Daily Harvest: 100 Metre Diet
Here at the Riverdale Hub, we like to brag about being the greenest building in East Toronto. In our beautifully renovated, 100-year-old building we have geothermal heating, multiple solar panel installations, a rainwater and native plant garden, passive heating and cooling systems, a green roof, and more. Most precious to our hearts (and our mouths!), however, is the rooftop garden. The garden is of central importance to a number of the programs offered by the Riverdale Immigrant Women's Centre to marginalized women in our community, and it's a beautiful point of connection to both our natural world and our local food community.
As the growing season is shooting up its first tentative shoots, we are excited to feature items on our menu that were grown right above our heads, aided by the care and attention of our staff members and women in our community. We hope to showcase these items in order to draw attention to issues of food security and our local food systems, and to educate our community about new fruits, vegetables, greens, and herbs!
This week we're enjoying our very first harvest - chives and lamb's quarters! You can enjoy them in "The Social Garden" Salad, on "The Roberta" Wrap, or on the side of any of our sandwiches when you eat in-house!
Chives
Chives are the smallest member of the allium family, which includes onions, garlic, and leeks. The hollow green stalks and purple flowers are both edible and have a mild, spicy flavour.
Due to sulfur compounds found in the stalks, chives can act as an insect repellent. However, their flowers attract bees, making them an ideal plant for beneficial pest management.
While their milder flavour means they do not possess the therapeutic qualities often attributed to garlic, chives are high in vitamins A & C, as well as calcium and iron.
Chives are perennial and will spread rapidly, but can be cut and frozen for use throughout the year.
Lamb's Quarters
Lamb's Quarters is a wild edible often considered a weed. The leaves have an earthy taste similar to spinach or collard greens.
Often found in areas with depleated or contaminated soil, lamb's quarters acts as a purifier and can help return lost nutrients to the soil.
Lamb's quarters is related to quinoa and is high in vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium.
