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Members of the Fresh START initiative from left to right - Henny Nagora (Seven Gables Country B+B),
Carla Carlson in tree ( Niagara Nature Tours, Bonnybank Bed and Breakfast), myself, Jodie Godwin ( Bushy House B+B ) |
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| Future home fries for my guests! Renee Schmitz, owner of Palatine Fruit and Roses, harvesting potatoes with his crew. Renee and Eva are always researching soil conservation and better farming methods. They have a diverse farm and stock heritage varieties of fruit trees and roses which are no longer grown commercially. Their nursery is open Monday - Saturday, a worthwhile visit for amateur or serious gardeners! We have also become close friends with some of their workers and have enjoyed visiting their families in Jamaica! |
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| Guests enjoying an early morning coffee on our one acre property are often rewarded with the site of coyotes or wild turkeys ambling through the forest behind. From hummingbirds to herons to great horned owls , they can all be found in our neighbourhood ! |
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| Further adventures of eating local! Who could have anticipated travelling treacherous mountain roads in search of our friends who work in our Niagara neighbourhoods? Travelling with our friend Thomas to visit his coffee farm high in the Blue Mountains was undoubtedly the highlight of our 2009 trip. Travelling in the back of his pickup offered an amazing 360 view of the mountains and Kingston 30 miles away. |
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| Your Host |
Born and raised in Niagara, this unique area provided a fertile environment for fostering my love of local history, music and art.
Another passion is quite obvious to my guests as they sit down to breakfast, a great opportunity to showcase the fabulous flavours of Niagara!
I remember my mother canning hundreds of quarts of peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, tomato and grape juice in August and September. Every winter we savoured homemade jams and currant jelly that my grandmother cooked without the aid of certo ( or air conditioning )!
It was natural to continue that tradition when we started Applewood Hollow in 1999 . In the last ten years I've appreciated the growing interest of my guests in the story of where their food comes from. As our population has become increasingly urban there is little knowlege of what it takes to make food grow or whose hands do the tending of the orchards or vineyards.
In 2008 I began the Fresh START initiative, guaranteeing my guests a mimimum of 85% Niagara grown produce. I was joined by three bed and breakfast owners who wish to actively promote the philosophy of eating local and supporting farms in our neighbourhoods.
Teaching my guests about how we grow food in Niagara is a most enjoyable and positive exercise! Enjoying tree ripened peaches and produce picked the night before is a new experience for most of my guests. On many occasions they'll pull on the rubber boots we supply and head out to observe first hand the incredible beauty and bounty of Niagara. They happily load up on fresh peaches and produce at neighbouring farms or at Saturday morning market in Niagara on the Lake before heading back home.
Since 2005 I have assisted with the Caribbean Workers church service held on Sunday nights May and June. It has lead to many friendships with the offshore workers who are employed by local farms, some arriving as early as February. There are close to 2,000 workers from the Caribbean and Mexico and they are a very much appreciated part of the community here in Niagara.
In 2007 I made my first trip to the beautiful island of Jamaica accompanied by my daughter Kate and her then fiance Josh Toal. We travelled from Montego Bay to Kingston, searching out the offshore workers who work for six to eight months of the year in our neighbourhood in Niagara. It was a life transforming experience for us as we stayed in their homes, visited their churches and played with their children.
Josh is a member of the band Newworldson which is enjoying a rapidly growing fan base around the world. The band is well loved by the offshore workers as a result of their personal friendships and their popularity on US television networks aired in Jamaica.
I have since made four trips to the beautiful island of Jamaica to visit the workers families. Jodie Godwin, owner of Bushy House Bed and Breakfast and a member of Fresh Start has travelled with me on three occasions. Our journeys there have fuelled our desire to create more opportunities for these relationships to flourish in our community.
Many of our B+B guests enjoy meeting the people that tend the orchard and pick the fruit that they enjoyed for breakfast that morning. It has been a life changing and enriching experience for our families to develop these friendships and we seek to inspire a more inclusive community where we live.
You can learn more about some of these activities I am involved with on my Youtube site .
One of my most asked for recipes and perfect for Christmas morning or new year's brunch!
Caramelized Apple French Toast
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3 tart local apples , peeled and sliced
4 eggs
1 cup half and half
1/4 tsp pure vanilla
1 loaf calabrese or firm french bread ( day old )
cinnamon, nutmeg to taste
Night before:
1.Trim crusts off bread and cut into thick slices.
Blend eggs, cream and vanilla and pour over bread slices
in shallow pan. Cover and let sit over night.
2. Cook together sugar, butter and corn syrup on stove, stirring until thick, just a few minutes.. Pour into 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with nuts .
In the morning layer apple slices on the caramel and top with
bread slices which have soaked overnight. Sprinkle spices on top.
Cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes in 350 oven. Remove foil and continue baking an additional 20 minutes til golden.
Garnish with whipped cream and enjoy!
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