Bailey's BC - Buy enough for two weeks. No pick up Aug 8.

Dear Local Eaters,

My dad and I are going to take a little break and not do the buying
club next week. Now is your chance to stock up.
My family and I are going on a get-away to Matthew's parents'
almost-working farm. My dad will stay home and feed the hens.

I also want to tell you that if everything goes as planned, I'll be
offering blueberries for the week of Aug 15. These berries are from
Simcoe, are conventional and are in bulk. I'll be selling 12 pint
flats for $32. In that trip we'll also be picking up Peanut Oil,
peanut butter and peanuts. We'll take orders for that on that same
week. I'm trying to avoid pre-orders as it is extra complicated for
everyone. Aug 15 will probably be the only day that I'll have
blueberries for sale. In case you don't know, they freeze
effortlessly. Just rinse and throw into bags of containers.
I also want to tell you that we want to have a picnic potluck here
September 20 for supper for Buying Club folks. It will be a true
potluck, no coordinating. You'll have picked up your local food the
day before and this will be your chance to share and taste other
peoples local recipes. What will be in season then? Um, everything.
So bring your food, bring your lawn chairs and picnic blankets, bring
your kids and come eat together. The 21st is the Taste Local! Taste
Fresh! local food event (which I HIGHLY recommend). The previous week
the authors of the 100 Mile Diet are in town so it will be a time of
great HOOPLAH about local food. Good hooplah. We can't celebrate local
food too much. So put it on your calendars and more details will come
closer to the time.

Night,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club

Hi Folks,

This week may be the last of the lettuce until Fall. It's hard to keep
lettuce growing in the middle of the summer. Consider switching your
salads to spinach instead.

Selema says that they are hoping to keep us eating fresh (and
unsprayed!) sweet corn until frost hits! The price will go down in a
couple weeks. This first corn is more expensive because they plant it
in raised beds and work extra hard keeping it covered with a fabric
row-cover to protect it from early frosts.

Murray says that he'll have grape tomatoes for us next week. So hang in there.

This week don't miss the honey options, maple syrup, raspberry jam
from hail berries, and bulk spinach and beets.

If you choose "other" be sure to click in the circle and then add your
number in the box.

Happy Local Eating,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club Aug 1st

Hi Folks,

Will you be having local feasts on the long weekend? We most certainly
will as we will be celebrating being DONE DONE DONE with making an
apartment upstairs AND it is our baby's first birthday. Hmmm, what to
serve? Corn on the cob, for sure. Pesto something... If we let Ezra
choose the menu we'll all be eating soft veggies from vegetable soup.

We'll have the same offerings as last week but no beef and adding
honey and maple syrup - and raspberry jam and vinegar! Okay, so it's
not the same as last week... The honey and maple syrup is offered
every 6-8 weeks so now's your chance to get what you need. The
creamed cinnamon honey was a hit last time and will be available
again. For those of you who like to bake with honey (granola, bread,
pies, everything!) we are offering large pails of unpasturized honey.
If you get a 30lbs pail it is only $2.00/lb while the 2kg jar is
$3.63/lb. Big difference! Honey keeps forever (two years?) in a
sealed pail. It will crystalize but if you heat it up it will become
clear and liquid again.

The maple syrup is from Naamon and Selema Martin. They got it from his
brother near Yatton (which is near Wallenstein which is near Elmira)
and they put it into jars because they have a small cannery and cider
press. They are also able to sell us local Apple Cider Vinegar! They
make it themselves from cider that is made under regulation. They put
the cider in a barrel, add the culture to it and a couple teaspoons of
maple syrup to get it started and then leave it for five months. They
then pour off the vinegar into containers for us.

The Elmira Produce Auction Cooperative is where I got the canteloupe,
green peppers, and cucumbers last week. To buy from there I need to
order a minimum of three units of each item. So three boxes of
canteloupe, for example. I'll put these items on the order form in
medium quantities (4 canteloupe, 6 green peppers, 6 cucumbers) and if
I get enough orders to meet that minimum, I can buy them. If not, I
won't have them for Friday.

Food Preserving Ideas
I have you all to thank for the fact that I have 23 frozen "muffins"
of pesto in and 4 liters of apricots in my freezer. If I wasn't doing
this buying club (AND writing these emails where I'm supposed to be a
model of local food eating/preserving!?!?) I'm pretty sure I'd not be
putting anything away for the Winter in the middle of this renovation
stress and chaos. The pesto was particularly satisfying to make
because it is all local! Peanuts and peanut oil from Kernals in
Simcoe, parmesan from Oak Grove in New Hamburg, basil from Sam, garlic
I bought last Fall (still good!) from a farmer.

I'll also have bulk amounts (half bushels) of beets and spinach. If
you want to pickle beets, now is the time. They are about 3" in
diameter so great for slices. Beet pickles are quite easy to make. The
basic steps are: cook and skin as if you're having them for supper,
put into clean and sterile jars along with garlic cloves, salt,
vinegar, and water (plus dill? cloves?). Then put them in a hot water
bath. Matthew and I canned pickled beets for our wedding 8 years ago.
I've been kind of sick of them since then but I think I'm ready to try
them again. We put in too many cloves last time - not good.

Raspberries
Were your raspberries molding? Friday evening I was freezing a couple
flats and they were beginning to mold. I called Anne Nauman to ask her
about it and she said that it is from several factors:

Raspberries should be kept in the cooler at all times (I don't have
the ability to do this and Ivan's were fine without it)
They did not spray fungicide on them so there shelf life is much
shorter - the mold more quickly
The xtra rain has left them xtra wet and juicy which makes them prone
to mold (even though they are careful to pick them only when they are
dry)

Ivan and Almeda are the farmers who didn't spray their raspberries
just so they could sell to us and then they were hit with serious hail
that destroyed their raspberries and shredded their corn. I was
impressed how Ivan did not complain, he just said how thankful he is
that they are all safe. They were in the basement during the storm and
feared that it would be much worse. They are making lemonade out of
lemons and have canned over 200 pints of raspberry jam. VERY LOCAL
raspberry jam (they live about 5k from my house) with only
raspberries, sugar and pectin in it. You can buy some of this Hail
Storm Raspberry Jam this week. They are keeping the price low enough
that I think it is cheaper to buy the jam then to make your own jam (I
haven't done the exact math so don't let me discourage you from making
your own if you like doing it!). It is $4.25 a pint or six for $23
($3.83/ea). They make great gifts with a local food story to go with
it.

Baked Goods
We'll be ordering again from Bread and Bretzel. There struedel was
divine! Now we know that if you order a struedel, bring a box or
tupperware for it. Same for the cookies. Bring your cookies jar and
fill 'er up. They were big and tasty. What did you think of the baked
goods last week? I really want to know so that I know if I should try
out another bakery or stick with this one.

Last Friday was almost relaxing with Kelly Anthony volunteering.
Anyone else want to join in as a volunteer this Friday or another
Friday soon? I'm almost out of plastic bags now so if you have some
extras, I'd appreciate donations.

Happy eating,
Nina

bulk raspberries

Ivan called to say that his raspberries were hit by hail and are too damaged to sell.

That is about a $600 loss for him. He said he was just thankful that
his buildings are fine and his family is safe. The storm was bad
enough they all went to the basement.

The good news is that Nauman's did not spray their berries this year
so I can source them from them but that changes the dates.

Can you pick up your bulk raspberries Friday (tomorrow) instead of
Monday July 28? Please email me a yes or no.

Thank you
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club-Poultry Sales

Some of you ordered a long time ago and cannot remember what you

ordered. You can use this link to go to the spreadsheet of chicken and
turkey orders and see how many you've ordered. To change your order
you'll need to fill in another form and tell me in the "comments" if
the new order is in addition to the old order or a replacement for the
old.

If you ever want to choose "other" on the form, be sure to click on the
radio (circle) and then type in the number you want in "other". If you
don't do this, it is left blank.

This IS still easier than by phone. Right?
Nina

Bailey's techno glitch

Hi Folks,

Have you ever entered an amount in "other" on our ordering form and
then when you went to pick up your order, the list said you did not
order any of that item?

I'm realizing that the order form is not reliably relaying to my
spreadsheet what you type into "other". So I'm giving you all access
to this week's spreadsheet to check if your order is what you want it
to be. If you did not choose "other" for anything, your order should
be fine. I'll extend the deadline until noon on Thursday to give you a
chance to correct your order.

I'm sorry about this!
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club - Local Pasture-Raised Turkey and Chicken

Hi Friends,

I've updated the chicken order form with the dates for pick up. Next
one is Sept 5 and then Oct 3 will be chicken AND turkeys. Some of you
may have not seen this chicken order form yet. Here is the link to it.

Do you wish you could eat local chicken and turkey but it is too
inconvenient to buy it? I've started a business: Bailey's Local Foods.
My mission is to make it easier for city folks to buy local food.
This chicken and turkey is raised by Miriam and Mervin Gingerich near
Newton (25 min drive from Waterloo). The unique thing about this
turkey and chicken is that it is raised ON PASTURE. This means that
the birds are happier and healthier than indoor birds. They also
produce better-tasting and healthier meat. The Gingerichs have the
birds slaughtered at a licensed facility. All the meat is frozen.

If you have any questions, email me at ninabd@gto.net.

The farmers and Bailey's Local Foods thank you,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club oops

The tea from Little City Farm makes 10 POTS per box, not just 10 cups.

This is also your reminder that orders are due Wed at 9PM. "Why?" you
ask. At 9:01 I start phoning the farmers to let them know what I hope
to pick up Fri morning. They then go to bed at 9:35ish and wake up the
next morning knowing what they need to harvest and pack for us.

Pick up is 3:30-6PM at my house. 72A William St. West Waterloo. Down
the long lane behind 72. Cheques are a great way to pay. Cash is okay
too. Bring your own boxes and bags. Don't come in a hurry because this
is not a store. Efficiency is great but not our ultimate goal. Our
ultimate goal is to get local food flowing into KW and nurture
connections between people who want to eat more local diets and change
this wacky food global food system we invented a few decades ago. So
when you come, bring a thermos of tea and hang out. Buy a cookie, say
hi to the hens in the backyard, admire the beautiful children, eat a
peach... Revel in the bounty of this land.

Thank you
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club

Hi Folks,

We've got everything from beef steaks to herbal teas this week. Also
peaches and apricots and plums! Plus all the yummy vegetables we've
been getting - maybe even sweet corn.

Don't forget that apricots are easy to freeze. And plums make good
jam. Dill in the freezer is a gift from above in the winter when you
want to make borscht.

Happy Local Eating,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club July 25

Hi Folks,

Whew! That was a bustling business on Friday with those chickens
thrown into the mix. I've decided that to make this more fun I'd like
to invite one (or two) of you to be a volunteer "cashier" 4-6PM on
some Fridays. I can thank you for your help by giving you that week's
order "at cost". So if you order a little over $100 for that week,
you'd get to only pay $75. Email me if you want to jump into the fun
chaos for a few Fridays as a volunteer cashier.

Have you tasted your chicken yet? I'm eager to hear if you can taste a
difference between the pasture-raised and the factory raised chickens.
Don't forget to boil the bones for a flavourful broth (easy to
freeze). I should also let you know that the new word in food safety
is that you should keep thawed chicken in your fridge for only ONE day
now. Miriam (the farmer who raised the chickens) says that she
believes chicken needs 3 hours of baking before it is ready. When I
baked a 7lb chicken on Saturday I understood that philosophy. It was
like a small turkey! If you love the taste of your pasture-raised
chicken and want more you can go back to the Google DOCS order form
link that I sent a couple weeks ago and place another order. If you
can't find that email, let me know and I'll send out another one.

I don't think I'm the only one running out of freezer space. Where is
my solar dehydrator?!? Have to build it. I DID throw about 1/4 bushel
of green beans in an electric food dehydrator last night and am
excited to store those away for winter stews and soups. I've never
done this before. I love that I don't have to work over a hot stove to
preserve them. I don't love the energy going into running that thing
all night. All night was a bit long. Some got brownish. Smoked green
bean soup... My mom always canned green beans but they are sooo
soft/mushy that way. This week I'm looking forward to tender crisp
green beans tossed with toasted almonds and butter.

Now is the time to put on the gloves and dig to the bottom of the
freezer to find the older items that need to be eaten to make way for
the new. I'm considering buying another freezer. With seven of us in
the household I can almost justify it. I think I will so that we can
have enough chicken all year. If you're thinking of canning, I
noticed that there are water bath canners for sale at Home Hardware on
Park St. Something like $15 for an enamel one. That is all you need
for acidic foods (tomatoes, peaches, pears, applesauce, pearsauce,
cherries, apricots...) I'm determined to can peaches this year.
Canned peaches are like eating slices of sunshine in dark February.

Do you wish you had enough basil to make a HUGE batch of pesto and
freeze it for winter pasta dishes? I have a farmer that will have 3-4
1/2 bushels of basil for sale this week. I don't know if the farmer
will have this amount again. 1/2 a bushel sounds like a lot but if
you've made pesto before you know how quickly that food processor eats
it up.

Update on getting eggs: I haven't found a good connection yet. I'd
suggest buying your eggs from Eating Well. Their non-organic ones are
from the same farmer I would buy from (if it worked out). I can taste
the difference in them compared to other eggs. They are about
$3.40/doz.

This week we have a few new foods available: beef cuts including
steaks and roasts and organ meats, herbal teas, sugar-free jam, frozen
peas, plums and apricots and maybe unsprayed sweet corn (if it ripens
in time).

Beef
This beef is from Jeff Stager the same farmer we got the hamburger
from. So no steroids or hormones used on his herd and very limited
use of antibiotics. The animals eat a combo of grass and corn. I am
very happy with the hamburger. I gave samples of steaks to two buying
club members who reported back that they were EXCELLENT quality. The
hamburger price is a bit higher because Jeff realized he was losing
money since each package is more like 1.2 pounds and he was pricing it
at 1 pound. We'll do this like the chicken. You order the NUMBER of
cuts (2 roasts and 6 steaks, for example) you want and then your price
will be determined by the weight that cut happens to be. You won't
know exactly the size of the steak or roast you are buying but I'll
have different sizes in the freezer and you can choose if you want a
larger or smaller one.

Herbal Teas
I'm excited be be selling teas from a long-time friend who couldn't be
much more local. Karin Kliewer of Little City Farm (on Duke St. see
their lovely website http://www.littlecityfarm.ca/). She grows most of
her own herbs and sources some from an organic farmer near Wellesley.
Here are the teas available this week:

After Dinner Tea – a tasty tea that aids digestion.
Spearmint, peppermint, yarrow, calendula petals, mullein, fennel.

Less Stress Tea – a gentle tea blend to calm the nerves & ease anxiety.
Chamomile flowers, calendula petals, lemon balm, sweetgrass, catnip.

Women's Blend – a sweet tea that is menstrual aid, rich in iron,
calcium & antioxidants.
Red raspberry leaf, nettle, peppermint, red clover blossoms.

Birthing Blend – a sweet tea to tone the uterus - drink warm or iced
during your pregnancy
Organic Red Raspberry leaf.

Each bag of tea is $10 and makes about 10 pots of tea. I am selling it
at the same price that Karin sells it. Have you tried making herbal
iced teas? With honey added they are ALMOST as good as a beer on a hot
day.

Jam
The sugar-free jam is from Naamon and Selema Martin near Wallenstein.
They use a mixture of apple and grape juice to sweeten their jams
without sugar or added pectin. Right now they only have two kinds of
jam that are made from local fruits. Did you know that 99% of the jam
made in our area is made from imported frozen fruits? It is cheaper
and involves less labour costs to buy ready-to-use imported fruits
than to buy local fruit. I'm working with Naamon to get him some of
the excellent fruit from Eva and Rene's farm in Niagara so that he can
make us apricot jam, plum jam and pear jam. He's looking into local
raspberries too. So, there is hope. For now, let's support his efforts
to be more local by buying the two local varieties he has: Apple and
Cinnamon Pumpkin Apple. He labels these as "applebutters" but he says
they are very different than applebutter. They set much more firmly
and taste different. He's now calling it "apple jam".

Frozen Peas
Wish there were local frozen peas you could put in your freezer
without shelling yourself? I have 5 bags at 10lbs each to sell for
next week. First orders for them can have them. I'll also take orders
this week for frozen bags that will be delivered NEXT week.

Apricots and Plums
More luxurious fruits from Eva and Rene! Cherries are done but now we
have apricots, the first peaches and the first plums! The peaches are
not a great kind for canning because they cling to the pit but they
are great for fresh eating. And no herbicides, fungicides or waxes put
on them! I can hardly wait... I want to see the peach juice dripping
down my kids' arms and chins.

Cherries in a pail
I was looking into getting sweet and sour cherries in pail already
pitted. I cannot offer it for the low price that Central Fresh Market
is. I forget the price but it is good. So, please go there if you're
looking for pitted cherries ready for your freezer or jars.

Change to Baked Goods
I'm not happy with the baked goods from Bowman's Bakery. I'll be
buying from a few different bakeries in the next few weeks to see if
we can find one we like better. This week we'll be ordering from
Bread and Bretzel in north Waterloo.

Meal Ideas
This weekend the theme was CILANTRO! I put it in everything. In a
ceasar salad, in a brothy soup, next I'm going to put it in a wrap
with steamed green beans and cream cheese. I wish someone would come
roll us california rolls with fresh cilantro... Erna has a lot of
cilantro right now so seize the day. Also a lot of parsley for tabouli
or whatever salad you're making. Is there any salad parsley is NOT
good on? Jello salad. But that isn't really a salad.

Please email me to share how you are enjoying your local food. How's
the cheese? Should I keep ordering from there? I'll pass on meal
ideas to the whole group. Also, I'm eager to hear food storage ideas
from you too.

Happy Local Eating,
Nina

PS Does anyone have a box of one-sided paper that I could have? I
don't have a good source but I know there is tons of it out there. I
could print your pick-up slips on it.

Bailey's Buying Club

Hi Folks,

This week we're offering Millbank Cheese for the first time. They have
cheddar! Organic options too! We're only offering the small size now
(about a pound - .455 kg) but if you like it, we'll get bigger chunks
next time.

Also we have the year's first garlic.

What can you do with cherries, cheese and garlic? How about baby
potatoes and garlic sauteed and then old cheddar sprinkled on top.
Steamed green beans on the side and a fresh cherry tart for dessert.

Happy Local Eating,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club July 18

Morning Folks,

I'm typing with purple-stained hands. Of the 20 lbs of cherries I got
for my family, I only managed to put one quart bag in the freezer.
We're eating so many fresh. I do feel very satisfied with the
accomplishment of my one little bag, though. I know it doesn't sound
like much but I pitted them so it took about 25 min even with my handy
cherry pitter (which I'm happy to lend out - at $5 an hour. Just
kidding.) Natasha and Ann put up 10 jars of sweet cherries late
Friday night. They put them in with the pits and added a light syrup.
I hadn't thought of leaving the pits in but am tempted to do that now.
It's fine for eating them straight out of the jar - like candy.

I don't think I've ever baked with sweet cherries so I had to look
online for recipes. I found a Cherry Pudding Cake that I'm going to
try tonight (great weather for baking, I say). I also saw a Cherry
Salsa recipe that I want to try. Onion and sweet cherries together?
Hmmm...

This week is our first delivery of frozen pasture-raised chicken from
Miriam and Mervin Gingerich. They raised them especially for us and
we'll just be able to fill all the pre-orders. There is still time to
order chicken for the Aug and September deliveries. If you want to
order chicken for Aug or Sept. email me and I'll send you the form.

This is our first week for including the tropical fruits of ontario in
our order form. We are so lucky to live so near Niagara! We are also
so lucky to have connected with a farm there run by Eva and Rene who
use organic methods. Here is a description of their farming methods:

"Eva and Rene were organic farmers in Switzerland. As much as their
farm is not 'certified organic' they follow many of the organic
principles to provide healthy fruit to us. They use compost to give
their trees and fruit nutrition which helps to sustain the fruit after
it is picked which is why you get less rot and longer life than the
average fruit without the nutrients. Eva and Rene are opposed to using
harmful sprays that harm both us and the land. This is why many people
who don't usually tolerate cherries and peaches can tolerate the fruit
from Eva and Rene. When we have our peaches picked they are put aside
for us to avoid the sorting station where the mandatory fungicide
bath, fuzz removal and paraffin wax coating MUST take place. So this
fruit tastes the way the fruit was intended to taste."

We'll be offering these tropical fruits in the weekly order form as
they are available. This week we can order sweet cherries again (a
couple more weeks for the sweet cherry season) and the first Apricots
(Harcot apricots). These apricots are picked ripe. Eva says that
they do not ripen after being picked and so only her most skilled
pickers are put on the apricot trees. Next week will be the first
plums. Then come nectarines, peaches and then pears! All without
sprays!!! Eva does not have sour cherries so we're sourcing those
elsewhere (and they won't be unsprayed).

We also have raspberries beginning this week. We'll offer raspberries
on the order form but, once again, we'll have to see what the picking
is like this week and we may have to cancel the orders if there is not
enough. We'll be prioritizing filling the pre-orders for raspberries.

I'll get the order form out later today. As usual, it is due back Wed at 9PM.

Happy Eating,

Nina - and Wendell

PS Pick up is always Friday 3:30-6PM at our house 72A William St. W.

Bailey's Raspberries Later than Expected

Hi Folks,

The raspberry farmer called me yesterday to tell me the raspberries
are a week later than expected (he doesn't have a phone so I depend on
him to call me). This throws a wrench in our neatly organized pick up
schedule.

I've attached an excel file with all of your names and the revised
pick up days. Please look at it and make sure it has the amount you
intend to order and that you are able to pick up on that day. If not,
please consider asking a neighbour to pick up for you. I can also see
if it will work to switch you to a different pick up day if you email
me.

From the strawberry orders I've learned that I need to charge you for
your orders whether you pick them up or not. With fruits like this,
they are so perishable that when someone forgets to pick up an order
of fruit I am left with a significant investment that is quickly
rotting. I had to give away strawberries after a couple Fridays. It
was fun to bless people with beautiful berries - but it is not
sustainable for me to do that. I do not have the ability to keep
large orders of fruit chilled and do not want to run a big cooler for
just a few pints of berries. So... if the fruit is yours whether you
pick it up or not. I'll wait until Saturday morning to give it away
but will still need to charge you for it.
Thank you for your understanding,
Nina

Bailey's NEWS: No-Spray Tropical Fruits!!

Hi Fruit Lovers,

I can't wait until next week to tell you. I know I've already sent two
emails today (three counting the form!) but this is too exciting to
wait). I found someone who will connect us to no-spray tropical fruits
AND I can pick them up in Waterloo. This week there are two varieties
of sweet cherries available. The farmers use organic methods but are
not certified. See the explanation below:

" Due to the weather this year there have been many Ontario cherry
farmers who have had to abandoned their fruit trees because all the
cherries have split. Eva and Rene (the farmers) have cherries because
of the nature of their farming. They explained to me that they use
compost instead of chemical fertilizer so the trees are not forced
into producing large fruit at a fast pace. Because of this they have
only experienced some splitting compared to the other farmers in the
area.

The varieties available this week are 'Hedelfigen' which are smaller
than the 'Lapins' which is a jumbo cherry. Because the Hedelfingen are
a bit smaller (similar to the size of the Cavalier last week), the
price is $40.00 for 20lbs and $21 for 10lbs. The Lapin are a bigger
cherry and the price is $45.00 for 20lbs. and $24.00 for 10 lbs. "

Please let me know via email if you want any of these 10 or 20lb
amounts before Wednesday at 10AM.

In the future I'll include these on the order form.
Night,
Nina

Bailey's update: lower price for conventional raspberries

Hi Folks,

I will lower the price of conventional raspberries to $3.50 (is
currently $4.25 on the order form) if I get a minimum order of five
flats (12x5=60 pints) from the group. I'll make the adjustment on the
spreadsheet and your list for pick up day.
Night,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club

Hi Folks,

I've had a request to offer the sausages again. Apparently they
disappeared quickly at her house. So here they are and this time I'll
make sure to get the nitrate free weiners. As before, the sausage is
free of msg, nitrates, and gluten (from Stemmler's).

This is my first week selling eggs. They are from farmers near Elmira
that send them to OK Egg Farm to be graded. The ones I'm offering are
free-range in barns and fed a feed mixture with flax seed to add omega
three.

Tomatoes have been hard to source because only a few farmers are
growing them in greenhouses and everyone wants them with the
salmonella scare. I've offered them this week in smaller quantity in
case the new higher price is intimidating. Field tomatoes will be
coming in a few weeks so hang in there.

We are staying with a Friday pick up day. (Not moving to Wed.). Always 3:30-6.

I look forward to see you all on Fridays,
Nina

Bailey's Buying Club orders for tropical fruits of ON

Hi Folks,

I'm going to go ahead and send an order for some of the succulent
"tropical fruits" from the warmer areas of ON (still within 100 miles,
thank goodness!). I can not guarantee that I will secure these but I
will do my best. If I have your order then I know what kind of buying
power I have. The more I order, the more eager they will be to sell
and ship to me, I'm assuming. Here is what I'll try to source:

Sweet Cherries
Season: yesterday
Note: There was a late frost that zapped many of the blossoms. The
farmer I talked to said that the season was very short and is over
already.
Sour Cherries
Season: starting July 15
Uses: fresh eating if you like sour flavours, frozen for winter
baking, dried for granola, in breads and gorp
Note: I can get these already pitted and packed into 11lb pails with
or without sugar. You can then freeze them in the pail or in smaller
quantities.

Apricots and Peaches
Season: end of August? (I'm not sure!)
Uses: mmm, fresh peach juice running down the chin, canned to eat
straight up, canned or frozen for winter baking. Apricot platz is a
classic.

Pears
Season: September
Uses: fresh, pearsauce, canned to eat straight up, canned or frozen
for winter baking. Dried they are REALLY yummy too.
Note: I'd like to source Bartlett pears and Asian pears. The Asian
ones are the ones you eat crispy and they last longer for fresh fruit
to eat in December.

Blueberries
Season: Mid July to Mid August.
Uses: fresh like candy, frozen for winter baking, smoothies, and to
suck on frozen like little round popsicles.

How to order tropical fruits

Since this is the first year of doing this, I'm going to ask you to
fill out two order forms. First the ESTIMATED order form which is not
a real order form. This will help me in ordering the fruit from
farmers. Closer to the day of pickup I will send a REAL order form.
I don't know what most of the prices are yet. Please go ahead and
order assuming that you are okay with the price. Remember, this is not
a real order form and you will not be held to it.
I'm assuming that I'll only be able to find conventionally-grown
fruits. I'll keep asking for non-sprayed but place your order assuming
that they are conventional.
We'll probably only get one shipment of each of these (transporting
them is the big cost) so assume that you'll receive all you order in
one installment.
Can you place your ESTIMATED order by July 12 so that I can know what
sort of quantities I am looking for? If it is a small amount, I'll
source it differently than a truckload.
Feel free to invite others you know to place tropical fruit orders
through you. They can also order independently if you forward the
Google DOCS link to them.

Canola Oil and Sunflower Oil
I have a lead on local organic canola and sunflower oil. I could sell
it for $3 a litre but I can only get it in 1000 litre container! That
means each of us would need to buy 15 litres of oil. I'm guessing that
is too much. Let me know if you have ideas for how to sell/use 1000
litres of organic local canola or sunflower oil. Maybe your Aunt
makes 1000s of donuts and wants to use local oil?

Thank you,
Nina

PS I sent out an invite to view the raspberry order form so that you
can check what you've ordered if you've forgotten. First shipment of
raspberries is next week!

Bailey's Buying Club - Fruit Estimates

Hi Folks,

Remember, this is not a real order form. This is you helping me
estimate the quantities of tropical fruits I should reserve for us.

Thank you,
Nina

Bailey's Local Foods Buying Club July 4

Hello Folks,

Did you have some good local eating this weekend? We sure did. The
strawberry shortcake is what stands out in my mind. We also picked
saskatoon berries from a u-pick farm near Simcoe. YUM! Saskatoon
berries will be ripe here in a day or two. You can pick them for free
- they are growing all around KW. If you know what to look for you'll
start seeing them everywhere. They are similar to blueberries. They
freeze really well - if they last long enough to make it to the
freezer.

*** Bailey's Buying Club is staying with a Friday afternoon pickup (we
will not be moving to Wednesday) ***

My family and I went on a day trip to the Simcoe area to scout out
local food and have fun. We picked up local peanuts, peanut butter and
popcorn for you. I didn't have time to get orders from you before we
needed to go so these items will be on the "spontaneous purchase"
table. It was neat to meet the peanut farmers, Ernie and Nancy Racz,
and see all the yummy things they make from them. Like BBQ flavoured
peanuts. Even peanut and chocolate swirl icecream - sorry I couldn't
bring that back for you. It would've melted. I'll be taking orders
for peanuts products and popcorn in a few weeks so this week is your
chance to buy a few of each to try them decide which kinds you like
best. Non-perishable local food also makes a great host-gift, I was
realizing. "Thanks for having us for supper. Here's a jar of local
peanut butter."

We've got hamburger for the first time. I'm sourcing it from an old
friend Jeff Stager who raises them on pasture and give them grain. He
does not use hormones or steroids which, unfortunately, are the norm
elsewhere. This week we have just hamburger from him but later we'll
be getting roasts and sommersausage. He can sell 20lbs of hamburger
at a discount so try the hamburger this week and then you'll know if
you want to buy a larger amount. We'll be able to buy beef from Jeff
periodically throughout the year so you do not need to fill your
freezer with a year's worth of beef.

Did you get a chance to taste the turkey sausage samples on Friday?
Matthew grilled some for us. If you'd like some of this super-healthy
and super-yummy and eco-wonderful sausage, I'm going to be sending out
the chicken and turkey order form again today. The turkeys are raised
on pasture with no drugs. The sausage does not have nitrates or msg. I
can resend the ingredient list for the sausage if you ask me for it.
Chicken will be available July 18. Miriam and Mervin raised the birds
on pasture just for us and finally they are ready! There are still a
few available if you want to place an order you can do so on the form
I'm resending. I will also give you viewing access to the form so that
you can confirm what you ordered earlier - if you ordered (no one's
total is visible).

New fresh veggies for this week are: zuchinni, cabbage, and fresh
herbs. All unsprayed. So if you've been craving fresh pesto or a
brothy soup with dill - you can now have it - locally.

And, finally, CHEESE. I was so excited to find Jensen Cheese near
Simcoe (they even make cheddar!) but their factory is in Kingston!
Argh! So, sorry folks, no local cows-milk cheddar. I'm still looking.
We DO have more lovely cheese from Oak Grove Cheese factory in New
Hamburg again. Were you amazed how cheap it was last time? That was
because I forgot to mark it up! Consider it a birthday present. This
time I will be marking it up 25%. I'm only carrying it in larger
blocks. Remember, you can grate half of it and put it in the freezer.
Or sell half to a neighbour. When we buy in uncut blocks, it helps
keep the price down. Less packaging too!

See you on Friday,
Nina

PS If you have a child who would like to sell cookies/lemonade/tarts
with my kids at a pick-up day, let me know. We're happy to share the
prime location and the chance to learn all the skills that go along
with having a "stand".

PSS If you'd rather not receive these emails and don't want to order,
email me a "No Thank You" and I'll take you off of the list.