From Farm To Plate

As I’ve mentioned many times already, this is my first year signing up for a Community Shared Agriculture program. At the start of the summer, I paid into the program from a nearby farm, then every Wednesday I pick up a box of vegetables that’s brought into town from that farm. It’s the best way to get farm-fresh goods without going to a market or the farm itself. It has been a HUGE benefit to have throughout this whole chemotherapy experience. For one, it saves me from going to the crowded and germ-infested market. But most of all, the vegetable box has forced me to eat vegetables when I want to eat them the least, but need them the most.

And on Sunday, my sister and I got to tour the farm!

In about half the time it took me to commute to work in Toronto, my sister and I arrived at Amarosia farm in the small French town of Grande-Digue, New Brunswick. I like that math.

We arrived to 26 different kinds of tomatoes on display for those of us participating in the “open house.”

I thought this was so cool! I tried tastes of all of them, my favourite being the black cherry tomatoes. Super sweet and the perfect size for popping in your mouth.

Then we walked all over the farm learning about the crops, how they’re harvested, and the ins and outs of organic farming.

A lot of people were surprised by how many weeds there were between the crops. Best quote of the day came from the farm owner who said “Weeds are only a problem if you make them a problem.” Touche.

Carrot eaten straight from the ground – so good!

I’m actually not that interested in farming and gardening myself, but the whole thing fascinated me because I love food so much. I liked seeing first hand where the vegetables I’m eating are coming from and what they look like before they make it to my weekly vegetable box. It makes me feel that much better about putting them into my healing body.

Apart from being interesting, it was just a gorgeous day to be outside in the countryside. Once the tour was over, I wanted to check out the water off in the distance!

The Northumberland Straight, same body of water my cottage is on.

Sister Sara!

What is happening in this photo? I love ridiculous candid shots like this.

Also a good example of how I still can’t straighten my broken left arm. I always look like a tool.

Some extra goodies brought home from the farm! That giant german striped tomato is destined for toasted tomato sandwich glory.

Some other things I’ve been doing with the CSA goodies…

Double Tomato Bruschetta using this recipe as a guide. What makes it special is there are sundried tomatoes added to the mix. It was killer.

Toasted on multigrain baguette, topped with CSA green onions and goat’s milk feta cheese.

We’ve also been getting a ton of cabbage, which I love. Instead of making the same ole coleslaw, this week I cooked the red cabbage.

My family has been eating at a lot of German restaurants lately (we are part German after all). So I wanted to go the cooked route when I saw it in this week’s box. I opted for this Martha Stewart recipe over a more traditional German recipe though. Just because I like the idea of apples in it too.

Served with my dad’s bbq pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Overall, I’m really happy my sister and I decided to go despite the chemo fatigue that day. If the farms outside your community host “open house” days, I highly suggest you check it out! I’m always so interested in the preparation process of food, it was neat to see just how important the growing process is too.