Tecumseh Atta (Chana Food Products) is now known as Sartaj Flour. The same great quality still exists with their flour though and it is exciting to know that you can now buy Organic Spelt Flour.

This spelt is less expensive than any you can find at grocery or specialty food stores. Try it out for yourself as a health food or for someone who has wheat sensitivities (it has less gluten than traditional wheat… but usually too much for those with coeliac disease).

Sartaj has spelt recipes available including pizza dough and apple cinnamon muffins.

You can find Sartaj flours at many stores in Windsor; check out these locations. You can also support companies that use Sartaj in their food preparation:

• Capri Pizzeria
• New Yasmeen Bakery
• Taste Bud Foods
• Tecumseh Pizzeria

Here’s my favourite spelt recipe: Low Fat Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I didn’t like the strong molasses flavour though so I replaced the molasses with a combination of buckwheat honey and extra apple sauce. These cookies are yummy and freeze well.

Enjoy!

Chana Flour Products, Sartaj Flour, Tecumseh Atta, spelt

Get local with your iPhone with handy applications that help you find area food.

Check out Food Safety News who will be reviewing different applications this week.

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In an earlier post about cabbage rolls I talked about using Thomas’ tomatoes in the recipe.

Here’s a list of where to find Thomas’ canned tomatoes (aka Utopia Organic):

• Loblaw’s (different stores carry different stock though)
• Barron Poultry (Amherstburg)
• Sanson Estate Winery (McGregor)
• Biddell’s (Windsor) – wholesale
• Birelli Distributors (Windsor) - wholesale
• Morton Wholesale (Oldcastle) – wholesale
• Cisco Foods (Windsor) – wholesale

You can also buy direct: http://www.thomascanning.com/contact_us.html

Sanson Estate Winery, Thomas' Organic Tomatoes

Just a few reminders for this week:

• Winter Bites is in full swing
• Urban Chickens (Jan 19 at 9:30am) – Windsor Licensing Committee Hearing, City Hall, 4th Floor

In other food news, you can meet Michigan farmers online: http://www.farmersfeedus.org/mi/our-farm-families/

I’d love to see that done in our region as a collective, but Taste Bud Food does spotlight local farmers individually.

Taste Bud Food

Don’t forget that “Winter Bites” starts next week. We’ll be out visiting Black Kettle Bistro for the closing of Owen Wolters (Windsor Visuals) photo exhibit on January 19th and then we’re going to head to Thai Palace to try the lunch or dinner menu.

Here’s the press release from Windsor Eats:

Windsor, ON –It’s time to give winter a kick! WindsorEats.com invites you to a week long event, the first of it’s kind in Essex County.

During Winter Bites, January 17 to January 23, 2010, diners can visit any participating restaurant and indulge in a 3-course meal for only $10 or $15 for lunch or $25 or $35 for dinner. Each restaurant will offer a unique Winter Bites menu where diners can select from a variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts.

“We want to add excitement to the hospitality industry during a traditionally slow month,” explains Adriano Ciotoli, co-owner of WindsorEats.com. “2009 was a difficult year for culinary tourism in Windsor/Essex. We lost some exceptional restaurants. This is one way to support the local restaurant industry. We encourage everyone to get out and visit participating local restaurants and businesses.”

Participating restaurants include Mezzo Ristorante and Lounge, Black Kettle Bistro, Chanoso’s, Oishii, Per Bacco Ristorante, and more to be added. A complete listing of events, participating restaurants and menus can be found at www.windsoreats.com/winterbites Reservations are recommended to ensure a seating upon your arrival. The meals are per person and does not include beverages, taxes or tip.

“Restaurant weeks and prix fixe menu events have been done with great success in cities like Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto,” says Ciotoli. “It was time to bring that same concept to Windsor but add our own little twist to it. Having local businesses participate is a wonderful way to celebrate all the great things we have in Essex County.”

In addition to great deals on dining, Winter Bites is adding something new this year. Local businesses are offering savings and hosting events.
Aleksander Estate Winery is offering discounted prices on select wines, Black Kettle Bistro is incorporating some of Windsor’s finest artistic talents to create not only a great culinary experience, but, a great taste of the Windsor arts and music scene and Slice of Style will be hosting a chocolate tasting accompanied with local wines.

“We are thrilled to be hosting this event as part of Winter Bites – the first “food festival” of the new year,” says Kelly Ouellette, owner of Slice of Style. “As a new business getting the word out is critical and Winter Bites is helping us connect with a very diverse local audience.”

For more information on this and other great WindsorEats.com events visit www.windsoreats.com or contact:

Adriano Ciotoli, Co-Owner
Telephone: 519.982.5212
Email: info@windsoreats.com

Pina Ciotoli, Co-Owner
Telephone: 519.890.5038
Email: pina@windsoreats.com

Windsor Eats, Winter Bites

Steve Green of Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture (WECSA) went before Windsor council to request that they create a committee to review the possibility of allowing citizens raise chickens in their yards. Other cities in Canada have already allowed this and groups like Chickens in Vancouver are close to having their bylaw finalized.

Due to these requests there will now be a discussion on urban chickens:

Hearings are open to the public and media so come out and show your support.

You can read more info in this Windsor Star article.

urban chickens

The Canadian Farm Business Management Council has created Agriwebinar.com:

It is a web-based conference bringing the expertise of today’s agricultural
leaders that will inform and inspire you from the comfort of your home or
office. No travel, no cost, no reason to miss out!

In November I logged on to watch and listen to Peter Katona talk about Buy Local, Buy Fresh. Peter is the Executive Director of Foodlink:

A non-profit organization that promotes local food, supports and connects farms and food businesses, provides local food education and outreach in our community, and engages decision makers in putting local food policy on the community’s agenda.

During the talk, Peter spoke of the local food movement in his home town of Kitchener Waterloo (K-W). But the model that Foodlink is using (their “recipe for a healthy community”) is one that could work in any area that has access to farmland.

Here are some interesting points from the webinar:

• Europe is miles ahead in localizing their food systems
• Eating local has economic, social, and environmental impact; economic – develops small enterprises, retains/creates jobs, makes farms profitable; social – preserves rural heritage, rebuilds connections, promotes healthier eating; environmental – reduces food miles, responsible farming promotes sustainability & diversification
• Regional consumers are starting to demand local for many reasons: taste, food safety, quality, and to support farmers (this was the #1 reason to support local when K-W citizens were polled)
• Many people are disconnected from their food; Foodlink wants to promote quality and confidence in local food and make strong community connections
• Their 2002 Buy Local map was free (got a grant) and had 29 listings; now there are 152 listings and each pays $100 per year
• Their newsletter is simple and focused and spotlights markets, farms, personal stories, harvests, accessibility, storage tips, recipes and local food events
• The K-W Zehrs has local produce, not just the “grown close to home” products

One thing that surprised me was that their Buy Local map was free. But then I think Guelph’s initial map was free too. I was sad that our Buy Local map in its first year was not free (even though they got a grant); so many of our local resources are missing from our map because they didn’t want to pay the fee!

To watch the seminar create your free account and sign in. You can watch this and other webinars and sign up for the newsletter that informs you of upcoming webinars. Any of these that are related to local food will also appear on my food calendar.

I’ll close with my favourite quote from the seminar:

Agriwebinar, Buy Local Buy Fresh

Just a reminder that the vendor information session for the Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market takes place tomorrow.

If you are interested in being a vendor at this year’s market, this is the meeting that you need to attend. Come out for a town hall meeting and hear what improvments will be made for 2010.

Downtown Windsor Farmers Market

Here’s a way to get your kids to eat some vegetables…

Take root vegetables, peel them and chop them into bite size pieces. Toss with lots of olive oil, salt and pepper, and thyme. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet or in a casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 -55 minutes. Enjoy!

So why will kids enjoy this? If you use turnips or rutabegas, then you can get your kids (or husbands) to eat them under the guise of roasted potatoes.

This is a good, simple recipe to use up any root vegetables you have handy. I used a local rutabega with Ontario carrots and onions. I added the olive oil along with coarse salt, fresh ground pepper and thyme.

Other recommended veggies to throw in: potatoes, garlic cloves (whole), turnips, beets, and kohlrabi bulbs (for you serious veggie growers).

This was just our side dish. The main attraction was delicious Thibert Farm sausage. I had to laugh when I opened the package as I was expecting individual sausages. Silly me! This is real sausage right from the butcher, still wrapped in meat paper. The entire sausage went onto the grill and we cut it just before serving on fresh buns from Pierre’s Baguette.

Eating local in the winter doesn’t have to be a chore…in fact, it was a treat!

Pierre's Baguette, Thibert Farm, root vegetables

Little changes you can make in 2010 to support local:

• when it’s in season try to buy the local product over imported produce
• read labels for the product’s origin (consider purchasing the Ontario- or Canada-made product over others)
• get your family involved in a challenge to create an entire meal sourced locally or host a dinner party/potluck with this theme

Not only will more money stay in our region, you will probably prefer the taste of the local products that you try.

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