Based on the hit Food Network show of the same name, Lynn Crawford dedicates her first book to the farmers, growers, fishermen and ranchers she met during “the road trip of a lifetime”. This lovely, heartfelt collection of over one hundred recipes documents the adventures Chef Lynn experienced and the dinners she prepared for her hosts. It is a great read for anyone who is interested in establishing connections with their food and understanding the relationships between its provenance and its preparation.

“Whether you are trying to connect to a person, place, thing or idea, you have to experience it directly,” Chef Lynn writes in her introduction. “You have to ‘walk a mile in their shoes’.”

For those of us unwilling to don the hip-waders and venture into frigid oceans, or prefer our turkeys succulent to truculent, opening this book is the next best thing to actually pitchin’ in.

Full-page colour photographs document the journey from sea, ranch or farm to the dinner table, and seldom has the journey been recorded with such grace and empathy. From Freeport, Nova Scotia to Siler City, North Carolina, Chef Lynn journeys across North America looking for the best ingredients she can find. And the recipes themselves, from the simplicity of avocado frites to Mac’N” Cheese with Wild Boar– are as intriguing as they are delicious.

“I also want to connect with people, whether its friends and family or guests at my restaurant,” continues Chef Lynn. “To my mind, nothing is as intimate or visceral as the gift of food prepared with passion and thought. It touches all the senses while evoking a warmth and connection for both the giver and the receiver.”
All noble sentiments, but at the end of the day, you still want a cookbook that is accessible and makes you want to cook, and this one is just that.
You might say the proof is in the vanilla rice pudding, which you can find on page 222.

Prosciutto is not your average ham. Dry-cured and served sliced paper thin, prosciutto crudo takes anywhere from 9 months to two years to prepare. This is not a ham that you will be studding with cloves and decorating with pineapple rings and cherries, but an elegant, traditional Italian delicacy that is most often served cold, as antipasto, often with fresh fruit such as melons and cantaloupes, or wrapped around breadsticks (grissini).

Prosciutto is also awesome on thin crust pizzas and a mainstay in traditional Tuscan cuisine, served with tagliatelle and vegetables, or simple cream sauces.

In Italy, where the production of prosciutto has stringent guidelines, there are two major types: Prosciutto di Parma is famous for its rosy colour and delicate, almost nutty flavour, a result of the parmigiano reggiano that goes into the pig’s diet, and the prosciutto di San Daniele, characterized by a deeper colour and slightly sweeter taste.

To prepare prosciutto, the boar or pig’s leg is cleaned and covered with salt and left alone for about eight weeks. During these months the ham is gently weighted-sometimes buried– to compress the meat and remove all the blood. After pressing the ham is thoroughly washed to remove the salt, and left to hang in a cool room until thoroughly dry. Once totally dry, the leg is hung again, this time at room temperature, for up to a year and a half.

This is obviously a labour of love, the process not having changed for hundreds of years.

Prosciutto can be found sliced thin and vacuum packed at most supermarkets, but nothing matches the real thing, freshly sliced from a leg that has been hanging around for a couple years for this moment.

Rob Gentile, Buca

Local chefs have been trotting out their homemade charcuterie in recent years, and “house made” prosciutto is becoming a hot commodity. If you want to sample some local prosciutto, prepared by some of Toronto’s best chefs, among them Mark Cutrara, Ted Corrado, Rob Gentile and Fabio Bondi, they will be slicing up their own prosciutto for you to try.

Drop by the Drake Hotel on Monday, January 30th at 7pm for “Battle Prosciutto”, taste them all and determine your favorite. It’s free and open to everyone.

Sean Brady and Bruce Green own and operate Kolapore Springs Fish Hatchery near Collingwood, Ontario, an all-natural, sustainable organic hatchery that, since 2009 has been producing some of the best trout you can find anywhere. In fact their trout is so good it is sold at many of the best fishmongers, at the finest restaurants, and was featured at The David Suzuki Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Legacy Gala, prepared by Susur Lee.

One of the factors that makes this trout stand out is the natural water source, two streams that run just under the forest floor and join about 500 metres uphill of the farm. As the streams runs toward the ponds, they collect a vast array of enzyme rich microorganisms and tiny shrimp that add to the vibrant colour and quality of the fish. In many large scale (!) fish farms, these enzymes are produced artificially and are added to the feed. At Kolapore, the fish population is controlled, the feed is all natural and supplemented by the freshwater shrimp, mayflies, minnows and mosquitoes in the ecosystem, and the water is constantly moving.

The forest streams at Kolapore are also considerably colder than most commercial fish farms, averaging around 7 degrees C, resulting in a healthier, firmer fleshed animal. The gravity driven water, flowing at a rate of about 400 gallons per minute, is only a few degrees warmer flowing out of the ponds than into them.

Trout ‘s natural flavour can be easily overpowered and ruined by overcooking, often resulting in a dry, tasteless fish, so whether you poach it, grill it or bake it, handle it gently and go easy with the bells and whistles and allow its delicate flavour to come through. Remember, cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish, not the weight. Your trout will be at its best when its flesh is opaque and flakes easily. Here’s a great idea for smoked trout. If baking or grilling, tiny beads of moisture will collect on its flesh. Whether you select Rainbow, Speckled, Brown or Tiger Trout, you’ll want to do it justice.

Located in Bruce Grey County, just outside the tiny hamlet of Ayton, Ontario you can find one of the oldest organic farms in Canada, Filsinger’s Organic Foods. Founded by Alvin Filsinger in 1953, this farm has stayed true to its roots over the years and has become world renown; Filsinger himself was honoured with the Lifetime Organic Hero Award in 2004 by the Canada Organic Grower’s Association, and his methodologies are studied at McGill University, The Australia Soil and Health Association as well as academic institutions around the world.

Now in the caring hands of Debbie Backer and her sons Sean, Cory and her nephew Brandon Weber, this family is passionate about keeping things real, organic and healthy.

Deb worked on the farm from 1985–1990 and became a big advocate of Filsinger’s philosophy, leaping at the opportunity to purchase the property in 2006. Since that time, she has added 1,600 apple trees to the 3,000 already there, as well as currants, pears, rhubarb and numerous other vegetables.

The Farm is certified organic by OCIA International; the soil is treated with seaweed extracts, minerals and compost, everything grown without the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides. The practices utilized on the farm are proof that it is possible to be sustainable, organic, healthy for the workers, the land and the consumers, and profitable. And the product itself is second to none.

Filsinger’s organic pear puree is made from tree-ripened pears grown on their farm, no sugar added, and perfect as a spread or a sauce with pork, duck or poultry. Similar care goes into the apple cider vinegar and the unpasteurized and additive free apple butters and applesauce.

The sweet apple cider, fresh-pressed on the farm, is made with a variety of apples and devoid of preservatives or additives, bottled unfiltered. Served chilled or hot, at skating rinks or in après ski cocktails and toddies, apple cider is a Canadian classic. With the recent proliferation of “brown liquor” cocktails, a hot mulled Apple Jack is both classic and hipster chic.

For the last four years, Filsinger Farms has been holding an Apple Blossom Festival in late May, usually the weekend after Victoria Day, and plans are well underway for the fifth annual festival which features a tour of the farm, pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and craft fairs. If nothing else, the sight of thousands of apple trees in full fragrant blossom certainly sounds worth the trip. In the meantime, you might want to try a Hot Apple Jack.  After all, spring is still a few months away!

Hot Mulled Cider Recipe

makes 8 cups

INGREDIENTS

1/2 gallon of apple cider

1 orange

15 cloves

4 3-inch sticks of cinnamon

15 allspice berries

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

7 pods of cardamom

METHOD

1 Pour apple cider into a 3-quart saucepan, cover, turn the heat on medium-high. Quarter the orange and add to the cider with the rest of the ingredients. Heat the mulled cider mixture to a simmer. Cover, then reduce heat to low, simmering for 15–20 minutes. Strain, discarding solids.

Makes 8 cups.

Hot Apple Jack

–1 ounce Jack Daniels

- mug of hot mulled cider

–garnish with cinnamon stir stick

more information about the Apple Blossom Festival can be obtained at

info@filsingerorganic.com