This is Winter

It is -20 outside in Montreal. Even though the sun is shining, the distinctive crunch under your feet lets you know that it is really cold. Yesterday was a snow storm. In both cases there were few people to be found out and about.

Living in cold climates, people often retreat into the warmth of their homes once winter arrives. However, being an outdoor enthusiast, the idea of staying inside for months on end is never an attractive option. As I sit inside reading, I realize I have been sucked into a 'stay inside' lifestyle where I watch movies, exercise in gyms, cook elaborate meals, clean out old closets and observe the great outdoors from behind glass panes. In these moments I am glad that I don't have to be outside and pity the poor souls that have chosen to brave the extreme weather conditions.

Then it happened, a change in perspective. I realized that I want to be outside. That outdoors-oriented people around the world dream of having the chance to experience Montreal's winter and here I am taking it for granted. I am not snowshoeing, crosscountry skiing, ice fishing, tobogganing, alpine skiing, ice skating or even hiking in the woods. I had tried to convince myself that I wasn't partaking in any of these activities because I was low on cash, but aside from alpine skiing, none of these activities is particularly expensive (especially when you live in a place where most of your neighbours have the gear for you to borrow in a worst case scenario).

My only saving grace is that I have been taking my dog Odin on walks everyday. Once I realized the err in my ways, I started adventuring into the local wooded parks to revisit some of the places I used to adventure when I was a kid. Honestly just running around with Odin in the snow is gratifying. The snow is crisp and clean and seriously cool.

So here is to dreaming up some awesome wintertime adventures over the next two weeks and not sitting around on my behind letting this great opportunity to pass me by. Here is to learning that every landscape and every place being full of potential for fun and to being able to identify how to exploit them for the best.

Winter Pantry

Sorry for the hiatus folks. I have been swept up by the urgency of my colleagues to start my winter pantry. I have never before prepared a pantry for the winter, and realistically, I will not be creating an extensive one this year as I will only need to be able to feed myself for about two months before heading off to South America. Nevertheless, the concept and the skills I am learning to forage and hoard for the winter months is quite exhilirating.

This week for example I have picked three buckets of organic cherries. I am drying most of my cherries to use later in baked goods, granolas or cereals. Picking the cherries is about 20 - 30 minutes a bucket, pitting the cherries is about 60 minutes a buckets, and drying the cherries takes about two days in the dryer I am using. (We currently have four dehydrators running 24-7 in our house!)

Though this process is time involved, when you are not making any money and know you are going to want to have something sweet and wholesome come January or February, the time is totally worth it. Also to put it into perspective cost wise, organic cherries sell for about $6.00/lb. Each of my buckets is conservatively 8 lbs, which means that I picked just under $150.00 worth of fruit in about 1.5 hrs. However, if I were a cherry picker picking the fruit for someone else to sell, I would only get $2.50 a bucket. Unless you are very fast and very skilled at cherry picking, I don't think it is a very financially fruitful endeavour.

The other items I have dehydrated recently are zucchini slices to use as chips with nut butters, pates and the humus I make; pureed apricots to make apricot fruit leather; and diced apple pieces to use in baking and granola as well. I am hoping to start dehydrating some vegetables later in the season to use later to make soup and stews. The amount of space one saves (and the weight too) by dehydrating is impressive to say the least. I certainly look forward to owning my own dehydrator when I settle down.

The girls in my appartment area also busy drying every herb and flower they can get their little hands on. Manon for example has become a real chipmunk - she can barely walk anywhere without stuffing her pockets full of plant leaves, flowers, seeds or roots. In fact I have had to remind her pockets are not the best place to carry all things, as she broke two eggs in her pockets in one day! Silly girl.

I will shortly be starting to collect the herbs and flowers as my tea supply has run out and my spices too need to be improved. Currently I am looking forward to collecting mustard seeds, coriander, mint, oregano and camomille.

The nice thing about being in the presence of people who are actually preparing a full winter pantry, is you get to see all the possibilities of what can be made and how easily it can be done. For example, last Saturday night I went to our neighbour's with Manon to watch them make currant jelly.

And last, the concept of letting nothing go to waste is ever present in the 'conservation' process. For example, I have kept all of the cherry pits I have removed from my cherries to make a heat pack to ease my aching muscles.