Blush Lane Organic Orchard in bloom!

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

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!

Mexican Fiesta for two different diets!

So, I'm 8 days into my gluten-free experiment, and haven't found it to be too much of a struggle as of yet. Luckily I am surrounded by tons of great products to discover. Such as falafel chips, which proved a great gluten-free alternative to tortillas for last night's supper.
Derek's regular answer to what to make for dinner is chicken fajitas. He bought some Tres Marias whole wheat tortillas the other day, and then clued in that I couldn't eat them. Getting home later than I had hoped yesterday, I was starving and in a hurry to make something easy. So, I cooked up the chicken and peppers, divided it in half and only added the fajita mix (containing sugar and gluten) to his half. On mine, I just put some chili powder and hot paprika. I pulled out the homemade salsa, Hotchkiss Spinach and Arugula, the rest of the Daiya Pepperjack shreds, and the falafel chips. So, he got fajitas (which you can see in the back of the photo) and I got a delicious fajita chicken salad, with falafel chips on top to satisfy my "crunch" craving.

Being honest with myself, there's a fat chance I'm going to cook separate meals for each of us for very long, but it's nice to know that with a little bit of creativity we can eat similar meals at least. Of course he had to buy the best tortillas in town to sit in my kitchen and tempt me!

(Save 10% on Tres Marias Whole Wheat, White Wheat, Spelt, and Corn tortillas this month, starting today April 6 through the 27th!)

Poached egg over Daiya cheese, quinoa pasta, and BPA-free tomato sauce!

I was alright with eating only veggies and Sunworks meat for a couple days, but by Day 3 I needed to make something a bit more substantial and exciting. My boss Matt, who has the good fortune to have a wife who is a fantastic cook, described a recipe to me that is really simple: pasta with tomato sauce, with cheese and a poached egg on top. He walked the store with me, and we selected items that my new diet would accommodate. I was a little hesitant to follow a recipe once-removed (as in, if it didn’t turn out I would be blaming Matt and getting it straight from Erin next time!).

THE INGREDIENTS:

Ingredient #1: Eden Organic Tomatoes in Amber Glass Jar

Crushed Roma Tomatoes: No Salt Added, Unpeeled

Ingredients: Organic Roma Tomatoes

This is a new item in the store, the unique thing being that the tomatoes come in an amber glass jar. The good thing about this is (1) the glass jar means they are BPA-free, and (2) the amber-coloured glass prevents premature spoiling (As an example, anyone who has ever had a “skunky” Corona can attest to the benefits of amber glass!). There are also pasta sauces in this line, but I prefer to start with crushed tomatoes, add a bit of balsamic vinegar, fresh garlic and basil, and salt and pepper to make my own—that way I know exactly what is in my sauce. There is no need to add any sugar, as the tomatoes were nice and sweet all by themselves. And they were a really great, silky-smooth texture, something that isn’t always the case with crushed tomatoes.

And, a side note about BPA (Bisphenol A). I remember years ago first hearing about this chemical in the news, in relation to its use in baby bottles and the concerns of parents, and also it’s use in plastic water bottles. It is identified as an endocrine disruptor, and “(e)xposure to BPA has been associated with effects on the developing brain, and mammary and prostate glands in laboratory studies” (Silentspring.org). I did further reading about it in the book “Slow Death by Rubber Duck”, and learned about its use in the epoxy resin coating on the inside of food cans, especially with acidic food items like tomatoes. The possibility for leaching increases when food containers are heated, so think twice before microwaving your plastic container full of leftovers! Many companies (including Eden Foods) are now making BPA-free cans, but unfortunately it's a matter of seeking the cans that are specifically labelled BPA-free, as the contents of the material the container is made of are not required to be included on the ingredient listing of canned food, even in organics. It remains that a foolproof way to avoid BPA in canned food is to buy food in glass jars, like the Eden Organic tomatoes.

Ingredient #2: GoGo Quinoa Pasta

Ingredients: Organic rice four, organic quinoa flour.

After already trying the GoGo Quinoa cookies, I had high expectations for their line of pastas. I wasn’t disappointed! Though he knew before eating the meal, Derek said he wouldn’t have been able to tell it wasn’t wheat pasta. I thought it was much better than rice pasta, which I always seem to overcook and it gets soggy/rubbery. Another thing with using rice noodles (even the ones in conventional pasta shapes), is that I always feel like I have to have Asian inspiration… Traditional spaghetti and tomato sauce just doesn’t taste the same. With the GoGo Quinoa pasta, we tasted the appropriate Italian-ness of spaghetti and tomato sauce. It had a relatively long cooking time of 13-15 minutes (for spaghetti noodles), but was the perfect al dente after 13 minutes, so it was worth it.

Ingredient #3: Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds

Ingredients: Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, vegan natural flavours, lactic acid (vegan, for flavour), spices, garlic, titanium dioxide (a naturally occurring mineral).

This ingredient to my meal was truly something I wouldn’t have touched unless on a restrictive diet, but I went with the logic that it sells really well at the store, and since they have just introduced a new flavour, it must be good! Since I am staying away from dairy and alwasy try to eat as little soy as possible, Daiya cheese was the obvious choice. “Daiya products do not contain many of the common allergens including; soy, dairy (casein or lactose) gluten, egg, peanuts, and tree nuts” (Daiya Foods.com http://www.daiyafoods.com/products/index.asp).

The cheerful package joyfully proclaims “Melts and Stretches!”, which I laugh at, but I know it is an issue with non-dairy cheeses. (After all, there’s that image burned in everyone’s mind of picking up the slice of pizza and having the cheese stretch back into the box… It wouldn’t be so appetizing if it flaked off in big gross chunks!). So, for all the vegan and dairy-free out there, Daiya is a true breakthrough. The ingredient list is quite a read, but very specific and detailed, which in my mind means that it is thoughtfully prepared. Companies are not yet legally obligated in Canada to include the GMO status of ingredients, so the fact that this product includes that the oils are non-GMO is a bonus, as well as the bracketed explanations of a couple of its ingredients.

Overall, the Daiya cheese was better than no cheese, and a great addition to the recipe. The pepperjack flavour was really nice, a good amount of kick to it, and went surprisingly well with the tomato sauce on the pasta. And anyone who likes hot sauce on their eggs (me!) would know that it also livened up the eggs. Derek, who is not following my eating restrictions, chose to go with plain ol’ cow milk parmesan on his dish, and I think I ended up with the better dish out of the two of us, so go figure!

Ingredient #4: Sunworks Farm Fresh Farm Eggs

The Certified Organic, Free-Range Eggs you love from the Farmer’s Market are now government inspected and for sale at Blush Lane! These are some serious eggs. Not only do they taste great, but they require serious commitment to crack. I’m not sure, but I always think that a healthier chicken would produce a strong eggshell: That must be the case, as you’d be hard-pressed to find healthier hens anywhere!

I have a serious love-affair going with these eggs, so when Matt described poaching an egg and adding it on top of the pasta, I could imagine how good it would be pretty easily. And who says eggs are just for breakfast?

THE MEAL:

Here’s the grand finale: My delicious gluten-, dairy- and sugar-free meal, prepared in about 40 minutes from scratch, totally delicious and easy and something I would definitely make again!

Thanks for reading! -T

Gluten- Sugar- and Dairy-freedom: An Overdue Decision

We just got back from a week's holidays, which we spent road-tripping through the American Mid-West, down to Moab, Utah: A world mountain biking destination. The riding there was amazing, and overall it was a great trip, but it really drove home to us how well we eat on a day-to-day basis.

We knew we couldn’t take much across the border, and even knowing that we ended up sacrificing some delicious organic Cara Cara Oranges (Derek forbid me from arguing with the border guards: “But they’re from California!”). So, we embarked on our trip pretty ill-prepared: There’s not a lot of natural food stores or roadside organic cafes through Montana, Idaho, and Utah. We ate what we could get and did as best we could to make healthy choices, but limp nutrition-less salads, white buns, and mystery meat meals were by far the standard. We did find a Whole Foods in Salt Lake City, Utah, but by then we were crashing hard from the excess fat, sugar, and sodium-laced food we had been eating for the past 22 hours. We got some supplies, and I picked up some GT’s Kombucha and our multi-vitamin that we had forgotten in order to get our guts through the week.

There was also a nice little natural food store in Moab (Moonflower Market 39 E 100 N, (435) 259-5712), and a great café that we visited for breakfast each day, but when travelling it was really hard to consistently make good food choices. At dinner, I would ask for double vegetables instead of deep-fried potatoes, and be presented with a lack-lustre array of carrots mixed with things from a can, far from the beautiful organic vegetables we are spoiled by at home. While we were away, our two pet rabbits ate better vegetables than us!

Arriving home this week and getting back to work, I walked through the produce department, marvelling at the delicious apple smells and all the colourful, alive vegetables. I peeled a fair-trade banana and exclaimed “I missed you!” before biting into it (Ask Jon, I really, truly did—He overheard it!). I made a decision then and there to focus on fresh for at least a week. I’m hesitating about calling it a cleanse, but I suppose if it needed to be classified that would be what it would fall under (specifically an anti-candida cleanse, something that was recommended by my Naturopath and I have been avoiding doing for nearly a year now!). So: no sugar, no dairy, no gluten, no wheat. For the sake of my co-workers, I am still allowing myself 2 cups of coffee every morning, and for my Dillon sweet-tooth and personal sanity, I am letting myself eat fruit, just no processed sugars.

In starting this restrictive diet, I was inspired by two customers whom I have had a couple of conversations with in our store. They have recently started doing the 100-Mile Diet and are committed to finding local products and grocery store staff that are knowledgeable about where things come from. Luckily for them, Vital Greens Dairy in Picture Butte, Alberta is on the grey area of 100 miles, Highwood Crossing in Okotoks has local grains, and Hotchkiss Produce out of Rockyview is still producing fresh produce in these dreary winter months. I commend them for attempting the diet, though I go with more of a perspective of choosing as local as possible within the range of clean, healthy food. That means that I will always choose Sunworks Farm meat and eggs, even if a feedlot opened up beside my house. And given the choice of local cheese, even though there is not a salt source within 100 miles of Alberta, I will overlook that particular ingredient in order to support a local business (Sylvan Star Cheese, Smoky Valley Goat Cheese, and The Cheesiry Sheep Cheese are all great Alberta cheeses that we carry in the store). For resources and a guide to the 100-Mile Diet in Calgary, visit Slow Food Calgary.

Anyhow, these two guys doing a 100-Mile Diet got me to thinking about my blog. Trying things like GoGo Quinoa cookies and liking them as a person with a non-restrictive diet is one thing. Having a restricted diet and finding things that are good despite is a complete other story, one that many of our regular customers struggle with on a day-to-day basis, and a reason many of them shop at our store. So, I decided to give it a try, for as long as I deem necessary, in order to refresh my perspective and to understand our regular shopper a bit better.

I’m fortunate to have a team of experts at our store to consult. Our store manager Sherry Sweet is a Health and Body Care specialist, with a great team of professionals behind her. Our store owner Matt Paulson has extensive knowledge of the various grocery products, and his wife Erin is a top-notch allergy-free chef and co-cookbook author, with many dietary restrictions herself. Many of the staff at our store follow alternative diets and have a wealth of knowledge and personal experience. So, if there were ever a time that I should be trying out something new, the time is now! I know from a brief week of gluten-freedom that wheat is hiding in nearly everything. (I must also note here, that I mean no offence to those who have “alternative diets” or “restricted diets”. Distinguishing that which differs from the “norm” unfortunately comes with a bit of a negative connotation: Think “organic” produce versus “conventional”… Why is it called “conventional” when up until the last century, chemical pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers were not the norm, and organic was? And who says the norm is necessarily right?)

Anyhow, in embarking on this journey, I hope those of you who have ever had to restrict items from your diet will be able to identify with me; I hope those of you who know me or read the blog will be able to laugh with me (and sometimes at me!); and I hope that if nothing else, I will be able to learn and grow as a person and develop more knowledge about food. Sprung from my roots as a market garden slave to my mother, to my short youth stint as a fast-food monger, and finally a move from conventional grocery store to grassroots and an English Lit degree in-between: food is my passion (followed by writing), and I know this will be a rewarding experiment.

My adventures in Blush: GoGo Quinoa Cookies

I asked Matt yesterday if there was anything I should be blogging about before I leave for my trip and he said, "Try the GoGo Quinoa cookies". I replied that the blog is turning into Teri's adventures in Blush! Nothing wrong with that I suppose, so long as anyone reading it doesn't mind.

Before I talk about these cookies, I must update my Zico coconut water post. I purchased a case yesterday, as Derek and I are on our way to Moab, Utah tomorrow for a mountain biking trip. The stuff has actually grown on me. I have this intense distaste for water (I know, I know!) and wander around most days in a completely dehydrated stupor, (plus the three dehydrating cups of coffee I drink first thing in the morning). Usually, later in the afternoon I get headaches. Knowing the cause, I started grabbing a coconut water. I guess it's easy to like anything that makes you feel better!

So, on to the GoGo Quinoa cookies. Having already tried their Quinoa-Amaranth burgers, I knew that it was a good line of products. I picked up the chocolate chip cookies yesterday, and was quite impressed. From my completely non-vegan, non-celiac point of view, they are delicious-- crunchy and light tasting. But from the other perspective-- knowing how hard it is to avoid gluten after attempting to do it for a week and failing miserably, and imagining that being vegan would be a similar hurdle-- they are fantastic!

I personally love quinoa, Derek and I eat it at least twice a week, so cookies made out of quinoa equals awesome! Another great thing about them is that they are individually wrapped. I am going to bring the rest of the box on our roap trip, they will make for handy grab-and-go snacks. It's also good that they are individually wrapped because it stops one from eating the whole box at once (if one were so inclined!). Finally, though they don't say anything about it on the website, I couldn't find a tree nut warning on the box, so I fed one to Derek and he appeared to still be breathing when I left for work this morning. So, don't quote me on them being tree nut-free, but based on my experiment they seem to be!

Forget everything you thought you knew about mangoes...

Seriously. Forget every mediocre mango you've ever eaten.... Even forget the mangoes you've had that you thought were good.

THESE ARE RIDICULOUS!

They don't make enough bold and italics to describe to you, so you're just going to have to get your butt down here and try some. I'll be here all day tomorrow sampling them, only because I really and truly believe that they will blow you away. So, if nothing else, stop by and at least give them a try!
These mangoes are the sweet start of what promises to be a fantastic mango season. We have more to come, but none will ever touch this deal of a whole 7-count case for $6.00. That's not a typo, folks!
I am super excited about these mangoes (in case you couldn't tell!), and it's the kind of excitement that can only come from eating something that is just so perfectly delicious that it kinda blows your mind a little bit. It's like eating a pea straight out of the garden in the peak of the season; it's like the juiciest tree-ripened peach; they might as well be straight off the tree, they're literally glowing with tasty aliveness and begging to be eaten.

That's 7 organic Peruvian mangoes for $6.00!