It is chicken time. Because of the increasing cost of beef, chicken is becoming more popular and in many households it is the prime protein source. As with beef there are numerous cuts with different cooking times and techniques. The food gatekeepers for food safety have lowered the ideal cooking temperature for chicken so it is possible to cook juicy tender chicken. It is no longer necessary to over cook chicken. The ideal internal temperature is now about 165F or "just past pink".

          All chickens are descended from a bird known as the "Red Jungle Bird. It was native to South Eastern Asia and was domesticated circa 1650 B.C. It was at first used for ceremonial purposes and cock fighting. The domesticated variety spread to Europe circa 800 B.C.; but it was the Romans who revolutionized the farming of chickens for eggs and eating.

My answer to the old riddle of which came first -the chicken or the egg? From the evolutionary point of view it was the egg as chickens were cross bred to develop better characteristics. So the embryo in the egg was a brand new type of chicken. From The Biblical point of view, it was the chicken, as God created all winged creatures on day five.

          Today there are basically two types of laying hens white ones and brown ones. The white ones are descendants of Leghorns and lay white eggs. The brown ones are descendants of the Plymouth Rock and lay brown eggs. There are numerous other minor laying breeds including Plymouth whites that lay brown eggs. Nutritionals' claim there is no difference between white eggs and brown eggs in terms of nutrition. Brown eggs do have thicker shells and are harder to candle for blood spots.

We sell  brown eggs from hens on pasture.

          When it comes to meat birds most are from Cornish rock stock. The real difference in chicken meat depends on how it was raised, fed and processed. Good quality feed is a given; a low stress free run or free range bird tastes better and then there is processing. Most birds immediately after killing and plucking are immersed in a tank of ice water laced with chlorine to quickly lower the temperature to prevent spoilage. The preferred method is know as "air-chilled",so after dispatch the birds are hung in a large chamber with cold air being blown into the chamber. The result is birds with ivory coloured skin and much improved taste and texture. As well as not being exposed to water and chlorine, the hanging process also helps to tenderize the meat. (similar to hanging beef for 18 days).

So that is my chicken story for this week.

We only sell air chilled chicken; we have numerous cuts, bulk specials and whole birds.

 

Well that wraps up this week’s blog

Regards       

Don & staff

At the end of this week we will be turning the clocks back and it is time to start thinking stews, soups and comfort foods to beat winter's chill. Right now we are enjoying a balmy fall; but Jack Frost is lurking in the corners and hollows and soon will be out in full force.  For stews we have a good selection including beef cubes, bison cubes, beef short ribs, beef ox-tail, lamb cubes, goat cubes,  chicken thighs, chicken breasts, chicken skin and chicken bones. There are as many reipes for stews as there are grandma's, sometimes I just wing it with what I have.

          I have included a recipe below for a hamburger stew, a quick, easy and economical recipe

HOBO STEW

A.K.A. hamburger stew

(SLOW COOKER or DUTCH OVEN))

YIELD    6-8                                                                

 

2 Lbs          Ground beef

1 Cup           Chopped onions

                     Pepper & salt to taste (easy on the salt)

2 Cups         Carrots cut into coins

3-4 Cups      Grape/cherry tomatoes. (sub. a 28 oz can diced tomatoes)

1 / 4 cup       Flour

                     Butter for frying and rooux

4 Cups         Cubed potatoes

2 Cups         Chopped celery

7-8 Cups      Beef stock

1 Tsp.           Herbs de Provence

                     Seasonings to taste—wine, lemon juice, pepper salt, celery seed

                     Roux, cornstarch or beef Bisto to thicken .

 

METHOD

I am writing this for a slow cooker; but it could be converted to conventional stovetop or oven cooking. I mostly use my Dutch oven in a 275 F oven. One advantage of the slow cooker is you could prepare it the day ahead and put it on low the next morning and have supper ready when you get home from work.

Brown the onions and ground beef in a heavy skillet. Drain any liquid into a glass measuring cup. Transfer meat & onions to slow cooker. Place liquid in freezer. Wipe skillet clean; slice tomatoes in half lengthways, dust cut side with flour then sauté tomatoes cut side down in butter for about 5 minutes—should have a little browning Transfer the tomatoes to crock pot. Remove reserved juice from freezer, skim fat off and deglaze the skillet with the reserved juice or wine if you like. (most Hobos saved the wine for drinking, but heh—anything goes.)

Add the rest of the vegetables and spices to the slow cooker stir well. Pour the stock into crock pot to just cover the meat & vegetables. The flour from the tomatoes and the potatoes breaking down will help to thicken but you may want to thicken at the end with roux, starch or Bisto. Proceed to cook or chill for next day cooking

 

Cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours.

 

Well that wraps up this week’s blog

Regards       

Don & staff

 

 

 

Well. I am back to writing and reminding you that we will have fresh fish this week Thursday Oct 22nd to Sunday Oct 25thh.  This week we have ordered the following in fresh: Atlantic salmon, wild Arctic Char, Columbia Rainbow trout, wild Icelandic Cod, New Brunswick bay scallops & wild Ont. Pickerel. We are restocking our frozen selection with a heavy emphasis on Krunchy haddock which has become a hot seller. One of the popular frozen fish is the Garlic and Herb crusted cod. Our supplier was hesitant regarding keeping this item as the supplier wanted to raise the price by $5.00 per lb. In any case they negotiated a more modest increase and it will be ready on Thursday. Even though the price is up it still represents good value as the waste = 0, the cooking time from frozen is about 25 minutes and there is no clean up required, so, a quick easy meal with minimal cooking and clean up.

          Our most popular fresh fish is Atlantic salmon; it is also the most popular fish to eat worldwide. While we try to provide mostly wild caught fish; Atlantic salmon is now only available as a farmed fish. The key here is the same as other meats like chicken and beef; you have to buy from good farms! Since you can’t visit the many fish farms, you have to trust your fishmonger.  We do our research and have a list of criteria we like to see. Most farmed salmon are raised in huge steel wire enclosures in the ocean. So, an important criteria is cold water, adequate space for the fish and a flushing system to eliminate the waste. The Bay of Fundy and fiords’ in Norway and Chile provide either a current or high tides that change the water in the enclosures as well as cold water. Another important factor is the quality of the feed and the non-use of antibiotics in the feed.  The source of our salmon is a reputable Canadian farm in the Bay of Fundy. Note that Canadian farms have much stricter laws regarding fish husbandry than other jurisdictions. Farmed salmon have a few pros compared to wild; they have more Omega3 fatty acids and are free of Mercury contamination. The ultimate test is simple; try a filet of our Atlantic salmon.

          A new wrinkle is coming to Atlantic salmon.( we won’t be selling it).

Israel is manufacturing a 3-D printed salmon from growth cells. It is currently in test markets in the U.S. and is not labeled differently than farmed salmon. The other innovation is genetically modified salmon, that I call Frankenfish. These fish are genetically modified by adding growth genes from other fish species. This product is available in the U.S. and has a G.M. label. It is not yet in Canada and Canada has no labeling laws re. G.M.. products

          Most of our fish comes in filets we vacuum pack on arrival.  The salmon filets are about 3-3.5 lbs, so we mostly cut those into smaller pieces. If you want a whole side or special cuts just let me know Wed morning

 

 

Well that wraps up this week’s blog

Regards       

Don & staff

 

Well, we are slowly cruising into Thanksgiving and fall.   Our turkey orders are all booked; we have a few small birds as spares and some heavy roasting chickens yet to sell. We can still take orders for prime rib beef and pork crown roasts.

At the moment it is a fool’s errand to try and predict trends and pricing! When Iran opens the straights of Hormus, Trump gets burnt by his tariffs, Putin stops bombing Ukraine and Hell freezes over, it is difficult to plan much of anything. My expectation for the next 6 to 18 months is more food challenges. As always we will be here to help you find good food value,, useful recipes and cooking tips

          I hope all of you have a great week and we are looking forward to seeing you.

Regards

Don & staff

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          First we will talk about fish; we expect an order of fresh and frozen fish for this week Sept 24th We will keep the fresh, fresh until Sunday Sept 27th. And then freeze it. Because the next fresh fish would be on Thanksgiving weekend, we will not be bringing in any fish as we do not have storage for both fish and turkeys. But, we are ordering extra to bridge the gap and will have all your favourites frozen.

          WE had some sad/bad ews this morning regarding the Herb & Garlic breaded Cod and the Potato /Cheddar breaded Cod. The price has skyrocketed to $30.00 lb retail and our fish monger has suspended bringing it in. We have some stock we will sell at te former price, then, it is wait and see if we can find a substitute.

          So, this week in fresh we have Atlantic salmon, wild Arctic char, Columbia trout, wild B.C. Halibut, and wild Ontario pickerel. With the exception of the breaded Cod we will be super  stocked in frozen selections..Recently thearctic char has been coming in large filets;, if that continues we will cut some smaller pieces.

 

          It is time to think about Thanksgiving, turkeys, hams and all the goodies that go into the Thanksgiving feast. Following is a list of the products we will be offering; turkeys, hams and heavy roasters; all are  preorder. The cut off date will be Sept 29th.  We will have the turkeys, hams and heavy roasters  fresh and ready for pick up on Friday Oct 9th. Order now, don’t be a Johney come latey and miss out A complete is will be found in my last blog under the tab “ Recipes and Blogs”

We also will have available all cuts of pork,, beef, lamb and seafood.

We will not have fresh fish on the Thanksgiving weekend as we do not have storage for both turkeys and fish.

         

          I hope all of you have a great week and we are looking forward to seeing you.

Regards

Don & staff

P.S. I have included my recipe for the best ever pumpkin pie

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PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE

        I have been using this pumpkin pie recipe for some time and decided I should write it down. The difference in this recipe is that the filling is very light, almost like a mousse. This comes from whipping the egg whites and whipping cream until stiff and folding it into the puree mixture. When cooking it puffs up like a soufflé and then settles. Slow cooking is the order of the day as eggs don’t like high heat.

 

YIELD 5-6 pies and some tarts depending on shell size

INGREDIENTS

2 Can           E.D. Smith pumpkin puree (28 oz—796 ml)

12                 Eggs, separate and reserve 4 egg whites

2 Cup           White sugar

1 1/3 Cup     Brown sugar

2 Tsp            Salt

4 Tbsp          Molasses -- to taste

2 Tbsp.         Vanilla

4 Tbsp          Pumpkin spice (ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves)

3                   Cups milk

3 Cups         Heavy cream

3 cups whipping cream mixed with the four  reserved egg whites

Pie shells and tart shells

METHOD.

Beat the 8 eggs and four yolks then add all ingredients except the whipping cream and reserved egg whites. Blend mixture well. You can use a stand mixer or do it by hand with slotted spoon or spurdle.

Whip the cream and egg whites to soft peaks and fold into puree; it should be streaky. Ladle into pie shells and either freeze for later use or bake at 350 F until edge of pastry is brown. There should be a spot in the middle that is still raw looking (about the size of a toonie—it will finish cooking with the residual heat)

Cool to room temperature on a rack, add ice cream or whipped cream and enjoy the best lightest pumpkin pie ever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is time to think about Thanksgiving, turkeys, hams and all the goodies that go into the Thanksgiving feast. Following is a list of the products we will be offering; turkeys, hams and heavy roasters; all are  preorder. The cut off date will be Sept 30th.  We will have the turkeys, hams and heavy roasters  fresh and ready for pick up on Friday Oct 9th.

TURKEYS: We have been selling free-run Mennonite raised turkeys from the same supplier for two decades with zero complaints and tons of accolades. Raising good turkeys is a combination of genetics, feed, low stress environment and animal husbandry; the Mennonite farmer we use hits the mark on all categories. The turkeys are fed well—no drugs or hormones; they have spacious runs and are used to people and not stressed out. When it is time for “meeting the maker”, they are transported to the abattoir with out stress. You won’t see our turkeys barreling down 401 in open sided transports with the wind and rain beating in. Are they more expensive than the cardboard type in the big box store? Yes. “Good food ain’t cheap and cheap food ain’t good” says the Red-Neck son-in-law.

The turkeys are sized as follows: 13-14, 15-17, 18-21, 22-23, & 24+

HAMS:

Our hams are handcrafted by Mennonites at Stemmlers’ Meats. They are old-fashioned bone-in skin-on. They are partially cooked from smoking; but require additional cooking. They are brined in a historic brine recipe and then maple smoked. They are not tumbled as modern hams are. This leads to a different texture in the meat. Try them once and you will be hooked for life. They are sized at 5-7 lbs, 10-12 lbs and full hams at over 20 lbs

HEAVY ROASTERS

There are two types of heavy roasting chickens; capons (neutered males) and heavy hens (females). We do not sell capons as the practice of neutering them is considered inhumane as it is performed with out anesthesia and with out anti-biotics. The practice is outlawed in many jurisdictions.  If you want an old fashioned roast chicken dinner like grandma made on the farm, then a heavy roaster is for you. Again, Mennonite raised, free run, no drugs or hormones and fantastically delicious.

They come 6-7 lbs.

We also will have available all cuts of pork,, beef, lamb and seafood.

WE will not have fresh fish on the Thanksgiving weekend as we do not have storage for both turkeys and fish.

         

          I hope all of you have a great week and we are looking forward to seeing you.

Regards

Don & staff

P.S. I was going to post my recipe for Pumpkin pie’ but this blog was running a bit long. If you need a good recipe for pumpkin pie, email me and I will send it to you.

Note: This blog and others are stored in our website under the Tab “recipes and blogs” if you need them for reference.

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Fish time again! We had a few gaps last week; but we will be fully stocked by tomorrow afternoon. Ontario pickerel is not available fresh, so we are offering frozen. In fresh we will have Atlantic Salon, wild Arctic Char, Columbia River trout and north Atlantic Cod from Iceland. If you want a whole salmon filet or special cuts give me a call or email.  Smoked salmon will bbe ready Saturday afternoon

          Our frozen selection is fully stocked, including the Krunchy Haddock and Herb Crusted Cod. We are also well stocked on wild argentine shrimp.

          Last

         

         

          I hope all of you have a great long weekend and we are looking forward to seeing you.

RegardsDon & staff

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It is hard to believe it is time for fresh fish again, summer is flying away and fall is sneaking in! So’ this week we should receive, Atlantic salmon, arctic char, Columbia River trout and Ontario pickerel. In frozen we are restocking Krunchy haddock, herb and Garlic crusted cod, tuna, grouper and shrimp.

          I have included a recipe I tried for duck breasts and peaches. Peaches are in their prime at local farm markets and we have duck breasts from our supplier “La Ferme”.

           My wife always said you should first try a recipe as written and then modify it if you wish. So I tried this recipe mostly as it was written it is delicious; but you have my permission to change it up to your taste. I think the peaches would go great with other proteins like salmon or pork tenderloin.

• Roasted Duck Breast with Caramelized Peaches

Recipe Type: Meats and Main Courses

• Ingredients

For the Duck:

• 4 duck breasts (about 6-8 oz each), skin on
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

For the Caramelized Peaches:

• 4 ripe Niagara Peaches, halved, pitted, and sliced into wedges
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1.5 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• Fresh thyme leaves for garnish

• Directions

1. Prep the duck: Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat duck breasts dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut into the meat. Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Sear the duck: Place duck breasts skin-side down in a cold, oven-safe skillet. Turn heat to medium and cook for 8-10 minutes without moving, until the skin is deeply golden and crispy and the fat has rendered. Flip the duck breasts over.
3. Roast in the oven: Add rosemary and thyme sprigs to the skillet. Transfer to the preheated oven and roast for 15-20 minutes , or until an internal thermometer reads 150-165°F.
4. Rest the duck: Remove from oven, transfer duck breasts to a cutting board, and let rest for 5-10 minutes. The temperature will rise slightly as they rest.
5. Caramelize the peaches: While duck rests, drain most of the duck fat from the skillet (save it for another use). Add butter to the skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add peach slices in a single layer.
6. Add sweetness: Sprinkle brown sugar over peaches, drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar, and add a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, gently stirring, until peaches are tender and caramelized with a glossy sauce.
7. Slice and serve: Slice duck breasts against the grain into thin pieces. Arrange on plates with caramelized peaches on the side. Drizzle with any remaining pan sauce and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.

 

Regards, Don & staff

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I don’t like “snooze you lose” items and rarely sell them. We try to keep the same basic items in stock most of the time.  We do have problems from time to time with suppliers and supply chains and occasionally I can screw up and not order enough. This week , though, is different; we have rec’d a large shipment of fresh Ontario garlic and when it is gone it is gone!

We have bulbs at $5.50, 3 bulbs for $14.95 and bunches of 8 for $28.95

Ontario garlic is a seasonal item; our bulbs are large, fresh and delicious. It is a cross of Russian Red and Italian music developed for our climate. It is the right blend of piquant and mellow.

          I have attached a recipe for a garlic salad dressing that features another of our new products: French made grainy Dijon mustard from our supplier ‘Laferme” The French love their mustard and Canada grows most of the worlds supply of mustard seed. A condiment made in heaven!

 

GARLIC SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients

2              Cloves, fresh Ont. garlic

2   tsp.    Fish sauce

4  Tbsp   Lime juice

2.5 oz.    Canola oil 

2 Oz.       Olive oil

1 Tbsp.   Sesame oil

1 tsp.      Grainy Dijon mustard (houston’s) 

1/2 tsp.   Sea salt 

 

Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

 

Instructions

 

1. . Finely chop 2 garlic cloves  chopping until it is paste-like. Add 2.5 oz. neutral oil, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 Tbs sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper if desired. Whisk or seal and and shake the jar until combined and emulsified. Or add it slowly through the feed tube of a running food processer

Recipe Notes

Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week. Rewhisk before using.

         

RegardsDon & staff

Note: This blog and others are stored in our website under the Tab “recipes and blogs” if you need them for reference.

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I missed writing last week’s blog as we had a computer crash and that really upset the apple cart.  This week in fresh we will have Atlantic salmon, Columbia River trout, wild N. W.T. Arctic Char, & wild caught Ont. Pickerel. We have restocked the frozen selection including the Herb Crusted Cod and the Krunchy Haddock, grouper, Pollack and tuna, plus the wild Argentine shrimp

          We will have our selection on display Thursday by noon July 30 and hold it fresh until Sunday noon Aug. 02. I will have smoked salmon ready for Saturday afternoon.

          Customers often ask which species of fish is the mildest or least “fishy” smelling. That is hard question as peoples scent sense and tastes are different. Instead, I will give you “rules of thumb” and specifics. Generally speaking white fleshed fish from cold salt water locations will smell fishier. Fresh Haddock smells really strong, a milk bath helps it. Sablefish (aka Black Cod) is strong smelling even after freezing. Fresh Atlantic Cod is mildly fishy.  All three of these fish taste great when cooked and not fishy. Atlantic Cod cooked is very mild. However all three can leave an odour in your kitchen from cooking, especially pan frying.

          Again, generally, freshwater fish are less fishy smelling and mild flavoured. Pickerel and Columbia trout are good examples. They say that Columbia trout is milder because they do not prey on other fish; their diet is insects.

          Breaded fish, like our Krunchy Haddock and garlic and herb crusted B.C. cod are mild fish and non odorous when cooking.

          Atlantic salmon and Halibut are mild smelling  with a unique taste profile. Arctic Char (actually a trout that lives like a salmon) is between salmon and trout in taste profile and not fishy smelling. Obviously there are more varieties of fish species than I can stock; but if you have a request I will research it for you.

          Cooking methods can make a difference in lingering odours in your house. So, use your BBQ, even the side burner if you want to poach or panfry. Poaching, steaming and baking are les odourous than pan fying.

So, enjoy your fish and improve your health

 

RegardsDon & staff

 

Note: This blog and others are stored in our website under the Tab “recipes and blogs” if you need them for reference.

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