No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. Hal Borland Yes! This is something we can be thankful for – winter will end, and we'll start to see the buds of spring. We're thankful for all the snow, though, because it was so dry last summer and fall. It's nice to have irrigation, but there's nothing like snow and rain for the fields. We're also thankful for James and his equipment keeping the roads, driveways, and parking lot cleared. And he's been busy this year. | With the plumbing and electrical nearly done, and the wood-fired oven operational, the inspectors have been checking off the required boxes. Next will be drywalling the interior walls. Martin and James continue to fine-tune their baking. They refurbished the mixer by taking it totally apart, cleaning all the components, greasing the gears, and reassembling it. It's working great now and making dough mixing a whole lot easier for our hardy bakers. | If you are buying nonorganic food, personal care products, and household cleaners, then you are getting goods containing GMOs. What is a GMO? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Most GMOs have been engineered to withstand the direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. However, new technologies are now being used to artificially develop other traits in plants, such as a resistance to browning in apples, and to create new organisms using synthetic biology. Despite biotech industry promises, there is no evidence that any of the GMOs currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit. From the NON-GMO Project. The UK group, Beyond GM, have come up with a fun way to share the real facts about GMOs. "Beyond GM's mission is to reach out to those who might never describe themselves as 'activists' but who, nevertheless have a huge stake in the future of our food system. We are always looking for new ways to encourage and facilitate an intelligent, questioning, involved citizenship that cares about the provenance of food, and the integrity of farming and is willing to defend and preserve it. "Conversations about GMOs can quickly become complex and we wanted to find a way to encourage people who may not know much about GMO, but who are interested, to dip into the topic and learn a little more. The wheel design is based on a traditional wheel of fortune and topics are divided into four key areas: consumers, farming, the environment and the marketplace and each spin leads to a pop-up of bite-sized information." http://beyond-gm.org/beyond-gm-launches-the-gmo-wheel-of-chance/ Spin the GMO Wheel of Chance. Is genetically modified food the sure thing that will feed the world, or is it a risky game of chance? Harvest Haven Certified gives you the assurance that we've investigated all the products in our store to be sure there are NO GMOs in anything. You can shop with peace of mind that what you get is good for you and good for the environment. | Boneless Leg of Lamb- Sale $14.99/lb Reg. $16.89/lb Ground Beef- Sale: 3 or more pounds for $6.99/lb Reg. $7.49/lb (See Recipe Box) Whole Chicken- Sale $4.79/lb Reg. $5/29/lb Potatoes, all varieties, 5 lb bag- Sale $5.99/bag Reg. $7.99/bag Carrots- Sale $1.99/lb Reg. $2.50/lb (See Recipe Box) Extra Large Eggs- Sale $18 for 3 dozen Reg. $6.75/dozen Eden Crushed Tomatoes with Basil, 398 mL- Sale $4.99 each Reg. $5.99 each (See Recipe Box) Bioitalia Pasta- Sale $3.49 each Reg. $3.99 each (See Recipe Box) Frozen Strawberries- Sale: 3 or more pounds for $6.99/lb Reg. $8.49/lb (See Recipe Box) | Please note, all ingredients in our recipes are organic. | Italian Spaghetti Sauce 1 lb Harvest Haven ground beef
1 large clove Harvest Haven garlic, minced
1 medium Harvest Haven onion, chopped
1/2 cup roasted red or green pepper, chopped
Parsley, chopped
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 jar Eden crushed tomatoes
1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp thyme Cook ground beef, onion and garlic until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients.
Simmer until thickened, about 1 hour.
Serve on hot, well-drained pasta.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. | Honey Maple Roasted Carrots 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Harvest Haven honey
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb Harvest Haven carrots, chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley leaves Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey, maple syrup, garlic and onion powder, thyme and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Place carrots in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil mixture and gently toss to combine.
Place into oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired. | Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie serves 2 1 cup frozen Harvest Haven strawberries
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup Place all ingredients in the pitcher of a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately. | Wild Windy Winter Weather After receiving requests for updates on Harriett, I was going to expound on her exploits around the farm, but that story got blown away by our wild windy winter weather. Just as well because by the next issue of the Harvest Haven Happenings, we'll be in the middle of lambing with "eyes" on the barn and Harriett. Our friend in Australia will be taking the night shift via our barn cameras hooked up to his computer for watching ewes lambing and we'll see what Harriett does at night after everyone has gone to bed. Last Thursday, we did our usual trip to Calgary with deliveries and pick up of supplies. The day was a little cold, but sunny, which made for pleasant travels. Returning to the farm, Martin told us Cherry, our milk cow, and her companions were upset and complaining loudly like cows are wont to do when something's amiss. Investigating, Martin and James found the waterer was frozen because the electricity to its heater had died. Running an extension cord got things going again and the cows were happy. The calm before the storm. Waking up the next morning, we heard the wind blowing at 100 kilometers an hour with whiteout conditions of blowing snow. I expect most of you in Southern Alberta will remember what you were doing or trying to do that day. Cars buried in snow in parking lots, accidents everywhere, and major highways closed made for a memorable day. On her way to visit at the farm, Jeannie's mom called to say she was stuck in a snow drift a couple of miles away. One of our customers who was leaving the store said he would help her with his big truck. A few minutes later, Jeannie's mom called again to say that fellow was stuck too. While James was getting ready to head out to help them, Jeannie's mom called again. Someone had come by and pulled out the big truck, which in turn pulled her out. She decided just to go back home. The roads were way too crazy. Then, Jeff, the electrician, who had been working in the new store all day was ready to head home to Coaldale. Martin offered him dinner because it was supposed to calm down in the evening and may be better travelling. But Jeff said he would brave the road. This time, James headed out ahead of him to clear the road of the deep snowdrifts. Sometime later, Jeff called to say he had made it safely. Returning from his excursion through the snowdrifts, James went to feed the cattle, only to find bedlam in the cow/calf corral. The snow had drifted so high and hard that the yearlings could walk over the fence and join the cows. At least it was between two corrals and not out into the pasture. James maneuvered his excavator into the corral and dug the snowbank away from the fence and gate, making a way for the escapees to return to their rightful digs. Hollering loudly at them, he "encouraged" them to return promptly, which they did. However, our biggest yearling steer realized he was in the wrong pen and jumped the fence quite agilely, returning to the cow corral where he belonged. | The wind did die down in the night, but it left its impression…huge snowdrifts around the buildings, "mountains" for the kids to climb on and dig tunnels into, and more snow for James to clear. "Hey, Mom! We can touch the roof of the house." Life down on the farm can be one adventure after another. In these kind of extremes in weather, children become adults and adults children. | |
