We at LUSH Valley Food Action Society wish to extend our sincere gratitude to Sure Courtenay Copy Centre for their significant donation of printing paper and other office materials.

You can find out more about Sure Copy and what they offer by clicking on the image. Alternatively you can visiting their website at: www.surecourtenay.ca

LUSH Valley in collaboration with Literacy Now proudly presents:

• Pruning for Health by Helena Hartwood (Edible Garden Designer)

Date: 5 April 2010
Time: 7 – 8:30 pm
Venue: LUSH Valley Hub
Cost: By donation.

A workshop to learn how to maintain healthy trees and shrubs, with specific reference to pruning and shaping for fruit. The workshop will include a demonstration time where you can practice.

• Planning an easy Food Garden by Helena Hartwood (Edible Garden Designer)

Date: 12 April 2010
Time: 7 – 8:30 pm
Venue: LUSH Valley Hub
Cost: By donation.

A workshop to learn how to create a small or large edible garden in any space, from your windowsill or patio containers to front yard or back woodland. Including a strategy that is specific to your site so you can grow your own fruit, vegetables or herbs.

• Sprouting for Salads by Helena Hartwood (Edible Garden Designer)

Date: 19 April 2010
Time: 7 – 8:30 pm
Venue: LUSH Valley Hub
Cost: By donation.

A workshop to learn how to sprout seeds, nuts and grains at home for low-cost, highly nutritious foods. Samples will be available for tasting.

• Nutritious Greens by Helena Hartwood (Edible Garden Designer)

Date: 26 April 2010
Time: 7 – 8:30 pm
Venue: LUSH Valley Hub
Cost: By donation.

Learn the values about dark leafy greens, winter and bitter vegetable greens for soups, salads and stews. Gathering wild leaves will be covered as well as samples and sources.

If you are interested in participating in one of these workshops, please contact Helena Hartwood directly at: hartwoodgardens@gmail.com or leave a message at: (250) 898-1288. Space is limited so book today.

Following a very successful series of workshops - including an 11-participant workshop through Comox Valley Literacy Now - David Rotsztain (passionate cheese-maker) generously agreed to share his personal cheese handbook with us.

Enjoy.

Kefir baby from Jennifer Weber to David Rotsztain. In thanks for the awesome workshop. (See comments below.!

Hello everybody,
Just so you know, the date of the AGM has been set for May 13, 2010. Stay tuned to the LUSH Google Group for details!

Very exciting! 
The Garden Institute of BC is launching a pilot project in the Comox Valley, to provide urban agriculture extension support for local gardeners!  The Blog was launched today, and the HOTLINE they are offering is also open now.  Videos including instructions and scheduled drop-in sessions in the area will follow!  Tell your friends!  Check out the blog at http://www.tgibc.org/blog/

Here's an excerpt:

I guess a few of you are starting to plan your gardens, I know I am!  So, what better time to start blogging about my garden for this Urban Aggie project. ...For me and my veggie garden, spring means that peppers are seeded inside, and I’m beginning seed greens and broccoli for my coldframe.  Tomatoes and basil are next!

A friendly reminder from LUSH Valley Food Action Society about the upcoming cheese-making workshop this Sunday!
 
Presenter: David Rotsztein (A full description of the workshop and David's bio follows below.)
Time: 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Venue: LUSH Valley Hub - 1126F Piercy Avenue, Courtenay
(250) 331-0152
Requirements: Comfortable clothing,
Cost: FREE - the costs for this workshop is funded by Comox Valley Literacy Now to promote food literacy in our community. (Visit their website at www.cvliteracy.ca.)
 
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What the workshop covers:
We begin the workshop with an historical overview of cheesemaking. We then continue on to make three types of cheese: a heated cheese - Paneer, a renneted cheese - Cheese Curds, and a rennet-free hung cheese -  fromage frais. During the drawn out cheesemaking process we'll look at the various ingredients in cheese - milk, rennet, culture & salt, we'll discuss homogenization, pasteurization and raw milk, and we'll talk about the various influences that affect the ripening of the cheese. There'll also be a bit of info about the science and history of cheesemaking. When all is said and done and the cheeses are ready, we finish off the workshop with a tasting party of the cheeses made during the workshop. People take home not only a sample of some of the cheeses made during the day, but a thorough understanding of the basics of the cheesemaking process, and some skills and experience to put towards their own cheesemaking experiments. The workshops focus on both how you can do this in your own home, and also how the whole process is done on a commercial scale. It's a lot of cheese to digest - people have taken it twice!
 
 
David's bio.....
"David Rotsztain is an organic farmer and farmstead cheesemaker on Mayne Island, BC where he makes chevre, as well as aged goats milk cheeses from a small herd of Saanen goats. He picked up his cheesemaking skills from various teachers, including a brown swiss cow named Sundae on Cortes Island. David has given cheesemaking workshops for many food security-minded organizations around the Salish Sea including the Galiano Food Program, the UBC Farm, and the Sustainable Living Arts School."

Say CHEESE!

Tuesday 3 pm and i need to leave soon