How to Can Beets

Canned Beets | Photo: Kelly Hunt It”s so simple really. Trim off the beet greens. You can eat these just like chard. Do not cut into the beets, just take the greens off and leave a little “stump”. If you cut into the beet itself, it will bleed like crazy and make for a messy experience. Get a huge pot, fill it with water and throw your beets in there. Bring to a boil and cook until the beets are fork tender (you can stick a fork in them and it falls off when you lift it). This should take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 4o minutes. Next, drain the water from the beets, keep the beets in the pot, and now fill the very same pot with cold water. The skins will now easily slide away from the beets with a little rubbing. You can wear rubber gloves for this part, but I like to see my hands all stained Macbeth red for a little while, lol. It comes out pretty easy so don”t get too upset. In another pot, mix together 3 cups of water, 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of vinegar. Add to this one cinnamon stick and one and a 1/2 tsp of cloves as well as a squirt of lemon juice. Bring to simmer. In your large pot or canner, sanitize your mason jars. Once sterilized,cut your beets in whichever shape you like best and fill the jars almost to the top. Take your syrup and fill to the top of jar,leaving about 1/2 – or an 1/8 inch headroom. Warm your lids by popping them in the canner for a few seconds (do not boil your lids!). Using a chopstick or skewer or something that is not metal, run it down the side of the jar gently, just teasing any air bubbles up to the surface. Place one lid and one screw top on each jar and screw tight with one hand, so it is just finger tight. Repeat this until you have filled all of your jars. Return jars to boiling water in your canner or large pot, covering with water at least 1/2 inch above the lids. Boil for 20 minutes. Carefully remove jars and set out on counter to cool. Within a few seconds or a few minutes you will start to hear the “pop” of the lids sucking closed. Store your beets away for a while (your beets should be ready to eat in about 2 weeks). You can eat them right away, but the flavour will develop over time. Any jars that did not seal must be stored in the fridge and eaten up within two weeks. Notes: I purchased these beets from Farmer Mark at Adelaide Farms, but I have also seen beets at all of the markets for the past 3 weeks now. One basket of beets will make about 3 medium/largish jars and one small.  Read More

Get Your Irish On With Cheddar Potato Chowder. Erin Go Bragh!

Cheddar Potato Soup | Photo: Kelly Hunt Last weekend I visited the Farm Store at Adelaide Farms. Mark has lots of vegetables and he has meats available all year. He even pulled some brussel sprouts out of cold storage that still looked good! He is open every day except Christmas. On my trip, I ended up buying some red potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips, yams and some garlic. I also noticed he had some preserves and some local honey available from another farm around here. Of course, squash and cabbage are still readily available as well. I was thrilled to find so many things that still look good. Hey, St. Patrick”s Day is this Tuesday. This morning I woke up and thought I would start waving my shillelagh around in the spirit of my ancestors and make some potato soup. I wrestled this cookbook out from beneath a stack in the spirit of ole” saint Paddy. It”s called “Irish Cooking”. My friends and old neighbours Ray and Lindsay gave this one to me for a chuckle a few years back. I miss them! We just had 2 big bowls of this for lunch, Sean weighs in as an official big time fan! If you have this book, I altered the recipe. Here is what I did: Cheddar Potato Chowder 3 tbsp of butter 4 medium carrots 1 large onion, chopped 3 tbsp flour (Arva flour mill) 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard powder 1/4 teaspoon of hot smoked paprika A few turns of white pepper out of mill 2 cups milk (I used skim and it was still INCREDIBLY creamy and rich) 2 cups water 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed to about 1/2 inch pieces (I used red skinned) 2 chicken bouillon cubes 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (you can get local cheddar at Smiths cheese at Covent Market) 4 slices of local bacon,cooked and crumbled (optional) course salt to taste In big pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the carrots and the onions, cooking until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, paprika, pepper and dry mustard, cook one minute. Gradually add the milk, taking care not to burn it. Also add water, potatoes and bouillon. Give a really good stir. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender – try one! Remove your pot from the heat; add cheese and stir just until melted. Add salt as desired. Top each serving with the crumbled bacon. Sit in front of fire or TV and eat. Yum-O! Check out this link for some other potato soup recipes at Foodista!  Read More

Adelaide Farms

Adelaide Street Farms | Photo: Kelly Hunt If you have not been there yet, you have got to get there! Although, now that I think about it, there is no rush – and that is because Adelaide Farms is open all year round, every day except Christmas. At least that is what Farmer Mark told me one day while visiting the farm store. Adelaide Farms is on Adelaide Street North of London at eight mile road. You surely cannot miss it. I wanted to let you know that it is still open even though Adelaide is closed at Medway Road for the summer. You just have to drive around the detour sign, it is still paved all the way to 10 mile road. Mark has tons of fresh produce year round. I have seen asparagus, strawberries, potatoes, beets, assorted squash, lettuce, carrots,beans,peas, peppers, cucumbers peaches, cherries and much more! He has been at farming for years and years out there. He also has a freezer full of meat, he has all kinds of cuts of beef, I think he told me the steaks were priced out at 10.00 a pound. I even picked up some sausages there on Sunday. So don”t delay, get there soon and don”t forget to give out a little rebel yell as you drive past the detour/road closed sign, heh heh… cheap thrills. Adelaide Farms Adelaide Street North and Eight Mile Road 519-660-0259  Read More

Asparagus has arrived!

Asparagus Shoot Photo: istockphoto.com Let the garden gods bless aspargus. I know that many of you out there reading this happy little blog happen to live in London Ontario or perhaps, the surrounding areas. Well, we all know how long and miserable it seemed that this winter was for us. I know, I know, every winter seems long and cold and never ending in Canada, but this one – seemed to drag on an eternity, am I right? So to my glee, yes glee – driving into work just last week – I see the the most exciting spring happening, well.. just happening. Yes it is true, the glorious little green spears of the proud asparagus plant are emerging out of the fields, poking their brave and pointed noggins out to say “hello, we are here,yes,we are delicious, and we are ready to be eaten.” I am having a couple friends over for dinner this Saturday and I am going to pop into Mark”s Adelaide Street Farm (adelaide street north) and buy some of those fresh green, aspargus. I am not quite sure what I will do with them just yet, I promise to keep you posted – although, I do believe that it was Julia Child that once said the best way to cook asparagus was just with a little butter and some salt et voila. The below interesting facts have been provided by the Michigan Asparagus Board http://www.asparagus.org/ Did you know? Asparagus is a member of the Lily family. Asparagus spears grow from a crown that is planted about a foot deep in sandy soils. Under ideal conditions, an asparagus spear can grow 10″ in a 24-hour period. Each crown will send spears up for about 6-7 weeks during the spring and early summer. The outdoor temperature determines how much time will be between each picking…early in the season, there may be 4-5 days between pickings and as the days and nights get warmer, a particular field may have to be picked every 24 hours. After harvesting is done the spears grow into ferns, which produce red berries and the food and nutrients necessary for a healthy and productive crop the next season. An asparagus planting is usually not harvested for the first 3 years after the crowns are planted allowing the crown to develop a strong fibrous root system. A well cared for asparagus planting will generally produce for about 15 years without being replanted. The larger the diameter, the better the quality! Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin. Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium. And.. Yes it does make your pee smell funny, but who cares!? This last fact was of course not on the Michigan asparagus web site, but added by yours truly. In fact, there is a reason for this smell, and not every one of us has the pleasure of producing it, just in case you are one of those people who has to know.. well anyways.. I”ll just cut to the chase, here it is : http://dsc.discovery.com/guides/skinny-on/asparagus.html Now go eat some local asparagus already, it beats the pants off any of that shipped in stuff some of you may have subjected yourselves to over this long winter.  Read More