The Yin & Yang of Kiwi

Before I fill you all in my tasty weekend, I have a few things to take care of.

First off, I take back what I said about the rain in the last entry. From the sounds of it, I’d better book my spot with Noah. The rain is getting so bad that DH has decided to cut his big climbing trip short and head home.

Secondly, (Jen pulls her soapbox from underneath her chair), I’m sick and tired of the Kiddie Candy Cartel. Less than a week after we were held hostage by the annual Candy Begging holiday, I have a young girl knocking on my door begging for me to buy crappy candy for more than I spend on real chocolate. The girl was selling stuff that couldn’t even be called chocolate since the chalky crap that covers the questionable fillings are so low in cocoa content that they aren’t allowed to be labeled ‘chocolate’. According to her, this is part of her a youth job initiative to teach students responsibility, how to count money and how to interact with the public. Right.

I wonder what sort lesson we’re really teaching these kids considering the levels of obesity and diabetes are rising steadily amongst that demographic and here we are encouraging children to hawk the same things that will make them unhealthy. What’s even more absurd is that it’s the same freaking candy that all the other schools are using for fundraising. Does Hershey's Canada have some sort of monopoly on school fundraisers? Or is this simply the fault of a bunch of imaginatively-challenged adults that can’t think of a better way to fund school programs other than using kids as sugar-pushers?

Schools are completely missing the boat here. There are plenty of local farms and food producers that would be perfect for school fundraisers.

So did I buy a box of candy? Well kinda no and kinda yes. I gave her money for a box and asked her to drop it off at a Food Bank box. I know, folks who use that service don’t need any more high fructose corn syrup, trans fat and other nutritional sludge in their system either. I just kinda felt bad for the girl which is partly the reason why they keep sending those kids out to sell this horrid stuff. Grrrr.

Now onto the rest of the show…

I spent the weekend giving a couple a friends a crash course on that is good and tasty on this crust of the island. Since they lived the Jinglepot Rd. area, we started off Saturday with a quick stop at Gary Argyle’s farm where we found beautiful tomatoes going for 75cents! Gary says that he’ll have one, maybe two more weeks of tomatoes. I stocked up with about 15lb to see us for the next few months. I also grabbed a couple pounds of green tomatoes and some really, really sweet carrots.

Amongst our other stops were Yellowpoint Cranberries to grab several pounds of cranberries and Kiwi Cove Lodge where Peggy had a case of arguta kiwi fruits waiting for us. They are the last of the season the frost did in the ones left on the vine. With our bounty we headed back to their place where we canned, froze and feasted in celebration of bounty.

Canning, freezing and preserving can be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated and stressful even for practiced preserve pros. Doing it with a couple of friends is a great way to get around all that. Take advantage of local produce when the price is right. Get a couple of friends together and work out a production line. In a few hours you will all have a bounty of preserved food to see you through the leaner months of the winter when a tomato is scarcer than a tan line. There are several websites and books to teach you how to preserve food. Nanaimo Community Gardens also offers courses on it.

Tonight, I’m dining solo. In preparation for the week ahead, I roasted up a bunch of veggies to draw from for my meals. I did up the carrots I got from Gary’s farm, onions, red peppers, butternut squash, parsnips, potatoes and several cloves of garlic. I simply chopped everything up into bite size cubes (1-2 cms) and popped them onto lightly oiled pans. I didn’t even bother peeling the squash or the carrots. Butternut squash skin is so thin it doesn’t really matter. Carrots don’t really need to be peeled if their under 1 inch in diameter. Every culinary student and chef out there is gasping in horror right now. I know, we’re supposed to peel everything naked. We’re such veggie perverts. Some veggies need to be peeled because their skin imparts a bitter taste. Other times it’s simply an esthetic thing. Peeled carrots make for a more refined dish. Well, I’m about as refined as rusty chainsaw so no peeled carrots or squashes for me tonight.

I placed them on the middle 2 racks at 325F for 20-30 mins depending on the density of the vegetable. I kept them all segregated with the denser vegetables (carrots and squash) together in one pan and the others in another pan. For about 20 mins of chopping and 20-30 mins of letting the oven do it’s thing, I have enough roasted veggies to see me through to next week.

Now, onto today’s food experiment, the arguta kiwis. I had about 5lbs that needed to be used ASAP. My friend made a gorgeous, yummy kiwi-ginger jam with her lot. Since the arguta kiwis are so naturally sweet, we only had to use 1/6^th of the sugar called for in the recipe. We used No-sugar pectin. Since I had cased of jams and jellies already, I opted to pass on jamming them. Instead I went the yin-yang route and made a kiwi-lime sorbet and a kiwi hot sauce.

Since the arguta kiwis are non-fuzzy and only need their stems plucked off, they're easy to prep. Here are my Fast & Dirty kiwi recipes:

First the Yin of the Kiwi - Kiwi-Lime Sorbet

4 cups of kiwi puree

zest and juice of one lime or lemon (optional)

1/3 cup of simple syrup

Again, due to the sweetness of the fruit, I opted to play it conservative with the simple syrup which is nothing more than 1 part water with 1.5 parts sugar boiled together until clear.

Basically mix all the ingredients together, chill in the fridge for a couple and hours. Prepare in your ice-cream maker as directed. Or freeze in a baking pan, stirring every twenty minutes until it’s sorbet-like. Peggy at Kiwi Cove lodge also suggested freezing this in ice cube trays to be used for smoothies or daquiris.

And now for the Yang of the Kiwi – Kiwi Hot Sauce

I made this largely because I was out of hot sauce. I actually was looking out for a good hot sauce these last few weeks and today realized, ‘Duh, I could just make some.’ I still had some lantern pepper from a Providence farms in the fridge and some local jalapenos in the freezer so I used those for my spice. Use what peppers you like. Jalapenos, scotch bonnets, little red thai, lanterns or habaneros. This recipe is for a medium spicy hot sauce. I prefer hot sauces that actually aren’t all heat and allow you to savor the flavour of the sauce and them have a delayed kick.

2 cups of kiwi puree

1/3 cup apple juice – I used unsweetened apple juice from Westwood Orchards

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar – I used one from Fruit First Farms in the Cowichan Valley

5 lantern peppers and 2 jalapenos – I use scissors to cut and dice the peppers right into the pot.

1 tablespoon honey (optional)– I used a local dark fir honey. It’s much more flavorful.

With a hand blender, I pureed it all in a pot and them simmered the sauce over medium heat for 10 mins. I poured it into a sterilized bottle. This will keep in the fridge for a couple of months if it doesn't get eaten up first.

For dinner tonight I prepared a simple open omelet with roasted veggies, fromage frais from Little Qualicum cheeseworks and some of my kiwi hot sauce. The roasted veggies offered a nice bit of flavour and texture and the fromage frais helped richen it up. I really like the way my sauce brought a touch of sweetness with a slow mellow burn to the whole dish. Definitely a keeper.














And for dessert:

I love the popping of the kiwi seeds. I guess you could strain it through a fine sieve if you want a smoother, more refined sorbet. But, you know, rusty chainsaw, yadda yadda. It is the skin and bones that give most things their character.

Enjoy!

Jen

Equinox Cafe Steps Up to the Plate!

I have some exciting news. This morning I got an email from Jessica and Sean from the Equinox Cafe in Duncan and they've stepped up to our 100 Mile Diet Restaurant Challenge and are offering not just one dish but a 3 course 100 Mile Diet meal! They'll be offering this meal from Sept. 14th to the 16th. Of course, much of their regular menu utilizes local products. It's so fabulous that they've gone out of their way to create a 100 Mile Diet meal. Bravo to them!

Unfortunately, no Nanaimo restaurant has stepped up to the challenge. I sent out someone else to get restaurants for the challenge so I didn't get a chance to talk to the restaurateurs and chefs around here myself but from what I gather there's a bit of bridge building that definitely needs to happen between farms and restaurants around here.

Oh well. I won’t allow myself to get too discouraged, especially when I look around and see other nearby communities that are embracing their local farms. To the south of us is the Cowichan Valley and southern island which are filled with restaurants that celebrate the local bounty. I heard that there is a group in Metchosin who are doing a 10 Mile Diet. 10 freaking miles! More power to them! As I mentioned in a earlier post, the Comox Valley has a great farm-loving community and the bakeries there are at the forefront of a artisan baking revival. That whole community is thriving. Now we just have to get Nanaimo’s head out of it’s SUV behind to see that the Wal-Mart food culture is not the way to go.

Let's hope the enlightened spirit of folks like the Equinox Cafe and other local farm loving establishments in nearby communities spreads over Nanaimo soon. But until then, let's reward those that do support local farms and food producers with our patronage. I am going to hit the Equinox Cafe for their 100 Mile meal. I may even drag the Mr. with me and make it a date night. For those interested, here's their fabulous 100 Mile menu:

First course - Potato and Zuchinni bilini, caramelized onions with blackberry and chardonnay drizzle.
Second course -Highland beef NY steak topped with charred cherry tomato compote. Served with fresh local vegetables and roasted Russian Blue potatoes.
Third course -Crustless apple and plum meringue.

(wipe drool off of keyboard)

***

Speaking of dinner, we had the most awesome bison smokie and roasted veggie stew last night. I did a small roast-up yesterday admist my last round of canning. From my garden, I picked 3-4 lbs of cherry and small heirloom tomatoes, tossed them into a roasting pan with a sprinkle of kosher salt and threw them into an 300F oven for an hour and half. I also threw in a couple cloves of garlic. In another pan, I was roasting up a turban squash, some yellow and purple carrots and peppers, all local, of course. I pretty much ignored it until the timer rang.

I didn’t get my canning finished until about 9pm last night. I canned up a batch of pickled beets and a batch of spicy pickled carrot sticks. Tired and running on fumes, I gathered the following:

-2 bison smokies from Island Bison, roasted tomatoes, garlic, peppers & carrots, leftover roasted corn from a few nights back, a few handfuls of spinach and a couple shallots from my Nanoose Edibles produce box, glassful of Cherry Point’s Coastal Pinot Noir.

I basically chopped up the smokies & shallots and threw those into my wok over medium heat. Let the meat carmelize a bit and shallots soften then toss in the wine to deglaze. Cook that down a bit and then simple toss in everything else except the spinach. Let it all simmer a bit for 10 mins. You can add some water or broth if it’s not soupy enough for you. Then right before serving, I threw in the spinach and a few fresh cherry tomatoes. I tasted and seasoned it accordingly. I had slices of Natural Pasture’s wasabi cheese and cucumber from the produce box as a side. Man, was it ever good. The bison was mildly seasoned to allow it's flavour shine through. It's definitely leaner than typical smokies. A couple went a long way. The roasted tomatoes provided a rich flavour base to the soup. It was a great 1st fall soup of the season.

There was enough leftover for lunch today. I love leftovers. Yes, it tastes better the second day. Next time, I just might add the spinach to the bottom of the soup bowl and pour the soup ontop and let the heat of it wilt the spinach. The spinach in the leftover batch tasted fine but it looked a bit grey.

(Update: I tried the soup again tonight but without roasting any of the veggies and with a white wine instead of red. The verdict. ..It's bitching.)

I found out that I’ve got another 4 weeks on my produce box. I guess had enough forethought in the spring to sign up for a whole 16 week program. Thank goodness, this week’s box included a bunch of local apples including some famous Bramley Seedlings which are some of the best baking apples. You know what we’re gonna have for dessert tonight. There amongst all the greens, tomatoes and apples was a small bunch of the most delectable grapes. They were divine. Small fruit with only a seed at most in each. They were tender and sweet, with none of that weird bitter aftertaste from the skin. The texture was a bit different with an almost velvety smooth flesh.

For all those whining that the produce box makes it soooo much easier to follow a 100 Mile Diet, get off my back and get your lazy asses over to a farmers market. It's harvest time and there will be a ton of stuff available there.

Until then, happy eating!

Jen

Nanaimo’s 100 Mile Diet Challenge

Plum Drunk

So I'm a genius. Really. At least that's how I feel whenever a food experiment of mine actually works.

Last night I decided I needed clear out some precious fridge real estate and started with that bucket of damson plums I picked up from Nanoose Edibles. I decided to make jam. But, of course, I couldn't just make regular, good ole, yummy damson plum jam. Nooooo. That would be too easy. Instead, I made Damson Plum White Wine jam. Not just any white wine, but Cherry Point's Coastal White 2004 which is kinda like a Vancouver Island twist on a Gewurztraminer.

Here's the basic recipe:
4 cups of pitted and finely chopped damson plums (you can try other plums if you want)
1 cup of Cherry Point Coastal White wine
1/2 teaspoon of veg. oil or butter (to prevent foaming)
1 package of low/no sugar pectin
2 1/2 cups of sugar


1- Mix the plum,wine and oil.
2- Whisk in pectin.
3- Bring to boil
4- Take it off the heat and dump in sugar and mix well.
5- Bring it back up to a hard boil for 3 mins.
6- Pour into sterilized canning jars. Pop on lids.
7- Process jars for 10-15 mins.

It's a beautiful jewel of a jam. The wine added a depth and light floral tones that regular old juice wouldn't have. While the jars were taking their bath, I sopped up the remaining jam in the pot with a chunk of homemade semolina bread, plopped on some Little Qualicum's fromage frais on top and enjoyed my ruby treat with the last of the wine.

In fact, it truly was the last of that wine since Cherry Point has sold out of the Coastal White at their vineyard. Oh well, all the more reason to try what elses this Cowichan Valley vineyard has to offer.

Happy eating!

Jen

Canned

So my lovelies, I've been canning the last few days. Figs and peaches gifted from my friend's gorgeous trees supplemented with local bounty from the Shady Mile farm have been keep me busy. After gorging on fresh figs, I had to 2 huge baskets of edge of erupting ripe figs that I turned into fig compote and a fig chutney. Peaches (all together 50 plus lbs), got turned into peaches in vanilla syrup, peach compote with green cardomon and spiced peach & ginger chutney. I had some leftover peach slurry from the compote and freestyled a peach-rum-hazelnut sauce which I canned and I'm planning to break out in the dank swamp of February over some pancakes or perhaps a simple pound cake or a bowl of real vanilla icecream. Who wants to bet that it won't last through September?

I didn't get out for much blackberry picking this year. I did manage to get a couple of yogurt containers and made a blackberry-plum-rhubarb jam (with a touch of balsalmic vinegar). It's so good. The blend of tangy and sweetness goes well with goat cheese on a slice of baguette.

Blueberries , oh the bounty was good this year. They are huge and sweet and once I finished stuffing handfuls down my gullet, I made them into various jams. My first was a blueberry rhubarb jam. The late summer rhubarb is divine and damn a certain someone who keeps reminding me that they cause kidney stones. I'll worry about when I pee pebbles. The next batch was a blueberry plum jam. Finally, I made a blueberry ginger jam. Well, actually, it's more like a sauce. I mismeasured the sugar and it isn't quite thick enough. But it's thick enough for a crepe syrup or a 'fruit-amisu' (basically boozed up fruit sauce and fresh fruit instead of espresso in a basic tiramisu).

I just picked up a couple of pineapples (my guilty pleasure) and I'm thinking of a pineapple marmalade. Or maybe a chutney with some leftover peaches and rhubarb. Or a pineapple mint salsa sort of thingamabob. Who knows.



Along with all the fruits that are filling my belly, are all the brilliant veggies that I've been getting via my Nanoose Edibles produce box and local farmer's markets. From beans to squash to those sexy garlic and of course, the tomatoes. The tomatoes are going to be star of the show at a Slow Food event at the Laughing Geese in the Cowichan Valley on Sept.12. Participants are asked to bring a dish made with local tomatoes. In the invite, they dared up to bring a tomato dessert. Now, my lovelies, you know I couldn't pass up a dare like that. So now I've got to figure out a tomato dessert. Any ideas?

Happy eating!

Jen