I recently returned from Tunisia.  My husband and I go to a different country every year for one month.  When we arrive in a foreign city, we seek out monuments, ruins, forts, churches and mosques.  One by one we check off these touristic testaments to empire, war and devotion in our guidebook.

We travel to these sites by foot no matter the distance.  This is partly because foreign taxi drivers share the unpleasant tendency to take you to their ‘brother’s’ carpet store en route to your intended destination. However, it’s mostly because the best things to see are often found on the streets between the points of interest. Voyeuristic glimpses into a foreign daily life fuels my passion for travel.  Nothing tops street markets in this regard.

The fresh vegetables, fragrant spices, olives, preserved lemons, legumes, stinking fish, fly ridden butcher shops, cheap plastic hair clips, knock off brand name sneakers, pirated CDs, bolts of polyester cloth, tacky wedding accessories, all competing for space on narrow streets under tattered filthy umbrellas, makes my heart beat faster.   I have an unreasonable passionate interest in these places.   I crave them, envy them, and ardently wish we had them here.

In cities outside of Europe and North America every neighbourhood has a vibrant daily outdoor market selling local, seasonal cheap food. Field to table is the rule rather then the exception.  The opposite is true here in Canada.

Lots of people are working hard to change this, especially here on Salt Spring Island.  There’s an astounding array of talented local growers and food producers on this rock.  I bet there are very few communities in North America that can compete with us in this regard.

This tiny island, with a full-time population of just over 10,000, lays claim to two cheese producers, a brewery, several artisan bakers, a flour mill, a tofu producer, three wineries and dozens of organic farms producing an incredible variety of products.

We have two weekly markets in the summer (Tuesday and Saturday) as well as a beautiful and well stocked health food store where this abundant bounty is readily available.  Island chefs, activists, farmers and producers are working hard to educate locals and tourists alike about the many benefits of being a ‘localvore’.

Despite these efforts most of food Islanders consume is produced thousands of miles from our shores.  The primary reason for this is money.  Local produce, meat, cheese and other artisan products are  financially beyond the reach of many people.

It seems counter intuitive that a tomato grown five miles from my house is double, triple or even four times more expensive then one that has traveled thousands of miles.  It’s baffling that a carrot bought and sold by numerous food brokers in several countries is half the price of the one I buy directly from my neighbour.

This is about volume.  Small farms need to sell stuff for more money to make enough money to live.  It’s really hard to make a living on a small Canadian farm. The price of land and the Canadian cost of living are high.  This is especially true in the real estate mecca of Salt Spring Island.

Ask a passionate ‘localvore’ about the price of local food and he will likely respond by describing the hidden costs of items produced by multinational corporations operating in foreign countries.  He will argue that we either pay more now or else pay more later.  I ask this question of serious local food activists often and this is the answer provided.  This is no doubt true but nonetheless is irrelevant to most people.

Many Canadians struggle to put food on the table.  Spending more to feed their family is simply not an option.  Even middle class Canadians would have to struggle financially to replace even half of what they currently eat with local products.  Arguing that they must or ‘pay later’ is elitist and a little hard hearted.  Like a house mortgage most people would choose to pay it now rather then pay thousands of dollars in interest by paying it later.  However the reality is most families don’t have a choice.

It is a dilemma that I have no idea how to resolve but is a discussion we need to have if we are serious about making field to fork a reality for most people.   The question we need to ask ourselves is how do we make local products the norm rather than an expensive specialty product in a specialty store? Bring on the debate!

About the Author:  Jill has a unique combination of skills gained from her varied professional background.  She started her career in television and radio production working as a field producer on several national television shows.  She then spent a decade working with environmental organizations in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, fundraising and communications.

In 1999, Jill traded in her fast paced urban career and bought the Tree House Cafe on Salt Spring Island.  During her seven years at the Tree House helm she transformed the cafe from a small coffee shop into the busiest live music venue on the island.

Jill currently owns Rock Salt Restaurant and Cafe in Fulford Harbour which was recently named one of the best places to eat in Canada by Where to Eat.  She is also a partner in Mobius Communications Group which specializes in on line marketing for small business. Jill is also the editor of her own blog, Island Chef.

What island am I on?” asked a stressed looking young man standing in Rock Salt Restaurant at eight o’clock last Saturday night.  I replied Salt Spring and he said, “Crap I am supposed to be on Pender, I took the wrong ferry.”

I assured him that getting to Pender that night was an impossibility.  Shannon, the server on duty, advised him that his cheapest accommodation option was to meet someone named Frankie in the park, get himself invited to his party, get hammered and sleep at the party house.  He wisely chose to stay at a B&B up the street from the restaurant.  The owner took pity and gave him a good deal.

For me this incident highlighted the arrival of the ‘busy’ season on Salt Spring.  I’ve survived twelve such seasons and could fill an encyclopedia with similar tales.  Despite its predictability, tourist season surprises me every year.  It swamps our quiet shores like a tidal wave around the second weekend in May and then disappears as fast as it arrived Tuesday after Labour Day.

The 2010 season arrived last Saturday and swept us off our feet.  It was a long day at Rock Salt and Sunday was even worse.  If you were there I sincerely apologize and assure you that that kind of chaos, although not unheard of, is rare.

However, last weekend we were deep ‘in the weeds’ with a full dining room and cafe line-ups out the door.  It was what what we call a ‘goat rodeo.’  At one point I panicked and dumped sixteen litres of hot coffee on my arm and hand.  I demanded an emergency mop from our overwhelmed dishwasher and then continued making lattes in a very distracted and flustered manner.

The chaos was exacerbated by the fact that two key employees were prepping for a fundraising dinner. Our chefs, Rafael and Berenice, were awarded the distinguished honour of cooking alongside some of the most talented chefs in Canada last Sunday.   Come hell or tourist tidal wave they had to prepare.

During dinner service on Saturday, I ran to the walk in fridge in search of cheesecake and found Rafael and Berenice churning Salt Spring goat cheese sorbet.  They had submersed a soup pot in a large plastic bin of ice then spooled a string around it.  When they pulled the string the pot was set spinning and thus the sorbet was churned. They repeated the process for three hours until the sorbet was ready. They looked sweatier and more exhausted then me.

Rafael and Berenice served the sorbet with cinnamon scented goats milk and local organic pumpkin cheesecake.  It was the final course in a seven-course dinner, hosted by the Canadian Chef Congress that took place at Providence farm in Duncan last Sunday.

Spot prawns arrived with the tourists last week on Vancouver Island so these delicious crustaceans were the focus of this celebrity chef dinner.  The event was organized by ‘herder of cats’ and well known island chef Bill Jones who served spot prawn and morel mushroom stuffed pastries.

Chef Castro Boatang served citrus curry poached spot prawns with grapefruit marinated caviar.

Jonathan Pulker served hand made chorizo and spot prawns piled on roasted potato with local cheese.

Chef Robert Clark from C Restaurant Vancouver served a photogenic spot prawn cocktail.

Brad Boisvert, chef and owner of Amuse Bistro, served marinated spot prawn salad with soft boiled eggs, pancetta crisps, smoked potatoes and Victoria gin vinaigrette.

Brock Windsor, owner of the Stone Soup Inn made a decadent prawn bisque which was served with prawn stuffed raviolis prepared by Cory Pelan, chef owner of La Piola Restaurant.  Andrew Springett, Executive Chef at Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet served pancetta seared coho salmon with spot prawn Yukon gold potato crisp and preserved lemon brown butter sauce.

The folks in the dining room waxed poetically about the food and saluted the chefs with a standing ovation when the meal concluded.  Sharing a kitchen with these talented chefs made the goat rodeo worth it.

My advice is go buy yourself some spot prawns while they are available because they are beyond delicious and come on over and visit us on Salt Spring because we are ready for you now.

The congress photos in this post were taken by Island Chef Matt Horn.  If you want some great spot prawn recipes check out Island Chef.ca.

April 30 , 2009 – Three of  the most promising chefs in Canada are currently working in Fulford Harbour.

Rafael Flores in the kitchen at Rock Salt Restaurant

Three Salt Spring chefs were invited this week to cook at one of the most significant culinary events in Canada.  Rafael Flores and Berenice Balbuena from Rock Salt Restaurant, and David Lang from the pub in Fulford Harbour have been chosen by the Canadian Chef Congress to cook for 500 of their distinguished peers this fall.

On September 11th and 12th chefs and culinary students from across the country are gathering in Duncan to participate in the most interesting and original culinary event ever hosted in this province.  Unofficially billed as ‘woodstock for chefs’ over 600 of Canada’s best food minds will be camping at Providence Farm for the 2010 Canadian Chef’s Congress gathering.

The Canadian Chef’s Congress steering committee is comprised of the most iconic chefs in the country.  The Congress, in association with the Chef’s Table Society of BC, invited two chefs from every province and territory to strut their cooking prowess at the event.  They also chose 13 of chefs from Vancouver Island, three of which are from Salt Spring.

Jill Thomas, owner of Rock Salt Restaurant says, “It’s very exciting that three of the most promising young chefs in the country are currently working on Salt Spring, all in Fulford Harbour.  To me this is an indication that Salt Spring is starting to develop a serious foodie scene.”

The theme of this years’ event is Oceans for Tomorrow.  The delegates will be inspired by keynote speaker Dr. David Suzuki to think about the health of our oceans and how to integrate sustainably harvested seafood into restaurant menus.

This unique gathering is the brainchild of Canadian super chef Michael Stadtlander.  Stadtlander hosted the first wildly successful Congress Picnic on Eigensinn Farm (near Colwood Ontario) in 2008 and is very excited about attending the BC event.

Rafael, Berenice and David will warm up for the big day on Sunday May 16th at a fundraising dinner taking place from 1:00pm-5:00pm at Providence Farm.  These young local chefs will be cooking alongside several top chefs from the Canadian Chef Congress including Robert Clark from C Restaurant.

Local and in season Spot Prawns

The dinner will take place in conjunction with the Cowichan Bay Spot Prawn Festival.  Proceeds will go towards building a wood-burning oven for Providence Farm.  The menu will feature the best of local food and wine.

The fall event is only open to chefs and cooks but the public is welcome to buy tickets for the fundraising dinner.  Tickets for the multi-course celebration of local food and wine are $125 per person and can be purchased by calling Providence Farm at 250-748-7450. For more information about the fundraising dinner go to www.islandchef.ca.

Saturday, March 6, 1-5pm, Mahon Hall

“Let’s grow more food this year!” An open space action think-tank

Submitted by Shoshana Ray

Would you like to invest in your community’s health while reducing
your food’s environmental impact? Want Salt Spring to be more
self-reliant and resilient? Have or need ideas, land, help, tools, or
others to grow with?

Sponsored by Island Natural Growers, Transition Salt Spring,  and The
Seed Sanctuary, this event is for collectively answering the question
“How can we grow more food this year?” Join others at Mahon Hall from
1 to 5pm on Saturday, March 6th to share our creative solutions,
resources, and opportunities so we can network, brainstorm, and plan
to make Salt Spring more food self-reliant. Creating a secure local
food system requires utilizing the ideas, experience, energy and
resources of our entire community!

In Open Space gatherings like this one, people share ideas in a
circle, then break into many small dialogues based on the topics put forth. The aim is to envision and create concrete and immediatefood-growing projects with the potential to increase the food supply and create new opportunities for people who would like to grow more food. Topics may include community gardens, cooperative gardens, community processing/distribution, community supported agriculture, land/tool/labour sharing, local investment, and anything else we can
dream up!

This event is free. Registration begins at 12:45. Tea and coffee provided, please bring a mug and a snack to share.

Children’s activities – parents are requested to give one hour. Volunteers are needed for: set up, facilitating children’s activities, and clean-up. If you have a laptop and are willing to use it to take notes, please bring it. Contact letsgrowsaltspring ( at) gmail.com; Shoshanah Ray 250-537-4748

To find or share growing space, visit http://www.saltspring.sharingbackyards.com

“Sin on a cracker!”
-Macleans Magazine

Studio 29 – Moonstruck Organic Cheese. Good cheese is hard to come by, so a visit to Moonstruck is well worth the trip.
Julia & Susan Grace have been milking Jersey cows and making fine cheeses for 12 years now.
“We run the farm organically; we handcraft the cheese.  We think it shows.  Enjoy your visit”

Rhapsody in Blue
“Rich and silky, an organic cheese to make you anything but blue”
Globe and Mail, January, 2010

The Salt Spring Studio Tour offers a year round opportunity to meet local artists and artisans and experience the creativity that abounds on this wonderful island. Please follow the sheep signs and enjoy.

I can’t prove it, but would be willing bet money, Grant Hunt knows more about shellfish farming then anyone else in BC.

Grant and his wife Ingrid are close friends of mine. When I first met them and asked what they did for a living Ingrid responded “aquaculture.”  I imagined my twenty something self dressed in a full sized salmon suit protesting fish farms in front of Earl’s Restaurant and decided it was best not to delve into this topic.

Grant and Ingrid moved to Salt Spring six years ago to accept jobs with Island Sea Farms mussel hatchery. Grant also works as a consultant for a geoduck hatchery operating near Courtney.

Grant grew up in Nanaimo.  His passion for aquaculture was sparked on a fourth grade field trip to the Nanaimo River Salmon Hatchery.  After he finished high school he completed the Fish Health Technician Program at Malaspina College.

His fourth grade passion came to fruition after graduation when he was hired by the Nanaimo River Hatchery to float down the river in a wet suit counting fish.  He says, “It was one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve ever had.”

Grant went on to spend three years as a health technician and caretaker at the United Hatchery in Fanny Bay.  He then spent ten years in the employ of Island Scallops marine hatchery.

At the time Island Scallops was the largest diversified hatchery in North America.  This is where Grant gained his shellfish expertise.  It was also where he met Ingrid, who we affectionately refer to as the ‘algae queen’ because of her unique ability to culture large quantities of single celled phytoplankton.

Salt Spring mussels are proudly featured on many BC restaurant menus and are universally raved about by chefs.  Grant developed an efficient hatchery process for mussel production in an effort to keep up with this ever-increasing demand. Under his management Island Sea Farms won an Mid Island Science and Technology award for being the first successful mussel company in BC history.

The Salt Spring hatchery uses broodstock from two different species of mussels.  They condition the brood to spawn ten months a year by manipulating the temperature and food in their tank.  Once the mussels spawn, Grant collects the fertilized eggs and grows them through a two-week larval stage. At this point the mussels are still microscopic zooplankton.

The tiny mussels are then moved to another tank where they go through metamorphosis and settle to grow on a rope made of coconut fiber.  They quickly come to resemble the shellfish you find on a local beach. After eight weeks, when they are two to three millimeters in length, they are transported to the Cortes Island to finish growing.

People don’t often realize that many of the shellfish species we enjoy eating in BC are not indigenous to our coastal waters but rather were brought here for farming purposes.  Grant says, “Pacific oysters originated in Japan, and the local Manila clam is from, you guessed it, Manila. The galloprovincialus species of mussel were first introduced to BC waters on the hull of Greenpeace’s flagship vessel the Rainbow Warrior when it was moored in Bamfield.”

Shellfish farms, though not without controversy, have some environmental benefits.  Mussels, like all bivalve filter feeders, continually clean the local waters.  Shellfish also require clean water to thrive.  Harsh chemical treatments and antibiotics are not used in shellfish farming. The animals eat a diet of natural phytoplankton almost their entire life.

Mussel rafts may also enhance biodiversity.  Recent environmental impact studies on Cortes Island found over a tone of other life forms thriving on the mussel rafts. The rafts also create a safe haven for small fish.

It’s not surprising then that many BC chefs promote farmed shellfish as a bright solar powered light in the movement for sustainably harvested seafood.

Salt Spring mussels are approved by the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program and farmed mussels, clams and other shellfish are designated  ‘best choice’ by Sea Choice.

The issues surrounding sustainable seafood are extraordinarily complex. There is no one solution to the myriad of dilemmas facing ocean ecosystems.  Nonetheless, a simple lesson I’m absorbing is that not all aquaculture is bad for the environment.

BC based environmental campaigns opposing salmon farming have inadvertently tarred and feathered the entire aquaculture industry.  I worked for environmental groups in the nineties and realize I’m probably personally responsible for some of the rhetoric.

I continue to have serious concerns about the effects that salmon farms are having on the wild salmon stocks in coastal BC, and so will not serve farmed salmon it in my restaurant.  I’m also considering removing wild salmon from the Rock Salt Restaurant menus.

If we do remove wild salmon we might replace it with a sustainable, farmed fish like Arctic Char. I also intend to increase the diversity of sustainably farmed shellfish we serve at Rock Salt. I’m hesitant because I know convincing Salt Springers to eat any kind of farmed fish is likely beyond the public relations capabilities of my young servers.

I do however agree with Grant when he says, “The waters of the Pacific Northwest are relatively clean compared to the rest of the world.  We need to protect what we have left. Environmentally responsible farming practices are one way to meet the growing worldwide demand for seafood without overfishing wild populations.”

Last post I promised to write about Salt Spring holiday feasts. I didn’t get enough feedback to do this, so I’ve decided to talk about Salt Spring’s most cherished feast tradition instead – the potluck dinner. I’ll get to it soon, but I’m warning you that you might be disappointed by the outcome.

This is officially the time of year when we enter the dog days of winter. It will likely rain almost every day now until that one random sparkly sunny day in February that makes you do a little dance and skip out of work. Then it will rain again every day after that for another month.

Winter is boring on Salt Spring for the very few of us who are not crafty, arty or musical. The novelty of local faces you missed during the tourist season, and loved reconnecting with in October, has worn off. The coffee shop chatter seems repetitive, inane and less quaint then in April. There is no scene in the bar scene unless you’re an avid Texas Holdem fan.

A great way to break the tedium is to invite your friends over for dinner. It’s trendy right now in urban locales to throw extravagant dinner parties with carefully decorated tables and difficult to execute menus. However, unless you’re a superhero, I would advise a less epic approach. If you keep it simple you may feel compelled to invite the people you like over to your house more often. This brings me to the potluck.

Unlike the big city it’s always been trendy on Salt Spring to do very little preparation for dinner parties. Often all we do is invite our friends, advise them to bring food, and then open the front door.  Although I’ve come to appreciate this during my decade of residence here, I still believe that if you invite people for a meal you have a social obligation to do some minimal preparation. First you need to neaten your house. No need for days of deep cleaning, just clear away the excess clutter and rid your bathroom of counter scum and dirty underwear. Second you need to prepare a meal.

I’ve come to adore many quirky island social customs but I remain disdainful of potlucks. I realize many of you are outraged by this statement but controversy is entertaining in the winter months right? Maybe more entertaining then potlucks.

Potluck meals are like badly planned buffets serving food that doesn’t belong together. One of your guests will go to great effort only to have their dish ignored because some renegade brought a bucket of KFC from the big island. The biggest perk of being invited to someone else’s house for dinner is the joy of not cooking.

So after you clean your bathroom cook something easy. Choose something you cook often. You can cook the same thing every time you entertain. Your friends won’t get sick of your vegetable stew unless you invite them over more then once a week. They will appreciate a simple meal more then six kinds of tabouli salad and some vegetarian baked beans. Cook it the day before if you can.

Chilli, stews, curries and baked pasta make wonderful cheap and simple to prepare meals for winter dinner parties because they taste even better the second day and all you need is salad and bread to round out the meal.

I understand that some of my favourite friends might be offended by me dissing potlucks. I apologize and sincerely hope that you continue to invite me to your potlucks. I’ll bring the fried chicken from Duncan. I have really great recipes for Irish beef stew, red, green and yellow curries that can be made with fish, tofu or chicken.  If you want these recipes go to Island Chef.ca and ask.  In the meantime, I’ve shared my famous lasagne recipe. This a personal recipe that I only eat with friends. It is a great thing to bring to a potluck.

Make Ragu Bolognese:
In heavy bottom stock pot heat until onions are translucent:
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 onion (fine dice)
3 celery stocks (fine dice)
2 carrots (fine dice)
½ cup garlic (minced)
1 Tablespoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon fennel
1 Tablespoon dried chillies
lots of fresh ground pepper

Then add 2 packs ground beef & 2 packs ground pork. Toss until meat is brown.

Then add 2 cups milk. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.
Simmer until milk evaporates (about 20 minutes).
Then add 2 cups red wine.
Simmer until liquid reduced by half.
Then add 3 cups chicken stock and simmer for another 30 minutes until liquid reduced by half.
The add 1 large can of plum tomatoes with juice.
Let simmer for 1 ½ hours or more if you want.

Make tomato sauce:
Heat 4 Tablespoons butter, ½ cup garlic slivered (blending so do not need to dice it), 1 Tablespoon oregano, 1 Tablespoons basil, 1 teaspoon salt, fresh ground pepper. Cook until garlic is browning.
Then add 2 large cans of diced tomatoes.
Simmer, stirring often for ½ hour.
Blend until smooth.

Combine in bowl:
3 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups mozza cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Salt Spring goat cheese
2 cups spinach
1 cup fine dice fresh basil
1 TBS nutmeg

Make Bechamel Sauce:
Get all the ingredients ready because it happens fast, once you start never stop whisking:

Melt on fairly high heat
7 Tablespoons butter

When butter is melted add:
6 Tablespoons flour

Keep mixing and let flour and butter cook for a few minutes.
Then add 2 Tablespoons warm milk (warm in micro)
Then gradually add 3 ¼ cups more milk
Then add
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspooon pepper
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon minced fresh basil
¼ cup parmesan
Whisk until thick and smooth.

Build lasagna:
You can add sautéed sliced mushrooms to one layer to make it yummy.
The order doesn’t matter. I do it different all the time.
Grate and add some more cheese to each layer (monteray jack or mozza is best).
I push down each noodle layer hard to get as much in the pan as possible.  It should be really heavy when it is done. Mine is actually hard to carry to the oven. It took two people to carry it up Suzanne Little’s stairs last month. She didn’t have a potluck I was catering – just for the record.

Here is the basic idea how to build it:
spray pan
two cups tomato sauce
layer noodles
1/2 the ragout
1/2 the ricotta mix
noodles
2 cups tomato sauce
rest of ragout
rest of ricotta mix
2 cups tomato sauce
noodles
all béchamel
1 cup parmesan

Bake for 1 hour covered and 15 minutes uncovered on 350.
Let sit then cut and serve. It needs to sit or it will be mush. This is awesome the second day and goes really well with caesar salad and garlic bread.

I like to add lots of cheddar cheese to various layers and extra tomato sauce. However this is not traditional.

Photo: bmann on Flickr

Salt Spring Island’s very own Bruce Wood, Chef/owner of Bruce’s Kitchen writes to the editor of the Globe and Mail about cooking from scratch vs. highly produced foods common in many of our diets.

“I disagree that these sorts of dishes are causing the obesity epidemic. As a chef and cooking instructor, I teach balance, sustainability and, most important, cooking from scratch in addition to knowing the integrity of your ingredients.” Read the full story at the Globe and Mail.

With only 9 days left till Christmas many of you are probably starting to panic. I can relate. The combination of a busy restaurant, and societal pressure to execute a Norman Rockwell family Christmas, brings me very close to a nervous breakdown every year.

I am not a big fan of Christmas.  I don’t have aptitude for crafts or decorating.  I am a terrible baker and hate shopping.  I am a workaholic and Christmas is a busy time in the restaurant industry.

For many years my husband and I would decide not to do anything special for Christmas and then around December 20th would be overwhelmed by guilt and throw up some decorations for the kids.

Many years ago my friend Karen Hosie suggested a solution that saved us.  Now my family creates a list of twelve ‘Christmas traditions’ in the middle of November. The list is generated by a complicated, and often disputed, voting system. The goal is to do everything on list between November 15th and January 30th. The only rules are that one thing on the list must be charitable and if something doesn’t make the cut we don’t do it.  None of the usual traditions are a given.

The list changes as our kids grow. Years ago ‘stay up late’ was on the list. One year ‘NOT watching Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special’ made it.  Decorating the house didn’t make it for several years in a row.  This year we bought sweaters together and are going to watch an entire TV series on DVD.  I’m looking forward to the day that “drink rum and eggnog until we are cross eyed” makes an appearance.

The one thing that always makes the list, without dispute, is turkey dinner and ‘snack buffet’.  Snack buffet is a coffee table full of chocolates, chips, nuts, cheese, crackers and chacuterie that the kids can eat without reprisal or lecture.  However, turkey is the one thing that ties our family together at Christmas.

The turkey thing got started years ago when I asked our son Jacob what he most wanted for Christmas and he said “a turkey dinner that looks like the ones on TV.”  I think he imagined that perfect golden bird sitting on a platter garnished by bright green lettuce and red berries carried out by June Cleaver in a frilly apron.  Since I was desperate for a tradition I was capable of executing (all except the June Cleaver part) I spent several weeks researching how to cook the perfect turkey.  Many years have passed since then and I now I can create a perfect TV quality bird every time.

Making a wonderful meal is my favourite Christmas tradition.  It is an epic adventure that brings me great joy.  Making people happy by feeding them good food is is the most basic way to show your love.  So in the spirit of love, tradition and mental sanity at Christmas I am going to share my holiday meal planning strategy.  If you would like any of the recipes listed (including the turkey recipe) I am happy to oblige.  Go to Ask a Chef at Island Chef.ca and I will post any recipe you want, even ones not listed below!

Next week I am going to write about Salt Springers’ holiday feast traditions.  I am curious about what Salt Springers eat for Christmas dinner because I am sure that there are lots of non-traditional menus out there.  If you comment on this post and share a recipe you will win a bag of Holiday Blend Coffee from Salt Spring Coffee Company courtesy of Rock Salt Restaurant.

Schedule of Events for Turkey Dinner

Menu

• Roast Turkey
• Apple, Toasted Pecan and Dried Cranberry Stuffing
• Cranberry Raisin Chutney
• Apple Brandy Gravy
• Bacon Braised Brussel Sprouts
• Lemon Butter Green Beans
• Scalloped Two Potatoes with Guyere and Fresh Parmesan

December 22nd

• Review all recipes and make a shopping list.  Read them several times so you understand what you are doing and do not feel panic.  It is easy really.
• Make a written grocery list and go shopping.  Don’t miss anything.  Again panic is bad.
• It is important for your mental health not to do the above steps on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve Day (or on the 23rd if you want)

• Plan what time the turkey needs to go in the oven.
• Plan what time turkey needs to go in the brine.
• Make the brine.
• Make the glaze and put in fridge.
• Make the stuffing minus the stock and put in fridge
• Make cranberry sauce.
• Trim and blanch the green beans (quick 3 minute boil and then into a bowl of ice).  Store in fridge covered in a little ice.
• Make and par bake the scalloped potatoes.  Store in fridge.
• If you are a super keener make stock with the turkey giblets and chicken bits for the gravy.  If not use grocery store stock.
• Make your kids set the table really nice – okay the just do it yourself.
• Put the turkey in the brine.
• Cook the bacon for the brussel sprouts.
• Trim wash and par boil brussel sprouts and store in fridge on ice.  Don’t over cook.  Mushy ‘green balls’ are the worst thing about Christmas.

Christmas Day

• Remove turkey from brine, rinse, pat dry and put covered in fridge.
• Take turkey out of fridge 1.5 hours before cooking and let it warm up to room temperature.
• Get your roasting pan ready with mire poix (which is fancy word for celery, carrots & onions)
• Prepare the turkey for roasting and put in the oven.
• Take turkey out of oven and cover with foil because you’ve got stuff to do for the next 45 minutes and you don’t want it to get cold.  If you are yuppie with two ovens you can cook the potatoes and extra stuffing before you take the turkey out and then just let it rest for 20 minutes while you do gravy and beans.  Then you can have crispy skin.
• Turn up oven to 400 degrees.
• Once turkey is out of the oven put extra stuffing in oven.  Remember to add chicken stock and butter to top.
• Put scalloped potatoes in oven.
• Take stuffing out of bird and place in serving dish.  Microwave to temperature before serving or you will kill your family.
• Make gravy and then strain and transfer to sauté pan and let simmer very low.
• At the last minute when you are almost ready to serve everything pan fry the green beans in butter, lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and diced garlic for just a few minutes.  If you don’t cut your turkey at the table, do this while your prep cook slices the turkey.
• Cook the brussel sprouts on high heat with butter and bacon in a dutch oven.  Just a few minutes….mushy green balls, yuk!
• Bring everything to the table because you are ready!!!

We all know that Salt Springers are an eclectic bunch.  This statement is especially true when it comes to eating habits.   I’ve been running a restaurant on this quirky island for 11 years so I know more about this than most people.  Modifying restaurant menu items is a patriotic past-time here.   Ever known anyone to order Phad Thai with Alfredo sauce? I have!

This might be the only place in the world where a Thai peanut smoked tofu sandwich on seed bread with sprouts could be a best seller.  That sandwich is a Tree House Cafe stand by.  It was on the menu when I bought the cafe – maybe it still is?  Their popularity baffled me then and continues to surprise me today.  Justine Bryant, the original owner of THC, invented that sandwich and as far as tofu sandwiches go it is the best one around.

Whether we realize it or not we have a distinct and interesting food culture that is unique to our island.  For one thing, we love yams.  Yams with eggs, yams on salads, yams in quesadillas and burritos.  Speaking of burritos, we also love burritos.  I have always attributed our mutual affection for beans wrapped in flour tortillas to Rodney and his iconic local restaurants.  This connection between Rodney and burritos dawned on me many summers ago when an irate tourist demanded I tell him why he couldn’t buy a hot dog anywhere on the island yet burritos where available on every corner.

I can only hope that one day a new young restaurant owner will wonder why so many Salt Springers like Thai Green Curry and think of me.  In the meantime, I am going to do my best to entertain you by writing about Salt Spring’s passion for great food on this wonderful community website.  If you have ideas for stories or know of food related events I should cover please don’t hesitate to pass your them along!  My email address is jill@mobiuscommunications.com.

Good Appetite!

Jill Thomas

About the Author:  Jill has a unique combination of skills gained from her varied professional background.  She started her career in television and radio production working as a field producer on several national television shows.  She then spent a decade working with environmental organizations in the areas of strategic planning, organizational development, fundraising and communications.

In 1999, Jill traded in her fast paced urban career and bought the Tree House Cafe on Salt Spring Island.  During her seven years at the Tree House helm she transformed the cafe from a small coffee shop into the busiest live music venue on the island.

Jill currently owns Rock Salt Restaurant and Cafe in Fulford Harbour which was recently named one of the best places to eat in Canada by Where to Eat.  She is also a partner in Mobius Communications Group which specializes in on line marketing for small business. Jill is also the editor of her own blog, Island Chef.