Lifesavers Sept

Lifesavers

A 100-Mile Thanksgiving

Turkey Day is fast approaching, and if the thought of setting a menu leaves you reeling, consider letting the best local ingredients dictate your holiday table offerings. Continuing from last year’s efforts, many chefs across the continent are sourcing their Thanksgiving dinner from strictly locally-grown and made products. For those who enjoy a little challenge and would love to reap the benefits of a Manitoban harvest, the 100-Mile Thanksgiving is for you. Taking time to seek out locally-baked bread, fresh Morden corn, free-range turkey and pumpkins and you’ll impress yourself, as well as your guests.

Unlike last year’s attempt, you’re not forging you own trail, since you can draw on the experience of last year’s participants. To find out where to buy these products in Manitoba, check out resources such as Sarah Braun’s blog for where she sought out last year’s fare at wpgfoodie.wordpress.com. The provincial government has stepped in with an online guide for where to buy local product, too. Visit www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/food/consumers for their list. And to make it even easier, you can also order fresh, organic and local produce directly from www.eatit.ca.

A Chocolate Bar A Day...

Indulging your chocolate cravings can now be guilt-free. A new line of gourmet chocolate bars has fused nutrients such as probiotics and vitamin D3 with tasty chocolate combinations. Milk Chocolate Tiramisu Crisp and White Chocolate English Toffee are just two of the yummy flavour sensations available in Chocolate Plus’s line of eight bars. Four of the 50-gram bars tout the power of probiotic bacteria to help promote good intestinal activity and immunity and two more are packed with vitamins and minerals. The tasty lineup is rounded out with a “strong bones” bar containing calcium and a bar to encourage restful sleep with magnesium oxide and valerian. Now that’s a health regimen we can stick to! $2.49 each, Shoppers Drug Mart.

Tasting Notes - Our latest culinary discoveries

The moment the brown paper came off the windows at the Lilac Bakery, we had to check it out. The tiny but chic interior frames pastry cases stocked with all-natural baking from the family team of owner Chris Atkinson and mother and daughter bakers Linda and Jennifer. They focus on traditional favourites like imperial cookies and brownies, just like Grandma used to make, and the result is delicious. We loved their chocolate cupcakes—the most homemade-tasting we’ve had in a long time.

920 Grosvenor Ave, 992-8000
www.lilacbakery.com

Another all-natural indulgence for the sweet tooth is Chocolatier Constance Popp. Open since spring, this confectionary couldn’t be more tempting, dressed-up in Tiffany blue. All chocolates here are fresh-made and packaged in environmentally friendly biodegradable containers. Since the chocolates are fresh, Constance Popp’s offerings change seasonally so there will always be something new in store.

1853 Portage Ave, 897-0689
www.artisanchocolates.ca

Kitchen Party

Inside a community hall in South Winnipeg, a dozen folding tables are arranged around the perimeter of the room. Each table is neatly outfitted with pre-chopped veggies, a collection of bottles, spice jars and measuring scoops. The dozen or so coolers are lined up along the wall belong to the evening’s partygoers who are clad in aprons, bandanas and disposable gloves. Music is playing and the chefs are far more relaxed than they would be on a typical hectic school night. This is a Dashing Dishes party, and the end result is a meal timesaver for busy families. The notion is simple: spend a couple of hours in a fun atmosphere with friends and prepare enough meals for two weeks, and you’ll save money, too. Clear instructions guided the way as we measured ingredients into take home containers, each clearly labelled and ready to pop in the freezer. The biggest dilemma is which entrees to choose.
Menu options change monthly and each is said to feed a family of four, but count on having leftovers. Party dates are listed on their website, or grab a dozen friends and you can host your own. And while these aren’t necessarily your tried and true recipes, the meals are still homemade, healthy and can be adjusted to your family’s tastes. The very best part? No clean up!

www.dashingdishes.com

Green Piece

As we all take steps to live a more sustainable lifestyle, movements such as Eco-Peg arrive on the scene to aid our efforts. This new initiative, launched by non-profit Manitoban organization HomeMADE, aims to promote “buying local, doing good and living green.” The affordable Eco-Peg pass is a $3 button that represents a pledge to buy local and support local businesses, “do good for yourself and your community” and “make allowances in your life to benefit the environment around you and world-wide.” Benefits include deals available at local venues including Local Shop Awesome in Osborne Village, Moksha Yoga, Downtime Massage Therapy, Seoul Nami and Local Body Works. To find out where the pass can be purchased and which businesses are offering up rewards to pass holders, visit

www.eco-peg.com

Think Pink

Back by popular demand, Tiber River Naturals’ Pretty in Pink lotion will hit the shelves this October for breast cancer awareness month. A portion of the proceeds of this sweetly scented lotion goes to benefit Helping Hands for Manitobans with Breast Cancer. This local charity was launched by The Bra Bar’s Sharon Phillips-Nairn and is dedicated to supporting women who are in need of financial aid while fighting breast cancer.

$14.95 for 240 ml or $4.95 for 60 ml.
408 Academy Rd, 474-2333

TEN QUESTIONS with Mary McCown-Kobinger

The new host of CBC Manitoba’s Living Winnipeg, Mary McCown-Kobinger is an actor and former associate theatre school director. We get to know the American-born personality better with a little Q & A.

1. You’re originally from Birmingham, Alabama. What lured you to our fine city?
I followed my husband, actually. Nobody thought I would last in this cold climate. Well I showed them—I love it. And what’s even better is my Alabama family and friends love coming to Winnipeg to snowmobile now!

2. What do you love about living in Winnipeg?
Seasons—it’s so exciting to get ready for the changes in weather.

3. Are you homesick for anything?
Going barefoot yearround.

4. What are you looking forward to most as the new host for Living Winnipeg?
Getting to learn and experience this great city—and all the cool people I have been meeting along the way.

5. In the past you’ve hosted a cooking show (Southern Cooking for Alabama Tourism). Is it safe to assume you’re a foodie?
Ohhhh yes! I like to pretend I am hosting a cooking show when I cook at home. My son likes to help me stir. We love cooking! And eating, well, mostly eating actually!

6. You’ve worked a lot with children in the past—will you be introducing any kid-focused segments on the show?
I have some great friends at MTYP and am hoping to introduce some of the many talents there, like mime, mask making and clowning. Hopefully I will get to do some segments with my little boy, Sebastien, too.

7. You’ve done some volunteer work teaching theatre at an orphanage in Haiti—what brought you there and was it like?
Amazing! I went to Haiti to teach, but I learned much more than I taught. Theatre is just a way of life to them. Yes, there is extreme suffering, but often the best art comes from suffering. I left Haiti, but Haiti never left me. I plan on going again when Sebastien is older. I believe (and try to live by, even if I am not always successful) the motto that when you have a lot, a lot is expected of you. I wanted to share something I was passionate about (children and theatre).

8. Your plans for Thanksgiving (Canadian, of course)?
I am a firm believer in adding holidays, not taking away holidays, so I celebrate both Thanksgivings. I plan on cooking all day, tasting all day, eating and then taking a nap with the fam. I will probably cook roast for Canadian Thanksgiving and turkey for the US holiday in November. The Living Winnipeg folks will have to help eat late November leftovers.

9. What is the most important thing viewers will get out of watching Living Winnipeg?
They will discover (or rediscover) along with me all the great things you can do right here in Winnipeg, to live better.

10. Living Winnipeg features a health and wellness component. What do you do to keep balanced?
I make time to enjoy my family, I ride my bike or walk to work every day to sneak in some exercise, and as simple as it sounds, we sit down for dinner each night. One thing I need to do, is to make time for me, stretching or doing yoga maybe. ✪