, a whole animal butcher specializing in grass fed, grass finished organic cattle, is working in collaboration with the PEI Certified Organic Producers Cooperative (COPC) to…
March 1, 2018
Meeting the challenges in our school food programs It’s safe to say that Morgan Palmer, a Red Seal Chef, Registered Dietitian, and newly appointed school food environment project lead, is excited about the future of food in all schools across the Island. Just as excited as her are the students she’s working with. East Wiltshire Intermediate, Tignish Elementary, and Morell…
November 1, 2017
With any good preserve, the devil is in the details. And as usual, a recipe that’s been followed for this many years comes written with fewer directions than actually needed to accomplish the task ahead. In family kitchens, there was an expectation that you had done this project many times under the supervision of someone who already knew the ropes,…
November 1, 2017
Fermentation parties offer value for all involved On the Monday in early October when I visit Heart Beet Organics in Darlington, it’s a drab, overcast day complete with a biting cold wind. The weather, however, has done nothing to dampen the spirits of Heart Beet’s friendly farming duo, Amy Smith and Verena Varga, or the six women and one man…
November 1, 2017
From beef jerky to butchery “Fresh pork belly can be unreal,” Chris van Ouwerkerk, owner of Butcher & Butcher and Jerkules Fine Beef Jerky, tells me as we sit down to chat. My previous encounters with pork belly can be counted on one hand and only some have been favourable. But the passion with which van Ouwerkerk speaks about fresh…
November 1, 2017
Borden family growing East Asian mushrooms in PEI Julie and Dale Hamilton of Borden are eagerly awaiting their first crop of shiitake mushrooms. They are one step closer to their dream of creating a permaculture forest on their Augustine Cove woodlot by cultivating this Asian mushroom. Shiitake mushrooms, or Lentinula edodes, are brown, meaty mushrooms grown in eastern Asia, particularly…
November 1, 2017
Modern pressure-canning extends shelf life of meats Raising a multitude of animals for food at Hope River Farm can mean an abundance of frozen meats for owner Nancy Sanderson. Despite a thriving CSA program, sometimes the freezers need to be cleared of excess meat. “I’ve got ten deep freezers that are mostly customer meat, however, anything that doesn’t sell over…
November 1, 2017
Start with a Seedling program returns to Prince Street School The kindergarten students at Prince Street School in Charlottetown are in for a special treat this school year. The Start with a Seedling program is back after a one-year hiatus. This hands-on, intergenerational, food and garden program is aimed at enhancing food literacy and connecting kids with the food they…
November 1, 2017
What were meals like in times of war? On the home front during the First and Second World Wars, Canadians were asked to make do with less, to allow more resources to be sent to troops overseas. Food was one of the things that people were asked to conserve. One of the ways this was done was through rationing—limiting the…