Smoking Tuna

OUCH! What in the world is that blazing, sphere of fire in the sky?

FYI, you shouldn't look directly at that floating inferno, especially after the eons (well that's what it feels like) of grey, damp weather we've been having. Give you corneas a chance to readjust and those nifty darkening devices are also a good idea. You know, sunglasses. I'm sure you have a pair somewhere in the attic.

Over the weekend, my partner in crime and I ran away to the Saltspring Natural Fibre Festival. What a overwhelming experience! For photos and ramblings about that and my latest knitted creation, check out my knitting blog.
The fiber festival was just a hop, skip and jump from Saltspring's Farmer's Market. I love how the market has one arm of vendors for mainly artisans and such and another arm for mainly foodstuff. The market was already bustling when we showed up at around 9am. We found everything from fresh produce to cheese to fish to breads to various preserves and other yummy treats. It made me swoon!
I picked up a few cheeses from the Moonstruck Organic cheese stand, some local tuna sashimi and smoked tuna that was caught off the west coast and bag of baked goodies for nibbling throughout the day.
I was so tempted to pick up a braid of garlic. They're so pretty.








The following day, I popped over to the Cedar Farmer's Market to pick up some odds and ends and to basically because it's my favorite local farmer's market :)

Every week, there are more stalls and a more variety of fruits and vegetables. My produce box from Nanoose Edibles is definitely feeding us well but we go through pretty quickly. Especially since we're huge salad freaks during the summer.
BTW, for winter veggie gardeners, the Community Gardens has a stall at the Cedar and the Nanaimo farmer's market. They're selling a wide range of winter veggie seedlings. I know, summer has barely made an appearance and the last thing you want to do is think about winter but it's worth the effort.

Here's what I picked up at the market:









The rest of the day was a blur. That night when my tummy started growling and DH looked like he was about the pass out from hunger, I grabbed some leftover rice and vegetables and made a quick fried rice. Basic peasant food. Then I cranked up a notch with some yummy smoked tuna that I picked up from the Saltspring market.

The tuna was rich and intensely flavoured. The flesh was so moist and meaty. Definitely something the enjoy in small amounts.
I topped off the veggie fried rice with a couple slices of smoked tuna and called it dinner. The tuna warmed up just enough over the hot rice and practically melted in our mouths.




DH swooning over his dinner.








Happy Eating!

Jen

Nanaimo's 100 Mile Diet Challenge

007 Chicken

On the 100 Mile Diet front, MSN has posted an article on why you should be eating local foods. Check it out! They also include a slide show/article on where you can find local foods. Very cool.

My fabulous in-laws came up island for a visit yesterday. With them, they brought a brimming bag of local treats including smoked salmon and moose from Uncle Ted, a couple of cheeses from Hilary's cheese shop, spelt flour and a pumpkin seed bread from True Grain and a bottle of Saturna Island wine. Such a mindful and yummy gift. Thanks guys!

This morning I cracked open the bread and a wedge of Hilary's Red Dawn cheese for breakfast, along with some strawberries from Dudink's Gardens. What a great way to begin the day.

It's been another busy week and I don't see it slowing down much. We've been living off of leftovers from our 100 Mile Diet BBQ dinner party from the beginning of the week. For the dinner party, I made a couple slabs of focaccia, hummous, boiled new potatoes, green salad with pesto dressing and a mountain of grilled Vietnamese chicken and chorizo sausages. All of the vegetables and the meat was island grown, gathered from farmer's markets, my backyard garden and local butchers.

From those leftovers, I've been having a range of leftover creations. One favorite is a open-faced Vietnamese chicken on focaccia. Nothing more that splitting open a wedge of focaccia, toasting it up and smearing it with some hummous, topping it with leftover chicken and finishing it off with a couple slices of cucumber and some lettuce. Another version I like is simply toasted focaccio with the same chicken and topped with an asian slaw (napa cabbage, cucumber, bean sprouts, carrots and whatever other crunchy, crisp veggies) tossed with Thai it Up sauce. A mix of strong flavours with crisp, fresh textures. A great way to use up leftovers.

My Vietnamese Chicken recipe is the reward for some very diligent spy work that I and another food-loving friend did several years ago in Vancouver. One typical rainy winter night in Vancouver, my buddy and I ended up at some hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant on Kingsway. There was only one thing on our minds, pho. We were set on diving into a bowl of big steaming bowl of beef broth, shoveling white slipper noodles into our mouths until the chill left our bones.

As we were waiting for our server, I spied an intriguing dish a neighbouring table was enjoying. A chicken that looked like it had been dyed in a mustard bath with the most delectable aroma, a mix of rich, complex spices and the deep, brown aroma of properly grilled meat.

I asked the server what they were having and she just said, "Chicken."
"But what kinda of chicken, what's in it?" I asked.
She shrugged and replied, "Chicken.Vietnamese chicken"
"Ok. We'll have an order of that and a couple bowls of beef pho"

After that meal, we were hooked on this chicken, dubbing it simply Vietnamese chicken. We returned to this restaurant numerous times, each time asking if we could have the recipe. Each time we were refuse. So we started taking tasting notes, trying to figure out the complex of spices and flavours and then we'd return back home and try to replicate it. Once the server caught us and told us that the cook wouldn't be too pleased if he saw. So we were very careful with our food spying after that. It took us a while but eventually we figured it out, or at least something close enough to please us.

My buddy and I sometimes joked about this dish as, "Spy Chicken", not only because figuring out the recipe was a covert operation but because whenever anyone asked what it was, we'd reply, 'Chicken. Vietnamese Chicken' like we were James Bond introducing himself. I know, we're geeks ;)

Ironically, a month after we figured out the recipe for this chicken, the restaurant shut down. Funny how the universe works.

Anyways, here's my version of Vietnamese Chicken, otherwise known as Spy Chicken.

(that's me grilling up a storm)








Fast & Dirty Spy Chicken

2-3 lbs of free-ranged chicken

Marinade:
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
3 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of palm or cane sugar (can use honey or brown sugar instead)

Spice mix:
1 tablespoon of ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
5 star anise pods
1 teaspoon szechuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons of salt crystals

Toast the star anise, fennel and coriander seeds in a dry pan on low heat until you can smell the oils being released.
Toss the toasted spices with the rest of the spice mix and grind it up in a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder.
Mix the spices with the rest of the marinade ingredients.
Toss in the chicken and let it marinade in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

For grilling on the BBQ you want the chicken in fairly equal sized pieces. The breasts you can slice into even thin strips and them thread them onto soaked bamboo skewers like a satay. This will allow you to cook the breast meat throughly and quickly without risking a raw center or overcooked and dry edges.

Grill the dark meat, uncovered, over medium heat, turning once, for 10 to 15 minutes or until juices run clear.

Grill the breast meat satays over medium heat for a couple minutes on each side until just cooked.

For roasting, I like to keep the chicken whole and roast it in the oven at 350F until the thigh juices run clear.

BTW, this marinade works great for much any other meat. The spice mix can be used on it's own for an interesting spice rub.

A shout out to my furry buddy.
This is my feline friend, Meep. She's recovering from some de-girling surgery. Hope you're feeling your frisky, cheeky self real soon!





Have a great first weekend of the summer! Go check out a farmers market, go berry picking, go visit a farm, go check out the Community Garden's organic plant sale or harvest some goodies from your backyard garden.

Jen

Nanaimo's 100 Mile Diet Challenge

Good-bye asparagus, Hello strawberries!

What’s today? Sunday? Tuesday?! How did it get to be Tuesday?

What do you mean it’s already June?

You're kidding me. Excuse me, I've gotta go throw my tomato plants outside.

(first fruits of my tomato plants)

Thank goodness I made a quick stop to the farmer’s market over the weekend. It’s coming to the end of the local asparagus season. I know. It was way too short. If I had blinked once more I would have totally missed it. But look at the bright side, it’s now the beginning of the local strawberry season!
(asparagus, strawberries and golden beets from farmer's market.)

Yippee! You can take your tasteless Cali-styrofoam-a strawberries and stuff it. These local gems are worth the wait. They're deep red and juicy through and through with just enough tang and a whole lot of flavor.

according to the paper, local berry farms are also opening up their gates for the season. Dudink's Gardens has freshly picked strawberries for sale from 1pm to 5pm daily. They're at 2219 Gomerich Road (off of Minetown) at the south end of Nanaimo. Many other local farms are also offering their a spring bounty of goods.

We celebrated another seasonal milestone this past weekend - the first BBQ of the year. Now, technically, there’s no reason why I can’t BBQ throughout the fall and winter around here other than I’m a total whiny wuss when I’m not in the mountains or buckled into a kayak. Well, sometimes even then I can be a whiny wuss too…

Though I have thought about cracking open the BBQ mid-January, especially when we get one of those mild spells, it's still pretty dark and cold after 5pm. It is still winter and I would much rather throw a stew into the crockpot or roast up some veggies and chicken in the oven than stand over a BBQ in my down jacket and toque.

So, I meticulously went through the whole dish soap gas leak testing procedure to make sure I don’t burn down the house. Though it’s a pretty new BBQ and there’s no reason for failure, it’s always a bit unnerving to be testing for gas leaks. That first lighting of the BBQ is always seasoned with a pinch of trepidation for me.

For the first BBQ of the season, I pulled out a couple of lamb chops from the freezer package that I got from Horizon Heritage farms last fall. I’ve been saving these babies for some good old fashion open fire cooking. I also threw on a bunch of sausages, locally raised meat of course, so we’d have enough to see up through a busy weekend.
I also threw a bunch of locally grown veggies onto the BBQ. I got one of those pizza BBQ grill pan thingamabobbidies. It’s basically a round sheet of metal with holes and a handle. It’s perfect for lazy buggers like me that don’t want to bother threading their veggies on a skewer. I simply lay them out in a single layer on the grill pan over medium heat and let the fire do it’s magic.

Both the lamb and the veggies got a simple treatment of olive oil, salt and pepper. I heated the grill on medium high and threw the lamb on for 4-5 minutes each side. Don’t mess with it while it’s cooking. Just leave it alone to do it’s thing. Some leftover spaghetti squash and a dollop of parsley pesto finished off the meal.

The lamb chops were gorgeously rich and meaty. Even DH, who is usually 'meh' about lamb, was smacking his lips and waxing poetic. The little selfish muggle in me was hoping he wouldn't like it so I could have it all to myself :p

On Sunday, we were already sick of the heat and headed up to Mt. Cokely to romp about for the day. It was the perfect day of mountain adventuring and exploring. Red columbine was blooming along the road and the air was alive with bugs. Lots and lots of little biting, carnivorous bugs and we then remembered why we should have worn long sleeved shirts and long pants.
We got home late as usual. Sore and bug tortured, but happy, I was grateful that I had leftover BBQ sausages, veggies and other tasty bits that made for a bowl of leftover bliss in less than 10 minutes

Sauteed asparagus and local boerwurst sausage along with organic spelt, roasted veggies and parsley pesto (yes I love this stuff). Except for the grain which is from the BC mainland, everything was island grown and raised.

BTW, I’ve happy to announce that Nesvog Butcher in Terminal Park Mall along the Island Hwy, is now offering local beef and cheese, along with local free-range eggs and other tasty tidbits.

This coming week (I guess that's now, eh) is another non-stop week. I’ve got a Spinner & Weaver’s Guild potluck (no, I don’t know what I’m making for that yet), a meeting with a reporter from the Bulletin about the 100 mile diet (yippee!), a standing date for some kayaking, a couple of knitting lessons, farm stuff, a dinner party on Friday and a new bushel of 100 mile fleece to card and spin. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Have a great week!

Jen

Nanaimo 100 Mile Diet Challenge

I hate lawns

Monday was spent doing all the stuff that I didn't get to over the weekend. The usual patchwork of housework, offering of sacrifices to the garden gods, sending out rays of my sardonic sunshine to this mad, mad world and dogpaddling my way through my email box. I didn't get to all of this over the weekend because I was in a epic battle against my nemesis, or at least one of them, The Lawn.

I hate lawns. Lawns are stupid. Lawns are evidence that we are stupid.

We're renting our abode at the moment but when we do buy our bit of paradise, there won't be a speck of lawn. There may be grass, but no lawn.

The Lawn is North America's arrogant pronouncement that he has conquered and enslaved nature. It's his way of showing that he has tamed the wild and made it bend at his will. It is his totem of civilization.

Of course, NA, has it's head so far up its arse that it has caused an gastrointestinal traffic jam. In other words, North America is the source of its constipation but is too blind to see because no matter how much sunshine you blow up there, it's still pretty dark.

Yep, we da man. We da man so therefore we feed, medicate, groom and water something simply to chop off it's head once a week! I don't get it. You can't eat it. It doesn't look all that remarkable and thanks to all the herbicides that it needs, it's more enviromentally harmful than it is beneficial. All it seems to do is tell the whole world, 'I'm so wealthy that I can afford to blow all my time, money and energy on this absolutely useless symbol of affluence.'

I don't get it but I had to mow the lawn because it was getting at the length that it would start harboring snakes, wasp nests and pygmy tribes. If it got any longer, I would have to hire a crew of migrant workers with machetes to take it down. So Saturday morning I popped a couple of antihistamines (of course I'm highly allergic to grass pollen) and went out to tackle The Lawn.

The grass had gotten so long that the gas mower blade kept jamming up. It was a inane dance that went something like this:
...5,6,7,8... take 14 pulls to start up the mower, the mower farts out puff of black smoke and growls awake, take two steps forward and have it jam up, shake and rattle the jammed grass out the blades, sashay the mower to already cut area (because it wouldn't start in the tall grass), and back to the top...6,7,8

I soon figured out that it wouldn't jam as much if I pulled the lawnmower backwards over the grass but this also left swirls of uncut grass. So I pulled the dang lawnmower twice over each pass of lawn.

GRRRRRRRR

3 hours later, my right arm aching and sore from constantly trying the start the gas guzzling lawn beast and shoulders and back like pulverized jello from pulling the mower over the lawn twice, I crawled in the shower and washed away the grass pollen, sweat, grime and frustration.

I spent the rest of Saturday recovering from my lawn epic with a pot of tea and an healing afternoon of knitting and an restorative evening of spinning, which is why I was still doing weekend chores yesterday :P

Monday was a total weekend leftovers day. I even finished up some spinning that I had started on Saturday:
It's a Targhee wool that I picked up last summer at the Duncan fibre sale. It's colourway is called 'Active Pass' which is what totally sold me. The kayaker in me couldn't resist such a name. I'm thinking of plying it with a solid cream or chocolate brown.

Dinner was also an affair of leftovers. DH and I went to the gym around 7pm. He went to workout and maintain his jedi powers so he can heal up from his shoulder overhaul. I went to burn off all the extra Energizer Bunny energy I had pent up from a day of puttering.

We got home at half past 8, hungry and tired. From this weekend's leftovers I pulled together a gnocchi with chorizo, spaghetti squash, kale and spinach. The greens were from the garden, the rest was bits and pieces residing in the tupperware condo in the back of my fridge. All of it island grown, of course.

In less than ten minutes we had this:














Dessert was the last pieces of a rhubarb, apple and cranberry pie I made over the weekend.
The fruit is all island grown. Spring rhubarb is finally coming up! Yippee! It was a lovely ruby toned ending to our day.










It's a pie version of my Fast & Dirty Baked Fruit from a family of recipes known as the 'Coppolas' . Here's the pithy recipe for that:

Couple of pounds of rhubarb washed and chopped
Couple of green or other pie apples washed and chopped
Couple of cups of cranberry or other berries
Couple of tablespoons of organic cane sugar or local honey
Couple of teaspoons of cornstarch
Couple of pinches of cinnamon and ground ginger

Toss and mix in large corningware container. Throw into a 350F oven for 40-50 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

I know you're thinking that there's not enough sugar for that much fruit. If it's not sweet enough, I just drizzle a bit of honey or some grated dark chocolate when it's still warm. I personally find most processed foods and store bought desserts way too sweet. I prefer to let the sunshine sweetness of fruit colour the dish.

This baked fruit is awesome for breakfast with a bit of yogurt and and granola. Or as a topping with some fruit sorbet or vanilla icecream or cake. In a pinch, it can be turned into a chutney with a drizzle of cider vinegar and some spices. I've also used it as a surprise filling in muffins.

Happy Eating!
Jen

Nanaimo's 100 Mile Diet Challenge

Recharging the Energizer Bunny

I barely managed make my work deadlines this week but it’s done and I have the rest of the weekend to recoup. No deadlines, no housework, no social obligations for this kid. DH is safely sequestered away in a video game coccoon. Just a weekend for myself to recharge my batteries.

Yippee!!!

It’s a sloppy, chilly Friday the 13^th. Here’s how it looks outside my window:

I’m spending the rest of the afternoon here.

Looking out at this lovely tree.

Working on this.

It’s the sleeve design I’ve decided on for the 'Broken Brocade sweater.' It took a couple of different tries but I think this pattern will look best. It provides a nice, elegant pattern without taking away from the torso or adding too much ‘noise’ to the overall piece.
It’s also an easy peasy pattern that lets my tired brain coast for a few hours.

I’ve even been too tired to actually cook. Last night I decided I’d just cobble together a leftover soup from this past week’s dinners that includes:

A couple links of local sausages cut up into bite sized pieces.

The last spoonfuls of orzo with stinging nettle and locally grown pesto.














The vegetable dregs of a moose pot roast. Local veggies, of course.












A bunch of organic collard greens from Nanoose Edibles farm. $2.50 for a huge bunch! Wheee!













Tah-dah!!! Soup du leftovers ;)

I have a pot of it to feed me for a few days. It’s just the sort of soup for early spring to help recharge my body and spirit.

I've received a really cool invite for a spinning and knitting evening at a nearby town. I might make a weekend out of it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jen

Quickie for lunch

Now that I have your attention, let's talk lunch!

I usually talk about the 100 mile diet dinners I make so I thought I’d talk about lunch today. I work from home and most folks assume that would mean I have all this extra time to make lunch. Well, some days I do but even so, I don’t really want to be messing about in the kitchen for an hour making a lunch everyday. Unlike the Barefoot Contessa, I don’t have a wonderful country estate with lovely country estate friends that visit me for lunch so it is a solo affair. It is one that I delight in. Just because I don't want to spend much time making it, doesn't mean I can't spend time enjoying it. It's often the only chance I get to take a break during the day. I hate eating lunch on the run. I need to sit and enjoy. Even if I'm out and about I will chill out and enjoy a packed lunch. I have found that if I do spend 20-30 minutes mindfully lunching that I don't have all those crazy snack urges a few hours later.

Lunch is dinner leftovers most days. Sometimes I only have leftovers of a side dish like roasted veggies or sautéed greens. These can easily be turned into a quick meal by tossing in some diced tofu or bits of leftover meat, reheating it and topping it all off with some nuts and a few drops of flavor powerhouse like a good balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lime, a hit of ponzu sauce or fish sauce and a few drops of sesame seed oil or some grated hard cheese. A piece of bread or other starch rounds off the meal.

If I have leftover stir fry I’ll usually use that as a base for a noodle soup. Nothing more than heating up some stock, dropping in some a package of udon noodles and the leftover stirfry. A bit of soy sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, miso or fish sauce will punch it up.

I always make extra portions of dinner for lunch the next day. Of course, the best laid plans get eaten up by unannounced dinner guests or my own never-ending appetite at the end of a day of play. But with a few BC mushrooms, a scrap of salami or smoked bacon, a bit of cheese and couple of local free-ranged eggs, I can have a yummy frittata or a really fancy scrambled eggs.

At times I make a big batch of soup that carries me through my lunches for most of the week. That’s what I did this week.

After returning from my top secret super hero business, I have not been in the mood for spending much time cooking since I was resident cook in the super hero clubhouse. Let me tell you, super heroes can be super picky eaters. I wanted to putter in the garden, knit and read in my corner, take walks around the lake, hang out with my DH and generally enjoying having my own space again. After building a fortress of solitude around the house to keep the riff raff at bay, I managed to get around to all those wonderful activities. Though some tried to knock down my fortress of solitude, I managed to keep it pretty intact. Heck, a girl’s gotta be able to put her feet up and relax in peace ‘n quiet between super hero gigs.

Most of our meals have been pulled out of the freezer and the garden this week since I didn’t feel like dealing with the grocery store. Looking for something for lunch this past Tuesday, I excavated down through the strata of frozen homemade dinners and found a couple of packages of frozen roasted pumpkin that I put away last fall. It was like finding treasure!

After a quick thaw in the microwave, I dumped the contents (6 cups of roasted pumpkin in total) into a pot with a cup of water, a couple tablespoons organic peanut butter, a ½ teaspoon of sambal oelek and some roasted garlic leftover from the night before. With my trusty hand blender, I whizzed the whole concoction into a creamy soup and brought to a slow boil while stirring regularly.
















A drizzle of Auld Alliance farm’s pear balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of local hazelnuts and we have a great lunch soup. If you don’t like vinegar and nuts, a dollop of yogurt or crème fraiche would also be great. Along with it, I’ve been nibbling my way through some smoked local salmon (also excavated from the freezer) and slices of English cucumber, BC grown of course. Lunch ends usually with a either a square of good, dark chocolate or a sliver of local cheese depending on my mood. A civilized and thoroughly satisfying way to end any meal!

You could just whip up a big batch of plain pumpkin soup and dress it a bit differently each day. A spoonful of pesto for Monday, shaving of parma and some torn proscuitto and a drizzle of walnut or hazelnut oil for Tuesday , a drizzle of Thai It Up sauce for Wednesday, a dollop of tapendade on Thursday and for Friday, a sprinkle of curry powder and some chutney. Roasted veggies and even bits of meat also work well in this soup base. Treat it as you would a butternut squash soup. There are so many possibilities

Tonight I’m cracking open the fortress and have invited a few friends over for dinner. In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day I’m planning an Irish stew with local lamb and Irish soda bread. Not quite sure what dessert will be. Perhaps a fruit galette or simply a fruit crisp.

Have a great day and happy eating!

Jen

100 Mile Diet Nanaimo

Rice Hockey

To celebrate my Chinglishness, I have brought together a Canadian sports institution, hockey, with a Chinese culinary institution, rice, to create a homage to my Chinese-Canadian heritage. I made rice pucks for dinner. That’s risotto cakes for you fancy-schmancy culinary types :p

I used the risotto leftover from Tuesday night's butternut squash risotto. Leftover risotto is alright but the creaminess that defines it has degrades into ho-hum starchiness overnight . Simply nuking the stuff would leave you with splodgy rice pablum. The flavor would still be there but your teeth would get bored of having nothing to do.

Luckily, leftover risotto holds together great and adheres to stuff like panko flakes and cornmeal really well, making it a great candidate for pan-fried pucks of goodness. In fact, I try to make enough risotto for leftovers so I can make these delectable treats. You need leftover risotto, freshly made risotto is still too runny and anyways, the point of this recipe is to use up leftovers.

Here’s my Fast & Dirty Rice Puck recipe:

Cold leftover risotto

Dredging stuff – eg. Flour, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, panko flakes

Seasoning – dried herbs, spices, salt and pepper

Oil for pan frying

1- Scoop out about 1/3 cup (eyeball it) of risotto and shape into a 3/4 inch thick pucks. Wet hands makes this much easier to do. Set aside in a single layer on a plate. Repeat until all the risotto is shaped. You could make them smaller bite size pucks. Don't make them much bigger than 1/2 cup portions . It'll break apart when you try to flip them over.

2- For the dredging, mix together your dredging choice with your seasoning choice. For 8 risotto cakes, I used about ¼ cup of cornmeal with a 1/4 teaspoon of spice mix. Dredge the cakes right before cooking or else the dredging mix will get too soggy.

3- With dry hands, coat both sides of the rice pucks with the dredging mix.

4- Heat up a couple teaspoons of veggie oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Once hot, arrange rice pucks in a single layer into the pan. Do not crowd the pan. Allow for room between the pucks. If needed, do this in 2 batches.

5- Pan fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until you get nice golden crust.

6- Transfer done rice pucks with a slotted spatula onto a paper towel lined plate. Keep warm in a 200F oven until ready to serve.

I used a seafood spice mix that my SIL gave us for Christmas. It’s a great mix of Cajun spice with a touch of curry. We also used the spice mix on some local prawns that accompanied our meal. Nothing more than just tossing a spoonful of spice mix with some prawns and sautéing over medium high heat for a few minutes. In fact, I cooked it up in the same pan right after I cooked up the rice pucks, making this a one pan meal done in less than 15 minutes. Some fresh local mixed salad finished off our meal.

The golden crusty exterior was a perfect casing for the soft guts of this rice puck. DH couldn’t stop raving about them. He thinks I’m a culinary genius. I think that maybe we should keep the fact that it took me rubbing 2 brain cells together and 10 minutes to make our little secret. OK?

For dessert, I made dan taht, or egg tarts. Instead of using a flaky pastry dough, I used up the pie dough I had leftover from the sausage rolls I made earlier in the week. I rolled it out ¼ inch thin, cut out 4 inch rounds to line a medium sized muffin pan. I made a basic custard with local free range egg, local milk, sugar, flour and a few drops of vanilla extract. I poured the custard into the the pie crust shells and baked in a preheated 475F oven for 8 minutes. After that I turned the oven to broil for 2 minutes so the tops get all brown and caramelized. If you want, you can sprinkle a little sugar on top of the custard before broiling and get a crème brulee sort of effect. Or you could skip the broiling step altogether.

Custards are easy to make after a few initial burnt and/or curdled attempts. The key is to have everything on hand right beside the stove and be patient. Keep the heat low as you stir and wait for it to thicken. It will thicken eventually. Deny the urge to crank up the heat, you will be punished with a scorched pot and curdled custard.

I managed to squirrel a few egg tarts away for dinner tonight. We’re having some friends over for another small Chinese New Year dinner and a felting workshop. Not sure what I’m going to make for dinner but at least I have dessert covered.

Happy Eating!

Jen

Nanaimo’s 100 Mile Diet Challenge

Spring on the horizon

I’m feeling nearly, kinda, almost close to my old self, just in time to meet my old nemesis: Hay Fever. My daily post-work wandering about yesterday got squeezed down into a brisk 40 minute walk up and down the neighbourhood hills and by the time I got back I sounded like a trampled accordion. Yikes!

The arrival of allergies also means spring and all the yummy goodies that comes with it. I think I might have to send DH off to gather us up some young stinging nettle. The garlic in my backyard is shooting up nicely and I’m planning out what else I’m going to stick into the ground now that the Spring is starting to creep in.

But it’s not here yet. As lovely as yesterday was, the evening was chilly and there’s rumors of another cold system coming in. There may be a chance for a good climbing weekend! DH and I are probably the only ones on this island hoping for colder temperatures. We don’t voice our weather hopes too loudly for fear of being run out of town :0

Though my walk left my lungs a bit soggy, it revived the rest of me, especially my brain. I spent the rest of the day bopping from appointment to errands and putting up posters for the Nanaimo 100 Mile Diet challenge wherever I saw a bulletin board. I ended off the day with a fly-by knitting lesson. My knitting apprentice and I rendezvoused at a mall parking lot during her coffee break for a quick tutorial on the seaming and I-cords. It was the most clandestine knitting lesson I’d ever given. I was half-expecting mall security to come knocking on the window and bust us for indecent public knitting. LOL!

By the time I got home it was way past 8pm and I was starving. A look through the fridge and pantry revealed few possibilities. I had a couple cups of leftover roasted squash, roasted garlic, a few strips of smoked bacon and bunch of collard greens that were needing to get used up pronto!

I could have made a pasta but I was jonesing for stick-to-your-ribs winter comfort food. I decided on risotto. I ended up roasted garlic and butternut squash risotto topped with smoked bacon, toasted hazelnuts with spicy, garlic greens. A healthy grating of Natural Pasture’s Boerenkaas cheese topped off this satisfying dish. The only ingredient that wasn’t grown on this island was the rice. I even used smoked bacon fat to sauté some shallots and the risotto rice in. Stop clutching your heart! It was only about 2 teaspoons for bacon fat stretched over the whole dish. In fact, despite DH’s second and third helpings, I still have leftovers for tonight.

The smoked bacon fat gave the rice a deep, savoury richness. So much so that I chose not to add any cheese or butter to finish off the risotto, as you normally would for a traditional risotto. Instead I added only a grating of cheese as garnish. In a way, by using the smoked bacon fat I decreased the amount of fat normally used in this dish ;)

What a gorgeous harmony of flavors! The sweet roasted squash and garlic played nicely against the crispy, savory bacon. The garlicy, spicy greens provided a balanced counterpoint with it's pleasant green bitterness and shift in textures. The hazelnuts and cheese helped tie up all the flavors nicely. The rice, itself was creamy and comforting without being gooey and gummy. For those that think that risotto is a high-maintanence dish to make, it's not. Despite what all those cookbooks and the Food Network tells you, it doesn't need to be stirred constantly for 20 minutes. It needs regular stirring for the first 5-8 minutes. Then after that, you just need to stir it up a bit when you add in more stock. Between stirrings, I managed to wash, chop and cook up the greens, wash up the few dishes I had dirtied, shell and chop the hazelnuts, grate the cheese and clean up the kitchen. I had dinner done in under 25 minutes.

For a Fast & Dirty risotto instructions, check out my previous entry, Comfort Food and Knits.

With a happy belly, I settled into my knitting corner for some major frogging. I had managed to knit up the rest of the back of the Honeymoon sweater the night before but had made some wonky calculations on the shaping of the waist and had to redo it again. Oh well. I convinced myself I didn't really like the way the branches and leaves were shaping up in the silhouette. With new calculations and new game plan, I finished up the rest of the back panel for my sweater (for the second time). I think in total, I’ve knitted up this back panel three times. I used a mix of intarsia and cabling techniques to create the silhouette. I didn't like the chunky, pixelated look of intarsia for the limbs of the tree. I wanted nice, smooth limbs since I was trying to create an Arbutus tree effect. Instead, I used a mix of increase and decrease techniques to shape the limbs. Intarsia worked fine for the leaves. For the background, I used a mix of Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden. Mostly it was yarns leftover from past projects. Since I wanted a particular colour pattern to echo the shift from land to ocean to sunset, I seperated the yarn into colour groups and felted them in the order that I wanted. It didn't take very long and I'm thrilled how it all turned out.

I’m still not sure what I’m going to do for the front panels. I’m thinking some of a wrap sweater design. I’ve been flipping through a Japanese clothing design book from the library. I might incorporate an obi into it or maybe a haori tie to close up the front. Who knows what my wheezy little brain will think up :p

Happy Eating!

Jen

Nanaimo’s 100 Mile Diet Challenge.

What are you doing this weekend?

I'm going climbing. Well, providing that the climbing goddess and the weather co-operate.

If you don't have your dance card filled, the Nanaimo Global Film Festival is starting on Friday and running through to Sunday at Malaspina University. Festival passes range from $20 to $30 and are available until noon Friday at Green Communities in Port Place, Malaspina Students' Union, Nanaimo Arts Council in Rutherford Mall, and Van Isle Video on Bowen Road.

The line-up of films includes "The Fight for True Farming", a documentary on solutions to the social and environmental scourges of factory farming. "Frankensteer" is a documentary that reveals how the traditional cow has been turned into an antibiotic-dependent, hormone-laced, potential carrier of toxic bacteria, all in the name of cheaper food. Also, "Slow Food Revolution" a documentary on the slow food movement will be screened. With 50 films from all over the world, there's something for everybody!

For our southern islanders, Victoria's Slow Food movement is hosting an event this weekend that opened to the public. Here's an announcement I got from them about their Wheat & Community event:

Join Slow Food annd our Red Fife Wheat farmer, Marc Loiselle from Vonda, Saskatchewan for a discussion on the current state of wheat, including the fight against GMO and seed patenting, and the revitalization of heritage wheat varieties.

Seedy Saturday

Slow Food will be giving a presentation on Slow Food's new Manifesto on the Future of Seeds, prepared by the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture. This was adopted at Slow Food's Terra Madre Conference in October, 2006. The following speakers are on the panel:

-Sinclair Philip, owner of Sooke Harbour House and Head of Slow Food Canada

-Marc Loiselle, a Saskatchewan farmer, founding member of Slow Food's Heritage Wheat Presidium and producer of Red Fife Wheat

-Mara Jernigan of Fairburn Farm Culinary Retreat and Guesthouse and Slow Food Canada's National Ark Coordinator

-Cliff Leir, founding member of Slow Food's Heritage Wheat Presidium and Baker

This presentation is to take place this Saturday, February 17th from noon to 1 pm at the Victoria Conference Centre located at 720 Douglas Street.

This will take place as part of Seedy Saturday, Victoria's 14th Annual Seed and Garden Show, from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is only $5 and free for those under 12.

*****

Last night's event in Parksville with Kate Green and the Ban Terminator Event went very well. I'm glad that these events are being attended by people outside the farming community. Word still has to get out to the public about this insidious genetically modified technology. Beleive me, it's not a seed, it's form of warfare. An enormous amount of genetic manipulation was done in order for this seed techology to be created. Once released, it also has the potential to destroy non-GMO crops via open air pollination. If you haven't already, check out the Ban Terminator website and the USC Canada site. If you have checked it out, pass the info onto to someone else. Thanks!




















(Kate Green from USC Canada)
I have an interview with Shaw TV this afternoon about Nanaimo 100 mile diet challenge. I'm thrilled that the local media is so interested in helping get the word out. I also have another Ban Terminator Event tonight at Malaspina University (7pm, Building 356, rm 109). They'll be showing excerpts from "The Future of Food'" by D. Koons-Garcia along with a Ban Terminator presentation. Come by the Nanaimo 100 Mile Diet challenge table and say 'hello'.

I got home around 10pm last night from Parksville's event. Luckily, I had simmered and cooked up the beans for the soup before I left so all I had to do was toss in the leftover roasted veggies and fresh collard greens for my Tuscan white bean soup:

So good.














Unfortunately, I was hit with a bout of insomnia last night. Tossing and turning, next thing I know, it was 3:30 in the morning. EEK!
I finally got to sleep around 4ish. I'm gonna have to take a bath in a tub of squirrels in order to get bright-eyed and bushy tailed for my interview this afternoon.

Happy Eating!
Jen

Nanaimo's 100 Mile Diet Challenge

Happy Cherub Hunting Day!

Happy biggest fake Hallmark holiday of the year day! Oh well, it's a good reason to break out a good wedge of Hilary’s cheese and pop open a bottle of Venturi Shulze Millefiori.

I’m in the middle of another non-stop week of events, dinner parties and climbing prep. Last night, we had some newly-found friends over for dinner. Local college students who are proving that even on a limited student’s budget, basic cooking knowledge and a busy schedule that you can still eat locally and not break the bank or belt. Kudos!

I got home about 6:30pm with a half an hour before our guests would arrive. I whipped off my jacket and turned on the oven to 350F. I chopped up a huge batch of potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions and garlic for roasting to see us through the rest of this busy week. Depending on how big they’re chopped and their density, they take 30-40 minutes to roast. I cut everything except the onions and garlic into ½ inch cubes for faster cooking. The onions I cut into quarters and garlic remained in whole cloves.

I also dug up a batch of moose sausage and a batch of locally raised and made Bavarian sausages from the freezer. No, we don’t get tired of sausage in this house. Again, I made enough to see us through the rest of the week. A quick sear in a hot pan and those were also popped in the 350F oven for about 20 minutes to finish cooking.

When the guests arrived, I quickly chopped up some freshly picked collard greens from Nanoose Edibles. Into a hot wok, I drizzled in some veggie oil and dropped in some minced raw garlic. I threw in the greens and sautéed them for few minutes. A few grinds of black pepper and a drizzle of Auld Alliance Farm’s (on Gabriola Island) pear balsamic vinegar and we were ready to eat.

Our lovely guests picked up a bottle of Saturna Island’s Pinot Noit from the government liquor store on their way here and that went perfectly with the sausages and veggies. They also brought over a wedge of Little Qualicum’s Raclette cheese (a favorite of mine). They were the perfect 100 mile diet dinner guests. I think we’re going to have them over more often:)

To accompany the savoury sausages was a tart and spicy rhubarb & plum chutney that I made last summer. It gave a nice contrast to the rich and meaty sausages.

We ended the meal with some local kiwi fruit, apples and the raclette cheese.

So for the next few days, I’m going to build all the dinners/lunches around the roasted veggies and sausages. For all those who’s heart is clenching (or drooling) at the idea of sausages for a week, keep in mind that the dishes I’m planning are using the meat as a side element, rather than the main element of the meal. Tonight I’m planning to make a Tuscan style white bean soup. Basically chop up a link of sausage, saute it up, dump in some chicken stock and soaked canelli beans or other white bean (or canned beans). Simmer until beans are done, about an hour. Of course, if you use canned beans, you won’t have to simmer them for that long. 10-15 minutes will be enough time.

I’ll also add a parma cheese or some other unwaxed hard cheese rind. It will help flavor the soup and give it an extra bit of richness. I also find that any good real cheese (not the processed cheddar stuff you buy by the brick) that has gone hard in your fridge also is a good candidate for this use. I simply break them down to smaller chunks and keep the in the freezer until needed. Cheeses like a raclette, any alpine style cheese or farmers cheddars can be used.

Once the beans are done, bring up the heat to a medium high, dump in some of the roasted veggies, some finely chopped kale or chard or collard greens. As soon as the greens turn bright, brilliant colour, you’re ready to eat!

If you want a smoother, creamier soup, blend up half of the bean soup before you add the rest of the veggies. Watch out for the cheese rind! That’ll just gunk up your blender.

If your dinner companions are in the habit of not paying much attention to what they’re eating and tend to scarf down their food, I’d pull out the cheese rind so nobody gets a mouthful of spongy cheese rind. Then again, maybe you ought to leave it in there to teach them to not scarf down the lovely meal you prepared for them :p

BTW, I'm going to be at the Ban Terminator Event in Parksville tonight and at the Nanaimo Malaspina University event tomorrow . Drop by the Nanaimo 100 Mile Diet Challenge table and say 'hello!'

Happy Eating!

Jen

Free Range at the Range

A future step taken for my 100 Mile Diet today, I threw in some winter veggies seedlings into the garden. I had a bunch that I grew from seed saved from last year and a few 6-packs of seedlings that I picked up from Long Lake nurseries. They had a table of winter veggies that included lettuce, spinach, kale and spinach, cabbage, brocolli and, of course, brussel sprouts. I know that by mid-February, I'll be sick and tired eating kale, but right now I'm dancing-my-ass-off excited about having another winter veggie garden. I had already thrown in some sea soil and tidied up the raised beds a few days ago, so it took all over 15 mins to put them in. Here's one I had a few years back in Port Alberni:


It's the middle of November in that picture. You're just going to have to take my word for it.

So I did a bit of postering around Downtown Nanaimo in preparation for the upcoming 100 Mile Diet Challenge Week. I ran into a friend who told me about an organic chicken and turkey farmer on Jinglepot Road with a very interesting story to tell. I'm thinking the next challenge for me will have to be a 100 Mile Diet Thanksgiving!

I'm still flying solo at the dinner table. DH will be back tomorrow. I like cooking for myself. It's a chance to experiment even more so than I usually do. To play with different texture and flavours that I normally wouldn't try if I was cooking for others. It's one thing if I end up eating toast for dinner because my radish and cranberry soup experiment didn't quite work out, it's another thing to make others do so.

However, it was past 9pm when I realized that I was hungry. I realized that I was hungry because I hadn't eaten dinner. I was also tired and not up to playing Iron Chef so figured I'd do a kitchen sink fritatta. Basically bits and pieces of stuff thrown into a fritatta. It's my way of doing some fridge housecleaning. I way of getting rid of leftovers gathering in random bowls and containers and bits of fresh ingredients that aren't enough to make something one their own. In a way it is a form of experimenting since often the most unlikely combinations end up together. I once did a kitchen sink fritatta with green beans in fermented black bean sauce, grilled chorizo sausage, greek salad and hummous that was surprisingly good. Unfortunately, I've never had that combination of leftovers since.

Here's what I had for leftovers: roasted corn (from dinner last night), small chunk of steak already cooked that I've been having as my main meat this week, blanched green beans, boiled beets. And I had some fresh bits: small bunch of swiss chard, bits of Hilary's Red Dawn cheese, red onion and basil. Yes, all of it grown within 100 miles.

So I sauted up the onion, then threw in the roasted corn, the chard, and the last of the steak (sliced thinly). As those ingredients heated up on medium-high heat, I beated a couple of local free-range eggs with some of the basil and a bit of water. To cut basil quickly, just stack the leaves, fold over lengthwise and cut directly into the bowl. The egg mixture went into the pan. Once almost completely cooked, I grated the rest of the Red Dawn cheese over the top of the eggs and pop it right under a waiting hot broiler until the cheese caramelized. I mixed the beets and beans together with a dash of balsamic vinegar and some dijon mustard for a salad.

It was great. The sweet roasted corn played nice counterpoint to the 'greeness' of the chard. The steak offered some interesting texture and flavour. I think cutting it thin was the key. Thick slices would have muddied up the texture. The Red Dawn cheese worked really well. It's mild enough that it doesn't dominate but it still has a presence. It helped bring out the sweetness of the corn.

I was going to take a picture but I was too hungry :P

Now I gotta go hunt for dessert.

Happy Eating!
Jen

Crap Wrapped in Lettuce

Darren has requested a recipe for lettuce wraps. So here it is, plus some variations.

This recipe is great for novice cooks and is very versatile. It falls in the aforementioned chinese cooking system of 'chop up crap, throw crap into hot wok, season with more crap, eat crap.'

Basic Lettuce Wrap Recipe:

Ingredients:
Meat crap - I usually use ground pork. You can use any ground meat. A pound is enough for 4 servings. You can also use leftover meat like chicken, BBQ pork, duck, salmon, meatloaf, shrimp, roasted squirrel. If you use pre-cooked meat just add it at the end to just warm through.

You can also use tofu or tempeh. For tofu, use firm or extra firm. If using firm tofu, just sandwich the tofu block between two large plates with a can of whatever on top to squeeze out excess water. Crumble or chop into a small dice.

Vegetation crap: Whatever as long as it's not watery like a tomato. The usual veg crap for this are carrots, celery, onion. You can also use water chestnut (fresh not canned. Canned water chestnut is it's own punishment), jicama, fennel, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts. I'd stick with crunchy veggies that cook up fast. You can also use up leftover veggies here too. I like gai lan, sugar peas, mushroom (shitake is very good) and spinach. Again, if using already cooked veggies, add at end to just warm through.

Don't go overboard. This is one of those times that you should K.I.S.S.

Other crap: I like adding nuts, just a handful of walnuts, pine nuts or even pumpkin seeds add a neat extra dimension to the dish. Toast the nuts before adding. Just throw them into a dry pan at medium heat. Once they start getting some colour & you can smell the nuttiness, they're done.

Seasoning crap: Ginger, garlic, shallots, szechuan peppercorns, soy sauce, fish sauce, curry powder, ancho or chipotle chili powder, 5-spice, 7-spice, ground cumin and corriander, sesame seed oil, black bean sauce. Again K.I.S.S

Oil: Use peanut oil or veggie oil (canola, safflower, corn etc). Save your olive oil for another time.

Condiment crap: Hoisin sauce is the traditional favorite. Plum sauce or duck sauce is also pretty good. You can also serve with a chili-fish sauce (just mix a glop of sambal oelek and fish sauce together) and some wedges of lime. If you're using curry powder or powdered cumin and corriander, you might want to opt for some yogurt sauce (1/2 cup yogurt, some chopped cilantro/parsley, 1 minced garlic clove and squeeze of lime/lemon, salt & pepper to taste) or a chutney. If you're using ancho or chipolte powder, some salsa or sour cream will work well.

Instructions:
There are 2 main factors to a good basic lettuce wrap filling. One is that everything is cooked up fast so have everything chopped and right beside you at the stove. Secondly, the filling can't be a sloppy, wet mess. Unless you like wearing your dinner.

1- Chop veggies into small dice (1/4 inch cubes). Mince ginger & garlic if using.
2- If using raw ground meat, season with a good healthy pinch of salt.
-If using leftover meat, either dice or shred the meat.
3-Heat up a couple glugs of oil in pot/wok/pan at medium-high heat.
4- Add ginger & garlic to oil. Don't let it brown.
5- Add ground meat. Spread it out over the bottom of the pan.
6-Let it brown. This means "DO NOT TOUCH". For about 3-4 mins. Let the meat get some colour before you start farting around there with your spatula.
7- Once the meat is cooked, add the veggies. Cook for a minute.
8- Add other crap (nuts, seasoning stuff). Start off with a couple spoonfuls. Taste it before adding more. If you're using any of the spices like curry or black bean sauce, push some of the mixture to one side of the pan, let the moisture evaporate a bit and toss your seasoning onto the dry pan bottom to let it get a bit toasty. Be careful not to burn it. Toasting will help bring out the flavours and aroma of the seasonings. Mix in with the rest of the crap.
9-Taste it. If it needs more seasoning crap then add some. If not, then don't mess with it.
10- Serve with iceberg lettuce leaves and condiment crap.

Lettuce tips:
1-Use iceberg lettuce. Do not deviate, the other lettuces won't have the strength to hold the filling and you'll end up with filling on your lap.
2- Remove the core from the lettuce with a small paring knife. Just cut around the core with the knife pointed towards the centre so you end up with a cone shaped lettuce stump.
3-Slowly peel one leaf at a time. Cut off any thick stalks.
4- Wash the leaves and dry them as best you can without ripping. Stack them onto a plate and keep in fridge with a damp towel over them until needed.
5- You will end up a bunch of inner leaves that won't work. Save those for another use like an iceberg salad with blue cheese dressing and walnuts for lunch tomorrow. Or shred them and toss them into a bowl of congee.

Leftover Lettuce Wrap filling ideas:

You might as well make more than you need. So double or triple the recipe. For the most part, the filling can be frozen and used later.

The filling also makes a great base for fried rice or chow mein. It is as simple as reheating the crap in a wok and tossing in some cooked rice or noodles.
It can also be thown into a congee.

You can throw it into a bowl of noodles and soup.

Throw a bowl of leftover filling into a hot pan with a bowl of stock or water. Add a couple handfuls of spinach. Take pot off of heat and add a slurry (1 tbsp of corn starch and cold water mixed). Put back onto heat, bring back to boil for the slurry to thicken the sauce. Add more seasoning (soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce) if needed. Serve over sauteed asian greens or snap peas if you have them. Serve with rice.

If you have curried filling, just reheat it with a bit of stock or water. Add some more curry powder or ginger if needed. Toss in some coconut milk and serve over rice.

You can also serve the filling with naan or tortillas.

Chili powder seasoned filling is a perfect foundation for a quick burrito/taco. It is also the beginnings of a fast, easy stew/soup. For stew, just reheat a bowl of the filling and add a couple of spoonfuls of tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat. You're looking to caramelize the tomato paste, not burn it. Stir continuously. Toss in a can a diced tomatoes and bring to boil then let simmer for 15 mins. Add more seasoning if needed.

For soup, skip the tomato paste and add a cup of stock along with the diced tomatoes.

Now I'm hungry.

Later my lovelies.