Cape Breton Local Food Adventure

Dave and Faith here…

Well, we made it!  Thirty one days of only Cape Breton foods.  It was a great month and we’re glad we took the challenge.  We’ll also be glad to get back to some of our comfort food, like oatmeal and warm baked bread.  Can’t say we’ve got any great cravings in particular but you never know what will happen in the next couple days.

We spent our last supper at Alicia Lake’s house, the owner of this blog, where we joined our relatives for a hearty supper.  The relatives who are visiting are heading back soon so we wanted one big get together before they left.  There was plenty of food, all home made, and it turned out to be a great evening and a great way to end the challenge.

We’re going to write a couple more entries before we sign off for good: one on what we’ve learned and the other on why we choose to eat local.  They should be posted in the coming days.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and here’s our meals for today, the last day.

Breakfast: Potato Pancakes

One last hurrah for the potato pancake before it gets replaced by oatmeal for a spell.

• Potato Pancakes
  • potatoes – Terron Dodd
  • onions – Terron Dodd
  • salt – sea
• Ketchup – from Day 26

Lunch: This and That

•  Oven Roasted Potatoes
  • potatoes – Terron Dodd
  • tallwo – Lambscapes Farm
• Apples – Sunset Orchard
• Meatballs – left over from Day 30
• Carrots – our garden

Supper: Grand Finale Feast

There was quite the spread at Doug and Alicia’s for supper.  As we didn’t make many of the things, we’ll just have to list them here without breaking them down to ingredients.  But rest assured it’s all from Cape Breton.

• Several Beef Roasts – Scenic Valley Farm
• Gravy – delicious byproduct of the roasts
• Mashed Potato – Alicia Lake
• Steamed Chard – Alicia Lake
• Garden Salad – Alicia Lake
• Corn Bread – Terron Dodd
• Potato Puff Dessert – Doug Ronne
• Squash Soup – made by us!

Thanks everyone for reading!  Maybe we’ll see you next year.

Dave and Faith here…

Well, one day left and we’re done – all Cape Breton food for one whole month!  Let’s see what happened today.

We decided to make meatballs, smoked meatballs in my little home made smoker.  It’s easy to make a smoker, I’ll explain the steps and how to use it.

1. Find an old cookie or biscuit can, a Quality Street Candies can would work well.  Make sure it’s metal or tin and that food is already stored in it.
2. Poke a small hole in the lid, just a small one.  Some people say don’t do this as the lid is never on so tight that smoke can’t leak out the sides.
3. Get some piece of wire mesh, like chicken wire – I used a tighter weave metal mesh because I had some and because smaller stuff won’t fall through.  Cut the mesh and fold it so fits into the tin can with some space between it and where the lid goes (your food will sit on the wire in the space between the wire and the lid).
4. Put some sawdust in the bottom of the tin.  You’ll have to experiment with how much, but start with a skim.  Listen, use hardwood sawdust rather than softwood!  Apple, maple and birch work well.
5. Put the mesh in the tin.  Stick you grub on it and close the lid.
6. Fire it on the stove top or an open flame.  Of course, if you do it inside you’ll smoke your house up a bit.  I do it outside on my BBQ (I’ve got a side burner).
7. You’ll have to experiment with smoke times based on what you’re smoking.  I like fish the best but hey, it’s all up for grabs.
8. Have fun with it.

The picture at the top of this post is the final product, smoked meatballs.  Below are a few pictures of the smoker setup.

A simple home made smoker

A closer look at the smoker components: a tin can, wire mesh and hardwood sawdust

And here’s out meals for today.

Breakfast: Squash Porridge

Our old friend makes a triumphant return for a breakfast or two before the finale.

• Squash Porridge
  • squash – our garden
  • maple syrup – Black River Farm
  • applesauce – Terron Dodd
• Apples – Sunset Orchard

Lunch: Stuff

• Sweet Potatoes – our garden
• Salad and Dressing – left over from Day 29
• Hash Mash
  • potato – Terron Dodd
  • onion – Terron Dodd
  • garlic – our garden
  • chicken gravy – left over from Day 29
  • broccoli – our garden

Supper: Smoked Meatballs

Smoked the meatballs a little too much (we’re still experimenting) but it turned out pretty good for a first try.

• Smoked Meatballs
  • ground meat – Lambscapes Farm
  • walnuts – Alicia Lake
  • salt – sea
  • thyme – our garden
  • oregano – our garden
  • garlic – our garden
• Sweet and Sour Sauce
  • onions – Hank’s Farm
  • cranberries – some secret Cape Breton location
  • maple syrup – Black River Farm
  • garlic – our garden
  • beef stock – from Day 21
• Spinach Salad
  • spinach – Scenic Valley Farm
  • carrots – our garden
  • cucumber – Terron Dodd
  • onion chives – our garden
  • garlic chives – our garden
• Ketchup Salad Dressing
  • ketchup – home made from Day 26
  • maple syrup – Black River Farm

Nina eats Cape Breton local

Dave and Faith here…

Some of Faith’s relatives are visiting Cape Breton from out of province and they are spending the night with us.  Of course we’re eating local food only so we had to think up a nice local supper for our visitors.  It’s funny, they are into preserving and they brought us some of their dried fruit, local to their region but unfortunately not our region.  It’s OK though because I’m sure it’s dry enough to last two more days.

Here’s our meals, including a complete supper for special guests.

Breakfast: Re-fried Fish Cakes

Left over fish cakes for breakfast.  Tasted even better the second day.

• Fish Cakes – left over from Day 28
• Ketchup – home made by me, Day 26

Lunch: Corn Pancakes

Our last attempt at corn pancakes did not turn out so well, which was unfortunate considering how precious dried corn is around here (I did eat the product of the failed attempt, it tasted good but it was really only corn mush).  So, it was with caution that we tried pancakes with the last of our home ground cornmeal.  Thankfully the turned out just like pancakes should.

• Cornmeal Pancake
  • cornmeal – Terron Dodd
  • baking powder – Ah!
  • egg – Eyking Farms
  • maple syrup – Black River Farm
  • water – a Cape Breton spring
• Canned Peaches – our garden
• Maple Syrup – Black River Farm

Supper: Roast Chicken and Fixings

We roasted a chicken with local herbs and spices.  The real key to success: brine that bird!  I have discovered brining and I tell you, it makes any fowl taste amazing.  Don’t brine too long though or you’ll end up eating salt meat.  The chicken is great topped with Kohlrabi Sauerkraut.

Served with salad and veggies, supper was a good time with good company.

• Roast Chicken
  • whole chicken – Glenryan Farm
  • thyme – our garden
  • oregano – our garden
  • rosemary – North River Organics
  • salt – sea
  • sage – North River Organics
  • mustard seeds – our garden
  • dried sweet potato leaves – our garden
• Chicken Juice (Jus) – from the chicken
• Salad
  • lettuce – North River Organics
  • walnuts – Alicia Lake
  • tomato – Hank’s Farm
  • cucumber – Terron Dodd
  • carrots – our garden
• Ketchup – from Day 26
• Salad Dressing
  • ketchup – from Day 26
  • canned peach juice – our garden
  • maple syrup – Black River Farm
• Squash (mashed) – our garden
• Baked Parsnip
  • parsnip – Scenic Valley Farm
  • maple syrup – Black River Farm
  • tallow – Lambscapes Farm
• Kohlrabi Sauerkraut – from Day 3

Dave and Faith here…

Fermenting is a great way to experiment with preserving foods naturally.  Basically, you let your food rot!  But rest assured, it’s good rot and good bacteria, the kind of little critters that humans have been using for thousands of years to preserve food.  And don’t forget, one of our most popular foods is fermented: yogurt.

Rather than get into all the details, here’s a few links that you might want to check out if you want to try fermenting your own fresh foods.

Fermenting Food For Beginners – just a simple overview.

Wild Fermentation – the site of a popular fermentation expert.

I’ve made pickles, fermented beans and of course kohlrabi (which is my favorite).  Give it a try!

Here’s a link to the recipe for Kohlrabi Sauerkraut.

Breakfast: Potato Pancakes

Yes, the potato pancake strikes again…

• Potato Pancakes
  • potatoes – Terron Dodd
  • onion chives – our garden
  • garlic chives – our garden
• Ketchup – home made by me, on Day 26

Lunch: Spaghetti

I put some fermented kohlrabi to use in the spaghetti sauce to give it some punch.

• Spaghetti Sauce
  • tomatoes – our garden (canned)
  • salt – sea
  • ground beef – Lambscapes Farm
  • thyme – out garden
  • onion – Terron Dodd
  • oregano – our garden
  • lemon balm – our garden
  • garlic – our garden
  • honey – Misty Meadow
  • kohlrabi sauerkraut – home made by me, Day 3
• Spaghetti Squash – Alicia Lake

Supper: Turbot Fish Cakes

Turbot from Glace Bay, yes by’.  We used the ketchup for a salad dressing too.

• Fish Cakes
  • salt turbot – Mira Bay Seafood
  • onion chives – our garden
  • garlic chives – our garden
  • potatoes – Terron Dodd
  • mustard seeds – Terron Dodd
  • dill – our garden
• Ketchup – homemade by me on Day 26
• Garden Salad
  • lettuce – North River Organics
  • cucumber – Terron Dodd
  • tomato – our garden
  • carrot – our garden

Dave and Faith here…

We stocked up on potatoes at Faith’s father’s house a few days ago.  We’ve got all kinds – yellow flesh, purple, pink and good ol’ white.  Looks neat with all the colours in a bowl.  As such, we’ll be eating potatoes for the next few days and squash can take a much deserved break from our stomachs.

Breakfast: Frittata

This frittata didn’t turn out so well, it was puffy and, well, I didn’t have any cheese.

• Frittata
  • eggs – Eyking Farm
  • spinach – Scenic Valley Farm
  • onion chives – our garden
  • garlic chives – our garden
• Ketchup – homemade on Day 26

Lunch: Soups

Faith finished off the last of the squash soup.  I had some chicken soup and a few eggs.

• Squash Soup – from Day 21
• Chicken Soup – from Day 26
• Apples – Sunset Orchard
• eggs – Eyking Farm
• grapes – Alicia Lake

Supper: Kebabs

Kebabs made a strong comeback for supper accompanied by the ubiquitous potato, this time oven roasted.  We had no greens this meal, unless you count the spinach in the kebabs – two cups worth.

• Kebabs
  • ground beef – Lambscapes Farm
  • onion – Terron Dodd
  • walnuts – Alicia Lake
  • cheese – Wandering Shepherd Farm
  • spinach – Scenic Valley Farm
  • salt – sea
  • coriander seeds – our garden
  • egg – Eyking Farm
• Oven Potatoes
  • potatoes – Terron Dodd
  • salt – sea
  • tallow – Lambscapes Farm

Dave here…

Looking forward to the Sydney Farmers’ Market tomorrow as we are running low on a few things.  It can be hard sometimes on this diet because you often can’t just whip up something quick.  For a quick snack I’ve been resorting to boiling up a few eggs or having a bowl of applesauce.

It’s hard to beleive that there are only fives days left.  We are going to try and continue to eat as much local as possible afterwards.  Moreover than that, we will continue to focus on “real food” – food that hasn’t been processed or altered to any great extent.

Breakfast: Potato Pancakes

The potato pancakes really enjoyed the addition of home made ketchup.  Faith didn’t taste much, she’s all stuffed up with a head cold.  I still haven’t talked about Kholrabi Saurkraut – I’ll have to do that in an upcoming post.

• Potato Pancakes
  • potato – Terron Dodd
  • eggs – Eyking Farm
  • onion – Terron Dodd
  • salt – sea
• Ketchup
  • canned tomatoes – our garden
  • leek – B. Peach
  • green onions – North River Organics
  • sage – North River Organics
  • rosemary – North River Organics
  • lemongrass – our garden
  • celery leaves – Alicia Lake
  • thyme – our garden
  • oregano – our garden
  • kohlrabi sauerkraut – I made this!

Lunch: This and That

• Squash Soup – from Day 21
• Sweet Potato – our garden
• Garden Salad – from Day 24
• eggs – Eyking Farm
• Chicken Soup
  • chicken stock – from Day 20
  • carrots – our garden
  • onions – Hank’s Farm
  • celery – Alicia Lake
  • salt – sea
  • chicken pieces – left over from Day 20

Supper: Basic Beans

• Basic Beans
  • dried beans – our garden
  • beef stock – from Day 20
  • lemon grass – our garden
  • thyme – our garden
  • oregano – our garden
  • salt – sea
  • canned tomatoes – our garden
  • maple syrup – Black River Maple Products
• Garden Salad
  • lettuce – North River Organics
  • onion chives – our garden
  • garlic chives – our garden
  • cucumber – Terron Dodd
  • kale – our garden

Dave and Faith here…

We rarely eat out, even when we’re not following a strict Cape-Breton-only diet.  We don’t bother for several reasons.  First it can get expensive, I guess we’re cheap.  Second, and more importantly, we often find ourselves disappointed by the food served.  We cook everything from scratch at home and, at the risk of sounding haughty, we do a pretty good job.   As such, for us, restaurant fare has to live up to some pretty high expectations.

This evening the food served matched our expectations.  We attended a benefit auction and dinner for Habitat for Humanity in Cape Breton.  The event took place at Sydney restaurant Flavour 19 and the four course meal focused on local farmers’ products.  The food was excellent and each dish was prepared with care and attention to detail.  I ate my plates clean of every serving and they weren’t wimpy servings either, especially dessert which had two (two!) pieces of cake.

Though the food wasn’t 100% Cape Breton local, it was prepared from Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia ingredients and, anyway, we can break the rules for great food and a great cause.  It is our diet after all!

Finally, Habitat for Humanity is always looking for volunteers and donations, here’s the link to the Cape Breton project.

And here’s our menu for the day…

Breakfast: Potato Pancakes

Lots of potato pancakes these days but we don’t have anything to go on ‘em so I resolved to make homemade ketchup which I did but I’ll post the ingredients tomorrow.

• Potato Pancakes
  • potatoes – Terron Dodd
  • onions – Hank’s Farm
  • salt – sea
  • garlic powder – Alicia Lake

Lunch: Soup and Sweets

I baked a couple sweet potatoes for Faith’s lunch and we still have squash soup.

• Squash Soup – prepared on Day 21
• Sweet Potatoes – our garden
• Carrots – our garden

Supper: An Evening Out

It seems we aren’t the only ones who love squash soup.  This supper was eaten at Flavour 19 during a fundraising auction for Habitat for Humanity.

• First Course: Local Beef on Potato Chips with Spicy Sauce
• Second Course: Curried Squash Soup
• Third Course: Pulled Chicken with Spinach Gnocchi
• Fourth Course: Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Homemade Ice Cream