The peach was introduced to North America by Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century.
Peaches, a sweet and juicy fruit, were mentioned in Chinese writings as far back as the tenth century B.C and were a favourite of the emperors. The Persians brought peaches from China and passed them on to the Romans. The peach was introduced to North America by Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century.
Peaches have skin that ranges in colour from white to a yellowish- brown and flesh that can be rich yellow to deep gold, reddish-orange or almost white. The skins have a soft, fuzzy surface and the fruit contains a large stone or pit in the middle.
There are many different varieties of peaches grown today, all of which are generally classified as clingstone, freestone, or semi-freestone. Clingstones have stones or pits that cling to the flesh of the peach while freestones are easily separated from the flesh. Semi-freestones, are smaller sized than freestones, and are hybrids of the clingstone and freestones, but have a stone that detaches easily from the flesh.
The peach is a member of the rose family and will have a sweet fragrance when ripe. Peaches are a good source of vitamin C.
Keep reading for recipes, as well as tips on buying, storing and preparing peaches...
What better way to celebrate a bountiful tomato harvest than with a bounty of recipes? Here is a sampling of the many (and we do mean many!) tomato recipes in our 100-mile recipe index:
Use our Local Foods Locator to find tomatoes in your area.
Browse our Community Recipes for more great recipes featuring local ingredients. Got a recipe you'd like to contribute? Send it in!
If you've ever tried to do the 100-mile challenge for any length of time, you quickly realized that meal planning is essential for success. This is where our online meal-planning tool comes in. It lets you drag and drop a week's worth of local recipes into one easy-to-read calendar!
Using the 100-Mile Challenge Meal Planner is easy:
We've created our own late-summer meal plan for you to start with. It features a week's worth of scrumptious dishes starring seasonal ingredients such as tomatoes, zucchinis, basil, blackberries, figs and peaches.
And don't forget: you can always add your own recipes to our recipe collection. After you've submitted your recipe, scroll to the bottom of the recipe page to search for local food producers for all your listed ingredients.
Believe it or not, it's still not too late to add new crops to your garden, or to start a garden if you haven't already. Even if you live in colder zones, you can sow seeds of beets, carrots, radishes, and spinach for fall harvest.
If you live in a slightly warmer area - such as coastal BC, southern Ontario, and southern Nova Scotia - start seeds of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, and Swiss chard in containers. Sow seeds of carrots, onions, peas, and radishes directly in the ground.
Have you experimented with late-season planting and had great success? Tell us in the comments!
Basil is one of the most widely grown herbs in the world.
This aromatic herb is generally associated with Italian cooking, so it often comes as quite a surprise to learn that basil actually originated in India, Pakistan and Thailand! Basil has myriad uses and is almost always included in standard herb gardens because it’s simple to grow and looks lovely gracing kitchen window sills or hanging baskets.
There are more than 12 varieties of basil that are used in kitchens around the world. Sweet basil and its close relative, Genoa basil, are the most common types. Both of these are slightly sweet and spicy, and complement ripe tomatoes and soft, ripe cheese perfectly. Other varieties of basil include the aptly named lemon basil, cinnamon basil, and Persian anise basil.
Caring for and Harvesting Basil
If given long hours of hot sunlight and plenty of water, home grown basil plants will produce a plentiful crop of fragrant leaves all summer long. To encourage growth, cut back basil regularly. Since basil grows so freely, it often needs to be stored or preserved. Try pureeing the leaves with a bit of water or oil and portioning this mixture into ice cube trays. When the cubes are solidly frozen, remove from trays and store in plastic baggies in the freezer.
Basil leaves can also be preserved by layering in a jar, lightly salting, covering with virgin olive oil and sealing. This concoction will keep for up to six months in the fridge. Fresh basil leaves can also be dried, but they will lose some of their flavour. Hang fresh basil upside down, or dry it in an open paper bag. Crushed, dried basil will keep for up to three months in sealed spice jars.
Preparation
The flavour of basil is warm, resinous and clove-like. Its flowers and leaves are best used fresh and uncooked, or added during the last few moments of preparing a dish. Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto, which also includes olive oil and ground pine nuts. Fresh or dried basil is used in Chinese cooking to flavour soups and stir-fries. The herb is also sometimes combined with fruit, such as raspberries or strawberries, to create unique jams and sauces. And, of course, no Italian pasta sauce would be complete without the addition of fresh basil leaves.
When cooking with fresh basil, fully unleash its flavour by “bruising” the leaves slightly before adding to a recipe. This can be achieved by placing the leaves in a plastic bag and lightly running a rolling pin or tin can over them.
Try basil today with these 100-mile recipes:
Written by Marissa Ponikowski. Article reprinted courtesy of Food Network Canada.
Use our Local Foods Locator to find locally grown basil in your area.
Browse our Community Recipes for more great recipes featuring local ingredients. Got a recipe you'd like to contribute? Send it in!
Botanists believe that garlic probably originated in central Asia thousands of years ago. Clay models of garlic were found in Egyptian tombs. Legend has it that garlic may bring good luck or ward off vampires. Though this is debatable, one thing is guaranteed: garlic can add transform an ordinary dish into something bold and tasty.
Garlic belongs to the allium family. There are about 500 members of this family including leeks, shallots and onions. Garlic cloves are arranged in a head called the bulb. The bulb grows underground and sends shoots (called scapes) above the ground. Both the cloves and the entire bulb are encased in a paper-like covering that may be white, off-white or pinkish.
Keep reading for great recipes, as well as tips on buying, storing and preparing garlic...
These berries pack a big nutritious punch in a little blue package. Blueberries top the charts as powerful antioxidants and are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, folic acid, and manganese. Some evidence suggests that blueberries contain anti-inflammatory properties and may help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's.
Where To Find Them
British Columbia is one of the three top blueberry producing regions in the world and produces 95 per cent of Canada's cultivated blueberries.
The wild blueberry is a smaller, more intensely flavoured berry that is part of native vegetation in Northeastern North America. Half of wild blueberry production takes place in Canada, including all of the Atlantic provinces.
Buying, Storing and Preparing Blueberries
Look for fresh berries in July and August. Buy extras and freeze them for use in the winter months. Eat blueberries on their own or add them to cereal, oatmeal, muffins or pancake batter. Make preserves, or serve blueberries as a salsa on chicken or salmon. Top salad greens with blueberries and cheese, or blend berries into smoothies.
Try blueberries today:
Article reprinted courtesy of Food Network Canada.
Use our Local Foods Locator to find locally grown blueberries in your area.
Browse our Community Recipes for more great recipes featuring local ingredients. Got a recipe you'd like to share? Send it in!
Garlic season is here, and residents of Yorkton, Saskatchewan know that they can count on The Garlic Garden for their supply of fresh garlic, scapes, and even garlic powder.
Darrel and Anna Schaab started The Garlic Garden in 2005 with little idea of how quickly their business would take off. They give their excellent fertile soil much of the credit, but we reckon the obvious affection they have for their crop - as evidenced on their website - has something to do with their success.
Get more information about the The Garlic Garden from their listing in our Local Food Producers directory. While you're there, browse the other 1,200+ Canadian food producers you'll find. You can even customize your search to find producers within 100 miles of your postal code!
Do you know a food producer or vendor that you think belongs in our database? Search to see if it's already there. If it's not, add it!
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