Music to live (or die) by..........

Just sitting around being a holiday slug & listening to some of my favourite music..........thought I'd share :)

La Vie en Rose - Louis B. Armstrong

Crazy - Patsy Cline

The Flower Duet (from the opera Lakme)

Aria, from the opera La Wally

Joni Mitchell - I could drink a case of you........

K.D. Lang, singing Leonard Cohen's Hallellujah

J.S. Bach, Played by Glen Gould, The Goldberg Variations

The Call by Regina Spektor

I Am Aglow by Sarah Harmer


michelle

Wild Serendipity website is up & running again!

The Wild Serendipity website is up & running again - yeah!!!

If you have sent me an email or online registration in the last few days, please resend it, as it would be floating around somewhere, desperately lost & looking for its owner :)

michelle

Wild Serendipity Foods website is down!

If you've been trying to access my website, and/or email me, the Wild Serendipity Foods website is currently down. (it's www.wildserendipity.com) The server, which is located in New York, was apparently being migrated over the weekend (I'm not sure what that means exactly.......migrating south, to warmer weather, perhaps?;) In the process, my website was one of the ones that did not migrate properly. It will hopefully be up by the 30th or 31st.

My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused, especially if you have given out gift certificates for Christmas, & the recipients are trying to access the website & wondering what the ?

michelle

owner
Wild Serendipity Foods

Happy Holidays!!!!

Well, as expected, I just can't seem to keep updating my blog on a regular basis!!

Here are a few highlights of the past several months:

This summer at the Farmer's Market was bustling as ever - the demand for the fresh-baked scones continues to grow...........I will be installing yet another oven in the New Year to attempt to keep up with the resumed demand in the Spring!

My business will be profiled in an upcoming Saskatchewan science textbook (Gr. 7 &8) - I will be immortalized :) I'm sure my boys will get a kick out of seeing their mother in a school book!

My classes filled up faster than ever this Fall - I feel bad that I can't add many more classes for the time being, so my apologies if you've been trying to get into some of them, but can't. My Tuesdays in the New Year will now be dedicated to rehearsals for the Saskatoon Fiddle Orchestra........my newest passionate pursuit has become the violin. I played classical guitar for a little over a decade growing up, but left it behind in my early 20's. My son started taking violin about a year ago, & then this past Fall, my own passion for playing music was rediscovered. It has become a bit of an obsession...............there are weeks when more scones should have been made, but I simply could not put the violin down (sorry, if you were left sconeless because of my indulgement). My son & I are both taking lessons with Philip Kashap - & Philip & I are co-hosting a couple of Indian cooking classes in the New Year. Sorry - they're already full - I'll see if I can coax him into scheduling another one!

I'm doing more & more team-building / corporate social events for the cooking classes - most recently, I had the opportunity to host classes for:

zu.com
Red Bull
Cravings Maternity & Baby Boutique
the legal group at SGI

The personal experience of preparing food & then sharing a meal together is such a wonderful way to bond with people, whether it be friends, family or co-workers - I truly enjoy hosting these events :)

Lastly - Best Wishes for the Holidays, & for a Healthy & Happy New Year!!!!

michelle
Wild Serendipity Foods

Honey Lavender Bunches Take a Trip to Bali

I've had several jars of my mustards travel overseas, but this was the first time fresh-baked goods made their way across the world! One of my customers (Deanna Litz, who is also the photographer - lovely shot!) requested her husband's favourite - Honey Lavender Bunches - as she wanted to take them to her hubby (who is currently completing a tour of duty in Afghanistan) for their rendezvous in Bali. Yes, even uber-rugged soldiers are unable to resist the subtle floral undertones combined with heady sweetness of honey in these chewy delights.

Thanks again, Deanna, for taking the time to send me photos of the well-travelled goodies, and of Rick enjoying them :)

David Adjey at the Saskatoon Farmer's Market

We had a celebrity chef in our midst at the Farmer's Market this morning......of course I had to make sure I got a picure in! He was in Saskatoon for the Top of the hops

I gave him a jar of my new Raspberry Honey Mustard and a bottle of my Sweet Agony Mango Coconut Hot Sauce.........hope he gets a chance to try it out :) He was being toured around the market by Chef Dan Walker of Weczeria and Chef Rusty Penno of Boffin's.

The Saturday market has been increasingly booming............my scones keep disappearing fast & furious. May have to add yet another oven to my collection!

If you weren't aware, there is now a new Sunday market (same location), hours are 11 to 3. Not all vendors are present, but the Market is still open, & a little more relaxed than Saturday. I have staffed my booth for this market, so that means I actually get to be a customer on Sundays!

Michelle Zimmer

Owner

Wild Serendipity Foods

www.wildserendipity.com

Recipes as Seen on Shaw TV

Here are the two recipes that you will soon see on Shaw TV:

Spiced Indian Chai Tea

There are a million recipes for chai..........this is mine. If you end up with any leftover chai, try it chilled with ice!

4 or 5 peppercorns
4 or 5 cardamom pods
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
6 to 8 whole cloves
2 star anise pods
peeled skin of half an orange
2 or 3 slices fresh ginger
3 orange pekoe tea bags
3 cups milk (traditionally homogenized is used, but choose whatever milk you like, including soy or almond milk)
1/3 cup sugar (more or less, even none, depending on your taste)

Place approx. 4 cups of water in a large pot. Add all the spices, orange peel & ginger. Bring to a boil, then turn heat off & allow to steep for approx. 30 minutes. If you do not have time, just continue to simmer for 5 or 10 minutes.

Bring back to a boil (if you turned the heat off in the previous step) & add the tea bags; allow to steep for approximately 2 minutes. Add the milk & sugar, & bring back to a boil. Once the tea has come to a boil & begins to rise up in the pot, it is finished. Be sure to watch it closely when it's close to boiling, because inevitably the phone will ring or some such interruption will occur at that last moment, & you'll end up with a stovetop full of milk to clean up!




Watermelon Feta Salad

This may sound a bit odd, but try it, especially on a hot summer evening.......you will love it!

one 'personal' watermelon, seedless
2/3 cup feta
zest & juice of one lime
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste
1 TBSP freshly chopped parsley
Optional: drizzle of olive oil, black olives

Place the onion slices in a small bowl with the lime juice, tossing to coat. This step will mellow the raw onion flavour.

Cut one end of the watermelon off, about halfway between the equator & the end. Scoop out the flesh, trying to leave most of the flesh in large chunks. Cut the watermelon flesh into large-ish bite-size pieces & place in a bowl. Just before serving, toss with the lime zest, juice, pepper, salt & parsely. If desired, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil & a few chopped black olives. Enjoy!

Why I Never Kept a Diary...........

Here's a lovely pic of the very first green pepper available for sale by Grandora Gardens at yesterday's Market - Spring really IS here!

Well, it's been nearly 9 months to the day since I've posted (no, I'm not pregnant), and childhood memories of my attempts at keeping an updated diary come flooding back. I don't know why it's so difficult to keep up updating, it's not that there's been no news to tell! ;)

A brief synopsis:

The overwhelming success of the new home of the Saskatoon Farmer's Market has allowed me to take a reprieve from catering, and focus only on the market and my cooking classes. Even the winter market was good this year, & for the past month, it has already started to feel as bustling as last summer did. I am so thrilled to be a part of our Market - so thrilled, that I put my name in for consideration to be elected to the Board of Directors (which I was.......no applause, please). So I now have a 3 year term on the Board, and my position for this year will be Vice President.

Last summer I was invited to participate in the 1st annual Saskatchewan Mustard Festival, spearheaded by Exec Chef Moe Matthieu (of Willows on the Wascana). If you've never heard of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival, it's a 2 month long festival showcasing agriculture and the fine arts. The festival is held when mustard is in bloom, and mustard plays a key role throughout the 2 month event. Chef Mattieu has had the opportunity to work in the region and participate in the festival, and was keen to start a grassroots festival in Saskatchewan. Perfect place, since we are such a major player in world mustard production.

Last fall I was asked by Harden & Huyse Chocolates in Saskatoon to provide baked goods for their newly-installed coffee bar, featuring Eurpope's Illy coffee. My quick-to-disappear scones can now by enjoyed there, in addition to several other delectables. If you're craving one on a non-Market day, be sure to check them out!

This year I started scheduling Oyako cooking classes (Oyako means parent & child in Japanese); I do them on Sunday afternoons (about one a month). I thought it was a great way for a parent & child (or children) to connect, and maybe spark/kindle an interest in cooking. They've been a lot of fun. In my adult classes, we eat what we have made at the end of the class, but for the Oyako classes, I put together dishes that are taken home, so that the rest of the family can sample their creations.

I also ran a few 100 Mile Diet classes this year - over the past year, interest in this movement has really piqued in Saskatchewan. The menus were great fun to put togeher - generally I came up with them in my head while attending the Saturday's Market just before the class. The dishes were chosen based on what was available that day at the Market. In introduced several people to flat iron steaks, which have now become hard-to-find at Benlock Farms (even I'm having trouble getting them now!) I was clever enough to stock up on a few herb blends by Fran's House of Herbs before they left the Market for the winter - that made easy to add lots of flavour, produced locally. As a substitute for pepper, I had stocked up on chipotle peppers from Grandora (chipotle peppers are ripened, smoked & dried Jalapeno peppers), which I then ground up in a coffee grinder. Salt used was from Sifto in Unity. Pea shoots from Wally's Urban Market Garden added a burst of colour to salads. That's just handful of the the local products we used - really, it's amazing how bountiful Saskatchewan is, even in the darkest parts of winter!

This past January, I was invited to speak by the Mustard Development Commission at Crop Production Week. I shared a bit about myself and the mustards I make for the Farmer's Market, some fascinating facts about mustard properties & its history, and the Saskatchewan Mustard Festival. I was really honoured to be asked to speak........and I think I gave the audience a bit of a light-hearted break in the midst of all the more 'serious' crop stats, forecasts, etc. :)

Leading to.......I was recently able to double my scone production capacity by purchasing a 2nd double oven. I'm quickly building up my arm muscles trying to keep you all in scones ;)

We're off to see the pelicans today - they returned a week ago, which is the earliest return ever recorded, from what I understand. If you're not from Saskatoon, you can read all about the pelicans.

Ratatouille - a must see!

We decided to take our boys to Ratatouille over the weekend - although I knew the main premise was about a rat living in Paris, I did not realize that this was a foodie movie. Really, even if you don't have small children, take in this film (maybe not a matinee, then!). Almost the entire movie is about cooking, the dynamics of the French professional kitchen, the mystique of the Michelin stars given to French restaurants..........and of course, it's another Pixar masterpiece.

I'm really excited about first-ever Taste of Broadway, being held on July 12th at the Broadway Theatre(http://www.broadwaytheatre.ca/index.html) Here's the description:

"Taste delectable appetizers and desserts from the Bulk Cheese Warehouse, Calories, The Living Room, Ninos, Pesto's, Sushiro, Starbucks, Weczeria and the Yard and Flagon, while indulging in wine-tasting from Cory Distilleries, PMA Ltd., E & J Gallo Vinery, PMT Distributors and Foster's Wine Estates. Followed by one of the great "foodie" movies. What a wonderful way to spend an evening!"

can't wait :)

Happy Canada Day!

michelle zimmer

Owner
Wild Serendipity Foods
www.wildserendipity.com

long time, no post......

How time flies!! We're halfway to Christmas already (my son's birthday is today, which is why that halfway mark come to mind so quickly)!!!

A few updates on my business ventures:

* I did not win the SABEX new product category - I did, however, attend the gala (& had a minor stroke when the winner was about to be announced......even though I was quite sure I wouldn't win) & had a lovely evening. For that category, the winner was Tiny Eye Technologies, a company that has created an online speech therapy service.

* My ice cream business is humming along..........hard to believe the season is halfway over now! I really am enjoying being able to offer such a wonderul, locally-made product from Homestead Ice Cream. The response to the ice cream has been extremely positive :)

* The Saturday Farmer's Market continues to be overwhelmingly successful. The first Saturday, I, along with most other vendors, were basically sold out of product within about an hour and a half. Each subsequent Saturday has been equally bustling.......it's a wonderful atmosphere. If you have not yet had a chance to take it in for yourself, do so! :) If you're wanting freshly-baked scones from yours truly, best to show up before 9! I am trying to meet the demand more by selling trays of frozen scone dough - all ready to be popped in to your oven at home!

* I am now attending the Thursday Farmer's Market, as well. The hours for the weekday markets are 10 am to 5 pm.

* An article about my business is in the current issue of Enterprise Magazine (formerly Small Business Magazine), a national publication out of Ontario - written by Felechia Brodie, a local freelance writer. Very exciting! I will hopefully post an electronic copy shortly.

That's about all the major updates for now :) (minor update, my youngest, who turned 3 today, is officially potty-trained, which means we are officially done with diapers - yippee!)

Michelle Zimmer
Owner
Wild Serendipity Foods
http://www.wildserendipity.com/

We all scream.............

for Ice Cream! :)

Because, in a brief moment of rest, I thought I just wasn't busy enough, I decided to purchase the ice cream shack in the Avalon Shopping Centre (the same mall where I have my commercial kitchen). It was up & running this past Friday - my sons (age 2 & 4) think this is the coolest thing ever!

I am proud to offer exclusively Homestead ice cream. For those that don't know, Homestead is a local ice cream business that has increasingly grown over the years & now produces ice cream for roughly 40 business, including McNally Robinson & Fuddrucker's. I was happily surprised to find out that when I place my order, the ice cream is made just for that order, it's not pulled from a freezer.......so it's as fresh as possible! With 180 flavours to choose from...........choosing was difficult! I've started with 12, & will slowly increase to about 24 flavours as the season gears up. No, I am not working the shack - I now have my first 2 official staff :)

Farmer's Market news - last Saturday, Cinqo de Mayo, was our first market day in the new building, located at Ave B & 19th. It was absolutely bustling!!! This past Saturday was another repeat. I need to re-prioritize my week to be able to make enough product to last past 10 am.........

The SABEX gala is tomorrow night - outfit has not been finalized/completed; thought I could pull something together from my engineering days, but no. I don't plan on spending a whole lot of time on my acceptance speech (the one I'm quite sure I will not be giving). It will be a fun night, nonetheless :)

Michelle Zimmer
Owner
Wild Serendipity Foods

SABEX Finalist!

Well, surprise of all surprises, I was named a Finalist in the New Product category for the SABEX awards!!

The big gala is on May 15th - of course, I'm most definitely not expecting to win - I'm thrilled with having come this far :)

My Glossy Debut!

The Flavours Magazine, Spring 2007 issue is out, & there I am, in fully glossiness :) I have an electronic copy posted on my website, if you'd like to take a gander.

First off, I was really happy with how the article came out, both the article itself and the photos. I am not, however, a chef............and have never referred to myself as one. I guess I can be called a professional cook, since I now make my living cooking for money. I just wanted to clear that up, in case there were any raised eyebrows over the article.

Things have been busier than ever, to the point where I have had to cut, at least temporarily, my corporate lunch delivery service and weekend cooking classes/birthday parties. I have come to accept that you really can't work 7 days a week forever. I am trying to strike a balance between corporate catering, cooking classes & the Farmer's Market. I've come to learn that I cannot do more than two, or maybe the odd 3, classes per week - I start rolling quickly into the burnout zone otherwise.

It's been an interesting year (March 11th marked my 1 year anniversary with the Market, which I guess technically is when I officially began my business) to say the least. Part of me, when I have a moment to take it all in, is still in shock over the response to my services. The rest of me is just too busy trying to keep all the balls in the air to think of anything else.

My sad news is that my grandmother passed away last Saturday at the age of 93. She is the one whom I credit with teaching/inspiring me how to cook. She & I spent many days together cooking up a storm. She would let me pick recipes I wanted to try, gather up all the ingredients, then we would cook for hours on end. Of course, she taught me (& gave the recipes) many of her dishes that I loved. This was all around the ages of 6 to 9. I remember one time I asked her to help me prepare Petit Fours - the photos in a cookbook were so intriguing to me. I could tell she was a little daunted by the recipe & the photos, but we carried on anyway, & there were wonderful :)

I don't think she ever really understood (she had memory issues in the end) that I gave up my career as an engineer to pursue my passion for cooking, which she def. played an important role in cultivating. I am grateful to her for so many things, but most especially, of course, for those memories of us cooking together, in her tiny little kitchen, complete with avocado green appliances. I will cherish those forever.

continued blatant self-promotion

I was pleasantly informed this week that I have been nominated for not one, but two, SABEX awards (Saskatoon Awards for Business Excellence) - for Best New Product (my mustards) & Best New Business Venture.

How cool is that?!

Blatant Self-Promotion

still somewhat recovering from the Christmas mayhem............haven't quite managed to find my mojo again, but it's getting there :)

Just thought I'd write a few of the 'happenings' in my life, as of late.

Just before Christmas, Noelle Chorney, a freelance writer with Flavours magazine (for those who don't know about it, or live anywhere in western Canada where you can find it, it's a lovely, glossy magazine published quarterly & made avail. in liquor stores..........full of glorious food porn & interesting articles about fine food & drink, local chefs..........) contacted me about doing an interview for the Spring 2007 issue regarding my cooking classes. Of course I agreed. After the interview, a couple dishes I selected to be in the article were photographed, & moi aussi. It was pretty cool seeing how photo shoots are done!

Then, at the last Market before Christmas, a person from ShawCable (our local community information/news station) was looking at my products, & asked if I'd be interested in doing a segment for their "In the Kitchen" series. Of course, I said yes :) They came to my kitchen on Jan 8th to film the segment - I chose my mustard straws, & it aired the next day, & throughout that same week. I was more ok being filmed that I thought - running my cooking classes was definitely good preparation - but I was pretty much beside myself just before the first airing. It didn't help that I had told everyone I knew when it would be on, & I hadn't even seen it myself. In the end, I was greatly relieved, & surprisingly happy with how it turned out.

One particular Farmer's Market vendor asked that I 'remember the little people' when I'm rich & famous................I guess I will ;)

Other than that, things are slowly swinging back to normal (other than THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF 2007 that occured a little over a week ago - why did I move back here again?!). I had a momentary panic attack when I hadn't had any calls for catering during the 1st week of the New Year, & then, to my relief, the calls all came on one day, & now we're all back to the usual.

I also had my inaugural meal assembly night at my store last week. For those who have not heard of this concept, it's become quite the trend south of the border, & as is the usual way, is taking it's time catching on here. As far as I know, I'm the first one in the province to be doing it. The idea is, I do all the shopping/chopping/browning/mixing............the customer comes in (after pre-selecting their dishes & quantities), & does the final 'assembly', usually into a reheatable foil tray, complete with reheating instructions. The dishes are all freezer-friendly. That particular night was arranged for a woman who was due the following week with her second child - I wish something like that has been around when I had my babies! Stocking up a mom-to-be's freezer with prepared entrees is a GREAT idea.

signing off for now

m.

My First Christmas Catering Season

Now that I finally have a moment to breathe/eat/write.............I appear to have survived my first season of Christmas catering. In the summer/fall, people kept saying "you're going to be so busy at Christmas, just wait." I assumed things would pick up a little, but given the fact that my catering business really only launched in the Fall, I thought, how busy could I possibly get? Well, numerous 16, 17, 18 & a few 19 hour-days later (mostly back to back), I am shocked at the response to my catering services. This past Friday marked my 'banner' day in terms of who I catered for: Cameco, PotashCorp, followed by the Court of Queen's Bench. I still have some catering this week, but I have made it over the 'hump'.

I was happy to have been able to attend yesterday's Farmer's Market, as I was forced to miss last week's (& it was a special Christmas Market, no less) because of the catering. Despite another snowy/blizzardy day, the Market was still bustling. The live cedar & pine wreathes by Gail from Wally's Market Garden (http://www.marketgardening.com/wallysmarketgarden/) are amazing - I bought a couple of seed wreaths from her 2 weeds ago. It appears that I will be doing my Christmas shopping at the Dec 21st or 23rd Market - if you're not done your shopping either, check out the Market for some wonderful, locally-created gifts.

My cooking classes have wound down for the year, with the exception of a couple of custom private classes. I'll be setting the schedule for the first few months of 2007 during the last week of December. I can't wait to attend some of the classes myself, as I will be bringing in a few local chefs, food writers and a sommelier to guest-host/co-host some classes! watch for the schedule ;)

michelle

owner/manager
wild serendipity foods
www.wildserendipity.com

Finding Nirvana in Navan

It would appear that, in a single sip, I have found 'my drink'. I finally purchased Navan, a vanilla-infused cognac (a Grand Marnier product). I had yet to try it, but I knew that I wanted to do truffles with it for the upcoming holiday season..........and of course, I love vanilla, so it was beckoning me. Forgetting, at first, that you are to warm the cognac slightly before sipping, I inhaled the vapours & nearly choked. I thought I was in for a huge disappointment...........memories of sipping straight whiskey from parent's liquor cabinets at a ridicuously young age came flooding back. I took a sip anyway, after all, I had already poured it.........you are instantly hit with an intense vanilla flavour. Truly amazing. The taste on your lips afterwards is sweet, and totally vanilla. I am in love ;)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
michelle
owner
wild serendipity foods
www.wildserendipity.com

More Reasons to Spice Up Your Life

There was a fascinating article today from CBC - "The Healing Power of Spices". I'm sure the link won't last forever, but here it is http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/spices.html

The timing of the article, I'm sure, is based on the recent publication regarding the proven benefits of turmeric for arthritis.

For those that know me, I'm all about spices..........mainly by the way of East Indian cuisine. I've recently been implementing a few of Mexican/Southwest dishes into the Market, which also use a lot of spice (ie. cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, chili powder, oregano)

Some of the interesting facts includes:

Cayenne: increased metabolism & the body's fat-burning ability, by up to 25%!!!

Cinnamon - a 2003 study apparently showed that ~1/2 tsp. lowered blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Mustard (of course I would mention this one, although I already knew this from my research on the subject) - remember those 'mustard plasters?' These have been used for hundreds of years to relieve respiratory problems. I recall that the mustard itself acts as an irritant to the skin, because of it's heat factor, which brings about an increase in circulation to the area of contact.

Rosemary - apparently both a stimulant and analgesic (you smell it & you know it must be powerful!), it's been used to treat headaches and poor circulation.

Saffron - a 2005 study found that it may (?) help cases of mild to moderate depression. However, the dent in you wallet, if you choose to use it regularly, may increase the depression (that part was not in the article)

Wasabi - now this is interesting. Remember when, before we knew that uclers were caused by bacteria, and people with them avoided spicy foods? Well, apparently wasabi may help prevent ulcers by killing some of bacteria that causes them.


So bring on the spices!! And please don't store your spices above your stove - to maximize their shelf life, keep them sealed in a dark, relatively cool place, and buy them in small quantities, unless you use them a lot. I tell people in my cooking classes to buy the bagged spice in the East Indian aisle, then divy them up with friends. :)


michelle zimmer
owner, wild serendipity foods
www.wildserendipity.com

Life is Short

It is with a heavy heart & hollow feeling that I'm writing this today. I was just informed that a cousin, only 2 years older than me, married to an amazing woman who struggles with MS, with a very young daughter, has suddenly died.


Life can & will be snatched away with no notice..............you cannot plan for death, especially the untimely one.

Do what you love. Life is too short to spend it any other way.



Michelle Zimmer
Owner, Wild Serendipity Foods
www.wildserendipity.com

Inaugural Post

Today was the last Saskatoon Farmer's Market before Halloween - many of the vendors (& children) were decked out in costume, lots of themed items were available. For my booth, I added some mango puree to the Dal Makhani I made to give it the appropriate orange-hue, and I also had some black & orange spiral cream cheese cookies (this is the cookie recipe we made this week in my after-school cooking series) and put my pita crisps in Halloween cello bags.

I have a Cinderalla pumpkin in my store now, which I purchased from the Market. These go from a pale orange to a deep red, at which point, they are apparently ready to eat (yes, raw, drizzled with honey I'm told.....eaten as you would eat a watermelon). I'll let you know how it is!

Michelle Zimmer
Owner - Wild Serendipty Foods
www.wildserendipity.com