Island Time

It was a Friday evening a couple weekends ago when 8 of us piled into our cars and headed for the ferry. It was late when we pulled into lane 15 bound for Galiano Island and the sun had already set. We sat in the cars waiting and pondering what snack we were going to get once on board.

Those of us who live in Vancouver can be a little funny about the ferry and don’t venture over to the islands all that often. The big complaints? They cost an arm and a leg and the rides seem to take forever. Galiano Island, however, doesn’t take forever and in the amount of time that it took us to go up to the cafeteria, wait in line for our french fries (yes, that was our snack of choice) we were heading back down the 3 flights of stairs to our cars and debarking. Our plan once off the ferry was to head directly to Pilgrimme for dinner.

The Island is dark at night, there aren’t any streetlights and the 1000 odd homes on the island didn’t shed much light as we wound are way along the forested roads. But eventually, we were greeted by the twinkling lights of Pilgrimme through the trees. Our 15-course dinner was perfect. I am currently feeling a little guilty for not taking a single photo of our dinner. We just ate it, enjoyed it and wished we could eat there all day e’er’ day. I’ll blame it on the fact that as earlier mentioned, the island is so dark!

Ok, let’s take a little pause in the story here to talk about the weekend. The idea was a girls getaway where we ate lovely food, practiced yoga and generally relaxed. The trip was planned by my friends Janna and Shira of Grain and I was so thrilled to have been invited on the island adventure.

Our home base for the weekend was Bodega Ridge, a beautiful property with a smattering of self-contained cabins and main lodge with a yoga studio, dining room and a kitchen which we made good use of.

The forecast for the weekend was rain and rain it did, but I don’t think we could have asked for more appropriate weather. It meant that we didn’t feel guilty for waking up late, starting a fire in our stove and spending the better part of the morning sipping coffee and eating homemade banana bread.

So, yup, Saturday was a bit of a relaxing write-off. We ate, we did yoga, we played cards, some of us braved the weather and went hiking, others read, and I drank wine.

Sunday was checkout day, but not before Janna and Shira took over the kitchen in the main lodge and made us a stunning brunch and they have so kindly shared their recipes with us! On the menu, roasted tomato and artichoke frittata with golden quinoa, Blue Sky Ranch belly bacon, cabbage and walnut slaw, greens and fruit and bread from Pilgrimme. (Hit up the bottom of the page for the recipes!)

Sunday proved to be a lot less rainy than Saturday and before we boarded our ferry we took Jessie from Bodega Ridge’s advice and went down to the ocean and spent our last few hours on island time wandering this white sand beach. I couldn’t have asked for a better getaway!

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Roasted Tomato, Artichoke & Golden Quinoa Frittata
from Grain

4 large tomatoes, sliced and slow roasted for 3-4 hours
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped (2 cups)
1 tsp salt
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
8 eggs
2 cups milk or cream
1 cup cooked GRAIN Golden Quinoa
1 small package goat cheese (approximately 100g)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
1 tsp salt

The day before, quarter the tomatoes and lay on an oiled baking tray. Roast at 250-300 degrees for up to 4 hours, until the tomatoes are fragrant. When done, transfer to a container and store in the fridge overnight.

Cook quinoa using the pasta or rice method – see our GRAIN Golden Quinoa cooking guide here. Set aside 1 cup cooked. Cook red onion & salt in a large cast iron pan for 8-10 minutes on medium heat, until soft. Roughly chop the slow-roasted tomatoes, setting aside a handful still whole for use on the top. Combine the eggs and milk or cream in a large bowl and whisk until fluffy. Stir in grated cheddar, half of the goat cheese in crumbled bits, cooked quinoa, 1 tsp salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Stir the cooked onions and spread them evenly around the bottom of the pan. Scatter the artichokes in the pan, and add the chopped roasted tomatoes, reserving the whole ones for the top.

Pour the egg, cheese & quinoa mixture into the pan and use a large spoon to spread the mixture evenly, keeping the pan on medium heat. Garnish the top of the egg mixture with the reserved roasted tomatoes, the remaining goat cheese and freshly ground black pepper, and cook on the stove for 8-10 minutes, until the egg mixture starts to set around the edges of the pan. After 8-10 minutes on the stove, place the pan in the 375 degree oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes until browned and bubbly, and fully set.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes until it is firm and easy to slice. Serve with fresh crusty bread, this new Fennel, Walnut and Red Cabbage Salad, and our Best Ever French Lentil Salad. Dress the table with fresh butter, hot coffee, and a little bacon to take it over the top.

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