With summer easing towards autumn, my partner and I become increasingly preoccupied, maybe even a tad obsessed, with squirreling away enough local food (which does include gathering some walnuts and hazelnuts) to ensure we are able to consume a primarily local diet during the winter months.
If you have had the pleasure of sampling some of Salt Spring Island’s fare, you would understand our obsession. You see, food shipped hundreds of miles, aside from being much more carbon intensive, just doesn’t taste the same as organic food lovingly produced by members of the community where you live.
Last year we managed to eat locally for almost all of the winter months, but it did involve some planning. We transformed our balcony firewood box into an impromptu cold cellar and stocked it with all manners of locally grown organic root veggies and a dizzying array of apples (Salt Spring Island farmers grow more than 350 varieties!).
We stuffed our cupboards with onions, garlic, dried kale, wild nettles and yellow peas, sundried tomatoes and jars of preserves. We filled our basement with a rainbow of crazy-looking squash and the freezer with pounds of lush strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.
This year, in a bid to expand our repertoire of food saving techniques and extend our ability to consume local food during the winter months, we signed up for Foxglove Farm’s one-day Preserving The Harvest course with Victoria-based chef David Mincey from Camille’s Restaurant. We spent a entertaining day learning all the ins and outs of making jam, canning fruit and pickling vegetables in the company of a great group of people.
The workshop also included a mini farm tour and a delicious lunch prepared by local chef extraordinaire Bruce Wood in the tranquil setting of Foxglove Farm. At the end of the day we left clutching warm jars of strawberry jam, pickled veggies and a delicious Chimichurri.
For those of you who haven’t visited Salt Spring Island, Foxglove Farm is a 120-acre organic farm run by gracious hosts and farmers Michael and Jeanne-Marie Ableman. Through their Centre for Arts, Ecology & Agriculture, they offer a range of courses designed to promote sustainability, community and a love of local food in a beautiful farm setting.
Their seasonal offerings of classes and workshops range from cooking classes, breadmaking and wild food foraging, to courses that show you how to grow food for your family or for the farmer’s market.
Although the season is slowly coming to a close, you can still sign up for Farmstead Cheesemaking with David Asher (September 12th), Growing For Family with Michael Ableman & Josh Volk (September 23rd to 25th), Growing For Market with Michael Ableman & Josh Volk (September 27th to October 1st), a cooking workshop on Fall Roots and Squashes with Chef Heidi Fink (October 2nd), and Foraging For Fungi with celebrated chef and wild mushroom expert Bill Jones (October 24th).
Visit: http://www.foxglovefarmbc.ca/
Valerie Williams is a writer living on Salt Spring Island. She plans to spend her spare time making jam and canning vegetables.
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written by WetcoasBob , September 02, 2010