Archive for the ‘Food Processing’ Category
Flax
Flax seeds add a nice nutritious nutty flavor to many dishes and the fibrous stalks can be spun into fiber. Growing this plant in the Northwest is so easy that it’s almost seen as a weed.
First grow the flax:
Picture from: www.flaxandhemp.bangor.ac.uk/
Once it has matured and the seed pods are fully formed, harvest it and let it dry in a dark place. Once the seed heads are dry lay them on a cloth and crush the seed heads to release the small seeds.
Next winnow it to separate the grains from the chaff.
Here is the final product; lovely golden flax seeds.
To learn more about how to process the stalks into fiber visit here.
Kimchee!
What’s crunchy, spicy hot and really good for you? Kimchee! Here’s how to make your own. It’s much easier than you would think.
The first step is to chop your veggies and spices:
Next mix the spices together:
Mix in the veggies:
Once all is well mixed put in a jar and let sit until it’s fermented:
Once your kimchee is ready invite friends over and eat!
Here’s a recipe with more detailed instructions.
Portage Bay Grange welcomes urban farmers
Joshua and Annette make whole-grain waffles
Portage Bay Grange in Seattle’s University District recently welcomed The Urban Farm Handbook authors Annette Cottrell and Joshua McNichols to their first Open House on November 19. While we enjoyed fresh-pressed cider, Joshua and Annette described local grain sources, grain mills, and whipped up delicious spelt, sourdough, duck egg, and goat milk waffles.
Urban farming tastes great!
Portage Bay Grange hosts Seattle 4H at Open House
Portage Bay Grange sells small livestock, feed, and a variety of thoughtful urban homesteading mercantile including BPA-free Weck canning jars.
A great place to visit with young kids, the Portage Bay Grange Open House also showcased the very urban and active Cooped-Up in Seattle 4H Club.
Jammin’ With Figs
Figs are now in season and each bite takes me back to desert days in Arizona. This season I got enough of the succulent fruit to make jam. Gail Savina from City Fruit suggested using a recipe from Alice Water’s Fruit cookbook. So here it is:
Making Homemade Yogurt
I keep saying that making your own yogurt is really easy and some of you have asked how I do it.
Here are the simple steps:
You can use milk from the store or milk from your animals. If you use fresh milk from your goat or cow, then I do think it’s a good idea to pasteurize it. I know there’s a ton of debate about this but personally I like to be sure that my yogurt is going to be safe for everyone.
Step one: Heat the milk
More…
Time for Raspberry Jam Making
Summer is finally here and the raspberries are ripe and ready! Turning the berries into jam is an easy, almost magical process that brings back the flavors of summer deep into winter.
I usually just follow the directions on the pectin package, but here’s a recipe that doesn’t use pectin. If you try this recipe out, I’d love to hear how it tastes.
Step 1: Find berries to pick in your backyard or at a nearby U-pick.
More…
Landmark Labeling for GM Food
Regulators from more than 100 countries agreed on long overdue guidance on the labeling of genetically modified (GM) food on July 5, 2011. This is a landmark decision for the food we eat.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, made up of the world’s food safety regulatory agencies, has been laboring for two decades to come up with consensus guidance on this topic.
In a striking reversal of their previous position, on Tuesday, during the annual Codex summit in Geneva, the US delegation dropped its opposition to the GM labeling guidance document, allowing it to move forward and become an official Codex text.
Read more from Consumers Union, one of the parties to the decision.
Eat What We Can, Can What We Can’t
From Komo here’s new on the south county canning project. This sounds like a good way to preserve some of the bounty that rushes through. Does anyone know of a similar flash freezing program?
Skyrocketing unemployment figures and a generally down economy are forcing a growing number of local families to rely on food banks to feed themselves and their children.
That added need puts a strain on the already overextended food banks and leaves food bank organizers scrambling to come up with ways to feed every mouth.
In an effort to help meet the growing demand, several local organization are taking a unique approach to helping feed the community.
Last summer the South King County Food Coalition joined forces with Northwest Harvest and Rotary First Harvest to start the “Yes, we CAN!” program, which uses volunteers to can donated vegetables for local food banks.
According to SKCFC volunteer coordinator Basil Weiner, the organization has already canned more than 30,000 pounds of produce that would have gone to waste. That’s more that 60,000 extra cans of produce distributed to the more than 12,000 families who visit our 11 local food banks each month. More…
Cottage Food Law – a Story of Hope
From the Bainbridge Island Review here’s a great story on how the cottage food law got presented and passed.
A legislative bill created to help small producers bring their goods to market gets a hand-made touch from an islander who inspired the measure and spurred a local legislator into action.
“It was an incredible education and fulfilling chance to get to watch democracy at work,” said Carolyn Goodwin, founder of the island non-profit Sound Food. “I was amazed by how quickly we worked together to make this happen.”
Goodwin’s work will make it easier for small producers to sell goods made in their own kitchens.
The “Cottage Food Bill,” Senate Bill 5748, sponsored by Sen. Phil Rockefeller and initiated by a letter from Goodwin, was signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire last week after passing both houses with near unanimous support. The bill will allow small producers of low-risk goods such as jams, jellies and breads to sell products made from their own kitchens.
Goodwin wrote to both Rockefeller and Rep. Christine Rolfes in late January after coming across a new bill in Michigan that she saw as a potential boon for Washington producers. More…
Elderberry Syrup
Picture from sitkanature.org
Elderberries are in bloom now in the lower elevations of Puget Sound. These fragrant white flowers can be gathered, steeped then the liquid sugared to make a delicious syrup. If you have the patience to wait, the dark blue berries can be gathered in the late summer to make into a dye, syrup or wine.
Here is a recipe for making a quart of syrup:
Ingredients:
- 30 elderflower heads
- 1 quart water
- 4 cups sugar
- Juice of 2 lemons
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons citric acid
- Zest the lemons and put in a large bowl, then the citric acid and lemon juice.
- Remove the flowers from the stalk and add to the bowl
- Bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve.
Close up of flowers.
- Pour the syrup into the bowl and stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it sit for 2-4 days.
- Strain the mixture through a sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean jar. Store in the fridge for up to six weeks.
This syrup has a very delicate flavor and scent. It tastes good mixed with seltzer water or even better with some champagne.
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