Our General Store

Real Food For Real Kids serves a taste of our 'locavore' fare for kids at the 3rd annual Slow Food Picnic

Picnic at the Brick Works

Presented by Slow Food Toronto

and Evergreen

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Noon – 4pm

Evergreen Brick Works

Toronto locavores can try a global menu this fall as Canada’s biggest and most diverse city joins the vanguard of a joyful revolution.
This year Evergreen and Slow Food Toronto are putting a global twist on their consciousness raising as they stimulate taste buds with their increasingly popular celebration of local producers and top flight local chefs, all working with sustainable foodstuffs.

Real Food For Real Kids (RFRK) will be there.

Come check us out.

Eat with your hands!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I hosted an interactive dinner party featuring Indian fare.

18 women gathered in my loft to take part in a unique food experience I like to call 'piglets pantry'. In an informal Hopey manner the group was briefed about Indian food and given instruction on their food mission before being separated into smaller cooking groups. Each group of 6 woman worked together  to chop, stir and create 2 dishes each.  We ended up with 12 delish dishes and condiments that we gorged on using only our hands as utencils.

Clearly the crew of ladies gathered to learn more about Indian flavors, healthier meal alternatives and how to put together a fantastic Indian meal for friends and family (and the pleasures of eating sans cutlery). But as the evening progressed, I realized food was just the medium for other connections.  We talked about our health, food experiences and upbringings and how integral food is to everything!

The italian mammas have it right. Gather a bunch of women around food preparation, whilst drinking vino, and the honesty starts flowing.

I promised the recipes (see below) and also info on where to find indian ingredients in Toronto.

Thank you all for coming and I look forward to seeing you again.

Stay tuned for the next interactive evening of tasty treats.
Asian Persuasion!!

Slow Food Picnic @ The Brickworks with The 'guerilla gourmet'

I am assisting Maria Solokofski 'guerilla gourmet' - guerilla gourmet press & info  at the Slow Food Toronto and Evergreen gastronomic festival celebrating the best of culinary Toronto in true green fashion.

We are going to make some edible September magic with local pears from her mother's garden, fresh herbs grown by the guerilla gourmet herself - orange thyme, spearment, fennel, cinnamon basil, ricotta cheeses, local honey, local ONTARIO pecans@#$% (I know....that was a first for me!) and love.

Slow Food Website - for more information

Come join us and taste the bounty of local producers, award winning chefs, artisan winemakers and brewers.

September 16, 12pm-5pm
Evergreen Brick Works
550 Bayview Avenue

• Tickets in advance $75
• After Labour Day $95
• Limited parking is $10
• 19 years and older
• Silent Auction

Take the Cheese Boutique's free shuttle at Broadview station

Keynote speakers will discuss how we can feed ourselves in a manner that is both delicious and sustainable.

For more information 416-451-7009

Listed below are the other food artisans involved.

Real Food For Real Kids are 'Building Body Detectives'

Real Food for Real Kids( RFRK) is a Toronto based organization whose primary goal is to  improve children’s health, eating habits and their understanding of nutrition.

Driven by the demand of concerned parents and visionary teachers, the Real Food team developed a delicious, healthy snack and hot lunch program for daycares. Today RFRK serves over 2800 children healthy, natural & organic snacks and hot lunches in 60+ daycares and schools in the GTA.
While serving healthy, natural food to children is important, in order for healthy eating to take hold it was necessary to develop a sustainable approach to food education.

School administrators and daycare directors agree that nutrition is a priority, but one that is difficult to integrate into their current programming and budgets.  RFRK recognized these limitations and has partnered with several organizations including The  The Carrot Cache & Big Carrot, The Ontario Natural Food Coop (ONFC) , Les Dames d'Escoffier, The Centre for Social Innovation  to offer a non-profit Real Food Education Program to their entire community of parents, teachers and children. Hope Paterson, RFRK’s Director of Education manages this comprehensive Food and Nutrition Education Program.

RFRK has become an “Educaterer” and a leader in their field.

To learn more about what we have been doing please contact Hope Paterson - [email protected]

Mission- Real Food For Real Kids

Hello there,

It has been months!! I have been working with a company called Real Food For Real Kids.

Real Food for Real Kids® is a dynamic company that has been catering to childcare centres for almost 2 years (please see attached testimonials and article). All of our food is made with 100% natural ingredients and we place a strong emphasis on using as much local and organic content as possible.

Home for St. Patrick's Day

After 35 hours of travel I am home. Wow, PEI feels like a million miles from Asia.

I am adjusting to the cold weather, 12 hour time change and the Canadian way(everyone is so polite here!!!!!). I missed it. It is great to be home.....and for ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!

Speak soon,
Hopey

Paak waan.....sweet mouth

These days children in Thailand definitely do not go hungry.

In the morning they have a large breakfast.   Then it is snacktime at 10am.  At 11:30 they congregate for lunch.  Then it is snacktime at 2:00pm.  And at 3:30 they are dismissed from school and their REAL snacktime begins.

I decided to investigate what, and how much, these kids were eating during this free-for-all garbage food session.  As I moved between them I perused the numerous food stalls to see what was on offer.  What were the favorites and how were the vendors marketing their wares.  The students were quick and skilled in their selections.  They had fistfuls of money and wasted no time on eating one and moving deftly to the next choice.  I had been a hearty snacker in my earlier days, but some of these children put me to shame!!

Oh dear...  Western shlunk food has invaded these children, gripping them with its evil talons, pulsing through their little veins so that they think of little else.   My eyes scanned the rows to find: fried chicken, American style french fries, bologna on a stick, white bread with butter and sugar, ice cream, candy, chips, sugar bubble tea concoctions, fruit with sugar poured on top and these remarkable works of art.....

Click onto the photo for a better look if you need to.  Yes, that's right...they are pancake pops with characters drawn onto them with syrup.  Woah....what will they think of next!

After they quickly gobbled up their purchases the children hen milled about hyperactively before their parents collected them for dinner.

OH, I groaned....these are some hard patterns to break.

Wok envy

What else is there to Thai cuisine??

High powered heat!!

I have WOK ENVY!!!!!!!!  It is really difficult to screw up Thai dishes when you have a constant source of heat to cook with.  I was in heaven with my giant gas burner.  This was not everyone's experience; many of the students found the extreme heat to be the most difficult aspect of the cooking proceedure.  Yes, arms and curry pastes were burned!!

Fresh, local ingredients

For those who want more information on: Ingredients used in Thai food

All the ingredients were exquisitely fresh from Sompon's vast garden or the local market.   

The work stations were perfect for preparing Thai food.

Each student had a 'volcano' wok, cutting board, razor knife and plenty of workspace .

There were 4 Thai assistant chefs for every 10 students!!!  Imagine how much that would cost in N. America!!

I have to admit that the chef is important in the cooking process, but in Thai cuisine the condiments are as equally vital!  I have eaten dishes prepared by cooks in restaurants in N. America that have used copied sauce brands (oyster sauce, fish sauce, light soy sauce).  To me these taste like they are missing something.  It is worth spending the money for the higher quality brand.

Prep your ingredients before you start cooking anything!!

All of the ingredients need to be prepared before you start any dish.  This is an easy task when you have 5 THai assistnats running around cutting, slicing, soaking, grating etc.  I felt utterly spoiled!

Creating the right consistency for a delectable stirfry is not as easy as it seems.  The vegetables need to be cut into similar shapes to ensure that they will cook at the same speed.  The meat, if using any, needs to be fried first with the garlic.  And the the heat should remain high to allow for the vegetable's moisture to evaporate before it develops into a steaming soup.  It is all about timing and preparation!!!

I discovered that when you are stirfrying meats it is better to marinate the meat (pork, chicken, shrimp, beef) before you start frying in the garlic and oil.  For my chicken with ginger I mixed oyster sauce, fish sauce and pepper with the meat and let it stand for 5 mins before I fried it with the veg and ginger. 

**For a crispy texture add a pinch of cornstarch to your marinade.

What is that ? Do I smell a large ego in the kitchen?

I found Sompon to be like many other trained chefs.  He took himself quite seriously and had a very high opinion of his approach to food.  He occasionally broke up his monotonous teaching approach with some dry humor, but in general I have to say that I preferred learning from his sous-chefs.  I noticed that Sompon played good cop- bad cop with his employees.  When he left the room they would make fun of his monotonous tone and rigid stance, but when he returned to the room their smiles would return and they dutifully followed his orders.  I am not sure if this was all an act, but it added some character to the cooking lessons.  Although Sompon carried out his demonstrations in a dictatorial manner he did provide a lot of insight into professional Thai cuisine.  The girls added the balance by making it their priority to be aware of the variations in their students abilities. Sompon's hiring strategy had been wise.  His staff were crucial in helping to create a learning environment that allowed all of the students to feel comfortable.

Wing or 'big momma' got her whole body into the cooking proceedure. 

Bonne used her sprightly energy to add some zest to the various recipes.  She kept reminding several of the male students to stop taking themselves so seriously!!

I made one major observation after the first day of lessons.  Teaching adults how to cook is not that different from teaching children.  Although children tend to ask more questions.  Adults mostly keep their inquiries to themselves and then get frustrated with the instructors when something goes wrong.  I wonder if this is an issue of ego or just our conditioning? 

I managed to spend my lunch breaks eating with the Thai staff and therefore got a earful, in Thai, about how it 'really' was teaching a group of foreigners to cook.  The sweet Thai smiles, that were present in the classroom, turned into some mocking sneers when the assistant chefs discussed how boring the falang were and how they could not believe how many times they had to repeat themselves when giving instructions.

Put some love into your food and enjoy yourself!!

From start to finish I could tell that Sompon had put his heart into this cooking school.  He was an incredibly hard working man who had devoted all of his energy into building a successful business.  On the last day he looked up from chopping a spring onion and smiled.  His grin spread from his dimples to his eyes.  The class was quietly watching he skilled actions.    I sighed to myself.  Hmmm, I realized that I may have been too hard on him.  Hey, Hopey give this guy a break.  He teaches these classes all day everyday and has been doing so for over 10 yrs.  It was obvious that he felt a deep connection to food.  And like me he wanted to share that passion with as many people as possible.

His parting comment was perfect.  "THai food, like any cuisine, does not taste sensational- no matter how skilled you are UNLESS you add some love to the dish."    This is true.  I too have been astounded by how dull, or off balance, my food tastes when my mood is dampened by something.

Curry pastes and beyond.....

I enjoyed taking the Chiang Mai Thai Cooking Course . I will not bother repeating what is aptly explained on their website so upload the link for details on the course.  I prefer to make my own Hopey observations.  I have uploaded quite a few pics - click on them individually if you want a closer look.

I have been cooking Thai food for years and have spent several years living in Bangkok.  What could I learn from this course? 

Cooking...eating...cooking and more eating. WE prepared at least 7 dishes a day and had to eat them all!  What a task!  I left the first day in major pain from all the food.  Ha..ha...I think that some of the students had signed up just to gorge!

I already know that the basis of Thai food is balance, fresh ingredients and  preparation. What other secrets were there to be gleaned?   

The master curry paste!!

Using freshly ground curry pastes makes a huge difference when you are making any curry (thai, indian, sri lankan etc).  We roasted dry spices, soaked chillis, chopped galangal-lemongrass-ginger and added the fresh ingredients and pounded until our wrists ached.  Each curry paste had its own unique piquant aroma.

......Curry paste facts

** Red curry paste, more than green or penang or massaman, is used as an all-purpose paste.  Thai chefs mix it into marinades, satay sauces, numerous curries and bbq sauces.

** Green chilis are the less ripe chili and are therefore much hotter.  So, KENG KIOWAN (sour-sweet green curry paste) is a lot hotter than the red curry.  This may be true but the red does pack a kick when you add too much paste to your coconut milk base.  I would recommend using a 3/4 tbsp of paste per person.  If you like it really rich and not spicy at all add more sugar and a tbsp of peanut butter.

** When preparing a thai curry cook the curry paste on low until the aroma has been released.  An undercooked or slightly burned paste can leave a bitter flavor.

I found these curry recipes on the internet...or you can just wait for me to come home!!

If you feel inclined to make the extra effort - it is well worth it, here are some curry paste recipes.

green curry paste , massaman curry paste, red curry paste

Fresh coconut cream!!

Where does coconut cream come from?  Not a can or a carton!  The aged nut of the coconut is cracked open and the seed is removed.  This white coconut skin (usually an inch thick) is grated by hand, in a blender

or in a grating machine. Then.......

How to prepare homemade coconut cream.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE....

Moo- glorious moo

Before I started the cooking course, that I knew would represent a fairly conventional approach to Thai food, I decided to make a trip to the local Chiang Mai markets.  How was the cuisine different from that of Bangkok?  What crazy characters could I stumble upon? Hmmmm what unique treats could I taste?

I realize that many of you have a certain view of Thai food.  Yes, it is spicy, sweet, well-presented and definitely one of the most balanced cuisines in the world but there is an element that most people are missing by just eating in their local Thai restaurant.

There are many layers to the Thai people and their cuisine.  The sweet, palatable and efficient people also have a strong, gutsy, and sometimes gristly character.  I have discovered that their food, especially in smaller regions, represents this split. Oh yes there is so much more to the heart of the local working cuisine.  Please dare to go beyond the cashew nuts, fancy garnishing and pad thai.

Kaosoi- a rich curry soup with egg noodles- is the best dish from this region- click onto the post-continuation for the link to the recipe.

*****I am amazed at how many tourists come to this food heaven and just eat the staple diet -pad thai, fried rice and bananas!!!!  Surprise, surprise...they are usually the ones the get the stomach bugs!!!

So, forgive the graphic nature of some of these pics and just broaden your mind.  Imagine that to some  people this is the food that they crave.

Khaow niaw- Sticky rice is favored by the people in the north.  They have several varieties- red, black and whole grain.  One can find steaming baskets of it everywhere!!!

   

For 5 baht (30 baht equals a cdn dollar) you can fill your stomach with these glutinous grains.  But beware........the rice does swell in your stomach.  And...too much may lead to some difficult meetings in the toilet!!!!

Moo- the Thai word for pig is central to the northern cuisine.  Moo in all forms is eaten throughout the day.

Deep fried pork skin, or porky scratchings as we call them in the U.K., is a delicious accompaniment to beer and spicy food.  DEEP fried fat....well, it is something that you have have the stomach for.  I can handle only small quantities.

Aside from eating them...preparing them is hard work!!!! This man works over an enormous wok bubbling with oil and fat in the 35 degree heat!

My parents gorged on these crispy spirals when they visited a few years ago.   My mum even sneaked a few packets in her luggage so that she could indulge in them at home!!!!

You can imagine the smell.....deep fried pork knuckles, tenderloin and chops.....

Pig's blood is cooked and then sliced into bite sized pieces for noodle soup or made into a rich dipping sauce.

The dipping sauce is usually eaten with  sticky rice or sliced raw veggies.  I asked the vendor how she prepared her special dish.  She perked up immediately.  I think she was in disbelief that a farang could speak isaan (thai-laos dialect) and was interested in the countryside food.  The blood is cooked with shallots, garlic, paa-laa (thai version of fermented fish sauce) roasted rice powder,sliced pork skin, and fresh herbs- coriander, mint and green onions.  It sounds like a stretch, but it is more tasty than most hot dogs or sausages in Western supermarkets.  Nim...the cook told me step by step what went into her food; and I had no doubt that she added a pinch of pride along with the ingredients.  BUt who knows what goes into our mystery meats?

lollipops...no, spicy Chiang Mai sausages on a stick. 

 

Pig heads are boiled, stewed and chopped up for braising with various sauces.  The ears are not given to dogs to chew on, as in the West, but fried or bbq and eaten with sticky rice.

I had to take this one.....

I got my eye on you!!!!!!!!! (click on this one for a close up)

As with  fish eyes, the cow's eye is prized in soup pots.  Scoop it out and you will have good luck.  It is a texture explosions- like a gristly marble!

As I walked among the butcher's stalls I noticed the clean smell of fresh meat.  There were no undertones of disinfectant or bleach.  Every stall was equipped with a hose and grate and all of the waste was collected or washed away.

There is a large Chinese community here in the north.  Steamed buns filled with pork, chicken or sweetened beans are a popular nightime snack.

All types of fish are eaten in Chiang Mai.  I did notice that fresh water fish were more prominent in the marketplace.  Plaa-duk or catfish is one of my favorites.  It is an oily fish (this woman is cutting the whiskers off the squirling bodies before she slices the fish into chunks) that is quite similar to mackerel when barbequed.  Tilapia is also very popular.  A fellow shopper explained that it is not native to Thailand. It was given to the Thai king by Japanese royalty years ago. Since then the Thai Royal family farm the fresh water fish all over the  country.

Not all Thai women are tiny.  Actually, I saw many more womanly, and large, figures up in this northern region.  It could be the fact that the people preferred fattier foods  because of the cooler climate, or that they just actually ate properly!  It was refreshing to see women actually eat a normal meal.  Bangkok was beginning to get on my nerves.  Dieting is a national pastime there.  No wonder most of the women are pencil thin....they eat 5 bites of food all day long! 

Chicken out in the open air...all day long? Yes!  How did it look..smell?  The chicken was laying on ice, that was being continuously drained, all day long.  The vendors arrived early morning at around 5am, set up and then sold most of their poultry by 10am.  Was it organic? I was astounded to find out that the organic/free range was cheaper and the treated (with antibiotics etc) mass produced chicken was much more expensive!  Apparantly those with money want the processed chicken because it looks better and keeps longer!  Sadly, the same goes for vegetables.  Thai  people are very concerned with appearances on all levels.  Unfortunately this value is congruent with their food also.

I always gravitate towards the row upon row of stainless steel bowls filled with Thai dishes.  These cooks prepare the numerous (sometimes 20 different containers) dishes at home and cart them to the market each day.  Certain vendors are known for their specialties.  This particular woman was a nam prik 'QUEEN'.  I lined up behind her followers; all anxious to buy a scoop of the sticky rice dipping sauce before she ran out.  Her pounded chili-based sauces with roasted eggplants, tomatoes, mushrooms, pork, fish...were sensational.  I managed to have a lil' taste of all of them. 

The market is not just a place to buy food, but a meeting place for social interaction and for some it  is their arena for performance and social assistance.

Many blind people sing or perform at markets for money.  Their soft, soulful voices rise above the chopping and chatter.

Did I mention that I absolutely adore markets?  To me, they are a microcosm of the society.  Walk through and you experience the initial sensory waves...smell, sound, tastes. Then start talking to the vendors and fellow shoppers OR watch and listen to others  talking to each other. Stop and notice social dynamics between stalls and feuding families. Then dig deeper and watch the entire markets flow; the traffic, the mood and the general cultural dynamics.  Then....come again during the evening when it is empty and feel the quiet hum.