Fall into Winter Gourmet at the Greenhouse

What a fantastic evening it was! For this second culinary event at Lower Shannon Farms, the tables were set up right in the greenhouse. Guests enjoyed the gourmet fare next to the growing plants. Some referred to it as the “Rainforest” effect.

 

 

 

The majority of the food was produced right at Lower Shannon Farms or in close proximity. It was then prepared and served by Amanda and the crew from the root community emporium. As guests were enjoying the meal, they were entertained with jazz music by the talented musicians of the band Tangerine. The Gourmet at the Greenhouse is unique in so many ways and KT & Company is thrilled to bring something of this nature to the Lloydminster area.

-Kelly

Gourmet In The Greenhouse ~November 14

‘Eating Local’ is becoming a very popular trend in many communities across Canada.  For some people, eating locally means buying food that was grown within 100 miles of home. For others, it is simply being conscious and aware of where your food has been grown, and buying that which was grown nearby, using ethical and sustainable farming methods as often as possible.

‘Gourmet at the Garden’ was a special event, created to celebrate and promote the ‘eat local’ movement. This past summer, 61 Lloydminster and area residents were treated to a four course gourmet meal prepared by local chefs from The Root Community Emporium, and presented on the farm where the food was grown, “Lower Shannon Farms”. Along with the fabulous produce grown at Lower Shannon Farms, the chefs included such things as cheese and honey produced on other farms in the Lloydminster area.

It was a full house for Gourmet At The Garden.

Amanda and the amazing staff of The Root Community Emporium.

Tickets for ‘Gourmet at the Garden’ were sold out, with 61 people travelling to the farm to enjoy this locally grown food experience. Everyone was welcome to tour the greenhouse, and see where the food had been grown. John Acton of Lower Shannon Farms gave a brief presentation on his farming methods, and on his cutting edge ideas for creating healthy, sustainable food.

Gourmet at the Garden was so well received; the decision was made to recreate a similar event for fall. KT and Company, The Root Community Emporium and Lower Shannon Farms are very excited to present….
Fall Into Winter – Gourmet in the Greenhouse
This four course meal will feature three unique starters made with sausage, tomato, and other ingredients grown on the farm. Your meal will also include tomato basil soup, with an entree of homegrown turkey served with beet chutney, whipped potato, honey dill carrots and saskatoon squash stuffing.  The meal will be followed by a spiced strawberry tart with vanilla custard.  Hungry yet?  We should also mention a warm and inviting welcome cocktail and wine included with dinner.

Parting gifts of home made salsa for our guests to take home.

If you want to experience Fall Into Winter – Gourmet in the Greenhouse, act now.  Save the date ~ November 14. Tickets for our summer event sold out quickly, and we are certain to sell out again. Call Kelly at 780-872-2585 or Terra at 780-808-1397.

You can also stop by The Root in Lloydminster for your ticket, or visit Lower Shannon Farm to make sure you have a spot reserved at the table for this exciting local food event.

See you at the farm!

<Terra>

Gourmet at the Garden

Mark your calendar for August 7 at 6:30. You don’t want to miss this…..

There’s going to be a garden party!  We are excitedly planning and coordinating a brand new event for Lloydminster, “Gourmet at the Garden”. This will be a four course meal featuring food grown locally at Lower Shannon Farms, 10 minutes north of Lloydminster.

Three enterprises; Lower Shannon Farms, The Root Community Emporium, and KT and Company have collaborated to create this very unique dining experience. Gourmet at the Garden will celebrate local food in an outdoor restaurant setting on the farm where the food was grown.  The meal will be enhanced by a presentation from the farmer on how their food is sustainably grown and from the chef on how it was prepared.  Locally grown entertainment will highlight this fun evening.

Outdoor events similar to Gourmet at the Garden have been held in other areas known for their support of local agriculture.  We have done a bit of research, and are finding that these local food events are gaining in popularity in Canada.  British Columbia, Ontario and the Maritime Provinces are leaders in creating ‘pop up dinners’ and other local food events that encourage people to come out and try the food that is growing in their province.  Slow food events, Fork Fests, and Farmers Markets are beginning to trend in Alberta and Saskatchewan, showing that consumers are becoming increasingly interested in where and how their food is grown.

We are planning to have a sold out crowd at Gourmet at the Garden on August 7^th.  It will be our first outdoor gourmet dinner, and we are very excited to host what we know will be a unique and fun event that people will be talking about long after it is over. 

If you live here or if you plan to be in the Lloydminster area on August 7 let us know and we will save your spot at the table!

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a home grown tomato”  -Lewis Grizzard

 

 

 

Summer Veggies

Our good friends at Lower Shannon Farms are growing a bounty. As such we have been inspired to explore some new recipes. Here are two that we have tried.

 

Melon Cucumber Salad

melon
cucumber
red onion
feta cheese
Dressing of oil, lemon juice, honey, dill, salt and pepper

This salad has an unusual combination of ingredients and is a contrast of sweet and sour. It is delicious.

Tomato Pie

Pre-baked pie or tart shells
Layer with sliced fresh tomatoes
mayonnaise
fresh basil
grated cheese
Bake for 20 – 30 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Add other ingredients if you would like. We tried some with bacon and they were great too.

– Kelly

Rotary Rural Urban

Welcome by Rotary president Les Harper.

The local Lloydminster Rotary club has a long standing history of once a year holding a meeting out in the rural community. The aim is to provide Rotarians the opportunity to connect with some of their rural counterparts. For this year’s event the Club was hosted by John and Robin Acton of Lower Shannon Farms, northeast of Lloydminster. The new food producing enterprise is an addition to an existing mixed farm. It is named for John’s family farm back in Ireland.

In addition to the greenhouse vegetables, Actons also have an expansive outdoor garden. They also produce natural beef, pork, chickens and eggs. The greenhouse retail outlet will soon be open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 4 to 8 p.m. A Grand Opening is planned for June 28 at 2 p.m.

The locavore event was held adjacent to the greenhouse where a multitude of vegetables are growing; tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, peppers, eggplant and micro-greens. These were turned into a delicious meal by Amanda and the chefs from The Root emporium along with beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, bread and a vanilla compote with rhubarb dessert.

Rotarians enjoying the opportunity to connect at Lower Shannon Farms.

Guests were entertained with music from Justin Taylor and learned more about local food from us, KT & Company. They also had the opportunity to tour the greenhouse while visiting with fellow Rotarians.

– Kelly

“You have a doctor, you have a lawyer, you have an accountant, you have a dentist, but do you have a farmer?”

We Won, We Won

 

The Celebrity Chefs at Lloydminster's second annual Harvest Feastival

We just received some fabulous news about Harvest Feastival. Corinne at the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association had submitted Feastival into a competition put on by the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (C.A.F.E). The convention was in London, Ontario last week and Harvest Feastival was declared Best In Show, Small Fair!  According to the C.A.F.E. brochure , “The Best of Show Award recognizes a new event, program, concept or technique introduced to the public.” We could not be more pleased. It is a great event to be part of and great to get national recognition. Feastival could not happen without all our excellent sponsors and volunteers. Last year we had the support of the Saskatchewan Association of Ag Societies (SAASE)  and this year the County of Vermilion River. Producers that have participated over both years are The Cheesiry, Lower Shannon Farms, Trinity Farms  and Kathy’s Greenhouse. Other contributors including Emjays, Flying Rabbit Fruit Farm, Elk Valley Farms, Aaron Hougham, Darlene Pickford, Chris Hooper and Beetnik Borscht. Kudos to all.

-Kelly