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Get your copy of Norfolk’s Official Map & Local Food Guide
Cherry tomatoes that are so sweet, you can just pop them in your mouth as a snack.
Texas Long-horn cattle from YURanch.
Ad featured in September edition of LCBO Food & Drink publication.
Visit www.norfolkfarms.com to enter to win a fall package to Norfolk County.
Enjoy local Norfolk County foods at The Blue Elephant with owner Heather Pond-Manorome.
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Virtual Food Festival
September 2010
Norfolk County is proud to be Canada’s most diverse agricultural areas and one of Ontario’s largest growing regions of many of your favorite foods. Norfolk County has such an abundance of locally-grown and produced foods – you’ll be amazed at the selection.
How can you find the farms?
Call or email us for a copy of the Norfolk County Map & Local Food Guide.
www.norfolkfarms.com
WHAT’S IN SEASON:
September: apples, pears, plums, peaches, grapes, cantaloupe, bok choy, tomatoes (field), sweet corn, cucumber (field), snow peas, green/yellow beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, radishes, onions, green onions, celery, lettuce, spinach, peppers (field), squash/pumpkin, potatoes, leeks, zucchini, eggplant, swiss chard, basil, garlic, mushrooms
October: apples, pears, plums, bok choy, sweet corn, tomatoes (field), cucumber (field), green beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, radishes, onions, green onions, celery, lettuce, spinach, peppers (field), squash/pumpkin, potatoes, leeks, sweet potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms
ALWAYS IN SEASON:
beef, pork, poultry, Lake Erie fish, home baking, preserves, honey, herbs, mushrooms, maple syrup, cheese, peanuts, popping corn, apple cider, wine
Norfolk County foods – from A to Z.
Article – as it appeared in The Silo
As the promotions coordinator of Norfolk County tourism and local foods, I often get asked by city folks about our farmer’s markets. This year, with the warmer weather and early summer, our crops seemed to just pop out of the ground and it “hit me” – our whole county is one big farmer’s market.
What can be better than stopping by a road-side stand to buy a dozen cobs of freshly –picked corn to eat only an hour later? Or to take your kids to the local cherry farm, climb a ladder and pick your own cherries right off the tree?
Norfolk County is Canada’s most diverse agriculture area and is home to Canada’s and Ontario’s largest growers of some of your favorite foods. Sweet potatoes, popping corn, peanuts, asparagus, apples, pumpkins and strawberries are only a selection. But our local foods also include Lake Erie perch, cheese, honey, Texas Longhorn cattle, a variety of meat products, maple syrup – even wine. People talk a lot about the “100-mile Diet” in other regions and large cities but can they truly get the variety and year-round selection that is found right here?
Norfolk County promotes its local foods with a campaign “Direct From Norfolk – Know Where your Food Comes From” and it is important for all of us to look for these labels and support the local growers and producers. You can find over 50 farm gates, pick-your-own, markets, retail stores and restaurants , all growing and supporting the “local movement” , in the official map and local food guide published each year by the tourism and economic development department.
Local foods can be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. With the popularity of television food channels and celebrity chefs, cooking and local foods have become “cool”. New terms like “agri-tourism” and “culinary tourism” have emerged as reasons to travel. If you think about a trip to Italy, what would be your one thing to try? Pizza? Wine? Travellers seek out these unique agri-tourism experiences and local food establishments. If they can “walk the crop” at a nearby strawberry field and learn about the many varieties and differences of strawberries, then purchase their own basket to snack on – they’ve had a great Norfolk County food experience. If they can horseback ride through a shitake mushroom farm, then enjoy a western-style barbecue on a picnic table in the woods, served with their own hand-picked mushrooms – they’ve had a great Norfolk County food experience. The popular coined phrase “field to fork” becomes reality.
It’s an exciting time with local foods as we think more about health benefits, great-taste and helping the environment. Norfolk County continues to attract new types of crops, such as the Goji Berry and ginseng and to appeal to more businesses joining the “culinary” trend. You can visit www.norfolkfarms.com to find local foods, recipes and stay current with events and food festivals. Whether you’re a resident of Norfolk County or just visiting, enjoy our county-wide farmer’s market. Great flavours, great fun and experiences you’ll never forget.
Cindy Vanderstar
Promotions Coordinator – Norfolk County Tourism
It’s Still Barbecuing Season!
It’s been a hot summer – as the season winds down and the weather gets a bit more comfortable, it’s the perfect time for barbecuing. Give this one a try…
Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Cantaloupe
Courtesy of The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
http://www.canadianliving.com
1 pork tenderloin
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2tbsp. hot pepper jelly
2 tsp. orange juice
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 cantaloupe
Trim any fat and membranes from pork tenderloin; tuck thin end under and secure with wooden skewer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place pork on greased grill over medium heat; close lid and grill for 15 minutes, turning to brown all over.
Meanwhile, is a small bowl, stir together hot pepper jelly, orange juice and mustard; brush over pork. Grill, covered, until glazed and just a hint of pink remains inside, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, seed cantaloupe; cut into 1/2″ thick half moons. Add to grill and grill, turning once, until well marked, about 5 minutes. This makes 4 serving.
Back-to-School
Tasty lunch and snack ideas to send your kids back-to-school while eating healthy AND local…
- Jensen cheese and crackers
- apples, peaches, pears
- cherry tomatoes, beans, carrots with caesar dip
- peanut hummus with crackers
- sweet potato chips
- add Stonkus honey to a Kernal peanut butter sandwich
- a mini deli platter using local meats, keilbassa and cheese
- a thermos full of homemade soup using local vegetables
- dill pickles you have canned yourself
- make your own salsa (see recipe below)- send with tortilla chips
Join us for a local food event…
Watch for more details about the upcoming
FlavourFest event at the
Norfolk County Fair & Horse Show.- October 5-11. Visit many of our local farmers under one roof and watch cooking demonstrations featuring The Food Network celebrity chefs and our very own Norfolk County chefs. You can get your copy of the latest edition of the FlavourFest Recipe Book with a minimum purchase* of local foods.
*call for details
From Our Field to Your Fork
Chunky Tomato Salsa
-courtesy of www.norfolkfarms.com
4 Ontario tomatoes
1/2 Ontario cucumbers, chopped
2 Ontario green onions, chopped
1 Ontario green or red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 drops hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers and garlic. Whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Pour over vegetable mixture and combine gently. At serving time, add parsley. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Longhorn Pepper Stew
-courtesy of YURanch
2 lbs. Longhorn stew or Longhorn sirloin steak cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. Vegeta
1 tbsp. Hungarian hot paprika
1 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp. Pristine Gourmet canola oil
2 tomatoes, skin removed then diced
2-3 red and green peppers, quartered
450ml beef broth
Cook onions in oil until clear. Add meat and brown. Add seasonings, stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add beed broth, bring to a boil again, then simer for 4-5 hours stirring frequently, adding more broth if necessary. Add peppers then simmer another 30 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.
For more information on Norfolk Farms, recipes and restaurants serving local foods, visit www.norfolkfarms.com. For information on visiting Norfolk County – www.norfolktourism.ca |
