Garlic, Pork, and Apples

Another great weekend has come and gone. My weekends have been incredibly busy lately, especially since it seems to be festival season around here. Actually there have been so many that I haven't been able to keep track of them all.

The Stratford Garlic Festival, however, had been on my calendar for months now. I was determined to get there on Saturday, rain or shine. Apparently a lot of other people were determined to get there as well because it was very busy--a lot busier than I had expected.

The Stratford Garlic Festival is a celebration of garlic; of growers promoting, displaying and selling their Ontario garlic. While we were there we sampled a roasted red pepper hummus dip, garlic bread, pickled garlic, bison, elk, emu, garlic cheeses, a mini egg salad ice cream cone, different kinds of garlic butter spread, honey butter, and some very, very yummy garlic fudge. The fudge was to die for and was my favorite sample of the day (from Nudge Nudge Fudge -- www.nudgefudge.ca )! We weren't able to buy any because they were sold out, but we did buy some pumpkin fudge which was also very good. It'll be a nice treat for Thanksgiving.

After stuffing our faces with samples we made our way into town for a bite to eat for lunch. There were many restaurants in town taking part in the festival by offering garlic dishes on their menus. Many were offering roasted garlic potato soups, another had roasted garlic lamb burger with brie and rhubarb preserve compote, Pan Tapas & Grill had Perth county pork ribs with a caramelized honey and garlic glaze, Pass da Pasta had penne pasta with roasted garlic and artichoke tomato sauce, etc.. Since we weren't too hungry we decided on Cafe Ten's Mediterranean Roasted Garlic and Three Cheese Pasta with Basil Pesto (www.cafeten.ca). It was delicious.

It wasn't just the restaurants and vendors at the Festival taking part. There were also other companies within the region participating as well. The Pork Shoppe in Shakespeare was one of them (see: www.porkshoppe.com). I had been meaning to visit this shop for a while now so this was as good a time as any. It won't be my last visit either.

They have so much to offer--pork sausages, tenderloin, ribs, bacon, loin chops, ham, meatballs, pepperettes, schnitzel, pork chops, souvlaki, and even ready-made tourtieres. They don't just sell pork either; they have chicken, bison, beef, lamb, cheeses, condiments, and baked goods. And next door you can also find other locally-made products such as candles, maple syrup, soaps, clothing, towels, etc..

Our day didn't end there! After purchasing our meats (meatballs, ribs, and garlic mozzarella) we made our way out to Birtch Farms near Woodstock for their annual Apple Festival. We've gone every year for the last 3 years or so and we keep going back. We love their farm because it's not as commercialized as other places (no entry fee, no parking fee, etc..). We went in, had an adventure in the corn maze, my daughter played in the playground, we picked apples, and visited the store.

We picked a half bushel of Jonamac's, Cortlands, Empires, and Royal Galas. Here's a pic of me with all of our yummy apples. Some will be used to be eaten as is, other will be made into applesauce or an apple crisp, and others will be eaten sliced with some natural peanut butter. Apples can be used in so many different ways. Hmmm...pork and apples? What a coincidence!