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, October 8th between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday, October 28th, 2010 at 8:00 PM
***Please note - Upcoming Friday pickups are Oct 8 and October 22. After that we will be changing the pickup day to MONDAYS until May.
Message from Rachael:
Last week we bought two Naked Seed pumpkins from Ivan and Elmeda Brubacher. The other night I cut into the tops (jack-o-lantern style) and removed the seeds. There were lots of seeds and not too much flesh to pick out. Also, the seeds were really green instead of white (i.e. naked). While I washed the seeds in the colander and roasted them on a pan in the oven with some sunflower oil and salt, the kids got to carve! If we continue getting these pumpkins, they will be carving pros by the end of October! There was one downside. Since the shells did not need to be peeled or spit out, they went fast - really fast! Oh, and if you forget about them in the oven, they will pop like popcorn, but messier!
There are a few local events I'd like to draw your attention to:
- The Harvest Celebration at Martin's Family Fruit Farm begins tomorrow! Details at http://www.martinsapples.com/news.cfm#157
- Waterloo Kitchen Table Talk and Organic Soup Serving on October 15th at the First United Church - "What do you want your food system to look like?" Come discuss your dreams for a local food system over a bowl of organic soup. Details at http://www.communityevents.ca/instance.php?id=7102
- The First Ever Bi-annual Clothing Swap: Tit for Tat will be held Wednesday, October 6th, 2010, 7pm at First United Church. How it works: Bring your clean preloved clothing and exchange them for some new favorites! Admission: at least 1 article of clothing or suggested donation of $2 Contact tit.for.tat.swap@gmail.com for more info
- Diakon (direct translation is BIG) radishes from Brenda Knechtel
- Frozen Turkey - Naturally raised from Snyder Heritage Farms or Organic pastured from Vibrant Farms
- New pie flavours from Lena Horst
- Elderberry and Grape
- Cherry
- Blueberry
- Raspberry
- Chestnuts, Heartnuts, Persian Walnuts and shelled Black Walnuts from Niagara will be available this Friday! Get them while you can!
- New deli meats from Stemmler's - Roast Chicken and Roast Turkey - look for them in the 'meat' section
- Apple Bread from Golden Hearth! Aura says it's good!
Rachael
------------------------
Message from Nina:
Thanksgiving!
I don't mean to sound the alarm but this is your last chance to get the local food you love for Thanksgiving feasts next weekend. Ah, Thanksgiving. Such a delicious holiday. But there IS more to Thanksgiving than eating. There's celebrating the harvest. What better way to celebrate the harvest and give thanks for a bountiful season than to visit a farm and say "thank you." In last week's email I suggested several farm events that are happening in the area. My family was invited to a tour of a new high-tech dairy farm last Sunday. It was certainly impressive. I milked cows for two winters so I know, intimately, the pleasures and pains of milking cows. If I can set aside my questioning of why humans are still drinking milk from mammals as adults, I am able to marvel at the amazing ways humans have figured out how to get maximum litres of milk out of bovines. Ethical questions aside, we all enjoyed learning about how modern farms extract milk and I enjoyed the smell of the alfalfa fields surrounding the barn. My kids were also darn cute in their rubber boots as they earnestly kicked the silage into the trough for the cows.
Thanksgiving weekend we plan to visit a very different kind of farm. At least I assume it is quite different. We are visiting Mapleton's. I don't think we'll catch an official tour again but will instead enjoy their petting barn, run the gigantic maze and savour the absolute BEST ice cream in Ontario. We'll give thanks not only to the hard work and commitment of the farmers but also to the way they recognize that we need to get out and run around in a field and touch a few animals in order to feel balanced and happy. Thank you for the good fun, Mapleton's.
Kabocha Soup
It's squash soup season again at our house. Matthew made a creamy soup out of a few Kabocha squash that was just divine. The kids and I have requested that he start making it once a week again. He admits that his secret ingredient was sugar but we can pretend that it was maple syurp. I think it tasted so good because of the Kabocha's great flavour and smooth texture.
Kabocha Style
I put a few orange Kabocha squash and five Sweet Keeper squash on our front steps. They look lovely against the red brick wall and the brown steps. I added a millet plant from Selema (she's sold out but will have more next year) and was careful to make the squash look randomly placed. Within 12 hours they'd been reorganized into an alternating pattern of orange/blue/orange/blue. I haven't figured out who the artists/meddler it is but I'm guessing it is the eight year old. If you're walking past, stop in and see the lovely combination.
Cranberries
We know that they have lovely cranberry bogs near Lake Muskoka but we have not found a way to ship them down here that allows us to sell them at an affordable price. Through the mail is too expensive. If you have an idea for getting ALMOST 100 mile cranberries into Waterloo Region for next year. Let us know.
This week look for:
- garlic (stock up while you can, we don't know how long the farmers' supplies will last)
- sparkling cider for the festive meal - buy 3 and save!
- turkey - can't forget the turkey
- ham - perhaps you prefer a ham
- cheese - variety of cheeses for the appetizers
- crackers for the appetizers
- hot jam - goes on top of the cheese and crackers
- dip - yep another appetizer
- squash for "pumpkin" pies
- apples for apple pies
- pie - or just buy a pie from Lena that is ready to serve
- celeriac for the turkey vegetable soup you'll make a few days after the feast.
Thank you farmers for hanging in there and growing food even though you're paid less than minimum wage for your labour. Thank you local cheesemakers for bucking the trend and following your passion to make cheese. Thank you local miller for milling local organic flour even when it's easier to buy it milled in a large facility and resell it. Thank you local bakers for choosing your career for the love of it and not the income. We honour you and your knowledge and skills and commitment.
Bon appetit,
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:
Post a Comment