Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World

The prawn traps are in the water.

It’s time to fish or cut bait.

I’m on the Island (Gabriola, that is) for a quick twenty-four hour visit with my dad and sister and a quick prawning session. The traps are soaking as we speak and I have two drinks going. One is a beer and another is a hot chocolate spiked with brandy. There is a fire going and there are ham hocks simmering. I’ll report back tomorrow to show you the catch. 

It had to of been at least a hundred-below out there.

The sun sets over the Gulf Islands.

Three Pictures

Three moments from the week that was.

The amusement station.

Portioned goose liver.

Frozen sat sea Spring Salmon from Rick Burns.

Orca Beans

Beans I’ve never seen.

We let the sun come up on us again.

We just got a shit-load of these orca beans (also known as calypso or yin yang beans) from North Arm Farm. They are just stunning in their dried state. Just stunning. If you haven’t figured out why they are called orca beans yet, just keep staring at them and it will become very clear. I am drinking wine out of a coffee mug. I have wine glasses, but I like my mug right now. It’s very late and I live in the woods. Alone.

James was saying these are good fresh in the summer cooked in butter. I bet they are. I long for Summer on my drives down the mountain. My heater core is busted and it gets very cold.  I have to get that fixed soon. I think I bought a lemon.

Anyways, the beans are creamy and delicious when cooked. They do lose their orca-ness though, but whatever, nothing lasts forever, does it? Fuck you expanding universe.

Something I Learned Today About Buffalo Mozzarella

The mafia is ruining it for everyone.

So I was at work today, just doing the list and contemplating life, when I heard some really sad news. You may or may not have heard already, but the buffalo mozzarella industry in southern Italy is having a rough year. Last year health authorities found high levels of dioxins in the cheese. The product, the best of which is from Campania, is being fucked by the mafia, who are using the countryside to dispose of large amounts of toxic waste. The liquid that the mighty water buffalo are drinking in some areas is now so full of nasty shit that it is filtering into the cheese. Check out this post on the The Lede [NYT] from last year for more.

So now the price is going up, and the product is inconsistent, and it’s off the menu, and we’re all fucked.

Raw Power

Vegetables: A good source of raw fucking power (not to mention vitamins and minerals).

Ninjas are mammals.

I can’t express how nice it is to work with beautiful, pristine, flavorful vegetables again. The majority of stuff we use at Araxi is from B.C., specifically nearby Pemberton. This means that right now we’re using lots and lots of roots from the North Arm Farm cellar. Sunchokes, a few different types of carrots, jade radishes, crosnes, beets, beets, beets………Not quite sure which farm the romanesco pictured above came from, but try not being blown away at how fucking god-damn magical it looks.

Romanesco is the edible flower of which species of plants? First person to give me the answer will receive a free Butter On The Endive T-shirt hand delivered to them the next time I am in the city.

And also, is there a particular vegetable that holds a soft spot in your heart for sentimental or other reasons? My answer: mother-fucking snow peas right off the vine from my mom’s garden when I was growing up. Shit. I can still taste them. Sweet green explosion of flavor. You wouldn’t dare cook them. The best answer will also receive a free t-shirt. The shirts can also be had for a small fee if anyone is interested.

The T-shirt design.

Root Down: The Crosne

Also known as the Chinese Artichoke, or Chorogi……or the knotroot.

Like little michelin-men. Or some crazy animal turd.

This edible tuber of a shrub from the mint family, came to France from China in the late nineteenth century. The man responsible for spreading its seed in France was from the small village of Crosne, and he saw to it that the name of his small little hamlet would travel far and wide as the vegetable did. Within  five years it was seen in market stalls all over France , and is still fairly popular there. I’m not quite sure how the vegetable made its way to North America, but I do know that Jordan Sturdy of North Arm Farms grows some really nice ones.

Though not related to the Jerusalem or globe artichoke, it does have a similar texture to the Jerusalem artichoke. Usually quite dirty from its long stay underground, it needs a good wash before it can be cooked (or eaten raw!). A restaurant trick I learned  is to par cook them in salted water with a tablespoon of baking soda, which magically loosens the skins. When the tuber is tender, run cold water over, and vigorously agitate them in the a strainer. The skins should just slip off. Then Roast them in butter, pickle them……whatever your heart desires.

Cooking With The Magic Chef: Rigatoni Alla Hangover

I’m hungover and I’m hungry.

You make the water boil for coffee and I love you.

My stove is called the Magic Chef. It came with the cabin I am living in. It’s not particularly pretty, or powerful, but it’s got a lot of character and I’m learning to love it. I remember reading something Marco Pierre White said, which was something along the lines of, “you have to attack the stove, don’t let it intimidate you”. I’m trying to do that with my stove.

I came home with a hangover today – a bubbly one. Dull pain turns sharp without notice. My mouth feels hairy. I almost got hit by some fucking asshole on the highway trying to pass me on the slick, slushy road. Scary. I need food. Something rich, salty and full of carbs.

Cornucopia

Excess.

Straight out of Piedmont. Shavings of tuber magnatum resting on top of John’s little ricotta gnocchi pillows.

My first week at Araxi is over and I am resting in the Paradise Valley. It just so happened that my first weekend working there coincided with Cornucopia, Whistler’s food and wine festival, and one of the year’s busiest weekends. Last night the restaurant threw a huge party. We put out thousands of canapes and hundreds of people got wasted. The prior night was a winemakers dinner for 105 people, which was a lot of fun. The pace was furious, seeing us put out all five courses in just over two hours. There was virtually no breaks between courses – as soon as the last plate of a course went out, we were pulling plates for the next. One course involved six cuts of Pemberton Meadows beef: tongue, neck, heart, loin, shortrib and tail. A lot of labor and a lot of love went into that dish, and putting out a hundred of them was a feat on par with building a gazebo.  The rest of the menu was great, and I could go on for hours, but I can’t, as I am a slow writer and need to get to the city to see my lover. Just chew on these pictures and know that good things are happening in the mountains.