soupnancy

After a rough winter, it feels like spring is late, when in fact, it is right on schedule and 'normal' if that means anything anymore.  I'm a winter-lover, but this year, I'm more eager and ready than ever.

Well, there is still snow in the woods and chilly nights, but spring is definitely in the air.. We're not near tripping over morels, but François has picked his first sprouts and is getting ready for the first fiddleheads.  Everything is going to start popping in the next couple of weeks.

Trout lily/Erythrone, the first green: here François picks and talks - an impromptu video filmed by an amateur, sorry in advance for the yelling. In French. Francois à l'érythrone

Ramps peeping up

Day lily sprouts   

We have a field of these on our property, so we always pick a few to cook up as a spring vegetable – kind of like a leek but a shorter cooking time and milder taste.  We’re not sure if we’ll bring some to market or not because the problem is, it seems to inspire people to go picking any other lilies in the city, eating them raw and stomach aches bring inspectors our way even if we have nothing to do with it.

Coltsfoot/Tusselage 

This is for my apothecary more than my kitchen, being a pulmonary tonic and good for a cough/sore throat.  I use it in my winter cold remedies, tisane and cough syrup.  It is the first bloom before dandelion. The spring beauty is starting, nettles are at the baby stage. 

It will be the first week end for our spring mesclun at the market, starting with dandelion greens, trout lily and spring beauty, evolving into a more colourful and complex medley, less bitter and sweet as the season evolves.

Although every season feels new, if I look back, I can’t help but think I sound like a broken record, getting excited about the same wild edibles and describing them over and over again eachyear.. So I will keep it short and sweet, but if you’re just tuning in now and want more detail about these spring edibles, here are but a few links to previous posts:

 Spring plants from 2012 http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2012/4/14/spring-is-springing.html

Spring plants from 2011 http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2011/5/5/spring-has-finally-sprung.html

And yUpload Filees, its that time of year again - to calm everyone down and reiterate About Fiddleheads.. Dangerous or not, How to cook http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2012/5/14/fiddleheads-for-once-and-for-all.html

When the season peaks, I will make a video - maybe that will get the message across.

Our spring menu at La Table des Jardins Sauvages starts this weekend and the first workshop dinner is on Sunday the 28th at 4pm.

Les Saveurs du Palais

http://www.lessaveursdupalais-lefilm.com/

A must-see foodie flick that opens in Montreal theatres this Friday March 1^st..

About a feisty female chef from the Perigord countryside who is called to cook for the French president, based loosely on Danièle Delpeuch and François Mitterand.  He wants his grandmother’s cooking, tasty traditional French food, nothing complicated, no superfluous sugar roses. She is perfect for the task, yeshe faces many obstacles with the male brigade in the main kitchen and his entourage heavy on bureaucracy, formalities and prejudice.  Nonetheless, she manages to seduce the President with her inspired old-school, ingredient driven, flavour forward, real food with personality.  However, her strong character, unconventional ways and disregard for protocol when it comes to the business of good food does not endear her with the stiffs that make up the oiled machine of the Elysée. Rumours swirl.  And then, the doctor and dieticians intervene, followed by the accountant. 

I won’t give away anything more, not that it really matters; it is much richer than any plot line.  The characters are well developed, the story is engaging, there are many layers of nuance and real life moments, food/societal issues and messages..  The sumptuous food just enhances everything, bringing the characters and themes to life in a deep and touching way.  Making you salivate the whole way through too!  I know François was having a hard time sitting still, wanting to jump out to make himself truffles on toast or go about layering beef with onions and anchovies.

Meanwhile, I was just thinking how this film struck so many chords with me, how it was about soo many important things.. About real food and authenticity all round, simple pleasures, and how meaningful that is.  Food that tastes good, with a story.  Food that connects you to real people, family and history.  Memories.  Terroir.  Personality over pretence.   How so much that is real and good can get lost in politics and business (diets too). 

And then in another of their few intimate sit-down exchanges, when the president says to Hortense, ‘Adversity is a spice of life’, I felt like that was a strong message too, considering her predicament, and his..  How she stayed true and kept on going.  The whole ‘female chef’ thing could be another topic brought up, be it with respect to food and history, nurture/nature, or just breaking down barriers in the professional world..  It was a part of the story, a woman with all her particular strengths and weaknesses, in a macho world.

This movie was above all just great, so very human, heart warming and funny.  I can’t recommend it enough.

I missed the official opening with Montreal en Lumière, I was lucky to see it with Cinémagique, a film club that shows interesting films not necessarily accessible otherwise – check it out!

The Paleo diet and ‘diets’ in general

Eating well in the Modern AFU age

The Paleolithic (Caveman) diet, inspired from our hunter-gatherer ancestors is naturally one our body understands and assimilates best.  It just might be the light for so many lost western stomachs.

For the record, I don’t believe in ‘diets’ persay.

However, a smart friend of mine who is also a good eater swears by this Paleo thing, so if you suspect your eating habits need an overhaul, maybe you will be inclined to read more (links via modpaleo.com).  As far as diets go, it’s as sensible as they get.

She seemed puzzled that I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about her Paleo nirvana, figuring it would be up my alley.  It is true that many of the tenets correspond with what I promote.; the oldest diet in the world naturally excludes anything processed, all meat is natural/pastured, greens and vegetables are central. My eating habits align with Paleo  more than a conventional North American regimen.  Most of it is actually just normal to me, being the chef for a hunter-gatherer.  But there are just a few too many extraneous rules for my comfort.  There are too many lovely things not allowed or frowned upon (certain fruit, peanuts, dairy, rice and grains ie pasta, bread..).  No matter how wild we are, I do appreciate the benefits of agriculture done the right way.  I like to believe we have learned a couple of things in the last 10000 years.

Bottom line, I  firmly believe that food should be delicious and fun and relatively stress-free.  A daily celebration!  That said, in order to let loose and be carefree definitely requires some kind of investment first, that is a source of good wholesome real food and some cooking.  Because the truth is that our modern agriculture and food supply systems have mostly gone to shit, unfortunately.

But it doesn’t have to be so complicated!  If you eat a variety of real food and cook at home, mostly avoiding industrial crap, supermarkets and restaurants that serve it; with fruit and vegetables occupying a major role, natural meats, eggs and cheese in reasonable portions, then I don’t think you should have to worry about anything, be it salt, sugar, fat, cholesterol, digestive issues, energy levels or weight..  After that it’s just about portion size and exercise, maybe.

I feel like life is too short to make your life miserable when eating thrice daily can be such pleasure.  Not that I’ve ever followed any ‘diet’, yet I can’t help but observe that most extreme or painful diets don’t work long term.

Eating locally and seasonally as much as possible helps guarantee quality produce, makes it tasty and fun and easy to focus on the good stuff - growing your own and putting up, or simply knowing where your food comes from.  A lot of people accustomed to the superstore would say this is more complicated than any fad diet, but once you've figured out the sourcing, it's easy to work into any schedule.  Buying half a cow (or venison) is a one stop shop for the year. Going to the market or getting baskets delivered, putting two hours a week aside for prep - investing in your meals..  So that you have a fridge and freezer full of food that is good for you - all to easily put balanced, tasty meals on the table that will make you happy, no headaches..  Have fun cooking and get to know your vegetables! There should be a big splash of Green in every meal! Use lots of herbs and spices too – behind the flavour boost, there lies a natural arsenal of antibiotics, anti-oxidants, digestive aids and mood stabilizers. And then you absolutely don't need to worry about a peanut or a slice of good bread or banana muffin, an occasion potato chip. 

If the new normal weren't so out of whack, there would be no need for diets. Or as much medicine either.  Besides, there are plants for that too!

In the meantime, there is no doubt that it wouldn’t hurt most Westerners to embrace the Caveman diet.  If  it’s a ‘diet’ that it takes to make you eat local vegetables, pastured meat and avoid soft drinks, , Twinkies and packaged chicken fingers, to opt out of big ag and the industrial processed food corn sugar business - then ok, I’m all for it.  

I will however remain a ‘diet’ free girl or perhaps I could say a post modern Paleo (who also eats grains and dairy, albeit in small quantities compared to greens).. Or  'deluxe Grandma' (not so different from our grandparents with more variety).  Whatever.. My body tells me it is ‘right on!’  If ever not the case, there is always stinging nettle tea, slippery elm or Chaga and etc. to help out..

“Live in each season as it passes, breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”  Henry David Thoreau

The view from my smoker (smoking my duck)I’m doubly inspired to share one of my favourite quotes with you.. 

For all the winter haters out there, I’m tired of hearing you whine.  Get out there and enjoy it!  Soak up some of that bright sunshine, put on a pair of snowshoes or skis, play in the snow, and relish how sweet the crisp, fresh air feels.. Spend time in the kitchen cooking comforting dishes; share a hearty wine-soaked meal with friends next to a fireplace.  Visit a Nordic spa.  Snuggle up on the couch and read a book.  Like ‘The Kitchen Daughter’ (a novel I loved).  Root through your bookshelf and you're sure to find a long lost treasure such as my latest retrouvaille, ‘The Great Chefs of France’. Pick up a glossy, inspiring cookbook such as Jerusalem, Toque, Joe Beef or anything by Thomas Keller. Maybe some heartwarming foodwriting (Ruth Reichl), stimulating (Taras Grescoe) or laugh out loud (Jeffrey Steingarden). Or how about one of those 'Canada Reads' picks..

I love winter for all those reasons, and also because my cooking takes on a different tone, the kind of food that only feels right at this time of year.  Less inspired by all the fresh and local produce, it’s more about going back to the classics and creatively using inventory, making the most of my preserves.  There is less green crunch and more duck fat.  I dip into my freezers, reorganizing them.  I spend time admiring my gardemanger as I pull out a jar of pickled beans, smoked shrooms or crinkleroot canned tomatoes, enjoying all that hard work of putting up in summer.  With a lot more time alone in the kitchen too, I have time to take stock, to look back and think ahead, to play catch up – be it with cleaning, operation details or recipes.  To work on new and parallel projects – like my blossoming apothecary!

a glimpse of my witchery: medicinal plants, essential oils 

Back to the second trigger for the Henry David Thoreau quote..

Another annoying thing that has occasionally interfered with my good winter mood is all the premature maple talk, which seems to have started right after Christmas – in the media, themed dinners and events all over.  Granted, there is nothing wrong with celebrating one of our national treasures anytime if it makes you happy.  Rather, it’s the undercurrent relentless rush to 'the next thing' permeating our culture that bothers me.  Perhaps led by journalists and wannabe trendsetters who need to be the first to showcase what is new and hip..  Definitely, there is the commercial machine wanting to cash in on Valentine fervour as soon as the X-mas trees are down and on Easter bunnies as of Feb.14^th.  Go to a boutique in winter and you only find summer clothes – this has always baffled me.  And local ‘market cuisine’ restaurant menus that follow someone else’s seasons?!! 

Why can’t we just savour the moment and take things as they come really. Like enjoy winter now and get excited about maple syrup when the sap is running in earnest in a month or so.  Next thing it will be morels, peas and asparagus on menus, magazine covers and blogs two months in advance. 

Trust me, following our own seasons tastes better.  And every season is beautiful if you take it in, pay attention and live it fully.  If there’s anything I’ve learnt living and cooking on the wild side in the country, it is this and I’m happy for it.

For myself anyway, I honestly cannot be inspired on an artificial timeline; I don’t ‘feel it’ until it’s in the air.  I have a hard time putting out a menu in advance, yet from a business point of view, I have realized I have no choice. I still wait until the last appropriate minute and inevitably make changes when the day arrives so that it absolutely rings true.  With a job/vocation fuelled by passion, integrity, and so much blood, sweat & tears, I just couldn’t have it any other way.  Besides, I just love the seasons, I don’t want to be thinking about the next one until it’s time, life is too short.. It would feel like a betrayal.  Maybe it is my way of staying grounded and paying tribute to nature and ‘God’ and all my blessings..

So, in the dinosaur spirit of hanging on to the moment, I will be cooking my Wild & Aphrodisiac Valentine’s menu until Sat. Feb.23^rd, and then we close in March (at La Table, not the market), a break to take advantage of winter’s end and regroup.  And when the maple season is actually peaking and we have fresh sap and syrup, we will start again with a wild maple themed menu!

duck heart salad with duck egg, smoked duck, carrot, pickled mushrooms, wild mushroom vinaigrette

I just love my duck

Moulard ducks

Pan-seared foie gras with elderberry/flower sauce, topinambour soubiseDuck is a winter tradition of ours, and it’s that time again.  No matter that I inhaled my share of duck fumes, cooking up an insane amount of duck during the holiday season, I have a few more weeks yet of bathing in duck fat with our duck themed dinners running at the table champêtre.. Duck menu at Les Jardins Sauvages

But really, I don’t mind; duck is hard to tire of.  It is hands down the best meat, so flavourful and versatile in its many forms, not to mention local, healthy and relatively easy to cook.   Susan Semenak makes a case for duck (with my help) in this Montreal Gazette article.. 

Every year, I change up the seven course menu, playing with four breeds and all their parts, the eggs, the skin, broth etc..  And the marvellous fat of course.. Duck fat is my all-purpose cooking fat in winter, rendered from the carcasses and skin.  I like to smoke it too, to have a block ready on hand for introducing that ‘bacon’ taste when you don't want the pigginess. 

For sure, there are standards that come back every year or two but always treated differently. For instance duck confit has to be present, but it might be as rillettes, in a salad, in cassoulet or choucroute, say..  Charcuterie (duck proscuito, smoked duck, jerky, sausage) as well as Foie gras, hot and cold are always featured, but with various seasonings and accompaniments.

duck proscuito

duck jerky

smoked duck my way, cooked not raw

Soup wise, I can’t help but feel the need to go with a consommé, which is pure essence of duck.  Duck broth is my base of choice (instead of chicken) year round and makes a great creamy soup or vegetable purée type as well, but I just love consommé; the extra steps are worth it.  I clarify the duck stock with more duck (ground) and duck egg whites(keeping the yolks for the garnish or dessert, adding aromates of choice to the clarification raft.  This time around it will be surprise, surprise – wild mushrooms!

duck consommé with duck egg and sea spinach, sumac

duck eggs

I used to put a whole duck egg on the menu as a second or third entrée - shirred, baked or poached - so delicious and appreciated by most customers but it is a bit much at 80-100g, like 2 chicken eggs..  In the last few years, I have favoured using egg as a component, going with a frittata, tortilla, egg crepe or an egg garnish..  This way the poor customer has a better chance of making it to the end. This year’s egg ‘noodle’ originated from a kind of accident turned experiment.  One day, I had an excess of egg yolks so froze them and saw that they turned opaque, almost half cooked.  Intrigued by this egg paste, I incorporated some fat and flavour (easily emulsified) and cooked up the cake sousvide/in a bain marie and loved the silky terrine results.  A myriad of possibilities opened up: carpaccio, sheets, terrine, skin, slivers, and noodles!

Obviously, there has to be a ducky salad of some kind on any night, as close to a signature I get in my relentless motion.  A classic at the restaurant anytime of year is the duck heart and gizzard salad, but it was time to give it a rest.  François loves Caesar. If the rest of the menu isn’t too heavy, I can swing it, replacing bacon with my house smoked duck, using some of the duck yolks from before in the dressing, kick it up with crinkleroot and cook the croutons in duck fat.. switch up the capers for pickled daisy buds.

I’m done with cassoulet for a while, but now choucroute is my coup de Coeur of ducky winter dishes, including the incontournable confit and homemade duck sausage.  Besides, I love cabbage and I’m into fermentation ever since my killer green beans from two summers ago.. As with proscuito, fermenting things is more conveniently a winter project when the room temp is easier to control and I have time to be patient and play around..  I haven’t had much success yet with cabbage, but I’ll get there..

mini choucroute: confit, saucisse maison de canard, choux & genièvre

I felt like doing a fried chicken type of entrée for a change, or maybe something like ‘General Tao’ -any thing fried being a crowd pleaser.  I’m constantly looking for  novel ways beyond jerky to put the filets that I remove from the breast.to good use.  And since duck is such a natural with ‘asian’ flavourings like soy, ginger, anise etc, there needs to be at least one course that goes in that direction.  The duck fingers with wild ginger sauce below (or nuggets as Melinda coined them) was the result – and a staff favourite so far..

Muscovy duck supreme and fried duck fingers with wild ginger sauce, salsfis sprouts and sesame couscous

Besides a Ferme Morgan’s supreme pan-roasted with a fruity-spicy sauce of some sort, definite musts on the menu, too decadent and delicious to pass on, are duck fat potatoes and the cracklings made from the skin.  I once served these as an amuse with the aperitif, bad idea! Everyone ate way too many of them. That’s another preferred snack among the waitresses that I have to keep an eye on, ‘Ca goutte le ciel, as Julie says. 

To wind down the feast, there are inevitably duck egg desserts; one using the luxurious yolks, the other riffing on the springy whites.  Watch out, these protein-rich whites make a surprisingly airy meringue! 

As you can see, the possibilities with duck are endless.  And with this cold weather, duck is just what the doctor ordered.

Here are some easy recipes (below) in case you are inspired to cook up some of this local-heart healthy meat over the winter. 

Now that many duck products are quite widely available – duck stock, duck fat, confit duck, smoked duck etc.., there is no need for you to get into tricky stuff like charcuterie, making consommé, rendering fat even how to confit duck legs or making stock to enjoy a gourmet meal. It’s ok if you leave that time-consuming, messy stuff to us - the producers, chefs and butchers, the duck store (Le Canard Libéré on St-Laurent)..

Of course, you can always go all out and treat yourself to the ultimate ‘duck’ experience at Les Jardins Sauvages!  Until February 3^rd..

Duck recipes

Duck confit salad with ‘chimichurri’

6 p

Ingredients

3L                                             wild/mixed greens (or romaine, watercress, endive)

400g                                         cooked confit duck gizzards and hearts (or confit duck leg meat)

100g                                         smoked duck magret, julienne

300g (1)                                    potato (cubes)

250ml                                       duck fat

120ml                                       vinaigrette ‘chimichurri’ sauvage (spicy garlic and wild herb vinaigrette)*

100ml                                       pickled mushrooms

2                                              scallions, chopped

au goût                                     mushroom salt  (or sea salt) & pepper

Method :

Heat duck fat in sturdy pot and add potato; cook gently on stovetop or in oven for 30min.  Drain, season and finish in oven on baking sheet to crisp up.

Prepare greens (wash and dry, tear or chop).

Reheat the gizzards in some duck fat gently, or if in a vacuum pack, by submerging it in hot water 5min. 

Toss the greens with scallions and half the vinaigrette, adding more vinaigrette and seasoning to taste.

Serve warm gizzards and potatoes on top.  Garnish with smoked duck and pickled mushrooms.

*A garlicky red wine vinaigrette I make (and we sell) with wild garlic, chilli and a bunch of wild herbs (sea parsley, lovage, crinkleroot, garlic mustard leaf, bee balm..); could be replaced with any punchy vinaigrette that is sharp and slightly sweet with added herbs and garlic.

Duck Caesar salad with crinkleroot

6 p

Ingredients

3L                                             wild/mixed greens (romaine, endive, watercress)

100g                                         smoked duck magret, julienne

2c                                             day old bread (cubes)

60ml                                         duck fat

                                                wild herb salt (or sea salt)

                                                chopped herbs of choice

100g                                         Capra or aged cheese of choice (that grates well)

2                                              scallions, chopped

20ml                                         pickled daisy buds or capers    

Crinkleroot Caesar dressing:

2tsp each                                  minced garlic and crinkleroot

50ml                                         minced anchovy (3-4)

3                                              egg yolks

1tsp                                          crinkleroot mustard or Dijon

30ml                                         white wine vinegar/lemon juice

30ml                                         pickled daisy buds

60ml                                         grapeseed oil

60ml                                         EVO

                                                salt, pepper

                                                Tabasco, Worchestershire

                                                Extra lemon to taste

Make croutons by tossing bread in rendered duck fat, season with salt and dried herbs, cook in oven at 350F for 15-20min or until golden and crunchy.

Make vinaigrette by mixing ingredients in a blender.  Or combine yolks, garlic and mustard, half of lemon juice and slowly whisk in grapeseed oil.  Add rest of lemon juice and continue with olive oil.  Thin with a touch of oil or water to desired consistency.  Season to taste.

Toss greens with half of vinaigrette, some of the cheese, s&p; adding more vinaigrette to taste.  Plate salad and top with smoked duck, croutons and remaining cheese.  Sprinkle extra daisy buds around. 

Pan-seared duck supreme with elderberry/flower sauce

6 p

Ingredients

2 (1kg)                                      duck supremes, skin side scored; filets kept for another use (Terrine, Jerky or Fried duck)

2                                              shallots, thinly sliced

                                                thyme, peppercorn

20g                                           butter

100ml                                       honeywine or cider

500ml                                       duck stock

250ml                                       elderberries (or fruit/berry of choice, fresh or frozen)

10g (2Tbsp)                               elderflower (or peppercorn, juniper or rosemary)

                                                s&p

cornstarch slurry

* In a sauce for duck, I like to combine something fruity and something spicy/herbal added later; instead of elderberry/flower combo, could be apple (1c chopped whole) and rosemary 2-3 sprigs, blackberry and juniper or raspberry and peppercorn...

Method:

Make sauce base: In a medium sauce pot, slowly caramelise shallots in a bit of butter/oil, add thyme and peppercorn and deglaze with wine, reduce down.  Add duck stock and elderberries (or berry of choice).  Simmer for at least 20min, allowing to reduce slowly.  Add elderflower (or rosemary/juniper/herbs of choice) and let sit 5min.  Strain.

Trim excess fat of duck supremes if necessary.  With Muscovy, it isn’t necessary, but with Moulard or Pekin sometimes; you don’t want more than ½-1 cm/1/4”.  So that there is some crispy but not too much flabby fat at end.  Scoring with a knife helps the fat render/even cooking.

Heat sauté pan to med-high heat.  Season duck supremes and add to pan skin side down (with no added fat).  Once you start to see color, turn down to med or lower and cook for 8-10min.  You want a slow caramelisation while rendering as much excess fat as possible.  Pour off rendered fat a few times during the cooking. Flip and cook for 2-3min.  Ideal is medium-rare. Rest in a warm place for 10min before slicing.

Degrease pan and pour in sauce base.  Bring to a simmer season to taste, thicken to desired consistency with cornstarch slurry if desired (maybe 1Tbsp), swirl in butter. 

Slice duck breast as thinly as possible against the grain of the meat, serve with sauce.  Suggested accompaniments: Root vegetables, mushrooms, wild rice..

Duck jerky

6 p

Ingredients

8 (450g)                                    duck filets (tenderloin) or one duck breast fat removed, sliced in 6x1.5cm thick strips

20g (1 Tbsp)                              brown sugar

5g (scant tsp)                            coarse salt

1g ea (generous pinch)               pepper, smoked paprika, steak spice

.5g ea (small pinch)                    cumin, thyme, oregano

big squirt ea                              soy sauce/tamari

small squirt                               worchestershire

Method:

Toss with seasonings.  Refrigerate overnight.  Pat dry and put in a 200F on a rack in oven for 2hrs or until desired texture (dry and chewy, still sliceable).

Eat as a snack as is or slice up to garnish a salad, sandwich or canapé.  Keep in fridge.

Baked duck egg with mushroom, smoked duck and tomato

6 p

Ingredients

6                                              duck eggs

30ml                                         olive oil

200g                                         wild mushrooms (or cultivated), chopped

2                                              french shallots, minced

15ml                                         butter

                                                s&p

drops                                        lemon juice or cider vinegar/sherry vinegar

100ml                                       heavy cream

5ml                                           mushroom oil (and/or a few drops of truffle oil)

                                                s&p

60g                                           smoked duck, julienne

200ml                                       chopped tomato

50ml                                         chopped chives and/or parsley

pinch                                        sugar, s&p, hot sauce

Method:

Sauté mushrooms in olive oil over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes; add butter and shallots, turn down to med/low and stew for 10 minutes; season.

Mix cream with mushroom oil (and/or a few drops of truffle oil), season.

Into buttered individual ramekins (4oz), divide mushroom mixture to cover bottom.  Crack an egg into each one.  Top with a tablespoon or two of cream mixture to cover.

Cook in a 325F oven for 15-20min until just set but still giggly.

Meanwhile prepare tomato salsa garnish.  Add a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper to chopped tomato with fresh herbs and a bit of olive oil or mushroom oil, hot sauce to taste.

Serve ramekins of egg topped with salsa and smoked duck julienne.

Fried duck fingers with wild ginger sauce

6 p

Ingredients

12                                             duck filets

1/2c                                          pastry flour (or half flour and cornstarch)

50ml                                         plain yogurt

Marinade:

50ml                                         soy sauce

50ml                                         maple syrup

30ml                                         lime juice

30ml                                         wild ginger mustard

5ml                                           toasted sesame oil

1tsp ea                                     curry, five spice

                                                hot pepper sauce (Sambal or Siracha)

Sauce:

2                                              shallots, thinly sliced

1tsp ea                                     minced garlic, wild ginger         

2c                                             duck stock

2                                              sprigs thyme

1Tbsp±                                      cornstarch slurry

30ml                                         butter

Method:

Cut duck filets into 1” thick slivers (in 3).

Mix together marinade ingredients.  Use half to season the duck filets, tossing to coat evenly with the yogurt.

Set aside for at least 20 min (or in the fridge hours or overnight).

Make sauce: slowly caramelise shallots in some butter. Add garlic and ginger, sauté a few minutes and add the rest of marinade. Deglaze with stock, reduce down by 1/3.  Add thyme and coriander.  Keep reducing another 5min to approximately half, tasting along the way.  Rectify seasoning, use a little cornstarch slurry to thicken to desired consistency. To finish sauce, strain and swirl in butter off heat.  Keep warm.

Pull duck from marinade, pat dry and coat with pastry flour.  Fry duck by either deep frying at 350F for 2-3min or by pan-frying in a skillet with a good slick of hot vegetable or peanut oil for 3-4min (1-2 min each side). Remove onto paper towels, and serve with sauce.  You can always coat the fried duck in sauce General Tao style but I prefer it separate. 

Suggested accompaniments: rice, sautéed mushrooms and mustard greens, or rice noodles, lettuce, red pepper, bean sprouts, coriander and mint.. Could be finger food too!

Late Harvests

Yes, it’s getting cold out, but there are still goodies being harvested here!

crosneJewel-like little crosnes and knobby jerusalem artichokes, both a bitch to clean, but worth the effort.

Still alive in the garden are the hardy herbs like thyme and rosemary, as well as beautiful chard and sorrel that isn’t bitter at all..  My trusty favourite wild daisy greens are always available, and the last of the wild mint must be picked before the river rises too high..

daisy

From the woods, there is still a trickle of late autumn shrooms from around here, yellowfoot chanterelles from the Gaspesie..

Another big batch of ultra ripe and fragrant juniper berries just picked on the north shore – I’ve never seen juniper berries this good.. They cry out to be treated like a berry-fruit as opposed to a berry-spice. 

juniper berries

With the growing season coming to an end, and the mushroom festival behind us, now it’s about playing catch up,  preparing for the winter and most importantly, tackling my Christmas cooking.

Hubbard and Potiron

I need to finish the wild grapes, which get transformed into coulis, concentrate and our ‘balsamic’.  I have a beautiful mountain of winter squash that has been patiently waiting to be processed. And then, it’s time to focus on the meat. 

Two weeks until the X-mas markets open, which means an increased demand for all my braised dishes, charcuteries, soups and sauces.. As well as all our Christmas specialties like game tourtieres, turkey mushroom pot-pies, cassoulet and mushroom desserts – all with a touch of wild.. 

As of November, our customers naturally shift from the fresh produce to what’s put up, comforting and ready to eat.  We sell a lot of soup and stew.  Then in December, it’s fancy but homey festive food to share and gift bags that people want.  Oh, and ketchup!

For one month a year, my kitchen turns into a production kitchen for stuffed birds, pies, cassoulet, foie gras, terrines and the like..  I pull out my sarriette (savoury), which I only seem to use at this time of year. My soup pot is on a constant simmer, aromas of duck fat and quatre épices in the air, Christmas music in the background..  Now, all that is missing is the snow on the ground and I’ll really be in the mood.    

Holiday cooking is fun stuff, but like everything we seem to do, labour intensive.  For the tourtiere for instance, I need to first make the duck confit (which takes several days), breakdown and clean the venison then braise it, grind the other meat, make and roll the dough – it’s a week long process altogether.  Same for the cassoulet which also relies on confit and some serious pig work before starting (ie. breakdown pig, brine and smoke ham, braise shoulder, make sausage and bacon)..  Time to get to work.

Chop, chop!

I just finished my first week end with my new partner, he's pretty cool. Actually, he’s definitely more of a she.  I have yet to see whether this Kikuichi will replace my beloved Mac whom I miss terribly. He just disappeared one day, I don’t understand.  I waited a month before looking for a replacement; now, I’m ready to move on.

She feels good in my hand and is sharp as all get out, but is perhaps a touch delicate for a brute like me. She seems less versatile too, more of a slicer than a chopper.  I’m not sure she's cut out to be my number one.  You see, I am not the sort of gadget girl who is reaching into my knife kit everytime I change tasks; I like a knife that I don’t have to put down much, that isn’t too fussy, that I can use for almost everything, that feels natural like an extension of my arm.  So understandably, I take this relationship seriously, get pretty attached to my right hand man (or whatever), my partner in life.

We'll give it a go with the Kikuichi, but she'll probably need help eventually and I'll have to go back to the boys. Not necessarily European, but I’m always looking for the perfect mix, kind of like Mac.  I love so many Japanese blades, but they all have unwieldy long handles I don't dig, not to mention that they are often not tough enough, high maintenance, too girly.

Although there is no doubt that we’re still riding peak season at Les Jardins Sauvages, I guess it’s time to admit that the 'summer of summers' is now officially over..

now, less of this And more of this: cleaning & cooking mushrooms

The season change notably creeps in before we’re ready, and the calendar date passes while we’re still in summer mode.  It only feels real a week or two later.. When my soups get heartier and a hot app naturally replaces a salad on my menu.  When bread making becomes more manageable and my chef jacket is a welcome layer on top of my camisole.  When fresh wild flowers become hard to find for the table tops.. When there is more brown than green hitting my pantry.  When my favourite spot outside the kitchen moves from the river (or terrasse) to next to fireside.  Yup, time to shift modes, bundle up and focus on the mushrooms, maybe chop some wood.

less of this: salad with wild greens and flower petalsmore of this: Piglet two ways, wilted wild greens and mushroom jus I do adore the seasons.  I’m nonetheless always sorry to see one close, simultaneously feeling excited about the next one moving in, with all its novel spendour and contrasts, familiar comforts and certain surprises in store.

Looking back, summer 2012 was indeed beautiful, but!  For sure, the lamest for wild edibles I’ve seen since I embarked on this adventure with François.  No problem if you have all day/week and are foraging for your family dinner alone..  It was a struggle for anything green, not much better for the tasty toadstools.  Only the tomatoes and peaches seemed to flourish.  The non-wild revelation of the summer: these micro tomatoes François planted in our garden!  (one of the original heirloom varieties from Mexico)

Thankfully, in certain regions like the Gaspesie and further north, there was enough rain and alternate sunny weather for decent wild harvests.  It's a good thing that François has built a network of pickers across the province over the years, people he met on his travels and trained, or others - knowledgable kindred spirits he formed a partnership with..  To think back to the day when he had to be everywhere or miss out, living out of his truck and tent, picking everything himself!

In his primary foraging/family territory - the Outaouis and here in the Lanaudière, the blackberries dried before ripening, blueberries, and raspberries the same; the mushrooms were sparse.  This was definitely not a chanterelle year, for instance.   Normally, I cross the bridge and see mushrooms everywhere, not this year.  We had to hunt far and wide.  And when found, they were often piqué (worm infested) before anyone could get to them in numbers. The BC and foreign suppliers certainly did well on the Quebec market this year.  Those seeking out local mushrooms were all over François and his team at Marché Jean Talon; we couldn’t keep up. Which also means I hardly got my fair share of summer varieties at the resto/workshop.

airelles de marécage/airelles (cote nord)

chanterelles en tubes/yellowfoot chanterelle beauties polypore soufré/chicken mushroom

So, a thousand pounds in maybe, not counting what François sold at market.  Last year, I had processed over a ton by now, 2 tons by Oct - be it cleaned and dehydrated, with a first cooking and sous-vide, or pickled, put up somehow.  I’ve had an easy summer, hence the tan.  Only working 50-60hr weeks on average, mother nature didn’t make as many of her extraordinary demands with regular relentless abundance in short spurts, less cross over.  I got to deal with a couple of weeds/berries/greens at a time, usually keeping up despite my meagre staffing.   We nailed all our basics from the pickled buds, cattails in all forms, sea parsely pesto and sousvide sea spinach, all the flowers/greens for the tisane and sirops, just enough berries for my jams/coulis/vinaigrettes etc.  I managed to do quite a bit of preserves with the cultivated stuff too (peas, corn, tomatoes in many forms - ketchup, hot sauce, ratatouille..)

Not quite the mushroom nirvana I’ve grown accustomed to thanks to my forager of foragers, I couldn’t help but spend the last leg of the summer worrying..  Would I have enough for our monster mushroom festival and for all our products year-round?  A constant juggling game, I would certainly have to regroup and make do with what I have, reconfigure our products, ditch label inventory $$, oh the joys of the wild life in business..

cepe 

Lactaire à l'odeur d'érable/Maple scented lactarius

Then there was the most welcome surprise - a formidable harvest of Amanite des Césars, the king of mushrooms and a rarity here.  Even in France, where it is prized above all varieties, it is a rare treat to see more than a pound, especially like these..  François definitely impressed some mushroom snobs this year in a bad mushroom year no less..  For our tenth anniversary, we will have this noble shroom on our mushroom menu for the first time.

bebe amanite des césars

And there is hope yet across the board - this past week was fantastic, the best of the year yet.  Cepes & Lactaires Délicieux are sprouting in the backyard.  The shrooms are coming in from all our pickers at a faster pace by the day and I’m managing to cover with less staff than in prior years.  We processed 200lb this weekend alone and there is a major line up for the dehydrator and my time.  Gorgeous yellowfoot chanterelles and hedgehogs!  Came across a good amount of a variety of small hedgehog (pied de mouton ombeliqué) that is a fun novelty.  A pretty stellar year for that rare maple scented Lactarius too, probably not enough to sell but sufficient for my restaurant needs.  A trickle of armilaires and matsutake, hoping for more..  Lactaires Delicieux, Puffballs and autumn cepes, slippery jacks and Larch boletes showing up on schedule here, weehoo.  Some beefsteak polypore a bonus!  The autumn oysters, smooth lepiota and shaggy mane will be next, fingers crossed.

pied de mouton/hedgehog, nice harvest from Gaspesie getting better by the day

pied de mouton ombeliquéarmillaire ventru/swollen stalked cat

She just might catch up that tricky dame nature.  And I will have no choice but to follow..  Which is fine; I am now used to responding to her whims, and it so happens that cooks looking for work appear to be coming out of the woodwork as they magically do in fall.  Forever grateful even if I have to scramble and go into overdrive this autumn season.  Let a new set of games begin!  Countdown to our mushroom festival Oct 12-28!

Beefsteak PolyporeHen of the woods, a favourite for a braise or to pickleshaggy mane; best when young (same day), no dark color - in soup autumn oyster (or elm oyster; although it grows on maple)another slimy/hard to work bolet that pays off in the dehydratorLarch bolete - one of the best flavourwise but it's a pain to clean (and expensive with 5% yield after drying).

Smooth Lepiota - to be picked with caution because it looks a lot like dangerous varieties like 'the destroying angel'

At les Jardins Sauvages, we are celebrating Canada Food Day Saturday, August 4^th!.

This is a national ‘holiday’ celebrating local food and good eating.  On the same day, across the country, both chefs and home cooks (whole villages even) will be simultaneously feasting on menus composed of fresh and local products while raising a glass to our rich and diverse culinary landscape.  Organized by Anita Stewart, acclaimed food writer and long time proponent of Canadian food, she has lots of great people and restaurants on board, check it out.. www.fooddaycanada.ca.

Of course, my menu is always focused on local, artisanal and wild foods, but I love this initiative.  We should be eating like this year round both for our health and happiness, as well as for the land.  I like the idea of fostering national and regional culinary pride, and I am all for another reason to get together over good food and wine, one day at a time.  At the height of the growing season, every meal is so easily a celebration, so why not join in!  

Our food day menu can be viewed below or at www.jardinssauvages.com

To reserve, please call 450-588-5125

Les Jardins Sauvages Menu

*Canada Food day* August 4th

Wild & stuffed garden vegetables, fresh goat cheese and day lily - bee balm pesto

with sea parsley and garlic mustard leaf, smoked lobster mushroom and pickled daisy buds

Hot’n sour duck soup with wild ginger and organic guinea fowl,

Maitake mushroom, sea plantago, buckwheat noodles,

basil and coriander from the garden

 Sea spinach, sea rocket  and sea asparagus salad with Canadian sandspurry

and lady’s sorrel, fried sturgeon and eel brandade, Nordic shrimp, crinkleroot dressing

Venison from the farm, bolete and sarsaparilla pan sauce,

mushroom oil potato parmentier with venison sausage, chanterelles and corn,

mustard greens, cattail spear

Option : Québec cheese plate, Selections from La Suisse Normande

(100g for two; 7.50$ supplement per person)

Wild blackberry and blueberry tartlet with sweet clover flower frangipane,

elderberry panna cotta, milkweed flower jelly and granité 

Tea, coffee

Wild leaf tisane, 3$ supplement

Bring your own wine

75.00$, taxes included, service extra

Your host and forager :  François Brouillard

Your chef : Nancy Hinton

Nous célébrons ‘Canada Food Day’, la Journée des Terroirs, à la table des Jardins Sauvages Samedi le 4 Aout, 2012.

Ce jour, à travers le Canada, comme à toutes les années depuis 2003, c’est la fête des produits du terroir. L'idée c'est de créer un menu mettant en valeur de beaux produits de chez nous, bien manger et célébrer la richesse culinaire Canadienne (et Québécoise) - ensemble les chefs dans les restaurants avec leurs clients, et les gens au BBQ à la maison.  Cet événement est organisé par Anita Stewart, une grande doyenne de cuisine Canadienne. www.fooddaycanada.ca

C'est certain que mon menu est toujours basé sur les produits locaux, artisanales et sauvages, mais je trouve cela une belle initiative.  A la hauteur de la saison, c’est si facile de manger frais, d’embarquer les gens et les sensibiliser à la façon la plus saine et joyeuse de se nourrir..  En plus, une fête de plus au tour des plaisirs de la table - pourquoi pas?

Vous pouvez visionner mon menu ici en bas ou www.jardinssauvages.com

Pour réserver, SVP appelez 450-588-5125

Menu du 4 Août

 *Canada Food day; Journée des Terroirs*

Petits farcis au fromage frais de chèvre et pesto de pétales d’hémérocalles, monarde,

alliaire et persil de mer, champignon Lobster fumé, boutons de marguerite marinés

Bouillon de canard à l’orientale au gingembre sauvage, pintade bio,

Maitake, plantain marin, nouilles de sarrasin, basilic et coriandre du jardin

Salade marine et sauvage : brandade d’esturgeon et anguille fumé,

crevettes nordiques, arroche de mer et salicorne, spergulaire et oxalis, vinaigrette carcajou

Cerf du domaine, sauce aux bolets et à la salsepareille,

Parmentier à l’huile de bolets, saucisse de cerf maison,

maïs et chanterelles, feuilles de moutarde, épis de quenouille

Option : Assiette de fromages de la région,

(100g pour deux; supplément de 7.50$ par pers.)

Clafouti aux mures et bleuets sauvages avec frangipane aux fleurs de mélilot,

panna cotta au sureau, gelée et granité aux fleurs d’asclépiade

Thé, café

Tisane maison (supplément de 3$)

Apportez votre vin

75.00$ taxes incluses, service en sus

Votre hôte et spécialiste de plantes sauvages: François Brouillard

 Votre chef : Nancy Hinton

quenouilles (cattails)epis de quenouille (cattail spears) - raw and peeled

farine de quenouille-pollen (cattail pollen flower)

True to our annual summer routine at Les Jardins Sauvage, life is all about trying to keep up with the wild plants as they successively come into season whenever they damn well feel like it.  

This year is not so different; many July edibles showed up early making for somewhat of a pile-up in putting up/production, but an extraordinary abundance and variety for those dining at the restaurant or frequenting our market stall. 

Once the spring things were out of the way, it was all about pickling the daisy buds and soonafter the day lily buds, then it was cattail time.

Or 'Operation Quenouille' as we call it - For a couple of weeks every year, we are entirely consumed with cattails.  There is an unpredictable short window to pick the baby spears you see..  We peel thousands, blanch and sous vide them for the year.  Everyone on staff is peeling day in day out, every spare moment.  Then it's the pollen, which is dried and ground after harvesting.  That is hard picking work given this corresponds with peak mosquito season - those responsible are all glad it only lasts a couple of days.  In the kitchen, a fine yellow dust covers everything no matter how carefully we work.  Blow your nose at home at the end of the day - yellow!  Well worth it though; the spears provide a fun local vegetable that you eat like corncob or pogo, and it tastes like corn, with a touch of mushroom and asparagus.  Makes a great umami rich vegetarian broth too.  We use the pollen in crepe batter mostly, but it can season and thicken stuffings, go into quick breads and cheese.  I like to dust savoury fritters with it.     

Monarde (Bee balm)Duo de lapin, ortie & monarde, épautre, pousses d'hémérocalles Bee balm is a favourite of ours.  So pretty and punchy, it is more than a colourful garnish; with its thyme like mentholy flavor, it is used more like an herb.  To flavour or garnish soups, salads, butter, cheese, sauces, meatballs..  We also dry it and use it in our tisane.

Arroche de mer (Sea spinach)

Sea spinach is my absolute favourite, like super duper spinach, a notch up from Chou gras (pigweed/lambs quarters), which is also a great, under-appreciated weed.  Terrific in salad, even better barely cooked, just wilted with garlic and olive oil or butter.  Arroche was definitely a key wild green in our courtship (when I first met François and he was charming me with all his exotic ingredients).  We sell and serve up a lot of this fresh in season, but we also blanch and sous-vide a big batch for the year, and we dry some for our salt.

Caquiller de mer (Sea rocket)

Salicorne (sea asparagus)More sea greens, both very popular at the market.  Sea rocket is like sturdy, salty arugula, to be eaten in salad or cooked.  Not much needs to be said about sea asparagus which is more widely known, being so lovable, crunchy and salty.  Especially ours in peak season, which is picked in the perfect micro-climate, extra special

.achillee millefeuille (common yarrow)

Yarrow is everywhere and a mildly interesting herb that we add to our mix.  We also dry it for tisane.  It is known for all its medicinal qualities (cold, wounds..).  The flowers are especially medecinal, so kept for that.

Wild rose petals - one of the most pleasant things to pick, dry or cook!  So fragrant and fresh smelling/tasting.  We dry a load for our tisane, make syrup and use them in infusions for desserts (juices, coulis, granité).  Interesting in savoury preparations too.  The fruit, however difficult to work with all its seeds, has a characteristic soft flavour and mouthfeel unlike anything else, ultra high in Vitamin C, somewhere between a tomato and an apricot in taste.  Claudie (Jardins de la Mer), our marine green girl, makes a fabulous juice combined with elderflower that is my preferred non-alcholic beverage.  Not yet readily available yet outside the Lower St-Lawrence, but something to look forward to.

Spergulaire is another marine green that grows amidst the salicorne and arroche - it is sparse, and hard to find/pick efficiently but it is delicious - tasting like beets, but delicate fresh and crunchy.  Sea plantain is kind of blah to me, in that it does not have much character, but mild is fine sometimes too.  It is good chopped up in the mesclun or cooked as a side vegetable.  The best preparation to me is blanched and served up like green spaghetti sans gluten!

Sea parsley, the marine sister to the wild lovage on our property, tastes like floral, slightly salty celery, and is key in my kitchen.  We make a pesto with it, we dry it for our salt, make an infused oil,  and it is integral to my chimichurri.  I use it everywhere year round.

While all the marine greens are peaking and François is on the road alot, our backyard is orange.  Fields of day lily yell out for the taking.  Once the sprouts and buds (which are a terrific vegetable) are done, it's petal time.  They are best freshly picked and raw in salads or as a garnish, but given the quantity we have readily available, we do a lot more.  Of course it takes someone to pick them, but it's impossible to not be sustainable..  I've dried a hundred gallon buckets or so of petals for our tisane and put up half that much in pesto.  Delicately floral, even more vegetal-fresh tasting, I make butter with it, as well as use it in preparations to accompany fish, poultry or cheese. 

Melilot (sweet clover) is a flower I use more like a spice.  It is dried and pulverised to be incorporated into pie dough, cookies..  Most other flowers I prefer to use infused and in the fresh state, but not this one.  It is potent and due to coumarine content,should be used carefully.

églantier (wild rose)foraging in the worst weatherspergulaire (Canadian sandspurry)plantain marin (sea plantago)persil de mer (sea parsley)sablinesalade d'aroche de mer & hémérocalle, salsa de tomate, concombre et champignons marinés au carcajou, feta de chevreour field of day lilymaking petal pestoplantain=green spaghetti 

fleurs d'asclépiade (milkweed flower)

brocoli d'asclépiade (milkweed brocoli) - the unopened flowermarguerite (daisy) - past the point when we use them, but pretty none the lessPickling pounds of daisy buds

pourpier (purselane) - another hearty weed worth adding to your salad plate - lemony! chougras vs arroche de mer (pigweed/lambs quarters vs. sea spinach) framboises noir (black raspberries)vesce jargeau (tufted vetch)mélilot blanc (sweet clover flower)tilleuil (linden flower)

tartelette au fleurs de mélilot et creme de citron-sureau, gelée et sorbet aux fraises aux fleurs d'asclépiade40+ cases of little bud packed jars, ouf

Milkweed flower deserves special mention, because it is so fragrant and particular, quite common and unknown.  I love to pair it with wild berries or any fruit - in infusions, so jelly, granité, sorbet etc.  What a pretty garnish too!  It's hard to believe that they are the next stage in the plant's lifecycle after the milkweed brocoli, which is 100% vegetable.  Important to be picked early, well washed and cooked through in lots of water, I typically blanch it for 5min before proceeding with a number of treatments, the most winner being tempura.

Linden is flowering now, and although beyond the leaves in spring, this hasn't been something we've taken the time to exploit; I figure now is the time - the heady accacia like aroma is seductive.  Slightly fibrous, I can't imagine using them as is, more likely infused or dried and pulverized..

The sumac ripening shows promise, and our garden of cultivated things is overflowing, which means that the mushrooms are not far off.  A few bolets and chanterelles have been spotted, but until this dry weather lets up, there won't be much going on.  As we know very well, it can all change in a few days..  Better get as many marine greens in as possible and make sure we have our flowers for the tisane, get going going on the berries.  Laitue de mer, check.  Because soon enough François will have to let all the rest go and focus on the mushrooms.  More madness to follow! our dehyrdrator is working overtimesumac, not quite ready but local lemonade is not far off

It smells like summer with the heady aroma of acacia blossoms in the air!  It’s quite amazing how much olfactory pleasure that one tree in front of my kitchen delivers for one week a year.  I feel the need to put them in my new dessert, naturally paired with the beautiful strawberries in season, but damn I already have my spruce tip syrup burning a hole in my fridge for that.  I know that summer is here when I have too many beautiful ingredients to possibly cram onto one menu.

I have to say that for once, as I move from my spring menu to summer’s first, I feel completely in sync with mother nature.  Right on schedule, in tune with the natural break from one group of wild edibles to the next; my menu and production plan is ready to shift to the call of the summer plants showing up, letting the spring ones fade off.  François says it’s already like July out there with respect to certain varieties, but all in all, this year feels relatively ‘normal’ to me, mosquitoes and all..

Regardless of what it looks like outside weather wise - if there is dame’s rocket everywhere or if the nettle is 5ft tall, spring is only really over for me when the fiddlehead rush is done and I’ve put up enough fiddleheads, crinkleroot and ramps for the year..  And by then, the wonderful salad greens of spring are gone without having had proper time to kiss them goodbye. 

spring greens with confit duck hearts, smoked duck, violet, wild grape balsamic

Once the tree cover is in, the sprouts that make for an abundant spring mesclun disappear.  François scurries from one regional micro-climate to another in order to extend the window of spring bounty until it’s absolutely over.  The salad bowl takes on a different hue without the spring beauty, trout lily and linden, losing some bite without the dandelion, less garlic mustard leaf and crinkleroot leaf. Out with the violets, in with the dame’s rocket.. Daisy leaves assume a more important role along with the stonecrop that is still good picking in shady spots.  The first sea peas and salsify sprouts have arrived to liven up the mix too.  Some lady sorrel for lemony surprise.  There are baby lambs quarters and soon the marine greens from the Bas du Fleuve will be the green stars.  In the wild, spring is salad season; in summer, you have to work harder. 

I managed to not miss out on the spruce tips this year (never a priority, but yay), so I candied some and made a delightful bonus syrup, which will go into granite and semi-freddo with the first berries and surely some sweetgrass, alongside a wild ginger chocolate babycake.   

Now I’m in the process of drying stinging nettle for tisane, blanching and vacuum packing it for soup and pesto.  With 60cases of fiddleheads done, it’s just about time to resume canning - the next big operation will be pickling daisy buds, and following that, day lily buds.  Throughout, we will be harvesting the various flowers to make syrup and to dry for our tisane and line of aromates/spices.  Then it will be milkweed, cattails, bee balm and day lily petals, the berries and mushrooms.  So much to do before the mushroom onslaught..

It’s one thing after another in our race with nature, as our dehydrator starts working round the clock, me and my staff not far behind..  My pots and pans too busy for anything else like protest marches.  Meanwhile François’s field crew has a bit of a breather after spring (their hardest season) and before the next big thing, as they work on pulling out bad weeds instead of picking good weeds, planting herbs and other treats for our garden.  Yes, gardening is akin to vacation time for the pickers of wild things! We aren’t completely sauvage; we like to have the other stuff too that are indispensible or might like to grow here - say tomatoes, onions and garlic, bee balm, chard, romaine, peppers, crosnes, and pears..

Ok, so this is another non-food related post.  I better watch out, I might just lose my following.. 

The funny thing is that I still spend most of my time cooking up a storm, and I remain just as enamoured with the kitchen and wild edibles, but I guess it’s become just so normal and day to day that as time goes by, I seldom think to take photos or write about it.  I was all about doing that five years ago.   I will get back to it no doubt – no choice but be all consumed by cooking and putting up the wild stuff as the season takes hold..  But for now, I'm still all about the witch tricks..   And some of you asked for recipes, so here goes.  Following up on my last post http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2012/4/14/almost-a-witch.html

 my burgeoning laboratory

Some recipes and tricks from my witch’s den

(g means goutte=drop, not gram)

I apologise in advance for common names as opposed to Latin, not to mention French and English mixed.. It’s my way, how my Quebec mind works, true to the fact that my blog is for fun, not a reference for every other budding witchdoctor out there.. While I am careful (about the true name in one language or another) and honest, I don’t need or want to feel the need to be technical..  If you have questions about a certain term/plant/essential oil, you can do your research and/or contact me.

Cold medicine: I felt cold symptoms coming on and started taking a mild combo of essential oils; it seems that I kept the bug at bay and killed it; I didn’t get sick.  I haven’t yet had to pull out the strong ones (oregano, clove etc), just a bit of cinnamon.

• Infusion of wild ginger, tusselage, thé du Labrador, ortie, eglantier, sureau, in cinnamon water or even just water (50ml)
• Honey (30ml)
• Essential oils of best quality (1tsp or 25 drops): 15 g citron, 5g tea tree, 3g peppermint, 2g cannelle vraie

This is taken like cough syrup, a teaspoon 3x a day or when needed.

You can make a diluted version and vaporize (spray to the back of the throat) more often.

I also made a more concentrated version with only the oils diluted in olive oil (20% or 3 drops in 1/2tsp), and this can be taken as medicine (1/2tsp,  3x day with meals).  This same mixture can be applied onto neutral orme(elm) tablets (1-2 drops per pastille) and taken that way instead, convenient on the road/not at home say.

On the side, it is optimal to eat lots of garlic and onions (I prefer this to rubbing my feet and thorax with garlic and onion juice or sticking garlic cloves into orifices, although this is said to be quite effective)..

Burns:

I burned myself badly in the kitchen.. Yes, even after close to 20yrs as a professional cook, it still happens regularly.  So, I dunked my hand in ice cold water (as usual), then plunged in a cider vinegar bath a few times before bandaging..  It seems that the cider vinegar worked miracles -  no bubbles, no scar, pretty cool.  Apparently dipping in egg works well too, which is convenient in the case of a digit, not so much for a whole hand – I wasn’t going to crack open a dozen eggs.  Honey is supposed to help heal too.

Cuts:

Last week, a waitress cut herself wiping glasses.  We disinfected with cider vinegar (ideally diluted with some distilled water); to stop bleeding, we sprinkled the cut with black pepper or even better cayenne.  In season (soon!), smashed up plantain would have been a great help.  I made her a cream to help healing/diminish scarring with sauge, lavender aspic, bois de rose, geranium in a mix of calendula oil and argan/jojoba (5%).

Poison Ivy/bug bites/damaged hands/athlete’s foot:

I sent my dishwasher/commis out to pick some flowers and garlic, he came back with poison ivy.  In fact, we didn’t know until days later when he had welts all over his body, obviously having spread it by scratching.  François went out to pick the neighbouring plant that is a natural antidote (impatiente du cap), which you chop into a paste (or Robot coup is best) and spread all over.  I also made him a mix of diluted cider vinegar with Lavender and tea tree.  This is a mix I now keep in the kitchen for all burns, wounds – it’s a natural antiseptic, calming agent and proponent for healing. The same mix is good to clean dirty, damaged hands after a day of picking, getting scratched and cut and bitten while covered in dirt .  BTW Also perfect for athlete’s foot (on a daily basis), or simply to add to a foot bath or to apply to feet for refreshment or against stinky feet..

My boosters - Tonics for all round better function

No need for vitamins and mineral supplements with these, I figure..

I have made two tisane potions, one for day and one for night.  Concentrates that I dilute with water to drink – typically cold during the day and hot at night.  Bring water to a boil, turn off, throw in fresh and/or dried greens and herbs.  Let steep an hour or two, even overnight; strain and jar.  In the day potion, there is  stinging nettle, achilee millefeuille, peppermint, elderflower, wild ginger, lovage, thyme, black pepper, juniper, fennel, coriander, basil and more.. I kept the night mix simpler and free of stimulants: heavy on Labrador tea and camomile, with some wintergreen, wild rose, and of course stinging nettle..

I can’t say how much they might help anyone, but I made them taste good, with a pinch of this and that like when cooking.  The idea is less formally ‘nutraceutical’ but just a pleasant drink to replace juice, pop or wine that happens to be ultra healthy. Based on what I have learned, they are packed with nutrients and compounds that help all round digestive and immune function, stress and mood too, in my day blend especially. 

All fine and well, but I still have to get used to drinking tisane outside sitting down for ‘tea’, I mean at any time of day, naturally craving and reaching for it before any of my other customary liquids.  As the weather heats up, I do like a good homemade unsweetened ice tea, so I’ll be ready.

A few of my favourite concoctions that I truly love, perhaps even increasingly addicted to..  That have sold me on Essential oils ie. Aromatherapy.

My sleep aid: 

A straight up mix of essential oils: true lavender mostly, some orange, ylang ylang, a few drops of eucalyptus citroné and geranium. 

This provides an instant light buzz and calming numbing sensation..  I hear this might knock some people out but I don’t know, nothing knocks me out.. It does however soothe me, quieting much of the action in my head, making me more likely to fall asleep sooner.  It works better than anything else I’ve tried and I love the way it smells/feels.

My mouthwash/anti-bacterial mouth spray:

Peppermint (35), Lemon (25), Eucalyptus radié (20), Pamplemousse (15), Thyme (10), Tea tree (10) diluted in water or water with an ounce of alcohol to make 500ml or 5%.  I use it as mouthwash before brushing my teeth and like to carry around a spray bottle for times I can't brush or want to freshen my breath.  I just love this!

My muscle massage oil:

Basil (30), Eucalytus citroné (20), Wintergreen (20), Lavender(20), peppermint (10); diluted in vegetable oil of choice (at first I used olive because that is what I had, but now I like to play with jojoba, almond and argan oils in the mix); 3-5% depending on how often you use it/localised or over a large area of skin, say 5 drops per 15-30ml of oil is a safe guide.  I find it really helps with muscle pain.

My face cream:

Bois de rose(5), Geranium(3), True Lavender(2), Sauge(1), Ylang Ylang (1) in a little argan oil which I blend into a neutral jojoba based lotion that I buy at Noblessence on Laurier: 12 drops per 30ml (4%, but 2% is more common)  I truly adore this and it makes my skin feel great.

My bug stuff:  A starter cocktail, to be adjusted over the season; I’m ready to make it as varied and strong as I have to..  I started at 5%, and quickly went to 10%.  This new dose seems to work; the buggers still swarm, but stop and leave.  It seems to last for at least an hour or two, maybe not quite as long as a deet based cream, but not bad.  Now, I’m playing with proportions – more or less mint or eucalytus/piney scents..

Eucalytus citroné (30), Lavande(20), Menthe poivré, Menthe verte (20), Pin sylvestre, Camphre, Cedre, Sauge (30)

Digestion – I don’t have digestive issues (probably because I eat lots of fruit and veg and next to no processed/refined/industrial food), but many people I know do, so this interests me..

An essential oil rub can help, but an internal treatment for a couple of weeks might be in order for a chronic problem.  Huile de ricin (Castor oil) is supposed to work miracles here both externally and internally (in certain cases); I took a class on it but haven’t experimented..  With the essential oils though, yes..

External:30 basilic, 20 menthe poivrée, 20 Lavande vraie, 20 citron, 10 Eucalytus citroné

Diluted in hazelnut oil or vegetable oil (10% or 5 drops per 10ml) Others essential oils that are good here but not in my recipe only because I had to make a choice, or I don’t have them or they are too expensive/hard to find:  Camomille, Orange, Bois de rose, Gingembre, Pin maritime, Fenouil, marjolaine, romarin, noyeaux d’apricot..

Internal: 40 basilic,  30 Citron,  30 Menthe poivrée  (Bay or thyme could be added, but only for a short term treatment (10 days)).

Diet is obviously key here, diminishing meat and things that are hard to digest or that cause acidity, monitoring what causes problems for the person in particular with a food diary.  One thing is for sure: diminish sugar.

For an adult, a cleanse might be in order:  citron, basiilic, carotte sauvage and either bay/thyme/canella or tea tree (I like the last two, milder); 20% or 3 drops diluted in 1/2tsp olive oil 3Xday for 2-3weeks.  All while eating well etc..

Exema

Again, no personal experience, but I have many loved ones with some kind of exema. From knowing them and from my classes, I understand that there are many different kinds and that everyone is different.. Every specialist has his/her opinions.  But no matter who the specialist or what the ‘xxx..apy’ , they all agree that exema is complex – often related to diet, liver and intestine function, and very frequently tied to emotional issues and stress..  So there is a primary need to treat at the source; balms for the skin remain secondary.  Sometimes, there is a Mg/Zn deficiency or other.  Greens are beneficial and sugar is detrimental always.  Caffeine and alcohol are problematic, as are chocolate and spice.. to what degree depends on the person.  Gluten and dairy for many too. 

Decreasing the acidity diet wise appears to be beneficial (often candida goes along with it), but what causes acidity is counterintuitive (lemon is good, meat is bad).

One thing that stands out to me above all:  The best thing my sister (who has had bad excema all her life) ever did was reduce her workload & stress, ditch the rat-race ideology of working and making money above all, add fun hobbies and pay attention to her diet (ie. improve quality of life).  Good for her.  I made a salve in case she wants it some day and my mom is presently trying it out.  I can’t/won’t say it will work miracles for them, but so far, my mom says it helps..

In 15ml huile argan/soucis/jojoba: 2g menthe verte, 2g cedre, 2g lavande aspic, 1g ylang ylang, 1g geranium  (would have loved to add camomile but it is soo expensive; but you can always use a compress of strong camomile water or tea intermittently..)

Camomille water is also a terrific cleanser/toner for skin.  I was never convinced all the rigamoroll the girly magazines and esteticians recommend was necessary wrt to skincare, but if I think to apply a toner before moisturizing, this is it.

Funny thing with essential oils, they seem so strong scented at first, but the more you become accustomed to them, the less that is true.. They tend to grow on you, and even take hold as they become an integral part of daily routine/life.. For instance, initially I found the smell of Tea tree unbearably aggressive and medicinal, but now I don’t mind it, perhaps even like it – because I now am used to it, have seen it work, believe in it too??   Same with Ylang Ylang – I was never into anything reminiscent of patchouli, but now I love both, probably because I associate them with relaxation or soft skin.  Natural aphrodisiacs, maybe there’s something else going on there, who knows?  Nor did I think that I was particularly fond of floral notes outside of nature, in cosmetics for instance.. But I guess I am when they are natural as in the form of essential oils. I really no longer have any tolerance for synthetic aromas and I can always pick them out..

Another funny thing about essential oils/aromatherapy is that most people see it as hokey pokey stuff and benign, like I used to and still think many natural remedies are (of the cost effective tablet/tisane variety available at the health food store or pharmacy)..  But quality essential oils are concentrates of plants that are high in medicinal compounds – so a football field of a plant distilled into a little jar with all its active molecules, the same molecules that the pharmaceutical companies try to copy/compose with.  It’s equivalent medicine, but more natural with less side effects if properly used, and just as toxic if not.  Which is why they are not recommended for use with pregnant women and young children for the most part.  The English don’t use them internally while the French do, ha (but you need a prescription; while here you don’t despite all the crap out there)..  I suspect that both terms (be it essential oils or aromatherapy) do nothing to help them in being taken seriously. 

Meanwhile, everyday I hear from people close to me (or with a few degrees of separation) about their various maladies and malaises..  Collegues, their spouses and kids with recurring infections; our parents and their friends; in some instances, severe cases of mysterious symptoms that baffle the doctors.  Mothers with kids who are always sick, or with allergies, whatever.. Altogether, all kinds of people not finding answers in the conventional medical system.  And then I see the courageous fighters in my classes who have taken things into their own hands, caring for their families with their plants and natural remedies without much need for doctors. 

I don’t know enough yet to be coaching people, but I see all the possibilities and feel frustrated in face of all the lost souls looking for answers and relief.  Maybe one day, I will be able to help.  But one thing is for sure, if it were me who was really sick, I would do everything in my own power outside and/or alongside the traditional treatments, even if it meant clay and castor oil or names of treatments that sounding like aromatherapy.

I think any remedy for anything should start by eating well and spending time in nature..  That, I know about for sure.  The rest is bonus, a world to explore - but it will come, I’ will be working on it.

Ok, not food related beyond the pots & pans.. But living in Quebec these days, the massive and persistent ever morphing student revolt has taken over, even in foodie territory.

Personally, I was getting quite tired of the student manifs, but I can’t help but dig all this pot & pan action of late; it’s something else seeing it Quebec wide, tis almost a party..  It would be altogether inspiring and seriously promising if the reasons for the mounting fervour weren’t so jumbled.  The powers that be have no choice but to stop and listen, be attentive and bend toward the people, which is positive.  But!

If only the students would accept the reasonable tuition price hike after a 20+yr freeze c’mon, ie. agree to pay 17% of their higher education, by maybe getting a part-time job or giving up a vacation or Iphone.. Then people like me (quite silent these days) might cease to see them as entitled babies and be proudly behind them 100% in their fight for change on the bigger issues now in the mix..   

There is so much to fix about our system and such a public outcry can do a lot..  Good for them for getting on their feet, and showing us that it is possible.  But better it be a shake up against corruption and how our money is spent, exploitation of resources and environment, or laws that favour the 1% - the banks, big business and foreign interest vs youth, local entrepreneurs, etc. etc.  Pick one or two, anything except minimal tuition fees.  An Occupy style movement with these student leaders might actually be able to do something grand if they could coexist..   

Yes, Fight for your rights, ideology, and change!  All for it.  But no matter what, at some point, you have to accept a few laws for the common good, buckle down and work hard to secure a future.  Yes, work, work your ass off.  Our system, however flawed, is one of privilege, and even if it could work at its best, it would still cost a lot of money, meaning everyone has to do their part.

To finish on an uplifting note nonetheless: this video circulating is more of a romantic take - no window smashing here or political discourse..

http://www.jeremiebattaglia.com/Casseroles-Montreal-24-Mai-2012

First 2012 morel from our backyard!  The hunt is on..

Morels are such a tease - one here and there, never a whole bunch (except for up north in forest fire country perhaps)..  At least this one is enough to serve two!

And then these showed up, jackpot!  Du jamais vu!

exceptional morel cluster like no one (we know) has ever seen

What to do with fiddleheads for once and for all

As the fiddlehead season peaks, the same old questions resurface..  Clients hungry for the first local greens are keen, but at the same time half frightened, wanting to know how to cook them all over again; the MAPAQ is at our door worried about intoxications..

Although there never has been an incident with our fiddleheads, it appears that every spring in recent years, there have been several cases of ‘food poisoning’ Quebec wide– we’re talking stomach pain here, not death by the way.  Probably because a few fools ate a whack of unwashed, raw specimens, perhaps even old and/or from a polluted source, if they were even from the correct fern in the first place..

Sadly, many people are scared of fiddleheads for no good reason.  It seems that the government campaign warning about a fiddlehead ‘toxin’ has been effective.  In a way, maybe that is a good thing because there are customers who show up at our booth and pop raw fiddleheads into their mouths off the counter, or want to pick their own without a clue, not to mention the growing number of raw-foodists who are determined to eat them raw despite our warnings.  Nonetheless, I like to think that most people are not them, and a touch wiser.

The thing is we all agree that uncooked fiddleheads are a bad idea.  Toxin or not, there is something in there that makes them hard to digest in the raw state, that animals in the wild are aware of too (they don’t eat them), and besides, they simply do not taste delicious as is or aldente anyway.   

It is also important to note that ‘we’ in the New World, have been eating cooked fiddleheads for a long time without a problem – tis a natural, local, traditional rite of spring in Quebec (as well as in New Brunswick, Ontario..).  François’ family has been picking in the same sites and eating the same crop that supplies our market stand for over 50 years; François has been harvesting them and selling them for 25 years.  And I repeat, never an issue.

After a wave of sore stomachs somewhere in Quebec in the spring of 1999 (60 cases), Govt warnings about a toxin became prevalent.  All for a toxin that no one, not even the govt agency seems to be able to identify. 

I couldn’t help but wonder about this unidentified ‘toxin’, and how it has eluded us and so many others for decades.  Was it really proper to the fiddlehead or in the water?  Could the few cases of poisoning have been due to a single source, age or improper storage?  I needed to know, but no one has ever been able to answer my questions completely to this day.

A couple of years ago, I went really digging, govt. documents, newspaper articles, scientific journals, to find all sources leading in circles.  I even stumbled upon a Santé Canada document that stated there was no toxin in fiddleheads, ha. 

Upon consultation with plant scientists at the University of Guelph (the reference wrt food science & agriculture), it seemed likely that the fear might be more bacterial than a toxin persay.  Which makes sense given that they grow in dirt and water.  And that would explain the govt directives to boil for an extended amount of time; in the case of a ‘toxin’ useless.  So, as I suspected, the few cases of intoxication were probably due to a contaminated source eaten raw. But of course, that is too complicated to explain, much easier to issue severe warnings until they figure it out.  And without the likes of me pressuring them, I’m not even sure they’re working on figuring it out, preferring to enforce fear and a 15-20 min cooking regimen. 

A scientist explained to me how they come up with these numbers in the first place given any threat, ie completely theoretical.  They are ultra conservative since they use the most resilient enzyme and the least acid vegetable (not even actual fiddleheads say) for their tests.  For eg. at 120C (steam), after 3 min, 10% remains; at 5 min, zero. After 5 min even at 100C, there is not much chance of anything, but to be safe, might as well say 10-15 or why not 20 min, just in case there is the worst ever bacteria in given foodstuff.

Which is fine I suppose; I understand that the government has to protect every person (stupid or not, fragile constitution or not) from every bug and fiddlehead out there (quality or not, fresh or not, from any source, polluted or not).  But for us, this is very frustrating on principle; especially that it directly affects our business.  After all, this is a super nutritious local vegetable with a long tradition, that is readily accessible and not dangerous at all if fresh and properly cooked.  Certainly much safer in the big picture than all the sterile non-food crap coming out of the industrial system that clears all the government lights but is slowly making everyone sick and allergic to nature.  Don’t forget that a bowl of berries or a plate of asparagus or a spinach salad might give you a belly ache and send you running to the bathroom if you daily feed off processed food and never eat fruit and vegetables, but then perhaps a cleanse was in order, but I digress.

In particular, we know where our fiddleheads come from, taking care of every detail from A to Z – picking only tightly curled, young specimens barely breaking ground, washing them thoroughly, storing them properly, selling fresh quality, offering up cooking instructions and everything.  We have a solid record and reputation.  Yet, we still have to defend ourselves year after year. 

Meanwhile in supermarkets and via big distributors, there are loads of sketchy fiddleheads being dumped at a low price from un traceable sources, often obviously picked at an advanced stage (easier picking, ie cheaper), and old from being kept too long (from picking time through distribution to package)..  I imagine this is the source of any sore stomachs, paired with a handful of mis-informed dopes hitting a bad batch, then not washing them and eating them insufficiently cooked. 

Go to any restaurant, or to any home that has had fiddleheads on the menu for generations.  No one is boiling them for 15 minutes.  They turn to mush in 15 minutes.  5 minutes in boiling water is plenty if you have good fiddleheads and wash them first.  Most often, they are given a second cooking anyway, be it pickling or stewing or for a sauté.

I know of one good recipe where they are overcooked and still yummy, from the Bas du Fleuve.  Simmered in a salt lard onion broth for 20 minutes, there are left to sit overnight and reheated. Pale green and mushy, they are not aesthetically pleasing this way but delicious, reminiscent of slow cooked collard greens..

However, especially in spring when the body craves it, it is nice to be able to retain some small resemblance of green and crunch along with a thorough cooking.  For detailed instructions, see below to see how we tell people to cook fiddleheads..

It all comes down to washing them and boiling in lots of salted water until they are cooked through, period.  Depending on the quantity, the size of your pot and water, this could be 5-10 min, even less if the water doesn’t stop boiling.  With good fiddleheads properly flushed, your water should be reddish after, not black.  I used to stand by a double blanch for less time, but this was with a restaurant setting in mind when you want to optimize color and crunch while ensuring sufficient water flushing and minimal cooking time.  But it’s completely unnecessary!  It just allows for a touch more texture and colour with equivalent exposure to heat and water.  My perfectionism while wanting to cover all bases and please the MAPAQ ended up biting me in the butt because this procedure was propagated and I feel that it ultimately made people even more afraid.  I would later hear foodies say, ‘oh don’t you know you need to cook them twice’ and I would inwardly groan; I even heard it from a government official once.  Geez, I started it - shut up.  I take it all back – just source well, and cook them for a few minutes in lots of water for god’s sake.

They are delicious sautéed with garlic afterwards, with a splash of tamari and lemon, salt and pepper.  The oriental treatment with garlic, ginger, chilli, and sesame is winner too.  Better yet with bacon, shallots and a touch of cider/sherry vinegar and meat jus.  With potatoes and braised meat, in an omelette or with anchovies, pasta and tomato sauce, the options are endless..

The season is in full swing here, about to wind down, but is only getting going in the Outaouais, still weeks away in the Gaspesie.. So there are Quebec fiddleheads to be had for the next month or more for sure.. 

No need to be afraid. Just don’t be stupid, and Enjoy.

Here in warm bacon dressing, with wild greens (linden, stonecrop, violet), pickled hen of the woods, crinkleroot eggy potato 

JS Cooking Instructions below..

Cooking Fiddleheads

Wash well and Blanch before adding to a dish: Use lots of salted water, cook for 5 minutes after returning to a boil 

*Or Boil twice for less

to optimize colour and texture - Add to boiling, salted water for 2.  Change the water.  Repeat. Refresh in ice water.

and then sauté

or add to any preparation..

To serve hot : 

Sweat with butter or olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic or seasonings of choice (tamari, chili pepper, ginger, citrus zest, bacon, herbs, ie. dill, chives..

To serve cold : 

Pickle or Dress with vinaigrette, add to composed salads, pasta or potato salad, greens.

Bon appétit!

*The important thing is that the fiddleheads are of good quality from a traceable source,

that they are washed and fully cooked through.

 Les Jardins Sauvages

17 Chemin Martin, St-Roch de l’Achigan

 (450)588-5125  www.jardinssauvages.com

Spring is sprouting, Fiddleheads not far off

day lily sprouts, terrific gently wilted in butterAfter the false start a couple of weeks ago, it looks like spring is springing right on schedule, if not slightly early still.  The day lily sprouts and young dandelion are at their best; the trout lily, spring beauty, garlic mustard leaf just beginning, live-forever breaking ground as well along with the nettles..  There is wild ginger for the picking, the crinkleroot not far off.  We have the makings of a spring mesclun – fresh, bright flavours, sweet and peppery, green and crunchy!  The first local greens are always so exciting, such a rush, and exactly what the body craves at this time of year.

dandelion

ramps

Claytonie de Caroline

wild ginger

tusselage (colt's foot)orpin (live forever/ stonecrop)

The fiddleheads are about to pop; François has been actively scouting all his patches.  At least, the water is less of an obstacle this year; the thaw having come earlier, the rivers are lower.  Within a week, we will be swimming in fiddlehead madness, François working around the clock picking, washing, weighing, sorting, coordinating it all.  And our Jean Talon stall will be open all week once spring is really rolling.  For another week or two, we’re open on the week ends (Fri-Sun).

Hurray! and Ouf, ‘attaché ta tuque’, another season kicks off and our crazy race/dance with nature ensues with all the annual surprises in store..  

first fiddlehead beauties - hard picking since still underground

My path to witchdom via phytotherapy and aromatherapy

Being in the business of serving up wild edibles, there is no doubt that we attract a special sort of clientele – yes, foodies in search of new gastronomic adventures, those embracing the growing trend of local, seasonal, organic and wild, as well as the DIY earth hugging granolas for whom food is medicine and health a religion.  The latter always bothered me slightly because I’m more of a hedonist, somewhat of an accidental proponent of healthy food. 

Taste has always come first for me.  Which has always made me seek out and value quality.  The best and freshest naturally means local and seasonal, organic, the least transformed the better.  Eco-sense, ethics, community and traceability have increasingly become important to me too.  Luckily, wholesomeness follows naturally – bonus!

Up until now, when customers inquired about medicinal properties it kind of got on my nerves..  ‘Just choose to eat good quality, real food, lots of variety, enjoy it! and everything will be fine’ is my mantra.  No need to be a strict vegetarian or raw foodist, nor treat food as medicine, follow diets, take supplements or read nutrition labels.  I hate the idea of taking the fun out of eating, when it can be such a source of pleasure on a daily basis.  Good food and health seem to go hand in hand without too much superfluous worrying.  Maybe it’s easy for me to say, because fruit and veg, cheese, nuts, whole grains, rice and moderate amounts of naturally raised meat make me happy - not fast food, big ass feedlot steaks or sweet desserts; wine yes, cola no.  It surely helps that I love cooking and have easy access to the best ingredients, not distracted at the stove by screaming fussy kids either.

I stand by this, but now that I’ve got the cooking part pretty much down, I can’t help but be interested in plants as medicine.  Just to keep learning, to branch out in parallel, to more fully understand the power of the plants at hand and of our diets and well being in general.  And so that my customers don’t get on my nerves.

So I took a few classes at the Jardins Botaniques – on Medicinal Plants, another on Aromatherapy/Essential oils, and oh a perfume atelier just for fun.  Wow, another world opened up - utterly fascinating.  I remain one who would rather eat my garlic in a dressing or stir-fry rather than oil a clove to be propelled up an orifice (for a cold), but hey, it’s good to know.  I now understand the concoctions of smashed greens François slathered onto my bites and burns.  I never knew cabbage and parsley leaves could do so much for bobos or nursing mothers, nor how useful clay is.  Now I can say that my stinging nettle soup benefits your intestines/liver/digestion and might calm your excited kids right down.  I can state with assurance that our house tisane has mega purifying, calming, tonic properties, and pregnant women can drink it in moderation without worries.  I’ve learnt about all kinds of new tricks and plants that can heal or at least help most common problems.  If I had a baby, I wouldn’t be rushing off to Urgence right away, knowing how to slowly lower the temperature or gauge how serious the trouble is, what to do in the meantime..   I have acquired many more uses for onions, wild greens and many of the things hanging around my kitchen.  To think that other budding naturopaths have to go to a health food store and buy powder or pellets. 

This is all useful knowledge that will only be reinforced this year as François picks the plants and I cook or put them up; all of a sudden, I will be seeing them in a different light.  And I will finally be able to intelligently answer keener granola customer questions with more than anecdotes without wanting to brush them off.

Although less directly connected to our work at Les Jardins Sauvages, I have to say that it is the essential oils that really enthralled me.  I am attracted to Aromatherapy because I am a nose person and I love all the natural scents; they just make me happy.  Little did I know how much more there was to it though!  Being concentrated essences of plants (by distillation), essential oils (not oils persay by the way), they are medicine, natural antibiotics (as well as sedatives, digestive aids, tonics, skin care remedies and everything else..). Of course you have to know how to use them; they have to be administered with knowledge and care because an internal treatment could be like drinking 100 tisanes, an external treatment like putting a ton of petals into your bath or skin cream.  (Extra caution is in order when it comes to children and pregnant or nursing mothers). Most commercial shampoos, creams or pharmaceuticals rely on the same active molecules, only from a cheaper source, often synthetic or diluted, pumped up with preservatives and stuff you don’t need, hence the side effects.  That’s another thing – I was happy to learn how to distinguish the real thing from all the crap out there.  Let’s just say that you cannot trust the chick in the health food store if you’re making your own medicine.

It always annoyed me how unregulated this world was, which made me less inclined to dabble in it or take it seriously.  But the great thing about pyhtotherapy/homeopathy and etc in Canada in general is that it’s open – so that if you are well equipped, you are free enough; no need for a prescription or a diploma to buy a plant extract or an essential oil, like in France say.  The downside to this is that there is so much fraud & n’importe quoi out there to navigate through, that you can easily hit and miss, give up on a ‘natural’ treatment or even worsen your problem if not well guided. 

No, I haven’t started cooking with essential oils – I prefer the plants in their raw state for that.  But for the pleasure of a nice scent in the room or on my body; for most minor ailments, colds, aches and pains, skin creams or cosmetics, household products, I’m sold on the merit of essential oils.  Even internally for a cleanse or to treat a digestive problem or infection, say urinary or gastro.. 

For the record, I was never taken by traditional medicine anyway, probably because I don’t like taking pills or foul tasting medicine, but also because I never found that much of it really worked.  Luckily, I don’t get sick much, but I’ve become sceptical with respect to doctors who don’t listen and prescribe, prescribe, prescribe. I’d rather deal with my sleep issues than become addicted to pills; I prefer to suffer some pain than feel AFU and sick from pain killers. I dealt with my decapitated nose sans painkillers.  Often, over the course of my life, I’ve filled out prescriptions and not taken them, everything turning out fine.  I’ve also cooked many fancy dinners for pharmaceutical companies watching them woo the doctors.  I’ve lived long enough to believe in the placebo effect, and so if a medication does scarcely better, that’s bogus and not the basis of an industry the way I see it..  Conditions created to justify sketchy products, all the kids on Ritalin - it all makes me queasy.  From observing my entourage, I’m also very worried about antibiotics, seeing how often they aren’t effective and what havoc they can wreak on a system.  So, if essential oils can do the trick, I’m all for it. 

I have yet to personally test a lot of all that I believe to be true, and I’m extremely cautious, starting slowly, reading extensively.  Aromatherapy is better documented than you might think.  Yet, with what I’ve actually done, I see results and it’s so much more enjoyable than conventional medicine, the aromas!  I think François is a little scared.  I have a concoction for everything and he is my live-in guinea pig.  So as soon as he shows signs of an ache or pain or digestive problem, I’m on top of him.  At least he’s getting more massages.  He’s right that I was almost disappointed when his cold symptoms didn’t amount to anything one day, all he needed was rest.  When he woke up, there were jars of potions waiting for him, not to be tested, sigh.

Here are some simple things that have worked for me (some straight, others diluted in an appropriate oil like almond or noisette, olive or argan) - the tip of the iceberg:

#1 To relax/sleep:  True Lavender (also Orange, Ylang Ylang) – on solar plexis, wrists, interior elbows.  I’ve been an insomniac all my life – nothing makes me sleep.  Melatonin sucks compared to this.

#2 Headache/sluggish morning:  Menthe poivrée dabbed precisely on temples, wrists; Epinette noire on back spine (adrenal glands).

#3 Muscle Pain, cramps:  Eucalyptus citroné, Basilic, Anis vert, Menthe poivrée, Lavande – massage, works instantly to ease pain/inflammation

#4 Digestion:  Basilic, Citron, Menthe Poivrée, Lavande – massaged on stomach.  I made this for François but used it one night after a big restaurant meal, felt it all move down, slept well

#5 Psoriasis: Bois de rose, Sauge, Lavande, Tea tree, Menthe verte in Calendula

#6 Mouthwash and spray : Menthe Poivrée, Citron, Thym à thymol, Tea tree, Eucalyptus radié  (5% in water, need to shake) – I love this; it keeps your mouth fresh for way longer than normal mouthwash, and a spray bottle in the car makes up for moments when you can’t brush..

#7 Air freshener/sanitizer:  Sapin baumier, eucalyptus globulus, lavande, pamplemousse, verveine on and on.  I’ve made a few specific deodorizers (bathroom, kitchen) diluted in water and a shot of alcohol.  More frequently (every night), I play with the oils I put in the pot on the wood stove like I was cooking up the perfect fragrance for the room & my mood. (I have yet to purchase a diffuseur or nebulisateur). 

#8 Kitchen cleaning/cutting board: Citron/pamplemousse

#9 Tea Tree oil: straight onto a new pimple

These are examples of easy external uses, but there are many more possibilities around the household, as well as internally - which I’ve been looking into, with friends and family members in mind.  Say for Excema, Flatulences, Constipation, Migraines, Menopause, Sinus issues etc.. Because between FB and me, we don’t have enough bobos to satisfy my hunger to come up with remedies. 

Besides formulating my own creams, cough syrup, sanitizer and bugspray, I am very into the theoretical exercise of finding the perfect accessible essential oil treatment for every ailment, also bringing in my plant class and food knowledge, with suggestions for diet, lifestyle and etc, tisanes on the side, and including other old school treatments like the ‘bain de siege’..  So funny, but did you know that sitting your ass down in cold water can do a lot of good things (not just for fever, but circulation, constipation..)

I’d rather eat well and exercise than have to stick a garlic clove up my butt or sleep with crushed onions in my socks and lettuce and/or clay strapped onto my body or sit in icy water, but I guess I’d prefer the above to going to the hospital.  With essential oils, I feel like I might be able to keep all that to a minimum when the time comes, no antibiotics or medicine - only rarely some stinky old school witchery..  And as for the pissenlit, ortie, achilée and plantain, bring them on .. All these wild plants seem to be common arsenal – preventative on all levels; ortie our magic plant like ginger for the Chinese.  I am now the girl that walks around with a mason jar of some green infusion in hand.  I find that it makes me drink more water besides all the other benefits.

Watch out, I may very well be on my way to becoming a witch.  However, in my den, there will always be good food and wine and sweet smelling things, not just bitter tisane and painful ointments.  At Les Jardins Sauvages, maybe I should make it a tag-line - you get good food, meat and decadence but with a major dose of greens on the side, tisane to finish, phytotherapy!.  I could even offer up an essential oil rub or pastille to help digestion for the road, for a supplement of course. 

My Phooey List (ie. Baloney)

Food Myths, Trends, Snobbisms and Here-say I don’t believe in

After almost 20yrs of cooking professionally, and 40 plus years of eating mindfully with appetite, I can’t help but have my opinions when it comes to food.  On what is important, yummy or not, when it is ok to break the rules.. When some culinary dictum or trend makes no sense to me, I feel like I’ve earned the right to lift my finger high in the air, or more politely say Phooey.  (Where did that word come from I don't know, I don't even like it - Baloney is better, or grosse merde, you get my point.)

• Truffles – Honestly over-rated!  Yes, an intriguing, rare ingredient that can give a ‘je ne sais quoi’ touch to a dish - if you can afford them as well as have the connections and luck to fall on a good batch of the real thing.. But really, there are so many more interesting mushrooms in our backyard.  Same thing with Morels, another snobby mushroom that while delicious and elusive, seem to be revered less for their subtle flavour and typical concentration of dirt, more because the French value them and because they are expensive.

• Blanching rules (For vegetables – salt water & ice water bath) – Ideal in a restaurant kitchen setting, but so unnecessary.  The salt does little but help taste-wise; cold tap water works fine for the cool down, if indeed you need to cool your veg down (not usually at home when they would go straight into the sauté pan or plate).

• Aldente – Both pasta and veg are best not over-cooked, but can we please forget about aldente as the ultimate cuisson?  Pasta is best barely on this side of done, but most veg are better on the other side, closer to melting if we can forget about bright colour for a second.  Same with rice and grains, even meat and fish.  Sometimes sushi or carpaccio is perfect given the weather or cut of meat/fish at hand, but more often, both are more delectable and easily digested cooked at least to rare (medium-rare or even yes, medium). With wild meats, better to cook the hell out of them but oh so slowly with lots of TLC.  Many wild veg need more than a kiss of heat too, lots of boiling water.

• Raw foods – Sorry but this is just stupid as a diet, to make it a rule not to ingest anything heated beyond 38C or whatever their magic number is.  I do know that it's just outside the safety zone..  To try to develop flavour, they warm things up so that it’s teaming with bacteria, not hot enough to kill the precious enzymes (?) or the nasty bacteria either. No wonder so many first timers report sore stomachs. Yes, eat lots of fruit and veg and nuts (the only good thing about this diet), but for the most part, our body more efficiently derives energy and nutrients from cooked food.  Cooking is one of our greatest evolutionary steps – why backtrack?

• Nutrition value boxes – the biggest joke of our times.  Who needs them?  They are misleading and besides the point.  Unless you live off processed foods and things in boxes.  We could avoid the headaches (and excessive cost for producers) by simply eating real food, or as Michael Pollan said, anything our grandmothers would recognize.  We don’t see the need for labels on our carrots do we?  As for condiments and treats, if they make up a minor part of our diet, who cares.  All we should know beyond the ingredient list is where a foodstuff comes from for traceability, to know where to find further detailed info if necessary.  We should be more concerned with all the sketchy imported stuff with false/incomplete labelling.

•  Frozen vs Fresh – With sous-vide (vacuum pack), frozen is the new fresh.  No longer is the lack of a freezer in your kitchen a sign of haute cuisine – au contraire. Better to have local, frozen produce year-round than readily available 3 week ‘fresh’ from abroad grown in uncertain conditions..  I put up my local peas, favas and corn for the year along with all the local wild greens, berries and veg.  We now have local greenhouses for bonus crunch in winter, no pain.

•  Gluten bad – Aside from the unfortunate suffering from Celiac disease, I have a hard time believing that Gluten is that bad for everyone all of a sudden.  Find some other toxic chemical in our environment to blame.  I refuse to change up good local wheat flour for a mix of industrial powders when I want to make good bread or pasta.

• Roux-based sauces (like Bechamel or Velouté)– So uncool for too many years, but they are tasty and definitely hit the spot in winter, especially when suffering from gluten backlash. It’s true that cornstarch slurry is handy and more versatile.  A thin natural jus has its place too.  But reducing a stock to the point of lip-sticking (when it seems to lose aromas) to build it up with a ton of butter never made much sense to me as an alternative. 

• Pectin in jam – Foodies find it hip to look down on pectin for some reason.. Whatever the natural pectin in the fruit, using pectin in jam& jellies allows you to cook the mixture less and maintain more fruit flavour for less sugar/reduction for equivalent gel.  I don't recommend using the recipes on a Certo box (more sugar and pectin than fruit), but if you enjoy fresh fruit taste and jelly texture, pectin persay is not to be sniffed at.  And what if the added pectin is DIY pectin from early season apples?
  

• Pork belly – the darling of chefs, but I just think it’s too fatty.  I love it to cook with, to make petit salé or bacon, a garnish maybe.  But forget about it as a piece of protein on a plate, I’m not in.

•  Over-manipulation – like the turned vegetables of yesteryear when half the vegetable went into the stockpot for the sake of cute football shapes, most of the molecular gastronmomy tricks and gimmicks of today similarly amount to a waste of time and diminished freshness/flavour.  Presentation is not everything!

•  Skimming – I just don’t waste my time skimming.  If there is a big bulge of white froth atop my broth or sauce, I remove it, but I’m not standing next to the pot skimming off every little ‘impurity’.  It’s just protein.  Or flavourful fat.  If I want a clear stock, I clarify; for sauces, it doesn’t make much of a difference if you’re controlling heat, then straining, degreasing and thickening/reducing at the end.  Again, it’s about aesthetics, not taste.

• Misuse of Labels: Bio, Green, Local, Natural etc..  I hate that these words no longer mean anything due to dishonest/ overuse by chefs and food producers on their menus or in marketing.

-your cuisine is NOT Local/Regional if your garlic comes from China and your 'ative' Jerusalem artichokes come from California, if you order from big suppliers.

-your menu is NOT Seasonal if you have morels and asparagus on it in March and you live in Quebec unless you’re following someone else’s seasons

-your maple syrup is not Artisanal if it comes out of miles of tubing

-you should NEVER be allowed to use any of these words if you are Walmart or McDonalads!

•  Nitrites – I’ve come to the conclusion that this scare is equally Phooey along the lines of MSG (caution yes, but not so bad), and that nitrites are simply key in charcuterie. History speaks.  If the preservation comes from celery, it’s still nitrite btw.  Sel nitrité in minute concentrations helps make your charcuterie safe and lends an agreeable taste; it really doesn’t taste the same without.  Personally, I wouldn’t want to eat aged saucisson without it now.  Which is why I don’t make that kind of saucisson, too touchy.  But I did play around with other charcuterie without it for years, because that was what was considered noble.  I only purchased charcuterie without nitrite too, it was important to me at the time.  All to eventually say 'screw that' because it wasn't all that good.  I now use it for liver and raw cured things and avoid it when I can.  I’m talking <<1% here, much, much less than what you see in boucheries/supermarkets.  I have no idea how they keep their stuff pink for so long, those doses might be scary.  Yet everyone eats it!  Hard to convince people to eat brown/green paté, I guess.  I don't think we need to be especially afraid of nitrites, like we don't need to be afraid of MSG (as in glutamates) in natural form, hello umami!  But we shouldn't be sprinkling the pure stuff all over either, or eating in Chinatown everynight, and we can always choose our charcuterie carefully made, ie. somewhere in between.

•  Salt Bad – Just avoid processed foods and junk food, cook at home and you don’t need to be afraid of salt.  Food and life would be excruciatingly boring without salt.

• Fat Bad – Fat is good for us.  Our body needs it and knows how to deal with it if it is a fat it knows (ie olive oil, animal fat, not trans fat).  Again, avoiding processed foods and you hardly have to worry, as long as you eat enough fruit and veg and exercise modestly of course.  Julia Child and her dandruff boy come to mind – a funny anecdote I caught on Rewind CBC: he was a vegan, nutritionist or something who criticized her decadent cooking; meanwhile she couldn’t help but notice that he had major dandruff due to a lack of oils/animal fat in his diet..  I also think of the picture of Nigella Lawson vs. Miss Health Guru circulating on the web this year (cheap stuff I know, but still); who would you rather look like/be? http://chainmailbomb.com/?p=51   

• Big ass portions – Too many giant portions all over.. Who needs that?  And there is no way you can serve quality in big quantities without exorbitant costs to match.  Restaurants who serve reasonable portions are quick to be criticized for being stingy or too fancy.  Good food should be as accessible as possible.  I just wish quality in smaller portions were the new normal..  Although we should probably all eat less, that’s not what I’m saying here - just better smaller dishes, to be able to choose and not waste without having to go to a tapas joint..
  

• Big ass steaks – Same story.  It is official that we should all be eating less meat, only better pastured, natural meat, and in ways that allow restaurants and purveyors to use the whole beast while encouraging local small growers who can only sell whole beasts.  So, no big ass steaks.  And yes, more variety - more grain, veg based sides. 

• Vitamins and Supplements – Except for in special cases, I don’t believe in taking vitamins – the fewer pills that pass my mouth the better.  It’s so much easier (and more pleasant) to eat well, not to mention that our bodies assimilate vitamins and minerals better in the natural forms of fruits, vegetables and sunlight anyway.
  

• Eating late at night makes you fat – The way I feast late night makes this bogus to me.

•  Gas vs Electric  I need Gas at the restaurant, but at home, electric is fine (and unlike many of my collegues, I cook a lot at home).  There is less pressure at home, and you figure out how to maximize and work with what you have.  Electric is much less messy.  If you want gas in your home, you need an expensive ventilation system and you will have to work harder at keeping your stove looking clean.  I’ve seen too many rich catering clients complain about this - torn between having a top of the line commercial kitchen and one that is spic&span out of a design book.  They don’t go together if you actually use the kitchen.

•  Industrial Cleaning Products – Accepted in a restaurant environment but hardly necessary.  Soap & water (with some elbow grease) go a long way.  Baking soda, Vinegar..  Pull out the degreaser or Easy Off once a month instead of every night.  It’s all about day to day maintenance and actual scrubbing, people have forgotten how to scrub. It would also help if sparkling, white or stainless weren't the epitome of 'clean' - difficult when green..

• Searing meat keeps the juices in and etc.   20 yrs after Harold McGee debunked this (among many traditional cooking myths), I still keep hearing chefs say this.  Obviously food science is slow to trickle down to mainstream Quebec. Bottom line, we sear the meat for crust and taste, period.  Sous-vide and low temperature cooking work marvels for meat texture, but we can’t seem to do without that savoury Maillard reaction from the searing effect.  Which is why a simple pan roast remains the best way to cook meat at home.. 

• Other cooking myths scientifically debunked  - TBC

There is not much I love more than a cold, sunny day on my snowshoes with the woods to myself.. The mishmash of animal tracks remind me I have four-legged company, but they leave me alone, mostly not to be seen or heard.  Only the wood peckers are less discreet. Then maybe the odd cry of an owl or coyote calls me back to planet earth from my zoned out state of zen-like peace..  ‘Oh the sun is setting, time to fly home!’  I really do relish my solo time in nature breathing fresh air, but it’s true that much of it is spent in my head, it’s just the way I am.  Natural to me, faulty in the eyes of a coureur des bois.

A whole different kind of winter wonderland experience unfolds with François on board; for one, there is no zoning out.  His plugged-into-nature way means constant stopping and starting, picking and probing - a slower more attentive trek, peppered with anecdotes and commentary.  On the state of the trees, any new signs of wildlife..  I am awakened to phenomena/ unfathomed riches I blindly ploughed by before.  He pauses long enough to watch a woodpecker pass out from exhaustion.  Maybe the little pecker was playing dead?  Funny and intriguing, none the less.  François might fiddle around to erect obstacles for skidoos with sticks and stones; if on the river, he studies it meticulously trying to understand this year’s landscape reality, scanning the ice for air-bubbles.. Not a bad idea - if it weren’t for him, I might have taken off with the underflow a few times.

When foraging, the escapade is necessarily less leisurely, ie planned out – charted, flatt(ish) terrain being key without poles, given the bags/pails to lug back, a need for snacks, water and gear.. A mindset more along the lines of ‘Rendre l’utile à l’agréable’..

With Pimbina (aka squashberry or highbush cranberry) on the agenda, one of the few things we can pick in winter, we set out on snowshoes for an afternoon involving more picking than play.  January is ideal, but the creeks and rivers have to be frozen for easy access, meaning that we had to wait until February this year.  This little berry is equally coveted by the foxes and birds, but there is more than enough to go around if you enjoy snowshoeing.

We love this berry for making coulis, jelly and sauces..  As with cranberries, they need to be cooked with a good dose of sugar to counter the tartness, but once transformed, they make for heady concoctions, equally tasty in savoury or sweet dishes, pairing well with poultry, stellar with cheese and a strikingly delicious foil for chocolate desserts.  There is more to pimbina than run of the mill cranberries.

The only thing is that it is a stinky affair – the cooking, that is.  We need to plan pimbina production for off days, and even then, the scent lingers..  Like blue cheese, with notes of stinky socks, sweat and vomit.  Hard to believe it’s a delicious berry, eh? 

But yes.  Tasty.  Mega umami.  And plentiful, Local, harvested in winter.. What’s a bit of stink?  Easy to love otherwise..

More background here:  http://www.saskfruit.com/studentwebsites/High%20Bush%20Cranberry%20Hrycan/Consumerpage/consumer.html#Highbush_Cranberry_Jelly

Never too much duck

We finished up our annual duck festival over a week ago, and I’m now well into my Valentine’s menu with ‘aprhodisiac ingredients’ as the theme, but I still have one last duck dinner to go.  This one is for a carpenter friend of ours (who has done much work for us recently) and who thinks he and his wife don’t like duck.  François and I hardly believe this is possible, so decided to do them a favour and woo them back from the dark side with an enchanting evening of duck dishes.  Better knock wood, but I’m counting on a successful turn-around. 

In case you didn’t know, duck is my favourite meat.  I mention it often, going on about the benefits of duck fat or plugging my favourite duck (Ferme Morgan) whenever possible.  I planned on posting a full-on article about duck in all its guises to kick off our duck themed menu in January but never got around to it.  The fact that I’m still enamoured with everything duck as I finish up a month of bathing in duck fat, cooking it daily (and nibbling all the odd bits) is a good sign.  I just don’t seem to tire of it. 

duck consommé with duck meatballs..With three local breeds (Muscovy, Moulard, Peking) and all their respective parts to play with, there are endless possibilities.  I change the menu every year but no doubt, there are the tried and true classics that return although never served the same:  Smoked duck breast, duck proscuito, duck consommé, duck eggs, roast duck, duck confit, duck chips, duck egg desserts… Although mostly French inspired, I always have to take one course ‘à l’orientale’ duck being a natural with soy, star anise, sesame and co. 

Duck is easy to love and versatile, usually good no matter your inspiration, but it always comes down to pumping up the savoury with salt/umami and spices and then balancing the savoury richness and fat with touches of acidity and sweetness.  Pungent, earthy and green notes help there too.  Here are some no-brainers:

Berries, Grape must/saba, aged balsamic, salsaparilla, juniper

Exotic fruit flavours, pineapple, vanilla, sweetgrass, tonka bean

Earthy – Beans, Wild mushrooms, Root vegetables, Cabbage

Herbs – thyme, rosemary, herbes de provence, or basil, coriander..

Spice – ginger, allspice, nutmeg, pepper, star anise, clove, cinnamon, cumin, coriander.. and all such combinations (curry, 5 spice, quatre épices)..

Tart/Piquant  to cut the richness – Citrus, good quality vinegar, sumac; mustard, horseradish, ginger, wild ginger, crinkleroot, garlic, chilli heat

Greens for the same reason - garlicky greens, bitter greens, crunchy lettuce

Each duck has its place in my mind.  My favourite to eat as is from the pan, is Muscovy; it has a higher meat to fat ratio, the flavour is more complex, and the meat often less tough, allowing me to cook it closer to medium than rare, 15 min stove top is all you need for a supreme.

As with most game birds, the breast and legs should be cooked separately because the legs require a longer cooking time and do better with moist heat in a braise or confit. 

My favourite duck to roast whole is the smaller Peking but I don’t bother trying to do a proper ‘Peking’ duck with all the tedious boiling and drying.  (However, I do have fond memories of ordering it in fancy Chinese restaurants with the little crepes).  I just marinate it for a day and roast it for an hour and a half or so until it’s just done.  After an hour or so, you have to pour some water or broth in the pan.  After a rest, I pick it all apart, cut it up and mix it into the degreased juices.  This makes a great stuffing for a Momofuku style bun or any sandwich, although this year I served it with mushroom fried rice.

duck terrine, smoked duck, proscuito, torchon, elderberry juniper jelly, rabiole mostardamore duck charcuterie

I choose Moulard for charcuterie; Muscovy works fine but is more expensive.   My smoked duck is a recipe I concocted years ago which involves curing, then smoking followed by a sear and finish in a low oven.  I came up with this method to safely be able to minimize/eliminate nitrites and it turns out that cooking develops more flavour to stand up to the smoke, contrary to drying it raw like most do.

Duck proscuito is a different story, more subtle so simply cured raw and dried.  I looked to Paula Wolfert for guidance the first time around, but over the years I’ve tailored my own recipe – I’ve found the seasoning I like and most importantly have discovered the perfect conditions for the 3wk-month drying period.  This is the trickiest part of making proscuito – you need a stable, cool, dry, airy dark place to hang your duck for 3 weeks to a month, a fridge is typically too cold and too humid.  I make mine once a year in a closet at the restaurant over Christmas when we are closed and the heat is off.  Don’t tell the MAPAQ.  I don’t have a suitable spot once the mild weather sets in, but that’s ok; I quite like my traditions; the short windows for some wild plants have taught me that some things should only be made once a year.

Duck sausage is a good idea in theory, but to make a traditional sausage succulent as opposed to mealy and dry, you need to add a percentage of fatty pork because duck is naturally too lean and the fat is too soft.  I’ve made several successful (and less than stellar) duck sausages, from summer sausage to chorizo to boudin blanc, but this year didn’t want to battle with the fact that pure duck does not easily make good sausage.  So I made Mexican chorizo style meat balls. I also made a mousseline style terrine studded with flambéed duck filets and smoked duck, the cream and eggs making up for the lack of fat.

 now that's an egg!

Duck eggs – Twice the size of a chicken egg with a bluish tough shell, the duck egg is truly a special ingredient, rich and deeply flavourful, with more yolk than white, and the white is high in protein, very springy. You can use them in savoury or sweet dishes, anywhere/anyhow you would use a chicken egg, but beware of meringue that will jump out of your mixing bowl and take over the kitchen when whipped.  François loves duck eggs year round, simply fried or baked with cream and mushrooms; I like them scrambled, more for dinner than breakfast.  I particularly liked a Spanish style tortilla dish from a prior menu.  They make good crepes too (pure egg diluted with a bit of water).  Dessert wise, this year, I made a frozen wintergreen chocolate soufflé and coconut sweet clover cake, but the sky is the limit; in previous years spectacular floating islands, pavlova, lemon meringue pie and multiple ice cream/parfait variations. I always select a duo of egg-based sweets – one that relies on the yolks and the other the whites..  At home, I would opt to keep it simple because fresh duck eggs are difficult to separate white from yolk, and forget about hard-boiled eggs (unless you let them age), they’re a bitch to peel.

duck egg meringue pie with elderberry/flower

My coup de couer, la salade..  Duck confit salad is not a staple on bistro menus for no reason!  There are so many ways to take this theme..  My version consisted of duck gizzards & hearts, bitter greens, duck fat croutons, beets, pickled daisy buds and my wild ‘chimichurri’.  It’s the mix of hot & cold, the constrast of luscious savoury dripping confit with bitter greens and a sharp, herbal vinaigrette alongside hits of sweet from the beets and pickles that made this salad a winner. Not only a salad girl like me swoons, but the meat & potato men too, a man’s salad if there ever was.

The confit treatment is really the ideal way to cook gizzards and hearts by the way - painless, a tender result guaranteed. You get the glory of confit (leg) with less time and hassle, no need to cure for days or debone.  The longer you leave the gizzards the better, but you need to be careful with the hearts, stopping the cuisson when they are fully cooked but still pinkish (say an hour instead of two)..

Every one associates duck with fattiness, but it is actually a lean meat, you need to keep some of that outside fat for most preparations, which is why it is so good cooked in its own fat..  Don’t forget that duck fat is a good fat! 

http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2009/6/20/duck-fat.html

Speaking of fat.. 

Foie gras (the liver of a Moulard) – This time around my terrine ‘torchon’ was flavoured with elderberry and juniper, which was nice, but I think I prefer my regular sweetgrass - quatre épice treatment.  And the ‘incontournable’ pan-seared foie seduces everyone, regardless the preparation.  With caramelised onion, parsnip, porcini, Jerusalem artichoke purée and a cider sweetgrass sauce – I had all those earthy flavours mingling with a touch of sweet and zing in the form of malic acid from the apple.  Cooking that much foie gras really smokes the place out and is costly, but customers’ faces tell me it’s worth it, the treat of treats, despite any ethical controversy (happily non-existent in these parts).  I’m done with that subject anyway.  http://soupnancy.squarespace.com/blog-journalessays/2009/2/3/enough-about-foie-gras.html

Duck fat potatoes – I made latkes with crinkleroot, but any potato duck fat dish is delicious: Roasted potatoes, fries, layered in a gratin/ pave/Anna variation, or tortilla (potato onion omelette), you really can’t go wrong.

potato-duck egg fritatta with duck sausagecrinkleroot latkes sizzling in duck fat 

Duck skin chips - So scrumptious they are criminal, they make a terrific crispy garnish more than a snack.  I once served them in bowls to munch on with the l’apero but customers ploughed through them, not the ideal start to a 3hour meal.  Not to mention too labour intensive to see inhaled for free on my end.

I’ve found the best way to make these duck ‘oreille de crisse’ is to slowly render the skin in the oven for hours, patting dry and cutting out strips before a final crisp up in the oven.  Removing the skin from cooked confit legs and putting it in a 250F oven between parchment coated sheetpans for a couple of hours does the trick nicely. Or I coat and deep fry them for utter complete decadence.  Once a year is enough for that delicacy.

bio muscovy supreme with airelle pimbina sauce, duck fat latke, pousses salsifis

If you want to cook duck at home..

Pan-roasting a magret or supreme is the way to go for starters.

You can purchase good quality Moulard & Muscovy duck as well as foie gras at our favourite butcher shop, Le Prince Noir at Marché Jean Talon.  http://www.montrealplus.ca/montreal/venues/boucherie-prince-noir-fr

At the Canard Libéré on St-Laurent, a store devoted to duck, you will find Peking Lac Brome duck, as well as all the duck inspiration you need, a wide array of pre-made dishes if you want.  http://www.canardsdulacbrome.com/fr/boutiques/ 

If you can get a hold of a supreme from Morgan farms, it’s worth it.  www.fermemorgan.ca

Marinate it, pan-roast and serve it as is, or deglaze and make a sauce.

For one Duck supreme 600g, serves 4p

Heat a good pan to high.  Put room temperature duck into pan skin side down and turn the heat down to medium.  Leave for 10 minutes, pouring off accumulating fat regularly.  Flip over, cook 2 more minutes then turn off the heat. At this point, it should be rare-medium rare.  If it feels softer, leave in pan to finish with the residual heat..  Otherwise, pull it out and let it rest a good five min while you make the sauce with the pan drippings.  Pour out the last of the fat, deglaze with a splash of wine, some stock, reduce down.  Finish to taste with a good cider, balsamic or sherry vinegar, a swirl of butter, salt and pepper  ..

My two favourite marinades (a couple of hours or overnight)

Marinade 1:  EVO, drops chilli and sesame oil, drops soy, drops maple syrup, drops Sherry vinegar, pinch curry powder, pinch five spice

Marinade 2:  EVO, rosemary oil, drops Aged balsamic, drops soy, drops worchesterchire, steak spice, allspice, pepper, thym

For further duck delights, cravings or discoveries, I encourage you to come to Les Jardins Sauvages.  It is the star of the menu in winter, but I do serve it year round and have all my duck charcuterie as well as some prepared sous-vide dishes (confit, filets in wild ginger sauce, cassoulet, soup..) available at the Market as well as at the restaurant..