May 2014 we had a gathering from Uncles and Aunts at Large for a workshop on making jam - regular cooked jam and freezer jams. It was wonderful to have some young men cooking with the group.
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Poster April 20, 2013
Love Local Cheese and Wine Tasting April 20, 2013
We have been curious to see how our condiments match up to some of the local cheeses that are made in Alberta and with the help of some wonderful friends this is finally going to happen. Here is your invitation. Date: Saturday April 20th, 2013 from 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Location: Giovanni Music at 10528 Mayfield Road, Edmontonis one of our sponsors. We will be holding the event on the second floor in the midst of a large gallery of original pieces of art of all genres. It couldn't be a more beautiful location! To add to the feast for the eyes, there will be a pianist and a classical guitarist performing during the event.
Artisan Cheese Producers: There will be product from 3 local Alberta cheese producers. Leslie and Alex from Smoky Valley Goat Cheese make a wide variety of goat cheeses; Rhonda from The Cheesiry makes sheep cheese from the sheep she tends and milks, and finally Sylvan Star who makes award winning cow cheeses.
Wines and an expert to help with pairings is coming from our local Sherbrooke Liquor Store and they promise a good selection to challenge our taste buds.
Condiments to pair with cheeses and wines offered by Fruits of Sherbrooke - of course.
Fruit and Chocolate What goes better with cheese and wine? Jana from Tasteful Art will be showcasing her artistic talents as she creates beautiful fruit displays that are almost too nice to eat! Edna of Oodles of Chocolates makes her sweet treats just too easy to pop into your mouth!
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling 780-244-0129. We accept Visa and Mastercard (with a small surcharge) and delivery or pick up can be arranged. Giovanni's Music will also have tickets for sale. You can also purchase tickets by linking here to Event Brite.
Love Local - Valentine Craft Sale - Sunday February 10, 2013
This is a great sale that is just in time for Valentines Day. It will be in the lovely ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe so there will be crystal chandeliers and it promises to be a grand event. This event is both a wonderful gift sale and a fundraiser for the Fruits of Sherbrooke Society (see below for details). Date: Sunday February 10th from 10 am to 4 pm.
Location: Main floor Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe. This is right downtown at 10111 Bellamy Hill. There is free parking on the street on Sunday or $2 for the hotel parkade on Sunday until 5 pm.
Time: 10 am to 4 pm.
Vendors: There are over 45 tables full of locally made and produced items.
Fruits of Sherbrooke will be there with specially selected items that we think would make a perfect gift for someone you love or just for your own enjoyment. Sweet options will include Chocolate Cherry Jelly, Taffy Apple Jelly, Black Forest Jam and Sauce, Strawberry Rhubarb Sambuca Jam, and Cinnamon Apple Jelly plus some other wonderful choices. In the savoury category will be our Chipotle Ketchup, 3 C's in Balsamic, Ginger Plum Sauce and Cherry Chili Jelly.
Global TV - We were covered on Global TV on Monday February 4th and here is the link. http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/edmonton+non-profit+uses+extra+fruit+to+make+jam/6442802183/story.html
Here is a list of the other vendors who have confirmed as of this moment.
Afhandcrafts - Yarncrafts - www.afhandcrafts.com
Amy Anne's Trinket Trunk - wirewrapped jewelry - [email protected]
AnneJane Designs - Accessories for women - [email protected]
ArtFul Afterglow - Beautiful interior and seasonal exterior decor - http://www.facebook.com/ArtFulAfterGlow2012
Blondes With Sticks - Hand knitting - [email protected]
Bluebird Hills Soap - Goats milk soap - [email protected]
Blue Couch Picklewhat - Hand crocheted items - [email protected]
Bryanne's Hunny - Flavoured honey - www.brianneshunny.com
Cocoa Obsession - Filled Chocolates - [email protected]
Dawn Saunders Dahl - Paintings, portraits - [email protected]
Dazzling Designs - Hand stitched garments - [email protected]
Designs by Diane - Handmade jewelry - [email protected]
Exxxotic Bakery and Beyond / Cynangel Jewelry - Baked goods and Handcrafted Jewelry [email protected]
Fallen Feather Design - Silver jewelry - [email protected]
Han Han Shop - 3-D pop up cards - www.hanhanshop.ca
Henry's Crafts - Wood, ceramics, knitting - [email protected]
Jewels by Jen - window rainbows, jewelry - [email protected]
Life Line Creations - Monsters - [email protected]
Lines Designs - Textile handbags - [email protected]
Little Day Designs - Clay creations - [email protected]
Medieval Mandrel - Chainmail jewlery - [email protected]
Memory Mosaics - Wall hangings and crafts - [email protected]
MoJo JoJo Pickles - pickled goods - mojopickles.com
Oodles of Chocolates - Cakebites and chocolate - [email protected]
Osee Enterprise - Glasswares - [email protected]
Painterly - Fabric, crochet, glassbeads - [email protected]
She Does Create - Handmade Jewelry - [email protected]
Soybean Essentials - Moisturizing Soy Candles - [email protected]
Splashwalk Beauty - Pure pigment makeup & accessories -chocolate - [email protected]
Steeped Tea - Loose tea - [email protected]
The Bangle Box - Pull-on Jewelry - [email protected]
The Mombot - Window art - [email protected]
The Sweet Cooke - Chocolate goodies - [email protected]
Time Designz - Watch Faces - [email protected]
UK Knitters - Hand made knits - [email protected]
Vintage Illusions - Jewelry - [email protected]
World Relief - Tablecloths, towels - [email protected]
ENTERTAINMENT: There will be a variety of live music performers as well as a display and demonstrations of the romantic art of being a Knight in Edmonton by the Knights of the Northern Realm (www.knightsof the north.ca).
Other demonstrations and exhibits will be offered by a fund-raising project for children in Africa - Penseli Ndhoto ([email protected]) - which raises funds and in kind donations for school supplies; and the Speak-Out team from Winnifred Stewart - who is a partner with Fruits of Sherbrooke.
$1,000 DIAMOND RING DRAW Smart Betty (www.smartbetty.com) is also a Fruits of Sherbrooke partner. Smart Betty will be here to introduce their program that offers daily on-line shopping bargains. They will explain how they support Fruits of Sherbrooke and other not for profit and charity groups. To attract your interest they are giving our ballots to enter the draw to win the $1000 diamond ring. What a Valentine's gift that would be!!!
SILENT AUCTION: This is the fund raising aspect of the day to support Fruits of Sherbrooke Society. (see below for details of our plans.)
♥ Petals for Less - A bouquet a month for 1 year.
♥ Polly's Flower's - $25 gift certificate
♥ Khulmann's - Gift box
♥ Sherbrooke Liquor Gift basket and certificate - value of $80.
♥ Daffodil Gallery - $85 certificate and pendant
♥ Fruits of Sherbrooke - gift basket of jams and condiments - value $90
♥ Studio Bloom - a bouquet of fresh flowers in a vase
♥ Window art - donated by Judy of The Mombot - one of the vendors you will see on the 10th. Fruits of Sherbrooke Society - The Bigger Picture.
Fruits of Sherbrooke started with the goal of gathering local fruits that were not being picked or used. As a result we started to make jams, ketchups and other condiments. This has been the main focus for the past 2 years as we tried to build a good product and work on the issues of production and distribution. We have moved along this path very quickly with the help of wonderful friends and customers. We are forever growing and learning new things and although this will continue to be fun, and will grow and even finally allow us to pay our staff, it is only part of the mission.
We are a registered not-for-profit society because our vision includes feeding and teaching others. The next step is to share the knowledge of preserving local food. We have been teaching courses to those who are interested but we want to concentrate our efforts to assist people who are low-income and/or use the food bank or other food services. We need the finances to offer the courses to these target populations AND most importantly teach how to use and preserve local food when it is cheap and in abundance. Many of these skills are easily learned but we plan to support the initiative by supplying the canning supplies, a handbook of recipes and techniques, a dehydrator and follow-up monthly sessions where people can work together to keep the motivation going and skills building and to support living locally for everyone - at least in some aspects.
These are ambitious plans but the abundance of apples and crabapples throughout this city reminds us that there is food yet to be used!! Learning how to dehydrate can extend beyond local fruits to include foods from gardens, community gardens and other places of abundance. It is a good way to save foods for those who do not have a freezer or interest in the actual canning process.
Although the jam making branch is busy, we still rely on volunteer labour and have not made any profit to contribute to this second step. So - the reason for the fundraising!! Once this part is in place, there are still more plans to unfold in the future.
If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more, contributing in terms of teaching, creating recipes for this new handbook, creating data bases for linking people and resources, we would welcome you with open arms. If you are aware of existing groups that would be ready for this mentoring program, let us know. We have to get started somewhere.
Keep watching as things change and grow at Fruits of Sherbrooke.