Summer’s Last Call
September is bittersweet. The summer is still with us, but the signs are unmistakable – the surreal blue sky has a hot sun that leaves you cool as soon as it hides behind a cloud. Poplars and aspens’ yellowing leaves, as glorious as they might be, foreshadow the inevitable next eight months. So do the first morning frosts. Still, the purity of the moment is invigorating and gives us purpose – to enjoy every beautiful day before it is “too late”.
September is also a month of abundance. The gardens and farmers’ markets are overflowing with fruits and vegetables such as carrots, beets, potatoes, squashes, green beans, garlic, tomatoes, apples, corn, pears, and much more. Eating fresh and local could not be easier. Some of us have already done some fruit jelly or jam with the summer berries. Now it is time to can or freeze the vegetables. Sure, we can buy a jar of tomatoes for not much at the grocery store, but that does not compare to a homemade tomato sauce seasoned with herbs and spiced just how you liked it. We all have secret family recipes for the best pickled beets, or the best condiments money can’t buy. Many of our foremothers homesteaded and had no choice but to stock up several months’ worth of food. For others, it was cheaper and more practical to grow and process food at home. In the process, they infused heritage and creativity. Honouring their ways amid our COVID crisis makes sense.
Stuck home, a lot of us started a garden or at least planted lettuce in a flower pot last Spring. I now invite you to carry on and try the art and science of preserving fruits and vegetables. Sit back on your deck in the morning sun, a cup of coffee in hand, dig out your mother and grandmother’s favourite preserve recipes, study them, and simply go for it. Guidance and how- to videos abound on the web and will teach you the basic principles of canning, blanching, freezing, drying, infusing, making condiments, jams and jellies. It is much easier than you think, and it is a great way to eat healthily and avoid ingesting obscure ingredients that are hard to pronounce. Feeling creative? Add a twist on the old ways and bring modernity into the recipe by adding a new ingredient or adjusting quantities.
Soon, you will find yourself exchanging a jar of this for a jar of that with your neighbours or friends. What better way to strengthen your friendships and community connections? Oh! And those preserves and jellies make excellent hostess, and (gasps!) Christmas presents.
Bonne appétit!
