Sent April 27, 2009

Slow Food Toronto has been very busy lately.  Last week a number of Slow chefs and farmers participated in the Green Living Show’s Farm Fresh Fare.  It was great to be strengthening the link between Slow Food and Green Living.  On Friday, May 1, Toronto is welcoming the founder of Slow Food International, Carlo Petrini, with a “Do It Slow Banchetto” being held at Hart House.  This “Slow Feast” will be prepared by a consortium of Cookstown Green’s most supportive Slow Food chefs – Jeff Crump, Mark Cutara, Jonathon Gushue, David Chrystian, Mike Steh, Anthony Walsh, Anthony Rose, Ted Corrado, Anne Yarymowich, and Scott Vivian.  Please read more details and order your tickets click Do It Slow Banchetto.

Slow Food chefs getting ready (The Globe and Mail)

Carlo Petrini has not only transformed the way the world thinks about food, he clearly has the ear of many world leaders.  So to hear more of his experiences and insights, there is another event on Saturday, May 2 at the Al Green Theatre.  Petrini will be presented with the 2008 Planet in Focus (the film festival) International Eco Hero Award.  Please read more then reserve your tickets at Planet in Focus.

To carry on with the award theme, the Ontario Hostelry Institute presented top awards on April 16 to many who have been an important help to the development of Cookstown Greens: Anita Stewart, Martin Kouprie and Peter Geary, Anne Yarymowich, Rose Murray, Arlene Stein, Gail Gordon Oliver, Claudio Aprile, Anthony Rose, Ruth Klahsen, and Pamela Cuthbert.  Then on April 21 the award winning Cheese Boutique also awarded many of our most supportive chefs (some are proudly repeated) Anthony Walsh, Anne Yarymowich, John Higgins, Ryan Gufstason, Robert Bartley, Mike Steh, and Jonathon Gushue.  Thank you, thank you, to all!

 

Sent: April 20, 2009

There is one rule we must remember each spring:  If it is muddy enough to require boots, we do not belong in the fields.  We always wish for a warm dry taste of spring in March in order to get an early start (such as we did last year).  The usual April blizzard is not a problem.  But this year it did not become dry enough until last week.  Nevertheless in March (to speed up the process), we spread out and anchored “retired” sheets of greenhouse plastic where we wanted to seed this year’s earliest crops.  With the ground pre-warmed and dried, last week we were finally able to seed Lettuces, Mustards, Asian Greens, and Arugulas.  This weekend we put in seeds for the first White Turnips, Red Icicle Radishes, Breakfast Radishes, Sugar Snap Peas, Purple Snow Peas, and Shelling Peas.  As soon as the wind calms down enough, we can pull the plastic back over the newly seeded beds to maintain enough warmth for everything to germinate quickly.  Next week, the soil under the root vegetable beds should be warm enough to start the first new Beets and Carrots.  In two weeks it should be warm enough for all the plastic to come off.  Then we will roll it up for use again next spring.

Dave seeding the first turnips, radishes and peas of the year.

The first tender and sweet wild Dandelion Leaves are nearly ready for harvest.  However, it is still difficult to guess when the first Welsh Onions, Fiddleheads, Green and White Asparagus, Wild Leeks and Tulip Chives will be ready, but early May seems to be the current “best guess”.  Watch this weekly E-NewsLetter to keep up with the latest.  Your customers will not want to miss any Spring delicacies.

 

Sent: April 13, 2009

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the huge brouhaha over the new House of Representatives Bill 875 exploded.  Last week I Googled “HR 875” and received over 4 million hits.  One of the more level headed responses is at Sustainable Farmer.   For other sensible details, you can follow their links to articles by Food & Water Watch and to Slow Food USA.  This bill is really meant to be about “safer” food.  But you can clearly see that millions of food-lovers continue to fear that government and big-business will harm local and small-scale farming.

“Improving Water Quality” at our headwaters with fences

The bridge beside our irrigation intake 4km downstream

One of my first reasons to get E-mail was to receive timely notification (and follow-up) of food safety issues.  The cause of every single farm-related disasters I have followed up on has been severely contaminated irrigation water.  Each of these disaster farm’s irrigation intake was directly downstream from a huge dairy or beef operation.  Duh, of course there was a problem.

The Cookstown Greens’ headwaters for our irrigation water is only 4km away.  So it is easy for us to monitor that the one small cattle operation upstream from us remains a good steward.  We test this water during the summer months and find it actually remains “potable”.  But just in case there is a problem we take care to irrigate leafy greens a few sunny days prior to harvest.  (The sun’s UV light is a great sterilizer.) 

For further safety we wash these greens in at least 3 baths of fresh filtered and UV sterilized deep well water.  We test this water specifically for E.coli 0157:H7, Salmonella enteritidis,, and Listeria monocytoenes  but have never had an issue with any of these pathogens.  We appreciate the support you provide us.

 

Sent: April 6, 2009

While taking an alternative nutrition course in Boston I first encountered ready-to-harvest tiny seedlings at Ann Wigmore’s Hippocrates Health Institute.  They tasted great!  To augment cash flow in 1988, at my new Specialty Vegetable Farm, I decided to give these quick growing gems a try.  I happened to mention this to my friend, Chef Patrick Alléguède who immediately put my trials onto the Hotel Plaza II menu.  He was so eager because his father had grown and delivered these to premier Paris restaurants prior to WWII.  This was Patrick’s introduction to the world of chefs.  Sadly, his father died during the war.  But Patrick says we grow them exactly as  he remembers his father did back in the 30’s.

     Composting seedling soil

Seedlings growing in sunlight

Sprinkling of Seedling Salad

We have been composting the same soil since we started with back in the ‘88.  We continue using this valuable resource (keeping it out of landfills) and also keeping dirt away from your sanitary kitchens.  There has never been any need to add fertility because the roots and seed hulls naturally nourish this soil.  After planting organic seeds in it, we grow the seedlings under sunlight for superior flavour and shelf-life.  We harvest, clean, remove culls, dry, pre-chill,  then package them ready-to-use.

We prefer to call them “seedlings” because that is what they are.  Some call them “micro-greens” which infers that it is a millionth of the normal size (but they are of course much larger than this).  Some call them “cress”, but this refers to one family of piquant plants within the brassica group.  Call them what you will, but make generous use of these little morsels for their fresh flavour and their aesthetic use as a garnish.

We have run out of those wonderful Titan Leeks.  So far, it looks as though some of the smaller ones we left outside through the winter have survived for delicious tender spring leeks.  We will let you know when (and if) they are ready.  Again, please remind your menu planners not to rush into the new season before it has actually begun.  For local reliability, you’ll have to wait until May before counting on anything spring-like.  Your customers will appreciate waiting for the real thing.

Jeff Crump, chef at Ancaster Old Mill, is sponsoring a local celebration of Canada’s Slow Food contributions to the Ark of Taste.  For more information about this May 3^rd event, take a look at Sunday Supper.  Might this be the first of many such events this summer?

 

A Taste of Spring

Baby Salad Greens continue to be our main spring greenhouse crop.  With longer days and more sunshine, colours and flavours and textures are becoming evermore intense.  You may even consider serving the salad with no dressing (or at least with a little dressing in a small side-bowl).

   Our new Seedling Salad provides a delicious alternative to leafy salads.  A little can go a very long way.  Alternatively, all our seedlings remain available as single varieties.

   Now that the sun has some heat, our Edible Flower Mix (with viola, bachelor button, gem marigold, phlox, dianthus, and borage blossoms) are blooming prolifically.  Edible Flower Petals. are a labour-saving way to enjoy the delicate presentation flowers can bring.  What happier garnish for Spring presentations is there?  Also consider our Mixed Garnishing Leaves which are a blend of attractive and luscious herbs.  Fava Bean Leaves have lovely tender, buttery fava flavour which is a great spring addition to salads or cooked into sauces.  Nasturium Leaves have a great black peppery flavour which makes a fine alternative to ubiquitous watercress.  White and green variegated leaves look totally stunning.

   Now coming from the Greenhouses are springtime French Breakfast Radishes.  Of course you don’t have to limit yourself to enjoying these gems only for breakfast.  They look oh so elegant when presented with their fresh green leaves attached.  Easter Egg Radishes are not intricately painted, but the small orbs do come in an assortment of pastel pinks and purples along with various hues of red and white.  Baby White Turnips with delightfully delectable spring-time green leaves are now at their springtime best.  Fresh Red Icicle Radishes will be returning soon. 

We apologize for running out of some of our winter storage root vegetables a little early this year.  Please check the (MONTH) beside each root on our Now Available list before you put items on your menus.  Or better yet, give us a call for our most up-to-date guesstimate.

White Carrots make a very attractive contrast with other carrots in your presentations.  Yellow Carrots are another fine variation of our heritage carrots that can also be used for its colour contrast.  Parsley Roots are the carrots’ close cousin.  Use them in much the same way.  But I like their luscious flavour best in soups and sauces.  For an extra special flavour note consider incorporating some celery-like   Lovage Stalks.

   Candy Cane Beets look beautiful and taste great pickled in a marinade.  You can quickly cook them to maintain their unique red and white stripes; or cook them longer for a handsome light red colour.  Red Cylinder Beets can be cut length-wise for mysterious deep red strips; or quickly cut cross-wise into even slices.

   Green Flesh and Black Icicle Radishes are two stunning accompaniments in colourful winter salads, gorgeous garnishes, quick pickles, or amazing grilled vegetables.

   Waxy and luscious Fingerling Potatoes are deservedly our most popular waxy potato.  They are exceptional in spring and summer potato salads.  Starchy Ratte Potatoes are ready to absorb rich sauces and drippings.  Ask for large ones to prepare classic mashed potatoes.  Stunning and luscious Black Fingerling Potatoes maintain their colour and texture.  Include a few in you potato salads and maybe consider them as a garnish a la truffle.  Blue Potatoes are pale blue when freshly cooked; then turn a stunning royal blue after a few hours in the fridge.

   Fuseau Artichokes are not cousins of potatoes, but you can use them in many of the same preparations.  These smooth skinned beauties are very easy to clean and peel.  Being free of knobs makes them easy to slice for luscious chips.  You may order small ones which work best for roasting whole.  Crosnes (Baby Artichokes) are stunning little morsels which are more a garnish than a vegetable.  Serve them raw or quickly sautéed.