The Bee Village at Windermere Manor

Nestled up amongst the trees on the hill at Windermere Manor there now resides a large village, a village of bees that is. When Neil Kellock, General Manager of Windermere Manor wanted to get some bees for the property and restaurant, he turned to Rick Huismann who runs Huismann Apiaries, located just outside London. Rick came and installed eight bee hives which they are now calling a ”Bee Village”. Each one of these hives contains roughly 10,000 bees and one very important queen. Windermere Manor expects to collect their first harvest of honey in the fall of this year. Neil seemed pretty excited about this new project and I can see why. It is so cool! Take a look at the hives themselves – aside from the now famous hives at the White House Kitchen Garden, these are some of the nicest looking bee apartments I have ever seen. Each one is marked with the Manor logo just below the roof line, so the bees know when they are home. The roof of each hive appears to be made of copper, which I am sure must have been chosen to help in heating the hives through the winter, but it sure looks nice at the same time. Photo: Windermere Manor A few restaurants are now keeping bees to collect honey for use in the kitchens of the restaurant (Garlics in London, The Royal York in Toronto), but these hives are generally placed way up on the roof,out of sight from customers and also out of reach. At Windermere Manor, Neil wanted customers to see the bees, he wanted it to be part of the whole experience. A sitting bench has been placed just out of reach of the hives where you are invited to sit and watch the bees hard at work. I have not been up to the hives in person yet. But I will probably walk up there at lunch tomorrow and check it out. The Windermere Manor is open 7 days a week and has for some time highlighted quite a few local items on their menu. It is a really nice spot to grab lunch or dinner and even breakfast, of course I may be a bit biased as it is also where Sean and I tied the knot almost five years ago. This is a wonderful project right now for Windermere, but also for London. With declines being reported all the time in the North American bee industry, the honey bees are in need of our help right now. So go see them, learn about them, feel like royalty as you sit among not one, but eight royal queens.  Read More

Truck Farm – A wicked delicate film & food project

I thought this little project might get you all excited about gardening in strange places! From the makers of King Corn – which is a very interesting little movie about 2 guys that plant one acre of corn and track it from seed to market. You can rent it at Central Library. It”s really nerdy, but a lot of fun and a real eye opener. Hey – if it is a movie about Corn, is it an ”ear opener”? Karen from Eatwell Foods at Duenk Farms tipped me off to this little project.  Read More

City Windows Project

this is so cool. thought you all might like to see it.kelly  Read More

The French Chef (1964): Elegance with Eggs | Julia Child | PBS Video

I found some Julia videos! more about "The French Chef (1964): Elegance with…", posted with vodpod  Read More

Thanksgiving Weekend is Coming!

Uncle Ralphie and Big Bird Memories….. Time: Last yearEvent: ThanksgivingLocation: Aunt Lou Ann”s & Uncle Ralphie”s Let me set it up – Huge Bird! See ginormous beast in above photo. Imagine lots of accompaniments. Umm let me try and remember – there was squash, a huge pickle tray, potatoes (roasted and mashed!), green beans, two pretty jellos, creamed corn, olives, shrimp platter, cranberry sauce, salads, apple sauce, stuffing,wine and there was more,I just cannot seem to remember. The extra few inches I have gained around my middle this year seem to remember, but my memory has let it escape. This year, I have volunteered my home and my culinary skills up for the challenge of cooking up a Thanksgiving Feast. Of course, mine will be smaller in number of guests, simply because I have not managed to fully cook for more than eight guests just yet and this year at our place the turkey is from down the road. Yes, this year I have dibs on a fresh, locally raised turkey. I have secured my turkey through Duenk”s Farms. I emailed the other day to make sure that Karen still had my turkey and was fattening it up for me and she assured me that he/she is getting quite big now. Here is the kicker – Karen let on that there are some more birds left – that”s right – fresh turkeys are still up for grabs! So, if you are looking for a local bird, that is fresh and not frozen – you should give Karen a call. The Duenk”s turkeys are free range and ecologically raised. They are not fed any antibiotics or hormones and get fed a grain mix that is blended on site made up of flax and some other things that make for a juicy bird. Keep your fingers crossed for my feast success – I hope I don”t burn the damn bird! Gobble Gobble! The Duenk Family FarmKaren Eatwell & Peter Duenk25425 New Ontario RoadRR#3, Denfield ON N0M 1P0519-232-4105  Read More

Hellmans Eat Local, Eat Real Campaign

Hellmann’s – It’s Time for Real from CRUSH on Vimeo. This is a superbly done animation. There is not much more I can add, but I wanted to make to share it with all of you. From the people who brought you the Bunny on the Bus Commercial :,,) See below…. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf8KRcbqqUM&hl=en&fs=1&]  Read More

The Rosy Rhubarb Festival!

Okay, I feel a little lost in posting this, simply because I have never actually been to the The Rosy Rhubarb Festival that takes places every year in Shedden, Ontario. I want to go, I really do! Last year was the first time I heard of it and I sadly did not make it. This year I am going to be going north of the city again instead of south towards this cute little festival – Alas, I will miss it again. I have decided to look up all the info for any of you that may like to go and see what it is all about. I figure maybe some of you will post about it in the comments if you find it worthwhile. Let”s face it, rhubarb gets a bad rap most of the time. Mostly because of its tart flavour and primarily because it is just plain misunderstood. Regardless, rhubarb is a real favourite of mine this time of year and I just love that there is an actual festival to pay homage to this green and rose vegetable. I promise I will make it there eventually Rosy! Onto the info: This will be the 17th annual Rosy Rhubarb Festival There will be live music(Morgan Tobias, The Tomato Soup Band, John Millis and Hog Wild) Breakfast is available (Saturday and Sunday) Talent Show (one for people and one for dogs!) There will be contests including general baking as well as the “Largest Stalk” and “Longest Leaf” contest There will be horse drawn rides A famous beef barbecue Over 100 vendors on site An antique and custom car show The winning entries from the baking contests are auctioned on the Friday night of the festival There are yard sales to browse A rhubarb pie auction Enjoy local baked goods and a famous Ice Cream With Rhubarb Sauce. It takes place at The Southwold Keystone Complex. A portion of the proceeds that are raised through the yard sales and auction go towards the Southwold Keystone Complex. Rosy Rhubarb DaysJune 12, 13, and 14thLocated in the Township of Southwold,in the village of SheddenCamping is available For more information please contact:Joan CarriganPhone: 519-637-8612Email: joan_rosyr@sympatico.ca www.rosyrhubarbfestival.com  Read More

Eco-Logic Farms has rhubarb

Hi there! I thought some of you may be interested in this (to get you through until the market opens back up). If you get your order into Rick by Thursday night, he has a drop off downtown at the market. He has rhubarb!!! Kelly ps Please contact Rick for more details. Rick CornelissenEco-Logic519-765-3467ecologic2001@gmail.com Attention Locavores;We”re back again to the program! I guess I need to work on my timing and use less compost, but our greenhouse is ready to go. You can order the following items for Sat. p/u, same place and time. free range eggs-$3.50/dozenRubarb-$2.50/lb.Arugula-$2.50/bagspinach-$2.50/bag(field-grown )$3.00/bag(baby,greenhouse-grown)mesclin mix- $2.50 /bagmustard greens -$2.50/bagtomatoes-$3.50/qt.button mushrooms-$2.50/qt,$1.50/pt.cremini mushrooms-$4.00/qt.,$2.50/ptradishes-$1.50/bunchchives-$1.00/small bagbaby bok choi-$ 1.50/bagground beef-$ 4.00/1b.rib steak-$6.00/lbsirloin steak-$6.00/1b.t-bone steak-$6.00/lb.shitake mushrooms-$10.00/qt.,$5/pt.,$2.50/ 1/2 pt.sweet potato-$ 1.25 / lb. thanxRick CornelissenEco-Logic519-765-3467  Read More

Hi Everybody!

Hello peeps.Please bare with me, I got bored with my template and I have unfortunately mixed things up a bit. I promise to have things in order soon!Kellyxo (jamie oliver gives a little xo at the end of his posts – everybody needs a little xo.)  Read More

Eggplants or the more 'frou frou' – Aubergine

Oh how I love my nightshade veggies. Yes, the Aubergine is a member of the Solanaceae or Nightshade Family. Other members of this famous family are the tomato, the potato and the pepper. Pictured above is the second last ”crop” that I pulled out of my garden about a week and a half ago. Since then, there have been 2 frosts, but I did manage to save three more minature eggplants. I am afraid that this will be all that will be coming out of my garden for this year, although you should be able to find local eggplants at the farmers markets for little while longer. This is the first year that I decided to grow eggplants. I must say that they may be one of the easiest vegetables to maintain in the garden – unless I just happened to get lucky! I believe that I harvested at least 4-5 eggplants off of each of my plants. They were also one of the only things in the garden that the bugs did not seem to go after, there were some little slugs that I picked off the plants, but that was really late in the season. I liked growing them, the plant itself is really quite nice to look at and the blossom when it comes out – is a beautiful shade of purple! You could probably grow these in a nice container on a deck/balcony and you would like the appearance of the plant all on its own! So now you may be wondering what to do with the eggplants once you decide to buy them or grow them? You can make baba ghanoush (a Levantine dip), or you could lightly grill it up and add it to a homemade pizza, or simply grill it and serve it on toast. I decided on getting a little creative on this one.. I used eggplant parmesan as my jumping point and then made it a bit like an eggplant gratin as well. Try it – I think you”ll like it! Kelly”s Eggplant Gratin Measurements are not exact.. feel free to get creative! 4 small local eggplants or 2 big onesolive oilsalt and pepper1 egg1/2 cup of half/half cream1 and 1/2 cup Parmesan2 tablespoons of flour1 jar of your favourite tomato/spaghetti saucepaper towel Preheat oven to 375 degrees. First thing to do here is grill the eggplants. Take your eggplants and slice them so you have circles about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick, keeping in mind that they shrink when you cook them. Get some olive oil heated in a pan. Place as many of your circles into the pan that will fit and then fry them off on each side until they are softened. You will be amazed at how much oil these guys will suck up! I like to salt the eggplants at this point – just a bit on each side. Take the eggplants off the heat and put them onto a paper towel lined plate to suck up some of the oil. Set aside. In a medium bowl,combine the egg,1 cup of the Parmesan, the cream and the flour, you can also add a little salt and pepper here. Lightly beat this mixture together. In a 9×13 pan, or some sort of casserole dish, crack open your sauce and pour a little into the bottom of the dish. Spread it around so you have a base layer for the eggplants. Next, layer your eggplants in and then a layer of the creamy cheese mixture, then more sauce, then more eggplants then more creamy mixture (just like a lasagna!). Finish off the layers with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan – sprinkling it over the top. Place in 375 oven for about 35 minutes or until bubbling and the top starts to brown. Dive in!  Read More