Toronto Teacher Mom: Farmers Feed Cities

Farmers Feed Cities - Southbrook Vineyards

A couple of weekends ago, some of us bloggers joined Farmers Feed Cities and met Niagara-on-the-Lake fruit farmer Steve Pohorly and his family. They own The Fruit Shack and gave us a tour of their apple orchard. They even shared their family Apple Crisp Recipe.

Later that afternoon, we were treated to an amazing lunch at Southbrook Vineyards where we enjoyed fresh-from-the-farm and wine pairings. It was SO good!

Stopping by for Wordless Wednesday? Use the linky below.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013
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Farmers Feed Cities - The Pohorly Family Apple Crisp Recipe

Apple Crisp

Last week, I introduced you to the Pohorly family. They are a third generation farming family from Niagara-on-the-lake and run The Fruit Shack, which has been in operation since 2003. Steve Pohorly and his wife, Breanne work the farm together with his parents, Frank and Susan, to sell fresh, local, quality produce at affordable prices. With a total of 53 acres of land, they grow a variety of crops including; asparagus, raspberries, cherries, peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, nectarines, garlic, plums, sweet potatoes, apples, pumpkins and more.

While their delicious butter tart recipe will remain a family secret, the Pohorly family has kindly shared their apple crisp recipe below. For more seasonal recipes, store hours and directions, visit thefruitshack.com and follow @TheFruitShack on Twitter.

The Pohorly Family Apple Crisp Recipe

Ingredients:

11⁄2 cups oat flour (using a blender or coffee grinder to make from whole rolled oats) 1 1⁄4 cups whole rolled oats
1⁄2 tsp cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp nutmeg
11⁄2 cups brown sugar
3⁄4 cup butter – melted
6 cups Ginger Gold Apples Peeled, cored and sliced 3/8 cup white sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 tsp vanilla
1⁄2 tsp cinnamon

Saturday, September 28, 2013
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Farmers Feed Cities - The Fruit Shack

Farm to Table

If you see a sign at the side of the road that says "15 miles to The Fruit Shack," do yourself a favour and pay a visit to Niagara-On-The-Lake fruit grower Steve Pohorly.

Along with his beautiful daughter and wife, he welcomed a group of bloggers onto his farm last weekend as he shared with us his passion for agriculture. (And a basket full of fresh-from-the-farm fruit!)

While touring his apple orchard, we learned about three-legged ladders.

We sampled sweet and juicy honeycrisp apples.

And we marveled over the endless number of apples that a single tree can produce.

Further along, we came across some blue plum trees and sampled the delectable fruit.

Unfortunately, we were saddened to learn that they would be removing the plum trees due to lack of demand. What a shame. Everyone agreed that these plums were incredibly tasty and yet, we wondered why we rarely, if ever, see them at our local grocery store.

We were also surprised to learn that a large number of peaches had remained unsold this past season and as a result went to waste. It was disheartening to discover that the amount of time and energy invested in growing and harvesting fruit could be so futile.

Dedicated to ensuring a thriving and sustainable farming industry in Ontario, Farmers Feed Cities values the importance of fostering collaborative partnerships with farmers such as Steve Porhorly, as well as industry, community organizations, school groups and the public. As such, they are encouraging Ontarians to ask questions about the food we bring into our homes. If it's seasonal Ontario produce you're looking for, is it available where you regularly shop for groceries? If not, do you take the time to ask the store manager to stock their produce department with locally grown food? Or do you shrug it off and instead opt for produce that had been harvested 45 days prior to arriving at your local store?