If you live in Toronto, you’ve probably heard of Evergreen Brick Works. And judging by the crowds who packed the place last Saturday morning, this Toronto spot, which was established 20 years ago, is far from a secret.

But it was my first visit to this urban renewal project turned environmental education center, whose mission is to bring nature into the city. And at least part of that mission is to promote local food.

For more than 100 years, the former Don Valley Brick Works made the bricks that built Toronto. Many of the city’s notable buildings, from Old City Hall to Massey Hall, were built with Don Valley bricks.

In 1986, the Brick Works shut down, and this complex of 16 buildings fell into disrepair. Graffiti artists began using its huge brick walls as their canvases, and performance artists held underground raves in the abandoned factory.

The site took on a new identity in 1991 with the launch of Evergreen Brick Works. Since then, the center has started a variety of “green” programs, on local food, green design, cycling and alternative transportation, and a host of environmental issues.

A highlight, particularly during this harvest season, is the large Saturday morning Farmer’s Market.

Vendors like Vicki’s Veggies from Prince Edward County and Monforte Cheeses from Stratford sell local produce, cheeses, honey, jams, maple syrup, baked goods, and a variety of prepared foods.

Family-friendly hiking trails wend through the adjacent hills…

...a garden center and a “living wall” illustrate green design…

...and there’s even a Bike Works that will tune up your bicycle—and teach you how to maintain it yourself.

Sure, the whole place can feel rather earnest and over-eager, but that’s OK. It’s like a little kid with a big heart who just wants to make the world a tiny bit better.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you go…
Evergreen Brick Works is located at 550 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, 416-596-1495. If you’re coming by public transit, which the center strongly encourages, take the subway to Broadview Station (Bloor-Danforth line), where you can catch Evergreen’s free shuttle bus.

Photo credits:
All photos © Carolyn B. Heller

I haven’t been traveling much lately – mostly because I’ve been scrambling to finish a guidebook manuscript – but I’m still filled with wanderlust. I especially miss the discoveries of weird and wonderful new foods that are always part of my travel adventures.

Fortunately, even though I was at home the other day, an exotic ingredient appeared in my kitchen.

We get a weekly CSA box from our local farm, the UBC Farm in Vancouver.

And in this week’s box was a bushy bunch of unfamiliar greens.

Purslane.

In many areas, purslane is apparently considered a weed, a rapidly growing, leafy green plague that will take over your garden if you don’t aggressively root it out.

It’s also food.

When I began reading about purslane, I learned that you can toss it into salads – it has a slightly peppery taste, like arugula, but with a lemony note – or you can gently sauté or stir-fry it.

Hunting around my kitchen for potentially compatible ingredients, I found onions, garlic, zucchini, and fresh cherry tomatoes, as well as some potatoes.

Not sure exactly what I was going to prepare, I started by chopping the onions and sautéing them in olive oil. I mashed the garlic with some kosher salt, then added it and the chopped zucchini to the onions.

Separately, I steamed the potatoes, then tossed them with a pat of butter, a spoonful of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

When the onion-zucchini mixture began to soften, I added the tomatoes, let them cook down briefly, and then sprinkled in the purslane leaves.

Although it was less tomato-y and more green, the vegetable mixture reminded me of shakshuka, the Israeli dish of eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, so I fried a couple of eggs and slid them onto the vegetables.

The purslane added a slightly sharp, lemon flavor that complemented the savory eggs, onions, and zucchini.

It wasn’t a picnic in Peru, an eating expedition to Egypt, or a culinary quest in Korea.

But thanks to the purslane, it was a fine, farm box food adventure.

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Do you know other good ways to use purslane? Or have you had other food adventures at home?

(And while you’re at it, I could use some ideas for beets and zucchini, which have been arriving in over-abundance in my farm box.)

Please share your experiences below. Thanks!

Photo credits:
All photos ©Carolyn B. Heller

Don’t let this weird looking fruit throw you off. The gac fruit, found in Southeast Asia, is admittedly pretty ugly but it IS high in lycopene, beta carotene, vitamin c and Omega 6 and 9 fatty acids. Actually about 70 times the lycopene you’d find in a tomato, 20 times the amount of beta carotene than carrots and 40 times the vitamin c than in oranges. Kind of a superfruit…

I don’t think I’d ever come across one of these until earlier this year when our group received a tour of the local market before our cooking class in Hanoi. Our guide stopped by a roadside vendor and took a moment to slice one in half.

These have a short season, usually early in the year, around Tet, and are a delicacy for families around this time.

Sadly, I didn’t get to try this, but it should be noted that the only edible portion is the slimy part surrounding the large seeds inside. The seeds can then be roasted, almost like a chestnut.

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