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Items you order this week are to be picked up at First United Church on Friday, October 22nd between 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Ordering will end on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 8:00 PM
***Please note - Upcoming MONDAY pickups are Nov. 1, Nov. 15, Dec. 6, Dec. 20, Jan. 17. Friday Pickups will resume in until May.
Message from Rachael:
I hope that you have eaten through any Thanksgiving leftovers by now and your fridge is emptier than mine was last weekend! Tonight we had turkey enchiladas with some leftover turkey, corn tortillas from McKechnie, some red bell peppers and the last of the tomatillos from the garden! It was so tasty served with Creme Fraiche and Asparagus Salsa!
Nina mentions Napa/Chinese cabbage below. I'll be buying some to make a year's worth of Kimchi. It's a Korean staple - think sauerkraut, but with garlic and ginger and usually quite hot too!. Unfortunately there is a Korean shortage of cabbage this year causing prices to rise to as much as $14 per head (they were about $2.50 last year)! The Government is even stepping in with subsidies and bringing in Cabbage from China! Read more at http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Westerners-Puzzle-Over-Korean-Kimchi-Crisis--5409
The highlight of my week was the first of this year's chestnuts! Thursday morning I roasted them and sat on the couch enjoying them nice and warm with a friend and my kids. These chestnuts are smaller than those you'll get in the store, but they are so much sweeter and fresher! All our nuts come from Grimo Nut Nursery in Niagara-on-the Lake. Isn't that amazing? Thanks to Aura for letting me know about an article on Ernie Grimo from Edible Toronto. Read it at http://www.ediblecommunities.com/toronto/fall-2010/ernie-grimo.htm.
Now for some tips on getting to the meat of these nuts:
How to crack a Heartnut: See http://baileyslocalfoods.ca/files/heartnut.JPG
How to prepare and eat Sweet Chestnuts:
- Eat fresh using a paring knife to cut off the skin and fibrous covering
- Boil - Place sweet chestnuts into a pot with cool tap water. Cover pot while boiling and stir occasionally on medium high for:
- medium size - 10-12 min
- large size 15-20 min
Using a slotted spoon scoop out a few nuts at a time and as soon as they are cool enough to handle, but still hot, cut them in half and pop them out of their skins.
- Roast - First pierce the skin to allow hot air to escape while cooking. Use a sharp paring knife to cut a slash or an "X" through the skin, but not the nut meat. The larger the cut the easier it will be to peel.
- Chestnut Pan - Roast them by shaking the pan over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Microwave oven - place a dozen chestnuts around a microwave plate and cook on high for 4 minutes
- Oven - Place chestnuts on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with water. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Place one uncut chestnut on the sheet with the others. When it "pops" they are ready to eat.
- Enjoy!
To our valued customers,
I would take this opportunity to say "thanks" to you for your continued support of purchasing fresh, local, organic vegetables again this summer. Here at Kingwood Farm we take pride in what we grow. Farming has its challenges at times, but it also has it rewards. Challenges can be not knowing if it will rain, or if it will be too wet a summer, or too cold, too hot, things we cannot control. But as a farmer another season means another opportunity. Even though I was disappointed in losing most of our tomato crop to blight, especially after watching and nurturing the little seedlings grow into mature plants and produce fruit (you become attached to them) we have been thankful for the bounty of other produce. These are the rewards, especially our squash and pie pumpkins have done well. You, our customers are our reward! As I help to package the orders it gives me a good feeling that we are able to produce food and be able to share it with others in our community. We hope you have been enjoying the fresh produce as much as we are, butternut squash soup has already been made, and last night I cooked up Kabocha squash, I want to make soup with it like Nina shared in an earlier email, it sounds so yummy!
So as the days get shorter and weather cooler, another season is upon us. I am looking forward to soon harvesting our baby spinach and lettuce greens (we have had some little taste testers) growing in the greenhouses, you should be seeing it on the order form in the coming weeks.
We look forward to continue growing organically for you!
Mike and Debbie Loepp and family.
Kingwood Farm
Some highlights for this week:
- Baked goods from Magnolia are now available from Green Table Foods! Congratulations to Eleanor and Josh on working together to make great food!
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Chestnuts, Heartnuts, Persian Walnuts and shelled Black Walnuts from Niagara will be available again this Friday!
- Russet apples from Martin's and Northern Spy and Golden Delicious from Apple Creek Farms!
- Ingredients for your own crock of kimchi including Napa Cabbage, carrots, green onions and so much more!
- Did I mention Carrots?
- Even more new baked goods from Lena Horst!
Have a lovely week!
Rachael
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Message from Nina:
Hello Local Eaters, Movers and Shakers,
With my belly still full of leftover dutch apple pie, I sit down to write a letter to you for the order form for the Friday Oct 22 pick up. Our last Friday pick up before we switch to Monday pickups for the "winter." It's not really winter, we know. We need to switch pick up days so that the church can use the church on Fridays for the Out of the Cold program. Some members love Monday pick ups instead of Fridays. We hope that you'll mark your calendars and shift with us to a different schedule. We'll be printing winter calendars again for you that you can request with your order (look in the 'other' section). Right now mark Oct 22 as the last Friday pick up and November 1 as the first Monday pick up. The ordering window for the winter will continue to end on Tuesdays, but we hope to open it a bit earlier also!
Thanksgiving Feast Outdoors
Sigh. What a Thanksgiving weekend. It feels like we need another ritual just to give thanks for such a balmy and beautiful Thanksgiving weekend. I know I sounded like I was making small talk as I exclaimed and gushed over the weather but it was sincere awe and gratitude coming out - not a lack of other things to talk about. We actually ate our Thanksgiving supper outdoors on Sunday! We set up three long tables in a row in the driveway and dined in bliss. Long outdoor tables laden with good food reminds me of Babette's Feast. I should watch that again. Our turkey from Snyder's was delish and the two pitchers of gravy made everyone happy. Gravy is so easy to make! I should make it more often.
Frosted Spinach
Today we were eating spinach from Paul and Saloma Bowman and noticing how sweet it was. It must've had a touch of frost to taste so sweet. Many people don't think of Fall as a green salad season but our clever farmers know that if they start their lettuce and spinach at just the right time in the summer and protect it from too much heat, both will happily grow into the late Fall. Lettuce and spinach love the shorter days of fall and do not bolt or go bitter like they easily do in the spring and early summer. So when you're thinking of supper menus and lunches for work/school, think of chef salads, taco salads, and spinach salads.
The Art of Local Squash
Last January and February I talked to many of our farmers on the phone asking them to grow certain crops for us. Because we ran out of local winter squash so early last year, we asked several farmers to grow winter squash for our members. It's been a good year for squash so we have a nice long list of varieties and quantities to offer you. If you are interested in the idea of storing food and like how it increases food security and strengthens the local food system (for example, if all households stored 6-8 weeks of food we'd increase our resiliency significantly and be able to better handle surprises that come our way), but you don't have a root cellar, you can still adeptly store winter squash and garlic. You can experiment with where squash keep longest in your house: under the bed, in a closet on an outside wall, on top of a shelf... Just keep an eye on the squash and if you see a spot of rot on one, use it right away (cutting off the little rotten spot, of course).
Recipe idea
Miriam is really hoping that you'll buy lots of her Chinese/Napa cabbage this fall. My family loves to make slaws with Chinese cabbage. My five and three year old eat it enthusiastically while they seem to have trouble chewing regular cabbage. We like it with a sweet vinaigrette on it (cider vinegar, lots of maple syrup, soy sauce and oil) and toasted sunflower seeds or nuts on top. It is so simple to make but very satisfying. Add cooked turkey breast to it or goat cheese and it is a meal.
It's sometimes hard to remember that local foods are not too expensive, imported foods are too cheap. Thank you local eaters for putting your money where your mouth is and supporting local farmers and food processors. Now I need to go make turkey vegetable soup.
In love with local food and the joys and connections it brings,
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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