forage

So I am proud to say that I have been nominated by Slow Food Calgary to represent the Alberta Community of Cooks at Terra Madre 2008 this fall in Torino, Italy. Terra Madre is a biennial gathering of over 7000 farmers, growers, fishermen, cooks, and academics that has been dubbed the United Nations of Food. I attended Terra Madre 2006 and it was an amazing experience. Take a look at the Terra Madre link on the sidebar to find out more. Slow Food Calgary has put together a get group of nominees and congratulations to all of them.

 

And now even more exciting news… Chef Paul McGreevy (St. Germain, Tangerine) joins our infuse/forage team this week. Paul has an incredible passion for the best local ingredients and we look forward to working with him.

 

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Shepherd’s Pie

Hoven Farms organic beef, carrots, peas, and corn all topped with mashed

potatoes $11 add a green salad $4

Tuesday - Butter Chicken

Sunworks Farm organic chicken smothered in a curried tomato and cream sauce served with basmati rice $14

Wednesday - Butternut Squash Risotto Cake

Roasted butternut squash risotto cake served with Lund’s Organic cabbage $12

Thursday - Italian Meatloaf

Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork and Hoven Farms beef meatloaf with italian herbs and tomato glaze served with smashed buttermilk potatoes $13

Friday - Chicken Pot Pie

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, potatoes, carrots, and peas in white sauce with a biscuit top $10 add a green salad $4

This Week’s Soup – Chicken And Wild Rice $8

This Week’s Stew – Bison Stew $8

Something Sweet – Mom’s Chocolate Cake $4

Forage Spring Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM

New Spring Hours begin this week. Beginning on Tuesday, Forage will open at 2PM and close at 7PM. We will be adjusting how much of the special we make to be sure that it is available until closing.

Sue and I visited a few new farms last Monday and it was amazing to see about 80 chefs from the city interested in the farms and the products grown on them. Broxburn Cafe in Lethbridge put on a great lunch featuring local ingredients and it was nice to step away from the city for a bit. We will be adding the herbs from Debbie McGee Herbs to our suppliers list.

Congratulations to Genevieve (our Chef) and Chris on the birth of their new son Ethan Charles on Good Friday! Mom and baby are doing great.

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday - Closed

Tuesday - Italian Chicken Sausage

Sunworks Farm italian chicken sausage smothered in Gull Valley Green Houses peppers, tomato sauce, and white beans $12 add a green salad $4

Wednesday - Ratatouille

Gull Valley Green House eggplant, tomatoes and peppers, with zucchini served with Highwood Crossing wheatberries $13

Thursday - Cider Pork Casserole

chunks of Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork simmered with apple cider and leeks served with thyme scented mashed potatoes $13

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

Sunworks Farm organic chicken roasted until golden, served with buttermilk smashed potatoes and gravy $38 whole $25 half $14 quarter

This Week’s Soup – Chicken And Wild Rice $8

This Week’s Stew – Beef Chili $8

Something Sweet – Apple Caramel Cake $4

Lots to fill you in on this week…

First off, Sue and I will be away from Forage on Monday for a Southern Alberta Farm tour put on by Rudy Knitel of Galimax Trading. Rudy represents several farms, including Broek Pork Acres, and delivers twice a week to Calgary. He tells me they have over 100 cooks signed up for the tour! The picture below is Fairwinds Farm from last year’s tour.

Also, we are changing to our Spring hours after Easter Monday. Effective Tuesday, March 25^th, we will open an hour earlier at 2PM and close an hour earlier at 7PM. We have had requests to be open a little earlier and to be honest, that last hour of the day has been quite slow. We’ll be closed for Easter weekend and reopen at 2PM on Tuesday.

We have also added products from Gull Valley Green Houses this past week and to our surprise, Scott even had tomatoes on Friday. You can now pick up their lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and we’ll add the bell peppers and green beans when they come into season. Boy did we miss his tomatoes!

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday – St. Patrick’s Day - Irish Stew

Cakadu Heritage lamb, potatoes, carrots, root vegetables simmered with thyme $9

Tuesday - Chicken Paprikash

Sunworks Farm chicken in hungarian paprika sour cream sauce served with egg noodles $13 add pickled slaw $3

Wednesday - Stuffed Pepper

Gull Valley Green House green pepper stuffed with tomato rice, eggplant and cannellini beans served with a green salad $13

Thursday - Bison Meatloaf

Buffalo Horn bison meatloaf with mashed potatoes, saskatoon berry gravy, and steamed Lund’s Organic carrots $14

Friday - Closed – Happy Easter!

Closed Easter Monday

Enjoy the long weekend!

 

This Week’s Soup – Tomato Rosemary Cream $7

This Week’s Stew – Irish Stew $9

Something Sweet – Fudge Brownie $4

 

Forage Winter Hours Monday to Friday 3PM to 8PM

Forage Spring Hours (starting March 25^th) Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM

 

 

Hello All!

One of my goals this year is to expand the range of farms that supply Infuse and Forage. In particular, to find new ingredients from the farms that supply the Edmonton area farmers’ markets. This week we are beginning to carry products from Greens, Eggs, and Ham. Andreas and Mary Ellen Grueneberg have a picturesque farm about 15 minutes East of Leduc. They raise and grow a variety of things, but their specialty is duck and duck products. I have been blown away by the taste and quality of their products and their eagerness and passion for what they do. They tell us that Forage will be the first place in Calgary to sell their products and we are proud to offer them. Today we’ll begin with their outstanding duck prosciutto and over the next few months we’ll add more.

Gull Valley Green Houses are also back this week and we have limited supply of their lettuce and cucumbers.

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday – Chicken Burrito

Sunworks Farm chicken, rice, and beans wrapped in a Tres Marias tortilla with Sylvan Star cheddar and fresh salsa $13

Tuesday – Chicken Fried Steak

Hoven Farms organic beef steak fried with southern coating and served with mac and cheese and pan gravy $13

Wednesday – Vegetable Tagine

Lund’s Organic carrots, Gull Valley Green Houses eggplant, cauliflower, and chick peas simmered wit Moroccan spices and served with pistachio cous cous $12

Thursday – BBQ Chicken Casserole

Sunworks Farm chicken, Gull Valley Green Houses green peppers, potatoes, and onions smothered in BBQ sauce with a cornmeal crust served with creamy slaw $13

Friday – Italian Meatballs

Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork meatballs simmered in tomato sauce with penne $12 add a green salad $4

This Week’s Stew – Hunter’s Stew $9

This Week’s Soup – Mexican Chicken $8

This Week’s Sweet – Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing $4

Hello Everyone!

As the local food movement takes hold, it seems that everyone is getting onboard. I know of several local, national, and international retailers that are adding local foods to their offerings. “Know where your food comes from” means asking questions not only about who the farmer is or where it was grown, but also about the breed of animal, the origin of the seeds, their handling methods, the challenges, and even the economics of agriculture. At Forage we have done a lot of the groundwork, toured the farms, asked the questions, worked with the farmers. This doesn’t mean we know it all, but it means that we can provide our customers with food that we know about and can proudly serve. So, if you have any questions, ask us. If we can’t answer it, we’ll ask the farmer.

Monday - Italian Meatloaf

Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork and Hoven Farms beef with Italian herbs and a tomato glaze served with mashed potatoes $14

Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, Lund’s organic potatoes, carrots, and green peas in herb white sauce with a biscuit top $10 add green salad $4

Wednesday - Vegetable Spring Roll

big spring roll filled with cabbage, mushrooms, and carrot served with fried rice and ginger sesame carrots $13

Thursday - Bison Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison, tomatoes, cabbage, and macaroni baked with sylvan star cheddar cheese on top $12

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

Sunworks Farm organic chicken roasted until golden, served with mashed potatoes and gravy - $38 whole $25 half $14 quarter

This Week’s Soup – Bison and Wheatberry $8

This Week’s Stew – Italian Grilled Chicken Sausage $9

Something Sweet – Yellow Cake With Chocolate Icing $4