A couple months ago Ann Kask got a hold of me through the NVICA grapevine and asked me to contribute a recipe for her new berry-themed cookbook. Flattered as all get out I readily agreed and proffered my classic Blackberry Hoisin BBQ Sauce recipe to add to the already stacked list. Now just in time for Christmas the cookbook of your dreams has arrived: RIPE: Local Fruit – Use it fresh, preserve the rest features recipes from over thirty Campbell River and Comox Valley food service folk that run the gamut of restaurant-ready (lookin at your chicken recipe Ronald!) to simple home kitchen afternoon affairs. The best part is that Ann is donating all proceeds from the cookbook to Diabetes Canada!
So if your holiday shopping for that foodie freak who already has every gadget and tome, pick up a copy of RIPE, I guarantee they won’t have it in their collection yet. The book is available around the Comox Valley at various booksellers and gourmet shops and Ann has a booth at the Saturday Comox Valley Farmer’s Market. Toss some sheckles her way, it’s for a good cause and the recipes are really top-notch… Especially mine. *laughs*
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…