Hot Shots - August 25, 2023
Hot Shots - August 25, 2023
Severin R-B Danieli
Hello all,
Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! We've had some serious wildfire activity in BC over the past week and were covered in a thick cloud of smoke this past weekend on the coast. Here at Disco we are thinking of all those affected and hoping for the best possible outcome and safety for all those involved.
I've been a busy bee lately with getting our new place organized, figuring out my last weeks at Disco before maternity leave, helping to train some new employees and also celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday, my dad's birthday and my baby shower!
For my mother-in-law, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant in Vancouver called Anh and Chi and the food was spectacular. I'm a vegetarian, and there are so so many options! They also have an impressive line- up of low intervention/natural wines all from BC wineries, so Jonathan was stoked. For my dad's birthday, he invited us all over and made one of his classic dishes - spanakopita. Now, I've never been to Greece, one day I will go, but this is hands down the best spanakopita I have ever had. Nothing compares to it! Flaky filo dough, subtle dill, tangy feta, savoury spinach... mmm yum! And finally, my sister and sister-in-law threw me a beautiful backyard baby shower for this sweet baby boy, and I was in a love bubble the whole day. Though someone did guess that the circumference of my belly was 90 inches... it is 49.5 folks, don't worry.
Produce wise, what with Hurricane Hilary hitting Mexico and California, as well as wildfires in Washington and BC, the next few days will reveal the extent of what has been affected. However, for now, let's look at some gorgeous product we have in house.
Bartlett pears.
Local pears have arrived from Sundance and are available in 24# cases as pictured above. Also stocked at Disco are starkrimson pears from Washington in 60ct cases.
Bartlett pears are one of my favourite pears, and who could say no to a pear galette? Here is a recipe link to an Apple-Pear Galette with Apple Cider Caramel from New York Times cooking. Growing up, my mom did most of the cooking, but in the last few years a culinary bug has bitten my dad and he is loving to cook! And luckily, 90% of the time he hits it outta the park and we get to enjoy some seriously delicious dishes. One dish he is great at is risotto. I actually bought my parents the biggest pan I could find for Christmas last year so that my dad could make enough risotto for us all to have seconds.
Does my love of food make sense now?
Funnily enough, speaking of risotto and pears, when my dad and I were in Italy to attend my graduation back in September of 2021, we went to one of my favourite restaurants in the town we were living in while I was studying, and my dad tried the pecorino and pear risotto. Absolutely delicious. Never a combination I would think of! But those Italian chefs really know what they are doing. I also had a chocolate (like cocoa powder) and walnut risotto around Christmas in 2020 in a little town called Cherasco. Ah, Italy - I need to get back!
If savoury is more your speed, here is a Disco approved recipe for a cherry tomato galette!
Speaking of Italy...
Italian prune plums! But... from BC! Available in 25# bulk cases and 8x2# bags, these plums come from Natures First Fruit in Cawston, BC.
As the name suggests, these plums are native to the coastal Mediterranean regions of Italy, blooming in early spring and producing large crops in late summer. How the plums ended up in Italy is not specifically known, but some history suggests that these plums could be descendants of plums brought over to Italy from Syria in the 12th century. Grafted onto local European plum rootstock, which creates several different plum cultivars. In the photo above, you can see what is called 'bloom' which is a powdery white substance that acts as a natural barrier to insects, bacteria and moisture loss.
Recipe wise, these plums are very versatile: jams, tarts, crumbles, cakes, or simply grill them on the BBQ or roast them with butter and sugar.
Grapefruits.
It's been a while since we've talked citrus, and it is my dad's birthday today (happy birthday, dad - see you later today for spanakopita and birthday celebrations!), and he is the citrus man. Growing up, if we ever visited him at his office downtown, there was always the citrus drawer in his desk filled with oranges and grapefruits for his mid-morning snack.
We've got star ruby grapefruits 40ct, 48ct, 64ct and bagged 10x4# all from sunny California.
This specific cultivar, the star ruby, was found growing as a natural mutation on a grapefruit tree in San Benito, Texas in the 1930's. The grapefruit provides vitamin A, B and C, zinc, copper, iron, potassium, dietary fiber and the star ruby specifically boasts the highest numbers of lycopene of all grapefruits.
When it comes to grapefruits I prefer them three ways:
- grapefruit juice if I want something a bit more sour than orange juice
- sliced in half like the photo above, cut with a grapefruit knife along the dividers and eaten raw
- peeled, cubed and added into a salad for a citrus punch
Green himrod grapes & concord grapes.
I have a special place in my heart for grapes like these, as my father-in-law and his dad (my husband's grandfather), grow these types of grapes in their garden. Just yesterday I was in my father-in-law's garden eating concord grapes right off the vine.
Coronation grapes (also am I the only one that thinks of that scene in Frozen, 'it's coronation day!'??) are little bursts of fresh and tart flavour, and the himrod grapes are a sweeter and more delicate flavour. Himrod grapes are a white table grape varietal, and were released in 1952 by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station. These grapes yield a bountiful harvest and are a very reliable variety.
Concord grapes are best known for being the grape for grape juice, and have what is called a slip-skin variety as the skin slips off the inner flesh of the grape with ease. Originating in Concord, Massachusetts in 1849, concord grapes have been a part of American viticulture since the 1840's. Dr. Thomas Welch (hello, Welch grape juice) who was a dentist and prohibitionist created the now famous Welch's grape juice from 40lbs of concord grapes he grew in his front yard.
These grapes come to us from Secrest Organic Farm and are in 8x2# clamshells.
Okra.
Red & green okra have landed at Disco, and funnily enough, I had green okra in my dinner last night while we were out celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday at Anh and Chi restaurant on Main St. I had what they called an 'Om Bowl' and it was veggies and tofu and veggie spring rolls and vermicelli noodles. Just delicious.
Okra is part of the mallow family, along with cotton, cocoa and hibiscus (does that seem random to anyone else?), and is most often used in dishes alongside bold and complex flavours and textures. The okra seed was brought to the USA by French colonists, and this pod made itself known in Southern American cooking. Originally, it was cultivated in Ethiopia, and in the 12th century, it was transported to Arabia from Egypt via the Red Sea.
And there you have it! This week's Hot Shots all wrapped up.
This weekend is going to be pretty chill and I am very excited for that. Some family time, saying goodbye to a friend who was visiting from Italy, and then hopefully more relaxing. I've only got a bit more time before I am off for mat leave, but I promise I will let all of you, my loyal readers, know when it is the last hot shots.
Enjoy your weekend & stay safe!
Big love,
Severin R-B Danieli