Fiddleheads are fun, tasty, healthy, versatile and even a little bit dangerous! They will appeal to people who love wild, earthy and slightly bitter flavours common among green veggies known to have powerful healing effects. Think: asparagus, green beans, artichoke, okra and broccoli. Yum.

Yesterday was my second time trying “Spring’s first fruit”, considered a delicacy in many places like the Maritimes (CBC video clip). While this veggie is crunchy and scrumptious lightly fried in olive oil (the only way I’ve tried it so far) but for the rustic gourmet, there’s no end to the possibilities of fiddlehead cuisine!

Here are just a few other reasons why this vegetable is so impressive:

Fun Facts about Fiddleheads

• They are baby ferns with their leaves still tightly coiled near the stem. They got their name because they look like the end of a violin or fiddle!
• North American aboriginal people were first to capitalize on the medicinal qualities of fiddleheads, said to act as a natural cleansing agent ridding the body of accumulated impurities and toxins. (Vitality Magazine)
• It is also reported that fiddleheads were an olden day treatment for high blood pressure, and eaten to ward off scurvy.
• Usually foraged in the bush, you can now often find them in many commercial grocers. Several farmers have been attempting to cultivate them, including Nick Secord in Port Colbourne. (Toronto Star)
• They’re only available for a couple of weeks in May before they grow too large to eat. But you can dry, freeze, pickle or can them to enjoy whenever!
• Linda Gabris wrote that her grandmother made fiddlehead tea to cure constipation and a sping tonic as a cure-all. Read her nostagic article for these recipes and more.

A Healthy Choice of Veggie

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Spring’s cold nights and warm days have been naturally pumping the sap up the still dormant maple trees here in Ontario. Some people (including myself and my in-laws last weekend) are busy tapping trees and boiling sap to make delicious, sweet, healthy maple syrup!

It was my first time assisting with this family tradition and I can see why it stuck. It was fun working as a team and being in nature with all the fresh air and the sweet aroma of boiling sap.

I found it incredibly humbling, too. I was awed by the amazing, sweet gift from Nature, human ingenuity for the whole maple syrup making process and, of course, the hard work. Let’s just say I really appreciated the dark amber, grade A, homemade, organic maple syrup on my french toast the next morning!

How to Make (Lynch’s) Maple Syrup

While the trees, process and tools may vary, here’s how we made maple syrup at the Lynch’s:

1. In early March, Dad strung up a series of tubes around trees that ran down hill.
2. We tapped approximately 60 red maple trees by drilling holes on the North East side of each one and fitting the holes with the taps attached to the tubes.
3. Read the rest of this entry

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Share in the craze of cherry season with Live Lighter’s Local Food Guru, Denise Lambert! This is the fourth addition to our “Local, Seasonal and Organic Food” section. Please see our previous articles on strawberries , rhubarb and asparagus .

Nothing is better than fresh cherries. I was raised in the Niagara Region, and one of the greatest pleasures of summer was taking a drive on the back roads to the fruit stands and eating fresh cherries until we burst!

Years later, I still do this! Let’s start with where to pick your own in the Toronto Region…

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Here is another excellent `Local, Seasonal and Organic Food’ article from our Local Food Guru, Denise Lambert. Enjoy!

Rumour has it that if you share a double strawberry with someone, you are destined to fall in love. Strawberries are the symbol of Venus, goddess of love.

Strawberries an excellent source of Vitamin C, a good source of folate and potassium and provides 3 g of fiber per one cup (250 ml) ­ all for only 50 calories.

Interesting strawberry facts: Read the rest of this entry

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This article is the second installment of “Local, Seasonal and Organic Food” column, submitted by friend, health nut and reader, Denise.

A sure sign of spring, stalks of rhubarb are a terrific source of Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and fiber.

These days, rhubarb is often regarded as a healthy & delicious dessert. But centuries ago, the Chinese would prescribe it as a natural remedy for digestive problems. It wasn¹t until Ben Franklin introduced the seeds to North America years later, that it became as common as it is today.

Pick your own at http://www.brooksfarms.com/

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This article was submitted by friend, health nut and reader, Denise. It is the first installment of her “Local, Seasonal and Organic Food” column, exclusive to Live Lighter! Enjoy.

The sun is shining, our moods are better, we are spring cleaning and it’s time to discuss getting out there and exploring our local universe of food! Middle of May through June is my favorite time of year! First of all, the first crops are up, and I’m done with the preserves from last year… Second of all, it’s asparagus and rhubarb season. (yummy tummy!)

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