clearing out the pantry Archives | Chef Heidi Fink

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An Update on Operation Use-It-Up

Last January, I posted about my New Year’s Resolution to stop pretending that food storage worked like a …

Feb 16, 2013

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Autumn garden /// It's officially Canadian Thanksg

Autumn garden ///
It's officially Canadian Thanksgiving today; our family celebrated yesterday and I (happily) did not take a single photo, nor even think to.
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I was in the mood for photos this morning as I toured the garden, soaking it all in, marvelling at how beautiful it is this time of year. Plants are beginning to lay themselves to rest, but still giving so much life and beauty. The dahlias are gorgeous, my chard and kale (both of which I grew from seed!) are thriving, the herbs are still happy, yet so many other things are at their end.
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The transformation at this time of year is almost unspeakably lovely to me. Pumpkin spice and turkey dinners are wonderful, but give me a garden turning slowly to hibernation, its winter greens getting crisper, its flowers giving us one last show, its perennials turning shades of red and brown, the mists and spiderwebs and frosty morning air - yes, many things are dying, but everything is full of promise. The promise of rest, of restoration, of eventual rebirth.
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#autumngarden #octobergarden #wintersleep #hibernation #octoberbeauty #givethanks #canadianthanksgiving🇨🇦 #thanksgivingcanada #getoutside #gratitude #shine #gardenrest #dahlias #chard #sage #growityourself #fromtheearth

A (possibly weird) thing I do when processing toma

A (possibly weird) thing I do when processing tomatoes is to keep the skins and cores. There is so much tomato pulp that sticks to the skins after peeling, so I've figured out a way to save all this extra flavour.
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I put all the skins and cores into a pot, add just enough water to cover, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, while occasionally mashing with a potato masher or big spoon. Then I strain it, collecting all the tomato-y water, discarding the spent skins. Ideally, you would do this last step with a food mill to easily get all the tomato pulp off the skins. Then I use this tomato "water" to puree my skinned tomatoes.
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This extra step is not strictly necessary and may be more work than its worth. But when buying local organic tomatoes, I don't like to waste any of it, and this gives me an extra 3 cups or so of tomato! Swipe to see.
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Tomato season is winding down on Vancouver Island, so I'm happy I was able to stock some away for the winter. I got about nine litres of pureed raw tomatoes. By the way, I freeze mine, in part because I cannot be bothered with testing pH and pressure canning, but mainly because I love a "fresh tomato" taste in my sauces, rather than a "very cooked" taste. Or maybe that's a cover for being a lazy tomato-canner! 😂
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#tomatoseason #kitchentips #chefathome #cheftips #canningtomatoes #harvest #tomatoharvest #yyjfarm #yyjfarmmarkets #eatinginseason #eatlocal #vancouverislandfood #vancouverislandfarm #stockingup #pantry #stockyourpantry #puttingfoodby #tomatohacks #beautifulfood #eatdrinkbuybc @eatdrinkbuybc #pickbcfirst #bctomatoes #foodbloglife

PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES! I cannot begin to tell you h

Plant Based Pad Thai from my Zoom cooking class ye

Plant Based Pad Thai from my Zoom cooking class yesterday, part of the Savour Culinary Festival - a fundraiser for the @mssocietycanada .
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It turned out so well. I stuck to tradition as closely as possible, using tamarind, palm sugar and chili paste in the sauce, along with my signature vegan "fish sauce." We roasted a pound of tofu to bring out its flavour and texture. Shallots, garlic, green onion, salted radish, peanuts, cilantro, lime & bean sprouts rounded out the flavours. It was SO good that we barely missed the dried shrimp and eggs.
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Thanks again to the MS Society for hosting this event and to all the participants who so enthusiastically cooked along with me!
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Photo description: overhead view of a large oval platter, plied with noodles, cilantro & bean sprouts, and surrounded with lime wedges.
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#plantbased #vegan #vegetarianpadthai #vegancookingclass #veganpadthai #plantbasedpadthai #thaiingredients #thaicooking #thaicookingclass #thaicookingschool #zoomclasses #zoomcookingclass #onlinecookingclasses #yyjchef #yyjcookingclasses #padthai #thainoodles #pickledradish #veganfishsauce #ricenoodles #glutenfree #glutenfreenoodles #savourculinaryfestival #mssocietyofcanada

The summer is winding down, and with it, the necta

The summer is winding down, and with it, the nectarine season. Nectarines are in my top three favourite fruits; I can never get enough of their juicy, luscious, sweet-tart flavour.
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I never cook with them. I can eat several a day! I love them raw, eaten out of hand, or chopped as part of a breakfast or snack. Swipe to see one of my favourite snacks: sliced BC nectarines topped with @treeislandyogurt grass fed yogurt and @ranchovignola raw almonds, with or without a drizzle of local honey.
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This photo of me shopping for food at @rootcellar is a favourite because it combines so many of my favourite things! Locally grown produce, nectarines, the awesome Root Cellar, and grocery shopping (all other types of shopping bore me 😅). Thanks to @emmarossumphoto for the excellent photo!
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Only a week or so left to get your BC nectarine on, before they are out of season!
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Photo description: Heidi shopping at the market, with nectarines in the foreground. Next image: close up overhead of a beige bowl with sliced nectarines, yogurt, chopped almonds and a honey drizzle.
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@bctreefruits #bctreefruits #foodphotography #nectarines #nectarineseason #nectarinesnotpeaches #foodshopping #rootcellar #cheflife #chefathome #healthysnacks #stonefruits #localharvest #eatinginseason #farmgate #farmfresh #localgrown #localgrocer #foodphotographer #yogurtbowl #treeislandyogurt

Edit: GIVEAWAY CLOSED /// Congrats to the winner,

Edit: GIVEAWAY CLOSED ///
Congrats to the winner, Brenda, from my Facebook page!
I am participating in a fundraiser for @mssocietycanada to help people living with MS in Canada. As part of their Savour Culinary Festival, I am teaching a Zoom cooking class next Saturday, Sept 18 all about making Vegetarian Pad Thai, including plant-based "fish" sauce.
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I have one ticket to give away to a lucky winner. To enter the draw, make sure you are following my account and that you comment below, tagging at least one friend who may be interested. Each comment = one entry, so comment as many times as you'd like!
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For class details and to register, please check the link in my bio
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Photo description: saute pan of Pad Thai with bean sprouts falling into it
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#savourculinaryfestival #mssocietyofcanada #goodcause #fundraiser #vegancookingclass #veganpadthai #thaicooking #thaiingredients #zoomcookingclass #onlinecookingclasses #multiplesclerosis