We went on our first road trip together this summer to the sunny Okanagan valley. While in Kelowna, we followed their farm-to-table map and made stops at a cherry farm, honey farm, peach orchard, and lavender farm. Of course we hauled back a trunk load of local products, enough for us to snack on and to use in recipes. Since there was no internet at the dorms we stayed at, we spent our indoor time brainstorming recipes and playing hangman with ridiculously long words and vegan chubby bunny with watermelon cubes.

All of these farm to table recipes celebrate locally grown produce and the bountiful summer of British Columbia. Access to BC’s produce is not necessary to make these recipes as there are always ways to adapt the recipe to incorporate ingredients that are in season where you are. Hopefully you like playing around with seasonal ingredients as much as we do!

Kelowna is a fantastic summer destination for food and farm lovers; nothing better than prancing around orchards and vineyards. The farms we purchased the produce from are linked accordingly so that if you ever decide to visit Kelowna, you can pay them a visit too! Be sure to click on the photos to get the recipe.

Tofu Custard Tart with Stardust Cherries

vegan, refined sugar free

Featuring Stardust cherries from Kempf Orchards

Every summer growing up, the Leung family would visit a local farm to pick berries and a ginormous custard pie with a mountain of fresh fruit piled on top as a reward for our hard work. This custard tart is a tribute to that incredible pie, but made vegan! The gorgeous Stardust cherries are displayed in all their glory atop this light dessert. And in case you were wondering, Stardust cherries taste floral-y and have almost a honey note to them. Keep this tart and custard recipe on hand as it can be topped with seasonal fruit throughout the year.

Honeycomb and Malt Soft Serve Ice Cream

gluten free

Featuring honeycomb from Arlo’s Honey Farm

Honeycomb ice cream has been super trendy in Vancouver this summer. We fell in love with a malted chocolate honeycomb ice cream at our favourite ice cream shop and decided to make it ourselves. Ovaltine is a classic Hong Kong cafe drink, and Maltesers are one of our favourite candies, so the ice cream brought us back to our childhood. This homemade ice cream stays soft in the freezer; it’s magical! The chunks of honeycomb swirled into the ice cream stay sticky and chewy, making it super fun to eat.

Healthy Black Forest Cake

gluten free, refined sugar free, high protein

Featuring Lapin cherries from Kempf Orchards

Before departing for our roadtrip, Leung made a promise to one of our best friends that we would bring back cherries to make an epic Black Forest Cake. We came back with about 40 pounds of cherries, called up a few more friends, had an epic baking plus dance party, and created two mind-blowing-ly delicious cakes. Chocolate cakes. Soaked with cherry rum syrup. With whipped coconut cream. And dark chocolate ganache. And more shaved chocolate. Wow. Oh yes, did I mention its completely healthy, gluten free, and made of beans? Yes, let your jaw hang wide open, so I can stuff a big forkful into your mouth.

Savoury Cornmeal Thyme and Peach Ice Cream Sandwiches

gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan cookies

Featuring peaches from Paynter’s Fruit Market

We were lucky enough to be in Kelowna for the opening day of peach season.

Blueberry & Blackberry Lavender Crisp

gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free

Featuring lavender essential oil from Okanagan Lavender & Herb Farm, blueberries and blackberries from Krause Berry Farms

The lavender farm was blissful since lavender is one of our favourite scents. Once we opened the door to the shop, we were welcomed with a wave of lavender smell. We wandered the little store for half an hour sniffing everything. “Can we bottle up the smell of the store?” A kind lady working there let us smell their selection of essential oils and we each got sucked into buying a bottle each (we chose culinary grade ones). A whole bucket of lavender buds is needed to make a quarter teaspoon of essential oil, so you can imagine how pungent the oil is! A little drop will go a long way in this crisp. Crisps are a nutritious way of enjoying seasonal fruit that is fresh or was frozen for later. We also love oat-based crunchy toppings like this one!