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It’s the time of year that our attention turns to Thanksgiving preparations. It’s a huge holiday for us at here at the Red Apron, as we provide solutions to help you gather your family and friends around a delicious meal, prepared using local ingredients.

The first step in our preparation involves ordering the birds. We have been using the same supplier for our whole birds for a number of years. We get them in weighing 15-17 pounds and the whole bird cooked will serve 12-20 people generously. We advertise 12, however I personally have fed 20 people with this bird. They are locally raised, and meaty.

Meanwhile, we are sourcing organic and local pumpkins and squashes for our pies. The pie pumpkin is a good choice and we get a fair amount of those from a variety of growers. But we also find that any  orange winter squash with a dry, sweet flesh makes excellent pumpkin pies. Our variety of choice is the Candy Roaster from Rideau Pines farm. These pumpkins and squashes are being turned into buckets of pumpkin puree – the base for our famous pies.

Apples from Hall’s Orchards are on order and need to be cored and diced for our Savour Stuffing and the Cranberries from La Vallée des Canneberges are being turned into Cranberry Sauce for our retail shelves. This sauce also makes a beautiful accompaniment to a cheese board.

We are taking orders now for Whole Turkeys Dinners for 12, Turkey Dinners for 2, Pumpkin Pies and a number of other seasonal items. Call our email your order in today.

I am sharing our recipe for Pumpkin Pie, in case you decide you want to try them yourself.

Pumpkin Pie

1 ¾ cups

pumpkin purée

1 cup

brown sugar

¾ cup

heavy cream

1/8 cup

molasses

2

eggs

½ tablespoon

vanilla

½ teaspoon

each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

½ teaspoon

salt

Unbaked pie dough rolled into a 10” pie plate *note 2

Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Pour into an un-baked pie shell. Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the centre of the pie is set.

Note 1:  We use a variety of winter squashes for our pumpkin pies. Any relatively dry, dark orange squash will work. Roast the squash whole, then cut in half, scoop out the seeds, then the flesh, discard the seeds, and purée the flesh in a food processor. You can use any leftover squash purée to make a delicious soup!

Note 2: You can find our recipe for our pie dough on our blog or you can purchase unbaked pie shells in your local grocery store. You can also bake the filling like a custard in individual pots in a shallow dish of water in the oven.

The life of a farmer is challenging. Every year presents unpredictable weather conditions that invariably impact their crop in either positive or negative ways. This spring came late, and it was extremely wet. Some crops were effected by fungus and rot, others were late to start. This means that apples and pumpkins are not ready for us yet, and it will be tight getting them in before Thanksgiving. September has started off cool, and if it doesn’t warm up soon, then our farmers could lose product in their fields that may not have a chance to ripen fully.

Knowing this, we wonder why anyone would willingly take on such challenges when there are so many factors that are completely outside of their control. This is why we have such deep respect and appreciation for those who choose growing and raising food as their life’s work. It is truly a noble profession.

My own experiences with growing food are pathetic to say the least. My berries have been consumed by the birds and the squirrels. My three heirloom tomato plants produced one tiny, little ripe tomato, pictured here. Don’t laugh! That’s why I am a chef and not a farmer.

Each September and October to celebrate our farmers and their harvest by creating 5 weeks of 100 mile menus – where each Thursday meal of our Fresh Meal Service is created using only local ingredients sourced from within 100 miles of our shop.

The 100 mile diet was conceived by writers Alisa Smith and JB MacKinnon who wrote a book about their year of eating only foods grown within 100 miles of their home. They did live on Canada’s West Coast so they had a bit of an advantage with a longer growing season. But the book inspired a food revolution, and encouraged readers to support local growers and producers, to preserve the harvest, and to eat seasonally.

I was fortunate to be able to visit Italy last month, and while there ate my share of pasta and pizza. Fresh pasta is something I have enjoyed making at home and find it surprisingly easy. While in Italy we had a chance to teach a pasta class to a group of 10 people. Armed with only wine bottles, and a stove that could barely boil water, we managed to execute 4 lovely pasta dishes with different sauces and stuffings. I thought I would share one of those recipes with you this week.

The flour I used for my pasta this weekend is a 00 Duram wheat flour purchased at the Ottawa Farmer’s Market from Almanac Grains. It made a delicate pasta with a nutty flavour and a beautiful colour. We use some of their flours in our baked goods and breads. Later this month Almanac is hosting a Farm Day on Sunday September 29th from 11am – 4pm on their farm located at 446 Lower Oakleaf Road in Delta – about a 90 minute drive from Ottawa. There will be a farmer’s market, sourdough workshop, beer garden and much more!

When I make fresh pasta I follow a few simple rules. First, I always make it on the counter (granite or marble). I pour 4-5 cups of flour on the counter, make a well in the middle. I drizzle in a tablespoon of good olive oil, a few pinches of salt, and I start cracking eggs into the middle – usually 3-4 to start.  Using a fork stir in the eggs, gradually incorporating more and more of the flour. A dough scraper comes in handy at this point for combining the rest of the flour and egg. Too wet – add more flour. Too dry – add another egg or a few teaspoons of water. Form a ball and kneed and kneed until it is smooth. You should feel the texture change from grainy to silky. Wrap in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but preferably an hour or two.

If you have a pasta a machine then you know what to do next. If not, I am sharing this wonderful link from Bon Appetite where their Chef makes 29 different shapes of pasta using 4 different doughs. It’s amazing and a really fun way for the whole family to get involved in preparing dinner.

Easy Bolognese

2

Onion, diced

2 cloves

garlic, finely diced, cut into small pieces

2 tbsp

butter or oil

1 lb (454 g)

medium lean ground beef

1 lb (454 g)

ground pork

1⁄2 cup (125 ml)

red wine

2 cans (796 ml each)

crushed tomatoes

2

bay leaves

2 tsp

chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, oregano and/or thyme) 1 pinch red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan over high heat, soften the vegetables in butter or oil for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the ground meats and cook, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Stir occasionally until cooking juices have evaporated.

Deglaze with the wine and reduce until almost dry. Stir in the canned tomatoes, herbs and pepper flakes. Cover and let simmer on low heat for 2 hour, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning. Serve over fresh pasta with parmesan cheese.

Our mission at the shop has always been to get our community back to the table to eat together. Whether it’s over a cozy home-cooked meal or your favourite takeout, we know important conversations happen around the table, memorable traditions are formed and lasting relationships are built by sharing your meals together. It’s a pretty simple concept but one that is often lost in our too-busy-to-make-time culture.

With that said, we know that Back to School is a particularly special time to get back to the table and to be sure we’re engaging with and checking-in on our kids and family members who are shifting back into a more strenuous routine. Dinner around the table and forming predictable routines means our kids, whether small or tall, feel a sense of security and belonging at home. Not only that, there has been plenty of research that shows teens who have between five and seven family dinners per week received better grades in school, as well as the family time providing a critical role in language acquisition leading to improved vocabularies and better readers compared to those teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week. In addition, only 9% of teens who ate frequently with their families did poorly in school, according to the report. Hard to argue with those amazing benefits!

While there is no question that eating together is beneficial in so many ways, we know it isn’t always easy or enjoyable to rush home from work to pull together a healthy meal for your family. That’s where we come in. The meals we cook are made with ingredients we want to feed our own families, organic and local when we can, but always real, whole and nutritious. Our dinners for two are usually enough for 2 adult portions with some leftovers, and if you’ve got time to throw together a simple salad or steam some vegetables, you’ve got a wholesome meal you barely have to think about. Our Fresh Meal Service, portioned for 2, 3, 4 or more is very generous and almost always provides leftovers for lunch the next day.

Here are some other suggestions for nourishing meals and snacks you can pick up for hectic back-to-school lunches and dinners.

• Our frozen Burritos can be thawed and reheated at 375 for 15-20 minutes and make an awesome lunch option for work and school alike
• Both the Salmon Salad Nicoise, and the Asian Noodle Bowl can be served cold, making them ideal for quick, hearty lunches
• Our sandwiches are large and would likely offer 2 lunches for 1 kid, depending on appetite.
• Red Apron Hummus with Fresh Veggies or Pita
• Against the Grain Purple Tortilla Chips with Grilled Corn and Tomato Salsa
• Our Kale Slaw With Carrots Cabbage & Apple Cider Vinaigrette keeps well and can be served on the side or as a topper for tacos or burgers.
• Our single-serve freezer meals make excellent lunches if you have access to a microwave
• Our Southwestern Organic Black Bean, Sweet Potato & Corn Salad With Chili Lime Dressing is a protein-packed option that keeps well in the fridge and offers a filling snack or meal whenever your hunger kicks in
• Red Apron stocks a variety of local cheeses and crackers that make excellent lunch box snacks with a few grapes or apple slices
• If you’re looking for a sweet treat for your little (or big) ones, our nut-free carrot cake is a school-safe option your kids are sure to love!

We want to help you and your loved ones return to the table this Back-to-School season, so pop in and ask us how we can help you stock your fridge or freezer with meals and ingredients to feed your friends and family!

We hate to be the bearers of bad news but we’re inching closer to fall and (ack!) winter so it’s time to start thinking about harvesting all those delicious fruits and veggies grown in your own backyard or from the market so even in the below zero temps, you can lovingly look back on summer.

Our kitchen team have been busy over the summer months canning up our favourite pickles, jams and sauces like Peach Whiskey BBQ Sauce, Grilled Corn and Tomato Salsa, Raspberry Peach Jam and Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. If canning and preserving isn’t really your “thing”, pop into the shop to stock up on our favourite summer flavours and let us do the work for you. If you’re more of a DIYer, we’ve got you covered; today we’re helping you get prepared to preserve the season’s bounty with tips for how to make the most of all that homegrown produce.

Right now is the best time to stock up on peak ripeness, nutrient-packed produce from Ontario and Quebec and get to preserving for the long cold months, because if there is one thing we know, it’s that there is nothing quite like a taste of July peaches in the middle of a frigid February. Here are some of the most helpful tips from around the web to make easy work of harvest season.

Tips for Preserving the Season

Stone Fruit

My favourite tips for canning peaches and other stone fruit comes from Aimee at Simple Bites, “When buying peaches to can, choose freestone peaches such as Glohaven, Loring, Sun High. Redhaven is my all-time favorite for the ease with which they relinquish their stony hearts and for their reluctance to turn brown when cut and exposed to air.”  If the idea of popping into a can of summer peaches in the dead of winter sounds appealing to you, head to Simple Bites to get the full tutorial.

We also love to peel our peaches, cut into bite sized pieces or slices and freeze for smoothies, baked goods, like these Peach Crumb Bars, and sauces.

Tomatoes

There are so many ways to preserve and enjoy tomatoes through winter. At the shop, we make a luscious tomato jam that adds some rich umami flavour to cheese and charcuterie boards, crostini or served with eggs. DIY’n’Crafts has the ultimate guide to preserving tomatoes in EIGHT different ways. From a simple puree and freeze, to homemade tomato paste, these methods will have your kitchen packed with summery tomato flavour through the winter.

Berries

One of the easiest ways to preserve your summer berries is to give them a good wash and pat dry, make sure your strawberries are hulled and picked through for stems or unripe berries, place them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze flat until the berries are solid. Scoop into a tupperware or freezer bag until you’re ready to use.

If you’d prefer to not take up any fridge or freezer space, our favourite ways to preserve summer berries are in jams, like this Strawberry Lime Vanilla Jam or Blueberry Honey Lavender Jam, or by dehydrating them for granolas and salads through the winter.

Squash & Pumpkin

Summer squash like patty pan, zucchini or crookneck are easily frozen for soups, stews and baked goods through the winter. Head to The Spruce Eats for the full tutorial on freezing these delicate fruits. There are plenty of ways to add frozen zucchini and summer squash to your winter meals.

Winter squash is heartier and holds up better for canning and preserving and can also be left whole, unpeeled, at room temperature for up to 3 months. We love tucking into a jar of pickled squash or popping a can of squash puree for a flavourful soup or stew in the middle of winter. If you’ve got plenty of freezer space, we also love roasting whole squash, pureeing the flesh, cooling it completely and then scooping it into freezer bags that we stack flat for optimal space saving. The roasted puree adds bold flavour to muffins, loaves and cookies.

Herbs & Greens

Delicate greens and herbs are in abundance right now but it can be hard to use them as quickly as they’re growing. The Kitchn offers some great tips for preserving all those flavourful greens before they perish, like how to air or oven dry your herbs for later use, or chopping/pureeing them in a little oil or water and freezing in ice cube trays. We love the latter option as it makes quick work of flavour building for meals. Just make sure you combine herbs that you’ll want to enjoy together, like rosemary and oregano or mint and basil.

If you want to preserve lettuce greens like arugula or spinach, simply blanch them in boiling water for two minutes, plunge in an ice bath, pat excess moisture off, and place in an airtight freezer-safe container. Frozen arugula and spinach work great in stir-fries, on pizza or smoothies, or even baked into muffins or loaves.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year; The market shelves are bursting with every shape and colour of produce absolutely ripe for the picking!

Although berry season got off to a late start from all the rain, it’s been one of the best years for them to date, which you likely already know if you’ve made your way through a pint of perfectly ruby red strawberries. The wet season helped them plump up, and the steamy hot sun we’ve been getting has turned them into edible jewels bursting with summer flavour. We’re now smack-dab in the middle of stone fruit season as well, and if you haven’t hovered over a napkin while slurping a sumptuously plump and juicy peach, you’re missing out. Both Quebec and Ontario peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, currents, gooseberries, nectarines and more are in their prime and begging to be both devoured from the pint and baked into the most incredible treats.

We’ve been eating our weight in market fruits the last month, and now that we’ve (almost) had our fill of them right from the basket, we’re ready to start packing them into some of our favourite Red Apron pies so we can share them with you!

We always have at least 2-3 varieties of fruit pies on hand, all made daily in house and sold either fresh or in our freezer so you’ve always got some options. Currently on offer, our Strawberry Rhubarb Pie made with berries and rhubarb from Rideau Pines Farm, as well as Blueberry Peach, Raspberry Mango and Mixed Berry pies. If you’re in the mood for something more savoury, we’ve got a scrumptious Curried Chicken Pie with Potatoes, Peas, Carrots and Sultanas as well as our Braised Pork & Enright Cattle Co Beef Pie with Plums and Sage.

Our Best Tips and Tricks for Pie Season

1. Choose the Right Fat: We do an all butter crust in the shop because we feel it produces the flakiest, most flavourful crust. Using lard is also fine if you can find high quality rendered leaf lard (made from the high-quality fat around the kidneys and loin of the pig) but often the lard you find in grocery stores is highly processed and not worth buying.

2. Keep Cool: When making a pie crust, you want to keep your ingredients and equipment as cold as possible. I often measure my dry ingredients into a glass or steel bowl and keep it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before I cut in the fat. Another great tip is to cut your butter or lard into small pieces in advance and put them in the freezer for a little bit before you add to the dry ingredients. This way, everything is as cold as possible and you’ll end up with a beautiful flaky crust.

3. Roll With It: When you’re ready to roll out your dough, you can keep the dough even by working the rolling pin in the center of the dough and not rolling all the way to the edges. You’ll have greater control over the thickness of the dough if you keep the pin toward the center — the closer you get to the rim, the more likely you are to roll the pin off the edges, flattening them and making the dough uneven. Rotate the dough a quarter-turn each time you roll.

4. Fruit Filling Formula: No matter the filling, we like to stick to this formula from Food52; 5 cups fruit; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/4 cup cornstarch; big pinch salt. You can adjust sugar as needed. If your fruit is very acidic you may want to add a little more, if it’s super sweet you can reduce the amount.

5. Let it Cool: Think of the cooling time, typically a few hours for a fruit pie, as a part of the baking process. Your pie needs that time to set so it’s not too loose and watery. If you want to eat the pie at night, bake it in the morning. If you want it in the morning, bake it the night before.

Pies of All Kinds

If you’re looking to break out of that same-old-same pie routine, we’ve rounded up six pies that are sure to inspire. Happy baking!

• Rustic Plum Biscuit Pie
• Blueberry Basil Pie
• Ginger Peach Pie
• Fresh Apricot and Chocolate Pie
• Mixed Cherry and Goat Cheese Pie
• Raspberry Rhubarb Pie

Let’s face it, life can be awfully expensive sometimes. Here at the Red Apron, we’ve become self-proclaimed champions of stretching our food dollars. Whether we’re grocery shopping or taking home meals from the shop, we know a thing or two about making our ingredients and meals last and last which, in turn, helps reduce our food waste – win win!

Just because you’ve taken home a meal with two servings doesn’t mean you can’t stretch that into something even better that can feed the whole family. Today we’re sharing some of our favourite items that are wonderful on their own, but so much more fun when we take a bit of time and kitchen creativity to turn them into something all together different that feeds our family and protects our wallets.

Red Apron Item: Southwest Salad

One of our all-time best sellers, the Southwestern Salad is packed with black beans, sweet potato, corn and herbs.

What You Can Make

Nachos: Buy a bag of tortilla chips (we love the blue corn tortillas from Against the Grain at the shop), grate up some mild cheese like monteray jack or mozzarella, and use the southwest salad as a simple but nutritionally dense topping for the nachos.

Chunky Salsa: Stir the southwest salad into some chopped tomatoes, cilantro and red onion, and add some lime juice and salt to taste. Use on nachos or burritos or just scoop up with chips.

Burritos: Buy a package of large tortillas, grate some cheese (optional), and stir your southwest salad into whatever salsa you’ve got on hand and and pour over the tortilla. Wrap in foil and bake. Serve with sour cream and guacamole.

Omelet or Quiche: Pour your southwest salad into some whisked up eggs and pour into a pie dish and bake, or cook up in a non-stick pan and top with a little grated cheese.

Red Apron Item: Chicken Tenders

Our chicken tenders are hand breaded, gluten and dairy free and are beloved by toddlers and grown ups alike!

What You Can Make

Our favourite way to stretch a batch of chicken tenders is to make some veggie-packed, crispy chicken wraps. Grab your favourite large tortillas, some lettuce leaves, sliced cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, sliced cheese and anything else your heart desires. Put out some of your favourite condiments (we love mixing mayonnaise and sweet chili sauce for a zingy dressing) and let everyone build their perfect wrap.

 

Red Apron Item: Croque Monsieur Flatbread

Our gourmet flatbread is topped with Berkshire ham, St Albert Cheddar and a Grainy Dijon Bechamel.

What You Can Make

Boost the protein and fill our your flatbread meal with a fried or poached egg on top. Serve with a veggie-filled salad, like this Blueberry Sweet Potato Breakfast Salad, to stretch the meal even further.

Red Apron Item: Whole Chicken

Our Whole Herb Roasted Chicken will have you thinking twice about that grocery store bird. It’s tender and moist, and offers endless uses in the kitchen when you’re in a rush. Here we’re breaking it down into 4 meals, with bones for soup!

What You Can Make

Tacos: Shredding the meat from one chicken breast is typically enough to make 4-6 tacos for a family. We cook up a little rice with cilantro, lay out some hot corn tortillas, grated cheese and whatever veggies we have in the fridge (cucumbers, avocado, tomatoes, sliced cabbage, pickled onions).

Coconut Curry: Shred the meat from the chicken legs and add to this Easy Coconut Curry.

Chicken Casserole:Open the pantry and pull out a few simple things to make a budget-friendly Chicken and Rice casserole.

Chicken Soup: If you’re not keeping your chicken bones for soup, you’re wasting a whole lot of money! Our favourite recipe for soup and a few other ways to stretch a chicken are here.

Red Apron Item: 4-Pack of Burritos

Our burritos are made in house with wholesome, high-vibe ingredients that will fill up even the pickiest eaters.

What You Can Make

Enchiladas: Layer the burritos in a casserole dish and top with salsa and grated cheese and bake until bubbly and hot. We love to serve this with a simple salad of crunchy greens and a tangy dressing to cut some of the richness.

Mexican Scrambled Eggs: If you’ve got leftover burritos, whisk up some eggs and add the burrito filling to the eggs. Cook in a non stick pan. We like to fry up the tortillas or bake until crisp and use them to scoop up the eggs.

Red Apron Item: Soup

We offer many varieties of in-house soups and chili, like Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup, Beef Chili, Creamy Mushroom and Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Coconut.

What You Can Make

Marinade: We love to use heartier soups, like the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato, to marinate chicken or use as a base for a variety of casseroles or chicken and rice bakes.

Tuna Casserole: Add the creamy mushroom soup to some al dente egg noodles, add in some flaked tuna and pour into a casserole dish. Top with crushed potato chips and bake until browned on top.

Pasta Sauce: Adding the creamy butternut soup to a pasta with some fried sage and blue cheese is one of our family-favourites. You can use many of the soups as a quick and easy pasta sauce that offers big flavour for minimal work. We also love to use the butternut soup as a base and add in beans, greens and herbs to stretch it out a bit.

Nacho Topping: Our Beef Chili is a flavour bomb for topping nachos. Just add cheese and bake!

Read about Robin Lavigne’s participation in the recent Women in Industry dinner.