November Still Life

October Still Life

Jewelled Salad

Last night's impromptu salad (I am clearing out the fridge) yielded this lovely creation. Your favorite salad mix + valencia orange segments + avocado + figs = jewelled salad. A light, fruity vinaigrette made with the juice of your orange, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Summer Food

It's been a delicious summer so far and now that Vancouver's fully engulfed in a heatwave, it's all about the dips! Pita chips (baked in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper and paprika) and tzatziki. All about home made iced tea and cold sandwiches by the water. A 2 foot long herbed salmon on the BBQ. Sushi and air conditioning. Fig and roasted almond gelato. And lots and lots of mouthwateringly sweet local berries.

Fruit: Here and There

Grapefruit from California + blackberries from Mexico + Fraser Valley Wildflower Honey from The Honeybee Centre in Surrey. I couldn't resist when I saw blackberries for sale. It was like heaven in a bowl.

Quinoa with Chard and Cranberries

For dinner tonight, I sauteed some chard with a clove of crushed garlic in olive oil. Tossed it into a bowl of fluffy quinoa with a handful of dried cranberries. Salt, pepper, eat.

Still Life: Late Summer Fruit

August Fruit

I feel like I've been eating nectarines and blueberries by the ton these past two weeks, and I can't stop. I keep meaning to dress up the nectarines with some yogurt or honey, but they're so fresh and delicious just on their own.

My first visit to Richmond Country Farm Market yielded some great big glorious green figs. By the time I got there, they were mostly picked over and I could see the remaining ones were so ripe they had to be eaten immediately. They were like no other fig I'd ever seen--bright medium green, heavy with flesh, and the size of large eggs. They were so ripe that some were oozing juice. By the time I got them home, one of them had already burst open.

I love figs. I love their honeyed sweetness and their meaty texture. They also look rather gruesome closeup, with their alien red pulp and many tiny seeds. The sign at the market simply said "Local Green Figs", but I believe they may be San Pietro figs, what with their tapered necks and a full cavity of jammy red flesh. The sweetness of these figs were amazingly fragrant and there was almost a floral tone to it. If only I'd gotten to the market early that morning! I would've scooped up a dozen more!

Strawberry Salad

I've had a few heavy suppers the last week, so I thought it was time for a light summery salad. I threw together an impromptu mish-mash of sharp, peppery greens (arugula, watercress, baby spinach, chervil) plus toasted walnuts, sliced strawberries, soft goat cheese and a berry vinaigrette.

June Fruit

Spring Dinner

I've never had cooked radish before, so when I saw this braised radish recipe I had to go out and grab a few bunches of those cute little red radishes that have been popping up at Kin's Farm Market lately. I didn't have time to stop by a charcuterie, so I substituted some fatty side of pork and added spinach to the dish.



I also whipped up a salad, using the blood oranges I bought on a whim a few days ago. Generic organic herb salad mix (picking out the massive quantities of dill that were in there), blood orange slices, toasted pine nuts, some mild goat cheese and a vinaigrette made with white balsamic vinegar, blood orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Citrus in Season

Citrus fruits have been hitting their stride these past two months and Vancouver seems to be getting some great shipments of grapefruit. Red grapefruit—one of my favorite fruits—has been especially sweet and juicy lately, eclipsing even the navel oranges out right now. I stopped by Granville Island today and there were even some great looking batches of blood oranges.