Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Bailey's Local Foods ordering ends at 8:00 pm on Tuesday August 24th

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Tuesday, August 24th for pickup on Friday, August 24th

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

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.

Message from Rachael:


Hi everyone!

I'd like to remind you that we will not be holding a pick up next week (September 3rd) due to the long weekend. Stock up on eggs, yogurt, cheese, meat and more for all your long weekend fun! We'll see you again on September 10th!

This is the last week for blueberries and peaches, so get your canning, freezing and jam making done now!!

Be sure to check out:
  • Fresh Spanish onions from Lena Horst for the last week (we now have dried onions from her too!) and all the other great varieties of onions available from Lena Burkhart
  • Braided garlic from Paul Bowman
  • Leeks and celery seconds (for soup) from Edward and Selema Martin
  • Ginger Gold and Paula Red apples from Martin's Family Fruit Farm
  • Multigrain organic bagels from Grainharvest
  • Flour and other grains from Oak Manor
  • Pickled products from Barrie Bros. and chips and tortilla from McKechnie - have you tried their tamales?
  • Wonderful teas from Little City Farm!
Some more information about our fruit from Mary Jane:

This week we have 2 varieties of blue plums, peaches from the 'Flamin' Fury' peach series called 'PF24' and Bartlett pears!

The two varieties of blue plums this week are both excellent quality plums. (we will have some of each for you to choose)

First is the Valor plum. It is a larger plum with a deep violet-blue skin and yellow flesh. It is sweet for eating fresh and is very good for baking in desserts. It also freezes well for future baking! 
The Verity plum is also a larger plum that is sweet for eating. It is also considered a 'dual-use' plum!

We will have more Italian plums in about 2 weeks for those of you still looking to can plums!


For the past 2 weeks you have been enjoying peaches from the 'Stellar' peach series developed by Jim Friday. This week we have the PF24 peach which is from the 'Flamin' Fury' series of peaches developed by Paul Friday (thus the 'PF' in the name)...Jim's cousin. The Friday family have been breeding fruit since they came to Michigan in 1846 and the farm has been in the family for 162 years! Both Fridays are one of the few private breeders left! Paul and Jim were always competing to create the best peaches! I think they both succeeded. But you can taste for yourself! If we run out of PF24 peaches for this order, we will fill the rest of the orders with the All-star peach (a Stellar peach) so you won't have to go without peaches!

The PF 24 peaches are large (although a bit smaller this year with less rain), nicely coloured peaches with a firm flesh and is of excellent quality. It is freestone and is an all purpose peach - canning, cooking, baking, freezing, drying and as always..fresh eating! Enjoy!
 
The Bartlett pears is known for being 'the' pear for canning. When it ripens is has a soft yellow skin and a juicy creamy texture and gives off a sweet aroma. They are great for eating fresh or adding to salads. Along with being good canners they are also excellent cooked and poached!

A reminder of the best way to let your peaches ripen without spoiling (from previous years): To prevent bruising, peaches are not completely ripe. Spread them out on newspaper on their side or bottom (not stem down) and they'll ripen over the next few days.

All the fruit we get from Eva and Rene are 'tree run'. We do this to avoid the sorting station that insists on fungicidal baths, fuzz removal (peaches) and paraffin wax coatings!. This means some fruit will be larger and some smaller, some more ripe and some less ripe all in the same box. Eva and Rene let our fruit ripen on the tree much longer than if they were to pick it for the shippers! The shippers want green fruit and we want tree ripened fruit!!


Best,
Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

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

P.S. We can use your fruit boxes, 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 Standard Notifications because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

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

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Friday, August 27th 2010

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, August 24th.
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 First United Church on Friday, August 27th between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 8:00 PM

Message from Rachael:

This is the last week for blueberries! Get all you can for freezing or making jam to last you all the way to next August!

Did you see the fountain grass from Selema? So lovely and large. I think I need two pots for either side of the walkway from my house...

Enjoy your weekend and your holidays and order lots of tomatoes! =)

Cheers,
Rachael

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Message from Nina:

How is eating local food going for you? Have you found ways to make local food fit into your schedule and your menu and your budget?  I’d love to hear what you are figuring out.  We are inventing this as we go - this relocalisation of the food system. We aren’t trying to go back to the way our grandparents ate when they were children, we are figuring out how to eat locally in our own 2010 way.  My family has mostly figured it out. We get about 85% of our food from Bailey’s Local Foods and the rest from Valumart and Vincenzo’s.  Occasionally we go to Herrle’s or the Framers’ Markets for a fun outing.  We freeze and can a few key foods that are important to us. 

We freeze:
  • sliced asparagus
  • steamed chard/kale/spinach
  • strawberries
  • berries for winter jam-making
  • sweet corn
  • pesto
  • dill (lots for borscht)
  • peas (I hope we get shelled peas in 10lb bags from Mary Jane again!)
We can:
  • peaches
  • pear-apple sauce
  • jams
  • (occasionally tomatoes or salsa)

With my dad as my right-hand man and my mom taking care of the kids, I canned 21 jars of peaches Monday morning and was not even irritable at 12:30 when the last jars came out of the canner!  This is astounding.They will be jars of summer that we’ll open in the winter to put on oatmeal, yogurt and to put in fruit cobblers and crisps. 

It was so pleasant canning those peaches that we’re going to do another 14 jars this Monday.  The peaches were just beautiful to work with: almost no bruises and the skin slipped off so nicely.  They were perfectly free stone and the flavour was just so intense! I put a honey syrup on them for the first time so I’m curious how that will taste.  The jars are so packed with peaches only about half a cup of syrup even fit in.  I can’t believe I’m gushing about how lovely it was to can peaches but it really was.  We listened to good music and my dad and I got to talk in a leisurely and uninterrupted way.  I had enough peaches leftover to make a huge cobbler and a little cobbler. We immediately consumed the little cobbler (with milk on top) and saved the huge one for supper in the backyard with friends.

What season is it at your house? It’s watermelon season at ours.  We are enjoying it everyday.  It was lovely to taste fresh pears again this week too.  Such a buttery texture pears have.  It’s also tomato season.  Last year tomatoes were hard to find with the cold wet season but this year the crop looks good!  I wish that my three year old would eat the tomato and feta salad that the rest of us enjoy.  If I put ketchup on it he’d eat it.

In gratitude for people like you who put their money where their mouths are (into good local food!),
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

P.S. We can use your fruit boxes, 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.

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

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Bailey's Local Foods ordering ends at 8:00 pm on Tuesday August 17th

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Tuesday, August 17th for pickup on Friday, August 20th

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

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.

Message from Rachael:


Thanks to all who joined us for our Pot Luck Picnic on Sunday! It was a delicious time!

I was lucky enough to visit my cousin and her two day old baby today. You should always bring food to new parents so I brought peaches and blueberries! It must have been a nice break from hospital food!

Be sure to check out:
  • New crop apples (and applesauce!) from Apple Creek and Martin's
  • Large pails and jars of honey from Bauman Apiaries
  • Sweet Peppers and Eggplant - to make local ratatouille! Mmmm!
  • Sparkling Apple Cider for a bubbly treat!
  • 100 mile organic spelt bread from Golden Hearth
  • Super tasty Gazpacho from Meals That Heal
  • Carrots from Eva Weber! They taste better than other carrots - Really!

Some more information about our fruit from Mary Jane:

The Early Italian plums are here. These are the best plums for cooking, baking, canning and juicing. They are also very good for drying and fresh eating. They are a medium-large plum with a dark purple skin and a yellowish flesh that turns dark wine when cooked! They are very sweet with a hint of prune flavour!
 
The Coral-star peach is a peach that is said to 'have it all'. Beautiful appearance, size and flavour. They are a large peach with attractive colour with skin 60-80% bright orange-red. It has great sweet peach flavour and aroma. This freestone peach is unique in that is does not brown when cut making it one of the best peaches for canning and freezing!
 
We have 2 varieties of pears available for Friday. The Clapp pear is a bit larger pear with a 'red cheek' in comparison with the French Bartlett. The Clapp pear has a 'melting' flesh and a bit fuller flavour. The French Bartlett is smaller and green in colour. It has a bit firmer flesh and stores longer than the Clapp pear. We will still have the pears that are great for canning and storing later in the season!

A reminder of the best way to let your peaches ripen without spoiling (from previous years): To prevent bruising, peaches are not completely ripe. Spread them out on newspaper on their side or bottom (not stem down) and they'll ripen over the next few days.

All the fruit we get from Eva and Rene are 'tree run'. We do this to avoid the sorting station that insists on fungicidal baths, fuzz removal (peaches) and paraffin wax coatings!. This means some fruit will be larger and some smaller, some more ripe and some less ripe all in the same box. Eva and Rene let our fruit ripen on the tree much longer than if they were to pick it for the shippers! The shippers want green fruit and we want tree ripened fruit!!


Enjoy!
Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

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

P.S. We can use your fruit boxes, 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 Standard Notifications because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

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

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Friday, August 20th 2010 + Picnic Sunday!

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, August 17th.
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 First United Church on Friday, August 20th between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 8:00 PM

Bailey's Local Foods and Friends Picnic
Even if you haven't RSVPed, we'd love you see you. If you have told us you are coming and anything comes up (like a last minute thunderstorm) we'll send you an email about it. Please think good thoughts about Sunday's weather!

You can check out all the details and let us know that you are coming at http://sn.im/blfpicnic. We look forward to sharing a meal with you.

We will have a BBQ there for grilling meat and a BBQ for grilling veggies. Is there a vegetarian out there that would lend us a BBQ to use for this purpose?

Many of our suppliers have donated food for us to share. We will be grilling all beef wieners from Stemmler's, Millbank Cheese sent us a cheese tray, Mary Jane Petter and Palatine donated peaches for us to eat. Paul Bowman sent Sweet Corn and Watermelon!

Some suppliers will be joining us and bringing something to share at our potluck. We look forward to seeing Mike and Debbie from Kingwood Farms and Karin and Greg from Little City Farm. I'm sure there will be some surprises too! Many of the farmers would have liked to join us, but could not come on a Sunday.

When: Sunday, August 15th, Arrive at 3pm; Begin eating at 5pm
Where: Waterloo Park, Westmount Road Entrance (West side), "Picnic Servery" (near area #9) - see map at http://sn.im/picnicmap
On the suggestions of some of our members we are joining with BarterWorks, Grand River Car Share, Transition KW, Our Community Dollar and Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable and will welcome others who are interested in joining us.

--------------------------

Message from Rachael:

Nina just reminded me to tell you about Sea Buckthorn. Did you know that there is a locally grown citrus-like fruit? Marlene of The Healing Arc grows this really neat plant near Wingham. Her website has more info (including the links to photos in the right had bar) at
http://www.thehealingarc.com/seabuckthorn.asp.If you would like more information on the Sea Buckthorn harvest (Now until August 20) you can check out all the details at  http://sn.im/seabuckthorn. Thanks to Meg for telling about this local treasure!

Thank you for being a part of Bailey's Local Foods!

I look forward to seeing you at the picnic,
Rachael

------------------------
Message from Nina:


Winter squash
Winter squash is ready a couple weeks early this year (as are most crops).  Has anyone tried grilling winter squash? I’m going to try that this August. I was reading about grilling squash here: http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--830/all-about-winter-squash.asp Check out the photo of the person using a handsaw to cut open the Hubbard Squash!  This site has excellent photos of different squashes and instructions for choosing and preparing winter squash. They have step by step photo directions for making winter squash kabobs.  They recommend grating raw winter squash to make a slaw (coleslaw without the cole - which is the cabbage)! I’ll have to try that. If you’ve already made a raw squash slaw, let me know what you put in and how it tasted.

Sweet Corn
Have you ever cut sweet corn off of the cob and put it in a soup or a stew or a quiche?  It adds a sweetness and hint of crunch that is divine.  I will not romanticize the work it takes to cut the corn off of the cob but I will assure you that it is worth it.  I don’t believe that there is any other way to enjoy that sweet crunch of tender corn kernals unless you put it in the freezer yourself. I don’t know of anyone who sells it.  I can buy frozen corn in the store but it is big tough kernals that are sprayed with who knows what and quite certainly from GMO seeds. 

If you’ve never frozen sweet corn before I encourage you to try buying an extra dozen and cut the kernals off of just those 12.  Put that in two little bags and then after you use it in two recipes this winter you can decide if it was worth it.  A few tips for cutting off the kernals are:
  • use a sharp sharp little knife
  • let the cobs cool before handling them
  • hold the cob vertical in a big cake pan to catch the falling kernals (or a bundt pan with a whole in the middle to help hold the cob).
Tamales
My kids had fun selling iced mint tea, cookies and bouquets yesterday at the pick-up.  Thank you for your kind patronage of their project.  We needed a convenient supper to snack on during this endeavor so we had hot tamales (really not that hot), Polestar’s Sesame Red Fife sourdough bread torn off in chewy chunks, (I wish I could insert baby carrots into this list but that would be a lie - this meal had no vegetables), and for dessert pecan buttertarts with blueberries smooshed on top.  Who says eating locally isn’t convenient and delicious : )  The tamales are a nice on-the-road or picnic food as they are each individually wrapped for easy handling and taste good at room temperature. We offer them frozen every other week from McKechnie Foods.

This week look for:
  • veggies for the grill: winter squash, summer squash, eggplant, sweet peppers, sweet corn
  • feta for the heirloom tomato salad
  • tamales for a picnic
  • peaches for a peach salsa (try Meals that Heal’s Peach and Black Bean Salsa for inspiration)
  • carrots for a carrot salad
  • pickled veggies for a pickle tray (pickled: carrots, green beans, cucumbers - hot, regular and garlic)
  • Sesame Red Fife Sourdough bread from Polestar with cheese and pretend you’re backpacking in Europe
  • Chicken pot pies - for the surprise visitors
  • Spinach dip from Local Dairy for the vegetable tray you offered to bring

Thank you for being on this journey with us. When you buy food through this buying club you are doing so much good.
  • You are nourishing your body and your soul by knowing (and caring) where your food comes from.
  • You're teaching your children about where food comes from and the growing seasons.
  • You are supporting farmers and your community by putting your money into the local economy and, more specifically, the local food system where it will circulate many times before it goes global.
  • You are supporting a downtown church (First United) that receives rent from your buying club.
  • You are nurturing interdependence and building community as we depend on each other to make this work and get to know each other.
  • You are expanding local food businesses by increasing demand for local foods.
  • You are increasing our food security by causing more food to be stored for the Winter (in your cellars and in farmers' storage areas) and encouraging farmers to plant more people food next year.
  • You are increasing the levels of joy in your house as you decrease mindless eating and increase thankfulness and savouring of life's simple pleasures.

In love of our local farmers and in hope for a more sustainable way of living,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

P.S. We can use your fruit boxes, 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.

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

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Bailey's Local Foods ordering ends at 8:00 pm on Tuesday August 10th + Picnic reminder!

This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Tuesday, August 10th for pickup on Friday, August 13th
Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

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.

Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck
will be an afternoon of eating, friends and fun!

We'd love to have you join us on Sunday for the Bailey's Local Foods and Friends Picnic! Who are our friends? We are including BarterWorks, Grand River Car Share, Transition KW, Our Community Dollar and Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable and others who would like to join us.

Please RSVP at http://sn.im/blfpicnic so we can plan for enough people!

When: Sunday, August 15th, Arrive at 3pm; Begin eating at 5pm
Where: Waterloo Park, Westmount Road Entrance (West side), "Picnic Servery" (near area #9) - see map at http://sn.im/picnicmap

Message from Rachael:


I know that this Friday is the 13th, so if you're going to Port Dover to watch the bikers, I highly recommend that you stop at Kernal Peanuts on the way! You can taste all the varieties of peanuts and some yummy ice cream (it has peanuts in it, but I added more from the sample jar last time I was there). If you don't have plans for Dover, we can't wait to see you at the pickup!

I made a really easy dinner tonight. Andrew and the kids went for a walk and left me with all the ingredients and this blog: http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com/2010/01/recipe-for-gnudi-or-naked-ravioli-for.html. Wow were they Gnudi easy and tasty. With ricotta from Local Dairy, San Marzano tomatoes from Elvina Bauman and swiss chard leaves from the garden (to replace the basil) and a whole bunch of that lovely garlic from Paul Bowman! I also used Millbank's Asiago cheese instead of Parmesan becuase that is what we had. Oh wow! I had to share it so I put it on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/baileyslocalfoods. You are welcome to become a fan, and share photos and recipes there. We'll share updates too!

A few notes regarding items for Friday:
  • Sweet corn (no spray) prices have gone up a bit. While chatting with Selema Martin this morning we realized that she was selling us the corn at $4 per dozen and we were selling it for $3.75. Ouch! If you got some last week, you got a great deal!
  • Selema also wondered if you were interested in buying purple Fountain Grass. You will find it in the 'plants' section.
  • There are new crop Jersey Mac Apples from Martin's Family Fruit Farm and new crop Transparent apples from Apple Creek Farm. More to come soon!
  • A whole grass fed organic cow is available (in parts) from Vibrant Farms! The brisket is already gone! If you want a certain cut, get it fast! You can read more at http://www.vibrantfarms.com/
Some more information about our fruit from Mary Jane:

We have two varieties of plums. The Burbank plum and Ozark plums. The Burbank plum is a medium size plum with a red mottled yellow skin. Its flesh is deep yellow and has very good flavour! The Ozark plum is a larger red plum with a yellow flesh!

The Red Haven peaches have come into their season! These are the peaches that all other peaches are compared to. They have a red flush over an orange skin. The flesh is yellow with a bit of red near the pit (lovely colour for canning). It is juicy and sweet! They are fabulous for cooking, baking, canning, freezing, dehydrating and of course, for eating fresh!

We have 2 varieties of pears available for Friday. The Clapp pear is a bit larger pear with a 'red cheek' in comparison with the French Bartlett. The Clapp pear has a 'melting' flesh and a bit fuller flavour. The French Bartlett is smaller and green in colour. It has a bit firmer flesh and stores longer than the Clapp pear. We will still have the pears that are great for canning and storing later in the season!

A reminder of the best way to let your peaches ripen without spoiling (from previous years): To prevent bruising, peaches are not completely ripe. Spread them out on newspaper on their side or bottom (not stem down) and they'll ripen over the next few days.

All the fruit we get from Eva and Rene are 'tree run'. We do this to avoid the sorting station that insists on fungicidal baths, fuzz removal (peaches) and paraffin wax coatings!. This means some fruit will be larger and some smaller, some more ripe and some less ripe all in the same box. Eva and Rene let our fruit ripen on the tree much longer than if they were to pick it for the shippers! The shippers want green fruit and we want tree ripened fruit!!


Take care,
Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

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

P.S. We can use your fruit boxes, 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 Standard Notifications because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

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

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Bailey's Buying Club - Ordering is now open for Friday, August 13th 2010

Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order. Ordering closes at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, August 10th.
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 First United Church on Friday, August 13th between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 8:00 PM

Bailey's Local Foods and Friends Picnic
Have you RSVPed for our picnic yet? You can check out all the details and let us know that you are coming at http://sn.im/blfpicnic. All are welcome!

When: Sunday, August 15th, Arrive at 3pm; Begin eating at 5pm
Where: Waterloo Park, Westmount Road Entrance (West side), "Picnic Servery" (near area #9) - see map at http://sn.im/picnicmap
On the suggestions of some of our members we are joining with BarterWorks, Grand River Car Share, Transition KW, Our Community Dollar and Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable and will welcome others who are interested in joining us.

--------------------------

Message from Rachael:

What an amazing time to eat local. Lena just added sweet peppers and onions to our offering list. There are so many options for beans, cucumbers, onions and carrots! Don't forget the fruit! Peaches, Plums and Pears, Blueberries and melons too!!

We have tortillas from McKechnie, noodles and pasta from J&D, flour from Oak Manor, new tasties from Meals that Heal including a peach and black bean dip and two kinds of
Gazpacho as well as Gluten Free items from Magnolia Catering (including Eleanor's wonderful sunflower bread!) and sourdough bread from Polestar (all the suppliers from Guelph stick together!) What else? Let us know if we're missing something! Look for new offerings from Vipul and more organic Beef from Vibrant on the order form sometime Saturday!

We're going to try and get more mushrooms from Pfenning's for Friday to fill your orders for 1 lb bags. Sorry about that, but they ran out!

Did you check out the Spontaneous Table today? Did you notice our new colour coded system there? We'll try to be consistent with colourful stickers on produce to let you know how it was grown.

Green - Certified organic (think of it as a green light!)
Blue - Pesticide free, no spray or naturally grown
Yellow - Conventionally grown

We'll use the red dots to let you know when there is a product that has a mild and a hot version, like the HOT jams and jellies from Country Flavour or the HOT Asparagus Salsa from Barrie Bros.

Have a great weekend,
Rachael

------------------------
Message from Nina:

Well, we didn't starve despite Bailey's being closed and I hope you did not either. We enjoyed a trip to Herrle's for a big haul. That place sure makes grocery shopping fun.

Now we're heading into the high harvest season for Ontario food. In August and September it feels like everything is ripe and in abundance. Paul has watermelons ready. The kids, my dad and I visited Paul's farm last week just for fun. When we arrived most of the family (seven kids?) were in the produce shed cleaning and sorting garlic. Grandpa and a neighbour or two were there too. They turned off the vegetable washer to give us a walk-about tour of the farm.

Paul and Salome started growing vegetables about seven years ago and just became certified organic last year. I asked Paul if growing vegetables was a better income than beef and pork and he said if it was year round it would be. The harvest season is relatively short and then the income from vegetables drops to almost nothing except a trickle from selling stored potatoes, garlic and squash. They've done a good job of finding a variety of markets. They sell to the LOFT box program, to Pfenning's and to Bailey's Local Foods.

They showed us the strawberry patch (now full of weeds - weeding without the help of herbicides takes an enormous amount of people hours), garlic rows ready to harvest, sweet corn (ready this week too!), tomatoes, fava beans and more. After a long slow trek through the field we ended up back at the produce shed where the boys were carving up barely-ripe watermelons for us to share. The only way to learn how to pick ripe watermelons is to pick one and eat it, pick another and eat it, and so on. Tough job but someone's got to do it. Fortunately, the barely-ripe ones are very refreshing too.

We also got to visit Eva the carrot guru for the first time. I've been talking to her on the phone for over a year and have grown quite fond of her so it was a joy to meet her and see her farm. Her husband runs a wooden furniture shop on their farm. She said the carrots were ready and not going to wait for Aug 13 so I bought 120 lbs to bring back to sell to neighbours. She sent us home with a dozen gladiolus that were tall and glorious in their purples and pinks. Oh, her son also makes those sand box "diggers" where a kid can sit on it and manoeuver two levers to make the metal bucket scoop and dump and then swivel to a new spot to dig. Like sitting on a mini backhoe. Only $50 each. I'm tempted to get one.

Sorry, I'm all out of meal ideas this week. Totally uninspired. Maybe I should go to our homepage and make the Pasta With Peas, Prosciutto and Lettuce that Dinah posted. Oh, but the peas are over. Hmmm... I've been craving homemade macaroni and cheese with sausages but that's kind of embarrassing. Let's see, where can I find inspiration? Ah, a lentil salad from Carrie sounds good. I got this from her blog: http://carrieannesnyder.blogspot.com

Lentil Barley Picnic Salad with Ginger-Soy Dressing

Cover with salted water and cook together in a large pot the following ingredients: 1 cup green lentils; 1 cup pearl barley; 1/4 cup wild rice; 1/4 cup brown rice. (Or use whatever combination of legumes most inspires you. Leftover rice can be added to the salad afterward, too; it's a very flexible salad). Simmer for about an hour, or till tender. Drain. Place in a large bowl with a tight lid.

In a small food processor, puree together the following ingredients: 1 clove garlic; 1 teaspoon salt or to taste; black pepper to taste; 1/4 cup cider vinegar; 1 square inch (or so) peeled fresh ginger; 1-2 tbsp tamari; 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil; and an additional 1/4 to 1/2 cup of canola or other vegetable oil. A touch of honey or sugar can be added as well.

Pour the dressing over the legumes, and mix. Add leftover rice, if desired. Add your choice of seasonal veggies, such as: grated carrot; chopped cucumber; thinly sliced red peppers. Squeeze the juice of one lemon or lime over top of the salad. Add crumbled feta or queso duro blando, if desired. Taste for seasonings. Cover and store till picnic-time.

In respect for local farmers who work so hard and family-cooks everywhere who make meals day after day,
Nina
Bailey's Local Foods
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca

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

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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Bailey's Local Foods ordering ends at 8:00 pm on Tuesday August 2nd + Picnic details!

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This is your reminder that you should place your order before 8:00 pm Tuesday, August 2nd for pickup on Friday, August 6th
Click http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/ordering to log-in and order.

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.

Bailey's Picnic Pot Luck will be an afternoon of eating, friends and fun!

Please RSVP at http://sn.im/blfpicnic so we can plan for enough people!

When: Sunday, August 15th, Arrive at 3pm; Begin eating at 5pm
Where: Waterloo Park, Westmount Road Entrance (West side), "Picnic Servery" (near area #9) - see map at http://sn.im/picnicmap

This will be a relaxed day to enjoy. We hope that you and your family can join us!

Message from Rachael:

Tuesday is the new Monday - Order today! =)

Have you ever made pickles? I always thought they were a lot of work until we came home with 4 L of Elvina's pickling cucumbers last Friday. I thought we'd bring them on vacation as three bite snacks for the kids until Andrew grabbed a jar and started a pickle recipe based on the one that he saw on the Little City Farm blog (http://littlecityfarm.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-easy-crock-pickle-recipe.html). Wowee! He simplified the recipe on Karin's website further by making a light brine (1 L water, 1/3 c salt) and adding 1/2 c or so of vinegar and some pickling spice in a 2 L jar with a wide mouth and screw on lid, then the cucumbers (with the ends on) and packed them into the car with the kids and all our other gear. The next day we ate those pickles and added in some more fresh cucumbers and a little garlic (you could add dill, but we didn't). We ate pickles, and added more cucumbers every day. Sometimes we added more salt or vinegar and now we have a lovely cloudy brine that we are adding the pickles from our garden to. It's lovely!

Karin also emailed today so I could let you know she has a few spots left in her salsa making and canning workshop on Sat, August 14, 1-3 pm. Details are online at http://www.littlecityfarm.ca/workshops.php

A few notes regarding items for Friday:

  • We're finally into sweet corn season! Mmmm! Organic corn is still available in full or half dozens. Look for corn by the ear on the spontaneous table too!
  • Fresh garlic is amazing!
  • Whole Chickens available from Snider Heritage Farms - Kevin wants you to know that they are GMO-free, Drug-free and he makes the feed using his own crops! Look for them under "poultry"
  • Pickling Cukes are available in half bushels with and without dill!
  • Pears from Palatine will not be available until next week. The Peach variety will be Harson and the Plums will be Burbank. If you ordered plums, these are the ones you will get this week!
Some more information about our fruit from Mary Jane:

As the season moves on, the red plums are coming in. This week we have the Japanese plum called Burbank. It is a medium size plum with a red mottled yellow skin. Its flesh is deep yellow and has very good flavour!

This week kicks off the start of the freestone peaches! All the peaches we have from here on in are great for eating, cooking, canning and dehydrating! The first of the freestone peaches we have is the Harson! The Harson peach is a sweet, firm, medium to large size freestone peach that was bred at the Harrow Station here in Canada. It is considered to the the Canadian Red Haven! Ever since the Red Havens were discovered back in the 30's in the United States, research stations have been trying to imitate, duplicate are create trees like the Red Haven that will survive in different environments. This is one of the varieties Agriculture Canada has developed....but of course, they cannot call it Red Haven.

A reminder of the best way to let your peaches ripen without spoiling (from previous years):
To prevent bruising, peaches are not completely ripe. Spread them out on newspaper on their side or bottom (not stem down) and they'll ripen over the next few days.

All the fruit we get from Eva and Rene are 'tree run'. We do this to avoid the sorting station that insists on fungicidal baths, fuzz removal (peaches) and paraffin wax coatings!. This means some fruit will be larger and some smaller, some more ripe and some less ripe all in the same box. Eva and Rene let our fruit ripen on the tree much longer than if they were to pick it for the shippers! The shippers want green fruit and we want tree ripened fruit!!  


Enjoy this short week!
Rachael
Bailey's Local Foods
baileyslocalfoods.ca

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

P.S. We can use your fruit boxes, 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 Standard Notifications because you are a member of Bailey's Local Food Buying Club.

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