eat magazine jan | feb 2010

WINTER ISSUEL o c a l | S u s t a i n a b l e | F r e s h | S e a s o n a l

January|Februaryl2010|Issue

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R E S T A U R A N T S | R E C I P E S | W I N E S | C U L I N A R Y T R A V E L

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The 1st AnnualEXCELLENT EATS!AwardsCHICKEN POT PIEDESSERT WINESRESTAURANTS, WINES& NEWSLARDCAST IRON PANSMAKE A COMEBACK

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3www.eatmagazine.ca JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2010

4 EAT MAGAZINE JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2010

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ContributoGillie EasdonTracey KusiewMorris, TimRing, Jen Dabecca WellmPublisher PAdvertising250.384.9All departmBox 5225, Vwww.eatmaSince 1998 |reproduced witPacific Island Gopinions expreIsland Gourmet

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FOCACCIA BLUESCheer for the little guy in Focaccia Blues as it tells the story of a small bakery in Italy that tries to hold its own against fast food giant McDonalds.

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Behind theAwardsI believe Vancouver Island is an exceptional place to live andeat. Not only do we have an abundance of wonderful eateries,farms, shops and people who are doing wonderful things, butwe have an informed and eager audience of eaters ready tosupport their efforts.Thus, the Exceptional Eats! awards were conceived to

recognize excellence in food and drink on Vancouver Island.Consider it a snapshot of where we are at the start of seconddecade in 2010.But I also wanted the awards to be more meaningful than

your typical awards (i.e. best Restaurant to Break-up in?). So,you’ll find questions that reflect on how we eat, aboutsustainable and ethical foods and even questions on localfarms. To come upwith the best andmost relevant questions,we consulted a panel of Island food experts who contributedtheir ideas and thoughts (see Consulting Panel for a list ofnames). Thanks guys.I hope you will participate by going to

www.eatmagazine.ca clicking on VOTE and taking thesurvey. The awards will appear in the next issue.New: EAT now has home delivery to Globe & Mail

subscribers on the Island.

All the best in 2010 - Gary Hynes


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eatmagazine Jan | Feb 2010

Editor in Chief Gary HynesContributing Editor Carolyn Bateman, Vancouver Contributing Editor Julie Pegg

Editorial Assistant/Web Editor Rebecca Baugniet

Community ReportersVictoria: Rebecca Baugniet, Nanaimo: Su Grimmer, Comox Valley: Hans PeterMeyer, Tofino | Uclulet: Jen Dart, Vancouver: Julie Pegg, Okanagan: JenniferSchell

Contributors Larry Arnold, Joseph Blake, Michelle Bouffard, Jennifer Danter, Pam Durkin,Gillie Easdon, Jeremy Ferguson, Nathan Fong, Holland Gidney, Laurie Guy, Mara Jernigan,Tracey Kusiewicz, Ceara Lornie, Sherri Martin, RhonaMcAdam, KathrynMcAree, MichaelaMorris, Tim Morris, Colin Newell, Julie Pegg, Genevieve Laplante, Karen Platt, TreveRing, Jen Dart, Elizabeth Smyth, Adem Tepedelen, Michael Tourigny, SylviaWeinstock, Re-becca Wellman, Katie ZdybelPublisher Pacific Island Gourmet | EAT ® is a registered trademark.Advertising:250.384.9042, [email protected] departmentsBox 5225, Victoria, BC, V8R 6N4, tel. 250-384-9042, fax. 250-384-6915www.eatmagazine.ca eatjobs.ca epicureandtravel.comSince 1998 | EAT Magazine is published six times each year. No part of this publication may bereproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Although every effort is taken to ensure accuracy,Pacific Island Gourmet Publishing cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions that may occur. Allopinions expressed in the articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the publisher. PacificIsland Gourmet reserves the right to refuse any advertisement. All rights reserved.

Concierge Desk . . . . . . 6Island Grain series . . . 8Epicure at Large . . . . . . 9Good for You . . . . . . . . 10Chefs Talk . . . . . . . . . . .11Local Hero . . . . . . . . . . 12Cooking Class . . . . . . .13Victoria Reporter . . . . 14Artisans . . . . . . . . . . . .16Food Matters . . . . . . . .18

Cover Recipe . . . . . . . .19Local Kitchen . . . . . . . 20Vancouver Feature . . . 24The BC Food Scene . . 26Seasonal Foods . . . . .32Liquid Assets . . . . . . . 33Island Wine . . . . . . . . .34Wine & Terroir . . . . . . .36Neighbourhoods . . . .38

from the editor

s.

CONSULTING PANELEric AkisAuthor of Everyone CanCook series & food stylistGillie Easdonfood writer and eaterKaren ElgersmaLifestyle Specialist,Shaw TVKathy KayDirector of the Victoria FilmFestivalMichelle LeSageAssistant General Manager,Chateau VictoriaElizabeth LevinsonAuthor of An Edible JourneyDavid MinceyEducator and founder ofthe Bastion SquareFarmer’s MarketDon MonsourChair of the RestaurantAssociation and Chair ofCulinary TourismGilbert NoussitouChair, Culinary ArtsKen NakanoChef & President of theIsland’s Chef CollaborativeMarkWachtinOutlets Manager, OceanPointe ResortMelodyWeyFood blogger AudreyNeeds More WoodenSpoons

ing syrup, anand attractionture amaple cfestival is a pest Discovery"Sap SuckersBC Forest(www.discove

SEEDY SATURStop by the QSaturday, FebPick up some smaster gardeplants and seand to get idegardening. Thshare your sadeners or buyNurseries fromwith lots of spor just to adm

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JanuaryMANGIA E BEVI'S ANNUAL BACIOFUNDRAISERBACIO is Mangia e Bevi's annual fundraiser insupport of cancer awareness and research.Throughout the month of January, proceedsfrom the menu are donated to BC Children'sHospital Oncological Research and Lions GateHospital Oncological Clinic. In addition to theregional three-course dinner menu featuredthroughout themonth, this year's BACIO eventwill end with a special finale dinner on January31st. Themenuwill travel through the four car-dinal points as follows: January 2-8: NORTH -Piemonte and Veneto, January 9-15: WEST -Toscana and Lazio, January 16-22: EAST -Abruzzo andMarche, January 23-30: SOUTH -Campania and Sicilia.

CHEESE PAIRING WORKSHOP AT AU PETITCHAVIGNOLIn a single session, Au Petit Chavignol will pro-vide a roadmap for matching various cheesetypes with the wines that best suit them. OnMonday, January 4th, from 6 pm to 8:30 pm,they will introduce cheese basics, includingmilk types, textures, flavours, how to care forand serve fine cheeses. Then learn about howto approach the wines that you choose to pairwith cheese. Sample some of the marriagesmade in heaven and discover pairings that suityour own personal taste. Cost: $70 per per-son. Tickets available in store or by phone atLes Amis du Fromage, 2nd Ave store only.(604-732-4218)

THE POLITICS OF FOODInstructor Spring Gillard will lead a four-weekcourse beginning on Saturday January 9th, atthe Broadway Campus of the Vancouver Com-munity College. Find out how the food on yourplate can affect a farmer half a world away.Through field trips, guest speakers, classroompresentations and discussions, students willexplore the entire food system from tabletopto ground and back again. Cost is $399 (16hours). Visit the VCC website (www.vcc.ca)under Health/Specialty – part-time courses formore information.

JANUARY CLASSES AT THRIFTY TUSCANYVILLAGEThe Thrifty Tuscany Village is offering threegreat classes this month. On Tuesday, January12th, from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, join Chef DanHayes for a look at both northern and south-ern styles of rustic Italian cooking. Learnabout, prepare and eat simple and hearty Ital-ian dishes that can be easily and affordablyrecreated at home. Thursday, January 14th,the first in a series of four classes with ChefTara Black runs from 6 pm -7:30 pm, and willexplore gluten free baking and cooking. OnSaturday January 16th, from 1pm- 3pm ChefLauraMoore will instruct on how to create sim-ple, warming "comfort food" dishes that willsatisfy your New Year’s resolutions and yourpost holiday budgets. Registration Fee foreach class: $55. For more information, visit theThrifty Foods website (www.thriftyfoods.com)or call Eva at (250) 483-1222 or 1-866-751-1222.

VANCOUVER FARMERS MARKETMissing the farmers’ market? You don’t haveto - the Vancouver Farmers Market will be heldat Wise Hall from 10 am – 2 pm on the follow-ing Saturdays in January and February: Janu-ary 16th and 30th, February 13th and 27th.1882 Adanac Street.

TASTE BC 2010Taste B.C. 2010 – A Celebration of Local Foodand Drink! is the 16th Annual B.C. Children’sHospital – Oak Tree Clinic Fundraising event.The Liberty Merchant Company's Taste BCEvent will be held on January 19th, at the HyattRegency Hotel, from 4:30-7:30 pm. For moreinformation or to buy tickets visitwww.libertywinemerchants.com.

WINTER ICEWINE FESTIVALFrom wine masters’ dinners, to educationalseminars and a unique progressive tasting,January 20-23 will be a memorable weekendas the Okanagan celebrates its winter wines.Visit www.thewinefestivals.com.

FROM FARM TO CUP – AN ISLANDBREWMASTER’S DINNERSaturday, January 23rd at 6.30 pm, enjoy a six-course dinner prepared by LURE chef MikeWeaver featuring local, seasonal ingredientssuch as QualicumBay scallops, Fanny Bay oys-ters, Galloping Goose sausage and Salt SpringIsland cheese. Each course will be paired witha different Salt Spring Ale, including some rareand unusual offerings: their Heather Ale, madewith local heather flowers andWhale Tail Ale (aNorth American style ale), among others. SaltSpring’s brewmaster, Murray Hunter, will be inattendance. For reservations, call LURE (250-360-5873) or for more information visitlurevictoria.com or saltspringislandales.com.

WINTER GARDENING WORKSHOP SERIES INDUNCANFULLCIRCLE: How to GrowWinter-harvest Veg-etables is a four-part course starting on Sat-urday, January 30th, 1:00-4:00pm. The course,developed by Carol McIntyre, offers novice andexperienced gardeners hands-on methods forgrowing vegetables that will stand in the gar-den all winter, providing nutritious organicchoices from October to April-May with noweeding, no watering, and no insect control allwinter long. 181 Station Street (CowichanGreen Community space). For more informa-tion and for payment, register on-line at:www.winter-harvestvegetables.ca or [email protected]

FebruaryCHOCOLATE FEST 2010This year’s Big Brothers Big Sisters ChocolateFest will be held at Bear Mountain ResortMarch 27th. Tickets go on sale February.www.chocolatefest.ca

BIGLEAF MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVALThe third annual Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festivalwill take place at the BC Forest Discovery Cen-tre in Duncan Saturday, February 6th. Lastyear, the festival attracted over 2,000 people,and featuredWest Coast maple syrup tasting,education session on tapping trees and mak-

Culinary intelligence for the 2 months ahead

THE CONCIERGE DESK by Rebecca BaugnietFor more events visit THE BULLETIN BOARD at www.eatmagazine.ca

PRESENTED BY BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF VICTORIAwww.chocolatefest.ca

SATURDAY, MARCH 27 TICKETS ON SALE FEBRUARY

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ing syrup, and other family-friendly displaysand attractions. This year’s event will also fea-ture amaple cooking demowith Bill Jones. Thefestival is a partnership between the BC For-est Discovery Centre and Vancouver Island"Sap Suckers." For schedule details, visit theBC Forest Discovery Centre website(www.discoveryforest.com).

SEEDY SATURDAY IN QUALICUM BEACHStop by the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre onSaturday, February 6th for Seedy Saturday.Pick up some seed catalogues, get advice frommaster gardeners, see food and floweringplants and seeds that will grow in your areaand to get ideas from experts in all aspects ofgardening. The seed swap is where you canshare your saved seeds with other local gar-deners or buy seeds they have saved locally.Nurseries from the region are well representedwith lots of specimens for you to choose fromor just to admire. Admission by donation.

4TH ANNUAL VICTORIA TEA FESTIVALFebruary 13th -14th indulge in a wide selec-tion of teas originating from different regionsof the world and prepared in unique ways. Ex-perience, learn, sample, touch, smell, and in-quire by engaging with all the knowledgeableexhibitors at their booths. Purchase yourfavourite teas and tea-wares at this one-stopshop for all things tea!www.victoriateafestival.com

CHINESE NEW YEAR TEA SAMPLINGOn Sunday, February 14th, from 11 am to 5 pm,celebrate the Year of the Tiger with fortunecookies and a selection of rare and preciousChinese teas. Stop by Silk Road(www.silkroadtea.com) anytime throughoutthe day, to enjoy a sampling of some of China’svery best teas, and take in the ambience ofChinese New Year.

DINE AROUND AND STAY IN TOWNTourismVictoria and British Columbia Restau-rant and Food Services Association’s seventhannual Dine Around & Stay in Town will takeplace from February 18 to March 7. Victoriaboasts the second highest number of restau-rants per capita in North America. Over 50

local restaurants will be participating this year.Participating restaurants offer three-coursemenus for $20, $30, or $40 CDN per personand are all paired with BC VQA wine sugges-tions. To make a good thing even better, someof Victoria's hotels and accommodations willbe featuring rates of $79, $89, $99, and $129CDN. www.tourismvictoria.com for more info.

SEEDY SATURDAY VICTORIASaturday Feb 20th from 10 am - 4 pm theJames Bay Market Society is sponsoring Vic-toria’s 17th annual Seedy Saturday. This year’sevent will be held on Level 2 of the VictoriaConference Centre, 720 Douglas St. Admissionis 7$, children 12 and under are free. Keep aneye on the James BayMarket website for moredetails (www.jamesbaymarket.com).

FEBRUARY CLASSES WITH CHEF SONJALIMBERGERThe Fairfield Community Centre is hostingthree cooking classes with Chef Sonja Lim-berger this month. February 1st, is Cooking forFood Sensitivities, February 15th you can learnabout Nepalese Vegetarian Cuisine, and Feb-ruary 24th is an opportunity to try makingGourmet Veggie Burgers. Classes run from6:30-9:30 pm, and cost $49 per person.

If you have a food or wine event you wouldlike to see listed in the next issue of EAT,please email [email protected] and putConcierge Desk in the subject line.


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Clancy of the Overfl ow is the legendary Aussie literary character, a free-spirited, wandering drover who led a life of adventure. Peter Lehmann has a lot of Clancy in him. He’s always done things his own way. His Clancy’s range is a nod to doing your own thing. Overfl owing with fl avour, these easy drinking wines are created especially for those with a bit of Clancy in them.

This winter, Montreal plays host to 32 top chefsand 18 wine producers during the 11th annualMONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival’s SAQWine and Dine Experience presented by AirFrance. Held from Thursday, Feb 18 toSunday, Feb 28, 2010, this food and wineevent promises to be 11 days of pure epicureandelight. Featured: 21 chefs from Portugal, NewOrleans as Featured City, the Eastern Townshipsas Quebec's Featured Region and more. Formore info, call the HIGH LIGHTS Info Line — 514288-9955 or toll-free at 1 888 477-9955; orvisit montrealhighlights.com for more details.


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GOING WITH THE GRAIN — by Holland Gidney

Grains ofChangePart 2: The second in EAT’s three-part series on B.C.’s grain-aissance.

“Communities have historically developed around agriculture, social connections, politi-cal alliances, and survival by being together.” – Sharon Rempel, Demeter’s Wheats

Grain can be extremely difficult to source locally. Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon’sbestselling book The 100 Mile Diet proved that. Before getting a bag of flour fromNorth Saanich farmer Hamish Crawford, MacKinnon resorted to making a turnip

sandwich, with fried slices of the root vegetable standing in for bread. In the West Koote-nays, a similar commitment to local eating by Nelson’s Matt Lowe and Creston’s BrendaBruns led to their co-founding a community-supported agriculture (CSA) project.“When the idea for the grain CSA was birthed, our dreamwas to see people in our region

obtaining one of their food staples from within 100 miles. That in itself seemed like a mon-umental feat,” writes Lowe in the inaugural issue of the CSA’s newsletter, Grains of Change.Even though Creston Valley farmers once grew prize-winning grain, it took the creation of

Canada’s first grain CSA to get modern-day growers producing wheat, spelt and oats forlocal consumption. The CSA’s first offering of 200 shares was quickly snapped up by 180 in-dividuals and Nelson bakery Au Soleil Levant. It appeared area residents were just as in-terested as Lowe and Bruns in the idea of 100-mile bread.“Grain was the only staple of my diet that was not coming from the local area, and it’s easy

now to sit down to ameal made of 100-percent local ingredients,” says Nelson resident JonSteinman, who not only became a shareholder but also joined the Kootenay Grain CSA’ssteering committee and started documenting the ongoing local grain revolution on his pop-ular radio show, Deconstructing Dinner.The CSA’s first harvest in 2008 produced 16,200 pounds of unmilled grain in five vari-

eties, grown by three Creston Valley farms. This year, some 60,000 pounds will be divviedup among three times as many shareholders who’ve each paid $125 for 100 pounds.“While it might seem convenient to purchase grains or bread products the conventional

way at grocery stores and bakeries, having now come to understand the threats facing ourfood system, accessingmy grains locally and ensuring farmers a fair price seemed far moreconvenient, secure and responsible,” says Steinman.For the second year in a row, CSAmembers have provided a trio of local farms with a cer-

tain amount of fixed income and a guaranteed market for their grain, employing an eco-nomic model that’s being used by about 3,000 farms across North America and subvertingthe idea of grain being bought and sold as a commodity.If you’re a regular listener to Deconstructing Dinner, you’ll hear howmuch work it’s been

to set up the CSA and keep things running smoothly. But participating farmers say it’s amodel that works for them, and CSA members are happy with the results as well.“I never knew pancakes, oatmeal and baked goods—like sourdough brownies—could

taste so good,” says Steinman, noting that one of the “greatest benefits” is feeling goodabout the grain he’s consuming because it’s been grown locally.Something else he can feel good about is that Deconstructing Dinner helped inspire the

creation of Canada’s second grain CSA. Vancouver-based Urban Grains is a self-proclaimed“pilot project” initiated by Martin Twigg and Ayla Harker. It sold 200 shares to CSA mem-bers and then coordinated the planting and harvesting of three acres of winter wheat, twoacres of hard red spring wheat, and an acre of triticale. Jim Grieshaber-Otto grew the grainon his hundred-acre Cedar Isle Farm in Agassiz, and it was then turned into flour nearby atAnita’s Organic Grain and Flour Mill in Chilliwack. Each shareholder contributed $90 to theCSA: $80 for 20 kilograms of flour, plus $10 towards the collective purchase of a seedcleaner to process the harvested grain prior to milling.“I think it’s a great model for grain,” says Chris Hergesheimer (who’s taken over Urban

Grains’ administration since Twigg and Harker moved to Halifax). “It pays a good price fora crop that is still a fair amount of work to grow…. I think it’s a great way to share the riskand get a great bounty in the late summer.The risk is crop failure, or not getting as much grain as expected. The first year of the

Kootenay Grain CSA, each share ended up being 81 pounds instead of the hoped-for 100.But according to Hergesheimer, Urban Grains shareholders are “people who care about

food in any capacity and are interested in being part of an experiment and are willing to takethe risk as a community.” And, as he points out, “‘failure’ in CSA is really not failure sincepeople came together and tried to make something beautiful and sustainable and real.Weneed a lot more of that with the challenges we are facing in the years to come.”

As the third part in this series will explore, community also plays a very important role post-harvest for non-farmers growing their own grain.

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Sea urchin wins no beauty contests. Its explosion of poisonous quills might scare off a por-cupine. But sea otters adore it, which explains the goofy look they flash at eco-tourists inurchin-rich B.C. waters. Smart foodies also display an urgin’ for urchin.Urchin’s flavour is every bit as arguable as that of foie gras. Canadian author Taras

Grescoe, encountering the urchin in Spain’s Basque country, describes “a winey, umamiflavour” not one bit to his liking. Julia Moskin, writing in the New York Times and closer tothe mark, describes “the flavour of caviar, the trembly texture of panna cotta and the brinybut bracing strangeness that comes with eating live oysters.”Mostly, we know urchin “tongues”—gonads, in fact—as uni, a topping for sushi in Japan-

ese restaurants. As sushi, it works well, its salty-sweet nuances not undermined by sushi’sicky, sticky vinegared rice.Most of the world’s sea urchin goes to Japan. Voracious sea otters, however, are taking

a literal bite out of the market, and ecologically speaking, this is just as well because theurchins would otherwise devour our kelp forests.The Japanese never had a monopoly on uni’s alchemy. From the Mediterranean to the

South Pacific, the urchin is routinely eaten raw by coastal folk, almost always with nothingmore than a squirt of lemon. Newfoundland fishermen call them whore’s eggs.Vancouver Islanders should be used to the small, delicious red urchin native to shallow

Pacific waters. It boasts fabulous longevity, living for up to 200 years. In fact, its marvel-lous immune system is under study in the battle against infectious diseases in humankind.The only threat to the species would, I think, be putting it under the protection of the fed-eral Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Red urchins thrive on our north and west coasts,but some of the oldest and largest in the world, up to 19 centimetres (7.5 inches) in size,frequent the waters between us and the mainland, the Salish Sea. These show an envi-able virility. They reproduce equally well from ages one to 100.One might see why certain cultures go crazy for urchin. To the Japanese, it’s an aphro-

disiac, Viagra de lamer. Yet it hardly appears in Chinese cooking. Its flavourless first cousin,the sea cucumber or sea slug, is another matter.Healthwise, a single tablespoon of urchin delivers 20 per cent of our daily ration of vita-

min B12. More interestingly, urchin is a major source of anandamide, a cannabinoid neu-rotransmitter. Uh-huh, it can theoretically produce a similar affect to a serious toke. Itactivates the dopamine system in the brain, the trigger for our pleasure circuits. Did I men-tion the goofiness of a sea otter’s smile?For a cannabinoid picnic, find a beach at low tide, where urchins can be seen clinging to

the rocks. Use gloves to pull them away. Weirdly, urchin spines become soft, almost cud-dly in the hand. Slice the urchin in half. Scoop out the golden gonads, five of them. Nocleaning, no cooking required. Welcome to nature’s finest all-you-can-eat buffet.A New York Times article this past May postulated urchin as the Next Big Thing. In one

Miami tapas bar, the chef wows patrons with pressed sea urchin sandwiches. She slathersCuban bread with soy-ginger butter, stuffs it with sea urchins and presses it on a hot grid-dle until it’s crisp on the outside and melting inside. Gazing across the American food-scape, the author sees urchin melding impeccably in soups and sauces, mayos andcustards, risottos and pastas.The predicted urchin stampede has much to do with innovative methods of harvesting,

processing and distribution. The celestial gonads from “urchin fields” in B.C., Californiaand Chile are extricated, cleaned, brined and exported in a jiffy. They’re seasonal, at theirbest September through April. They come packaged in plastic trays containing anywherefrom one to three dozen pieces.Fresh urchin isn’t sold in Victoria, except occasionally at Fujiya, and restaurants (other

than sushi houses) haven’t yet caught the wave. Not so in Vancouver, where at BluewaterCafé and Raw Bar, Frank Pabst pops the urchin into cucumber vichyssoise. At Coast, chefJoshWolfe sides his smoked salmon app with greens in a sea urchin-walnut oil vinaigrette,then gilds his gastro-lily with a garnish of gonads. Another Wolfe fave is sea urchin crèmebrûlée, but only when chef gets the urge.My wife and I stage monthly food raids to Vancouver. We beeline to T&T, that supermar-

ket of Chinese adventurism, for fresh sea urchin. Trays with a dozen or so segments sell forabout $13.My wife experiments—the woman is incapable of following a recipe—with American

celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s recipe for sea urchin bruschetta. For no longer than it takes togrill rustic bread, she marinates the fresh urchin in olive oil, ponzu, onion, lemon and co-riander. She slices the toast into fingers and sets the buttery urchin atop. She serves thedish with lemon and coarse grey sea salt. One bite and we’re through the gates of paradise,cannabinoid neurotransmitters a-fluttering.

EPICURE AT LARGE — by Jeremy Ferguson

Spiny andBrinySea otters love it, and hip chefs are putting it in everything from grilledsandwiches to vichyssoise.


3189 Quadra St. Next to the Italian

Bakery

Call for reservations: 388-4517

[email protected]

LaRistorante

iola

Cucina Tradizionale Gastronomia Locale

The Best of Italy and Vancouver Island

Goat’s milk is healthy, delicious and easy to digest.Sorry, Bessie.

“Mooove” over cow’s milk, there’s a new“kid” on the block—literally. One of thefastest-growing categories in the dairy in-dustry is goat’s milk and all its derivatives:goat cheese, yogurt, butter and even icecream. B.C.’s own burgeoning goat milk in-dustry is a testament to the trend, which isbeing spurred on by health-conscious food-ies looking for products that deliver bothoutstanding nutrition and taste.Goat’s milk certainly delivers on the nu-

trition front. Gandhi was reputedly able torapidly return to vitality after his prolongedfasts due to his reliance on the beverage.What’s behind its health benefits? Goat’smilk contains impressive amounts of pro-tein, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, ri-boflavin, copper, magnesium, iron and theamino acid tryptophan. While this nutri-tional profile is similar to that of cow’s milk,goat’s milk possesses some unique prop-erties that give it the nutritional edge. Un-like cow’s milk, there is no need tohomogenize goat’s milk—its fat globulesare much smaller and will remain sus-pended in solution. Additionally, the chem-ical structure of goat’s milk is very similarto human milk and it is teaming withhealth-giving enzymes. These factors makegoat’s milk much easier to digest thancow’s milk, especially in the case of com-promised intestinal function. Many peoplewho cannot tolerate cow’s milk consumegoat’s milk without any problem.Recent research into the composition of

goat’s milk has uncovered even more im-pressive reasons to partake. Scientistshave discovered it contains an abundanceof anti-inflammatory compounds calledoligosaccharides. They have also noted themilk is rich in CLA, a fatty acid that can re-duce blood sugar and improve the action ofinsulin. Perhaps the most significant find-ing comes from a team of researchers at theUniversity of Granada in Spain. They dis-covered goat’s milk could help prevent dis-eases such as anemia and bonedemineralization, due to its positive effecton mineral metabolism.But what about its reputation for having

a musky, “barnyard” taste? Good qualitygoat’s milk actually has a slightly sweet,slightly salty taste that is quite delicious.Goat’s Pride Dairy in Abbotsford produces arefreshing, organic goat’s milk that will dis-pel the barnyard myth on first sip. I like toadd it to squash- and tomato-based soupsfor a creamier, more full-bodied taste—butI also enjoy drinking it cold accompanied bya fig newton or two.

Of course you can also enjoy the tasteand nutrition of goat’s milk in its variousother forms. Canadian cheese makers arenow making goat’s milk versions of manyfamiliar varieties such as cheddar, moz-zarella, gouda, brie, camembert and creamcheese (aka chèvre). According to Ofri Bar-mor of Okanagan-based Carmelis GoatCheese, most Canadians prefer “a mild,creamy goat cheese such as chèvre.” As forgoat cheese’s delectable factor, considerthis—a Canadian goat cheese fromQuebecwas recently named the “best cheese in theworld” at the 2009 World Cheese Awards.Depending on the variety you choose, therearemany delicious ways to use goat cheesein your recipes. I’m fond of goat mozzarellain grilled cheese sandwiches (using raisinbreadmakes this treat evenmore divine) orcrumbling chèvre into salads or on top ofpea soup.Goat yogurt is yet another goat milk

product gaining popularity. I love its slightlytangy flavour and find it pairs beautifullywith honey and dried fruits. It also makes awonderful base for savoury dips—all youneed do is add a piquant herb or two. I’veyet to try goat’s milk butter, ice cream orgelato—but that is definitely something onmy culinary “to do” list. Thankfully, many ofB.C.’s small boutique dairies (a list follows)are making such choices a reality.

Hilary’s Cheese Company (Cowichan Bay)Salt Spring Island Cheese CompanyHappy Days Goat Dairy (Salmon Arm)Carmelis Goat Cheese (Kelowna)Farm House Natural Cheese (Agassiz)Goat’s Pride Dairy (Abbotsford)Woolwich Dairy (Orangeville, Ontario)Le Cendrillon, LaMaison Alexis de Portneuf(St-Raymond-de-Portneuf, Quebec)

GOOD FOR YOU — by Pam Durkin

NewKid on the BlockComox

Aaron RailFor cheap eagrant herbs aa cool day.

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Comox

Aaron Rail Avenue Bistro 250.890.9200For cheap eats in the Comox Valley, I go to the Saigon Noodle House on Cliffe Ave. The fra-grant herbs and chilies are invigorating and refreshing and the soup warms your bones ona cool day.

Jon Frazier Atlas Cafe 250.338.9838I am in agreement with Aaron from Avenue Bistro; Saigon Noodle House is the best keptsecret in the Comox Valley. Try the 14C! Noodles, pork, fresh vegetables. Yum!

Lisa Metz Tita's Mexican 250.334.8033Like most everyone else in Courtenay we go to the Saigon Noodle House. Fast, cheap,fresh, healthy real food, and an ethnic experience with exotic flavours. Courtenay just does-n't have much that fits the bill. I always order the dishes that have plenty of fresh raw veg-etables, bean sprouts and branches laden with asian basil leaves. Real food on the go!

Victoria

Matt Rissling the Marina Restaurant 250.598.8555My favourite place for cheap eats is the Marble Arch Restaurant at 3400 Tillicum Rd. Thisplace is right next door tomy house, and is pretty typical of any 'Chinese/Canadian' restau-rant you might find in any small prairie town. They even have a proper lunch counter! Theline is wide open, clean and organized. The food is simple but made fresh right in front ofyou. Nothing pre-cooked, pre-battered or frozen. Breakfast all day? No problem. Fries(fresh!) and gravy? Fried egg sandwich at 3:00 in the afternoon? Great! BBQ pork friedrice? Delicious! Truly a gem in the city, and full of regulars every day for lunch and dinner.Truly good value as well, with a meal for four around $30 with some left for lunch, and a$4 breakfast.

Alberto Pozzolo La Piola 250.388.4517My parent's house is my first choice. The price is cheap and the food is supreme. For mefood quality cannot be cheap so La Piola and Zambri's top my list (pizza and pasta dishes)for value, as does a pork wonton noodle soup at Wa Lai Yuen in Chinatown.

Lawrence Munn Cafe Brio 250.383.0009For good and cheap fod there is no disputing that Hernandez is the king of the ring-- fiveorganic pork tacos with handmade tortilla for five bucks? Try and beat that. You can't, sodon't bother.

Ben Peterson Heron Rock Bistro 250.383.1545I've got two fave spots right now, both recently opened. Foo serves wicked Asian streetfood. Dish Diner and Cookehouse in Sidney across the street from Slegg Lumber serveshomemade North American comfort food-- everything from fried chicken to 'in-housesmoked' brisket sandwiches. Both offer affordable grub in a no-frills, relaxed atmospherebut what separates them from many similar places is how the passion and expertise oftheir chef-owners shines through in every scrumptious bite.

Garret Schack Vista 18 250.382.9258How could anyone deny the value at Pig BBQ Joint! Knowing what goes into each sand-wich, the time in the smoker, simmering beans, sauces and marinating cabbage-- it's asteal at five bucks a sandwich!While you're in there get a glass of house-made iced tea for.75 cents leave a quarter on the counter and you still have only spent six bucks.

Peter Zambri Zambri's 250.360.1171Hernandez, Saigon Night, Haultain Fish and Chips, my own kitchen anytime I want.

Joseph Lake (Sous Chef) 250.391.7160 Westin Bear MountainMy favorite place for cheap eats is Pho Vy on Fort Street. The apperance may be a little de-ceiving but the food and pricemore thanmakes up for the décor. A large bowl of pho, a sideof salad rolls and a Vietnamese eced coffee can all be had for under $20.

JamesWolfe Fernwood Inn 250.412.2001Best place for cheap eats is the Vietnam Gardens in Esquimalt. Chef Ken--check him out!

Cory Pelan La Piola 250.388.4517 I love Pig BBQ Joint for a pulled pork sandwich and apickle on a stick. Jeff Hetherington is Victoria’s reigning king of the quick, cheap nosh. I’lloften ask one of my servers on his/her way into work to grab some sandwiches, pickles andfried chicken for the staff and myself. Brilliant for staff morale. Other notables include thePink Bicycle (mutton burger and truffle fries) and the Indian Food Market at Quadra andMcKenzie (Good Indian food, ridiculously cheap

We ask the chefs: “Where do you go forcheap eats”

CHEF’S TALK — by Ceara Lornie

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LOCAL HERO — by Rhona McAdam COOK

Most of us have never tasted anapricot. Really tasted one, ripe fromthe tree, with all the sweet, com-plex flavour it was intended tohave. Bob Duncan wants to give usall the opportunity to knowwhat anapricot—and any other tree fruit hecan get to grow here—is supposedto taste like. And to have the widestpossible choices in what he be-lieves are just about themost beau-tiful gifts we have from nature.You do notice something a little

different when you pull up to hisNorth Saanich home. For one thing,there’s a greenhouse attached tothe front of his house, which inthese autumn days is a bit misty. Init you glimpse a flash of orange.Then when you go around back,past the fig trees and kiwis, youstart to understand what he meansby diversity: an astonishing mix ofshapes, sizes and colours of treesgreets you, even now when theleaves are off and most sensibleplants have tucked themselves upfor the winter. If it’s a cold day, youmight notice a tree growing againstthe back fence, decorated withChristmas lights and what at firstappear to be … lemons?

Bob enjoys the shock local people get at seeing a lemon tree growing outside and isquick to point out the concessions he makes to climate: “Most citrus trees are hardy toabout -6 Celsius, but the fruit freezes at -3, so I have Christmas lights on the tree with a ther-mostat that comes on at -2, and I’ll cover the tree with Reemay, which traps the heat givenoff by the Christmas lights. Pretty low-tech and low-energy solution to the freezing issue.”He got into fruit trees after he retired from a career as an entomologist with the Canadian

Forest Service. “It was just a natural progression. I’ve always been interested in gardeningand growing plants of all kinds, but I’ve always had a specific interest in fruit, and the chal-lenge of being able to produce a wide diversity of different types.” Diversity is the opera-tive word, as he offers more than 300 varieties of fruits: 200+ kinds of apples and some 30different citrus plants. (His wife, Verna, reaps the ingredients for her jam-making business.)Several of the apple varieties are unique to Victoria, grown from local seedlings. He andVerna travel widely each winter, researchingMediterranean and subtropical fruits that canwithstand the generally mild frosts we get on Vancouver Island. “In fact our biggest chal-lenges are not somuch winter cold as lack of summer heat,” he says. Once he has samples,he propagates them and makes sure he can get them to fruit before he sells them to any-one else. He has a dazzling variety of different fruits—figs, cherries, pomegranates, med-lars, oranges, lemons and limes, quince and olives.Olives? “Olives are hardy to about -10 Celsius, which we seldom get here, though we did

get that last winter. I have several olive trees, and there was no damage to them what-ever.”The great thing is, if you grow your own fruit, you’re not dependent on those flavourless

supermarket apricots. “They don’t ship particularly well, and the growers think they haveto pick them too early, so the average consumer never gets to eat a fully tree-ripened apri-cot.”Local interest in food security has helped build his market, which is mostly homeowners

wanting a few fruit trees for their own consumption. And as he stocks these modern or-chards, Bob is fulfilling his aim of promoting fruit’s vast diversity and heritage: “It’s im-portant we’re not growing just one kind of fruit, but rather many, many varieties.”

Bob and Verna Duncan, Fruit Trees & More - Custom Propagation Nursery250-656-4269, www.fruittreesandmore.com

BobDuncan An IslCosm

Bob Duncan with his fruit trees

—Rebecca

Wellm

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COOKING CLASS — by Rebecca Baugniet

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—is supposedve the widestwhat he be-emost beau-m nature.ething a littleull up to hisFor one thing,attached tose, which ina bit misty. Inh of orange.around back,d kiwis, youhat he meansishing mix ofours of treesw when theost sensibleemselves upcold day, youowing againstcorated withwhat at firsts?utside and isare hardy to

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An IslandBisonDinnerClass withCosmoMeens at Terralicious

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It can be a challenge, when you are writing up a calendar of all the food and wine relatedevents happening in Victoria, to curb the impulse to attend each and every one. Lack oftime and money, and my expanding waistline (an occupational hazard, I suppose) are themain deterrents. But when I heard about the series of dinner classes offered at Terraliciousthis fall showcasing island ingredients, I knew I wanted to attend one. Island bison was theobvious choice for me, since it is a relatively new ingredient onmy radar. Up until last year,I had rarely seen bison as a choice on a menu, and I don’t remember ever seeing it at thebutcher’s or in the grocery store. When I moved to Victoria, I noticed it popping up all overthe place – bison burgers in restaurants, bison jerky for snacks, ground bison at the gro-cery store… Ever so tentatively, I began introducing it into my family’s diet, excited to havea healthier option to offer the meat-loving contingent in my household. I was eager to at-tend a class that could teach me more about this island ingredient.Bison has a lot going for it; is a much leaner, nutrient-rich meat than beef, boasting 30%

more protein and 25% less cholesterol than beef, as well as anti-carcinogenic properties.It has a slightly gamier taste, as one would expect from an essentially wild animal. Bisonis grass fed, unlike most of the beef available to us, and it’s local.Terralicious is the gardening and cooking school operating out of the farmhouse on Hal-

iburton Community Organic Farm. The kitchen is not a fancy one, but it is cleverly designedfor small classes, with a camera located over the stove so students can observe stovetoptechniques on a large screen near the seating area, and a mirror positioned over the prepcounter, so everyone can easily see what is happening. The island bison class was the lastin this particular series, andmost of the students in attendance were regulars. One broughta long wooden votive holder, and lit candles. Wine was poured, and we took our seats towatch Cosmo prepare the bison.He used a rib cut, bought at Slater’s, originating from the Island Bison Ranch in Black

Creek, here on Vancouver Island. Cosmo explained that he had intended do a roast for us,but after looking at the nicely marbled meat, decided to cut it into steaks. Let the meattell you what you should do with it, was the message. He had covered the steaks in a fra-grant rub with a hint of lavender, packed them up snug in a Tupperware, and left to absorbthe rub for several hours prior to the class. Using bacon fat left over from the first class, heseared the steaks, poking at them with his finger to test doneness (“you have to trust myhands to feel good about eating here,” he told us unapologetically – and indeed, everyoneseemed very trusting). Cosmo worked quickly, although he managed to entertain and an-swer questions with ease along the way. He transferred the steaks to a hot oven afterpulling out a large casserole filled to the brim with a mushroom, walnut and blueberrystuffing. The class took place on American Thanksgiving, and this was the chef’s nod to theoccasion. Learning that our host, Dayle Cosway is American, we all wished her a HappyThanksgiving, and watched as a substantial mounds of the stuff were piled on top of farm-picked greens.I don’t think I was alone in contemplating how stuffing really deserves to shine in its

own right like this, especially one as flavourful and satisfying as Cosmo’s. Once we haddevoured the stuffing salad starter, we returned to watch Cosmo finishing the demi-glaceand red wine reduction were whisked up with cream to create a luxurious sauce for thebison. Any health benefits to eating bison over beef may have been counteracted by top-ping it with this velvety gravy, but no one complained. In fact, it was quite the opposite,with the regulars reminiscing and ranking their favourite classes in the series (the raw foodone was close to the top, while the scallop evening was also remembered fondly).“I’m just a glorified dishwasher.” Not the most convincing statement, having just pre-

pared a gourmet meal before my eyes, but that’s what Cosmo Meens answered when Iasked himwhat his background was. I may be new in town, but I’ve been here long enoughto know that this is the chef who started Mo:Lé, Café Bliss and most recently, the VillageFamily Marketplace. When pressed, he did confess to putting in time in the line at Pagli-acci’s, and being mentored by John Hall (Cassis). Cosmo has handed over the chef’s reinsat Mo:Lé, preferring to spend time with his family and tend the orchard on their new prop-erty, Footstep Hill Farm in Saanichton. You can visit Fresh Coast TV to see what else he’sup to.At $45 per class, this experience offered incredible value. I have previously attended

dinner classes that cost twice as much, and the wine wasn’t included. Keep your fingerscrossed they bring this series back - with chef’s tips, a stunning dinner served at a longtable covered in crisp linens by the fireside, good conversation and local wine, theseclasses fall among Victoria’s best kept secrets.www.terralicious.ca/www.islandbison.com/i

CONT”D FRO$3.24, why wpery slices oegg that wagrilled organand served iand in fact evgoods havemoist sour cis rich, soft,and I wish yolattes madeSaanich. An$2.38, and aThe café is o

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RESTAEATINGWELLFORLESS

—byElizabeth Smyth

Paprika Bistro | 2424 Estevan Ave | 250.592.7425

Table d’hote menus, many of them only offered during the winter by local restau-rants to keep themselves running until the more lucrative summer season, are myfavourite way to sample a higher-end restaurant. Using Smyth-math, the meals canwork out to budget ones. Take Paprika Bistro’s table d’hotemenu, for example. An ap-petizer, main, and dessert all come to $26 – let’s call it $12 for the entrée, and $7 eachfor the appetizer and dessert. For food this elegant, this is a “run, don’t walk” scenario.The first choice is between the soupe du jour, a roasted butternut squash soup gar-nished with toasted hazelnuts, and an equally delightful organic green salad with adelicate Concord grape vinaigrette. The mains are both masterpieces. The CowichanBay duck and mushroom pie I cracked open like an egg made of pastry, releasing thesteaming stewmade with local chanterelle mushrooms. This entrée was rounded outby a bed of baby kale scented with butter, and petite carrots and parsnips. The salmonentrée was equally consistent in quality. The risotto clearly had plenty of the most im-portant ingredients – the time and patience to slowly stir and allow the rice to absorbthe flavours, in this case of the white wine, stock, onions, and mushrooms, resultingin a redolent base for the juicy pink salmon fillet. The dessert ofWarm Financier Cakewas a rich almond cake inflected with lemon, served with spiced ice cream andcaramel sauce. There’s a small catch to enjoying this kind of affordable elegance – thisdeal is offered only if you are in the restaurant between 5:00 and 6:00. You won’t ex-actly be suffering if you’re there after 6:00, as the menu has many other delicacies onoffer (house-made sausage leaps to mind), but you must be there before 6:00 anyday of the week to enjoy the table d’hote menu. The time may not be chic, but thebonus is the bread comes hot out of the oven.

Broken Paddle Café | 4480C Happy Valley Road (nearMetchosin Road) | 250.474.2999Another surefire strategy to get budget food is to simply go to modest places.

Broken Paddle Coffee House in Metchosin has a modest but good menu, at modestprices, in a small, informal space that’s warm and comforting. This is a communitygathering place, where locals come in the morning to get their Broken Egger. And at

Cowichan Bay duck and mushroom pie with baby kale, petite carrotsand parsnips at Paprika Bistro

RebeccaWellm

am

RebeccaWellm

am

CONT”D FROM THE PREVIOUS PAGE$3.24, why wouldn’t they? The English muffin is top-notch, soft and springy, with pep-pery slices of local andouille sausage and sprinkles of green onion adding zest to theegg that was imported from, oh, up the road. Lunch for $6.95 is another draw. Thegrilled organic chicken with roasted vegetables sandwich is moistened with pestoand served in slices of whole wheat Panini flatbread. The vegetables in the sandwich,and in fact everything else, are from Bilston Creek Farm, again up the road. The bakedgoods have the best quality to price point ratio I’ve seen in a long time. The plump,moist sour cherry branmuffin is $1.71. I mean, come on. And the date square for $2.90is rich, soft, fat, and buttery. At 12:30, I was lucky enough to get it hot out of the oven,and I wish you the same felicity. All this goes beautifully with americanos, mochas, andlattes made with Level Ground organic fairly traded coffee beans, roasted in WestSaanich. And finally, I appreciate not being gouged on drinks. A San Pellegrino is$2.38, and a Dole juice is $1.25. Again, come on. It’s clear why the locals flock here.The café is open from 7:30 to 3:30 Monday to Friday, and 9:00 to 3:30 on Sundays.

Shizen Sushi | 1706 Government St, near Fisgard |

250.381.8228At Shizen Sushi, you want to start with the secret stuff that’s off the menu (why off

the menu, I don’t know. Counterintuitive marketing device? A strategy to make peo-ple like us feel in the know and therefore important? Or just not enough time to reprintthe menu?). The first poorly kept secret is the sushi pizza for $8.95. Though it soundshokey, it is absolutely delicious. A round of sushi rice is deep-fried until it’s crisp andgolden on the outside, but still soft inside. It is then topped with a creamymix of spicytuna, high quality Japanese mayonnaise, and the teeny little flying fish roe calledmasago. The round is cut into eight adorable triangles centred around a mound ofhigh quality shaved ginger – a far cry from the cheap orange stuff. With its spicy fin-ish, this is adult food, but I did ask the obvious question, and yes they will do a vari-ation for your child with plain instead of spicy tuna. The second not-so-secret secretis the Highlander Roll, one of the most unique, improbable, and successful combina-tions of flavours I’ve had in a roll. This roll is stuffed with avocado, prawn tempura, andspicy mayonnaise – nothing wild so far. It is then topped with beef tataki, which isthinly sliced, briefly seared meat, and drizzled with a teriyaki sauce jacked up withTabasco and garlic. Finally, it is garnished with curls of green onion. This is a manly rollwith its meat and its spice, and it’s a fair price at $10.95. Also $10.95, the near hom-ophone Islander Roll is the same basic roll, but draped with salmon on one half, andtuna on the other half, then decorated with curlicues of seaweed and colourful or-ange masago. It is beautiful to behold. At Shizen, the space is calming and the foodenticing – a perfect place to either eat quickly or to linger.


For reservations: 250.655.9700 • www.sidneypier.com

start a new tradition with us

Prime Rib SundaysYour choice of soup or Caesar salad.

Alberta AAA Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding,Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Vegetables.

$29.95 - Every Sunday evening in Haro’s from 5pm.

fresh flavours, casual comfort, genuine service

RESTAURANT REPORTER: VICTORIAS

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The Sticky Wicket & The Clubhouse at The Strathcona Hotel919 Douglas Street Victoria BC 250.383.7137

www.strathconahotel.com

Featuring a three course menu every night $20

Chef’s ChoiceThe Sticky Wicket

C L U B H O U SE

For your dining pleasure, we serve only

Chef’s ChoiceThe Sticky Wicket

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ESUOHBUL

RebeccaWellm

am

Left: A crock of lard. Right: Chef Heidi Fink with her apple pie.

Last week, when I sent out an e-mail offering a great source for some organic, free-rangepork fat that can easily be made into homemade lard, my inbox saw a good response. Sur-prised? I wasn’t. We are currently in the midst of a fat revolution.Since I started my own love affair with lard seven years ago, I have noticed a small but

steadily increasing number of articles touting both the culinary and health (yes, health)benefits of lard. Finally, we’ve learned from the murky past of flavourless, hydrogenatedvegetable oils and their attendant trans-fat-induced health problems. We have started tomove on. Or back, I should say, back to that perfection among edible fats: lard.Here’s the thing: lard is better for you than shortening and better for cooking than veg-

etable oil. And unlike shortening or vegetable oil, lard is a whole food, a naturally satu-rated fat that is very stable at high temperatures and won’t turn into trans-fats as it heats.More than that, lard is lower in saturated fat than most other commonly used solid cook-ing oils. Lard comes in around 40 percent saturated fat. Compare that to butter’s 60 to 65percent, hard margarine’s 45 percent, and palm oil’s 80 to 90 percent, and lard’s image islooking up.Even better, most of the remaining fat in lard’s make-up is oleic acid, the very same kind

of monounsaturated fat that has made olive oil so famously good for you. So lard is es-sentially fifty percent olive oil. Who knew?Best of all, lard has a full, rich flavour that incomparably improves the taste and texture

of any number of homemade foods. Use it in any recipe from pastry and biscuits, to que-sadillas and Italian meatballs, and you will instantly have a food “ah-ha!” moment.I am, of course, talking about the real deal: homemade lard, not the possibly suspect

and partially hydrogenated lard for sale at the local supermarket. Homemade lard, espe-cially lard from naturally raised pigs, is good and good for you. It has all the health bene-fits listed above, plus zero trans-fats and the best flavour. Homemade lard has a taste,richness and superb mouthfeel you can’t buy off the shelf.However, I’ll admit that my love of lard has nothing to do with its heart-healthy oleic acid

and everything to do with its wonderful cooking and baking properties. Specifically, I makemy own lard so I can make the best pie crust. And I really mean the best.Most of us have heard of the legendary lard pie crusts our grandmothers used to make.

There is nothing like the rich flavour and shatteringly flaky crust made from home-renderedlard. In the space of one day, from pre-lard to post-lard rendering, my pie crusts went fromvery good to nothing short of magnificent, perfectly tender and flaky with an amazing

ARTISAN FOOD —by Heidi Fink

LardTimesIt has zero trans-fats, is lower in saturated fat than you think anda great source of oleic acid. Welcome to the new fat revolution.

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1034 Fort Street | 250·380·7654 | www.epicureanpantry.ca

organic · fair trade · ethnic · artisan · local

TABLE TALK , hosted by Plenty & Terralicious

Join us the first Wednesday of each month (starting February 2010) to sample great food, share preparation and growing tips, and discuss food and sustainability.

For more information v is i t :www.terral ic ious.ca

www.epicureanpantr y.ca

TABLE TALK , hPlentyyt & TeeT r aar li

Join us the fiif rssr t Wedeach month (ss( tarting2010))0 to sample greer at

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1034 Fort Street | 250

organic · fair

0·380·7654 | www.epicureanp

r trade · ethnic · artisan · local

2010))0 to sample greer atpreparation and growindissi cuss foof od and sus

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2577 Cadboro Bay Road,VICTORIA

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Quality meats,

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Specialty Products

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pple pie.

c, free-rangesponse. Sur-

d a small but(yes, health)ydrogenatedve started tord.ing than veg-aturally satu-ts as it heats.d solid cook-ter’s 60 to 65rd’s image is

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flavour brought by the mingling of sweet butter and savoury lard.And with homemade organic lard on hand, I can alsomake a host of other lard-enhanced

treats, including beans and tortillas such as I haven’t eaten sincemy last trip to a tiny Mex-ican village. And I can feel good about feeding these yummy foods to my family.But “how do you render lard?” I have heard this many times over, with the word render

spoken in a tone of perplexity and wonder.Making lard is not difficult. Rendering is the process of separating and clarifying the pure

lard from the fatty connective tissue of pork fat. You’ve probably done it already withoutrealizing it. Every time you cook bacon and pour off the fat, you’ve rendered some lard (al-though don’t try making a pie with it).To make a big batch of plain lard, you simply chop up some pork fat, place it in a pot

with a cup or two of water and slowly heat it up. By the time the water has evaporated,enough of the lard has started to render out that the remaining solid fat can slowly poachand render at low heat without risk of burning. Let it bubble gently, unattended, until youhave a big pot of melted fat with some light brown cracklings floating in it. Strain this intoa shallow tray and let cool. Portion and store in the fridge or freezer. The hardest part aboutthe actual rendering process is dealing with the smell of deep fried meat that permeatesyour house for a day.More difficult is tracking down sources of good-quality pork fat. Happily, I have rela-

tionships with at least two local pig farmers who are happy to sell their beautiful, organic,snow-white lard to an eager customer. Ten pound orders minimum, please.In the interest of the best possible bang (in terms of lard flavour, cooking qualities, and

percent yield) for your time and effort, I recommend using the fat from the leaf and theback, appropriately named either leaf lard or back fat. These are themost neutral-flavouredand best quality fats to come from the pig.We all secretly dream of a time in the future when yummy “bad” foods become health

foods, or at least “not-so-bad” foods. Well, here we are now, in that dreamed-of future. Iurge everyone to get behind the lard revolution.

Basic Lard PastryMakes enough dough for one double-crust pie, two single-crust pies or two galettes.

2 cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour, measured by the dip-and-sweep method*1 Tbsp sugar1 tsp salt¾ cup (6 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes½ cup (4 oz) cold lard, cut into small cubes6 to 8 Tbsp very cold water (OR a mixture of half vodka, half water)

* Make sure flour isn’t compacted by stirring it a few times with your measuring cup. Then,dip it into the flour, overfilling the cup and use a knife to sweep excess off the top, creatinga perfectly level cup of flour.

Food processor method:In the work bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Process for a fewseconds to combined evenly. Remove the lid, scatter the butter pieces over the flour, replacethe lid, and process again, using 4 to 6 one-second pulses. Add the lard and pulse a fewmoretimes, until the fat is cut into the flour properly. The fat pieces should range in size betweensmall peas and cornmeal, with more smaller pieces than large ones. But make sure to leavesome large pieces and some dry flour; these two things help with the flakiness. Transfer theflour mixture to a bowl. Toss with fingers to ensure an even balance of fat to dry flour.

Hand method:In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the cold butterpieces and use your finger or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour. Rub the butterpieces gently between your fingers, coating them in flour, until they are half the size. Addthe lard pieces and continue cutting in until the fat is the right size, ranging in size from smallpeas to cornmeal. There should be more smaller pieces than big.

To finish either method:Slowly sprinkle in the water, one tablespoon at a time, using a fork or rubber spatula to mixthe dough. Stop after 6 tablespoons of water, no matter what the dough looks like.Turn the dough onto the counter. The dough will be very dry and crumbly at this point. Use

your hands to gently gather the dough into a ball, using gentle pressure to make it hold to-gether. If the dough is still too dry, sprinkle on a tablespoon more water and mix the doughwith your hands again, until you can form it into a ball. In rare cases, you will need the finaltablespoon of water. (If using the vodka-water mix, you can be more cavalier about addingliquid because the alcohol in the vodka won’t form any gluten).Divide the dough in two and form each into a disk. This dough can be used immediately or

wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated or frozen for later use.

Qualicum BeIn this recipeearthy mash

Preparation t

• 6 leaves of f• 3/4 cup chic• 1 1/2 lbs. BC• 4 large clove• 2 Tbsp melte• 2 Tbsp warm• Salt and wh• 2 Tbsp olive• 20 large Qua• 1/2 cup dry• 1 1/2 cups w• 2 Tbsp whol• 2 green onio

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Quali

COVE

MichaelTourigny

The Cast Iron Pan: A Brief History

The popularization of cast-iron cookware in Britain dates back to 1709.Charcoal (carbonized wood) was fuelling the bourgeoning iron industry.Sadly, it was also denuding forests. A Quaker and fabricator of malt-kilns,Abraham Darby, extracted or “smelted” iron from iron ore using coke, acleaner form of coal, in the town of Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. Darbyadapted an existing charcoal furnace into a coke blast furnace. Until Darbycame along, goods were individually cast, brittle, unwieldy and expensiveto manufacture. The inventor also developed and patented the process ofsand moulding, which allowed the mass production of iron pots that werethinner, yet solid and cheap. (Coalbrookedale is said to be the cornerstoneof the Industrial Revolution. Darby’s grandson, A. Darby III, is credited withbuilding the first cast-iron bridge. But that is a story for another publication.)I found little about cast iron’s rise in North America other than the fact that

the colonials were mad about it. The cookware reached its heyday in the1800s. Foundries such as Griswold,Wagner, Erie and Lodge sprang up. Lodgeis the oldest (and perhaps only) family-ownedmanufacturer of raw cast-ironcookware in North America. (Their enamel-coated line, however, is importedfrom China.) MyMcClary Dutch oven, a proud Canadian, hails from the long-gone London, Ontario, firm of J. & O. McClary, founded in 1851. So treasuredwere these iron pots that grandmothers included them in their wills. EvanJones (American Food, Random House, 1974) writes, “Outdoor cooking wasin the American blood.” So the pot as well as the pig went on the fire. (A castiron pot can be covered with coals.) James Villas’s essay “UnderstandingFried Chicken” (American Taste, Arbor House, 1982) lists a 12-inch cast-ironskillet with lid (and a fire extinguisher!) in his 12-item, no-substitutions litanyof necessary equipment for the making of fried chicken.

TheNew IronAgeFOOD MATTERS — by Julie Pegg

Cast iron can tolerate hellish temperatures and lastsfor generations. Julie Pegg explores why this originalnon-stick cookware is enjoying a renaissance.

My version of chili relies on amélange of cubed (never ground) meat; roasted fresh plumtomatoes; soaked and pre-boiled Phipps Farm beans from California; New Mexicanchipotle, anaheim and hot chili peppers pummelled into a paste; and a bottle of beer.It slow-simmers in a McLary No. 8 Drip Top cast iron lidded Dutch oven, which seals inand delivers flavours most pricey stainless pots can’t match. Themeat nearly collapsesinto a thick “gravy” while beans remain firm-tender. I love my cast-iron pot almost as

much for what it does as for the ingredients it holds.Cast iron is an alloy, one of the elements of which must be carbon to harden the mixture. Simply put, a

“flask” is made of sand and placed in a frame around a mould or cast into which molten metal is poured.Unlike more malleable and pure wrought iron, which can be forged, cast iron must be made in a foundry.Before the advent of steel, cast iron was the core of the kitchen. My grandmother did the laundry in

what she called a cast iron “copper.” She boiled water for tea in a cast iron kettle and relied on her castiron cauldron to cook for a family of nine on a cast iron wood stove. My grandfather was a wrought ironworker and the village farrier (in Aldeburgh, England). The forge was adjacent to the house.To hurry the morning’s porridge along, the sons (there were five) would take turns scurrying the pot of

water over to the forge to give it an extreme blast of fire. (An iron pot can withstand hell without cracking,providing it holds some liquid.)My vintage arsenal, hunted out at flea markets, garage sales and thrift shops, includes, besides the

Dutch oven: a rare Wagner No. 8 skillet with lid that turns out beautiful braises and fabulous cornbread;an equally prized Wagner griddle that sizzles bacon to a perfect balance of fat and crisp; four mini-frypans; and a Norwegian Jotul aebleskiver pan, which also delivers fluffy mini-Yorkshire puds, biscuits andmoist muffins. (Aebleskiver are poufy pancakes, named for the apple that is placed in the bottom of eachsection before the dough is added.)I recommend you seek out one or two of these workhorses for their sturdy virtues. The covered skillet

and Dutch oven brown and sear meat perfectly and seal in big tastes. Cheap cuts of meat and humblevegetables reach a depth of flavour unmatched by the best stainless. Few modern pots maintain sucheven heat.But cast-iron needs (and deserves) respect. Both new and vintage pots need a good greasymassage and

a bit of heat treatment before you use them for the first time, and periodically after that (called season-ing). The Lodge brand gets kudos for its new bare cast iron cookware and comes pre-seasoned, but all cast-iron pots are bound to need a lube job at some point in their lives. Seasoning the pan imparts a non-sticksurface and prevents oxidation. So fear not if grandma’s pan or that garage sale find is covered in rust. (Justensure it has no cracks.) A scrub with a mild detergent, or coarse salt, and a stiff brush will remove alltraces. Season your new or vintage find by rubbing it with a saturated fat. Lard is ideal. Don’t worry. Itwon’t leach into food. Place the pot upside down in a 250°F oven on a cookie sheet, to catch drips, for atleast an hour. The grease seeps into the metal’s expanded pores, creating a non-stick surface. Certainfoods may require a splodge of oil to prevent sticking (eggs come to mind). A few more tips: for heaven’ssake, use oven mitts to take the pan off a burner. Cast iron handles get hot. It’s also wise not to put coldwater into a hot cast iron pan, lest it crack. There are two thoughts about washing pans. If used frequently,a rubdown with oil (and I also use some coarse salt) protects the pan and builds up its “non-stick” coat-ing. If you choose to wash the pan each time, you will need to re-season, but not necessarily with lard. Un-less the pot has rusted, always use a mild detergent. Two YouTube videos—How to Season and ProtectYour Cast Iron and Cast Iron: The Seasoning—are excellent guides.For me, cast iron ware embodies hearth and home. Yes, I imagine kitchen walls of yore covered in grease,

smoke billowing about the room and a struggling mother scrambling to fill the pot and rumbling tummieswith humble potages. And the bloody hard work it must have been to wrestle those 10-to-fourteenpounders into and onto a wood stove. But there is the romantic notion too—folks gathered about a fire,slurping down beef and lamb stews, succotashes and pepper pots, gumbos and chowders cooked in acauldron. Cast-iron cookware is the cooking icon.Take good care of your pot. It’s a bit of living history. It could last a hundred years. Bequeath it to your

grandkids.

ghynes

Poussin (Cornish Hen)pan roasted withapples, sage and thmyein a cast iron skillet

Qualicum Beach Scallops on Potato, Garlic and Kale Mash with BC Riesling CreamIn this recipe, succulent, quick-cooking Vancouver Island scallops are set upon on anearthy mash and drizzled with a decadent cream sauce.

Preparation time:30 minutes, Cooking time: About 25 minutes,Makes: 4 servings

• 6 leaves of fresh kale, washed well, tough lower stems trimmed• 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock• 1 1/2 lbs. BC yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and quartered• 4 large cloves of garlic, thickly sliced• 2 Tbsp melted butter• 2 Tbsp warm milk or vegetable or chicken stock• Salt and white pepper to taste• 2 Tbsp olive oil• 20 large Qualicum Beach scallops, patted dry• 1/2 cup dry BC Riesling wine• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream• 2 Tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Cut the leaves of kale in half lengthwise. Now cut the half leaves of kale, widthwise, into1/4-inch strips. Bring the 3/4-cup of stock to a simmer in a wide skillet. Add the kale andcook until just tender, about minutes 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.Place the potatoes and garlic in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over

medium-high heat. Lower the heat until the potatoes gentle simmer. Simmer the potatoesuntil they are very tender, about 18 to 20 minutes.Preheat the oven to 200˚F. When the potatoes are cooked, drain well, ensuring the gar-

lic stays in the pot. Thoroughly mash the potatoes and garlic until smooth as possible. Mixthe melted butter, 2 Tbsp milk or stock, reserved kale and its cooking liquid, salt and pep-per. Transfer the potato mixture to a heatproof bowl; cover and keep warm in the oven.Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Place the oil in a large skillet set over medium-

high heat. Add the scallops and cook 1 minute on each side, or until just cooked through.Remove skillet from the heat, transfer scallops to a plate, and keep warm in the oven.Set 4 shallow soup bowls or dinner plates in the oven to warm. Set the skillet back over

medium-high heat. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Pour in the cream andsimmer and reduce until a lightly thickened sauce forms. Stir in the green onions, mus-tard, salt and pepper and reserve on low heat.Divide and mound the potato mixture in the centre of the warmed bowls or plates.Top each mound of potatoes with 5 scallops. Drizzle with the Riesling cream sauce and

serve.


(250) 642-35961831 Maple Ave. Sooke

www.markuswharfsiderestaurant.com

Vancouver Island’sbest kept secret

Markus’Wharfside Restaurant

QualicumBeach Scallops ÉÇ Potato

COVER RECIPE

MichaelTourigny

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Recipes and food styling by JENNIFER DANTERPhotography by GENEVIEVE LAPLANTE

Big ‘Ol ChickenPot PieBest flavoursand textures

ClassicPoundCakeBig flavours andvery rich - add bigdollops of asummer preserveand sour cream ifyou dare.

Cont’d on the next page

local kitchen

cold comfort

What to drink?

@With the chicken pot pie:

A chardonnay, riesling, gewürztramineror our favourite — a dry apple cider.Suggestion: Flagship from Sea Cider onthe Saanich Penninsula. Soft tannins,lively acidity, dry and with no addedsulphites.www.seacider.ca

I love this time of year –

the early dark nights, the

chill in the air and those

necessary extra layers

to wrap up in.These are

all happy assurances

that it’s OK to hunker

down and cocoon

indoors. And really, that

means cooking up

down-home hearty fare

that’s not fussy – just

satisfying.

West Coast Parsnip ChowderThat funky earthy flavour in a parsnip

matches well with the smoky sweetness of

candied or smoked salmon. Makes 8 cups

1 large knob butter

3 fresh thyme sprigs

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped

4 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

1 L chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups whole milk or water

1 potato, peeled and diced

150-g-candied salmon pieces

Melt butter in a very large saucepan over

medium. Add thyme sprigs, onion and

garlic. Stir often, until softened, 6 to 8 min.

Add parsnips and stir to coat, then pour in

broth and milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce

heat; cover and simmer until parsnips are

very tender, 15 to 20 min. Discard thyme

sprigs, then puree, soup. Strain through a

fine mesh (that will give the soup a velvety

texture), then return to saucepan. Bring

back to a boil, then add potato and flake

in salmon. Simmer, stirring often, until

tender, 10 to 12 min. Taste and season

with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls or

mugs.


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For best flavour and texture, roast the chicken on the bone,instead of simmering in stock. It’s a little more work, but wellworth the effort. Source Cowichan Bay chicken, if you can.It’s so delicious. Makes 6 servings

2 to 3 skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (singles)3 large carrots, peeled and thickly sliced1 turnip, peeled and chopped1 large onion, chopped1/2 rutabaga, peeled and chopped2 cups chicken broth1/4 cup butter1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour21/2 cups whole milk or cream1 small bunch kale, stemmed and chopped1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme1/2 tsp ground nutmegSea salt and pepperPastry for 10-in deep-dish double piecrust

Lightly oil breasts and sprinkle with pinches of salt and pepper.Roast in preheated 400F oven until cooked through, 35 to 40min. Meanwhile, prepare vegetables. Bring stock to a boil, thenworking with one type of vegetable at a time (except for the kale),gently simmer until almost tender. You don’t want them crunchybut not soft either. Using a strainer spoon, scoop out veggies andspread out on a large baking sheet. They’ll continue to cook alittle as they sit. Once the vegetables are cooked, measure thechicken broth. Top up with enough water or more chicken brothto make 2 cups. When chicken is cooked and cool enough tohandle, discard skin and bones and tear or cut meat into smallpieces.

Melt butter in a large wide saucepan or Dutch oven. Add flourand whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth, whisking wellbetween additions to prevent lumps. Then whisk in milk. Gentlysimmer until thickened, about 5 min. Stir in kale, thyme, nutmegand generous pinches of salt and pepper. Gently stir in cookedvegetables. (If your pan isn’t big enough, turn into a very largebowl and mix.) Cool mixture before filling pie shell. If makingahead, refrigerate filling overnight.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pastry and fit into a10-in. deep-dish pie plate. Roll remaining pastry, then set aside.Fill pie plate with chicken mixture, then moisten rim of pastryshell with water. Fit remaining pastry over filling, pressing alongrim. Trim edge and crimp. Brush pie with egg wash (1 egg yolkstirred with a little milk), if you wish. Make a few slashes in top sosteam can escape. Place on a baking sheet and bake in bottomof preheated 400F oven for 20 min. Reduce heat to 375F andcontinue baking until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly, 30 to40 min.

Traditionally, mixing together a pound each of butter, eggs andflour made a pound cake. Today that’s pretty much the standardratio, but using smaller amounts. Because the cake is so rich,you don’t need icing. However, at this time of year I do like tobring out my summer preserves and spoon a little over thickslices of cake.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature1 cup granulated sugar1 tsp salt4 large eggs, at room temperature1 tsp vanilla extract1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)2 cups all-purpose flour1 tsp baking powderYour favourite jam or preservesSour cream or thickened yogurt (optional)

Butter a 9-inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper. Using amixer, beat butter until loosened, then beat in sugar and salt untilmixture is very pale and fluffy, at least 5 min. occasionally scrapedown side of bowl. Gradually beat in eggs, one at a time, beatingwell between additions. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Stirin flour, by hand, just until moistened. Pour into pan and place ona baking sheet. Bake in preheated 325F oven until a skewerinserted in centre of loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let loafrest in pan for 15 min., then turn out onto a wire rack to coolcompletely.


Big ‘Ol Chicken Pot Pie

Classic Pound Cake

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MusselMania

Mondayto Friday4-7 pm

Tomato Provençal, Thai CurryVindalooFRESH BCCortes Island Mussels

Pint of Granville IslandBrew

604.669.9030 | Vancouverdine.com | Granville Island


With the world coming to Vancouver for the 2010 WinterGames we challenged top Vancouver chefs to put their besttoque forward and create dishes to wow our visitorsGAME ON

11 medal worthy plates

“Scallops (representing sustain-able aquaculture), quince ( lowermainlands orchard heritage),wheatberry (lower mainland'sfirst grain c.s.a - Urban Grains),Hazelmere Farms sunroot(expressing the long standingrelationships formed betweenchef and grower), and Oyamachorizo ( artisan food producers),Glorious Organics braisinggreens ( small scale local organicgrowers that are key to ourrestaurant and our local foodsystem), browned butter quincevinaigrette (Farmhouse butterrepresenting artisan cheeseproducers).”

Andrea Carlson, Bishop’s

Compiled by Gary Hynes • Photos by Tracey Kusiewicz

Seared Qualicum Bay scallops w/ quince purée, wheatberry, chorizo &sunroot sauté, braising greens & a browned butter quince vinaigrette

“Because Vancouver is such amelding pot of cultures I wouldcreate a miso-sake glazed wildBC salmon.In a rich buttery broth of

coconut milk, garlic & ginger Iwould cook Qualicum Bayscallops, BC spot prawns & saltspring island mussels with hintsof lemongrass. Served overroasted Okanagan grown babyfingerling potatoes.”

William Tse, Goldfish

Miso-sake glazedwild BC salmon

1

3

@Cedar CreekEhrenfelser

@JoieRosé

“In the spirit of cooperation Ithink that a spot prawn dish isthe perfect example of howsuccessful the Chefs’ TableSociety has been in encouragingthe consumption of high qualitysustainable seafood. The use oflocal winter vegetables and thediversity of local products likebalsamic and cider round out thephilosophy of the Green WinterGames.”

Robert Clark, C Restaurant

Spot prawns & UBC winter squash purée w/ Pemberton parsnip chips& Venturi-Schulze balsamic gastrique

“Growing up in BC I have beensurrounded by Japanese culture,this is where I love to tie in BCproducts.The base to this dish starts

with a Oregon Truffle scenteddashi; the Sablefish is slowlybraised in this, highlighting thesucculent moist and oiliness ofthe Sablefish, it is halfwaythrough the cooking processthat you add sliced pine mush-rooms and spot prawn. As allthese ingredients are slowlysteeped together creating aamazing aroma, to me thisaroma brings al the elements ofBC, Japan and Oregon together.It reminds me of my home.”

Don Letendre, Elixir

Braised Sable Fish with Spot Prawns & Pine Mushroomsw/ Oregon Truffle Scented Dashi

2

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@MerridaleApple Cider

“A tasting offarm's produ

Stephane IsDB Bistro M

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Okanagan Icewine gelée w/ Fraser Valley hazelnut milk sabayon& pumpkin seeds croquant

“Since Vancouver is a multicultural city, there is not really any culturally deeprooted cuisine in Vancouver or BC, except perhaps for the aboriginal cuisine, butwe are not experts in such cuisine. So we would want to showcase what the cityor province is all about through ingredients and especially wild ingredients. Wewould make a dish that tries to incorporate (as part of or along with) as manyelements or ingredients from asmany different sources including the sea, woods,fields, vineyards, and/or orchards.”

Dominique & Cindy Duby, Wild Sweets

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have beennese culture,to tie in BC

ish startse scentedh is slowlylighting thed oiliness ofalfwayg processpine mush-wn. As allre slowlyeating ame thiselements ofon together.home.”

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“A tasting of somes of the best organicfarm's product in Vancouver BC .”

Stephane Istel,DB Bistro Moderne

Trio of Slopping Hills suckling pig w/ glazed fingerling potatoes, roast rootvegetable & pine mushroom, Vista D'oro walnut wine & quince pig jus

5

6

Sablefish w/ chanterelles, leeks & savoy cabbage

“If I were to showcase a dish for Vancouver in February, it would be our fabuloussablefish, oven-roasted with some of our amazing chantrelles, some fondant leeksand savoy cabbage. I don't believe many people outside of the west coast knowabout sablefish and what a lovely, fatty white fish it is.”

Dana Reinhardt, SOL Kitchen Consulting

7

Braised Sloping Hills pork belly with king pea tips on jasmine rice

“ This dish is from my childhood but not mine alone as it stems from the classicdish Su Dong Po. I use less soy sauce than traditionally and add herbs and redwine. There has been a Chinese presence in BC long before it was even aprovince. Vancouver's cooking has evolved to combine Asian influences/flavoursinto much of our cuisine - bringing a balance of east and west, traditional andmodern. This dish epitomizes this for me - with deep Asian roots but made in amodern way with local ingredients from a quality local rancher.”

AndrewWong, Wild Rice

8

A selection of local seafood

“I would keep it very simple and showcase a selection of local seafood: boiledDungeness Crab with warm butter and mayonnaise; steamed Honey Mussels,fresh Oysters on the half shell— Kusshi, Fanny Bay, and Royal Miyagi; BBQ cedar-plank Salmon; Clam Vongole; Goeduck Ceviche.”

Marc-Andre Choquette, Voya Restaurant and Lounge

9

BC spot prawns w/ Chilliwack organic corn & Pemberton asparagus

“I would show case BC’s great seafood and organic produce. My dish would be asimple grilled BC spot prawn, on a chowder of Chilliwack organic corn andPemberton asparagus, with Fanny Bay oyster beignets.”

Lee Humphries, Salty Tongue Cafe, Irish Heather Gastropub,Salt Tasting Room

11

Pacific salmon with locally farmed root vegetables

“Given the time of year root vegetables from our farmers and Pacific salmonwouldheadline. A puree of turnip, potato and roasted garlic, would be whipped andseasoned with sel gris (grey salt), a generous handful of crispy fried shallots andbold coarse pepper. On top would sit the glory of BC, our own Pacific salmon, sim-ply grilled and finishedwith capers, lemon juice, dill andmelted butter. Once againsel gris and cracked pepper to bring the salmon to it's perfect finish.”

Caren McSherry, Gourmet warehouse

10

@Mission HillPerpetua Chardonnay

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What’s happening in VANCOUVER ?

Vancouver’s media-hyped spots will be jammed with fit and fat-pocketed in the weeks tocome. So I’m tucking my generous tush and lean wallet into two great little under the radarWest End havens.Mis Trucos (1141 Davie) is a little place where mini-bucks (3 for $6 be-tween 5-7 and 10-midnight) garner Chef Barnholden’s tapas. A garlicky mayonnaisedprawn wrapped in crispy bread, olive zipped up with anchovy and hot pepper, foie grasand onion jam crostini to name a few) is enough to keep the wolf at bay, while JohnathanJame’s cocktails settle jangled nerves. (I love his hand with the Hendricks. Down the streetBrothers Michael and StephenWiese lay on sauerkraut, sausages and suckling pig musselsor steak onglet and frites at the reasonably priced Franco-German La Brasserie (1071Davie) where both flags are deliciously represented. Beer lovers sip from a nice selectionof French, German and Belgian brews. A decent, affordable wine list suits the comfy menu.(Try the deep and spicy, L’Auster Faugeres from Languedoc-$7/glass)

Food and service did not always match the décor and splendid sea view offered at WestVancouver’s Beach House at Dundarave Pier. (150-25th Street-off marine Drive). WhenJohn Holton took over the reins as GM he proved change is good. Holton lured executivechef Michael Cameron (ex-Pair), pastry chef Steve Hodge (Thomas Haas), and sommelier,Benjamin Howard (Brentwood Bay Lodge) with him. The place hums now with cheery floorstaff and the food is very good. We love the extended appie selection. Cucumber dip takesthe heat off wok-tossed tender calamari with chilies and cilantro. Plump mussels bathe in gar-lic, leeks and white wine. Bouillabaisse brims with shellfish in a tomato/fennel broth. Shortribs are juicy. Prices match Earls or the Cactus Club. (Do I detect the latter’s influence on themenu?)****January is ideal for checking out chef Robert Parrot’s fine Italian cooking at Mangia &Bevi, also in West Vancouver for BACIO a fundraiser for Lion’s Gate Hospital’s OncologyClinic and BC Children’s Hospital Oncology Research. The forty-dollar/three course menuwill change each week to showcase Italy’s different regions. The grand finale, “Mangere,Bere, Vivere” will consist of four courses with wines, plus a silent auction. Judging from themedia sneak preview that included a marvlellous swordfish puttanesca, and pork guancialewith lentils, this fare for a cause is worth every penny.($95 + taxes) (For complete info call 604-922-8333 or log on to www.mangiaebevi.ca).—by Julie Pegg

What’s happening in COMOX VALLEY ?

I know from watching foodies in action that many are using new communications mediato stay abreast of what's new and what others are finding tasty. Wherever possible I'll includewebsites, Twitter handles, and references to Facebook presence in these notes. Follow EATMagazine (http://twitter.com/EATMagazine) for all the latest.What happens when Courtenay's venerable Old House Restaurant [1760 Riverside

Lane, Courtenay 250-338-5406] has a fire? Owner Maureen Fritz-Roberts quickly emailedall and sundry, and soon the news was on the Twitter-sphere. "Everyone pulled together toopen the doors for the Christmas season," she says. "There's still fire, but it's restricted to thefour beautiful old fireplaces – and of course Chef Drew Noble's stoves."Atlas Café [250-6th Street, Courtenay 250-338-9838] has an expanded website with a

daily fresh sheet (see www.atlascafe.ca). Owners Sandra Viney and Trent McIntyre make apoint of expressing pride over what Chef Jon is doing at Atlas, and beyond – with the re-gional Chef's Association and with Chef Paul, teaching at Beyond the Kitchen Door [274B5th St, 250-338-4404]. Their sister restaurant in Comox, Avenue Bistro has long featuredan online fresh sheet (www.avenuebistro.ca), and in recent months has been generating someinterest with Twitter (@avenuebistro) and Facebook presence. Avenue is well into a wintermenu showcasing the bounty from local seas, forests, and fields. Wednesdays and Thurs-days are "Pizza Pasta" nights all winter.Two new kids on the block in Courtenay: Alladin's House of Tandoori in the old Arbu-

tus Hotel - North African/Indian cuisine that my son is pretty stoked on. Recent twitter review:"Neat decor and vibe, great food, great prices." (Thanks for that@leighcarter!) The other newspot just hung its sign over the old Orbitz Pizza place on Fitzgerald and 5th in Courtenay:The Mad Chef. Looking forward to tasting as it's just down the street from me.The folks at Brambles Market [244A 4th Street 250-334-8163 www.bramblesmarket.ca]

are in a bit of a foodie corner, shared with Benino Gelato (closed for the winter in Courte-nay) andMudsharks Cafe (booming in this new location). Brambles are Twitter savvy (fol-low their lively food tweets at @bramblesmarket and on Facebook) and local food focused.Watch for speaker series on local food and food sustainability. For those looking to warmthemselves with visions of the sunny south... there's always Tita's Mexican Restaurant [536-6th Street, Courtenay 250-334-8033] where they have a winter institution: Monday Mar-garita night ($15/litre) and Burrito Tuesdays.Tria Culinary [4905 Darcy Road 250-338-9765 www.triaculinarystudio.ca / @triaculi-

nary] will be closed for dining events and classes from Jan 1-Mar 31. Tria's 2010 Full Moon

Feast dates akeeping Kathand Lara Erikall on Facebocovery Driveblues: fireplacCourse BistrThurs & Fridasemester Levegem of a bistunder the treebook of recipknowledge, sConnelly ww

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Feast dates are posted on their blog and website. Book early as these sell out fast! What'skeeping Kathy and manager Cari McIntyre busy this winter is their partnership with Wesand Lara Erikson to operate Sushi-Mon Mt. Washington (www.sushimon.ca – they're alsoall on Facebook). In Campbell River, Angler's Dining Room at Dolphins Resort [4125 Dis-covery Drive 1-800-891-0287 / www.dolphinsresort.com] is a cozy place to beat winterblues: fireplace, coastal view – and 4 courses for $40 dollars. North Island College's ThirdCourse Bistro [1635 South Dogwood St, Campbell River 250-923-9745 for reservations;Thurs & Fridays 5-8pm; email: [email protected]] will be opening with the secondsemester Level 3 Culinary students in time for Valentines Day. Reservations are a must at thisgem of a bistro as they are frequently booked well in advance. Finally, if you didn't find oneunder the tree this Christmas go out and get the North Vancouver Island Chef's Association'sbook of recipes, Island Inspirations. Not only does it capture the North Island best local foodknowledge, sources, and secrets (with beautiful images by Island-girl-gone-uptown JackieConnelly www.jackieconnelly.com), it's also one of the first steps we can take as consumerstowards supporting regional food and economic sustainability. Nice when so many goodthings come together around good tastes.— By Hans Peter Meyer


What’s happening in NANAIMO ?

What

Nanaimo’s Best Gourmet Deli just got BIGGER!

Nanaimo’s Best Gourmet Deli just got BIGGER!

take-out gourmet dinners • specialty coffees • hors d’oeuvres • platters to go delicious soups • salad bar • deli sandwiches • wonderful desserts • smoothies

6560 Metral Drive, Nanaimo 390-0008 [email protected] Metral Drive, Nanaimo 390-0008 [email protected]

Nanaimo’s gourmet food scene is growing up. Warrant the entry of MARKT Artisan Deli in theBoardwalk on Rutherford [5281 - 5299 Rutherford Road, Nanaimo – in the same complex asBohdi’s Bakery, arguably the best bakery in Nanaimo]. Bravo to owner Ryan Zuvich for pickingNanaimo to open his deli. He could have safely stayed in Vancouver plying his up-market foodalchemy, but Zuvich looked around for a growth market screaming & begging for gourmet plun-der (hum, perhaps those were my own screams I could hear), and Nanaimo was the lucky recip-ient. Zuvich’s trained at the former Dubrulle Culinary College in Vancouver, spent years in Europeat a number of Michelin-rated restaurants, and then a goodly swath of time at various foodie holygrails in Vancouver. Markt is a clever use of the European spelling for the word market. He believesthe name will illicit curiosity, questions and pull customers in. The deli specializes in fresh sausages,charcuterie, pates, soups, stocks, sauces and vinaigrettes - all made in-house. He also stocks locally-produced cheeses and specialty products, while trying to honour a 100 kilometres radius on mostsourced products.Also located in the Boardwalk on Rutherford complex is Tea House & Restaurant on Rutherford

[5291 Rutherford Road, Nanaimo Tel: 250-729-2376]. This place was something of an institutionand known for years for its teas, scones, cinnamon buns, soups & sandwiches. It still does a goodjob of all of that for breakfast and lunch, but new owner Joo Lee, a diminutive Korean lady hold-ing a degree in Food Sciences & Nutrition from the University of Seoul, Korea, is putting a healthyspin on things. In the evening the Tea House becomes a Korean restaurant. Don’t go in expectingBBQ or vats of “ring of fire” kimchi. Instead, sit down to enjoy Bibimbap (Wikipedia that one), adish famous around the world and a Korean staple. Lee also serves Bulgogi and other traditionalmarinated meat and vegetable dishes.Instead of flying through Ladysmith doing 30 klicks over the speed limit, slow down and look

for Transfer Beach Grill [422 Esplanade, Ladysmith, Tel: 250-245-1211] on the southbound laneside of the highway, beside a Petro Canada station. I’d never have found it without explicit di-rections, but I’m glad I took the recommendation and the time to find it. This tiny blue clapboardheritage building is the home of chef/owner Georgios Liaros, a lively, passionate Greek from asmall island off the southern tip of mainland Greece. Liaros is a slave to authenticity. His food isGreek with a salute to regional specialties from his tiny home island. It makes for damn goodchow. The calamari (grilled or deep friend) is perfectly executed. The prawns have a rich, illusiveblend of spices and are flash grilled to perfection. The spanakopita heaves with spinach and feta;the pastry flakey and buttery. The salads are stonking. The feta and yogurt hail from a special

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What’s happening in the OKANAGAN ?

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No matter what the season, wine lovers can feel rest assured that the Okanagians are celebrat-ing with a Wine Festival! Formerly known as the Icewine Festival at Sun Peaks, festival organiz-ers have decided to change the name to simply the Winter Wine Festival in an attempt toappeal to all palates – not just those with a sweet tooth. The party kicks off on January 16thand the lineup sounds like fun, fun, fun. Dress up in your winter snugglies, hit the slopes be-tween events and enjoy the best of the season.New events include an au current Bartenders Mixology Face-Off on Saturday, January 23rd

for the wrap up party. Expert Mixologist’s (aka awesome bartenders) will demonstrate the ver-satility of Icewine used in cocktails like Icewine martinis or even Icewine mojitos! To see all ofthe events and book tickets or a package for the January 16-24th event go to www.thewinefesti-vals.com or www.sunpeaksresort.com/activities/events/winter-wine-festival.aspx or call1-877-212-7107.Cuba comes to Kelowna in the form of the Soul de Cuba Café. This new eatery is owned and

operated by Cesar Hernandez, who hails direct from Cuba. The menu offers authentic Cubanfood prepared by, also native Cuban, Chef Arcenio Verdecia. Hot pressed Cuban sandwichesand traditional Cuban lunch meals of beef, rice and fries, along with black bean soup soundlike some delicious comfort food to dive into. Mojito’s are of course on the menu as well! Openfor breakfast and lunch seven days a week – with dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. 778-478-9529. 101-1180 Sunset DrivePeachland has a new restaurant playfully called Roundeye Sushi. Interestingly this is a Japan-

ese / French fusion restaurant and word has it that the food is not just good – it is GREAT!5872 Beach Avenue.Summerland’s newest addition focuses on all things local – hence the name: LOCAL Lounge

& Grill. This beautiful waterfront venue brought to us by Cameron Bond and his local celebrityfather-in-law Harry McWatters (Sumac Ridge Winery Founder). Chef Paul Cecconi, former Chefat Kelowna’s Harvest Golf Club, is sourcing his menu items from some of our very best localsuppliers and has created a unique menu with something to please every palate. Located nextdoor to the Summerland Waterfront Resort and Spa on Lakeshore Drive in lower town.Winning in the Best New Restaurant category in Okanagan Life Magazine, obviously the

Black Iron Grill & Steakhouse located in the Days Inn in Penticton the carnivore’s place to be!Offering a 100% local only wine list makes us proud. www.blackirongrillandsteakhouse.com152 Riverside Drive - Phone: 250-276-2447.If you happen to find yourself down South this winter, make time to check out the famous little

Best of India Restaurant in Oliver- it seriously as a cult following all over the Valley for having in-credible Indian food. 36094 97th Street, Oliver 250.498.0872The other hot spot, which is nestled into a lovely winter destination in wine country is Passa

Tempo Restaurant at Spirit Ridge in Osoyoos. This bistro-style restaurant turns out beautiful, cre-ative, delicious cuisine and is worth the drive. But why not cozy in and book at night at SpiritRidge Vineyard Resort & Spa? Luxury rooms, a spa, and the onsite award-winning Nk’MipWinery – yes please! www.spiritridge.caBig White Mountain has a new après ski hang out to linger in – Gigi Bistro/Lounge. This up-

scale urban wine bar will have a select tapas menu and plans to host the hottest jazz combosand DJ's. In the Whitefoot Plaza.—by Jennifer Schell

For dinner out, a family gathering, home parties or kicking back at the cabin, Tinhorn Creek has the wines for the occasion. � Our vineyards are located on two unique and diverse south Okanagan sites: the Golden Mile and the Black Sage bench. Our ability to blend the grapes from these vineyards and capture the best characteristics of each site sets us apart. � Visit our spectacular estate winery in Oliver, BC and experience for yourself.

NATURALLY SOUTH OKANAGANwww.tinhorn.com

DRESSED UP &READY TO GO!

Greek-style dairy in Vancouver; thick with luxuriant texture you’ll not get in regular supermarketyogurt & cheese. Try the hand-cut frites as they are done Greek-style with lots of lemon andoregano. The lamb burger is shaved off the roast. The seafood chowder, made daily, always hasa different blend of sea critters depending on what was sourced at the fisherman’s wharf that day.It is a very tiny spot so seating is limited, but don’t let that stop you!Good Japanese food is hard to find in these parts. That’s not to say there are not myriad places

hanging out the rising sun flag, they just tend to serve boulders of gelatinous rice wrapped aroundtasteless mystery blobs. When I happened upon Sam’s Sushi Bar [890Wembley Road, Parksville,Tel: 250-954-2373], I wept real sake tears of joy. Owner/Chef Sam Terada and sushi Chef KazAbe really do hail from Japan - what a concept! They make their own tamago the traditional way(seven layers of velvety-egg omelette) and the miso shiru is made in-house. Every day a few in-ventive rolls are on deck as specials and their sashimi is fresh (some from French Creek Fisher-man’s Wharf across the street) and generously portioned. When finished eating, you will saywith great satisfaction, “Go-chisou sama deshita.”—by Su Grimmer

1715 Government [email protected]

Dinner 5:30 - 11 pmTuesday to Saturday


Wha

Reservations | 250.592.7424 Tuesday ~ Saturday from 5pm

paprika-bistro.com | 2524 Estevan Ave | Victoria

Proud supporter of local farms, wineries & ocean wise fisheries

Table d'hôte Menu 3 course dinner

Tuesday ~ Saturday 5pm to 6pm

$26

Restaurant

Where Food is Art

For menu and online reservations visit restaurantmatisse.com Open at 5:30 Wed-Sun

250-480-0883512 Yates St Victoria

Awarded Four Stars from Mobil Exxon 10 years in a rowWhat’s happening in VICTORIA ?January is always a time of fresh starts, and we have several to report on in the Victoria foodscene. On January 1st, ownership of La Piola transfers to Executive Chef and Managing PartnerCory Pelan, who has been responsible for the revitalization of the restaurant since he took the helmin September 2008. Café Mela is also under new ownership, having been bought by Ron andNancy Malzon in late 2009. The Malzons will be introducing an exclusive line of KathrynTaylor Chocolates, as well as more European baking, new breakfast items and a plat du jour.The Falls on Douglas can expect to see Browns Restaurant and Socialhouse moving in in late

winter or early spring. (www.brownsrestaurantgroup.com) Also new on Douglas is Il Posto, serv-ing paninis and pizzas made on site. Aubergine Specialty Foods is opening on Gladstone St. inFernwood, and Pizzeria Prima Strada is scheduled to open its new location on Bridge St. in lateJanuary. Owner Cristen DeCarolis Dallas explained that they were originally only looking for stor-age space for Black Beauty, their portable wood-fired oven (you may have seen her in action atlast year’s Feast of Fields or the Madrona Farm Island Chef Survival event). Cristen reports thatthe space will be quite different from their first location on Cook St, reflecting the industrial feel ofthe new neighbourhood, and incorporating two long family-style tables built out of repurposedwood. If you have been wondering what happened to Market Square’s Tibetan Kitchen, you’llbe happy to hear it relocated to a sit-down location in early November. (680 Broughton St.)For any food-related resolutions you may have made this New Year, here is your guide for stay-

ing informed, inspired or entertained as the days grow longer in January and February. Startingin the New Year, Terralicious and Plenty epicurean pantry will be hosting Table Talk. Theselively sessions will take place in the store on a weekday evening each month and will be an op-portunity to sample great food, share preparation and growing tips, and engage in great discus-sions about food and sustainability. (www.epicureanpantry.ca) Terralicious is also starting twonew series in February: Food for Health, and a spring detox program with naturopath. (www.ter-rralicious.ca) The Hotel Grand Pacific is hosting the International Sommelier Guild’s Wine Fun-damentals Level 1 course, beginning Sunday, January 3rd. Visit www.internationalsommelier.comfor more information on the course. French Mint has some great demonstration classes scheduledfor the next two months, including knife skills, bread making, and dessert fundamentals with chefDavid Mincey (Camille’s). For the complete course schedule, visit the French Mint website.(www.frenchmint.ca) UVic’s Continuing Studies department is offering two informative courses thissemester; “Pick and Choose: Navigating Your Way to the Greenest Food Choices”, “Food andthe Sacred”, as well as a workshop on “Tapping the Potential of the Bigleaf Maple”. For courseand registration information, visit www.uvcs.uvic.ca and download the spring course calendar.The Superior café in James Bay is hosting “Dinner and More Than a Movie”, a Victoria Film

Festival food/film extravaganza on February 3rd. Tickets are $35, and go on sale January 11th.(www.victoriafilmfestival.com) Another reason to keep your eye on the VFF website is to find outwhen you can see the EAT magazine-sponsored showing of “Focaccia Blues”. The schedule shouldbe up soon. The Superior is also continuing its series of food film series with a showing of“Chocolat” on February 10th.Tea aficionados, get ready - the 4th annual Victoria Tea Festivalwill take place February 13th

and 14th at the Crystal Garden (www.victoriateafestival.com). Victoria’s 17th annual Seedy Sat-urday will happen the following weekend, on February 20th at the Victoria Conference Centre(www.jamesbaymarket.com) Showcasing a wide variety of seeds and starter plants, and with mas-ter gardeners on hand to answer questions, it’s the perfect occasion to get yourself into garden-ing gear. Be sure to get out and take advantage of Tourism Victoria and British ColumbiaRestaurant and Food Services Association’s 7th annual Dine Around and Stay in Town event,running from February 18th to March 7th. With over fifty restaurants offering three-course mealsat bargain prices, it’s a great time to try out that restaurant you’ve been meaning to get to.—by Rebecca Baugniet

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Wow, it’s been power outage after power outage in Tofino already this winter - a very stormystart to the season! The time is right for snuggling in front of the fire with a glass of wine or ven-turing out for a long lingering meal.As I write this, chef Lisa Ahier of SoBo and chef Vincent Fraissange of the Spotted Bear Bistro

are basking in their victories for their oyster creations at the 13th Clayoquot Sound OysterFestival (www.oystergala.com). This annual event celebrates one of the area’s most abundant har-vests, as well as the west coast’s equally abundant culinary talents. Oyster lovers come from allover to take part in festival events including cocktail and oyster receptions, special dinners andLemmen’s Inlet oyster farm tours. For the first time this year, the Raincoast Education Societybrought their oyster presentation “Noisy Oysters” into the classroom at Wickaninnish CommunitySchool for our youngest oyster lovers. The festival culminated with the Oyster Gala, held Nov. 21at the Tofino Community Hall. Tofino’s chefs all prepared an oyster creation for the public and thejury to enjoy and vote on. Repeating their 2007 victory, SoBo won the People’s Choice award thisyear, while new participant the Spotted Bear Bistro won the jury prize. Long Beach LodgeResort took the award for best presentation. Organizer Mariette Pilon said they were very happyto welcome Chef Andrew Springett from Fetch Restaurant at Black Rock Resort to the festival forthe first time. Springett provided appetizers and also generously offered to be part of the jury forthe evening. www.blackrockoceanfront.com or 1 877 762 5011Shelter Restaurant head chef Rick Moore is heading to Whistler for the winter and sous chef

Joel Aubie will move into his role during his absence. Aubie, who is originally from the Maritimes,has been a sous-chef at Shelter for over a year. Shelter manager Shawna Gardham says Aubiewill be concentrating on winterizing the menu and planning a Valentine’s Day feature dinner. Call250-725-3353 for reservations or visit www.shelterrestaurant.com.SoBo closed their doors on Nov. 30 for a much needed family vacation. Co-owner Artie Ahier

thanked his staff for the one of SoBo’s best seasons yet. The Ahiers are set to reopen Feb. 8 fortheir 8th year of business. And watch for the long awaited SoBo cookbook in 2010. www.sobo.caor 250 725 2341The Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn has been offering a daily brunch all winter

(eggs benny every day!), and will continue with their Sunday champagne brunch as well. As al-ways, locals and visitors alike are welcome in the resort’s dining room, call 250 725 3100 forreservations or visit www.wickinn.com.Norwood’s in Ucluelet is now offering their winter comfort food menu. This 34-seat fine dining

restaurant is on Ucluelet’s main drag at 1741 Peninsula Rd. Chef Richard Norwood, whose menureflects the time he spent in Europe and Asia, opened earlier this year and is enjoying rave reviews.www.norwoods.ca or 250 726 7001

— by Jen Dart (see Jen’s bio at www.eatmagazine.ca)

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liquidassets

—by LaGET FRESH —COOKING WITH THE SEASONS — by Sylvia Weinstock

A Trio of Cabbage Dishes

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Gold Beets. Juicy, tender, sweet gold beets, harvested in the fall in the Fraser Valley, areavailable from now until spring. Gold beets are available from summer to fall from localfarms.

Fresh Dates. These rare treats are only available from October to March. Fresh dateshave a soft, moist texture and a delicate sweetness. As they age, they become firmer,dryer and sweeter. Lakehill Grocery, a specialty food shop located at 3949 Quadra Street,carries fresh dates and a variety of dried dates.

Rapini. This pungent bitter green vegetable, also called broccoli raab and Chineseflowering cabbage, has tasty stalks studded with buds that resemble tiny broccoli heads.

Strawberry Rhubarb. Strawberry rhubarb is available from mid-January to mid-April.This hothouse rhubarb has pink to pale red stalks and a more delicate texture than field-grown cherry rhubarb. Why not grow your own rhubarb? These hardy shrubs last fordecades and produce more than enough stalks for strawberry rhubarb pies in summerand rhubarb chutney and rhubarb jam throughout the winter.

Citrus Fruit. This is the peak season for tangy, juicy citrus fruits. Beautiful bloodoranges are only available from December to mid-April. Try Temple, Mineola, Navel andValencia oranges. Make bittersweet marmalade with Seville oranges. Clementines,satsumas, tangerines, tangors (a mandarin/orange hybrid) and tangelos are easy-to-peelmandarin oranges. Ugli fruit and uniq fruit are tangerine-grapefruit crosses that are nowat their peak of flavour. Luscious pummelo/grapefruit hybrids, such as Melogold and OroBlanco are only available until April.

Oversized pummelos (a.k.a. Chinese grapefruit) have a delicate sweetness that marriesbeautifully with fresh crab in a salad made with lettuce, red onions and cucumbers salad.Splash the salad with a dressing made with chiles, fish sauce, fresh mint, lime juice andrice wine vinegar, and sprinkle it with toasted peanuts.

Cabbage Beet Borsht

In a large saucepan, sauté 1 chopped onion in 1 tablespoon ofvegetable oil over moderately low heat. Stir until the onion is softened.Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 cups choppedcabbage and a coarsely grated potato. Stir as you cook the mixturefor 1 minute. Add 2 cups beef or vegetable broth, 1/2 cup water, 4 largecooked, shredded beets with their cooking liquid and 2 tablespoonsred-wine vinegar. Add salt to taste. Bring the liquid to a boil, andsimmer the soup, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Divide the soupbetween 2 bowls. Garnish with sour cream and minced fresh dill.

Holishkes (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

Combine 1 pound of hamburger, 1/4 cup uncooked rice and 1 beatenegg. Grate in 1 onion and 1 carrot, season to taste with salt andpepper and combine. Blanch 12 cabbage leaves by covering themwithboiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the leaves and place a ball of themeat mixture in the center of each leaf. Roll up the leaf, tucking theends in securely. Place the rolls close together in a heavy frying pan.Mix 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar with a cup of tomatosauce and pour over the rolls. Add enough water to cover the rolls.Cover tightly and cook 30 minutes over moderate heat. Reduce heatand simmer 20 minutes. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 F.Brown on top and turn once to brown the other side. Add waterduring baking if necessary.

Red Cabbage Cole Slaw

Shred 1 large carrot and a 1-pound red cabbage into a large bowl. Add2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add asmall handful of organic red flame raisins, a small handful of driedcranberries and a sprinkling of caraway seeds. Season to taste withsalt and pepper and toss to combine.

BUBBLYValdo Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Marca Oro NV | Italy | $21.50-23.00A long time favourite, this tasty little Prosecco is soft and dry with a good core of fruit andplenty of tiny bubbles.

Veuve du Vernay Rose Brut NV | France | $15.00-17.00The price is certainly right and the quality is surprising high. This delightful little rosé is soft,fresh and utterly delicious. Pale pink with delightful strawberry and cherry aromas, a finepersistent mousse and a lovely clean finish.

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva NV | Spain | $14.00-16.00A perennial best seller in British Columbia, Segura is a cava made by the “methode Cham-penoise”. This is not a cheap way to do business but the results are verymuch appreciated.Subtle and refined, with delicious nutty flavours and a clean crisp finish! Reliable and easydrinking at a price that’s hard to beat.

WHITESMouton Cadet Blanc 08 | France | $14.00-16.00The brainchild of the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Mouton Cadet is made from a blendof Semillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle grapes sourced from vineyards in the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation of Bordeaux. The brand may be old but the style is anything bu.! Veryfresh and forward with pronounced citrus and passion fruit flavours and mouthwateringacidity. Touted as BC’s best selling white Bordeaux, one sip and you will know why.

Domaine Louis Jadot Saint-Veran 06| France | $27.00-29.00Quite pale with a lovely floral nose, good weight and vibrant fruit and mineral flavoursnicely balanced with a refreshing cut of acidity.

REDSCondesa de Leganza Tempranillo Crianza 04 | Spain | $16.00-18.00LaMancha is the Spanish heartland. Land is cheap, the climate is extreme and Tempranillo,the grape of Rioja, grows well. Could things be better? Medium-bodied with sweet straw-berry, vanilla and earth flavours. Fresh and lively with good fruit character in an easy drink-ing style.

Little Yering Pinot Noir 08 | Australia | $15.00-17.00Soft and round with delicate strawberry, cherry and barnyard scents. On the palate, thissupple pinot from the Yarra Valley is concentrated with a silky texture and ripe berryflavours. Great fruit with a long finish.

Jadot Beaujolais-Villages “Combe aux Jacques” 08| France | $20.00-23.00Gamay is the grape of Beaujolais and few do it better than Jadot. Not known for its bargainbasement prices, Louis Jadot produces a mind-boggling selection of red and white Bur-gundy but at a recent tasting with a bevy of heavy hitters from the Cote d’Or, this tasty lit-tle fruit-bomb from Beaujolais stood out for its lush fruit flavours and penny-pinching pricetag. Bright cherry, black pepper and barnyard aromas carry through the palate, mediumbodied with some power and a blush of soft tannins. Impeccably made and very juicy!

Rosenblum Cuvee Zinfandel 07 | California | $19.00-21.00Generous and robust with dark berry, earth and spice flavours nicely balanced with a patinaof fine-grained tannins.

Terre Barolo 2004 | Italy | $38.00-43.00Yes my friends, I have reviewed many vintages of this modestly priced Nebbiolo and as Ihave said before: if you seek the Barolo of your father, then look no further. This wine is foryou! Very traditional with a no compromise attitude towards new world winemaking mojo.Medium-bodied but at the same time amply endowed with strawberry, tar and violet aro-mas, somewhat closed on the palate with gripping tannins and surprising acidity. Soundsdicey, tastes great.

Inniskillin Okanagan Discovery Series Malbec 07 | BC | $25.00-28.00Shockingly good with intense raspberry, chocolate and spice aromas, dark fruit flavoursand a firm tannic structure! From the Okanagan Valley. Who could have known?

Domaines Perrin Vacqueyras Les Christins 04 | France | $27.00-29.00Ripe and fleshy with raspberry, black pepper and spice flavours, medium bodied with anunctuous texture and a fine tannic backbone! Top-notch.


liquidassets

—by Larry Arnold

Hester Creek Estate Winery and VillaWine Shop open daily at 10:00 amRoad #8, just South of Oliver, BCPhone 250 498 4435 www.hestercreek.com

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Calling the Venturi-Schulze family Vancouver Island winemaking pioneers perhaps givesthe impression that they are of an older generation and their ideas and beliefs are staid.Nothing could be further from the truth. First licensed in 1993, the Cowichan Valley winery’shusband-and-wife team of Giordano andMarilyn Venturi and daughterMichelle Schulzemadea name for itself by, as Marilyn explains, “being true to ourselves and giving people what wesay we’re going to give them.”The Venturi-Schulze vision started with the original 15-acre farm purchased in 1987 where

their first four acres of vines—all vinifera grapes—were planted. Like others at the time, theywere navigating uncharted territory, and figuring out what grapes would ripen properly giventhe island climate and soil required some experimentation. However, like their fellow pio-neers at Vigneti Zanatta and Blue Grouse, they quickly zeroed in on the three Pinots (Noir, Grisand Auxerrois). These have become island mainstays along with some of the cold-climate,Riesling-related crosses like Siegerrebe, Ortega, Kerner and Bacchus. What they then didwith these grapes, however, was entirely unique.Winemaker Giordano Venturi was born and raised in Modena, Italy, in an area where, ac-

cording to Marilyn, “everyone made wine.” Immigrating to Canada in 1967, he kept his in-terest in wine alive by planting backyard vineyards with cool-climate varietals. By the time heandMarilyn started Venturi-Schulze—the realization of a dream for both—he came to it witha degree of confidence and experience that perhaps some of his peers at the time lacked. Andhis approach to making wines—and other products such as their highly regarded balsamicvinegar and newest addition, verjus—has reflected that confidence.As a result, Venturi-Schulze has not necessarily been known for one specific wine or vari-

etal that they produce year in and year out. Certainly there are some that have been main-stays and are responsible for the winery’s success and notoriety. One of those is the sparklingBrut Naturel, for instance, an Alsatian crémant-style sparkler made primarily from Pinot Grisand Pinot Auxerrois grapes and first bottled in 1991. Yet even these vary from vintage to vin-tage. “Our philosophy is basically that we’re not trying to do the same things every year,”confirms Marilyn. “We thoroughly embrace the fact that the seasons can be quite differentand you can make wines that are reflecting that season and are really true to what the landand climate are offering. That’s the beauty of being a small vineyard and making really smallbatches of wine.”Another benefit to keeping it small—they average about 2,000 cases per year of total pro-

duction—is the ability to keep it all in the family. Daughter Michelle Schulze, the vineyardmanager and assistant winemaker, has been an integral part of the operation since gradu-ating from high school in 1994. As the business has grown, she has taken on tasks previ-ously handled solely by her parents. For Marilyn, who now finds herself occupied mostly in

the winery lab and in dealing with the extensive government reporting necessary to run thebusiness, her daughter’s efforts have been invaluable to Venturi-Schulze’s success. “She isan enormous part of the operation,” saysMarilyn. “She’s amazing. She works extremely longhours. She’s done every job here from preparing the land to putting in posts, doing the wiringand planting vines.”Venturi-Schulze’s family operation and small size (though the four acres originally under

vine has been expanded to 18) belies the fact that their product assortment, year in and yearout, is one of the most diverse and interesting on the island. A toothsome mix of sparkling,still and dessert wines, as well as the vinegar and verjus (pure, unfermented grape juicepressed from unripe fruit), many of these products are served at some of the finest restau-rants in B.C. and beyond. “I’m very glad we have a variety of wines, because if you have allof your eggs in one basket, there may be years where you just don’t get anything,” says Mar-ilyn. “It’s been a good decision for us to maintain about eight good varieties.”They utilize those varieties somewhat differently from year to year. Their Pinot Noir and

Zweigelt (another cool-climate red variety) from the challenging 2007 vintage, for instance,were used to make a dry white wine called “The Bad Boys.” Nevertheless, they believe quitefirmly that there is a specialness about their terroir. “As far as I’m concerned, the wines fromour property are absolutely distinct,” says Marilyn. “There’s definitely a certain aspect ofminerality, which is difficult to put into words, that is quite distinct.”As is their entire approach to winemaking. And though it may seem unorthodox to some—

they seal their sparklers with a cap, “the better to preserve it”—Venturi-Schulze has a ded-icated following that simply appreciates the quality inherent in whatever product the familyput its name on. “We want people to know that if they’re going to drink our wine, it’s goingto be the absolute best that we can do,” saysMarilyn. “It doesn’t mean that everyone’s goingto like all of our wines, but they’re gonna know that the grapes are pure and unsprayed andabsolutely perfect when they go in the picking bucket.”

Best Vintages: 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000-2006, 2009Tasting Room Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., May long weekend until har-vest begins in September or October. Charge is $5 per person, refundable with any wine pur-chase.Web: www.venturischulze.comPhone: 250-743-5630Address: 4235 Vineyard Rd., Cobble Hill, BC V0R 1L5

Venturi-Schulze This family business remains true to itself and true to the land that sustains it.

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Sweet SurrenderWinter’s darkness is mellowed by the pairing of sweet winewith almost any dish on any occasion.

In the dreary depths of winter, we are in serious need of something succulent to drink.It’s the only way to endure the badweather. If you are one of the disillusionedwho subscribesto a January cleanse, you might want to reconsider it this year. Why subject yourself to suchtorture when nature is already doing her best to torment you? There is nothing like a sugarrush to beat the winter blues. Sweet wines are often reserved for special occasions andserved with dessert, but there are plenty of other occasions when you can indulge. In fact,anytime is appropriate.It’s 5 p.m. and the sun is already long gone. Dinner may be a couple of hours away, but a

pick-me-up is pressing. The European ritual of having an apéritif offers an elegant solution.The French in particular have a long tradition of drinking something sweet before their meal.The idea is to stimulate the appetite. (Any excuse is a good excuse.) Tawny Port, MuscatBeaume deVenise and Pineau des Charentes are served slightly chilled and sipped alongsidesnacks while socializing and waiting for dinner to hit the table. Call it the French paradox;they’re certainly not concerned about the calories. More room for dinner, please!We have a weakness for Pineau des Charentes, and the recently discovered Château d’Ori-

gnac has increased our hunger tenfold. Made in the same region as Cognac, Pineau des Char-entes is the ultimate French apéro. It is what is known as a mistelle. Brandy is added tounfermented grape juice, which inhibits fermentation thus leaving a sweet wine. A fantasticdrink to serve with foie gras tourchon to encourage the appetite! (Chicken liver pâté will doif you are slumming it.) God love the French.We like to put a B.C. twist on the aperitif and serve ice wine. Why not impress your out-of-

town guests at the start of the evening? They might be too stuffed by the end of the meal tofully enjoy this local treat.We have our predictably cold winters to thank for our specialty, butice wine production is still a risky business. The grapes remain on the vine waiting for the tem-perature to get low enough to freeze them while everyone hopes the birds don’t devouredthem in the meantime. Ice wines are invariably expensive, but the best are refreshing de-spite their sweetness. A welcome find is Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery’s Lost Bars VidalIcewine. At $40, it is fantastic value for the money.If you can’t wait until the evening to get your sugar fix, have a dose first thing in the morn-

ing. What better way to start the day than waking up your taste buds with something light,sweet and frothy? That’s how we like to spend our Sunday mornings at House Wine head-quarters. Whether you are relaxing with the newspaper or entertaining guests around a de-licious brunch, bubble is in order.While amimosamight come tomind first, we propose someinteresting alternatives. Light in alcohol with a simple grapey fruitiness, Italy’s sparklingMoscatos are fondly called breakfast wine. They go with all types of food typically found onthe brunch table.We will never turn our backs on these trustworthy staples, but lately SouthAmerica has been vying for our attention. We are head over heels for Familia Schroeder’sSparkling Torrontes, a new kid on the block from Argentina. Even more off the beaten trackis the Fresita from Chile. This sparkling wine infused with strawberries from Patagonia isbreakfast in a glass.Sweet wine with a savoury meal may seem like more of a stretch, but the most adventur-

ous and ardent dessert wine fans will revel inthe combination. Viscous nectars can be in-jected into the dinner with the right pairing.Sauternes from Bordeaux and Sélection deGrains Nobles from Alsace work like a charmwith equally rich seared foie gras. Both aremade from botrytis-affected grapes in whicha “noble rot” dehydrates the grapes and con-centrates the sugars. This transforms theflavours into an intense expression of hon-eycomb and dried fruit. Just as decadent,sweet Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley (such as the appellations of Coteau du Layon andBonnezeau) paired with duck or goose rillettes is a delectable appetizer.One of our favourite moments to indulge coincides with our daily calcium intake. Pungent

salty cheese works like a charm with stickies. This yin-yang contrast is the same principle asbringing together prosciutto and melon. The sweetness and saltiness play off each otherendlessly. It takes an intense wine to stand up to those stinky cheeses. Classic combinationsof Roquefort with Sauternes and Stilton with port never disappoint. Be innovative and trysomething new; Cashel Blue from Ireland together with a Tokaji fromHungary is to die for. Sois a nutty aged Gouda, like Saenkanter, with vin santo. The Il Poggione, Vin Santo Sant’ An-timo is our latest discovery.There is something to be said for the conventional.When dessert is served, it is hard to re-

sist an accompanying elixir. Get ready for a double measure of sugar. The general rule ofthumb for pairing sweet wine with dessert is to choose a wine that is at least as sweet as thedessert. Otherwise, the wine will taste tart and lean; exactly the opposite of what you areseeking in a dessert wine.Surprisingly, chocolate is one of the trickiest ingredients to pair. Rich and intense, it will coat

your mouth and linger on your taste buds. This is why we love it so much. Just make sureyou choose something equally powerful to match. Fortified wines work best, such as a LateBottled Vintage port (LBV) or better yet, a vintage port if you can afford it. Banyuls is France’sriposte to port and is absolutely irresistible when served with chocolates made by local starThomas Haas. LiqueurMuscat, Tokay and port from Australia are all excellent choices as well.Delicate desserts such as panna cotta and fruit tart require more graceful partners. Look

to cool climate regions as they typically produce lighter dessert wine. This generalization willgo a long way to help you when left to your own devices. Specifically, Beerenauslese Ries-ling from Germany, ice wine from Canada, Muscat Beaune de Venise from the Rhône Valley,Vendanges Tardives from Alsace and sweet Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley are all tastytreats.When you decide to surrender, sweetness will soothe you. To avoid crashing, frequent

dosages are required. Luckily, the choices are endless. For once, we are looking forward tothe long winter ahead.

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Sweet SurrenderTastingNotes2007 Errazuriz, Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Chile $15-$17 (375ml) (SKU# 427054)This incredible value is a long-time favourite. Beautiful orange and marmalade notesdelight your nose and caress your palate. Enjoy with lemon tart.

Fresita, Patagonia, Chile, $16-$18 (SKU# 299404)Sparkling wine infused with hand-picked organic strawberries from Patagonia. Skeptical?You’ll be persuaded with your first sip. Bursting flavours of pure wild strawberries; it’s likedrinking a smoothie with bubbles. A great way to wake up your loved one on the weekendor Valentine’s Day. Decadent with crêpes aux fruits, French toast and strawberry pancakes.

*Niepoort, Ruby Port, Portugal, $17-$20 (375 mL)Fabulous juicy notes of violet, plum and cocoa. Hello chocolate and black forest cheese-cake!

Familia Schroeder, ‘Desado’ sparkling, Patagonia, Argentina, $24-$27 (SKU# 526517)Nostalgic about our recent trip to Argentina, we were thrilled to find Desado on the LDBshelves. This delicious and quaffable sparkling wine is made with the Argentinean whitevarietal Torrontés. Frothy and creamy with vibrant orange blossom and white flowerflavours. Argentina’s answer to Moscato d’Asti.

Seppelt, Tokay DP 37, Australia, $24.90 (available exclusively at Marquis Wine Cellars)When it comes to stickies, nobody can offer better value than the Aussies, especiallySeppelt. Rich and incredibly intense flavours of caramel, honey, raisins and black tea. Areal treat when poured over ice cream. THAT’s dessert!Will last for a couple of months after opening. Keep in the fridge for better preservation.Can be served warm or slightly chilled.

2004 Quinta do Crasto, LBV Port, Portugal, $27-$30 (SKU# 605048)Scrumptious with dark flavours of plum, chocolate and grippy tannins. The idealcompanion for dense chocolate and caramel dessert. Well made and the price is right.Note that port, like wine, isn’t eternal once opened. It usually lasts for five days. Keep inthe fridge to slow down the oxidation process.

De Bortoli, ‘Noble One’ Botrytis Semillon, Australia, $35-$37 (375 mL) (SKU# 554766)Sauternes is an expensive treat. If you can’t afford to splurge, Noble One is a fantasticalternative. Just like Sauternes, the Noble One is made by botrytis-affected grape.Succulent flavours of quince and toasted nuts. A great match with foie gras.

2000 Il Poggione, Vin Santo Sant’Antimo DOC, Italy, $37-$40 (500 mL) (SKU# 125799)A traditional dessert wine from the region of Tuscany, Vin Santo is typically served withbiscotti. We propose trying it with aged Gouda. Its concentrated roasted almond andorange notes will seduce you.

2007 Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery, ‘The Lost Bars’ Vidal Icewine, B.C., $40-$44(SKU# 609974)After trying copious amounts of ice wine at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival, we wereimpressed by ‘The Lost Bars.’ The palate offers unctuous flavours of baked apple andhoney. The price is equally appealing; about half of what you would typically pay for icewine. A great match when served chilled as an aperitif with a savoury tart of pear and localblue cheese.

*2006 Domaine de la Rectorie, Le Muté sur Grains, Banyuls AOC, France, $38-42(available exclusively at Liberty Wine Merchants)From the region of Roussillon in the South of France, Banyuls is one of our favourite dessertwines. Grenache dominates the blend. Sweet and savoury notes of plum, crushedraspberries and garrigue make your mouth water. Fantastic with dark chocolate.

*Château d’Orignac, Pineau des Charentes, France, $45-50The perfect apéro to introduce to your guests. Explosive, charming flavours of orange,toffee and walnuts make Orignac the ideal partner with nutty snacks. Beware of its 18 per-cent alcohol; you might want to abstain from drinking the entire bottle, as tempting as itmay be.Serve chilled and drink within four to five days of opening.

*1993 Château Pajzos, Tokaji Aszú, 5 Puttonyos, Hungary, $75-85 (500 mL)Wow! It isn’t often we find an aged Tokaji Aszú in our market. Treat yourself and experiencethe complex lingering flavours of this wine. Stunning flavours of dark honey, raisins andorange. Great on its own or with Cashel Blue cheese.

*Available at private wine stores. Prices may vary.

—G.H

ynes


Layered with history, architecture and creativity, and independent in the truest sense of theword, Fernwood is a community unlike any other in Victoria. Bounded by the neighbourhoodsof Jubilee, North Park, Fairfield, Downtown, Oaklands and Harris Green, this artistic enclavehas attracted alternative realities for decades. A mix of hippies, neo-yuppies, ethnic back-grounds, students, young families, retirees, environmentalists and artisans call this placehome, and even the streets follow their own rhythm. Forget linear grids and right angles. In-stead embrace the roundabouts, dead ends, community gardens and numerous parks. You’reon funky Fernwood time.The heart of the neighbourhood is a small square bordered by Vic High and the Belfry The-

atre. The arts—and the youth—are evident everywhere you look. And the recent restaurantrenaissance has responded with well-priced, casual, creatively driven cuisine.

Fernwood Inn had a huge part to do in kick-starting the food scene and attracting busi-ness to the area. This large, successful pub/restaurant commands the corner of Gladstoneand Fernwood. Updated pub fare, burger platters, sharing plates and microbrews fill themenu, and tall-backed benches, large windows (and a warm-weather patio) provide a wel-come view over the adjacent square—notably for weekend brunch. 1302 Gladstone Ave. 250-412-2001. www.fernwoodinn.com.Across Gladstone is another pioneer in Fernwood’s food scene, attracting attention from far,

far outside the ‘hood’s boundary lines. Stage Small Plates Wine Bar was voted one of thetop 10 new restaurants in enRoute magazine’s 2008 ranking, and the buzz didn’t start—orstop—there. In fact, Stage had foodies aflutter before it even opened, this being the secondrestaurant for well-known and respected chef George Szasz (formally of Paprika Bistro). Ex-posed brick, wood and kitchen, this open room is centred around the large, repurposedmaplebar. Locally sourced small plates, cheeses, housemade charcuterie, wine flights and skilledbartenders enhance and complete the scene, keeping this nightly eatery among Victoria’sbest. 1307 Gladstone Ave. 250-388-4222. www.stagewinebar.com.Next door on the Gladstone/Fernwood corner is, fittingly, Cornerstone Café. This buzzy

coffee shop is packed most hours of the day with people sharing long wooden benches or

nestled into oversized windows sipping oversized lattes. Owned and operated by the Fern-wood Neighbourhood Resource Group (Fernwood NRG), all proceeds from the café are rein-vested in the neighbourhood through the groups’ programs and services. Free Wi-Fi,Discovery coffee and friendly service make it a hit among the locals—especially the Vic Highcrew. 1301 Gladstone Ave. 250-381-1884Just down Gladstone (across the street from Stage) is the future site of Aubergine Specialty

Foods, not yet opened when I visited in the fall. The window signage promises specialtymeats and cheeses, local produce, a coffee roastery and more. Sounds promising—staytuned! 1308 Gladstone Ave.Crossing the main street of Fernwood Avenue and entering the square leads to more Fer-

nwood flavours. Lucy’s in the Square, like Stage, is the local-centric, casually welcoming vi-sion of a well-known Victoria chef. Jeff Keenliside, recently of The Marina Restaurant, andwife Micki opened this market-café as an extension of their family dining room. Oft-chang-ing comfort-bistro fare makes up the concise menu and also proves a popular draw for week-end brunchers (especially on the square-side micro patio). 1296 Gladstone Ave. 778-430-LUCY. www.lucysinthesquare.com.Just a few doors down is a tiny takeout window, the spot to grab authentic Caribbean soul

food in Victoria. Stir It Up dishes out a simple menu of Jamaican standards, with jerk chickena popular standout. The two patio tables fill up quickly, but most diners pick it up to go. 1-1284 Gladstone Ave., 250-813-1596.And the newest addition to the square is an offshoot of Fort Street’s Little Piggy Catering.

Well, this Little Piggy went to Fernwood in early September, and the teenycafé/grocery/caterer has been hopping every since. Through a little door and down somestairs, you enter a funky space with soup, dairy, frozen dinners, drinks, pastry, produce, breadand ready-to-eat foods. The small menu is highly diverse, with daily specials featuringflavours from around the globe. Heavy on the local suppliers, low on pretense. D2-1284Gladstone Ave. 250-483-4171. www.littlepiggyfernwood.com.

FunkyFoodie FernwoodThis small community clustered around Fernwood Square is attracting well-priced, casual and creative cuisine.

IN THE ‘HOOD—By Treve Ring

Mike Colwill and Sarah Colwill (brother and sister)of Fernwood Inn

Linda and George Szasz of Stage Christabel Padmore and Patrick Simpson ofLittle Piggy Fernwood

by the Fern-café are rein-. Free Wi-Fi,y the Vic High

ne Specialtyses specialtymising—stay

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