BITS AND BYTES

Canning Timer

by KEVIN MCISAAC

We’re well into fall now and that means a lot of us are preserving food and getting ready for the winter to come. Preserving food by canning is old technology, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be helped by new technology.

I’m lucky in that I’m old enough to have parents who grew up preserving food out of necessity. Most of us today don’t have to preserve, but we certainly want to for a wide variety of reasons. I grew up learning how to do it. A lot of younger people these days would like to but while it seems very simple on the outside, getting all the details right to ensure that the food you put away in October is still safe to eat in April can feel a little daunting.

This is where technology can come to the rescue. I use an app called Canning Timer. It has many different built-in foods with different technologies such as hot water versus pressure canning procedures. It automatically adjusts for altitude. Something we have to pay attention to in Fernie.

With an altitude of just over 1000m above sea level, water boils at 97C instead of 100C in Fernie. This means you have to adjust canning times. The Canning Timer figures this out for you.

You may download the Canning Timer from the App Store. Once installed, you start it and then select the category of food you’d like to can. It supports vegetables, fruits, meats, seafood, and pickling. And inside those categories, it’s broken down again to individual foods.

The app is smart enough to know whether you can use a water bath or pressure canning. This is based primarily (as near as I can tell) on acidity. For example, for most fruits and pickles it suggests water bath canning (higher acidity). For almost everything else it suggests pressure canning. Of course, if you are following a recipe that has you adding acid (lemon juice, citrus, etc.) it may have a different suggestion, but I haven’t found one yet that isn’t how I would want to do it.

Once you’ve selected the food you’re going to can, select the jar size. Then select the canning style: raw or hot are the usual options. Then select how you are canning: water bath or pressure. Then select altitude. It’s in feet, so if you’re in Fernie, choose 3000’-4000’.

The app will ask you to confirm your selections. Then you are presented with a checklist to check off as you proceed through canning. I find this is a good reminder so I don’t skip steps. The ‘prepare food’ step is dictated by whatever recipe you’re following.

The app doesn’t provide you with recipes. You should always follow a recipe when canning as things like acidity and preparation are important. A good source for recipes if you don’t have one is bernardin.ca.Their website has a couple of hundred recipes you can try.

Once you have gone through and checked off the list, you are presented with a timer to start once the water is boiling. The timer duration is dictated by the choices you made. When the timer expires it will alert you and they may start another timer to ‘rest’ the jars in the water bath. And then you’re finished.

If you’re pressure canning it will give you a timer for letting off steam, then give another timer and pressure amount for the under-pressure component.

There’s nothing quite so comforting as opening up, on a cold winter’s day, a jar of peaches, apple jelly, homemade beans, chicken soup, etc. that you canned yourself back in the fall. And you can do it safer with a little help from technology.

Stock Photo

“Preserving food by canning is old technology, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be helped by new technology.”

October is a transformative month with a theme of letting go of sorrow, dissolving into love, conquering the shadow self and allowing for expressions of the divine to come through as we align truth on earth. Many planets end their retrograde this month resulting in forward momentum. Mercury turns direct October 2 in Virgo, Pluto turns direct October 8 at the 26º of Capricorn and Saturn turns direct October 23 at 18º Aquarius.

Neptune, Uranus, Chiron, Nessus and Juno remain in retrograde with Mars in Gemini turning retrograde October 30- January 12, 2023. Mars rules our power to make moves and exert our will, including sexuality, so it may be a frustrating time.

The full (Hunters) moon occurs 10/09 at 14:35 with the Sun at 16º Libra conjunct Venus and the Moon at 16º Aries conjunct retrograde Chiron. Major themes are reconstruction and potential, dealing with relationships and the acceptance of needing to put in the work.

The new (Beavers) moon is also a solar eclipse and the Sun, Moon and Venus sit at 2º Scorpio on 10/25 at 5:35. The major theme is a public display of something that was considered sacred, intimate and fragile. It can be a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ thing. Are you sharing your love? Hopefully.

The month begins with the Sun moving with Venus in Libra and ends with the most plutonic time of the year: Hallows Eve. It’s a time where love is illuminated as the Sun and Venus move together all month in the sacred and somber hands of truth. It is a time to trust the processes of love.

Aries

There is an intense energy happening in your life, aligning you. This is a time to trust the divine -especially in the most difficult places and when the most difficult emotions arise. It may take six-12 months to see the outcome of this time.

Taurus

The eclipse occurring on 10/25 is in the Scorpio-Taurus polarity so expect the unexpected, especially with the north node still travelling in the sky conjunct retrograde Uranus. Eclipses are a time of immense change and this one is particularly dealing with what we love, who we love and how we love.

Gemini

Immense possibility for transformation, growth and power come this month. This can be a turbulent time but also a universal shifting time where literally consciousness of the earth’s people is upgrading. Enjoy this shift and embrace changes with strength and resiliency.

Cancer

Big shifts take place in your home environment which also includes the most sacred home which is that within your heart. It’s an immensely transformative time with this eclipse in Scorpio. Truth prevails so make sure you are in alignment. You can’t lose with the truth.

Leo

Communication is a major theme this month: that which needs to be said needs to be said so it’s time to say it. Shifts occur alongside spiritual growth spurts with the eclipse season.

Virgo

You and your basic needs are the major theme of this month. This means taking care of yourself and your boundaries must come first. Eat well, sleep well, rest well. Make sure your finances are in order and say no to everything you do not feel like or want to be a part of.

Libra

Happy birthday! A month of learning understanding yourself on a deep level. It’s an intense time with a very strong Scorpio eclipse. Transformational change is the theme of October and November. It’s an opportunity to create a new reality: you will have the choice to rise or fall. Stay positive!

Scorpio

Happy birthday! Intensity is in the air and mirroring you. A whirlwind of change comes with the eclipses but nothing is more potent than a Scorpio eclipse. This change can be occurring at deeply subconscious levels: how have your belief systems held you as a prisoner? Let it go. Heal the conscience and watch the outside reality shift.

Sagittarius

Major themes of change occur with you in respect to your community. A quantum leap happens during eclipse season and this largely deals with your friends and community. It’s a good time to bring your optimism to help lead people to better places.

October 2022

by ASHLEY KRISTINA

Capricorn

A shifting time in your work environment and your paternal relationships: your father and your role as a father. Perhaps you might become a father this month or lend a fatherly role to someone in need. It’s a time of strength, resiliency and leading - helping others in a shifting time.

Aquarius

Changes take place to your consciousness and spirituality as this eclipse occurs in your ninth house. Perhaps it’s time to travel to a foreign land, learn an ancient language or attend university for higher education.

Pisces

Possibly the most intense time of your life as you are shifting some of the deepest, darkest and most internal energies within yourself. It’s purifying and growth pains can occur in this transformative, turbulent and intense time. Stay with the light. Sobriety is recommended.

The Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) is celebrating 21 years of providing free community-based programs! Help us support programs such as; Book Under Every Tree, Baby Goose, Draw Together, Come Read with Me, and Block Builders. These programs are designed to help parents, help their kids become life-long learners

Pay Debit

to Support CBAL in Fernie

Help support our Books for Kids 2022 campaign so that we can reach more families in the Elk Valley.

Fernie Cardlock will donate 4¢ per litre of fuel purchased here when you pay by DEBIT.

Premium off road gasoline • Regular gasoline • Diesel • Marked Diesel 24/7/365

www.ferniecardlock.com 250.423.7205 • 1592-9th Ave., Fernie

R&K

CONTRACTING SERVICES

For all your excavating needs!

R&K Contracting Services has the equipment to build roads, dig basements, prepare water and sewer lines, level driveways, landscape and excavate yards and lots, auger holes and prepare foundations. Commercial & Residential Snow Removal Available

Call for an estimate: 250-423-1964 rkcontractingltd@shaw.ca 9847 Stephenson Road Fernie BC www.rkcontractingltd.com

Comfort, Through Your Lens

Hiking Mt Proctor. Photo by Leanne Nanninga @born.to.adventure

“If you can’t fly then run; if you can’t run then walk; if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

Crowsnest Pass Real Estate

VALLEY RIDGE CROWSNEST CHALET

Private 3.36 acreage with newer home. 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, walkout basement. Functional space that blends with the land. $739,000

CROWSNEST CABIN

York Creek staging area Cabin in Coleman by Crowsnest River and backcountry trails. Property has room to park an RV. $159,000

John Pundyk

403-563-0771 jpundyk@shaw.ca johnpundyk.com

Chairman’s Club top 1%

SOUTH COUNTRY

Snapshots: A glimpse into the remarkable stories of people and places in the Columbia Basin.

Cranbrook Food Bank drives food security with efficient upgrades

For 15 years, the Cranbrook Food Bank’s trusty cargo van rolled through the town. The long-serving vehicle made countless grocery, supply and donation pickups, as well as food hamper deliveries for the bustling organization that supports over 2,000 residents with consistent access to healthy food.

More like this on Basin Stories

While the faithful van was an integral part of operations, a variety of continuous challenges highlighted the need for a more efficient vehicle. That’s when the Cranbrook Food Bank reached out to the Trust for support in purchasing a new hybrid vehicle. In 2021, the Trust supported non-profit social services, food recovery and First Nation organizations to purchase a new EV or plug-in hybrid vehicle, as well as a charging station to help create clean transportation options for Basin residents. This was just the start of many upgrades that the Cranbrook Food Bank made in the past year. Read all about their improvements story online!

Out in the Community:

What do you find most comforting about the fall?

Angela Etheridge

Fall riding is my favourite, especially late fall, when the ground is starting to freeze and there might be a skiff of snow. It’s comforting to me to ride the trails because it feels like the valley is going to sleep for a little while and this is my last chance to say goodnight. I find the trails very peaceful at this time of year, not as many people venture out.

Terry Nelson

The cooler evening temperatures are much welcomed after the no covers nights of August. The crunch of the first frost-sweetened Sparmac apple from my tree is a long awaited pleasure as well. Much like September, October is also a busy month when it comes to athletics! The month kicks off with the Ironman Open at the Fernie Golf Club, along with the Fernie Half Marathon, three-person relay and 10km on the epic City trail network! The Golf Club closes for the season with the popular Tombstone Tournament on October 10, and don’t forget that the Ghostriders Hockey Team is back on the ice, with multiple games this month starting October 8 at the Memorial Arena.

This October 15 we are back to the polls for provincial municipal elections. There are many opportunities to learn about the candidates in our area, including in this issue of the Fernie Fix, in past issues of the Fernie Free Press, online at fernie.ca/EN/main/city/2022-general-local-election. html and at the All Candidates Forum October 4 at the Fernie Community Centre. For those away on the 15th, there is an early voting opportunity on October 5 and October 12 at the Fernie Senior Citizens Drop-in Centre, from 8am to 8pm where voting will also take place on election day. If you have any questions, email the Chief Election Officer at electionsofficer@fernie.ca. For the RDEK – Area A election, advance voting is available October 5 and October 13 with October 15 as the general voting day. For additional information or to request a Mail Ballot Form, visit rdek.bc.ca/elections. October 14 is the last day to purchase the season pass at Fernie Alpine Resort at the Fall Sales rate, and also to access Fall Sales on Wings Gear Lease and Winter Sport School multi-week programs. Visit skifernie.com to learn more about the sale and the upcoming season at the hill. What are your plans this Halloween? For those not dedicated to taking the kids trick or treating, did you know that Shred Kelly has announced Halloween shows with the Heavy Lighters in Nelson on the 28th and Fernie on the 29th at the Northern Bar and Stage! Watch the Fernie Fix e-newsletter for more Halloween events being added later in the month. Have fun, and be safe.