Blog Description Copyright @ChefatHand http://chefathand.com Thu, 26 November 2015 13:47:00 Thu, 26 November 2015 13:47:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/the-gift-of-hope-a-chefbenefits-initiative/ From now, until supplies last, ChefatHand.com by way of ChefBenefits Delicious Profits for Fundraisers will donate all profits from the sale of Domenica Fiore Olio Novello 2015 to the Boys Club Network.  Last night, ChefatHand.com had the pleasure of facilitating the surprise premier of Domenica Fiore's Olio Novello 2015, during a Westcoast Boys Club Network Foundation (aka BCN) event at the gorgeous Rosewood Hotel Georgia.  For those of you new to Olio Novello, know that for Italians, the arrival of 'new [olive] oil' is akin to the French celebrating the arrival of Boujoulais Nouveau.  It's a big deal, a very big deal! The Domenica Fiore Olio Novello just landed in Canada and won't be shipped out to customers until Monday November 30th, so for those in attendance last night - many of whom had been waiting on the 2015 vintage - the premier tasting was pretty special. And it was. I have really enjoyed each vintage of Domenca Fiore Olio Novello, but this one is crazy good.  To be honest, I was cautious in my optimism, because the tasting notes read 'Fresh cut grass, chicory, tomato leaves and cardoon'.  I don't love the smell of tomato leaves (too much dead-heading perhaps) and fresh cut grass can be so strong it sinks every other fragrance and flavour in its path, but I needn't have worried.  The tasting notes were in fact right on, but what they neglected to mention was balance - those flavours are present in heavenly proportion. The tomato leaf was lovely and fruity, the chicory warm, the grass to me was more like freshly baled hay, and the cardoon was so bright - pulled straight from an Orvietan inverno orto.  And the colour - a spectacular olive/lime/unripe tomato sort of green that shimmers like polished beach glass. If anything was missing, it was enough bottles to make everyone happy. Two large 500ml bottles disappeared quickly, soaked up into tasting-size chunks of beautiful Tuscan bread baked fresh by hotel staff.  The third bottle disappeared entirely, but was later spotted tucked tightly under the arm of a certain Olio Novello-loving host, whose Rosewood Hotel Georgia we were inhabiting, and whose company, Delta Group, had sponsored dinner.  Fair enough. Domenica Fiore Proprietario Frank Giustra was happy to share his knowledge, passion and enthusiasm with equally enthusiastic tasters - among them actor Neal McDonough and his wife Ruvé who like me, consider olive oil a food group all its own. TSN1040's Bro Jake Edwards (event auctioneer) and Dave Pratt, and actors Cameron Bancroft, Mike Dupud, and Mike Kopsa who were there to perform in a gritty, heart-wrenching reality stage play called Man Up!, based on the true story of the original Boys Club Network. Giustra is a founding patron of the Network and he, together with other patrons, donors, mentors and a stellar crowd of invited guests had gathered for a Networking Event to raise funds and awareness for BCN and the hundreds of at-risk boys they help all year, year after year.  When I'm not nose in a cookbook, digging around in the garden, or knee deep in the kitchen, I help the Network with communications and fundraising - hence the connection.  BCN's mandate is to provide HOPE to over 350 at-risk boys attending eight chapters throughout the Lower Mainland. HOPE is an acronym for Hope, Oppportunity, Postive mentorship and Education.  I know first-hand that BCN squeezes every last bit of life out of each and every dollar they receive, so it is our pleasure to launch ChefBenefits in benefit of BCN. So, when you are thinking about gifting, giving, and receiving this holiday season, consider giving or receiving HOPE in benefit of an at-risk boy who really needs it.  Your gift will be accompanied by a gift tag explaining the 100% ChefBenefit to BCN. To purchase Domenica Fiore Olio Novello, visit the Domenica Fiore pages of our online store.  If you live in the Lower Mainland and wish to purchase six or more bottles or caselots of 12 bottles, email us at info@chefathand.com and we can make local delivery arrangements. Merry Gifting and Happy Olio! http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/the-gift-of-hope-a-chefbenefits-initiative/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/the-gift-of-hope-a-chefbenefits-initiative/ Thu, 26 November 2015 13:47:00 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/now-thats-a-wrap!-super-delicious,-uber-nutritious/ It isn't an exageration to admit that wraps - those beautifully soft, pliable, kid-friendly discs of wheat or gluten-free unleavened carbs - changed my life.  And then along came quinoa, and together with prepared organic chicken broth and organic olive oil, the celebrated so-called super-grain changed my life even more.  Suddenly, I could jam-pack all kinds of delicious and nutritious goodness into fun to eat, easy to make, portable little bundles.  And the best part - I could make the savoury, super delicious, hyper-nutritious main ingredient in bulk, and leave it in the fridge until called into service for school lunches, boating, camping and picnics, and after-school and midnight snacks. Like most people, I'm busy and I don't have time for complicated.  I find that if I focus on multi-tasking when I'm in the kitchen, I save all kinds of time and money, and feed my family really healthy, delicious food more often.  For example, when I'm making Sunday dinner, I put a cup on rainbow quinoa on the stove to boil, uncovered in two cup plus three-quarters or so of organic chicken broth plus a heaping teaspoon of super fine ethnic spice and a big pinch (three fingers, one thumb) of sea salt.  As soon as the mixture boils, I turn it down and leave it do its thing for 20 minutes or so. Once the liquid has been absorbed, I turn the gas off and cover the pot with a dish towel and lid. The cloth draws in the last steamy bits, allowing the grains to separate and fluff up. Once cool (not before) I stir in a few generous tablespoons full of polyphenol-packed extra virgin olive oil, which helps keep the quinoa moist and adds flavour. Before dinner's done, I have a week's worth of quinoa base tucked away in the fridge (or freezer, for later use), stored in a microwave/freezer/dishwasher-safe one-lid container, labeled with quick-dissolve tape.  This makes lunch life easy and efficient, because I know that any manner of left-over protein, vegetable, even fruit, can be dressed-up with other pantry basics just enough to create a super tasty gourmet wrap.  In fact, I cook extra dinner almost always because doing so saves me considerable time and money over the week. Left over tuna, halibut or salmon + capers, spare frittata + goat cheese, sliced surplus pork chop + dried currants or chopped dried apricots, day-old cold mashed potato and roasted beets + diced apple, and all manner of pasta - just about anything goes.  Our family favourite is left-over thin crust Margherita pizza, chopped fine and added to quinoa base made with chicken broth and super fine Italian spice blend, finished with a touch of basil or garlic garnishing oil or pretty much any vinaigrette from the squeeze bottles lining the refrigerator door.   You can't imagine how good that tastes. Seriously good! Culinary sidetrip:  This past week, we had frittata for Sunday supper.  Ironically, the frittata was made using surplus kale and veggie salad, left from Saturday.  The beauty of lettuce-free vegetable and firm-fruit salads is that they keep well in the fridge for a day or so, provided they aren't drowned in dressing and that there is enough acid in the dressing to keep any apple, pear or such from oxidizing (turning brown). The frittata (recipe for another day) was little more than two quarts of kale salad, turned into diced onion cooked down in extra virgin olive oil and confit garlic (see recipe), then wilted in the pan in a splash of chicken broth. A dozen organic eggs aerated with more broth were gently folded in, the mixture was cooked to just set in the pan, then dotted with pearls of goat cheese and finished in a 350F/175C oven. The last of 2014's roasted fennel and tomato ketchup (recipe for another day) was just the thing to tart up this rustic dish and elevate the spice enough to merit a nice big red wine. There was just enough frittata left over to transform three of today's six quinoa wraps into mini international feasts for the senses.  The other three were protein-boosted with albacore tuna, julienned carrot and diced preserved lemon.  It took mere seconds to wrap it all up before breakfast, and out the door the family went, wraps in hand, looking forward already, to lunch.  My family loves their super-delicous, uber-nutritious lunch wraps, but not half as much as I do.  Switching quinoa for brown rice at a ratio of 1:2 with organic chicken or vegetable stock, plus super fine spice and sea salt, is another great way to pack a lot of goodness and flavour into a side dish or base for wraps. The healthy holy trinity:Chicken broth has been credited with containing all sorts of actual and mythical beneficial compounds.  The immune-boosting, nutritive, restorative values of bone broth are supported by science in that the broth contains varying degrees of various broken-down vitamins and trace minerals in a form the body can easily absorb - calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, cysteine, chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine - among them. Benefits vary according to who makes the broth and how it is processed and packaged, but when I can't access homemade chicken (or veggie) broth, I have faith in Canada's organic producers. Quinoa, one of the latest additions to the super food or super grain category of ingredients, is a mini storehouse of goodness.  According to AuthorityNutrition.com, quinoa's complex blend of vitamins (B6 in particular) and minerals (iron, copper, thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and folate), fats and oils, fatty acids, antioxidants and protein, make it unique among even super foods.  Knowing that makes quinoa a no-brainer lunch ingredient in my book.  I'll take it over Nutella anyday.  Rainbow quinoa, a blend of white, red, brown and baby grains is my default choice simply because it looks happy and all-dressed even on its own.  According to the Olive Oil Times:  Among plant oils, olive oil is richest in monounsaturated fat, which doesn't oxidize in the body, and its low in polyunsaturated fat, the kind that does oxidize.  Olive oil is rich in vitamin E and contains polyphenols - credited with reducing aging and inflamation, even inflamation related to stroke.  Olive oil lowers the levels of total blood cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. The phytonutrient in olive oil, oleocanthal, mimics the effect of ibuprofin in reducing inflamation, which can reduce the risk of breast cancer and its recurence.  I aim for 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil per day, per person for my family. And that, as they say is a wrap! http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/now-thats-a-wrap!-super-delicious,-uber-nutritious/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/now-thats-a-wrap!-super-delicious,-uber-nutritious/ Mon, 02 November 2015 12:28:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/pasta-fresca-ultra-quick,-nutritious,-delicious/ Delayed gratification is a concept that I, like so many practitioners of domestic culinary arts before me have come to understand very well.  Today, like so many days in the life of our busy family, I am blind-sided by big company for dinner.  Our kitchen door is always open, and today my husband will descend briefly with a truckload of assorted teenagers in need of meaningful sustenance between soccer on the island and hockey in the city. Today, this Saturday in the winter of October, is proof of concept. Measurable, meaningful validation that so many summer and early fall evenings working late into the night, preserving and putting up the growing season's bounty for the season of rest ahead, were worth their weight in gold - and red and green and purple. Season of rest is of course a misnomer.  Like most people, we are busy, busy all the time.  Rest refers only to what we see happening in the produce garden. Little grows with vigor, but beneath the mulch and the soil, nature works her regenerative magic in preparation for spring. Above ground, in our pantry and kitchen, the fruits and vegetables of our labours sparkle in hundreds of glass jars alongside dried herbs, peppers and other such, waiting to be called into duty. One of my family's favourite meals - followed closely by my long-simmering, thick and chunky Sunday supper tomato sauce with pesto di verdure - is pasta fresca.   Pasta fresca (translation: fresh pasta; fresh pulp) is really just a reference to the qualities of the sauce, which is nothing more than peeled tomatoes I've put up in glass jars, crushed then heated quickly (just to boiling then removed from the stove, covered) together with some mashed confit garlic and its infused oil, plus a few generous rubs of fresh-dried oregano leaves. Into this hot pot of incredibly fresh and extraordinarily juicy, sweet and savoury (watery) sauce, goes hot dry (well-drained) papardelle pasta cooked just shy of al dente.  And here the magic happens.  The flavour-packed garlic and herb infused tomato water (juice) gets sucked up into the still-thirsty shy space in the pasta, and the fine pulpy threads of bright red tomato settle deliciously in between the noodles, now blushed pink. Finally, an unctuous stream of excellent quality olive oil (like Domenica Fiore) is turned through the pasta, and the steaming pot is set out on the table with a small bowl of crushed, mild, fresh-dried chili peppers.  Grated or curled peccorino or parmesan are lovely options, but not necessary.  This dish is brilliant on its own, offering deep layers of honest, clean, bright flavours. Confit garlic is an easy to make pantry staple that requires little more than quality garlic, extra virgin olive oil, a slow oven, and an afternoon otherwise occupied.  Using confit garlic in pasta fresca or any dish is a fantastic chef's trick that instantly imbues long-simmered goodness - more delayed gratification proof of concept.  Confit garlic is sweet, warm, nutty and mellow, so there is really no limit to how much you can use.  Two to three cloves, each in its own teaspoon of mild garlic-infused oil, per quart of fresh tomatoes is what I use and it seems just right. So today, in 20 minutes or less - the time it takes the truckload to drive home from the ferry - I can deliver delayed gratification, fresh-picked summer, and all kinds of goodness to family and friends. And I can do it again and again, gratefully and gracefully until the end of the season of rest. Until it is time once again, to put up. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/pasta-fresca-ultra-quick,-nutritious,-delicious/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/pasta-fresca-ultra-quick,-nutritious,-delicious/ Sat, 24 October 2015 09:37:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/preserving-tomatoes-in-glass-jars-is-indeed-a-process/ Tomatoes are many things - luscious, sweet, tart, beautiful, smooth and silky, even sexy.  It is no surprise then that this beautiful fruit can also be dangerous.  When it comes to putting up (canning, preserving, jarring) tomatoes, we look to the pros - the uncontested authors of the Slow Food Movement and quiet authorities on managing all things voluptuous...  We look of course, to the Nonnas.  Generations of Italian and Italian-Canadian grandmothers, charged with providing for large families year-round, using only what they grew, preserved and prepared with their own loving, cautious hands.  Nonnas know about tomatoes. From Nonas and from hundreds of their passed down and along recipes, scribbled notes and tales told around the table, we've learned how to put up tomatoes safely. Once we knew to be cautious, the science was easy:  if the required acidity and pH are not achieved before processing, tomatoes and other low-acid foods like green beens, corn, beets and asparagus, can produce illnesses such as food-borne botulism. The high-heat associated with hot water canning is not sufficient to kill certain pathogens in a low-acid environment, so correcting the environment is an easy fix. Many tomato varieties, like the meaty vine-ripened San Marzanos we love (above), are very sweet when ripe. This in turn means they generally have medium-low acid and a pH  of 4.5-5.2.  To safely preserve tomatoes for future use, a pH level below 4.6 must be achieved.  This can be done with bottled lemon juice or vinegar.  Organic lemon juice is best.  Fresh lemons are not a reliable source as sweetness and acid vary by variety (ie: sweet Meyer lemons).  Bottled vinegar should be 5% acetic acid by volume.  Salt too, should be added.  It is impossible to test every variety and batch of tomatoes before canning, so we rely on a gold-standard that seems to work across the board and ensures a neutral tomato canvas from which to work your culinary magic.  For every quart of whole or crushed tomatoes, we add one teaspoon of salt (we use Sicilian sea salt) and 3 tablespoons of white wine or cider vinegar, or lemon juice.   This acid-balancing, plus a slow ascent to 212F on the stovetop, and an old-school hot water bath of the extended variety, take some time to be sure, but they also take the worry. And that, as any Nonna will tell you, is well worth the wait. To Preserve Old School Tomatoes in Glass Jars Our shopping list: Tomatoes (approximately 2.5 lbs/1.25 kilos yields one quart), bottled lemon juice or any variety of 5% acid white vinegar (5% acid), and salt.  We estimate the quantity of acid required by calculating 3 tablespoons per quart.  Likewise with salt, using a ratio of one teaspoon per quart.  Use sterilized chip-free glass quart jars with screw rings and (new) seals. Wash tomatoes.  Remove stem, core and any blemishes.  When removing black blight marks, be sure to check the flesh beneath as a small surface blight can actually contaminate an entire tomato inside. Rinse tomatoes and compost trimmings. We can outside rain or shine, using a much-loved but beat up old enamel-top canning table, set next to an outdoor sink and grill. Set a large pot of plain water to a rolling boil. Set trimmed tomatoes to the left of the pot and three bowls to the right. The first bowl should contain 50/50 ice cubes and cold water, and the second two bowls should be empty.   Working with three trimmed tomatoes at a time, drop fruit into boiling water and wait for up to one minute or until you see the skin crack and begin to peel away from the flesh at the cut end.  Remove tomatoes quickly from the water and plunge them into the icewater bath. This hot/cold process is called blanching.  Peel blanched tomatoes over the second bowl.  The skin should fall away using just your fingers. If it does not, drop the tomato back into the boiling water for a few seconds. Note that skin sticks stubbornly to un-ripe spots, and unripe tomatoes are harder to peel.  Place peeled, whole tomatoes in the third bowl. You'll develop your own rythm. Three at a time works for me. Over the years, trying different methods and making mistakes along the way, we've come to a standard three types of naked tomatoes (no basil, no spice, no olive oil added before canning) - thin, medium and chunky.  The integrity of the tomatoes you put into the cooking pot, before bringing to temperature, determines what goes into the glass jar. However, every type of tomato will render and process differently, so just because we suggest you will end up with whole/chunky canned tomatoes in the end, does not mean that you will.  Uncertainty is part of the fun! On this day, whole tomatoes begat whole/chunky preserves, halved tomatoes (above) begat medium preserves, and hand-crushed tomatoes begat a thin sauce-like preserve.  Most recipes using whole canned tomatoes, suggest cooking times that render the pulp completely, ultimately, so plan accordingly and be flexible regardless. Use a heavy-bottom dutch oven or stockpot to bring the tomatoes to boil slowly under their own steam (do not add water) with the lid on.  Stir very gently and only as neccessary to prevent scorching.  A good quality enamelled pot like La Creuset should allow you to bring tomatoes to boil almost without stirring.  Another trick is to use a new or vintage cast-iron griddle as a simmering plate, to displace heat evenly and prevent bottom-burn.  The less disturbed your tomatoes are during heat up, the less they will break apart.   The halved tomatoes shown above were brought to boil with little disturbance and remained (below the juice risen to the top), largely intact.  Hint:  Mark your stockpot inside and out at each quart level, using a permanent marker.  You could argue for or against marking a precious pot (our large 14-quart stainless stock pot is indeed scarred but the marks make for great memories).  Marking allows you to calculate, add and thoroughly incorporate acid and salt in quantity** before canning, rather than quart-by-quart* as you fill each jar.   Fill hot, sterilized jars with hot tomatoes, using a sterilized ladle and funnel.  Fill to within 1/2 inch/1.25 cm of top edge of jar - this rule is important to adhere to as it affords optimal expansion/contraction space to create safe vacuum seal (and no underwater explosions), and also ensures that food does not touch the lid fo the jar during processing and storage. If using the quart-by-quart* method of balancing, add three tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar and one teaspoon of salt to each half-full jar, then continue filling with hot tomatoes.  If using the quantity** method described above to add acid and salt during initial heating of the tomatoes, do not add anything additional as you fill the jars. Use a sterilized rubber or plastic wand to agitate any air bubbles to the surface (do not use metal as jars can crack).  Wipe top edge of glass jar with a clean lint-free cloth dipped in boiling water (re-fold and use fresh clean surface of cloth for each jar). Place hot sealing lid on clean glass surface and twist on screw-ring. Hand tighten only - do not over-tighten. Process immediately in hot water bath for 50 minutes.  Add filled hot jars to boiling water, gently, ensuring that jars are submerged by two inches.  Begin timing when water returns to boiling.  Cover and check water level occasionally.  Top-up with already boiling water as needed.  After 50 minutes, uncover pot and turn off heat.  Let jars sit undisturbed for 10 minutes, then remove with jars with tongs and place on a cooling rack for one full-day before disturbing or labelling.  Check sealing lids to ensure that the convex bumps in the centre of each lid has been sucked down to flat (slightly concave) to create an airtight seal.  As jars cool, you will likely hear the telltale 'pings' that indicate success. Unsealed jars of tomatoes should be used immediately or placed in the fridge and used within a few days. The beauty of preserved naked tomatoes, is that they are gastronomically neutral.  On a whim, we can create Italian, Moroccan, Asian, Greek, Thai, Mexican or Cajun influence.  Naked tomatoes can be reduced, expanded, embelished, cocktailed, filtered and otherwise fetted as you wish, without prejudice. On this day, in homage to the generations of Nonnas who inspired and keep us safe, we stayed as close to home as we could.  A simple week-day Sunday sauce of sorts started with 1/2 cup (125ml) extra virgin Olio Classico from Domenica Fiore. Use the best extra virgin olive oil you can find. A half-dozen small cloves of Persian Star garlic from a local organic farm, were poached low in the oil, covered, for almost one hour.  We added a quart of chunky San Marzano tomatoes then let that simmer down for another hour, watching it turn from foamy bright pinky red, to shiny copper mahogany.  We finished with a pinch each salt and crushed dried home-grown cayenne pepper.  Just before serving over home-made, hand-cut durum semolina and egg pappardelle, we stirred in a handful of fresh-picked oregano and basil leaves.  Nothing else needed after so much love and time in.  No cheese, no fancy, no nothing at all! This blog post is based on personal experience and successes to date.  Preserving tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables requires careful research and planning, and the published rules and recommendations change frequently and with varying altitude (literally).  Always check Canada's Home Canning Safety Recommendations before proceeding with this or any home preserving or home canning project. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/preserving-tomatoes-in-glass-jars-is-indeed-a-process/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/preserving-tomatoes-in-glass-jars-is-indeed-a-process/ Mon, 31 August 2015 12:28:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/bc-spot-prawn-tales-a-culinary-adventure/ It never ceases to amaze and delight me, just what this beautiful country promises eat-local food enthusiasts.  Like most people born here, I frequently take for granted how much our Canadian mother earth provides - most particularly in Southern British Columbia/Vancouver Island.  Early last week, I was served a delightful, delicious reminder. On my way home from the city, I had detoured, hopefully, to Granville Island in Vancouver's False Creek, to make a quick stop at  Fisherman's Wharf.  It was mid-day and I planned to catch the fishing boats as they arrived back from sea. At this time of year - BC Spot Prawn season to be precise, the fishing is relatively easy (so I'm told).  I was in luck, two prawn boats had just tied up and another was drifting in to catch the last vendor space at the fish sales float. I headed straight for the Lormax vessel.  Your quintessential aluminum-hulled fishboat with temperature-regulated and oxygenated below-deck holds, nets and rigging hanging dry, and a personable crew.  A (much) larger than life sign invited purchase of live prawns and the gathering crowd was eager to oblige.  After a quick introduction, I was invited aboard. How fun. I felt very much at home on board, taking part in one of the world's oldest trades.  A full sensory overload to be sure; smell of deisel and the sea, cry of the gulls, wind at my back and all that.  It was glorious.  My host was Captain Stewart McDonald, a third generation westcoast fisherman, working four fisheries as weather permits (and when it doesn't) for 35+ years.  Stewart named his boat after his children Lauren and Maxwell. His email handle is none other than Salty. At our stern, aboard another aluminum vessel, a very rugged and work-weathered (a la Deadliest Catch) crew was doing a brisk business with a steady flow of customers clearly familiar and loyal to them.  At our starboard bow, a tidy eco-branded fishing company complete with logo gear and custom-printed packaging, began serving a growing line-up of international tourists who no doubt read about the offering online in a Top 10 things to do in Vancouver blog.  How fabulous, the choice and diversity that exists for customers, even among fishing vessels. On that day anyway, Lormax customers were almost exclusively professional and hobby chefs, retired fishermen, and eat-local food enthusiasts hell bent on procuring Stewart's live BC spot prawns.  I was in heaven to be sure, and took every opportunity to ask too many questions of any and everyone who came alongside to buy. Semi-retired fisherman Neil Jensen was a spot prawn veteran who handily beheaded 30 pounds of live prawns, on the spot, to take home and double cryovac seal in portion packs for freezing.  Resident crows and seagulls, well-versed in the art of snatching, were permitted to swoop in for cast offs here and there.  Ever-mindful about food waste, I volunteered to take several pounds of prawn heads home to make stock and bisque.   The heads will remain packed away in my freezer until the days cool down, and I am recovered from the busy, seemingly endless business of collecting and putting up summer's fruit and veg. Neil prefers his prawns barely cooked (saute 45 seconds, each side) in equal parts olive oil and butter with a very small sprinkle of salt and more of pepper.  He has tried prawns every way to Sunday he said, adding that simple is best.  A young female chef on-dock buying prawns for evening service, purchased a few pounds to take home to her husband.  He tosses them briefly in one part lemon juice, two parts white wine (enough to coat plus several extra tablespoons to mop up with fresh bread), before finishing them (marinade included) quickly in a hot pan with a pat of sweet butter. A very charming Italian-Canadian gentlemen purchased two pounds (apparently he does this several times a week, during the season) to make a spaghetti recipe that he saw demonstrated on Food Network.  He explained that he first beheads and shells the prawns and uses the cast-offs to make a simple stock.  He then cooks the pasta noodles al dente in the salted stock and also uses it to thin his home-made tomato sauce.  Just before serving, he poaches the prawn meat in the tomato sauce. He wasn't keen to share his sauce recipe, but regardless, this is a technique I am keen to perfect on my own and I will share the recipe. I asked Stewart to tell me his favourite way to prepare prawns, but judging from his polite bob and dodge, it was clear to me that he doesn't cook prawns at home.  He did offer however, that in his perfect world, BC spot prawns and house-made saffron aioli dip from the Fish Counter on Main Street, figure prominently. The highlight of my spectacular afternoon was enjoying fresh prawns with ToJo's (yes, that Tojo's) Manager Dragon Ryu and Apprentice Chef Oikawa Kazuma. When I asked them how the venerable Chef Hidekazu Tojo prepares spot prawns, they recommended his lightly steamed and sauteed spot prawns in garlic and soy, or the spot prawn sushi roll, but they offered that during the season, Tojo guests have a choice of two or three spot prawn preparations.  With unforgettable enthusiasm, they suggested that fresh prawns, right out of the trap, were the ultimate delicacy, particularly among Japanese chefs.  With that, Dragon and Stewart beheaded and shelled two live jumbo spot prawns, rinsed them in clean seawater (reserved from 300 ft down), and handed one - still wriggling - to me.  Dragon thoroughly enjoyed the other. Big smile. It was, I admit, incredibly sweet and fresh like nothing I've ever tasted.   According to Dragon, cleaned prawns sweeten considerably with a wee bit of age (a relative term in the world of refrigerated seafood) and are at their sweetest three or four hours after being killed.   Until then, top-shelf restaurants like Tojo's keep their spot prawns alive and happy in seawater provided by Stewart.  In a temperature-controlled tank hidden somewhere at Fisherman's Wharf, more than 2,000 gallons of clean, clear seawater, collected from a depth of 300ft is oxygenated and controlled for salinity, just for chefs.  Stewart's seawater is theirs for the asking, which might in part explain the line-up. After a blissful hour or so, was on my way home with 10 pounds of BC spot prawns and 10 pounds more of heads, tucked away on ice in a cooler.  A giant canning pot full of live prawns delighted the kids when they returned home from school, and my husband volunteered to clean the lot of them* provided we could enjoy a generous portion for dinner.  He did and we did - dressed simply (the prawns, not Walter) in Domenica Fiore Olio Classico, pinot gris, lemon juice, sweet garlic confit, and tender baby thyme on-the-stock straight out of the garden - and just flashed and tossed in a single layer in a very hot pan, for about a minute.  They continued to cook to perfection once plated. The local organic market near where I live was offering moderately-sized spot prawns on ice, for $79.99 per kilo, or $36.28 per pound.  The everyman price for huge live BC spot prawns at Fisherman's Wharf on the day of my visit was $17 per pound.  The chef price of course was slightly less.  Shortly before leaving Fisherman's Wharf, a refrigerated truck pulled up to load prawns from Stewart's boat.  The prawns were destined for a processing plant in East Vancouver, where they would be sorted and processed for live and frozen delivery locally, across Canada (see Oceanwise.ca for where to buy in Canada) and to as far away as China. After hearing Stewart describe the delicate and precise balance of temperature, oxygenation and salinity required to keep spot prawns alive here in Vancouver, I could only wonder at the level of complication, risk and expense involved in flying live prawns to China, and indeed what price they would command at market. The privilege of buying straight from the source, in a beautiful environment like False Creek at Granville Island, was priceless to me.  A reminder to stay mindful of eating local, supporting our fishers, farmers, producers, growers, farmers and foragers. If you are lucky enough to own an ocean-going boat, or know someone who does, try fishing for spot prawns yourself.  One unseasonably cold and breezy May morning, we joined friends on their boat, as they pulled up prawn traps set the night before.   We didn't net so very many spot prawns and they weren't spectacularly huge, but I have to say with no disrespect to Stewart (or Dragon), that they were the most delicious prawns I've ever eaten.Visit Fisherman's Wharf before the BC spot prawn season ends in the next few weeks - as early as the end of June and as late as mid July, depending on stocks.  To check for-sale fish and seafood availability, anticipated arrival times of fishing boats daily, and the end of BC spot prawn season, visit the fish for sale page of the False Creek Harbour Authority website. P.S.  At the time of writing, the prawns we cleaned and froze so recently are already gone.  Plenty of friends mysteriously dropping by (they knew about the prawns) left me no choice but to share Stewart's bounty.  Time to go back for more.  I still have to perfect that prawns in spaghetti recipe. *BC spot prawns freeze beautifully, which is why you sometimes see them for retail sale and on restaurant menus long-after the season closes.  Seal prawns in an air-tight container or vacuum bag and freeze immediately after cleaning.  If you prefer shells on, then remove the heads and icky bits therein, before freezing. Thaw in the refrigerator. Visit the in-season pages of the We Love Local website for current offerings from land and sea. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/bc-spot-prawn-tales-a-culinary-adventure/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/bc-spot-prawn-tales-a-culinary-adventure/ Thu, 11 June 2015 18:41:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/olive-oil-101/ As the weather grows warmer, I find myself reaching for our top shelf olive oil with increasing frequency.  This is of course because we are preparing and consuming more ingredients nearly naked (the food, not us) - BC spot prawns, baby greens, just-picked produce, spring veal and lamb, cold soups, even berries and ice cream.  We reach most often for Domenica Fiore.  Not because we offer it in the ChefatHand.com webstore (we do), or because it is notorious, sexy and glamorous (it is), but because it is the best we have tasted. And we have tasted many. Last month, Domenica Fiore Direttore & CEO Cesare (Cheh-zah-ray) Bianchini and Proprietario Frank Giustra, joined Dirty Apron Cooking School and Delicatessen owner and chef David Robertson in hosting a very informative and surprisingly entertaining blind olive oil tasting.  We were happy to be invited.Myself, my husband and our pastry-chef-in-training 15 year-old daughter were three among a packed house of 50.  We learned much about what it takes to grow, produce and preserve outstanding olive oil, and how to recognize a winner with your eyes closed.  Olive oil is not wine of course, so the tasting is more subtle.  But the truths are there, exposed in all of their fruity, pine nutty, peppery, thymy, artichoky (invisible) nakedness. We tasted six olive oils, ranging in price, providence and quality.  The absence of colour (black tasting cups be damned) made the entire process more anonymous and challenging. I am sure that, I am not the only one who associates vivid colour with vivid taste.The oils were served at room temperature, but the optimal tasting temperature, according to Cesare, is 81F.  So, before we could begin, we were instructed to cup our tasters between the warm palms of our hands for a minute or so to raise the temperature of the sample to its happy place, midway between ambient and the 98.6F of our hearts.  Next, we were to raise the tasters to just below our nostrils and with one hand create a barrier between the aromas ascending from the cup and any olfactory interference from elsewhere in the room.  Then, inhale slowly and deeply with eyes closed and nostrils wide open. Not surprisingly the samples ranged from smelling stale and somehow greasy (unidentified national brand), to bright green (yes, bright green has a smell) and peppery/fruity. Two of the samples smelled fresh and somehow alive, and two did not offer much at all - not offensive, but certainly not seductive. Finally we were encouraged to taste.  We tipped a small amount from each cup into our mouths, drawing the EVOO to the back (smile on the face, teeth parted slightly), inhaling through nose and mouth at the same time. This too is best done with eyes closed.  I admit that, when I arrived to the tasting, the prospect of consuming  straight-up olive oil seemed somehow counterintuitive, but I learned quickly to take very small sips of the samples that offered nothing olfactory, and to enjoy completely those that offered something more. After we had tasted all of the samples, I very cleverly (or so I thought) dipped my finger into each cup and drew a small half moon in olive oil on the paper placemat, next to each respective cup (cheating evidenced above).  The paper next to sample number five displayed a transparent green crescent, which confused me given that I prefered sample six.  I have been an unabashed fan of DF's emerald green, and sample six was most definitely DF.  Was this a trick? And the winner is...The great reveal by Cesare at the end of the tasting, taught me a lesson that I will not soon forget. "Don't judge an olive oil by its colour", Cesare had told the group at the outset. "Harvests and olive characteristics vary from year to year, so colour isn't an indication of taste or quality."  I heard him of course, but I didn't really take his words to heart until my predispositions were proven wrong.   Sample five, it turned out, was an artisanal oil from a small producer in Italy.  The oil was very good and its green colour was very beautiful.  Sample six was outstanding; a preview (lighter green) sample of Olio Veritas (Latin: truth in olive oil) , a soon-to-be-introduced (but already award-winning) new EVOO from the Domenica Fiore Estate - a medium, robust and fruity blend with notes of green almond and arugula.  An outstanding EVOO that we recognized as the winner, even with our eyes closed.  Cesare's final words of advice about gaining the best possible return on investment in the best olive oil:  Buy only EVOO; extra virgin olive oil (the very small cream of the crop of olive oils).  Use your EVOO within two months or so of opening (no problem). Don't leave the cap off the bottle. And finally, don't leave the bottle near the heat of the stove or indeed anywhere warm. Heat, light and oxygen are EVOOs' enemies.  Everything and everyone else it seems, loves them. Domenica Fiore olive oils are of premium quality and therefore price, but consider this:  The organic estate-grown olives are hand-harvested, then pressed in a small, state-of-the-art organic facility, and bottled within four hours of harvest. The entire process - from pressing to bottling, happens in an enclosed, inert, oxygen-free environment, so that there is no loss of quality due to exposure to oxygen or light. Each 250ml or 500ml bottle is stainless steel. Actual stainless steel. Not to match your kitchen appliances, rather so the olive oil inside doesn't see the light until you open the bottle - and then only briefly, until you recap it.  I don't know the stats on oil, but I do know that tinned spices (also susceptible to light)  last 10-fold longer than spices stored in glass. Each bottle is nitrogen-sealed.  An oxygen-free environment ensures optimal freshness. Each bottle is numbered for traceability (orchard, date etc), then signed by Cesare Bianchini.  Cesare concedes that as the business grows, hand-signing has become a very big job, but he continues the practice because "touching and signing each bottle gives me a kind of connection with each person in the world who buys or uses the oil". DF EVOOs won gold awards at the New York International Competitions in 2013 and 2014; and gold and silver awards in Japan in 2014 and 2015, respectively. DF oils are among the few products in our webstore that are not ours exclusively or that we do not manufacture or package ourselves.  We carry them because we believe they are the very best EVOOs we can offer our customers - at any price. Thank you Cesare and Frank for premium Domenica Fiore, and thank you David for a delightful Sunday afternooon.   I have since renewed my appreciation for one of the world's oldest, most precious culinary commodities. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/olive-oil-101/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/olive-oil-101/ Wed, 03 June 2015 11:18:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/what-i-know-for-sure/ What I know for sure is that, when it comes to cooking - in a three-star restaurant, a roadside diner, or at home - it all boils down to putting love on a plate. What I know for sure about Canadians who cook is that, we are indeed lightening up in the kitchen.   We are loosening our hypersensitive apron strings and coming clean about food and fun and family and friends, and how all that fits into our personal and shared culinary experience. We apologize less for what we don't know - the technical and chemical aspects of food and wine, and speak unabashedly about what we do know - providence, preparation, passion, presentation and participation.  Especially participation.  We can thank rough-around-the-edges, down-to-earth chefs like Jamie Oliver, Chuck Hughes, Dale MacKay, and even the somewhat-less-terrifying-and-formidable as of late Gordon Ramsay, for kicking it down a notch and including reality in their multi-media teachings. I admit to being a professional-kitchen junkie and huge fan and supporter of Canada's many talented and highly-trained chefs. My heart however, is in my own kitchen where I unabashedly cheat or short-cut traditional culinary techniques in the name of putting good food on the table more often, quickly and with great passion and enthusiasm!  Since we started ChefatHand.com and ChefBenefits, more than a few people (those who know me primarily/solely as a suited corporate communicator, or mum, or fundraiser) have looked sideways at me, saying (or telepathically communicating) 'and what do you know about it?'  It meaning food and wine, and cooking and chefs, and restaurant kitchens, artisanal growers, etc...  Fair question.  I am a very good cook so I'm told, but by no means a certified chef. What I know for sure I learned at the knees of my grandmother and mum, from growing up with one foot in the restaurant supply business, from fabulously talented chef clients and friends, from cooking for legions and often, from reading a cookbook a day (sometimes more), and finally, over decades of studying Canadian culinary history and culture. I know for sure that what we put on the table for ourselves, our families and our friends, is important beyond measure.  That, our intentions and love manifest themselves on the plate in a way that ties us together in experience and memory, like nothing else does.   I also know that it's absolutely okay to cheat in the kitchen. Do friends and family really care that the niblets in the cornbread were frozen and not fresh-off-the-cob?  No, and if they do, toss them.  What they really care about is that we care about them in that authentic, primal, most basic of ways - by feeding them love on a plate. The incredibly talented and equally charming Chef Stephane Istel (Chef and co-owner Bar-Roque Bar & Grill, Singapore), an Alsatian native who worked many years for Chef Daniel Boulud in New York and here in Vancouver where we met, is overt in his expression of the sustaining power of food.  Love on a Plate was in fact the (fantastically accented) name he used to describe DB Bistro Moderne's braised coq au vin, the base recipe for which came from Daniel Boulud's own family farm kitchen in Lyon, France.   I had the privilege of preparing coq au vin and Alsatian apple tart alongside Stephane in the DB Bistro Moderne kitchen (recipes soon to be posted).  Admittedly, the ingredients and the wine were of the very finest, artisanal quality, and the French methodology could intimidate - mirepoix, déglacer au vin rouge... but the technique itself was incredibly, beautifully simple.   And incredibly, beautifully simple is what Chefathand.com aims to be.  Our goal is to share what we know and continue to learn about how everyday gourmet of all ages can put good food and beverage on the table more often, quickly and with great passion and enthusiasm.  To that end, we developed a KitchionaryTM of culinary terms that, unlike conventional dictionaries, puts terms into context and very often offers quick and easy (and inexpensive) work-arounds or subsitutes that offer more than good enough results when time is of the essence. In my house, we are crushed for time most every weeknight.  I've learned to compensate through compromise - hundreds of concessions, short cuts and make-doos that help me prepare wholesome food that my family and friends love to eat.  Food that looks beautiful and tastes delicious, and keeps me well within budget and far away from the processed foods aisles. So next time you are disuaded from trying a new recipe or technique because you aren't familiar with (or are intimidated by) a culinary term, check in with our KitchionaryTM.  I know for sure that, we can demistify and simplify, so you can get on with the business of putting love on those plates; of putting good food on the table more often, quickly and with great passion and enthusiasm!    If you have a KitchionaryTM shortcut or work-around of your own you are willing to share, we'd love to hear about.  We'll put it in writing on our website and give you the everyday gourmet credit you deserve. Reach us by email. Special thanks to the talented Tracey Kusiewicz of Foodie Photography for taking pix with Stephane. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/what-i-know-for-sure/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/what-i-know-for-sure/ Thu, 30 April 2015 12:37:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/easy-garlic-confit-a-pantry-staple/ Confit (känˈfē) garlic doesn't announce its soft, warm personality physically like its caramelized cousin roasted garlic.  Confit garlic looks almost as pungent and acerbic as its naked other cousin raw garlic, if somewhat more pliable, and is a professional kitchen staple. Confit garlic, like confit duck, is poached luxuriously slow in fat at low heat.  The method has French origins, conceived originally as a means of pre-refrigeration preservation (confit meats are first cured in salt and sometimes herbs, then poached in fat, often duck fat).  As goes confit garlic, the resulting morsels are soft, lightly sweet and delicate, and be called into service in an instant to flavour a variety of foods ranging from mashed potatoes, eggs, soups, gravies and sauces - even toast.  The by-product poaching oil is nothing short of gently flavoured liquid gold, which we use in vinaigrettes,  drizzle over roast vegetables, incorporate into starches, to flavour stocks, etc.  Confit garlic is a C@H kitchen staple.  Ironically, the love affair began in an Italian kitchen. Several years ago, at a donor luncheon at Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill in Vancouver, BC, hosted by the St. Paul's Hospital Foundation, I received one of my all time favourite cook books - Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill by Chef Pino Posteraro.  It was personalized to me which I treasure, signed by Pino, one of Canada's greatest chefs and restaurateurs. While technically precise, the recipes lean heavily on the simple, clean and authentic seasonal flavours and ingredients that make Italian cuisine a perennial favourite.  One recipe in particular, Pino's Veal Medallions al Limone with Roasted Artichokes, Confit Garlic, and Shaved Pecorino Cheese (p. 164), inspired my obsession with and dependence on confit garlic.  The book also reaffirmed my conviction that a well-stocked pantry (cupboard and fridge) of 'essentials' is the everyday gourmet's best friend; indeed the first step to good eating without great effort. Admittedly, I attempted the above-mentioned recipe only once, as making confit artichokes the way Pino does can be as arduous as sourcing just the right baby artichokes - both undertakings best left to the Chef, I say.  The recipe did however, inspire a quick and easy veal, lemon and confit garlic recipe that can be made in just a few minutes with a few pantry essentials you should have on hand every day: confit garlic, preserved lemons, chicken stock, white wine, white flour, lemon zest and juice, and extra virgin olive oil. To make Confit Garlic:  Buy the freshest, fully-cured, hard-stalk garlic you can find.  I used up the last of a bulk of beautiful Yugoslavian garlic we purchased at the Vancouver Winter Farmers' Market just after Christmas.  Peel the garlic (30-40 cloves from six head of garlic) and carefully remove any overly hard ends.  Place the cloves in an oven-proof dish that is about the width and depth of the container in which you will refrigerate the confit in.  Cover with olive oil, then cover the container with a lid or foil and bake in a slow oven (275-300F) for about three hours.  I add a few sprigs of fresh, bruised thyme (you could use rosemary) during the last hour of cooking, and I also use a good quality olive oil.  Confit garlic recipes abound and range from stove-top to deep-frying, to gently simmering for hours on end.  None of the recipes focus on the oil, but I disagree.  Using low-grade olive oil for cooking is akin to using bad wine for cooking, producing similar, disagreeable results.  I wouldn't use a finishing quality olive oil, but because we are poaching at low temperatures, I do use an excellent quality oil.  We were lucky enough to get our hands on some Domenica Fiore Olio Classico - available exclusively to select few restaurants (ironically, Ciopinno's is one of them) - a peppery XVOO of gorgeous pedigree and colour that gently poached my garlic to confit perfection.   Cool, cover and refrigerate in an airtight container. It should last well as long as it stays covered by oil. Confit garlic displayed in a gorgeous glass or vintage glass jar makes a coveted hostess gift.  Make a large batch during the holidays to have on-hand for dropping-in and drop-ins alike. Tuck a sprig or two of fresh (washed and completely dried) herbs in the oil at the last minute, string-tag the jars and you have beautiful handmade gifts from your kitchen. To make Veal with Confit Garlic and Preserved Lemons: veal scallopini for four persons (we ordered Larosa veal from Cioffi's Meats in Burnaby) 1/2 cup (125ml) white wine (Italian or dry) 1/2 cup (125ml) organic, low-sodium chicken stock juice and finely grated zest of one organic lemon 1 finely sliced brine-preserved lemon (pips removed, sliced in rounds)* few tablespoons (50 ml) chopped fresh Italian flatleaf parsley or thyme 4 large confit garlic cloves, sliced in half lengthwise + 1 teaspoon of the oil flour for dredging salt and pepper for seasoning Ask your butcher to pound the scallopini to an even thickness/thin-ness (or do it yourself).  Dredge lightly with flour seasoned with sea salt and pepper.   In a hot pan dressed in quality olive oil, sear scallopini quickly on both sides to brown only slightly (should still be very slightly pink as it will continue cooking),  then remove to a hot oven-proof platter; cover.   Deglaze pan with chicken stock, add the white wine then the lemon juice - reducing by half over medium-high heat.  Just before turning off the heat, add confit garlic, lemon zest and preserved lemon slices, and swirl the pan to warm them.   Pour the sauce directly over the hot scallopini and garnish with chopped Italian parsley.   Serve alongside grilled mediterranean vegetables or over fresh broad pasta noodles drizzled with excellent finishing olive oil like Domenica Fiore Olio Reserva. *brine preserved lemons can be found at Whole Foods, Choices and Nourish Markets, as well as most Iranian (Persian) and middle eastern markets.  A recipe for Meyer Lemons Preserved in Cardamom, Kaffir and Lemon Grass Infused Brine will appear on our recipe pages and blog, next month. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/easy-garlic-confit-a-pantry-staple/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/easy-garlic-confit-a-pantry-staple/ Mon, 20 April 2015 19:56:00 3699 http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/spargel-time/ Without fail at this hopeful time of year, though my father is passed, I can still hear his joyous but gruffly-muffly pronouncements in Bavarian German (to himself, alone in the back garden), Shpah-guuhl, Shpah-guuhl!  I knew that meant we would soon be eating fresh green or white asparagus often, straight through the end of May when the prehistoric looking vegetable disappeared both from the market, and from dad's language of puttering. As vegetables go, asparagus is rather mysterious in form and habit, with a long and colourful history as a purported natural medicine and aphrodisiac.  The asparagus plant sends the edible bits up through the soil as green shoots, which are cut at ground-level then stored and shipped very cold.  White asparagus are harvested below-ground, where towering purpose-built mounds of dirt cover the emerging shoots, keeping them from the transformative greening of the sun.  This all seems to happen rather quickly. Unlike most fruits and vegetables, the hard labour of the asparagus plant happens invisibly, primarily underground and out of sight until they shoot up, literally, leaving us happily but suddenly side-swiped by a culinary spring; reeling with the possibilities of the long and colourful market garden season ahead. Asparagus is distinctive in taste and aroma. One either loves its uber-herbaceous, sulphury, metallic notes or one hates them.  And those of us who love asparagus, appreciate it nearly naked, bathed only briefly in salted water, then dressed oh-so-lightly in little more than sweet butter or extraordinary quality extra virgin organic olive oil. When Canadian Chef Chuck Hughes was passing through Vancouver on his Iron Chef America Win Tour three years ago, he spent the afternoon with us at Templeton Culinary Arts in East Vancouver, sharing his secret to asparagus perfection and hosting/judging an Iron Chef Templeton competition (team C@H placed second).  We've drawn upon his asparagus lesson often, and today we share it gladly. 1. Buy the freshest, firmest, thin-to-medium stalked asparagus (pencil width is perfect; too skinny can mean too late in the season) you can find from your local farmer's market or green grocer. Store upright in the fridge, unwrapped, in an half-inch or so of water.  Buy local whenever you can.  BC farmers produce about 160,000 kilos of asparagus every year and for the most part they sell it through farm stands, independent grocers and at farmer's markets. See below for sources. 2. Break the tough bit from the blunt end of each stalk, by bending it gently until it snaps on its own, most-often within an inch of the blunt end.  Discard the tough end bits. Once the entire bundle is snapped, line-up the long stalks with ends in parallel and cut evenly to tidy them up. Tip: reputable growers harvest asparagus with very little waste - that is, minimal tough end presenting. You don't want to be spending $6.99 a pound for compost, so watch for green ends. 3. Using a very sharp small kife or y-peeler, remove any overtly spikey bits along the stalk. We tend to overlook this most often, as fresh young asparagus isn't woody, plus we like the architecture of the intact stalk.  Up to you! 4. In a shallow saute pan, boil only enough salted water* to cover a single layer of asparagus by half.   Lay a single layer of asparagus in the pan of boiling water and roll gently just until al dente and brilliantly bright green.  *Salt the water to the point where it tastes of the the sea, but no more. 5. Gently turn the cooked asparagus into a sieve or collander over the sink and serve immediately as below, or plunge into an icewater bath (blanch) and then drain to serve cold or to refrigerate and re-heat later. 6. To serve immediately, place hot (shake gently to dry in its own heat) asparagus on a heated serving plate and drizzle with gorgeous finishing-quality olive oil  like Domenica Fiore XVOO or let a pat of sweet butter melt overtop.  Garnish if you like with a curl or two of aged peccorino, a sprinkling of lemon zest, or a few grinds of DM Smoked Peppercorn Medley.  Chef Hughes was adamant that one not add salt after cooking, as the salted water seeps gently/perfectly/just-enoughly into the flesh during poaching. Enjoy as a side, or as a meal in itself, paired with a bright and herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc. If you prefer red wine, some Spanish Tempranillos are green-floral and herb-forward enough for asparagus.   Bliss! Perfection! Spring on a Plate!  *WHERE TO BUY FRESH BC ASPARAGUSOkanagan Asparagus in Armstrong grows about 40 acres of green asparagus and sells it at their farm gate store and in Choices Markets in the Lower Mainland. They are earlier to market than some growers in cooler climates, and co-owner Jackie Jeppesen told us to watch for their beautiful hand-picked asparagus starting April 24th or thereabouts this year.  Spring started off warm but then cooled off again recently.  The Jeppesens also grow strawberries and sweet corn. Sutcliffe Farms in Creston is one of BC's largest asparagus growers, with 100 acres or so under cultivation. Doug Sutcliffe expects his asparagus varieties to hit regional markets later in May - lucky for us, extending the season.  In the Lower Mainland, look for Sutcliffe Farms asparagus at Thrifty Foods, in the West Kootenays at Ferraro Foods in Trail and Rossland, and at various produce stands in all the usual places in the Okanagan/Kootenays. Pedrosa's Asparagus Farm in Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island grows asparagus for sale at their farm gate store and also for regional restaurants and small markets served by a specialty distributor.  Pedrosa's ships-fresh-by-courier all over BC, to loyal customers during the season. Contact the farm for a list of local purveyors. And the last word goes to sweet butter...The best butter I've tasted since shaking some up in a jar as a child, comes from The Farm House in the Fraser Valley.  Farm House butter, natural cheeses (their quark is otherworldly) and other artisanal products are available online, at their farm shop, at select Lower Mainland retailers and farmers' markets. See website. http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/spargel-time/ http://chefathand.com/blog/2015/spargel-time/ Wed, 08 April 2015 11:08:00