Written by Rosemary Mantini | 14 October 2009

Except for those northerly areas where the wind blows a little more coldly and fiercely, apple trees bloom over most of Canada. It shouldn’t be too hard at all to find an orchard near you for some fresh-picked bounty. Bananas may be the most popular fruit in the world, but Canadians certainly love their apples. We cook them up into pies, crumbles and muffins, lay them over pork roast, drizzle apple cider vinegar over salads; we even sip apple wine. And of course, there’s little that compares to biting into a fresh, juicy apple.

Apple Varieties

There are literally hundreds of apple varieties grown in Canada. Don’t be surprised if Macintosh, Red or Golden Delicious and Empire are all you’ve seen at your local grocer’s. Most supermarkets carry only the most common varieties. And if you’ve never heard of, or seen, a heritage variety, you’re not alone. They aren’t the prettiest of apples. Grocery store managers consistently argue that shoppers prefer to buy the model-like wannabes -- perfectly shaped and blemish-free. That fact makes it hard for organic apple farmers to sell their harvest. It’s also too bad for us. With only a handful of varieties available, we’re missing out on some of the most flavourful apples grown.

Find your favourites among the 20 most popular apples in Canada. Here they are in no particular order.

Written by Rosemary Mantini | 28 September 2009

My first introduction to Korean cuisine was a lot like most people’s experiences. I came across Bul Gol Gi at a restaurant and ordered it not knowing what the dish was or even it’s cultural origins. It turns out that I was enjoying a Korean marinated and grilled beef dish typically served as a main course and accompanied by rice and vegetables.

Like so many cultures’ cuisines, Korean food has been reduced to a few typical recognizable dishes. But this landmass of over 222000 square kilometres is made up of two countries – North and South Korea -- and many diverse cultural groups in between. Koreans of every stripe have evolved their own specialties based on local available produce. But with the proliferation of television and the Internet, once regional specialties have now become more widespread.

A large part of the Korean meal is made up of rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables and meats. It’s really not so different than most other cuisines. But what the Koreans do with those basic ingredients goes well beyond the ordinary. Flavourful, tangy, spicy and salty meals are punctuated by sweet desserts.

Written by Rosemary Mantini | 16 September 2009

There’s really very little that can compare to the taste of basil-scented butter melting over a hot cob of corn. The quintessential vegetable of summer cook-outs, backyard barbecues and crab boils, corn varieties come in sweet, sugar-enhanced, super-sweet and baby. There are early and late crops, too. Corn is often on sale at this time of the year, so stock up. Boil them, grill them or steam them, if you can’t use up all of the cobs of corn you’ve bought, slice off the kernels and freeze them.

What’s your favourite method of cooking corn?

Everyone has a favourite way of preparing corn. One person I know insists on submerging a bag of shucked corn (yes, bag and all) into a large cauldron of boiling water. Personally, I’m rather dubious about the plastic and ink that might seep into the hot water and mingle with the cooking corn. I think I’d rather wrap them loosely in their husks and grill them over hot coals. But, boiling, baking and steaming are also great ways of bringing out that yummy sweetness.

Guess the secret ingredient

More than 2500 products found in a typical grocery store use corn either during production or processing.

Written by Rosemary Mantini | 24 August 2009

One memorable summer I decided to plant 15 tomato plants in my garden. By harvest time, it felt like I was living out The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. I love tomatoes. But, I had no idea how prolific each plant would be. Every day I cooked and preserved bags full of tomatoes into sauce, ratatouille and ketchup. I even tried oven-drying trays of tomato slices with limited success. I prayed fervently for the squirrels to take them as they had my strawberries and peaches. But alas, tomatoes are not at all to their liking.

Here it is again – tomato harvest time. If you rely solely on the supermarket for your red beauties, you’ve probably been eating them all year round. In today’s prevalent philosophy of “anytime, anywhere,” it’s hard to remember that tomatoes do have a season. You didn’t really think those hard, anemic-looking, bland-tasting things sold year-round had anything in common with fresh-picked, ripe tomatoes, did you?