Asparabus farm tour

ASPARABUS TOUR

I have been trying to find the time to write this blog post for a while and regret that I couldn't find the time to post it while Asparagus season was in it's peak but I wanted to make sure I let you know how great this incredibly short season is.  Asparagus like strawberries has a very short 6 week peak season in the spring/summer.  I love this time of year because the weather is fantastic and my favourite foods are at their best.

I had the pleasure of getting invited to join the #AsparabusTour in June, hosted by the https://foodiesonfoot.ca/.  They are a great team of people that have been hosting this invite only Asparagus Tour.  It's a full day of all things asparagus that begins with hopping on a tour bus in downtown Toronto and on this tour we headed to Welsh Brothers Farms and Bonnieheath Estate Winery and Lavendar Farm.  

The Foodies Group have been doing these tours for the past 5 years and my blogger friends that have gone have told me how much fun they are so I was really excited to get invited this year.

I have been on other farm tours before and they are a lot of fun.  I have also been to Bonnieheath Estate before but it was nice to return and explore a little more.

We began our tour at Welsh Brothers Farms where we got to see the farm workers picking the Asparagus right out of the ground with this large tractor vehicles.  It still looks like back breaking work even though there are now large scale machinery to assist.  I was surprised to see how sparse the asparagus fields were and to find out that it is a large investment in time to produce asparagus.  It's not a yearly harvest but takes many years to get a good harvest of great asparagus.

My blogger buddies and I really enjoyed picking the asparagus right out of the ground and eating it.  You really don't have to cook it to eat them.  It's amazing how sweet they are when they are that fresh.  Some of my friends seemed surprised at how the asparagus grows from the ground.  I guess you never think about it when you pick up a perfect bunch of asparagus from the grocery store but there is a whole lot of work that goes into that perfect little green bunch of spears.

We had a chance to check out their processing plant.  There aren't that many steps but probably more than you would thing to get the bundles of asparagus ready.  The ends need to be chopped, they are sorted and packed into bundles and then wrapped with elastics and of course washed and packed in large boxes for shipping to the food terminal or grocery stores.

After our visit to Welsh Brothers Farms we headed to Bonnieheath Estate Winery where chef Tracey Winkworth who I have seen many times making Chef Chuck Hughes look good at trade show food demos.  Chef Tracey along with Liason College students whipped up an unbelievable spread of Asparagus focused dishes.  It was so amazing and we got to eat it outside at the back of the Bonnieheath Estate with a view of the lavendar fields.

I think my favourite dish was these Asparagus fries.  Crunchy goodness.

The dessert didn't have any asparagus but it had some lavendar wine in it as a nod to the Lavendar estate.  It was a berry bread pudding with the lavendar wine ice cream.

After lunch we did some food trivia and my team won a great prize and we checked out their little market store for some wine and cider sampling and to purchase some goodies.

We had the best day.  I got to hang out with my favourite blogger buddies and enjoy the farm tour and incredible local food and a beautiful day.

You should visit Bonnieheath estate during their lavendar season.  It's so beautiful there.

It may be late in the season and I am sorry I couldn't post this sooner to remind you to pick up local asparagus but I hope that you can still get some at your local farmers markets and also looking at these food pics and take a different look at your asparagus and prepare them in new ways instead of just steaming them because there are so many things you can do with them from the asparagus fries to a creamy soup.

For more info check out these links:

#Asparabus

Asparagus Farmers of Ontario

T @onasparagus

I: @ontarioasparagus

onasparagus.on.ca

Welsh Brothers Farm

T: @WelshBros

welshbros.ca

Bonnieheath Estate lavendar  & Winery

T: @bonnieheathfarm

I: @bonnieheathestate

bonnieheathestate.ca

Liason College Southcoast

T: @SouthCoastLC

I: liasoncollege

liasonsouthcoast.com

The Foodies Group

T: @thefoodiesgroup

I: @thefoodiesgroup

foodiesonfoot.ca

Farm Food Care Tour - Dairy and Mill

I love it when I get invited to Farm tours by Farm Food Care.  They are always fun and educational.  This was my 3rd time doing the Farm Tours.  I broke my lucky streak of good weather this time and I blame the Vaughan Centre station for that.  Every time I have to meet someone at Vaughan Centre Station it pours.  This was the 3rd time that happened but at least I had a fairly easy way to connect up with the bus this time.  I say fairly easy because I poured just as we got there and the bus was about 15 minutes late so we all huddled inside the TTC entrance.

A bit of info about Farm Food Care first,  they are a coalition of various businesses in the food production industry who do consumer research, promotion and program education about the agriculture industry.  These farm tours are run by the energetic and organized Jennifer MacKenzie who is a food writer, cook book author and excellent tour organizer.

As I briefly mentioned we started our day by hopping on a tour bus in Vaughan at 8:30am and were given a little bag full of goodies which I unfortunately forgot on the bus because I had too much stuff to carry home.  I will get to that in a bit.  Jennifer makes home baked treats for the drive to the farms and we had coffee too.

Our first stop was the very popular Sheldon creek Dairy  located at 316 RR#2 5th Concession in Loretto, Ontario  

We had a great tour through the bottling area and where the cows were and saw the whole process from start to finish.

Sheldon Creek are the first farm in Canada to produce A2 milk.  It is milk that comes from cows that naturally produce milk with A2 version of beta-casein.  Normally cows produce A1.  It is easier on the digestive system.  They likened it to the Red Head gene in humans.  The A2 protein is comparable to human breast milk or goat, sheep and buffalo milk which is easier to digest for dairy sensitive people.  As I have grown older I appreciate this a whole lot.

We learned a whole lot of things about their system including the fact that 4 degrees is the perfect temperature for milk.  They use a voluntary milking system for their cows in a system that is kind of like a cow car wash.  They walk up to a platform that allows the cows to be scanned by sensors and connected to the milking machine.  They have fitbit kind of tracking that tells their computer sensor which cow it is and tracks the quantity of milk that is milked at a time and how many times a day they milk as well as the milk breakdown so they can tell if there is any illness that may occur in the cows.  The cows are given a treat but they have it set up so that they can't keep going back just to get treats.  Very smart.  Cows are trying to out smart the machines but nope they can't do it.  The cows all have definite personalities.  It was obvious that there were selfie loving cows and ones that couldn't care less that there were a bunch of humans taking photos of them.  Obvious from the sounds of the food going in and out of the cows if you know what I mean?  We also fond out that they are feed a pickled hay concoction that inhibits bacteria growth and they lay in sand beds instead of hay beds or grass because it molds to their bodies making them more comfortable.

After learning about the dairy we all went crazy in their little store that stocks their fresh milk right from the back bottling area and they also sell local products.  I can tell you that I filled up a cooler bag and it was heavy.  I got one of their little bottles of heavy cream and coffee milk, chocolate milk and strawberry milk which is colored with beets. And I picked up some local gouda.  I wanted more but had to haul it home and as it turns out it's a good thing I didn't get more because I could barely carry everything home.  They were preparing to have an open house on the weekend and I wish I could have gone back to get more things.

After shopping like crazy and seeing the cows we trucked through the wet farm back to the bus to go for lunch at the Gibson Centre.   We were all very hungry and ready to get out of the rain by that time.  The Gibson Centre is a beautiful community centre that hosts food festivals and lots of weddings apparently. 

  Lunch was fantastic.  I shared a table with fellow food industry writers and friends Suzie from Just Crumbs,  Fina the Healthy Italian and Mairlyn Smith the home economist and cookbook author and tv personality.  Such a delicious and fun lunch.  All of the food was from Ontario.  We had chicken with crispy chicken skin and gnocchi with peas, roasted radish and asparagus, rillette on brown bread and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  There was a pickled veg platter and everyone went crazy for the pickled brussel sprouts but I didn't have a chance to taste them.  There was a speaker from Saskatchewan Canola who were the lunch sponsors and there was also a speaker from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture talking about how the new tariffs are affecting farmers like Canola farmers. Farmers are at the mercy of the weather and things like tariffs and government regulations so it's a really tough business to make a decent living sadly.

After lunch we hopped back on the bus to go to K2 Milling in Beeton. Owner Mark Hayhoe has been in the industry for 28 years. I am not sure they were quite prepared for all the foodies looking for fresh new things.  Unlike the dairy everyone was looking to buy something to take home but they weren't really set up for grab and go sales as they normally sell to other businesses. 

They mill non traditional things like hemp, flax, spelt, quinoa, pea, amaranth, rice and lentils.  They also experiment with things like grapes and have a merlot flour and they have spices like turmeric and cinnamon. They also do unusual things like blueberry flour and cranberry flour using dried berries. Their motto is "grinding against the grain".  I opted to skip buying a bag of flour at this point because I already amassed a bag of stuff and a centrepiece and dairy products.

I couldn't hear everything about the milling process but I could tell they like to think outside of the norm of the traditional milled wheat.  We did learn about why things like ground oats aren't always the best thing to mill and different milled products react differently when baking which explains why gluten free products are never the same as wheat products.  Some flours gum up and can't hold the structure.  I think he said that spelt can't be over mixed or it breaks down. 

And just as we finished having a look at the mill and picking up some milled products it started to rain again so i dashed back onto the bus to head back to the Vaughan drop off location.  Back on the bus we were given surveys and then it was time for trivia and prizes.  I won the centre piece at lunch and one of the trivia question on the bus and got a silver travel cup and straw and an ice cream scoop.  I will use that for sure.

It was a super fun day even with the gloomy skies, muddy pathways and wind and rain.  Spending time with great food industry people and learning how our food is produced is always rewarding.

Visit a farm, meet the people that produce your food and thank them for the hard work they do to feed your families safe food products.  We have some of the highest food standards in Canada.  We do not allow milk to be sold with hormones and the pasturization process is strictly regulated.  I have visited some fantastic farms run by great people and you should do the same if you have the opportunity to do so.

Respect the food that is harvested so that we can continue to have this high quality food.

 www.farmfoodcare.org

Food Day Canada - Putting Canada on the Menu on Aug 4, 2018

Celebrating Canadian Food with Top Chefs and Canada's Most Iconic Icon, the CN Tower  

On Saturday August 4th, Food Day Canada/ Journée des terroirs, Canadian chefs and all of our partners are sending out an invitation to Canada’s foodies, be they chefs or home cooks, no matter where you are,  to join the Party and PUT CANADA ON THE MENU!

I had the pleasure of being invited to join in on a great lunch at George Brown College for the launch of Food Day Canada.  Hosted by Chef John Higgins and Food Day Canada founder Anita Stewart.  The long harvest table was set up in the middle of the Atrium at George Brown's school of Hospitality.  The table was filled with a wide variety of Canadian Foods with a big global influence.

 

Anita Stewart -Food Day Canada Founder

Chef John Higgins

Food Day Canada / Journée des terroirs, which is a national celebration of local food (always celebrated on the August long weekend).

This year with our chefs’ community and producers across Canada, we will celebrate Food Day Canada’s 15th year anniversary by lighting the most recognizable - and tallest - beacon in the Western Hemisphere, Toronto's glorious CN Tower. 

Today we face similar, perhaps even graver challenges. As Dr. Owen Roberts, the President of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists, states: “Our food system is under fire. No matter how the politics plays out nationally or globally, this is a time for fierce loyalty and coordinated action.”

So rather than lament, we challenge all Canadians to have a party and honour our own ingredients, with one simple goal, culinary sovereignty.  

What: Canada’s food community is coming together to declare Food Day Canada/ Journée des terroirs, as Canada’s Local Food Day.  Cook like a Canadian.

Who: Anyone and everyone; chefs, home cooks, farmers, fishers, writers, ranchers…anyone who loves Canadian ingredients.  

Where: Anywhere and everywhere in Canada!  Backyard BBQs, picnics, dine in, dine out.  Enjoy Canadian-grown, Canadian-made food.

When: All Day Long on Saturday August 4^th, 2018

                 How to Put Canada on the Menu!

Shop Like a Canadian! – Check out our patriotic shopping list.

Cook Like a Canadian!  - We even provide some recipes to get you started with the emphasis on those tariff-bearing foods we import.

Share Like a Canadian!  - Take some images of your local foods, drinks, ingredients (no lemons or bananas please) and add the #fooddaycanada on Twitter, on Instagram, on Facebook.

Then, Watch the Canadian Stories Unfold as YOUR posts are added to our National Culinary Scrapbook, A Food DAY in the Life of Canada. 

Website: fooddaycanada.ca  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fooddaycanada/

Twitter: @fooddaycanada  

Facebook: Facebook.com/foodday

Check out all the great Canadian Food that we sampled at the launch.  The one thing I am going to make at home is the Molasses butter that was a huge hit slathered on delicious brown bread.

I really love supporting this and wish I knew about it sooner.  I only found out about it last year but it seems even more important this year with all the Tariffs being imposed on Canadian Farmers who are already struggling to earn a decent living.  They work hard for everyone so we should really make an effort to support local Canadian food and promote it as if it was like some expensive imported food that people go crazy over.  We have incredible food and we need to appreciate it more. 
The Menu is listed below the photos of the dishes and not in the same order but I think you can figure out which is which from the descriptions.  I hope it inspires you to make one of these dishes or something similar or find a great local restaurant that highlights local food.  Enjoy!

The Menu

MAIN
Grass Fed Beef and Wild Rice Cabbage Rolls
Solomon Gundy with Dark Harbour Dulse
Elote- Roasted Corn with Chili and Cheese Curds
Tomato Salad
New Potatoes, Creme Fraiche, Kozlik's Mustard and Herbs
Radishes with Butter
Pickled Beets with Honey and Goat Cheese
Molasses Bread and Butter

DESSERT
Raspberry Blueberry Tarts
Date Squares
Peaches in Ice Wine

Produce provided by Produce Made Simple
@OntarioProduce