Local winter eating, PLUS a giveaway!
I always find that it's a bit harder to buy local foods during our colder months. There's something about the lack of berries, peaches and tender lettuce that just gets me down about grocery shopping. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my sweet potatoes and apples just as much as the next gal, but I think spring and summer bounty is my absolute fave.
Luckily I came across WWF's Canada's Sustainable Food Buying Guide. The Guide has a handy list of what's available in specific provinces in different seasons. It also has some information about sustainable food, food-buying tips and yummy menu ideas. You can download your free copy here!
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organic Living
Also, I have great news. I'm giving away one copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organic Living, written by Eliza Sarasohn and Sonia Weiss. This is a guide that provides step-by-step solutions for going organic in most aspects of your day-to-day life. It's useful for anyone wanting to make sustainable changes to their lifestyle.
All you have to do is subscribe to my blog and leave a comment here telling me what your favourite fall and winter dish is (showcasing local bounty, of course)!
I'll announce a winner here on Friday, November 6.
Tags: Contest, local eating, organic
October 27th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
My favourite fall and winter dishes would be:
-Butternut Squash Soup
-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Carrots & Parsnips
-Roasted Acorn Squash drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sundried tomatoes
-Apple Pie
October 27th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
My fav fall/winter dish is stew! Beef or chicken with tons of veggies, turnip, carrots, potato, onion, so delicious
I used to make apple crisp every year when we had a big apple tree, it will be a couple of years till our trees here bear enough fruit to use in cooking. Our neighbour gave us a box of apples but we made applesauce and never go around to making a variety of things like when we had our own tree we could pick from over a couple of weeks. I love fall! It was sunny here today and all the shadows from the sun being lower in the sky was beautiful 
October 27th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
baked squash, any variety but especially buttercup or cucermin,and stuffed with wild rice mix.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I love making a local & seasonal vegetable stew using root vegetables - potatoes, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips. I recently learned how to "turn" veggies so that they are all the same size and cook at the same rate - they look great too! I use herbs from my garden for seasoning.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
My fave fall and winter dish is sweet and sour red cabbage with apple and onion or maybe it's squash baked with maple syrup and butter or is it creamy carrot soup flavored with curry. With all the bounty from my garden and fruit trees my list is too long to list
October 27th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! The question makes me hungry just thinking about it. Three dishes that come to mind are Eggplant Parmesan, Pea Soup, and Vegetarian Chili. Oh, and another dish I am quite fond of is pasta with potatoes and pesto. Yum!
October 27th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I have to agree with Audrey (above).....my favourite dish is squash baked with maple syrup and butter, and I love the many varieties of local squash this way.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
At this time of year, one of the last remaining healty looking veggies in our garden is the kale. We all love it - my 9 year old munches the leaves right off the stems! One of my favourite ways to enjoy it is in a bean soup. Soooo yummy!
October 28th, 2009 at 8:52 am
My Favourite Fall/Winter Dishes are:
-brussels sprouts with bacon and maple syrup
-pumpkin and sausage pasta
-apple and soy salad dressing
So good!
October 28th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I live in an area where there are alot of apple orchards so in the fall I tend to bake alot using apples. I bake apple turnovers, apple spice cakes,
apple crumb but my favourite and everyone elses is my apple cheesecake. The apple cheesecake is baked with a thin pastry crust, cream cheese filling and covered in layers with sliced apples, sugar and cinnamon. The cheesecake is so good that I am sure it is the main reason that I am invited to so many places. I always ask if I can bring something to the meal and their answer is "could you bring your apple cheesecake for desert?" which I always answer "yes, I can!"
October 28th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Favourite fall and winter dish = butternut squash and apple soup! Thanks
October 28th, 2009 at 10:19 am
I think the absolute favourite in our household is red cabbage. I total feeding frenzy happens when I make it. We just can't get enough!!
October 28th, 2009 at 11:16 am
My favourite fall and winter dish is any meat stew with hearty vegetables like carrots and potatoes served with hearty home made bread. The smell of stew "stewing" on the stove in the kitchen brings back warm childhood memories of my grandmother's cooking. Now, with our busy lives, I make my stews in the crockpot in the morning, and I still get that warm feeling when I come in through the door and know that a delicicous meal is waiting for me as if my grandmother was still here.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
carrots and onions and potatoes and apples. All grown with 100 km radius. Yummy. Raw carrots and apples, juiced or plain. Kids love apples sliced . The baby carrots go like hotcakes.
The onions and potatoes cooked with any meat, black pepper and greens. bon appetit.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
My favourite fall and winter dish is chicken with lots of vegetables. Healthy and delicious.
October 28th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I love the dreary, shivery, grey days when you come home to a boiled ham dinner and then a few days later you make it into peasoup. I love the smells of it cooking and that feeling when you shut the door on the weather and know youère safe and going to be fed.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Local butternut squash soup that includes local apples and onions. Yum!
October 28th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Our favourite Fall and Winter dish is a stew made from our garden vegetables and a bit of beef.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
French onion soup does the trick. Always.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Pot roast with lots of fresh vegetables from the garden and a homemade apple pie with apples from my apple trees.
October 28th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
lots of roasted vegs, lightly coated in olive oil, and ,baked apples...
October 29th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
pumpkin pie and anything with pumpkin
October 29th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
My favourite fall dish is a root vegetable medley!
October 29th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Apple picking is one of my favorite fall activities...you can never have enough apple crisp!
October 30th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Yummy! I love the fall meals, like Chili, Beef Bourguignon made with roasted root vegetables, many homemade soups brewed on the wooodstove. With meats and vegetables we purchase from local farmers.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
My favourite fall dish is turkey soup with dumplings, complete with noodles and veggies. I also love for winter snacking peragis. Made with cheese and bacon and local onion and veggies
October 30th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
My favourite fall dish would be anything made with butternut squash or my homemade macaroni and cheese with pumpkin in it. Fall comfort food is absolutely the best. So hearty and just takes you back to your youth/childhood.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
My special Borscht. And it is extra special this year because the beets are from my 12 year old daughters garden! She caught the gardening bug this year, and did an amazing job.
OH And my delicious green tomato chutney served on cheddar and crackers.....mmmmmmmmm
October 31st, 2009 at 7:40 pm
My fall favs are:
Leek and potato soup
Spaghetti squash casserole
Pumpkin muffins
Cabbage rolls
and left over turkey
and for dessert: Apple and cranberry crisps
November 1st, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Squash is amazing during this time of year, but my all-time favourite dessert is pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Oh, and don't forget the pumpkin spice lattes. Deelish! I look forward to fall only for this reason. It makes your house smell so festive!
November 1st, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I love having any kind of soup!
November 1st, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I love my mom's recipes for Dutch apple pie and turnip apple casserole. They are wonderful reliable dishes that everyone loves. And fortunately there is a great apple orchard within 20 minutes of my house.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
My favorites would be:
butternut squash soup
chili (any kind!)
warm, homemade bread
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:51 am
I love fall vegetables! I'm not sure about a favourite, but my husband made a soup yesterday that should certainly make the list. Carrot soup with sweet potatoes, apple and onion. Mmmmmm! It was delectable and I will be enjoying the leftovers for lunch!
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hearty Vegetable Soup
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
My family enjoys my homemade apple crisp and my Carrot Jam. We also like to have acorn & butternut squash.
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Don't laugh. For me it's a meal. APPLE PIE!
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:32 am
My favourite Autumn/Winter savoury dish is roasted vegs! Love roasted parsnip & potatoes in particular.
My favourite Autumn/Winter sweet dish is definitely apple pie! I love it without ice cream as well.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:09 am
Ribs done slowly in the oven, with mashed potatoes and spaghetti squash
November 4th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Roasted winter veggies ..mmm or home made soups ..I love pumpkins , all kinds of squash and I totally adore cabbage ,its absolutely delicious and so economical too .Rutabaga and brussel sprouts are so tasty and healthy too . I love this time of year .
November 5th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
My year round fvourite dish would most certainly be lobster but with it being so expensive that would be imposseble. I would settle for chicken wings or drumsticks with the suicide sauce. That warms you up
November 5th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Baked apples hands down. I cut the core out of the apple, and add a dabble of butter, a tsp of brown sugar, a bit of nutmeg and cloves and stuff with raisins. Bake in the oven until soft. Goes great with roast pork.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
my favourite autumn meal is our family vegetarian thanksgiving dinner: couscous with fall roasted vegetables - it was a recipe in canadian living several years ago and we have been enjoying it ever since! it is the local butternut squash that is the star ingredient in the recipe!
November 5th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
A nice beef stew - that's what I love in the fall. Local beef (or poultry - depending on the flavour of the day), root veggies and whenever possible, homemade broth. It's lovely with a baguette to dip in it. Something about a stew makes one feel warm and safe - just perfect for the rainy, gusty fall weather we get here.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
My absolute favourite dish for fall is PUMPKIN SOUP WITH SPINACH. I steam fresh pumpkin and mash it, boil cubed potatoes half way. In a soup pot bring pumpkin, potatoe, and carrots to a boil in chicken or veggie stock. Pure mixture when all veggies are softened. Add 1% milk and just a bit of 1/2'n'1/2 cream for smoothness. Once mixed add some (thawed)frozen spinach. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. So good!
November 5th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Fresh fall vegetables cooked all day in a slow cooker to allow the flavours to develop...mmm. Slow cooked chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and herbs is lovely. And any kind of stew that uses fall vegetables is divine. With homemade applesauce/crabapple sauce for desert!
November 5th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
I love crab apple jelly, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apple sauce and chili made with is locally available
November 5th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
with what is locally available.
apparently, i can not write tonight! oops!
November 6th, 2009 at 8:21 am
They all sound good but I would have to say anything that keeps you warm and is a comfort food is all I need. I love making butternut suash soup and trying it with different apples, and buying the items from my local market is even better!
November 6th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Anything with cranberries ... did anyone go to the cranberry festival in Bala this fall?!
November 7th, 2009 at 2:07 am
I love mixing any of the vegetables in season into any dish.
November 7th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Pumpkin Pie......mmmmmmm
November 8th, 2009 at 1:09 am
I like to BBQ corn. It's delicious! Throw some kabobs on too.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
My favorite fall recipes are soups and stews. They seem to warm you from the inside out.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I love a fall ratatouille and of course pumpkin pie.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Memories of the past..my Mennonite ancestors made apple butter..now I make it too, only jazz it up a bit by adding pureed pumpkin & a tsp of allspice. It's unbelievable with squash!
November 12th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
pumpkin muffins and appple crisp