Adventures in Hub City, Moncton!

Adventure is just bad planning. – Roald Amundsen 

Downtown Moncton. A good adventure, with no planning. Photo: JHikka, Flickr CCL

No recipe today, but thought I would recount our adventures this weekend, mostly culinary. Compare and contrast with my rant about Halifax, posted September 30, 2013 (here.) 

We wanted to do something a bit different than home or Halifax this past weekend. I was thinking a bit like the Annapolis Valley, but my spouse had a different idea – Moncton, New Brunswick. The Hub City, in off-season.

Off-season (or it’s euphemism, “shoulder-season”) can be a crap shoot for tourists, but we thought “it’s a city,” so can’t be too bad. Can it? I am here to tell you it was not. Not at all. We had a great time.

Usually off-season means that much in the way of tourist activities are over. So no outdoor concerts or street markets or the like. But it also means you have the place more to yourselves, and room rates are lower. 

If you like the outside stuff, just make sure you check online to make sure enough is going on to occupy your time. In Moncton you can find it, even in late October.

I want to talk about one place in particular, but before that I want to offer Halifax an object lesson. Downtown Moncton is wifi. Yup. Plop your butt anywhere and you can surf via phone, iPad, laptop, etc. Have a question about what's around? Find an answer.

Why can’t our capital city do that on Spring Garden, the waterfront, Barrington, Quinpool and Gottingen? Lack of will, I would imagine. It is a fantastic idea that helps tourists find activities and businesses – and spend more money.

But back to Moncton. We went there flying by the seat of our pants, except for a 2 night reservation at Midtown Motel and Suites on Weldon. It’s a drive-up old-school motel at one end of Main. Walking distance to all of downtown. Not 4 star for sure, and a little care-worn, but certainly good enough to lay your head for a couple nights. And affordable. $79/night for a "King" room. Downtown.

We asked the front desk for places to eat within walking distance and were given a few. We also checked tripadvisor.ca and off we went.

Do not believe everything tripadvisor tells you. Take it with a grain of salt. We ignored the recommendations from the front desk when we walked past the Tide & Boar Gastropub on Main street and read the menu. It’s ranked 24th on tripadvisor’s list, but has 156 reviews. Soon to be 157...

In contrast, the number 1 rated restaurant (which I’m sure is good) has only 71 reviews. So it’s the average of the reviews, not the number of “excellents” that determine position. T&B had twice as many excellent and very good reviews than the top restaurant had in total reviews. So take it from there.

By the way, disregard reviews that focus on an employee rather than full experience. You never know how the reviewer was interacting with/abusing the employee. They’re usually biased.

Tide & Boar Gastropub 
700 Rue Main Street, Moncton, NB

Mon - Wed 11am-midnight; Thu - Fri 11am-2am; 
Sat 10am-2am; Sun noon-midnight

www.tideandboar.com

It was a bustling place, set in a late 1800s building. Their claim to fame is craft beer and boar, plus some seafood to round out the "tide" bit. The menu is full of choices using boar that has been cured, smoked, stewed, you name it – right on site. They have many local NB beers on tap.

We started with two exceptional local micro-brewed beers. A Stout and an IPA. The Stout was deep, smooth and rich, as it should be. It might have been Pumphouse, or we thought it was. We forgot. The IPA (I believe Picaroon Yippi- IPA) was unfiltered, full flavoured, bright, hoppy and amazing. Made mass produced beer taste like dishwater. 

We started with the boar charcuterie platter. I’ll try to remember everything on it. Should have taken a picture, but that’s really annoying for other diners when you’re there. I’m relying on the picture from their web site.

From Tide & Boar's web site. We had a
slightly different platter. Things change.

It consisted of 4 smoked boar belly slices, a meat pâté, some sort of potted meat, 4 cured boar meat slices, a boar sausage, a smooth pâté and foie gras. Beautifully presented on a wooden board, plus bread rounds and grainy mustard. Total cost $16. This made what we got at the Shoe Shop in Halifax (for $17) taste and look like a real mess. Which it kind of was. 

Although all was excellent, the foie gras was nearly enough to make you pee your pants. It was that good. The mains were better than what one would expect from a pub, but I won’t go into them in detail. Check their menu, below. The atmosphere was very comfortable and our server friendly and prompt. 

T&B have live music at least Thurs-Sat. Our night it was located downstairs, which made dining a little more enjoyable. Matt Mayes, Sloan, Wintersleep, Matt Costa, In Flight Safety, plus locals, have all played their stage. T&B also has an attached wine bar, separate from the main gastropub.

Would I go back? Yes. Should you go? Yes. Should you take a special trip to Moncton for them? Maybe... It was a revelation to try the area's craft beers plus the great food. It was eye opening.

The next evening we went to the belly of the beast to experience more craft brewing – Pumphouse Brewery. They serve all their own beers (about 12) as well as good pub-style food. They also sell several of their beers by the 6 and 12 pack, beyond NB Liquor hours, in case you ever find the need. The real standout for us was dessert: Tiramisu Cheesecake. Not to be missed.

You can buy Picaroon and Pumphouse brands in Nova Scotia, but nowhere near enough selection, in my humble opinion. Besides NSLC look in the independent liquor outlets. They may be more “adventurous.”

So if you’re looking for friendly people, good food, good beer and a good time, don’t rule out Moncton. Whatever feelings you have about the Hub City are probably wrong. And it’s less than 3 hours from downtown Halifax.

Check out their site for lunch menu and more.

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Sweet Flax Seed Bread

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou, Beside me singing in the Wilderness—Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow! – Edward Fitzgerald

Had a very “large” day with my husband yesterday. “Large” in Nova Scotia means a wonderful day full of fun activities. We left the house yesterday at 11am and didn’t get back until 10pm and 350 km later.

We’re in the middle of Queens County, NS. So what can you get up to down this end of the province? Quite a lot actually, and for us it included three activities we had never done before.

This hemlock isn't 300 years old, but it was cool.

We first struck out to Kejimkujik National Park. We wanted to see some trees. Old growth hemlock, to be exact – some in excess of 300 years old. Adult day passes are $5.80 – do whatever you want all day until midnight. Our Bouvier Henry was free.

The old growth hemlock walk is 5km in total, through some beautiful undisturbed forested area, all well marked and interpreted. We were in the middle of nowhere, so good signage is a comfort. The boardwalk through the old hemlocks was stunning. The 5 km was a snap – and we don’t really walk all that much.

From there we headed for Digby and the Tiverton Ferry to Long Island. We were on a mission to see the scenic balancing rock, a 20 foot high piece of basalt rock precariously balanced on an outcropping on the shore. It’s been that way for 200 million years, or thereabouts...

It was even fun to take the ferry to Long Island, although it was only a 5 minute quarter mile trip. The ferry ride was $5.50 round trip. It runs every hour, 24 hours a day.

Balancing rock.

If you do want to see it, be aware there’s about 235 steps down to the water. Take your time. Henry was able to manage them. It’s worth it.

Backtracking, we walked the Digby waterfront. It was charming and way more than I expected. The people are friendly – even the tourists! My husband Mike got some nice shots of the famous Digby fishing fleet. A stunning, blue sky day.

Dinner was even a revelation. I had a club house sandwich at Irving’s Big Stop in Digby, but instead of turkey it had lobster! Lots of lobster. I’m making that at home. Best lobster "sandwich" I ever had.

For such a full day you would think that we would have started earlier. That’s my fault. Before we left I had to make bread for the week. 

There’s nothing like starting your day’s adventures with warm, fresh bread in your belly.

I’m so lucky. Good food, fantastic adventures, a wonderful dog (who probably regrets all the walking...) and a husband that is my heart’s twin. Can life get better?

Sweet Flax Seed Bread

Prep, including rises: 3 hrs  |  Bake: 35 min  |  Yield 1 loaf

2 cups water, 110°F

1 tbsp yeast

1 cup red fife or whole wheat flour

4-5 cups unbleached flour

1/3 cup fancy molasses

1/2 cup flax seeds

1 tsp salt

Proof the yeast in the warm water for 10 minutes until bubbly.

Before and after rising – doubled in bulk.

Mix in the red fife, 4 cups of the unbleached flour, molasses, flax seeds and salt. Bring together and try to knead on the counter. Only add enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that is still just slightly sticky.

Knead for 5 minutes. Oil a bowl, plop in the dough and let rise until doubled – between 1.5 and 2 hours. (Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and then place a towel on top.)

Punch the dough down, roll into a log by folding it over and place in a well oiled 9” x 5” bread pan to rise again. Second rise should only take between 1/2 and 3/4 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F with a pan of water on the bottom rack to hydrate the oven.

Bake the oven for 10 minutes, remove the water and then bake for an additional 25 minutes. The loaf is done when it is nicely browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with your fingers on top.

Let cool slightly, remove from the pan and then let cool until you can’t wait to try it!

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Tourist for a Day. Historic Gardens at Annapolis Royal

The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people's reality, and eventually in one's own. – Susan Sontag

Tree peony in full glory.

31 May 2013 will go down in the history books as the first day of mid-summer.

Seriously, how else can you describe a day of full sun and temperatures in the 30°C range? Suffice to say it was quite a pleasure.

The Victorian Garden. Most of its beauty is yet to come.

I have discovered that one of the benefits of self-employment is that you set your own hours. After I had made sure my clients were taken care of early, we set out on a road trip. A “Mental Health Day” road trip. Working from home does tend to cage one in...

Our trip yesterday took us across the centre of the province – up past Kejimkujik National Park through to Annapolis Royal, across the Annapolis Valley and back home through New Ross and Bridgewater. You can cover a lot of beautiful ground in 7 hours in Nova Scotia.

Azaleas. Fragrant azaleas...

The main attraction I want to talk about today is the stunning Historic Gardens at Annapolis Royal. Located on 17 acres in the heart of the town, it is a must stop for anyone venturing to that part of our beautiful province. It's kind of an oasis in the centre of an oasis (the town).

Not only is it a wonder for the eyes, but it is also a learning centre where 400 years of horticultural practices are represented, including the Mi’kmaq, Acadians, Victorians and present day gardeners. They even have an experimental area where they show how seniors can garden for food well into their old age.

One of the ponds (waterlilies later...) surrounded by mature trees.

Admission during high season is a little steep (for me...) at $10 per person, but since we were there at shoulder season it only cost $6. It is managed by a Society (not Government) and they have to pay for its upkeep, so it is well worth the outlay at either price. I’m just cheap.

The most beautiful displays yesterday were the rhododendrons and azaleas, although some magnolias and other flowers were in bloom as well. Apparently during rose season the gardens are a sight to behold.

The Acadian House has an attached garden that shows how families helped
feed themselves in the 1600s. It looked a lot like our veggie garden!

They have waterways and bridges, meandering through very mature trees and shrubs – all meticulously labeled so if you want to try your hand at something you can search it out.

One of the large red azaleas (a Stewartsonian) we did find at Bolmidon Nurery. So in the car it went...

This is the Stewarstonian Azalea. Magnificent.
Ours purchase was significantly smaller.

Two of my favourites that I want to try are flowering trees. One is Koelreuteria paniculata (Golden Rain Tree) and Paulownia tomentosa (Empress Tree). Both are hardy in almost every part of Nova Scotia. The Golden gets papery yellow flowers; the Empress is covered in bright blue foxglove-like flowers. Stunning. Hope we can find them locally.

Rather than go on at length, I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. We took 75 pictures. What you are seeing is just a small sample.

An arched arbour, soon to be covered with wisteria.

If you find yourself in the Annapolis Valley I suggest you take the time to go to the Historic Gardens. While you’re there, visit 18th Century Fort Anne and the first French settlement in North America, Port-Royal. 

There’s lots to see and do on a trip to the Annapolis Valley.

One of the more interesting evergreens.

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Day Trip Redux: Pine Grove Park’s Lady Slippers

When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid's perfume. – Unknown

Up close and personal with the lady slipper orchid.

There was too much to show you in one post from our recent trip to Pine Grove Park outside Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Besides tons more rhododendron images (see previous “Day Trip” post) the place was blanketed with lady slippers. More than I have ever seen in one spot before. Absolutely amazing.

A stand of fourteen!

In case you aren’t familiar with this terrestrial orchid here’s a brief description, from Wikipedia:

Lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids are the orchids in the subfamily Cypripedioidea, which includes the genera Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium and Selenipedium. They are characterised by the slipper-shaped pouches (modified labellums) of the flowers – the pouch traps insects so they are forced to climb up past the staminode, behind which they collect or deposit pollinia, thus fertilizing the flower.

Different species of lady slippers grow throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. The most common of our native four lady slipper species is Cypripedium aucaule, or pink lady slipper (or sometimes white, which is much rarer). 

The other three are yellow, ram’s head, and showy lady slipper. They are fussier in their habitat requiring gypsum in the soil where they grow. To be honest, I have never seen any of the other three.

We have a few other native orchid species as well, although they are much more rare throughout the province and some are protected species. Hopefully I will be able to photograph them soon.

In the right conditions lady slippers can reach heights close to 24 inches. It is very unusual to see them growing in much more than a clump of two to three. Most often they stand alone, although they often have “close” company a few feet away.

That was not the case in Pine Grove. In the shady parts of the park, among the rhododendrons, they grew in bunches upwards of a dozen. Pink lady slipper requires a specific fungus in the soil to grow so they will not regrow if you try to transplant them in your home garden. Also, if the plant’s bloom does not go through its entire growing cycle it will not regenerate. So don’t pick them.

 It is best to enjoy them as we did, with our camera, and an appreciative attitude.

Pink lady slippers are admired throughout the Maritime Provinces. The pink lady slipper was adopted as the provincial flower of Prince Edward Island in 1947.

The park is (still) located on Route 8. Just take a right at the bottom of Exit 19 on Highway 103. Hwy. 103 is the main highway running from Halifax adjacent to the old South Shore "coast" highway. The park is less than a kilometre from the exit on the left. It's about 1 hour 20 minutes from Halifax; 2 hours if you take the 300 series highways "scenic drive" along the coast through Chester, Mahone Bay, Bridgewater, etc.

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Day Trip: Pine Grove Park’s Rhododendrons & Azaleas

Man's heart away from nature becomes hard. – Standing Bear

Some of the larger rhodos in the park.

I found myself in a place close to where I grew up but had never been in this Saturday. It was Pine Grove Park in Milton, just outside Liverpool on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

Capt. Steele commemoration plaque

Pine Grove Park is a hidden gem. It was established in 1987 as a public park by Bowater Mersey (part of Abitibi Bowater of paper products fame). The place has the feel of a 1960s retro picnic park. Why it’s a gem, besides the fact it is a quiet woodland oasis, is because yesterday it was a rhododendron and azalea lover’s dream.

After establishing the park the people at Bowater enlisted the help of Captain Dick Steele to establish rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias under the pine canopy. Captain Steele was a rhododendron aficionado who had world renown for breeding rhodos. He also was awarded the Order of Canada for the same.

Suffice it to say they are stunning. Actually they are majestic. It was a perfect day yesterday in the park and the light shone through the pines lighting the rhodos up. Almost all of the rhododendrons are a minimum of 6-8 feet tall. Many are in excess of 12!

They were in perfect form yesterday. Almost at their peak. We encountered a cadre of German photography tourists who were revelling in what we all found there. They and the rhodos were everywhere through the woods!

Everywhere you look there are (very) large rohdos.

The park has winding paths that take you through mature trees and the rhodos as an understory. I have no idea how many rhodos were there but they were too numerous to count.

Golden Lights. Photo:
Kingsbraegarden, flickr ccl

There were white, many pinks and varying shades of red. There was also, in a sunnier spot, stands of very mature azaleas in stunning shades of dark orange, multi tone and yellows. I imagine Captain Steele had his hand in their breeding as well as their selection. 

One in particular—a gorgeous deep yellow with white— had an intoxicating scent. That is rare. The plants were so large you could smell the fragrance from the trail. It also had flowers that rivalled the rhododendrons in size. We were actually inspired to do a side trip to Cosby’s Garden Centre in Liverpool to “see what they had”…

Lo and behold, they had one of the yellow azaleas that we fell in love with. It is called Golden Lights, part of the extremely hardy Northern Light Azalea series. It also is hardy to -40°F. Now that’s hardy!

One of several stands of azaleas.

The azalea was in bloom at the nursery and you could smell the wonderful scent from it there as well. Suffice to say it made the trip home with us. Hopefully we put it in a spot where it will be very, very happy.

The whole experience was a wonderful relaxing excursion. The trails are well maintained and wide. We walked around the whole trail, probably about a kilometre and a half or a little more. It was more than pleasant.

The trails wind through the rhodo and azalea stands down to the edge of the Mersey River where there is a beach, old pump well and a fireplace for people to use (when legal to have outdoor fires). There are also rustic wooden benches scattered throughout for you to enjoy the views.

The rustic main entrance from the parking lot.

Unfortunately we didn’t see any magnolias. I assume because we were either too late or too early as most magnolias are early spring bloomers or wait until the summer to put on their show.

If you find yourself on the South Shore you should go to Pine Grove. I grew up not 20 minutes away and had never visited before. How foolish I was. It now will become a yearly pilgrimage when the rhodos are showing off. It's definitely worth the trip.

The park is located on Route 8. Just take a right at the bottom of Exit 19 on Highway 103. 103 is the main highway running from Halifax all the way along the South Shore. The park is less than a kilometre from the exit on the left.

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Gardening: Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me…

Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. – Robert H. Schuller

The blossoms in Nova Scotia are just about peaking this weekend.

I thought I would post some musing about apples today because in Nova Scotia there is no better date in the whole year to do so. The blossoms are on full show and there's a festival this weekend.

The main title of the post is meaningful to me as well. The old wartime Andrews Sisters song has a lot of relevance for me as we DID sit out under the apple trees. Mind you it was the 1960s, not 1940s, but still...

This weekend is the 79th Annual Apple Blossom Festival in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. Every year that area of the province, famous for its orchards and farms, celebrates one of its major crops with a weekend long festival. If you have the time and want a fun little road trip I suggest you take a drive down there and catch some of the festivities. 

All the info you need is at http://www.appleblossom.com/. The blossoms are at peak right now, and the sun will break through later today. I'm sure of it.

This old apple tree is so covered in blossoms you can't see the leaves!!

When I was young my two maiden Great Aunts looked after me. My mom and dad both worked so it fell to them, both in their 70s/80s, to entertain a toddler.

Their house was across the street from ours so it was an easy "commute". They had a large lawn out front of their home which was built on a natural knoll (or small hill) in the landscape. 

Flowering crabapple.

When they cleared the land they left several apple trees standing. The land where they built was part of a homestead and orchard owned by their mother and father, so I'm sure sentimentality had something to do with it. 

I can remember, even as a very small child, those apple trees arching over the driveway. They made a cool canopy for summer lawn chairs and an idyllic vantage point to watch the villagers and other seasons march by.

One of those seasons was of course Spring, and late each May those apple trees would become literally covered in sweet scened blooms.

There were then (and are this year) so many that they filled the air with a delicious fragrance. Subsequently we would also have "May snow" when the petals began to fall after the blossoms were pollinated.

Over the intervening 45 years these apple trees have grown greatly and still stand as old friends of happy times. Some years they bloom prolifically, some not as much.

It's a bit funny because I always remember them being large but it must be more of an instance of me being small so the trees looked larger than they were. Everything looks big when you're 3 feet tall, right? I will never think of Spring and Summertime with my aunts without a fond remembrance of their apple trees.

My remembrance of apple trees isn't the first thoughts most people have of them, I know. When most think of apple trees we think orchard, and big farms. But apples can be successfully, and beautifully, incorporated into a small garden. The apples that Aunt Hilda and Aunt Nettie grew weren't the greatest (actually pretty bad), but you can purchase the same varieties you buy in bags at inflated prices in the grocers. 

This is a wild apple tree at my Mother's. You don't have to have a fancy name
to be part of the fun.

Macintosh, Red and Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Russet... You name it, you can grow it in your own garden. There are also grafted apples with multiple varieties on the same trunk if that makes you happier. The size of the trees sold in garden centres (at the price of about 15-20 bags of apples) are such that possibly within a year or two you could be harvesting your own sizeable crop.

Me? I've started a russet apple tree from a grocery store apple seed, and have a "summer apple" out back which yields in August. I'm debating what other kinds I want. The old apple trees out front are still going great, but are starting to show some age. I'll be certain to replace them as they pass. Probably with more "edible" varieties than are there now.

There is not much more beautiful than blossoming fruit trees in spring. Unless you're seriously after crop yield, let them grow naturally to twist and weave as they reach toward the sky. Apples may grow overhead, but underneath you will plant memories.

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Travelling to Eat: Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market for all your Necessities

“A diet based on quantity rather than quality has ushered a new creature onto the world stage: the human being who manages to be both overfed and undernourished…” – Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food

Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market. May 21, 2011 (pre-Rapture)

I’m making a big assumption here, but I would imagine that I won’t be one of the ones to ascend to Paradise today at the Rapture. So I’m making plans a little longer term than 6pm tonight.

Halifax's Farmers' Markets

One of those plans is a visit this morning to our local farmers’ market to buy some groceries. We have two markets here on the “Halifax” side of the harbour, in close proximity. There used to be just one, but it’s an epic saga of lies, deceit and sexual intrigue. Actually it’s not, but it would make for a better story.

The building was specifically designed to be eco-friendly.
You can't see them, but on the oppoite side are wind turbines.

For many, many years there was one market in a cavernous 1800s warehouse. It was packed, with sellers as well as shoppers. Because of this overcrowding a decision was made to build a new, environmentally friendly facility. Over the length of the build time vendors separated into two camps. Some left for the new, some stayed in the old.

So now to adequately cover all your favourite marketers you have to hump your way to two crowded places rather than just one. Oh well.

What you can purchase

Both markets have vendors selling meats of all kinds, cheeses and other animal products. You can buy baked goods (remember the Vendenee post?), homespun clothing, soaps, flowers and plants, homeopathic items, wine and liquor, metalwork, etc. They’re unbelievably varied.

As one would imagine, many of the vendors are on the “granola” side so you don’t just get the “run of the mill.” Take plain old vegetables for example. Some vendors sell heirloom beets and tomatoes, leafy greens, fruits, and a massive variety of the unusual and obscure as well as the commonplace.

Vendors come from all over the province to the market here in the capital city. Many of the products that are on sale have won multiple awards locally, nationally and even some internationally. A notable one is the Dragon’s Breath Blue Cheese from That Dutchman’s Farm. It's appropriately named.

You can get nearly anything you want. This is the booth of
Ironworks Distillery from Lunenburg, NS. They sell booze!

That Dutchman's Farm is owned and operated by Maja and Willem van den Hoek, who emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1970. They also make some pretty fantastic gouda.

It’s these kind of people who sell at the markets. No one is in it to make a fortune. They're there because they love it.

Looking for Kéfir grains...

The reason for this post is not to only inform about some of the produce and products that vendors sell, but also to document the start of my chase for something elusive – kéfir grains from a non-mail order source.

If you’ve never had kéfir you should really try it. It’s cultured effervescent milk. Yes, effervescent – bubbly, kind of like pop,but not really. It’s fantastic. 

Kefir grains are a re-usable culture that sort of resembles cauliflower florets. You culture your kéfir, drain and save the grains for the next batch. Now you can understand why I want to find the grains. I'm intrinsically "cheap."

Kéfir grains can be purchased over the inter-web but it would be nicer to find a local supplier. And I think I have. 

There’s a mom and pop vendor called Ran-Cher Acres from Aylesford, Nova Scotia that sells goats milk, a variety of goat cheeses and (so I am led to believe) Kafir grains!! The “pop” of the operation is the Baptist minister in Greenwood, NS in his “spare” time. This couple must have a busy, full and rewarding life.

So once I get my hands on the "grains", kéfir will be made. I’ll document the process for you. But today I’m on a streak to make yogurt. I want to make a culture I can just feed and continue to make yogurt long term. It’s incubating as I write.

These wonderful vendors deserve our support. 

Not only are all these vendors employing Nova Scotians but they are part of the solution as we move inevitably toward a more seasonal and locally secure delivery system for our food. It's just plain fact that as modes of transport become more and more expensive the types of food we purchase now will become priced out of our reach.

We won't have strawberries in January, or grapes at Christmas. Fresh peas will be available in June/July when they should be. We will re-learn how to preserve and freeze. The sooner we start the better off we will be, financially and physically. I'm not prophesying the Rapture, just a return to more of the way our grandparents lived. They did fine. So will we.

Because it's early in the season the produce is pretty standard.
That will change as summer stretches on.

It’s not that I’m NOT religious either, but I believe a better “rapturous” feeling to be focussing on right now would be one brought on by improving ourselves and our neighbours by supporting each other every way we can.

Purchasing locally grown food and commodities (of every sort) not only puts money back into the local economy but also back into YOUR own pocket.

Think of it this way. What do you do for work Monday through Friday? Are these vendors and their employees potential clients for your particular service? I would say the answer is yes in almost all cases.

So by supporting the local economy you are securing your own future in more ways than you can imagine.

Thinking local is the new global outlook. We should embrace it.

Addendum: I found some kéfir starter culture (on sale, no less) at one particular local grocery. I would tell you which, but if I can’t get the grains, I’ll be buying all of it…

Just so you know, today already I have set some buttermilk to make mesophilic culture for cheese starter, set some yoghurt to thicken, and am about to inoculate milk with the kéfir starter to let that culture.

So anyone who's lactose intolerant better step away from this blog for the next few days... Hopefully I will be reporting successful results.

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Foraging 10 & Recipe: Digging for your Supper. Linguine with White Wine Clam Sauce

She ate so many clams that her stomach rose and fell with the tide. – Louis Kronenberger

Clamming at low tide beside the North Atlantic.

Have you ever gone clam digging? The season is fast approaching. There are many excellent spots for the activity throughout the low tide mud flats of Nova Scotia. Perhaps when you come to our province on vacation you could make it a family activity. If you're camping, you can steam your clams just in a pot over your campfire. That would make for some wonderful memories.

Soft shell clams steamed in wine are a treat.
Photo: kthread, Flickr ccl

Clam digging can be quite a lot of fun if you find a good spot. "Clamming" is done both as recreation as well as commercially in many parts of the world. In the eastern parts of Canada and the USA it is most usually a salt water mud flats activity.

Shellfish harvesting has been a food source for the First Nations people since they first arrived on the shores of the Atlantic.

Currently in Atlantic Canada recreational shoreline harvesting is most common for the soft shelled white clam, although dulse and periwinkles are also often collected (with no digging...).

Periwinkles are also exposed at low
tide and can be harvested.
Photo: Wiki Commons

Soft shell clams (Mya Arenaria) belong to the Mollusca family, which includes bivalves, gastropods and cephalopods (shellfish, snails and octopus/squid/cuttlefish). 

They have a brittle shell of calcium carbonate, which explains their common name. They’ve also earned the nickname of “squirt clam” because they spurt water when disturbed by diggers. This mechanism is to propel them deeper into the sand to avoid capture.

All you really need to hand harvest clams is a tined digging fork and a bucket with some sea water in it to keep the clams alive. Some people use a garden hoe or shovel, but you greatly increase the chance of shattering the shells when you dig thus rendering the clam unusable. Clams must be cooked while still alive.

Dulse. Photo: Hljod.Huskona, Flickr ccl

Commercial clamming, usually for razor and quahogs, is done offshore using draggers. This damages the sea bed terribly and scoops up everything in its path—not just what the fishery is after.

Alternatively a large “clam rake” with a sort of basket attached is sometimes employed and dragged behind. Cultivated clams in comparison are hand dredged.

The legal size to harvest clams in Nova Scotia is 44mm long (1.7”). When the tide is low, or almost all the way out, you walk out on the exposed flats and look for little holes in the sand. That is the mark of a clam below the surface.

It can also be the mark of a sand worm, which are gross, but you persevere. This video shows what the holes in the sand flat look like.

After harvesting, the clams should be rinsed and placed in well salted water with some corn meal. The clams ingest the meal and excrete sand and “other particles” that you may not want to eat.

Once prepared, the clams can be steamed until they open, or shucked and collected with their juices for use in recipes. You can certainly harvest clams for the following recipe if you wish, or use canned clams. Both are written in the recipe.

A word of caution, clam beach closures due to contamination have dramatically increased over the past decade all along the Eastern seaboard. Most often it is caused by clams feeding on toxic plankton, which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans if eaten. So be certain the flats you choose are approved for clam harvesting. 

If you have any doubt at all, call the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (tel 902-426-3550). The usual clam digging season in Nova Scotia runs from the first week in May through to the end of October.

Linguine with White Wine Clam Sauce

Prep 5 min  | Total 15 min  | Serves 4

linguine for 4 people (use your own judgement)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

24-36 soft shell clams in the shell, depending on the size (or 2 cans baby clams, drained)

2/3 cup white wine

2/3 cup coffee (18%) cream

1/2 tsp tarragon

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

cracked black pepper to taste

1/3 cup chicken stock

3 tsps cornstarch

parmesan cheese, for serving

parsley, for serving (or chives)

Cook the linguine, drain and keep in warm water.

Heat the oil in a large, wide saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté on medium for a few minutes until the shallots start to soften. Add the clams and sauté for 1 minute.

Stir in the wine, cream, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cover and allow to cook for 3 minutes.

Mix together the stock and cornstarch. Add to the clams and allow to thicken. Let cook for 2 more minutes.

Drain the pasta and toss in the pan with the clam sauce. Let heat through.

Serve with parmesan and parsley (or chives) at the table.

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