Menu-Planning 101 (including recipe for Mushroom and Barley Soup)

So this week I decided to try something new. I thought it would make sense for me to plan my meals for the week. I know, I know..you probably thought that I was already doing this. Nope. I've been winging it!

I'm usually sitting at my desk at work everyday wondering what in the world I'm going to be making for dinner and causing myself more stress than anything else. I also have a tendency of going to the market and buying whatever looks good and then coming home with way too much food and then not having the chance to consume all of it. That also means that I'm likely spending more money than I should be.

That being said, I typically do buy a lot more food over the summer months for canning, preserving and freezing and buy a lot less over the winter months since my freezer and pantry are filled to the brim. Plus, there isn't as much available so that really helps the budget as well. I think fall/winter is the perfect time to start planning meals.

For the next few months I'm going to really try and plan my meals on a weekly basis. The goal is to choose a cookbook every week and plan my menu around the recipes included in that book. I may not be following the recipes to the letter but at the very least, using them to get my thoughts going. This week, for instance, I chose 'The Earthbound Cook' by Myra Goodman and wrote down which recipes I was going to try along with the ingredients that I would need. Not surprisingly, I didn't need to buy too much because I already had a lot of them.

Here is what my menu looked like this week:

• Saturday: I made my French Jacques Pepin meal (see previous post), which included a salad with goat cheese and caramelized pecans, chicken in tarragon sauce, and chocolate mousse for dessert
• Sunday: Shepherd's Pie
• Monday: Leftover chicken from Saturday with Brussel Sprouts and a salad
• Tuesday: Vegetarian Chili
• Wednesday: Used more leftover chicken and chili and made enchiladas with salad
• Thursday: Mushroom Barley Soup with a side of Spring Mix salad with warm-almond crusted goat cheese and apples
• Friday: We're going out for dinner. It's my birthday soon but my husband will be away so we're celebrating a little early.

My thoughts on the week? Menu-Planning is going to be successful. For one, I will be making use of the many cookbooks that I have on my shelves, (2) I won't be stressing about what I'm making for dinner, (3) I'll only be buying what I need and thus, won't have as much waste, and (4) I'll probably save money too.

The best meal we had this week was tonight's mushroom and barley soup and salad with warm almond-crusted goat's cheese so I'm going to share these recipes with you.

Mushroom and Barley Soup

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup sliced leek
• 2 small celery ribs (out of season now but I can't have soup without celery - it's one of my exceptions)
• 1 medium diced carrot
• 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup boiling water
• 4 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
• 2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 8 cups beef broth
• 1 cup barley
• salt/pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, celery, and carrot and cook until the vegetables soften. Meanwhile, place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the shitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and thyme to the pot. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, untl the mushrooms give off liquid and begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the porcini mushrooms from the soaking liquid and add them to the soup. Pour in the soaking liquid, leaving behind any grit that may have settled at the bottom. Add the beef stock and barley. Cover the pot and cook over medium-low until the barley is tender, 50 minutes or so. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Spring Mix Salad with Warm Almond-Crusted Goat Cheese

• 4 oz plain goat cheese log
• 2 tbsp finely chopped toasted unsalted almonds
• 6 cups mixed greens
• 1 large crisp apple, sliced
• 1/4 cup lemon-thyme balsamic vinaigrette
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp minced shallot
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• salt/pepper
• 1/4 cup raisins

Cut the goat cheese into 4 rounds, about 1/2-inch thick. Press the almonds into the top and bottom of each cheese round. Transfer the cheese to a foil-covered baking sheet and broil for 1-3 minutes.

Place the greens and apple slices in a large bowl and add half of the vinaigrette. Toss to coat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more vinaigrette as desired. Divide the greens onto 4 plates and place a cheese round in the middle of each salad. Sprinkle with raisins and serve.

Do you typically plan your meals? Do you have a tendency to plan more during the winter rather than the summer?

Going Back to my French Roots with Jacques Pepin

Back in 1633 a man was born in Le Bignon (Reveillon), France. His name was Toussaint. In 1654 he moved to 'Nouvelle-France' (Beauport, Quebec). Generations later, the ancestral home in France still stands.

This is my heritage. The family (both my mom and my dad's) originally came to Canada from France. I guess you could say that I'm a pure-bred. My ancestors came from France on the boat and have always lived in New Brunswick, Quebec or Northern Ontario. Everyone married French and, as a result, had French babies. I did the same; my husband is also from a French family.

Based on my blood-line I'd like to think that this has something to do with my love of food and cooking. The French are known for their cuisine, correct?

Jacques Pepin, born in 1935, is one example. He is an internationally recognized French chef, television personality, and author. Since 1975 he has written 25 cookbooks, with his most recent one 'Essential Pepin' in 2011. His newest cookbook encompasses over 700 of his favorite recipes from the last 60 years as a chef. Lucky for me, I was given a peek at 3 of the recipes from the book and had a chance to try them out today: Composed Salad of Greens, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans, Chicken in Tarragon Sauce, and lastly, Chocolate Mousse.

Composed Salad of Greens, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans

For the Caramelized Pecans:

• 1/4 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 tsp canola oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• pinch of sugar
• pinch of cayenne

Put the pecans in a skillet and cover (barely) with water. Bring to a simmer over high heat and then drain immediately. Return the pecans to the pan and add the oil, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the nuts brown and the sugar mixture caramelizes. Set them aside to cool.

For the Dressing:

• 1 1/2 tbsp oil, preferably a mixture of walnut, hazelnut and/or canola (I just used canola oil)
• 1 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and toss with 4 cups salad greens, preferably mesclun (I used a Spring Mix).

To serve, add the caramelized pecans to the greens along with apple strips drizzled with lemon juice and crumbled goat cheese.

The salad was amazing. The dressing, although simple, was perfect and worked well with all of the ingredients. The pecans were especially good and I'll be sure to make them again just to be able to have them to snack on. Actually, I think that ended up eating a third of them before they actually made their way onto the salad. Oops!

Chicken in Tarragon Sauce

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white vermouth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 fresh thyme sprig
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp potato starch, dissolved in 2 tbsp vermouth
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon

Combine the chicken, onion, stock, vermouth, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and boil gently for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside. There should be about 1 cup of liquid left in the pan. If not, boil to reduce it to 1 cup. Stir in the dissolved potato starch and bring to a boil. Add the cream and return to a boil once again. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and heat through. Sprinkle with tarragon and serve.

Initially, when I looked at the recipe I didn't think that the dish would have much flavour but I was wrong; it was delicious. The tarragon made all the difference. Before making this dish I had never used tarragon before. I think I'll be looking for other ways to use it in my dishes from now on. It's wonderful!

The finished product for our dinner was the salad, the chicken, and a side of steamed broccoli. Doesn't it look good? You know what's sad though? I ended up having dinner by myself tonight... My daughter was at a birthday party chowing down on pizza and cupcakes and since my husband ended up staying at the party too he had pizza as well and came home with a full tummy. His loss though; I think my dinner was way better than pizza. He'll have the leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Funny thing though, both my husband and daughter found room for the chocolate mousse dessert that I also made while they were out.

Chocolate Mousse

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 10 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
• 2 tsp cognac (I used whisky)

In a mixing bowl, beat 2 tbsp of the sugar with the cream for a few minutes, or until soft peaks form. When complete, transfer about 3/4 cup of the whipped cream to another bowl to use as a garnish later.

In a stainless steel bowl mix the remaining sugar and the eggs together. Place the bowl in a skillet of hot tap water (or use a double boiler), and whisk the mixture for 3 minutes, or until it's fluffy, smooth, and has doubled in volume.

Using a rubber spatula, combine the melted chocolate with the yolk mixture and the cognac. If the mixture starts to seize, immediately stir in 1-2 tbsp of the whipped cream to smooth it out. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until incorporated. Transfer the mousse to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

At serving time, whip the reserved 3/4 cup whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Use it as a garnish on top of the mousse.

The mousse was my failure for the day. I don't know what I did wrong, but it didn't have the consistency of a mousse. It was harder and the chocolate was a bit chunky. It was also extremely 'chocolatey'. My husband and daughter liked it but I really think I could have done a better job of this one.

Are you a fan of French cuisine? Do you enjoy dishes from France, specifically? Or would you rather stay close to home and enjoy French-Canadian food? How do you feel about Tourtiere? Or Raisin Pie? Poutine?Stay tuned for more French (both authentic and Canadian) recipes coming soon!

Lemon-Cranberry Muffins

I think one of my favorite flavours has got to be lemon. I love lemon meringue pie and pretty well anything with lemon curd in it. It's no surprise that my favorite muffins are lemon-cranberry muffins. It's not just the lemons that make these muffins so tasty though; lemons are a perfect match for fresh cranberries.

Here is the recipe that I always use (courtesy of Eating Well - January/February 2011):

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup Ontario canola oil
• 1 large Ontario egg
• 3 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (from who-knows-where)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Ontario flour
• 1/2 cup Ontario cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen Ontario cranberries

Preheat oven to 400F

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, yogurt, oil, egg, 2 tsp lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla in medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in cranberries.

Divid the batter into the muffin cups. Combine the remaining 2 tbsp sugar and remaining 1 tsp lemon zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins. Bake the muffins until golden brown - 20 - 25 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

How do you feel about cranberry sauce? Love it? Hate it? Whole berries? Jellied? Canned? Homemade?People seem to be pretty darn set in their ways when it comes to cranberry sauce..

I have always loved cranberry sauce. Growing up we ate it with our dinner for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas. My favorite way to have it? All over my potatoes and my turkey. Yum!! Up until a couple of years ago though I had only ever had canned cranberry sauce. Fresh cranberries weren't something that my parents or relatives considered buying so I just never knew what I was missing.

Thanksgiving has already passed, but if you can, make sure that you try and make homemade cranberry sauce for your Christmas dinner. Here is the recipe:

In a pot, combine 3 cups cranberries (1 bag), 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes or until the cranberries start to burst. Remove from heat and cool at room temperature and then in the fridge. The sauce will thicken as it chills.

Cranberry sauce is very versatile. It's really easy to adapt it for your own personal tastes. When I canned some sauce this week I replaced the sugar with honey and added diced apple, orange rind, and orange juice. Other options? Some people put raisins or currants or may season it with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.. It all depends on what you're looking for and what it'll be used for.

Do you have any tried-and-true recipes for cranberry sauce? What do you use your sauce for? Just for the holidays? Or do you use it in other dishes? Pork perhaps?

Field Trip: Johnston's Cranberry Farm

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving weekend?

We were away in Sudbury for a few days visiting family. We don't get home very often but we do try and make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Our newest tradition has been making a stop at Johnston's Cranberry Farm to pick up our stock of cranberries for the year. We take the Friday off from work and take the child out of school for the day to make sure we've got the time to make the all-important pit stop.

We typically buy a 4lb bag of cranberries, some dried cranberries, a bottle of wine and anything else that catches our eye.

The farm is located in Bala, Ontario which has been deemed the Cranberry Capital of Ontario. For years we drove by not knowing what was hiding beyond the highway. We kept seeing the signs and eventually decided that we had to check it out - so glad we did! This is our second year visiting the farm now. Here's a cool little video about the farm:



It's so great to have the opportunity to experience the cranberry harvest. Cranberries are very unique compared to other berry crops. For one, they require work year-round and secondly, they grow on land, but are harvested in water. In the late fall, for instance, the bogs are flooded so that the resulting layer of ice will protect the cranberry plants over the winter months from the extreme cold. Then throughout the rest of the year (i.e., fall/spring), the crop may be flooded again or sprayed with sprinklers to avoid frost damage. At harvest time they're flooded once more to help with the picking process.

There are only two areas in Ontario that have cranberry farms - Bala and the Ottawa Region. Otherwise, in Canada, growers can be found in British Columbia., Quebec and Nova Scotia. Cranberries don't grow just anywhere; they need a bog, which is an area of soft, marshy ground, usually near a wetland. The land is typically very acidic as well.

Have you ever eaten cranberries raw? Although they are a very tart they are pretty tasty on their own. I really enjoy adding a few into my morning smoothies for a little extra kick of flavour. My daughter wasn't so thrilled with them raw but she did enjoy getting us a few from the marsh to snack on. We couldn't resist....

The cranberries are harvested using a special machine that is driven through the beds to coax the berries off the vines. The cranberries then float to the surface and are collected in bins and then dumped into a truck. At that point they are dried and packaged onsite.

The packaging process is pretty straightforward. The bad ones are picked out and the good ones move on down the conveyor belt and put into bags.

There you have it, freshly picked cranberries for purchase!

There's a lot more to find in the shop than just plain 'ol cranberries though. There is cranberry sauce, cranberry fudge, cranberry dressing, cranberry jam, cranberry and apple pie, cranberry apple cider, cranberry buttertarts, cranberry soaps and candles, etc.. Check out their website at http://www.cranberry.ca/ - They have online ordering available too!

At the cafe we enjoyed sausages topped with cranberry mustard and cranberry chutney. We really wanted to try the cranberry buttertarts too but we ran out of cash unfortunately. Next time we'll have to remember to bring more funds!

While we were there we also had a chance to do some wine-tasting from the Muskoka Lake Winery. We tried a Wild Blueberry Wine, the Georgian Bay Rose, Cranberry Wine, Cranberry Blueberry Wine, White Cranberry, and Red Maple. They were all delicious but in the end we left with a bottle of Cranberry Wine.

Keep an eye out for Muskoka Lake Wine at the London Wine and Food Show coming up in January and be sure to try the Red Maple variety; it's delicious!!

Here are a few more cranberry 'facts' from Johnston's website (http://www.cranberry.ca/):

• cranberries are native only to North America
• early pilgrims thought that the cranberry blossom looked like the head of a crane and called them 'crane'berries.
• cranberries do not grow in water
• cranberries are harvested in water because it makes them easier to to pick
• cranberries are planted with cuttings, not seeds
• cranberries are a perennial but it takes 5 years for a new plant to become established and to produce a crop
• cranberries grow on an evergreen vine, which means they keep their leaves year-round
• the first bog was planted in Massachusetts in 1816. Canada's first commercial bog was planted in Nova Scotia in 1870
• cranberry vines don't need to be replaced; they continue producing indefinitely. The plants at Johnston's have been producing for 60 years
• there are over 100 varieties of cranberries; Johnston's produces 5

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make a batch of cranberry sauce for canning and some lemon-cranberry muffins. Whatever is left will be frozen for my winter fruit smoothies or perhaps in my famous apple-cranberry crisp as shown in the Foodland Ontario video I appeared in last year.

Here's a link to the post I did about my first visit to Johnston's Cranberry Farm last year (complete with a video of Rick Mercer's visit there): http://southwesternontariofoodie.blogspot.com/2010/10/johnstons-cranberry-marsh.html

Be sure to look for Ontario cranberries at your local grocery store! I was at the SuperStore earlier today and was disappointed to find U.S. cranberries on display. If you can't find local ones let the manager know you want them available! Remember, we vote with our dollars.

Foodland Ontario Calendar - October (Pumpkin Ravioli)

Why does it seem that we're always turning the page on the calendar to yet another month? Can you believe that it's October already? It's getting darker earlier at night, there's a chill in the air, and the leaves are starting to change colours. I wish it could be Fall year 'round!

This month's Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe is pumpkin ravioli. I think it's great that month after month the recipes become more and more unique and aren't just your typical run-of-the-mill boring 'ol recipe; great way to encourage people to try new foods and new ways of cooking with them!

Pumpkin Ravioli

• 1 cup Ontario pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp Ontario butter
• 1 1/2 tsp cornmeal
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• salt & pepper
• 36 wonton wrappers
• 1 Ontario egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup Ontario butter, melted
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• freshly grated Ontario parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl combine pumpkin puree, butter, cornmeal, sage, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Working with 6 wrappers at a time, brush edges lightly with egg. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pumpkin mixture in the centre of each. Fold each wrapper over into a triangle and press the edges to seal well. Place on a baking sheet and cover with damp tea towel. Repeat with remainin filling and wrappers.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the ravioli in 4 batches, until tender, about 4-5 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and gently toss with butter and parsley. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Surprisingly, this recipe worked out for me. As many people already know I don't do well with pastry or dough-like substances. I'm getting better, but it's a work in progress. At least the use of wonton wrappers really made it easy to make homemade ravioli. I ended up with a few pieces that lost their insides into the water but most of them remained intac.! I'll likely make more in the next few days with the spinach and ricotta cheese in my fridge that are screaming to be made into a ravioli stuffing.

Now, if I had a Kitchenaid pasta attachment in my possession, I'd really be in the business of making homemade pastas. You know....my birthday and Christmas are coming soon... Maybe I'll get my wish soon enough!

Anyways,...moving along...since I had more pumpkin puree leftover I thought I'd heed the calendar's advice 'since you're pureeing, try our old-fashioned pumpkin pie recipe'. Great idea!

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

• 1 9-inch deep-dish pie shell
• 2 cups pureed Ontario pumpkin
• 1/2 cup 18% Ontario cream
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp each of ginger, nutmeg and salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Thaw pie shell for 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of shell with a fork. Bake in centre of bottom rack of oven 8 to 10 minutes. Place baked shell on a baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 350F.

In a large bowl, stir together pumpkin puree, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt until combined. Pour into prepared shell. Bake on centre rack of oven until filling is set, about 35 minutes (the centre will still be a bit jiggly). Let cool completely before serving. Top with freshly whipped cream.

You'll notice that I used a frozen pie shell. Yes...like I've said, pie/tart crust is my downfall. If anybody out there would like to show me how it's done I'd really appreciate it! I've followed recipes to the letter and kept everything cold like I'm supposed to but still, it's my nemesis!

So what's November's Foodland Ontario Calendar recipe going to be? Looks like Savoury Onion Scones are going to be on the menu. Can't wait!

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

To view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry
August - grilled chicken salad
September - Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa

Field Trip - Kernal Peanuts in Vittoria

When you think of local food what do you think of? Fruits, vegetables, meat? Dairy perhaps? How about peanuts? Yes, peanuts! Did you know that the largest producer of peanuts in Canada is right here in Ontario? Yup! Kernal Peanuts in Vittoria (between Simcoe and Delhi in Norfolk County) is the largest peanut grower in Canada.

Like many other farms in Norfolk County the farm began growing tobacco but when the government stepped in with new regulations many farmers sought out other crops to grow instead. In the case of Ernie and Nancy Racz they wanted something that would grow well in their area, would be unique, and would also be something that others in the area were not growing to avoid saturation or competition.

Today, they have 100 acres of peanut plants; or more specifically, Valencia peanut plants. Valencia peanuts grow well in sandy soils and have been known to be one of the best tasting peanuts.

Like potatoes, peanuts grow underground. As they foliage matures, small yellow flowers form and once pollinated they eventually turn downward and make their way into the ground, where they complete their development. In the Fall when the peanuts are harvested the entire plant, including the roots is removed from the soil, at which point the nuts are separated from the plant itself.

Did you know that peanuts aren't actually nuts? They're legumes. In fact, until they are dried they taste like peas.

Yes, peanuts must be dehydrated (dried). After they've been harvested, they're cleaned and then put into large vats and dried for seven days. That's one of the things that they had to experiment with when they first began growing peanuts. Traditionally, in the Southern U.S. states peanuts are simply harvested and then left to dry on the ground for two weeks. In Canada, this is not possible because of the likelihood of rain and damp weather in October.

Once the peanuts are dried they are then de-shelled and sorted - the small immature peanuts are used as bird food, the medium or broken ones are used for peanut butter and the others end up in the roaster. You want to know what happens to the waste (i.e, the peanut shells)? They are burned along with wood to power the dehydrator, which saves them around $30,000 in natural gas that they would need to shell out otherwise. Another way that they use their waste is by using peanut oil in their diesel-powered tractors. Pretty cool, eh?

Once the peanuts have been sorted they are processed and packaged on site and then shipped to specialty food stores throughout Canada, such as Picard Peanuts (http://www.picardspeanuts.ca/). They have peanuts of all different flavours - garlic, barbeque, sour cream and onion, cajun, salted, unsalted, dill pickle, etc.. In addition to the regular red-skinned peanut they also have the black-skinned peanut as well. If you're looking for something sweet, they also have chocolate covered peanuts, peanut briddle, fudge, etc.. There's peanut butter too! Their peanut butter is all-natural; nothing but the peanuts. Apparently since the Valencia peanut is a sweeter peanut it naturally adds sweetness to the peanut butter without having to include any additional sugar.

When I first started my journey with sourcing out local foods I never imagined that there was such a thing as a peanut farm. To tell you the truth I didn't know where peanuts came from; I had assumed that they came from California or Mexico. Then, when I saw that Picards Peanuts had Ontario peanuts a couple of years ago I knew that I'd have to make my way out to Vittoria to check out Kernal Peanuts. It took a while but I finally made it!

Be honest,...did you know that Ontario grew peanuts?

Another "Ontario Table" Giveaway

So I met up with Lynn Ogryzlo at Jill's Table a couple of weeks ago here in London. We were able to catch up and talked about how things were going with her book-signing tour. Did you know that her book has become a national bestseller? Yup! Not bad for a book about 'Ontario' food, eh?

Anyways, I'm going to be doing a couple of giveaways over the next couple of months and will be giving away not just one, but two copies of Lynn Ogryzlo's book "The Ontario Table".

Here's how you can win a copy of the book:

1) October: From October 1st to 31st talk to me about Ontario Food - what is your favorite memory about local food this summer? Did you visit a farm? Did you go to your local market? Did you try any new recipes? Please post your comments to my Facebook Page (Southwestern Ontario Foodie) or on Twitter (@swontariofoodie). The winner (chosen randomly) will be announced on November 1st.

2) November: From November 1st to 30th tell me what your plans are for the winter - how will you continue to support local foods? Did you do any preserving (canning or freezing)? Again, comments can be posted to my Facebook Page or on Twitter and the winner will be announced on December 1st.

Contest open to Ontario residents only.

To learn more about the book check out the "Ontario Table" website at http://www.ontariotable.ca/ .