Flavours of the Farm Series
"Flavors of the Farm" celebrates the culinary traditions and cultural heritage of our community through a series of monthly gatherings and collaborations with a Horticulturalist and Farmer, an Indigenous Storyteller, and an Expert Pickler, Jammer and Tincture Maker.
Each event focuses on a different culinary technique—from fire roasting to pickling to preserving—and invites participants to share their family recipes and the stories behind them.
Objective: This series aims to do more than just share stories. It's a vibrant forum for weaving together our community's stories, culinary wisdom, and artistic expression. By participating, community members contribute to a living cookbook that captures the essence of Prairie Gardens diverse identity.
Goals of the Project:
- Foster Community: Strengthen community bonds through shared culinary sessions and storytelling, celebrating our collective heritage.
- Showcase Diversity: Highlight the rich cultural diversity of our region, bringing to the forefront the varied culinary traditions that thrive within our neighborhood.
- Preserve Heritage: Keep our unique food traditions alive by documenting ancestral techniques and recipes in a community cookbook, ensuring they endure for future generations.
- Promote Health: Encourage healthier lifestyles by showcasing how to utilize local, fresh produce in everyday cooking.
Foraging Nettles, Wildflower Tinctures & Storytelling Workshop
Join Horticulturalist, Tam Andersen and Indigenous Storyteller, Bill Bertschy, on the farm for an enlightening morning of foraging and wild things gathering, cooking and healing techniques.
This hands-on session offers a unique opportunity to learn how to identify, harvest, and prepare wild edibles right from our local environment. Participants will gain practical skills in foraging and experience the joy of sharing a meal made from ingredients found on the farm and forest natural areas.
What to Bring
Recipes: Stinging nettle soup, wild pestos, herby or wild salads, condiments, dandelion cordial, wild flower jellies, herbal teas, rhubarb pie, asparagus pickles or other recipes integrating foraged foods.
Photos/Drawings: Pictures showing family or cultural traditions of foraging or using wild foods in meals.
Tools/Items: Gloves for picking stinging nettles, and tools used in foraging and preparing wild edibles, with a basket or 4 L bucket to carry them in.
Berry Pickers Jammers Workshop
Join Horticulturalist, Tam Andersen and Indigenous Storyteller, Bill Bertschy, on the farm for an enlightening morning of berry picking, wild flower gathering, cooking and healing techniques.
This hands-on session offers a unique opportunity to experience the joy of a traditional berry picking family outing, sharing the flavours made from ingredients found on the farm and forest natural areas. Explore the art of jamming.
This session will introduce participants to various methods of making strawberry jam, and wildflower jellies. An excellent way to preserve the harvest while enhancing flavors. Attendees will learn how to prepare their own jars of jams or jellies to take home. This hands-on workshop is ideal for discovering the vibrant tastes and health benefits that pickling can offer.
What to Bring
Recipes: Bring recipes for traditional jams and jellies, from strawberries, to dandelion flowers and wild mint.
Photos/Drawings: Visuals of family or cultural events centered around berry picking and jam processes.
Tools/Items: Any special tools used in jamming, such as canning jars, tongs, or hullers or specific tools or cheesecloths for preparing jellies.
U-Pickler’s Harvest and Pickling Workshop
Join Horticulturalist, Tam Andersen and Indigenous Storyteller, Bill Bertschy, on the farm for an rewarding morning - picking cucumbers and zucchini, beets and other great pickling veggies to learn about pickling techniques.
This hands-on session offers a unique opportunity to experience the joy of a traditional U-picklers family outing, sharing the flavours made from ingredients found on the farm. Explore the art of pickling.
This session will introduce participants to various methods of making pickles and preserves. An excellent way to “put food by” and save the harvest while enhancing flavors. Attendees will learn how to prepare their own jars of pickles!
What to Bring
Recipes: Bring recipes to share for traditional pickles, from beans to dills, carrot, beets and zucchini. For pickles like dill cucumbers, pickled carrots, Korean kimchi, Mexican escabeche, or Eastern European pickled cabbage.
Photos/Drawings: Visuals of family or cultural events centered around pickling processes.
Tools/Items: Any special tools used in jamming, pickling, such as canning jars, tongs, or hullers or specific tools .
U-Picklers’ Canning and Fermenting Workshop
Join Horticulturalist, Tam Andersen and Indigenous Storyteller, Bill Bertschy, on the farm for an enlightening morning of food gathering, tales of the three sisters, canning and fermenting techniques.
This hands-on session offers a unique opportunity to experience the joy of a traditional family outing, sharing the flavours made from ingredients found on the farm to ferment. Explore the art of fermenting.
This session will introduce participants to various methods of making sauerkraut, kimchee, and chutneys. An excellent way to preserve the harvest while enhancing flavors. Attendees will learn how to prepare their own jars of fermented products!
What to Bring
Recipes to Share: Sauerkrauts, apple butter, chutney, tomato salsa, or pickled beets, preserves, relishes, root pickles
Photos/Drawings: Visuals of the canning process or family traditions.
Tools/Items: Tools used in canning and preserving.
Pumpkins & the Art of Making Mocktail Shrubs Workshop
Join Horticulturalist, Tam Andersen and Indigenous Storyteller, Bill Bertschy, on the farm for an enlightening morning of food gathering, and winter storage techniques.
This hands-on session offers a unique opportunity to experience the joy of a traditional family outing, sharing the flavours made from ingredients found on the farm to store for the winter months.
Explore the art of making pumpkin butter, pumpkin chutney, and pumpkin jam. This session will introduce participants to various methods of saving your pumpkins for enjoyment over the winter. An excellent way to preserve the harvest while enhancing flavors. Attendees will learn how to prepare their own jars of pumpkins!
What to Bring
Recipes to Share: Pumpkins, pumpkin butter, chutney, tomato salsa, or pickled beets, preserves, relishes, root pickles, mocktail shrubs and mixers. .
Photos/Drawings: Visuals of the canning process or family traditions.
Tools/Items: Tools used in canning and preserving.
Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen Workshop
Celebrate the culmination of our "Flavors of Prairie Gardens" series this season just in time for the Christmas season.
This session will showcase methods to make unique Christmas gifts from your kitchens. Participants will engage in making drink mixes, herb rubs, jams, jellies, and pickles, learning about safe canning practices and the satisfaction of creating homemade preserves.
This festive day will also feature the unveiling of the artists’ work and community cookbook, filled with recipes and stories collected throughout the series.
