A Frugal Kitchen

A recent post on the travel blog Almost Fearless got me thinking again about frugality in the kitchen and the importance of a well-stocked pantry. These days many people rely on frozen family meals or packaged prepared ingredients. Yet with a few key ingredients always on hand in the pantry or freezer, I find I can create tasty, nutritious meals from scratch in about the same length of time that it would take to get a frozen pizza or lasagna to the table.

So what are my staples? Beyond fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, my pantry relies heavily on dried beans and lentils, frozen soups and vegetables, canned/jarred sauces, rice, couscous, bulgar, pasta and potatoes. I always have eggs, cheese and yogurt in the fridge, as well as quickly-defrostable sustainable fish (usually salmon, tuna, mackerel, black cod, or scallops ) in the freezer. Baking supplies, like flour, are also always on hand.

Now, I must confess that I do have a couple of commercially-prepared food addictions. Perhaps it's the Brit in me, but I am totally addicted to Patak's curry pastes. They're easy to use, good quality, and spice up any meal in a matter of minutes. I also have a couple of canned curries that I regularly keep in my pantry. Canned beans and chickpeas are also present as practical back-ups to the dried variety, although I usually have soaked beans in the freezer.

So using these ingredients, what can I whip up in under 20 minutes? Here are a few suggestions for quick hot meals:

• Hearty vegetable and cheese fritatta
• Pasta and sauce
• Soup and scones
• Blackened salmon, rice and steamed veggies
• Stir-fry with farmed scallops
• Moroccan chick-pea soup
• Curried red lentil soup served with yogurt
• Quinoa chili

With a little bit of planning, like soaking beans or lentils, or leaving dough to rise:

• Chickpea curry and Naan-style bread
• Lentils and rice
• Cuban black beans
• Homemade pizza

Most of these things are quick and affordable to make, even with organic ingredients. If you're making and freezing (or canning) your own soups and sauces using local vegetable when in season, then a good portion of the meals can be local too.

Certification for Local Products?

Wow. Ottawa, you inspire me. Not only do you have fabulous, reasonably-priced, local-food restaurants, but I just found out about your 'certified local' program. This is how the Ottawa-based food blog, FoodiePrints, describes it:

In Ottawa, we have several farmer's markets whose vendors proudly sport Savour Ottawa posters (http://www.savourottawa.ca/). These posters denote that the producer or retailer has been certified via an audit by a third-party organization to produce local products or sell goods that are made from local products. Further, many of the locally-owned restaurants have already diversified their supply chains, pairing themselves with local farms. Some have even taken to growing their on produce in personal gardens. Many have even partnered with our local sustainable fin-fish and shell-fish supply.

What a fabulous idea! Wouldn't it be great if Montreal had something similar? The closest we get is the "Aliments de Quebec" logo that I'm noticing in supermarkets these days. While it is a valuable initiative, Quebec is a pretty big place. The label also isn't applicable to restaurants, which doesn't help me to choose establishments that are promoting local products and economies. I'd love to see the label expanded to include the tourism region of the producer (i.e., Aliments de Quebec - Montéregie) and a poster program for our local restaurants.

A Taste of Farm Life

Ever wondered how your food grows or what a dairy farm looks like? Well you can get a peak this weekend at the Open House on Quebec Farms organized by the Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA) of Québec. Over 100 farms will open their doors to over 30,000 people between 10am and 4pm this Sunday, September 13th.

This is a great activity for adults and kids alike. Many of the participating farms have activities planned for all ages, as well as demonstrations, guided tours, product tastings, and even door prizes. So pack a light picnic, grab the kids or some friends, and hit the road for the day in a country.

Close to Montreal, a sample Eastern Townships itinerary may include a visit to the pork and dairy producer Ferme DGR Thibault in Saint-Valérian, the goat farm la Chèvrerie des Acacias and the orchard Val Caudalies in Dunham, and the produce farm (pumpkin, corn strawberries) La Roi de la Fraise in Saint-Paul d'Abbotsford. A trip in the Lanaudière region may include a duck farm (Ferme L'Oie d'or) in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, and a bison farm (La Terre des bisons), potato farm (Les fermes Rivest Bourgeois inc.), and apiary (Les ruchers du troubadour) in Rawdon.

The UPA website for the open house event offers a variety of tools for planning your day out. You can browse farms by region or by type of farm. You can also consult a master google map of all participating farms. Enjoy!