Alberta on the Plate Celebrates Local Food Week in #MyJasper

This post was sponsored by Alberta on the Plate, though as always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. 

This week, we headed towards the mountains to celebrate Local Food Week with Alberta on the Plate. 

Alberta on the Plate is a celebration of local food that takes place between August 7-16.  It aims to help spotlight local Alberta restaurants that collaborate with Alberta farmers, and feature Alberta products on their menu.  The participating restaurants have really done a great job of showcasing the beautiful food that our province has to offer. 

Buddha Bowls & The Perfect Steak

Devlin's Pizza Pretzels

Last week I hosted my very first Virtual Cooking Class we made my Easy Homemade Pasta.

Everyone had so much fun, I decided to keep the classes going for the foreseeable future.

Every Sunday at 1PM MST, I'll be hosting a FREE Virtual Cooking Class with guest chefs from my community!

FREE - Virtual Pasta Cooking Class

I always try to find a glimmer of light among the darkness. Amid everything that's going on the world right now, the light is this: we are all finding innovative ways to communicate and spend time with each other.

Invite your family and friend to this fun event- no matter where they may be. Call your Mom in New Brunswick, or your best friend from Manitoba. We've already built a great community through recipes - let's spend this Sunday in the kitchen - together. <3

If you'd like to cook along with me, here is the full recipe:

https://www.cookingwithjax.com/2014/06/easy-homemade-pasta.html

To join - click on this link from a desktop:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/239175723

Or download the Zoom App from a smartphone or tablet and enter:

Meeting ID: 239 175 723

You don't need a pasta maker to take this class - a rolling pin (or even a bottle of wine!) will do the trick!

Raspberry Jam

There's few things I cherish more in this world than spending time with my Grandparents.  They live in my favourite place on earth - Vancouver Island.  I live a full day's commute away from them, which involves a beautiful drive through my favourite highway (93 - Jasper to Banff), the Okanagan (hello fruit and veggie stands!), followed by a 2 hour ferry ride, and another hour's drive to get there.  The journey is nearly as fun as the destination! 

Shae’s Wonderade

Youth entrepreneurship is alive and well in Hinton. This upcoming Saturday June 22, Community Futures West Yellowhead is hosting “Lemonade Day” - a day focused on encouraging youth to open their very own business.  The program fully immerses youth into the experience of being a business owner and focuses on every aspect of entrepreneurship right down to writing a business plan, applying for business licenses and food permits, and developing their own unique recipes.  They are mentored every step of the way, and I had the privilege to be a part of the recipe development stage.  

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich

Fried chicken is one of my ultimate comfort foods, and I feel like that probably rings true for a lot of us.  If I could pick the perfect meal, it would consist of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans from the garden, with a fresh fruit cobbler and vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.  Clearly I’ve given this some thought. 

Fresh Salsa & Guacamole

This month I want to focus on recipes that are meaning for sharing.  With the holidays upon us, potlucks and gatherings are aplenty, and I wanted to arm you with a quick an easy contribution that can be made a few days in advance, and can easily be integrated into nearly any menu keeping considerate of many dietary restrictions. 

Salted Dry Caramel

It was back in 2011, during my first year of blogging, that I first attempted to make a caramel sauce. Back then I didn’t know the difference between wet and dry caramel. After attempting a few different recipes and failing hard (have you ever seized sugar before? It’s not pretty), I found success in an unlikely place – a recipe that ended up being a mash up of Martha Stewart’s favourite caramel recipe… and Jimmy Fallon’s. This recipe has served me well - I’ve used it as a topping for lattes, ice cream Sundays, cupcakes, and even popcorn on one occasion. Though my trusted Frankenstein of recipes calls for the candy thermometer I can never find, and burns quicker than the window to use a ripe avocado, it has been my go to recipe for all things caramel for the past 7 years. That was until I discovered the beauty of dry caramel this summer. What is the difference between wet and dry caramel? I’m glad you asked.

Charcuterie Featuring Martin's Apple Chips

This post was sponsored by Martin's Apple Chips.  I received monetary compensation and product in exchange for this post. As always, all thoughts and options are my 100% my own, and I only work with brands that I use in my own kitchen.

This past week social media accounts far and wide were flooded with the traditional first day back to school photos. I really enjoy scrolling through my friend's posts, seeing how much their family's have grown since I last saw them, and feeling nostalgic when their kids are entering a grade I vividly remember.  

Bubble & Squeak

Bubble & Squeak is a British dish that came about in the early 1800’s, and often makes an appearance in a traditional full English breakfast. The idea is to make it from the leftover vegetables from a Sunday roast beef dinner. It can be as simple as the combination of mashed roasted potatoes and cabbage, however any other leftover vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, peas, etc. can be added in as well. The ingredients are all fried together, and often accompanied by bacon.  The name bubble & squeak comes from the sound that the cabbage makes while boiling.

Alberta Open Farm Days: U-Pick It

This post was sponsored by a partnership between Alberta Open Farm Days, Yellowhead County, and Community Futures West Yellowhead.  I received monetary compensation in exchange for this post. As always, all thoughts and options are my 100% my own.  

 U-Pick It is the kind of U-Pick I've always dreamed of visiting, and have been on the lookout for awhile.  I've been able to find smaller U-Picks in the area that generally specialize in one or two items.   U-Pick It is unqiue in that it specializes in many different varieties of fruits and vegetables, making it your one stop shop for local, in season garden goodness. U-Pick It is located 2.5 km north of Evansburg at 53520 Range road 75.

Alberta Open Farm Days: Stonepost Farms

This post was sponsored by a partnership between Alberta Open Farm Days, Yellowhead County, and Community Futures West Yellowhead.  I received monetary compensation in exchange for this post. As always, all thoughts and options are my 100% my own. 

    Stonepost Farms is a great example of a young Alberta family ran farm.  The farm hosts a variety of poultry, livestock, fruit, vegetables, and even bees.   

Alberta Open Farm Days: Ophus Guest Ranch

Horseback riding at Ophus Guest Ranch - Photo by Deanne Fabrick


This post was sponsored by a partnership between Alberta Open Farm Days, Yellowhead County, and Community Futures West Yellowhead.  I received monetary compensation in exchange for this post. As always, all thoughts and options are my 100% my own.

Ophus Guest Ranch is a true rural Alberta gem, where horses are a way of life.  Situated on 100 acres of land, and ran by Tom Ophus, the ranch is a small slice of paradise. Tom's nephew Jade Liggat, who helped Tom facilitate our tour, enjoys taking a pause from his busy pace working in the city to enjoy the farm life every summer, and help out at the Ranch.

Alberta Open Farm Days: Parkland County

Grove Berry Patch - Photo Credit Lara Felsing

This post was sponsored by Parkland County.  I received monetary compensation in exchange for this post. As always, all thoughts and options are my 100% my own.  

 Summertime in Alberta is a beautiful thing. The sun is (usually) shining, fresh fruit and vegetables are aplenty, and best of all, summer is road trip prime time.   

When I set out to visit farms in Parkland County this week, my 2016 Rav 4 clocked in at 100,000km - that's a lot of road trips in a short amount of time!  Considering this, along with the fact that I've lived in Alberta my entire life, I'm still constantly in awe of how many new and exciting things there are to discover in my backyard. Alberta Open Farm Days helps shine a spotlight on the rural adventures that await, and I'm always excited to participate every year. 

Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara

Today has been a day filled with intermittent rain and sunshine.  As I sit here and type, heavy, fast rain pounds down on the roof while I sit in my office with the window open. The combination of writing and rain is absolute bliss.

Alberta Open Farm Days: Yellowhead County

This post was sponsored by a partnership between Alberta Open Farm Days, Yellowhead County, and Community Futures West Yellowhead.  I received monetary compensation in exchange for this post. As always, all thoughts and options are my 100% my own.  
I have been having the most amazing summer.  You may remember last year when I worked alongside Community Futures West Yellowhead, Yellowhead County, and Alberta Open Farm Days to bring a locally sourced meal to Yellowhead County.  I also visited all of the farms and blogged about my experiences.   

 

Taco in a Bag + Wild Mountain Music Festival

[I volunteer for The Wild Mountain Music Festival Social Media Marketing Team in my hometown. Though this post is part of as paid campaign, I received no compensation, as I volunteered my time.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are always my own.]

With Wild Mountain Music Festival kicking off near my hometown next week (!), and as a result I've got festival food on the brain. I have a lot of great memories of the festival, including interviewing some amazing artists, camping underneath the stars with my closest friends, and of course, sampling the festival foods.  If you don't have your tickets yet, I highly suggest you invest in some.  You can even try your luck at the bottom of this blog post, entering to win a full weekend pass (value $180).

Festival Food + Wild Mountain Music Festival

Scroll to the bottom of this post for your chance to win a free weekend pass + camping ($180 value!)

Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Carbonara

It's the first day of summer (or evening I should say, since it's nearly midnight already).  Today has been a day filled with intermittent rain and sunshine.  As I sit here and type, heavy, fast rain pounds down on my room while I sit in my office with the window open.  It's absolute bliss.