LEARNING TO TAP FOR ISLAND SYRUP

Learning To Tap A Bigleaf Maple Tree can provide you with an endless supply of sweet syrup. The chance to taste the unique flavour of West Coast maple syrup attracts people from all over Vancouver Island to the Maple Syrup Festival held in Duncan each spring. Last spring 2,000 islanders showed up and the coordinator, Aimee Greenaway, told me that they are expecting an even greater crowd for the next event to be held the 6th Feb at the BC Forest Discovery Centre. She said that almost half of the visitors to last years event were from outside of the Cowichan Valley and it has become a truly Vancouver Island wide attraction.

We think of maple syrup as an eastern Canadian product but those who have sampled the island supply say it surpasses the taste of any imported product. The festival is more than a syrup tasting opportunity. Visitors can participate in tapping and syrup making demonstrations, taste testing, syrup finishing, hot maple tea samples and a maple cooking demo by a celebrity chef.

On a wild food foraging workshop I attended last spring we learned how to strip the young maple shoots of the thin outer bark in order to reveal the pale green inner core. The stems were crisp with a very subtle sweet maple taste. The flowers as well are quite sweet and can be used as a unique addition to a wild greens salad, in fact they could be used as an additional ingredient in a fruit salad and be an interesting talking point for your guests. I am so intrigued by this use of maple shoots that the next addition to my patio food garden will be a small maple stump. The maple outstrips any other hardwood tree in its ability to produce prolific numbers of young shoots and what a fun way to learn to value the much maligned Bigleaf Maple. You will never again think of it as a nuisance tree with enormous leafs that strain your patience and your back as you rake away at the autumn supply of unwanted ground cover.

Spring Comes Early To The Island and with it the opportunity to poke around in the woods for edible greens. There will be workshops available to those eager to learn about wild food harvesting in our bio-region and there are wonderful books available as well. My recent purchase is Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples but there are several other books available covering the harvesting of edible native plants in our specific area.

Harvesting Our Most Popular Native Fruit is a different matter. If you’ve ever flown over Vancouver Island in September you may be able to spot those gorgeous pools of flaming red cranberries. There is little chance of walking amongst the plants and munching a few berries although cranberries are a native North American food plant. Now under cultivation in 88 Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island farms, more than 80 millions lbs. of annually harvested cranberries make it the largest berry crop in the province. The next time you are sipping on a chilled glass of Ocean Spray cranberry juice the berries likely came from the province.

TEA WITH TIBET

What A Pleasure to be remembered for some special event or activity in one’s life. I teasingly asked my youngest son what he’d remember me for. “Your soup,” he replied without missing a beat. “I often think of when we were kids and those huge pots of Saturday soup you used to make and the basket of chunky baking powder biscuits.” That was a delightful reminder that basic nourishing foods can be the touchstone that triggers warm memories of family life. That remark tied in with my good fortune in being able to have the five Tibetan monks, who were performing at the local art gallery, to lunch a few Saturdays ago. What on earth to feed them was my first response. But, when in doubt I always turn to my old soup pot. Watching these five husky men and their driver delve into their bowls of 9-Bean soup followed by murmurs of satisfaction, reminded me of my sons so long ago slurping down overflowing bowls of soup and looking around for seconds.

In Talking To Friends about meals and ingredients it is always a surprise to hear that there are contemporaries who don’t enjoy making soup. It is such a wonderful basic food and in these times when families particularly are having difficulty with the costs of feeding their youngsters an inexpensive bowl of soup can provide a high level of nutrition. The secret ingredient in fabulous soup is the stock. I keep a large jug in the freezer and every scrap of cooking water from steaming or boiling vegetables is poured into the container. I also toss in any turkey, chicken or beef bones. As well I freeze broccoli stalks, coarse green leek leaves and overripe tomatoes. Now this will surprise some readers, but all my eggshells are crushed and added to the container as well. The shells are highly nutritious as the lining is a wonderful source of hyaluronic acid which supports healthy joints and skin. Once the shells, bones and veggies have simmered gently for a few hours then discard them by using a strainer. You now have a broth enriched by calcium, minerals, vitamins and the hyaluronic acid that can be used as a base for any soup recipe. If you follow these suggestions for creating a rich stock you will wonder why you’ve neglected making soup for all these years.

Sometimes I Do a “Clear The Fridge” soup by pulling out the vegetable container and using fresh uncooked left-overs, particularly potatoes. They help to thicken the soup. Another basic ingredient of most soups is onions. Just take the time to sauté the onions in a splash of oil for about five minutes before adding them to the other ingredients. That releases a delicious sweetness that greatly enhances the taste. If you like a soup that is a combination of creamy and chunky then take half of your cooked soup and either mash it or whip it in the blender and return it to the pot.

Who Was The Great Writer Anonymous that said “ The discovery of a new soup does more for the happiness of humanity than the discovery of a new star”. It’s true that food remains one of our greatest pleasures. And, when the food is satisfying to the soul as well as satisfying to the body, then we’ve got a winner when we make a delicious pot of soup. According to a favourite food writer, Jean Hoare, a French proverb says that a well made soup keeps a coin from the doctor’s pocket…which is another way of saying that a bowl of chicken soup will fix us right up. For comments email msostler@telus.net To refer to previous columns that appeared in The Mirror please google Urban Gardener Campbell River.

WILL COUNCIL CHICKEN OUT?

Will Council Chicken Out on a bylaw to raise backyard hens? A recent report says that we can expect a omnibus rezoning amendment for Quinsam Heights to be prepared which will include a section herding horses, sheep, goats and chickens into one bylaw.
Already the cluck, cluck, clucking has begun about how much space a horse requires as compared to the space needed to raise a few chickens. The report states that councilors are willing to agree on one point…that chickens are smaller than horses! Good thinking.

If the urban chicken issue is lumped in with other farm animals it will get fowled up in the hot debate that is sure to follow. We need to separate the question of a chicken bylaw and bring it forward on it’s own merit for the City of Campbell River rather than entangling it with the Quinsam Heights zoning. If Victoria, Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Ladysmith and New York City have urban chicken bylaws do we need to squawk over a few hens. Ask Esquimalt about their bylaw. The spokesperson says they haven’t received a single complaint since it was approved 18 years ago.

There Is A Need for city councils everywhere to get involved in the support of community food sources. According to a researcher there is a flock of chicken and fresh food activists across this country, standing up for the right to keep egg-laying hens in their backyards. A current green Party report states that 85 per cent of Vancouver Island’s food was produced locally 25 years ago, now it’s down to only 10 per cent. We all remember what happened last winter when a snow storm cut off fresh food delivery to the Island. Within three days the grocery shelves were emptying fast. This is the best example of what is meant by food security. If we can grow some of our food locally and raise chickens for their eggs and meat then we are taking small steps towards food sustainability…we become part of the solution.

Chickens provide healthy, pesticide-free eggs. They consume kitchen waste, produce great compost for the garden, make great pets. Times have changed and we have to think about being environmentally smarter and being sustainable. Raising chickens fits that goal. We activists are buck-buck-bucking for change.

Foraging For Mushrooms trek, sponsored by the Museum, attracted my interest and I was fortunate to tag along as the course was fully booked. The local mushroom expert Sequoia Letosky led us along a Beaverlodge Land trail and from there we veered off into the bush. The first fungus along the route turned out to be the deadly Amanita. With our leader instilling the fear of God into us, we neophytes peered timidly at every sighting after that warning. Despite anxieties it turned out to be a great learning experience and I particularly was excited about discovering the Lobster mushroom. These fungi are an intense orange in colour and can be found around or under rotting logs. One needs to get down on hands and knees and scratch around as they are not obvious at first, being generally covered over with soft moss. The lobsters do not have the traditional shape, more like shrivelled potatoes. I filled up my small basket and left for home in a state of great anticipation. I washed them thoroughly, cut away the black spots and grilled them lightly in butter and bacon fat with a sprinkling of pepper. Served on a toasted slice of whole wheat sourdough bread my meal turned out to be akin to a religious experience! I can hardly wait to go back to same area. This time I’ll take a compass as it is very easy to get disoriented, especially when one is crawling around on one’s hands and knees.
For comments msostler@telus.net

BUT CAN SHE GROW A CAN OF GUINESS

Watching Our Irish Neighbor experience planting her first window garden was a great reminder that growing things can be a joyous experience. Our friend Maureen looked on this as week my sister Shelagh and I replanted our window boxes with a selection of wintering herbs and veggies. She was emitting clucking and ooohing noises which is a strong sign that she had caught the growing bug. So off we went to the local garden shop with Maureen leading the way, in search of some good over-wintering starter plants and a four foot long plastic window box. Chives, parsley, mixed lettuce and pak choi were her choice and a small bag of organic compost. We also added a six pack of deep purple violas to the list as they provide colour and eye appeal throughout the coldest season.After the window box was planted and she placed it outside, on the kitchen window sill, she stood there entranced. Her son Jamie commented, when he saw the display. “Oh b’God, now me mudder is growing them greens we’ll have to be after eating the stuff”.

While In London three weeks ago I visited my cousin Rebecca’s allotment garden. She lives in a flat on the 14^th floor near New Cross. The mixed population is dense and obtaining a much sought after allotment often means a long wait to qualify. Taking the train through Wales and south through central England to London I spotted allotment gardens every where, but particularly under bridges, railway right-of-ways and empty lots.

Rebecca’s site includes 67 other plots on a steeply sloped terrace beside the railway. Each plot has it’s own small garden shed, some ornately constructed and others just a few planks hammered together with a sheet metal roof. Nevertheless, each plot is someone’s tiny kingdom and the shed becomes a place to brew a cup of tea, munch on rough cheese sandwiches and observe the bounty of one’s toil. Rebecca’s plot is roughly 20’ by 40’ and has room for four types of berry bushes, artichokes, asparagus, runner beans, onions, spuds, salad stuff, courgettes, leeks and eggplants. Tomatoes didn’t do well last year so this season she has them in grow bags propped up against the shed. The camaraderie amongst the gardeners was a pleasure to watch and the mix of plot holders is like a mini United Nations gathering.

When I Return to Campbell River at the end of September I will be interested to see the progress that has been made on expanding the community gardens on St. Peter’s church property. Gold River also has plans to designate property for allotment gardening as does Quadra Island so that indicates a growing interest in encouraging people with limited space to take advantage of community property.

Here’s an interesting item spotted in an international paper. Neilsen Canada reports that demand for canning supplies has gone through the roof and sales are up more than 100 per cent over 2008. I remember the pride our mother took in lining the cellar shelves with jars of fruit, jam and vegetables. Nothing can compare with the earthy pleasure of growing one’s own food and storing supplies for the winter months. Our lives are changing so rapidly and one cannot open a newspaper without being made aware of the impact of our lives on the planet. The effect of our short sightedness is becoming increasingly obvious but we are also witnessing a shift in the way we treat the earth around us. Consumer demand for alternatives has meant that organic food has grown from something only lentil munchers ate to mainstream produce. We can make a difference, simply by growing some of our own food and the pleasure it gives is immeasurable. For your comments please email msostler@hotmail.com

MEMORY OF A FOOD GARDEN

Capture The Memory of your summer food garden by gathering your mature herbs which by now should be ready for the drying process. If the herbs haven’t already dried out due to the intense heat of this summer then pick the sprigs and lay them out to dry on a baking sheet. The top of the fridge is an ideal spot. In a week or two they should be ready for grinding. My favourite method of processing is to use the old fashioned bowl and pestle system. Popping the herbs into a blender is just as effective but one loses the hands-on feeling of creating something special. A favourite herb mix is called Herbs de Provence and you can give it your personal touch by adding dried wild geranium or a touch of ground lavender. This basic French mixture that you will love is equal parts of rosemary, thyme, savoury, majoram, basil and oregano. The fragrance from this combination is gorgeous and enhances any food you are preparing and if you have enough for extra jars they will be treasured as small gifts.

I’m Still Here in Carlow, helping to care for an elderly sister but expect to be home in a few weeks. It’s surprising to discover that Ireland has no bottle recovery policy. As we have no car we enjoy strolling two to three miles a day to the shops and library where we use the computers. We equip ourselves with a spare plastic bag and, operating under some strange “Canadian” compulsion, we pick up bottles and beer cans rolling around the streets and under the hedges. And elderly woman stopped us on the street the other day and asked why we were picking up the garbage. Explaining this compulsion prompted her to sigh. “Jaysus, Mary and Joseph ye poor tings and ye have no car at all”.

Our Totally Dedicated Campbell River Beautification Committee would be stunned if they surveyed the state of the local Carlow streets, which actually display downtown signs boasting that the city, the same size as Campbell River, won the Tidy Town Award in 2007. The old Irish are particularly charming with a wonderful attitude towards life so I shall learn to cast my eyes on the impossibly lovely hills…the “Forty Shades of Green” that surround us, and avoid peering down the alleys and byways.

Did You Know that stinging nettles make fabulous fertilizer juice? Well, that’s so, according to a local friend who told me to cut down the huge stinging nettle growing at the back of the property and chop it up into small pieces. Then I am to place the pieces in a bucket and cover with water. After about six weeks, according to my advisor, it will turn into a dark green slurry. Then it’s time to strain it and place in a lidded container. I can then add a few tablespoonsful to a watering can and it makes an outstanding liquid fertilizer. If any readers have tried this idea successfully please let the rest of us know. It’s always exciting to discover a simple, new method of producing organic fertilizer at virtually no cost or effort. Drop a line to msostler@hotmail.com .

MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME

Make Up For Lost Time and start planting now. Not everyone is so well organized that they can meet the spring planting deadline. The good news is that this is a great time to start planting a garden that will allow you to harvest greens in the autumn and root vegetables in the winter months. Now is the time to take advantage of “follow-on” crops…a new buzz word. With good planning you will be able to avoid the “hungry gap” by ensuring an almost continuous supply of at least some veggies right through the cold season and into early spring months. By now most of your spring plants will have bolted and that gives you with plenty of space to be infilled with starter plants from the market, or seeds to be sprinkled onto the top soil.

In The Weeks Ahead consider planting either quick maturing vegetables such as beetroot, kohlrabi, red chicory, spring onions, leaf lettuce, oriental greens such as arugula and spinach. Those that are particularly suitable for overwintering are leafy cabbages, Swiss chards, kales, spring cauliflower and broad beans. Quick maturing crops such as the lettuces, spinach and radishes may be ready to harvest in six weeks whereas the cruciferous plants such as cabbage and sprouts may take up to 18 weeks. In a large ceramic planter on my condo deck I seeded a few red potato sprouts in May. As I am still in Ireland my friends harvested my mini red potatoes last weekend and emailed me a mouthwatering description of Sunday dinner on their deck consisting of my precious spuds, garlic, leeks, herbs and mixed salad plus their grilled steaks. Now if they can just be persuaded to do another planting by the time I am home again there should be a second potato harvest. I love the way the Irish describe a meal plan…two veg, three spud and a bit o’ meat.

In Carlow I Have Managed to produce an amazing array of leafy vegetables and herbs in the six weeks since arriving here. The greens seemed to leap out of the soil and in the first three weeks the leaves were big enough to make up crisp green salads. All the veggies are reared in a hodge podge of pots and bags placed on the cement walkway against our rental house. Those that have been outstanding are rocket and spinach. Rocket is similar to arugula but is crunchier and the stem is edible as well. It rains here almost everyday so heat loving plants like tomatoes are hopeless. The Irish are not keen food gardeners so my rag tag arrangement of pots creates a good bit of discussion. Yesterday I answered a knock on our door and there was a fellow from a paving company saying that he noticed there was a terrible lot of green grass in the backyard and he was offering to bring in his equipment and pave it over. “Then you could have a grand summer and not have to keep looking at all that grass,” says he. “Just get yourself a nice set of patio furniture and sit out there with herself (my sister) enjoying life and not have to worry about a ting.” I didn’t know whether to burst out laughing or give him a good kick.

MARKING THE TERRITORY IRISH STYLE

Consider This Column a report from your foreign correspondent in Ireland…the land of my parents and the home of two sisters. On holiday here I’ve been scrounging through the Dublin dailies looking for interesting items on gardening for the reader.

The headline in the garden page of the Irish Times brought me to a quick halt.
Chicks are Chic! According to that doughty publication the latest sounds in the back streets of Dublin are the cluck, cluck, cluck of chickens living the urban good life. Hard times require finding ways to be more self sufficient but the city’s rookie gardeners are facing a wildlife challenge. Wiley foxes are prowling the alleys searching for vulnerable chicken coops. An enterprising designer has come up with an ultra trendy coop design called an Eglu which includes four live chicks. It has captured the interest of the urban aesthete and recently won a design award. These haute couture hen houses can be purchased at Dunleary People’s Market on Sundays for the astonishing price of $600.

Mark Out Your Territory was the advice given to a poultry neophyte in Dublin who expressed concern about the presence of the cagey fox. He has been advised, by an agronomist, that if he quite literally marks his territory every evening with a stream of urine the fox will not cross the line. “That’s a brilliant idea” he responded, “but what will the neighbours say?”

Turning Shopping Bags Into Planters is a totally new concept to me but on the Emerald Isle it is considered very edgy and creates a sustainable use for all those woven plastic shopping bags we seem to accumulate. First punch a few holes in the bottom of the bag to allow for drainage, fill with compost and insert a dozen or so starter plants into the soil. Two weeks ago I filled a bright yellow sack with 12 red and yellow stalked Swiss chards. The bag was quite deep so I rolled the edges back. Now you can hang the bag on a wall hook or place it on the sun deck. My chard loves all that warmth and is already producing big leaves for use in a stir fry.

Six Years On The Beautification Committee has left me with an enhanced expectation of downtown cleanliness. So, the astonishing state of Irish streets and side walks has left me as agitated as a wet hen. They are covered in cigarette butts and gum. There is no bottle deposit refund so beer cans and pop bottles roll around in every gutter and under every hedge. A meeting with Mary White the MP for Carlow led to my pointing out that in B.C. bottle collection can be an important source of cash to people on limited incomes. She laughed heartily at the phrase “dumpster diving” and asked me to repeat it three times. I was urged to send her information on how the system was set up to create the bottle deposit act.

Back To The B.C. Scene. Bolting is what happens when plants that have been producing steadily for the past two months decide that enough is enough and push up one last flowering stalk. Save the seeds, if they are organic or heritage stock, when the head has dried out. Meanwhile, you probably have more seeds left in the packets. Replant right away, remembering to add more compost to the soil, and in no time at all the seeds will push up new sprouts and you can look forward to a fresh crop. This procedure is called succession planting. In fact you can succession plant on an ongoing rotating basis for many varieties. The excellent chart in the West Coast Seed Catalogue (found at www.westcoastseeds.com) will guide you as to the best planting months for specific veggies.