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.

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

No comments: