Vancouver Island

There are so many wild foods to forage in spring. The First Nations people called these First Foods for obvious reasons. This is important knowledge to have if you might find yourself lost while hiking but it’s also useful information to teach our children. It’s a great family friendly activity that gets you outside-a true treasure hunt!
The list of wild food sources is almost endless but I have chosen to focus on the foods that actually taste good and add important vitamins to our diet. I have also added in how to prepare, cook and use these delicious wild food gifts.

Japanese inspired Miso Baked Oysters are bright and tangy with lemon, an unctuous riff on Oysters Rockefeller. Oysters baked over spinach with a rich and zippy sauce and topped with a touch of cheese to seal in the creamy goodness. But guess what? just omit the cheesy topping for a dairy free dish!

This week’s recipe is inspired by one of the dishes I tried recently at Pluvio in Ucluelet. My version is much simpler I’m sure, but gets deep flavour from roasting the cauliflower and stirring in a little hazelnut oil at the end adds a nutty richness. (Below a pic of the delicious Pluvio version which was garnished with local sidestriped shrimp-HEAVEN!)This soup is a perfect starter but also a light lunch or dinner. I served mine garnished with homemade croutons (crispy outside, soft inside), parsley and fresh hazelnuts grown right here in Campbell River. It is equally good made vegan by using nut milk and veggie stock instead of dairy and chicken stock. Enjoy my friends 🙂

What makes this mushroom soup different than others is that the mushrooms are pureed with a secret ingredient for the body of the soup. A small amount of this amazing flavour bomb enriches and deepens the flavour and makes this stand out from every other mushroom soup you’ve likely ever tried.

Summer is prime time for perfect, fresh vegetables whether from your own garden or the farmer’s market. In our house we are mostly eating them raw and plain as fast as we can pluck them off the vines or from the ground but sometimes we want that little extra. With a plethora of perfect beans, I decided to briefly blanch them and serve them with a piquant aioli flavored with a bunch of gorgeous basil, some parsley and chives and up the umami with some anchovies.

A simple and easy dessert with a cake that takes under 30 minutes to make and bake. The strawberries and rhubarb are gently cooked with a little sugar and thickener to create an incredibly luscious filling. Topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream flavoured with lavender syrup or vanilla, this is a crowd pleaser.

My brother and I who spent a few seasons deckhanding together would ceremoniously eat the first prawns of the season raw before then cooking up a feast. Often we ate them steamed or pan fried with garlic butter (cook gently just until opaque and immediately remove from heat so they don’t over cook) but after we’d had our fill, it was time to get creative. I can’t count the number of recipes we tried over the years but it was a lot! Today I’m sharing two recipes, Spot Prawns In Fennel Tomato Broth and simple Grilled Prawns.

Do your kids love broccoli? No? Then this week’s recipe is for you because this will convert most kids especially if you omit the word broccoli and call it “Cheesy Vegetable Soup”. Today’s recipe is not particularly pretty but it’s a weeknight favourite in our […]

In my humble opinion, the main requirement for fried oysters besides being very fresh, is that the oysters are crispy on the outside, like REALLY crispy! I have experimented with various techniques and recipes and believe the method below achieves the crispiest crust without having to deep fry. These are simple and easy and the whole recipe including sauce and frying time takes under 40 minutes.

With the weather cold, I’m gravitating to warm spices and comforting soups. This recipe starts with a versatile and easy homemade curry paste and is finished with coconut milk, stock and fish sauce for authentic south Asian flavour. The snapper is added minutes before serving and poured over a bowl of rice noodles and vegetable garnishes. Thick and rich, full of bright spice and herbal aromas, this soup is a comforting and satisfying meal in a bowl.