Event
Celebration of English Classics at Deerholme Farm
The accomplished and charismatic chef/cookbook author/food consultant Bill Jones of Deerholme Farm has designed a menu as an ode to Great Britain -without forsaking the BC pantry. For a June 14th dinner, Jones will be preparing local favourites like Moonstruck White Grace chee se plated alongside Welsh Rarebit. Or try the Melton Mobray pie -a country pate of pork, herbs, and farm-fresh eggs in a hot water crust. In Jones' own words, "Using our great local products we attempt to bring the British Isles to our little corner of the empire. Prepare to be gob-smacked."
A portion of the profits will be donated to the kitchen program at Providence Farm in honor of James Barber. Deerholme Farms is found in the plush and roly Cowichan Valley.
Call 250.748.7450 or click here for reservations.
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Event
Cider Master Evening at Sea Cider Farm
 Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse will be celebrating the grande finale of apple blossom season with a Cider Master Evening on Friday June 13th. Chef Rick Thuynsma of the Empress will be preparing a selection of artisan cheeses and hors d'ouevres that highlight local and seasonal ingredients.
The organic orchards and highbrow farmhouse are set on the Saanich Peninsula and have a theatrical view of the Gulf Islands. Rain or shine, it's a breathtaking setting to sip your way through Sea Cider's smoky Pommeau, earthy Wild English, or sweet Pomona -inspired by the Roman goddess of apples. Learn more about the sophisticated side of the apple with Kristen Jordan, owner and cider master. She will be around the table to share her wealth of knowledge on the intricacies of cider and food pairing.
For more information or to make reservations call 250.544.4824 or click here.
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Event
Summer Seafood Fest at Horizons
Horizons restaurant is bringing back its much-loved Summer Seafood Fest for the month of June. BC's abundance of fresh seafood will be headlining the menu created by award-winning Chef John Garrett. Wild BC Salmon on the alderwood grill, Pan Fried Arctic Char, and Garrett's famous Pacific Cioppino bowl are a few of the seafood dinner entrees that can be had at a steal with promotion coupon.
Have your dinner on the verandah so you can soak in the vibrant mountain greenery, Centennial Rose Garden, and Japanese totem poles of the Burnaby Mountain Park.
For coupon (and a gallery of gorgeous photos) click here.
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Event
"On The Wood" at FigMint
Get gussied up for the "On The Wood" event at the uber-sophisticated FigMint in Vancouver. Twenty seats along the sleek bar are for the new monthly tasting series. Each tasting has its own theme and the first one on June 6th sold out in a flash so plan ahead. On Thursday July 3rd the theme is "Hot, Hot, Hot Mexico," headlining Negra modelo, Dos Equis XX, Corona Extra and Tequila El Jimador Herradura with Mexican cheeses Crema Panela, Asadero, Oaxaca and Cotija. Put on your coolest outfit, roll your R's, and get a dose of Mexican heat-whatever the weather may be outside.
Call 604.875.3312 or click here for reservations.
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In Season
Fava Beans
The humble bean has an impressive history. Favas (which is the Latin word for bean), also called broad beans, are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the world. In Sicilian folklore, the entire island once lost all its crops except for the bean plants. Beans kept Sicilians alive through the hungry months and to this day, some people will carry a fava bean in their pocket for good luck. The idea is that if one carries a bean, one will never be without the essentials of life. Who knew?
Favas have a short season in BC beginning early June. The youngest and most tender pods -soft to the touch and pale green in colour- can be steamed or fried and eaten whole. More mature pods can be shelled first, then cooked in boiling water. When cool remove the outer husk by making a small cut with your thumbnail, then squeeze the bean out using your thumb and forefinger.
Broad beans dry and store well becoming shiny and pebble-like. I used to carry a few around in my pocket (without even knowing their luck potential) when I worked on a farm because of their pleasing smoothness. Had I known that throwing beans on the ground and interpreting the pattern in which they fall was a common method of divination (aptly called favomancy) I might have put my beans to better use and become known as the local "bean-thrower."
If cooking, interpreting, or carrying around these surprisingly versatile beans appeals, you might want to consider growing some of your own. Interestingly, Seeds of Victoria -a local seed company-has an heirloom variety of fava beans dating back to 1778 from the UK. This is no small feat in the world of seed-saving. Click here to see their catalogue.
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seasonal recipe
Fava Bean Puree from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food
Alice writes on the fava bean: "As the season progresses, the beans continue to mature, and they become larger and starchier. At this point they can be popped out of their pods, skinned, and cooked into a luscious, bright green puree that I adore slathering on crisp croutons or serving alongside roasted meats."
Makes about 3 cups.
Bring a pot of water to a boil as you shell the beans from:
4 pounds fava beans
Blanch quickly in the boiling water and then cool in ice water. Drain and pop the beans out of their skins. Heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan:
1/2 cup olive oil
Add the fava beans with:
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 branch rosemary
salt
1/2 cup water
Cook until the fava beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, and adding more water as necessary. The beans are done when they can be crushed easily with the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Mash with a spoon or pass them through a food mill.
Stir in:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Taste and season with salt as needed. Thin with water if necessary. Serve right away or at room temperature.
note: Fresh favas that are more mature, with a higher starch content than very young beans, make the best-tasting puree.
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hot ticket item
Extra Virgin A L'Olivier from Nice
 If your dad is like mine, he'll insist that he already has everything he needs for Father's Day -his loving family. Yeah, yeah, whatever, dad. I like to take the occasion to source out terra incognito in the olive oil department -my pop's particular obsession. A bit of an amateur collector, he can detect the region an oil is from by its fragrance and has experimented profusely (much to my delight) with many pairings of different olive oils to varieties of basil plants for his 'besto pesto' -a rich, earthy, forest-green paste I nicknamed the "Elixir of Life" because it revives the weariest taster with one whiff.
Ottavio's in Victoria has an eclectic array of high-quality olive oils. Organic, single-source, Italian, Spanish, inexpensive -whatever your criteria, these oils have been carefully chosen and staff is on hand to educate you on the ones you haven't yet sampled (ask for Jen if she's available). For my dad, we narrowed in on an award-winning Extra Virgin A L'Olivier from Nice. Made with Andalusian olives that produce a subtle flavour for versatile cooking and gorgeously bottled in opaque sandstone, the package
is as artisan as the oil inside.
Ottavio's is located at 2272 Oak Bay Avenue in Victoria. Click here for more information.
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Books
Alice Waters and Chez Panisse:
The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution
by Thomas McNamee
Hand-picked by the biography's central character to tell the story, journalist-novelist-essayist-poet Thomas McNamee was given the somewhat Herculean task of chronicling the evolution of Chez Panisse and Alice Waters. If you love food and don't yet know who she is, this book is a comedic, heart-breaking, inspiring, and factual way to acquaint yourself with the leader and creator of North America's 'delicious revolution.' If you already know and love her, you've simply got to read this book. For me, an unabashed fan, it's kind of like looking through my hero's scrapbook.
Often given props for making organic and local food the norm for restaurants and civilians, Waters patchworked together the famous Chez Panisse restaurant in an old house in Berkeley that has since won numerous awards internationally and branched into the Edible Schoolyard program, adjacent cafes, a collection of beautifully crafted cookbooks, and a handful of other hare-brained schemes.
McNamee tastefully reveals the insider stories and memories of the family Panisse -an ever-changing and totally endearing mishmash of folks who built this American legend from the ground up with pluck and derring-do, and more importantly, each other. Don't expect all the recollections to be rosy, but do prepare to be charmed -and deeply inspired- by Waters and her entourage of bon vivant fools.
Alice Waters and Chez Panisse is available at Plenty in Victoria, and Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver, as well as on Amazon.ca
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over the airwaves
CFUN Radio Restaurant Talk
Each week EAT Vancouver Editor Andrew Morrison appears on CFUN radio to talk about the Vancouver restaurant scene. Tune in June 16th for the Andrew's scoop on some of the new eateries coming down the pipe: Trattoria Italian Kitchen, La Quercia, Voya, Hawksworth, the new Irish Heather.
Listen to Andrew live on Monday June 16th at http://www.cfun.com/
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local travel
Get to Know Your Island
If
you haven't yet explored the backroad farms and vineyards, small town
bakeries and bistros, or the jaw-dropping views that one finds around a
bend in the road, take advantage of EAT's comprehensive guide to a Wine and Food Tour of Vancouver Island. Call a few friends, get the bikes or the car primed and click here to start mapping out your next road trip.
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The Tapas Bulletin Board
Fighting Breast Cancer with Art
All
proceeds from the sale of this six-colour, dynamic lithograph will be
donated to the BC Cancer Foundation to fund research in their fight
against Breast Cancer. EAT commissioned international poster designer Andrew Lewis to create this beauty in honour of EAT's tenth anniversary. For $50 you get a poster signed by the artist and a chance to support the BC Cancer Foundation. Call 250.384.9042 to order your poster.
Pick Grapes at Venturi Schulze for the Summer
"We have some temporary summer positions in the vineyard beginning immediately for reliable, intelligent people in good shape willing to work in rain and shine. We especially need people at least 5¹7² tall, as they areable to reach the top trellis wire. This would be great for university
students with an interest in vineyards looking for summer work. It is very satisfying to see the care you take in our pesticide and herbicide free vineyard translate into a wonderful, healthy crop. We are not able to offer accommodation. Although previous experience is helpful, it is not necessary.
Interested people should send us a resumé with references, including height and available dates, as soon as possible." Click here for contact information.
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