Magazines - Arbutus Fall 2019

arbutus REDISCOVER COWICHAN

OLYMPIC ENERGY...

&Cheesecake

COWICHAN’S Best Kept Secret STEWARD of Somenos Marsh

In this issue: HOME FEATURE | OUT & ABOUT IN COWICHAN

VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 5 • FALL 2019

arbutus

OUT & ABOUT

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1. Leah Hollins, chair of the Island Health Board of Directors, speaking at the sod-turning for Cowichan Hospice House. 2. Hilary Abbott chats with Huang Feng, a visitor from Yi Jing, China, at the announcement of new ownership at the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club. 3. Richard Ingle, general manager of Arbutus Ridge Golf Club and Zhao Zheng Fu celebrate the acquisition of Arbutus Ridge Golf Club by Zhao’s family. 4. The Paldi Sikh Temple celebrated its 100th anniversary this summer. Present for the weekend celebrations were: Vancouver-Langara MLA Joan Mayo, North Cowichan councillor Tek Manhas, Usha Honisch and Martin Honisch. 5. A volunteer from Cowichan Hospice offers cookies to folks who attended the sod turning ceremony in Duncan in July.

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arbutus

Volume 4 • Issue 5 • Fall 2019

Photo courtesy of Hand of Man

Publisher & Editor

Warren Goulding Creative Director

Lily Chan Creative Services

Tammy Robinson Sales

Darin Lashman Vi Moffatt Lauri Meanley Christian McKnight Contributing Writers

Cathie Hamilton Warren Goulding Zoe Lauckner Karen Bresler Paul Fletcher Photographers

Warren Goulding Paul Fletcher Mailing Address

251 Jubilee St., Duncan BC V9L 1W8 General Inquiries

To Advertise: warren.goulding@blackpress.ca

arbutus REDISCOVER COWICHAN

&

Cheesecake

COWICHAN’S Best Kept Secret STEWARD of Somenos Marsh

In this issue: HOME FEATURE | OUT & ABOUT IN COWICHAN

Cover

Mimi Benge is the owner of a Cowichan gym catering to individual needs.

OLYMPIC ENERGY...

VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 5 • FALL 2019

Photographer

Karen Bresler

arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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A Note from the Publisher Writing, like many of life’s honourable pursuits, is best accomplished when the author is overflowing with passion.

This month, readers of Arbutus are fortunate to be able to tap into the passion of our writers and their subjects.

Karen Bresler, the writer of the cover story, is a relative newcomer to the Valley. A lawyer, Karen has been here for just over a year and has fallen in love with her new home.

Already an integral member of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, she’s passionate about the Cowichan Valley, writing and the subject of her article for this issue. She has gotten to know an amazing individual through her friendship with Mireille Benge – Mimi, as she is better known – and the profile of this talented and versatile woman captures that passion.

Speaking of passion, it’s unlikely you’ll find a person more passionate about a cause than Paul Fletcher.

Paul discovered Somenos Marsh more than 30 decades ago when, as he describes it, he arrived in the Cowichan Valley “as an oil price refugee from Fort McMurray.” Paul has been around from the beginning of this project and his article traces the challenges and successes of the movement to conserve this invaluable area on the outskirts of Duncan.

Experience

by Warren Goulding

His account of the steady progress driven by a corps of committed volunteers makes for a fascinating read. Fortunately, Paul is also a skilled photographer and the images that accompany the history of Somenos Marsh provide a glimpse into an amenity that few of us know enough about.

Speaking of well kept secrets, writer Zoe Lauckner has uncovered what she accurately calls Cowichan’s Best Kept Secret: The Hand of Man Museum.

Who knew?

This incredible facility was inspired by Jim Shockey, known to many as an award-winning outdoor writer, wildlife photographer/ videographer, TV personality and producer, world traveler, and expert guide and outfitter.

What he has put together in the former Maple Bay elementary school is mind-blowing.

Zoe’s article describes the 22,850 square foot private museum as a mecca for the natural history buff, art collector, wildlife enthusiast and inquisitive child.

“There are hints of history from all over the world,” Zoe reports, and the amazing thing is that every piece has been collected by Jim Shockey, a man with an insatiable taste for adventure.

More evidence that the Cowichan Valley is an amazing place to call home.

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in this issue Fall 2019 the stories

the features and About 02 Out Our regular selection of photos from important events taking place around the Cowichan Valley!

Energy...and 15 Olympic Cheesecake Mimi Benge is not only an an athlete and fitness trainer, she bakes the finest cheesecake in the Valley.

Best Kept 06 Cowichan's Secret The former Maple Bay elementary school has become the home of a massive collection of treasures accumulated over his lifetime by Jim Shockey.

Point Distillery 11 Shelter Field to Flask at Vancouver Island's Shelter Point Distillery

Feature 27 Home This spectacular Maple Bay home checks all the boxes … and more.

Somenos 20 Stewarding Paul Fletcher has been involved in the protection and promotion of Somenos Marsh for three decades and the success of the initiative is apparent.

Case for 30 The Shopping Locally Cathie Hamilton has uncovered a relatively new business in the Cowichan Valley that practices sustainable farming with a holistic approach.

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COWICHAN’S BEST KEPT SECRET:

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or locals and visitors alike, the Cowichan Valley is full of undiscovered treasures.

You could live your whole life here and still be surprised by what there is to discover. A sense of adventure, that spark that draws you upward, over the mountain to see what lies beyond is all you need.

The explorer gene, it’s what is responsible for attracting unique people to the Warmland and some, much to our benefit, choose to stay and contribute to the treasure trove.

In the oceanside village of Maple Bay awaits one particular hidden gem that is completely out of this world.

Well, at least the world most of us are familiar with.

A mecca for the natural history buff, art collector, wildlife enthusiast and inquisitive child, the Hand of Man Museum of Natural History, Cultural Arts and Conservation is sure to transport you elsewhere in time.

Not yet enticed? Six words begin to tell the story: 65-million-year-old dinosaur poop.

And that’s only the beginning. This 22,850 square foot private museum resides in the former Maple Bay

elementary school and features floorto-ceiling displays of wildlife and cultural artifacts, a world-class natural history library, and an array of artwork from all over the world.

Upon arrival at the museum you’re greeted by friendly staff and a guest book full of rave reviews from visitors far and wide: Denmark, Washington, Kuala Lumpur, Quesnel.

The comments are over the moon: Incredible! Shackleton’s book! Could spend all day here! Best museum, we will be back!

The reception area itself is deceiving, unremarkable in comparison to what awaits behind the rolling, frosted glass door. A long hallway with rooms to the left and right, every inch covered in something fascinating. There are hints of history from all over the world: models of bizarre (and some terrifying) aquatic life, incredibly intricate beadwork, vibrantly coloured exotic bugs, crossbows, spearheads, and tapestries. Even more remarkable than the vast array of curiosities is that every piece among the many thousands has been collected by Jim Shockey, a man with an insatiable taste for adventure. As the collector and curator, Shockey is at home

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“I STARTED COLLECTING WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD, 51 YEARS AGO. I WAS PUTTING MY FIRST COLLECTIONS TOGETHER, SEASHELLS, INSECTS, KNOWING THAT SOMEDAY, THESE WOULD GO IN A MUSEUM.”

in the former school gymnasium surrounded by the skeletons of animals long extinct, and loves to talk about the museum.

The room has changed a lot in the last few months with the addition of a Nuu-chah-nulth whaling canoe, Romanian Cave Bear skeleton and Rhinoceros skull, to name a few. For Shockey, this is a place of profound spiritual connection.

“If you walk through here, the weave is that everything was created by hand, and the spirit of that person resides in that piece. They’re gone but the piece they created exists far beyond them, it’s the art that came from in their hearts for whatever purpose.”

If you’re not a hunter, you may not know the name Jim Shockey, but he has an impressive list of accomplishments 8 arbutusmag.com

and accolades including, but not limited to: awardwinning outdoor writer, wildlife photographer/ videographer, TV personality and producer, world traveler, and expert guide and outfitter.

He has dedicated his life to exploring some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet while hunting some of the biggest and wildest animals in more than 45 countries. Shockey knows every item intimately. There are Doukhobor textiles hanging from the walls and he is able to recite the story of how he found each one, the names of the weave patterns, and the history of Doukhobor settlements in British Columbia.

Everything in the museum has a story, which Shockey knows well. He is a natural storyteller, everything from the cadence to the rhythm and tone of his speech is

THE MUSEUM IS OPEN 365 DAYS A YEAR FROM 9:00 AM UNTIL 4:00 PM, WITH MULTIPLE SELFGUIDED TOURS AVAILABLE FOR BOOKING EACH DAY AND ADMISSION IS BY DONATION.

enchanting. Even without meeting him in person, visitors get a sense of his narrative style through the interactive videos on the iPad you’re given for the self-guided tour.

“This museum is my life represented,” Shockey says joyfully.

It is safe to say then, that his life has been anything but ordinary. Living in a rural Saskatchewan trailer park in the

1960s, the Shockey family lived a modest life. Though his father Hal hunted, he did so out of necessity and a means for survival – a very different motivation than his son would later develop.

“My dad was a hunter in the classic sense of that era. So there was, I would say, zero spiritual connection between my dad and the animal, it was purely a hamburger running

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across the field to him. We had macaroni if dad didn’t get a moose.

That’s what we ate all winter.”

doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in the wildlife and the outdoors.

In contrast, Shockey’s relationship with hunting is strongly spiritual and deeply connected to his philosophy that there’s an innate yearning in some of us to explore and provide, instincts passed down from our ancestors. When asked about some of the most meaningful pieces in the collection, he nods his head towards the wall behind him, polka dotted in various ungulate racks, all harvested by him and his family.

“I started collecting when I was 10 years old, 51 years ago. I was putting my first collections together, seashells, insects, knowing that someday, these would go in a museum.”

“That’s my dad’s last moose. As I look at that I remember my father at 79, going into the wildlands of the Yukon and hunting this moose. It was a passage, to stand there with my father in the mountain birch turning crimson, the willows turning yellow, the caribou moss white on the mountainsides, the snow on the peaks, and this vast valley that nobody ever goes to. To look at that, my father’s been gone now for seven years, and every memory is just right back in that place.”

A naturally curious kid, Shockey

After graduation, Shockey left Saskatoon for Vancouver, attending Simon Fraser University on a swimming scholarship. He recalls feeling “hooked on British Columbia,” and although life took him elsewhere, eventually he returned and opened an antique shop in Vancouver called Folk Art Interiors.

He met Louise, now his wife of more than 30 years, fell in love, and the two began to think about having a family of their own. Desiring a quieter lifestyle away from the hustle-andbustle of the city, the pair settled down in the Cowichan Valley and had two children, Eva and Branlin – both of whom attended the former Maple Bay school that’s now Shockey’s museum. It is here that Shockey’s career flourished, with three outdoors

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shows airing on national television and multiple active outfitting territories.

Hunting is a polarizing subject that elicits passionate responses from both sides, and Shockey is no stranger to criticism. But he believes, unapologetically, that hunting contributes significantly to conservation efforts and in certain areas of the world, some animals would be completely wiped out if it weren’t for their worth to hunters from the West.

“Wildlife can’t bargain on their own behalf, the only thing they have to bargain with is their lives.

Hopefully the responsible biological management of that species is done by people in power, not socially managed by whatever the latest social mores is, but by biologists that aren’t getting their funding by towing company line.”

Unknown to some and ignored by others, Shockey has won awards for his ethical practices in hunting and, by his own description, his connection with every animal he harvests is one of spirituality and respect.

“Maybe in some of us resides that ember of our antecedents, and maybe that should not only not be vilified but it should be nurtured. Find out who has that. I’m hoping that when people leave here, they might think that way.”

Now in his early sixties Shockey knows he can’t quite pull off the rugged mountainous expeditions he did 10 or 20 years ago. With three grandchildren and another on the way, Shockey notices his priorities shifting.

“At this point in my life it’s time for me to be a messenger,” he shares candidly. After 30 years plus of travelling the world and seeing some of the most far-off places, Shockey has collected a lifetime of adventures and created a space where you can experience it for yourself.

The museum is open 365 days a year from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm, with multiple self-guided tours available for booking each day and admission is by donation.

Shockey wants everyone to feel welcome, and you should take him up on his invitation. You might just find something that stokes an ancient ember of your ancestors too.

Distiller James Marinus.

SPIRITS WEST

of the

“Field to flask” at Vancouver Island’s Shelter Point Distillery B Y S U S A N L U N DY | P H OTO S C O U R T E S Y S H E LT E R P O I N T D I S T I L L E RY

arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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S

tanding in a converted cattle barn with 2,000 barrels of aging whisky lining the walls as far as the eye can see, I’m enjoying the thick, heady scent as I undertake some mental math. Despite the effects of the delicious fumes known to whisky lovers as the “angel’s share,” I calculate we’re surrounded by the makings of more than half a million bottles of Shelter Point Distillery spirits.

We are mid-point in a tour of this fast-growing Vancouver Island distillery, which barrelled its first whisky in 2011 and now produces more than 125,000 litres of spirits — whisky, gin, vodka and liqueur — per year.

To get to the barrel room, our small group — including me, my husband, another couple and our guide, Shelter Point general manager Jacob Wiebe — climbed into a quad and bounced around the distillery’s beautiful 380 acres of oceanfront land. Located on the eastern side of Vancouver Island just south of Campbell River, the property is crisscrossed by streams, the Oyster River, wetlands and, of course, the golden fields of barley and wheat that rippled gently in the wind as we motored by.

Jacob is informative and funny. Being married to one of Shelter Point owner Patrick Evans’s four daughters gives him licence to gently poke fun at his father-in-law. The camaraderie among staff at this tight-knit, family-based business is obvious.

“You’ll be successful if you work half a day every day,” Jacob says, quoting Patrick’s father, who also once worked this land. “Doesn’t matter if it’s the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours.”

Jacob laughs and adds, “That’s Patrick’s motto, too.”

Shelter Point’s five full-time staffers have all learned to multi-task. This includes the two distillers, who now drive tractors and bang nails in addition to crafting fine spirits.

Today, they’re awaiting the delivery of 288 Kentucky bourbon barrels. When the shipment arrives, everyone will drop everything to help in the strength-taxing process of moving barrels from truck to storage.

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Patrick was raised a dairy farmer. But with the industry in decline — and, besides, his daughters weren’t fond of it — he looked to establish value-added agriculture on his land. Creating Shelter Point Distillery was more about capitalizing on an opportunity than being a whisky aficionado.

“I am a beer drinker,“ Patrick laughs, patting his stomach as we chat with him prior to our tour. “I asked myself, ‘How do you value agriculture to the highest degree?’ Well, one acre of land produces 800 litres of alcohol, or 2,700 bottles of whisky.”

What must have been seen as a leap of faith in 2011 — after all, it took five years to produce the first bottle of whisky — is paying off today. Shelter Point Distillery is one of the largest producers of single malt whisky in Canada, and the accolades are rolling in, with two gold medal wins recently announced at the 2019 World Whisky Masters.

Plans are afoot to get even bigger by adding another still and eventually developing a true “field-to-flask” operation with on-site malting.

Currently, Shelter Point out-sources malting to a plant in Armstrong. But within the next year or two, Patrick hopes to be malting here, meaning every aspect of production — from seed to spirit — will occur on this land. And with the malting process in place, the business can add smoked whisky to its repertoire, incorporating true west coast flavours like maple or kelp.

“There are different perspectives on what defines the flavour of the whisky,” Patrick says. For him, as a farmer, it’s all about the soil. But there are many other factors, including the distilling process, the type of barrel used and — like grapes in wine — the variety and quality of the grain.

“When [the alcohol] goes into the barrels, it’s all exactly the same,” Patrick points out. “But it comes out different from each barrel. Even the barrel's wood and the history of the tree will affect the taste.”

Back in the barrel room, where the fumes are definitely making us all a little giddy, I suddenly understand the importance of water in the world of whisky. Once the barrelled whisky has aged, water is added to cut back the

percentage of alcohol (unless the whisky is being bottled at cask-strength). Water at Shelter Point bubbles up from a mountain-fed aquifer, so it’s hard to imagine a more puretasting addition to the spirits.

At this thought, I’m ready to hit the tasting room, but the men are deep in conversation about Shelter Point cask purchases. At around $6,000 each, plus taxes and bottling costs, and a two- to three-year wait, the potential might not be immediately clear. However — despite the headiness of the angel’s share — I’m able to calculate that the ultimate yield of more than 250 bottles per barrel puts the price point way below retail value. My husband plans to present the concept to his whisky club.

are free for the taking and I definitely encourage it. But for us — finally! — it’s time to taste the fruits of all this labour (or more accurately, the “spirits of all this distilling.”)

Whisky and I have a bit of a troubled past. It was once a favourite of mine; I even organized whisky evenings for our friends. But after a night of overindulging on cask-strength brew, it’s been tricky to get our relationship back on track.

However, after tasting samples from two bottles of Shelter Point whisky, I’m ready for a reconciliation. This whisky is among the best I’ve sampled. And since it’s a true west coast single malt, I’ll describe it as “smooth as the silky trunk of an Arbutus tree or the feather of an eagle.” We quickly pick up two bottles for purchase.

Next, our group heads to the place where it all happens.

Stepping into the distillery with its soaring, timber-trussed roof, gleaming, six-metre-high copper stills and futuristiclooking columns is like walking into a piece of art or a sci-fi movie set. The entire Shelter Point building is gorgeous — from the flowered entranceway to the cushiony, agedleather armchairs in the lounge — but this room is truly spectacular.

Then comes the vodka and gin. Light and clean with a hint of caramel, this vodka is too good to mix with tonic. It’s made for sipping. The gin is another surprise (although it was developed by a gin rock star). Rich with juniper, citrus and floral flavours, it rivals and surpasses any of the gins I’ve sampled in the past — and that’s quite a few. Bottles of vodka and gin are added to our bag. Finally, we savour the Barrel of Sunshine Liqueur, which comes with a story.

It’s here we meet distiller Leon Webb who, with his gentle Scottish brogue, leads us through the distilling process.

Dissatisfied with his previous occupation as an investment banker, and realizing that his prized Scotch collection brought him immense joy, he studied to become a master distiller. My husband is over the moon to learn that Leon created Victoria’s famously purple Empress 1908 gin.

“My daughter didn’t like the taste of the whisky,” says Patrick, “so we told her to go and create something she did like.”

“He’s like a rock star,” Bruce enthuses, asking me to photograph the two of them together.

The distilling process is fascinating, and we wander among the stills, poking our heads into them and inhaling the wonderful scents. Public tours of this part of the operation

The resulting liqueur has been the distillery’s bestseller (although this summer sales were surpassed by the gin).

Basking in its heavenly blend of sweet, citrus, honey warmth, we understand why. We purchase a bottle of Sunshine as well.

As we hit the Old Island Highway for the scenic drive back down island, I’m thrilled to have had the experience, collected the bag-full of bottles happily clinking in the backseat, and enjoyed a little of the angel’s share. arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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“It’s a true west coast single malt, I’ll describe it as “smooth as the silky trunk of an Arbutus tree or the feather of an eagle.”

THE ABCs OF

SHELTER POINT SPIRITS

ABV:

Alcohol by volume is the percentage of alcohol in a bottle, sometimes referred to as proof. The ABV of most Shelter Point spirits is 40 per cent, but it ranges from 30 per cent for the Barrel of Sunshine Liqueur to 50 per cent or higher for some lots of whisky.

BARREL AGEING:

To qualify as a whisky, a spirit must age at least five years in a cask, three of which must occur in charred oak casks. Shelter Point uses a variety of different barrels or casks, including Kentucky bourbon barrels and various types of wine casks, many from Quails' Gate winery in Kelowna.

CASK STRENGTH: In many cases, distillers

decide if a whisky from a certain cask can be consumed as is, or if water should be added to reduce the ABV. If a whisky is “cask strength,” it has been bottled exactly as it was in the cask, ranging from 46 to 60 per cent alcohol.

COPPER POT STILLS:

For any type of distilling, a pot or still is used to extract the spirit from the grain mash. Shelter Point uses two beautiful hand-crafted stills ordered specially from one of the oldest still manufacturers in the world: Forsyth of Scotland. Why copper? Because it is an excellent conductor, spreading the heat evenly in the distilling process.

E OR NO E?:

Whisky is sometimes spelled whiskey. There is no definitive answer to the question “e or no e?” but for the most part, Irish and American whiskey is spelled with an “e,” while whisky made in Canada, India and Japan conforms to the Scottish tradition of having no “e.”

PURCHASING A CASK:

General Manager Jacob Wiebe, Cicily Evans, Warehouseman David Marshall and distiller Leon Webb in the Barrel Room.

PHOTO BY LIA CROWE

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The price of acquiring a cask at Shelter Point may seem daunting — averaging about $6,000 plus taxes and bottling — but there are actually many benefits to such an investment.

While the cask ages (for an additional two to three years), those who have invested in it can organize tastings of the spirit directly from their own barrel in Shelter Point’s barrel room. Customized bottling is another unique opportunity.

But best of all is the end price per bottle (minimum of 250 bottles per cask), which is significantly below retail pricing.

Olympic energy...

and cheesecake

By Karen Bresler

[

BENGE STARTED WITH A DREAM. A DREAM TO BE AN OLYMPIAN. HER FOCUS WAS INITIALLY ON WATER POLO AND AFTER PLAYING AT THE CITY LEVEL, SHE RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO BE ON THE OLYMPIC TEAM.

]

arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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When you meet Mireille Benge, more often known as Mimi, you feel a rush of energy and are met with a brilliant smile. A natural force, she sweeps you along with a “Hello Beautiful” and an invitation into her epicentre of the moment, while introducing you at the same time and without missing a beat to the people inevitably drawn around her.

With athletic foundations that precede her gym “Fit Your Way”, a modern state of the art facility on Chaster Road in south Duncan, Benge brings to the Cowichan Valley an Olympian athlete mindset and a focus on a broader definition of fitness.

The name Fit Your Way speaks to a personal mission espoused by Benge.

“I ask everyone, ‘don’t you want to be the very best at all stages of your life?’”

Clearly viewing this as a rhetorical question, Benge has built Fit Your Way on the premise that quality of peoples’ lives can be improved at all the different stages of life – wherever you are, however you are and whatever fits your particular way of living. Benge says fitness and wellness

are the key markers in a lifestyle that fuels your body to achieving everything in life. Likening the body to a vehicle, Benge says simply that if it’s not fuelled, you will not be able to go the distance in all areas of life.

Benge accordingly started her fitness training at 15 and a half years of age.

Benge pauses here, in typical style, to acknowledge another, stating that: “teachers are the pillars of society because they influence us”.

Born in Ottawa and fluent in French, Benge was shy as a child. She acknowledges that life is a story but is firmly of the view that she has no drama and therefore no story. One must draw out of her the Olympian story where humility pervades every aspect of it. Her father taught her that the body is a temple and she should not deface it or take it for granted.

In this assessment, the humility is ironic as she is clearly not realizing at all her own influence as a teacher.

She started teaching fitness at around age 16. After a dance background that was not inviting of her heavier muscular frame, and gymnastics which required a smaller body to tumble. Benge turned to her “own thing”. She found that in jazz hip hop.

She would show her friends at school lunch her latest choreographed moves.

Mrs. Ford, the gym teacher, on noticing this, cautioned Benge to obtain training to avoid causing injury to her lunchtime “students”

Benge started with a dream. A dream to be an Olympian. Her focus was initially on water polo and after playing at the city level, she received an invitation to be on the Olympic team. In 1998 women’s water polo was supposed to be introduced as an Olympic sport. But it wasn’t.

Consequently, Benge did not get to the national level because although there was a mens’ water polo team, it was not until the Olympics in 2000 that there would be a women’s team.

Benge admits to crying on hearing of the women’s water polo team years later. However, not one to stand still, she had moved on to body building.

Opining that anything is possible, she says she persevered beyond the odds and competed. She hired a trainer and started training for a year.

After competing, she decided it was unbalanced and not in line with her beliefs about fitness and wellness.

Next stage was cycling. Key in the cycling was a steady pace over long distances of up to 800 km. Amusingly enough, the next stage of this determined athlete’s career would be defined by another cyclist wearing a rowing jacket. Benge admired the jacket and found out that one sources such jackets at the rowing club.

“So I went to the rowing club! The rowing club members looked at how buffed I was and asked me to join,” she says in a matter of fact voice.

“I told them I don’t know how to row.

They taught me and I took care of their strength training.”

Benge went on to the very top in rowing. Again, she was invited to try out for the national team. Her Olympic dream ended with her shorter stature working against her.

She explains that taller people “pull more water.”

Benge went on to coach rowing. She says this period gave her a reality check where she realized that not

16 arbutusmag.com

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arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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“I can try everything but physics sometimes intervenes.”

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The couple met when they collided while rowing. A story that always draws laughter and some mutual clarifications of what actually happened, they laugh and say that they have been together since. They married 10 years after the collision.

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Benge took Zumba training in the UK and taught in European wellness and social clubs which offered the full fitness experience that inspired her to form Fit Your Way. Very proud of the environment that is fostered at Fit Your Way, Benge says being healthy should never be equated with being super skinny or a certain height. Rather the focus is on a mindset of wellness. “I am just an individual who very early in life saw the correlation,” she explains.

She says it doesn’t matter if you are 30, 40 or 70, you are steadily challenged to make your fitness commitment for the long run.

“It’s all about commitment darling,” she is often overheard saying.

Benge, drawing on her lifelong experience as an athlete, explains it takes dedication to your goals, discipline to follow through and time to achieve long lasting results.

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There is a strong focus on good nutrition and general wellness which sets everyone up for success. Clients of Fit Your Way love that the focus there is not all about looking good. Everyone gets to look good their own way and in their own time. Clients are offered options in classes to manage where they are at in their fitness level while also being challenged to progress to harder options.

Client Stephanie Collins summed it up after attending class: “Do you know how lucky the Cowichan Valley is to have Mimi? She is a gem!”

In fact, that is pretty much everyone’s view as they come or go and stop to chat, with smiles on their faces.

A male perspective was offered by Danny Pasichnyk on group classes.

“More men should do group classes because I think they think it’s just for women. It’s not. If you don’t like to work out by yourself, then it’s nice to be in a class,” Pasichnyk says.

A favourite aspect of the Fit Your Way ambience, however, is cheesecake. How does cheesecake fit in with a health and wellness facility you may ask?

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Famous for the cheesecake Benge bakes for events and her clients, she says these “cheesecakes foster the principle of no guilt involved at Fit Your Way.” According to McLaren, it all started when Benge was invited to a potluck and had to bring a dish. She had made

many cheesecakes for her family so she decided on a cheesecake as her potluck contribution. It was such a hit that soon everyone was asking her to make a cheesecake.

It is said that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has enjoyed the no guilt cheesecakes at a bakery in the UK. McLaren offers this information behind the scenes and says that Benge makes the cheesecakes out of love and puts her heart and soul into each one. Many a fundraising event in the Valley has had a cheesecake prize as Benge generously supports the community.

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Watching a child sitting peacefully in the social area while her mom works out, it is obvious indeed, women and men alike are getting fit their own way under the guidance and loving care of a woman who just would not quit when obstacles presented themselves to her.

She found a way to do it her way and now everyone has the option of being Fit Your Way. For an upcoming Fall Fitness challenge and full details of all the programs and events offered see www.fityourway.ca

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STEWARD of the Semenos Marsh

By Paul Fletcher

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It was half a lifetime ago, in 1986, that I first set foot in Somenos Marsh. I had just arrived from Fort McMurray as an oil price refugee and, already missing the nature and landscapes of Alberta, I was looking for similar green spaces to explore and photograph. I was so surprised to find, right in the middle of my new hometown, a mini wilderness and a matching small-scale-nature centre to boot.

Visiting the Somenos Marsh Nature Centre, nestled in a small part of a former warehouse-type building ravaged by annual flooding, I met some old-timer naturalists manning the counter who were very happy to share their nature knowledge with anyone who had time to listen. I learned very quickly that Somenos was a great place for bird watching and other nature activities but was regularly under pressure from development, especially since the land was so centrally located in the Cowichan Valley.

I also learned that the name Somenos was derived from S’amuna’, the name of the Cowichan village that once stood close to Somenos Lake and Creek. Oral history tells the story of one family who was responsible for stewarding Somenos as the lake and creek provided fish while the upland forests provided game, building materials and plants for food and medicine. Somenos Creek was also an important transportation corridor to the Cowichan Estuary and escape route, when needed, from the Estuary.

The arrival of settlers brought significant change to Somenos.

Newcomers recognized very quickly that the Somenos bottom lands were agriculturally rich and it was not long before the area, then locally known as the ‘Somenos Flats’, was ditched, diked, fenced and farmed right to the edge of the lake.

As with most modern significant land interventions such as ditching and diking it was not long before the early newspapers were talking regularly about the Somenos ‘flooding problem’, a problem that remains with us to this day. One fringe benefit of the historical land use and annual flooding was the ‘Flats’ becoming a mecca for migrating waterfowl using it as a rest area when passing through or staying until spring.

The development eye was on Somenos throughout its postcolonization period. In the early part of the last century a wood mill with railway service occupied a significant portion of what is known today as the Open Air Classroom. The nowdefunct Doman Industries, a local powerhouse lumber company at the time, also proposed a mill in Somenos but were refused due to a strong public outcry against such a venture.

In later years this same site became home to a boat sales business known as Boatland.

The volunteers occupying the nature centre counter were members of the Cowichan Valley Naturalists, a group of dedicated nature lovers, who had for many years been lobbying the Municipality of North Cowichan to declare Somenos a bird sanctuary.

This lobbying was not a new effort as highlighted in a Dec. 20, 1970 Times Colonist headline- Bullet-Free Somenos Thrives, birdwatchers meet at lake to celebrate & call to establish a Bird Sanctuary; as it was hunting in Somenos, and the subsequent municipal establishment of a noshooting zone in the marsh, that fueled the call for a sanctuary.

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The naturalists were not the only ones recognizing the importance of Somenos for migrating and overwintering waterfowl. In 1975 the Nature Trust of BC stepped in and purchased a large tract of land north of Bings Creek marking the beginning of land acquisition activities in Somenos. The Municipality of North Cowichan also stepped up to the plate purchasing the old ‘Boatland’ property to prevent a hotel from being built on the site.

Ducks Unlimited was also very active in Somenos during the ‘70s and ‘80s when they signed a long-term lease with the provincial government to manage and enhance the waterfowl nesting habitat found in the marsh bordering the Forest Museum. The habitat enhancements included the pond beside the highway, water control structures, and nesting islands built around the lake that, when viewed aerially, appeared as donuts in the landscape but are now all grown over.

I joined the Naturalists Board soon after finding Somenos. During my

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short sojourn on their board I met John Croockewit, the past Mayor of Hope, who shared my view about the importance of Somenos remaining in its natural state. He and I had many over-donuts conversations about how important it was to prevent further development on these valuable lands. We were early thinkers who recognized that the ecological services provided by the Somenos system more than likely outweighed the economic benefit that development would ever bring. We also saw the potential of Somenos, being located so centrally and close to an urban area, as an economic development opportunity to attract visitors to the valley.

One of our first successes was to help secure a large property on the flats owned by Doman Industries.

This property included important seasonally-flooded fields and wooded hedgerows along the old drainage ditches and was critical habitat for over wintering waterfowl. Since we were unable to find anyone interested in helping us buy the property, we approached Mr. Doman directly to buy the land. He agreed to the sale, we settled on a price and made an offer to purchase. A small issue remained as we had no money to follow up on our offer. Fortunately, the Nature Trust of BC stepped in and completed the purchase adding to their earlier land acquisition activity.

The Naturalists were reticent to get too involved in the political aspects of land preservation and chose to support the creation of the Friends of Somenos with John and I departing the Naturalists board to create the new Society. The Naturalists generously provided some start-up money and by January 1989 the Friends of Somenos became the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society (SMWS).

Our next effort was to move ahead with our dream of a nature centre and wildlife viewing facilities on the Boatland property. We commissioned Yorke Edwards, the past Director of the Royal BC Museum, to create an interpretive plan that included viewing facilities and a nature centre. The result was an excellent document entitled Wildlife Viewing in Somenos Marsh and provided a roadmap for many of the wildlife viewing

infrastructure projects that we would pursue in the future.

Our dreams of nature centres and interpretive opportunities were quickly dashed in the early nineties when a rezoning application threatened to eliminate the important Garry oak ecosystem bordering the east side of Somenos Lake and Creek. The developer, Timbercrest Estates, was asking North Cowichan for permission to rezone a very large tract of land, once known as the Kingston farm, from agriculture to urban use. Being the site of a long-standing farm, the land was a mix of grade A agricultural soils as well as home to many old Garry oaks, some very large firs and a mixed woodland. The Garry oak meadows also had a long history of camas harvesting by local First Nations. We challenged the rezoning and, after a fashion and a lot of public support, managed to defeat the initial rezoning proposal. The developer then returned with a smaller proposal that, despite the continuing public objection, was quickly approved.

Things shifted dramatically in 1992 when development activities on the

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lower portion of Timbercrest were put on hold due to an ancient burial site being unearthed by the earth-moving equipment. Archaeological digs at the site resulted in the discovery of human remains and artifacts until 1994 when Cowichan Tribes elders put a stop to any further development around what eventually became known as Ye’yumnuts.

At the same time, the BC Protected Areas Strategy, a pet project of the NDP government of the time, was in play, trumpeting the goal of protecting 13 per cent of the provincial land base. Seeing a political opportunity, the Minister of Environment at the time, Moe Sihota, announced that the Somenos Garry oaks and the adjoining mixed woodlands would be purchased by the government to provide Protected Area Status to the Garry oak habitat. As with many political promises, the end result was a veryreduced acquisition that protected only the important Garry oaks while sacrificing the adjacent woodlands, but it was a beginning.

We continued to attend and speak at all the Timbercrest rezoning proposals that followed over the years, winning some and losing many, as the North Cowichan political scene at the time was very pro-development.

One memorable public hearing was held in the Cowichan Theatre to accommodate the large crowds that were supporting our efforts to protect the lands. It was a raucous affair with the North Cowichan mayor at the time, Rex Hollett, often arguing back when speakers got under his skin.

Despite our struggles over development issues there were many positive accomplishments during the nineties. One of these accomplishments was the construction of our first boardwalk where there was once only a hazardous trail through towering blackberry bushes that clawed at you as you bushwhacked to the old naturalist-built viewing blind. It was a beautiful boardwalk designed to float during the winter floods but sadly didn’t float level when flooded and subsequently broke apart on a regular basis once the water levels dropped. Despite the struggle, I have fond memories of many a wet foot on winter boardwalk hikes when attempting to negotiate the near

Phil Jennings enjoying a visit to Semenos Marsh

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30 degree tilt on the ice-coated boardwalk.

The 1990s were a decade of growth for the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society as we started to achieve success with our restoration and awareness funding efforts. These efforts resulted in many completed projects that benefitted the marsh and included the first-ever habitat inventory of Bings, Averil and Richards Creeks, the three main waterways feeding Somenos Lake; a full-length documentary video about Somenos; and some stream enhancement work on Averil and Bings Creeks.

The decade also gave birth to our 1996 first and only Great Blue Heron festival. It was a wonderful and very popular family event but a daunting affair for our small volunteer base.

In 1998 I published my first book, Somenos … the grandfathers spoke to me, a photo book that illustrated my passion for Somenos while at the same time provided some written context regarding the history of the Marsh. The book’s origins go back to John Croockewit and our donut day conversations where I expressed my photographer’s dream of publishing a Somenos photo book. I had forgotten about these conversations until 1994

after John had sadly left this earth and I learned that he had left money in his estate to make the book a reality.

In 1998 the book was published with the opening page dedicated to my good friend and co-founder John Croockewit.

The decade also resulted in many new issues surfacing in Somenos; We faced hunting pressures under the guise of crop protection despite Somenos being a no-shooting zone, illegal filling of the floodplain, an overnight appearance of a floating crayfish farm on Somenos Lake (that just as quickly left) and a float plane landing strip carved out of the marsh for drug running. Challenging these and many other issues carried on for more than 11 years until we decided it was time to try a different tack.

Holding up a white flag in 2000, we invited everyone involved in Somenos to come together and talk about cooperation versus competition in Somenos. Our efforts were so successful that within a year, after some serious lumps and bumps, the Somenos Management Committee was created and the first Somenos Marsh Management Plan was completed. We celebrated with our partners by unveiling new signage for

the newly-renamed Somenos Marsh Conservation Area that featured our original Fenwick Lansdowne artwork as the new conservation area logo.

At the same time as our white flag moment, we were lobbying Bird Life Canada to designate Somenos Marsh as a globally significant Important Bird Area (IBA) to recognize the importance of the Somenos overwintering habitat for Trumpeter Swans as well as feeding habitat for our Great Blue Heron, a special sub-species (Ardea herodias fannini), that frequents the Pacific coast of North America. We were successful in our lobbying efforts and in 2000, Somenos became one of the earliest Vancouver Island IBA’s.

In 2006 we turned our attention to the Drinkwater Road boat launch which was, at the time, simply a road that ran into Somenos Lake. Putting on our fundraising hats again, and with North Cowichan support, we raised enough money to hire a Salt Spring Island contractor to build and install an elevated walkway and floating dock to accommodate the seasonal changes in lake levels and to provide a secure launch for boats and a platform to wildlife watch or fish from. On completion of the Drinkwater Dock project we gifted it to the Municipality of North Cowichan.

In 2008, with the now-old boardwalk falling apart on a regular basis and the third generation of the original bird viewing blind having been knocked down by vandals, it was decided to raise the money to build an elevated structure that would allow people of all levels of ability to access the marsh year round. Within a short time, the money was raised and a contractor hired to build the new structure. To surface the boardwalk, we used TREX decking, a plastic and wood composite that was said to last 100 years. To thank our donors, we engraved their names on the boardwalk resulting in over 400 names engraved on the first phase of the boardwalk.

In November 2009 Somenos waters overflowed into the neighbouring residential area, flooding many homes in the lower lands close to Beverly Street and Lakes Road. Due to the flood and the potential for future flooding in the future, local governments took emergency action

and developed a flood protection plan which essentially resulted in ringing the urban area with dikes and pumps, a common flooding prevention solution that was losing favour in places where flooding was a regular occurrence. The great loss for Somenos was that the dike was pushed much further into the marsh than was necessary, thus allowing lands previously subject to flooding, to be developed. The emergency nature of the work was such that public input was not requested and any efforts on our part to limit the diking were ignored.

Back on land, we were fortunate that Ducks Unlimited had purchased the property beside Boatland, thus allowing us to expand our wildlife viewing infrastructure onto the neighbouring property, and it wasn’t long after, in 2011, that we raised enough money to complete phase 2 of the elevated boardwalk. On completion of phase 2 we still had enough money to improve the trails and parking lot, add a couple of picnic benches and commission a beautiful entrance archway. In 2012, with a small grant from the Cowichan Wheels Association, we added the Cowichan Wheels accessible wildlife viewing platform to our viewing infrastructure inventory.

We brought the Great Blue Heron Festival back to life in 2009 as the Return of the Swans Festival to coincide with the typical Halloween arrival of the migrating Trumpeter Swans. In 2010 we were back with a larger festival and a new name, WildWings. One of our first sponsors, Lance and Liz Steward from Craig Street Brew Pub, created an annual WildWings beer to celebrate the new festival.

By 2013 we were getting tired. The work that needed to be done in Somenos, particularly in respect to invasive species management, was becoming an impossible task for volunteers, so we took a giant leap and hired our first part-time employee, Elizabeth Bailey, to head up our restoration program work. After a few years we received enough funding to hire Elizabeth full-time.

In 2015 we saw the discovery of a small patch of an invasive aquatic plant called Parrots Feather in Somenos Creek. It is an easily-found arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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plant sold for aquariums and garden ponds. A small piece somehow found its way into Somenos Creek and within a few years became a significant environmental threat to both water quality and fish passage for migrating salmon.

However, 2018 brought lots of good news as the review of the original Somenos Marsh Management Plan was completed and the provincial government designated all the Crown lands in the conservation area as the S’amuna’/Somenos Wildlife Management Area (WMA), notably the first WMA in B.C. history that had a First Nation partner in the management agreement. We followed suit by asking and receiving permission from Cowichan Tribes to rename the larger Conservation Area the S’amuna’/Somenos Conservation Area.

Within five years of hiring our first employee, we have become a thriving organization with one fulltime program manager, a part-time biologist and a couple of students working with us during their summer breaks. We have received

funding in excess of $500,000 for restorative projects in and around the Conservation Area including a storm water wetland project in partnership with the Municipality of North Cowichan on Beverley Street to treat storm water before it enters the sensitive Somenos system.

Our current project, a partnership with the Cowichan Land Trust, is a series of landowner contacts with residents living around Somenos and Quamichan lakes to help, if needed, rehabilitate their shoreline interface.

This past summer we completed the boardwalk plank replacement project replacing close to 1,200 defective planks and by the time this article is in your hands, our five years late, 25th anniversary viewing tower at the Open Air Classroom will have been erected.

We have a new full-time employee, Elodie Roger, who is taking up the position that Elizabeth left and we are moving forward on our goal of creating protected greenways in the Somenos Basin along the waterways from the mountain tops to the Cowichan estuary to allow wildlife, fish and plants to thrive in a zone that is protected for all time.

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Some of our more-popular events will be returning such as the: Pi’Kwun BBQ on Kilpahlis Beach in Cowichan Bay; our fun paint night, this year at the Best Western Cowichan Valley Inn; as well as part two of Cowichan Ethnobotany with Nancy Turner. Some of the newer WildWings events include a planned giving workshop for estates and community groups, hosted by the Pacific Salmon Foundation; Afloat in a Boat, the reprise of BYOB (bring your own boat) boat tour of Somenos Lake; and really hopefully, a presentation about the morphology of the dreaded American bullfrog.

The festival ends with the Nature of Cowichan photo contest People’s Choice Awards night Oct. 29 at the Old Firehouse Wine Bar and, be sure not to miss, our Oct. 26, first ever ‘It Ain’t Easy Being Green Gala’, featuring our keynote speaker, Patrick Morrow, an Order of Canada recipient and the first man in the world to summit the seven highest mountains on the seven continents. For a full listing of WildWings events visit www. wildwingsfestival.com. Tickets for all events will be available for sale on the website after Sept. 7.

Time is ceaseless. We are now celebrating our 30th anniversary as the SMWS; the blackberry bushes are long gone, replaced by hardhack; homelessness and drug paraphernalia are our newest issues and Parrots Feather has voraciously occupied Somenos Creek.

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On top of the tower being completed we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of our annual WildWings Nature and Arts Festival. This year, with additional funding from the Government of Canada, Heritage Branch, we are fortunate enough to share the stage with our newest partner Cowichan Tribes. This year’s theme is Reconnecting with Nature and we will be hosting more than 24 events, many by donation or free, between Oct. 6 and 29.

The Ye’yumnuts cultural site has become part of the local school curriculum and protected forever while friends and many names on the boardwalk are now fading memories.

Meanwhile our employees and dedicated volunteers remain hard at it as the work does not, and will, not end.

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This home on Genoa Bay Road is nothing short of spectacular.

This 4,119 square foot home offers the ultimate in comfort and privacy. The glass walled foyer with heated slate floors sets the tone for the rest of the architecturally significant home.

The flawless design and finest finishings of this luxurious

Custom glass railings take you to the upper floor which arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

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features beautiful cathedral style wood beams, dramatic and expansive windows, and skylights that highlight the open concept living space.

The deluxe kitchen was designed with the accomplished chef in mind, as tranquility in the kitchen comes in the form of the wave tile backsplash and kitchen sink overlooking an outdoor koi pond.

The main floor also provides several access points to the enormous 800 square foot outdoor deck that is oriented toward the view. The 619 square foot loft master suite features an extremely inviting ensuite with a huge walk in tiled shower and heated floors.

You’ll lose track of time gazing at the view through the large picture window while soaking in the tub.

The lower level consists of two bedrooms, each with ensuites.

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If you would like more information or would like to view this home, call Brian Danyliw at The Agency, 250710-8779. Or email brian.danyliw@ TheAgencyRE.com

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THE CASE FOR

By Cathie Hamilton

shopping locally You can visit them at the Duncan Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.

I was so inspired by my visit that I wanted to create a wonderful dish perfect for the oncoming cooler weather.

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first met Damien from The Holy Stick Farm at the Duncan Farmers’ Market and I was instantly impressed. This is a new business – 2019 was the first year of commercial production – but it is already offering a great array of products.

This is a family-run business with the parents and another brother helping. Damian recently moved from Saskatchewan, but he is originally from Poland. He does not have a farming background, but has an engineering background and puts his education and knowledge to great use on the farm. The entire family pitches in to make the farm the success it has become in a very short time.

It was an amazing farm to visit with lots of wonderful ideas focusing on sustainable farming with a holistic approach. In fact, the name of the farm – Holy Stick – is a play on words from “Holistic”. Very clever!

They don’t use any harmful chemicals in their growing crops. That means no use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. As they weed and

30 arbutusmag.com

thin veggie beds, the weeds and produce are fed to the animals. Waste products from their animals are used to augment the soil that they use to grow a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables.

The animals they raise on the farm are all heritage varieties from their Icelandic lambs and sheep to their Plymouth Barred Rock chickens and the Khaki Campbell ducks. The animals are rotationally grazed in various pens or paddocks which keeps them naturally healthy while helping to keep the weeds down.

They sell chicken eggs, wool from their sheep and will shortly be selling chickens (both broilers and stewing hens) and ducks as well as duck eggs.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on some duck eggs as they are richer and more flavourful than traditional chicken eggs.

A visit to the farm reveals a work in progress as they cleared the land and are doing most of the building by themselves. They are constantly making changes to the way they farm using some wonderfully innovative ideas. A very hard working family sure to build a great new business.

There are so many great reasons to shop locally.

Among them are: • You support local businesses who in turn support other local businesses • It is easier on the environment as non-local foods are shipped great distances • You eat seasonally when foods are at their most flavourful and packed with nutrients • It is great to get to know local growers to find out what methods they use to grow their products allowing you to make choices that better suit your own personal tastes.

CHICKEN STEW WITH BEET DUMPLINGS

Grated and mashed beets

Serves 4

Note: Add most of the milk but keep a little back. The final mixture should be wet enough to hold together but not too wet.

BEET DUMPLING 3 small beets, peeled ½ tsp oil Salt and fresh-ground pepper Grate half of the beets and toss with the oil and some of the salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and bake in a 400°F/200°C oven just until the beets are starting to crisp, approximately 20 minutes. Chop the remaining beets into pieces and place in a covered baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at the same time as the grated beets just until they are soft when poked with a fork, approximately 35 minutes. Remove all the beets from the oven and allow them to cool well. Mash the cubed beets once cooled. This can be done earlier in the day or even the day before.

1 cup flour 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 2 T butter cut into small pieces Gently mix all the ingredients together mixing just long enough to incorporate them all together. Do not over-mix or the dumplings will be tough not tender. The dumplings can be done up to this point earlier in the day.

½ cup milk – see note below

STEWED HEN OR CHICKEN 1 large onion finely chopped 1 T butter Melt the butter in a pot large enough to hold all the rest of the ingredients.

Add the onion to the melted butter and cook over medium low heat until the onions are golden brown.

1 stewing hen – Note: I choose to use a stewing hen because they have so much more flavour, but if you can’t find a stewing hen, substitute a regular chicken – just reduce the cooking time to 45 minutes.

Add the whole hen to the onions.

Add enough cold water to the pot to completely cover the hen/chicken.

Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer gently just until the chicken is cooked all the way through and tender, approximately 90 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot and keep it warm while finishing the rest of the dish.

Reduce the stock in the pot by ¾.

Taste and adjust the seasonings. I found I had to add a small amount of

concentrated chicken stock to round out the flavours.

4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into medium size pieces – use a waxy potato like Yukon gold or a red skinned potato – Russets tend to fall apart too quickly.

4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces Your choice of other mixed veggies if you wish.

Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into the gently simmering broth and let them simmer for 5 minutes before adding the potatoes.

Cook for 5 minutes before adding the carrots. Cook the carrots just until they and the potatoes are almost tender.

Add the remaining veggies. (The timing depends upon the veggies you choose to add.) Cook until everything is tender, approximately 15 minutes in total.

Remove the veggies from the broth.

Thicken the broth with a flour/water slurry if desired. Slice the chicken breast and cut up the remaining chicken and return all to the broth briefly, if necessary, to heat.

I added the chiffonaded beet tops to my broth just before serving. They were a very attractive addition.

Enjoy!

arbutus magazine // Fall 2019

31

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