finding great ice cream, curbside bon ton, alberta on the plate opens friday, plus easy summer cooking: field peppers

alberta on the plate opens friday!

The celebration of local food happens until August 16. Check out the menus from Smokey Bear, The Marc, XIX, Why Not Café, High Level Diner, Creations and Three Vikings pub using delicious Alberta ingredients from Four Whistle Farms, Eh Farms, Vital Greens, Fifth Gen Gardens, Sylvan Star, Gruger Family Funghi. Dine in or takeaway. (Why Not Café has a fennel soup followed by Canadian Rangeland bison tenderloin. Giddy up!) Or, go further afield— find all the participating restaurants at albertaontheplate.com. Enter to win a $50 GC from The Marc or Smokey Bear! Email us at hello@thetomato.ca with your name and telephone number by noon Friday, August 7.

order from home, pick up at bon ton

Nobody likes waiting in line, although these days it seems pretty much inevitable. What helps? Being able to pre-order then pick-up. Bon Ton’s new website lets you do exactly that. It’s easy: choose the day you want to pick-up. (Not all items are available on all days. Want it next day? Order before 3pm.) Click on what you want. Choose a time frame for pick up, then pay with your credit card. Easy peasy! Visit bonton.ca

Bon Ton’s kouign amann Gerry Semler photo
Bon Ton’s kouign amann
Gerry Semler photo

today’s the day for ice cream

It’s going to be a hot one. Order Kind Ice Cream pints for takeaway at kindicecream.square.site, cones ‘til 10pm in Ritchie, or pop-in to the next pop-up in the Highlands, noon-5pm (rumour says this Saturday but check instagram.com/kindicecream for sure). The Made by Marcus scoop shop on Whyte Avenue is open until 11pm every day and they have curbside pick-up on the weekends. Find Little Bear Gelato at Culina on the Lake and at the Bountiful Market. Find Pinocchio at the Bon Ton Bakery and the Italian Centre Shops.

ice cream

easy summer cooking: what to do with field peppers

British Columbia field peppers are now at the Italian Centre, where you will see shoppers leaving with bags overflowing with every colour and type of pepper. They plan to roast, peel, then freeze, or that’s what some folks told me (technique follows). The spicy ones make a terrific relish. I like the long yellow ones for stuffing; the purple, which can be a bit bitter, for chopping, roasting, sautéing or for kabobs. Or, eat out of hand. When they are this fresh, peppers are delicious eaten like an apple. Crunchy, juicy and very refreshing.

Roast bell peppers until charred. Put in a plastic bag and let sweat for about 20 minutes. Peel. (The skins peel off easily after sweating.) Cut into strips and freeze for winter meals when you need a taste of sweet summer.
Fried peppers: slice a mix of peppers (and onions if you like) and sauté in olive oil until tender and falling apart. Serve with grilled sausages in a bun, or all by themselves. Delish on flatbread too.
Stuff a yellow Hungarian pepper (the long yellow ones) with a mixture of cooked quinoa, sautéed onions, grated cheese (feta and Parm are nice), chopped greens, herbs and tomatoes. Cook for 25-30 minutes at 350.
Slice in two, remove the seeds and cook for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees (or char on the barbecue). Cover with cheese, chopped garlic and a bit of rosemary, then broil until gooey and delicious.
Make ratatouille: thetomato.ca
Make chef Davina Moraiko’s red pepper hemp dip: thetomato.ca

peppers