Fiddleheads and Shellfish

It didn't take me long to discover this week's theme - walking to work at the Fish House, I discovered a sprouting fern patch: FIDDLEHEADS! The fiddlehead season is only about 2-3 weeks long around here, so I knew I had to take advantage of them immediately. I went out as soon as work was over and harvested about 3lbs of the natural Fibbonacci fronds, one at a time. I wish I had my camera then.

I had some egg whites left over from making ice cream last weekend, so it was either Pavlova or pasta. I had to make pasta, because everybody looked at me weird when I suggested making egg-white pasta. Trust me, it works. Once I decided on pasta, clams seemed like a natural pair with fiddleheads. Vongolaise!

Local organic apples are SO easy to find and SO cheap (about $1/lb year round), and I've never made a Tarte Tatin, so I thought I'd give that a shot. I had some leftover Avalon organic butter, and found organic Canadian flour at the Food Warehouse (1st & Lonsdale) for $3.50/kg. Mmm, 100% organic, local gala apple Tarte Tatin. I also stopped by Cinnamon's Chocolates on 2nd and picked up a half dozen handmade caramels for petit fours - I saw the Avalon organic milk delivery truck pull up there a couple of days ago, so I knew I had to take a chance on their chocolate.
And I felt like having oysters... but I can't stand being fleeced by those hosers at Lonsdale Quay: $18.69/dozen! Unshucked! No thanks... even if I have to buy 5 dozen at a time to get wholesale prices, that's what I'll do to keep my hard-earned dollars out of yuppie market profiteers. Needless to say, I spent the next morning picking oyster shells out of my couch cushions.
A small group of dedicated diners arrived in time for oysters and freshly baked Island City filoncini, and the rest was history - Karen brought a Muscadet from Loire (honeysuckle, melon, floral bouquet, with crisp dry finish - NICE) and Tristan brought a single-origin Ethiopian Harrar coffee for a little intermezzo (tropical fruit driven by acidity, to open the eyes and the palate). We tasted a bottle of El Bulli's new beer, the Estrella Dam Inedit (very light, unfiltered wheat beer - gorgeous and crisp!) Finally, in the 11th hour, Destinee rolled in with some watermelon sheesha. Another successful Knight at the Corner Table.