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2008/10/19 An Autumn Picnic in the RockiesAn autumn picnic in the Rockies....
One of my favorite things about being a prairie girl is living so close to the mountains. The scent of the fragrant spruce needles and the freshness of the northern mountain wind triggers an energy within that I am completely unaware I own until I am there. Nature wields her power upon us in the forested underbrush and one cannot pass by without being touched by the comforting calm of her peace filled wildness. Just sitting in silence is enough.
Breathe. We found our little spot just out of Lake Louise on the way to the Columbia Ice Fields. There was no one there, yet there were tables, washrooms, and garbage cans. It was perfect. So, out came the table cloth, napkins, plates and then the leftovers from their welcoming party a couple of nights prior: the beef and the buns, roasted red peppers, garden tomatoes, bocconcini and oven dried tomato salad, ajvar, home made mayo, and coleslaw. All left overs, and all perfect for this day.
Here's mom's recipe for our traditional (and famous within small circles) chocolate cake.
Chocolate Cake with Brown Sugar Icing
The Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Sift together the following:
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c cocoa
2 tsp BS
1 tsp BP
1/2 t salt
2 c sugar
Combine the following:
1 c buttermilk
2 eggs
1 c strong coffee (I now use espresso), cooled
1/2 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
Remaining Procedure Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat for 2 minutes on medium if using an electric beater, or until completely blended. The batter will be thin. Pour into prepared cake pan. This recipe makes one 9x11 inch cake or two 8 inch rounds.
Bake at 350 F for 35 -40 minutes.
The Brown Sugar Icing
Ingredients 3 c brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Procedure
place ingredients into a heavy saucepan and melt together
boil to soft ball stage, 234 F if using a candy thermometer
Add vanilla
Sit until slightly warm, then whisk until creamy and spread on the cake
You can also use an electric beater, but the consistency of the icing changes, though it is just as delicious
And, VOILA! You have a very moist, dense, delicious, very basic, and very old prairie farm treat! This one comes from central Alberta(the Lacombe area) and has been passed through families for well over 200 years. 2008/10/18 Alberta BeefWhen in Alberta, eat the beef. It is the best in the world. It may not be as expensive or as rare as Kobe beef. I mean, let's face it, we have space to farm in Alberta, and farm we do. It is true, we eat far, far too much meat per capita throughout all of North America, in Canada, and particularly in Alberta. So, we do need to learn how to not eat so much meat, but definitely eat Alberta Beef.
Can you taste it? If you live here, you can look at it, and taste it. I guarantee you. It's something about my dad's mother's old enamel roaster: the tables it has sat on, the families it has fed. It is the magic to the most succulent, tender beef ever. Just clean 2 or 3 bulbs of garlic, and slice the cloves thinly, push them deep into the fibers of the meat until it is completely stuffed with little slivers of garlic. Place it in the pan, oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover completely with Montreal Steak Spice, and close the lid firmly. Roast with the lid on for 20 minutes a pound. Remove from the oven and take the lid off. The roast is blackened with an indescribable depth of caramelization. The sauce steeped with flavour. The meat so tender, it is difficult to resist. Let it rest. Let it rest.
Slice , oh, so thinly. Saving all of the drippings for the darkest and richest of gravies. On this day, we served our Alberta Beef on a bun to welcome my daughter's beau to Canada. An understated presentation of a top notch product. Subtle only until the first bite. This is the way to a man's heart. For me, there is absolutely no doubt about that.
Oven Roasting Vine-ripened TomatoesThere's nothing like a tomato fresh out of the garden. It tastes like a childhood memory: sun hot and bursting with the perfect balance of acidic sweetness. This summer, my tomatoes had a very slow start, then raptured into a lively tangled jungle. Each day I rose at the first light of morning when the air is filled with the silence of still. First out to renew my spirit as I nurture Mother Nature's unfolding bounty and celebrate the wonder and miracle of each tender vein. Yes, I talk to my plants. I pat, pet, prop and pander. Once all are welcomed, well and watered, it is time for gathering my garden candy. The sweet little golden orange "Sun Sugar" variety are always my plucking preference, but together with the "Sweet 100's", new varietal grape tomatoes, the cherry romas, and others, create a jewelled medley.
We eat our fill, give to whomever would enjoy, and then I clean and dry them in my convection oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit. You can see I sliced some of the larger ones.
It usually takes 12 hours for one dish and 24 hours if two are in the same oven. The aroma is so appealing that they do get ogled at more than necessary.
YUM! The intensity of this flavour combination is a winner. Commanding all umami taste buds to stand at attention, this little garden concoction has it all. Here are the before and after shots.
They are plopped into a sterile jar, topped with every last drop of the remaining nectar, and frozen for future use... ... and ladled over some fresh bocconcini is just one of the many ways I use this treat in my kitchen over the cold winter months. A new kind of comfort food. The kind grown in my own garden, created with the most basic ingredients, made with my own hands: definitely my labour with love. Nothing is more comforting than that to those in my little corner of the world, I hope. (Another sigh of satisfaction for the simplest of small pleasures.)
A Visit to Janice Beaton's Farm in CalgaryA visit to FARM, Janice Beaton's newest venture in Calgary was a weekend highlight! The Cookbook Company Cooks in Calgary is a must-stop-and-shop for any person who loves to cook, particularly any prairie person. Gail Norton most definitely has her finger on the pulse of what's happening in our kitchens and any hard-to-find item will be there, or she'll tell you where to find it. Last Saturday, I was in the store browsing through her shelves laden with exotic tidbits, my creative imagination on overload, when I learned of a place to stop for a bite to eat that had just opened three days earlier called "FARM", a tasting room. It was lunch time, we were hungry, so we headed out to find it.
It was a glorious sunny fall day with the scent of apples and autumn colours in the air. We spotted the unassuming awning and were drawn to the tiny rustic vestibule. The room beyond: long and narrow, somehow just pulls you into it. Immediately, I was excited. The large communal farm family table seating, sparkling chandeliers, and tasting boards were just too unique to not quiver over. And the warmth of the staff was downright homey.
We perched at the bar so I couldn't miss a bit of the action. The back wall is covered with a chalkboard listing the daily charcuterie and cheese tasting fare. The menu offers seasonal dishes, and a tasting menu was waiting at our seat with a pencil to circle what tastes we wanted to select. Just sitting in the stool, feet dangling, made me happy. Nostalgia. In front of me at the bar was a series of old milk bottles filled with ice water. Across the bar, an aged enamal pan.
I felt like I belonged, and that somehow, I had been here before. I chose the beet pesto and the olive tepenade to start, and added the Duck Rillette, a Salami and the Sylvan Star Gouda. Vanja ordered the Mac 'n cheese. We probably both missed out on one important part of the tasting experience - the wine or beer suggested to accompany each taste. Neither is my thing, nor his. Quite a shame, really. Also, too early in the day for my weak-kneed system.
The beet pesto and tepenade arrived. Fresh, light, earthy and full bodied. Lots of cheese, toasted pine nuts. I remembered making a beet pesto very similar to this and wondered why I forgot about it. The tepenade had a surprising and pleasing citrus note, I would guess a tad of orange oil. Also, tasty. I did not think that this pairing was a great fit, but individually, each was bright and lively in the mouth.
The tasting plate was when the real fun started. Each cheese or meat comes with an accompaniment that the chef sees as a compliment to the choice that together create the "Taste" experience. The Duck Rillette was accompanied with Chef Adam's mother's pickle recipe: an addictive match. The Sylvan Star Gouda was accompanied with organic dried apple slices: a classic paring and a delightful surprise as the texture combination of the crispy dried apple and the creamy, dense cheese was brilliant. The Salami was paired with a Dijon. I had so much fun nibbling and biting, crunching and munching, savouring and sipping. Yum!
Vanja's Mac 'n cheese was very bold. One bite, and you sit up straight in your chair, without question. Lip-smackingly delicious, yet not the baked mac 'n cheese dish that I prefer. The cheesy sauce generously draped the pasta, but hadn't been baked into it. It was just too soupy for my palate. The root vegetable slaw had a very simple, yet perfect dressing: mayo and dijon. And then (drum roll) the dessert menu arrived:
TA-DA
Is it just me that gets really, really excited when I see an idea used like this? It was actually a thrill for me to get this little "recipe" card as it just pushed too many of my "just-right" buttons. (completely satisfied "sigh" - I didn't even need the dessert once I received the card to read!) I really wanted to try a desset, but was far too content and know I had a glassy-eyed smile pasted sideways across my face when I headed for the door.
Janice Beaton's Fine Cheese extends beyond FARM, and faces east on 16th Avenue, while Farm opens to the west on 17th. Everything on the tasting menu can be purchased in her store to take home and enjoy.
So, of course, I did...
and there is no bigger compliment that one can give to a place one has been than to try to repeat it. Here is my first attempt that evening before going to dinner, in our hotel room, with a bottle of homemade ajvar brought from home and some of the meats and cheeses from Beaton's.
My second attempt was our Thanksgiving dinner "tastes" before "the meal". Here, I was very pleased with a couple of my pairings:
The close ups: duck confit (made by me) with the crispy skin crumbled on top ( no pairing); St. Andres cheese with a black currant dijon: a burst of pucker-power with a lucious buttery finish, heavenly; Canmore's smoked buffalo with pistachios, Caprese with caper berries, and my Duck Rillette with sugared dill pickle sticks.
Meat and cheese with condiments and pickles: how can such old basic foods be so new?
Because...
We seem to have lost sight of the simplicity of the tastes of basic ingredients.
We seem to have lost the time to savour our food.
We appreciate being brought back to our roots, to a reawakening of our senses and to once again understand the importance of the value that great local produce offers to the quality of one's life.
Hats off to Janice. This year, I am thankful for the "FARM". |
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