Whew! What a Month: Harvest Monday, Cabo, and Octoberish Tidbits

October 25, 2010 By 6 Comments

Where has the time gone? October 25th?! I can’t believe how fast this month is flying by.

It started for me with some good, old-fashioned, back-breaking labour. I stuck my shovel in the dirt a record number of times to dig up and divide (and conquer!) the hundreds of perennials I grow in my front yard for Emerging Hope. I estimate that there were at 400-500 plants that we dug up that will be potted and sold to help the charity.

All that hard work deserved some reward so I hopped on a plane with a last minute ticket to join some girlfriends for a week long siesta in Cabso San Lucas. A beautiful place with some fascinating flora to look at (but don’t touch the cacti - youch!)

With brown skin and a pedicure, I arrived back home to trade in my flip flops and sundresses for boots and sweaters…and of course to see what’s been happening out in the garden.

There were a lot of yummy veggies that needed harvesting…

And some that the blight took (blech!)…

And many that got chopped up and thrown in a pot with a whole bunch of garlic and herbs… 

The roasted flavours permeating the house and my belly was a delightful contrast to the daily fish tacos, guacamole and Coronitas of the previous week.  Each was equally wonderful though, making this a truly fabulous month so far.

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Botanical Beach in Port Renfew, British Columbia

August 4, 2010 By 8 Comments

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Sassy Goats, Begging Chickens and Chevre – A Vermont Farmstay

November 18, 2009 By 6 Comments
Trevin Farms: view from farmhouse

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

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

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?

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

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

This is Brandon, one of the 3 male goats

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Fall Foliage from East to West

November 12, 2009 By 3 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
Birch Trees in Mackenzie King Estate, Quebec
Amazing Fall Foliage
Amazing Fall Foliage
Fall Foliage in John Hendry Park, Vancouver, BC.
Fall Foliage in John Hendry Park, Vancouver, BC.
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Autumn at the ByWard Market

October 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Woolly mittens, potted mums and pumpkins have a way of making you feel ready for autumn.  Forget the stunning foliage turning fiery colours, the ByWard Market in Ottawa was alight with signs of cooler days.  A few things caught my eye in our nation’s capital that day:

The beauty of such a distinct season is not lost on this Vancouverite who usually experiences a fall of shorter days much the same as the rest of the year, but a bit cooler at night, and often more rainy.  In the East, it is a distinctive turn of days, encouraging folks to wrap up the garden, get ready for a great harvest feast, and enjoy the fruits of their labours.

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