Organic Produce. Toronto Produced.

RECENT BLOG POSTS

• Vegitales: Rhubarb

  Rhubarb is actually a vegetable that most people think of as a fruit. Historically, it was neither: rhubarb was traded as a drug (along with opium) and used as one too. According to The Rhubarb Compendium – an entire site dedicated to rhubarb! – the earliest records of rhubarb date back to 2700 BCE in China (although it may have originated in Siberia). In China, it was used as a medicinal plant, with uses ranging … Continue reading →

• This Week on the Farm: Be a Locavore!

  via Nikki Fotheringham Toronto Green Blogger on Renewable Energy and Green Building Technologies  www.nikkifotheringham.com The urban farming movement is gaining traction as more people turn to a lacavore style of eating. Locavore’s source their food from Ontario, true locavores restrain themselves to food within a 100 mile radius of their homes. Locavore eating has several benefits; seasonal organic foods are more nutritious for the consumer, producing food locally reduces its carbon footprint and stimulates the … Continue reading →

• Meet Your Maker: Introducing the Column

  What farming community doesn’t have a background in banking, political science, information technology or arts? Well, our farming community here at Fresh City Farms certainty does.  One of the member farmers and I were sitting down for a much needed lunch break after many hours of weeding, planting and tending to our plots. We were reflecting on the diverse membership of farmers that grow side by side. She was in need of support for her … Continue reading →

• There’s a Rainbow in your Box…

  Last week, as I was watching Abra’s  “What’s in Your Box” video it got me thinking about what else is in that box in addition to wonderful, fresh local food.  There’s more in there than simply vegetables and fruit!  Here are my thoughts: If you’ve checked out my website, rainbowplate.com, you’ll know that I believe that healthy eating is much simpler than most people think. Instead of worrying about individual nutrients or antioxidants, the easiest … Continue reading →

• Vegitales: Red Radish

  Sharp, spicy & refreshing – red radishes are some of the first spring veggies to pop up in the garden. In fact the latin name for Radish, Raphanus sativus, actually means “quickly appearing”.  Radishes are a regular in our little vegetable garden; last year we had to put up chicken wire to keep the rabbits and our labradoodle away from them!  Its a welcome vegetable on my crudite plate (or ziploc bag as I am … Continue reading →

• Introducing: Harmony Organic Milk

  INTRODUCING: HARMONY ORGANIC MILK UNHOMOGENIZED WHOLE MILK, 2%, SKIM, AND CHOCOLATE MILK Fresh City is pleased to bring you Harmony Organic Milk – a co-op dairy in Stratford, Ontario – producing a full line of certified organic milks. We’re especially excited to introduce their Unhomogenized Nature’s Whole Milk™ – not available in most retail stores – and their incredible Chocolate Milk. All dairy is available via subscriptions, weekly or bi-weekly in 1L cartons.  NEW MILK SUBSCRIPTION … Continue reading →

• Vegitales: Fiddleheads

  Fiddleheads are a magical and much anticipated springtime treat. They are the unfurling fronts of a young fern plant, emerging in deciduous forests and near waterways, around the first week of May. Harvested when still tightly curled, fiddleheads are a premium wild forage vegetable. In lowland forests from the Great Lakes to the Maritimes of Canada the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) emerges in profusion each spring. Fiddleheads are much like wild leeks – that is … Continue reading →

• Meet Your Maker… A Continuation

  Dear members and supporters, This past weekend, we hosted our spring launch event, Meet Your Maker, at the Gladstone Hotel. Meet Your Maker presented an opportunity to join our makers — our member farmers and partners — and our eaters — you! —  to showcase the multiple benefits of Growing Closer. Bonding over good food – figuratively and literally – we were brought closer by our shared hopes and dreams to change the food system. … Continue reading →

• Vegitales: Collard Greens

  Collards are one of the oldest members of the cabbage family, and are closely related to kale. Collards are grown for their large, dark-coloured, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental. They are part of the cultivar group named Acephala, meaning “without a head” in Greek, a reference to the fact that collards do not have a central close-knit core of leaves, like a head of cabbage. The name “collard” is a shortened form of … Continue reading →

• Growing Closer: Meet Your Maker

  A couple months ago on a rainy Friday we at Fresh City sat down in an office across from St. James Park.  We were graciously hosted by Kate, Phil’s girlfriend and her company, Instinct Brand Equity.  This was no run of the mill gathering. We were there to ask existential questions of this organization we have breathed life into over the last year and a half, Fresh City. Why do we exist?  What is our … Continue reading →

• Meet Your Maker @ The Gladstone Hotel

  Fresh City presents its season opener event, where eaters will meet city farmers and other makers for an evening of fresh, local food. Learn about city farming and taste the difference growing closer makes. Hosted by the Gladstone Hotel, Meet Your Maker will feature Chef Michael Smith, who will prepare a selection of appetizers made from Fresh City’s own Toronto-grown produce. Chef Michael’s Menu (subject to slight changes): Mushroom Ravioli with an I.P.A. cheese sauce … Continue reading →

• Vegitales: Wild Leeks

                    It’s a special time of year in Ontario; the hardwood forest floor is coming alive with some quintessential foliage that leaves us all thinking spring. My absolute favourite are the trilliums (Ontario’s provincial flower), but you can’t eat those! As for edible, the coveted wild leek is in season now – you can find them growing in clusters in the deep woods and their garlic odour … Continue reading →