The Tent in the Woods & What I Made with the Morels and Wild Leeks

After John went on his wild leek excursion, I wanted to go hunting for leeks as well, so my youngest daughter and I got very clear instructions from John on where exactly the leeks were. We headed up into the woods, headed for the train tracks, and then headed to the left, and what was there? Not the big giant patch of wild leeks we expected, but a camouflage tent – right there in the middle of our woods, creepy and mysterious. Yup, we high-tailed it out of there, looking over our shoulders for Freddy Kruger, and forgetting about the leeks.
LOL, joke was on us. When we got back to the house, John told me it was a friend of ours that had pitched the tent. Even so, it was still creepy. John had to go back into the woods with us to find the leeks after that, and we did find a nice smallish patch. We dug up just a few of those intense little bulbs, and I used them with some morels in a delicious sauce for our dinner.

Wild Mushroom and Leek Sauce for chicken or pasta or gnochhi

2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1 handful of washed, chopped leeks
2 cloves garlic, minced
Big handful of washed and chopped wild mushrooms
Splash of sherry or white wine (optional)
1 sprig savoury
1 sprig thyme
1 cup (250 mL) 35% cream
Salt, pepper, cayenne, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish

Melt the butter in a good sized pan set over medium high heat. Add the leeks to the pan, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan, cook and stir for another 5 minutes, sprinkle with a bit of salt, and continue to cook until mushrooms start releasing their delicious mushroom juices. Add the splash of wine or sherry to the pan, if desired. Toss in the sprigs of fresh herbs; cook and stir until mushroom aroma is completely delicious, and the liquids are pretty much reduced by half. Add the cream to the pan, cook and stir until it has reduced somewhat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, if desired.
Serve over a cooked chicken breast or thigh, or toss with some pasta or gnocchi. Some freshly grated parmesan is very nice on top of everything, and maybe a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley, just to boost the colour.

What to do with Stinging Nettles

Probably the wierdest item that we sell at our farmstand is the stinging nettles. I’ve never been sure what to do with them, so today we tried a couple of things. What you do need to know is that stinging nettles really do sting, so wear gloves if you are picking your own, or handle them carefully if they have been picked for you. Cooking tames the sting and makes them wierdly palatable.

The stinging nettle is said to rejuvenate the body, and is a cure all for colds, sore throats, and scurvy. It has more protein than any other vegetable, and is rich in calcium, magnesium ,iron, and a whole list of other ‘good for you’ elements. Hurry up and make a pot of stinging nettle tea and start feeling better!

Today I made some tea and a soup. If I am simply consuming stinging nettles for their health benefits, then tea is the way to go – simple! Put a large handful of washed stinging nettle leaves into a tea pot, cover with boiling water, and let steep for 5 minutes. That’s it. Pour and serve with a bit of honey if desired.

Looking for a healthy soup? Try this, you are bound to feel healthier just looking at the deep green liquid. It kind of scared me at first – it’s really green, but it tastes pretty good! Our farm employees all came back for seconds, I think that’s a good sign. Our kids didn’t touch it, so you are fore-warned!

Dolway Organic Garden’s version of Stinging Nettle Soup
2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1 onion (or 2 shallots or 6 wild leeks), minced
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped- If you like a thicker soup, use more potatoes
6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable or chicken stock
8 cups (2 L) lightly packed stinging nettles, washed
1 big handful spinach, washed
Salt, pepper, nutmeg, to taste
Light sourcream or yogourt
sprinkle of chives

Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium high heat. Stir in the onions, cook and stir for 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cook and stir for another few minutes. Pour in the broth, bring to the boil,cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Stir in the nettles and spinach. Bring back to the boil, simmer for another 10 minutes, until nettles are really soft. Puree with a hand held immersion blender ( I got one for Christmas, lucky me) or puree with a food processor in batches. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot with a generous dollop of sourcream and a good sprinkle of chives.
Serves six.

Hunting for Leeks and Morels

Well, I was cutting the lawn yesterday and guess what; It is morel season again. It was just a couple of days ago when I was talking with Christine about morels and how as a kid I would cut the lawn and whop all the morels off with the lawnmower. Since I have grown up I have developed a new appreciation for the morel, so this time I stopped each time I saw one, set it beside a tree and carried on until I saw the next one. By the time Christine showed up I had quite the bounty. Even Anna was really excited about the morels.

We went out as a family and combed all the familiar areas for more; under the spruce trees and in the old apple orchard. We got a big bag full.

No sooner did we get back to the farm house when a neighbour showed up, loads me in his truck and takes me up into the woods to look for wild leeks. They are considerably easier to find than Morels. After only a 5 minute search we came across a great big, mature patch. We filled the bucket and my neighbour had enough to make wild leek soup for his 10 or so guests. Pretty impressive eh?

Well that is it for the wild produce search for now. We will be back at it for puff ball season in the fall.

As for today it is time to count my losses on the beans. It got down to -1 C last night which means that the beans will be all but toast. There were two crops. One was up to 3 inches and the other about 2 Inches. Time to plant again!

Frost

Well, we had a minus 2 frost a couple of days ago which really took a toll on the beans. I always plant an early crop of beans, brown seed, in the hope that they will get past the frost and they usually do . I plant brown seed because it can regulate water uptake so the seeds do not burst and rot in the cold soil. They usually take about three weeks to germinate but it gets us to the market two weeks early which is great. This year however we got blasted. Half the beans were killed and the other half may make a recovery by putting out new growth from the growth tip. We will see. We have a new crop close on the heals of the frosted crop just in case.

The chicken house is coming along well; Matt is the framer and is doing a great job. Small, compact, suitable for up to 20 chickens, and can be moved by the forks on the loader tractor. The kids are looking forward to getting chickens in mid June.

Other jobs on the farm have been the endless weeding by hoeing and flaming, planting all the frost resistant stuff, managing the greenhouse stock, picking, picking and picking.
The two main crops at this time of year are spinach and rhubarb. The spinach was planted in the fall and winters over under the snow. The rhubarb is a perennial and provides us with about 1000 lbs per week at this time of year. The perrenial herbs are producing now. Chives are the earliest, followed by thyme, oregano, mint, savoury, sage, and tarragon. Last year’s flat and curly parsley are also contributing to the produce we are offering at the market. Some green onions made it through the winter as well.

The first of this years annual plantings, arugula, will be ready to start harvesting tomorrow. It is baby arugula, just past the cotyledon stage. I love arugula.

The fencing is finished and now Dave can move his sheep into the new pasture. The Conservation authority is planting 400 spruce trees along the North edge of our property today. It will serve as a wind break for the field there.

Rhubarb Cobbler

With an abundance of rhubarb in the garden right now, it is shame not to use it while it is at it’s peak. So, let’s make a homey and old fashioned cobbler; that delicious catch-all for seasonal fruit. I’ve used some maple syrup to help with the sweetening, some coarse cornmeal in the topping adds a bit of a pleasing crunch.

First, head out to your garden (or your neighbours – they are probably looking for people that want some rhubarb!) and pick about 10 stalks of rhubarb. Cut the leaves off and dump them in your compost. Head inside, wash the rhubarb and cut it into about 1-inch long pieces. You should have about 5-6 cups. Turn on your oven to 375 degrees F. Stir together the rhubarb with 1/2 cup (125 mL) orange juice, 1/2 cup (125 mL) lightly packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup (125 mL) maple syrup. Pour all of this into a 9-inch square or round pyrex or other non-metallic pan. Now make the topping:
1 cup (250 mL) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) coarse cornmeal
1 teaspoon (5 mL) cinnamon
2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder
2 tablespoons (30 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt
2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
1/2 cup (125 mL) milk
Stir together the flour with the cornmeal, cinnamon, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk. Give it all a quick stir until it comes together into a ball, then gently roll it out into a circle or square that will fit your pan. I had a round pan, so I rolled out a circle and then cut it into wedges, and placed the wedges on top of the rhubarb mixture. You can leave the pastry as a ‘whole’ if you’d like, or cut it into smaller pieces and fit the pieces on top of your rhubarb. That part is up to you. After you’ve done this, brush it all with:
1 tablespoon (15 mL) melted butter
and then sprinkle with:
1 tablespoon (15 mL) granulated sugar (I used organic sugar for a coarser texture)
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the rhubarb is bubbling and the topping os golden brown and delicious looking. Let sit for a while so the juices settle down a bit, then serve warm with your favourite vanilla icecream. We’re big fans of London icecream. Feeling healthy? It’s nice served with yogourt, too.

Asparagus

Two weeks ago the girls and I checked the asparagus patch, and there was nothing. Last night before dinner we picked about four pounds! It only took five minutes, and it was so satisfying. I love that wonderful ‘snap’ of the asparagus as we pick it.
Some spears are thick, some are thin, but the key is the freshness – they will all be delicious and tender as long as they are fresh. Asparagus tends to be sandy, especially fresh from the garden like that, so you do have to make sure that you wash it well. If the grit seems impossible to get ride of, you can always give the bottom of the spears a bit of a peel with a vegetable peeler, that should solve any grit problem.
I love roasting vegetables, it brings out all their subtle and sweet flavours, and asparagus is no different. Serve it with a simple vinaigrette and it is a side dish to be proud of.
Roasted Asparagus
First, wash about one pound of asparagus. Heat your oven to 500 degrees F. Spread the asparagus out on a baking sheet, drizzle with some vegetable oil, sprinkle with some salt, and place in hot oven for 8 minutes. That’s it, no longer, maybe even just 6 minutes if the asparagus spears are very thin.
While the asparagus is roasting, make your vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped shallots
1 tablespoon (15 mL) walnut oil
1 tablespoon (15 mL) red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon( 15 mL) maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon(2.5 mL) Dijon mustard
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped and toasted walnuts
Whisk together the shallots, walnut oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard. When the asparagus comes out of the oven, gently toss it with the vinaigrette, and the sprinkle it with walnuts. Eat immediatley. Serves four. Or maybe only two asparagus lovers.

And the show begins

We have been selling produce for two weeks now. We have the best customers ever. Most of our produce goes to Toronto and Kitchener with a bit staying in London for a few of the independant stores. The Toronto customers are door to door delivery companies that put together boxes of organic produce each week. These customers consistantly take a fixed amount of each thing we grow to put into these boxes. They provided an amazing service. Fresh, local, in-season produce to your door each week. They are extremely important to our business.

The Kitchener customer is one of the pioneers of organic produce growing and wholesaling in Ontario. They grow 300 acres of their own produce but in addition buy from local organic farms to suppliment and diversify what they are able to sell to their customers. They work with their growers to ensure a wonderfully cooperative and very enjoyable business environment.

The full crew of 10 guys is on now. It is usually a 50/50 split of girls and guys, most of whom are attending the local university. Because we have so many farmhands on now and because the garden is just getting up to steam we are able to get all those other farm type jobs done; firewood, fencing, creek and pond reconstruction, building a chicken house. Did I mention Christine and the kids want chickens this year, hence the chicken house. It will be a small simple affair, big enough to house up to 20 chickens. That should be enough to get us about 2 dozen eggs per day at full production. The chicken house will be small and something that we can move around on the forks of the tractor. This means that we can put the chickens c/w house and run exactly where we need them to forage.

Today will be a big picking day. We will probably get some more of the fencing done, some of the ornamental gardens edged and some prep done for painting.