This is the most wonderful time of the year when the cold winter winds have disappeared and the early spring damp days are over. No matter who you are I am sure you will be spending more time outdoors! The Great Canadian Summer when we can go outside without a hat, scarf, mitts, coat and boots!
Most true Canadians will have a garden even if they have to rent space for one. Here at Hallelujah Acres Canada we have planted our own organic garden for the third year and we have already enjoyed the fruits of our labours with mint, lettuce, chives, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, radishes, basil, parsley, and this year we have added brussel’s sprouts, dill, cilantro and squash. By the way these are all pictures of our garden this year.
When I was growing up we always had a family garden and my Dad planted gardens right up until his 95th year! Many of you know that I have a big family with 5 sisters and 2 brothers and we all took turns working in Dad’s gardens right up to last year.
Now I want to turn this article over to my younger sister Sherry who has worked with me here for almost five years as she tells about her memories of our family gardens.
How I started eating healthier
by Sherry Aboud
Well, let us go back to my childhood where I learned how to eat. We had a very large garden that I actually got lost in once before I turned 4 years old. But another much brighter memory is helping to harvest the wonderful food that grew in our garden.
I will admit that at 5 years old I munched on more fresh green peas than what I harvested, but oh how sweet they did taste. I remember wherever we moved, we always had a big garden which is a part of my good memories and how I feel about fresh raw food. As a teenager it was sometimes a chore to have to pick the vegetables after school. But I also loved to be able to go out to our garden and pick a beautiful ripe red tomato warm from the sun & wash it off with the hose and that first bite – with the juices dripping out of the corners of my mouth- was exquisitely delicious. Pulling the first carrots out of the ground with dirt still on them and hearing the “snap” as I broke it in half, another great memory!
I can’t think of too many things in my life that bring back such warm memories than when I prepare myself a dinner from garden fresh raw food. The time spent helping my parents in our gardens over the years when I lived at home, and as an adult getting part of the harvest from family gardens was such a treat because I knew from where the food came and it was given with a token of love too.
Having the abundance of fresh raw food from our local farmers is something we shouldn’t take for granted, but rather that we should take advantage of. It is better if you can garden yourself but from wherever you do get your groceries, don’t forget the fresh raw food out there during our summer months. And even in the winter I consider it money well spent to get as much raw food as I can afford. It helps me to keep healthy and it just tastes SO good too!
So, I think it is safe to say I started eating healthy as a kid and may have gone astray over the years, but I am now back on track to eating healthy and loving it. Hope you will too!
Avocado Pesto
We have a wonderful organic garden at the side of the building here at Hallelujah Acres Canada where we have some wonderful things growing and every day I go out to see what is ripe and ready to eat. Today there was a lot of our soft red leafed lettuce, chives, green basil and little cherry tomatoes. So I’ve put together a nice avocado pesto that we show here with our dehydrated eggplant chips we keep on hand.
The Dip
makes 2 cups
Put the following ingredients into your food processor and process until creamy:
- 4-6 cherry tomatoes (or 1 medium ripe tomato cubed)
- 4-6 stems of chives (chopped – keep some to use as garnish)
- 1 large handful of fresh basil
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 tsp of each: sea salt & garlic powder
- 1 ripe avocado (scooped out of the skin)
We laid out a bed of lettuce and eggplant chips with a big scoop of the creamed pesto and garnished with chives and tomato pieces. You could also serve this with corn chips.
This would also make a great stuffing for veggies as well.
