As the trend (albeit a good one) to eat locally and seasonally comes to the darkest days of winter, many wonder if it is a possible endeavor for northerners.
Yes, it is possible and it's delicious!
Each year as the last greens come in from the greenhouse, my wife and I are amazed at the length of the fresh green season we are able to achieve. Our certified organic farm is located in a glacial valley 45 minutes north east of Prince George toward the McGregor Mountains. This area is known for having a short and difficult growing season and during late December and January fresh greens are not coming from the fields blanketed in a metre of snow.
Before the advent of refrigeration trucks and transportation, it was important to preserve summer's nutrients to maintain health during the winter. Rhythmically, as our ancestors did when the July sun begins to really put on the heat, my wife and I begin our annual vegetable and fruit processing for the winter.
We like to say that we are bottling up the summer's sunshine for the dark days of winter, which essentially we are. As we do our best to eat as locally and sustainably as we can, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but trust me it's more enjoyable than you think, especially with a nice merlot.
"But what about salad greens and fresh fruit," is a common thing we are asked. Our response always elicits strange looks as if we had come from a different planet. Our fruit is either frozen, dried or canned. What we cannot grow or forage for ourselves we buy from organic farms in the Okanagan.
Apples surprisingly can last a long, long time in the basement.
We use a typical salad-type meal to get our phytonutrients during the dark days. You will need some homemade sauerkraut, (organic sauerkraut from the store will do), dried Okanagan cherries, Fraser Valley hazelnuts (or local wild hazelnuts), clover sprouts, wild Saskatoon vinegar (vinaigrette will do), mix it all up and enjoy!
Sauerkraut has become my absolute favorite way to get my phytonutrients during the winter months and I actually look forward to it after a season of eating fresh veggies. I know, sounds strange right? This is typically where I get the strange looks.
During the voyages of Captain James Cook, Cook always made sure that his crew ate sauerkraut onboard his ship to prevent scurvy.
Captain Cook may have not known the actual nutritional benefits of the kraut but he knew it kept his crew healthy. It is a source of vitamins C, B, and K.
The fermentation process increases the bio-availability of nutrients making sauerkraut more nutritious than the cabbage by itself. It is also low in calories and high in calcium and magnesium, and it is a very good source of dietary fiber, folate, iron, potassium, copper and manganese. Northern Germanic peoples as well as the Mongols have known the secrets of health that the fermented brassica plant gives for well over a thousand years.
For that fresh green taste and living nutrients in our diets one can grow sprouts in as much effort as it takes to drink a glass of water each day. All you need is a mason jar with a ring, and a window screen which is put over the top.
Add your seeds of choice to the jar and water them two to three times a day and after rinsing them in water turn upside down and drain.
After a few days to one week of water depending on the seed, and voila, you have sprouts.
If you keep a staggered system of starting sprouts you can have them all winter without having to wait on your next batch.
The harsh conditions of the winter put a toll on one's body and for millennia people have eaten seasonal foods to keep them healthy.
Pay no attention to the profiteers of the food industry telling you that you need to eat oranges to get vitamin C for health during winter. Instead have a nice cup of rose hip tea - hey, it's probably growing in your back yard.
