Be Happy...Grow Your Own

My new baby...a tiny little Brownlee's Russet Apple Tree.

I am a modern, urban, concrete dweller. I, of romantic grow-your-own ideals and, until this August, virtually no direct sunlight. My north facing view was lovely for gazing at the city skyline but terrible for attempting to grow anything useful. After a couple of disastrous attempts at harnessing the 1/2 square foot of sunlight that I enjoyed from July through August, I swore off growing things until I moved to sunnier climbs. I would flip longingly through stories of patio produce and condo farmers thinking that one day, my time would come. The ultimate embodiment of my fruitless (natch!) dreams was realized the day I saw a picture of an apple tree, happily bearing fruit while trellised on someone's patio. Someday, I thought to myself, I will have my own apple tree. I will have to wait for my third best seller before attempting to own an actual house and yard, but a tree...I can make that happen.

This summer, I moved into a new suite that indeed had access to actual sun. Soon, I thought...I can grow something! I thought I would wait for summer, until my trip to the UBC apple festival a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful crisp autumn day. There were trees for sale. Grafted onto dwarf stock. Could they be grown in a container? They could, I was reassured! Giddy with local food fever, I decided to take the horticultural plunge.

From a sea of options, parameters were defined: I would need a tree with hardy root stock (M109, I was told) to resist disease and the opposite-of-ideal conditions of life in a container. I would also need a self propagating tree. You see, you need a boy tree and a girl tree to grow apples. I was not aware. And, given that I was already getting myself in over my head with my new tree, perhaps I would not dive into having twins just yet. So, a Brownlee's Russet it was! I was so excited to take that little tree home...I could practically taste the apple crumbles, homemade cider and apple butter to come...

Recognizing the glimmer of cluelessness about me, the wonderful volunteer at the apple festival sent me home with a sheet of instructions on how to grow apples in container. I studied and surveyed. The very next Saturday, I schlepped to home depot and picked up some supplies. Husband and son safely exiled for a walk, I set about to potting this little gem.

Following my instructions, I drilled holes in the pot for better drainage (yay, power tools! and cute gardening gloves!)...

As per instructions, I mixed some perlite and lime with my soil for better drainage and pH balance...

And then in went my little tree!

I now stare at my tree daily. It looks very small and delicate and I hope I can help it thrive. As the days get colder, I will wrap it with a blanket to keep warm (don't laugh...the instructions tell me to!) and do my best not to ignore it as I do all of my house plants. 

I will keep you all posted...wish me luck!! And, if you have any container gardening tips, please do share.

Drink...something mysterious

With a name like Kings and Spies, how could I say no?

It has been a long while since I have done a drink post, hasn't it? 


Given that I was without drink for a good year and a half I suppose it is only fitting. However, with the dry spell complete it is time to delight in all sorts of libations (in responsible moderation of course)! When they are deliciously local, all the better. 


I have to admit, Sea Cider had me at "spies". I have been meaning to try Sea Cider for a long time as I drive past the turnoff to the cider house on many a trip to the island to visit family. So when I was in the store today, it was the siren call of Kings and Spies that caught my attention.


The Kings and Spies referred to on the bottle are actually heritage apples. In this libation, King and Northern Spies apples create a wonderfully refined and grown up cider. The bottle also features an optimistic valve top (as if the whole 750ml won't disappear in one sitting!). And when you buy this specific variety of Sea Cider, proceeds go to Lifecycles. If it gets much better than this, I am at a loss for examples.


You can buy Sea Cider at specialty stores or they will kindly ship cases in BC for free. And if you find yourself on the gorgeous Saanich Peninsula, be sure to stop by and say hello.


Salute!

UnDiet...Week 25

Hello Summer (and UnDieters)!!


I hope you are enjoying the glorious summer sunshine; it has finally graced Vancouver with its presence for 2 consecutive days and I am feeling optimistic that it is here to stay.


So now that summer is here in our Pacific Northwest home, that can only mean one thing...berries. So this week, it is time to celebrate in true UnDiet fashion and commit to eating 1 cup of fresh berries every day. 


Berries are one of the most nutrient dense fruits that nature offers us. Not only are they full of filling fibre and glow restoring antioxidants, their nutrients also help to stave off heart disease, cancer and other chronic disease. Berries are also slow to release their energy, making them a great choice for maintaining stable blood sugars. Did I also mention, they are delicious? Nothing beats the succulent crush of berry juice dribbling down your chin - it is like summer itself. Choose whatever tickles your fancy at the market: strawberries or blueberries, raspberries, cherries or blackberries. Just enjoy a cup full everyday.


What to do with berries? Snack on them instead of something starchy at movie time; swirl them in yogurt for a snack or bake them with an oat topping for a treat. And if you really want to earn bonus points, go find yourself a few flats of berries and either can them or freeze them to enjoy local berries off season. 


Go berry pickin', people!
Desiree

Lawns to Loaves...Home Grown in Vancouver

In today's Globe and Mail newspaper, there is an article about Andrea Bellamy's Lawns to Loaves Project that examines the impact of city food production and the politics of supporting local food. Andrea is growing wheat in the city - it's not much: enough to make a few hyper local loaves of bread. What I find fascinating is how radical such a project seems to some. 


There was a point in time that growing food was just a part of daily life, like taking out the trash and making dinner. It says a lot about the world we live in that we are examining "the point" of growing food and that some in local politics could think of such a project as "goofy". That our mayor could be ridiculed for caring about local food and not city "basics" shows me that we have lost our way. Feeding ourselves is basic. Without a healthy food supply, our city would wither away and the exciting fabric of creativity and innovation and culture that our city stands for would cease to exist. While it is reasonable to argue that those of sufficient income will never starve, eating a diet that is filled with manufactured food starves our cells and the result is disease, which is not exactly an ideal outcome. And, while not an inevitability, food crisis is always a threat as mother nature doesn't always grace us with the ideal growing conditions to feed a ballooning population.


If we are to reconnect to food and make it meaningful, getting serious about growing within the city limits is vital. As a new mom, I do not want my child to think that food is a sterile commodity. I grew up knowing that blackberry bushes could prick, dirt was good for you and that salt and slugs were a particularly entertaining combination. Food knowledge is fundamental for an evolved society. Our children should be able to see food around them, whether they live in the city, suburbs or country.


Let's spend less time in debate and more time growing, eating and sharing.




Get Growing, Vancouver.
Desiree


Read the full article on Globe and Mail

Eat...Winter Apple Parsnip Bake

One of the things I love most about my SPUD produce box (besides the fact that the groceries come to me and they use local and organic producers first) is that my cooking strategy changes from "what do I feel like making" to "how can I use the contents of my produce drawer?" It forces you to get a bit more creative which is good for your health and good for your taste buds. 


I have been staring down some parsnips for a while and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them. Parsnips, called "carrots with attitude" by Rachel Ray, are a local root veggie that have a sharp spiciness to them that lends well to a bit of time in the old oven. Even though they lack colour, parsnips aren't just nutritional filler: they are a source of fibre, heart loving potassium, bone building calcium and folate for a healthy nervous system. I figured I would sweeten them up a bit so my husband might like them. He thinks that this would be a nice side dish for some pork tenderloin but I served it, of course, as a vegetarian main course over organic quinoa. The nice thing about this recipe is that it can be a completely 100 mile meal with a few adjustments.


Here is what resulted...I had a photo but it turned out so badly I thought I wouldn't bother putting it up. I am hoping Santa will deliver a new camera. 


Recipe: Winter Apple Parsnip Bake


Preheat oven to 375 degrees


4 medium parsnips, cubed or sliced
2 medium apples, cubed or sliced
1 medium leek, sliced
2 cups canned or precooked chick peas, drained


2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (substitute butter for a 100 mile recipe)
1/2 cup demerara sugar (substitute honey for a 100 mile recipe)
pinch salt


2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces


In a 9x9 baking dish or a 9 inch pie plate, combine all ingredients except for butter and toss well. Then add butter on top. You could cube the parsnips and apples so they are uniform with the chick peas or slice them. 


Bake for 15 minutes, stir and bake for 15 more minutes or until parsnips are tender. I think this would also be tasty curried: Add 1-2 tbsp curry powder and reduce sugar by half and add 1/4 cup raisins if you like them. 


Serve over your favourite whole grain like quinoa, barley, brown rice or buckwheat.


Happy Holidays,
Desiree

Eat...local food

You are looking at the gorgeous apricots that finally inspired me to sit down and do another blog post....I bought them today because I thought they were pretty. And I love apricots. I don't know why I love them so much but I would eat pounds of apricots if you let me...the flavour and texture is something special and I love how a perfect apricot is both sweet and slightly tart.

These apricots were also grown here in BC, which makes them even more special. Why? Because eating local food matters for a whole bunch of reasons. And I just might be in the mood to tell you all about it....

1. Local food means supporting your neighbours. When we purchase BC grown and processed foods, BC residents are hard at work to provide them for us. And when our neighbour's livelihoods are protected, so are ours. According to www.smartgrowth.bc.ca, most farmers rely on second jobs to make ends meet and about half of farm sales average less than $10,000 a year. Our farmers need your support otherwise we might well find ourselves without farmers in future generations. Our globalized world has many economists believing that there is no value in maintaining local business if another country can produce at economic advantage (Mexican tomatoes anyone?) but what about the impact on our community? I am no economist so I won't bother trying to make eloquent statements to the contrary...but if you Google hard enough, you can find information on how keeping your dollars in the local community end up producing a far greater economic advantage for that community than allowing your dollars to fly beyond the border. 

2. Local food keeps valuable agricultural land producing food, instead of being developed for another condo or strip mall. In BC, we are fortunate to have highly productive and fertile farmland that enjoys a longer growing season than much of Canada. However, our most valuable farmland also sits among the most in demand urban areas of Greater Vancouver and Greater Kelowna. The BC Agricultural Land Reserve, or ALR, is only about 5% of our total land mass. And 50% of that land is in the north...where we don't have such a hot time growing much through the bulk of the year. We produce an awful lot of food in a relatively small space. From cherries to chickens and buckwheat to berries, BC's bounty is awe-inspiring. There is nothing a developer would like more than to snap up some more land to build on. By valuing locally produced food, we keep local farms producing for another year and hopefully fend off the allure of development as well.

3. Local food is gentler on the planet. A significant proportion of the environmental impact of the foods we eat is tied to how far that food travelled to reach us. And while shipping produces fewer carbon emissions than flight or trucking....trucking 100 miles is certainly less harmful than trucking 1000 miles.

4. Local food can be better for us. Not always, but often. The reasons for this are many. Nutrients peak with peak ripening...so picking fruit long before they are ripe to sustain travel leaves us with fewer nutrients. In addition, certain nutrients like vitamin C are very delicate and degrade quickly. Less travel means less time between harvest and you and better potential for nutrient retention. Long distance travel also favours hardier plant breeds, some of which are not as nutritious. However, if food is improperly handled, nutrients can be lost no matter how far the food has travelled and some fruits like apples and oranges are fairly sturdy on their own and retain nutrients well. My money is still on local though.

5. Local food helps us create more food secure communities. While food security is a complex social, economic and ecologic issue, if a community cannot produce any of its own food it becomes far more vulnerable to a globalized food supply. From political fallout to climate disasters, when drought hits California...we all feel it in higher prices and empty shelves. Just like in your investment portfolio, diversification pays off when it comes to growing food. 

I would love to hear your reasons for or against local food...chat on, my friends!

In good health,

Desiree