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A visit with the Zero-Mile author produces a lovely garden tour, simple and effective canning tips, and more
Carolyn proudly displays a collection of canned beans
While working with bestselling author Carolyn Herriot (The Zero-Mile Diet: A Year-Round Guide to Growing Organic Food) on her soon-to-be-released book, The Zero-Mile Cookbook: Seasonal Recipes for Delicious Homegrown Food, I was fortunate to receive an invitation to spend a few days with her at her Victoria home.
Meandering through the small orchard and “berry walk,” then past the greenhouse loaded with heritage tomatoes and peppers, then on to the vegetable-seed garden (where Carolyn gathers her “Seeds of Victoria”) and kitchen gardens, I felt like I was in heaven.
At Carolyn’s, it was canning season, when she puts down food for the winter. Some goes into the freezer, some is dehydrated, and some is canned, all of which she describes in detail in her upcoming book.
During my stay there, she was a whirlwind in the kitchen, blending batches of basil pesto, and canning plums and green beans . . . and making to-die-for peach pies with a surprisingly simple homemade crust, all the while cheerfully telling me how very easy and fun it all was to do – and she was absolutely right about this.
Living a zero-mile lifestyle has a lovely rhythm and connects us deeply with the flow of the seasons and the earth that surrounds us. By just doing a little bit at a time, often with friends and fellow “urban farmers,” Carolyn manages to fill her larder with zero-mile organic goodies that easily takes her household right through the year.
Here, Carolyn shares her recipe for canned green beans (the majority of the ingredients come directly from her own property), along with her canning know-how:
Ingredients
Instructions
Follow steps in How to Process High-Acid Foods below and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Let stand for 2 weeks before eating.