Good Food News Archive - January 21, 2003
Article : Annual Farmers Meeting Update
Featured this week... BEETS
Recipes: Blazing beet salad, Beet
and apple salad
Article : Annual Farmers Meeting Update
The farmers that supply us with organic food for our food
boxes met this past Friday in Hillsburg. Hillsburg seems to
be the perfect place for a meeting because it is exactly half
way between 200 Eastern and most of the farms. This was an
opportunity for the farmers to compare notes and share experiences
from the past year as well as gear up for the upcoming growing
season.
There were approximately 25 people in attendance, most of
whom already supply us with organic food for the Good Food
Boxes. Sam and Ellen Bowman, Irwin and Lena Horst, Dianne
Kretchmar and Ruth, Johan Reimer, Ira Stoll, Gavin, Lyn and
Karen from Everdale, Les Bowser from Kawartha Hills Organic,
Alvaro and Melanie from Plan B Organic Farm, and Vera, Lauren,
Canon and Josee from FoodShare were all keen to talk about
seed saving, the organic certification process, environmental
farm plans and farmers’ markets.
There were also some new faces at the meeting, there to check
out possibilities for growing food for Field to Table. Many
had heard about FoodShare from Marlene Warry of the Ministry
of Agriculture and Food. Ken Marisett, a grain farmer with
300 acres in his 4th year of being certified has started growing
vegetables with his wife and daughter. Henry Ellenberger and
his wife have a beef farm but also grow potatoes and berries
and are interested in selling to FoodShare. Paula Anderson,
the new farm manager from Sun Run Sustainability Centre, a
diverse organisation that has an organic farm, a sustainability
centre, and a rare cattle breeding operation, has just taken
over from elderly farmers. She thinks they will specialise
in sweet potatoes and was there to build connections with
FoodShare. All were keen to hear how things worked and meet
other farmers that were also growing organic in Ontario.
As usual, the agenda changed on the fly to accomodate all
the topics the farmers wish to discuss. Many of the farmers
have continued to experiment with new crops and speak of their
successes and failures. Les Bowser is only in his second year
of farming. He had quite a few failures last year, but one
of his greatest successes was rhubarb. Ira Stoll is the manager
of the Mennonite’s organic co-op. He says they are finally
at the point where they find out what works and what doesn’t
work. He also comments on how it is nice to produce something
that “you feel good about.”
As is common on packing day, Mary Lou points out where the
produce for the week’s box has come from. She points
to the sandy soils where the Old Order Mennonites grow wonderful
melon and squash, and to the Canadian Shield where Dianne
grows lettuce, chard, arugula, turnip and radishes, all great
for the cooler temperatures in the most northern farm we buy
from. She points out Plan B in Flamborough near Hamilton,
growing great salad mix, candy carrots, tomatoes and beans
all of which love the warmer temperatures of southern Ontario.
Alvaro and Melanie presented their take on the Environmental
Farm Plan as a process for an open accountability system for
organic farmers. The Plan asks farmers to deal with various
environmental issues. Once the plan has been peer reviewed
(by other farmers in the group), farmers can qualify for $1500
to be used toward improvements. Plan B participated in such
a process and was able to use the money to help pay for a
UV and hard water filter to clean their water and ensure higher
quality salad greens.
Organic seeds and seed saving came up in the discussion and
Vera noted that by the end of the year all seed will have
to be certified organic. This is an issue for FoodShare seedlings,
which are often unual and hard to find varieties. A lot of
the farmers agreed that they do not have the capacity to save
enough seed and need to focus on growing produce but all recognise
the importance of seed saving. There was a suggestion to divide
the labour of seed saving among them. The idea is that everyone
saves the seed of a certain crop and would come back next
January and trade seeds on a small scale trial basis.
Lauren from FoodShare spoke about the farmers’ market
projects being organised in two Toronto communities for next
summer. This past October, two farmers’ markets were
piloted in Parkdale and were very successful. Next summer
there will be farmers’ markets in both Parkdale and
Flemingdon. Lauren notes that there is increased interest
in Toronto in developing farmers markets as a way to bring
produce to underserved areas. But she also emphasized that
communities have to make it worthwhile for the farmers because
it is labour intensive and expensive to take trips into the
city to sell produce. Plan B has been going to farmers’
markets for 5 or 6 years and Alavaro comments that he tells
his market customers that he needs their loyalty: “if
you don’t show up we can’t come regularly.”
There seems to be a general consensus that community markets
need community support.
Featured this week... BEETS
This week you’ll find beets in the large and small
conventional and organic boxes. Most people stay away from
beets because they just don’t know what to do with them.
So, we’ve included a few simple recipes to help you
out.
Beets are a good source of potassium, vitamin C, magnesium,
iron and folate (a form of a water-soluable B vitamin). Beet
greens (the leaves and stems) are also highly nutritious and
can be cooked as well. They are an excellent source of beta
carotene and packed fibre, calcium, iron, vitamin B6, folate,
riboflavin and thiamin.
STORAGE
If you buy beets with the stems attached, cut off the greens
and store seperately but leave a bit of stem on the beet as
it helps to lock in the flavour when cooked. Store the greens
in the fridge for no longer than 1-2 days. The actual beets
can be stored for up to 3 weeks in the crisper and once cooked
will last up to a week in the fridge.
PREP TIPS
Wash beets carefully as the outer skin can tear easily and
cause the beet to bleed. It is best to cook your beets whole
and cut them afterwards. If you cut the beets before you cook
them, the deep red colour will leek out and cause them to
turn a dull brown colour.,
COOKING
Beets can be steamed, boled, baked, roasted or microwaved.
One of the easiest ways to cook them is to wrap in foil, just
like a potato, and bake at 375oF until tender. A large beet
can take up to an hour to cook. A good way to check if they
are ready is to poke with a fork for tenderness. Once your
beets have cooled, the skin comes off easily and you can then
cut them the way you want. To help keep their colour when
cooking beets in water, add a tablespoon of lemon juice or
vinegar.
Recipes
Blazing Beet Soup
This soup may be eaten hot or cold and since it is rather
rich, can be served in a small cup or bowl. Scrub the beets
well before cooking. Taste as you prepare the soup because
it is important to get the right balance of sweet and sour.
8 medium sized beets, scrubbed
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth (fresh or canned)
2 cups water
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
1/2 cup sour cream (to garnish-optional)
1. Place beets in a heavy pot and cover with broth. Bring
to a boil, partially covered. Reduce heat to medium and let
simmer for 45 minutes or until beets are tender. Remove beets
to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
2. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip off the
skins and cut beets into pieces. Pour the broth through a
fine strainer into another pot to remove any particles.
3. Puree the beets in batches in a food processor or blender
adding the broth and water. Remove to a bowl and add lemon
juice until you reach the right balance of sweet and sour
(you’ll be able to tell by tasting). Season with salt.
4. Serve soup in small portions with a dollup of sour cream.
Makes 8 servings
From: www.epicurious.com
Beet and Apple Salad
3 medium beets (or 1 pound)
3 tbsp vegetable oil (any oil is fine)
3 tbsp white wine vinegar (any vinegar is okay too)
1 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp orang juice
2 tbsp onion, sliced
1 tbsp mint (optional)
1 tsp honey
2 cups romaine lettuce, torn
1 apple, diced
Cook whole beets covered in simmering water for 40-50 minutes
until tender. Drain and cool slightly, remove skin and cut
into thin strips.
For dressing: combine oil, vinegar, zest, orange juice, onion,
mint and honey and shake it up until well-mixed. Toss half
of the dressing with beets and chill for 2 or overnight.
To serve, combine romaine and apple in a bowl, toss with the
rest of the dressing and top with beets. Garnish with mint.
from: www.fooddownunder.com
For more Beet recipes, check out www.foodland.gov.on.ca or
www.fooddownunder.com. I found a ton of Beet recipes on these
web sites.
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