Happy Monday!
Here are some tidbits to share with you as well as some current farm photos and some recipes! Also see the bottom of this Farm Happening in case you need help with contacting us, rescheduling, location info etc. I know some of you are swimming in veggies, so I thought I would share with you how we use them here on the farm to make the most of this abundant time of year. We're happy to introduce a few new items this week - namely celery and fingerling potatoes! We were hoping that the broccoli would last a little longer than it did, but it all ripened in the span of two weeks in spite of planting a slower and a faster maturing type so they'd be staggered. We have another crop in the field, but plant growth is very noticeably slower with the shorter days and cooler temps, so we'll see if the heads form before fall.
Our big news is that our wonderful staff member, Tishawni, will be heading to school in Calgary after this week. She will be studying acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, a field in which she will learn so much and excel. We've absolutely loved the five seasons that she's worked with us and we'll miss her a lot. She did recruit her best friend to finish off the season with us in her place, so we are happy to welcome Josie!
Our new crop of spinach is doing well, and we'll have plenty for the farm box this week. It is tender and flavourful! We've been enjoying it in our favourite chocolate chip mint smoothies.
Here's the basic recipe for that:
Chocolate Chip Mint Smoothie (1 serving)
4 large ice cubes
2 large medjool dates, pitted
1/16 tsp mint extract
good handful of spinach
2 TBS almond butter
1 TBS cacao
1 cup of milk of choice (l like unsweetened nut milk)
Blend the above ingredients together until smooth adding a bit more milk if needed (just a bit at a time), then add 1 tsp cocoa nibs and vanilla whey powder. Blend again till just combined so the nibs don't break down and the whey doesn't make the smoothie fluffy. So good!
James checking out which carrots to bunch for this week's farm boxes. These ones planted on June 10 are looking on point!
Our onion crop is out of the ground and drying in the sun a bit before we take it in to the greenhouse to cure.
Spinach!! Does anyone else get excited about spinach??!
Here's one of my favourite ways to cook a lot of veggies in an easy way. Here I used a head of cauliflower, a fennel bulb, a couple pounds of pattypan, a bag of beans and an onion. I chopped them all into fairly large bits, tossed them in olive oil, seasoned them and roasted them with a package of good quality Italian sausage from the Italian Centre. I roasted it all together on a large tray in a 400 degree oven until things began to caramelize a bit, tossing once somewhere in the middle. Then, I chopped up a bunch of turnips, another fennel bulb, a couple pattypan, and some cukes to eat with homemade hummus. Simple and so yummy.
Our kids were able to get away to some camps in the last couple of weeks, and today we're looking forward to picking Eli up from some time spent in the mountains. This week is a big transition to school for many of you and for us as well and we hope that it all goes really well.
All the best and happy, healthy eating to you all!
Warmly,
James and Jenn
REMINDERS AND GENERAL TIPS/INFORMATION
Have questions about your Harvie account and how to navigate Harvie? Here is a link to the many help documents that Harvie has compiled for you: https://harvie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000048773-Harvie-University-Members
What To Do if You Are Away
You have three options:
1) BEST OPTION - Reschedule your share. This is our recommended option because it means you get your full value. We suggest rescheduling your share to a week near the end when you will get more storage-friendly items that will last longer, though you're welcome to reschedule to any date that works best for you. When you reschedule, you will get double your share for the week.
2) Cancel your share for the week. This can be managed on your Harvie account page. It must be done before the Wednesday morning cutoff time of 6 a.m. The disadvantage here is that you lose whatever you have invested into that share. So if you've paid 50%, then you forfeit that amount.
3) Have someone else pick up for you. In our experience, friends assigned this job sometimes forget, so just give them a friendly reminder!
Location Options and Info
King's University (East Edmonton) Friday pickups, 12-4, some flex if you have to come later. We will not retrieve any shares left here. Also, the main entrance is different than previous years. You will have to enter on the east side of Kings.
Breadlove Artisan Bakery (St. Albert) Saturday pickups, 10-2, no flex & closed on Sunday. We will not retrieve shares left here.
Awn Kitchen (Southwest Edmonton) Saturday pickups, 10-2, no flex. James will be here handing out your shares.
Uproot Food Collective (Central Edmonton)
Saturday pickups, 10-2, some flex, but let's respect the hours as best we can.
Strathcona Farmer's Market (Edmonton) Saturday pickups, 8-3, no flex.
The Butcher Block (Sherwood Park) Saturday pickup, 9:30-4, some flex, open till 5.
Get Real Natural (Fort Saskatchewan) Saturday pickup, 10-5, no flex
Sundog Organic Farm (near Gibbons) Saturday, 9-2, flexible
A few more tips in case you haven't read them yet...
*When picking up your bin at King's, Awn, Breadlove, Butcher Block, Get Real Natural or the farm, please make sure that you are getting the bin with your name on the label as we don't have anyone handing out the correct veggie boxes. We want to make sure that everyone gets the correct bin!
*Make sure that you set your preferences on your Harvie account. This ensures that you receive boxes tailored to you. Save the 5 star rating for things that you really love and don't give everything 5 stars because that skews the algorithm that the software relies on for building the boxes.
*Take advantage of the swapping and adding extras to further customize your shares! Remember to do it before Wednesday morning, 5:00 a.m.(basically Tuesday night unless you are a very early riser). Sometimes popular items sell out really quickly, so if you miss your chance on Monday, try again later on Tuesday after more customizing. Sometimes things that you want get put back on the options list.
If you miss the swap deadline, we can no longer make changes for you. We've tried to accommodate late requests in the past, but it's a lot of extra administration for us.
*Let us know if you ever want help navigating Harvie. You can send in a note via your Harvie account, or email us directly at jamesandjenny@sundogorganicfarm.ca. If it is a more urgent concern, call us at 780-447-3025 or 780-974-6249. We are here for you!
