“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!
Wendy Montana from Westwind Farm just dropped off some beautiful eggplant! It gets a little hotter up there in the Cowichan Valley. The name itself means Warm lands. Next week we will begin to see some of Wendy’s pints of heritage tomatoes!
Wendy was saying that she loves to work with Share Organics because we are a local company, owned and operated, that understands the Island’s food and agriculture issues. She appreciates that we contract crops so she has a market she can count on and feels we work extra hard to make sure we use all that she is growing for us. Well, we love you too, Wendy, and appreciate your hard work. Thank You!
Wendy of West Wind Farm
We have some little transparent apples from Kildara Farms. Please do try a bite, even though they are best known as a cooking apple. Like all summer apples they do not keep so use them while they have that fresh-off-the-tree taste. We recommend them cooked into a little sauce for latkes or on toast (with almond butter is my favourite). They do not take long to cook down and you can sweeten to taste.
We have some more beautiful BC cherries this week. Here is a breakfast treat that is an annual cherry season event at my house. Cherry Clafouti (pronounced kla-foo-TEE) is a rustic looking French country dessert.
Preheat oven to 425. Mix the following together until batter is smooth:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons raw sugar
3/4 cup milk or soy milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Wash and pit (if you have time -good either way) 3/4 LB fresh sweet cherries
Place in a 9″ oven proof pan 1 tablespoon butter and place in oven for a few minutes to melt the butter. Cover the bottom of the pan with cherries and then pour the batter over them. Bake for 20 minutes until it is puffed up and set.
Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup and a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream.
Potato Latkes
2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes
1 tablespoon grated onion
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tbsp grapeseed oil for baking
Preheat oven to 425
Place the potatoes and onion in a sieve and press out as much moisture as possible.
In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
Oil a large cookie sheet. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels and serve hot!
After the deer ate the snow and snap peas at Kildara Farms they started on the Shelling peas. Somehow they spit out the shells and just ate the peas.
For those of you thinking of becoming urban hunters Farmer Brian Hughes says the only way you can hunt deer in Saanich is with bow and arrow(!). Here is the link to the urban deer hunter documentary on CBC radio in case you missed it from last week’s newsletter.
Brian also shares that the shelling pea pods can be eaten. A customer from the farmer’s market shared how she takes the inner layer out of the pods and is then able to chop up and sauté what remains! (Don’t tell the deer…)
More Crop Updates
Blueberries will be in full swing as of Friday! Ruby of Ruby Red Farm in North Saanich gave me the heads up that she is beginning to harvest this week. She had warned us in the beginning of July that the crop was late (like everything else) but was looking beeeeeautiful!
Rock for Goldstream Park
To help with the cleanup of Goldstream Park there will be a swing dance this Thursday!
(What needs to be cleaned up? There is still a mess from the fuel tanker that upended on the Malahat a couple months ago.)
July 28th, 6pm to 1am
Victoria Event Centre – 1415 Broad St
$15 admission
There will be swing lessons from 6-7pm and again at 10-11pm in case you forgot how or never learned
Goodbye and Hello? Hello…
To help send dear Page and Ashley on their way Share Organics held a Summer Prom! Folks showed up in their best duds from any decade. I’ll hopefully find some pictures to put on the blog soon!
We’re still on the lookout for some awesome people to help us pack veggie orders. Send us a resume if you love veggies, need work and are available Tuesday through Thursday. susan@shareorganics.bc.ca
Roasted Potatoes with Mint, Lemon and Garlic
Serves 6-8 as a side dish
2 pounds (1 kg) baby red potatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 F. (190 C). Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in one layer in a baking pan. Roast in oven one hour. Transfer potatoes to serving bowl. Toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil, garlic, lemon zest and mint. Serve immediately or cool slightly.
Even with our new strawberry grower, Becky at Carmenia Farms, the yield of berries has not met our purchase levels from last year. Twice the growers and only half our needs have been met! We are working hard to get a few flats out to bulk purchasers this week. At this time we’re not sure if we will have any strawberries at all for the week of July 20th. Out at Sungold Meadows Tom had a poor harvest on his most recent strawberry planting. He had been counting on those for a big part of this year’s harvest. All we can say is thanks for all you do, Tom!
On a more optimistic note there was good pollination earlier this year in the apple orchards on Salt Spring Island. Ian of Isabella Orchards is looking forward to a good crop thanks to the bees!
Queen of The Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?
A profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from Taggart Siegel, critically acclaimed director of the grass-roots hit The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
Premiering at Cinecenta, University of Victoria, July 10th-14th!
Introducing Local Cleaning Products
At Share Organics we have always offered chemical free, environmentally sustainable, local food. It has always made sense to me to use environmentally safe cleaners as well and now we have found a company who uses local soap makers too!
Supporting Gentle Earth Products makes good sense! Their full selection of cleaners is totally bio-degradable, easy to use, non toxic and gets the job done.
Something else that’s a breath of fresh air:
Refillable bottles – several of their products are sold with the ability to buy a concentrate and refill your bottle many times with a concentrate-saving money and bottles going out with the trash.
Locally made by Victoria’s finest soapers-employing people in our city who love what they do!
Uplifting natural fragrances
Now that’s win, win, win for Share Organics, our community, and our planet. Check out their website, www.gentleearth.ca, for more details and let us know if you want us to bring anything else in for you to keep your home chemical free.
Warm Potato Salad with Tomatoes, Olives & Garlic Scapes
1 lb new potatoes, washed and cut for salad
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
5-7 firm green olives, pitted and chopped
1 garlic scape, chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat potatoes in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut side-down in a sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for about 5 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom; flip, and let cook another 2-3 minutes or until soft inside. Let cool a few minutes.
Once potatoes are just cool enough to handle, give them a coarse chop. Toss with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
Good weather = good strawberries… but not good enough to produce a pint for every Share Organics Box. Single Boxes will get the lovely mini watermelons this week and local strawberries next week.
Garlic Tops or Scapes are in the box. These flowering tops of the garlic need to be cut off to allow the energy to go down into the root and make great big garlic bulbs. They can be added scapes to a sauté for that garlic flavor until we get some fresh garlic in 2 weeks. Cured storage garlic will not appear until September.
Chelsey packing a bin with a pint of Carmenia’s Strawberries
Sad News: For many years we have purchased our chicken products from Cowichan Bay Farm. Unfortunately they are no longer raising chickens. Big thanks to the farmers and handlers for their hard work. Special thanks to Farmer, Lyle Young, for taking up the challenge and starting a poultry processing plant in the Cowichan Valley, Island Farmhouse Poultry. Other small growers on the Island can still offer whole birds because we have these processing facilities. We will offer these Island birds when available (likely July 20th).
Good News:We are happy to report we have connected with Thomas Reid Farm in Aldergrove and can offer BC Certified Organic Chicken Sausage, Chicken Breast, Bone-in and 4 pack chicken thighs. We hope to have stock on hand next week. Have a look at the Coming Soon options on our website under Free Range Poultry or Thomas Reid Farms. We currently have Thomas Reid whole chicken in stock.
Your Local Food Dollars Do Make a Difference…
“If 10,000 Toronto families shifted $10 of their weekly food purchases to local for a year, it would equate to taking 908 cars off the road for a year; on a per-family basis, carbon savings are equivalent to not driving a car for a month.
In Halifax, the same 10,000 families shifting would be equivalent to moving 487 cars off the road for a year; per-family, its equivalent to parking the car for two weeks.
In economic terms, if 10,000 families in a province shift $10 per week to local, that means $5.2-million would shift away from imports and directly into local economies.”
- Globe and Mail Saturday July 2, 2011
Rising Prices and Food Security
CRD Roundtable on Food and Agricultural Initiatives says,
“food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”
Rising food prices are now a fact of life and organic and permaculture practices that enhance the soil are the future of food. We are challenged to make good food economically available to all and yet continue to be a sustainable business. We work hard on education and donate our perishables to a community kitchen. Perishables are fresh veggies and fruit that don’t keep well week to week… think fresh lettuce, tomatoes, summer fruit etc.
We have decided to give you the opportunity to help provide good food for all. If you would like to donate organic veggies and fruit to the Victoria Transition House or the Salvation Army we will be creating a new $30 For Donation Box that can be sent on your behalf to either charity. Keep an eye out on the website!
Our Box Price goes up so we can…
wiggle the amount of produce we can fit in the boxes and give room for more local crops. With Okanogan fruits coming in soon and higher priced crops (like berries) on the immediate horizon we feel the time is now. The last time we raised prices was September 2008. This price increase will address some recent feedback: the Family Box is too small and smaller box people (ex. Singles box) sometimes have trouble getting through an entire order.
Beginning July 12th new prices will be:
Family Box $45
Orchard Box $38
Singles Box $32
Local Box $38
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Declared to be the most refreshing summer salad ever!!
Gently mix in a salad bowl:
4 to 5 cups diced seedless watermelon
2 Tbsp chopped mint
Sprinkle over top:
1 cup finely crumbled goat feta
Just before serving drizzle with:
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Thanks to Barb at Goat’s Pride Dairy for this recipe!
Our Fairtrade bananas did not ripen up and are still super green – our wholesaler, Discovery Organics, has offered us a deal on Pineapple and Mangos as a replacement. We have subbed into the boxes as best we can. Enjoy!
Here is an update from Stefan on the upcoming Okanogan fruit season. “Here are the start dates for BC fruit, give or take 10 days. This year will be later due to the late cold spring season.
Cherries – 2nd week of July
Apricots – 2nd week of July
Nectarines – 3-4th week of July
Peaches – 2-3rd week of July
Plums – 1st week of August
Strawberries – 1st week of August
By all accounts pollination was fine and there should be good volumes on everything once it gets here. Unless it pours rain during the harvest window.”
We’ve all noticed that food prices have been rising all winter. This past spring, for the first time, wholesale pricing from California has been higher than the contract price we pay the local growers! This contract price is our farmers’ minimum price to make ends meet and we pay them that even if California prices have been lower. If California prices increase we will match them. This has finally happened and it is good news for the farmers! It is good to see the true value of food being reflected.
Here are some links to websites exploring some aspects of the price increase
To make this increase as palatable for you all as possible we need to increase the price of our boxes. This will wiggle the amount of produce we can fit in the boxes and give room for more local crops. With Okanogan fruits coming in soon and higher priced crops (like berries) on the immediate horizon we feel the time is now. The last time we raised prices was September 2008. This price increase will also address some recent feedback: the Family Box is too small and smaller box people (ex. Singles box) sometimes have trouble getting through an entire delivery.
Here are the proposed new prices, beginning July 12th:
Family Box $45
Orchard Box $38
Singles Box $32
Local Box $38
Feedback is appreciated, Let us know what you think!
Queen of The Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?
A profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from Taggart Siegel, critically acclaimed director of the grass-roots hit The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
Box Office Magazine calls it, “The Feel-Good Advocacy Movie of the Year.” and Roger Ebert calls it: “A remarkable documentary that’s also one of the most beautiful nature films I’ve seen.” and Current calls it: “Likely the most important documentary of the year.”
Premiering at Cinecenta, University of Victoria, July 10th-14th!
Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
This is Susan’s favourite way to consume portly portobellos!
Clean 2 portobello mushrooms and remove stems, reserve for other use. Place caps on a plate with the gills up
In a small bowl, combine:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots or onion
1 garlic green, minced
2 tsp fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Pour mixture evenly over the mushroom caps and let stand for 1 hour. Grill over hot grill (in a grilling basket) or under a broiler for 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Serve on bun with other grilled veggies and condiments of your choice!
We are having an in-between season for fruit due to the late spring. Local Strawberries are nearly here (next week!) and apples are getting boring. Cherries, peaches, nectarines are available from California but it’s too close to our own season so we chose not to offer them. The BC cherries and peaches will be all the more delicious for the wait! When I saw the Fair Trade pineapples I thought, “YES!”
Costa Rican Farmer associated with ASOPROAGROIN – an organisation of small and medium sized Costa Rican producers
This Fair Trade model (Interrupcion Fair Trade) “engages producers committed to improving the long-term social, economic and environmental sustainability of their producing community” and more. They represent 500 farming families in Costa Rica.
“The Rural Microfinance Program provides financial services to associated small & medium pineapple farmers. There is also a training program the provides associated farmers regarding sustainable farming practices, risks prevention, administration & marketing of their crops and it is a general guide for good agricultural practices, fair trade & organic certification standards.” www.interrupcionfairtrade.com/fair-trade.php
Strawberry Update
The first of the local strawberries are being picked Tuesday morning for most of our dedicated Local Only box buyers. With a bit of sunshine we hope to see enough for everyone next week. We have two farm suppliers this year. Sungold Meadows in Cobble Hill has been supplying us with gorgeous berries for many years. Carmenia Farm will be bringing berries across Finlayson Arm from Mill Bay this year. With a good crop yield we hope to supply all of you who have pre-ordered strawberry flats. This delicate crop needs to be eaten immediately!
Chef Heidi Fink has a great blog post on how to pick the perfect strawberry.
Quinoa Grown Here?!
Our local seed hero Dan Jason from Saltspring Seeds gives us the scoop:
“For most southern Canadian and northern U.S. sites, the best time to plant quinoa is late April to late May. When soil temperatures are around 60°F (15°C) seedlings emerge within three to four days.”
Simmer 1/2 cup quinoa in 1 cup boiling water for 25 mins. Let Cool.
Transfer to a bowl and toss with:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1 stem chopped garlic greens or shallots
1 medium tomato cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 small seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons lemon or apple cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste
Serves 2. Get creative and add toasted walnuts, crumbled feta, and/or sweet peppers!
Minted New Potatoes
1/2 LB new potatoes, scrubbed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Few sprigs of mint
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes to the pan with a few sprigs of mint.
Boil for 12-15 minutes until the potatoes feel just tender when pierced with a skewer.
Chop the leaves of the rest of the mint and basil sprigs. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them well and tip into a bowl. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and the chopped herbs. Serve warm.
Folks who love good eggs are requesting more information about our local farms. Farmer, Brian Hughes, has obliged us with the following information and stories…
Organic practices seek to mimic what happens in a natural flock so roosters are present on the farm. While the boys do not produce eggs themselves they are useful. I used to think that the gals laid more when the cock was on the block but not so. They play the traditional role of protector.
Out at Kildara Farm one morning a cacophony of crowing woke James (another farmer at Kildara Farm). A bald eagle was circling the chicken yard and all three Kildara roosters were sounding the alarm. All the hens were saved except one little gal that was too late entering the coop. Roosters also exhibit very gentlemanly behaviour searching out good places for worms and letting the hens eat first.
Kildara Chickens
Recently the District of North Saanich received a complaint that Ricardo the Rooster was making too much noise. After much debate in the Agricultural Advisory Committee, a bylaw was proposed that validates the importance of having roosters. It has been established that properties over 1.5 acres could legally have a rooster and its okay that they make noise! We have Ricardo the Rooster to thank for this. He is not just another pretty face.
Our farms would need special equipment, etc. to produce their own chicks or point-of-lay hens. Chicks are currently sourced conventionally, (not de-beaked) and raising them organically for the required time period before the eggs are labelled certified organic.
Special Equipment at Kildara Farm
Last Straw Campaign
Genetically modified (GM) alfalfa is only one step away from approval. For Canadian Organic Growers and its members, GM alfalfa is the last straw. In March, they signed on to a legal action against Monsanto.
Roundup Ready Alfalfa can spell disaster for organic farmers. Alfalfa has a number of properties that make it indispensible for organic crops and livestock production. The onus is on the farmer to avoid genetic contamination. It is nearly impossible to prevent cross contamination. Alfalfa is insect pollinated and the little lovelies can travel 1500 meters contaminating feral roadside crops and organic farms. The bee doesn’t discern the difference between GM alfalfa and non-GM. Organic milk and butter could disappear from grocery shelves. Financial support is needed for the legal challenge! For more information and to donate go to www.cog.ca
Update on local strawberries from Tom at Sungold Meadows in Cobble Hill:
“The strawberry crop is going to be a late one this year as the plants really only started to flower a week ago, so be mid or late June. Well I am hoping for some hotter weather for them for sure, so please implore the gods for some summery temps for us. The berries coming later might just work out to be a good thing who knows. Will be some red lettuce, green lettuce, and some spinach coming up fairly quickly though and will keep you posted.”
It’s going to be a long wait for local strawberries. We’ve succumbed and are trying the Northern California crop – and we’ve been told it’s delicious! We requested the smaller, tastier variety of berries.
Tom’s Strawberries, May 26th, 2004
News from the larger perspective of Discovery Organics on the mainland who distributes produce from BC and beyond (and are dear, lovely people…):
“Do not give up hope. Summer may come. There is a small amount of local supply of veg that germinates in cool soil. Three years ago today (May 27) we were delivering local spinach and lettuce. This year we’re looking at a mid-June start on major B.C. veg. Same goes for stone fruit, with Washington projecting a 10 day delay, and Similkameen growers north to the North Okanagan are talking about 10-14 delays.
Snow – yes it snowed just above the valley floor in Cawston yesterday! This is kind of scary in a way, because when the heat comes on, early, middle and late varieties of cherries, cots, peaches etc. are going to come on together instead of the nice, planned harvest spread out over several weeks on each variety. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. Local growers have had 3 bad starts, and this is by far the worst, so will need as much support as possible.
Domestic apple supply will continue to taper off, with all varieties out of the market in a month.”
What to Make from This Week’s Box
Bok Choy and Mushroom Sauté
Greek Salad with Fresh Oregano
Flat Bread Pizza with Green Onion, Pepper, Oregano and Gouda
Raw Kohlrabi Slices and Dip (grate into a Slaw or cook as a veg in curry!)
Granola with Strawberries and Yogurt
Rhubarb Fool
Contracting Farmers and Building Relationships
Share Organics is working on establishing a regular supply of rhubarb from a local farm. This year we have had some offers of smaller amounts that are appearing in the Local Only Box. Rhubarb takes a few years to get established so we are hoping our work will bear “fruit” (stems?) in two years. Offering contracts to farmers encourages them to plant more and gives them a guaranteed sale for that crop.
Find Colby (the bike delivery superstar) at various Bike To Work Week stations and he’ll give you this sweet Share Organics bike sticker!
Rhubarb Fool
“I was such a fool not to have made this before!” Perhaps that is where the name comes from? It is dead simple, so good and even a little glamorous! (Make sure you serve in wine glasses) This recipe can be made from any fruit or fruit combinations.
Boil then simmer for 1/2 hour in a pot:
1 LB rhubarb, washed and diced
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar (less with sweeter fruit)
(If using honey to sweeten stir 1/2 cup into the hot rhubarb after cooking. Experiment with Stevia sweetener as we can grow that here!)
Cool completely.
Just before dessert time, whip into sturdy peaks:
1/2 L whipping cream
sweetener to taste.
Put 2 Tbsp whipped cream into a wineglass, then 2 Tbsp fruit and top with more whipped cream. Drag a knife edge or wooden skewer through to shape into swirls!
We were hoping for a little local asparagus this year but we need to be patient. Both Madrona Farm and Wyndlow Farm planted asparagus root stalk a few years ago. They say you have to wait a 3 to 5 years to let the plants settle in and strengthen up to ensure they produce a significant crop for years afterward. Patience produces a significant crop that extends over a 5 to 8 week growing season. The asparagus in our box this week are from Washington State – as close to home as we can get! I had a fabulous Asparagus Caesar salad at Bliss Cafe the other evening. The asparagus was raw and it tasted great! At home I love to grill asparagus on the BBQ using a veggie grilling basket and then tossing with garlic green butter.
From Kitchen Scraps – fun veggie comics and recipes with a dash of food history (I love it!)
Hope you enjoyed the purple potatoes. I have been told they are best roasted! Let us know how you best enjoyed them. While not as pristine looking as they would have been earlier in the season they are still firm and delicious. This is the time of year that winter root crops are programmed to sprout so it is best to eat them up earlier in the week. The same is true of onions so we are only sending you a minimum number of onions each week.
Our green bunching onions are coming from Madrona Farm. Dave is harvesting them and leaving them in the skins from the original onion as they will hold better. Pull this outer layer down towards the roots and cut it off if it does not wash and pull away. Dave is also sending the last of the spring cauliflower this week. I heard someone used it as a table decoration and just pulled a floweret off when hungry. The table center did not last very long at all!
Tomato and Green Onions Wrap with Grated Gouda and Salad Mix
Apple Muffins
Vote on Cosmetic Pesticides
Worth posting another week — BC’s Agricultural Minister, Don McRae, has posted a pesticide poll on his website, asking whether cosmetic pesticide legislation is the right move. Please vote, and pass on as you deem appropriate! Thanks, Mike, for passing this on to us.
Premier Christy Clark says she supports a ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides in BC.
Do you feel this is the right move?
For me it’s YES. The health of my family is more important than a weed free lawn.
Tangy Asparagus Quinoa
Make 2 cups cooked quinoa (could be from leftovers!)
Make tangy Tabasco butter in a food processor or mixer (there will be extra):
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tsp dijon mustard
25 drops Tabasco sauce (or more to taste)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Cut 1/2 pound of asparagus into 1 inch pieces and boil for a minute or two – rinse with cold water.
Stir together:
hot quinoa
2 Tbsp Tabasco butter
asparagus
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (or almonds)
This is a great recipe to riff from! Add sliced egg (a la omelette, then sliced), sautéed greens, tofu, etc. This makes killer leftovers for lunch or make as a potluck offering.
The supply of local, natural meats from our farmers has been less reliably available. Government regulations are making it harder for our small farms to process and distribute their meat at a time when the demand is rising! We will continue to offer these products to you when we can get them. Gulf Island lamb from Fir Hill Farms will hopefully be offered again in the future. We will continue to work with Cowichan Bay Farms to increase our chicken offerings and we’re committed to purchasing all we can from Empire Valley beef. We feel it is important to keep these direct farmer connections so we know which farms our meat is coming from and to ensure the financial returns are greater for the farmer.
Meanwhile we are pleased to announce we can offer a regular supply of meat from our new friends at Two Rivers Meats – “purveyors of fine meats that are free of antibiotics, hormones, and chemical feed additives.” Their producer farmers “are committed to raising animals ethically and naturally, while farming the land sustainably.” We will work with Two Rivers to identify the farm they source each product from. This new relationship gives us a chance for a bit more variety in what we can offer you as well as a more regular supply.
We currently have certified organic whole chickens direct from Thomas Reid Farms in Aldergrove to replace the supply shortage from Cowichan Bay Farms. Because soil is the future of food we support Organic farmers!
8 wk old chickens at Thomas Reid Farms
Introducing Gort’s Gouda
We have been trying to get on the list to order this wonderful cheese from Armstrong BC for a number of years. They are so good! In those intervening years Gort’s has gone from offering natural grass-fed products to fully certified organic cheeses!! What could be better? A little closer to home you say. We have tried to order cheeses from some of our Island grass-fed, SPCA certified cheese makers. Surprisingly one issue we ran into was distribution. The distributer in Victoria required we order something other than the cheeses and there was nothing that fit into our product ethic and/or customer’s needs. It is hard to get things from one end of this Island to the other!
What to Make from This Week’s Box
Scalloped Potatoes
Romaine Salad with Sprouts & Grated Carrot with Orange-Basil Dressing
Sautéed Garlic Greens with Zucchini (or Cauliflower) and Greens (…add protein of choice)
Mango Smoothie
Blueberry Muffins
Scalloped Potatoes
Slice in rounds:
4 large potatoes
1 large onion
Alternately Layer potatoes and a thin layer of onion in a buttered baking dish. Do the following with each layer:
dot each layer with butter
sprinkle each layer with 1 heaping tsp. of flour
also a bit of salt and pepper
Continue in this fashion ending with potatoes. Pour over 1 1/2 cups milk or soymilk. Bake at 350 for 1 – 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes are soft. Melt cheese on top if desired.
No more local garlic bulbs until late June!
Is there an alternative outside of China and Peru? Local Garlic that is hung on the stem after the summer harvest keeps the longest but we found that by mid-March it had started to dry out. There will be nothing closer to home than the California crop expected in a month or so. My mother always relied on garlic powder. I never saw the point until now in these between seasons when we are trying to buy close to home.
BUT we do have a few alternatives. BC shallots have mild garlicky taste and are wonderful added to roasted vegetables or sautés. This week we have fresh garlic greens naturally grown at Dencor Organics on Pender Island. We will have these for the next few months! The garlic greens are similar looking to green onions with a milder garlic-y taste than the clove. I would recommend using them in salads or salad dressings as well as sautés.
Garlic Greens
At this time of year we continue to offer close-to-home storage root vegetables. Onions in particular are still from BC and Washington and we are keeping a close eye on them as we send them out, checking they are firm. As the spring season progresses they tend to dry out or sprout – as it is their nature to do. We want you to know that storage onions will not keep as long as fresh cured onion so we are not sending out as many at a time and encourage you to use them up each week! Potatoes are now from PEI as the BC crops have been used up. You may remember the rainy season last fall? It had a negative effect on the crop yields for potatoes in the Fraser Valley.
What to Make from This Week’s Box
Artichokes dipped in Lemon Butter
Mushroom and Pea Pod Sauté
Red Leaf Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Chive Dressing/Dip
Make sure you scan the recipes for BBQing Artichokes. Basically you steam them first and then cut in half lengthwise then grill.
Always (in my opinion) dip them in:
Lemon Butter
Melt in saucepan:
2 Tbsp butter
Then add juice of an organic lemon to taste!
What to do with Nettles
Handle with care. Use gloves to handle raw nettles and once nettles are cooked they lose their ability to sting you.
Add them to Potato Soup (Steam nettles until wilted and then plunge in cold water. Puree and add to your soup)
Substitute for Spinach in Spanikopita.
Add to Frittatas and Quiches.
Make Nettle Pesto
Nettle also makes a great tea. Leaves can be dried and preserved for the long winter nights.
Some Nettle health benefits:
“Nettle is renowned for its astringent, expectorant, tonic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic properties and as an important source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, C and E, iron, calcium, phosphates and minerals. All these qualities recommend it as a powerful remedy against hepatic, arthritic or rheumatic conditions, and as an adjuvant in treating allergies, anemia and kidney diseases.”
After 40 days of rain it is very muddy out in the fields! Brian and his crew out at Kildara Farms were able to plant Warba potatoes this past weekend and they hope to do some more planting on this sunny Monday. Plant growth is determined not just by the amount of sunlight but by the length of day as well. As we head towards summer the plant growth speeds up with more daylight and with warmer soil. It has been a late start to the season and we’re all hoping to catch up, plant as much as we can and not be too far behind. Dave at Madrona Farm tells us the over-wintering cauliflowers are finally starting to head.
Looking to the Future, Long Term Crops
Madrona, as many of you know, is part of The Land Conservancy’s agricultural holdings. Dave and Natalie Chambers are the long term farmers on the property and with this assurance are now planting long term crops like fruit trees and asparagus. This past weekend I spoke with Richard LeBlanc from Woodwynn Farms who is creating the Homefulness Project. They have been planting many fruit trees – apple, plum and pear and they expect to have a much larger market garden under production this year.
To volunteer and get out on the farm: woodwynnfarms.org
All this bodes very well for long term food security on the Island. At Share Organics we have been contracting local farmers to grow for us and to extend the seasons. Our contracts give the farmers an assured sale for their crops at a respectable price. They can then spend more time growing and we do the marketing for them! Share your experiences with your friends as we plan to grow and offer more this coming season.
What to Make from This Week’s Box
Caesar Salad
Apple Cranberry Cobbler
Lasagna with Braising Greens
Zucchini Potato Curry
Cucumber Raita
Bananas Marrakech
Red Lentil Soup
Bananas Marrakech
Process together until smooth:
1 cup chopped dates
juice and grated rind of one orange
Serve over a sliced banana and top with whipped cream.
Red Lentil Soup
Sauté in a soup pot until soft:
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Add the following and sauté for 5 minutes:
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. fresh Rosemary chopped
1 Bay leaf
1 medium Yam diced small
some cayenne pepper diced
Fresh grated black pepper
Add the following and simmer for 40 minutes:
6 cups water
1 Tbsp. Miso (or vegetable stock)
250g Lentils (or 1 1/4 cups)
Just before serving add:
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Some grated lemon rind!
If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!
BC organic growers met in Sidney this past weekend for their conference and AGM. Over 200 attended the Saturday workshops covering many aspects of farming from mulching crops to livestock to business management. COABC (Certified Organic Association of BC) is the umbrella group that represents the regional certifying bodies at the Provincial and Federal level. We now have national organic standards. Certified Organic is your guarantee that these standards (or higher) are met. Local farmers in their certifying groups (in our area: Island Organics Producers Association) determine their own standard while complying with national ones.
There was an interesting discussion on the use of “organic” and “natural” in marketing. Natural has no standards and is essentially meaningless. It means something different to everybody- no chemicals, no Tran’s fat, no GMO. In actual fact there is no commonly or legally accepted definition for a product to be called “natural.” At some point in the process we can only hope that it came from nature.
It’s that time of year!
Storage crops start to break down in the spring. They soften, dry out, or sprout! Hey, its live food! Our production team is doing their darndest to sort and send only the best. It’s a struggle at this time of year to bring you local storage in pristine shape.
We appreciate the feedback we have received and your continued support for local organics at this tricky time of year. Some of our root crops such as parsnip and rutabaga are still dug just before delivery thanks to our mild climate. Too much rain this year did ruin our expected spring carrot crop.
Farmer Dave Chambers from Madrona Farm right here in Victoria was telling us about the upcoming crops. See more on our YouTube Farm Report.
One of the down sides of winter farming is that the pests are more numerous and voracious (the over-wintering carrots at Madrona have gone to the Carrot Rust Fly). Another downside is that you have to work all year round!
The brassica plants are sending up shoots with the promise of local sprouting greens at the end of March. These will include the buds of the upcoming flowers! Madrona will also be sampling the first asparagus – a long term project that a started over 2 years ago. Not enough of a crop to share with us here at Share Organics this year but a promise for the future!
The local organic certifying group IOPA (Island Organic Producers Association) met at their annual general meeting this past Sunday. Lunch was great with hearty soup and a salad of local greens with local blueberries and hazelnuts! Share Organics is an associate member and we encourage all our farmers to become certified organic. This group reviews and sets standards for Local Organic on our behalf. This year IOPA is hosting the BC organic growers at their annual conference March 4 and 5th in Sidney. Registration is open to the public and tickets for the evening talks are available. The Saturday trade show is open to all as well.
Melt 2 tbsp of the butter/coconut oil in a soup pot, over a low heat. Add and sauté the onion, apple and parsnips for 5 minutes.
Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender or in the food processor. Add the milk or cream and the vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat to just about simmering.
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