Tastes of home

By: Kathryne Grisim
Source: winnipegfreepress.com


A box full of made-in-Manitoba items makes a great gift idea

Our adult children have decided that this Christmas they are going to limit their gift exchange to homemade, fairly traded or locally produced items.

This concept got me musing about the number of excellent Manitoba-made food products available on the market. Fellow foodie Shel Zolkewich approached me to take part in what she called the Made in Manitoba Foodie Christmas project. I agreed, and a bulging basket representing the bounty of provincially produced items arrived at my door.

This past Sunday at our mandatory family dinner, I incorporated as many of the items into one dinner as possible. Our menu included: chicken thighs marinated and grilled in Danny and Buck’s Honey Mustard barbecue sauce, Naosap Harvest wild rice pilaf (prepared with local garlic, mushrooms and a minced stick of Danny’s pepperoni), carrots roasted in Manitoba canola oil and then tossed in Wendell Estate honey, crusty loaves of Sleepy Owl bread washed down with Naughty & Spiced Porter from Fort Garry Brewing Company, with scrumptious Piccola Puccina’s coconut almond macaroons for dessert. I received accolades for all the dishes and comments that sips of the porter were like tasting a spicy cookie!

Our offspring regularly depart from our place with leftovers or items that we know they’ll appreciate. We sent Hemp Pro 70 flavours home with one for her morning smoothies and Hemp Hearts for granola and salad toppings with another, both from Manitoba Harvest. Yummy and healthy Zenbars were snatched up by one and my husband tucked the GORP Clean Energy Bars into his knapsack to help him get through his afternoon slump.

This morning, I have ground and brewed organic and fair trade Arabica beans from Green Bean Coffee Imports as I prepare to assemble a fruit crisp utilizing Rolled Naked Oats from Adagio Acres. A made-in-Manitoba basket similar to the one I received would make an excellent Christmas gift for persons on your list.

Piccola Cucina macaroons are available at Chocolatier Constance Popp, De Luca Specialty Foods, Generation Green at the Forks, GJ Andrews, High Tea Bakery, Organza, and Vita Health Stores.

Sleepy Owl Bread bakery is located at 751 Wall St.

Organic Naked Oats from Adagio Acres retail listing can be found at http://adagioacres.com/our-retailers

For information about Manitoba Canola Oil, visit http://canolaeatwell.com/

For Naosap Harvest products, visit http://www.naosapharvest.com/Ordering.html
Wendell Estate Honey — where to buy: https://secure.wendellestate.ca/

GORP Clean Energy Bars — where to buy: http://www.gorpworld.com/wheretobuy

Zenbars ordering details can be found at  zenbars.ca

Hemp Hearts by Manitoba Harvest — to buy online: http://manitobaharvest.com/category/13/Hemp+Hearts.html

Green bean Coffee Imports — where to find them: http://www.greenbeancoffeeimports.com/index.php/en/restaurants-and-stores

Danny’s Whole Hog — http://www.dannyswholehog.com/

Naughty & Spice Porter — http://www.fortgarry.com/