Featured on Fête Chinoise: Community Projects and Lucky Trio Golden Beef Stir-Fry...

Happy Lunar New Year 🍊🏮! Sooooo excited to share that I have been featured on Fête Chinoise, a cultural platform that aims to empower individuals to deepen the connection between identity and Chinese culture. Through a curated lens and critical thinking, they present meaningful stories, artful experiences, and inspiring products through different channels.

In this article, I talk about my work projects in the community and share my lucky beef stir-fry recipe developed to ring in the Year of the Golden Ox-- my year! What a great honour 🙏!

Click here to read the entire article.

GOLDEN BEEF STIR-FRY WITH THE LUCKY TRIO

This beef stir fry is paired with a lucky trio of ingredients, including lotus roots, black fungus mushrooms and red chilis. It is a lovely dish full of luck for The Year of the Golden Ox!

Check out the recipe!

What We Should Know About The Ontario Food Terminal (OFT)...

Massive. Passion. Impressive. A well oiled machine. The lasting impressions from my first ever visit to the Ontario Food Terminal (OFT), and I've been a food professional for close to 20 years! Closed to the public, this important heart of Etobicoke's much loved wholesale and produce distribution centre since 1954, is THE largest in Canada and scaling third in North America after New York and Los Angeles. There are 83,500 growers in Ontario and OFT supports 45%. OFT is THE stock exchange of fruits and vegetables, priced accordingly to demand and supply daily, where farmers and buyers come from all over Canada and US to do business. We're talking ~2 billion pounds of produce annually!!! 🍇🍎🥝🍓🌽🥒🍅

OFT is a self-funding classified agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, requiring no government funds or tax payers dollars. They are in fact, an economic generator; for every dollar of sales, approx. three dollars are returned to the Ontario economy 🤩. This invaluable world-class food centre is something to be extremely proud of! We heard countries like Spain, Beijing and Korea have sent their people all the way to take in learnings to model off back home. Impressed yet? Wait until you meet the farmers and the people that run the place.

In an OFT warehouse, with skids and skids piled high with produce.

This incredible insiders tour was organized through my partner Produce Made Simple, an educational campaign owned by The Ontario Produce Marketing Association (OPMA). They are a not-for-profit, member-funded (comprised of produce companies that are growers, wholesalers, shippers, and retailers), whose main objective is to facilitate trade and enhance the marketing and promotion of fresh fruits and vegetables in Ontario.

The goal of Produce Made Simple is to inform and inspire Ontario residents to enjoy more local fresh produce daily such as tender fruit, greenhouse grown produce, mushrooms and asparagus. Daily tips and food preparation ideas are shared on (ProduceMadeSimple.ca), Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and a bi-weekly e-newsletter. The OPMA is based at the Ontario Food Terminal. For more info: theopma.ca | Twitter: ONTProduce.

My partnership with Produce Made Simple, along with an awesome team of food professionals and bloggers, is as an ambassador who promotes and educate on local in-season produce to my audience (social media, my culinary programs) and develop recipes to highlight those for their web-site. We all came together for a first-hand learning at OFT and to meet each other 😄.

A gorgeous table spread and catered breakfast awaits us after our two hour tour.

Did You Know... OFT is not only the largest wholesale and fresh produce distribution centre in Canada, but a huge purveyor of floral and plants too.

We've been seriously talking about buying local in recent years, however, OFT has essentially anchored the BUY LOCAL movement since it’s establishment in 1954. The Terminal supports local farmers, local fruit and vegetables stores, independent and chain supermarkets, retailers, restaurateurs, food service, caterers, farmer’s markets, farm gate markets, florists, garden centres, landscapers, convenience stores and institutions.

Wow, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Grower (OGVG) tomatoes on the vine. Did You Know... for optimal freshness, never store tomatoes in the fridge? I had the opportunity to develop a recipe for OGVG using their vine-ripened tomatoes in a Chinese classic--Tomatoes and Eggs. Check out my food post to learn more about my simple weeknight family-honoured recipe and for tomato buying and storing tips.

Farmers and their bountiful of fruits and vegetable everywhere...

Our first presentation stop was with Welsh Bros. Farms from Norfolk Country's Scotland, in Southwestern Ontario since 1855. The ultra cool story about this generational family of farmers is that they made their intentional way here from their actual native home Scotland 164 years ago. As they say, the Welsh family has never really left Scotland! They are recognized as agricultural grower leaders on both the provincial and national stage, and produce the finest vegetables such as non- and organic asparagus, sweet corn, garden sweet peas and Jamaican pumpkins. 

Cool blue top Nicole leads us from Produce Made Simple.

Did You Know... An Ontario asparagus plant has to grow for five years before it can be harvested. Then in season, when it's hot, it spurts up to six inches in under 12 hours! Magical right? 🤩

They hand-harvest daily and grade their asparagus to seven different thicknesses. So size does matter in every bite. They recommend steaming, sautéeing and stir-frying extra fine to small spears, and roasting, broiling and grilling standard to jumbo sized ones. Makes so much sense!

We got a bunch to take home- thank you, along with some delicious recipes from their kitchen such as Pickled Asparagus Salad; Maple, Garlic, Lemon Roasted Asparagus and the one I'm eyeing to do with mine, Beer Battered Asparagus (with Chipotle Mayo). 😋

It's a hustling and bustling terminal. Many farmers and growers come in before 3 am with activity slowing down around 7 am (the time we arrive). It can be a dangerous place if one is not careful with the fast moving traffic on foot, on forklift with heavy cargo in tow. A big reason why it's not open to the general public.

Our next stop is at Koornneef Produce indoors. On the inside are warehouse store fronts, the middle, traffic way and on the outer sides, sliding doors to loading docks.

Koornneef produces cucumbers, coloured bell peppers, tomatoes, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, strawberries, apricots and cherries. Their roots as a supplier reach back more than five decades, when their father Arie Koornneef began selling choice tender fruit to customers out of a pick-up truck. From those humble beginnings, Koornneef Produce Ltd. has grown to become one of southern Ontario's premier suppliers of superior vegetables and tender fruit. And to this day, all are grown with one objective in mind: to ensure customer experiences only the very best in taste, appearance and consistency.

So much passion and pride illuminates in every farmer and grower who spoke to us. The unwavering sense of tradition and commitment to producing the finest and keeping customers happy with superior service was well felt over at Koornneef.   

Did You Know... all bell peppers start out green and if left to ripen they turn yellow or orange, and then eventually red? AND a green pepper has twice as much vitamin C as an orange.

This complimentary produce has been cooked and enjoyed over dinners with my family.

Swinging by J.E. Russell Produce to look and hear about their beautiful fresh wares.

At J.E. Russell Produce, they’ve built their reputation on good old-fashioned values and a commitment to doing things right. They are dedicated to providing the very best in quality and service, specializing in berries, salads, organics and local produce.

Three kiwifruit fun facts: Did You Know...  

Kiwi grows as vine. It can reach the size of 10 meters (33 feet) in length.
Kiwi can produce fruits up to 30 years and survive more than 50 years.
The kiwifruit was first found growing in China, where it was known by the name “Yang Tao”.

Mmmm, nice!

With 40 years of operational experience, all their produce is stored in temperature controlled environments to retain their freshness and nutritional value. They transport and receive fresh product on a daily basis from around the province and the world. Thank you for talking to us and I made guacamole with your jumbo creamy fleshed avo- so yum!

Spring Trick or Treating! It's Avocados!

Each loading area/dock has a number for shipping and receiving to a specific region. Farmers come in from as far north as Cold Water, from Leamington to the west, from Kingston to the east and Fort Erie to the south.

Buyers come from all over Ontario, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba as well as the north-eastern USA.

With an average of 5.5 million pounds of produce being exchanged daily, OFT does their best to minimize waste, something I'm big on! Less than 1% is waste (~12000 tons of a million tons), with recycling a regular practice and a separate garbage system in place. Furthermore, they work closely with food rescue and food access organizations such as Second Harvest, Food Share, Daily Bread Food Bank and Gleaners Food Bank 😄 . 

Improvements are always undergoing. Currently, they are working on adding loading dock extensions and farmer's market waste compaction stations. The guys who run this place are so passionate about what they do to make it thrive and would love to provide more educational tours to spread the great importance OFT has in our great city.

Speaking with OFT General Manager Bruce Nicholas

Touring through the massive cold storage areas.

The pretty back drop with lights, elegant dishware and gorgeous floral arrangements made for a fun and chic party setting! And we are just having breakfast here, imagine the creativity of the Produce Made Simple team if they hosted a real party 😄?

The lovely catered-in breakfast consisted of asparagus, mushroom, potato and red peppers frittata, a caramelized apple French Toast and maple syrup casserole (so neat to see the bread slices baked up standing, pressed side-by-side like that), and fruit kebabs with a vanilla yogurt dip. Deelish! And Nicole, I too love the pretty gold and pink floral themed plates and flatware 😊.

This awesome impromptu ensemble was the creative artistic genius of Betty @stemsandforks with food and flora her palettes of flair 🍓🥑🍒🌿🌼 Shot alongside @abhishekdekate @jesusmazaphoto @thevietvegan @justcrumbs @emilia_ds @theyummyfarm @rhubandcod (we missed you @foodislife.ca)... see y'all again, you rock guys💥!

Photo Credit: Betty Bihon of @stemsandforks

Thank you Ontario Food Terminal for the guided tour with your amazing staff and for this generous spread of fresh local farmer's produce! #eatmoreproduce #producemadesimple

Amazing! All of this happening right in our great city! The Ontario Food Terminal is without a doubt a world-class food hub and thriving economical heritage to our region where fresh, local and healthy food access is provided for businesses and food security organizations.  🤗🤗 🤗 To learn more, see OFT FAQS.

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Collab- Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs...

I am so thrilled to collaborate with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) in delivering one of my ultimate family favourites- Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs on their recipe web-site. Juicy Ontario greenhouse tomatoes mingle with softly scrambled eggs in this comfort saucy dish that's scrumptious over rice- a classic in Chinese home-style cooking. Plump red vine-ripened tomatoes in the store always seem to beckon me to make this lovely dish 🍅. 

Did you know 63% of the Canadian greenhouses are in Ontario? Of the approximate 220 greenhouses, many are situated around the Leamington, London and Niagara area with bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, the three produce most popularly grown. Being a big advocate and educator on food waste reduction primarily at the consumer level, I am ecstatic to see that greenhouse growers do their part to eliminate waste in the food supply system from the get-grow. See, the controlled greenhouse environment enables them to grow a uniform product that minimizes waste with pest control and natural pollination, and maximizes yield and quality by growing in a nutrient-rich drip irrigation system. Also, majority of the markets are within a one-day drive so produce arrives to customers freshly picked- at their optimum best!  #GreenhouseGrown  #FromOurHousetoYours  #Ontario

They've done their part, so how do we as consumers do ours? #LoveFoodHateWaste

We often waste good food unnecessarily because we buy too much and don't store it correctly.

Classic Chinese Tomato and Eggs on OGVG

BUYING: Select tomatoes that are round, full, feel heavy for their size, and that are free from bruises and blemishes. The skin should be taut and not shrivelled.

Voluptuous round tomatoes means juicy!

KEEP IT FRESH: Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Storing tomatoes in the refrigerator can ruin their texture and flavour. Leave tomatoes on-the-vine intact until just before use. This helps maintain their freshness and allows them to fully ripen.

Wash produce right before eating. All produce should always be washed, but it is important to not wash produce too early as moisture sits on it, and can cause decay. Cut it just before cooking or eating.

Tomatoes and eggs- two ingredients on hand that marry harmoniously in this satisfying dish. Ontario greenhouse on-the-vine tomatoes grown February to December means fresh and local at its best almost year round!

Classic Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs over steamed rice, a meal to enjoy any season, any time!

Classic Chinese Tomato and Eggs on OGVG

NOTE: I am honoured to collaborate with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers @ongreenhouseveg to develop recipes using their products. I love supporting Ontario farmers and growers, and often use local produce in recipe experimentation and home-cooking. The information I share is completely my opinion, as are all my posts.

Further Food For thought: Staggering. Shocking. How does a nation obsessed with eating, eating out, food shows, cookbooks and food sites/blogs waste billions of dollars of good food every year (31 million pounds in Canada which is mainly 50% household waste-- what we buy, not eat, and throw out)?

Waste occurs at various points of the food supply system. There are lots of gaps, according to experts, but the biggest source of waste are households. Consumers can actually make a significant difference just by changing some of the things we do on a daily basis:

* Make a list before you go shopping and sticking to it. Waste comes from overbuying.
* Do not go shopping if you’re hungry or you'll impulse buy.
* Check your cupboards and refrigerator – what do you have and what do you really need? 

* Store your food properly to extend their shelf life. Look up storage tips for specific produce.
* Eat up what you have first rather than what you're in the mood for.
* Be creative and re-purpose leftovers.
* Donate too much food, or if you know you won’t use it.

Imperfect perfectly edible foods-- just eat it already! Check out this thought-provoking film on Food Waste.

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Classic Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs
Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 eggs
sea salt and ground white pepper to taste
2 Tbsp (30 ml) - oil, divided
2 - green onions, cut into 2” pieces
4 - medium Ontario greenhouse on-the-vine tomatoes, large diced
1 tsp (15 ml) - sugar
1 Tbsp (30 ml) – Chinese cooking wine
¾ cup (175 ml) - chicken or vegetable broth, hot
2 tsp (5 g) - cornstarch dissolved in 1-1/2 Tbsp (22 ml) - water
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) sesame oil (optional)
sliced green onions for garnish

Note: Use dry sherry to substitute for Chinese cooking wine.

Beat eggs; season with a little salt and pepper. Cook in skillet or wok with 1 Tbsp. oil on medium-high heat until cooked. Break the eggs up into pieces. Remove onto serving plate and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet or wok on medium-high heat and add the green onions. Cook for a minute; add tomatoes and sugar. Continue to cook for two minutes until soft and juice is released.

Add cooking wine. Stir tomatoes and cook for one minute. Pour in broth. Cook until sauce is simmering, then add cornstarch mixture; stir to thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Place the eggs back into the skillet. Toss and remove onto serving plate. Drizzle with a little sesame oil and garnish with sliced green onions.

Serve over steamed rice.

Appetizer Tasters to Celebrate Thorncliffe's School Achievements...

School is almost finished.... How do we celebrate the achievements of both students and parents in the Thorncliffe Community where I have been teaching culinary classes to moms?... With a wrap party of course! The elementary students at Thorncliffe Public school will be showcasing their fantastic artwork in a photo gallery exhibit- VOICES and my brigade of community kitchen moms will be preparing tasters of assorted appetizers, dips and sips like a cocktail party where you can eat, browse and mingle. What a perfect occasion to share and exchange the pride of work accomplished during this school year, and in anticipation for summer vacation ahead!

We created appetizers as a mini rehearsal to the big event, and also as a staff-appreciation day where teachers and facility members were invited to come give a taste in what's to come. It was also my last cooking class with these wonderful moms and just before Mother's Day weekend, so the kitchen atmosphere was abuzz with lively conversations and laughter. Ashima Suri, the school's AmaZing program facilitator shared in her TDSB article, "Filled with emotion, Afra, a mother of four was eager to let us know that out of all the days of the week, she most looked forward to Thursdays. It was her day to dress up. Her day to spend some time engaging and learning. It was her time for herself – to give her the space to just be. And that was exactly what the experience at TDSB Newcomer Services – Welcoming Communities was all about." I share the same sentiments my dear friend! For more see: TDSB Welcoming Communities: Momma’s Day! Food and New Friends.

How did I select the menu to feature? Drawing back on my entertaining days and love for making appetizers, I wanted to highlight elements from our eight-session cooking classes (Spring dips and Vietnamese cuisine) with an emphasis on fresh herbs, health, colours, textures and variety, and some of my all-time faves!

Inspired by working with real fruit-infused water from another school's health and wellness night, I had to piggy back off on it-- customized mason jars as a take-home gift for Mother's Day for my favourite moms! YAY! Blood oranges and citrus brightens any day, and goes so perfect with steeped bing cherry black tea, cold with mixed berries, pomegranate seeds, cucumber slices and fresh mint!

Love the freshness and vibrant rainbow of colours!

Everyone was gung-ho in creating a spectacular experience for our guests!

Cocktail Shrimps in Lemon Yogurt Dill on Cucumber Rounds

Makes about 40 pieces

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/2” thick rounds 

Baby cocktail shrimps, cooked, frozen and thawed, drained well, coarsely chopped

Makes 1 cup sauce:
3/4 cup plain natural yogurt (Balkan-style)
1/4 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
fresh dill, chopped
fresh chives, chopped
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Splash of fresh lemon juice
ground paprika

Mix shrimps with some yogurt sauce (just enough to coat well). Spoon shrimp mixture onto the cucumber rounds. Garnish with a sprig of dill and a sprinkle of ground paprika. Extra sauce can be use as a dip with vegetable dippers.

Cocktail Shrimps in Lemon Yogurt Dill on Cucumber Rounds

Spicy Shrimps with Avocado on Rice Crackers
Makes 20 pieces (double the recipe to make twice the savouries)

1 Tbsp. olive oil
20 large shrimps, shelled (300 g frozen shrimps count 16/20)
1 Tbsp. chilli garlic paste (such as sambal oelek), adjust according to spice levels
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 ripe avocados, finely diced
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 lemon, juice and its zest
20 sesame or plain rice crackers
20 cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook shrimps for two minutes per side until they turn bright orange and opaque. Add 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. chili paste and stir to coat, continuing to cook for 30 seconds more. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine cilantro, avocados, green onion, lemon juice and zest in a bowl. Top each cracker with 1 Tbsp. avocado spread and a shrimp. Garnish with a cilantro leaf. Serve immediately.

Spicy Shrimps with Avocado on Rice Crackers

Shredded Chicken and Herbs Vietnamese-Style on Endive Leaves
Makes about 25 endive boats

1-1/4 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cooked and finely shredded
½ cucumber, small dice
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped Thai basil leaves
Endives, leaves separated into boats

Sauce:
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red bird’s eye chilli, minced (optional)

Combine chicken, cucumber and herbs. Mix sauce together and add to chicken. Spoon 1 Tbsp. chicken mixture onto the rounded end of an endive leave. Top each with finely shredded mint as a garnish. Serve on a platter.

TIP: Shred cooked chicken meat easily with your fingers when it is cooled.

Check out my Vietnamese-Style Shredded Chicken and Herbs Salad 

Endive leaves make perfect edible spoons! The presentation is so inviting...

Love these ladies touch with cucumber skin roses :D

Make-Ahead Curry Mushroom Palmiers
Makes 40 pieces

1 Tbsp. oil
1-1/2 lbs. mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbsp ground curry
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
½ cup finely chopped green onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sheets (375-g pkg.) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten, and add 1 Tbsp. water

Heat oil in skillet on medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms and garlic for 2 minutes. Add curry, oyster sauce and onions; cook and stir 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll puff pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 10 “ X 14” rectangle. Spread half of mushroom mixture on 1 sheet of pastry, leaving 3-inch lengthwise border on 2 sides. Fold in lengthwise sides to meet in centre. Flatten slightly. Brush top and seam with egg. Fold in half again; press sides together. Again brush top and seam with egg; cover with wrap. Freeze 30 minutes.

Cut rolls into 1/2-inch slices. Place cut-side up, on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until browned.

Make Ahead- Palmier logs can be made 2 days ahead, covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated. Slice and bake when ready.  Note: Leftover baked palmiers can be stored in resealable plastic bag in freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat at 375°F 8 to 10 minutes.

Substitute mushrooms with 1 lb. of ground beef.

Other parents visit us in session as we highlight our program in hopes they will join us next school year.

Super gorgeous plating ladies...

Our staff guests have arrived... and they ooohed and aaahed through sights and bites...

I was so happy to see the pride in these moms as they serve this and that...

A lovely trio of appetizers right there...

And of course, a nice refreshing cool finish with my favourite Southeast Asian-Style dessert... 

Coconut Jackfruit Tapioca.

Coconut Jackfruit Tapioca

We can't wait for the Thorncliffe community to savour more of our goodies!