7th Annual Garlic Festival: Chefs to the Field

This August

our family went to 

the Garlic Festival in Terra Nova, Richmond.

We weren't sure what to expect

and arrived sometime in the afternoon.

The garlic festival was held 

on the Sharing Farm Society's property.

Check out their site here for 

more information on what it is they do.

It is amazing work. 

The garlic festival is their big fundraiser of the year. 

A bean teepee! 

Spencer and I were quite surprised

how much there was to do!

There were many activities for kids,

including face painting, a petting zoo,

shows and demonstrations.

We didn't get a chance to see

all there was because we showed up 

towards the end of the day.

Next year we will be sure to go earlier

to participate in all the activities.

For the adults

there was a market,

other demonstrations 

and tours of the farm. 

The event I was most excited for,

and really why I wanted to go,

was the Chefs to the Field competition. 

There were 8 participating restaurants:

Torafuku, Shangri-La hotel Vancouver, 

wild rice market bistro, Osteria Savio Volpe, Longtail Kitchen, 

Fable Restaurant, Terminal City Club  and 

graze restaurant. 

Each of the participants

made a mad dash to the field

to harvest their produce.

There was a table set out with pantry ingredients.

There were two secret ingredients,

a scrumptious Oceanwise crab that had been caught

that morning and...

you guessed it - garlic. 

It was exciting to see them 

gathering, preparing and thinking about their approach.

Each team had to prepare 2 dishes in the allotted time;

one of them being a vegetarian dish. 

Claire enjoyed walking around

watching them work hard and quickly,

to prepare their dishes. 

The emcee warned the observers

to give the chefs room to work, 

or they would bite.

At one point, I took a step forward

to snap a closer picture.

With wide eyes Claire pulled me back

exclaiming, "Mommy, he'll bite you!"

The event was a bit long to watch in entirety

with little kids,

so I don't know who won.

Make sure to put this event on your 

calendar as a must do for the family

next summer!

Summer Corn Chowder

This past weekend 

the girls in our family had a terrible stomach flu.

It was just awful,

and what made it worse

was that we had to cancel plans 

with our friends who we had been so looking 

forward to having over.

So, come Sunday we had 12 ears of corn

to consume before it went too starchy.

There is nothing worse than starchy corn.

Okay, there are lots of things worse than that.

But wasting 12 beautiful cobs of corn isn't fun.

When the weather became slightly cooler

I jumped at the chance to make a soup.

Especially since we had weak tummies,

I knew a bowl of soup would be the perfect remedy.

And what better soup to make that particular day

than Summer Corn Chowder? 

I grew up in Abbotsford

which prides itself,

almost as much as Chilliwack does,

on how delicious Chilliwack corn is.

However, since moving to Delta

I now know the true goodness of corn,

thanks to Ladner corn! 

Corn from the Guichon farms is simply the best. 

I purchased my corn from the Guichon sisters at 

Backroads Family Farm Market. 

Part of my reason for choosing to purchase 

Ladner corn for our family dinner with friends

is because they are from Chilliwack

and I wanted to show them how delicious our corn is, too!

One of my favourite ways to make 

a chowder is with a smokey flavour. 

This leads me to

two key ingredients in the soup;

corn (obviously) that has been charred on the grill

and a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.

You can find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce 

in the Mexican foods aisle at your grocery store.

My kids don't love spicey food 

as much as my husband and I do,

so I add the chipotle pepper just while cooking 

and then take it out with the bay leaf.

If you like the extra kick,

simple chop it up and add it right to the soup.

A little trick my friend taught me

is to freeze the extra chipotle peppers in some of the sauce

in little freezer bags for future use.

This way you aren't purchasing and 

wasting a can each time you need one pepper.

You will need: 

• 6-8 ears of corn, shucked
• 2 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups of water
• 1-14oz can of evaporated milk (cream works fine, too)
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 8 slices of bacon, chopped into pieces
• 3 russet potatoes, scrubbed. Chopped into bite size pieces.
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp of white pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:

1. Once you have shucked your corn, place it on the heated grill and let it sit a minute or so on each side. Long enough that there are some grill marks and black spots on it, but not burned. Then using a large sharp knife, cut off the kernels of all the corn cobs. 

2. Heat your dutch oven on medium heat and add the butter. Once it has melted add your onion, once it has softened add your garlic, don't let it burn. Once fragrant, add your bacon pieces. Adjust cooking temperature as needed. Once your bacon has cooked, drain the fat. 

3. Turn the heat to medium-high and add your broth. Using your wooden spoon, work quickly to scrape the bottom of the dutch oven. This gives your soup some depth of flavour and adds a beautiful colour. Remove all the bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. Then add your water. Add the corn, potatoes, bay leaf, the chipotle pepper (either whole to remove later, or chopped if you are leaving it in) and other spices. Bring to a low boil. Put the lid on and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. 

4. Remove the bay leaf and the chipotle pepper. Taste your soup and adjust your seasonings as you desire. Bring the temperature to low. Once the soup has cooled slightly, very slowly add your evaporated milk. Serve and enjoy.