Black Currant Adventures

When travelling with a toddler it is important to note the difference between fruit farms and farms with animals. A few weeks ago a girlfriend and I saddled up all the girls (she has two as well) and went south to Okotoks for a morning at Kayben Farms. This was exciting for us moms, but a great let down for the Monster when she realized that, other than the black cat hanging out by the cash register, this farm did not have any animals.

That being said, the girls were troupers and worked up a good amount of excitement for berry picking. We were too late for strawberries but the black currants stood ready for us. The excitement lasted oh, about two minutes. At that point A (my friend's oldest) decided that black currants were gross and the Monster hated getting her arms scratched by the bushes.

My girlfriend and I stuck to it - hell we weren't giving up without a fight and at least a half a bucket of black currants. We gave the girls snacks and sent them off to pick flowers/weeds. In between policing them and making sure the babies were happy we managed to get about a half bucket. By then the girls were done with the field. We headed back to the main building, drooled over flowers, and treated the girls to a black currant slush.

I headed home with all the black currants, armed with great intent to turn them into something. I'm not a fan of jelly, preferring jam. After boiling down the currants with some water and straining them overnight I was left with 10 cups of tart juice. What to do? What to do? To be honest, I couldn't decide so I just froze the juice.

After seeing Julie's post about blackcurrant sorbet and ginger ale floats and my current fixation with the ice cream maker I thought about ice cream or sorbet. My original thought was syrup, but I was having a hard time finding instructions or a recipe. Then I saw a show on Vermont and they, of course showed a sugar shack. Hmm, you make syrup by boiling the crap out of the sap. I decided that's what I would do with the black currant juice.

First I had to find bottles. A few trips to restaurant supply stores and Canadian Tire came up with nothing. Then my mother-in-law suggested a winemaking store. Jackpot! A dozen 375 mL bottles with plastic, reusable stoppers.

It turns out buying a dozen bottles was optimistic. My 10 cups of juice, after an hour of boiling, turned into about 900 mL of thick syrup. Well, not quite syrup yet. I added in 3 cups of brown sugar, a half cup at a time. It is still a bit tart, but I didn't want it sickingly sweet.

All that's left it to make pancakes for dinner and enjoy our labour.

Sources:
Kayben Farms
Winemakers Wine Co 403-258-1200

Heaven in a Strip Mall

For our Tuesday Toodle yesterday we decided to tour the Bernard Callebaut factory. Hubby's cousin was visiting from the Okanagan and had spent most of her money shopping the previous day. What little girls wouldn't want to visit a chocolate factory? What Mama wouldn't?

Bernard Callebaut was a sensory delight. When you walk into the retail store you are overwhelmed with the sheer amount of chocolate selection - bars, dozens of chocolates, cowboy hats, chips, cocoa, and even a giant chocolate inukshuk. But what you really notice is the heavy air conditioning. I was worried it would wake the baby, but I think the scent lulled her to sleep. Oh, the scent. You really don't get the full effect until you go downstairs to the manufacturing facility. I would have been lulled to sheer indulgent relaxation if it weren't for the fascination of the chocolate making process.

We stared through the windows at the staff working on Christmas treats already. There were logs on the moulding rack - this wheeled contraption that turns the moulds as they spin around, in some kind of crazy orbit. There was one woman patiently adding a white chocolate drizzle to a gilberte. For the few moments we turned away from the manufacturing we could read about how the cocoa bean turns into the chocolate we so love.

As fascinating as it was to watch the chocolates being made, we grew impatient to try chocolate. Well, the 11 year old and I grew impatient, the Monster was anxious to ride the "alligator" back upstairs, and the baby slept. Upstairs we bought baking chocolate, tried a few chocolate treats, and shared a sample of luscious white chocolate soft serve. The Monster had a few toddler-sized bites of a dark chocolate fish before Mama took it away to enjoy later.

Now, you would think that a trip to a chocolate factory was good enough. Generally, it would be, but I had heard rumours of a great bakery in the same building. Unfortunately, the Manuel Latruwe is undergoing renovations. We'll have to go back again in a few months.

Fortunately, a French treat recently opened next door. L'Epicerie imports French products and serves deli sandwichs made from duck pate or the tastiest ham (carved off the leg in front of you). They have cheeses, olives, and a market cart of fresh produce. The Monster found the sample table and ate more than her fair share of cornichons and black olives. I bought some Puy lentils and olives to take home. We also decided on a ham sandwich on black olive bread to enjoy at home with chocolate for dessert, of course.

Sources:
Bernard Callebaut
Manuel Latruwe
L'Epicerie - 403.514.0555