September is one of my favorite times of the year - it's the beginning of new year with back to school (Although I guarantee that my son doesn't agree) and the season for perfect weather (not too hot, not too cold!). BUT it's also the grand finale of all the beautiful things that we've grown and time to preserve it for the winter months.
I love fresh herbs (Garden herb aprons) - I plant them instead of flowers. I love the idea of growing an edible garden (For inspiration, check out Empress of Dirt and The Urban Farmer) and on my deck outside the kitchen, I grow as many herbs as possible in the summer. Therefore, as the growing season wraps up, I want to hang on to those beautiful flavors and have started my mini-harvest.
And so it begins...
Of course the classic basil pesto (Pesto apron) was a must (now in ice cube trays in my freezer) but another fun way to preserve herbs is to lightly chop some thyme, oregano, tarragon and rosemary and put in ice cube trays, cover them with some high quality olive oil and keep them in the freezer. Once solid, these blocks can be taken out of the trays and stored in a freezer bag.
A lovely butter sage will also make a great short cut to a butter sage pasta (Burro Salvia apron) on those quick dinner evenings! Add fresh sage leaves to soft butter and blend. Roll in waxpaper and freeze - slice it off as needed for your favorite dishes!
For other ideas for preserving your herbs, start with Food Empowerment Blog and Natural Living Ideas
Enjoy your harvest - whatever size it may be!
Earlier this year we had the privilege of working with La Frenz Winery on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. This is an area I know well, as I grew up in the region and still compare every piece of fruit that I eat to the ones we used to pick from the Okanagan orchards and bring home for canning and jams. Needless to say, as time went on, the apple orchards converted to vineyards and this area has become a mecca for wineries and wine lovers.
When La Frenz shipped their Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc over to our studio, we got to work photographing the bottles. Adding in the combination of foods that represented the pairings and the essence of the wines, we photographed and designed the aprons. The result was an earthy classic of bread and cheeses with the Pinot Noir and the fresh and bright tones of the Sauvignon Blanc.
Wine season at La Frenz was complimented by our customized aprons and I’m glad to have been a part of it!
The first weekend in May was a new experience for us! We exhibited at the Niagara Food and Wine Expo in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Along with being able to chat face to face with people, we also met many other exhibitors and really enjoyed both of these opportunities.
Three highlights were served up by Savioa Gourmet Emporium, Meerkat Olive Oils, and Jaywalk, guide to downtown Niagara. We thank them for adding something special to our time at the Expo!
You can read about us on the Jaywalk website about the Expo and you can find our aprons for sale now at Savioa's retail shop in St. Catharine's, Ontario at 261 Martinadale Road, Unit 20.
And as for Meerkat Olive Oils... they are looking really great in our chef's aprons! ...and the rest is to be continued (we have some ideas brewing!)
Talk about being inspired! After a request by a Foodie Studio apronista to have something for the kids, the Spices 101 line for kids is on the way!
With a couple of apron sizes sourced for the little ones, we have an Italian and 2 Indian spice series available to kick things off. After settling on some nice spice combinations from these countries (and a little research to learn their names in their respective languages) we are are loving where this is going. What a great way to introduce kids (and quite frankly, adults too...) to flavors that connect them to their heritage or simply to broaden their horizons!
Our apronista client inspired us the most by commenting on how her son would love just knowing that other people "know of the spices that his family uses". The opportunity to connect with others or experience other cultures through food can start at any age. What are we waiting for? We will have them on the website asap!
Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph behind the scenes of a restaurant with a beautifully run kitchen and with food just as amazing! That night, they were serving up an elegant Italian feast. The chef is a big fan and supporter of local foods so of course that was included in the meal I was photographing.
© 2015 Shawna Eberle
This was my introduction to Romanesco broccoli and maybe it was the way they cooked it - most likely - but... wow! delicious! And it looks great! So Romanesco broccoli is a kind of broccoli/cauliflower relative originally from Italy. These days it is also grown in Canada and the United States.
Here are a few resources of information about this vegetable in case it's new to you too!
Gardening info - For the do it yourself types! How to garden at "gardenknowhow" and shopping for seeds at Burpee and at Richter's Herbs
Where to buy info - Locally in my area, the website for OntarioFresh has great references to farms that sell this vegetable - little hint... search under Romanesco Cauliflower!
© 2015 Shawna Eberle
In my search for ingredients to do a proper Thai curry paste, I discovered new information (well, new to me...) about the lime that I needed to track down.
Every Thai curry paste recipe - yellow, green or red - calls for the Makrut (Kaffir) lime zest. And it's been made clear - the ZEST, not the leaf. Okay, no problem... off to Chinatown where you can buy anything, right? Nope.
But first things first; what I learned immediately was some good information about the word itself. Through a long list of articles and definition sources, the bottom line is that the word kaffir is a racial slur in South Africa - so... I'm going to refer to it as the Makrut lime and call it day!
Now, after extensive hunting in Canada's most multicultural city, tons of online searching AND a call to a restaurant friend 'in the know' who called a colleague even more 'in the know', I have yet to track this lime down. Seriously, this is one elusive citrus! ...at least in Canada! The leaves, on the other hand, are surprisingly easy to track down. (The photo above is from a stock agency until I find one for myself!)
So, sadly, no curry paste apron for us until we can find this - but I have plans - and I'm keeping my eye on the local nurseries to see when they might carry the tree! I'm working on it... so to be continued!
This is very exciting! We have been moving as quickly as we can to prepare this product! The momentum has been in full swing with the amazing support these aprons have received. It's been hard to hold back on putting this website live while things are still in production. But, although the final product photographs aren't ready (the irony - as that's my job!) we are pushing through to make the site as 'moved in' as possible.
So this is just the beginning - I hope it brings you the inspiration to get in the kitchen, try new recipes (and the dishes you are already excellent at) and enjoy the results!
All the best!
Shawna