1. December 2011 by David.

I don’t know if I can write warm and fuzzy newsletters as well as Heather does, so here are a few pictures of warm and fuzzy animals instead. We were finally able to finish paying for Lana who has been waiting all summer to come over with her adopted calf, Micky. She is experienced and good natured, and has been extremely patient as we learn to handle a cow and calf pair.

Our new Katahdin ram, Coleman, came with a special chest harness equipped with a block of coloured wax. This lets us know which of our ewes was bred while our backs were turned, making it easier to predict lambing time. Apparently Coleman is a very charming fellow, if we can judge by Brownie’s backside… Don’t you wish this kind of gadget was available for teenagers? Or maybe not… This variety of sheep, called a hair sheep, doesn’t grow a fleece and therefore does not require annual sheering or docking, a common practice which involves removing the lower portion of a sheep’s tail. We are hoping to have lamb available next fall…

Coleman’s First Day

Take our CSA Survey! . Working hard, making some serious improvements to the barn.

Pickup Changes

November leeks

We have recently decided to cancel an additional pickup. We will no longer be taking weekly produce to Chipworks. Luckily, most members already contacted are happy to pickup at the farm, which is close by.

Pickup options are now: Riverglen Farm, Britannia, Wellington, Centertown.

We’ve been getting good feedback from members who opted for the fall extension. This panned out as a store credit. Many enjoy visiting the farm, choosing their vegetables, eggs, and ”putting it on the tab”.

We will be updating our registration form shortly so it includes an option to pre-pay market or farm store produce at a discount. More details to follow…

On a side note… I’m looking for some help to make a few improvements to our website. We need a banner, and I would like to add a photo gallery section. Any ideas?

- David

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

14. November 2011 by David.

”So, I guess all the farming must be wrapping up for the year, then.” Uh, yeah… Nope, we are definitely still farming. Farming really isn’t the sort of thing you just put on pause when it gets too chilly for T-shirts and sandals. In fact, believe it or not, we’re still gardening!

Lots more veggies in the ground!

There are still lots of root crops in the ground. Row cover (white nylon sheets) does a great job protecting vegetables, keeping them lush and green. Even the kale is still standing. And when the leaves finally do die-off, such as our beets, the roots bellow ground keep in perfect condition.

Farm Store Display

Our farm store currently stocks:

-Orange and multi-coloured carrots

-Red beets

-Red and yellow onions

-Spaghetti squash

-Leeks

-Rutabaga

-Siberian kale

-Green swiss chard

-Parsnip 

-Daikon radish

-Nappa cabbage

-Yellow, russet and purple potatoes 

Renos include swapping steel cage windows to glass, adding pens and installing electrical outlets and lighting

We’ve also been keeping busy winterizing our house, barns, garden, equipment, machinery, vehicles and animal housing. The firewood pile is gaining height on the back deck, plastic is going over windows… Renovations in the animal barn include a new waterfowl pen, two sheep stalls and two double cow stalls. Winter is a challenging time for animals living outdoors and we need to be organized in order to provide water (preferably not in its frozen form), shelter and feed to our 100 laying hens, 11 waterfowl, 3 (soon to be pregnant) ewes, 1 ram, 3 pregnant cows, 1 bull, 2 dogs and 5 cats. Unfortunately, none of these creatures fly south for the winter. We modify feeding schedules, switch to heated water fountains and bowls, and spread a whole lot of straw bedding.

In a world where the typical gardener buys manure, fertilizer (organic or not) and even soil in bags, I feel the need to emphasize that none of these things would exist at all were it not for farmers willing to over-winter animals. When you buy produce from Riverglen Farm, you can rest assured that these critical ingredients come from animals well cared-for and well fed. We feed animals with our own hay, vegetables, and pre-mixed, certified organic feeds. We design our systems to maximize manure recovery and use it to create compost piles, inoculated with biodynamic preparations to increase its vitality.

So yes, we are still farming. We will be farming next month, and the month after that, and the next month after that. But thanks for asking. Thank you for acknowledging that we work pretty hard and could probably use a bit of a break. Luckily, the days are getting shorter and we spend more time inside, entering harvest and sales records, book keeping, planning and marketing while the stereo plays music in the back ground. Big produce commitments are over and deliveries are getting smaller. Our schedules become more flexible, we can take more leisurely walks, and if we’re lucky enough to find reliable farm sitters, we might even be able to go for a weekend camping trip! Sweet!

- David

November Discount for Returning Members

Over thirty members have already signed up for a 2012 weekly or biweekly produce box! This is very encouraging. Apparently, several people were happy with their produce this year and are hopeful that the quality of the program will keep improving. Thank you!

There are two weeks left to take advantage of the next early-bird discount level! Get your deposit and registration form in before the end of November to enjoy a discount on your weekly or biweekly produce box.

2012 Registration Form

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

26. October 2011 by David.

The geese these days are showing promise as ‘guard geese’, the role they were brought to Riverglen to play. Unfortunately, they seem to be intimidating some of the store customers. I have to say, we’ve never seen or herd of them attacking people. The hissing is new, but it hasn’t changed their general behaviour patterns. While they will follow you with their neck down, I always smile at the floomp floomp of their clumsy feet as they try to move quickly. I’ve never gotten closer than about a metre to them - and that includes when I open the doors to let them in and out of the barns! They won’t actually get too close to you. They will honk, they may fly up to you, they may follow you hissing, but just turn around and look at them. They’ll stop, cock their heads, and wander away as if nothing had happened. They’re fascinating to watch.

If you walk towards the geese, they’ll walk away from you!

After a full season’s training, I found it a challenge to roll up 11 rows of drip tape in a row. I mean really, they’re lightweight (although sometimes heavy with water), and only 200 feet long each. Not amongst the harder tasks at the farm. Oh well. Part of the joy of farm work is that there is a little of everything. The body learns motions and can speed things up only when there’s a lot of a given task, like hoeing, harvesting and hand weeding. I guess I’ll just have to accept that my arms can’t roll too many drip tapes in a row unless I want to start a daily drip tape rolling drill, and I definitely don’t! The worst part would be having to re-lay it each time, carefully around all the plants. Definitely a huge waste of time, and unnecessary wear and tear on the already fragile tapes. Don’t even think about it for next year’s interns David

It is hard to believe that this is your 20th and final basket of vegetables for the year. I send you a fond farewell, and thank you for supporting an amazing learning experience for farm interns.  It is extremely rewarding to interact with the people we are feeding at pick-up day, the market stand, the farm store, or events. Thank you for sharing your smiles with us!

-Heather

Joining us again next year?

Here’s a link to the registration form so you don’t miss out on the variety of great produce headed your way: Registration Form 2012  Early bird registration rebates apply until the end of October.

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

18. October 2011 by David.

It is nice to see the farm rhythm changing over the course of the season. While we were once busy hoeing whenever we had a break from harvesting, the weeds are less of a concern now. That leaves a bit more time for basic farm maintenance, cleaning up after a busy season, and making time to do the chores during the day. An important use of days when we are not delivering CSA baskets is harvesting in bulk. Root crops can be brought in a day or two before delivery, and are stored in our cold room. The morning of your delivery, we’re out harvesting your fresh greens, and packaging up other items like onions and squash. Having a few items ready the day before also makes it feasible to finish your boxes in time with a team of two!

Wednesday last week was a nice warm sunny day, perfect for planting garlic and working the soil in the garden. David was busy ploughing some of the now empty fields after preparing the soil to plant garlic. Meanwhile, I was busy planting the garlic. We’ve high hopes that the garlic will do much better next year. It is planted in a section of the garden less prone to flooding. The cloves are down nice and deep so they won’t be pushed up to the surface by spring frosts. David used the discs on the tractor to make nice deep furrows to plant into. We dragged a wooden pallet to fill in the furrows and cover up the garlic. The final touch will be to mulch it with straw/hay which will help insulate the ground and simplify weeding next summer. May the garlic grow nicely for you next year!

Finally… ask David about his compost piles.  He is very proud of a pile he moved this weekend.  The winter pasture provides us with valuable compost.  This weekend he moved it into the field where the rest of the compost piles are, using the manure spreader to help mix it as he piled it. He was so excited he took a video.  Maybe he’ll post it for you!

Heather

Joining us again next year?

Here’s a link to the registration form so you don’t miss out on the variety of great produce headed your way: Registration Form 2012  Early bird registration rebates apply until the end of October.

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

11. October 2011 by David.

I’m sure this little warm spell feels so much nicer due to the cold spell last week! We had our first cold morning harvests - days when we have to watch out for frost on the row covers. If the row covers are still frosty when we try to open them, they (apparently) can be ripped up and ruined very quickly. So we just have to wait for them to warm up a bit! Rubberized garden gloves help protect from freshly melted frost, and a spot of warm tea goes a long way. We’ve been making use of the new aprons (that don’t let water through) at the wash station, and some wonderful rubber gloves that go up to your shoulders. The gloves make all the difference when you are dealing with cold groundwater washing carrots and potatoes. However, by the end of the week I think I had shed four layers, and we had a wonderfully warm weekend - perfect for Thanksgiving!

Heather

The chickens chowing down on some carrot tops. They are being harvested October 19th, and CSA members will be getting them for $4.50 per pound. Drop by the store if you’d like to reserve one in advance.

What’s in my Box? Week No.18 Red Onions:  These slightly sweeter onions will add a bit of extra colour to your dish. Nappa Cabbage: Another spring/fall crop makes its comeback.  This time, the flea beetles have stayed away and even the outer-most leaves are in beautiful shape.  Cooked as you would any cabbage, or made into a nice crunchy salad.  Salad Mix or Spinach: Those of you that got spinach last week will have salad mix this week, and vise versa. This salad mix is lettuce greens and greens from the beet family.  Orange Carrots:  So easy to munch on, but it might be worth keeping some to make a nice spicy cake with. Butternut Squash: This a new variety of dwarf butternut squash called ‘Nutterbutter’ They didn’t do very good in the field, but maybe they’ll prove themselves on the plate. Let me know how it goes!  Cylindra Beets: These heirloom beets are selected for their storage ability, hearty flavour and their cylindrical shape. This helps speed up the cutting process for preserves.  Swiss Chard: A nice fresh full bed of Swiss chard is read to feed you.  Turtle Beans: This was another experiment, which turned out a whole lot better than the nutterbutter. These beans were vigorous and very low maintenance. Use these just as any dry bean, but careful not to over-cook them. Let me know how they taste! Worth doing again? Rutabagas, growing very nicely so far!

Joining us again next year?

Here’s a link to the registration form so you don’t miss out on the variety of great produce headed your way: Registration Form 2012

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

28. September 2011 by David.

Autumn has arrived. Our calendars now agree with the shortening days, cooler nights and the yellow confetti of ash leaves on the lane-way. The garden reacts by producing large floppy leaves of kale, thick stalks of leeks and crates and crates of winter squash. It also means that many people are changing gears. Steve Laing, who spent the last five months living, working and learning at Riverglen is heading back to class at the end of the week.

The success of our enterprise demands largely on our summer interns, who spend their spring and summer fully immersed in the rhythms of the farm. On top of routine garden tasks such as weeding and harvesting, these students take on serious responsibilities during their stay. Steve took charge of the daily care of our laying flock - currently 100 birds - as well as our 200 broiler chickens.

For 5 months, I could trust that the daily care of our flocks had been carried out on time and on spec. To take the experience even further, Steve collected feed, productivity and sales data as a school project for Flemming’s Sustainable Agriculture program. This information will help Steve during planning stages of his own projects, as well as help me improve my own system.

Farm internships are incredibly powerful experiences that truly propel someone through a learning experience that challenges the mind and body, pulling at your heart strings all along the way. If you or someone you know are considering taking on a farm internship, this is a good time to look up potential host farms. You may want to offer your services for a day in order to introduce yourself and have a quick look at the place. A big part of what makes a successful internship this the ability of farmers to interact and communicate. You’ll be spending alot of time together, working side by side.

Steve’s visit last October came at a perfect time when I needed help to plant garlic. We were late. It was cold and wet. But on that sunny day the few people I had managed to gather for the task worked quickly, efficiently and everyone seemed to get along. That says a good deal, for me, and that same dedicated, positive vibe has persisted throughout the season.

-David

Washing beets with the old apron

Diversity We’re having a lot of fun with our little store front here and we’ve been experimenting with offering a few more farm products. You might of noticed the jars of honey on display. These come from Kurt Streckeisen out in Lanark County. For several years he has helped organic farmers in the area get started in beekeeping. This spring, he helped Carolyn setup two hive boxes in the orchard. One caught a swarm from the wild hive in the house and the other housed a nuke (starter colony) imported from Australia. Both colonies have thrived this summer and one has even yielded 20 lbs of honey. While this precious liquid will be distributed to friends and family over Christmas, Caro hopes to have twice as many hives next summer. In the meantime, Kurt’s own honey will be available this fall on our shelves. Also in response to customer demand, we are raising meat birds. Known in the industry as broilers, these are the chickens you are used to seeing in the supermarket. Their large muscle mass, light feathering and fast growth rate make them ideal for meat production. Ours, however, get to go outside. Every morning, after their breakfast binge session, they spread out in their pen, pecking at bits of vegetables and hiding in the tansy. These chickens have over five times the space awarded to their supermarket cousins. With all this extra care and the certified organic feed we provide, it’s pretty remarkable we can offer the meat at $4.75/pound, 25 cents cheaper than supermarket organic chicken. But Steve’s done the math and looks like we can actually pull it off! And just to add an extra p Chillin’ by the water cooler… erk to being a CSA member, we’re only charging $4.50/pound to CSA members. A $15 deposit will ensure you get yours fresh on October 19th, and frozen chicken will be available at the store thereafter. I will also start selling Joel’s Coffee. Fairly traded, organically grown coffee beans, roasted in Rockland, Ontario.  Registration Form 2012

What’s in my Box?

Week No.16

• Salad mix: First cut lettuce mix in bags. No mustard greens, but a splash beta greens.
• Radishes: Valentine’s pink radish mix. A mixture of colours with a more of a familiar shape for many. In an effort to keep the radishes mild, crispy and juicy, we’re trying to pick them a little younger/smaller. We hope you enjoy!
• Siberian Kale: This is one campaign promise I did manage to keep. Fall kale! This green kale is particularly soft and tender compared to kurly or black kale. It’s taste is very green, almost like collards and braises particularly well.
• Orange Carrots: This bed of carrots seems to be growing quite slow… But we haven’t had them in a while so let’s just dig them up anyway! yum
• Spaghetti Squash: Winter squash of the week: spaghetti squash.
  • Rinse it briefly and cut it in half.
  • Put the halfs upside down in a pyrex dish. Fill with a little water to keep the bottom of the squash halves wet.
  • Cook 10 minutes at 350F.
  • Flip and cook another 10 minutes or so.
  •  Drain the water and scrape out the veggy spaghetti (lengthwise) with a fork.
  • Top with your favourite sauce or pesto. Enjoy!
• Onions: 2lbs of yellow onions
• Garlic: I’ve started late night garlic cracking/movie watching sessions. Some of the garlic is too small for planting so you all get a mini-bulb of garlic this week..

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

20. September 2011 by David.

Yes, it’s that time again. Perhaps its the frost we had over the weekend, or perhaps it’s my squeaky old car aching to be replaced by a farm truck before winter but… It’s registration season! With only 5 weeks left, this is your chance to make sure this happens again next year. Box sales through the CSA ensure an even cashflow for the farm, saving us hundreds of dollars in interest. It also lets us know you appreciate the care we put into your heritage Greenbelt farm and helps us better organize for next year.

Once again, returning members get to enjoy significant early-bird discounts this fall. This reflects the increase in efficiency that happens when systems are developed, cared for and improved over time. Your sustained participation helps us focus on managing the farm to produce better food at a better price. These early-bird discounts are our way to thank you for your continued patronage, your constructive criticism and your contagious enthusiasm. You’ll notice the base price for both weekly and biweekly boxes has also been reduced.

An end of year summary and survey will be sent out with the last weekly pickup. Until then, as always, you are welcome to email or call with comments and/or suggestions. Thanks!

-David

Registration Form 2012

Bean Salad by chef Trish Larkin - Black Cat Bistro - with Riverglen wax beans, french beans, basil and scallions

What’s in my Box?

Week No.14

• Lettuce: It’s back! Another round of head lettuce for your own personal enjoyment… Ok, you can share with a friend if you want.
• Radishes: Just kidding, no radishes. We’re taking a break from radishes, but look forward to a ‘Valentine’s Day’ blend and daikon radishes later this fall
• Garlic: Another taste of our B-grade garlic. This year, every single A-grade bulb is going back into the garden. Enough playing around; we need a stronger supply of garlic!
• Soup celery: Our celery didn’t come up as lush and tender as last year. The drought we experienced mid-summer slowed them down considerably. However, the stalks are still nice to add flavour and crunch to soup or stew, and the tops make excellent stock.
• Golden Beets: Anyone miss chard? We haven’t had much chard this year and I’ve been hearing mixed reactions. Some happy, some sad. Well, in case you’re missing those hardy greens, check out these golden beet tops! These beet greens are tastier than any chard I’ve ever had. The flavour and texture is delicate enough to be eaten raw in salad, or cooked in the usual way. The beet portion is a little small, but the greens portion is huge!
• Onions: 2lbs of delicious yellow onions
• Sweet Peppers: This is the last of them. Their brief time to shine is already over.
• Hot Peppers: A bit of spice to add to something nice.
• Parsley: Health super herb

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

14. September 2011 by David.

Two pictures that I just had to share with you from our greenhouse adventures last Wednesday:

Yes, David and Steve had a good time trying to put up the greenhouse. Spirits are high when something you have been waiting a long time for is finally happening! Part two of the arches is due to go up this Wednesday.  My favourite part was standing at the top of the step ladder, on the trailer (to get the height we needed) while David carefully backed the trailer up so that we could bolt on the next section of arches.  It is much easier now that there are enough arches to support themselves.  That first set felt rather wobbly up on the ladder, despite Steve standing on the bottom to steady it!

Harvest days fly by now, and we spent all of Saturday bunching onions and moving them from the trailer to the rafters of the barn.  There are still more onions to hang up, waiting patiently in the field.  This week you will be getting a baggie of onions whose leaves were not long enough for us to hang - they’re no different otherwise from last week’s onions.  Please get them out of those baggies so they can dry!  It’s hard sometimes having to use the plastic bags to make ”portions” of different vegetables, when the vegetables themselves would prefer not be in a plastic bag.  It is the best way we’ve found of keeping it fair, and getting each of you a pound of onions or two pounds of potatoes.

Feast of the Fields made for an exciting Sunday - a big fundraiser for the Ottawa section of Canadian Organic Growers.  Feast of the Fields is where twenty teams of organic farms and restaurants set up stands and serve up their best food for you to wander around and taste.  Riverglen provided the Black Cat Bistro with some beans and scallions which they made up into a salad to serve.  Since only David and Carolyn could get in with the farm… Steve and I got to go as paying guests and chat with other farmers and interns while seeing what else is happening in Ottawa’s organic agriculture scene!  If you’re interested in supporting local organic growers, consider heading out next August to Feast of the Fields for a true feast.

Next year’s registration package is getting its finishing touches, and CSA baskets for 2012 will be available soon at a farm near you!

Heather

We get excited about nice lettuce leaves too… I tried to hide before gobbling this one up. It got separated from the rest of its lettuce head.

What’s in my Box?

Week No.14

• Lettuce: It’s back! After several weeks of heavy, sweet and tasty summer produce it’s nice to sit down with a bowl of tender salad. We’ve soaked our heads of lettuce to enhance its keeping ability, but make sure you keep it in a clean crisper until you need it.
• Radishes: More radishes! Yes! I love radishes. This French Breakfast variety has a spicy flavour without being overpowering. The French eat them raw with salt, butter and a fresh baguette, but you can just slice them into a sandwich if you prefer. Yup, it’s sandwich season! If raw radish is too much for you, add them to a stew, casserole, stir fry or even a soup. The spice tones down drastically, turning into a warm, earthy, crispy experience.
• Potatoes: We’ve got lots of potatoes for you. Still traumatized by the Atkins fad? The trick is to eat those calories earlier in the day, limit your portions when accompanying meat and… exercise!! No, really, fresh organic potatoes are good for you. They contain many vitamins and minerals that help you along your day. Store them out of the fridge in a dry location.
• Tomatoes:  Pasta, sandwiches, soups, stews… Get your tomatoes out of the plastic bag ASAP. These gems do not like close contact with plastic, or any other closed container, for very long. They do best in a basket on the counter. Romas (hard and red) make good sauce and all the others are salad/slicing tomatoes.
• Beets: Red beets are making the news as a super healthy vegetable. Beet tops can be chopped into soups or sauces. You can even eat them raw by chopping them up fine and mixing them with tender greens in a salad. For best results, cut the tops off immediately and store them in the crisper. Beets are two for one!
• Onions: A few more onions… Sometimes I feel a meal isn’t quite a meal until it’s got onions in it. These fresh onions have not been dried or cured. This makes their flavour a little sharper/tangy and a little less earthy.
• Sweet Peppers: Sweet peppers go in the fridge and into whatever dish you like.
• Hot Peppers: Treat them the same as sweet peppers but keep them separate. You have the choice between Hungarian Wax (yellow, medium hot) and Jalapeno (green, very hot)

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

6. September 2011 by David.

One thing about farming is that, aside from gardening, there are many other jobs to be done.  I’m no professional wielder of a sledge hammer, but it doesn’t take too long to get the knack of it. Just as the job is finishing up you get that wonderful feeling of having mastered it, and being ready to actually set about doing the task efficiently.  As with other professions, there are some tasks that don’t happen very often.  The training acquired in one morning of pounding may not be useful again until a few months later.  David is definitely a master Jack of all trades. We interns still have a little way to go.

Modified sledge hammer for Jacks in-training. An old metal hinge and some hockey tape stopped the metal posts from damaging the handle of the hammer when we missed!

The hoop house arrived a couple of weeks ago. We piled it up beside the field.  Then it sat there while we were busy in the garden.  Last week we started to move some of it towards the fields.  We spent a long time Friday measuring, once, twice, thrice, and more until the two rows of 6” x 6” were perfectly lined up to form the foundation.  Then we started creating the anchors for the foundation, by pounding metal T-posts into the ground beside the wooden beams.  That’s Steve giving a good pound to the last ’spike’. A lug bolt connects the wooden beams to the T-posts, and voilà we have a foundation. Bit by bit, a hoop house will appear in our fields soon!

Heather

What’s in my Box?

Week No.13

• Zucchini (fondly known as Zukes): After a surprise comeback, the zukes have given us enough for the Tuesday baskets. You can always grate and freeze it to use later.
• Radishes: French breakfast radishes.
• Potatoes: A mix of white and Russian blue potatoes this week for a colourful dish.
• Tomatoes:  Pasta, sandwiches, soups, stews…
• Wax Beans: Yellow coloured beans to much raw, throw into salads, or boil ever so briefly.
• Onions: A good size bunch of fresh onions - keep them somewhere dry and airy.  That means not in the fridge, but on a shelf or counter.
• Sweet Peppers: A baggie of sweet peppers, the plants are doing very well!
• Parsley: Fresh herb of the week.

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »

31. August 2011 by David.

Our workdays now sometimes span the ever dwindling daylight hours… picking parsley at sunrise then beans at sunset is a great reminder that the end of summer is upon us.  Needing a blanket again for lunch hour naps is also a hint!

Garden work is switching into fall mode.  Some of the summertime plants whose fruits we harvest are no longer bearing fruit.  That means we don’t have to pick them every day.  It also means it is time to pull the plants out and send them to the compost.  The black plastic (biodegradable, corn based) then gets pulled up, also headed for the compost.  Drip tape gets rolled to use another time, and then the garden is ready for compost and being worked with the tractor.

Even though it is fall, we are still seeding more crops each week, planting seedlings into the garden, and weeding.  Some crops stay the same through the fall, other crops are phased out, and some new ones like spinach are starting to grow.  The lettuces are starting to germinate and the onions will soon be ready.  As the fall slows the growth of our garden, the weeds also grow more slowly - at least that’s the theory.  I look forward to seeing it to believe it!

Heather

What’s in my Box?

Week No.12

• Zucchini: Unless the plants perk up again this will be the last week for Zucchini, the cold is starting to slow them down.  As the very first week was Thursday only, this week is Tuesday only. There’s just enough to make a jar of zucchini relish to go with a barbeque dinner later this week when it warms up.
• Colourful carrots: You’ll notice not all the purple carrots are the same - some have yellow in the middle (dragon variety), others have a more mottled purple skin (purple haze).
• Radish: A bit of spice is nice!
• Potatoes: Roasted, fried, mashed, boiled, baked, pancaked…
• Tomatoes:  Paste tomatoes this week - they have more pulp to less juice and seeds, making them ideal for sauces and salsas.
• Wax Beans: Yellow coloured beans to much raw, throw into salads, or boil ever so briefly.
• Scallions: No meal is complete without a relative of onion or garlic.
• Basil: Spaghetti shouldn’t always require reaching for cans and jars - especially with scallions, tomatoes and basil available!  The black spots that appear on the leaves after a few days are due to the cold. Basil doesn’t like being refrigerated (and it wilts if you don’t put it in the fridge) - so put it in plastic or a crisper in the fridge and use it quickly.

Posted in Newsletter | 1 Comment »