Gardening - When to Plant

One problem I have here in Victoria is in trying to figure out when I should start planting stuff in the veggie garden. This town has nice spring like days at intervals all winter long, a day like today lures me into wanting to do some work in the garden.

Living in Lillooet made all of this easier. Before April 1st it was winter. I had a clear several weeks at the end of April and the start of May during which I would get the veggie garden in. Here in Victoria it is a lot harder for me to get a good sense of when.

I suspect I would start with peas and spinach now. Radishes and lettuce may also work well, but do I really want to have the veggie garden going from mid February to mid November? That is nine months of the year!

On the upside, I will not be able to do much in garden over many of the next weekends because I will be off with the Scouts camping or at other events.

What’s in our regional food basket?

Another local food and politics type of event.

What’s in our regional food basket? Friday March 13, 2009 2:00 – 7:00 pm
2:00 – 4:30pm	Simultaneous afternoon workshops: Increasing access to food for households living on low income Year round public markets in BC’s Capital Region Hooking up! Potential in community-university partnerships on food issues
4:30pm	Welcome and Keynote presentation our regional “food shed”
5:00pm	Getting to know you - speed dating for Foodies and Friends Highlighting Regional food security happenings –lets get visual! Pot luck supper – we’ll provide the soup and salad; your contribution adds to the flavour and the fun Celebration of 2009 Food Security Champions
More complete details to follow Registration - $15 Subsidies available on request RSVP to info@communitycouncil.ca or tel 250-383-6166

The Root Cellar Green Grocer

I have been buying more and more of my fruit and vegatables from the Root Cellar at 1286 Mackenzie Ave. Their prices are good, their quality is high and the selection is broad. I have dropped almost all my fruit and veg shopping from the grocery stores and given it to them. If you have not gone and shopped there, please try it out.

Family market bucks trend

Loyal fresh food customers keep cash registers ringing

By Carla Wilson, Times Colonist
February 12, 2009 4:02 AM

In these days of economic uncertainty, the one-year-old Root Cellar Village Green Grocer is bucking the trend by tallying steady sales growth as loyal customers keep business booming.

"It's a little bit ridiculous," says Daisy Leslie-Orser, who owns the business with husband Adam Orser and friend "Uncle" Phil Lefreniere. "It just snowballed."

The trio has been taken aback by the success of their business, at the corner of Blenkinsop Road and McKenzie Avenue. In fact, it's been nominated in the new business category in this year's Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce's business awards.

Healthy sales have led to plans for a 1,000-square-foot building extension and more tents outdoors this spring, Orser said yesterday.

The grocery store focuses first on local produce, gradually moving farther away geographically to buy what's needed.

Since the Root Cellar opened last February, sales have climbed four times beyond what was expected, he said. Early projections of a maximum of 10 staff were soon ditched as employee numbers climbed to 42 in the busy summer and are now at about 35.

Three tills weren't enough to cope with the number of customers, so two more were added.

The Root Cellar has created a space for itself in the highly competitive grocery market, where margins are tight and pennies count. Greater Victoria shoppers already have high expectations because other grocery businesses also focus on good service, local products and community involvement.

Customers are interested in cooking and eating healthier, said Lefreniere. "People will never stop eating."

Today's economic troubles may have even helped the business because shoppers are making meals from scratch and seeking competitive prices, Leslie-Orser said.

Some suppliers aren't even farmers but are backyard gardeners who enjoy growing produce. One man brings in "beautiful" white turnips, all perfectly washed with their greens on, Leslie-Orser said. "They are art-photography quality." Also, customer requests lead to custom orders.

Shopper Judy Dziedziuch of Saanich said as a native of the Okanagan, she trusts the Okanagan family that bought the business. "Okanagan people know their fruits and vegetables," she said, adding she likes the Root Cellar's prices and quality. "They also sell a lot of local produce."

Leslie-Orser believes the owners' past experience made the difference between success and failure. The three had worked together for a group of market stores in the Okanagan, and Orser had opened several stores.

Lefreniere is the acting store manager and typically works seven days a week, said Leslie-Orser, who does administrative work. Orser's role includes going to Vancouver overnight every week to order produce from warehouses, as well as expansion planning and working with chefs and restaurants to promote their products.

Leslie-Orser and Orser are also parents of boys Tai, 10, Raine, four, and Diem, 18 months. The boys' mother laughs when she says work gets done with crossed eyes and octopus arms. "I work from home a lot. We're busy."

Staff morale gets a boost on Friday nights, when a gym is rented for games, and with activities such as summer barbecues. The management team has access to profit-sharing. The Root Cellar also supports community organizations and schools.

Owners, staff and customers are "sort of a family tribe," Leslie-Orser said -- customers even arrived at Christmas with goodies made from Root Cellar products.

When Leslie-Orser is busy, an employee hoists little Diem on her hip. Since the first day, Tai has helped out. He likes to sweep, collect carts and carry bags to cars.

"People like that," his dad said.
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Cow Urnine Soft Drink????

Indian Cow Urine Soft Drink Poised for Release.

Not much more than that to say, I am not Anthony Bourdain

Island Grains - Grow your own bread

I tried to grow my own wheat and make bread, the biggest hassle was the threshing and winnowing of the wheat. I also could not grind the wheat well either.

Island Grains is a project to allow people to grow grains, harvest them, process it and make bread. I think this is great hands on project. This is the sort of hands experience I think is good for all people to take part in from time to time.

The Tyee had an article about their project.

I think I may plant some more wheat this year, say along the sidewalk and put up a sign telling people it is wheat. Wonder what will happen.....

Alton Brown

I have to say I am a big fan of Alton Brown. His program Good Eats has expanded what I do in the kitchen and how.

What he has inspired us to do:

• No unitaskers - this means no ultra specialized tools
• Get our spices whole and grind them - we also date them
• Buy whole tenderloins and break them down
• Bought push measuring cups for such things a sour cream, honey, peanut butter and other gooey ingredients
• Tried some more techniques - Stephen watched the episode Choux Shine to learn how to make pas de choux.

His program is an inspiration to people that are interested in understanding their food and are not interested in doing recipes by rote. You gain a deeper understanding of the technique or ingredient and thereby are better able to apply them in your cooking. It is a show for interested amateur cooks.

I have almost all the episodes of the show on DVD and watch them when I need to know how to use an ingredient or technique. The visual is important because cooking is such a visual and tactile process and Alton makes it real and accessible with what you should have on hand in your kitchen.

Seedy Saturday

I would love to go this event, but I will be up island camping with the Scouts on February 21st.

Seedy Saturday is an event that happens all over BC, here in Victoria it will be on Saturday Feb 21st. Take some time to check it out.