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A few notes from Rachael:
- The website has been updated. You will notice that items that are priced per pound or kilogram have the prices per unit and estimates indicated. If you ever notice that something isn't working right, please send us an email!
- Sarah has offered to grow seedlings for us! Tell her what you are interested in buying by filling out her survey at http://snipr.com/seedlingsurvey
- Ordering closes on Thursday, March 11 at 8:00PM. Please order early so you won't be disappointed!
Rachael
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Hi Folks,
Happy almost Spring! We made it through the deep dark days of Winter. I hope you got a chance to hibernate. I kind of hibernated last weekend during my weekend silent retreat at the Loyola Retreat Centre in Guelph. Silence for 36+ hours in a quiet world surrounded by snowy fields...
The bad news is that asparagus is still a long wait away. The good news is that a few dear farmers are extending the season with greenhouses so we can offer local grape tomatoes and salad mix (from Soiled Reputation and Paul Bowman)!! My kids will be so happy to see those grape tomatoes again. They've not been complaining abut the lack of them. The two older kids are still eating coleslaw well. I added fresh cilantro to the coleslaw today (from the buying club) and it was such a poignant flavour of summer. Delicious. Last year Matthew made a winter hothouse cucumber salad with frozen dill which was ALMOST as good as fresh dill. Too bad we used our many bags of dill in borscht already.
Winter Eating
I asked a neighbour for a photo of her freezer and canning jars for a powerpoint presentation I gave at the Bring Food Home conference. Her freezer is so beautifully organized I wish I could include a photo of hers and one of mine just to make you smile at the contrast. My freezer is getting empty these days so I filled it with bags of flour to keep it more efficient. Are you still finding treasures in your freezer? I tell myself that now is the time to go ahead and enjoy them. This stretch of March to May is when we need the freezer to expand our local food options and help us wait until the spinach, asparagus and strawberries come in. I think I'll pull out some frozen rasperries tomorrow. The kids like eating them frozen and then we can stir them in yogurt when they thaw. In the summer I was wondering why I was putting so much steamed kale in the freezer (extras from the buying club) but they've been like gold this winter. If we cut it up fine enough, the kids don't blink an eye at little bits of leaves floating in their soups or in the pasta.
I pulled out a roast from Vibrant Farms yesterday for an easy crockpot supper with baby potatoes and carrots. It was the perfect convenience food for a day when I was juggling the conference, parenting, yoga and a meeting for the buying club. I think it is amazing that a roast can taste so good with absolutely no seasoning. It was so tender and flavourful it made my gums ache. The beauty of a crockpot meal like that is the super easy stew it makes for the next day. I set the leftovers on the backporch overnight to chill and then added black beans, onions, garlic and peas and turned the crockpot back on this morning (didn't even have to wash it!). When I came back from the conference we had supper waiting. Crockpots are an ingenius and timeless invention from the 1970's that make eating local (i.e. from scratch) more convenient. I often use mine to simmer bones overnight to make rich broths. I also use it a lot to soak and then cook beans. What do you use yours for?
Slide Show of the Future
I'm so inspired from being at the Bring Food Home conference yesterday and today. I was asked to speak about Bailey's Local Foods, the supports and barriers to running a local food buying club, and how we are "taking back the middle" of the food value chain between producer and consumer. I was surrounded by foodies who were just as passionate about changing the local food system as I am! I focused my talk on my vision for a relocalized food system. I believe that having a clear and beautiful vision of what we are working toward is so important to give us the energy to do the work that needs to be done to make the vision happen. I wish I could share that presentation with all of you. I included photos from the buying club, cute photos of my kids in the garden, our hens, sexy fresh produce and other inspiring visuals. Maybe we could have a potluck at the church and I could share the photo slides... If you're interested send us a quick email and we'll find a date. Let us know what night of the week works best for you.
New Pies
I found a baker of wonderful pies (well, she found us)! To be honest, I was not happy with the quality of the other pies we carried (I'm a pie snob). Susie Wagler, owner of Shakespeare Pies, is offering us three kinds of local pie this month: apple, dutch apple and elderberry. We had a pie fest at supper today tasting all of the samples that Susie dropped off this morning (6!) Fortunately both sets of grandparents were visiting and could help us eat the pies. We all agreed that the pies were divine. The elderberry pie is a unique texture and not my favourite pie but if you like elderberry pie, Susie makes a really good one!
Carrot Soup
If you're looking for a meal idea, I'm making carrot soup on Monday and you can join me. I have a big bag of carrots that did not fit in my fridge so they are a little sprouty from being in the basement so they'll be perfect in the soup. I think I'll add a celariac, onion and a small bag of frozen butternut squash from Lena Burkhardt to round out the flavours. I'm making a huge vat and freezing half for an easy soup in a week or two.
Nina's March Order
Here's what I'm ordering for my family this week (even though my freezer and pantry are full from the last buying club):
HUGE block of old cheddar (to grate and freeze in bags for pizzas, burritos and such)
sundried tomato cheddar (kids' favourite)
chevre
12 plain yogurt (I know, I should make my own)
crema la vaquita
butter
beef roast
Turkey breasts (sooo handy)
roasting chicken
hot dogs (yes, kids' favourite)
roast beef deli x3
chinese cabbage
potatoes
carrots
celariac (sublime in any soup where you might put potatoes)
grape tomatoes
salad mix (YUM!)
greenhouse lettuce
greenhouse cilantro
frozen butternut squash
half bushel of organic apples (thank goodness for the canned peaches and pearsause, as well as frozen blueberries, cherries, raspberries, currants, apricots, and strawberries)
LOTS of whole wheat tortillas (at least 10 packages - gotta make up for not having them this month)
two kinds of tortilla chips
pork hot tamales
8 loaves of bread (my dad - our bread baker - is leaving town)
peanutbutter (goes fast when we make pb cookies)
popcorn
red mexican beans (my favourite)
Order before Thursday the 11th
Marg says to let you know that April will be the last month to order lamb for a while. Let us know if there's something else you'd like to see your buying club offer and we'll work on it.
Marg says to let you know that April will be the last month to order lamb for a while. Let us know if there's something else you'd like to see your buying club offer and we'll work on it.
Don't forget to order right away this month as the ordering closes early (Thursday at 11 PM) so that Rachael can help phone and email the farmers before she leaves for March Break.
Happy cooking and eating,
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.
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