Paddling in the Gene Pool

When I was a kid my summer activity of choice was spending hours submerged in the blue quietness at the deep end of the pool, seeing how long I could swim underwater without coming up for air. Sailing was a revelation that had to wait until I was an adult, when friends invited Dave and I to go out on their sailboat. My favorite sailing moment always came when the engine shut off, the sails unfurled and the only sound was the prow cutting through the water and the wind whipping the rigging.

Tiny Cowichan Bay.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, when Eric Pateman of  Edible Canada asked if I'd be interested in going on one of their gourmet kayaking trips, it was all I could do not to scream "Woo hoo!" into the phone, no doubt scaring the bejesus out of my would-be host. But I managed to maintain my composure, which meant that a few weeks later I was driving a rented car up to the small town of Ladysmith on the inland coast of Vancouver Island, an area known as the Cowichan Valley.

Hilary's Cheese.

Like our own corner of the Northwest, the valley is known for its bounty of local produce and wines, as well as cheeses, beer and bread…sound familiar? So on my way up to Ladysmith I stopped in the tiny town of Cowichan Bay to sample some of that local goodness at Hilary’s Cheese shop. Hilary is Hilary Abbott, the man who, with his wife Patty, makes the cheese from island goat and cow milk. The day I was there they had a slightly aged goat cheese with a grape must-washed rind, a mild goat cheddar and a goat blue with a greyish, bloomy rind. All were fairly fresh so hadn’t developed many secondary characteristics, but all three were uniformly delicious. The cheese plate came with slices of bread from the shop next door, True Grain, which features BC, and even some island-grown, grains and flours.

Morning from my window at Island Estuary.

After filling up on the cheese, bread and fruit at Hilary's, I headed for the Island Estuary Bed and Breakfast, owned by chef Lynda Diamond and her husband, photographer Ted McCrea. The B&B, which was to be our base camp for the weekend, was situated on a wooded hillside just south of Ladysmith overlooking Holland Creek Estuary and Ladysmith Harbour.

Lynda's amazing albacore with seaweed salad.

The large, comfortable house is beautifully designed and filled with artwork that Ted and Lynda have collected from local artisans, and each room features a stunning view out over the estuary. Lynda strives to serve locally sourced food, including coffee from a local roaster, wines from the island and produce from area farms.

One happy paddler.

With a terrific lunch of fish tacos with a couple of kick-ass salads alongside, the assembled group of ten intrepid paddlers was off to our first lesson a few minutes' walk up the beach at Sealegs Kayaking. As a complete newb, I was a teensy bit nervous that I'd totally embarrass myself and tip over, lose my paddle or not be able to keep up with the rest of the group. By the end of the weekend I was very proud to say that none of that happened, and since the group was made up of a wide range of skills and physical abilities, I fit right in.

The Island Estuary Cosmo (recipe below).

In the three days we had drop-dead gorgeous weather, fantastic food, calm waters (those inland channels, remember?) and saw lots of seals and jellyfish. I'll save the specific details for the article I'm writing for NW Palate magazine (the Mar./Apr. 2012 issue), but suffice it to say that this area just north of Victoria is well worth visiting all on its own or for a few days out of a longer trip.

Here's a recipe for a killer Cosmo that Lynda served the first night:

Island Estuary Cosmo

From Lynda Diamond

1.5 oz. vodka*
1/2 oz. Cointreau or any other orange-flavoured liquor
2 tsp. of Rose's Lime Juice or fresh lime
1.5 oz. cranberry juice

Mix all together in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice, then strain into glasses. Enjoy!

* Lynda said she uses Schramm vodka from Pemberton Distillery and always keeps it in the freezer.

Singular Expression

If there's a nautical gene in the pool, I've definitely got it. As a kid, Flipper was my favorite show, not because I envied the adventures of the two boys who befriended the marine mammal, but because I wanted to be the dolphin swimming free in the ocean. (I was much too young to know the facts of captive, trained dolphins back then.)

So when I got a chance to go up to Vancouver Island to do a story for NW Palate magazine about Edible Canada's gourmet kayaking weekend, I couldn't clear my calendar fast enough. The trip was a tour of the waterways near Ladysmith, BC, wide stretches of flat water that are home to seals, fish and jellyfish. But first I had to get there.

My first stop was a night at the Stone Soup Inn just north of Duncan in Lake Cowichan, BC, a bed and breakfast as well as a restaurant. I pulled into the driveway just as owner Brock Windsor and his wife, Ayako, were unloading their van stuffed with produce from area farms. The perfume from several tiny cantaloupes poured out the open van door, and cases of heirloom tomatoes glowed in its dark interior, along with beets, lettuces and herbs still dripping with morning dew.

Stone Soup is also a working farm, with chickens, turkeys, pigs and a large vegetable garden that supplies the restaurant with eggs and produce. And Brock loves to head out with his backpack to forage for mushrooms and other wild edibles, and has relationships with local farmers for specialty crops that he can't grow himself. But ask to see a menu and he'll tell you there is no such thing here. He serves is whatever is fresh and available in five course "surprise" tasting menu for $65 with a wine pairing of BC wines for an additional $35.

The night I was there I was the only guest, but Brock insisted on giving me the whole enchilada, even saying it was fun to cook for just one person. So despite my protests I was seated at a corner table, and Rachel, his able kitchen and dining room assistant, started me off with a 2010 Averill Creek Pinot Gris and a salad of iceberg lettuce, a new variety from France that Brock had found, tossed with nasturtiums, shiso, Vidalia onions, slivers of poached Qualicum oysters and lemon cucumbers from Rachel’s garden.

It could have been awkward sitting there by myself, but Rachel was fun to talk to and Brock would come out of the kitchen to tell me about each course. The second wine was a 2010 Rocky Creek Ortega from Cowichan Bay, white-gold with a pink cast, with a big flowery nose and a sweetness that worked well with the acidity of the next course, a single slice of a very large yellow-red Pineapple tomato with a few roasted hazelnuts, black cherry tomatoes and a sheep sorrel-chive mayonnaise. It was served in a very warm pasta bowl, which heated up the tomato, a nice touch.

The next wine was a 2009 Blue Grouse Pinot Gris from Duncan, a white with a nose like blue cheese. It came with a super-fresh chunk of seared skin-on salmon from nearby Port Alberni that was served on a combination of green runner beans and roasted apricot, fig and Nodding onion with a little fresh tarragon (top photo). Can you say crazy delicious?

The entrée, God help me, started with a red, a rich, juicy ’08 Garry Oaks Zeta from Salt Spring Island. It complimented a loin of pork from one of the pigs Brock had just slaughtered, very lucky pigs that are fed the same food he serves in the restaurant (i.e. kitchen scraps). It came with a transparent applesauce (“The way my mother made it.”), roasted cauliflower, his garden carrots, a luscious ham broth from the roasting of the loin, beets, potatoes and a side of chanterelles that he and his son had picked.

If you can believe it, I was still upright for the dessert, which commenced with an ’09 Averill Creek Cowichan Black made from blackberries, a perfect accompaniment to a molded chocolate mousse that stood in the middle of a rosemary-infused caramel sauce, berry coulis and a pingpong ball-sized globe of blueberry sorbet. Fan-freaking-tastic.

It's amazing I didn't need to be rolled up to my room, but I have to say I slept soundly till morning, eventually making my way downstairs to find my corner table set with toast and coffee. I poured a cup and wandered into the kitchen to find Brock busy prepping for the night's dinner. After declining anything other than a very basic breakfast, I did agree to try a poached pullet egg and some of his house-smoked bacon. Do I need to say it was terrific?

We talked as he cooked, and I was even more impressed with his dedication to serving absolutely fresh food sourced as locally as possible, preparing it very simply to let its flavor shine. The people of the Cowichan are lucky to have him cooking there, and I only wish his inn was closer so we could become regulars at his table.

Details: Stone Soup Inn, 6755 Cowichan Lake Rd., Lake Cowichan, BC. 250-749-3848.

My Awesome Summer: Gourmet Kayaking

Just so you don't think I've given up blogging for tweeting, I'm posting some shots of the reasons I haven't posted much lately.

First, September has turned into out-of-town month, starting with a gourmet kayaking trip to Vancouver Island courtesy of Edible Canada and NW Palate magazine. Major fun even though it's for "work." I mean, being out on the water and staying at a lovely B&B with terrific food and fun folks? How does it get better than that?

Trust me, you'll be hearing the blow-by-blow (or stroke-by-stroke) soon enough. Though you can follow me on Twitter and get more regular pictorial updates.)

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse, Pt. 3: A Grand Tour

Portland has long talked about opening a year-round, indoor public market where locals and visitors alike can find the best of the region's bounty and buy it direct from local growers and producers. Examples like Seattle's Pike Place Market and San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace are touted as prime examples of successful urban markets promoting area producers.

The argument has been made by some that the city's existing farmers' markets fill that niche, with around 40 in the metro area on every day of the week in season, with four of those running year-round, and that it's not necessary for the city to invest millions to build one. Others object to locating the proposed James Beard Public Market downtown, preferring instead to place it on Portland's inner east side along the river, near what was, in the recent past, a thriving produce district that is now developing into a hub for local restaurants, distilleries and retailers.

Those discussions aside (kind of), one need look no further than Vancouver's Granville Island Public Market to find a thriving market in a formerly neglected area of the city across the water from downtown…wait…that sounds familiar…that delivers on its promise to provide top-quality, local provisions. Not only that, but it's both a shopping mecca for tourists as well as an active industrial hub, with a boatworks that serves the nearby marina…hmmm…more deja vu…and a cooking school, a fish distributor and other commercial businesses. Like San Francisco's, it also has a popular farmers' market once a week in summer and fall.

My whirlwind tour, entertainingly led by Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts sommelier and director Tim Ellison, hit the high points of the foodier portions of the market. Those included Finest at Sea, a commercial fish processor, smoker and direct retailer, whose offerings were so fresh that it was tempting to tuck a big burping bag of Northwest oysters under my coat to enjoy in my room later. Think anyone would have noticed?

Moving past the flower vendors and inside the market, we were confronted by the full-to-bursting cases of cured meats at Oyama Sausage Company. Then there were the dozens of crocks and bowls of olives, pickles and other antipasti at Zara's Deli, a place I wish I could transport wholesale back to Portland.

Then there was the outlet of all things edible in the province, Edible BC, providing shoppers with products previously available only at farms or in regional stores, like gourmet crackers, jams, chutney, cheeses and chocolates. And they've even got a tasting bar where the (of course) nice person behind the counter will encourage you to try before you buy. (Click the link to browse the full list of vendors.)

And if I thought Ellison was the most excited Canadian I'd ever seen, he couldn't hold a candle to head Edible guy Eric Pateman, who walked us through his plan to take over the world…um…I mean break ground on a new restaurant called Edible at the Market that is scheduled to debut later this year. Open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, its menu will consist of 80% British Columbia cuisine using locally sourced ingredients, with the remaining 20% of the menu items featuring other Canadian cuisines (poutine, anyone?).

Plus he dropped the bomb that the plan is for the Edible BC to be rebranded Edible Canada in the near future, with a nationwide chain of Edible Canada stores to open in participating Fairmont hotels and also in Canada's major airports. See what I mean about taking over the world? This guy thinks big!

Details: Granville Island Public Market, 1661 Duranleau St., Vancouver, BC. 604-666-6655.

For more of my culinary tour of this gorgeous city, see Part 1: An Offer I Couldn't Refuse and Part 2: Having a Gas.