IG Fresh, 2024 Fall Newsletter

Fall Vibes

Its official, summer is over! September and the vast majority of October was unseasonably warm. There are few upsides to this great weather.

One, as parents you didn’t have to worry about buying a halloween costume two sizes too big, so you can fit under your kids costume. I for one was never excited to go trick or treating as an obese ninja.

Two, we were able to catch up on yard work that was severely neglected all summer long.

Three, if you are into gardening like me, it means the warm weather dictates when you can plant garlic.

*Garlic Planting: Step 1 Broad Fork to loosen the soil or till the soil, Step 2 add compost, Step 3 add nitrogen fertilizer, Step 4 mix together the compost and fertilizer with a rake, Step 5 mark the spacing, Step 6 plant the individual garlic, Step 7 cover with mulch (straw), Step 8 water really well!

Ok, so I know when this comes out it will be early December and we will have had snow on the ground for two weeks. Imagine with me its’ October.

The rule of thumb in western Canada, well at least the prairie provinces is that you plant your hard neck garlic after thanksgiving. I want to say that this is miss leading. Yes you do… plant after October 13th, but that doesn’t mean you need to plant that following day.

Stay with me here, I swear I am getting to an actual point.

Garlic planting isn’t so much a date on the calendar as its’ weather dependant. The ideal weather you are looking for is below 0 degrees celsius at night and no higher than 10 degrees celsius during the day. So it’s best to check your long range forecast to see what your average temperature is going to be for the next while. You will be wanting to plant your garlic soon enough that it has time to start putting down roots into the ground. Yet not to soon where your garlic starts to sprout.

*I want to stress this! If you want to grow garlic in our climate, you need to buy hard neck garlic. The stuff from the grocery story is more suited to warm weather climates and is referred to as softneck garlic.

Pro tip, you can prepare your garlic beds ahead of time when the weather is warmer. So turning the soil to make it loose, adding a good mature compost, and a high nitrogen fertilizer like blood meal. Off to the side, have a pile of mulch (straw or leafs) to cover your garlic after planting. Now all you need to do is watch the long range forecast and wait. When the time is right, plant your garlic into the prepared soil. Cover with mulch and give it a heavy water.

Just like that early spring the first thing you will see is garlic popping up!

Fall Recipes

Leek, Potato and Sausage Soup

2 Leeks, cleaned and chopped

3 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes

Sausage coil, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 cups chicken broth

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp sage, chopped

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

In a large pot over medium high heat add in the butter, leeks, garlic, mushrooms and sausage. Let everything cook together for 3 minutes. Remember to stir to prevent the leeks from burning to the bottom. Next add in the potatoes and chicken broth. Let the soup come to a boil and reduce heat to medium and let the soup simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Mix together the oil and flour in a bowl and then slowly whisk it into the soup. Allow a couple minutes for the soup to thicken. Once the soup has thickened add in the onion powder, garlic powder, sage and the heavy cream. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

Scallop Winter Squash

1 medium butter nut squash

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp flour

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of cream

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

Salt and Pepper

Pre heat the oven to 400 F. With a pairing knife peel the butternut squash. Cut in half and remove the seeds with a spoon. Carefully cut the squash into slices. Stack the slices into a baking dish and put off to the side.

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the butter and oil and let it heat up. Once the butter is melted, add the chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes. Once the onions are translucent add in the garlic and let it cook for another minute. Next put in the flour and mix in really well to prevent clumping. Cook the flour in with the onions and butter for the 2 minutes to remove the raw starchy flour taste. Take the Milk and pour in a 1/2 cup of milk at a time and let it thicken and then repeat that process until the milk is gone. Add in the cream and let it continue to thicken. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

Pour the cream sauce over top of the squash in the casserole dish. Put into the oven and cook for 45 minutes. You will know when the squash is cooked when you can poke a knife through it.

Herb Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken

1 tbsp olive oil

8 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed from the stem and chopped

2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed from the stem and chopped

2 cloves of minced garlic

Salt and Pepper

Pre heat the oven to 400 F. In a small bowl add the olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix together really well. Dry pat the chicken with paper towel. Start spooning the oil mixture over the chicken, distributing it evenly. Put the chicken in the oven, and after 10 minutes reduce the heat to 350 F and continue to cook for another 40 minutes.

*Pro tip, to know when the chicken is cooked, give one of the legs a twist and if it removes easily the chicken is cooked.

Keto, BLT Sandwich

The “Bread”

1 can of chicken

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 whole egg

In a bowl empty the contents of the can of chicken and break it up until it is loose and fluffy. Add in the shredded cheese and 1 egg. mix until everything is evenly distributed. Spread out the chicken mixture evenly on a piece of parchment paper. You want it to be about a 1/4 inch thickness all away around. Bake in a 400 F oven for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes remove from the oven and flip the chicken crust on the sheet pan. And cook for another 12 minutes on the other side. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes or until you can handle the crust.

Sandwich:

1 garden fresh tomato, sliced

4 slices of cooked bacon

1/4 cup pea shoots

Optional- Mayo

On one half the the chicken crust spread out the mayo, and then layer on the tomato, bacon and pea shoots. Fold over the other half of the crust and now you have a 40g protein BLT Sandwich. Enjoy!

Northern French Microgreen Salad

2 cups salad booster micro green mix

1 cup diced apple

1 cup diced brie, the rind removed

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/2 cup roasted butternut squash

Dressing:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

Salt and Pepper

Combine all the other salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix together the dressing and pour over the salad.

Bourbon Winter Squash Spice Cake

3 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup Bourbon

2 eggs

3 cups cooked buttercup squash

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

Bake a buttercup squash for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Once cooked let cool and reserve 3 cups of cook squash. In a bowl mix together all the dry ingredients.  Create a well in the dry ingredients add in the eggs, butter, bourbon, vanilla and squash. Mix together well and add in the chopped walnuts. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.