Preserving Your GOING Garden’s Bounty GREEN By Michael lauher NAPA VALLEY BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Education Director by the Napa County Green Business Program Connolly Ranch Education Center Sways to deal with extra produce. Gifts to non-gardeners for childrenresourcesommunitycummer is in full swing now, your garden is probably atits peak production and you are trying to find creative are always welcome, and of course, donating to the local food bank will be welcomed by those who are less fortunate. A skill that all gardeners should have is the ability to can, freeze, dehydrate, ferment or preserve their bounty in some way for use later in the year. I think most people are intimidated by the process of pressure canning because of all the supplies needed, the risk of food-borne illness or bacteria contamination and, honestly, most of that is too much for me as well. So let’s keep it simple. Hot water bath canning is a method used for high acid foods (versus low acid foods that you have to pressure cook) and all you need are canning jars, lids and a large pot that can contain a few jars at one time. Fill the jars, seal the lids, then boil ten to fifteen minutes and you’re done. My favorites are vinegar pickles, pickled jalapeños, applesauce and peaches in honey. Lactic acid fermentation is one of the oldest methods of preserving food and has Community Resources for Children, otherwise known beneficial effects on your immunity and intestinal health due to healthy Lactobacilli as “CRC,” is committed to leaving the world a better —the same good stuff in yogurt. Fermented pickles are easy. Put water, salt and place for children. CRC is a nonprofit community-based cucumbers in a jar and keep in a dark space for a week to ferment. Then put in the organization providing resources for the early care and fridge where they will keep for months. education of children throughout Napa County. The freezer is also your friend for preserving and is the easiest for things like According to Claudia Alexander, HR Manager, “We corn, squash, peppers, beans and pesto. A great way to save tomatoes is to drop them were excited to have the opportunity to take the agen- in boiling water to remove the skins then store in freezer bags to use in the winter cy through the Bay Area Green Business certification for pasta sauce and soup. Or mix all the veggies in a pot with onions and garlic for process. As a business we have always tried to do our a couple of hours and you have a great vegetable stock that can go into freezer bags best to be environmentally responsible, and becoming for winter soup. a Bay Area Green Business brought our efforts to the All of these methods do take time and materials to pull off, so I usually get next level. We believe learning is an on-going process, motivated by getting friends together for a preservation party where everyone brings and to that end, try to provide our employees with op- their bumper crop to preserve and we celebrate with fermented grape juice or barley portunities to expand their knowledge. This past year and hops! we had presentations about recycling, the ‘Better Bag Project,’ a ‘Drug Take-Back Program,’ and took a ‘field trip’ to Napa Sanitation.” CRC’s staff meetings include a “green spotlight” fea- ture each month. Going through the green certifica- tion process brought changes to CRC’s purchasing policies and procedures, including selecting products made with recycled content. CRC continues to try to reduce consumption by reusing whenever possible. In their Toy Library & Early Learning Center, CRC has re- cruited help from volunteers to sew drawstring bags to hold small toys and loose pieces, replacing plastic zip- lock bags. CRC has also changed their toy sanitizing solution to one that is more environmentally friendly. For more information visit www.crcnapa.org or call 707- 253-0376. For more information on the Napa County Green Busi- ness Program visit www.greenbusinessca.org or con- Connolly Ranch • 3141 Browns Valley Road, Napa tact Danielle Schmitz at dschmitz@nctpa.net. 707-224-0104 • www.connollyranch.org 54 w w w . n A P A V A L L E Y L I F E m A G A z I n E . c o m
NVLife_JulyAug_2012
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