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Items you order this week are to be picked up at First United Church on Friday, October 1st between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 at 8:00 PM
***Please note - We will be holding weekly pickups on FRIDAYS until October 22nd this year. After that we will be changing the pickup day to MONDAYS until May.
Message from Rachael:
Cynthia makes amazing, mostly local raw food with sauces that are pretty wow. Last night I should have eaten the Celestial Burgie from Divinely Raw for dinner I love them (and her Organic Tex Mex Tostadas). Both are good - and good for you. But I didn't. I must admit that I ate a butter tart (or two) instead. Last week asked a member how the gluten free butter tarts from Magnolia were. She raved. And this week I got to try them. Wow! Maybe I'll have to pack one in my lunch today with that Celestial Burgie. Mmmmm!
If you can eat gluten, I'd suggest trying the pies from Lena Horst. She's baked for market before and wants to start offering home baked goods (from an inspected kitchen) for you! We're starting with three varieties this week, but keep looking for more! We also welcome suggestions. Pumpkin, Dutch apple and Apple and Ground cherry are on the order form this week!
Did you know that the peanut harvest is happening now? Vipul is offering raw peanuts this week and offers this recipe. He tried them with his family and says it is as good as he'd hoped:
Boiled Peanuts
You will need:- 1 kg fresh shell peanut
- 100-150 g salt
It's as easy as:
- Cover with water
- Bring to a boil
- Boil for about 45 minutes
- Drain water, take shell off and enjoy your snack.
Yes, you need to use lot of salt but don't worry it will not be salty only some salt will get in to the shell.
Some highlights for this week:
- The Nutty Bakers are back! Look for all the old favourites plus a few new ones including sweet and sour meatballs in the 'prepared' section
- Organic Apple Cider from Apple Creek Farms - you can freeze enough for the whole winter!
- Pear Apple Sauce in bulk! We just had a new batch canned!
- Fenugreek from Vipul is back (the bunnies ate it last week!) - Let me know if you need recipes.
- Celeriac - so good in soups, but if you slice it very thin, you can deep fry and make celeriac chips!
- Salad Greens are growing again!
- Turnips and radishes are ready too!
- Local flour from Oak Manor for making pie!
Rachael
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Message from Nina:
Hello Waterloo Region Eaters,
Don't you just love being alive in southern Ontario when Autumn is this delicious? The weather is also beyond balmy. I'm so pleased I got three loads of wash hung and dried before it sprinkled.
Harvest Celebration Season
Foodlink had their lovely Taste Local Taste Fresh last weekend and Rachael really enjoyed attending and seeing many of our suppliers there! If you missed that one, don't worry, there are many more harvest celebrations you can join in. There is the an Organic Week happening in the Guelph and surrounding area in October. See www.cogwaterloo.ca/events.php. for details.
This is one event that caught my eye. Organic Oasis is this lovely little farm store on what I call "Erb Street" (just take Erb St West until you hit it). My kids (and I) would love the wagon ride and they serve Mapleton's ice cream cones.
Friday, October 15
Farm Tour â€"Organic Oasis (*Reserve your spot at least two days prior to the tour date)
2301 Perth Line 43, Stratford â–ª1:00-3:00pm
www.organicoasis.on.ca
Enjoy a wagon ride around this mixed farm to learn about how organic vegetables are grown and organic animals are raised.
See Foodlink's event page http://www.foodlink.ca/index.php?p=events for more events.
I'd love to go to Oakridge Acres' Fall Fun Day today but we have a college reunion. My husband is playing the saw at the coffeehouse - can't miss that.
Straight-up Message from a Farmer
Below you'll find an excerpt from the end of an article by Rebecca Thistlewaite who is a pasture-based farmer in the US. I found her unapologetic straight-talk refreshing and challenging. Follow this link for the whole article and a link to her blog.
http://www.grist.org/article/food-do-you-have-the-balls-to-really-change-the-food-system/
"Really put your money where your mouth is:
- Don't complain about prices. If price is an issue for you on something, ask the farmer nicely if he has any less expensive cuts (or cosmetically challenged "seconds"), bulk discounts, or volunteer opportunities. But don't ask the farmer to earn less money for his hard work.
- Don't compare prices between farmers who are trying to do this for a living and those that do it only as a hobby (and don't have to make a living from what they produce and sell).
- Share in a farmer's risk by putting up some money and faith up front via a Community Supported Agriculture share. And then suck it up when you don't get to eat something that you paid for because there was a crop failure or an animal illness.
- Buy local when available, but also make a point of supporting certified Fair Trade, Organic products when buying something grown in tropical countries
- Buy organic not just for your health, but for the health of the land, waterways, wildlife, and the workers in those fields
- Figure out the handful of restaurants that buy and serve truly sustainable food and become loyal to them. Occasionally give them feedback and thank them.
- If your budget doesn't allow you to eat out often, eat out infrequently but at the places with the best integrity that may be more costly.
- Ask the waiter where the restaurant's meat or fish comes from, and how it was raised before you order it. If the waiter gives an insufficient answer, order vegetarian and tell them what you want to see next time if they want your business again.
- Don't buy meat from chain grocery stores, not even Whole Paycheck (ed: a reference to Whole Foods Market). Understand that for them to get meat in volume with year-round selection and availability, they have to work with large distribution networks and often international suppliers, and don't pay enough to the producers for them to even cover their costs.
- Get the majority of your produce, meat, eggs, dairy, bread, dried fruit, nuts, and olive oil from farmers markets, CSAs, U-pick farms, and on-farm stands. Try to buy from the actual farmer, not a middleman. Get the rest of your food from the bulk section, dairy case, or bakery of your local independent grocer.
- Pay for your values. If it hurts, don't have fewer values, just eat less food (sorry, but most Americans could stand to do a bit of this)
What I am saying is that we can't be casual about the food system we want to see. If more people don't show some commitment, and take part in some of the hard work that farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers do on a daily basis, then we cannot build a sustainable food system.
You don't have to be a passive consumer. You are part of this system, too. Don't just eat, do something more!"
End of quote.
Talking Turkeys
This is the second to last order before Thanksgiving so if you can't pick up an order on October 8th, be sure to place your Thanksgiving order now. I was talking to Kevin about the turkeys from Snyder's Heritage Farm. No forty pounder birds this season, he didn't let any get that big this year. His birds really do taste better than factory-raised birds. He includes instructions for preparing each turkey and even one of those thingies you poke into the turkey and when it is baked thoroughly it pops out. He was saying how people often don't think of turkey as a menu option unless it is Thanksgiving. He has taken a brave leap and now offers a variety of turkey parts. If you have not tried them, I highly recommend them. The breasts are super convenient for stir fries or baking, the ground turkey is delicious anywhere you'd use hamburger or ground chicken and the meaty bones make the best broth. Kevin always goes on about how good the drums and wings are too. Think of how much more meat you get than when you're eating chicken!
Meals that Heals now Green Table Foods
Meals that Heals held a contest asking people to give them a new name. The name they've decided on is Green Table Foods. So look for that name when you want high-quality food that is ready-to-eat. See their items on the order form under "prepared".
PS The Sweet Keepers look AMAZING on your cupboard, mom.
In solidarity with farmers,
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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