Return of the Raspberry Social!

Yes, the Raspberry Social is coming back!

 fig. a:  raspberries!

Bigger and badder than ever before, and with a new sense of purpose.

As was the case with last year's blockbuster St-Jean Strawberry Social at Espace Pop, this will be a combination Fruit Social & BBQ Social, featuring the following line-up:

AJ's famous smoky Carolina-style chopped pork sandwich (with all the fixings)

Savouré's wonderful raspberry soda 

AND

Michelle's irresistible trio of raspberries, spongecake, & whipped cream*

 fig. b:  BBQ !

This time, our Fruit Social & BBQ will be taking place at the Marché des Possibles, beginning at noon on Saturday, July 26, until supplies last.

And this time around all proceeds will go to a cause that's particularly close to our hearts:  the Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary.

Earlier this month, Montreal lost a phenomenal journalist, an ultra-enthusiastic supporter of the arts (and of Montreal's culture more generally), a true gastronome, and as dynamic personality as you are ever likely to encounter.  Many of us lost a great friend, too.

Both Michelle and I had known Ange-Aimée for years,** and she had always been a fan of "...an endless banquet" and a beloved regular of the Foodlab.  Plus, Ange-Aimée was a devoted member of our Montreal Fruit Socialists community--in fact, just last summer, she brought her CBC mobile equipment to our St-Jean Strawberry & BBQ Social and interviewed Michelle right in front of our location at Espace Pop.  Wouldn't you know it?  Within about 15 minutes, we started getting CBC listeners dropping in to partake in the festivities.  Yet another example of the Power of Radio, and a perfect example of the Ange-Aimée Effect.

Anyway, we miss Ange-Aimée dearly and we're big believers in Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary.  If the bursary reaches $15,000 in donations, it will continue to exist in perpetuity, and it seems fitting that the Ange-Aimée Effect should be allowed to touch the lives of Concordia students (Ange-Aimée's alma mater) for many years to come.

For more information on the Ange-Aimée Woods Memorial Bursary click on this link.

who:  "...an endless banquet" + Mile End/St-Louis BBQ #1
what:  an afternoon of tasty treats and positive action at a market where anything is possible
where:  Marché des Possibles, 5635 rue St-Dominique (corner of Bernard)
when:  Saturday, July 26, 2014, 12:00 noon till supplies last
why:  because you love barbecue and/or raspberries, and this here's a great cause
how:  just drop on by (with an appetite)

aj

* Last year, someone set a new Fruit Social record by eating four servings in quick succession (all for a great cause!).  Will you be the new Fruit Social Champion?

** In my case, I met Ange-Aimée when she took a crazy course of mine on apocalyptic visions in cinema that I taught at the University of British Columbia in the late '90s, on the eve of Y2K.

On the Horizon 3: The Return of the Strawberry Social! (now with more BBQ!)

 fig. a:  Strawberry Shortcake was here

St. Jean Strawberry Social, featuring Mile End/St. Louis BBQ #1

"...an endless banquet" is kicking off the Fruit Social Season for 2013 with a special St. Jean Strawberry Social.  This time we'll setting up a pop-up at Espace Pop, at 5587 avenue du Parc, just north of St-Viateur, and we'll be doing so on "la Fête de la St. Jean," Monday, June 24, between 1:00 and 5:00 PM.

 fig. b:  strawberry socialism

We'll have unbelievably delicious strawberry shortcake (with fresh Quebec strawberries, fresh whipped cream, and Michelle's nonpareil shortcake) on offer, as well as Savouré strawberry soda, and our own homemade iced tea.  And we'll also be teaming up with Mile End/St. Louis BBQ #1 to bring you some honest-to-goodness, Carolina-style, hickory-smoked, chopped pork sandwiches, with all the fixin's you might need to reach Hog Heaven.

 fig. c:  ole time BBQ

We'll be raising money to support one of our favourite local charities, Mile End Community Mission, a.k.a. Mile End Mission, who've been a fixture of the neighbourhood for years, helping out the most at-risk members of the local community with "practical, emotional, and spiritual" assistance, including a Food Bank that serves the needs of over 100 people each and every week.  All proceeds from our Strawberry Social / BBQ will go directly to the Mile End Community Mission.

 fig. d:  ole time strawberry short cake

So drop on by to grab a sandwich, a drink, and/or a strawberry shortcake, to make a donation to the Mile End Mission, or to just say "hey, y'all."

who:  AEB + Mile End/St-Louis BBQ #1

what:  an afternoon of tasty treats and positive action

where:  Espace Pop, 5587 avenue du Parc (just above St-Viateur), in Mile End.

when:  Monday, June 24th, 1:00 to 5:00 pm.

why:  because you love barbecue and strawberry shortcake and you want to make a difference.

how:  just drop on by.

See you soon, God Bless Strawberry Shortcake, God Bless Ole Time BBQ, and vive le do-good-isme!

aj

Mark your calendars..., rev. ed.

Hot on the heels of a glowing review of Foodlab in this weekend's New York Times (!), it's another eventful week in the wonderful world of Foodlab/Michelle/AEB.  Check it!

 fig. a:  Zorba the sommelier

Wednesday, July 25:  Theo Diamantis and Team Oenopole will be descending upon Foodlab for a special Greek Grill Extravaganza, featuring grilled Greek sausages (loukaniko), Izmir-style kebabs, grilled sardines, and a whole mess of Greek wines, in addition to all the Greek delicacies already on offer.  The fun starts at 5pm and lasts till 10pm.  Bring an appetite, and a thirst!

 fig. b:  red menace

Sunday, July 29:  Michelle and "...an endless banquet" will be running yet another fruit social (the first one of 2012) at Parc Jeanne-Mance from 1pm until supplies last.  This one's a Strawberry Social, and, once again, it will feature beautiful Quebec strawberries, Michelle's famous shortcake, and lightly whipped cream.  Portions will be generous.  Payment is by donation only, with a suggested donation of $7.  And all the proceeds will be going to support Head and Hands.  Location is by the beach volleyball courts, as Michelle's stand will be there to augment Serve, Head and Hands' annual bars & restaurants beach volleyball tournament.  Come one, come all!

And don't forget about Omnivore, which gets underway on August 16...

aj

p.s.  kebabapalooza follow-up:

 fig. c:  foodlab + oenopole

What a night!  Such great wines, such awesome food, such a good vibe...

Back in Blue

You asked for it, you got it.

fig. a: back in blue

This Saturday, August 27, Michelle will be hosting the last social of the summer social season: her Blueberry Social.

It all goes down at this week's Marché de FoodLab in Place de la Paix, off St-Laurent Boulevard, between René-Lévesque and Ste-Catherine, and adjacent to the S.A.T. (La Société des arts technologiques), from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.

Like our earlier socials, Blueberry Social will be a by-donation-only berry extravaganza ($10 suggested donation, but any amount of money will be accepted), this time featuring blueberry cobbler with lightly whipped cream, iced tea, and rhubarb lemonade, with all proceeds going to our friends at Dans La Rue.

Blueberry Social will be just one of the attractions at the S.A.T.'s Marché de FoodLab. There will also be plenty of organic farmers on hand selling fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as other products.

Come down and say 'hello.' Eat blueberry cobbler till you're ready to burst.

fig. b: "I feel funny!"

Think about it: this is our chance to take back the Quartier des Spectacles! In the most delicious way.

aj

Raspberry Social Wrap-up

Such a good crowd, such amazing weather, such a great time! And such beautiful raspberries!

fig. a: framboises

From the outside, you might have just thought it was a particularly busy day at good ole Parc Laval.

fig. b: Parc Laval

On the inside, however, you found the sweet, sweet sounds of the Better Late Than Never String Band (version 2.0: banjo + fiddle) and a couple of trained professionals

fig. c: Team Laloux

serving up the most heavenly sponge cake, raspberries, and whipped cream combo,

fig. d: heaven

along with a veritable battery of drink options.

Big thanks to all of you who were able to make it down for our Raspberry Social (including a whole whack of Ottawans!), as well as all those who wished us well from afar. Once again, it was a smashing success (over 100 people!).

Will there be another social before the end of the summer? (The blueberry fanatics* have been clamoring for a Blueberry Social, among other things.) We're still not sure, but stay tuned to AEB for all the latest Summer Social information and updates.

Thanks again to Restaurant Laloux, Café Myriade, and Better Late Than Never (who tore things up!) for their invaluable assistance and their camaraderie. You guys are the best!

aj

* You know who you are!

Raspberry Social!

fig. a: best event ever

Raspberries are here!  We're on! And you're invited!

That's right, AEB's Summer of the Social continues:

fig. b: QC in the house

Raspberry Social
Sunday, July 31st
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Parc Laval (avenue Laval, 1/2 block south of Laloux, between avenue des Pins and carré St-Louis)

gorgeous, height-of-season Quebec raspberries served with Michelle's sponge cake and whipped cream

rhubarb lemonade, iced tea, and iced coffee by our friends at Myriade

live music by the Better Late Than Never String Band

fig. c: BLTN

$10 suggested donation

all proceeds go to Santropol Roulant

See you on Sunday!

aj

p.s. If you missed our Strawberry Social, this is what it looked like!

Strawberry Social Wrap-Up

fig. a: exterior decorating*

We're a little exhausted, and our hands are still deeply stained with strawberry juice, but--oh, man!--was it ever worth it.  We honestly couldn't have been happier with the results.

Perfect size, perfect weather, perfect setting, perfect ambience, perfect company.  And the strawberry shortcake tasted pretty good, too.

For those of you who couldn't make it:

Silk-screened strawberries helped soften the look of The Wall.

fig. b: The Wall

Seth & Michelle were in charge of serving the strawberry shortcake.

fig. c: S & M

Michelle shows off a portion of her lovely strawberry shortcake.

fig. d: strawberry shortcake!

The view from the street.

fig. e: AEB street view

Michelle was pretty pleased with the results. She was simply beaming.

fig. f: triple strawberry

Matt and Max, a.k.a. The Better Late Than Never Band, had some attendees dancing up a storm.

fig. g: get down!

Thanks to our friends at Laloux and Myriade for all their assistance (especially Melanie and Seth!). Thanks to Matt & Max for providing the sweet sound of music. And thanks especially to all of you who joined us and helped bring the time-honoured tradition of the strawberry social to the streets of Montreal.

aj

p.s. Interested in getting your very own AEB limited-edition silkscreened strawberry social print or t-shirt? Drop us a line at ajkinik at gmail dot com.

* Photo courtesy of Mark Slutsky.

Strawberry Social!

fig. a: how strawberries are picked

You've heard us wax poetic about Quebec's strawberry socials before, now, in collaboration with our Kaffeklatsch partners, Restaurant Laloux and Café Myriade, we're holding our own! This Sunday, July the 10th!

Get this:

Fresh Quebec strawberries will be served with freshly baked shortcake and freshly whipped cream.

Iced coffee, tea and rhubarb lemonade will be on hand to refresh.

Live music will be played.

And it's all taking place outdoors, in lovely Parc Laval (on avenue Laval,* 1/2 block south of Laloux, between avenue des Pins and carré St-Louis), in the heart of the Plateau.

The strawberry social will last from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (or until the strawberries and shortcake last!), and it will be by donation only (suggested donation: $10), with all proceeds going to help our friends at Santropol Roulant.

And, finally, more information (of the "social media" kind) can be found here.

Come One, Come All & God Bless Strawberry Shortcake!

aj

* That's right: on Laval, not in Laval, silly.

AEB @ CBC, Summer Strawberries Edition

fig. a: Quebec strawberries

Michelle was back on the CBC with Jeanette Kelly again today, this time on Homerun, and this time the topic was strawberries. She had all kinds of things in mind to talk about (like where to go strawberry picking, helpful hints for preparing your strawberries simply, strawberry socials, strawberry gazpacho, and strawberry smackdowns), but these radio interviews go rather quickly sometimes, so, really, mostly what she talked about was pairing strawberries with herbs (plus a really sweet childhood memory of strawberry picking with her Mom and her sister).

fig. b: Michelle @ CBC

That was because she'd shown up with a sour cream panna cotta that she'd topped with strawberries and a herb granité, and Jeanette and the rest of the Homerun crew were understandably transfixed. It's a pretty delicious combo, and it's pretty too. But, best of all, it's pretty easy--especially the strawberries and the herb & lime granité.

Want to try it for yourself? Here's Michelle's recipe:

Sour Cream Panna Cotta with Strawberries and a Herb and Lime Granité

For the sour cream panna cotta:

150 ml cream
40 g sugar (2 ½ Tbsp)
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and added to sugar
1 1/2 sheets gelatin, soaked in cold water
250 g sour cream

Heat cream, sugar, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Turn off heat, wring out extra water from gelatin and add it to the cream. Stir to dissolve and pour over the sour cream. Whisk together to combine. Pour into glasses or small bowl and place in fridge to set at least 3 hours.

For the herb and lime granité:

2 sprigs basil
1 sprig mint
1 sprig lemon balm
1 sprig parsley
lime juice to taste
light simple syrup (one part sugar, two parts water) to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until quite green. Adjust sweetness by adding more syrup or water. Add more lime juice if needed. Strain into a container and freeze until hard. Scrape with a fork until fluffy and soft.

For the vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lime juice
black pepper

Mix all ingredients together.

To serve:

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

Toss strawberries in the vinaigrette and divide between the panna cottas, arranging the berries on top. Add granité and serve immediately.

The resultant panna cotta has a pleasant tang and a silky texture; the herb and lime granité brings out all the depth and natural sweetness of your farm-fresh strawberries; and the vinaigrette makes the whole ensemble sing.

Want to see a "Hallway Interview" with Michelle on the topic of strawberries? Check out Homerun's post on Michelle's visit here.

Want to see photo documentation of Michelle's visit? Check out Homerun's Facebook page here.

Want to make the most of Quebec strawberry season? Head on down to your nearest outdoor market, or, better yet, pick a nice day after we've had 2-3 straight days of sun, and make your way to a local u-pick.

Never had the pleasure of attending a strawberry social? Most of the Quebec strawberry socials have already passed, but you can catch a combination strawberry social/horse & buggy parade (!) in Vankleek Hill, ON, this Sunday, July 3, beginning at 1 p.m. You can find more information here.

aj

Strawberry Socialists

Canada Day weekend got started with what seems likely to become a lasting “…an endless banquet” tradition: the Ormstown Strawberry Social.

fig. a: June 29, 2007, Ormstown, QC

We’d been talking about going to one of Quebec’s many, many strawberry socials for years now. Home-baked shortcake, fresh Quebec strawberries, whipped cream, a little socializing—what could possibly go wrong? So this year Michelle took the bull by the horns and started doing a little research. That’s how she found out about the Ormstown Strawberry Social in MacDougall Hall. Though it’s situated just 60 km southwest of Montreal along a stretch of the Chateauguay Valley that we know quite well, we’d never been to Ormstown before. Michelle had a good feeling, though. So good, in fact, that she could picture the whole thing: the old Victorian architecture, the well-kept gardens and shade trees and the tidy lawns, the central church, and MacDougall Hall, a stately old town hall sitting next to it. She didn’t have an address, but she claimed she didn’t need one—she’d just know when we got there. And that’s pretty much the way things played out. Ormstown was just as attractive as Michelle had imagined it to be, she knew exactly when and where to make a turn, and, sure enough, there was stately old MacDougall Hall perched just to the left of the central church. It was early still, it was warm and beautiful out, and we’d brought some sandwiches along for a picnic, so we sat down on the lawn in the sunshine and had our dinner and a beverage before joining the social.

fig. b: everything old is new again

Things on the inside of MacDougall Hall were more or less just as Michelle had pictured they’d be too. With our tickets in tow--$6 for a large and $3 for a small—we made our way to the eat-in counter (the take-out counter was located in an alcove off to the right of the front entrance). There we exchanged your ticket for your portion of freshly baked shortcake slathered with the ripest, sweetest strawberries imaginable (barely stewed to perfection), and a generous dollop of freshly whipped cream.

fig. c: l-r: small and large strawberry shortcake plates

Once we’d gotten our plates, we sat ourselves down at a smartly appointed table and were immediately greeted by a friendly man bearing cups and a pot of freshly brewed coffee. We thought we were dreaming. Then we tasted the shortcake and we were sure we were dreaming.

fig. d: still life with strawberry shortcake

People were definitely kind of curious about us—everybody else seemed to know each other—but when some of the organizers found out that we’d come in from Montreal it caused a bit of a stir. “You drove all the way in from Montreal just to come here?” “How was the Mercier [Bridge]?” “D’ya get stuck in traffic?” “Where did you hear about us?” “What? You read about us on the internet?” When the storm had blown over, we went back to our table, finished our strawberry shortcake, and talked about how, at that moment, there was nowhere else we’d rather be. We meant it, too.

Want to check out your very own Montreal-area strawberry social featuring real Quebec strawberries? Try the Hudson Strawberry Social in Hudson, QC, just to the west of Montreal at the mouth of the Ottawa Valley. It takes place next Saturday, July 7 at the St. James Church. Start time is 5:30 PM, and, yes, there will be a dessert auction.

am/km