Here’s a quick rundown of some of the exciting and interesting finds from Manitoba:

Cold Pressed Prairie Oils
We’ve all seen cold pressed canola oil.  How about cold pressed flax, sunflower and  hemp for salad dressings, dips, or finishing oils.  Grown locally, and often pressed fresh in front of your eyes, the oils are full of Prairie sunshine.  The cool climate is considered a major factor in the higher polyunsaturate content in the oils, meaning heart healthy.  Watch out for mustardy camelina oil which may be coming out soon, thanks to work from the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie.

Unique grains, pulses and lentils
Canada’s Prairie provinces are the global production leader for chickpeas, pulses and lentils.  Healthy, and homegrown.  Other unique grains, from quinoa, spices and Cavena nuda “oat rice” are coming out in the mainstream.  How about split pea snacks?  Not just for South Asian namkeen and khoraki snacks any more, these crunchy goodies come in classic potato chip flavours, with none of the potato chip guilt.  Or check out local grains in finished products.  Artisanal bakeries are taking advantage of the goodness.

Hemp everything
Manitoba is Canada’s hemp foods leader.  With over 6000 acres in hemp production, look out for a wide variety of processed product.  Whole or hulled hemp seeds for baking, snacking, and everything in between, through hemp protein isolates for health and wellness, hemp nut butter, and hemp-milk beverages.  Nutty, tasty, and extremely healthy.

Big time for Bison
Bison has come full circle, from being the original prairie delicacy, sustaining the Aboriginal communities, to being the trendy meat of choice in restaurants across the region.  Burgers, satays, stews, bison has come back big time.

Varietal Honeys
Clover or buckwheat honey is beautiful, but how about borage or raspberry blossom honey?  Look for niche varietals with unique floral characteristics.  Blended honey is another treat, look for honey spreads and honey butters with Prairie fruits, or real butter blended in.

Smoked Fish
Who’d have guessed that some of the best smoked fish comes from the centre of the country.  Gimli-style smoked lakefish is unlike anything else.  Smoked goldeneye anyone?

Classic Confectionery
No questions, this is your mom and dad’s candy.  Maybe even your grandparent’s candy.  Classic, comfortable, and oh so kitsch.  Fluorescent pink popcorn, and prizes are just a few of the options.

Multicultural Ready to Eat
Ukranian and Icelandic influences are hitting the multicultural frozen or ready-to-eat fare.  Look for classic pickled foods and other homestyle items to lead the trend.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing…
How about pairing one of Manitoba’s top tourist destinations with a marketing strategy for Manitoban and Canadian foods?  This is Randy Cameron’s plan. Cameron, General Manager of The Forks Market, along with Manfred Villing, President of Wittmann Foods, are organizing the “Canada’s Home Grown Marketplace”. Here, uniquely Canadian food products will be showcased and sold to the 4 million visitors who come to The Forks each year.  They are actively seeking products, and building contacts with interested vendors.

Photo – courtesy of Travel Manitoba

Beet soup -- the simple life

Stefan Zauner started his culinary journey by attending the Schloss Hofen Culinary Arts School in Lochau, Austria. Upon graduation he began his career working in world-class facilities in Austria, Switzerland, and Bermuda.

In 1989, after moving to Canada, Stefan began working at the award winning Post Hotel Relais & Chateaux in Lake Louise, Alberta.
The majority of the past decade Stefan has been working in Toronto’s finest hotels including the Sutton Place Hotel, The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and Conference Center and The Delta Chelsea Hotel.

In the spring of 2006, Stefan moved to Saskatoon where he was the Executive Chef at the renowned Delta Bessborough Hotel and then later held the Executive Chef position at TCU Place Saskatoon’s Art and Convention Center . Stefan has joined the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts as the Corporate Chef in 2008.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Desserts.

Who or what got you interested in food?
At and early age of 14, I was given the opportunity to work with a great Chef who has traveled the world.

What inspires you?
Every day there is a new creation in food in an industry that doesn’t stand still.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
Kaese spaetzle. I’ll still make it for my kids today.

What’s the first dish you remember making?
It still doesn’t have a name.

Proudest food-related moment?
One night 8,500 people came, ate, enjoyed themselves. And it all went well…

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Still think about…still wonder if I should have eaten huo zhu zi*.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
Laughter.

Favourite cooking smell?
Roasted garlic.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
The apple pie.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the un wearable haute couture of food?
Let’s cook with what nature gave us and let the scientist battle this one out…

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
Love it! Need it! Cant get enough!

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
The banana.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Our combi therm.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
The can opener. Hide that thing somewhere. Get rid of it.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
A turn of the century (1900), “Chef the Chef” High Carbon 13-inch chef knife made in le Creux de l’enfer, Thiers, France.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about __________ again, I’d be happy.
Foie gras.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Anyone.

What would you prepare for him/her?
Anything.

What was the last thing you ate?
Roasted beet soup (that one of our students made) and a ham sandwich. The simple life.

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
Live and work on a farm.

Photo © foodista. Published under a Creative Commons License.

Jennifer Cockrall-King

Jennifer Cockrall-King splits her time between Edmonton, Alberta, and Naramata, BC in the Okanagan where she eats, drinks, writes and teaches food writing courses. Her articles have appeared in Canadian Geographic, Maclean’s, the National Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Slow Canada, Homemaker’s and on CBC Radio among others. She posts them on-line at her website, when she manages to find a few spare moments. She is also the co-founder and the co-publisher of The Edible Prairie Journal, a print publication which began in 2004 and now continues on-line at www.edibleprairie.ca.

What’s your weakness? Dessert or mains?
Definitely mains. I used to have a sweet tooth, but I am definitely more interested now in savoury foods, especially the flavour-packed foods of hot climates. One day I’ll make it to my “culinary homelands” of places like the Middle East or Vietnam and Thailand.

Who or what got you interested in food?
My immediate family loves good food, and my grandmother on my dad’s side was a great, basic Prairie home cook. (My other grandmother is a notoriously bad cook — well, notorious within our family. I don’t think she ever threw a dinner party so no one outside of our family knows how truly bad a cook she is!!) But my Grandma Cockrall canned peaches, pears, sauerkraut and pickles. I got the basics from her. My parents were and still are quite avid foodies. They used to have incredible dinner parties with friends in the 1970s, where they made really cutting edge dishes. I guess they taught me how to be a fearless cook and an adventurous eater.

What inspires you?
I guess I am on the endless search for the “ultimate” in any kind of food: the freshest, most “carroty” carrot, the most savoury tarragon leaves, or the best lobster tail on the planet. I love the basic flavours of food. I get frustrated when there’s too much going on in a dish and I can’t taste the pure elements.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
As a kid my favorite dinner was probably something shamefully processed, so I will “refuse to comment” on that

What’s the first dish you remember making?
Melted cheese on Triscuits in my Easy Bake Oven. The cheese used to get all over the light-bulb that was the heat source in those contraptions. But it was a fun way to spend an afternoon — baking cheese appetizers for passersby in our neighbourhood.

Proudest food-related moment?
Probably when I got my first “big” article published. I got a full-page food article on saskatoons published in the National Post in 2000. I loved it because it was so “prairie” yet it got some play in a national food venue. (Remember this was way before local was the new exotic.)

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Knowingly or unknowingly!!?? Lord knows what I’ve eaten unknowingly, but eating cold, sliced beef tongue was the most difficult thing I’ve had to choke down. I was 14 years old and I really thought I would die right then and there. But I had to try it to be polite. Since then I’ve eaten all sorts of weird things, like bison testicles, but nothing was as difficult as choking down that jellied beef tongue as a 14-year-old girl.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
Oh, good question. Probably the hiss and pop of something hitting a hot frying pan.

Favourite cooking smell?
Caramelizing onions for French onion soup. Somebody should bottle that smell.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
Pancakes with saskatoon berry “topping” which is essentially a cooked compote of saskatoons.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
I think it’s cool to experiment but I’m sure it’s a “hit or miss” kind of cooking and eating. When I cook, I like to go for the sure bets. I hate misses when I’m dining and especially when I’m cooking, so I tend to not get too interested in making “smoke of rapini in a gelatinized bubble” and stuff like that.

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
LOVE IT. I’ve got a huge patch of it in my garden because I can’t stand stale cilantro. The more cilantro, the better.

What non-local foods can’t you live without?
Chocolate. End of story. Citrus is a big one too.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
My stash of organic dark chocolate. I spare no expense on good, organic chocolate.

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
Most kitchen gadgets are over-rated. I am not very comfortable with most machines and gadgets, so I keep it simple. I use my mixer once every few months, and I don’t own a food processor. And those are good all-purpose machines. So something like a “salad shooter” would be totally useless to me, but I do like the concept of being about to shoot vegetables around the kitchen. Ha. I also find it weird how there are such specific one-use-only utensils. I even think it’s stupid to have different types of forks. I mean, who can’t eat salad with a normal fork. You need a special, smaller, flatter fork?? Don’t get me started on that weird cake separator fork-thing. I would have never cut it in Victorian times.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
My ceramic Japanese chef’s knife. I NEVER sharpen knives, but I hate dull ones. It’s the perfect solution.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about ______ again, I’d be happy.
LIVER. I even strongly dislike foie gras. It’s a filter organ and it tastes bad. I have no idea why people even eat it. Liver pate reminds me of dog food. Yuck.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Well, just for pure fun, it would be Gordon Ramsay because he’s such a force of nature and probably a really fun guy to have dinner with. Also, he could teach me some new swears because mine are the same old ones I’ve been using for years. But really, I would want to cook for Stephen Harper so I could force him to listen to my rantings about how we need to start labelling our foods properly and stop being the patsy for international aquaculture and agriculture companies who farm products here outlawed by other countries.

What would you prepare for him/her?
I would prepare a comparative tasting of organic wild salmon and some farmed salmon, then some other comparative tastings of various fruits and vegetables all grown in Canada. I wouldn’t tell him which is which, but I’d see which ones he eats more of.

What was the last thing you ate?
I just made (and ate) the grilled fennel, grilled onion and arugula salad from Lucy Waverman’s weekend National Post recipe column. It was delish!

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
If I could conjure up any sort of talent I wanted, of course, I’d be a rock star. Doesn’t everyone want to be a rock star?

Barbara Barnes is a freelance home economist living in Edmonton, AB. and sailing out of Sidney BC. She is the former manager of the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen, the last gas utility home service department in North America, and has written over 20 cookbooks under their banner. She has just completed her last two cookbooks for the “Kitchen”. She continues to write columns for the Calgary Herald and is featured in bi-monthly food segments on the CTV Edmonton Noon news. She is a frequent contributor to the galley column in Pacific Yachting Magazine.

What’s your weakness?
Dessert or mains? I think that I have a floating weakness, some days it is a savory main courses and others, it is just plain and simply CHOCOLATE!

Who or what got you interested in food?
I can’t really remember when I first got the food itch, but I come from a long line of good everyday cooks and I had a great home economics teacher in high school.

What inspires you?
I am inspired by trying new ideas that I can translate into recipes and helpful tips for everyday people.

What was your favourite dinner when you were a kid? Do you like it now?
My favourite dinner was my mother’s pyroghys every Friday night. At ninety years old she still makes them and I still love them!

What’s the first dish you remember making?
A chocolate cake mix for my birthday cake.

Proudest food-related moment?
The highlight of my career, was the opportunity to do food segments on CTV’s Good Morning Canada.

Strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
There have been many, but eating garlic ice cream at the Gilroy garlic Festival on vacation with my daughter is the first to come to my mind.

Favourite sound in the kitchen?
The beep on the coffee pot telling me my morning coffee is ready to drink!

Favourite cooking smell?
A prime rib roast of Alberta beef.

Quintessential Canadian dish?
For me, a prime rib roast of Alberta beef.

Molecular gastronomy, best thing ever or the unwearable haute couture of food?
Molecular gastronomy is interesting, but it is not for everyday cooks. I am an everyday cook.

Cilantro — can’t get enough or tastes like soap?
Cilantro is an acquired taste. My most memorable dinner was on our boat tied to a dock in Secret Cove and involved fresh Dungeness crab served with Cilantro Lime Mayonnaise, great wine and the company of good friends.

What local foods can’t you live without?
Sylvan Star Aged Grizzly Gouda and Alberta beef and my homemade raspberry vinegar.

What’s your greatest culinary extravagance?
Quality!

Most over-rated kitchen gadget?
I am a gadget junkie! The ones that don’t meet the grade in my compact kitchen go to Goodwill. I would have to say, a pineapple corer. Many people like them, but I think my cleaver works better.

What’s the most treasured possession in your kitchen? Why?
Right now it is my new Weber gas grill. I love BBQ! Otherwise, it is my cleaver. It was a gift from Martin Yan. I was his warm-up act on the cooking stage at the Calgary Stampede for a number of years.

Fill in the blank. If I never cooked / ate / heard about ________ again, I’d be happy.
Tofu.

If you could cook for anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
My dream would be cook a meal for the late Peter Gzowski and my Gido. I listened to Peter for years in the test kitchen at ATCO. I never met my Gido, but from what I hear he was the last of the great Ukrainian armchair philosophers. I think that the two of them would provide great dinner conversation. I probably would invite my late father as well. He would be hurt if wasn’t included in a great dinner conversation like this one.

What would you prepare for him/her?
Beef Tenderloin with Pinot Noir Sauce or if it was summer, my signature dish, Chicken with Raspberries and Caramelized Garlic, using my garden raspberries and homemade raspberry vinegar.

What was the last thing you ate?
Margarita Grilled Salmon with grilled corn and asparagus.

If you had to work outside the culinary field, what would you do?
I guess I really would be retired!

Quinoa in bloom

This is quinoa in bloom. Until recently I’d never seen a picture of the plant. I knew quinoa was a South American ancient grain carrying many nicknames. Despite being dubbed Incan Gold and Gold of the Gods, I hadn’t paid much attention to quinoa after an unfortunate experience with it in pasta form more than a decade ago. But when I needed a gluten-free, low-GI alternative to rice, I found myself scouring the health food stores for the grain in its whole form.

The prices varied wildly. One popular brand was twice the price of a lesser known. Both were organic, fair trade and from South America. While I could feel good about not exploiting a farmer, my quinoa purchase’s carbon footprint was very heavy. I don’t like having to weigh personal health against the health of the planet. After a little research, I learned we grow quinoa in Canada — Saskatchewan to be precise. This means it’s a local grain for some Canadians and a lot closer than Bolivia for others.

While I see quinoa appearing more in the recipe section of magazines and specialty cookbooks, it’s still not mainstream. I’ve only seen it in health food stores and specialty shops. Perhaps my local grocery store is too small to stock quinoa, but with gluten allergies on the rise and a push towards healthier eating, this high-fibre, protein-rich grain deserves some shelf space.

Has anyone tried Canadian quinoa? If so, did you notice any differences between it and South American grown? Did you find it in stores or order it online?

Photo © net_efekt. Published under a Creative Commons License.