For the past year, I have been the happy recipient of the weekly Grange Food News email from Chris Williams, who is an officer of the Deer Lagoon Grange. Chris’ official title is Pomona, and like her Roman Goddess namesake, she dispenses tantalizing tidbits of information about the gardens, fruits, vegetables and local foods of Whidbey Island. I marvel and admire how much effort she must put into staying informed about the farmers and foods of our island home. Thank [...]]]>

For the past year, I have been the happy recipient of the weekly Grange Food News email from Chris Williams, who is an officer of the Deer Lagoon Grange. Chris’ official title is Pomona, and like her Roman Goddess namesake, she dispenses tantalizing tidbits of information about the gardens, fruits, vegetables and local foods of Whidbey Island. I marvel and admire how much effort she must put into staying informed about the farmers and foods of our island home. Thank you Chris for the wonderful job you do producing this email.

For me, Chris’ weekly email is a delightful reminder of how special our lives are here on Whidbey, and I am constantly amazed at the diversity, commitment and passion of our island farmers and food producers as well as others throughout the Pacific NW.  Here are just a few examples of the food “adventures” I have learned about from Chris’ email newsletter:

1) Sea Breeze Seafood – Many of you know that during the summer there is a seafood vendor in front of the Bayview shopping center (Sebo’s / The Goose).  Chris’ newsletter provides advanced notice from the vendor on specials, pricing, etc. You can also sign up directly for their newsletter, email seabreezeseafoods@hotmail.com.

2) Tuna Run – speaking of seafood, this is special.  Each year, the Grange arranges a delivery of fresh albacore tuna from Westport’s annual tuna run.  You have to pre-order, and the fish is available both whole and filleted.  We ordered a whole fish, and now have the most incredible tasting canned tuna in our pantry.

3) Making Whid-Bee Friendly – David Neel of Island Apiaries is developing a program starting in January 2012 to take people through the hands on process of getting started with honey bees. At the end of the series, all participants will own a functioning bee hive with an established queen, drones and workers. He also is working on flower seed distribution so  that everybody can grow bee-friendly flowers. Choosing the right plants to get a long continuous flowering season will help both native bees and honey bees, which are important pollinators of our food producing plants.

4) Foraging for Seaweed – Slow Food of Whidbey Island is planning a major seaweed foraging event at Fort Ebey. You can only forage seaweed there from April 15 to May 15^th only.   You will need a shellfish and seaweed license, which you can get from any hardware store. The hands-on foraging event will cost $35 to be followed by a cooking class and seafood meal at a kitchen venue to be arranged, for another $35.

This is very small sampling of the wonderful events and information available from the Grange.  Email Chris at cwilliam@whidbey.com to receive the newsletter, and of course, please consider becoming a member of the Deer Lagoon Grange.

Djangofest is a big part of WICA‘s line up every year, and locals and visitors are lucky for that. Did you know that you can actually attend classes with some of these amazing artists? ALFONSO PONTICELL does a class where you can learn to play flamenco. For a full line up of the bands that participate go to the Djangofest Website.

After you have enjoyed the fantastic flamenco it is time for tapas and drinks [...]]]>

Djangofest is a big part of WICA‘s line up every year, and locals and visitors are lucky for that. Did you know that you can actually attend classes with some of these amazing artists? ALFONSO PONTICELL does a class where you can learn to play flamenco. For a full line up of the bands that participate go to the Djangofest Website.

After you have enjoyed the fantastic flamenco it is time for tapas and drinks at Prima Bistro in Langley. You cannot beat the food, and the great service this place has. If its a nice evening enjoy the deck with great views of the water.

Prima Bistro

Whidbey Island Farmers Markets

If it’s spring, it is the beginning of salmon season in the Pacific NW. Wild salmon is an iconic symbol of our region, and every spring we are reminded about how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy this wonderful fish. It is a symbol of the the natural beauty and bounty of the Pacific NW, and rekindles our desire to protect and preserve this precious gift. To the native peoples of the NW, salmon was their primary [...]]]>

If it’s spring, it is the beginning of salmon season in the Pacific NW. Wild salmon is an iconic symbol of our region, and every spring we are reminded about how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy this wonderful fish. It is a symbol of the the natural beauty and bounty of the Pacific NW, and rekindles our desire to protect and preserve this precious gift.

To the native peoples of the NW, salmon was their primary food source, and their traditional method of cooking was on a stick over an open fire. If you want to have the flavor of the traditional cooking but lack an open firepit or the knowledge and skill to cook in the traditional manner, we can approximate the flavor by using the cedar plank cooking method.

Cedar planks are available at a number of retail locations, to include Whole Foods and Cost Plus. However they are expensive, and if you have access to cedar shingles, they will do as an inexpensive alternative. Shingles are also the best choice if you want to cook a large fillet. No matter what type of cedar plank you use, be sure to soak it in salted water for at least 2 hours before cooking the salmon. Some recipes call for adding wine to the soaking water, but in my opinion, this a waste of wine.

Preheat your grill to medium hot. You can either cook the fish directly over the burner/coals or indirectly. I prefer the indirect method as it reduces the chances of the plank flaming.

Be sure you have selected wild salmon, not farm raised, as wild salmon is both more flavorful and healthful. I prefer wild king salmon, but sockeye is suitable as well. The cooking time will be less for the sockeye. You can either cut the salmon into individual serving pieces or use a large fillet. The smaller pieces will cook faster, and are easier to move around on the grill if you need to speed up or slow down the cooking. Leave the skin on and debone. The skin is easily removed after cooking, and if you are using a rough piece of cedar like a shingle, with the skin on you don’t have to be concerned about splinters. Lightly coat the flesh side with olive oil, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place the fish skin side down on the plank and move it to the grill.

Cook the fish for about 10-12 minutes for medium rare on an indirect flame. If you are cooking on a direct flame, it will cook a bit faster, and tend the fire carefully to squirt the planks if they start to burn. When done, remove the plank from the fire, and slip a spatula between the skin and the flesh; the skin will slip off easily.

Enjoy the fish with that wine you didn’t waste on the plank!

No, I am not talking about grouchy people. Whidbey Island has many popular crabbing spots, but many crabbers like to keep their special spots secret. One of the best spots is off of Bells Beach, along Saratoga Passage, and the location of one of my great beachfront listings. Row your boat out to your crab trap, and bring home fresh crab for dinner. So keep reading, we are going to talk about how to clean and cook [...]]]>

No, I am not talking about grouchy people. Whidbey Island has many popular crabbing spots, but many crabbers like to keep their special spots secret. One of the best spots is off of Bells Beach, along Saratoga Passage, and the location of one of my great beachfront listings. Row your boat out to your crab trap, and bring home fresh crab for dinner. So keep reading, we are going to talk about how to clean and cook fresh, live crab.

Crab fishing is great fun, but be sure you understand and follow all of the rules from the Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW).  There is a good video they produced that helps understand the basics about crabbing regulations.

If you don’t have the opportunity to fish for fresh crab like we do, no worries, you can always head to your local market, most of whom have live crab available for sale.  Or there is always frozen crab, but be sure you buy US sourced Dungeness crab, not the cheaper Asian canned lump crab.  You should be able to find that at your local store as well, and Costco usually carries whole frozen Dungeness crab or unfrozen in a plastic container the size as the ones used for fresh salsa. It’s usually over with the salmon in the fish display case.

Regardless of how you obtained your crab, if it is live, you have to cook and clean it.  If you purchased cooked crab out of the shell, y0u can skip this section.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a vigorous boil and then put the crab into the pot.  Cook for about 12-15 minutes after it returns to the boil, cool the crab, then clean and remove the meat.  Here’s a video I found on You Tube that shows the full process from boiling through cleaning and extracting the crab meat.

I have two favorite crab recipes, crab cakes and crab fritters.  Here’s the crab cake recipe.  One good sized crab will make enough crab cakes to serve 4 people.  You do need to refrigerate the crab cakes for about an hour or so before cooking, so be sure you prepare the cakes far enough in advance of dinner.

• 1 pound cooked crab meat (4 lb live Dungeness Crab)
• 2 cups panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced small
• 1 small shallot diced
• 12-15 stems of Italian parsley chopped
• Juice from 1 large lemon
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Spanish sherry (Amontillado)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• pinch Kosher salt
• pinch ground white pepper
• dash Tabasco sauce
• pinch celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Spanish hot paprika (pimenton)

Mix Batter – Add 1 cup of the Panko (reserve rest for coating the cakes) along with the rest of the ingredients except the crab.  Mix thoroughly to make a batter.

Add crabmeat and mix well.

Divide mixture into 8 balls.  Form the crab patties and coat them with the remaining Panko.  Refrigerate for about an hour.

In a large skillet or pan, heat canola oil or clarified butter over medium high heat until it begins to smoke.  Reduce to medium and add crab cakes.  Sear until the cakes are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Add more oil or butter as needed to keep the cakes from sticking to the pan.

Serve with a garlic butter, spicy Asian dipping sauce, or a simple lemon or curry mayonnaise.  My family prefers the lemon mayo.

I am a foodie. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to share that passion. Doesn’t it just make you feel welcome when you walk into a house and there are wonderful food aromas coming from the kitchen? One of the older “tricks of the trade” in real estate is to instruct the seller to bake a batch of cookies just before the potential buyers are supposed to arrive. We are all [...]]]>

I am a foodie. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to share that passion. Doesn’t it just make you feel welcome when you walk into a house and there are wonderful food aromas coming from the kitchen? One of the older “tricks of the trade” in real estate is to instruct the seller to bake a batch of cookies just before the potential buyers are supposed to arrive. We are all seduced by the primal, comforting feelings that are released by the smell of food.

I have decided to start a new practice for all of my property listings; I am going to select food that I think represents the house best, explain the reason why, and provide a recipe . So here’s the first one.

The custom waterfront home on Sunlight Beach is a perfect home for clam chowder. Besides the sugar sand beach setting, which by itself is enough to qualify as a perfect place to enjoy a bowl of steaming hot clam chowder, close by Double Bluff is a great clamming beach with a long sweep of flats at low tide. Here are a few tips:

1) Obtain the necessary Shellfish license, and follow the rules and limits.  You can do this online, or at numerous locations on Whidbey to include Ace Hardware in Freeland.

2) Check for the presence of marine biotoxins before you collect any shellfish.  This is absolutely critical.

3) Toss the clams in a bucket of seawater (out of the sun) for a few days, and they will clean themselves of sand and grit.

My eldest grandson, Garrett came to visit us a few years ago. He just loves clam chowder, so we decided to do a chowder tasting whenever we went out for lunch or dinner. For the next two weeks, we happily tasted clam chowder from Seattle to the San Juan Islands to include my own recipe made from clams from nearby Holmes Harbor.

And the winner was unanimous  – the chowder from Ray’s Boathouse, although mine came in a very close second. Here’s their recipe, courtesy of a wonderful cookbook entitled appropriately enough Ray’s Boathouse.

• 1/2 cup butter
  1 pound red potatoes, cubed, skin on
  1 stalk celery diced
  1/2 white onion, diced
  1 small carrot, diced
  2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  2 cups of fish stock or clam broth
  3 cups heavy cream
  2 cups half and half
  1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  1/4 te4aspoon Tabasco sauce
  1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  1 tablespoon kosher salt
  1 teaspoon dried thyme
  1 bay leaf
  14 ounces steamed clams, chopped, with juice.

Garnish:
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Melt butter in a 5 quart stockpot over medium high heat. Add potatoes, celery, onion and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Add stock, cream, half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, pepper, salt, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in clams. Garnish with chopped chives.

Serve with lots of fresh sourdough bread.

The 21st annual Penn Cove Coupeville Mussel Festival is being held over the weekend of March 5-7 2010  on the waterfront. Come enjoy briny mussels fresh from the sea in chowder and off the grill. This is a fitting place to hold an event like this, as the famous Penn Cove mussels are farmed here. Cruise aboard the Mystic Sea and visit the Penn Cove Shellfish farm just a short distance from the historic Coupeville Wharf. The vessel is equipped [...]]]>

The 21st annual Penn Cove Coupeville Mussel Festival is being held over the weekend of March 5-7 2010  on the waterfront. Come enjoy briny mussels fresh from the sea in chowder and off the grill. This is a fitting place to hold an event like this, as the famous Penn Cove mussels are farmed here. Cruise aboard the Mystic Sea and visit the Penn Cove Shellfish farm just a short distance from the historic Coupeville Wharf. The vessel is equipped with an underwater camera and two large screens for viewing. Tours will be led by Penn Cove Shellfish staff and will leave the wharf every hour on the hour 11 AM to 4PM Saturday and Sunday. This is a fun way for adults and children to enjoy the day.

Surviving off the gifts of the sea was essential to the everyday lives of the natives and early settlers of the northwest islands. Enjoying this natural bounty is a practice of many islanders today. From algae to salmon, a balanced diet can be achieved from the sea. Mussels can be pulled from rocks, or harvested from a chain on a dock. Their formal name is black bivalve mollusk and there are over 70 types.

If you buy your mussels fresh, make sure they’re alive, and that the shells are closed. Fresh Penn Cove mussels are widely available throughout Western Washington. They can easily be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a container covered with a damp cloth. They can be frozen, but should be used within 3 months. This recipe is one of the simplest and most delectable recipes I have tried. You will find yourself making this recipe again and again.

Mussels in Wine – Serves 4 as a meal — 6 to 8 as an appetizer

* 4 lbs live mussels
* 2 cups dry white wine
* 4 large shallots, finely chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup mixed fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley

Simple Directions

* Rinse and scrub the mussels under cold water.
* Using your fingers or paring knife, remove beards (strings that hang from the mussel shells), and discard.
* In a large stockpot set over medium heat, combine wine, shallots, garlic, and salt.
* Simmer 5 minutes.
* Add mussels Cover, and increase heat to high.
* Cook until all mussels are open, about 2-4 minutes.
* Stir in herbs
* Remove from heat.
* Divide mussels and broth among four warmed bowls.
* Serve immediately with crusty French bread Yummm!

Enjoy the festival

When you think about winery wine tasting, I’ll bet you think California, Oregon or Eastern Washington.

On South Whidbey Island, there are a number of local wineries making some pretty darn good northwest wine.  It is an eclectic mix of wineries, some offering wines made from locally grown grapes and/or wines made from grapes grown in Eastern Washington.  These are all small wineries, and the owners and wine makers are passionate about their wine.

The island wineries are working [...]]]>

When you think about winery wine tasting, I’ll bet you think California, Oregon or Eastern Washington.

On South Whidbey Island, there are a number of local wineries making some pretty darn good northwest wine.  It is an eclectic mix of wineries, some offering wines made from locally grown grapes and/or wines made from grapes grown in Eastern Washington.  These are all small wineries, and the owners and wine makers are passionate about their wine.

The island wineries are working together to let you know where they are, who they are, and how to taste and buy their wines. Some of them have tasting rooms while others do not.  You can enjoy the lush grapes on the vines in the lovely rural vineyards, and meet local wine makers who are dedicated to giving you the best possible Whidbey wine experience.

If you are coming over on the ferry, I suggest starting out your Whidbey Wine Tour at the Bayview Corner where there is a co-operative wine store called Taste-4-Wine.   At this store you can taste wines from 3-4 island wineries that do not have public tasting rooms. There are also other shops, a small grocery store and Thai restaurant on premises.  If you are coming from the north, you should stop at the Greenbank Farm, where there is a wine shop and tasting room that carries a number of Whidbey Island wines.  Like the Bayview Corner, the farm has additional shops – and be sure you  don’t miss Whidbey Pies!

Below the video is a list of some of the wineries on Whidbey.  To learn more about them, just follow the links to their website.

Spoiled Dog Winery: Pinot Noir wine made from grapes grown on the owner’s South Whidbey farm.

Whidbey Island Vineyards & Winery:  Full tasting room with a lovely vineyard and winery. Pure island magic.

Holmes Harbor Cellars: Fantastic wines with a large selection of unique combinations. Call ahead for hours.

Greenbank Cellars: Located half way between Freeland and Coupeville is this very interesting winery and vineyard.

Blooms Winery: Tasting at Greenbank Farm and Taste-4-Wine.

FishTalk Vineyard: Estate grown wines, tasting at Greenbank Farm

Swede Hill Cellars: Tasting at Taste-4-Wine.