For anyone out there on the West coast who wants to bushwack the hell out of some indigenous ingredients, but doesn’t quite know where to begin… May I suggest going to the source. Read More
Dragon’s Tongue Beans with Spicy Pork Sauce
It’s a glorious surprise when you walk through the garden in late August and find a huge bush full of beans when you thought you’d damn near killed them all. I completely forgot about them and never watered them enough! There’s no way… but, yes! There, standing tall and proud in a plastic tote full of chocolaty pudding-like soil, swaying gently in the fennel-scented breeze is a bush sagging under the weight of twenty Dragon’s Tongue beans! Thank you West Coast Seeds and thank the garden Gods! Read More
Wildflower Honey-Glazed Radishes
It’s August, and my little garden’s crop of lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries and radishes lay in piles all over the kitchen. The table’s groaning under the weight, the sink is clogged with garden soil, the dish rack is full of kale waiting to be washed… This is ridiculous! I haven’t got the space to cook something elaborate, so I’ll stick to just one pan and treat some of my radishes to a little bath, some butter and a dollop of honey. Read More
Seared Duck Breast with Thimbleberry Sauce
I have emerged from the “labyrinthine foliage of scrubby bushes and knotted vines” with 4 cups of fresh, glittering, juicy thimbleberries! By the time I’m back in the kitchen that amount has shrunk by half (Is there a hole in the container? Why are my fingers all red? Alright… just one more!) I haven’t got enough to make a traditional jam or preserve, and no ice cream either, so I’ll make a savoury sauce instead. The slightly sweet and sharply tannic flavour of the berries will complement the luxurious crispy/fattiness of my favourite ingredient… Duck! A hot pan, butter, shallots, a splash of vinegar, berries, what a classic entree! Read More
Thimbleberries!
After a wet and deeply depressing June-uary, a sunny get-down-to-the-beach-and-rock-out July has come as a shining relief. Summer! People are out skim-boarding, biking, hosting noisy backyard BBQs, and enjoying life! Not to be outdone, mother nature soaks up the summer heat and busts out her brightest colours. So what if everyone’s lawn turns brown! Flowers are everywhere! And, along highway ditches and dog-walking paths, hidden inside the labyrinthine foliage of scrubby bushes and knotted vines are The Three Sisters of Summer: salmonberries, thimbleberries and blackberries… Read More