Canning isn't as hard as I thought it would be...

So,....this weekend I decided that I would try canning for the first time. I've got winter to think about and I'd really like to avoid buying U.S./Mexico produce or food that isn't in season. There will be some exceptions obviously but I'm going to try my best. I've already got a freezer full of fruits and vegetables that I'm hoping will get me through the hard times but canning was something else that I'd been meaning to try....

The Internet and the library have been great friends of mine this week as I tried finding some information about canning. My first attempt was canned peaches. It was so easy! All you need to do is boil the peaches for 30-60 seconds and put them in an ice-water bath. Then, you can take the peelings off (if you wish) and sprinkle some lemon juice on them to prevent browning. While you are doing this boil 2 cups of sugar to 6 cups of water for a light syrup to be added to the peaches. I used organic cane sugar. Put the peaches into a sterilized jar and then add the syrup. Put the lid on and then boil the jar for 20 minutes or so. Once it's done take it out and let it cool for 24 hours and make sure that the lid has sealed and you don't hear a popping sound when you press on it.

Once I realized how easy this was I decided to then make a apple/plum/blueberry/raisin chutney of sorts. I just did this in the crock-pot and then filled the jars for boiling. Another one I tried was a tomato sauce of sorts. I'm not sure how this one will turn out once I use it...but I made it using tomatoes, hot peppers, green peppers, and shredded zucchini. I'm sure I'll be able to find greenhouse tomatoes this winter so I'm not too worried. This one was more of an experiment.

Here are a couple of good sites if you want to learn more about canning or freezing:

• www.pickyourown.org/index.htm
• http://www.homecanning.com/
• http://www.preservefood.com/

Sunday, September 27th -- Save the Date!

On Sunday September 27th, Birtch Farms will be holding their Food and Wine Festival. The foods will be showcasing local foods from chefs in the area and the farm will also be offering samples of their own wine. Tickets can be purchased the day of the event.

We've been to Birtch farms many times for some apple-picking and have never been disappointed. We also love taking a peek inside their bakery. There's always something yummy that we just need to bring home with us.

Birtch Farms is located on R.R. #7 655514 15th Line in Woodstock, Ontario

Their other events are:

Apple Fest September 19th/20th
Pumpkin Fest October 24th/25th

Who says Pizza can't be Healthy?

Yes, whoever said that pizza couldn't be healthy? I say that it can be if it's made correctly! To begin, you need a nice homemade whole wheat pizza dough. However, as I've already mentioned before I don't get along with doughs, breads, or pastries very well! My solution--Angelo's Bakery & Deli here in London. They have a freshly made-from-scratch pizza dough available in the refrigerated section of their bakery. You just bring it home, let it rise and then form it to the pan. That's it!

After you've got the dough throw on some fresh tomato sauce, veggies, meat and cheese and throw her in the oven! On this one I used some left-over salsa that I had, some leftover chicken (diced) and then onion, broccoli, hot peppers, shredded zucchini and lastly, mozzarella/cheddar cheese.

Thomas Bros. Farm Market

Rather than picking our own fruits or heading to the market this weekend we decided
that we would instead visit a u-pick vegetable farm. My daughter
was very excited about our little jaunt.

I've heard good things about the Thomas Bros. Farm Market located in Lambeth so I decided that we'd go check it out. Going south on Colonel Talbot there is the market building of the same name but further down past the 401 you can find the u-pick location. The farm is HUGE! You actually need to use your car to drive from the tomatoes, to the cucumbers, to the beans, etc... The beans were great and the zucchinis and cucumbers were really big. They even had hot peppers available as well.

Unfortunately, because the rain was starting to fall I did end up getting my car stuck in some mud while I was there (just before leaving, no less)...and then it started to thunder and the rain came pouring down (yikes)! But luckily there were some really nice people who were able to pull me out with their truck.

In the end though I did manage to pick some very nice vegetables and all of it only came up to $5.45!! It definitely made up for my very eventful Saturday morning.....

A Hot and Humid Week leads to more No-Bake Cookies and BBQ-ing

It has been a very hot and humid week here in Southwestern Ontario!! Since we do not have air conditioning I try to avoid using our stove....luckily we have our BBQ that works overtime throughout the summer months. Not only do we grill our meats but we love grilling our fruits and veggies as well--especially peaches!! So juicy!! A few days ago we had some of those yummy peaches as well as other items I had purchased at the market on the weekend--our pork tenderloing marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey and rosemary, tomatoes grilled with a cheese topping, and of course...baked potatoes. We can live on baked potatoes alone and usually have them a few times over the course of the week.


With the heat we've had and my avoidance of the stove I also ended up making some more no-bake cookies. This time I made a chocolate chip version that includes only raisins, dates, oatmeal, cinnamon, salt, honey, and of course, chocolate chips. They were delicious. I got this recipe in the Fall issue of the Clean Eating Magazine that I subscribe to. The recipes in these magazines always turn out great so I knew I'd have to try this one. I'm so glad I did.

Store-bought frozen pancakes vs. homemade

I just don't understand why so many people have bought into the whole convenience-food idea. The food is bland and is so full of additives, sugars, fats and salt. In our house we really try and stay away from these processed or manufactured foods as much as possible. I'd rather try and make these grocery-store versions on my own so I'll know what's in them. My thoughts are....why buy it if I can make it?

One of my daughters' favorite things that I make are frozen pancakes or waffles. I make a batch of them and stick them in the freezer and then in the morning I simply have to throw them in the toaster and she gets pancakes whenever she feels like it. I feel better knowing that she eating a healthier version of the popular frozen ones at the grocery store and she's thrilled that we don't have to wait until the weekend to have pancakes. I made another batch last night using some of the blueberries that we picked in Mount Brydges a couple of weeks ago and also used some flour that I purchased at the Arva Flour Mill. They turned out allright but I ended up burning them a little this time...oops!

The Trails End Farmer's Market

Man oh man!! Is summer ever in full swing! Absolutely everything is in season right now...it's wonderful!! I love the Trails End Market on Dundas St. It's just outside of London going towards Woodstock. I can go for one-stop farm shopping to get everything I need-produce, meats, cheeses, eggs, etc.. I also love that so many of the vendors now recognize myself and my daughter. The service is just great. My only word of warning is to ensure that the vendors you do visit are really local farmers selling locally-grown foods. Some of the vendors there are simply selling foods shipped from the U.S. That being said, I'm so happy to hear that more and more people are requesting local foods and asking the vendors before making their purchases.

I got tons of stuff this morning. I went in with $80.00 but only ended up spending $65.00. I'm sure I would have spent a lot more if I'd bought all this stuff at the grocery store and all of this food will last us the week. We then only spent another $30.00 or so at the grocery store for miscellaneous items an d non-local foods like bananas and stuff.

For $65.00 I was able to get a bag of potatoes, some Jersey Mac apples (the first of the season), a head of broccoli, green beans, carrots, onions, white turnip, red/yellow peppers, a watermelon, a dozen eggs, some cheese, celery, tomatoes, nectarines (also first of the season), zuchinni, 2 pints of blueberries, pork tenderloin, bacon, chicken breasts, sausages, raisin bread, whole wheat bread, cooked ham and turkey...I think that pretty well sums it up!

With all this new grub and more tomatoes than I know what to do with what would be better for dinner than a plain old toasted tomato sandwich and a salad. This, my friends, is comfort food!! I remember my mom making me toasted tomato sandwiches for me when I was little. They are just so yummy!My salad tonight...nothing else to say about this one...just lettuce, carrot, broccoli and dried cranberries...Dessert, however,....was fresh and cool. There's nothing better than some ice cream at the end of a hot and humid afternoon. This one again was done with my Vitamix but this time we had peach/raspberry.

Leftovers and Little Bits

So it's getting towards the end of the week so they fridge is starting to look a little bare and some things need to get used before they start going soft. What better way to use leftovers than to make a chicken pot pie. I had some leftover cooked chicken, a few potatoes, a carrot, and some green beans. I threw it all together with some cheese and some condensed celery soup....yes, I'll admit....I do have a can of processed soup in my house....and a Tenderflake pie crust...pastry and I just don't get along!! Besides the soup and crust this pie was made completely with locally-grown chicken, cheese, and produce.

Next on the list were those red grapes sitting there on the shelf looking a little forgotten. Hmmm..how about some grape juice? So, whipped out my Vitamix and blended the grapes and let the juices drip through a cheesecloth and voila! Grape Juice! Of course, the grapes aren't local (probably from Mexico or something) but at least the juice is not from concentrate and doesn't have any added sugars...just pure fruity goodness!

Some people go garage-sale-ing...I go farm-sale-ing!

Although I normally go to the Trail's End Farmers Market sometimes I go directly to the farm instead. Adelaide Farms is one of my favorite farms to visit. They have a good selection of stuff from produce to beef products. They are located on Adelaide St. just north of Medway Rd. I bought a few things there today--peaches, yellow plums, broccoli, onions, yellow beans, and tomatoes just to name a few. I also picked up some sausages and ground beef.

My next stop was to the Arva Flour Mill (just off Richmond St. north of Medway Rd.). This is a great place to go--they have whole wheat flour, spelt flour and plain old regular all-purpose flour. They also have a large selection of pasta (regular, spelt, rice, and soy) and different grains.

On the other side of Richmond I found this trailer set up. I've recently heard good things about the Corn Crib in Strathroy so I was pleasantly surprised to see that they set themselves up at this end of the city on Saturdays. I plan on buying some more from them next weekend and freezing some for the winter months.

Last, but not least, my other favorite stop--Heeman's!!! Everyone in London knows about Heemans'. Most people know them for their u-pick strawberry farm in the spring though. However, they also sell raspberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches and corn as well. This year they're also offering Fall strawberries that should be around until late October assuming there isn't an early frost. Woohoo!! I'll have to make sure I stock up on these for the winter as well. You can check and see what's available by checking their website at http://www.heeman.ca/ and clicking on berry info.

Mount Brydges Road Trip!

I've never been to Mount Brydges before although it is only 15 minutes from London. I'm so glad we went after work on Friday! We visited Kustermans Blueberry Farm to pick some blueberries and pick blueberries we did! They were HUGE!! And there were tons of them. It was like picking bunches of grapes in some sections. I definitely recommend paying them a visit. Check out their website at http://www.berryblue.org/ .


Here's a picture of the pail we picked. This only took half an hour or so and we ended up leaving with 7 pounds of blueberries, which cost $17 or so. I'm looking forward to some blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, etc.. Oh, the possibilities!!!

Summer Salads and Cool Treats

This is the perfect time to buy some local broccoli. I got a huge head of broccoli from a vendor at the Trail's End Market on Dundas St. on Saturday. What better way to use some of it than with a nice summer broccoli salad. My broccoli salad consists of broccoli (of course), shredded carrot, red onion, a radish, some white cheddar and the dressing is made up of organic mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper.


After dinner we went out for a bike ride and a stop to play mini-putt with the little one. When we got back I made some homemade banana/strawberry ice cream. My Vitamix machine can make any flavour of ice cream that you can think of--throw in some frozen fruit with some milk or yogurt and voila--ice cream! Thankfully I've got a freezer full of fruit that I've been storing over the course of the summer.

Cookies so easy you don't even need to turn on the stove!

I love making raw desserts. For one, they're so quick and easy to make and two, they are so much healthier for you.

One of my favorite bloggers/authors for raw food is Ani Phyo. Check out her site at: http://www.aniphyo.com/ This cookie recipe is one that I make out of her Ani's Raw Food Desserts book. It's made of walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries, and carob powder put through the food processor and molded into cookie form. They taste amazing too.

Another one of her cookie recipes that I like is her raw oatmeal cookie--oatmeal put through the food processor until it looks more like a flour, some dates, raisins, and cinnamon. Again--so yummy and it tastes just like an oatmeal raisin cookie -- without the unhealthy addition of sugar and empty calories. Here's a link to a video of her making this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwigYqeJxnA&feature=channel_page

It must be peach season!

The peaches we picked up yesterday were just so yummy I had to use some for our breakfast this morning! We had peach filled crepes topped with some raspberries. Crepes have been my favorite breakfast food lately because they're just so easy to make. And, I'm French so that must mean that I like crepes. HA! Here's the recipe that I usually use:

• 1 cup milk


• 1/4 cup water


• 2 eggs


• 2 tbsp melted butter (cooled so it doesn't scramble the eggs)


• 2 tbsp honey


• 1 cup flour

Mix ingredients and use a medium-sized pan and 1/3 cup of batter for each crepe. On the side I usually heat up some sort of fruit (apples or peaches usually) to fill the crepes.

So busy I need to do another post!

Food was definitely the theme of our weekend! It was such a beautiful day today that we decided to take a drive out to Arkona to check out the fruit farms/orchards. There are definitely more than a few to choose from. The Red Barn caught our eye, however (8651 Townsend Line).



We're so happy we went -- although cherry season is officially over we were able to snag their last bucket of frozen cherries; all 10 pounds of it!! And yes, they've all been pre-pitted. Looks like we'll be making some cherry pie soon...and maybe some smoothies, and some ice cream. Good thing cherries are so good for us. Did you know that cherries have been shown to reduce pain and inflammation? They're also really high in antioxidants! Unfortunately, their growing season is really short--lasting only the month of July.


Not only does the Red Barn have cherries, but they also have apricots, plums, and peaches. Although still early in the season the peaches were absolutely wonderful. Really juicy! My freezer is already stocked with some to make sure we can enjoy them for the next couple of months at least.


Something else I'd been meaning to try is some homemade peanut butter. I bought my Vitamix a few months ago and hadn't had the chance to give it a try. All I needed was 3 cups of roasted unsalted peanuts and one minute to blend it all together. Natural or homemade peanut butters are much healthier than the store-bought kinds. The processed versions usually contain a lot of additional trans fats and sugars that are not good for us. Natural peanut butters normally only contain peanuts. I'd rather go the natural route!


Mine turned out a little on the light side. Who knows what gets put in it normally to give it a brown color. Oh well...still tastes good. I did add a little bit of honey to sweeten it up a little.

What a busy weekend!

We have had such a busy weekend. We went to Port Burwell for some swimming in Lake Erie and on the way back we made a stop to buy some fresh garlic and some honey at Clovermead Apiaries. The garlic was so fresh the car reeked of garlic as did my kitchen--especially when I decided to roast them! It was easy--I cut off the tops of the garlic coated the tops with olive oil and put them in the oven at 400F for 40 minutes.

Andre couldn't wait to try the roasted garlic and immediately put some on a cracker. He thought it was really yummy. We then added some to our mashed potatoes/cauliflower tonight. I'm sure we reek of garlic by now!

Clovermead Apiaries is always a place that we stop at on our way home from the beach. It's located just outside of Aylmer. They have so many different flavors of honey to try. Here is a link to their site: http://www.clovermead.com/ In the past we've bought chocolate honey and strawberry honey. This time we bought some apple honey and maple honey. They taste fantastic!! It's definitely a great place to check out! -- and bring the kids--they have a lot of activities and they'll bring you right out to the honeycombs to show you how the honey is made.

Chocolate Banana Bread

I guess this is my first post. I'll start with my most requested recipe--my chocolate banana bread recipe. This recipe was originally given to me by my friend Sandra as a Vegan Banana Bread. I've since tweaked it and have come up with this:

• 1/4 cup canola oil (or applesauce)
• 3 bananas
• 1tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• ground flax seeds (1/8 cup or so...)
• some cocoa powder...a few tablespoons

Mix wet ingredients with bananas (I usually put them through the food processor for a smooth consistency). Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Add mixture to a bread loaf pan and bake at 325F for 50 minutes. Voila!

Watch for my next post soon...I've bought some fresh garlic at a farm stand and made a stop at Clovermead for some honey.