Castles made of Mandarins

I picked up a CD in our back alley one day, titled "Killer tunes for times that are killer also". Amongst the mix, it had Jimi Hendrix's "Castles made of Sand". This is unofficially "Castles made of Mandarins" week at Blush Lane!
Each one of these mandarin boxes comes in a bigger box. Each of these boxes holds only 6 smaller boxes. This weekend, I have opened over 170 boxes, each with 6 boxes inside. Blerg! (Though it is pretty fun to build mandarin castles!)

Joanna's beautiful citrus/apple wall. Those are Star Ruby Grapefruit, people! They are ridiculous delicious, and FAIR TRADE!

Bagged Apple Sale!

Nov. 22 -28 at the Store, we have a variety of bagged apples for $1.00 off. This is a chance to pick up a bag for a big savings over buying them by the pound, as a bag usually works out to a bit of a savings in the first place. So, buy a couple of your family's favourites!
Juicy, sweet Chinese Mandarins in 3 lb boxes 2 for $10. Seriously, they're delicious. Derek and I have eaten our way through 2 boxes at home already!

Fruity baskets

I attended a friend's housewarming a week or so ago, and wanted to share the "Best of Blush" with them, so I made this fruit basket! You can make one yourself-- all you need is a basket, some cellophane, a ribbon, and about $25 worth of fruit from Blush Lane
(Another project for "when I get more time" is making some of these on special order for customers at the store)

Apple Parade!

Citrus is just starting, and I have booked a ton of California Satsuma Mandarins, due to arrive ...MAYBE... next week but likely the week after. For now, we have juicy California Navels and Chinese Mandarins (in 3lb boxes 2 for $10).

The pears are like BUTTER. Seriously, biting into a ripe D'Anjou right now is like eating a perfect peach in the middle of summer. We've got Green Klapperton, Abate Fetel, D'Anjou, Red D'Anjou, Flemish, Bosc-- all from BC-- and I know they all taste different but I can't differentiate which is better amongst so many stars. Eat a pear, even if you think you don't like them. It'll change your life, I swear!

Sunworks Farm

By now, everyone knows that I'm a produce nerd.

So far, this blog has featured the "best of blush" only on the produce side of things, but today I am going to mention the other side of our farmer's market stall and also a big draw at our Aspen Woods store: Sunworks Farm and their fresh Certified Organic chicken, beef, eggs, turkey, bison, lamb, and pork.

For more information on Sunworks Farm you can visit their website.

After spending Thanksgiving in Edmonton, we were fortunate enough to get a tour of Sunworks Farm with Sheila. Here are some photos:
Here are some little chicks that will be market chickens in seven weeks (meaning that we will be eating these little cuties in about 2 weeks!). It was tropically warm in the chick house, like being nuzzled under a hen's breast. There was an ambient "peeping", and I could have watched them wobble around for hours. It was immaculately clean in the chick house, especially for being a room full of babies!
Free-range pigs, who were as friendly as the family pet dog and just as playful. Look at those ears!!
A room full of Mamas. Did you know red hens make brown eggs? These hens make the best eggs, and they are available every week at the Farmer's Market.

Here are some "teenage" turkeys... I call them teenagers because they are so awkward-looking and curious! These guys are fattening up for Christmas.

It was incredible to have a tour of Sunworks Farm and get to see where the meat we eat each week is raised-- Something not many people are fortunate enough to get to do in this "modern" food system. Sunworks Farm is an important part of the Best of Blush, for what goes better with a beautiful, delicious fruit or vegetable than an ethically-raised, equally delicious and satisfying piece of meat?

Thanks to Ron and Sheila for doing what they do, so that we can all choose to eat better food.

Goodbye, Hammie Town

What do you get when one hamster owner is a organic produce manager and the other is a photographer? Lots of photos of Hammie eating various cute fruits and vegetables!
Unfortunately, our little buddy passed away last week, so here is a homage to Hammie, eating various Blush Lane produce items!
Baby zucchini from Art and Lina's

Blueberry!
Mini Sweet Peppers from Art and Lina's

Blush Apple Spectrum!

Since I can't be there to answer questions for every customer, I made a self-serve apple learning station.

How it works: The apples are arranged in sides, the right being sweet apples and the left being tart apples. At the top center you see the Fuji, the most sweet apple. If you like the Fuji, choose one near it on the right for something else you would like. (I know this works, as my boyfriend likes Fuji best and picked the Sweet Orin two doors down and loved it).
The tart apples start at the top and go left, starting with the Newtown Pippen (the green guy next to the Fuji).

You should check it out if you are at the store, but here's the list of all the apples, in order from Sweet to Tart:
Fuji
Gala
Sweet Orin
Ambrosia
Maigold
Winter Banana
Golden Delicious
Red Delicious
Spartan
McIntosh
Braeburn
Honeycrisp
Orange Cox Pippin
Pink Lady
Newtown Pippin

(and I just counted, we actually have FIFTEEN varieties!!)

Assortment from the past few weeks

The peak of the season may be over, but it doesn't seem as though we are any less busy, just busy with different things! Apples have hit big-time, with fourteen different varieties at the store at the moment!
Here are some photos:
In the right corner of this photo, you see the "queen of tarts"-- that is, the Pink Lady, in many opinions (including mine!) the best tart/crispy apple, with a beautiful pink colour, tart flavour with an underlying "champagne-like burst" (http://www.pinkladyapples.co.uk/). Great for pies and cooking, and delicious for eating, if you are not a soft apple person.


Sweet tooth and sweet banana peppers from Art and Lina, the last remnants of their beautiful garden.
Asian pears! Citrus, just starting to be in season. I would swear people are suffering from scurvy, waiting for the citrus. Navels are scheduled to be in today at the store, and Friday at the market!