Get Fresh Blog

June 29, 2012
Eating Clean in Tofino, BC

Get Fresh Field Trips,Local Adventures,Local Food Events,Local Food Heros by Ryann Salik | Comments Off Tags: , , , , , , , , , —

Tofino. BC

Tourism Tofino’s Party Bus. Life on the edge!

Touring to Tofino

Hi There! My name is Ryann Salik and I am a Victoria, BC health-nut with a passion for eating and living as wholly, healthfully and respectfully as possible.  Recently, I was lucky enough to tap into the extreme, sustainable, yumm-osity of Canada’s Pacific Rim. My website, MyWholeDeal.com,  was generously hosted by Tourism Tofino to attend Grazing in Gardens, the main event of the Tofino Food and Wine Festival, and to experience what Tofino, BC has to offer a clean-eating traveler. This is the first instalment of my adventure. Special thanks to Elisabeth Bond for letting me share my whole deal with you all and to Kirsten Soder and the friendly folks of Tofino, BC.


PART 1: Dateline: June 1, 2012. Time: 9:32pm.

Cue the cleansing breath. After months of taking care of multiple jobs, kids, household duties and those jerks who take up the whole running trail even though they’re going really super slow (ski poles? on a golf course? seriously?), I finally made it to the ever-fabled light at the end of the tunnel. And Tofino, BC, snuggled in the heart of British Columbia’s majestic Pacific Rim, is that beautiful, beautiful light.

So much more than just a pretty face, Tofino, BC, is a bustling city truncated into deliciously digestible tidbits. MyWholeDeal.com was lucky enough to be welcomed into its bosom to see exactly why the Pacific Rim powerhouse is a destination you’d be very silly to miss.

First off, the ol’grey drive to Tofino just ain’t what she used to be. Gone is the winding and perilous logging road of yore, replaced by a delightfully curvy– yet pleasingly smooth– highway that my husband promises he was not demolishing at 140km per hour.  Departing Victoria at 5:30pm-ish, we had time to uncerimoniously ditch our children in Nanaimo and still hit Vancouver Island’s most westerly coast well before 10pm.

Driving to Tofino, BC

He seems trustworthy, no?

And what a welcome we received! The Ocean Village cabins freckle the coast of MacKenzie Beach at the northern edge of the Pacific Rim National Park. And they are adorable. Seriously, if architecture could be an animal, these amazing A-frame studios would definitely be pigmy marmosets.

pygmy marmoset

Seriously.

Outfitted in rustic cedar, our loft-style cabin featured two bedrooms, a livingroom area with gas fireplace and a full kitchen and bath.

Ocean Village, Tofino, BC

These cabins are waaaay cuter than pygmy marmosets. For serious.

Beyond the immediate aesthetic appeal, Ocean Village is close to town and provides some super amenities of its own, not the least of which is direct access to stunning MacKenzie Beach and eco-friendly goodies that tickled my gentle, Earth-cuddling soul:

oceanvillage amenities

Natural Goodies at Ocean Village, Tofino, BC.

With pounding surf echoing through the cabin and the heady sea air intermingling with the scent of warm cedar, we could have just hunkered down by the fire for the rest of the evening…

Stocked fridge at Ocean Village, Tofino, BC

The fridge was practically begging us to!!!

But, no. We were here to eat Tofino and, come on! No kids? It was go time! And so we went. To…

Shelter Restaurant, Tofino, BC

Shelter Restaurant, Tofino, BC

Do you watch Top Chef? Of course you do. It’s the gastronomical equivalent of the SuperBowl and it is impossible to resist, no matter how many times you have to shield your eyes from the horrible meaty bits. Especially when it is Top Chef Canada and one of the contestants is a chef at a restaurant you’ve gnoshed at on the Island. So, after watching Chef Joel Aubie represent Tofino on the culinary big screen, we decided give Shelter Restaurant another taste.

We arrived close to 11pm and the place was absolutely packed. Whether it was because of Feast Tofino or because this is the place where the cool kids hang out was of little consequence: Shelter was buzzing with a positive energy that made the somewhat cramped quarters feel like a party rather than a nuisance.

Right off the bat, Shelter endeared itself to me by making it impossible to miss where my food came from:

Shelter Restaurant Suppliers, Tofino, BC

Shelter’s Menu is Positively Bursting with Local Flavour

While Tofino may be considered remote by some, the pride the town takes in being sustainable is palpable (more about Tofino’s extraordinary local food efforts later in this series). But, while I was excited to taste the fruits of their passion, first things first.

Wine at Shelter Restuarant, Tofino, BC

Priorities, yo!

Once properly lubricated, I dove into the menu. Now, don’t get me wrong. This restaurant is far from a vegan meca–but the server was enthusiastic and friendly and not at all put-off by my dietary choices. With the wealth of organic and local ingredients stocking their larder, I have no doubt that if you provided advance notice to the chef,  you would be treated to some mean, green vegan cuisine at Shelter. But I snuck in via cover of night and I was still perfectly pleased with what I got:

The famous Shelter Salad, Tofino, BC

The famous Shelter Salad, Tofino, BC

I opted for the Shelter Salad sans feta. I am told that this salad has been on the menu for years and every time the chefs try to refresh the menu with something new, they are met with such a public outpouring of salad outrage that this Tofitian staple invariably remains. And it was good. The greens were fresh, the dates delicious, but the star of this show was most definitely the delicate pappadum garnish:

Beautifully Spiced Pappadum at Shelter Restaurant, Tofino, BC

Beautifully Spiced Pappadum at Shelter Restaurant, Tofino, BC

Light, crisp and spiced to perfection with cumin, coriander and carroway, the pappadum elevates the Shelter Salad from “just a salad” to something truly worth keeping on the menu. Yes, I get it, Tofitians! You gotta fight for your right to pappadum!

After our late dinner, we were very eager to return to our beautiful seaside bungalow. Bundled up tight in the extra duvet so thoughtfully provisioned, we settled in for some serious relaxation in that blissful place where the sea of stars meets surf.

Ocean Village, Tofino, BC

Seaside Snuggles at Ocean Village, Tofino, BC

Yes, the first night of Clean-Eating Tofino was a resounding success, but I was right to seek a good sleep, because Day 2 was destined to be a doozy…

Stay tuned for Pacific Rim running, epic adult trick-or-treating and food, food, food! (originally published on http://www.mywholedeal.com)

March 17, 2011
The Frugal Forager: Birch Sap

Frugal Forager by gareth | Comments Off Tags: , , , , , —

While today’s weather made my little corner of Victoria feel less than spring-like the indelible signs of the new season are making themselves known throughout the city. The persistent woodpecker outside my window, the freshly popped blossom on the trees and colourful pockets of snowdrops and daffodils in people’s gardens certainly indicate a changing of the seasons.

These springtime signals are clearly visible to anyone who cares to look up (or down) as they walk through Victoria. One of the hidden elements of spring, however runs deep within the trees themselves and comes in the form of tree sap. An elixir of life which flows through the internal workings of all trees, transporting energy to the newly budding flowers and fruits that are starting to reveal themselves after a long dormant winter season.

It may at first appear that this life giving liquid is reserved solely for the benefit of the trees themselves. There are, however, a number of species where the sap can be tapped for our own consumption. The famous Canadian icon that is Maple Syrup is an obvious example of this kind of propagation, but there is a simpler and easier way to access tree sap and benefit from its life giving qualities.

The Birch tree, with its often slender trunk and silver or white papery bark stands out amongst many species found on Vancouver Island and beyond. Its sap can be tapped in the middle two weeks of March (or later if Spring is taking its time to kick in), and is apparently very high in Vitamin C, something we could all use to recover from the illnesses of the winter season.

I had spotted two or three large Birch trees in my local park and had remembered a recipe for Birch sap wine I had read from a foraging and wild foods book called “A Cook on the Wild Side” written by one of my favourite English “celebrity” chefs, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. While I didn’t feel that I had time for the long fermenting and racking processes that come with home made wine, I did want to access some of that vitamin packed liquid, especially as it seemed like such a simple process, with no harm coming to the tree and the benefits to myself.

So, this morning I followed the instructions presented in HFW’s recipe and selected the tree I wanted to tap. After boring a shallow (around 1/2-1″) upwards facing hole about 2ft from the base of the tree I inserted a length of plastic pipe and put the other end in a leftover jug I had used for homemade cider during the summer.

After making sure that the sap was running from the tree I left the bottle to fill for an hour or so. The sap was still running fairly freely when I returned and this short period left with about 1 1/2 cups of Birch sap sitting in the bottom of the jug. This amount suited my needs and so I made sure to plug the hole with a piece of old wine cork and pack it with mud to prevent the tree from bleeding unnecessarily and to stop any infection from getting in.

The sap itself looks quite unremarkable, with a consistency of slightly viscous water and a subtle yellow colouration. The taste is very subtle too, sweet but not too sweet, very refreshing, with a texture that coats the tongue and a subtle fragrant aftertaste.

As I mentioned earlier, my first introduction to Birch sap was through the recipe recounted in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s cook book (available through his website). If I had the time and the space I would no doubt attempt to recreate this very cost effective (and by all accounts very delicious) alcoholic beverage. For the moment I am happy just sampling this strange and refreshing liquid, straight from the tree. Besides, if it is good for the tree and provides all the energy it needs to bedeck it with the lush green foliage and blossom throughout the spring and summer months then I can only hope it imparts some of that goodness onto me.

Let us know if you have any experience with tapping tree sap, of all different kinds, and if you have attempted any of the more complex processing methods to take it beyond its initial liquid state. If you do try this yourself, please respect the tree you are tapping, only take as much as you need and ensure you leave it in as good condition as possible.

Thank you for reading, we look forward to hearing from you.

Photos and article by Gareth Clayton

October 11, 2010
Fresh Perspective: A ‘Fresh’ Start

Fresh Perspectives by Sherry and Mathew | Comments Off Tags: , , , , —

It has been a whirlwind few weeks, lot’s happening, I have a lot to be grateful for. Some of you may know that Mat was away on his kayaking adventure with his Dad and Uncles up in the Bunsby islands. Unfortunately he was caught in the storm which hit northern Vancouver island and caused a State of Emergency. Landslides and bridges washed out, luckily for them they were rescued to Fair Harbor then were able to finally make it to Zeballos. I haven’t been on that end before, the end of the phone call when you find out something has happened but you have no way of knowing if everyone is okay. I am not one to worry until I get the facts but I have to say there were moments when the fear of never seeing him again seeped in.  He left a message and in hearing his voice I felt sudden relief, then thoughts overwhelmed me of taking him for granted. I started thinking about how we all take something for granted: our loves, our family, our health, our friends, our FOOD! So many things we think will always just be there until we get that shock one day that it is gone. That is when we beg, plead, bargain and promise things will be different. If ONLY I appreciated my partner, family, health, food etc.

Thanksgiving weekend is a perfect time for a ‘fresh’ start and look at our lives with a new perspective. With the yearly celebration of the harvest it is nice to look at what we are grateful for, the small things, the big things. I feel so blessed to have met the love of my life, have amazing family, friends and to live in a paradise where we can grow so much food. Sometimes in life it’s easy to get caught up day to day with what we are lacking, what is not working and how things are not how we want them to be. I have been there so many times, focusing on the problems and how I wish my life was different. Now with just shifting my perspective to all the things that I am grateful for, doors have opened up and opportunities have arisen to possibilities I never knew existed. We are all human and have a tendency to fall back on old behaviors but every moment is an opportunity to make a ‘Fresh’ start: To move from a place of lack to a place of abundance. It is everywhere, if we look around us, this time of year, such an abundance of local food: cabbage, apples, pears, pumpkins, kale, beets etc.(check out the Farm Fresh Guide for all the local abundance available.) So much to be grateful for.

I looked up the History of  Canadian Thanksgiving and found out that the first Thanksgiving was in 1578  when explorer Martin Frobisher celebrated surviving his journey from trying to find the Northern Passage way to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher’s Thanksgiving was not for harvest but homecoming, having avoided the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin. With Mat safely home I can’t help but feel a correlation and think sometimes it would be nice to give thanks to ourselves as well, for the journey we have endured to get to where we are today.

Well, I have made it home from my kayaking adventure. Now safely tucked into my little nest with my family, the hurricane force winds, wild Pacific seas and BUCKETS of rain seem like a distant memory. I must say I am very grateful to all the volunteers and kind people of Zeballos, their hard work and understanding made the bitterness of being stranded much more palpable.

After reading the history of our Canadian Thanksgiving I am also reminded of some of the things which I so easily take for granted. On my day to day journeys I find it easy to miss the rich diversity of abundance which is ever present in my life, how I can overlook this is unfortunate because it is really an eternal well spring of love and positive transformation. I guess that’s what Thanksgiving Day is to me, a reminder of how gratitude is an active proponent of personal growth and transformation. If I am alive, I am Grateful. On that note, Happy Gratitude day to all of you :)

Article and photo’s by Mat and Sherry

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Get Fresh with the Locals is the collaborative adventure of Elisabeth & Noah Bond, Lucas Copplestone and Caprina Valentine
phone: 250.416.6736 | email: info@getfreshguide.com