Back in the spring of 2014, I was approached to produce a video for Slow Food in Canada, with the broad mandate of exploring what Slow Food in Canada ‘is’. It meant trips to Vancouver, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys, central Alberta, Montreal, Vallee de la Batiscan, Lanaudiere, Cocagne in New Brunswick, Toronto, Tatamagouche Nova Scotia, and more, it’s … Read More
From The Farmers’ Mouth – Time to Vote
My highlight reel of ‘From Local Farms‘ videos was just chosen by Daniel and Mirra of The Perennial Plate as a top-four contender in their recent video competition. I’m honored to be on the list, to say the least. The very reason I started a video series at all was directly because of Daniel and Mirra’s earliest episodes – inspiring me … Read More
From Local Farms – The Cheesiry
I left the Cheesiry feeling strangely like I’d just visited an old-world producer – and not simply because of the old-school pecorino they produce. There’s a wonderful vibe from the cheesiry being built into the heart of the family farm’s old cow dairy facilities which on a hot day offers a cool and patina’d experience – and stepping into their … Read More
The Elusive Butter and Cream
Butter. It’s an important ingredient in my house, and I’ve long wondered why no small local producer made it. But I’ve now found it, and now know why it’s not done. Strangely, I discovered it in a board meeting – Sharon Johnson sitting in on a recent Alberta Farmers’ Market Association meeting, mentioned that she had dairy cows and sold … Read More
Would You Buy This Cheese?
This cheese entered my life as a gift. It’s an aged Bressan from Smoky Valley Goat Cheese, and Holly figured the mottled molds atop it would make it unsuitable for sale. She also claimed that this particular batch was so good that if she kept it for herself, she’d eat yet another lovely wheel of it by herself. I’m no … Read More
My Palate and Sinuses will Recover, Honest.
In 2006, a more than fledgling foodie at the time [and the year I started blogging], my wife and I spent a month traveling through western and eastern Europe, seeking regional food specialties. On that trip, having felt I knew cheese well, I went to France for the half-dozenth time, and had a major cheese awakening. Overall, their cheeses, even … Read More
Chocolate Espresso Chevrecake
This was an innovative-idea-to-me, but I googled it and apparently others have already discovered it. Oh well. Originality is not my m.o. Chevrecake. Cheesecake happens to be my all-time-favorite-dessert, and a few years back I spent some time mucking about with an individual [ramekin] sized chocolate espresso cheesecake recipe that I love dearly. It’s my birthday choice. And having recently … Read More
Jack-o-lantern & Chevre Cupcake
Although not a big TV watcher, I have to admit I really love ‘Jamie at Home’. I was recently watching his winter squash episode, and he very quickly whipped together butternut squash cupcakes with a very low-sugar icing. ‘Hm’, thought I, ‘I have a bunch of jack-o-lantern pumpkin in the freezer that needs to get eaten’. Then, thought I, “I … Read More
Valencay Epiphany
Well as it turns out, it took me a week or so to get to those brownish, fuzzy, kinda brutal looking Valencays that I aged in my cellar for a couple months. And as it turns out, I was wrong. They were not dead, bad, or past. They were SUBLIME. The reason I was cellaring these was to see where … Read More
Cheese Cellar Porn
You take milk. You make cheese. And you stick it in your cellar for months. Food preservation methods like this astonish me. My cheese cellar is low-tech and passively cooled and humidified. No gear. No electronics. No energy consumption. Old-school. Currently holds 90+% humidity and temp is a bit low at 5-6C. I took these photos because Holly asked me … Read More