The Organic Kitchen - Inspiration and the new issue!

Hello everyone!! I just wanted to share these few shots I took from our latest weekend at the cottage, which is on a tiny island in Georgian Bay. Each year it's quite a tradition to wake up in the morning, head out into the sunshine and pick blueberries for our pancakes. While plucking berries Jonathan (the chef and creator behind Pure Green Mag's The Organic Kitchen) and I brainstormed recipes for which these berries were the inspiration. I'm pleased to say that we, along with PGM photographer Erin Monett shot part 1 of 2 of the new edition of The Organic Kitchen at 5:30am this morning... and it went swimmingly!! I can't wait to share it. Tell all your friends: the new issue of Pure Green Magazine is out August 23! I may just let you sneak a peek (a small one) before then ;) but you should also know there will be a FANTASTIC surprise with the new issue. I can't wait for you to see it.

xo Celine

Organic Kitchen: Summer CSA

Summer produce is in high season right now - this is the first year I've subscribed to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I'm delighted with it. I keep getting veggies I didn't know could be locally grown and that I've never tried. Yesterday I made some swiss chard and it was delicious! (Heat a cast iron skillet, add butter and diced garlic. Once garlic is browned add swiss chard, squeeze a wedge of lemon over them and cook until just wilted. Eat right away.) Every week the green onions and potatoes keep getting bigger! I thought these green onions just looked so fresh! Are you getting the chance to enjoy some seasonal, local produce??

The Organic Kitchen - Classic Strawberry Jam

This long weekend I did something I've wanted to do for a long time - make strawberry jam! Every year I have lamented the passing of strawberry season without a pantry full of preserves, so when I found myself with a three day long weekend I made it a priority. 

My parents and I made the trek to a local, organic strawberry farm where the picking was ripe and the berries were plentiful!  

After a short hour in the summer sun, my fingers were stained pink and my baskets were full, as was my belly! The farm owners instructed us, with a good dose of humor, that over-ripe berries shouldn't be picked unless it was to eat right then and there, which I was all too happy to oblige!

Next, after washing and prepping, the berries were ready to prepare. I have to admit, having never undertaken this before, I greatly underestimated the time involved. My sister and I worked together and after getting a late start (7 pm) we were in the kitchen jarring until 1am! The results, however, were more than worth it! We worked from Ashley English's book Canning & Preserving, part of the Homemade Living Series we featured in the last issue of the magazine. I love her recipe as it uses the natural pectin in the strawberries and uses a lot less sugar than other recipes I'd found - the jam was still perfectly sweet when done! 

The finished product - you can see how deep and ruby red the jam turned out - a result of the perfect organic strawberries I'm sure. I'd forgotten how good local, seasonal strawberries truly are. I can't wait to do it again!  And I have to say, I'm officially hooked on preserving! We ended up with 10 jars each, the perfect year's supply.