A MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - Day 21

August 31, 2015 Luka Symons

My sister and her crabapple loot. #harvest2015

Today is the last instalment of putting up the harvest for 2015. I have enjoyed this challenge of coming up with new ways to keep the freshness going into the winter months, tried new things, revisited old favourites, and so I thought to end this stretch of food-prep that I would go back to one of the first things I ever did as a homesteader-wannabe: canning. I haven't talked about canning this month at all because truth be told, I don't do it much anymore. I find it is quite a bit of extra work, my stove top is not the best one rated for water bath canning; it isn't as forgiving an art as say, fermenting. But it is a practical way to be able to put up a big amount of one thing like zucchini into relish, or peaches into canned jewels, or tomatoes into salsa. And crab apples into crab apple butter.

A MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - Day 20

August 29, 2015 Luka Symons

Blue Mountain Biodynamic Farm's glorious first cabbages of the season! #harvest2015

Harvest season is well underway, and this next chunk of time is perhaps one of the busiest for most farmers. It is also one of my favourite times in the harvest, as it is when the good big cabbages start rolling in, and all other longer season vegetables and fruits start to show up at farmers' markets and stalls, as well as grocery stores. The humble cabbage is, in my opinion, one of the best vegetables out there. It is prized for its ability to ward off scurvy (meaning VITAMIN C rich it be), high in fibre which can mean many things from improving your visits to the bathroom to assisting in lowering cholesterol and facilitating the exit of excess hormones. It is high in glucosinolates which have been shown to be protective against cancers, and they have anti-inflammatory properties to boot. Cabbages are especially good and helpful for stomachs and intestinal linings, so if you have one or both of these, I'd say eating cabbage is a good bet for you.

A MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - Day 19

August 27, 2015 Luka Symons

What to do, what to do. I love tomatoes. #harvest2015

On the weekend, I had the good fortune of a large vehicle with lots of loading potential (read: fresh fruit and veggie haul). I spent the weekend in the Shuswap, running away from the frost threat in Calgary and visiting family, hanging by the beach, and visiting my favourite local fruit stands in search of a good deal. So haul I did. I brought back 80 pounds of roma tomatoes, 10 pounds of organic peaches, 5 pounds of locally grown blueberries, a few bundles of locally grown organic beets, a carton of fresh plums, some this-year's-apples and many-a-bag of fresh basil. That was just my order, never mind a few friends' that went in to the back of my red van.

A MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - Day 18

August 26, 2015 Luka Symons

I kind of feel like I'm cheating with today's post. It's a non-post, really. I have done a lot of these kinds of things over the years and already this season, but it's one that does in fact come in quite handy over the course of the year. It's putting up the fruit harvest, and there are a couple of ways you can do it. I'll show the simplest ways, and will endeavour to make a fermented version of fruit-keeping in the days ahead, seeing as I just hauled home some great finds from a produce stall in the Shuswap. I tell you, the harvest season is quite easily one of my most favourite times of the year, it has all the excitement that Christmas had for me when I was a kid, but in fresh food form. I know, geek, amiright?

A MONTH OF PUTTING UP THE HARVEST - Day 17

August 25, 2015 Luka Symons

Parsley, lovage and leeks, destined for salt preservation. #harvest2015

There is a french expression "sauve-garder" which when translated, means "to back up". If you translate it literally, it would mean to save and guard, or save and keep. So today's post is in the spirit of sauve-garder, or save and guarding in order to keep. This is a new-to-me method of putting up the harvest, preserving herbs in salt!