Berkshire Pork, Ambrosia Apple & Le Bonparte on Naan

This was delicious. I was reminded recently that I still had a coil of Berkshire Honey & Garlic sausage waiting patiently for me in the freezer. I bought this at the Slow Taste of Ilderton Food Show back in the fall from Eatwell Foods at Duenk Farms. I have no idea how it has managed to escape being gobbled up by now, but that has now been taken care of! I pulled the coil out and thought that it would probably be quite delicious on its own – but then I remembered how good it is with apple. I settled on an interesting sort of pizza, but with naan bread taking the place of the pizza dough. With this, I paired some Le Bonaparte cheese from Quebec. I found this cheese at  the London Food Co-op on Princess off of Adelaide Street. Lastly, the delicious flavour of an Ontario Ambrosia apple rounds out all the savory with a little nod to the sweeter things in life. Delicious, easy and speedy. Here is how you do it. One Ontario Ambrosia Apple (large) – sliced One coil of Ontario raised Bershire Honey & Garlic Pork Sausage 1/2 small Ontario red or sweet onion, thinly sliced Some creamy Canadian cheese (Bonaparte from Quebec is delicious) Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (you could use a local safflower here instead) A sprinkle of your favourite dried spices Cut up your pork coil into bite sized pieces. Cook over medium heat, until sausage is browned, cooked through and no longer pink. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place 4 naan breads (or similar type of flat bread) on pans. Thinly slice up your onion and divide among breads. Cut apple into bite sized slices and also spread these on the breads. Take wedges of the Bonparte cheese and divide among naan bread. Finally, top with the fully cooked sausage, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and add any spices you wish – I went with the herbs de provence blend. Pop into oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. You can eat this as is. Sean decided he wanted his with grainy mustard for a little kick. I had some left over tomato chutney  that went really well with it. Sean also picked out the wine this week. He chose this Ontario wine which is a Baco Noir from Prince Edward County”s Sandbanks Winery. This wine was really light and packed alot of plum punch, it went very well with this fun little dinner. Hope you are all well, this winter is almost over, the dark days of food will be over with soon. Do not despair, as asparagus and rhubarb are just around the corner, behind that lump of a groundhog”s butt!  Read More

Local Apples Make Yummy Pies!

(Photo: Kelly Hunt) This post was actually written in late Fall, 2007.I happen to be someone who is blessed with a very large kitchen, so when my aunt asked if I was interested in baking up some pies in a big batch with my mom, I could not resist. Yes, of course, sign me up! They told me that if we went in in a bushel of apples that we should get about five pies out each. What a deal! I immediately suggested I would pick up the apples as I feared that the two of them may just go for the cheapest and best-looking variety at the supermarket. Heh, who cares if they are from South Africa!? Well I certainly do, and if you are reading this blog, than I am sure you do as well. There are many apple orchards to choose from in the London area. I decided on Crunican Apple Orchard located on Richmond Street North or HWY 4 simply because it is closest to where me and my big kitchen dwell. I was (politley) ”ordered” by my aunt and my mum to pick out the best looking SPY apples that I could lay my hands on. Well, I found the spys but it should be noted that I also found about six other varieties. (Photo: Kelly Hunt) Alongside the apples, there are a multitude of other great products to choose from. Crunican”s, which is run by a husband and wife team as far as I can tell stock delicious Greaves Jams (sold out out of the Niagara area – which is conveniently located within London”s 100 mile radius!). Crunicans” also sells Apple Cider,sparkling ciders and in late summer they even bring in peaches from another local farm and through the winter they are stocking a few different varieties of fall squash. (Photo: Kelly Hunt) Even if you don”t happen to need apples at this time,I would highly suggest stopping into this friendly shop, just to smell the aroma of apples and apple cider that is circulating around in this well known highway stop. CRUNICAN FARMSCrunican OrchardsRR#2,London, OntarioCanadaTel.: 519-666-0286  Read More