Surprise!

When you go away for awhile, you sometimes come back to a surprise!

Our ladies began laying. The egg in the middle is a commercial large white - for reference only.

We were away on vacation for four days and when we returned - there they were.

Lions, Tigers, and Academic Papers, Oh,my!

Okay, it doesn't roll off the tongue.

I am drowning in end-of-term papers. Or more accurately, I am drowning in papers and books. My whole bed is covered and has stayed like that for three days.

Since DH is working out of town this weekend, and I was left with a mountain of work, I often stayed up so late as to just fall asleep in the mess.

Sad thing is when I woke up, it was still there. And it will likely stay there until these papers are finished, later this week.

Every once in awhile, I reward myself by daydreaming of simpler, get-your-hands-dirty, organic things - like knitting, or sewing or making salsa. When my vacation starts next week, you can bet I will either immersed in a trashy book, knitting a tea towel or some other lazing around.

Certainly, these profs shove a lot of work our way and it is their job to do it. But the real problem is how difficult it is for me to get started writing. I am a die-hard procrastinator.

So, I bring this on myself. One of my friends finished a paper I am still writing weeks ago. I was truly green with envy....

A Swim a Day....

We have been swimming a lot in Georgian Bay. However, never as much as I would like to.

This evening, and for the last three nights, I have been reflecting on how lucky we are to have such a clean and beautiful place to swim, boat, fish etc. as I swam in the lovely WARM lake water.

Tonight was the warmest water yet.

Have you had your swim today? I realise not everyone lives near a lake, ocean or watering hole. But if you do, get out for a swim. It is free therapy.

Zucchini Relish

So far this year I am way, way behind. I missed strawberry season so there is no strawberry jam and no strawberries in the freezer. I had good intentions mind you. I simply ran out of time.

I did get six jars made of rhubarb jam, but if you give lots of things away, six jars of jam won't get you far.

Last summer I didn't make any jam, but the previous year's jam 2008 lasted us until this February.

We are on our last jar of zucchini relish. It is pretty delicious stuff and according to my son, store bought will not do - so it is homemade or nothing.

Since I had some friends who had zucchini to give away, I decided now was the time to make relish. Normally, it is best to wait a few more weeks until peppers are available, but this time I bought some peppers at the store.

With helpers like these, there isn't much for me to do.

Yesterday, my kids helped me start the zucchini relish. For a good zucchini relish, you must soak in a salt water brine over night.

Today we will finish by squeezing out the juice, adding the seasonings and vinegar and process. I will post pictures later.

~~~Update - I promised a finished picture ~~~~.

~~~~Recipe~~~

After several requests - here is the recipe.  I admit I didn't create it. But, it is the yummiest relish I have tried. If you try it and like it, let me know!

Terms of Reference

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was so busy I didn't have time. Details in the next post.

Okay, my big plans yesterday need firming up and fleshing out.

I obviously will have to give up a few things, and there will be others I can't find and I will need to make a decision.

Everything I will buy will be from Canada; most, but not all, will be local. There isn't that much that I will need from further than our borders of Southern Ontario (seen any Goderich salt lately?)

Here are some examples of this "fleshing out" below.

Foods that are totally off the list:
bananas (don't really eat those anyway)
citrus Fruit (aakk! I will miss my iced tea & lemonade!)
rice, quinoa, etc.
olives
chocolate
alcoholic beverages( I don't drink wine so I am SOL!)
most processed or packaged foods that I can't identify the origin fully (example would be cottage industry jams, syrups, sauces, name brand smoked meats)



Exceptions:
coffee
tea
spices - ex. cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, pickling salt etc. <--mostly these will be used for canning sugar for canning
occasional dining out (we can't verify every single ingredient is local even if they try to be mainly local )
whatever is already in my pantry! (no, I didn't run out the day before yesterday and stock up)

Okay, am I a hypocrite? Not really. I never said I was perfect! Coffee and tea are clearly not foods. :) They are definately extras and they are extras that I will allow myself this time, though I am aware that I don't need them.

I will let you know how I make out. This is a challenge, so there will be issues. Especially for canning where it is so cost prohibitive to make jam from honey or maple syrup. My promise to myself is local first, then Ontario, then Canada.

I noticed yesterday onions are hard to come by in large quantities from Canada because it is still early. I mean the cooking kind such as one might use for making relish.

More on that next post.

Local Food Woes...

I recently stopped by the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming at the University of Guelph. It is an impressive plot of lush greenery; herbs and vegetables abound.

I spoke with the manager who told me how difficult it is to sell the food they are growing. They have far more than they can sell right now. You might ask why - has it been such a bumper year? The answer in part is yes - conditions are exceptional for growing veggies this year, but the complete answer lies in the problem of getting local people to buy local food. The outlook for this local food movement is a little grim in Guelph unless we can spread the word about the delicious organic produce which is flourishing at the GCUOF.

The story is the same all over. Speaking with a local marketeer of our Meaford Farmers' Market I was told how difficult it is to market local produce. People are just not putting their money where their mouth is and supporting local; it is difficult to break out of a habit of buying fruit and veggies at the grocery store.

But are grocery stores the problem? I mean, forty years ago access to food was limited - people ate in season, with the exception being tropical fruits. Today it is different. In taking an informal survey of grocery store produce over the last few years I have found very few local products. This is true in high season of each product as well. Try this yourself. Pick a vegetable in season and look for some options at the grocery store - you will find difficulty with several very well known Ontario products such as peaches, berries, melons, grapes, apples, cherries, plums, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and garlic. Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers are regularly from Canada and in some cases grown in hothouses in the winter, however these are exceptions. I have found that Ontario corn is often found at the grocery store, however, early US corn is also found months before our corn is ready.

The "market" is flooded with foreign products we can grow wonderfully right here in Canada. In most cases the foreign products are cheaper and have squeezed out many farmers and farm products, in particular garlic, cherries, peaches, apples and grapes (all Ontario tender fruit are in jeopardy of being wiped out). It leads me to question the free market system - why are we allowing food stuffs to enter the country that we already have? That is too big of a question for me to try to answer this time around.


Despite the dominant trend of large grocery store chains, farmers' markets and farm stands are cropping up everywhere. But the outlook for the local food movement is not as rosy as it would seem. The movement to eat local is more of an undercurrent to the mainstream of high volume, cheap, foreign produce.

Although many city markets are flourishing, many smaller rural markets are struggling, just as farmers are, to sustain themselves. In a 2006 study, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) found that among consumers there was “ clear latent interest in buying Ontario food” however, consumers lacked the motivation. This means that while most of us want to buy Ontario food, we are too lazy to go out of our way to do it.

Here's to complacency. Meanwhile, I have made it my mission to not eat or buy anything for the rest of the summer that is not locally grown. To clarify, if I am driving somewhere and I see a roadside stand - that is fair game. I plan to pick up a few things a week from Guelph when I make the commute down to finish up the last of my summer courses. The rest I will buy from my own community.

It is summer, people - I won't starve.

Squirrels and Chickens are friends...

Wow, our chickens are friendly. They even let a stranger eat from their food.

Notice how they are just watching the squirrel with interest, but not doing anything. Only time they raise a stink about anything was when the squirrel was caught and tried to get out of the coop (even though the doorway was not obstructed - he must have been a bit disoriented from being afraid of my husband).