I had an unusual call from the folks running the Cancer Society's Relay for Life this Friday night. They're going to have a zucchini sculpture contest during the night and they were looking for the necessary medium. If you'd like to bring in a zucchini for the cause, I'll make sure it gets to the event.

Now, what's in the store this week. The fruit continues to make the back room smell sweet - apples and pears from Soundview and Silver Dollar, Redskin peaches and Stanley plums - that purple on the outside amber on the inside variety that makes THE best plum desserts.

I'm going in the morning to Saugeen River CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) to pick up some beautiful bio-dynamically grown vegetables - beets, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and basil. Interestingly, although it was not a requirement, all the vegetable growers who have chosen to sell at Around the Sound through the season have also made the choice to garden/farm without chemical fertilizers and sprays. Twin Creeks, Saugeen River, Wolf Rover, Hemstock Mill, Persephone Market Garden, Bayview Organics, the Andersons - They are all committed to the continuous improvement of their land and their produce, and we all benefit.

Axel Meister(Susan always calls him "the famous Axel" because I introduce him as the very first commercial dairy sheep farmer in North America) is bringing his delicious sheep yogurt, feta and pecorino tomorrow. He is also bringing more small lamb pies and lamb sausage in two flavours - cranberry with pistachios, and rosemary.

Not to be outdone, Brenda Forsyth has brought some beautiful lamb too, including a frenched rack, two packages of shanks, and some marinated lamb. None of this will last long! Brenda is also back with her spelt crust organic chicken pies.

Pat from Finch Haven Orchards in Clarksburg is bringing sparkling ciders - apple, apple raspberry and apple cranberry. She's also bringing black currant jam - my favourite - to add to our amazing jam shelves.

There will be some new treats in the order that arrives about noon on Friday - I've ordered capers for those who enjoy that little bite with Winston's smoked Atlantic salmon or rainbow trout. In the dairy department I've added some regional Brie, some Woolwich Dairy cheddars and Mapleton's Organic low-fat strawberry yogurt. In the freezer, look for Mapleton's frozen lemon yogurt and a mixed berry sorbet.

And the ultimate treat - Theo's Belgian chocolate sauce is in the cooler. She spreads it on toast - now that would be a reason to get up in the morning.

Around the Sound is open from 10 until 7 Thursday and Friday and 10 until 4 on Saturday at 972 1st Avenue West.

Bring a friend who has never been to the store this week and introduce him/her to me and I'll give you both 10% off your order. How good is that?

See you soon.
Anne

519-370-2333
aroundthesoundfood.com

We just got home from a fabulous event at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. Chef Marc Breton made harvest tastings - little cups of gazpacho, roasted mushrooms on flatbread, porchetta sandwiches, grilled corn with seasoned butter, grape sorbet and stuffed tiny patty pan squashes from our own Twin Creeks Organic Farm! About a hundred guests wandered around sampling the goodies with glasses of Ontario wine and beer and visited exhibits from local farms, CSAs. farmers' markets and producers. Clare and Nathan were there from Skeffling Farm with their beautiful rainbow eggs and lavender; Gerald had his vegetables and meat from Twin Creeks and Around the Sound had a full display of our producers' wares and the Grey Bruce Agriculture and Culinary maps. We made new connections and sourced new products (flavoured yogurt and peanuts, among others) while sharing the joys of Grey and Bruce food with Torontonians. We need more events like this up here!

So why would I mention snow? Just to remind you that you'll want to put away some of the beautiful bounty of this season to bring it all out in winter. Brandied peaches or plums. Spiced pears. Warm applesauce or hot apple pie. Chili sauce...spaghetti sauce....zucchini bread...the list is endless. Buy fruit and vegetables and the peak of the season and put them away for tomorrow.

The Twin Creeks patty pan squash can be barbecued, steamed or stuffed with your favourite turkey stuffing and baked.

Enjoy the Charolais or grass-fed beef, bison, elk or venison burgers with the fresh tomatoes, lettuce and onions while they last.

Theo, "The Chocolate Muse" brought us Belgian chocolate brownies with walnuts, white chocolate blondies with pecans, and bee stings (shortbread, pecans, chocolate and honey. Belgian chocolate sauce is also promised - perfect for Pears Helene.

The new raw honey is in from Chatsworth. Kelly said it has been one of the worst years for honey in 70 years in eastern Canada. We are, as always, very grateful for the producers who work through these challenges to bring us our food.

Around the Sound is open Thursday and Friday from 10 until 7 and Saturday 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West.
See you there!

Anne
519-370-2333
www.aroundthesoundfood.com

The first pears are in, the plums are sweet and the tomatoes are perfect - it must be September.

One of my favourite dinners at this time of year is bruschetta, and all the ingredients are fresh in the store.
Sweet tomatoes, fresh garlic and olive oil on rustic Italian bread, and perhaps a little of Axel's feta or pecorino. We have pine nuts too if you're making pesto out of your basil crop.

Plums are a great school snack. Kristy brought over a delicious plum streusal coffee cake the other day - ask us for the recipe.

Kelsey apologized for the shortage of sticky buns and white loaves last Saturday. She was rationing white spelt flour. The mill at Grass Roots Organics, where we both get our flour, generates its own power and its generator was "under investigation". Customers who were able to get one of the limited edition cheddar and sage breads were delighted - if there were ever one left for me I'd make a tomato, lettuce and summer sausage sandwich with it.

Grass Roots was having a challenging week because they were also waiting for a specialized part for their cereal puffer - a part the company said they could not sell to a Canadian!
Welcome to the fragile world of food provided by your neighbours. Soon your favourite multi-grain and kamut will be back with the puffed basmati, barley, millet and spelt on the shelves.

If there's anything you've seen out at Grass Roots that you'd like us to stock, just ask and they'll bring it in - same price as in Desboro. I've added millet, oat groats, spelt kernels and bulgur after just such requests. They'll also deliver large bags of flour or oats to Around the Sound for your convenience.

Cathy from Over the Moon Farm has brought us some 8 - 12 pound organic chickens - they'll make a week of back-to-school meals. Twin Creeks has brought schnitzels from their pastured pork, perfect for a hearty breakfast or quick supper.

If you had no luck at the Salmon Derby, we have pickerel, whitefish, lake trout and rainbow. Did I mention how good Ken's Wow Wasabi sauce is on fish? More Estevan tuna (truthfully the best I've ever eaten) is en route from Dianne (Cheadle) Deveraux in BC so we expect to add the olive oil and smoked varieties back to the shelf by the end of the week.

Look for Ron's full line of Windy Hill preserves - I particularly recommend trying the rhubarb and onion relish, on sausage or ham, or as a chutney with curry.

Last week I mentioned Tuesdays and Sundays, but I hadn't seen it myself. Now that I have I can honestly say it is a gem - 50 minutes that you will be so glad you spent in that lovely little theatre at Grey Roots.

My assistant David is back to McMaster for his second year - what a terrific help he was this summer. I won't be alone though - I'm very pleased that Owen, a grade 12 student from West Hill, will be working with us around his studies, and Susan will be back on Fridays after a little well-earned vacation time. This week please welcome Kelda who is visiting the store from Calgary.

Around the Sound is open Thursday and Friday from 10 until 7 and Saturday 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West, one block north of the library. Call if you need anything special at 519-370-2333.

See you there.
Anne

www.aroundthesoundfood.com

What greater compliment is there than that?! The back room is overflowing with nothing but the freshest from your neighbours at Twin Creeks, Wolf River, Bayview Organics, Persephone Garden, Silver Dollar and Soundview Orchards. First there's the whole salad - lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, and Laurel's balsamic vinaigrette. Then there are potatoes, zucchini, beans, onions, garlic and peppers "hot, sweet and exotic". We'd love to see every herb have a happy home, so Kathy is taking orders for her basil, dill, parsley (curly and Italian) Thai basil, Thyme, etc.

We've added one more variety of plum to the store this week for a total of four, along with Red Haven peaches. And the new apples just keep coming from Soundview Orchards- the tart varieties of the early season.

Speaking of apples, we had a fascinating visit from the folks at O'Keefe Grange in Arran. They have heritage varieties of apples - one, called "Lady" is 5000 years old! On Thanksgiving weekend they'll have a heritage apple tasting. When you've chosen your favourite they will graft it for you and NEXT Thanksgiving you can come and pick up your own tree for (I think I'm remembering correctly) thirty dollars. That's the most exciting way to promote bio-diversity I've ever seen.

If all that is making you think apple pie, just check the top left shelf of the black freezer for Barb's ready to bake pies. And if you're in the "mode", the ice cream is just to the right. We have seven flavours of Mapleton's Organic and a new Raspberry Chocolate Chunk from Organic Meadows.

While I'm in the sweet section, Trudy's brownies, carrot cake and cranberry oat cookies are always favourites. We discovered a new treat at Summerfolk and are now carrying organic spelt cookies from New Moon Kitchen - dairy and egg-free but certainly not flavour-free - Chocolate Mint, Ginger Snap, Moka, Oatmeal Goldies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. There's also a gluten-free chocolate macaroon.

Margaret keeps making your gluten-free favourites. The samples of her peach coffee cake were a big hit last week with everyone, and she makes savoury breads, muffins, pies, tarts, cookies, and cakes to order as well as for our freezer.

Saturday may rain so after you've shopped at Around the Sound and the Market, it'll be a great day for the first ever Wellness Roadtrip. This self-guided tour includes visits, samples and demonstrations at nine venues with local wellness practitioners. Tickets, which include a chance to win a prize package worth over $3500, are available from the Ginger Press.

This weekend and next you can also see "Tuesdays and Sundays", a poignant one act play produced at Grey Roots by a new professional theatre company in Owen Sound - Union Eight. We're proud to have offered a little help to this production as it was financed in part by sales in Around the Sound of a yoga DVD by the director Clare Preuss. Ah, you've got to love that kind of symbiosis.

Thanks to everyone who sent me the link to the excellent little video about where our food comes from. See it yourself at www.eatrealeatlocal.ca
And look at the wonderful vignettes about Around the Sound producers put together by Jon Lawless and Michal McCurdy over the summer at www.youtube.com/aroundthesoundfood

Around the Sound Local Food Market is open Thursday and Friday from 10 until 7 and Saturday 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West, just a block north of the library.
Call if you need something special put away for you - we're now regularly saving bread for a few savvy customers and calling others when their favourite foods are in.

See you Around the Sound!
Anne

519-370-2333
www.aroundthesoundfood.com

I couldn't resist writing to tell you that the back room is full of peaches and plums - all naturally grown, chemical-free. There are yellow plums and peaches from Niagara and purple and yellow plums and peaches from Huron county.
Three varieties of early apples are in - Lodi, Vista Bella and Melba.
And for those with a little more patience, Wally has planted ever-bearing strawberries in the grow-up pots.

There are five kinds of beans - green, yellow, burgundy, dragon's tongue and French filet.
White, Red and Yukon Gold potatoes are available - babies and full-sized.
Lettuce is in seven varieties and two colours, along with lettuce mix and the spicy mix in bags.
Someone bought hot peppers today to stuff with feta, but there are cool cumbers if that's more your taste, and some fresh dill to add to a creamy cucumber salad.

See you Around the Sound!

Anne

Okay, so some things work out loud that are not so effective in writing. One of those is an apology - again - for whatever techno-ineptitude made last week's newsletter arrive empty and then full, but a week late. Sigh.

Summerfolk was a great success in so many ways, not the least of which was the opportunity to show off great local food in the General Store and the Food Village. Hoots and Hellmouth, a young band from Philadelphia, asked to do a special workshop on local community and we shared Kelsey's bread and Kristine's veggies with the assembled multitudes. Thanks Liz, Andrew, David and Ted for all your help.

I managed to mix a little business with pleasure while I was at Summerfolk too - if you can call getting free samples of cookies business! They are made with organic spelt and are dairy, egg and nut free. I tested them out only on people between 18 and 30 (who were very receptive), so when I get them in the store this week, please look for your opportunity to continue my market research on my first five flavours.

Look for three kinds of new potatoes in the store this week as well as zucchinis, cucumbers, hot and sweet peppers and lots of beans - green, yellow and dragon's tongue!!

More beautiful tomatoes will be in this week - add Al or Norm's garlic, our olive oil, fresh herbs and Axel's feta and you have the most amazing bruschetta topping for Kelsey's rustic Italian bread.

If you missed the fabulous Strawberry Social, here's an invitation to what will no doubt be another sell-out at the Wiarton Market.

"Come out and celebrate tomato season in Grey-Bruce at our Fresh Tomato Pasta Dinner at the Wiarton Farmers' Market.

Join us this Friday, August 21st at the Farmers' Market in Bluewater Park.
Market runs from 1pm, dinner from 5 to 8pm. Live music! Kids activities! And a Natural Gardening Seminar by Harold Priebe, author of "Old is New Again".

Dinner features local organic tomatoes with bocconcini cheese and fresh basil salad, pasta with seasonal vegetables, grilled sausage and bison meatballs, fresh baked italian bread, homemade peach pie, coffee and punch.

Meal $12, kids under 12 $6

Reserve your meal by calling (519) 534-2043
***Please pass this message along and post it to anyone who loves good food and local produce!***

Around the Sound is open Thursday and Friday from 10 until 7 and Saturday from 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West, just a block north of the Library.
Please call us at 370-2333 if there's anything you need.
www.aroundthesoundfood.com

Anne

Part of the Georgian Bay Folk Society's commitment to the people and environment of our region is its celebration of local food at Summerfolk. Enjoy the work of local cooks and community organizations in the food village and look for delicious offerings from our local producers in the General Store to take home. At1:30 on Sunday in the food village, look for Hoots and Hellmouth's contribution to "radical localism".

Meanwhile, back at the store...

"A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou singing in the wilderness.." If this is more the way you enjoy your music, we have most of what you need for such a romantic picnic.
Fresh bread comes every day, and the ciabata buns are especially good picnic food. We carry a range of Millbank cheeses including the popular organic cheddar with sundried tomato and garlic. Goat chevre - a fresh spreadable cheese - is available in plain, dill and garlic flowers in sunflower oil. Feta in olive oil and herbs is wonderful on its own or as a dressing for salad. Summer sausage or smoked tuna all make great sandwiches - try them with Ken's "Goop" and you'll never go back to plain mayonnaise.

Visit Coffin Ridge winery for that part of the poetry,
then take your "thou" of choice by the hand and off you go.

Beans, peas, cucumbers, red potatoes, red and yellow tomatoes, lettuce mix, cabbage, zucchini - early apples, late black raspberries and apricots are all coming in from the garden this week.

Look on the jam and condiment shelves and see what Trudy and Laura have been doing with the fruits of the season. Spicy strawberry sauce, chunky steak sauce, blueberry sauce and several delicious things with cranberry.

Please ask if there is something you'd like to see in the store and I'll try my best to find it for you, and call if you want me to put your favourite away for you.

Around the Sound is open Thursday and Friday from 10 until 7 and Saturday 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West, and remember, there is free parking round back.

See you soon.
Anne

519-370-2333
aroundthesoundfood.com

I am so very grateful to those farmers and market gardeners who provide vegetables to Around the Sound. Growing vegetables is very hard work, made all the more challenging by the soil and climate of Grey and Bruce counties and this year's weather in particular. Every one of our growers has made the choice to use natural, sustainable practices to grow your food. Some like Persephone Market Garden in Allenford and Wolf River Farm in Leith are new to market gardening, and others like Hemstock Mill, Twin Creeks and Bayview Organics are more experienced, but all of them are committed to continually learning more about their land and the good food it can grow.

I'll know in the morning exactly what we'll have this week - last week we had carrots, beans with summer savory, yellow and green zucchinis (summer squash), six kinds of heritage lettuce and two bagged lettuce mixes, two kinds of radishes, rainbow chard, red and golden beets, red and yellow tomatoes and the first garlic of the season.

One of my highlights last week was hearing a girl in her twenties say to her friends "What do you mean what is this? It's kohlrabi ...it is the BEST vegetable." If you haven't tried it yet you can steam it, eat it raw, or add it to curries, stir-fry or stew.

This week Wolf River Farm has promised "Black Raspberries, Carrots, Snow Peas, Purple Peas, A few Hungarian Hot Peppers, Parsley, Cut Flowers and pounds of Cucumbers".

If you like a little something on your vegetables, try our Ontario sunflower oil, fair-trade olive oil, organic butter or a little grated pecorino or cheddar cheese.

New potatoes, Laura's lemon sage mustard and mayonnaise make a great potato salad accompaniment to Winston's pickerel or rainbow trout. Steamed beans or snow peas, the canned organic mixed beans and Laurel's balsamic vinaigrette make a great main course salad - serve with mixed greens and some of Kelsey's great bread. For dessert? A warm cranberry ginger oat square from the Williamsford Pie Company with a little scoop of Mapleton's Organic Vanilla or Ginger Ice Cream.

I'm really enjoying hearing from newsletter readers from all over, and I do promise that your recipes and ideas will be posted on the website soon. Here's a little challenge. Forward this newsletter and let's gather great local food ideas from far and wide. If your friend from afar writes to me and mentions they got the newsletter from you, I'll put your name in a draw for a $20 gift certificate from Around the Sound.

Around the Sound is at 972 1st Avenue West in Owen Sound, just a block north of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. We're open Thursday and Friday, 10 until 7 and
Saturday 10 until 4. You can reach us at 519-370-2333 or through www.aroundthesoundfood.com

See you soon
Anne

Ken Bustin, The Pickle Guy, has been making pickles and sauces in Grey County for 20+ years, and he has it down to a fine art. His Million Dollar Relish is my burger topping of choice, Peach and Red Pepper Chutney accompanies my curry and the Asian Sauce is a great stir-fry addition. But until this past weekend there was one product I had not yet tasted. We were having Winston's beautiful rainbow trout and I was in the mood for a bit of a bite, so I opened a jar of Ken's Wow Wasabi Sauce and put a spoonful on Ted's plate. The first word out of his mouth was "Wow!" It's a delicious creamy mayonnaise-type sauce with wasabi, horseradish, roasted garlic, mustard seed, crushed chili peppers, turmeric and curry.

The bees are really challenged this summer - they cannot do their work in the rain. But the new crop is starting to come in from Chatsworth Honey, McPhail's in Durham, and Song Sparrow in Meaford. Look for your favourite - clover, buckwheat, creamed, wildflower, flavoured, honeycomb or honey butter.

The rain and cool weather have affected everything in the field and orchard of course, but this just might be the weekend for the first of this year's garlic and apples, carrots and beans.

If the long weekend means a holiday from cooking, Bogusia's cabbage rolls, both beef and pork, are in the freezer. Or visit her at the Friday Farmer's Market or her restaurant in Meaford. Sara's Incredible Edibles is bringing us lasagnes and quiches, and Brenda and Axel are both trying their best to keep up with your demand for meat pies.

Sunday looks like it might be picnic day. How about smoked whitefish, some blanched snow peas and zucchini spears and a dip of sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic pate? A loaf of rustic Italian bread, some fresh fruit, and a couple of lemongrass and ginger sodas. And perhaps one of Trudy's chocolate chip cookies or Laura's cranberry ginger oat squares to finish off. If you're hiking or biking, almond butter sandwiches, elk or venison pepperettes, granola bars and soya nuts all pack well.

If Monday turns out to be a rainy lie-in day for you, take a cup of freshly roasted Back Eddie's coffee back to bed with you with a good book from one of our great local bookstores. When you do get up for brunch, try something new. Gooseberry jam or maple butter on some of Kelsey's cranberry oat or currant pumpkin seed toast. Or eggs with a little local summer sausage or kielbossa. Or multi-grain pancakes with fresh raspberries.

Around the Sound is open Thursday and Friday 10 until 7 and Saturday 10 until 4 at 972 1st Avenue West. Feel free to call if you want something put away for you.
519-370-2333, www.aroundthesoundfood.com

See you soon.
Anne

Two timely messages -

Around the Sound is pleased to be a ticket outlet for the Collingwood Music Festival - dedicated to the best in Canadian professional classical and World music. Visit their website www.collingwoodmusicfestival.com for details on the remaining five performances and phone them or drop in to Around the Sound for tickets.

The "grow up" pots at the front and back of Around the Sound are growing beautifully, but it's time for someone to enjoy their "harvest" at home. This week the pots are $20, fully planted with tomatoes, herbs or ever-bearing strawberries, while they last.

See you Around the Sound!
Anne