One of my favourite things about living on the East Coast of Canada is the wild blueberries (vaccinium angustifolium). They are one of the three berries that are native to North America. They grow only in Eastern Canada and Downeast Maine and thrive on the glacial soils and northern seaside climate. Wild blueberries are touted as a “super food” rich in antioxidants and have grown naturally in our area for thousands of years.

We are really privileged to have such a wonderful gift from nature growing right in our region. They are available directly from the local growers in five and ten pound boxes. Stop in to a local stand and pick up a box on your way home. When you get home take out a couple of cups, or the amount you think you will go through in a week, and put the rest of the box directly into the freezer. That is all you need to do to preserve this perfect bounty of the season.

There are plenty of other ways to preserve these antioxidant rich berries like making jams, jellies, and chutneys. Freezing is just the easiest and once you have a big box of frozen berries in your freezer you can focus on other seasonal projects and come back to them when you have more time. Frozen blueberries can maintain their colour, flavour and nutritional value for up to two years.

Frozen berries can be used just like fresh by sprinkling them on top your breakfast cereal, in your yogurt, or added to baked goods. If it weren’t for blueberries my picky baby might just fade away! I can get him to eat a lot of different things just by adding blueberries on top. Last season I bought a 10-pound box, ran out, and had to get another 5-pound box to last us until this season. We eat a lot of blue berries around here and we are not the only ones—wild or low bush blueberries contribute substantially to our local economy.

Another noteworthy topic related to the production of blueberries is the production of some of the finest honey. Beehives are set up in the blueberry fields in the spring to pollenate the bushes. This produces some of the best-tasting honey on earth! So if you are a honey lover, be sure to pick up some honey when you buy your blueberries. It is usually also available from the blueberry stands.

I could go on about blueberries until I turned blue! However, I have said enough for this post. I will get to sharing this delicious muffin recipe I found over at Dates & Quinces: Blueberry Carrot Muffins.

I adapted the recipe to suit what I had on hand. Theses scrumptious and nutritious muffins make use of two in-season crops.

Blueberry Carrot Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached cake and pastry flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. ginger

¼ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup buttermilk

1-2 tbsp. maple syrup, honey or molasses

¼ cup melted coconut oil or butter

1 cup blueberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 12-muffin pan or line with muffin cups.

Mix all dry ingredients together (whole wheat flour-ginger)—my sifter is currently out of commission, so I just put everything in a large bowl and give it a whisk.

Then I fold my fresh or frozen blueberries into the dry ingredients and I kind of make a well in the centre.

Then I grate the carrots into a smaller bowl; it takes about two medium-size carrots

I take my butter or coconut oil and put it into a glass measuring cup and put it in the oven to melt it while I add the egg and brown sugar to the grated carrot.

Then take the melted butter or coconut oil out of the oven, using an oven mitt of course because it will be quite warm, and add to the carrot mix.

 Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together gently until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling the cups right up.

Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 400-degree oven or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan on a rack for 3-5 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a rack—that is if you can wait that long before munching one down!

I have made these muffins twice with wonderful results. The first time I followed this recipe. The second batch I changed up the spices slightly and added cardamom instead of nutmeg. They were good but I really enjoyed the nutmeg flavour and would not recommend leaving it out. I also diced up some candied ginger and added it along with the wet ingredients. This I would recommend doing if you like ginger and have some candied ginger on hand because it added even more tastiness to the muffin but was not necessary to have a delicious muffin. Check the original recipe for additional substitutions.

The original recipe mentioned that these could be wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen. They could then go directly from freezer to lunch box for a quick healthy snack on the go!

I have many more mouth-watering blueberry recipes in the coming months, so support your local economy and go get that box for the freezer!

Jennifer Ukrainetz is Kingsbrae Garden’s plant propagator.

I don’t know which I like more: salsa or guacamole? Sometimes I just like them mixed together!

Last winter I found a guacamole mix in the salsa section at the grocery. It was very much like salsa, but just had some lime juice and cilantro flavours in it. I liked it but still had to add some cumin and freshly ground pepper to it to suit my taste. That is when I first thought maybe I could make my own version at home from local products in the fall.

The search for the perfect recipe was on! I looked in all my cookbooks for canned salsa recipes, but I never found quite what I was looking for until I came across this one on a food bloggers site: Restaurant Style Canned Summer Salsa

It was almost perfect. And, with a little tweaking, I would have awesome salsa. Plus, if I felt like guacamole, I just had to dice up an avocado and mix it in!

I have made two batches so far. I started a week ago when I had quite a few tomatoes ripe in my own garden. I bought a few extra at a market along with some mixed peppers and onions. I picked up lime, spices, and some canning jars at the grocery store. For salsa I prefer to use the wide mouth Preserve and Serve 250ml jars. These jars work because they are small enough that you can use up the entire jar at once and serve straight from the jar.

My Tweaked Recipe 

1 ½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

1 cup white vinegar

4lbs tomatoes

1 ½ cups onions—these can be yellow, purple or a mix of the two but preferably fresh and local

4 cloves of garlic

4 cups mixed peppers—depends on what is available and how hot you like your salsa

2 tsp. cumin

1 ½ tsp. paprika

1 ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 cup fresh herbs—I used mostly cilantro here but I added some flat leaf parsley, thyme, and oregano as well. If you do not have fresh you can use dried but you will not need a cup!

Juice of one lime

Once you have all of your ingredients and supplies, you are ready to start canning. You want to start with a clean kitchen and empty sinks. I first lay all my ingredients out on the kitchen table. Then I wash my veggies and fill the sink with water and soak everything. This will crisp up anything that has lost a little moisture during storage and it is a final rinse. Next I fill my water bath canner with cold water, put the rack on the bottom and place my jars in. You want the water to be level with or just above the tops of the empty jars. I put the canner on the large burner furthest from my counter and turn it on high!

* Be very careful at all stages of the canning process because you are dealing with boiling water and very hot utensils! If hot water splashes on you at any point in time run cold water over the spot immediately!

Then it is time to start making your salsa. The Kitchen Steward had a good idea about putting the vinegar, salt, and sugar in the pot first so you don’t forget them later. Then start with the tomatoes because I like them to cook down some. Now you can use a food processor or kitchen knives to chop everything up. I do not own a full size food processor, but I do have a chopping accessory that has a three cup capacity that fits on my blender. For my first batch I used my chopper for everything and for the second I cut some of the tomatoes and peppers by hand because I wanted a chunkier, prettier salsa.

The salsa will be less runny if you remove some of the seeds. I am not a seed hater so what falls out during preparation does not make it into the pot! If you don’t like seeds or want a very chunky salsa just cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds before throwing them in the chopper or chopping by hand.

* When chopping hot peppers be sure to wear plastic or rubber gloves! No matter how carful you are when you are removing the seeds and veins you will still end up with burning hands at the end!

So you will want to bring the vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil in a large stainless steel pot. Then add the rest of the ingredients (except the fresh herbs) starting with the tomatoes and return the pot to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Then add the fresh herbs and lime juice and remove from heat. You may want to taste test here to make sure you have your seasonings right!

While the salsa is simmering clean everything off your working counter and lay out a fresh tea towel. Get out all your canning supplies and set them up in a comfortable manner. A clean empty measuring cup is great to have out as a place to put your spoon, ladle and funnel when not in use. Get your lids ready now too! I usually just wash them with soapy water rinse them and put them in a bowl and pour boiling water from the kettle or ladle some boiling water from the canner on top of them to keep them hot.

Next use your jar lifter to drain and remove your jars from the canner and set them all out. Then using your jar funnel start filling the jars with hot salsa, starting with the jar furthest from the pot of salsa. Leave a ½-inch head space. Once all the jars are filled, release trapped air using a non-metallic utensil, wipe jar rims with a clean damp dish cloth, center the hot snap lids on the jar and screw on jar bands finger- tip tight. *Finger-tip tight means just as tight as you can tighten with just your fingertips. If bands are too tight air will not be able to escape during processing. Too lose and you may not get a perfect seal!

Use your jar lifter to put all your jars back in the canner. Replace the lid and bring back to boiling. Process for 15 minutes. At the end of that time, turn off the heat, remove the canner lid and let the jars rest for five minutes. Then, using the jar lifter, remove the jars from the canner and place them on the tea towel or rack and leave for 12-24 hours. Finally, check the seals then store in a cool dark place for up to one year.

This recipe will make six pints with enough left to put some in the fridge and munch on over the next couple of days. That way, when you want to celebrate making your salsa, you don’t have to go opening one of you freshly preserved jars to enjoy some of your hard work!

The 15 minute processing time makes a dandy seal and you will probably have to use a can opener to pry the lid off when you want to open a fresh jar of salsa! If you get a jar that does not seal then just put it in the fridge and consume in the next couple of days.

A little note on jar bands: Jar bands are not needed to store sealed jars! After jars have set for 12-24 hours remove jar bands and wash and dry them then if you wish to return to clean dry jars or you can store them in a dry location for later use. The bands need to be in place during processing to hold the snap lids in place but are not needed after seal has been made. Your bands will last much longer if stored separately when they are clean and dry, thus reducing the cost of home canning because you will need fewer of them.

Please check out The National Center for Home Food Preservation for more information about home canning!

Jennifer Ukrainetz is Kingsbrae Garden’s plant propagator.

Wonderful vegetables all asking to be preserved for enjoying later

This summer has been a great one! I had a home computer issue in July and was unable to do any writing until it was resolved. I can’t wait to tell you all about all my summer projects, but I’ll have to because right now is my favourite time of year: Harvest Season! My tomato plants are bulging with fruit just starting to ripen and fresh garden veggies are popping up all over local markets!

I love the late summer and fall the best because you get to enjoy so much local fresh food. Not to mention I get to make more pickles. This year I am really branching out, though! I grew my own tomatoes , herbs and other stuff in a small raised bed my hubby built using some leftover lumber from our house. I will fill everyone in on that project this winter while I am making plans for next summer.

In Charlotte County we have so many great Farmers Markets and veggie stands that fresh local food is not hard to come by if you didn’t have time to grow any yourself this summer. Plus if you have a passport there are even more over the river in Maine. With all this fresh local food available right now we should really be stocking up so we can enjoy it throughout the winter months. Over the next month I will be sharing many recipes and techniques on preserving and enjoying the summer’s harvest.

This year I purchased two great guides to preserving which are Blue Book: Ball’s Guide to Preserving and Put ‘Em Up: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook by Sherri Brooks Vinton. They are both great books with wonderful instructions and recipes on all methods of preservation. If you decide that you like making your own preserves like I did last year when I tried it for the first time, either one of these books would pay for itself with all the money you will save by preserving your own food!

Home canning does require some special equipment, so some planning is necessary before you start. Last year I only used a boiling water bath canner. This year I am going to also do some things in my pressure cooker. I also purchased a new canning accessory kit because I was unhappy with the quality of the one I used last year. These items may make the cost of canning your own food seem quite high, but if you continue to use them year after year you will get more than your money’s worth out of them! After you get all of your equipment, the only thing you will need to purchase each year is new snap lids and occasionally new jars, bands and gaskets for your pressure cooker if you are using one.

I am also going to talk a bit about other methods of preservation like freezing and drying which require very little extra equipment because most people already own a freezer and a stove! Also I will be posting delicious recipes for just enjoying fresh local food, so get your supplies and follow me on this Harvest Special! The first recipe I am going to share with you will be canned salsa. Coming soon!

Jennifer Ukrainetz is Kingsbrae Garden’s propagator.

Rhubarb has been in season in our region for a few weeks now and is quickly going to seed! If you have access to a patch and enjoy its tart flavour, I recommend you enjoy and preserve some soon before it too late!

You can stop your rhubarb from flowering and going to seed by removing the flower stems. This will cause the plant to put its energy into producing more tasty shoots. Once your patch goes to seed it will not produce many more shoots for harvesting.

From my research, I gather the best way to maintain a rhubarb patch is to harvest excess shoots and remove flower pods until the first week in July then leave your patch alone to grow as it pleases for the rest of the season.

Rhubarb will spread, so be certain you leave enough space when planting new plants. Patches should be moved or divided every six to ten years to ensure vigorous growth.

Rhubarb can be preserved by canning or freezing. The simplest method is to freeze it. Wash shoots and freeze in appropriate lengths in freezer bags. I find it easier to cut stems into one inch pieces because that is what most recipes call for. If you enjoy rhubarb sauce then you may want to look into canning.

Most recipes for rhubarb sauce call for more sugar than I like to consume so I was very pleased to come across the Stewed Rhubarb recipe in Sally Fallon’s cookbook Nourishing Traditions. It has only three ingredients that complement each other so well I have to share it with you.

Stewed Rhubarb

6 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp freshly ground ginger
½ cup of water
½ – ¾ cup raw honey

Place rhubarb, ginger, and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about one hour, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb disintegrates. Allow to cool and stir in honey to taste. Serve with whipped cream or sweet cheese topping.

The honey is added after the sauce cools so you do not loose the benefits of the raw honey. I like this sauce on my buttered toast in the morning. It is also delicious with vanilla ice cream. I also see no reason this could not be made with frozen rhubarb or the sauce itself frozen in small portions.

My absolute favourite recipe for rhubarb is my grandmother’s Rhubarb Cake. This is a crowd pleaser and everyone always ask me for the recipe so here it is!

Rhubarb Cake

2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
½ cup butter
1 egg
1cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups fresh or frozen rhubarb cut into one inch pieces
½ cup white sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

Sift flour, salt, and  soda together in small bowl and set aside.

Cream brown sugar and butter until fluffy. In a large bowl, beat in egg at low speed.

Then beat in milk and flour alternately, stir in vanilla and rhubarb.

Pour into 13x9x2 inch glass baking pan that has been greased and floured.

Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Bake in 350-degree oven for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean in centre.

The last time I made this cake I used a smaller and deeper round pan and the rhubarb all sank to the bottom. If I were to use this pan again I would  not stir the rhubarb into the batter but sprinkle it on top in hopes that this would not happen again.

These two recipes are a little different from the usual sauces and cobblers you find and I hope you will try them this rhubarb season!

Jennifer Ukrainetz is Kingsbrae Garden’s propagator.

Fresh tender coils of the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) are known as fiddleheads and are delicacy here on the East Coast of Canada and the United States. The season got off to a late start due to the cool weather but now is quickly coming to an end.

Fiddleheads can be enjoyed in many different recipes or simply boiled to perfection in about 10 minutes. One thing to remember is that they are a wild fern and often grow on the banks of rivers and other damp, muddy areas, so extra care should be taken to make sure they are well cleaned and properly cooked before consuming.

My favourite way to prepare them is simply to wash them under running water and snip any long tails. Then I sauté them in lots of butter and a clove or two of crushed garlic. After about eight minutes I add some fresh chopped parsley then sauté another two minutes. These should be served hot and may be enjoyed with or with out vinegar.

You can preserve some to enjoy later in the year by freezing or pickling. Instead of writing out instructions for freezing, here is a link to a short instructional video.

I am going to try pickling some using a recipe I found on the University of Maine’s Fiddlehead Facts page.

Quick Sour Fiddlehead Pickles

1/2 gallon cider vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mustard seed

Mix ingredients, bring to boil. Pour over fiddleheads in pint-sized jars; seal; process 10 minutes in boiling water process canner.

I am going to use white vinegar instead of cider because that is what I have available. I will let you know in about two weeks how they turn out!

Jennifer Ukrainetz is Kingsbrae Garden’s propagator.