.
Fall. Autumn. Whatever it is referred to as makes little difference to me. All I know is that all of my windows are open and I have a permanent smile on my face.

The vegetable stands are stocked with more than just squash and we are getting ready to can apples and make tri-berry jam.

The county is also alive with events to help celebrate the harvest season. Oh, if there were only time to visit them all!

Here are just some of your choices for this weekend:

• Ruthven Apple Festival – Sat & Sun (Colasanti’s) – parade, vendors, car show, midway
• Doors Open Windsor – Sun (Windsor) – access to some of the areas greatest buildings including Canadian Club Brand Centre and Gurdwara Kahlsa Parkash (food provided!)
• City Cycle for Doors Open – Sun (Windsor) – leisurely bike ride sponsored by ScaleDown and WindsorEats.com
• Cooking with Healing Foods – Sun (Windsor) – healthy food recipes using local, seasonal and organic produce

Details for all of these events are on my food calendar (link at top left of page). The best part, these events are all FREE!

So head out to enjoy the weather (high 70s!) and the free festivities.
.

Uncategorized

.
If you are a local blogger (or are thinking of starting a blog) there is a great group of people that meets on a monthly basis to discuss blogging. Even though blogging is the common thread the discussions do tend to cover countless other topics. I enjoy it because I can get advice on different ways of updating my blog, but I am also learning a lot about Windsor as all the blogs cover different topics. You can visit the group’s Wiki here. The next meeting is Wednesday, September 24th at 6pm at Monaco Fusion Grill.

Each month, we try to have a blog burst where all of us write about our view of a specific topic. This month’s topic is “Amenities I like or want to see in my community”.

There are many things that I love about Windsor. One of them is the parks that are available to me, especially the dog park in the Remington area. For more on my park adventures with my dog, you can check out my dog blog, Dog Friendly Windsor, where I try to share information on parks (and events) that you can enjoy with your dog and your family.

My other favourite city amenity is my local book lender.

I have a very long list of books that I want to read. I enjoy the occasional horror novel (Dean Koontz and John Saul in particular, despite some of the predictability) but most of the books that I like to read have to do with food: the slow food movement, sustainable food, eating local, etc.

Some of these books I can pick up in sales at Chapters but if I had to buy them all, I’d probably go broke. If I did buy all of these books myself what would I do with them when I was finished? And what if I bought a book and thought it was terrible and just did not feel like finishing it?

Enter the Windsor Public Library… the epitome of recycling; one book can be shared by thousands of people!

I can go online and search through the library catalogue and request a book (or CD or DVD), even if it is from another branch; I get an email when my materials come in and I walk down the street to pick it up. If I do not finish my book before the return date, I can go online and renew it. The service is convenient and it saves me money.

Other than a local market, there are few other amenities that I think this city lacks. Keep moving forward Windsor.

“So often we dwell on the things that seem impossible rather than on the things that are possible. So often we are depressed by what remains to be done and forget to be thankful for all that has been done.”

– Marian Wright Edelman

Be sure to check out the other Windsor blogs today to see other views on this topic.
.

Wiki, Windsor Public Library, Windsor bloggers, blog burst

I purchased a digital recorder to make some of my research and interviews easier. I also figured that I could record some of my blog entries instead of trying to write them.

You are now my guinea pigs and you get to listen to my premier podcast. It is a bit strange to hear myself speak, but I hope it is not to freaky for you.

So here is my first podcast about my frustration with finding local food at a chain grocery store.

(mp3 temporarily unavailable)

I am still learning how to adjust the volume and tweak the recordings, so it might be a bit loud.
.

Uncategorized

We are getting ready to enter my favourite time of year. While I enjoy the outdoors, I am not much of a “summer” person and I eagerly look forward to the days where I can take long walks through colourful forests, wearing a sweatshirt, jeans and running shoes.

Autumn not only brings my favourite weather, it also brings some of my favourite foods. While I am still enjoying local peaches and corn, I now get to look forward to apples, pears, brussel sprouts (yes, I think they are yummy!), cauliflower, parsnips, and zucchini. This is not the entire list of what is available either, they are just some of the ones that I am really looking forward to.

We have been enjoying new recipes using the local veg that seems to be available in abundance right now. Along with a lovely zucchini and onion fritatta, we had a great rice and veggie salad that helped use up leftover corn on the cob and other seasonal veggies. You can get the recipe courtesy of Uncle Ben’s (we left out the cheese and olives).

Orchards are the place to be at this time of year and there are a few to choose from in the area:
.

• Wagner Orchards & Estate Winery (Maidstone) Gala & Empire now; Mutsu & Red/Golden Delicious Nov 1
• Thiessen Orchards (Leamington) McIntosh, Royal Gala, & Honey Crisp now; Jonagold & Empire Sept 15 to Oct 15; Mutsu & Red/Golden Delicious Oct 1 – 15
• Scherer Orchards (Kingsville)
• Balsillie Fruit Farm (Harrow) Empire, Gala, Mutsu (Crispin), Red/Golden Delicious, Idared
• E & B Medel Orchards (Ruthven) McIntosh, Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Empire, Crispin, Idared, Sunrise, Ginger Gold, Jersey Mac, Paula Red
• Hric’s Orchard (Colchester)

.
Choose Gala for applesauce, pies and baking; Golden Delicious for pies and baking; Empire, Red Delicious and Mutsu are great for eating right from the tree. You might have your favourite apples and recipes though, so consider adding them here!

Last year we canned Mutsu and Golden Delicious; this is what we gave out at Christmas and we saved two delicious jars for ourselves. We wanted to try canning and decided that this was going to be one of the easier projects.

If you cannot get to an orchard (but you should go because it is fun for everyone!), you may see more local apples for sale at the grocery stores this year due to hail storms damaging many orchards outside of Essex County. Check out today’s Windsor Star article about this.

Don’t you think it is silly that we are surrounded by orchards yet import apples? Every time you make a purchase, think about where your food comes from. Apples are not just available right now, they are one of the fruits that cellars well so stored properly, they can last you through the winter!
.
.

Wagner Orchards, apple picking, fall vegetables