Everywhere I turn health researchers and professionals are saying we can cure our ills and insure good health by eating more fruits and vegetables. Friends who are researching Parkinson’s and MS have found information that encourages this nutritional approach. The website, “Forks Over Knives,” has a link to some research regarding Diabetes and Heart Disease: http://www.forksoverknives.com/about/the-fok-diet/
Two doctors researching these two different health issues came up with the same answer – we would benefit from more fruit and veg in our diet! They are talking about making 80% of what we consume to be fruit and vegetables.
Rather than post more and bigger boxes we have bulked up our Fresh Weekly Produce listing to include at least two leafy cooking greens. Add them on to your box or substitute them in. We always offer one salad green – lettuce at the moment – but will offer salad mix as well when it is back in season. Let us know if you are interested in larger amounts of greens and we will consider creating a small greens box or a raw foods box.
Buying a box saves you 10% over buying a la carte. Buying from our Bulk Produce List saves you even more.
So work the system…
Order a bag of potatoes or carrots from Bulk Produce and remove these veg from your Box and add more greens or fruit!
Local Veggie of the Week:
Daikon
Umi Nami Farms in Metchosin has just delivered freshly harvested daikon and packed it into 500g packages. Daikon is a root vegetable that grows in our region and has a mild radish flavour. It can be enjoyed raw as a part of veggies-and-dip or grated onto salads.
Yoshiko was telling me she also uses it in stir fries and makes it into Japanese pickle by layering daikon with a sprinkling of salt and vinegar. Then let it sit for a few hours.
Or try this:
Daikon Dipping Sauce
Finely grate:
1/2 LB Daikon (1 cup)
Combine with the following:
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. Tamari
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. (or more!) Wasabi (green horseradish powder found in Asian markets)
Serve at room temperature over strong-flavoured fish or over rice.
Another Farmer Recipe:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Dave at Madrona Farms recommends roasting brussels sprouts with a little oil and salt in a 400 degree oven until they are done!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
We are starting 2012 out well with 3 local items in most of the boxes. This time last year we struggled to have two items in every box all year. The year prior we were only able to offer 1 item in all boxes. Progress! We have more root crops available this January – potatoes, rutabaga, beets and sunchokes. The brussels sprouts are still coming on. Leafy greens – arugula salad greens, mizuna and kale – will take their time coming back due to the short days this time of year. Our local organic hothouse, Suntrio Farms, will be gearing up to produce some early tomatoes and cukes in March or April. I’ll try to get a report from them for next week.
If you have not yet tried our Local Island Box consider getting one once a month to keep in touch with the local food scene. Right now it is packed with Island produce and three items from BC (pears, onions and mushrooms).
Add a Local Island Box to your Standing Order.
Then choose to have it “Every Monthly.”
Then choose to have it delivered the First week of Month, Second week, etc…
Winter Local Box
Kind words from one of our farmers…
“Thank you so much for all your support this year. It really kept us alive. I like selling bulk orders (to Share) because we see more volume move steadily. You are a pleasure to deal with and I feel you do all possible to pay a fair price. Keep up the good work! Have you ever thought of opening a branch up island? You have a lot of knowledge and experience in running this distribution system?”
- Isabelle Morris
Growing carrots, potatoes, beets and more at Wyndlow Farms, Ladysmith.
What to Make from the Local Box
Blueberry Muffins
Pear Smoothie
Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad
Scalloped Potatoes
Sautee Garlic Sunchokes with Portobello Mushrooms
Naked Carrots – they don’t need any dressing or cooking!
Blueberry Muffins
A warm treat in the morning before heading out into the wet…
Mix together:
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk or yoghurt
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup honey
Sift together:
2 cups organic pastry flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 Tbsp. baking soda
1 dash nutmeg
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend well. Then Add:
1 cup blueberries
Pour into greased muffin tin and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
We appreciate all of you for your support of Share Organics and our work with local farmers. Thank you!
Holiday Greetings for this Season of Light!
“Light is Returning, even though this is the darkest hour
No one can hold back the dawn.
Let’s keep it burning, let’s keep the light of hope alive,
Make safe our journey through the storm.
One planet is turning, circle on her path around the sun.
Earth Mother is calling her children home.”
Charlie Murphy
Kind words from one of our customers – This made our week!
“Just a quick note to say that I found the recent order of produce INCREDIBLE! I’ve never knew brussel sprouts tasted that good (simply steamed with sea salt and served with a dab of butter) and the turnip? Delicious! You may recall that I prefer fruits over veggies but this last order has me reassessing that preference.
I am so grateful that you provide this service, direct from the farmer to my table – it makes such a huge difference. People ask me why I don’t buy my produce in Chinatown as it’s only a 15 minute walk from my home or shop at Save On, which only half a block away. If they experienced the difference in flavour just once, I think they’d understand. It’s not just the farm freshness, supporting the local farms has a lot to do with my choice.
In gratitude,
Beth Smith”
SHARE ORGANICS WILL BE CLOSED
THE WEEK OF
DECEMBER 27/28/29
Share Organics Vision Statement
‘Toward a Food Secure Vancouver Island’
Our vision statement has been guiding us in the decisions we make for our company. This past year I attended a GMO conference at the OUR Eco Village and plan to work towards a GMO free Vancouver Island. In 2012 I will be participating in a Climate Smart program to make sure we are doing everything we can to address this issue. I am also interested in the Slow Money concept. How can we invest in our future food security?
In January we begin a new season of crop planning with our farmers. With their help we look forward to another bountiful year of local fruits and vegetables.
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Shitake Mushrooms
Serves 4 as a side dish.
Heat in a skillet over medium heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add and sauté until they begin to color(about 3 minutes):
1 stalk Brussels sprouts (removed sprouts, washed and trimmed ends)
Add and sauté for another 2-3 minutes:
1/4 lb. shitake mushrooms, ends trimmed, halved
1 large garlic clove, minced
Add:
1/4 cup veggie stock or water
Simmer over medium heat until stock evaporates. Finally add the following and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
1 tablespoons Tamari
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Did you know it cost $5 to purchase a turkey chick, $25 to feed him with organic grains, $10 to process at our local processing plant and then another $10 if over 20 lbs. And then add in the cost of housing them and looking after them for 6 months. Are they worth it? Absolutely! Organic turkeys are moist and very delicious. And they take less time to cook. If we want to keep local processors and growers we need to support them!
Call Evelyn to see if she has turkeys left. Fresh or frozen for pick up in town Dec 23. 250.743.7484
Add our Harvest Box on to your order to make sure you have enough local produce for the holiday season.
Did You Know??
You can order today for Dec 20-22 by clicking on a future date in the calendar on your order window and adding Eggnog
(a yummy example).
If you are away for holidays you can cancel on the website. Click on Skip a Week and choose your away dates OR send us an email and we will do it for you.
Deer will always go under a fence rather than over so mind the gaps as small as 8 inches and block them!
Deer can be rerouted so plant something like rutabaga outside and away from the garden fence.
Dave farms at Madrona Farm on Blenkinsop Rd. He was telling me this morning that the rutabagas are extra large this year and that he used seed he had saved from last year’s crop! Studies on seed saving in Cuba have indicated that seeds harvested from small micro climates do better in that same micro climate. Makes sense to me! If your rutabaga is bigger than expected this week, now you know why. Don’t worry! It keeps well.
Dave has saved seeds from about 16 crops this year. Not as easy as you might think as they have to be segregated from crops they might cross pollinate with so the process requires a good deal of land and some savvy planning ahead!
We will be rotating rutabaga and brussels sprouts into our different box types over the next month – just like we did with collards these past few weeks. The rutabaga and the Brussels sprouts are available every week… just sub it into your box if you’d like them more often!
Good for you and good for the farmer.
Making the Most of your Box
When customizing your box make sure you check our Bulk Produce Section. Add the value-priced bags of organic carrots, potatoes, apples etc. to your order. Then remove these items from your box and increase or substitute some of the other offerings!
South Carolina Collards!
Chop and pop into boiling water:
1 bunch collards
Add a touch of:
Salt, sugar, oil
Serve with a splash of vinegar and garnish with crumbled bacon and/or wedges of boiled egg.
From the kitchen of Charlesanna Leatherman
Rutabaga Casserole
Peel and cut into cubes:
1 medium rutabaga
Put in pot, cover with water and bring to boil. Simmer until soft (about 25 minutes).
Mash the rutabaga in the pot (with a beater) and add:
3 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp Ecosweet sugar
Beat together and sprinkle in slowly:
3 Tbsp flour
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour rutabaga mixture into a buttered baking pan.
Grate leftover bread finely into:
3/4 cups crumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp melted butter
Mix together and sprinkle over the casserole
Bake at 350 for one hour.
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
Share Organics – info@shareorganics.bc.ca, 250-595-6729, www.shareorganics.bc.ca
The purple globe turnips from Madrona are fabulous right now! Their green tops have been useable so far, but the cold weather is starting to take its toll. Bunch carrots are just finishing as the tops are dying off. We’ll need to sub some local loose carrots this week.
Crops like pak choy and leeks love this cold weather but late season crops experience more insect damage so you can expect a few holes in the leaves.
The squash is rolling right along — Red Kuri has a shorter storage life so we are using it up first. We like to support different varieties to increase genetic diversity! We’re looking forward to upcoming Fairy squash that tastes like a butternut!
Our brussels sprouts in their early childhood days on Madrona Farm
(image taken October 2011 during the Chef Survival Challenge).
Greens like kale and chard are growing at a snail’s pace… Salad greens will continue through December and then slow down as the day length shortens. We will look forward to a lot more root crops, hazelnuts, leeks, sprouts, salad mix, apples, brussels sprouts and cauliflower in the next month.
**All this bounty from our Island!**
Climate Change and Food Security
in British Columbia – continued…
Dr. Aleck Ostry, UVic; Dr. Christiana Miewald, SFU; and Rachelle Beveridge, UVic
Meat Production is the highest source of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions!
“Sourcing from local farms decreases food miles but food miles are in fact not the most important source of GHG emissions. The agriculture GHG emission associated with meat production are huge! The main sources of GHG’s from agriculture arise from decomposition of organic matter (i.e. plant litter, soils, manure). Carbon dioxide is released primarily from microbial decay or burning of plant litter and soil organic matter. The largest sources of CH4 in agriculture are from fermentative digestion of ruminant animals, stored manure and rice grown under flooded conditions.”
“According to Environment Canada (2009), animal production is responsible for about 60% of Canada’s agricultural GHG emissions.”
Since much of our current food supply is grown in California this study looks at how climate change will affect that area. Water is already in short supply in California and the farmers there have had their water supply cut. The Mexican government is learning from the problems in California and has set a limit on the amount of water that can be taken from the aquifer under the Sonora Desert. Mexican farmers are also used to growing with less water.
Transportation is another GHG issue but is closer always better? Here at Share our bananas come from Peru – one of the few items we source from off the continent. Most bananas are shipped by container to Los Angeles and then trucked up to Canada. Our bananas come directly from Peru to the port of Vancouver. This way they use 1/17th the fuel than that of a banana that comes via LA!
Maple Glazed Turnips and Carrots
Cut into match sticks or 1/2 coins, quartered:
1 bunch Turnips (save greens for a soup or saute!)
Cut into 1/2 inch coins:
3 medium carrots
Put the vegetables and stock (or water) in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the turnips are barely tender, about 10 minutes. Pour most of the liquid off, return pan to stove, and reduce the heat to medium.
Add:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Stir to coat the vegetables and continue to cook uncovered until the vegetables are glazed and beginning to caramelize around the edges, about 2 minutes.
Introducing… Us!
Did you check out our new Introduction Video in last week’s newsletter?
Missed it, did you?
Well, have another crack at it…
Darin Steinkey produced this lovely video for us and the music is from Compassion Gorilla.
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
For all of you that want to see a-day-in-the-life-of Share Organics! Darin Steinkey produced this lovely video for us and the music is from Compassion Gorilla.
Susan is interviewed and she speaks of our purchasing ethics while images of the production area and Colby suiting up for his daily bicycle delivery trek stream through your eyeballs into your optic nerve.
Climate Change and Food Security
in British Columbia
Dr. Aleck Ostry, UVic; Dr. Christiana Miewald, SFU; and Rachelle Beveridge, UVic
Fruits and vegetables are (of course) of particular interest to us! It is noted in the food security discussion section that many people in BC with adequate incomes do not have healthy diets due to the low consumption of fruit and vegetables! This is happening simultaneously with the agricultural sector declining or exporting our produce.
“… there has been a marked decline in the quantities of field grown vegetables in BC (except for potatoes) over the past quarter century and a stunningly rapid growth in greenhouse vegetable production. The greenhouse vegetable industry in BC is mainly located in the Lower Mainland and is almost entirely geared to the production, for export, of tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers. … there has been a major decline in the production of tree fruit in BC over the past quarter century mainly because many Okanagan orchards have switched to intensive grape production for wine.
The question that emerges is how can we manage and plan for this new pressure on our food system while improving our food security and the dietary health of the population, while reducing or, at the very least, holding GHG emissions from food production and transportation steady over the next quarter century in BC?”
Many Share Organics customers say that having a box of fruit and veggies delivered ensure that they have lots of fresh nutritious produce on hand and they eat better for it!
An interesting tidbit from the study was about sourcing from local farms; it decreases food miles but food miles are, in fact, not the most important source of greenhouse gas emissions. More on that next time!
Cheese!
Dairy is one of the food groups that is mostly provided to us by BC Farmers. Try some of our great BC organic Gouda from Gort’s Gouda. Many of you have discovered the fabulous cows’ milk feta. Did you know they also make a wonderful Swiss-style Maasdammer! To see what’s available select “Organic Cooler” then “Organic BC Cheese” from menu on the order page.
Baked Apples
Remove apple cores to within 1/2 inch of the bottom of 4 large baking apples.
Mix together the following:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup raisins
1 Tbsp butter
Stuff the apples and place in baking pan with 3/4 cup boiling water.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Baste occasionally. Serve with vanilla yogurt or ice cream!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
From Box to Table – Susan eats her way through a Local Box
Oct 19, 2011 – Local Box
This past week I have been eating my way through the Local Only Box. I had a few potlucks to inspire me. Eating out of the box does take some planning but then as my naturopath says, eating well takes planning.
The first night I sautéed some kale in garlic and olive oil and added six of those large cherry tomatoes. I topped this with some BC Feta and let it melt while the pasta finished cooking.
Thursday I popped a BC organic chicken breast into the oven while I sautéed some green peppers and onions with fajita spicing. Add the chicken (or protein of choice) and serve with salsa and sour cream. A few olives are good too.
For the Friday potluck I wanted to do something different with the eggplant – our last of the season. I remembered that eggplant is often used in Indian cooking. I found a recipe in Vij’s Cookbook that used eggplant and buttercup squash – both in the box! I roasted them up that night so it would be a quicker dinner preparation on Friday. I only needed some cilantro and jalapeno to go with this recipe plus a lemon.
Along with the curry I served a kale salad. The trick with using raw kale, according to a chef friend, is to let it marinate in the oil and vinegar for at least a few hours. With the kale as a base it is always good to add something sweet so added some grated apple at the last minute. The salad was an even nicer texture the next day.
I had heard that beet greens were a great addition to a morning smoothy. I cut the greens off the beetroot and bagged them for this purpose – (they are also tasty steamed). I blended the greens with an apple, frozen raspberries, hemp powder (from The Good Seed) and soy milk. It tasted delicious and I felt that I was being very good to myself eating so well!
I made quick borscht for the second potluck with the delicious big beet. See the recipe below. I am sharing dessert at a potluck later this week so I plan on making a flan with a quince-apple topping.
What’s left in the fridge?
Red cabbage, parsley, green pepper and a few cherry tomatoes. The first three ingredients work as a cabbage salad with toasted sesame seeds, apple and a mayo yogurt dressing. The tomatoes and peppers will eaten up in lunches. I’d also like to try a red cabbage sauté. Parsley pesto? We’ll see how the week goes.
Easy Beet Borscht
(OR Easy Beet-y Borscht-y) … isn’t that more fun?
Grate:
1 large beet, peeled (3 cups)
2 medium potatoes (2 cups)
1 medium onion (1 cup)
Cover with water and simmer 15 minutes.
Add the following:
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dried dill weed
1 Tbsp maple syrup or other sweetner
Simmer for another 30 minutes.
Add juice from 1/2 a lemon and serve warm with sour cream or yogurt.
Freeze leftovers for later in the season!
Recipe Ideas for This Week’s Local Box
Potato Latkes with Apple Sauce
Broccoli and Chanterelle Saute
Steamed Collards with Basil Butter
Tomatoes and Sprouts with Basil Vinaigrette
Pear Cobbler
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
“The results are in from a 30-year side-by-side trial of conventional and organic farming methods at Pennsylvania’s Rodale Institute. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organic farming outperformed conventional farming in every measure.
The Rodale study found organic farming is more sustainable than conventional systems. They found, for example, that:
Organic systems used 45 per cent less energy than conventional.
Production efficiency was 28 per cent higher in the organic systems, with the conventional no-till system being the least efficient in terms of energy usage.
Soil health in the organic systems has increased over time while the conventional systems remain essentially unchanged. One measure of soil health is the amount of carbon contained in the soil. Carbon performs many crucial functions: acting as a reservoir of plant nutrients, binding soil particles together, maintaining soil temperature, providing a food source for microbes, binding heavy metals and pesticides, and influencing water holding capacity and aeration. The conventional system has shown a loss in carbon in recent years.
Organic fields increased groundwater recharge and reduced run-off. Water volumes percolating through the soil were 15-20 per cent higher in the organic systems. Rather than running off the surface and taking soil with it, rainwater recharged groundwater reserves in the organic systems, with minimal erosion.
Organic farming also helps sustain rural communities by creating more jobs; a UN study shows organic farms create 30 per cent more jobs per hectare than nonorganic. More of the money in organic farming goes to paying local people, rather than to farm inputs.”
With results like these, why does conventional wisdom favour chemical farming?
Steam the beets until soft. Puree the beets in a food processor with a 1/2 cup of the water in the steamer. At the same time, melt chocolate in a double boiler on low to medium heat.
Cream butter and sugar together using a mixer. Add vanilla, melted chocolate and pureed beets. Mix until smooth and add the eggs.
Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together and add to the beet mixture. Beat until smooth. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake 40-45 mins at 325 F.
Glaze:
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 1/2 oz 70% Chocolate
2 tbl butter
Bring whipping cream to boil, remove from heat, add chocolate and butter. Stir to combine. Pour over cake warm OR let chill until thickened.
It was an excellent obstacle course for the chefs this year. They had to jump mounds of compost and hay bales, shimmy under irrigation pipes, scale a wall, paddle (in questionable boats) to an Island to retrieve their condiment bags and finally finished up on the Zip Line!
We all ate a fabulous lunch while each Chef picked their own vegetables from the fields and with a protein of choice they each began to prepare a fabulous meal! One Chef caught some lake trout in Prospect Lake the day before, another choose local dog fish – a very underrated fish in this part of the world. A fellow from The Whole Beast showed us how to make sausage!
It was a great chance to see these amazing chefs in action and to learn a thing or two. I saw a chef use the pulp from a squash in his soup base and also sauté the squash seeds to use as a garnish. At the end of the day each meal was auctioned off to the highest bidder. All this was in support of the TLC. This was A LOT OF FUN!
Don’t miss it next year.
Just don’t.
budding Brussels Sprouts
Madrona’s Farmer Dave was overseeing the festivities. Dave has been working with Share Organics to extend the growing seasons into late fall and early spring. I saw some of the crops that will fill our boxes later in the year: brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and kale as well as braising greens and arugula.
Baby Cauliflower
Green Apple and Buttercup Squash Casserole
This can be prepared the night before and baked at the last minute – when the turkey comes out!
2 Jonagold apples, peeled and cored
3 TB organic butter, divided
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, cleaned and cut into quarters
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh thyme to taste, optional
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans/walnuts, optional
Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut apples into quarters and then each quarter into quarters again.
Melt one tablespoon butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté squash, onion, celery and mushrooms with a pinch of sea salt for 10 minutes, stirring often. Cover the pan and cook for 5 to 10 minutes over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the breadcrumbs, stirring to coat well and set aside. To the pan add the squash mixture, and the apples, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Continue to sauté for 5 to 10 more minutes, or until apples are just tender. Transfer vegetables and any pan juices to a buttered medium baking pan. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden-brown. For extra crunch, garnish with toasted pecans before serving.
Thanks to Nancy at Sungold Meadows Farm for this recipe and this week’s squash!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
Jon Steinman of Deconstructing Dinner spoke about the myths surrounding GMO foods. One of the best ways to promote GMO awareness (and a GE-Free Vancouver Island, perhaps) is to be able to set the record straight.
Myth Number 1 – GMO food can feed the world.
In fact, as Dr. Huber pointed out, the yield on GMO crops are low compared to conventional and organic crops.
Myth Number 2 – GMO are safe. Research has not been done to prove GMO products are safe. GMO plants have been unleashed on to the world.
Myth Number 3 – GMO plants cannot reproduce. This misconception might have come about because of terminator seeds slated to be introduced into the marketplace but never sanctioned. Most GMO plants can and do reproduce thus becoming weeds (GMO canola) that cannot be controlled. Right now GMO alfalfa has been okayed in the USA. Genetically modified (GM) alfalfa is only a step away from approval in Canada. For Canadian Organic Growers and its members, GM alfalfa is the last straw. “In March, we signed onto a legal action against Monsanto.”
This week we have local Prima and Liberty apples. Ian of Isabella Orchard on Saltspring Island reports that there are very few Liberty this year. The different types of apple trees blossom at different times so yield is dependent on weather and bee pollination at blossom time. The rainy cold spring and the wet July will likely led to more scaring on the apples this year (25% scab-free is the acceptable standard).
Ian, as an organic farmer, is careful to rake up all the diseased leaves. He is planning to pick the scarred apples off the trees and take them in for juice pressing. We will have the first batch of his wonderful fresh frozen apple juice next week – a gravenstein mix with a hint of pear!
Red Free Apples at Isabella Orchards
We are also expecting our first order from Saltspring Island’s Foxglove Farm! They will be sending us some Sweet Peppers and for our lucky Local Box customers a pint of strawberries. Don’t worry – they are being grown under hoop houses and so we’ll have them rain or shine!
From the Cowichan Valley Wendy at Westwind Farms has had a bumper crop of Eggplant.
Below is her favourite eggplant recipe.
Roasted Eggplant and Peppers
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Slice diagonally into long “rounds”:
1/2 LB Eggplant
Halve, seed and cut into long thick slices:
2 green peppers
(Optionally add 2 cloves peeled garlic)
Drizzle and toss everything in a few glugs of Olive oil.
Bake for 10 minutes, turn over and bake for another five minute or so until soft. Serve warm (over rice) topped with the secret ingredient…
It will take place at
Madrona Farm on Blenkinsop Rd
October 2, 2011 — noon to 6:00 p.m.
Get there at noon so you don’t miss the local chefs running the farm relay!
Enjoy some fabulous local food while the chefs setup and prepare a meal from the crops they picked in the relay! The Chefs bring a protein of choice and the rest is a surprise! Later in the afternoon these meals will be auctioned off with proceeds to the TLC. Our local chefs are great guys with generous spirits. Click here to see more about the chefs and their local restaurants:
It was exciting to see all the folks supporting our farmers and the idea of a covered, year-round Downtown Market at the Eat Here Now event this past Sunday. The variety and amount of produce was amazing!! Peppers, eggplants and tomatoes of every colour and size caught my eye. Peas, beans and an abundance of green. A good year for potatoes – I counted 8 different varieties. Thanks to all who organized this all volunteer run event!!
To see some highlights and to find out more information about the Victoria Downtown Public Market Society please go to their website, victoriapublicmarket.com!
Fun with the Bike Cart
Colby our bike delivery guy has an odometer on his bike now. He clocked 70km last week! On top of all those kilometres it was an extra heavy week due to the watermelon in many of the bins. 7 of our routes, every week, are delivered by bicycle. Way to go Colby!
I rode the bike and cart down to the Eat Here Now Festival on Sunday. It was nearly empty (though still excess weight) and downhill for the most part… and I made it! Way to go Susan! And Reggie rode the bike cart back! Way to go Reggie!
This week’s figs did not do well in this record heat! I hope that everyone enjoyed them right away.
Those that did not immediately get shoved into my mouth was enjoyed with a savory edge… I crumbled feta and squished it into the red fruit of the fig. With a few I waited a half second more and drizzled balsamic vinegar on top. YUM!
Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta
Finely chop into a bowl:
1 pint tomatoes
Add and toss, then let sit for 5 minutes with:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small clove garlic minced
1 tsp red wine or apple cider vinegar
6 basil leaves thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
Slice 1 ciabatta loaf (from WildFire Bakery!) into long lengths and broil or grill until golden.
Spoon tomato juices onto bread and the top with the tomato mixture.
Sonja’s Canning Class
Trying to figure out what to do with the late summer bounty? (Late Summer?! Already!?!) Consider signing up for a canning class run by our friend, Chef Sonja Limberger. Your own version of back to school!
Saanich farmers, both organic and conventional, are tallying up this season’s crop losses due to deer with the hope of encouraging some deer management practices.
Report from Farmer, Robyn Tunnicliffe:
There was a meeting of local farmers on the peninsula last week to talk about the burgeoning deer population. We have been really struggling again this year at Northbrook farm after our $10,000 fence and countless hours of fence maintenance continues to fail, and deer have free access to our crops.
It was an eye opener for me to hear about all the devastating damage that is happening to conventional farmers, and how farming as they have always done is fast becoming no longer possible. Unfortunately, most of them farm on very large leased fields with only 6 months notice if their lease will be terminated, so investing 50-100k in fencing is not an option. They can’t shoot deer on many of their parcels because there is suburban housing, walking trails or roadways very nearby. They can’t use bangers because they scare nearby horses and the horse community is a formidable opponent. There is a scarcity of bow hunters and the farmers are exasperated.
It seems no sector is exempt. A grain grower talked about losing 25% of his winter production last year because a herd of deer were grazing in his field. Berry bushes are near fatally pruned, and even the Christmas tree farm has heavy losses from deer nibbling growing tips and breaking branches from grooming.
I spoke to a wildlife biologist this week, Christian Engelstoft, and he explained how deer populations will mushroom in size in rural areas and become more aggressive and more determined as they compete for resources. He was convinced that they would become a serious threat to farmer livelihood and food security. He thinks that a cull is necessary.
Food Facts – Spending on Nutrition and Healthcare
From Harry Burton of AppleLuscious Orchard on Salt Spring in Island Tides:
“In 1960, food spending was 17.5% of income and spending on health care was 5.2%. Now it has reversed to 9.9% on food (reduction of 43%) and 16% on health care (increase of 208%). An extra dollar spent on quality food, results in a far greater saving on future health care costs. Why and how have we been brainwashed to buy CHEAP FOODS?”
“Nutrient content of foods have significantly declined since 1950, probably due to soil fertility depletion and also to the fact that modern varieties focus on maximizing yield rather than maximizing nutrition, or even taste. Have you eaten a tasty tomato lately?”
4 cups peaches, skinned and sliced
(To remove skins from peaches place in bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for a few minutes and then skins just slip off)
1 lemon, zest and juice
4 Tbsp Amaretto or 1 tsp almond extract
Arrange peach slices in an 8×8 cake pan.
Crumble 30 amaretti cookies (small Italian almond cookies) by placing between sheets of wax paper and roll with a rolling pin.
In a bowl mix cookie crumbs with:
1 cup sliced almond
1/4 cup melted butter
Mix together with a fork. Sprinkle topping over peaches.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
“Fresh picked” has its downside when you should be picking blackberries and beans but its pouring rain… and it’s Monday morning. Ugh. It should be sunny later today (Monday) and the forecast is good for Tuesday morning so we hope to see these lovelies in the boxes!
Blackberries after a good rain are prone to moulding so use them up right away. We will be checking the beans on our end but just a little dampness can lead to trouble so we count on you to not leave them too long as well. Deliveries later in the week will have berries and beans picked in the sun on Tuesday.
Blackberries!!!
10 Reasons to Buy Organic Produce
The Organic Consumers Association has published a new list of why we should buy organic food. It’s about our own health and the health of the planet.
For the health of our bodies organic food is GMO free, no chemicals added, NOT Irradiated, not linked to outbreaks of e-coli (even better odds when local), not grown using municipal sludge, and animals are not fed other animal products. Organic foods also have a higher nutritional value.
Benefitting the Earth, organic growing methods are climate friendly, animals are treated humanely, and organic small family farms are most likely to survive both here and abroad. When you couple that with the benefits of buying local it’s a win-win situation.
Cut off and discard peel and all white membrane from:
1 medium orange (another one!) – and slice thinly crosswise.
Trim and cut lengthwise into quarters:
1 fresh fennel bulb – Remove the core and slice quarters crosswise.
Mix into orange juice mixture and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Serve on bed of lettuce. Garnish with 1 tbsp chopped pecan pieces.
Thanks to Nancy Clegg at Sungold Meadows for this recipe!
Peaches in Fresh Orange Juice
… and the wonderful things you can do with that magical combination! This is a FAVOURITE summertime treat.
Place in a bowl:
4 ripe peaches, peeled (what?! how?! … see below)
Squeeze over top:
juice of one orange
Refrigerate or eat immediately. No shoving.
To peel peaches place in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let sit a few minutes and then using a paring knife slip the skins off.
Make sure you do this over the serving bowl to catch all the peach juice!
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