Okanagan Crush Pad - Summerland, BC
Images from Environment 911 Blog - Sustainability in the Okanagan Winery Circuit
September 23, 2020
Take Me Away Vegan Pastries
Vegan Cannoli
September 15, 2020
Homemade Tomato Sauce from Homegrown Tomatoes
September 10, 2020
I wrote a few recipes for BC Living from when I went camping on the August long weekend (at Twenty Mile Bay) - Gourmet Camping Recipes for Your Next Camping Trip.
Some of them are long, so I figured I’d break each of them down into their own posts (means extra photos too!) - the first being Jackfruit Tacos (click for recipe), followed by breakfast with a Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash (recipe for that here), and finally we have Green Curry.
You can 100% make this at home (any of them really), but a lot of the tips are for how to prep before you leave, and minimize effort at the campsite.
“Skip the roasted weenies and indulge in these easy-to-make camping recipes! These dishes might look fancy, but much of the prep work can be done at home (and then frozen), and all of them can be done on a camp stove if there's a fire ban. Oh, and they can also all be made vegan!
So make your grocery list, get shopping and start prepping these delicious and nutritious camping meals...”
Green Curry with Ginger Rice (paired with The Hatch 2019 B. Yanco)
While this may sound way too fancy for a camping meal, it’s essentially a one-pot production that you barely have to monitor. The second pot comes into play if you want to make your rice fresh at the site, but you could make it ahead of time at home and just mix it right into the curry.
Another good thing about this dish is that if there is leftover veg from breakfast (think onion, peppers, potatoes, etc.), you can toss them right in here. No waste and you can chop everything in the morning, meaning more time on the beach.
Once again, this can be made vegan by eliminating the chicken (which I diced and froze ahead of time so by night two it was ready to go and I didn’t have to handle raw chicken on site), or substituting in some tofu, as the rest of it is just veggies!
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can coconut milk
⅔ cup water (approx.)
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp (possibly more to taste) green curry paste
About 200 g of mushrooms (your choice, but I went with shimeji and shiitake)
½ red pepper, cut into strips
1 or 2 baby bok choy, roughly chopped (spinach works too)
About 20 snap peas, ends trimmed
Thumb of ginger (optional), sliced
1 cup jasmine rice
Basil, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the rice in a pot to the specifications on the package (adding in some optional ginger for flavour, removing after rice is finished) and set aside.
In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium and then add the onion, sautéing for a few minutes, before adding the garlic and the green curry paste.
Add in the chicken if you are using it and cook until just no longer pink.
Add the coconut milk into the pan and stir until the paste has been dissolved. Then add in the mushrooms and red pepper. You may need to thin the sauce out more here, depending how you like your curry. If so, dissolve the bouillon cube in the two-thirds cup of water, and then add it to the pan. (You can transfer to a large pot if your pan doesn’t fit this.)
Bring to a boil and then turn to low and let it simmer. You can taste and see if you need more curry paste (if so it may be easiest to dissolve it in a small bowl with a bit of the curry broth, and then add it in).
After the liquid has reduced a bit, and you have the spices where you like, add in the bok choy and the snap peas and cook for a few minutes until just tender (you want a bit of crunch to them still).
Turn off the heat, plate the rice (with the ginger discarded) and then scoop the curry mix on to it. Tear the basil and add on top (optional) and enjoy the view.
Drinks: There’s not much you can’t pair with a spicy curry, but a cold, dry, white wine is a sure bet. I tried The Hatch Winery’s B. Yanco a few months back from the Stable House Bistro takeout window, and fell in love. I’ve paired it with so many meals since, and on the beach as the sun went down sipped on between bites of this dish was another success.
TCP Eats Program
for the City Of Coquitlam
July 31, 2020
I wrote a few recipes for BC Living from when I went camping on the August long weekend (at Twenty Mile Bay) - Gourmet Camping Recipes for Your Next Camping Trip.
Some of them are long, so I figured I’d break each of them down into their own posts (means extra photos too!) - the first being Jackfruit Tacos (click for recipe), and now I present Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash.
It’s vegan up until you add the optional egg(s), so you decide what you’d like!
“Skip the roasted weenies and indulge in these easy-to-make camping recipes
These dishes might look fancy, but much of the prep work can be done at home (and then frozen), and all of them can be done on a camp stove if there's a fire ban. Oh, and they can also all be made vegan!
So make your grocery list, get shopping and start prepping these delicious and nutritious camping meals...”
Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash (paired with Creek & Gully Cider, Century Pét Nat)
Chickpeas are so versatile for camping because they obviously keep well, but they can also be used in so many dishes. We showed you this recipe for Curry Chickpea Sandwiches that made for an easy lunch, but now we’re incorporating chickpeas into breakfast. The best thing about this dish is you can change things up with what's in season when you head to the campground. Zucchini everywhere? Toss it in. Rolling through Chilliwack? Grab some corn. But whatever is in the vegetable crisper will do!
INGREDIENTS
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
½ small red pepper, diced
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
12 small or fingerling potatoes, sliced in half
Handful of baby spinach
1 or 2 twigs of fresh rosemary (stems removed)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs (eliminate these to make it vegan, can sub in diced avocado)
Salt and pepper
(NOTE: Again, you can add other vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc., just keep in mind cooking times of each, and if you might have to steam things before tossing them in.)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small pot, boil some salted water. Boil the potatoes for approximately 5 minutes until just softened (you don’t want them to get mushy). Drain and set aside.
In a large cast-iron pan (don’t be afraid to lug this camping if you have a car, as it’s so versatile) or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and then add the onion, cooking for a few minutes before adding in the red pepper and softening for a few more minutes.
Add in the chickpeas, sprinkle the cumin and paprika on, and stir to combine everything, then add in the spinach and cook until wilted. Bring everything to one side of the pan and add half a tablespoon of oil to the other side and place the potatoes, cut side down, into the pan.
Chop the rosemary finely and sprinkle on top of the potatoes with a bit of salt and pepper. How much rosemary depends on your taste, as it’s pretty powerful. Rotate the potatoes after they brown for a minute on the one side. (Give the chickpea mix a turn here too, as you don’t want it to burn or stick).
If you’re using the eggs, clear a space for them in the pan, and drizzle the last of the olive oil into that area, then crack both eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let them cook. If you have a lid for you pan, now is a good time to put it on so the eggs cook on the top faster, or you could place some tin foil (a camper’s best friend) over the top.(Another idea would be to scramble the eggs in a bowl, and pour them over the chickpeas, and then cook to mix—great if you don’t like your eggs runny.)
Once cooked, evenly distribute on to two plates and sprinkle with any additional salt and pepper needed.
To complement your coffee or tea, you could go the traditional route with a breakfast/brunch drink and have a mimosa, or you can skip the sugary OJ and pair this dish with Creek & Gully Cider. I sampled a few of them on this trip, but the pairing of the Century Pét Nat, was definitely a great call for this meal.
Serves 2”