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Cansanity is a company that provides information about how to grow, cook, bake and preserve food. Our mission is to help you by providing excellent tips and instruction on how to grow, prepare and save the harvests of the season through our videos, recipe and blog. When we don’t grow it, we try to source locally. We believe in the “100-mile movement,” which is to try to live on means that are within 100 miles of your home.

We are very fortunate to live rurally near London, Ontario, Canada close to many beautiful orchards and farms. Even though we now grow most of our own vegetables, we have only just begun planting our fruit trees and shrubs on our 2.5-acre farm.

For 25 years, we have been experimenting with food preparation and gardening. We currently have over 245 recipes and 80 videos on our website and we add new content to the website every week! So please visit us here often and follow us on all our social media platforms to stay up to date with all the Cansanity content.

If you are new to Cansanity WELCOME! And, for those who have been following us for years and continue to support us thank you, we love you!

“I know once people get connected to real food they never change back”. Alice Waters




Recipes

I have always been a huge “foodie”!  I will relate this story to you of when I was just a young girl…. not even 4 years of age… my mother lost me in the Eaton’s department store.  Frantic, she searched everywhere, and finally she decided to look in the Eaton’s restaurant.  There I was,  proudly eating the french fries and gravy that I had ordered!

When I was a young girl, living in my parents’ house, I wasn’t much of a cook, but I loved to make dessert.  I remember fondly returning from high school, dropping my books at the door and quickly getting out the ingredients to make apple crisp or some other simple sugary snack.



It wasn’t until I married and had my first daughter that I really began to experiment in the kitchen.  You see my daughter developed food allergies which made going to restaurants or ordering take-out food, certainly something that my husband and I enjoyed doing prior to having a baby, a thing of the past.

Suddenly, I not only had to make dessert but I had to put balanced meals on the table at least three times a day!  Here is where it starts… the countless hours reading and trying out new recipes.  The yard that no longer looks like just a place to sit and have a glass of wine on  sunny day, but a yard that can produce food!



This website was created so that I can share my experiences in the garden and in the kitchen with you. I hope you enjoy the recipes that I share and the journey that I took while using or developing them!

Canning & Preserves
Canning &
preserves

Sangria
Drinks & snacks

vegetable soup
Soup, salad, &
sandwich

Buttermilk and Greens Dressing
Dressings, Sauces
& Fillings

Rice Pudding
Pudding &
Pudding Cake

English muffin bread
Baking

Pesto-stuffed chicken breast
Meat, beans & eggs

Brussel Sprout and Kale Taco
Vegan & Vegetarian

beet and carrot harvest
Vegetables & fruit

Pizza on the grill
Pizza & one-pot
meals

Pasta Carbonara
Pasta & Pierogi

Finnish Oven Pancake
Pancakes, Waffles
& Breakfast Food

Easy Sugar Cookies
Christmas

About

My husband and I both grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and we had the absolute best childhoods. Long summer days at the lakes, swimming, fishing, and enjoying all that rugged Canadian Shield landscape. Yes, the winters were snowy, cold and long, but we didn’t know any different; and so, we built snow forts, lived on skates and skis and those snow storms didn’t stop us from anything.

But, alas, all that fun living was not without some good old-fashioned hard work. You see, both our parents were passionate about ways to forage, hunt, fish and save the fruits and vegetables of the seasons. Wild blueberries, saskatoon berries, raspberries, apples and garden fresh vegetables in the summer months, moose and deer meat in the fall, and fish all year long!

It is not surprising then to share with you that I have had a lifelong obsession with food! So many tales, stories, pictures and recipes to share!



Forever and always, not afraid to try anything and always eager to try new culinary and garden adventures. Content and happy at day’s end when I could savour the memory of a good wholesome meal or a brand-new bud, flower or fruit spotted in my garden.

From the time spent at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario getting my Bachelor of Science degree in biology and through the years of raising my two beautiful daughters, I have been constantly working on the development and enrichment of my knowledge of science and food. Cansanity has been a concept that has been in me for as long as I can remember. Watch, study, practice, build, perfect, share, repeat!

In 2022, our world is changing. Food, gas, and housing are at record high prices and everyone is looking for ways to stretch the dollar. We have been doing just that for years by growing our own food and preserving the seasons. This website was created so that I can share all that I know and have learned with you!

In thirty years, I have lived in four homes and with every home comes the best part – the yard! We have grown cherries, apples, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, black currants, red currants, plums and Concord grapes. We have grown in cold frames, boxes, pots, raised gardens and in-ground gardens. We have had great success growing garlic, lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, turnips, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, parsnips, arugula, spinach, peas, beans, peppers and more. We have had property the size of 30’x 125, 36’x110’, 55’x 110’ and now we live on a 2.5-acre rural property. Here is where we plan on staying and where Cansanity will grow.



We hope you visit us here at Cansanity.com often. We look forward to spending time with you through our website. It is my hope that the videos and content that I share with you will be intriguing and informative, but most of all, that they will be helpful and will brighten your day. When you find yourself getting tired of tasks, chores or just the plain old regular routine, escape into the world of gardening, cooking, baking and canning. Trust me it will not take you long to get hooked and for you to exclaim one day “This is Cansanity!”

Blog

Farm Fresh Produce-Thanks to the dedication of growers like Spruce Ridge Farm

Garden fresh doesn’t have to mean plucked from your own backyard. When I first starting preserving the food of the seasons, almost all of my fruits and vegetables came from local farms or vegetable markets. At that time, I had a little garden, and it was just for everyday meals. In fact, my husband and …

Beautiful blossoms and delicious fruit and all yours with one Montmorency sour cherry tree

When I first moved to Southern Ontario, I was amazed at all the fresh fruit that was locally grown: apples, pears, peaches, plums, Concord grapes, and my favourite, cherries! The very first cherry pie I ever made was a sour cherry pie, the perfect blend of sweet and sour, and it was love at first …

Contact

Our greatest joy in having Cansanity is finding out how we have helped, inspired and even entertained all of our followers. We encourage everyone to please be involved in Cansanity by leaving comments on any of the Cansanity recipes, blogs, YouTube videos, Facebook and Instagram posts you view. Not only because we love to hear from you but because your comment might help someone else.

To get in contact with us, here is our email link. We would love to hear from you!