Flavours Issue 3

the dish by
Nancy Pincombe
OH, CHERRIES!
This writer had her most memorable cherry pastry in the town of
Jelsa, on the Island of Hvar, in Croatia. It was perfectly buttery,
flaky, fresh, and made from the sour cherries that are easily
had in Europe, but much harder to source, fresh, here. It went
extraordinarily well with the strong gritty coffee on offer. People of
eastern European descent will swoon to be reminded of the cherry
and plum desserts that we seldom see. Sour cherries for baking are
available canned in most grocery stores, however, and really do
make for the kind of outstanding pastry that puts the best spin on
your day.
THE RED CABBAGE
hola, lunitas!
When the rain starts in a serious way, we should heed the wisdom
of ages and consider a strong, hot drink. This writer once travelled
to Venice and watched with admiration as mail deliverers
sheltered in a bar at 10 in the morning to drink grappa with strong
coffee before continuing their rounds in the downpour. Let us
follow their example. Lunitas in Gibsons is the perfect place to
watch the bustle of the busy harbour in boating season, and the
array of eats and craft drinks is truly impressive. But it is also a
beautiful place to watch the drips fall. Try a Café con Crème,
organic Mexican coffee with coffee-infused Patron tequila. Or a
Horchata Caliente, creamy and sweet horchata and rum. Both are
topped with rum-infused whipped cream.
Sauerkraut has built nations. It has a long shelf life,
important vitamins, and probiotics. Seafarers packed
their ships with thousands of pounds of it to prevent
scurvy and to aid digestion of the typical iron-gut navy
fare of salt pork, hard tack, and dried peas. Sauerkraut
was fed to the slaves that built the Great Wall of China. It
has a long history of helping keep humans healthy under
adverse conditions. The stuff we can buy on grocery store
shelves has been heat pasteurized and does not contain
the helpful bacteria. Luckily, sauerkraut is easy to make
at home! In a wide crock or ice cream bucket add salt to
a layer of thinly sliced cabbage (pickling salt works well;
avoid iodized salt and salts with additives, as they will
inhibit the helpful bacteria) and then pound it with a wine
bottle, a pestle, or a large clean stone until the juices are
released. Add another layer of cabbage, another sprinkle
of salt, and pound some more. When you are done there
should be enough juice to cover the cabbage. You can
make up some more brine (salt and water) to add if you
need to. Weigh the cabbage down (with a plate and that
stone) so the cabbage stays under the liquid, and cover.
It gets tangier and softer the longer it ferments, but you
can start eating it in a week. Store it in a cool corner of the
basement (it will smell just like . . . fermenting cabbage).
When you’ve used it all, save some of the brine to kickstart
your next batch.
4 FLAVOURS FOOD & DRINK MAGAZINE