eat your veg
“People don’t know what to do with garlic scapes, or leeks, or kohlrabi,” says Andrea Kristin, author of Fresh Grown, Essential Guide to Use, Store + Make the Most of your Vegetables. Andrea, her husband Denis Forstbauer and their family grow vegetables at Grey Arrow Farm near Camrose. They offer a CSA and online store from July-December and a saskatoon U-pick in season. Fresh Grown contains a wealth of information on how to approach your vegetable bounty.
Woven throughout the book is Andrea’s love of her family and their land and their obvious commitment to seasonal eating.
The book answers all the questions—what is that? How do I store it? How do I cook it? It details the various ways to preserve—freezing, canning, dehydrating and fermenting—in an easy-to-understand format. The recipes are technique-based, such as how to make a puree or a pesto, which increases confidence in the kitchen. Ditto with vegetable stock, which you then freeze, to make delicious soups all winter long.
Andrea calls her new book foundational, I call it genius.
What vegetable did Andrea not know about? “Celeriac, I didn’t know what it was until we started farming. It’s homey and comforting; I like it in stews or in a root veg pot pie.” Find Fresh Grown at greyarrowfarm.ca, Meuwly’s, Twig, Fika and the Lefse House in Camrose, and the TYRE Shop in Warburg. Spectacular photography by Andrea Kristin with additional photos by Denis Forstbauer, Jessica Musslewhite and Tracey Crown.
Fresh Grown, Essential Guide to Use, Store + Make the Most of your Vegetables, Grey Arrow Press, $24 digital, $42 softcover.
love spanish wine?
Don’t miss Mad Cool Vino Español Spain Uncorked in support of the Winspear Centre for Music Expansion Project, 6pm (VIP), Wednesday, October 2. Enjoy delicious wines that showcase the versatility, regionality and quality of Spanish wine, paired with multiple food stations by Filistix, Italian Centre, Partake and RGE RD. Tix: from $103.75/p+.
fall feast at out of bounds
Fall N’ for Food on Friday, September 13, at Out of Bounds (Cattail Crossing Golf Club). Four delicious courses by chef Julia Kundera, plus, two guests will win a spot at the Cattail Crossing table at Edmonton’s Kitchen Party. Tix: $65/p++, on OpenTable
barrelling along
Barrel-aged and barrel-fermented beers may not be your regular tipple, but they are becoming a force in Canadian brewing. Find out what it’s all about at Blind Enthusiasm’s second annual Barrel Fest, 1pm-6pm, Saturday, September 14. Enjoy barrel-influenced beers (and cider) from 18 breweries, including Brasserie Dunham (Quebéc), Burdock (Toronto), Dageraad (Burnaby), 2 Crows Brewing (Halifax), Nokomis Craft Ales (Saskatchewan,, Low Life Barrel House (Winnipeg), Blindman (Lacombe), Endeavour (St. Albert), as well as Brewsters, Campio, Trial & Ale and Sea Change from Edmonton. Visit blindenthusiasm.com for the complete lineup and all the deets. Tix: $38 entry + $4/pour, includes a commemorative glass. Ritchie Park, 7727 98 Street.
go! go! go!
Check out Va, the newest Daniel Costa resto on the ground floor of the Citizen on Jasper. The idea is a contemporary Roman café specializing in, yes, coffee as well as delicious sandwiches on that delectable focaccia.
And pizza! Opens at 7:30—start your day with a marmellata crostino and caffe corretto, end it with a late afternoon spritz and pizza al taglio (pizza by the cut, pictured.) Tuesday-Saturday, 7:30am-4pm.
More Corso Group news: Uccellino is leaving its downtown location and moving to the Citizen in October, and will have a new name, Olia. A new concept will take over the Uccellino space beside Bar Bricco in early 2025. Va, 10110 120 Street, 780-249-2445.
save money on groceries, go foraging
Foraging as a Way of Life is an indispensable tool for finding tasty things to eat in the woods. Mikaela Cannon’s new book features detailed descriptions of all the mushrooms, herbs, berries and other wild plants that are not only edible but delicious. Unique recipes too—nettle soup with aspen bark sourdough crackers, all the tonics and syrups, even chicory chocolate bars. There is something immensely satisfying about finding your own food, this book will help you do it safely and sustainably. Available at Chapters and Audrey’s. Foraging as a Way of Life, a year-round field guide to wild plants, New Society Publishers, $44.95.
thank you grandpa wong
Ailynn and Jason Wong (the Yelo’d folks) have brought new life to the historic Hull Block in Chinatown with their ode to Jason’s grandfather Charles: a charming ice cream shop called Little Bon Bon. There you will find outstanding ice creams inspired by Asian and Filipino flavours, such as pandan, ube and black sesame strawberry. We loved Jade, matcha with a cheesecake swirl and Loufu, orange with a licorice caramel, a grown-up version of the deliciously nostalgic tiger ice cream. Then there is Gpa Wong’s Chocolate Superfudge. “He was a chocolate lover to say the least,” says Ailynn. “He used to keep 1L pails of chocolate ice cream in their home freezer next to all the brownies and chocolates.” Gpa Wong is responsible for another great dish too. “He opened the first of its kind Chinese restaurant and lounge in Thunder Bay, the Dragon Room. He popularized something we know as dry ribs and called them bon bons. Little Bon Bon is our homage to those roots.” Feature scoops, coffee and teas, an excellent affogato, and you can roll your scoops in crunchy (candied) bon bon bits. Little Bon Bon, 9660 106 Avenue, Wednesday to Sunday, noon-9pm.