Operation Oxygen Mask (OOM) Week 13: Harvest #3

How are you doing? Can you take a moment, right now, even in the middle of a busy day, be still for just long enough to connect with your breath? Close your eyes, feel your feet on the ground, and take one mindful deep breath.

Today we carry on our theme of harvest with some ideas for preserving the bounty of late summer. Whether you harvested produce from your own garden, stocked up on goods from the farmer’s market or grocery store, or want to try something new that has already been preserved for you, we can all appreciate these methods for enjoying produce throughout the winter. Things that are pickled and fermented in traditional ways (like sauerkraut and kimchi) have the added benefit of probiotics, that are great for gut health!

HARVEST Week 3

PRESERVING FOOD by Jedrek Lamb

Huddle Question: What is your favorite preserved food and how do you prepare it?

BUILD IN: This week – Try a new recipe using a preserved food (e.g. add sundried tomato to pizza/sauce, cook a pot of dried beans). If you’re feeling ambitious try freezing, drying, canning or pickling a fresh fruit or veggie.

Winter is coming and gardens must rest until the warmth and long days of Spring return. Meanwhile, we can preserve the abundance of the harvest available in late Summer and Fall with some preparation and planning. Humans have preserved food for thousands of years. Some ways are simple and some are more complicated.

Freezing- may not only be the simplest way to preserve food but it also preserves the most nutrients

Drying-this is the lowest tech and likely oldest method of preserving the harvest

Canning and Pickling-these methods require more knowledge and equipment, but can preserve food safely for at least a year.