The Freshness of Summer (Kind of Healthy Pop)

INGREDIENTS (I normally make a triple batch and then pressure can the extra for winter time enjoyment)


5 ounces rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 1 cup)

1 cup granulated sugar ( I use organic cane sugar or maple syrup )

1 1/4 cups water

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and stir. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rhubarb is falling apart and the color has bled into the syrup, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the heat and, using a fine-mesh strainer, strain and discard the rhubarb solids (or now use to make muffins). Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then transfer it to a resealable container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Uses

Pour aprox 1/4 cup of syrup into a glass of club soda or spring water for a refreshing drink.

Add to fruit salad or plain yogurt

Reduce a little more by cooking longer and top pound cake or angel food cake

Enjoy

All in a Days Work

It can't help but make your heart sing when you have your hands in the soil and your face in the sun. Even when the rain is coming down there is so much that we can enjoy doing here and we still get lots accomplished in the day.

The morning always starts off with milking the cows, rotating them to their day time pasture, feeding the pigs, then on to the meat chickens and laying hens. Then it is time to get the green house doors opened up and water the seedlings.

The rain has stopped so now is the time to get the globe artichokes in, this is our first year for this crop so we are looking forward to it very much, beautiful boston crisp head lettuce was planted in the garden as was the first round of cucumber seedlings. It always feels good to get these little guys in their permanent home. While everything looks so tiny and very spaced out in the neat little rows, it will not be long until the rows are over flowing in to the neighbouring row filled with produce begging to be picked.

The red currants are over loaded with berries, the gooseberries look about the same. Our raspberry patch has grown to three times the size in one season, but I have no idea what it will have to offer us this year as last year we did not get a crop. The new Haskap Berry bushes have been planted in a nice hedge row along the split rail cedar fence where we can enjoy the fragrance of the blossoms and the plump berries to come.

Soon enough it will be time to start our year new round CSA customers. I can not wait to see the delight in their eyes when the get the first basket of the season. This always gives me the feeling of hard work pays off. It is hard work here every day, but every day it pays off.

Now that the gardening part of the day has come to an end, it is time to get dinner on. Nothing like getting out our own meat from the freezer, preserves of the shelf and veggies to go with it for a beautiful  meal that will be prepared with love.

Now it's time to enjoy the kids as we head off to their baseball game. We all know how fast they grow and how quick things change so for now all I can do is enjoy the moment and be thankful for all I have.

New Life

There is always so much excitement going on around us, we just have to stop and take the time to see it, hear it and feel it. Little things really are big things, it's those little things that make you smile softly, that make your heart melt and make you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be at this moment.

We are fortunate enough to see new life here all the time. It is never any less anticipated or less exciting. Sometimes though when it is unexpected it is like receiving a special little gift, something that makes you stop for a minute and appreciate all you have.

This is our newest gift, one that we check on daily and are very much anticipating.

So for now we are happy to let the tractor rest, while momma flies in and out doing her job. We will watch them hatch, grow feathers and then take flight all the while being thankful we had the chance to enjoy this bit of New Life.

A Visitor From the Past

Today was a day like no other. It started out as usual, tending to the animals, milking, changing bedding, planting the garden and so on. But then.......wow!

I was upstairs getting ready to head out for an apt when my husband came up and said, "Angie you need to come downstairs there are two ladies coming up the driveway". I explained to him I was was already running late, could he see if he could help them and I would be down in a minute.

I heard them all chatting and it didn't seem like they needed my help with anything so I finished getting ready and headed down. There they were chatting on the front porch. I said hello and listened in on the conversation. It didn't take me long to realize one of the woman used to live in our house.

When we bought our house 8 years ago we were told it was about 30 years old and that a fella went out west and brought back the logs of a 100 year old barn to build the house. I didn't doubt that the logs were from a barn but I could not figure out why one would travel so far to get them. Well, now it makes sense.

She lived in our house in 1971. When she bought it, it was about 150 years old then??? Wondering how this could be, I listened intently as she explained that at that time our 5 bedroom 2500 sq foot log house was just a little two room house, with two bed rooms upstairs. The addition is now 38 years old but the original house which is our kitchen, living room and two bedrooms upstairs is almost 200 years old. Now I can understand why such care was taken to go and purchase 100 year old logs to match the existing logs in our home.

Experiencing this gentle woman's delight in finding her old homestead was something I will never forget. She told us how the lilacs, that we sit and enjoy being intoxicated by their perfume are the same as they were back then. Where the well she put in still sits buried and now will be found, how the chapel that sat on our property just in our next driveway was purchased and moved to find a new home at Upper Canada Village. She explained that driving here she was ready to see that the house was gone, she said she had people regularly stopping to ask if they could purchase the house so they could move it and place it in historical sites such as Upper Canada Village. Thank heavens she always said "NO".

I felt a connection, to her, to the past, to this house. One of my first questions to her was, did you have a cook stove in the kitchen, she replied well yes of course. I smiled and said we just bought one to go in it's place. She went on to explain the layout of the house and where all of the stoves were in order to heat it. We had already sort of figured that out due to chimneys and so on that are no longer in use. There was one though that I had not realized in our oldest sons room. She said it was an old box stove. I didn't think much of it at the time, but tonight I realized something. Part of that old box stove adorns my living room. The heavy cast iron decorative panel that for some reason I put on display. I dug it out of the basement all those years ago just because it was beautiful. The rest of the stove is still down there in pieces as it all fits together to form a box. Why did I keep it? It could have went for scrap metal one of the many times we have removed piles of junk from the property.
                                       

Anyone that knows me well, I am sure would not be shocked I kept it. They may tell you I kept it just because it's old. I seem to have this connection to the past that I cherish. I will find the old way of doing anything and go back to it because it just feels right, I will buy an old antique butter block to mold my butter rather than buy a cheaper new one. I will  (ok my husband will) fix an old tool before buying a new one. I will cook on my wood cook stove before I will use the conventional oven. For some reason it's who I am. My husband has said on more than one occasion, "you were born in the wrong generation, your time was years ago". Maybe, but maybe some of us are here because we need to hold on to these connections from the past to bring them forward.

We invited her inside to see the house, she was more than delighted that we would do this. She walked in the front door and it was as if her heart sank (in a good way). She went over to the butcher block counter top and started rubbing it and said oh my God  it's still here. She went on to tell us that when they purchased our home it was nothing but a shell and that they had to redo the inside. She said she saved her money for years before she could have a man make her the counter tops and cupboards. All of a sudden they had so much more meaning to them. The love she had for her home was incredible, she was touching the logs like a mother would touch her child. There was no doubt that she was revisiting days gone by and sweet memories that will always live on.

She told us about when they were purchasing the house they searched the deed, she went on to explain about the fact that this was one of the first houses to be built in Ontario when the Settlers arrived here. That the logs are cedar and they are from right across the road. That piece of property was part of this property at one time. Perhaps it will one day be a part of our property again, we have discussed purchasing it in the past but it seems as though it has new meaning now.

She asked us, didn't you know that you live in a Heritage Home? Did we,not consciously. But can someone please explain why our farm is called Heritage Harvest Farm. It will always make me smile to remember her comment, "it is so good to see people using this place like it was meant to be used.

Judy moved to Scotland back in 1971 with the intention to come back to this house. As she said, life intervened and she is just now making the trip home. I was delighted to hear her say, this is exactly what we had planned to do with it.

Thank you Judy for giving us more than you will ever know.

Mother Nature

I will keep this short and sweet. I can only imagine how much our year round customers and anticipating the start of another new season, as I am beginning to get impatient myself.

I promise each and everyone of you that just as soon as we can get you a beautiful basket of goodness we will get right to it. This year, just like every other year we have tried to push the limits with Mother Nature.
Of course she wins every time! I know that but I continue to push limits just hoping to be able to surprise our customers.

That being said last weeks work of planting went down the drain and now we start again as tomatoes do not like zero degrees lol. Now back to work I go. Have a wonderful day

Gardening Workshop, It's Time to Grow Again

                                           ***CHANGE OF DATE TO MAY 19th***

Finally the time of year has arrived that we can get our hands in the dirt. You know fingernails full of dirt, earth caked on your hands. Who needs gloves lets just get dirty.

It's not that I wasn't on the ball with our Gardening Workshops this year, it's simply that I didn't think the time would ever come that I could book a date and count on the weather. The time is now, so let's get right to it.

Class Date:    Sunday May 19th 
Time:              10:30 - 1:30
Lunch:            Please bring a bagged lunch with you
Class Fee:      $30.00

Many of you joined us last year and we discussed Straw Bale Gardening and Lasagna Gardening. We had a great day and the weather cooperated with lots of sun.

This year we will turn to other gardening methods.

Extending your seasons - Both getting an early start and keeping things growing into January or later with out any fancy equipment. 

Weeds - No one enjoys pulling weeds, but it does not have to be a daunting task. We will show you how to avoid almost all of them. And eat the rest.

Tomatoes and Peppers - Every home garden needs at least a few of each. Why are the leaves turning yellow? What about all the little black spots on my tomato leaves. The bottoms are rotting, does this sound familiar? We will give you some easy, organic, free fixes for that problem

Container Gardening - Even the smallest balcony can grow an amazing amount of food. Don't let limited space stop you from enjoying fresh food.

Mulches and Row Covers - Each of these things can be your best friends in the garden

Perennial Edibles - Imagine low maintenance plants that come back year after year. All you have to do is eat them. Sounds like the perfect garden.

We will go through all of this and more. Bring with you any questions you may have as well as a note book and pen to take any notes.

At the end of our workshop we will take a walk through the green houses as well as have a tour of the farm for anyone interested.

Pre registration is required. Payment is due at the time of registration.

Registration limited to 15 participants.

on line E-Transfers can be sent to angie10141(AT)hotmail.com

or payments can be dropped off at the farm.

We have Power

Today I came across this photo on Face Book. It stirred up many thoughts in my mind I let myself consider it for some time as I planted seeds in the garden. I was amazed at what strong emotions it stirred up. I had to wonder why was I feeling like this and what did it mean.


Reflecting on it further and investigating each reason a little deeper as they arose this is what I was left with.

As human beings we see something and on some level we relate to it, we then choose to share it and pass along the message. Most times it something that we either agree with on a very high level or we disagree with very strongly, it seems as those that are somewhere in between can just leave it be and it dose not affect them.

I wonder if we stop to think about the realities of the messages that we are sending out and passing on. How they have the ability to affect others, both in a positive or a negative way? Do we think about the messages on a deeper level or do they just touch the surface and then we never give it any further thought?

In the attached photo we see a group of young children; they look like they may be of African decent. They appear happy, well dressed and thriving. In the foreground we see a young Caucasian man, holding a hunk of meat and smiling. It then goes on to say GO VEGAN AND SAVE 800 MILLION STARVING PEOPLE

As most of you may know we own and operate a farm. We raise pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys and produce. What most of you do not know is that for myself I choose a Raw Food Diet consisting of fruits and vegetables. So now you can understand that the word "VEGAN" here does not bother me in any way shape or form.

What bothers me is the message it is potentially sending out.

*How do we think the people in what we consider to be "Less Fortunate" countries would feel being depicted this way?

*What gives us the right to attach the word "starving" to them?

*Do we want them to change their life style to match ours?

*How many of them do you truly think would trade places with you?

*How many of us have had the opportunity to visit them and recognize that what we consider to be starving and poor is a life to them that is filled with joy and abundance? As one man stated to us when we were on holidays and had him give us a private tour, "You all think we are poor, there is nothing that we go without. It is about family and food and that’s it" Wow those were words that I felt very lucky to hear and realized as North Americans it is our ego that makes us compare them to us.

Now the message that it actually states .

"For the feed costs of that steak, 50 of these children’s bowls could be filled with cooked cereal grains".

Now what we are implying is that all beef is raised and cared for in the same manor.
We are indicating that because of those people that choose to eat meat, others are starving.

I think this is a very unfair message regardless of if we eat meat or don't.
I wonder what the calculations would look like if we changed the statement to say.

*For the fossil fuel costs of that dress, __ of these children’s bowls could be filled with cooked cereal grains.

*For the costs of that bottle of wine, __ of these children’s bowls could be filled with cooked cereal grains.

*For the health related costs of that cigarette, __ of these children’s bowls could be filled with cooked cereal grains.

*For the costs of that fitness membership, __ of these children’s bowls could be filled with cooked cereal grains.

Would the message be the same? Would people think about it the same way? Would we give it any thought at all?

Are we just feeding our own needs to feel like we are doing something that matters? I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, but I do think that it is something worth thinking about.

As people we all share a tremendous amount of power. We have the power of suggestion, the power of criticism, the power of positivity and the power of negativity.

I wonder if we realize the impact we have on the world by the messages we send.

 

GO VEGAN AND SAVE 800 MILLION STARVING PEOPLE - Cornell University research has revealed that because beef cattle eat 16 pounds of grain for every pound of meat produced...