by TRISH KELLY
Eat In
Was there ever a Molly Ringwald movie set in Manitoba? The launch of Hemp Bliss hempmilk at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim was kind of like watching an earthy, slightly mousy friend throw on a black dress and some heels and get crowned Homecoming Queen. After almost 10 years of producing the highest-quality organic hemp seeds and oils, now—with the introduction of the world’s first organic-hemp beverage—everyone wants to be friends with Manitoba Harvest. And we are so proud! All three flavours have a rich, nutty flavour and are a great source of protein and Omega 3s, but it’s the chocolate, made with fair-trade organic cocoa, that’s just begging to become a frappuccino. The new milk is gluten- and soy-free, and now available at savvy BC grocers. Info: manitobaharvest.com.
Book Out
So you’ve sworn to eat local and you take your optimistic self to the first Farmers Market of the year, only to find a lot of jams, bedding plants, and some spring onions. You might wonder how Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon managed their 100-mile diet for an entire year. As the weeks tick by and strawberries and heirloom tomatoes start coming in, it’ll get easier. Pick up a copy of Smith and MacKinnon’s freshly printed The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating ($32.95 Random House Canada, 100milediet.org) for all the details. If you need a high-profile referral, here’s what chef/author Anthony Bourdain says on the authors: “I think they’re nuts.”
Get Out
The month of May belongs to Commercial Drive. Start May 1 by dropping by Ten Thousand Villages (1204 Commercial Drive) for some Level Ground Fair Trade coffee at their Fair Trade Week Launch, featuring an acoustic performance by Luca Mundaca at 5 p.m. Come back to the Drive on May 12 for the kid-friendly Stone Soup Festival on the Napier Greenway (off Commercial Drive near Britannia Community Centre). By the time you get home, it will be only seven more sleeps until the Farmers Market opens at Trout Lake on May 19—complete with dignitaries, the season’s first greens, and a bell to ring it all in. If you still want more, sign up for one of Edible B.C.’s chef-guided tours of the Drive’s best food shopping. Info: edible-britishcolum
bia.com and eatlocal.org.
Trish Kelly lives and eats in Vancouver. She loves purple potatoes, yellow carrots, and other novelty vegetables. At her request, SharedVISION will donate Trish’s freelance fee to a food-focused non-profit organization. This month’s recipient is Growing Chefs: Chefs for children’s urban agriculture (growingchefs.ca).
