OISE Internship with Real Food for Real Kids

This internship offered by Real Food for Real Kids is a good opportunity for teacher candidates in the intermediate and senior stream to explore the intermediate side of education through community food initiatives.





Teacher Candidate Internship Opportunity – May 2010

The Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) Education Program is seeking Teacher Candidate interns to design, revise and implement a nutrition and healthy living education program for elementary schools in the GTA.
RFRK is a Canadian company based in Toronto.

RFRK’s mission is to change the way Canadian children eat and perceive food and help children re-connect with real food and its origin. Our aim is to instill life long healthy eating habits and help children develop a taste for delicious healthy food.
Real Food for Real Kids believes that it is the right of every child to be healthy and have access to nutritious food.

The overall project involves working collaboratively with education professionals, health professionals, local food proprietors, wellness consultants, entrepreneurs and the Real Food for Real Kids School Director. Together, the team will revise and implement the first draft of the comprehensive, 10 month nutrition education program, for children participating in Real Food Lunch Clubs, in elementary schools across the GTA.

We are looking for candidates who:
• Are passionate about improving school lunches and the health of
Canadian children
• Have developed lesson plans which integrate healthy eating with
the Ontario elementary curriculum
• Enjoy and excel working in groups
• Take initiative and can manage large tasks independently
• Approach lesson planning in creative and integrated ways
• Can read and write in French, (preferred but not mandatory)
• Have had previous experience working in Elementary schools

Interested Teacher Candidates should submit a resume and letter of
interest to Kristen@rfrk.com, by January 10th, 2010. For additional
information, please contact Kristen@rfrk.com or 416 410 5437 x 118.

Lesson Plan - Local Food and Rationing during WWII

Unit: Canada in World War Two – Grade 10 Academic

Lesson Plan By: Jaclyn Cepler

Lesson Title: Social Conditions on the Homefront

Purpose of the Lesson: Students will understand that during WWII the government took an unprecedented amount of control over the daily lives of its citizens. Students will explore government control in their lives in comparison to the lives of those living on the homefront during WWII. Rationing specifically applied to anything that had to be imported. In a way, the Canadian government was promoting the first ever “local food” program.

Expectations: Students will be able to:

- recognize the extent of government control on the daily lives of its citizens

- make connections to previous lessons on propaganda and think critically about how it impacted life on the homefront and the mindset towards rationing

- recognize the hardships of those on the homefront in Canada

Assessment:

- informal through responses to Q/A and brainstorming session

Planning Notes/Resources:

- need computer/projector to show national film board clip from: http://wwii.ca/view-footage/69/tomorrows-world/

- need to print ration books for everyone in the class; many examples are found on: http://www.genealogytoday.com/ca/canadian-ration-books.html

Prior Knowledge:

- already had propaganda lesson where made posters to understand how propaganda was created and how it was effective

- this lesson is half-way through unit on WWII so students have knowledge about the progress of the war, causes, and battles

Teaching / Learning Tasks Duration

Beginning Q and A leading to idea of rationing: 15 minutes

- what types of commodities do you need to survive (add word to vocabulary sheet)

- what items are purchased on a regular basis to ensure survival? (make brief list on board)

- today, what do you do if one of those runs out?

- On the homefront, in Canada, during WWII which of these were the most important?

- What would you do if you couldn’t buy more?

- Food: How would you modify your habits so that you wouldn’t be dependent on foreign imports?

Introduce concept of rationing, what was rationed, what it means, CD Howe, Wartime Prices and Trade Board (brief introduction) 10 min

Discuss how rationing was a form of eating local

Hand out ration cards to students (all receive cards with different people’s names)

Q and A 10-15 min

- what do you see on the card?

- Take 30 seconds to compare your card with your neighbour, what is similar and different between them?

- What do these differences/similarities tell us about age, region and duration of rationing?

- Who controlled what was rationed and when? – what is this an example of?

- What might the implications have been for ration books during the war?

- What does this show about what Canada expected from its citizens at this time?

- What are some of the ways the government may have justified and explaining rationing to its citizens? What is this called?

Play example of propaganda film: “Tomorrow’s World” from National Film Board movies during the war (specifically addresses rationing) 10 min

- while watching the movie consider: how would you react if strict authority was imposed upon your daily needs?

- Why were these films effective?

After film: in pairs share answers to the questions 3-5 min

Class discussion sharing answers from pairs 3-5 min

In groups of 4: brainstorm some of the positive and negative aspects of government control in WWII

10 min

- divide class into groups: students stand on different sides of the room if they think rationing is positive or negative or necessary

- each position discusses among the group about why they think so, present their side

- each group answers the question:

o would similar actions be accepted in today’s society? Why or why not?

Spaghetti Squash Pasta Recipe

This dish seems like a pasta, but is made completely out of vegetables!

2 tsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cup canned, ready cut tomatoes

2 cups cooked spaghetti squash strands

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt

To make spaghetti squash:

Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and place cut side down in a microwave safe dish

add 1/3 cup of water and cover with plastic wrap.

Microwave on high for 15 minutes or until tender

Drain and cool

With a fork, remove all the strands and place them in a serving dish

To make the sauce:

In a large skillet heat oil. Saute garlic and onions until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms, and saute for 2 minutes longer.

Stir in tomatoes, parsley and seasons, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Pour sauce over cooked spaghetti squash.

Bean and Barley Salad

This is a yummy, lime-y, cumin-y, hearty, easy, and many other wonderful y-y salad! Despite the fact that I had to go to the grocery store, make a list of what was local, come home, find a recipe, and then head back to the grocery store to buy the ingredients, I still enjoyed this multitextured, super-hearty meal. It's from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

1.5 c corn
1 c black eyed peas
1/2 pearl barley
salt
1.5 c red kidney beans
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/4 teasponn red pepper flakes
1/3 c chopped parsley
2 tablespoons red onion, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 limes, zest and juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Cook corn for a minute, cool
Cook barley in water with 1/2 teaspoon salt until chewy (about 40 minutes), drain, cool
Mix green pepper, pepper flakes, parsley, and onion
In a shallow see-through container, layer the corn, black eyed peas, barley, kidney beans with the green pepper mixture layered between each layer.

For the dressing:

Whisk oil, lime zest, lime juice, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour over salad. Let it sit for at least a couple of hours or overnight. Toss gently before serving.

Enjoy!

A recipe for the marinated broccoli salad (approximations welcome - I am intuitive when in the kitchen)

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into flowerettes

half a red onion, cut how you like it

a good amount of feta cheese (1 pkg)

celery

carrot

cabbage

sunflower seeds (1/4 cup or so)

raisins (if you like them)

Dressing

1/4 cup yogurt

1/4 mayonaise

tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

tbsp lemon juice

clove of garlic, minced

salt, pepper

a bit of sugar or honey

(all amounts are approximate, depending on how big of a salad you have made)

steam broccoli until still nicely crunchy

julienne the rest of the veg. and put with the broccoli in a big bowl. Add diced feta and sunflower seeds

whisk dressing together, starting with sugar or honey and the acids, til dissolved

i used about half yogurt, half mayo, but again this is to taste. add dressing to veg, and toss.

Let marinate for a couple of hours at least, best overnight.

Voila, a hearty and yummy salad! Feel free to add or subtract veg, depending on personal taste. Also, you could use pecans or almonds for example, instead of sunflower seeds. You get the idea.

Connect Farm Seminar - Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who attended tonight's Connect Farm Seminar, especially to the wonderful panel of speakers whose insightful information motivated, inspired, and entertained us!

After the event, one participant said "It was great! I feel so much better about the world now, and so much worse about my eating habits!"

Emily VanHalem - FoodShare, Karen Campbell - Everdale Farm, Angie Koch - Fertile Grounds.

The panel featured guests from as far away as Wiarton, ON and as nearby as Dufferin and Bloor Street. Participants learned about how they can use organizations resources such as Everdale Farm's "Farmer for a Day" program and Food Share's "Field to Table Schools" initiative. We heard first hand accounts of the trials and tribulations of being a small-scale local distribution fisherman from the Akiwenzie Family (Andrew, Natasha and their three boys), and the similar struggles (and joys!) of being a small organic farmer from Angie Koch of Fertile Grounds. Arlene Stien from Hart House shared information about the University of Toronto's food service contracts (which have a mandate to source 25% of their produce locally), and Kristin Schroeder from Real Food For Real Kids told us about how similar mandates can be worked into the elementary system, but that there is much work to be done in order to make headway into the Secondary Schools cafeteria menus.


Finally, we finished off the evening with a local potluck dinner. During this time, we had the opportunity to get some feedback from our classmates and from our presenters, and the response was very positive. Many of the presenters were grateful for the chance to spread the word about their programs, and expressed the need for more opportunities such as this. As Emily VanHalem from Food Share pointed out, having informed teachers will go a long way towards making real changes in the education system, from curriculum that implements learning about food systems to changing school lunch programs and reconnecting kids to the earth. Karen Campbell from Everdale Farm echoed this opinion saying that hopefully through programs like this we can create a small army of advocates that will help re-educate Ontario's youth about food.

So now, it's up to us to continue to advocate for fresh, local produce in our schools and to promote education that incorporates learning about food -- whether it be food budgeting in Math class, nutrition in Phys. Ed., or cooking in Home Economics. As teachers, education about the economic, health and environmental benefits of supporting locally grown (or caught!) food is an important aspect of our careers that should not be overlooked.

Large Black Pigs. Yum!

A few weeks ago I heard about an amazing woman named Barbara Schaffer who, after being laid off from her business suit-y job, started her own farm without ever having any farm experience whatsoever! Amazing! I've always dreamed of doing this kind of thing, but I've never had the wherewithal to do it. There's a wonderful podcast/documentary about her called "The Philosophy of Pig", produced by Neil Morrison. The documentary, which aired on CBC's "The Current," features an interview with Schaffer and insight into her decision to start her own farm. It's a wonderful documentary about one woman's difficult, heartwarming, and sometimes hilarious foray into farming.

Schaffer farms pigs; Large Black Pigs to be exact. Large Black Pigs are a breed of livestock that is endangered. They make yummy meat but they grow so big that they take too long to grow. Big commercial farms can't make enough money when pigs take too long to grow, so these pigs are starting to disappear. The CBC says that "the great diversity of livestock is disappearing at an alarming rate around the world. The United Nations estimates that one third of farm animal breeds are facing extinction" (http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/OTTAWA_MORNING/20091124.shtml). In the documentary, Schaffer describes her work as an environmental policy advisor in Ottawa and even though she no longer works for the environment, she feels she's doing more for the environment by running a farm.

It is this kind of sentiment that keeps me hopeful. I understand that it's difficult to make money when you're driven by the need to produce produce produce in this consumerist world, but the itty bitty scientist at the heart of me is worried about losing all these species of livestock. I'm worried because the loss of genetic diversity can lead to real problems. If we lose the Large Black Pig, we may be losing more than just a type of hog, we may be losing the ability to adapt to a quickly changing climate. Adaptability is what keeps us alive and adaptability depends on a diverse gene pool. It's about more than just fluffy feelings - it's about the right thing to do for a variety of reasons.

Renegade Lunch Lady.

Having just finished our first practicum placements, I am sure that every student at OISE has had a taste (or at least a smell) of the cafeteria food that youth are consuming each day at school. Did anyone experience anything outstanding in their cafeterias? In my school, I was impressed at how hard the lunch lady worked and about the amount of food that was prepared from scratch each day -- unlike the prepackaged foods that Cooper speaks about in her presentation. From muffins to soups, to salads, the back kitchen in the cafeteria was a busy busy place. However, I am also certain that a good deal of the food being produced in that busy kitchen is still calorie laden, imported and probably not locally produced.

So what can we do about this? Some teachers, like Paul Finkelstein in Stratford, ON, are taking school lunches to a whole new level of healthy learning. His Screaming Avocado Cafe is a student-run cafe that serves up local, healthy meals to their classmates in place of a cafeteria. How can others implement programs similar to this one? Mr. Finkelstein will be a guest at the Connect Farm Seminar next Tuesday evening, so you can come out and learn for yourself.

Others, like Ann Cooper -- a "renegade lunch lady" from Berkeley, CA are pioneering the local lunch movement in schools across the United States. In this incredibly passionate and informative TED Talk, Cooper talks about the importance of not only educating youth about eating healthy, but also the bigger political issues regarding farm subsidies, government spending and health care.



From the TED site: "To help other school systems transform their own meal programs, she just launched a beta version of The Lunch Box, a website from her nonprofit F3: Food Family Farming Foundation. Inside The Lunch Box are budget models, menus and lots of recipes -- enter the number of servings you need, and the recipe page calculates how much of each ingredient you'll need. (Meatloaf for 600, anyone?)"

One of the important pieces that Cooper touches on in her talk is the idea of public-private partnerships. When I asked my colleagues at my practicum placement school about how the students were working with community groups, the teachers said that students were "very involved -- they make donations to community groups all the time." Making donations to community groups is great -- but, what about another, mutually beneficial sort of that relationship? It seems to me that many people view school-community relations as a one way street: Student Activity Councils operate fundraisers, canned food drives, or organize assemblies to benefit non-profits, or occasionally non-profits come into schools as guests to do presentations. But what about meaningful, ongoing partnerships?

One such partnership that has had great success in teaching kids about food is the organization Added Value in Brooklyn, NY. Founded by Youth Worker Ian Marvey on the premise of creating leadership amongst at-risk youth, Added Value is a farm located in the most unlikely of places -- on an old concrete baseball diamond in a low income neighborhood. The farm is run almost entirely by teenagers, who take home not only valuable income to their families, but also the fruits of their labour. Additional produce from the farm is also sold to local restaurants such as home/made, and the funds go towards creating education programs for youth. Added Value works in partnership with local schools during a 26 week Farm-to-Classroom program, in which "first graders at Red Hook’s PS 15 participate in weekly farm-based lessons, coupled with weekly cooking lessons. By taking part in farm activities, the students develop a working knowledge of plant biology, plant cycles, and a farmer’s work to grow food. Not to mention, an excitement for fruits and vegetables!" This program is much more than a one day field trip to a farm -- students become deeply invovled with the farm, community members, local businesses and each other, making connections between their actions on the farm, their health, the earth and their future.

In our readings for the School and Society Course, we read about Paulo Freire's Praxis process for education, which consists of five parts: identifying a problem, analysing the problem, developing a plan of action to address the problem, implementing the plan of action, and analysing that action. I've found that when it comes to student's reaching out into the community, the piece that is often missing the action and then reflection on that action. Often students learn about problems in the neighborhood and figure out a way to raise funds or awareness, but they don't often interact in a meaningful way with those involved in the actual problem or community group.

Overall, when thinking about how school lunches can be changed for the better, I believe that the solution needs to be student-driven, teacher facilitated, parent supported and include some sort of meaningful partnership with a community organization, such as the Stop or Food Share.

To find out more about these organizations, and how they can help you provide meaningful praxis oriented learning opportunities for your students, join us on Tuesday for the Connect Farm Seminar.

Seminar - Only 3 Days Away!

Only three days until the Connect Farm Seminar!

We're excited to announce that we have added additional speakers to the lineup for our seminar on Tuesday at OISE. Meredith Hayes from Foodshare and Kristen Schroeder from Real Food for Real Kids will be joining our panel of experts on Tuesday night.

See the Seminar Information page for more information on these great panelists, who will have incredible knowledge to share with you about their work in local farming and education.

This event is shaping up to be something that you won't want to miss! The event is free and open to the public as well as OISE Students, so please feel free to pass the word. We have created a facebook event and U of T Students should remember to register through SUPO's website, so that you can receive your certificate of completion for this workshop.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at 5:15pm in Room 5-250!

Lesson plan delay - UPDATE

12/03/09
*UPDATE* The lesson plan has been uploaded and it is ready for you to use. You can find the lesson plan by clicking the link on the right, or by clicking here. Thank you for your patience!

11/24/09
The lesson plan is not currently up right now, hopefully there is a way soon to do this. In the meantime, send me a message if you have questions about it and check out the summary, it is basically what the lesson plan is without a template!

A winter treat

When winter rolls in eating local gets incredibly hard, especially if you did not plan ahead. Winter renders local fresh fruit and veg almost non-existent, however, there is a wonderful food that is only produced in the winter. The worlds supply of Maple Syrup is primarily tapped and produced in Ontario and Quebec. This makes Maple Syrup a wonderful local treat. Maple syrup is widely available especially from local craft markets and grocery stores. Combined with local eggs (produced all year round), local milk and any frozen fruit from the summer and fall you nearly have all you need to produce a wonderful meal that can be used for any sitting of the day.

Here is a basic blueberry pancake and maple syrup recipe.

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1-2 cups Blueberries
1 egg
2 - 3 tablespoons oil for cooking

Dry to dry, wet to wet and combine. Dish out into a hot pan with olive oil.
Cook over medium heat until firm with a slight spring.
Add Ontario Maple Syrup to taste.

As a variation try Crepes

1 cup flour
2 Eggs
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Water
1 tbsp, melted Butter
pinch of Salt
Fresh Raspberries: 1 cup
1 tbsp Suggar
Icing Sugar to dust
Maple Syrup to top

Mix all ingredients and cook in olive oil. Be sure to spread the batter out thin.
No need to flip the crepe since they are so thin.
place on a plate and fill with berries. Fold over and dust with icing sugar and/or Ontario Maple Syrup.

Integrating Farm Connection into Education!

It is not easy trying to come up with ways to incorporate supporting local produce into lesson plans or into a curriculum, especially for each subject. I have been able to chat with some students on what they have seen being done around their school in terms of supporting local food and they have no doubt been exposed to this idea, more so outside of the classroom.

Lesson Plans with food?
Food is something that can somehow be incorporated into every subject; it may just be difficult to think up some ideas. I am a music and history major; therefore, I am having quite the difficulty thinking about how promoting local food consumption can be attainable in a math or science classroom. I have created a lesson plan below that can be incorporated into a Ancient Civilization History class that would fall under grade 11 curriculum. I have also created a table with some high school subjects and an idea section that can be filled in. Many students have a class they go to for first period, therefore if the teacher is aware of this issue or environmentally conscious, they can let the students do a potluck breakfast using local products only! That could be an idea to raise awareness even though it doesn't pertain to the subject!
(****Make sure, before assigning anything, CHECK FOR ALLERGIES!!!****)

Extra Curricular Activities
There are ways that students can get involved in extra curricular activities. Sometimes students hold events like bake sales and the fund go towards a charity. For example, some students are in a Habitat for Hope/Humanity organization and need to raise money to build houses and schools in other countries. They can use the bake sales to promote another cause too like purchasing local food and supporting local farmers. That is just an idea; there can be many ways food can be incorporated into fundraiser events. I think extra-curricular clubs are the best way to promote this whether it be an environmental issue, or they raise awareness about another issue while holding a bake sale with locally made ingredients.

Asking my students about their knowledge:
- ECO-saders (school mascot is the crusaders): the eco-saders are the environmental club
- there was a guest speaking in last year who was a farmer and she talked about the crops and how purchasing locally grown food is important
- Some students do their Co-OP on a farm, organic farms

Education and Environment
I believe the idea of our social action project is firstly education about this subject and that it is important to take care of the people around, also it is a good thing for the environment. A lot of schools have their focus on the environment and taking care of it therefore this can be another reason for holding a dinner or a bake sale for other funding. The bake sale or dinner can be made up of local food to promote environmental awareness!

Lesson Plan

World History to the Sixteenth Century, Grade 11, University/College Preparation, CHW3M

Summary: This lesson plan encourages the students to work in groups and master the culture of a specific civilization. This activity can be used at the end of the year/semester when all of the civilizations and cultures have been covered in class and the teacher can use this as a way to get the students to have fun and have a pot luck lunch, with ancient food! So it is a fun way of having a social gathering but also incorporating the curriculum. Students will choose a culture, have one class period to research with group and then the week to get together outside of class. They will produce a dish from the ancient culture and explain it. In doing this they will read up on the required readings in regards to the importance of choosing locally produced food. The websites will be provided. The presentation checklist is in the lesson plan so are the websites. In short, students will present a civilization and a dish that is inspired from that time and place. The dish must have 60% locally produced ingredients and students must indicate the ingredients.


There you have it. The lesson has been added to the lesson plans section of this blog. This is only an example and it can me modified any which way! I hope these are some ideas that can be added to the classroom. Happy last week of practicum!!!!

Markets

Farmers markets are wonderful places to shop. For what is usually just a few minutes out of your way you can support your local Ontario farmers, eat healthy and learn to cook with great ingredients.
My personal favorite markets are St. Lawrence Farmers Market and the Square One Farmers Market.
Even though the standard market season has come to a close it does not mean that we should forget how valuable these resources are during the spring, summer and fall.

The website http://www.farmersmarketsontario.com/ lists 142 member farmers markets in southern Ontario. They even list the procedure to start your own farmers market.
The only complaint I have with the site is it does not list any farmers markets in peel region.

Connect Farm Seminar - Details Announced!

We are pleased to announce some details for the upcoming Connect Farm professional development seminar featuring a panel discussion with local experts in farming, food policy, creative education, nutrition and sustainability.
Connect Farm Seminar
December 8th, 2009
5:15pm - 8:00pm
OISE Room 5-250.

The Seminar will be about 90 minutes and it will be followed by a communal potluck dinner featuring locally produced foods -- if you attend, we invite you to bring something to eat or drink to share.

U of T Students can reserve their spot for the event by registering through SUPO's website. Non-Students are also welcome to attend and can RSVP to oiseconnectfarm@gmail.com before December 6th.

We are currently finalizing the list of speakers for this event, but to date we are honored to have the following three speakers confirmed:

Chris Brown, Food Enterprise Coordinator at The Stop.
"Located in Toronto’s west end, The Stop works to increase access to food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds health and community and challenges inequality.
From its origins as one of Canada’s first food banks, The Stop has blossomed into a thriving community hub where neighbours participate in a broad range of programs that provide healthy food, as well as foster social connections, build food skills and promote engagement in civic issues. "

Paul Finkelstein, Teacher and Culinary Club Leader
Paul is a secondary school teacher in Stratford who started a Culinary Club for his students, which turned into not only an opportunity to teach students about healthy eating, but also to improve the meals served at the school through the creation of the Screaming Avocado Cafe in his school. A profile of this project was featured in the Fall 2009 OSSTF Education Forum magazine. See page 22 of the publication for more details.

Meredith Hayes, Field to Table Schools Coordinator at Foodshare
FoodShare Toronto is a non-profit community organization whose vision is Good Healthy Food for All. They take a multifaceted, innovative, and long-term approach to hunger and food issues, working on food issues "from field to table" - meaning that we focus on the entire system that puts food on our tables: from the growing, processing and distribution of food to its purchasing, cooking and consumption. Public education on food security issues is a big part of Food Share's mandate: they create and distribute resources, organize training workshops and facilitate networks and coalitions.

Ivy Knight, Chef and Food Writer
When not working on the grill station at one of Toronto’s hottest restaurants or organizing culinary competitions between the city’s best chefs, Ivy Knight writes about the food scene for various publications, among them the Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, City Bites, the Toronto Star www.egullet.org and www.gremolata.com. Her latest project, a food radio show called "Swallow" has wrapped and you can now listen to the episodes here.

Angie Koch, Farmer at Fertile Grounds CSA
Fertile Grounds is an organic farm located just west of Waterloo, ON. They distribute direct to embers & customers within 2 days of harvest and sell all of their produce locally because they believe in the economic & political sustainability of local food systems. Fertile Grounds grows organically because they believe that is the best way to nourish ourselves, our customers & the earth, for years to come.

Kristen Schroeder from Real Food for Real Kids.
Real Food for Real Kids has a mission that as educators we should all strive to meet:
- Change the way children eat and understand food.
- Provide children with delicious, healthy, all-natural meals and snacks.
- Reconnect children and families to real food.
- Inspire future generations to make healthier choices, every day.
- Support local farmers and producers who are as committed to responsible and sustainable business practices as we are.

Arlene Stein Co-Leader of Slow Food Toronto; chair of Terroir, and World Food Week

Slow Food Toronto aims to build food community networks; to ensure biodiversity in our local agriculture systems; to support local, small-scale sustainable farm operations and oppose government support of corporate-controlled industrial farming; to create sustainable, local food economies that support just wages for producers; to reconnect people with the pleasure of good food of authentic origin and flavour through taste education; and, to share traditional and ethnic food cultures to ensure their preservation for future generations.

Terroir is Toronto's premier food professional conference. Now in it's second year, Terroir pulls together the cream of the dining, food and wine worlds with an emphasis on excellence and sustainability.

World Food Week 2009 was from October 16-23 at Hart House at the University of Toronto. A week of events designed to heighten awareness and taste buds, exploring relationships with food and what that means for our health and communities.

Restaurants

More and more restaurants seem to be trying out the local menu thing. I just came across an advertisement in a Canadian magazine the other day about Canyon Creek Chophouse serving a local menu. I thought it was kind of cool because they are getting their pickerel from Purdy's fisheries in Point Edward. If you don't know where that is, it's just on Lake Huron and right at the border to USA at Port Huron Michigan. I go to Point Edward every year for a family reunion and we have a fish fry and Purdy's is where the fish is from.
Canyon Creek has put up their menu online to show what produce they are getting from where. Some examples are Enviro Mushrooms from Milton (the smelliest place ever, not even rolling up your windows will ever help), Iroquois Cranberries located in Muskoka, Carron Farms Parsnips, carrots and beets and other places around Ontario. This menu is only on until November 25th. That seems to be a common trend among restaurants, that they will have this local menu for a limited time only like the localicious challenge through WWF. This draws to the attention, why? Would this be to expensive for the restaurants to do? It should be cheaper, it is local. What about the seasonal concerns? Some of this stuff is not in season, some is, and there is a winter coming so retaurants will have to look elsewhere for freshness. Or, is Ontario produce not good enough for restaurants? Anyways, those are some questions to think about. Here is the link for Canyon Creek Chophouse: http://www.canyoncreekchophouse.com/new.php
Cheers
Em

Foodland Ontario Availability Guide

If you ever wondered if you were buying out of season Foodland Ontario has a great chart to follow.

Right now Ontario is offering Apples, Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Greenhouse Cucumber, Garlic, Leeks, Greenhouse Lettuce, Mushrooms, Onions, Greenhouse peppers, potatoes, Radishes, Rutabaga, Sprouts, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, and Greenhouse tomatoes.

http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/availability.html

100 Mile Finds

Today as I was checking out my usual weekly blog reads, I came across this call for vendors on Toronto Craft Alert. It seems that the buy local movement is rapidly spreading beyond food to incorporate hand crafted or locally produced clothing and household items. 100milefinds.com sounds like it's going to be a localized version of Etsy.com, which has taken off in the past several years to be the e-bay of the crafting world.

Supporting locally made goods is just as important as supporting locally grown produce, for all the same reasons: saving in fuel and transportation costs (both economical and environmental) and supporting local economies. Therefore, when we are teaching our students about the importance of buying locally, we should not overlook the possibilities for these items.

As individuals, we should strive to support these local artisans and remember that a dollar spent on their goods is a dollar that stays local and helps strengthen our local economy. Not to mention your product will be unique and more interesting than something mass produced! For example, rather than buying your next greeting card at Shopper's Drug Mart, where it was probably printed in some far off place and shipped half way around the world, check out a local Etsy.com seller -- or the soon to come 100milefinds.com -- and pick up something special.

Finally, if you know any local Toronto crafters or artisans that might want to list their goods on 100milefinds.com, spread the word!

Burning Poop

I am always surprised by how much my life is totally Po-Mo; something is always referencing something else. Yesterday I decided to avoid doing work by sitting around, eating ramen noodles, and watching Rear Window; then SNL did a scatalogical spoof on it. Stuff like this is always happening to me.

The latest of these intertextual life experiences is Scientific American. I've been a subscriber for years and last night I picked up the November copy and found an article about vertical farms. How fortuitous. Or so I thought. The article left me completely torn between what I feel is important and what I know is true. The article is written by Dickson Despommier who is a public health and microbiology professor at Columbia University. He's also the president of the Vertical Farm Project. The gist of the article is that farming is bad for the planet. He cites that there isn't enough land, that farms create too many fossil fuel emissions, that farming wastes water and makes it undrinkable, that the oceans are dying...yadda yadda yadda. I see his point. Absolutely. I worry, however, about painting farms in such a negative light. His solution involves building skyscrapers that use aeroponics, hydroponics, and drip irrigation to grow crops. These vertical farms would also use "black water" for water and energy - essentially taking what we flush down our toilet, cleaning it up, watering the crops, and then burning the poop for energy. He ACTUALLY says that the "typical half-pound bowel movement contains 300 kilocalories of energy." That was a little TMI. These farms would have the benefits of virtually eliminating food-borne buggies and would use a lot less water. They would also be closer to urban centers. He says that local food "would become the norm." I'm not sure this fits my personal definition of local food. Is it closer? Yes. Is it better? Maybe. Does it support local farms? Absolutely not. He only briefly addresses what would happen to farmers, saying that they "would be encouraged to grow grasses and trees, getting paid to sequester carbon." Not on this planet. What is more likely to happen is that they would be totally forgotten. The money would go into developing these new farms, not taking care of old farmers. The big corporations that Despommiers mentions (like the notorious Monsanto) would take over all the production of food and farmers would fall to the wayside. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with having scientists and corporations control ALL my food - they control enough of it already.

All in all, I'm just not sure I buy it. It doesn't address livestock, it doesn't properly address funding or real farmers, it completely ignores the issues around power and corruption. It seems like a great solution to the problems he cites, but it all sounds a little too pie-in-the-sky for me. I love science and I'm all for new things, solutions to environmental problems, and the creation of jobs, but I think there's a middle road that needs to be explored. Considering our food needs will continue to grow, I'm pretty sure there's room for both vertical farms and traditional farms. Vertical farms should be promoted in conjunction with, not in place of, good old-fashioned farms.

I'm just not sure how to say it - supporting local farms just FEELS right. It feels like the ethical thing to do. Maybe I'm just holding on to the past, but is there anything wrong with that?

Local Curried Chick Peas

I've been writing for a while about local produce being used to create exotic foods and so, this is my first attempt to make an Indian dish using only local ingredients (except for the spices).

The chick peas I found were from a brand that only harvests its beans from a Canadian source (they are grown in Alberta and Saskatchewan). I know this is not in Ontario, but it is still the local option compared to an American or European brand.
Also, although the recipe calls for the vegetables to be peeled and minced, I always use a food processor because then the consistency of the final product is always closer to what you find in restaurants.

The Recipe is as follows:

3 tbsp olive oil
2 medium sized onions, peeled and minced
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
2 large fresh tomatoes, finely chopped and skinned
1 green pepper, chopped
2 20 oz cans of chickpeas, drained
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp very finely grated fresh ginger

Heat oil over medium heat in soup pot or Dutch oven.
Put in minced onion and garlic and stir fry until rich in colour.
Turn heat to medium-low and add ground cumin, cayenne, and turmeric.
Sit a few seconds and then add cilantro, green pepper, and tomatoes.
Stir-fry until the mixture is well mixed.
Add the chick peas.
Stir and add paprika and salt.
Stir again, cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes (or longer if necessary).
Remove cover and add ginger.
Stir and cook for another few minutes.

The dish has a sweeter flavour than most curries, but it is delicious nonetheless.
Look for my next post when I will attempt to make naan bread from local flour!

Butternut Squash puff Pizza

This recipe is a version of Gordon Ramsay's Butternut squash puff pizza.
With the exception of the pastry, oil, salt and pepper all the ingredients are local Ontario items that can be found in the fall. Butternut squash and sage can even be grown at home. Experiment with this recipe it is a wonderful base for extra ingredients like turkey or pork.

2 packs of frozen phyllo dough
1 medium butternut squash
dried sage
fresh sage
Extra Virgin olive oil
Smoked Cheddar
salt & pepper

Thaw the phyllo dough. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
Roll the dough out into two squares that line the baking sheet.
Overlap the seam and roll flat. Score a 20-30mm border around the edge.

Peel and chop the butternut squash into cubes.
Saute the squash in a hot pan with the oil. (make sure the pan is hot before the oil goes in or the squash may be greasy)
season with salt and pepper.
Bake the squash for 20 min in a 350 degree oven.

Lightly dust the dough with the dried sage.
Sprinkle a small amount of the cheddar on top.
Place the butternut squash on next.
Finish with more cheese and the fresh sage.

Bake at 350 until the edges puff up and turn golden brown.
Remove it from the tray by sliding the dough off before cutting.

Two things: FarmVille love and Local vs. Sustainable

Hello! So another week gone by. I want to try and incorporate some images into my blogs so I decided to take a picture of my farm on FarmVille. Yes yes I know, FarmVille notifications are annoying and you hate it when it floods your home space on your facebook page.
I understand your concerns about this game. I am not one to play silly games or have applications on facebook, BUT I am now really into FarmVille. You get to harvest crops, tend to animals and harvest some cool trees and decorate your farm in a neat way. The goal is to make money and get ribbons for different tasks. Any one who's been addicted to The Sims, stay clear of this game if you're short of time. Anyways I thought I might show you what half of my farm looks like now....i have some grapes, potatoes and corn freshly planted. My ultimate goal is to finally reach level 25 so I can harvest sunflowers, because sunflower seeds are my favourite snack (WOW, I jsut read that over and I sound like a HUGE nerd! Really I don't care what level I'm on it's a cute and fun game anyways!). So far, I've just been harvesting a lot of grapes for wine! And they're profitable!

Okay so the main topic, last week I stated the difference between Local and Organic food. There is another common misconception about local and sustainable food. They are in fact also different from one another. WWF is doing a campaign that is called "Localicious" and it promotes eating food that is locally grown to help out the environment. Here is their direct paragraphs that state what Local and sustainable mean separately.

"What is local and sustainable food?

Local food is grown close to where it's being consumed, so it doesn't travel far distances to reach our plates. When food is transported over long distances - especially if by planes or trucks that burn fossil fuel energy - it contributes to global warming and pollution. Consider that the average food product travels 2,000 km before it reaches your home. Now multiply that by each food item you eat each day! That's a lot of fuel, which also means a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. Although local food isn't always available due to seasonality, it's all about doing your best. Every choice you make has an environmental impact and can help lower your carbon footprint.

Sustainable food is not always local, but is produced in a socially responsible manner, with lower impact on the environment. Some sustainable food practices even help protect and enhance wildlife habitats and biodiversity. Look for products like sustainable coffee beans. Although they may travel thousands of miles to reach your table in Canada, coffee is grown on perennial bushes that don't require plowing, which keeps soil carbon stored in the ground. They do not require refrigeration until they're roasted, which means they can travel in more efficient vessels like trains. Other environmental issues to consider when shopping for food include, waste, packaging and recycling.

Local sustainable food: When local sustainable choices are not available, consider purchasing either local or sustainable food to make greener shopping decisions."

(DIRECTLY FROM: http://community.wwf.ca/ActionDetail.cfm?ActionId=44)


Happy Farming!
Em

Ah, me. 'Tis (beginning to be) the season where local foods are less bountiful; i was sad to see that my selection of local greens had shrunk considerably on saturday, when i went to do my shop. I have therefore become familiar with 'red chard', which for some reason had long been an intimidating vegetable for me. Who knew how 'candied' those red stems can be? I didn't.

I regret that I have not been experimenting much with food these days - merely cooking something - anything at all -to bring for lunch during practicum to save me from Scarborough's fast food options, including the nutrient-deficient cafeteria food -- (this is really something that has not changed AT ALL since i was in highschool, the dreck that is on offer for these growing minds to eat! Terrible!)

In any event, the menu for lunch has been brown rice with a variation on additions, like red chard for example. Throw in some chopped egg, feta, onion, celery, some spice, and there you have my hasty but fairly tasty locally sourced meal. The rice is from the states, but all other ingredients come from Ontario...

Traveling and Eating Local

In my household, the "Aeroplan Arrival" magazine is delivered twice a year, corresponding to my parents membership with this plan. In the Fall/Winter issue this year, I noticed an article promoting traveling across North America specifically to eat the local food in particular regions. For example, the city of Charlevoix in Quebec is featured for its use of local cheeses, lamb and bread made from local wheat which is served in many restaurants in the region. Places to visit span throughout Canada and the United States - not surprisingly the destinations most easily obtainable through Aeroplan points which coincides with the ultimate purpose of the magazine to promote travel with Air Canada and its affiliates. For the Toronto section, various regions which are famous for culinary delights are highlighted including Kensington Market, a restaurant called "La Tortilleria" known for its native Mexican chef, and certain restaurants in the downtown core that feature famous, creative chefs who use local recipes to celebrate part of "Canadian History" with horse-meat and pork as stables of the restaurant.


In response to this article, I had a few immediate thoughts:
- Doesn't promoting travel in order to eat local food defeat the purpose of eating locally in the first place? Is the carbon footprint the same or greater when people are being transported so that they can eat locally, rather than when food is taken out of its natural environment to feed people abroad?

- On a more positive note, local food is being used as a type of tourism in places where travelers would not necessarily expect to find "exotic" food, nor would they venture to certain parts of the United States ONLY for dietary reasons. In this way, an article like this brings new meaning and possibilities for traveling in places usually considered to be closer to home.

- Also, to continue my discussion from last week, I am astounded at the possibility of local food being used to create more exotic dishes. There is a continuing belief that local food CANNOT be used to create international cuisine. In my next blog, look for my attempts to make an Indian dish using as many local ingredients as possible.

October Soup

I don't know the real name for October Soup. I have no idea where we got this recipe. My friends and I have been eating it for ten years and we've never called it anything else. The first time we had this soup was at a funeral and we've had it every October since, so we just named it October Soup; mostly so we wouldn't have to eat something called Funeral Soup or Death Broth.



October Soup is perfect for October weather because it is made up mostly of root vegetables (local!) and warm spices (great for dropping temperatures). There is a scrumptious spicy Charmoula (see left) to go with it!! Super duper yummy and comforting. Check it out:

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil

3 cups diced onions

2 cloves garlic

1" piece ginger, peeled and finely minced

2 Tsp Kosher salt

1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes

pinch of saffron

1/2 Tsp cinnamon

1 Tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

3 cups of diced carrots (1/2")

5 cups chicken stock or low sodium chiken broth

1 cup of diced turnips (1/2")

2 cups of diced parsnips (1/2")

2 cups of diced sweet potatoes (1/2")

1 cup of diced celery root (1/2")

16 Oz. canned chick peas, drained & rinsed

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a soup pot. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and salt; saute until onions are translucent. Add red pepper flakes, saffron, cinnamon, thyme and pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Add carrots and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer carrots until almost tender (approx. 15-20 minutes). Add remaining root vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. (My carrots took less and my other root veggies took more.) Stir in the chick peas and crushed tomatoes; return to a boil. Season to tast with salt and pepper, thinning with morestock if necessary. Serve with Charmoula.

For Charmoula, mix in a small bowl:

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup freshlemon juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup chopped parsley

5 cloves garlic, minced

1Tbs paprika

1" piece ginger, peeled and minced

2 Tsp ground cumin

1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to tast

ENJOY!!! (I did!)

Better Homes and Gardens Part 2 Canning

To continue from the freezing section canning can be a great way to preserve fruit, however, those of you who worry about your sugar intake may want to sit most of this one out.

Taken from pages 144-159 of my 1962 Better Homes and Gardens "New" Cook Book, there are two main ways to can fruits and vegetables, sugar or acid. You enemy when canning is bacteria. EVERYTHING IN THE CANNING PROCESS MUST BE STERILE and hostile to bacteria growth. Fruits work well in simple syrup. Lightly boil the fruit and then can in a water bath or pressure cooker. For special treats home made jam works very well. Vegetables can be "pickled" in sugar and vinegar.
It is possible to can vegetables without sugar and vinegar, however, it requires that your canning process uses a pressure cooker and careful attention to the recipe.

Italian Tomato sauce is a great idea for the backyard gardener. Just dedicate a good portion of your garden to plum tomatoes, vine ripe tomatoes, basil and oregano.
There is a large amount of acid in tomatoes that will aid in the canning process.
Create your desired sauce being sure to add appropriate amounts of salt and sugar if called for by the recipe.

While experimenting with our traditional pear jam recipe this year, my wife and I have come up with a new pear jam recipe from Ontario Bartlett Pears.

10 pears, cored and diced finely
3 cups of sugar
1 Lemon very finely diced with rind still attached.
1 tablespoon of fresh minced ginger
1 teaspoon of water

Place the pears and water in a pot to boil on low for 3-5 min being sure to stir often.
Add the sugar, lemon and ginger
When the sugar is added the pears will release a great deal of their water.
Boil down for about 20-25 min until the mixture is thick.
Pack in sterile jars and boil in water bath for at least 20 min.
Be sure to turn the jars upside down for 30s when removing from water bath to kill off any random bacteria.
This batch should not be doubled and should yield approximately 1L of jam spread.

Better Homes and Gardens Part 1 Freezing

Occasionally I must fight back my Anti-American tendencies. Try as some of us might as Canadians to avoid the evils of the U.S.A, every now and then we need to recognize a positive part of what could be a North American heritage. In the home cooking world I can think of no better example than the Better Homes and Gardens "New" Cook Book. As a publication it has evolved over the years, however, my version is circa 1962.
I rely heavily on this book for freezing and canning of seasonal fruits and vegetables.
It covers most of what was considered "normal" crops for post war North America including Beans, Corn, Broccoli, Apples, Blueberries, and Raspberries.

Freezing fruits and vegetables is an essential part of eating locally in Canada. Our growing season is relatively short but that does not mean that we should be completely reliant on warmer lands for 5-6 months every year. Proper freezing and canning should give a bountiful harvest year round with only a minor loss (if any) to flavour and nutritional value.

To avoid copyright infringement I will share just the main procedure from the book on page 162.

The Key to freezing vegetables is to prevent over cooking. Most vegetables need to be blanched for no more than 3-4 min. Once the time is up the vegetables should be plunged into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking. If the vegetables are over cooked you will destroy nutrients, flavour and crispness.

Don't be afraid to experiment and share your harvest with others.
A small backyard garden can yield many bags of beans and other easy-grow vegetables.

Part 2 to come on Canning.

canning makes it to the music scene...

See them in concert! And eat the fruits of Sunparlour Players labour! How canning got even more delicious...

As the Sunparlour Players kick off a coast-to-coast Canadian tour next week in support of their recent release Wave North (Outside Music), the band is pleased to announce a unique new partnership with Bernardin, Canada's trusted leader in home canning products.

For Andrew Penner, the partnership made sense. The lead singer of Sunparlour Players grew up on a farm in the area of Leamington, outside of Windsor, Ontario, in one of Canada's most favourable growing climates. "With the resurgence of eating local and thinking about where your food is coming from, home canning is one of those things that is really becoming popular again. We've been doing this for a while, selling some of our favourite preserves at our shows when we tour."

"We also love how Bernardin works in the community" continues Andrew Penner. Bernardin supports community coops through education and sponsorship and they also maintain a partnership with Foodshare Toronto, an organization who subsidizes fresh produce, student nutrition programs, community gardening, cooking classes and food workshops.

Local vs. Organic: brief summary

So, there is a new craze in my family. It's called eating no meat, only chicken. My grandma, who was married to an Italian, has become a vegan and has been for quite a long time. I have no idea what is going on but so far I have not been bored, yet of course. It is interesting the things we eat, and I don't care what anyone says about the authenticity of the taste, but chicken meatballs do not appeal to me! That may just be a mental thing...
So, living in Burlington and eating local, so far has not been a problem because so far we have had vegetables and poultry from Ontario and if not Ontario it is definitely from within Canada, unless it is tropical of course (I need my pineapple fix, and my orange juice in the morning).
When Bryan Schultz came in the other day he raised a questions that I took note of that to some this may be basic knowledge and to others, maybe through media and recent trends, people may be confused on the difference between Organic and Local food. Sure, it sounds different when you think about it, but some people put them both together. So I am going to briefly differentiate the two.

Organic:
Food that has been produced naturally with limited pesticides possible. Oraganic has been the conventional way of growing food since the beginning of time, but in the 20th century with the introduction of synthetic chemicals and genetically modified foods, Organic is a new thing to the young generations. Countries like Canada must have certain certifications that qualify food as Organic.
http://www.cog.ca/about/about_organics/organic-standards-and-regulations/
In terms of calling Organic food local, sure you can get Organic food at a local farmer's market, but in the big grocery stores you may find food that has been shipped from California or buy some Organic Florida oranges!

Local:
Buying local food can be done for many reasons. You may want to support your province and what it has to offer in terms of produce, or you might have a great interest in reducing the environmental damage with buying food that is produced in other countries. Local food can be from farmers markets or are all over major grocery stores, but this does not make the food Organic jsut because it was grown 20 minutes away from you. Synthetic chemicals are still used in some food production.

These may be basic understandings but sometimes people think they both go hand in hand with eachother. In putting these two together, there is an organization called Local Food Plus that encourages local food consumtion and encourages farmers to use as little chemicals as possible also there is a little bit of information that concerns U of T and it's cafeteria food. Apparently St. George campus residences at U of T are committed to purchasing only local food. Check it out!
http://www.localfoodplus.ca/what_is_lfp.our_mission.gk

Cheers, Emma

ps. lesson plan coming soon

Frozen bananas, root veggies with stems, and Groundhog Day! Oh Me!

I check my freezer. I find two things. Well, three things if you count ice. The first thing is frozen bananas (not from the farm in Milton). The next thing I find is no surprise: Pizza Pops. I've been on a perpetual Pizza Pop diet since September 10. I decide it's time for a trip to the grocery store. Now all I have to do is find one.

I never shop during regular business hours so the closest grocery store is Metro. I know how to find hte pizza pops, but I'm always a little lost in the produce section. my mission is to find the ingredients for October Soup: turnip, sweet potato, celery root, parsnip, etc... Basically a bunch of things I've never seen before (let alone paid money for).

First on my list: carrots. Wandering abou the produce section, I begin to wonder if there is any kind of system employed for displaying fruits and vegetables; there doesn't seem to be. My mission is starting to feel more like a scavenger hunt.

I heard somewhere that toxic chemicals are used to burn off carrot stems, so I'm trying to find carrots with stems. I find a bag of carrots - the big, thick, bitter kind my sister feeds her horse. No stems. Product of USA. No luck. Then I see a bag of baby carrots. No stems. Product of USA. No luck. I finally find a bunch of carrots with stems. They're organic, but they're product of USA and cost $2.99/bunch. I'm sick of looking for carrots and fairly sure I can find other local ingredients for this soup, so I grab a couple of bunches and start looking for turnips.

You would think that root vegetables would be beside other root vegetables, but they're not. So, I go back to the beginning of the produce section and start over again. There I see a bunch of carrots. WITH stems. Not organic. Product of Canada. $1.49/bunch. I go back to the organic section, empty my carrot bag and head back to the beginning of the produce section to begin again, again.

I'm starting to think this eating local thing isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be.



(Next week I PROMISE! October Soup recipe)