What's happening in Feb 2016

It has been quite the start to the year. We have held several workshops focused on cooking locally and getting ready to grow for Spring! It has been great to see a great response (and turnout) for our workshops - thank you to everyone for coming out! We hope to bring you more exciting workshops and hope that you also look at other food security/insecurity workshops around town....



Also as we head into February, we wish everyone a Gung Hey Fat Choi (Happy Chinese New Year). Certainly a time where food and culture is celebrated!

Oranges represent good fortune for Chinese New Year!

Plus they are tasty and healthy to eat!

 Korean Typical Meal - Feb 6, 2016



Join Yun Joo Lee as she guides you through a typical and delicious Korean meal of Heyn bap (steamed rice), Jap-chae (stir-fried sweet potato noodle), Kim- chi and Jjang-a-chi.



You will be guided step-by-step, learn about traditional dining customs and be immersed in a whole new culinary tradition! Please bring an apron and containers for leftovers.



Date: Saturday, February 6

Time: 10:00 am � 12:30 pm

Location: Hastings Community Centre (Kitchen), 3096 East Hastings Street, Vancouver

Cost: $18.00 (Hastings Community Association Membership required with registration)



To attend: Register



Heal Your Body! : Indian food made vegan, raw, easy and fun! - Feb 9, 2016



Join Grandview Woodlands Food Connection and holistic chef and nutritionist Abby Sandhar, in an exploration and reinvention of traditional cuisine of Northern India. Yes, Indian food can be prepared in way that is free of excessive oily fats, excess salt and refined carbs- made raw, vegan and working with whole fresh ingredients, this cuisine can be detoxifying, healing and energizing!



You will leave with a belly full of warm goodness, tips for healthier meal planning and some unlocked recipes from the kitchen of The Flying Abneet !! Let�s love our bodies up with good nourishment!



Date: Tuesday February 9, 2016

Time: 6:00 pm � 9:00 pm

Location: Britannia Community Centre, 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver

Cost: $25,00



To attend: Call 604-718-5800



More information >>



How will the World Eat in the Future? - Feb 11, 2016



Join award winning author, activist, and academic Raj Patel, presented by UBC Reads Sustainability, on February 11th, 2016 as Raj shares some of the best and most surprising innovations to address the future of food.



With stories from the world's poorest people - from Peru to Malawi, there's a great deal of innovation to help us imagine how the world can feed itself by 2050.



Date: Thursday February 11, 2016

Time: 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm

Location: UBC AMS Student Nest Great Hall (Live streaming will be available), 6133 University Blvd., Vancouver

Cost: $ 5.00



To attend: Purchase Tickets





Visit UBC Sustainability website for more information.



Valentine's Day Baking for Kids - Feb 14, 2016



Cedar Cottage Food Network presents a workshop where children will use and develop their literacy and teamwork skills to make fun holiday-related recipes. All supplies included.



Great for kids aged 4 to 8 years!



Date:  Sunday February 14, 2016

Time: 10: 00 am to 12:00 noon

Location: Trout Lake Community Centre Kitchen, 3360 Victoria Drive, Vancouver

Cost: $ 15.00



To attend: Purchase Tickets



More information >>



A Taste of Latin American � Pupusas - Feb 21, 2016



Join Grandview Woodlands Food Connection and discover Latin American cuisine - the Papusa!



Made from corn flour and shaped by hand, pupusas can be adapted to delight vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian and meat eaters alike. Participants will learn the basics and techniques on how to build a Pupusa from scratch with various fillings, along with special salsas and pickled veggies. You will have a chance to taste this delightful treat!



Bring your aprons and your palates and join Elizabeth Cruz, former owner and chef of El Cocal restaurant for 14 years who incorporates her El Salvadoran heritage into her cooking. It will be truly a tantalizing experience.



Date: Sunday February 21, 2016

Time: 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Location: Britannia Community Centre, 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver

Cost: $30.00



To attend: Call 604-718-5800



More information >>



A Taste of Latin American � Chile Rellenos - Feb 28, 2016



Another great Grandview Woodland Food Connection workshop!



Originally from Mexico, the Chile Rellenos is a dish is enjoyed in many variations. Each Latin country has some twist on this delicious dish which is so versatile it can be enjoyed by vegans, vegetarians and meat lovers alike. We will focus on the Salvadoran version which tones down the spice so the sauce is the primary character!



Though most people opt for the canned version we will keep it traditional by making them from scratch! This casual dish is great in any setting.



Date: Sunday February 28, 2016

Time: 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Location: Britannia Community Centre, 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver

Cost: $30.00



To attend: Call 604-718-5800



More information >>


New Westminster Market Day - Dec. 5 & 19





In New Westminster? Head up to 5th and Belmont to check out the Winter Farmers Market!



There will be up to 40 vendors offering fresh local produce, prepared foods and handmade crafts as well as delicious food trucks.



Saturday Feb 6 & 20, 2016

11:00 am to 3:00 pm

5th and Belmont Street, New Westminster 



More information >>

 

Richmond's Winter Market - Feb 7 & 21, 2016



The Cannery Farmers� Market provides an opportunity for local food producers and artisans to showcase their products inside and outside our historic site. Our vendors have the �Make it, Bake it, Grow it, Catch it� philosophy. Only approved products that are made, baked, grown, raised, caught or harvested by approved B.C. vendors can be sold. Special information vendors and community partners along with entertainment enhance this fun market.



The Cannery Farmer's Market runs from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at 12138 Fourth Avenue, Richmond in the community of Steveston.



Sunday Feb 7 & 21, 2016

10:00 am to 3:00 pm

12139 Fourth Avenue, Richmond



More information >> 



Vancouver Winter Farmer's Market - Feb 6 & 20, 2016



Buy local! Visit the Vancouver Winter Farmer's Market every Saturday in February!

10:00 am to 2:00 pm

4601 Ontario Street, Vancouver



More information: http://markets.bcfarmersmarket.org/market/vancouver-winter-farmers-market



--



If you have a farming/gardening/food security event that you would like to share, please email us with the information to: burnabyfoodfirst@gmail.com. We would be happy to share your events on our blog and get the word out!

 

  

Testing the Insulin Model: A Response to Dr. Ludwig

Dr. David Ludwig, MD, recently published a response to my critique of the carbohydrate-insulin-obesity hypothesis. This is good because he defends the idea in more detail than I've encountered in other written works. In fact, his piece is the most scientifically persuasive defense of the idea I can recall.

Before we dig in, I want to emphasize that this is science, not tribal warfare. The goal is to arrive at the best answer, rather than to win an argument. I'm proceeding in good faith, based on my belief that Ludwig and I are both serious people who care about science and human health, and I hope my audience will do the same. That said, let's get to it.

Read more �

Beets for Tandoori Chicken and Fish Tikka Masala! For CBC's Weekend Morning Show

I'll be presenting two recipes tomorrow for CBC's Weekend Morning Show, with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten.  Tandoori Chicken and Fish Tikka Masala.  

Quite often, Tandoori Chicken has red food colouring added to give it the desired colour.  The Beet Sauce from Dr. Beetroot takes care of that.  It also has all natural ingredients and a great flavour!  I'll be using it for dips as well.  

I used local Arctic Char, available year round, fresh on Fridays at Gimli Fish.  It is a consistently great product.  One can also use other firm fish for the recipe.

Tandoori Chicken (serves 4-6)

10 pieces skinless chicken (I prefer to use chicken thighs as they are very easy to skin and then are lower fat)
Marinade:
2/3 cup Dr. Beetroot Sauce (available at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market, Osborne Village Farmer�s Market and Co-op stores)
1/2 cup rich yoghurt (I used Dairy Fairy�s yoghurt, also available at St. Norbert�s Farmer�s Market and daily at the Osborne Village Farmer�s Market)
1 tbs lemon juice
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1-2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
pinch salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
pinch cayenne (optional)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix marinade until smooth.  Place skinned chicken in marinade and let chill for several hours.  Remove from refrigerator at least 20 minutes before grilling.  On a medium high grill, place chicken pieces and BBQ until tender and falls from the bone, less time needed if boneless chicken.  Serve with lime slices, fresh coriander (optional) and enjoy!

Fish Tikka Masala (serves 4-6 as an appetizer)

1 filet firm fish (I used local Arctic Char, available at Gimli Fish, fresh each Friday)

Skin and cut fish into medium cubes if you wish to cook fish on skewers.

Marinade:

1/2 cup Dr. Beetroot Sauce
1/2 cup Rich yoghurt, strained, if desired
1 tbs lemon juice
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
pinch cayenne
1 tbs curry spice blend or, cumin, garam masala, chilies
1/4 cup olive oil

Place fish cubes in marinade for a few hours.  Skewer, if desired. Cook on medium hot grill until done.  VERY SHORT TIME FOR FISH!!!

Serve immediately with naan, yoghurt, limes, etc.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato "Tacos"

Doesn't that look good?  It's a baked sweet potato topped with taco-seasoned ground turkey, steamed broccoli and a Mexican-blend shredded cheese.  It looks good, right?  Well I had probably five bites of it before my whining 17 month-old (who is currently on a high chair boycott) took over my lap and took over my dinner.  She's only happy these days when she's eating like a big kid, in a regular chair with a giant fork.  This is difficult, because she is teeny tiny.  Therefore, she takes over my lap, and takes over my dinner (a Real Moms Wear Grey moment for sure).    

However, the parts I did enjoy were very enjoyable... this is a nice alternative to your regular Taco Tuesday cuisine.  Inspired by this Weelicious recipe, you basically ditch the taco shells or tortillas and use a potato as your vessel!  You're supposed to dig out half of the flesh so you can easily eat it like a taco, but I was too lazy last night and frankly just wanted to eat the potato.  Top it with whatever you please!  (Click here for baking instructions, and remember these Sweet Potato Skins?!)

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

I'm big on textures when it comes to eating, and I aim to strike a balance with each meal.  I want something smooth and creamy alongside something crispy or crunchy (like potato chips in a nice, soft turkey sandwich).  That said, it seems necessary to have something mashed with our protein.  But meat and potatoes can get boring, and heavy.  Mashed cauliflower, however?!  It's light, fluffy, unique and ALERT: your kids might eat it (2 out of 3 in my house, at least).  Of course, I add a teeeeensy bit of cream (and a good amount of cheese), but it's a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes.    

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

(Serves 4-6)

Printable Recipe

2 heads cauliflower, florets removed

1 cup shredded white cheddar

1/4 -1/3 cup heavy cream or milk

Salt and pepper

Fill a large pot with an inch or so of water.  Place cauliflower florets in and cover, venting lid slightly to let out steam.  Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork.  Turn off heat, drain water and place cauliflower back in pot.  Using a handheld blender, puree cauliflower until smooth (if you don't have a handheld blender, place cauliflower in a blender to puree, and then place back in pot).  Add cream and cheese and stir until cheese has melted (you may need to turn heat back on to low).  Season to taste with salt and pepper.    

More creative ways to eat cauliflower:

Cauliflower Rice Bowl

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower Critters

Cauliflower Meatballs

Cauliflower Quesadilla

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing and a 7-Minute Egg

In the last few years, I�ve fallen more and more in love with Middle Eastern food. I�m obsessed with tahini and za�atar. 

That�s how I started writing this post. Then I stopped, and started over, because I caught myself doing something that makes me cringe when I see others doing it.  


Saying �Middle Eastern food� can be like saying �American food� or �Asian food.� It's not wrong, per se, but it's not really right, either. It�s lumping together so many cuisines under one umbrella, and not taking into account, understanding, or celebrating the differences of each region, or culture, or community. We do it when we go out to eat, or when we (bloggers) post new recipes, or when we talk about "ethnic" cuisine. I have fallen in love with �Middle Eastern food," but what does that even mean? I admittedly, and embarrassingly, know so little about that part of the world, of cultures that shouldn't be defined by one popular ingredient. 

I�m not saying we shouldn�t appreciate and enjoy foods from other cultures, I really do love tahini and za�atar, and plan to continue making new recipes with them. I�m not saying we shouldn�t post about different cuisines on our blogs, or use techniques, ingredients, and ideas to make new dishes. Every time we eat falafel doesn�t need to be a lesson in cultural appropriation. But I do think it�s important to try to understand who the people are who brought these dishes or ingredients to the US (curiosity, by the way, is a good first step to empathy! A lesson that could do one unfortunate presidential candidate a lot of good). It�s important to talk about, to think about, and to be aware of. Especially when we see so much hate being directed at certain populations, by people with a disproportionate amount of power.  

And especially for a food blogger or writer, with a public platform. This little site is a minuscule speck of sand in the grand world of food blogs--I know that I�m not influencing tons and tons of people on a daily basis. But we�re all, no matter how small our reach, contributing to a narrative about food and culture, and it�s important to realize that sometimes the recipes we post or the way we talk about food from cultures other than our own can be misleading, wrong, hurtful, and sometimes damaging. We should all try harder, and be more aware. 

So, let me start over. Today I�m making a salad with za�atar, tahini, chickpeas, sumac, parsley--flavors I just can�t get enough of lately, thanks to an introduction from my Ottolenghi cookbooks, as well as food bloggers like Molly Yeh and Danielle Oron, who both know a lot about Israeli food, and restaurants that I can�t stop dreaming about like Mamnoon. While these ingredients are popular in that broad swath of �Middle Eastern cuisine," this salad is a random mish-mash of things I think taste good. Remember those sweet potato tacos I wrote about? And how I said I always make extra roasted sweet potatoes to eat throughout the week? Well, this quick salad is something that came about thanks to those extra sweet potatoes. We�re adding them to a bowl full of za�atar spiced chickpeas, a lemony, garlicky, sumac-dusted tahini dressing, and lots of parsley. I also added almonds for crunch, and a 7-minute egg, because it has the most perfect custardy yolk ever!


I was inspired to make the 7-minute egg by one of my favorite online food friends (just kidding, we�re not friends, but I pretend we are), Cara Nicoletti. She�s a blogger, author, butcher, badass. And she has the best Instagram captions that I wish I had thought of. My all-time favorite: she posted a food photo with the caption �Mike Will Made it. Just kidding, I did.� I want to steal that line every day. And she posted a pic of a glorious soft cooked egg, with the caption �7 minutes in heaven.� I�m still LOLing over that one. I sound like I�m stalking her don�t I? Maaaaybe let�s not tell Cara about this, ok? 

Anyway, now I�ve been making 6.5-7 minutes eggs like a madwoman, and doing something so godawful I always swore I�d never be one of those people� you know, the ones who microwave a smelly egg at work! Some nerve, right? Orangette taught me that you can reheat a soft boiled egg in the shell, for about 20 seconds, and it works like a charm. Which means this salad is perfect for a workday lunch!

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing and a 7-Minute Egg
Add as much arugula, etc as you desire. 

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 heaping teaspoon za�atar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Arugula 
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (recipe here)
Sliced avocado
Feta
7 minute egg (below) 
Chopped almonds
Tahini dressing (below)

Dry drained chickpeas (and peal them if you want them to be crispier), and toss with za�atar. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add chickpeas. Cook for about five minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. 

In large bowls, layer in arugula, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and avocado. Drizzle with dressing, and top with halved 7 minute eggs, chopped nuts, and feta. 

7-Minute Egg
Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover eggs. Bring to a boil. Gently lower eggs (using a slotted spoon) into water, and set timer for exactly 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, remove from heat, and drain water immediately. Run cold water into pot, over eggs until they come to room temperature (several minutes), or place immediately into an ice bath. For a runnier yolk, try 6.5 minutes. 

Tahini Dressing
� cup water
� cup tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice from � a large lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon sumac
Pinch aleppo pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together.

******

Further Reading:
A quick run down about cultural appropriation of food.

One of my favorite articles ever, by the guy with the best bao ever (also, did I tell you about the time I ate at Baohaus and the place was empty other than Eddie Huang and his friends hanging out� I died. But was too shy to say hi.)

This: �Americans are increasingly interested in where food is sourced. Surely, that interest should extend to a meal�s cultural roots as well as its biological origins.�

And this: �When the �experts� of our food are people from outside our communities, that is a form of appropriation.�

And also, this: �The issue at hand isn�t complicated. Simply put, why label a dish as being a cultural element when it�s not?�

Also, my sister has a Masters in Cultural Studies, and recommended the following:
The Tourist Gaze - John Urry
Orientalism - Edward Said
The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power - Stuart Hall

Buttermilk Granola Muffins

Did anyone else experience the longest weekend of their lives??  Blizzard Jonas kept us inside for most of it, and even when I felt ready to bundle up and go play in the fluffy white stuff, I couldn't because our middle child has been fighting a stomach bug that just won't go away.  If I could sum up my weekend in three words it would be: Lysol, Snow and Wine.  That sounds like a song.  Listen, when they practically make it illegal to leave your home, you enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two.  Or 39.  My house is a mess.  There are forts everywhere.  I let everyone walk around in their snowy boots after one, epic tantrum (and then I let go).  I can't stop washing my hands.  I can't stop spraying Lysol.  I've given my girls 18 baths.  Anyway, let's just say I'm happy it's Monday.

Thank god I prepared for the storm and made sure I had every ingredient I would need to bake and cook.  At least for muffins and chili (more on that later).  A week ago we were upstate in Rhinebeck, NY and I bought this incredible granola from the sweet shop Samuel's.  Chunks of dark chocolate, dried fruit, nuts and coconut make it the best granola I've ever had (even if for a split second after purchasing it, the image on the package made me think I had bought dog food).  Carson had the fantastic idea of baking muffins with it, and so I googled "granola muffins" and found this recipe.  

They are delicious!  Just use your favorite granola and you will certainly enjoy these muffins.