Givin' Thanks

We had a local thanksgiving potluck with a bunch of our friends. Cole and Krista cooked a fresh, free range never frozen Hutterite turkey that we bought off Ian's mum. Cooking a turkey seems like a daunting task but actually turned out to be a breeze! A little butter and herbs rubbed under the skin was all it took to whip up one tasty turkey! We also indulged in mashed taters, pumpkin ravioli, kavena nuda with squash (man i dig that stuff), a cheezy dip, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cheesecake and amazing pumpkin pie (krista made it from scatch using a local pumpkin!). Oh and we ate a whole jar of pickles as an appetizer haha.

Taboo just may be one of the funniest games ever. Lets all steer clear of the ghost rider.

The Grousery 2.0

This is Bo. He makes a good hunting dog. Good job bud!

So far this year has been stellar for Ruffed grouse, saw 9 birds in the short time we were out walking. My secret spot is around two kilometers east of East Braintree, north of Highway 1 on Cusser Road. There are a few huge gravel pits around there with prime habitat and lots of walking trails, but shhhhhhh keep it on the downlow!

Indiana J.

Thanks to Mercedes for the local-and organic-produce! Garlic, cabbage, tomatoes, and carrots. Oh my! We are starting to think about local, Thanksgiving ideas so if you have some thoughts for a kick ass meal-let us know. We are ordering a local turkey from Ian's mum, it is fresh, never frozen, and free range.

On a separate rant, picked up some Rigby Orchards dry raspberry wine yesterday. It is from Killarney, Mb and available in the local LC's (i kinda don't want to boast about this because i need plenty in stock for my red wine addiction). This wine is said to be a dry mead although it is a tad sweeter than your average dry wine but still goes great with meals. Tonight we enjoyed it with dill taters and bison steak. HUGE shoutout to Unc Cornell for the delish steaks and ample Half Pints. We also picked up some baba ganoush from Crampton's on Waverley. Need to make some ourselves considering its mainly eggplant and garlic.

Ok, time to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark

Please post your local Thanksgiving meal ideas! Peace, love and seashells.

BBQ'd cedar plank blueberry Northern Pike, Cavena Nuda with acorn squash and an awesome raspberry apple crisp.  Iron Chefs of the 100 Mile Challenge!

The Grousery...I just made that word up.

To take advantage of the amazing fall colours while there are still leaves on the trees we took to forest wanders this weekend in search of the Ruffed Grouse.  Delicious and conveniently stupid, these birds add a little variety to our 100 Mile Challenge.

A word of warning before viewing the video, you will see guts.

Hot Hot Heat!

After completing the 100 mile challenge for nearly a week now, Alexa's hot sauce addiction is becoming especially apparent. Mood swings, cold sweats, and cramps all from no hot sauce! Something had to be done.  This homemade hot oil is easy to make and a great way to add some kick to your dishes! 

Fill a saucepan with the local oil of your choice, in this case locally cold pressed sunflower oil from the Tall Grass Bakery, bring to high heat and add hot peppers.  I used cayenne peppers which pack a nice punch (I dried them out in the oven for 15 minutes).  Simmer in the hot oil for 10 minutes or so, being careful not to burn the oil. Toss in a bottle and use in the place of cooking oil or drizzle on salads etc!

The results of our fishing trip...impressive, I know.

il pleut aujourd'hui

Thanks to our good bud Kevin who gave us some chickens, berries, corn, and beef! Also to R.J. for the tasty apples and deer meat which we hope to make into pies and lasagna respectively haha!

Stefan at Blue Lagoon Organics Shows Us the Ins and Outs of Free Range Chickens!

The very last hour of summer

Went to Vic's Fruit Market today-a hidden gem-situated right by our local stomping grounds, The Camebridge. This place is fabulous, it offers many different local and organic choices and the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable-check it out if you have never been. Picked up some Cavena Nuda which has been coined 'Rice of the Praries'. This oat was bred for its unique qualities aimed at supplementing rice. It tastes and looks exactly like rice but has the health benefits of oats.

Made a stew of sorts today with onions, garlic (have you ever seen fresh garlic? it has a cool purple-y color and these long skinny stalks), celery, mushrooms, corn, parsley, potatoes and carrots. Without the usual salt and pepper the flavours of the veggies were really apparent.

A special thanks to Shannon for the sack of crab apples from her tree and to Stefan for the produce, focaccia, eggs, and ratatouille! We had an awesome visit on open farm day.

Eat mindfully. Savour your food.

The Recipes: Part 1

Butternut Squash Soup

- 2 large butternut squash
- 2 diced onions
- 5 or 6 diced carrots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 large sourish apples from a neighbours tree (shhhhh!)
- one diced and seeded cayenne pepper depending on taste
- 6 cups of water or home made chicken stock from local chicken
- 2 cups Organic Meadow Manitoba cream
- tarragon
- rosemary
- thyme
- Tall Grass Prairie cold pressed sunflower oil

Heat oil in soup pot and saute onion, garlic, herbs and pepper until soft.  Add squash, carrot, apple and water/stock. Simmer until vegetables are soft and soup has reduced to desired thickness. Blend until smooth, add cream and that's it!

Sage Goose Breast with Blueberry Rosemary Reduction

Press sage leaves into the goose breast. Sear breast briefly in a pan with sunflower oil and garlic cloves until skin is brown and crispy. Heat oven to 375 and bake in tinfoil covered pan until medium rare, about 15 min.

Blueberry reduction is wild blueberries and rosemary sauteed and reduced with water and honey in a pan.

An evening hunt and perusing the goods at St. Norbert Market.

Gone (Going) Fishing!

Tomorrow we will be trying our hand at catching some of Manitoba's pride and joy, pickerel! So stay tuned for an upcoming video/pics, and if we're lucky some recipes! Only hilariousness can ensue. Peace!

Our first haul from St. Norbert Farmers Market! Word.

This delicious little spread is only some of the produce and products we have been picking up in preparation for our 100 mile challenge!

Over the summer we have collected and frozen foods to make our life easier in the fall, like berries, wild mushrooms, herbs and vegetables from our garden, fish and game meat like deer, ducks, and grouse which are just coming into season.  A vegetable garden and access to wild game is an important resource for eating locally and organically!

In upcoming videos and posts we will be talking about some of the innovative, delicious and just plain rad products we've come across so stay tuned!

Have you ever thought about where your food is from? Mahhhhh...well we sure have! Everyone knows about the 100 mile diet, but how difficult is it really? Winnipeg has such a wicked restaurant scene and so many ethnic markets, can one really commit to eating solely local? We will try our best!

Cole is a lanky hippy with a chill personality who likes to climb trees, make crafts and eat avocados.

Alexa is a rock junkie who hates pants and socks, drives a red truck and loves anything pickled.

We are both university students in the Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources at the University of Manitoba attempting to only eat locally grown/raised food for one full month within a 100 mile radius of Winnipeg. This all begins Saturday, September 19th 2010.

Follow our blog if you fancy, it will include recipes, music, pics and more. PEACE!

locavore: people who only eat food grown, processed and produced within a 100 mile radius of where they live.