It's party time!!

We are planning a PARTY!
Save the date, Saturday, June 4th is Trails Day. 
Where-Start at Fort Whyte Alive at 1 or 2 pm
Alternatively- Head straight to Crampton's Market using people power between 2 and 5 pm.  Leave the car at home if you would like to participate!  Feel free to take the car if you just want to shop and not join the party.
When-Saturday, June 4th 1 pm or 2 pm start at Fort Whyte, or 2 pm Start at Crampton's Market.

Show up at Fort Whyte Alive with your bikes for 1 pm or 2 pm.  There will be 2 sets of start times!  The lovely people at Fort Whyte will be giving interpretive tours of their cycling paths.  The tour will last about 45 minutes.  Once done, we'll all continue on the brand spanking new bike path to Crampton's Market.   Once at the market we'll have an athletic therapist show everyone some cycling stretches, there will be samples, goodies, and swag bags (limited quantities)

Can't make it all the way from Fort Whyte alive with the kiddies?  Never fear!  To participate in our party, all you need to do is show up on your bicycle, on roller blades, or on foot using the new paths!  Everyone who shows up without a car or motorcycle will get a treat!  Come on down between 2 and 5 pm to join in the celebration of people powered motion!

Came in the car?  No dice.
This party is to celebrate people motion and using the trails!

Live too far away?
Solution!
Park at the St. Vital park and take the the Bishop Grandin Greenway to Crampton's Market!

ASPARAGUS!!!!!

Oh, this lovely time of year when everyone's pee starts to smell just a little bit funky.  It must be asparagus season.

Despite the horrible rainy, cold, floody spring, it just took 5 days of sunny weather to make the asparagus pop up out of the ground.  The season is here!  It's time to eat grilled, steamed, boiled, pan fried or baked asparagus every day.  Because once it's gone...you won't find asparagus of this quality for another year....

My asparagus farmer picks and delivers his product 3 times a week.  If you keep your asparagus upright, in 3 inches of water in your fridge (use a beer mug or a water pitcher to hold it upright), it will keep for at least 5 days once you get it home.  In fact, asparagus will keep on growing (albeit just a small amount), while in your fridge!

Everything that you always wanted to know about...ASPARAGUS

If the weather gets hot hot hot, the asparagus will grow very quickly, which will wear the plant out and shorten the season. If we get some cool weather with our warm spring (fingers crossed on the warm spring), the season will stretch out. Over all, we can expect to have locally grown asparagus for about 4 weeks.

Choosing local asparagus

Choose asparagus that has tight, dry tips that come to a point. Contrary to popular belief, thin asparagus does not a more tender stalk make. With local asparagus, especially the variety that I get from the wonderful grower that I have, the thicker stems are more tender than the thinner ones....trust me, it's true! Fine dining restaurants have been insisting on their suppliers providing them with thicker stalks of asparagus for so long that it is now a separate category. Mass produced asparagus is sorted with the thicker stems going to restaurants for a premium price (cause the chefs know what the good stuff is) and the thinner stems going to retail where customers mistakenly believe the thinner stems to be more tender.
Normally you should snap the 'woody ends' off of your asparagus, but don't bother with the asparagus from Crampton's unless the bunch has a pink tag on it. I buy from 2 different local growers, one whose asparagus comes with a pink tag and one whose asparagus only has an elastic band, no tag. My tagless local grower cuts those ends off of the asparagus delivering only the most succulent of stems to the store! When they have asparagus available, they are my grower of choice. Their crop is currently 5 feet under water so I will be carrying both pink tagged, and non pink tagged asparagus this spring.

Storing

Store local asparagus, upright in your fridge, in a container of water ( the water should cover one to two inches of the base of the asparagus). This keeps your asparagus hydrated and makes sure that it keeps plump and firm. Asparagus has even been proven to keep on growing when stored with this method, so you may gain half of a centimeter of asparagus after you bring it home! Asparagus will keep in your fridge for up to 5 days.

Cooking

I personally prefer asparagus on the bbq with oil, garlic and lemon!! YUM! Mom likes to munch on Asparagus raw as she thinks that it tastes somewhat like raw peas. Though I don't like to eat asparagus raw by the spear, I do like it chopped and added to coleslaw, or vegetable salads. Brushed with olive oil and chucked on the grill makes for tender spears that keep the stove off during those summer bar b que days.

Boiling

Rinse your asparagus off to get any mud off. Bring enough water to cover asparagus to a boil. When boiling, place asparagus in water, and keep in water until it turns bright green. For slightly crunchy asparagus, boil for 2-3 minutes, for fully cooked soft asparagus, boil for 5-6 minutes. Asparagus tips cook faster than the stalks, so you may want to prepare them separately, or steam them standing up.

Steaming

Because asparagus tips cook faster than the stems, steaming asparagus upright is a great solution Find yourself an old coffee perk, or a tall stock pot. Bring enough water to come about an inch up the asparagus stems to a boil. Once the water is boiling add the asparagus spears upright, and cover immediately, cook for 4-8 minutes depending on thickness of stems,

Freezing

Asparagus freezes very well, just blanch (plunge in boiling water), for one minute, then let dry, place in freezer bags and freeze for up to one year.

For some absolutely fabulous bbq recipes, check out our recipe blog at www.cramptonsrecipes.com


Take Care
Erin

Fiddleheads and Morels...and so it begins...

Funny this, last year the first fiddleheads and morels arrived on May 12th, this year despite the horrid cold spring, the first few arrived on May 14th....gives you hope for the rest of the produce, doesn't it?

Finally, the sunshine is back!! What does that mean?
It means that the first of the Fiddleheads and Morels are back!!!

Fiddle heads are a strange little green vegetable, reminiscent of aliens. So what the heck are they? They are the unfurling fronds of the ostrich fern. When wild ostrich ferns start to sprout in the spring, pickers scour the forest floor for their tightly wound bright green heads. . The fronds are covered with a brownish, onion-skin like coating that must be removed before eating. Just rub them between your hands and wash well. Our pickers clean the fiddleheads very well.  After the chafe is removed, wash the fiddleheads well under cold running water to remove dirt before cooking. Aboriginal people from across the globe (Canada to New Zealand) have been eating fiddleheads for centuries . As the first green to appear after a winter of meat only diet....it's not surprising that they were considered to have medicinal and cleansing properties!!! On top of that fiddleheads are rich in iron, potassium, niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamins A and C. Phew!!! 

Pickers spend hours in woodsy areas near streams at this time of year looking for patches of fiddleheads.  Once they find their patch, and see the little fiddleheads peaking up, they spend hours bent over, or crouched down low to the groun snapping the coiled heads off.  What a great spring ritual.

STORAGE

Store your fiddleheads in a reusable plastic container, in your fridge, for up to 5 days.  Keep them well wrapped as they will dry out if exposed to the air. 

*****Please note******

Fiddleheads contain an enzyme that some people cannot digest. Thorough cooking or freezing destroys the enzyme. Health Canada advises that fiddleheads should be cooked thoroughly before eating. Consuming raw or undercooked fiddleheads may cause ‘green apple’ symptoms including diarrhoea, nausea and upset stomach ewwww...

For more recipes, check out our recipe blog at cramptonsrecipes.com

FIDDLEHEADS WITH SESAME SEEDS
A quick and easy vegetable dish that’s good warm or cold.
3 cups fiddleheads
2 Tbsps sesame oil
1 thinly sliced hot or sweet pepper, to suit taste
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsps lemon juice
seasoned salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (or slivered almonds)
lemon slices to garnish
Boil or steam fiddleheads until fork tender. While cooking, heat oil in small skillet and sauté pepper and garlic until soft. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and seasonings. Drain fiddleheads and toss with the oil mixture. Sprinkle with seeds and garnish with lemon.

TO FREEZE FIDDLEHEADS FOR WINTER USE
They freeze very well so you might want to put some up for winter enjoyment. Fiddleheads will last in the freezer from one season to the next. To freeze, blanch cleaned fiddleheads in boiling lightly salted water for 3 minutes. Drain, cool then put in air-tight bags and freeze.

We received just a few pounds of morels this morning.  They sell out so quickly that I don't dare send out an email about them until the quantities available increase.  For those of you who check the blog, you have the inside scoop. 

More more morels
Morel mushrooms, especially when they have been rained on, smell bad. Kinda like fish. But don't let the pungent aroma turn you off! They have a deep woodsy, heady mushroom flavour. A little goes a long way.
Prepare a bath of lightly salted cold water. Immerse the mushrooms in the water for a few minutes. This will make any small woodland insects that have crept into the mushroom crevices creep out again. Drain mushrooms until dry.

Erin's Prefered morel meal
15-20 fresh morels cut in half if large
1 large shallot chopped fine
1 large clove garlic chopped fine
2 TBS butter (best with unsalted)
2 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Put olive oil in heated pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots, stir and sauté until softened but not brown. Add butter until melted then add morels. Stir and cook until mushrooms start to brown, about 4 min. Add chicken stock and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add cream and cook on low until reduced and thickened. Classically served on toast, but the best on grilled New York Strip steaks.
There are many morel purists who would cringe at the very thought of adding anything to morels. Just fry up and enjoy them as they are! I find that I always want to eat more morels than I have though, so making a cream sauce out of them stretches out the flavour. To each their own.

Morels dry incredibly well, retaining all of their flavour. To rehydrate in the winter time, simple soak in water until plump, be sure to use the remaining liquid when making soups and stews.








For more Morel and Fiddlehead recipes, visit our recipe blog at cramptonsrecipes.com  
Cheers!
Erin

Brrrr....ing on Spring!! Let's have a party!

A high of 9?  Flooding?  Sandbagging?   A chance of FLURRIES in the forecast?  Unacceptable.  We'll just have to do something about this.

We are planning a PARTY!
Save the date, Saturday, June 4th is Trails Day.  To celebrate we are partnering with Fort Whyte Alive and having a party at Crampton's Market.
Where-Start at Fort Whyte Alive at 1 or 2 pm
Alternatively- Head straight to Crampton's Market using people power between 2 and 5 pm.
When-Saturday, June 4th 1 pm or 2 pm start at Fort Whyte, or 2 pm Start at Crampton's Market.

Show up at Fort Whyte Alive with your bikes for 1 pm or 2 pm.  There will be 2 sets of start times!  The lovely people at Fort Whyte will be giving interpretive tours of their cycling paths.  The tour will last about 45 minutes.  Once done, we'll all continue on the brand spanking new bike path to Crampton's Market.   Once at the market we'll have an athletic therapist show everyone some cycling stretches, there will be samples, goodies, and swag bags!

Can't make it all the way from Fort Whyte alive with the kiddies?  Never fear!  To participate in our party, all you need to do is show up on your bicycle, on roller blades, or on foot using the new paths!  Everyone who shows up without a car or motorcycle will get a treat!  Come on down between 2 and 5 pm to join in the celebration of people powered motion!

Mother's Day weekend

Crampton's Market open
Monday to Friday 9-8
Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 9-6

Ahhh, that great feeling of the first day jitters being over.  We had such a fun first day on Wednesday, with so many customers coming in to spontaniously complement us on the new parking lot :)

Wondering what to do for Mom for Mother's day?  We know that you're probably making her breakfast in bed on Sunday, so why don't you bring your Mom down to Crampton's on Saturday?  We have lots of flowers and bouquets available for her, and all Moms will be getting a special treat on Saturday.  Seriously, these women do EVERYTHING for us, it's time for some payback.

Currently in the shop we have a few local items available, hot house tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, radishes and cucumbers are all currently available and DELICIOUS.  Clearly a great big salad should be on the Menu this weekend.  I have spoken to my fiddlehead and morel harvesters, they figure another 5-10 days until those wild items start popping up out of the ground.   I'll be certain to send out an email as soon as they arrive.

Organic herb and tomato plants will be arriving next week.  The weather right now is so touch and go, I'd hate to sell a bunch of herbs and tomato plants just to make you keep them in your house for weeks on end, or worse yet, plant them outside and not do well because the soil is still so cold.  For next weekend we'll have an excellent selection of organic herb and tomato plants.  

Enjoy the sunshine when you can!
Take Care
Erin