forage

Gert Lund will be at the Calgary Farmers Market starting this Thursday. Go and say ‘Hi’ and that you were thinking of him and then buy something from him! He should have spinach and chard and whatever else he has been able to coax out of the terrible growing conditions he has faced this year.

Don’t forget about the next Farm Table Dinner on Sunday, August 30^th at Chinook Honey and Chinook Arch Meadery. Tickets sales have been quite good for this event and we are looking forward to it. The dinner will feature Cakadu Heritage lamb and a Broek Pork Acres suckling pig. You can purchase tickets by calling Forage.

It’s our last week before we close for 2 weeks and I can tell you we are all really looking forward to some time off. Our businesses have two different seasons – the spring that peaks in June and the holiday season that peaks in December – and it’s important that everyone gets a break and reenergizes a bit. Once again thank-you to everyone for your understanding and we’ll see you when we return on August 17^th.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, peas, potatoes, and carrots in a light herb sauce with a biscuit crust $10

Tuesday - Bison Burrito

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison, rice, beans, tomatoes and peppers wrapped in a Tres Marias tortilla with cheddar and fresh salsa $11

Wednesday - Stuffed Peppers

Gull Valley Green House pepper stuffed with tomato rice and black beans served with a green salad $13

Thursday - Chinese Chicken Salad

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, field lettuces, snow peas, carrot, peppers, and chow mein noodles with a ginger teriyaki dressing $13

Friday - Closed For Summer Holidays

we’ll be back monday, august 17^th

This Week’s Stew – Wieners and Beans $7

This Week’s Salad – Picnic Potato Salad $4

Something Sweet – Lemon Buttermilk Cake $4

Forage hours this week Monday to Thursday 2PM to 7PM – Closed July 31^st to August 16^th – 3508 19^th Street SW – (403)269-6551

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you to everyone who came out for our Birthday Party on Friday. It was a great success and we were able to raise just over $500 for Community Crop. If you want to find out more about the gardens in the South Calgary area, check out their website here. Look for their new gardens hopefully going in on 34^th Avenue, a couple blocks East of Forage, next year. They are putting together a celebration of the harvest and an evening of local food and speakers in September and we’ll let you know the details as we get closer.

We have a bunch of chocolate birthday cupcakes left and they are available for $0.50 each while they last.

Forage will be closed July 31^st through August 16^th for our Summer Holidays. In the past we all took our vacation at different times and it just meant that we had to work a person short all summer. It just makes more sense to shut everything down and everyone can come back refreshed. We’ll be travelling to all corners of Canada and beyond and we thank everyone for understanding. Forage will be back open on Monday, August 17^th.

The gardens at Wade’s house are producing some great stuff and we are featuring some of it in the specials this week. The lovage for the potato salad, the nettles in the quiche, and chard, spinach, and beet greens in the side salads are all coming from there. The gardens are fed with composted kitchen waste that is created in our kitchen so it’s kind of cool to have that cycle producing so well.

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Pesto Pasta

Sunworks Farm organic chicken rosemary and garlic sausage, tomatoes, spinach penne, and Forage pesto sauce $12

Tuesday - BBQ Bison Meatloaf

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison meatloaf with a BBQ glaze served with roasted new potatoes $13

Wednesday - Stinging Nettle Quiche

Traditional bistro quiche with nettles from our garden and pea tendrils served with a green salad $13

Thursday - Chicken Indienne Salad

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, a variety of lettuces, cucumbers, chick peas, baby carrots, and a sambar masala dressing $13

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast organic chicken served with picnic potato salad and our famous gravy $40 whole $26 half $15 quarter.

This Week’s Soup – Lobster Bisque $8

This Week’s Salad – Lovage Potato Salad $4

Something Sweet – Lemon Buttermilk Cake $4

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM – 3508 19^th Street SW – PH(403)269-6551

Our Forage Birthday Party is this Friday, July 17^th between 5PM and 7PM. Please note that Forage will be closed on Friday until 5PM so we can set up for the event. We are offering a Buffalo Horn Ranch burger on Glamorgan Bakery bun with Gull Valley Green Houses tomato, lettuce from Innisfail Growers, and fixin’s along with a Mom’s chocolate cupcake, and Pearson’s Berry Farm saskatoon berry lemonade for $10 plus GST. A portion of the sales will go to Community Crop, the group that coordinates the community gardens in our neighborhood. Buffalo Horn Ranch will be here also selling their great bison. They prefer to take cash to bring a little extra and stock up on some meat for the grill. We are taking over some of the parking lot and there will be limited seating inside and out and the meal will be available for takeout too. If you like, feel free to bring your own plates and glasses so we can keep the waste down. We are going to serve the burgers between 5PM and 7PM so just swing by and help us celebrate 2 years in business in Calgary.

If you are looking for something to do after the Forage BBQ, head on over to the Uptown Theatre for the opening night of Food Inc. This documentary about our food system includes commentary from Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan and it should do for the local food movement what An Inconvenient Truth did for the environment.

If you are an avid gardener you might be interested in the Gardeners Forum happening Sunday, July 19^th, at Olds College. There are speakers in the afternoon (including dee Hobsbawn-Smith, Penny Marshall from Highwood Crossing and Wade from Forage) followed by a dinner and panel discussion. You can view the PDF brochure for the event here. Tickets for the event are only $60!

The Northlands Farmers Market is going great now and there is lots of local produce to be found. Last Tuesday there were potatoes, peas, carrots, beets, lettuces, radishes, and the list goes on. We grabbed some strawberries from Nobel Farm and promptly made Strawberry Freezer Jam with them. Unlike regular jam, freezer jam is not cooked so the jam maintains the flavor of these great strawberries. There is nothing like our biscuits with this jam and it is now available in our freezer! The Northlands Market runs Tuesdays from 3:30PM to 7PM on the East side of Northlands mall just off Crowchild.

Tuesday’s special is Annatto Seed Bison with Chimichurri – a South American condiment made with cilantro, parsley, oregano, garlic, chilies, lime, juice, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. It compliments grilled meats fantastically so come on Tuesday to try our version. The Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad is back this week along with Lobster Bisque!

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Tamale Pie

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, tomatoes, black beans, and peppers with a cornmeal crust $11

Tuesday - Annatto Seed Bison and Chimichurri

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison marinated with our annatto seed marinade and then grilled. Served with roasted potatoes, peppers, onions, and chimichurri. $14

Wednesday - Green Pea Risotto Cake

First of the season green peas mixed into risotto and formed into cakes. Served with green salad $13

Thursday - Greek Chicken Salad

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, a variety of lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, Fairwinds Farm feta, black olives, and red wine vinaigrette $13

Friday - Forage Birthday Party 5PM To 7PM

We’re celebrating 2 years of business in Calgary with a BBQ. Bison burger, chocolate cupcake, and saskatoon berry lemonade for $10 and a portion of the sales will go to Community Crop.

This Week’s Soup – Lobster Bisque $8

This Week’s Salad – Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad $4

Something Sweet – Rhubarb Upside Down Cake $4

Forage hours this week Monday to Thursday 2PM to 7PM and Friday 5PM to 7PM – 3508 19^th Street SW – PH(403)269-6551

So we’ve had many people ask about the progress of Gert Lund and his crops. The news is not that great. On Wednesday morning he got frost that wiped out a third to half of his beans and peas, he has had only about ¾ inch of rain, and it just hasn’t been hot enough to get the carrots germinating the way they should. He did tell me that he has started to deliver spinach to Blush Lane. Spinach is a cooler weather crop so it is thriving in these conditions. He said the forecast is looking good for rain on Monday and Tuesday and then warm after that so he’s hanging on a couple more weeks.

Gert isn’t the only one dealing with a myriad of issues in local agriculture. Many of our farmers are facing drought, high hay prices, cold weather, and now the threat of grasshoppers. It’s not been a good year so far. Gert said that he really appreciates the support though and that it helps to confirm why he does what he does.

The rhubarb from my parent’s garden is finally producing enough to start picking so this week we are making Rhubarb Crisp as the special sweet. These rhubarb plants are the ones I grew up with and are a few decades old. The crisp comes in a mason jar, ready for warming. We’ve also got the last of the Edgar Farms asparagus on our tart on Wednesday. Many of the other Alberta crops are starting to slowly come in so we’ll start to feature them as the month goes on.

Don’t forget about our Forage Birthday Party on Friday, July 17^th! We’ll be serving a bison burger, cupcake, and saskatoon berry lemonade for $10 and some of the proceeds will go to Community Crop. No need to book ahead, just drop by between 5PM and 7PM.

Here’s the menu for this week:

Monday - Beef Burrito

Hoven Farms organic beef, Gull Valley Green Houses peppers, rice, black beans, and cheddar all wrapped in a Tres Marias tortilla with fresh salsa $11

Tuesday - Bison Shepherd’s Pie

Buffalo Horn Ranch bison, carrots, peas, and beans topped with whipped potatoes $10

Wednesday - Asparagus Tart

The last of the asparagus! Edgar Farms asparagus on puff dough with Sylvan Star gouda and potato mousse served with green salad $13

Thursday - Chicken Caesar Salad

Sunworks Farm organic chicken, romaine lettuce, croutons, parmesan cheese, and our caesar dressing $13

Friday - Roast Organic Chicken

Sunworks Farm roast organic chicken served with picnic potato salad and our famous gravy $40 whole $26 half $15 quarter

This Week’s Soup – Chicken and Wild Rice $7

This Week’s Stew – Italian Beef Stew $8

This Week’s Salad – German Potato Salad $4

Something Sweet – Rhubarb Crisp $4

Forage Hours Monday to Friday 2PM to 7PM – 3508 19^th Street SW – (403)269-6551