Eat Local

Cycling in Prince Edward County

Last weekend I went for a joyride through one of Ontario's best cycling areas - Prince Edward County. I covered 86km starting from Prinyer's Cove in the northeast, passing through the towns of Waupoos, South Bay, Milford, and Picton. The roads were very quite--I encountered more cyclists than motorists--and there were many points of interest along what they call they Arts Trail and Taste Trail. Cycling is a great way to discover the lay of the land, and a peaceful and beautiful land it is!

Some of the highlights for me was sampling cider at the County Cider House, wine at Del-Gado's winery, Mariner's museum, Lake on the Mountain conservation area, Black River cheese company, and fresh local strawberries. I hope to go back to discover more of the area!

An excellent cycling map is available from the Bloomfield Cycling Company.

Thanks busy bees for a job well done!

I recently re-discovered my new favourite food--honey! It started with a visit to Pioneer Brand honey at the Hillcrest Mall Farmers Market. There are so many varieties, from buckwheat honey to blueberry honey to creamed honey, and so many ways to use it. And it's a great sugar substitute in recipes.

"But what really sweetens the pot is knowing the honey in my tea is at work even if I’m not. In this liquid gold, I find a cache of antioxidants, a digestive aid, a detoxifier and even a soothing balm for wounds, all rolled into one delightful concoction.

Honey is the ultimate in products derived from herbs. Fashioned through an ingenious alliance between animal and plant kingdoms, honey delivers a diverse array of phytochemicals in one package. This bounty arrives courtesy of the industrious honeybee, who visits some 2 million flowers to manufacture just one pound of honey." -Gina Mohammed

I also take a teaspoon of bee pollen every day. It's a superfood! There are 22 basic elements in the human body. Enzymes, Hormones, Vitamins, Amino Acids, and others - Which must be renewed by nutrient intake, no one food contains them all, except Bee Pollen!

I also learned about beeswax candles.

Beeswax is very different: all natural, non-toxic, non-polluting, non-allergenic, and with a delicious honey-sweet aroma. It burns cleaner, brighter, hotter, and longer than candles made from other substances. A perfect, renewable resource, beeswax is made by the female worker bee for honeycomb, which safely contains their honey and the Queen's baby bees. To produce one pound of beeswax, the worker bees eat about ten pounds of honey, fly 150,000 miles, and visit 33 million flower blossom! Beeswax is precious stuff. It's also healthy. Beeswax produces negative ions that actually clean your air of odors, pollen, smoke, dust, dust mites, viruses, and other allergens and hazards - the only known fuel to do so. As does a rainstorm, beeswax candles leave your air fresher and cleaner - they are a true air purifier. They are the only candle for anyone with chemical sensitivities or allergies.

Paraffin, on the other hand, is petroleum industry waste that is bleached (adding dioxin and other poisonous chemicals) and texturized with acrolyn. Stearic acid, a by-product of the meat packing industry, is added as a hardener. Often, candles are highly scented with artificial, synthetic oils and marketed to "freshen" our air. They are known to release carcinogens like benzene and toluene.

An excerpt from the children's book Buzz, Buzz, Busy Bees by Dawn Bentley sums up my sentiments nicely:

Mmmm, mmmm. Honey golden as the sun.

Thanks busy bees, for a job well done!

The truth about orange juice

Alissa Hamilton is author of the book "Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice

Here's what the leading orange juice companies don't tell you:

- they strip the orange juice of oxygen so they can store it in huge tanks for up to a year

- this process also strips the juice of its orange juice flavors, so engineered "flavor packs" are added back to make it taste fresh

- without the flavor packs, which contain chemicals to simulate nature, the juice would taste like sugar water

-More details here:

http://civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshly-squeezed-the-truth-about-orange-juice-in-boxes/

Sue's Market in Richmond Hill sells 2L of freshly squeezed orange juice for $7.99, which is not much more expensive than the commercial stuff, plus it tastes way better and is better for you. Or, cut up a fresh Florida Valencia orange and awaken your senses to the taste that the major labels can't imitate.

Hot Yam

I ate at Hot Yam yesterday. Run by student volunteers at the University of Toronto, it's a mostly local, mostly organic, and entirely vegan lunch for only $4. Not only is it healthy food to nourish you, it tastes amazing. It could just be the best deal in town. Available only on Thursdays from 12-2pm at the International Student Centre (33 St. George St.). Check out some recipes here.