Advantages of a Cool Summer

As anyone who has a patio knows very well, this has been a most unpredictable and cool, wet summer. The cool nights have really benefited all the cool night loving root vegetables and leafy greens.

Baby Salad Greens have been gorgeous all summer! The unusual weather has also kept the Mixed Arugulas, Hot Mizuna, Purple Mizuna and Mixed Asian Greens in prime condition all summer. Since no one else in the world seems to have Fordhook Mustard, we had to have an early summer hiatus while our own seed crop matured. Once again we exclusively enjoy this absolutely fantastic leafy green. Mixed Spinaches (Bloomsdale and Bordeaux) have remained at their spring-time richness ever since we began our outdoor harvesting on May 10. Rainbow of Chards are a little large for salad use, but they are a colourful and delectable cooked green.

The cool nights have also benefited the Candy Cane Beets, Golden Beets, White Beets and Red Cylinder Beets. They all have excellent quality and are in plentiful supply. Our new colder refrigeration unit in the root cellar actually improves their flavours and then keeps them at their peak. Carrots are also extra early and extra delicious! Purple Carrots, Yellow Carrots, White Carrots and Orange Nantes Carrots are ready and exceptionally sweet and richly flavoured. The cool summer also brought along a fine crop of extra early Finger Potatoes, Ratte Potatoes and Black Fingerlings.

The cool nights are also providing luscious and tender Baby Summer Leeks, delightfully useful Garlic Scapes, succulent Tulip Chives, refreshing Baby Fennel Bulbs, and spicy green Radish Pods. For an aromatic burst of flavour, there is now a good supply of Green Coriander Seeds.

Also benefiting from the cooler weather are our Edible Flowers Mix and Edible Flower Petals. The beautifully variegated spicy Nasturtium Leaves and the brilliantly coloured peppery Nasturtium Blossoms have also benefited from the cool nights. Buttery Fava Bean Shoots and the mysteriously aromatic Lovage Stalks remain spring-time fresh.

Warm Weather Crops Finally at their Peak

Tomatoes had an advantage this summer because our main crop is grown in the greenhouses. They required additional expensive propane and they suffered a bit from lack of sunshine, nevertheless they are now tasting and looking terrific. Rainbow of Tomato Firsts are best for handsome tomato salads. Seconds are fine for rough-and-ready salads. And Thirds are best for soups and sauces. Cherry Tomatoes are the morsels of choice. For larger tomatoes with superior flavour (but cosmetically challenged skins) consider our flats of Field Tomatoes. Still a work in progress, we started three years ago trialing 50 of the world’s best tasting large tomatoes. Last year we narrowed this down to 35, then to 20 this year. Our eventual target is to select the 10 best tasting large tomatoes for our climate and soil.

Gold Nugget Squash are now at their tender and succulent best. Think of them as zucchini with colour and flavour. They are great raw, grilled, or lightly sautéed with their skin and seeds untouched – a great way to put a fascinating new veg on your plates for 15¢ per serving! Don’t forget asking for our easy-to-stuff Squash Blossoms.

Our unique Yellow Flat Beans and the best tasting Green Flat Beans are now ready for your plates. For more refinement present our classic Green Filet Beans with the brand new (identically flavoured) Yellow Filet Beans.

All the cool weather was not good for the eagerly awaited Chanteraise Melons. They are good tasting, but they lack the hallmark perfumed aroma. So we have reduced their price to $6 per piece.

Summer is Still Here

You can still Celebrate Summer!

The joys of summer are still with us. Celebrate with our Rainbow of Tomatoes. Each flat contains Green Zebra, Yellow Taxi, Gold Dust and Black Prince along with our own Red Zebra. All are medium size, firm and free of cosmetic challenges. If a few scars don’t bother you, please save yourself a few dollars by asking for 2nds. If your jewels of summer are going into soups or sauces, please ask for single colour boxes of the best tasting 3rds! Our Rainbow of Cherry Tomatoes have the same colours and same memorable heirloom flavours.

Totally delicious Summer Nugget Squash are still in abundance. Actually a “winter squash”, these make a superb “summer squash”. You get all the convenience of ordinary summer zucchini with the added bonus of gorgeous yellow flesh (sometimes with green swirls), delectable flavour, tender skins, and innocuous seeds. Wow! Their Squash Blossoms are a smaller, more convenient size than most. Then we harvest them very early in the morning so they are wide open for you to stuff more easily.

Summer greens are a comforting, attractive, easily prepared, (and with our healthy soils and your care in cooking) absolutely delicious side to your main courses. Rainbow of Chards are the most stunning. Heirloom Bloomsdale Spinach is still the best spinach variety ever developed.

Other joys of summer are the great tasting tender Green Romano Beans and unique Yellow Romano Beans. Slender green Haricot Verte and purple Haricot Noir (which alas turn green when over-cooked) look great in your presentations. Baby Fennel Bulbs (raw or cooked) provide refreshing licoricy notes so appreciated in hot-weather menus. Our unique Radish Pods are an elegant way to provide a light radishy “bite”. Green Coriander Seeds have a delightful explosion of flavour. Though actually a fruit, Huckleberries are tiny cousins of tomatoes. They can be fit into any sweet or savoury presentation.

Garlic Scapes are a versatile way to incorporate that loved-to-be-hated flavour that can add subtle intensity to so many dishes. Baby Summer Leeks have become part of our standard repertoire. Tulip Chives have leaves so thick and succulent they could even be cooked as a vegetable. (Or prepare them as a unique “pesto”.)

New Seedlings to Try

Kelly who keeps you well supplied with fresh seedlings every week has figured out how to provide a steady supply of two seedlings which have eluded us for many years. Pepper Grass Seedlings are actually a cress with most attractive three-pronged cotyledon leaves. And of course they also celebrate the lovely nutty bite of cress. For a delicate licoricy flavour we now have Chervil Seedlings. Thank you Kelly.

Fresh Flavouring and Garnishing Herbs NOW Available

Mixed Garnishing Leaves are a wonderful toy-box for the artist in every chef. You can go step further with any of our Edible Flowers. Fava Bean Leaves have a lovely buttery flavour – a perfect addition to many presentations. Shiso Leaves make an Oriental basil substitute; and large leaved ones can serve as a most exotic wrapping. Chrysanthemum Leaves boast another appealing Oriental flavour. Begonia Blossoms add intense red/orange colours with a dramatic tart taste.

Lemon Thyme has all the fine flavour of English Thyme but with added lemon peel notes. French Tarragon remains a classic. Purple Sage is a smart herb to use.

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. Lemon Balm is a fine alternative to mint. Lavender Leaves look very interesting and of course smell great. Gem Marigolds look great and have a cheery citrusy flavour. Lemon Verbena has the most amazing lemon peel aroma. Large Lemon Verbena is miraculous for infusing into sauces and ices.

Summer does not end on Labour Day!

   Our famous greenhouse grown Rainbow of Heirloom Tomatoes are at their peak through the month of September. The Rainbow of Cherry Tomatoes continue as well. If you are looking for Beefsteak-size Heirloom Tomatoes we can also pack you some of the best tasting varieties from our new trials.
   The ever-popular tender Summer Nugget Squash are rather small this year. For this reason we have switched to selling them by the pound – but in most cases your cost is the same or less. Large or small they are perfect for grilling or steaming and an inexpensive way to present an unusual vegetable. We harvest their Squash Blossoms early in the morning to keep them conveniently open – making them easy for you to stuff.
Other summer treats with many many serving possibilities are refreshing Baby Fennel Bulbs, sweet Baby Summer Leeks, tender curly Garlic Scapes, amazingly aromatic Green Coriander Seeds, and sweet and the “oh-so-cute” Baby Bell Peppers.
   At the request of several chefs we are reintroducing an assortment of beans. To make them very special we are concentrating on what connoisseurs consider to be the very best of beans – good old fashioned Premium Pole Beans. Broad green and yellow Italian Romano Beans, along with some new hot-weather-tolerant English Runner Beans are the best. Very thin French Filet Beans are another of this year’s choices. For Shelling Beans we have jumbo Chinese Green Soy Beans and delicate fresh green French shelling Flageolet Beans. (Please let us know if you would like us to apple-wood smoke some of these shelling beans for use in very special dishes.) Cool nights this fall mean beautiful Purple Snow Peas!
   Rainbow of Swiss Chards are at their summer best. They provide a beautiful and delicious way for your customers to enjoy healthful leafy greens. Heirloom Bloomsdale Spinach is still the best version of this traditional green – and it gets even better as the nights cool.. For more pizzazz try buttery Fava Bean Leaves, nutty Baby Arugulas, zippy Baby Cresses, lingering Hot Mizuna Mustard, or bitter/sweet and aromatic Puntarella Chicory and Wild Dandelion.
   For your dessert tables we now have sweet (and non-bitter) Huckleberries and can’t-stop-eating-‘em Husk Cherries. Tiny Wild Elderberries are ready – but order them before the birds get them. All these are great with wild meat dishes.
   Summer desserts also cry out for edible flowers! Our mix of small (i.e. very usable) Edible Flowers and Edible Petals (i.e. extra easy-to-use) should remain steadily available. What an easy way to make stunning garnishes!

Summer Salads

Our Baby Salad Greens remain a restaurant icon – particularly in warm weather when a memorable salad is most appreciated. Because of its delicate appearance and full rich flavours, portions can be significantly smaller and with less of an expensive dressing than you may be used to. Very small portions can also be used as a wonderful garnishing salad.
A new addition to our Seedling selection is a formula blend of Mixed Seedlings. They are a convenient and interesting garnish over many presentations.

Summer Roots

Golden, Candy-Cane, Red Cylinder, and White Beets are coming out of our fields sweet and free of bitter oxalic acid because we kept them adequately irrigated. We do the same for our summer Red, Purple, Black, Yellow, White and Orange Carrots. (They aren’t as rich and sweet as they will be in the main fall harvest, but they are pretty good now.) Cool nights have brought on Baby White Turnips and Red Icicle Radish the earliest ever. (They are a little stonger tasting than usual, but cooler days will soon tame them.) The other turnips and radishes are coming right along too.

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Cookstown Greens, 6321 Line 9 RR#3, Thornton, Ontario L0L 2N0 Canada • Tel: (705) 458-9077 • Fax: (705) 458-1707

• Web: cookstowngreens.com • Email: info@cookstowngreens.com