Saturday, June 30, 2012

Produce of the Week and Thoughts About Pie





As I sat in my apartment eating split pea soup and drinking tea I tried to come up with a supplementary blog topic for today’s post. Of course I could complain about the miserable weather, but I have already done that. I could go on some more about the pure delicious joy of Klipper’s strawberries, but I have already done that. I could even talk about the wonderful community feeling that comes with living in the West End, but I am pretty sure I have covered that topic as well. And so, in light of my terrible writer’s block, I have decided to describe sour cherry pie as a parallel to this blog. 


Now anyone with common sense knows that sour cherry pie is truly amazing (just like my blog, of course), but requires more than a little effort. First there is the task of finding sour cherries. Now this is strongly influenced by local growers and can be a huge pain. Up next is pitting which can take forever, cause hand-cramps and inevitably leads to frustration. After making flaky dough, mixing the filling, and sticking the pastry in the oven there is a bit of an energy crash, but smelling the completed sour cherry pie makes the whole thing worth it. In the end, I truly love writing and taking photographs for this blog. I am proud of my accomplishments and despite occasional frustration, I will never stop.






Snowy Mountain Organics. Sour cherries. Clearly these will be used in pie and there will be photos posted on Monday or Tuesday.


Forstbauer Farm. Squash blossoms. It is becoming a post-market tradition for me to make my squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and basil. Perhaps I should try something different, but why mess with perfection?


Klippers Organics. Sugar snap peas and strawberries. First peas of the season! Not quite sure what my plan is, but I am sure it will be delicious. Sadly, I was told that these are the last strawberries of the season so I was sure to buy two pints. For those of you who were curious about the varieties, I was told that they were a combination of sapphire and sable strawberries.


Sandhu Produce Growers Ltd. Potatoes. These will be used for my meals-to-go business and any leftover potatoes will go into either Swedish potatoes or stew.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Produce of the Week on $15



One of the most common complaints about buying local is the extra cost. People claim that farmers overcharge and that organic is not worth the price. Having spent my childhood in restaurant kitchens and behind farm stands, I am a vehement supporter of local growers. Today I decided that I would bypass my usual Saturday ATM trip and see what I could buy with just $15 cash at the market.

Klippers Organics. Strawberries and garlic scapes. I will be making garlic scape pesto for my business later this week. The strawberries, as always, were delicious and have been completely consumed.
Sandhu Produce Growers Ltd. First raspberries of the season! Tasty, but I have to be honest and say that raspberries will never be my favorite berry (I can’t wait for market blueberry season!). So far the berries have been eaten raw, soaked in wine, and I plan to make raspberry iced tea tomorrow.
Paul’s Produce. Carrots. These will be going in a batch of split pea soup which I plan to make during one of the inevitably rainy days this week.


On my way out of the market I had to stop at the Pig on the Street food cart once again and was overjoyed to see that they take both credit and debit. This time around I tried the Porker sandwich, was given the alias of "Ham Solo", and decided that these wraps will always be worth the long line. The Porker was even better than the Pig LT. Imagine delicious sausage and bacon wrapped together with goat gouda cheese, caramelized onions, and arugula. Now imagine being able to walk up to a van in downtown and buy one of those. Perfection!


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Rain, Rain, Go Away and Produce of the Week


I absolutely adore Vancouver weather about 75% of the time. This is not one of those times. I love summer in this city and all the wonderful things to do. I love waking up early on a Saturday morning and cruising the farmers market before dashing off to ballet. I love it much less when I wake up to a dismal lack of sunshine and the sound of endless rain outside my window. It is so much harder to motivate oneself when walking outdoors causes shoes to be soaked and hair to frizz (oh good lord the frizz…). Despite these gloomy Saturday feelings, I managed to get myself to the market and have a lovely time chatting with vendors and browsing produce. After all, even an incredibly dreary day is brightened with fresh strawberries!


Forstbauer Farm. Squash blossoms that will be, once again, stuffed with cheese and basil, tempura-battered, and fried.
Crisp Organics. Delightfully fresh romaine lettuce that has already been used in a Caesar salad tonight.
Klippers Organics. Kale, strawberries, and collard greens. The kale will be lightly sautéed and drizzled with lemon and olive oil. Strawberries=gone. The collard greens were my favorite find this week! They will be gracing my meals to go along with shrimp etouffee and garlic bread.
Hui’s Farm. Baby shitake mushrooms that will go into a light risotto on Tuesday night.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Achin' For Bacon

 
I have previously mentioned that I find bacon to be one of the true joys of life. Breakfast, lunch, dinner? Anytime! Luckily there is a new food cart in the great city of Vancouver that is designed to serve bacon addicts like myself. While leaving the Farmer’s Market on Saturday I saw a pink-painted van that smelled enticingly like everyone’s favorite food. How could I possibly resist? I ordered a Pig LT and was given a pork themed pseudonym to listen for. While I waited for someone to call “Harry Trotter” I chatted with the woman next to me, aka “Ham Solo”, and watched as “Kevin Bacon” dug into his meal. 



At long last I was called up to fetch my flatbread wrap, which was full to bursting with arugula, bacon, and avocado. I honestly cannot think of a time when I have tasted a better bacon sandwich and at only $9 it was well worth the cost. Despite the knowledge that it may cause a heart attack, I look forward to trying every item on the menu. I wholeheartedly recommend that tourists and locals alike keep an eye out for a pink van that is jam packed with flavor.


Pig on the Street on Urbanspoon

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Strawberry Contests and Produce of the Week



Another beautiful Saturday with sunshine, bacon, and fresh veggies. Below are the produce finds for the week and a strawberry showdown between two vendors.


Forstbauer Farm. Romaine lettuce. Sadly no squash blossoms this week, but I have already used the romaine in a caesar salad and believe that it was 100% better than store bought!

Klippers Organics. Arugula, garlic scapes, and the first batch of test strawberries. I plan to make a pine nut and arugula pasta later this week and I will be using the garlic scapes to make a pesto for a cold pasta salad. In other words, there will be much carbing this week.

Paul's Produce. Mixed varietal bell peppers. A lovely bag of multi-colored bell peppers for only $4? Perfect. These peppers will go in a curry this week as well as possible fajitas and gumbo. The possibilities are endless.

Langley Organic Growers. Radishes, bok choy. I found these amazing multi-colored radishes and couldn't resist them, despite having radishes in the fridge already. These are meant for munching. The bok choy will go in a curry with the bell peppers.


And then there is the strawberry showdown. I bought the first pint of strawberries from Klippers Organics. Since I enjoyed them so much last week I decided that it would be foolish to resist. Two stands further in the market, there was another strawberry vendor and I purchased a pint to taste-test. Unfortunately I cannot read my own handwriting and therefore have no idea who these came from, so we shall call them Vendor X. In the end it is a simple truth that size isn't everything. Granted the smaller strawberries from Klippers had tons of seeds, but they were tiny, delicious, and practically burst in my mouth. My second pint from Vendor X was much more similar to traditional grocery store strawberries. They were fairly juicy, but simply couldn't compete. 

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Farmers Market Smiles



Living in the West End of Vancouver is a bit like having a small-town community. There are social get-togethers, friendly nods, nice yards, and geriatric scooter drivers. In the summer the community feeling is truly cemented by the Saturday Farmers Market on Comox St. I have been looking forward to the start of the Farmers Market for weeks and was almost worried that it wouldn’t meet my high expectations from last year. Despite the fact that there are always fewer vendors at the beginning of the season, the market was wonderful and I have decided to do a weekly summary of my purchases with vendor information and my plans for cooking. Feedback is more than welcome!

Hui’s Farm. Certified organic mushrooms. Today I purchased oyster and baby shitake. Currently planning to use the shitake in a stir-fry with bok choy and baby corn. I have no plan for the oyster mushrooms, but they just looked too good to pass up. 


Forstbauer Farm. Squash blossoms!!! At sixty cents each, this is definitely a deal! Tomorrow for lunch they will be stuffed with fontina and basil, tempura battered, and fried. Delicious!

Klippers Organics. Leeks, golden beets, and the first of the season’s strawberries. I plan to caramelize the leeks and use them as a side dish later this week. The golden beets will go into my beet and goat cheese salad. The strawberries will be gone by midnight tonight. I should mention that Klippers was my favorite market vendor last year and that they have amazing produce at a reasonable price. I definitely recommend a visit during tomato season!


Cropthorne Farm. Bok choy and a Thai basil plant. The bok choy will be sautéed with my baby shitake mushrooms and baby corn. If I have any left it will likely go into a curry at the end of the week.

Remember that the market is open every Saturday from 9 am-2 pm. Support local farmers and have fun while doing it!