Soup Season
Soup is just the best for the busy cook, especially in February when the light’s coming back and we’re rushing in from…
Vegetables
Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit an
Fried Okra With Spicy Mayo
Okra can be polarizing. Some people are really turned off by the texture, which can tend towards slimy. But if you embrace the slime…
Fried Zucchini And Alfalfa Sandwich
Eating this sandwich feels hopeful for spring, and since winter just started, we need all the hope we can muster.
Delicious, Healthy Fermented Beverages
While there is very little information on the origin of water kefir grains, some studies state they could come from Caucasia, as milk kefir grains were used by Russians, centuries ago.
Preserving Veggies For (Brrrh!) Winter
In the Yukon, the growing season in summer is very efficient, with almost 20 hours of daylight but winters are tough for our food gardens.
The Yukon landscape
One thing that thrives up here is the humble spruce tree. Now before you shake your heads, let me clarify: I’m not talking about just any ol’ spruce tree.
Yukon See It Here: Tamara Neely
I found this giant squash for sale at Wyke’s Your Independent Grocer, and was amazed and impressed, because I had never seen such an enormous squash. It’s a 37-pound banana squash, and I wondered who would buy it, and how they would cook it. I went back the next day and found that it had …
Paprika roasted carrots with parsley yogurt sauce
This is a simple way of preparing sweet local carrots where the root vegetable stays the star of the plate.
Food is Medicine
Why is it that we can go on different diets, try different workouts, use a variety of supplements but still have a hard time shedding those pounds? I’ve asked myself this question a number of times, and I’m sure there are others out there who have too. Having been at a weight of 350 pounds, …
Roast grouse with root vegetables
Roast grouse with root vegetables INGREDIENTS 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, quartered 2 large (or 6 small) carrots, halved lengthwise 1 shallot, quartered 1 Tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper, to taste 1 whole grouse, cleaned 1 small bunch parsley 2 strips of bacon METHOD 1. Set oven at 400ºF. Add potato, carrots and shallot …
Harvest at the Yukon Grain Farm
The giant green machine inches its way along a row of potato plants with the fall coloured mountains as the backdrop. From far away it looks like a slow-moving, peaceful agrarian scene, but this changes as I get closer. First I begin to hear the big John Deere tractor motor running, then I make out …
A Passion for Preserving
If you love the gentle pop-pop-popping of a jar lid, you might just be a home canner. For Michelle Christensen-Toews, it’s one of the many satisfying things about preserving food. “You only hear it as you’re clearing up. You’re washing the dishes and you start to hear the popping and you know that things are …
Grilled Corn Salad with Chili Lime Dressing
Method: 1. Whisk together mayo, sriracha and lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the pepper and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and allow to cool. 2. Heat your grill to a high heat …
Ode to Winter
The warm winds of spring have brought with them the promise of little green shoots popping out of their seeds to generate the stuff of salads. There is a brief moment in our northern spring between the holding cold of winter and the heady 24-hour daylight, before our winter habits – frozen into trails through …
Just Planting a Seed Here, Folks
Somebody once said a gardener is just a philosopher with dirty hands and an aching back. Well, maybe nobody actually said that until I just did, but I believe it to be so. Of all life’s pursuits, few can match gardening when it comes to bringing body and soul together. Why? Because it’s hard to stay mad …
Veggies à la Barbecue
I bet you can get your kids or even adult veggie haters to enjoy them done on the barbecue. Here are three simple and very tasty methods. Simple Method #1 Cut carrots diagonally, broccoli any size, cabbage in slabs or just about any other veggie. Wrap in tinfoil with a little olive oil and oyster …
What’s the Appeal?
I was making a carrot cake this week for one of the Jack Russell’s birthdays (he gets the carrot ends, we get the cake, seems like a pretty good deal), and the subject of peeling vegetables came up. I have always been reticent about sending the outer portion of my fruits and vegetables to the …
Eggs Baked in Peppers
2. Divide bacon mixture between the roasted pepper cups then place back on the sheet pan. Break an egg into each pepper and place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until egg whites are set and the yolk is still runny. Serve with lots of toast.
Faint Praise for a Coarse Cultivar
Three foods top my No Thanks list: schmaltz herring, Marmite and kale. My sole experience with schmaltz herring – basically, raw fish preserved in rancid chicken fat – was anything but a gustatory delight. I also tried Marmite once. I even sampled its malevolent cousin, Vegemite, during a visit Down Under. Ptooey. Fortunately, in this …
Bingeing on Brassicas
Potatoes, kale and cabbage is a pretty common answer to the question, “What can you grow up there, anyways?” For those of us who get excited about growing, however, it is easy to go kind of crazy even within the parameters of a single vegetable family and the brassicas (also known as coles or crucifers …
Growing in the Dark
I was reminded of the importance of seedling density as I wandered away from my usual mung beans and lentils into tiny seed territory recently. While I do enjoy the little sprouts – alfalfas and mustards and the like – I normally can’t be bothered when I am quite satisfied with what I see as …
Homemade Food for the Trail
Finally, it’s here! The season I’ve been waiting for, the season when each day invites a further excursion to extend the trail beyond yesterday’s stopping point. It’s ski season. I got out for my first ski this year on a visit down to Mount Lorne before Christmas, and the next shortly afterwards on my new …
I’ve Got a Gut Healing About This
Hippocrates alluded to the gut as the source of all our ills, and Katherine Belisle, a health practitioner in Whitehorse, couldn’t agree more. Working in the relatively new field of functional nutrition she has been doggedly working to introduce the benefits of eating fermented foods to an increasingly willing audience. Functional nutrition differs from a …
Potato and Green Onion Kugel
3. Remove pie plate from the oven and add the last remaining tablespoon of oil swirling the pan to coat. Add the potato mixture and smooth the top. Place the kugel in the oven and bake until it is evenly browned, about 90 minutes. Serve with sour cream. Serves 6
Foods for a Healthy Pregnancy
Being an adult is challenging. Eating well three times a day, every day, for an entire life is one of those things. Doing so while you are also responsible for feeding another being that is growing inside of you at an alarming rate – that’s a whole other level of challenging. If you happen to …
Roasted Carrot Galette
‘Tis the season for hearty stews, roasts and root vegetables. I bought vegetables from the From the Ground Up fundraiser (www.YukonFromthGroundUp.ca) a few weeks ago and now I have an abundance of carrots, beets and potatoes to use up. This simple galette is a great way to posh-up the humble carrot. Try it as a …
Pickled Rosemary Carrots
Bring on the cozy sweaters and pumpkin spice – it’s fall! My Facebook has been blowing up with harvest pictures: oversized squash, pounds of potatoes, and buckets of berries. I’ve also been seeing pictures of other people’s canning projects, which always inspires and motivates me to come up with new and exciting recipes. If you …
Curry Cauliflower Pickles
When I was a kid, we had yellow curry powder in the house for exactly three dishes: curried rice with raisins, curried chicken steamed buns and these deliciously addictive curried crab puffs my parents would make for special occasions. Although very mild as far as heat level goes, the power of that spice has always …
Whitehorse: The Edible City
At the downtown community garden in Whitehorse, a beekeeper tends to the newly built beehive in the fading evening light. Nearby, a gardener waters his small plot of potatoes, beans, and lettuce – a zucchini plant takes up a quarter of his raised bed box. Vegetables grow in plots on the other side of the …
Don’t Toss Those Tops
Backyard farmers and local food fans in the Yukon will undoubtedly be treated with an endless supply of nutrient-rich root vegetables. This season, when you buy or harvest your bunches, don’t toss the leafy greens that top them. The greens on beets, carrots and even turnips are full of vitamins, minerals, and flavour – just …
Natural Remedies for Allergies
Nothing ruins a fabulous sunny day faster than red, itchy eyes and a runny nose. With summer here (yes – I am saying it!), we enter into the wonderful season of long days, bikes, hikes and patios. But we also dive itchy face first into the season of allergies. You may have noticed the subtle …
Healthy Ways to Soothe a Hangover
If you are indulging regularly in the good old Yukon Happy Hour, you may have met last night’s mean morning friend: The Hangover. He may be dependable, but he sure is a jerk. While the obvious advice may be that prevention is more effective than a cure, we all know that best intentions don’t always …
Winter: A Season for Change
“The more things change the more they stay the same” and “The only constant in life is change” are both very cliche and very true. In some sense farming and gardening means things are staying the same. We usually use the same plot of land and plant the same kinds of vegetables. We also raise …
Don’t Turnip Your Nose
“‘…but gracious me! It’s getting light! Good night, old Turnip-top, good-night!’ A nod, and he was gone.” So ends the sixth canto of Phantasmorgia by Lewis Carroll (better known for having written the topsy-turvy classic Alice in Wonderland), with the parting sally of a young phantom as he leaves the residence of the …
The Anti Stress Diet
Stress, and your body’s response to it, is inevitable. When it happens in small, infrequent amounts, it can even be a helpful and necessary function of your brain and body. You are hardwired to respond to dangerous situations – like seeing a bear – in a way that prepares you physically and mentally for a …
Five Steps to a Healthier Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving has long been my favourite holiday. Surrounded by friends, family, and food, without the stress that bigger holidays like Christmas bring, what’s not to love? Traditionally a celebration of the season’s harvest, Thanksgiving is a holiday of abundance. While that abundance is something to be grateful for, it can also lead to food hangovers …
Farmer Robert’s: The business of nature
From the outside, Farmer Robert’s Store looks like a market in the middle of farm country. And that is exactly what it is… and much more. It is the final piece of the logistical puzzle that brings locally produced and organic produce to a demanding consumer in the most efficient way. Step through the doors …
Love Your Liver
We usually think of our liver in relation to alcohol, but in reality its relationship to our health is much more complex. The liver is a living organ that processes and filters almost everything that goes into our bodies. Every day we are bombarded with toxins that have the potential to damage our body. These …
An Orange Dog
National Hot Dog Day approaches on July 23. Those who celebrate will most likely be found grilling hot dogs on the barbeque or over a fire. Die-hard hot dog lovers may opt to make their own. In the Yukon there are opportunities to experiment with local game recipes. Regardless of what you use to make …
What’s In This Library
Spring is approaching — it’s time for all those with a green thumb to enjoy the warm weather. The garden season in the Yukon poses challenges, but those who know seeds and soil manage to pull through and enjoy the bounty of the land. Common amongst the garden culture circle is the planting of vegetables …
Potatoes Grow Anywhere
Formerly the Ramada, now the Days Inn, sits at the edge of the Whitehorse industrial area. It’s parking lot and big-box-store land, the concrete jungle of our Northern capital. It’s windy and dusty and, according to Francis van Kessel, general manager at Days Inn, the perfect place to grow potatoes, carrots, beets, and maybe kale. …
A New Market?
I was having dinner with a neighbour the other day and she asked me if I needed any dried greens. She was referring to turnip tops and kale. She had just come across a large, forgotten jar and with the onset of spring it was high time to use them up. I declined, because her …
February Seedlings
Anything can happen in February, weather-wise. It can be -30°C one day and 5°C a few days later. The sun can be very warm and the spring starts diminishing the snow and icing up the roads. January is a month of hibernation and rest. But February is a month of cabin fever; hence Rendezvous. February, the …
The Green Rush
Right on schedule, my sprout craving has arisen from where it lay quietly dormant since the fall, nestled snug beneath the desire for stews and roasted root vegetables. The herbs I’ve kept in the house are responding to the same cues, with tiny pale green leaves emerging from the nodes of their twiggy stems. I’m …
The Power of Enzymes is Now
If you’re pressed for time, as most of us are, summer is good news. Gone are winter days with their demand for labour-intensive, heated meals. Salads, smoothies, and other raw entrees feel good to eat on hot days, and you don’t have to cook. Plus, fresh foods fill our bodies with nutrients and enzymes that …
Perennials
In spring, while we wait for the snow to melt, we check on the chives to see if there will be enough for a taste. Once the snow is gone we keep an eye on the rhubarb. This year I was also watching for asparagus to return. Last year I seeded asparagus in a flowerbed …
Winter Gardening
Years ago I was asked by a Japanese helper what kinds of plants grew here in the winter. I laughed and said nothing grows, it is all frozen solid. She was amazed. In many places they rotate their crops based on the season. Heat-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers can be followed by crops that …
Yukon Harvest Time
I can’t believe it’s almost over. This summer was one of the best on record as far as gardening goes. We always had lots of produce to harvest and a sell at the markets. But the garden doesn’t stop producing just because the Fireweed Community Market is done for the season. In fact, there are …
Help Your Plants Find the Light
Light is the main requirement for your seedlings once they have emerged from the soil whether they are flowers, vegetables or herbs. Having a sunny south bay window may not be enough intense light to prevent the seedlings from growing tall and spindly. Although it is too early to plant in your greenhouse, unless you …
Pollination: Let the Bees Do It
With the days getting longer and nights warmer, the plants in your greenhouse should be thriving. Your greenhouse plants, tomatoes, cucumbers or squash, may start to send out their first flush of flowers. If you’ve bought plants locally, you may have bought plants with flowers or even little tomatoes already on the vine. If this …
Veggies Like a Warm Bed
If you haven’t planted your garden, now is definitely the time to get growing. Remember to plant your seeds — such as carrots, beets and lettuce — fairly shallow. The depth of the seed bed that is required for root vegetables should be fairly deep (eight to 10″) for the development of the vegetable, but …
Getting Your Greenhouse In Order
At this point in the season, maintenance is the goal for keeping your greenhouse productive now and in the coming month. Despite the snow at the beginning of June, the plants in your greenhouse should be growing rapidly. I would recommend keeping an eye on the following potential trouble spots: air circulation and fungal problems. …
Plants Helping Plants
One of the more interesting characteristics of plants is that plants are affected chemically by the aroma from leaves, roots and by soil micro-organisms. Knowing which plants like each other and which don’t, and planting these together, is what is known as companion planting. Companion planting is the planting of different crops in close proximity …
Tomatoes: The Needs of the Many Outweigh the Needs of the Few
One sunny August afternoon, I walked into our “Tomato” greenhouse only to find my husband, Frank, yielding a machete (OK, a large knife) chopping off the tops of all the tomato plants. Positive that the heat finally got to him and he’s gone berserk, I yelled: “What the heck are you doing?” The long rows …
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Salvaging a Short Growing Season
It’s been obvious to gardeners for some time that this summer has not been favourable for vegetable gardening. The lack of sunny days combined with cool nights is just not the best for ripening of tomatoes. Outdoor vegetables such as cabbage and cauliflower are also very late in forming heads. The hope for these crops …
Savoury Edible-Plant Gardening
Edible-plant gardening is a doubly exciting venture. We all know that food tastes best when it can be consumed soon after harvest. By growing edible plants in your windowsill, you take advantage of the fresh harvest at your finger tips. Herb gardening is a rewarding and useful experience. Consider experimenting with plant varieties not available …
What’s ‘Up’ in the Garden
They’re up … radishes and swiss chard that were planted only a week ago are now pushing up through the soil. The radishes looked like they have been up for a while, too, but I didn’t notice them because I was still planting other parts of the garden. When Allan watered last night, they became …
Not All Greenhouses Are Created Equal
One of the most-asked questions in regards to greenhouse coverings is: “What material should I use to cover my greenhouse.” The most important decision you will make is the choice of greenhouse coverings (or glazing as it is called in the trade). The ideal covering lets in the maximum amount of light while allowing the …
The Plant of the King’s Fragrance
Not everyone grows the standard tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in the greenhouse … There are gardeners who love to grow exotic flowers, and orchids are one of many plants that fall into this category. Your greenhouse is an ideal place to grow orchids because of the special conditions of temperature, humidity and light that can …
The Young at Heart Are Growing!
One of the delights of consulting and promoting gardening is that once in a while you stumble into on oasis that you did not know existed in Whitehorse. I was asked by our editor to check out what “The Seniors” up by Yukon College were doing, and when I eagerly drove up there recently and …
Seniors Who Are Growing and Giving
The Seniors Association, up on College Drive, not only has a fabulous greenhouse going, they have a complete gardening management system all set up and the project has plans to expand. Not only is there the wonderful, productive greenhouse I wrote about last week, but there is also an extensive outdoor garden. There is a …
‘Greening’ Your Greenhouse Garden
Approaching the last six to eight weeks of our active growing season, it’s time to take a critical look at your greenhouse.
Time to Reap What You Sow
I have a few heads of cabbage and broccoli amongst my flower beds, and I check their progress almost daily. One day, recently, I noticed the telltale signs of yellow on the broccoli florets and thought, Uh oh, better harvest these right now before they get over- mature. The next day, one of the cabbage …
Save Those Seeds!
A few years ago I received a delightful gift consisting of an assortment of home-grown, home-dried tomato and pepper seeds. What a delightful gift, I thought, and with Christmas only around four months away, now is the time to try saving seeds from your own plants to share, give as gifts or keep for next …
A Good Summer, Starts in the Fall
From all reports, this year has been one of the better growing seasons. However, if your green thumb is still itching to do some gardening, here’s an experiment you can try to prolong the fun. For a few years, I have been aware that a vegetable grower in Whitehorse has been experimenting with planting seeds …
Held Together by a Noodle
Vegetables and fresh fruits, lots of them, held together by pasta in this quick-to-prepare meal, is perfect for a busy fall night. You can eat it warm or make it ahead, refrigerate it and then heat it up to fit individual schedules. Vary the vegetables: use what is freshest and in season right now. Cooked …
Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! This Healthy Veggie Pie Is Yum
Fall is a time of great vegetable abundance. Yukon-grown root vegetables, as well as squash, mushrooms, pepper and garlic, add rich flavour to this warm and comforting one-pot dish. You can make it ahead and then pop it in the oven when you come home. Add a crusty sourdough bread, a crisp salad, and a …
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Springtime Rice
In old Klondike days, about the time of spring break-up, often all that was left in the cabin larder was a bag of rice. With a few weathered, withered and dried vegetables, even a prospector or miner could rustle up the vittles in a stir-fry like this. We have it much easier now. Colourful and …
Unleash the Ladybugs
Last week, I spotted a ladybug while visiting a garden in Dawson City. It was rather exciting to see a ladybug that far North and, not being a resident there, I asked whether sighting ladybugs is a frequent occurrence or rather something unusual. No one seemed to know, but it does seem to indicate that …
A Pre-Harvest Harvest
Whenever the beginning of August rolls around, I think more of harvesting the fruits of my gardening than the actual gardening. And harvesting has been the in progress for a couple of weeks already. The Swiss Chard has been cut and has re-grown twice now. I just trim the upper leaves leaving about 15 centimetres …
Maintain Your Greenhouse Well
Understanding good greenhouse techniques encourages healthy plant growth and, as the growing season is well on its way, it would be a good time to reassess your plants’ performance to see if there are areas which can be tweaked for better results. Consistent care and monitoring the plants’ growth contributes to good cultural practices. If …
Know Your Tomato
Did you know that banana peels and eggshells help to make your tomatoes grow? When buried in the bottom of a planter or spread around the roots of your tomato plants as you transplant them into the greenhouse, fresh banana peels act as slow-release fertilizer providing potassium and trace elements. The peels should be cut …
Taking Note of Good Peas
If you like peas, and many Yukon gardeners must for they can be found in most gardens, you’ve had lots of company throughout history. Dried peas found at an archeological site near Thailand have been carbon-dated to 9750 BC according to the Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development Information pamphlet regarding fresh produce. Eating fresh peas …
Next Year’s Garden Season Begins Now
Although this year’s gardening season is winding down, next year’s season is just beginning. I heard quite a few years ago, that someone was experimenting with planting crops such as carrots and beets in the fall with the expectation that they would be much further ahead in harvesting than spring-planted carrots. I was too busy …
Companion Planting in the Garden
Just like people, plants thrive when in the right company. Camaraderie in the garden is something one might not necessarily think of, however the benefits of putting plants together in the right relationship is quite notable and interesting. In companion gardening, varieties of herbs, vegetables and flowers work together in partnership to nurture and protect …
Your Greenhouse is 2,000 Years Old
If you are like many people trying to grow tomatoes in pots on the patio, the windy conditions we’ve been having hasn’t helped the growth rate of even the hardiest tomato varieties. Carrying the plants into the confines of a warm house for the night is a chore, but it will help your plants revive …
Get Your Greenhouse Ready
Hey, Yukon! It’s gardening time! Time to get that greenhouse ready! If your greenhouse has a supplementary heating system, chances are you’ve already begun planting, and your greenhouse is up and running. For those people whose greenhouses lack a heating unit, now is the time to prepare the greenhouse and get it ready for those …
Eat Your (Northern) Broccoli!
This past September, I was privileged to attend the seventh annual Circumpolar Agricultural Conference in Alta, Norway. Alta lies just below the 70°N latitude, which makes it a bit farther north than Old Crow. The Circumpolar Agricultural Association (CAA) was founded in 1995 in response to the ideas created at the first Circumpolar Agricultural Conference, …
Hot Fun in the Summertime
Due to some travelling adventures in Latin and South America, I was introduced to chili peppers in the last 10 years or so. Approaching the use of chili peppers cautiously, I did acquire a taste for them, enjoying their legendary heat as they added a jolt of stimulating flavour to food. Peppers range from spicy …
The Right Time, The Right Place
With the hot weather this past Victoria Day weekend, I planted all my vegetable seeds. But my vegetable transplants are still getting the deluxe care treatment, kept in a cold frame or the greenhouse until I’m sure the last of the frost is past. In some of the Yukon’s outlying areas, this could be as …
Water and Warm Soil Keep Cukes Sweet and Refreshing for Summer
When I think of cucumbers, I think of the idiom “cool as a cucumber” , which may be based on the fact that even in hot weather, the insides of cucumbers remain cooler than the air. Cucumbers, the second most popular greenhouse crop after tomatoes, certainly do not like cool weather. In fact, they thrive …
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Ode to Beets
Most vegetables have their share of pests and problems. If it’s too wet, mildew will attack peas or tomatoes. An early fall frost can kill many of the garden vegetables commonly grown up here, such as lettuce and potatoes. Radishes, cabbages and others of that family have a beetle (I don’t know the name of …
Play Makers: Produce pains
Wash your produce. We are taught this from a very young age, but it particularly holds true up here in the North. Some of the things I’ve seen people to do in the fruits and veggies department is especially appalling. They squeeze it, they sniff it, they caress it, they poke it, and they throw …
Cool Veggies
Most people associate fresh vegetables with summer, especially in the Yukon. So when my cousin came for a visit near the end of October, she wasn’t expecting anything to be growing in my garden. She is from southern Manitoba, where seasons are longer than ours and she hadn’t heard of harvesting in October. When she …
