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Recipes & Reading - Food & Wine:

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Strawberries are delicious in so many ways! Try these great recipe ideas from Chef Simon Manvell. Strawberry Basil Salad In a small pot, make a simple syrup combining 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Cool and strain. Clean, hull and quarter 200g of strawberries. Chiffonade, or thinly slice, 20g of fresh basil. Combine strawberries, basil & ¼ cup of simple syrup. Add more syrup if necessary to get a nice balance of basil and strawberry. Serve on a small plates garnished with whole basil leaves. Serves 4.   Balsie and Pink Peppercorns Clean, hull and quarter 200g of strawberries. Whip 100ml of whipping cream. Grind 10g of pink peppercorns in a coffee grinder, food processor or by hand. Fold peppercorns and whipping cream together. Toss strawberries with 2oz of GOOD balsamic vinegar. Arrange on a chilled plate or small bowl and top with a dollop of whipped cream. Serves 4.   An Edible Journey: Exploring the islands' fine food, farms and vineyards Elizabeth Levinson is Vancouver Island's well-known forager, food writer and passionate promoter of natural, locally produced food, wine, art and the people who support it. She now presents her favourites in An Edible Journey. Travel With Taste is proud to be featured in An Edible Journey. Elizabeth has now become a Travel With Taste forager, helping Kathy explore unknown treasures to include on her tours. "Elizabeth is clearly an authority on the best places to unearth ingredients, where to buy the best regional wines and where to dine on our remote island reaches." - Sinclair Philip, Sooke Harbour House To order An Edible Journey: Phone 1-800-665-3302 Fax 1-800-566-3336 E-mail: greatbooks@heritagehouse.ca   Spinach Salad with Mushrooms and Sweet Roasted Onions From Bill Jones' The Savoury Mushroom Warming the spinach gives the salad a soft, rich feel. To make a fluffier green salad, allow the mushrooms to cool slightly and toss in a salad bowl with chilled spinach leaves. The onions can be tossed with cayenne pepper for a spicy alternative. Stack the roasted onion rings on top of a mound of salad for a pleasing vertical presentation. Oven at 325º F / 160º C. Serves 4. Roasted Onion Rings 1 white onion, cut in rings 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) olive oil 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) honey salt and black pepper to taste 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) minced garlic 2 cups (500 mL) sliced mushrooms (button, shiitake, morel, chanterelle, etc.) 1 lb. (450 g) baby spinach, stemmed, washed and dried 1 lemon, juice of 1 freshly ground black pepper 1. On a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, spread out onion rings and drizzle with olive oil and honey. Season well with salt and pepper and toss gently. Place in a hot oven and bake until browned and starting to crisp, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. 2. In a large non-stick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high for 45 seconds. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms appear dry, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach to the pan and stir well until just wilted Add the lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper. 3. To serve, immediately transfer salad to 4 serving plates and stack the roast onions on top. Garnish with a grinding of fresh black pepper and serve immediately. Available in most major book stores and online at chapters.ca and amazon.com A signed copy of the book is available form the Author. Contact bill@magnorth.bc.ca   British Columbia Wine Country by John Schreiner, photographs by Kevin Miller This new release captures the heart of wine and its production in BC. During the past two decades, the British Columbia wine industry has totally reinvented itself. British Columbia Wine Country provides details on about 100 wineries - both existing wineries and those under active development. It puts names and faces to the many people who transformed the wine industry in BC. The book describes all of the regions where wine is made in BC, including Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Fraser Valley, the Columbia River Valley, and the Okanagan. Read about many of the vineyards you will visit on the fantastic winery tours that Travel With Taste offers.   BC Wine Country Author John Schreiner Order British Columbia Wine Country from Whitecap Books by phoning 1-888-870-3442   Warm Asparagus with Cool Goat Cheese Sabayon From The Girls Who Dish: Inspirations, by Karen Barnaby et al Karen is the Executive Chef at The Fish House in Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, and can be found teaching inspiring classes at Engeler Farm on Vancouver Island. Asparagus and goat cheese are a natural combination. David Wood's truffled Salt Spring Island goat cheese makes an even better combination, but the effect can be simulated by scattering droplets of truffle oil over the dish. This sabayon is not difficult and it is a great sauce to have in your repertoire. Try it with salmon. 6 large egg yolks ½ cup white wine 6 oz. soft unripened goat cheese at room temperature 1 Tbsp. milk 1 Tbsp. lemon juice ½ cup whipping cream 2 Tbsp. minced chives 2 lbs fresh asparagus, woody stems snapped off and, if desired, peeled. Whisk the egg yolks and white wine together in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over, not in, a pot of simmering water. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes thick and triples in volume, about 4-5 minutes. Set the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice water, or refrigerate until cool, whisking occasionally. Beat the goat cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in the milk and lemon juice. Fold in the chilled egg yolk mixture. Beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold into the mixture. Stir in half the chives. Cover and refrigerate. Use the same day. Tie the asparagus into two bundles with string. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt liberally. Add the asparagus and cook until tender. Serve the asparagus hot; or serve it cold, first cooling it under cold running water. Drain well, remove the string and arrange on a platter or individual plates. Top with the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining chives. Serve immediately. Order The Girls Who Dish: Inspirations from Whitecap Books by phoning 1-888-870-3442

Eggplant Parmigiana as taught by Chef Francesco Palumbo of Masseria Salamina, Pezze di Greco, Italy This is a wonderful dish that Kathy McAree, Travel With Taste founder, learned to make in Italy. Many have been transformed into eggplant lovers with this very dish. Flavors like this are what gourmet travel is all about. 2 medium eggplants tomato sauce 1 egg 4 slices of mortedella 1 cup grated Swiss Gruyere cheese 1 ½ cups grated Parmigiana Regiano cheese one bunch of fresh basil breadcrumbs olive oil as needed - and you need lots! Kathy gathering eggplant and basil from the garden in Tuscany Cube eggplant and fry until soft using lots of olive oil. If the eggplant sticks to the pan, keep adding more oil. Mix together egg, ground mortedella, grated swiss cheese, chopped basil and a bit of tomato sauce. Combine with the cooked eggplant mixture. In the bottom of a shallow casserole dish, spread a very thin layer of tomato sauce. Add the eggplant mixture. Cover completely with another thin layer of tomato sauce, then lots of grated parmigian cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 ° F for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown.