We had an awesome evening of Preserve Swapping at Home Ec 2 last night (It was originally scheduled for Feb 27th and while we tried the best to get the word out about the change because of an unplanned business trip, I’m afraid we have missed some).  There will be one more preserve swap this year (in the fall) and a food swap before then; so there will be lots of opportunities to get involved in soon.  apologies if our messages didn’t reach you; we’re learning as we go…

Before we review, let’s announce Home Ec #3: Pot Luck on Sticks!  Come with bite-sized portions of your favourite foods (be creative) served on sticks on Monday, March 26 from 8:00PM-10:00PM.  You can RSVP on the Facebook group (which will make it easy to let you know of any updates) or stay tuned here.  You will be asked to fill out a small card describing your goody (simple facts like whether it’s vegetarian, contains nuts, etc).  We hope you’ll come out and meet some fantastic people – all are welcome!

The Preserve Swap was epic last night with several hundred jars of preserves traded.  Here’s a pic from early in the night:

Here’s our haul:

The complete list of what we came home with:

• Apple Butter
• Quince Elderberry Jam
• Roasted Peppers
• Crabapple Jelly
• Banana Butter
• Rosemary Jelly
• sun-dried Tomatoes
• Italian Vegetable Pickle (Antipasto)
• Pickled Chilis
• Nectarine Ginger Jam
• Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
• Tomato Sauce
• Wild Grape Juice (unsweetened; this will be made into vinegar)
• Pickled Hot Pepper Rings
• Apple Sauce
• Spicy Pickled Cauliflower
• Dill Zucchini Pickles
• Maple Sap (yep, right out of the tree!)

Swapping is an unbeleivable way to diversify your pantry.  As the variety of products in our CSA box tends to decrease in the darker months of winter, it’s a welcome boost to our cooking to have such an influx of new flavors and treats.  It’s also a great help in planning for next years preserving season and let’s me try things and decide on what to make in the coming year.

Emily made another killer cocktail with our Cold-Brewed “Espresso”.

A special mention to the kind folks (Lorraine) at Sausage Partners who brough fresh scones (fresh as in still warm from the oven) and passed around samples with their jam. 

We hope that you’ll come out to the next event – there’s a great group of people who are passionate about food waiting to meet you!