hello FLAVOUR!

Well for all you Googlers who have been finding me with your rhubarb searches, I have yet another treat for you. If you like flavours with a tangy zing to them, then you will LOVE this recipe.

Gingered Rhubarb Jam

• 4 cups sliced rhubarb (slice it thin but not superthin)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup candied ginger
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Be sure not to let the bottom of the pan burn. When the jam has thickened pour it into sterilized jars. Next, process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Then…  YUM, enjoy for breakfast and snacks!

free food! free food!

Have you noticed how GREEN everything is these days? You may be anxious for your garden to start sprouting green goodness as well, but who needs a garden to eat local? Spring foraging is upon us!

Wild leeks (or wild garlic, depending on where you’re from) can be found in wooded areas around this time of year. Use it like a leek and savour its garlicky zing on your tongue.

Fiddleheads OH how I love you fried up in butter. So green and yummy. I’m sure you’re one of the reasons my doctor tells me I’m as fit as a fiddle.

Morels! Unlike a lot of the edible mushrooms, the prized morel is found in the springtime. We like to saute them and add them to a bed of lettuce with some shaved parmesan. Drizzle with warm oil and you’re in heaven.

(And I’m sorry, I am COMPELLED to add this note: it doesn’t matter how many times I post about mushroom foraging, I have to reiterate the same warning: Do NOT forage for mushrooms unless you’re DARN SURE you know what you’re doing. There. Now you can enjoy your mushrooms.)

peas in earth

The peas are coming! The peas are coming! This is SO exciting because last year they didn’t grow at all. Last year, I planted them too late when the soil was already warm. They were stubborn and refused to come out. But this year, I planted them EARLY – hmm, maybe three weeks ago, but I’ve had trouble keeping track of time since this happened – and whaddya know? This year they GREW!

spring growth

Everything is pushing it’s way UP out of the soil and into the world! We’ve got lots of seedlings started at HPD… hot peppers, eggplants, THREE types of tomatoes, tobacco (for my brother, who doesn’t smoke…!?! Don’t ask…), spring onions and leeks. Peas and carrots have been planted outside – and yes, I plan to be a little smarter with my carrots this year.

So hip hip HOORAY for spring!!!

my new life

Wow. There is a lot about motherhood that nobody told me – a WHOLE LOT. Like breastfeeding. I’d had visions of feeding my lovely Josephine every couple of hours, and in between I would fit in a run or yoga class, maybe plant some seeds, or write a blog post. HA. Yes – HA HAHAHAHAHHHAHAAA!!! Now, you certainly know that I haven’t been writing blog posts (soooo sorry), and I laugh at the idea of having enough time to go to a yoga class. But I can tell you that in the ten free minutes I usually get between when one feed ends and another begins, I have at least managed to plant some seeds. Woo hooooo! And as you experienced gardeners already know, it is JUST as exciting watching them poke their heads through the soil this year as it was last year. I just have a whole lot less time to watch them!

just in time for spring

Just a quick update to let you know that our gorgeous little bundle of joy arrived on Febuary 26th. Say hello to Josephine Elizabeth!!!

a rose is a rose is a…

If you’re looking to treat your sweetie (or yourself!) to some flowers this Valentine’s Day, you may want to stop and think about the distance that most flowers travel to get to you… Many of the Valentine roses you see in florists are flown from places like Ecuador – a far-off, wonderful country which you should support, but NOT through its rose industry.

And WHY are these flowers coming from so far away, when there are local roses growing right here in the Ottawa area??? YES, you heard me – local roses in Ottawa in the middle of February! And not just roses, but snapdragons, irises, lilies and more. Carleton Growers is located just outside Carp and they supply fresh-cut flowers to the Ottawa area. You can visit them yourselves to pick up a beautiful bouquet, or you can ask your local florist to order from them directly.

seed packages

OH it’s like Christmas in February when your seeds arrive! And mine have, so HAPPY day! Once again, I ordered my seeds with no real plan as to how I’m going to fit them all into the garden. This will probably mean another garden bed added this year… and maybe sticking a dozen or so tomato plants in my mom’s garden when she’s not looking – shhh.

So now it’s on to setting up a seed-starting schedule. And if my little bundle of joy decides to come late, then I should be able to get some eggplants and hot peppers started before the end of the month. If not, it’s anyone’s guess what seed schedule I will keep!

them apples: take two

So what to do with all those apples…? How about my favourite – the ever so easy apple crisp? Yes, in fact it’s SO easy, why am I even bothering to post a recipe for it? I mean, you could probably make apple crisp with your eyes CLOSED… right? Well that’s what I thought for years, having tossed away the recipe card for apple crisp sometime in my late teens. By then I was making it with one hand tied behind my back. And after that I graduated to TWO hands behind my back! I mean, come on, who REALLY needs an apple crisp recipe?!?

You do.

Yes. You need this recipe I am about to give you. You need it more than you know, because until you make it you will be missing out on the best darn apple crisp you have ever tasted.

Best Darn Apple Crisp (from one of my favourites The New Best Recipe)

Topping

• 6 Tbsps all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
• 5 Tbsps cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch squares
• 3/4 cup chopped nuts

Filling

• 6 medium apples (The authors of TNBR recommend a mix of Granny Smith and McIntosh, but I’ve tried this dish with Ida Reds, Cortlands, McIntoshes… you name it)
• 1.5 Tbsp of lemon juice (or for a little more LOCAL zing, substitute with apple cider vinegar – yowza!)
• 1/4 cup sugar

Place the dry topping ingredients (not the nuts though) in a food processor and pulse briefly. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the nuts and pulse briefly a few more times. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Quarter and core the apples – some people like to peel them as well, but I prefer to leave the skins on. Toss the apples with the sugar and the lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Put the mixture into an 8×8 inch square pan or a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle the topping evenly on top and place into the oven for 40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

Enjoy with abandon because before you know it, it will all be gone. Thank goodness it’s so easy to make. You’ll be making it again and again and again!

them apples

One of the challenges of eating locally, is having enough space to store food for the winter. Apples for example. Apples store quite well into the winter if you keep them in a cool place, like a refrigerator. But unless you have a fridge the size of a MONSTER TRUCK, it’s kinda hard to squeeze enough apples in there to last you through the winter. A cold storage room would be even better but not everyone is so lucky.

All this to say that my apple supply has been dwindling lately. So you can imagine how happy I was to hear about Hall’s Apple Market which takes orders online and will DELIVER their local apples to four different locations in and around Ottawa. I placed my first order last week!

Apple crisp, we’re back in business.