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Wednesday, 25 March 2020 13:12

Got a full belly? Thank your local grocer

The grocery business is tough in normal times, and these are not normal times. Stores are adept at tracking the sales of hundreds of product lines by the day, week, and month in order to stock what people are looking for most or all of the time.

Ten days ago, well ingrained shopping patterns were tossed out the window. At the same time, well established cleaning protocols were turned into what one grocer described to me as “OCD cleaning”, and that was before the social distancing regimes were even in the cards.

Store owners and managers have been scrambling for product, learning about new and teaching their staff and customers about brand new safety standards, dealing with unprecedented demand, and setting up new pickup and delivery services, all at the same time.

Here is a rundown about what the stores are up to, from north west to southeast this time.

Northbrook Foodland

The store’s hours have been reduced somewhat, but they are still pretty long, from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week, and also from 7am-8am for seniors only. They are also offering both a delivery and pickup service from Monday to Friday for people who can’t get out or have returned from travel. Customers can call 613-336-2647 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to place an order. Delivery orders sent in early in the day will sometimes be delivered that afternoon, the next day at the latest.

“We have an amazing amount of support from the local community, and so many offers of help,” Charlene Van Dusen said this week. “We have had to make so many changes to everything that we are doing, just about every day, and I’m sure there will be more as time goes on.”

Her biggest concern at the moment is to ensure the safety of the store’s customers and staff. To do that the floors in the store have had spots marked off where customers need to wait in order to keep everyone two metres apart at all times.

North of 7 - Plevna

Bill James of the North of 7 restaurant and grocery store said that all in all things have “gone pretty well” thus far.

The store has been busy and he has been ordering extra food, and dealing with some shortages, “but all in all we have been able to keep everyone supplied with what they need. The store remains open during its normal hours of 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am-5pm on Sunday. The extra cleaning and constant sanitising has been a burden for staff, and the restaurant, which was very busy through February this years because snowmobile traffic was up over the last few years, has been slowed down by the new rules, since it is only open for takeout on Fridays and Saturdays from 11am-7pm. Telephone orders are preferred.

The store is also offering a delivery service for groceries. Orders need to be called in Mondays, Tuesday morning at the latest to 613-464-2155.

Mike Deans Grocery store – Sharbot Lake

Gordon Dean, who owns stores in Bourget and Winchester as well as Sharbot Lake, hasn’t been to Sharbot Lake that much over the last few weeks. He has been spending most of his days in his office in Chesterville calling suppliers and making arrangements to keep his stores supplied in the face of unprecedented demand. As an independent, he had the advantaged of more inventory than most affiliated stores carry, but that did not last.

“We sold a year’s worth of toilet paper in two days,” he said, “I had some advance warning from the experience in other countries that toilet paper might become an item for hoarding, but there was no way anyone could keep up.”

Not only has he been working day and night to keep stock, he has been working with staff in all three stores to increase sanitation and now social distancing protocols. The store is open shorter hours than before, 9am-7:30pm every day, and delivery is available now as well, for those who can’t get to the store.

“I’ve been through other disasters over the years,” Gord Dean said, “ice storms, power outages, other weather events, but nothing like this. This is much bigger.”

Establishing distance protocols in the store has been a priority this week, and it has been a challenge. There are posters, message on screens in the store, hand sanitizers at entrances and staff have been informing customers, but “it has been a challenge” he said. Plexiglass at cashier stations will be coming later this week.

Verona Foodland

Verona Foodland has made some important changes in order to respond to the COVID-19 reality. As of Monday, March 23, the store has shortened hours, from 8am – 6pm Monday to Saturday and 9am-6pm on Sunday (LCBO hours are 9-6) , but it will also be open between 7am and 8am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for seniors only in order to provide a safer time to shop for a more vulnerable sector of the population.

“This is a really important time for our store,” said Clint Reid, who owns the store with his wife, Andrea. “There is a need in the community for our products, as everyone knows, and we need to keep our staff healthy as well.

The store is taking some extra measures, with help from community members, by offering delivery, for seniors and people who are self isolating due to travel or an illness with COVID-19 like symptoms.

The delivery service is on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Fridays. Orders must be called in by noon on the day before delivery to 613-374-2112. Customers need to provide their name, address, phone number, and credit card information.

The store management also wants to remind all those who are returning to the community from the south that these systems are in place to enable them to get the products they need to remain safe while self isolating. Feel free to call a neighbour or the store to get the ball rolling.

Local Family Farms – Verona

Kim Perry of Local Family Farms, carries locally produced meat and many other products, and also makes soups, pies and entrees. With so many people at home, cottagers coming to stay, she has been busy getting stock in and very busy in the kitchen keeping up with demand for prepared meals. She has also been sending people to other stores in the area for items that she does not carry and had people come her way from those stores.

“We are all working together, which we always do, but even more so now,” she said.

Gilmour’s on 38 Harrowsmith

For the most part, it has been business as usual at Gilmour’s, but it has been very busy. The store has been able to keep up with the demand for meat, and other grocery items. This week, they are starting up a delivery service to help those in isolation. Orders are being taken by phone to 613-449-2384. The service is free but they will be accepting donations with each delivery which will be passed to the food bank.

The store is open 8am-6pm daily, except Friday 8am-7pm, and Sunday 9am-4pm.

Trousdale’s Foodland – Sydenham

It has been a challenge for Trousdale’s to keep up with unprecedented demand and deal with extra sanitation protocols and social distancing, just like the other stores in the area. Trousdale’s has been delivering food orders to seniors in Sydenham, quietly, for years. Because of that, they were the first store in the area to expand their delivery when COVID-19 came along, and the demand has been increasing. Call the store for details, 613-376-6609.

Glenburnie Grocery – Glenburnie

As a family owned, community centred store, Glenburnie grocery has depended on it staff, customers and volunteers to keep up over the last couple of weeks.

“We’ve been adjusting to a new normal all the time,” said Courtney Rickards, who works with her husband Mark, who purchased the store from his father almost 20 years ago.

The store is opening from 10am-6pm every day now in order to give enough time to clean and allow staff to get some rest, and is also open from 9am-10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

It would have been impossible to set up delivery, even though there is a community need right now, but for a local business stepping up and offering. Heart to Heart Senior’s Services is handling the entire process, from ordering to delivery. They can be reached at 613-767-0820 or 613-453-7668 to make arrangements.

“That allows us to work on keeping the shelves stocks, and always being friendly with out customers, fro a distance now,” she said.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 25 March 2020 13:10

Food producers react to changing times

Mike Mckenzie of Seed to Sausage saw his sales tumble, overnight, when the restaurant business collapsed two weeks ago, and was subsequently closed entirely. After laying off his hourly employees, he was trying to figure how to find enough work to keep his four salaried employees on the job.

He also participated in a meat processing industry meeting where he was informed by officials from OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs) that meat processing plants must remain operation and ready to produce in case there is an urgent need

“We have access to meat at good prices and we have a supply of our dried sausage as well, so we are opening up the store to sell fresh meat at a good price, and we are starting to do take-out meals as well this week,” he said. “We were busy last weekend with it.”

These are both things that the company was hoping to bring in this summer, but they have come to the forefront now that so much of the business has slowed down.

In addition, Seed to Sausage has approached local food banks and the Ontario Association of Food Banks about providing them with low cost cuts of meat, burgers and sausage, which the company has been doing for some time for the North Frontenac Food Bank.

“We are getting that set up this week. The goal is to help the community out with cheap, high quality meat and meals and keep my salaried staff employed,” Mckenzie said.

Delivery is also something they are working on.

Back Forty Cheese

Jeff and Jenna Fenwick also sell about 80% of the cheese Jeff makes to restaurants across Ontario, and those sales evaporated two weeks ago. While some of their sheep’s milk cheese can keep for a time, some of their softer cheeses have a short shelf life.

They put out a Facebook post offering their cheese to consumers in Eastern Ontario for pickup or delivery and in just a couple of days they managed to sell their inventory.

“We are overwhelmed by the support and are working on getting the logistics of the sales and delivery worked out,” said Jeff from the cheese shop on Tuesday (March 24)

Now he has a decision to make. He can curtail his production or keep producing and hope the sales will continue to roll in. The decision is complicated by the fact that Back Forty regularly purchases most, if not all, of the milk from five small sheep farms in the region, a relationship that Fenwick has been cultivating over several years in order to make sure he has a consistent supply of milk for his cheese factory.

“I don’t want them to have to dump all that milk, especially in the spring when there is so much of it, but it is a risk for me to keep making so much cheese,” he said.

To make things easier, through a mutual friend a web developer has stepped forward to create a fully functioning web-based store for Back Forty Cheese, which is coming online this week.

“Jenna has spent all week getting the orders we got from our web call organised, and this will make that so much easier to manage,” he said, “and he gave me a very good price on it, and then said he would do it for cheese, which is even better.”

Back Forty Cheese is available at Foodsmiths, Seed to Sausage, Local Family Farms, and Glenburnie Groceries, at the farm gate on Gulley Road in Mississippi Station, and as of this week at www.artisancheese.ca

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 18 December 2019 12:35

Healthy Eating Over the Holidays

When you’re trying to make healthy eating choices, the holiday season can be challenging to navigate. Gatherings, festivities, and social events are a wonderful time to get together and celebrate with loved ones, and they are almost always centred around food. Sometimes, these foods can be high in salt, sugar, and fat. Drink choices can include alcoholic beverages or other high calorie drinks. Enjoying these foods and drinks in moderation during the holidays and other special occasions can be part of healthy eating, but overindulging can throw your efforts off track. Here are some tips for healthy eating during the holiday season:

Include healthy choices

Whether you’re preparing a dish for a potluck, hosting a social event, or enjoying a meal at a gathering, choose healthy ingredients and dishes that include vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, such as seasoned roasted vegetables, a festive and colourful salad, or a fruit and cheese platter with whole grain crackers.

Eat regularly

Some people skip meals earlier in the day if they have a big event in the evening. Doing this can result in being famished all day long, and they then overeat when the event finally arrives. Afterwards, they may feel ill from eating too much. For people with diabetes, this can also cause extreme fluctuations in blood sugar levels. It is best to eat regularly during the day, including a small pre-event snack if hungry, to keep you from overeating at social events.

Use the healthy plate

When serving yourself at a party, try to build a healthy plate for a portioned and balanced meal. Fill ½ of your plate with vegetables and fruit, ¼ of the plate with grains and starches such as pasta, rice or potatoes, and ¼ of the plate with protein foods such as meat, fish, beans etc. Refer to the Canada’s Food Guide website for more information: www.canada.ca/foodguide

Be mindful

Eat slowly and mindfully, focusing on your food and taking the time to savour every bite.

Listen to your body, notice your feelings of hunger and fullness, and stop when your body tells you. Practice saying “no thank you, I’m full” when you feel pressured to eat food that the host has prepared.

Rethink your drink

Many holiday drinks can be higher in sugar and calories. Make healthy beverage choices such as coffee, tea, water, naturally flavoured water, club soda, light beer or wine spritzers.

Hold the guilt

If balance and moderation are a usual part of your lifestyle, it’s okay to overindulge once in a while. Remember the “80-20” rule, which says that if you are making healthy choices 80% of the time, it’s okay to splurge within reason for the rest of the 20%. So, enjoy your piece of cake during the holiday season.

Please contact the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team at 613-279-2100, if you would like more information about healthy eating or to make an appointment to see Saman Shaikh, Registered Dietitian. Visit our website at www.sharbotlakefht.com for more information about our Programs and Services.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

Ghost Road, Maple Fire, Zombie Sunset, Sheer Agony, Red Viper . . . sounds a bit like the upcoming season of The Walking Dead, doesn’t it?

But no, these are a few of the 13 varieties of hot sauce available from MissFortuneS Unforgiving Hot Sauces, which are produced in the kitchens of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Sydenham, by father and son team Erik and Taylor Miazga.

And after about three years in business, there are plenty of signs that they may just be on to something.

“We’re pushing 40 locations (where their sauces are available),” Taylor said.

These include where you might expect in the Frontenacs such as Food Less Travelled, Trousdale’s, Seed to Sausage and Foodland, but they’re also expanded out to Gananoque, Perth, Trenton, Belleville, Kingston.

The hot sauce business isn’t a full-time gig for either of them — yet — but that’s definitely looking like a distinct possibility.

Taylor drives truck for Findlay Foods and through his deliveries, he’s managed to cultivate a network of contacts that’s paying off.

Erik was injured a couple of years ago in a car accident and hasn’t really been able to do other work, but that’s OK, he’s kind of the creative end of the team — both in the kitchen and product development/artwork.

“I used to do a lot of the cooking around home,” he said. “But I’m not one of those who sticks to recipes.”

To that end, he started “experimenting” with red pepper jellies which he would give to friends and families.

“(But) with jellies, you have to put pectin in and I could never really come up with the right consistency.”

So, the natural progression of his culinary art led him to sauces — hot pepper sauces.

But Miazga is definitely his own man, and his philosophy led him to a rather unique product line.

“We’re not out to fry somebody’s face off,” he said. “We start out with a flavour and then add the heat.”

For example, Maple Fire is 30 per cent (“local” maple syrup) with hot pepper added.

“We have 13 flavours, all with their own heat level,” Erik said. “It might be cranberry, sweet & sour, curry or Louisiana style.

“Then we add what peppers, or combination of peppers, we think will work best.”

This isn’t your typical little bottle of Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot.

MissFortuneS comes in a mickey-sized flask bottle with some of the most unique labelling around.

“People seem to like our labels,” Erik said.

For example, one flavour is “Kamikaze” which features the tag line “to die for.” And then there’s “Asylum Serum” for “when you can’t make up your mind.” That one features artwork of the asylum Lizzie Borden ended up in.

And even though their current product line is doing well, the Miazgas aren’t about to rest on their laurels. They see expansion into marinades, meat rubs and such. They’re also working with restaurants like Mesa Fresca in Kingston to develop house sauces and bulk for places like Gilmour’s who use in in their .38 Special sausages.

“And we’re trying to devise a logo for sway,” Taylor said. “I’d like to see this a full-time thing for sure.

“Right now, I can spend a full day in the kitchen, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. and then have to work the next day.”

The way things are heating up this grilling season, that could easily be just around the corner.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Frontenac County representatives and farmers came together Thursday February 15 at the Verona Lions' Hall for a potluck and brainstorming session.

The brainstorm centred around developing the local food economy with the perennial questions coming to the fore: How do we address the lack of connectedness between producers and consumers? How can we develop better road signage and online directories to get the message out? How do the idea of buying local food and an awareness of opportunities to do so become ingrained in consumers' minds so that local food can grow?

Fifteen years ago, egg signs at the ends of laneways were virtually the only evidence that farm goods were available direct to consumers.

Around this time, a campaign was created under the logo, “Eat from Kingston's Countryside.” “Feast of Fields,” a series of events where guests were treated to fine dining with food from local farms, prepared by local chefs, were organized and well received; people were meeting farmers and having experiences on farms. They began signing up for beef and chicken orders, and visiting farm gates as a means of connecting further with these newly discovered farms and their quality goods.

Among the vanguards of this push for local food awareness and increased economic viability were Andrea Cumpson of Sonset Farms, Kim Perry of Perry Farm and Food Less Traveled, and Sharon Freeman of Freeman Farms, who attended Thursday's meeting. Thanks to their efforts, local food made great leaps in the last decade. The downside has been that such initiatives take time and energy, and risk wearing out already-overworked farmers.

The county is looking at ways to bolster the work of the farming community so that the local food economy can gain momentum and farmers can focus more on production. As Richard Allen, Manager of Economic Development, explained, a committee is set to be struck, that would see people involved in the local food economy first identify what the main issues are around supply, ease of access and branding. The next step would be to decide how the committee's findings could fit into the county's workplan.

From there it is a question of how much the producer does to further its market access and how much a larger body such as a county government is needed to ensure businesses can thrive.

The meeting, with an attendance nearing 20, came on the heels of Smith's Falls' Three Rivers' Food Hub announcing that it is discontinuing the distribution component of its operations. This had been a much-celebrated step forward in local food infrastructure in the region, and its loss is a reminder that local food distribution is still in its infancy.

A few possibilities for the coming year were floated late in the meeting: a re-emergence of Feast of Fields and Open Farm Days (a series of organized farm visits) which the County could help promote.

Attendees also pondered looking into web-based programs along the lines of Good Eggs, a San Francisco-based site that acts as a grocery service for local producers and eaters.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

Dianne Dowling has spent the past 9 years as the President of Local 316 of the National Farmers Union, but her involvement in organic growing and local food promotion goes back further than that. She has been farming with her husband at Double J Farms on Howe Island, a 200 acre organic beef and dairy farm, for many years (the farm is named for her husbands parents John and Joyce)

The farm was transitioned to organic in the late 1990’s, and in addition to working with the NFU, Dowling has been involved with the Food Policy Council for Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington, the Kingston Area Seed System Initiative (KASSI), Save our Prison Farms and a number of other groups as well. In fact, leaving the NFU Presidency will free up more time for some of the other projects she is committed to pursuing.

As she looks back, and forward, at this time of transition, Dowling sees that progress has been made in Kingston and Frontenac County in terms of awareness of the value of local, organic food over the past 20 years, but at the same time she recognises that for many, preparing food, any food, is a lost art.

“Food is very complicated,” she said. “The major food system is still dominated by large chains and grocery stores. Food is treated a commodity for profit, not a necessity that people should have a right to. There are transportation issues, nutrition issues, it goes on and on,” she said, in a telephone interview last week.

At the same time, through the efforts of organisations like the NFU and others, food awareness and the local farm and food industry have developed and grown.

“It is a worldwide phenomenon, the growth of local awareness and support. We’ve been doing things here at the same time as people have elsewhere.”

The NFU organised the Feast of Fields events, Food Down the Road - a local farm directory, a four year new farm project, and more, over the last dozen years or so. There has been a resurgence of interest in farming locally and the NFU has been a major part of that change.

“A couple of years ago Frontenac County had a student doing research into employment. The largest increase in employment in the county was in farming, so we know something has been happening.”

One of the ongoing projects in Kingston and Frontenac has been the CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmers Training) project, which is a North America wide concept devoted to increasing the skill level among farmers.

“It started here as a program based on farmers and interns at a bunch of farms. Once a month there would be a field day and work bee at someone’s farm. It was about community building and peer support. Eventually a lot of the vegetable farmers were transitioning more to employees than interns, but it has continued even as people have had fewer interns.”

The new President of the NFU Local 316 is Ian Stutt, a co-owner of Patchwork Gardens in Battersea, who has worked with the NFU for years, and was a staff member for the CRAFT project. Dianne Dowling is remaining as a Director, so there will be continuity in the local.

As Dowling pointed out, the NFU is anything but a lone wolf promoting sustainable agriculture and local food these days.

Published in General Interest

Chances are if you’ve been to an area event where food is being served in the past couple of years, you’ve probably seen a converted motorhome with a pig on top of it.

There’s only one and that belongs to Cota’s Mobile Catering.

And since they got the operation up and running two years ago, business has been growing and growing.

“It’s getting busier all the time,” says Tim Cota, chef/vehicle converter/entrepreneur.

Cota, who still lives in the house he grew up in on Eagle Lake, was a maintenance supervisor at RKY camp for 24 years.

In the year 2000, he and his wife Penny got married.

“We couldn’t find a caterer,” he said. “So we decided to do it ourselves with some help from Glenna McGill.”

At their wedding, the Cota’s must have done a good job because they got offers from “several guests who wanted us to do their weddings,” he said.

That got Cota to thinking.

“I’ve always been a big fan of cooking,” he said.

So, in 2008, he got his chef’s papers.

Now, you can’t just start cooking and selling it, there are a lot of regulations involved.

“Food has to be cooked in an inspected kitchen, there are requirements for time and temperature and pest control,” he said. “Now there are places, like Oso Hall, that have inspected kitchens and that’s fine.

“But we started to get calls for events where there was no inspected kitchen like out in a farmer’s field and barn dances.”

So,  . . . Cota got the idea to bring an inspected kitchen with him.

He bought a good used motorhome and started to work on it getting it to the point where it fulfilled all the required regulations, and the next thing you know, he’s booked solid every weekend into October.

“We already have some bookings for next summer and one in 2019,” he said.

Cota is big on preparation. Sometimes the mobile unit is used for just that and sometimes the preparation is done on site. He has an assortment of smokers and barbecues he can use that can do 30-40 steaks, 50-60 hamburgers, 100 pieces of chicken all in one go. He has propane and charcoal units depending on the demand. He also has the necessary gear to cook pulled pork overnight and he has developed something of a reputation for being the go-to guy if you want an entire pig roasted.

He does admit to needing a bit of help with a whole pig though.

“Pigs are heavy,” he said. “At about 220 pounds, that’s a lot for one guy to lift.’

Although his mobile unit could be used as a chip truck, that’s not his thing, he said. It’s get back to the preparation thing.

“I like to know if I have to have 300 tomato slices ready,” he said. “And I don’t like the idea of waiting around for customers only to be swamped all at once.”

He does use local suppliers for some things though. For rolls and pies, he uses Gray’s Grocery.

“They’re up to my standards,” he said. “And I’m pretty particular.”

And he’s especially particular about his meat. He tells a story about buying a pig that came with only one ear.

“That was unacceptable,” he said. “Presentation with something like a whole pig is a big part of it.

“We had to take the whole head off.”

Now he gets all his meat from Gilmour’s on 38 in Harrowsmith.

While he can make things like coq au vin, he said his business is more geared towards the foods people in this area are used to, things they grew up with and expect to see when they’re out for a meal.

“I can cook fancy French things but it doesn’t work here,” he said. “When the dinner bell rings, you gotta have a lot of good food on a plate.

“And we’ve never run out of food.”

By the way, the pig on the motorhome . . . it’s a lawn ornament that came from Mike Dean’s.

Tim Cota’s converted motorhome with the pig on top has become a familiar sight at many area functions.
Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

The summer season is the best selling season for beer, and among craft brewers (of which there are now a staggering 218 in Ontario) beer is now very much a seasonally focussed beverage. and brewers are putting out some classic summer beers these days..

Session Ales (and lagers) – Session ales are a version of India Pale (IPA) or American Pale Ales that are low in alcohol. While an IPA can easily run between 6% to 10% alcohol, and pack a bitter full bodied punch while doing it, Session IPA’s are much, much, lighter, usually at 4.5% or lower. They are brewed so that the tangy citrusy aspect of the hops takes precedence over bitterness. Among the larger craft brewers, such as Muskoka (Detour) and Amsterdam (Cruiser), Session Ales are easy to find in local liquor and beer store outlets, but other breweries make good session ales as well.

Whit Beers and Hefeweizen - Sweet and frothy and a bit musty - in the best sense of musty - whit (wheat) beers are good for summer drinking, and particular good with summer BBQ. Kichesippi Brewery, out of Ottawa, makes a good Hefeweizen, and for those who get to Kingston on occasion, Stone City makes a whit beer that is available year round, called Windward Belgian Wheat They also have an Ameircan Wheat beer available now called Sons of Sydenham. It is a beer originally brewed in collaboration with Ryan Morrow of Nickebrook Brewery, who grew up right here in Sydenham. And in terms of local beer, Wolfe island Spring Brewer makes an Orange Whit beer, which is fruity and spicy but not too sweet, and is on tap at the Wolfe Island Grill.

Saison/Farmhouse Ale – These beers, like many in the modern craft industry, are basically a throwback to the pre-industrial foundations of the craft brewing movement. They were brewed in late winter for summer drinking, ie after labouring in the heat harvesting dusty hay. They are generally a bit higher in alcohol, up to 7%, are kind of a mix between a session ale and a hefeweizen since they have a bit of hoppiness and some of that belgian sweet musty sourness to them, plus they often are brewed with spices. I picked up a bottle of County Road 3 from County Road Brewing Company, a brewery/pub from Hillier in Prince Edward County a couple of weeks ago and it became a new favourite. Amsterdam, Beau’s, and Bellwoods all make a variety of farmhouse/ session ales. Brewers often put out these beers as single batch offerings.

Radlers – Legend has it that a German pub owner was inundated with thirsty cyclists late one afternoon and he did not have enough beer in his kegs to serve them all. He did have some lemonade, however, so he mixed it into the beer, and invented the Radler. Rickard’s, which is a beer label attached to Molson-Coors, one the two brewing giants in the world, makes a pretty good one. It is low in alcohol, fruity but not too sweet, and refreshing. Some of the newer Radlers from Amsterdam or Ottawa’s Big Rig, are better, however.

Sour beers – I saved this for last. These beers are the least beer-like of just about any beer. They are indeed sour, and resemble dry ciders as much as they do beer. For my taste they are sometimes too sour, but a couple of months ago, thanks to Bellwoods Jelly King, and a Gose style beer made by the Quebecois brewery Trois Mousquetiere (available in Ontario) I have began to see the light. Look also for a new series of sour beers put out by a sub brewery connected to Beau’s Brewery. And Stone City has a Gose coming out on Sunday called Yacht Rock.

So much beer, so little time.

Published in General Interest

Central Frontenac has always been a great place to live, but those with a taste for international flavours in their food have always had to travel just to procure ingredients, and there are no ethnic restaurants to speak of.

While an Indian Takeaway is still not in the cards, the next best thing has arrived. Amrit Kaillon grew up in Sharbot Lake, went to the University of Toronto and has since lived in far flung corners of the world working as a human rights lawyer and entrepreneur. She returned to Sharbot Lake last year to prepare for the birth of her daughter Arya.  Her husband Sundeep Takhar, who works in investment banking, joined her here before Arya was born and they have been living with her parents, Jass and Suki Kaillon (of Sharbot Lake Home Hardware)

This time spent with their young daughter has been precious to them, and it has also afforded Amrit the opportunity to fulfill one of her dreams, to open an Indian Food business in her home town. She has been encouraged by her friends at Fieldhouse in Perth to start up a business, and five weeks ago, with the opening of the Perth Farmer’s Market for the season, Amrit’s Rasoi (Rasoi refers to Kitchen) started up in the market. A number of snack foods and starters, such as Samosas, are available at the market, and Amrit Rasoi’s main product is prepared full meals, for one or two people to take home and heat up for their dinner. From the start she has asked people to go to her website amritsrasoi.ca to order from the weekly menu. Full dinners (Thali) include a meat and a vegetable dish, rice and an appetizer and dessert. Dinners are $15 for one and $30 for two. There is also a vegetarian meal available. Samosas and desserts can also be ordered online.

More and more Perthites have been ordering online for pickup at the market.

And now Frontenac County residents have the same opportunity. The pickup location in Sharbot Lake is at Seed to Sausage on Friday afternoons from 3-6 or on Saturday from 11-6, and there will be some meals and sides available for those who have not ordered in advance. In the future, Amrit may start preparing frozen meals that will be available whenever the store is open (7 days a week this summer, from 11-6 each day)

For now, however, the best option is to order online for a guaranteed delivery.

This week, for example, the menu is Chicken Tikka Masala. Shahi Paneer, served with rice and samosas. The dessert is Rasmali - Ricotta style dumpling soaked in a cardamom infused milk sauce garnished with pistachios.

Amrit is putting a lot of energy into her business and said she has been helped out immensely by her husband, parents and sister to turn this dream into a reality. It is a dream that has its roots in Amrit’s childhood, when she would watch her grandmother prepare food in the kitchen.

"As a child my Punjabi was limited and the way I connected and communicated with my grandmother, Pritam Guron, was through preparing and cooking food." she said, in an interview last weekend in Sharbot Lake.

She does not have a long range plan for the business because she does not know where life will take her, Sundeep and Arya in the future, but that does not deter her.

"The timing to start Amrit's Rasoi felt right. If I never tried now then I would always wonder whether I should have. I would much rather look back at my life and say I can't believe I did that! Instead of I wish I did that." she said.

It is that attitude that has led her to do a number of things in her life, including writing a book, starting a marketing company and a baking company. She has also found time to pursue her passion for humanitarian and philanthropic causes, organizing charity events as well offering her time to provide legal advice and represent people suffering from human rights abuses.

So far the food businesses has been a lot of work but has been rewarding with success and increases in orders each week. The cuisine is based on recipes from the Punjab region of India, a wealthy agricultural region known for rich, flavourful food that is not as hot as the cuisine from the south of the country. Amrit started off with more well known dishes for the Perth Market, such as butter chicken, which remains her most popular item, but in the short time the business has been running she has been able to expand the cuisine to include a broader range of offerings.

“People are happy to try new things,” she saId, “and it keeps me busy preparing different dishes each week.”

In addition to selling the items listed on her site through Seed to Sausage, Amrit’s Rasoi will be at Canada Day in Sharbot Lake with Samosas and Mango Lhassi.

(PS – the food has been tested in our Frontenac News test dining room and we can attest to the flavour and freshness. We had Goat Curry, Khadhi Pakora, Jeera Rice, Samosas and Besan Barfi for dessert – all highly reccommended)

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Thursday, 22 May 2014 09:09

Seed to Sausage's “Day of the Pig”

Cars lined both sides of Road 38 as far as the eye could see for the third annual Day of the Pig at Seed to Sausage in Sharbot Lake on May 17. The event, now in its third year, is the season opener for the business’s retail store, which offers up a wide array of artisanal meat products made on site and other fine food products.

The event attracted foodies from as far away as Kingston, Ottawa, and Toronto for a day of fine feasting, with live music courtesy of Kyra and Tully, The Huaraches and The Foley Mountain Playboys. The event offered up great eats from a number of food vendors and chefs with no fewer than seven food stations set up on the premises.

McKenzie and his Seed to Sausage staff roasted a whole pig, which was gobbled up before mid-afternoon and their delectable bacon/beef burgers were also up for grabs. Other fine restaurants, including Le Chien Noir from Ottawa, Atomica from Kingston, and Slow Taco from Prince Edward County, offered up tasty entrees that included roast chicken with potato salad, smoked salmon sandwiches and more. An additional 11 artisan food producers were set up in a double tent out front, with each offering up generous samples of their creations, including artisanal chocolates, cookies, breads and other baked good, dips, sauces, cheeses and other comestibles. Many of the products are sold in Seed to Sausage's retail store, which was doing a brisk business.

A number of food and beverage demonstrations took place throughout the day, including one by former National Arts Centre top chef Michael Blackie, who is currently owner and chef of a new restaurant, Next, in Stittsville. He whipped up a delicious salad of barbequed pulled pork served on a bed of delicious citrus-dressed greens that was garnished with roasted pork rind. Following the demo Blackie and his staff plated up well over 50 servings for guests to sample.

In the beverage department there was beer from Beau's and Big Rig Brewery and wines from Harvey and Vern, Casa Dea and Three Dogs.

Mike McKenzie, co-owner of Seed to Sausage, first initiated the event to celebrate the opening of their retail store. He has continued it not only to promote his own business but also other artisanal food vendors and those in the industry who helped give him a leg up in the business.

New this year were two competitions - the first a BBQ Sauce Off that had close to 30 entries. The brand Just Grillin' took the top prize, which was a distribution option with Ital and Findlay Foods and a meeting with a rep from the grocery chain Farm Boy. The second competition was a Home Brew Off that garnered over 60 entries and offered up a first place prize of a personalized kegerator, and funding through the Food and Beverage region (FAB) and the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC). Kris Wright, a home brewer from Ottawa organized the beer competition, which was won by Etienne Bisson of Kingston and his American Pale Ale.

Anne Prichard, executive director of the FCFDC, was on hand to announce the winner. She is currently working with the FAB and together they are hoping to see a craft brewery take root in the area. “Right now there is a huge trend in craft brewing and there is a great opportunity to bring that kind of business here,” Prichard said. “With Mike's business here it would be a natural fit and it would be great to get a food cluster growing in this area. Mike has done a great job not only growing his own business but also nurturing and fostering other similar businesses that would be supportive to him and vice versa.”

McKenzie said he was thrilled with the turn out this year and he is amazed at how the event has grown over the years. Asked to sum up his business and its rapid rise to success over a short few years, McKenzie said that it is not just about crafting tasty food but more about the special attention he and his staff pay to service. “A lot of people can make tasty food but when you go into the business of making it, the business quickly becomes more about making the food accessible and making sure people enjoy it and feel good about eating it.”

Just last week Seed to Sausage was named as one of Canada's top 10 most innovative food producers and last year it was named Canada's top artisan food producer. Those who attended this year’s Day of the Pig had a chance to experience first hand why Seed to Sausage continues to be on the cutting edge.

 

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Page 1 of 15
With the participation of the Government of Canada