The winner for the Canning Label Inspiration Contest is Katherine from Kitten’s Lost Her Mittens as chosen by the random number generator. Thanks to everyone who participated by sharing very creative ways to add a little extra to homemade goodies. Here is the winning entry. Who wouldn’t want to get this as a holiday gift?
December 17 2010 | Canning and Contest | 5 Comments »
If you liked my wreath but don’t have the time or desire to make your own, please consider buying one this year from Emerging Hope. This wonderful organization works with people living with addiction by providing them with gainful employment in landscaping, nursery work, and holiday wreath-making . Below is the call out to Vancouverites for this year’s wreaths.
Wreaths of Hope 2010
People living in poverty and addiction are awaiting the opportunity to use their unique talents once again to create your holiday wreaths. By purchasing one you are giving one of the greatest gifts possible: dignity and hope to someone struggling to improve his or her life. Just as the wreath was an early Roman and Greek symbol of victory, with every purchase you help someone experience a small victory in his or her life.
Each year the need is even greater than before, as many people face the winter without even their basic needs met. While we are not able to solve the big picture for the poorest people in our city, together we can make a difference in the lives of some. In this, our tenth year of wreath making, we aim to create many more hours of meaningful employment.
Pricing remains unchanged this year at $45.00 (Small) $60.00 (Med) and $90.00 (Large).
Please call Emerging Hope Projects to order: Ph:604.716.4284
THANK YOU for giving someone a hand up not a hand out this holiday.
December 14 2010 | Community Garden and Gardening and Projects and Vancouver | 3 Comments »
This past week I have been pretty heavy into the holiday parties yet I still made time to harvest my sprouts and make myself a decidedly summery sandwich: avocado, cream cheese and a mixture of lentil, radish, broccoli, red clover, and alfalfa sprouts. This powerhouse of nutrition was just the thing to keep me whooping it up holiday style, and it makes a much healthier hangover meal!
December 12 2010 | Growing Food and Harvest and Recipes | 10 Comments »
This week we thawed out from that crazy November snowfall and I jumped at the window of opportunity to dig up the rest of the root veggies from the community garden plot. It was a very beautiful day at the garden. Even though the plots are a mess I found it quite romantic with the setting sun beaming through the skeletons of our summer gardens and sky-high pampas grass.
It felt great to get out and dig in the soil, and harvesting is always fun. While I was disappointed to only have a few pounds of potatoes, I did get a bunch more Gladiator parsnips and a ton of various beets that I didn’t expect. I roasted up this bunch of roots for a family dinner tonight.
Now that the community plot is officially put to bed for the winter I wonder weather I want to keep up the space again next year. I have enough room to grow a small variety of veggies at home and while I love gardening with the community members, it has lately been feeling more like a chore. Much of the food at the gardens gets stolen, many say because of the part of town we are in (notorious for homelessness and drugs) but sadly, the folks that I’ve seen steal are (gasp) other gardeners or visitors in suits who drive Hondas and show off their knowledge of growing food by cutting off all my garlic scapes or plucking a pumpkin. Mostly the thieves are foodies with a sense of entitlement and little concern for community. So that sucks.
Then there’s the growing conditions. The soil is poor and disease is rampant. Without daily weeding the plots are soon overrun with buttercup, horsetail, bindweed and in some cases the dangerous giant hogweed. This year I just wanted to grow squash. I ended up planting 10 types of squash and got about 12-15 orange spaghetti squash and downy mildrew killed the rest. I did also plant strawberries, potatoes, artichokes, tomatoes, beans, celeriac, beets, parsnips, peas, fennel, carrots, garlic, leeks, and kale, so I strayed from my focus and got a little of everything (except the celeriac which was a big failure). It’s fun to bring home fresh veggies and I haven’t really shopped for any in the grocery for the last 5-6 months. The number and variety of what is left after theft and disease is just a taste. Despite a valiant effort–I added manure to the soil, a bacterial / fungal mix that we bought at the farmers market and compost compost compost–the soil still lacked nutrition. This combined with the fact that disease is so quickly spread in a community garden space that I fought rust, mildew and blight daily. I certainly appreciate the fresh food I brought home, yet this alone is not worth the effort when I can buy the like at the farmers market each week.
Even if I never brought home a veggie I would still be a member because I joined the garden in the first place for the community. I wanted to learn from others, connect and share. In my mind perhaps I had the idea of a communal gardening group of people laughing and sharing huge baskets of fresh produce, while tending their lush green plots and beautifying the neighbourhood. The reality is that you see most of the members only at the monthly work parties. For most of the year I went to the work parties religiously. A few of the other members have the same commitment, a few. It’s great to see some of them, sometimes, but I wouldn’t call it a community. There is rallying around the condom/needle clean up and stopping the crazy dude from pouring rat poison on our plants, but it’s not quite what I had imagined. I’ve made a few friends at the garden though, so that’s something.
Now, as another year comes to a close I’ll reflect on whether or not it’s worth the effort or if perhaps there is another group or space that would be a better fit for me. For all the reasons above I almost gave up my membership last year, but something kept me there. The promise of something new, perhaps. Maybe this year some new people with join and keep me company at the work parties. Or perhaps I’ll get to run a seed starting project with the new greenhouse or learn something new. Who knows? But if I’ve learned just one thing about being a member of a community garden, it’s that it is about a whole lot more than just growing food.
December 06 2010 | Gardening and Growing Food and Harvest and Vancouver | 13 Comments »
UPDATE: We’ve added 6 new printable canning label templates! Enjoy!
After spending hours making the perfectly crafted homemade jam, jelly, chutney or pickle, I get on to making the perfect label to gussy up my jars. Like wrapping a present or dressing for dinner, accessorizing with labels can really add to the finished product. What’s inside the jar is art: beautiful flavours and colours and freshness packed lovingly into a tiny glass container. Why not accessorize? It will make a perfect holiday gift.
Supplies:
Steps:
1. First, draw a circle in your graphics program on the computer to be the size of the label you want to put on the top of the jar. For instance, I made a 2″ circle for a regular mouth (78mm) lid and a 2.5″ circle for wide mouth (80mm) lid. Then add photos, graphics, and text to design your label. I like to use photos I’ve taken of the ingrredients when they are growing in the garden or freshly harvested but you could use any graphic that appeals to you, the preserve or the season. For those who prefer the kitchen to the computer, I’ve created some simple templates:
2. When you are happy with your design, print the labels on a full sheet shipping label that can be purchased from any office supply store. Buy the best quality shipping label you can find. I like glossy paper for these. Printing can be done on your colour laser printer at home (do not use an ink jet printer as that will smudge when wet) or by taking the file to a printing house.
3. Use a 2″ or a 2.5″ hole punch (available at craft stores) to cut out each label or if you don’t want to invest in one of those fancy tools, cut by hand with sharp scissors. Thanks to Andrew for the fabulous hole punch idea as it made it sooooo much easier.
4. Apply the labels to your homemade creations and revel in the beauty you have brought to the world.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out the Canning Label Inspiration page and contest. Enter your finished project by December 15th to participate in the contest.
December 03 2010 | Canning and Projects | 12 Comments »
