Nutrition Team: Food to Live For

by 
Dorothy Bauer, Weavers Way Neighborhood Nutrition Team

Dry Your Own Fruits & Vegetables

Thursday, Sept. 27, noon-1:30 p.m., Weavers Way Ambler
Check out Dorothy’s upcoming Weavers Way workshop on dehydrating produce, and also her dehydrating and fermenting classes through Mt. Airy Learning Tree. Visit mtairylearningtree.org for info and to sign up.

The only thing that excites me more than the potential that Spring brings is the rush of the harvest of the fruits of your labor that comes in late Summer and into the Fall! If you haven’t been able to manage a backyard garden of your own this year, not to worry, you have lots of options to take advantage of the local bounty.

And if you haven’t stopped by our own Henry Got Crops, what are you waiting for? Open Tuesdays and Fridays from noon to 7 p.m., it is a one-stop shop! There are fresh eggs, cheese, hummus, meat, yogurt, bread, coffee, tea, kombucha, ice cream treats, fresh cut bouquets or the option to pick your own, and of course a plethora of chemical-free vegetables and fruit, many grown on Weavers Way’s farms. 

Fermenting and dehydrating are my preservation methods of choice. They are simple, and maximize the nutritional value of the produce while maintaining the live enzymes. Fermenting has the additional advantage of introducing the much-needed friendly bacteria not found in pasteurized food. I have already made several dozen gallons of yummy half sours from their beautiful yellow and green cucumbers, fresh dill and garlic. The mouth-watering selection makes MY heart go pitty-pat! 

You can dehydrate vegetables and herbs to be rehydrated later as components for winter soups, sauces, snacks and treats to remind you, in the dead of winter, of the sweetness of summer and fall. Team up with friends and/or family and whistle while you work your way through the prep of colorful peppers, tomatoes, green beans, squash, onions, carrots and more!

May the abundance of produce be with you!

Weavers Way Neighborhood Nutrition Team Member Dorothy Bauer is a raw-foods chef.