Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

Gathering Summary: Canning & Dehydrating Foods, Panel, August 25, 2010

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Excalibur Dehydrator

by Catherine Haug

(photo, right, from excaliburdehydrator.com)

Our Panel included Don B. and Julie V. to discuss dehydrating, and Kathie L. to discuss canning. See Gathering Summary: Canning & Dehydrating Foods for complete summary.

On dehydrating, both Julie and Don highly recommend a book: Dry It – You’ll Like It, by Gen MacManiman (link goes to Amazon.com). They discussed:

  • What it means to dehdyrate food;
  • Why dehydrate (as opposed to canning);
  • How to dehydrate and then store the dried product; and
  • Several different electric dehydrators including Don’s homemade dehydrator.

Kathie discussed both water bath canning and pressure canning, including when to use which method, and two different types of canning lids. She recommends the book: Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery; you can peak inside, on the Amazon page. But because pressure canners vary on instructions from model to model, she recommends using your canner’s ‘how to’ book as your guide.

For complete Gathering Summary, see our pdf file: Gathering Summary: Canning & Dehydrating Foods

See also: (more…)

Preserving Produce without Heat

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

Preserved Meyer Lemons, La Provence

by Catherine Haug

One of the concerns about canning foods as a means of preservation is that the high heat renders the food no longer raw, rendering much, if not all, of the enzymes inactive, and some of the other nutrients hard to absorb. Another problem with using heat is that it consumes energy to produce the heat; energy that may not be available when you need it.

At our August gathering we learned about drying foods, which requires only low heat (about 95º F). But there are other low- or non-heat methods as well. (more…)

Huckleberries

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Who doesn’t like hucks, that local native delicacy that drives humans to compete with bears? Greg Patent, co-host of MTPR’s The Food Guys on Sunday mornings, recently published an article in the Missoulian: Find Huckleberry Heaven in Crumb Cake.

In addition to the recipe for the crumb cake, he also shares good info on freezing hucks, and some great suggestions on ways they can be used. Plus a challenge on how best to describe their taste – he claims it to be an exercise in futility.

Two Frog Home – a blog by Kathie L

Friday, August 27th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Kathie was a member of our canning and dehydrating panel this month, and mentioned she has a blog called Two Frog Home. I have added a link to her blog on our home page. Look in the right hand column under Food: Local & Organic Links.

Check out her blog at TwoFrogHome.com.

Gathering Summary: Herbs & Their Traditional Uses, July 28, 2010

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Summary by Catherine Haug

Herbs & their Traditional Uses, by Veronica Honthaas

(Photo of ripening hawthorn berries by C. Haug)

The following is a short outline of the event. For the complete gathering summary, see our pdf file:

Gathering Summary: Herbs & their Traditional Uses

Veronica is a practicing traditional herbalist and reflexologist. A traditional herbalist is one who uses herbs from the local area. Ronny believes every area has most all the herbs needed to promote health and healing for people living in that area, and that herbs are healing foods. Sharing her knowledge through teaching is an important aspect of her work.

The use of herbs is simple and free, and very empowering. During her presentation, Ronny discussed:

  • 20 specific local herbs
  • How to store what is picked
  • Basic herb teas
  • Sun teas
  • Making tinctures

For complete detail of her presentation, please see the Gathering Summary: Herbs & their Traditional Uses.

Ronny’s Recommended Books (more…)

Toxic Food

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

As time goes forward, we learn more and more about the sad state of mainstream food production. The online video of cows being mistreated and abused at an Ohio factory farm signals perhaps a turning point, as it wakes up the minions to the sorry state of affairs in American Ag.

Dr. Mercola featured a video interview of Dr. Shiv Chopra on August 14, 2010. The topic is a review of food safety and how things have gone so awry in the US, Canada and around the world. He cites five toxic substances currently in the mainstream food supply:

  • Hormones, by direct treatment and by including in the animals’ food supply;
  • Antibiotics, by direct treatment and by including in the animals’ food supply;
  • Drug-resistant bacteria (as result of overuse of antibiotics);
  • Recycled rendered slaughterhouse waste (fed to other animals);
  • GMOs. (more…)