July 2018
Missed our previous news letters? No fear you can find them all on our website!
From -1 to +40 how our orchards are fairing in the extremes:
It was the talk of the town, June 4th - 6th Nova Scotia saw record low Spring time temperatures. At this point it's hard to say what kind of damage we will see in our apples and pears. Most of our blossoms had set which is a good sign! Meaning the blossoms had come, been pollinated and then happily lost their petals post germination.

However what the fruit will look like come the fall, is hard to say! Fingers crossed!

Berry Nice to see you again: Strawberries
Come early July we start to see our friends the strawberries pop out from their tunnels and onto our shortcakes! It's pretty amazing that each year once the snow breaks and the grass turn green we know to be ready an waiting for berry season!

The earliest variety of Strawberries, found at our farm markets; are grown under row cover. Make sure before you consume the berries you give them a little rinse sometimes fibers from the covers get caught on the seeds! Especially with the topsy-turvey Spring weather we had. The strawberries we covered and uncovered only to be covered again! All of this movement increases the possibility for fiber tag-alongs!

Awesome Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Fruit Forecast
June - July : Strawberries
July : Cherries and Raspberries
July - August : Blueberries
August : Plums, Peaches, Apricots and Nectarines!
August - September : Pears, Apples
The "What's What" on HODGEPODGE:

The sweet smell of Hodgepodge will soon be wafting from a Nova Scotia Kitchen near you!
I remember my first bowl of the creamy delight! It was extra comforting as I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out, and as a "Come from Away" I had no idea the delicacy I was about to dive into. What a treat for my sore gums!

It's all in the name; the term Hodgepodge today means any mixture of things that are not really meant to go together. But the origin comes straight from our delicious and well known summer time stew. The origin is ultimately french dating back to the 14th century: hocherpot. Hocher the french verb " to shake" refers to a mixture of odds and ends all shaken together into a stew. In the 15th century the British adopted the term into Hotchpotch, and as our language evolved the word has moved towards our current pronunciation of Hodgepodge!

The recipe below outlines certain produce to use, to stay true to the name, feel free to throw in what ever early summer produce you have available!

Recipe

  • 1 cup green beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 cup yellow beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 cup fresh peas shelled
  • 10 baby carrots, halved
  • 4 new potatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk

1) Place beans, peas, carrots and milk to a medium sized pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
2) Boil for about 10 minutes
3) Add potatoes, butter and cream. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through
4) season with more salt and pepper as desired.

Thanks for the recipe Taste of Nova Scotia!