Harvest Haven Happenings

July 21, 2016

For flowers that bloom about our feet;

For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;

For song of bird, and hum of bee;

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Peter Cottontail

At Harvest Haven we are very thankful for all the blessings we've received from God. He has given us the work to do, the fruits of our labour, and others to share them with. In everything we give thanks.

Naturalist Johann Grander

Grander Water Revitalization is a natural technology from Austria which brings water back to life by restoring its original vitality and energy. It makes water more pleasurable for drinking and bathing, more effective for cleaning, enhancing anything that uses water. Revitalized water has a profound influence on all living things, but even mechanical and nonliving systems using water (boilers, cooling units, humidifiers) benefit from its enhanced properties. Read more about this remarkable technology here.

During the summer of 1996, we had a number of Hutterite colonies help us harvest strawberries. They told us about Grander Water Revitalization, insisting that it would increase our production along with sweeter berries. That season we harvested 3400 ice cream pails of strawberries from 7 acres.

That fall five acres of older strawberry plants were plowed under and one acre replaced. In the spring of 1997 we installed the Grander units to water the whole farm. By the fall we had harvested 3400 pails of strawberries from only three acres – the same number as from seven acres the year before. Victor couldn't believe the figures and thought there was some kind of mix up, suspecting he had been furnished with the 1996 records. But, they were 1997 and accurate. We were amazed!

The Grander Water was undoubtedly instrumental in the plants producing more abundant and sweeter fruit.

Grander has made a significant difference on the farm and we recommend it for everyone – except our competition, maybe.

Catch us at the Downtown Farmers' Market located in Festival Square, 3rd Avenue and 6th Street South Wednesdays from 10:00 AM till 3:00 PM.

We're Rolling Out the Rooster to Win next week. With every purchase over $20.00 you could win a $25.00 Harvest Haven gift certificate, a bag of Nature's Cargo Salt, a bottle of Harvest Haven Spice Blend, or some choice produce.

Everyone's a winner!

There was an overwhelming response to our call for raspberry pickers. It was great! Now, we need to wait for more berries to ripen.

If you would like to be added to our email list for raspberries, call 403-329-9157 or reply to this newsletter.

T-Bone Steaks – Sale $16.49/lb Reg. $18.99/lb

Boneless Leg of Lamb – Sale $14.99/lb Reg. $16.89/lb (See Recipe Box)

Fresh Garlic or Onion Beef Sausage – Sale: 3 pkgs for $8.29/lb Reg. $10.99/lb

Turkey Wings - Sale $3.49/lb Reg. $4.79/lb

Garlic Scapes - Sale 10 for $3.00 Reg. 5 for $2.00 (See Recipe Box)

Artesian Acres Pasta – 15% off

Organic Roasted and Salted Pistachios (227 g) - Sale $6.19/lb Reg. $6.95/lb

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Lemon, Herbs, and Garlic

For herb rub:

8 Harvest Haven garlic cloves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Harvest Haven thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Harvest Haven rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Harvest Haven parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

4 to 4 3/4-pound Harvest Haven boneless leg of lamb
1 lemon

Make herb rub:

1. Finely chop garlic and in a small bowl stir together with remaining herb-rub ingredients.
2. Put lamb in a large dish and with tip of a sharp small knife held at a 45-degree angle cut 1/2-inch-deep slits all over lamb, rubbing herb mixture into slits and all over lamb. Marinate lamb at room temperature 1 hour.
3. Prepare grill.
4. Lightly pat lamb dry. On a lightly oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals grill lamb about 10 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer horizontally inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F for medium-rare. (Alternatively, roast lamb in a roasting pan in middle of a 425°F oven about 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer horizontally inserted into meat registers 125°F for medium-rare.) Transfer lamb to a cutting board. Halve and seed lemon. Squeeze juice over lamb and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
5. Cut lamb into slices and serve with any juices that have accumulated on cutting board.

Recipe courtesy of: Epicurious.com

Garlic Scape Pesto

10 Harvest Haven garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/3 cup slivered almonds
About 1/2 cup olive oil*
Salt to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend. If you're not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing.

The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months.

Makes about 1 cup.

*1/3 cup soft butter may be substituted for the olive oil.

I'm not going to tell you about Martin's initiation to be a real cowboy. Or how he had to bring in a mom because her new calf was having a hard time finding its mom's teats. Or how the mom he was guiding into the corral smacked him in the ear with her manure-covered tail. Or Jeannie exclaiming, "Martin, what happened to you?" as he heads for the shower.

Mumble, grumble, "Cows!"

That narrative would be too gross for sensitive readers.

No, I'm going to tell you a nice story about a bee swarm that showed up in our lilac hedge next to our bee hives. That's a much sweeter story.

As James was walking by the bee yard, he noticed a fairly large swarm in the bushes. After checking our hives to make sure all were intact, he moved some of the empty bee boxes, which still had some honey in them, next to the swarm hoping it would find its way into them.

All seemed fine until James noticed a storm rumbling in. Quickly donning a bee suit, he gently scraped the bees into the boxes. This is where you expect something to happen to James because down on the farm it inevitably does.

Not this time. All went well and we have another box of bees. Now, isn't that sweet?

Grander

Downtown Farmers' Market

Raspberry Rhapsody

On Sale

The Recipe Box

Down on the Farm