Where did July go?

Once again I've let things slide a bit blog wise as the Festival approaches. We're just a couple days away which means it's crazy 12-hour-day time at the office for me, and long days on site for Charles.

I was hoping to get some posts up, but truthfully, we haven't really eaten out nor have we eaten at home in the past month. Instead, we've been fed by the Site Kitchen, a wonderful group of volunteers who prepare breakfast lunch and dinner during the build and teardown of site.

By far my favourite meal is Christmas in July, a celebratory meal that happens the day after we take over Gallagher Park. This year I volunteered to help cook Christmas dinner (instead of just showing up to eat) and Andrew (the Site Kitchen Coordinator) left me in charge of the vegetarian main.

I had quinoa and portobello mushrooms to work with, and ended up roasting the mushrooms then stuffing them with a mixture of quinoa, dried cranberries, pecans and garlic. I also snuck some chèvre in the centre of the mushrooms before topping them with the quinoa mixture. Combined with potatoes, stuffing, gravy and fantastic people the meal was memorable as per usual.

Waiting to serve the hungry masses

The Festival menu sounds great this year and I'm hoping to get in there with the camera a bit more this time around to capture baby kale salad and Bulgogi beef ribs, amongst other dishes. If you're around the Festival this weekend make sure you say 'Hi'!

EFMF Eats

All too quickly the Festival has come and gone. This year I had lots of time to enjoy the show, the food, the beer and the people - and it was amazing. Here are some of the highlights music and food wise.

The Music

Without a doubt Brandi Carlile and Matt Anderson were it for me this year. On Saturday evening Brandi Carlile closed the show with lots of Edmonton love and the audience gave it right back. So glad she made it back this year. I saw Matt Anderson in Calgary, but his session with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings on Sunday was fantastic. Some amazing blues along with Sunday dinner.

Friday at Stage 2

Brandi Carlile

Cheers to all the volunteers!

The Food

As per usual the Festival Kitchen provided thousands of excellent plates throughout the weekend. Friday was Thai curry with cod, Saturday Bulgogi Beef and Sunday was salmon or a squash pecan loaf with quinoa (I went for the latter and it was my favourite of the weekend). The salads also shined all weekend - my favourites were a lentil cucumber and a pear salad.

Green Tea ice cream with ginger snaps

Stephane (the kitchen manager) has slowly been trying to introduce more local product into the kitchen where possible. This year Mighty Trio's oil was used in many of the salads, as were Mona's mushrooms.

Concession wise there were a couple newbies including Elm Café, Eva Sweet and the Onigiri Co. I had a couple different options from the Onigiri Co., which made great mid-day or late evening snacks. My favourite was the 'Yam n' Salmon' - baked salmon, caramelized yam, ginger, soy sauce and white rice. Though they weren't wrapped in the exciting packaging shown on their website, they were certainly tasty.

I haven't made it to the market in nearly a month, so a waffle on Saturday morning was a nice treat on the way to stage 2. Saturday's lunch was skipped for a pulled pork sandwich from Elm's schmancy booth. I also tried to stop by for the 'roasted beet' sandwich on Sunday afternoon, but long lines throughout the weekend saw them sold out. However, we did manage to score some Duchess cookies that lasted us through the evening.

And finally, I can't say enough about the chai that comes out of Nomad's Kitchen. Made in a large pot each day, they make it just sweet enough and use whole spices that really shine. I've already been down to the Fringe to satisfy my addiction.

Lining up for chai

Though my weekend wasn't as stressful as years past, late nights prior to the Festival - and during - have left me with a nice post-Fest head cold. Here's hoping it clears up over the weekend. 

In the mean time, we're gearing up for Portland - and Seattle for a few days after that - in a month or so. There were some excellent articles on Portland in both the Journal and Avenue recently. Lots of people have been asking us, "Why Portland?" But I think the question should really be, "Why not Portland!?" The place sounds amazing!

The show begins

Clearly blogging has been put on the back burner the past few weeks after lots of (very) late evenings at work and complimentary site food. I'm going to do my best to document a few of the concessionaires at the Festival this year, along with the amazing food served in the Kitchen, so hopefully a couple detailed posts to come on that.

At any rate, Thursday evening was beautiful. At ~8pm my phone stopped ringing and I got to enjoy Edward Sharpe in peace. It was excellent.

Happy Festival to all those attending and happy weekend to everyone else!

Folk Fest 2011 - And it begins...

On Wednesday we announced the performer lineup and I can't wait. I'm particularly looking forward to some good dancing Thursday whilst Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros take main stage.

You can find the entire lineup here on the new website. Tickets go on sale June 1st at 9am.

We've also got some great food happenings this year. Homefire Grill is back with tasty bison breakfast sandwiches and Numchok Wilai is back with their excellent Thai offerings. As per usual Fat Franks, 'Kettle Korn' and Mini Donuts will be present.

New this year is a pretty exciting little area where stage four was previously located. Filistix, Eva Sweet Waffles and Elm Café sandwiches will all be available here, and a possible vendor with fresh, local produce is also in the works.

Hope to see you there!

Culina Muttart

This past Monday Charles and I were off to the Muttart Conservatory for a celebration of Culina's newest space and partnership with the City of Edmonton - an evening of 'local' food, food themed tours of the pyramids and a bit of an intro to Culina Muttart itself. Arriving right at 6:30pm (the scheduled start time) we were happy to encounter a warm, casual gathering; a welcome escape from the -30°C we'd just encountered.

Finding 'local' producers set up around the reception space at the centre of the pyramids, we stopped first at Yellowhead Brewery, thankfully nearest the coat rack, finally testing out their lager, which was smooth and easy to drink. Other producers included long time Culina partners Spring Creek Ranch, The Jam Lady and Pinocchio Ice Cream, along with newer partners such as Mighty Trio Organics, Tangle Ridge Ranch (lamb), O Sol' Meatos, The Cheesiry and en Santé Winery.

A few favourites of the night were Tangle Ridge's lamb (prepared by Culina) with the curry mustard from The Jam Lady, the Rustico Grande cheese from The Cheesiry, a salad (the same one they'll be serving at Culina Muttart) with quinoa and chickpeas from Mighty Trio Organics and a strawberry-tarragon sorbet from Pinocchio Ice Cream.

As mentioned above there were also tours of the pyramids. While we missed the 'Feature pyramid' (check out Sharon's post for a picture of the Valentine's theme), we did head into the arid, temperate and tropical pyramids, where guides pointed out agave, grape vines, pomegranate and persimmon trees, bananas and coffee in the various pyramids, just to name a few.

Before we left I was glad to clear up a few details I didn't quite understand about the City-Culina partnership. First of all, they'll be growing some of their greens (lettuces, herbs, etc.) in the Muttart's greenhouses, hopefully increasing space and thus product over time. Currently the restaurant is open for brunch and lunch only (during the hours the Conservatory is open), but hopefully they can branch into dinner soon. The space was pretty lovely at night, with the coloured lights of the Muttart entrance and the large windows creating a pleasant effect; I certainly wouldn't mind sitting down to a casual evening dinner.

Talking with one of the Culina Family partners, we could tell the team was excited about the new space and what's to come. And given the 'educational' nature of the Muttart itself, it seems like they'll be taking the opportunity to showcase regional products, engaging a broader audience of Edmontonians and visitors in the possibilities of local food in a casual, accessible fashion.

And of course we had to inquire about Folk Fest weekend. Although they're not sure if they will be open yet, here's hoping they can work something out for patrons and volunteers (and staff), inevitably hungry for a good breakfast on the Saturday and Sunday of the show. You know we'll be stopping on our way to site if those doors are open.

Thanks again to Kiri from the City, and of course to Culina, for inviting us to the event. We had a great time and are eager to see where things go from here. And of course we can't wait to head down for weekend brunch!

Culina Muttart
9626 96A Street
780.466.1181
Hours: M-F (10-5), Sa-Su (11-5)
Currently taking reservations for six or more only; you can find their weekday lunch menu here by scrolling down a bit.

Check out posts on the event from other bloggers: Chris (great slide show here), Sharon, Twyla, and Liane from the Journal. And thanks to Charles for taking all the pictures above!

*Okay, just a little note on ETS. Getting to the Muttart after hours was a slight challenge, with no buses running East down 98th Ave. after 6pm. If you are heading to the Muttart on weekdays or Saturdays during open hours, check out the 85 which runs until 6pm (5pm on Saturdays) from downtown. On Sundays, the closest you'll get is via routes 7 or 8. If it's a nice day, Cloverdale has great biking/walking trails to/from Old Strathcona, Downtown and the River Valley in general. Good luck!

And done.

We made pretty good time getting out of Gallagher this year, especially after all that rain...

Lake Five...

With a bit of wildlife

With the majority of my post-Festival paperwork done and the fall semester fast approaching, Charles and I have decided to head off to Quebec City this coming week.

So far we have reservations at Le Clocher Penché and Panache, along with a couple places on the 'must visit' list - l'Échaudé and le Lapin Sauté. And our hotel happens to include breakfast with the stay, so Pain Béni every morning it is.

Hopefully lots of posts upon return...

Edmonton Folk Fest 2010

I was hoping to blog more about Folk Fest this year - the food from Site Kitchen, the crew, the build, the weekend, and the concessionaires. But there was just too much going on work wise, and sadly blogging got put aside once again this year.

So here are a few of my favourites from the build and the weekend...

The Festival Kitchen...

The whole thing get's floored

A loading dock at the West end for food delivery is built

Hand and plate wash stations are plumbed in

Ovens in

Steamer in

Lots of electrical (and plumbing) to keep the place running

Prep tables in

Christmas in July turkey...

and croquembouche

Andrew... the site kitchen coordinator, tired of waiting for us to unload his gear

Heading into Gallagher for 'the take over'

The Weekend

I finally managed to escape the office Sunday afternoon for the 'Sweet Old World' Session

And for some Sunday evening main stage

Dining in the Festival Kitchen

Stand in line to get into the kitchen (yes, I'm that short)

Peruse the menu (the smoked salmon Nicoise was the hit)

Your badge gets punched

You're at the door and and are handed a plate

And in... I had to stop taking photos after this, as balancing the plate and camera became difficult. But beyond salads there are a few hot selections, and tables of fruit and dessert.

My favourites from the Festival Kitchen this year:

Elk tacos with mole sauce, chive creme fraiche and pickled slaw; with corn and barley salad and curried squash mash

And Saskatoon tarts for dessert

So all that's left now is to continue tearing everything down. That's the hard part. Then on to next year...

Monday mornings - calm the monkey mind

Do you ever feel like this on Mondays? This tea label describes my mind and its needs perfectly at this stage of the summer. We begin building Folk Fest on the 16th, so I am all over the place - will the kitchen tent arrive on time, is that crane and op scheduled to arrive for 10am on Saturday, who's loading hi-boys next week, do we have enough duct tape, did I order continental breakfast items for next Friday (actually I have, and muffins and loaves will be coming from Wild Earth)... and the list goes far beyond.

Anyhow, a mug full of this tea did the trick this morning. It was light, flowery, fruity, and as the description implies, incredibly calming. I had a perfectly productive day of confirming gear, sponsors and volunteers. Hopefully I can make this little tin I picked up in Victoria last awhile longer...

Since I am sort of on the subject of Folk Fest, here's a link to an excellent article on the whole kitchen operation from the recent issue of The Tomato... Yes, those recipes are for thousands, and those tacos were fantastic and very refreshing on the weekend last year.