Beets For Borscht Ode To Ontario Agriculture Week...

Happy Ontario Agriculture Week! 

Give me a B for Beets. Another B for Borscht 🥣! What better way than to celebrate with a beautiful soup honouring the many precious treasures from our mother earth! 🥕.

The first time I made this beautiful borscht, it also had kidney beans. I was inspired by a Ukrainian family recipe by a senior, in a collaborative community published cookbook titled "Hot Pot Cookbook" that reflects the plethora of cultures in Bathurst-Finch, an area with a huge high school Northview I have done many food events and culinary work in.

A group of community agencies wanted to celebrate the different heritages by socially engaging local low-income seniors and this food project came about. It is a free cookbook full of recipes contributed by seniors embraced by North York Harvest Food Bank, operating the Bathurst and Finch Community Food bank which is the largest food program in the neighbourhood. They asked older clients of the food bank to contribute hand-written recipes to be put into a box. A total of 48/60 were selected, tested and published. The food bank serves a large number of Russian-speaking seniors about 700 households a month. Read more about it here.

Last week I toured the Holland Marsh area with ambassadors at Produce Made Simple hosted by Holland Marsh Growers. At our final stop Gwillimdale Farms, we received a generous goodie bag filled with their farm produce 🤗! Scanning the fresh assortment of beets, carrots, onions and potatoes, amidst this fall weather, borscht came to mind and it was this Ukrainian-inspired version. Sweet and tangy, with a dollop of mayo, it's a comfort vegetarian haven!

Ukrainian Borscht

Work with cooked beets on a non-porous plate or cutting board such as glass so not to stain. Gloves help too.

дуже смачний! (Delicious! in Ukraine). The natural sweetness of beets is divine-tasting!

B for Beauty!

Here with Produce Made Simple ambassadors at our first stop in Holland Marsh- The Muck Research Station, a part of Guelph University. This region is the largest area of organic (muck) soil developed for agriculture in the province and one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country.

and one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country which is why the University of

Guelph established a research station here

Field research is conducted in both mineral and organic soil. The emphasis is on discovery research in crop protection and production, to contribute to improved integrated pest and crop management in their plant pathology lab, controlled greenhouses and cold storages. They conduct insect counts, isolate target conditions when diseases occur, and optimize spray time to reduce costs and unnecessary chemicals on food and in the environment. Yay! R&D are unsung heros! 🎵🎶🤗.

Onions are ready when the tops droop.

Vegetable crops grown in Holland Marsh such as carrots (cello-types or jumbos), onions, lettuce, celery and Asian vegetables are the focus here at Muck Crops Research Station.

On the field with some jumbos 🥕🥕...

#Repost @producemadesimple with @repostsaveapp ・・・ For those of you who may be new here, let us tell you a little bit about who we are! Produce Made Simple is owned by the non-profit Ontario Produce Marketing Association. Our goal is to inspire and educate others to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables as much as we do. Eating fresh produce tastes great! To help us achieve this, we've partnered with amazing food writers and bloggers this year, and we just toured the Holland Marsh Area! Did you know that The Marsh is one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country and grows over 40 different varieties of vegetables?

Our next stop was at Springh Farms. Shane Singh is a second-generation grower, producing a variety of greens that appeals to a higher end and diversified population. Amongst the regular lettuces, he grows red and green oak leaf lettuces, as well as herbs, swiss chard, kale, bok choy and dandelion greens.

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Neat rows, and rows and rows...

He has broaden his customer base by also selling to retailers, food service, direct to consumers via farm stands and CSA box programs.

Aren't these gorgeous radishes, grown with love.

Grower Shane Singh

Our Suzie and Nicole collecting fresh goodness for our group.

Swiss chard in the front, kale in the background.

Gwillimdale Farms is one of Ontario's largest grower-packer-shippers of root vegetables, specializing in carrots, onions, beets, parsnips and potatoes. As an industry leader and family owned business, they have made investments to improve the quality of food distributed in Ontario, as well as improve the sustainability of their farms.

Visiting Gwillimdale's packing facility.

Over onto our lunch venue in their private Fair View Barn with Little Red Catering Co.

It was a delicious lunch! 

I loved this parsnip and pear soup starter with the exquisite table side tea pot pour.

Thank you for this awesome canvas bag filled with fresh goodies!

I used your carrots, onions and potatoes in Japanese curry teaching a cooking class with seniors. 

Who doesn't love curry? But it's all about the fresh produce that goes in it!

Japanese Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

And of course, the makings of this beautiful Borscht.

More soup on the horizon... and it's Creamy Potato, Parsnip and Leeks 🥣.

Going through my big potato bag of white rounds... Although they are of the waxy type, thin skin and low in starch, I still wanted to make this soup (waxy potatoes yield a gluey texture). So for silky creaminess, I doubled up and countered with added mashed potatoes (waxy is actually preferred for a smooth mash) for balanced texture and body. What a harmonious trio with parsnips for sweetness and leeks for delicious onion flavour! So simple. So divine!

I love this piece on Produce Made Simple site about potatoes. In a 2013 study, the majority of respondents said that they do not believe potatoes to be “nutritious”, nor “a good source of energy”! Well... they are naturally fat free, low in calories and gluten- free. A medium sized potato (150 g) is just 110 calories and really helps to satisfy hunger. It even has 3g of protein! Potatoes are an excellent source of potassium, a good source of vitamin C and a source of fibre and folic acid. So go on... Eat your potatoes 🥔🥔🥔.

Creamy Potato, Parsnip and Leeks