Preserving: Freezer Storage

Every year it's the same. My peppers and tomatoes just start producing, and I have to leave for an extended trip to the States. At least with all the warm weather in August, we got a few fresh ones to enjoy.

Yesterday I went out and stripped all of my tomato and pepper plants and took everything to town for preserving.

I put my green tomatoes in the refrigerator hoping they won't ripen until I return. I cut the large peppers in half, cleaned and froze them for future stuffed peppers.

The rest I froze in containers for handy soup starters. I had some leftover celery (store bought), zucchini, banana peppers, plus my tomatoes and bell peppers.

I cut them all into bite-size pieces and layered them in my Bernardin Freezer Jars (Ball brand in the States). These are handy to stack in the condo freezer, but take too much room up at the cabin. I take one at a time up there to have on hand for winter soups. The rest remain in town waiting their turn.

Do you do any freezer preserving? What kinds of things do you freeze? - Margy

Stories of Powell River

Last spring, Tourism Powell River brought together local writers for a special project, getting the word out about our wonderful town and the surrounding area.

From those submitted, twenty stories were selected to highlight some of the unique aspects of life, culture, activities, and fun in Powell River. They have now been posted at the Tourism Powell River website for your reading pleasure. Wayne and I are proud to announce that Powell River Books is responsible for four of those stories.

Here are links to our stories in pdf format:

• Into the Back Country about ATV riding.
• My Powell Lake Floating Home about our cabin life
• Powell Riverites by Choice about Canadian immigration
• Wings Over Westview about aviation vacations

The other stories include topics about history, Texada Island, kayaking, fishing, camping, and much more. Head on over the the Tourism website to read them all.

If you have any questions about Powell River, I'd be glad to answer them for you. Just leave a comment or send an e-mail through the link on my profile page. Hope you get to visit our "Pearl of the Sunshine Coast."-- Margy

Cabin Cooking: Gastronomic Garden Goodies

My floating garden and containers produce things we eat fresh. The trick is, to get our garden goodies to come in when we need and can use them and right now we are getting a good combination of items to eat.

I pulled my onions in mid-July and cured them for storage. This year's crop was pretty puny, so they are already almost gone. Same goes for zucchini, but my bell peppers and tomatoes are producing well. What better way to combine these items than on skewers to go with BBQ beef ribs.

They are so easy to prepare. I use a little oil and rice wine vinegar mixed with Lawry's Lemon Pepper (I use this for just about everything) and my own dried herbs I call Margy's Mix. I cut the veggies into bite-size chunks and let them marinade for several hours. When the meat is about half done, the skewers go on the grill set on medium. We use the leftover marinade to baste them while cooking for extra flavour. About 10 minutes on each side gets them al dente, just the way we like them, a fresh gastronomic delight. -- Margy

Saved in the Nick of Time

My good friend John is always finding treasures for me. He knows the Powell River back country better than anyone. I never know what it will be, but here are some of the most memorable treasures he's brought home:

• An old manual typewriter
• An old logging two-man crosscut saw
• An oil can and tea kettle
• An old-time fire extinguisher
• Lots of pretty rocks
• Lots of interesting driftwood
• Rusted chains and tools

One treasure came from a "dump" along the shore. The contents probably came from old homesteads. Amid the trash he found a cast iron goose. It had one leg and was rusted, but John knew it was a perfect treasure to bring home for me. Besides, it didn't take much space on his quad.

My goose has a prominent perch in the kitchen, but has continued to deteriorate. I decided it was time to do something about it.

And it was a good thing I did. When I moved him, half of the head fell off and by the time I got it to the picnic table, the other half went too. I whittled a stick to fit into the neck and glued the head back together with some Amazing Goop. I also used the Goop to seal the edges of the cast iron halves and sealed the surface with several coats of polyurethane. While I was at it, I made a bark brace for his missing leg. Now Mr. Goose should last for years to come.

Thanks John for all the treasures. You're a great friend. -- Margy

Seed Saving for Snow Peas

My Snow Peas were a success again this year. I grow them in half of a 55-gallon blue barrel on the deck. I planted seeds directly in the soil in early April and they started producing by July. I got plenty to eat fresh, but by mid-August I let the last of the crop mature and the plants die back.

This is my first year experimenting with seed saving. The International Seed Saving Institute recommends beans, peas, lettuce, peppers and tomatoes for beginners. That's me! It took several weeks for the peas to dry completely. I knew they were ready when the pods were brown and transparent, and the peas rattled inside like little maracas. Then I cut up the stems and leaves for the compost pile. Nothing wasted.

I saved more seeds than I will need, but that gives me extras in case there are sprouting problems, and some to share. I shelled the peas, made an envelope, and labeled the contents by seed type and year. Saving my own seeds won't save me a fortune, but it'll be one way to become more self-sufficient.

Do you save seeds? What are some of your most successful kinds? -- Margy

Bush Beans in a Pot

My gardening this year has been filled with lots of highs and lows. My containers have been the most successful, but even with those I've had some problems. When my eggplant died in June, I decided to try some Bush Beans in the now empty pot.

I soaked the seeds and then put them in peat pellets for sprouting. This works successfully for me as long as I transplanted them before the roots became too established.

I planted the sprouts in the empty pot. Of the twelve seeds, one was raided by a deck critter. I planted the remaining eleven. Probably too many, but I hated to waste Any. As you can see, five were fast starters. Of the remaining six, three more developed into productive plants.

The plants started producing about two weeks ago. On Sunday, I got my largest picking, enough for a nice dinner side dish. And there are lots more still to come. I count my Bush Beans in a pot a gardening success, at least for this year.

Do you do container gardening? What are some of your success stories? - Margy

Palm Tree Point

We travel up and down Powell Lake to our cabin in all kinds of weather, except the extremely windy kind. There are names for places along the way such as The Washout (an earthen dam on nearby Inland Lake burst, washing out a patch to the shore of Powell Lake, Sandy Beach (an easy one to guess), Elvis Point (a life-size statue of the King used to stand here), and the North Sea (John's name for the large, often choppy section below First Narrows). We've also named a few places of our own.

Here is Palm Tree Point just south of The Washout. A large fir tree sticks out on an angle with its top branches somewhat lopped off. From a distance, it looks a lot like a palm tree jutting out for more sunlight.

On a foggy day, when our "palm tree" looms out of the mist, we know exactly where we are. But on calm summer days, it is just another beautiful tree among the many along the shore. -- Margy