Bailey's Local Foods ordering still open for pickup on December 9th.

I hope you are enjoying this day!

Today I added cheese to my order. We love having a variety on hand for a quick lunch or to offer to guests. The Cranberry Goat Havarti from Gordon's Goat Dairy is a tasty treat and their Goatsarella (mozzarella style) and Gotagiano (parmesan style) are great if you or your guests can't eat cow milk. There are lots of sheep and goat cheeses from Monforte also. For more traditional cheese from Millbank and Mountainoak check the 'cow cheese' section.

Bread with a twist
With grains from Oak Manor you can bake local bread. But why not add a twist (or a swirl) of sweet potato and winter squash? Check out Jon's Pumpkin Sweet Potato Swirl Bread recipe at http://baileyslocalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/11/pumpkin-sweet-potato-swirl-bread.html if you need some inspiration.

Mat's Fine Oils - Have you tried any?
A while ago we had a tasting of the lovely organic cold pressed oils from Mat's Fine Oils. Each bottle has specific information on the crop used and when it was harvested as well as the date it was pressed. The result is lovely and fresh oil from seeds (instead of grains, like corn).
Flax Oil
We have a bottle of flax oil in the fridge that we add to most of our smoothies. I'll have to admit that of the three oils offered by Mat it's my least favourite to taste straight, but in the smoothie it adds a lovely whipped texture that my 9 year old loves as well as all the health benefits of flax oil. It is said to be a great source of vegetarian omega -3 in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Check out more great health benefits at http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/flaxseed-oil
Hemp oil
With a nutty taste this oil is easily digestible and a great source of essential fatty acids (EFA). It's best not heated, so make it into mayonnaise or salad dressing or drizzle it on a salad, soup or your favourite dip (like hummus!) It is not a source of THC.
Sunflower oil
We really love to cook with this Sunflower oil instead of generic vegetable oil which could come from a variety of plant sources. In the past we offered 1L bottles of sunflower oil from FlorAlp Farms, but Hans and Pia retired, and we're happy to offer this amazing oil in it's place. It comes in 750 mL glass bottles and 4L jugs, which is a great size for our family's use! I'd recommend keeping a smaller jar close at hand (we refill it from the jug). It's our oil of choice for frying and we use it in salads too!

Silver & Boots Craft Creamery
Ann and Matt are making ice cream locally in small batches and even though we haven't tasted it yet we're offering it to you and they will come with samples in the new year. There are 5 flacvours available now but they would be happy to make any flavour you want!
About them:
Silver & Boots Craft Creamery is based in the Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph areas. We create a superior ice cream product like no other! We use local ingredients like organic whole milk and whipping cream from Harmony Dairy as well as many of the incredible seasonal ingredients found locally.

Good stuff:

• Tia's Bakery is back too! She has gluten and dairy free holiday treats as well as her tasty breads.
• Nutty Bakers prepared foods are available again!
• Pizza Dough from Golden Hearth is available in limited supply too!
• Turkey Sausage from Snyder's Heritage Farms is back including a new cranberry breakfast sausage!
• Queso Chihuahua is a new cheese from Local Dairy
• Candy Cane Ice Cream from Mapleton's Organic Dairy now available for a limited time!
• Advent Candles (pure beeswax!) from Your Time Boutique
• Stocking sized Holiday Blend coffee roasted locally from Eco-Coffee
• Santa Bites Snacking Granola from Little Bites
• Grainharvest has Fruit n Nut Bread, Christmas Stollen, Christmas Stollen with Marzipan, Assorted Christmas Cookies, Pure Vanilla Crescent cookies, Gingerbread Men as well as Gluten Free Christmas Cookies from Circle of Life
• Springerle Cookies from Ambrosia Pastry Co. are so beautiful and have a great anise flavour - or are you in the mood for their Peppermint Marshmallows
• Egg Nog from Organic Meadow is available in 1 L cartons (for real this time!)
• Gluten and dairy free treats from Tia's Bakery From cream puffs to quiche! Look in the prepared section as well as the gluten free baked goods section.
• Gift Baskets! We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food! Order online or email us to arrange a custom basket!

Niagara Fruit
All our Niagara fruit is Tree Run, which means that the fruit is not sent to the grading station. The fruit is picked riper (and tastier) and avoids fungicidal baths and defuzzing of peaches. The size of the fruit may be bigger or smaller as well.

Here is the Niagara Fruit we have From Warner's Farms this week:
Juices! Fresh Apple Pear Cider as well as Preserved Cranberry-Grape and Concord (in 'beverages' under 'pantry')
Quince - a fruit that is high in pectin and best stewed with apples or in pie or made into jam (the original marmalade)
Cranberries - Fresh from Upper Canada Cranberries in Ottawa (not from within 100 miles)
Pears: Flemish Beauty, Harrow Delight, Bartlett, Bosc, D'Anjou and HW623
Plums: German Prune Plums (smaller and sweeter than the Italian prune plums)
Grapes: Sovereign Coronation (blue, virtually seedless) are getting sweeter and sweeter!
Tree Nuts: Chestnuts are still available!
Crabapples too!

Pumpkin Sweet Potato Swirl Bread

Dough:

• 1 cup sweet potato puree
• 1 cup pumpkin or winter squash puree
• 2-6 Tbs. butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups whole grain flour
• 1 ½ - 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. instant yeast*
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• ½ tsp. allspice
• ½ tsp. ground cloves

Swirl:

• ¼ - ½ cup sugar
• 2-4 Tbs. cinnamon
• Raisins or dried cranberries (optional) – OR – cranberry sauce, about ½ cup

This makes great use of leftover pureed squash and sweet potatoes, but if you don’t have those you need to cook them.  It’s easy to microwave one sweet potato, which should be sufficient for this recipe.  Poke holes all over the sweet potato with a fork, microwave for 4 minutes, check for softness, cook longer if needed, cool, and scoop out the insides with a spoon and mash with a fork.  For the pumpkin or squash, chop in half, scoop out seeds and strings, flip each side over on an oiled baking sheet, bake at 400 until soft, about 45 minutes (this varies quite a bit depending on your choice of squash/pumpkin.  Allow to cool, scoop out flesh with a spoon, and mash with a fork. 

Combine the pumpkin and sweet potato with the wet ingredients, followed by the whole wheat flour.  Stir for 1 minute, making sure everything is well combined.  Add the yeast and add the all-purpose flour in small amounts until the dough becomes difficult to stir but is still sticky (you may not use all the flour).  Add the salt and spices and stir to incorporate.  Allow the dough to sit for 5 minutes.  Using wet hands knead the dough.  If it is still very sticky you can add more flour (but it’s okay to have a wet sticky dough because the moisture will help give the dough a better spring in the oven).  Allow the dough to sit for about 30 minutes, then, using wet hands, stretch the dough by grabbing under one side of the dough and pulling it up and over the dough.  This is called a “stretch and fold.”  Do this 4 times, once for each side of the dough, always folding it back over itself.  Wet your hands again and form the dough into a ball (as best as you can).  Cover, and allow to rise until roughly doubled in size, 1-2 hours (depending on house temperature and amount of yeast used).  If using raisins/cranberries, soak them in a cup of water so they don’t dry out when baked.

Lightly flour a counter and roll or stretch the dough out until it is about 6 inches wide and 12-18 inches long (longer stretch = more swirl).  Spread the cranberry sauce on the dough if you’re using it, and mix together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle generously on top of the dough.  Add the wet raisins/cranberries if you’re using them.  Roll the dough tightly (I like to mist the dough with a spray bottle of water as I do this to help the cinnamon sugar stick to the dough).  Place the dough in a greased bread loaf pan (or cut it into two halves and place in two small bread pans).  Dust the top with more cinnamon sugar if you like.  Cover and allow to rise until doubled again in size, 1-2 hours.  Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes (it will cook a little faster in smaller loaf pans).  If you’re unsure about when a bread is done you can check with a thermometer, which should read above 200 F when the bread is finished and should come out without any sticky dough stuck to it.  Allow the bread to cool fully before slicing.  Enjoy.

PS.  This bread makes amazing egg-in-the-whole as well as grilled cheese.  

*If using dry active yeast follow instructions given on package.  You can up the yeast to 2 tsp. for a faster rise.  I find that the smaller quantity of yeast allows for more flavour development but it also means a slower rise. 

 Guest Recipe Post by Jon Spee

The Local Kitchener

This recipe is a very loose adaptation of the 2:2:2 Bread.

Bailey's ordering for Monday December 9th is open!

A message from Rachael:

This is a great week for local food. Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate the festival of lights! Enjoy your latkes (we will too!) If you sneak in another Thanksgiving celebration, enjoy a great turkey!

Welcome Back The Nutty Bakers!
We have a few favourites back on our order form: The Nutty Bakers are back for the winter! Anna has been super busy with a retail location in Stratford, but all our customer inquiries have convinced her to offer her products at our market again! Look for her cabbage rolls, meat and veggie pies, lasagna, squares and more (including fruitcake!) on this week's order form! Also, If anyone regularly drives back from Stratford late in the week and wants to bring our order into town, we could use your help!

Turkey Sausage
Kevin from Snider Heritage Farms has a new batch of his tasty Turkey Sausage (again, thank to our customers for gently encouraging him!) ready for us and has a new maple cranberry breakfast sausage available too! Look for them as well as chicken and turkey (whole and in parts) in the 'poultry' section.

Another great cheese!
Local Dairy has a new cow's milk cheese  that is great for melting it's called Queso Chihuahua (no dogs were harmed in the making of the cheese). It comes from the Chihuahua region of Mexico where it was first made by Mexican Mennonites.

Pizza dough is back!We've ordered some frozen pizza dough from Golden Hearth. We hope to continue offering it through the winter! I guess I'm not the only one who loves weekly pizza nights in the winter!

Seasonal items to look for:

• Candy Cane Ice Cream from Mapleton's Organic Dairy now available for a limited time!
• Advent Candles (pure beeswax!) from Your Time Boutique
• Stocking sized Holiday Blend coffee roasted locally from Eco-Coffee
• Santa Bites Snacking Granola from Little Bites
• Grainharvest has Fruit n Nut Bread, Christmas Stollen, Christmas Stollen with Marzipan, Assorted Christmas Cookies, Pure Vanilla Crescent cookies, Gingerbread Men as well as Gluten Free Christmas Cookies from Circle of Life
• Springerle Cookies from Ambrosia Pastry Co. are so beautiful and have a great anise flavour - or are you in the mood for their Peppermint Marshmallows
• Egg Nog from Organic Meadow is available in 1 L cartons (for real this time!)
• Gluten and dairy free treats from Tia's Bakery From cream puffs to quiche! Look in the prepared section as well as the gluten free baked goods section.
• Gift Baskets! We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food! Order online or email us to arrange a custom basket!

Niagara Fruit
All our Niagara fruit is Tree Run, which means that the fruit is not sent to the grading station. The fruit is picked riper (and tastier) and avoids fungicidal baths and defuzzing of peaches. The size of the fruit may be bigger or smaller as well.

Here is the Niagara Fruit we have From Warner's Farms this week:
Juices! Fresh Apple Pear Cider as well as Preserved Cranberry-Grape and Concord (in 'beverages' under 'pantry')
Quince - a fruit that is high in pectin and best stewed with apples or in pie or made into jam (the original marmalade)
Cranberries - Fresh from Upper Canada Cranberries in Ottawa (not from within 100 miles)
Pears: Flemish Beauty, Harrow Delight, Bartlett, Bosc, D'Anjou and HW623
Plums: German Prune Plums (smaller and sweeter than the Italian prune plums)
Grapes: Sovereign Coronation (blue, virtually seedless) are getting sweeter and sweeter!
Tree Nuts: Chestnuts are still available!
Crabapples too!

Upcoming:
Handmade Holidays! Buy Local, Gift Local 
Saturday, November 30, 11am to 3pm at Queen St. Commons Cafe - 43 Queen St. S., Kitchener
Check out a festive market day of handmade gifts. Crafts Clothing Books ...and much more!  Enjoy fresh coffee, snacks, and lunch at the cafe.
For more information: www.TheWorkingCentre.org and www.localexchange.theworkingcentre.org or call 519-743-1151 ext. 139
From Little City Farm "A little bird told me" Handmade Holiday Sale
Saturday, December 7 from 9 am-2 pm at 508 Duke Street West.
Annual sale featuring locally handmade eco-conscious goods...including reconstructed clothing, bicycle-art jewelry, wooden cutting boards, woolen slippers, eco dolls & toys, felted ornaments, organic holiday baking, natural soaps, beeswax candles, and much more! More information at www.littlecityfarm.ca.

Artisan Market Vendors - November 25th, 2013

Loopeeeee – Fibre Arts

Maryrose has been making gifts for many years and has decided to spread her wings and sell these great items. She specializes in fibres - both knit and sewn. You can find many reusable items, snack bags, produce bags, Reversible baby bonnets and knitting.hats.

www.facebook.com/Loopeeeee

 Savvy Green – Body Care

Savvy Green is a family company dedicated to making by hand, all natural, beautiful and safe soaps, and other products

http://www.shop.savvygreen.ca/

Green Garb – Fibre Arts

Charlotte makes handmade and repurposed accessories and decorative items with care using wool, lamb/sheepskin, leather and cloth.
Products available.
~Reusable and machine washable sandwich and snack bags
~Cloth tote bags
~Woolly boots.
~Felted wool leather sole slippers
www.facebook.com/greengarbkw

From These Roots – Wool Critters

Krista raises sheep and make cute critters from their wool along with her great jams and jellies

www.FromTheseRoots.ca 

Silver & Boots Craft Creamery

We are a small ice cream business in the Waterloo and Guelph area. We produce an incredibly different ice cream using local and organic ingredients, with seasonal flavours.

www.silverandboots.ca

BRFC – Screen Printing

As BRFC, Jon takes his designs and puts ink to paper, or fabric, or cork, or whatever medium will take it. What began as a project to customize his own handkerchiefs has become an outlet to create items for everyone to enjoy.

www.bearface.ca

Ordering ends TODAY! (Tuesday) November 19th at 8:00 pm **Order for two weeks!

Click https://100milesystems.com/baileyslocalfoods.ca/login.php to log-in and order.

A message from Rachael:

Wow! That was fast. It's Tuesday again and you have until 8 pm tonight to get your order in.

Holiday Greenery
An item that I forgot to mention in my last email was the greens that Theresa from Garden Party is offering us in the coming weeks. Not salad greens, but sustainably harvested boughs and branches for you to bring natural seasonal cheer to your home over the holidays. Theresa does not spray these, so they will be safe for your family inside or out! Look for them in the 'other' section at the bottom of the list. I love the idea of her holiday hanging baskets. I don't even have to remember to water them!
Take a look at how lovely they are in this PDF flyer.
Again, like our holiday vendor sale you are welcome to invite your friends to come and buy some at our regular pickup (Theresa will have these November 25th and December 9th)!

 
New Supplier - Beeswax Candles from Your Time Boutique
"Beeswax candles burn brighter, longer and cleaner then any other candles. Having their own natural honey aroma, they are the perfect alternative especially for people who have asthma, allergies or headaches due to paraffin or any artificially scented candles"I'm in love with Carol's candles. Her attention to detail and process bring us a unique product. You can read about her passion at http://www.yourtimeboutique.com/beeswax_candles.

Did I just forget to talk about food?Local winter food abounds! What have you planned for upcoming meals? Paneer and stewing lamb for curry (with yogurt) over spaghetti squash? Sausage and potatoes with a salad of mesculn mix and Floralane tomatoes? (The tomatoes are usually unavailable from December to March). Pears and cheese in your salad? Sweet potato fries on the side? Popcorn and chestnuts?

Kimchi Season is here!
You can buy the tasty Kimchi from Green Table Foods (in the prepared section) or this would be a great time to make your own! We have Napa Cabbage from Lena Horst, Scallions from Bowman's Organic, Daikon Radish, Carrots and Garlic from a variety of sources. If you are interested in a Kimchi Making Workshop please let me know!

Warner's Fruit - More variety?
Torrie keeps surprising me. This week he added American Persimmons and rosehips to our list. Juices too! Grape and cranberry in a few combinations! Learn more about ensuring your persimmons are ripe enough at http://www.persimmonpudding.com/harvest/ripeness.html

Great stuff ahead:

• Harrington Lane Bulk Berkshire pork boxes - 20 or 25 lb
• Anna Tolazzi flavoured Chocolate bars. A real treat!
• Cheese to put out for guests from Mountainoak (we love their Fresian!), Monforte, Local Dairy, Gordon's Goat Dairy and Millbank
• Barrie's Asparagus Stone Wheat or Vegetable Crackers to serve with the cheese
• Turn it up a notch with some Caramelized Maple Onion Marmalade From These Roots.
• Teas from Little City Farm (limited supply!)
• New Moon Kitchen is fully stocked and we have a limited number of their seasonal Lemon Cranberry Crunch cookies too!
• Grainharvest is already baking their Fruit n Nut Bread, Christmas Stollen, Christmas Stollen with Marzipan, Assorted Christmas Cookies, Pure Vanilla Crescent cookies, Gingerbread Men as well as Gluten Free Christmas Cookies from Circle of Life
• Ambrosia Pastry Co.'s Springerle Cookies are back! Pear and Almond Tartes and Peppermint Marshmallows
• Egg Nog from Organic Meadow is available in 1 L cartons
• Egg Nog Caramels from Hugo and Nate to continue the theme!
• Jewels Under the Kilt has a new flavour: Green Bosc Pear with Ginger as well as Maple Apple Pie which is delish
• Mapleton's Organics Ice cream is back! (yay for a new freezer!) Choose from: Vanilla, Chocolate, Chai, Ginger and Vanilla Chocolate Chip
• Santa's Mix granola from Little Bites is available for a limited time
• McKechnie chips, tamales, tostadas, taco shells, and corn tortillas are all fresh this week!
• J&D Peters fresh flour tortillas in stone wheat, Mexican flour, spelt and kamut as well as pasta and noodles are the best!
• Fruit from Warner's Farms including their awesome pears! (see full list below)
• Gluten free baked goods and prepared food from Winnie's Gluten Free including Tourtière and perogies! (stock up, shes away for the next pickup)
• Peanuts, and peanut butter from Kernal Peanuts is restocked too! Their salted peanuts with a bag of
• Spud's Finest Kettle Chips from Barrie's Asparagus was so easy to offer as a snack!
• Gift Baskets! We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food! Order online or email us to arrange a custom basket!

Niagara Fruit
All our Niagara fruit is Tree Run, which means that the fruit is not sent to the grading station. The fruit is picked riper (and tastier) and avoids fungicidal baths and defuzzing of peaches. The size of the fruit may be bigger or smaller as well.

Here is the Niagara Fruit we have From Warner's Farms this week:
Juices! Fresh Concord and Niagara White, Preserved Cranberry-Grape and Concord (in 'beverages' under 'pantry')
Rosehips - The fruit of the rose plant. Great for so much more than tea!  Make jam,  jelly, soup and more that will all be high in vitamin C!
American Persimmons - aka "Fruit of the Gods" - Need I say more?
Quince - a fruit that is high in pectin and best stewed with apples or in pie or made into jam (the original marmalade)
Hardy Kiwi (aka Chinese Gooseberry) is a berry or grape sized fruit that will remind you of the fuzzy kiwi.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinidia_arguta and is better when squishy!
Cranberries - Fresh from Upper Canada Cranberries in Ottawa (not from within 100 miles)
Pears: Flemish Beauty, Harrow Delight, Bartlett, Bosc, D'Anjou and HW623
Plums: German Prune Plums (smaller and sweeter than the Italian prune plums)
Grapes: Sovereign Coronation (blue, virtually seedless), Concord (with seeds).
Tree Nuts: Almonds and Chestnuts are available!
Crabapples too!

Upcoming:
From Little City Farm "A little bird told me" Handmade Holiday Sale
Saturday, December 7 from 9 am-2 pm at 508 Duke Street West.

Bailey's Local Foods ordering still open for pickup on November 25

 message from Rachael:

We've been busy eating lots of pears this week. They are absolutely perfect as a quick snack and this morning we enjoyed a pan of pear clafoutis (it uses up a lot of eggs!) I ordered a flat by accident, but we'll order another flat for next Monday as we've enjoyed them so much! This might be the last week for grapes and plums, so get your fix while you can!

Hot Stuff
Have you ever heard of the Ghost Pepper? The Bhut Jolokia Peppers are supposedly the hottest ever and we have them in bags (and bushels!) from Mark Brubacher in addition to his habernero peppers for making the best hot sauce ever (you know you want to), Look for the Spanish onions and shallots he has grown and mesculn salad greens that he hopes to offer us throughout the winter!

With the holidays coming up our suppliers are adding some great treats!

• New Moon Kitchen is fully stocked and we have a limited number of their seasonal Lemon Cranberry Crunch cookies too!
• Grainharvest is already baking their Fruit n Nut Bread, Christmas Stollen, Christmas Stollen with Marzipan, Assorted Christmas Cookies, Pure Vanilla Crescent cookies, Gingerbread Men as well as Gluten Free Christmas Cookies from Circle of Life
• Ambrosia Pastry Co.'s Springerle Cookies are back! Pear and Almond Tartes and Peppermint Marshmallows
• Egg Nog from Organic Meadow is available in 1 L cartons
• Egg Nog Caramels from Hugo and Nate to continue the theme!
  
• Jewels Under the Kilt has a new flavour: Green Bosc Pear with Ginger as well as Maple Apple Pie which is delish
  
• Mapleton's Organics Ice cream is back! (yay for a new freezer!) Choose from: Vanilla, Chocolate, Chai, Ginger and Vanilla Chocolate Chip
• Santa's Mix granola from Little Bites is available for a limited time
  
• McKechnie chips, tamales, tostadas, taco shells, and corn tortillas are all fresh this week!
  
• J&D Peters fresh flour tortillas in stone wheat, Mexican flour, spelt and kamut as well as pasta and noodles are the best!
  
• Fruit from Warner's Farms including their awesome pears! (see full list below)
  
• Gluten free baked goods and prepared food from Winnie's Gluten Free including Tourtière and perogies! (stock up, shes away for the next pickup)
• Peanuts, and peanut butter from Kernal Peanuts is restocked too! Their salted peanuts with a bag of
• Spud's Finest Kettle Chips from Barrie's Asparagus was so easy to offer as a snack!
  
• Gift Baskets! We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food! Order online or email us to arrange a custom basket!

From Little City Farm
We are hosting our annual "A little bird told me" Handmade Holiday Sale here at Little City Farm again. You are invited!
When & Where? This holiday sale is on Saturday, December 7 from 9 am-2 pm at 508 Duke Street West.

The sale features local handmade goods from 8 vendors who have an eco-conscious or upcycled focus to their work, including several artists living in our very own neighbourhood such as:

• Trevor from Dekay Street, making fine wood turnings and cutting boards from fallen trees
  
• Jesse from Guelph Street, making recycled art and jewelery from bicycle parts
  
• Karin from Duke Street, with organic baked goods, natural soaps & herbals and more
  
• Plus handmade woolen clothing from upcycled sweaters, handmade toys, felted ornaments, children's woolen slippers, pure beeswax candles, and many more treats!  

Payment is by cash only. Come planning to meet many other friends and neighbours during this fun annual social event! Tours of our urban homestead are available to anyone who is interested (even though it's the off-season) so drop by our backyard during the sale hours if you wish to see more. 

Supplier Spotlight - Little City Farm

I am pretty sure Little City Farm has been supplying Loose Leaf Teas to Bailey's Local Foods since the days in Nina's carport.  I discovered Bailey's through a blog post Karin Wrote back in 2008. Karin, Greg and Maya are Little City Farm - an urban homesteading family trying to live simply and sustainably on a 1/3 acre city homestead in Kitchener.  

Little City Farm is an eco bed & breakfast and they also host workshops with a variety of topics in Organic/Urban Agriculture, Homesteading Skills, Slow Food, Eco Crafting, Herbal Health and Sustainable Living.  Here are their 2013 Fall Workshops. Karin is also the talent behind Homestead Herbals where you will fine simple, pure, organic, earth-Friendly herbal products & eco home decor for the eco-minded family. 

Little City Farms/Homestead Herbals teas are a mix of herbs they grow using sustainable methods, or that are either certified organic from a local source, ethically wild-harvested locally, and a few herbs included are certified organic but not local (e.g. cinnamon, vanilla bean, orange peel all used for flavour).

Here are the tea varieties we offer:

Women's Vitality Blend
A blend rich in iron, calcium & minerals to help tone the female system.  Can be used during nursing to boost milk production.
Ingredients: certified organic and/or sustainably grown peppermint, nettle, blessed thistle, oat straw, red clover, red raspberry leaf.  (note this tea is not gluten-free)


Sweet Dreams Tea
A sweet herbal blend that calms the mind, soothes the spirit, and promotes restfulness.

Ingredients: certified organic and/or sustainably grown lavender blossoms, chamomile flowers and rose petals.

Winter Flu Fighter
A blend that strengthens the immune system to help ward off colds, coughs and flu.

Ingredients: certified organic and/or sustainably grown echinacea root, elder flower, marshmallow root, hyssop, hops, mullein, fennel, sage, lemon verbena, calendula, orange peel.

After Dinner Tea
A refreshing herbal blend that's perfect for any time of the day.

Ingredients: certified organic and/or sustainably grown spearmint, peppermint, yarrow, licorice root, lemon verbena, calendula, mullein, fennel seed, stevia

Immune Boosting Herbal Chai
A flavourful spiced tea filled with immune boosting herbs.

Ingredients: certified organic fair trade red rooibos & vanilla bean, certified organic and/or sustainably grown cinnamon, fennel, echinacea root, astragalus root, licorice root, hops, sage, elder flower, mullein, star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom.

Cabbage Mushroom Toasts

Time: 30-45 minutes

Season: All seasons, best suited to fall and winter.

·        ½ cabbage, finely shredded

·        ½ pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

·        2-4 Tbs. butter

·        1 shallot, minced

·        1 garlic clove, minced

·        ½ cup water or broth

·        2-3 sage leaves, minced

·        ¼ cup heavy cream

·        Slices of your favorite bread

• Melt butter in a large skillet or dutch oven, add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  
• Cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms are softened and have released their juices, about 5-8 minutes.  
• Add the shallot and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.  
• Add a small amount of water or broth, about a ½ cup, and boil for about 5 minutes. 
• Add the cabbage and a bit more butter, and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until the cabbage is soft.  
• Add the cream and sage and simmer a few more minutes, seasoning with more salt and pepper if you like. 
• Serve over slices of toasted bread.  
• If you want it a bit richer, spread butter on the bread and grill it over high heat in a frying pan, flipping it once to get both sides nice and crispy!  

This dish goes well with another vegetable side or salad and fresh or canned fruit.  It would also go nicely with a creamy butternut soup.

Guest Recipe Post by Jon Spee

The Local Kitchener

Adapted from Food and Wine

Bailey's ordering for Monday November 25th is open!

For the next 3 pickups we are excited to invite local artisans to our pickups to our local food and holiday shopping more fun! We'll share more about who you can expect soon! Everyone is welcome, so please invite your friends to come too!

What is that white dust on my organic apples?
When I get to talking with Mary at Apple Creek Farm I always learn something new! A customer was asking about the white dust on her organic apples... What is that? Well, I remember hearing about it a few years ago, but couldn't remember exactly what it is! I checked with Mary and it's Kaolin clay (aka Surround) - organic approved for use to prevent the apple maggot fly and the plum curculio from landing for long on the apples. The insects do not like the sharp crystals of the clay on their under body and so they do not stay long on the apple.

While some think that organic farming does not allow any sprays, this is not true. Synthetic chemicals are not allowed. Pete and Mary need pre-approval by eco-cert, their certifying agency, to use ANYTHING on their apple trees including natural fungicides. Some of the extra precautions the take are spraying their trees at night as there is less wind and they get better coverage and to help avoid pollinators and beneficial insects. Also the trees have not been sprayed since mid July.
Harrington Lane Bulk Pork Boxes
Krista has more meat than freezer space and because of that you are getting a great deal! We will have 20 and 25 lb boxes of her pork starting November 25th

The boxes include:

• 3-4 lbs Bacon
• 3-4 lbs Sausage (GF)
• 4 lbs Pork Chops (approx. 6 packages of 2)
• 2-3 lbs Boneless Roasts
• 2-3 lbs  Cured Hams/Ham steaks (Bone In)

Don't forget:

• McKechnie chips, tamales, tostadas, taco shells, and corn tortillas
• J&D Peters fresh flour tortillas in stone wheat, Mexican flour, spelt and kamut as well as pasta and noodles!
• Grainharvest has some holiday goodies available including stollen and fruit and nut bread that will be added very soon
• Egg Nog caramels from Hugo and Nate
• Mat's Oils - cold pressed, organic sunflower, flax and hemp!
• Fruit from Warner's Farms including their awesome pears! (see full list below)
• Gluten free baked goods and prepared food from Winnie's Gluten Free including Tourtière and perogies! (stock up, shes away for the next pickup)
• Gift Baskets! We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food 

Ordering ends TODAY! (Tuesday) November 5th at 8:00 pm **Order for two weeks!

A message from Rachael:

Beans Beans... order your beans! We're offering Rounds dried beans this week and likely not again until the new year!!

We are happy to carry products from Organic Meadow.  They offer everything from frozen Organic Vegetables (Beans, Corn, Peas and mixes) to Greek Yogurt, Sour Cream, Cream Cheese and Milk (egg nog, chocolate and lactose free too!)


Lists are great. Check out some great items we have:

• Lemon Tarte, Chocolate Tarte and Caneles from Ambrosia Baking Co are available!
• Fresh organic juice from Garden Party
• Cheese including the award winning Goatagiano from Gordon's Goat Dairy
• Your favourite bread from Grainharvest
• Egg Nog caramels from Hugo and Nate
• Mat's Oils - cold pressed, organic sunflower, flax and hemp!
• New Moon Cookies - we love the new GF Chocolate Chip!
• Snider's Pork Sausage -
• Grains from Oak Manor
• Apple Cider Vinegar - I needed a new bottle!
• Floralane tomatoes
• Fruit from Warner's Farms including their awesome pears! (see full list below)
• Mesculn Mix from Mark Brubacher - a new farmer
• Tea from Little Ciy Farm. Revive and Barrie's Asparagus
• Dried Beans from Rounds! I know it sounds funny to talk about 'fresh' dried beans, but these sure are fresher than the ones from the grocery store!
• Gluten free baked goods and prepared food from Winnie's Gluten Free including Tourtière and perogies!
• Elvina Bauman is growing head lettuce for us in her greenhouse. Let's help her with her love of growing plants!
• Little Bites Snacking Granola is now available in larger refill packs (you can refill your 'on the go' container 5 times!) Allison has also blended a limited edition "Santa's Mix" which  is a great idea for a stocking stuffer!
• Gift Baskets! Well... I really want to get you thinking about them... We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food!

Bailey's Local Foods ordering still open for pickup on November 11

A message from Rachael:

What a beautiful Sunday. I would have written this sooner but we needed to do some much needed yard work...

Today I updated the Monforte cheese offerings. Things to look for this week include

• Mary Jane - perfect and soft this week according to Daniel
• Buffalo Milk Fresco - awesome with a bit of honey
• Formidable - soft goat spread with chocolate and chiles
• Sheep Dip - soft cheese spread with sun dried tomato and garlic
• Torta - Cow milk and creme camembert - the first batch of the season
• Creme Fraiche - the last batch of the season, but it does have a fridge life of 5 weeks
• Goat Gouda is back!
• Toscano - One of my favourite aged cheeses. Sheep milk in the Tomme de Savoie style

Of course you don't want to overlook the cheese from Gordon's Goat Dairy, Local Dairy, Mountainoak, or Millbank either!


Here are a few other items to look for:

• Apple Cider Vinegar - I needed a new bottle!
• Floralane tomatoes
• Fruit from Warner's Farms including their awesome pears! (see full list below)
• Mesculn Mix from Mark Brubacher - a new farmer
• Tea from Little Ciy Farm. Revive and Barrie's Asparagus
• Dried Beans from Rounds! I know it sounds funny to talk about 'fresh' dried beans, but these sure are fresher than the ones from the grocery store!
• Gluten free baked goods and prepared food from Winnie's Gluten Free including Tourtière and perogies!
• Elvina Bauman is growing head lettuce for us in her greenhouse. Let's help her with her love of growing plants!
• Little Bites Snacking Granola is now available in larger refill packs (you can refill your 'on the go' container 5 times!) Allison has also blended a limited edition "Santa's Mix" which  is a great idea for a stocking stuffer!
• Gift Baskets! Well... I really want to get you thinking about them... We're happy to make gift baskets with the items YOU want included for any dollar amount and can also include a membership if you want to give friends or family the gift of local food!