Calling all lovers of urban fruit: It’s time to party!
On Thursday, November 10th from 7- 11 pm, Not Far From The Tree is throwing a bash to celebrate the season gone by. Come party it up at the Centre for Social Innovation in the Annex where the whole first floor will be ours for the taking.

Good food. Good friends. Great party.
Everybody welcome. We mean everybody!

DJ Secret Agent will set the mood for your listening pleasure. Joshna Maharaj has teamed up with us to delight your local foodie senses. A playful photobooth by the much-loved Rannie Turingan. Great raffle prizes to be won from the Gladstone Hotel (a free night’s stay!), The Proudest Pony (awesome hair cuts), Parkbus, Black Oak Brewery, The Deppaneur and so much more!

To purchase tickets, come and get ‘em here.

At our first ever City Cider festival at Spadina Museum, another city-run museum helped make the afternoon as magical as could be.

Mackenzie House set up their printing press to show a traditional way of making multiples. They created a special plate for the event, featuring a recipe for cider cake!

Mackenzie House and Spadina Museum are part of a larger network of city-run museums in Toronto. With so many city services and programs under threat of being cut, their future is uncertain. This weekend’s National Post chronicles the unexpected value that these museums can bring to community groups and individuals, including the accidental origin of Not Far From The Tree.

Not Far From The Tree has come a long way in a short time. The last few months in particular have been filled with much  behind-the-scenes action to build a solid foundation for this little project to grow on.

Along with becoming a project of Tides Canada Initiatives Society, an exciting milestone is convening the inaugural Steering Committee to guide Not Far From The Tree along.

It is my pleasure to introduce the founding members of Not Far From The Tree’s Steering Committee, an incredible crew of movers and shakers whose first meeting happened – where else? – under the canopy of an apple tree:

Derek Smith, Chair

Derek Smith is Senior Counsel in the legal department of TD Bank Group. He is the founder and chair of TD Legal’s pro bono program, through which TD lawyers provide free legal advice to small, well-run non-profits that cannot afford the legal help they need. Derek handpicked Not Far From The Tree as the first client of the program. At TD, he provides legal advice to TD Asset Management and he is one of the leaders of TDAM’s sustainable investing initiative.

Joshna Maharaj

(I don’t have a photo of Joshna under the apple tree, so please enjoy this gorgeous shot by Edward Pond.)

Joshna Maharaj is a chef, writer and activist. With a simple but thoughtful approach to food and cooking, Joshna has held such diverse posts in Toronto’s food scene as Executive Chef at The Stop Community Food Centre and at the ROM Food Studio, and as an instructor at Dish Cooking Studio. She is regularly featured on CBC’s “Steven and Chris,” contributed to Coach House Press’s The Edible City, and just one week ago delivered an outstanding talk at the 2011 TEDxToronto.

Ravenna Nuaimy-Barker

(This is really the best shot I got of Ravenna – she spent the whole time up the tree! This is indicative of just how lovely she is, and how committed she is to the work of Not Far From The Tree!)

Ravenna is the director of Sustain Ontario, the Alliance for Healthy Food and Farming. Prior to joining Sustain Ravenna worked at FoodShare in a wide variety of roles, from composter to Community Food Program Manager.  At FoodShare, Ravenna designed, developed, and fundraised for a wide variety of programs including urban agriculture; consulted with community groups and government decision makers on policy issues; and organized and supported a number of local, provincial, and national networks. Ravenna has also worked for the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy and for Public Interest Research Groups in the U.S. She has a Masters of Urban Planning from York University. In her free time Ravenna enjoys fruit gleaning, gardening, and canning.

Jodi Lastman

Jodi discovered her calling after she told a head-hunter “I think I want to be in marketing, but I don’t want to sell shampoo.” She’s been helping market the “good guys” ever since. For the past three years Jodi’s been General Manager at Hypenotic, a communications company that works exclusively with values driven brands. Jodi landed at Hypenotic after 5 years at Social Marketing firm Manifest Communications, and before that, a number of non-profits including Harbourfront and the Toronto Symphony. In her free time Jodi finds time to organize a networking/learning/socializing gathering called Women in Food.

Jordy Gold

Jordy Gold is a sustainability consultant, journalist and speaker focused on creating the greatest possible changes leading to a more vibrant society living within natural limits. As Deputy Campaign Manager he recently helped Elizabeth May become the first elected Green Member of Parliament in Canadian history. He is also a founding member and Editor for OpenCity Projects, a consultancy and online publication using strategic design to problem solve and enhance urban experiences.

Chris Chen

Chris Chen works on economic policy in the Ontario government. He is a candidate for the Master of Finance degree at the University of Toronto as well as the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation. Chris holds a bachelor degree (art history) from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree (sociology) from the University of Virginia. At the Centre for Social Innovation, he is launching a project that connects artists with Chinatown residents through an oral history project that brings art and community history to local schools.

Ben Marans

Ben Marans is the Manager of Social Innovation & Transportation for the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, the City of Toronto’s climate agency. For the past five years, Ben has been managing TAF’s grants and electric vehicle programs. Ben’s role at TAF is to cultivate, incubate, develop and support projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in Toronto. Ben also serves on the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network Board of Directors, is a professional photographer and does most of his traveling by bike. Ben lives in the east end of Toronto with his wife and son, both of whom are also avid cyclists.

There have been rumours and whispers; questions and guesses. Everybody wants to know: where have all the pears gone?

In the dead of night, in the heat of the summer, the Pear Gremlin sneaks into yards across Toronto, greedily and indiscriminately stealing pears for his insatiable appetite. While scaling the tree’s limbs, the Pear Gremlin’s grotesque body oozes orange-brown slime from countless sores and fissures, which then plop-plop-plops onto the leaves below, leaving hideous marks.

Although this is the story I’ve told to the kids in my neighbourhood, it’s a bit of a truth-stretcher. The Pear Gremlin is actually a fungal infection commonly known as pear rust (or for the Latin-loving among you, Gymnosporangium sabinae). Pear trees infected by the rust — marked by brown or orange spots on the leaves, and will drastically cut back on their fruit production.

Last year, we picked more than 10,200 pounds of pears, but this year we have only picked 25 pounds. This fungus, whose spores are easily dispersed through the air, has infected all of our registered pear trees.

Pear rust not only affects pear trees, but junipers too, which act as winter hosts for the fungus. The best advice to pear tree owners: make sure you collect and completely remove the leaves from your tree once they’ve fallen this autumn. And you might want to find those neighbours with junipers and figure out a strategy to prevent the fungus from hunkering down for a winter’s sleep. Otherwise, the Pear Gremlin may be coming back in 2012.

Much of our information was gleaned from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affair’s website. Check it out for further information.

Tags: "pear rust", "pear trellis rust", nfftt

It was a bright and sunny Sunday at the Spadina Museum orchard. The sounds of City Cider buzzed through the air while Not Far From The Tree volunteers hustled and bustled to take ten bushels of apples and make sweet cider.

This year the city has seen out-of-the-ordinary low fruit production and Spadina Museum’s heritage orchard was no exception. To supplement the local crop, Not Far From The Tree used gleaned apples from an abandoned orchard just outside the city as well as a few prime pickings from a near-urban orchard or two. Next year, and in future, the goal for City Cider is to make cider from apples that are harvested from Toronto’s trees alone but of course that always depends on the yield of each particular season.

From washing, chopping, industrial grinding, traditional pressing, simmering to pasteurize, and finally serving — eager spectators were there to watch and wait as each apple went through a labor intensive journey. But the final result was worth it, just watch this video from a mini cider taster.

While cider was in the making, guests also enjoyed local barbequed corn, listening to soft jazz and folk tunes, stretching out on yoga mats, trying on renaissance costumes that hung low in the trees, watching children read stories and play parachute games, soaking up the sun in the historic gardens and exploring the history inside of the Spadina Musuem.

Click to see more photos from this lovely event.

Thank you to everyone who came out to play!

The first-ever City Cider occurred this past Sunday, what we hope will become an annual event. It was a beautiful day and the crowd that gathered in and around the apple orchard helped to make the event so wonderful. There will be a more in-depth update about the event later, but for now we wanted to rest on our laurels for a moment while celebrating the hard work of so many volunteers who helped to pull this event together.

Apple cider doesn’t just make itself, especially when a traditional press is being used for the job. Much elbow grease helped bring the delicious warm cider into being and we have volunteers to thank for that. Early on Sunday morning volunteers were working away, and continued through to the end of the event. And the Tuesday prior, a group gathered to make sure we have some in preparation for the event.

Here are some photos telling the story of the apple-picking at Spadina Museum last Tuesday that went into the featured drink at City Cider:

Thank you, beloved helpers!

This Sunday, sip apple cider in a heritage orchard!

Not Far From The Tree and Spadina Museum are teaming up to offer a crisp afternoon of fun this Sunday, September 18th from 1-5pm.

There will be live apple cider pressing right in the orchard, and music by special guests The Orchards! Get a hands-on letterpress demonstration from 1845 with Mackenzie House, and take home a print of a recipe for cider cake. Enjoy barbecued corn on the cob while stiltwalkers pick apples around you. Spread a picnic blanket in the orchard and take part in storytelling, yoga, and orchard tours. Spadina Museum will be giving preserving demonstrations in their beautifully restored 1930′s kitchen and the museum will be open for tours.

Time: Sunday, September 18th from 1-5pm

Location: Spadina Museum (285 Spadina Road, beside Casa Loma)

Directions by TTC: From Dupont Station, walk north to Davenport then climb the steps up Casa Loma (don’t forget to turn around for a beautiful view of the city). Spadina Museum is at the top of the hill on the right.

Alternatively, take the St. Clair streetcar to Spadina Road and walk south just past the bridge. Spadina Museum is on your left.

More details here.

[Editor's Note: Thanks to Daniel Gasteiger who has submitted this guest blog post for us to share. You can find more of his preserving recipes in his new book, Yes, You Can!, and on his two blogs, Your Small Kitchen Garden and Home Kitchen Garden.]

As summer rushes into autumn, some folks are already sampling “early apples” which means they’re picking normal apples ahead of time because they just can’t wait. Happily, for many of us, apple season stretches well over two months, and growers have tricks to keep apples “fresh” well into the winter.

Still, the best time to buy apples is in season when you can get them inexpensively from local growers. And, if you have even one apple tree at home, you may be overwhelmed as several bushels of fruit become ripe within a two or three week period.

If you’re looking at more apples than you can use in-season, make new foods by trying on some of these preservation methods:

Canning Apples

Perhaps the most obvious way to preserve apples at home is to can them. Recognizing that canning means “cooking,” plan to use canned apples in baked goods when you take them out of storage; they’re excellent in apple crisp, apple pies, apple dumplings, and other products that call for cut-up apples.

If you like applesauce, making your own and then canning it produces one of the most accurately preserved products you can achieve. It’s uncanny: home-canned applesauce tastes identical to cooked-fresh applesauce.

If you don’t normally eat applesauce, consider adding it to your larder anyway. You can find hundreds of recipes for baked goods that substitute applesauce for at least some of the oil that typically acts as moistener. Experiment and you’ll quickly learn to substitute applesauce into your favorite recipes.

Freezing Apples

A thawed apple is pretty mushy, but that’s OK if you’re making it into applesauce or cooking it up in marinades, sauces, and pastries. Packing apple slices in syrup made of 1 part sugar and 9 parts water may result in firmer slices after thawing. However, simply core, peel, and slice the apples, and you can freeze them in bags or other containers where they’ll keep very well.

Whatever way you plan to pack them, as soon as you cut up apples for freezing, immerse them in water flavored with lemon juice: a half cup of lemon juice per gallon of water. Let them soak for ten or more minutes before processing and they’re far less likely to turn brown while frozen.

Fruit pies, assembled but not cooked, freeze and thaw faithfully. For a generic 9-inch pie pan, prepare 4 – 5 cups of cored, peeled, and cut up apples. Mix 1 cup of sugar with 3 tablespoons of flour and toss this together with the apples. Line a pie pan with dough from your favorite pie crust recipe, heap the apple mixture into the pan, and cover with pie dough. The finished pie will fit into a 2-gallon zipper freezer bag. To bake the pie, start it (frozen) at 325F degrees for 20 minutes. Then raise the temperature to 400 degrees and bake until the crust is golden brown… 40 to 60 more minutes.

Dehydrating Apples

Apples, cored and sliced, make great snacks when you dehydrate them until they’re leathery—like raisins or prunes. In small pieces, dried apples add texture to sweet breads such as banana bread and zucchini bread.

Dry apples until they’re brittle and you can process them into powder as you might dried tomatoes. Powdered tomatoes rehydrate into something very much like applesauce.

Apples make great fruit leathers, and having a mild flavor they can provide a great foundation for leathers you flavor with other fruits. For example, mix apples and cherries or apples and blueberries about half-and-half, and you’ll produce leathers that taste more like cherries or blueberries than they do apples.

When you prep apples for leathers, core them but leave the skins on. Puree them in a blender or food processor and add a touch of water or juice to thin the puree so it flows (but keep it thick). If your dehydrator has leathers pans, oil them very lightly and put an eighth- to a quarter-inch of puree in each one. Dry until the leathers are no longer sticky—4 to 8 hours at 140F degrees.

After they cool, roll leathers in waxed paper or plastic wrap and store them in air-tight containers at room temperature for a year or longer. Vacuum seal the containers and your leathers may keep as long as 20 years.

We’re so excited to announce an event that we’ll be hosting in partnership with Spadina Museum, right in the heart of the heritage urban apple orchard where Not Far From The Tree originated.

Come to City Cider at Spadina Museum to witness apples be picked, pressed, heated, and served – and then taste it for yourself! Not Far From The Tree is teaming up with Spadina Museum to make this a fun-filled afternoon for all. Higher Ground will perform on stilts, live music will be provided by The Orchards (yes they’re called The Orchards can you believe it??) and Nathan Hiltz with vocal guest, YogaRocks will do yoga for kids, and there will even be a corn roast, orchard tours and so much more. We hope you can join us at this sure-to-be-spectacular event.

RAIN OR SHINE, all activities will go on! RSVP on the Facebook page here.

There will be plenty of opportunities to help out with this event, including picking the apples and making the cider, so stay tuned, our beloved volunteers. If you’re not already signed up but want to help out, register to volunteer with Not Far From The Tree.

“Lindsay’s Picks” is a special column for the Not Far From The Tree blog, courtesy of Sheridan Illustration student Lindsay Campbell who is completing a co-op placement with the organization this summer. While the majority of her workload is to ‘snazzify’ and make beautiful the work of Not Far From The Tree, she also takes some time to pick fruit – and then illustrate the experience!

This week’s pick is plums. You can read about the adventure of this plum pick here and check out the inspiration photo in our gallery.