On the Menu this Week:

Fruit:

Pears (Lincoln Line Orchards)

Veggies:

Frozen Edamame (Pristine Gourmet)  — a healthy and delicious snack!  Boil frozen edamame for about 5-6 minutes.  Drain, toss with sea salt and serve!

Mini Cucumbers (Always Fresh)

Mosaic Tomatoes (Sovereign Farms)–gorgeous and delicious!

Red Onion (Hillside Garden Farms)

Radishes (Zephyr Organics)–the first ones of the season!  see feature below

Red Pepper (St. David’s Hydro)

Yellow Pepper (St. David’s Hydro)

Russet Potatoes (Thompson’s Potato Farm)

Multi coloured Carrots (Hillside Garden Farms)

Salad Greens (Sleger’s)–once you finish the greens, try planting the root ball in your garden!  If you’re lucky, the lettuce should re-grow 2-3 times over the summer.

Living Sprouts (Sleger’s)

Pantry:

Navy Beans from Pristine Gourmet.  One of my favorite beans, by far, navy beans are great because they are smaller, so they cook faster. They’re great in salads!  See prep instructions below

Cheese:

Eweda Cru, a raw sheep milk cheese.  It’s made starting with a traditional gouda recipe and then it’s aged for a minimum of 9 months.  It is pale yellow in colour with many small holes.  The texture is slightly crumbly, yet smooth on the tongue with a slightly nutty, then grassy flavour.  Enjoy this yummy cheese!

Meat:

Beef, either stewing or ground beef–you’ll have to wait until you receive your bag to see what you get!  We apologize for any inconvenience!  There was a mixup with our butcher’s order on how we wanted our cow butchered.  As part of our sustainable farming practices, we buy entire cows which take between 18 to 24 months to raise.  Once the beef is butchered, that’s it–we can’t just place another order.  So although this can be frustrating at times, when mix-ups or other issues come up, it’s really just a small inconvenience with small-scale farming!!  The benefits of this type of farming by far out weighs the negatives!

Featured Ingredient: Red Radish

The radish (Raphanus sativus) is a root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family (also known as crucifers).  The common name “radish” is derived from the Latin word, “radix”, which means root.  Radishes were domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman times and today, they are grown and consumed throughout the world.

Here in Ontario, radishes are in season form May to November.

In general, radishes can be categorized into four seasonal groups–spring, summer, fall and winter, along with a variety of colours (red, pink, white, black etc.) and shape (round or elongated).

Spring and summer radishes are often referred to as European radishes.  The most common variety we see is the Cherry Bell (round, red with white interior).  French Breakfast radishes are also popular, due to their elongated shape, mainly red with white tips–gorgeous!

Winter radishes include the Black radish (as OAS members already know–it’s a large, round radish that’s white on the inside and black on the outside, with a very peppery flavour) and daikon radish.

Nutrition–Radishes connote health in some cultures.  There’s a Lithuanian expression “sveikas kaip radikas” meaning “healthy like a radish”–it’s used as a compliment when describing a healthy person.

Radishes are rich in Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium, and are a source of fibre. They have a high water content, making them very low in calories (about 20 calories per 1/2 cup of sliced radish)!

Cooking and eating radishes:  Both radish leaves and the radish root can be eaten. Radish leaves are often quite dirty, so washing them multiple times is necessary.  Try adding them to other greens in a salad. Radish roots are delicious eaten raw whole, or thinly sliced or grated into a salad.  Try adding a grated radish to your favorite dip recipe- a little radish goes a long way!  If you don’t like the heat of radishes, try roasting them!  Roasting radishes significantly reduces their peppery flavour.  See radish recipes below.

Storage:  If you’re planning on storing them for more than 2-3 days, remove the leaves and store in the refrigerator in a plastic bag.  They can be stored for a couple of weeks.  If they do get a bit soft, place radishes in cold water for an hour or so to crisp them up.

Radish Recipes:

Roasted Radish with Radish Greens

This is a great way to eat the entire radish.  Roasting also mellows the peppery flavour of radishes.

Get Recipe>>>

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-radishes-with-radish-greens

Pickled Cucumber and Radish

This is a great salad to serve at a bbq.  Delicious and fresh-tasting, it’s a great side to burgers.

Get Recipe>>>

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pickled-Cucumber-and-Radish-105029

12 Ravishing Radish Recipes

Here are 12 radish recipes from Canadian Living

Get Recipe>>>

Watercress, Radish and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

Try using your sprouts on this sandwich too!

Get Recipe>>>

http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/8784/Watercress-Radish-And-Cream-Cheese-Sandwiches.html

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/menus_and_collections/12_ravishing_radish_recipes.php

More Recipes…

How to prepare dried navy beans

Tip:  One pound of dried beans makes about 5 to 6 cups of cooked beans.

Quick Soak Method
1. Place beans in a large pot with tight-fitting lid and cover with cold
water by 2-3 inches.  Bring to a boil and boil beans uncovered for 2
minutes. Cover the pot, turn off heat and allow to soak for 2 hours.

2.  After 2 hours, taste. If the bean is tender (but not done), add a large
pinch of salt and some pepper.  Make sure there is at least 1 inch of water
covering beans.  If not, add more water.  If the beans are not yet tender,
DO NOT add salt, and ensure the beans are covered by 2 inches of water.

3.  Bring pot to a boil, then reduce temperature to a gentle simmer.  Cover
partially, and cook, stirring occasionally and tasting a bean for doneness
every 10-15 minutes.  You may need to add more water.  If you haven’t yet
added salt, add it once the beans are tender.  Once the beans are done,
adjust seasoning and use in recipe.

Long-Soak Method
1.  Place beans in a large pot with tight-fitting lid and cover with cold
water by several inches.  Soak overnight, or for 8-12 hours.

2.  Drain the beans and return to pot.  Check for doneness.  If they are
tender, add a large pinch of salt and some black pepper and cover beans by 1
inch.  If not yet tender, DO NOT add salt, and cover by 2 inches of water.

3.  Bring pot to a boil, then reduce temperature to a gentle simmer.  Cover
partially, and cook, stirring occasionally and tasting a bean for doneness
every 10-15 minutes.  You may need to add more water.  If you haven’t yet
added salt, add it once the beans are tender.  Once the beans are done,
adjust seasoning and use in recipe.

Creamy White Beans with Garlic and Sage

A simple recipe for a great side dish.

Get Recipe>>>

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?language=EN&recipeType=1&action=recipe&recipeID=187

White bean crostini with Spicy Cucumbers

You could add some radishes to this recipe too!  A great warm-weather appetizer.

Get Recipe>>>

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/white-bean-crostini-with-spicy-cucumbers

On the Menu this Week:

Fruit:

Frozen Sour Cherries (NudeFruit)–see feature below.

Apples (Lincoln Line Orchards)

Veggies:

Grape Tomatoes (Sovereign Farms)

Beets (Hillside Garden Farms)

Carrots  (Hillside Garden Farms)

Red Pepper (St. David’s)

Orange Pepper (St. David’s)

Cilantro (Sleger’s)

Arugula (Sleger’s)

Sweet Potatoes (Round Plain)

Turnips (Zephyr)

Cheese:

Flavoured Chevre–great in a salad or stirred into pasta!

Meat:

Pork Chops!  Always a favorite with our OAS members!  Enjoy these chops from Select Fine foods.  See recipe below.

Pantry:

Frozen Vegetable stock.  House-made at Culinarium, this delicious vegetable stock is made without any salt, oil or herbs…just veggies and love!  A perfect base that you can use in soups or sauces, or to add great flavour when cooking rice, beans and grains!

Featured Ingredient:  Sour Cherries!

This week, we are providing frozen sour cherries in your bags for you to enjoy!

We are lucky in Ontario to be able to enjoy two different types of cherries in the summer months–sweet cherries and sour cherries. And also luckily for us, the people at NudeFruit have made frozen sour cherries available year-round!  These cherries are pitted and have no added sugar!  Most frozen sour cherries have sugar already added, so this is one reason we love the NudeFruit ones!

Most of us are very familiar with sweet cherries (also known as wild cherries)–dark, sweet and delicious, these cherries are best eaten fresh, but can be used in baking and cooking.  Sour cherries (also known as tart cherries), may not be as familiar to you, unless you enjoy making pies and jams.  Sour cherries are lighter in colour and smaller than sweet cherries.  They can be eaten fresh, but as you can guess, they are quite tart.  Cooking and baking with them brings out their sweetness, and they are hardy enough that they keep their shape when cooked.  Most prepared foods that are cherry-based (like cherry juice, cherry jams, and dried cherries) are made with sour cherries.

Cherries are not native to North America–in fact both the sweet and sour varieties were brought to Canada and the U.S. in the 1600s by French and English settlers.  Sour cherries grow well in cooler climates and today, Russia is the world’s top grower of sour cherries.  It’s a good thing that our climate in Ontario is similar to Russia’s!  In fact, 84% of Canada’s sour cherries are grown here in Ontario.  The Montmorency variety of sour cherry is by far the most popular one grown here.

And they’re good for you!  Sour cherries are considered to be a superfood, due to their high levels of antioxidants.  Sour cherries also seem to possess a compound that relieves pain and reduces inflammation.

Enjoy trying these frozen sour cherries!  Once you try them, I’m sure you’ll look forward to trying the fresh sour cherries in July!

Sour Cherry Recipes:

Sour Cherry Buckle

I had no idea what a “buckle” was in food-lingo.  Turns out, it’s a cake with berries in it, with a crumble topping.  Sounds good to me!

Get Recipe>>>

Sour Cherry Granita

It may be a tad cold for this right now, but sooner than later you’ll want this to cool you down!

Get Recipe>>>

Sour Cherry Pistachio Crisp

Get Recipe>>>

Sweet and Sour Cherries with Bay Leaves

I made these pickled sour cherries few years ago with fresh sour cherries, but they say it works with frozen ones too.  A nice alternative to serve with your cheese or charcuterie platter!  They look gorgeous in a mason jar too!

Get Recipe>>>

More Recipes:

Pork Chops and Apple Sauce

A truly classic combination!  Use up any apples (or pears!) you have lurking in the back of your fridge.  This recipe calls for 8 chops, so you’ll have to cut it in half, at least.

Get Recipe>>>

Root Vegetable recipes–mix and match veggies with recipes

I’ve featured this interchangeable root vegetable recipe guide before, but I love it so much, I’m featuring it again!

Get Article>>>

Get Recipe>>>

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cliantro

This is an easy recipe that is good warm, and also at room temperature the next day for lunch.

Get Recipe>>>

On the Menu this Week:

Fruit:
Frozen Strawberries (Nude Fruit)–A great local alternative to fresh strawberries, which are still a few months away!!

Pears (Lincoln Line Orchards)

Veggies:
Cucumbers (Always Fresh Greenhouses)

Eggplant (St. David’s Hydroponics)–see feature below

Red Pepper (St. David’s Hydroponics)

Salad Greens (Sleger’s)

Living Sprouts (Sleger’s)

Parsnips (Hillside Garden Farms)–check out the warm cake recipe below!

Boiler Onions (Greenbelt Farms)–we loved these cute onions, so here they are again!

Kennebec Potatoes (Rose Mountain Farms)

Pantry:  We have two pantry items for you this week!

Cornmeal!  from K2 Milling.  This amazing cornmeal is organic, so it’s GMO free!  This is a bonus for cornmeal, since most commercial corn products are made from genetically modified corn!

2% Plain Yogurt from Hewitt’s.  This 750ml tub will be delicious with the frozen strawberries.  Make it into a smoothie too!

Cheese: 
Athena Cheese from Monforte Dairy.  Athena is a semi-firm aged sheep’s milk cheese, similar to Monforte’s famous Toscano cheese. This cheese was rubbed weekly with olive oil as it aged for six months!! This hard cheese makes a great substitute for Parmesan, so grate it over pasta, shave it into salad or simply pair with a glass of your favourite wine.  Delicious!

Meat:
Veal Scalopini–Select Fine Foods.  Veal thinly sliced from our favorite butchers at Select Fine Foods.  See below for a simple recipe.

Featured Ingredient:  Eggplant!!

Eggplant, aka  aubergine, is a fruit from the Solanaceae (nightshade) plant family. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato.  And being part of the nightshade family, it was believed for a long time that the fruit was poisonous!

Eggplant is native to India, not the Mediterranean, as many Westerners would probably believe!

It’s  been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory, and became known in the Western world only around 1500. Since it has  numerous Arabic and North African names for it, it indicates it was introduced to the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages.

Different varieties of the plant produce fruit of different size, shape and color.  Here in Ontario, the most common eggplants are elongated ovoid, 12–25 cm long  and 6–9 cm broad and purple in colour.  We also see white and graffiti (speckled purple and white), along with some Asian varieties which are long and thin (like the Japanese Eggplant) or small and round (Thai eggplant).

Cooking with Eggplant

Raw eggplant has a bitter taste, so it is almost always eaten cooked.

To salt or not to salt…?

Eggplants used to taste a lot more bitter than they do now, so it is not necessary to salt and drain the eggplant before cooking to remove bitter flavour.

If, however, you want to remove some of the moisture from the eggplant, which in turn will reduce some of the oil that will be absorbed into the eggplant (eggplant is like a sponge, and can absorb a lot of oil!), you may salt and drain it before cooking (about half an hour).  For a simple roasted eggplant, for Baba Ganouch for example, you can drain the cooked eggplant after it’s been roasted (and no need to salt it excessively).

The skin of the eggplant is edible and thin, so often there is no need to peel it.

I find that many people are afraid of eggplant, and find it hard to cook with it.  Start with a simple recipe, like grilling it on the bbq, or making it into a dip.  You can also slice it and season and bread it and then shallow pan fry it for a few minutes on each side—great for a sandwich or the base of eggplant Parmesan.  You can also use your cornmeal to crust it before frying!

Do your kids not like eggplant (can’t really blame them from the name!)?  Peel the raw eggplant, cut into chunks and puree it.  This pureed eggplant can be easily added (re: hidden) in tomato sauce, especially if you make your own sauce with canned tomatoes.  Sautee the pureed eggplant along with onion and garlic, add tomatoes and herbs and let it simmer until done.  This makes a great sauce for everyone to enjoy!

See more eggplant recipes below!

Storage:  Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate.  It will last about a week in the fridge.

 Eggplant Recipes!

 Baba Ghanouj (Eggplant Dip)

Try this simple recipe as it is.  I’ve also made it with half the eggplant and replaced it with a 1-2 roasted red peppers–just roast them along with the eggplant, then pureed it all together.  I add chopped parsley to it too!  Yum!  Also—instead of oiling the whole baking sheet, I brush the cut side of the eggplant with oil, then place it face down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  This makes clean-up sooo much easier!

Get Recipe>>>

Miso Glazed Eggplant

This is my favorite dish to order in Japanese restaurants!  Most miso recipes call for Japanese eggplants, but yours will do!  I would cut the eggplant into discs, then brush both sides with oil and broil both sides before adding the miso sauce.

Get Recipe>>>

Eggplant Parmesan

Get Recipe>>>

More Recipes…Cornmeal Recipes!

Creamy Polenta Recipe

This is a basic polenta recipe that you can make your own by adding cheese (maybe some Athena?) or herbs at the end of the cooking time.

Get Recipe>>>

Pear, Apple and Polenta Crunch

Got some apples and pears you want to use up?  Cornmeal on top is a great change from standard oats…

Get Recipe>>>

East Coast Grill Corn Bread

This cornbread recipe is easy to make–great with a veggie chili filled with root veggies! If you like your cornbread less sweet, you may want to reduce the sugar.  If you click on the article of this recipe, you’ll see over 200 comments, mostly praising the recipe and the debate on the level of sweetness a cornbread should be!  Those Southerners are really passionate about corn bread!!

Get Recipe>>>

More Recipes…

Ginger Root and Parsnip Cake

I saw this a few weeks ago, and have been curious to try it ever since.  This recipe sounds delicious AND it uses parsnips and whole wheat flour!  This would work well with the flour from a few weeks ago, if you still have it!

Get Recipe>>>

Veal scallopini with Brown Butter and Capers

Another easy recipe that you can cut in half to use your portion of veal.

Get Recipe>>>

Some tips from Ann, one of our dedicated OAS members!

Ann, an OAS member, wrote to me saying that she tried and loved the following Canadian Living recipe for Saag Paneer.  Although the ingredient list looks never-ending, it’s mostly just spices!  Saag Paneer is paneer in a spinach sauce—by far one of my favorite Indian dishes!  So if you still have your Paneer cheese from a few weeks ago, you may want to try this!

Get Recipe>>>

And Ann’s tip on making Latkes….and pear sauce!

Ann writes:  We’ve also found that various root veg (I’m sure everyone has a few lurking in the fridge at this point) can substitute for up to about 2/3 of the potatoes in your favourite latke recipe with great success (look for a recipe that goes by weight, and just weigh out what you have – potatoes, white carrots, parsnips, sunchokes, etc., and don’t forget an onion).

Nice with a pear sauce made similarly to applesauce - just peel, core and chop, throw into a heavy saucepan with a little bit of water, lemon juice, sugar, and a good pinch of ground cardamom is very nice — cook until softened. I’ve found that pear does not break down as much as apple tends to, so chopping into smaller pieces is helpful. The pear sauce is also great with pork chops.

Thanks for your tips, Ann!

Have a great week everyone!

It’s finally starting to feel like spring with cucumbers and peppers in your bags this week!

On the Menu this Week:

Fruit:

Frozen Blueberries–Nude Fruit–Delicious Ontario Frozen blueberries!  These are great for muffins, pancakes, oatmeal and smoothies!  see Apple and Blueberry Crisp recipe below

Apples–Lincoln Line Orchards

Veggies:

Cioggia Beets–Hillside Garden Farms–use a mandolin or a very sharp knife to thinly slice these gorgeous beets and toss them raw into your favorite green salad!

Golden Beets–Hillside Garden Farms

Multi Coloured Carrots–Hillside Garden Farms

Cucumbers–Always Fresh Greenhouses. Yay to Ontario Cucumbers!  the first ones of the season!!

Mushrooms–Sharon Mushroom Farm

Red Onions–Hillside Garden Farms

Red Pepper–St. David’s Hydro

Orange Pepper–St. David’s Hydro

Lettuce Greens–Sleger’s Greenhouses

Baby Beet greens–Sleger’s Greenhouses–these tender greens are great in salads!

Pantry:

Pearl Barley from K2 Milling –see recipes below!

Cheese:

Waltzing Matilda water buffalo milk cheese from Monforte Dairy.

Important info about the cheese:  This cheese has a bloomy rind, like brie, and a layer of vegetable ash below it–this is black-ish coloured ash, not mold!  so it’s perfectly safe and delicious to eat!  You should also eat this cheese sooner than later, because it does become very soft and oozy over time.  Best to eat it this weekend!

See feature below.

Here’s a picture of the Waltzing Matilda ash ripened water buffalo cheese.

Meat: 

Chorizo from Select Fine Foods.  We all love the products we receive from Select Fine Foods!  This chorizo is best cooked on the bbq or in a fry pan.

Meet the Maker:  Monforte Dairy

Monforte Dairy is an artisanal dairy which launched in the spring of 2004 in Stratford.  Ruth Klahsen is a chef and Monforte’s owner and its head cheesemaker.  She is a chef who is known throughout the restaurants in the Stratford area.  She believes that small pleasures, which include things like delicious, sustainably made cheeses, make a difference.

Monforte specializes in Sheep’s and Goat’s milk cheese, but they do make other cheeses, like this week’s cheese which is made from water buffalo milk.  They produce both fresh and aged sheep’s and goat’s milk cheeses as well as a few aged cow’s milk cheeses.  Her milk is sourced from local farms–this is a picture of the milk truck arriving with sheeps milk!

Monforte gets their Water Buffalo milk from Sunnivue Organic Farm near London Ontario. With a thousand litres of milk flowing into the dairy every week, they have been making many new and interesting cheeses.

This week’s cheese, Waltzing Matilda, is a delicious ash-ripened Camembert.
Rolled in Balsam Ash, the cheese develops the same bloomy rind you find on a brie or camembert. The slightly bitter, thick white rind overlying the clean black ash rind is edible. The texture of the paste is like chevre, though the cheese itself is quite buttery and almost sweet as it melts on your tongue.  We hope you enjoy this unique and exciting cheese!

The photos above came from Monforte’s Blog–check out more photos and read more about Monforte Dairy here!

Barley recipes!

Mushroom and Barley Soup

This is a simple soup where you can use your mushrooms and onion from this week’s bag.   Don’t have parsley on hand?  try using your beet greens instead!

Get Recipe>>>

Moroccan Chickpeas and Roasted Vegetables with Barley

If you have root veggies from weeks past (like parsnips, celery root, beets or radishes) try using them up in this dish!

Get Recipe>>>

Buttery Barley Risotto with Parmesan Cheese

Feel free to add your white mushrooms to this dish for a more subtle flavour.

Get Recipe>>>

Barley, Celery Root and Mushroom salad

When I saw this recipe a few weeks ago, I thought it looked delicious!

Get Recipe>>>

More recipes

Onion Tart with Bacon or Olives

If you don’t feel like making the dough, you can buy pre-made fresh pizza dough at the grocery store.

Get Recipe>>>

Apple and Blueberry Crisp recipe

Put your apples and blueberries to use with this yummy crisp!

Get Recipe>>>

Vegetable song video

Just a fun 45 second video I came across while searching for recipes!  Nothing like singing British veggies!

Get Video>>>

I’ve just finished watching the film, Fast Food Nation.  Many years ago I read the book, and I’d forgotten a few of the horrors described within, but this star studded Hollywood rendition did a great job a reminding me of the unsettling personal, societal, ethical, and community side effects of an industrialized food system.  The movie evokes a range of emotions, from rage to horror, empathy to frustration.

As I watched the movie chronicle the dehumanizing effects, commoditization and industrialization has had on the North American beef processing industry, I began to regret my occasional participation in fast food  burger consumption. We’ve all been there, driving on the highway, stopping at a service station with miles to go and, a growl in our tummies.

Prior to starting Culinarum I had never seen how meat was processed. To me, meat came out of a package.  I’d never stopped to think about how it got there.  Since starting this business, I’ve had the pleasure to visit several small family run abattoirs to witness what rural Ontario community meat processing is like:  5 to 6 staff that kill, bleed, skin and gut 10 to 15 animals a day, by hand for their local farmers. It’s small potatoes compared to the multi-national, industrialized meat houses that are featured in Fast Food Nation.  But these small provincial abattoirs are so essential in the communities they serve, and to eaters like us who are interested in sustainably raised, humanely treated animals.  With only a few folks on hand to handle the animals, it’s easier to trust things are done right, safely, and you know they are mindful of the tasks they perform.

Our meat may cost more, in part because it’s grown, processed, and tended to on a smaller scale, but also because real people — people who remember a cow is a creature of Mother Nature and not just an end product, people who are connect to the farmer and the community who will eat this animal — process this gentle beast.  They are responsible for its quality and safety. Small scale meat is traceable back to the source – one butcher, one abattoir, one farm, one cow.

As meat eaters, at some point, we all have to face the reality that something died for our dinner. A living breathing beastie ceased to exist for our nourishment.  And before it was called a chop, a steak , or stew, we refereed to it as a pig, a cow, or a sheep. I think it’s important for us to reflect on this next time we sit down to dinner, and for all the folks along the food chain who participated in helping my steak arrive on my plate to remember that fact.

Over the last two years, Culinarium and our customers have joined the fight to save our small provincial abattoirs. Progress has been made, and some funding is now available for abattoirs to help them upgrade their facilities to meet ever changing provincial requirements that are geared to bigger processors.  But there is still more we can do.

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to find out more on the progress our petitioning has made

Click here to download a petition post card, if you have not already done so. Every voice helps.

I’m sure everyone is enjoying the warm weather this week!  And with this weather comes peppers!!  We’re also excited to provide delicious items like eggplant, paneer cheese, buffalo meat and award-winning apple cider!

On the Menu This Week:

Fruit:

Pears (Lincoln Line)

Veggies:

Purple Eggplant (St. David’s Hydroponics)

Red Pepper (St. David’s Hydroponics)–first peppers of the season!  yay!!

Yellow Pepper (St. David’s Hydroponics)

Black Radish (Zephyr Organics)  Delicious and spicy!  If you find that they are too spicy, peel and dice the radish, and roast it along with your other favorite veggies.  Roasting them mellows out the flavour.  Click here for recipes from a previous blog post.

Parsnips (Hillside Garden Farms)

Yellow Onion  (Hillside Garden Farms)

Lettuces (Sleger’s)–you’ll be receiving 2 bunches of their delicious live lettuce

Yukon Gold Potatoes (Thompson’s Potato Farm)–a potato that works for all applications!

Red Beets (Hillside Garden Farms)–the classic beet!  Red beets actually have the most “beety” taste, so their great for soups!

Pantry:

Apple Cider!  Back by popular demand, this delicious apple cider is from Warren’s farm and pressed from a minimum of six varieties of apples specially for OAS!  And we’re not the only ones who love this cider–it recently won second place at the annual Ontario Sweet Cider Competition held at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Niagara Falls!  To read more about the Cider Competition, click here.

And please remember that although this is our “pantry item” this week, it needs to be refrigerated and will last about a week in the fridge.  Enjoy!

Cheese:

Asli Paneer from Local Dairy….Paneer is an Indian-style fresh cheese which is usually cubed and added to flavourful dishes.  It is similar to dry curd cottage cheese or Queso Fresco.  Delicious!  See recipes below.

Meat:

Ground Buffalo Meat!  A great alternative to Beef!  Compared to beef, Buffalo meat is lower in fat and cholesterol and higher in iron and protein!!  See recipes below.

Meet the Maker:  Lincoln Line Orchards

This week’s delicious pears come from Lincoln Line Orchards.

Located in Smithville Ontario, east of Stoney Creek, over 66 acres (45 of them the orchard) Lincoln Line Orchards is a family-run business that has been operating for over 40 years!  Owned and run by Peter and Mary Bosman, and their six children, the farm grows a large variety of apples, plums and pears.

Over the course of 40 years, they have made some changes for the better.  Over time, they are replacing their standard size trees with dwarf varieties.  This change has been done to make it easier to harvest the apples…no need for tall ladders to pick the fruit!  The smaller, younger trees also produce larger fruit with better colour.  Also, the dwarf trees are staked to give added support and trickle irrigation is added to give the trees the added moisture in drought situations. This type of modern management is needed for fruit farming to be economically viable.

As we know, fruit like apples and pears, are harvested from August all the way to November.  So how is it that we are able to provide you with such delicious and fresh fruit in March??  The key is storage!  Lincoln line has excellent storage facilities, which makes this orchard so successful.  Fruit is stored in refrigerated coolers which are close to freezing.  For longer-term storage, they use Controlled Atmosphere rooms.  These are well-sealed apple and pear storage rooms where the oxygen is reduced to 2%.  This storage allows the fruit to remain firm and crisp for six to eight months!  This type of post-harvest handling is a major part of building the local food sector.  Knowing that OAS will be a customer throughout the winter months, Lincoln Line can plan ahead and store fruit specially for our customers!

Lincoln Line Orchard has a Farm Market in front of the farm, selling produce as well as cider, pies, apple chops, preserves and more.  They are open Tuesday to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  You can also shop online with them!

For more information, check out their website:  http://lincolnlineorchards.com/

Featured Recipe:

Ontario Apple and Carrot Cake

I recently dug up an old recipe I used to make years ago.  I’ve adjusted it many times, and this is the result of my tinkering with the original.  What I love is that it uses all Ontario ingredients, except for sugar and spices, including rutabaga if you want!  Also, it’s so easy to make in a 9×13 inch pan.  To me, it’s more like a muffin than a cake, so it’s great to eat in the morning with coffee.  It’s also very moist and delicious!  This recipe is not fussy, so play around with different flours (whole wheat, red fife, etc.), fruits and veggies (why not parsnip and carrot or apple and pear?!)!   Enjoy!

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 More Recipes:

Buffalo! 

With this warm weather, I’m sure many of you are dusting off your bbqs!  Try grilling some of these buffalo burger recipes.

Rebel House Buffalo Burger

This recipe is from The Rebel House and combines both beef and buffalo meat–a great way to try it, if it’s your first time!

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Portobello Buffalo Burgers with Celery-Apple Slaw

Since buffalo meat is so lean, it can become dry if over-cooked.  This recipe uses mushrooms to keep the burgers moist.

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Buffalo Burgers with Pickled Onions and Smoky Red Pepper Sauce

Nothing like pickled onion on a burger!  yum!

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Buffalo Meatloaf with Spinach and Roasted Potatoes

Don’t feel like a burger?  try this meatloaf recipe.

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Paneer Recipes!

Check out three simple recipes provided by Local Dairy

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Feeling adventurous?  Here are some more complex recipes developed by Chef Balbir Nijher for Local Dairy’s Asli Paneer.

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup dehydrated Ontario blueberries  (If you don’t have these, substitute with one cup raisins, or dried cranberries or dried cherries)

4 large eggs

2/3 cup canola oil

2/3 cup sugar

2 cups Red Tail bread flour from K2 Milling –this is the flour in last week’s bag (or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups grated carrot (or 1 cup grated carrot and I cup grated rutabaga–this combo works well!)

1 1/2 cups grated apple (no need to peel it!) (got extra pears?  They work too!)

2/3 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 9×13 inch pan with foil*, then grease and flour foiled pan.

Place blueberries (or other dried fruit) in a small bowl and cover with hot tap water.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine oil, eggs and sugar and beat with a wooden spoon or whisk until well combined and slightly thick–about a minute.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, spices and salt.  Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture until it is just combined.  Add drained soaking fruit, along with nuts and grated carrots and apples(and rutabaga if using) and mix until just incorporated.

Spread mixture into baking pan.  Bake 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool on a baking sheet.

*lining the pan with foil is done for two reasons…1.  to make it easy to remove the entire cake from the pan for easy cutting.  When lining the pan, make sure to use a large enough piece of foil so that it hangs over the two shorter ends–this creates handles for easy lifting.  2.  It also helps for easy clean-up!

Tip:  Wrap individual portions in plastic wrap then foil and freeze, then defrost in microwave when read to eat!  This a great way to bring a snack to work–just microwave it at work for a warm morning or afternoon snack!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 30 cubes of Asli Paneer
• 18 cherry tomatoes
• 3 green bell peppers cut into 2″ squares
• 1 cup Asli Dahi/yogurt
• 2 tsps garlic paste
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds roasted and coarsely ground
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 lemon to garnish

Preparation:                 

Mix the yogurt with the coriander, cumin, chili and turmeric powders and garlic paste. Add salt to taste. Whisk to get a smooth paste.

• Add the cubes of Asli Paneer to this paste and coat well. Allow to marinate for several hours.
• On wooden barbecue skewers, alternate cubes of paneer with the cherry tomatoes and green bell peppers squares.
• Grill on a barbecue or in the oven until the vegetables are soft as per your liking.
• Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and serve.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Ingredients:   Asli Paneer(cubed)-250 gms

Method

• Combine all the ingredients for the marinade. Add paneer pieces and mix carefully and keep aside for 30 minutes. Place this on a greased baking tray and drizzle oil on top Bake this in a preheated oven (350deg F) for 15 to 20 minutes, turning sides in between.(or you can shallow fry the paneeer pieces ,turning sides in between)
• In a blender, add chopped onion and tomato and grind to form a smooth paste. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Now add the bay leaf and sauté for a few seconds.
• Add ginger, garlic and tomato- onion paste. Add salt to taste. Sauté this over a medium flame for about 15 minutes or until oil separates.
• Reduce the flame to low and add kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Sauté this for at least 5 minutes(on a low flame)
• Pour 1/2 cup water and mix well. adjust the salt level and bring it to a boil.
• Add the baked paneer cubes and kasuri methi and mix well.
• Add more water if required .Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Now add Local Dairy cream Fresh and mix well. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with naan or roti.

FALAFEL

• 1 Cup dried chickpeas
• 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4-6 tablespoons flour
• Asli Ghee for frying
• Chopped tomato for garnish
• Diced Asli paneer
• Diced onion for garnish
• Diced green bell pepper for garnish
• Tahina sauce and Hummus
• Pita bread

Preparation

1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, than drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.

2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.

3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts, or use a falafel scoop, available in Middle-Eastern markets.

5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Stuff half a pita with falafel balls, Diced Asli Paneer, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and Hummus. Drizzle with tahina thinned with water.

 Vegetable Stir-Fry

 Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 5 min

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Asli Ghee
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and julienned
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 cup half-moon sliced yellow squash
• 1 cup small broccoli florets
• 1 baby eggplant, cut into chunks
• 8 ounces paneer, cut into large chunks
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (check the label: no more than 2 grams sugar per serving)
• 2 cups sliced bok choy
• 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions

Start by preparing and cutting all the vegetables and measuring your ingredients so that they are ready to go. Once you begin stir-frying, it goes very quickly.

In a wok or large skillet, heat canola oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the peppers and onion while stirring constantly. While continuing to stir, add successively the squash, broccoli, eggplant, paneer, garlic, and teriyaki sauce. Cook and stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the bok choy, sprouts, pepper, and salt and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes more.

Stir in snow peas and sesame oil and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

8 oz thawed chopped frozen spinach

2 Tbsp oil

8 oz fresh Paneer, cubed

2 onions, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1/2 tsp each paprika and garam masala

salt to taste

Sautee spinach in oil.  Add ginger and sautee.  Set aside.  Sautee onions and tomatoes, then add spinach.  Add spices and paneer.  Add 3/4 cup water, bring to boil and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Shahi Paneer

2 medium chopped onions

2 chopped tomatoes

1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger

2 Tbsp tomato paste

3 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp each garam masala and paprika

1 Tbsp each ground coriander and cumin

1 tsp tumeric

12 oz cubed paneer

1 cup yogurt or cream

On medium heat, heat oil and add onions.  Sautee until golden, then add tomatoes,.  Sautee 5 minutes and add ginger and sautee another 5 minutes.  Add spices and cubed paneer and sautee 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil and add yogurt or cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

BBQed Paneer

12 oz Asli Paneer, cubed into 1 inch peices

1 medium onion

1 tomato

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup yogurt

In a blender or food processor, add onion, tomato and ginger and puree until smooth.  Add spiced and yogurt and combine.  In a bowl, combine mixture with paneer and allow to marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.  Skewer paneer and bbq for about 5 minutes, or until heated through.

You can also add fresh pepper and onions to the skewers.

A fabulous first of it’s kind event in Toronto. Hope to see you all there!

Join 11 of Toronto’s female brew masters to share in a full line up of one-off casks & Kegs!

Sunday March 25th 2 to 8 pm at Bar Volo

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