March Against Monsanto

May 25th at 12:30pm at the Parliament Buildings
Here’s the facebook event page.

Why March?

• We have every right to know what we are eating and feeding our families
• To protect sustainability, our seeds, our food supply and our planet
• To support our local farms and farmers
• To spread awareness about health risks and environmental risks of genetically modified foods
• To promote organic choices and solutions
• To label our foods and eventually ban GMOs forever

Focus on Local Chicken

Kildara Farms is now offering local meat birds. These chickens are organically raised and raised in a far more humane way than any other chicken – even more humane than SPCA certified. Chickens are outdoors helping out on the farm – scratching and eatin’ weeds and bugs, fertilizing as they go!

Kildara Farm offers “bone-in breast” chicken as the boneless cuts add extra costs. Of course outdoor, free-range is more costly to manage and only organic feed (GMO-free!) is used. These are premium quality cuts!

I find baking the chicken on the bone and then removing the cooked meat the easiest method of preparation. “On the bone breast” is also more moist and flavourful. You can add the cooked bones to a soup pot and get some awesome chicken stock for Chicken Tortilla Soup! Other cuts include leg and thigh (2 pack) and whole birds. As the new business builds we will begin to see more variety.

We will continue to offer the boneless breasts and smaller whole birds from Maple Hills, a BC SPCA certified operation.

Change is a Comin’ to the Share Organics Website

We are revamping the customer shopping pages and making it more user friendly.
Here are some of the improvements you’ll be able to anticipate!

• Products will be displayed in a grid with pictures.
• Your Standing Order will display just below your Order for the week.
• Ordering will also be mobile device friendly!

Say NO to HERBICIDES by saying YES to Organic Fruits and Vegetables

There is a study out of MIT that shows the negative effects of glyphosate on our livers. Glyphosate is the generic chemical name for Roundup…

from http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine051213.htm

Roundup May Be Harmful

A study from MIT shows that the herbicide Roundup may be a cause of many diseases associated with our Western diet such as stomach and intestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease (Entropy 2013, 15(4), 1416-1463). Roundup contains the chemical Glyphosate. It is the most popular and probably the most effective herbicide used worldwide. Glyphosate from Roundup is found throughout our food supply, primarily in sugar, corn, soy and wheat.

This study shows that Glyphosate blocks cytochrome P450, an enzyme in the human liver that breaks down many of the toxic components in food to keep them from harming you. For example, blocking cytochrome P450 markedly increases damage to your body from other herbicides and insecticides that may remain on the foods that we eat.

The authors state that the damage “on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body”. Blocking the cytochrome P450 enzymes prevents intestinal bacteria from making the amino acid building blocks that form protein in our bodies, and prevents the body from making many sulfate-containing chemicals that control reactions that are necessary for your body to function normally.

Tortilla Soup

Saute:

• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil, peanut oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (in season)
• 1 medium jalapeno

Add the saute to the soup pot with:

• 4 cups chicken broth with meat OR homemade veggie stock
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Bring to boil and simmer.

Cut tortillas in half:

• 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Cut the halves into 1/4-inch wide strips. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a fry pan. Working in 2 or 3 batches, fry the tortilla strips in the oil, until lightly browned and crisp. Remove the tortilla strips from the pan and let drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Serve with:

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or mild cheddar)
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

In each of 4 serving bowls place some tortilla strips. Add soup and then top with cheese, avocado, cilantro and lime. Or let folks dress their own!

Ice Pack Season – Warm Weather and Cool Produce

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!

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Towards a Food Secure Vancouver Island

 
Step 1: Make Vancouver Island a GE Free zone

Step 2: Stop the use of pesticides – unsprayed fruit is not enough

Step 3: Stop the use of chemical herbicides (weed killers) and chemical fertilizers

Thanks to Natalie of Madrona Farm for her recent picture of the orange fields in Saanich. They have been sprayed with herbicides which kill all plant life.

Herbicides destroy more than just the plants. They also destroy the micro organisms important for plant growth, pollute the water table and kill the bees!

Local does NOT Equal Organic – not yet anyway!

These are healthy bees living on Alderlea Farm – an organic and biodynamic farm in the Cowichan Valley. John and Katy share their late season cucumber and winter cabbage crops with us!

Change is a-Comin’ to Share Organics

…Change for the better!

We are revamping the customer shopping pages and making it more user friendly.

Some things to look forward to:

• Like always, when you receive your email and take the link to Your Order you will see your Standing Order items for that date. You can review and add to your order numerous times until the deadline for changes – so no check out.
• Use Favourites to keep tabs on all your favourite items! Great for seasonal stuff like local hazelnut butter.
• You will be able to manage Your Standing Order on the same page as everything else so you can see how it affects Your Order for this week.
• We think it has a cleaner and prettier look with Denise’s new icons. They will tell you at a glance all our Local products and lots more info to assist with your shopping choices!

Watch for more launch info in the May 23rd’s order reminder email.

Banana Oat Bars

Quick, Easy, and Nutritious – Gluten Free too!

Cream together:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Beat in:

• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups ripe mashed bananas

Stir in the following:

• 4 cup uncooked oats
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown. Inserted toothpick should come out clean. Cool and cut into two-inch bars. Refrigerate until needed.

Mother’s Day Celebration at Alderlea Farm

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Vancouver Island Grains and Milling – Group Grain Buy

To see what is being offered please log in (click the link!) and select *Group Buy* then *Group Grain Buy from the menu on the left.

Please have your orders in by Sunday 9 am, April 28th!

We think Vancouver Island Grain and Milling and the owner/operator, Wayne Smith, are pretty special. Here’s why we’re so excited to host this terrific product:

• The quality is very high. Wayne insists that grains are a perishable product and won’t allow stores to hold his grains for any length of time on room-temperature shelves.
• Milled and flaked products are processed just before they come to the warehouse. This means the flavour is incredible and the exposed oils in the grains do not go rancid before they make it to your kitchen.
• He is passionate about building grain infrastructure here on the island. Wayne is building and encouraging a group of customers who share the organic and local ideal.
• Vancouver Island Grain and Milling sells crops that are suitable for island growing. As local farmers begin to grow, there is a ready-made market for their crops!
• Wayne drives his own semi-truck to the organic grain farmers in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. He doesn’t source through a grain broker! This ensures that farmers are given a fair price, directly, and he receives the freshest grains.
• Wayne is, himself, an organic farmer. We love farmers!

We’re taking this opportunity to give Victoria access to these beautifully sourced grains. The item you may already be familiar with is the Multi-grain Cereal – yes, we will have this item and also have a larger 5 kg bag available.

Buying Group Members can pick up Wednesday 12 – 4pm OR Thursday 8 – 5pm.

Home Delivery Folks can recieve their orders with their regular order (Produce box sized Singles or larger or the order total much be $45 not including bulk or dairy items.

Cucumber Couscous Recipe

This recipe is from one of my favourite recipe blogs, 101 cookbooks. I searched by ingredient, cucumber, and… ta da! Enjoy.

Serves 4 – 6

• 3 cups cooked whole wheat or barley couscous*
• 1/2 a basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas

• 1 lemon, cut in half
• 1 lime, cut in half
• about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• fine grain sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

• 1/3 cup basil or cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, and chickpeas in a large bowl. Lori – squeezes the lemon and lime juice directly into the bowl, so start by giving a good squeeze of lemon and lime juice into the bowl, add the olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Toss well, taste, and adjust with more of the above until it tastes just right. Lori notes – this really needs a generous amount of salt, and the lemon and lime juices might need to be adjusted depending on how juicy the fruit is.

Add the basil and feta and toss gently until it is evenly dispersed.

*To cook the couscous: Either follow the package instructions or bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil, stir in a scant 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt and 2 cups of couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes and then use a fork to fluff up the couscous.

FoodTalks

Come be inspired by folks in our own community! This is the “TEDTalks” of the local food security scene.

MC’ed by local chef Heidi Fink.

The facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/436232036468727/

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Vancouver Island Declares Itself a GE Free Zone

At the AGM for the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities, 51 municipalities supported a motion brought forward by the District of Metchosin to make Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities a genetically engineered free zone – from Victoria to Comox to Campbell River to the Sunshine Coast and to Ucluelet!

To see the participating communities, click here http://avicc.ca/about-the-avicc/avicc-members-2/

Thanks to Natalie of Madrona Farm for her picture taken this past Monday of the orange fields in Saanich.

Next step, it seems, is to stop the use of Roundup – an herbicide sold by Monsanto

The fields have been sprayed by the herbicide Roundup which kills all non-GMO plant life. Roundup is sprayed before planting (or anytime it’s needed) on fields planted with genetically modified Roundup-resistant seeds.

Herbicides destroy more than just the plants. They also destroy important microorganisms which are abundant in healthy soil, pollute the water table, and kill bees.

If you are not buying from a certified organic farmer you need to specifically ask if they are using herbicides and if they are using GMO seeds.

Stinging Nettle Festival

Farmers John and Katy supply the Share Organics Boxes with field cucumbers late in the fall and red and green winter cabbages! You are invited to visit the farm for the third annual Stinging Nettle Festival, Sunday April 21st.

Please click here for the poster to get all the details! (pdf format)

Yam Burgers

Makes 6 patties – double up for a crowd!

In a food processor or with a grater, grate:

• 1 lb Yams (2 cups)

Remove to large mixing bowl

In food processor or large bowl:

• 1 medium garlic minced
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 cup chickpeas, fine chopped

Process until fairly smooth. You can also just mash them as best you can.
Add the garlic ginger and chichpea mix to the grated Yam.

Grind in a processor or clean coffee grinder:

• 1/2 cup toasted cashew nuts (or nut of choice)

Then add and mix well:

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp Braggs or Tamari
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 egg (OR 1/2 Tbsp egg replacer and 1 1/2 Tbsp water)
• 1/3 cup fine rolled oats

Heat in a skillet:

• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil

Form 1/2 cup yam mixture into a patty and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Gently turn over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve on a whole wheat bun (or not) with avocado and mayo or any condiments of your choice!

SPECIAL GROUP BUY

To see what is being offered please log in (click the link!) and select *Group Buy* then *Group Grain Buy from the menu on the left.

(… to place your order move into a future date, on the calendar at the top of the page your order date beginning April 30th… it will be highlighted for you)

Please have your orders in by Sunday 9 am, April 28th!

We think Vancouver Island Grain and Milling and the owner/operator, Wayne Smith, are pretty special. Here’s why we’re so excited to host this terrific product:

• The quality is very high. Wayne insists that grains are a perishable product and won’t allow stores to hold his grains for any length of time on room-temperature shelves.
• Milled and flaked products are processed just before they come to the warehouse. This means the flavour is incredible and the exposed oils in the grains do not go rancid before they make it to your kitchen.
• He is passionate about building grain infrastructure here on the island. Wayne is building and encouraging a group of customers who share the organic and local ideal.
• Vancouver Island Grain and Milling sells crops that are suitable for island growing. As local farmers begin to grow, there is a ready-made market for their crops!
• Wayne drives his own semi-truck to the organic grain farmers in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. He doesn’t source through a grain broker! This ensures that farmers are given a fair price, directly, and he receives the freshest grains.
• Wayne is, himself, an organic farmer. We love farmers!

We’re taking this opportunity to give Victoria access to these beautifully sourced grains. The item you may already be familiar with is the Multi-grain Cereal – yes, we will have this item and also have a larger 5 kg bag available.

Buying Group Members can pick up Wednesday 12 – 4pm OR Thursday 8 – 5pm.

Home Delivery Folks can recieve their orders with their regular order (Produce box sized Singles or larger or the order total much be $45 not including bulk or dairy items.

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Sun Trio cucumbers are here!

Those sunny days over Easter Weekend made them pop! We have both the Long English and the small Piccolini cukes in the box. Thanks to Dennis and the Sun Trio team.

Note to Denise… get some picures up on Facebook!

APRIL 9th DAY OF ACTION – Rally with Farmers Against GMO Alfalfa

12 pm – 1 pm at 816 GOVERNMENT ST

- Corner of Government St and Courtney St

From the Cowichan Green Community Press Release:

Alfalfa is a perennial crop and is grown (commonly harvested as hay) as high-protein forage fed to animals like dairy cows, beef cattle, lambs, poultry, and pigs. It’s also used to build nutrients and organic matter in the soil, making it particularly important for organic farming. In addition, it’s commonly consumed by humans in health supplements and foods, and as alfalfa sprouts.

Currently, it is not legal to sell GM alfalfa seed in Canada, nor is GM alfalfa being commercially grown in Canada. However, in 2005, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency did approve GM alfalfa as safe to produce and consume, and Forges Genetics International (FGI), the company who applied Monsanto’s GM Roundup Ready (herbicide resistant) technology to alfalfa, is waiting for a “variety registration” on the GM alfalfa seed. This, once received, would give FGI license to sell GM alfalfa seeds in Canada.

Urgent attention to this issue is needed as the introduction of GM alfalfa in Canada will compromise the livelihood of family farmers across the country. Not only will GM alfalfa threaten the future of organic food and farming in Canada, it stands to ruin Canada’s alfalfa export economy (Canada is the world’s largest exporter of dehydrated alfalfa products), as cross-pollination between the GM and the non-GM varieties is a likely consequence.

Dan Ferguson, National Farmers Union Director for Region 8 (AND our salad and spinach farmer in Duncan)

Clothes Line Love

Why I love my clothesline!

• Solar powered dryer
• Whiten whites with sunlight
• Disinfect with UV rays – sunlight
• Amazing fresh fragrance – chemical free!

Windy days make for quick drying. A clothesline strung with fabrics looks so beautifully playful. The dancing fabrics make me smile!

What to make with your Family Box?

• Kiwi Flan
• Pizza with Arugula and Leeks (try using the Rice Tortillas for a gluten-free version)
• Chard and Feta Sauté over Pasta
• Gypsy Soup (sub yams and carrots for squash, and chard or kale for green veg)
• Gingered Snap Peas Recipe

Gingered Snap Peas

• 1/2 LB sugar snap peas
• 1 tsp grapeseed oil
• 1/2 tsp finely minced gingerroot
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Remove tip of each sugar snap pea; pull string from side. Set aside.

In large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat; sautee ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add peas and 2 tbsp (25 mL) water; cover and steam until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.

Sprinkle with sesame oil, salt and pepper.

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Advocating for a Vancouver Island GMO Free Zone…

Certified Organic food in the US and Canada means the seeds used to grow the food are free of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). See Canadian Organic Growers for more info:

http://www.cog.ca/our-work/protecting-organic-integrity/genetic-contamination/

With no labeling laws to inform us, a GMO-free Vancouver Island is the only guarantee we have that the food we choose is free of GMO.

The companies creating GMO seed are also trying to patent the seeds – all seeds – and make it a requirement for farmers to buy their seed. Patents were meant for inventions created by people and not for things already available in nature. Vandana Shiva advises that when organizations make laws that fly in the face of common sense the people must ignore them. Thousands of farmers in India are saving their own seed in the face of these anti-seed saving laws!

Many of our local farmers are saving seed and make them available at Seedy Saturdays and farmers markets. All backyard farmers and gardeners need to support them and stand against the big seed companies. Not only does this give us healthy seed to grow but it is also seed that grows well in our ecosystem.

As global warming and changing weather patterns affect our ability to produce food, we will depend more and more on the genetic diversity of our seed. At Share Organics we encourage our farmers to grow heritage varieties of produce (squash, cucumbers, tomatoes etc.) for us to help sustain and increase the genetic diversity we have left. Farmer Dave Chambers of Madrona farm wrote recently:

Many municipalities and small communities are declaring themselves GMO free zones. Richmond for example passed a municipal law last May.

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/05/23/richmond-passes-ban-on-genetically-engineered-crops/

GMOs cross contaminate other crops, especially in wind-pollinated crops like wheat and corn. This is a huge problem for organic farmers so a regional ban is important. The national organic standard is for farmers to have 8 meters of buffer area around their organic crops. Wind can still cross this gap carrying contaminated pollen with it. Corn, for example, has an 8 km pollination range!

Suggested strategies to reduce contamination are expensive. For example, they suggest that corn growers plant late in the season so that their organic crops are less likely to be pollinated by GMO infested pollen. But that would mean a hugely decreased yield for our organic farmer… Why is it that when someone puts their garbage in your backyard they are not responsible? In fact, GMO-seed companies can sue farmers (and you!) for letting the wind blow GMO pollen into their fields (or your backyard!). Do you remember Saskatchewan farmer, Percy Schmeiser, and his struggle with Monsanto? www.percyschmeiser.com

Here is more info on a GE (Genetic Engineered) free BC. We need to do it one municipality at a time. Island dairy farmers, like their colleagues in Richmond, already use a lot of GMO corn. Makes you want to buy organic milk or join a cow share!

http://gefreebc.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/sign-the-petition-to-make-vancouver-island-ge-free/

To be recharged and inspired listen to Vandana Shiva’s convocation address at UVic:
http://www.gorilla-radio.com/index.php?id=629

What to make with your Local Box?

• Blackberry Cake
• Kale and Feta Quiche
• Spinach and Chickpea Soup
• Beets Glazed in Apple Juice
• Steamed Sunchokes with Garlic Mayo Dressing

Steamed Sunchokes with Garlic Mayo Dressing

“They (sunchokes) range in size from walnuts in the shell to new potatoes. When raw they have a consistency like water chestnuts or jicama, and when cooked, the texture is soft with a very fine grain. The flavour is earthy.”

Steam them: “To cook them, don’t peel them, but scrub them well. Then steam them whole for about 15 minutes and refresh in cold water.

They are best eaten at room temperature, and I’d serve them with a garlic mayonnaise. Take a half cup of mayonnaise, stir in a clove of minced garlic, about 2 teaspoons of honey and 2 teaspoons of whole capers.

Cut the cooked Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes) in half-inch slices and serve them with a nice piece of roasted Pacific halibut, with the mayonnaise on the side.”

Raspberry Cake

You can sub Blackberries into this recipe. Remember that the organic ingredients make it GMO free!

Cream together:

• 1/2 cup butter or safflower oil
• 2/3 cup honey

Add and beat until light and fluffy:

• 2 eggs

Mix together dry ingredients:

• 2 cups organic white or whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Alternately add the dry with:

• 2 Tbsp cream or milk

Mix thoroughly and fold in:

• 1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries

Batter will be very thick. Spread in a greased and floured 8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with organic whip cream or ice cream and extra berries!

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

No More Hazelnuts, But…

We are all sold out of local hazelnuts but the hazelnut trees are in bloom preparing for the next hazelnut season. The long catkins are clusters and clusters of tiny male flowers. These produce pollen which is carried by wind to meet with neighbouring female flowers.

The fact that leaves are not yet out helps with this mechanism (they don’t get in the way!).

While we’re waiting for the autumn bounty and enjoying the new Spring we can still enjoy the fruits of last years harvest in the form of hazelnut butter. We have quite a few in stock. Try adding a tablespoon or two to a lightly sautéed broccoli!

And just so’s you know… we only have a couple of the hand-crafted-by-the-farmer chocolate hazelnut butters left.

Nettle Season

These dangerously delicious local greens can be wildcrafted from the edge of the forest or other semi-wild places like the Fernwood Commons! The sting is removed when cooked or dried. Nettles can be used as a local topping for pizza!

The Italians make a Springtime nettle pesto and call it Pesto d’Urtica. Here is a recipe (among many!) for pesto using nettles.

Nettle Pesto

Makes: 1/2 cup. Serves 4

• 1/4 pound nettles
• 2 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer for the nettles. Add the nettles directly from their bag and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes. Drain in colander. When the nettles are cool enough to handle, wrap them in a clean dishtowel and wring out as much moisture as possible.

In blender or processor whirl the garlic, nuts and pepper to taste until finely chopped. Add the nettles, breaking them up as you drop them in, and the lemon juice and blend until finely chopped.

With the machine running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream, and process until smooth. Add the cheese, pulse briefly, and season to taste with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice. Toss with pasta al dente with more Paremesan on the side!

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Local Shopping and Eating

Most of the Share Organics outgoing mail is to pay our suppliers. I love it that most all the envelopes go into the Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands only mail box! It means we are on the right track.

You might have noticed we are increasing our line of Gentle Earth Cleaning products – a great local enterprise.

We have also extended our line of teas from the Tea Farm. We love their products and the fact that they are trying to grow black tea in the Cowichan Valley!

Our most recent addition will be an offering from Vancouver Island Salt. We have chosen to stock just the sea salts as the rock salt comes from further afield. The sea salt is processed right here in Cowichan Bay.

We will have the plain sea salt in a larger size and the finishing (flavor-infused) salt in a small sized package – only need a few grains each time! The names say it all! Imagine Danish Blue Cheese Sea Salt on sliced Granny Smith apple! Roasted Garlic Sea Salt on your sautéed greens!

Check out all the Local Shopping Options on your order page under Local Island Food.

Stocking up and Dried Foods

In conversation with Ann on Facebook…

Yes (I use dried vegetables) – in soups – or a medicinal brew during the darker days of winter and I think it is good to have dried food that we don’t use up – having food in stock is traditional planning ahead and part of living with the land. We build up your supplies for the times when it isn’t easy to get food – an earthquake for example.

Having food in storage – dried greens, beans, rice, etc will be good survival food that we will have to share with our neighbors in an emergency. And then when something gets too old and flavourless you get to compost them to nourish the fresh food that you grow. Gathering – Keeping – Returning – Gathering

. . .

You are invited to take part in the next:

Sunday, March 24th – Fernwood Community Centre, 1240 Gladstone Ave – $10-$45

RSVP then pay at door: http://victoriastonesoup2.eventbrite.ca/

“When we each give a little, nobody goes hungry”

Chard and Feta Sauté over Pasta

Use your baby beet greens in this one!

Sauté until golden:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced:
• 1 small onion sliced
• 1 cup crumbled tofu
• 1 tsp dried Oregano

Meanwhile cook in boiling water:

• 2 cups fettuccine (5 cup cooked)

Add to sauté, cover and cook for 5 minutes:

• 1 bunch chard, cut “chiffonade” (pile leaves together, roll like a cigar and cut in thin strips)
• 2 chopped tomatoes or 1 cup canned tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Then add:

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta

Cover and let melt then toss and serve over the pasta.

Try adding a sprinkle of roasted garlic infused Vancouver Island Salt just before serving.

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

New Distributors produce Co-op Emerging in Ladysmith/Cedar

Some of our farmers in the Ladysmith/Cedar area are joining together to form a distributors co-operative. This means it will be easier for us to order and they will do their sales, marketing and delivering together. Most of the growing will be done on Wyndlow Farm.

We have been enjoying Isabelle’s lovely carrots from Wyndlow Farm for a number of years. The Rainbow bunch carrots were awesome, remember? The yellow carrot we enjoyed this past fall and winter is a heritage variety and it was grown from their own seed. The co-op will be doing more carrot seed research this year. Watch for the vampire carrot! Yes, it is red, or as Isabelle says, “two tones of blushing red”. Oh my!!

Conceptualizing a Metric Tonne

Last week we announced that we saved approximately 13.6 metric tonnes of CO₂ in 15 years of bicycle delivery.

How do you imagine a metric tonne?

Blake of the Good Seed Hemp happened to have brought in some Canadian Fairtrade Hemp Hearts… a tonne of them. A metric tonne.

Imagine, a sky-full of CO₂
SQUEEZED
into the mass equivalent to this metric tonne of hemp next to 6’2″ Blake.

Now multiply that by 13… helpful, no?

(By the way we carry his great quality hemp hearts, hemp protein powder, and toasted hemp seeds.
Find them in the Weekly Specials)

Black Bean Enchiladas

These Enchiladas are two fillings, wrapped in soft tortillas, then covered with enchilada sauce and cheese-baked!

Bean filling

Sauté in oil until soft:

• 1 onion chopped
• 1 garlic minced

Add and continue cooking for 2 minutes:

• 2 green or red peppers diced

Add:

• 2 cups cooked Black turtle beans (250g dry beans)
• 1 cup frozen corn (fresh in season)
• 1/2 tbsp Chipotle pepper

With a fork smash some of the beans to make the filling stick together more.
Add water as needed.

Green filling

• 4 medium chard leaves thinly sliced
• 1 cup grated mozzarella

Enchilada sauce

Whisk together the following over low heat for a few minutes:

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp chili powder

Add:

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

Add remaining ingredients slowly, stirring as you go:

• 2 cups water
• 1 8 ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Simmer for 10 minutes and set aside.

Putting it all together!

Grease a baking dish. For the wraps you can use 8 inch whole wheat tortillas or corn tortillas. (The corn tortillas need to be softened up as per package instructions.)

Place tortilla in baking dish and add 2 or 3 Tbsp bean mix, top with chard mixture. Fold one side over top, roll and press into pan. Top with enchilada sauce to cover. Cover with lid or foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with:

• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Continue cooking covered until cheese has melted – 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve with any or all of the following:

Salsa, sour cream, chopped cilantro, black olives, guacamole!

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!

Farmer Affidavit

Share Organics purchases local crops first. We source from certified organic growers and from natural growers. Certified growers are vetted by a certification body that guarantees they are meeting standards. When purchasing off island we only source certified organic produce.

For our local natural growers we ask them to sign an affidavit indicating they are growing to COABC standards (the provincial standards). Dave Chambers went beyond our request for a Farmer Affidavit – he wrote it as a letter you fine people – and we thought we would share his affi-Dave-it…

Dear Share Organics Customers,

This letter is to assure you of the clean and chemical free production of our vegetables which you receive in the Share boxes. We have been growing on Madrona Farm in its current production since 1999, prior to that the land sat fallow since 1982 when my grandfather passed away. Although we have not chosen to certify as an organic producer you can be assured that our vegetables are grown to COABC standards.

As well, we take very conscious efforts to work with the extremely healthy ecosystems inside the farm. Protection of native frog populations, native bee habitat, deer corridors, working with geese through cover crop management and string lines to control landing areas, and monitoring and banding of the 56 species of birds identified on the farm by Rocky Point Bird Society. These are some of the additional land stewardship acts we practice above our clean farming practices.

On top of this we have, through the TLC, ensured the long term protection of the farm by transferring it to The Trust in a model that sets a precedent for removing farmland from private ownership. This protects the land from improper succession planning, family disputes and corruption of the systems that exist and lead to destruction of farmland. It also provides a model of long term sustainable leasing and long term land stewardship by the farmer.

Going back to production: in the last two years we have begun extensive seed saving. We are now using seeds of over half of the 105 varieties of vegetables, seeds we grew and saved on farm. Our goal is to save our own seed for 75% of our varieties grown. A few of my favorite varieties are hybrids. Of the seed we buy, most is organic seed but some is untreated non certified seed. None of the seed we use is chemically treated or GMO.

As far as inputs go, we receive 800 yards of Saanich leaf mulch every year which we compost, turning to maintain proper temperatures. This is applied to fields in a four year rotation at a rate of 1 inch deep. We do extensive cover cropping using oats, barley, rye, vetch, clovers, sunflowers, phacillia, buckwheat and a pollinator wild flower blend. Cover crops are rotated and fit to the windows which best suit the time of year and conditions of the field prior to planting and crop to follow cover. We have a 4-6 year rotation on fields.

In addition to this we have a custom blend of organic fertilizer mixed at Borden Mercantile which contains no GMO crops as ingredients. This mix differs from the one they sell on the floor as it is a custom blend. This fertilizer in applied in row with the seeder as seeds are planted. No additional side dressing is needed for any of the crops. This simple approach of compost, cover crops, crop rotation and minor addition of organic fertilizer has proved very successful over the last 14 years.

Insect management is done through understanding of pests and their life cycles. We use no insect control, organic or non organic. Plantings are done according to the natural rhythms of pests and times which will not allow them to be a problem. Healthy soils breed healthy plants.

Weed management is done mostly with two different cultivating tractors and a flame weeder. A Massey 135 with a tine weeder and a spring tooth cultivator and a small farmall cub with specialty designed belly mounted cultivators. The flame weeder is use for pre-emergent burning of weeds. This means in laymen’s terms a field is tilled and let sit for a week or two, and then planted. The day before a crop emerges the flamer runs over the beds. The cells in the two leaf stage of weeds are ruptured. All of the weed seeds energy was in those two leaves. The weeds die and the next day your crop emerges with far less competition. There is always minor hoeing and sometimes a little hand weeding.

There you have it folks, a good clean system which keeps costs down, quality high and the earth happy. Enjoy our food; we enjoy growing it for you.

Sincerely David and Nathalie Chambers

Bike Delivery Update

Last week we announced that since Sept 2011 to the end of February 2013, Colby has cycled 5628 km! Jared Noble of GeaZone pointed us to car-emissions.com to get a sense of how many grams of CO2 emissions we’ve saved.

With all your wonderful orders delivered, we have saved 1 361 976 g of CO2 emissions… that’s 1.36 metric tons saved in the last year and a half!

To extrapolate for the past 15 years, that would be 13.6 metric tons of CO2 emissions saved – Yowza!

To find your own CO2 emissions you can use www.car-emissions.com

• Find your make and model of vehicle…
• Estimate the distance to your grocery store…
• then calculate for yourself how much CO2 you’ve saved getting home deliveries!

Get Ready for Sunchokes In the Box

Also known as Jerusalem Artichokes – they are now gourmet food according to the Globe and Mail.

“To cook them, don’t peel them, but scrub them well. Then steam them whole for about 15 minutes and refresh in cold water. They are best eaten at room temperature, and I’d serve them with a garlic mayonnaise. Take a half cup of mayonnaise, stir in a clove of minced garlic, about 2 teaspoons of honey and 2 teaspoons of whole capers. Cut the cooked Jerusalem artichokes in half-inch slices and serve them with a nice piece of roasted Pacific halibut, with the mayonnaise on the side.”

Check out the article and be ready for them…

coming your way in the Family AND Local Boxes for Next Week!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/the-best-way-to-enjoy-jerusalem-artichokes/article592498/

Sunchokes Raw and Roasted

Rainey’s Cole Slaw

Rainey has been our master composter for many years now! Here she shares her “famous” recipe.

Finely chop:

• 1 small/medium head of green cabbage OR 1/2 each red and green cabbage

Coarsely grate:

• 2-3 small carrots

Mix together with:

• 1/2 – 3/4 cup mayo (tofu or regular)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 – 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• a pinch of ground cloves

Let sit for a few hours if possible. And if you have a really sweet tooth, drizzle with honey. Yum!

If you would like to view or add to your order please click here!