Food often defines our cultures

"Food often defines our cultures -- it is across the dinner table where one truly begins to understand another.
The joy I get from cooking and eating is not just a matter of gluttony, it's one of history, sociology, anthropology, culture, and family." -- Dean McCord

borders question video

Should human beings have the right to migrate and seek work as they choose, regardless of borders and national sovereignty? Check out Ivan's video for some food for thought....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfrrPhQAqn8

Time for Serenity, Anyone?

"I like to live in the sound of water, in the feel of mountain air.
A sharp reminder hits me: this world is still alive; it stretches out
there shivering toward its own creation, and I'm a part of it. Even
my breathing enters into an elaborate give-and-take, this bowing
to sun and moon, day or night, winter, summer, storm, still –- this
tranquil chaos that seems to be going somewhere. This wilderness
with a great peacefulness in it. This motionless turmoil, this everything dance."

William Stafford
"Even in Quiet Places"

hands that harvested your food

"Strawberries are too delicate to be picked by machine. The perfectly ripe
ones bruise even at too heavy a human touch. Every strawberry you have
ever eaten has been picked by callused human hands. Every piece of toast
with jelly represents someone's knees, someone's aching backs and hips,
someone with a bandanna on her wrist to wipe away the sweat."

Alison Luterman, quoted in After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield

art is a community effort....

"Fortunately art is a community effort -- a small but select community living in a spiritualized world endeavoring to interpret the wars and the solitudes of the flesh."

Allen Ginsberg

apples

My first memories of apples start with childhood memories of the valley coming to life in spring with apple blossoms. Apple blossom time would signal the end of another winter, and offer the promise of a new growing season. The official arrival of Spring. The sweet soft scent of the blossoms would fill the air and pinkish white blossoms for as far as the eye could see. The community gathered together each spring for the Apple Blossom Festival, a celebration of community, life, traditions and heritage. We would line the road for the Apple Blossom Parade and watch the floats and festivities dance by. There was such pride the year my cousin, Crystal, was the Apple Blossom Princess!

The Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia is a long way from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, where botanists believe the apple has its origins. Existing as a wild fruit since prehistoric times, it was the ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians that began cultivating the apple more than 3,000 years ago. Being in the heart of the silk route, as nomads and traders passed through the Kazakhstan, they would gather apples, and thus the humble, yet dynamic apple started its journey around the world. With 7,500 varieties, of which 50 are grown commercially, apples are now grown in every corner of the world. From Japan, Madagascar, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia, China, England, France to Canada & the U.S.

The Spartan is a tasty British Columbian success story. A member of the extensive McIntosh family, the Spartan is a cross between the McIntosh and Newton Pippin that was developed at the Summerland Research Station in 1936. With a crisp and bright flavour, Spartans keep well and mellow and gain flavour in storage.

Apples have a special appeal, not just commercially, but also for community and residential planting. The apple tree has a long life, is easy to grow and thrives in just about any climate. It offers shade for warm summer days, a home for birds, flowers for bees, and what great fun to climb. But what to do with all those apples?! We all love home made apple sauce, apple pie, apple crumble, apple chips… What happens when the tree owner doesn’t have the time, ability, or resources to pick their trees? Often, you will find the yard scattered with wasted fruit.

Another BC success story is The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project. The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project is a community-based, registered not-for-profit society that works to build community and strengthen food security using local fruit. The idea is simple: to connect people who have excess fruit from their backyard trees with volunteers who have the time and energy to harvest it. The harvested fruit is donated to community organizations such as neighbourhood houses, community kitchens, and friendship centres. Educational canning workshops enhance food preservation skills by training diverse members of our communities to safely preserve fruit using simple, up-to-date canning processes. The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project enables communities to connect through the growth, harvest, distribution, and celebration of locally-grown, backyard fruit. In doing so, it fosters community engagement, alternatives to market-based agriculture, and strong food security networks in Vancouver.

Started in 1999 by a group of Vancouver residents coming together to address their common concern for the large amount of fruit going to waste in their neighbourhoods, The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project now works with over 50 tree owners and 100 volunteers to harvest over 4,000 lbs of fruit annually from backyards throughout Vancouver.

Just as in my childhood, the mighty apple is part of the celebration of community and the change of seasons.

Paula Luther
Coordinator
The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project
604-873-1191

fruit@vcn.bc.ca
www.vcn.bc.ca/fruit

Published in Slow Food Vancouver Newsletter October 2004 http://www.slowfoodvancouver.com/index.php/weblog/apples_and_the_vancouver_fruit_tree_project/

note - the Vancouver Fruit Tree Project is on hiatus for the 2007 season

apple revelation

I've had an apple revelation. It is fresh and tasty, crisp & fresh, delicious. A Red Delicious revelation.

It seems apples are part of my genetic make up, they bookend the growing season in my mind. Spring starts with the fragrance of apple blossoms in the air and the taste of fall is that of a crisp apple. Fresh crisp apples in the cool fall air, warm apple crisp, freshly stewed apple sauce with cinnamon, yellow, red, and green and beautiful variations in between. Spartan, Fuji, Braeburn, Mutsu, Pippin, MacIntosh, Gala and beyond, I love them all - except for the Red Delicious. I have never really been a fan of the Red Delicious. Until just a few days ago, then I had my apple revelation.

I arrived at the Vancouver Public Library, to see Michael Ableman speak, and was given an organic Red Delicious apple form George & Anna Zebroff's farm in Cawston. It was the comment 'it tastes like the holidays' that convinced me to give the old Red Delicious another try. Gone were the spongy texture and the lackluster taste that I found so uninspiring. This Red Delicious was bursting with taste & vitality. The most beautiful shade of red, it fit perfectly in my hands, and as I ate my apple, I relished in the delight of a newly discovered treat. This changes everything! Just as I could taste the warm Cawston sun and cool water that gave this apple life, I could taste the love that nurtures the apples and the land.

I was so pleased to see photographs and hear tales of George & Anna during Michael Ableman's presentation. As I looked around the room and saw people munching away on their apples, I couldn't help but feel like George and Anna were in the room with us.

I could not wait to share my apple revelation. The next morning, I started my class at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition by giving each student a Red Delicious apple from George & Anna's farm. Not only a good source of insoluble fiber, and good for digestion, heart health, and balancing blood sugar, the apple is also part of our folklore, and community. Farmers Markets are always a great way to connect with the people who are lovingly growing our food. With Winter Market season upon us, take the opportunity to stop by the Market, pick up some apples and chat with farmers about the diverse varieties grown right here in BC. It will add a sweet & tangy delight to your fall. Be prepared for a revelation of your own.

I wonder if it was a Red Delicious that fell on Newton's head....

Revelation Apple Crisp

6-8 local apples cored & chopped
(mix & match varieties for an explosion of taste & texture)
1/3 cup apple juice
¼ cup maple syrup
to taste grated fresh ginger

1 cup rolled oats
½ cup spelt flour
¼ cup sucunat
¼ cup organic palm shortening or organic coconut oil
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1/3 cup chopped nuts & seeds (almonds, hemp nut, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Preheat oven 350° F.

Core & chop apples, add apple juice, maple syrup and fresh ginger. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Mix 2/3 of dry mixture with apple mixture and place in lightly oiled baking dish. Top with remaining dry mixture.

Bake for 35 – 45 minutes.

Serve with tea & good friends

*use organic & local ingredients whenever possible

Published in the Slow Food Newsletter Fall 2005