It’s been a long time coming on this post, but better late than never (I love clichés)!  So as I’d previously mentioned, I’d received this class as a birthday gift from my boyfriend, Jake. Both of us love charcuterie, and I guess most people do because with it generally comes a relaxed environment, wine, cheese, good conversation, and just general all round warm vibes. It’s also an area of cooking that I personally don’t even think about. I’m always thinking about baked treats, sauces, and meals, but I’d never thought about charcuterie as something I could make at home.  The foreign nature of it was why we chose to do the class.

I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t stepped foot in Save On Meats before this class, although I did order our 2011 Thanksgiving turducken from them – highly recommended by the way. De-boned but still in turkey pure meat form. Although they don’t advertise it, most of their meat cuts are organic, free run, grass fed, pure good healthy meat. Their butchery was praised with ‘Bronze’ for “Best Butcher in The City” in the Westender, Georgia Straight and The Vancouver Courier. Save On Meats is an institution in Vancouver, more specifically in the downtown east side. The organisation is involved in a number of groups in the neighbourhood to offer employment opportunities, meal programs, subsidized classes and other quite honourable initiatives.

The class was taken by Cork & Fin chef, Elliott Hashimoto. He talked us through the ins and outs of charcuterie at home, which were remarkably quite simple – well kinda.  The actual making of salami, pepperoni, prosciutto is actually a quick easy process. The hard part is getting yourself set up. You need a meat grinder, sausage stuffer, and the exact right environment for sausage curing. Once you’ve got that you’re good to go. You only need a handful of ingredients, and if you check the ingredients on store bought salami, it’s like another never ending story.   What blew my mind is that Save On Meats would make roughly $150 from one salami roll, and it would cost only $10 to make it at home!

Some things I learnt about curing meat:

• Grind the meat fresh as you’re using it & don’t man handle it too much or you’ll break down the fat
• The meat must have 30% fat
• The right environment for curing is about 10°C and 70% humidity. A basement type room. Elliot uses a mini fridge cranked on high with a big hole at the top
• You need a ‘basic cure recipe’ which is 1lb kosher salt, 8oz granulated sugar and 2oz pink salt. Pink salt contains 93.75% table salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite which helps suck out the moisture from the meat. Use 1 cup per 5 pounds of meat/ fat.

You take your meat of choice  - if using a lean meat like venison, make sure to add fat to it  - pork fat for example and work it into the grinder. Pick your spices (dried are better as its less likely for the meat to go rancid while curing), add your basic cure, give it a mix and stuff it in some casing.  Next you hang it up and wait for it to charm your dinner guests.

It was fun playing with all the machinery, and stuffing the sausages in the casings was quite hilarious. Actually watching Jake do it was probably the highlight. Save On Meats still had their original sausage stuffer- fire engine red, aesthetically rough around the edges, but still worked like a charm. It was a fun, educational class. Other attendees were a lot older than Jake and I, so it was more on the quiet side, but still a good atmosphere. I would recommend going – and you walk away with so much meat that the class pretty much pays for itself. We decided not to cure the sausages we made, as we aren’t quite ready to invest in the equipment in our 530 sq feet apartment, so we’ve been eating them as sausages. And still eating them might I add.

Here are some pics from the night.

Elliot slightly struggling with the casings

Me looking overly chuffed with my ground meat

Apparently I’m a pro

Jake fondling his meat

Homemade sausages 

43 W Hastings St, Vancouver | 604-569-3568 | saveonmeats.ca

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This was the first time I have ever tried to bake anything that was gluten free or vegan, let alone do both of them at the same time! It took me quite a while to get them tasting good. I went through 5 duds, that I made my poor boyfriend taste – which I’m ashamed to admit he couldn’t even swallow. If you want to leave the sugar out of them completely  I suggest adding more dates, and soaking them for a while to break them down and help release their natural sugars.

This recipe is easy to make but does require a few ingredients. These cookies are delicious! I swear the longer you leave them the better they taste, because the dates have a chance to release their flavour. I’m quite enjoying playing with gluten free and vegan options so look out for more of this style of recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cocoa
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 cups ground almonds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 tablespoons toasted quinoa
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup brown sugar  (or sub agave syrup)
2 mashed avocados
1 1/2 cups chopped dates
1/8 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup almond milk
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
water as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together cocoa, ground flax seed, ground almonds, flax seeds, toasted quinoa (bake in the oven on 350°F until until golden roughly 10 mins),  oats, baking soda, salt and brown sugar if you are using it.
3. In a separate bowl add the chia seeds and almond milk and mix together. Set aside in the fridge for 10 mins and mix halfway through. This mixture will act as the egg substitute.
4. After 10 mins, add your chopped dates, mashed avocado, almond butter and vanilla essence to your chia seed mixture. Mix thoroughly.
5. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix well. If the batter is too sticky add more ground almonds or ground flax seeds. If its too solid add water by the teaspoon. The firmer it is the easier it is to work with.
6. Place cookie batter balls on a lined baking tray and push down to form the cookies to your desired size. Bake for 15 – 20 mins.
7. Rest for 10 mins before devouring.

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Cooking classes are so rewarding to attend. They rejuvenate my passion for cooking and make me want to spend days on end in the kitchen. The first class I ever did was a vegetarian Indian class. The chef had travelled all over India and was able to share tips and techniques used in different regions of the country. The food was amazing! When it comes to Indian I find vegetarian is the way to go!

This time round for my birthday my boyfriend signed us up for a sausage making and charcuterie class. There’s nothing like a night in with friends, drinking wine and filing up on cheese and delectable meats. There’s an element of relaxation and a sense of achievement that comes with that style of dining.

The class is on Wednesday 23rd January at Save on Meats on Hastings St. I will let you all know how it goes!

One of my goals for the year is to give Crumb Fight some momentum, so you will be hearing from me a lot more in the next few months!

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Oh rainy Vancouver, as much as you try and convince me that I all I need is soup, really all I want is a big hunk of tasty meat in between two buns. I know it’s winter, but I whipped out the BBQ and did it anyway.

Ingredients

600g ground beef
1 onion
1.5 teaspoons ground pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon water
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon lemongrass  paste
1/4 cup finely chopped mint leaves
4 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon honey
43g tube of wasabi paste

Directions

1.  Chop up your onion as you would for a normal stir fry and fry them in a pan with some oil or butter and salt until they go a nice golden colour.
2. In a bowl add the ground beef, cooked onions, pepper, salt, water, beaten egg, lemongrass paste, finely chopped mint leaves, minced garlic, honey and wasabi paste, and mix well.
3. Form patties to the desired size. Cook immediately in a pan or BBQ, or store in the fridge for a new days, or freeze patties between layers of parchment paper in an air tight container.
4. I ate mine on a Cobbs whole wheat bun, with horseradish, ketchup and some veggies.

You can add breadcrumbs and a bit of butter to the mixture to pad it out a bit, but I wanted to keep it fairly healthy. Hope you like!

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Fable was opened by Top Chef Runner up Trevor Bird in May of this year. Like a few of the great new restaurants opening up around Vancouver, Fable is all about delivering delicious locally sourced food – from farm to table. I love the name!

I have been meaning to dine here for quite some time, but as a West Ender, I don’t venture out to Kitsilano as often as I should. One Saturday during the move, Jake and I decided to treat ourselves to a delicious brunch out and so Fable it was!

Upon walking into Fable, you feel instantly relaxed and comfortable. It’s rustic, warm, and not pretentious feeling in the slightest. I feel like that’s quite rare these days with all the new hip joints opening up. The seating area is open creating a nice social barn-like atmosphere. The servers are dressed in button up shirts adding to the immaculate rustic theme. Feature image courtesy of their Facebook page. Apologies for the horribly coloured images in this post. Will remember to put the camera on manual next time round.

I ordered the Scrambled Eggs: Curtis’ brioche, rosti – Walter’s eggs, Sautéed spinach/bacon, and parmesan.

The eggs were delicious, prepared really well, and served in a little mason jar topped with bacon bits, spinach and a light parmesan foam. I cannot fault their eggs in the slightest. They were perfectly made.

The brioche was soft and fluffy as it should be. The home made strawberry jam was delightful. I will need to make my own one day. You can taste the difference with one that has come out of a jar. And the hash cake, crunchy on the outside, hashy on the inside. The yoghurt chive dollop really added to the flavour.

 Jake ordered the Eggs Benedict with Olive oil Hollandaise and halibut brandade.

The Hollandaise makes or breaks an eggs benny in my mind. Fable’s hollandaise, was light, lemony and not too heavy and overpowering. It was just perfect. In saying that the dish was creamy as a whole, but again not in an overpowering way. The halibut cake was subtle, but a preferred alternative to a heavy salmon.

To top off the meal we received two home-made cranberry white chocolate cookies. Not the best cookie I’ve had to be fair, but it was a cute freebie.

I am desperate to come back to Fable for their dinner service, which I hear is casual with fine dining service. Also worth noting that their latte was one of the best I’ve had in Vancouver – and for a Kiwi that’s saying a lot.

Price $$ | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4.5 | Overall 4.5
1944 West 4th Ave,  Vancouver | 604-732-1322  | fablekitchen.ca

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A New Zealand classic, although I hardly ate ANZAC cookies (biscuits in NZ) growing up. Cookies in general weren’t really a big thing in our house. It was more chocolate and ice cream that we craved.

ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. The cookies were supposedly made by a woman on the home front who sent them to our ANZAC’s serving overseas. Now they are considered a staple in both New Zealand and Australia, and rightly so – they are delicious.

The recipe calls for golden syrup which you should be able to find locally. If you can’t though you can use honey or maple syrup. I usually make them with honey as I love the smell it gives off when the cookies are baking in the oven.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desiccated un-sweetened coconut
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup/ honey/ maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
Water

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a small pan, melt the butter over a low to medium heat. Add the golden syrup/ honey and baking soda and stir well. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Mix together the rest of the dry ingredients: flour, oats, white and brown sugar, coconut, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.
4. Add the butter mixture to the dry bowl and stir through.
5. Start adding water one tablespoon at a time. You want to use as little water as possible to get the mixture to hold together. You want to be able to easily form the cookies without them faling apart in your hands.
6. Roll desired amount of dough into your hand and flatten on the baking tray. Leave enough space between each one for spreading.
7. Bake for about 10 – 15 mins until nice and golden brown.
8. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit for 5 – 10 minutes on the tray to harden before removing to a cooling rack or devouring.

mmm the smell of butter and honey.. The best part is eating the crumbs off the baking tray.

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It has been over a month since my last post! Goodness time flies! The reason for my long absence was apartment hunting, international visitors, packing, unpacking, and setting up shop. It has been crazy! But I am now back on track. Feels really great getting back into it.

The new place is a lot smaller sadly, but it’s in a great location and I’m paying less rent. I thought I would take some snaps and introduce you to my new kitchen. It is nothing special; these pictures actually do it more justice than the reality. I have a horrible yellow neon light which makes a soothing buzzing sound – this also means I need to get creative with my photography, a shower rack for a spice rack, an oven light that may as well not exist, and NO dishwasher. That has been the hardest thing to get used to. Washing dishes is my worst chore… after cleaning the toilet, but no one likes doing that.

On the plus side, the kitchen opens up to the lounge which is awesome for when people are over, and I have a breakfast bar! The rest of the apartment is looking great. It’s a great place to come home to.

First recipe to be posted this week will be ANZAC cookies. Nom nom nom nom.

View from the lounge. The stag oversees my kitchen shenanigans. He doesn’t take any shit.

Knife block

Picture hanging up in the kitchen: Tacos enjoyed in Mexico mmmm.

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My friend and her mum were visiting from Alberta for the weekend to see Stevie Nicks at Stanley Park. I have been trying to convince my friend to move to Vancouver, so every time she visits, I make sure I show her the gems the city has to offer. On this particular trip we had decided to do bunch. The first three places that came to mind were Medina Cafe, Nelson the Seagull and The Flying Pig. We didn’t want to walk my friend’s mum through East Hastings, and we were far too hungry to wait 30 people back in a line so we decided on The Flying Pig. The main pic is courtesy of their Facebook page. Note to self – must remember to take an exterior shot next time.

The Flying Pig is one of those places you walk past, and something about it draws you in. It’s comfortable, simply designed, and not at all pretentious. They use fresh local ingredients, and are truly passionate about the food they bring to your table. They have an open plan kitchen which I love, so you can actually see them creating magic while you wait.

I would highly recommend calling and making a reservation before you come down. We ended up waiting about an hour for a table on a busy Sunday morning. The plus side of that is that we all knew exactly what we wanted when we sat down. Our waiter was so lovely and sweet! If you met him I’m sure you would agree! Everyone we spoke to at the restaurant was so friendly – and such a natural relaxed friendliness too. It reminded me a little bit of New Zealand.

We got given complimentary cinnamon buns which I was told they order from a bakery, and literally within about 5 mins our food was brought to our table! Here’s what we ordered:

Smoked Salmon Benedict: house smoked salmon, dill cream cheese, hollandaise

My friend and I both ordered the eggs bennie. I ordered mine with the hollandaise on the side out of habit. Instead of an English muffin the eggs bennie was seated on a piece of sourdough. Overall, and I hate to say this, I found this dish a little much. There was quite a lot of smoked salmon on the bread, and with the heavy cream cheese and the hollandaise I was really struggling to finish my meal. The bread was also quite tough to cut, so maybe ask for a steak knife if you order it. I am told that they change up the menu often so you might find it different when you head down. The hollandaise sauce itself though was great – really light and not too overpowering.

Chef Erik’s Croque Madame: sourdough, 3 cheeses, ham, over easy eggs

Jake ordered the croquet madam, which I wish I had ordered! It was a very simple dish, but the 3 cheeses had a good strong flavor and tied everything together very nicely.

Crispy Hashbrowns: made to order lyonnaise style

A shredded potato patty! Not dripping in oil, so made for a great side to a simple breakfast.

 Mac and Cheese

My friends mum ordered the mac and cheese. I have such a weakness for this dish that I have to compose myself every time I am near it, and this one was heavenly. It wasn’t swimming in a thick layer of cheesy sauce. The cheese was subtle, but present, pasta cooked well. The juices from the mushrooms added a delicious freshness. Highly recommend this!

 Once we finished our food, we peer into the kitchen to see them baking a fresh batch of blueberry scones as a replacement to the complementary cinnamon buns. As we were paying our bills, our lovely waiter brought out scones for each of us! They were glistening and warm from the oven, and yes they were YUMMY! I want to try every item on their menu!

Price $ | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Overall 4.5
1168 Hamilton Street, Vancouver | 604-568-1344  | theflyingpigvan.com

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Gorilla Food was another recommended destination to visit. They specialize in organic, vegan, and raw food. I had never even heard of it before, I guess because I am neither vegan nor vegetarian, but I have always been intrigued by such eateries. As you may have read from my previous posts, I really enjoy vegetarian food, and because I have a few vegetarian friends I get to enjoy it fairly often. Vegan food on the other hand is a world completely unbeknownst to me.

I don’t know if anyone else ever feels this way, but I feel like such an imposter when I walk into places I don’t belong. Walking into Gorilla Food, my mind was racing, wondering if the servers could tell that I was a fake, that I was not vegan at all, but an anything and everthingarian.

Gorilla Foods has a very natural, hippie décor. Flowers, rustic wood, stones, mosaics, fairies… well none that I could see, but I’m sure they were just hiding. The whole place was very welcoming and warm. I’d studied the menu beforehand of course (one must always be prepared), and already knew what I was going to order.  The menu is actually an impressive piece of work. Despite a perceived limit of ingredients available to them, their menu is larger than one you would see at Dennys! After half an hour of menu agony, here’s what I ordered.

Dehli Double Veggie Burger: Spicy-ish cashew curry sauce and marinated veggies top this double stacker veggie burger! Served in a lettuce leaf bun

I added the veggie-flax bun to this dish as well as it sounded like it would be delicious, however, I didn’t like it at all. It was soft but firm and slightly sour. I ended up eating it with the leftover raisin chutney which made it a bit better. The veggie patty itself was interesting. Even while eating it, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It tasted like it was made with the leftover pulp from making juice. It was soft and almost bitter tasting – it wasn’t terrible, but not something I would order again. The cashew curry sauce was indeed spicy but tasted awesome – I would ask for extra!

Mau Waui Pizza Slice: Dehydrated, wheat-free and gluten free sprouted sunflower seed, buckwheat and carrot, flax seed crust topped with, savory sun-dried tomato herb sauce and a heavy handful of tenderized kale and veggie mix-up, with a walnut ‘cheez’ crumble and a layer of fresh sweet diced pineapple

A huge list of ingredients! When I first saw the pizza I was quite disappointed by its size. For $8 I had expected it to be a lot bigger. After I took my first bite I was pleasantly surprised. The pizza was delicious – it tasted like cheese, and it was quite filling, yet still light. You had to eat it with a knife and fork as the whole thing would fall apart if you attempted to pick it up. It was pizza that tasted great cold. The pineapple was a much needed element on the pizza, as it would have been too heavy on its own.

Thai Fresh Wraps: Three collard leaf wraps filled with a sprouted sunflower seed and veggie paté, sesame seasoned coleslaw and a side dip of raisin chutney

These wraps were my favorite of all the items I ordered! I love anything wrapped in leaves. Very fresh slaw, light, but what made it was the raisin chutney. It was zesty, sweet and tangy and acted as the perfect sidekick to the wraps. Together these wraps were perfect.

Overall, I have to credit Gorilla Foods with their creativity in every dish. You could taste the thought that had gone into preparing each ensemble. Everything about the café exuded passion. The service was good, very polite and the food came out quickly as it didn’t need to be cooked, just assembled. This is probably one of the only food spots that will make you something healthier than you would make at home. Although I won’t boast about this place to all my friends I will definitely come back – maybe more for the health factor than anything. Next up I’m going to order:

Main St Monkey Sandwich with Curry Squash Bread: Filled with olive tapenade, creamy avocado mash-up, zucchini hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers and sprouts.

Green Curry Nice Bowl: Live and wild ‘ryce’: made from veggies and seeds: surrounded with creamy cashew and coconut, green curry marinated vegies and sprouts.

+ a juice of some kind, although these are quite steeply priced.

Price $ | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3.5 | Overall 3
101-436 Richards St, Vancouver | 604-684-3663  | gorillafood.com

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Thanks to those that visited Crumb Fight and Little Lamp at the Blim Market! Here are some photos of the day. To see the full album, check out Crumb Fight’s Facebook page here.

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