What can I say? I am rather fond of The Piggy Market (400 Winston Avenue, just off of Richmond Road) in Westboro. Jenn and I visit the high-end foodie-shop often. Yes, there are closer by storefronts in the Wellington West neighbourhood that sell some comparable goods. Saslove's (1333 Wellington Street) sells freshly made sausages. The Ottawa Bagel Shop (1321 Wellington Street) sells Art is In Bread and raw milk cheeses. Il Negozio Nicastro (1355 Wellington Street) sells in-house made terrines, patés, and duck confit. Thyme & Again (1255 Wellington Street) sells Pascale's now legendary ice cream (for a dollar more). However, we've not developed the same relationship with these shops as we have with the owners and staff of The Piggy Market. Dave, Pascale, and Kate are wonderfully warm people, fun to chat with, and always generous with serving suggestions.

Though, even with The Piggy Market's storefront just a neighbourhood away, we always spend some time at its stall at Lansdowne Farmers' market. Why? Sometimes pricey, The Piggy Market sells nothing short of local foodie goodness.

Every week, Dave and Kate whip up special dishes with ingredients from The Piggy Market's local suppliers to supplement their regular line of products. The specials vary seasonally, so check back to the "Specials" section on its newly re-designed website often. Most weeks however, you will find classic charcuterie in the refrigerated glass display case.

Spring
Earlier this past spring, we picked up some chicken liver paté and pork terrine.

Chicken Liver Pate and Pork Terrine
The paté is milder in flavour than anything you will find at the supermarket and more refined in texture. The terrine, baked wrapped in bacon rashers, is often sold to customers as "meat loaf."

We also found goat milk feta that afternoon nestled amongst the cartons of locally-raised free-range Bekings eggs in the opposite case, beside the cash and till.

Goat Feta
More dense than traditional cow's milk feta, stronger tasting, and sharper, I like pairing slices of it with slices of terrine.


Paired Goat Feta with a Slice of Pork Terrine
Served on Jewish whole-grain rye crisp bread (unleavened bread, sold in the same aisle in the supermarket as Melba toast) and paired with a tossed salad, you've a lovely lunch or a hearty mid-afternoon snack. The brand I usually buy is Ryvita.

Incidentally, the paté and sliced terrine go equally well with the grainy crisp bread by themselves.

Pate on Rye Crisp Bread

Terrine on Rye Crisp Bread
Picking up several inches of each, some local cheese, and a grainy mustard makes a great appetizer plate for your next dinner party.

That spring also saw us take The Piggy Market rotisserie chicken to family potlucks and a picnic.

The Piggy Market Rotisserie Chicken

Honey Mustard Rotisserie Chicken at a Family Potluck
Unbelievably juicy and flavourful, it always disappears at potlucks faster than I can take a picture.

Summer
The Piggy Market is revered for Dave's in-house-made sausages, using locally-reared heritage pork. Dave even teaches sausage-making at the Urban Element (424 Parkdale Avenue). Me, I purchased his sausages for the grill.

Piggy Market Chorizo

Piggy Market Hot Italian

In the summer time, The Piggy Market also sells produce on select weekdays. We found them selling freshly picked Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan) one Monday.

Gai Lan from Jambican Studio Gardens

Gai Lan
Fresh from field to plate, we thought the gai lan picked too old. Chinese cuisine prizes gai lan for its stems as much as its leaves. As such, it needs to be picked young. What we purchased, while fresh, was very fibrous and tough.

Fall
For an autumnal treat, carefully layer sliced game terrine (this one pheasant and wild boar), sliced ripe Niagara peaches, and some of The Piggy Market's goat feta onto toasted rye bread.

Bread overlayed with sliced terrine, feta, and peaches

Neighbourhood Sandwich

Served
Like we did for Food Day Canada, this sandwich is sourced from within the neighbourhood, making it a neighbourhood sandwich. The peaches were sourced from the Parkdale Market. The terrine, Il Negozio Nicastro and the bread, the Ottawa Bagel Shop. Though, the rye bread was actually baked at the Rideau Bakery downtown. The fruity sweetness of the peaches provides a great counter point to the savory terrine and sharp feta. It was delicious.

This fall, Dave started baking Jamaican Patties. They made great edible carry-ons when I flew to North Vancouver in August.

Jamaican Patties
More on these wondrous savoury pastries will appear in another post, entitled "Snacks on a Plane."

Winter
Most recently, Jenn picked up some "head cheese" (aka: brawn) for me, essentially meat jelly that is served either cold or room-temperature. Traditional European head cheese is made with long simmered bits of meat, skin, cartilage, and tongue, each picked from the head of a pig. It is not cheese per se, but a jellied product, set using gelatin rendered from simmering the head, sometimes with added trotters.

Dave's Head Cheese
Dave's head cheese includes bits of pickled cucumber, which I feel it can do without. According to wikipedia.net, this addition make Dave's Head Cheese more German in tradition. I served it chilled and sliced with whole grain crackers.

Over the past year, Jenn and I have purchased many cartons of Pascale's Ice Cream. Dave's in-house hot smoked duck breast has graced our dinner table. The Piggy Market's locally sourced Pinge prosciutto was served as an appetizer for Christmas dinner. Its stock of vinegars, most recently a Maple Vinegar from Cabane du Pic Bois, made excellent gifts.

Good luck on the coming year Dave, Pascale and Kate. We'll be in to check on you soon.

Particulars:
The Piggy Market
400 Winston Avenue
(613)371-6124

Ever since Jenn finished schooling at Queen's, she and I have been throwing Christmas dinners for her family every year. This year, we went with a turkey-based feast. Due to other engagements Thanksgiving weekend, we opted for Mongolian Hot Pot using a chicken pho broth in October. This left me without having cooked a turkey for 2009 and I could not let December pass without roasting one up.

Given the shopping insanity we witnessed at the nearby Loblaws Superstore (190 Richmond Road), leading up to the week of the 25th last year, we opted to order an (apparently frozen) organic turkey from Wellington's own Saslove's (1333 Wellington Street W.). Originally scheduled for pickup on Christmas Eve, we requested to fetch our turkey the day before (December 23, 2009). We were glad we did. Apparently, the entire neighbourhood and surrounding ones order turkeys from Saslove's. While the 22nd of December was quiet at Saslove's store front, word quickly spread that the entire shipment of turkeys had arrived. Surprised employees had to create a queue to the back of the butcher's the next day to hand out turkeys. They created a queue to the only cash and till that could handle debit and credit cards. They created a bypass queue to a second cash and till for anyone paying with cash. Guess which queue was longest? On the bright side, everyone in line was friendly to one another and the staff made light of the situation to lift spirits. I remarked to Jenn that we have never had a better turkey buying experience. Though, next year, we will be ordering two small turkeys instead of the giant $86.31 (before taxes) monstrosity we ended up lugging home. Interestingly, giblets cost an extra $5.

Dinner-wise, here is the menu we chose:
Chinese Appetizers (Small plates for Arrivals)

Small Plate Buffet

Rolled Prosciutto

• Pig tails slow poached in a soy master sauce with brown sugar, Chicken marinade, ginger, and star anise, served warm
• Stir fried ginger and scallion omasum (3rd stomach of a chow), served warm
• King oyster mushroom chips
• Atlantic smoked salmon
• Pingue prosciutto from The Piggy Market

Starter

• Cauliflower Soup, flavoured with Parmesan and topped with shredded and crisped king oyster mushroom

Mains

Feast

Tortiere

Lo Mai Fan in Lieu of Stove-top Stuffing

• Butter and Summer Savoury Roasted Turkey Breast
• Turkey Leg Confit
• Traditional Quebec Tortiere (filling: pork, ground beef, onion, cloves, rosemary, thyme, celery and potato) from Petit Bill's Bistro ($16.95, $5 of which to raise money for the Salvation Army's Toy Mountain campaign)
• Stir Fried Chinese Greens (Yu-Choy, which seems to be the green of choice this Christmas), courtesy of Jenn's mom.
• Sticky Rice (called Lo Mai Fan) with Chinese Sausage (lap cheung), celery, and shiitake mushrooms

Dessert

• Fresh fruit (freshly cut pineapple and orange segments)
• Apple Pie from Farm Boy, courtesy of Jenn's brother

Recipes follow:
Omasum
The recipe for the stir fried ginger and scallion omasum has already been posted to foodiePrints.

Pig Tails
Pig tails, like pig feet are offcuts prized by Asian cuisine. They are usually long braised in a sticky sweet sauce, loaded with umami for special occasions like Chinese New Year. For Christmas dinner, we opted to slow poach them (2 hours) in a soy master sauce, originally leftover from a red-braise. This master sauce is one Jenn and I continually re-adjust the seasoning of and use to poach chicken with to make soy sauce chicken. We poached the tails the night before and reheated them in a pan to caramelize the sugars, just before guests arrived.

Pig Tails Added to the Soy Master Sauce

Pig Tails Poached
The tails took on the flavours of the poaching liquid. Their skins softened and caramelized beautifully in a well seasoned cast iron pan on medium heat.

More after the jump...

If there is a better way to enjoy the fall harvest, point me in the right direction. Otherwise, the best place to head to is the Feast of Fields. While Don was busy with his crew at the dish pit, I was fortunate enough to attend with a media pass. As I was a first time attendee, I was not sure what to expect, but I did hope to see many happy faces and people passionate about food. After spending more than six hours there, Feast of Fields exceeded all my expectations and more! On this post, I?ll be discussing the food, while writing another entry about the crowd and Grow Up Organic. Also, more pictures of the event and the food will be included. This entry will be long enough!

However, before commenting on the food, I think it is very important to mention the tremendous work of the volunteers. Many arrived before 9 a.m. and stayed right to the very end. Without these hardworking people, this event would not exist. Hats off to all the volunteers!

Now, onto the food! With twenty-five farmer-chef teams to choose from, it was impossible to eat everything, but there were many standouts.

Ferme aux Saveurs des Monts/ Fairmount Château Montebello

Stuffed chicken
My favourite, and voted 2009?s winning farmer/chef food team, was from Ferme aux Saveurs des Monts with Fairmount Château Montebello at table #11. The chicken was stuffed with green Swiss chard, roasted pumpkin, cranberries, and pine nuts, topped with a gingery apple compote and a tuile of balsamic vinegar and sugar. The presentation was beautiful and the chicken was succulent.

Butterfly Sky Farm/Domus Café

Tomato crostini
Chef John Taylor?s (Domus Café) creation was a crowd pleaser. His brightly coloured cherry tomato crostini was a beauty. Grilled house-made bread topped with orange & yellow cherry tomatoes, basil, vinaigrette, fresh green shoots, and grated Canadian Romano cheese. Chef Taylor was kind enough to make mine cheese-free as cheese disagrees with me. The flavours were remarkable, especially the cherry tomatoes, sweet and stunningly fresh. I felt as though they were picked off the vines right there and placed on the bread. The freshness, colours, the presentation, and flavours were simply exquisite.

Bryson Farms/Epicuria

Heirloom carrot & beet salad and a panzanella salad
Another table featuring the best of the fall harvest was the team of Bryson Farms with Epicuria. Chef Tracey Black?s creation was an heirloom carrot and beet salad with grapefruit dressing and a panzanella salad with Art-Is-In croutons, maldon sea salt, lemon, and extra virgin olive oil. Unfortunately, I was unable to sample mine as Don, hungry from hours spent washing dishes, accidentally ate my share after eating his plate of food. However, according to him, it was fresh, crunchy, and harvest sweet. It is only in autumn when you can get this flavour. Paired with the citrus, the sugars from the beets had a competing brightness, not overpowering. This is high praise from Don as he generally dislikes pickled beets. For Don, Epicuria?s dishes were one of his favourites.

Ashton Glen Farms/Imperial Food & Beverage

Smoky braised beef on a taco
As I approached table #10, my mouth was watering. There in front of me were trays of smoky braised beef on a taco with red onion jam and horseradish cream. The flavours were simply amazing. The beef was smoky, savory, and incredibly tender. The red onion jam gave it a brightness and sweetness, while the horseradish cream gave a nice bite, just enough fat to carry the flavours. Also worth mentioning is that Ashton Glen Farms/Imperial Food Beverage were winners in the best booth/team category for presentation.

Wright Poultry & Beef/The Piggy Market

Delicious traditional cottage pie
Sometimes, classic comfort food can be elevated to a new level when high quality ingredients are used. Such was the case with Chef Dave Neil (The Piggy Market) and his take on the traditional cottage pie. Don and I often visit his store, buying sausages, roast chicken, goat cheese, and pretty much anything else Dave can convince Don to buy. I, on the other hand, always leave the store with a new bucket of Pascale?s Ice Cream. (If you were at the event, you would have seen the never-ending lineup for her famous ice cream!) Now, back to the pie? think well seasoned beef and fresh sweet peaches and cream corn kernels topped with buttery mashed potatoes. Are you drooling yet? I happily had at least two servings, and stole some more from Don?s plate when he wasn?t looking.

Mariposa Farms

Smoked goose breast terrine (left hand side, below the business card)
Mariposa Farms? creation of smoked goose breast terrine topped with sweet pickled yellow and red beet roots and garnished with chioggia beet chips (also known as candy cane beet root) was another favourite. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of mine before eating, but managed to take a quick snap of Don?s before he inhaled his. (The goose breast is under the orange business card of Dish ? I have no idea why Don stuck the card there). According to him, it was fatty, savory, and flavourful, everything that a goose should be!

During the two hours the food was being served, I managed to sample at least half of the fantastic dishes. This event is definitely appropriately named. For those who paid anywhere from $25 to $50, they could certainly eat their money?s worth. Meanwhile, the chefs and farmers were all cheerful, gracious, and very friendly, happily serving the public and answering all kinds of questions. Congratulations to all the farmer-chef teams on their fantastic work. I?ll be back next year!

Since I wasn't able to attend last year's Feast of Fields (2008), my better half and I vowed to make the best of the upcoming event (2009). Because I greatly support any event that celebrates what Dave Neil from the Piggy Market (400 Winston Ave.) calls "the delicious revolution", I chose to volunteer for the event. The "delicious revolution" is committed to support a local food system by getting to know farmers and encouraging the purchase of local and artisan products. Jenn and I even gave away a pair of tickets to Feast of Fields to raise visibility and encourage attendance. Because we have some great readers, Jenn bought a ticket to attend, take notes, take lots of pictures and write a mega-blog entry, which she plans on releasing in two parts.

She is currently working on her entry. We just finished sorting some of the drool-worthy pictures she took with our new camera. Neither one of us is experienced in using the Nikon D60, so the quality of the pictures may have been because of the amazing dishes we came across.

Tomato Crostini by Chef John Taylor of Domus

Top: Panzanella Salad w/Art-Is-In croutons, Bottom: Heirloom Carrot and Beet salad w/ Grapefruit Dressing by Chef Tracey Black of Epicuria
Then again, Jenn has a far better eye for composition than I do.

While she attended as "media" (Feast of Fields supports local food blogs), I had a different view of the event than the attendees. Like many outdoor festivals, Feast of Field's success can be attributed to an army of hard working volunteers and an organized volunteer coordinator. We had both.

Me, I was a volunteer team lead for the "dish pit" and my team of volunteers was tremendous. No matter the task, they organized themselves effectively, took roles, asked great questions, and quickly got to work stacking dishes, arranging mugs, rolling cutlery, and then collecting bussed dishware and washing them. They were even enthusiastic to go on a number of water runs with me to ensure that our make-shift kitchen could replenish the plastic wash tubs that became our sinks. We had well-oiled production lines, running quickly and effectively.

Of note, whoever said that high school students only volunteer to meet the provincial requirement of hours to graduate clearly didn't come across the three that worked for me. They were easily the hardest working. One, I had to ask Jenn to escort to the food tables and take her well deserved break.

As luck would have it, I also had a pair of professional dishwashers on board. One was a newly minted college student, who washes dishes at the Crazy Horse restaurant in Kanata. The other, a former dish washer who worked at Tucker's Market Place in the ByWard Market. Both had mad skills.

Now that I have heaped some praise on great volunteers, I probably should explain why there is a "dish pit." Since this year's Feast of Fields was also my first, I was surprised by how sincerely the event took sustainability to heart. It provided neither plastic nor paper cutlery or dishware. Organizers have a large stash of real dishware (dinner plates, dessert plates, and soup bowls), drink-ware (mugs), and metal cutlery (forks, knives, and spoons). Our dish detergent was also environmentally friendly, entirely biodegradable.

Dishware and Drink-Ware
Some of the plates came from collections that were released well before I was born. The cups and mugs were equally as varied, including some that advertised local radio stations long gone.

Unfortunately, we hadn't enough cutlery for all of the attendees, only able to roll approximately 300 full sets (spoon, fork, and knife) in napkins.

First wave of pre-purchased attendees
We ended up producing another 80 or so with just spoons and forks. They too disappeared quickly.

It was discovered that at least one crate of cutlery was left in storage. Happily, enough cutlery went out that, when people started asking for cutlery, we were able to start washing, rinsing, and drying used sets and sent them back out. Also, several of the chef and farm teams provided for the contingency. One, more than likely Thyme and Again, handed out sustainable bamboo forks. Epicuria handed out starch forks. Both helped.

Interestingly, as a certain food editor of a local newspaper pointed out, a number of attendees requested we rinse their plates before they headed back for seconds. Others, simply handed back their plates, sans cutlery, and picked up new ones. We accommodated both.

Two things that I would recommend for the festival next year:

1. Provide cold drinking water for volunteers.
2. Remind volunteers that they are entitled to eat from the concessions.

In my case, many members of my team were not aware that they could go eat with the other attendees during their break and food would no longer be served half way into the event. I staggered breaks and ensured that every one of them had an opportunity to try food from the event. I'll bet good money that very few of them had their better halves pick up dishes for them to try as I did. Jenn picked up a sampling for me, just in case I didn't find time to go in myself.

All-in-all, I found the event a wonderful experience and encourage everyone to attend.

My team eventually made me take my break, which allowed me the opportunity to meet some of the chefs and farm owners. Besides visiting some familiar faces, I also had the opportunity to meet Chefs John Taylor (Domus) and Chris Deraiche (Wellington Gastropub) who was apparently accompanied by his father and younger brother.

Speaking of familiar faces, here is what the Piggy Market served up:

Shepherd's Pie
Think freshly mashed new potatoes, insanely sweet peaches and cream corn kernels, and perfectly seasoned beef. After eating it, I understood how homely comfort food can be easily elevated by using quality fresh ingredients. In Dave Neil's case, skills honed at the Sweet Grass Bistro don't hurt either.

And here is Pascale Berthiaume, whose ice cream stand's line never did shorten.

Pascale
I could see the line from the dish pit!

Update: Here is more information on the "Delicious Revolution"

Piggy Market Leaflet

Particulars:
Piggy Market
400 Winston Avenue
(613) 371-6124
thepiggymarket@gmail.com

Domus Café
87 Murray Street
(613)241-6007

Epicuria
419 Mackay Street
(613)745-7356

Wellington Gastropub
1325 Wellington Street
(613)729-1315

With Food Day upon us, my better half and I decided to scrap our planned menu and "fly by the seat of our pants." In my case, bike shorts, well Bermuda shorts billowing in the wind as we raced down Wellington Street and Richmond Road on our bikes. With two burly backpacks loaded with ice packs, we decided that our food story for food day would be one about the epicurean row of shops and restaurants we love so much.

To start the day, I woke Jenn with fresh from the baker's oven sticky buns. Where does one find sticky buns first thing on a Saturday morning? That would be at 3 Tarts bakery on Wellington Street West (1320).

Signage
During the past week, I started hearing great things about the bakery. At the monthly Hintonburg Supper Club meeting, neighborhood locals sang praises of 3 Tarts' lemon tarts. On Twitter, a tweep who goes by the name @jmoore613, tweeted that 3 Tarts makes some great cupcakes.

Jmoore613 Jul 30, 01:13 AM
@foodiePrints 3 tarts make better cupcakes. Check it

Then, Paola St-Georges, caterer and personal chef, chimed in.

PaolasEpicure Jul 30, 09:56 AM
3 Tarts=a fave pastry shop @foodiePrints. Delectable treats made w/ best ingredients. Also try sticky buns in am (go fast) & butter tarts!

On Twitter, Paola goes by @PaolasEpicure and has established herself to be an excellent authority on things food in Ottawa, so who am I to question?

With the bakery opening at 9 on Saturdays, I dashed to be one of the first in line. When I arrived, I found 3 people lined up before me. What did they want? Sticky buns! 3 Tarts, however, is not a one baked treat wonder, just look at its display case:

Display Case
It sells cupcakes, cookies, cakes, squares, pies and tarts, and loaves and scones.

Bakery available at 3 Tarts - front

Bakery available at 3 Tarts - back
At $2.25/bun, I picked up a pair with pecans and a pair without. They were still hot from the oven that, as I carried them home, they actually warped the box they were put in.

Warped Box

2 Pairs
And they were every bit as good as Paola says they are. They are what I like to call impossible pastry. They've substance (heft).

Hefty sticky buns with pecans

Hefty sticky buns without pecans
But, were fluffy, almost flaky, and sported a very thin caramel crust.

Bottom end of stick buns

Texture
Best of all, they were not overly sweet. Yet, they retained a sticky bun identity, delivering a wonderful caramel flavour.

Only able to finish one each of the lovely sticky buns, I gave the remaining pair, still warm, to a neighbour. Then, Jenn and I set out to pick up ingredients to participate in Food Day Canada: grilled Food Day Burgers. First, we headed down to Westboro to avail ourselves of some hot smoked bacon and local cheese from our favourite gourmet shop in Ottawa, The Piggy Market (400 Winston Avenue).

Signage

Tamsworth Bacon

Bacon Thick-Sliced

Prince Edward County Medium Cheddar Cheese

Cheese Thinly-Sliced
Cost (with an in-house savory pie and after taxes): $20.26

On our way home, we went to Saslove's (1333 Wellington Street W.) for some medium ground beef and chorizo sausages (pictured above with the Tamsworth Bacon).

Signage

Medium Ground Beef
Cost (after taxes): $15.98

What would be burgers without buns? Harvest Loaf (1323 Wellington Street W.) provided us 6 lovely white bread hamburger buns for $4.25.

Signage

Half Dozen Buns
Cost (after taxes): $4.25

To accompany the burgers, we went to the Parkdale Market's Savour Ottawa certified Rochon Farms stall. There, we picked up corn (4 for $2.50) and a pair of extra-large beefsteak tomatoes ($3.00).

Signage

Sweet Corn
Cost: $5.50

Afterward, we set to work assembling our Food Day Canada dinner:

Beef mince seasoned with red pepper flake, salt, pepper, and butter caramelized onions

5 oz portioned patties

Ready for the Grill

Particulars and finished burgers follow after the jump...

More after the jump...