Traced Elements

Tag: Nurture in Nature

  • Making pumpkin pie, with Nurture in Nature

    Making pumpkin pie, with Nurture in Nature

    Preparation

    This week before our Pro D day experience at Nurture in Nature, I wandered the farm, asking what it would offer the students of the day. I happened to find a bunch of baby pumpkins leftover in our pumpkin patch! That just might do the trick…

    Sure enough, when our students arrived Friday morning, they were ecstatic about making a pumpkin pie- from scratch!! So, after the normal chores of the farm, which as they will all tell you include making sure the chickens, ducks, and pig have food, fresh water, and a clean habitat, we set off to find these baby pumpkins left in the field. As you can see in the picture above, one student is showing off the bonus duck egg he found in the coop on the way over too!

    Preparing the Ingredients

    We cut the pumpkins in half and scooped out the seeds. We saved 15 seeds to ferment in pulpy water for 10 days so they would be ready to germinate next year, and set the rest aside to roast as a snack. Then, we coated our pumpkin in olive oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and set it to roast for 45 minutes at 400 degrees.

    45 minutes to spare… well, every time we take a pumpkin (or anything else) from the field, we take away all those nutrients from that environment forever. What happens if we do this over and over without ever giving back? Soil turns to dirt. Theres nothing left. So what can we do to prevent that here? Feed the soil- with compost and leaves!!

    Of course, feeding the soil means playing in those leaves first!

    So after a little weeding and moving some leaves, and lots of laughs, ding! Back to pumpkins!

    Recipe

    Now that the pumpkins are roasted until they are soft and easily separate from their shells, we scoop out the yummy insides and put in a bowl:

    -2 cups pumpkin

    -The recipe calls for 3 eggs, who can get those from the chicken coop?

    -1/4 cup brown sugar

    -1/4 cup white sugar

    -1 TBS cornstarch

    -1/2 tsp salt

    -1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

    -1/2 tsp ground ginger

    -1/4 tsp nutmeg

    -1/8 tsp cloves

    -1/8 tsp pepper

    – 1/2 cup milk

    And mix away! I mentioned that you can put this in a blender for a smoother finish, but I like the way with a hand mixer, the little chunks tell that this is a pie made from real food. Roll out your pie crust, I’ll save that recipe for a later date, then cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, and at 350 for another 45. So that means we have another hour to learn about how to always give back more than you take!

    And so, that’s our recipe, and how we spent a mostly chilly, kinda rainy, day at Nurture in Nature Community Farm. I hope you get to make a pumpkin pie too!

    For this story and more, visit https://www.nurtureinnature.ca/post/autumn-days-at-nin

  • Nature’s Gifts – Chanterelles

    Nature’s Gifts – Chanterelles

    Stop and smell the… CHANTERELLES!!

    Once again, I went for a walk in the woods and was shocked by the bounty that nature provides when I make the time to search it out. Look at those beauties!

    In case you haven’t gone mushroom hunting, it’s a delight. I leave the house with a vague destination, no peak to bag, no panorama to catch, no goal except to meander slowly and pay attention. It is so nice to just BE: to be present, to smell the forest, to remember which direction I came from, and pick where I want to go. To watch the world work its magic slowly, growing with seasons and time, and to forget about needing to DO all of the time. I carry a wicker basket, so the spores of the mushrooms can fall out as I walk (a trail of breadcrumbs to the mushroom patch once they fruit too!). I carry bear spray, water, snacks, I bring the dog, and with no rhyme or reason, I explore!

    You can see in the first picture- chanterelles can be mischievous, hidey little devils. Sometimes, as with most hunts, it’s best to expect to find nothing so that I can’t come away disappointed. Sometimes, however, when you find one, there are probably more around. Chanterelles are in season right now, they like partly sunny, wet, mossy forest floors. And in the right conditions, can be as big as my face!

    Once I get chanterelles home, I clean them with minimal water and a toothbrush. Water makes mushrooms mushy – but since they pop up out of mossy forest floors they often need some kind of cleaning.

    I think chanterelles are best fried in butter until they lose all of their moisture. When they start turning brown and crispy, add them into pesto or stirfry. YUMM!!

    And in the situation when I have so many I can’t cook them all at once, I like to dehydrate the rest and save them for later.

    A cream of chanterelle soup late in winter really makes home feel cozy and warm!! And I love the memory of the adventure that brought my food to my home. Meals paired with memories taste even better.

    Pop over to visit Nurture in Nature’s website for more of their thoughts, inspiration and events.

  • Thank-you Bees!

    Thank-you Bees!

    From 20 hives, our own Nurture in Nature bees have been busy buzzzyy…

    Our own honey is now available in our Farm-acy Stand and with the wax caps from the honey combs, came an exciting learning day of rendering the wax and the extra honey, that had been extracted by our beekeeper Joel.

    Feeling like a hungry bear, I scooped up handfuls of the wax, dead bees and honey from the large tub into the slow cooker and like a bear, licking my paws was so good and irresistible! (I did wash them of course before continuing).

    Good thing Mr Bear didn’t smell it from afar because the bees certainly did and tried to come join me to claim it back!

    Once melted, I filtered it through cheese cloth so the wax dripped through into water, cooling immediately to form pure wax while the slum gum (unwanted material) was caught and the rest of the honey settled at the bottom of the water. Amazingly once the water was drained off as much as possible, 7 more jars of cooking honey were filled. Yay!

    For our Friday workshop, we decided to use the wax to create wax food wraps and for those not familiar with them, we dip or paint some lovely cotton material, the melted wax which when hardens can be shaped around a pot, used to wrap lunch sandwiches in, and any other use that can be thought of. (Thank you Carin in your guidance in making these and provision of the cloth).

    Though many pieces were made by many hands, making it easy work to process lots of wraps, we realised we did not mention that in coming to our workshop, our philosophy is that we are here as a community, learning and sharing together, so though one person may make many pieces, that does not entitle them to claim those pieces as their ‘own’. Rather they are learning by helping, giving something back but do get to keep an item they make.

    This leaves all the other wraps to be sold in the Farm-acy Stand which brings funds back to the community garden, (and to those happy hardworking bees)….so lets please say a thank you to all our local bees out there for providing us with some wonderful products to enjoy!

    Follow Nurture in Nature’s adventures at https://www.nurtureinnature.ca, or visit them at one of their forthcoming September events. For more details check out https://www.nurtureinnature.ca/upcoming-events

  • Nature’s Gifts

    Nature’s Gifts

    What is this weed in my garden, or what is this plant on this trail?! Does it have any herbal, medicinal, or edible qualities? When and how could I make elderflower cordial? You can eat ferns!? How can I preserve thimbleberries? How can I save my salad greens for later in the season when I am no longer sick of salad? I hate to waste- what can I do with carrot tops?

    Nature gives us so much for free – if we know when and where to look for her gifts. They are often sporadic, and never last long! So every Tuesday we at Nurture in Nature are offering to take you on a little Zoom walk through our garden and forests to show off what is all around us that we so often forget to notice, and give some tips on how to recognize, appreciate, and utilize the never-ending gifts from Mother Nature. For example – chamomile is out right now!!

    For more information, visit our website-

    https://www.nurtureinnature.ca/blank-page-1

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    Our first session is free, to offer a taste at what we want to offer, and to practice of course! Tuesday June 30 at 6:30 pm, register online here;

    https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/natures-gifts-tickets-110216229710

    We hope that by demonstrating how we connect to the land around us, we can offer insight into how you can cultivate a deeper connection with the place and community wherever you are, be that Pemberton or elsewhere. So join us Tuesday to begin walking a path of connecting more deeply to your food system, community, and the environment, as we search for more sustainable and resilient lifestyles, together.

    Nurture your Nature