Dehydrating Cherries

Cherries are in season for such a short time - but we can make the best of this ripe, delicious harvest by setting aside a portion to freeze or dehydrate - that is if you don't eat them all as soon as you get home! 

During the first batch, when I pitted fresh cherries some precious cherry juice was wasted. The second batch worked much better with frozen cherries, which aside from giving me red thumbs, is really very simple! So you can start with fresh or frozen cherries, the choice is yours.

To remove the pits from the cherries without losing most of the juice, I freeze cherries in small batches and let them thaw a tiny bit before I remove the pits by hand (I must get a cherry pitter).

Next I drain the pitted defrosting cherries, in a colander over a bowl, which allows the cherries to release their lovely juice as they defrost. By storing the cherry juice in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator, I now have fresh cherry juice ready to be used in recipes, or poured over a fruit salad! 

Simply spread the cherries (now separated from pits and juice) onto a paraflexx sheet on a dehydrator tray - with the skin side down to preserve remaining juice. Dehydrate at 105 degrees F for 12 hours and remove paraflexx sheet, leaving cherries to finish drying on the mesh tray liner. Dehydrate another 12 hours until dry. They should not be crispy, and look like raisins with a bit of moisture remaining.

The dehydrated cherries can now be stored in a glass jar with a lid. I keep mine in the refrigerator - ready when I need them! Imagine how the flavours in your recipes will pop by adding dehydrated cherries! Yummy!

Farewell To Bandit

July 15, 2011, a friend of mine passed over - his name was BANDIT - and I would like to take a moment here to honour him for enriching our lives and bringing us joy!

Working with animals is all about building relationships – which makes each loss a deep and difficult one for me – so here are three pictures of this amazing boy, which I would like to share with you.

Bandit made my first dog walking visit to his home a memorable one! I remember sitting patiently on the floor inside the front door while Bandit warned me, slowly gave me the once over, decided I was OK, and finally (after some time) gave me his approval - but from that time onward we were friends.

He was a playful, loving boy who thoroughly enjoyed his rubdowns, and really loved his family (mom Sherry and dad Tom, dog buddies Taz and Sam, and kitties Watts and Flower). Although we will all really miss Bandit, we can be grateful that he lived a life full of joy and love right where he wanted to be, surrounded by his wonderful family.

Local Organic Berries

Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC)  http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/  is the main website where you can look up Organic and Bio-Dynamic farmers in your area. Here are just a few farms from their list for Abbotsford and Chilliwack.

Since we can finally start picking, now is the time to consider the health benefits of choosing Organic over commercially grown produce. If the farm sign has a large green checkmark and says Certified, you know the produce has been grown without artificial chemicals, hormones, or genetically modified or engineered organisms (GMOs). All of these pesticides and fertilizers can create an unhealthy toxic build up in your body that may be detrimental to your health. The choice is up to you!

Fresh picked from Warkentin Organic Farm

ABBOTSFORD
Bateman Berry Farm 604-850-0377 - blueberries
Biota Farm 604-859-5959 - fruit, hens, eggs, vegetables (Bio-Dynamic)
Blue Heaven 604-850-2278 - blueberries
Casa Blanca Farm 604-607-0043 - apples, pears, peaches, raspberries
Collin Regehr Farms 604-302-5489 - raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
Glen Valley Organic 604-857-0017 - mixed veggies, greens, fruit, berries
Warkentin Organic Farm 604-826-7230 - blueberries, strawberries, blackberries

CHILLIWACK
Forstbauer Family Farm 604-794-3999 - blueberries, veggies, herbs, fruit, eggs, beef (Bio-Dynamic)
Lenz Farm 604-823-6577 - hazelnuts
Ohm Organic Farm 604-703-3200

LANGLEY
Casa Blanca Farm 604-607-0043 - apples, pears, peaches, raspberries, hazelnuts

Smoothies and Smoothie Bars

With the overwhelming variety of options presented to customers at a smoothie bar, how do you know which smoothie is the right fit for you? You may want to begin by asking some questions before ordering your drink.

What exactly is in the additives and what are they designed (or processed) specifically for? Are the ingredients organic? Is the produce locally sourced? And those with special dietary needs may want to know: Is it dairy-free? Is it nut-free? Do any of the additives contain wheat? Is it made from truly raw plant-based foods?

Menus may include fruit smoothies (usually combinations of frozen fruit, ice and optional powders); green smoothies (sometimes the same as fruit with green powders added); and then there is the addition of milk (which could be dairy); coconut milk or coconut water as a base; protein shakes (powders and additives); and of course booster drinks (superfoods, maca, etc).

What about pure, simple, delicious, nutrient packed smoothies? Smoothie bars may offer only minimal advice about the benefits of doing it the natural way, and one of the best people I know to keep you well informed is Victoria Boutenko http://www.rawfamily.com/ I hope you will tour her website, which is an excellent source on the healing benefits of greens in our diet. (Click on the Events tab above for VICTORIA'S 2nd visit to ABBOTSFORD on AUGUST 8.)

You can always ask for a natural supergreen smoothie with wheatgrass, mango, bananas and water. Or how about trying dandelion greens, cucumber and water, or broccoli sprouts, blackberries and water? And have you ever considered adding kale, carrot tops, beet greens, cilantro, sprouts, or miner's lettuce in combination with different fresh or frozen fruits and water? These are all powerhouse drinks that will energize you.

While fruit smoothies can be light, delicious and refreshing, savory smoothies can be prepared from greens and nonstarchy vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, etc. If you want your smoothies to be less sweet, start by adding low-glycemic index fruit such as berries and apples.

We can get plenty of phytonutrients, protein, vitamins, and minerals from fresh greens. One pound of kale contains more protein than the USDA daily recommentation. And while adding green powders may be better than eating french fries, they are still a processed food, where the nutritional content may be altered in the process. I believe in consuming large quantities of fresh organic greens and fresh organic fruits for optimal health benefits.

When I began my journey with smoothies, I went the expensive route of adding protein powder, maca, flax oil, superfoods, etc. But as I gradually evolved into making pure green smoothies with no additives (other than Chia seeds for Omega-3), that is when I began noticing extra energy. Finally, a blender combination that was easy to digest, without additives, nuts, seeds or oils - that made me feel ohhh so good! 

The bottom line is that you must have your own experience - what is right for one is not right for all! So try each version of a smoothie for at least a week, and pay close attention to what your body is telling you.