Hi Folks,
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Did you celebrate Canada Day by sharing local food? We didn't. We went out for Chinese. We DID celebrate two family birthdays this week with local sausages, hot dogs, buns, and DELUXE salads. Glorious feasts. Matthew accidentally discovered a great twist on the traditional broccoli salad. He put the Brick Hot Pepper cheese in the broccoli salad (you know the one, with bacon) thinking it was sundried tomato and garlic cheddar. The bits of hot zingy cheese in the salad were extremely tasty! You might want to warn the old ladies if you bring this version to the church potluck. No, I'm kidding. It wasn't very hot. Just a nice zing.
Do you feel like you are living in a rain forest? Imagine farming in this wetness! Selema said that the iceberg lettuce is rotting in the fields from the bottom up. The other head lettuces are faring better, thank goodness. Saloma Bowman said that the strawberry pickers (mostly teens) were out picking in the rain with plastic bags over their heads and as improvised rain coats. She said that they made it fun by slipping in the mud. The sun this weekend is much needed to dry the fields out and ripen the fruits and vegetables. Farmers are cautious to drive tractors in or even walk in wet fields. Walking in wet fields compacts the soil which makes it harder for roots to spread out and find the nutrients that they need.
Cherries this week?
Speaking of ripening fruits. We MAY get the first sweet cherries this week!! Our first fruits from Niagara! Those of you who were not a part of the buying club last year are in for a nice surprise. We offer fruits from Palatine Fruit and Roses in Niagara that are better than any soft fruits I've ever had before. They do not use chemicals. They pick the fruit at the perfect time for us and they grow varieties of many things that we cannot find in stores. So go ahead and order your first cherries. They offer them in 10 lb or 20 lb boxes. 10 lbs of cherries may sound like a lot but they are gone in about three days in our house - just eating them fresh! If you are wondering how to pit a lot of cherries to freeze them or make jams, pies, etc..., my mom uses a bobby pin. She pokes the curved end in and hooks the pit and pulls it out. I have a pitter I picked up at a garage sale but it is not much faster than the bobby pin. I also just tear them in half with my fingers and flick out the pit. It is juicy, red-staining work. I look like I just butchered a chicken with my bare hands when I'm done. I froze just one big bag of cherries last year and they were, of course, my favourite kind fruit to use in a smoothie and milkshake. We also offer cherries in litre baskets.
Deli meats and Sundried Tomato and Feta Sausages
We are offering Stemmler's deli meats and hot dogs again this week. They have changed the "rub" they put on the deli roast beef so that it does not contain sulphites anymore. We are also offering Sundried Tomato and Feta Sausages from Stemmler's. The feta and sundried tomatoes are not local but they are SO DARN GOOD. They have basil in them too, which is a lovely touch.
Hot Chili Sauce is a winner
If you are like me you just got a jar or two of the new preserves from Edna and Melinda of Country Flavour we offered last week to begin your taste-testing. The Hot Chili Sauce is REALLY GOOD. I'd use it as a salsa even. Now I know that I want to have a couple jars in the pantry ready to pull out. We won't offer the full selection every week but we are again this week.
Gifts of local food
Have you thought about giving local food as gifts these days? A bottle of maple syrup is always a welcome gift (unless the recipient is diabetic). Now that we have so many relishes and jams from Country Flavour, you could give an assortment of four in a basket or box. A small jar of honey would fit in that mix too.
Special on Natural Chicken
Traditional Foods Farms has an abundance of chicken in their freezer from last Fall that they need to move out to make room for this year's chicken. They raise their chickens without vaccines, hormones, or chemicals. This week you can get these whole chickens on special.
Bread from Neil at Rundles
I know that a lot of you like whole grains so we are adding a multigrain to the breads offered from Neil. A highlight of my day (Friday - pick-up) was standing at the counter in the kitchen and tearing off chunks of the sourdough from Neil, dipping it into plain cream on top yogurt and trying to eat it without dripping on my shirt. Have you tried dipping bread into plain yogurt? It is so satisfying and simple and perfect. A friend exposed me to the combo in high school and I've loved it ever since.
Eggs in Different Sizes
Why do most people want large eggs? Chickens lay a variety of sizes of eggs. We are now offering different sizes of eggs to help Farmers sell the other sizes. You get more bang for your buck with the small eggs. They are less than half the price of the large eggs AND are more than half the size of the large.
We are ready to grow!
Will you help us spread the word to other folks who value local food? We think that we can handle another one hundred families. If you know of a place that you'd like to put up a small poster for Bailey's Local Foods or flyers (your work? church? group?) send us an email. If you like the model of this local food buying club, tell your friends and neighbours how to register and order. You can mentor them :) Thank you in advance!
The asparagus and rhubarb are done. The strawberries have one last week. And now it is the beginning of cherries! Isn't this fun?
Blessings on you and your families,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca
P.S. We can use your strawberry boxes and egg cartons again if you return them.
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