Author Archives: Jen

The Locavore’s Cookbook: Honey a sweet, versatile substitute for sugar

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By Heidi Bjarnason – Creston Valley Advance
Published: April 06, 2012 8:00 AM

Honey is another local product that we’re very fortunate to have a good supply of in the Creston Valley. Honey, as long as it’s kept raw and not heated to above 95 F (or above body temperature), has many health benefits. While honey is essentially a sugar and should be eaten in moderation, it does contain many other health benefits that processed white and brown sugar do not contain. If honey is heated it destroys the natural enzymes that are responsible for many of the health benefits. Even when heated, cooked in a dish or baked into something, it’s still a healthier, natural choice for a sweetener because it contains small amounts of various vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B2 and B6, iron and manganese, and because the composition of the sugars, it is better for blood sugar levels.

Honey is naturally anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. Natural honey (made from bees that feed on flowers and not refined sugar) that is kept raw actually contains healthy bacteria, which may be why it’s such a good remedy for things like a sore throat, cough and even an upset stomach. It’s a natural remedy for many other things, and may even help people with seasonal allergies, as long as they are consuming local honey, as the bees use pollen from the flowers causing the allergies.

Honey, however, should not be fed to babies under 12 months old as it can contain spores that cause botulism, which can be life-threatening. It is safe for older children and anyone else to enjoy honey, though.

Honey should be stored in an airtight container to prevent it from absorbing any moisture. If it’s stored properly, in a sealed container and in a cool, dry place, honey can keep for a very long time as it doesn’t spoil. Eventually, the honey will crystallize, but it is easily turned back into a liquid by gently heating it, or it can be used in solid form, stirred into hot drinks or spread on toast or crackers. Honey should not be microwaved as this will heat it too much, killing enzymes and changing the flavor, but it can be warmed by setting the container in warm water until the honey liquefies (be careful not to put cold glass into hot water as it will break).

Honey is slightly sweeter than typical sugar, so when replacing sugar in recipes the amount of honey can be reduced. Keep in mind that honey is a liquid, though, so when baking, the amount of dry ingredients to liquid ingredients will need to be changed, as well.

Baked goods that contain honey also brown faster than baked goods made with different sugars and sweeteners. You can reduce this by reducing the baking temperature by 25 degrees and increasing the baking time. Keep in mind that darker honeys will have more flavor, while honey that is lighter in color will be the mildest in flavor, so some will be better for certain dishes or baked goods than others.

There has been a lot of attention put on honey lately, because of the amount of “fake” honey being sold. Some honey comes from bees that are just fed plain sugar or processed corn syrup. The resulting honey is no better than refined white sugar because that’s where it came from. This is just more reason to support local beekeepers so that you know where your honey is coming from.

While it’s still beneficial to choose honey over sugar in cooking and baking, it is best to consume some raw for the health benefits. We enjoy it stirred into plain yogurt, mixed with peanut butter or almond butter as a dip for apples and other fruit, added to smoothies and, of course, stirred into tea and drizzled (or spread) onto toast. We use it in no-bake granola bars and other treats, as well.

No-Bake Cherry Almond Granola Bars

Makes 10-12 small granola bars

  • 3/4 C crispy cereal (look for whole grains with very little if any added sugar)
  • 3/4 C puffed grain cereal (such as puffed wheat)
  • 3/4 C old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 1/3 C roughly chopped dried cherries (or other dried fruit chopped into small pieces)
  • 1/4 C raw honey
  • 1/2 C natural almond butter (or natural peanut butter; for a nut free option use sunflower seed butter)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon

Prepare an 8×8 pan by lightly oiling it, or just lining with wax paper.

In a bowl, mix the cereals and oats. Set aside. Warm the honey and almond butter slightly if it’s not already liquid at room temperature. Mix in the ground flax, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix very well. Press the mixture into the pan and flatten with the back of a spatula. Place in the fridge till firm, carefully remove from the pan and very carefully cut into bars. The bars may break and crumble slightly, just press back together. Wrap individually, place inside a sealable bag and store in a cool place, either the fridge or freezer.

Heidi Bjarnason is a Creston Valley mom and blogger. For more recipes, ideas, pictures and kid friendly ideas and food, visit Fooddoodles.com.

Read more of Heidi’s articles here:

Farmers’ Market Vendor application forms available!

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The 2012 vendor application forms are available on the Creston Valley Farmers’ Market website!!

All vendors are required to fill out the general application form and adhere to the rules and regulations.

Produce vendor need to fill out THIS additional one-pager so we know what produce you’re growing, which allows us to direct customers to vendors who are looking for specific products.

Baking and prepared food vendors need to adhere to the Guidelines for Selling Food at Temporary Markets. Note there are two categories of products – low risk and high risk food. Low risk food vendors can fill out THIS form and submit it directly to the market manager, high risk food vendors need to go through our local Health Authority.

The market starts Saturday May 5th from 8am – 12pm, and runs every Saturday until Christmas time. The first Saturday we have a location change just for the one day (because the Midway Fair is in town). We’ll be located in the gravel lot just south of Cook street behind the Chamber. This is also the location we have proposed for our Mid-Week Market. We’re just waiting on Town Council to approve it!

Come on down and join us every Saturday starting May 5th for local produce, meat, bedding plants, homemade baking, arts & crafts, and much much more!!

Marketing on a Shoestring

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“Marketing on a Shoestring” – Pamela Clausen – Creston – April 16, 10 am-1 pm – $50+HST ($56.00) – CV Chamber of Commerce Conference Room  -  Short on cash for advertising/ marketing but have lots of time and energy? Perfect! This fast paced workshop will explore the many different ways to get your message to your target customer free, or inexpensively. You‘ll leave with a list of marketing tools specific to your business.

 

To register contact the Community Futures Nelson office at 250-352-1933 or reception@futures.bc.ca

Kalso – West Kootenay Farmland Database & Directory Updates

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The Kaslo Food Security Project is currently updating the West Kootenay Farmland Database and the West Kootenay Food Directory

The West Kootenay Farmland Database is an online resource that provides a link for farmers looking for land and land owners looking for farmers. Farmers and landowners are listed by bio-regions within the West Kootenay. This online resource is updated as we are informed. If you are aware of missing information please contact us to update the database. The Farmland Directory was created by The Kaslo Food Security Project with funding from the Food Action Initiative. The Directory is available online at: www.nklcss.org

To contact the Kaslo Food Security Project:

250-353-7120 • aimeewatson@nklcss.org

 

The West Kootenay Food Directory was established in 2008 as an online resource of all foods local. Farmers who grow locally and retailers who sell locally are listed by region, location, foods available, current markets and contacts. This online resource is updated as we are informed. If you are aware of missing information please contact us to update the database. The Food Directory was created by The Kaslo Food Security Project with funding from the Food Action Initiative. The Directory is available online at: www.nklcss.org

To contact the Kaslo Food Security Project:

250-353-7120 • aimeewatson@nklcss.org

March 6, 2012 FAC General Meeting

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Driven by wisdom, powered by youth

March 6, 2012  General Meeting 

Creston Valley Food Action Coalition

There were 30 people in attendance.  What a great turnout again!

Len opened the meeting at 7pm.  As a board the biggest challenge is to come together to get the work done.  The current board is enthused and inspired by one another. The board’s vision is to have Food Security in the Creston Valley. We can all work towards this by supporting the agriculture industry which includes agri-tourism, buying local and supporting the local restaurants which use local food.

Volunteers are always needed and welcome for the many projects of the FAC.  A  membership benefit package is being developed and should be available by mid-April.  The membership fee is $25/family/year. These funds help with the start-up costs and projects which are done throughout the year.

Farmer’s Market Report  In 2011, the Farmer’s Market brought in $23,000 in stall fees – enough funding to pay for the work of the FM manager, book keeper, facility rental, license and insurance fees. This is a beginning of something great and we would like to be able to build on this. Jen and Joel Comer have just recently attended the BC  of Farmer’s Market conference.  They travelled to Courtenay, BC.  They both found this to be very beneficial  and came back with some great ideas to help with future market development in Creston, read their full report here.

Jen and Rima are continuing to work on the Enterprising Non Profit plan.  They are working on a 5 year plan for the Farmer’s Market.

Farm Fresh Guide is currently being updated by Tamara.  She should be finished this project in 3-4 weeks, and it will be published as a map this year!

Seed Registry - Pat Huet The main reason for a seed registry is to save seeds, if local food is what we want then it makes sense to save the seeds which have adapted well to our growing conditions.  If you are interested in seed saving please contact Pat Huet (patmitchell (at) uniserve (dot) com). She will let you know how and what needs to be done.  The seeds will need to be planted and then regrown for 3 years to be considered official. Pat is writing a series of blog posts which can be viewed on the CVFAC website (http://www.crestonfoodaction.ca).

Dan McMurray was known as the Tomato man of Wynndel. He grew and then saved tomato seeds for many years.  Mr McMurray has recently passed away and now these seeds are left.  Pat Huet and others have begun the task of sorting the seeds but they will need volunteers to sort the seeds and then grow them again.  There are also squash, beans and other seeds available.  Some will be available on Seedy Saturday.  The seeds usually only have a life of about 5 years.

Harvest Share – Alexandra is applying for grants so this program can keep running.  This program is totally reliant on the grants which are received.  So far there is about a $10,000 shortfall.  More grants are being looked into so there isn’t a concern just yet.

A few local producers brought some products for sale. Please see them after the meeting.

Panel Discussion:

Local Food Availability in Local Restaurants-Panel Discussion with several local restaurant owners

Panelists:

The following questions were asked to each panelist:

  1. Firstly, tell us about your business philosophy and where local food fits into your business plan or menu.
  2. Approximately how much of your basic ingredients are local?
  3. What are your biggest challenges with getting local food, especially as the seasons change?
  4. How could the FAC help find producers or encourage producers to get you the product you need?
  5. What has been the reception by your customers to your use of local food ingredients?
  6. Do you think that advertizing a local food focus would assist your business?  Can the FAC help?

All of the panelists believe in the local food movement.  They wanted to be able to serve real food with recognizable ingredients.  Some are able to grow their own produce during the growing season so use that in the restaurant as well.  Some people don’t appreciate the locally grown food which has it ‘s own challenges.  The “foodie” trend has certainly helped to get customers; it promotes culinary tourism.  There is less of an impact on the environment as well when local food is used.

The use of local food in the restaurants varies with the seasons.  In the winter season most use  between 10 & 15 % locally grown food.   The summer season increases this use to approximately 25%.  One of the restaurants would like to increase this to 30% in the winter and 75% in the summer.  Storage of the product is an issue. Some of the producers of food could offer to store some products.  The fresh vegetables  and fruit prove to be more of a challenge.  It was suggested that perhaps some preserving of these products could happen.  This is an idea which most restaurant owners would welcome.

The top 5 foods which could be preserved for future use (as from the restaurant owner’s) are strawberries, asparagus, tomatoes, carrots, peaches.  This could be a value added business for someone else.  The  owners don’t need another job but if someone is able to do the preserving the owners are willing to support their efforts.

The biggest challenges are similar as in other discussions we have had.  The availability and consistency of the product.  Storage, as was said earlier, is always a challenge.  Access to fresh products is sometimes an issue for some of the restaurants since there are usually only two employees (the actual owners of the restaurant).  Can the producers deliver the product or is there someone who would be willing to help with this?

The FAC could help with the connection between restaurant and producer  by continuing with the Farm Fresh Guide.  This is a great resource-now how does the product get delivered.  The restaurants who can have the product delivered will tend to use more local product.  We (FAC) need to encourage the connection between the producer and the restaurant.  The farmer’s market is great but it is not always convenient to attend.  Perhaps the producers could have a pamphlet of their products which are available.  There could be an order sheet which could be filled.  (Another value added opportunity).

The restaurant’s clientele has welcomed locally grown food for the most part.  It is hard to win over everyone. Local food is usually a hit.  In order to reach those who don’t “appreciate” the locally grown  food perhaps the FAC could work on the education of this, pointing out the food value and benefits of eating locally produced food.

The FAC could help with the advertising of local food in local restaurants.  This would be welcome by all involved.  The Farmer’s Market could advertise on Saturdays to those who travel from other destinations.  Someone suggested having business cards for the restaurants to help promote the local food.  The restaurants could also have business cards from the local producers for the same reason.  We could put a link on the FAC website advertising which restaurants use local food on their menus.

There was a lot of good discussion with all of the panelists, ideas from all sides which will need to be considered.  Thank you to all of the restaurant owners for participating.

Next FAC general meeting will be April 2nd-4pm.   Topic of discussion:  Attracting and Keeping Young producers in our valley.

Hope to see all of you then!