No Grumble Blueberry Crumble

August 15, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

There is a delightful part in my favourite childhood book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when a naughty, gum chewing girl, Violet Beauregard gets her just desserts (pun intended). While at the factory, she deliberately pops an experimental piece of gum into her mouth after being warned against it. As she chews this piece of gum it takes her through a three-course meal ending with blueberry pie, then she turns into one humongous blueberry and has to be juiced to bring her back down to size. Not only was Roald Dahl a wildly imaginative storyteller, but his views on child rearing were tucked in there as well. After that, I am sure Miss Beauregard never put anything in her mouth that she wasn’t supposed to have.

The only blueberry issue I came across is really a non-blueberry one. I will explain. Once, when I was eating a store bought blueberry muffin, I discovered while reading the list of ingredients that no blueberries were in it at all. That was a big head-scratcher. Later, I realized there were more examples of this in the frozen food aisle when you pulled out a box of ubiquitous frozen blueberry waffles processed by one of the big industrialized food companies. There were no real blueberries. So what are these impostor blueberries made of? It turns out, some are simply artificial colouring chemicals, hydrogenated oils and liquid sugars, ewwww!!! All the more reason to read labels when grocery shopping.

With blueberries in season (at least in our part of the world), I’m taking advantage of eating REAL, fresh blueberries and making a variety of dishes. A blueberry crumble tops the list. I call my version the No Grumble Blueberry Crumble because it is super easy….after all, no one wants to be slaving in the kitchen when it is gorgeous outside. As a bonus, I’ve also included my Blueberry Waffle recipe at the bottom, so keep reading!

No Grumble Blueberry Crumble serves 8

Superfoods in the recipe are:
Blueberries – This little berry has a high amount of antioxidants. They contain anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, vitamin A, copper (a very effective immune builder and anti-bacterial), selenium, zinc, and iron
Oats – Oats is a good source of fibre, and oat bran helps to lower cholesterol.
Ginger – Anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antiseptic.
Cinnamon – Diets rich in cinnamon can help counter the effects of a high-fat meal on your body. This spice may also balance blood sugar levels and can also help fight bacterial and fungal infections.

Filling:

4 cups blueberries
¼ cup gluten free flour
2 t. sugar
1 T. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Combine all of the above and place into greased 9” x 9” baking dish.

Topping:

½ cup butter melted
½ gluten free flour
1 ½ cups gluten free oat flakes
½ cup honey
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. grated ginger
¼ t. salt

Combine the topping ingredients and spoon over the filling. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

My bonus recipe – Blueberry Waffle recipe makes 6-4″ waffles

They really aren’t complicated. It takes me about 15 minutes from the time I start putting the ingredients together to eating the first waffle. And if you don’t have a waffle iron, just make pancakes. Here is a bonus recipe from my Fanny Farmer cookbook that has been engraved in my brain after probably making it hundreds of times over the years.

1 cup flour (can be Gluten Free)
1 t. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup milk (can be dairy free)
1 egg
*1 T oil or melted butter

Directions:

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Then in another bowl beat the egg with the milk, and then add to the dry ingredients. Stir the oil into the wet ingredients.
Combine until ingredients are just mixed, lumps are fine. Then cook waffles according to your waffle iron instructions.

*If making pancakes, then omit the oil. Spoon batter into preheated non-stick pan, or griddle and flip once when you see bubbles. Try not to flip more than once, otherwise they will not be fluffy.
Add whatever you like, of course blueberries, but consider sliced bananas, chopped nuts, and/or chocolate chips.

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}

From the Culinary Trail – Sailing and Savouring the Gulf Islands Part 2

August 7, 2014August 12, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

Does kitchen size matter? In Amsterdam (The Netherlands), we lived in a small top floor apartment of a canal house that was built in the 17th century. My partner and I loved this cozy flat particularly for its location, that is – in the historic center of the city and overlooking one of the grand canals. It had a lot of nice features, such as a roof deck and a wood-burning fireplace. But, like so many small flats in the city, our place had a teeny-tiny kitchen. It measured roughly 3 x 4 feet and included a dual burner electric stove, sink, short counter, and mini-fridge. Only one person could squeeze into the L-shaped space to prep/cook; but we managed to make elaborate and gourmet meals….and, without an oven! I didn’t miss the baking…after all, I’m the {Kale} in this blog and prefer savoury dishes.

Typical sailboat galleys are no bigger than our old Dutch kitchen. There is a common misconception that the confined galley space limits your cooking to simple or camp-like meals. Not at all. In my view, the quality of our culinary creations has never been affected by the size of the kitchen or galley. Even though I am pretty creative with menu planning and provisioning for our sailing trips, I am always interested in cookbooks that focus on galley-friendly options. I recently discovered a cookbook that is fantastic and worthy of sharing with our blog circle. It’s a fairly new cookbook from Vancouver Island called “Sea Salt: Recipes from the West Coast Galley“. This cookbook has received rave reviews and won ‘Best Fish + Seafood Cookbook in Canada’ and ‘Third Best Fish + Seafood Cookbook in the World’ by Gourmand International. During our Gulf Islands sailing trip on the Amritha Catamaran, we had the pleasure of meeting two of the cookbook’s authors. We were sailing with a friend from a yachting magazine and because he was preparing an article about the cookbook and interviewing the authors, our group was able to experience a unique dinner prepared by the authors and based on the cookbook’s recipes. This part 2 of 2 posts is my recap of our spectacular culinary evening and includes a recipe of a dish that we sampled from the cookbook.

The mother-daughters collaboration behind this successful cookbook is made up of Lorna, Hilary and Alison Malone. They are a family of sailors and reside in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Alison, an accomplished lifestyle writer and editor, is one of the daughters but was not available to join us. We met Lorna, the mom and avid racer, and the other daughter, Hilary, a chef and an expert food styler. Both are incredibly down to earth and their passion for their project and the local food/wine scene shows when you meet them.

The award-winning Sea Salt cookbook is a collection of over one hundred sea worthy recipes which are fast and delicious, whether aboard in the galley or at home on land. I love that the eight chapters are logically organized by the time frame of a sailing trip. My favorite chapters include: i) Chapter one (Breakaway) highlights recipes with fresh ingredients on the first nights, ii) Chapter five (Entertaining: On the Dock and Rafting Up) showcases recipes for appetizers, dinners and desserts that are ideal for sharing, and iii) Chapter six (North) features recipes of food with a longer shelf life that can be used near the end of a trip. There is a lot more to enjoy from their cookbook, from stocking and provisioning tips, suggestions about markets to the stunning food photography by Christina Symons. But, what stands out is that the recipes are inspired by the freshest local flavours of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Products from twenty artisan producers of food, beer and wine are featured and stories of the producers are included with various recipes. Our 4-course Sea Salt dinner comprised of:

Balsamic Beets and Goat’s Cheese Crostini with beets from a Nanaimo farmers market, chive flowers from the Malone garden, goat cheese from the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company, and red fife sourdough bread from Bodhi’s Artisan Bakery

Seared Qualicum Beach Scallops with Sweetcorn-Basil Purée and Heirloom Tomato Salad with Qualicum Beach scallops from Island Scallops Ltd.

Pacific Cioppino with mussels from Island Sea Farms on Salt Spring Island and sea salt that is hand-harvested and natural from Vancouver Island Salt Co.

Cranberry and Hazelnut Coffee Cake with hazelnuts from Foote’s Hazelnut Farm

Four wines, handpicked by Lorna, accompanied this amazing meal. My favourites were the Averill Creek’s Cowichan Black and Joie Farms 2011 Pinot Noir.

There were so many superfoods in our Sea Salt dinner. Scallops, clams, mussels, salmon, prawns, beets, tomatoes, hazelnuts and cranberries were just a few of them. Go to our list of favourite superfoods to see the nutritional benefits.

I highly recommend the Sea Salt cookbook, whether you’re a sailor or not, and regardless if you cook in a small or large kitchen. I wish the Malones continued success with their cookbook and I look forward to trying all of their recipes! Thank you to Lorna and Hilary for an unforgettable culinary experience.

The Seared Qualicum Beach Scallops with Sweetcorn-Basil Purée and Heirloom Tomato Salad recipe and cookbook cover photo are courtesy of Sea Salt: Recipes from the West Coast Galley by Alison Malone Eathorne, Hilary Malone and Lorna Malone, with photographs by Christina Symons, Harbour Publishing, 2013, www.harbourpublishing.com

Travel Far, Explore More! – {Kale}

From the Culinary Trail – Sailing & Savouring the Gulf Islands Part 1

August 1, 2014September 2, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

As a kid, my friends found it amusing that I wanted to sail yachts when we lived in a landlocked Canadian province. I’m not sure how or when I got the sailing bug but I started with sailing lessons on Laser class sailboats at our small reservoir. Back then, I must have been really brave or stupid because I also didn’t know how to swim. I was terrified of going into the water and avoided the exercise of flipping the boat. My fear of water is probably what drove me to like larger sailboats – to stay as high off the water as possible! After years of travelling far for ocean sailing, I now live on the coast with easy access to cruising, and I am a better swimmer.

Gulf Islands
Sailing continues to be one of my favourite activities. I feel lucky to live on one of the most spectacular coastlines in North America and one of the top cruising areas in the world. There is an abundance of cruising destinations to enjoy and one of my top picks is the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, a beautiful archipelago located between Vancouver and Vancouver Island, comprising of 13 major and 450 smaller islands. On a recent sailing trip through these islands, I took more time to explore the flourishing local food and wine scene, which I’m happy to share with you over two blog posts. This is part 1 of 2 posts and captures our visit to the charming Saturna Island Winery.

Amritha Catamaran

Our group of six set sail in the Gulf Islands on a gorgeous Lagoon 400 catamaran named Amritha. If you’re interested, she’s available for sailing charters – click here for more information about this catamaran, BC sailing and catamaran sailing.

Saturna Island Vineyards
Each of the major islands has their own unique personality and special spots. I’ve been to all of them, except Saturna Island. The key attraction of this Island, and the main reason we wanted to go, is the Saturna Island Family Estate Winery which is one of ten wineries in the Gulf Islands and the largest with an annual production of 20,000 cases of wine. If I’m not mistaken, it is the only island winery that has their own beach access, with an easy 15 minute walk to the vineyard. We’ve tried several times to get there but one thing or another stopped us. On the morning of our planned visit, there was an electrical issue on the boat and we almost didn’t make it. I was beginning to think that the universe didn’t want us to go to Saturna Island! Luckily, the problem got fixed. We sailed into and docked at Saturna Beach for a visit. The uniquely hand-crafted barn (post and dowel frame with no steel nails) with their tasting room, wine shop and bistro is in a lovely spot, surrounded by vineyards and ocean views. Forty acres of the property is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Merlot grapes. We sampled seven wines, all made on property from grapes grown on the island and from growers in the Okanagan. The wines, which include a rose and port, are pleasant and good value compared to other BC wines. The 2011 Riesling ($14.90) is fantastic and is my new favourite BC Riesling! We also sampled the food at the bistro. The chef, Agi, is a locavore who strives to feature products grown or produced on the islands. I sampled her roasted beet salad, which was delicious. Whether you’re sailing or visiting the Gulf Islands by ferry, I highly recommend a visit to this delightful and special island winery. The owners, Larry and Robyn, and their team are amazing and look forward to welcoming all visitors.

Superfoods on this Visit

Wine: Consumed in moderation, wine is considered one of the top 10 superfoods! Red wine contains resveratrol, an antioxidant that is thought to help fight cancer, prevent blood clots, lowers the risk of diabetes and hinders fat storage. While white wine contains less resveratrols, it has two antioxidants that are not found in red wine – tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, which are in olive oil and considered good for the heart.

Beets: Beets have a range of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. Beets are low in calories, zero cholesterol, known to lower blood pressure, and is packed with potassium, fiber, folate and vitamins A, B,C, B9. Red beets and Golden Beets have similar nutritional value but differ in pigment. Red beets have betalains that help prevent cancer and degenerative diseases. Golden beets, rich in b-xanthin, are thought to be good for the heart and helps cleanse the body. Best of all, golden beets do not stain your hands when you’re working with them!

Travel Far, Explore More! – {Kale}

Quinoa Kale Burger with Goji Berry Ketchup

July 25, 2014 / Kake2Kale | Culinary Travel Adventures

Going to Macdonald’s as a child was really not a huge draw, although my parents somehow always chose to take my brother and I to Macdonald’s whenever they had bad news to tell us. The burgers were unmemorable, but the shakes, oh boy!! Just the mention of Shamrock shakes today will put a stupid smile on my face. Burgers were considered food that only people who camped, hunted, listened to rock and roll, drove trucks and had mullet hairstyles ate. Not that we felt above those people, we were just into other things, like not eating with our hands, unless it was a barbecue pork bun at dim sum and then you had no choice. To this day even eating crab I only allow one hand to handle the crab while the other hand uses chopsticks.

One night I was looking through my cupboard trying to decide what to make for dinner and saw cans of beans. I keep buying them because I know they are good for me, but they just sit there. So I took a can down, opened the fridge and once I saw the leftover cooked kale inspiration hit me for these burgers.

Mulling over what condiment to go with the burger it occurred to me that goji berries blended with ketchup might work well. By the way here is a little tidbit about the provenance of the word “ketchup”. We were having ketchup on something and I was saying the word in my mind. I suddenly made the connection with the Cantonese words for ketchup. I looked it up in the dictionary, and indeed, its origins are Chinese, because “ke” means tomato and “chup” is sauce. The goji berry ketchup’s sweet and tart flavour is the perfect foil to the burger. You can add your own twist by adding chilli powder, or sriracha.

Superfoods in my burger and condiment recipes:

Cannellini beans: These are also called navy beans because they were a staple for the U.S. Navy in the early 1900’s. Packed full of protein, fiber and also vitamin B1, as well as lots of minerals.
Quinoa: Contains antixoidants, as well as all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete protein, perfect for vegetarians.
Kale: High amount of calcium and vitamin K. Kale is in the Brassica oleracea family which is known to have a protective effect against cancer, because they contain Indole-3-carbinal (IC3) , which promotes a healthy balance of good estrogen to toxic cancer causing form of estrogen, it also has an anti-tumour effect.
Onion: High amount of quercetin (which is an anti-histamine, helps your body combat allergies). Onions are also antibacterial, antiseptic, detox properties, lowers cholesterol, protects the heart.
Goji Berries: These are also known as Wolfberries. They contain the highest concentration of protein of any fruit, high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, and 21 trace minerals. It is anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

Quinoa Burgers makes 8 burgers

1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa
1 can or 398 ml Cannellini (navy)beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups kale (stem removed and chopped)
¼ cup onion (minced)
2 eggs
½ cup corn (fresh or frozen)
2 T. plus 2 t. olive oil
2 t. mustard
1 t. ground coriander
½ t. chilli powder
1 cupgluten free breadcrumbs (or regular breadcrumbs)

Directions:

Place the quinoa in 1 cup of water, cover and bring to a boil. Keep uncovered and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa grains have opened up.
While quinoa is cooking, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat add the onion, cook for 5 minutes, then add the kale and continue cooking for another 5-7 minutes until kale is wilted.
Then in a large bowl combine the cooled quinoa, kale and then rest of the ingredients mix well. Form into 8 patties and using a tablespoon of oil at a time cook the patties in a frying pan.

Goji Ketchup makes 1/2 cup

1 T. goji berries
1 T. filtered water
1/3 cup ketchup (whichever one you have in your fridge)

Directions:

Rehydrate goji berries in filtered water for 15 minutes
Do not drain the berries, but add goji berries along with water to ketchup. (There will be nutrients from the goji berries in the water that it has been rehydrating in.) Puree with a hand blender until smooth. That is it!

Eat healthy, live great! – {Kake}