Friday, February 27, 2009

Fresh and News

Starting to feel that Spring Fever...it’s settled in here at Foragers!

That snow some of you see out there is just a mirage. All over town we are seeing people hauling barbecues out of storage and getting ready for some good healthy eating, so take it from us this year’s hibernation is about to end.

At Foragers we have noticed a marked change in our customers as you have started to entertain at home again and our Gourmet Burgers are ready to jump out of the counter. Forager customers have their own inner food calendar. For example, Asian style cooking is moving out French inspired dishes and soft cheeses are becoming more popular than ever. We look forward to welcoming this new season of good eating.

Fowl News
We are pleased to announce our new chicken supplier, La Ferme of Pfefferlaw, Ontario. After searching and researching the last few weeks we have found a traditionally farmed, GMO-free grain fed chicken that are antibiotic, hormone, steroid free. We have sampled a few suppliers and found the La Ferme-supplied chickens to be of consistently high quality and great taste. Fresh chickens will be available Friday mornings.

The best news is that the chickens will be less expensive than previously. We wish our old supplier Field Gate Organics well as they transition to become a federal processor, which gives them access to the halls of supercentre shopping.

Sausage of the Week
This week our sausage making team will be stuffing a “Beer Banger.” The pork sausage will be the classicly spiced and short-linked English style banger with a hint of IPA style beer. Also, we will be stocking on a regular basis the Maple and Blueberry Breakfast Sausage as well as our “Country” sausage made simply of pork, sea salt and fresh pepper.

In the next few weeks we will be moving to a beef-based sausage of the week. As well, orders will be taken shortly for a Huron County lamb, Stilton and mint sausage.

House Accounts
Shopping at Foragers just got easier by having your own account. To set up a house account please email us and request a House Account Registration Card or better yet, stop in the store this weekend and fill one out. Information needed for a house account will be your contact information, credit card number, indication of billing method preference and billing frequency. Once your house account is set up you will be issued a PIN, which will identify you at checkout.


Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Foragers on A Channel


Click here to check out Foragers latest appearance on A Channel London

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Fresh and News

Shrove Tuesday is coming up next week, the last day for unrestricted self-indulgence before lent. The Forager way to be “piggy” is to enjoy your breakfast by wrapping a blueberry and maple pork sausage with an Arva Flour Mill buttermilk pancake. Of course we are discussing our version of “Pigs in a Blanket” and not our own eating habits!

Fresh & New

In House Sausages
This weeks “sausage of the week” will be a real version of an Italian Sausage. These pork sausages are different than what you may normally purchase due to the fact that we will include fresh herds, fennel seed and crushed red pepper for heat. The sausage is good on its own, or use them in your next spaghetti sauce for a little Mediterranean flair.

Last week, we underestimated the demand for our Blueberry and Maple Pork Sausages and we apologize to those of you who dropped in for them. Not to worry though, we are doubling the amount being prepared and will have them ready for you by Friday afternoon.

Duck Confit
Currently we have stocked 18 legs of duck confit. These duck legs are very simple to prepare as our instructions call for you to roast the legs at 375f for 5 to 7 minutes and finish by broiling for 2 minutes. This yields a deliciously crispy skin. Be sure to pick up some our chicken stock to make sauce. The stock is frozen as individual ice cubes. We suggest you serve the confit with a berry-liquer sauce reduction.

Maison de Gibier Pate
We are continuing to bring in pate, mousse and rillette from Maison de Gibier. Currently we have stocked up on a Chicken Liver Pate with Grand Marnier. This fine mousse is a great snack on its own or to add onto your cheese plate. The very popular Duck Rillette with Foie Gras is on back order and should arrive late next week.

A Channel Morning Television
Watch the A Channel London Breakfast Television this coming Tuesday at 7.50am. Our Forager Chef will be demonstrating how to stuff pork tenderloin with shiitake mushrooms and other local ingredients.

Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

Fresh and News

At Foragers we subscribe to the philosophy of simple comforts. Simple comforts can be a walk during an early winter thaw, taking an hour in the afternoon for a nap, or a quiet dinner at home with your valentine. Be sure to stop in this weekend to stock up with some of our delicious simple comforts, we always have something new for you to discover.

Fresh & New

New Cheeses & Raclette
We have brought in a few more cheeses this week; Raclette Champetre and the already popular Migneron de Charlevoix. Both are cows milk cheeses from Quebec, semi firm with a washed rind. The migneron is slightly pungent, nutty and earthy.

We are also happy to announce the procurement of a “raclette grill.” The raclette grill is for Forager customers to borrow at no charge. Typically raclette cheese is used to melt over vegetables, baguette, potatoes, gerkins or whatever you choose. There are no rules to raclette, the possibilities are endless! Come to Foragers and sign out the raclette grill and invite over some friends for a delicious and fun meal.

Blueberry & Maple Sausages
We are continuing to make sausages here at the store, testing recipes, varying fat to meat ratios, and technique practice. We think we have found a winner – Blueberry and Maple Pork Sausages! These sausages are regular sized, (not the breakfast size) and are perfect for your weekend brunch. We are making 15 pounds on Friday afternoon so be sure to come in this weekend for a try.

Double Smoked Bacon
Forager Foods believes that Metzgers bacon is the best quality smoked pork belly we have tasted. We have now improved your bacon experience as we bring in whole “bacon bellies” and then cutting-to-order the amount and thickness you request. One of the advantages of cutting to order is the need for vacuum sealed bags are eliminated which we find promotes moisture, saltiness and curling of the bacon when hitting a hot pan.

Coming Soon
We are currently in production of food demo videos that will be uploaded onto our website at www.foragerfoods.ca These light hearted yet useful videos will include topics on trimming/tieing pork and beef tenderloin, marinades, cheese/wine pairing and a series titled “You’re Doing it All Wrong!” which will be a fun take on food preparation.

Winter Hours
We look forward to seeing you soon, currently we are open each day of the week with the exception of Tuesday and Wednesday. As always, if you have a food emergency, give us a ring.

Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

Foragers open Thursday!

Sorry savvy marketers but Foragers is reclaiming the word local. While we were on our January hiatus we got to thinking about what local really is. In our minds local is all about community – large or small.

At Foragers being local is going to the Fireman’s breakfast; thinking local is about pulling the neighbour kid out of the ditch on snowy Tuyll St; being local is exchanging silent niceties to familiar strangers; most importantly, local is about caring what is in your backyard so that you can be of use to rest of the world. Local has its own responsibilities.

Our responsibility at Foragers is to professionally deliver a quality product to you. Our responsibility is to ensure you are happy as our partner. This separates our store from others: we are able to recommend items with confidence, generate recipe ideas and help source new products not usually available. Our goal is to help enhance our community.

With that seriousness aside, lets get on with what you should be looking for when you stop by this weekend.

Fresh & New

Thornloe Dairy
The small dairy located near New Liskeard was a thriving intensive dairy owned by Balderson, Labatts, Ault and then Parmalat. After 1997, the plant was scheduled to be shuttered; if it wasn’t for a few good dairy farmers. Thornloe has transformed itself into a Northern Dairy producing some quality artisanal dairy products.

The best product is the European styled, “Cultured Butter” and Foragers has it. Cultured butter is milk that has been allowed to slightly ferment which gives a deep butter flavour as compared to the “fresh sweet butter” we are use to from the grocery store. The colour is a toasty golden yellow colour with an aromatic and rich flavour. The physical texture is almost crystalline. We think that you will be reading about Thornloe Cultured Butter shortly.

Evanturel Cheese is the flagship and star artisanal cheese produced by Thornloe. Using pasteurized cows milk, this creamy washed rind cheese has an ash line through the middle giving a slight smoky taste. Comparable to ripe French Brie but with a bit more pungency. Be sure to ask for sample when you are in this weekend.

Cheese News
We are now carrying Archange and Allegretto Quebec cheeses, which are raw goat and sheep milk cheeses respectively. These tangy, salty, semi-firm cheeses are an excellent value and a welcome addition to theForager Cheese counter

We have had had to source new sheep and goat milk cheese as Monforte Dairy in nearby Millbank is no longer producing until they move into their new facility in Stratford, scheduled for early 2010.

Another must-try is Niagara Gold. This washed rind pasteurized cows milk cheese from the Niagara Region is from one of three Ontario’s Guernsey cattle herds that are known for richer milk yielding luscious artisanal cheese.

Short Ribs
These tough and fatty beef short ribs make an excellent wintertime braise. Braising is as easy as 1-2-3. Brown the meat and remove, add onions and aromatics, add wine, water, stock, short ribs and let simmer for a few hours. Are you working hard to take time off this winter? Let us do the cooking and look for short rib prepared dinners in our gourmet-to-go section of the store shortly.

Sausages
The past month has ignited a renewed our passion for fresh sausages. We have acquired the necessary equipment including natural sausage casings for which we have established as a key ingredient. Our plan is to make several varieties on an ongoing basis and also to feature a sausage-of-the-week that will be announced via this newsletter. Let us know your favorite and we will have some fun making them for you.

Yours in foraging for food, flavour, fecundity, fashion and fame.

Sam. Sara and Bill

Modern Forager X

Did you know there are 27 days until Christmas? If you are like us and love sharing time with family and friends over good food and drink then we have a few solutions to make this holiday season happy, healthy and good tasting.

A Gift For You & Someone Special
When a gift certificate of $50.00 or more is purchased you can choose any gourmet-to-go prepared food item in the store to take home as our gift to you. Food creates warm and lasting memories. We bet you can still remember the awakening of your taste buds upon discovering soft, stinky cheeses! Pay that memory forward to a co-worker, friend or family member with a Forager’s gift certificate.

Christmas Gobble and Quack!
Orders are now being taken for Christmas Turkeys as well as Muscovy Ducks. Both are from Field Gate organics and, of course, locally sourced.
The Christmas turkey is always anticipated by family members and Field Gate’s are exceptional. Tasting feedback from Forager turkey customers at Thanksgiving were most favourable. Most importantly organic turkeys are steroid free that results in a tender and tasty bird.
Or, surprise your Christmas guests with a Muscovy Duck. Muscovy duck has a unique taste: it is lean, meaty, tender and flavorful. A 4 lb. Muscovy has the highest yield of any duck available and 50 percent more breast meat than other ducks. Muscovy breast meat is 99 percent lean and the skin of the ducks has 50% less fat than the Moulard or Peking varieties. Did you know that Muscovy ducks have less fat and less calories per pound than turkey?

Fresh and New at The Store

Our friends in Sebringville at Soiled Reputation have urged us this week to buy two new root vegetables; Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes) as well as Watermelon Radishes.
We are really excited about the Watermelon Radishes. They are larger in size then regular radishes and white. But once you cut them laterally the spectacular colours will appear, just like a watermelon. We recommend them raw in your salad with vinegar based dressing. In fact, vinegar will make the colours even more vibrant.
Jerusalem Artichokes look like a cross between potatoes and ginger, they are known as an accompaniment and/or a substitute for potatoes. You can mash, puree, scallop or roast, treat them like you would a potato! There are lots of recipes online full of why these tubers are so healthy for you.

Truckstop Tomato Soup
Just spittin’ distance from the Saskatchewan border is the small town of Havre, Montana where you will find a restaurant called 4B’s that has the best truckstop tomato soup. We “discovered” the gem while on a ski road trip. With a bit of work and luck, ourForager Chef believes he has matched the taste to the original and will be on shelves by the end of next week.

Roquefort L’Oignon Quiche
This quiche will fill you with the thoughts and tastes of France. The mixture of the caramelized onions and Benedictine Blue cheese accompanied with a crisp pastry will send you running for the Beaujolais Nouveau!

Salad Alert!!
Due to the constant overcast skies, our in-demand bistro greens inventory will be inconsistent at best until the New Year. The green houses in Sebringville need some sunlight to grow these gentle salad greens. So fingers crossed that we get a good streak of sunshine.

Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

The Modern Forager IX

Welcome to November, the best month of the year for Ontario Lamb! Usually lamb is associated with spring however in Ontario our season is in autumn. We have been thinking a lot about lamb shanks and slow cooking lately, in fact there are two Bayfield restaurants who serve an outstanding lamb shank entree. Lamb shanks are easy for you to make at home, we recommend going to \
(the online version of Gourmet Magazine) and do a quick search then stop by the store to pick up your own!

Fresh and New at Foragers
Curry Alert #1
We now have a chickpea Indian style curry in our gourmet-to-go section. This smooth curry has a little heat, about a 3 on a 1 – 10 scale. The creamy sauce is thickened with a touch of cream, yoghurt, potatoes and cashews.

Curry Alert #2
Our butter chicken is back with 50 portions in the freezer. We have altered the recipe slightly by using less heavy cream and supplementing with more yoghurt. The finished product is even more silken.

Curry Sidenote
On a recent trip to Toronto, our Curry Chef sent the chief Forager to Little India on Gerrard St E with a grocery list. Our chef was most excited with the ingredients returned and stated that the tandoor seasoning “ is superior to any he has used in Canada and on par with India.” Hurry, and scurry to Foragers for some curry.

Stocks and Reductions
We now have a real chicken stock available for sale in our gourmet-to-go section of the freezer. The chicken stock is made by Foragers and is quite concentrated with flavour. The stock is packed as eight ice cubes so you never have waste.
Also, we will soon have a real demi glace which is what the finest restaurants use for sauce in meat entrees. The recipe is from French master Escoffier and involves a 24 cooking process of veal bone roasting and reduction over low heat. Some uses for demi glace is a sauce for pork/beef roasts or a peppercorn sauce on prime beef cuts such as beef tenderloin.

Looking Ahead at Store Hours
Currently Foragers is open Thursday thru Monday and will remain so until January. In January the store will be closed for a rest and re-open from then onwards.
Should you have any food emergencies that we can solve, usually we are not too far away and happy to help in a pinch.

Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

KFC and the $10 Challenge!

The Modern Forager

News and Views
Welcome to November, the best month of the year! I am guessing many of us have taken a deep breath now that both elections are over. I can remember when much was made about voting behavior and the relation to having a beer with George W Bush. I have to wonder; what kind of food would Americans like to share with Obama?

Let's take a local fast-food franchise for example ...

KFC and the $10 Challenge!

Reading or watching the news one would think we are on edge of an economic apocalypse. Well this is the first sign.

http://www.grist.org/advice/chef/2008/10/30/.

Essentially this article speaks to KFC and their marketing efforts on how to feed a family of four for $10.00.

For $10.00 KFC suggests you should feed your family seven pieces of deep friend chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy and biscuits. At Forager Foods, we would like to take the $10.00 Family of Four Challenge.
Vegetables #1– 4 medium sized Soiled Reputation organic carrots $1.74
Vegetable #2 – 4 golf ball sized candy cane beets from Soiled reputation $1.30
Starch – 1.5lb of fingerling potatoes from Soiled Reputation $3.50
Meat – Four Metzger large sausage links (choice of Farmers, Garlic, Honey Garlic, Oktoberfest or Italian. $3.99
Total Cost: $10.53. So KFC can do it cheaper and uncomfortably fill stomachs, but we can do it healthier and better tasting. In fact that is our unofficial mission statement.

Fresh and New at Foragers

Curry Alert #1
We now have a vegetarian chickpea Indian style curry in our gourmet-to-go section. This smooth curry has a little heat, about a 2 on a 1 – 10 scale. The creamy sauce is thickened with a touch of cream, yoghurt, potatoes and cashews.

Curry Alert #2
Our butter chicken is back with 50 portions in the freezer. We have altered the recipe slightly by using less heavy cream and supplementing with more yoghurt. The finished product is even more silken.

Curry Sidenote
On a recent trip to Toronto, our Curry Chef sent our chief Forager to Little India on Gerrard St E with a grocery list. Our chef was most excited with the ingredients returned and stated that the tandoor seasoning “ is superior to any he has used in Canada and on par with India.” Hurry, and scurry to Foragers for some curry.

Looking Ahead at Store Hours
Currently Foragers is open Thursday thru Monday and will remain so until January. In January the store will be closed for the month and re-open for then onwards.
Should you have any food emergencies that we can solve, usually we are not too far away and happy to help in a pinch. Cell 519 955 4863

A Sunday Joint

The Modern Forager

At a recent Sunday dinner there was much controversy when our favourite British matron declared that every Sunday "one should enjoy a joint with family." After some animated discussion, it was revealed that a joint is an English term for a piece of meat or even better, a roast.
At Forager Foods we have some seasonal items that you may want to consider when you decide to have your next joint

Pumpkin Ravioli:
Tis the season to be pumpkin….come by the shop for some organic ravioli stuffed with pumpkin. This pasta is much too delicate for a red or white sauce but is perfectly appropriate for a browned sage butter sauce. Check out this recipe at www.foragerfoods.ca and click on the recipe link.

Brussel Sprouts:
You love em' or hate em', but have to have em'. That's because we are in the season of fall vegetables. Weguarantee* that you will "fall in love" with our brussel sprouts when you see our recipe which uses bacon and cream at www.foragerfoods.ca and click on the recipe link.

Wild Boar:
One country block from our vegetable supplier, Soiled Reputation in Sebringville is Ontario's premiere farmer of Tamworth, Berkshire and Wild Boar. At Forager Foods we will bring in small quantities of Berkshire pork tenderloin, Tamworth pork chops and wild boar sausage. We expect our first delivery in 10 days, send us an order… for your next joint.

Thunder Oak Update & More Cheese Info:

For all who have been asking, Thunder Oak Gouda has arrived back onto our cheese shelf. Our Chief Foragerspoke to representatives at the fromagerie in Thunder Bay and they are assuring delivery of the award winning "mild" Gouda consistently. More pressing yet, our chief forager is trying hard to source some aged Thunder Oak Gouda

Other Cheese News: Currently we have Ewenity's "Eweda" which is a play on 'Gouda" and pronounced as "yoo-daa." Eweda is a special sheep milk cheese that is a little crumbly, tangy, but creamy all at the same time! Ewenity is the "other" Ontario sheep milk cheesemaker in Ontario, come in for a try. Curiously the Eweda is also available in a raw milk form called Eweda Cru but it is not as exceptional. This goes against the grain of raw v pasteurized cheeses and the preconceptions of those cheesemaking processes.

Also by popular demand our Chief Forager has brought in a four-year-old raw milk cheddar from Ile-Aux-Grue. The raw milk cheddar is superior to the Perron 4 yr we currently carry. Be sure to ask for a sample, they are encouraged

Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

*Brussel sprout likeability cannot be guaranteed

Soiled Reputation? Yes, at Forager's!

Dear Foragers,

As the autumn season arrives people tend to slow down a little and take some time for themselves. Dinner parties are smaller, Thanksgiving and holidays looked forward to. At Forager Foods we always have some news for you to consider. With the new season brings new products, services and special seasonal items.

Soiled Reputation Vegetables Now Available
Actually our reputation is quite good as is our new vegetable supplier Soiled Reputation. Located in Perth County Soiled Reputation is an outstanding organic operation offering over 50 varieties of ultra premium salad greens, heirloom vegetables and fruits. Sure they cost a little more than what is found in the big produce aisles but the taste and freshness factor is unmatched. See this interesting article from Gremolata.com (save this url to your favorites, trust me) http://gremolata.com/stratford.htm.
Currently we have a small selection of Soiled Reputation carrots, beets and bistro greens in addition to our usual local veg varieties. We will judge customer feedback and bring in more if these terrific vegetables come into demand. FYI, watch the "Manic Organic" on Food Network and see Antony Johns from Soiled Reputation in action.

Organic Field Gate Turkeys – Now Taking Orders
Forager Foods has secured 15 fresh organic turkeys from Field Gate Organics, the same supplier as our lamb and chicken. See http://www.fieldgateorganics.ca.
Orders are now being taken; currently we have eight 10-15lb and seven 15-20lb birds. Call, email or stop by the store to secure the staple of your Thanksgiving feast. Order pickup will be on October 9th. Also, organic turkeys will be a special pre- order item for Christmas.

Dry-Aging v Wet Aging
One of our Chief Foragers, Ben Gundy who is also a chef at the much touted Jacobs & Co Steakhouse in Toronto, http://www.jacobssteakhouse.com/ has arguably the best beef in Toronto and beyond. The key, according to Ben is his dry-aging room located in the dining room of his restaurant for all patrons to view.
This got us to thinking, currently Forager Foods is offering wet-aged meat from Metzger Meats which we consider excellent. But there may be something to the dry v wet argument so we are bringing in a whole rib eye from Field Gate that has been hung (dry-aged) for 21 days. Why not have some fun next weekend and try a side-by-side tasting of the rib eye steaks? Give us a ring or email if you would like us to put aside a dry aged steak or two.

Catering by Forager Foods
As you may know from the previous newsletter Forager Foods has included full service catering to its menu of services. From cheese and deli plates to full dinner parties of 200. Forager's has the culinary skills, equipment and experience to deliver a worry free event at your home, office or off-site facility.

Bayfield Fish & Seafood at Foragers
Scott from the fish market is really excited, as we are too, in offering fresh Lake Huron Fish and smoked fish at Forager Foods.
To guarantee freshness, Scott supplies Forager's with a fresh supply every two days, any left over are frozen upon store closing. Currently we have Whitefish, Perch, Lake Trout and Pickerel however the selection will change almost daily so come in frequently to see what is offered, One side note: the prices of Bayfield Fish & Seafood are the same at Forager Foods, bulk orders welcome.

Keep Foraging,

Sam, Sara & Bill

The Modern Forager II

A quick note to keep in touch with you regarding a few announcements about new store hours, Huron County lamb, vegetarian gourmet-to-go, Bayfield Fish at Foragers, and Forager Catering. First off, thank you to all for making the first summer at Forager Foods to be such a success. All of you have terrific ideas and suggestions, but most importantly, good taste!

New Store Hours
For the months of Sept/Oct we plan to open daily with the exception of Tuesdays. We are happy to have a day off as our foraging crew will finally have a chance to dig a little deeper into what is fresh and best in Ontario. This will be a great opportunity to meet potential suppliers and interesting producers. We will be in touch with you as to what is found and will report back.

Huron County Lamb - Finally!
Huron County Lamb is finally coming to our little market via Field Gate Organics. The lamb will be certified organic supplied from farms in Wingham or Brussels. Last week we were given samples of shoulder chops which was tested at a house party, the feedback on texture, moistness and mellow lamb taste was overly positive. Today (Friday) is the first day we will offer lamb, quantities are limited as only three animals were slaughtered; Forager Foods was able to secure a good portion.

New Gourmet-To-Go
We now stock a vegetarian cheese cannelloni with tomato sauce. Going forward you can expect an increase in Gourmet-to-Go as we all hunker down for the fall and winter. Coming soon will be items such as butternut squash soup, vegetarian chili con carne, Huron County baked beans, Onion Soup with French Gruyere, and more. Our staff has more time for cooking and you will soon see our gourmet line shifting to our catering division, but more on that below.

Bayfield Fish and Seafood - By Forager Foods
You will soon find fresh Lake Huron fish from Bayfield Fish and Seafood (the fish market at the river) at Forager Foods. Scott at Bayfield Fish and Seafood is looking to get a little rest this fall and winter from the toils of retailing, but still wants to be able to get the freshest product into his customers hands. Forager Foods will be the exclusive retailer of Bayfield Fish and Seafood. The cheeses will be married into the deli case which will free up six feet of refrigeration for fresh lake fish as well as Scott's famous smoked items. Each fish will be vacuum packed directly after filleting in one or two per pack, they will then be displayed on ice. Freezer orders are welcome with advance notice.

Forager Catering
Forager Foods announces new full service catering, just in time for Thanksgiving and the Holidays. From a cheese plate to a fully staffed party we have the hospitality experience to deliver high quality catering services. Forager Foods takes food handling safety very seriously therefore all cooking will be in a provincially health inspected commercial kitchen as mandated. Please see the sample catering menu below, customized menu creation is welcome. We will deliver to your home, office or event, guaranteed hot and fresh.

We look forward to seeing you again. A special thanks to people who responded to the previous newsletter, your suggestions are invaluable!

Keep Foraging,


Sara, Sam & Bill

Listeriosis - Not at Foragers

Memorandum August 25, 2008

Re: Listeriosis Outbreak - Not at Foragers

Dear Foragers,

In a recent reading of Hugh Fearnsely-Whittingstall's cookbook titled Meat, the British chef and personality discusses the virtue of "intensive" and "extensive" farming practices.

An intensive farming practice pertains to efficiency and mass production. Extensive farming relates to smaller owner/operated operations, proper animal husbandry and quality over quantity.

Sometimes share price or ROI compromises quality; sometimes we have excellently run corporate farms in the case of intensive farming practices. Conversely, we have very fine small artisanal farmers and then some who cut corners when practicing extensive farming.

The same logic can be applied to food processing. Concerning the listeria outbreak Forager Foods believes in extensive practices from solely reputable and inspected producers. Rest assured, food products from Maple Leaf et al. are passed over by Forager Foods.

This brings us to an interesting question: What is Maple Leaf, Schneider's, Shopsy's etc to do? We believe a major apology will occur followed by a re-branding effort under a different name and look. With Loblaw (no more "s" in Loblaw anymore!) and National Grocers pushing "green" and "from close to home" products, it is easy to make the leap in that Maple Leaf will re-brand as "rural, local, fresh."

This is a good thing, all of us shop at large grocery chains as inevitably they have items we need for our daily lives. However, we believe that the small producers, who are our neighbours, share a heightened interest in delivering a healthy and safe product to your shelves.

The Modern Forager, August 14

The most rewarding part of sourcing the best food, locally and regionally, is sharing the stories of the producers we meet. If we have not seen you lately, let us give you a quick round up of what Forager Foods has been up to in the last few weeks.

Summer Vegetables – Our friends, the Stutzman family in the North end of Huron County are continuing with their bountiful harvest of traditionally grown, Mennonite market garden. Currently the farm is supplying, green and yellow bean, carrots, greens, zucchini, cukes and more.

We have local garlic courtesy of M. Sully on Mill Rd and the sweetest corn from M. Schilbe on Orchard Line. Now is the best time to visit Foragers for produce.

Prepared Foods: The Forager chef had a brainstorm and married the in-house tomato sauce and the organic cannelloni, topped with 2 year aged Parmesan into a take away dish. The outcome is a ready-to-eat Italian classic made with primarily Forager products. OINLINE

CONTEST: First three persons to reply to this email with a suggestion on how to make Forager Foods better will win a Cannelloni gourmet-to-go family size dish.

Local Gelato: Come and see the selection, over eight! Sorbetto and gelato, made in London, On. Did you know gelato is low fat? Conventional ice cream consists of 15-20% butterfat mainly because they use heavy 35% cream. Coppa di Gelato, Foragers supplier, uses 3% milk and ends up with a butterfat content of 3-5%. That being said gelato is quite dense compared to airy ice cream, so ease up on the portion size, eh?

Sirloin Sundays: Every Sunday at Forager Foods you will find thick sirloin steaks on sale for $5.99 per lb. This is the perfect Sunday bbq. Be sure to slice against the grain with a good marinade.

Winner of the $50.00 MEAT DRAW for August! Congratulations to Martin Thuss of Grand Bend. Martin please visit the store to claim your prize.