Kelowna's Juicy Tips

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On a recent visit to Sunshine Farm, I met owners John and Sher Alcock, and had the pleasure of walking through their abundant and well-kept organic fields. John pulled some beautiful carrots out of the ground, rinsed them off, and gave me and my guests each one to crunch on as we walked. The carrots were all intense colours: reds, mauves, yellows, whites, oranges. Beets, chard, tomatoes, arugula, and various herbs were all growing in big healthy patches.

Look at those carrots! Photo by Jennifer Cockrall-King

The main reason for this posting is to tell you about the pumpkin pie recipe on Sunshine’s website, but I will get to that in a minute. First, I want to tell you about the fact that they supply a number of restaurants with their organic vegetables, and they also have them for sale at the Farmers’ Market (Saturdays and Wednesdays, corner of Dilworth and Springfield roads). Just look for the bright carrots!

Freshly washed. Photo by Jennifer Cockrall-King

John and Sher also sell a variety of vegetable and herb seeds, mostly heirloom and heritage varieties. This industrious family works with Community Living BC to employ a number of people for their Vocational Development program. Community Living BC delivers support and services to people with developmental disabilities, children with special needs and their families in British Columbia.

Photo by Jennifer Cockrall-King

Sher let me in on a Thanksgiving secret that I wanted to pass on to you: the best pumpkin pies are made with squash. Now, I love my pumpkin pie, but I’m open to new ideas, so I will have to try this out. You can find squash (or pumpkins) at the Farmers’ Market – and of course, Sunshine’s stand at the market will have squash.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, and let me know what you think of using squash rather than pumpkin- I’d love to know what you think!