EAT Magazine, August 2004

Summer Stock

It's Friday afternoon and you're already panicking, making a mental shopping list for complicated recipes, already knowing that you're likely to forget key ingredients. Packing food for a long weekend out of town can be as stressful and frantic as your work week, not to mention everything you haul back home if you aren't planning to return anytime soon.  For some of us, it doesn't matter if we're entertaining for the weekend at a chalet in Whistler or braving a three day sailing adventure; it will take a whole day dealing with food- half a day shopping and packing, unpacking when you get there, then the other half clearing up and packing all the leftovers and items back home you never used. Phew! But with a little forethought and some tips from those-in-the-know, you won't arrive at your destination exhausted and stressed. Zip-lock bag everything and take some frozen ice packs in cardboard boxes so you don't need to haul coolers back. With careful planning, you'll just bring back the ice packs.

Karen Barnaby, chef at the FishHouse and cookbook author, always takes along some good BC canned albacore tuna, "and jars of things, roasted red peppers, olives, pickled asparagus (all at Trout Lake market), hard boiled eggs, fresh green beans. And if you aren't on a low-carb diet like Karen is, bring some potatoes for a classic salad Nicoise. She also takes sour cream and David Woods goat cheese- a perfect dessert with fresh strawberries. " One thing I like as a snacky thing is frico - sprinkle parmesan cheese on a non-stick pan or baking sheet and sprinkle spices on it, such as cumin or caraway, sprinkle before it starts cooking and this takes any salad up a notch." Karen also recommends that you "go out and poke around for anything wild, such as huckleberries, blackberry bushes - the leaves at the top of the blackberry stems are tender and taste like blackberry. Find wild sorrel and cattails, the white part can be eaten like asparagus - not the corm, but where it attaches to the leaves at the bottom of the stem." Take along a few versatile foods such as smoked salmon, Lesley Stowe's raincoast crisps, David Woods goat cheese, Natural Pasture's Camembert, all good for breakfast, lunch and dinner and leave some room for Denman Island chocolates anytime.

John Bishop, of Bishop's restaurant, rents a cabin on Hornby Island and he always takes his favourite knives, utensils, and a favourite frypan and relies on what is available."part of the adventure is seeking out local seafood and vegetables. it's amazing what you can get out of the ground right away" he says.  For John, these trips inspire him to write new recipes.

For the Bishop family's first meal, "we pick up fresh crab and hand-peeled shrimp at Buckley Bay, at the fresh seafood store, and steam everything with drawn butter, very traditional and simple with salad and warm bread from the local bakery. Usually we pick up fresh corn and berries and have a berry pie."  Next day, John and family go to the day market and see what's available, such as locally grown shallots and garlic. "With the kids out on the beach all day, we have a soup for lunch, and breakfast tends to be baked goods from the bakery." And there's nothing to bring back home.

 The Bishops' pie is made from scratch, but for another shortcut, buy four frozen pie shells and save two for a fruit pie (one for the lid) and make a fabulous tomato tart with the other two by rolling out the pastry until it's very thin, then cut into individual shapes, add a little cheese and some vine-ripened tomatoes-no fuss, no muss. And elegant enough for entertaining

 Before you go, whip up a few marinades that double as sauce, such as this one below from Marianne Abraham, chef at Aurelia Adventures in Nelson BC. They specialize in sea kayaking, and Marianne specializes in minimizing. "Think about space and weight, so take a little soft-sided cooler with frozen products and a little hand fishing line" she recommends. One of her favourite and most requested meals is Salt Spring Island lamb chops.  Dig a hole in the sand, line it with rocks, and chuck in a bag of briquettes. Take a grill to place over top of the coals, or pack a mini hibachi. Put the chops in a zip-lock bag with marinade before you go and the marinade doubles as a sauce. When the chops are almost done, splash some red wine in the marinade, preferably an Okanagan pinot noir, and reduce with a bit of butter. Chuck in some fresh rosemary or mint and you're good to go. Bake dessert in a dutch oven  such as Marianne's blackberry upside down cake (or any other seasonal berries). The easiest thing to transport in a kayak is root vegetables, especially beets - just prep with herbs, good quality olive oil and cracked pepper and chuck them on the fire with the lamb chops (recipes below).

Dinner Menu: ( for 2 )

Whisk together - add oil last.

Grilling the chops:

Place lamb chops in a zip lock bag and pour marinade over chops the night before your departure.  Keep in a soft sided cooler (with ice pack) and plan on grilling on 1^st night.  Dig a shallow hole in the sand, line with foil and place charcoal briquettes in the hole.  When coals are ready, lay grill across your pit and grill your chops, using the marinade to baste.  For added flavour, pick some aromatic grasses or sages from the forest edge and lay them on your coals.  The smoke from these will infuse the chops.

On a one burner stove, reduce your marinade with a healthy splash of Pinot Noir and a chunk of butter.   Spoon over chops just before serving.

Roasted Root Vegetables with steamed Fraser Valley Arugula and Okanagan chevre.

 1 Yam

1 Farmer's Market  Golden Beet

2 Grand Forks yellow flesh potatoes

½ BC rutabaga

6 whole cloves BC garlic

1 Creston sweet yellow onion

olive oil - enough to liberally coat all veggies when cut up

sea salt

cracked pepper

Chevre

Arugula

Cut all root veggies into fork-size chunks.  Toss liberally in olive oil, salt and cracked pepper.  Add garlic, wrap well in foil, making sure seam is along the top and well sealed.

Place on the edge of your coal bed, about 30 minutes before you are going to cook your chops.  To avoid burning, turn frequently.  When all veggies are done (check by poking with a knife), sprinkle chevre over hot vegetables, lay arugula on top of that, roll up the foil package again (can be looser this time) and steam by laying back on edge of coals for 5-7 minutes.  Serve immediately.

*Clean up your cooking site!  When you are done and the coals are cold, wrap the ashes up in the foil, put it all in a garbage bag, and take it with you.

Don't throw your ashes into the ocean.  Fill in your hole to cover up any food odors you have left behind.

Dessert:  West Coast Blackberry Upside-down Cake w. Vanilla Crème

To bake all our desserts on our trips, we use a Dutch oven. This is an 8-10" cast iron, high-sided pot, with a heavy lid and little feet.  These are available in camping stores and Canadian tire.  We have baked everything from lemon Meringue pie to triple chocolate hazelnut brownies in this highly versatile unit.

TO USE: In a small pile on some foil, light 12 charcoal briquettes. In the meantime, oil the inside of the DO (as we call it),well.  Pour whatever batter you are using into the DO and put lid on.  When the coals are done they will be white and glowing.  On the foil, spread out 4 coals.  Place DO on top of those coals.  Place another 8 coals on the lid.  Shroud the whole thing, in a tin foil "dunce hat", leaving a vent open at the top. The shroud should be about 6" higher than the top of the DO.  A general rule of thumb for doneness is when you can smell it, it's done!  (about 15-20 minutes). Remove foil and CAREFULLY lift lid to avoid spilling ash on your dessert.  Serve right out of the DO.

Recipe:

1 yellow cake mix (don't forget to pack 2 eggs) For ease of packing stuff, just bring cake mix.  On our trips we carry all the ingredients and make our desserts from scratch, but it is cumbersome for a weekend trip for two.

2 cups freshly picked blackberries - they grow almost anywhere on the coast in August, but just in case, you can bring a pint of BC blueberries as well.

1 cup brown sugar

¼ lb. butter

Melt your butter on the stove top.  Toss the blackberries in the brown sugar and melted butter.  Lay on the bottom of  a well-greased DO.  Mix cake mix according to instructions, and pour over berries.  Follow DO baking instructions from above.

Serve with: 

 250 ml.Fresh Fraser Valley whip cream, whisked together with a ¼ package of vanilla instant pudding. Keep whisking till desired thickness is reached (about 3 minutes)  Whipping cream out in the wilds can be a long and unsuccessful event.  Using the vanilla instant pudding ensures that the cream will whip - and it tastes good, as long as you don't use too much.

Recipes, courtesy of  Marianne Abraham and Aurelia adventures:  www.aureliaadventures.com