Preparing for winter

I have this drive to hoard for winter. It has nothing to do with living in Whitehorse, where I dare say it isn't a bad idea, it was something I did in Ottawa too. The first sign of fall, the first veggies to harvest and I kick into gear freezing, drying, preserving and stocking up.

While I was definitely brought up in a house that canned and froze, I'll admit I spent very little time helping and had plenty of part-time jobs to use as an excuse. I very much appreciated what my mom made (and still do), it just wasn't of great interest to me. Today, that has changed.

This frantic feeling started a few years ago when Mike and I began focussing on local foods and eliminating most things that weren't. To eat local, one has to be prepared, and storing stuff for the winter is a large part of that. Even the availability of meat has its season, and its important to be ready when it is.

Stocking up for winter has taken on a new twist in Whitehorse. Tomatoes, for one, require a lot of TLC to grow here (aka LOTS of watering because of the dry climate and greenhouse protection from cool evenings) and aren't nearly as available as I would like. Pretty much everything else I could possible want is, however, and to add to the insanity, it is all ready at the same time. The growing season is very short, but with near-24 hour sunlight, the veggies grow fast and ENORMOUS! I have seen the biggest - radish, turnip, beet, lettuce, zucchini, etc. etc. etc. I have ever seen - and they are still mild and thin-skinned and delicious. It's amazing and busy.

And so, most nights for the past several weeks, something has been happening at our house - and to Mike's chagrin almost always late at night (hey, I still gotta work!). As the nights are getting longer and cooler, the dehydrator is out and working, and I have slowly gotten things ready. Our freezer is filling up with fish, raspberries, peas, beans, carrots, broccoli, green onions and cauliflower puree. We have frozen wild strawberries, rhubarb, high bush cranberries and zucchini already shredded for bread. We have pickled carrots, high bush cranberry spicy sauce, beets with horseradish and a few precious jars of tomatoes. The herbs are dry and the meat arrives in about a month. By then, I hope to be ready for winter. Who knows, this year it might already be here!

ps, thanks to my mom for her help!! (she has all the canning and berry-picking photos)