enjoy a twilight picnic at the garden
Make a visit to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden near Devon even more special. Pre-purchase a picnic with your garden admittance for Friday, August 4, 11 and 25 or Saturday, August 5 and 19. The Twilight Picnic Experience includes admission to the Garden for two people, garden activities and a gourmet picnic box. Make it vegetarian, gluten-friendly or halal if you like (choose when you order). A bottle of water is included and you can purchase wine, beer or cider from the bar carts. Tix: $125/2p+.
fairy berry festival at prairie gardens this weekend
Face painting, garden tours, petting zoo, u-pick, playgrounds and bale art are waiting for your family at the Fairy Berry Festival, Friday, August 4-Sunday, August 6. Tix: $17/p, free for children 5 and under if dressed as pirates or fairies. Children under 2 free. Buy your tix online and save $2.
pitt county is at bentstick and the monolith this Sunday
Pitt County is Carolina-style BBQ central. Enjoy smoked pork ribs, pulled pork, wings and sides from noon-8pm, Sunday, August 6 at the Monolith and Bentstick on 78 Avenue just west of 99 street. Each brewery has made a unique beer-based barbecue sauce for dipping. After a little barbecue, check out Patio Palooza happening up and down Happy Beer Street (aka 99 Street south of Whyte Avenue) at Ale Architect, Alley Kat, Bentstick, Blind Enthusiasm and Biera, Sea Change, Longroof and Omen Brewing. Expect new beer releases, specials and food trucks.
steak and wine pairing with bill medak at color de vino
Learn what cut tastes best with which wine, 6:30-8pm, Wednesday, August 9, at Color de Vino (9606 82 Avenue). Sip, sample and enjoy the roaming sommelier’s tales of travel and wine. The ticket price includes food, wine pairings, tasting notes and plenty of great ideas for your next dinner party. Tix: $30++.
awn’s kitchen skills series: preserving and fermenting
Preserve summer’s goodness at Awn Kitchen’s in-depth and hands-on Kitchen Skills Series: Preserving and Fermenting class. Learn how to make sauerkraut and raspberry jam in class and leave with the confidence (and some sauerkraut and jam) to tackle all the gorgeous berries and Okanagan fruit we have this year. Wednesday, August 16, 6pm-10pm. Tix: $155/p+.
chatsworth farm at alberta open farm days
We are big fans of Chatsworth Farms and their Open Farm Days (OFD) experience is amazing. Music, guided farm tours, machinery domos, artisan market and a book signing with Master Gardener Sheryl Normandeau. A barbecue lunch featuring their delicious all-beef dogs is available (cash only) or bring your own picnic lunch. Chatsworth Farm (County of Vermilion River) is a beautiful place with lovely people, Saturday, August 19, 11am-5 pm. No charge but please register. Find the full lists of all OFD event here.
on your local food list: pulses (field peas, dry beans, chickpeas and lentils)
Alberta Pulse Growers held a dinner recently at the Old Red Barn near Leduc. The challenge for chef Jesse Chambers (Wetaskiwin’s Farm to Table Catering)? Incorporate Alberta-grown beans and lentils in every course. Challenge more than met; challenge exceeded. The menu was delicious—faba beans and sprouts on crostini, red lentils in the soup, green lentils in the elegant beet salad, pinto beans in the hearty cassoulet served with braised bison short rib and a flourless chickpea and chocolate brownie with haskaps. “We buy from all the local farmers markets and Gallimax Trading (based in southern Alberta) supplies what we can’t get from next door,” says chef. Bravo to chef and the Alberta farmers growing all those delicious pulses. Find many tasty recipes using pulses here.
Chef Jesse Chambers and kitchen crew
tomato top100: lock stock’s blt
This sammie, along with a well-made espresso is one of life’s little pleasures, especially in peak tomato season. Don’t deny yourself.
recipe of the week: grilled peaches with burrata
Ah summer, when you can have fruit for dinner. Especially if the peaches are grilled and served with luscious burrata and fresh basil.
