Today, a foodie friend and writing colleague sent us a note. We thought it was a good idea to share it. Anyone who shops at the wonderful Calgary Farmers’ Market knows that this is a market worth saving. The following is from dee Hobsbawn-Smith, a.k.a. the curious cook.

The September-October 2008 issue of Calgary’s City Palate magazine contains a valuable and important message to local diners. In the section titled “Word of Mouth”, the editors of the City Palate encourage its readership to speak out in support of a local food institution. I share the sentiment.

The Calgary Farmers’ Market has one year left on a five year lease, and is facing the daunting and expensive task of relocating. The market’s manager and Board have been reluctant to speak on the record about this issue for fear of scaring their clientele. Be assured, the Calgary Farmers’ Market will not close! But in 2009, it must find a new home and leave its current digs on Currie Barracks, centrally located off Crowchild Trail and Richard Road in the central southwest of Calgary, with several roads in for convenient access. Canada Lands, the landlord of Currie Barracks, is enforcing its lease terms.

Show your support of local producers, local food and the local economy as evidenced by the huge success of the Calgary Farmers’ Market. As suggested by Calgary’s City Palate, write the following people –now! it only take a minute to voice your opinion!– and tell them that you favour the Calgary Farmers’ Market staying put. If you have the inclination, tell them why this location works for you, and tell them your feelings about local food, its availability and its relevance in your life. Politicians need to clearly hear what their constituents want and value. They are our servants, not our masters.

Write to:

Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier, at themayor@calgary.ca;

Lee Richardson, Federal Conservative Calgary Centre MP, at richoll@parl.gc.ca or at richardson.l@parl.gc.ca;

Brain Pincott, Calgary city alderman, at brian.pincott@calgary.ca;

Mark Laroche of Canada Lands Co., the developers of the property, at clc@clc.ca;

Lawrence Cannon, Federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, at cannon.l@parl.gc.ca;

Jim Flaherty, Federal Minister of Finance , at jim@jimflahertymp.ca;

Alison Redford, MLA , Calgary-Elbow, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Alberta Legislature, at calgary.elbow@assembly.ab.ca

You have a voice, and change happens when committed people raise their voices and their wills. Use your voice. Support your community’s well-being, your local and sustainable food supply systems and the sensible idea that good, healthy food should remain accessible. Keep your dining dollars in Alberta, and keep the Calgary Farmers’ Market at the Currie Barracks.

dee Hobsbawn-Smith
“The Curious Cook”

Red Fife Wheat is an important heritage wheat that is making a comeback thanks to growers, millers and bakers concerned about preserving biodiversity. This variety has also been championed by the Slow Food Canada group, and it became Slow Food’s first Canadian Presidium product, giving it international recognition as an important heritage wheat. We received this press release from the Ukrainian Village near Edmonton that they are preparing to harvest three acres of this wheat this fall:

August 25, 2008

Heritage grain harvested at Ukrainian Village

Edmonton… Canada’s oldest successfully grown variety of wheat has found a home at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. Enough of the heritage grain was obtained from two sources; from a farmer located near Westlock, and the Loehr Organic Project out of St. Mary’s Abby, Muenster, Saskatchewan, allowing the staff to plant three acres on the site.

Red Fife is a heritage spring wheat and is a “landrace” variety meaning there is genetic variability in the wheat allowing it to adapt to diverse growing conditions. It is named after David Fife who first grew the wheat in 1842 in southern Ontario. The wheat had high milling qualities and was known for making exceptional baked goods with extremely white flour; an ideal still in favour today.

The plant is characterized by three little awns at the top of the head, but is a beardless wheat variety. The plant can grow from three to five feet tall depending on the growing conditions and soil quality. All varieties of red spring wheat owe their ancestry to this grain.

Red Fife grew out of favour due to its low resistance to rust and requirement for a longer growing season. It was replaced by Marquis and then other new and improved varieties. It was also used to develop new hybrid varieties of wheat.

The wheat was obtained to help further augment the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village’s authentic presentation of the history of agricultural practices in east central Alberta. The grain will be harvested this fall and the bulk of seeds will be saved for planting next year. The remaining grain will be used in a variety of historic activities and demonstrations.

Operated by Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village is located 25 minutes east of Edmonton along Highway 16. The hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until Labour Day and then on weekends only until Thanksgiving Day. For more information on the village, call 780-662-3640, dial 310-0000 for toll-free access within Alberta or visit www.culture.alberta.ca/uchv.

Our good friend and excellent chef Brad Smoliak has just published his first cookbook. Fittingly (because he’s a master with the grill and barbecue) he was asked by Lone Pine Press to put together a collection of contemporary and tasty recipes for The Canadian Barbecue Cookbook.

The recipes are fabulous –grilled perogies, or cedar-plank grilled arctic char anyone? — and the full-colour photography in this 160-page book will make you want to run out and whip up a feast on the bbq right away. There are recipes for delicious marinades, rubs, salsas, meat dishes, and sides for any barbecue-centric meal. There are also chef-tips galore to make sure your fire-cooked masterpiece receives rave reviews.

The book is available at bookstores and other locations across Canada for $19.95. Here’s a recipe we plucked from the book to whet your appetite.

Here’s a classic “Brad Smoliak” recipe, straight from the book, his “Argentinian-Ukrainian Chimcurri Sauce” (page 128-129)
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It’s been a while in the making, but Sweetgrass Market in South Calgary opened on June 14.
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We’re working on our next issue, and we’re researching dairy farms on the Prairies. We came across this video clip and we thought we’d see if we could post the clip on the Website. Vital Greens Organic Dairy is in Picture Butte, Alberta and they make outstanding organic chocolate milk and butter (among other dairy products).
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We’ve been active members of the Slow Food movement for almost a decade now. I’m continually impressed at how this grass roots organization with so many “moving parts” manages not only to keep up with the trends, but actually set the trends.

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In our current issue, our “Fork in the Road” column highlights some great coffee places on the Prairies. Well, just about a week after our issue rolled off the presses, Chad Moss, one of the baristas at Edmonton’s Transcend Coffee, pulled off a few perfect pulls at the first Regional Prairie Barista Championships. That means he will go on to represent our region at the national competition in October.
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We get some pretty strange items in the mail sent to us at The Edible Prairie, mostly sent to us as public relations campaigns (entire flats of canned soups, chocolate bars with “tasting” instructions, etc.). This one, though, tops our list as the strangest item we have ever received: a potato.
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There’s a discussion going at our Slow Food Edmonton gang. We’re looking for “iconic prairie honey or honies” and we thought that this bit of news from Jerry Kitt from First Nature Farms that we thought would be worth posting:
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It’s been a long time in the making, but Art and Cherie Andrews’ patience has finally paid off. On May 9, 2008, they officially opened Alberta’s first meaderie…that is honey winery. Unfortunately we weren’t able to attend the opening, but our friend chef Wade Sirois was there and he posted his thoughts on his blog, www.attheroot.ca.

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