61: Part II Baking Beyond Boundaries: RocksNDirt Bakery's Alternative Healthy Lifestyle

Michael Dugan: 0:52

In part two, we connect back with Kimberly from therocksanddirtbakery and learn about her seasonal baking and her passion for teaching. Kimberly, what are your top four seasonal dishes?

Kimberly Pearson: 1:05

That is like a massive question. Oh, yeah.

Michael Dugan: 1:08

Loaded.

Kimberly Pearson: 1:09

I'm kind of loaded. Like, I just, I'm always inspired by whatever's in season or if there's still depending on what time of year what's in my garden, what's growing locally, and then I just think what what could I what could I make out of this? What What flavors go well together but I thought of the few things sell for winter. One thing that I love making is a tail, leak time chicken pasties or pasties which growing up we didn't make pasties but it was something that was always readily available everywhere in Canada because of the UK connection and so I've always loved them and so yeah, I make I make those so it's it for those who don't know it's like a essentially like a hand pie it's and it has savory ingredients inside it originated in the West Country of England and Cornwall. It found its way you know, is it to Canada with with all the immigrants and so forth so it's something I grew up with and I love so that's one of my favorite and I make it with a Tuscan kale that is like absolute favorite kale is that is the Tuscan kale also known as Lasanato kale or has many different names but it's not that dinosaur kale that really deep bumpy kind of kale. So yeah, with that leak and then time and then chicken and is the filling and that's yeah, I'll make them and freeze them and anyway, they're just a wonderful savory bit pocket of of goodness, that is very popular.

Michael Dugan: 2:54

sounds like that you make magic with kale which is challenging. I mean I cook with kale too, but it's an acquired taste and it's a really healthy taste but it can be challenging to cook with.

Kimberly Pearson: 3:04

it can be and there's a lot of kale haters and you know what there's a lot of stuff that isn't that good and honestly I feel like some of the varieties of kale I don't like nearly as much as the Tuscan kale that is just a game changer. I feel it's just that the texture and the taste that the kale that you can win some kale haters over with Tuscan or the dinosaur kale. So that's I would say for winter that's something that I really love making so then bring I would say anything with rhubarb i I've always adored rhubarb. And I love really showcasing the rhubarb not not just you know saturating with all kinds of sugar, which is often people say, Ah, I don't like rhubarb. And they tell me because it's so sweet. So I really want that tartness of the rhubarb to shine kind of a tie between I make rhubarb scones or scones between that and a rhubarb pool. And pool is a dessert that finds its origins and in the UK and its custard custard base. You've got layers of custard and then you've got like a rhubarb compote cream and you do all these layers, almost like in a parfait style. And so I make what I the custard that I make is actually it's it's dairy free, and egg free custard. It's actually paleo friendly as well. It's sort of a lemon custard. And so I make I make that vegan paleo custard that's sweetened, actually with maple syrup on my favorite sweeteners, you know, awesome Canadian sweetener. So that custard layer, then I layer with the rhubarb compote. And then and then whipped cream, but the whipped cream that I make is homemade, and I make it with coconut cream. So it's also dairy free. And so the whole Yeah, so you layer these wonderful layers that rhubarb is, is the star there and yeah, so I would say it's kind of like a tie, but I couldn't quite decide if it was rhubarb. Scone or rhubarb, fool. So that was a tie.

Michael Dugan: 5:12

Okay.

Kimberly Pearson: 5:13

Okay, cool. I grow my own rhubarb. So usually, I mean, I just pick it myself and, and then make all kinds of different things with it. So as you know, rhubarb grows wonderfully well here. On the in the Pacific Northwest.

Michael Dugan: 5:29

We have a ton in our backyard. I can't do Oh, yeah, it's just out of control. But we freeze it and we use it. Yeah, yeah. They're challenging agree. That's true. That's kale and rhubarb. They're both really challenging ingredients and you make magic out of that amazing.

Kimberly Pearson: 5:44

I won over rhubarb haters in theaters. So you know, that's that's the goal. But you know, there's still some I'm stalwarts and hey, that's okay. But yeah IP ah, you'd like I hate I hate rhubarb or or kale and, and so yeah, that's my goal to make it so it's like hey try this might give you a different take on what you've tasted in the past that group are based or kale days. Okay so moving to Summer, summer is probably anything with berries I'm a very free I would say one of the things I really love making as you know BlackBerry are a huge deal here on the West Coast. I make a Blackberry, ginger and lime ice cream that is actually vegan as well and paleo I sweetened it with date sugar.

Michael Dugan: 6:37

Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing. Yeah, with date sugar.

Kimberly Pearson: 6:40

Yeah, with date sugar which is a really nice nutrient dense and also low glycemic. So someone that's a diabetic could also have it but yet it has a really nice sweetness. So it doesn't I don't use any artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols or anything like that I use real sweeteners, like date sugar, so I do a combination of a date sugar and a little bit of maple syrup. And it's it's just bright, and really refreshing. And just that the ginger and the lime and the BlackBerry just in a lovely way together. Wow. Moving to fall. So we're in fall right now. So call you know, here again, hairs, I love Paris. And I love cranberry. And love cranberries. And so I make a pair and cranberry pasta, or, which is of course the Italian sort of galet. So I make them I make like mini ones. So there Yeah, you can totally, you know, eat one yourself. But I make Yeah, I make kind of smaller size ones almost like individual size or shareable size. So I use all organic local pear, and then organic cranberries, whole cranberries. And I it's also sweetened I sweetened with coconut sugar to in a pastry that is also of course gluten free and egg free and vegan. And I actually taught a class on that, I think it was last year, or I did a zoom a baking class. So with some students as far away as Halifax, Nova Scotia, I caught that. And it was really cool, because one of the students, they brought it to, they had a big get together, there was a number of celiacs there and they themselves have to avoid gluten. So they they brought this they brought these, these crystals that they made a bunch of them, and everybody was just like, you know, devouring them and they were so happy to have something that was delicious and that they as celiacs could eat and they anyway, it was just Yeah, it was really nice to to help them, you know, create that themselves. And to learn how to do that was really just made me really happy.

Michael Dugan: 8:55

I can imagine. Wow, all of those dishes sound amazing. So are you going to be offering any of these classes coming up? Tell us a little bit about that?

Kimberly Pearson: 9:05

Zoom. I'm kind of offering it on because I'm working with different availability of people in different time zones, I'm just I'm doing on a one on one basis and trying to you know, I've been kind of putting it out there on Instagram. And on Facebook a little I need to do it a little bit more but kind of putting it out there. And so people if they're interested in starting that sourdough journey through sourdough journey to get in touch with me and we can start with a really brief zoom class that just gets them started creating a starter, a sourdough starter, and then we do the first class which is learning how to make gluten free falcata also a teach them also to make crackers in that same class. Okay, I love it. I will on a case by case basis do local as well just you know, to the greater Puget Sound or you know, Camino island so it just it just depends on the situation. So yeah, but primarily I'm doing starting that on zoom so people just need to reach out to me on my Facebook or email.

Michael Dugan: 10:07

there you have it as we wrap up.

Kimberly Pearson: 10:10

So you can find me my email is, therocksanddirtbakery@gmail.com actually more important is my website is is what I meant to say is the

https: 10:19

//therocksanddirtbakery.com. Or I also have Facebook and Instagram both titled therocksanddirtbakery. I do have threads as well. The same name. But yeah, primarily I would say Instagram or Facebook or my website. I will be having a section on my website regarding you know our classes.

Michael Dugan: 10:43

Thank you so much, Michael. It's been a tremendous honor to be included on your podcast. Thank you so so much. You're welcome.