forage

Hello All!

So, I’m a little sleepy this morning and it’s taking me a bit to get the menu out!  I spent the weekend with Peter and Judy Haase at Buffalo Horn Ranch tagging the new bison.  In all, we ran over 100 bison through their system of gates and corrals onto a weight scale and then through a squeeze that holds the calf while they get their tags.  My job on Saturday was to hold a sweater over the eyes of the calf and keep them calm.  They keep the whole process as stress free as possible which means a lot of patience on our part as we move and sort them.  That’s Deanna from Three Sisters Pies holding the calf head in the picture.  Overall it was an amazing experience and we plan to help again next year.  I’ll post a more detailed report to the blog in the next week.  If you want to meet Peter and Judy and hear more about their operation come to the Slow Food Calgary Kitchen Workshop next Tuesday.

We also have something special for the kids for Halloween on Wednesday, so be sure to swing by.  

Here are the specials for this week:

Monday - Bison Meatloaf

buffalo horn ranch bison with a saskatoon berry bbq sauce glaze served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes  $12

Tuesday - Thai Beef Stir Fry

hoven farms organic beef and lunds organic broccoli and carrots with a thai green curry and rice  $11

Halloween Wednesday - Roasted Cinderella Pumpkin Risotto Cake

french heirloom pumpkin (also called rouge vif d’etampes)
risotto cake with gouda and braised autumn greens  $11

Kids Special For Halloween - Hoven Farms Organic Hot Dog

for costumed kids only – comes with spooky gingerbread cookies  $3

Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie

sunworks farm chicken, carrots, potato, beans and white sauce with biscuit top  $10

Friday - Choucroute Garni

a classic french dish –  ours has turkey mettwurst, ham sausage, smoked pork belly, sauerkraut, white wine, and potatoes  $13

This Week’s Soup – Chicken Noodle 

Something Sweet – Spooky Gingerbread Cookies

Hello All!

We have some great specials this week including a traditional Moussaka featuring lamb, pork, and eggplant. The eggplants from Gull Valley Green Houses taste fantastic and if you haven’t had them when they are this fresh, you probably think all eggplants are bitter. This is not the case with the ones we use. Also, the eggplants at Gull Valley Green Houses started out being planted as indicators for insect infestations. They would put an eggplant plant at the end of every other row because they are more easily attacked and would show signs that there might be a problem with insects before they got to the tomato plants.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Organic Turkey In Tortilla

sunworks farm turkey, beans, and rice wrapped in a tres marias flour tortilla served with tomato salsa salad $12

Tuesday - Hunter’s Stew

hoven farms beef braised with cabbage, smoked ham hock, and potatoes $10

Wednesday - Moussaka

organic lamb, berkshire pork, and gull valley green houses eggplant topped with bechamel $11

Thursday - Stuffed Bell Pepper

gull valley green house bell pepper with tomato rice, black beans and vegetables served with green salad $10

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

the classic – whole, half, or quarter roasted organic sunworks farm chicken with chive mashed potatoes and gravy $14 quarter $24 half $36 whole

this week’s soup – roasted beet borscht

something sweet – pear bundt cake

I was asked to participate in an Alberta Agriculture meeting yesterday in Leduc.  Several different departments gathered farmers, producers, food writers, chefs, and industry leaders to discuss the direction of alternative agriculture.  This is a term I had not heard yet.  After a little discussion I came to understand that alternative agriculture refers to organics, farm gate sales, farmers markets, agritourism, and anything else that is not the commodity driven approach to food.  This means the small scale family farms that are trying to compete with a quantity over quality world.  The producers we use at Forage and Infuse are all part of alternative agriculture.

The moral of the story was that in order to survive, these small scale farms have to be diversified.  They need to look at other creative ways to increase their bottom line because consumers want to have great experiences that will shape their relationships with farmers.  They are also so out of touch with where their food comes from that farmers need to be educators and promoters of healthier, local eating.  This puts an incredible importance on what they are all doing and yet the support is difficult to find on many levels.

The encouraging thing about yesterday was that the front line workers for Alberta Agriculture are starting to see the interwoven nature of the challenge ahead.  They see that more departments are going to have to work together in order to create the real change that is urgently needed.  They are starting to understand that our health crisis is connected to the food we eat and that we can benefit socially by making local products available to lower income families and individuals.  They are breaking down the barriers that exist and are looking for input and direction on how to proceed.  They understand that their role is to facilitate change that is driven by alternative agriculture, the food industry, and consumers. 

So when they kept on referring to alternative agriculture it made me cringe.  There really isn’t any alternative.  This is exactly the kind of agriculture we need to support in order to affect change. 

Hello All!

So there are lots of exciting things coming over the next few weeks at Forage.  The biggest being our Buffalo Horn Ranch kitchen workshop with Slow Food Calgary on Tuesday November 5th.  For more info, go to the newly revamped Slow Food Calgary website at www.slowfoodcalgary.ca  These events always sell out so get your tickets fast.  I am also planning to go up to Buffalo Horn in a couple weeks to help with the bison tagging so look to our website for pictures and stories on that.

Also, the Alberta Terra Madre group will be gathering in a few weeks.  Terra Madre is the United Nations of Food and it is held every two years in Torino, Italy.  Last year, almost 40 producers, ranchers, and chefs from Alberta were selected to attend.  They joined others from over 150 countries to learn and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing global agriculture.  The experience was amazing and everyone brought back renewed passion for the food that we grow and create here.

Here are the specials for this week:

Monday -  Grilled Pork Sausage

sunworks farm organic garlic rosemary pork sausage simmered in ratatouille served with green salad with red wine vinaigrette  $12

Tuesday - Chicken Tamale Pie

sunworks farm chicken, beans, corn and peppers baked with a cornmeal crust  $10

Wednesday - Sugar Pumpkin Risotto Cakes

roasted organic sugar pumpkin risotto formed into a cake and topped with sylvan star gouda served with braised autumn greens  $12

Thursday - Beef Stew

hoven farms organic beef and lund’s organic carrots, potatoes, rutabaga, and parsnips served with a fresh buttermilk biscuit  $10

Friday - Roast Berkshire Pork

broek pork acres berkshire pork roasted with herbs served with pan gravy and mashed potatoes  $13

This Weeks Soup – Roasted Beet Borscht

Something Sweet – Fudge Brownies

Hello All!

So are we out of the turkey coma yet? Sue and I had a blast on Friday morning helping Sunworks Farm hand out their awesome turkeys to those who had preordered them. I have to say it was a great bunch of people. And, the results of an informal survey say that it is 50/50 on whether it is called dressing or stuffing. I have always called it dressing but everyone had their reasons for calling it one or the other.

Well, to beat the turkey blues, here are the specials for this week:

Tuesday - Italian Meatballs

berkshire pork from broek pork acres simmered in forage tomato sauce served with taber corn polenta $10

Wednesday - Grilled Bison Steak and Cheese

our version of the philly steak and cheese - buffalo horn ranch bison and gull valley green houses peppers and sylvan star gouda on our own roll served with blue cheese potato salad $12

Thursday - Butter Lamb and Rice

cakadu heritage lamb simmered in a tomato cream sauce with curry spices served with basmati rice $12

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

the classic – whole, half, or quarter roasted organic sunworks farm chicken with chive mashed potatoes and gravy $14 quarter $24 half $36 whole

This Weeks Soup
– roasted butternut squash soup

Something Sweet
– fudge brownie

Just a heads up… the City is in the process of repaving the North ramp into the Forage parking lot this week so you have to enter off of 19th Street.  You will need to exit the same way.

Hello All!

So as you are giving thanks this weekend remember all the farmers and growers that work so hard to bring us great food. If you are at the farmers market, be sure to say thank-you to them.

Here are the specials for this week of October 1st:

Monday - Beef Rigatoni

hoven farms organic beef, peppers, mushrooms, spinach and penne pasta in tomato sauce topped with bechamel and cheese

Tuesday - Chicken Normandy

Sunworks Farm organic chicken simmered with apple cider, leeks, and potatoes served with a buttermilk biscuit

Wednesday - Berkshire Pork Roast

Leg of the heritage breed black pig roasted with herbs served with roasted potatoes

Thursday - Ratatouille And Cous Cous

Sue makes a beautiful ratatouille featuring Gull Valley Green Houses peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes served with cous cous

Friday - Organic Beef Burgers And Hot Dogs

We are firing up the grill for the long weekend and offering organic burgers and hot dogs from Hoven Farms served on our own buns with fixings – come down and start the long weekend off right

This Weeks Soup – Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Happy Thanksgiving!