Imagine the possibility of an urban farm within Thorncliffe Park’s densely populated neighborhood of high rise apartments?

Yes, Thorncliffe Park Urban Farmers (TPUF) features  a unique oasis of beauty  behind Buildings #53 and #71.

Amaranth

A very interesting vegetable, which comes in green, red or green/red colors. The common name is “Callaloo” in Caribbean culture. In Asia it is known as “Chinese Spinach” or “Indian Spinach. The leaves have an earthy, mildly nutty flavor and taste somewhat like spinach.

My Jamaican gardener friend likes Callaloo and Saltfish.  We met at our community garden and her gardening skills are her traditional ways that she incorporates into the Canadian way of gardening.  But she refuses to accept our local belief that Amaranth is weeds and is not to be consumed.  In her loud Jamaican accent, she exclaimed “no, no, don’t send these to compost, they are edible vegetables”.  A few days later she dug into her backpack and brought out a container of Callaloo and Saltfish for me to taste.  It was ok for me, but I preferred my Chinese way of quick sautéing of Callaloo with fresh tomatoes.

Basil

Basils are great companions to tomatoes as they repel certain pests. Gardeners also believe that basil makes tomatoes sweeter.

When I harvested tomatoes, the nearby companion Basils were so aromatic.  I shared my Basils with my Italian neighbor. She is a good cook and when she expressed that the Basils were excellent, this compliment was remarkable, especially when conveyed from an Italian perspective.  She then invited me to share the special pasta that she cooked with my fresh Basils.  This simplicity of sharing  my organic vegetables enhanced friendship and community spirit.

Cilantro

This herb of refreshing taste has a life-cycle. It flowers and goes to seed. It dries and turns into my table’s floral arrangement before the seeds are saved for the next season.

One of our late mom’s favorite dishes was her Chicken Rice, a family recipe she mastered from our late dad.  She garnished this dish with fresh Cilantro.  Unfortunately, Cilantro was not my cup of tea, so I just pushed this herb aside.  We had a strict upbringing that all food that was placed on our plate had to be consumed.  But due to the unique strong flavor of Cilantro, our mom made an exception and we were allowed to forgo the Cilantro.  Indeed, what a relief!

However, after personally growing and experiencing the fresh scent of Cilantro, I began to appreciate this herb.  I especially like Cilantro with Chutney, a sauce that complements Samosa, a popular South/West Asian snack.