Category: Local Food

Arugula and Cilantro Pesto

I was hoping for some fennel in my CSA delivery this week, but it was not to be. I really like fennel frond pesto. I’ve just about decimated my basil plant so I decided to make pesto with something else. I did get some arugula to go along with the bunch of cilantro that I bought earlier this week.

The recipe is adapted from Veganivore.

  • 2.5 c. arugula or baby arugula
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro (or a little more if you really like cilantro)
  • 1/2 c. pine nuts
  • 1/2 c. olive oil
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 2 t. minced garlic
  • 1 t. Fleur de sel (or sea salt)
  • up to 1 t. freshly-grated pepper
  • 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, more to taste

For the pesto:

Combine arugula, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. In a pan, toast the pine nuts for a minute or two and add to the blender. Pulse the blender until all pesto is thick and creamy and a bright, beautiful green- pausing to scrape unblended ingredients from the sides if you need to. Have a quick taste and adjust salt if necessary. Use a rubber spatula to scrape every bit of the pesto from the blender and enjoy!

I mixed it with some penne pasta and for a gluten free version, buckwheat groats.

All ready to mix
All ready to mix
Lovely, deep dark green
Lovely, deep dark green
Arugula and cilantro pesto with penne
Arugula and cilantro pesto with penne

CSA Delivery #4

Here’s what’s in the box this week: lettuce, carrots, radishes, snap peas, chives, garlic scapes, kohlrabi, kale and a bunch of lilies. Still trying to figure out what to do with the leftover dill from last week.

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Here are last week’s carrots – sauteed in a little butter and honey. Tasty.

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Village Ice Cream

For some reason, this place is not easy to find. We were coming up from Bow Bottom Trail and Google maps got a little creative with the routing. The location is very easy to miss and I would not say pedestrian friendly with the sidewalk next to it blocked off for construction. But what a gem. This little place, and I do mean little has only about 10 flavors at a time with a few seasonal ones. What they lack in quantity is made up for in quality. The salted caramel was rich and flavorful, and the regular (not vegan) toasted coconut was full of flavor. This place is out of the way, and I would go out of my way to eat there again.

Salted caramel and toasted coconut (not visible)
Salted caramel and toasted coconut (not visible)

Village Ice Cream on Urbanspoon

Carino Japanese Bistro

The last time I visited this location, it used to be AKA Winebar. The food was really good there, too bad it closed. In its place, Carino. I was curious as to what Japanese Italian fusion meant. I certainly found out this evening.

I ordered two appetizers; the beef tongue and the ramen. The beef tongue was nice and thinly sliced, it definitely didn’t taste like the beef tongue of my childhood. Which is a good thing. The peppery arugula and splash of lemon perfectly complimented the beef. I really enjoyed the ramen – it was obviously not the kind out of the package. The noodles were chewy and the boccocini and tomato salad went well with the dish.

I tasted bits of hubby’s dish. I really enjoyed the gnocchi and mushrooms. The lamb was fall of the bone  tender. For dessert I had this lovely custard tart with fruit. The chocolate ganache was out of this world.

Service was quick and polite. I am definitely coming back.

Yuzzu tart with fruit
Yuzzu tart with fruit
Chocolate ganache with crispy banana and ice cream
Chocolate ganache with crispy banana and ice cream
Lamb Ribs Cacciatoria Sauteed mushroom and crispy gnocchi
Lamb Ribs Cacciatoria
Sauteed mushroom and crispy gnocchi
Ramen Salad Arugula, prosciutto, bocconcini cheese, Gull Valley tomato and shisho pesto
Ramen Salad
Arugula, prosciutto, bocconcini cheese, Gull Valley tomato and shisho pesto
Calamari Fritter Yuzu zest and spicy aioli
Calamari Fritter
Yuzu zest and spicy aioli
French Kiss Grilled, sliced, organic beef tongue
French Kiss
Grilled, sliced, organic beef tongue
I like choice.
I like choice.

Carino Japanese Bistro + Wine on Urbanspoon

The Locavore's Dilemma

It’s the weekend and I find myself  sorting through grocery lists and vegetables in the fridge. My shopping is more complicated in the summer. SPUD delivery on Monday, CSA veggies on Thursday and Safeway on the weekend. Things bought on Monday must be used by the weekend and things on Thursday seem to have an even shorter shelf life.

This week’s dilemma is the lettuce, chard and more garlic scapes. I’m still eating the stir fried arugula (which I thought was spinach) from last week. Don’t stir fry arugula; it makes it even more bitter. I think I will use the potatoes, garlic scapes and cilantro in home fries. Thinking about using the chard with the frozen figs I bought a couple weeks back to make pizza. I will be very tired of eating lettuce as it is my lunches as well.

The following article just about sums it up.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2010/06/the_locavores_dilemma.single.html

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The Grizzly Paw

Ahhh… The Paw. An old standby in Canmore. It can always be counted on for great food and the best handcrafted sodas in  the area. I love their Granny Bee roughage salad. Their burgers are huge, fresh and juicy. My favorite soda is the ginger beer, but I like all the rest too. I had the orange cream soda which tasted like orange creamsicle. Apparently their beers are very good too. I wouldn’t know; I don’t drink.

Bison burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese
Bison burger with mushrooms, Swiss cheese and Granny Bee salad

The Grizzly Paw on Urbanspoon