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Sarah Slack

@commontablebc

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Curiousity & community care at our common table. Good food, clean air, justice everywhere.
📍xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, & səlilwətaɬ territory

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Palestine on a Plate by Joudie Kalla is the cookbook I highly recommend if you want to learn about the history and culture of Palestinian people while you cook. And, if you want superb recipes by a very talented chef. Follow Joudie @palestineonaplate
to learn about the
continuing ethnic cleansing and violent displacement of Palestinians through the ongoing colonization of Palestine by the Israeli state and settlers. by @commontablebc

Mouneh is a word that describes the process of preserving seasonal foods for storage. This book by Barbara Abdeni Massaad is a carefully researched, gorgeously documented love letter to the producers and preservers of local foods in Lebanon. It’s full of stories and images of everyday people that together illuminate the history and survival of the cultures of Lebanon. Massaad describes her long process of visiting villagers in all parts of Lebanon to gather and preserve their recipes and food preservation methods. She writes "again and again, I saw that whatever differences may exist between people, they ultimately render us invaluable to each other." Massaad inspires a hope that remembering how people have lived on, and preserved the gifts of the land, in reciprocal relationship with their neighbours, could teach us how to preserve political peace. I have to tell you, after reading the news stories of escalating violence occurring in Lebanon today, against the backdrop of years of devastating economic, political, and fiscal crisis, her words have struck the centre of my heart.

Mouneh has helped me understand the bedrock of Lebanese cuisine, but has also informed my own practise of preserving the food in my garden and region. I used the method for preserving green almonds in an experimental pickle of baby green peaches Tom Ouchi generously allowed us to harvest from his trees at Ringo-En Orchards during the thinning season earlier this year. I found many tempting recipes for preserving the box of quince I bought from Mr Sadi at the Farmers Market yesterday. And, when I wanted to understand how to work with new-to-me ingredients shankleesh and dried molokhia / mlookhieh (see previous post) I turned to Mouneh. I learned how they are grown and produced, and an idea of how they are most commonly prepared.

I’m in search of a companion to Mouneh, a cookbook that documents how these preserved foods are used in Lebanese kitchens. Do you have a favourite Lebanese cookbook? by @commontablebc

The Memory of Taste: Vietnamese American Recipes from Phú Quôc, Oakland, and the Spaces Between.

No cookbook is apolitical, but this one has a spine holding it together with unapologetically political narratives. It gleefully complicates stereotypes and rearranges both recipes and beliefs. It’s a cookbook of stories and essays to read and learn from, and recipes to cook from. It will feed your soul and your stomach.

Soleil Ho, the co-author did a fundraising raffle for Crips for eSIMs for Gaza organized by Jane Shi, Alice Wong, and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, to mark the publication of the cookbook. I made another donation to this really important mutual aid project, which has raised over $1 million Canadian dollars. To my surprise (I do not win things) I won the raffle.

The day the cookbook arrived I was wearing my “Free Palestine: From the River to The Sea” shirt. It’s another mutual aid fundraiser led by the indomitable artist and activist Stephanie Shih. When I opened the book to the first page that Soleil had inscribed with “From the River to the Sea” I remembered that mutual aid is what will free us all, in the end. All our efforts are connected, my drop joins all the others to create a sea-swell of resistance and liberation. My freedom is inextricably entwined with yours.

@soleil_ho
@crisps4esims
@disability_visibility
@pipagaopoetry
@thellpsx
@stephaniehshih by @commontablebc

My favourite part of Halloween is talking to neighbours.

My favourite part of the Farmers Market is talking to farmers. It was the last Trout Lake market of the season on Saturday. I wish we had a winter market in East Van.

My favourite conversation this weekend was when I met Bree of Bella & Ursa Major Wineries.
In the span of 20 ish minutes we covered
climate change,
agricultural policy,
electoral politics,
backbone parenting as it
relates to wine making,
Kahlil Gibran,
late diagnosed autism,
the powers of neurodivergence,
and analog winemaking.

AI could never.

ਚੱਲ ਪੁੱਤ ਸ਼ੇਰ ਬਣ ਕੇ gewürztraminer @ursamajorwinery
matsutake @yourwildestfoods
ginger @cropthornefarmstand
kombu from canadian kelp
kombu dashi recipe @emikodavies
yuzu leaves & lemon verbena from our garden by @commontablebc

Peachland and all the land where peaches grow near me is surrounded by forest fires. Some of the 8,000 strong “temporary” migrant workers who come to BC year after year after year to pick our peaches were caught in a wildfire that roared to life so swiftly they had to be helicoptered out. My government only allowed them 2 nights of emergency shelter because they are not “permanent” residents. I listened to On Blossom, read the Tyee article, and watched the Migrant Workers Centre staff lay bare my governments utter depravity of care for the people whose hands feed us, while peach juice dripped down my arm and Jim canned enough peaches for our holidays & birthdays this year. Then I made a donation to the Migrant Worker Wildfire Relief Fund. All we have is each other. Link in bio. by @commontablebc

Testing recipes for Emiko Davies’ forthcoming cookbook The Japanese Pantry.

Hoto Noodle Soup
Kasuzuke
Hoba Miso

@emikodavies by @commontablebc

Doimaj with Persian basil, a gift for Hem & Bahar.
Persian basil, a gift from Hem & Bahar. by @commontablebc

I signed up for Andrea Nguyen’s zoom cooking class today so I could learn how to make steamed rice rolls at home. There is nowhere to buy them in Vernon (please tell me if I’m wrong, I’d love to be wrong). I made the Vietnamese version Bánh Cuốn Nhân Thịt. (Pork Steamed Rice Rolls). Andrea made three additional versions: Bánh Cuốn Chay (Shiitake-Cauliflower Steamed Rice Rolls), and the Cantonese style Har Cheung Fun (Shrimp Steamed Rice Rolls), as well as a Cantonese style vegetarian filling with mushrooms. Phew.

Andrea’s trick is to soak the rice paper in water for quite a while until they look like jellyfish. Surprisingly, they are incredibly sturdy. Add filling, wrap and roll. Then steam very briefly, either in a pot or wok. A microwave is also an option.

Top the Bánh Cuốn with Hành Phi (Fast-Fried Shallots), and serve with Nước Chấm (Dipping Sauce) and a cucumber herb salad on the side. Honestly, I was so skeptical that steamed rice rolls made with rice paper would taste good, but I’m thrilled to tell you they taste excellent, and are relatively easy to make.

If you want to try making steamed rice rolls at home, get a copy of Ever-Green Vietnamese, @andreanguyen88 latest, plant focused, cookbook. They are so good, they made the cover! by @commontablebc

Nightshade *Stew, Re-do

In a 3.5 litre clay roaster (soaked for 20 mins) with enough olive oil to cover the bottom in a thin layer add
14 Roma tomatoes (skinned & cored)
1 tbsp sea salt
Genovese basil (so much, stems attached)
1 large Walla Walla onion (eigthed & grilled)
2 heads Red Russian garlic (grilled then peeled)
1 leek (grilled)
2 Italian & 3 Asian eggplants (grilled)
1 zucchini (grilled)
15 patty pan squash (grilled)
23 tomatillos (husked then grilled)
1 medium corno di toro pepper (grilled & peeled)
1 red bell pepper (grilled & peeled)
2 + chile peppers (grilled)
5 fresh bay leaves

Bake at 300 F with the lid on for 2 hours. Remove the lid and bake at 250 F for 2 more hours or until all the vegetables are very soft. Remove basil & bay leaves.

Quantities and **ingredients (as long as they are nightshades, alliums, and herbs) are flexible and are meant to use what is in the fridge and at the Farmers Market when the weather has just turned cooler, and the oven can be on for 4 hours, but the basil is still thriving in the garden.

*it’s actually a braise, but that doesn’t rhyme with re-do, my little note to self that I first made this in 2021
**tomatillos are not optional, they make this braise unique and provide a tremendous amount of flavour, sweetness, and acidity. by @commontablebc

Hyperlocal Crabapple Sauce
Sour fruits are ideal for creating hyperlocal recipes. We don’t have any good quality, locally produced vinegar in the Okanagan as far as I know, which is a shame because we have the essential ingredients. The very pricey Okanagan Riesling vinegar I bought a few year ago smelled like nail polish remover. The producer said it was safe to consume. I did not. Maybe one day I’ll learn how to make my own vinegar. It’s more likely than becoming the Okanagan version of Salt Spring Island’s Jane Squier. For decades we’ve tried to grow all kinds of citrus. We mostly kill the plants, but any really hardy ones that survive yield lots of citrus leaves and only one or two citrus fruits, if we are lucky. So, rhubarb, sour cherries, and crabapples are my go to locally grown souring ingredients.

Vernon Farmers Market is where I find most of my local produce. I buy crabapples from Gambell Farms every year. Miguel (Fruit n Blooms) is the hot pepper king. Garlic is abundant at the market, but some are cured better than others. We are happy with the ones from Silver Star Veggies.

Honey is the only local sweetener unless you are making fruit molasses from scratch (I am not!) and Armstrong’s Wild Antho honey is so delicious. It comes in our monthly home delivery from Fresh Valley Farms.

Our elderberries are just starting to ripen now. They are very medicinal tasting on their own, but are wonderful in combination with other fruit.

There are more than 50 different types of herbs in our garden this year. I’m not actually sure how that happened? A new one is hyssop - an ancient herb with flavours of mint, sage, and some bitterness. My perennial favourite is bay laurel, which I use in sweet and savoury cooking. The scent a freshly harvested bay leaf gives off when it meets heat is heavenly. Fresh curry leaves are even more dramatic.

Experimental preserves are not safe to water bath can for shelf stable storage. If I do not follow a well tested recipe, and don’t know the pH of the finished product, I store the preserves in the freezer. by @commontablebc

Cochinita Pibil

Mexican Oregano / Lippia Graveolens, that isn’t oregano at all. It’s in the verbena family.

More than 200 g of the best achiote seeds from Épices De Cru, freshly ground.

Grilling the banana leaves makes them more pliable.

Fresh Valley Farms pork butt roast marinated in an achiote, Mexican oregano, peppercorn, allspice, cumin, garlic, salt, and sour orange paste. Wrapped in banana leaves and charcoal grilled for hours.

Cochinita pibil on Maiiz BC corn tortillas, with grilled habanero salsa, pickled red onions and Mexican oregano flowers. Habaneros from Miguel and red onions from Penny Jong at the Vernon Farmers Market.

@maiiz.nixtamal
@freshvalleyfarms
@epicesdecru
@vernon_farmers_market by @commontablebc

Burrata for breakfast.

We don’t have any local apricots, nectarines, or peaches this year (climate change) and the ones from California make me want to gnash my teeth and pull out my hair. How do we can peaches for birthdays and Christmas if we have no peaches? When we evacuated from the Whiterock Lake fire we took family photos and canned peaches.

And yet, Mr Sadi is selling beautiful cherries at the Farmers Market (do they can well?) And our basil plants from Zelaney Farm are thriving, as ever, in the Okanagan heat.

When I drizzle the olive oil from Palestine on top of the burrata, it puts the lack of peaches problem in perspective, but they are actually all connected, aren’t they? by @commontablebc