Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Adventures in Keremeos


700 Kilometers outside of Calgary and passed almost just as many fruit stands, lies the Similkameen Valley. The valley is the lesser known little brother of the well known Okanagan Valley, and though smaller, its just as full with fruit orchards, especially certified organic orchards.

The main centers in the valley are Cawston and Keremeos. Like in the Okanagan, the streets of both towns are lined with fruit stands. One of these stands, just outside of Keremeos, is the Blush Lane fruit stand and behind the stand, is the Blush Lane Organic Orchard.

I was lucky enough to have spent four days on the Blush Lane orchard, learning about tree fruit production, touring local organic orchards and meeting the amazing people who produce our food. I have been working for Blush Lane for over a year, and in that year have seen a lot of produce and a lot of produce boxes. On each of these boxes is a label, stating the organic certifying body and the name of the farm it comes from. As time goes on you start to notice patterns, whenever you see especially beautiful produce, the names of a handful of farms is usually the source. The chance to meet some of these farmers, is a real honour, especially for someone, like myself, who wants to farm.


You can't spend much time on the orchard before you do get to meet one of the local organic farmers. There are farmers dropping off their amazing produce, to be shipped to Calgary within 24 hours, regularly throughout the day. Rob Horricks, one of the Blush Lane owners, spends his summers taking care of the Blush Lane orchard and ensuring the farmers get a fair price for their product and our customers get the highest quality organic produce. Cutting out the middle man allows the farmers to get a better price for their produce and because of that, they bring their produce to Rob at the orchard, first. Handing the farmer a cheque for their produce as they're dropping it off, is, unfortunately, a rare thing. Usually your lucky to get payment within 30 days of selling produce. Because Rob does this, not only does he get the freshest produce, he also gets the highest quality.

A number of these farmers were nice enough to let me spend some time touring around their farm and picking their brains about the organic industry. One was Fred Danenhower, of Danenhower and Daughters farm. Fred and his family have a main orchard, where they live, and an orchard they lease close by. The Danenhowers provide us with everyone's favourite apple, the Honeycrisp, along with a number of other great varieties. While I was visiting, the Danenhowers were doing summer pruning on their Fuji apples. Summer pruning means removing the foliage blocking the apples from the sunlight. During the hottest part of the summer, you need foliage to protect the fruit from getting sunburned. But in the late summer/early fall, you can prune it off, without risk of sun damage. Pruning the foliage helps improve colour on the apple, resulting in a more marketable piece of fruit. The one thing that the Danenhowers and every other farmer I talked to kept bringing up was how late all the fruit was this season. Most were worried about even being able to harvest some of their later varieties, like Pink Lady. Most of the fruit was up to three weeks later than other years. That's why we haven't seen all of the apple varieties customers are used to at this time of the year, but its also the reason we get to be spoiled with amazing summer fruit a bit longer then other years.

Another farmer who let me pick his brain was Art Nugteren, from Art and Lina's Garden.

Art and Lina grow the most amazing cherry tomatoes I've ever had. Everything that comes off this farm just seems special: it stands out from among the rest. Along with cherry tomatoes, they grow amazing peppers, zucchini, roma tomatoes, beans, corn, etc. Art showed me around and gave me a vision of the whole process, start to finish. I saw the greenhouses where they start all their own transplants and where they grow their transplants until they're ready to go in the ground. I got to see the end process as well, as Lina and her family were busy picking peppers while I was visiting.

We have a special friendship with both of these farmers, not only do they provide us with great produce, but both of their daughters work at the Blush Lane fruit stand outside the orchard. Fred Danenhower's daughter is planning on moving to Calgary and you may be able to hear all about her Mom and Dad's orchard as she joins our Blush Lane team at the Calgary Farmers Market. Rob has also set up a university fund for Art's daughter, as the profits from her Dad's cherry tomatoes sold at the fruit stand will help her pay for her schooling.

While at the orchard, I got the opportunity to see a different side of Blush Lane. I've always known a bit about the orchard and I've also known that we buy direct from organic farmers in the area. I knew that buying direct from farmers allow us to provide our customers with the

freshest, highest quality produce, but what I didn't understand was how much the farmers benefit from our arrangement. These farmers were some of the hardest working, most dedicated people I've met. I love being part of a company that places a priority on ensuring they get a fair price for their hard work and amazing products. I love being part of the bridge between farmer and consumer. It's great to connect farmers with new markets and new customers, who appreciate their produce.

Next time you're at one of our Blush Lane locations, don't be afraid to ask where your produce is coming from. You may get to hear about one of the great people that grow our food. When your salivating over an amazing peach in your home, you can feel good knowing your helping one of those great farmers. Farmers who choose to grow organically, sell locally and follow their passion by making a living farming. By taking care of their land, they're ensuring that not only their children, but also their grandchildren will have a future farming. Being a small part of this, to me, is something worth being proud of.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Great local veg!

For obvious reasons at this time of year, the BC fruit tends to get the spotlight. But I wanted to tell you about all the great BC and Alberta veggies we have on our shelves. The past few weeks have seen a transformation of the veg coolers from Northern US states to almost nearly 100% Canadian produce.




Here`s a photo of Rob`s heirloom tomatoes, straight from the Blush Lane Organic Orchard in Keremeos, BC. The garlic (Red Russian variety) is also from BC, and Art and Lina grew the Roma and cherry tomatoes. This week we also have peppers arriving from them, and below I am linking to the post, back in April, of the starts in their greenhouse. Hard to believe that they are now reaping the harvest of these tiny plants. If you`ve ever grown your own food, you know the gratification of that first, ripe tomato, or the unmatched taste of the first picking of spinach. We`re lucky to have great people like Art and Lina to grow our food for us: it doesn`t get any better than this!
On this wall we have some more great BC and Alberta veg: BC celery, red peppers, bunched beets, cauliflower, and corn; Art and Lina`s eggplant, zucchini, mini sweet peppers and herbs; Parsnips, leeks, and field cukes; Alberta red spring onions, herbs and potatoes from Busy Bea`s Market Garden.



Enjoy it while it lasts; soon enough we`ll be back in March, lamenting the poor quality of the produce, dreaming of this time of year. Somebody pinch me!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

I FOUND OUR MASCOT!!

Today, while putting out the White Champagne Peaches in preparation for the Farmer's Market tomorrow, I FOUND OUR MASCOT!!

I must explain: a few months ago, they got me to draw up a graphic of a peach, to use as an alternate logo to represent our company. So, in the photo above you see the peach I drew, which is on our new sign stock. Below it, you see the real-life mascot! It even nearly has a heart-shaped blush!

I guess life really does inspire art!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Peaches! Peaches! PEACHES!


Our Freestone Peaches are abundant, juicy, delicious, and you should buy some: If you buy 3 or more cases, you'll get them for $40 a case. There's only about 3 weeks left of these babies, so get them now and get your preserving done; the price will not get lower this year on these, nor could the taste get any better!

I'll have lots available for pickup at Northlands Farmer's Market this Tuesday from 3:30-7:00, or visit our Aspen Woods store or Calgary Farmer's Market location.

I always say that we have the best peaches in town: I can be confident in that, the way that only a person who has a peach on her business card can be! If you don't believe me, come visit us and try one!

Northland Farmer's Market (Crowchild and Shaganappi Tr NW) Tuesdays 3:30 - 7:00
Blush Lane Organic Market, Aspen Woods (17th Ave and 85th Street SW) Mon - Sat 9-8, Sun 10-8
Blush Lane in Market 17, Casel Marche, (17th Ave and Crowchild) Mon - Sat 9-8, Sun 10-6
Calgary Farmer's Market, (Heritage and Blackfoot) Thurs 11-7, Fri-Sun 9-5
Millarville Farmer's Market (Millarville Racetrack, Hwy 22 S) Saturdays 9-2

Looking forward to sending lots and lots of peachy love your way this week!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Dillon Produce Courier Service

Ever since I moved to Calgary seven years ago, my Mom (who has her own market garden in Manitoba) has been shipping produce with anyone who has the unlucky fortune to let her know that they are going to, or driving through, or going to be anywhere in the relative vicinity of Calgary. I've picked up boxes from all over the city: from the trunks of cars at five in the morning, from people's doorsteps who I've never met, at obligatory visits with relatives from out of town.

When I started working at Blush Lane, I finally had something to send back with those poor souls who had turned into our personal courier service. At this time of year, one doesn't dare mention "Calgary" or even "Alberta" around my mother, who refuses to eat any peach other than a Blush Lane one, and ate so many nectarines when she was pregnant with me that the mere thought of a juicy, sweet nectarine gets me salivating.

She left me an excited message early this week that her neighbour Susan is going to be coming to Calgary for a few days and has "the whole backseat!" available for fruit transit. So, she called again today to see what is available.

Well, poor Susan couldn't have picked a better (or worse, depending on how you look at it) time to drive out to Calgary. We've got ridiculous. That's RIDICULOUS. Peaches. (There has to be a period after it just so you pause and consider what it means for a peach to be. RIDICULOUS.) They are incredible.
We have mini nectarines, which are everything you want from a great nectarine, just mini. Amazing apricots, something you can't truly appreciate until you've had a really, truly, amazing one. Santa Rosa plums, one of which juiced all over the front of my shirt today, and I couldn't even care because my eyes were watering with the deliciousness! Even my favourite, prune plums, such a surprising yellow on the inside and not too sweet. And of course, we still have cherries and blueberries, sweet and flavourful and beautiful.

So, it looks like Susan's going to have a very full car when she goes back to Manitoba, and a few lucky people in Brandon will get to have a taste of our veritable rainbow of seasonal summer fruit. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get a kohlrabi or a bag of cucumbers in return!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Back in Blush!

Though this is our lucky number 7 weekend back in the Calgary Farmer's Market, it didn't really feel like we were back until the direct shipments from the orchard started, and we were back to wading in Blush Boxes for another season.

I love Blush Boxes. They are the perfect size, they have handles, and there's numerous ways you can cut them and stack them and make them look awesome, en masse. Even my pet bunnies live in them. They look especially great when filled with perfect, direct-shipped tree-ripe peaches.














Why is the product that we receive direct so special, you ask? Anything that we get in direct has typically been picked within hours of loading on to the truck, either from our orchard or one of our neighbours in the Keremeos/Cawston area. Since we are a relatively small local company, we are able to get in the product as fresh as possible and have it in all of our stores usually the same day. That's something that the bigger grocery chains just can't do, due to centralized warehousing and distribution.

Also, one of the owners spends the summers in the Orchard in Keremeos, working on relationships with all the organic farmers in the area, seeing what is being picked, securing quantities, and giving the farmers a fair price for their product.
There's a lot of work that goes behind bringing you a perfect peach, and I'm proud to be part of a company that supplies such amazing quality organic produce to Calgarians!


We're "Back in Blush" at the CFM, 510 - 77th Avenue SE, Blackfoot Trail and Heritage Drive, so come buy your own Blush box of our perfect peaches today!


Saturday, July 9, 2011

Stonefruit season begins...

Stonefruit season has begun, and though we've been getting this California fruit for a number of weeks now, it doesn't truly "begin" to me until I take a bite of that first perfect tree-ripe peach. We are hopefully about a week away from the start of the BC cherries, moving into apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches, summer apples, melons, squash-- I can hardly wait!

Here's some photos of us appreciating the fruit in Blush Lane today!
California Stonefruit in all its glory!

Jeda enjoys the first tree-ripe peach of the season! I found it, perfectly ripe, in the bottom of the peach box. I couldn't resist cutting it up and sharing it around the store! We were covered in juice but thoroughly satisfied!

How gorgeous is that?!





Friday, June 17, 2011

Pascal’s Patisserie - June 17, 2011


What’s better than fine French pastries in a Paris cafe? Fine French pastries right out of your oven! Now you can enjoy artisanal French pastries made with all natural locally sourced ingredients any time you want with Pascal’s Patisserie Take & Bake French Pastries.

Pascal’s Patisserie is a new local business headed by a classically trained French Pastry Chef from Toulouse France with 20 years experience and who has the knowledge of the classic French style of pastry-making in his head, his hands and his heart.

Blending time-honoured tradition and craftsmanship with technology, he creates fabulous French pastries unbaked vacuum-sealed and fresh for your freezer to enjoy whenever you wish.

All you do is thaw, bake and voilĂ ..the best pastries this side of Paris! Your home has the amazing aroma of a French patisserie and you’ve just transported yourself to France - no passport or brushing up on your high school French required.

Perfect for weekend brunches or with your favourite coffee or tea. Beautiful for summer wedding breakfasts or make any moment special with these classic continental treats. Bake up a few and bring to the office and your colleagues will adore you. Executive business and board meetings will never be the same. Your book club, girls get-together, meet-up groups, bridge club, any time any where is a great time and place for French pastries.

The boutique menu includes: classic croissant, cinnamon rolls and pain au chocolat. If you’re going to treat yourself, say ‘oui’ to these! Pastry lovers of the world unite! You can have authentic classic French pastry - warm right out of your oven. Pick up a package in the frozen section and add a little ‘ooh la la’ to your life!

pascals@shaw.ca
www.pascals.ca

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

June 8 - Wine and Cheese at Casel Marche

As we speak, there's a celebratory wine and cheese going on at Casel Marche. Jon and I set up a display of our beautiful produce as a hint of what's to come on the Grand Opening Saturday June 11, when we will be fully stocked and open for business!


Saturday, June 4, 2011

Cheese of the Month - Natural Pastures Smoked Boerenkaas

One of our most popular cheeses now comes in a smoked version! Ever since I started working in the deli at Blush, (yes even the old deli!), the Boerenkaas was always hands down, the most popular cheese. Made by Natural Pastures Cheese Company, in Courtenay, British Columbia, they place great importance on animal stewardship and sustainability. After reading a bit about their cheese-making processes from their website, I learned they pride themselves in using fresh milk from local farms, practising sustainable farming with the cows raised on a grass-fed diet in a healthy environment. Their numerous varieties of cheese-- all of which you can find in our store-- have true quality artisanal taste!


Boerenkaas, in Dutch translating to "farmer's cheese", is a semi-hard cheese with salty and buttery tones, with a slight sweetness towards the end. It is wonderful in everything from soups, salads, omelettes, pizzas and is even used in the Tuscan turkey sandwiches we sell! It is as versatile in food as it in on a cheese platter with red or white wine. Just recently, we got in a smoked version of the Boerenkaas. Not surprising to me, it was just recently announced a winner in its category of "Flavoured Cheese with Added Non-Particulate Flavouring" at the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix: considered the most prestigious cheese competition in Canada. It is cold-smoked using a blend of local hardwoods in their own smokehouse. The smoked Boerenkaas retains the sweet and buttery tones of the original, with a wonderful smoky finish that lingers. The uses to this cheese are countless and is just as great on its own.



It's hard to explain how amazing it tastes in words, so come try it out for yourself and you will be hooked!




By guest blogger Regina

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Hotchkiss Alberta-Grown Heirloom Tomatoes!

A co-worker and I had a discussion today about Hotchkiss-- we forget, as produce nerds, that not everyone knows what "Hotchkiss" means in Calgary. She was snooping in someone's fridge, and found a little bag of greens, and exclaimed, "Is that Hotchkiss?" (I can just picture the retort, "No, it's Arugula!").


So, if you don't know about Hotchkiss, you need to! Hotchkiss is the most local produce we get here in Calgary, short of growing it in our own gardens. Plus, a lot of their farm is indoors, which means it's gracing our shelves year-round! Arriving on our doorstep, the day after it's picked is chard, arugula, potted herbs, romaine lettuce, spinach, sundried tomatoes, pea shoots, beans, broccoli, purple cauliflower, carrots, green onions, and ridiculously beautiful heirloom tomatoes!


Hotchkiss, to us produce nerds, is synonymous with quality: the best of the best.
http://www.hotchkissproduce.com/


Fresh Heirloom tomates from Hotchkiss, $4.99/lb


For more on this story, follow the blog this week when we take a field trip to visit the Hotchkiss farm in Rockyview, Alberta.


Saturday, May 14, 2011

Regina writes about Oka!

When I am asked for recommendations on the perfect cheese for a cheese platter, the first thing that always comes to mind is the Oka cheeses! For anyone who has ever asked me for my favourite cheese, I always get excited and encourage everyone to try the Oka. It was the first cheese I tried when I started working in the deli and I have been in love ever since.

Named after the small village in Quebec in which it is made,( just southwest of Montreal), Oka has become a household name in Quebec since it was first made by Trappist Monks in 1893. All five have a relatively similar taste and texture profile but each is hidden with a unique flavour. (Each is ripened for different periods of time and each rind is handled differently.) My personal favourites are the Oka Classique and Oka Artisan, both made with raw milk, with a perfect balance of nuttiness and butter tones, I can eat a few slices of both just on their own. Oka Mushroom has been a recent addition to our deli, with the wonderful creaminess of the Oka Classique with delicious mushrooms, it won 1st Place in flavoured cheese category at the Quebec Fine Cheese Contest in 2010. However, they are also the mildest in flavour of the Oka's, so if you are looking for something a bit stronger, the Oka Regular or the Oka Raclette (are best). Both cheeses are ripened for over 35 days in the cellars of the Cistercian Abbey in Oka, before shipped, and possess intensified aromas of butter and hazelnuts. The Oka Raclette is made in the traditional style of the Oka, with the culture of Raclette, giving it the most intense flavour of all, while still retaining its creamy texture.

Classified as a semi-soft, the Oka's are perfect for crackers, cheese platters, wine pairings, cooking and it is perfect for melting. The rind of the Oka's intensify the flavour but are wonderful eaten without it as well.

I have used the Oka Artisan in sandwiches and burgers, as well as pizza's and nachos! (In fact, my perfect snack is cubes of Oka Mushroom with Falafel Chips, washed down with a GT Kombucha!), After reading more about the Oka's, I found countless recipes using the cheese, in poutine, pasta's, fondues, pastries, and basically anything imaginable!

So come try the Oka's in our deli today, you will not be disappointed! As a nice little bonus, the Oka's are also 15% off until May 29th!

Interesting recipe.
http://www.pleasureandcheeses.ca/recipes/oka-cheese-twists

By Regina

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Blush Lane Organic Orchard in bloom!

Here's some current photos of the orchard. It's beautiful and in bloom!






Friday, April 22, 2011

The season begins...

We live in a society of instant gratification. Not many of us stop to think about where our food comes from, never mind when and where it starts. Though we are a long way off from Art and Lina's sugar-sweet cherry tomatoes, and their beautiful multi-shaped and -coloured zucchini and peppers, the work season has already begun for these folks.
Below are some photos of the started plants in the greenhouses at Art and Lina's. In the months to come, we'll be enjoying the fruits of their labour. I can't wait for a bite into the first grape tomato of the season, bursting with flavour!