Apples to Oysters
Margaret Webb
Viking Canada

Farmers feed cities. Deep down we know this to be true, but for most people the disconnect is so strong, we never think of the folks whose lives centre around growing the food we eat. But farming is not an easy job, and it takes a particular kind of person to dedicate themselves to the task, especially in a format of sustainable agriculture that concerns itself not just with making a profit but making the land and sea better than they were to start with.

In Apples to Oysters, author Margaret Webb spent two years travelling across Canada to learn about those farmers, visiting 11 farms from coast to coast to coast – one in each province and the Yukon, all family-run. In each case, she’s selected farmers who use sustainable methods, who have a respect and admiration for the natural resources they work with.

From an apple orchard in BC to a grass-fed beef co-operative in Alberta to a dulse harvester in New Brunswick, Webb touches down in each province and targets a farm offering a typical provincial crop, only farmed with alternative methods that honour and respect the animals or resources.

Continue reading Farmers Feed Cities - A Review of Apples to Oysters »

Get it Ripe: a Fresh Take on Vegan Cooking and Living
by Jae Steele
Arsenal Pulp Press

Years ago I tried vegetarianism. At the time it was for vague political reasons. Plus a lot of my friends were doing it, so I figured it would be easy if there was a support group. Ah, peer pressure.

After about a year I stopped, not because of any big revelation, but because I wanted some of my mother’s shepherd’s pie. She had been quite supportive of the whole thing and was game to try to cook vegetarian. Maybe that was the problem. Not with her cooking, but with the fact that at the time we didn’t have access to any good vegetarian recipes, beyond scrambled tofu. And there wasn’t any internet to go running to for inspiration. So we ended up suffering through a number of sad gray meals once salads got boring.

Had I a copy of Jae Steele’s new cookbook, Get It Ripe, I don’t think I would still be vegetarian but I may have held out little longer. And had a better time doing it.

Continue reading Get Yer Veggies Out »

If you’re like many who inhabit this Great White North and embrace the blessings of fine mid-spring weather and three work-free days, this long weekend is bound to involve an encounter or two with some outdoor cooking. So read on.

As a relative newbie to open flame cuisine, I had the timely good fortune to have an inspirational telephone chat with Chef Ted Reader – some may know him better as King of the Q’s, a frequent guest on Q107 and visitor of Regis and Kelly – during which he shared some his ideas, tips, and grilling philosophy. Or grillosophy.

Classically trained in the culinary arts, Ted Reader was attracted to cooking with fire as a little kid, watching his father make hamburgers on a makeshift grill comprising a wheelbarrow and a refrigerator rack. “Dad was cheap,” he says. When Ted began working professionally, he gravitated toward the grill. Now Ted has 100 grills and barbecues of his own, give or take, allowing him the opportunity to try out his various creations – and those of others – and to fine tune them using different equipment.

How does he come up with his ideas? “Tequila.” He laughs, but the smile in his voice suggests he’s only half-joking. “And Jack Daniels. I like working with Jack.” Indeed J.D. is an active participant in a number of Ted’s recipes including his version of Beer Can Chicken that calls for a couple of shots of bourbon.

Continue reading Grilling the Saucy Zen Master »

Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass
Whitecap, 2008

Imagine a world where bread hurts. I don’t mean getting whacked in the head with a baguette, but where eating bread or rice or a gooey cinnamon roll causes real illness and pain.

For people suffering from celiac disease, items made with not just gluten-heavy wheat, but all grains and carbohydrates, can be a ticket to the hospital.

Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet is the second recipe book in a series by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass, and offers a cookbook alternative for people suffering not just from celiac disease, but a whole variety of digestive disorders such as colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and more. This selection of recipes is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which was used in the early 20th century by people with celiac disease. It was replaced mid-century by a gluten-free diet, but many people suffering from digestive disorders found the gluten-free diet did not work especially well, and a return to the SCD was more effective on their symptoms. As both Bager and Lass suffer from digestive disorders, it’s safe to say that their combined experience lends them suitable expertise to create such a book.

Continue reading No Grain, No Pain »

It might sound trivial, but for anyone who fumbles with a recipe book, staining pages with lemon juice and garlic, it is definitely not. The new all-Canadian Feed Me, I’m Hungry cookbook is coil-bound. It’s simply not possible to lose your spot while attending to the frying pan. It’s a half-foot long, rectangular, and can even stand up on its own like a desk calendar. No need for paperweights.

This initial, obvious observation is the first clue to how the book was put together. Its three authors, all nutrition experts, have created a recipe book for families that is easy to use and follow. It is, as one of its authors puts it, a tool for cooking more easily and nutritiously.

Continue reading Feed Me… I’m Hungry »

It’s hard to walk into the cooking section of your neighbourhood bookstore these days and not be inundated by the sheer volume available to you. Celebrity chefs, regional cuisines, diets plans, travel and food memoirs, food culture - name a subject and you’ll find plenty of beautifully bound books to match. It’s overwhelming to say the least.

But what we sometimes forgot is that reading books doesn’t mean we have to own them. In the City of Toronto we are lucky to have the largest public library system in Canada. The only thing standing between Toronto residents and a library card granting them access to 11 million books are two pieces of official identification.

The library might not be the first place you think of when considering where to find food related books, but when you consider that they have 2929 cookery books reflecting Toronto’s multiculturalism, 312 diet books ranging from the grapefruit diets of the 80’s to Hollywood’s latest craze, 1409 nutrition books for ages 3 to 103, plus many more books on topics like food history, food style, and food science, the library really is the one stop shop for all things gastronomical.

Continue reading Food Inspiration in the Stacks »

The Cookbook Store
850 Yonge Street
416-920-2665

Tomorrow at the Cookbook Store there will be a knife skills demonstration. Expert slicer Peter Hertzmann will be wielding metal, signing his new book, and mingling. This sort of thing happens a lot in this niche book shop.

Owner Alison Fryer says almost every Saturday until December is full of book signings and demonstrations. They even have special days, featuring different types of food. Soon she’ll host an “apple day” that will assuredly tread far past the simple McIntosh.

Welcome to the Cookbook Store (CBS). Sure, the walls are lined with popular and hard-to-find books of recipes, cooking techniques, and food literature, but there’s a lot more here beneath the surface. You don’t even have to buy a book; just come in, talk about food, and go about your day.

Continue reading The House That Food Built »

Who better to feed the hungry than some of the city’s top chefs?

A Gift From the Stars cookbook is a collection of recipes from chefs in Southern Ontario, plus a few celebrity guests. Chef Daniel Racine has produced the book with the intention of raising $500,000 for the Daily Bread Food Bank.

The book is divided into four sections with recipes from celebrity chefs such as Michael Smith, Christine Cushing, Lynn Crawford and Gordon Ramsay at the beginning, and then appetizers, mains and desserts from restaurants around southern Ontario.

Continue reading Buy a Cookbook, Feed the Hungry »

It may have a slightly self-congratulatory title, but that’s pretty much the only negative thing to be said about A Gift From The Stars, a new cookbook to benefit the Daily Bread Food Bank. Spearheaded and compiled by Chef Daniel Racine (formerly of The Rex Hotel, Pastaz and da nu la), the book features over 70 recipes from many of Toronto’s top chefs and restaurants, as well as contributions from celeb chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Lynn Crawford, Michael Smith and Rob Rainford. Racine hopes to sell at least 100,000 copies of the book, with $5 from each purchase going to the Food Bank. The initial “Southern Ontario” edition is available now at the Cookbook Store and via the book’s website, and a national edition is planned for 2008.

The first Toronto location of the popular South African grilled chicken chain Nando’s (939 Eglinton Avenue East) opened recently in Leaside. Nando’s is renowned worldwide for their unique Portuguese-style chicken which is spiced using Peri-Peri (or African bird’s-eye chili), and claims celebrities such as Ricky Gervais and Justin Timberlake as loyal fans. Flying in from South Africa for the official grand opening on Wednesday, July 4th will be Rochelle Schaetzl, the chain’s “Global Manager of Culinary Innovations & Compliance” - a.k.a. the woman behind the restaurant’s tasty sauces, marinades and other menu items, and also one of the world’s experts on the heritage and health benefits of Peri-Peri.

Continue reading T.O. Tidbits - Monday, July 2nd »

Anyone who has ever dined at any Fresh Restaurant in the city and left thinking, “I wish I had the recipe to make that myself,” can wish no more. The ladies of Fresh have released their second cookbook, reFresh- Contemporary Vegan Recipes from the Award-Winning Fresh Restaurants to add to our culinary arsenal. Luckily for me, a cornucopia of some of my favourite healthy delights abound: appetizers like sweet potato wontons, Florentine bean soup and mains including their tasty veggie burgers. Yep, I’ve got my own Fresh menu-makings in one tidy, easy to use book.

Apart from a slew of accessible recipes (I’ve got my eye on you, Marrakesh Curried Stew), owners Ruth Tal and Jennifer Houston (Jennifer is the chef of the two), offer tons of handy food tips. How to cook grains, beans, and toast nuts comprise some of the advice any home cook can use to boost the flavour of home-made creations. For those who have never tried it, the book’s date purée recipe for baking is a sure-fire way to add just the right amount of sweetness and moisture to vegan (or non-vegan) baked goods.

Continue reading reFresh Cookbook- Modern Vegan Refreshed »

Comfort Food For Breakups
The Memoirs of a Hungry Girl
Marusya Bociurkiw
Arsenal Pulp Press

There is a time, immediately after the breakup of a relationship with a serious other when we all seem to require comfort food. Ice cream, cake, mashed potatoes, something in which to drown our sorrows, that reminds us of better, safer times when we were not so vulnerable and hurt.

Comfort food can be anything that reminds us of someone we love, whether it’s the safety of a childhood home, or the memory of a loved one who has passed. Regardless of our culture, food is woven into the fabric of our lives and every dish, every forkful evokes memories.

Continue reading Review - Comfort Food For Breakups »