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Sent: January 25, 2010
A work in progress
We have found seeds for most of the heritage carrots – Japanese Red, Croatian Yellow, Afghan Purple, Belgian White, and French Orange. But one colour remains elusive. I have spoken with East Indians, Iranians, and Egyptians who all remember Grandma’s Black Carrot Marmalade. But they have all been unable to find any seed for us to try. (This search continues as cookbook author Naomi Duguid is currently on the lookout for these as she is once again traveling through South Asia. Good luck Naomi!) Meanwhile, a Bulgarian seed company is in the process of re-creating this seemingly lost jewel. You may have noticed that as each year passes, their Black Carrots (which we grow) are becoming darker and darker. Soon they will be dark enough to make Black Carrot Marmalade. Meanwhile, all the “off-types” are absolutely gorgeous and perfectly delicious.
It is great to finally observe a reversal (albeit very small) in the headlong extinction of vegetable varieties. Seed Savers Exchange calculates over 95% of the varieties listed in catalogues 100 years ago are now extinct! Most of these varieties were popular because of their fine flavour. Nowadays the priorities are high yield [i.e. cheap to grow] and long shelf-life [i.e. easy to import from the cheapest producers]. The best way to reverse this process is to make efforts to simply request and use of the best tasting varieties. You don’t have to settle for generic orange carrots.
The return of the Black Carrot is a work-in-progress.
Feast of Fields thanks GTA Chefs
Last year’s September’s 20th Annual Feast of Fields was awhile ago, but all your efforts are being remembered. $5000 in proceeds were recently donated to University of Guelph’s Organic Agriculture Program. Please see the Press Release. Once again, I thank the Feast of Fields committee for the plaque given as a token of thanks for my contributions in laying the groundwork for local and organic foods during the first years of Feast of Fields.
Land for new farmers
As demand for local food continues to grow (and more farmers leave their fields), it is more important than ever to help new farmers get started. Through the years I have provided information to wanna-be-farmers for starting a sustainable farm business. But obtaining good farmland remains the most challenging obstacle. The main reason I attended the 2008 Slow Food Tierra Madre conference in Turin, Italy was to learn how other regions are providing affordable land for new farmers. After speaking with many leaders from around the world, I learned that they all see this as their most pressing problem; and they have few successes in solving this problem. Land trusts were often mentioned, but they are not a panacea. Today's Farmer prepared an article about Ontario’s experience with them.
Sent: January 18, 2010
A story to tell your Members of Parliament
Several years ago, with fear of exceeding a price point, Mark McEwen was lamenting the limitations of keeping his entree prices under $30. I suggested that as an industry leader, it was really up to him to make the first move. A few weeks later, he had boosted his price to $39! I asked him why so much? He replied [something like], “I was going to be hammered for this, so I may as well make the increase large enough to get articles into the newspapers.” Of course most of the fine food restaurants followed his lead and our industry benefited with better food, more creativity, more culinary tourism, better pay for hard-working staff (so they remain in the business longer), and a more sustainable profit for our restaurateurs.
In the mid-90s, importers began selling food into Canada at what have become the lowest prices in the world. Recognizing a serious problem for food security, our federal and provincial governments began supporting farmers with about 10% of gross (qualifying) sales. (This is less than half of what farmers in the US and Europe receive.) In the last few years this support has begun shifting to subsidized crop insurance schemes. These serve large-scale mono-crop farms that sell commodity products. However, Organic farmers who follow healthy crop rotations (i.e. a mix of crops) rarely collect on these insurance programs. As a result, our governments are hampering “good agricultural practices”. Supports for Cookstown Greens have fallen to a not very sustainable 3% of sales. Large scale conventional farmers (both here and abroad) have not been affected. To make matters worse, we have yet to receive our 2007 supports; and the 2008 applications have not yet even been mailed out. With our government so slow to pay, we really appreciate your prompt payment of our invoices.
Compared with much more highly subsidized US farmers, Canadian farmers have become over-capitalized and debt-burdened with 6 times more debt and 3.7 times more equity than our US counterparts. As a result, Canadian farmers will be 6 times more vulnerable to rising interest rates. To assist farm viability, the federally supported Canadian Farm Business Council will be holding several webinars.
Steven White’s delightful Combine Project was recently exhibited
at the fantastic Tom Thompson Art Gallery in Owen Sound.
See (and hear) a slide show.
Availability Notes:
We are still suffering from last summer’s cool/wet weather. Low yields and high sales mean we must stop selling Black Fingerling and Redluscious Potatoes in order to hold back enough for next year’s seed potato supply. We have also run out of Green Flesh Radishes. We have now done a careful analysis to determine what else we expect to run out of prior to April, so please look at the (until) dates as you prepare new menus.
If you can make the time ...
Saturday, January 30 is a good day to get a feeling about what is going on with local organic agriculture by attending the huge Guelph Organic Conference. We often see several of our chefs at this event. In Toronto you can support FoodCycles by seeing the fine new film DIRT (the movie) on Thursday January 28. Or if you need a quick break from Winterlicious, take a quick look at this latest missive from Savour Ontario.
Sent: January 11, 2010
New Year’s Focus
Comfortably cheap is not the only way to go. Consumers have other values. As I am invited to speak at wine-tastings about growing vegetables paired with Ontario wines, I keep hearing a fascinating statistic. For every bottle of Ontario wine sold in Ontario, the economic return to the province is $8.48; for every bottle of imported wine, the return is a mere 67?. (See the Wine Council of Ontario/KPMG Press Release.) This return does not go into any individual’s pocket; but when more citizens pay attention to this benefit of using local foods, our economy improves and our taxes can be lower. I do not know of any similar study for other foods, but the ratios are undoubtedly similar. Some customers will appreciate paying a little extra to benefit their neighbours. Bottom Line: This report clarifies why foreign producers are so eager to sell cheap wine and food into Canada.
Another focus is to provide especially unique foods. This makes your work more fun; and customers love to hear fascinating stories about their food. John Nese’s Video Clip demonstrates how something as mundane as selling Soda Pop can be made exciting.
On my 1998 visit to Berkley California to write a Globe and Mail article about one of Alice Waters’ new cookbooks, she began convincing me to drop my pen and pick up a hoe. One of the first farmers she introduced me to was Paul Muller. He explained the “Wow” concept and how to deliver it by choosing the best tasting varieties and building the healthiest soils. This concept continues to be just as important to me (and him) 22 years later. This celebrated farmer recently wrote this newspaper article [this article has expired] about the “Wow Flavor Factor”. Wow makes food more exciting for both chefs and diners at Cookstown Greens.
Sunny January days bring added flavour to greenhouse produce.
Cloudy days are reducing some supply
As normally happens this time of year, some of our greenhouse crops slow down enough that we need to temporarily remove them from our availability list. (Those with standing orders will still receive them.) Our Simply Cookstown salad mix will return with longer days. Chocolate Mint and White Peacock Kale will also return later. Last summer’s rain and clouds resulted in significant Late Blight which seriously reduced our harvest for Sun Dried Tomatoes. We still have a few Smoke Dried Tomatoes, but you better stock up on these soon.
Sent: January 4, 2010
All of us at Cookstown Greens wish the very best to you, your family and your co-workers at Cookstown Greens throughout this New Year.
We thank you for the opportunity to work with you in resolving the recession challenges through the past two years. It is great to once again be looking forward to a growing future.
Asparagus plants are celebrating the season with their winter berries.
Life goes on under the blanket of snow
While walking around the farm looking for seasonal subjects to photograph, I came across some asparagus plants loaded with red berries. We have selected the “all male” Guelph Millennium variety for its excellent flavour and winter hardiness. Perhaps they should be categorized as “mostly male”. About 1% of our plants are female – which you can see produce flowers that develop into berries with seeds. You will have to wait a few more months before asparagus season arrives. But you can rest assured they are resting comfortably under a thick blanket of snow.
Is there something you would like us to grow?
We are always being asked, “What’s new?” This is the time of year we like to ask, “What would you like new this year?” A good way to become aware of the many possibilities is to join the American Seed Savers Exchange. This web page contains some of their more popular heirloom varieties; but to see the huge list of varieties maintained by an army of volunteers please join the exchange. Then consider adopting a variety. For a little smaller (and more manageable) list take a look at the Canadian Seeds of Diversity. Please remember that most of these varieties are nearly extinct so there may not be enough seeds for commercial use. But the best way to get them back into commercial use is to start asking for these special varieties. If we grow something you request, we will put your name beside them so that our many tour groups will see your choice(s).
We did not anticipate the demand
Note that we are nearly finished with storage Baby White Turnips. But in a month we will be seeding more in the greenhouses for springtime freshness. We are also nearly finished with Blue Hubbard and Melonette Squash. But we still have good supplies of Pottimorron (French chestnut squash) and Shishigatani (Japanese winter squash).
Celebrate Our Winter
Baby Salad Greens are our main winter greenhouse crop. Sunnier than normal skies have helped us keep enough supply; and also provides you with exceptional colours, flavours, and textures. Our new Seedling Salad provides a delicious alternative to leafy salads. A little can go a long way. In season now, Fava Bean Leaves add a lovely tender, buttery flavour wherever they are used. The sunny days have also been good to our many Seedlings. With a dearth of fresh greens at this time of year, now is a good time to experiment with adding some of these attractive and tasty garnishes to your favorite dishes.
Specialty Winter Favourites
In celebration of the season, get to know some specialty root vegetables. Parsley Roots grew quite large this year. So they are a most convenient flavouring for your soups and sauces. White Salsify is likewise conveniently large. Introduce your customers to its lovely delicate oyster-like flavour. Fuseau Artichokes are the very easy to clean French Jerusalem Artichokes. For very easy slicing, please ask for extra large ones. Crosnes (Baby Artichokes) are stunning little morsels which are more a garnish than a vegetable. Serve them raw or quickly sauteed.
A drawback to fresh garlic is small hard-to-peel cloves. Hard‑neck Garlic provides large easy-to-peel cloves and our bred-in-Ontario “Music” variety tastes just great.
Squash is another sign of winter. We continue providing our old standby Nugget Winter Squash. Its uniform small size makes it great as a container for hearty soups. We have a good supply this year, so we can select just the right uniform size for memorable banquet soups. Kikzuna Squash is a fine Japanese selection with a delicate hint of “green-tea”. Golden Acorn Squash is a new cousin to ordinary Pepper Squash, but oh-so smooth and moist.
From Our Winter Root Cellar
The perfectly balanced flavour of Japanese Red Carrots is considered by many to be ichiban (number one). The rich flavour of heirloom Afghan Purple Carrots is memorable. Black Carrots are an in-process recreation of a nearly extinct version once common in India and the Middle East. From the Roman cuisine come delicate White Carrots. Slavic Yellow Carrots are another fine version of heritage carrots. And the newest carrot on our list is the Medieval European Orange Nantes Carrots, which were developed to perform well in the heavy soils surrounding Europe’s major cities, to become the French cuisine’s most celebrated carrot. For colourful preparations consider presenting our rainbow of carrots as a local alternative for imported winter peppers.
Golden Beets have a mellow flavour – even confirmed by “beet haters”. Candy Cane Beets look beautiful and taste great pickled in a marinade. White Beets make great “stainless” Borscht, Pickles, and Salads. Red Cylinder Beets can be cut length-wise for mysterious red strips; or quickly cut cross-wise into even slices.
White, Red, and Amber Turnips are all much more accepted than folk-wisdom would suggest. Just take care to avoid overcooking them. Our new Japanese Turnips are the totally delicious carrot-shaped heirloom Hinona Kabu. Closely related to turnips, is our selection of winter radishes. Red Valentine, Green Flesh, Black Icicle and Red Icicle Radishes are all lovely accompaniments in colourful winter salads, stunning garnishes, quick pickles, or amazing grilled vegetables.
Waxy and luscious Fingerling Potatoes are deservedly our most popular. 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. Maybe consider them as a garnish. Blue Potatoes are pale blue when freshly cooked; then turn a stunning royal blue after a few hours in the fridge.
Join us in another Great Year
Our New Year’s Resolution
In our on-going effort to serve you better, last year found us coming to work earlier and earlier (before 4:00am) on delivery days to harvest, wash, pack and invoice last-minute orders. As daylight came later we had to use bright work-lights in the frosty mornings. Now we are concerned that a winter storm would require the crew to be at the farm before snowplows make their rounds. So we have to change something.
We thought about just cutting off all orders at noon; but we have already done much of the preparation for orders we speculate will be coming in. We also considered a “late order charge”; but we know how stressful your job already is. So we have resolved to compromise and cut off selling only the items we don’t normally have harvested, cleaned and packed ahead of time. These items are marked with a “R”. If we are ready for your order we will send it, but we do have to stop pre-dawn harvesting (and making errors in the process) to fill late requests.
Also you will note that some items have only a limited (ltd) availability. Some are selling more quickly than expected, seed was not available or of poor quality, a pest came along, or we just do not have enough space on the farm or in our greenhouses. We give first priority to chefs who have standing orders. Certainly for “(ltd)” items you are well advised to check with us before putting any special items on your menu.
Garnishing Leaves make Presentations Very Special
With “Greens” in our name, it only makes sense that we promote all sorts of greens. We always have a wide variety and would be happy to grow something else just to suit your style. Come visit us to see all our plants in action.
Mixed Garnishing Leaves is a terrific “toy box” for the artist within. We often have enough specific leaves to provide for unique presentations. Peacock Kale is absolutely stunning with its deeply cut firm white leaves. French Mint Tips are an unusually refreshing cross of peppermint and spearmint. Chocolate Mint Tips combine a fine mint flavour with (alas) only the aroma of chocolate. Conveniently, both mint tips are 100% usable.
Lavender Leaves look interesting and of course smell great. Anise Hyssop has an absolutely enchanting licorice/mint flavour. Nasturtium Leaves sport a creamy black pepper taste and aroma. Wood Sorrel looks like delicate clover leaves but with a delightful tartness. Pineapple Sage lacks a bit in taste, but its captivating pineapple perfume makes customers pause and enjoy. Lemon Verbena has the most amazing lemon peel aroma. Don’t miss it! Large Lemon Verbena is miraculous for infusing into sauces and ices.
Savoury garnishing leaves include the spiky and spicy Hot Mizuna Mustard and similar Red Mizuna Mustard leaves – both excellent on fish. For a lovely buttery flavour Fava Bean Leaves are the cat’s meow. Our all-Canadian Red/Green Onions also make a stunning garnish – raw or cooked. Less striking, but oh-so-mellow are Baby Leeks. French Breakfast Radishes with their glistening leaves still crispy make a singular vegetable garnish.
Our most celebrated creation, Baby Salad Greens, can serve as a very fine garnish salad over many cold (or warm) presentations. Of course it also provides a much-needed alternative to the ubiquitous supermarket Spring Mix. A new alternate is our Seedling Salad that can reinvent any salad or serve as a quick and unusual garnish over many presentations.
Last year we did have some problems providing steady supplies of Seedlings. We know this complicated your life as well. With over 18 years of experience we had become quite dependable. But extreme weather around the world for the past couple years has disrupted seed quality. Closer to home, the weather extremes have made it a challenge to balance the temperature, moisture, light and soil for steady production.
We will have resolved to master this in 2007!
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