Wonderful time of the year for fresh produce
For me, the Okanagan’s food and drink scene does not get much better than it is right now. Late summer brings epic loads of our best local fruits and vegetables in season, resulting in farmers markets bursting at the seams.
Blue sky and sunshine repeat daily and draw us outdoors to restaurant patios and backyards where tables are dotted with glasses of chilled Okanagan bubbles and rosé – this is my absolute favourite time of year.
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Speaking of rosés, my favourite new finds are Red Horse Vineyard Runaway Rosé and Saintly ‘The Good Rosé’ from Great Estates Okanagan.
Red Horses Vineyard is a family run winery in Oliver and their rosé is made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. I love dry, savoury style rosés like this one that is also very aromatic. Saintly ‘The Good Rosé’ is really good and easy to like. Provence style, dry, with lovely strawberry and pink grapefruit notes, it pairs perfectly with summer.
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My farmers market basket is full of local corn, tomatoes, and golden baby beets right now. The little sunshine yellow beets that I have been getting from Day’s Farm Market in Kelowna are like candy this year. So sweet and tender, we have been eating them with almost every meal. Simply boil the beets until fork tender, drain, cool and then the skin will simply slide off revealing a perfect shiny golden globe.
Really, they don’t need any dressing, but I like to drizzle a little vinaigrette and chopped fresh basil on top.
Jennifer Schell Lirag is an international award winning cookbook author, putting the spotlight on B.C.’s food, farm and drink community for over 15 years. Born & raised on a farm in East Kelowna, she has written four cookbooks: The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine & Cheese Maker series and most recently Taste Canada shortlist winner The BC Wine Lover’s Cookbook. Follow her on social media at @jenniferschell8 and visit jenniferschell.com