Hot Shots - November 4, 2022

Hot Shots - November 4, 2022
Severin R-B Danieli

Hello all,

Happy November! We are getting a mixed bag of weather here on the coast, with very chilly mornings, frosty cars, and then a few days of bright sun and crisp blue sky! I'll take it.

This past weekend was a busy one, filled with live music at a halloween party, seeing the spooky nights at Capilano suspension bridge, went to the opera, hung out on Main St, and then topped it off with some family fun and my nephew in a lion costume. All in all, a great weekend.

The work week passed by as usual; produce in, produce out. We are still receiving a good amount of local product which is wonderful, and just today I was doing a quality check on some Ralphs Greenhouse rainbow carrots from Washington and cabbage and onions from Longview on Vancouver Island.

I've been feeling the shift this week of turning inward; battening down the hatches for some cold and wet weather, a retreat back into our warm homes, and a shift to eating warming soups, stews and roasting root veggies.

Leeks.

I had a single leek in fridge for about a week, and every time I opened my fridge door I would look at it, and wonder what I should make it into.

Yesterday, the sun was shining, the air was cold, and I decided it was the day for this delicious local leek to be made into a warm soup!

I chopped up a whole white onion, seasoned with salt, pepper, dried rosemary and let that cook with a combo of extra virgin olive oil and butter. Then, I crushed four cloves of garlic, and added that to the pot. I diced up my leek and some german butter potatoes, added those to the pot and topped it off with veggie stock. Brought this all to a boil, turned down the heat and let it cook till the potatoes were soft.

These leeks pictured above are from Crisp organic, which is a local organic farm in Abbotsford. A family owned and operated farm since 2010, these 11 acres of land are used to grow all sorts of delicious veggies.

Currently, we have table carrots, green cabbage, yellow potatoes, bulk red beets, juice carrots, celery, and leeks from Crisp.

Alfalfa sprouts.

One of my favourite salad toppers, these sprouts pack a nutrient punch. Filled to the brim with bioactive plant compounds, which include a bunch of fancy names: saponins, coumarins, flavonoids, phytosterols, phytoestrogens, alkaloids, vitamin k and detoxifies the liver.

First domesticated in Iran and Turkey, and in 16th century Spanish explorers brought over these sprouts to the New World. In North America, alfalfa became popular in culinary application in the 1970's.

Alfalfa recipes are easy enough, as most use these sprouts raw as toppers to salads, burgers, buddha bowls and sandwiches.

Fuyu persimmons.

Persimmons and I have a complex relationship. I'm not gonna lie.

I've mentioned this before, but while I was in Italy, our town had tons of persimmon trees. Their branches, weighted down with juicy persimmons, would hang over garden walls and entice all who walked by.

I'm still getting used to the taste of them, and know there is a certain timeframe of ripeness where they are at their best. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect persimmon!

There are a lot of different types of persimmons, and at Disco right now we have Wild River fuyu V/F 25#, and the hachiya 36/44ct from Twin Girls. Hachiya's are darker orange, and shaped a bit more like oval, whereas fuyu (pictured here), are more golden in colour and a bit squatter, kind of like a beef steak tomato.

Persimmons are considered lucky in Chinese culture, and are often given as gifts for weddings and during the Lunar New Year.

Asparagus.

These green spears are suitable for any season.

Summer: grilled asparagus on the bbq
Autumn: hearty egg and asparagus frittata
Winter: an asparagus and cheese quiche
Spring: baked asparagus with salmon

This asparagus comes up to us from sunny California from Gourmet Trading, and is in 11ct cases.

Asparagus was cultivated first by the ancient Romans, around 200 BCE, and translated to 'shoot' - an homage to how these veggie spears shoot up from the earth. Julius Cesar is recorded saying his favourite preparation of asparagus is served in a 'pool of melted butter'. I quite agree, Mr. Cesar.

Rainbow Carrots.

This past weekend, I bought rainbow bunched carrots from Ralphs Greenhouse at my local grocery store. I didn't think much of it, as I was thinking of just having them on hand for a crunchy snack. Little did I know, when I first bit into them as I was putting away the other groceries, the sweetness of these carrots would stop me in my tracks.,

Never, ever, in my life have I had such a delicious carrot. I thought it was maybe a fluke from the orange one I had eaten, so I took a bite of the white one (historically the least flavourful in my opinion) and it was just as sweet, took a bite of the purple one - bursting with sweet flavour!

Ralphs Greenhouse is known for their leeks, but honestly, these carrots are giving the leeks a run for their money! But don't take my word for it, order these carrots and see for yourself.

Staff introduction post: Dominic!

Dominic is a new member of the Sorting team, but already fit right in like he's been here for years.

Living most of his life in BC, including around Metro Vancouver and up in the Great Bear Rainforest, Dominic also spent a year abroad in Jamaica - perhaps this is where his mango love came from!

His favourite mango variety is an ataulfo, but pictured above he is holding a Tommy Atkins mango from Frutti Mania in 12ct cases that we have in stock at Disco.

Dominic is also gearing up to launch his own clothing line called Coruscation, which by dictionary definition is 'a sudden display of brilliance; a flashing of light; a sparkle'. His clothing is all organic cotton, and is suitable for anyone to wear. Keep your eyes peeled for that!

I hope everyone has a restful, cozy and dry weekend.

My plans include spending time with a family friend who is visiting, some reading, some relaxing, and a bit of sushi.

Chat next week!

Big love,
Severin R-B Danieli