Monday, March 30, 2009

About Mountain View Estates Coffee

If you have yet to try Mountain View Estates Coffee, now is the time. Their coffee is freshly roasted each week. It's fair trade certifies and shade grown.

"The Mountain View Estates Coffee Company is a gourmet coffee company that specializes in only the best coffees grown from around the world. Our coffees are carefully roasted to exact specifications yielding the best tasting coffee ever.

Choose from our extensive line of Fair Trade, organic coffees or our conventional roasts.

If you are looking for a coffee that everyone will talk about and leave a lasting impression we have the specialty roast you are searching for.

Mountain View is Liscenced with Trans Fair Canada and has one of the most extensive lines of Certified Fair Trade and Organic Coffees."

Learn more on Mountain View Estate's website: http://www.estatescoffee.com/

Mountain View Estates Direct Fair Trade Organic Coffee is available from Green Earth Organics! Check out the Coffee & Tea category (2nd and 3rd page) on the website or call us in the office at 416-285-5300 for more information.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Leek and Camembert Tart

Makes 8 first-course servings
1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
4 leeks (white and pale green parts only), sliced (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup whipping cream
4 ounces Camembert cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out each pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Stack squares and roll to 15-inch square. Using 14-inch pizza pan as guide, cut stacked dough into 14-inch round. Crimp edge of dough to form 1/4-inch rim. Transfer to pizza pan or baking sheet. Freeze 10 minutes.
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and 1/4 cup water; cook until leeks are tender, about 15 minutes. Season leeks with salt; set aside to cool. Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; add Camembert and stir until melted. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes. Whisk in egg, cayenne, and nutmeg. Set custard aside.
Sprinkle Parmesan over crust. Spread leeks over. Drizzle custard over. Bake until bottom is golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House

By MARIAN BURROS
Published: March 19, 2009
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of the South Lawn on Friday to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets — the president does not like them — but arugula will make the cut.
Sam Kass, an assistant White House chef, left, and Dale Haney, the White House gardener, at the site of the new vegetable garden on the South Lawn.
While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.
“My hope,” the first lady said in an interview in her East Wing office, “is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”
Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot, in a spot visible to passers-by on E Street. (It is just below the Obama girls’ swing set.)
Students from the school, which has had a garden since 2001, will also help plant, harvest and cook the vegetables, berries and herbs. Virtually the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, “whether they like it or not,” Mrs. Obama said with a laugh. “Now Grandma, my mom, I don’t know.” Her mother, she said, will probably sit back and say: “Isn’t that lovely. You missed a spot.”
Whether there would be a White House garden had become more than a matter of landscaping. The question had taken on political and environmental symbolism, with the Obamas lobbied for months by advocates who believe that growing more food locally, and organically, can lead to more healthful eating and reduce reliance on huge industrial farms that use more oil for transportation and chemicals for fertilizer.
Then, too, promoting healthful eating has become an important part of Mrs. Obama’s own agenda.
The first lady, who said that she had never had a vegetable garden, recalled that the idea for this one came from her experiences as a working mother trying to feed her daughters, Malia and Sasha, a good diet. Eating out three times a week, ordering a pizza, having a sandwich for dinner all took their toll in added weight on the girls, whose pediatrician told Mrs. Obama that she needed to be thinking about nutrition.
“He raised a flag for us,” she said, and within months the girls had lost weight.

Dan Barber, an owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, an organic restaurant in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., that grows many of its own ingredients, said: “The power of Michelle Obama and the garden can create a very powerful message about eating healthy and more delicious food. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it could translate into real change.”
While the Clintons grew some vegetables in pots on the White House roof, the Obamas’ garden will far transcend that, with 55 varieties of vegetables — from a wish list of the kitchen staff — grown from organic seedlings started at the Executive Mansion’s greenhouses.
The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatillos and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil. A White House carpenter, Charlie Brandts, who is a beekeeper, will tend two hives for honey.
The total cost of seeds, mulch and so forth is $200, said Sam Kass, an assistant White House chef, who prepared healthful meals for the Obama family in Chicago and is an advocate of local food. Mr. Kass will oversee the garden.
The plots will be in raised beds fertilized with White House compost, crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, lime and green sand. Ladybugs and praying mantises will help control harmful bugs.
Cristeta Comerford, the White House’s executive chef, said she was eager to plan menus around the garden, and Bill Yosses, the pastry chef, said he was looking forward to berry season.
The White House grounds crew and the kitchen staff will do most of the work, but other White House staff members have volunteered.
So have the fifth graders from Bancroft. “There’s nothing really cooler,” Mrs. Obama said, “than coming to the White House and harvesting some of the vegetables and being in the kitchen with Cris and Sam and Bill, and cutting and cooking and actually experiencing the joys of your work.”
For children, she said, food is all about taste, and fresh and local food tastes better.
“A real delicious heirloom tomato is one of the sweetest things that you’ll ever eat,” she said. “And my children know the difference, and that’s how I’ve been able to get them to try different things.
“I wanted to be able to bring what I learned to a broader base of people. And what better way to do it than to plant a vegetable garden in the South Lawn of the White House?”
For urban dwellers who have no backyards, the country’s one million community gardens can also play an important role, Mrs. Obama said.
But the first lady emphasized that she did not want people to feel guilty if they did not have the time for a garden: there are still many changes they can make.

“You can begin in your own cupboard,” she said, “by eliminating processed food, trying to cook a meal a little more often, trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables.”

Friday, March 20, 2009

Balsamic Zucchini

Serves 6 as a side
4 lb medium zucchini, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
1/3 cup pine nuts (1 oz), toasted and finely chopped

Preheat broiler. Toss zucchini with oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Arrange zucchini in 1 layer in 2 shallow baking pans (1 inch deep). Broil 1 pan of zucchini 3 to 5 inches from heat, without turning, until browned in spots and beginning to soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons vinegar over broiled zucchini and shake pan a few times, then continue to broil until most of vinegar is evaporated, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over broiled zucchini and broil until cheese is melted, about 1 minute more. Cook remaining pan of zucchini in same manner. Cool to room temperature and serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

Earth Hour March 28th! Don't Miss Out!

"This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.
For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009."
- www.earthhour.org

Monday, March 16, 2009

Irish Champ (Mashed Potatoes with Herbs)

This recipe is based on a classic Irish dish called champ. It is typically made with onions or scallions, but we've used shallots—and parsley as well. You can create simple variations with parsley or chives alone, or go all out with a combination of sautéed leeks, caramelized onions, and fresh peas.
Serves 8

2 cups milk
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped shallots
3 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
Fine sea salt to taste
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Bring milk with parsley and shallots to a simmer in a saucepan, then remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 20 minutes.
While milk is standing, cover potatoes with salted cold water by 2 inches in a large pot and simmer, uncovered, until very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain in a colander and, when just cool enough to handle, peel.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mash warm potatoes with a potato masher, gradually adding 1 1/2 cups herbed milk. Add remaining milk 1/4 cup at a time, mashing, until potatoes reach desired consistency. Season with sea salt and pepper, then transfer to an ovenproof serving dish.
Heat potatoes, covered, in middle of oven 15 minutes.
Serve potatoes hot, topped with pats of butter.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Wilted Kale and Roasted-Potato Winter Salad

Serves 4
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves (3 thinly sliced and 1 minced)
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/4 cup well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 pounds kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves very thinly sliced crosswise

Accompaniment: lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in upper third.
Toss potatoes with oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large 4-sided sheet pan, then spread evenly. Roast, stirring once, 10 minutes. Stir in sliced garlic and roast 10 minutes more. Sprinkle with cheese and roast until cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, purée tahini, water, lemon juice, minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. (Add a bit of water if sauce is too thick.)
Toss kale with hot potatoes and any garlic and oil remaining in pan, then toss with tahini sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Price Increase for Harmony Organic Dairy – Milk Products

The Dairy Farmers of Ontario have announced their yearly increase in the fluid milk price being paid to Dairy Farmers. This is an annual increase to cover increased cost for items such as feed, fuel and oils as well as other input costs. This cost has been passed onto the processors and distributors.

Harmony Organic has been able to absorb some of the increase, as have we (GEO) have tried, in an effort to minimize the impact on the consumer but they have increased the cost of their products to reflect the increase.

Please feel free to add your milk as a standing order to receive a 5% discount. This way we we'll always make sure we have it! Also please recycle the caps to the milk bottles. Harmony does not want them back. Thank you!