I’m Thankful for This Soup

KevinBacon, Charcuterie, Dairy, Fall Veg, Foraging, From Local Farms, From the Cellar, From the Garden, From The Wild, Mushrooms, Nature's Green Acres, Pork, Smoky Valley Goat Cheese, Vegetables3 Comments

I’ve been really grateful for the abundance around me lately. I feel a little like I’ve won the lottery [I don’t buy tickets]. This soup kind of summed up my happiness of late. It’s a purée of winter squashes from my former lawned front yard, with celery and leek from my backyard garden + a whack of chevre from Holly. … Read More

FROM LOCAL FARMS – Smoky Valley Goat Cheese

KevinCheese, Dairy, From Local Farms, From Local Farms - The Series, From the Cellar, Smoky Valley Goat Cheese6 Comments

Used to be that fine goat cheese was something my wife and I would enjoy while traveling in France. Ten years later, as did the Smart car and Sephora, artisan goat cheese showed its face in Edmonton. When Smoky Valley Goat Cheese arrived at our City Market this spring, I wrote about it immediately. It changed our household food culture … Read More

Operation ‘Save Our Artisan Goat Cheese’ has begun

KevinDairy, From Local Farms, Smoky Valley Goat Cheese14 Comments

While taking care of production duties on the ‘From Local Farms‘ project, I learned from Holly – our regional artisan goat cheese producer slated for an episode – that their operation is facing a winter of financial-non-viability, and that they are at risk of being forced to close their doors. One of the sad, hard truths I’ve learned about while … Read More

Smoky Valley Goat Cheese – Feta

KevinDairy, Fall Veg, From Local Farms, From the Garden, Smoky Valley Goat Cheese, Vegetables2 Comments

No, their goat feta is not pink. It’s fantastically textured, confidently salty – but decidedly not pink [it was the roasted forono and bull’s blood beets’ fault]. We’ve recently had feta from what I thought would be  a fairly good source: the Italian Centre [I heart the ICS]. But this stuff killed it. No competition. The more I try their … Read More

From Local Farms Project Update

KevinBeef, Dairy, From Local Farms, Grains, Pork, Poultry, Smoky Valley Goat Cheese3 Comments

This project is getting pretty big pretty fast, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Starting in September, I’m going to have a blog-doc-short episode featuring each of the following biggest and brightest talents in local artisan food production – and the list is growing daily: Sunworks Farm, Nature’s Green Acres,  Smoky Valley Goat Cheese, En Santé Winery, Serben Free Range, … Read More