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Showing posts from October, 2008

First frost means the first of the Perogies........

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Perogies are now back at all markets once again! I've assembled my crew of family, friends and this year my helpful employee amigos to warm up the hall kitchen and spin up as many as possible! It is a lot of work, but the end result is worth it! We currently have potato cheddar available and soon the sauerkraut filled ones. All ingredients are organic with as many of the ingredients as possible coming from our farm. They are vegetarian , but not vegan as they do contain dairy in the form of butter. I am also working on a gluten-free variety, as I have the most amazing volunteer that helps at market and she goes through alot of pain with traditional flours and even eggs too! I have a great task to create a specialty kind for her and those others out there with similar problems! Perogies are the ultimate comfort food, so good for winter, everyone must be able to eat them and be happy!! Later we will also be offering plain sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, pork to go along with the perogie

Storage Crops.......

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Today, last week and continuing tomorrow and onward, all spare moments not harvesting and grading for Toronto markets are being spent putting crops into storage. Cabbage and Leeks are the big crops left. All head into the cooler to store until needed. Onions, potatoes & garlic are stored elsewhere in the barn. We still have yet to harvest and bin all the beets and carrots we will supply the markets as well. It's a long process. Garlic can be planted anytime now. We compost the ground before the garlic goes in. So far the weather is cooperating, hope it stays that way for just a little while longer!!

Cooking with our Asian Greens....

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We offer alot of beautiful asian greens this time of year. One of my new favourites is komatsuna. You can pan-fry this Japanese mustard spinach, which are the pictures today and recipe I've included. You can also roast, steam, stew, boil, stir fry etc. all these neat greens! When eatten raw, some find the komatsuna to be a bit 'strong', BUT when you think about all the nutritional value this green provides, (lots of calcium and vitamin rich!!) it's worth tossing some raw in your salad too! When cooked, komatsuna along with the other greens provide a mellow, subtle taste that is sensitive to most palates! Enjoy! Asian Greens Pan-Fry Lunch: 1 bunch Bok Choy 1 bunch Tatsoi 1 bunch Komatsuna 5 cloves Garlic 2 tbs Olive Oil 1 tbs Butter sea salt & ground pepper to taste 1 bunch Swiss Chard BIG WOK to cook with or big Fry pan!! Add olive oil, butter and minced garlic to pan over medium heat. Add chopped stems from Swiss Chard, bok choy and komatsuna first to soften. The

A quick "GOOD LUCK" and also a "CONGRATS!" blog today.....

An excited 14 y/o stepdaughter calls us on route home from Dufferin Grove market last night alerting us that she has a part time job interview TODAY!! To top it all off, it couldn't be more perfect for her -a STABLE HAND! Even as a wee girl, her first love were those gigantic beasts! So instead of just being around her own horse a measly everyother weekend while with us, she gets to be around horses 6 days a week!!! Absolutely perfect for her and we already KNOW she'll get the job! But GOOD LUCK anyhow girlie!!! Do us proud and work very hard! Don't forget to thank the generous folks that will be driving you back and forth each day...... Also a big CONGRATS to my parents. They are celebrating 40 years together October 4th! Their first date was at the Norfolk County Fair on that date 40 years ago! Still farming together and going strong! They are enjoying a hot tub and some drinks this weekend to celebrate! All the best...... Much love to all 3 of you guys today,

The Fall Harvest......

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One of my favourite times of year. Harvest in full swing, saying 'goodbye' to a lot of crops (my dad was over and helped us disk the farm), but busily taking care of the rest, esp. to have some good volume come the frozen days of winter. It's the air this time of year, the temperature. It's just nice. I had squash, gourds and pumpkins growing wild in the chicken yard that my stepdaughter discovered for me. Had to dress up the back step with them plus some 'mums for fall colour. Today was an excellent harvest day. What you can expect to buy from Sosnicki's tomorrow at Dufferin is a nice long list of seasonal favourites: Big green and red Cabbages ; Sweet red bell, green bell Peppers; Jalapeno & Hot Banana Peppers too!! Large bunches of fresh Parsley , for those making fresh chicken soup like me! Big bunches of Carrots with tops! We have a sweet orange variety, the typical carrot, plus a 'rainbow' kind! Beets with fresh tops! (Yes, eat the tops! R