Midweek Roundup

I know, I know. It’s been a week since I’ve blogged. I’m such a bad blogmistress but I have reasons for my absence. Many, in fact.

Last Saturday, my band of merry climbers returned to Mt. Arrowsmith for more ice climbing. Our previous climbing crag was weeping and thin and so we hiked up a bit farther and found a bounty of newly formed ice a bit higher up. After an hour long slog up a snow gully, we got down to business.

(climbs at the start of the snow gully)
















(our friend, Dave, humping up the gully)















(The start of the climb)















That's me on some sweet, sweet ice. Yippee!!! I led all the climbs that day ! (Applause)

The ice was beautiful and solid. The climbs were rompy and fun. It was a fantastic day that left all of us good and tired. Us lucky buggers got to return to Dave’s place where his wonderful wife had dinner and a tribe of cats ready and waiting for us.

Here’s my most favorite cat in the world, Lakshmi (aka. Meep), keeping me company during a pre-dinner knitting session.

So cute! One of these days she's going to 'accidently' fall into my knitting bag and I'm going to have to bring her home with me.

On Sunday morning, I rolled my aching body out of bed, down the hill and onto the ferry to get to the Vancouver for dinner and the Serena Ryder concert with my dear friend, Abby. I had a few hours to kill before meeting her and ended up wandering about downtown in shellshock at how busy and frantic the city was despite the pissy weather and rumors that whole world was going to be hunkered down in front of a big screen TV watching commercials sandwiched between slices of a football game while stuffing it’s face with buffalo wings and 7-layer dip.

Lo and behold, I ran into my friend Ky, a vegan warrior and knitting fiend, and Aaron, another vegan warrior and knitting novice. We sequestered ourselves in a corner of coffee house and had a mini-knitfest amongst all the hustle and bustle of rainy Vancouver Sunday. I was working on my 3^rd incarnation of the sleeve for my Honeymoon sweater. Ky was working on a lace shawl for his grandma for her 85^th birthday present. Awwww.

Aaron, who’s totally new to knitting game, was working on a scarf for his mom. Double Awwwww. Well, he was knitting when he wasn't talking up the cute girls who kept coming over to ask him what he was knitting ;)

Men who knit are sexy but they do swear a lot. They’re not able to go 2 stitches without cursing. Their patterns must read ‘Knit 2, Curse 1, Purl 2, Curse 1’. LOL!

The Serena Ryder concert was incredible and intimate. I can’t believe that they booked such a small venue like the Media Room for her. Supposedly, it was sold out pretty fast. That said, I’m glad that I got to see her at such an intimate setting. She’s got talent up to her eyeballs and then some. With a voice that channeled the greats of past decades, mixed with exuberance and an eclectic, unique style all her own, she was absolutely captivating. My girl crush for her multiplied a hundred fold that night. It goes to show that you don’t need a zillion dollars of lighting, lasers, fireworks, an opera of costume changes, an army of stylists and a bunker of gimmicks to put on an incredible and memorable show.

I decided to stay in Vancouver for a few days and work out of my folks place. I even got to give my sister her birthday present in person. Happy Birthday T!

I also got to meet up with the whole gang of vegan warriors for a knitting and 100 Mile diet vegan baking lesson. The guys have been going to the monthly Winter Farmer’s Market at the WISE Hall and had a bounty of locally grown ingredients to use, along with stuff they’ve preserved from the summer. Have I mentioned how that boys swear a lot when they knit? They also swear a lot when they bake. I forgot to bring my camera so I don’t have any photos to share. But when I left, pretty much every flat surface in their house was covered with a cooling rack loaded with cookies, cakes and dessert bars and the living room was filled with flour dusted boys knitting up a blue streak.

After a never-ending streak of errands, I hopped onto a ferry back home Tuesday night. I got home just in time to watch ‘House’ and fall asleep in my knitting chair.

Yesterday I celebrated the soggy weather by staying indoors and baking up a storm. I made muffins with locally grown kiwis and hazelnuts. I also made a mountain of bagels. The house was toasty and yummy smelling all day long! Aromatherapy really does work ;)

The muffins were made with the recipe from Muffin Mayhem.
I used 1 cup of local kiwi fruit- peeled and cut, a 1/2 cup of local hazelnuts (from Footes Hazelnut farm). I used 1/3 cup of local wildflower honey and whole milk for my liquids.

I had a Mid-Island Weavers and Spinners Guild meeting last night. We’re getting ready to host our own fiber show next month. It’s so exciting. I’ll post more info as soon as I get it. Aside from setting up the space for the event, each of us are also in charge of bringing a baked goodie to sell. I'm batting about a couple of 100 mile diet goodies ideas to bring.

Once I’m done wrestling with work, I’m dedicating the rest of the today to knitting and spinning. BTW, here’s the 5th and (thankfully) final incarnation of the sleeve for the Honeymoon Sweater:

I tried many different stitch combinations from Old Shale to ripples to a meandering ridge stitch to try to capture the big rolling waves that dominated our crossings in Kyoquot Sound on our honeymoon kayak trip. I had this pattern idea whispering to me from very beginning. For whatever reason, I tried every other idea before I went with this. I really have to sharpen my knitting intuition nerves and just go with my gut from the get go. It’s basically a braided cable on stockinette.

It’s actually the sleeve, shoulder and upper chest piece. It’s one piece extending from wrist to upper collar. My friend, Karin, says that if it doesn’t work for a sleeve, it could work as a boa constrictor cozy :P

A bonus feature of this pattern is that because the cabling constricts about ¼ to 1/3 of the width, once I return back to just stockinette stitch, the sleeve widens enough to fit around my upper arm and shoulder. That means no need to increase stitches at this junction point.

Once I get the other sleeve done, I’ll have a better idea of what the rest of the torso will look like. I have a few ideas fluttering about in my head. Hopefully, I won’t have to go through 5 incarnations to figure it out how to capture the spirit of that breathtaking coastal adventure for the rest of the sweater.

So that’s what I’ve been doing instead of blogging. Of course, if didn’t do all that stuff, I wouldn’t have anything to blog about so I have to do all that stuff. You see how that works? It’s a vicious cycle. Oh woe is me…

Have a great day!

Jen

Midweek Crumbs

Firstly, a few midweek tidbits to pass on:

-A reminder for all you green thumbs who can’t wait to start on this year’s backyard bounty, the 5th annual Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday in Qualicum's beautiful Civic Centre on Saturday, February 3rd from 10am to 3pm. Admission by donation. -- Keith & Joy Smith, 2503 Island Highway West. Qualicum Beach, BC V9K 1G5 gwenmar@shaw.ca 250 752 8135

-Chopped and glued from my comments box for all you spinners: Distaff Day is on Saturday, February 3, in Duncan. It's a day for spinners hosted by the Tzouhalem Spinners & Weavers Guild and will be held in St. John's Church Hall (corner of First and Jubilee) from 10 til 3. Last year's event attracted 80-plus spinners from up and down the Island and from Salt Spring! Bring your wheel and something for show & tell (you've got some fabulous knitted projects). Pot luck lunch, $3 charge to help pay the rent. For more info give coordinator Barbara Dowd a call at (250) 743-4116.
Thanks Alison for passing on the info!

-From my email box: The Green Store at the Port Place Mall in downtown Nanaimo has just brought in a huge shipment of organic products. They have everything from freezer/cooler food products to beauty supplies. Many of the items have to go quick!

******

Secondly, I want to share a couple of recent local food finds. I found these at my local supermarket this week:

Yep, B.C. Kiwifruit. I don’t know where in B.C. they’re from but since almost all B.C. kiwi fruits are grown here on Vancouver Island, I’m going to assume they fall within my 100 mile diet radius. YIPPEEE!!! They’re a tad smaller than the ones that are shipped all the way from New Zealand but I got a whole big bag of them for $2.50! They’re also not as fuzzy and don’t need to be peeled. So not only do they take way less fuel to get here, there’s also less waste in the end.

In a recent trip to Piper’s Meats, I found canned smoked Vancouver Island salmon:

So good to see more local products in the stores. Piper’s Meats has always made an effort to bring in locally raised products from meats to eggs and now they’re bringing fish! Double yippee!!!

So today I’m making Chinese potstickers with locally raised pork and veggies in anticipation of Chinese New Year. It’s only fitting since it is the Year of the Pig ;)

Instead of one huge Chinese New Year feast, I’m going to host a few smaller 100 mile diet dinners through February. Chinese New Year officially begins February 18^th but I can’t wait so tonight, I’m hosting a pre-Chinese New Year dinner. We’re going to dig into some of those potstickers. I also have some locally grown gai lan (chinese broccoli) that I’m going to stir-fry up with moose sausage in a black bean sauce. Along with all that, I’m planning a 100 mile hot and sour soup with loads of local mushrooms, root veggies, local pork and chicken stock. I’ll post photos tomorrow.

For dessert, I’ve got homemade raspberry & rhubarb biscotti:

I know, they’re not very Chinese but the fruit adds a touch of festive red which is the main colour for Chinese celebrations.

Gotta get going on my one woman dumpling sweat factory. Have a great day everyone!

Happy Eating!

Jen

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

Dance of the Naked Kiwi

And you thought those Scot's going commando under those kilts was scandalous! More about the naked kiwis later. First a quick recap of another wild and brilliant weekend on my 100 Mile Diet journey.

I rambled over to Vancouver for the Madeleine Peyroux concert on Thursday. So lovely, so divine. She’s a bayou marriage between Billy Holiday and Edith Piaf.

So on Friday I…errr.

Shit! I lost another Friday. That’s the second week in a row.

LOST: Friday. Medium build, sandy brown hair with a peg leg. Please contact me. Do not approach on your own. Friday may be armed, have rabies or at least, a hangover.

Saturday was a week stuffed into a day. I woke up from one of those sleeps that felt like a 14 year coma. You know. Where you wake up and you’re not quite sure who or where you really are. Where you’re wondering if there is supposed to be another body in the bed or not. Perhaps the reason for my deep slumber is the reason I lost my Friday…

I went over to the Community Gardens/Foodshare on Pine Street for their Harvest Festival. I didn’t make it in time for the pancake breakfast but I made it time to watch a round of Chicken Bingo. For those that don’t know, Chicken Bingo is a spectator sport build around the bowel movements of a chicken. And like any spectator sport, it’s only made sporting by spectators betting on where in the bingo grid that lines the chicken pen that the chicken will take a crap. Much more humane than cockfighting. Mind you, there have been cases of overfeeding of chicken in order to ensure quick and timely expulsion of shat in some underground Chicken Bingo arenas in Texas. I was assured by one of the handlers, that the chicken was not on the Foie Gras diet.

There was also a silent auction, including a 100 Mile Diet goodie basket filled with fresh, dried and canned local foods. I put in a bid but couldn’t stick around to see if I won it. I’m waiting for my phone call.

Then I was back on the road. My goal was to end up in Cowichan Bay for the Cowichan Valley Wine & Culinary Festival Gala night to represent Nanaimo’s 100 Mile Diet Challenge. However. I was bent on exploiting this journey down island as much as I could.

My first detour was to Kiwi Cove Lodge . No New Zealanders hanging off the vine, just 7 different varieties of kiwi fruit. I stopped by mainly to nose around. My lovely friend, Willow, told me I had to check it out. I’m just thrilled to be able to add another fruit to my 100 Mile Diet!

Upon my impromptu and highly unannounced arrival, Peggy Kolosoff greeted me and showed me around the warm and rustic property. Along with the over 130 kiwi vines, they also have a huge food garden which they have donated to the Ladysmith as community garden space. They’ve also offered some of their fruit to the Nanaimo’s Foodshare Fruit Gleaning program. I had my first taste of what could easily be a new favorite fruit, the Arguta kiwi fruit. Imagine a kiwi fruit taste packed into a grape-size fruit and given a Brazilian. Not a single hair. It had an intense kiwi fruity taste with overtones of pineapple and with less acid and did I mention, not a single bit of fuzz. She also has the fuzzy variety that we’re all familiar with. The best thing is that she has one variety or another ready for eating from now until Easter.

Peggy sells her fruit to County Grocer in Duncan and at 49^th Parallel in Ladysmith. If you’re interested in finding out more, the Kiwi Cove Lodge is holding an open house next weekend on the 8^th.

Peggy gifted me with a huge basket of Arguta’s to give out at the Cowichan festival that night. Most of the fruits actually managed to make it to the festival ;)

It was the funniest thing to watch folks as I offered them this green, alien fruit. They’d scrunch up their faces in scepticism. When they asked what sort of kiwis they were, I made some lame joke about the name and promised that it wouldn’t cause convulsions. I eventually gave up offering and simply started daring folks to try it. But all that scepticism melted as the fruit bursted sunshine into their doubting mouths. It’s like watching children who have been raised on big-box strawberries and handing them a small, wild freshly picked berry.

People are funny. You offer them something real to eat, something grown on a real plant, in real earth by real people and they look at you like you're trying to poison them. But stick a bunch of chlorine onto sugar and slap on a splendid little marketing campaign and people will run over their mother to get to it. As I said, people are funny.

I spied the Footes Hazelnut farm outside of Chemainus on my way to Cowichan Bay. With the clock ticking, I drove passed. I’ll get to that hazelnut farm yet. It’s hazelnut season right about now. It would be grand to get a stash.

Onward down the highway, I popped into Quist Meat Market to grab some frozen sausages and a 6-pack of beef jerky sticks for the DH. I was tempted to pick up some frozen lamb sausage meat to make kefta but then again, if I do that then I’ll spoil DH for anyone else’s kefta after that. I certainly, would not want to bestow such a horror on the one I love the mostest. I’m such a good wife :)

I got off the highway and headed down to Cowichan Bay. I made it just in time to pop in the True Grain Bakery and Hilary’s Cheese shop to grab some goodies. With my tummy whining, I grabbed a small sandwich made with True Grain bun and Hilary’s blue cheese and a piece of apple strudel. Life is grand.

Along with my lunch, I picked up a bag of freshly milled rye flour and one of kamut flour for moi and a couple baguettes for the 100 Mile diet booth. For $2 a pop, they are definitely the cheapest and quickest trip to France. From the Hilary cheese side, I picked up a wedge of Belle Anne, a goat tomme washed in Cherry Point’s blackberry port, and a wedge of Red Dawn, a big island tomme washed in salt brine. In the self-serve cooler, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat: Water Buffalo Yoghurt.

Fairburn Farm’s have put out their first batch of yoghurt from their herd of authentic water buffalo. I had some this morning with my fruit salad, along with the few last arguta kiwis. It’s a mild and rich yoghurt. It has only a slight sour tang that is associated with cow yogurt. It’s not quite as smooth as cow yoghurt but it certainly as yummy, if not yummier. Don’t ask me how much milk fat is in it. Such things are not important here.

Finally, got to the Oceanside Grand for the Cowichan Wine and Culinary festival’s gala. Hello to everyone at the gala night! It was great chatting with you all!

The Canada Post table (they were selling a wine themed stamp set) and I were sent to the kiddies table, so to speak. We were delegated to the tables outside of the room where all the big folks were showing off their stuff. Regardless, I managed to talk to folks as they wandered out looking for the washroom or a missing date. Ok. I got a bit more attention than that. Along with the arguta kiwi fruits, I handed out samples of the cranberry preserve on baguette from True Grains. That's the key to getting folks to your table: Free stuff! Once folks got a sample in their mouth, I went on my spiel about the 100 Mile Diet and the Thanksgiving challenge. I met some lovely folks, some wonderfully lovely folks and some folks…well, some folks that probably think that Thanksgiving is but a starting bell for Christmas shopping.

I even got interviewed by Don Genova from Pacific Palate and got chatting with a lively and lovely writer from Eat magazine who doesn't look anything like Mara Jernigan from Fairburn farms but who's name I can't remember because my brain has remembered her as the woman who doens't look like Mara.

I got home after 11pm. Poor DH was limp on the sofa, dizzy from starvation. I was pretty much running on fumes myself. Luckily I had some leftover soup in the fridge. Leftover soup is such a blessing. It doesn’t give you a guilt trip if you don’t want it today. It’ll patiently wait until you don’t have time for anything else. When you need it, it’ll be there. Ready with just a quick ride on the stove or a nuke job. Leftover soup is the ultimate food martyr.

Today was spent at Pacific Gardens Co-housing’s Applefest. Hello to everyone there! So lovely to meet you all! It’s a great property with a number of heirloom apple trees and even river running through it. The day was mellow and warm, just like an autumn Sunday ought to be. I ate my fill of apple goodies and chatted about and shared spaced with those who also embrace the sunshine that falls upon them. I also met the male, white inner-child past life version of me. Kinda unnerving but delightful. (BTW, thanks for all the gorgeous veggies. They're very happily tucked into my belly now).

Note to self: Keep little black book for use in my next life.

I’m tired now. Bye.

Jen

Nanaimo’s 100 Mile Diet Challenge.