Bailey's Buying Club

Last chance to order strawberries. The first week may be sold out but

you can go ahead and order and we'll see how many are picked. It all
depends on the weather and bugs.

Why are no-spray strawberries more expensive? The farmers are taking a
significant risk in not spraying their plants. They risk losing their
crop to a variety of ills: a fly that infects the blooms and makes the
berries shriveled, a fungus that destroys the berries before they are
ripe and an infestation of weeds. They need to do all their weeding
all year by hand and tool rather than herbicides (this is VERY labour
intensive).

So I've found farmers who have agreed to not spray their plants this
year for us (no spray $4.25/qt). I've also found a farmer that felt
she needed to just spray the blossoms to keep away that terrible fly
(low spray $4/qt).

I'm thinking strawberry shortcake with whipped cream.... I can hardly
wait to see Ezra's reaction to his first strawberry (he's 10 months).

Nina

Bailey's Buying Club - Local Pasture-Raised Turkey and Chicken

Hi Neighbours,

If you've ordered turkey or chicken already and are happy with your
order - you can ignore this order form.
If you haven't ordered yet, here is your chance.

Here is the handy form for ordering Turkey and Chicken.
Even if you're not ready to fill your freezer with local chicken and
turkey, consider trying one of each so that you can compare it to your
other chicken. As I said before, I'm convinced that pasture-raised
poultry is the best. Best tasting, best for the environment, most
healthy. The more poultry we can feed on pasture and less on
corn/grain, the better. Not only are grain prices rising as we see in
the newspapers, but the Omnivour's Dilemma pointed out that almost
everything we eat now is from corn or corn fed animals (milk, eggs,
chicken, beef, soft drinks, etc...) Anyway, all I'm suggesting is that
you try a taste test. I'd like to hear your feedback.

If you're looking for super convenience check out the turkey breast
(use in any recipe that calls for chicken breast, of course) and the
chicken parts (easy on the grill).

Cooking tip: 3 easy meals from one chicken. 1. Put a frozen chicken in
the crockpot or roaster in the oven with carrots and potatoes. When
ready, serve it to your family (and hope they don't eat the whole
chicken). 2. After supper remove the rest of the meat from the bones
and boil the bones for an hour. Put the meat in the fridge and the
broth in the freezer. Use the meat and leftover potatoes and carrots
to make a stew for the next meal. 3. Take out the broth and use it as
a base for a simple brothy soup with whatever is in season thrown in
(my kids love brothy soups).

New deadline for orders: June 5
All items will be frozen

Whole Chickens for July Pick-up
# of chickens @ $3.25/lb (about 8lbs each)

Parts package of chicken for July Pick-up
# of packages @ $4.50/lb (two breasts, two wings, two legs, two thighs
= one "parts package" of chicken)

Meaty chicken bones for broth by the pound for July Pick-up
$1.20/lb

Whole Chickens for August Pick-up
# of chickens @ $3.25/lb (about 8lbs each)

Parts package of chicken for August Pick-up
# of packages @ $4.50/lb (two breasts, two wings, two legs, two thighs
= one "parts package" of chicken)

Meaty chicken bones for broth by the pound for August Pick-up
$1.20/lb

Whole Chickens for September Pick-up
# of chickens @ $3.25/lb (about 8lbs each)

Parts package of chicken for September Pick-up
# of packages @ $4.50/lb (two breasts, two wings, two legs, two thighs
= one "parts package" of chicken)

Meaty chicken bones for broth by the pound for September Pick-up
$1.20/lb

Whole Turkeys for October 3rd Pick-up
# of turkeys @ $4.20/lb

Turkey breasts for November 28 Pick-up
# of breasts @ $7.20/lb

Turkey parts (on the bone) by the pound for November 28 Pick-up
$4.20/lb

Meaty turkey bones for broth by the pound for November 28 Pick-up
$1.20/lb

Turkey sausage - unsmoked by the pound for November 28 Pick-up
$6.00/lb

Turkey sausage - smoked by the pound for November 28 Pick-up
$6.70/lb

Turkey bologna by the pound for November 28 Pick-up
$6.70/lb (freezes well)

end of asparagus and rhubarb

Hi Folks,

Just a quick note to tell you that the season for asparagus and
rhubarb is short and will only be a week or two more. So if you want
to freeze them, now is the time. Both freeze VERY EASILY. Just chop
and toss into bags. I don't even wash it if it doesn't look dirty
(don't tell the dinner guests). Frozen asparagus does not win any
texture prizes but is great roughly chopped in the food processor,
lightly steamed and tossed into pasta or casseroles. Also good pureed
in soups. Frozen rhubarb is great in all baking recipes: coffeecake,
muffins - and sauces. When it's baked I can't tell if it was fresh or
frozen.

When I look into my chest freezer I feel wealthy. "We're rich! We're
rich!" I've been heard to exclaim when I open the lid.

When I visit these farmers I'm getting to know and I see what they're
planting for the season I hear the same words in my head: We're rich!
We're rich! We have such an incredible variety and abundance of local
foods growing here! If you freeze a couple bags here and a bag or two
there, soon you're freezer will be full of local foods and you'll be
eating like queens in the Winter.

Nina

Bailey's Buying Club

Hi Neighbours,
Local produce AND local grains, flours and cheese available this week too - May 30. The next time I offer grains, flours and cheese will be in about 8 weeks so order enough to last you at least that long.

Culinary tip of the evening: The soft whole wheat flour from Oak Manor is excellent in cookies, muffins, pancakes and cakes. It does not make them super-dense like generic whole wheat from the store does.

Reminders:
-Orders are due by 9PM Thursday (I phone farmers at 9:02 with orders). I'll send a reminder out Wed night.
-Pick-up is 3:30-6 Friday.
-Bring cash or cheque and bags or boxes.
-Eating local food is fun : )

Slicing Tomatoes by the flat - greenhouse
$18 per flat (about 20 tomatoes) greenhouse

Slicing Tomatoes by the half-flat - greenhouse
$9 per half-flat (about 10 tomatoes) greenhouse

Grape Tomatoes - greenhouse
$2.50 per pint

Buttercrunch Lettuce - greenhouse
$1.25 per head

Asparagus from Sam and Ellen Bowman - no spray
$4/lb unsprayed

Rhubarb from Lydia Martin - no spray
$2.00/lb unsprayed

Green Onions from Brenda Knechtal - no spray
$2.00/bunch

Radishes from Brenda Knechtal - no spray
$2.00/bunch

Spinach in a bigger bag - Bowman's and Horst's
$4/bag (a bag is about 1/2lb)

Soft Whole Wheat Flour (for non yeast baking)
$4.25/1.25kg organic and grown and milled locally

Soft Whole Wheat Flour BULK
$20/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Soft Unbleached Wheat Flour
$4.50/1.25kg organic and grown and milled locally

Soft Unbleached Wheat Flour BULK
$22/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Whole Spelt Flour
$5.50/1.25kg organic and grown and milled locally

Whole Spelt Flour BULK
$30.75/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Unbleached Spelt Flour
$5.50/1.25kg organic and grown and milled locally

Unbleached Spelt Flour BULK
$34/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Rye Flour
$4/1kg organic and grown and milled locally

Rye Flour BULK
$21.50/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Cornmeal
$4.25/1.25kg organic and grown and milled locally

Cornmeal BULK
$24.25/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Quick Oats
$4.25/1kg organic and grown and milled locally

Quick Oats BULK
$30.75/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Rolled Oats
$4.25/1kg organic and grown and milled locally

Rolled Oats BULK
$30.75/12kg organic and grown and milled locally

Flax Seeds
$6.50/1kg organic and grown and milled locally

Brick Cheese
$14.75/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

Pure Parmesan Grated (no filler)
$20/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk
Other:

Italian Mozzarella
$12/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

Monterey Jack
$14/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

Brick with Caraway
$14.75/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

Brick with Hot Pepper
$14.75/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

Brick with Onion and Garlic
$14.75/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

Limburger
$17/kg made in New Hamburg from real milk

local flours, grains, and cheese available this week too

Hi Neighbours,

My house smells like rhubarb coffee cake and I'm looking forward to
MORE asparagus for lunch. I like it steamed, on top of toast with
melted cheese on top...everyday. Thank goodness it is Spring!

Okay, this week we'll also be offering local flours, grains and cheese
from the New Hamburg area. The flours/grains are actually grown AND
milled within 100k of uptown waterloo. Oak Manor Farm is the place
that mills it. It is also organic! Organic may not be important for
some of you but when I found out that it is normal practice to spray
the inside of non-organic flour bags with insecticide to keep bugs
away, I suddenly found the organic not quite so expensive : ) This
flour is stone ground with nothing removed. Did you know regular whole
wheat in the store is white flour with bran thrown back in? This flour
has all of its original goodness intact (if you get the whole grain).
I keep my flours in big sealed buckets. That way I can buy big bags
(which cost less than little bags). The cornmeal is the only thing I
buy in small bags because it gets old quickly. I even keep it in my
fridge or freezer. Are you wondering where to get big sealed buckets?
I've got a few extra for the first who ask for them. I also know that
the DQ near us on King will save big buckets with lids if you request
it. Hard wheat flours will be available this Fall.

The local cheese is from Oak Grove Cheese in New Hamburg. I'm only
listing the varieties that they make there (they sell some from
Quebec). The great thing about Oak Grove is that the cheese is made
from real cows milk rather than "milk products". If you look at the
cheap cheese at the supermarket you'll often see "milk products"
listed. This is imported from the States because it is cheaper than
the regulated Canadian milk. The States allows growth hormones in
their dairy cows and is more lax about testing for antibiotics and
such. I know, I milked cows at a farm in Indiana for two very cold
winters. So I don't want to eat US cheese. I want to eat cheese from
within 100k (okay, maybe miles) of my house. The cheese comes in
blocks about 2.5kg. Opened, this lasts a month in the fridge. Unopened
it will last for several months. I buy a few blocks and use the food
processor to shred up two of them and put them in smaller bags in the
freezer. We then easily eat the other block in the fridge before it
molds.

It may sound like a lot of cheese (2.5kg) but if you are hosting a
party in the next couple months or your family likes cheese as much as
mine, you'll have no trouble using it. Even though the block will not
be exactly 2.5kg it WILL have an exact price on it when you come to
pick it up.

We're trying something new this week. I'm sending you a link for a
google "form". Click on it (coming in an email soon) and you'll see a
handy order form. Let me know what you think of doing your ordering
this way as I'm considering using this every week.

Apparently procrastination DOES pay. For those of you who missed the
deadline to order chicken and turkey, I'm sending it out this week as
a handy order form and you have until May 30 to order. If you already
ordered, there is no need to fill in the form. I have your order.

Good news! Next week you can order ahead for local beef.

See you Friday,
Nina

Order for May 23 + turkey and chickens coming!

Hi Folks,

This week we have the same local Spring vegetables available to order as last week.

Local Produce for the week of May 23:

Slicing Tomatoes
By the flat - $18 (about 20 tomatoes in a flat)
or half-flat - $9 (about 10 tomatoes)
greenhouse

Grape Tomatoes
By the pint - about $2.50 each
greenhouse

Buttercrunch Lettuce
By the head - $1.25 each
greenhouse

English Cucumbers

By the half-dozen - $6
greenhouse

Asparagus
$3.50/lb unsprayed. Grown by Lydia and Aden Martin.

Rhubarb
$2/lb unsprayed. Not sure where I'll find it yet!

Green Onions

$2/bunch

Reminders: orders are due by 9PM Thursday. Pick-up is 3:30-6 Friday. Bring cash or cheque and bags or boxes.

Local Pasture-Raised Turkey and Chicken Coming!

I've found a farmer who is ready to raise us some happy and healthy turkey and chickens. Miriam and Mervin Gingerich live near Newton and are all-natural but not organic. For them this means that they do not use any chemicals on their farm. The only difference between them and organic is that they are not buying the organic feed for their animals (they feel it is too expensive). They are buying feed that is antibiotic and hormone free, no steroids and no GMO. Their turkeys and chickens are all raised on pasture where they get to eat grass and bugs. I've raised chickens and turkeys this way and I am a firm believer that this is the BEST kind of turkey and chicken you can find. The broth that pasture-raised birds give is GOLDEN and the meat is naturally high in good oils. It's the kind of meat that lowers cholesterol. The meat is not soft and mushy like factory birds - but it is also not tough. It is delicious without any seasonings, even. It is full of good real chicken flavour because these birds live happy lives outside. I'll have samples of their sausage and deli meat at the June 20 pick-up.

Please go ahead and order now assuming that you'll LOVE the taste and then if you do not, you are free to change your order. I've not tasted the deli meat but the sausage was extremely delicious. My kids snarfed it down and asked for more. It's great on the BBQ. It is the leanest and healthiest sausage I've found: no msg or nitrates AND the birds are raised on pasture. It just doesn't get any better than that. The farmers need to know our orders by this Friday (May 23) so that they know how many chicks to get. Keep in mind that this is a YEAR'S WORTH of sausage, turkey and chicken that you are ordering. As far as I know they will not be available after the dates given here. So fill up the freezer while you can. Math tip: if your family eats about one chicken a week that means you might consider putting 52 chickens in your freezer : ) If that is too big of a leap for you as you shift from grocery-store eating to local eating, consider putting 20 in the freezer. Farmers can't raise chickens on pasture in the Winter - that is why it is only available Summer and Fall. Here are the details:

Frozen Chicken - available mid July, end of Aug and end of Sept (pick-up dates to be announced)

$3.25/lb whole (around 8lbs each)

$4.50/lb parts in a package (breasts, legs, thighs, and wings)

$1.25/lb meaty bones for broth (neck and back)

Frozen Turkey - available Oct 10 and Nov 28

$4.20/lb whole (Oct 10 pick-up only)

$4.20/lb parts in a package (legs, thighs and wings)

$7.20/lb boneless breast

$6 /lb turkey sausage (turkey, potatoes, oats, water, sea salt, black pepper, ascorbic acid, garlic powder) - unsmoked

$6.70 turkey sausage smoked

$6.70 turkey deli meat (turkey, soda crackers, salt, pickle cure, corn syrup, pepper, coriander seed, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cloves) - smoked. Does contain nitrates.

Your Order (please hit reply and fill this out)

July Pick-Up

___lbs whole chicken (about 8lbs each) - $3.25/lb

___lbs parts package of chicken (two breasts, two wings, two legs, two thighs = one "parts package" of chicken) - $4.50/lb

___lbs meaty bones for broth $1.20/lb

Aug Pick-Up

___lbs whole chicken - $3.25/lb

___lbs parts package of chicken - $4.50/lb

___lbs meaty bones for broth $1.20/lb

Sept Pick Up

___lbs whole chicken - $3.25/lb

___lbs parts package of chicken - $4.50/lb

___lbs meaty bones for broth $1.20/lb

Oct 3 Pick-Up

# of whole turkeys ____ $4.20/lb

Nov 28 Pick-Up

___lbs turkey breast $7.20/lb

___lbs turkey parts with bone $4.20/lb

___lbs meaty turkey bones for broth $1.20/lb

___lbs turkey sausage unsmoked $6.00

___lbs turkey sausage smoked $6.70

___lbs turkey bologna $6.70

I found spinach!

Hi Neighbours,

I can add spinach to the list of what is available for Friday pick-up.
Selema Martin grows all her vegetables chemical-free so the spinach is
100% healthy.

Spinach
$2/bag (a bag is about 1/3lb)
Orders are due by Thursday 9PM. Pick-up Friday 3:30-6. Bring bags and
boxes and cheque or cash.