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My children are the seventh generation of Canadians on my side of the family. My forbears first came to Ontario in the 1850s from Scotland and they must have been hearty souls, indeed. Although the majority of the family laid their roots in urban Toronto and stayed there, one branch of the family set off to a small town just north of Toronto and began the hard task of farming.
I've thought about those settlers a few times this winter as we were pounded with more and more snow. In those days, you had to be organized and thrifty and careful with the preservation of your foodstuffs, if your family was to survive the winter. It's now the second week of April, and I've been whining about being tired of cabbage and rutabagas. Of course, my great-great-great-grandparents didn't have the option of running to the grocery for the guilty pleasure of buying a head of lettuce from the United States when vegetables got boring. They just got on with it and boiled some more spuds. No doubt they had a cold cellar and ate potatoes, carrots, and rutabagas, and prayed for spring more fervently than I've ever done.
So when we received an invitation to The Brewers Plate, A Local Sustainable Feast, my husband asked "What the heck are they going to serve us at this time of the year?" Well, some root vegetables, of course.This is a dinner being held this Friday, April 11 in Toronto and is co-sponsored by Local Foods Plus, Slow Food Toronto and Green Enterprise Toronto. The dinner celebrates our late winter fare by pairing chefs using local produce, meat and fish with local breweries.
Some of the delicacies to look forward to include:
- "Oreo" of Northern Woods Mushrooms with Wit beer gastrique, Jerusalem Artichokes and Walnuts
- Cherry Chocolate Stout Braised Bison Shortrib on Fondant Potato with Sour Cherry Jelly
- Wheat Berry-Banana Weissbier Fritters with Citrus Curd
- Ontario Pickerel and Frites with Cole Slaw and Wild Leek Tartar Sauce
- Traditional Pulled Pork and Bean
- Barley Risotto, with or without Smoked Trout
- Potato and Onion Galette topped with Monforte's Smoked Sheep's Milk Cheddar garnished with Toronto Sprouts' Super Mix and Steam Whistle Pilsner-toasted Mustard Seed Vinaigrette
The Chefs include Jamie Kennedy of JK, Deron Engbers of Veritas, Brook Kavanagh of La Palette, Mark Cutrara of Cowbell, Karen Vaz of Rebel House, and Marc Breton of Gladstone. The breweries Cameron's, Mill Street, Steam Whistle, Wellington's, Church Key and Black Oak.
As Lloyd told us over at TreeHugger, this is based on a dinner first held in Philadelphia. As more and more communities celebrate their local food, you may be able to find something like this happening in your own neighbourhood. If you live in the Toronto area and would like to attend, check out the website for information. I believe there are still tickets available.
Difficulty Level: Easy
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