Bailey's Ordering extended (again)! Ordering ends 8:00 Wednesday, June 30 for pickup on TUESDAY, July 6th

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Wednesday, June 30 for pickup on TUESDAY, July 6.
Items that you have placed in your shopping cart will be ordered on your behalf on Wednesday at 8:00pm. There is no checkout button. If you do not intend to order, please ensure that your shopping cart is empty.
 
Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

We're extending the ordering period to wednesday for this week as the reminder email did not go out as scheduled. In the coming weeks ordering will close on Tuesdays at 8:00 pm.

Have a wonderful long weekend and we'll see you on Tuesday with cherries!!!

Enjoy,

Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

Is this your first email from us?
Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

You are receiving this notification because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

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Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 29th.
Please be sure to read the wavier on our website when you log in. It reminds you that items placed your shopping cart are automatically saved (there is no 'checkout' button).

Items you order this week are to be picked up at St Mark's Lutheran Church (825 King Street West, Kitchener, ON) on Tuesday July 6 between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday June 29, 2010 at 8:00 PM (though we may extend it slightly).

For the following week ordering will be back to normal with a regular Friday pickup on Friday July 9th.
*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

Message from Rachael:

Sorry for the late email folks! I just got the CHERRIES on the order form! We will have big, dark sweet Lapin cherries available in 1 L boxes (green boxes from strawberries), 3L baskets or in 10 and 20 lb flats. Of course the flats are the best deal, so you can eat lots and maybe save some for winter? I've tasted some local cherries from the market on Saturday and it is looking to be a very good season for sweet tasty goodness!

Things you will find this week include lots of veggies, CHERRIES, eggs, cheese from Local Dairy, bread and sweets from Grainharvest and Circle of Life, the last of the asparagus (maybe?) from Barrie's Asparagus and tortilla chips and wraps from McKechnie Foods. You will be able to get Mapleton's yogurt and cheese and dips (MMMmmmm!) from Local Dairy.

This order is for pickup on TUESDAY July 6th at St Mark's Lutheran Church in Kitchener (between KCI and the Grand River Hospital). Due to the long weekend we will not have a pickup on Friday, July 2nd.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Rachael

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Message from Nina:

My stomach is growling so this may not be a good time to write about local food.  I'll probably end up gushing about how delicious everything is - again!  How can I not gush?  The food that is being delivered to us is such an array of flavours and textures and colours and deliciousness.  I thought the offerings in the winter were quite abundant and rich but as the season warms up, the newly ripened crops are like waves of pleasure crashing on my shore.  See, I shouldn't write about food when I'm hungry!  My analogies are bordering on inappropriate and ridiculous!  Can you feel the waves coming in?  Strawberries... peas... cherries next... then broccoli... and then...

Did you get fresh peas last week?  The shelling peas are really as close to candy as we get in the vegetable family.  They even come in a sexy little wrapper.  The less-than-mature shelling peas are my favourite. Little tiny peas inside that are all sweetness on the toungue.  If you're wanting to steam or freeze more than just a taste of fresh local peas, hang in there. We'll be getting 10lb bags of already-shelled peas (organic) from Mary Jane (the Niagara fruit connection).  I put 7 bags (70 lbs) in our freezer last year and they lasted us until May.  My two and four year old love to eat them frozen. I love them as a convenient vegetable side dish in the winter.  They also make a lovely creamed fresh pea soup.

Speaking of Mary Jane. She and her husband are the middle-folks who work hard to bring fruit to us from Rene and Eva at the Palatine Fruit and Roses farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  This farm is where we are getting the first cherries this order (June 6 - a Tuesday at St. Mark's Lutheran)!  We'll also be the lucky recipients of their plums, apricots, pears, peaches, the loveliest roses in Ontario, and heirloom tomatoes. We are so very happy to have found a farm that only uses chemicals as a last resort when the natural methods have failed. Here is a description of Rene and Eva's farming practices (see their website for more details http://www.palatineroses.com/fruit/.)

Our fruit is picked tree ripe, which results in exceptional flavour.
We are committed to producing an excellent product.

Insect Management
We focus in IPM (Integrated Pest Management).  The orchards and vineyards are scouted by individuals who are trained to recognize insects and diseases.  We only spray when insect numbers exceed a certain threshold.  We use sprays that have the least negative impact on beneficial insects, birds and animals.  Products such as molasses, oils, clay and Growers Nutrional Solutions are used to enhance the health of the trees and vines.
Fungus Management
We also use IPM methods and the services of scouts for fungus management.  We prefer to use sulfur, copper and 35% hydrogen peroxide.

fiore di latte
It's a cheese that I kind of tore into during last week's buying club as my supper and was disappointed at how bland it was (not aged and no salt).  Rachael and Maryrose convinced me it was a lovely fresh mozzarella and gave me instructions for putting it salted in a tomato salad with olive oil. I made my salad on Sunday and it WAS lovely! So it's not a cheese that I'd recommend eating plain but with some salt and complementary flavours it is delish.  It's worth trying just for the lovely name.

Local Food Blog
If you like reading about local food, check out the blog from Foodlink's "Roving Locavore."  She (I think it is a she) wrote about a trip to pick strawberries last week at http://www.foodlink.ca/local-dish

This order (Tuesday, July 6 at St Mark's Lutheran Church in Kitchener) look for:

• Easy appetizers for summer gatherings: dips from Local Dairy, crusty bread and cheeses (Local Dairy's mozzarella is creamy and good with a sourdough bread), selection of pickles for a Pickle Platter (pickled beans, carrots, cucumbers sweet, cucumbers garlic)
• Easy salads: lettuces galore with grape tomatoes, green onions, and the Goat Cheddar with herbs and garlic (or feta).
• Garlic scapes to make a fresh pesto (replace basil with scapes)
• Pear-Apple sauce for popsicles
• Canned Pear and peach slices to make sangria!
• Three varieties of peas for snacking and meals
• Small fresh onions (under the sub-category "onions")
• Mapleton's blueberry yogurt (it's like dessert!)

Yours in solidarity with farmers and eaters who care,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

P.S. We can use your fruit baskets and jars from preserves again if you return them.

Is this your first email from us? Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

Bailey's Ordering extended! Ordering ends 8:00 Tuesday, June 22

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Tuesday, June 22 for pickup on Friday, June 25.
 
Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

You asked for it and we've done it. The ordering window is extended until Tuesday at 8:00 pm. Happy ordering!

Items that you have placed in your shopping cart will be ordered on your behalf on Tuesday at 8:00pm. There is no checkout button. If you do not intend to order, please ensure that your shopping cart is empty.
Let Summer begin!

Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

Is this your first email from us?
Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

You are receiving this notification because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

If you do not wish to receive Notifications in the future, please uncheck the Notifications box associated with your email address in Account Settings at https://www.100milesystems.com/baileyslocalfoods.ca/account.php

Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Friday, June 25, 2010

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, June 22nd.
Please be sure to read the wavier on our website when you log in. It reminds you that items placed your shopping cart are automatically saved (there is no 'checkout' button).

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

IMPORTANT CHANGES
Longer Ordering Window!
We've heard from some of you that ordering on the weekend is hard to do so we're extending the ordering window to Tuesday evening at 8pm! Thank you for your comments.

Tuesday Pick-Up Postponed
Okay, hold the horses. We are not ready to expand to Tuesdays yet. Our Friday sales are not high enough to justify running a pick-up twice a week. When Friday's pick-up is bursting at the seams then we will open a Tuesday pick-up.  You'll be the first to know.

Foodbank Donations
Please note that we will continue sending donations to the food bank and also sending the list of who has donated so that receipts can be issued. Anyone who has donated $10 or more between January and June will get a receipt for tax purposes.

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Message from Rachael:

Erma will be baking shortcake again for Friday. Wouldn't it be amazing with fresh strawberries?

I wanted to share a couple hidden gems from our suppliers:

• Tracy says that the Soy Sauce from Pristine Gourmet is the best she's ever tasted! If you want to take her word for it, grab some for yourself in the 'other' section. Once their crops are planted they will be coming to share samples of their vinegars, oils and sauces, but in the mean time take a peek at them on the spontaneous table or try them for yourself!
• Have you tried Louisa's Horseradish? It's called 'Triple H' and stands for 'Horst's Hot Horseradish'. I know that this is not the season for roast beef with horseradish, but did you know how easy it is to make your own seafood sauce? Well, I know how hard it is to find local shrimp, but if you're serving it up anyway, why not make your own cocktail sauce? It' as easy as mixing horseradish and ketchup (and a little tabasco if the horseradish isn't spicy enough for you). Since I'm giving out secrets, I'll let you know that you can make your own tartar sauce by mixing mayo and relish. Erma's BBQ relish would make your fish and chips a happier meal! We hope to offer local ketchup from Country Flavour soon!

If you are looking for bedding plants (vegetables and flowers) you are welcome to visit Lena Burkhart of Burkhart Greenhouses. The address is 4352 Ament Line, Wellesley, ON N0B 2S0. Lena says that it's on the road to Linwood (Road 17), 7 minutes West (left) of the St Jacob's roundabout. She has white and pink begonias, salmon pink impatiens, red pink yellow and white geraniums as well as planters. If you want to plant vegetables, you can catch her end of season seedling sales on tomatoes, peppers and more from 8am to 8 pm Monday to Saturday.

Cheers,
Rachael

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Message from Nina:

Posters for Bailey's Local Foods
Posters and email blurbs are now ready to share the good news of easy local food at work, at a church, and with your email loops.  The best promo is always your testimony of why you buy local food and why you like grocery shopping through Bailey's. Let us know if you want a poster or blurb.

Saskatoon Berries
There's a new local fruit that is ready to harvest - and it is free!  All around Waterloo you'll notice Saskatoon Berry trees/bushes (aka Service Berries) if you start looking.  The berries start out green, then turn red and are ripe when they are dark purple. They taste similar to a blueberry but are a bit seedier.  My kids love them and love foraging for them in the Waterloo Park and Recreation Centre.  If you want to see an example of them so that you can identify others, check out the bushes right in front of the Rec Centre (ramp behind them and sidewalk in front).  When we were picking there last year we got a lot of curious looks and some people were worried that we were letting our children eat poisonous berries.  At least three people tasted berries after asking us what we were doing.

Meal Idea
In honour of the backyard chicken coup tour that is happening on Saturday (June 19, see http://www.waterloocooptour.com/) I'm going to tell you how to make our family's favourite breakfast: Egg Burritos (a great lunch too!).  I use McKechnie's whole wheat tortillas, Millbank's old cheddar (melted on the tortilla) and eggs from the hens in our backyard.  I fry the eggs over-easy and then put two on top of a melted cheese and close up the tortilla around it.  The egg yolk is like a sauce inside the burrito that makes it drippy and so good.  Add a salad or steamed greens and you've got lunch. Add rhubarb coffee cake and you've got a June feast!

New Sesame Sourdough Bread on Order Form
I've discovered a new favourite bread! AND it is about 80% local!  It was so good I did not want to share it with my kids.  Here is a some info from the makers of that incredible loaf:
New Wood-fired Bread Baker: Polestar Hearth
Polestar Hearth is a cottage industry making bread the slow, old-fashioned way, baked in a brick oven, using only grain, water, sea salt and culture. Polestar Hearth is a cottage industry making bread the slow, old-fashioned way, baked in a brick oven, using only grain, water, sea salt and culture. Our website is www.polestarhearth.com.

Sesame Sourdough is the foundation of our reputation; it's a formula we've been perfecting for years.   The deep yet delicate flavour develops from a simple mix of wheat flour and cracked rye rolled in sesame seeds.  It's elegant enough to serve to guests and yet sustaining and simple enough to eat every day.

We are very excited to say that we are currently making the Sesame Sourdough exclusively with local organic grains. Our breads are raised only with wild yeast, giving a unique depth of flavour, and a long shelf life.

The heart of our business is our beautiful woodfired brick oven which bakes up to 40 loaves at a time on the hot brick hearth.  You'll notice the unique quality of the crust and the satisfyingly chewy crumb, and you'll miss this bread when you run out!

In Bread, Jesse & Kelly

This week look for:

• The last of the strawberries?  We've had too much wet for the strawberries, they may not produce much longer.
• Flours and grains from Oak Manor
• New Sesame Sourdough Bread from Polestar (limited quantity available)
• Peas!!!
  

Some of our suppliers will be offering their items every other week

• Flours and grains from Oak Manor (this week)
• Honey from Bauman Apiaries (next week)

In love with life and taking time for simple pleasures,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

P.S. We can use your fruit baskets and jars from preserves again if you return them.

Is this your first email from us?Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

Ordering ends 8:00pm Sunday, June 13

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Sunday, June 13 for pickup on Friday, June 18.
 
Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

From Rachael:

Vibrant Beef

Are you a beef lover? We will soon have more organic beef from Vibrant Farms. If you want input on the cuts available please fill out the form at http://sn.im/vibrantfarms and tell us what you want! Now they need less rain so that the cherries don't split.

Golden Hearth Baking

Did you notice that breads and other treats from Golden Hearth are back on the order form? Golden Hearth is the only place in town that you can get 100% local bread. Their 100 mile organic Spelt is made from local organic spelt and the sourdough starter means that even the yeast is local! The catch with the spelt bread is that we need to order a minimum of 6 loaves. If you like it consider getting two loaves! Janet says that she misses their Flax Raisin Walnut bread and I miss feeling the bags of warm foccacia as we take it out of the box. I miss the chocolate macaroons too!

More Plants

Candace from Transpire Organic CSA (http://www.transpireorganic.ca/) has more seedlings for us! Look for herbs, tomatoes, peppers, squash and Brussels sprouts.

Cherries are early this year!

Get your tastebuds ready! Word on the street is that if the weather stays warm the sweet cherries will be 2-3 weeks early this year. I had some tonight from a friend's tree and wow, were they great!

Donations
We have a convenient option for you to donate to local food programs through Bailey's. We provided local beans to the Waterloo Region Food Bank with the money you donated in January and February. Donations over $10 (from January through June and again July through December of the 2010 year) are eligible for a tax receipt. We will be donating 100% of what you give to the food bank directly or by sending local food from our suppliers in the coming months.

Items that you have placed in your shopping cart will be ordered on your behalf on Sunday at 8:00PM. There is no checkout button. If you do not intend to order, please ensure that your shopping cart is empty.

Enjoy!

Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

Is this your first email from us?
Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

You are receiving this notification because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

If you do not wish to receive Notifications in the future, please uncheck the Notifications box associated with your email address in Account Settings athttps://www.100milesystems.com/baileyslocalfoods.ca/account.php

Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Friday, June 18, 2010

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes at 8:00 pm on Sunday, June 13th.
Please be sure to read the wavier on our website when you log in. It reminds you that items placed your shopping cart are automatically saved (there is no 'checkout' button).

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

From Nina:
Strawberries
I used to love strawberries. They are a funky little fruit: no annoying seeds or pits, sexy red and they come in all shapes and sizes - and flavours!  If you've ever tasted different kinds of strawberries it's striking how different they can taste.  Some varieties, I've noticed, taste sweetest when they are orange-red but if you wait for them to get blood red, they taste "off" - kind of winey.  Other varieties don't taste really sweet until they are blood red.  When Mona was one year old she taught me that white strawberries taste pretty darn good. She kept picking them from the garden before they turned red. I was trying to tell her that it was not a good idea but then I tasted a white one and realized why she was ignoring me.  I don't know if all white strawberries taste nice (not GREAT) but the day-neutral variety that we grow are sweet. 

My first off-the-farm job when I was a kid was selling strawberries at the local patch. I was 11 and too young to work on my own. My grandma was 71 and she thought she was too old to work on her own but together we made the perfect team.  She'd drive us to the patch (I was too young to drive) at 5:30am when the summer mornings were chilly and wet.  The patch was next to a large nursing home and seniors townhouses so by 6am the patch was murmuring with white heads bobbing up and down as they picked their way up the rows.  It was a great first job. I had to do a lot of adding and multiplying, I got to practice talking to adults and looking them in the eyes, I learned how to be welcoming and helpful, and I could eat all the strawberries I wanted.  Soon I strawberries weren't quite so exciting or delicious. I still LIKE the little gems, I just don't love them. My new love is blueberries but don't get me started on those.

If you're wondering why strawberries cost what they do, go pick a few flats of strawberries and then think about how much you'd charge to sell those flats. Yep, back-aching work.  Picking strawberries also takes a long time because unless it is peak season you have to pick many many feet of rows searching for the red ones.  Pushing the leaves aside carefully to find the ones hiding just beyond your reach.  Strawberries also cost more than carrots because farmers have to take care of the plants ALL YEAR.  Strawberry plants produce for 2-4 years and need to be kept weed-free, watered, and safe from pests all that time!  It takes a lot of labour hours to mulch and weed and monitor those rows of plants all year.  Another reason that the strawberries are worth every penny is if they are organic, they are safer to eat - and harder to grow.  Strawberries are on the "dirty dozen" list of fruits and vegetables that are best to buy organic. Here's the list:

The Dirty Dozen (Buy These Foods Organic):

1. Apples
2. Cherries
3. Grapes
4. Nectarines
5. Peaches
6. Pears
7. Raspberries
8. Strawberries
9. Bell Peppers
10. Celery
11. Potatoes
12. Spinach

If you're wanting to freeze strawberries, get them while you can.  Frozen strawberries are a winter necessity at our house for smoothies. Miriam says that the strawberry season will be short - "bam bam" - she said.  She is not seeing many more flowers on the plants so that means no more fruits coming on.

Tuesday Pick Up Starts June 22
Next week you can choose if you want to pick up your order on Tuesday or Friday (or both!)  Some of you said that it was hard to pick up food on Fridays when you were heading out of town to camp or cottage. Next week you can pick up your food on Tuesday and if you don't eat it all you can take some along on Friday to the cottage.  Our Tuesday pick up is at St. Mark's Lutheran Church (825 King St. West, Kitchener) betwee Grand River Hospital and KCI. Bring your friends and come out to our new location. Parking is in the public lot across King Street (at Green) and after school hours (4 pm) you can park in the Kitchener Lot beside KCI. You can also take the bus to the church's doorstep. Entry is from the double brown doors to the Parking Lot off Green Street.

Meal Ideas
Let's see, what are we cooking these days?  I made roast and mashed potatoes for 20 on Saturday. The only thing that would've been easier than that is roast potatoes but the birthday boy loves his mashed potatoes and gravy.  Meals with a roast from the crockpot are so easy to make and I love using the leftover roast and juices in soups.  Matthew made a lovely vegetable soup with the almost secret ingredient of asparagus.  He slices the asparagus into thin little slices that the kids seem to never notice.  Mixed with celeriac, green onions, carrots, canned tomatoes, barley, thyme and leftover roast and gravy it is easy to not notice the asparagus.  We're going to put thin slices of asparagus into the freezer this year to throw into winter soups.  No need to blanch, just slice and throw into a bag and into the freezer. I took the soup to work and had it for lunch with a thick wedge of old cheddar. YUM.

I was hungry for rhubarb custard pie so I googled "rhubarb custard bars" and found a lovely simple recipe that was super easy. Press crust.  It was so tasty and easy I thought I'd try a savoury version with asparagus. Bad idea.  Had to give the chickens most of it.

Local Dairy Yogurt
If you've received Perth County yogurt that wasn't quite set or seemed unusual, let us know and you will get a free replacement.  Sometimes yogourt cultures are not 100% reliable in how they set. 

Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable
Did you know that Waterloo Region is seen as a leader in the local food movement? One of the reasons is that we have the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable here.  Some of our members are also members of the roundtable - me too.  They'll have a booth at the pick up on Friday where you can check out their website and become a member too. It's a great way to connect with other Foodies.  http://www.wrfoodsystem.ca/  See the events listed for events related to food system change.  There's one June 22 at KPL on GMO foods 6:30-8:30pm.

Little City Farm offers fresh loose-leaf teas!
Homestead Herbals loose-leaf teas are grown for you by Karin Kliewer and Greg Roberts at Little City Farm in Kitchener.  Karin has studied traditional herbalism, apprenticed on several herb farms, and is a certified Master Herbalist.  She loves working with herbs, creating natural healing products including teas, soaps and salves, for the eco-minded family. 

About the loose-leaf teas, Karin says: "These are quality teas, harvested at their peak, dried to perfection in small batches, and carefully packaged for you in an attractive reusable tin.  We enjoy drinking these blends all season long, as they make wonderful medicinal brews in the winter months, and refreshing iced teas in the summer.  It's difficult to choose a favourite - Greg likes the After Dinner tea, I drink large quantities of the Women's Blend, and our two-year old daughter Maya loves a cup of Sweet Dreams tea before bed.  However, if we had to, we'd probably say that right now our family favourite is the 5-Mint Medley.  Watch for it, as this season's new batch is coming soon to Bailey's Local Foods! Thank you for supporting our small enterprise and we hope you will enjoy the teas!  If you are interested in the events and workshops we hold at Little City Farm, or learning about the daily life on our urban homestead, please visit our website and blog."

Also, If you return the tins from tea, Karin will reuse them!

Little City Farm website:http://www.littlecityfarm.ca
Little City Farm blog: http://www.littlecityfarm.blogspot.com

Look for:

• Zucchini from Paul Bowman
• Small fresh onions (1-1.5 inches across) from Ervin and Lena Horst
• Organic greenhouse tomatoes - seconds from Ervin and Lena Horst's son
• Napa Cabbage and Bok Choi from Elvina Bauman
  

Yours in thankfulness for local food,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

P.S. We can use your fruit baskets and jars from preserves again if you return them.

Is this your first email from us? Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

You are receiving Nina's messages because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

Ordering ends at 8pm on Sunday + Strawberries for June 11!

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8pm on Sunday, June 6 for pickup on Friday, June 11.
 
Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

From Rachael:

Did you enjoy this treat of a Weekend? What a gorgeous Saturday for one that had a chance of rain.

We enjoyed gardening Saturday morning (thanks Mom!) and then celebrated my daughter's sixth birthday dinner outside with family. Smoked chicken and ribs, tomato and bocconcini salad, Bistro Mix with some Wild Arugula added for good measure, and a Jerusalem Artichoke and Asparagus salad dressed with creme fraiche too. We ended the meal with ice cream cake, strawberries and chocolates from Anna Tolazzi. Maybe I should have bought two boxes of chocolate! Mmmm!

A Couple Notes

• Magnolia Catering now has very tasty Rhubarb Loaf and Butter Tarts in the 'Baked Goods' section and Sunflower Flax Bread in the "Loaves and Buns" Section. All are gluten free!
  
• We're trying hard to get strawberries for you. We hope to have lots on Friday, but those little gems need to ripen first. You'll find more strawberries on the order form now. Exciting? YES!
• Look for Sorrel from Soiled Reputation. I asked Antony from Soiled Reputation what to do with Sorrel and this was his suggestion: Sorrel is a wonderful accompaniment, in cream, to salmon!  Take 1 shallot, diced and sweat in olive oil 'till soft.  Add 1/2 cup dry white wine, reduce to a syrup.  Add 1 cup 35% cream, and 1 cup chopped sorrel, bring to a gentle boil and spoon over grilled salmon, then say "Ta da".

 Donations
We have a convenient option for you to donate to local food programs through Bailey's. We provided local beans to the Waterloo Region Food Bank with the money you donated in January and February. Donations over $10 (from January through June and again July through December of the 2010 year) are eligible for a tax receipt. We will be donating 100% of what you give to the food bank directly or by sending local food from our suppliers in the coming months.

Items that you have placed in your shopping cart will be ordered on your behalf on Sunday at 8:00PM. There is no checkout button. If you do not intend to order, please ensure that your shopping cart is empty.

Cheers,
Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods

Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Friday, June 11, 2010

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes on Sunday, June 6 at 8:00PM.
Please be sure to read the wavier on our website when you log in. It reminds you that items placed your shopping cart are automatically saved (there is no 'checkout' button).

*** Mark Sunday, August 15th on you calendar for Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck in Waterloo Park! We have reserved the Servery by the Bandshell for our group! More details to come!

From Nina:

It feels so much like summer it seems like we should be eating watermelon every day already.  I'm always impatient for the first local fruit and the heat wave was not helping.  I heard that someone saw strawberries at the St. Jacobs farmers market.  Wow! That's early!  We'll get some as soon as we can get our hands on them.  Paul Bowman thinks he'll have a limited quantity ripe for June 11!

Grilling Season
Why is it so satisfying to sizzle meat over a fire? It must be something primal.  Our family has resisted a gas grill so far and so we enjoy our wood-grilled local meats over the fire pit in the backyard.  It means we don't grill every other day like we would if we had a gas grill. It also means that when we do grill, it is a ritual that fills the backyard with savoury smoke and it takes about two hours from building the fire to grilling and then sitting around the fire as it ebbs.  Some might call it slow food. We've learned to grill twice as much meat as we'll need so that we can use it in the next day's menu or put it in the freezer for a pizza topping the next week.  Grilled hamburger on pizza is heavenly.

We had extra grilled sausages this week (Berkshire garlic and honey garlic) from Traditional Foods.  I sliced them and stirred them into Small Red Mexican Beans I had soaked and boiled the day before.  Added green garlic and onions, couple cans of diced tomatoes, chili powder... and simmered it in the crock pot a few hours.  It thickened to a lovely "baked beans" kind of dish that the kids snarfed up.  It's the sausage. Anything with sausage and the two year old will ask for seconds.  It was a good opportunity to teach them the beans song about musical fruit.  That song should be a part of every kid's childhood. If you don't know it, I'll teach it to you.  I've not met a kid who does not appreciate that song.

Membership Fee
Many of you will notice that your membership fee is added to this or last week's order.  It is automatically added to your order 12 months from when you first registered.  If you're wondering what that fee pays for, we use it to help cover the costs of rent to the churches ($225 a day at First United), fees to the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Insurance, printing costs, and occasional dark fair-trade chocolate to fuel late night behind the scenes computer work.

New Ordering Schedule
I've heard from a few of you that you missed the last two ordering windows. Don't despair! You'll get into the swing of things. WRITE DOWN REMINDERS ON YOUR CALENDAR. I'm not yelling. Just writing in caps in case you're skimming :)  One member said that she gave her 12 year old the responsibility of placing the order each week and the kid loved it!  As long as your 12 year old is not gaga over the sparkling cider and ordering it by the case, it might be a win-win situation.  She learns about the costs of food, source of foods, budgeting, and the big "R" (responsibility) while the parent always has an order of local food waiting to be picked up on Friday (or Tuesday). It's like a CSA box where your kid decides what goes in it. Maybe she'll even eat the vegetables eagerly if she orders them.

Inspire a Friend
I know that many of you are doing this already and we thank you.  Your concrete stories of what you order, how and what you are cooking are the most powerful ways to make a new way of local shopping and eating feel FUN and easy.  You are mentors in the local food field.  Now we are ready to grow (Tuesday pick up opening in less than two weeks!) and our farmers and suppliers are eager to grow with us.  We are ready for an influx of new members (and old members!) who decide to make Bailey's a part of their weekly schedule. Perhaps you've gotten out of the routine of ordering through the winter, welcome back!  Now is a great time to see how local food fits into your life.  One member told me that she lost weight and saved money by joining Bailey's and eating almost 100% local food.  I did not get a before and after photo of her so I can't share that, unfortunately :)  I certainly am not losing weight eating local food but I guess it all depends on what you are used to eating. 

If you inspire a friend to join Bailey's, TELL US. We want to hear the good news of your powers of persuasion :)

Inspiring Backyards
Do you ever wish you could collect fresh eggs from your backyard? Did you know that there are people raising chickens inside the City of Waterloo who collect fresh eggs every day? It’s true!
 
Want to see how we do it? The Waterloo Hen Association is hosting a Chicken Coop Tour to raise awareness about the reality of backyard chickens. This is your chance to visit with actual urban chicken keepers and learn about coops, chicken varieties, and the joys of garden fresh eggs.  This is a free, self-guided, mapped tour through Waterloo neighbourhoods that will take you to several different styles of coop: from a simple “Chicken Tractor” to elaborate Multi-room designs. You can visit one coop, or you can visit them all.  Our family is one of the coops on the tour. Come visit us at 72A William St. W. Waterloo (down a long lane behind 70).

The tour runs on Saturday, June 19th from 10am to 2pm. On the day of the tour, pick up your map at the Waterloo Public Square, at the corner of King St. and Willis Way. Details are available at http://www.waterloocooptour.com. See the poster at http://www.waterloocooptour.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Waterloo-Chicken-Coop-Tour-2010.jpg
Foods to look for this week:

• Limited strawberries are available (if they ripen!) Even hard-to-find organic strawberries!
• Oak Manor grains and flours are on the order form again. Check out the sale on oat flakes.
• Feta for those tomato salads
• New flavours of tortilla chips
• Buns for your grilled hot dogs and sausages (tofu too!)
  
• Vinegars for salads (raspberry infused red wine vinegar is my favourite)
  

In celebration of this intoxicating season of local goodness,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

P.S. We can use your fruit baskets and jars from preserves again if you return them.

Is this your first email from us? Read more at baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.com.

You are receiving Nina's messages because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.