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
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