May 2016 - West Coast Food

Farms May 30, 2016

I (HEART) Endive in The Fraser Valley

By: Alyssa Barry As you head east on Highway 1 through Abbotsford, it’s hard to miss the enormous “I (Heart) Endive” sign on the right hand side as you pass through Sumas Prairie. Thriving on the flatlands between the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges is BC’s one and only endive farm. What is endive? Endive is a peculiar chicory vegetable that is planted, grown and harvested at the Van Eekelen farm in Abbotsford, BC. There’s a good reason why Van Eekelen Enterprises is the only known farm in BC to produce “witloof” (which means “white leaf”), or also known as “Belgian endive” (believed to be first discovered by a Belgian farmer in 1830). Ria Van Eekelen, owner of Van Eekelen Enterprises, moved to BC from a small town in Holland in the 1970s. In her 20s, Ria was walking through the Woodwards building in Vancouver when she first noticed the…

European May 26, 2016

Deli-ciously Diverse European Delights in Coquitlam

By Sheliza Mitha & The City of Coquitlam The temperate climate of BC’s Lower Mainland makes it especially easy to enjoy impromptu (and planned) barbecues and picnics – particularly in the warmer months of spring, summer and early fall. So, why not take it easy on yourself and enjoy the weather… and let someone else (preferably an expert!) do all the prep work? Enter Coquitlam’s array of specialty and multicultural delis, where you’ll find everything from authentic Italian salami and street food to Eastern European delights and even some flavourful Persian treats and meat. Here are just a few Coquitlam delis (in alphabetical order) where you can pop in and grab what you need for a quick and delicious meal: Euro Food Tri-City Deli & Catering 1-555 North Road Tucked away in Coquitlam’s North Road, this eclectic deli features most anything one could imagine from Central, Eastern and Northern Europe.…

Where to Eat May 24, 2016

Top 10 Dishes to Eat in Richmond

By Tara Lee for VisitRichmondBC.com Richmond, BC, is a food lover’s paradise with more than 800 restaurants in the city, and you can see for yourself why Richmond’s been visited by many food critics and has made a real name for itself as a foodie destination. Over 400 of the city’s restaurants serve Asian cuisine and Frommer’s notes that Richmond is “arguably the Asian food capital of North America.” Whether you choose to dine at restaurants, cafes, food courts or at one of the night markets, you won’t be disappointed. To help you on your dining adventure here are my top 10 dishes in Richmond: 1. Steamed Crab Dumplings at Golden Paramount Whenever a friend asks me for a dim sum recommendation, I end up raving about Golden Paramount and the incredible talent of dim sum chef May Chau. The steamed crab dumplings ($4.98) look deceptively simple, but showcase a paper-thin, translucent…

Shops & Markets May 19, 2016

Our Daily Bread at Fieldstone Artisan Breads in Surrey

By Joanne Sasvari Think of it as a fragrant invitation. When Paul Hanley opens the oven door, the mouthwatering aroma of fresh-baked bread wafts through his South Surrey neighbourhood. Within minutes, locals are lining up for his baguettes and scones, quiches and artisanal country breads. And not just locals – increasingly, Fieldstone Artisan Breads is drawing customers from all over the Lower Mainland. “It’s worth the trek,” says Hanley, who co-owns the shop with his wife Nicola Erasmus. “It’s designed as a destination and not just a location. It’s beautiful to look at and it’s beautiful inside and there’s French music playing. And I can honestly say I use the most local ingredients – I actually have a farm that grows stuff for us.” Fieldstone was a second act career for Hanley. But he also provided Fieldstone with its own successful second act. It opened in 1998, one of the…

Vancouver's North Shore May 13, 2016

Fixin’ for Foraged Fiddleheads on Vancouver’s North Shore

By Catherine Dunwoody “Fiddleheads should start popping up soon near Vancouver, and we’re looking for lady ferns Athyrium filix-femina and bracken ferns Pteridium aquilinum – those are the best in our area,” says Robin Kort of Swallow Tail Culinary Adventures. For those new to these wonderful, woodland edible plants, fiddleheads are the delicate, curly-cued, tip of the forest fern, and in season for a very short time. The taste is most often described as akin to a mix of asparagus and spinach. “Our foraging tours start in May,” says Kort. “Most of the tours are held on the North Shore as long as enough of the edibles are popping up there.” Some insider tips if you do hop on the foraging trail? “ Bracken ferns have carcinogens in them (but so does any char on a BBQ chicken),” says Kort. “I would cook all ferns, don’t eat them raw as the carcinogenic…

Street Food May 9, 2016

Vancouver’s Kaboom Box Food Truck Serves Up Ethical Ocean Wise Fare

By Joyce Chua, Vancouver Foodie Tours Long gone are the days of food carts peddling only hotdogs and pretzels – in Vancouver food trucks showcase multicultural menus and gourmet ingredients. Take Kaboom Box, for example which is a staple in the heart of downtown. Locals swarm Kaboom Box on the daily, hungry for hot smoked salmon sandwiches, Pacific cod fish and chips, and gulf island oyster po’boys. It’s an obvious case for seriously delicious coastal food. What may come as a surprise to first-timers, is that Kaboom Box is dedicated to certified Ocean Wise seafood and sustainably produced meat. Their greens are organic, and all items are sourced locally, whenever possible. The notes are subtle, and it takes a keen eye to spot the Ocean Wise sticker on the side of the truck. But perhaps that’s the greatest allure of Kaboom is that they’re hardly self-righteous – quality ingredients are…

Farms May 6, 2016

Organic Eggs Rule at Richmond’s Rabbit River Farms

By Joanne Sasvari Photos by Joanne Sasvari As long as Steve Easterbrook can remember, he’s been fascinated by birds and, in particular, chickens. “It’s been a lifelong passion for me,” he says, remembering that when he was a young boy, he and a friend would visit a neighbor who raised chickens and game birds. “My friend and I became enchanted with poultry.” It’s not surprising, then, that Easterbrook became an egg farmer. Perhaps the only surprising thing is it took him until he was in his 30s to do so. That’s when he founded Rabbit River Farms, an organic egg producer in Richmond BC. (The company name is a play on his surname: Easter = rabbit; brook = river.) When Easterbrook started the farm in 1993, Rabbit River was the first certified organic egg producer in Canada – in fact, he had to write the country’s original guidelines for organic…