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I do a lot of last minute shopping at Jeff’s Fresh Meats on Walker Road. When I spied these pita snacks I had to try them and now we are hooked!

Let me tell you, Wayne’s Pita Chips will not last very long when they are in your house (they barely make the drive home!).

Made in Windsor, the pita chips retail for $2.99 for 300g. Just a few simple ingredients bring you crispy pleasure: oil, yeast, flour, and seasoning. No additives, no preservatives.

Depending on what is in stock at Jeff’s when you visit, there are different flavours available including plain, garlic, and ranch. The dill pickle are my favourite though as the flavour is not overpowering, but just pickle-y enough. I have also seen the chips available at Reddi Farms on Tecumseh near Pillette. Does anyone else know where you can buy these?

So simple, yet so deadly. Be sure to try these, but do not email me to tell me that you never knew they could be addictive.

Hey, I never said that everything local was going to be good for you.
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Jeff's Fresh Meats, Wayne's Pita Chips, windsor

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There is a deli very close to my house that I used to go to all of the time. When it changed owners and they were renovating the store and making other updates, I got out of the habit of visiting this shop. A couple of months ago I was driving by and I thought, “Hey, I really need to check them out again.”

In I went and I was delighted to see the great changes that were made. Along with the deli counter, they now had a large freezer, an ice cream case, and a bakery shelf.

These exciting additions can be found at Olde Riverside Schwab’s at 5410 Wyandotte Street East (corner of Thompson Street) in Windsor. The staff is extremely friendly and their butcher, Roy, is very knowledgeable.

All of the meat at Olde Riverside Schwab’s is from Ontario and their chickens come from Amherstburg. Their hot dogs, smokies and pepperettes are from Schinkels in Essex. There are ready-made meals available, they make their own burgers, and the bread is proofed and baked on site.

Other local items available at Schwab’s include Walker’s Sundae Topping (made in Windsor) and Valerie’s Original Flavours sauces and spices (made in Tecumseh). Schwab’s has some Ontario cheese available including Pine River Cheese from Kincardine. The store also offers desserts, gift baskets, party trays and catering.

What to try? It’s all been delicious so far! If you are having a BBQ you should definitely stop in for your supplies. Last Saturday Schwab’s had their own BBQ so we got to try the Schinkels hot smokies with Valerie’s Original Hot Sauce; delicious with just the right amount of “kick”.

Here’s what I walked away with on a previous trip:

• bacon – $9.27 for 2.065 lbs ($4.49/kg)
• 4 lbs. ground beef – $12.00
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut fresh while I waited!)
• Pine River Monterey Jack Cheese – $4.95 for .198 kg ($24.99/kg)
• Homemade pierogies – $0.49 each
• Schinkels hot pepperettes – $2.04 for 4 ($9.07/kg)
• Schinkels ball park franks
• frozen burgers (package of 10)

Olde Riverside Schwab’s is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8am to 6pm and Sunday from noon to 4pm. On Tuesdays Seniors enjoy 10% off and Thursdays the students get a 10% break. Call the store at 519-945-2538 or stop in to experience local. Don’t forget to add your name to their email list!
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Essex, Ontario meat, Schinkels, Schwab's Riverside, windsor

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About a month ago I talked about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and how Steve Green was bringing this option to Windsor’s public.

Last night was the first official meeting of the Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture (WECSA) group. There are still spots available, but this initial gathering was to get everyone to meet and for Steve to go over his ideas and share what he’s already accomplished with the farmer and his land (which is a lot!).

If you are not familiar with CSAs you can learn more through Wikipedia, but the nature of this group will be volunteers who contribute financially to the start up of the group and then work plots of land to grow the food. Food is then distributed as it becomes available for harvest.

The mission:

Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture is committed to giving opportunity for urban and rural folk to connect through agriculture. Join us as a grower, volunteer, or subscriber! Together we toil and share the harvest!

You can get more information and sign up through these links:

• Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture (WECSA)
• Steve’s Urban Garden Experiment
• Steve discussing WECSA on Scaledown Radio

This is a very exciting opportunity and it is a great way to:

• Grow natural produce
• Stay motivated with a group commitment
• Learn more about gardening or share your expertise
• Make new friends or work with existing friends on your plot

Along with wanting to learn more about gardening, my interest in joining the CSA is having more local, natural produce to feed my family. My window boxes did well for us this year but my dog is a tomato thief and since I want to grow on a larger scale, the CSA is a smart move for me. Sorry, Leeloo.

If you are interested, contact Steve to get your paperwork started as there are only a set number of people that the CSA will use for the first year.

Get growing, Windsor!
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CSA, Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture

There are loads of local food-related events happening this weekend. What’s a locavore to do?

I’ll have to drop in on as many as possible. What about you?

• Leamington Tomato Festival – Aug 15 to 17
  
• Marketown is Open! Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm at Windsor Crossing Outlet Mall. Enjoy crafts, jewelery, natural products and organic produce. Every weekend until November 2nd!
• BBQ at Olde Riverside Schwab’s – Aug 15 to 16 – 11am to 2pm; Ontario meats and Valerie’s BBQ sauce (made right here!).
• Garden Bike Tour & Summer Harvest Party – Aug 16 – 4pm to ?; Join FedUp! as they tour area gardens & end with a big party.
• Wine Trail Ride – Aug 16 – noon to ?; visit 3 wineries and enjoy a BBQ after your leisurely ride; tickets at WindsorEats.com
  
• D’Angelo Estate Winery Open House – Aug 16 – noon to 4pm
• “Food Matters” Movie Screening – Aug 17 – 6pm to 11pm; Enjoy a movie and discussions at Gourmet Emporium.

You can see all of the events and website links on the MyLocalFood calendar.

MyLocalFood, WinsorEats.com, calendar, events

Yummy! Mitchell’s Heritage Bacon. At least that is what we think it was called… it disappeared before we got to know it well.

While out shopping we spotted this great looking bacon but when we saw the price of $10.99 we balked a little. It looked so good though and it was Canadian so we lingered at the meat cooler. After further scrutiny we realized that you actually got 1 Kg in a pack so we were sold.

We enjoyed the bacon immensely and returned to the store where an empty spot glared at me; I returned again the following week where the cooler was now filled with A&P’s own bacon. Mitchell’s never returned.

Can you find Mitchell at your store? I think this is their website. Not to be confused with Joe Don Baker’s Mitchell…

If you are out there Mitchell, we love you and we miss you.Of course, after the Mitchell mishap we found that we could buy local Berkshire bacon at Sanson Estate Winery and Ontario bacon at Schwab’s Riverside.

On another note, A&P (Central Plaza) has also stopped selling Garden Fresh Gourmet products. This is very frustrating as just when we get used to a product, it disappears. So if you like something, keep buying it or ask your store to keep carrying it!

And as an expansion on supporting local and what happens when we just demand “Cheap!”, check out Joe Fiorito’s article about the impact of (and the interesting options for) the CanGro factory closing in the Niagara region. At one point he says:

Who are we if we cannot put our own food on the table when we sit down to sup?
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Mitchell, Sanson Estate Winery, Schwab's Riverside, bacon

On Monday, August 11th my friend and I attended “Nude Food & Fair Trade” at the Canadian Mental Health Association building. The event was free and was approximately 2 hours long.

Upon arrival guests were invited to visit a table for refreshments of ginger lime rooibos tea, organic carrots and organic grapes, mock-aroons, and organic chocolate.

Here is the description from the event posting on the City of Windsor website:

• Tips on raw, organic and vegetarian food choices. Learn how buying local can have a positive impact.

The description from the CMHA website was different:

• Eat With Integrity: Good food choice for body, mind and soul.

Even though I was hoping that the first event description that I found was accurate, the event followed the CMHA description; I still had fun though.

The two speakers were Renee Trepanier of Nude Food (a catering business that prepares raw meals) and Gail Rock from 10,000 Villages (a store that utilizes “fair trade” and sells items from low-income countries).

Each speaker had about a half hour to discuss their topic. A vibrant and energetic Renee spoke of her eating habits and her move from vegetarian to vegan to raw food. She gave tips on healthier eating and discussed the health benefits of raw foods. During her talk she made a blueberry smoothie that included dates and spinach; it was delicious and you would never know that there were greens in it!

Gail spoke about fair trade coffee versus traditional coffee and the impact that it has on the lives of farmers in low-income countries. They had a lot of information on their organization and helping the farmers live sustainable lives. Along with handouts we received free chocolate samples! After the presentation I asked if 10,000 Villages sold fair trade tea too and was given some free samples to take home.

Despite the price and the benefits, attendance was small (about 20 people). This seems to be a common thing with many of the events that I attend and I do not think that the lack of attendance is due to disinterest. I am sure that most people are not even aware of these events and I often wish that more organizations could fit marketing into their budgets. And if they are merely looking for someone to handle this sort of thing, I’m available.

Learn more about Nude Food at Renee’s website or through this great article that WindsorEats.com did about “Nude Food Nights” at Taloola Cafe.

Learn more about 10,000 Villages online or visit the store at 3225 Sandwich Street in Windsor.
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If you are interested in attending any of the events that I discuss and review, I keep a calendar updated on my personal website (www.victoriasportfolio.com/about/). You may be surprised at how many events there are!

There’s also a Facebook group called “My Local Food” so you can join that if you want more updates.

Here are some upcoming events that may interest you:

• Sat. Aug 9 – Blueberry Social, John R. Park Homested (Harrow) – 10am to 4pm
• Crafts, foods, events for kids…dogs welcome!
• Sun, Aug 10 – General Meeting for FedUp! Windsor – 1pm to 4pm
• Sun, Aug 10 – Trolley Tour – SOLD OUT!
• Reserve seats for the next tour that stops at wineries & produce stands
  
• Mon, Aug 11 – Nude Food & Fair Trade (Windsor) – 6pm to 7:30pm
• Tips on raw, organic & vegetarian food choices. Learn how buying local can have a positive impact.
• Sat, Aug 16 – Wine Trail Ride (Ruthven) – noon to ?
• 25km, 3 wineries, BBQ; see WindsorEats.com for more info
  
• Sat, Aug 16 – D’Angelo Winery Open House (Amherstburg) – 12pm to 4 pm

It’s going to be one busy week!
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calendar, events

Depending on how fussy you are with your food and what you are willing to give up, the possibility of being 100% locavore in our region is almost there. Other than sourcing a local dairy, I think I am doing alright, but there are some things that I do not want to give up (and I do not think they will ever be available in our area).

My first major thing is tea. I drink about 3 cups of black tea a day. I enjoy the occasional herbal tea but I am not prepared to eliminate the drink entirely. Some locavore blogs have their writers making mint tea or drinking hot water with honey; definitely a nice substitute but I do not think that I could do that on a consistent basis.

To compromise, I have been searching for a fair trade black tea. I was having trouble though as I found fair trade in almost every tea combination except for plain old black tea. I was ecstatic to find Rishi Black Tea with Wildberries at the Gourmet Emporium during Art Walkerville. While it is not exactly what I wanted, it is very tasty and had a reasonable price tag of $9.99 (good price for a large quantity of loose tea and the tin is reusable). I have a few different tea infusers to choose from but you can use so many things (muslin, cheesecloth, fill-your-own teabags, dump into the pot and strain when you pour, etc.); if you’re lucky then your teapot might even have a built in strainer like my lovely pot from a dear friend.

I am not the only person who refuses to give up my tea. Enjoy a laugh while you read Why everything still stops for tea, DJ Taylor’s article for The Independent (London) on how the UK union for subway drivers is negotiating more convenient tea breaks. A bit off topic for me, but entertaining.

Taylor writes:

“Sixty years ago, George Orwell suggested that our civilisation is founded on coal. He was wrong. Our civilisation is founded on tea.”

My second major item that I will never be able to release is chocolate. This is a regular staple for me and I hold it in a higher regard than shoes (and that says a lot). Torontonians are lucky; they have Delight, a chocalatier offering handmade organic fair trade chocolate treats.

In the meantime I am eating chocolate from around the world (oh, the food miles!) and am searching for a fair trade chocolate bar that will not require me to spend two weeks pay just to satisfy the craving. Until that time I grab treats from Enchie Organics on Provincial.

I’m not alone; Christine Sismondo of the Toronto Star has food vices too…she doesn’t want to give up her citrus:

“It’s starting to look personal. They’re coming after my limes. From my cold dead hands, people.”

You can read her book reviews of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and The 100-Mile Diet here.

100-Mile Diet, Animal Vegetable Miracle, chocolate, fair trade, tea

I promised that I would share the good news. This weekend I was passing a Beer Store and stopped in to see if Walkerville had returned. I was very happy to find out that it was in stock so I picked up a 6 of Lager (5% alcohol) and a 6 of Light (3.9% alcohol).

When possible, I buy directly from the source, but I was in a different neighbourhood so this worked out perfectly.

Here are the Beer Store prices for Walkerville (same price as the brewery):

• 6 – $11.55
• 12 – $20.90
• 24 – 38.35

Along with the Lager and Superior Light, Premium Blonde is available.

Walkerville Brewing Company, beer store