Do you know where your fish comes from?  Start asking.

“Dirty Water, Dangerous Fish” makes a powerful argument for knowing the origins of your food.

The Mekong River in Vietnam is the source of much of the farmed catfish (aka basa) sold in North America, Europe and Japan.  It is also one of the most overcrowded and polluted waterways on Earth — a place where cement plants and salt factories stand side by side with residential housing, agriculture and aquaculture.  Where industrial pollutants, sewage and waste water drain freely from the river into the fish ponds and back again.

A short yet powerful video that may change the way you eat — at least I hope so.

photo by Breno Peck

Salicornia Virginica is a small, salt tolerant plant that thrives across the shorelines, wetlands and salt marshes of North America.  Known by a number of names –including samphire, pickleweed and sea asparagus — this nutrient-rich green vegetable adds a not-too-salty crunch when served cold in sushi, or hot alongside a grilled steak.

Plus, if you know where to find it, it’s free.  Shazzaam!  Take that global marketplace.

A closely related plant, Salicornia Europaea, was widely cultivated in 16th Century Elizabethan England as a source of soda ash.  Immigrant Venetian glassmakers used the sodium-rich ashes of the burned plant to produce their clear Cristallo glass, earning the plant the name glasswort.  Prior to their arrival, it was said that the plant “hath no name in English.”

Somewhere along the line, they started eating it — Pickled Samphire is a long-standing bar snack in Norfolk — and now it looks like the rest of us may catch on to it too.  This stuff is tasty!

Gomaae is a Japanese salad/side dish that basically translates as “sesame dressing.”  Spinach is the most popular gomaae here in North America, but there’s nothing saying I can’t make my own version from the food I forage from the shore!

As for the sunflower sprouts and carrot — well, they add a fresh bite and some contrasting colour.  You may choose something different.  Let’s take a moment to come up with some other accompaniments for the sea asparagus:

• red pepper and cucumber
• shaved red onion and bean sprouts
• blanched potato and diced tomato
• smoked tofu and grated radish

What’s your Sea Asparagus Gomaae match up?

Sea Asparagus & Sunflower Sprout Gomaae
Yield:  4 small servings

C=cup        t=teaspoon       T=tablespoon            ml=millilitres

Bring a large pot of UNSALTED water to the boil.   Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice.

Add the sea asparagus to the boiling and cook until tender crisp, about 2-3 minutes.  Quickly remove with tongs and immerse in the ice water to halt the cooking and preserve the bright green colour.  Once cool, gently roll the sea asparagus in a clean towel.  Squeeze gently and set aside to dry.

Grind the sesame seeds to a paste in a spice/coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.  Dissolve the sugar in 1 tablespoon of very hot water.  In a small bowl, combine the sesame paste, sugar, soya sauce and sake.

Toss the sea asparagus, sunflower sprouts and carrot with a small amount of dressing in a bowl.   To serve, pile a small amount of the salad on each plate and drizzle with additional sesame dressing.  Garnish with sesame seeds.

Leftover dressing will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.

]]> http://islandvittles.com/2010/06/28/sea-asparagus-gomaae/feed/ 13 http://islandvittles.com/2010/06/18/the-spinach-wars/ http://islandvittles.com/2010/06/18/the-spinach-wars/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:22:16 +0000 Theresa http://islandvittles.com/?p=2570 photo by grevillea.

Have a look at a small selection of the names of organic spinach seed varieties currently available in Canada:

Dolphin, Whale, Butterfly and Strawberry.

Compare those with the names Seminis, Monsanto’s global seeds brand for open field crops, gives to their spinach seeds:

Avenger, Hellcat, Interceptor, MIG and Tigercat.

Cetaceans, an insect & fruit VS war bombers & missiles.

I feel like some of us are about to be caught with our pants down.  Seriously.

I spent the day at Fort Rodd Hill in Victoria yesterday, attending Defending Our Backyard:  the 3rd Annual Island Chefs’ Collaborative Local Food Festival and Farm Fund Raiser.

Big mouthful, eh?

Not as big as the one I had all afternoon – enjoying a feast of local, seasonal and sustainable food.  And drink.  Did I mention the drink?  There was a lot of drink.

The ICC is a growing community of Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands chefs raising awareness and funds to support local farms and sustainable agriculture.  The day was an opportunity to meet local food producers and chefs and sample fresh island seafood, meats, bread, fabulous cuisine, ale, lager, porter, wine, cider, mead, port and a couple of other alcoholic beverages I’ve forgotten in the haze of the afternoon.

I told you there was a lot of booze.

Lucky for me, Jill, a Pender friend, was driving.  I got to try them all.

We wandered the park in the drizzling rain exploring, tasting and discovering.

The find of the day for me was a beautiful unrefined sea salt which is hand harvested locally.  The Vancouver Island Salt Co. also had their Maple Smoked Rock Salt on hand for us to try – a finishing salt with deep flavour and a sweet scent.

Andrew Shepherd is a chef and the craftsman behind these artisanal salts.  It’s a new venture, and sure to bloom quickly.  I have a feeling Andrew will be spending even more time in the tidal waters near Cobble Hill…

The best booze award (sorry no photo) goes to the Oak Aged Gin from Victoria Spirits.  Howard and I enjoyed a bottle of their gin not too long ago, but I must say, this oak-aged stuff is on a totally different level.  A dram of that after my dinner, but before my coffee, everyday for the rest of my life, please and thank-you very much.

Tastiest meat product has to be the 18 month-aged prosciutto from Ottavia Bakery & Delicatessan (top photo).  The accompanying house-made bread sticks made exceptional delivery devices.

Favourite offerings from local chefs included the organic seafood tamales above, the duck burgers with pancetta jam and dandelion mustard on a brioche-type bun being assembled below on the left, and a unique and TASTY halibut ceviche (no photo), marinated in local apple cider vinegar & verjus and served on a blue-cheese crisp — delicious – and my best bite of the day.

Many thanks to the ICC for a foodie-filled afternoon of tasting, learning and connecting.  I hope we raised buckets of cash to help keep the local food movement alive.  It`s gathering momentum — positive, fun, family-friendly events like this are rocketing us towards exponential growth — and we`re going to get our food systems back where they should be.  Right here at home.

Sunday Lunch has been hijacked today, for the sake of shameless alliteration.  Truth be told, I’m partial to assonance — who doesn’t prefer a little assonance? — but you can’t have everything.

“Alliteration is pleasant and precious, but some fancy assonance can make you dance in your pants,” that’s what my mama used to say.

Acutally, she never said that.  And I (still) call her Mom.  But I really do like assonance, if that counts for anything.

As for calling them Spot SHRIMP?  Again, it’s mostly a result of my overwhelming desire to rampantly spread the use of non-rhyming stylistic devices, but it is also technically correct.  Commonly referred to as Spot PRAWNS, these spotted little guys (see the white spots near the tail and head?) are actually biologically classified as shrimp.

Enough pretension and learning for one Sunday!  Let’s skip to what Howard and I had for dinner last night:

Roll #1 – The Raw (at the top of the photo):

Six raw Spot PRAWNS, freshly killed by moi, who grabbed their heads and twisted with grim determination.  It’s not exactly enjoyable, but if you’re going to eat animal protein, killing your own food, albeit occasionally, is important — and invigorating.   If you do it quickly and cleanly, you’re left feeling lightly charged and hungry.  And possibly in need of a drink.

Also in the raw roll was:

• BC Red Pepper and Cucumber
• Hot Pepper Jelly from Jane’s Herb Garden
• Pender Island Cilantro
• A squeeze of lime
• A few shoots of sea asparagus that I foraged from the shore at low tide

This is my first time using sea asparagus — it tasted super salty when I nibbled, so I blanched it for 1 minute in boiling unsalted water, then shocked in ice water to stop the cooking.  The result was a slightly tenderized, but still crunchy — and much less salty — addition to our Ceviche-like, British Columbia-Centric Roll.

My favourite of our 2 rolls…fresh, new, sweet, briny, crunchy, spicy and huge!  I should have cut it into 8 pieces instead of 6.  I also should have picked enough sea asparagus to make another one — so good…

Roll #2:  The Cooked

• Sake and green seaweed steamed spot SHRIMP (see the very first photo)
• Crispy Pender Island leeks
• Oven roasted BC cherry tomatoes
• Sesame seeds
• Mayonnaise

To make the crispy leeks, I trimmed and washed the leeks to get rid of the grit that resides in all leeks.  I then julienned the white and light green parts, and blanched them for 1 minute.  After shocking, draining and drying, I fried them in 1/4” of 350° F sunflower oil until crispy.  Drain and season.  Caution:  do not let them brown — they’ll taste burnt.

There’s nothing to complain about in this roll, but it didn’t shine the way the first one did.  It’s a keeper — with some adjustments.  Next time, I think I’ll skip the tomatoes, go light on the mayo, heavy on the leeks, and incorporate one other component, I’m just not quite sure what it is yet.

I’m also unsure about what to name my rolls.  We tossed Pender Island, B-Sea and a few others last night, but nothing really stood out.  Any suggestions out there?

]]> http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/16/spot-shrimp-sushi-sunday-the-raw-the-cooked/feed/ 0 http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/11/lunch-mbm-sandwiches/ http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/11/lunch-mbm-sandwiches/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 12:01:49 +0000 Theresa http://islandvittles.com/?p=2244

If  you`re hungry on Pender, stop by Medicine Beach Market, where you`ll find a stocked deli — full of fresh sandwiches, salads, dips, soups, snacks and take-home dinners.

I really like my job at MBM:  I take fresh produce, meats and dairy — most of them local and seasonal, many of them organic – and turn them into whatever I`m inspired to do that week.  A chef`s dream come true!

Our sandwiches are works of art…pre-made on MBM`s fresh house-baked bread, they’re loaded with lots of fresh veggies too.

Here`s a sampling of the sandwiches I made last week (Tues-Thurs):

1. Avocado & Brie on Millet
2. Free-Run Egg Salad (with or without bacon) on Seedy Light Sour Rye
3. Smoked Salmon Club with Bacon on Whole Wheat
4. Ham, Swiss & Pesto on Millet
5. Eggplant Parmesan with Roasted Tomatoes & Mozzarella on Sourdough Olive
6. Roast Beef, Swiss & Horseradish on Sourdough Multigrain
7. Bacon, Blue & Avocado on Country Rye
8. Cervelat Salami & Camembert on Ciabatta
9. Vegan, Gluten-Free Protein Wraps in Rice Paper with Edamame, Brown Rice and Peanut Sauce

They`re ready by about 10:30 – and word is catching on, so come by early for the best choice!

]]> http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/11/lunch-mbm-sandwiches/feed/ 0 http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/10/ouzo-steamed-bc-spot-prawns/ http://islandvittles.com/2010/05/10/ouzo-steamed-bc-spot-prawns/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 12:03:00 +0000 Theresa http://islandvittles.com/?p=2248

Trap caught BC Spot Prawns have gained a lot of fame here at home in the past few years — they’re some of the biggest, juiciest sweetest shrimps in the world, AND they’re sustainable, local and (relatively) affordable.

I fear, however, that things may be about to change. 

As I write, oil is hitting the Louisiana Marshes, and BP is unable to cap the well of oil gushing into the Gulf  of Mexico.  Fisherman, tour operators, their families, their suppliers and countless others have lost their livelihoods, and the world has lost a very important source of food — fouled for what is most likely decades.

And while we consider the environmental, economic, political and social fallouts of this disaster, the world’s demanding luxury food markets will quickly demand replacements for the shrimp, crab, oysters and fish that, until recently, were pulled from The Gulf.

And here’s where my monologue gets a little narcissistic — I understand that what is unfolding is a tragedy of epic proportions — but I also find myself concerned about what will happen to our fishery here on the west coast.  Our seasonal harvests of spot and side-stripe prawns, mussels, dungeness crabs, and halibut will become the apples of many eyes — and we will have to pay more.  Much, much more.

Phew!  An unusually serious discussion for IV — they happen occasionally, but rather than belabour, I like to eat.  So we got our butts down to the dock on the weekend for the first Prawn Saturday of the season.  Ten bucks buys you a pound of live wrigglers — we bought 2 — Carpe Diem, and all that.

Once we were home, I kept the prawns on ice in a cooler until I was ready for them. I served them with a Yellow Pepper Romesco Mayonaisse for dipping, some Sourdough Crusty Rolls from Medicine Beach Market, and a Watercress and Sheep Feta Salad.

We had a lot of prawns left over.  They were just too big, meaty and rich to eat all of them in one sitting. I went to bed dreaming of a Pender Island Cobb Salad for next day’s lunch…

Ouzo Steamed Spot Prawns
Serves 3-4 (or 2 with leftovers)

Lbs=pounds          kg=kilograms         t=teaspoon
ml=millilitres        C=cup

Keep the prawns refrigerated until just before you’re ready to add them to the pot.

Trim the fennel of the root and top ends.  Reserve the fronds for a garnish.  Remove the core and slice thinly (on a mandolin if you have one).  Add the fennel, garlic , whole peppercorns and salt to a stockpot.  Add the water and ouzo, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the prawns and immediately recover.  Steam for 2-3 minutes, shaking and tossing the pan 3 or 4 times during cooking.

Serve them heads on or off, with mayo for dipping, crusty bread and a small salad.  Large napkins and a discard bowl for the heads/shells are musts; lemon-water finger bowls are always a nice touch.

I prefer to remove the heads myself (a quick twist and pull is all you need), and refrigerate them, along with the cooking juices, fennel, garlic, etc to make a velvety bisque the next day.  I find most people prefer not to stare in the cold dead eyes of their food, then rip its head off.  Funny, that.

Substitutions:

• No ouzo?  Use 1 cup of dry white wine instead the ouzo and water.
• Quick dips:  Spicy mayo with sambal oelek, fennel frond and lemon zest mayo, tartar sauce, jarred red pepper and fresh basil mayo…
• Other sustainably caught varieties of prawns?  Go for it!

We had a little BC Breweries taste test last night.

I found these side by side in the cooler at the Medicine Beach Liquor Store — and while vague memories of reading the Nut Brown Maid in English Lit 12 occupied my thoughts,  my hands took the opportunity to grab a bottle of each.

I don’t remember a battle in the Nut Brown Maid, but these 2 Nut Brown Ales went head to head, and the results weren’t even close.

The Naramata Nut Brown Ale from the Cannery Brewing Company  is out front where it belongs.  Smooth, dark and sophisticated.  Just the way I like my men.  Howard agrees, by the way — about the beer and the men — he does have Mediterranean blood, after all.

And the Granville Island Limited Release Nut Brown Ale?  Not so much.  Lighter in colour, it was also overly hoppy and bitter — Howard thought it tasted homebrew-ish.  Not at all the type of beer you’d take home to meet you parents, if you know what I mean.

When I first googled maple blossom recipes a couple of weeks ago, I found slim pickings — a couple of uninspired salads — until page 3 — where I found Danish Schnapps Recipes.

It was then that I knew everything was going to be alright. 

I come from purely Danish stock on my mother`s side, so I accepted the appearance of a recipe for Maple Blossom Schnapps  as a sign.  I  had to make it — but I didn`t want to waste too many blossoms (or too much vodka) — just in case it was gross exceeded the limitations of my palate. So I poured 2 ounces over a spice jar full of blossoms, put the jar in a dark place, and waited.

Two days later, I can tell you it was nice on ice (with a twist of preserved Meyer lemon) before dinner, and 5 drops added a surprising and spectacular complexity to the glass of Sauvignon Blanc that accompanied my meal.  The resulting pickled maple blossoms packed a wicked punch too!

And so I toast the end of a fruitful Maple Blossom season.  Until next year…

Greenpeace Shoppers Guide:  “How to Avoid Genetically Engineered Food”