Disregard of the hail and the damages we got, most of the crops seem to be growing very well, including the weeds!  With the continuous sunshine,  moisture and the  TLC ( tender loving care) Eric and the staff have been given to the crops, they turn out really healthy and tasty.  Eric has been bringing in different kinds of  beautiful and tasty vegetables for us to sample before we bring them to the markets.  We are so blessed to have an organic garden!  We are glad that we can share our joy and abundance harvest with you.

We have been harvesting the following items to our market and selling them at our farm store:  peas, beans, carrots, baby corns, beets (purple, golden, candy cane), spinach, lettuce mix, rainbow swisschard, baby bok choy,  broccoli, cauliflower (cheddar, the funky lime green veronica, tatsoi, kale, amaranth greens, strawberries, rhubarb, radishes, dill, parsley, basil, cilantro, sweet pea tips with edible flower, purslane …  Customers have been asking for the coming back of rapini and a few other new products after they tried it out in June and early July.  We are sorry to tell you that we won’t have any more until next year because of the hail damage.  Oh!  Our BABY CORN is ready and they will be at the farm store and the markets this week (August 6).  Quanitity is limited, just please come early!

I (Ruby) am back to the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market already as the St. Albert Outdoors Farmers market started on June 19.  It was exciting to see all those familiar and new faces at the market.   From now on, Eric’s fans have to meet him at the St. Albert Outdoor Farmers’ Market unless they catch him between 4:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.  at the Strathcona when he is setting up every Sat. morning.

Farm store is open again every Friday from July 9 to August 27,  between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.  Please also check out our other selling locations.   This year we will continue to participate in the Edmonton Good Food Box and the new Organic Box program.  For those who can’t make it to the farmers’ markets to pick up our produces can consider joining the program.  You can check  out their website on our links.

Last but not least, our webmaster (Jonathan) has already downloaded some highlight of the Endless Feast which held at our farm last summer.    Please check it out on our Media page.  Thank you for all of your support!

More info: http://www.endlessfeast.tv/201.php

(servings: 4)

Ingredients:
1 lb. Peas On Earth Organic oriental veggies
8 cups Water
2 tsps. Vegetable Oil
1 tsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. minced garlic or more (for Stir-Fry)

Oyster Sauce Mixture:
2 tsps. Oyster Sauce
1 tsp. Sesame Oil

Preparation:
Washed & cut veggies into bite-size pieces. If use Gai Lan, peel tough skin on stems. Cut stems diagonally into thin slices.

Option 1: Blanching
• Bring water, salt & vegetable oil to a boil in a large pot
• Plunge veggies into boiling water and cooked for 1 – 2 mins. (cook longer if it’s more mature) or until crisp-tender
• Drain well and place on platter
• Drizzle with oyster sauce mixture

Option 2: Stir-Fry
• Blanch the veggies for 30 seconds, drain well
• Heat another 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or frying pan, add ½ tsp. minced garlic for 5 seconds, then add veggies
• Stir until leaves begin to wilt about 1 to 2 min.
• Top with oyster sauce mixture or your favorite sauce

(for 4 servings)

The fun of doing a healthy sizzling Stir-Fried is Mix & Match. The sky is the limit! There are 3 tricks to it:
1. Hot frying pan
2. Fresh Ingredients
3. Quick cooking (therefore pre-blanching is very important)

Basic Ingredients:
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 pinch sea salt or 1 tbsp. oyster sauce

Rainbow Ingredients:
(Mix & Match & have fun making up your personal stir-fried)

Green half lb. sugar or snow peas, 5 green baby zucchini (cut in half or quarters), half lb Gai Lan (cut into bite sized pieces), half lb. broccoli (cut into small florets)

Yellow 9 baby corns, 5 golden baby zucchini (cut in half or quarters)

Orange 1 medium Carrot (slice it thin)

Purple 1 head medium Purple Onion (cut bulb into 8 sections)

Pick 1 or 2 ingredients from each color group, pre-blanched them. Heat up the wok or frying pan, then add oil. When oil is slightly heated up, first add onion, then garlic and stir until it is pale golden. Add carrots and other colorful ingredients. Stir & toss all the ingredients with a spatula for another 30 seconds. If the vegetables dry up, add 1 tbsp of Chinese rice wine into the frying pan. Add salt or oyster sauce to season. If you are a spicy eater, you can chop up some chili pepper and toss it together with the onion & garlic in the beginning.

Blanching: Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a pot, put in 1 tsp. of sea salt, and 1tbsp. cooking oil. When the water is hard-boiling again, plunge each ingredient in for approx. 10 to 20 seconds, drained. It helps seal in the color, flavor and nutrients of the vegetables.

Enjoy & have fun!

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