Summer Herbs for Dinner! On CBC's Weekend Morning Show

 On Saturday, I'll be presenting the following recipes for CBC's Weekend Morning Show, with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten. 

Everyone's Tarragon is bursting forth these days.  The French tarragon has the flavour, while the Russian, sadly, disappoints.  Tarragon Pistou is a classic French sauce, similar to pesto, but without the cheese.  I'm serving it in a cream sauce with mussels for this dish but is excellent as a garnish in soups, on grilled fish or on a toasted tomato sandwich.  Fresh gorgeous PEI mussels are available now on sale at Gimli Fish.

The Perilla, or Shiso leaf kimchi is one of my favourites.  The large herb is available at many Asian specialty markets.  I'm going to try this with carrot tops to make kimchi as well.

 (Getting ready for the perilla leaf kimchi)

(Perilla leaf Kimchi all stacked with paste)

Perilla Leaf Kimchi (Aka, Shiso leaf and Ooba leaf)

3 cups Perilla leaves (can use large mint leaves)
3 tbs fish sauce
1/4 cup thinly slice onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of green onion (or chives), chopped
1 tbs honey
1-2 tbs Korean hot pepper flakes
1-2 tbs good soy sauce
roasted sesame seeds
2 tbs thinly sliced carrot

1. Wash and drain the leaves well and let dry in a basket.
2. Make kimchi paste as follows; mix minced garlic, green onions, sliced onion, matchstick carrots, fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, honey and soy sauce well in a bowl.  Spread paste onto leaves and stack as you coat them in the paste.  WEAR GLOVES!  Store in a non-metallic container(glass refrigerator box).
3.  Enjoy Perilla Leaf kimchi with rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Tarragon Pistou (on fish or mussels)
1 clove garlic
2/3 cup fresh tarragon leaves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted walnut halves
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for searing the fish
2 1/2-lb fillets of boneless, seasonal fish (halibut, sole, pickerel, salmon)
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Lemon for serving

In a blender or food processor, pur�e the garlic and add the tarragon and basil leaves, pulsing to start.  Add the walnuts and season.  Pulse until a fine grainy texture.  Turn on and drizzle in olive oil.

Coat fish with a generous amount of pistou.  Bake at 350�F for 1- - 12 minutes, depending on thickness of the fillet.  Serve immediately with lemon wedges.  If serving with mussels, steam mussels in lemon and olive oil water with tarragon leaves and white wine in the water until mussels are open.  Drizzle pistou over mussels and enjoy with BBQ Frites. Or, make a white sauce with cream, butter, tarragon pistou and white wine.

Enjoy!

Homegrown Harvest Workshop Series

Dear Food First community -


A reminder that the Homegrown Harvest Workshop Series held at the Burnaby Village Museum this summer is underway with free workshops on lots of subjects! Check out the full list of upcoming workshops on Museum�s webpage under the �programs� tab or by downloading the Homegrown Harvest brochure (PDF).



The workshops were also recently mentioned in the Vancouver Sun (scroll to bottom of article) and twice in the Burnaby Now!!!


The next free workshop is:


Preserving Your Harvest

Sunday, August 23 / 1:30 - 3:30pm (Drop in / no registration needed)

Location: Meadow


Andrea Potter, Chef and Holistic Nutritionist demonstrates easy ways (e.g. drying) to preserve your harvest and make low cost, healthy and delicious snacks to enjoy.

Andrea hard at work at a previous Food First workshop on preserving food
Credit: Sofi Martinez

The next workshop (August 30) is on Winter Container Food Gardening.


This series was developed and is presented as a collaboration between Burnaby Food First and Burnaby Village Museum, and Food First volunteers will be on site! See you there!



If you'd like to be alerted of any upcoming Burnaby Food First workshops, consider subscribing to our listserve by sending us email, with "Subscribe" in the subject line.

Coconut Nectarine White Wine Spritzers

Summer's not over yet! Sherrie & Renee are hosting a bubbly, sparkly, boozy, fresh, fruity virtual cocktail party, #drinkthesummer! Scroll to the bottom for a complete list of fun summery drinks by other awesome food bloggers! Get your summer drank on!

One of my favorite summers was when I was probably 12. My ma�s always been a big Stephen King fan, and that summer, the Green Mile books came out (remember, it was first released as a six-part series). It was too hot to be outside, and to avoid the boredom of being trapped inside all day, my mom, Amanda, and I read the books out loud together. Amanda and me laying in front of a box fan, icy glasses of sun tea at the ready, misting ourselves with a spray bottle (no AC? No problem!), while my mom�s voice transported us to the 1930s, to the deep South. I remember those days so clearly� the three of us together, the dry heat, the mystery of John Coffey.  
Later that summer, the spell was broken when my ma got to a particularly tense part in the book, and stumbled over some dialogue� cautiously spelling out �F-U-C-K, Percy said!� Amanda and I laughed hysterically and our little book club lost its steam. After that summer, Amanda and I started spending summer days out and about with friends, and my mom (who had been a stay-at-home mom most of my childhood) got a full time job. We kind of grew up and moved on. But I loved those lazy days, reading those books together.
For me, those Green Mile days are just as vivid as the lush garden and fresh tomatoes, towels on the clothesline, sherbert for dinner, the trail of dust when my dad pulled in the driveway every evening after work. Quintessential summer memories. 
Another quintessential part of my childhood summers? Wine coolers. Not for me, for my mom. She loved her wine coolers, and often made her own with grapefruit soda and wine. I stayed away from wine coolers for a long time�they get a bad rap, ya know? You know what doesn�t get a bad rap? White wine spritzers. They�re sophisticated and classy. You guys! It�s a wine cooler in disguise! These sweet, fruity sparklers are also wine coolers in disguise.

For the 4th of July, Amanda made a big pitcher of white sangria with sweet, fresh summer stone fruits, and we added a splash of my favorite coconut La Croix, and amazing things happened. These are basically that, but rather than going the full pitcher route, we�re keeping it simple and accessible. Like 3 ingredient, as easy as possible simple. It is Wednesday, after all. 

Coconut Nectarine White Wine Spritzers
Nectarine slices
Ice
White wine (a basic white blend/table white*)
Coconut LaCroix (or other coconut soda water)

Smash 2 nectarine slices in the bottom of each glass, and fill with ice. Fill glass a little over half way with white wine, and the rest of the way with coconut flavored soda water.

*I used Maryhill Winemaker's White, which we had at our wedding! Maryhill is near my hometown!

Wait, there's more! Here's the full list of amazing summer drinky dranks by other awesome food bloggers!

#DRINKTHESUMMER:

With Food + Love | Fresh Heirloom Bloody Marys with Old Bay and Spicy Pickles

Will Frolic for Food | The Sugar Hollow: Watermelon Gin Cocktail with Cardamom and Lime

Kale & Caramel | Sweet Coconut, Hibiscus & Lime Slushie

Hummingbird High | Thyme Lemonade

Brooklyn Supper | Bloody Maria Cocktails

Cake Over Steak | Blackberry Bourbon Cocktail

Dunk & Crumble | Ginger Peach Whiskey Smash

Tasty Yummies | When Figs Fly: Spiced Rum Fig Kombucha Cocktail

Feed Me Phoebe | Pimm�s Cup Cocktail with Fresh Ginger, Lime and Tarragon

Earthy Feast | Strawberry, Basil and Pink Peppercorn Negroni

Ginger & Toasted Sesame | Blackberry Peach Margarita with Spicy Salt

O&O Eats | The Long Hope: a Honeydew Cucumber Gin Cocktail

my name is yeh | Nutella Egg Cream

Faring Well | Sparkling Melon Coolers with Muddled Raspberries and Mint

Beard and Bonnet | Pineapple and Cilantro Moscow Mule

The Pancake Princess | Strawberry Balsamic Shrubs

Edible Perspective | Ros� Slushies

Vegetarian �Ventures | Sparkling Peppered Plum Blush

The Broken Bread | Blackberry, Cucumber and Mint Gin Spritzer

Tending the Table | Plum Spritzer with Ginger and Kafir Lime

Appeasing a Food Geek | Sugar Plum Margarita

She Eats | Fizzy Lime and Blackberry Shrub

holly & flora | Pimm�s Cup with Blackberry and Lemon Zest Shrub

Vigor and Sage | Peachy Tomato Basil Gin and Tonic

The Pig & Quill | Raspberry Basil Gingerade Fizz

Hungry Girl por Vida | Peanut Butter and Berry Smoothie

A Brown Table | Fig and Bourbon Summer Smash

The Clever Carrot | 5 Minute White Peach Margaritas
Cookie and Kate | Watermelon White Sangria

Fix, Feast, Flair | Berry Peachy Kentucky Mules

le jus d�orange | Peach Yogurt Soju and Ginger Plum Kombucha Cocktail

Chocolate + Marrow | Raspberry Thyme Smash

The Bojon Gourmet | Basil Pluot Pimm�s Cup

Snixy Kitchen | Sparkling Asian Pear and Mint Iced Tea

what�s cooking good looking | Watermelon Basil Colada

Salt & Wind | Watermelon Aperol Spritzes

More Thoughts on the Recent Low-fat vs. Low-carb Metabolic Ward Study

The recent low-carb vs. low-fat study has provoked criticism from parts of the diet-health community. Let's examine these objections and see how they hold up to scientific scrutiny.
Read more �

A New Human Trial Undermines the Carbohydrate-insulin Hypothesis of Obesity, Again

The carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis of obesity states that carbohydrates (particularly refined carbohydrates and sugar) are the primary cause of obesity due to their ability to increase circulating insulin, and that the solution to obesity is to restrict carbohydrate intake. Numerous studies have tested this hypothesis, more or less directly, in animals and humans. Despite the fact that many of these studies undermine the hypothesis, it remains extremely popular, both in the popular media and to a lesser extent among researchers. A new human trial by Kevin Hall's research team at the US National Institutes of Health offers very strong evidence that the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis of obesity is incorrect. At the same time, it offers surprising and provocative results that challenge prevailing ideas about diet and weight loss.

Read more �

Job Posting: Workshop Coordinator

Workshop Coordinator



Deadline: August 26, 2015 at 4:00 pm

Term: Part-time, September 15, 2015 to March 15, 2016

Pay: $2,500.00 ($25 per hour; 100 hours total)



Burnaby Food First is hiring a Workshop Coordinator to deliver 12 upcoming educational community workshops. The workshops are intended to be hands-on for participants, and will be targeted primarily towards low-income families, many of whom are newcomers to Canada.



Responsibilities:

• Coordinate 12 educational workshops on food security issues for community members. Workshops can be held twice to streamline planning activities;


• Find workshops locations;


• Recruit and liaise with appropriate workshop coordinators;


• Organize workshop supplies and equipment as required;


• Plan any other necessary workshop details;


• Work with Burnaby Food First to organize volunteers for the workshops;


• Attend as many of the workshops as possible;


• Distribute an evaluation to participants at each workshop;


• Coordinate clear language editing of handouts by Burnaby Food First volunteers;


• Work with members for the Burnaby Food First Education and Events Action Team as required;


• Summarize participant feedback at the end of the workshop cycle; and


• Participate in the development of a project final report.

Requirements:

• Knowledge and awareness of issues surrounding food security, local foods and cultural diversity;


• Strong organizing skills;


• Strong computer and communication skills;


• Experience overseeing volunteers;


• Experience working in a collaborative manner with a range of stakeholders; and


• Demonstrated ability to work independently. We expect the coordinator will work from home using his/her computer.

How to apply:



To apply, please send a one-page letter outlining your relevant experiences with references and your contact information to us by email by Wednesday August 26, 2015 at 4:00 pm. 

Nutrition: An Important Part of Food Security

Food security means not only having enough food but also having a healthy, nutritious diet as described in the first post of this series. We need to eat the right type and range of foods to get the nutrients we require.

Calorie Intake

There are different ways to assess the levels of nutrition in our food. Many people focus on their calorie intake. This is the energy obtained from food including carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibre. This information is available on the Nutrition Facts label that is found on most pre-packaged foods. The recommended healthy level of calories depends on one's gender, age, body size, and activity level as per the energy requirement chart offered by Health Canada. For example, the average female in the age group of 30 to 50 years is recommended about 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day.

Risks from artificial trans fat

The nutrition facts table also provides information about core nutrients such as vitamins, calcium, iron, and fibre -- all of which are good for the body. Information about salt content, cholesterol, fat content helps to monitor and avoid excess intake. 

The nutrition labeling regulation that came into effect in Canada almost eight years ago also mandated the publishing of trans fat levels present in the food causing bad cholesterol or 'LDL cholesterol'. Statistics show that Canadian consumption of artificial trans fat has declined 40% over the past decade. A recent US Food and Drug Administration announcement about partially hydrogenated oils, the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods will further eliminate their use over the next three years. So consumers in Canada may now also look for similar regulations. Artificial trans fat can still currently be found in crackers, cookies, cakes, frozen pizzas and pies, microwave pop corn, refrigerated dough products like biscuits and cinnamon rolls etc.

Source: Diabetes.ca

The Food Group Approach: We cook food, not nutrients

Working out nutrient and calorie levels can be too much sometimes on a busy day. Canada's food guide offers some simple guidelines for a healthier diet such as 

• buying staple fresh foods from the essential food groups of vegetables and fruits, grains, meat, dairy, oils and unsaturated fats


• avoiding excessive processed foods. 


• eating one dark green vegetable and one orange fruit or vegetable daily if possible 


• consuming fish once a week if possible


• protein alternatives for vegetarians including beans, lentils and tofu

Ultimately consumers can take the common sense approach to adopt a nutritious diet and use available guidance as best suited to their health and lifestyle. 



Burnaby Food First is offering an interesting, relevant free workshop Fats: The good, the bad, the ugly. Please register for this if interested.