Saturday, July 2, 2011

June 28 Farm Store Newsletter

Edgar Farms
Farm Store
News

June 28, 2011

Dear Friends:
Asparagus season is coming to an end. Traditionally we stop picking the end of June. Supply is good right now so be sure and stop by. It won't be long before we put the field to bed for the summer. We will be picking our delicious garden peas very soon.
Asparagus Fern
ASparagus fern in AugustPicture is of Doug & myself in our asparagus field in August. The stem that we pick is what first emerges from the ground and is trying to grow into this magnificant fern. It is very important to stop picking early enough in the summer to allow eight weeks of frost free weather with the plants in their fern stage. This fern is feeding the roots to make them strong to survive our cold Alberta winter.
What's the best way to store asparagus in the fridge?ASsaragus in Fridge
Stand the bundle of asparagus in 1" of water in the fridge and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Our asparagus will keep for at least 1 week in your fridge because it is so very fresh.

Nutrition
Asparagus is as much a delight to eat as it is good for you!!

A 5 spear serving has only 25 calories and is an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, C, thiamin & folate. It also contains glutathione, a powerful anticarcinogen and antitoxin.

Asparagus with Blue Cheese

If you are a blue cheese lover, then this recipe is for you. Doug & I both love blue cheese and race each other for the last morsel.

1 lb. Edgar Farms fresh asparagus
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. chives - minced
4 Tbsp. blue cheese - crumbled
pepper - freshly ground

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a small bowl mix red wine vinegar, olive oil, chives and blue cheese.

Steam asparagus spears for 5 min. and drain well.

Arrange hot spears on an oven proof serving platter. Pour blue cheese mixture over asparagus and season with plenty of pepper to taste.

Bake for about 5 min. until the cheese is hot and just starting to melt. Serve hot.

Serves 4.
Have you tried Pea Tendrils??
Pea tendrils are a special variety of pea plants that we grow for the little, tender baby plants, not the pods. We discovered them when at the San Francisco Farmer's Market on a North American Farm Direct marketing tour. They are delicious in salads or stir frys. Wade Sirois with Infuse Catering from Calgary even uses them in potato salad. We are picking them right now so be sure and pick up a bundle.
Peas are coming soon Peas
We started planting peas very early last spring and planted every week until Fathers Day in the hopes of having a continuous supply from early July until the first hard frost in the fall. We hope to have peas at our farm store by July 10 or so.
August 6 & 7 is our next open house on our farm!!
Come on back to the farm for our Summertime Country Drive event. We will have a petting zoo in the barn with lots of animals. There is also a bale fort to play in. Check out the asparagus fern on our field tour and also experience picking a few garden peas to taste. Our farm store will be open, featuring garden peas, sugar snap and snow peas along with many other seasonal local veggies. No admission fee.
Check out www.CountryDrive.ca for another 20 sites to visit in our area.

Goat
Please be sure and stop at our farm for some more fresh asparagus before the end of our season. Asparagus No Label
Sincerely,
Elna Edgar
Edgar Farms

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