Archive for November, 2009
I bought a digital point & shoot today and tested it out at the park. So far I’m not very happy with it. It feels like I’m handcuffed, wearing a girdle and stuck in traffic: it’s slow and there is too much restriction. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow as I’m going to take it to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. It would be nice to have something a little smaller to carry around. But who knows, maybe I’m just a DSLR kinda gal.
Late Afternoon at Trout Lake in Vancouver
I’d love to get any recommendations on what cameras people are using out there for all the amazing shots of gardens and food I see you taking. If you shoot with something you like I’d be overjoyed if you’d leave me a comment and let me know.
November 26 2009 | Photography and Vancouver | 4 Comments »
As part of my current series of experiments with sourdough I’ve committed to making a few loaves every weekend. Hubby and I can only consume about a small loaf in my house so into the freezer and over to neighbours houses go the extra buns and loaves. By the end of the week a third loaf remains and its pretty firm on the outside. It usually gets tossed in the bin or if I think of it I’ll head out to the park and give some to the ducks. I love the ducks and geese. The Mallards always sound like they are laughing at you. The bossy geese push all the little ones out of the way. They all run to greet you when you arrive at the pond. So when I chose to feed them my stale bread, I certainly didn’t take it lightly. I used to buy Goose and Duck Food from a local pet store but since I chock the bread so full of whole grains I think it’s much healthier then the pressed food pellets that I’m sure are more filler than grain.
Ducks & Canadian Geese in the Winter
Back to the sourdough. I’ve been surprised to find no fuzzy sweater, or even t-shirts, growing on the bread after long stints in the cupboard. The loaves stay soft a whole lot longer than the store bought ones; I doubt I’ve ever had a fresh bakery loaf last more than a day or two. So when I pulled out the loaf I made 10-days ago I expected it to be revolting. It wasn’t. It was firm on the outside but after filleting it like a fish and a very close eyeball and nose inspection I decided all it needed was some re-hydrating. French toast! I soaked that bad boy in a mixture of 2 organic eggs and a 1/4 cup of cream while I heated up a pan with a small knob of butter. The end result made me feel for a few moments that I was back in France. The whole grains in the bread produced a denser texture and nuttier flavour; the staleness of the bread re-hydrating with the eggs and cream making an almost custard / bread pudding-like decadent French toast. Topped with a bit of my Fallen Applesauce and some Vermont maple syrup, I gobbled up my breakfast before even leaving the kitchen and found myself with the overwhelming urge to lick the plate. Who knew I would be left with such a satisfied belly, sugar high, and the French CBC on the radio? All this from a 10-day old sourdough remnant. I suppose I will have to continue on with my weekly bread making adventure for a while longer. Winter is coming and stale bread in my house is no longer only for the birds.
November 24 2009 | Baking and Photography and Vancouver | 2 Comments »
Another acquisition from New England was a sourdough starter from King Arthur Flour. Since I’m learning to be a dedicated baker I’ve been testing out new recipes and visiting places where bakers go. If you are a baker then the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Store is your candy store. The shelves were piled high with every gadget, appliance, and (surprise) flour you could imagine. From interesting cookie cutters to specialty ingredients the place was amazing, and overwhelming. The one thing that did catch my eye was the 250-year old sourdough culture peeking out from the refrigerators. Assured that it would make it back to Vancouver safely, I figured it may as well keep my pound of chevre company so I packed the little guy up and brought him home.
This little sourdough starter is much like a pet that you keep in the fridge. You feed it and it grows. You have to discard some waste. If you are neglectful it will die. If you are nurturing it will thrive. Just like any new pet my sourdough starter was a lot of work in the beginning. Once I started the process of feeding it I had to keep dividing and feeding at intervals, one of which I didn’t time right so I had to wake up at 2AM to make sure I did it on time. Seriously, my sourdough starter needed a 2AM feeding.
Three days later (that’s right, three) I had finally produced my first loaves (twins!) and put the starter in the fridge for week of rest. Since then I have experimented with a number of different recipes including rustic sourdough, tangy sourdough, whole grain caraway, and olive loaves. I’ve been slowly increasing the amount of whole grain and alternative flours with no reduction in texture and lots of improvement in taste (I’m not really a fan of plain, gluey, white flour). The yummy whole-grain spelt waffles and a braided dinner loaf made out of ground 7-grain cereal were proof of that.
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King Arthur Flour Sourdough Starter
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Olive Sourdough
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Rye Caraway Sourdough
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Stack o’ Sourdough Waffles
I’m proud to say that baking with my sourdough starter has been an overall success. And my new little pet has matured into a typical family member: requiring occasional feedings and a bit of cleaning up afterwards but all the while giving back lots of entertainment and some company…to a nice soup or sandwich that is.
November 23 2009 | Baking and Photography | 1 Comment »
I have made these muffins many, many times over the past few years. Once I was happy with the recipe I started make little changes to the flavour for the seasons. I’ve made Pumpkin-Apple Muffins, Pumpkin-Orange Muffins, Pumpkin-Coconut-Macadamia Muffins, and many others but the original recipe is my favourite with its warm spice, rich molasses, crunchy walnuts and sweet cranberries. The flavours are perfect for this time of year. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup butter (very soft or melted)
- 1 cup pumpkin (canned or fresh pureed & drained pumpkin are both fine)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3 free-range organic eggs
- 6 tbsp black strap molasses
- 2 tsp real vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cup whole spelt flour
- 1/2 cup whole kamut flour (kamut flour adds extra nutrients to the muffins, but can be substituted by increasing the spelt)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp each of ground ginger, cloves, and nutmeg
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup dried or fresh cranberries (dried adds a sweet flavour, fresh adds a tart flavour)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 4oo°F. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the first 6 (wet) ingredients and beat until smooth. I use my immersion blender and that makes quick work of the blending. In a large mixing bowl, add the flours, sugar, powder and spices and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Add the walnuts and cranberries and fold in careful to not over mix. Spoon batter into a greased muffin tin until the cups are heaping; this gets nice big fluffy muffins. Bake 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Yields 18 large muffins or 24 medium muffins.
November 22 2009 | Baking and Recipes | 2 Comments »
Trevin Farms: view from farmhouse
One of the highlights of my trip through New England this fall was the cheese making class at
Trevin Farms in Central Vermont. Trevin is a farmstay that offers a 3-day chevre-making class in the company of the gracious Chef-Owners, Troy and Kevin, and their family: two giant Bull Mastiffs, two friendly horses, a small herd of milking goats, and a flock of free-range chickens. Our host and teacher, Kevin, promised that if I were able to make it to the farm by 4:30pm the first night of the stay I would be able to milk the goats for our cheese. SOLD! I arranged my trip to ensure that I could make it in time and while the road trip through the Adirondack Mountains was delicious with fiery trees in full peak foliage, I had my mind on getting to the goats in time.
Trevin's goats waiting in line to be milked
At 4:30pm as promised we were given the milking rundown and introduced to the milking goats: Sassy, Indiana (Indy), and Strawberry. The girls were always milked in the same order, which they had chosen, and they were not only practiced but eager to get on with it as was made clear by the forceful bleating that marked our arrival to the barn. Sassy, who was aptly named, hopped up on the platform in milking stance and after a short demonstration it was time to get to work. It was initially intimidating with Sassy’s low groans marking her dissatisfaction at my slow and unskilled attempts to relive her udder. But with a little practice and a lot of goat patience, the milk was retrieved and the udders were relieved, until the next morning at 6AM when it was to happen all over again.
Milking Indy the goat
Later on that evening we began the cheese class. Using the unpasteurized milk fresh from the girls we began the incredibly simple and rewarding task of making chevre, a mild and soft goat cheese. This first step included bringing 1 gallon of milk up to 86ºF in a double boiler, adding chevre culture and rennet, and then letting the cheese sit undisturbed for 12 hours.
Chickens begging for pancakes. I wonder why?
The next morning we woke and had a lovely breakfast with Zeus and Zoe the Bull Mastiffs at our feet and a hoard of chickens begging at the back patio door for the leftovers. We checked in on the cheese and it had done its work, separating into a large central curd surrounded by whey. We cut the curd with a knife slicing it into a grid of about 1” cubes and with a slotted ladle, scooped the curds into a colander lined with butter muslin, a fine cheesecloth. While scooping each layer, we salted the curds to flavour the cheese as well as to draw out more moisture. The next step was to tie up the muslin and hang it in the very sophisticated cheese making room, a.k.a. the downstairs shower, to drain. Twenty-four hours later it was wrapped up and ready to travel through New England with us.
Making chevre in Vermont
The final chevre was light and delicate in flavour, not at all like the pungent and often sour goat cheese I have had in the past. It was delightful with the butternut squash soup Kevin made for us one evening, and equally as nice with the Fig Brandy & Honey Mandarin Preserves I made this summer served on a little toasted ciabatta. It was not much fun to travel around with for another 10 days, and we couldn’t finish the entire pound of cheese before it expired, but the flavour was so creamy and fresh that it just cannot compare to much of what I have bought in the past. With my new skills in hand, I’ve ordered my own supplies of rennet and enzymes to try the whole thing again in my Vancouver kitchen. Now I just need to find some sassy goats in need of milking.
This is Brandon, one of the 3 male goats
November 18 2009 | Growing Food and Photography | 6 Comments »
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 organic chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 a head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized florets
- 2 large carrots, chopped in half moons
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
- 1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup organic chicken broth,
- 2 tablespoon thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup Thai basil, chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil for cooking
Directions:
Saute onion with olive oil in a large frying pan or wok until softened. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper and add to pan, stirring regularly until all sized of the pieces have turned white. Add red cabbage, cauliflower and carrots and continue cooking for a few more minutes, just until the vegetables are slightly cooked, and the chicken is cooked through. Be careful not to overcook either the veg or the chicken. In a food processor, add coconut milk, peanut butter, chicken stock, curry paste, brown sugar, lime juice, basil and cilantro and combine until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce onto the chicken and veg over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until your ready to eat. Best when served over brown rice.
November 16 2009 | Recipes | 2 Comments »
Bloom Day November 15…October 2009
On the 15th of October I was still road tripping through the East so I missed out on my first Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day post. But as soon as I arrived home I rushed out the the garden with the camera in tow and inspected all that was in bloom, as do most gardeners after being on vacation. I then promptly put down the camera and forgot about it for a month. When I remembered, I figured I’d missed the boat so I’d start anew on November 15. Well that’s today and it is the darkest, wettest day that we have had in a while. When I woke at the crack of 8:30AM, the sun still wasn’t out, so I baked some scones, had some coffee and waited for the sun. The clock ticked by as the rain poured down in sheets. The streets were empty and house lights blazed throughout the neighbourhoods; people were seemingly content to have an official Rain Day (staying indoors in jammies all day sneering at the rain but secretly enjoying the lack of responsibilities while reading and drinking tea).
Rain Day or not, I braved the wet and ventured out to the garden. I was pleased to see that the Heathers are starting to show their little purple petals, the ”Christmas Rose” variegated Hellebore has its first bud in 3 years, and my Black Scallop Ajuga looks particularly striking. But the lack of light was a deal breaker for the photos; no amount of editing could help these sad snaps so I’m throwing in the soppy towel for November 15′s Bloom Day photos. I will, however, post what was blooming or looked oh-so-pretty a few weeks ago with the hopes that when there is a break in the sky I can go snap a few more photos of the drippy plants that are showing some interest. Until then, here are October’s blooms:
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pretty Azalea leaves turning red
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Blue Ball Hydrangea in fall
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Blueberry Bush in fall
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Cotoneaster’s bright red berries
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Some Echinacea are still going
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Some Echinacea are finished
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Feverfew keeps going…and going…
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Japanese Anemone (Windflower)
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This is my neighbour’s Dahlia as mine didn’t make it last winter
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My Par-Cel (celery flavoured parsley) is still doing great
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Lots of silvery-grey Sage around
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Schizostylis blooms only in late fall
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Sedum Autumn Joy looking bright
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Another lovely Sedum Autumn Joy
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my amazing Smoke Bush changing colours looks painted
November 15 2009 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography and Vancouver | 2 Comments »
Not long ago I returned from a trip through New England at the height of peak fall foliage. Driving from Ontario through Quebec, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine gave a dynamic variety of scenery to drink in. The colours lit up like neon signs when hit by the sun and changed so dramatically from the golden waves of black walnut, horse chestnut, and white poplar leaves, to fiery puffs of sugar maple and oak trees, to the stark white of the bare birch trees. Still inspired upon my return to Vancouver I snapped a few more photos from within my neighbourhood. We may not have sprawling hillsides of hardwoods, but we do have some amazing examples of season’s change that begged to be captured. The photos below show a tiny sampling of what I thought was the best this fall had to offer, from East to West.
- Birch Trees in Mackenzie King Estate, Quebec
- Amazing Fall Foliage
- Fall Foliage in John Hendry Park, Vancouver, BC.
November 12 2009 | Photography and Vancouver | 3 Comments »
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