After a morning spent at our chosen sessions all the attendees and presenters descended upon Enterprise Square for lunch.
There was a fantastic tasting menu set up featuring local cheeses, meats, breads, honey, mashed potatoes, and two wonderful beets salads. To top it all off one of the organizers Valerie of A Canadian Foodie made a wonderful vegetarian cassoulet. To satisfy our sweet tooth there was a variety of cookies and wonderful crunchy Pink Lady apples from Steve and Dan’s Fruit. The organizers thought of everything!
The food doesn’t stop there. After lunch I was off to Apple Pie Making with Christan Miller. This was my first hands on session of the day and it was so much fun. We were put into groups of four and measured out our flour and shortening and blended it all together using the Miller family’s special technique. Of course we were all excited to try our pies, but that anticipation was overshadowed by the apple peeler, corer, slicer in action.
Everyone was amazed.
I like to make a lot of apple sauce, apple butter, and now apple pies in the fall so I will certainly be picking up one of these little gems.
Our mini personal pies were stored in the fridge until the end of the day and, if I may jump out of chronological order, when I baked it later that evening I was delighted with the results. I only hope I can replicate the perfect pie crust on my own!
My final session got to the heart of what they day was all about: Making a Personal Connection to Your Food Source. Presenter Maryann Borch and her family operate Good Note Community Farm.
She provided attendees with a glimpse into life on her family’s farm and also provided information about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) around Edmonton for vegetables, as well as meat, eggs, and cheese, something that Good Note participates in a well. She also touched on information about the Community Garden Network as well as local food distribution organizations: Locavoria, Eat Local First – Good Food Box, and The Organic Box.
To end off the session Maryann had us all roll newspaper around wine bottles to make newsprint pots so we could take home purple bunch onions and Calabrese broccoli seedlings to get a start on our own garden.
Kevin Kossowan ended off the day with a presentation of his From Local Farms Project. You can view Kevin’s video here on his award-winning blog. It was an inspiring and informative way to end a day long celebration of local food heroes.
If you haven’t guessed already I had a fantastic time and I am already looking forward to next year’s incarnation! It was a truly awe-inspiring to attend a conference with a focus on local food and learn about the variety of food produced in our area. I encourage you all to take a look at the links throughout today’s and yesterday’s posts and support our local food heroes!
Cookbook Cooks 