Summer Goodies

Yellow plums, blackberries and red currants, all gathered from bushes and trees growing in parks and alleys in our neighbourhood.

Beautiful, aromatic, powder-coated plums, chosen one-by-one from the farmer's box. Their yellow flesh tastes like sunshine.

For a while we had a young woman from New Zealand coming by once a week with experimental baked goods. For $4, she would drop off a tupperware crammed with cookies, bars, brownies, cakes and scones of various flavours and types.

She took a week or two off and never started up again. It was great while it lasted. Like summer.

Fruit in Japan is a Different Thing

Fruit is done differently in Japan. You can order a shipment of perfect pears, directly from the orchard. They arrive the next morning in a special, chilled delivery van.

Perfect, singly-wrapped specimens.

Cruncy, juicy, sweet and entirely blemish-free. Do not dare ask about the cost.

Birthday Wine: Foxtrot Pinot Noir

Some special food for a recent birthday:

Rambutan!

Mangosteen!

Buying one of these outside of Thailand is always a gamble. Despite their thick skin, they bruise easily (see the brownish bits) and the bright yellow is a sign of doom:

Injury to outer skin results in percolation of bitter latex into the edible flesh, which makes the whole fruit bitter and inedible.

 We got to this one just in time. A good half of it was perfect: snowy white, membranous and thick with tropical flavour.

Not pictured: Passion fruit! We slurped up its aromatic, crunchy seeds so quickly we forgot to take a photo.

Dinner started with some fat scallops.

And continued with pork in a rich, cream sauce.

Served with the excellent Pinot Noir from Foxtrot from the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan.

Very much in demand, this Pinot is quickly coming to exemplify the Naramata terroir. Medium-bodied with classic cherry and slight earthy notes, it has a rich, supple finish reminiscent of the famous Burgundies. While not as acidic, it has amazing balance and well deserves its growing reputation.

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

William Carlos Williams

A favourite poem from highschool days that comes immediately to mind when a cold plum presses against my lips.

Summer plums from Sapo Bravo Farm in Lytton, BC.

Vancouver Figs

The two fig trees closest to our home in Vancouver never seem to close the deal; the fruit appears on schedule but stays hard, puny and green until it falls off sometime in the winter.

 

A friend has just moved to the west side and the tree in her new yard does not have that problem. In fact, its problems are due to an over-abundance of very ripe figs: bees, ants, and showers of sticky fig juice with every gentle breeze.

Luckily for us, she invited us to come and take as many as we could carry.

Fat figs, high atop the tree.

 Monkey will climb for figs.

 

 Fat, juicy and soft. With some apples for good measure.

 Quartered, with prosciutto, feta, black pepper and a little balsamic vinegar.

The salty feta and prosciutto are a perfect match for the honey-like, perfumed figs. A spectacular appetizer.

This article suggests why figs might not ripen. The reason seems to be a lack of water during hot, dry weather. Perhaps we'll go out to our nearby trees this evening with a bucket of water and see if we can't help the fruit along.

Summer Fruit In Vodka

We don't do this as often as we used to, but every summer we think about what fruit we might turn into liqueur.

Peaches have gone into both vodka and brandy in the past. Their rich, summer flavour and aroma is a welcome reminder on a cold winter evening. These are from the Okanagan and have been ripening in the sun on our balcony. Their perfume fills the house.

Sugar, fruit, vodka, a big jar, and a dark cupboard. And either lots of patience or a short memory. Or a short memory.

Regular sugar will do, but try an imported grocery store for rock sugar. It dissolves slowly and looks beautiful going in. Ask visiting friends to bring you a big bottle of Duty Free vodka, the cheaper the better since none of the original flavour (?) will remain.

Amounts and proportions vary. Starting out with less sugar means you can always add more later if needed. Make sure the fruit is de-stemmed and without obvious blemishes. Apples and pears should be cored.

Apricots are the closest thing to the Japanese ume that goes into umeshuu (梅酒), and that is what we usually use. Try a little taste every 6 months or so to experience how the flavour develops.

We have had varying levels of success with different fruit. Hazelnuts in the foreground, ginger on the right, cherries in the back. The red-capped jar is the last few centimeters of our 1998 apricot, now dark and deeply, deeply rich.

• Peaches: excellent; the fruit breaks down quicker than apricots.
• Peaches in brandy: fantastic.
• Apples: should be consumed sooner as the crisp acidity doesn't seem to last.
• Pears: must be at peak of ripeness since the flavour is so delicate.
• Raspberries: spectacular; highly recommended.
• Strawberries: ready within a couple of months; the soft fruit breaks down quickly.
• Lemons: limoncello is wonderful.
• Limes: spectacular; even better than lemons.
• Blueberries: great colour but not a lot of flavour.
• Cherries: mixed success; requires high-quality fruit. We added more fruit after two years.
• Ginger: yow! Incredible zing. Nice when mixed with less flavourful liqueur like blueberry.
• Hazelnuts: deep, woody and very, very good. Required more time for full extraction.
• Christmas spice: cinnamon, clove, orange peel, raisins, allspice, juniper berries, etc. Ready in 6-8 weeks and goes very well with Christmas dessert. The cinnamon can easily overpower the other ingredients.

The fruit really gives up all its flavour to the alcohol. You'll be amazed at how little flavour is left if you sample a piece after a year. We made a cake with some of the raspberries once, but it wasn't really worth it.

BC Camping #1: Flora

This nine-day, 2150 km loop took us through both new and familiar areas.
Lilooet turned out to be a much drier place than we had expected, full of beautiful little Provincial Parks with very easy camping.

We should really know more about the various mushrooms and fungi we meet. I bet some of them would be delicious.

Patches of bright orangey-red lichen, very striking on the dark rocks beside Green Lake.

Anyone who has popped a wild strawberry in their mouth knows the concentrated punch of flavour they pack. These were no exception.

Here is our route, with campsites and other points of interest marked.

View Camping BC, July 2011 in a larger map

"Gzbrehs"

I think that's how you pronounce these.These were rescued after being found scattered across our alley. We carefully tasted one and it was absolutely delicious. We scooped them up in something approaching a trice and absconded with them. We wonder if someone put them on top of their car and forgot about them when they drove off? We can empathize. There was no container of any kind around, which added to the mystery. Now we are researching recipes for Gooseberry Fool.

We have often heard "gooseberry" described as a wine aroma or in flavour profiles. It is easy to imagine a Sauvignon Blanc or other acidic white when tasting these.