In this September Newsletter:
-learn about some of our amazing Fall producers!
-Theresa Daniele's All-Natural sugar beets
-13 varieties of garlic
-cute, kid-friendly squash
-hot, medium and sweet peppers
-19th Century Parisian methods
-our Not-for-Profit Friends celebrate the Art of Giving, local recipes and Go Green this September.
In spite of the hot blue days we enjoyed this past weekend you may nave noted a few leaves swirling by on their way to the ground like little notes left to remind us that the warm weather doesn't fool the local plant life one bit; it's time to get ready for cooler days. Don't forget - we're open twice a week while the harvest season lasts, and our producers are picking double-time. The corn's come out, the last tomatoes are reddening, the winter squash are ripening on their vines. Everywhere you look the hayfields have been rolled up into the tidy bales of sunshine that will feed our animals over the winter.
Likewise, it's time for dedicated locavores to roll up the richness of the harvest season and fill our freezers and cellars with our favourite produce. Over the next several weeks the tables of our producers will creak and groan under the weight of it all, and you'll have the opportunity to speak with the dedicated people who bring it to Market.
Among our growers you'll meet grandparents dedicated to feeding their families from the roots up, young entrepreneurs cultivating by hand, traditional vegetable farmers and many others, all dedicated consumers of their own vegetables, all passionate about their roles in our local economy, all willing to stand behind their produce and answer your questions so you can enjoy them as much as they and their families do.
Gleaming pole beans, juicy carrots, perfect fingerling potatoes, ruby beets. The climate of Northwestern Ontario allows our field-growing producers the opportunity to grow a wide variety of vegetables throughout the growing season. At this time of year you'll find the greatest selection and enjoy the offerings of both late summer and fall. On our vendors' tables you'll find almost anything you can imagine growing in our climate, along with some you wouldn't expect. Interested? Read on; we've dedicated our Harvest Issue to the people who'll surprise and delight you with the produce of their hands and gardens, and picked out some notables for your attention in the coming weeks.
Found at the Market
Gaga for Garlic
Mark Boles at Cattails Farm has spent years cultivating garlic and has turned it into an art form of traditional methods and elbow grease. Worked without machinery or chemicals of any sort the solid clay soil of his garlic fields in South Gillies makes ground-turning very labour-intensive, but Mark's proven over and over again that the extra work is worth it.
Mark now cultivates 13 different and delicious varieties of garlic and knows each one intimately. Some are sweeter; some are hotter; some are more pungent; some are more oily, and Mark can be trusted to recommend whichever flavour you'll prefer. Mark tells us that most notable among his collection is
Ukrainian Hot; a tiny purple bulb bearing the distinction of being the hottest garlic in the world. His mildest, the Sicilian Gold variety, is a yellow-fleshed garlic with a delicate garlicky flavour and very little heat - we like it roasted with a little olive oild and spread, clove by clove, on fresh bread. Meet Mark at the Cattails Farm stand outside over the next week or two; he'll have sold out his entire crop soon.
Beet These
Theresa Daniele of Theresa's All-Natural tends a remarkable set of gardens and greenhouses that have enabled her and her husband Giovanni to keep their family in vegetables year-round and feed many Market customers for over ten years. At their family home on Community Hall Road you'll find a large field blooming with things like summer squash, root vegetables, leeks, onions, kale and potatoes. Another garden is dedicated to green, red and Savoy cabbages. In the greenhouses they grow sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, herbs and a variety of tomatoes (from tiny cherries to the 7-kg prizewinner that popped off a beefsteak vine this summer). Apple trees, plum trees, grapevines and raspberry canes sweeten their stores, and a flock of goats provides accompaniment to the outdoor chorus. When asked why she calls her business "All-Natural," Theresa described her potato pest-management methods: meticulously picking a bucket or so of beetles off of her potato patch each morning. No chemicals, just elbow-grease.
While the grapes, plums and toddler-sized tomatoes Theresa raises are remarkable, we think her most notable offerings are the sugar beets she grows with seeds a friend brings her from Italy. Similar to regular red beets, yellow sugar beets are a little starchier and milder-tasting and can be cooked in stews and other casserole-style dishes without taking over the colour scheme. Stop in to ask Theresa about her favourite methods for cooking these crunchy delights.
Meet the Squash Queen
Shannon vanLenthe appears at the Market throughout the year with seasonal offerings ranging from pretty hanging flower baskets and herb transplants to locally-made hot dogs. Visit her stand in the next few weeks and you'll learn why she's called the Squash Queen; in addition to the potatoes, hot peppers and crispy apples in front of her she's also loaded with her namesakes. Storable, delicious winter squash like spaghetti, acorn and butternut are making their appearance and you'll still find soft-skinned green and yellow zucchini for the next couple of weeks.
You might already have spotted one of our favourite squashes: the Patty-pan, a yellow, light or dark green UFO-shaped fruit with a scalloped edge. Edible in a range of sizes, Patty-pans can be eaten simply - steamed or roasted whole when small - or sliced and cooked in a casserole dish with butter, salt, pepper and a little Parmesan cheese. Its mild flavour and fun shape make it a great "entry-level" squash for kids. Check out the Squash Queen's table to get yours and more cooking ideas.
Some Like it Hot
Chris Paulusma and mom Anna of Paulusma's Greenhouses appeared at the Market for the first time during pepper season last year. In their second year at the Market they've already developed a strong following among the lovers of the sweet and the hot; it's been a great year for growing peppers and the proof is in the spread you'll find beneath their awning. Their chemical-free greenhouse produces a number of different varieties of peppers ranging from safe, sweet red, green and Purple Beauty bell peppers to awe-inspiring Burning Bush Habaneros. In between are fruits like the Camino Real Serrano, Big Chile Anaheim and Chimicheca Jalapeno.
Chris says their rarest item - read: hardest to cultivate in this climate - is the Padron pepper, the famous Spanish delicacy. Most Padron peppers are sweet and mild, but some carry an extra dash of capsaicin and can be surprisingly spicy, adding an element of character to dishes prepared with it. "Unos pican y otros no" - some bite and some do not - the Spanish say of this pepper, and fry them up whole in olive oil with coarse salt. Meet Chris and Anna at the Paulusma's Greenhouses table and get their advice as you introduce yourself to some spicy new friends.
Directement de Paris
Young entrepreneur Justin Friedel joined the Market for the first time this year and is developing a name for himself as a purveyor of excellent greens, summer squash and other garden vegetables. Modeling their practice on the philosophy of Eliot Coleman whose methods derive from the market gardens of Paris in the 1800s, he and partner Caitlyn have begun managing urban gardens with simple tools and non-intrusive methods, growing produce with a low environmental impact. Meet Justin and learn more about the Queen Street Market Garden Saturdays throughout their growing season, or click here to visit their vendor profile.
Friends' Activities
EcoSuperior's "Go Green" Expo - September 11 & 12, 2010
The Go Green Expo is an inaugural event for Thunder Bay: a show designed to bring information to the public about how it really can be easy to be green, and how to save money at the same time you are helping the environment. The Expo runs Friday Sept. 10th 7-9 pm, Saturday Sept. 11th, 9:00 – 5:00, and Sunday Sept. 12th 10:00 – 3:30 .
The Expo consists of 4 parts:
• an exhibition which allows people and businesses to showcase their green initiatives and new eco-friendly products and services; Free Admission to the exhibition
• workshops on topics ranging from gardening in an earth-friendly way, environmentally friendly building practices, shoreline restoration, renewable energy, waste reduction, making jam, and more. Workshops are $10.00 each: register on line or call 625-2411
• tours of city facilities which are moving towards sustainability - Free Admission
• exciting speakers: Gill Deacon is the keynote speaker on Friday evening, Her topic is “Green for Life”; and Charles Campbell on the Al Gore Climate Change Project . Charles is the guest speaker at the local-foods lunch on Saturday Sept. 11th. Keynote speaker is $10.00 at the door; luncheon and speaker is $15.00.
Find out more about the Go Green Expo by visiting www.earthwisethunderbay.com and clicking on the Go Green link, by visiting the Facebook page, or by calling 625-2411.
The RFDA invites you to Celebrate the “Art of Giving!”
What are you doing on September 23rd? Join the Regional Food Distribution Association(RFDA) as it celebrates its second annual fundraiser and art auction the “Art of Giving”. Enjoy a fabulous evening as you bid on original artwork and taste the creative culinary delights of local caterers and producers including the Market’s own Nature’s Choice and Rainy River Elk. This year’s event will also feature a silent auction showcasing the creativity of local artisans.
