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Here in the Greenbelt, we grow amazing carrots – and many of them come from the Holland Marsh. In fact, enough carrots are grown in the Holland Marsh to provide every Canadian with four pounds every year. You can do a lot more with carrots than just make carrot sticks. With carrots from my CSA box, I made a carrot ginger soup, perfect for these chilly days, and a birthday carrot cake for my office-mate.
Although I may not be too familiar with potatoes in the kitchen, I am very familiar with sweet potatoes (not to be confused with sub-tropical yams). Not only are sweet potatoes delicious, they are very nutritious. Sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene, vitamin A and B6. In fact, the sweet potato is said to have the most nutritional value among vegetables. They are delicious, nutritious and super versatile in the kitchen - what more could we ask for in a vegetable!
Last weekend I received my first winter vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) food box. As a CSA member, I paid a set fee prior to the growing season and in return I receive ‘shares' in the form of delicious local, organic produce from the farm's harvest. Of course, I also share in the risks with the farmer, like poor weather. Since winter vegetables store well, I receive a variety of veggies every three weeks. The variety inspires me in the kitchen to try new recipes and cook with what we have available to us in the winter months.
I am a big fan of root vegetables, and beets are certainly near the top of the list. You may have noticed at the market that beets come in a variety of colours –like rich fuchsia, golden and my favourite, candy cane striped. Beets make excellent side dishes (try roasted, braised or pickled), make delicious soups (like classic borscht and the recipe below), and are a colourful addition to salads. Between the great sweet taste and brilliant colours, they brighten up any dish. Be warned - beet juice stains! You may prefer to wear gloves when handling beets. Some people also prefer to peel their beets. I like to give them a good scrub and keep the skin on. If you haven’t already, give beets a try! Here are a few ideas.
I am still working my way through my 20 lbs of apples. I have been following the doctor's orders and eating an apple a day (usually with cottage cheese or peanut butter for my afternoon snack), but I have barely made a dent. This weekend I am planning on making apple pies. The plan is to make a triple batch of dough and filling - make one pie and freeze the remaining two portions of dough and filling to enjoy later. I'm also thinking about making some apple chips. I received the following instructions from a friend.
Last weekend my friends and I went on an apple picking adventure. It was a sunny autumn day, perfect to spend outdoors picking apples with friends. There is only about another week or so left for the season, so try to get out soon! Apple picking was really fun - seeking out the perfect apples to sweeten a soup, incorporate into baking, create a preserve and of course, just for snacking. Yes, I was excited about apple picking, but even more excited about all the possibilities with 20 lbs of apples!
Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. It is a time to get together with friends and family and celebrate the harvest. This past Thanksgiving weekend my sister and I volunteered to host not just one Thanksgiving dinner, but two! We were determined to create two fabulous Thanksgiving feasts for our ever-expanding family and friends.
This year I've really been getting into preserving. I've been busy making jams and jellies, and most recently spicy pickled beans. The one downside of preserving is the time commitment, especially with large batches. So, I came up with a solution - turn it into a party! The other week I invited 5 friends to come to my Pickling Party to share in the labour and the rewards. Since cucumber season passed us by, I choose to make Spicy Pickled Beans. As the hostess it was my job to buy all the ingredients and my guests brought their own jars and we divided the cost by number of jars at the end of the day.
Harvest is the best time of year to be happy to live in Ontario. Our soil and climate produce some wonderful things that are part of what makes this region so unique. It is of course more difficult to hold onto this geographical optimism in the middle of winter when we are wondering when the snow will end. In order to proactively kick those winter blues, I recommend making like a squirrel and saving up some of the harvest for winter. There are so many ways you can prepare fresh food to make them last into the winter (more to come!).
