I recently had the pleasure of volunteering at Green Being Farm, located just east of Neustadt, Ontario. The farm is owned and run by Tarrah Young and her husband Nathan, who grow and raise everything organically, including their pigs, lamb, cows and poultry, who all roam free on their vast green pasture. I went with the intention of learning about how food is grown and harvested - and did, but I also learned more rigorous tasks like repairing the greenhouse and hauling tonnes of vegetables into the root cellar.

My visit was short but incredibly sweet. Tarrah prepared lunch every afternoon for myself and the two interns who have been living on the farm since April, using vegetables from her gardens and other locally produced food. After two days, I brought back a fraction of knowledge about farming and an immense appreciation and desire to support local farmers like Tarrah and Nathan, who produce ethically grown livestock and crops for their community year-round.

First morning on the farm! As you can see it was frosty.

 Hay stacks in one of the barns. Soon the lamb move in here for the winter.

 Every morning the pigs are let out of the barn to roam around for the day.

 They were so cute, they tried to eat my shoes! Sorry, only organic grain for you guys.

 After lunch the weather warmed up and the ground was no longer frozen, so we harvested A LOT of nelson carrots.

 At the end of the day we loaded them up in the van so go into the root cellar. Carrying these bins was probably the most physically demanding task.

 Lucy is the guard dog and lives in one of the barns. Here she is hugging one of the interns, Krys.

Here she is trying to kiss another intern, Asha.

 On Tuesday night we went into town for dinner at Rowan Moon Bistro, where to my delight they were featuring a southern comfort pop-up menu!

 For my main I had braised pork shoulder with grits, chard and bourbon gravy. This pork was a tender, juicy hunk of locally grown meat that just fell apart with the touch of a fork and knife.

 Everyone's food looked delicious, actually.

 One of the desserts was this corn bread with blueberry compote, local honey and a dollop of creme.

I ate dinner with all of these lovely people, who are all friends and farmers on Tarrah and Nathan's road.

 Day 2 - Time to let out the pigs! I can't get enough of these guys, they had such personalities.

 Inside of the three greenhouses. I thought this one looked really beautiful and serene. The greenhouses are used to grow lettuces and herbs. At one point there were tomatoes hanging from these ropes.

 We drove the van around the farm to bring back veggies and carry equipment. It was really fun to ride on the back bumper!

 One of the pens for the Kune Kune pigs.

 Tarrah and Asha harvesting kohlrabi, a vegetable I'd never heard of, but is apparently popular among farmers. It has the appearance and texture of a honeydew melon but it's not sweet and its flavour is very subdued. Another important note for this photo: Look at Tarrah (right)! She's pregnant in her third trimester and still out on the farm everyday!

 Here's "Boris" (right) and "Pig kahuna"(left). They are Kune Kune pigs, a rare breed that are on the farm for breeding purposes, rather than for their meat.

 The two other girls who have not been named yet, who are also Kune Kunes.

My last supper, made by me! Creamy leek puree with roasted roots (sweet dumpling squash, beets and kohlrabi) with roasted stewing hen. All ingredients provided by Green Being Farm!

Upon arriving home from my trip to New York I hastily headed to my friend Mike's to cook a 14 pound turkey. Ryan is an interior design guru so our table looked straight out of House & Home, minus the half-ass paint job on the walls. In the true spirit of the holiday everyone contributed apps, desserts and cocktails, and, of course there was some bickering, but we all gathered around the table with food, drink and laughter. After my adventurous weekend, I couldn't help but feel like there's no place like home.

 Vicki crushin' some garlic for her roasted root veg.

 There turned out to be an all black dress code, a memo which I did not receive!

 Enter Jess.

 Bourbon, Ginger Ale and lime cocktail provided by Ryan.

 My charcuterie board featuring a lot of everything. Most notably: goat cheese coated in caramelized cranberry, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, blueberry compote, whiskey honey, Applewood smoked cheddar and local dill pickles bought up the street!

Mike made roasted dates stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon.

 A closer look at our beautifully festive table.

 We each had our own place settings!

Beer from Bellwoods Brewery - one of the only places open to buy alcohol on a holiday!

 Hart lighting the candles.

To start, butternut squash soup with Kefir and cracked black pepper made by Mike and Vicki.

 Gravy made from the drippings of the butter, honey and bourbon basted turkey

 Pan stuffing made by Ryan with Italian sausage, sage and cranberries.

 Ryan also made roasted brussels with ham and raisins.

 The line up: Also includes barbecued root veg and mashed potatoes

 The partly carved turkey that I rubbed with butter, garlic and creamed honey, basted with sweetened bourbon and butter.

My plate!

Mini pumpkin pie made by Fiona, served sans une plate!

I recently went to New York to visit a dear, old friend of mine who lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and of course, eat at some restaurants I'd had a hankering to stuff my face in. So I hopped on a lonely, 12-hour bus ride and spent my first day walking across Manhattan with nothing but the personalized map I made on Google, 500 dollars, and the comfort of a Starbucks on every corner to pee, poop and brush my teeth in.

First stop: Momofuku Milk Bar.
Sort of cliche, but had to be done.

 Milk Bar is right down the street from Central Park, and I'd never been! So I took my treats and ate them looking into the green abyss.

 Little brown bag o' goods!

Composte, 5boro and Corn cookies with Cereal Milk. 5boro was my favourite - it's rich chocolate, moist and gluten-free! Paired with cereal milk it was the perfect New York breakfast (literally like drinking a bowl of milk at the end of a bowl of corn flakes)

One of my favourite flavours is black sesame. I saved this little cup of sesame bread for later - heated and spread with butter.

Couldn't resist a warm, salty pretzel - they're everywhere.

Next stop: Mission Chinese
What looks like an average, run-down chinese restaurant is actually the centre of the hipster food scene in New York. The food is reminiscent of that American chinese take-out you ate as a child, but with a contemporary play on flavours and ingredients, like, Kung Pao pastrami, beer brined sichuan pickles and pig ear terrine - all which I did not order, but wish I had the stomach big enough to do so.

 Little fried fish with malt vinegar aioli and chips tossed in seaweed. Obviously a play on fish n' chips (and I'm pretty sure the fish were Smelt.)

 Pork, eel and celery dumplings in red oil, and a heap of cilantro. As much as I try, I can never not order dumplings if they're offered on a menu.

Next Stop: Pok Pok Phat Thai
Another seedy looking lower-east-side joint is yet another, exceptional culinary destination, this time thai street-style food. Pok pok is perhaps more than exceptional. Award winning owner and chef Andy Ricker lived and studied thai cuisine and brought back his knowledge to begin the Pok Pok empire. This is one of three NY locations.

Cha Yen - Thai iced tea with evaporated milk. This drink was sweet and milky, there's not really anything I can compare it to, but maybe a Creamsicle with herbal undertones? Sounds weird but it was really good!

Hoi Thawt - An egg crepe with steamed mussels, garlic, chives and bean sprouts, served with hot sauce. The menu said this is a popular Thai street food at night markets.

Day 2: Smorgasburg - A Brooklyn flea food market
Basically this is everything I could ever dream of all in the same location, with the best weather and best view! This happens every saturday, and if I lived close by I bet I could eat my way through every vendor within a month. Smorgasburg is unique from Toronto food events because it's open free to the public, happens so frequently and all food items are priced roughly within the five dollar range. Something to think about Toronto!

 The view of Manhattan from the waterfront.

 Short rib taco with spicy nacho chips. Similar to the dumpling, a taco is another food item I simply cannot resist. Sometimes I regret not branching out a bit more.

 Scallion pancakes on the flat-top

 Fresh shucked oysters on a lovely saturday afternoon, yes indeed!

 Meet my succulent friend Indian Neck, from Massachusetts.

 Brooklynite host, and best friend, Jake!

 McClure's $1 pickles! I also bought a jar of their relish.

Grape and fennel seed soda to wash it all down.

Dinner Time: Umi Nom
Jake is Filipino and I've known him for many years, but I'd never really eaten filipino food (except for at his family dinners, but the filipino dishes were even scarce). Umi Nom is right around the corner from his apartment, so we thought we'd stay close to home, plus is had some good reviews.

 Our feast of plates, in the front is their homemade beef jerky with black bean paste. It was tasty, however it didn't sit well in my stomach the next day. (Tip: be weary of homemade beef jerky, who knows how long its been sitting out and drying)

 Of course, fish tacos.

Grilled Mackerel with a side of what I think was spiralled ginger. The fish was fantastic, the side salad not so much.

Last Supper: PRUNE
Here, I've skipped ahead to dinner due to uncatalogued daytime eats. Prune was a very anticipated destination on my trip after reading owner and chef Gabrielle Hamilton's book, Blood, Bones and Butter. Hamilton portrays Prune as her soul and the reflection of the profound hospitality and culinary experiences that have shaped her career, so I was ecstatic to make a reservation for two and sit in her quaint dining room.

 The atmosphere was soft and bright, with pink ascents all round, including the waitresses shirts. As a starting snack we were given fried and salted chickpeas, and a ramekin of salt was placed on the table for seasoning.

 My first course was these gigantic deep-fried oysters with a caper tarter sauce.

 Duck breast with cipollini onions, dandelion greens and a warm agrodolce dressing. This dish was perfect to a tee.

 Jake ordered buttered toast with blue cheese and shaved celery salad.

 For dessert, pistachio granita. Basically shaved ice and pistachio.

 Dark chocolates to finish, just so lovely!