Fall is here and that means that the NHL season will be in full swing in no time. The official season opener is this Thursday, October 1st, so what better excuse to have your friends over to watch the game? Don't worry about feeding that crowd because nothing goes better with hockey than simple chicken wings and some ice-cold drinks. The perfect party food, chicken wings are inexpensive, easy to make, and with all your options in terms of marinades, rubs and dipping sauces, they'll easily please any crowd. But if you're really pressed for time and don't have the time to get creative, you can't go wrong with our Two Way Wings. It's a simple recipe for both hot and honey garlic wings, which are sure to please any crowd. When preparing wings, always remember to cut off the wing tip before cooking. As they tend to burn and there's not much meat on there to begin with, it’s best to save those tips for your next chicken stock recipe. Baking your wings in the oven is the easiest and healthiest method of cooking, but you can also try frying them or cooking them over a charcoal grill for a rich and smoky flavour. Once they’re out of the oven, there’s nothing left to do but cut up some carrot and celery sticks, and the munchies are all set for the big game. You might also set out some empty bowls to put those discarded bones for quick and easy cleanup afterwards. As for what type of beer will go best with your wings, the votes are in - as long as the beer is ice-cold, any choice is sure to complement those wings perfectly. Hosting your friends is a great, economic alternative to crowded pubs, so have the gang over this week for wings and beer to celebrate the kickoff of our beloved national sport!

Well, game on! ‘Tis the season to pull out the serving trays and sparkly glassware and find something to fill ‘em up with! Here are my seven tips of entertaining in this century that will make it easy on you thus ensuring that you actually have a party:

1. Rent dishes and glasses if you are having more than 15 people. You can have them delivered clean and picked up dirty and it really doesn’t cost that much
2. Make as much as possible in advance
3. Say “yes!” to offers of “can I bring anything?”
4. Serve buffet style and be okay with eating off laps
5. Make finger foods that can be eating off a stick or toothpick (nothing that requires a knife!)
6. Never apologize
7. Never explain

We live in a tiny house that I love, but it freaks me out when too many bodies get in the way of my masterpieces in the kitchen. My solution is to make simple foods look like masterpieces. For instance: Attached you will find a Chicken Yakitori dish that can be prepared and marinated in advance, it is then baked in the oven, un-skewered. That ‘skewering of meat thing ‘is so labor intensive and it is way more impressive to have a dish of tasty, cooked pieces that are stuck with creativity. If you frequent thrift stores (I do for props and platters constantly), you will find a variety of cheap fondue picks in bright and festive shades. They are gorgeous in a big pitcher along with some kitschy fake flowers. The cooked peppers and chicken get transferred from the baking dish into a platter. Remember, though, it really is in the presentation that masterpieces are born. I layer a white platter with large, green kale leaves and mound the chicken with red and green peppers up high. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and set it out with a basket of rice crackers. So your centerpiece is set, now let your guests fill in the rest.

Baked Yakitori Christmas Chicken Recipe By : Theresa Albert, DHN, RNCP Serving Size : 12 2 cup low-sodium teriyaki marinade and sauce ¼ cup honey 4 tablespoons grated gingerroot 1 Tablespoon dark sesame oil 3 cloves garlic - minced 3 pound skinned boned chicken breasts, cubed 8 large green onions 4 medium zucchini - cut into chunks 3 red bell pepper - cubed 1 pound button mushrooms, whole 6 large kale leaves (for garnish) ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds (for garnish) Combine teriyaki sauce, honey, gingerroot, sesame oil, garlic and cubed chicken in a large freezer bag. (Can be left in fridge up to 48 hours or freezer up to 3 weeks. Thaw in fridge before baking) On the day of your event, chop remaining vegetables and lay into the bottom of a large, square roasting pan, drizzle with a little extra sesame oil. Empty contents of chicken packet onto vegetables and place into oven, uncovered for up to 45 minutes, at 375F or until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F or 74C, the veggies are softened and sauce is bubbling. Serve on a platter lined with kale leaves and top with sesame seeds.

Barfblog is a unique online forum where a number of authors pen, post and link to stories about food safety. This unique forum is either loved or hated, depending on your perspective. No one is singled out, but no one gets to hide either. The one common thread is that everyone, from the farmer to the consumer has a role to play in making sure food is safe. The man behind it, Dr. Douglas Powell, is an associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University and the publisher of barfblog.com. Trained in molecular biology, Doug found that food safety was a discipline where he could meld his interests in science, society and policy -- more formally known as risk analysis. His lab, a research team of 20 undergraduates, graduate students and research assistants, edits the daily bites listserv which have over 12,000 subscribers in 70 countries. According to his blog bio, he leads a diverse group of students that seek “innovative ways to compel everyone in the farm-to-fork food safety system -- individual producers, retail employees, and consumers, among others -- to acknowledge and adopt best practices to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.” Doug has been saying for years that food safety is not simple. There is no silver bullet. Food safety is complex, constant and requires commitment. Dr. Doug Powell and his colleagues, especially Dr. Ben Chapman, now of North Carolina State University, are a primary source for food safety information during outbreaks and are often quoted in mainstream media reports. Doug also regularly films short food safety videos and podcasts that are posted on the blog or posted to YouTube. Visit the blog to see it for yourself at http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/.

If you’re new to cooking, recipes can seem like they’re written in a foreign language. But just like everything, practice makes perfect and the more you use recipes, the easier they’ll be to understand. For starters, it’s always a good idea to read the recipe all the way through before you get started. That way you’ll be sure you’ve got all the ingredients and tools necessary and won’t be stopped midway through cooking. It’s also handy to highlight any terms or instructions you’re not familiar with, so you can look them up before you start cooking. The format of a recipe starts out with a list of ingredients and then lists the steps for preparation. Ingredients are usually listed in the order that you’ll be using them. Here’s where you’re likely to find quite a few abbreviations in terms of measurement. To help you out, here are some common abbreviations explained:

tsp = teaspoon Tbsp = tablespoon fl = fluid oz = ounce pkg = package pt = pint qt = quart gal = gallon lb = pound mL = millilitre L = litre g = gram kg = kilogram

Be sure to stick to the proper measurements. Once you get a hang of a particular recipe you can play around with it, but if it’s your first go at it, it’s best to follow the measurements as listed. Generally, cooking times and temperatures in published recipes have been well tested, but since everyone’s oven is bit different, cooking times may vary. Buying an inexpensive oven thermometer is a good way to make sure your oven is at the right temperature. Finally, don’t be afraid to personalize! Once you’ve cooked a recipe successfully a few times, feel free to add your own touches to make that recipe you very own classic dish.

Whether it’s for the office or for the kids at school, packing lunches is a great way to ensure you can have healthy meals made with fresh ingredients while saving a few dollars. But it's also important to remember the rules of food safety when packing lunches to avoid getting a lunch box “bug”. Always remember to wash your hands before, during, and after preparation, and of course teach your kids to wash their hands as well before digging into their lunches. Be sure the food preparation area is clean and dry beforehand to prevent any germs from spreading to the food. It's also a good idea to give the lunchbox itself a wipe down with a disinfectant to make sure it's clean before you start. If you're packing perishable foods such as sandwiches with eggs, deli meats, chicken or tuna, adding an icepack or investing in an insulated lunchbox is perfect for keeping things cold until lunchtime. Alternatively, a frozen individual juice box can be a great substitute for an icepack if you're short on space. If your packing hot foods like soups, always place them in a vacuum bottle or thermos that you've sterilized with boiling water before hand. It's best to keep the hot foods in a separate, spill-proof container away from any perishables. Washed fruits and vegetables, crackers, and baked goods can be eaten at room temperature, and are always great additions in any lunchbox. Preparing lunches the night before can be a real time saver in the morning. Just pack everything and leave it the fridge. All you need to do is a grab and go on your way out the next day. So get into the routine of packing lunches while remembering the rules of food safety. Your stomach and your pocketbook will thank you!

Animal safety and care is our focus in this last installment of our series of posts, giving you the story of chicken- from gate to plate. Canadian chickens are raised in a proper environment of large barns, which are heated and well ventilated. Our chickens are not kept in cages and roam freely on floors that are covered with soft, dry bedding or litter. They are given clean water and feed. Between 6 and 8 weeks in the barns, the chickens are transported to the processing plants in trucks designed for shipping poultry with a flock sheet. A flock sheet is a form used by farmers to record specific information about such things as feed, any medications used, number of birds placed, etc. The flock sheet also serves as the farmers' assurance to the other links in the food chain that the birds have been produced in accordance with the strictest government and industry guidelines and regulations. At the processing plant, an inspector checks every chicken, making sure the chickens are healthy, safe and are ready to be sold to the consumer. After each flock has left the barn for the processing plants, the barn, the floor and the equipment are disinfected and the litter is changed. The barns are left vacant for nearly a week before a new flock arrives. Chicken farmers across Canada follow a strict on-farm food safety program, which sets the standards for raising the chicken Canadians trust. Stringent record keeping is an important component of on-farm food safety and allows Canadian chicken farmers to participate in quality control, traceability, and disease control. Canada's chicken farmers firmly believe that animals should be treated with care. In fact, for the last 20 years, all industry partners have worked to develop guidelines and regulations governing animal care practices in Canada. We work together to ensure that animals experience the least amount of stress possible.

Farm writers seeking networking and professional development opportunities gathered up the wagons and headed west to the 2009 CFWF annual conference, September 10-12 in Edmonton, Alberta. “The Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation annual conference is the place to be for networking and professional development if you write or broadcast about agriculture,” says John Greig, CFWF President. “The mix of interesting farm tours, stimulating learning and fun with colleagues has been a success.” “The conference theme is Shaping the Future Marketplace: The Opportunity Hunters,” says Janet Kanters, CFWF conference co-chair. “We wanted to feature Alberta producers, businesses and other leading authorities on how they are facing change head-on, and finding opportunity within that change.” Delegates arriving at the Radisson South attended the welcome reception, opened by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s Parliamentary Assistant, Doug Griffiths, an ardent promoter of rural development and author of “13 Ways to Kill a Community”. On Friday, September 11, delegates had their pick of three tours to get a first-hand look at farming operations, agri-businesses, and agricultural organizations in the Edmonton area. Tour One – Pioneers of Yesterday and Today – focused on family-oriented operations that are truly committed to agriculture, such as Highland Feeders and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. This is the one I joined – a separate blog report on that will follow soon. Tour Two – A Fork in the Road – included stops at Sunworks Organic Farm, the Footloose Caboose Lodge, and the Viking Hutterite Colony. Tour Three – Alberta Spuds and Suds – featured Alberta entrepreneurship at its finest, with visits to the Little Potato Company, the Multicultural Heritage Centre, Inspired Market Gardens and Alley Kat Brewing Company. All three tours met up for dinner and entertainment at the St. John’s Cultural Centre for a traditional Ukrainian supper and dancing/entertainment. The dance troupe, about 20 members strong, showed off blazing footwork, amazing cultural costumes and some high flying fun. Saturday was professional development day as delegates heard from speakers focusing on the conference theme, as well as other issues such as social marketing, lessons learned from the H1N1 outbreak, and more. The conference wrapped up on Saturday evening with a Taste of Alberta banquet and the CFWF awards program which recognized 44 award-winning writers and photographers. Founded in 1955, the CFWF serves the common interests of agricultural journalists, including reporters, editors and broadcasters as well as those in business and government whose primary responsibility is agricultural communications. The CFWF represents more than 380 members who belong to regional and provincial organizations, including:

• British Columbia Farm Writers' Association (BCFWA)
• Alberta Farm Writers' Association (AFWA)
• Saskatchewan Farm Writers' Association (SFWA)
• Manitoba Farm Writers' and Broadcasters' Association
• Eastern Canada Farm Writers' Association (ECFWA)

It would be politically incorrect of me to state that I am happy for the recession, but I will say that I think some good is coming out of it. My colleagues in all facets of the food biz agree that the crash happened and people came home to eat. So how does chicken, cooked at home, factor in to this new economy? How does it stack up as a protein in terms of grams of protein/cost compared to others sources like beef, tofu, or fish? A quick trip to the grocery store and a few food labels tell the whole story.

Food	Grams of Protein	Approximate Cost
5 oz. skinless chicken breast	100 grams	$3-4
5 oz. boneless skinless thighs	100 grams	$1-3
½ cup tofu	20 grams	$0.62-0.75
5 oz steak	100 grams	$5-8
5 oz salmon fillet	100 grams	$3-5

Don’t get me wrong, each and every choice has its place, and I do enjoy them all, but when I am teaching people to budget I do want them to make informed and healthy choices. Remember, an average adult needs .4 grams of lean protein for each pound of body weight, so your average chick like me needs 45-60 grams per day. To get the amount of protein that I need in a day for the dollars spent to get it, boneless skinless chicken thighs win, unless I can eat 2.5 cups of tofu, which would be cheaper, but I can’t. Strictly on a dollar for dollar basis, chicken is cheap and cheerful. And, of course that is only one factor in what helps me decide where to put my dollar. Here is a chicken recipe adapted from my cookbook, Cook Once a Week, Eat Well Every Day that stretches boneless skinless chicken thighs about as far as they will go – at the most nourishing and delicious $1.75 per person that you will ever spend!

Theresa’s Chicken Cacciatore Recipe By: Theresa Albert Serving Size: 10 2 teaspoons grape seed oil 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs 2 onions - sliced into rings 1 green bell pepper -chopped 6 cloves garlic 48 ounces tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes 2 teaspoons dried oregano ½ teaspoon dried thyme 2 teaspoons dried basil 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 2 dashes hot sauce (like Tabasco) ¼ teaspoon pepper ½ pound mushrooms, chopped 1 package whole wheat spaghetti noodles Cut chicken into pieces about 1/4 the size of your palm. Heat a large, deep pot then add oil. Add chicken pieces in small batches, brown and set aside. Let pan reheat before adding second batch. (The juices will brown and add more flavour, and they’ll ensure the color on the chicken that you want... brown, not grey) Add onion, green pepper and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Add tomato sauce, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, hot sauce, pepper and rosemary to pot. Add chicken back in and cook over medium- low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve over whole wheat pasta.

In this second part of our three part series of posts, we tell you what happens after chicks arrive to the farm from the hatchery and what exactly is in chicken feed. Chickens in Canada are raised in clean, well-ventilated, climate-controlled barns, where they can roam freely. The chicken barn is heated before the chicks are placed, in order to ensure they have warm, comfortable surroundings once they arrive from the hatchery. Feed systems and water lines are checked daily to ensure that birds always have unrestricted access to food and water. Heating, ventilation, humidity and other environmental levels are verified constantly, to ensure that the birds are comfortable and stress-free. The main ingredient of all chicken feed (88%) is grains and grain by-products, protein-producing seeds, and meal made from them such as canola or soybean meal. So, essentially, all chickens are "grain-fed." In much smaller quantities (around 10%), various other protein sources such as meat and bone meal/vegetable fats, are added to improve the nutritional content, taste and texture of the feed. In much, much smaller quantities (1.5%), mineral and vitamin supplements are commonly added to prevent any nutrient deficiencies. Chickens are not given any hormones or steroids. Hormones and steroid use in Canada has been illegal since the 1960s. Moreover, chicken is tested by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure that there are absolutely no medication residues that could cause any risk to human health. In the final installment of this three part series, we talk about animal safety and how the chickens get from the farm to the consumer.

The long awaited day has come! It is with great joy in our hearts that we welcome Baby Chick to the CFC Roost. Baby Chick arrived a little late by his parents’ standards, but right on time, by his own. And now a few words from our new addition to the CFC family – Baby Chick Spencer

My parents named me Baby Chick Without asking my advice I think they’re going to keep me For they think I’m pretty nice. I was born September 5, at 4:23 am And, I don’t do much but doze I weighed just 9 lbs. 4oz and measured 24 inches That’s without my clothes.

With tiny yawns, sleepy sighs, nursery rhymes and lullabies, Lisa and her husband are taking this special time to get to know this precious new life that has just begun. Congratulations Lisa and welcome Baby Chick we look forward to meeting you!

Theresa Albert, bestselling cookbook author and Food Network personality is back hosting another episode of our video podcast. Through her guest blog posts and this video podcast, Theresa is helping us show Canadians how easy it is to make tasty and healthy meals, despite our increasingly hectic lives. In this episode, Theresa shows us how to make homemade chicken fingers perfect for even the pickiest of eaters. Just a few quick steps you’ll have this family favorite ready in no time. Take a look at her blog post, Homemade Chicken Fingers, where you’ll find the full recipe for Theresa’s delicious chicken tenders.

Let’s face it - with our busy schedules, coming home to a lavish meal every night isn’t exactly realistic. But there’s no need to roll your eyes at the thought of leftovers – they actually can be the key to your next great meal. Leftovers are perfect when you don’t have the time to prepare something from scratch or when you just don’t want to heat up your oven. Cooked chicken can last up to three to four days in your fridge, and up to three months in your freezer. Just remember to wrap the meat tightly in plastic wrap or use an airtight container to prevent freezer burn. Thaw the chicken overnight in your fridge and before you know it you’ve got a great staple for many quick and easy dishes. To give those leftovers some new life, try our recipe for Chicken and Pasta Salad. You can also try putting cooked chicken over tortilla chips, adding some diced peppers and a sprinkle of shredded cheese for nachos in no time. Whip up a quick casserole by adding some cooked chicken and a chopped onion to your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe. It can even be as easy as slicing up some fresh vegetables with the cooked chicken for a quick stir-fry. Put the chicken in your pan just at the end of cooking to heat through and your leftovers will be transformed. Adding some cooked chicken in those quick meals on the run is a great way to get some extra protein in your diet without a lot of fat. It’s easy to get creative with cooked chicken. Try it today and you’ll be surprised where your imagination can take you.

Ever wonder how a chicken gets from the farm to you? In this three part series, we give you the whole story of a chicken from hatching to when it’s delivered to you, the consumer. Let’s start right at the beginning in the hatcheries. About once or twice a week, hatcheries take fertilized eggs from breeder farms, which are then placed into incubators. The incubation period lasts about 21 days before the eggs begin to hatch. Next, the chicks are separated by sex. Traditionally, farmers will place birds of the same sex in the same barn, as males and females grow at different rates. Before leaving the hatchery, the birds are vaccinated to prevent illness, and then chicks are placed into heated trucks and delivered to farmers within 6-12 hours of hatching. The chicks are primarily raised in family farms. Unlike many other places in the world, over 90% of Canada’s farms are family-owned. Raising chickens requires a high degree of commitment and knowledge. During the seven or eight weeks that it takes to raise a flock, the farmer gives constant care and attention to their health and feeding. In the next post of the series, we’ll tell you all about how the chickens are raised and talk a little about what is in the chickens’ feed.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of meeting a room full of amazing bloggers and foodies that had come out to our first ever social media event - a Food Blogger Meetup that we held in Toronto, featuring a discussion on the demise of the home cook, led by the always entertaining and informative Theresa Albert. The panel included Anna Withrow, a trained chef and creator of the LIVERight Awards for the Canadian Liver Foundation, Amanda Laird, a food blogger and professional communicator, and Ryan Anderson, a web strategist and amateur cook.  Together, the panel discussed everything from how the definition of cooking has changed over the past years to what we can all do to pass on cooking skills to the next generation to what industry can do to provide more convenient and healthy choices. At the end of the night, I had the chance to talk to a number of the attendees, and each of them had an extraordinarily interesting point of view.  For us, it was important to meet face-to-face with other bloggers in our space, and to be continually learning from their experience. I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who came out, and to highly recommend that you visit and subscribe to their blogs.  Besides being a group of excellent people, their passion for food is remarkable. I've included below the blog addresses of some of the attendees who shared - if you were there and I didn't get a chance to get your URL, leave it in the comments, and we'll add to this post.

• Carmen Millet - carmenmillet.wordpress.com
• Alexa Clark - http://www.cetoblog.com/ & http://www.unsweetened.ca
• Jess Bennett - http://siftdustandtoss.blogspot.com
• Stacey Fowler and Marc Rodas - http://www.tastingtoronto.ca
• Sarah Hood - http://www.EatLocallyBlogGlobally.com
• Sandy Kemsley - http://www.sandyofftopic.com
• Duane Brown - http://www.creativetraction.com/
• Amanda Laird - http://amandalaird.wordpress.com/
• Ryan Anderson - http://www.ryananderson.ca
• Theresa Albert - http://www.theresaalbert.com

With our hectic lives, preparing healthy nutritious meals can be difficult. One of the quickest and easiest ways to get back in the kitchen is to start packing your lunches. Making lunches for the whole family is also great way to get your kids involved. Why not get together the night before to prepare lunches for the next day? Set a great example by making a similar, balanced lunch for the both of you. It’s often difficult to ensure your children are eating their lunches at school, but by allowing them to participate in making their own lunches, gets them excited about eating. Sandwiches are always a great option and can be kept in the fridge overnight. You can easily transform a boring sandwich by switching up the bread. Why not try pumpernickel, foccia or tortilla wraps to keep your child’s interest? If you’re looking for some lunchbox inspiration, try out our super quick recipes for a Chicken Club Twister or the One-minute Chicken and Apple Tortilla Melt. You can also try out Theresa Albert’s recipe for homemade chicken fingers- a special lunchbox treat that both you and your kids are sure to enjoy. Healthy treats at lunchtime also help children to concentrate and learn in the classroom. Fresh fruit and crunchy vegetables are always winners in lunchboxes as they can be eaten at room temperature and are easily packable. Including your kids in the preparation of their meals not only gets them more excited about eating, but also increases your quality time together. Getting into a routine will help ensure that you’re setting a great example while eating nutritious lunches yourself!