Update: Canada! (With Mandarin-Date Sweet Potatoes)

Wow. It has been a long while since I've posted here. But I have good reason! Jeremy and I moved to the Sunshine Coast, in British Columbia. Powell River, to be precise. Jeremy got a job at The Peak, which is the local newspaper, as a reporter. We've been looking to move to Canada for awhile now, to start a sustainable farm, but didn't think we'd get here so fast! The Sunshine Coast lives up to its name, but it was as if Winter rose up to greet us. The Day after we arrived, we got 4 inches of snow! It was definitely a white wonderland.

Here's Jeremy and I at our new home:

More photos coming soon!

I'm VERY excited because of this particular town. There are many good things going for it:
- First city in the world to ban GMO crops
- High population of people who follow the 100 Mile Diet, shortened to 50 Miles to accommodate the isolation - Only accessible by ferry (a must if strange, apocalyptic things happen[like zombies]) with a population of about 14K proper, 20K with surrounding towns
- Right-wing parties make up about 10% of the population, last to the Green, Liberal, and Socialist parties
- 600 musicians in the local musicians' directory (slightly irrelevant, but awesome!!)

and because of all (okay, well.. most) these things, there is a very high demand for more farms! I'm very pleased, because I can start with making food for the Farmer's Market and it looks like there aren't really any businesses around here that do lacto-fermented and cultured foods. So, I'm going to try my hand at cultured veggies! I've always wanted to do that, but never really had the fire lit under my ass to really do it. So, I've started my sourdough starter, and in a couple days will be able to make some breads and things to begin with. :) Yay!

AND, how could I post without a recipe? I mean seriously. I made this for US Thanksgiving, and is was a huge hit! Much better than your typical, gelatin-filled marshmallow stuff.

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Mandarin-Date Sweet Poatoes

3 sweet potatoes
juice of four mandarin oranges
half-package of dates (about two dozen)
two thin sliced mandarin oranges
two tablespoons earth balance
a light dusting of cloves and cinnamon

Chop the sweet potatoes and dates, and throw them into a rectangular baking dish. There's no need for peeling the potatoes; the skin is good for you!
Squeeze the oranges all over the potato mixture, then mix it all up really well with your hands*.
Top the mix with little dollops of Earth Balance (or smear, your hands are dirty after all), arrange the slices, and dust the spices across the top.

Bake in a 400 degree oven, covered, for about 30-45 minutes, 'til desired firmness.

Serve warm and enjoy! We loved this. :)

(*I tried mixing this with a big spoon, but quickly failed miserably, since the pan was so full. I prefer using my hands anyway. :P)


I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter season! <3