Wow. That was quite the experience. The Manitoba Food Bloggers were having a bake sale in support of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, so I decided to join in.

My presumptuous brownies

They were being supported by the Manitoba Canola Growers, so I modified the Better Brownies recipe I got through the Fast Paleo website. Paleo frowns on vegetable oils such as canola, but I found some local non-GMO oil and went with that. I also used Cocoa Camino organic fair-trade chocolate chips, which are probably also not strictly paleo as they may contain traces of dairy, etc. Hence, Almost Paleo Brownies ;-). I didn’t have time to make a blog post about making them, but that will come.

Man, was I intimidated when I got to Aqua Books and saw what the pros had brought. Some of them actually were professional bakers. I stupidly didn’t record the names but just look at these pictures and drool …

Chocolate bourbon balls

Chocolate dipped marshmallow pops

More yummy stuff!

I did receive some kind words from some people who tried the brownies. I wasn’t surprised that they didn’t sell out … believe me, those pops above were gone within the first hour!

My cool apron

I also received a very cool white apron, courtesy of the Manitoba Canola Growers, which, as you can see, received very good use when I was cooking for Shabbat after I got home from the bake sale. I hope it washes out, but if it doesn’t, it’s a well-loved apron and my kids all went gaga over it.

There was a photographer there from the Winnipeg Free Press, who took a picture of those of us who were there in our fancy white aprons, so stay tuned for that.

Of course, the absolutely best part was hanging out with all these foodies for a few hours. They are very cool, knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming to amateurs like me. The odd chef wandered in and I managed not to fan-girl too badly.

Thanks again, Shel and others, for letting me play with the big kids and I hope we raised lots of cash for Jamie Oliver’s good cause! Looking forward to spending more time with you and learning more about good, local food.