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The Ottawa Citizen / Wednesday, May 9, 2001
Section: Food Life / Byline: Gay Cook
Column: Taste of the Town / Source: The Ottawa Citizen
Many delicious,
tender salad greens are in peak season right now at the Bryson
Farms (certified organic growers) greenhouses. The 200-acre
operation near Shawville specializes in unusual salad greens,
spinach and other items grown year-round. That means customers
can have a fresh hand-picked green salad in winter or summer.
The farm
has been organic for 50 years. In the past three years it
has installed mobile greenhouses than can be moved to allow
the uncovered soil to be replenished with nutrient-enhancing
crops such as clover and buckwheat.
``We use
organic or heirloom seeds,'' says Terry Stewart, owner and
grower.
``This
spring, we imported more than 100 seed varieties from around
the world. We guarantee a colourful mixture with great flavour
in exotic greens including red dandelion, pea shoots, rosettes
of mache, tatsoi (an oriental vegetable) as well as edible
flowers.''
``We also
grow red, yellow, white, purple, round and baby carrots as
well golden, white and multi-coloured beets,'' says Mr. Stewart.
``Our tomatoes are the colours of purple, black, white, pink,
orange, yellow and multi-coloured, and cherry-type tomatoes
of every colour and shape imaginable.''
Unusual
potatoes are another item at Bryson Farms. They can be white,
red, yellow, pink, gold, blue and purple.
These
specialty foods are sold in the Ottawa area to restaurants,
Rideau Hall and caterers including Epicurea, 419 MacKay St.,
where you can also buy retail, fresh lettuce in perforated
Ziploc plastic bags (Mr. Stewart recommends storing greens
in these bags to keep them fresh).
Bryson
Farms also sells produce at the Ottawa Organic Farmers' Market
at Bank Street and Heron Road behind the Canadian Tire store
every Saturday, 10 a.m to 2 p.m. The farm will deliver to
private homes in central Ottawa.
For information,
call Bryson Farms at 647-3456 or partner Stuart Collins at
237-1818.
Chef Richard
Nigro of Juniper Restaurant, 1392 Wellington St., suggests
trying the accompanying maple salad dressing recipe using
greens from Bryson Farms.
Maple
Ginger Dressing
- 1/2
cup (125 ml) cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 tablespoons (100 mL) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) grated fresh ginger
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Combine
all ingredients, adding them in order. Toss with salad just
as it is served.
Basic
Vinaigrette
(From
Mrs Cook's Foods, Basic and Beyond)
- 2 tablespoons
(25 mL) wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) Dijon or 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) dry mustard
(optional)
- 1 or 2 minced cloves garlic (optional)
- 5 tablespoons (65 mL) olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper
Whisk
together all ingredients, adding in the order listed.
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