What did you think of the peaches or pickles you bought in October?
Your feedback will help us decide how to approach sourcing preserves
this year.
Your feedback on the questions below will also help us determine what
direction to go with the buying club this spring. THANK YOU for taking
a few minutes to help us out.
Nina and Rachael
What ARE you eating these days? Enjoying goodies from your freezers
and jars? Thinking of me as you open a jar of pearsauce?
I'm sure thinking of you folks a lot. Rachael and I are now in active
planning mode for 2009. I called a few farmers today to plan what
they'd grow for us this year. Miriam wants to order seeds this week
so she needs to know if we want fall cabbage and how much as well as
what kinds of winter squash. It may seem early to be ordering/needing
seeds but some farmers start seeds in greenhouses in February
(tomatoes, for example). We just finished the last of our butternut
squash. One out of 15 rotted so I think they liked our laundry room
environment. I'm going to ask Miriam to grow a few varieties that are
especially good keepers (like the Hubbards) so that I can keep squash
in my laundry room until March or April next year.
Are you wishing the buying club was going? Imagine it is January 2010.
This is what you'll be able to order from Bailey's Buying Club:
variety of squashes
potatoes
onions
carrots
garlic
pearsauce
cabbage
rutabagas
celariac
parsnip
dried beans
flours
honeys and maplesyrup
herbal teas
jams and applebutter
cheeses
popcorn
peanut butter
apples
pears
salad mix
jars of pickles/relishes
frozen meats
pasta
and more
Eating locally in the Winter can be an abundant feast - if we just get
organized! Farmers need to know that we will be there ready to buy all
year and then they'll take on the risk of storing the food. If you're
feeling dreary about local food, go look at our website. The photos
are enough to make you drool and revive your local food passions
(baileyslocalfoods.ca).
Many of you have asked me what the plan is for next year. We are
still figuring it out. We think we'll have a few pick up locations.
When you place your order on-line, you'll indicate which neighbourhood
group you are a part of. You and 40-50 other families meet at the
host house Friday afternoon or evening (depending on the host's
preference) to pick up your food much like you did at my house here
but on a smaller scale. The host house can choose if they want to add
a lemonade stand/pastry stand to the scene or add other things to make
it fit their style and their family. The host house would need to
have space indoors or under a roof (carport) for the food.
Many of you have asked me to let you know how you can help to take
this buying club to the next step. It's now becoming clear what some
of the things are we need to take the next step. Here is how you can
help:
Offer us a no-interest loan (we need about $5,000 to get started)
Join our team as a "Friday Coordinator". We're looking for two Friday
Coordinators who will take turns working at the selling sites. This
person needs to be detail oriented, highly organized, able to lift
half bushel boxes, have a decent sense of humour so that she/he can
take the food as it is delivered and divide it into the appropriate
neighbourhood groups. There will also be helpers to this Friday
Coordinator so he/she needs to be nice to work with.
Do our bookkeeping since Nina sucks at it (help!). We think this
would take 1-2hrs a week.
Fill in the feedback survey I'll be sending soon to help us plan for next year.
Offer to be a host house in your neighbourhood. Two neighbours may
want to team up as the host house so that it if one is at the cottage,
the other host's it.
Volunteer your expertise
Spread the word that convenient local food is here. Tell your friends
and family. Send them an email extolling the glories of the buying
club. Get your journalist friends to write articles about the buying
club. Add us to your website or blog.
Thank you for all of your help!
Much joy,
Nina
PS Below you'll find descriptions of really neat workshops you can
join in at Little City Farm (just on Duke St!). Foster and I are doing
the one on fermenting foods. Why put it in a jar and seal it if I can
just let it sit in a crock for a few months??
Urban Homesteading Workshop Series 2009
Little City Farm, Kitchener
More details at: www.littlecityfarm.ca
Little City Farm is a small-scale urban homestead in Kitchener. We
are dedicated to promoting urban agriculture, basic homesteading
skills, and hands-on sustainable living in the city. All workshops
listed will be held at Little City Farm, 508 Duke St. W, Kitchener.
Each workshop costs $20/person (family rate available). REGISTER AT:
info@littlecityfarm.ca / OR call 519-575-9174
Knitting Basics – January 31, 1-3 pm – with Pamela Mulloy
(pre-registration required) In this hands-on workshop you will be
introduced to the wonderful world of knitting! Learn to knit, purl,
cast on and off, as well as a few other basic stitches while creating
your own dishcloth. As well, gain knowledge about reading patterns
and different types of wool. Bring your own set of needles and a
small ball of yarn. Additional needles and yarn will be available.
Pamela is an avid knitter & member of the K-W Knitters Guild.
Fermented Foods – February 21, 1-3 pm – with Jackie McMillan
(pre-registration required)
Let your taste buds tingle! Discussion will cover background on
fermenting foods, how and why to ferment foods, health benefits, and a
spectacular taste testing of various lactic acid ferments. Workshop
participants will prepare colourful multi-vegetable sauerkraut as part
of this interactive session. Jackie recently completed an intensive
week-long workshop on Fermentation, Food Culturing & Medicine Making
at the Algonquin Tea Company.
Starting Seedlings at Home – March 21, 1-3 pm – with Angie Koch from
Fertile Ground CSA
It's time to get the garden started! Enjoy a few hours with your
hands in the dirt, learning about how and when to start various seeds,
germination success, transplanting, soil mixes, organic techniques,
where to purchase seeds, and more. Participants will take home sample
seedlings for their own garden. Sponsored by Farmers Growing Farmers,
a program of Everdale Organic Farm and Environmental Learning Centre.
Angie Koch is a local organic farmer with Fertile Ground CSA and is
also a vendor at the Kitchener Market. www.fertilegroundcsa.com
Beyond Band-Aids: A Homeopathic Approach to First Aid – April 18, 1-3
pm - with Rachel VandenBerg
Looking to stock your first aid kit with natural remedies that work?
Look no further! In this workshop you will learn the basics of
homeopathic prescribing including how to select and dose appropriate
homeopathic remedies. Focus is on the most common remedies in a
summer first aid kit. Rachel VandenBerg is a licensed naturopathic
doctor with an additional specialty in classical homeopathy. She
practices at Healing Path Centre for Natural Medicine in uptown
Waterloo. With an emphasis on women and children's health, her
practice is eclectic and open to all. www.healingpathcentre.com
7th Annual Organic Seedling Sale – May 23, 9 am-12 noon FREE!
Join us at Little City Farm as we host our 7th Annual Organic Seedling
Sale! Find organic and heirloom varieties of vegetables & herbs ready
for planting. Specializing in heirloom tomato varieties. This is a
free event. Seedlings cost $2-$3/each.
Natural Twig & Willow Construction – June 20, 1-3 pm - with Alfred
Rempel and Robert Kramer
Learn to build simple beautiful structures using natural materials
that can be sourced in your own backyard! During this hands-on
workshop we will be building a low wattle fence/arbour using locally
grown willow, dogwood, grapevine and Manitoba maple. We will also
discuss coppicing, living fences, and other forms of natural
construction.
Building a Home Composter – July 18, 1-3 pm – with Greg Roberts
Composting is the wonderful process whereby biodegradable household
and yard "waste" products decompose into extremely useful rich
humus-like soil. Discover how to make great compost, and how to build
an effective home composting system. Workshop will also include
discussion on vermicomposting (worm bins) and composting toilets.
All about Fruit Trees – August 22, 1-3 pm - To Be Confirmed
Fresh fruit picked in season from your own backyard!
From planting to tending, pruning to harvest, in this workshop you
will learn which fruit trees grow best in our climate and organic
methods for maintaining healthy trees. Also information on how to get
involved with the local Fruit Tree Project, harvesting fruit from
abandoned trees in our city.
Seed Saving Basics – September 19, 1-3 pm – with Bob Wildfong from
Seeds of Diversity Saving seeds & knowing how to grow our own food may
be some of the most important skills we can have, as food prices rise
and crop diversity declines. Attend this workshop to learn proper
techniques for collecting seeds from your own garden this season, from
beans to tomatoes, herbs to flowers. Proceeds from this workshop go
to Seeds of Diversity, Canada's Heritage Seed Program. More info at:
www.seeds.ca.
Making Natural Waldorf-Inspired Dolls – October24, 1-3 pm – with
Amaryah deGroot (pre-registration required) Learn to make simple dolls
from natural materials such as wool, cotton and silk. In the tradition
of Waldorf education, these cuddly dolls inspire children's creativity
and fantasy. Their neutral features help to develop a child's
imagination to see the doll laugh, cry, sleep, etc. Participants will
work on their own doll throughout the workshop. All materials
provided. Amaryah makes reconstructed clothing and toys from
reclaimed wool sweaters with her business Sew Oiseau.
www.sewoiseau.com
Intro to Soap Making – November 14, 1-3 pm – with Karin Kliewer
(pre-registration required) Make beautiful, natural handmade soaps
just in time to give as gifts this Christmas. Join local herbalist &
soap maker, Karin Kliewer, to learn the simple art of traditional
cold-process soap making. This is a busy hands-on workshop where
participants will be asked to bring a variety of supplies to create
their own soap. Organic herbs and basic essential oils will be
supplied. List of supplies will be emailed upon registration. Karin
operates Homestead Herbals creating natural soaps & organic herbal
products. www.littlecityfarm.ca/herbals
Living Foods: Sprouting for Winter – November 21, 1-3 pm – with Karin
Kliewer (pre-registration required)
It only takes a few minutes per day to reap the great rewards to
sprouted "living" foods. Sprouted foods add tremendous health &
vitality to your meals, and provide an inexpensive source of fresh
local greens during the winter months. Learn simple ways to
incorporate sprouted seeds, grains, beans and nuts into your diet.
We will sample and share recipes for microgreens, sunflower sprouts,
and wheatgrass, as well as sprouted "cheese", sprouted milk, sprouted
breads, and even sprouted dessert! Participants each take home a
sprouting starter kit.
What did you think of the peaches or pickles you bought in October?
Your feedback will help us decide how to approach sourcing preserves
this year.
Your feedback on the questions below will also help us determine what
direction to go with the buying club this spring. THANK YOU for taking
a few minutes to help us out.
Nina and Rachael
Are you sitting down to satisfying meals these days? We've moved into
soup and stew mode. The winter mode. I discovered a "Brunswick Stew"
that is full-bodied flavour. I think the key ingredients are the
Worcestershire sauce and sweet corn. I used a vegetarian recipe from
Sundays at Moosewood and added that lovely turkey sausage from Miriam.
Naamon called me yesterday and asked "So, how are the sweet potatoes?"
I told him that mine were turning black very quickly and even the
non-black parts had a bitter taste sometimes. I thought I had stored
them in too warm of a location. No, he said. It's blight. After
selling us our sweet potatoes, they did not sell anymore because they
saw that they were rotting before their eyes. If you haven't checked
your sweet potatoes, please do so you don't end up with a slimy mess.
Naamon only charged $4 for a half bushel in hopes that you were able
to eat $4 worth before they went bad. He wants to make sure that you
know that local food IS good quality (not black sweet potatoes). With
blight, the plants look fine, the tubers look fine at harvest and then
they rot quickly. It is the second year that they've grown sweet
potatoes so they are still learning. The first year this did not
happen. It is a big loss of time and labour for them. Just think of
all the work of planting those rows, hoeing, harvesting, washing,
sorting and packing. The $4 a box will cover the cost of the cardboard
box and then a little extra to go toward all that work (as well as my
mark up to pay for transportation and costs).
Now, how to refund you the $11 dollars?! For the sake of simplicity,
I'd like to suggest that we donate that money to St. John's Kitchen.
With 33 orders for half bushels of orange sweet potatoes, that comes
to $363 I can donate on your behalf. If any of you are uncomfortable
with this suggestion, please don't hesitate to email me and I'll
propose another solution. If I don't hear from you by Dec 1, I'll
assume you're okay with me donating the money.
Some of you were asking about returning jars to Naamon to be reused.
He is willing to wash and reuse them so if you drop them off here in
our little side porch beside the driveway, I'll collect them and take
them back to Naamon. You can drop them off anytime but if it is Monday
or Friday, I'll probably be home with the kids.
I was talking to a dedicated local food enthusiast who refuses to open
any of her/their canned or dried foods until Winter solstice. Such
discipline! We can't seem to stop eating these peaches - and the pear
apple sauce is going quickly too. I used our dried grape tomato
halves on top of quiche yesterday and they are amazing especially with
sweet corn in the quiche.
I was feeling so rich and so blessed with a houseful of local food so
I wrote a list of everything that we have with some estimates of
quantities. I put that on the fridge along with a list of meal ideas
(and a few page numbers for recipes) that include these ingredients.
It's been helpful when my mind is blank on what to make for supper.
What is happening next year with the buying club? Still a big
mystery. I've been laying low and recovering from a buying club
season that was like a ride on a frisky horse. Exhilarating while also
stressful, exhausting, and a bit out of control. But VERY EXCITING!
Whew! And fun. Did I mention fun?! I'm ready to start wheels turning
and brainstorming now with other folks. I've been stewing over it
everyday, of course. One thing I'm feeling clear about is that I
don't want to lose the residential connection. If this moves to a
commercial location, it really loses something important. To try to
describe that "something important" I'd say it is walkability and the
value of neighbours connecting. I may send you a survey via Google
Docs to bounce a few ideas off of you again and get your feedback. I
did that in June and it was really helpful. That was how I learned
that many of you did NOT want a user fee or a requirement of a minimum
order.
If you've got an idea for how this buying club should or should not
continue, please email me. No idea is too crazy to consider!
I hope you and your families are enjoying each other.
I miss seeing you all.
Nina
Are you eating well? We sure are! Chef salads tonight with toasted
local hazel and heartnuts. YUM!
I'm trying really hard to not sell local food this Winter. I will
resist... A farmer asked if I'd tell you how you can buy directly from
him. Sure. Here's their info:
Farmers Sam and Ellen Bowman are offering to deliver the following
certified organic foods to you on Nov. 18 (between 3:30 and 4:30pm)
and Dec 23 after 7pm. To order, phone them at 519-698-2960 (not on
Sunday). They live near Wallenstein with their two children and have
been leaders in the move toward organic farming in that area. There is
a $5 delivery charge per order. I'm not sure what that means if 5 of
you neighbours get together and order and pick it up at one house. You
can ask.
Garlic $4/lb ($1.25 each)
Squash $1/lb
Cabbage $1.50 ea
Beets - Red or Gold $3/quart, $10/8 litre basket, $20 half bushel, $35 a bushel
Spanish or Red $1/lb,
Cooking Onions $.70/lb
Carrots washed and packaged - 1 1/4lb for $2, $4 for 3lb
Carrots unwashed - half bushel $14 bushel is $25
Jars of Tomato Juice 750ml $4.50 ea
Jars of Tomato Sauce 250ml $2.75 ea
Ground Cherries $3/pint
First year transition to organic Mac Apples $6 for 3 litre
Kale $2 bunch
Roasting chickens $3.75/lb frozen
Potatoes - unwashed Red, Yukon, or Gold
50lb $30
25lb $17
10lb $8
5lb 5
Blue potatoes 10lb $15, 5lb $10
Cooking onions
50lb $30
25lb $17
10lb $8
Spanish Onions
50lb $40
25lb $22.50
10lb $10
Turkeys (20-30lbs) limited quantity for Dec 23 at $3.75lb
If someone who lives near me wants to order for Dec 23, I'd like to
order then too and pick it up at your house (switcharoo).
What a gorgeous day for picking up local food!!
There is too much I want to tell you about. I have to send an email
today rather than try to cram it all on your pick up slips.
Someone asked me if the canned goods are made in an inspected
facility. The fruits jars are preserved in an facility inspected by
Region of Waterloo Public Health Department. The relishes and pickles
are made in a kitchen that is up to inspection standards (just built
this summer) but has not been inspected yet. Both Erma and Naamon are
trained in food handling and are careful in what they do.
PASTA
First of all, the pasta is a SURPRISE! Turns out Rosa (at Vincenzo's)
made us not 50/50 unbleached/whole wheat, it's Unbleached Wheat OR
Whole Wheat SPIRAL pasta. Okay, we can be flexible. You'll be able to
choose if you want unbleached or whole wheat when you come.
APPLES
The low-spray apples have scabs on them. I want to make sure that you
understand that if farmers don't spray the heck out of their orchards,
they get scabs. Scabs do not affect the taste or keeping ability. Just
think of them as polka-dotted apples. Cool, right? : )
NUTS
I'm short on chestnuts and hazelnuts so I lowered everyone's order to
one pound so that more people can taste them. I ordered extra of the
Heartnuts so check them out on the spontaneous table and consider
topping up your amount with those.
PEACHES
We opened a jar for dessert last night for the first time. Oh my. THEY
ARE SO GOOD. They taste like summer. I don't know how else to describe
it. We polished off two jars in one sitting (we had three adults and
two kids who love peaches). Peaches will be on the spontaneous table
if you're wishing you had ordered more. I'll lower the price a little
too. They are just so labour intensive (washing them, skinning them,
slicing them, packing into jars...) and you remember that no-spray
peaches are not cheap to begin with. Lots of work goes into them. Can
we compare them to a Blizzard at DQ? I think they're about $5. Or a
slice of cheesecake at a restaurant? Which is more valuable in taste
pleasure, nutrition and ethical pleasure?
The Spontaneous Table will be FULL of goodies today. I have some
extras of things from other weeks that I'll put out there too. If you
get here early, here is what you'll find on the Spontaneous Table:
Peaches
Apple-Pear Sauce
Pickled Beets
Currant Jam
Canola Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Celery
Parsnip
Dried Beans (a few I found through Pfennings)
Peach Custard Pies
Butter
There are bound to be more surprises today so come expecting the
unexpected. I know that we are short on pear slices, dilly beans, and
garlic dill cukes so we will quickly run out. Remember, don't come in
a rush. We are not a store or a factory and do not pride ourselves on
the speed at which we process you or anything else. We'd rather you
take the time to tell us what you're thinking and stop and smell the
celariac (it smells just like celery!).
See you later,
Nina
This is your reminder to place an order before 9PM tonight.
I'll be offering another End of the Season Special on Friday:
Apple-Pear Sauce by the case.
I've ended up with about twice the amount I meant to have. I sent bosc
pears with my dad to Naamon and Selema's cider press/cannery with the
instructions to make apple-pear cider (sounds delicious, no?). A week
later Naamon left a message saying that my apple-pear SAUCE was ready
to pick up! Somewhere between me, my dad, Naamon, Selema and their
nine children the order for cider became one for sauce. So, Matthew
and I already canned 80+ jars of pear-apple sauce this year (our most
ever!) so we won't need more than about 20 of these. Even if I give
some away as Christmas gifts, I'll have some leftover by Spring. So,
I'll be selling it by the case at an extremely low price. I'd rather
lose a little money on them and see them go to good homes than have
them sit on my shelve for three years. They will be $25 for a case of
12 quarts (that's $2.08/qt!). If you've already ordered them at the
regular (and accurate) price, please don't be cranky - just order
more!
The history of the pears and apples in the sauce is kind of confusing.
They are all 50/50 apple/pear.The first batch is from Bartletts from a
backyard tree in Waterloo that was never sprayed and conventional
apples. The second batch is from bosc pears from Eva and Rene that
were not sprayed and low-spray apples from Naamon and Selema. We'll
have the cases marked as Bartlett or Bosc and you can choose which one
you want as long as quantities last.
I'm looking forward to seeing you Friday,
Nina
