Winter Farmer's Market: Building the Perfect Salad from the Ground Up!

A little rain didn't keep people away from Nat Bailey Stadium this morning, and how could it?  There is way too many treasures waiting to be discovered (and eaten!).

Salads appear on our table almost every night now and we like to get creative!  The market provides the perfect opportunity to choose from a wide variety of greens.  Who needs boring old iceberg or romaine?

And don't stop there!  Layer that salad up with interesting toppings for more palate-pleasing flavor!


Layer 1: Greens

This week, I visited Sole Food Urban Farms, who specialize in greens and root veg.  They have an amazing deal- 3 bags of greens mix and match, for $12!  I chose two bags of their winter lettuce (delicate and light) to mix with a bag of the spinach (hearty and full).  These friendly guys will tell you all you need to know about each and let you sample a leaf or two:)

Layer 2: Color

Winter and fall brings a bounty of vegetables that are not only delicious but also beautiful.  I just love the color combination of squash and beet.  I roast up some beets and squash in the oven together (a little S&P, beets on top and squash on bottom) and toss a few pieces on top of my greens.  The colors are stunning!

Layer 3: Sprouts

These nutrition powerhouses pack a healthy punch of many different nutrients while giving your salad a little crunch.  Although they look a little like grass, do not be fooled- these will surely add a whole new dimension of flavor to spice up any salad!

Today, I gravitated toward the incredible selection of sprouts at Shalefield Organic Garden.  They have a table filled with an assortment of different sprout mixes to suit everyone!  And sampling before buying is recommended so you can find the right one for you.

Layer 4: Topper

After hearing that the man behind Granola King will be appearing on one of our favorite shows, Dragon's Den, next weekend, I had to pay him a visit to see what goodies he had to offer.  Although I expected to find delicious cereal (which of course I did), I also unexpectedly found a new salad topper , bursting with flavor and health benefits.  The Omega Mix is a medley of almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds all ground up fine.  Sprinkle it on anything from cereal to roast veggies to, of course, salads for a nice nutty kick.  Can't wait to try it!!!

Here is the final results.  Delicious:)

So why not come down to Nat Bailey Stadium next week and and start building your perfect salad!  The sky is the limit!

Fable- Revisited Yet Again

My husband have been to Fable many times now, both for brunch and for dinner, and I have done reviews on multiple occasions.  Last night, we had the pleasure of dining at Fable again and, after our experience, I feel that a little update is warranted.

Fable has become a real hotspot since opening last year.  The chefs here are two of the contestants from the last season of  Top Chef Canada- Trevor Bird, the runner-up, and Curtis
Luk.  Fable was among the top five best new restaurants in Vancouver as voted by diners in a Scout Magazine poll and I would guess that more awards are in its future.  From its special dinners, including an upcoming dinner on March 31st featuring some of the new Top Chef Canada contestants, to its infamous "Boozy Brunch", Fable continues to impress and diners keep coming.  Without a reservation, tables are hard to come by.

Last night was no exception. Fortunately I had made a reservation mid-week so we got a table within minutes, but otherwise I think we may have been out of luck.  From the time we arrived at 8pm until the time we left at 10pm, the place was packed with diners.  As I have said in previous reviews, I absolutely love the atmosphere here.  So relaxed and so friendly, no wonder the air was bustling with animated conversation.

Service follows right along in the same friendly, relaxed manner.  When I accidentally knocked over my wine glass as I was sitting down, shattering it to the floor, our server's immediate reaction was to laugh and joke "phew, glad it was you and not me" and within 10 seconds, another server was over with a broom to clean it up.  Our main server was very helpful with dish selections (he is an angel for recommending the trout!) and other servers that brought our food explained all the components of the
plates.  On our way out the door, we were given a warm farewell and a welcome back anytime.  They just make you all warm and fuzzy inside.

And so does the food.  Warm, fuzzy, satisfied, content and all other positive adjectives that come to mind.  And the remarkable thing is that they just keep getting better and better!  The food has always been great, but on our visit last night, it was nothing short of amazing.  Here is a little rundown of our meal, which I am happy to recount again and again:

Oysters- Among my husband's favourite foods, these were sure to please- fresh, simply prepared and delicious, with a hint of citrus.

Chickpea fritters- Although we came specifically to try out the new winter menu, my husband could not resist sticking with an old favourite.  These crispy little nuggets topped with a creamy yogurt sauce, pickled onions and dainty pea shoots are a feast for the eyes and the palate.  Irresistible.

Brassica salad- Although I was very tempted to order the canned tuna again (yummmm), I talked myself into ordering one of the new menu items.  And I am glad I did.  This is not your usual lettuce salad. actually, there is no lettuce at all.  Instead, it is composed of a creamy cauliflower purée topped with lightly steamed broccoli, flash fried cauliflower and deep fried cheese "croutons".   Although unique, the best thing about this salad for me was its simplicity.  Whereas others may swoon over the deep fried cheese (actually my least favorite part of the dish), I loved how the broccoli was left totally plain so you could taste its natural deliciousness.  A bold move on the part of the chef but one that shows a true respect for fresh ingredients.

Steak frites- My husband has been on a bit of a "steak streak" lately and has even recently tried to perfect cooking his own steak at home (admittedly still a bit of a work in progress...).  He had tried a similar dish the last time we ate at Fable but they changed things up a little on their winter menu with awesome results.  They have kept the black pepper jam atop the steak (there may have been a revolt otherwise) but they have replaced the potato fondant with potato wedges and the broccolini with buttered spinach (a little of this poking out would have made the dish a bit prettier!).  As I watched him happily smacking his lips as he finished the last bite and asked him why he liked he so much, he was unable to give one reason, but just said that each component worked perfectly together and each element was prepared and seasoned perfectly.  That is certainly reason enough.

Local steelhead trout- I would venture to call this the best dish of the year. Full stop.  Even after all of the good eating I have done this year in Maui and here in Van, you cannot get any better than this.  Beautifully cooked, local fish that melts in your mouth, sitting atop a velvety celeriac purée, with a side of roasted sun chokes and tempura oyster mushroom.  No bells and whistles here, allowing the natural flavours to shine with perfect execution.  I would eat this dish every day of my life if I could.

And this concludes our memorable dinner at Fable.  This place has always left me with fond memories, but this particular meal really went above and beyond.  To have such talented chefs cooking at a restaurant where you feel as though you could kick your feet up on the table is a rarity.  This concept is the perfect fit for Vancouver so it's great success comes as no surprise.  And with food of this calibre, Fable is no doubt destined for bigger and better things in the months to come.  I don't know how they do it, but this place just keeps getting better and better and better...

Vancouver Farmer's Market

Wow, what a day!!!

The sun was shining and spring was in the air.  What a beautiful day to be alive!




















The Farmer's Market is always one of the highlight's of my week, whether rain or shine, but what a treat to be able to walk around sans-umbrella and be able to really take your time to discover everything that the merchants have to offer.  Some of the highlights from this week include some amazing spicy greens for salads to last us through til next week, a great potato and kale cake from Nidhi's Cuisine (great on top of salad) and, although I did not buy it, a "ginormous" squash!

The sunny weather also gave us the perfect excuse to hang around and sample some food truck fare.  Although I am still in mourning over the loss of JJ Truckeria after the end Food Truck February (their Market Bowl will always hold a dear place in my heart), there is still lots of good street grub to be had!

We made a return visit to Le Tigre for a taste of their "Kick Ass Rice" (just OK, the rice could have used a bit more spice, overall a bit lacking in flavor) and the Root Vegetable Quinoa (this is delicious and nutritious, great flavor here!).

My bacon-loving husband has been itching to try Pig on the Street and finally got to order the Southern Piggy.  This flatbread is stuffed to the brim with roasted peppers, corn, greens and, of course TONS of bacon!  He loved it!  And I loved the little pig that he was given to wait for his sandwich- they called out "Magnum Piggy" when his order was ready, how cute is that!

I was also very excited to see the return of GoGo Java coffee truck.  They serve up a Honey and Ginger Latte that is out of this world!  It packs a amazing punch of ginger (guaranteed to cure whatever ails ya'!) and has just the right amount of sweetness from local maple syrup from the market.  How awesome is that???  I get mine made with an almond milk base that works wonderfully with the other flavors.  My husband also got a lemonade from GoGo Java to have with his flatbread and it was perfect- refreshing, with the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

What a perfect way to start off our Saturday.  Fingers crossed again for sun next week!

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1702510/restaurant/Robson-Street-West-End/Le-Tigre-Cuisine-Mobile-Food-Truck-Vancouver"><img alt="Le Tigre Cuisine Mobile Food Truck on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1702510/biglink.gif" style="border:none;padding:0px;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/1676936/restaurant/Downtown/Pig-on-the-Street-Vancouver"><img alt="Pig on the Street on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1676936/biglink.gif" style="border:none;padding:0px;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>

Via Tevere Pizzeria

Tastiness factor: 9/10

Atmosphere: 4/5

Service: 3/5

Locavore approved? Not really the focus here- mostly imported Italian ingredients, only one local wine.


On Friday nights, my husband and I are often pretty tired after a long week at work and look forward to a quiet night in.  This past week has been exceptionally rough, as my husband has been away on business and we really have not seen much of each other.  Another compelling reason to stay home this Friday was to watch the season finale of our favorite show, Top Chef, that had come on last week after he had left.   What better excuse to stay home, relax and order pizza!

Over the past two years, ordering pizza has become a lot tougher of a decision than it once was.  But this is a good thing!  There are just too many good places to choose from and, as it turns out, more places than I even knew existed!  Our favorites have always included Farina, Novo and Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company (and of course, Nicli for dine-in).  I had originally planned to order from Farina (love their Funghi!) but, after doing a quick google search for "pizza Vancouver", I recalled some pizza joints that I had heard of but not yet tried (Famosa, Campagnola Roma) and even learned there were several that I had never even heard of (Via Tevere, Pizza Barberella).  After reading a few reviews calling it not only "best pizza in Vancouver" but also "best Italian in Vancouver", I knew I had to try Via Tevere.

The restaurant is located in the middle of a little neighborhood on Victoria Dr. which adds to its overall charm.  Just look for the Italian flag and you will know you are there.  The big line out front will also be a tip-off!  Inside is a quaint room, abuzz with customers happily enjoying their meals.  There is a bar at the side (where we sat and had our appie which waiting for our take-out pizzas) and then the big pizza oven at the back inside the open kitchen.  The atmosphere is fun and relaxed, and, true to Vancouver, a little "hipster".  The perfect setting for a Friday night.

Since we only ate in for our appetizer and drinks, I cannot really make a fair assessment of service.  I must say though that I did find the server behind the bar a little snarky with us.  He seemed quite annoyed that we requested drinks and an appetizer before ordering our pizzas to go, and then plopped the appie in front of us without explaining what was actually on the plate.  I get it, the place is busy, but this did leave me with a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

Fortunately, the food at Via Tevere was able to remedy any bad taste that was had.  We started off with drinks.  Their wine list is small with mostly European wines.  I ordered their only BC offering (a lovely Hatfield's Fuse by Blasted Church, one of my favorite Okanagan wineries), while my hubby, the driver, got a Coke (he gives them kudos for Coke in glass bottles!).   The appetizer was my hubby's pick as he was very hungry and needed a little nibble with our drinks.  I had read some good reviews about their Frittura Napoletana, a plate of fried Italian street food and this was right up his alley.  The components of the dish change up regularly.  On this particular night, it was composed of aracini (a ball of fried risotto), a croquette of potato and spinach risotto, a cube of fried pasta and a hearty piece of fried pizza dough.  On the side was a vibrant, fresh tomato sauce.  You have the option of an order "for one" or "for two"  but the "for one" order was plenty for us, especially as a prelude to two big pizzas.  The arancini was my favorite for sure (the risotto was delicious) and my husband liked, well, everything (it was deep fried after all).  This was a fun snack to have around the bar with a few drinks.

Frittura Napoletana

 It was then that we said "goodbye" to Via Tevere and headed home with our freshly baked pizzas, just out of their 90 second stint in the oven.  We drove home with haste in order to catch them at their freshest.  Fortunately, we were able to quickly find the finale of Top Chef on YouTube and sit down to our beautiful pies.  I ordered the Filetto, a white pizza (sauceless) topped with with San Marzano tomato fillets (long cuts of roma tomatoes), fior de latte, basil and garlic.  I also chose to add rapini and artichokes ($3 each).  If you love garlic, you MUST order this pizza.  The pieces of thinly-sliced garlic bulbs really shine in the absence of sauce and are nicely complemented by the basil.  The "fillets" of tomato give it a very fresh flavour, and I really enjoyed the addition of artichokes for a bit of saltiness.  My husband chose the Prosciutto E Rucola.  There was a very generous portion of salty prosciutto cut with a lovely tomato sauce and fior de latte, topped with a good mound of spicy arugula.  The pizza crust, which is really the "make or break" element for these Neapolitan pizzas, was perfect- slightly charred and with just the right amount of "chew" on the outside, and soft on the inside.  No soggy crust to be found!  There is no doubt that these guys earned their VPN certification!  Don't these make you salivate?

Filetto

Prosciutto E Rucola

Via Tevere is yet another fabulous addition to the pizza scene explosion in Vancouver, making the pizza take-out night decision increasingly more difficult!  Via Tevere has certainly made the cut as one of our favorites and we will definitely go back soon.  If we are not feeling so lazy, we may eat in next time to really get the whole experience of the quaint neighborhood hotspot.  If you are a follower of the Vancouver pizza crave, I highly recommend branching out and adding Via Tevere to your repertoire.  The perfect combinations of toppings atop a perfect crust are sure to satisfy!

Beaucoup Bakery: A Little Taste of France

It has always been my dream to go to Paris.  I have it all planned out in my head- stay in a little tiny apartment, rent a bicycle with a little basket in the front to drive to the neighborhood market and buy fresh pastries for breakfast.  Ahhhh....

Unfortunately, it is just still a dream as life will not allow for that trip this year, but plans are in the works for 2014!

For now, I have been blessed by the next closest thing to France right here in Vancouver- Beaucoup Bakery.  

There was a lot of hype building up to the opening of this place by baker and owner Jackie Ellis, who studied pastry making in Paris.  I first tried her offerings at the Van Farmer's Market "Christmas Market" this past Christmas and was blown away immediately by how delicious her baking was!  I was ecstatic when I heard that she was working on opening a bakery very close to where I live (how lucky am I) and, after a little delay, they were off the ground running!  

Their location at Fir and 5th is a bit tucked away and perhaps not in the prettiest area (lots of concrete!) but that has not stopped people from catching on fast.  Heck, I would be prepared to walk to the moon and back to get one of their tropical scones!  Once you actually get there, the bakery itself is very charming.  It has a few little tables as well as some stools at a counter by the window where customers can make themselves at home while they savor a mouth-watering french pastry and a luscious latte.  I don't think I could think of a better way to start the day- you can easily close your eyes and transport yourself to Paris!

Now onto the goodies.  I must return to talking about the aforementioned tropical scone.  This is their sweet scone and they also feature a savory variety.  Scones are probably my favorite of all pastries and therefore, I have toured Vancouver (and admittedly every place my husband and I travel to) in search of the best scone.  And I think I have found it here at Beaucoup.  Such buttery goodness has never been tasted!  It has the perfect amount of sweetness from dried pineapple, which is complemented so beautifully by shredded coconut and then made just a little more decadent with the addition of white chocolate.  I salivate just thinking about it.  

My husband has enjoyed the marcona almond bar, but it is so pretty you almost feel bad eating it!  It is made of a buttery pastry crust base, topped with a caramel center and marcona almonds on top.  Delicious and beautiful!

I am a little ashamed to admit that I really cannot comment on any of their other goodies (which I can almost guarantee are amazing!) because, each time I go, I just cannot resist getting the Tropical Scone.  I know I need to branch out, but I just cannot leave the scone behind.  Next time, my plan is to go hungry and a scone AND another treat:)

Beaucoup Bakery, we are SO glad to have you nearby!  Although I may have to wait another year to travel to Paris, having you around certainly makes the wait more bearable!

Debut on Blogspot!
Hello everyone,

    My name is Little Miss Locavore.  I am a food blogger living in the amazing city of Vancouver in beautiful British Columbia.  I am passionate about local, seasonal and sustainable food.  Eating locally supports our neighborhood farmers, is good for the environment and, well, fresh food just tastes better!

   This blog mostly explores the food scene here in Vancouver, with little snippets from my travels.  My blog was previously on Posterous Spaces which will be shutting down their site at the end of April.  I am now very excited to made a fresh start with Blogspot!  I am in the process of transferring all of my previous Posterous reviews to this new blog site, so stay tuned!  For now, I will just pick up where I left off as there are still many places on my food wishlist that I have yet to discover!  

    I also like to use Twitter (@FoodieDoc3) and Urbanspoon so please come find me there as well.

   Happy local eating!!!

    

Van Farmer's Market- from prepared food to preparing food!

I am a bit late posting this one (busy week- work and then Whistler!) but here are a few notables from last week's  Winter Van Farmer's Market:

Yummy food truck eats:

After finding out that Clement Chan, owner of Le Tigre food truck, would be a contestant on Top Chef Canada, my husband has hit up his truck over the last two weeks at the Winter Market to see what he is made of.  So far, he has tried the steamed pork bun, which he really enjoyed.  The bun was nice and doughy, while the pork was succulent with just enough spice.  He was a bit less of a fan of the popcorn chicken. The first few bites were good but it quickly became sickening, and he did not enjoy the sauce.  He still looks forward to trying more of their goodies. And I have certainly been eyeing the beet fries!   

Market meal:

The Farmer's Market is absolutely THE best place to go to shop for a dinner party. What better way to spoil your guests than by making a meal with healthy, fresh, local ingredients? That s exactly what I did last Saturday!

When planning your menu, keep an open mind and, instead of thinking of a certain dish you want to make, choose some of your favourite ingredients that are currently found at the market and start "googling" away!  Searches like "squash recipes", "beet recipes" or "winter salad recipes" will yield very interesting results, and you are sure to find something that will please you and your guests. Be even more adventurous and choose a vegetable from the market that you have never tasted before (I cooked with kabocha squash and nettles for the first time!) and prepare to be amazed!  The local farmers may also have neat recipe ideas for their produce that they are more than happy to share!

And its ok to "cheat" a little bit too by picking up some of the amazing prepared products at the market that you can incorporate into your dish.  I got the plum chutney for my pork from "A Jar", who makes the most amazing pickled vegetables (the onions are so awesome for a cheese platter!), chutneys and other canned goods.  They only come to the market every once and a while, so I encourage you to stock up the next time you see them!

Here are a few pics of the appetizer and main that I prepared.  Aren't they pretty? 

Kabocha squash, beets and nettle salad with walnuts and Salt Spring Island goat cheese

 

Pork tenderloin with a plum chutney over creamy cheese polenta, served with a winter vegetable and fruit medley

 

  So go ahead and start googling away!  A plethora of recipes made with your favorite market ingredients are just waiting to be found!

See ya tomorrow at the Market!