Bison Burgers!

Who doesn't love a good burger?? Conscious about the meat I buy, I am always on the lookout for healthier, more sustainable options to the traditional (yet classic) beef burger. My answer to that: Bison!

Bison is a deliciously rich and sweet meat. It is similar to beef in that the cooking methods for both are approximately the same (bison just requires a lower cooking temperature than beef, and usually for a shorter period of time). Bison is a red meat on offer that is usually smaller scale than beef meaning that the chemical and energy inputs/outputs are considerably less than what cattle require - good for the environment, the animals, the producers and for us! It is also incredibly healthy in that one serving contains only 2.42g of fat, 143 calories, and 82g cholesterol! Moreover, it is a complete protein, and loaded with zinc, iron, potassium, and vitamins B12 and B6.

 

I get my bison from Island Meat & Seafood  (great little place for local and happy meat) in the Cook Street Village -  which they source from a farm up island called Island Bison, in Black Creek (near Campbell River). Their animals are pastured - meaning they get to dine on the most delicious grass (pasture!) they can graze on. This is natural to their diets, unlike the corn and other grains mass produced animals get fed. Moreover, they are free to roam the fields to their hearts content! Importantly, Island Bison's bison are also not subjected to antibiotics, hormones or steroids - which is important for more reasons than I want to get into right now. Essentially, they are happy bison... As happy as bison can be.

Okay, enough about the little guys! Let's eat em! I paired the sweet meaty burger goodness with a fresh from the garden tomato salad and the Sumac Ridge 2007 Black Sage Vineyard Cab Franc. The fruity, sweet, full flavor of the wine was gorgeous with the sweet and bold meat, while the earthy tones of the wine picked up on the flavorings I added including thyme, onion, and garlic.

Beautiful Bison Burgers

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. Ground Local Bison

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

Half a Medium Sized Onion, finely diced

2 Heaping Tsp. Fresh Thyme, chopped

1/3 C Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

1 - 2 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tsp. Sea Salt

1 Tsp. Fresh Cracked Pepper

Smoked Aged Cheddar (I like applewood!)

1/2 C of Your Favorite BBQ Sauce

Half a Medium Sized Onion, sliced and caramelized (Simply put a couple bats of butter into a pan, heat over medium-medium/low heat, dump in onions, dash with a pinch of sugar and stir occasionally till soft and buttery and brown. About 20 - 30 minutes. Watch them to ensure they don't burn).

Whole Wheat Buns.

What to Do:

(Because a BBQ is a culinary necessity I have yet to acquire) - Crank up your oven-broiler and place oven-rack about 4 inches or so lower than you would for a beef burger. The lower-middle of the oven is good. Let it heat up.

In a large mixing bowl combine all your ingredients, save for the cheese, BBQ sauce, caramelized onions and buns (obviously). Mix well with your hands, squeezing and kneading the mixture until it is well-combined and sticky. If it isn't sticking together well enough, add some more olive oil (about a Tbsp. at a time) till it does.

Portion out 5 burgers. Shape gently into patties - don't make em too thin or they will over cook and you will be left with dry and icky burgers! Place on a broiler pan (or on racks in a regular baking pan).

When broiler is heated, place your burgers in the oven. Cook about 4 minutes, flip, and then another 3 to 4. This should leave your burgers medium to medium-well done (recommended). If you want no pink, let them cook for an extra minute or two (but no more because they cook very quickly) after the flip.

Remove and lather 'em up with some BBQ sauce and top with the cheese. Return to the oven for about 45 seconds or so to let the cheese melt. Remove. Throw your buns inside up under the broiler for a couple minutes to crisp them up a bit. Remove and garnish with the caramelized onions and your favorite burger toppings such as heirloom tomatoes, crisp garden lettuce or Arugula, MMM pickles!, etc.... Eat. 

w/ Fresh-Picked Tomato Salad

Ingredients:



3-4 Roma or Heirloom Tomatoes (we used a massive handful of small Amish Salad Tomatoes), chopped

1 Tsp. White Vinegar

2 Tsp. White Wine Vinegar

1 Tsp. Sugar

3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A Small Handful of Chives, chopped

A Few Fresh Basil Leaves, roughly torn.

1 Tsp. Sea Salt

1 Tsp. Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:
 

Place tomatoes in a bowl, season with a little salt to bring out their flavour and juices. Mix the rest of the ingredients separately. Pour over tomatoes and stir carefully. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Serve.

Additionally, if you have some arugula you could throw that under your salad for some extra nutritional and tasty deliciousness.

Enjoy!

Let's Not Get Ahead of Ourselves...

I may have jumped the gun a little here. Before we continue, I want to identify what Gastronomical Sovereignty looks like to me, how I take it up, and why I feel it is important.

To me, Gastronomical Sovereignty is a political decision and it is not always the path of least resistance. It means attaining and retaining the right to be informed about the potential "food" available to me on all scales and exercising my right as a human being to have access to it. It is about being free to choose consciously what I consume with the acknowledgement that those choices have severe and long term political and social effects. In essence, Gastronomical Sovereignty has the ability to form the very foundations of how we live as women, consumers, and citizens - each with our own experiences, histories, and stories.

I take up this act through various methods - most of which I realize comes with a certain level of privilege. One involves growing as much of my own food as I can. Since this is SO time consuming and energy intensive, I rely heavily on purchasing as much organic, sustainable, seasonal, and (if applicable) "free range" pastured food from very local producers via farmer's markets, box programs, pocket markets, and the farms themselves. Beyond this, I utilize local markets and small grocery chains to supplement my local diet. I limit my meat intake and work to find "healthier" sources of protein in my diet. Given our choice of lifestyle, I don't believe it is possible to attain all our food entirely locally all of the time. I don't know anyone who has the luxury of time that such an endeavor would require, nor anyone with that sort of patience. However, I believe we CAN make changes and adapt our diets to a more natural, "affordable", and genuinely kind method of consumption.

Gastronomical Sovereignty is a deeply personal decision. It has many facets and each one is as unique and important as the person who defines it. Thus, while my definition may not agree with yours (or vice-versa), I dare to think that the many different versions of conscious food choices/consumption can be aligned and allied for many purposes.

There. That's what I mean, by Gastronomical Sovereignty (in a nutshell). What does it mean to you? How can we work together for the betterment of ourselves? Our planet? And/or each other?

Flying Purple Pizza Eater!

I don't like pizza. Or, at least, I didn't like pizza for most of the past 29 years. I attribute it to a condition I suffered for most of my youth...

Every Sunday, for as long as I can remember, before I left home my mother made us pizza from scratch. On these nights we were permitted absence from the kitchen table at dinner time - free to enjoy our pizza-pie in the comfort of our respective spaces. That is, being the oh-so-independent adolecents we were, my younger brother and I hid in our bedrooms engrossing ourselves in the Magical World of Disney while Mom and Dad watched the 6:00 evening news.

Pizza. T.V. The solace of my own private quarters... A teenagers fantasy manifested... Not for me. While most young people would relish in their pseudo-privacy, I spent my time delicately picking the toppings off my pizza, devouring them and then stealthily sneaking down the hall, past the living room (and the parents, mind you) and into the kitchen - crusts in hand - where I did one of two things:

1.  I silently slipped the crusts to our beloved cockerspaniel, who was always eager to finish what we didn't.
2.  I quickly shoved them as far down the garbage as my (then) lanky arm could reach, careful to cover any evidence of my crime.

Both motions had the same objective: I didn't want Mom to know I hadn't eaten them; I didn't want to make her feel bad. Not that the crust was bad! It was fantastic! Doughy, delicious and savoury! I just lacked interest in the doughy-delicious-savoury goodness. I was unable, at the time, to express this however.

I carried this facade on for years... Years.

And then reprieve! I left home. However, years of sneaking and stuffing left my appetite for the 'za, well... unappetized.

Thick crusts, droopy toppings and semi-flavorful wheels taunted me for years into my 20's. Every time I helped someone move was a near pizza-intake disaster. That is until... Prima Strada Pizzeria! (Thank YOU Sara B!).

As members of the Island Chef's Collaborative, Prima Strada serves gourmet, authentic italian pizza in a casual but sexy atmosphere, utilizing and supporting local ingredients. Some of their suppliers include Fairburn Farm (the only ruminant herd in North America tested for BSE guaranteeing the health of the Canadian born water buffalo, whose diet is grass and hay grown at Fairburn where no herbicides or pesticides have been sprayed in the 120 year history of the farm) who work in conjunction with Natural Pastures for local mozzarella di bufala, and Choux Chouc Charcuterie who provides the restaurant with pepperoni. Moreover, stressing the "authenticism" of italian cuisine, they use Caputo '00' flour from Naples in the open kitchen for their thin, decadent crusts, while making their own Sausage, Salumi, and desserts. Friendly to both meat eaters and veggie eaters alike, Prima Strada has changed the way I think about Pizza. I highly recommend the Margherita and Funghi pizzas paired with the Fresca Insalate!

And in case the authentic, fresh, and sustainable sheer culinary genious doesn't convince you, their wine list is both affordable and refreshingly delightful - including both local B.C. wines and not-so-local Italian ones; While their beer list incorporates some of the best of the island, in addition to classic Italian brews. If beer and wine aren't your thing though don't worry... There are plenty of drinks both alcoholic and non that can wet your whistle, including Cider from island based Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, Victoria Gin, and tea from Silk Road, a Victoria based company that is community minded and actively supports many charitable, cultural and non-profit organisations, such as the Victoria Women's Transition House, the Inter-Cultural Association and the Victoria Art Gallery.

So it's true - I love pizza. And in my new-found love of gourmet pizza I bring you the following:

PURPLE PIZZA

(My apologies for providing only a before shot - I gobbled it before I remembered to take an after shot. Hey, I'm new at this!).

Not only is it fantastically delicious, but it is nearly entirely local and organic! The inspiration for this pizza came from the box that was delivered to our back door via the Saanich Organics (who will be mentioned further in a later blog - coming soon!) box program. This past week, EVERYTHING in the box was purple! It really challenged me to think about and cook items I never would have otherwise, helping to create gastonomic delicacies - like purple pizza!

Ingredients:

1 Pizza Base (recipe to follow).

1 Fresh Ball of Buffalo Mozzarella (Cow is fine if you can't find it).

1 Purple Eggplant, diced.

1 Purple Pepper, diced.

1 Small Red Onion, diced.

1 Zucchinni, sliced.

2 Tbsp of Your Favorite Tomato Based Sauce.

8 Fresh Garden Picked Cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters (depending on size).

2 - 3 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.

Fresh Purple Basil Leaves (lots of em! YUM!).

1-- 2 Tsp Fresh Italian Herbs (Oregano, Thyme, Etc...).

Balsamic Vinegar.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Fresh Cracked Sea Salt & Pepper for seasoning.

What to Do:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and sautee till tender and beginning to caramelize.

Meanwhile, toss the eggplant, purple pepper and zucchinni with the garlic and some more oil, adding a touch of balsamic and some of your mixed herbs. Add to the pan briefly (flash!) to heat through to start the cooking process.

Spread your sauce over your crust very thinly, season with the rest of your mixed herbs. Sprinkle your veggies evenly across the base.

Tear your mozza and distribute evenly (it will not result in cheese everywhere! It's more like an accent of deliciousness!). Top with tomatoes.

Give the pizza a good drizzle of olive oil and a grinding of pepper and salt before sending it into the cooker.

Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes (depending on how crispy you like your crust), or until your cheese is melted, gooey and golden.

Decorate with lots of fresh basil and a little more olive oil.

Cut and Serve!

I AM a flying purple people pizza eater!

Here It Is...

ME: Feminist (don't turn and run yet!), Daughter, Sister, Lover, Friend, Chef, Artist, Activist, Self-Proclaimed Comedian, Organizational & Control Freak, Student, Server.

THIS BLOG: My attempt at exploring and sharing my adoration and obsession with good, accessible, and ethically produced, procured, distributed and shared casual gourmet food and wine.

Here it is:

I love food. I. LOVE. FOOD. All food.
I also love wine. Oh, how I love wine. WINE!
WINE and FOOD. wine AND food. Both. So much.

Over the last year and a half however, I came across an array of information that turned everything on its head and made me really think about what I was putting on my table, into my body (the bodies of those I love), and into the Earth. Concerned with social, environmental, and animal treatment practices of the globalized food industry, I could no longer ignore the ethics involved with such, obliviously consuming everything my stomach whimmed for.

Thus, I changed some purchasing habits. Some cooking habits. Some consumption habits. And most importantly, some thinking habits.

I chose to be a conscious consumer. A political consumer. More importantly, I chose to be these things without giving up the luxury and love and fulfillment of good, gourmet food.

And so here it is. An avenue to explore and share my adventures within the context of ethical food and wine, with the hopes of hearing of yours in return.

Grab a glass (or two).......(or three).. Turn on some great music.. Talk. Laugh. Love. Eat.

Primera, Definitions:

Gastronomy noun the practice or art of cooking and eating good food (and wine, of course!).

• Gastronomical adjective of or relating to gastronomy.

Sovereignty noun supreme power or authority; independence, self-government, self-rule, home rule, self-determination, freedom.