Ground cherries are super easy to grow. One of my favorite recipes to make with them is salsa. I haven't found a safety tested canning recipe so I freeze it in mason jars or food saver bags. Usually all the ingredients are ready in my garden at the same time, except cilantro which might have gone to seed by then - I am going to try succession sowing for cilantro this year as many of my late summer and fall recipes need it.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of ground cherries (could be half ground cherries and half tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup sweet pepper
• 1 cup onion
• 2 jalapenos
• 1/8 cup cilantro
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

I usually multiply this recipe many times over to do a big batch. Typically I use a food processor, so I process one ingredient at a time since they take different amounts of processing (by the time the jalapenos were chopped, the tomatoes would be mush...) A lot of liquid will come off, try to drain off as much as possible before adding the seasonings and packing the salsa for storage. 

If you are making a small batch to eat fresh, you could hand chop the ingredients and it will look prettier.

When freezing in mason jars, it's best to leave a lot of headspace and use jars that don't have a "shoulder" (for example wide mouth pint jars), which are less likely to break. Food saver bags are safer in the sense that you don't have to worry about breakage, but I try to avoid the plastic waste. 

When you thaw the salsa, more liquid will come out, I usually drain it off before serving. 

It's great with tortilla chips, in wraps, or with cheddar on even on pizza or cheese toast.

I make my mom's apple crisp with whatever fruits I have on hand. I fill the fruit drawers in my fridge with apples in the fall; I freeze cherries and honeyberries in Foodsaver bags; and if I get lucky, the pick-your-own farm down the street has a few Touski days (which means you can pick all the leftovers for free - Tout ce qui reste or Touski). I canned a lot of asian pears after a Touski day and pear/honeyberry is my new favorite combo for this recipe. Great with ice cream.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fruit (apple, berries, pear, cherries etc - can be mixed)
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 1/4 cup oats
• 1/3 cups brown sugar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine

Steps:

1. Grease a pie dish, put the fruit at the bottom
2. Mix everything else and pat it on top of the fruit
3. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.

When the pandemic started and access to groceries was tough, I understood better why our grandmothers' recipes depend on basics and vegetables that keep a long time. I made this soup often, which was one of my favorites growing up. Legend says it was a recipe shared by Henri Richard (the hockey player). In any case it's delicious and I always have the ingredients on hand in the winter. I keep carrots and potatoes stored in bins of sand in the cellar.

Cook 15 minutes on the stove:

• 1.5 cups water
• 2 cups broth
• Approx 6 carrots, sliced
• Approx 1 potato, cubed

In a pan, make a béchamel sauce with:

• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 cups whole milk

Add one chopped onion or green onion.

Combine everything and serve.

Delicata squash doesn't store that well (maybe 6 weeks?) so we have this dish often in the fall. Can be made into wraps

Ingredients:

• About 3 medium Delicata squash
• 2 medium onions, halved and cut into rings
• 5 cloves of minced garlic
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (read how we harvest it)
• Salt
• Pepper

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 425F. 
2. Mix everything in a big bowl
3. Spread onto baking sheets
4. Cook 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway. 

I can lots of quart jars of tomatoes and combined with fresh farm eggs, this dish from Maghreb makes good use of them.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 sweet pepper cubed
• 1 small hot pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 quart of canned tomatoes
• 4 eggs

Steps:

1. Heat oil on medium, cook onion, covered
2. Add peppers, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2tsp peppers, cook until tender
3. Add garlic and cumin, cook 1 minute
4. Add canned tomatoes and their juices, crush with a spatula, bring to a boil
5. Reduce heat, make 4 wells and crack one eff in each. Simmer covered 6 minutes until eggs are done to your liking

Adapted from my Grandmother's recipe

Can be made on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot.. Personally I find that for creamy soups, the Instant Pot plus an immersion blender is a power combo!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup margarine or butter
• 1/2 cup green onions or onions
• 1 large turnip, peeled and cubed (can be stored in blanched cubes, frozen)
• 2 cups vegetable broth/bouillon
• Salt, pepper, maple syrup to taste (learn how we harvest maple syrup here)

Steps:

1. Sauté onions in butter a few minutes (stovetop or Instant Pot on Sauté)
2. Add broth
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20-30 minutes on stovetop OR pressure cook at high for 5 minutes in the Instant Pot
4. Blend (I use a immersion blender)
5. Add milk
6. Add salt, pepper, and maple syrup to taste. The original recipe says 3 tbsp of maple syrup but we put a lot more :)