I was very lucky last Sunday afternoon to attend an annual event put on here in Ottawa, by the local chapter of Canadian Organic Growers, called Feast of Fields. I would've been even more lucky if before heading out, I'd learned how to read. That's right: the event wasn't from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. like I'd thought. It turns out, food was served from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m., and the whole event went from 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. So of course, I showed up at 2:00 p.m., just in time to grab what I could of the food since most of the booths were clearing up! At least I managed to snag a pretty fantastic plate. Follow me over the jump to see the definitely-not-shabby leftovers I snagged, and to hear more about the afternoon.
Is anyone drooling yet? Because let me tell you, that was one yummy plate of food! The green beans - I don't know exactly what they did to them... garlic? pine nuts? both? and a quick saute... yum! The flatbread pizza with goat cheese topping? The avocado mousse (that's the green blob in the middle)? The lamb (ragout? I can't remember what they called it, sorry.) with spicy tomato chutney? The tomato salad or the greens with a simple balsamic dressing? I honestly can't tell you which was the best... I just know it wasn't that seaweed fritter on the left. I love tasty fresh organic food, but my love will only carry me so far. That thing was nasty. The only thing I waited for, before digging in, was to take a quick picture of the goodie bag they had given me, with this year's logo on the front:
You'll have to excuse the paper napkin in the bottom left corner - I'd managed to smear some spinach or something on the bag between filling my plate and making my way to a picnic table, and while I'm not above confessing it here, you didn't really need to see it, did you? And I'll tell you all about the fantastic literature that was in the goodie bag later, once I've had a chance to walk you through the great booths inside the big tent. I definitely enjoyed the fantastic food before I went on my photographic tour, though.
I had a great chat with the women running this booth. Their organization, Just Food, administers a community garden that's near my apartment, and they also put on community events throughout the year. There was quite a steady stream of people stopping by, as you can see. I'm not surprised. If anyone reading this is in the Ottawa area, or you're just looking for ideas about how to get your community involved in the concept of food fairness, I highly recommend that you check out their website. It's chock-full of information!
Next, well, what can I say except to confess that I'm a cookbook freak? Okay, okay, there was lots of literature on the table about COG, as well, and I did go around the table to see what they had on display for the silent auction.
There were tons of food baskets, a full composting system from a guy I'm planning to have a long conversation with before I start to garden next year... and though it's hard to tell, a really fantastic piece of artwork in the above picture. Sorry, but there were so many people crowded around, I couldn't get a very clear shot.
I did manage to find some food still out at a few of the booths, mind you...
Okay, so the display had pretty much been decimated by the time I got there, but the salsa may have been among the best I've ever tasted! And it was flanked by this charming display of the most interesting almost-purple tomatoes spilling out of a basket:
I got a neat shot of a very small portion of the crowd enjoying some damn good jazz to wash down their meals.
And these smiling people managed to sell me some fantastic sweet peas - partly because the woman was standing there munching on them while she sang their virtues. They almost talked me into some pretty interesting hot peppers, but since I couldn't figure out at the time what recipe I'd use them in, I sadly decided to pass. It turns out they have a booth every week at the Chelsea Market, and since a friend of mine recently moved to Chelsea I promised to have her look them up.
The next booth I stopped at, well, they deserve two pictures. In the first, you can see the poster that Ecology Ottawa has put together asking where our relatively-new mayor's climate change action plan has been hiding:
And you've got to admire the enthusiasm of these young folks, as they show off the reward cheque they're offering!
I took some other shots to try to show you the scope of the event (even though I think I failed - last year they apparently had over 600 people, and even though I got there late, I'm sure I saw more than that) There were tons of people there, playing with their kids outside the tent, sitting at picnic tables chatting with friends, stopping at booths inside the tent to talk to farmers and restauranteurs:
Like I said I got there late... if I'd thought to get a shot of the people at the picnic tables, you would've been able to see how many hundreds of people were still lingering over the tea and coffee that was served in recycled (read: old donated) coffee mugs and tea cups. My only defense is that I recall thinking at the time that people might be annoyed of some strange woman taking pictures with their kids in the shot.
I've saved a shot of this booth for last, not because it's the last one I visited, but because of the interesting story I have to tell about the proprietor.
Greta's Organic Gardens is a seed company, and after I looked at her booth and picked up her 2007 catalogue, I stopped to ask her and her husband a few questions. You see, I'm going to be buying my first ever house this winter (!!!!!!!!!!) and if I'm going to start a garden for the first time ever next spring, I want advice on when I should start planning, buying seeds, planting, etc. I actually interrupted them while they were having a well-deserved coffee break, but they were very gracious, and answered all my questions, and even offered to answer any more that I might come up with in the future, as well as telling me about a sort-of open-house sale they have each March that she thinks would be my best, and least-expensive, opportunity to buy heirloom seeds from local vendors. Whatever townhouse condo I can afford isn't going to have room for much of a garden, but it definitely will have one. Oh, the visions of tomatoes, and carrots, and peas and peppers that are dancing in my head!
I was so impressed with the friendly help of Greta and her husband, that I'll start off my goodie-bag photo tour with a shot of Greta's seed catalogue and business card:
I should mention that they ship their organic seeds both here in Canada, and in the U.S.
Then there's the group shot, so to speak. You'd be surprised how much literature can be packed into one paper bag!
I definitely want to attend this showing of King Corn, that's going to be held October 16th at one of the Universities not too far from my apartment. I just don't know if I should put up the poster for it at my workplace... anyone have thoughts on that?
And in case any of you are curious, this is one of the biggest reasons I go back to the organic farmer's market every week. Last time I guest-posted a VMD diary, the farmer who re-sells this stuff got a prominent mention, partly because he's such a nice guy, and partly because of the great stuff he sells. Yummy organic milk:
I wish I could've cropped this shot properly, but I only have fairly bare-bones software on my laptop, so I apologize for the sloppiness of this pic of the brochure for Feast of Fields. It certainly had tons of information about all the farms and partnering restaurants who participated by preparing that farm's produce (animal, vegetable or fruit) for tasting, as well as the entertainment, and COG's incredible Growing Up Organic program which partners communities and schools and daycares to teach children from a young age what organic food is, and why it matters.
Last photo, and I'll end it with this: I think the volunteers may have been a teensy bit annoyed at my late arrival, since I think they were trying to cut off my circulation when they put this on me... but I'm keeping it as a souvenier. A reminder of my very first, but not my last, Feast of Fields.