Sunday, July 25, 2010

Herbfest 2010


I had an excellent day at Herbfest today. Perfect weather, great demonstrations, beautiful grounds, tasty food and generally a good combination of vendors (the parking left something to be desired).

According to their website, "Herbfest has been an Ottawa Valley tradition for fifteen years and is a must-attend event for those interested in herbs, gardening, cooking and living a healthy lifestyle". Let me share some of my photos from the day.

A variety of products, mainly local, were for sale.

I tried raw Ginseng for the first time today.


Apparently, you can preserve it by putting it in Sambuca. I'm not sure if it's my aversion to anise or the taste of Ginseng, but I'll just say it's an acquired taste. Though it seems like a good, natural way to boost your immune system.

I bought a bag full of scapes. It must be nearing the end of the season because last time that I bought scapes they were $1 for 7. Today I got a bag full of about 75 scapes for $5. Looking forward to making some scape pesto tonight. I may also blanche and freeze a bunch.


I thought of Giz when I saw this site -- look ma - no sodium (added)! (Message for Giz -- if you want me to get some for you, check out their website. I think the price was $20 for 3 jars)



EcoOttawa sells and home delivers organic products. Check out their website here.


Some days I want to just say "screw the budget" and buy a full set of handmade pottery dishes. Jane Snider's work is so beautiful.



I was going to walk past this vendor, but I'm glad I didn't. The lovely ladies from the Mississippi Textile Museum (located in Almonte, Ontario) were happy to answer questions/demonstrate their art.





One of the highlights of the day was the chef cook-off. We only caught the last portion, where Chef Jason Duffy from Arc the hotel (a boutique hotel in downtown Ottawa) made his BBQ Chip Crusted Lake Erie Pickerel, Sweet Pea Purée, Dill-Smoked Paprika Corn Milk.



Definitely have to make a point of checking out their restaurant.

The most exciting part of the day came when I won something! I swear, my luck has turned around. Ever since winning free tickets to the movies from Girl About O-Town, I've been on a roll (recall that I also won Mark Cullen's new book at Ottawa is Blooming).

Well, this time, my name was drawn from an even larger pool. I won something from Savvy Company, an interesting Ottawa-based company that has a multifaceted approach to sharing their love for wine. The company is involved in marketing, organizing wine tours, events, classes, and a wine of the month club (in both Ontario and BC).

I won a $50 gift certificate to use toward the cost of a Savvy U wine appreciation "class" or tickets to Savvy Company's wine & food events. Sweet! I will definitely make good use of that. I've already signed up for their newsletter. If you're in the Ottawa area, go sign up for their newsletter too (near the bottom of the page on their website.


After all of the winning and watching food preparations, we were hungry.

Although there was a variety of delicious-looking food...


and drinks...


I settled on a yummy curry stew with basmati rice made by the folks at the Cheshire Cat Pub, based in Carp, Ontario (not far from Ottawa).



For dessert, I bought a macaron (can you believe that it's my first macaron ever) from Pretty Fours. I'm usually strong enough to resist their delicious looking set up at the Farmer's Market.


But, convinced myself that dessert would be a nice way to cap off the day.



All around, an excellent day! StumbleUpon

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the perfect outing to me! Food, food and more food.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I had my first macaron in San Francisco but I must say it looked nothing like the crunchy filled butes you are showing here. Looks like you had a foodie-filled day and congrats on winning the prize. Ir really was your lucky day in more ways than one!!

girlaboutOtown said...

Looks like it was a fabulous day, and you even won a prize! Yay! I myself was not able to resist the macarons at the Farmer's Market, and am convinced I'll always be weak in their presence. :)

giz said...

I'm so jealous :) - what a great event. Just make sure you save that certificate for when yo mamma comes to town!!!

Katie Zeller said...

That is the one thing I miss about summers in North America - all the food festivals.
Here in France the festivals are all about the arts - dance, music, theatre....
I want food!
Looks like a wonderful day, indeed!

kat said...

Looks like a great day & congrats on winning

Jeanne @ CookSister said...

Oooh, what is that ice cold drink in the cooler?? Looks heavenly. And what flavour were your macarons? I had my first macaron at Pierre Herme in Paris and he spoiled me for all other macarons ;-)

Jeanne @ CookSister said...

Oooh, what is that ice cold drink in the cooler?? Looks heavenly. And what flavour were your macarons? I had my first macaron at Pierre Herme in Paris and he spoiled me for all other macarons ;-)

PG said...

The drink in the cooler is water, flavoured by whatever is in there. My macarons was blueberry lemon and my friend's as mocha. I didn't really love it -- tasted really sugary.

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