This recipe is from Victoria Witt who made this cake for a WheelySlowCT potluck house concert hosted by Urban Digs Farm in Vancouver on March 24, 2012. It was very good, very moist and has a fun, rare chocolate cake ingredient!

Ingredients: 1 C. butter, softened, divided 1 1/2 C. Packed dark brown sugar (or <1C). 3 eggs at room temp 2-3 oz. Dark chocolate (at least 8 oz or more). 5 medium beets (2 C. pureed). 1 tsp. vanilla extract. 2 C. all-purpose flour. 2 tsp. baking soda. 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. nutmeg confectioners’ sugar for dusting.

Sustainable components: The eggs were from Julia Smith’s chickens (Urban Digs Farm); the beets I bought from the winter farmers market at the Nat-Bailey Stadium; the flour used was a combination of whole wheat flour grown and ground at Sloping Hills Farm (Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island) and Anita’s Organic Mill all purpose flour (Chilliwack, BC), and the vanilla was organic. 

The run down: To make beet puree, leave whole so as to retain as much colour and nutrients as possible. Place in heavy sauce pan filled with water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for ~50 mins or until the beets are tender. NOTE: try not to puncture beet skins and let all the beety-goodness out! Drain off remaining liquid and rinse beets in cold water as they’ll be too hot to handle otherwise. Cut off tops, with fingers slide skins off and place beets in food processor (works best) or blender. Process until a smooth puree forms. Let cool slightly before using in cake. Can make the puree ahead and store it in the fridge, up to several days in advance.

In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Melt chocolate with remaining butter in small sauce pan, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Combine chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture. The batter will appear separated so don’t fret.

Combine flour, baking soda , salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. spring form pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 60-70 minutes  or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely before dusting with confectioners’ sugar.

We traveled with a bottle collecting treasures this summer. So in that respect we were a little like pirates. 

Ty Cooke, a poet, traveler and musician gave us an old bottle he found in the woods on Salt Spring Island, B.C.  We thought it would be fun to carry it with us and ask our hosts to add a piece of themselves to it on each stop. The idea was to throw it into the Atlantic Ocean “message in a bottle style” but some treasures are worth more than their weight in gold, so we kept it.

Nelson, BC - Lavender from Claire. Quartz Crystal which can be found in Crystal Creek.
Calgary, AB - Dog Hair from Steve’s dog Malia.
Blackfoot Reserve, Southern Alberta - Tobacco and Wild Sage from Little Wolf Ranch.
Regina, SK - Tango Pin and German Leaf Paper from Jess’s aunt.
Saskatoon, SK - Dried Lentils from chef dee Hobsbawn-Smith.
Canora, SK - Organic Wheat from Helene Tremblay-Boyko's farm.
Winnipeg MB - Metis Sash, Swiss Ribbon and Paper Dragon Fly from Sally to symbolize her heritage.
Pilot Mound, MB - Purple cone flower, Echinacea seeds, Beer bottle cap, Friendship bracelet, Rose petals and Chicken feather (silver laced Wyandotte) from Cavers family.
Duluth, MN -Dried flower from Jon.
Sudbury, ON - Ann’s favourite flower from the Farmpton’s garden.
Havlock, ON- Amethyst Crystal from Susan.
Havlock, ON -Blue Jay Feather from Emily.
Quebec City, QC- Blueberry Leaf from Carolyn.
Halifax, NS - Sand from Crystal Crescent Beach, Provincial Park.

Susan discovered how important food really was when it meant keeping her son alive. Susan talks about having to take a scientific approach to the food she fed her son Vosco, who has Celiac disease. This made us very aware how much we take for granted the foods we able able to eat and how they supply us with the nutrients we need to survive. Her journey has now lead her to write a cookbook called, Recipes for Living Brightly.

The next stretch! We ended up in Dulth, Minnesota on route to Sudbury, Onartio. In this clip you’ll see how the Wheely Slow Cooking Tour’s barn sign came to be and when we started to learn about the healing power of plants such as St John’s Wart. We ended this segment discussing food allergies and wondering why so many people have developed food intolerances. 

How Susan from Havolck, Ontario makes her St. John Wart’s oil and tincture. The oil can be used as a massage oil for nerve damage or sore muscles. The tincture can be used as a mood regulator.

Wild Crafting St. John's Wort
In late June, I spend a few afternoons (after the morning dew has dried), walking in the sunshine searching for St. John's Wort plants. I can usually find them along country roads, in sandy fields, and in forest alcoves. They grow in a range of lights but they like dry conditions. The adventure of searching out these plants provides me with a sense of joy and contentment. Even as a child, long before I knew of the medicinal value of this plant, I sought it out so I could watch the lovely little shinny beetles scuttling about among the flowers. I am still delighted when I see these beetles - where I live this introduced species seems to be living in balance with its food supply.   When I spot a St. Johns Wort plant, I approach it with gratitude and honor it for the sunshine it has captured in its small bright yellow flowers and I ask it to share this sunshine with the tincture or oil I am making. I then harvest newly opened flowers and some of the freshest distal stems and leaves and put them in my basket. Once I have finished harvesting, I say thank you to the plant. I am always mindful not to take too much from any plant. It needs to complete its cycle, including producing its seeds so the road sides will be adorned with their offspring next year. Once my basket is full, I return home and lay the flowers and distal leaves and stems out on trays for a few hours to allow moisture to evaporate.

St. John's Wort Oil
After the plant material has been harvested and wilted, I cut it up with good scissors directly into a mason jar as not to loose any of the pollen. I fill the jar to the top without packing it, and then I pour olive oil over it, completely covering it. I then stir it with a chop stick, make a lid out of paper towel and a mason jar ring, and place it in a north facing window where it will be warm but not exposed to too much direct light. On days when I am not able to find enough plant material to fill a jar, I cover what I have with olive oil and then continue to add more plant material and olive oil to the jar on subsequent days. I label the jar with the day I began making the oil and with the last day I added plant material. I stir the oil each day with a clean chop stick. I continue this for 3 weeks from the last day I added plant material. As time goes by, the oil becomes a rich red colour. At the end of the 3 weeks, I press the oil through a piece of muslin fabric and transfer it to plastic squeeze bottles, ready to be used for a relaxation massage or as a bath oil.

St. John's Wort Tincture
To make a tincture, I fill a mason jar with wilted and chopped plant material and cover it with 40% Vodka. I then put a canning lid on it, label the jar with the date of harvest, and place it on the end of my counter. Each day, I take the jar and turn it upside down several times. As I am doing this, I visualize the tincture helping to calm and heal nerves. I am grateful for the plant, I am grateful for the tincture, and I am honored to be making it. I believe that just as food made by the loving hands of a mother tastes best, a tincture that is made and offered with love, is more healing. Perhaps it is only a prayer but I believe in prayer. After 3 weeks, I transfer the jar to a cupboard and press it through a muslin cloth as needed. Ideally, I like to let the tincture mature for a few months before using it. After pressing it, I put it into dark colored glass medicine bottles (I have my local pharmacist order brown glass dropper bottles for me). I use the tincture when I feel like I need a little sunshine. It lifts my mood like the warm summer days when I harvested the flowers. 

Shera and I spoke at the food-themed, PechaKutcha last week. We were really excited and nervous! Over 1,000 people filled the Vogue Theater in Vancouver at an event where everyday Vancouverites talk about what inspires them and what projects they’re working on. 

We told the story of how it started, talked about a few of recipes we learned, we said that Winnipeg is cool, we brought a CSA box donated from Glen Valley Farm on stage with us and we talked about how hard sustainable farmers work to provide us with healthy food. Here’s some of what we shared...

Shera:
As our tour went along we heard statements from every farmer we visited about the limited number of farmers in Canada and how that could affect us in the future. One farmer, Colleen Weatherhead, explained to us that only 2% of the Canadian population are farmers. This seemed like a small number of farmers for 33 million Canadians.

As we visited the farms I saw the value of what smaller scale sustainable farms can do to produce healthy food using environmental practices. After seeing this I truly believe that by supporting these local farms we ensure that these farms can exist and there will be future generations that have an invested interest in producing local food. 

We could tell the urgency with which the farmers would speak around these topics but they also had a hopeful attitude that more and more people are becoming involved with making better more discerning choices with what they eat.

Julia: 
It is a very humbling feeling to be on a farm and realize that you don’t have the skills to be able to grow food. In that moment you quickly realize how much we rely on farmers and in learning first hand how difficult it is to grow food, a deep respect for them grew.

We learned so much more than farming on this trip. It was also about following an intuition and taking a leap of faith. When you let go and follow an unknown path it can lead you the greatest of experiences. Putting into reality a dream, what you believe in and what brings you joy with the skills you have to offer I think is really important to create meaning in our lives and to see the change we want to see in the world. It’s not easy, just like this tour it will have it’s challenges and success, but it’s worth it. When you have a crazy idea that’s part of something bigger than you and your heart is in the right place, you find the world open’s up and people will help you. Certainly that was the case with us. 

When we start to understand that the current food system is not working, the next step is learning what will work.  
Harvest Moon society in Clearwater, Manitoba is teaching just that. They provide courses to teach people how to grow more sustainably and help farmers direct market to consumers though avenues like buying clubs. 

In this video you’ll learn about the 3 sisters (corn, beans and squash) as an example of companion planting which is planting plants that grow well together. This is yet another example of how to work with nature and not against it and it's such a magical relationship to see. Just as when you find the right relationship that works for you it's one that helps you grow.

You’ll also find out what farm animal Jenna from Harvest Moon would be and why!
 

"Healthy land, healthy animals, good food for good people" The Cavers, Harbourside Farms

Why it's important to know your farmer. The difference between certified organic and non-certified organic farms, you may be surprised to know that a farm that is not certified may still be a healthy choice, it all depends on their farming practices. 

Recipe for Dumplings!

How to make the dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
 put flour in bowl, add a little water a time and stir with chopsticks until dough pulls away from bowl. Let sit 20 min

How to make the filling:
1lb ground pork - pastured pork perferably
2 tablespoons green onion chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3/4 cup finely chopped chinese cabbage
mix all together, stirring only one way
cut dough into strips, roll each strip into long log, cut 1 inch pieces off and rioll out each piece making sure that there is more dough in the center then on the edges.
add 1 teaspoon of filling to center of dough and pinch edges together making dumpling shape.
Pan fry and then add a little water to finish cooking

Staying in shape while on tour can be challenging but it doesn't have to be!  In this video you'll get some easy steps to combat road food and immobility.