Bounteous Vancouver Island - September 2009
This is my kind of living and the kind of life almost anyone can lead when it comes to the food and beverage scene on Vancouver Island. I could feel a palpable excitement in the air as I approached. My pace quickened from a walk almost to a trot, my nose caught a whiff of crepes sizzling on a hot pan and from a little stage surrounded by seats made of hay bales I heard a local singer crooning the perfect tune for a Saturday morning farmers' market, Bruce Cockburn's "Going to the Country."
Comox Valley Farmer's Market
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I could feel a palpable excitement in the air as I approached. My pace quickened from a walk almost to a trot, my nose caught a whiff of crepes sizzling on a hot pan and from a little stage surrounded by seats made of hay bales I heard a local singer crooning the perfect tune for a Saturday morning farmers' market, Bruce Cockburn's "Going to the Country."
A few more steps and I was surrounded by the full impact of the fresh produce of the Comox Valley. In the days before the Saturday market, I had been touring around the farms, food producers and wineries of the valley. Everyone I met consistently told me two things: This market is a real farmers' market, and go early to avoid disappointment. I wasn't disappointed. This market is for people serious about food. As I wandered through the selection of vendors hailing from local farms, there were very few non-food items for sale. Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries; tomatoes, peppers and beans, including soy beans and fava beans; the first corn of the season and much more. Processed foods included salsas and sauces, pickles and jams. Pleasant surprises included the variety of meats available, ranging from beef and pork to goat and bison. I'll have more about how this diversity of food is supported by the community in an upcoming issue, but I can't leave the Comox Valley Farmers' Market without sharing a couple of lasting impressions. The first was the impression left on my taste buds by my breakfast crepe whipped up at the Tria Culinary Studio booth by chef Kathy Jerritt. |
The batter cooked on a traditional crepe griddle to golden brown crispness, stuffed with smoky shards of Tannadice Farms bacon, a farm fresh egg, shavings of cheese and piquant arugula leaves from Nature's Way Farm. Comox Valley Farmers' Market: Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon, until Thanksgiving, at the Exhibition Grounds on Headquarters Road. Wed., 9 a.m. - noon at Simms Park, Courtenay. www.comoxvalleyfarmersmarket.com(for more info and details of the off-season indoor market) |
Feast of Fields, Vancouver Island
| Even before I moved to Vancouver Island, I would visit every September just to take in the annual Feast of Fields, a wonderful event where farmers, chefs, musicians and consumers all gather together to celebrate seasonal bounty in a graze-fest that also raises a lot of money for food-worthy causes. Now in its 12th year, the event is organized by Farm Folk/City Folk, an organization devoted to supporting community-based sustainable food systems. Feast of Fields is held at a different farm on South Vancouver Island every year. Large white tents are scattered across the fields, and under each tent you will find chefs from many Vancouver Island restaurants devoting their time and energy towards serving a small dish of food made with local ingredients. Or, you might find a British Columbia winery pouring tastes of their best vintages, ciderworks with their apple magic and B.C. Breweries with a glass of ale or lager to share. It's a place to connect the dots between producer, ingredients and chefs, with the public as the lucky recipient at the end of the food chain. Proceeds from the Feast of Fields have supported a growing number of deserving projects. Last year no fewer than 12 projects benefited, ranging from support to build greenhouses and micro-irrigation systems to composting programs and gardens for children to learn how to grow food. This year Feast of Fields takes place Sept. 20 at Providence Farm near Duncan. Tickets sell quickly so make sure you don't miss out on an incredible experience. |
Vancouver Island Feast of Fields: |
Estavan Tuna
| For this month's recipe I'm calling on another favourite B.C. seafood product: Albacore tuna. Raw, cooked, canned, smoked, it's delicious in any state and is a sustainable resource. There are several tuna fishers on the B.C. coast who are now selling directly to the public through mail order and farmers' markets as well as some specialty retail outlets. Dianne Devereux of Estevan Tuna south of Courtenay offers three different canned tunas. Devereux explains that offshore tuna products are cooked twice, once to remove the valuable oils, and again when it is canned, robbing the tuna of flavour and moisture. Estevan's ordinary canned tuna is simply pure albacore tuna and salt. A new product is tuna canned with a teaspoon of organic extra-virgin olive oil, offered in response to demand from Italian, Spanish and Portuguese-Canadians used to that style. |
Finally, Estevan offers cans of tuna smoked using the secret recipe closely guarded by St. Jean's Cannery of Nanaimo. Frozen products include boneless, skinless tuna loins and smoked tuna loins. Penny for penny, albacore tuna is one of the most economical ways to add a tasty and nutritious seafood to your diet. Estevan Tuna: www.bctuna.com |
This month's Recipie
Tuna Poke (pronounced pohkay)
| This dish is common in Hawaii, where they use a variety of fish and a variety of spicings, so feel free to experiment. Cut a quarter pound of raw albacore tuna into bite-sized chunks and put in a bowl. Add a splash of sesame oil, a splash of soya sauce, a splash of fish sauce if desired, one finely chopped green onion, some cilantro if desired, and a dollop of hot chili paste. Mix all ingredients and sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds and some slivered nori (seaweed sheets) if desired. Serve with rice crackers, or for a more elegant presentation, place a mouthful of poke on a Chinese or Japanese style ceramic soup spoon. |
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Written by Don Genova
Don Genova is a food journalist and food culture instructor based in Cobble Hill.
Follow his food adventures through his website, www.dongenova.com.
