Inspired Folks Go Organic...

Hey, Michelle - Maybe not this year, but for next year, let's work towards a canning party out at my cabin.

There are a few farmers' markets in the area, and a lot of organics to choose from.

I think this might be something that would be more fun and less overwhelming to take on as a (small) group.

What do you think?

I'll double-check, but I think someone I know at Naivelt has canned for years. She'd probably love to have some help doing it at this point.

And, of course, we can spend from now till then researching.

Some things (peas, corn) can just be thrown into the freezer well-sealed in freezer bags (or ice cream containers or that sort of thing.) Others -- green beans, asparagus, for example -- should be slightly cooked and cooled before freezing.

I do a lot of pickling and preserving. This year, I've made dill pickles from small cucumbers and another pickle called Lady Ashburnham's -- a delicious mustard-style relish (cucumber, onion, red and green pepper).

We made both strawberry/rhubarb jam and strawberry jelly when they were in season. Later, we will make grape jelly and peach jam/conserve/whatever. (We have grape vines and a peach tree -- in downtown Halifax!)

I try to add something new to the repertoire each year. I also do a ripe tomato relish and a green tomato pickle -- old-fashioned chow-chow.

Well, what can I say? The aroma of vinegar and pickling spices wafting throughout the house is irresistible at this time of year.

Sharon, will you be our canning guru?

I would never get in the way of cooks in the kitchen but here is a little tip for veggies.
Corn - blanch cobs, spread out on a cookie tray -freeze, bag later.
Corn- blanch cobs, it keeps better, cut the cobs like you were doing it for a child or denture wearer. Spread out on cookie tray, freeze, bag later.
For most other vegetables basically blanch, spread, freeze, bag.
The spreading on the tray is a key, unless you are making single meal bags. When they are spread out you can take them off with a cookie flipper and they are then in the bag the same as store bought frozen vegetables.
Tomatoes, put them in a good big bowl, pour boiling water over them, strain off the water quickly, peel off the skins, toss the 'meat' into an ice cream, or yogurt type container, when you want the taste of tomatoes, dump them in, give them some extra boiling time if needed, add spices and herbs to your hearts delight and you have a delicate, tasty addition to your meal.

A lot of preserving and canning is not as hard as you might think and doing it together - you will need several bottles of wine I should think - turns food preparation into enjoyment which is what it should be. We hand out recipes and serving suggestions at our market along with cooking instructions for our organic meat. I have a sneaking suspicion that we get more customers because of this than for the actual quality of our products, although they are high quality.

This proud papa has to brag that my oldest daughter won the best jam and best cookies competition at the local fair. She also made zesty zucchini pickles this year for the market and sold out. Both Ms BA and I have a lot of fun passing on these things to our kids. This was the first year our son made pickles too, and he was so excited when he actually had a customer come to tell him how good they were. He will want to do it again.

In our extended family we often give food as a gift. The best gift we ever got was when our oldest daughter was born and instead of giving a bunch of blankets and stuff some friends and family filled up the freezer with home-prepared frozen meals.
We have reduced food to a mere consumer item with no other value. Yet as obvious as it sounds food is the very essence of life and we should celebrate and enjoy it; its preparation, its consumption. Not that I don't ever use them, but the drive thru is the sign of the coming apocalypse in my mind.
If you do something with a canning party let me know. I would be happy to share my recipe for tomatilla salsa.

Well it doesn't taste as good. Nothing tastes as good as fresh cob on the corn in my humble opinion - with the possible exception of the Scottish elixir of life.
So no not quite as good, but you can add spices, roast it on a grill if you have one, slathering in butter if you use it - (by the way don't use anything else but butter on corn on the cob. Not being anti-vegetarian; we eat a lot of vetertarian meals too. It is just that something other than butter on corn comes close to a mortal sin in the eyes of the corn god I am convinced and I would hate to see you tassled.)
Anyhoo - where was I, or yes fantiziting about corn - it doesn't taste as good, but it isn't as bad as eating say brussel sprouts at the best of times.
Another thing you can try - if you have the right light conditions is growing tomatoes indoor during the winter. I am not sure that modern varities would work as well, they are not as tough, but some of the old heritage seed varities work not too bad. We did it last year in the bathroom - warm, sunny south window, humid and we had fresh off the vine tomatoes in February. You can do the same thing with strawberries and salad greens I hear too.

More urban farming (in NY Magazine): An Experiment in Brooklyn-Style Subsistence Farming

quote:The “locavore” movement says we should only eat what is grown within a few miles of where we live. How about a few feet? An experiment in Brooklyn-style subsistence farming, starring smelly chickens, an angry rabbit, a freak tornado, a vegetable garden to die for, two psyched kids, and a marriage in the weeds.