ZenKitchen Newsletter - March 31, 2008
ZenKitchen Gourmet Dinners
Saturday, April 26
Saturday, May 31
Sunday, June 22
ZenKitchen Classes
June 11 - Elegance, Purity and Simplicity: Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine at the Urban Element (theurbanelement.ca)
ZenKitchen in the Community
April 2 - Rogers TV 22 cooking demo on "Daytime" at 11 am
April 11-13 - Eco Chic Fair, LCBO, Rideau & King Edward
ZenKitchen Inspiration: Be the change you want to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends of ZenKitchen,
Well, back again just before the arrival of April and the slow but sure arrival of spring... yeah!
ZenKitchen Monthly Gourmet Dinners...
Those people who attended the March 29 ZenKitchen special food and wine pairing event were treated to a wonderful evening of Italian-inspired food and wines selected by Antonio Mauriello of DiVino Wine Studio (http://www.divinowinestudio.com/) to match the menu. The event was very popular and sold out quickly, so if you couldn't get a seat for event, we hope to hold another food-wine pairing type event in the near future so stay tuned. Also, for those beer lovers out there, we certainly haven't forgotten about you and we're hoping to repeat this fall the popular food and beer pairing event we had last year.
April marks the first anniversary of ZenKitchen! We had our inaugural dinner at a humble coffee shop downtown last April and this crowd of enthusiastic dinner guests started spreading the word and look at where we are one year later! It's truly incredible and we are very appreciative of this support! To celebrate, at the April dinner we'll have some wonderful piano music before and after the dinner by Tony Dunn and other surprises. I'm heading to Tokyo shortly after the April dinner for a few weeks to work at my friend's vegetarian restaurant in Tokyo and eat my way through the city, which a recent Food and Wine article (February 2008) says is creating the most thrilling food traditions and trends that are pouring into North America. I'll try to continue my blog writings from Tokyo to keep you informed of my observations and activities, well not all of them of course, and will certainly come back with lots of inspirations and ideas for the May 31 dinner and beyond. In June, we've decided to hold the dinner on a Sunday as it's a better day for the Chelsea Club and with people starting to head out for the weekends, what better way to end your weekend or start your week but with a nourishing and loving dinner by ZenKitchen?
Many people have asked us about holding a ZenKitchen meal outside in the summer, preferably by the water. We would love to do this but are scouting out venues with the opportunity to be outside but have cover in case of rain. If anyone knows of some great places where we could hold this, we would love to hear from you. Please email me at caroline@zenkitchen.ca
ZenKitchen Cooking Classes...
I'm happy to report that my cooking classes have been popular and filling up quickly. My next class at the Urban Element that still has openings when I spoke with them last week: June 11 - Elegance, Purity and Simplicity: Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine. For more information and to register, please contact the Urban Element (theurbanelement.ca)
I continue to appear on Rogers TV Contact Japan for my cooking segments. Contact Japan airs on the second Sunday of every month at 9 am with a repeat the following Saturday at 9 am. For the Contact Japan's airtimes: http://www.rogerstelevision.com/option.asp?lid=12&rid=4&sid=2733
Also, ZenKitchen and gourmet vegan food has hit the big Rogers TV weekday daytime slot! I will be appearing on April 2 for a brief cooking segment on the live "Daytime" show, which is a daily magazine show at 11 am.
ZenKitchen in the Community...
April 11-13, ZenKitchen will be at the LCBO on Rideau and King Edward as part of the Eco Chic fair and will be serving whole food, vegan food samples. This special event involves people paying $2 that goes towards a non-profit and having the opportunity to sample some wines and food. The times ZenKitchen will be there: April 11: 4-8 pm, April 12: 1 to 6 pm, April 13: 12-5 pm.
On March 26, ZenKitchen participated in Connaught Public School's Stone Soup Cafe, and donated a Creamy Squash-Apple Cider Soup, made with whole foods and vegan of course, with people buying soup in bowls painted by children to help raise funds for Right to Play (http://www.righttoplay.com/) that uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.
On March 15, ZenKitchen provided gourmet vegan hors d'oeuvres and participated in a discussion on food and health for a Women's Yoga Spa Day, in celebration of International Women's Day, at the Windhorse Yoga Studio on Wellington West (www.windhorse-yoga.ca)
How to be a Locavore...
With spring just around the corner, so is the growing season for local farmers. As an investment into a local farm and economy and good, fresh food on your plate, why not think about joining a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) project? Farmers are looking right now for people that would like to be customers so they can plan and finance their growing season. Through your commitment to a farm for a full growing season, you help ensure that small local farms in our community keep farming. How great is that in itself! But you are also rewarded with high quality, fresh food, as it becomes available throughout the season. CSA farms usually offer weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables. Also, many people find it rewarding to take trips on the weekends to visit the farms to see where the food is grown and help the farmers. If you don't think you'll be around some weeks and don't know what to do with all the food, why not share a membership or give away some to friends or donate it to those in need? I recently spoke to the head of a women's shelter in Ottawa that said that they receive a lot of low-end canned foods and other products for the women and staff but very rarely receive high quality, fresh produce, which they would absolutely welcome and love to cook with. Please visit the Just Food web site for the list of CSAs at http://www.justfood.ca/
Also, I have been distributing the Just Food Ottawa Buy Local Food Guide, 3rd Edition, at ZenKitchen monthly dinners for guests and you can obtain the information electronically by visiting http://www.justfood.ca/. It's a wonderful and useful guide to local farms, including CSAs, and what produce is in season when.
I heard that the Ottawa Farmers Market at Lansdowne Park recently received the go ahead to hold their market on Thursdays now besides the usual Sunday mornings and I am thrilled! This is great news for the public and the hospitality industry to obtain fresh local produce in one location and meet the farmers. The Farmers Market starts in May and I encourage you to visit if you haven't as yet. You will definitely want to return!
Well, enjoy the spring as it unfolds in all its wonderful glory, Caroline
Saturday, April 26
Saturday, May 31
Sunday, June 22
ZenKitchen Classes
June 11 - Elegance, Purity and Simplicity: Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine at the Urban Element (theurbanelement.ca)
ZenKitchen in the Community
April 2 - Rogers TV 22 cooking demo on "Daytime" at 11 am
April 11-13 - Eco Chic Fair, LCBO, Rideau & King Edward
ZenKitchen Inspiration: Be the change you want to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends of ZenKitchen,
Well, back again just before the arrival of April and the slow but sure arrival of spring... yeah!
ZenKitchen Monthly Gourmet Dinners...
Those people who attended the March 29 ZenKitchen special food and wine pairing event were treated to a wonderful evening of Italian-inspired food and wines selected by Antonio Mauriello of DiVino Wine Studio (http://www.divinowinestudio.com/) to match the menu. The event was very popular and sold out quickly, so if you couldn't get a seat for event, we hope to hold another food-wine pairing type event in the near future so stay tuned. Also, for those beer lovers out there, we certainly haven't forgotten about you and we're hoping to repeat this fall the popular food and beer pairing event we had last year.
April marks the first anniversary of ZenKitchen! We had our inaugural dinner at a humble coffee shop downtown last April and this crowd of enthusiastic dinner guests started spreading the word and look at where we are one year later! It's truly incredible and we are very appreciative of this support! To celebrate, at the April dinner we'll have some wonderful piano music before and after the dinner by Tony Dunn and other surprises. I'm heading to Tokyo shortly after the April dinner for a few weeks to work at my friend's vegetarian restaurant in Tokyo and eat my way through the city, which a recent Food and Wine article (February 2008) says is creating the most thrilling food traditions and trends that are pouring into North America. I'll try to continue my blog writings from Tokyo to keep you informed of my observations and activities, well not all of them of course, and will certainly come back with lots of inspirations and ideas for the May 31 dinner and beyond. In June, we've decided to hold the dinner on a Sunday as it's a better day for the Chelsea Club and with people starting to head out for the weekends, what better way to end your weekend or start your week but with a nourishing and loving dinner by ZenKitchen?
Many people have asked us about holding a ZenKitchen meal outside in the summer, preferably by the water. We would love to do this but are scouting out venues with the opportunity to be outside but have cover in case of rain. If anyone knows of some great places where we could hold this, we would love to hear from you. Please email me at caroline@zenkitchen.ca
ZenKitchen Cooking Classes...
I'm happy to report that my cooking classes have been popular and filling up quickly. My next class at the Urban Element that still has openings when I spoke with them last week: June 11 - Elegance, Purity and Simplicity: Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine. For more information and to register, please contact the Urban Element (theurbanelement.ca)
I continue to appear on Rogers TV Contact Japan for my cooking segments. Contact Japan airs on the second Sunday of every month at 9 am with a repeat the following Saturday at 9 am. For the Contact Japan's airtimes: http://www.rogerstelevision.com/option.asp?lid=12&rid=4&sid=2733
Also, ZenKitchen and gourmet vegan food has hit the big Rogers TV weekday daytime slot! I will be appearing on April 2 for a brief cooking segment on the live "Daytime" show, which is a daily magazine show at 11 am.
ZenKitchen in the Community...
April 11-13, ZenKitchen will be at the LCBO on Rideau and King Edward as part of the Eco Chic fair and will be serving whole food, vegan food samples. This special event involves people paying $2 that goes towards a non-profit and having the opportunity to sample some wines and food. The times ZenKitchen will be there: April 11: 4-8 pm, April 12: 1 to 6 pm, April 13: 12-5 pm.
On March 26, ZenKitchen participated in Connaught Public School's Stone Soup Cafe, and donated a Creamy Squash-Apple Cider Soup, made with whole foods and vegan of course, with people buying soup in bowls painted by children to help raise funds for Right to Play (http://www.righttoplay.com/) that uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.
On March 15, ZenKitchen provided gourmet vegan hors d'oeuvres and participated in a discussion on food and health for a Women's Yoga Spa Day, in celebration of International Women's Day, at the Windhorse Yoga Studio on Wellington West (www.windhorse-yoga.ca)
How to be a Locavore...
With spring just around the corner, so is the growing season for local farmers. As an investment into a local farm and economy and good, fresh food on your plate, why not think about joining a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) project? Farmers are looking right now for people that would like to be customers so they can plan and finance their growing season. Through your commitment to a farm for a full growing season, you help ensure that small local farms in our community keep farming. How great is that in itself! But you are also rewarded with high quality, fresh food, as it becomes available throughout the season. CSA farms usually offer weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables. Also, many people find it rewarding to take trips on the weekends to visit the farms to see where the food is grown and help the farmers. If you don't think you'll be around some weeks and don't know what to do with all the food, why not share a membership or give away some to friends or donate it to those in need? I recently spoke to the head of a women's shelter in Ottawa that said that they receive a lot of low-end canned foods and other products for the women and staff but very rarely receive high quality, fresh produce, which they would absolutely welcome and love to cook with. Please visit the Just Food web site for the list of CSAs at http://www.justfood.ca/
Also, I have been distributing the Just Food Ottawa Buy Local Food Guide, 3rd Edition, at ZenKitchen monthly dinners for guests and you can obtain the information electronically by visiting http://www.justfood.ca/. It's a wonderful and useful guide to local farms, including CSAs, and what produce is in season when.
I heard that the Ottawa Farmers Market at Lansdowne Park recently received the go ahead to hold their market on Thursdays now besides the usual Sunday mornings and I am thrilled! This is great news for the public and the hospitality industry to obtain fresh local produce in one location and meet the farmers. The Farmers Market starts in May and I encourage you to visit if you haven't as yet. You will definitely want to return!
Well, enjoy the spring as it unfolds in all its wonderful glory, Caroline
posted by Caroline at 9:11 PM
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