Bison

I've been hearing a lot about bison lately but up to now have not been too keen on trying it out. I usually stick to more familiar meats because (1) I like my comfort zone and (2), I don't like anything that may taste gamey. That was up until last week. When I was at the Covent Garden Market I saw a nice lady behind a table selling bison from Blanbrook Bison Farm. She assured me that I would love it and that I would be back next week. I bought some sausages.

She was right--I'll be back!

I ended up taking the meat out of the sausage casings and browned the meat to be used in fajitas with onions, peppers and mushrooms. I didn't have to add any seasonings to it at all. It tasted great on its own. My husband (and even my daughter) loved it.

And it's a good thing that we did fall in love with bison meat! Bison is a very healthy meat option because it is high in protein and iron and has an excellent ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids. Bison is also lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken and beef! For instance, according to http://www.canadianbison.ca/ chicken has 2 grams of fat per 100g serving, while bison has 2.42 grams. In terms of calories, chicken has 158 while the bison has only 143. Bison is also very high in iron--beef only has 2.99mg per 100g and bison has a whopping 3.42mg (chicken has very little).

If those facts don't convince you, bison are also raised naturally without the use of growth hormones, stimulants, antibiotics or animal by-products. Bison are mainly fed pasture grasses while some bison receive supplemental forage (hay and silage) and grain (primarily oats) during extreme weather or during droughts when pastures are dry.

The Mills' family who runs the Blanbrook Bison Farm has been operating for over 15 years and have a herd of 80 animals. The Bison are raised on pasture and have access to oats, barley and hay. The Bison are drug and hormone-free.

Blanbrook Bison Farm R.R. #6, St. Mary's Ontario (519)-229-631

Note: The Mills' are available at the Covent Garden Market every Saturday (8am - 1pm) from May to November.

And the Planting begins...

May 24 weekend has arrived. This means that it's probably safe to plant the rest of my vegetables in the garden. Up to this point, I had already planted two varieties of peas, radishes, green onions, lettuce and carrots. The radishes look great and the rest are coming along nicely. I can't wait until they start producing something edible.

Sadly all of the sprouts that I started growing inside a few weeks ago all died :-( I figured as much since this was my first real attempt. I'll try again next year!

Luckily there are many garden centres in the area that sell sprouts ready for planting. Heeman's is my favorite. I know that I've mentioned Heeman's a few times on this blog before but I really do enjoy visiting their nursery. Apparently I'm not the only one because it was BUSY today. I guess everyone else also thought it would be a little slow today because of the pouring rain outside. Not so much! But despite the rain and the muddy parking lot it was still a good trip. I ended up getting 4 varieties of tomatoes, some peppers, jalapenos, cauliflower, broccoli, english cucumber, watermelon, canteloupe, thyme, rosemary, basil and stevia. I'm hoping to get these all planted tomorrow morning. I'm so excited! I'll also be sowing my green beans and corn. Yes, I'm going to grow a couple of corn stalks in my yard. We'll see how they turn out.

And, of course, while at Heeman's we had to get a strawberry sundae. It was a little chilly for a sundae today but still worth it! My daughter was happy (she had raspberry).

We'll be back again for some strawberry picking very soon I'm sure!

Strawberries

How excited am I? Strawberry season is early this year!

It's only May 16th and strawberries are already available. I was able to get some at Trail's End yesterday. The nice lady told me that, yes, they are Ontario strawberries and that they were from a town just north of here. They are a bit larger than the traditional Ontario strawberry but I think that these are a different variety. I didn't have a chance to ask her the specifics.

Of course, there was another vendor there selling 'Ontario' strawberries in large quantities but I refuse to buy anything from this vendor. This particular vendor (which will remain namless) often sells produce that he says is from Ontario but upon looking at the sticker on the food itself, it has usually come up from the U.S. My thoughts are that if there are stickers on any of the food then it did not come direct from the farm.

When I visited Adelaide Farms yesterday he told me that many of the non-farmer vendors get their food at the Toronto distribution centre. And they don't get first dibs on the food. The grocers do. What's leftover is what these retailers receive. I don't buy anything from these vendors at all. I don't want to encourage these types of businesses at the market. The best way to know the difference is to look at what they are selling as a whole. If everything on their table is seasonal and currently available in Ontario then they are likely a legitimate farmer or selling product direct from the farm. If they have items like green beans or broccoli and it's still May then they are not selling local produce.

Hmmm...I've really gotten off track from the strawberries, eh?

Here is an article from the London Free Press about this year's Ontario strawberries: http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/05/10/13899071-lfp.html

Last year, the strawberry season was extended. Not only were there Spring strawberries, but Heeman's was able to sell their Everbearing Strawberries all the way into the Fall. And we took full advantage. I am a little embarassed to say that I often bought whole flats of strawberries once a week (that's 8 quarts a week). I froze a good portion and managed to get through them all by February I think. Oops!

I'll be buying a lot of strawberries again this year--so look forward to a lot of berry-related recipes!

Here is what early Spring looks like...

Oops....I forgot to include the rhubarb and the spinach! :-)

Baked French Onion Soup

Remember the mushroom/asparagus broth that I posted about the other day? Well, rather than making a mushroom soup I ended up making a baked french onion soup instead. Here is the recipe:

First, melt some butter into a pan (enough to coat the onions--a couple of tablespoons or so) and caramelize 2 large sliced onions. Put the onion mixture into the bottom of oven-safe bowls and cover with warmed broth. Although traditional recipes ask for beef broth I used my vegetable broth instead--the shitake mushroom really adds a beef-like flavour. Cover the soup with a 1/2 inch slice of artisan-type bakery bread and add a small layer of cheese on top. I used garlic mozzarella. Bake in the oven at 350F for an hour or until browned and bubbly.


This recipe made enough for 2 servings (for my husband and I). It was delicious!

The Market Opens & Fiddleheads

With the month of May comes the re-opening of many of the farmer's markets in the city.


Here are the schedules for the local markets in London:

Covent Garden Market
Indoor: open year round 7 days a week
Outdoor: Thursdays and Saturdays May to November 8am - 1pm
www.coventmarket.com

Western Fair Market
Open year-round
Thursdays 10am - 6pm and Saturdays 8am - 3pm
www.londonsfarmersmarket.ca

Masonville Farmer's Market
Open May to October
Fridays 8 -2
www.londonsfarmersmarket.ca

Trail's End Farmer's Market
Open year-round
Saturdays 7am - 5pm
www.trailsendfarmersmarket.com


For the beginning of the real farmer's market season it was too bad the weather was almost winter-like today. After many weeks of unusual warmth we had high winds, rain, and even some flurries. Nonetheless, the vendors still showed up. Today I bought some asparagus, rhubarb, lettuce greens, crimini mushrooms, eggs, and a fresh loaf of bread (outside vendors). From the inside of the market I purchased some cheeses, fresh spaghetti pasta, orzo pasta, flatbreads, some meat, and fiddleheads.

I was excited to find some fiddleheads today. Many people have never heard of them before. Fiddlheads are the tops of baby ostrich ferns and are a favorite of foragers because they can often be found wild in the woods in late April/early May.

Fiddleheads cannot be eaten raw so must be cooked well to avoid the gastric distress that may occur. Once cooked they tend to have a woodsy flavour that is a cross between asparagus, artichoke, mushroom, broccoli, and spinach. Personally, I think they taste more like brussel sprouts. They're rich in iron, potassium, niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamins A and C.

Most recipes begin with boiling the fiddleheads for 10 minutes or so and then sauteeing them with butter garlic and seasonings (I added onions and diced red peppers). Fiddlheads usually have a thin brown skin on them that must be removed prior to cooking. They should be washed thoroughly in cold water and once boiled the water will turn brown with the leftover skins.

My husband really liked the fiddleheads but I remain undecided... We'll see... He thought that bacon would have really stepped it up a notch. He may be right.

Mushroom & Asparagus Tart

I felt like some comfort food for dinner tonight. Although the weather had been beautiful and sunny all day there was a rainstorm brewing by the time I got home from work. Somehow the darkness outside and the rumble in the sky makes me want to cook. The result this evening: Mushroom and Asparagus Tart.

It was pretty simple to make actually. I began by thawing 200g of puff pastry dough (half a package). Once thawed I rolled it out into a square. I then brushed egg white on the edges and folded them over an inch or so to make a lip. Afterwards I poked the dough with a fork (but not the folded edges).

For the filling I sauteed a small onion with a mixture of cremini and shitake mushrooms and some asparagus (note: this would have been amazing if I had thought of caramelizing the onions instead--yum!) I also added some cooked chicken to the mix as well. Let the mixture cool before filling the tart shell.

Once cooled, I spooned the mixture into the tart and put a few small pieces of proscuitto and green onions on the top (another note: Ontario green onions ARE available now!). At the top I added a few thin slices of 4-year old cheddar. I would have preferred mozzarella but cheddar is all I had in the fridge today.

The result: It was amazing! I will definitely make this again (but with caramelized onions and mozzarella cheese!

Over the last few days I have been saving the woody ends of my asparagus spears. I thought that these would be great to use for a vegetable broth. And, after using some more of my asparagus tonight I also noticed that some of my shitake mushrooms probably weren't going to make it to another meal. So, instead of wasting these items I decided to make a broth tonight. In addition to the asparagus ends and shitake mushrooms I used an onion and a carrot, water, and some seasonings. What a great use of leftover veggies! And I bet this broth would make a killer mushroom soup!