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What's Inside:
Backyard Bounty: Putting Wild Foods Back on the Table by
Conservation Site Getaway: South Peavine by
Under the Wire: Preserving pronghorn migration routes by
Fueled by Phantoms: The pronghorn has performance to spare by
Michael Short’sLET’S GO OUTDOORS TV - The Pilot by
From the Editor
I’m a foodie at heart. To me, cookbooks are meant to be read like novels, taking time for the recipe to unfold, consuming the details, savouring the ingredients and imagining the mouth-watering conclusion. That’s why knowing where my food comes from, and having some sort of control over it, gives me greater peace of mind. Whether it’s picking up fresh, local, in season goods from the farmers’ markets or harvesting from the garden or one of the Conservation Sites, there are plenty of opportunities to eat well.
In our gardens and at the markets there are the familiar finds, from the first fragrant cucumbers and delectable berries sweetened by the summer sun to the meaty squash that signals the arrival of fall. However, step onto a Conservation Site and be prepared to unearth the unexpected, like hazelnuts, cloud berries and comb’s tooth mushroom. You may be surprised that when cooked, this forest treat has a texture that closely resembles calamari. Really! If you want to stick with what you know, berries in the wild typically look like their supermarket cousins and as you will find, there are plenty to indulge in (Easy Picks within Reach).
That’s where fellow foodie and urbanite, Kevin Kossowan comes in. Kevin has been bucking the supermarket trend for a long time, choosing to embrace and create his own version of local food culture. Kevin joins us as our newest contributor to Conservation Magazine and his plan is to bring you closer to Alberta’s wild food scene and how to get the most out of these ingredients (Backyard Bounty: Putting Wild Foods Back on the Table).
Fall has a way of revealing itself to us slowly—before we know it the leaves have changed colour, the sky is a little duller, days are shorter and the air is distinctly crisper. Yet, the landscape is as alive now as it is in the spring and summer. Some berries are at their peak this time of year and this is when hunting season begins. Organic, “free range” and hormone free produce, meat and fish are readily available from field and stream and continue to be when winter explodes onto the scene.
Whether you want to reinvent your pantry or just appreciate what nature has to offer, we enjoy sharing the opportunities and hearing back from you on Facebook and Twitter.
Editor-in-Chief, Lisa Monsees
lisa.monsees@ab-conservation.com