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Standardby Julie64 Comments

Just when I think I’ve tried everything (not really, but some days are more uninspiring than others) something comes along that is so much better than the sum of its familiar parts. Had I flipped past a recipe for bacon and tomato jam I would have certainly done a double take, but I’m not sure this would have jumped off the page and grabbed me – but when Shauna came to visit in Tofino and brought a copy of their latest book, she looked me straight in the eye as she handed it to me and said, “try the bacon and tomato jam.” It seemed at first as if she was speaking in code, like I was meant to read more into her message. I wasn’t. She just meant to make it clear that I should make the damn jam. And so I did. This is not jam in the typical sense of the word – it’s sweet on account of the roasted tomatoes andContinue reading

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Standardby Julie67 Comments

Can we have peach week please? There’s still time. Did something go awry with peach season, or does it always linger this late? Looking at the ginormous bins of peaches alongside tomatoes, peppers and zucchini feels like every year at Easter, when I wonder aloud to anyone who might know whether it’s the Friday or Monday that’s the holiday? And who gets it off again? And what day do you hunt for eggs and eat the ham? And why can’t I remember how it goes from year to year? Maybe I’m overthinking things, but it’s never a bad idea to stock up on peaches when they might be the last of the season. Awake with insomnia, skimming food blogs I haven’t visited in awhile, pondering what to do with all those peaches (it’s what I do) I came across Delicious Days (hello, old friend!) at about midnight last night, and on it this tangy peach ketchup, which is really like a pureed chutney. Sweet, vinegaryContinue reading

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Standardby Julie51 Comments

Have you ever read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point? In it he addresses the ketchup conundrum – the fact that mustards have evolved over the years, and yet no food company seems able to touch Heinz ketchup, which manages to satisfy all five of our senses of taste – “it began at the tip of the tongue, where our receptors for sweet and salty first appear, moved along the sides, where sour notes seem the strongest, then hit the back of the tongue, for umami and bitter, in one long crescendo.” I still love ketchup – on hot dogs and eggs and mac & cheese and grilled cheese. And while I love the idea of homemade ketchup, it’s never quite the same as the stuff in the bottle. Which isn’t to say it’s not delicious, it’s just not the same thing – when it’s homemade, I know to expect something like a pureed sweet-sour tomato chutney. This year I’ve been on a bit of aContinue reading

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Standardby Julie56 Comments

As I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned here before, not many things make me as happy as berry-picking. When I noticed that we had, for once, stuck around Tofino long enough in August that the tangled blackberry thicket at the corner of Main and Fourth was starting to bear fruit, I grabbed one of the ice cream buckets stacked outside the Sugar Shack (the sign reads: “free ice cream buckets! lids make great Frisbees for your dog!”), which in the past we’ve used to corral crabs, and crossed the street, the Alberta girl in me wondering how everyone in town wasn’t over there with a bucket. Don’t they realize the street value of a punnet of fresh blackberries? Part of what I love about blackberry picking, besides the fact that – hello, they’re freebies! – is the element of danger. Years ago, when we lived in Vancouver and would drive out to UBC to spend the afternoon in pursuit of wild blackberries, we’d joke about investingContinue reading

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Standardby Julie68 Comments

I have a sad tale to share today, friends. A tale of woe with a warning: let not this happen to you. Last week, my friend A dropped an armload of beautiful rhubarb on my front step. Thick and red, it was all rhubarb is supposed to be – nothing like the few spindly green crowns I have in my back yard. (Those stalks below? the best of my back yard. I know.) I thought long and hard about how to put it to best use, and settled on a big pot of strawberry-rhubarb jam to smear on toast and scones. Why settle for one pie that will likely be gone in a day when you can jar that summery taste to spread around? (Pun totally intended.) I want my morning to taste like summery pie. Once chopped, I had about 6 cups of rhubarb – I went and bought 3 pints of beautiful organic strawberries that were difficult to not eat as I trimmedContinue reading

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Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

Standardby Julie67 Comments

Rhubarb: it’s not just for pie anymore. Everyone likes a little tang in their life -and in their barbecue sauce- right? And because it’s sugary by nature (barbecue sauce, that is), it’s a great vehicle for all that rhubarb exploding in your back yard. (Or your neighbour’s.) And while everyone else is jamming and preserving, how satisfying is it to make your own barbecue sauce? All you do is chop and simmer a few thick stalks of rhubarb, then add onion, garlic, maple syrup… all things sticky and savoury that make a well-rounded summer sauce. If you have a favourite formula already, just add rhubarb to the mix. And then bottle it up and share it with a friend, or store it in the fridge or freezer to slather on your ribs and chicken and burgers all summer long. I’m thinking this will become our House Sauce this summer. And make sure you have plenty of napkins.

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Standardby Julie57 Comments

Although I’ve heard plenty about the deliciousness of kale pesto, I’ve never made it myself. I assumed it would be a lesser pesto – not as full-flavoured as that made with loads of fresh basil. Turns out I was wrong. It’s not the first time. I got so excited about that kale-Brussels sprout salad that I wound up with 3 bunches in my fridge – plus spinach, arugula and a tub of spring mix. (It could be that I’m so desperate to see something green outside that I’ve been stockpiling it inside?) And so because W will eat anything smothered in pesto (proof that all kids are picky in their own unique ways) I decided to give it a go.

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Standardby Julie44 Comments

We turned on our furnace today. I put on wooly socks, which discouraged me from jamming on my flip-flops. Also? It’s getting dark out already. It’s 6:30. My psyche is all shook up. Onions and garlic are at their best right now. Fat, sticky cloves I’ll miss in the bleak midwinter, when my stash runs out. They make great sweet, vinegary jam you can keep in the door of your fridge to glop on grilled cheese, serve with roast chicken, or dollop alongside bangers and mash. To make bangers & mash, roast fresh sausages in the oven or on the stovetop while you simmer cubed potatoes. Mash them with butter and a splash of milk, and if you really want to be authentic, make some gravy out of the sausage pan drippings (if there are any). Serve sausages atop mashed potatoes, with onion jam.

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Standardby Julie44 Comments

The peaches are in! I know I’ve taken you down the skillet jam road before… with a larger surface area, a skillet makes a great tool for cooking down fruit and sugar to make just enough for a single pot (or jar) of jam to tuck in the fridge. It’s a great way to take care of surplus stone fruit starting to soften and/or become a hub for fruit flies. Bonus: you can see your jam thicken, so there’s no need for hard boiling and thermometers. To peel your peaches – something I rarely do, but did here – just plunge them into a pot of boiling water for a minute or two. Once they cool (you could put them in a bowl of cold water to speed this up) you can peel the skins away with your fingers. Ripe peaches you’ll be able to squish with your hands, right into the pan. Otherwise, use a knife and chop it in. At first it willContinue reading

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