Sunday August 30 is the Incredible Picnic, the province-wide celebration of
local food. At the Halifax location, on the Garrison Grounds, onsite
vendors will have samples, but the truly adventuresome will bring their
own picnic baskets. You can’t, however, rely on imported picnic staples
like watermelon. Fortunately, savvy Maritime entrepreneurs make eating
locally easier.
Starters
Kick off your picnic with a flavourful cheese, like Upper Economy’s
infamous Dragon’s Breath Blue ($9.25 at That Dutchman’s Cheese in the Halifax Farmers’ Market). This pungent, partially
unpasteurized soft-blue cheese has a tangy flavour. Smear the cheese on
Gluten Free Goodies East Coast Crisps, a cracker-like sorghum,
brown rice and seed bread ($4.50 a bag at the Farmers’ Market).
That Dutchman’s Old Growler gouda ($5/100g at Local Source
Market) is an aged gouda with a complex-nutty flavour. It tastes
best loaded with apple sage jelly ($10 at the Farmers’ Market) from
Grand Pre’s Tangled Gardens, made with their own organic herbs
and Annapolis Valley apples.
Mains
Making a local sandwich is no easy feat, as most bakeries import
their flour from the prairies. But Boulangerie La
Vendéenne‘s Red Fife Heritage bread is made with New
Brunswick’s Speereville Mills’ flour and native grain, Red Fife. Fill
with Nancy’s Organic Mustard from PEI ($7/250 ml at Local Source), deli
meat from the Bavarian Meat Shop and greenery from Selwood
Green Farm (both at the Farmers’ Market). For white bread, Big
Life makes a hearty porridge bread with flour from Halifax’s
Dover Mills ($5 at the Market).
Too lazy to make a sandwich? Sean Gallagher, owner of Local Source,
has got you covered. He’ll have a stand at the Garrison Grounds,
selling cheap finger-foods like his Classic Ham Sandwich ($3). To
launch his new bakery, Gallagher has reinvented fougasse (Italian
herbed olive bread), substituting dulce for olives. He’ll serve
bruschetta with his Dulce-Fougasse, topping it with chevre from
Rancher Acres and tomatoes from Hutten Family Farm.
Vegan? Acadiana Soy Products in the Farmers’ Market has
marinated tofu kabobs ($2) that consist of tofu, zucchini, green
pepper, tomato and red onion soused in sesame oil, garlic, ginger and
soy sauce.
Refreshments
Wash down your picnic with a refreshing homemade iced mint tea.
Stuff a large thermos with a small handful of mint (from Maple Grove
Farms or Riverview Herbs), boiling water and Cosman &
Whidden Honey ($2.50/155g at Planet Organic) to taste.
Refrigerate for a few hours, add ice and serve.
Booze
There will be wine tasting at the Incredible Picnic, giving you a
great opportunity to sample Domaine De Grand Pre‘s more
expensive vintages, like the New York Muscat Ice Wine ($50/375 ml). If
multiple trips to the sampling table don’t cut it, have a post picnic
with Sainte Famille‘s Acadiana Reserve Port ($24/750 ml in the
Farmers’ Market). This barrel-aged port is not too sweet, and tastes
best between cigar puffs.
Related Stories
Incredible Picnic postponed
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2009.
I was at the market this morning and didn’t see Dragon’s Breath Blue…