‘Tis the season for rhubarb. You’ll see many recipes for strawberries and rhubarb because the end of the rhubarb season runs right into the first of the strawberry season. For the early rhubarb we need the California berry crop – unless you froze berries last summer!
You’ll find California strawberries in our boxes this week. Local farmers have been saying that the cold first half of May has slowed things down considerably so we are not expecting any quantity of strawberries until mid June.
Rhubarb also goes very nicely with Mango!
Here is how to cut a mango:
The pit is almond shaped so hold it upright on the thin edge and slice off the sides lengthwise as close as you can to the pit. Run the knife around the edge of the mango. Take the side and score it in a cross hatched pattern, turn inside out.
Here is Colleen and Stan showing off the end product of this mango cutting technique at our most recent warehouse get-together, Quatro de Mayo (the day before Cinco de Mayo).
Cut the pieces off as close to the skin as you can get. There will be two strips still attached to the seed. Remove the peel and cut those bits off or just slurp and gnaw them off!!
The Mexican mango season is just getting going so case-lot prices will keep getting better over the next month. Mango freezes well for use in crumbles and smoothies.
Apple Update
We are experiencing a big jump in the price of BC and Washington apples. Last season’s crop numbers were way down and the last of the BC crop has already been released from storage. The final release out of Washington is next week – Fuji and Galas.
New Farm Video
Ever wonder how an organic greenhouse works? Find out what’s happening down on the farm in our new video.
Special thanks to Darin Steinkey for producing this video!
See where this week’s basil and cucumbers are coming from!
Mushroom Pocket
Makes 1 pocket (or roll) to serve 2 or 3 hungry souls.
Steam and drain:
1/3 LB Oyster Mushrooms
Cut into hot mushrooms:
4 oz cream cheese or goat chevre
Toss until cheese melts and then add:
Freshly grated pepper
1 Tbsp dill
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 minced scallion
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Melt:
2-3 Tbsp butter
On a cookie sheet lay out one sheet of Phyllo. Brush with melted butter.
Add next sheet (and brush) until you have 5 layers total. Spoon mushroom mixture along the long side of Phyllo.
Roll half way and fold both edges in and finish the roll. Turn seam down on a buttered pan. Brush outside with butter. Bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes.
Some Phyllo Pastry Tips from Susan…
Phyllo pastry is found in the frozen food section of your neighbourhood grocery store. It is quite easy to use once you get the hang of it! Phyllo pastry will thaw in about 2 hours or in fridge overnight. (which is why we’ve decided not to offer phyllo pastry on the website!)
One package makes more than one dish. Carefully rewrap and refrigerate leftover phyllo and use within a week or so. Butter the layers as above and fill with fruit – mango and rhubarb is good!
Ice Pack Season
Welcome to ice pack season! This is the time of year we add an ice pack to every bin we deliver. The atmosphere in the bins is helped A LOT (a lot, a lot, a lot) with the addition of the ice pack.
Your veggies will thank you by returning the ice pack right away with your empty bin. Don’t even bother removing the ice pack when you’re unpacking your order!
Thanks so much, everyone!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
Farmer Dave was away when the first set of bunching onions were harvested a few weeks ago. They were smaller and not as easily removed from their natural packaging (the bulb casing) than I had anticipated. As you can see from Dave’s report below this experiment to get a head start on spring was not a success. However we absolutely appreciate the effort!!
“I heard the hard tale of the onion disaster. Those onions were from in the green house with plans for an earlier crop. Thinking we would be like French farmers, we mulched about a foot thick hoping the result would be nice long blanched onions. The results were not as anticipated! The hearty mulch actually took too much energy from the onions and made them thin and spindly and not all there!
This week’s crop is grown as outdoor planted bulbs the way we usually grow them. They will be ready for delivery Tuesday am: 8-12 onions thick healthy and green uniform.”
How to “Shuck” a Green Onion
Please Release Me…
Here is how to get bunching onions out of their natural packaging:
Hold onion greens (down close to the bulb) in one hand
Hold the bulb in other hand
Pull in opposite directions and the whole casing slides off
It’s Rhubarb Time!
So far we have heard from 3 farmers with rhubarb for us this year! We have been encouraging growers for the past few years with only small results so looking forward to harvesting the rewards this season! We are planning to rotate rhubarb into all our boxes over the next few weeks.
No luck finding a savory recipe for this sour vegetable. Rhubarb is usually paired with fruits in a compote, or pie (apples, berries, mangoes). This is a new version of my standard recipe for rhubarb loaf with the spice modified from the more usual vanilla and cinnamon to cardamom. I have also used honey instead of sugar.
Honey metabolizes in our system much slower than sugar and is therefore less addictive.
To sub honey in your own recipes:
Sub 3/4 cup honey for 1 cup sugar
Lower the liquid or increase the flour to make up for the liquidity of the honey
Add a bit more leavening agent (1/2 tsp baking soda or extra baking powder or an extra egg)
Cook at 25 degree lower temperature
Rhubarb Loaf
Yields one small loaf (with huge flavour…)
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together:
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
Add to egg mixture:
3/4 cup liquid honey
Beat until smooth. Combine together the dry ingredients:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp Cardamom
1/2 tsp baking powder
Add 1/2 the dry ingredients, mix together.
Then add:
1/2 cup almond milk
Continue mixing as you add the remainder of the dry ingredients.
Fold in:
1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced rhubarb
Pour batter into a buttered and floured small loaf pan. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn oven down to 325. Continue baking for another 15 to 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
– If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
Making Food Matter is the CRFAIR’s (Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable) newsletter.
To check out what is happening around Food Security in our region get on the subscriber list! This month there is on interesting report on “The Cost of Eating in British Columbia”
We have a number of local farmers with products this week:
Leeks and Eggs from Terra Nossa in Mill Bay
Spinach and Salad from Dragonfly Farms
Radish from Seabluff Farm
Sorrel, Braising, parsnips from Madrona Farm
Cucumber and sprouts from Sun Trio
Crunchy Bean Mix from Saltspring Sprouts
Fences for Food
The Mason Street City Farm is in need of a new perimeter fence. This is the first stage of development in creating a Farm School in the City! Live electronic music, Flamenco dance, super djs, and silent auction. Come on down and dance your face off in support of everybody’s favourite “F” word…FARM!
Victoria Event Centre
1415 Broad Street
Thursday, May 3rd — this week!
$15 at the door
More information is on the Facebook Event Page here.
Trim the tough bottoms from the broccoli stalks and cut the tops into smallish spears of whatever size suits you.
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
Melt the butter or heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add the onion and salt and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and the lemon juice and sauté for about 2 minutes longer. Stir in the rice, some black pepper and cayenne to taste along with the optional ingredients. Taste to correct salt, if necessary, and spread in the prepared pan.
Now the fun part. Arrange the broccoli upright in the rice, and, if desired, drizzle with melted butter. Cover loosely with foil and bake just until heated through (15 -20 minutes). Serve right away.
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
Farm News – Transport delays and gratitude to local farmers
Colleen made it home from Mexico safe and sound and we hope to hear more of her adventures this coming week. We had offered you beets from the Ejido she was working, she might have picked these beets for us, but… the transport truck broke down and did not make it to Vancouver today. We should have had Colleen bring them in her carry-on!
When ordering the freshest possible produce transportation delays can cause problems. One of the factors we think of in food security is how far away the food comes from. Most often we think of fuel costs but there is also an increased potential for delay or inability to deliver at all. Yikes!
When we think of purchasing from Mexico or California we need to consider how the food is transported and also watering practises. Mexican farmers have always had less access to water than their California peers and have learned to grow with limited water. California farmers are learning this fast as the state cuts back on water to this business sector as well many others.
Meanwhile, back at home, we are not forced to eat skunk cabbage – known as famine food – yet! It is edible and local but we won’t be adding it to our local produce list anytime soon. Not when we have a bounty of local greens this spring! Thanks to all those farmers that have been planning ahead! Interestingly the local spring crops all seem to contain oxalic acid which is not so good for us raw in large quantities but is fine in small amounts and also cooked.
Skunk Cabbage or Swamp Lantern, if you prefer.
Young Sorrel
Young sorrel may be harvested in the spring when it is small and tender and when it has a fruitier and less acidic taste. This lemony flavour is a valuable addition to salads, soups or stews. Sorrel does not keep well so use it up first!
Fresh Sorrel
Sorrel and Goat Cheese Quiche
2-3 cups sorrel, coarsely chopped
a few scallions, chopped
3-4 ounces goat cheese (chevre)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread goat cheese (or any strong flavored cheese) in the bottom of a piecrust. Cover with chopped sorrel and scallions.
Beat eggs, salt and milk together. Pour over greens. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Mashed Potato Pie Crust
Peel and chop:
1 lb potatoes
Cover with water and bring to boil. Cook until tender.
Mash the potatoes with:
1/4 cup milk or stock from the potatoes (for a vegan option)
Brush a 9 inch pie dish with olive oil and press the potatoes in. Brush with remaining olive oil.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
It’s going great down here! There have been some last minute changes and bumps in the road but I learned to set my watch to Mexican time and surrender to whatever comes our way. Apparently it’s Semana Santa/Easter and this is a really big deal so we are all off the farm from Fri to Sun or Mon. We are getting to visit some of the other farms that Liz and Rafael (the project owners/farm directors) partner with as well as getting some sightseeing in.
I learned that we will be harvesting chard and red/gold beets next week for shipment to Discovery Organics. So if you see anything that is labelled Leyes de Reforma then those are the crops that I got to work on. So far we have seeded corn and done some irrigation maintenance.
We are working on an Ejido Benito Juarez Leyes de Reforma. There are many Ejidos in Mexico, the word refers to land that was allocated back to the people who lived on it after Mexican Idepencia. Not everyone who lives there is involved with the farm. The ejido has a population of about 80 and 37 are involved with the farm. Liz and Rafa run the business and planning of the farm as well as pay the workers by salary. Liz and Rafa approached the Ejido and presented their business plan, the people accepted. So now the people work their own land with the investment of Liz and Rafa and Baja Organic Agriculture (BOA).
There are no real means to make a living on the ejido so the people have worked out a way to make money off of their own land without having to sell it to Dole or some other American mega company that wouldn’t necessarily hire them and if they did would exploit the low Mexican wages, take all the food out of the country and sell it a marked up in the states. In other words a project like this really feeds the local economy as well as enfranchises the people/grants them the means to support themselves without having to “sell out”.
More information on Ejido Benito Juarez Leyes de Reforma here.
Permaculture Design Certificate
Experience all Four Seasons in this Part-Time Permaculture Design Course in Victoria, BC!
When: Starts with a 2 day introductory weekend on April 21-22nd (Earth Day!), 2012 and continues one Sunday per month until March 2013.
Where: Various Locations in Greater Victoria
Tuition: $960 + HST ($250 deposit to secure a spot)
Yes, these are stinging nettles – sting-y but terribly good for you! Use gloves or tongs to handle raw nettles. Once immersed in hot water, blanched or dried, the sting is gone. Nettle Tea is an excellent source of minerals and calcium. Dry for use next winter!
This gnarly veg makes a wonderful addition to mashed potatoes. Jamie Oliver says: “…everyone seems to be completely baffled by celeriac, but it’s beautiful in soups or thinly sliced into salads. When roasted it goes sweet and when mixed with potato and mashed it’s a complete joy.”
Joyous Mashed Potatoes and Celeriac
Peel, dice, and stick in a pot:
1 Celeriac, 1 inch dice
2 LBS potatoes, larger pieces
Pinch of salt
Cover with water and bring to boil. Drain and mash with butter and a little cream. Makes a delicious potato layer for Shepherd’s Pie!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
Our own Colleen is heading off to work on a Mexican cooperative farm next week. Her trip is arranged and airfare paid for by Discovery Organics, our wholesaler on the mainland. We’ll soon be hearing about her adventures in the sun!
“The citizens (approx. 50 families) have turned down every ‘offer’ to take over their land (ejido), since 1937 – when the previous ‘tenants’, (large U.S. farming corporations) were evicted. But they have always wanted to farm their own land – they just needed the skills and financing.
After many trips to this area, we (Discovery Organics) were lucky to be introduced to these Ejidotarios, and through an 18 month process, we have, together with a great team in Mexico, dug wells, leveled land, planted out 150 acres, received our organic certification and food safety permits from Primus Labs, and are starting the harvest.
This is the only Ejido in this huge growing area that is operating as a cooperative, with the villagers farming on their own land – instead of watching wealthy landowners till what used to be their soil. The younger generation who left for city jobs are returning. Already, one in four families has someone working and learning the land – harvesting, weeding, seeding and moving pipe.
This cooperative effort with Baja Organics – a highly skilled management team with decades and decades of agricultural experience – has been a long, hard row to hoe, but all our work is now paying off.
While not certified in the Fair Trade system, yet, we are treating this as if it were, until our audits are finished. That means that $1 of every box we sell will be returned to the cooperative to be used for community projects. We have a few target areas we have discussed with the community for these. The first is to bring electricity to 1/2 of the houses that currently don’t have it. The second is to re-open a school that closed years ago. Down the road, the community is looking at installing a solar array that would power the entire Ejido. Another commitment has also been to pay nearly double the average farm wages in the area, pay for every worker to be enrolled in the public health care system, and also provide private medical and dental insurance for each person.”
Meet Dave Chambers
Dave of Madrona Farm gives an interview on the joys of Winter Farmering.
It explains all the mud on delivery days…
Local Spinach is On!
Spinach is in the box from Dragonfly Farm in Glenora. Spinach can be eaten raw or cooked. It does contain oxalic acid but unless you are predisposed to kidney disorders, gout, rheumatoid arthritis it would be extremely difficult to eat enough to cause problems.
It has been awhile since we have had local spinach as Farmer Dan has had difficulties with seeding these past few times. The smaller spinach leaves are found in the winter salad greens he’s offered. I love to have a spinach salad combining the leaves with a fruit and nut… think pear and hazelnut or apple and walnut?
More Spinach Tips
Spinach does not need to be cooked very long. In fact it is often served as a wilted salad which basically means served raw under a hot food like scallops! Another favourite of mine is Eggs Florentine – poach eggs on a bed of spinach and topped with Mournay Sauce (cream sauce with nutmeg and parmesan).
Curried Spinach Salad Dressing
Simple.
Whisk together:
1/4 cup white wine or cider vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped chutney
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. Tabasco
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
The weather remains cold (have you noticed?) and the salad greens are growing very. slowly. We love having the cold-friendly braising greens again this week.
This week’s braising mix… glamourous, n’est pas?
Looking into the future, using our crystal ball:
We hope to see nettle greens in the boxes the first three weeks of April. We will also offer nettles in 1/2 LB bulk bags. Try drying it for a winter tea!
Nettles are an important source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, C and E, iron, calcium, phosphates and minerals. I just finishing the last of my nettle rose mint tea. Eric at Untamed Feast who is picking the nettles for us from his own wild patch says to “boil fresh nettles for a bit (just to take the sting out…), drain, and freeze for adding to cleansing/building spring smoothies, tastes great in a banana smoothie.”
We also might see some overwintering cauliflower in mid-April. Island garlic is all done for the season but we can expect garlic greens soon.
Crop planning continues. We’ve begun working with Ian King from Seabluff Farm in Metchosin. Ian is interested in extending the growing seasons with us. Perhaps you met Ian at the Downtown Winter Markets?
Meet Dave Chambers
Dave of Madrona Farm gives an interview on the joys of Winter Farmering.
It explains all the mud on delivery days…
Join our Team!
We are looking for a back-up production person to assist with packing our beautiful veggie boxes. Production days are:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
We can offer one regular shift a week plus backup. Must love veggies and be available on our production days!
Being able to drive standard transmission is an asset and a reason to boast… a little.
Email a resume!
susan(at)shareorganics.bc.ca
Italian Pear Pie with Hazelnut Crust
For crust, grease a pie plate with:
1 Tbsp butter
Grind in a processor or coffee mill:
2 cups hazelnuts
Combine with:
1/2 cup pastry flour
3 Tbsp Cane sugar
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
3 TBS water
Mix all crust ingredients together with a fork and press into 9 inch pie plate.
For filling, combine the following:
4 to 6 juicy pears, peeled and sliced
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp cane sugar
Rind and juice of 1 lemon (optional)
Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm topped with whipped cream or ice cream.
What to Make with This Week’s
Bio-Regional Box
Roasted Rutabaga and Beets
Braised Greens with Balsamic Vinegar
Pear Pie
Blueberry Smoothie
Baby Carrots for a snack
Salad Greens with Apple and Hazelnuts
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
We tried a new variety of apple San Rose from Washington last week and loved it. They are the pink-er ones in the box this week next to the red Empires.
Apples are coming out of controlled atmosphere storage now. These special sealed coolers that control humidity and temperature. BC and Washington apples are released from storage in batches between February and June. They have that fresh-off-the-tree taste and crispness but do not keep as long as the fresh fall crops.
Update from Dave of Madrona Farm
“Our Braising Mix is a beautiful medley of new shoots and greens from our winter Brassicas. Over the next eight weeks we get a bonus crop for having a diverse range of brassicas in the winter gardens. The mix includes red, savoy and green cabbage shoots and baby leaves, Russian and Lacinato kale and shoots, rutabaga and turnip green tips, Brussels sprouts shoots and various Asian greens. It braises well with garlic and a little Szechuan sauce.
P.S. Yesterday we got 1,000lb of Warba seed into beautifully prepared sandy soil to be ready for harvest the beginning of June.”
(Warbas are tasty tasty potatoes!!)
New Video Coming Soon:
Growing in the Winter with Farmer Dave
Braised Winter Greens with Beans
Stem rinse and drain:
1 bag greens OR bunch of chard
Heat skillet or wok to medium heat and add:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup kidney or pinto beans
Sauté until garlic is golden. Then add:
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
Add the greens and cover to cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and toss until wilted.
Add:
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Serve over quinoa or rice.
What to make with this week’s Best of the Bio-Region Box
Potato and Leek Soup
Braised Greens with Beans
Blackberry Apple Crumble
Omelet with Oyster Mushrooms
Parsnip and Potato or Carrot Latkes
Poached Pears
Leeks are coming from Seabluff Farm in Metchosin thanks to Farmer Ian King!
Introduction to Home-Scale Permaculture
With Elaine Codling
Saturday, March 24th
12:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Whatever size yard or garden you have to work with, applying basic permaculture principles will reduce the maintenance and increase the productivity. Learn practical strategies and techniques for creating a productive ecological yard and garden.
Permaculture design can give you more variety, more beauty, and more time to enjoy it. There will be hands-on activity at Spring Ridge Commons to apply techniques learned in class.
To register, please contact Pooyan Najafi at pnajafi@gmail.com or (250)858-5256.
Where: Fernwood Community Centre, 1240 Gladstone Avenue
Share Organics is involved in the Climate Smart program sponsored by Saanich and the City of Victoria. We are mapping and tracking our C02 emissions. This involves tracking our vehicle fuel consumption, paper use, refrigerant use for coolers, energy use and garbage. We will estimate using records for the last fiscal year. After crunching numbers we will work to determine areas where we can improve and more accurately track our emissions! We were surprised to find that when we were asked to weigh our garbage each week that we produce as little as 1 – 3 LBS! We do a lot of recycling!
Other things are harder to track. We can see how much it costs in fuel to deliver to your door but not quite how to factor in the fuel we save because you folks do not have to drive to the store. Similarly we cannot track how much we save by choosing local over BC produce or produce shipped by tanker versus trucked. We know these things matter and make our choices accordingly but putting numbers to it is a different story. We can tell you that the bike delivery mileage was 2769 km last year and we hope to be able to report what is referred to as “avoided emissions” soon.
Who’s Your Farmer
Join Heather Stretch, Robin Tunnicliffe, Rachel Fisher, Saanich MLA Lana Popham, and Mary Alice Johnson for an evening discussion on local organic farming and learn more about the growers in your neighbourhood.
Tuesday, February 28 – 7:00pm
Cadboro Bay Books
3840 Cadboro Bay Road
Victoria, BC
Shiitake Mushrooms from Salt Spring Exotic Mushrooms
Shiitake is touted as Asia’s most famous mushroom: the tastiest, healthiest and most popular cultivated variety. On the Salt Spring farm it is grown on BC Red Alder. These mushrooms are harvested bi-weekly so they have higher moisture and flavor content than other sources. They are high in protein, anti-oxidants and Vitamins B, C & D. Shiitakes have a more robust flavor than the standard button mushrooms, which makes them go a little farther: by using only half the amount of mushrooms the recipe requires, they can be used in most any recipe!
Since Shiitakes are a nutritional powerhouse, they make a great meat substitute. They are a healthy alternative to meat for people trying to cut back on fat.
Here is a short video Susan did with Adam Gold of Salt Spring Exotic Mushrooms last March. Perhaps some of you recognize him from the markets?
Shiitake and Wild Rice Pilaf
Shiitake and Wild Rice Pilaf
4 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. minced onion or leeks
1 cup snow peas or thinly sliced kale
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 cup toasted hazelnut pieces
1 dash of Tamari
In broad skillet, saute shiitake mushrooms, onions and garlic in oil until tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add rice, walnuts, onions and Tamari, mixing to blend. Heat to warm through.
Makes 4 servings
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
It is always interesting to see our food in the global perspective. Here is the latest from our mainland supplier on the veggie scene:
“There is little change on the veg front with continuing tight supply across the board, with the occasional window of good supply and more seasonal pricing opening and closing. Unfortunately, after a week of warmer weather, cold nights and frost are now looming for the desert growing areas again this weekend, which isn’t going to help. … Slicer cuke pricing continues to be out of this world, but tomato pricing is crumbling across the board affecting all growers in Sinnaloa – a nice stretch of hot weather has helped there. It was about this time a couple of years ago when we had that deadly freeze and temps of -9 C there – totally the opposite this year.”
- Discovery Organics, January 25
All the cooking greens are at very high prices this week especially the kales!! The California crop is dwindling and the Mexican crop is still at least a week away.
On the home front
We have small savoy cabbage and cauliflower in the fields at Madrona Farm. Dave is also planting a few beds of oriental greens which will fill in the gaps in the early spring for fresh local greens. Potatoes are almost sold out but rutabaga and turnips remain strong. The Brussels Sprout patch continues to produce!
We are involved in the crop planning stage of the cycle speaking with farmers about what they want to grow for Share next year. This gives them a better idea of what to plant when. Farming is a chancy business and so farmers are glad we are here and ready to eat what they grow!
Baby Cauliflower photographed at Madrona Farm, Oct 2011
The Islands’ largest agricultural event of the year! Featuring a trade show with more than sixty exhibitors:
February 3-4, 2012
Cowichan Exhibition Park
District of North Cowichan
(5 kilometers North of Duncan)
The Islands Agriculture Show provides a unique opportunity to showcase, celebrate and grow the agriculture industry on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Visitors to the trade show can expect to see the latest and most innovative equipment and technology for the agriculture industry. http://iashow.ca/
Ginger Rutabaga Vegetable Soup
Melt in a soup pot:
1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
Add and sauté over low heat for 7 minutes:
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. minced ginger
Peel and dice and then stir in the following and sauté another 10 minutes:
1 LB Rutabaga
1 medium sweet potato or parsnip
2 medium potatoes
2 large carrots
Add and bring to boil:
6 cups water
1 stick cinnamon
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove cinnamon stick and continue simmering until tender. Remove 1/4 of the vegetables to your blender and puree. Return to soup pot.
Serves 6 to 8.
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
SunTrio Farm has extended the seasons on Vancouver Island by growing in heated greenhouses. In addition to early and late tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers; sprouts are grown year round and salad greens are available for most of the year.
Dennis and Frank O’Brien
Blueberries have recently been planted in the fields with the first crop expected this year. In addition, an orchard is in the planning stages. I have requested pear and plum trees!
Last year we enjoyed island cucumbers in early April and tomatoes in early May. I spoke with Dennis, one of the trio of brothers involved on the farm, and he tells me they are expanding production and have 1/3 more greenhouse space this year.
SunTrio Farm is certified organic and because they cannot rotate the crops in the green houses they replace the soil each year with Sea Soil. The used soil is then rotated into the fields. Plants are propagated in an organic hothouse on the lower mainland. It is the most energy efficient to grow all the seedlings for many growers in one spot because heating the houses and the use of grow lights are most extensively used at this dark time of year. Tomato, pepper and cucumber plants should arrive mid February and the first crop of cukes will be harvested at the end of March. Cukes are planted sequentially with later plantings grown right from seed on the farm.
The growing season can be stretched right to the end of October, well after the field crops are finished. Dennis is a heating expert. Their greenhouses are heated with natural gas and in the shoulder seasons of April and October with heat pumps. They rely on solar heating as much as possible. For example, today (Monday) the gas-fueled heat automatically shut off when the solar panels took over. Windows open on sensors to keep the temperature around 80 degrees.
Thanks to all three brothers – Dennis, Frank and Michael – for the work they do towards a Food Secure Vancouver Island!
Roasted Potatoes, Sunchokes and Brussels Sprouts
Cut into bite size pieces:
2 large german butter potatoes
1/2 to 1 LB sunchokes
1 onion
Place on cookie sheet and drizzle lightly with:
1 Tbsp olive
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder
Shake to cover and roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Add:
Sprouts from 1 stalk brussels sprouts
Turn potatoes and toss sprouts with the other veggies. Continue roasting for another 10 or 15 minutes until nearly done.
If potatoes are not golden brown you can crisp them up under the broiler – but watch ‘em closely!!
Invest Your Money in Local Change
A forum on present and future options for putting savings, RRSPs and investment dollars into local, sustainable, ethical businesses to build a more self-reliant economy.
Admission Free!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 7 p.m.
Ambrosia Conference Centre
638 Fisgard St.
Victoria, BC
New Warehouse Mates
We’re sharing our warehouse space with a new pack of people, GeaZone, a zero-emmisions bike courier service. It’s a whole new energy in the warehouse…
We were their very first delivery: salad greens to Niagara Grocery in James Bay!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
We had to wait until after 2pm on Monday but the kale and mizuna did thaw out (in fact, sweeter for the frost) and are ready to go into the boxes!
The root veggies were minimally washed however as the farmers’ hands were freezing and the water flow was limited. We will try to dust them off for you – thanks for your understanding!
Root veggies actually keep better when unwashed. In the UK you will often see carrots labeled as “dirty carrots” for sale and there is a consumer understanding that they are, in fact, a superior product!
Adele braved the snow Monday morning and delivered our hazelnut order. Chocolate hazelnut butter is now back in stock!
And introducing a NEW OFFERING!! We are pleased to offer these delicious nuts in a 1LB value size as well as our 100g bag. This year’s crop has been fabulous so we expect to have them for most of the winter. The harvest was around 4 tons (included a 1 ton pre-harvested by the squirrels!) We will try to give you a heads up when supplies start diminishing so you can stock up.
Those with nut allergies please note we are packaging nuts on our premises for the first time but are doing it in an area separate from the vegetable production area.
Nuts are a great source of protein. As we eat less meat to lessen greenhouse gases we need to grow more plant-based proteins. I just planted a hardy almond tree in my back yard! (… Available at LeCouteau Farms)
Pulses are more commonly known as lentils and are another easy-to-grow protein that we should eat more of!
Invest Your Money in Local Change
A forum on present and future options for putting savings, RRSPs and investment dollars into local, sustainable, ethical businesses to build a more self-reliant economy.
Admission Free!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 7 p.m.
Ambrosia Conference Centre
638 Fisgard St.
Victoria, BC
Apple, Hazelnut, and Swiss Salad
Place on a salad platter:
1 small head clean, dried-off lettuce in bite size pieces
Drizzle lightly with:
1 to 2 Tbsp olive or walnut oil
Toss and sprinkle with:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup cubed Maasdammer (Swiss-style BC cheese)
freshly ground pepper
Cut into thin slices:
2 medium sized Winesap Apples
Place in bowl and sprinkle with:
2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
Just before serving place the pear slices on top of the salad. Sprinkle on the rest of the lemon juice and serve!
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!
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!
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.
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