Artisanal Food Locator

A great new website, Foodzie.com allows you to search local zip codes for artisanal, organic foods (including cakes and such).   I've just spent a few hours browsing hungrily.  All US so far, so we need a Canadian version!

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - cupcakes!

Foodprint Offers Food for Civic Thought - Torontoist

Interesting panel on the possibilities of changing urban food patterns ...

"you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops."

Though looking at how cities work solely through their food may seem like an odd, overly specific approach, consider this: according to work done by a Rutgers University researcher, you can trace the progress of gentrification in a city by mapping the spread of its cupcake shops.
It was just that kind of unexpected insight on the relationship between what we eat and urban environments that characterized Foodprint Toronto, the second in an international series of conversations about food and the city. Organized by Nicola Twilley and Sarah Rich and held at the always-great Wychwood Barns, the day-long event was comprised of four panels, each of which gathered a variety of people, from policy makers and academics to writers and suppliers, to discuss how food shapes and influences our city.
What quickly became clear over the course of the day was that how to sustainably and responsibly feed Toronto over the coming years in the face of climate change, shifting market conditions, our diverse population, and sprawling suburbs will—to put it mildly—be a little complicated.

As an example, Barbara Emanuel, senior policy adviser at the City's Board of Health and part of Foodprint's first panel, spoke about how she tried to get the City to allocate 10% of its twenty million dollar food budget to local produce. Heading down to the Ontario Food Terminal, however, she discovered that in the face of the $300 million contracts between suppliers and distributor, her $2 million budget could do little to change where produce was sourced from....

Nonetheless, as anyone who has watched The Wire will tell you, cities are incredibly complex places, and although some in government fail to innovate, many others—including those at City Hall—are making things happen. Some of the best examples came from Darren O'Donnell, who has organized dinners between his arty "theatah" friends and recent arrivals to Canada, breaking down the barriers between groups using food. Similarly, Laurel Atkinson of Not Far From the Tree explained how her program gathers people to pick fruit on homeowners' land that would otherwise go to waste, usefully blurring the urban distinction between public and private—not to mention saving about nine thousand pounds of fruit last year.

SeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

SeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App StoreSeaChoice for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store This is from David Suzuki's Blog. It's an APP about sustainable seafood. So if you do plan to have a Sushi Station at your reception, at least check what you're eating. Remember that restaurants re-title fish to avoid restrictions (Tilapia/ sea bass, etc.).

Light posting - I'm canning!

Whew! I finished most of the jams and jellies, and have lots of variations, including Roadside Crabapple and Wild Grape jam, Raspberry and Wild Blueberry, Crabapple Lemon Thyme Jelly, and Mint Jalapeno (my jalapeno peppers were late this year, but they're nice and hot now). I like to give tiny jars of jelly for holiday presents, and they'd make great wedding table favors!
Now I'm doing pickles, and dilled green beans - I've got wild grape leaves from an abandoned farm to keep the pickles crisp (instead of using alum). Today was salsa day, as the Roma tomatoes need to be canned, and my red peppers are finally ready. I roasted lots of garlic to put in the tomato sauces.
Here is my grand-daughter, disappearing into the tomatoes. I have two small plots I work on at family houses (I don't have a backyard in my apt), and I am the volunteer gardener at a historic site, where I experiment. This year I've been harvesting lots of wild things - fruits and berries and knobbly apples from abandoned wayside trees - I made "Fallen Apple Jam", which sounds a bit biblical, eh?
I'll get back to wedding posting shortly - just catching the last rays of fall and putting stuff in jars this week...