Get Fresh Blog

Raw Brussel Sprouts from Vantreight Farms c/o The Root Cellar

A trip into Victoria on Monday meant I could swing by The Root Cellar to pickup some local produce. I was surprised and joyed to find fresh local brussel sprouts from Vantreight Farms in Saanich. I also was delighted to see some still attached to their intricate stalks (see Sherry’s photo) like mini pod skyscrapers.

These brussel sprouts inspired me to (lightly) cook something simple, quick, tasty and healthy. I feel myself on a path to minimalism; simplifying things in my life and wanting to take my food in the same direction.

Garlic Brussel Sprouts with Hazelnuts and Parmesan

Garlic Brussel Sprouts with Hazelnuts and Parmesan

INGREDIENTS:
10-15 brussel sprouts (*)
10-12 hazelnuts
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Babe’s honey balsamic vinegar (*)

METHOD:
(1) Rinse and cut brussel sprouts into halves.
(2) Boil in lightly salted water for 5 minutes; strain and set aside.
(3) Mince garlic and saute until fragrant and golden (30-60 seconds)
(4) Add hazelnuts and brussel sprouts; saute until nuts become fragrant (3-5 minutes).
(5) Plate and lightly sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan cheese.

Photography and article by Caprina Valentine.

Ever since beginning the Pumpkin Month tradition, I have wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes. Then at just the right time, along came the book “A Zombie Ate My Cupcake“ by London ex-graphic designer turned cake designer Lily Vanilli. I picked up a copy from Oscar and Libby’s on Fort Street, pouring over all the creatively creepy ideas, as well as doing a Google image search (seriously, take 60 seconds and look… I’ll wait).

While I am not nearly as ambitious as a pro cake designer, I settled on four simple designs to try: zombie brains, mummies, spider webs and pumpkins of course.

Usually I find cupcakes to be a sugar-puff affair, so I opted for a more hearty pumpkin muffin recipe named “The Best Pumpkin Muffins” from super cookbook “Vegan with a Vengeance.” But I added eggs back in and reduced the oil and almond milk. I also reduced the sugar and added an entirely optional 1 cup of chocolate chips. (Cocoa Camino now makes fair trade organic chocolate chips!)

Ingredients: makes 24 muffins

1 Sugar Pie pumpkin (about 2 cups cooked) (* Gobind Farms)
3/4 cup milk (dairy or substitute)
3/4 cup oil (almond or olive)
1 1/2 cups sugar (brown or golden)
4 eggs
4 cups flour (* Island Wheat)
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Baking Pumpkin Muffins

Mmm... Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins!

(1) Pre-cook pumpkin: cut open top and cut pumpkin in half from top to bottom, scoop out innards, oil cut edges and place cut side down on a baking pan with a 1/4 inch water in the bottom. Roast for 1 hour @ 350F.
(2) Mix Dry Ingredients: Mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.
(3) Blend Wet Ingredients: In a blender or food processor, blend pumpkin pulp (scooped from baked pumpkin half shells) with milk and sugar.
(4) Separately, whisk eggs, then mix in oil and pumpkin mixture.
(5) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips (optional)
(6) Bake in lined or oiled muffin tins for 25 minutes at 400F. (Or until lightly golden.) Allow muffins to cool completely before applying icing! Or eat muffins as is warm from the oven to enjoy the oozy chocolatey goodness!

Pretty Please, with Icing On Top

ICING (totally optional) for 12 cupcakes
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar

Whisk together butter, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually add icing sugar as you whisk until icing begins to thicken. Divide into separate bowls to apply coloring. (I would love to say I made my own veggie based colors – the potential of carrot would’ve been interesting.) Melt remaining chocolate chips separately on low heat (or warming plate).

SPIDER WEB: Smoothly and thickly apply melted chocolate over entire muffin top. Pipe thin white/plain icing starting with a thick dot in the middle and two concentric rings around. Use a toothpick and scratch from the centre outwards, visually dividing the top into 6 or 8 parts to create the webbed effect. Refrigerate (the chocolate will form a hard thick shell – delicious!)

ZOMBIE BRAINS: Get the icing good and thick, colored brain-pink. Pipe a thick ribbon onto muffin top in the pattern of a brain, zig-zagging down one half and back the other.

MUMMIES: Pipe two red/pink blobs for eyes, then adhere a chocolate chip into each as a pupil. Pipe white/plain icing in thick flatter ribbons over the top to create the forehead and facial covering.

PUMPKINS: Smoothly apply orange icing. Pipe a thick green stem on top and yellow  for the eyes and mouth. (As you can see, my yellow icing wasn’t thick enough, running down the sides!)

Refrigerate decorated cupcakes.

Spider Web, Zombie Brain, Mummy, Pumpkin Cupcakes

Well folks, this officially concludes Pumpkin Month 2010! Happy Halloween!

Photography and article by Caprina Valentine.

The Weekly Local Challenge is back and continuing Pumpkin Month, this week with those super cute local mini pumpkins I couldn’t resist buying at The Root Cellar. Every year, I’ve eyed this recipe in The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook (Thunderbay Press); now I’m doing it…

INGREDIENTS: 4 mini pumpkins, 2 oz. butter,  3 tbsp flour, 2/3 cup milk, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

Pre-Cook Mini Pumpkins

To make your life easier, you can pre-cook the mini pumpkins a day ahead of time, while you’re doing something else.  I cooked mine while I went out for a walk (someone else was home to make sure the house didn’t burn down).

(1) Preheat your oven to 400F.
(2) Cut open mini pumpkins from the top, like you would a regular Halloween pumpkin… it’s just MINI (so cute!)
(3) Scoop out innards (seeds and strings).
(4) Oil cut side and place open side down in an ovenproof dish.
(5) Add a 1/4-1/2 inch water in the bottom of the dish.
(5) Bake at 400F for 1 hour.

Make the Souffle Filling

(1) Preheat oven to 400F.
(2) Melt butter in a sauce pan on LOW heat.
(3) Meanwhile, separate eggs into yolks and whites. Beat egg whites until foamy and peaks form.
(4) Add milk and flour to melted butter; whisk until thickens and steams.
(5) Meanwhile, gently scoop out pumpkin flesh, leaving a thin shell (cup).
(6) Turn OFF stove top element.
(7) Stir in egg yolk; whisk through.
(8) Stir in grated cheese until thick and creamy… this requires some strong arm action!
(9) Mix in pumpkin until all is creamy and thoroughly mixed.
(10) Fold in foamy egg whites and mix thoroughly.
(11) Fill mini pumpkin “cups”.
(12) Bake for 25 minutes at 400F.

Photography and article by Caprina Valentine.

Another busy week with Thanksgiving holiday and catching up with work. But I will post this photo of some most awesome local mini pumpkins I bought at The Root Cellar. I couldn’t help myself… they are just so cute.

I’m thinking of making pumpkin souffles with them. What do you think?

(They also have mini pumpkins at Abby Lane Farm in Duncan, as I’ve just found out.)

Pumpkin Pie marks the coming of Thanksgiving the same way Egg Nog signals Christmas, and when I saw the pies in the grocery store this year, I thought “$10 for a pie!” But when you buy the pumpkin ($3 at The Root Cellar), eggs, cream, flour, pecans and two hours of electricity to run the oven, $10 is CHEAP! But is it ever different making one from scratch…

My experience with pie making is very limited. I made an apple pie once, for my mother’s birthday, when she visited while I was living in Vancouver at the age of 19. And that’s it. So making this pie was an ambitious endeavour, but I am determined to continue Pumpkin Month, with a Get Fresh Local twist this year, so Pumpkin Pie was it. I found a very in depth recipe and article from the Joy of Cooking (even shares the history of Thanksgiving – worth a read) and decided to give it a go, with some modifications. The resultant recipe and experience are as follows…

Ingredients

Gobind Farms Pumpkin + Island Wheat Flour

PIE CRUST:
1 cup flour (*local: Island Wheat Flour c/o The Root Cellar)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar (I used golden sugar that I had on hand)
1/2 cup butter, soft (*local: Island Farms)
1/2 cup pecans, crushed

PIE FILLING:
1 Sugar Pie pumpkin, 2 cups cooked (*local: Gobind Farms c/o The Root Cellar)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (*local: Island Farms)
1/2 cup sugar, brown or golden
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Day One: Pumpkin Pie Prep

I know I won’t get a full two hours to make this pie, so I divide the tasks over two days. Monday night, while I make dinner – yay for multitasking! – I cook and blend the pumpkin.

1) Cut around the stem (same as for carving) and pull the top off.
2) Cut the pumpkin in half.
3) Scoop out the innards.
4) Oil the edges (where you cut) and place inside down on a baking sheet.
5) Bake in the oven for 60-75 minutes at 350F until soft.
6) Once cooled, scoop flesh from the shell and puree in a blender or food processor.

The next step suggests straining thru a cheesecloth lined strainer to minimize the liquid, but my strainer has tighter holes than cheesecloth, so I just strain it… but I have a little mishap… slooshing a quarter of my pumpkin mush into the sink! Oops, grr… (insert explicative here).

MEANWHILE the pumpkin is cooking, I make the pie dough!

1) Mix flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
2) Cut small strips or cubes of butter (1/2 cup’s worth) into the flour mixture.
3) With your finger tips, pinch and knead the butter into the flour (this step would usually be done with a food processor, but I am low tech).
4) Add a tbsp of cold water at a time as you mix the butter with flour until the dough holds together when pinched.
5) Turn the dough onto your work surface and work into a ball.

At this point the instructions tell me to flatten the dough into a disc and let cool in the fridge until use, but I should have skipped that step because it created a mess for me the next day: the dough was stuck (as in couldn’t lever it out with a flipper – or a crowbar for that matter) in the bowl! I solve that one quick by placing it in the warming oven for 5 minutes so the dough became pliable again. Because – duh, I didn’t realize this till now – butter becomes hard when it’s refrigerated! So, I highly recommend that you just skip right to the rolling and/or forming the crust stage! (See more on that below…)

Day Two: Pumpkin Pie Put-Together

Pumpkin Pie Filling

After the pumpkin is cooked and blended, I make the filling Tuesday lunchtime.

1) Whisk 3 eggs.
2) Whisk in 1/2 cup cream.
3) Whisk in spices (you’ll notice I skipped the All Spice)
4) Whisk in the pureed pumpkin.

Rolling the Dough

I fought with this dough… the second challenge comes with rolling… or more accurately… shortly after this photo, I can’t get the dough off the counter top! So I squish it all back into a ball, roll it together a little more, then flatten it into a disc and mush it by hand (and fist) into the pie pan to form the crust. Ah, finally a thing of beauty begins to emerge!

Forming the Crust + Filling the Pie

1) Once you form the pie crust, gently press in a layer of crushed pecans.
2) Fill with the pumpkin-egg-cream filling.
3) Carefully place the pie in the oven on a baking sheet to catch spills.
4) Bake for 55-70 minutes at 375F.

Keep an eye on it! It’s done when the crust browns lightly and most of the top looks set, but a little wet in the centre.

Ta Da! Finished Pumpkin Pie

Finished Pumpkin Pie

When the pie comes out of the oven, I oogle it… I can’t believe I did it. I just sit and stare at it (and grab my camera). I share the pie with my parents, who say, and I quote:

“Well, for the record…” (big pause, me nervously holding my breath) “… that is the best pie I’ve ever had.” – Mum (Wow, thanks Joy of Cooking!)

“There’s not too much spice, but it tastes real nice.” – Dad

And me: I can actually taste the pumpkin… and it’s delicious. And I think, this is what Pumpkin Pie (yes, capitalized) should taste like… FRESH. By the time I write this, the pie has long been enjoyably consumed. I think I’ll make another one and I hope my recipe makes enough sense that you do too. Happy Thanksgiving!

UPDATE Oct 12, 2010: Just brought to my attention that I had missed the 1/2 cup sugar in the pie filling when I had typed this up.  Sorry!

Local Food Challenge: Autumn Harvest - Photography by Caprina Valentine

For me October = Pumpkins. A few years ago, I started a tradition/challenge for myself of cooking at least one pumpkin dish per week thru the month of October, which I dubbed Pumpkin Month. This month’s comes a little early, as I planned to cook this for next week’s Local Food Challenge post, the first week of October. (This week was going to feature produce from the Colwood Market, but they’ve closed up shop early; not enough customers!)

Last year I did an awesome Pumpkin Soup, but I’ve always wanted to do a Stuffed Pumpkin and after a little internet research, I found it’s pretty much a catch-all “casserole” idea. Great for using up some odds and ends you’ve already got as well as whatever is fresh and in season locally. For this you’ll want to use a small Sugar Pie Pumpkin, a sweeter variety than the common Cinderella-perfect Field Pumpkin used for carving. My pumpkin was grown on Gobind Farm in Saanich.

Stuffed Pumpkin Ingredients

INGREDIENTS: (* local)
1 pie pumpkin (* Gobind Farms)
1 cup cooked brown basmati rise
1/2 leek
1 large or 2 small red/orange peppers (* SunWing)
1 small tomato (* our greenhouse)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup crushed almonds
1 tsp honey (* Babe’s)
1 tbsp butter

Stuffed Pumpkin Prep + Cook

COOK 1/3 cup aromatic brown basmati rice with 1 1/2 cups boiled water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. (It will cook the rest of the way inside the pumpkin with the juices of the vegetables.)

PREP in the meanwhile… dice peppers and tomato, slice leek, crush almonds. In a large bowl, mix leek, peppers, tomatoes, cranberries, almonds and honey. When the rice is near done, strain and melt in 1 tbsp butter. Mix rice with veggies and stuff your pumpkin!

COOK whole stuffed pumpkin, with top lid fit back on for 1 hour @ 400, then turn it down to 350 for another 1/2 hour.

SERVE with sour cream, salad and/or fresh tomatoes.

Stuffed Pumpkin

Other delicious variations could include sausage!  (I may try this again with Galloping Goose Sausage.)

Sherry & Elisabeth at the Get Fresh Booth

On Saturday, I headed up to Cowichan with Sherry to meet up with Elisabeth & Noah and support the Get Fresh booth at the Cowichan Valley Food & Wine Festival. Elisabeth did an amazing job coordinating a bountiful booth – an abundant market stall, representing the harvest of the Get Fresh Guide. And despite the gloomy skies threatening rain all day and keeping crowds away, the Driftwood Beer, Sea Cider and Victoria Gin tastings attracted the folks who did brave the elements. (I don’t know how many times I heard, “We can’t sell it, we can only share it.”)

Rhubarb, Tomatoes, Peppers and Zucchini

Truthfully, I have been somewhat uninspired in the kitchen as of late. It has been emotionally overwhelming dealing with two aging and ill parents (my mother is now on that bandwagon with a slipped disc and burnout). Supporting people you love, who are in pain, has its transference of energy. Maybe that’s why by the end of the day, I ended up with the headache of all headaches – like a pitchfork being rammed into my forehead (farm reference!)

Nonetheless, I made the best of it and stayed on until 6pm for a Local Dinner showcasing pumpkin soup, chicken cacciatore, risotto, roasted tomato, beans and green salad, with all the produce and poultry coming from the OUR Eco Village farm on-site. I was too full to even attempt dessert! Miraculously my headache lifted with the sustenance and my eyes grew a little brighter again, as we listened to guest speaker, Carolyn Herriot, author of the new Zero Mile Diet. This of course jogged our collective memory of the original 100 Mile Diet and mention of this year’s Food TV’s reality television series, the 100 Mile Challenge, where 6 families in Mission, BC, are followed thru the challenge for 100 days. (It is well worth watching online, tho their website is having issues lately.)

Big Beautiful Beets in a Basket!

As the dusk turned to dark and the clouds finally let their hold go, our evening came to an end. Seeing as the booth had a slow day, I bought a grocery bag full of Get Fresh Guide produce, including some of these big, bold and beautiful beets, keenly admired by folks all day. So with a bit of nourishment and inspiration, I head home… and the beet goes on… (Mum even had a nice surprise for me when I returned: the last of the fresh tomatoes from our greenhouse!)

Rhubarb Roasted Beets & Green Salad

RHUBARB ROASTED BEETS INGREDIENTS (* local):
1 red beet *
1 golden beet *
2 sticks of rhubarb *
juice of 1 orange
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Babe’s honey balsamic vinegar *

GREEN SALAD INGREDIENTS (* local):
lettuce
tomato * (from our greenhouse!)
cucumber *
carrot, grated
sprouts *
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Babe’s honey balsamic vinegar *
1 tbsp Babe’s honey *

Beets (Red & Golden), Tomatoes, Sprouts, Cucumber and Rhubarb

1) Preheat oven to 400. Cut beets into small bite-sized chunks (I noticed how SOFT the local ones are, which makes this step easy). Toss in a bowl with some olive oil and a little sea salt. Spread onto a baking pan and roast at 400 for 30-40 minutes until beginning to turn golden.

2) Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat, add chopped rhubarb and stir fry until beginning to soften. Juice 1 orange and stir in juice (and pulp for extra thickness if you like). Simmer and reduce the liquid by half. The rhubarb will fall apart into a sweet jam-like mash. Add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (use Babe’s since it’s got a touch of sweetness too!) Remove from heat or turn down low to keep warm while you make the salad.

3) Whisk together 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp honey to make the dressing. Combine choped lettuce, grated carrot, sprouts and sliced tomato and cucumber. Optional: sprinkle with pepitas, sunflower seeds or goat cheese.

4) Serve the beets with rhubarb on top and side salad drizzled with homemade dressing.

Rhubarb Roasted Beets & Green Salad

Ahh, the last days of summer… crickets chirping, golden sun setting as I pick the last blackberries from the back driveway.  “Is this cheating, if I use foraged food from my own backyard? (Literally.)” I think as I munch another berry that bursts between my stained fingers. Should’ve been out here picking much sooner, after the last good rain (Tuesday), but it’s been a busy couple of weeks dealing with more doctors appointments for aging parents, a full workload, semi-distance relationship and a Fringe Festival thrown in for good measure.

I have to say I was so inspired by Sherry’s blackberry pancake post earlier this week as well as Heidi’s blueberry shortcake, that I decided to give scones a try. (I also have yet to ever make scones, so it’s a check in the box next to “Try something new.”) This recipe comes from my very first cookbook (a Christmas present when I graduated highschool!), aptly named “How to Cook: The Boiled Egg and Beyond.”

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 oz butter, soft, chopped
3/4 cup milk
+ as many blackberries as you want to pick!

Homemade Whole Wheat Scones

1) Preheat your oven to 400F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

2) Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

3) Add the chopped butter to the flour mix and rub in until it looks like fine breadcrumbs (small clumps).

4) Mix in the milk and knead into a ball.  You can/should mix in half your blackberries as you’re adding in the milk (I forgot… was so in the moment of kneading the dough that I didn’t realize until I had my dough rolled flat!)

5) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll flat (or mash with your hand, as I did, not able to find the rolling pin at the moment) until 1-1.5 inches thick. Cut circles from the dough, ideally with a cookie cutter (or use a drink glass).  Place your 12 rounds onto your oiled baking pan.

6) Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool and serve sliced open with blackberries.  (I mashed the blackberries and mixed with 2 tbsp of Babe’s blueberry honey for a little extra syrupy goodness.) SUPER YUM!

Homemade Scones with Fresh Blackberries

Photographs by Caprina Valentine.

ALM Farm Stall at Sooke Saturday Market - Photos by Caprina Valentine

I had a small window of time Saturday morning to do my grocery shopping, so I popped by the Sooke Saturday Market around 11 am and found… drumroll please… FRESH FARM PRODUCE!  When I last visited the Sooke Saturday Market early in the season, it was all seedlings, flowers and… duck eggs.

Fresh Squash + Leeks at the ALM Farm Stall

Well the Duck Egg Lady was still there with the addition of two stalls brimming with a large selection of fresh and lively produce. I dig into my wallet, determining my budget and come up kind of short with $9 in cash. (Damn our credit-obsessed culture.) The kind woman at the ALM Farm stall works with me though, measuring out quantities of leek, fingerling potatoes and patty pan squash and a baggie of fragrant fresh basil. I have $3 left over, with which I buy a half dozen duck eggs. I’m thinking… frittata!

Duck Egg Frittata with Leek, Potato and Patty Pan Squash

Fresh Duck Eggs, Fingerling Potatoes, Leeks and Patty Pan Squash

INGREDIENTS:
1 leek
2 patty pan squash
3 fingerling potatoes
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup grated cheese, mozza or parmesan
fresh cracked pepper
6 duck eggs

PREP:
Slice 1 leek into thin rounds and separate / pop out inner spirals.
Wash, coin then quarter 3 fingerling potatoes into small pieces.
Halve then quarter 2-3 patty pan squash.
Mince 1 clove garlic. Grate 1/2 cup of cheese.

Frittata Cooked in the Pan

COOK:

Heat an oven proof pan on Medium. In 1 tbsp olive oil, fry leek until it starts to soften, add minced garlic, fry 30 seconds more until fragrant, stirring. Add potato and a little more oil if needed. Fry 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the potato from sticking. Add patty pan, cook 2-3 minutes.

Add egg, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring so the egg becomes part-cooked, part-liquid. (You can also add in some grated cheese and fresh cracked pepper at this time.) Settle into the pan, allowing the bottom to set (3-5 minutes).

Sprinkle top with cheese and put in the oven under the broiler, 5 minutes until the cheese melts golden. Turn off broiler, open oven door and let sit another 5 minutes for the middle to finish cooking.

SERVES 4.

Duck Egg Frittata

The Sooke Saturday Market runs 10am to 2pm, May thru October every year. Locations have varied in the past, but this year it is in the empty lot behind the Gas Station at Otter Point Road & Sooke Road. Park in the lot by the Salvation Army and walk in the back way.

ALM Farm also runs a box program, but fills quickly. (I tried to sign up early in May to no avail.) Luckily you can check ‘em out at the Sooke Saturday Market as well as the Moss Street Market.

Article & Photography by Caprina Valentine.

Last Thursday Elisabeth and I took our Tour des Tomates with greenhouse manager Norman at Sun Wing Greenhouse and Farm. It reminded me of my childhood – with the greenhouse my dad built – the lush vine-ripened scent of tomatoes in the thick heat, stalks reaching towards the light in the peaks and the search for little red treasures (I loved the sweet cherry tomatoes).

Luscious cherry tomatoes and beautiful garlic from Sun Wing

I dare say Dad would be impressed with Sun Wing’s setup of row upon towering row of Roma, Cherry, Campari, Beefsteak (and many more) tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and cucumbers as well as the fragrant basil. Sun Wing also grows other produce in a large field out back: carrots, lettuce, chard, garlic, green onions, potatoes, patty pan squash, green beans and bok choy.

I took this bounty home: two varieties of lettuce, potatoes, green onions, cherry tomatoes, red pepper and a giant bulb of garlic

I surveyed their on-site farm store, a room at the front of the building, walking around from bin to bin ogling the produce and filling a basket. I checked out at the counter, where everything was weighed on a separate scale first, then rung into the cash register – a flashback to before the modern grocery store with its computerized systems of cash flow and inventory tracking. $16 later and I had the ingredients for a Local Food Meal.

Local produce, cooked simply.

Prep: whole cherry tomatoes, diced red peppers and green onions

Friday I was in a vegetarian mood (I get that way sometimes, where I feel the need to have a light, cleansing meal), so I pondered over my purchases and it came to me, I would use it all in one meal: potatoes with roasted red pepper, fresh tomatoes and a side salad. (Serves 3)

PREP:
(1) Put the kettle and/or pot of water onto boil. Rinse/brush 15 small potatoes, halve then quarter.
(2) Dice 1 red pepper and 1/2 bunch green onions. Mince 1 jumbo clove of garlic – this garlic from Sun Wing had a beautiful, rich and patterned scent. Halve the cherry tomatoes – we enjoyed these raw on the side.
(3) Rinse, chop and spin lettuce. I added a couple other veggies I already had in the fridge: 1 grated carrot and a little bit of sliced red cabbage. (You can do this while you start the cooking.)

COOK:
(4) Boil potatoes in lightly salted water for 8-10 minutes until just tender, but not mushy. You could also roast the potatoes in an oven until golden if you have more time to heat the oven; adjust timing accordingly for Step 5.
(5) Heat olive oil in a pan and stir fry garlic and red pepper until red pepper softens and begins to separate / becomes juicy. Add green onions near the end, so they retain their crispness and go bright green.
(6) Mix salad with a dressing of 1 tbsp Babe’s honey balsamic, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tbsp orange marmalade or other variety of mixture.

SERVE:
(7) Pile potatoes onto dish, topped with garlic-red pepper mix, side of tomatoes and salad. Ta-Da! Nothin’ fancy, but good, whole local foods…

Local produce, served simply.

Sun Wing Greenhouse is Open 9am – 5pm Daily, March thru October at 6070 Oldfield Road. Phone: 250.652.5732
www.sunwingtomatoes.ca