The Green Update - April 2010

In the month of April, we have processed  309 lbs of compost  and we haven’t even hit the end of the month!

We also have turned over our entire garden and have potted all the perennial herbs, for easy weeding throughout the summer.

We are in the process of putting patio stones down and creating a garden experience for our client and staff meetings, right in our own backyard.

Picked over 100 Viola (Johnny Jump Ups yesterday) for sugaring, but found they didn’t hold well for very long.  I think we need to sugar them right away instead of a few hours later.  looking into some tips.

I started biking to work. At least 3 times a week. Over 16 km each way. Wooo Hooo!

The challenge is for other staff to do the same, if they live in Guelph.  We’ll see. Stay tuned for more from our Green Team!

Lobster Mac & Cheese

By Chef Brian Schmeler

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni 1 (2 pound) cooked lobster meat 2 tablespoons butter 1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced 1 shallot, chopped 2 cups milk/35% cream
5 tablespoons butter 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 pound shredded Gruyere cheese 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1 cup grated Romano cheese kosher salt and pepper to taste 3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs

Directions

1.  Add macaroni noodles to boiling salted water, cook until tender, then drain in a colander set in the sink, and rinse with cold water to cool. Set aside.
2.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
3.  Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk in flour, and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Gradually whisk the milk or cream into the flour mixture, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is thick and smooth, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Stir the cheeses into the thickened milk mixture until melted and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the lobster, onions and macaroni. Place in casserole dish or a dim sum spoon and sprinkle evenly with panko crumbs.
5. Bake in the preheated oven at 350 until the sauce is bubbly, and the top is golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes.

Makes dinner for 8 or hors d’oeuvres for 32.

We made the 2010 Toronto Life Wedding Guide!

Check out our recent review in the!

Check out our recent review in the Toronto Life Wedding Guide!

Go for the GREEN in the Garden!

Spring has arrived and the smell, taste and feel of green is all around us. Your local garden center has begun stocking ready mix and gardening supplies. We've decided to step up our green plan and local food initiative to include a few new twists. Here are some of the ways we are helping out the environment and keeping our dishes fresh.

We are planting seeds! Thats right. Edible flowers are all the range in haute cusine this spring. The patio garden had been prepped, edible flowers and fresh herbs to come!

Not only are edible flowers beautiful they are accompanied by amazing flavour, vitamins and minerals.

Lilac blossoms are edible and have a pungent floral and lemony flavour? Make sure they are natural and not sprayed with herbicides and pesticides!

Marigold and Nasturtium contain vitamin c!

We are composting! Weigh in the compost. By measuring compost in the kitchen and what we bring home daily from events we can erase our carbon footprint.  We’ll keep you posted on how many lbs/ kilos we are composting monthly and the overall decrease in our carbon footprint.

We are sorting! Let's Sort. Each time the AY crew does a new event we take 3 containers, blue for recycling, clear for Garbage and a pail with lid for composting and all come back to our shop at the end of every event.