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Many of our main categories (vegetables, meat, baked goods, etc.) have subcategories. Look for them under the main categories. If you hadn't noticed them yet, you can now check out the beef, pork, cheese and other products that you may have been missing! If you can't find the jam, look in the 'jam' subcategory under 'preserves'!
Some notes from Rachael:
There are quite a few new items that have been added this week!
Lots of jams and preserves from this year's harvest. New items from Traditional Foods (including the Farmer's Treasure box, Summer Sausage, fresh and smoked sausage in new varieties and mini-pepperettes!) can be found this week. Unfortunately Bulk garlic is just about gone but the endive and big turnips are ready! I haven;t heard back from the turkey farmer on prices and availability so I will add those once I hear.
Kingwood Farms is offering bulk squash too! Perfect for winter storage. I heard about Delicata squash last fall and have looked forward to eating them for almost a year now. Wow are they tasty. The skin is even edible.
Prices for Martin's Apples have gone up a bit this week. Consider last week an introductory special where the delivery costs were on us!
Cheers,
Rachael
Hello all you Eaters,
How is the eating going? Our growing season is almost over. It is almost time to celebrate the harvest! Have you sucked the goodness out of all fresh fruits and vegetables this season? I have a few regrets. I did not pick strawberries this year. I need to pick strawberries or I feel like I missed something basic. I used to work in a strawberry patch selling the berries. I started when I was eleven in partnership with my grandma. We made a good team. I was too young to work on my own and she was too old. We'd drive the five miles to the patch when the sky was just turning light (very early in June!) and set up in the cold dewy grass. Sigh. So I regret not picking strawberries this year. But besides that I feel like I savoured every crop that came ripe. Now for the apple season. Then squash and nuts. Then cabbage - glorious cabbage. And carrots. If you are not able to order on Oct 9 for Thanksgiving, now is your chance.
Carrots
Speaking of carrots, have you noticed how crisp and sweet they are?? I have to apologize because the carrots last week (Sept 18) that said they were from Eva and Sidney Weber actually came from their neighbour Paul and Saloma Bowman (organic instead of no-spray). It was a last minute switch that Eva and Paul arranged because Eva wanted another week for her carrots to grow bigger and Paul had carrots he needed to dig. I did not think it would matter but Paul's carrots were not nearly as crisp and sweet as Eva's! So, now we're back to buying Eva's - as long as they last. Eva says that she searched for this carrot for a long time. When her children were little she was looking for "a carrot that little children would love to eat." One that "chews easier," she said. She kept experimenting with different varieties over the years until she found this one. It is a "coreless" variety. Thank you, Eva, for persevering to find a carrot that little children will love. My kids eagerly eat your carrots.
Frosts and Brussels Sprouts
So the farmers are telling me that they've had two mild frosts already. Selema says that means the turnips will be nice and sweet. I hear that it makes brussels sprouts and carrots sweeter too. We DO have brussels sprouts on the order form this week for you brussels sprout lovers out there. They are the cutest little miniature cabbages in a bowl.
Sweet Corn to Freeze
The sweet corn is going strong. Now is your chance to freeze a few little bags of the gold. You don't have to freeze 11 dozen, just buy and cook an extra dozen and then cut the kernels off of the cob of any your family does not eat at supper. Local sweet corn in chili tastes way better than those big honkin' tough corn kernels they call "sweet corn" at the grocery store.
Meal Idea
I've been totally uncreative in the cooking department lately. I can tell you what Matthew made last night. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a mushroom gravy made with beer. Sweet golden beets on the side. So good! The golden beets are even sweeter than the red.
I tried Lena's simple baked squash idea and it was delicious! Even our kids ate it well! I think what helped them is that they had a choice of different baked squash so they could decide if they liked the orange or yellow kind better. We let them put on generous amounts of butter, salt and pepper. We had it with steamed broccoli, a lettuce salad with walnuts, pears, raisins, and goat cheese - and bread. So simple and so good. Even better was lunch the next day when I took the leftover squash to work with walnuts and feta on top. It was fun to compare the different flavours and textures of the squash varieties. I think we ate 4-5 squash in two days.
White Organic Apples
I was just talking to Pete the organic apple farmer on the phone. He was telling me why his apples have a white dust on them. They use Kaolin Clay on the apples as they are growing on the tree to deter pests from taking a bite. The clay is an edible mineral that is found in toothpaste and used as an anti-caking agent in products. It is considered completely safe for humans and and the environment. Pete does not have a washer so the apples are not pre-washed. To remove the clay from the apples just wash with water. No need for soap.
Items to Note
- Turkeys - This is our first week offering turkeys. They are raised by Kevin and Anne Snyder who live near Breslau. Kevin and Anne do not give the turkeys drugs and they mix their own feed on the farm so they know exactly what goes into it. That means no animal by-products or bakery wastes. We offered their turkeys last year and they were lovely. We'll be offering these turkeys for two weeks now and then again close to Christmas. They are slaughtered in an inspected facility and frozen. You can choose between a bigger or smaller turkey.
- Big Squash - Do you prefer a big gorgeous stuffed squash on your table instead of a turkey? If so, we'll have a big lovely hubbard variety this week called Red October from Elmeda and Amos Martin (who provide us with maple syrup). These squash will keep for months in a cool dry place (not the basement). A sample was on the table with the pickup slips on Friday.
- Pickled Carrots - They sound delish. I can't wait to taste them.
- Canned Peaches- these are grown near Vienna, ON by Martin's Family Fruit Farm and canned by Melinda and Edna Brubacher who also make our hot jams and other preserved goodies.
Are you a researcher?
I'm looking for someone who wants to evaluate how the buying club is working for members. It shouldn't be me because members may not be honest with me in an effort to protect me from criticism. Any of you want to organize a little evaluation and do phone interviews with buying club members to research the barriers to ordering and what keeps members ordering regularly? If we want to change the local food system, we need to understand why some families buy 50% local food and other families with the same incomes buy 5% local. What are the psychological, financial, scheduling, and exhaustion barriers that keep us from buying more local food? If you're interested in this project, email us.
Yours in love with local food and local farmers,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca
P.S. We can use your fruit boxes and jars from preserves again if you return them.
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