pickles – Goboroot.com

Lately

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I’ve been itching to bake a tart with summer berries, but after tasting my gooseberries and the like (black currants, red currants and raspberries), I think I might have to give them a week of sunshine to get that last oomph of sweetness (if the sun ever decides to come out). So today, I’m going to share an assortment of photos related to casual meals, a local farmer’s market visit and my latest addiction, London Fog tea.

Dolce_Grey_tea

Dolce Grey tea from BEAN AROUND BOOKS & TEA.

making_of_London_fog_tea lavender_shortbread2

Lavender shortbread: to me, a touch of vanilla and lavender from the shortbread enhances the experience of the London Fog tea since I like my tea without sugar. I didn’t include a recipe for the shortbread, since there is no shortage of wonderful recipes online. I just added a dash of homemade brandy vanilla extract and a spoonful of lavender flowers.

summer_casual_meals

Pickled garlic scapes: made with young stalks of garlic plants from my garden. Thank you to Kathy from De la Bouche Specialty Foods for sharing a wonderful recipe for the pickles (recipe follows). I also acquired a jar of raspberry mango jam from her booth at a local farmer’s market; savouring it along with some cream cheese was such a delight.

Pear tart: from Sweet Thea at the local farmer’s market. Teacup roses and lamb’s ear create welcoming bouquets for my household. Beef filet mignon with a salsa verde appetizer was a great hit at my casual garden dinner (recipe follows)!

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Gulf prawns: thank you my dear friends for bringing such a treat and even cooking for us:) (recipe follows)

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This year, I’m trying to not waste all that abundant mint in my garden. Besides some mint tea, having mojitos to share is always a plus!

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A local farmer’s market visit: creative and hardworking people, Jocelyn and Chris from The Farm for Life.

summer_bouquet summer_evening

Sometimes I fail a whole roll of film due to an inaccurate metering, an inadequately slow shutter speed (due to a limited film speed) etc., but in this case I salvaged the last frame of this photo of our dog; it made me smile.

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I planted this rose a few years ago. I fell in love with it at once, especially thanks to the name, which means something along the lines of “memory of perfume” in French. It’s never a good idea to leave a tag on a rose bush. I can’t get to it since it’s painfully thorny.

We truly enjoyed this beautiful bottle of rosé from Okanagan. Stuffed pork tenderloin with caramelized onion and balsamic sauce (recipe follows). Ah, another plant I want to take full advantage of; sea of lavender on a pathway.

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We need sun to ripen and sweeten these berries!

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Pickled Garlic Scapes (by Kathy from De la Bouche Specialty Foods)

I have never weighed the scapes, but it takes a lot to fill 2 jars.

Makes about 2 x 1L jars

3 tablespoons pickling or coarse salt

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups water

A lot of scapes to fill the jars

1 to 2 stems lemongrass, roughly chopped

A few piece of Thai bird chili

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine salt, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt. Leave on the stove to keep hot.

Place the lemon grass and chili in the bottom of each jar, and add the scapes that are cut lengthwise at least 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Cold pack them into hot sterilized jars tightly. Make sure your lids are hot. Pour brine over the scapes to within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar. Put lids on, fingertip-tight. Place in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes at full boil. Then, remove lid of the canner, turn off the burner and let the jars sit in the water for another 5 minutes before removing. Let cool, and store.

Beef Filet Mignon with Salsa Verde

This amazingly refreshing treat contains tons of garden herbs, yet melts on your tongue. Try to source the best quality meat from a reputable butcher for safe consumption.

Serves 4

2 pieces beef filet mignon

½ cup extra virgin olive oil and extra for searing

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped

4 scallion stems, finely sliced

¼ cup mint, finely chopped

2 tablespoons salted capers, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 ¾ teaspoons coarse salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons butter

Place the oil, lemon juice, parsley, scallions, mint, capers and lemon zest in a medium sized bowl and stir to combine.

Add ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to the herb mixture; stir and set aside.

Place the beef in a flat glass tray or container, and rub the remaining salt, pepper and garlic all over the beef. Pour in half of the herb mixture and marinate all sides evenly. Cover and let sit for a couple of hours (up to 1 day) in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Warm up a skillet over high heat with butter and olive oil. When the pan is smoky hot, sear each side of the beef until nicely browned, for about 2 minutes on each side.

Place in the oven for 5 minutes for medium rare doneness.

Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and cover with a piece of tin foil for about 5 minutes.

Slice the beef, transfer to a serving plate and drizzle the rest of the herb mixture over top. Serve immediately.

Gulf Prawns

Serves 4

A dozen or more Gulf prawns, rinsed and patted dry

½ onion, sliced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pinch of brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Freshly ground pepper

A dash of dry white wine

A sprig of Italian parsley

Warm the butter and oil in a medium sized skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onion until caramelized.

Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until soft. Add the sugar, wine and prawns and cook until prawns change colour. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Add the parsley and serve immediately.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Sauce

Serves 6

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 pieces of pork tenderloin

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

6 mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk the mustard, maple syrup, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the pork in a flat glass tray or container, and rub with a pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the balsamic sauce all over the meat, cover and marinate in the refrigerator.

In the meantime, sauté the onion with the butter and oil over medium high heat until caramelized. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms are soft.

Add the rest of the balsamic sauce and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat the oven to 390F.

Take the pork from the refrigerator. Make a slit on each piece, and stuff the onion mixture inside, leaving ¼ inch borders. Using toothpicks, close the slits as tightly as possible.

Roast in a roasting pan for 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with a piece of tin foil. Rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, collect the liquid from the roasting pan in a small saucepan. Reduce until thickened over medium heat.

Slice the pork and transfer to a platter. Pour the sauce over top and serve immediately.

Sushi with Tropical Flair

I’m always searching for inspiration. It could be in the garden or, sometimes, in historic parts of Vancouver. New experience always feeds one’s creativity and imagination, which may eventually take form some day. So I love the balance of being in nature and core parts of the city, especially where historic areas meet modern urbanism!

If you are looking for inspiration for a night out on Friday, this may be the spot for your next visit to Vancouver! Take a stroll on cobbled alleys in the old Victorian architectural section of the city. The streets are filled with antique stores, boutiques with fine home furnishings, clothing stores with locally/globally designed items, a store with vintage kitchen products, a contemporary home interior furniture store, and a shoe store with a wide range of heels and boots. This is Gastown! Dine on freshly made Margherita pizza in the wood fired oven accompanied by a refreshing Pomegranate Passion cocktail at Nicli Antica Pizzeria. Oh, and don’t miss the chocolate ganache and banana slices with a caramelized crispy topping for dessert!

For some post meal browsing, navigate the neighbourhood maze to the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel along the water where you can enjoy the live music! It has a beautiful white marble floor and decorative fireplace occupied with tiny tables for you and your company to indulge in a glass of Grand Marnier or Little Bird, the latter of which has a hint of sweet rhubarb aroma. Dance with the band sound in the dimly lit interior or simply appreciate the gorgeous and sophisticated atmosphere. If you are still hungry, try their spicy avocado sushi with a surprisingly refreshing twist plus a pot of green tea to relax you for the rest of the night.

Sushi with Tropical Flair

You can use short grain brown rice or half and half for this recipe. Sushi with brown rice is a little bit tricky to make due to a lack of starch content (less sticky). If you are making nigiri, it’s not a bad idea to let the cooked brown rice rest in a refrigerator overnight and microwave it when needed (although I’m not a big fan of microwaves), but for this recipe freshly made will suffice. Just make sure to add more water if using only brown rice though.

Enough for 4

2 slightly rounded cups of Japanese white rice

4 cups water

A piece of kombu, cleaned with a wet towel

4-5 tablespoons Japanese vinegar

4-5 tablespoons cane sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 pack nori (one sushi roll uses 2 sheets of nori so have about 10 sheets)

Soy sauce

Wasabi paste

Ginger pickles or homemade turnip pickles (recipe follows below)

Toppings

½ pineapple, peeled, core removed, and cut into ½ inch strips

½ papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch strips

1 avocado, peeled, seed removed and cut into ½ inch strips

1 cup cucumber, peeled and julienned

1 small piece broiled salmon

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon hot sauce or chilli sauce, or more to your taste

Wash and rinse the rice until water becomes transparent. Place the rice, water and kombu on top in the bowl of a rice cooker or a large pot and cook. Rice will be on the harder side, but this is the way it should be.

Meanwhile, make a vinegar mixture by combining all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and bubbles are visible on the edge of the pan. Let cool.

Prepare the toppings. Make spicy mayonnaise by combining the mayonnaise and the hot sauce. I used Cholula hot sauce, and didn’t mind the taste but Sriracha seems commonly used. Use a small piece of saran wrap with a tiny hole for piping the mayo. Set aside a bowl of cold water to wet your hands, a makisu to form sushi rolls, a wet towel, and of course, a well sharpened knife to cut the sushi.

Flip the rice in a handai (flat-bottomed wooden tub), or large bowl. Here, you need to be multi-tasking. Drizzle the vinegar mixture on the rice and, using a wooden spatula, quickly but gently mix the rice by making cutting motions with your right hand and fanning with the other hand. I’m ambidextrous, so this works for me. If this seems too complicated, you can use an electric fan like my grandma does . The key is to let the rice soak the vinegar and cool before it becomes sticky so that you can achieve the desired shiny texture. Because no matter what filling you have inside, sushi is all about the rice texture!

Now the show begins! Place everything close to you; the rice, nori, toppings, the mayo, the bowl of cold water, the wet towel and the makisu. Wash your hands and place one of the nori sheets on a clean work surface. Wet your hands with the bowl of water and remove excess moisture by tapping both hands against each other to prevent the rice from sticking to your fingers.

1) Grab about 3 extra large egg size portions of rice and spread on the nori using your fingertips. Fill the empty space, especially the edges, leaving a half an inch strip at the top. Be sure that it’s not too thick, but just covers the surface of the nori.

2) Flip the nori from the side (now the rice is facing down). Make sure the working surface is moistened with the wet towel so that the flipped rice doesn’t stick to the surface.

Place the toppings on the nori: the pineapples, papaya, cucumber and plenty of the mayo mixture. PLENTY! Roll from your side on foreword by tucking and tightening the toppings as you roll. This is a critical step towards making beautiful and easy-to-eat sushi that doesn’t fall apart. Once rolled, there is no turning back to make the roll tight!

3) Place another sheet of nori on the work surface shiny side down, and place the rolled sushi on top closer to you. Then roll the whole thing.

4) Lay the makisu on the rolled sushi and gently press to form into a square shape. This is optional, but I feel that this forms and tightens the sushi nicely. Repeat with the rest with your choice of combinations; broiled salmon with cucumber etc.

Cut the sushi rolls into ¾ inch pieces or your preferred thickness by moving the knife back and forth gingerly. It is easy if you wipe the knife with the wet towel each time you cut.

Serve immediately with the soy sauce, wasabi and the pickles. Follow with a pot of green tea.

*An inspiration from Fairmont Pacific Rim

Homemade Turnip Pickles

I can almost say that I grow turnips just for this single recipe. You want to use the freshest turnips you have on hand for these pickles, as the tender and sweet flesh makes them divine. Grow your own or go to the farmer’s market!

Makes 1 small jar

A bunch of turnips (about 10 pieces)

A piece of kombu, cleaned with a wet towel

200 ml Japanese vinegar or white vinegar

3 tablespoons cane sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Wash the turnips, remove any diseased parts, and cut off the tops leaving little stubs. Cut stems into 1 inch pieces. If the turnips are large, cut in half or quarter lengthwise.

Place the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and boil over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

Fill a sterilized airtight container with the turnips, some stems, kombu and the vinegar mixture. Let cool and store in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours or over night. Keeps in the refrigerator for a while (not for us!).