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(from left, Sarah Koopmans, Sandra Regier and Erin Roy)
It’s Party Time at Ruralist and You’re Invited!
We’ve been working hard at Ruralist this year to share more of the best things to see, do and buy across rural Ontario. So we decided to take a little time out to celebrate. What does a Ruralist celebration look like? Well, of course it has to include delicious drinks and snacks inspired by food regions across the province. So, we’re having a Ruralist cocktail party today but don’t worry, you don’t have to do a thing, just enjoy our tasty party fare photographed by our very own Sandra Regier. For your conveneince we have also included downloadable and printable copies of all of our recipes too!
Food and Drink from Seven Regions Across Ontario
With an abundance of diverse agriculture and farming across the province, each part of Ontario inspires different ingredients. The only difficulty we had in planning the cocktail party was choosing among them all. Although our menu of cocktails and appetizers may not be exhaustive, we’ve tried to hit several of the highlights and incorporate a variety of locally sourced ingredients. What you will see below is a culmination of our individual styles and preferences for a unique sampling of sips and snacks you should definitely try at home.
Niagara – The land of tender fruit, Niagara offers some of the finest produce in the world. To represent this food region Sandra started with a jar of homemade canned Niagara peaches from her pantry and paired them with brie, basil and a balsamic resuction and turned it into a tasty appetizer pizza. The drink selected to complement her appetizer aptly began with Dillon’s gin, locally distilled in Beamsville. Paired with muddled pears and lime, it’s a perfect choice for a refreshing Cranberry cocktail. For ingredients and step-bystep instructions on how to prepare these recipes print out or download our handy recipe guide for Niagara Peach and Brie Pizza with Balsamic Reduction and Dillion’s Cranberry Cocktail.
Windsor-Essex – Often referred to as Ontario’s banana belt, this region of Ontario is home to two of our favourite local food producer’s Park’s Blueberries and Colio Estate Wines, makers of Girls Night Out Sparkling Wine. Put those two ingredients together and you get A blueberry Mojito Royale that is sure to impress your cocktail party guests. To accompany this sparkly drink we’ve add an appetizer with some crackle. This hors d’oeuvre involves only a few simple ingredients and can be served at room temperature. It’s crispy crunch bacony goodness that we absolutely loved! To make your own Blueberry Mojito Royale and Maple Bacon Crackle you can download copies of the recipes here.
Eastern Ontario – To suit the craft beer fans at this cocktail party Sarah selected Beau’s Lug Tread Lagered Ale, brewed in Vankleek Hill. Paired with it are Lanark Cheesy Horseradish Stuffed Baby Potatoes made with Lanark County’s own Balderson Cheese. There’s something so delicious about the spicy hint of horseradish paired with the smooth taste of the Lug Tread that work perfectly together. These recipes are available for download and printing here.
Perth County – Home to one of our favourite Slow Food markets, we have become acquainted with many artisanal food prodcuers in this area. To represent this region we have selected Monforte Dairy feta as the key ingredient in our Monforte Sheep Feta and Jalapenos Tartlets. We’ve chosen a hot apple cider, a winter time staple, and prepared it with a cinammon and a spiced dark rum to complement the sweetness, warmth and zing of the jalapenos. For a savoury little add on we’ve included these delicious honey garlic pepperettes from The Whole Pig, located in Dashwood, just northwest of Perth County. For a copy of our Perth C0unty inspired recipes click here.
Manitoulin Island – To capture Manitoulin Island’s food essence there simply must be Hawberries included in the ingredients. This simple berry is iconic on the island and works perfectly in our “Manitoulin Island” cocktail. This simple drink was created to symbolizes the exotic and beautiful landscape in this region. We paired this with our Smoked Trout Blinis, because fresh Lake Huron fish is a must have when visiting Manitoulin Island. The Hawberry Syrup in our Manitoulin Island cocktail is a product of Hawberry Farms, located on Manitoulin Island. For a printable and downloadable recipe guide for our Manitoulin Island inspired cocktail and appetizer click here.
Bruce & Simcoe County – Lamblicious meatballs with tzatziki sauce, need I say more? How about YUM! Pair that up with a Collingwood Whisky Sour and you’ve got a party. Sarah has incredible taste when it comes to food and drink and these meatballs made from Lamblicious free range lamb in South Bruce are mighty fine. Try making this homemade tzatziki sauce and you’ll never buy store made again. The Collingwood Whiskey Sour is made with Ontario’s own Collingwood Whiskey, a blended Canadian whiskey that’s mellowed in 100% hard maple wood casks. For a copy of our Bruce & Simcoe inspired recipes click here.
Huron County – To enjoy the night life in Ontario’s land of sunsets, we’ve opted for a Huron County pick me up drink. The sweet finish to our County cocktail party is an Ontario’s West Coastal Specialty Coffee made from Coastal Coffee with a 1 oz. shot each of coffee liqueur and light rum topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. Accompanying our coffee are a selection of cookies and squares from Bayfield’s The Black Dog Pantry, where their in-house pastry chef makes them fresh each day.
We hope you have enjoyed our get together and it’s inspred you to incorporate more of Ontario’s fine food and drink ingredients the next time you’re entertaining. Thanks for reading Ruralist and sharing it with your social media friends. Together we can spread the word about the incredible things to see, do and buy in rural Ontario.
CHEERS!
Sarah, Sandra and Erin