Category: Recent News

Also: Stock School Q & A from last week

This Thursday’s workshop has two special hosts: Mira, the owner of The Re.Place and Erin from Dirty Girl Gardening. They will be showing you how to reduce your household waste and how to plan for your urban garden. Register here!

Stock School

Who knew compost could be so delicious? Lisa Dickie did, and she showed us how in last Thursday night’s vegetable stock workshop! We don’t have a recording of the workshop, but we will have Lisa’s recipe up on our site soon, and in the meantime, here are the highlights of the Q&A portion of the workshop

Q. Can you even use potato peels? And ginger peels?
A. Yes! Just give things a scrub before you peel them. You can keep your food scraps in a ziplock bag in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Q. If you’re working with frozen scraps, do you have to separate the different veg?
A. No

Q. What are some examples of neutral oils you like for stock?
A. Olive oil, coconut oil – could really use anything

Q. Do you just boil the scraps? or sauté?
A. Saute the onions, carrots

Q. Should we peel the carrots before cutting them?
A. No (just scrub)

Q. What are the health benefits of adding egg shells?
Added calcium

Q. Can you use dried egg shells? Like keeping in a container until making stock?
A. Yes

Q.Are there any vegetables that you wouldn’t put in?
A. Corn – it’s too starchy

Q. Do dried mushrooms need to be pre-soaked?
A. No

Q. How long would stock last in the fridge?
A. One week – otherwise freeze it.

Q. Can you cook the stock straight from frozen?
A. Yes

Q. After you strain the liquid stock can you put the leftovers in the compost or do you use it in some other way?
A. Into the compost!

We are so excited to continue our DECA Zero workshops tonight with Lisa from Dickie’s Cooking School teaching us how to cook stocks and soups to use up food scraps.

Register here!

Here are Lisa’s answers to our home-school questions!

1. History: How long have you worked at your business/in this field? How long has your business been in the community?

Dickie’s Cooking School has been open for 3 1/2 years. I have over 10 years of teaching experience and did freelance catering for a few years. I can remember making “pies” out of pastry scraps with my mom when I was 3. I have always loved cooking (and eating).  

2. Geography:What’s your favourite place in Toronto? What other east-end businesses do you recommend?

My favourite place is Ashbridges Bay. I go there year round and love it as much when it is rainy and blustery as I do when it is hot. The East End is LOADED with great businesses. For groceries, I love Warren Fruit Market, Royal Beef, Plank Road and Masellis. For specialty items and take out I love Sharman’s Pies, Cumin, The Dylan and Local 1794. To burn it all off I love virtual classes at The Pink Studio and Toronto Yoga Company. Percy Waters is a beautiful local florist and I go there whenever I need a pick me up or someone in my life does. 

3. English:What are your go-to cooking websites?

The Minimalist Baker is an exceptional source for recipes (minimalistbaker.com). Same goes for Spruce Eats (https://www.thespruceeats.com/) and Epicurious (epicurious.com). 

We are so excited to kick off our DECA Zero workshops tonight with Spencer from Cyclepath getting our bikes ready for city cycling!

Register here!

To get Spencer warmed up and ready for our questions, we’ve asked him a few about himself, home-school-style:

1. History:How long have you worked at Cyclepath/worked with bikes? How long has Cyclepath been in the community?

I started working at The Cyclepath in June of 2020, right in the thick of it. It was a steep learning curve for me with the bike sales world, and I brought a lot to the table for my bosses. I rebuilt their entire website, restructured their online presence, and breathed new life into the efficiency of their e-commerce in a time where it was so crucial. I am now the go-to guy for their online stuff, which is why I answer about 95% of the shop’s emails. The Cyclepath Danforth opened in 1988 during a huge franchising push by the brand. The franchise has since disbanded and many of the shops that were once Cyclepaths now use other names, like Sweet Pete’s. The Cyclepath Danforth has been owned by Christina and Carlos since the beginning, and many of the original mechanics still work in the basement today!

2. Geography:What’s your favourite place to ride in Toronto? What other east-end businesses do you recommend?

I love riding bikes by any means necessary, however I pride myself in being primarily a mountain biker. I have been riding Specialized bicycles, our flagship brand at the shop, since I was about 4, and used to race on a national level. The Don Valley is a hard place to beat when it comes to enjoying the Toronto cycling scene. There are so many hidden gems right at my doorstep, and every time I ride I discover something new. We love all of our neighbours on the Danforth! While we have been here for quite a while and have seen businesses come and go, our close bond with Tidal Fitness, Legacy Indoor Cycling, and my love for PomaRosa’s hot chocolates make them our choices for favourite businesses. 

3. English:What are your go-to websites/channels/books for bikes and bike maintenance?

When it comes to bike maintenance, there’s nobody I trust more than the guys downstairs at our shop to know what needs to be done. I’ve been working on bikes for a while, but our mechanics combine for roughly 150 years of experience with bicycles of all kinds. When it comes to DIY work, I usually turn to Worldwide Cyclery, GMBN, and PinkBike, to lead me in the right direction. When it comes to helpful tips and tricks, our website’s resources tab has all the need-to-knows on biking in the city.

This Thursday, April 8: BICYCLE READINESS WITH THE CYCLEPATH

Get ready to cycle! Learn essentials like rules of the road, how to safely lock up your bike, and how to fix a flat from Spencer at The Cyclepath. REGISTER HERE on Eventbrite for the 8 pm workshop. Zoom link provided with registration.

This workshop is the first in our Deca Zero Waste Workshops. Read all about them at www.deca.to!

April is Earth Month, and in this year that has drawn us together so powerfully while keeping us physically apart, we are feeling the need now more than ever to honour this planet and our place on it. The DECA Green committee is bringing you a month of “Couchside Climate Action” — small ways you can make a big difference without leaving your home/neighbourhood. Follow us on Instagram for our suggestions (and enjoy beautiful graphics from Corbin Creative!) No Instagram? No problem — we will send out a weekly summary here on our blog, so just make sure you subscribe!

“DECA ZERO” Workshops: Thursdays in April, 8-9 pm via Zoom

DECA Green has partnered with the Danforth Mosaic BIA to bring you four workshops in the month of April. Each session will feature a presentation from our local experts, followed by a Q&A. Register on Eventbrite, using the link in each workshop description below.

April 8: Bicycle Readiness with The Cyclepath

Get ready to cycle! Learn essentials like rules of the road, how to safely lock up your bike, and how to fix a flat from experts at The Cyclepath. REGISTER HERE

April 15: Stocks and Soups to Reduce Food Waste with Dickie’s Cooking School

Don’t toss those veggie scraps! Learn to make delicious, flavourful vegetable stock from vegetables peels, leaves and even eggshells! All you need is a cutting board, a medium pot, carrots, celery and herbs. REGISTER HERE

April 22: Sustainable Living and Gardening with The Re Place

Learn how to reduce your waste AND how to start your garden on this Earth Day workshop.  REGISTER HERE

April 29: Mend your Clothes to Reduce Textile Waste with FabricSpark

Don’t replace…repair. We have creative ways to upcycle your clothes. Join Shirley to learn how to make repairs to well loved clothes. She will focus on items such as leggings and pant knees. Bring your questions.

If you are willing to try during the demonstration; thread, needles, scissors, embroidery thread, fabric for patches, pins. There will be a discussion on many ways to embellish repairs. REGISTER HERE