Vicki's Veggies Fresh Spinach - One Fine Salad Green

One of our many treats on our recent vacation in Prince Edward County came from the well known Vicki's Veggies Farm. Vicki Emlaw's heirloom tomatoes seedlings are sought after and people flock to The County in the latter part of May to pick out their garden starters.



In addition to a few tomato and basil seedlings we also picked up a 1/2 pound bag of fresh spinach for $5.00. Coming off a 10-day food bender across Ontario, we are becoming very fresh fruits and veggies focused this week.





Although we pulled into the city late, we rummaged our fridge and pantry for the ingredients to our favourite spinach dish. We often have cooked bacon on hand for just an occasion. A just ripe avocado was popped into the fridge just before we left town. The result was a dreamy creamy pulp. There are always apples in the fruit crisper.

As we go through fine-food detox, it feels good knowing that this fresh spinach came from a farm that cares about our health and the health of our food. The mister's verdict on the spinach was that it had more flavour. Go Vicki!




SPINACH SALAD WITH APPLES, AVOCADO, AND BACON
Adapted from a recipe by Jeff Edmunds, Yankton, SD published in Bon Appétit, December 2000

Dressing:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoons icing sugar
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Salad:
4 ounces baby spinach leaves, cleaned, rinsed and dried
1 medium-size Gala apple, chopped with skin on
1/8 cup very thinly sliced red onion
1/2 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cubed
1 piece of cooked bacon, crumbled

Dressing: In a small jar, combine the oil, icing sugar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, dry mustard, paprika and ground ginger. Shake well to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Salad: Place baby spinach leaves, chopped apple, red onion slivers, avocado cubes and bacon crumble in your salad bowl. Toss salad with just enough dressing to coat. It does not take much to give it that light glisten. Divide salad among 2 plates and serve.



A few outtakes from our visit to Vicki's pastoral setting:

Gourmet Hotdogs at Buddha Dog - Picton, Ontario

We spent this past weekend in Picton and the surrounding area and after just a mere 72 hours they had us drinking the Kool-Aid. This quiet, powerful cult established here in the province of Ontario is simply being referred to as 'The County'.

Words associated with their rites and ceremonies include: terroir, rural renaissance, locavore, organic, slow food, viticulture, arts and culture, artisan cheese, platinum LEED, sophisticated, Loyalist, history, taste, festivals, farm fresh, 'rurban'.

Beyond the formal municipal government, there are many other structured groups working together to make life in The County a fulfilling dream. Such groups as Slow Food The County, Taste the County, PEC Winegrowers Association, Festival Players of PEC, just to name a few. They even have their own currency in the form of Vicki's Veggie-Bucks.

Once home, we actually started browsing through real estate listings! We contemplated small farming, homemade canning and preserves. We fell hard for this place.

No surprise I guess that when we made our last food stop late in the day Sunday, we were totally won over to pay $2.50 for a wee, slim 4" long hot dog wrapped in a delicate but full-textured bun, loaded with local flavours.

We had read good things about Buddha Dog before coming to Picton. As we walked the main street, the plump Buddha sandwich board lured us in.



The small haven to hot dogs was bright and airy with its Cloud White and Blackboard painted walls. Above the kitchen work station someone had meticulously laid out a non-bordered map of the area marked with the many must see locations from food stuffs to eateries to wineries to everything in between. It is clear that The County is loaded with experiences for visitors of any vacation stripe.





Eating a Buddha Dog is pretty straight forward. You add your seasonal sauces of ketchups, mustards, relishes, the daily mayo and the daily jelly. You then top it with your favourite cheese and voilà, the Buddha Dog.

To reasonably curb your hunger, it is common to get a flight of 3 dogs. They suggest one sweet, one savoury and one spicy.



I started with one just to see where this taste sensation would go. Smokey Ketchup. Chardonnay Wine Mustard. Caramelized Onion Relish. The Daily Mayo which was Wild Leek Aioli. The Daily Jelly which was Jalapeño Tequila Jelly. And then for the cheese finish - Fifth Town Plain Jane Chèvre. (The other cheese choices came from Black River Cheese Company.) They even tucked in fresh spinach from Vicki's Veggies.



The weiner is all-beef and supplied by Ted Aman of Aman's Abbatoir in nearby Wellington. Ted only processes local meat. For Buddha Dog he looks after the grinding, spicing, casing, and smoking of these pint-size weiners.

The wee 4" buns are made just across the road at Pastry House by Picton baker Peter Grendel.

The sauces are made by local chefs using local ingredients.

The two cheese companies are located just east of Picton. As is Vicki's Veggies.

It wasn't hard to consider going for a second Buddha Dog.



With the Great Canadian Cheese Festival in play this weekend at the Crystal Palace, visiting chef Craig Flinn from Chives Canadian Bistro in Halifax, Nova Scotia created the Dog of the Day. It featured his Dragon's Breath Mousse with Rhubarb Compote. These components were used in his dish the night before at the Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala. Dragon's Breath cheese comes from That Dutchman's Farm and is local to Chef Flinn's native Nova Scotia. Being one of my favourite taste experiences from the Gala, my second dog was Dog of the Day.



I am an easy convert to Buddha Dog. I lap up the whole locavore experience. I don't know if that is my farm upbringing, my foodie fetish, the loose 'vacation wallet' or just because it tasted good. I suppose some might quibble about the price being $7.50 for a lunching threesome but I personally am willing to pay a bit more knowing where my food comes from. Knowing that it was made with care.

Also worth mentioning - the service was great!




Buddha Dog
172 Main Street
Picton, Ontario
613.476.3814
website: www.buddhafoodha.com
Twitter: buddhadog

Open 7 days a week after May 27
Mon to Sat: 11 am – 5 pm
Sun: 11 am - 4 pm

Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala at the 1st Great Canadian Cheese Festival - Picton, Ontario

At the Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala at the first Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Picton, Ontario today, the 400 some guests were asked to pick their favourite dish from among the 8 creations by top Canadian chefs representing many regions across the country.

My poll is only anecdotal, as we chatted it up with many of the gala goers. But it seems there was strong support for Jamie Kennedy's Braised Oxtail Poutine with Two Black River Cheddars. I look forward to hearing the real final tally as the details of the event settle out over the next few days.

This moveable feast of 8 tasting dishes showcased some of the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix winners and each dish was paired with an Ontario wine.

What I can say about the fries is that they delivered the quality that Jamie has become known for with his frites. The meaty braised oxtail ragu was full of depth and flavour. My only complaint is that there was not enough of that great Black River cheddar.

We tend to steer clear of cooking events that bring too large of a crowd together in a short period of time to enjoy top food and wines. Our style is to linger over fine morsels in the refined setting of tables with chairs and lovely linens.

We heard a few times through the evening that 400 tickets were sold for the gala. A manageable crowd and a size that suits us. The setup in the Crystal Palace allowed for ease of movement from station to station with some spots to sit and relax and some bar stations to stand and enjoy food and drink. We were never stuck for a spot to eat free from the complication of camera, purse and gala check-off ticket.

Organizers were extremely sensitive about cleaning up dirty plates and glasses. So keen, that I lost my wine glass when I turned away for a moment. My fault, not theirs, as I was already a few steps away. Often I see this issue mentioned with big food events.

My favourite drink was the Sparking Rosé from The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Wines. A winery that we had visited earlier in the day for tastings.

Most tasting plates were easy to handle but Anthony Rose's Fifth Town Counting Sheep Cheese with Cranberry Beans & Tomato Jam on Red Fife Bread was hard for me to handle. My Danish heritage says that anything like an open-faced sandwich must be approached with a knife and fork. I felt a betrayal to my culture! Not to mention worried about a potential dry cleaning bill. Thankfully, every bite was worth the struggle.

Some plate presentations were highly photogenic. For those less so, they were still delicious. Although it is often said that we eat with our eyes, flavour and taste counts most in my books.

The dessert tent was set up outside the Palace. Bless the good weather. It meant that we could enjoy the sweets and coffee sitting at one of the number of picnic tables decorating the grounds. The rain held off and so did the uncomfortable heat. I don't like to 'glow' in uncomfortable heat. But more importantly, that usually spells disaster for desserts. Organizers must have been breathing a sigh of relief.

We felt the gala was a resounding success and kudos to all involved working this event first time out of the gate. The devil is in the detail.

Now on to the delicious tastes, great chefs and wonderful wines.

***

Dragon's Breath Blue Cheese Mousse Bruschetta
Smoked Beef + Wild Rhubarb Jam
Chervil + Maple Candied Walnuts (V)
Chef Craig Flinn, Chives Canadian Bistro, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Quintus 2009, Karlo Estates







The vegetarian option swapped in asparagus for the beef.
(The blue cheese mousse was spectacular.)

***

Clarmell Feta Cheese Pistachio Crusted Sphere
Pulled Lip Sticky
Chipotle-Saskatoonberry Elk
Chef Michael Blackie, National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
St. Laurent 2007, Harwood Estates Vineyard & Winery

***

Braised Oxtail Poutine with Two Black River Cheddars
Chef Jamie Kennedy, Gilead Cafe, Toronto, Ontario
Cold Creek Cabernet Franc 2007, Rosehall Run Vineyards

***

Manitoba Trappist Cheese with Rabbit & Fennel Rillettes
Coriander-Orange Mustard + Pickled Celery
on a Fennel & Black Pepper Cracker (V)
Alexander Svenne, Bistro 7 1/4, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pinot Noir 2009, Redtail Vineyard

***

Fifth Town Counting Sheep Cheese with Cranberry Beans
& Tomato Jam on Red Fife Bread (V)
Chef Anthony Rose, The Drake Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
Sparkling Rosé, The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Wines

***

Tequila and Lime splashed B.C. Spot Prawns
with Little Qualicum Bleu Claire in a Lettuce Leaf (V)
Lisa Ahier, Sobo, Tofino, British Columbia
Riesling Off Dry 2010, Lacey Estates Vineyard & Winery

***

Moose burgers:
Homemade Kaiser + Newfoundland Moose
Tomato Confit + House Pickle
Fromagerie du Presbytère Le Bleu d'Elizabeth
Jeremy Charles, Raymonds, St. John's, Newfoundland
Foch Reserve 2009, Sandbanks Estate Winery

***

Fromagerie du Presbytère Louis D'Or
Oulton's Smoked Bacon | Apple Chutney Panini (V)
Chef Michael Howell, Tempest Restaurant, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Hillier Blanc 2009, Keint-he Winery & Vineyards

***

Beer also available:
Mill St. Brewery
Beau's All Natural Brewing
Barley Days Brewery

***

Desserts starting on the left going clockwise:
Mercury Chocolates' dessert chocolate
Gazebo Restaurant's apple & cheddar fritter with caramel sauce
East & Main Bistro's chevre cheesecake with blueberry compote
Just Sweets Retro Bakery's chocolate cupcake
Sprucewood Handmade Cookie Company's shortbreads (raspberry + lemon)
Devonshire Inn's s'more