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EDMONTON - Sara Larsen has all the answers. Well, at the very least, she knows how they get that pocket in the pita. The local entrepreneur and proprietor of The Happy Camel, which makes a line of pita bread and fragrant dips, started a business nine years ago out of her kitchen, using a single pita pot she brought from her nativeIsrael. The secret to the pocket is that pita (a yeast-based bread) must be cooked at extremely high heat -- 800 F -- and from both sides so that it puffs up and makes a cavern in the middle perfect for stuffing. Perched on a stool in the office of the latest addition to her business -- a storefront operation in Callingwood Mall -- Larson looks puzzled when asked what motivated her to bring her healthy and delicious products to the Edmonton snack market. "My mother was a very good cook," says Larsen slowly. "I guess it runs in the family." She was also keen to keep busy after her youngest son was in school full time and decided to make use of the culinary skills that made her such a hit at home. Though The Happy Camel has been selling out Saturdays at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market for about seven years, the decision to expand into a storefront operation is a recent one. Earlier this year, Larsen moved her business out of her home and into an industrial kitchen in a newly renovated shop at Callingwood Mall, 177th Street and 64th Avenue. Though the location could be perceived as less than romantic (it's right beside a bottle depot), the new shop nonetheless exudes a certain European charm. Little wooden tables and chairs are out front, the front entrance features an eggplant-purple screen door, and numerous baskets of fresh flowers add sparkle. Middle Eastern music wafts from speakers. On a nice day, the shop injects a tiny spot of beauty into a sterile suburban environment. But it's the food that draws customers, starting with Larsen's pillowy soft pita, a product light years away from the thin, brittle pita that fills the shelves in grocery stores. Larsen's pita is a sturdy pocket that can hold a good-sized filling, but it is moist and meaty. In fact, Larsen emphasizes that if the pita, which contains no preservatives, is not eaten the day it is purchased, it should be immediately frozen and then popped into the toaster to reheat when you are ready for another helping. The pitas come in several varieties, from multigrain to white or brown with fresh spinach, caramelized onions and poppy seeds. Larsen's dips include traditional Middle Eastern fare such as hummus, sweet pepper hummus, baba ghanouj and labaneh, or cheese made from yogurt. A warning: the dips are near nuclear with garlic. Larsen says the secret to her dips is that they are freshly prepared using the highest quality ingredients. All garlic is peeled by hand, to ensure the bulbs still ooze a fragrant oily goodness. If Larsen doesn't like the produce available on a given day, she won't make a particular dip until she finds tomatoes or peppers that are more to her liking. "It's very laborious," says Larsen, whose dips contain no additives, colours or preservatives and are guaranteed to keep for 10 days. The tabouli is made from parsley washed three times. The dill in the tzaziki is fresh chopped. The sweet and smoky baba ghanouj contains eggplant grilled on the barbecue by hand; it's not infused with liquid smoke flavouring. Larsen also makes a red lentil and sun-dried tomato dip strongly scented with cumin, as well as a fresh garden salsa. Husband Gerald, who has a full-time day job but helps Larsen evenings and weekends, is his wife's biggest promoter. "The distinction between Sara's dips and those at the grocery store is that the preservatives detract from the flavour of the product," says Gerald, who met his wife while on a trip to Israel more than 25 years ago. "You can't compare that with the flavour of fresh. ... "These foods are ideal for appetizers, snacks and party food. And they don't have a high fat content." lfaulder@thejournal.canwest.
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© The Happy Camel Inc. | 6404-177 Street Edmonton, AB T5T 4J5 | Phone: 780-487-7482 | contact us |
Better ingredients mean better pita, brilliant dips; Longtime Strathcona market family expands stall to west-side storefront