President's Choice Holidays 2010

President's Choice has officially kicked off the holiday season. The first thing that came out was the Insider's Report giving Canadians a view into what's new in taste and decor for the holidays. Warning: Do NOT look at this report on an empty stomach; could be very detrimental to your waist line.




The second offering was a prezzie box; number 1 of 3 filled with many gift wrapped items. All the items are meant to be enjoyed complete with tips on how you can entertain smarter - not harder. Aren't we all guilty of the latter. But - there's a twist. There are rules of engagement.

1. Each goodie for week one and during week three corresponds to a date; week 2 is a free-for-all for both eyes and tastebuds. The first gift to be appreciated is a fresh wreath. Lovely, no?

2. The gifts must be opened on the date noted on the wrapping paper. Early opening is a direct fax to Santa putting you on the bad list. Doesn't that just drive you nuts?

3. Two more packages will arrive on November 24 and December 1.

4. A USB key was included with week #1 that fully explains what you're receiving and when.

Tonight is the Insider's tasting event in Toronto and I'm charging my camera as I type. The event promises to be a tasting extravaganza. I'm stoked and will take you on the journey with me.

I Survived the Ottawa Foodie Challenge

Yesterday I took part in the Ottawa Foodie Challenge (OFC).



This challenge featured many of Ottawa's best restaurants, stores and food-related hangouts. The challenge was to visit the places on the challenge list and perform certain tasks for points. Combining two of my favourite things (games and food), I was beyond excited to participate. Here is the list of challenges (originally posted on the OFC Blog):

1. Picture of you hugging the Sailor Jerry’s statue at the Whalesbone (5pts, + 5pts) holding a bottle of Sailor Jerry’s


2. Picture of you and any blogger on this list (5pts, max 2 bloggers, please note if you are participating and you are ON this list a picture of yourself doesn’t count :))


3. You and the "master blast" coffee listing from the menu at Planet Coffee (5pts)


4. You in an apron in front of the Cordon Bleu 5pts, +1pts for each chef knife in your hand (max 5 knives)


5. You and the hoof card holder located on the bar at Murray Street Kitchen (10pts)


6. You and ANY of Ottawa Magazine's 101 Tastes Before You Die (10pts) (max 2 items)


7. Outside of Absinthe Cafe 5pts, holding a bottle of Absinthe (5pts)


8. You and any kind of latte art (5pts)


9. You and the device that holds the "Tower-O-Rings" from The Works (5pts)


10. Making a fish face: Outside of the Whalesbone (5 pts), Outside of Lapointes (5 pts), Outside of Big Easy's (5 pts), Outside Pelican Fishery(5pts)


11. You and a lamb shank from Sasloves (10pts)


12. You and a side of fresh salmon from Pelican Fishery


13. You and a Challah from Rideau Bakery (5pts)


14. You opening your mouth to the enomatic wine machine at Divino Wine Studio (10pts)


15. You wearing a red apron from the Red Apron (10pts)


16. You and some Buffalo mozzarella from Ontario from Nicastro’s or La Bottega(10pts)


17. You and Yellow beets from Herb & Spice (5pts)


18. You and a Paella pan from Domus Housewares (10pts)


19. You and a croissant from Moulin de Provence (5pts)


20. You and the martini list at the Moonroom (15pts)


21. You rubbbing a Buddha belly at Pho’licious (5pts)


22. You gettin’ wild at the Wild Oat (be as creative as you like :) ) 10pts


23. You Shucking an oyster (anywhere but at home!) (10pts)


24. You and a sausage link from the Sausage Kitchen (5pts)


25. You and a Gold Medal Plates Chef (20pts- past winner OR competing this Tuesday!)


26. You and a Really Lebanese placemat 5pts +10pts You and the Garlic King


27. You and the dessert list at Elgin Street Diner (5pts)


28. Highfiving an employee at Epicuria (5 pts, +5pts Highfiving whilst holding a food related magazine)


29. Follow the yellow brick road to the Wizard of _____ Kafe, (5pts, +5pts for red shoes)


30. Impersonate Town’s logo in front of Town (5pts)


31. Someone making a naan at Shafali Bazaar (5pts)


32. You and the fresh pasta case from Parma Ravioli (5pts)


33. You barefoot in the LCBO with a bottle of Barefoot Wine & Bubbly (15pts)


34. Piggy back in front of the chicken rotisserie at the Piggy Market (10pts)


35. Doing a “cheers” at Social (5pts)


36. You and a Beau’s Brewery Tap Lever (at any location) (5pts)


37. You and a picture of a smiling veggie/fruit vendor from the Byward Market 5pts


38. **Movember Clue** You at Bridgehead on Caroline & Wellington with a foodie couple wearing mustaches (Hint: between 1-3pm is IDEAL) 10pts, +5pts if YOU have a mustache too


39. Riding the "Beemster Cow" at Serious Cheese


40. Infront of Market Organics with a sign saying "Kiss me I'm organic" (5 pts, +10 pts for someone actually kissing you, and that person CAN'T be your partner)

(Thanks to the organizers for sending me the html for this list!)


The list of challenges was posted at 1:00am, the day of the event. My foodie challenge partner and I gathered together early the morning of the challenge. We grouped the locations by part of town (e.g., Market, Wellington/Westboro, Elgin, etc.) and head out for a food-filled day.


I was really happy to see that the registration fees went to a great cause, The Ottawa Food Bank.


Not only that, the idea snowballed and led others to donate (read about it at foodiePrints).

The event gave me the opportunity to visit some of my favourite food sites in Ottawa and discover a few new ones. Showing up to many of the restaurants before opening time as a non-patron also gave me a chance to talk to some of the owners and feel more connected to the establishments.

Most of the attention was devoted to the challenges, but I did manage to take a few shots throughout the day:

The wall of wine at Divino Wine Studio. I wouldn't mind getting locked in to their studio for the night week.


Free shots at Whalesbone (thanks Charlotte!)


The beauty that is Domus Housewares

Lapointe's Fish Market

It was a full day indeed. By the time we submitted our photos for the day, we were exhausted.

Having gone through the day, here are some suggestions for next year (if the event continues *crossing fingers*):

- Market the heck out of the event. More buzz, more participation. I found out about the event on Twitter (they also had a Facebook site). But, a search of #OFC or @Foodiechallenge a week prior to the event only revealed a few mentions. Things picked up the week of the event.

- Give owners lots of notice about the event (many of the locations we went to were not aware of the challenge -- thankfully, they were all either neutral or supportive). I think the challenge locations should be encouraged to get involved in the event (sponsor, hand out marketing materials, samples, etc.). They have an audience of locals who love food -- sounds like a perfect target audience to me.

- I loved the locations on the challenges. I think it would be neat to add in more clues like:
#8 You and any kind of latte art
#24 You shucking an oyster (anywhere but at home!)
#29 Follow the yellow brick road to the Wizard of _____ Kafe

These are clues that require you to flex your foodie muscles a little bit and, for example, solve a clue or find an item that requires knowledge of where to find certain products in Ottawa.

A BIG thank you and congratulations to the event organizers!

Pumpkin Pecan Loaf Cake

It's hard to let go of harvest time. Now that Halloween is over, the farmers are closing down their markets and the weather is taking a dip in our part of the world. I have to admit that I'm still in denial that the snow is actually coming and that the heavy overcoats and boots have to come out for another winter season.

My last visit to the market was a "see you next spring" visit. The dogs wanted to say their final farewell to their favourite booth.

The vendor never fails to give them each a small treat for coming to visit.

Next stop is the Scone Lady who actually goes by the name of The Tart Lady (on the left) Standing out there in the cold all day long can't possibly be fun. We talked about her scones looking like they're on steroids and I notice she's sized them down a little. Smart move and she can still sell them for the same amount.



Not only does she carry an array of tarts, the pies - oh my - to die for, let's also not forget the breads...



I thought I might see if the pumpkin farm had any pumpkins left. It looked pretty isolated but what the heck, let's have a look. I was greeted by one of the workers who told me they were just closing for the season and having a beer in the back. Huh? What time is it? It was about 10 a.m. Well, I guess it's cocktail hour somewhere in the world. The store was closed but he told me to just go help myself. What a jackpot!!!! He even sent his underling out with baskets to the field to help me take as many as I wanted. Okay, so I went a little nuts.

The grower told me that the key to fabulous pumpkin pie is to combine the puree from the pie pumpkins with the puree from the larger flat pumpkins (I don't remember what they're called)

The next step was to drag them all home - I'm not quite sure what I was thinking. Then on to making the puree.

Today is Tuesday which means it's Hearth and Soul Day; a weekly event that showcases REAL FOOD. Check it out at Girlichef , one of our hostesses.
1. Cut the pumpkins in half and clean out the seeds and the stringy bits. Turn them open side down into a roasting pan or cookie sheet and add about 3/4 cup of water to the pan. Put them into a 375 degree oven for about an hour or when a knife goes into the flesh very easily.

2. These are completely roasted. Scoop out the flesh and put it into the food processor and puree.

Voila - you have puree and it's economical and absolutely delicious. Use the puree the same way you would canned pumpkin. The only thing is that if you can imagine the size of this container filled with puree - I think I have about 6 of them. That can only mean you'll be seeing pumpkin recipes ad nauseum.

I subscribe to the Robin Hood Flour newsletter and as I was browsing through it, would you know that I found a recipe to begin the pumpkin marathon.

Here comes the first pumpkin recipe

Pumpkin Pecan Loaf Cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 1 loaf (12 servings) - I doubled the recipe for 2.
Description: Bring the season to life with this moist and fragrant pumpkin loaf cake. Canned pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and pecans are combined in a simple loaf cake recipe and then topped with chopped pecans and brown sugar. Make a double batch and freeze one for when guests pop by.

CAKE:
1/2 cup (125mL) Canola Oil
1 ½ cups (375mL) sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (250mL) pure canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/3 cup (75mL) milk
1 ½ cups (375mL) All Purpose Flour
1 tsp (5mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2mL) salt
1 tsp (5mL) ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5mL) ground ginger
1/2 cup (125mL) chopped pecans

TOPPING:
1/2 cup (125mL) chopped pecans
1/4 cup (50mL) packed brown sugar
2 tbsp (30mL) Canola Oil

CAKE:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Grease a 9” x 5” (22 cm x 12cm) loaf pan.

2. Combine oil and sugar in medium sized bowl. Blend in eggs, pumpkin and milk. Set aside. In separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add to pumpkin mixture. Stir in ½ cup (125mL) pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

TOPPING:
3. Combine all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter.

4. Bake in preheated oven, 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan.

Verdict: Absolutely moist and delicious and I'm making another bunch to give as holiday gifts.