The Week in Yum Sept 4-11 Southbrook Farmer's Table, Farm Boy and My Hot and Spicy Long Weekend

Chef Shawn Murphy and Quiet Acres

Okay, things have gotten off to a a late start this year, what with the wonky long weekend dates, but here we are. The Kid is back in school (GRADE 11 FOR THE LOVE OF PEARL AND SPORTING VIABLE FACIAL HAIR) and TIFF started last night. These two events have been intertwined since the kid started going to school. Every year I felt like I was the only mom who missed the welcome picnic, who didn't get to walk her kid to school or even say hello to her child until the film festival finally ended. Now, he doesn't need me for much more than making his lunch and I no longer work the entire festival and life has settled down. Okay, enough of that.

I had a great week in Yum, starting with my food demo at The Hot and Spicy Festival as part of the "Ten for the Next Gen" program. Ten chefs shared something that they would like to pass on to the next generation, something that was passed on to them. For my presentation, I chose to make my beef/lamb/mushroom kofta and talked about the Blend and Extend and spread the mushroom gospel.

As someone who has spent her life being told that she talks to much (my brothers nicknamed me motor mouth - reason #45 that my kid is an only child) doing these demos and teaching has finally tapped into my two biggest talents in life - cooking and talking. It takes some of us longer than others to find our calling.

Malivoire makes for a great winery too too

I woke up Monday craving Niagara peaches so we set off, top down, and went for a long, meandering drive which took us first to Malivoire Winery where we bought a couple of bottles of Musque Spritz. It tastes a lot like vihno verde except instead of $10 it's closer to $20 but it is the perfect summer, sitting on the porch wine. Effervescent , a bit sweet and only 9% alcohol so you can drink more of it without getting so tipsy. I love it.

Feeling peckish, I suggested that we swing by Southbrook Winery for a bit of lunch. I had brought Shack along with me to the media lunch I attended at the beginning of the summer and we both absolutely loved our meal so returning for more was a very appealing idea.

It's such a pretty spot at Southbrook. We grabbed a table on the patio and had just ordered a charcuterie platter and two glasses of rose when Chef Shawn murphy strode through the doors. From that moment on, food just kept coming to the table as he laughed and cracked "I hope you two are hungry" from his outdoor kitchen counter.

"It's waaaaaafer thin"

We loved our charcuterie - all made in house and delicious - the pork rillette was my favourite. Calling the tomato salad a tomato salad belies the wonder of the array of freshly picked, warm tomatoes, fresh from his garden. I think there were at least five variaties on the plate, including the most amazing green tomatoes that I have ever had. Delicious.

The lamb burger, the pickerel sitting on top of a naturally sweet and creamy corn puree - it was all just delicious. When he finished us off with the daily pizza (braised lamb and more green tomato) I had to throw up my hands and beg him to stop - we were like two little goldfish who lack the ability to know that we are full and, at any minute, we could just blow up where we sit. To walk the food off, he took us for a tour of his garden, grown on an empty planting row between grapes and then sent us on our way to buy Peaches at Quiet Acres.

We paid for the things that we had ordered and the rest of the food was comped by the chef who was clearly trying to murder us with delicious food. All opinions are still my own and I am still alive so he might be a great chef, but he is a terrible hit man.

If you live near Whitby and you haven't stopped by Farm Boy yet, it is absolutely worth a visit. We took a drive from the city to see what all the fuss is about. Farm Boy is all about service and good quality so don't go looking for bargains but I would say the prices are in line with Loblaws so it's not all that bad. All soups and fresh, prepared foods are made on site and the store is spotless. With lots of stores in Ottawa and London Ontario, this is as close to Toronto as they have come so you will have to brave the drive if you want to shop here for now.

I have heard that they are kind of going for a Trader Joe vibe and with their folksy graphics and high end private label products, they are certainly on the way but until they have a Farm Boy Spekulas Cookie Butter, I will still be driving to Buffalo for my Trader Joe fixes.

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A batch of spicy peaches with a middle eastern flair was the first thing I did with my Quiet Acre peaches (recipe coming next week) and then I spent the rest of the week testing some Korean recipes for an upcoming "open mic" dinner that I will be doing at The Deppaneur  in October.

Don't forget that the Food and Wine Show is fast approaching - I am soooo excited to attend this shindig and you should be too.


Pinterest of the week: Bookmark this for Thanksgiving, you will thank me

Instagram of the week: This Berlin based food stylist and photographer's feed is stunning

Facebook share of the week:

#TOmoms - Check out "Plan it! Pack it! Eat it! Hands-on class to teach kids how to help plan and..." http://t.co/1ZdC30mUzL via @Eventbrite
Posted by The Yum Yum Factor on Thursday, September 10, 2015

Tweet of the week:  

omg, yes to this https://t.co/cR9NreuAzS

— The Yum Yum Factor (@SMmamashack) September 1, 2015

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