Back in Business
No berries this week and I’m feeling farmers’ market withdrawal. 
The last time I spent time at one and bought anything was two Saturdays ago. I won’t be able to make it to one this Saturday so hopefully on Sunday.
I stopped by the Sorauren Park market on Monday but there was nothing I needed or wanted. I was >this< close to visiting Trinity Bellwoods yesterday after my CSA pick up and was only about 9 blocks away but 9 blocks is a lot to walk when you’re carrying a backpack + 2 bags and my streetcar app was incorrect. It would have been more geographically convenient to go straight from work, but I wanted to see what was available at the CSA first. I’ve already paid for my share in the farm. I partly own those vegetables and fruit before they’re grown.
Here’s what 8 points got me yesterday:
On Monday I realized that I still had corn left from last week. I peeled back the husk on one and a worm fell out and began to wriggle on the floor. It disappeared as I was looking for something with which to it pick up. I examined the remaining ears to any sign of worms and ended up throwing them all out. They seemed wormy, but they’d also been sitting out for a week. I hate wasting stuff.
This week when I picked up the fresh corn I carefully examined for signs of worms, without peeling back the husks. Corn keeps better when it’s protected. I looked for such signs as holes & dust. Worms, and signs of worms, are an indication that you’re getting organic. I don’t mind some worm damage if it’s at the end. It can be cut off.
Later in the evening I shucked an ear of corn and found a perfect cob beneath. There’s a moment of happiness right there.
Eat well, be well.
Last year I posted my haul weekly but I’ve forgotten, and we’re already in week 9. (NINE!!) Bad me. I’ve been taking photos, though, and I’ve been creating most of the newsletters, a job that I’m especially enjoying now that we’re using e-marketing software. If only I were getting paid for this. (I’m for hire on a freelance basis!)
Here’s what I tweeted from the pick up site yesterday:
3 types of melons, blueberries, corn, fennel, garlic & LOTS more at the @EverdaleFarm CSA pick up today!
This is only some of it.
I’d run out of fruit and was rationing the last few days so it felt like I’d found an oasis or hit the jackpot. I split a HUGE yellow fleshed watermelon with a friend and picked up muskmelon (cantaloupe) and honeydew. All three took about an hour to cut up and the juice ran off the cutting board, down the cupboard and onto the floor. Yeah, the ants will love that. (I cleaned.)
Watermelon tastes like summer to me and it is SO nutritious! Antioxidant rich, they’re high in vitamin C, beta carotene, vitamin A vitamins B1 and B6. They’re packed with magnesium (involved with over 300 cellular metabolic functions), potassium and lycopene. Turns out that watermelon seeds are high in zinc and iron, which makes me feel better about pulverizing them in my Vitamix for smoothies. For more information on watermelon, read nutritionist Julie Daniluk’s 5 reasons to eat watermelon and this article from Natural News. Julie’s article lead me to the National Watermelon Promotion Board’s website/blog and there’s some cool stuff on there.
Cantaloupe melons are a good source of potassium, Vitamin A, and folate. It’s high in antioxidants. The sweetest of the melons, honeydew is rich in potassium and one serving of honeydew melon will give you almost half of the vitamin C you need for one day! They’re also high in vitamin B6 and Folate but low in antioxidants. I recently waited nearly a week before cutting into my cantaloupe, then blended it up with the remainder of my vodka and took it to the beach. Refreshing!
Melons kick ass for taste and nutrition.
But it wasn’t all fruit. I picked up salad greens because I eat salads daily for lunch during the work week and a packed small paper bag usually lasts exactly 7 days. I make my own vinaigrette (Kozlik’s tarragon mustard has become a staple ingredient) and throw on extras such as sprouts, hard boiled eggs, avocado, cilantro, and recently, sweet fruit. (Try wild blueberries and peaches.) Beans, tempeh, quinoa… almost anything goes. I’ve even used pickles in salads.
Garlic is in! Two weeks ago seemed to be the big garlic harvest. The Cutting Veg, home of the Global Garlic, harvested 15,000 bulbs over the long weekend as reported in their newsletter. Farmer Carl of Everdale Farm (my CSA) said in his weekly update “Garlic harvest is complete! They are curing in our greenhouse and in a barn.” I plucked two bulbs, stems attached. I will acquire much more this season, as much as I can. It will last for months stored in a paper bag – though my kitchen has been so hot that garlic has been perishing more quickly.
Corn! I don’t love corn on the cob because it gets in my teeth but I also do love it, especially fresh. Especially barbecued with some salt, lime and chili. I picked up 3 ears so that I could cut the kernels off and use them in salads. I don’t have a barbecue. Freshly picked, corn is good raw. I don’t know why more people don’t eat it raw off the cob.
So much to choose from. I don’t like fennel and only buy it if it’s called for in a specific recipe (though I want to try chef Ezra’s recipe for “Salad of watermelon, celery, fennel, mint & grilled Haloumi cheese“, without grilling the Haloumi), which means that I think I’ve bought it twice ever. The containers of blueberries were sadly tiny. I’m not so into radishes, still have kale from weeks ago, don’t really eat potatoes, couldn’t decide what to do with broccoli, etc.
Image via Wikipedia
My final selection was labelled cauliflower but it’s romanesco, aka “Roman cauliflower”(a fractal vegetable, for you fractal nerds). Romanesco broccoli, or Roman cauliflower, is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea, and a variant form of cauliflower. Romanesco is rich in Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and fibre.
The selection was abundant. One of the reasons I love summer.
Tonight’s dinner includes yam from a previous week, an ear of corn and some of the cauliflower.
Looking for a CSA/harvest share to get your own fresh fruit and vegetables directly from the farmers through November? There’s still space in ours for pick up in the Annex, or try The Cutting Veg. They might still have space in one of theirs.
Eat well, be well.
Image by Chris Campbell via Flickr
Registration is open for Everdale’s 2011 season, starting June 14 and running until October 25!
To register online, Click Here
To print off and mail in your registration form, Click Here
About Everdale’s Harvest Share Program:
Everdale’s harvest share program is based on the Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) model that is becoming popular all around the world. Here’s how CSA farms generally work: the CSA farm receives a set fee from you prior to the start of the growing season. In return, you receive produce from the farm every week during the harvest season. In southern Ontario, the harvest season is about 20 weeks long (June-October).
Everdale’s version of the CSA model is called the “Harvest Share Program”. Everdale’s Harvest Shareholders receive fresh fruits and vegetables grown on our certified organic farm and on other local farms.
Pickup Dates and Locations
Everdale’s Harvest Share program begins in mid-June and runs until the end of October. They have two membership options, depending on which pickup location is closest to you:
Member Benefits
Working Share Option
Everdale also offers the option of a Working Share, which means that you can get your Harvest Share in exchange for working on the farm or at one of our pickup locations. For more information about the Working Share, Click Here
The number of Harvest Shares available in 2011 is limited, so sign up now!
For full details about the 2011 Harvest Share Program, Click Here (PDF).
Also see my blog post It’s not too early to consider your 2011 CSA share from last month.
Image via Wikipedia
From Farmer Daniel of The Cutting Veg:
Hello Farm Folk,
The Cutting Veg is thrilled to offer another year of freshly harvested, local, organic produce through our Four Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) locations in the GTA! A CSA is a mutually beneficial partnership in which individuals or families receive fresh, local, organically grown produce weekly, while supporting local farmers and sustainable growing practices. The Cutting Veg Organic Farm grows and sources local, organic produce, and community members come to their chosen depot from June to October, to choose their weekly share. CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT! With March having arrived, planting season is around the corner, and in a matter of weeks we will be in the field, planting peas, onions, arugula, salad greens, Asian greens, and more.
Pick-up locations:
For more information, or to register for the 2011 season, visit http://www.thecuttingveg.com, or contact Daniel at 647-388-7444, or daniel@thecuttingveg.com.
This year I will once again be involved in Everdale’s CSA at First Narayever Synagogue near Bathurst and Harbord (part of Hazon’s network of CSAs) and will post information on that one when information becomes available. It might seem odd that I’m on the organizing committee for one and promoting another (I vaguely recall one person commenting on this last year), but I’m happy to spread the word about different Community Supported Agriculture programs such as The Cutting Veg. I believe in eating local food, in season. I believe in making Community Supported Agriculture as convenient and accessible as possible. It’s community supported agriculture and these programs must be located in places convenient to their users. It’s not competition among Community Supported Agriculture programs, it’s partnership and awareness-building. Be a part of your community’s!
I missed last week’s pick up. Here’s what I’ve got this week:
