Welcome to fall!
We’ve had a brisk start to the week but some lovely 20-degree highs complete with sunshine are in the forecast. That’s some ideal fall growing weather! It’s also Organic Week, a time to celebrate all things organic. How do you plan to celebrate? With 2 small children, I can’t see myself traveling to a special event, but I think I can use one of the most powerful tools for change in our possession- our wallets. See, we can talk about organics, which is good, but purchasing organics shows that we value ecologically-produced items enough to purchase them, even if it costs us extra. Changing to everything organic may be a daunting task for you, and so it is for most of us. Why not make a small change in the right direction? You are clearly supporting organic by investing in a Farm Share.
What`s next?
Try purchasing something new organically that you have always purchased conventionally before. I find organic yogurt is pretty affordable, for instance. I can buy the Saugeen County brand, a whole litre tub, for $4, or just over. Also, you could ditch some chemical cleaning products. Vinegar really does work so well, and heated and combined with Dawn dish soap it makes a great tub cleaner. Baking soda and water works great on electric stove tops. This is one area where your disdain for chemicals will actually save you money (money that can help you purchase organic food ;). I am dying to try making my own dishwasher pucks or detergent. See this link for a recipe: http://thethriftycouple.com/2013/03/26/homemade-natural-dishwasher-detergent-easy-effective-healthy-and-only-05-per-load/
So, on to the veggie line-up. It`s stunningly colourful this week!
Half
- rainbow carrots (they`re finally here!)
- red beets
- pepper squash
- red cabbage
- red radish
- baby bokchoy
- red leaf lettuce
- grape tomatoes (from the greenhouse, all other tomatoes bit the dust with frost)
- assorted sweet bell and sheppard peppers
- sweet corn (grown by Kawartha Organics, Mennonite growers in Lindsay. Normally everything is grown by us but this week I was having a tough time getting all the items I needed and we had an abundance of local, organic corn)
Whole
- rainbow carrots (they`re finally here!)
- red beets
- pepper squash
- red cabbage
- red radish
- baby bokchoy
- red leaf lettuce
- grape tomatoes (from the greenhouse, all other tomatoes bit the dust with frost)
- assorted sweet bell and sheppard peppers
- sweet corn (grown by Kawartha Organics, Mennonite growers in Lindsay. Normally everything is grown by us but this week I was having a tough time getting all the items I needed and we had an abundance of local, organic corn)
- fennel
- celery
- cilantro
- green leaf lettuce
- red swiss chard
- green bell peppers
Recipes:
Are last week`s turnips still hanging out in your fridge? One of the hardworking staff packing your box suggests mashing it with beets to offset the bitter taste.
Turnip-Beet Mash
Directions
1. Roast beets with tops removed for 45 mins in the oven. Remove skins from cooked beets. Meanwhile, remove tops from turnips, clean, peel and chop and boil until tender. Mash beets and turnip together and season to taste. Experiment with different amounts of beet and turnip to see what you like best.
Hope you enjoy this week`s harvest!