Local Delicious

The Coquitlam Farmers Market is excited to once again host a community dinner, For the Love of Local Food, to celebrate the local farming community, the seasonality of local food, and the social benefits of sharing the harvest around a dinner table with family, neighbours, and friends.

The purpose of the dinner is to raise awareness of the social, economic, and environmental importance of eating local and supporting local producers; and to come together as a community to share a meal enjoying the beautiful harvest of BC.

Saturday October 16th , 2010
6:00 – 9:00 pm
Club Ilia Restaurant, Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC
Details

To create this delectable dinner, Coquitlam Farmers Market has partnered with local chef and restaurateur, Fred Soofi, who will create a stunning buffet dinner using all local products from the Coquitlam Farmers Market. As a means of inspiring action, the dinner will also feature presentations from community members and youth leaders around the region.

These presentations will showcase innovative projects and initiatives, such as school garden projects, youth-led “green” clubs, and examples of community supported agriculture. This cross generational view will highlight how inspired community members can cultivate innovative programs to increase education on local food issues, and incorporate them into their everyday lives, workplaces, and institutions.

As our cities become more populated, there is a greater need for re-connection to the sources of our food and with each other. The community dinner will highlight the importance of building a resilient community through enhancing local food systems, sharing of food knowledge by developing a more localized food culture between generations and among the diverse ethnic groups that comprise our communities, and learning through innovative practice that small actions can make meaningful change to how we access, experience, and share food that is fresh, healthy and local.

The presentation of local initiatives hopes to inspire young people and those within positions of leadership to explore more ways to build capacity and community around local food.

Contact Coquitlam Farmers Market for tickets: 604.318.8966 or info@makebakegrow.com.

CFM_Community Dinner Poster

At the opening of the Home Grown photography exhibit at Museum of Vancouver a couple of weeks ago I snagged a sample mini pack of Skeet & Ike’s trail mix from the many tasty samples of food available from local suppliers.

I don’t like many trail mix blends on the market because they are often too sweet for my taste. Over the years I’ve gradually cut down on white sugar and processed foods — most of which contain sugar of one kind or another — and find that many non-dessert foods are simply too sweet for my taste. (A decadent dessert, on the other hand, can be as sweet as it likes. That is after all its raison d’etre.)

I grabbed the Skeet & Ike’s Organic Fruit and Nut Mix to leave in the car. I sometimes forget to eat and find myself suddenly ravenous and unable to concentrate from lack of food. I’ve been caught often enough with nothing remotely healthy available that I now keep a package of mixed nuts in the trunk for just such moments.

I had occasion to crack open the package the other day and must say I was very pleasantly surprised. Delighted even. Not only was it not overly sweet, it was a delicious sweet and savoury mix, something I’ve not experienced in a trail mix before. I love it!

It’s also guilt-free. The ingredients are all organic and sugar is listed only as a sub-ingredient (in the cranberries and crystallized ginger). The bonus: no filler peanuts in the blend. Plus, best of all, it’s locally made.

Things in the yard getting a bit cramped? Do your perennials need dividing? Or do you have a lonely spot in need  of a new plant?

The Plant Swap and Sale is your chance to trade your surplus with other gardeners and add some new additions for your garden.

Saturday, June 20, 2009
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Eagles Estate Heritage Garden, 5655 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby

The Land Conservancy will also have donated plants for sale to raise funds for the Eagles Estate Heritage Garden. Plant donations will gladly be accepted prior to the event.

For further information or to arrange to donate, call 604-733-2313 or email lralph@conservancy.bc.ca.

If you’re a gardener with a year or two under your belt and are ready to expand your horizons, maybe you’d like to learn how to expand the growing season.

The Winter Vegetable Gardening workshop explores what to plant and when. Simple designs for home-made cloches and greenhouses will be covered as well. The session will be held:

Saturday, June 13
1:00 to 3:00 pm
Eagles Estate Heritage Garden
5655 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby

Instructor Heather Johnstone has spent years learning with organic farmers on the west coast and is now working with home-scale urban gardeners to help them grow food. She is the coordinator of the Edible Garden Project on Vancouver’s North Shore and has recently joined the Board of FarmFolk/CityFolk.

The cost of the workshop is $20, with proceeds going to The Land Conservancy of British Columbia. Pre-registration is required: phone 604-733-2313 or email lralph@conservancy.bc.ca to register.

I’m working my way through a package of New World Natural Foods organic, barley malt granola. It’s slow going.

I liked all of the things that the packaging had to say:

• Locally made here in BC
• Organic
• High fibre
• Low sodium
• No sugar added

What I can’t get past is the crunchy chew. I don’t mean the traditional crunchy granola texture that’s a result of a toasted, sugar coating. I mean a crunchy, the-oats-didn’t-quite-get-cooked-through texture. Like rice that’s taken off the stove too soon and is still crunchy inside.

Maybe that’s what they were going for, but I like even my healthy food not to wear out my jaw.

On the upside, New World is pretty conscientious about their product. They source locally as much as possible, pack in recyclable or biodegradable containers, add no processed sugar and very little salt.

And I recognize and can pronounce everything on the list of ingredients.

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You can be forgiven for thinking the word “vegan” means the opposite of “tasty” as I did until my recent run-in with New World Natural Foods chocolate Bliss Balls. I’d seen them around before, but always steered clear since the regular ones look a little too wholesome and fibrous to actually taste good.

I expected them to be full of chewy ground nuts, grains and fruit, but these chocolatey treats are more like large, quality chocolate truffles than a (slightly) more healthy alternative to same. What they don’t have is eggs, milk or wheat. What they do have is smooth, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth, great taste.

I guess what it boils down to is this: some people want to eat vegan and still have a few treats, and those of us who aren’t vegan like the idea of eating a more socially responsible form of chocolate decadence.

I’m good with that.

Note: Another thing I like is that the container was made of corn and fully biodegradable, even though it looks like standard issue, plastic.

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