forage

For our final instalment for Thanksgiving I want to recognize the farmers themselves. It takes a special person to work with nature to raise quality food and bring it to the market and often we overlook their importance. Thanksgiving is a celebration of their faith and effort and they need to be thanked for that. As we move forward we are going to need more farmers in Alberta to grow more products for us and this is where our biggest challenge may lay. Farming needs to be seen as a rewarding profession in order to draw more people into it.

We’ve got a couple new products available this week – MacKay’s Cochrane Pumpkin Ice Cream, and fresh garlic from John Mills of Eagle Creek Ranch. John is attending Terra Madre as a youth delegate later this month and this garlic is beautiful!

Forage will be closed Friday, October 10^th through Monday, October 13^th for the Thanksgiving weekend and again Tuesday, October 21^st through Wednesday, October 29^th so Sue can attend Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto in Italy. Thank-you in advance for understanding our need to be closed. We run with a small team and it would be too hard to try and stay open during this time.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Normandy

Sunworks Farm organic chicken in an apple cider and leek sauce with mushrooms served on egg noodles $14

Tuesday - BBQ Bison Casserole

Slow roasted Buffalo Horn Ranch bison in BBQ sauce with peppers, Taber corn, and topped with mashed potatoes $13

Wednesday - Ratatouille

Sue is making her classic ratatouille with Gull Valley Green Houses peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes and zucchini served with Highwood Crossing wheatberries $13

Thursday - Roast Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast chicken served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and gravy

$40 whole $26 half $15 quarter

Friday - Closed For Thanksgiving Weekend

Enjoy Thanksgiving weekend! Forage will reopen Tuesday, October 14^th

This Week’s Soup – Split Pea Soup $7

This Week’s Stew – Bison Stew $9

Something Sweet – Mom’s Chocolate Cake $4

Forage Hours this week - Monday to Thursday 2PM to 7PM

Forage Phone (403)269-6551 – 3508 19^th Street SW

This week I want to acknowledge the plants and animals that are grown by our farmers in Alberta. Often we talk about the importance of eating locally without stating how good our local products taste. The Berkshire pork from Broek Pork Acres, Lund’s Organic baby carrots, Grizzly Gouda from Sylvan Star, elk tenderloin from Wapiti Ways, saskatoon butter tarts from the Saskatoon Farm, Highwood Crossing Cold Pressed Canola Oil, Black Currant Mead from Chinook Arch Meadery, strawberries from Broxburn Farm, asparagus from Edgar Farms… the list goes on and on. We are blessed with an abundance of plants and animals that are grown and raised with love and care and this makes them taste great! We are thankful we have such variety to enjoy.

The Grassroots Farmers Market at Northlands has their last market day for the season this Tuesday between 3PM and 7PM. It sounds like there will be a few less vendors, but there are some things at this market that aren’t available at CFM. Cantaloupes from Brooks, pies from Three Sisters, strawberries from Noblelford, perogies, field tomatoes, and stone oven breads.

This week we have beautiful sugar pumpkin risotto cakes, the smoked ham sausage from Broek Pork Acres, Chicken Paprikash, and a split pea soup that we made with some wood oven roasted pork hocks.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Beef Stir Fry

Hoven Farms organic beef ribs, Sudo Farm suey and bok choy, carrots, and broccoli served with steamed rice $14

Tuesday - Chicken Tamale Pie

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, Taber corn, black beans, tomatoes, and peppers with a cornmeal biscuit crust $14

Wednesday - Sugar Pumpkin Risotto Cake

Roasted sugar pumpkins from Brooks mixed into a risotto cake and served with wilted greens from Lund’s Organic $12

Thursday - Smoked Ham Sausage

Broek Pork Acres smoked ham sausage with cabbage, sauerkraut, and Upper Green Farms potatoes $13

Friday - Chicken Paprikash

Sunworks Farm organic chicken and Gull Valley Greenhouses peppers with our paprika sour cream sauce served on egg noodles $14

This Week’s Soup – Split Pea Soup $7

This Week’s Stew – Chicken Chorizo Stew $9

Something Sweet – Carrot Cake $4

Forage Hours – Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM – 3508 19^th Street SW – Phone (403)269-6551

Forage will be closed Friday, October 10^th to Monday, October 13^th for Thanksgiving weekend and Tuesday, October 21^st to Wednesday, October 29^th for Terra Madre 2008 and the Salon del Gusto in Torino.

So continuing the theme of Thanksgiving, this week I want to talk about land. Not just land, but our entire environment in Alberta that allows agriculture to thrive. Alberta’s growth is placing great stress on farmland as rural areas look attractive to potential acreage owners. We are also seeing our smaller towns and cities appropriating surrounding land for development. This is eliminating some farmland and raising the prices across the board. Soon we are going to have to preserve the land that is needed for crops and grazing in order to secure the future of farming in Alberta. There also needs to be a plan for the sustainability of our watershed and the protection of our environment so it can continue to support us. We need to be thankful that we live in a place where we can grow our own food.

We have added Saskatoon Granola from Three Sisters Pies to our inventory. Deanna is drying her own Saskatoon berries for the granola and we loved the samples we tasted. We will still stock her Maple Granola too.

Also, we haven’t made carrot cake in a while so it is back this week. Lund’s Organics has a great supply of carrots now so we thought it was time.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Butter Chicken

Sunworks Farm organic chicken in traditional sauce with cardamom basmati rice $14

Tuesday - Italian Meatloaf

Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork and Hoven Farms organic beef meatloaf with Italian seasoning and tomato glaze served with herb roasted potatoes $13

Wednesday - Chard and Spinach Frittata

Lund’s Organic spinach and chard with Sylvan Star gouda and Sunworks Farm eggs $12

Thursday - Beef Stroganoff

Hoven Farms organic beef in mushroom sour cream sauce with rice $14

Friday - Roast Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast chicken served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and gravy

$40 whole $26 half $15 quarter

This Week’s Soup – Cauliflower and Cheddar $7

This Week’s Stew – Beef Stew $9

Something Sweet – Carrot Cake $4

Slow Food Calgary Winter’s Turkey Kitchen Party – Thursday, October 2^nd, 6:30 PM

Go to our Events page for more info.

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM – 3508 19^th Street SW – (403)269-6551

Four weeks to Thanksgiving and I thought I would take the next four weeks to highlight some of the issues around our local agriculture. Thanksgiving should really be a celebration of farmers and the harvest, so I’ll begin with the people that work on farms.

So along with skyrocketing costs for grains and agricultural inputs, the biggest challenge facing farmers is a lack of labour. If you’ve been living in Alberta for the last 3 years you know that there has been a major labour shortage and when I talk to many of the farmers that we get stuff from, they all say they could use good, stable, and reliable labour. Much of the work is being done by new immigrants who appreciate the work and the benefits of living in Canada. There just aren’t that many Canadians wanting to do this kind of work so our farmers need to look elsewhere for help. I know some of the crops this year are not going to be harvested because there just isn’t enough people available to do it. We need to be thankful for those who help on the farms and at the markets to bring us our food.

We’ve got some great specials this week like Sweet and Sour Ribs, Apple Mushroom Pork, and Turkey White Bean Chili. Enjoy!

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Apple Cider Mushroom Pork

broek pork acres berkshire pork simmered with apple cider, mushrooms, french green lentils, and a touch of cream $13

Tuesday - Grilled Chicken Sausage

grilled sunworks farm rosemary garlic sausage served with roasted potatoes, peppers and tomatoes $12

Wednesday - Macaroni and Cheese

we’re not going to mess with the classic – straight up macaroni and cheese in all its gooey goodness $10 add a salad for $4

Thursday - Sweet and Sour Beef Ribs

hoven farms organic ribs in sweet and sour sauce with steamed rice $13

Friday - Chicken Rigatoni

sunworks farm organic chicken, tomato sauce, pasta, lund’s organic spinach, bechamel and cheese baked on top $12

This Week’s Soup – Roast Squash and Pear $7

This Week’s Stew – White Bean and Turkey Chili $9

Something Sweet – Fudge Brownies $4

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM

3510 – 19^th Street SW – (403)269-6551

We have new products this week from Sodu Farm in Nobleford. Nobby Sodu grows a variety green vegetables and squashes and we are using his bok choy, suey choy, and winter squash in Wednesday’s special.

We’ve posted information on our events page about our next Slow Food Calgary Kitchen Party on Thursday, October 2^nd featuring Winter’s Turkeys. Just in time for Thanksgiving we’ll be tasting a variety of products from Winter’s along with some tips for the perfect Thanksgiving turkey (Yes, Thanksgiving is just over a month away!) Darrel Winter and Corrine Dahm are Terra Madre 2008 nominees and will be there to answer all your questions about their farm and their turkeys. Tickets are available at Cookbook Company only and are limited to 24 so get them soon.

Here’s the menu for the week:

Monday - Chicken Chorizo Stew

sunworks farm chicken chorizo, gull valley greenhouses peppers and tomatoes, white beans, upper green farm potatoes, lund’s organic spinach $13

Tuesday - Roast Berkshire Pork

broek pork acres berkshire pork rubbed with garlic and herbs, served with roasted potatoes and pan gravy $14

Wednesday - Autumn Squash Stir Fry Vegetables

lund’s organic chard, sudo farms bok choy, suey choy, and autumn squash all stir fried with ginger and sesame served with steamed rice $13

Thursday - Elk Macaroni Casserole

wapiti ways elk, macaroni, tomatoes, cabbage, Taber corn, and bell peppers baked with cheddar on top $12

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast chicken served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and gravy

$40 whole $26 half $15 quarter

This Week’s Soup – Taber Corn Chowder $7

This Week’s Stew – Beef Meatball Stew $9

Something Sweet – Fudge Brownies $4

Forage hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM

Forage – 3509 19^th Street SW – Phone (403)269-6551

My head is spinning from my weekend in San Francisco and Slow Food Nation. It was very exciting to see the momentum that the movement is gaining. Quite simply, the events of the weekend will shape the way you eat in the decades to come. People are taking back the food system and discussing what is needed to ensure good, clean, and fair food for all. There were panel discussions, garden tours, taste pavilions, and lots of great food. If you are looking for more information go to the Slow Food Nation site and I’m still posting about the weekend on At the Root.

Welcome to September! As a student, I always got really nervous about the first day of school. Not for any particular reason - I just got so wound up about the change in routine from summer holidays. In honor of back to school, we are offering puffed wheat squares this week. They just remind me of bagged lunches from my school days and the comfort that a simple puffed wheat square can give.

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday - Labour Day

we are closed for labour day

Tuesday - Italian Sausage Rigatoni

Sunworks Farm rosemary and garlic sausage with tomato sauce, Lund’s Organic spinach, and rigatoni pasta topped with bechamel and mozzarella $13

Wednesday - Spinach and Gouda Frittata

Lund’s Organic spinach, chard, and new potatoes with Sunworks Farm eggs and Sylvan Star gouda served with green salad $13

Thursday - Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, lettuce, cilantro, rice noodles and a chili lime vinaigrette $14

Friday - BBQ Meatloaf

Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork and Buffalo Horn Ranch bison meatloaf with BBQ glaze served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and Jensen Taber corn $14

This Week’s Soup – Taber Corn Chowder $7

This Week’s Stew – Elk And Pepper Stew $9

Something Sweet – Puffed Wheat Squares $3

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM – Phone (403)269-6551

3508 – 19^th Street SW – www.foragefoods.com

In my opinion, we are entering the best time of the year here in Alberta. The days are warm, the evenings are cool, and the harvest is in full swing. We are closed this Friday through Labour Day so we can enjoy one last weekend of summer.

I went out to the Flavours of the Foothills harvest festival on Saturday and had a great time. Flavours is Kayben Farms, Chinook Honey, and Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch. I am familiar with Chinook and Kayben, but I had not been to the CRM Ranch. The ranch is located just West of Red Deer Lake Packers and has farm gate sales of bison, elk, and caribou along with supplying the RMR restaurants. Each farm had demos, tours, and samples and it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Chinook was offering Melissa’s Gold, a new sweeter mead, and look for a pumpkin festival at Kayben near Thanksgiving. They tell me they’ll have an air cannon ready for the event!

I’m off to San Francisco for Slow Food Nation this weekend so look to my blog for reports on that. Here is the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Fried Steak

Hoven Farms organic beef cutlet with our fried chicken coating served with pan gravy and Taber corn grits $14

Tuesday - Italian Meatballs

Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork meatballs in tomato sauce with Lund’s Organic spinach and pasta $13

Wednesday - Vegetable Tagine

cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas, tomatoes, and chick peas simmered with moroccan spices served with cous cous $13

Thursday - Roast Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast chicken served with picnic potato salad and our special BBQ dipping sauce. Take some extra for the weekend!

$40 whole $26 half $15 quarter

Friday - Closed For The Long Weekend

the last long weekend of summer – enjoy!

This Week’s Soup – Sausage and White Bean $7

This Week’s Stew – Beef Chili $8

Something Sweet – Peach Upside Down Cake $4

Forage Hours this week Monday to Thursday 2PM to 7PM

ph (403)269-6551 - 3508 19^th Street SW

We’re into the prime season for local products. The markets are bursting at the seams with so many great things it’s hard to eat them all. We’re going to give it a good try this week though.

First things first though… we are currently hiring cooks for full time positions in our catering kitchen. The labour market is tough so if you know of someone who might be interested please send them our way. Send resumes to info@foragefoods.com.

This week we are adding a vegetable pack that will include cauliflower, broccoli, and baby carrots from Innisfail Growers. We’re going to cut them into florets and prepare them to be eaten fresh or steamed a little for a vegetable side.

On Thursdays and Fridays we are adding beautiful bouquets of flowers from Eagle Creek Farm for $15. John Mills is one of the Terra Madre Youth delegates for Southern Alberta and he operates a corn maze, U-pick flowers, and is also about to harvest fresh garlic that we’ll be using at Forage. The flowers are very fresh and last a long time with a little care.

We are also featuring some of the vegetables from our gardens on this week’s menu. We have kale on Tuesday’s special and we are going to have purslane in the salad with the vegetable pot pie on Wednesday. Also on the menu this week is peach cobbler and we’ve even brought in some of Vital Green Organic Heavy Cream for those who want to take it over the edge!

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday - Warm Chicken Caesar Salad

lemon and garlic Sunworks Farm chicken with Lund’s Organic lettuces, croutons, parmesan and creamy caesar dressing $12

Tuesday - Smoked Sausage And Vegetables

Broek Pork Acres ham sausage with Upper Green Farm new potatoes, Lund’s chard, and kale from our garden $13

Wednesday - Market Vegetable Pot Pie

new potatoes, baby carrots, beans, peas, and whatever else we can find at the market in a light dill cream sauce with butter puff dough crust served with green salad $13

Thursday - Spanish Chicken Salad

Sunworks Farm chicken, roasted peppers, tomatoes, green olives, and potatoes tossed with smoked paprika and lemon vinaigrette on Lund’s Organic lettuce $13

Friday - BBQ Beef Short Ribs

slow roasted Hoven Farms beef short ribs in a tangy BBQ sauce served with red pepper roasted potatoes $14

This Week’s Salad – Gull Valley Greek Salad $5

This Week’s Stew – Beef Chili $8

Something Sweet – Peach Cobbler $4

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM

3508 19^th Street SW - Phone (403)269-6551

Well we are all back from our time off and ready to get back in to the swing of things. Thanks to everyone for allowing us to take the time off and understanding how important it is to us. Sue went to Victoria, Jaclyn to the Oregon coast, Wade to Seattle, Paul to Ontario and Ohio and Lynn to Vancouver so it’s going to take us a few days to catch up.

Wade brought back some of the Holmquist Orchards Dry Roast Ennis Hazelnuts and we are offering a limited supply of them at $4 for 4 oz. Also, it seems like we haven’t done the roast Sunworks Farm chickens for a month and that’s because it has been a month! This Friday the roast chickens are back and we will continue with offering them every other Friday. If you want to reserve a chicken just send an email or giving us a call. Hope to see you this week.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Chorizo Stew

Sunworks Farm chicken chorizo, tomatoes, peppers, white beans $13

Tuesday - Bison Meatloaf

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison meatloaf with BBQ glaze served with herb roasted potatoes $13

Wednesday - Vegetable Curry

cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and chick peas in a tomato curry sauce with basmati rice $12

Thursday - Saskatoon Berry Chicken Salad

Sunworks Farm chicken, wild rice, candied pecans, spinach, field lettuces, saskatoon berry vinaigrette $13

Friday - Roast Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast chicken served with picnic potato salad and our special BBQ dipping sauce $38 whole $25 half $14 quarter

This Week’s Salad – Italian Pasta Salad $4

This Week’s Soup – Seafood Chowder $9

Something Sweet – Mom’s Chocolate Cake $4

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM

3508 – 19^th Street SW - (403)269-6551

First off, the housekeeping… Forage will be closed for our Summer Break as of Friday, August 1^st, and we will return Monday, August 11^th. We operate with a small crew and in past summers we weren’t as refreshed as we should have been after the slower summer months. We realized that everyone was talking vacations at different times and we were operating a man down all summer long. So, this year we are closing everything down for a week and everyone should return refreshed and ready for a busy fall. Thanks for understanding. I’ll hopefully be posting from my trip to Seattle on my blog At the Root.

There is now an abundance of great Alberta products available at the markets. This week we have first-of-the-season carrots from Beck’s, Super Sweet peas from Edgar Farms, romaine lettuce and beets from Lund’s, new potatoes from Upper Green Farms, and the Chicken Tortilla soup will feature epazote from our garden. Epazote is a Mexican wild herb that has a pungent cilantro like flavor that will go nicely with the flavors in the soup.

It’s been a whirlwind at Calgary Farmers Market and as the week has gone on more details have emerged. The first one is that the building that the Market is in is coming down no matter what, so hopes of it staying where it is at are for not. With less than 18 months to plan for a future, the CFM still does not have a decision from Canada Lands on their proposal to be the anchor food store for the redevelopment of the Currie Barracks and the vendors are getting antsy. What the response from the public has shown is there is a real demand for access to local products and CFM is the premiere location for this. The public is going to have to get involved if they want to make sure that farmers get the best possible outcome. If you have the chance be sure to tell the farmers and producers of CFM that you’ll continue to support their businesses whatever happens. And be sure to get out to the other Farmers Markets around the city like Northlands and Bearspaw. Support in the form of purchases is most necessary to save our Farmers Markets and encourage growth for the future.

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday - Bison Macaroni Casserole

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison, macaroni, tomatoes, and peppers baked with cheddar $12

Tuesday - Italian Chicken Sausage

grilled Sunworks Farm rosemary and garlic sausage with peppers and tomatoes served with pasta salad $14

Wednesday - Goat’s Cheese and Beet Tart

Lund’s Organic beets and Fairwinds Farm cheese on puff dough tart served with green salad $13

Thursday - Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, carrots, cucumber, peppers, and cilantro on rice noodles with lime chili vinaigrette $13

Friday - Closed For Our Summer Break

we are all taking a well deserved break - Forage will be open monday, august 11^th

This Week’s Salad – Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad $4

This Week’s Soup – Chicken Tortilla $9

Something Sweet – Raspberry Brownie $4

Forage Hours This Week – Monday to Thursday 2PM to 7PM

Forage is closed for our Summer Break August 1^st through August 10^th

3508 – 19^th Street SW – PH (403)269-6551