Don’t Tramp on Ramps

Finally we’re see­ing fid­dle­heads and ramps, these are signs of spring across Ontario.  Ramps, (allium tric­oc­cum ) also known as wild leek or wild gar­lic only grow wild, mean­ing many ramp-obsessed food­ies are dri­ven to remote and wooded areas to for­age for them, scour­ing the damp for­est floor in search of the leafy green perennial.

 

ramps in the forest

 

 

The entire ramp is edi­ble, from the nar­row bulb to the scallion-like stem and the broad deep green leaf, but respect and care should be taken when foraging.  In Quebec, ramps are con­sid­ered a threat­ened species and are pro­tected under provin­cial law. Continue »



Interview with “Consumed” Author Sarah Elton

Sarah Elton’s lat­est book launches on Earth Day, I sent her a few ques­tions recently to inquire as to how she main­tains her food activism in her daily life. She replied with some answers that we can all learn from. Read more about “Consumed” here.
 

Sarah Elton is a cel­e­brated author, food activist and the food colum­nist for CBC’s Here and Now


 

What are some things that we can do around the house to off­set the dire future you look at in Consumed? 
There’s lots we can do at home because the choices we make will have an impact on our future. Continue »


Eat, drink & support local sustainable economy at the Brewer’s Plate, 2013

 

April 17th is the 6th instal­ment of a beer and food lover’s fantasy.

The Brewer’s plate high­lights, sup­ports and pro­motes local economies and the entre­pre­neurs that make them up. Specifically, the ones who make and serve beer and fare with a care for craft.

Proceeds for the annual event go to Not Far From The Tree, a great local non-profit that har­vests fruit on pri­vate and pub­lic prop­erty, then divides it between the pick­ers, the own­ers and char­ity. Continue »



Meatless Monday: Veggie Burgers

 

Celebrate Meatless Monday with a deli­cious home­made veg­gie burger

No doubt about about it, this spring is a long time com­ing. For many of us, one of the rit­u­als asso­ci­ated with spring is fir­ing up the grill for the first char­coal grilled burger of the sea­son. But for those of us that can’t wait, a home­made burger cooked indoors is the next best thing, and if you are cook­ing indoors, a veg­gie burger is a nice change of pace; even if you are not veg­e­tar­ian or vegan, going meat­less for a din­ner now and then is a deli­cious and healthy option, and a fab­u­lous meat­less burger cooked to per­fec­tion indoors, and served on a toasted bun with all your favourite fixin’s will make you for­get all about this wet blan­ket of a sea­son. Continue »



Oil 101: Olive

 

Olive oil has been used through­out the world for thou­sands of years. The olive tree itself is native to Mediterranean, and early peo­ples gath­ered wild olives as early as the 6,000 B.C; the cul­ti­va­tion of the olive tree is thought to have orig­i­nated in Crete some­time around 2,500 B.C, and arche­o­log­i­cal evi­dence sug­gests that olive oil has been around for eons before that, prized by the ancient civ­i­liza­tions of Syria and Egypt. Continue »