Do politics affect your grocery list?

Political food decisions

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Buying food at a local market helps support local businesses and farmers.

With the polarized nature of our world these days, it seems we are taking more note of just who we are supporting as consumers.

So, in line with what I’ve always suggested, this week I’m offering some ideas if you want to look further into supporting more businesses close to home when you shop for food.

I have always been a strong supporter of local businesses and since living in the Okanagan I live close to farmers. So I am conscious of supporting them too. But there are many products that make up our daily life which are not made, or grown, locally, and in some cases not even in our country.

Do you remember about 20 years ago a Canadian book came out called The 100 Mile Diet? It was written by a couple who lived in Vancouver and took on the experiment of eating only food they could source that came from within a 100-mile radius of their home. They managed quite well through local seafood and farmers’ markets. Some of the things they could not find were cooking oil, rice and sugar.

We know grocery stores are making a big effort to showcase Canadian products on their shelves. I’d like to offer a few other options as well. Some are not everyday stops, but they might make a fun outing and a great way to support a community enterprise – which is worth doing regardless of what else is happening in the world.

Shopping with independent stores is usually a bit more expensive but offers other advantages besides low prices. Local businesses will know more readily where their products come from, so it’s often easier to be discerning. In a big store, some things get rebranded or repackaged and may not show the details. Staff might not know the background of everything in stock.

If you’d like more of a one-stop shop, there is a plethora of farmers’ markets in Okanagan communities and numerous farms have stands open to the public, many with an assorted fare like honey, eggs and other good finds. Sometimes in-season items are even less expensive than those shipped into large stores.

We have many specialty grocery items within the hundred-mile zone, too. There are a few cheesemakers in the region—Village Cheese in Armstrong and Upper Bench Winery in Penticton are just two examples. There is also the Gellatly Nut Farm in West Kelowna and they are just the tip of the iceberg.

There are delivery companies now too, if you don’t feel you have enough time to shop around.

• Trulocal offers Canadian meat selections.

• Urban Harvest has a Kelowna branch that provides organic fruits and veggies sourced “as close to home as possible” and is keen to work with you if you are not happy with what is delivered.

• Some local businesses have organized partnerships to allow for customers farther away to pick up pre-arranged orders. Talk to your favourite shop and ask if it has such a thing.

Many often speak about the fact one person can’t make a difference in a world where things move so fast and corporations control so much. We need to remember that in a consumer economy, we drive the bus. If we don’t buy stuff, it doesn’t get sold. That is how we use our voices in the business world for impact.

I know there are many more local gems that offer all kinds of wonderful goods. They depend on us to share the word about their unique offerings, so that’s my last suggestion—tell your friends and neighbours about your favourite local spots.

Let’s use this crazy time as an opportunity to make the most of what we have right here. Let’s turn our energy into something that has positive results.

We’ll digest all that good food so much better if we’re in a positive mood.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

With the arrival of spring, it's time to change our meal plans

Spring is in the air

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Spring bee is a crocus

I think it’s safe to say that spring is underway.

As I write this, the smell of apricot blossoms in a vase on the table tickles my nose. As I trimmed the apricot tree, I could hear the bees buzzing in the pussywillow tree nearby, along with the birds chirping happily in the sun.

I am especially grateful for the sun. Now that it’s decided to be a more consistent presence, everything is waking up and gaining energy. Even my menu planning has taken on a more colourful approach.

It’s still early for local spring produce of course but just like I start to add more colour to my outfits in spring, I like to add more fresh ingredients and vibrant flavours to my meals. So, this week. I’m offering a few ideas for you as I gear up to full fledged spring bounty.

My first tip is simple – give yourself healthy snack options to replace less healthy ones on a regular basis. This recipe offsets the extra holiday treats you indulged in that you later said maybe you could have done without.

I’m not one to say “don’t have treats” but let’s make them good ones. If you’re hungry, you should have a meal, not standin the kitchen or the break room looking for a sweet or salty handful of something. Here’s a tasty alternative from a friend I met at an Earth Day Parade.

Years ago, I knew a fellow who was far ahead of today’s trend to be connected to the earth and eating whole foods. He was embracing all those things in the 1980s. His name was Dave, but he was known in our community as “Dave Zen.” His favourite snack was a cookie made entirely of organic ingredients. Today this kind of cookie is available in stores. Each one costs a few dollars and is touted as a “power” snack. Here’s the recipe.

Having salad as a meal is something many do on a regular basis but it is important to ensure to get a range of nutrients, so adding a salad is a great way to enjoy fresh flavours. Have a quick meal and maybe even splurge on the rest of the plate.

A go-to recipe of mine is one for a Veggie Galette. A galette is a sort of everyman’s tart, easier to shape and a bit more “artisanal” in its presentation (Translation: Even if you hate working with pastry, you can make a galette).

I love this in the spring because onions are a year-round staple but have a more exciting flavour than most other root vegetables, especially when you cook them. Feel free to use creative license and incorporate other vegetables if you like, however. This pastry will work with anything (I even use a similar sweet one for fruit galettes. (Feel free to browse my blog for the rhubarb one.)

I know brunch isn’t only a spring meal, but for me it does conjure up thoughts of buffets with bouquets of fresh blossoms and plenty of egg dishes. (Maybe I’m just stuck on the idea of spring chickens).

I love eggs but I love waffles even more. My recipe for Pecan Waffles is a winner, so if you’re a fan too, I hope you’ll try them.

It seems only fitting to finish with a dinner idea and I just remade a dish that had all the qualities I have mentioned. This is a recipe from Ottolenghi, but don’t dismay, it’s a simple one. Roasted chicken pieces with clementines and arak is adaptable for more everyday ingredients and it cooks in about 30 minutes. My insider tips are these:

• If you want a super-easy preperation, put the chicken in the marinade the night before.

• Don’t have clementines? Neither did I, so I use Cara Cara oranges. They are perfect.

• Don’t have arak? Ouzo or sambuca will do, or substitute a bit more orange juice or white wine vinegar if you prefer.

• If fennel isn’t your favourite, substitute some with onions. Or substiture out all of it with broccoli or cauliflower.

• Cook it at 400 F—convection roast if you have the setting—and add your fennel (or whatever vegitable) halfway through cooking time.

• Don’t bother reducing the sauce, just spoon some over the chicken on the plates or put a small jug on the table for those who want more.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Strange origins of everyday foods

Crazy food stories

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A brazil tree fruit full of nuts.

I want to preface this column by reminding you that April Fool’s Day is past, so as you read these stories, please know I have checked the facts.

They might sound wacky, but they are all true. Sometimes it takes crazy innovations to get to the place – or the taste—we like the most.

The evolution of our species is closely linked with food. Did you know our increased intelligence and ingenuity has much to do with eating a more diverse diet? When early humans started eating cabbage, maize and root vegetables (all rich in nutrients and energy), their brains received more energy and became more developed. Having a bigger brain meant we could distinguish between bitter (possibly poisonous) foods and better-tasting foods that were more nutritious. It also helped us develop social groups, which meant it was easier to protect people’s safety and hunt more successfully.

Sharing ideas helped us innovate with food storage and transportation and generally improved our quality of life. As people have moved around the world, so has our food. When food is adopted by new cultures it is often prepared in new ways.

I recently acquired a new book about the history and stories behind what we eat. I discovered many interesting details that surprised me, so I’d like to share a few highlights and load you up with conversational trivia.

Here are just a few notes about some entries I have read so far:

• Brazil nuts – These nuts are unique in a few ways, coming only from the Amazon rainforest where local bees pollinate them. They grow in a large shell, with 12 to 24 nuts in each shell. The trees are huge, towering as high as 50 metres, which means harvesting must happen when the ripe shells fall naturally to the ground. From this dizzying height however, harvesters must wear hard hats, as the two kilogram-shells can reach speeds of 80 km/h by the time they hit the ground.

• Cacao beans – The coveted source of chocolate has long had great value with humans. Ancient cultures used it like currency in trading and believed it to be a gift of the gods (even its Latin name, “Theobroma cacao” means “food of the gods”). Its consumption began as a bitter drink made with water. It didn’t reach Europe until almost 1600, where eventually its preparation evolved with the addition of honey and eventually milk. Chocolate bars were first made in 1657 but weren’t really perfected or popular until around the mid 1800s when English confectioners combined cocoa powder with cocoa butter and sugar.

• Lettuce – In ancient Greece, cos lettuce was prescribed as a narcotic for sleep disorders. It was first cultivated in 4000 BC and back then grew one metre high. The Egyptians grew a type of romaine in 2000 BC but used it not for salad but for a love potion. Did you know that in France, they started eating lettuce as a cooked vegetable, probably to remove any bitter flavour? The Chinese thought it unsafe to eat raw lettuce in the 7th century, so they developed a stem lettuce that was meant for stir-frying. Today, China is the largest producer of lettuce in the world.

• Tomatoes – At first, they were just a weed in the wilds of South America. When tomatoes were brought to Europe by explorers, they were only grown as an ornamental plant in much of the 17th century, being thought of as poisonous since they were of the nightshade family (like the potato and eggplant, treated similarly at first in Europe.) Did you know that in Naples, Italy, the tradition of spreading cooked tomatoes on flatbread only began in the 19th century? Before that, there was no pizza.

• Crickets – Have you heard that bugs may be one of the new sources of protein for our diets? Crickets are a food source for one quarter of the world’s population (mostly in Asia and Africa), either as a delicacy or a staple item. They are nutrient-rich, with not only protein but also calcium, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and vitamin B12. In case you’re wondering, they are said to have more flavour than grasshoppers. Cricket flour is a product that is now available internationally.

As you can see, time does change our tastes. Trends and transport across cultures offers all kinds of amazing possibilities. Some of the things popular today were not even available just a few decades ago.

Who knows what will be coming up next on the menu as technology and innovations in agriculture continue.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Spring is a time for renewal and remembrance

My rite of spring

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Columnist Kristin Peturson-Laprise (left) with her mom in Paris.

Spring is such a lovely time of year, full of colour, hope and positive energy.

The sun rises earlier, the daffodils come up, spring festivals let us feast on fresh new shoots (and chocolate) and everything seems brighter.

Not to put a damper on things, but this week I want to talk about how renewal also means the cycle of letting go of the old to bring in the new. For me, the change of the seasons is always a time of reflection and pondering the cycle of life. As the new blooms push through the old mulch of years gone by, I remember my old friends as I also celebrate life with new ones.

March 23 would have been my mom’s 79th birthday. She passed away in Mexico three springs ago and although I think of her often, it is in spring when I can feel her closest to me. She was the person who taught me how important it was to stop and smell the flowers.

We shared many memories of spring flowers, from seeds we planted with great aspirations on chilly Alberta spring days (they often didn’t make it), to the stunning bouquets we loved sniffing at Granville Island Market when we lived in Vancouver.

One spring we even got to see the cherry blossoms – in Paris! I think that trip made her into a Francophile.

My mom and I also shared a love of dogs. I was never a mom but both of us were dog moms, so there was a special understanding of how strong that bond can be with a furry four-legged pal. Two of my beautiful “brown girls” (aka Chocolate Labradors), Satchmo and Ella, are memorialized at Kits Point in Vancouver. I try to visit with them every spring, remembering what they both taught me about making the most of life’s pleasures.

(If you’d like to read about my poetic “dog days” in this special corner of the world, check out my column from 2012.

This trip out to Vancouver will be full of touch points all around that circle of life. I’ll get to visit with my brother and we’ll reminisce and toast Mom and her love of spring. I’ll wander through Kits Point and remember my Brown Girls with gratitude and love. I’ll pop by to say hi - in real life - to new friends I’ve gathered from my online group of gals practicing healthy habits and I’ll make new memories with my longest-standing friend who’s come across the pond from England for her spring visit.

You might be wondering about the food… there are food memories too, of course. I will also treat myself to an extra dark hot chocolate and a sour cherry turnover at Thomas Haas, which my mom and I did often.

I’ll probably stock up on some goodies at T & T Supermarket (their egg tarts are tasty and the frozen dim sum is fun). If there’s time, we might get out to “The Beav” as my Dad used to call it – The Flying Beaver in Richmond has a great view of the seaplane dock as you enjoy your weekend pub brunch.

I saw a meme, “The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; the past is a place of learning, not a place of living.” – Roy T. Bennett. I think that is the key to keep our circle of life turning. My connections to my past anchor my identity as references, but not as weights. Learning from the times I missed opportunities to make memories has made me wiser for the future.

Here’s to a future that is as bright as spring can be, and as aspirational.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.