Local Foods - Preserving the Harvest
This autumn, my husband and I have been busily jumping on the local food bandwagon by buying up as much local produce as possible and preserving it to last us all winter. One of the the things that small farmers do in order to stay afloat in competitive markets is to create “value added” farm products. In a sense we are adding value of our own by cooking and canning our purchases, creating a final product that is worth a lot more than the original produce.
Here in Eugene, September was apple season, apples were literally falling off the trees all around town. We splurged on an apple peeler/corer, and then dried a whole bunch of apples in our dehydrator. We also cooked up a large batch of apple chutney. We love curry and Indian food, but mango chutney is expensive and decidedly not local. Apple chutney is a delicious alternative and now there are 20+ jars in our cupboards.
Last week, with the first fall rains looming, farmers at the market were selling 10+ pounds of tomatoes at discounted prices, so we bought more than 30 pounds and proceeded to process them. Now we have many cans of salsa, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes ready to feed us all winter.
photo credit: Jasmine&Roses
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About Green West Magazine
Green West Magazine inspires people in the western U.S. to live in ways that make ecological sense. With this end in mind, Green West offers green solutions, small and large, for everyday life and extraordinary occasions.
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Eco Shower Curtains
Have you ever noticed that smell that new vinyl shower curtains have? It turns out that smell might be endangering your health, at least according to the LA Times. In an effort the transform all areas of our life toward “eco”-ness, my husband and I decided when we moved that rather than buying a [...]
kids »
EDRA Sacramento
This week I attended the Environmental Design Research Association Conference in beautiful Sacramento. EDRA is a professional organization for anyone who works to improve the physical environment for people. At the meeting architects, planners, interior designers and researchers discuss how to make the places we live, work, and play more comfortable and sustainable. Thursday [...]
garden »
Organic herbicides
I’m a highly successful gardener–but only if judged by my ability to grow weeds. With a dog, a toddler, and a general aversion to poison, I don’t like to spray herbicides–nor do I like to pull up weeds in the heat of a Sacramento Valley summer. (Besides, if I pulled up all the [...]
food and drink »
Local Foods - Preserving the Harvest
This autumn, my husband and I have been busily jumping on the local food bandwagon by buying up as much local produce as possible and preserving it to last us all winter. One of the the things that small farmers do in order to stay afloat in competitive markets is to create “value added” farm [...]
products »
From Clean Technica: Eco-Faucet saves Energy with Every Use
Carol over at CleanTechnica found this amazing automatic faucet that recharges itself via a tiny turbine. Check out her description and the diagram: “EcoPower Faucet Saves Energy by Recharging with Each Use”. I’m not a big fan of automatic faucets. They make me feel like the faucet gods are laughing at me as I wave [...]