Back in 2007, when The 100-Mile Diet was generating traction for a locavore diet, my mother — who at the time lived in the Saskatchewan farmhouse where my husband Dave and I now reside — called me in irritation and amusement. “Don’t those B.C. writers know that some of us have been eating local all of our lives?” she asked me.
Mom was born 20 km from this farm, and has spent over half her life living and gardening rurally in the country’s flattest province. As the child of Depression-era Canadian farmers, eating locally was the norm back in the day.
Things are different this time around. As Canadians fly the Maple Leaf and buy Canadian goods in response to U.S. President Trump’s threats of trade wars and tariffs on Canadian goods, the imposition of an arbitrary 100-mile limit is not on the table. The only boundary that counts in 2025 is the one that straddles the 49th parallel.
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So: how does one eat local in Canada in winter?
Some grocery stores have improved their signage informing shoppers of the origins of foods, but not all, so close reading of signage is necessary. A plethora of articles in newspapers, and websites such as www.madeinca.ca, offer advice on how to shop Canadian. It starts with reading labels, of course. And members of a household may well have varying opinions on what response to take.
Dave, who drinks fruit juice every morning, has announced he’ll continue consuming U.S. orange juice until “if and when” the tariffs go into effect. “I consider orange juice an essential,” he tells me.
I don’t begrudge Dave his juice, but as a longtime locavore, I take a more extreme view and only want Canadian-made and Canadian-grown labels on my groceries. It’s mid-winter, and my garden has run out, so we’re paying close attention to vegetables. I’m not going to buy U.S. romaine or mesclun, but Canadian cabbage is cheap and plentiful. And versatile. And delicious.
Cabbage makes great slaw. It ferments into sauerkraut or kimchi that will help your gut, your Rueben sandwich, and your Korean bulgogi. You will find cabbage filed under “sulfurous,” along with onions, asparagus, cauliflower, rutabaga, and broccoli in Niki Segnit’s The Flavor Thesaurus: Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. Cabbage partners well with bacon, apples, carrots, salmon, chicken, fresh or smoked pork, potatoes, ginger, blue cheese and beef, according to Segnit.
As a cook and consumer, I concur. Cabbage and its bitter cousins — brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli — can be eaten raw, roasted, grilled, braised, stir-fried, steamed or simmered, best with something equally pungent, like garlic and onions, or salty, like anchovy or bacon. It’s a staple in soups and stir-fries alike, and I am crazy about it with coconut milk and curry spices. In the U.K., leftover cabbage and spuds, in the form of bubble and squeak, is almost the national dish. In France, cabbage is ubiquitous in choucroute garnie, or sauerkraut with numerous brined and smoked porky products, and it’s upsold in a stuffed Savoy cabbage version called chou farci, enlivened with quatre épices (a spice mix similar to Chinese five-spice). Back in my restaurant days, I loved to stuff cabbage leaves with salmon and barley, a cross-eyed nod to the stuffed cabbage rolls of my Hutterite childhood. At its utterly purest, cabbage needs only salt and time to make sauerkraut.
So buy a head or two — Canadian, of course. First we eat, then we discuss other ways to cook Canadian.
Canadian anti-tariff slaw
Who knew this midwinter staple might one day be part of the Canadian resistance to U.S. trade wars and tariffs? My Hutterite Gramma Sarah’s slaw used simple ingredients — just cabbage, onion and carrots, shredded finely and dressed in whipped cream, mustard and a little vinegar. Yum. This version relies on your favourite vinaigrette — I am partial to my eggless caesar dressing on cabbage and all its cousins, especially roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Alternatively, add a bit of Canadian mustard and maple syrup to olive oil and apple cider vinegar with smoked Spanish paprika and a bit of the pesto you made and froze last fall. Makes 6 cups.
1 tart apple, coarsely grated
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
2-3 c. shredded cabbage
¼ c. dried cranberries ¼ c. dried Turkish apricots, slivered
1 Tbsp. flavourful mustard
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. pesto
½ c. European olive oil
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar
Salt, pepper and hot chili flakes to taste
Combine all ingredients, mix well, chill, and serve.
