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.

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Dolce Grey tea from BEAN AROUND BOOKS & TEA.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

Caramelized Onion and Beet Soup

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I don’t know where you live in the world, but as a West Coast resident, for me soup is by far the most essential culinary staple. I turn anything in my garden into soup, especially when I have bits of this and that on hand. Recently, I’ve found lonely beets stored in the root cellar (in my case, a container filled with peat moss) that already sprouted from the top. These are very reliable when we urban gardeners don’t have much else to turn to during garden transition times. I transform my beets into fresh juice in the morning and hearty soup later in the day. My mizuna is too tiny, radishes are too skinny, peas were dug up by birds—over time I have come to the realization that when everything is just starting to grow, it is good to have stored food.

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Caramelized Onion and Beet Soup

I strongly recommend that you wear dark clothing, or at least wear an apron to prevent your clothes from being stained with all that brightly coloured juice! For the topping, I happened to have basil sprouts handy in my kitchen but if you can’t find them, almost any other type of sprout works. I prefer basil because it provides a special flavour punch when you first sip this soup, which is also topped with delicious almonds and sour cream.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, sliced thinly

2 heaped cups beets, peeled and cut in chunks

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Topping

Sour cream

Sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Basil sprouts (or any sprouts available)

Place the oil and butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.

Sauté the onion, constantly turning until it caramelizes and gives off a sweet aroma.

Add the beets and sauté until well coated with oil, for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low, cover with a lid and cook until beets are tender. Skim off the foam that appears on the surface occasionally.

Let the soup cool a little bit and then transfer to a blender and proceed until pureed. Place the soup back in the pot and add the Parmesan cheese. This is also the time to adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more water if you like. Bring to a simmer and adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve hot and top with the sour cream, toasted almonds and basil sprouts.

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Carrot 3 Ways

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If you are like me you may tend to fall into a routine and continue for a long time without a clear purpose: in this case, I’m talking about the drinking coffee routine. When mindlessly following a routine, you may lose sight of the fact that what you’re doing isn’t at all healthy. Examples of this phenomena are shown in the movie “Food Matters,” which sends a strong message that what you eat is what you are. In the last few years since I started my garden, my partner and I have totally changed the way we live and eat, mostly for the better. However, if we are not paying attention, our best efforts to live more healthfully and consciously could be subverted.

For the longest time, I’ve woken up in the mornings and immediately begun looking forward to a cup of coffee. That is, until my friend suggested that I cut back on my morning intake to improve my health. For sure, I love coffee’s aroma and richly sweet taste, but mostly I love the idea of enjoying a cozy morning routine, which for so long has featured a cup of coffee.

After discussing “Food Matters” with yet another friend, we both decided to majorly cut back on coffee. We still haven’t finished watching the whole movie yet, but definitely got the message in the first 20 minutes. My routine shifted from a cup of coffee to a cup of matcha latte and then to freshly made raw juice, thanks to our friends’ influences. However, I still allow myself a cup of coffee now and then when I have the chance to visit BEAUCOUP BAKERY & CAFÉ, Le Marché St. George, or a few other neat places in Vancouver whose artistry and cozy atmospheres are just too hard to resist! So try this juice, slaw and if you need the coziness, I also baked for you a decadent cake made with another harvest from the spring cleanup.

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Carrot Juice

Serves 2

1cup carrot, washed, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small apple, peeled and cored

2 large oranges, peeled

¼ of whole pineapple, rind removed, cored and roughly chopped

2 ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender (we adore our Vitamix for this), and blend until smooth. Add water to achieve your preferred consistency and serve.

 

Carrot Slaw

Serves 4

4 large carrots, peeled and julienned

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 small knob ginger, chopped

A handful of chives, roughly chopped

¼ cup rice vinegar

½ teaspoon cane sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, roasted in a skillet

2 tablespoons tahini

Combine garlic, ginger, chives, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and tahini in the bowl of a food processor and proceed to blend well. If you don’t have a food processor, don’t worry, but just chop everything fine, place in a jar and shake well to blend.

In a large bowl, mix the carrots and the dressing well and chill. You can serve in a couple of hours. If you have leftovers, the dish is indeed very tasty the next day. I would sneak this slaw into a sandwich made with leftover cold pork tenderloin sliced along with lots of cilantro leaves or whatever is on hand (or in the fridge) the next day.

 

Carrot Lemon Cake

Makes 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan

1 cup butter plus extra for greasing, room temperature

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature, beaten

1 cup grated carrot

2 tablespoons sour cream

Lemon zest from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1 ½ cups cake flour plus extra for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Icing

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

¾ cup icing sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, mix well and set aside. Grease the pan with extra butter, dust flour removing the excess and keep refrigerated until the batter is ready. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream the butter with an electric beater in a large bowl until fluffy. While continuously beating, add the sugar in a few installments and beat until well combined. Add eggs gradually and beat to blend. Switch to a whisk, add the carrot, sour cream, ½ lemon zest and orange juice, and stir to combine. Proceed rhythmically by beating the batter each time you add an ingredient.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the batter and incorporate. Switch to a spatula, add the rest of the flour mixture and gently combine until no flour is visible.

Bake until tested skewer comes out clean, for about 50 minutes. In the meantime, make icing. Place the sugar in a small bowl and add the lemon juice and the rest of the lemon zest a small amount at a time. Stir well, making a smooth consistency.

Let the cake stand for 10 minutes, and then remove from the pan to cool. Drizzle the icing over top. Slice and serve at room temperature.