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Prince Edward Island is often described as a giant green farm floating in the deep blue sea. Nowhere is that more apparent than at Brookfield Gardens in North Wiltshire.
This is my favourite way to serve broccoli, it’s super speedy and it tastes great. As it steams the broccoli is scented with garlic – but not overwhelmed by it. It’s a great way to turn a head of broccoli into an aromatic side dish on the table in under ten minutes!
Throughout North America agriculture has changed dramatically in the last 50 years as farming has become more corporate. One of the casualties has been the classic family farm but on Prince Edward Island that tradition remains. We have over 300 potato farms each averaging 250 acres or so Times have changed but our devotion to farming has not.
This special occasion treat features a classic trio of flavours: potatoes, bacon and cheddar. It’s my favourite way to show off the earthy potatoes that PEI is so famous is for. It’s not hard to make but it does take some time to assemble and will need several hours in the oven. The spectacular results are more than worth the wait!
One of Atlantic Canada and Prince Edward islands most successful crops are farm raised mussels but if mussels are farm-raised how do the farmers plant them? Where do you get a mussel seed anyway and where do you plant it?
Fresh cultured blue mussels are delicious, easy to prepare, good for you and good for the environment, but if they’re new to you here’s some info to help you buy and cook with them.
Every September Prince Edward Island celebrates the bounty of the land and sea with our annual harvest festival, Fall Flavours. If you’re a foodie it’s the perfect time to visit the island to both taste and experience our food. The festival features over 150 different events including farm tours, wine tastings, artisan food experiences and memorable special events. They’re all unique but only one transforms the ferry MV Confederation into a floating party. Chef On Board.
This is one of the easiest ways to cook any type of fish. It’s also one of the tastiest, and fastest. Perhaps more than any other technique, this is how I choose to get fish on the table in a hurry. Whitefish is a generic term that refers to many different types of fish, all of them easy to find and cook.
Lily Pond Farms is an award-winning potato farm in Eastern Prince Edward Island. The MacIsaacs are proud stewards of their land and known for their high quality seed, table and processing potatoes.
Everybody knows how good mashed potatoes are but if you really want to impress your friends and family try ‘em with brown butter. You won’t believe how much flavour is locked into a stick of butter but you will believe these are the best-mashed spuds you’ve ever had!
The cold clear waters of Atlantic Canada are home to one of the tastiest and sustainable aquaculture fisheries in the world: the world famous blue mussel.
Mussels are incredibly easy to cook, very versatile and best of all one of the tastiest treats in any cooks repertoire. They also travel with their own sauce. As soon as they’re steamed they release an incredibly flavourful broth that for an extra special treat you can soak up with grilled bread. They’re perfect guests at any backyard barbecue!
Wine, beer, rum, tequila, old school potato vodka. Long ago, all over the world, every culture figured out how to harness the miracle of fermentation to create a drop or two of liquid sunshine. All it took was a pile of local ingredients – the sweeter the better – lots of cold clear water, naturally occurring yeasts and a lucky break or two. Today every region has a defining signature drink that reflects time and place. Prince Edward Island is no exception.
Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Vodka Applesauce Today’s mainstream pork is very lean, so it can dry out very quickly as it cooks. The trick to tender pork chops that stay moist and juicy is a simple two-step cooking method. Begin cooking with high heat, then finish, covered, with low heat. Pork always goes well with apples so a batch of savoury applesauce with a twist will complete your feast!
The waters surrounding Prince Edward Island are some of the most fertile in the world. We’re blessed with many fisheries but without question our most popular and valuable is lobster. This tasty crustacean is a genuine culinary ambassador for the island!
Lobsters are one of the tastiest and most festive ingredients from Prince Edward Island. A feed of lobsters is an instant occasion, a special treat and a tasty connection to the island. Selecting, preparing, cracking and enjoying a lobster is very straightforward. Here’s how many islanders do it at home. I’ve also thrown in a brown butter twist!
The cold clear waters around Prince Edward Island are some of the most pristine on the planet. Their nutrient-rich purity supports a variety of thriving fisheries including mussels – both wild and farmed. Since wild mussels are found attached to every wharf and many exposed rocks above the tidal line mussel farming is really about encouraging mussels to do what already comes naturally.
Mussels are perhaps the easiest fish to cook, they need nothing other than a simple steaming to cook their meat and release the flavourful broth they contain. It’s easy to stir lots of global flavours into them as well, as simple as making any sauce under the sun and simmering mussels in the sauce until they cook through. This pasta dish features an easy to make basic tomato sauce jazzed up with oregano, olives and tasty mussels!
Like steak? Prince Edward Island has the best tasting beef in Canada! Our pristine environment is the perfect place to naturally raise cattle and our chefs are proud to feature local beef on their menus. We’re a genuine steak lovers paradise!
Fire-Grilled Steak with Steakhouse Butter The only thing better than a fire-grilled steak is the same steak with a round of flavoured butter slowly melting overtop, forming a rich, tasty sauce as it mingles with the steak’s juices. For the ultimate grilled steak experience, try taking the time to build a hardwood fire in your backyard!
Eat local, know where your food comes from. This is not always easy to do, or is it? Riverview Country Market is a good example of a market where you can just do that. Here you will find food that is in season and bought from local farm families.
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason, this is also an account of what happens when I make this dish, so you’ll understand each step. Of course when you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don’t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!
Prince Edward Island is home to many foods and flavours, one of my favourites are our oysters. All over the island our shallow in-shore estuaries are crammed with everybody’s favourite bi-valve. Two bays up the coast from my home is Colville Bay, considered by many chefs and foodies to be home to the single finest oysters on the East Coast.
Oysters can be enjoyed au natural, with some lemon, or all dressed. It does not matter if you are enjoying it on a boat, in a restaurant or in the comfort of your home, when preparing oysters you have many options. Some like to enjoy it straight from the shell, others maybe with a splash of lemon juice, vinegar, or hot sauce, that is the great thing about oysters they are just plain good – anytime. If you want to impress your friends with little effort, why not add some style to your oyster presentation with serving oyster martinis.
