Yeah I know it sounds weird and sort of nasty but trust me, my friends, these sweet potato brownies are sooooo good! Believe me, I was skeptical, I’m one of those people that thinks marshmallows on mashed sweet potatoes is a thanksgiving abomination. However, the old saying rings true, what ever grows together, goes together. Yams and cacao come from the same places and they mingle just beautifully. You will be able to fool your homies with these stellar, moist and healthy brownies. Instead of sugar we are using naturally sweet dates and no need for heavy cream and butter because the smooth sweet potatoes cover that department too.
A cool wind blew through the mountains today, carrying memories of those long days spent wondering what the wind was. I crunched some leaves as I sat beside the river and remembered my affinity for such things, simple pleasures. Memories of this wind only brought me back to a simple time where the future and the past didn’t exist. I look at my baby boy, and I remind myself constantly, all I have is this moment, this moment is all I have. When my nose floats over his head and catches that most sweet smell. It won’t last forever, he won’t let me smell his head when he’s a grown man, or maybe he will if I do a good job.
I am doing a good job in life, if I can taste every bite, without worrying what the next bite is going to taste like.
Thick hot day, the kind that melts you and makes everyone feel heavy. Lets go for a walk up to a friends, he suggests. Are you mad? I’m not walking anywhere but the beach. Yes, that kind of day. Even the car hating little one sleeps soundly. The kind of day where all you can do is try and keep it all together, and not fall asleep at the wheel. And come home to crave smoky BBQ ribs and brownies for dessert. But not just any old ribs, and certainly no typical brownies. Chug onwards, and give up on sleep, it’s for sissies anyway. The pressure of the harvest is on and mid-vortex-internet-suucubus overtaking you, a thought, that those saskatoons will fade before you know it, and their plumpness begs to be picked. Proud of my speed, you learn to pick fast when your baby is screaming and mosquitos feast upon your flesh. 4 L bucket – 7 minutes, I think it’s time to quit my day job.
I’ll tell you something, this is the first time I’ve ever made ribs of any kind. I saw these local organic baby back ribs at the market and in a rush just grabbed them (my brain doesn’t work on logic at the market) hardly knowing at all what to do. My mom made ribs for us, they were good, but not this good, sorry ma. I did my homework, checked out some rib recipes around the net and got the basic gist that low and slow is essential, and like all things, a good sauce. I wanted something classic, yet refined, out of the ordinary, yet still lip smacking good. The berries call to me, and I remember their plump abundance sitting on the counter, waiting to be transformed. This sauce consists of ample saskatoon berries which could be swapped out for blueberries, shadbush or huckleberry. Along with raspberries, and some black raspberry (a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry). Feel inspired to use whatever is most available to you, the more wild, the better. Even cherries would work well in this recipe.
Be prepared to never want these bumble berry BBQ ribs to end, don’t be like me and use only 1 rack of ribs for 2 people, I could’ve easily eaten a full one to myself. J was literally ticked that I only made 1 rack, but how was I to know they’d be so good. Beginners luck I suppose…
1 scotch bonnet pepper, very finely minced, or a habanero or jalapeño for less intense spice
1 Tsp coconut oil or other fat
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300F.
Combine spices for the cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.
Cover the ribs with your dry rub mixture. Optionally you could let the ribs absorb the spices overnight.
Cook, covered with foil for 2 hours.
Add the berries and water to a small pot and heat to a simmer until the berries have released their juices.
In a separate pot or pan, heat the oil and add to it the garlic and onions, sauté until translucent and aromatic. Add the paprika, Worcester sauce,vinegar and the hot pepper.
Strain the berries in a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, add the juice to the other pot with the onion.You can use the berry pulp in smoothies or baked good.
Bring the mix to a simmer and turn off.
Heat oven to broil and uncover ribs from the foil, smother them in BBQ sauce and broil for 5 mins.
Summertime, and the livin is eeeeeasy. Yeah I just planted that ear worm, luckily it’s a groovy tune,. Where to start, life is rolling fast, we are trying to soak up as much sun as humanly possible with a small infant. The little love went on his first camping trip to special Bannock Point over looking the gorgeous Slocan Lake. It was so awesome to swim in the crystal clear fresh water, bask in the hot sun like seals on a rock and sleep under the stars. Not to mention our delicious campfire curry and sweet potato hummus breakfast skillet, soo good. I think we’ll be doing a lot more camping this summer, may as well make the most of being free from work!
Escaping to be in nature is basically an instant zip zap over to my happy place. Even though I live amongst the trees and the bees, it’s exciting to explore the natural beauty near and far.
“We have such a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this Earth, and to tell our stories. These are the moments when the world is made whole. In my children’s memories, the adventures we’ve had together in nature will always exist.”
“Prize the natural spaces and shorelines most of all, because once they’re gone, with rare exceptions they’re gone forever. In our bones we need the natural curves of hills, the scent of chapparal, the whisper of pines, the possibility of wildness. We require these patches of nature for our mental health and our spiritual resilience.”
If you ever want to spoil yourself in the best way possible, take a little trip to one of natures gems and keep it simple. The second best way to spoil yourself is to buy some good chorizo sausage and put it in, um, everything.
These Chorizo & Smoky Salmon “Macos” (a word I may have just made up) are absolutely so darn perfect and lacking NOTHING regardless of that tortilla mumbo jumbo. Savoy cabbage leaves are perfectly sturdy, with a great crunch, but you could also use regular cabbage or swiss chard. If you don’t have chorizo, bacon would be a nice substitute . Crisp radish and zippy red onion are ideal, it’s a beautiful thing when food unites to create perfection.
4-6 savoy cabbage leaves, thick stalks removed and thinly sliced
2 wild sockeye salmon filets
1/4 cup thinly sliced chorizo sausage
1 tsp + 1 tbs coconut oil or bacon fat
1 jalapeño, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
bunch of radishes, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
handful of finely chopped cilantro
a few pieced of smoky gouda (optional)
2 tsp cajun seasoning-
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
liberal amounts of fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
Sprinkle the cajun seasoning and black pepper on salmon filets.
Heat 1 tbs coconut oil or bacon fat in a pan. Add salmon skin side down. Cook for about 3 minutes per side depending on thickness (the ones I used were quite thin)
In another pan heat 1 tsp of oil and add to that the chopped cabbage stalks, jalapeño, garlic and chorizo. Cook until cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes.
Assemble the macos by layering pieces of salmon, chorizo jalapeño mixture, red onion, gouda, radishes and cilantro. Garnish with lime wedges.
Rainy Days. I clutch my baby to my chest as we stare out the open door, smelling the downpour, staring at the falling water, hearing the roaring thunder. We are both in awe, one moment he is crying, the next he is entranced. I am grateful for this water, the plants soak it up, the river flows more freely. But I wish to send some blessed rain to the people who need it most, to parched soils, and mouths, all over this crazy world. May rain come and bring you all sound sleeps and excuses to loll in a warm place, contemplate.
Some days tiredness sticks to my bones and I can’t shake it. Gone are the days of solid night sleeps. Even when my precious darling doesn’t wake up, I still do, I gently place my hand on his little heaving chest and drift back to nowhere land. Today we dozed off together, a little hand resting upon my clavicle, and I felt still, as if we were one. Lack of sleep doesn’t always manifest in tiredness, there are also times when I feel boundless energy and profound inspiration. The ebb and flow of life doesn’t bet its basis on sleep. While I thought before babe that I would be a zombie for the next years, most of the time I am more fuelled to live fully than ever before. Interesting to note that our ancestors, before the invention of electricity, had a tendency to awaken in the night for an hour called biphasic sleep before entering into a second sleep. The sleep break was used to reflect, meditate, read, ruminate on life’s happenings. A lot of “insomniacs” might be happy to know their mid night wakefulness is really completely normal.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
Happy Fight Back Friday over at the Food Renegade, I’m pleased to be a part of this real food jam!
