What's Happening in April

Spring is upon us, and events and workshops are gearing up around the city! Check out some of these cool things going on next month.



Vancouver Winter Farmers' Market

Credit: Christina Mak

Location: Nat Bailey Stadium, East Parking Lot (4601 Ontario Street / Vancouver - map)

Dates: November 1, 2014 to April 25, 2015

Hours: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm each Saturday



Vendors include
farmers, fishers, artisans, food preparers, and more! Also find a
selection of food trucks and hot drink vendors. Bring your food scraps
from home to recycle at the Food Scraps Drop Spot.





In an effort to reduce plastic use at the market, please bring your own shopping bags.



For more information on the market, including transportation and parking at the site, please visit their website: http://www.eatlocal.org/



Homesteader's Emporium


Location: Various (check website)

Cost: Starting from $15.00


Check
out some of these workshops hosted by the Homesteader's Emporium! For
times, details, and registration for individual workshops, visit their
Workshops page: http://www.homesteadersemporium.ca/calendar/


Upcoming Workshops



April 2: Growing Wheatgrass

April 4: Ginger Beer and Wild Herbal Sodas

April 19: Sauerkraut 101 (Rooted Nutrition)

April 26: Kombucha 101 (Rooted Nutrition)



Seasons of Food Workshops



Location: Hastings Community Centre (3096 East Hastings Street / Vancouver - map)

Cost: $15.00



Upcoming Workshops



April 11: Korean Cooking

April 14: Seasonal Soups

April 18: Indian Cooking

April 19: Kombucha

April 22: Crock Pot Yogurt

April 25: Korean Cooking


For more information or to register, please email Seasons of Food.



GardenSmart Workshops



Location: Various (check website)

Cost: $8.25



Learn how to grow your own food, support your local ecology, and reduce
waste in your own backyard. GardenSmart Workshops are brought to you by
the North Shorth Recycling Program, the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, and
the Edible Garden Project.



Registration is required. To register or for more information, visit the workshop Eventbrite page here.



Upcoming Workshops

 

April 11: Your First Vegetable Patch

April 12: High Yield Gardening in Small Spaces

April 19: Transform Your Lawn into a Veggie Patch

April 25: Small Space Gardening

April 26: Backyard Rainwater Harvesting

April 26: The Scoop on Soil

Porcini Mushroom Risotto on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

This morning on CBC's Weekend Morning Show, with host Terry MacLeod, I presented this grown up comfort food, Porcini Mushroom Risotto.

Mushroom Risotto (can make variations such as squash, asparagus, saffron, etc.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter

2 cups flavorful mushrooms such as shiitake, chanterelle, or oyster mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into half inch to inch pieces

2/3 cups dry white wine

5-6 cups stock (chicken, vegetable)

1/3 cup of peeled and minced shallots (OR 1/3 cup of yellow or white onion, finely chopped)

1 3/4 cups Arborio

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives

Method

1.Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

2. Melt the butter in a deep, heavy, medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and saut� about 5 minutes (if using chanterelles, dry saut� first for a minute or two and let the mushrooms cook in their own juices before adding the butter). Add the rice and stir to combine.

3. Add wine, bring to a boil, and reduce liquid by half, about 3-4 minutes. Add simmering stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the edges of the pan. Stir the rice almost constantly � stirring sloughs off the starch from the rice, making the creamy sauce you're looking for in a risotto. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. This process will take about 25 minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy.

4. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

Enjoy!

Is Meat Unhealthy? Consolidated links

Several people have asked for a consolidated list of links to my series on meat and health.  Here it is!  This should make it easier to share.  

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part I.  Introduction and ethical/environmental considerations.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part II.  Our evolutionary history with meat.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part III.  Meat and cardiovascular disease.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part IV.  Meat and obesity risk.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part V.  Meat and type 2 diabetes risk.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part VI.  Meat and cancer risk.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part VII.  Meat and total mortality.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part VIII.  Health vs. the absence of disease.

Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part IX.  Summary.

Classic Deviled Eggs

There are a trajillion deviled egg recipes on the internet.
Fancy ones with Dungeness crab on top or truffle oil mixed in. Spicy ones with sriracha or horseradish. Deviled eggs with bacon, goat cheese, and avocado. Southern, southwest, and buffalo deviled eggs. I even saw a recipe for breaded, deep fried deviled eggs. Whoa! And, for every crazy, fusion-y, fun deviled egg out there, there are probably 3 takes on the classic version.

This is mine. It�s not inventive or overly exciting, but it�s how my family has always done deviled eggs, and we�re quite fond of it� in fact, we typically turn our noses up at other people�s deviled eggs. I learned sometime in the last few years that some people don�t put mustard�just mayo�in their classic deviled eggs, and I found this shocking. And terrible. You guys! Mustard! It�s a must�urd. 

We typically don�t measure, just add and taste and add and taste, but I did the due diligence for you here, so you can you have what I consider the best classic, basic deviled egg. And with Easter just around the corner, you should have a lot of hard boiled eggs on hand in the next few weeks! Here�s the step by step of how we usually make them:

1. Once the eggs have been boiled and cooled, I make it very clear that Amanda doesn�t get to make the eggs, because she over mustards them. Mustard is key, but too much of a good thing can be... a bad thing. I shoo her out of the kitchen. 
2. Once the eggs are peeled, halved, and scooped, I shoo my mom out of the kitchen, because she keeps trying to eat them all. On her way out, I concede, and let her eat the whites that didn�t peel or halve well. There�s usually at least one in the bunch. This just means more filling for the rest of the eggs, which let�s be real, is the best part. 
3. I add the yolks, a squirt of mayo, and a squirt of classic yellow mustard to a bowl, and mash it up with a fork. Sometimes with a pastry blender (which, by the way, I also use for guacamole). In goes a sprinkle of salt. 
4. Now Amanda and Mel are welcomed back into the kitchen, and we all do a taste test. Amanda requests more mustard. Mel requests more mayo. I need a little more salt. 
5. I add just a little bit more of each. We don�t want them too mayonnaisily (new word) creamy, or too tangy and mustardy. By we, I mean me. Amanda wants them too mustardy. She�s banished once again.
6. If we have company joining us, I scoop the filling into a large ziplock back, snip the corner, and adorably pipe the filling into the egg halves. If it�s just us, I spoon it in and don�t even bother smoothing out the top. 
7. Finally, a sprinkle of sweet Hungarian paprika, and the eggs have been deviled and are ready to chill for later or eat right now. 
8. Amanda squirts an additional dollop of mustard on top of her egg. She�s insane. 

Classic Deviled Eggs
Makes 6 full / 12 half eggs. Double recipe if you're using a full dozen.

6 hardboiled eggs, peeled and halved

1.5 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 1/4 teaspoon classic yellow mustard

Salt

Sweet Hungarian Paprika

Scoop the egg yolks into a bowl, and add mayo, mustard, and a pinch of salt. Mash up with a fork and stir until combined and smooth. Taste. To make creamier, add a bit more mayo. For more tang, add more mustard. Add more salt as needed. Pipe or scoop the yolk mixture into the egg white halves, and sprinkle with paprika. For a simple twist, sprinkle on a little smoked paprika!

Job Posting: Event Project Coordinator

Burnaby Food First is looking for an Event Project Coordinator!



Event Project Coordinator

Application Deadline: March 31, 2015 at 4:00 pm

Term: Part-time, April 15, 2015 to October 31, 2015

Pay:  $2,050.00 ($20.50 per hour; 100 hours total)



Burnaby Food First is looking for a coordinator to organize and staff our display tables at 12 events. The events occur on weekends and holiday Mondays from May 2015 through to October 2015.



Responsibilities:



* Liaise with community groups and organizations to arrange for BFF displays to be part of events. (Connections have already been established to varying degrees with 9 venues/events.)

* Collaborate with the relevant Burnaby Food First Teams and individuals for each display (e.g., the Apron Project).

* Use the BFF list of volunteers to solicit volunteers to staff the BFF display events.

* Attend the events to set up, staff, and take down the display.

* Track contacts made at the events and refer to appropriate BFF Teams.

* Maintain the display and add to it as appropriate.

* Keep an account of all expenses and submit invoices and receipts.

* Write a brief evaluation of the project at the conclusion of the contract.



Requirements:



* Good oral and written communications skills

* Motivation to work independently

* Excellent skills in working collaboratively

* Experience with or awareness of how to organize and motivate volunteers

* Knowledgeable and passionate about food security/sovereignty issues

* Demonstrated ease engaging with the public of all ages

* Ability to liaise as a representative of an organization in a friendly, professional manner

* Creative ability to contribute to display materials and activities.



To apply, please send a one-page letter outlining your relevant experiences with references and your contact information to us by email by Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 4:00 pm.

Get Ready to Garden!

The trees are in bloom and flowers are peeking their heads out! With spring around the corner, it's time to get ready to garden!



Sharing Backyards Burnaby

One of the biggest barriers
to growing food in the city is access to land -- but many people with
yards, lawns, and backyards have plenty of room to spare! Sharing Backyards links
people with unused yard space with those looking for a place to grow
food. If you have a garden and want to share it with someone, or if you
are looking for a space to garden, Sharing Backyards is for you.



How do I register for the program?



Our Sharing Backyards program, in its second year, is now underway!



Head to our Sharing Backyards page for more details on the program and registration process. To register, send us an email to get started!



Get Started



Want to get an idea of how our program works? Check out our feature post (leaflet, PDF). We also have a number of available gardens that we're currently looking to connect gardeners with!



North Burnaby: Two yards (one gardener each)

Burnaby Heights: One yard (one gardener)

Cariboo Hill: One yard (one gardener)

Edmonds (Goodlad Garden): Two to three plots



If you're looking for space or want to offer space in other parts of Burnaby, give us a shout! 



Volunteer School Garden Mentors

Looking to share your gardening experience?



We are looking for School Garden Mentors for the Youth Connection Project (funded by VanCity), a partnership between Burnaby Food First and Green Your City.



Garden mentors will work hands-on with Burnaby high school students in their school gardens to help make the gardens a success.



Burnaby Food First is looking for volunteers who are experienced gardeners and enjoy working with youth. Time commitment is flexible. A criminal record check is required.



For more information or to apply to volunteer, send us an email.

Squash gnudi! So easy with great results!

I tried out this recipe for squash gnudi.  The original recipe called for Butternut Squash but I had Kuri Squash.  So easy and so yummy!

Squash Gnudi
 
1  squash, about 3 lb. (baked and scooped out of shell)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. fine sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
2 cups flour, sifted
8 Tbs unsalted butter, browned
10 fresh sage leaves (to taste)
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

 Pass the baked squash through a ricer or mash well.  When cooled, add beaten eggs and seasonings and mix well.  Sift flour into squash mixture and stir until well incorporated.  Add enough flour to make a light sticky batter.  Chill at least one hour.

Set a pot of salted water to boil.  Brown butter in another pan and add fresh sage leaves toward the end.  Turn butter off until gnudi is ready.  When water boils, drop gnudi into gently boiling water with a small spoon.  When the gnudi floats, scoop out of water, drain and add to hot butter. Let coat gnudi and plate.  Top with grated cheese.

Enjoy!