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Dear Friend of the Farm
Every year around this time something magical happens.
The evenings get just a little darker a little earlier, a growing chill persists throughout the twilight hours, and then, the first cold front of the impending winter months rolls in off the Atlantic, blanketing the Cape with heavy downpours. Shortly afterwards mushrooms begin to seemingly wake up from their slumber in our forests, gardens and farmlands.
If you head up into the mountains this autumn you may come across the Mushroom Forager, Justin Williams, our new supplier of wild, edible mushrooms who will be providing us with varieties such as porcini, pine rings, field mushrooms, blewits and more. There is no general rule of thumb when it comes to identifying which ones are safe to eat, except for having field knowledge and experience. The Mushroom Forager brings a few years of experience to the (harvest) table so you can be assured that the mushrooms you are getting are 100% safe.
There is, we discovered, a thriving online community of mycology devotees who swap tips on the best fungi gathering sites, offering second opinions on mystery mushrooms and, location permitting, hunting together in woods nearby. They are cautious and methodical.
"Inside all of us there is a whoop for joy to be found upon encountering an undisturbed patch of chanterelle or porcini, just waiting to get out," says Justin.
The first heavy rains of the season fell a week ago and now Justin is waiting anxiously for the forest floor to erupt with mushrooms.
That first bloom of fungi, which has been delayed by drought, will draw mushroom hunters. Mushroom hunting has grown in popularity in the past five years, thanks to foraging classes and tours, word-of-mouth publicity and hype from chefs who are featuring wild mushrooms in their restaurants.
A good way to start in your area? Attend a local workshop given by expert foragers, like Justin and Roushanna Gray – and you're in luck - there is one on Saturday 14 May 2016.
Foragers are hungry for more than mushrooms, too. Wild food and foraging is inspiring backyard gardeners to explore outside their fences and growing numbers of urban foragers are seeking edible greens and roots, along pavements and roadways.
From the nutty flavour of porcini to the delicious creamy taste of blewits, there are a horde of wild flavours waiting to be unlocked this autumn and winter at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market Day.
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Market Day Saturday 9 April 2016 from 9am to 2pm, Granger Bay at the V&A Waterfront
What's in Season
We've got fresh turmeric root for you this Saturday. This spice adds more than excitement for the tongue. Dozens of studies have revealed many clinical benefits associated with curcumin. They include antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory activity and protection against chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
 The unsung hero of the vegetable world, knobbly, odd-shaped celeriac also just called celery root — has got to be the craggiest, least lovable plant there is. Covered in hairy roots and clods of dirt, it’s like the hobbit of the vegetable world. Give it some time, though, and it’ll pay you back: celeriac has all the mellow, vegetal flavour of celery and none of the stringy wateriness. The leaves are edible and the French, who know a thing or two about cooking, carefully keep them and use them to add a celery flavour to soups and stews.
You don’t want to eat it just because it looks so g ood on your kitchen counter. And surprise…it's just as gorgeous inside. Dragon fruit is often called pitaya. It grows from cacti. “The flower can’t bloom during the day because the sun would burn the flower,†says farmer Fan Olivier in Portervile. “It pops out at night. It blooms to the full moon. If the flower does not get pollinated, the bloom will fall to the ground. And if the bloom falls to the ground, no fruit.†On the continents where the cactus normally grows, bats and moths take care of pollination duties. Farmers who grow dragon fruit domestically have to go out into the fields under a full moon and pollinate the flowers by hand.
Market Information
We suggest that you come early to ensure the pick of the crop.
 If you’ve forgotten your own shopper we have locally made cotton OZCF shoppers for R120 and gorgeous woven baskets for sale. We also sell OZCF branded short and long sleeved shirts, caps and safari style hats, and linen aprons unique to OZCF, available in stone or sage green.
We're happy to offer you a simple, easy, convenient and free payment solution as an alternative to cash payments. SnapScan is a smartphone app that lets you use your phone to make secure payments. It’s free to use and free to download so it’s perfect if you don’t want to carry cash. Read more here.
We're also able to offer credit card payments, and we accept cash.
Entrance: There is no fee to enter the market. Pedestrian entrances are open directly from The Lookout and on Beach Road, and cyclists, joggers, dog walkers and others are most welcome.
Public transport: The MyCiTi 104 route stops opposite the market on Beach Road and at the main V&A Waterfront stop. The T01 also stops there, as well as on Granger Bay Blvd a block from the market.
Uber to the Market: Proud to announce that OZCF Market Day has partnered with Uber to get our customers to and from the Market safely and in style. We'll reward you by giving you a 10% discount for purchases in the OZCF Veg Tent on sales of R200 and more upon sight of your Uber receipt. And you'll get a free pomegranate. New to Uber? Sign up here and enter the promo code EASTERSA for a free first ride up to R100.
Cycle or Walk: Cycle or walk to the Market, or as many have been doing - enjoy a walk along Beach Road and take an Uber home. Hire a cycle from Up Cycles on the Sea Point Promenade and ride to the Market. Rent a bike from Up Cycles at their station at the Sea Point Promenade and take a leisurely ride along the coast all the way to the OZCF Market Day to claim your reward. To get 10% off your smoothie from The Shakedown, simply show your Up Cycle rental slip to Richard and Corina who will reward you with 10% off the price.
Parking: Parking is a pleasure - either on site at The Lookout (R10 for the entire day), in one of the many V&AW parking garages, at The Grand Cafe and Beach with a short walk up the wooden steps to the market, or you can park for free along Beach Road, opposite the Somerset Hospital and Fort Wynyard – the gate on Beach Road into the Market site will be open on Saturdays. Map and further details on the website.
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What do our farmers have to offer you this week?
Do you have a palette for Mexican food or own a Mexican Restaurant? Abalimi's Farmer Christina Kaba has harvested an abundance of red jalapeño chilli peppers. Their shiny red skin is smooth and usually marked with characteristic striations known as “corkingâ€. Their crisp flesh is slightly sweeter than the immature green jalapeno and has a notably hotter spice. Depending upon variety its Scoville range is from 2,000 to 10,000 units, so quite mild. (One of the hottest peppers on the Scoville scale is the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper at 850k - 2.2m units). Add fresh or roasted Red Jalapenos to salsas, sauces, guacamole, stews, soups, tamales, casseroles, dips or anything else that can take a little heat. When dried and smoked the Red Jalapeno is the most common pepper used to make chipotle peppers.
 Farmer Josephine Fitzmaurice at OZCF has two varieties of fresh basil this week: the sweet Italian kind, known as Sweet Genovese an the Purple Opal Basil. Basil contains a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. Fresh basil can liven up a pasta sauce or salad, even a cocktail or dessert. There’s pretty much nothing that basil can’t hang with, which is why it should be you go-to herb from here on out. There's wonderful basil pesto for sale at the market by Jules of the Real Food Factory – but if you're feeling energetic here's a fabulous basil pesto recipe.
"Harvesting sweet potatoes is like digging for treasure", says Biodynamic Farmer Francois Malan of White Mountain Natural Produce near Tulbach who has harvested Beauregard Sweet Potatoes for the market. Sweet potatoes are good for people with diabetes because they do not raise blood sugar and their complex carbohydrates break down slowly rather than flooding the bloodstream with glucose. For as sweet as they are, sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index (which means they release sugar slowly into the bloodstream).
Farmers Lynette and Fanie Fourie of Eikelaan Farm just outside of Tulbagh have delivered herb salad, leeks, butternut, quinces and brinjals.
Farmer Fan Olivier of Houdconstant in Porterville, has sent wonderful lemons, pomegranate arils and Ronde de Bordeaux figs. Farmer Jan Eksteen of Uitkijk Farm in Voor Paardeberg, Paal has picked boxes of purple Evita figs.
Farmer Eric Swarts has sent the crispiest of green beans. From the dedicated farmers of Abalimi Bezekhaya on the Cape Flats we have brinjals, beets, sweet yellow peppers and spring onions.
Farmers David and Charlene Rothquel from Klein Namaquasfontein near Redelinghuys on the West Coast have brought fresh lavender flowers and oil and Favlosa Olive Oil. David is waiting to share his knowledge with you.
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What do our traders have to offer you this week?
Spices are the words with which Cass Abrahams tells the bittersweet culinary tale of the Cape Malay community and she is determined that the world should know, and taste, their rich and delicious history. We welcome new trader Shakira Abrahams, Cass's daughter. The culture of the Malay community is inextricably couched in its recipes, some dating back 300 years. They are jealously guarded family heirlooms. "When an outsider requests a recipe it is often given with an essential ingredient or step missing", explains Cass. Five ingredients you could never do without? "Saffron, garlic, chilli, cumin and coriander. I couldn’t possibly prepare briyani without them," smiles Cass.
There's a new spread in town: Tahini. Charne and team of Sababa have a 30% discount on tahini paste, often found on shawarma, on your salad or stirred into hummus. It's made of ground-up, hulled sesame seeds and has a smooth, nutty flavour. Oh, and it's delicious.
Is it possible to juice a pomegranate at home? Absolutely. In fact you can do so with a juicer, a blender, and even the palm of your hand. But is it cost effective? Not so much. While pomegranate juice is decidedly pricey at the supermarkets, the number of pomegranates you’d need to make juice at home could cost quite a bit too. But, Jesse and Ash of Bonder have a special this week – take home a litre of pomegranate juice for only R65.
If that's not reason enough to join us this Saturday, then try local, artisanal cheeses from Around Cheese, chunky bread from Woodstock Bakery, smoked fish and pate from Delifish, a selection of sublime olives from Chrisna’s.
Mark and Cameron of Hart Nursery are on site every Saturday at Market Day to answer all your gardening queries. They offer organically grown vegetable seedlings, compost and flowering and indoor plants.
Tracey of Village Gardens will have worm farms on sale. Put your fruit and veggie peels and newspapers into the worm farm to feed your worms. In return you can collect worm castings and worm tea to feed your plants.
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See you at Market Day at Granger Bay, V&A Waterfront or at the Farm in Upper Orange St, Oranjezicht.
Remember to Eat Your Greens
The Oranjezicht City Farm Team
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