The Food Preservationists
• Buy tickets for fundraiser here
• Sign up for the Food Preservationists’ newsletter now
• Harvest Party Fundraiser Details
• The Food Preservationists’ Canning Contest
Our community is sprouting! Here at Happy Girl we are creating a community of people interested in food preservation through classes and through delivering the local harvest in bulk quantities. Our mission is to empower people so they can preserve the local harvest safely and affordable. We want local organic farmers to sell as much of their beautiful bounty as they can in the heat of their season when other outlets may be saturated. We are striving to do our part to maintain a strong local economy and local food system that is more sustainable for all of us. Welcome to the preservationist society!
The Food Preservationists
What are we preserving? Traditions, old food ways, Grandma’s secrets, friendships, the summer’s sun and winter’s rain, memories, Grandpa’s smile, good times and the local bounty of organic fruits and vegetables.
We are building a society of people interested in food preservation who can interact, share recipes, stories and kitchens. We offer workshops to teach you how to preserve food safely and with confidence. We focus on recipes that are simple and delicious. We are striving to connect you with all that you need so that you can affordably preserve your own food and enjoy the bounty of the local harvest year round! We are offering the boxes of the local organic harvest at very affordable prices in the peak of the season when the harvest is most abundant. Throughout the year you will be offered tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, peaches, plums, pickling cucumbers and more. We are open to requests as well.
How it works: you join our email list at http://happygirlkitchen.com/newsletter to begin receiving our seasonal offerings of produce. There are weekly newsletters announcing the offerings in the heat of the season from June-September. They are then tailored to match the supply and demand the rest of the year. You are free to order to your own desires and likings or to not order at all week by week. You then pick up your order at a designated site on Friday afternoons and pay with cash or check. If you place an order you are responsible for making sure that the produce is picked up.
example
This weeks offerings:
Organic Dry Farmed tomatoes 20 pounds for $35.
Organic Mixed heirloom tomatoes 20 pounds for $30.
or
Organic Salsa box = 20 pounds of heirloom tomatoes, 2 bunches cilantro, 3 onions, a handful of peeled garlic, two handfuls of jalapenos and a couple of lemons. …..World Famous Salsa!!! $40./box
Organic red raspberries 1 flat of 12 baskets for $30. grown by ALBA Organics. These are fresh, plump and delicious!
So it is very easy, just sign up to start receiving our newsletter and welcome to the society!
Jordan
PS You are responsible for any order that you placed. If for some reason you can not pick it up, you should find another way to get it. We want to preserve the harvest and not waste it! You are responsible for payment even if you do not pick up the order or else we will have to take you off the list. Thank you.
The Food Preservationists’ Harvest Party Fundraiser
“a party to pay for a delivery truck so that we can deliver the bounty of the harvest to your neighborhood”
Saturday, November 14th 2-6pm
in the oldest surviving barn in Oakland!
Old time drinks, local organic dinner, cuban folk music, raffle, preserving contest with prizes and more!
$35-$200 and up donations.
all proceeds go to paying for a delivery truck so that we can deliver the bounty of the harvest to your neighborhood.
For every $5 you donate, you will receive 1 raffle ticket. Raffle items include: happy girl mega sampler (22 jars), antique canning kit, workshop gift certificates, catered dinner party for 10 and more!
canning contest: show off your canning prowess and share your preserved bounty to become Prestigious Processor of the Pantry!
old time drinks: Featuring hard cider made by Todd Champagne with champagne yeast! Fancy that!, wine by naki, chai cola, kombucha on tap and more.
dinner: Buffet style delicious dinner catered by Happy Girl Kitchen Co. using all organic and local ingredients. This is going to be good!
Music: Bluegrass and old timey music that will move your feet for you and a special visit from SF DJ Juggle Geof. (maybe he will even juggle for us?)
Raffle items: For every $5 you donate, you will receive 1 raffle ticket. You may buy more at the event once you see how fabulous the raffle items are!
To buy tickets go here
GET the word out. [Download copies of our rad FUNdraiser poster here] and place in your favorite spots.
The Food Preservationists’ Canning Contest
We know you haven’t been eating all those pounds of Food Preservationist offerings throughout the summer and fall. (Well, maybe the raspberries, but 20 pounds of pickling cucumbers?!) Just how big of a Food Preservationist are you? Show off what you’ve been doing with that local bounty at Happy Girl Kitchen’s Harvest Party canning contest. City folk can can along with the rest of ‘em.
Categories
The Best of the Food Preservationists: items made with this year’s inaugural offerings of the Food Preservationists! (dry farmed tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, green beans, raspberries, apples, pears, quince, sweet peppers, spicy peppers, strawberries, blackberries, apricots, and cherries. So many choices, oh my!)
Tangy and sharp: items pickled with vinegar (any type)
Sweet and tender: items containing fruit and/or sweeteners such as sugar or honey
The Mad Hatter: items that combine flavor combinations, such as those of the above categories, in unique and madcap ways like sweet and hot.
The canner whose entry earns the highest combined score of all categories will be named Prestigious Processor of the Pantry.
Canning Contest Rules
Be quirky! Jars can be any size, provided they are sealed with new canning lids and rings, clean, and free of dust. Jars and seals must be in good condition, free of rust, dents, or other defects.
Jars must be labeled with the product name and month and year they were processed. All entries must have been canned in 2009.
Hedge your bets! Each contestant can submit two items to each category.
Entries will be accepted on November 14th (party day!) between 2-4 PM. If you are unable to attend, we can make arrangements to have you drop off your entries earlier at the site of the party, one of our farmers’ market stalls or they can be mailed to Happy Girl Kitchen, P.O. Box 491, BIg Sur, CA 93920. We have to give our judges time to taste all those goodies.
Entries will be judged on texture/consistency, presentation (includes color and pack as applicable), aroma, taste/flavor, and “pop!” of the seal.
Winners will be announced at the end of the party on November 14th. You need not be present to win.