Eat Alberta 2013: year three. It was my baby. Each of us on the board has had a hand in shaping the character of this concept and this day. But, this year was different for me. I didn’t do the program which has been my raison d’etre. I didn’t chair the event, though it was by choice. However, it was not easy to step back. It is still not easy. As with all babies, they grow. And, this baby is no longer mine. It is ours. For that, I am so proud. We are so proud. Thank you, Sharon, Mack, Sue, Ming, Allan and Pragati. Each perspective and skill set brought to the Eat Alberta table has taught me a great deal and has enabled us to build this strong foundation based upon the principles that each of us so fervently believes about our city, our province, our food, culture and heritage.

We believe that this is important work. By “this”, I mean the tasting of our terrior, re-engaging with the cooking-from-scratch experience, preserving our food, making our own charcuterie and bread, revisiting the heritage recipes of our locale and understanding the importance of knowing our farmers and producers. Each of you has demonstrated that our time has been well spent through your support of this event the past three years. We sold out in less that a week.

Where do we go from here? That is the new question. And times have changed within these three short years. These concepts were once novel, and now almost mainstream which simplifies and complicates that question all at once. Where do we go from here?

John Schneider is a local ancient grains and wheat farmer who works hard to provide the quality of wheat, barley, oats and grains he sells every week at the market. A great speaker, too. He is passionate about our Alberta, its land, soil health and the work he does. People rave about his pancake mix. I love his flour and oats and barley. The morning started with the mighty Jeff Senger offering up the keynote address by telling his story. Sitting on the edge of our seats, thoroughly entertained, we all left in awe of this man and his family who walk their talk, each of us now completely committed to knowing our farmer. (Missed photos of Jeff and the incredible breakfast NAIT provided all participants: a down side of being on the planning team.)

Miss Jennifer Crosby was our lovely Mistress of Ceremonies for the day, and is honing her knife skills under the learned eye of the hilarious Kevin Kent, from Knifewear, in Calgary, below. Special thanks to Don House, and the Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance team for sponsoring our event this year. This is an expensive undertaking, yet our goal is to keep it affordable. To be sustainable and affordable is the ultimate goal, so we hope to see our relationships grow with other link-minded organizations.

Pyrogies are a part of Northern Alberta’s cultural heritage. Chef David Omar from Zinc came prepared with much more than we were ready for, but our volunteers seemlessly moved in and helped out. Joveena, below, one of our dearly loved Senior Volunteers, with Little Miss Andrea et el, still grinning after peeling, boiling and ricing about 10 kilograms of potatoes for the filling. Participants were full of good will, teasing one another shamelessly, as they worked to hone their pyrogy making technique.

Miss Johwanna from Mojojo’s Pickles shared her traditional Alberta prairie preservation techniques, and then instinctively invited participants to play with the flavour profiles, thus each pickle jar was prepared to the individual palate of each participant: who knew that such a simple idea can lead to such a flavour filled adventure?

 Without the wonderful opportunity that NAIT had afforded us through the use of these wonderful kitchens, Eat Alberta would not have survived.

I heard excitement rise from murmur to a whispered mantra: Nevin, Nevin! I admit, this young man exudes as much warmth and charm as his food. Apparently, having Nevin teach how to butcher a chicken was a crowd pleaser! He and his wife, Kara, own Drift, Edmonton’s food truck with the largest cult following in the city. His class on chicken butchery was a huge hit. For many, this was the first time they had ever cut up a chicken.

Chef Alan Roote taught ricotta making this year. His mozzarella making class at Eat Alberta 2012 changed my life. I couldn’t take it as an organizer, but after Deb attended his session last year, she taught me. Shortly thereafter, Cheesepalooza was born. Look at the cheesy smiles here? Who doesn’t love making cheese? Once again, magic in this kitchen. Over and over, I heard, “I had no idea that it was this easy to make ricotta.” and “I have never tasted ricotta this good in my life!”.

Pastry Chef Tracy Zizek, part owner of her well loved local restaurant, Cafe de Ville, taught Saskatoon pie making. Homemade pastry making is a dying art, yet such an integral skill from the past woven into our culinary prairie tapestry. She focused on the relearning of this skill and participants proudly displayed their aromatic baked wares on the way out the door at the end of the day. There is nothing more traditional in Alberta than a homemade Saskatoon berry pie.

Everyone loved Owen so much last year, and his classes were just too full to accommodate all who wanted to learn from him, that we brought him back this year! He did not disappoint. Everyone that took his class was thrilled to take home a glass jar of starter, and their dough to age before baking and enjoying in the morning. Baking bread. There is nothing more basic. When I was young, it was considered a basic skill. As basic as reading, writing and arithmetic. Seriously. At 12 years old, for three years, and again the first year of high school, in grade 10, all girls (yes, only girls), had to take home economics. Learning these essential cultural culinary traditions was that important. And, after four years of the classes, I maybe didn’t learn how to cook and bake well, but I did learn the value of it. I learned to love the process. I was motivated to continue on my own. We have let our children down in our public school systems. Preparing food is an essential life skill: for all. Where else where our youth learn to do this? Unwrapping and zapping is not good for the environment, our bodies, the healthcare system…

Love to see note taking. Robert Rogers engaged the crowds with his vast information on edible wild plants. Taking a walk with him is such a great way to spend an afternoon in any season.

Chef Cindy Lazarenko presented a red meat blind tasting: Bison, Beer and Elk. There was a roast and a ground meat tasting of each. Oooooh, my. Chef Allan Suddaby had prepared the whole meat roasts for her in advance in the SousVide fashion. Even Cindy was in awe of the texture and flavour of each of these meats. She had prepared the three ground meats into meatballs. These were equally as informative to the palate. The texture and flavours of each were unexpected. I head how worthwhile this tasting was for many. I am a tasting fanatic. There is nothing like a side by side taste comparison to teach one about flavour, texture, quality and one’s own personal palate. Neil Herbst from Alle 2y Kat led the beer tasting, but I didn’t get a shot of him.

Third year in a row, but only one class this year, our own Chef Allan Suddaby taught sausage making again. There is no other like him. If you want to learn how to make sausage, Allan Suddaby is your guy.

Chef Chad Moss’s class was a first for Eat Alberta: make your own bacon. He did a tasting and won over the crowd with that. “I can taste the chemicals in this one.” Participants ranted as they compared the tastes of homemade bacon to those that are mass produced. Small shops in the city will even smoke your cured slabs for you, for a nominal fee. I get mine done at the Budapest Deli. Irving’s Farm’s beautiful Berkshire Boar pork belly was on centre stage in this class. Making your own food with meat you buy at the supermarket can take you down the wrong path. Know your farmer, remember?

Elaine Wilson, the most energetic, positive and passionate home chef I have ever met, now with her own new spice blends, says the above is the best Vegan Mayo one can find. Elaine’s “Food You Can Cook” products are well worth exploring: all exotic aromas can be sniffed at City Market downtown every Saturday. She took our participants on a taste adventure and built confidence in each person in front of my eyes as the plethora of ingredients she brought with her were mixed, blended, tasted and tested throughout the class. More than one unique dressing was discovered by each person and all were in awe of how truly simple it actually is to dress one’s own salad.

Lunch time already? Each participant has actively engaged in two full classes after the key note. NAIT students prepared another lovely soup and make your own sandwich lunch. Loved the soup this year. I am a soup fiend.

Two more sessions followed lunch and all gathered together once more for a series of Lightening Talks this year: where else can one engage in similar experiences through the remainder of the year? We even got our own bag of red worms to take home and use for our urban compost!

Martin Osis was a popular speaker about local mushroom foraging and wrapped up the day with his 2 minutes on where to join up with the Mycological Society throughout the year. And while this was happening, the volunteers were plating the Famous Eat Alberta Tasting Boards, this year conceived and prepared by Chef Allan Suddaby.

This year the tastes were:

• Corned Beef: Sangudo beef brisket, homemade carawaysauerkraut.
• Smoked Pork Loin: Irvings Berkshire pork loin, rhubarb onion jam
• Evans Cherry Pâte de Fruit Gelée
  
• Sylvan Star Grizzly Aged Gouda
• Wheat and Bean Salad: Gold Forest Grains wheat berries, Alberta pinto beans, herbs
• Carrot Slaw.: Yogurt mustard dressing

 Allan has promised to share the recipes. Keep hounding me and I will keep hounding him. Each was sublime. What a better way to end the day? Sipping local fruit wines, chatting with new friends, and tasting our own terrior. There is nothing like it: Eat Alberta. Don’t miss it, next year.

Where do we go from here?

Other recaps of the day:

• Sweetest Crumb
• Only Here for the Food
• Parkallen Home Kitchen
• Podcast by Mack and Cheese

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 Oh, what a night it was, it really was! Let’s do the Math: Connie and John (aka CharCut Roast House) + Tourism Calgary =  A Hootin’ and Howlin’ best vittles and vials in town Good Time! Two past Calgary Top Chef Challenge Contestants and the three that participated in Season Three this year, all stand strong, below, after just judging a great mixology competition that opened Monday’s event.

Adorable “food on your shirt” T-shirts designed by Calgary’s own foodcentric designer: Pierre Lamielle. (we each got one to take home, too!)

Karlynn accompanied me and we entered a bit early: the room already teeming with that palpable vibe of the beginning of Summer… and a great evening about to unfold. Massive boards laden with a variety of house-made charcuterie and preserves positioned themselves prominently throughout the room. Servers frequented the floor with icy platters of frothy beer and cold cocktails. Hello? Was there any desire left unquenched?

Imported mortadella is nothing like that of Bologna, the mortadella capital. Nothing. Vanja and I feasted on the whisper-thin slices of it there alongside copious arrays of charcuterie a couple of seasons ago. Then we ate Connie’s: hand-made with pistachios, truffles, and only the best of ingredients, cured in a pig head; as you rest it on your tongue, it melts into an unctuous concoction of addictive savoury savvy-ness.

 The shrimp gezpacho was served upon arrival and refreshed my palate. There is something to be said about leaving one wanting. It was just a little… just enough… but, the light bright dance of the season was awakened and my palate was leading the way. 

 I have had CharCut’s brioche before. It is an unforgettable puff of butter-breath. Tonight, served with freshly pickled Edgar’s Asparagus: lemon thyme, and the best cheese fondu I have ever dunked, dipped and dabbled in. How can a cheese fondu be so rich and cheesy, yet light, at the same time? I found myself going back for more too many times trying to figure out how they mastered that combination. And with the crisp delicate lemon thyme pickles? Divine bliss.

 I was alone in the room with that asparagus and cheese more than once and would warp back to the party when spoken to. Whatever was said, my first response was, “You must try the asparagus!” I was interrupting conversations: “Have you tried the asparagus? Dip it into that cheese sauce for an unforgettable taste experience.”

 Karlynn enjoyed a “Ginlett”.

 I meant to try the potted lake trout. The bee pollen rubbed and dry-cured bar sticks caught my eye, too. This is my kind of candy. Seriously, another must have if you stop by for a drink. And the Brassica grainy mustard made right in Calgary, served in the mini-cast iron pans is the perfect condiment to compliment the cured meats.

 Karlynn and I bought a big jar of the mustard at Janice Beaton’s (both hubbies love it) and have ordered the frying pans. Can never have too much of a good thing. Like Dan, from Dan’s Good Side, Host for the evening and a vital part of the warmth that exuded throughout the space.

 I knew there would be a surprise. I got wind of it early on, but everyone was tight lipped. Halfway through the viewing of the show (which, sadly, could not really be heard) the announcement was made! The finale will be in Calgary. Kudos to Calgary Tourism for Making this Happen. One thing I learned long ago, wishing and hoping and yearing and willing don’t work well. Hard work does. Calgary Tourism clearly has it going on as they were able to not only have the finale happen in Calgary, but able to make it happen and keep it all under wraps until now. What a coup for Alberta and for Calgary.

The words: “It’s about time!” Flashed across my inner peripheral vision. “Hello, Toronto and Ontario. Hello, Canadian TV. Hello, Food Network Canada! Another aspect of Canadian food culture is alive and thriving on the Alberta Prairies, yet to be showcased across our great nation.”

Hope I have tickled and teased your palate with these photos. Thanks, Tourism Calgary for the invitation. Go, Nicole!

TOP CHEF CANADA SEASON THREE FINALE HEADS WEST: Finale Airs June 10 at 9pm ET/10pm PT

Food Network Canada and Insight Production Company Ltd. in partnership with Tourism Calgary are bringing the season finale of Top Chef Canada to new territory for the first time in the series’ history. As the backdrop to the third season finale of Canada’s fiercest food fight, Calgary is a young, edgy city home to over one million people and growing faster than any other in North America. Calgary is also a new culinary hotbed in Canada with renegade chefs in impressive restaurant and food truck kitchens, making it the ideal setting for the cutthroat culinary competition.

The season finale will showcase some of Calgary’s landmarks such as Prince’s Island Park on the river in the heart of the city. Here, the Quickfire Challenge tasks the chefs with creating and executing their very own food truck concept. The Elimination Challenge takes place in Rush Restaurant and Bar in the city’s downtown business district where the chefs must each prepare a stellar five-course meal that best reflects their talents. Special guest judge for the Elimination Challenge is the culinary queen of Calgary and Top Chef Canada season 1 finalist Connie DeSousa, co-executive chef and co-owner of CHARCUT Roast House. Joining Connie as guest tasters for the challenge are JUNO Award winning Singer/Songwriter and proud Calgarian Jann Arden and Rush Restaurant owner Lance Hurtubise President of the Vintage Group.
After an intense nine weeks of gruelling competition in the kitchen, only six of the initial 16 chefs are left standing:

• Nicole Gomes, 34, Calgary, AB (Originally Richmond, BC)
• Jonathan Goodyear, 34, Toronto, ON
• Geoff Rogers, 31, Calgary, AB
• Danny “Smiles” Francis, 27, Montreal, QC
• Matthew Stowe, 30, Vancouver, BC (Originally Cloverdale, BC)
• Dennis Tay, 34, Toronto, ON (Originally Windsor, ON)

At stake for these victory-hungry chefs is the grand prize of $100,000 sponsored by SpongeTowels® paper towels, a GE Monogram kitchen worth $30,000, a custom installation by Caesarstone Quartz Surfaces worth $25,000 and the title of Canada’s Top Chef.

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Evelyne at Cheap Ethnic Eatz in Montreal, Quebec created this sensational Camembert! Look at that gorgeous rind!

Nic at Nic Cooks from Australia made a different mold ripened cheese for the challenge. Though it looks like her rind may have slipped a bit, her paste appears to be fresh and buttery.

Larry at La Bonne Vie from Edmonton, Alberta made a brie. To find out what is growing on it, go and read his post!

Ntala at Crazy Mare Ranch from Barrhead, Alberta also made a brie. This is it at three weeks. Wait till you see it with a bit of mango chutney on top.

And, again, the American Brie that Addie and I made.

The round up is late, as I was hoping for more to join in. Kudos to those that did! A washed rind cheese is next, followed by our last specific recipe challenge in June. July will be the final Cheesepalooza Challenge this year, so I hope those of you that have fallen by the wayside gear up for these last few. What would be the worst that could happen? You could make something inedible and learn a lot. How can that be bad?

Let’s Make Cheese!

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Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Potatoes: so Canadian, eh?

After the Blog Altering Canadian Food Blogger’s Conference in April, where I clearly heard the Call to Action to identify our Canadian Voice, I have begun. I am issuing a challenge to all Canadian Food Bloggers to post a unique Canadian Food Experience on the 7th day of every month.

What is a Canadian Food Experience? I believe there are three categories, and each would be specifically about identifying:

• a very specific Canadian food “only in Canada” such as: Lunenburg Pudding, Poutine, Maple Syrup, Saskatoon berries, wild rice, red fife wheat, the nodding onion, the Tamworth pig, etc…
• a very specific Canadian food tradition “only in Canada” such as how your family has celebrated Easter, or what are the traditional Christmas foods in your region
• a Canadian Food Hero (in your personal opinion): this may be a farmer, a producer, a food advocate or someone in your region that is clearly working to preserve the heritage of Canadian regional food

These posts would include a recipe where ever possible, but one is not essential for the challenge.

How do I register to participate in The Canadian Food Experience Project?

Please send to valerie AT acanadianfoodie DOT com:

• your first name
• your website name
• website link
• city and province where you are from
• if you don’t have a website, you can participate through our facebook page (I will send you the link when you register); just reply to this post

Participants are listed here.

What is required to participate in The Canadian Food Experience Project?

Each participant would publish a post:

• on the 7th of each month
• addressing the monthly challenge theme
• please send me (again, each month) the following for the recap of all participating posts that I will publish on the 15th of each month:
  • your first name
  • your website name
  • website POST link
  • city and province where you are from
  • photo to accompany your link 900 pixels wide

Monthly Challenges  for The Canadian Food Experience Project

To provide a cohesive experience for our readers, I have identified themes for each month, as follows and will issue and write about each challenge on the 7th of every month. It would be my hope that each participant would do the same.

• June 2013: My First Authentic Canadian Food Memory
• July 2013: A Regional Canadian Food: (identify your region)
• August 2013: A Canadian Food Hero in (identify your region)
• September 2013: My Cherished Canadian Recipe
• October 2013: Preserving: Our Canadian Food Tradition
• November 2013: The Canadian Harvest in (identify your region)
• December 2013: A Canadian Christmas: A (identify your region) Tradition
• January 2014: A Canadian Resolution
• February 2014: My Canadian Love Affair
• March 2014: Another Regional Canadian Food: (identify your region)
• April 2014: A Canadian Farmer or Producer
• May 2014: The Canadian Garden
• June 2014: Identifying My Canadian Voice

I am really hoping that everyone at the Food Blogger’s of Canada Conference, and more, join this Challenge as we explore the vastness of our landscape and our Canadian experience together, once a month, throughout the following year as we work to more clearly define and identify our Canadian Voice.

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May I introduce you to Adyta Raghaven, our resident Cheesepalooza Dr. of Physics (true) and my kitchen partner in most of my cheese making adventures. He has kindly accepted my invitation to write about his experience with washed rind cheeses as he has experimented with this for quite some time now. I have not been able to make a washed rind cheese, yet, due to the intensity of my schedule these past few months. I am very grateful that Addie has agreed to share his vast, and I do mean vast, expertise on this subject. Most readers from Edmonton will know that Addie has a love of beer. All beers. All colours. All shapes. All sizes. He doesn’t drink to excess, but to access, and he definitely knows his beer. I have tasted an earlier washed rind cheese Addie had scented with beer, and enjoyed it. I detest beer. I have never had even a sip. The aroma is that off putting to me. Odd duck. But, that cheese was complex and compelling. So, drum roll, please: take it away, Addie! (Photo below is a photo of Addie making a different cheese.)

Castra Cheese: Ale-washed sage IPA cheese

I remember thinking way back in August last year that once I honed a few skills, I was going to end up making an interesting beer-related cheese.  I have an obvious love for beer and an even more obvious love for cheese, so this union was bound to take place.

Now, I remember Ian telling me that he made a Guinness washed-rind cheese and I found that a fascinating take on the original Trappist-style washed rind cheeses where Belgium ales are used.  A beer lover will quickly note that Guinness is and Belgium-style ales are nearly diametrically opposite in beer styles, so I would love to give a stout-washed cheese a go!

I decided to be less adventurous on that front and went with Hopworks’ IPX Cascade Single Hop beer. It’s a double IPA but uses only one type of hop varietal, namely Cascade.  IPAs are ales so are much closer to Belgian ales in that sense, but Northwest IPAs (like this one) use a different type of yeast in fermentation.  Belgian ales will give some fruity notes, in case you want to stick with the original recipe.

Photo above: 4L milk and 1 big bottle of beer. While you only need 12 oz of beer, with the big bottle you can drink a glass while making the cheese! Photo below, left: Citra hops pellets that I found in a beer store in Arizona. Photo below, right: Steeping citra hops “tea” with sage leaves and got the temperature up to 165°F.

To add a dimension to this, I got crazy and decided to make a “tea” out of some hop pellets I happened to have. The hop pellets were of the Citra hop varietal.  This tea steeped at about 165°F for half hour with sage leaves to give it a nice strong flavor. I kept the tea hot and used it in place of hot water to wash the curds.  After seeing the results, I definitely will not make a hop-pellet tea. The cheese ended up being a bit too bitter.  By the way, that’s where the name comes from: Cascade + Citra = Castra.

The recipe asks for generous pressing time, so I pressed cheese with a full 10lb weight for 10 hours or so

I can’t wait to try this recipe again. I might go with a bold stout and might replace the citra “tea” with a well-steeped Pu-erh tea.  This will depart a bit of a woody and smoky aroma to the cheese.  I enjoyed being innovative in this recipe and definitely recommend it since it is extremely rewarding.

The first 12 hour soak of the cheese in beer is below.

I stayed close to the Ale Washed Trappist Cheese recipe in Mary Karlin’s book, but there were some stark differences, which I list below. I used:

• finely chopped fresh sage leaves instead of coriander seed
  
• freshly chopped orange peel instead of granulated orange peel: BIG MISTAKE. Do not do this as the fresh orange peel goes stale and gives a bit of an off taste after six weeks when you cut into the cheese.  This is also true for fresh sage leaves: add dry leaves instead (which I already had, but was trying to use fresh ingredients = #MassiveFail)
• a 10lb instead of 8lb press, mainly because the beer-soaking stage might not work well if the pressed curds are crumbly
• Hopworks IPX Cascade Single Hop DIPA beer instead of a Belgian ale
• citra hops “tea” was at 165F instead of using hot water at 175°F
• a vacuum seal after a few days of ripening to vacuum pack the cheese
  

 After two rounds of beer soaking and drying, the rind was beautiful.

Tasting notes (after six weeks):

Appearance: Beautiful brown rind, which is a direct consequence of the beer soaking, steps. The color gets better after it dries out and continues to get darker. The paste is lovely and white.

Nose: The rind mostly smells of beer and in this case hops as well. However, the aroma kicks in more drastically when you cut into the cheese and smell the actual cheese. Very gentle tangy-dairy odor.

Sweet to Salt: On the sweeter side since it is only mildly acidic, so salt doesn’t play a prominent role.

Mild to Pungent: Unfortunately, the cheese was very bitter because I flew too close to the Sun on wings of hops. Should have put less hops, or diluted the tea more before adding it.

Mouth Feel: The texture of this cheese is really the best component. Very smooth texture, which melts in your mouth after two bites. The paste is quite soft and would have probably firmed up in 2-3 months.

Lovely paste and a cute small cheese to share with friends. I highly recommend making this one!

Standing Ovation, Addie! Thank you so very much. What creativity!

If you are a little intimidated by the Science, think “play with your food”. That is what Addie does... read Mary Karlin’s recipe in Chapter 4 for this cheese and then re-read Addie’s suggestions if you love beer as much as he does. Or, as he suggests, just follow the original recipe. We do not print the recipes from Mary’s book.

The Task for our tenth Cheesepalooza Challenge: Ale Washed Trappist Cheese or Any Washed Rind Cheese

If you have made it before, we challenge you to please do it again, “Mary’s way”, link to your other washed rind making experiences, debriefing them all. Let us know what you think. Which recipe works best for your palate and your locality: Mary’s or the other ones you have used?

You will learn a new technique with this recipe which is obvious: washing the rind. Making the curd is easy. Washing the rind, then drying and aging the cheese is the feat with this one.

IMPT: You will need to decide which washed rind cheese to start with that best matches your palate. You may want to do a little research to determine what is actually possible. There are a lot of ideas that I discovered.

Optional Recipes to add value to your ninth month (only if you choose):

There are a few other washed rind recipes in Chapter three we suggest you explore and share through the month, if you want to make more than the Ale Washed Trappist Cheese:

• Reblochon
• Taleggio
• Cabra Al Vino
• Lemon Vodka Spirited Goat
• Epoisser
• Moibier
• Port Saut
• Dessert Sun Pave
• Washed Rind Teleme-Style

Please include simple Tasting Notes at the bottom of each post (later, after you taste your cheese) so we can have a frame of reference to understand your cheese a bit better:

Tasting Notes:

• Appearance:
• Nose (aroma):
• Overall Taste:
• Sweet to Salty:
• Mild (mellow) to Robust to Pungent (stinky):
• Mouth Feel: (gritty, sandy, chewy, greasy, gummy, etc.):

Let the fun begin!

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Dana McCauley’s Call to Action during our last session at the Food Bloggers of Canada conference was the crescendo of the entire experience for me. “Oh, Canada!” Mardi Michels, Melissa Hartfiel, and Ethan Adeland guided 80 Canadian Food Bloggers through an historic portal that was a phenomenal ground breaking Canadian Food Blogging moment. When Dana added the FBC2013 conference to the timeline she had developed chronicling the change in food writing through technology from 1995 to the present, shivers went down my spine.

This is it! We have joined hands from coast to coast, united through our love for food and storytelling, to identify our Canadian voice within the world through our food stories. The work that was undertaken by the Food Bloggers of Canada Team resulted in an event that surpassed any possible frame of reference on my part. I was edified spiritually, emotionally, intellectually… and physically? Oooo, baby. Not sure that would be called edification. Maybe satia-ti-fication or satura-ti-fication or stuffified? I still have that glassy eyed glazed gaze when recalling the food prepared by the Hockley Resort Kitchen.

Food Bloggers of Canada was conceived by the three at the helm of the organization around a table at Canteen in Toronto in May of 2011. All three are food bloggers: Melissa Harfiel, a website designer; Mardi Michels, a French Teacher to elementary school aged boys, and Ethan Aleland in sports retail and management. But, that doesn’t begin to describe the level of expertise and skill these three brought to the table, or the synergy that has evolved through their work together. Synergy for them, then; efficacy for us, now.

So what is it that makes Canadian Food Bloggers unique? What do we bring to the collective table that is undeniably Canadian? Why is it so difficult for us, as Canadians, to get a handle on the uniqueness of our own culture? The vastness of the Canadian landscape contributes to this conundrum, yet other countries are as vast and present a clear cultural front to the world. And Canadian food. What is it, really? That would be an important bit of information for a Canadian food blogger to consider.

1. Community

Off the plane from Edmonton, dragging my bag through the public entry at Pearson, two familiar cyber-faces waiting, waving and welcoming. Only in Canada, I say. Andrea (Baking in Saskatoon) and Bridget (Crosby’s Molasses) were my secret weekend treasures. Connecting with these gals, with whom I had met via the private FBC attendee Facebook page, grounded me.

The long farm style tables invited communal conversation and within the early morning hour, the breakfast room at Cabin in Hockley Valley was aglow with a like-minded generosity of spirit and sense of unabashed candor that is rare. Only in Canada, I say. I connected with Julie (Sober Julie), as I am sure many do. She puts herself out there. I met Helene (Super Kitchen Machine), in her true protein form, after years of a cyber relationship through our love of the Thermomix machine. We chewed on more than Canadian grains at this morning meal.

I got to hug Helene (La Cuisine d’Helene), Renee (Sweet Sugar Bean), Isabel (Crumb), and Heather (The Tasty Gardener) , and many more. While one might hug other food writers and bloggers at other conferences, this was different. There was an understanding of the importance of this connection.

The sense of community developed through the Food Bloggers of Canada hub, this conference, and through the relationships that will thrive, is only the beginning. It is our rare Canadian warmth that does set up apart. We are accepting. We collaborate more than we compete. I love that about being a Canadian. We work to grow together, not independent of one another, but interdependently. Only in Canada, I say.

2. Humility

Each presenter on every panel gave their all to each of us without guile or pretension.

David Leite was hilarious, endearing, authentic, refreshingly intelligent and a lover of the English language. I am his new number one fan. The cadence of his words and steady rhythm of his intent amid the peppering of clever quips had me bedazzled. As a teacher of English Literature for, oh… 30 years, hearing how he agonizes over every word he writes found me as charmed as a snake by a pungi: cobra hair, and all. He lit me on fieye-ere! Rarin’ to go. To read. To write. To create. To literate. As our only American guest, I am curious about his Canadian experience. Did he sense our unique identity? He certainly emulated the essence of our Canadian humility.

I was deeply touched by Emily Richardson’s unabashed sharing of her cookbook publishing experiences. She goes onto my Valiant Women List. It is usually saved for the closest of friends, but her heart rendering story took incredible intestinal fortitude to live through and a vulnerable courage to share. She epitomized our Canadian humility in its purist form as well as our hallmark perseverance.

Every panel was remarkably astute. I connected with at least one person from each, and the offer to extend the learning personally was unexpected, yet so sincere. I have so much to learn, and through the humble offering of each of these profoundly talented individuals, I will thrive. The following list, once meaningless, is now the placeholder for so much meaning.

• Bloggers and Brands
• Making Dough
• Publishing
• Recipe Development 101
• Food Photography and Styling
• Bookkeeping for Canadian bloggers
• Future Trends in Canadian food blogging

Of course, our humility is also a curse. We do not stand up and brag about our accomplishments. That is not polite. We do not sell ourselves well. That is simply boorish. It is culturally difficult for a Canadian to step up, speak up, and spread it all out there for the world to see. Though we are fiercely proud of who we are and what we represent, we are not very comfortable with getting in anyone else’s face about it.

3. Accessibility

And the sessions began. The consummate learner, I sat in the centre of the room, soon to be surrounded by a table of Canadian food heroes: Dana McCauley, Diane Jacob, Charmian Christie, Lucy Waverman, and Mairlyn Smith. Helene and Bridget sat with us, too. Now that is accessibility. The comradery around the table was warm and familiar. It is true that we were all over 40, of that I can be sure. There is a universal understanding amongst women everywhere over 50, but this was more than that. It was about the cause. It was about the writing and the food: the Canadian food. Only in Canada, I say.

Diane Jacobs is a maven. A masterful maestro. What a privilege to listen. To her. I am reading Will Write for Food all over again. And, maybe once more, after that.

To meet Dana  in person was such a pleasure as she has contributed to my Food Trends post the past two years; I am a great admirer of her multi-faceted contribution to our Canadian food scene.

Mairlyn Smith, almost 60, she will remind you as she holds her leg straight up past her head, or does the splits on the carpet photographing her cookie, possesses an energizing bravado that draws people to her. Accessible? Yes, siree. She is right there and out there, all at once.

Lucy  only attended for the portion of the conference that she presented at which was truly unfortunate for her as well as us. After attending her compelling presentation, it was evident to me that she had much to learn about Canadian Food bloggers and our ability. It was equally apparent that we had so much more to learn from her. She was the exception. Not so accessible on this day, which was a shame, and not consistent with what I truly believe to be “so Canadian”.

4. Perseverance

I can tell you stories, but let’s just start with this conference. The very fact that it happened within our expansive landscape with such outrageous success is a testament to the perseverance of our three Food Blogging in Canada leaders. The fact that the conference sold out with flights to purchase, plans to make and family budgets to attend to provides evidence of sacrifice and single-mindedness. We are a tenacious group. Work ethic? Most Canadians live to work. We do not leave time to understand what “working to live”, even means.

Focused. Sometimes, too much. It can be hard to see the forest for the trees. But we love those trees.

If Canadian food bloggers decide to work together to determine what sets us apart from our international counterparts, there will be no looking back.

5. Tolerance

Accepting? You bet! First, may I say, that if I dare to judge you, I completely get it. The Golden Rule is not lost on us. We may not live in a country where state and church are united, but we live in a country where we have each worked hard to get where we are. We understand the value of hard work. We have endured misery and suffering. We understand the importance of community and unity and will be the first to offer a hand. We understand cultural differences. We live in a country that was settled by others and that has grown up through to an official multi-cultural identity. Ah, yes. We are tolerant because we have been faced with so many opportunities to understand.

We will also be the first to forgive. That is changing as we grow and shift through the ages, but we still are a forgiving lot.

Our tolerant attitude and forgiving nature could be partly why our Canadian food system is in the state it now is. Most of us, urban dwellers, two and three generations from life on the farm, have lost touch with that once familiar reality. Not living in the country distances us from that life, its stories and the reality that our modern day farmers and producers face. It is astonishing that we now have organizations like Food Secure Canada working relentlessly to secure a safe and sustainable food supply for our Canadian future.

6. Canadian Food Identity

My first trip to France I was jarred toward understanding how tightly woven the fabric of French culture is integrated with that of the British and translated though our life as we live it in various parts of Canada. I am a Westerner. Yet, so many aspects of French food culture are a part of our prairie family life. I have only traveled to Yellowknife in the North, but have an affinity for “all things Canadian” there. I am not sure I will ever eat Beaver Tail, but I value Northern heritage and the food culture that it brings to the forefront of understanding who I am as a Canadian. I am on a never-ending quest to eat, taste, partake-of and learn-to-make Aboriginal food. This is the first food of my great nation, and I have not yet sat with an aboriginal family and ate a heritage meal steeped in the varied cultures of our first people.

Certainly, Saskatoon berries, high bush cranberries, the mighty Great Plains Bison that feeds on natural fescus, the Great Northern Bean in its creamy buttery nutrient-rich splendor, artisan raised grass fed Alberta Beef (it’s our terrior) that evokes the very essence of one’s primordial being, the wild aromatic nodding onion, sweet earthy artisan honeys flavoured by the wild flowers of our land, an abundance of curd pressed and caressed cheeses made by small producers with fat raw milk from grass fed and sustainably milked dairy cows… And apples? Oh, my… the variety in flavour and texture and fragrance. More grow in our cold Winter climate than can be used. This is my Canada. Potatoes and tomatoes. Root vegetables still clinging to clumps of black delicious dirt, and Spring vegetables splaying clean crunchy vines, pods and shoots, mushrooms foraged at the foot of our forests, and true free range eggs from a farmer I know who doesn’t feed his layers soy. Now I am getting political, but this is my Canada.

And what one puts on the home dinner table does make a political statement.

I look forward to continue building our Canadian food identity through our collective Canadian Food Blog Writing, the relationships we have developed and those we will forge through this opportunity: our “Call to Action”. Our Canada! Let’s face forward to the world and unite in this quest to further the conversation about what is it is that is truly unique about us. Let’s identify our Canadian voice and sing together, from sea to sea, in perfect harmony!

“Only in Canada?” Oh, how proud I am to have been a part of it all. Thank you, Mardi, Melissa and Ethan for the depth of your insight, leadership and hard work, and to the 9 volunteers, 22 presenters, 25 sponsors and 80 food bloggers for coming together to be a catalyst for change.

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The American Style Brie that Addie and I made together would be a simple place to start. If you have the ingredients and the supplies – and a ripening box, it is a fairly straight forward process. I will be making Valençay next, as I believe Addie is. Love that cheese from Smoky Valley and cannot wait to try my own! I know our regional taste of place is yummy using the traditional Valençay recipe.

Ian has made Camembert. He cried. I think he is way too hard on himself! He says he is not and posted the disaster in detail.

I sure hope some of you take up this challenge. You are missing out on a whole lotta fun and some gooey goodness!

The Task for our ninth Cheesepalooza Challenge:

If you have made it before, we challenge you to please do it again, “Mary’s way”, link to your other brie or camembert cheese making experiences, debriefing them all. Let us know what you think. Which recipe works best for your palate and your locality: Mary’s or the other ones you have used?

You will learn a new technique with this recipe: we will be adding mold powders, using a ripening box and aging the cheeses in the fridge wrapped in special cheese paper! Making the curd is easy. Aging the cheese is the feat with this one.

IMPT: You will need a ripening box and special cheese paper for this cheese,  as well as the two molds listed in the recipe.

Optional Recipes to add value to your ninthth month (only if you choose):

There are a few other recipes in Chapter three we suggest you explore and share through the month, if you want to make more than the American Brie:

• Crottin,
• Bucheron,
• Coulommiers,
• Valencay,
• Bloomy Robiola,
• Craggy Cloaked Cabra,
• Crottin,
• The Goat Experience,
• Saint -Marcellin. 

Each one must be aged just a few weeks.

Please include simple Tasting Notes at the bottom of each post (later, after you taste your cheese) so we can have a frame of reference to understand your cheese a bit better:

Tasting Notes:

• Appearance:
• Nose (aroma):
• Overall Taste:
• Sweet to Salty:
• Mild (mellow) to Robust to Pungent (stinky):
• Mouth Feel: (gritty, sandy, chewy, greasy, gummy, etc.):

Let the fun begin!

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I could not believe it either. Every single Cheesepalooza Challenge since we began with the first one, August 1, 2012, has found my mouth agape and a sense of pride rising inside that I haven’t experienced since childhood. “Look what I did, mom!” But, I didn’t do it for anyone’s approval but my own. And I am so proud of my ability to age this cheese. Making it is not the hard part. We have that down pat. This is now our ninth Cheesepalooza Challenge. This one is all about loving those little lactating lumps into submission. It takes time, attention and care. But, if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously.

I have always set goals. I have always been in awe of one’s (and yes, even my own) ability to accomplish goals. Making cheese at home has been one of many items on the long “list” I realized was impossible to accomplish a few years ago. That was daunting. To always be able to add to “the list”, and know one day, it will happen, had brought much satisfaction to my hard working life. However, understanding that “everything that I was going to do when I grew up” cannot, in actually, happen was a painful realization. But, one day, it just became obvious. Poor health will encourage that inner conversation if it is a factor, and that is what happened to me. So much to do. So little energy. Where shall I spend it?

I am certainly not the first to face this dilemma. I don’t have any of the big name life threatening diseases. No cancer. Nothing like that. Just a host of auto-immune diseases that I don’t care to list. None too significant. Combined? Debilitating. So, when an opportunity is close enough to touch, and it is “on the list”, I grab that gold ring and hang on for the ride. Oh, what a ride this has been. Just look at the oozing buttery brie. I could not photograph it enough. It was not about the eating. Or even the tasting. This cheese was a success because it looks absolutely deadly delicious…

…but it didn’t taste good. The first week I rewrapped it, it was a yummy buttery bite (a little lick). After that, it was so bitter I cannot even describe how bitter. Usually, a cheese is not a success unless it is edible. This one succeeded because it looked sumptuous and I decided it was a work of art. What went wrong? Possibly two things: I think there was too much rennet and Addie thinks it is because the milk was passed its due date. It was delicious and had not soured at all. Yet, we made such a baby little batch that it was so hard to get the correct nano-mili-dash-pinch into the mix. It was easy to err with such a small batch.

Am I discouraged? Heck no. I would make it again in a heartbeat. However, cheese is kind of like travel. There are so many places to go, and flavours to meet that I will likely not make this one again for a very long time. I will make the French Brie, and Camembert and others, and keep learning and growing and traveling through the wonder of cheese.

It had a lovely, clean break: soft and pillowy curds that tasted like sweet milky air. Addie poured them into 4 croutin moulds and then salted them a little. They drained and drained and drained. For days. Too many days.

I kept them in the crottin moulds in the cave inside an aging box for over a week, and they just keep weeping. Why? I did unmould the knitted curd discs and place each on a mat, and within 2 hours they had spread to a frighteningly wide circular mass. I guided each mass back into a mould and continued to turn each regularly (two to three times a day) for the next week. Finally, I took each out of the mould in the ripening box, placed on a mat and below is the shape each formed. I continued to turn each daily. You can see the beginning of the white mold growing on the rind, as well.

Apparently, if the brie ages without being wrapped, according to Anna Olsen (at Christmas in November 2011), the mold will grow into long bushy tendrils… but, there was no evidence of this that I could find. She and her husband started cheese making with brie, and decided that it was better to buy it after their forays with making it. Not my experience. I am in awe. Wrapping the cheese contains the growth of the mold, and it is important to turn each disc often. Both cheese discs sat on the lid.

 A ripening box is necessary for a cheese with aging with mold to eliminate cross contamination in the cave. To keep the moisture level high in the box, I soaked paper towels with water, and added a skiff of water to the corrugated bottom of the ripening box: perfect for this purpose. I placed a bakery ring on top of this to provide a breathing space, and a flat lid on top of that, that let the air circulate completely around it. The ripening box itself has a couple of air vents in it.

 Each package must be opened and checked on weekly.

 I was delighted by the texture, the mold, the feel (beginning to soften inside) and the sweet buttery aroma.

Remember, it is important to turn each disc often. Even though I was doing this, the little discs got bare bottoms. It seemed that whatever side was on the bottom, would loose its fuzz daily. The second week of the openings is below. Even softer and more lush!

I knew the time was past when I could open the cheese, yet, I hesitated. However, it spoke to me when it was ready. As I turned it over, it just oozed buttery goodness. Time to slice into the brie. I didn’t expect such luxury. The first day, it presented only a wee bitter after-taste once a lush buttery-softness nestled settled over the tongue.

It did need an extra hit of salt. Mmmmm!

By the time the Fourth Cheesepalooza Tasting arrived, the cheese was inedible. I proudly displayed it, anyway. It was a work of art. Yes, it was!

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After air drying

Valerie at A Canadian Foodie from Edmonton Alberta has now vacuum packed the above air dried gruyère and is aging it in her cave.

Dianne at Bar Over V Ranch from Okanogan, Washington USA got her Gruyère made! Three cheers for Dianne!

 Rick at Explorations with Sailor Rick from Edmonton Alberta writes about his Gruyère making experience and also accomplished a mighty good looking wheel this month!

Ian at Much To Do About Cheese from Edmonton Alberta shared his Jarlsberg at our last tasting and is was delicious. Nothing like the classic Jarlsberg, but that is what we are discovering with all of our cheeses. We are making them here, in our locale and they have our taste of place. Which is mighty fine!

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We stayed with Letizia at the end of August 2011 at her agritorismo and I took a cooking class our last morning there, before we headed into Firenze. It began with an inspirational Taste of Terrior at a little shop down the winding road from Monte Subasio to the nearby village of Santa Maria degli Angeli at the foot of Assisi. We purchased foods from the tasting and returned to cook a lovely rustic meal together. (Which I believed I would have posted long ago.) One of the dishes Letizia demonstrated was so similar to this recipe. She used kale and then placed little mounds of the mixture on a local Assisi flatbread. Spying the sapphire globes in the market, I immediately visualized mounds of the flavourful rustic vegetable mixture on top of each smoky grilled vessel.

Grilled eggplant are a bit of a conundrum. People love them or hate them. Some find their texture slimy. Not me. They are all about the texture which ranges from silky to gooey to spongy to slippery. Their flavour is almost indeterminable; they take on the flavour of whatever they are cooked in and they absorb fat like no other vegetable! To avoid the bitterness present when cooked, the eggplant must be properly sweated and drained to expel the liquid inside that can create a bitter aftertaste if not carefully done This will also dramatically reduce the unwanted moisture in the dish. Every Italian grandma knows, that you must remove the excess water from the eggplant. This leaves the eggplant tasting more sweet and pure. Some believe the bitterness in the liquid may cause stomach cramps. In any case, I always salt, rest, and drain my eggplant before grilling and it is exceedingly delicious!

Letizia used the ingredients I am using. Just a little goes a long way: beautiful salt-packed capers, sundried tomatoes, garlic, black dried olives, red pepper flakes and gorgeous creamy toasted pinenuts (to be added later). These are fried quickly in a bit of fruity Umbrian olive oil, then a bit of tomato paste is added to the mix.

 I adore the tender leaves of vitamin and mineral rich spinach. I piled the steaming pot high with the leaves as Letizia did with the kale, stirring just a couple of minutes to wilt them. Once wilted, the pinenuts are tossed into the mix, and, voilà – rather velato! The vegetable mixture c’est fini – è tutto finito!

 Of course you could dive into the bowl with a fork and have a nutritious, delicious and economical meal… snack… side dish… or…

…you could pile this dynamic concoction onto a silky smoky grill eggplant and just stop there.

 But I didn’t. I added some fresh homemade traditional mozzarella and a little flat leaf parsley for garnish! Oh, my! Eye-balls were rolling back and pinball payouts were ringing the big time chimes on a bite of this one. This is my take on Letizia’s dish and it is past sensational, if I do say so myself. And, I do.

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