One Grain Two Grain...True Grain Good Grain

For whatever reason, people are always pressing me to regard which one of our two residences seem more like home to me.  My best answer is always to the effect of, "Wherever we are gathered as a family, I feel most at home."  Both houses represent (our home) to me, but the feelings that are really linked to making a house a home present most clearly when our kids are all around.

In the same way that I would boast about being raised in rural Saskatchewan or about what a beautiful & kind city Saskatoon is, to have raised our family in, I wouldn't back down about the life we are so grateful to live when we are in the Okanagan.  This little valley of wonders swells my heart daily with its beauty, quirky charm & colourful people - not to mention, its ever-increasing vineyard presence!

Yesterday, I ventured out, with a friend, to the little community just past West Kelowna called Summerland.  I wasn't just seeking adventure in a wayward form, I was on a mission.  Although, the sheer beauty of the short drive down Hwy 97 along the lakeshore is magnificent.  As you meander along the mountain highway toward your destination, you are overcome by the drastic contrast of the craggy rock veneer along the roadside.  And, as awestruck by the vast waterway tucked in-between the mountains filling your view.  The only downfall is to have to take your turn being the driver, as I had opted for, on this occasion.

The mission today was to make our way to a little Mom & Pop bakery I had heard of on Main Street in Summerland.  Its name is True Grain Bread.  They are committed to baking with, not only, locally sourced ingredients, to the best of their ability, but they are also using "modern wheat-free" varietals of grains.  This was very exciting to me & fits perfectly into my endeavour to eat good grains in my quest to lose weight for the wedding & feel better!!

Upon arriving in front of this little gem, you promptly feel like you may be in the right spot.  Or that you have possibly been teleported to a quaint little French town.  A retro bicycle equipped with flower basket greets you, leaning against the light post, & a quirky little sign motivates your thoughts for the day.

It is, however, once you are through the door that the real magic happens.  Shelves of grains & cereals, ready to be purchased for your culinary pleasure, are stacked below a glass wall. This wall separates, but does not obstruct your view, from the wooden craftsman grinder that takes the grain, & in the old & wonderful way, mills it into a useable baking commodity.  From there, your vision casts over a rustic table & shelves overflowing with the early-morning efforts of the committed baker.  Cookies, buns, breads, crackers, crumbs, cakes, muffins & mixes implode abundantly, if not neatly, packaged into cello bags for the fulfillment of your eyes.  The rest of your senses have already bursted with joy as you came through the door.  Your mouth is watering for the simple, yet magnificent, taste of bread & the walls of your stomach grind in want.  Other corners of the room boast the necessary accoutrements to bread & its cousins, the muffin, cookie, scone or croissant…with shelves of honey, bread dips, jams, jellies & a stack of local coffee beans with labels so fabulous, you could buy a bag for the sheer artistic effort.  You are, of course, offered a sample of the dark brew smoothed out by local cream to enjoy as you meander about making your difficult shopping decisions.  It does not disappoint with a taste every bit as delicious as its label would boast.

These are only the description of the wares that would be on racks for you to view & touch, likened to a jewelry store.  Behind the glass are the real treasures…baskets & neat stacks of strudel, cookies to be sold individually, cakes & sundries galore tempt your most solid commitment to willpower.  Behind the passionate staff are the slanted shelves filled with the crowning jewel of any bakery.  The loaves & loaves of breads…braided breads, hand shaped rustic beauties, small ones, large & mid-sized offerings, shining on top or sprinkled with seeds or grains…oh my heart, what a sight!!

Short ingredient lists make decisions easy for the ever-increasing savvy shopper. And it is the list of grains used by this Ontario native that caught my attention, in the first place.  He has sourced a grower for Emmer & more recently Einkorn & not only brags of his accomplishments but quickly appears with samples of the the grains themselves to show you & taste, if you will.  And, when you ask if you can special order items, he will tell you, with no apology, that he needs 2 days in advance because the breads are also leavened with sourdough cultures that need that time to grow.  I feel as if I have won the "good-grain" lotto jackpot in finding this little win, so close to home.  I have been endeavouring to make my own "good-grain" bread with a recipe from the Wheat Belly cookbook, & have been encouraged by the fact that my husband & myself are eating it, liking it, & getting used to it.  However, I am most emphatic about supporting a local artisan baker who, I feel, is so on the cusp of what's happening to our food, quintessentially…our bread.  And…is endeavouring to take a step toward something better!!  The size of the loaves pictured below would more rightly represent how bread baked with wheat, in its original form, would have looked.

I am sure I will develop favourites, but for now I am soooo excited to taste-test this cornicopia of flavour & True Grain goodness.  And…that test may start right now, as I have managed to tempt myself with a slice of bread as I proofread my own writings…Yum…can't wait…!!!