Welcome to Dan's Page

 Hello once again! This year, I have to say has been rather disappointing as far as raspberries go anyway. I must appologize as the wet weather has really damaged all later crops, and consequently we do not have enough to open. Hopefully next year will make up for the loss. I am however happy to say that I have had several brainwaves about my page and will be changing it up a little. Any comments about it would be greatly appreciated. I hope all of you who had our produce this year enjoyed it! And hope you all had a great summer. Even if the weather was a bit of a bummer!
 

QUESTION BOX:

-From Leesa in Ottawa:  Hi Dan, I was wondering what made your family decide to go organic?

Hi Leesa thank you for e-mailing me. What made us go organic well... before moving here we used to live on a conventional strawberry farm, as my father and his family were born into the business. We moved here about 7 years ago and having seen some of the things chemicals do to the environment, we decided this was a great opportunity to go 'green' and switch to organic growing. We just thought it was the right thing to do and have yet to see anything that proves otherwise so we plan to stay!

-From Doug in Toronto:  Hey Dan, just wanted to know I have a garden and can hardly keep the pests out of it! How on earth do you guys do it on such a large scale? Cheers, Doug.

Hello Doug, pleasure to hear from you. I can tell you right now it is not easy and it is a full time job. We have all spent many hours researching possible solutions, and integrating them into the field....[a time-consuming job!]. But as we have become more experienced we have learned more as well and some of it is pretty cool. Our certification allows us to spray things such as clay onto our plants which makes them too dirty for certain bugs to burrow in or bite. There are also concentrated flower and herbal extracts which can be used to repel pests [like garlic concentrations]. We have also come upon something called companion planting, where we plant specific plants in proximity to others and they protect each other. The stuff you learn is incredible and the results are not only effective but harmless to the rest of the ecosystem.

-From Meg in Thunder Bay:  Howdy Dan, we think it is great that you guys are doing something like this, it is unlikely we will get to come to your farm, but we are interested do you think it is more important to shop local, or organic[even if it means importing from places like Chilli]?

Nice to hear from you Meg, Organic or local, seems to be a topic of some controversy. While I believe it is important to try and eat organically I also think it is important to support local farms, and in the process your community. Organic food is bought not only for health purposes but also to be sustainable. Personally when I think organic I think of close, because burning many tons of fossil fuel to get you something that is supposed to be sustainable doesn't make much sense. So while I do prefer organic I also will support my local farmers even if they aren't.

-From Jerry in Oshawa:  Dan I'm sort of worried, do you grow genetically engineered crops?                                                            Hey Jerry thanks for the e-mail. The answer is no, we do not grow G.E. crops on our farm, because we are certified organic. In order to become certified you must not use chemicals, fertilizers, or anything G.E. Our produce is like it is in nature! 

Thank you all for your questions.  If you are reading this and would like to comment or ask me a question, then please send an e-mail to Dan at passafiume@andrewswireless.net or contact me through the contact page. Hope to see you all out in the field!

                                                                                 Dan

This is one of the new additions to my page. I know cooking is becoming very difficult due to allergies, diets, health issues, and for moral reasons. So in an attempt to make things a little easier I will be continuosly adding recipes to the page to try and help all you foodies out there!

The Health Conscious Chef
Hello everyone this section is here to offer you recipes that are healthy, hearty and still taste good! I hope to put this on my blog when it is finished but it will remain here for now! I will also try to add new information about what we consume and how it helps/hurts us. If you have a recipe that you think is worthy of sharing, by all means send it to us and we will put it up!
Until then,
                     Good Eating!

VEGAN UNBAKED AND GLUTEN FREE APPLE PIE:

Special thanks to Ioan for this one.
Crust:
-1 cup each-filberts/pecans/almonds, sunflower seeds, dry shredded coconut 
(total of three cups)
-2 Tbsp. agave syrup or honey
-1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
-1 Tbsp. water (may not be needed so add last if necessary; crust should not be soggy)
Grind nuts in a coffee grinder, or food processor. Then mix with the rest of the ingredients (make sure to mix well)
Then pack the crust mixture onto a pie plate.

Filling: (for apple pie)
-6 medium sized apples
-1/2 a cup of pitted dates(or agave syrup if you want a lighter colour)
-1 lemon juiced (optional; use depending on the sweet/tartness of the apples 
-pinch of salt
-2 Tsp. powdered cinnamon
-2 Tbsp. slippery elm powder ( vegan substitute for gelatin)
Core and slice apples thinly. Put 1 cup or all the apples in a food processor with the other ingredients.
Process until smooth. Mix the blended mixture with apple slices and pour in the pie shell.
Serve chilled, and with cashew cream if desired.
(alternate berry filling)
Berries of your choice mixed with agave syrup or honey. If you need the filling thicker,
 add slippery elm powder to the mix.

Environmental News:  I know many of you are careful about being 'green' and so I have posted a few of the best links I know for you.  I hope you find them interesting!

- green podcast on recent environmental events/issues http://www.besustainable.com/greenmajority/

- For a great guide to sustainable living in the GTA and green companies http://www.planetfriendly.net/living.html

- Do you want to help in the GTA? If you wish to volunteer in Toronto visit http://www.torontoenvironment.org/