Food + Drink: What Everyone’s Ordering This Spring

In the Spotlight: Edible Treasures

When foraging guide Jordan Madley heads out into the forest to lead a workshop, she’s never apprehensive about whether or not they’ll find something that day. “I do not worry for one, single, second,” Madley laughs. “The truth is the outdoors is mostly food – if you know what to look for and how to use it.” 

Madley leads a Guided Foraging Walk and Dish Tutorial on May 24 at Everdale Farm in Hillsburgh. Participants will forage in the local area and then prepare a wild greens pesto pasta, as well as a refreshing mocktail, all from whatever bounty they find that day. 

So what do foragers try to find? Mushrooms are at the top of the list, and some of the more ubiquitous ones that Madley seeks in the spring include turkey tails, oysters, black trumpets and the giant pheasant backs. She also gets excited about morels, which Madley jokes “look like tiny little brains,” but are highly prized by chefs because of their rich flavour. Native plants including ramps (leeks), garlic, trout lily, watercress and mint are all wild greens Madley says are easy to find in southern Ontario.

One easily identifiable edible that grows everywhere – much to the chagrin of gardeners – is the dandelion, which Madley explains is “an incredible food source, one of the most nutrient dense, and one of the most versatile from a culinary perspective.” She also encourages people to start thinking of trees as a source, as the seeds, blossoms and even young maple leaves can be cooked and eaten. “Trees are food too!” she says. 

This Toronto resident, who spent much of her childhood in the forests of Creemore, is always mindful about sustainable harvesting, being careful not to deplete the plant or damage the root or bulb. “Like with fiddleheads, you only take two or three from each plant,” she explains. “If you find something delicious that you love, you want to be able to go back year after year and make sure you can still harvest that same bounty.”

This workshop is being hosted by Over Here Community Arts Adventure. Check overhere.ca to sign up.

Kids Eat Free or Cheap 

Everyone loves a discount, especially when it comes to eating out as a family. On Mondays, kids eat half price at The Busholme in Erin and certain items are $1 at Cafetown in Orangeville. Kids also eat for free on Thursdays at the Higney Public House, now located at the Headwaters Fitness & Racquet Club. (Purchase of an adult meal required.)

Raise a Glass to Mom

Eggs Benedict with peameal bacon and a choice of smashed potatoes or salad is just one of the featured dishes at the Mother’s Day Brunch at the Rosemont General Store and Kitchen. Other options include avocado toast on freshly baked sourdough, and a vegetarian quiche. Dessert is a decadent chocolate ganache tart with strawberry, because moms deserve a sweet treat.

Mark Your Culinary Calendar

Learn to make four irresistible tapas – mojito shrimp, smoked salmon blinis with crème fraîche, classic pan con tomate, and addictive blistered pimientos de Padrón – at the Spring Tapas with Chef Gui cooking class, held at the Hillsburgh Library on March 28. All ingredients and equipment are provided, and recipes are yours to take home in a downloadable booklet.

Then, close your eyes and tune in to your taste buds at Notte Dei Sensi – the “night of the senses” – a blindfolded culinary journey at Adamo Estate Winery on April 25. Relying only on taste, scent and texture, you’ll explore a seven-course meal and enjoy wine pairings while a live violinist plays a nocturne. “Blindfolded, you’re not just tasting a dish,” says executive chef Sunil Nandal. “When flavours arrive without distraction, textures linger, the aromas unfold and each bite tells its story a little more honestly.”

Fans of sweet treats can also partake in Adamo’s popular Chocolate and Wine Tasting. You’ll savour riesling, chardonnay, rosé and pinot noir, each thoughtfully paired with a handcrafted chocolate infused with the essence of its wine.

The Tastiest Takeaway

With a tomato sauce base, pesto, roasted tomatoes, grilled chicken, garlic, mozzarella and goat cheese, the Spirit Tree Pizza, at left, is one of Spirit Tree Estate Cidery’s signature stone-oven pies at their Caledon space.

Or try the wood-fired Veggie Delight from Gather Cafe in Alton, topped with house tomato sauce, Saputo mozzarella, caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, oregano, sea salt, and topped with arugula and a balsamic glaze. Call ahead to order for pickup and you may eschew the drive-thru for good.

Tap into maple magic

Maple season might be short, but the award-winning maple syrup from Elliott Tree Farm has been centuries in the making. The sap flows from what owner Derek Elliott fondly calls “the Gathering of the Giants,” a collection of native maples that are at least 200 years old. A tasting flight lets you sample the difference between the three syrup grades – golden, amber and dark – which have distinct flavours and colours. “We do nothing to make that happen other than boil it,” says Elliott. “The trees at the beginning of the season deliver a golden sap, and as the season goes on it just naturally gets darker. We change nothing. It’s just nature’s pure magic.” The Maple Syrup Experience runs until April, followed by the Maple Sugarbush Experience Tour and Tasting until November. Both offer maple goodies like pure sap, maple taffy over snow, maple sugar and, of course, pancakes. 

A smoked maple old-fashioned, a rum-maple hot toddy, gin-maple lemonade and a maple-cream hot chocolate are some of the cocktail and mocktail options at Lamplight: Maple Syrup After Dark, a 19+ tasting event at Terra Cotta Conservation Area on April 11. Your ticket includes a walk in the illuminated sugarbush, live music, tastings and a nighttime wagon ride through the forest.

And if you need even more maple-themed beverages, stop and sip a Maple Cinnamon Latte at the Jelly Craft Bakery in downtown Shelburne, or grab a can of sparkling Sap Sucker, naturally sweetened with organic maple sap, available at the Rosemont General Store and others.

A Sweet Sip for Spring

Made with freshly squeezed lemonade, Thai blue pea flower tea, which turns purple when it hits citrus, and lavender from nearby Purple Hill Lavender Farm, the oh-so-pretty Lavender Lemonade from The Bank Cafe in Creemore is an ideal drink to usher in warmer weather. Cafe owner Nancy Johnston recommends also trying their infamously decadent carrot cake while you’re at it.

Naturally Sparkling 

Pét-Nat, short for pétillant naturel, is a sparkling wine made using an ancient method where fermentation finishes in the bottle, trapping natural bubbles. “The result is a lovely, rustic, sparkling, fruity wine,” says Creemore Hills Winery co-owner Catherine Morrissey, who bottled the Pét-Nat in 2020. Their wines can be purchased online. Tastings at this boutique vineyard are by appointment only.